Your thoughts on death and the death realm.

[Xillix Queen of Fools]

Settings would like to see what the people think about the Death Realm as it is today.

What would you like to see there?

What do you think  could improve it?

Try not to be too negative and keep arguing amongst yourselves to a minimum if you can.

We would just like some ideas and observations to add to what we have in mind.

It is fine to aggregate suggestions from the past that you think deserve review, but don't make the thread take on aspects of threads moderators have already locked.

[Parallo]

What do you think  could improve it?

More of it.

[Shaman]

Personally, I'd like to see intelligent beasts there. Ones that might capture and kill trespassers in the Death Realm to power-up Dakkru despite the person already dying. Obviously not in the citadel, but perhaps simply roaming the lower parts of the Death Realm and coming up occasionally to snatch people that might be lost or weak.

On that note, I find the idea of assassins and killings pointless. Say you hire an assassin because you want someone to die - why? There's a good chance that person will come back to life. Even if the Death Realm will be expanding to the point where it'll be extremely hard to get out, people will get lucky, or simply have a nice head on their shoulders, and find their way back out, and it's at that time they can easily inform guards of who would have wanted to take their life, and that most likely results in that person getting launched up into the Crystal. So...I vote for more ways to inflict True Death.

[Farren Kutter]

Shaman: Any assassin should have the means of getting true death poison, such as from that one creature, arangma or whatever, which has poison that causes permanent death.


Personally, I'd like more expansion of the death realm itself into more of a world than some void of endless darkness. Of course, the world would be dark, but could possibly resemble Yliakum to a point, while still retaining many aspects such as the giant bones and such. I'd also like to see wandering people who've lost their way (other than new players >.>) and who for the most part ignore the players or perceive them as illusions (they'd likely go mad after being stuck in the death realm so long).

Lots of atmosphere things, and maybe more points of interest and a bigger DR in general, perhaps with several exits, some being trick ones that lead to random spots in the DR, some leading to Yliakum. These portals would change every so often, so they wouldn't always be the same also, the ones leading back to Yliakum should be different cities/places, which also rotate.

[Mordraugion]

Strength and Endurance levels permanently drain the longer you remain there decreasing your Max achievable accordingly.
Willpower increases the longer you remain to a set limit above Max (20%?).
If having stayed past a set continuous time limit and/or a longer cumulative period, on return to the land of the living all of HP, Phys Stamina, Mental Stamina, Mana drain exponentially faster, the longer the time in DR the faster it becomes til one can barely move once out of DR.


Dont think of these as penalties but more of a willing sacrifice to ones chosen God

[Shaman]

Strength and Endurance levels permanently drain the longer you remain there decreasing your Max achievable accordingly.
Willpower increases the longer you remain to a set limit above Max (20%?).
If having stayed past a set continuous time limit and/or a longer cumulative period, on return to the land of the living all of HP, Phys Stamina, Mental Stamina, Mana drain exponentially faster, the longer the time in DR the faster it becomes til one can barely move once out of DR.

What if someone logs out? Or what if someone has to go AFK? Your idea depends a lot on the player's playing time, and if something...let's say, drastic, happens, that would pull them away for a long time, they'd come back to another drastic event when they see their trained character they put so much time in had stats lower than what he started with.

[Mathy Stockington]

Lots of atmosphere things, and maybe more points of interest and a bigger DR in general, perhaps with several exits, some being trick ones that lead to random spots in the DR, some leading to Yliakum. These portals would change every so often, so they wouldn't always be the same also, the ones leading back to Yliakum should be different cities/places, which also rotate.

I agree. One small point though, I know there are books down there to read. Is there a way to duplicate them somewhere else so that they can be read without going to the DR? That is for us that do not wish to die just to read them.

Another thought: Expand it and make it more interesting though somehow have a way for new players to get out. For some it can make or break it as to whether they will continue to play. Maybe a NPC who can help guide the dead back to life. Many of us spent hours down there trying to figure it out, just to type /die because we were so very lost just to have to try it all over again and again.

[Shaman]

Also, I think people should keep in mind that some Dakkru followers generally like the Death Realm, so if you're going to suggest penalties while people are IN said realm, that conflicts with the death religion as a whole.

[Mrokii]

I think that some of the suggestions in here are reasonable. But not when it comes to influences that dramatically can change or even end a players life. Forcing a player for example to permanently kill his/her character because (s)he stayed too long in DR would be something like that. I have nothing against drainage of some stats over time, the longer one is in DR. But everything should be done in way so that players can get back to where they were before. At least when it comes to stats.

What *could* change, I think, could be certain visible properties for example. As an example: If one stays for weeks and weeks in DR, it is likely that his mind becomes more sinister. Maybe there could be a faction that represents this. But it should take a long time and the consequences should be made very clear to everyone. There *may* be even a way to permadie. Think about a special area in the DR that is somehow marked, maybe in an ic way, like with a post, saying: "Greetings wanderer, if you enter this area and will stay there for a week you will vanish into oblivion". It might sound strange, but if people *really* want to permadie, this could be a roleplay way for them to doing so. It could allow others for example to get in and talk to the person if the timescale would be, say a week of realtime until somebody vanishes.

Other than that, I like the idea mentioned above to bring a little more randomness in the possibilities how to exit DR. Like gates that change the exact spawnpoint, and more than one exit. Monsters that are positioned on deeper levels that are *really* dangerous and mighty.

