GMH Improvement Idea Thread

[Dan]

Tiered reward system based on how much coin the leader PC deposits into the House bank account.

Ten tiers granting the PC a mix of item options, unique tools, areas, etc. to culminate in a House NPC that can sell them extremely rare and exotic items.

First tier 5k deposited. Tenth tier 250k deposited over a lifetime.

[Night Queen]

Nah it's better to encourage people to roleplay with other characters, if you can just turn coins into goods then it makes so much obsolete, it's putting a dam on a river with all the hunters and grebbers and their escorts and diplomatic agreements for protection/access downstream at the other end, if rare resources can just get magicked out of thin air.

Even staff do this too much sometimes, a memorable time I remember was seeing someone in a full outfit of SOMETHING RARE that apparently they just had plenty "in storage" lying around. Unlimited basically. It wasn't very believable IC and almost got that character killed, but figured out it was not their fault and it was stupidness about how merchant stuff is done, it just seemed so weird that I just ignored it to not make the RP jarring, it didn't really make sense since everyone had been saying how hard it is to get this stuff and making agreements for it to be gathered and brought to them. But then someone on staff just hands them all they need so that never happend. I wondered at first why there was no demand anymore. Then figured it out on my own that this is apparently "just how stuff is done".

HOWEVER it seems like later on new staff tried to cut that back a bit and make people actually have to work for materials, resources, and create the RP stories that happen naturally by not having everything be hand-outs and every thing has more of a story to how it was created (for instance some rare stuff being from whole expeditions that were a RPT for another clan and paid for in blood), it's MUCH more interesting and means merchants actually have to make deals and not just havbe everything easy where it's a closed loop of the house -> client and hiding in wagons kanking gross muarkis in between.

[Dan]

Nah it's better to encourage people to roleplay with other characters, if you can just turn coins into goods then it makes so much obsolete, it's putting a dam on a river with all the hunters and grebbers and their escorts and diplomatic agreements for protection/access downstream at the other end, if rare resources can just get magicked out of thin air.

I imagined the GMH leaders would make their coin from other players. Causing them to seek more sales and deals to make coin for the House. You're saying incentivizing GMH PCs to collect coin to dump into the House coffers would limit RP with other players?

If people are making coin in clans by crafting and selling to NPCs that is horribly poor form IMO and should stop.

As for rare resources being magicked out of thin air- that's not what I was implying at all, but rather one-off or rare items that are in the database that don't really ever see the light of day that may not necessarily have crafting recipes or if they do, are so convoluted that they'd never be stumbled upon. These items could be loaded onto an NPC only an experienced player, that has proven their worth to the House, would be granted access to in order to leverage this stuff for political and economical power.

[WithSprinkles]

Just from the experience of playing ONE GMH leader, coin was very important, but favors and friendships were equally as important.

I wanted to replace the wagon that my character crashed, and in the tier list of goals that I had for Maristen, that was a huge one. It took RL years to accomplish, and when it finally came down to it, it took a lot of materials and manpower. I had to sit down with Tezi from Kurac and make a rough design and contract. We decided on the number of rooms and features, as well as the layout. That was a long and intense meeting, that was also echoed in requests and meetings with NPCs.

Then we discussed materials and prices, meetings that were also echoed with NPCs and in requests for logistics. A Storyteller would be dedicating their time to this, after all, so it had to be worth their while. This is where the cost of every nail and board became important. ARGOSIES AND WAGONS are not CHEAP. I learned how dizzying costs can be when it comes down to a single nail, and started finding out how to cut prices and find suppliers. More meetings by Way or request.

Then came finding people to gather the materials. Here is where hiring Byn and other outside agencies is inefficient. The Byn is there to make money, and more power to them for that. For exotic hunts, they would be where I would go, but not to get me 100 or 200 lengths of wood or MORE. That needs to be in house, sorry. I struggled with that, at first, but vowed to make Kadius' hunting branch strong, and I did. There was the OPTION to buy the materials virtually or through Kurac, but that option was insane. Tezi was quoting outpost prices for materials, and when you look at global prices, a person can do better - especially when you have the option to travel or craft your own things. No hate there, I would have tried to bump up my profit in her shoes as well!

I was trying to back indie mercenary companies so they could use the MMH system, but people kept dying, so it wasn't working. I was getting pushback for properly setting up Morin's at the time, but could see the potential of pumping resources in that direction. I didn't have the experience to really push for that, so mostly let it be.

