How do you feel about PC killing?

[Armaddict]

I enjoy the thrill of the hunt.

Opportunism has it's place in a world like Armageddon, but the true hunts are the greatest...however angry you get when it gets flipped on you and you become the prey.

It's not fun to have everyone and their mom trying to kill you.  It limits your willingness to see roleplay potential.  But making measured enemies, or making goals of taking down so and so, and working towards it...it's a great part of the game, if you aren't averse to it.

And it fits into the game world perfectly.  It enriches the story, it does not detract from it as a lot argue.  Not in my experience, anyway.

[Gimfalisette]

Once a player sent me kudos for the death scene after I killed their PC. #HowToDoItRight #badass

I've killed a fair number of PCs because I've been in positions where it was, well, necessary. The first time I did it, I was playing a noble and I killed Ourla's PC, and I felt super-bad about it even though my PC's hand was pretty forced. There were other options, though, I just didn't see them because I was still a newb. So Ourla's PC got noobled.

Other times I didn't feel bad because PCs literally brought it on themselves by doing dumb stuff like attacking my soldier PC in the middle of a bunch of NPC soldiers, or in a jail cell. That never ends well! And a handful of occasions it's been my choice, but the PCs really, really were asking for it, for a long time, and choices for correcting their behaviors were few.

I'd say I'm very restrained with PKing, and I err on the side of not doing it if there's a reason to keep the other PC alive, because it's actually more fun to have living enemies than dead ones. To make a chess analogy, I want to keep my enemies in check, not get all the way to checkmate on either side.

[Barzalene]

I thought I was you're first!!!

[Desertman]

The main draw to this game is the fact that death is final.

Without perma-death, we are just another RP MUD. In fact, I would go so far as to say without perma-death, a ton of the roleplay we have would be less rich, and a lot of it would even be impossible.

That being said, the end game for Armageddon is PK for the vast majority of players. Why? Because that is the final and most absolute form of power and control. So long as your PC is alive, you are winning Armageddon. There is only one way to lose, and that is to not be alive anymore.

The only thing that matters in this game is the ability to take life. If you can take life better than the next guy, he is at your mercy, and you are winning, and he is losing. You don't necessarily have to kill him, he just has to know and accept the fact that you can and he can't stop you.

If you get powerful enough that you have enough people beneath you in the "I can kill you." pool, you can in theory win Armageddon.

Don't believe me? See Tektolnes and Muk Utep for reference.

In short. I like to PK. At the end of the day, the ability to PK and not to be PK'ed is all that REALLY matters. Everything else is just filler, enjoyable filler, but filler none the less.

Edited to Add: I very rarely PK people. In fact I have lost a couple of my favorite PC's because I was too nice and didn't PK a few people I really should have when I had the opportunity and they could have done nothing about it. Of course they came back later and were the cause of my final demise. My real regret is IC'ly, I really should have killed them, it was my OOC concern over their players that made me not do it. Ahh well, fun times anyways.

[hyzhenhok]

The main draw to this game is the fact that death is final.

Without perma-death, we are just another RP MUD. In fact, I would go so far as to say without perma-death, a ton of the roleplay we have would be less rich, and a lot of it would even be impossible.

That being said, the end game for Armageddon is PK for the vast majority of players. Why? Because that is the final and most absolute form of power and control. So long as your PC is alive, you are winning Armageddon. There is only one way to lose, and that is to not be alive anymore.

The only thing that matters in this game is the ability to take life. If you can take life better than the next guy, he is at your mercy, and you are winning, and he is losing. You don't necessarily have to kill him, he just has to know and accept the fact that you can and he can't stop you.

If you get powerful enough that you have enough people beneath you in the "I can kill you." pool, you can in theory win Armageddon.

Don't believe me? See Tektolnes and Muk Utep for reference.

In short. I like to PK. At the end of the day, the ability to PK and not to be PK'ed is all that REALLY matters. Everything else is just filler, enjoyable filler, but filler none the less.

Edited to Add: I very rarely PK people. In fact I have lost a couple of my favorite PC's because I was too nice and didn't PK a few people I really should have when I had the opportunity and they could have done nothing about it. Of course they came back later and were the cause of my final demise. My real regret is IC'ly, I really should have killed them, it was my OOC concern over their players that made me not do it. Ahh well, fun times anyways.

Armageddon is all about power imbalance, it's true. But that imbalance leads to a lot of interesting potential stories and scenarios beyond the powerful killing the non-powerful, and whether or not such a story is allowed to developed is at the whim of the powerful. Thankfully most of the time these players do a good job treading the middle ground of correctly enforcing the brutal, imbalanced, unfair nature of Armageddon while avoiding PKing a low-powered PC just because the opportunity has presented itself.

