Play in Tuluk

[williamson]

     I quit playing in Tuluk somewhere in 2005. I was driven out by a variety of factors such as the extreme power of the Lirathan templars, a smaller player base, fewer guild options, a changing culture that wasn't my style, and a propensity for Tuluki templars to execute whimsically. My opinions may have been in error. I've never played a Tuluki templar or read their documentation, maybe I just had some bad luck. However, the result was me playing outside of Tuluk for a very long time.
    However, earlier this year, I gave Tuluk another chance. Nyr had made a lot of changes that I thought were improvements and thought it would be fun to check a very different city. Overall, I'd say that the city has improved significantly. The templars are more reasonable, there is a shadow artist system, there is less subtlety, there's been open conflict between noble houses, and there is a war with Allanak. Tuluk definitely has its strengths such as the partisan system, local game that new characters can hunt, plenty of employment opportunities, and a diverse staff.
    Despite these improvements, I think that there are several impediments that make Tuluk a little less fun to me than Allanak. One big problem that faces Tuluk is the lack of a lawless/templar free zone. The labyrinth of Allanak allows for pickpockets, assassins, thieves, runaways, rogue mages, and psionicists a place to play and interact with each other without immediate death from the Allanaki templarate and their soldiers. Tuluk needs something like this. It doesn't have to be a return of Undertuluk. Perhaps bring back the elven tent market in the warrens similar to what old Tuluk had. Maybe pull the soldiers from the Tuluki lumber village to help in the war, leaving it with a rough and tumble environment. I think the Tuluki tattoos also drive some players out of Tuluk. I like the ideas of the tattoo system, but I also recognize that if you create a character with these tattoos your character faces a lot of adversity if you decide to play elsewhere (such as the more popular Allanak) or if your forced to play elsewhere due to IC factors.
    The current lack of players also seems to make Tuluk a little top heavy. There seem to be too many leaders and not enough followers. Hopefully, this will correct itself over time with some staff help. I've noticed a constant stream of staff roll calls for Tuluki nobles over the last year or two. They seem much more frequent than Allanaki noble roll calls. My theory is that these nobles find it difficult to gain traction, recruits, and drive plots thus they are more frequently storing their characters instead of dying to assassination. My perspective is one from the north, so perhaps it's the same in Allanak. I'm uncertain how to correct the situation without increasing players in Tuluk or shrinking the options there.

Tuluk is not for me. I've tried it. I've played there for long periods of time, even recently. There's not enough interaction for a player like me and I regularly play in places like the 'rinth where you seldom see people. The difference is in a place like the 'Rinth or Storm, there's an easy excuse to go to Allanak and interact with people. It can make perfect IC sense.

Tuluk feels completely disconnected from the game to me. It feels like you have to be in a powerful clan, or important house for there to be any chance of being a part of a plot. You can't just be Joe-blow cotton-picker/Kryl hunter and find enough daily interaction for that to be pleasing.

What I find amusing is this poll, where you'd think the vast majority of people are perfectly okay with playing in Tuluk. Well, that's a flat-out lie. I've been there. If all you people were willing to play it wouldn't feel like it's freaking empty. But even more than that, if you all DID start playing there, I feel like that would take too many players away from the places I do enjoy playing.

I'd be perfectly okay if Tuluk was wiped from the game completely. I understand that other people enjoy its nuances but if they're already basically not playing this game with me, I probably wouldn't at all mind if they were gone.

  There is a difference between being okay playing there and choosing to play there over Allanak. I'd wager that every player has a certain location, clan, region, or guild that they feel they'll never play. I can't imagine myself ever joining House Fale or playing a Vivaduan. However, I swore off Red Storm years ago, but played my last character there with mild success. Try to keep an open mind. Perhaps you'll change your mind one day? Maybe one day you'll see my post on the House Fale board as the greatest Vivaduan Whatsit of all time?

[RogueGunslinger]

The crux of my problems with Tuluk have nothing to do with how it's designed, I think all the recent changes are great.

