Pan's Quarterly Roleplaying Rant

[LoganGrimnar]

oh oh, i loved the Minotar quest the other day, there was a huge party of armed tanks pritty much running forward to get the minotars and someone says "Is that a Rust Monster?!" and then it charges whem... ive never see so many hevay armored warriors run, they were all backing up from the one rust monster, it was killed quickly with a few arrows... but none the less watching this made me laugh.. alot. There should be alot more rust monsters in the Layo world, just add em in all over, toss a few in haven.. they can be there for the iron... toss some in the Berghagens, Direcaves, Sword rusts. this would likly make the markit for metal goods go up... hehe.

[Ar7]

LoganGrimnar - 10/28/2005  8:31 AM

oh oh, i loved the Minotar quest the other day, there was a huge party of armed tanks pritty much running forward to get the minotars and someone says "Is that a Rust Monster?!" and then it charges whem... ive never see so many hevay armored warriors run, they were all backing up from the one rust monster, it was killed quickly with a few arrows... but none the less watching this made me laugh.. alot. There should be alot more rust monsters in the Layo world, just add em in all over, toss a few in haven.. they can be there for the iron... toss some in the Berghagens, Direcaves, Sword rusts. this would likly make the markit for metal goods go up... hehe.

That has already happened some time in the history of Layonara.

Good post Pan, some things I agree with, with some I don't ( emotes and crafting for example ) but we all have our opinions. Nevertheless, good post.

[Pibemanden]

Locust - 10/28/2005  8:17 AM
I have the impression the RP is more dedicated to other time zones.

This can very well be the case. Often when I sit in Hlint for several hours there certain rush-hours where suddenly a big amount of RP is going on. These usually comes about one or two hours after I log in and I live in the GMT+2 area accordig to the clock on the forums.

[miltonyorkcastle]

heck yeah!  I love RP discussions.

So here goes:

This is a shout out for all you non-crafters out there!  Say it with me!  

"BLOODY SHOPWORK!"

Oh, and old Cole Norseman has a semi-guild thingy for mercenaries called the Dread Blade, and you know what it's for?  Mercenaries!  And you know what mercenaries do?  They kill things...  errr... I mean, work for gold!  Cole makes his living escorting, carrying, and killing things for other players.  Oh, and what sort of players would hire Cole?  The sort that can't get the stuff for themselves, or just want to explore but need a sturdy guide/strongarm to protect them.  Granted, there aren't a lot, but there are  others out there like this who don't care to craft a bleamin' thing, but are more than willing to escort you across the Blood desert in search of Fire Agate.  Just be careful.  Mercenaries require payment.  If you can't offer them gold or loot from their kills, you best find something else they like, or you'll quickly find you have a new master for a day.  

All that blabbering and silliness about mercenaries for these points then:

1) This is a role-playing server because the creators and the players here like to role-play.  So, as far as policing goes, or making this, that, or another to enforce RP, why?  If you'd rather just get cool stuff and level-up (which there isn't anything wrong with, just isn't what this place is about) and forego the RP, then find a power-server.  They're out there, I used to play on one, and it was fun.... until I killed everything there was to kill and the DM's started making monsters so ungodly that no single direct attack could hurt them, not even a hellball.

2)  If this is your first time in a heavy RP environment, forget all I said in my first point and stick around.  You'll learn the ropes or get bored and leave.

3)Before I forget, Pan is on top of things.  Kudos.

4)I sympathize with all you people that don't have a lot of time to play.  Because it's the honest truth that if you don't have a solid six hours straight to play at least twice a week, getting anywhere on this world is infinitely difficult.  I know.  When I first started here, I could seldom play more than 2 hours a day, never at the same time, and at best ten hours a week.  In fact, it was a good three months before I even participated in a quest.  Not because I didn't want to, but because I never had the time.  There are a heck of a lot of players that started a month after me and are now near epic while my top Char, Cole, just barely made 14th the other day.
And guess what?  Since Cole doesn't craft (tried but just couldn't get into it), and there wasn't always people around when I got a chance to play, I did a lot of soloing with Cole.  Which means I did a lot of dying.  Which means Cole has 8 DT's.  Got my first 5 DT's in my first eight levels.  Got my first three before I even knew what a DT was.  Oh, and did I mention that when I first got here, it was the old death sytem where you lost XP for every death?  You don't even want to know how much XP Cole has lost over his existence on Layo.
So this is a warning to all of you out there who DON'T have six hours every other day to spend on Layo:  You had best like a lot of RP because leveling for you will be like hauling granite up the side of a sheer cliff with only one arm and one leg.  
Unfortunately for Cole, RP invovles life-threatening endeavors.  Ahhhh, the life of a mercenary.  But some of you don't have such low-wisdom, ex-military characters.  

