Warning Shot

[Brokkr]

The problem with the suggestion is it forces the perception that it was a warning shot on the person shot at. As a mechanical matter, because it is meant for "warning shots", at least in how originally presented.  So the emote part becomes secondary...the code itself is forcing that perception on the person being shot at.

To give a RL example:

A few poachers are out in a field.  So someone responsible for said property fires off a few warning shots. He aimed six feet over their heads, and it was only 200 yards or so.  Now, I don't have the perspective of the poachers in this situation, but I highly doubt they thought of those as warning shots.

It is all a matter of perception. So a mechanism for warning shots doesn't make a lot of sense.  Rather, does adding emotes to shoot/throw make sense? And how would that look? And how do you handle the emote...is it in the shooter's room or the target's room?  Is there some way to use the pre/post system to enable both?

[LindseyBalboa]

Okay, I get that. So some re-tooling of the idea is needed to avoid forcing a perception on someone.

Being able to add a drop ldesc, perhaps, to a successful shot into a room, to show where the arrow landed. A bit of flavor that /could/ indicate a warning shot, if the victim character took it that way.

Someone's ldesc indicates they're standing by the shield wall. Arrow is shot into the room. The someone looks and sees:

a black-fletched bone arrow is here stuck deep into the shield wall.

As for the emote: Perhaps the pre emote is in the shooter's room, and the post is in the room where the arrow lands.

shoot (nocking the arrow to the string) arrow east [whistling in overhead], but that may be a little more annoying to implement.

Still brain storming.

[Heade]

I still don't see why a simple "Warning shot" type command can't include a mental image from the firer to the person being warned, noting that it was a warning shot in a world full of psionics.

I don't think the combat emotes are necessary when we have a perfectly justifiable way to implement a warning shot that can just codedly work the same for everyone who uses it via a mental impression that it was a warning.

[X-D]

Still with Brokkr.

No matter what you do you are forcing perception when it makes little sense. Because code already says what the arrow does.  An arrow flies in from the east and hits the ground. There is really nothing to change there that makes any sense. One could make an argument for different echos depending on terrain But that has nothing to do with the OP.

Heade, how would that work, spidey sense? Sounds rather benderish to me.

[th3kaiser]

I think perhaps media has made people think a warning shot is a reasonable and sane thing to do.  Someone shoots a deadly weapon at/near you, that's never a non-aggressive action. I'm either running away or right at your stupid shooty face.

Go send your least favorite party member to go yell at them instead. An arrow only communicates one thing.

[LindseyBalboa]

To be fair here you're just describing what you as a person would do if someone fired an arrow over your head. It's not really an argument against the idea of a warning shot. Having reactions to a knife flying over your head would be normal.

A warning shot is aggressive, but it's also aggressive in the sense that it promises more aggression without causing physical harm initially.

An elf pops up on a dune and shoots an arrow over your head, nocking another but not firing it. Your fleeing or fighting are perfectly normal reactions to this. Fleeing is, tbh, probably the intended reaction. Talking and offering tribute to continue on might be another. Being attacked is always a given risk.

[mansa]

Does it echo if you shoot an arrow through a room into another room?

Example:

_   _   _
|x|-|y|-|z|
¯   ¯   ¯


Player X shoots Player Z two rooms away.  Does Player Y get an echo that an arrow flew in from the west and out to the east?

[Vex]

Yeah, and a few months ago, you could smoke your tube of spice, then separately emote it. People didn't misunderstand that. But the option to emote while doing the action was given, as an easily-coded prop for better RP. That's what I'm suggesting.

Being able to apply an emote to a social action, is a good use of dev time.

This, is unnecessary when there are other, better things that time can be invested into, that will have greater impact for everyone, rather than the few people with both the skill AND the need, to make use of a non-damaging warning shot. Even kick/bash/disarm, would be a better place to start if combat beautification is what we want.

And tbh, even were it to go in tomorrow, it's not something I would use in the current state of the game. If someone shoots anything at almost any of my pcs, I'm going to shoot to kill, or use some other means of aggressive lethal response. The best warning shot, is the one that drops 30-50 hp off them, and scares the PLAYER into fearing for their PCs life, and causes them to run away, and usually keep away for a good, long while.

