The balance of a proactive world

[VanillaPudding]

Hello EFU world,

I'd like to openly discuss what I feel is a rather large setback in this setting and, with your help, possibly brainstorm for some ideas on how things might be redirected towards what I would consider better trends. We'll cover a few different topics here, and I hope that people can avoid short or pointless replies like "things are fine" or "this sucks, ugh change it", but rather offer some things of substance to their argument in whatever form they so feel appropriate. Let's begin -

The supply level - It's well understood that EFU:M had what would be considered a "supply bloat". Potions were all over the place  and it was not uncommon for mechanically sound players to have large amounts of them at any point. The setting prior had somewhat less than EFU:M (EFU:A) and maintained a nice balance I believe, in general. I cannot fully comment upon the first origination of the underdark, but it appeared to be rather similar to our current situation (other factors, however, were different I think, and we'll discuss those below.

Overall, I feel as if the current setting is lacking in both amount and variety of supplies found. It relies far too much on an apparent emphasis on player trade and quite simply punishes those that desire to wander, explore, and seek as hobbies. This has caused a vastly reactive and frightened slew of characters, and while that itself is not an inappropriate thing, I feel like it -is- when created by a simple lack of something that should probably be somewhat more commonplace via npcs, treasures, etc.

My suggestions would be to -

 - Simply increase -and- add variety (many types of potions almost never appear in random loot tables anymore)  to "treasure" rewards all around. You will not be encroaching upon the world of bloat anytime soon, but instead will be allowing more exploration, questing, travel, wandering, and whatever else you might call things that are leaving the "haven". This itself creates more interaction, more proactive characters at earlier levels, and overall helps the world move without DM interaction. There is a huge amount of stuff out there to be discovered, and I've been fairly surprised by the amount of people telling me that they've never seen something before when I myself only recently returned.

- Alternatively, add in "random" merchants of the npc variety that sell potions, wands, scrolls, etc - Effectively custom shops with a pricing level at about double of the "standard" pc pricing level. NPC shops with other things in them / that buy things from players simply overcharge by a huge and stupid amount. They are never used and it is really a waste. These merchants could travel upper/lower/mur, possibly make sendings about their intention to trade at certain locations for said amount of time, etc. They could come and go just as the random areas might now, though obviously would want to be less secretive ( in general) than those. A few might send notice to pure rogues only, or to stewards only, but the point remains the same.

The explore / random area system / exploration in general -

The explorable system was far more refined and appropriately rewarding in EFU:M, if not lacking in variety. The current setting has many, but half of them are empty, reward almost nothing and/or less than any optimal group might use, or are simply flavor. Beyond that, many of them no longer reward "end xp" as they utilize the same area (reasonable to restrict module size). (probably just some trigger issues)

I know that there are many, hundreds of them likely, but they are so rare compared to before (even if it had less unique random things). This, in my opinion, should really be a high priority. It once again allows for and promotes exploration, rewards people leaving the safe-haven, allows for unique lore / events , and none of it requires an active DM in game. Of course it is understood that these are always being added as possible, but they are -so powerful- in terms of promoting "active playing" I think.

Above all of that, it's simply fun to walk around the server and enjoy the risks, enjoy the areas, witness secret areas, but when it becomes a penalty to due so -every time- then it seems a bit counter-productive.

Active DMs - Well, a touchy subject but yet a vastly important one. Before going on, it's quite understood that it is an intrusive subject and one that is not easily or quickly solved, but nonetheless -

Using the eastern timezone as an example, it's become simply known that you cannot contact a DM from about 11pm - 5AM'ish in general/most nights. Whether it's a bug, a breach in rules, a question, or something I'd consider more important like plot involvement / movement, interactions with NPCs, PVP in npc areas or whatever else, it seems to have simply become 'common knowledge' that you'll need to wait around and try to match up your play-times with the few remaining active at current.

