Messages

Lame pvp is the reason most people leave I'm sure.  For every aggressive PK'er I'd guess multiples have left.
 
There are many ways this server is good, the way pvp is handled isn't one of them.

There's nothing wrong with punching while holding a shield.
 
The fist should be their main weapon though in my opinion.
 
Would like to see some fighter - only gauntlets that add damage though so that it's as good as a mace at least.

It's very nice to have a chance to get through as opposed to a simple wipe.
 
I think the pcs who had brought about the Darkening should have some sort of memorial or in game presence possibly as npc villains somewhere.
 
I'm not sure how much of the Illithid empire is source and how much is Howland's, but they remind me very strongly of the way the world seems to be headed.

You need allies and playing orthodox characters hurts that.
 
Play the sort of amoral opportunist who fits in anywhere and it is much easier.  Or someone willing to lower themselves to the level of others for gains.
 
Very few characters consistently stand for something.  They do so selectively, when it suits them or when they're grandstanding for a dm.
 
Having an uptight or honorable character is just about impossible so maybe you should try something a bit more easy going.

Enjoyed interacting with this pc every time I could.

It seems as if Blackout should always be used when summons are involved.
 
It will unsummon the way killing will, won't it?
 
Summons shouldn't be fighting on when their summoner is subdued.  Also a summoner shouldn't have to worry about trying to force their summon to stop pounding on subdued targets while ignoring enemies that are still actually threats.  
 
With blackout those things wouldn't be an issue anymore, unless I am wrong about how it works in relation to summons.

These things are nowhere near balanced for quests that are designed so that pcs require buffs to survive them.
 
Lizardmen for instance.
 
And that's fine if doing these quests is now supposed to be a tax rather than a way to get more supplies than are spent.
 
But if that wasn't the intention, I think it needs looking at.
 
Sure, the odd group can succeed while being absolutely barraged with dispels particularly if they have permanent damage resistance.
 
Rogues and archers are more valuable now as sources of damage to shut down those dispellers.
 
But in general, I think the leap in difficulty will see most groups taking big losses at this quest solely due to these things.
 
 

Obediance is not a request :
 
And if in spite of this you will not hearken to me, but walk contrary to me, then I will walk contrary to you in fury, and chastise you myself sevenfold for your sins.  You shall eat the flesh of your sons, and your shall eat the flesh of your daughters.  And I will destroy your high places, and cut down your incense altars, and cast your dead bodies uon the dead bodies of your idols ; and my soul will abhor you.  And I will lay your cities waste, and will make your sanctuaries desolate, and I will not smell your pleasing odors.  And I will devastate the land, so that your enemies who settle in it shall be astonished at it.  
 
Leviticus 26 - 27, RSV
 
 
 
I kill and I make alive ; I wound and I heal ; and there is none that can deliver out of my hand.  I will make my arrows drunk with blood, and my sword shall devour flesh - with the blood of the slain and the captives, from the long-haired heads of the enemy.
 
Deuteronomy 32, 39b and 42
 
 
 
Regarding an enemy country :
 
I will strew your flesh upon the mountains, and fill the valleys with your carcass.  I will drench the land even to the mountains with your flowing blood ; and the watercourses will be full of you.  When I blot you out, I will cover the heavens, and make their stars dark ; I will cover the sun with a cloud, and the moon shall not give its light.  All the bright lights of heaven will I make dark over you,
 
Ezekial 32 : 5-
 
 
There are some mentions of slavery too, which definately should not be neglected as it is a core tenet of the Banite way of life.  With obediance, fear and slavery in mind you could certainly do much worse than to use selections from the Old Testament in your Banite sermons.

If the pc is a cautious sort they are likely to take the withering quite seriously and only go out when they have to.  If they don't care about progressing toward undeath that is fine of course.
 
Other than that, if you want more people to go out, then have the cleric in the tower sell long lasting buffs as the former main buffers (wizards and sorcs) are now least likely of all to ever leave town, since they were unlucky enough to have their player pick a class an entire faction has declared war on.
 
As has been said, between withering treatments and having to self-buff, as well as difficulty finding people, some pcs just can't afford to go out.  The ability to buy long lasting buffs would help I'm sure.

There are too many factions with too little consistency in them.
 
Too many means too few players in each and less attention given by the dm team to each, leading to less consistency.
 
When I look there are around fifteen people usually on, compare that to nine factions or so.

It appears to be nothing more than an xp/gold sink which few seriously seek a cure for because there probably isn't one, and it's attached to the npc which everyone also knows will not die until it's scheduled to.
 
If there was some sort of rare and risky way to get cured, if a few pcs got cured that would change.  Until then it seems like another drain on a pcs' resources in an already increasingly difficult server.

There are various contributing reasons as to why this is a heavy pvp server.
 
1.  Killing characters is the easier route to both making a difference and getting wealthy.  Your faction character can kill those of an opposing faction to get an easier boost than working through dm events.
 
2.  A lack of alternatives.  People will not be held to oaths they make nor is there a good slavery, thrall or geas system.  Humiliations or dishonoring or torture or what have you is only effective if the other person's player agrees that it will be and then maintains interest in that.  Without a good deal of ooc arrangements you can't be sure they won't just carry on if spared without showing any effect from the scenario that was supposed to be the alternative to the full damage.  As such killing is the clean and convenient method.
 
3.  Example : when it happens once or twice to someone that they get full damaged without prior conflicts they'll start doing the same assuming this is the way to play.  So it builds its own momentum.
 
4.  An ooc expectation that all characters should have a short lifespan.
 
5.  Some people who enjoy pvp more than anything else and play for that reason.
 
6.  Dm possessed npcs which ask for deaths as opposed to some other outcome.

I agree with Pool in that there's too much emphasis on conflict, and this ties in to the other things he mentioned.
 
Secret accounts - so the deeds or misdeeds in pvp will not accrue ooc dislike or like to characters.
 
Lack of character reactions to in game events - part of that comes from permanent death (mostly because of pvp) being so common.
 
Grim-dark gets darker when not only do people not cooperate to survive, they constantly kill each other over small things.

Too many babies die of hunger or get tortured by sadists everyday in this world for karma to make sense.
 
The well known Shakespeare quote about life being a tale told by an idiot, full of sound and fury, signifying nothing, is probably more accurate.

Nothing is going to change.  If you want to play here, you have to accept that someday your pc will be full damaged, sometimes for an unknown or made up reason.
 
People would much rather endlessly pvp each other than do anything else such as try to solve the settings mysteries.
 
Having to pay xp to full damage someone is actually a good idea though as it would make them question how much they actually want this person out of the way.