If you don't want them to die, don't use your poisoned projectiles, and don't shoot them a second time.

Code, at current, is working fine for the delivery of 'warnings', both at range and up close and personal.

[Mercy]

I feel like I'm missing something and am genuinely curious. Can't you already target rooms and have 0 chance of hitting someone in the room? Is that not sufficient as a non-lethal warning shot? Or is the purpose to have an echo showing the arrow/bolt/stone landing specifically near the target so everyone who can seen knows exactly who is being aimed at and not just something within a league radius (assuming outdoors)? Or something else I'm just not getting.

[X-D]

Pretty sure you do not Mansa.

[Hauwke]

I feel like I'm missing something and am genuinely curious. Can't you already target rooms and have 0 chance of hitting someone in the room? Is that not sufficient as a non-lethal warning shot? Or is the purpose to have an echo showing the arrow/bolt/stone landing specifically near the target so everyone who can seen knows exactly who is being aimed at and not just something within a league radius (assuming outdoors)? Or something else I'm just not getting.

In my mind the idea is basically: Hey, I can hit you with my skill, watch the fuck out.

[Brokkr]

I don't remember anything about a skill check, so it really isn't?  Is that what is really wanted?

[Dar]

That's how I understood it as.


A failed skill check

Arrow lands within the same league, but pretty damn far.

The target actually feels 'less' threatened, as the shooter sucks at shooting arrows.

A succeeded warning shot skill check.

An arrow lands somewhere too precise to be assumed a miss, but in a non damaging manner.

The target feels like he's in danger, because the reason that arrow missed is due to the shooter 'choosing' to miss.

Usually that means the arrow lands squarely between someone's legs, or through a fruit, or a leaf, or near a spot where the person was reaching towards.

[tiny rainbow]

through a fruit, or a leaf, or near a spot where the person was reaching towards.

Through branch or stem to make fruit fall on head, then through fruit! Could have special skill checks for different kind of trick shots depending what is in the room, like checking for what objects are available for crafting, a list of options and difficulty!

[X-D]

I have been thinking this over some more, along with things from another thread about PVP.

And the only thing I can think of that would be a method to solve these issues is the ability to aim without firing and approach code.

Now I will admit up front, I have never really been a fan of approach code, In fact I think I have argued against it in the past, it slows the pace of things drastically and can be rather annoying. That being said, I played a mud a long time ago that had both.

In this mud, bows and such only had a 1 room range and thrown items were same room, but since there was approach code that would be the same as 2 rooms and 1 room. You could be a room away and type aim dude west, slight delay as you begin aiming, Your ldesc is changed, Your target looks east and sees "A raider is here aiming his bow at you." His friends see. "A raider is here aiming his bow west." Now the raider could move west and keep aim, entering the room you would see he is aiming his bow and everybody would see who it is aimed at.

Now, although everybody is same room, melee cannot be engaged until approach is used. This gives the raider time to act, get off a shot and get weapons out Or the others to try and flee, Though he can get a shot off as they leave and another before they leave the next room, and keeps aim till his target leaves his sight, so he can follow and possibly keep firing without having to aim again.

Sadly, approach code actually solves the issue of diagonal exits/looking as well. Still cannot look northeast, but Should a mek be there and you move north, the mek has to enter the room then has to approach before it can engage.

[lostinspace]

I'm against power emoting, but there are middle grounds.

Certain shots could culturally be considered warning shots. Maybe high arcing shots that fall from the sky are considered warning shots to some cultures, and a coded way of making that sort of shot is added. ie. shoot 2 south arcing. I don't know much about archery, so there might be other clear ways to miss, like firing intentionally short so an arrow lands ahead of a group, or whistling 20 feet overhead.

Certain arrows could be used for warnings, or any message really. Could vary by clan, but there could also be ubiquitous ones for regions. Maybe a red-stripped, blunt-tipped arrow is the common warning to clear out before the Sun Runners start aiming with intent. Maybe it is actually a message for the other elf that's been shadowing to attack while you keep shooting.