[Desertman]

The main draw to this game is the fact that death is final.

Without perma-death, we are just another RP MUD. In fact, I would go so far as to say without perma-death, a ton of the roleplay we have would be less rich, and a lot of it would even be impossible.

That being said, the end game for Armageddon is PK for the vast majority of players. Why? Because that is the final and most absolute form of power and control. So long as your PC is alive, you are winning Armageddon. There is only one way to lose, and that is to not be alive anymore.

The only thing that matters in this game is the ability to take life. If you can take life better than the next guy, he is at your mercy, and you are winning, and he is losing. You don't necessarily have to kill him, he just has to know and accept the fact that you can and he can't stop you.

If you get powerful enough that you have enough people beneath you in the "I can kill you." pool, you can in theory win Armageddon.

Don't believe me? See Tektolnes and Muk Utep for reference.

In short. I like to PK. At the end of the day, the ability to PK and not to be PK'ed is all that REALLY matters. Everything else is just filler, enjoyable filler, but filler none the less.

Edited to Add: I very rarely PK people. In fact I have lost a couple of my favorite PC's because I was too nice and didn't PK a few people I really should have when I had the opportunity and they could have done nothing about it. Of course they came back later and were the cause of my final demise. My real regret is IC'ly, I really should have killed them, it was my OOC concern over their players that made me not do it. Ahh well, fun times anyways.

Armageddon is all about power imbalance, it's true. But that imbalance leads to a lot of interesting potential stories and scenarios beyond the powerful killing the non-powerful, and whether or not such a story is allowed to developed is at the whim of the powerful. Thankfully most of the time these players do a good job treading the middle ground of correctly enforcing the brutal, imbalanced, unfair nature of Armageddon while avoiding PKing a low-powered PC just because the opportunity has presented itself.

I couldn't agree more. 

[Fujikoma]

I'm totally ok with it as long as it's your PC, and not mine.

[zeia]

The fact that it's a perma death mud makes things about as intense as can be.
I hate/love the shock you get when a character you totally adore suddenly dies and you get mantis head... Just sat there stuttering in your own mind pointing at the screen like.. but.. what... NOOOOOO!!!
*walks off to think of another concept as awesome as the one that just died*

[razorback]

Generally, my PCs tend to like PKing, while the player, me, hates doing it, for the simple reason I know how hard I work on my roleplay and development, and I try to avoid ending that for others. Even in positions of power, I'd rather have the guy that is thankful I didn't kill him and wants to do me favors than the guy who died and is totally useless now. 

[musashi]

First rule of politics man ... don't lose friends you already have, trying to please ones you'll never get.
I wouldn't rely on "he'll do me favors because I didn't kill him".

[Jingo]

Out of all the player killings I've encountered. I'd say that three to one are generally just bullshit ooc reasons to kill a bitch.

Basically every time I hear "I killed him because they were a threat." I hear "ooc: I kill them because I can.".

[musashi]

I'd say you probably don't have near a big enough perspective of what all could have possibly been at play to be able to make assertions like that creditably?

This game often has a lot under the hood when it comes to scheming and motivations.

[Jingo]

I've seen enough of some players to know they're just on a powertrip. That or just lack the imagination necessary for a secondary outcome.

[chrisdcoulombe]

Do you even pk brah?

[James de Monet]

I've seen enough of some players to know they're just on a powertrip. That or just lack the imagination necessary for a secondary outcome.

Might be beating a dead horse, but are you certain it's the players that are on a powertrip, and not the characters? It would probably be quite difficult to distinguish between the two, since both must have the power to kill you (or whomever) to get the job done.

[Is Friday]

Yup, a lot of players gather up their skills to a certain level and then get really itchy trigger fingers because they want to see their Ferrari at work.

I'm no exception. It takes a lot of willpower for me to not go on a killing spree in a lot of scenarios. I tend to play characters who use murder as a last resort, unfortunately. I should play more killers.

[Harmless]

But in a world where might makes right, and might is the absolute currency, power, and commodity, why wouldn't a character go mad with such power and want to use it at every opportunity, if not for the joy of the reminder of their place in all of society?

edited to add two things:

1. No EVERY PC should go trigger-happy when able to, but some should as it is a realistic possibility.

2. it would be extremely poor RP to play a character and not play out how that power affects their personality for the sake of an OOC concept of "holding back" for the sake of other characters' survivability. This is especially ridiculous in the context of murdering hundreds or thousands of NPCs ruthlessly.

