PC Plots and You: A rough guide

[Random_White_Guy]

One of the most fundamentally amazing aspects of EFU:R and all of its previous incarnations is the degree to which player character plots and efforts can shape the server at large. Since I have always felt this was the most important aspect of EFU I thought I'd do a quick rundown guide of a few dos and don'ts of PC plots. I firmly believe that PC plots are the best thing ever in EFU. DMs have their plate full with a lot of situations and matters and if you do it right pushing a PC plot can lead to some of the most eventful and fun activities you can undertake.

To address the concerns of many PCs I'll start with the negative.

[indent]I just made a sending for an event and no one showed up.[/indent]

That's okay! EFU is a big server with a lot going on. People questing, people exploring, people fighting, DM events and similar. In this situation you must not get discouraged because it happens to everyone. The important thing is to remember to be tenacious in your pursuits.

Sometimes you get a bad timezone or a bad slot or just not enough people online. If you make it a semi-occuring thing as you make more sendings more people will eventually begin to get curious and trickle in or their time IG will open up and they will come pay you a visit.

[indent]I don't like PvP[/indent]

It's a common misconception that PC plots need to involve PvP. That can't be farther from the truth. PvP is a large part of EFU but there are a number of plots you can pursue that have no shape or bearing on PvP depending on how you go about it with tact and style. That's not to say though that PvP lacks tact or style similarly.

The largest thing to remember about a PC Plot is that it is entirely in your hands. Your PC can shape how it goes. If your character is an Ilmateri seeking to stop violence in lower and you head to lower to preach non violence, sure you may get your ass kicked. But you know what? Ilmater's all about suffering so others need not. So your PC keeps pushing. Gives more speeches. Maybe even uses fliers and the sending system more to avoid physical contact.

More and more awareness is brought forward.

[indent]I don't have the money for hiring people[/indent]

To that I say...well, yes you do. Potions are well and good but you can use that potion money to hire people for a PC plot. 180 gold can go to a haste potion certainly or you can pay that 180 gold to a PC to go spy befriend and spy upon an up and coming villain for you. You can use that 180 gold to hire a PC to act as your bodyguard as you go give a speech in lower about non-violence (in the case of the last example), and similar.

PCs need potions and equipment and funds just as much as you do. If you're willing to take the personal hit to "spread the wealth" PCs will become more and more likely to pay a visit if they can get a cut of your action.

EFU:R is the most gold-rich setting we've ever had and in that wealth you can do a lot of things to see your agenda pushed forward

As those are the three biggest complaints I hear from people I'll round out by offering just a list of five things you can do to improve your PC plots.

[indent]1) Do not play alts or log off when you are bored. Sure that's the easy thing to do and sometimes you can't really afford to spend X number of time IG. One of the best things to do in the off hours or the low key hours when no one is around though is to push your PC plots. At those times EVERY PC is looking for something to do or bored. Offer them an alternative and they may yet come.

2) Use the tools at your disposal. Don't try and make some BIG BOMBASTIC GRANDIOSE PLOT if it's your first attempt at a PC Plot. Your focus should be to push things as much as you are able from your position as a PC with the tools at your disposal. The following is an example:

A Cleric of Tyche seeking to push the envelope of what adventurers do for gambling. You can orchestrate dice games using the roll 1d6 and similar for 10-25 gold per hand in a gambling event. You can play a "Russian Roulette" style game with 6 different potions four of which has been laced with a non-lethal poison and make PCs choose which. Offer them 25 gold if they get the right one. You can bestow curse on items and make PCs choose from a set of three mystery bags one each filled with a fine piece of equipment they can have for a price. If they picked the cursed one you can charge them 100 gold for the curse removal.

Each of these things are somehting a PC could easily pursue without a DM

3) Which brings me to point three. You don't want to have to call on the DMs. Sure you can aspire to push something so big that DMs take notice but on the whole your focus should be PC efforts for PCs without the need of DM intervention. This will allow you to make and craft your own story, leave your personal mark on EFU and more without the need of DM assistance.

