Whenever a new character is created we all get a summary of all the life events and details we picked in the process and that appears in the character's description. I think it can be helpful if you want to take note of what you did in order to get certain stats or simply to remember what your choices were but I think it is also terribly OOC to stay in a description once you've had the chance to take note.

As far as I know, descriptions are meant to be things others would perceive just by being near to your character: how you look, smell, move, etc. Unless you walk around with a T-Shirt that says "My mother was a dancer and a Talad priestess" I don't think those who meet you for the first time should have access to this information without having to talk to you.

I guess it's not mandatory to alter your description (it would be good RP but it should not obligatory) but it doesn't mean we cannot suggest doing so. What I'm talking about is adding a line to the very first description our characters get, the one with all our life events. Something like this:

"Character Summary:
Father: Miner
Mother: Librarian
Blah, blah, blah...

Make a good first impression. Edit your description to let others know what you look like in the Stats and Skills window."

A good description can be your ticket to the never-ending fun RP is . Just let everyone know it.

Just wondering... yeah, it has many advantages to have an exclusive guild channel but I've found that, given certain circumstances, it can easily get in the way and disrupt RP.

For example, if there are too many OOC guild messages "spamming" your main tab making you lose track of the actual RP taking place. Or when someone uses the guild chat to exchange IC information with characters who are impossible to reach IC, given their location or physical limitations (being ICly unconscious, drunk or gagged), unless godmodding. I think it's ok to comment but not to actually affect a character's actions with OOC leaks, like "come to the plaza right now! i'm unconscious and being kidnapped!".

It's hard enough to keep IC and OOC separate sometimes and maybe the guild chat isn't helping but doing the exact opposite. What are the alternatives? There are lots of ways to communicate  with guildmates that can be presented IC like emoting, yelling, whispering or speaking in code. In terms of mechanics, /tell or /group can replace the guild chat if privacy is needed  (either for OOC or IC reasons) yet the characters' actions remain IC or at least don't have an easy OOC way to reach other players and exchange info that should remain IC. The IC way usually requires more typing and might be a bit slower but then... what's the rush? I say let's enjoy RP.

Now, I'm not saying it's a bad feature, it offers many advantages. I'd just like to open the discussion: can it be so OOC that it can become a problem or is it a must and the game would be spoiled without it?

I can see good points in both sides but I'd like to hear other opinions.

I've read a couple of threads lately about RP confrontations gone bad because of godmodding or actions going too quick for a player to enjoy so I thought I'd point something out. It's happened to me before when doing some RP that sometimes things quicken up and challenges kick in after just a few words, sending some players to the DR before they can even learn what's going on. Sure, you can say it may be realistic in some level (as in "my character is quick to anger and doesn't have the patience to deal with strangers butting in"), but the point should always be that all players involved have fun.

Many players think that just because they have a maxed character or because the person they are talking to is "significantly weaker" they can play bullies and /challenge if they see a sign of opposition coming from the weaker character. This makes them think they can RP anything just because they are stronger, like "order" you around or gormod in a RP fight. I am not refering to any particular case or person here, but I've seen this happen a couple of times, usually involving a poor RPer with a PLed character on the "bully" side. They come in, RP little, and think that everything has to be settled in /challenge. Dead RP.

Whereas I think that game mechanics can help limit what your character can do (who's faster, who's stronger, who has a better chance to do something) and cannot do, they should only be a reference, and we need to be flexible about how to use them. In reality, what your character can do or cannot do depends more on what other players grant you in each situation.

UTM's idea when Janeous used many ingenious traps to stop those hunting him down worked out pretty well. He used your stats as a reference to see if you would be able to avoid or endure the trap. Other game mechs like rolling dice are also a good way to compromise. What to roll and how to determine success or failure is up to the players and the situation at hand. Using these game mechs is much more interesting than basing your judgement of a situation on a character's description. If you really want to RP, having these being part of what you do would allow you and others around to be involved and not die so quickly. It also keeps lots of OOC crap out of the way.

Now, another important factor is that you cannot force people to join your RP just as much as you cannot ignore other people's RP. I think we are entitled to the choice of whether or not we want to RP with someone or a certain situation. However, our way in and out of a RP cannot be disruptive. If you find yourself being dragged into a RP you don't wish try to find an IC way to get yourself out of it (like calling the guards or standing right next to them, leaving the city or place where the RP is happening, etc.). If the others won't listen or seem to be interested in having their way no matter what, explain to them OOC that you are not interested. What may come out of it if you do the latter is that they might not want to RP with you again (but if you tried the first and they, in fact, didn't respect your right to have fun, you will probably be better off not RPing with them either).

This leads us to how certain situations are brought IC. I find it a turn-off when evil characters are dumb enough as to pretend they can do evil stuff in plain sight and bare no consequences to their IC actions. Sure, game mechs won't respond to that. Guards don't move. They'd rather have you bring them their lunch or train you than leave their post to catch a punk BUT this doesn't mean there are no laws. When an evil action takes place with no regards of guards, witnesses, and laws, I prefer not to be involved or if I find myself somewhat involved, my expectations on the outcome are rather low and I try to find a quick way out.