At any given point there are a slew of people loitering about in IRC wanting to play but unable to or not wanting to for said reasons. The efforts of those active currently is applauded and highly appreciated, but I feel as if the lack of active DMs is really hurting the server.

Personally I will say that I feel as if I simply cannot do anything very worthwhile at most points in my playtime. This does not mean that I NEED a DM to do this or that, to establish my character or push their goals, but it does mean that I am completely limited to being reactive, mostly, and unable to really reach for the most important movements of the server ICly.

Faction dynamic - Upper/lower relationship -


This is probably the largest thing that is either beyond my understanding or perhaps needs some adjustment. I'll first detail prior settings and then compare this one. We'll ignore the time-frame of things as it did not play a part for most aspects of this and/or simply transformed said area into another beast.

EFU:A -

Sons of Sabuth / Docks (mini factions within, slight conflict within)

Dominion ( Political base, factions within (nobles, pallid mask, etc) internal conflict and conflict with exterior factions

Nature - Stargazers and Stewards, two aspects of nature that had their own turmoils, and conflicted with other said factions.

Order - See above

Conclave - See above

EFU:M -

Mistlocke: An establishment based upon conflict with two primary families fueidng, and other minor factions + conflict within and with exterior.

Wyrm watchers

Order

Conclave

Sis Liman at points

Old Stones

Stewards / Stargazers

Above you see 4-7 active factions with differing agendas, viewpoints, and all conflicting in some form with all of the other factions. If we look at the current setting you have -

"Upper" - Society, Watchers, Auxiliary, Spellguard, Wayfinders - There is certainly conflict here, but it is based within a literal shield controlled by a lawful power.

"Lower" - Sojourners / Ascension cult (association I think?)

"Nature" - Transformed to association, no longer a "major" faction

It appears to me from this viewpoint (my own of course) and from my in-game experiences that the world has been highly condensed, pressed inwards in what I'd call an archaic movement against expansion that seemed to arrive in the late efu:a stages. The term "sandbox" used to be a thing, but the walls and size of that sandbox have been collapsed inward so greatly that I feel as if conflict itself has been highly restricted.

The lair system puts a little life back into this idea, but overall the design of the setting, in terms of innate faction conflict,  appears to be less intricate or thought out, yet maybe far easier to manage. I don't have any real ideas here that aren't widely opposed, so my IRC babbling tells me, but I'll toss them out all the same -

- Most importantly, restore some prominence to the nature faction
- Steer the Society away from the upper/lower conflict and allow them to be their own potent entity not positioned directly within either area
- Establish some life into "lower". The feel of a broken down shanty town oppressed by upper gassing exists, but maybe there should be something more standout and prominent down there that lends some reason to it not simply being another enforced area of upper minus the "plot-shield" effect. What I mean is that in current form it really does not make sense, and even new changes in the module (canal ward) mostly surround it while it remains "immune" to upper law / rule for what seems to be no reason. Whether it is a large increase in Sojourner presence, or the presence of something else, Sanctuary -appears- far too small for this "slums" area to simply exist without much influence.

In the most basic and short statement I can make to summarize this, I feel as if it would be great if more people were able to fully experience the setting / world we play in. It is an amazing creation with so many secrets, so much lore, and so many plots. Sadly I feel as if many are missing out on their own potential or their own enjoyment due to certain restrictions, beliefs, or a lack of possible support for their faction/agenda.

- Pudding

[Damien]

I agree to all of this tbh! One of the saddest facts of efu now is I can't make a character and enjoy all the quests out there. You are ao much more hindered now than before if you don't play all day.

[Halfbrood]

A nice, balanced thread. Good work, VP.

Let me try and address some of your thoughts here.

Overall, I feel as if the current setting is lacking in both amount and variety of supplies found. It relies far too much on an apparent emphasis on player trade and quite simply punishes those that desire to wander, explore, and seek as hobbies. This has caused a vastly reactive and frightened slew of characters, and while that itself is not an inappropriate thing, I feel like it -is- when created by a simple lack of something that should probably be somewhat more commonplace via npcs, treasures, etc.

