Karma rate

[Zoltan]

My later karma points are from having good communication with the staff while in a leader role. The first were from a leadership role and then happening to have been watched off and on for the next year or so.

An example of what I tend to think of as "good communication" is not treating the staff like people you have to slip things by on. My Byn leader Raul began his sergeantly career by stealing coins from the Byn account for his own personal use while things were revving up in the clan. He justified it to himself as a business expense, because there was no way he was going to sit in the Gaj waiting for recruits and contracts and -not- be drunk. In my report to the staff, I told them explicitly how much was taken and how there was an utter absence for an excuse from Raul himself. Luckily for the character, his fortunes turned around pretty damn quick and he paid back his theft and then some without making too much of a ripple. I think happily putting the judgment into the staff's hands about whether or not my dude would be caught and punished -- over something that strikes me as difficult to track staff-side -- fostered some trust between us.

Any IC details and OOC plans you send to the staff give them more tools to play with you, making it more fun and easy for all involved. I'm sure that's appreciated up to a point. This is especially true if your character is doing anything really "bad." I had a character that would scientifically study anatomy on coded bodies he would find in Meleth's Circle. Now, in a city atmosphere where cannibalism was implied, maybe seeing some guy drag away a body isn't so strange. But I left that up to any PCs that would stumble across me to decide. And when it came to NPCs, I made sure the staff were aware of what my guy was doing in public and private, and why. They're like the DMs of our world, so you have to give them the facts and let them judge. Overall, I've enjoyed having things "kept real," even when it's been detrimental to my PCs.

[Marshmellow]

As for the disruptive powers, I get that, but we're not talking about sorcerers and from what I understand drovians are much weaker than ruks and have less griefing potential.

I want to correct a fundamental assumption you've made here that I think is incorrect.  ALL magickers have AMAZING potential to WTFPWN just about anything that gets in their way.

They come with some spells that will help them survive and no spells too dramatic that would encourage a newbie to magickers to do something too extreme with their brand-spanking new magicker character because they've never played one before and don't know their own limitations.  The others... well, they all have their quirks and their abilities that shouldn't be discussed, and they're all cool and not really over-powered compared to the other two.  I just think that a true newbie to magickers would learn more by playing a rukkian or vivaduan, preferably a gemmed one.

Don't take this as gospel, but I also think the staff would really prefer someone play a rukkian or vivaduan before playing anything of higher karma, simply a trust issue thing.

No, I simply dislike forcing people to play though the characters they don't enjoy just so they could learn the system. If we were talking about  karma destroyers of souls I'd understand.

What if a new player to the game doesn't like playing anything but magickers and in every other game they've played they've had the option?  Should this person be allowed to play a magicker simply because they shouldn't be forced to play an (insert mundane guild here) to learn the game first?

Rukkian and Vivaduan come with less preponderance to chaos when new, giving someone the opportunity to prove they're trustworthy to the staff AND a chance to learn before they get too cocky with their uber-scary-mage-thing character.  Also gives them a chance to learn what is appropriate while learning how to play one.

That's also, kinda, the point.  The higher-up the karma tree you go, the more potential for unrealistic things to be done.  I'd be willing to be a LOT that if you prove to staff you can play a Vivaduan then you'll be SO much more likely to get any higher-karma magicker through on a special-application, especially if you communicate with staff through updates while playing your Vivaduan, AND you'll be a lot more likely to get yourself the karma too, to get you closer to playing one without a special application.

[spicemustflow]

I admitted I may be out of my depth discussing this.

What if a new player to the game doesn't like playing anything but magickers and in every other game they've played they've had the option?  Should this person be allowed to play a magicker simply because they shouldn't be forced to play an (insert mundane guild here) to learn the game first?

I thought that the difference between a mundane and any kind of mage is much greater than that between the mages of different kinds.

[Marshmellow]

Well... I'd say that's arguable, actually.  All of the magicker karma classes have some pretty obnoxious things they can do once they get moving (combat vivaduans are just about the scariest thing out there, if you ask me).  Still, out the gate, I'd say the five higher-karma magickers get can get obnoxious when played irresponsibly much quicker.

I just really think everyone should learn to play a magicker responsibly when they start learning how to play a magicker.  This is best done when playing one that those in the know won't worry about too much.   Also, playing a Vivaduan or Rukkian means (when you play a gemmed) that the newbie is more likely to have same-element teachers that can help on both an OOC and an IC level.

[Qzzrbl]

Pretty much everything Marshmellow said....

Karma's there for a reason, folks.

[Pale Horse]

Pretty much everything Marshmellow said....

Karma's there for a reason, folks.

[Fredd]

All Magickers can roflstomp. end of story. Some just take a bit more finesse then the others. i think that's the best way to say it.

[Bilanthri]

All Magickers can roflstomp. end of story. Some just take a bit more finesse then the others.

