Scripted factions for UD

[JIŘÍ]

Why i suggest this?
To give players dynamic system to make own factions and also things to pursuit, gather, aim for and upgrade, keeping them busy while DM is not present.


What do we need for the system to work?

1) Generic guildhouses.
Add generic guildhouses into each UD settlement (Sshamat, Rockrun, dwarven city).

What would generic guildhouse look like?
A halfway from doors, meeting hall. This is basic part. Adjust parts (not availeble right away see further): universal room, basements, storage room for items.

2) Adding resources. Ore veins, added mineble trees. They would be destroyable items that would provide item called "resources". It would replenishe on reset. How many pieces would each provide is up for debate.

How would faction and its expanding be done?
Step one, founding one
If you want to make a faction, you would need 4 characvters (played on different unique cd keys to ensure they are 4 different players). Then to find free unoccupied guildhouse. Clicking onto sale board would open up guildmenu for you. There you add companions to be allowed progress further, then pick up kind of guild (and all details tied to the specific variant) and finally, pay the gold (100 000? 200 000? correct numbers arent now important).

Step two, expanding
You would need to add 5th character, fill special requirments, and pay gold for expansion. This would move your faction one tier up, and also open up one of the (until now) locked attachments to the guildhouse. You would select which part do you wish to open up for use for your faction on your guild menu when upgrading.

Step three, mantaining the faction
After every 20 days IRL there would be check if there were least 4 (5 if higher tier) active characters (to be active, actively played several hours). If not, your tier is downgraded, and if you are below 4 active characters, you loose the guildhouse, all possesions and npcs are also removed from the server on the next reset and guildhouse is up for sale again. You are either active, or not.

Now, what factions and where?
Sshamat: any aligment, any UD race
Dwarven city: neutral to good aligments, dwarven merchants only
Rockrun: neutral to good aligments, svirf merchants only

What faction could I make?

Well, you could center your role play around being merchant faction. Merchant faction has no aligment attached, but only natives can run one in dwarven city and svirfneblin town (so you can be an evil merchant svirf). Tier I comes with pre set npc (working name) cart driver.

Merchant faction menu would provide option to deploy production tool. Lets call it forge (but imagine anything udner it). Open menu, pick it up, set it up where you wish. Now you can put in resource items and begin trasfering them into trade goods.
When you get trade goods, you then go to your cart driver NPC and hand him over trade goods in dialogue. It will start timer of several IG days, once timer is over, your guild gains trade points into your faction menu.

What would i do with trade points?

Your trade points represent how wealthy your faction is. You have now several options what to do with them. Option one is always to expand faction, spend it on temporary boons, or get some guild assests. You would need a lot of them to expand, so spending them all would deny you option to upgrade your faction.

Lets talk of tiers and benefits for merchants:
Tier I
Basic level, basic guildhall. One trade route (can have one goods delivery at a time).
Leader of the guild can spend trade points to grant to all present characters from the guild bonus to 1 skill (appraise, diplomacy, taunt) +5, until reset.

Tier II (Requirments: spending X trade points, spendint X gold, 5 active characters)
Unlocks one attachment to the guildhall.
Adds one trade route.
Allows boon to two skills at once for +5 or to one for +10
Allows to buy NPC merchant (would be spawned on the settlement market place), that can buy resources from players (and otherwise, works as npc merchants now)
Allows to add various NPCs up to 4 (either generated or DM placed).

Tier III (Requirments: spending X trade points, spendint X gold, 5 active characters)
Unlocks second attachment.
Adds one more trade route.
Allows boon to 3 skills at +10 or one at +15
Allows to add 1 merchant to another settlement
Allows to add NPCs up to 6 total

Tier IV (Requirments: spending X trade points, spendint X gold, 5 active characters)
Unlocks last attachment
Adds one more trade route.
Allows boon to 3 skills at once at +15
Allows to add merchant to a special place
Qualifies leader to ask for DM plot for seat at local council / advisor in the settlements

All npcs, additional attahcments, would of course, need gold upkeep. Not harsh, but to keep people spending money and be forced to actively play and mantain what they have.


What other faction could i make?
You could go with religious one. The steps are similar, but faction would represent followers of given god and work to reinforce his power in region.

Instead of "forge" you would generate a shrine item (an altar). You would need a divine class to gather there with least 2 persons. The divine class has to have the deity to be able perform the ceremony (not filling this requirment will not add any piety points).
How would rite look like? You role play your ritual around the altar and if you meet conditions (you are divine class, have two companions with you in party in the room), you activate the altar (this starts 15 minutes long timer), and the rp experiences generated during this session would be turnt into your piety points. You could increase the piety points for a single sacrifice per altar (the gain could depand on value of item /100, 400 000 costing item could generate 4 000 piety points).
The altar, same as forge, would be set up in location until the reset. Only single sacrifice per altar could be done (at any time, not only during rite).

The things apply same as with merchants (access to npcs, but not to npc merchants, only classic npc merchants can be obtain and fall into the npc limit)
Tier I
Again, basic guildhouse, leader can summon servant of god for the piety points (lasts until killed, unsummoned or banished)
Divine classes can use boons for piety points: present characters from faction of same faith (!) get effect of spell bless active until reset.