Or what about a maze of some kind? It could be something of a threat *and* a chance for rewards. Some things could be hidden in there randomly while also great threats could be in there. Like a kind of "repositioning fields" that when entered, position players randomly in the DR. That could even be valid for the exit-points. Who says that they should *always* lead to the land of the living? It could be done in a way that somebody hears a strange voice, saying something like "Bad luck you fool" and then the player, instead of getting to the land of the living is placed back somewhere into DR and he/she has to try again.

And, another thing about randomness, if there were more than one exit: They could be temporarily be "shut off" in some ways, meaning that not all exits are working all the time on a random basis.

[khoridor]

Atmosphere, graphics, sound: brilliant.
I can't wait to see it extended. I expect to see a temple of Dakkru there.

Make it a realm of decay; make the max quality of all objects lose 1 point every x minutes (like 3 with the current size), to a minimum quality of 1 (weapons rust, leather and food rots, etc.; crystals don't decay).
Make DR residents use resources local to the DR, for objects that do not decay; those objects would decay outside of the DR though.
(that leaves you with the question: what does the Death Guardian do with all the things he buys?)

And make Londris walk the walk; make him polymorph people into rats once in a while, or teleport them in a bad place, or something like that, when they waste his time. (He plays spooky but can chitchat for hours).

One other thing: if local NPCs accept or give tria, it looks like they are part of the Octarchy, which is odd. Maybe there should use a 5th currency (ouch!)

[Tontow]

I like the idea of the maze and random gates.

For the maze:
I suggest having a random maze.  A script could at random open or close a set of gates to change the maze each time someone makes it out of the DR.
And as for the random portals; there should be subtle differences between the real portals and the fake ones.   Fake portals would teleport you to a random place in the maze.

And aside from expanding the DR, I would love to be able to walk on the bottom of the DR again without that death script killing me....
There 'was' suppose to be some kind of monster lurking in the depts of the DR, but seeing how no one can actually get down there alive.......

[Mordraugion]

But not when it comes to influences that dramatically can change or even end a players life. Forcing a player for example to permanently kill his/her character because (s)he stayed too long in DR would be something like that. I have nothing against drainage of some stats over time, the longer one is in DR. But everything should be done in way so that players can get back to where they were before. At least when it comes to stats.

Its a choice of Path or style of life not "forcing someone to end a character" no one is forcing people to stay in the DR and choices often have consequences.

[Edig]

Personally, it took me all of 45 minutes to get out of the death realm.  And that's only because I had a tendency to look at [EVERYTHING] from every angle simply because it was a new game for me.  I went into every room even though I saw a path below me simply by looking around.  There are still areas I go to that I am unfamiliar with and spend time looking at everything from every angle. ( I found two pieces of graffiti that way, one known and the other not so well known.)

Too often people want everything done [NOW].  They want the easy outs. And in some situations I can see the need for it.  HOWEVER.  If players would simply learn how to RP and ask for help in an RP manner in the death realm, then perhaps more people would find the way out much sooner than later.

I've personally taken many many people on full tours of the DR then lead them out which took in all about an hour of my game time.  In the years I hope to be playing, 1 hour is nothing! And it's an opportunity to make a new friend and show people how to RP.

* Edig gets off his soap box.

Expansion?  Oh God I'd love to see a maze, or a changing landscape type thing where one day it's one way and the next it's another, but I know that would be so much work that it would be a game unto its self.

Rather than working though, on stuff that's already working, what about the stuff that isn't?  Perhaps getting the stuff not up and running yet, up and running then expanding other areas?

[Mathy Stockington]

Rather than working though, on stuff that's already working, what about the stuff that isn't?  Perhaps getting the stuff not up and running yet, up and running then expanding other areas?

I agree.

[Duraza]

Strength and Endurance levels permanently drain the longer you remain there decreasing your Max achievable accordingly.
Willpower increases the longer you remain to a set limit above Max (20%?).
If having stayed past a set continuous time limit and/or a longer cumulative period, on return to the land of the living all of HP, Phys Stamina, Mental Stamina, Mana drain exponentially faster, the longer the time in DR the faster it becomes til one can barely move once out of DR.


Dont think of these as penalties but more of a willing sacrifice to ones chosen God

I have to say Mordraugion has it right. People who stay in Death Realm (The agebound) can remain there for centuries, stay youthful and not worry about anything. Depending on how long you stay when you leave all the years and time catch up to you(unless you leave on the Crystal Eclipse). This stuff is info from the actual DR books and it should be represented in game mechanics. I don't think he's trying to say that while your in DR you become weaker, only that the strength you can achieve if you leave lessens. That sounds completely right and a good way to fit the AgeBound description with game mechanics.

But everything should be done in way so that players can get back to where they were before. At least when it comes to stats.

I totally disagree. It kinda goes along with my thing that players shouldn't be able to max all stats period. If for example I want to go to Death Realm to learn advanced dark magic there should be a sacrifice for the skill I gain. That sacrifice happens to be a loss of physical strength and endurance permanently. It is a big risk but if your character feels the reward is great enough then they will go through with it. Does this mean that I have to risk my character every second I play the game? No you can avoid risk however certain rewards will cost you.