Long story short, we got the wagon built, it was BEAUTIFUL, and I was almost afraid to drive it anywhere. It was such a relief to have fixed a bit of the game world that I had taken away. When I heard that it had been crashed, I was bummed, but amused, because I NOW know that wagons crashing is a meme around here, but at least I got the red out of my own ledger, so to speak. Whatever storyteller wrote up the designs outdid themselves - it was really worth all the work, and enough to get a person to cry with relief when it was all finished. That took literal years, but I looked like a scream emoji when it happened, so I felt it was worth it.

-------

I didn't really get the concept of bribes until I observed other people doing it during the Senate RPT. After that, Maristen gave away exotic clothing, or furniture to keep people happy, but before that... he gave Templar Alveron a little cactus plant as an apartment warming gift. And bless that man, he smiled at it, and put it in a prominent position on his shelf.

After it clicked with me, the player, how much of a difference having a luxury item could make at just the right moment, or how to use my character's position and influence, my ability to wield it went up. Before that, I was scrambling to fill orders. After that realization, I started focusing on delegation, contracts, and politics. I think this moment here is when a GMH family member becomes an AGENT.

I also started to begin to worry and wonder about my character's footprint on the game world and "less is more". Being around a lot when you get to a certain level can sometimes be counter productive. It seemed to sometimes slow things when I was physically in the workspace - I think it was the having your "boss" walk in effect. I wanted to make sure everyone else was having fun, so I started logging in a touch less, and being in the main rooms less often unless I had specific things to put out. I wasn't sure how to maintain the needed presence (and threat in being present to keep everyone protected and profitable) and still keep people at ease.


-------

For Kadius, one thing that I found was more important than coin, was influence and what was seen. The statue outside the Fale estate was envisioned and commissioned by Lord Timotheo, then designed and crafted by Maristen with the expertise of Macian. Later, Maristen was asked to design a tapestry for their halls, and then redesigned the daily wear of their house aides. (the parti-colored robes). Kadius is supposed to be the pulse of fashion and influence culture in Allanak. That, above daily sales, is what I was driving them to be.

When crafters were hired, they were asked about their innovative spirit, and what they could bring to the table. Hunters were encouraged to create, but I wanted to be less dependent on the Byn for materials, even if we used them for escorts. It wasn't cost efficient. The warehouse of materials didn't matter - we needed exotics, and I meant to get them. In order for that to happen, we needed crafters that wanted MORE. Amazing things come of it. It was a very good time. I wish that I had more experience under my belt for it all, but I'm glad for the patience people displayed, because it was fun. Amazing shoes, bloodball, zeers, gardening shears, lovely lingerie items, glowing jewelry, lanterns, furniture, all kinds of things came from the house at that time. Organizations commissioned the house for awards (it makes sense for a Kadian badge/medal/ribbon to be more prestigious than any other).

Basically, a diamond ring is always going to be beautiful, but a Tiffany ring is always going to be a Tiffany ring. The name is what matters, and the brand had better be delivering quality or it looses its luster. You can't walk into shops for some luxury goods in the real world and just buy their goods, even if you DO have the money. Because you don't have the clout. THAT IS KADIUS.

When crafters first start out, sales is where they begin. They need that seed money so that they can establish themselves later. It takes money to be able to buy from the warehouse, or fund their political careers. Money will ALWAYS be important, but after a certain amount of time, they are either content to stay at that level, and there is nothing wrong with that, or they get deeper into the workings of the house. Some enjoy training others or take on other responsibilities, but sales and crafting is where people begin. Toward the end of my character's career, I was thinking of sales in terms of building contracts, what products were getting sold where and for what price, and was contemplating zeroing out someone's bank account over morning coffee with a Nenyuki official because they were potentially stealing from the house (I didn't do it, and this is tied to character footprint - at some point you get very powerful, and have to consider your actions carefully and with empathy).

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I know I beat the drum a lot, but support for leadership characters and otherwise is key. Looking into issues when they arise is important. Also, yeah, from Hestia's example, I see that not every angle of a situation can be known by one party. My examples are only from my own point of view, and THAT viewpoint is from an introvert. A viewpoint can't be dismissed, however, just because they don't know everything - not unless all the cards are laid on the table. Find out IC is good for new stories, but they can't be held sacred for decades, because that just perpetuates, "You don't know the whole story" narrative, that can be frustrating. Like... after a certain amount of time, when does it become acceptable to pull back that veil? D&D stories are fun because they are shared and loved by all, even the ones that make people cringe. The richness and nuance of the game is lost behind a veil. Lift it and share. There is a lot of good in there. The forums should be bursting with tales, and not waiting for them to be shared in the request tool.