oh, and did I mention that Dorand and Cole are currently in a feud?  

[Doc-Holiday]

I support Pankoki completely

I play all my characters as adventurers, they have no homes, little money, and few resources.

I don't run around killing for money, the coin I get from my travels comes from just that.. travel.

I want to see some sights and get ambushed? I defend myself... If I have a character who wants to make potions... I do so.. in small quantities.. no more then 4 or so..

Why? well.. master craftsmen are generaly NOT adventurers. They are established buisnessmen and women who take on apprentices.

Why do we have such an obsession with levels and money?

I keep a few hundred gold on me and only about 600 in the bank, it meets my needs adaquatly.

If I need powerful armor or weapons.. I can save up. I make money by rendering services as an adventurer

Reana Forner will ask for a donation as a healer, or as a mage depending on what is needed

Weston is more generous and rarely asks for money.. If I am desperate I can get a friend and go on a quest...

No one to adventuer with? MAKE FRIENDS

Meet people.. RP with others who are on and form friendships so that there is always someone willing to venture out with you.

If we want to make crafting more Apprenticeship type... remove the advanced books...Have only beginers guide to the world of "blank" and let the adventuer discover new and exciting combinations.. have them find mentors who will teach them new recipies...

We have journals.. fill them with notes.. I do

Weston is learning dwarvish... I have notes on what words are what..

I have been playing Weston for ... what?... six.. eight months?

I'm just now turning level 10 and it will be ages before I turn 11

I don't DO runs... thats cheap... explore the world.. enjoy it... RP the wonders

I see to many people leaving swaths of death and destruction

There is no need to kill everything that cons to you...

I am by no means perfect, I fail my own advice from time to time.

If we were all characters in Lay.. we would all be level 3's tops.

well.. I'm going to calm down before I really start to rant.

[miltonyorkcastle]

oh, and by the way, you know what kind of adventurers buy houses?

Retired ones.

   

[Doc-Holiday]

Side note:

SLEEP IN THE FREAKING INN ROOMS PEOPLE!

What is wrong with us? Everyone sleeps on the floor.. in the halls.. on the tables... in the middle of the road... everywhere BUT the Inn... it's all of what... 4 gold? most people have thousands and thousands of gold... new people can use the campfire... no big deal... but PLEASE lets try to use the Inn like were supposed too. We are adventurers... we live in Inns... I almost NEVER see people using the Inn..

Infact... I haven't EVER seen someone use the Inn room... yes.. I don't always do it myself and I should do it more often.. but come on.. seriously... the Inn should be the center of our adventuring lives. Where we meet people.. rest after... prep before... and get approched from those who need out help. If you need an adventuerer.. where do you go? to the Tavern or the Inn.

Okay.. done

[miltonyorkcastle]

Amen!  Besides, Yastin's a fine fellow.  Dragged poor Cole into his favorite room at the Wild Surge on more than one occasion that Cole's gotten too drunk to walk. (yes, Cole has favorite rooms at the Wild Surge, the Fort Hope Inn, Krandor's Inn, and the inn in Saudiria.  If someone is already in it when he shows up, he kicks them out.).

[Doc-Holiday]

Last rant...:

Lets stop complaining about the crafting system.. it's freaking awsome and we all know it

Fist off... we have lost the sense of awe... please... remember. We are adventurers, meeting someone who can craft potions that cure wounds instantly is AMAZING... seriously.. think about it... you meet someone who knows how to make even the simplest right that protects from desease... that's something to be impressed with.

