[MUD-Dev] Guilds & Politics [was Affecting the World]

[Matt Chatterley]

On Mon, 8 Dec 1997, Stephen Zepp wrote:

[Snip Jon Lambert - sorry Jon!]

> (*gulp*) umm, at the risk of sounding self-righteous or conceited, that's
> exactly what I'm doing.  Combat is to be _avoided_, and it the last refuge
> of the incompetent.  It's deadly.  You don't heal on your own ( well, over
> a LONG period of time ).  Dying is death ( well, reincarnation/resurrection
> aside )...you are now a spectre, and can only minimally interact with the
> physical world.

Many people here take a similar view; while my systems are not as extreme
as some (Adam W! <g>), players who expect combat to be anything like it is
on most LP-based games, or to be a regularity of play are dreaming. While
combat may form the basis for play (if you are a soldier, for instance),
your characters will not last as long as others! Also combat is designed
to be VERY interactive, with literally everything controlled by the player
or automated defaults (for instance, you will attack normally and parry as
much as you are able in one 'round', but may also specify that you wish to
direct those normal attacks, and reserve some parries for specific
opponents, and so forth; the 'spells and skills' that many muds have
interface with combat seamlessly so as to fit in with this).

It is also based on my RL combat experiences to a degree (mostly unarmed,
and some fencing), and is rather lethal. A few shots from a crossbow which
hit in important areas will put paid to you, as will a few good hits from
weapons (armour reduces this damage, and converts it to more harmless
types, of course). Special effects such as bleeding, infections, and so on
allow the extension of this into long-term wounds and problems.
 
> What do you get out of fighting, but either a lot of painful wounds, and
> maybe some gained skill in your combat manuevers? Well, _maybe_ it's the
> only way to remove an obstacle..so be it, if that's the case. But I doubt
> seriously that ( in a well defined world ) it's the _only_ solution.

This is *precisely* (in parts word for word) how I summed it up to a PBEM
RPG group after one of them complained that in D&D 'that Orc' would have
been easy for even a first level character (let alone that there were no
levels; which he did not even take as a hint). It is often one of the
first resorts of parties of adventurers when stuck between a rock and a
hard place, and less often, one of the final resorts. This seems
appropriate for adventurers, it is not appropriate for farmers - its a
matter of situation. :)
 
>   Okay, so you're probably saying to yourself, "well, what else do you do?
> sounds _boring_!!".  Interact.  Adventure.  Explore.  Build your own
> kingdom through managing an estate. Aid the ( npc ) Elven Kingdom that is
> being overrun by Mothkai.  Watch them kill each other.  Help both sides.
> Help neither, and fill the power vacuum when they destroy each other. I

Exactly. This is why the goal of my game is literally to amass the amount
of power which makes you happy, and to enjoy striving to do so. This may
merely mean independance (your own farm, or something), or may be
political, social, economic or physical. Or you may seek adventure (as an
adventurer, or otherwise).

> love roleplay, and I love gaming, and I love interacting with others.  What
> I don't love is watching a cleric cast better spells by fighing A Red
> Dragon 50 times over a period of 2 mud days, or watching a party of players
> wipe out the entire population of an area in a matter of an hour or so,
> only to go back and do it again an hour later, when they repop.

Yup.

[Snip]

Regards,
	-Matt Chatterley
	ICQ: 5580107
"I shall never believe that God plays dice with the world." -Einstein