Re: Game Mechanics, Settings, and the Role-Players who Love Them (long) on 01/11/2011 04:48 PM CST
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<<you could make a prison yard hunting area. Have some of the prisoners be merchants selling smuggled goods. Have some way to contact your minions on the outside to keep your machinations rolling. There are plenty of directions you could go to have the government think you're dealt with but still allow the player fun options. Then of course you have all the locked up people orchestrate a breakout. A mini reverse invasion. >>

The original concept/plan for The Fallen was a prison island.


Solomon


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Re: Game Mechanics, Settings, and the Role-Players who Love Them (long) on 01/11/2011 05:14 PM CST
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>A large number of you would have been publicly executed a long, long time ago.

Okay, I'm sure we can all think of a handful of obvious examples, but just for kicks what kind of number is considered "large" here?

~ Pansophist Kougen

You search the Dragon Priest assassin.
The assassin was carrying some knee-high snakeskin boots and a medium red beryl!
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Re: Game Mechanics, Settings, and the Role-Players who Love Them (long) on 01/11/2011 05:32 PM CST
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I'm pretty sure even my inoffensive nobody character would have been summarily executed for the various 'mad mage' charges she's tripped into over the years. Or, you know, the first one.

"Magic has rules and so does posting on these forums." -Annwyl
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Re: Game Mechanics, Settings, and the Role-Players who Love Them (long) on 01/11/2011 05:51 PM CST
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<<Okay, I'm sure we can all think of a handful of obvious examples, but just for kicks what kind of number is considered "large" here?>>

Greater than pi.


Solomon


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Re: Game Mechanics, Settings, and the Role-Players who Love Them (long) on 01/11/2011 05:59 PM CST
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>Greater than pi.

You're no fun.

~ Pansophist Kougen

You search the Dragon Priest assassin.
The assassin was carrying some knee-high snakeskin boots and a medium red beryl!
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Re: Game Mechanics, Settings, and the Role-Players who Love Them (long) on 01/11/2011 06:31 PM CST
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"A large number of you would have been publicly executed a long, long time ago."

I was really trying to accomplish this for a while. Now it's just kind of a vague goal for sometime in the future.

-Serc

""It's a hell of a thing, killing some text. Take away all the numbers and letters and punctuation it's got, and all the numbers and letters and punctuation it's ever gonna have." -- Clint Eastwood, Unforgiven."-- Bahb.
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Re: Game Mechanics, Settings, and the Role-Players who Love Them (long) on 01/11/2011 08:27 PM CST
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>>This.

>>A large number of you would have been publicly executed a long, long time ago.

I'm fine with that. Granted, none of my characters would face consequences since they tend to avoid the machinations of states and figureheads, but I am fine with that.

My point is when you conjure up a guardsman who is more capable than the best Warrior Mage PC, you don't just hurt immersion, you shatter it. Even for the people who aren't your intended targets.

You've already pointed out that the solution is obvious, and I keep hoping that means eventually you'll take it.
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Re: Game Mechanics, Settings, and the Role-Players who Love Them (long) on 01/11/2011 08:32 PM CST
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>>The people that are highly placed in society are better adventurers than you, and for some unfathomable reason have elected to maintain the illusion of a Hollywood medieval society rather than descend into tribal despotism.

For whatever it's worth, I decided to descend into tribal despotism, but no one seems to be coming along for the ride.

~player of Gulphphunger
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Re: Game Mechanics, Settings, and the Role-Players who Love Them (long) on 01/11/2011 08:54 PM CST
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Why aren't we assuming guards are 150th circle characters, anyway?

They administer justice in a setting where the underworld is run by ninja, in settlements which are freakish medieval metropolises occasionally besieged by ungodly horrors (with very little consequence), and are an even smaller percentage of the population than guided adventures -- and some guards clearly are guild-trained, in Shard and Theren in particular.

How can you not be a heroic figure in your own right if you qualify for this position?

Isn't the alternative of guards without superpowers equally weird in the context of Dragonrealms? The attrition rate alone should make justice nonviable.


"Magic has rules and so does posting on these forums." -Annwyl
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Re: Game Mechanics, Settings, and the Role-Players who Love Them (long) on 01/11/2011 09:06 PM CST
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>Isn't the alternative of guards without superpowers equally weird in the context of Dragonrealms? The attrition rate alone should make justice nonviable.

Exactly.

~ Pansophist Kougen

You search the Dragon Priest assassin.
The assassin was carrying some knee-high snakeskin boots and a medium red beryl!
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Re: Game Mechanics, Settings, and the Role-Players who Love Them (long) on 01/11/2011 09:49 PM CST
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Don't the Shard sentinels have superpowers? I don't spend much time down there, but I was under the impression they had various magics at their ready command. And nothing I know of says they're special.
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Re: Game Mechanics, Settings, and the Role-Players who Love Them (long) on 01/11/2011 09:52 PM CST
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>>Why aren't we assuming guards are 150th circle characters, anyway?

IIRC, generic guards aren't super powered. That doesn't mean all guards aren't, though. Just that the rank-and-file ones aren't that great. Similar to how most militia units weren't high end barbarians or anything.

>>Don't the Shard sentinels have superpowers?