My problem is the game is too big, and the player-base is too small to support it at the level of interaction I desire. It's the same reason I don't play any other RPI's. Their playerbases are usually fucking tiny. So I go where the people go. Where I'll find the easiest interaction and have the most fun. Add to that the people go to the city I think best represents what Zalanthas is, and I just see no reason to try playing up north anymore.

Even places like Luirs or the Tablelands can feel more lively than Tuluk has to me in the past.

[Beethoven]

It would be cool if Tuluk had more advanced technology than Allanak.

I think it'd make sense if Allanak's heavy reliance on magick stifled technological progression, especially military technology. Of course, you'd probably have to throw some metal into the mix in order to make this work, but having Tuluk stumble upon a large mine would only inspire more conflict over resources. (I understand that Tuluk has all the resources already, but I still think this could be made to work.)

I think this idea would help flesh out the "identity" of Tuluk and add some interesting roles that people could play.

It's not going to happen, of course, but I like the idea.

[FantasyWriter]

I disliked playing in pre-revamp Tuluk mostly due to the "poorly kept secret".
In my opinion, it was game breaking, especially the last two or three years before the HRPT.

I assume/hope with the merging of the Templarate Orders those abilities were nerfed, but
the concept of PC leaders with advanced psionic powers still leaves somewhat of a bad taste
in my mouth for the same reason that staff doesn't normally let you role up psions or sorcs
(RIP guild_sorcerer) for Noble and GMH roles.  It made it even worse that we weren't able to
discuss the problems with the system (because "OMG, that's sekrit, we can't talk about that!")
Being able to codely manipulate the outside world (without the need to involve/use/rely on
other player-characters) from behind locked doors, gates, and walls protected by God-Kings
with limitless power is just too much power for PCs, IMO.

That said...
Both cities are awesome in their own way, and it is great that staff has changed Tuluk in ways
that make it better fit into the game world, because face it, Tuluk was very contradictory to
the spirit of Armageddon (much like the Tan Muark were).  Again, the changes to Tuluk are
awesome and were much needed, but why is staff "pushing" players into Tuluk? It reminds me
of how we the players use to be able to advertise for clan (Kadius/Benjari/The Guild is awesome
and booming right now, people! Come join us!)  I'd much rather see the desert clans get a
push than a city many people just don't like playing in, but that is just like... my opinion, man.

[FantasyWriter]

It would be cool if Tuluk had more advanced technology than Allanak.

I think it'd make sense if Allanak's heavy reliance on magick stifled technological progression, especially military technology. Of course, you'd probably have to throw some metal into the mix in order to make this work, but having Tuluk stumble upon a large mine would only inspire more conflict over resources. (I understand that Tuluk has all the resources already, but I still think this could be made to work.)

I think this idea would help flesh out the "identity" of Tuluk and add some interesting roles that people could play.

It's not going to happen, of course, but I like the idea.

That's an awesome idea man. You shoud totally app a noble with some technological advances in mind and included in your app!

[Delirium]

Why Allanak is better in my opinion:

• Inclusive:

        Any tribal, Luirsman, or Stormer can easily pretend to be from Allanak after picking up the accent.(Except to the Nenyuks who control the apartments?)
        That immediately adds to the amount of players who eventually have Allanak as an option to play from.
        Tuluk? Not so much. Tattoos were a bad game design decision. Too hard to fake unless you're a staff sponsored role.

• Quality over Quantity:
          There aren't numerous docs over complicating everything.
         
  
         
  • The nobles are pretty simple to understand. You know what a Fale is going to an inappropriate party noble. A Borsail is a cruel slaver. An Oash is a creepy fuck with gemmers. A Tor used to be a stuffy soldier. Tulukis nobles are just too ..nuanced?
  • A bard is not a bard. People see a bard in Allanak and think I may be entertained. A Tuluki bard has six different kinds with many not focusing on entertaining at all. Just too complicated.
  • You know where you stand. You are trash if you are and elf or a breed. You don't need to pull out a caste chart to know if you can insult someone.
  • You get to participate in murdering people. The templars aren't all knowing and have to figure out that you did it the hard way. In Tuluk if you are a foreigner, even one allowed to be there, you can't use Shadow Artists directly afaik.
  • Allanak has real corruption. I've done all kinds of stuff in Allanak as a Tuluki as long as I made myself useful to Templars. You don't need to be so 'subtle' about bribes.