The supply level is something that is always being considered by DMs, and trying to hit that happy medium is really difficult. Just increasing the number of potion drops etc. doesn't serve the cause, as it will always reward those people who do nothing but hit quests and log off. Personally (and I have played several PCs in the current setting) I did not find it that difficult to find supplies; gold is plentiful, and player trade I think is a great thing. In EFU1, player trade was big business and I think it needs to remain that way. However, know that there are certainly other places where you can find (cheaper) NPC potions.

What I think I do agree with in this point is the variety of supplies available that are found. Interesting charge items, etc.

Though, the play style for EFUR is entirely different than it was before. Healing kits are now more prominent and one of the best ways to keep your HP up (at least whilst exploring/in between fights).

Active DMs - Well, a touchy subject but yet a vastly important one. Before going on, it's quite understood that it is an intrusive subject and one that is not easily or quickly solved, but nonetheless -

Using the eastern timezone as an example, it's become simply known that you cannot contact a DM from about 11pm - 5AM'ish in general/most nights. Whether it's a bug, a breach in rules, a question, or something I'd consider more important like plot involvement / movement, interactions with NPCs, PVP in npc areas or whatever else, it seems to have simply become 'common knowledge' that you'll need to wait around and try to match up your play-times with the few remaining active at current.

At any given point there are a slew of people loitering about in IRC wanting to play but unable to or not wanting to for said reasons. The efforts of those active currently is applauded and highly appreciated, but I feel as if the lack of active DMs is really hurting the server.

Personally I will say that I feel as if I simply cannot do anything very worthwhile at most points in my playtime. This does not mean that I NEED a DM to do this or that, to establish my character or push their goals, but it does mean that I am completely limited to being reactive, mostly, and unable to really reach for the most important movements of the server ICly.

This is certainly an issue. Especially in the timezone that you are talking about. The majority of our DMs are now Euro based. Know that we're always looking for DMs. Expect some movement in this area sometime soon.

The explorable system was far more refined and appropriately rewarding in EFU:M, if not lacking in variety. The current setting has many, but half of them are empty, reward almost nothing and/or less than any optimal group might use, or are simply flavor. Beyond that, many of them no longer reward "end xp" as they utilize the same area (reasonable to restrict module size). (probably just some trigger issues)

The amount of explores I've found when wandering is certainly more - I haven't had your experience with this, in not finding them. Every area should reward a certain amount of experience (at the 'end of the zone') generally, rather than on entry. This may be a bug and will be investigated. The variety of explore areas is always being expanded. It's one of the most worked on parts of the module; for instance, the addition of explore area QAs. This is one area of building that a savvy player might throw an idea or two our way for use.

The lair system puts a little life back into this idea, but overall the design of the setting, in terms of innate faction conflict, appears to be less intricate or thought out, yet maybe far easier to manage. I don't have any real ideas here that aren't widely opposed, so my IRC babbling tells me, but I'll toss them out all the same

I disagree with the suggestion that the current faction dynamic is 'less intricate'. In fact, the issue here may be that it is more intricate and therefore perhaps less understood by the playerbase. That definitely is an issue and we can discuss this.

That you have lumped together 'Upper' as one big happy family concerns me greatly and although there are times when it seems everyone is far too friendly to each other (note, players - insert some dynamic conflict here...) I have seen some of the best conflict erupting between Society/SG and Watchers/Auxiliary and SG/Directorate and anything in between. Things certainly are quieter, that I will concede, and perhaps it is something we can work to change, direction from above or what have you (something I really don't like - players should just do something and reap the consequences without fear of OOC reprisal, or anything.)

Lower/Upper - The conflict here tends to be quite stupid. Lower people mug Upper people. Upper people chase to Lower don't go in because ???