In fact, I dare say it is the duty of capable PCs to kill somebody every now and then. Enact the filter of survival.

[Kismetic]

Yup, a lot of players gather up their skills to a certain level and then get really itchy trigger fingers because they want to see their Ferrari at work.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CAV0XrbEwNc&t=0m45s

[Qzzrbl]

But in a world where might makes right, and might is the absolute currency, power, and commodity, why wouldn't a character go mad with such power and want to use it at every opportunity, if not for the joy of the reminder of their place in all of society?

Because their place in society is still among the shit-coated bottom rungs? (assuming they're a commoner)

Oh, also because it's a dick move and everyone will hate you for it on an OOC level. jk, folks. jk

[AmandaGreathouse]

But in a world where might makes right, and might is the absolute currency, power, and commodity, why wouldn't a character go mad with such power and want to use it at every opportunity, if not for the joy of the reminder of their place in all of society?

Because having a huge swinging dick, sword, or skills list, any of the above, does not equate with ultimate power. There is a greater form of might than coded power, and it's rooted in the dominating Templarate, the spoiled nobility, and the overly privileged and over-silked merchant house heads, or even in some cases tribal elders. Yes, you can take your coded power and try to use it to rule the virtual world. But I think everyone involved with (redacted) can concur: No matter how big your pc's skill tree is, there's always something that can come along in two seconds and kill them. Why wouldn't a character go mad with such power? Good common sense.

[Harmless]

Good common sense.

Common sense, or a criminal mind. You deny the existence of crime in Zalanthas? Common sense dictates the necessity of murder at times, and in using that tool I have survived dozens of days played, with PKs distributed across IC years and no investigation for any of them.

Knowing that someone has that power is not always a deal breaker for the murderer PC either, even with the existence of an "all-seeing" Templarate and lots of do-goody little soldiers at their beck and call. Just like in real life, God may have angels, popes, and bishops, but at some point in the chain of God's command there are humans, and humans can be manipulated. Being known as a murderer can also lead to benefits, as not everyone in the world agrees with said power structures.

Free will, is power. A mind with just enough resources can enact change. Killing is an essential component of it. This MUD would have stagnated a few years after its creation if it weren't for PK and permanent death, and no matter how much "OOC griefing"   has occurred over the years it has not yet died. Change requires destruction, and if PCs are what this game is made of, PCs need to be destroyed.

[Kismetic]

Yeah, wow, what?  Why should you care if everyone "hates you on an OOC level" for killing a PC in a game bearing the tagline Murder, Corruption, Betrayal ?

I wonder how many players we'd get if it was Goodwill, Accountability, Ginka Fruits ...

Really, though, Q, what?

[Qzzrbl]

Yeah, wow, what?  Why should you care if everyone "hates you on an OOC level" for killing a PC in a game bearing the tagline Murder, Corruption, Betrayal ?

I wonder how many players we'd get if it was Goodwill, Accountability, Ginka Fruits ...

Really, though, Q, what?

I should've added a j/k to that somewhere. >_>

[Kismetic]

Haha, d'oh.  Nice.

Edit:  I wanna pitch in that I agree with Harmless to an extent.  Even if you're not "mad" with power, if you don't wield it and show it, there is a chance for it to deteriorate.  Power is often a neat series of appearances, an assertion over the mind of the beholder that your life is peanuts next to the macrocosm of the entity you've encountered.  Killing people is only one way of many to show power, though.

[AmandaGreathouse]

Good common sense.

Common sense, or a criminal mind. You deny the existence of crime in Zalanthas? Common sense dictates the necessity of murder at times, and in using that tool I have survived dozens of days played, with PKs distributed across IC years and no investigation for any of them.

Knowing that someone has that power is not always a deal breaker for the murderer PC either, even with the existence of an "all-seeing" Templarate and lots of do-goody little soldiers at their beck and call. Just like in real life, God may have angels, popes, and bishops, but at some point in the chain of God's command there are humans, and humans can be manipulated. Being known as a murderer can also lead to benefits, as not everyone in the world agrees with said power structures.

Free will, is power. A mind with just enough resources can enact change. Killing is an essential component of it. This MUD would have stagnated a few years after its creation if it weren't for PK and permanent death, and no matter how much "OOC griefing"  has occurred over the years it has not yet died. Change requires destruction, and if PCs are what this game is made of, PCs need to be destroyed.

Good common sense refers to not just going around killing everything and going mad with power (because of the factors I listed), not why you'd never murder anyone anywhere ever. But because if you go mad with power and you're low enough on the totem pole, people are going to kill you quick.

Which seems a bit suicidal if you ignore that fact. (IMO, of course)