Allanak gives you an outline and you have room to flesh yourself out in interesting ways. Tuluk forces you to fit into an uncomfortable box. Tuluk is all about keeping people out in my opinion.

Nail, meet head.

[Mook]

Can we ever really get away from the need to have that 'other' place to play when your 'Naki PC dies and you don't want to play with all the PCs your previous PC was frenemies with?  I'm going to keep making occasional Tulukis just to get away from whoever I most recently failed to murder.

Edit:  As a critique, I think a lot of people are bored by Tuluk's "don't talk about plots because that's unsubtle" policy.  This could be especially boring for new players who can't tell that anything at all is happening under the surface.

[FantasyWriter]

You should be able to buy Tuluki tattoos in Nak for a very high price.
The mdesc would vary only the tiniest amount. The sdesc would be the same.

[Kronibas]

It would be cool if Tuluk had more advanced technology than Allanak.

I think it'd make sense if Allanak's heavy reliance on magick stifled technological progression, especially military technology. Of course, you'd probably have to throw some metal into the mix in order to make this work, but having Tuluk stumble upon a large mine would only inspire more conflict over resources. (I understand that Tuluk has all the resources already, but I still think this could be made to work.)

I think this idea would help flesh out the "identity" of Tuluk and add some interesting roles that people could play.

It's not going to happen, of course, but I like the idea.

The whole "something happening to give Tuluk some umff" doesn't seem like a bad idea.

Finding a way to use Nilazi in Tuluk seems really cool. They're the only elementalist class that can't take a gem in Nak, and they just so happen to align with Tuluk's, uhhh, political philosophy.

I actually submitted a special app for a Nilazi Mage hunter in Tuluk less than two weeks ago, only to withdraw it when, after sobering up, it occurred to me that it was probably too far-fetched to even get approved.

[Reiloth]

*beard stroke*

[Aruven]

Summary ;

*People are bitter about psionics (Which by the way is hilarious, if you understand how psionics are actually played out in the game outside of 'that sekrit order' everyone hates)
*People don't like Tuluk because the culture is too confusing and seemingly limiting
*People don't like Tuluk because there are not many places to twink out skills inside the walls and commit crime easily
*People don't like Tuluk because the player-base is too small to support two city-states
*People don't like Tuluk and/or tattoos because... Um...

I'm being a little extreme in the descriptions but this is where my mind is going reading the other replies.

I suppose i'm the only one that played this game initially because of Tuluk? Rebellion, Kul, Isar, many of those those stories made me love the game. That's where the storyline led me, that's where I wanted to be. Reading through this makes me think that this talk is going to lead to another massive 'game change' which involves my favorite place not existing anymore.

[Reiloth]

I, too, played for those reasons Aruven. But also the poll numbers don't lie. Most people like playing in Tuluk the way it (now) is.

[Kronibas]

*beard stroke*

And people keep saying the "new templarate" in Tuluk is receptive to all sorts of "new arrangements" NUDGE NUDGE

[Aruven]

I, too, played for those reasons Aruven. But also the poll numbers don't lie. Most people like playing in Tuluk the way it (now) is.

Uh... well cool then. I was more getting the vibe people hate tuluk and nobody ever plays there apparently, and would rather just see it gone forever to consolidate players in places they like better.

[Taven]

[Allanaki] nobles are pretty simple to understand. You know what a Fale is going to an inappropriate party noble. A Borsail is a cruel slaver. An Oash is a creepy fuck with gemmers. A Tor used to be a stuffy soldier. Tulukis nobles are just too ..nuanced?

Tuluki noble Houses aren't as complicated as you might think. They're a little more condensed with the changes, from what I can tell, but it still seems pretty straight forward:

Kassigarh: Finance, lending, loans. Hires thugs and shadow artists a lot.
Dasari: Plants, poisons, medicines, surgery. Home to the mad scientists.
Winrothol: Slaves. Mounts (thanks Uaptal). More recent focus on sponsoring the arts.
Tenneshi: Buildings! Water and natural resource management (thanks Uaptal).
Lyksae: Military stuff. Comparable to Allanak's Tor.

