[MUD-Dev] MUD Wimping -- An anecdote

[Zak Jarvis]

> From: Raph Koster [rkoster at austin.rr.com]
> Sent: Tuesday, August 01, 2000 9:13 PM

> Yeah right. :) A better solution might be to run a cool plotline
> or create cool monsters that desperately need those weaopns for
> some purpose, thus creating an event out of it, and giving lpayers
> a cool reason to give them or be hunted down...)--whatever. Make
> the loss more fun than the gain.

I have an amusing anecdote of exactly this being done.

A tiny bit of set-up is required for this.  First off, this was a
commercial on-line game. Second, I scored ESK (%90ish, %50ish, %30ish) on
the Bartle test. I guess the main bit of set up here is that it wasn't
gross negligence on the part of the GM in question. Only naivete'.

I ran into this very big, nasty fellow. Quite the villain in fact. I
hesitated for a moment, thought about this (I'd JUST been wandering the
town with a new friend who was telling me how this exact chap was a major
thorn in the good guys' side).

I came to the conclusion, that being the tragic good guy I was that I
really had no choice but to attack. Explorer that I am, I did so by first
completely disarming the opponent.  I figured I had no chance in hell.  I
was wrong.

The feature I'd used was one the GM's didn't really know about yet (I'm not
referring euphemistically to a bug either, it was a legitimate feature that
hadn't been documented).

I rifled through his things a bit looking for something useful and grabbed
this and that. Meanwhile, he snaps out of it, grabs his sword and cleaves
me in twain then searches my corpse and takes the stuff I'd nabbed from
him.

Much running about and marshalling of forces occurs and the villain is
beset by another group of players all attempting to bring him down. About
this time I've recomposed myself enough to rejoin the fray. This time, I
don't muck about. I very promptly grab his sword and slay him with it. End
of story.

Well, not quite. Several days later, I learn that the sword I've taken --
due to its proximity to this very unpleasant fellow -- is cursed. My best
hope is to take it to the temple and have it purified so that a horrible
fate does not befall me.

Well, years later I learn the actual story.

The poor GM had made himself a very, very nasty sword so he could be
exceptionally challenging to the players. It never occurred to him that
someone could TAKE it from him. Thus, one of the other GM's get's a frantic
phone call; "We HAVE to get that sword back!"

Her response was a very sanguine, "We?"

And thus was eventually born the uncursing ceremony.

As a player, I had a great time with all of it, and shortly there after had
the enormous pleasure of being the first player to be permanently killed.
By a GM character (with my complete consent). I never even knew the sword
was particularly special, and considering what it was I didn't exactly go
around waving it at any passer by. Far as I knew, it was even MORE special
once it'd been uncursed.

-Zak Jarvis
 "John is very excited about his teeth."
 http://www.voidmonster.com





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