This is so true in my eyes, I never liked how players grasp at positions of power and are elevated beyond what I like to consider playable roles. And the lack of consequence from both staff and players always sat poorly with me as well.Wolfrayne wrote:Ok ill bite and throw in my two cents i suppose.
- The server is trying to be too many things at once. Its trying to be a RP server that also caters to the MMO mindset and it shouldnt be.
- There are too many rules in too many of the wrong places. Players are restricted in what they can do in some ways due to instances with certain people who are simply there to stir the pot.
- Guilds. They are a problem. I believe the guilds/factions of BG should be more controlled by the DM's. let them set the setting and allow players to earn reputation with certain factions and influence them in some ways without giving them control. The many factions of the realm are amazing tools for creating RP. the problem is most players have no clue how to run them properly and in the end they either go inactive or become the same boring routine.
Be the paladin of sune, be the assassin But do so as an associate not as "the lord commander of some guild nobody cares about after a couple of months.
We are supposed to be adventurers who adventure. Not sit around an empty guildhall with people and talk about the same four subjects.
- Consequences for actions. Im talking Real in game consequences. And yes that includes permadeath. Im so sick and tired of hearing "THIS PERSON WAS MURDERED!" only to have them walk past me 5 minutes later. "oh you died 4 times this week? thats nothing i was chased by this guild or this group and killed 13 times already! We should totally go and kill them back!" This is just stupid.
Or having people run around with undead or demons and the like past guards and such like "Oh hai guys just walking my pet balor lols"
Out with the old, in with the new. I dont give a damn if you have played the same character for a million years. Learn to let go. Stories are great because they end. You cant live forever. You only end up as a joke to everyone else behind your back.
- Punishment Should match the crime. Jail time for killing someone? thats just stupid, give them a trial, let them try and talk their way out of it. Then hang em. or let them go if they are clever enough.
In the end BGTSCC Needs to decide what it is. Personally i want it to be a place i go to play my character, to be the evil mage or the druid or the knight. I dont want to come here and spend my time arguing with someone OOC because of some crap or another.
The server misses so many opportunities for great stories and RP
I used to play on a NWN server called the Silver Marches and if you broke the law and was caught there, you got dragged to Silverymoon for a public trial that most often ended in a hanging and perma kill. This gave some sense of risk to playing evil and made them more clever about weaving their plots id say.
Its far in between I meet a well played evil character I have to admit, KOPOJIbPAKOB can preach all the good ideals of the current group of orc players, or playing with a one strike out self imposed ruling. You are also guilty of camping the Boarskyr bridge for 2 hours on straight, demanding people pay a toll to cross, or PvP. The only reason I made it past you in a bat form on my druid was because you didnt react in time, yes I did see you running at me and we resolved everything in a few whispers.. but im still critical of the style and approach. Ive like wise met people you mauled on my priestess and though they were a good sport about it likely or members of the PvP club, from my perspective it made no sense and only spawned awkward RP that like Wolfy is stating above cause the 4th or 11th death of a player this week and thats where my immersion breaks completely. And you can wave that orc badge around all you like, I have a drow too and I havent killed you yet. But my major beef is with the cowardly format of picking targets in a fight you OOCly know you have the upper hand in, and cowering away from the ones you deem you wont win.. and thus I have beef with stealth mechanics that allow you to hide in the middle of the lions way because you are out of tricks. You can call it good RP if you want, or immersion of being an orc, half Sshamath were boasting about killing Luke on the top side most recently and ill quote my drow ICly "And what do you have to show for it?" When there is no meaningful RP prior to it, or in the aftermath. I know most parts involved in this encounter praise it and enjoyed it, but there's several things that make no sense to me, A) why would Selvetarm fanatics ally themselves with Orcs of all things, enslave them sure, for the Dark Matron but alliance makes no sense to me. B) What do you want with a Lord of the Gate? More ransom RP that has no effects on anything really, but cause awkward RP situations again. C) Why is a Lord of Baldurs Gate running around near Soubarr any ways? And that brings me to Galawys point about:
How awkward it is when we have lords and ladies running around, high priestesses and oracles, that in official lore terms are bound to service in their cities, estates and temples. Portrayal of such figures should never be allowed in my eyes and i've played two high priestesses during my years here. But it just gives a very skewered perspective on what these roles embody as the portrayal of course is highly individual. Like Lady Erza spamming implosions at her friends while farming Yuan Ti every other day?Be the paladin of sune, be the assassin But do so as an associate not as "the lord commander of some guild nobody cares about after a couple of months.
I think its a massive error to ever have let players grasp at these positions and I know it also boils down to countless hours of forum RP, that again is dissuading for many players to know they cant or wont achieve, due to time restrictions or wanting to actually play the game rather, or the fact they aren't part of some closed circle of trust (don't deny its existence, cliques have always been a factor on here).Returning to the PvP incidents most recently however, to me its just PvP mongering and I think we should have a weekly FFA brawl in the arena north of BG so people can get it out of their systems, running around in a group to force PvP on whichever unsuspecting player passes you by, is just a gang mentality and it dissuades people greatly from playing here. Hit and run tactics, in and out, reminds me of 2009 drow ganking on the surface honestly. Half of those players got banned too.
We have established rules about PvP to prevent a measure of griefing or players obstructing others pursuit of having fun. My brother occasionally plays on here, but dislikes RPing a great deal, because his only encounter in recent years was an orc ganking him out of the blue and spending 30 minutes after torturing and disfiguring his elf. He uses this example frequently when I promote RP and it makes me equally sad every time. Ultimately to me, PvP is the result of well played conflict that has reached boiling point, not a prelude to conflict.
The one time ive had PvP with death as a result, another PC bargained for my remains and brought them to a temple. Else id have left my character for dead right there, also in part due to the great RP of Havarn, Wirg and Liam, but mostly because there has to be consequences.
Might anger some people, but I quite frankly dont care. I havent seen any portray a noble correctly and I havent seen any one embody the office that goes with their station either, its a pat on the shoulder and little else with these titles and I put 0 stock in them ICly, since it cant be portrayed correctly either from a player, due to many reasons.
All of that ranting aside, I genuinely enjoy playing here and have on and off for ten years. But so many people play with their own agendas and sort of neglect others fun in the process and like wise our staff in whichever edition it may come, cater more to the friends they have player side too. Theres a few notable DMs deserving of praise for breaking these repetitive patterns, but likely because they DMed for so long they got detached from the player base. At least we dont have a second Katzenjammer / Rith situation on our hands
Peace