We certainly need to break down the borders here. The Red vs. Blue mentality detracts from the nature of what we're trying to achieve. Just because a savvy Inspector can't wear his uniform in Lower for fear of being lynched, doesn't mean he can't scootch around sneakily. Again, the intricate nature of the conflict is perhaps not that well understood and we've fallen back into the good ol' head bashin' two sided conflict - this sucks, I agree.

Though, with the introduction of the new gangs to the area, the Canal Ward slowly building, the lines, I hope, will be blurred.

I know I haven't answered every single one of your points, but I think I've done a good job of answering some of them. You certainly make some good points and we will certainly be exploring the possibilities.

Thanks

EFU DM

[Howlando]

Having access to seeing character's inventories, I can not possibly agree that EFU:R is "under-supplied." Unlike EFU:A/M, certainly you may not be able to readily get a complete suite of PvP potions from monsters alone, but myself and (I believe) other Dms really prefer that. Certainly the PvP experience benefits from the variables and complexities associated with using the right potions at the right time, but it's far more interesting in EFU:R where it's not so simple as to simply chug the right order of speed/displacement/buffs/bless/aid/divine favor with the occasional absurdly powerful potion mixed in. The most interesting, scrappy, desperate, fun PvP that I have ever witnessed in NWN, with PCs digging in their pack for anything of use, has absolutely been in EFU:R.

I also vigorously reject the notion that mega-supplies are required for the EFU:R quests or to explore EFU:R areas. It's simply not remotely true. Now it may well be that there are many players who don't often leave the confines of Upper Sanctuary, but there is absolutely no mechanical thing preventing them from doing so. There are many characters who live completely outside of settled areas and seem to do fine.

Most of EFU:M's exploreables were "meatier" with many of them being highly rewarding (crates filled with high level potions at the end). EFU:R exploreables are more diverse, with it certainly being true that few are super rewarding and many are very small/flavorful. There are a lot more though, and I think they spawn fairly frequently - my preference in their design to have many, avoiding a sense of repetition, with the occasional epic one being a nice surprise when they are stumbled upon. There are six or so entire (highly rewarding) quests buried in exploreables, and others that are very lengthy and meaty. I am trying to build more though, certainly. When we reach a point where we have enough that they don't feel repetitive, perhaps we could look into increasing the rate by which they spawn.

Active DMs - you're absolutely right, this is a real problem. We're absolutely on the look-out for the sweet-spot of players who are: (1) 100% trusted by the DM staff, (2) Share the same vision for EFU, (3) Are likely to actually enjoy DM'ing and not prefer just playing (a hard one), (4) Have an interest or ability to positively be contributing in some way. Genuinely enthusiastic candidates are more than welcome to express an interest in DM'ing here and also read this post, noticing the edit.

[Talir]

The Stewards is still a minor DM faction. What we did was to add an association base beneath it so nature-oriented characters could join and be a part of that scene, without necessarily having to be inducted as a full-time Steward (with the duties and secrets associated). We made it easier to be a part of nature.

Of course, this also requires those already in the faction/association to be ready to welcome new members.

[Talir]

For Lower, alongside the gangs that you can help support with your concepts, you have also the associations of the Scrapper Cooperative and the Harbingers of Doom.

[The Old Hack]

A nice, balanced thread. Good work, VP.

Agreed.

That you have lumped together 'Upper' as one big happy family concerns me greatly and although there are times when it seems everyone is far too friendly to each other (note, players - insert some dynamic conflict here...) I have seen some of the best conflict erupting between Society/SG and Watchers/Auxiliary and SG/Directorate and anything in between.

I have been part of that conflict from several angles. I suspect that one reason this 'lumping' happens is that it is not as obvious from the outside as it could be. I have seen Spellguard and Watchers in protracted political struggles and on occasion Society and Watchers in outright combat. I would call an Ordinant assaulting a Director in the middle of the House of Governance a fairly good example of something you could call 'conflict.' It's there and sometimes it is more political and manipulative than physical but I would say that if Upper is a family, it is a violently dysfunctional and more than a little psychotic one.

