When I first started playing a path years and years ago, I never accepted tips for healing, I mostly did it for fun, then transferance was implemented and it became a horrible chore. Now however with alternate methods to learn empathy, the only people I heal are friends in need, or those willing to pay me 5 gold up front, a plat if theyre badly injured. (Half off for repeat customers and travel costs extra) Its amazing how much less I'm needed now, and how much more I enjoy playing an empath. Its only when I go back to crossing to pick up a few extra ranks of teaching that I'll bother healing people like I used to, and even then I'd much rather do origami, flirt with all the cute halflings I see, or simply play with the other guild sitters.

The principle is simply this. My time is worth than a silver in tips. If I heal a badly injured person, it takes me about 30 minutes to fully heal myself, even in a good magic area. How much can a hunter or a trader make in 30 minutes? My time compares in value, and unless you are a friend, or willing to pay, then find someone else.

Mole

Gravity is a habit that is hard to shake off.
Some people are heroes. And some people jot down notes.
WHAT CAN THE HARVEST HOPE FOR, IF NOT FOR THE CARE OF THE REAPER MAN?

I took my 10th circle barb into the Crossing empath guild with 8 gold as a tip. He wasn't bleeding, but had a ton of cuts and bruises. Walked back and forth for 5 minutes trying to get someone to heal him and no one did. So he went to the hospital. Got beat up again and tried it again this time with bleeders and still nothing. Came back a third time.. nothing. I actually saved money by going to the hospital, but this is the reason I never come to the guild to heal as Yazegi. So many people sitting around ignoring everyone.

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Posted by Yazegi
Spokesman for and drinker of rum
AIM: Psycho Yaz

> Walked back and forth for 5 minutes trying to get someone to heal him and no one did.

Yaz,

Normally foks would give you a whole list of reasons of why you didn't get healed. But as primary healers we know to look at who is healing down, can't heal.. and we even know how to ask with respect. Didn't work for me either, and that was over the course of 12 minutes on one particular time. I just use the autohealer, herbs or find an empath around the greens somewhere.

I'd say better luck next time.. but if your like me there won't be a next time.

Xochi

>> If they are just waiting for mana to return or something, they really should hide as to avoid causing issues.

Amo, they shouldn't have to. It is still called the Empath's Guild after all, right?

- Player of Miki & Cael

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(Toldorf does his infamous gypsy striptease!)
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Teille wobbles, looking a bit faint.
>
(Aiellestra reverts to the fetal position)

>>To be perfectly honest, the best choice is the auto-healer. Much less attitude and no high-and-mighty, yet strangely concilatory types coming out of the woodwork to explain why you aren't getting what you want out of the experience.

So I'm assuming if I see you at the NE gate and say, hey Drongol can you go forge me some HP gauntlets for free, maybe I'll give you a tip afterwards if you're lucky... It would be rude of you to be non-responsive reading the boards, or to say no?

Who is high and mighty again?

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I am not arguing with you - I am telling you.

James A. McNeill Whistler

As Ive said hundreds of times.. If you ask a MoonMage to use his 'god' given talents for constilation jewelry or if you ask a range or thief to open boxes for you, and they dont respond by falling all over themselves to do it for you.. Do you go onto the boards and bash their entire guild? There are plenty of us that are happy to help and I am sure there are some of us that have been treated rudely and choose to be more selective in who they work for.

The problem here seems to be that there are no moon mage auto-craftsmen and most people can learn to pick their own boxes if they have the patience. Empaths are BORN with an ability that everyone needs, whether it is a PC empath or an NPC empath. If an empath overheals we DIE, and for a guild that does not fight, we die often enough.

Those who have never played an empath do not know the challenges involved in it. Ever wonder why the slave empaths never make it very far in their studies? ITS NOT EASY. If it were easy everyone would do it. After a few hours of CAN I GET A HEAL? and people juggling, picking boxes and arguing in your guild, youd get sick of helping people too!

The infirmary is WEST of the main room, most people who are interested in healing you are waiting in that room. If someone is idly standing by in the infirmary then they should take the extra 5 seconds to type GO DOOR and go into the empath only room. If they are sitting in the main room of the guild, they may be doing other things that require their attentions.

If you go to a few of the other guilds ; MoonMage, Rangers, WarMage, they hang out on the outside of the guild to do their day to day stuff, but if I went into the ranger guild and found someone sitting idle or doing other things I am not going to ask for a class in foraging or ask them to wrangle me a horse. If a trader is sitting in the gem shop, chances are they are TRADING. If an Empath is in the infirmary or hospital they should be healing or preparing themselves to heal. (Healing themselves.) but if they are not then you should take offense to those people and not stamp us all with the same label.

I know when I am on a ferry, or waiting in line,or at an event.. I heal whomever needs it. How many other guilds will do their craft for next to nothing while in line for an alteration, or waiting to be a part of an event?

Sorry for the long post.

Laelai, The empath that heals anyone, (Yes, even you)

>>I just wish we operated like the auto healers.

