HRPT - NEW STYLE OF PLAY

[Lizzie]

Oh amoeba I think that's a grand idea, the blurb for new players thing for character apps. Something like:

Congratulations, your character has been approved! Please check (insert url here) to see what your character would know in Tuluk, and (insert url here) to see what your character would know in Allanak. And no matter which city your character shows up in, he would know there's a war going on, and much of its citenzry has taken the call to arms and is currently outside the city, defending their territory from the opposition. Check these posts on our General Discussion Board (the GDB, insert url here) to see discussion about the war, and for IMM-generated news that your character would know.

OOC, please note that a lot of the player base is currently outside both cities, even during peak time. The HRPT is an ongoing series of events that may or may not last another week or longer, depending on how players and their characters react to all the stuff that's going on.

Welcome to Armageddon!

[spawnloser]

I think that's a bit...too much.

I'd rather that the acceptance email simply encourage people to check the GDB Staff Announcements as well as the MOTD for recent events both codewise and storywise.

[Malken]

Play in Luir. Hate/Love both sides equally.

[Anonymous]

Oh, Allanak... home sweet home...

This is, of course, purely my opinion, but, I agree that the average commoner who lives underneath the thumb of the highlord's minions and his inbred distant cousins would have very little reason for thinking to himself, "Oi! They're attacking my city! That's so not cool! I should do something about this!" and then running to the nearest soldier to tell him, "'allo, 'ow can I 'elp, sirrah?"

In fact, the average commoner would be more likely to spend his time praying like a madman that the templars and their whips don't come down his street next and put him on the front lines of battle. There would likely be many people who had friends, relatives, or acquaintances who were on the front lines by choice, necessity, or force. And there has been player driven IC spin to address this commoner view.

Now, Joe commoner who has abilities that could elevate his status - living under the heavy thumb of the Highlord is a life of toil and low reward - might have something to prove and decide to use the effort as a means to grab a new degree of personal power.  Who cares why they're doing it? Templars and Nobles of the city do crazy things all the time. You either duck and cover or get sucked in. If the latter, you play hard or you die. Kind of like being thrown in the arena.

Jane commoner who asks too many questions and has a rebellious heart might see the effort and ask why, then make it her personal task to find out IC, making herself indisposable to people who matter, then overhearing the right conversations along the way. Or, she may decide that it's just another clever ruse dictated by the Law of the citystate, and decide her position should be on the other side of this.

I appreciate wholly what you're saying, but I personally think it is more interesting to see what 200 players can come up with as far as rumors, quackery, propaganda, and reaction to this. There is so much that you can do as an individual to push this in game instead of waiting for and demanding a cue from the staff.

[Morfeus]

I imagine Tuluki bards full-working on propaganda and such things. At least, that is what I think they do right now. I might be wrong, indeed.

[amoeba]

I appreciate wholly what you're saying, but I personally think it is more interesting to see what 200 players can come up with as far as rumors, quackery, propaganda, and reaction to this. There is so much that you can do as an individual to push this in game instead of waiting for and demanding a cue from the staff.

Isn't it funny how people read into things stuff never stated. I don't think it is being asked for by the staff. At least I know I am not.  I am asking the -players- to generate this. Involve yourself in your city of choice.  Take leave, go home, spread some stories, then go back to the front lines.  As one of those who knows nada, I'm not in this group.

[Anonymous]

I didn't read anything into it that isn't there. I am agreeing with it. =p

[ale six]

The conflict between Allanak and Tuluk has been going on for Ages, but it isn't always an open war, with armies battling around. Yes, the history is full of talk of battles, but the battles usually tend to be at least 40 IC years apart. What's left out is the in-between years of simmering conflict and "cold war", probably because they aren't as exciting history.

Open warfare between the armies of both city-states is a BIG thing. It is not at all common and not something to dismiss. The soldiers at the city gates are there to keep criminals from escaping and keep bandits/rogue mages/desert beasties out, not to defend against the next attack. In fact, I'd bet that prior to this conflict, most of the "enlisted men" in either army probably would not have fought in a major battle against the opposing city.

Would all commoners want to get involved in the war? Of course not. To many survival-concious people, being out in the middle of the desert among raptors, mekillots, rogue mages, templars, gemmers, and huge armies wanting to kill each other is probably the LAST place you would want to be. Life in the cities would still be going on as normal, albeit with fewer militia and templars in the streets. Most people's minds would be on the war, but I don't think everyone needs to get worked up into a patriotic zeal because there is a war on. Life for most Zalanthan commoners is probably so hard anyway that they don't have time to worry about which army won what battle.

I hate to throw the "Find out IC" card, but I really think it would be much more fun to try and learn the cause of the conflict than to have it explained anywhere else. Neither city really has any need to explain why they're going to war to their people, and besides the (valid) benefits of using spin to incite patriotism, they probably don't want to waste the time. On the other hand, bards, nobles, and other people could (and are, from what I see) definitely get into the PR arena and start telling the common masses to believe things.

In the end, I think the HRPT is a classic example of never being able to please everybody at once. There are definitely valid concerns with the cities being emptier than usual, but all in all, they're still playable. In exchange, we get a really cool and new event, which seems like it could turn out to be a major turning point in Zalanthan history. I used to see complaints on the boards that common PCs found it too hard to get involved in big plotlines and stuff. Well, here we go. This is a major plot that is right out there in the open, and has a multitude of ways for people to get involved. I'm not sure how you could arrange an event with more opportunities to bring people of wider backgrounds in than this one has. Not everybody is going to be able to be involved all the time, but at least we all know something is going on.