They got rid of a couple (Negean, comparable to Sath, and Uaptal, comparable to that one templar by the pile of shit in Allanak). I think the biggest difference is generally that Tuluki nobles are a lot more approachable then southern ones (thanks Rebellion).

A bard is not a bard. People see a bard in Allanak and think I may be entertained. A Tuluki bard has six different kinds with many not focusing on entertaining at all. Just too complicated.

There's a lot of bard groups, yeah. There's actually more bard groups then there are noble Houses now! Weird. And I could be wrong here, but I think the role of every bard is designed with an entertaining and engaging focus in mind. Here's an overview:

Irofel: All about the lore and history. Performance focus primary on songs and stories.
Groot: All about drums, tribes, and blades. Not merely focused on performance, Groots excel at kicking ass. Performance focus on instrumentals.
Konviewedu: All about plays. Plays, plays, plays! Also songs and stories, sometimes, I guess.
Elkinhym: Jokes! Pranks! Mockery! They like acting and songs and stories... But mostly in regards to jokes.
Rusarla: Non-humans go here. Focus on unusual, non-human instruments. Music and stories are the name of the game.
Driamusek: Etiquette, diplomacy, teaching small noble children who have busy parents. Performance focus on stories or speeches.

That does seem complicated, doesn't it? I mean, what if a Groot wanted to play a joke on someone? What if a Driamusek wanted to sing a song? Do I really have to hunt down a Konviwedu to find me a good play? The answer is that... Any bard can play a joke, any bard can sing a song, any bard can do a play. You just have to find the right PC for it.

[In Allanak] you know where you stand. You are trash if you are and elf or a breed. You don't need to pull out a caste chart to know if you can insult someone.

Allanak just has an invisible, subtle chart. Tuluk's chart is just documented. In Allanak, if that random elf happens to be Jaxa Pah, then you could have a lot more problems. In Allanak, if that rinthi scum you spit on happens to be in a noble's pocket, you're screwed. Tuluk just takes that concept and formalizes it more, but the principle is the same. Don't focus on the chart so much as understanding the power connections, because in that end, that's what counts.

[In Allanak] you get to participate in murdering people. The templars aren't all knowing and have to figure out that you did it the hard way. In Tuluk if you are a foreigner, even one allowed to be there, you can't use Shadow Artists directly afaik.

I've already said my thoughts on that (I like the idea of legalized crime, but I'm not sure it's accomplishing what it should). I don't know on the foreigner bit, myself.

Allanak has real corruption. I've done all kinds of stuff in Allanak as a Tuluki as long as I made myself useful to Templars. You don't need to be so 'subtle' about bribes.

Yeah, Allanak's templars reek of corruption. It's part of their character and charm. In Tuluk, the templars reek of...faithfulness. I don't think that's documentation that they have to be that way, but I do think it's ingrained in the player culture. Having a northern templar act as overtly as a southern one would seem disturbing to me, and I love southern templars. I don't know if Tuluk's feel in that regard will be changing with all the stuff that happened or not.

Allanak gives you an outline and you have room to flesh yourself out in interesting ways. Tuluk forces you to fit into an uncomfortable box. Tuluk is all about keeping people out in my opinion.

I can see where you're coming from there. I'm not sure if it's actually as bad as it is perceived to be or not.

Mind you, Tuluk definitely has the exclusive "citizens only" vibe going on and when I've played there, I've felt like certain cliques know more information and it's easy to be left out. On the other hand, part of this is probably the lower player numbers. If you think about Allanak, there's a lot of that happening too. Someone in the AoD isn't going to talk about sensitive info. That Fale Whatsit may not involve you in their plot as a random someone.

I do think that having too much knowledge of what people are doing makes it harder for plots to happen, which is an issue in Tuluk. I do not know how much this has changed. I feel like in Allanak, it does feel like you can get away with a lot more.

[Reiloth]

I kind of like being forced into an uncomfortable box.

And I am a bit elitist...

Maybe Tuluk is the niche for me.

