Brainstorming

[Riev]

Fake-item crafting. Knock-offs.

Maybe something from a mastercraft, but basically have the same sdesc/mdesc but a different itemID, crafted to have no weapon durability, or 0 armor protection. Or timers like food that waste them away quickly.

Buying a bone plate vest from an elf? Well, it DOES have a Salarr insignia burned into it, its probably legit...

*- Merchants and those with value skill could tell if it was high quality or a knockoff.

[Synthesis]

Shitty item crafting would just end up being the new pickpocketing.

I.e. people would try it for the lulz, then never do it again, because you'd be hunted with more righteous fury than if you were a full defiler using an army of demons to shovel shit directly into Allanak's water supply.

Brainstorming RPT:  defiler raises army of demons to shovel shit directly into Allanak's water supply

[Armaddict]

Brainstorming RPT:  defiler raises army of demons to shovel shit directly into Allanak's water supply

So it taints the element of vivadu?

[gotdamnmiracle]

If we're going to open military organizations why not (with available numbers) split up the jade sabers and rotate some of the members out to the forward fortress with Obsidian Storm.

[Armaddict]

If we're going to open military organizations why not (with available numbers) split up the jade sabers and rotate some of the members out to the forward fortress with Obsidian Storm.

I've always liked the idea of the Arm having forward 'battle fronts' with actual content for them.  But I'd actually say do that in lieu of opening other clans, not a simultaneous move.  Otherwise we might thin out too much for our current pbase.

[gotdamnmiracle]

If we're going to open military organizations why not (with available numbers) split up the jade sabers and rotate some of the members out to the forward fortress with Obsidian Storm.

I've always liked the idea of the Arm having forward 'battle fronts' with actual content for them.  But I'd actually say do that in lieu of opening other clans, not a simultaneous move.  Otherwise we might thin out too much for our current pbase.

Or that. I'd just like to see the AOD also get a little action outside of Medieval Law and Order. It could work under the same pretext that Kurac is right now. Honestly, any of the "front lines" are ten minutes of spam walking away (or a full three hour RPT, depending on how you want to stretch it).

[Cind]

Treasure Hunt. Kadius feeds people in Red's, tells them the objects they are looking for, tells them to look in Allanaki lands, offers rewards of different amounts for each object. Maybe a fancy sword or some money, some Kadian-made crafts.

[gotdamnmiracle]

Hidden things placed maybe once a RL month or so in corresponding "artifact" areas. The churning sands are bound to kick up every now and again and finding an old magickal artifact, strange gem, unrecognizable fetish, book, rusted fist-sized chunk, whatever (these examples are just that and might be a bit out of the norm for the setting.). It would be cool to find things that have value hidden in the game world to give more incentive than cool room descriptions (which I love, don't get me wrong) but tend to eventually make one believe that the gameworld is just empty.

Further, even playing a mundane and finding something like that would be interesting and if they are placed at semi-random locations and intervals then it's about gumption, balls, and exploration than accused favoritism.

[Akaramu]

I've always liked the idea of the Arm having forward 'battle fronts' with actual content for them.  But I'd actually say do that in lieu of opening other clans, not a simultaneous move.  Otherwise we might thin out too much for our current pbase.

This sounds super awesome. I'm also still hoping for that demon invasion... 

[FantasyWriter]

Someone blow up Allanak already!
I wish the end game plot that "wrapped up" last year (or maybe the year before) had left both cities in ruins. No OOC"Tuluk is closed."  Blow that shit off the map (again?).

With the player clan system in place, it would have been the biggest game of king of the hill since the Copper Wars.

[shadeoux]

I'd like to see some sort of hostile Delf clan opened up in the south that relies on raiding PC's and NPC's. Super Sekret Stuffs prevents them from being located and hunted down by the powers that be.

A raiding group, similar to what Blackmoon was.
(For those that may not know, I'm sure one of the other vets or staff will tell you about Blackmoon.)

A rogue "Conclave sized" group of preservers and elementalists alike working to a common goal of fertilizing the south like the north again.

The discovery of the buried city of Steinal and taking a group out and looting it.
(Dungeon Delve - Allowing all persons to go explore, and if you want something discovered or used as a plot hook, put it behind some door some place.)

An earthquake that causes the sea of silt to drain, allowing travel on foot through a large portion of it, until it reaches to deep again, unlocking many numerous new spots for relics, demons and other things to come out of.

The discovery of another conflict area, be it metal, magic or knowledge based where normal everyday PC's can go to and explore.