Also... we take magic for granted... don't be afraid to RP your doubt about mages.. about their powers.. about the safety.. or about the un natural qualities.. I mean.. some guy just shot lightning out of his hand.. I would be freaked out..  It's an intimidating sight when someone shouts and touches an enemy and they explode into flames. Wizards are brilliant and can't be understood.. Sorcerers are beguiling and mysterious... not to mention a bit crazy.. have fun with the sheer novilty that is magic

Warriors.... We SHOULD be impressed with their combat prowess... comment on it.. they are the pinicale of the fighting diciplins... Fighters are disciplined practitioners of the art of comabat... barbarians are fierce and emotional battle ragers... I would be impressed if I saw someone cleave two people in one strike. Have fun with the skill and prowes of our defenders

Priestss.. come on..... they have the favor of the gods... show some respect.. even to the ones you don't like. They command impressive power and can revive the dead. They should be knowledgeable about their diety and lets not be afraid to ask them about their god. Druids are impressive defenders of nature.. clerics of the gods... and rangers and paladins their respective defenders and protectors.

Rogues... what more should I say?

[jjkolb]

Doc-Holiday - 10/28/2005 3:03 PM Side note: SLEEP IN THE FREAKING INN ROOMS PEOPLE!

  Doc, I agree with most of what you've said but...
  Even though the game makes it look like I'm sleeping, I don't consider re-learning spells as sleeping.  I consider it meditating/praying and when I do so, I try to find a nook to pray in.  When I log off, I usually RP that it's time for me to retire for the night and I go off to some remote area to save/logoff.  You may be right, maybe I should do so in an inn.  But what kind of adventurers would we be if we had to sleep in a soft, warm bed?  Plus, don't forget, a lot of PCs are not comfortable sleeping in a building, they'd much rather be out in the open.
  That said, I do get kind of peeved when people just plop down and rest without RPing it in some fashion.  (Unless it's a large group on a quest and it's understood that the party is resting as a group).
  Boy I really made my thoughts clear as mud, huh?

[miltonyorkcastle]

.... this is the most serious I've ever seen Doc.  In fact, this is the only time I have seen him truly serious.  He's normally only as serious as he isn't.

[Doc-Holiday]

No no your fine Jikolb... I am clear on what your saying and it's fine. As I said.. I don't have a problem if people RP sleeping somewhere when they have to .. we are adventureres... as it stands.. I'm tired of walking by the Inn and seeing everyone sleeping outside because they don't have to pay and it does the same thing.

We ARE adventurers.. we SHOULD look forward to a soft bed and a hot meal.

[Stephen_Zuckerman]

Och, Doc, you get another fifty respect points. I mean, for some of your orgasmically witty quotes, you'd already passed nearly any other professional Wit, but this...

I have to agree with the bit on the Inns. I try to RP Pyyran as having an informally long-term room at the Wild Surge, much like many of my non d20 characters have picked out a room they liked at an inn in a place they were staying for an extended period of time. It's the one all the way in the back corner, though I'm sure other people have chosen the same one to be "thier" room. Whenever Pyyran encounters someone in his room (hasn't happened yet, but let's assume it has), he simply passes it off as Yastin having had to give his room up because the others had been full at the time, and goes into another. It's not like it's really his, after all; he's just another adventurer, who's staying in the area for a while. Sure, he'll drop off to sleep just about anywhere, if he's tired, but he will always prefer either the Inn, or that magical clearing on the southwest side of the Goblin Wastelands.

[On that note, I've come up with a little legend behind it, in case anyone wants to run with the story. Basically, long ago, there was a group of druids, who were travelling north across Mistone, before Hlint had been established, and they stopped for the night in a small clearing. However, just as night fell, they were ambushed by the entire force of the Red Light Goblins, and one of thier number was greviously wounded. The others fought, circling thier campfire and injured companion, but thier strength slowly waned in the face of the sheer number of thier attackers. The wounded one among them, a devout follower of Katia, put out a call to the All Mother to protect them, and was answered. All the goblins were forced out of the light of the campfire, and were unable to enter the circle again. The druids who fought had been hurt in thier struggle, but slowly began to drift off into a deep, utterly restful sleep. When they awoke, the campfire still burned, but thier companion, the first to be struck, was gone; his life and spirit a sacrifice to Katia, in exchange for her protection of that spot for ages to come. Ever since, that campfire has burned, and any traveler may sit by its fire, to be totally healed if only they close thier eyes to rest. Grand little thing for some kid with an INT of 13 to come up with, eh?]

