Inter-Sphere RPT

[Bones]

While this practically guarantees combat of some sort, there is in the works an RPT to involve both Utterby and Vadok Mal. To facilitate this and to try and give the most players the opportunity to participate, I would like to, for the Utterby side, get some general availability for days after July 30th, this Sunday.

And.. Go!

[Mavinero]

I'm off every Tuesday and Thursday, and I am also generally available to play by 6pm Central on most nights.

[tehkory]

Evenings EST, not Thursdays or Fridays.

[twitchyweasel]

Pretty much always available with advance notice. Hunting for a new job right now, so if I do get hired before then, evening may be my only option.

[Faroukel]

From the orc-side, our group is typically most active after 6pm eastern time it seems.

[Bones]

UPDATE:
Wodan and I are coordinating in our respective spheres. Looking at 6pm EST or later for this week, or next week. Trying to get the maximum folks around for shenanigans.

[Bones]

Looks like we're aiming for Thursday at about 7pm EST! Come one come all!

[Bones]

It's about that time! 30 minutes and counting!

[Bones]

Great job, Tark side. I rather enjoyed the RP from you lot! I'm still unable to figure out how to consistently do accents, but the Dwarf did awesome sauce!

[Nimrod]

Many thanks to those of you who worked so hard to make this happen. As the old adage goes though, 'No good deed goes unpunished.' I was sorry to see we had a PK and a new player captured and now in gaol, but that's life. I'm sorry I couldn't be there for the event. I was sad when I saw there was a death, but glad to see it stirred up some roleplay and several good board posts, at least on the orc side as of last night. (Hopefully there's one in Utterby by now).

I wouldn't mind a bit of a post mortem on this if you're all willing.

How could players have done better?
Were there newbies involved that used 'kill' right off the bat?
Was there ample roleplay before combat?
Was the PK really needed?
Did everyone have fun?
What could we, as staff, have done better?

Thanks again to everyone.

[Faroukel]

How could players have done better?

Honestly, no complaints. There was a lot of roleplay before code kicked off. Was impressed that both sides held off a 'charge' for as long as they did.

Were there newbies involved that used 'kill' right off the bat?

It's been a while since I tried to keep track of a combat text wall. I don't think anyone typed kill, but the 'strike' command was in use. I believe this command will continue combat until an enemy is smote into death. I myself had two people using strike head against me, and I know the one on our side who pk'ed used it. I think even though it's a neat command, it should be removed or be tweaked to stop combat at unconscious.

Was there ample roleplay before combat?

As mentioned before, there was about 20 minutes of rp, coded combat, a break off to more rp, and then a departure. In terms of roleplay, I'd say there was heaps of high quality play.

Was the PK really needed?

No. And I do believe it was entirely unintentional. Basically, my pc knocked the dead character unconscious and then a second combatant finished them off right after. This sometimes happens in combat even using the hit command, if one pc knocks something unconscious and a second combatant hits them before combat auto stops, or when the strike command is used.

Did everyone have fun?

I think so!

What could we, as staff, have done better?

Don't be afraid to control the scene. Use of echoes, force combat stops, any sort of influence is appreciated, especially by those leading. Do a quick sweep of the area and remove any aggro npcs in the area as well. Remove the strike command to boot.

Ultimately, a very fun experience on my end, with a lot of loose ends and story to run with IG.

[Frigga]

I'll pose a few follow up questions to the group, just as talking points.

- If as the PKer (IE killer/victor) what if anything is the desired response from staff if a death you caused wasn't 100% intentional?

Would you be okay with a rez and the person being set with like 10 hp and you getting their stuff?

- I have mused myself in the past about indeed combat stopping at unconsciousness and adding a specific "Finish" command so a PK is indeed a more purposeful decision and not an oops.

Is this something people would support (If it's possible.)

[Frigga]

Also, as a reminder if RP was great do send in emails or use the port side recommend command to let staff know, so we can consider the other folks for RPP.

[Trakel]

As the PKer in this particular situation I will add my commentary. First of all, I want to clarify that this was indeed unintentional. I also want to clarify that I did not use the strike command at all, but I did use the kill command to engage. Though I believe what caused the death was him being rendered unconscious right before my combat swing. In my experience, even when using the kill command, combat stops when your opponent is rendered unconscious. At any rate - it was not my intention to kill anyone in that engagement.

