Stuff you LOVE about Arm

[Vox]

Well, here we go...  

This thread is only for stuff that you really like about this game... The stuff that keeps you playing and the stuff that just makes you smile.

I'll go first....

I love those moments that are born organically... the ones that spring up when you least expect them and the people you're RPing with all seem to be on the same page. The scene unfolds and it's beautiful, it's dramatic.. it flows.. as though something was created in that instance that everyone gave themselves over to the moment.

Those are the times I think about later after I log out... the pictures are vivid in my mind and I replay them again and again. I love that and it happens in no other MUD for me than here because of all the factors... Because it's Zalanthas, because I know Suk-Krath burns high above and Whira's howl calls forth the sands of Ruk.. and the thought of Vivadu is almost enough to quench the thirst that never leaves you. And all the delicious little code tweaks and the interface and all of it.. it creates something unique in my point of view. And that's why I've been logging into this game for the past 10 years.

What about you guys?

[bloodfromstone]

I love the open-ended RP enviroment that I don't have to control. I play tabletop games regularly, but I am the only GM out of my group of friends. Arm gives me a place to just sit down and play a character. So, I suppose, pure and simple, it's the RP that I love. I love feeling a twisted knot in my stomach when my character is extremely upset about something. I love shaking when I think my character might die or be in serious trouble. I love laughing at the drunken antics of my character and my character's friends.

Not the most unique response, I guess, but that's the long and short of it for me.

[Larrath]

I love this game for the sheer complexity of the characters involved.  Actions and words have a real meaning behind them and aren't simply typed up because they'd look cool.
Not once have I seen a character leap up to the Gaj's rafters.

I love this game because of the nervousness before you confide in another character, even if they're your best friend.

I love this game because it makes me sit down and seriously consider ways of action.
I once had a character that had to make a serious life decision during an extremely stressful part of his life.  It took me three RL days to make up my mind and plan everything to the last detail, and even then I hadn't planned enough.  I was full of doubt all the way through, and jumpy as hell.  Though it was extremely simple and safe on a coded level, the experience was nervewrecking.

Every few days or weeks there's a really pure roleplaying experience, where everything is alive and dynamic, meshing together.  The other RP joints I've been to barely ever had that, and if they did it was a semi-yearly occurence.

I also love this MUD (really, really love this MUD) because it doesn't revolve around mudsex with everything else being secondary.  Those supermodels who, by what have been a direct demonic interference, had never been kissed...well, if they get involved in the game and don't just live on the background, they die just like everyone else.

[LauraMars]

I love it when I can see a lot of pcs working together towards a common goal, or even just interacting and connecting together without sitting linkdead in a tavern.

I love 'rinthi streetfights.

I love the 'rinth.

I love meeting my characters and learning all about them as they fight their way up from nothing to become crazy badasses.

I love it when my character's death makes me laugh hysterically, because really, laughter is the best medicine.

Speaking of, I love funny rp, bust a gut style.

I love it when you can tell that the pc on the other end of their character is truly aware of her audience and treats the setting accordingly, which leads me to VNPCs and the use of them, making the enviroment coming alive, and having armageddon dreams because of said pcs.  I love pcs that involve other pcs.

I love talking about all the myriad ways to abuse the code and then feeling good about myself because I don't. (really I don't. mostly...)

Tribal accents.

Tuluk and it's bards.

The fact that we can have mounts and go everywhere and talk about pulling on the reigns and the creak of leather and whatnot.

Writing objects for the mud and then seeing a pc that walks around wearing them.

Surviving EVERYTHING and doing it like a badass.  There's nothing like escaping death five times in one night and getting to RP the comedown while you try to get your heart to stop beating so fast.  ie: having your character go get trashed afterwards.  Oh, I love the adreniline rush.  

And as much as it kills me: Permadeath

[Rindan]

I love good Zalanthas moments.  Most notably, I love the 'rinth and Allanak.  The idea of a brutal city surrounded by barren nothing is just frigging awesome.  There are times when you are making a shady deal in the 'rinth, snorting some illegal spice, or talking your way past a Templar when you realize how awesome it is to be a clever elf surviving it all despite being the lowest bastard on the food chain.  Nothing brings a smile to my face more then manipulating the Templerate, the militia, and every other organization and person you run across.  Some times you feel like the spider in the middle of a web.  All around you, you have people and organizations trusting you, when the truth is that you have sold out everyone for yourself, a tribe of one.

Hell, I just love a good long lived character in general.  Nothing is more awesome then a character who has had life long friends, seen more then his fair share of life, and has developed a deep and complex personality rooted in history that you actually played out.

I love it when shit gets tight and you survive against all the odds.  When my characters get into shit, I have them do everything in their power to struggle free, and an amazing amount of the time, it works.  Nothing is more satisfying then getting out of a death sentence imposed by some powerful person or organization, regardless if it is done through shear brute force or lying until you can't lie any more.

Hell, I just love pretty much everything about the low class of the game.  If you ask me, the best stuff in the game takes place with your average Joe mercenary or Jonny 'rinther.

Oh yeah, I love Kurac.  You shady mother fuckers are just awesome.