Tier II
The basics as merchants, but with additional:
stronger summon
divine classes add also Prayer until reset.

Tier III
higher strenght of the summon
divine classes add also that clerical chanting
On tier III leader can commune with the god (trough DMs).

Tier IV
The faction became the leading element of the church (or represent the church if no official is in the region). The leader can ask for a plot leading to taking up position in the leadership of the given settlement (to become a councilor, archpriest etc).
The faction could trade piety for some rituals being part of plots to ensure their success in coordination with DMs.


The third type of faction would be adventuring / mercenary, but now i am off to bed

[Tanlaus]

Interesting.

I think currently in S’shamath at least there are three pretty active guilds. I’m not sure there is the player base to support a fourth generic one.

It’s always kind of been a chicken and egg thing with the UD. Not much DM interaction because not much player base, and not much player base (in part) because not much DM interaction,

Personally I think the best solution is for the current active guilds to maintain a visible presence and actively try to engage with new players so that they don’t feel like they are lost in an empty city.

Another problem with the UD, in my opinion, is that a lot of players run around with their location hidden. Sometimes for good reason, I’m not criticizing anyone specifically, but you can look at the scry, have seven or eight players in the UD, but with their locations hidden so that if you don’t know who they are you’d think it was completely empty. I think- based on conversations I’ve had with other players- it discourages people from making new toons down there.

The shame of it is, the UD is a well built, fairly interesting place. And definitely a way to have a new experience after you’ve already leveled a few surfacers and know every area like the back of your hand.

[Valefort]

These are good ideas but a ton of work, with the time I have it would probably take me months I'd say. So if you really want those the best course of actions likely is to develop those yourself.

[JIŘÍ]

These are good ideas but a ton of work, with the time I have it would probably take me months I'd say. So if you really want those the best course of actions likely is to develop those yourself.

I agree it is a lot of work.

Interesting.

I think currently in S’shamath at least there are three pretty active guilds. I’m not sure there is the player base to support a fourth generic one.

It’s always kind of been a chicken and egg thing with the UD. Not much DM interaction because not much player base, and not much player base (in part) because not much DM interaction,

Personally I think the best solution is for the current active guilds to maintain a visible presence and actively try to engage with new players so that they don’t feel like they are lost in an empty city.

Another problem with the UD, in my opinion, is that a lot of players run around with their location hidden. Sometimes for good reason, I’m not criticizing anyone specifically, but you can look at the scry, have seven or eight players in the UD, but with their locations hidden so that if you don’t know who they are you’d think it was completely empty. I think- based on conversations I’ve had with other players- it discourages people from making new toons down there.

The shame of it is, the UD is a well built, fairly interesting place. And definitely a way to have a new experience after you’ve already leveled a few surfacers and know every area like the back of your hand.

UD has several issues:
1) server has no crafting. The player cannot pursuit resources of any kind in dungeons (look at other servers like arelith. You dungeon for adamantite, to make top weapons, you dungeon for rare ingrediences for armours, shields, for runes to enchant and customize equiptment).

2) running factions demands DM attention. You cannot purchase guildhouse, play your faction, and when you are gone, another group cannot re use your guildhouse because to obtain guildhouse it has to be implemented by DM team. No rentable buildings, or rooms.

3) ugly stillness of the UD. Few locations, everything is protected by all mighty guards, few or none (least visible) player run agendas in settlements of any kind.

4) No proper dungeons to party into. Looking aside the fact there is often very little award to do so (no goddamned gem you need to make rune for your armour which is worth a million coins and unique)....you cannot even venture to ANY dungeon beyond UD and enjoy award of any kind (xps or loot).

5) The silly tripping of surfacers + Lack of anything rare unque to UD also gives totally no reason for surface adventurers to descend down. No thrill of encounter, possible conflict.

If i sum things up there is very little a player can do when alone, or when in small group of friends only. Chit chatting with others or plain bickering with possible foes tires out quickly.

[Tanlaus]

I think, while exacerbated by the small size of the UD, these are surface issues as well. Once you reach 30 the majority of your game, outside of leveling alts, is DM interaction and interacting with other players.

I can’t tell you how many times on the surface I’ve stood around a group of long time players just congregating at the eastern farmlands campfire waiting for something to do.

The difference, in my opinion is...

1) there is enough DM activity to keep people engaged.

2) there are a variety of epic areas that are better suited to group activity. Going after the Balor or the White Dragon often requires some organization. Same with several of the other dragons. Though I’m aware everything but the white is solo able, most people really aren’t built for it.

In the UD you have the pit fiend. And it is soloable.

There’s an issue with space until the much hoped for server split so not much to do about #2 right now though in the future, hopefully, an expanded UD will help.

Also as mentioned in other threads, more epic areas and more challenging bosses will help by motivating 30s to organize and work together... which, while mechanical in nature, tends to help stimulate RP.

Not that I’m bashing the idea of scripted guild functions just that, as Valefort said, they’re a lot of work, and I think they’re a smaller piece of the player interest puzzle.