Server-Wide DM Shouts
Posted: Wed Sep 16, 2020 3:10 am
Tonight, a party of us were on Ulgoth's Beach. A vampire bat flew by, and we decided to check it out. (Not sure if it was DM or not). We lost sight of the bat, but then decided to check out the pirate caves. We went a little ways in, and then someone suggested that maybe it was a diversion. We decided to head back to Ulgoth's Beard to check the town. Just as we walked into town, there was a server wide shout from a DM, "An unnatural, red fog slowly rolls into the town".
I sent the DM a /t asking if it was where we were. The DM was apparently busy, and never responded. We OOCly decided that meant we couldn't see it. ICly, we decided to head to Baldur's Gate. We were OOCly unsure of what was going on, when suddenly there was another server-wide shout, "A shrill scream echoes out into the darkness, and is abruptly silenced".
We essentially stood still, not sure if we should react or not. We eventually got a reply that it was NOT Ulgoth's. Finally, another server-wide shout, "The screams echo from northward, the red fog follows... not from Ulgoth Not from Baldurs Gate, the night moves swiftly, and death is in the air".
We had already ICly discussed headed north, so we headed that way. Eventually, it seems we found something.
Now, this is not a complaint about the DM. I've loved their stories so far. And loved their event this evening once we got on the right track. What I'm complaining about is the server-wide shouts. Besides causing confusion, they also cause meta-gaming, where people suddenly show up who should have no idea what's going on. Is there any way we can implement a way for DMs to locally shout over a map, rather than server-wide? That would alleviate a lot of issues, in my opinion.
I sent the DM a /t asking if it was where we were. The DM was apparently busy, and never responded. We OOCly decided that meant we couldn't see it. ICly, we decided to head to Baldur's Gate. We were OOCly unsure of what was going on, when suddenly there was another server-wide shout, "A shrill scream echoes out into the darkness, and is abruptly silenced".
We essentially stood still, not sure if we should react or not. We eventually got a reply that it was NOT Ulgoth's. Finally, another server-wide shout, "The screams echo from northward, the red fog follows... not from Ulgoth Not from Baldurs Gate, the night moves swiftly, and death is in the air".
We had already ICly discussed headed north, so we headed that way. Eventually, it seems we found something.
Now, this is not a complaint about the DM. I've loved their stories so far. And loved their event this evening once we got on the right track. What I'm complaining about is the server-wide shouts. Besides causing confusion, they also cause meta-gaming, where people suddenly show up who should have no idea what's going on. Is there any way we can implement a way for DMs to locally shout over a map, rather than server-wide? That would alleviate a lot of issues, in my opinion.
Mistakes happen. I normally don't even use the shout channel unless there are simply not many people online which happens sometimes in my play-times. I didn't respond to the T because I had about 4 people ask me the same question at once, I may have missed yours, apologies, it happens when you're juggling a lot of things at once. The original "shout" was supposed to be for the group in Soubar at the time, not the entire server, I was sitting in /s by accident for that one from an unrelated reason.