[Night Queen]

That is a great writeup and thank you for sharing your stories now you can, it's really nice that you still remember so well There is Biographies that can later be converted to Original Submissions so it's much better than it could be I think logging is really good because it's hard to keep up with writing everything down at the time when stuff is going on
(and the server should really start backing up the old logs instead of deleting them, it's so sad when you think of all the good moments that never made it to having a write up because the player that played the character is gone, stuff like that - feels like a kind of cultural vandalism just throwing it all away!)

It's important to not make those super special rare things a hand-out because otherwise it makes those people who create crafter characters nothing to aim for and cheapens the whole thing - if it's obvious that merchant can just ask for a npc to do it, why bother playing a crafter character at all? If their presence actually slows things down because without them it's all instant NPC spawn items, it would make it so hard for people to be motivated. Losing an experienced crafter should be a big loss, not a minor inconvenience to cash-flow - that'd make people treat the characters better than conveyor belts, and make more people willing to play them.

Maybe have the recipes for clan-only recipes on the clan forums since they can't be copied out to the wider game anyway (maybe not exact item names for the rarer stuff but clues to lead people down the path of finding out about things not in the help files - you can learn this stuff as a merchant that stays inside a town as easily as a sun runner could, because people love telling their adventure stories). The special stuff should create RP and adventures to get!

That is the kind of thing I think is great about giving people challenges to succeed or fail - succeeding shouldn't be the default, people shouldn't be able to breeze through it with all the hard parts done for them and aggravating everyone else that doesn't get the easy mode version of merchanting! It seems like how Tuluk has been set up was really a breath of fresh air and staff are trying to genuinely give independents a chance to compete which is GREAT and really shakes things up - instead of it being too virtualised, it creates so much stuff from the chain of dominos

[askaran]

Bring back hunters/guards. The number one argument I hear whenever this is brought up is that an independent can make more money etc.  But the comradery and dynamic of a group of merchant house hunters/guards/soldiers whatever, is a great thing and something that isn't met by a group of people who sit in a warehouse and craft all-day. Some of the most fun I've ever had as a leader was as First Hunter, even if I died like an idiot but that's my own fault.

[Night Queen]

Similar concepts are pretty much essential to how Tuluk was set up and brings that kinda stuff back, but have to find out IC

[Dan]

I'd agree with the ability for GMH to hire their own hunters again.

[Night Queen]

I'm not exaggerating

[askaran]

Also, someone else already brought it up, but all Merchant leaders are good for nowadays are getting assassinated. Maybe if they had more badass hunters/guards around them like they used to it would be a -teensie- bit harder to do that? Maybe?

[WithSprinkles]

One other bit of tradition that I did note:

I am not certain how it happens in other organizations, but GMHs pass down secrets orally. Very rarely are these things written down (for obvious reasons). So... I have seen time and again that apprentices get picked out, and then they follow the leader around, get introduced about, and run errands. It is surprisingly hard to find people that have an interest in leadership, an aptitude, and can follow through. Running an event from start to finish takes time - especially with the wildcards of other PC's time, Storyteller time, food decay, gathering supplies, etc. If you are making an event up from scratch, explaining what you even want to do, and convincing people they want to participate is part of it.

Certain roles are not always about eliminating the enemy - that is a last resort if you can help it - and it was the first lesson that was drilled into my character when an indie was "stepping on our turf". Yes, sometimes you squish that sucker flat, but everyone has a possible use. When it comes to family members, if you piss off an older and more established cousin, and they aren't giving you the orally passed down traditions, recipes, and information that you might need. It all being posted on the GDB is not always ideal. Sometimes stuff is "secret to the ring", so to speak. You only learned it when you were lifesworn, or blooded family. It makes zero sense for it to be posted, but it could be requested or learned.

Cooperation is key to some extent, even across families, because all families have things that only the other families can make for each other for certain important events. The higher ups would not be thrilled to have these traditions broken. There are some things that should be documented, such as a clan's history and their ties, and other things that should not, such as the exact markup on certain goods, and trade rates. I think this is a good example of  IC information that should stay IC and not be posted because of the possibility of abuse, its in character allure, or its spoiler-ish nature. Naturally, there are other examples, but this is specific.

