More random spice.

[Disco]

The title say it all. I really miss the random DM spice on quests, and I know ALOT of other players also miss this. I know there have been players in the past who did not like this, but I belive it is a minority of the playerbase.
DM´s please think about this, this is what got me hooked on EFU in the first place waaaay back, and it saddens me that it rarely happens any more. If you get discuraged by the few players who dislike it, just remember. Most of us love it.

Keep rocking.

[Divine Intervention]

I think it's more to do with if a DM feels like it and if there is a DM around than any major decision, in fact I had DM spice a couple of days back.  Probably more chance of when you are questing than any design.

[GoblinSapper]

[11:06] <@NuclearCatastrophe> DM spice will naturally make a quest harder, and you have to make it look like you're trying to kill people (while not actually wanting anyone to actually bite the dust).
[11:06] yeah
[11:06] <@NuclearCatastrophe> So.
[11:06] <@NuclearCatastrophe> If people die, that's a negative experience for all involved.
[11:06] only problem i think with adding a bit of spice into a quest is it might end up being hard to balance. essentially the DM might cause whole party to get slaughtered without that intention
[11:07] disco is just saying there isn't any anymore
[11:07] <@NuclearCatastrophe> I'm getting to that.
[11:07] <@NuclearCatastrophe> It's not just a negative experience for the player, it's a negative experience for the DM.
[11:07] <@NuclearCatastrophe> So, they are discouraged from spicing a quest in the future.
[11:08] *** Peons quit (Connection reset by peer)
[11:09] <@NuclearCatastrophe> Though, if people are doing the same quest daily, I kind of believe that a DM -should- step in and alter things.
[11:09] As someone who has DM'd on other servers
[11:09] theres nothing wrong with dm spicing a quest and everyone dieing
[11:09] I can confirm
[11:09] it is hard NOT to kill pc's
[11:09] <@NuclearCatastrophe> To prevent casual metagaming.
[11:09] NC
[11:09] Please post on the forum thread :)
[11:10] I constantly die all the time without a DM spicing the quest up :P
[11:10] <@NuclearCatastrophe> Eh, I've already written my thoughts here, I'm extremely lazy.
[11:10] I SHALL COPY PASTE.

[Listen in Silence]

I can personally accept taking the odd character death in exchange for DM spice, if the risk for that is the reason it's so rare. I think most players will agree that the fun will trump the danger.

[Howlando]

This is a hard one to answer. For myself I do spice scripted quest sometimes (particularly if I notice new players), but generally I have better things to do.

In terms of hard-spice, generally there are problems with players attitudes so it's often avoided by DMs.

[The Beggar]

It can be dicey, having been on both sides. It can really depend on the PCs you are playing with as Howland stated, and their attitudes about the game / story. Usually I gave ample hints that something was going to be changed and harder (ie different). Some players love that sort of interaction, I'm one of them. Some players actually don't like it, and really enjoy the routine quests and just PC interactions and RP that way. Both are fine, but it does sometimes take a discerning DM to understand which players will have fun with spice, and which may resent it.

The saddest thing though is checking a PCs inventory prior to adventures, and then watching that PC die while hoarding potions or other consumables that could have changed the tide of battle, or save the PC. I've seen battles escalate and pots of blur, shadow shield, etc go unused. Also sad is death to AoOs, it still breaks my heart to see it happen.

[Craig210]

DM spice on quests can cause death, but to me thats the point. It's what makes it exciting. We have some amazing dm's who really push players in terms of surviving. Yes you may do, yes you may rage, but in the end if you pull through its an epic tale, or even if you die you went out in an amazing experiance.

The server shouldnt seem cushy, it should be a harsh experiance, and harsher for those who know what to expect.

I've had some amazing character changing events from dm spice as well as deaths that resulted in me giving a character the shelf. I would not change any of it because the memories i had of the experiance was awesome.

[Wildlings]

DM spice should be "the spice of life".. both literally and figuratively. The few times I've run into spice, it has been amazingly unexpected.  It tests not only your abilities to think quick and change tactics if needed, but that of your parties.

I can understand the hesitancy of the DM's though.  First there is the question of "which group to spice?" If you spice one group, inevitability another group will feel slighted.  Then you have "Will the players handle the death of their PC's if it happens?" I would hope all of us here could handle this.  Yes, dieing stinks but let's face it, we all will have to find a way to end our 'story'.

So I say, spice it up... It's the only way to live.

[Thomas_Not_very_wise]

I don't think I've ever seen a player resent spice.

Then again, I've had some good banter with folks in tells saying how utterly fucked we'll be if wiggyboy spiced us

[12 Hatch]

Perhaps because EfU players tend to be very strong, on average, with mechanics, there is a very fragile line of efficiency that is towed.

You can see a small group of players do incredible things against overwhelming amounts of monsters (orcs, for example), and then for no apparent reason they are routed.  Perhaps a crucial buff wears off, perhaps formation breaks and someone's Imp. Exp. is broken, or perhaps the monsters land a few lucky critical hits.

As a player, I have difficulty a lot figuring out just when things are "difficult", for a lot of times they go from easy to impossible in but a few crucial seconds.  I imagine calibrating spawns accordingly would be equally challenging.

[Howlando]

It's very easy, actually - for me at least. But I've been DM'ing for years.

Just have other things to do, really.

And let's face it, a lot of players are pretty immature with a tenuous grasp of truth and a proclivity for taking things that happen in a game harshly.

[Badcompany]

Gimme SPICE!

[The Beggar]

a lot of players are pretty immature with a tenuous grasp of truth

Wait just one minute, I may be immature but I know perfectly well that I am not -completely- enmeshed in a fantasy life.

So what if I dress in medieval attire in the workplace and have my co-workers call me "Beggar" and my family "m'lord". I know who I am, really. And I can give this up anytime I want. Seriously.

[The Old Hack]

The saddest thing though is checking a PCs inventory prior to adventures, and then watching that PC die while hoarding potions or other consumables that could have changed the tide of battle, or save the PC. I've seen battles escalate and pots of blur, shadow shield, etc go unused. Also sad is death to AoOs, it still breaks my heart to see it happen.

About hoarding consumables, a great danger there is simply not keeping properly track of them. I once died because I had forgotten that my cloak could cast Blur. >.< Putting emergency lifesavers in a quickslot row reserved for this is your friend, here.

[tspawn35]

I am completely fine with spicing.. I have died more times on my character on my own without spice in more dumb and retarted ways then i can count.. I have also died on a dm spiced quest. Dying sucks but it's easy to get the xp back. I find it fun and interesting when things get hard. Even if they get hard without a DM because of random things that have happened. So Idk I am ok with both. I totally agree with the forgetting that you have items in your invontory.. I ahve done that more then I can count I forget to orginize and then have to go running around my invontory trying to find what it is i need when I need it...