Proposal - Mage Sanctuary

[Geras]

So further the General Board note, I'd like to propose the construction of a small mage sanctuary.

The idea would be that it's accessible only through magic (I can explain the details by PM of that to anyone interested), but unlike the Manus Tower of old, it would not be under the control of any specific group. No guild, no hierarchy - it would be mages to come to some sort of arrangement on how it is run, or not, as the case may be. I'd also suggest it be much smaller than the old Manus Tower.

This would of course completely remove part of the cat-and-mouse aspect of the Knights searches from the game. The real danger would be other mages.

Thoughts?

I actually have room descriptions for the rooms ready to go from a few (7?) years back.

[Dreams]

So further the General Board note, I'd like to propose the construction of a small mage sanctuary.

The idea would be that it's accessible only through magic (I can explain the details by PM of that to anyone interested), but unlike the Manus Tower of old, it would not be under the control of any specific group. No guild, no hierarchy - it would be mages to come to some sort of arrangement on how it is run, or not, as the case may be. I'd also suggest it be much smaller than the old Manus Tower.

This would of course completely remove part of the cat-and-mouse aspect of the Knights searches from the game. The real danger would be other mages.

Thoughts?

I actually have room descriptions for the rooms ready to go from a few (7?) years back.

I believe the problem that I have with this proposal is this:

Making it only accessible by magic means that mages who are wanted can just go in there and never leave. And, this isn't right - what would the knights be able to do then? There needs to be a way for mages who are outed to be caught. It's not ok to have something that NO ONE can access that isn't a mage.

I believe Tasker had an idea that he brought up at the OOC meeting. I look forward to hearing his thoughts.

[galaxgal]

I don't think the Grid is so small that Mages need what are effectively xblocks to gather. I don't think the grid is the problem at all, Knight patrols/searches are already tedious to the point where other information gathering/capture methods are better

[Geras]

I guess my response would be that if the mage did something truly heinous you should be able to find mage/mages willing to turn on them. It would also be like the old days of either the Manus tower (when it was relatively secure and not a murder trap for the Knights) or of Tieghan's Tower. You either catch the mage unaware, or you catch them doing something bad, or not at all. Those could be good old days or bad old days depending on your perspective.

Alternatively we could fill the entrance with snakes but I'd argue that's just the same thing with more steps.

[Tasker]

Basically everything Kitty said, Staff have made it clear many times they don't want a safe space for Mages to just hang out without retribution. I'm in agreement with that, the whole cat and mouse aspect of the game is integral to the theme. As in, there was a big war between Mages and the Order in years past, the mages lost- and had to turn covert to survive while using Guerrilla tactics to strike back where they can and so forth. It's only been in recent times due to the unwavering tactics and dedication of one certain Knight who I'm convinced is Judge Dredd transported from another reality where all the old Mage bolt holes have been turned over. The problem isn't with the cat and mouse aspect, the problem lies within ensuring that outed/covert Mages can actually get consistant roleplay without having to suffer a daily heart attack in trying to organise it.

I do have a big idea for a new 'group' in the works which I should be submitting to staff/posting up in the next couple days/weeks depending on how refined it gets. There are problems we need to solve, but giving Mages a secure base to hide in isn't a good solution because it just brings up the problems of old rather than solving the ones we have now.

[Geras]

The real challenge is that the line between "murder trap" and "impregnable fortress" is really, really fine. If someone has a good idea how to navigate that line I'm all ears.

[Geras]

Hrm. What about a mundane entrance that is accessible only during certain phases of Balathumel or one of the other moons?

[mystry]

I'm not really understanding how xblocks are a problem. The idea that mages will just sit behind them eternally is certainly possible... and it's also possible for their targets and the knights and the order to just sit behind their own xblocks, and they're allowed to have them. Nothing will get done from behind there for either group.

[Dreams]

I'm not really understanding how xblocks are a problem. The idea that mages will just sit behind them eternally is certainly possible... and it's also possible for their targets and the knights and the order to just sit behind their own xblocks, and they're allowed to have them. Nothing will get done from behind there for either group.

I don't have a problem with xblocks, personally. My problem is the "only accessed by magic" part.

[Geras]

What makes a mage xblock worse than a guild xblock in your view Kitty?