Things certainly are quieter, that I will concede, and perhaps it is something we can work to change, direction from above or what have you (something I really don't like - players should just do something and reap the consequences without fear of OOC reprisal, or anything.)

Hm. I am trying to be true to my character and still increase conflict from some angles at least. I mostly work politics, I admit. Maybe I am not doing enough. I'll have to think about that. :/

[TheShadow]

I'll add my two cents, from my own experience.

Overall, I feel as if the current setting is lacking in both amount and variety of supplies found. It relies far too much on an apparent emphasis on player trade and quite simply punishes those that desire to wander, explore, and seek as hobbies. This has caused a vastly reactive and frightened slew of characters, and while that itself is not an inappropriate thing, I feel like it -is- when created by a simple lack of something that should probably be somewhat more commonplace via npcs, treasures, etc.

I admit, wanderer's, hermits, and other pc's who don't interact with a large variety of people and as such quest uncommonly, usually have less supplies, but by no means is it "Lacking in amount", and dm's work to spread variety, though they are few and far between. on my watcher, I have seen "Criminals" ( A.K.A Muggers, bandits, necromancers, etc. ) with at least 2-3 bags of potions, some more or less, which while yeah in a pvp situation with dispels flying everywhere, that might not last long, its certainly enough that it doesn't need a huge boost.

One other thing of note as to the amount of supplies: I know of at least one quest, open to all players ,( some concepts may not be able to, however) that gives successful parties /tons/ of standard potions, bulls, blur, and so forth. If you feel as if the current level is not enough, try going out of the normal quests crushing goblins or kobolds. ( while yeah, these are good quests they are done so much they are less-rewarding then say, more difficult quests like the Seers )

 As to Random Exploration area's, I have seen places with no XP, or only one loot item for no risk for only specific class' to be able to access, and these explorables are few and far between for pc's who do not actively live in the wilds 24/7. On a pc who wanders the wilds constantly, I have seen roughly 2-3 "Tunnel" explorables, and often 1-2 "bodies" or "Dropped bags", each usually having some form of loot that's usually awesome for the risk and rewarding for going out there. If there's no loot, either 1: Someone Ninja looted the area, and there are steps being taken to see this does not happen, or 2: The creatures respawned, also being fixed.

As to Active DM's, yes, I have noticed that recently there have been less than there were during the summer, but unless there is someone looking to help that is good for the timing, it is what it is, for now.

As to faction dynamics, Yes, the "Nature" team took a big hit, and has been building up slowly, and has become less prominent than it was before, from what I have seen. However, the "Upper / lower" conflict is more of two titanic forces struggling for dominance, anything and anyone who's not on one side or the other being crushed between them. As to "Upper" conflict, it's less of direct fighting or showing of force, and more of a political  / authoritative struggle for dominance, where both sides are forced to act behind the scenes to further their agenda's so that they are not called out ICly and take the consequences there in, without some good investigation, and players who are not a part of these factions (Wayfinders ( Higher ups, normal way finders will probably not notice this) , Spellguard / Auxiliary, watchers, or "Government" ) will likely not notice this struggle unless it boils over into a direct fight, and thus some may think "One big happy family".

As to "lower" conflict, yes, as of late the factions of lower have greatly decreased, with the Sojourners being the main one currently, where as a few months ago, there were harbingers, scrappers, hounds, sojourners, and the normal outlaws v. Watchers and Spellguard with the occasional upper citizen joining in. This was a lot of fun, until the tides changed as the vast majority of "lower" pc's died / retired, and then the vast majority of those players went to upper, creating conflict up there while the upper / lower conflict died down.

Yes, it may be a bit more behind the scenes and drawn out than previous chapters, but by no means is it less intricate.