[bcw81]

Guys, I cannot say this any more from the heart than what I'm saying right here and now:

Try Tuluk. Give it a good shot. Play whatever you want, and play it to the hilt. You think Tuluk is so much different than Allanak, and it's not. The overt nature is different, and yet it is still very much as brutal as you would expect out of Allanak. The internal nature? In my opinion? Allanak is boring in comparison.

Half the things I see people complaining about are non-issues. Play a worthless pickpocket - see if your local templar cares. (obviously don't pickpocket people of note, though.)
Get thrown in jail? Try to bribe your way out.
Want to play a rubbish claygrebber? Come and insult every little foppish twat that tries to interrupt that drink you just spent all day earning.

Why Allanak is better in my opinion:

• Inclusive:

        Any tribal, Luirsman, or Stormer can easily pretend to be from Allanak after picking up the accent.(Except to the Nenyuks who control the apartments?)
        That immediately adds to the amount of players who eventually have Allanak as an option to play from.
        Tuluk? Not so much. Tattoos were a bad game design decision. Too hard to fake unless you're a staff sponsored role.

I'll give you that. It's hard to fake being a Tulukie unless you... Wear gloves and a necklace? If you're trying to fake being from any one city, even Allanak, you probably wont get far if you're talking to the nobility or Templarate.

• Quality over Quantity:
  
          There aren't numerous docs over complicating everything.
         
  
         
  • The nobles are pretty simple to understand. You know what a Fale is going to an inappropriate party noble. A Borsail is a cruel slaver. An Oash is a creepy fuck with gemmers. A Tor used to be a stuffy soldier. Tulukis nobles are just too ..nuanced?

I beg to differ. Winrothol are cruel slavers, and are more than happy to enslave your sorry ass. Dasari are mad scientists who are just as likely to give you a new disease than cure you of an old one. Kassigarh are shrewd bankers who want to steal all your money. Lyksae are tribal warriors who want to spread the glory of the Sun King through bloodshed. Tenneshi are builders and architects who want to... Well, build stuff.

Yes, not every house is a direct mimic of the southern houses, but they all have places in society that are just as clear.

       

• A bard is not a bard. People see a bard in Allanak and think I may be entertained. A Tuluki bard has six different kinds with many not focusing on entertaining at all. Just too complicated.

Reread the Circle Bard documents. Sure, some of them might be assassins, but what's wrong with that? The Circle Bards -are- about performing and making shows. They are more structured than any old barwench you'll find in Allanak, but they serve a similar purpose.

       

• You know where you stand. You are trash if you are and elf or a breed. You don't need to pull out a caste chart to know if you can insult someone.

I can assure you that you''re just as much trash in Tuluk if you're an elf or a breed. You don't need to pull out a caste chart to see where you're at in either city - if you're talking to an aide of a templar, you're going to be nice to them or chance the wrath of their masters in -both- cities. If you're talking to a breed or elf in either city, they're at the same playing level. There's really not any difference what so ever. In fact, Allanak has a caste chart of it's own that I'm sure Nyr can post if he gets his Nyr-foo on.

       

• You get to participate in murdering people. The templars aren't all knowing and have to figure out that you did it the hard way. In Tuluk if you are a foreigner, even one allowed to be there, you can't use Shadow Artists directly afaik.

Try doing this in Tuluk. Sure, as a foreigner you might not be able to use the Shadow Artist system to its fullest, but you can still murder people just as well as you can in Allanak. Go to Tuluk, play a citizen, and murder to your heart's content.

       

• Allanak has real corruption. I've done all kinds of stuff in Allanak as a Tuluki as long as I made myself useful to Templars. You don't need to be so 'subtle' about bribes.

Try it. Seriously, just give it a try. I'm not saying you're going to be handed everything on a silver platter, but it's -definitely- possible. Also: I don't know where this 'subtle about bribes' part is coming from - it's simply not true. Try offering your local Faithful a few hundred coins to keep him from killing you. Why would they want to stain their pretty dress when they could be out tregil hugging?