The way I see it, we should ask for money upfront. The problem with this is not everyone will do it. I think it would be nice if we could all agree on a standard price for each wound severity with location factored in. Maybe 3/4th what the auto-path charges for each wound. And have the person who makes the crutch program build it in, so that when you touch someone it adds up all their wounds and whispers to them how much it will be to be healed. Obviously this would be an option in the program and could be turned off. It could also be a stand-alone thing for people who don't want to use the crutch to heal.

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I am not arguing with you - I am telling you.

James A. McNeill Whistler

<<If an Empath is in the infirmary or hospital they should be healing or preparing themselves to heal.>>

Last I checked, it was the EMPATH guild. We should be free to sit around and do whatever the heck we feel like doing in there. It's our guild, and we shouldn't feel like we have to be accountable to everyone and their cousin's sister's horse's trainer who wants healing RIGHT NOW.


~Raycha

"We're glad pictures not." -Smegul

"OMG LOLLERSKATES!"

<<So I'm assuming if I see you at the NE gate and say, hey Drongol can you go forge me some HP gauntlets for free, maybe I'll give you a tip afterwards if you're lucky... >>

I'd tell you where to go and how to get there, but Drongol ain't exactly polite.

Additionally, please remember that forging requires the input of money. Healing just requires time (and a lot less time than that required to forge even a set of gauntlets).

Let's not compare apples to oranges here. Empaths were created specifically to heal non-Empaths. Paladins were not created specifically to forge plate armor. If they don't want to heal, then the obvious choice for all involved is for more auto-Empaths to be put into the game, or for another guild(s) to be given healing abilities.

Drongol's Player


PC also stands for "Paying Customer."

>It's because empaths have to heal themselves before they heal others. I agree that they should try to acknowledge people who come in to get healed with a "I'm off duty" or a shake of a head, but if they're busy healing themselves, they may not even see you.

It's true, and it's also true that most people who've never seriously played an empath don't realize what a huge amount of attention, keystrokes and scroll that healing generates. This makes it difficult to respond to someone requesting help, especially when it's busy in the guild and there is a backlog of patients. However this in turn makes it even more important that someone does acknowledge a patient who is asking for help, since as everyone knows people think they're being ignored when they don't get a response. If empaths make an effort to be a little more responsive to waiting patients (even if they are behaving impatiently), the guild reputation will improve rapidly.

I approach this issue by using a generic 'please be patient, we are all busy right now and someone will get to you as soon as we can' message as one of the custom buttons on my Crutch (kitrinx's "crutch" program for the three of you out there who might not know what that is). That makes it easy and quick to respond to an impatient patient.

>If they are just waiting for mana to return or something, they really should hide as to avoid causing issues.

It's our guild, we can do whatever we want, including standing around doing nothing if we choose.

I'm curious, I used to play an empath... How many of you use the familiar window to display wounds?


~Akashera

"Nothing is so strong as gentleness; Nothing is so gentle as real strength."
De Sales


<<Virge says, "Ritamaga bee geeyabo ra hihitoganee?"
<<Virge says, "Boobibayeemeelee?"

*I agree that you are more likely to find an experienced empath on-duty (and awake) in the infirmary as compared to the main room. However, it's ridiculous to say that off-duty empaths should leave the infirmary. If I want to stand in the infirmary and teach or listen to a class, or practice some other skill, or even just stand there and do nothing, it's my right. This whole mindset that seeing an idle empath is somehow insulting or unsettling to people is unbelievably offensive and absurd to me. To me that's like a slave mentality. Forgive the strong words; I don't mean my comments as a personal attack on anyone but I really can't express how I feel about this otherwise*

You are right. I was frustrated. We are in our own guild. I just wish there was some way of fixing the problem with all the b#$#hing. If we only healed in the healerie it would help too. No lockpicking and other spam. The guards are very picky.

Whatever happened to the idea of empaths taking over from the auto-empaths for a shift?



Redfers

>> Just them sitting there bugs me.

I shall keep this in mind should I ever stumble upon one of your characters sitting peacefully in their own guild.

It is called the Empath's guild for a reason. When you are in there, as far as my character (and myself as well) are concerned, you are a guest and should act like one. We (the empaths in the guild) owe you nothing, nada, zilch. We don't even have to acknowledge you. Just because my Empath is relatively woundless and enjoying a bit of time in her guild doesn't mean she has to heal the next death's door idjit that comes stumbling in. Just because she feels like sitting quietly for a bit in her own guild doesn't mean she owes anything to anyone.

I'm not sure why this seems to bother people. If I were to march my way to War mages or Moon mages with this mentality I'd probably get smacked for being a moron. It's a shame Empaths can't do the same.

- Player of Miki & Cael

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Javers says, "I think that "stench-ridden filth set aflame" might be a good clue where to look"
>
Kssarh asks, "Has Rumet's home been set on fire?"

<<Zombies of any guild bug me. If you are sitting there not responding, you are being rude. Sleeping? It is my personal opinion that sleeping in public is rude.>>

You might want to consider getting over it or your time in DR is probably going to be less than fulfilling.