As to Halfbroods statement,

Lower/Upper - The conflict here tends to be quite stupid. Lower people mug Upper people. Upper people chase to Lower don't go in because ???

The "main" Lower, which connects the crone / temples / fortress, is seen as the equivalent to freedom square of upper. While you /can/ get a dm to oversee heading down there, /having/ to get a dm for every instance ( at least to my understanding ) to head down there discourages faction members from upper from going down there period, and while yes, nothing may happen if your smart, the fact that theres a ton of lowers folk down there ready to fight is usually more threatening than one scummy bandit. It's like chasing a watcher into upper, its something you don't do without a good deal of planning / preparation / back up. Yes, the recent additions of "new" gangs such as the Scar hides and Azuul dwarves has added a bit more complexity, it does blur the lines somewhat.

Just my two cents as to this.

[Divine Intervention]

For what it's worth, I had been working on some stuff for Lower a while ago but had to put it on hold due to IRL concerns.  There will certainly be things going on there in the very near future.

[Moonlighter]

That you have lumped together 'Upper' as one big happy family concerns me greatly and although there are times when it seems everyone is far too friendly to each other (note, players - insert some dynamic conflict here...) I have seen some of the best conflict erupting between Society/SG and Watchers/Auxiliary and SG/Directorate and anything in between. Things certainly are quieter, that I will concede, and perhaps it is something we can work to change, direction from above or what have you (something I really don't like - players should just do something and reap the consequences without fear of OOC reprisal, or anything.)

The root of this sort of lends itself back to the Revolutionary plot, and the problems it created. It created a sort of unified Upper presence from the Prefects, Watchers, Spellguard, and Society, and that is a difficult bloc to break up.

I mean I totally understand why it's that way, too. When there is an enemy outside, it is far more sensible to work together to deal with it. As an example, for my own retired Watcher, who should she hate more? The Lowersman mugging and killling people, or the Auxiliary trying to infringe on her authorities?

It also seems to me like DMs are quite eager to use high ranking NPCs to smooth over intra-faction conflict within Upper. It wasn't quite this way before, but I have seen a bit of it during my time in Upper with Elaine, Mari, and Prisca.

It makes it difficult (if not impossible) to pull off 'big moves' that have sort of defined the experience of Upper for me in EFU, like the Liruwen trial, when Vlaid and I schemed to put Abala on trial and so on.

Lower/Upper - The conflict here tends to be quite stupid. Lower people mug Upper people. Upper people chase to Lower don't go in because ???

We certainly need to break down the borders here. The Red vs. Blue mentality detracts from the nature of what we're trying to achieve. Just because a savvy Inspector can't wear his uniform in Lower for fear of being lynched, doesn't mean he can't scootch around sneakily. Again, the intricate nature of the conflict is perhaps not that well understood and we've fallen back into the good ol' head bashin' two sided conflict - this sucks, I agree.

Though, with the introduction of the new gangs to the area, the Canal Ward slowly building, the lines, I hope, will be blurred.

There also lies an issue in that Lower is just too small, from a player-base standpoint, to really sustain any conflict within itself. That is why it oft becomes Red vs Blue, Lower v Upper, because people have to work together on some level to either get levels or supplies, and in Lower your choices are quite limited. It's the opposite problem that Upper Sanctuary has. Unlimited freedom, no numbers.

How one would fix that, I have truly no idea.

[Random_White_Guy]

Overall a lot of awesome input.

As most people know I've bounced around a lot of the factions so I feel that's the best place to chime in.

In my personal experience (Again I play EFU differently from most people) I fundamentally believe that driving forces of Factions when it comes down to it,  it isn't on the DM side of things but the player side of things. One instance in particular I'll reference is the situation of the Withered in Sanctuary. People liked in IRC to hue hue about my time in the Spellguard because my PC was a cranky hermit "Why doens't rufus ever do anything". but for all the OOC mockery I like to think I and others did as we could to keep things interesting.

