Assess -v

[UnderSeven]

Why doesn't this command get changed to return 'for their race' on the age portion for everyone?  It seems to me that there is really no reason it should compare and thus give the reader ooc info about race without having to pick it out of desc.  On top of that, it seems perfectly acceptible to me that even humans looking at other humans might have racial variation based on heiritage for how they appear, reguardless of blood.  Not to metion cirty elves vs desert elves. . so on so fourth.

This probably isn't even remotely a new idea, but...

[Anonymous]

I agree.  I believe I made a post about this exact thing a year or so ago.  Or at least added into a thread about it.

People should be reading descs/sdescs to determine someone's race.  I shouldn't be able to determine if that cloaked/masked person is my race or not.

[spawnloser]

I recall a discussion about this being brought up a few months ago...and most people agree with you.  However, most races are easy to tell apart.  The only time it would be a problem is with a half-elf that you can not tell whether s/he is a half-elf from a human/elf.  That is where the problem lies...and I have been on the receiving end of someone using 'assess -v' to tell my race when playing a half-elf, so I sympathize.

[Anonymous]

It affects more than just half-elves, though.  A cloaked/veied dwarf with max height and weight might be hard to tell apart from a short, svelte mul, but another dwarf will be able to peg him right away.   And vice versa.

[Gilvar]

It is a command that you can use at your descretion. If used inapprorpriately its bad role-play. Just like guessing that hooded-figure is bald because you can see their full desc despite their obviously cloaked state. Sometimes when you read a description you can't tell if they are taller then you, and asses, or assess -v are helpful.

[Bestatte]

When you look at that bald hooded guy, the bald hooded guy can see that you're looking at him, and can call you out on bad RP if you abuse the info that you see.

When you assess or assess -v that bald hooded guy, there is no echo to anyone other than yourself, and therefore there is no way for anyone to know that you figured out through that method that he is a dwarf, and therefore no way anyone can call you out on it.

I agree with UnderSeven that "he is *x* for his race" should be a universal echo and NOT* exclude people of your own character's race.

Edited to add the NOT.

[Anonymous]

It is a command that you can use at your descretion. If used inapprorpriately its bad role-play. Just like guessing that hooded-figure is bald because you can see their full desc despite their obviously cloaked state.

What's the benefit of having it tell you that someone shares your race?

Sometimes when you read a description you can't tell if they are taller then you, and asses, or assess -v are helpful.

Nobody's asking for the command to be removed or changed.  Just remove the ability to determine if someone is your race or not.

[Vega]

I find assess -v to be extremely useful actually though not in the assessment of other people unless I'm looking to see if they're taller than me, bigger (heavier) than me, or possibly bent over (old perhaps?). What I've been using it for primarily is to assess the height of certain animals given my character's career at the moment. I've seen a lot of PCs go around, attacking animals from the top of their mounts or using charge repetitiously without a single emote. Yet when they attack a mob that's several times shorter than them or well below their height range and it requires they use combat abilities to beat them, the short weapons I've seen them bearing certainly shouldn't be able to reach the bottom of their kank's belly much less the prey.

So as a pointer, people may want to use assess -v to determine the height of your prey more often just to see if hunting is really realistic from the top of a kank with the weapon you're bearing. Keeping in mind that the assess -v assesses in comparison to your person, not including the height of your kank. Unless you have some VERY long arms or a nice long spear, it seems rather rediculous.

[UnderSeven]

The comparing is great for height and weight, but for age? It doesn't make a lot of sense to me.  Even if they are your race, what differnce does comparing their age with givng the rough estimate it normally does for age?  I really see no reason for this command to be the way it is personally.

[Tamarin]

What's the benefit of having it tell you that someone shares your race?

There are a ton of reasons I can think of.  For one, excluding those pesky half-elves who are trying to weasel their way into your human-only or elf-only clan.  Granted, I think a well-written main desc should give some clue in that sort of case, even without explicitly saying "half-elf".

[Angela Christine]

Even if they are your race, what differnce does comparing their age with givng the rough estimate it normally does for age?  I really see no reason for this command to be the way it is personally.

See, if your clan doesn't hire anyone under 17 and you are like 40 when you assess -v them you'll get a return "they are much younger than you" or "they look young for thier race."  So you have a 17 year old assess -v them, and if they come out as "about the same age as you" then they are in, but if they show as "younger than you" they are too young to get hired.  


AC

[John]

For one, excluding those pesky half-elves who are trying to weasel their way into your human-only or elf-only clan.

This is the only reason I'm against ass -v telling someone you're of another race. I can't think of any situation where you should be able to automagickally know someone is of another race (unless you can tell by magick ). Ass -v gives you that. If you're unsure of someone's race after reading their mdesc. Don't hire them. Or do hire them and risk having other people think they're a haflie.

IMO I don't think you should be able to automagickally tell through ass -v. Half-elves can pass as either humans or elves. But by auto-magickally finding out their race, you are ignoring what your character should be able to realistically find out.

I've treated full blooded humans as halfies before, I've treated halfies (who had half-elf in their sdesc) as elves before and I've treated halfies (who didn't have half-elf in their sdesc) as humans before. I tell solely through IC means and I've had a blast.

However I don't support getting it out of ass -v. I reckon people should just not use it to determine someone's race.

[Anonymous]

What John said.

[Bestatte]

A 25 year old elf, who is "young" by elven standards, who had his ears cut off and ate well and got rid of some of those angles, and happens to be rather short. He comes around trying to pass as a human. Not a likely scenario but I suppose it could happen.

He decides he'll try to join Oash. The recruiter is a 20 year old human.

Recruiter assess -v guy under current standards - "He looks young for his race" and recruiter would base his rejection on the fact that obviously this guy isn't a human.

Under proposed change - "He looks young for his race" - would possibly get hired, unless a 17-year old human assessed him and got the same answer. Because for an elf, 25 is younger than 17 is for a human, if I'm understanding this right.

He would be rejected for being under 17 (assuming 17 was the minimum age for hire, this is all hypothetical here).

In either case, his rejection would be valid because he -is- an elf and therefore shouldn't be hired anyway.

My point? I don't have one. I just felt like typing stuff.