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

[Derrick Jones]

On Wed, 10 Dec 1997, Matt Chatterley wrote:
> On Tue, 9 Dec 1997, Richard Woolcock wrote:
> > Matt Chatterley wrote:
> > > On Tue, 9 Dec 1997, Derrick Jones wrote:
> > > > On Mon, 8 Dec 1997, Vadim Tkachenko wrote:
> [Snipple]
> > > Many people dislike strongly to be killed by another player. The
> > > interesting issue is *why*
> > 
> > Interesting...has anyone put in any form of assassin-type mob?  I wonder if
> > this might have a similar affect...imagine a scene like:
> 
> Sidenote: Could you use a symbol other than > to simulate prompt input? It
> looks messy. :P Before going any further; yes I have an assassins guild in
> the planning (inspired by the NightHawks from RE Feist's Riftwar series),
> and yes; assassin NPCs will play a factor in some elements of the game.
> Particularly if you wish to remove an annoying obstacle without soiling
> your hands (the definition of obstacle is left to your imagination).

Hehe..just had a twisted vision of an assassin being hired to run an
obstacle course for the player...
	Frothar the Slayer nimbly places a foot in each of the twelve
	radial tires on the ground here...
>  
> > Bubba is resting here.
> > Bubba gurgles for a moment then slumps as the life leaves his body.
> > You keel over, dead.
[above example trimmed]
> > I believe this would have a similar affect to PK, for the following 
> > reasons:
> > 
> > 1) You were surprised and unprepared for the attack.
> 
> This is certainly a factor, but in obviously non-player provoked
> environments (eg: when it is not a player doing the harm and you know it),
> this tends to evoke the 'Its not fair!' reaction in players rather than PK
> reactions, if that makes sense.

One of the favorite PK places in one pk mud I played was a shop which had
an extremely long inventory list.  Bubba would be paging thru many pages
of (store) inventory text trying to find some rare item of interest, only
to be 95% of the way dead when he left his scrollback buffer.  Enough
people complained about the practice, and the shop owner began jumping
into fights.  Whoever the shop owner attacked, always lost.

> Of course, blurring lines between players
> and NPCs, and generally making a point out of 'PK' NOT being a special
> case might help..

This is true. Also, blurring the lines between PC and NPC would give
players a more equal chance of surviving both an attack by PC and NPC, and
they would happen at more similar frequencies. One thing to note about why
PC on PC combat is a big deal...It doesn't happen very often (the most
hard-core pk muds like Genocide excluded), and it therefore sticks out
from the 1000 mobiles that rolled over and died that evening.  Also a
curious trend...dispite al the attention pks get, they are rare. comments?

> > 2) You were busy talking, and not really interesting in fighting.
> > 3) You were killed by an opponent you couldn't ever hope to beat.
> 
> All undeniable. :)
This isn't always the case.  True 'jerk' pk holds this to be axiomatic
though.
>  
> > Basically, its just not fair.  Like many instances of PK.

Hrm...fair to the attacker alright. more than fair.  That's why they
attack...

> > The only real difference between this and PK is that mobs don't usually
> > brag about killing you afterwards - although I know one mud where some
> > of the mobs used to shout "I killed <name>, and looted his stinking 
> > corpse!" - but even this is somewhat inpersonal and thus not so insulting.
> 
> Heh. :)
> I wonder, why do players brag about this, and can it be avoided?

I have a preliminary sketch of a crude justice system for keeping pk
minimalized, and pretty much out of civilized towns.  Here a few of the
points:

The code allows for Pk just about everywhere.  There are a few OOC areas
where _no_ combat takes place, mainly designed to sit around and shoot the
OOC breeze.  The game essentially stops for these areas, and the mud
becomes a talker there...).

Each town has its own law code and law enforcement (police).  Pk is pretty
much universally outlawed within town limits.

Any crime committed will be logged.  If the crime is reported within 10
minutes, the police will investigate (seeminly running around finding
clues to observers, but in reality its a log check, with a chance to
'miss' the log entry which means no evidence was discovered).  The victim
cannot report his own attack (he's dead...duh), but any PC or NPC can file
a report (perhaps the Shiriff won't believe outsiders?) which triggers an
nivestigation.  If sufficient evidence is found, the PC is branded an
outlaw(descriptions posted, refused aid by most towns, hunted by police)
and is punished upon capture.  (I don't like forcing players to sit thru
trials).  NOTE: there will be a penalty for filing a false report, so if
Boffo shouts "I just Pk'ed XXX!!", you better make sure he actually did.

So if our beloved Bubba is beheaded by Boffo who begins to boast
boistrously, anyone hearing the Boffo can report him to the local
athorities.  ALSO NOTE: Boffo cannot brag to Bubba unless Boffo happens to
possess the ability to 'speak with dead', so taunting after a pk will have
to be delayed until Bubba manages to reform his corpeal being.

Derrick

"A mind is like a door;  it only works when open."  Frank Zappa