Allanak gives you an outline and you have room to flesh yourself out in interesting ways. Tuluk forces you to fit into an uncomfortable box. Tuluk is all about keeping people out in my opinion.

It really, really, really doesn't force you to play in a tiny box. Try bringing that next role you had planned for Allanak to Tuluk. Modify it so it's a Tulukie citizen. Play it exactly the same. You -will- have fun. I promise you that.

[Kronibas]

Reading through this makes me think that this talk is going to lead to another massive 'game change' which involves my favorite place not existing anymore.

At this juncture, contrary what some people might want you to think, I think this is probably mostly contingent on not only the actions of characters but also the actions of players on both sides of the fence.

If Nak were to make a legitimate push against Tuluk and if said attempt were supported by grunt players, leadership players, and staff, while let's say that, hypothetically, Tuluki PCs do nothing/players simply elect to not play there, then I would be disappointed if, say, the Nakis were brickwalled/ignored by staff in their attempts.  I think the message has been that conflict will be facilitated if there is interest, and personally, I hope it interests others because it seems fun and interests me, heh.

So Nak is more entrenched, with some long lived warrior characters and probably a gemmed mage or five?  Probably a legit concern, but you know, I have seen some of you and how you're able to get characters beefed up in short order, so I think catching up isn't totally out of the question.

Let's look at the T'zai Byn of last Winter/Spring, when that clan absolutely exploded with players, resulting in so much fucking fun that I felt like a total noob again. In just a few months, that clan rose up as a serious powerhouse and had their coded prowess tested in very murderous, evil, terribly conniving ways, only to genuinely kick some ass despite being codedly "new."  So many of those characters were less than three IC years old but still managed to be codedly formidable.

I think Tuluk is probably capable of that, but then again it's really hard to predict the future when humans are part of the equation.  Still, having played in a time where it harbored strong clans, well, it makes me feel confident that such could be the case again if people decided that they /wanted/ to make it happen.

[BadSkeelz]

Didn't Lyskae ditch their military focus for basket-weaving or something

[Kronibas]

Didn't Lyskae ditch their military focus for basket-weaving or something

I don't know, but if I recall correctly, they were in large part slave guys, right?  So policy fucks that all up.

Also, the cap on noble houses would (for me) be really limiting for someone wanting to use a clan as a vehicle to juice up activity in Tuluk.

I think the best options for this would be military clans without strictly imposed population caps, like the Byn or the Utep Sun Clan.  I would personally lean toward the Utep Sun clan at this time because, HRPTs/citystate vs. citystate conflict.


You're going to get more players to stick around if they log in and have something to do/someone to play with, and with a large combat clan, there's a chance that at least one other guy will be in the sparring area when you log in. In the Byn during the Spring, there could be as many as half a dozen people on at midnight... And this was a regular thing. I could log in at 4 am and there was probably someone there waiting to spar me. It was great. It was really really fun. And i think it could totally be replicated NOT ONLY in Tuluk, but basically anywhere in the entire effing game as long as there was a sparring area and other people to at with.

Look at the number of Kuraci in Luir's. It's a strong clan right now. Yes, Kurac is badass and attracts players by default, but what really hella anchor players there is the fact that they have a generally cool mission AND a place/reason to hone their combat skills AND other players to practice with.

I think any clan/area could be successful if there was interest and a way to codedly facilitate this interest in the form of a combat oriented and  reasonably accessible (has more than one recruiter who plays regularly and isn't hugely uptight about how it recruits, within reason) clan.

Also, was who c" removed for the militia clans?  I think I remember reading that it was but haven't played a militia dude in like five years or something.

[Aruven]

Reading through this makes me think that this talk is going to lead to another massive 'game change' which involves my favorite place not existing anymore.

At this juncture, contrary what some people might want you to think, I think this is probably mostly contingent on not only the actions of characters but also the actions of players on both sides of the fence.

If Nak were to make a legitimate push against Tuluk and if said attempt were supported by grunt players, leadership players, and staff, while let's say that, hypothetically, Tuluki PCs do nothing/players simply elect to not play there, then I would be disappointed if, say, the Nakis were brickwalled/ignored by staff in their attempts.  I think the message has been that conflict will be facilitated if there is interest, and personally, I hope it interests others because it seems fun and interests me, heh.

