Control of Actions

[granny]

Greetings, EFU!

Aethereal has made this askance in the past, regarding his garden... not sure if anyone cared about it other than me... but I will try it with my own issue. I hope to be successful.

Well... everyone knows that I am cultivating a beautiful (sic) pile of corpses atop the Old Stones. The thing is: the place is not a storage one and we don't have a permanent sign there for keeping track of what is left at that cell. I've been trying to make it viable with the use of a Forum Thread.

Sometimes the corpses vanish due to programmed mechanics, other times it's action of players. In order to be sure of when it's intentional action of players I hereby ask you to help me telling me when and if a corpse was taken by you. I am not metagaming it and if you fear someone else might do, send me the information through PM. I've done the request already at the first post of the Thread, but I guess not everyone were aware of it. That's why I make a thread to discuss it.

Until the moment, I only became aware of -one- corpse that was taken away. As I don't know if it was programmed mechanics of cleanse of areas or player's actions... I am assuming that the corpses that vanished after the first one are all still there. I guess it is not true, but I have not received any warning of a corpse being taken away...

So, we don't need a mechanical way to keep track of this kind of things... my character won't last forever and we are rather a community, a team telling the same story. For it, I ask your help into making sure the story is told in an interesting way.

Just to make sure: I am -not- metagaming the information (the same way I hope for people don't metagame who is making the pile of corpses without actually witnessing it or hearning rumors about it). I have no interest into it and I think it wouldn't be fun for any of us. I just want to be able to make Biterips even more bitter as people keep taking away her offerings. Or you think the choice of the place was random? The things would be way easier if I had chosen a hidden place to make it. But I would get no interactions from it. People would not steal her corpses and people would not randomly bump at her when she would be making her rituals... until the moment, close to ten players passed by her in the middle or her rituals, what has been creating interesting, close to random and crazy interactions...

Do not fear. The shrine is there for you guys to have the chance to defile it, to annoy Biterips. I didn't make it to stay all safe and secure, but to need safety, to generate conflict.

... now just wait for when I manage to make goblins, withered creeps and wererats to protect it.... *whistles at the DM team*

[NetherGonnaLetYouDown]

Generally if you have great activity and get other people involved in these kind things, like.. Claiming areas, changing surroundings, you can after a time make notice in Module change request forum

[Aethereal]

For what its worth, the idea of managing the garden as an open location for anyone to plunder and leave evidence or respectfully acknowledge by choice was a mild failure. Though I know a lot of PCs did help with the idea and many more avoided dry looting it for no good reason.

It has much to do with the fact that anyone could simply walk into the area and ravage the herbs without consequence, especially since constant PC surveillance over the area is untenable.

You will have the same issue with the shrine, granny. Or at the worst, nobody will really be interested in the corpses there and it will just become another stagnant permanent storage place.

The ideal solution is a mechanic that records a trespass, something like a security camera. This aught to be earned in game after attempting vigilance over the area over some time or conducting usual rituals as you do. Tailored to the setting as a 'seeing fetish' or NPC guard record describing the general appearance of the person responsible. Scripting wise, maybe it could just indicate the name of the offending PC as OOC information, placing the responsibility of RPing a description upon the PC trying to maintain vigilance over the area; though this is just one idea of implementation.

It may be something to consider if it is in the realm of the scriptable at least, for the sake of making these things a source of interesting interaction rather than hotspots for anonymous drylooting. Essentially adding a consequence to the act, depending upon the nature of the wards they might also fire a message at the PCs trespassing, something on the lines of 'you get the feeling you are being watched.'

[EfUA_undercover]

A scripted NPC record which gives the name seems kinda useless as it would not work for disguised characters.

However, I think it is only fair to drop a pm if you are messing with another persons work. The best and easiest way would be posting your changes under grannys' thread though imo. Easy to keep track of for both the player and the DM team.

This counts for all other comparabe stuff too ofc.

[lovethesuit]

I think you do plenty to add flavour to the Old Stones and I've often wondered why nobody built your shrine of rotting corpses IG yet. A module change request would be perfect for this.

[granny]

Generally if you have great activity and get other people involved in these kind things, like.. Claiming areas, changing surroundings, you can after a time make notice in Module change request forum

Yes, I am aware of that. I have been waiting to be sure it would be something that would last. And it's also something that I have been delaying because my character is always in a high FD danger zone. I would not like to see the DMs putting effort into something that might stop in a day or two. I have been hoping too to grab more players interested into the plot. Players that would keep it going even with the death of my PC. That has not happened yet, unfortunatelly. And that's why I am leaving the DM team to decide if the effort is worthwhile.

Or at the worst, nobody will really be interested in the corpses there and it will just become another stagnant permanent storage place.

The positive difference between our issues is that my corpses aren't that useful for most of the players. And to not have people running away with them would not be a big deal. The big conflict is not generated by people stealing them, but by the fact of they being right there when Biterips prepares her rituals and people randomly bomp at her in the middle of them.

At the moment what is more important to me is to be sure that the things that I put here... they are still here, they aren't? Am I RPing a witch that prays in front of a pile of nothing? That would be funny... but I would prefer to do it intentionally.

This is what makes me want to have a permanent storage place (like an urn, a big pot or a bowl) to put them into (not like the barrel that is nearby... it resets each time the server reloads).

The ideal solution is a mechanic that records a trespass, something like a security camera.

To have someone to keep track of this kind of action would be interesting... but I was told several times by the DM team that any scripted request will be answered with a "no-no". Not to mention the already pointed out issue with disguised people.

However, I think it is only fair to drop a pm if you are messing with another persons work. The best and easiest way would be posting your changes under grannys' thread though imo. Easy to keep track of for both the player and the DM team.

Yep-yep! We're a community! We're a team! We are working TOGETHER to tell this story... social mechanics are also important! And that's what I am suggesting here. If The DM team have time, to think it to be worthwhile and to add flavor to the server, I will be the first to thank for a change of the surroundings...

Although, if it is not possible, I think it'd be really nice to have a team of players working attuned, telling me when they are messing up with it.

I think you do plenty to add flavour to the Old Stones and I've often wondered why nobody built your shrine of rotting corpses IG yet. A module change request would be perfect for this.

I thank a lot for the support! You've been a really good source of inspiration. Although, for now... I am going to wait a bit more before requesting anything else. The DM team have been quite supportive. I am sure they have not added anything else for lack of time.

[Aethereal]

Sound and commendable resolve, granny. I wish you the best with it!

I haven't tried exploring the digging mechanic, though that might be an option for others with similar plans if dug up holes are persistent over resets.