Passionata

There have been several Empaths post that its the Empath guild, therefore the Empaths have a right to do whatever they please. I wouldnt argue that (except for how nasty each of them sounded saying it...) However I think they are missing two critical points. First, there is an expectation of services offered in that room (an expectation that Empaths created and perpetuate), and second the experiences and responses that failing that expectation create.

Empaths create the expectation? Yes. When I first started playing, empaths healed outside the doors. I cant say when or why you all moved inside, so I do not consider that a good point, even though I bring it up. But the majority of empaths that want to gain their ranks or a few tips, go to THAT ROOM to heal. If healers were not there most of the time, they would not be expected the rest of the time. This is of core importance: The only ones that can change this are EMPATHS. If you cannot get together to change this, as a group, then you will be forced to accept it, as a group.

For the other, consider what your very own reaction would be if you walked into the front room of a place that offers a service, and were ignored by all the members at once:

You walk into the front office in Jiffy Lube. Ten mechanics are there, in uniform gabbing. It takes you ten minutes to get their attention because they are ignoring you, only to be told that they're all on break. Are you annoyed? Are you confused as to why they arent in their break room?

You walk out of your hotel, and approach the cab-stand. Six cabbies are standing there, their cabs at the curb. Situation repeats: you cannot get one of them to even look you in the eye, cannot get an answer. Maybe you do, and its "My cab is broken down" "I just stopped to talk to this Guy" "Im teaching these two how to use the new meters" Annoyed? Confused as to why they are parked in THAT spot, if they dont want fares?

You walk into a hospital. Missing a few fingers, bad day at the deli. Doctors and nurses everywhere, reading journals, chatting in corners, drinking coffee. All ignore you but a couple that look at you like you are an idiot, and tell you that its THEIR hospital, and they can do whatever they darn well please. They're not in the lounge, not in the cafeteria, not in their offices. Just sitting in the front room, ignoring patients. What do you think of them?

Before you start with the first standard agrument: Yes I realize that we're talking about the empath Guild Sitting room. Not my fault a huge percentage of you choose to do your healing there. It has become a defacto treatment room. Don't you expect Traders standing in the gem shop to be available to trade pouches? What is your impression of them when they ignore you? You want that image to change, convince the rest of the empaths. Inertia is a terrible thing. If you dont think you can convince both a large percentage of the empaths AND a large percentage of the injured that that room is not for healing..... There is a simpler solution. Go elsewhere when not in the mood to heal. Find your own break room in the back of the store.

If you ignore those two points, you should expect some people to think you are wrong for standing at your 'cab stand,' not wanting fares.

>with empaths basicly we're providing a free service. tips are just that. tips. gratuities. if you're not happy with the level of service, don't tip.

You are probably one of teh only empaths I either know, of have heard from on the boards with that opinion.

Im going to go make some popcorn and wait for your fellow empaths to risk shock with what they are going to do to you, heh

I see it as a paid service. I pay for it.

<<problem with these analogies is that the people in them are being payed to provide a service. with empaths basicly we're providing a free service. tips are just that. tips. gratuities.>>

I'll go one step further ... at Jiffy Lube you have professionals on the clock providing a service you pay for. At the empath guild you have a group of fantasy characters run by players who pay just as much to exist in this world as you pay. These players have just as much of a real life as you have and just as much of a right to play said game in whatever method pleases them.

Passionata

Title hidden, profession hidden, Off-duty button on.... I try my best to show people when I am not in the healing mood, but still have hundreds of whispers and indignant comments when I'm not willing to do it. Thus on any given day, I might not be inclined to respond to every query and whisper that comes my way. You generally take more grief when you respond anyway, so where is my incentive to do so? To be polite to a largely ungracious population? Nope, still not enough for me. For the many people who are good to empaths (ie. The Arnaths, Camchaks, Falkonises, Harshons, Woodcubbs etc and pretty much every trader I have run into - chaching) you are certainly going to be at the top of the queue, and I hope that you have a pleasant visit to our healing facilities. But for every one of you that we heal, there are 20-30 rude, dead-beat or ungrateful patients that I just don?t have the will to respond to anymore.

"Anyone who spends a significant amount of time with me finds me disagreeable."

~Purehand, Lord of the dance and overhealing

The campus I'm going to college at is 40 miles away. This means I drive 45 minutes to an hour to get from my house to campus, or vice versa. I also work 12 hour shifts over night. A typical Friday for me is to get off work, drive to campus, go to my first class, go to the den (study/social area) and sleep for 3 hours, go to my other two classes, head home and work on homework until I have to go back to work Saturday night.

This example is given in an attempt to show one more example where sleeping 'in public' is an acceptable practice. As in the beach example, there are areas where it is not only acceptable but common practice to sleep there, and a guildhall would be one of those places. HOW anyone can sleep with all that noise is another question entirely.

As for the Jiffy Lube/Cab/Hospital example...

{backspace, backspace, backspace}

...Completely irrelevant to the discussion at hand.

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Visionary Heroiklim Zortal

Though you feel a burst of holy energy course through you, the keepers of the shrine do not appear to have aligned it with the pilgrim's association.