[Armaddict]

Someone blow up Allanak already!
I wish the end game plot that "wrapped up" last year (or maybe the year before) had left both cities in ruins. No OOC"Tuluk is closed."  Blow that shit off the map (again?).

With the player clan system in place, it would have been the biggest game of king of the hill since the Copper Wars.

This would actually be a really cool way of changing the entire game in a way players could get truly involved, assuming staff were willing to put in the works to allow players to 'rebuild' to a small degree, but in little pockets of territory.

[FantasyWriter]

It was the most appealing aspect of what Armageddon Reborn was supposed to be. A sandbox where the world wasn't ran by two superpowers way beyond the scope of what players could hope to affect.  Think of how much staff work and playerbase sequestration could be alleviated by eliminating Noble Houses?  Tek and Muk run off together for greener pastures and much emo manly love between them leaving their templar all but powerless as they quickly subcome to mob rule.  Level the AOD to a small enough IC population that a player could hope to have their PC make it to general as his soldiers do everything they can to keep control over what is left of the ruined southern half of the commoner's quarter, nothing but sand and ruin between them and the Guild or Jaxa Pah Controlled 'Rinth, now it's own separate village as they try to rebuild the southern wall from the ruins.  The Gems all explode, ruining that Quarter, or as a last laugh, Tek drains all the gicks' lifeforce on the way out, leaving the place haunted by ghosts or a legion of undead.

Sorry, I could go on for days talking about how much more fun and player-driven the world (not just the game as it stands now) could be without god-level sorcerer/psionocists running the world and being able to Blackrobe/High-Faithful any player driven plot or quest just to maintain 20 RL years of status quo.

[FantasyWriter]

Also, destroy any existing lockable buildings and add a locksmith skill code that can only be gained in game until the technology is rediscovered or redeveloped.  Introduce a farming/hearding code. Locked doors hinder interaction of a dwindling player base.

[FantasyWriter]

A rogue "Conclave sized" group of preservers and elementalists alike working to a common goal of fertilizing the south like the north again.

This was tried a few years ago in the place that Hasaan's group occupied.  Nice little hippy commune that wanted to be left alone and make a distant corner of the world a better place.  The powers that be in Allanak (far above what player-level can affect or hope to fight against) decided no, and kept coming after us, and eventually it sent Hasaan down a path that ended up turning into what most of the game ended up knowing him as... at least that's how I saw things from my point of view.  If they (Tek and Muk and their templars, not necessarily staff) spent that level of effort on the world (not just keeping player-groups in check) there would be no tribes or villages left.

Again, that's why I think Allanak and Tuluk should be blown up, and we move toward the player-ran world-spanning reset button where every group left after "the disaster" is left on level footing with no god-level entities or status quo left to enforce.  It would be much better, in my opinion, for a smaller player base to be able to actually change the game world in a meaningful way beyond having a few room descriptions change or having a story left on the rumor board for a couple years.

[Miradus]

That would be a completely different game, but I'd play that game.

[FantasyWriter]

I don't play Armageddon because I like Allanak or Tuluk, I play Armageddon because of the setting and the quality of writing and roleplay.  When I began playing the game (or rather later when I started participating int he community) that was the plan.  The history and lore will still be there, there will still be the same rules to the universe, but the kings will be overthrown.  Read the stories staff wrote about Tek's father's early days.  He started as a tribal warrior, IIRC, the Same with Utep. They rose from the ashes of a destroyed civilization.  Staff at one point planned to start the cycle over again, and I still believe that would have been and is a great direction for the game to go in.  Also, wasn't Allanak Tek's faternal grandmother's name?

[FantasyWriter]

I can see the AoD faithfuls bowing and praying to the dragon's head (all that is left of the great steel statue), begging for his return to save them. It would be an awesome cult concept... worshiping a long lost god who had abandoned his people to the harshness of the desert because of their failings.  A war-wizard rising through the ranks as he wins Victory after victory against the invaders and looters of tand trying to claim what he believes is his place as the Dragon's Shadow. He spends his life seeking out the Obsidian Crown from the tower ruins, where he finds the tattered rags of templars robes on the long-rotted corpses and now cracked, useless medallions to bestow upon his most devoted warriors and servants.

You end up with the same power structure, but with players capable of reaching the top and small player-group sized victories actually meaning something to the future of the game.  Something that smaller MUDs need, I think.  What did the battle in the Tryn Daisa change for characters who are alive today? (Sorry, I can never remember the name of the gypsy lands without looking it up) Did that battle actually change anything other than closing Tuluk, wiping out a tribe or two? We're right back to where we were before hand more or less unless you are an Evershiner.   Basically the same game with several options to play eliminated.