Long ago, I had a ranger with two friends: a second ranger and a warrior. We always joked about how ridiculous the warrior was in combat, feeling quite safe in the wilderness as a group.

One day, a hooded figure came into our camp with startling speed. We all turned to face the intruder, but, in a flash, our uber-warrior friend was a smoldering carcass.

My point? A rogue magicker is -way- more frightening than a rogue mekillot.

[Thorg]

If someone comes here and wants to play a 'gicker, having a preference for magickal characters from other MUDs, I think it's even /more/ important that they're asked to go through a few mundane characters (and get noticed and get karma) before they're handed their first vivudian/rukkian. Simply because Armageddon is not high fantasy, or high magic, and their 'experience' at playing magickal roles is actually most likely to be a detriment to the feel that elementalists and magick in Zalanthas possess.

When it comes down to it, and this is an uncomfortable truth: it doesn't matter what guilds you want to play. Karma's around to ensure that everyone with less karma gets a fair go at it, so that the game world is kept in balance by ensuring those in it with particular abilities are trusted to possess those abilities and not be a detriment to those who play characters without those abilities.

If you want to have a shot at a particular guild/race, use those paths available to you (reports, special applications, owning face IC) and prove to the staff that you're not going to ruin someone else's fun when you step into a 'gicker's shoes.

[Cindy42]

I way, way prefer forms of fantasy entertainment in which magic is very rare and very powerful. When every individual who is not mentally handicapped at puberty age or over can cast every colorful weak little spell in the book it ceases to excite my interest, unless I'm in the mood for watching lots of pretty colors explode at random.

I've gotten a personality idea for a rukkian magicker i want one day on my way to that elkrosian i want so bad.... oh my god it excites me just thinking about it. love creating weird and unique personalities.

that story about the uber-warrior scares me. [this section edited by Nyr] i could ask if running in the middle of a RP conversation with someone who obviously intends to end your life is wrong, but i don't think it is---- note the word obvious, and the fact that my character is not an idiot, wishes to live and can run when they take a mind to.

[Pale Horse]

I way, way prefer forms of fantasy entertainment in which magic is very rare and very powerful. When every individual who is not mentally handicapped at puberty age or over can cast every colorful weak little spell in the book it ceases to excite my interest, unless I'm in the mood for watching lots of pretty colors explode at random.

I've gotten a personality idea for a rukkian magicker i want one day on my way to that elkrosian i want so bad.... oh my god it excites me just thinking about it. love creating weird and unique personalities.

that story about the uber-warrior scares me.  [this section edited by Nyr]  i could ask if running in the middle of a RP conversation with someone who obviously intends to end your life is wrong, but i don't think it is---- note the word obvious, and the fact that my character is not an idiot, wishes to live and can run when they take a mind to.

It's very possible that said magicker was deliberately stalling your execution for the very purpose of allowing you to either a) get some entertainment out of your impending character death, b) hope that you would play-along and role-play the scene out instead of "flee, flee, flee, flee" spam away or c) intentionally giving you the chance to get away by not being "twinky" and making it codedly impossible through their foul magickz.

Having said that, Staff has pointed out in the past that "emotes do not equal role-play."  Don't feel too bad about taking to your heels during the middle of a scene.  On one level, that just makes it all the better.  The magicker could possibly have been thinking "Yes, now,  I shall prove myself by toying with my prey.  Leading them on, letting them thi-....They ran off.  They're not supposed to do that..I wasn't done gloating yet!" and there by giving their character something to remember and themselves a (hopefully) good laugh.

As you pointed out, your character has a vested interest in living.  If their potentially deadly enemy gives them an out, well..by all means, take it, if that is what your character would do.

[jhunter]

It's also possible too that taking off running suddenly is what makes the magicker decide to kill your character instead of whatever they had in mind in the first place. Something else to keep in mind.

[Cindy42]

I way, way prefer forms of fantasy entertainment in which magic is very rare and very powerful. When every individual who is not mentally handicapped at puberty age or over can cast every colorful weak little spell in the book it ceases to excite my interest, unless I'm in the mood for watching lots of pretty colors explode at random.

I've gotten a personality idea for a rukkian magicker i want one day on my way to that elkrosian i want so bad.... oh my god it excites me just thinking about it. love creating weird and unique personalities.

that story about the uber-warrior scares me. [this section edited by Nyr] i could ask if running in the middle of a RP conversation with someone who obviously intends to end your life is wrong, but i don't think it is---- note the word obvious, and the fact that my character is not an idiot, wishes to live and can run when they take a mind to.

It's also possible too that taking off running suddenly is what makes the magicker decide to kill your character instead of whatever they had in mind in the first place. Something else to keep in mind.

First: eep. I'm sorry for typing anything I shouldn't have; I don't remember what it was to be honest.