Yep




"We're not "out to get you," we're here to enhance your playing experience with extreme prejudice.," DR-ARMIFER
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Re: Game Mechanics, Settings, and the Role-Players who Love Them (long) on 01/12/2011 12:08 AM CST
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>>IIRC, generic guards aren't super powered. That doesn't mean all guards aren't, though. Just that the rank-and-file ones aren't that great. Similar to how most militia units weren't high end barbarians or anything.

I meant to point out earlier that there are probably different guards to deal with non-adventurer criminals, too. There's the police, then there's Superman, and then there's Batman with contingency plans on how to kill Superman.
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Re: Game Mechanics, Settings, and the Role-Players who Love Them (long) on 01/12/2011 01:05 AM CST
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>>I meant to point out earlier that there are probably different guards to deal with non-adventurer criminals, too.

This makes good sense to me. I've always liked the Sentinels in Shard, who always seemed to each have their own personality and ways of operating.

I would imagine the guards of high enough quality and skill to handle meting out justice to adventurers would quickly become reasonably well known. Might be interesting to add some unique personalities to at least some of the guards in other cities as well. Just a thought. It must be an interesting lifestyle; I'm curious what kind of pay they'd have to pull in, considering that with the time they spend patrolling the streets they ostensibly could be out grinding Armadillos or something.

Ogdaro
"Take chances and see what you can get away with, it only costs you a favor or two if you mess up." -Issus
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Re: Game Mechanics, Settings, and the Role-Players who Love Them (long) on 01/12/2011 02:05 AM CST
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>I'm curious what kind of pay they'd have to pull in, considering that with the time they spend patrolling the streets they ostensibly could be out grinding Armadillos or something.

The same amount we got for being part of the militia. :P

After a certain point, money means little.



"Your suffering amuses me" -GM Raesh

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Re: Game Mechanics, Settings, and the Role-Players who Love Them (long) on 01/12/2011 03:17 AM CST
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>>After a certain point, money means little.

I know, that's why I'm wondering how they're paid. I assume if PCs in the militias were on duty 24/7 and never had a break to go hunt or train, they'd probably want some sort of compensation, even if it wasn't via coin.

In any case, it's not a serious query, just something I found amusing to think about.

Ogdaro
"Take chances and see what you can get away with, it only costs you a favor or two if you mess up." -Issus
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Re: Game Mechanics, Settings, and the Role-Players who Love Them (long) on 01/12/2011 05:33 AM CST
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>they'd probably want some sort of compensation

How about the ability to beat the snot out of annoying people whenever they feel like it?

Heh.



"Your suffering amuses me" -GM Raesh

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Re: Game Mechanics, Settings, and the Role-Players who Love Them (long) on 01/12/2011 07:17 AM CST
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>>I've always liked the Sentinels in Shard, who always seemed to each have their own personality and ways of operating.


- Terra
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Re: Game Mechanics, Settings, and the Role-Players who Love Them (long) on 01/12/2011 11:20 AM CST
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>>How about the ability to beat the snot out of annoying people whenever they feel like it?

How is that a militia perk? Usually that's something you can't do in the army.

But I would be interested in a brainstorm for actual perks.
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Re: Game Mechanics, Settings, and the Role-Players who Love Them (long) on 01/12/2011 11:38 AM CST
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>>How about the ability to beat the snot out of annoying people whenever they feel like it?

>How is that a militia perk? Usually that's something you can't do in the army.

Welcome to pseudo-feudalism. Beating the snot out of annoying people when you feel like it is the founding principle of government.

It's not even illegal.


"Magic has rules and so does posting on these forums." -Annwyl
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Re: Game Mechanics, Settings, and the Role-Players who Love Them (long) on 01/12/2011 12:37 PM CST
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>>Usually that's something you can't do in the army.

It's funny how ideas change over time. These days if we say a group was soldiers was decimated, most people will bring to mind terrible losses on the battlefield. Actually, decimation was the practice of Roman officers punishing a unit by killing one tenth of them.

Life by and large sucked for the greatest majority of people unfortunate enough to live in or touched by Europe up until very recently. Probably outside it too, but my knowledge of history quickly peters out past that point.

-Armifer
"In our days truth is taken to result from the effacing of the living man behind the mathematical structures that think themselves out in him, rather than he be thinking them." - Emmanuel Levinas
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Re: Game Mechanics, Settings, and the Role-Players who Love Them (long) on 01/12/2011 02:13 PM CST
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>How is that a militia perk? Usually that's something you can't do in the army.

Actually, I was talking about it being a reward for being a guard.



"Your suffering amuses me" -GM Raesh

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Re: Game Mechanics, Settings, and the Role-Players who Love Them (long) on 01/12/2011 02:25 PM CST
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Actually, I have been told to stay out of fights as a member of the militia. =P I don't really remember context, and it's odd since I normally wouldn't get into one, but meh.

So I was referring to IG stuff. Not the mamby-pamby realism that makes the gamers start screaming about how it's only a game.

And I was inversely referring to the fact that you can do that IG without joining the army already.
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Re: Game Mechanics, Settings, and the Role-Players who Love Them (long) on 01/12/2011 07:40 PM CST
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>How about the ability to beat the snot out of annoying people whenever they feel like it?
>How is that a militia perk? Usually that's something you can't do in the army.

Wall to wall counceling was common not so long ago. The wall part being the thing they slammed you into until you started obeying orders.


Elemental Lord Opieus, Expert Warrior Mage of Elanthia
"For a bunch of radical empiricists, the Philosophers' system relies on a whole lot of faith." ~Armifer
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