This came down to two factors: Risk vs. Reward.

[indent]1) I love conflict. Not everyone does but I thrive on it. It's an OOC enjoyment I find in few places on the server to be in a situation where the entire deck is stacked against me, things get tense, I get nervous, but that nervousness turns into excitement.

Director Abala Quickfeet came to me and said "We need to exile the Withered". Instead of hemming and hawing and worming about worrying what the Spellguard NPCs may say or waiting for Operative Miller's oversight I simply said "Sure, about time we did something". The result was a 8-9 month old incident I quickly researched on our forums in which the Withered who first arrived to EFU:r were quarantined and then exiled.

After we raised the alarm of exile a group of high level PCs of various withered status took hold in the House of Governance and refused to leave. As a result we did the unthinkable- And dropped a Quarantine on  the House of Governance. We informed the DMs overseeing it that some big things were going to pop off if they were available. We made a few sendings about how citizens who did not wish to be locked in departed, and there was a shout of people fleeing the House of Governance but a number of prominent die hards remaining.

We even formed a six person "Picket line" quarantine outside the House of Governance that few people were able to see from the inside, but we all stood there nervous that they were going to charge out and obliterate us while we waited for PC or NPC reinforcements.

For those of you who can't read minds this is the point where Abala and I lost our fucking minds OOCly. We just challenged the entire upper playerbase, from Directors to Sergeants to Ordinants and onward. Things were tense, they were hectic, and if even one person chose to say "No, forget this" and attack us the entire mob would have throttled us.

2) The risk is pretty obvious. There's a lot of detrimental matters for a PC's career, a PC's health, a PC's undertakings and more to step beyond what is expected to stir things up. At any singular moment an NPC could have showed up and just obliterated us for attempting to exile a Director, Sergeant, Ordinant, Wayfinders, and may others as an abuse of power.  The PCs could have also simply walked out and beat our teeth in and even attempted to Kill us if they felt threatened enough.

For that instant and countless other similar incidents I was receiving pretty palpably terrifying letters and meetings from the Spellguard NPCs in which various NPCs were expressing their dismay in the way in which my PC was handling the public.

The reward though outweighed those risks and thanks to Abala prompting me to act it was one of my singularly favorite moments of EFU:R since the Liruwen trial and the raid by the Ascension on Freedom Square. In the aftermath for both situations I and the PCs involved were joking about how fucking terrified we were, how amazed we were we survived that ordeal, how awesome it was to see tension so high in upper sanctuary, and how we were like shaking from the adrenaline of the high danger situation. To me that's a pretty huge reward.[/indent]

Now this isn't a post to be self aggrandizing but to show PCs that even within factions you CANNOT BE AFRAID to push the boundaries and stick true to your PC. My Spellguard Agent wasn't LE. He was NE. Everyone involved in the withering trip above were his political foes I had long been fighting against. A number of prominent non-humans in government postiions and so on.  I skirted the law fairly blase on many occasions but in this point I had a Director backing me so I figured it was time to roll the dice against the wishes of my Superiors.

A large matter of going against the grain of DM factions is that DMs have the tendency to bring hammers down on people who step out of line. In many cases that's quite understandable, agreeable, and quite acceptable. In my time on EFU I've had a Lord of the Dominion who was stripped of power and exiled for attempting to steal control of the local militia and thrown out of power.

The largest point I'm trying to make though is that in all of these actions shared above it wasn't DM prompted. Abala and I decided to make a dangerous move against our political foes. Balfour and I decided to make a dangerous move against Liruwen's position as Prefect and the umbrella of her cohort as a means to lure the Ascension into action. Previously they had covered their tracks pretty well. After their attack they were exiles and we were vindicated.

At no time did a DM come forward to prompt either of these actions and that's why I think they're so uniquely cool to my experience on EFU.