So, summing up:

- Don't rush to /challenge just to prove your point. It's anti-climatic and leaves no room to RP or enjoy what is going on. Don't be the one-minute-RPer, sending others to the DR before they get to have a little fun. They could RP being unconscious and still follow up the RP and the effect would be the same. Likewise, if you put a little event together, try to keep the challenges for the very last moment if at all.

- Using mechs that are fair for all players, like rolling dice using current stats or personality traits has worked wonderfully in my experience (because even the mightiest can fail and the weakest have lucky strike).

- You have the right to choose whether or not to join any RP but you should try to make your way in or out of it IC. A plain "[not interested]" is not good enough, just like being a punk ignoring facts that are not yet integrated to game mechs (like guards doing their job). Both attitudes are turn-offs and will probably ban you from a player's "People I like to RP with" list.


And, on a final note:

Our IC actions are independent from game mechanics simply because at the moment the game doesn't give us enough animations or mechs to support the extent of our RP. However, I've always thought that a character's personality has to be related somehow to their current stats and skills and not wander off too far from them to prevent godmodding. However, this should also apply the other way arround, limiting the choices this character makes in terms of training to those areas where they would have interest IC.

A character who can do everything because they're trained in it all (magic, mining, crafting, combat, etc.) and who RPs knowledge in all these fields is less likely to be considered a specialist or an expert in any of those. You may want to have a fully trained character, but would your character want that? Would they really like doing everything? Very few people do or are able to IRL so why RP that a character would? If you RP that your character is fully commited to only a few fields of knowledge (despite the fact that you've trained them in other fields as well for OOC reasons like needing to mine to pay for training or needing to fight to get experience), you are choosing where you are most likely to succeed and where you're most likely to need help.

Personally, I would grant a player the ability to cast spells that are not implemented in-game yet if they consistently RP that they are wizards and that magic is their main field of interest, just like I would grant a consistent herbalist the skill to treat a deadly poison successfully because they work their RP around those skills. It is not something they get out of the hat. A fighter/wizard/ninja/demi-god is a pain in the neck. You're much more likely to get your way if you choose an actual path for your character. And that gives room for situations in which you will need the help of other characters, encouraging more interaction between characters. Wouldn't that make sense?


There. I'm done. Sorry for the long post. Again, I am not referring to anyone or any situation in particular. These are just a few ideas based on my experience in the game.


Edit: Typo.

Since we're all waiting for the new update, I figured we could take some time to learn more about our beloved settings. So, why not have a little forum game to pass time? So, here's how it goes:

1. I'll be posting questions about Yliakum: our world, its history, its people, its gods... you name it.

2. When a question in answered correctly, I'll post another one until I'm out of questions or the update is ready.

3. I'll keep track of who answers them correctly the fastest.

4. The person with the most winning answers will be the winner.

5. The community has five chances to post the correct answer. That means that only 5 posts by different users are allowed before I give the answer. If 5 posts are made with incorrect answers, nobody gets any points.

I'll try to post new questions as soon as the answers are posted. If you got any suggestions, PM me. Let's try to keep this thread for Questions and Answers only.

Ok, here's the first question:


edit: typo

This happens to me a LOT when I duel:

- When engaged in PvP, I jump constantly because I've found that it helps prevent falling off the edge of the world.

- While doing this, often times I get killed in mid air (nothing wrong with that, it actually looks very dramatic).

- About 3/5 times it happens I get teleported back to the point I was killed at (the system sends me where I should've landed in the first place), right when I (re)load in the DR. It doesn't happen that often when in the living realm but it's happened too (ulber chews, zhai dies, immediately comes back, ulber chews again... kinda like bulimia only backwards).

There is little I can do to prevent or promote the teleportation, so there's no way to actually exploit this bug other than being lucky. However, it's worth mentioning.

Two things I noticed by accident that might need some tweaking:

- While repairing two blades of the same kind I hit my dequip shortcut when I was done with the first. It piled up with the one that wasn't repaired yet. Suddenly, the 50/50 quality one and the 30/50 quality one were shuffled together, both ending up with 44/50 quality.

- While swaping items between alts, I went behind a secluded corner in town and dropped two 0/50 quality blades, logged off and on again as another character and the quality had been reset to 50/50.

I'm just wondering why damage was suddenly increased. I personally don't like it that much and sorry if this bothers those of you who are enjoying it but I'm merely wondering what the rationale behind it is. Yes, everyone complained when damage was being affected by the repair skill but now that it suddenly increased not a single comment has been made. Maybe I'm spoiling it for y'all (sorry).

Anyway, the minimum-maximum damage range also seems way too wide, with silverweave ss being able to inflict 350-520dmg when they used to do 260-300 before, and same thing with daggers... And as I said, I personally don't see much sense in it but if there's a reason, I could use the enlightment. Thanks.