[FantasyWriter]

It's the scale of the world that I think is the biggest problem.

Allanak has a population of about 4-500,000 people. What are a even a hundred active player-characters going to be able to affect? Even when they are the best of the best in their profession?
Reduce that to a village of a few thousand without entities with abilities beyond those attainable by anyone willing to work hard and long enough for them. 50 active player-characters can affect that.

I'm nearly out of stories to tell, it seems from the GDB and friends of mine who have left the game that it is a pretty common thing after so many years.  It's starting to feel like when an author you like keeps popping out book after book in the same world, eventually you stop seeing new material and it all feels recycled.  Imagine 20 years from now and there being 200 Harry Potter books out. Do you think the quality will still be on as the originals?

[TheWanderer]

Oh, oh! Let's just blow everything up. A single surviving House (I choose Borsail) will run the ruins of Allanak, its players being mostly in charge. The Patriarch/Matriarch is selected by vote every 6 months and players vie for the top spot. Populations are greatly diminished and this House runs whatever it can with its few remaining resources - a hefty swath of Allanak's ruins being lawless. They'll have to actively work to enforce their will. They'll handle finances, securing supplies, and so on. Right now, it's all too top heavy and PCs feel utterly... uh, stuck by demi-gods and literal gods permeating every facet of the upper tier.

There's no such thing as gemmed in the new world and the few military holdings under Borsail control are actively sent to investigate and hunt magickers throughout the Known. They're a danger to everyone and will destroy what little is left.

By and large, the game would then center around outposts, PC groups, et cetera, and actually give meaning to mundane actions. Whereas right now, they're mostly pointless. A little like real life. If I orchestrated the destruction of a shipment of food, there could be an actual impact on the powers that be.

You wouldn't even have to change the post-apocalyptic landscape too much. Do an open call for description submissions from players to adjust sections of Allanak, erase Tuluk, and maybe cream some of Kurac's power. Voila.

Mmm. These are just dreamy ramblings about reduction, though. What were we talking about again?

[Melkor]

Blow it all up.

A world of tiny tribes, without huge city-states sounds like an -amazing- direction for Armageddon.

Suck it, Tek.

[sleepyhead]

Yeah, I would love that. Fewer untouchable powers that you can't hope to challenge, more player leadership that matters, more diverse cultures (and more culture clashes to go with!) and lots and lots of juicy tribal conflict. I'm salivating even though I doubt it's ever going to happen.

Maybe if Arm ever DOES die (and I hope it doesn't--not for a long, long time!) someone could ask permission to make their own spin-off.

[Armaddict]

-Make food vendors run with the same script as purplish crystals for globbuluk, i.e. You can't get food if no one is bringing them any.
-Allow solitary/small groups of gith and mantis to move near Allanak again so that food sources aren't just free; One of the aspects of playing a hunter before was the feast and famine routine of weather and proximity of baddies.

[Synthesis]

-Make food vendors run with the same script as purplish crystals for globbuluk, i.e. You can't get food if no one is bringing them any.
-Allow solitary/small groups of gith and mantis to move near Allanak again so that food sources aren't just free; One of the aspects of playing a hunter before was the feast and famine routine of weather and proximity of baddies.

That might've been fine way back when, but since the defense nerf and reel code went in, randomly running into a single something that totally outclasses you and has decent strength can be a death sentence.  It's one of the reasons I hate playing in the grasslands...you can easily memorize the usual bahamet travel paths, but if they aggro on an auto-flee critter, there's no telling where they'll end up, and I've lost several interesting characters over the years to random bahamets popping up and reel-locking me.

From a game-design standpoint, it's really shitty to put level 10 mobs in a level 1 zone in a game that requires leveling up (skilling up is essentially leveling up), especially when leveling up takes SO LONG and dying means you start over from zero.  You can argue harsh environment, yadda yadda all you want, but at a certain point, it just isn't any fun to die pointless deaths courtesy of the RNG.

It reminds me of the "hard" mode on one of the old WWII FPS single-player campaigns...where you could be sprinting from cover to cover, playing it as safe as you possibly could, but half the time you would die storming the beach in the first mission of the first campaign from a random enemy mortar that was completely unavoidable.  Also swamp hydras and poison-viper traps in ADOM.  Just...not fun.

[Miradus]

You're also playing a game which requires an online connection. If it blips and goes out and takes a few minutes to reset, you're helpless. The game code will not extract you from the universe if/when it detects you linkless.