I can't tell you what a great feeling it is to get such plots to work in your favor.

4) You can't give up. PCs will ignore you for a long time if your concept is weird or foreign to them or just plain unpopular. If you stick at it though and every day find a new way to try and push your plot eventually something will stick. You just have to keep pushing it and keep getting in people's lines of sight. Use the sending system, use the forums, use letters, hire other PCs for 25 gold to go run around telling all of freedom square that you're doing something.

5) And lastly the most golden rule I can offer is: GO TO OTHER PCS EVENTS. Fostering PC plots is a great way to meet new PCs but also for your character to make contacts and potential recruitments for your own faction. If you notice a PC is struggling to get attention you can pitch in to help out in order to spread your influence.

If you're playing a corrupt and brutal Auxiliary you can offer 500 gold to a PC's event efforts on the insistence he puts your name on his fliers. That way if anyone passes by they'll see that Auxiliary Moneybags Childslapper also supports Ilmateri speeches on Non-Violence within Lower Sanctuary.

Good guys, bad guys, neutral guys, everyone can pitch in to help a PC plot flourish.[/indent]

Ultimately EFu is what we make of it and while it's very fun to pursue quests and wait for DM plots there's a lot of ways in which we as PCs can not only help the server, help each other but also help the DM staff.

It's hard to push plots for everyone and micro-plots such as PC efforts can go a long way to shoulder some of that burden. You may even get some DM attention out of it for involving other people, using your funds for something besides self-enrichment, and trying to make things happen on EFU.

PC plots are tough. It'll take a lot of work. Sometimes it will fall flat on its face and make you feel like a schlurb. Other times though when it fires on all cylinders and is picked up by the populace as something of concern or merit it can be such an amazing EFU feeling.

Lastly I'll say this: PC plots are the ones that quickly stir the most conflict in EFU. PC groups of competing agendas suddenly become at odds with one another and in no short ways this is just the best thing ever for the server.

Racial groups vs. Community Embracing.
Violent Faiths vs. Peaceful faiths
Lawful groups vs. Chaotic groups
Free flowing Magic Communities vs. Spellguard Oppression of magic in the hands of a few.
Exploration groups vs. Isolationist groups
Trade Merchants vs. PC Criminals
Ibrandulites vs. Ascensionists
Ghaunadurans vs. Everybody.

[Random_White_Guy]

Also as a side point since people seem to overlook them two things:

A) YOU CAN JOIN AS MANY PC FACTIONS AS YOU WANT. It's unlimited. It's boundless. So long as it is IC for your PC you can join every group that comes along to spy on everyone or try and sell everyone your merchant goods as their quartermaster or anything else that fits your PCs agenda.

B) You can join DM factions, DM Associations, and still be in a PC faction. I always thought it was cool in particular when faith based organizations lead by clerics found their way into having followers in higher powered factions. This works though for any notion of efforts and PC plots and factions.

You can have your temple guard become a Watchman.
You can have your company scout become an Auxiliary Engineer.

It works the other way too.

You can have your Society Ordinant join the Xenophobic PC group.
YOu can have your Civil Service Clerk join a mercenary company.

[Spiffy Has]

Also as a side point since people seem to overlook them two things:

A) YOU CAN JOIN AS MANY PC FACTIONS AS YOU WANT. It's unlimited. It's boundless. So long as it is IC for your PC you can join every group that comes along to spy on everyone or try and sell everyone your merchant goods as their quartermaster or anything else that fits your PCs agenda.

B) You can join DM factions, DM Associations, and still be in a PC faction. I always thought it was cool in particular when faith based organizations lead by clerics found their way into having followers in higher powered factions. This works though for any notion of efforts and PC plots and factions.

You can have your temple guard become a Watchman.
You can have your company scout become an Auxiliary Engineer.

It works the other way too.

You can have your Society Ordinant join the Xenophobic PC group.
YOu can have your Civil Service Clerk join a mercenary company.

Quoted for Emphasis. Please read this.