That being said though, I don't want to understate the potential story and role-playing opportunities that can sprout from a character death. Overall, despite the death, there can come a lot of good from it. A nemesis for the humans, beyond "blackbloods" in general. An emotional ride, a character to remember. Something to mutually hate. Death can drive a lot of RP in the right circumstances, that's all I'm trying to say.

Despite this - I still do feel bad about it. I generally try to not kill people in PvP because I know what it's like to lose a character you've been playing for a significant period of time. Outside of SoI, in other MUDs and D&D in general. It's a crappy feeling, but it comes with playing the game and telling stories. Not everyone gets a happy ending, and that's just the brutal truth in life, and in fantasy.

Regarding specifically the situation last night, it could be that the victim didn't actually die and instead held onto life despite what the code said happened. Maybe he just.. suffered so much trauma his heart stopped for a little while, but the determination to live brought him back. The situation last night, didn't resolve for anything to be taken except for a prisoner, which again - not always a bad thing, so let me tangent on that.

Being a prisoner can be a shitty situation depending on who has taken that prisoner. I think regarding the specific circumstances of who was taken, and by whom, some very interesting opportunities come up. I won't discuss the particulars, but if I were in that certain characters situation I wouldn't be the least bit displeased. But that's me.

Anyways, to get back on point, I understand that death is hard to deal with as a player. It sucks when it happens to the character next to you that you love, because there is grief. And it's even worse for the player that lost a character. But this gives you a chance to play something different, or entirely new. Maybe not different, and very similar to your other character.

Overall, what I'm really boiling down to is - I don't like resurrections. I've had a character killed by staff in another MUD using an admin kill command along with another that I was close to after a torture scene that no one consented to. Was I frustrated, sure. I've also had a character get paralyzed by poison, and have been strangled as the player doing the job emoted his exertion in choking the life out of me while a staff member whittled away my HP, giving me a nice echo of reaching a state of nirvana right before the final moment.

In both of these situations I moved on, made another character, and started another story - closing the book on the previous. They had their runs, and their unfair odds stacked against them. The situations regarding them are completely different, one horrible and the other bad but great to experience.

So I'll resolve by saying I would only be okay with a resurrection in the sense that it gave a player a chance to close the book of that character. Maybe some final words to dear friends, a pang of regret, or fear of whats to come - but only if the situation calls for it, and last night was such a situation in my opinion. But not all of them will be that way.

I'm sorry for the long post, and I am especially sorry to the player who lost their character last night. You probably hate me, and I invite you to share in that hate with your community and vow to kill my character and pike his head outside Utterby for the sake of vengeance. Or do something different. The choice, is yours.

I also apologize if this post contains too much IC information. But I'll let the admins and moderators decide that. I just needed to say these things to get it off my chest.

[Tykanis]

I can agree with that Trakel, I cried a bit when I lost the PC this account was named after, but ultimately I found that it opened up opportunities for other peoples rp motivrd for revenge or mourning. Resurrection in itself is a thing that for the most part should be saved for very very special occasions such as code issues being the cause, just as a personal opinion there.

[Frigga]

Thank you both for the very personal and honest feedback.

[Nimrod]

It sounds like this was a great bit of PVP and I'm pleased. Yes, there was a PK, but that's how the game goes. It wouldn't be nearly as exhilarating if you didn't run the risk of death. A good friend told me recently, "You don't hear the shot that kills you." this is so true and it's how our code works now. You can have that final moment in game, roleplaying a great death, if you stop combat well before going unconscious, but sometimes it doesn't work out that way. Sometimes you just die.

I'll never remove PK from the game, or modify the brutality of the code. It's what gets the heart pumping and makes your hands shake. We want your hands to shake in fear.

Overall I think every pvp encounter that I've either witnessed or heard about so far over the last few weeks has been extremely good. We had a pretty epic bit last night, thank you to all those that took hints from in-game echoes and NPCs to make it a wonderful scene.

You know who you are.