[MUD-Dev] Re: WIRED: Kilers have more fun

[Adam Wiggins]

On Sun, 26 Jul 1998, Damion Schubert wrote:
> So, given that, anyone got any ideas on how do we make being a
> guard fun for a PC?

Hrm, that's a tough one.  I think we can assume that boring part about
being a guard, just like our own modern police, is patroling (or worse,
standing in one place guarding a door or whatever).  The exciting parts
are when things go "wrong."

Marian often mentions the idea of caravan guards for long trips.  This is
cool, provided that you *know* that you're going to get into danger on the
trip.  (Otherwise it's just a lot of scrolling room descriptions.)  For
instance, if two towns were accessable only through a dangerous mountain
pass that was frequented by bandits, and there was a strong reason for
non-combat folks to move between the towns, guards would be in high demand
for the trip.  At the same time it's attractive to the potential guard -
they get paid to go and fight, which is what they want to do anyways.
Similarly if there were marauding bands of orcs that constantly assault
the city walls, good fighters would be in high demand.  Now that I think
of it, some of my favorite "quests" on muds were when a bunch of the admin
would switch into chieftain NPCs of various tribes and assault the city.
Of course, due to the city walls and gates not really functioning very
well, it pretty much denegrated into wholesale slaughter in the city
streets (and woe be it to any newbies that happened by).  If you could set
it up, however, such that the city was relatively safe most of the time,
but that the services of good fighters to join the city's defense were
always needed, it could probably keep a potential fighter quite busy.

Adam