[Delirium]

I love watching a character start out as the lowest of the low, a nothing and a nobody, and seeing them claw their way up with sweat, cunning and blood to become something and someone to be reckoned with.  

When my characters survive against impossible odds.  Then doing it again, and again, and again.

Taking political risks and coming out on top, or realizing that your mistep two weeks back is going to be your undoing.  

Being able to tell crazy-assed stories about past adventures, and having actually lived through every single one of them.  

Making enemies, and then destroying them or being destroyed.  

The intricate relationships that develop between well played characters, especially long-lived ones.  

When characters just click and the scene becomes magical, the story becomes intense and real.  

Bards, devious assholes, political masterminds, and well-roleplayed elves.

Playing a mostly normal character that somehow gets involved in epic, mind-blowing events.

Kruth games.  Darts.  Gambling.  Izdari.  Tek's Tower.

How deep the gameworld is, and how much there is left to explore and discover after three years of playing the game.

How achingly stark the landscape, the backdrop is; the barren deserts, the pitiless sun, the intense heat, and how it provides the perfect foil for the richest roleplaying environments I have ever experienced in a MUD.


And do I ever love Kurac.  Those shady mother fuckers are just awesome.

[Puppet]

I love...

The warm fuzzy feeling I get when I see veteran players comment on how much they have left to explore. It gives me a great amount of hope.

The vibrancy of the game world. I feel like when things happen, the player base acts and reacts. That alone makes it so much more -alive- to me.

The way those PC's who are way far up on the food chain still find ways to interact with everyone they can and involve people in their role-play. I've found that overall, people are more concerned with role-playing for everyone, and not just themselves.

The staff. No, this isn't intended as brown-nosing, I just know from experience how frustrating a lack of staffing on a MUD can be. The staff here are really dedicated (and numerous!) and I've always been impressed with the way things run.

[WarriorPoet]

Byn stew. Everything else is only scenery.

-WP

[Intrepid]

The feeling of subculture that you can't find in any other game--not even
in the other RPIs.  Some examples, but by no means an exhaustive list,
include the Labyrinth, the Bards Circle, the Elementalists' Quarter, all of
Red Storm, the Luirs marketplace and the contrast between Tuluk and
Allanak in general.  Each of these places has a unique design and regalia
that you could spot from anywhere else in the Known World.  There is the
feeling of class stratification and humanoid herding.

Outside of that, as I've said in another post, the feeling of vastness to the
world.  Desolation.  Wilderness.  The concept of playing something that
could go out into deadly wilderness and eventually thrive off of it while
never meeting another living soul for rl weeks of playing is a feeling not
found in any other game--not even in the other RPIs.  And, if you do find
someone else out there, well...anything goes.

Lastly, the staff and the player characters I've had contact with since my
returnhave been great at helping me get back on my rp feet.  I feel
almost like I haven't been gone.

[Halaster]

The absolute mind-boggling depth of the game.  There are plenty of fantasy "worlds" out there that exist, from AD&D worlds to novel worlds to movie-worlds.  Many of them have depth, but I've never really run across one that has quite the depth as Zalanthas.  That comes from a LOT of people contributing a LOT of work over a LONG time.  No one person could come up with this much depth.

For example, Blackwing was a desert elf tribe that is closed these days.  But you wouldn't believe the vast amount of documentation, culture, stories, history, and everything else that clan has.  And most other clans are the same:  Kurac, Kadius, Salarr, noble houses.  They all have so much "stuff" surrounding them that they're each a little sub-culture of their own.  The Mantis valley, the Grey Forest, the open desert - they all have stories to them, detailed descriptions.  And it's usually not just flowery nonsense just to take up space, either.  It's meaty.

I've played this game since nearly the beginning - 12 years running for me - and there are honestly still some areas of the game I don't know a lot about.  Yeah, I know at least something about pretty much everything in the world, but there are many details I'm unfamiliar with.  It's just that damn big and that damn detailed.  I don't know the history of Salarr.  I don't know how House Tenneshi came to be.  I could still play a character in certain clans and in certain ways, and much of it would be all new.

[LauraMars]

I LOVE FRESH BLOOD.  I uh, I mean players.  New players.  And helping them and hugging them and kissing and squeezing and loving and making them stay forever and ever never to leave ever!

And Kurac.  How could I forget my first love?

I love rock and roll.

[Cuusardo]

I feel like I've answered this before...

I love:
:arrow: that this is not a hack and slash mud.
:arrow: the tons of plots of all sizes going on, and the way I always seem to get dragged into them whether I like it or not.
:arrow: permadeath, because it gives more of a sense of realism to the game.
:arrow: the vast number of items and areas, which help to flesh out the world.
:arrow: the history, because it does come back to haunt us.
:arrow: the clans, because they provide tons of awesome roleplay opportunities.
:arrow: the roleplay, in general.  This game has a buttload of talented roleplayers, and I've enjoyed playing with so many of them.
:arrow: the IMMs for their hard work and taking the time to help.

[path]

I love how frequently I get tense and frightened playing, even after all these years. I glance away from the screen and notice my heart's hammering and my hands are unsteady.

