Factions and armor in EfU : City of Rings

[Richørd]

Allow me to share this from EfU's Discord to kick things off with. A fine quote, a real dirty meme from the depths of #trashshots.



This was a very DrD-esque comment I made on my character while standing in the middle of Oakrest Trade Square, surrounded by several Retainers who shall remain unnamed because I don't mean to fling poop at folks, I mean to get something across. Something that is not poop, really. And yes, this was very fourth-wall-breaking, but done so for a purpose.


First, what are uniforms?
"A uniform is a type of clothing worn by members of an organization while participating in that organization's activity."
"Military uniforms in the form of standardised and distinctive dress, intended for identification and display, are typically a sign of organised military forces equipped by a central authority."
"Members of the police in every country have a uniform for identification as law-enforcement personnel or agents. They are distinguished from the public by the uniform the police wear during overt policing activity."
-a few smartass quotes I pulled from Wikipedia


I hope those few choice quotes I ripped from Wikipedia, the free online encyclopedia, make clear what purpose uniforms usually have.
In CoR we have several factions with uniforms, most of them being noble houses of the Peerage Ward.
These houses are the de facto governing factions of Ring 99, if they do so in service to Count or King is irrelevant here. What is relevant is that their factions have been designed with the purpose of making each house look distinct from another, to give them a feel and a STYLE.
Something that has been really bothering me lately though is that the players of many of the Houses' dedicated and sworn Retainers have been seriously disregarding their chosen faction's STYLE in favor of STATS.


What are Retainers?
"A retinue is a body of persons retained in the service of a noble, royal personage, or dignitary, a suite (literal French meaning: what follows) of retainers."
"Such retainers were not necessarily in the domestic service or otherwise normally close to the presence of their lord, but also include others who wore his livery (a kind of uniform, in distinctive colours) and claimed his protection, such as musicians and private teachers."
-more smartass quotes I pulled from Wikipedia


And I am not hiding it, this thread is a bit selfish to begin with. I am usually real careful about wearing the proper uniform of my chosen faction and try to stick with it.
The obvious exceptions to this is DM loot. That is something we do not even need to get into, I think. Though even with DM loot I have witnessed some situations, which were absolutely justified by the way, where someone took issue with a Retainer wearing some outlandish looking armor that didn't fit in with his faction's STYLE at all.

On the few characters where I did stray from my faction's uniform I had DMs tell me very clearly that I am supposed to wear my faction's armor and not something with NICE STATS on it.
For multiple reasons. Retainers get privileges IC that other characters don't. All kinds of RP goodies. And part of these privileges is also to be easily recognized because of your faction's STYLE. To break away from that is not just going cross with your faction's direction, it is just in bad taste ICly. Plus being a Retainer comes with a ridiculous amount of actual GAME GOODIES in exchange for a very low buy-in price. Full sets of armor, the protection of being in a faction, goals for stuff to do, free resting ... there is so much.
Then there is also the fact that rewards and better stats are part of advancements within the ranks of a House. STYLE and STATS are rewards for being a good and hard working Retainerman who brings his Lord all the chicken tendies without behaving like a bleached anus.

All this was a big buildup to the actual suggestion and I invite anyone, DMs and players, to give their own opinions on all I have said before this.


So what is the damn suggestion, Richørd?
I suggest everyone, DMs and players alike, to remember why we chose those uniformed factions to begin with and stick with what's just expected of us in the game. For the sake of immersion and for the sake of fairness. There have to be some downsides to being a Retainer, so let us be fair and let it be that we have to stick with our uniforms.
Let's remind eachother of why we shouldn't run around wearing morghoul skin leather helmets when serving Lord Importantman the Third.



If you disagree with this please don't beat and hate on me too much, guys. Thanks. :(

[Octarine]

lol

[cmenden]

But where do you stand on "never wearing a helmet"?

[Bio]

i think helmets are really not that big of a deal as long as u wear the u know main uniform pieces like armor/cloak lol

[Random_White_Guy]

Personal retainer preference: In public helm, in private no helm, in private meeting no helm, in council of peers meeting no helm, in casual meetings in public helm.

[Aethereal]

I do agree that being part of a faction/association comes with representing them through wearing the appropriate uniform. This is a requirement of retainership and is indeed reinforced by relevant NPCs.

When it comes to cloaks and helms there might be some more leeway, but the best course of action when it comes to this is, if you're a veteran or otherwise retainer of high rank you can always take enforcement into your own hands. It is after all another form of IC conflict, sort of like establishing a pecking order.  A sniveling PC could also complain to their higher-ups about specific retainers if they wanted, or you could even go all out and disparage other retainers who wear obnoxious armour IG accusing them of besmirching the outfit of their lord etc.

Basically, the OOC reminder is fair, but there is also a lot you can do IC/IG about it too!

[Bacon_Cheese_Burger]

I like this. A helmet is just as much part of a uniform as pants.. You wouldnt want to walk arround without pants would you?

[parthenos]

I agree with you Richord. You just go get those powergamers fishing for +1 will and don't let them go, eh?

[HowlingLikeAWolf]

I actually agree with this. 

Uncounted times I was actually questing with a minor or major noble house, and I had no clue they were a member of that house due to choices of clothing, or style.  A peer should be easily identifiable!  They get tons of nice gear, tons of special privileges, and it's not even that hard to become one really.   That should come with the downside of visibility.    

Retainers are not like cops or soldiers. They are representing their lord 100% of the time.  They don't have a day job.  Their sole purpose is to work for the glory of their House.    I hope this is taken more seriously in future. 

The one exception I could see to this would be a Spymaster, or a rogue specific perk like that where the Lord of the House gave leave for them to doff the colors on occasion.   Anyone else could stuff it.