[Hot_Dancer]

I'm totally supportive of this brand of HRPT/RPT even though I'm not directly able to participate.

It'd be orgasmic and totally believable if they sprung up in different locations to allow new groups to participate and react to the raging battles betwixt two huge forces.

Personally, of all the groups starved for attention I find it an 'about time' sort of thing for all those military PC's to have something more engaging than a one-shot adventure to do or to stand around their merchant/noble chewing their spit.

The 'dry' times between battles will always be longer than the 'wet' times of active engagements, so really.. don't sweat it folks. I'd advise planning out the lifespans of your characters for more than an RL week or two.

Hot Dancer

[ThirdEye]

Hmmm, I missed HRPT because I had no computer for 2 weeks

[Anonymous]

It's still going on.

[Yokunama]

This would be a great chance for people to put the bio command to some good use, if you guys already haven't. Record the battles you've been in, bio the deaths you've witnessed, add entries about your fallen friends, and other interesting events that may have taken. The HRPT is a nice way to rack up on bio entries, if you do not have any.

Just a reminder

[Rhyden]

This would be a great chance for people to put the bio command to some good use, if you guys already haven't. Record the battles you've been in, bio the deaths you've witnessed, add entries about your fallen friends, and other interesting events that may have taken. The HRPT is a nice way to rack up on bio entries, if you do not have any.

Just a reminder

I can just see...

Code Select Expand

The tall, muscular man solidly slashes a unit of soldiers.

A unit of soldiers slashes the huge, furry man's head doing horrendous damage.
The huge, furry man crumples to the ground.

A unit of soldiers viciously slashes the tall, muscular man in the neck.
The tall, muscular man crumples to the ground.

write bio 5
Today, my best friends, Jim and Tim died. It was really too bad, I was just getting to know them.

A unit of soldiers slashes your head, doing frightening damage.
*beep!*

Welcome to Armageddon!

Please bio your characters responsibly.

[ThirdEye]

It may be still going on but it''s not as easy as you'd think to find a way in

[Morrolan]

I'd advise planning out the lifespans of your characters for more than an RL week or two.

Unless, of course, you're in the HRPT...

[Gimfalisette]

So how are the rest of my fellow city-bound characters doing now with the HRPT? I just got thrown into some new fun stuff related to the war last night and I'm looking forward to what may happen. How about y'all?

[Malken]

It doesn't really feel like a war to my PC, more like a permanent skirmish somewhere in the middle of nowhere.. I kind of abandoned the idea and stick to my own rp, I know for a fact that where I play it's extremely hard to come in contact with it if you want to join up, or serve in some ways. But I'm not going to complain, I found a place where there's still a lot of players left, and I'm having the most fun I've had in a long time, but it's not war-related

[Spoon]

Y'know, just causing a crimewave while all those pesky templars are busy.

[bloodfromstone]

I think it is a great idea that has been handled really well. I've gotten to see a lot of interesting things and a lot of PCs in scenarios a lot more interesting than the bar.

As an offpeaker, however, I often feel like I'm engaged in vwar, rather than an active one. I know nothing major can happen while all of the officers are asleep, and I also know that a lot of when/what happens is largely dependant on players. However, it would be nice to see some offpeak Imms in charge of throwing out a few mini-encounters. Then again, this may already be happening, and I've just been unfortunate enough to miss it. It seemed to be the case, early on, so I may just be managing to dodge events with my inconsistant playing times.

[jstorrie]

I am actually feeling that the event is a bit rigid at the moment. I won't go into too much detail, but it feels like the actions of the player-characters are being somewhat glossed over, or that one side is being given more behind-the-scenes VNPC support to prevent the event from coming to an anticlimactic halt. Then again, I can only see the actions of one set of PCs so I may be wrong!

[Lizzie]

So how are the rest of my fellow city-bound characters doing now with the HRPT? I just got thrown into some new fun stuff related to the war last night and I'm looking forward to what may happen. How about y'all?

Other than the posts on the tavern boards and Halaster's notes on the GDB, my character is uninvolved. It makes sense to some extent, given the IC relationship between my PC and the rest of the game. But it would be fun to hear news from other PCs instead of relying on posts to learn about what's going on. I think my character might care more, if she spoke personally with people who had some kind of direct involvement with it all. For now though she doesn't care, because she's so far removed from the situation she isn't being given any reason to care. As a player it's frustrating. As a PC, my gal's fine with it

L. Stanson

[ThirdEye]

Lizzie speaks the truth. I would go to the HRPT but I can't find anybody to speak to about it  :cry:

[jstorrie]

If you wish up the imms are generally courteous enough to animate an NPC member of a city's military in order for you to volunteer / find out how to get involved / etc. Just be patient, someone is not always around to fill the request.

[Gimfalisette]

And also there are often character names on the rumor board. You can always contact a character that's mentioned and inquire about the news, or what you can do to get involved, etc. Really really.

[jstorrie]

Not only is that 100% on point, but I would like to encourage other PCs who are involved to get themselves on city rumour boards when appropriate. If your PC visits on leave, a simple "Rumours spread the sergeant so-and-so, recently passing through on leave, was involved in (war news here). etc., etc." Finding some excuse to include a few PC names is not particularly jarring and is a courtesy to other players who might want to get involved. The PCs mentioned on the boards last week, or the week before, or whatever, probably won't be alive forever!