Not everyone wants to play this way, but this could also be why the GMH role can be very difficult to play, at times. It can be played casually with few problems, but there is potential to shake the game's economy and be a dominating force while being a squishy if you have the determination.

Edit - And yes, I stopped playing my character before the hunters were removed from the merchant houses, but the hunters were such a wonderful part of the GMH experience. Them being there alongside the merchants was pretty integral. The crafters being happy and secure in their presence and sparring with them, being escorted in the streets, and being guarded while grebbing. it was nice. And the crafters would repair the hunter's armor, and bandage their wounds. It was perfect synergy. Not to mention just being able to sit comfortably in the same space and talk and chat, and craft together.

[Blink]

To those wishing for the return of House Hunters:

It happened a few months ago.   

[Barsook]

But I think the limit of 2 is what some of us don't want.

[Derain]

One thing, the world should re-act accordingly if you murder a merchant family member..

Templar executes a merchant publicly for some dumbass reason or no reason? Well? The NPC family with there huge wealth should make the Templars life hell..

Oh you killed Bob Salarr? wellll all the legions have just taken a 10% cost increase on cod pieces across the board..

Oh shit you killed Joe Bob Kurac? Welp suddenly there is no spice for any of the Templarates Mul's in the city.

Kadius? oh well.. ok but now Great Lord whosowhatsit isn't getting his lace thong for another 2 years.

It depends on the merchant and the reason for killing them.  Not everyone has access to all the information leading up to the kill.  A hypothetical though:

Bob Salarr gets killed. You know this. You know he was killed because Lord Templar Amos caught him overcharging the AOD for armor.

What you don't know, is that Bob Salarr intentionally overcharged the AOD, because the AOD QUIETLY eliminated Bob's aide, Talia, who they knew was a mindbender. Bob also knew that Talia was a mindbender, and didn't immediately give her up to the templarate. The Templarate discovered that Bob knew. The Templarate questioned Bob over the Way following Talia's execution, and Bob admitted that he knew it, but he loved his mindbender and she was a good armor maker so he kept her around, plus she was manipulating all his minions to do better work, and that's always good for business.  When the AOD killed her, things started falling apart for him. So he started charging the AOD double to punish them for interfering in Salarr business.

Except - mindbenders are absolutely NOT Salarr business. They're Templar business.

But you didn't know any of that. All you know is he was executed for overcharging the AOD, and that seemed like a lousy reason, and the templar was over-reaching his authority, and so Salarr should come down hard on the templar and punish the entire city by refusing to make armor for the AOD for the next year.

You'd be 100% wrong about that.  Salarr should be presenting gifts to the templar for cleaning up what was turning into a HUGE mess for Salarr, and apologizing profusely for allowing the mess to exist in the first place.

Everything you said is spot on but I was more talking about the Blue robes who assume and don't really know, and just kill the merchant anyway. I can't give examples for a bit but there was definitely an assumer who never got checked and kept some merchant from even stopping in Nak.

[Fredd]

One thing, the world should re-act accordingly if you murder a merchant family member..

Templar executes a merchant publicly for some dumbass reason or no reason? Well? The NPC family with there huge wealth should make the Templars life hell..

Oh you killed Bob Salarr? wellll all the legions have just taken a 10% cost increase on cod pieces across the board..

Oh shit you killed Joe Bob Kurac? Welp suddenly there is no spice for any of the Templarates Mul's in the city.

Kadius? oh well.. ok but now Great Lord whosowhatsit isn't getting his lace thong for another 2 years.

It depends on the merchant and the reason for killing them.  Not everyone has access to all the information leading up to the kill.  A hypothetical though:

Bob Salarr gets killed. You know this. You know he was killed because Lord Templar Amos caught him overcharging the AOD for armor.

What you don't know, is that Bob Salarr intentionally overcharged the AOD, because the AOD QUIETLY eliminated Bob's aide, Talia, who they knew was a mindbender. Bob also knew that Talia was a mindbender, and didn't immediately give her up to the templarate. The Templarate discovered that Bob knew. The Templarate questioned Bob over the Way following Talia's execution, and Bob admitted that he knew it, but he loved his mindbender and she was a good armor maker so he kept her around, plus she was manipulating all his minions to do better work, and that's always good for business.  When the AOD killed her, things started falling apart for him. So he started charging the AOD double to punish them for interfering in Salarr business.