What you are saying has merit. I can say that you don't know what northern players want or what they intend. And also, what the staff facilitate and what they don't. I have some reservations as to what staff allow to be seen as viable options and what are not, but that's really all I can say.

[Kronibas]

Yeah, I haven't played in Tuluk regularly in a long time, admittedly, so theorizing about whatever current things makes me feel like some washed out old football player turned commentator, which is a little weak.

But when I see people bummed about Tuluk, I remember that I have had some really good times there, and I remember times when strong clans did their thing in the area... And that's worth sharing.

I guess the moral of the story is that the situation isn't as terrible as a lot of people make it out to be. At least, it always hasn't been that terrible, and if there is this chorus of people who say they have been stifled for this or that reason in Tuluk, then maybe there is some merit to those complaints and stuff should be changed in the way Tuluk is governed. But from the outside looking in, it seems that the staff have already tried to address the concerns of some players, resulting in an unheard-of overhaul to something as fundamental to the city/docs/wholeshebang as the entire templarate/way of governance.


I would say that kind of change is a genuine attempt at assuaging the concerns of the playerbase.

Then, when the staff actually does some sweeping shit as a result (I imagine) of legitimate player concerns, people just start clowning on the new uniforms. I mean, some people's kids, right?  Heh.

Well, all of this talk about Tuluk has been, for me at least, a good meditation.  In the end what it makes me want to do is play a Tuluki, something I haven't taken a legitimate stab at since last year.

[Harmless]

Tuluk is not for me. I've tried it. I've played there for long periods of time, even recently. There's not enough interaction for a player like me and I regularly play in places like the 'rinth where you seldom see people. The difference is in a place like the 'Rinth or Storm, there's an easy excuse to go to Allanak and interact with people. It can make perfect IC sense.

Tuluk feels completely disconnected from the game to me. It feels like you have to be in a powerful clan, or important house for there to be any chance of being a part of a plot. You can't just be Joe-blow cotton-picker/Kryl hunter and find enough daily interaction for that to be pleasing.

What I find amusing is this poll, where you'd think the vast majority of people are perfectly okay with playing in Tuluk. Well, that's a flat-out lie. I've been there. If all you people were willing to play it wouldn't feel like it's freaking empty. But even more than that, if you all DID start playing there, I feel like that would take too many players away from the places I do enjoy playing.

I'd be perfectly okay if Tuluk was wiped from the game completely. I understand that other people enjoy its nuances but if they're already basically not playing this game with me, I probably wouldn't at all mind if they were gone.

I did not lie. I explained my vote above. I suspect several others voted like me AND voted for Allanak in the related poll about first choice for city.

Anyway, I feel like this whole argument has been made a hundred times on the GDB. nobody has any good ideas for fixing it. Plety of criticisms and yes, some accurate observations. Destroying it entirely is just retconning at an extreme. At the very least, Allanak needs Tuluk as a competitor. I wouldn't mind if Tuluk got even scarier, but it already has soldiers who huff spice like crazed fanatical j**adists, but it could get more interesting if for example Allanak needed it once again similar to the refugee events of yore that nobody has seen but which could still re-occur due to continuing ecological issues.

Agreed about kryl and such in terms of "old." The grey forest should be a very malleable area where new species take domination constantly. That is more primal and interesting. If a race of semi intelligent reptiles found a way and means to carve a niche out of kryl territory, using say incredible resilience and poison resistance that makes dwarves look like elven decrepits then that would be cool for both new race and primary point of human contact = Tuluk. I have also made ideas in game with totally different concepts and really if tuluk were just removed it would delete an incredible playing piece for our staff to do cool stuff with.

[wizturbo]

Allanak feels like Mos Eisley.  Tuluk feels like Coruscant.  

Coruscant is cool...but on any given day, Mos Eisley is probably going to be a lot more exciting.

[Kronibas]

I like what Harmless is putting out.

Kryl as a playable race would be hilariously fun.

Just shut down Tuluk and make kryl the only race option for Gol Krathu... Hilarity ensues.