I know that it can be scary when DMs in a faction come out and threaten your PC. I've faced it more than anyone. At the end of the day though I play EFU for me and a few buddies to make big moves, run around in the chaos, and more often than not lose in the aftermath feeling like we've both had fun and brought something cool to the server.

If you think something is legitimately cool, and fits your character, you must not let the fact an NPC may send you an angry letter or a DM will possess an NPC to shout "WHAT THE HELL WERE YOU THINKING!?" and threaten to kill you, throw you out, or otherwise shift how you are telling your story.

If you do that you'll find yourself paralyzed in a faction, and as a result idiots in #EFU will yuck it up about how your PC never does anything. Because frankly I play PCs for those reflective moments where I and a few people talk about how intense something was, not to keep NPCs happy.

It's cost me a lot of characters over the years but I feel it's a fair sacrifice for those few moments of pure distilled awesome.

[Mort]

Just from reading the forum and asking -- I find the character interactions in the diverse factions that we currently have very interesting.

Thank you to the current directors, they really feel as being REAL people with agendas in Sanctuary to promote and do not feel like artificial 'opposition' to create 'conflict'. At least from what I read in my very very rare spare time.

This kind of political base hasn't been seen in a long long time, not EFU:M, not EFU:A ... Very cool.


I wish I had time to design and help the module.

[Paha]

We are happy to improve, and we constantly do improve the setting to better strive for things if we know something is lacking. These changes can't happen over night though, and we try to make them happen with some options, through player choices and actions.

We also improve factions, associations and everything as we can. We will happily take good suggestions and structured ideas as well, and will try our very best to implement them over time. DM activity has always been on our target for this past year already, it's just never an easy thing to rectify or simply fix.

I do have to say that indeed, players are what draw DM interest to make changes. We do try to play NPC, and the NPC as characters will at times push against players. It's because they are such persons. Even if NPC may push against you, it doesn't mean you should falter necessarily. There maybe consequences with NPC in power, if you go against them, but would you stop if another player character pushes against you? Often not. Don't do it necessarily with NPC either. I totally understand there is DM behind it, and it may have consequences, but mainly we play them as characters. You can do go with it, against it, you can try to backstab them... What ever. We may not make it easy but surely are expecting any and all responses, and sometimes even want them.

[MaimedGod]

I disagree entirely with the complaints about Upper, common as they seem to be among some players on the server. I don't think that the factions are at all too "friendly" with one another, unless one interprets "friendly" as a lack of PvP, which I hardly think is the end-all-be-all of actual conflict in the first place. Yes, the factions do have some onus upon them to cooperate with one another. That does not discourage conflict in the least. To use a recent example- Gwendolen Sumner (SG) and Ksenia Foltyn (Watchers) absolutely hated one another and were constantly taking little moves against each other, it was an awesome conflict to watch - even though they would do things like work together against Marge, that did not prevent conflict in the slightest.

The server absolutely needs more DMs.

[The Old Hack]

In the aftermath for both situations I and the PCs involved were joking about how fucking terrified we were, how amazed we were we survived that ordeal, how awesome it was to see tension so high in upper sanctuary, and how we were like shaking from the adrenaline of the high danger situation. To me that's a pretty huge reward.

It is also one that has kept paying dividends. This was the defining incident in Chimaera's existence as a PC. Abala and Rufus became her mortal enemies and she started schemes to bring both down not long after. Rufus dying on his own partly stymied me but I shrugged and have been chipping at Abala's power ever since. I cannot express how grateful I am to Hachenheim and RwG for pulling this one off.

Now this isn't a post to be self aggrandizing but to show PCs that even within factions you CANNOT BE AFRAID to push the boundaries and stick true to your PC.

And yet when I did exactly that on Thessaly and deliberately worked to undermine the arrest quota you talked me out of doing it, you cad! :P

(Just kidding. It was to your advantage and it was a fair cop -- figuratively, at least.)

~tOH.