Resets, langs, and quests

[ashen]

Tie-ins: Languages, quests, resets

I know that both resets and quests are hot topics, as far as
not wanting to have them as they are already the institution.
Perhaps a new flavor of them, instead?

LANGUAGES by race could confound player communication,
but I don't see that as a bad thing entirely.  I have 2 races of
7 which are dark-natured, and should be separated from the
other 5.  One of those 2 is an anathema race, to be killed on
sight (by the theme of the MUD), and therefore a favorite for
those wanting to rampantly playerkill.  To confound talking
between these 2 dark races and the normal 5 is a good thing.
The main 5 races all understand at least 60% of a common
language, so his character will get from 50 to 80 percent of
what anyone else is trying to say.  While communication is
thus somewhat balky, it's still very possible, and I think that
helps roleplay.  Besides, I give them free common-tongue
communication in the bars and taverns, to encourage just
chatting and hanging out in those areas.

As one QUEST (by nature logically doable by many) I have
players captured by slavers of one race.  Whatever they end
up doing about it (purchasing their freedom, escaping, etc.),
they get as their quest reward a 20% increase in language
ability for that race.  This is useful because, although the
players may all speak threads of a common tongue, NPCs
in the game speak their race languages.  The quest reward
enables you to better understand the world around you.
Now if I could only think of other 'quests' in the same vein.

The problem with a standard RESET is that one moment no
one's here, then Poof! everyone and everything is back and
like nothing happened.  In the case of the townsfolk of the
castle, and the goblins in the mountains, I use this approach
to resets:  The NPCs are reset by a monster-generator room.
For every NPC that dies, the room's TotalLevels value increases
by half the level of the NPC that died.  The generator room can
issue any random monster (on its list) at any random level, up
to the total it has available.  That NPC is sent to march back 
to its former post, or wander aimlessly, as applicable.  The
reset itself doesn't reset NPCs in the area - instead it adds a
constant value (say, 50) to the TotalLevels in the generator.
The NPCs will replenish themselves, but an area cannot stand
up to constant bombardment and killing by players.  It would
take several 'resets' to recover population if the players have
been hitting the area hard, instead of Poof! we're all back.

This is a good thing, IMO, in that the most popular 'gold mines'
become tapped out, and the players must seek their fortunes
elsewhere in the game.  "Explore? Me? How dare you!" ;)

-John