I doubt Pyyran will buy any sort of permanent lodging until he's reached level 13 - the level at which he'll first try to settle down a bit, and focus more on life among people, than life as an adventurer. After he gets sick of that, he won't try the same again until he's past epic, when he'll likely settle down and take on an apprentice of some sort. Or maybe just wander, and inspire new adventurers... *He grins.* Oh, I've taken this character to about level thirty in PnP, and I've used him as part of the background for some of my characters on other servers. I definately know where I want to take him.

In any case... The crafting debate. Do you know why Pyyran crafts? As a tailor, it's little more than a hobby; he alters his own clothing as he sees fit, and does the same for others, for a small fee. He weaves fabric on a daily basis, having a vague intrest in making more interesting things, as soon as he can make fabric that he deems perfect enough for him to move on in his efforts to actually MAKING things. As a gemcutter, it's faily obvious: Gems are worth money. Gem dusts are good for use in all sorts of things, and there's something of a demand for them, as well. And Pyyran is quite fond of gold (or, more rightly, of getting rid of it). As an alchemist? He can make polishing oil, to detail gems with. He can also make a few other things, but he isn't as interested in those, as, at best, he'll be able to make a bit of Alchemist's Fire, and only be able to use it once. He gathers plants, fungi, and other materials for various other people, because they pay him for them. In the case of Skeleton's Knuckles, he tends to get hurt a great deal, and when he can get a friend of his to make them into healing potions... Essentially, all of his crafting efforts go towards getting money, which is all funneled into his pursuit of adventure and the betterment of his skills, either by helping to keep him alive (or, on the flipside, helping to make the things that don't want him alive, dead before they succeed at thier aspirations), or by helping to get more money for him. It's a cycle that makes a great deal of sense to me, particularly when applied to an adventurous individual.

Now, here's another thing to toss at everyone: Time.

Four minutes, RL-time, is an hour in-game. How many days in Layo to a day, RL? Fifteen. That means that two days is a month... And a year, in-game, is just under a month of our time. Generally, we refer to time in terms of RL days, but when I sit down to write something in my development thread (Hey, it may be virtually empty at the moment, but I've been writing things on paper in school, I just need to start transcribing...), I can't decide whether I should judge the time Pyyran mentions by in-game time, or time's passage like our own. When another character asks him how long he's been in Hlint, the real answer he should give is a bit over a year (getting towards a half or so, I think), but back when I was still getting those questions, I answered based on how long I, as a player, had been playing on Layo with that char. It's just frustrating, having two entirely different systems of time to deal with, and watching myself getting irritated at what I actually commend as good roleplaying, that being the use of in-game time as opposed to realtime.

Another thing... I'm not sure how to act when a GM pops into view. The couple times it's happened, I switched over to OOC, and pretended it didn't happen, once I reverted back in-character. However, isn't there any purpose to a GM, IC? They show up in bolts of lightning, carrying with them the will and power of the gods. Some of them even have appearances unlike anything else my character has ever seen! I imagine they would be seen as demi-gods, at least, and I'm itching to play that out. Especially if a GM starts spawning things at my party, to "test" us. My character would be at once furious, humbled, and exultantly proud, as this being has just put him in a life-or-death situation without his consent, purely for that being's personal entertainment, with only a little bit of barbed-blessing on the side. AND I WANT TO RP IT OMG LIEK ROXXORZ. *daidaidai* Hells, bring out an NPC of one of the Gods in person; how bloody cool would that be? The thing that's so frustrating is that I get the feeling that if I react to a GM, IC, I'd be laughed at. Admittedly, it's not a very mature sort of fear to bend to, but then, I'm only human, and still a child, at that. It's not very much in human nature to defy the tendancies of the group, and risk humiliation in the face of people you respect, am I right? Rawr. Frustration.

In any case, I'm going to go finish a post for my Development Thread, and then get on with the all-nighter I'll be pulling, in addition to CRYING over not being able to play Layo while at my mother's appartment.

Peace.