Except - mindbenders are absolutely NOT Salarr business. They're Templar business.

But you didn't know any of that. All you know is he was executed for overcharging the AOD, and that seemed like a lousy reason, and the templar was over-reaching his authority, and so Salarr should come down hard on the templar and punish the entire city by refusing to make armor for the AOD for the next year.

You'd be 100% wrong about that.  Salarr should be presenting gifts to the templar for cleaning up what was turning into a HUGE mess for Salarr, and apologizing profusely for allowing the mess to exist in the first place.

Everything you said is spot on but I was more talking about the Blue robes who assume and don't really know, and just kill the merchant anyway. I can't give examples for a bit but there was definitely an assumer who never got checked and kept some merchant from even stopping in Nak.

I've played a few GMH family members. And I play them well. Why? Because I have the time to dedicate to it worth at least 2 characters worth of time. One for handling order, training, and other inner house stuff. And one for politics and public facing stuff. Three if you want to have a personal/love life.

GMH family members work well when the crew is well established, and you have at least 1 non family member with ordering authority. But it takes a while to get that going. So my suggestion is for any GMH role calls, to have a spot of a family member, and another for a non family merchant.  To give the non-family roll some enticement, throw in some maxed out crafting skills at least 2, but I honestly say just max them all out. Nothing like explaining to people you don't have any crafters that know how to craft, right other former GMH family members?

As for the above quote. I had a Kuraci family member who did just that. Did not end well. Let's just say that.

[SpyGuy]

Damn.  I've been pondering this question for awhile and Fredd basically said the short version of what I think is needed.  It's a 2 person job at least unless you can be online a -lot-.  And even then if it all depends on one PC if they're on vacation then the whole thing grinds to a halt.  I have seen what appears to be staff being open to this and hope future staffing in GMH tries to fill the spot with 2 roles in most cases.

So the longer version of my thoughts:

When putting out role calls for GMH there should be at least 2 PCs capable of selling items to players.  That might mean 2 family members or offering spots for lower ranking long term employees to be apped in.

I think PC GMH should be seen as a semi-independent crew of House operations.  Meaning they are expected to act in the House's interest and contribute to their core business but also are given some freedom to use their crew as they see fit.  Think Expansion Division or various times when Kurac had a giant presence.  I would still keep a firm clan cap of 6 or so members in the crew but allow the PC leadership to determine the make up of that crew.  So if a GMH crew wanted to be a bunch of hunters/soldiers and have a focus on exploiting region X for resources that would be possible. This might change over time as employees die/leave.

I don't think PCs in a crew should get put in a box that they're a crafter and only a crafter.  Why couldn't a crafter be used to pilot the wagon/cart, help with getting materials and be the soft squishy target everyone is defending?  I think conceptualizing GMH players as a crew that might do things differently than the House's normal employment regulations would allow for a more diverse way of people playing in GMH that really utilizes the class/subclass structure we have.  This might just be me being greedy and wanting to do it all but I think there's demand for these roles being more flexible.

I really didn't like the idea of having 2 hunters to each House and then encouraging Houses to work together in the new system.  I think parts look good on paper but time zones / chain of command / IC politics / etc. turns me off from this system.  Especially if it's coupled with a restriction on who those hunters can go hunt with.  I play off peak a lot.  If I meet a fellow wilderness player IC I don't want clan rules telling me I can't go hunt with that person because they're not in a GMH.  Same with sparring tbh, GMH should be hiring tutors to train their hunters etc.  Also good hunting trips ideally have like 3-5 players imo so the 2 per House rule rankles me.

[Barsook]

I totally agree with giving the GMH leadership freedom on what roles are needed and allowing dual duties/jack of all trades. That doesn't happen in real life. Afterthought, that didn't make sense because I think doesn't happen in real life, but it would be nice for some policy change due to shrinking player-base.

As for having more then two PC's for selling, you will be running in the risk of miscommunication since we aren't allowed to use the clan boards as a order tracker.

[Evilone]

GMH should ALWAYS have at least 2 family PC's IMO. They are huge parts of the game, and need to be accessible over various time zones, and it is so much more fun when you have fellow family to interact with, and numerous other GMH family about to socialize with, and plot with or against. I have fond memories of coming in as a junior agent of Kurac and having Hurlen-da above me, and dealing with Tasok and Kevak Salarr, and Siamaca Kadius.

