Knights vs Mages - Game Design

[Rothgar]

We are here to tell interesting stories, and first and foremost those stories should be from us, and not dictated by the mechanics of the game. If the Earl Marshall, the one who leads the knights to vanquish the heretical mages, is murdered by a heretical mage, in his own home turf, then that should be cause for an absolute massive stirring of RP in response. A city is like an organism, and should react accordingly when massive things like this happen.

I don't care how powerful or badass the mage is, the theme of the game is much too important to put aside for anything of this caliber. There should be some kind of IC repercussions, either on the citizenry of the city where the church and the order start stamping down hard and oppressing even more, or the inquisitors should step up reviews and burnings to bring morale back up.

You know, it's kind of crazy, but there's RP going on and letters going out about the matter that just... Don't get answered. It's not even because people hate us or anything, it's just straight-up no response to a LOT of stuff, and I don't even believe that's because of any amount of ire. I think it's, legitimately, that people either don't have the time or are too scared to get into heavy shit like that.

But from an OOC standpoint, as much as I enjoy the theme, I'll be honest : no one in Lithmore is faithful. There are -very few- characters who genuinely have faith in the Lord of the Springs. There might be three, MAYBE four people on-grid that I'd expect to come to the Cathedral to pray in their quiet downtimes. And, like, don't get me wrong! I'm not blaming anyone. It's BORING. But yeah, far too much work to do and not enough Inquisitors or OOC/IC support to get any of it done. It's just such a strange disconnect.

Here's the thing, though, and this'll activate the old almonds up in everyone's braincase. If the Order went full BAMF - if we pooled our resources, started bashing down doors to phomes, doing nothing but equipping Knights in dope armor and weapons, ran plots to get secret shit - who would enjoy it? Who would benefit from it? I, as a player, am VERY MUCH RESPONSIBLE for public perception of the Order. Back in 2012, I had a much different understanding of it then I do now. But now? I'm one of the only one's left. It's on ME to give the Order a face. And if I can't control my RP, in an OOC fashion, to the point where I'm ordering the wanton killing of innocents and Mages alike? Why on URTH should the staff let me play as an Inquisitor?

[Starstarfish]

(Deleted at player's request)

[Niamh]

Oookay, this would be my third time asking the people in this thread to be civil and stop attacking each other. Locking it until Kinaed gets home to review.

[Kinaed]

So... Kinaed has reviewed this thread (I love, love, love talking about myself in the 3rd person).

My view: Those of you who have devolved into personal attacks, for shame. If someone actually has evidence that any player has actually done something wrong that warrants personal attacks (on the forums or elsewhere), please do the RIGHT thing and report what they did to staff with evidence rather than trying to incite a trial by public opinion.

As for Nalien/Gothan, staff feel that Nalien and Gothan had sufficient personal RP to feel the PK was valid, hence why we validated it. Staff also feel that, despite people's paranoia about Nalien, there is no statistical evidence that he's a rampant killer or a bad player. Therefore, those of you slinging mud need to stop.

I agree that game balance is no individual player's responsibility. Please leave this to staff. When players log into a smoking ruin instead of a game, then people can worry about policing game balance. As it is, we've been running a version of TI since 2004, and it hasn't happened as of yet, so you can probably trust us with this.

I loved some of the earlier comments and food for thought regarding staff intervention or hands-off behavior. Bluntly, staff hands-on behavior may have advantages, but it has serious disadvantages too. Advantage: theme as a subset of people (staff) see it, is enforced. Disadvantage: people feel less free to RP what they like and the atmosphere can become oppressive.

Some people prefer staff be more hands on. That's okay. There is no right or wrong, just preference. TI staff are not hands on in RP, and we are dedicated to not being hands on. That is our chosen path.

My belief is that this whole situation is the fallout of RP that has cumulated to a point where "one side" of an equation feels lile they have won or lost. This naturally leads to examination about what caused that, potential recriminations, some people feeling emotional, etc. On the whole, I think TI is healthy however. RP is up, our numbers are up, and despite everyone's fears, life seems good.

One knight is dead. Yes, he was *awesome*. So awesome, I was literally vibrating with excitement when he won our flagship char contest to be the face of TI on our website. I'll miss him. Many of us will miss him. And yes the Order can't really afford to lose great chars like that - but bluntly, the Order is still healthier right now, without him, than it was last year at the same time. Despite this loss, the world of TI is not unravelling. This is just how TI rolls sometimes.

I've decided to leave this thread locked for the time being due to my perception of the storm in the teacup. When everyone is calmer, like maybe next week or something, we can re-enable the thread.