I love how it challenges me creatively. Consistently if I'm not having fun, it's because I'm not concentrating. I just love this game so much. It's been there for me to explore since I was a kid. An escape. A place to experience things I'll never get to experience in real life. It feels so limitless, but at the same time harsh enough to give it a razor fine edge of reality.

[Tarx]

One word.  Spice.

Oh, and Kurac.

[jhunter]

There is a great many things I love about this game, I'll just name a few of the ones that are most important to me.

1) Those moments that come along where you and everyone around you just flows through the scene, it all just happens and happens with reason. When everyone is so into their character they don't have to take the time to think about how "their pc" would act, it just feels more natural.

2) How real the relationships are between several long-lived pcs. When you've been playing your character for a long time and any others they know or interact with have also been around for a long time.

3) Having great stories to tell in character, and knowing that you really did experience them in character as well.

[O]

I love....

- this thread

- this game for it's richness, depth and complexity, it's endless variety and vastness of scope.

- the concept of a shared imaginary world.

- the feeling that it's a never-ending, incredibly intricate novel, that I can have a character run around in too.

- the amount of enthusiasm and creative and imaginative energy that's been poured into it over the years, and that it still goes on and on. And the feeling I'm entering into a strange ongoing world that was there before I existed as a player, and will continue if I ever leave.

- the feeling I'm playing with imaginative, creative, mature and intelligent people. Mostly...  And the way that if I start to lose my faith in this, someone will come along or something will happen or be said that revives my enthusiasm for you all.

- vivid characters, pro-active players and people that bring the world to life.

- the dedication and generosity of the staff.

- people that emote.

- people that emote more than the bare minimum.

- those scenes when the mojo's working.

- people who care about the game and don't just treat it as a selfish  pleasure.

- sometimes just seeming to click with complete strangers probably thousands of miles away just through being in our characters.

- being able to step inside another character and immerse myself in another world when I want to.

- the sense that outside my character's little life, there are many other lives being led by many other characters in totally different places, circumstances and situations.

- perma-death.

- the weirdness of coded things seeming to be real in my mind.

- the strangeness of finding foraging an incredibly satisfying thing to do.

- the fact it's an addiction that doesn't physically harm you.

-  being able to day-dream about it while doing things like the washing-up and then step back in to the game and play it out.

- serious and involving imaginative fun.

- the loved-up feeling I've got from writing this post!

[grog]

I love to die . . .  or come close to it.  (Yes most of my characters do have a death wish. )

I love finding out new things about this game.

I love to build characters who do stuff that I would never do, stupid things that usually end in their death.  

I love taking risks, and getting in somebodies face, because he rubs you the wrong way.  

I love kissing up to nobles and Templars while thinking of what you would do to them if you had the chance.

How this game can sometimes make my fingers shake, and my blood pressure spike.  

And how it keeps me coming back for more every time I try to quit.  

I love hating another PC so much that I spend time thinking up how to kill them without being caught.

[Cyrian20]

I love those moments where everything is going by like normal suddenly somebody says one thing. Or one little emote and everything flips. (the pc that lit his tube of spice with his finger in the middle of camp once knows what I mean)

The multitude of roles. I once played a loyal to the death servant of a noble once. then maybe 3 characters later played the character that had him killed. I remember it as an awesome moment cause I was proud of my character, at the same time I felt bad for my old character that I was attached to that was his aide.



That first hour.

[amoeba]

-- That it has kept my interest for more than a month or two.
-- Players that make their characters into living breathing entities. Whether they are copious emoters or take the minimilist approach is all good.
-- Newbies, because they bring with them a renewed sense of excitement and discovery, and offer potential.
-- Staff.  Interactive, helpful staff that actually care about the world they are caretakers in.
-- Players that take the time to involve newbies, to show them that these is more to this world than simply chatting in a tavern and killing stuff.
-- Players that lead by example, without judgement of those with lesser skills or understanding.
-- Documentation that is extensive and breathes life into the world.
-- Players that have a sense of history and surrounding, ones that have a history that defines them, and a future that drives them.   These players, coupled with the diocumentation bring a needed sense of continuity into the collaberative story.
-- People that understand, that no matter how good a roleplayer/emoter/whatever they are, there is always someone better, and always room for improvement.
-- Sat. downtime.  So I can resist the urge to waste my day away.

[LauraMars]

Ritley.

[Vesperas]

Taunting people on the GDB with fake SEX!

[rishenko]

Getting to roleplay with people who make wondrously vivid and enthralling characters.  I don't care if they're rinky dink grebbers or the high and mighty templarate, here's to you!

*raises a mug of ale in toast*

[Agent_137]

being able getting out my fuckwadness on some active forums, and being able to enjoy a game that allows me to both be creative and laugh often, all for free.

[Vositus]

Well, it's been a while since I last logged in, hell, it's been a long time since i checked these boards. I figured I'd share with you my favorite aspect of the game.

It's simply the player base, be it in game or on the boards. It's the interesting concepts and ideas that are shared, embraced, rejected, what ever.

I love how this game is just one big family writing one big story.

God I miss playing Arm.

[LauraMars]

I love new players.  OMG THEY RULE.  Best thing since travel cakes.