[Fragmented]

I know I'm going to be cursed for this - but I have always been of the opinion you should close GMHs to players. OR - remove the entire merchant aspect of it. I've played one, awhile back, but I did have a Salarr merchant. You're a vending machine, but not through the fault of the buyer - it's simply the only way to get things that aren't spawned in a shop. So if you're the buyer, your main drive is typically - when do I need to be online to catch this person, and as soon as you DO catch them, your overriding question whether you make smalltalk or not is: Do you have my stuff?

I propose that ONLY blooded family members play, if at all, and their primary goal should be large scale stuff on furthering the house, politics, whatever they want. MAYBE they can take orders for custom, one of a kind items from those wealthy enough to afford them. Otherwise - have /all/ GMH items be available in a shop /somewhere/. If it's northern themed, only in the north, southern, only in the south, etc. Maybe put them on a cycle like Kadian fashion. Low Sun? Oh, it's spiked armor, scrub camo, blue clothing and warhammer month. Don't let them buy other people's crap (for example, Salarr shops would ONLY buy Salarr items) because why would they want to sell inferior junk anyway? To make up for it, have the indie npc merchants buy 8 of an item or something.

Just my 2 cents.

[Fredd]

I totally agree with giving the GMH leadership freedom on what roles are needed and allowing dual duties/jack of all trades. That doesn't happen in real life. Afterthought, that didn't make sense because I think doesn't happen in real life, but it would be nice for some policy change due to shrinking player-base.

As for having more then two PC's for selling, you will be running in the risk of miscommunication since we aren't allowed to use the clan boards as a order tracker.

Communication isn't an issue, honestly. Most people know who they ordered from, and will say "I ordered X from your Merchant, but it's been a while. Can you check on it."

Then I either meet up IC, or shoot a pm if I'm having trouble getting ahold of the person.

It's the shrinking playerbase that makes me doubt this policy change would go into effect. We do still have a decently strong one currently. So maybe the change can bring some fun back into a role that's struggled to have anyone interested in them.

You could make them both family members, so they can write to each other as well. I have fond memories of messing with my other Kadius family members on my first one. (bad choice in the end, but every fun)

Tuluk being open is a big plus for the GMH too. If things are problematic in one city, they can go to the other for a bit. And it does give them a very fun perk, if you are into the socialite side of the game.

[betweenford]

There's a number of things I find kinda problematic with the way GMH are regarded from a PC standpoint and from a virtual standpoint. From the point of making money during general basic sorts of play, and not dealing with like massive house-specific deals, it can actually be a challenge compared to indie merchants to make money. The economy is kind of busted, especially in allanak. NPC murderers, glasshackers, spamcrafters, RSV sweatshoppers, gem miners etc can all make tremendous amounts of money and for less effort than going through a bunch of minor sales, and sometimes with very very little risk. Indie Amos is out here making more money than borsail nobles sometimes, and GMH Sandy generally isn't making all that much and to the same extent. More ways for GMH to make money would be nice, to represent their wealth and the ease of which they can come into it. Maybe something similar to RSV sweatshopping but particular to each GMH so even crafters or dedicated merchants with a crafting sub can get rich.

From an employee standpoint with the GMH, alot of progression in the Houses can feel sort of slow, and generally not worth it compared to staying indie for the reasons above. Not everyone wants to invest an IRL month(and then some) to get into the swing of things. Depending on the GMH, despite the variety of items, sometimes very little in comparison is actually craftable, which can lead to your position in the game world feeling more like a flavor role than anything else. The lack of play for guard pcs, and limited slots for Hunter PC's is also limiting, and although the current arrangement for clanned hunters is okay, I do wish the Garrison, clan guards, clan hunters etc were all actually open for each GMH, to rise and wax and wane as player interest does and for more PC concepts to come in and flesh out the clans. I don't personally care if a clan has alot of people in it compared to others, or dominates a region, as long as those PCs generally remain visible. Side promotions, recognitions for efforts like medals or pins, more opportunity to rise vertically etc would all be nice and promote more pcs into the role as well.