Also: yeah the mother chased me. I hid in the room (code) next to the one he ran through and I could see that he ran past me. Scared the absolute hell out of me.

And the length of the conversation we had... I really do believe he was giving me an opportunity to act/say stuff beforehand. It was a pretty long conversation before I took to my heels.

And actually... I wonder if this is frowned upon or something, due to the do-what-you-can-to-survive nature of zalanthas, but I override that rule with one other rule, what my character would do. One of my characters wasn't... the smartest person alive, mentally and emotionally messed up, and I allowed her to die the way I thought she would have died, when the opportunity came and anyone with her mental handicaps wouldn't have recognized an opportunity to escape.

This character was different and i roleplayed her accordingly. I thought; okay, what would (insert character name) do? And while I did want to see what he would do, I wasn't playing me, personally, you know? Even though there are some interesting-ass ways to die in this game. Ooh boy are there.

[lordcooper]

Heh, this all happened over a year ago, right?

[Cindy42]

Heh, this all happened over a year ago, right?

i'm eventually gonna get banned, aren't I? *sobs*

i thought it was vague enough to go under the radar.

the idea is, does staying in character trumph the universal rule that everyone in zalanthas does what they must to survive?

i burn for my elkrosian. which i might never get; that'd be okay honestly.

does anyone have a favorite type of magicker?

[Niamh]

Please keep all replies on topic.

Thank you!

[FantasyWriter]

As Niahm said, please keep it on topic.
They'll lock it up, if we don't.


When in doubt, reread the O.P.

[Cutthroat]

To get karma, you need staff's attention. To get staff's attention you can't go wrong with one or some mixture of the following: starting plots, playing sponsored roles, playing karma roles responsibly, sending reports.

Starting plots ensures your PC will get mentioned in other people's reports.
Playing sponsored roles keeps you responsible for filling the role you apped into, which also requires updating staff regularly.
Playing karma roles responsibly proves you're ready to handle higher karma.
Sending reports keeps staff in the know about what your PC is doing.

On the flip-side, there are things you can do that will ensure you won't get as noticed, or will get negative attention.

Playing loners can be fun, but there's not as much to work with when it comes to starting plots. You may be able to participate in some though.
Playing karma roles irresponsibly (making a green skinned mul that gets angry and smashes everything, treating magick like it's no big deal) will probably be bad.
A lot of players don't send reports, but I encourage new players that ask about reports to send them every two weeks or every month, at least, so that staff know that they're involved, and what they're involved in.

[Cindy42]

I was wondering for a while why mindbenders needed the maximum amount of karma... i don't remember exactly if its that much but they were way so high on the list. it might be pop culture but i kind of see magickers as more complicated than a killer psychic; that and the fact that, unless you're roleplaying a mindbender who is visibly troubled (healthwise or otherwise) by their powers, in a world where they know they need to keep it a secret, I don't understand the high level of needed karma to play.

unless

1) mindbenders trump magickers

or

2) the staff sees players with unshakable death sentences as needing to be way more responsible than half-tolerated magickers.

are they statistically rarer also? that might help explain it.

[lordcooper]

Mindbenders are RARE and they can get into your mind.

Both reasons for them to be over 9000 karma.

[Lizzie]

Psionics is higher karma because the staff has determined that there is a greater responsibility involved than playing your average rukkian. Any explanation more detailed than that, is not allowed here on this forum. These higher-karma things tend to be mysterious for a reason.

[Cindy42]

Psionics is higher karma because the staff has determined that there is a greater responsibility involved than playing your average rukkian. Any explanation more detailed than that, is not allowed here on this forum. These higher-karma things tend to be mysterious for a reason.

is it normal for the mysteriousness of karma-required players to excite me IG?

it really does though. zalanthas holds some wonders. high-end and low-end wonders alike, which is why i play this game

[Pale Horse]

Psionics is higher karma because the staff has determined that there is a greater responsibility involved than playing your average rukkian. Any explanation more detailed than that, is not allowed here on this forum. These higher-karma things tend to be mysterious for a reason.

is it normal for the mysteriousness of karma-required players to excite me IG?

it really does though. zalanthas holds some wonders. high-end and low-end wonders alike, which is why i play this game

..I miss being a newbie, sometimes.

But then, I'm glad there are still somethings left that I don't know about.

[Marshmellow]

is it normal for the mysteriousness of karma-required players to excite me IG?

it really does though. zalanthas holds some wonders. high-end and low-end wonders alike, which is why i play this game

Discovering the unknown is exciting for many people.  Also, you don't have to play those sorts of characters to learn about them.  There are some people that have a good reason to know things about magickers, so get involved in those sorts of groups.

[Akaramu]

The 8 karma roles are supposed to be rare because they can throw the game off balance when there is too many of them. I personally would prefer if they are special app ONLY, even to people with 8 karma.