Good change. I hope it goes well.

I see a lot of people justifying it with "They were in my territory" or "Well I'm an elf that hates humans". With this new documentation, considering how few of our newer people understand the documentation and how few of our veterans CARE about the documentation, I don't see it changing.

But giving staff a place to point to when someone really does a shitty kill will be nice. Unfortunately, a very high percentage of the players I know only care about winning the scene.

I'm excited about the changes to PvP policy announced today and detailed here: https://www.armageddon.org/help/view/PvP

As staff, I saw some good kills and bad kills. Reprimands were rare, required lots of staff discussion, multiple player warnings, and still didn't feel right. 

I was hoping to see the possibility of a Rez for a ridiculously poor PK, but I understand that's going to lead to having to say no a lot. 

Any thoughts? Will this improve gameplay? Limit it too much? Change nothing? Is it far enough? Too far?

Quote from: KawaiiBear on May 14, 2024, 11:44:48 AMIs there any possibility for fence to opt to get the same bonuses artisan/dune trader gets?
They're almost identical except fence gets boosted stealth and 2 crafting skills set to master vs 6 crafting skills set to master.
Getting 4 crafting skills to master is imo much more valuable than boosted stealth, especially with how low it caps for fence.

I would like to play a fence tbh but the starting bonuses DT/Artisan are so much more massively useful in comparison that I'm reconsidering on that alone.

This is reasonable.  I've updated Fence to be:

For Fence:
- Offense, Defense raised a tiny amount
- Parry raised to apprentice if you start with it
- Two fighting styles (two-handed, dual wield, or shield use) raised to apprentice
- Kick, bash, disarm, rescue, guarding, riposte and hack all raised a small amount (depends on skill) if your guild/subguild combo starts with the skill.
- Ride set to journeyman if you start with it
- Large boost to 3 "other" skills.  Examples would be hunting, direction sense, skinning, clothworking, etc.  Again, a skill you start with only.
- 2 crafting skills (in addition to above) set to master
- 2 crafting skills (in addition to above) set to advanced
- Sneak and hide set at low advanced

Greetings!
Welcome to a quality of life update email. No historical snippets or short stories this week, just a bunch of updates and changes designed to improve the player experience.

Shared bank accounts
Huzzah! Characters can now create a shared bank account with others, without the need for a clan. It's not using your personal account, it's creating a new account that's shared with others. With shared accounts we are hoping for better continuity for PC clans and other groups. Bribing the off-peak Templar has never been easier! This functionality will help foster better connectivity and continuing stories between PCs who may not be able to connect lately due to playtime differences. We'll share the full help file on launch day June 15th!

Advanced Start
It's no secret that many of our players don't particularly enjoy 'the grind' or simply no longer have time for it. To that end, we have introduced the Advanced Start option to improve their experience. This special application option allows players to create PCs with a head start in their key skills, providing significant boosts to starting skill levels, extra gear for clanned characters, and more starting coin for independents. It is compatible with all mundane class options and is a great option for players who would sometimes just like to hit the ground running and jump straight into the action.
Check out the full details here in this forum post.

Changes To PK Guidance & Helpfile
ArmageddonMUD features an unrestricted PvP environment within a permadeath framework, making it a highly dangerous world where death can come swiftly. To ensure that PvP enhances character-driven interactions, our updated policy provides clear guidelines for responsible roleplay, emphasizing respect for fellow players and the storytelling process. Players can engage in combat anywhere in the game world but must consider the impact on the broader narrative and community, using roleplaying tools to communicate motives and enrich the game. Clear communication with staff is also expected to ensure that PK meets our RP standards, ensuring that in-character conflicts contribute meaningfully to the overall game world.
Read the full help file here.

Role Calls, Applications & Launch Timeline!
We will be posting our leader and special role calls June 1st! Instructions and expectations will be included in a mega-thread detailing all of them in the same place. Here is our timeline for this:

June 1st - Role calls are open with the details posted.
June 7th - Role calls close.
June 7th - 10th - Staff make decisions!
June 10th - Regular apps and specapps (non-leaders/sponsored) may app as normal to receive pre-approval. (This way you can make any adjustments required before the launch date and get to playing right away on June 15th.)
June 10th to June 13th - Set up of leadership roles.
June 13th & 14th - Session Zero for sponsored and leadership roles.
June 15th - Game launches yay!

We look forward to seeing you in game!

More clarification based on questions received:

Sorcerers still require staff sponsorship and a rolecall as talked about here:  https://gdb.armageddon.org/index.php/topic,58568.0.html .  Additionally, they require 10 karma to apply for normally (however, right now they require  7)

We're working on the exact list of sponsored roles right now so that we can get them out to give folks time to think about it.  Don't hold me to this, it's just our goal, but we're looking on or about June 1 to post those lists.

Yeah, despite my usual criticism and what could honestly be seen as nit-picking, I'm very much looking forward to seasons. I've said since I started playing that consolidating players in a single area is the right decision for encouraging interaction and facilitating RP. Hopefully the days of logging in, seeing 30-40 people online only for those online to be in a different part of the game from you will be over.

I've also been liking the first impression of new staff, the storytellers seem inspired and open to ideas, and generally I've not seen anything that I'd consider to be red flags.

The changes to gemmed are also really nice, I understood that sometimes the oppression and such is a key part of the theme but giving players the change to reach higher in society as anything other than a mundane human is a really good step forward. I hope perhaps dwarves will get a similar treatment or opportunity in the future.

All in all, good things. I know I can be a bit of a negative Nancy on the forums, focusing on what I think could be improved- but I'd like to take this opportunity to say that I actually think staff are doing a lot of great things and I'm looking forward to what's in store, I think they deserve a lot of kudos for pushing on despite everything.

Howdy Folks.  Long time off and on player here who had been out of the game for quite some time.  Planning on coming back to play Seasons, and I suspect I'm not the only one.  Wanted to share what I think are some real possibilities.  Or things I hope are possibilities.

1.  A number of people like myself intrigued by the new approach, the higher density of players in one place, the fresh start in history, etc deciding to come give it a shot after a long absence.  I believe we may see over 75 people online at a time.  Maybe more.

2.  With the "jump start" for skills, we will be able to start doing significant things sooner and won't be so afraid of losing all the hours of grinding.  This will make us more open to telling interesting stories - even at our own expense.  This is something I've always aspired to and never been great at.

3.  These things taken together - I think - are going to lead to some of the best Arm we've seen in a very long time.   I've had a handful of experiences over the years where I felt like I was part of an amazing story - but those were brief and fleeting.  I think that will happen much more often in Seasons.

Hope I'm right about all of this...

Will there be a change to the ranking glass ceiling with the seasonal model? Are we likely to see red robed templar PCs? Byn commanders? House heads?
If not, how will risky (and potentially ruinous) clan decisions be made? Will it just be up to the staffer assigned to that particular clan's discretion?