When dealing with buyers, again due to the lack of alot of pc craftables, generally dealing with buyers and handling orders is done via the request tool, and depending on the staffer this can be quick and simple or a long process of waiting for stuff to get done. And some PC's will unironically get mad at being made to wait for something you have no control of. When dealing with commissions, from a crafter perspective, especially with how easy it is for some roles to get or be given money and thus place alot of commissions, it can really feel as though you don't have very much creative input on what you're bringing to the clan as a whole. People generally want THEIR stuff THIS exact way, and as soon as that one is finished they want something else. And with the current rules on Customcrafting being bound to one a month, this can really be creatively draining when you want to make a putine or something instead of a tunic with a red sun on it and then a sword with a tassel on it and then a knife that looks bloodied and then etc etc until you die.

Virtually, despite the status, prominence, and everpresence of GMH in every market in the world alot of people really kinda feel keen on ignoring alot of that and not in the sense they're seeking you out specifically for interaction. You and your crew will be treated as the only group of Salarris to ever exist anywhere. You will probably be treated as kinda average and dirt, despite the status of your family. And you will be treated as a kowtowing vending machine despite any sort of power your family or bosses might actually wield. And it's draining to be treated like that.

[Barsook]

May we have the staffs' input on this?

[Veselka]

Honestly, it's been refreshing playing in Tuluk, because I can just go see what's for sale in a shop and call it a day. Which is how it should be IMHO -- If you want to buy shit, just go to the NPC seller. And PCs can craft shit and put it on the NPC seller. And call it a day.

I'd say do away with the custom items and special ordering except in particular circumstances. Custom items just end up being made for Templars and Nobles, rarely for Commoners, and it's an annoying vanity game at that point in my experience. My last GMH family member spent at least 50% of his time dealing with Templars being annoyed with previous GMH family members taking too long or getting something wrong with their 'fancy helmet #402'. It's boring.

I'd love to see GMH mostly political animals. If they are merchants, they're designing new lines of clothing/armor/weapons, not making up fantasy sword but Aztec for the Templar that knows fuck all about weapons. I always felt the GMH should be designing FOR these people, meaning they have them in mind, but not receiving verbal blueprints.

GMH roles are a burnout and can be fun if you focus on the PC and their ish, instead of the vending machine.

It's clear there's a slow burning issue -- It's been years since i've seen the likes of Markua or Danu or even Asil. Somewhat long lived, risky, getting involved in politics, getting their hands dirty. Now a days it seems we get a new PC, they die or store within a month, and we rinse and repeat.

At a certain point we have to stop looking to blame the PCs involved, and rather take a look at the system that is creating the same outcome, over and over again, with only a few exceptions. Why is the role not fun? Why are people storing so quickly? What demands are placed on the role that are too much, or too little?

I think it would be a good place to start for Staff to reach out to 5 previous long-lived GMH PCs, and 5 very short lived GMH PCs, and talk about the pros and cons of the role.

[Veselka]

GMH should ALWAYS have at least 2 family PC's IMO. They are huge parts of the game, and need to be accessible over various time zones, and it is so much more fun when you have fellow family to interact with, and numerous other GMH family about to socialize with, and plot with or against. I have fond memories of coming in as a junior agent of Kurac and having Hurlen-da above me, and dealing with Tasok and Kevak Salarr, and Siamaca Kadius.

With our playerbase being as thin as it is these days, i'd rather not have '2 of everything' as we once would have (Two Tenneshi, Two Borsail, Two Templars). I'd rather see more representation (Minor Merchant Houses, for instance) than 2 of everyone.

I think we need to put the focus on RP and plots with GMH/similar roles, rather than coded items and their design. The benefits for creating RP and Plots are endless, and the benefits for creating a new sword are...Finite.

[FamousAmos]

Could people that have played GHM leaders possibly give an idea of what was most onerous about the role?

I mean I've heard people complain, but it's hard to tell how much is hyperbole and how much is genuine grievance.

Putting in orders, having to wait after that. Meanwhile, other orders keep piling up and when the items are finally available, having to run like a headless erdlu to get all orders fulfilled. Read: trying to find the person that ordered them AND set a time and place for exchange.

Or worse: having to find a way to craft all of those things while already in a time pinch due to irl constraints (and having to gather all basic materials, which sometimes can be hard to find).

Or, needing something on the spot, since its such a small order, and wishing up isn't doing anything because your staffer isn't on.

It all causes a lot of stress. Lots and lots of stress, and lots of RP time is wasted just by trying to organize all of the above.