[Poll] Going Forward - What Do The Players Want?

(This is a thread from Mizahar's fantasy roleplay forum. Why don't you register today? This message is not shown when you are logged in. Come roleplay with us, it's fun!)

Feel free to post all your Mizahar related discussions here.

[Poll] Going Forward - What Do The Players Want?

Postby Rhuryc on May 2nd, 2011, 8:29 pm

In-Game Construction - Giving PCs the incentive/resources/motivation to develop their own area of the game lets them feel like they've really impacted the world in a lasting manner, even if it is building their own hovel in the middle of nowhere. It's also an awesome springboard for consistent quests/Rp in one particular area. This would also give those people who bother to develop their civil skills a reason to use them beyond just landing a job. I would love for Rhuryc's Blacksmithing to help in the construction of something.

Small Plots - I'm all up with Ulric in this. I said before that some of us don't mind playing supporting characters, in fact, some of us may or may not have designed their character to act as said support for perhaps more or less heroic type adventurers. This could let those of us not caught up in this epic plotlines interact with them in such a way, like being a reoccurring force for those that require help or even meatshielding for those squishier chaps.

Landmarks/Organize Travel - I think these lead into one another. Caravans need places to stop. Roads draw civilization simply by existing. Not only does this provide the standard Inn-in-the-wilderness-that-for-some-reason-draws-the-starting-adventurers, but it gives incentive for more travel threads. And wilderness interaction that doesn't have you fearing for your existence because you went too far or didn't go far enough with consequences for your actions. Also, did someone say mysterious adventure opportunities? Story hook potential? Oh my.

Miz Classes - Yes plz thankyou. Magic. Dear lord magic. I think almost everyone struggles with magic in this setting (I know I've been guilt of this), we're so steeped in the "common" fantasy setting view that we occasionally forget how dangerous magic is in Mizahar, or we just don't have the same vision as the Founders do. The wiki articles are extensive, and fantastic, but someones a more direct hand is the best way to get the point/lesson across. This would be great to really get the gritty feel of the RPG across, or moreso just place everyone on the same wavelength.

Secret Societies - We should have a secret group of assassins that assassinates anyone that calls themselves an assassin before they belong to said secret group. My two cents.
User avatar
Rhuryc
Honorific
 
Posts: 674
Words: 466305
Joined roleplay: July 21st, 2010, 7:22 am
Location: Syliras
Race: Human
Character sheet
Storyteller secrets
Plotnotes

[Poll] Going Forward - What Do The Players Want?

Postby Malisys on May 2nd, 2011, 8:33 pm

I'm still a Mizahar newbie, but I'll give my two cents on this matter as well.

Epic overarching plot lines: It is my opinion that having something to strive for makes a character easier to write. At least in a big storyline type of setting. Mizahar's lack of an overall theme for basic threading is great; nobody has to focus on combat, work, devotion to a deity, etc. It's all choice. But when there's a campaign for everyone, having a theme can make it a lot easier to integrate all the minds and ideas towards one goal, just in different ways.

IC Building Projects & Development (in-game construction) Construction projects are a great way to get everyone involved. Regardless of your character's skills, everyone can transport supplies back and forth, up and down ladders, assist the more seasoned construction experts, etc. It gives plenty of opportunities to have people work together on something and give a specific building their own personal flair even if it's just a little tuft of fur hanging on a nail, or even rebuild parts of their cities if a route that caused some of them to get damaged was taken. It just gives characters a chance to do something that impacts more than themselves.

A wider variety of 'non-combat' groups to join: PCs are all varied and have a lot of things they like to do that may be (and usually are) outside of the typical archetype of their respective races. For instance, a cold-blooded assassin may have a secret love for exotic fruit. A surgeon may want to be a Bounty Hunter. A centralized hall for these groups would allow characters with similar interests to meet up and then thread together when they otherwise would have little reason to be at one another's location.

Divine Intervention/Interaction: This one is a little difficult to explain. I find that having interaction with a deity is easy to RP as a writer (and can also be messed up easily) but gives the actual PCs a chance to interact with something far greater than them and be a potential life-altering experience. A character down in the dumps over something poor happening could meet their deity and instantly feel like the world is at their fingertips.

Secret Societies (religious or otherwise): Another tool to enhance the possibilities of any given character. It can give players a chance to expand their characters in a different direction. A secret organization can be about anything and do anything. It just gives a PC more to do.
Malisys
Player
 
Posts: 28
Words: 19787
Joined roleplay: April 28th, 2011, 2:54 am
Race: Human, Vantha
Character sheet

[Poll] Going Forward - What Do The Players Want?

Postby Tacitus on June 2nd, 2011, 1:23 am

I voted for everything except More Protagonists and their Organizations, Things for Child PC's to do and Other. I'll explain my reasoning for the ones I feel most strongly about

Why Mizahar Does NOT Need More Protagonists and their Organizations (as NPC's)

It takes time and strong leadership for organizations- especially larger organizations, such as nations or city-states- to be created. Organizations with a strong moral foundation will inevitably gain the support of their members (citizens)- such as a city-state with non-corrupt leaders or a group such as the Syliran Knights. These organizations have a tendency to grow and expand indefinitely because they represent something that people are willing to rally behind should it come under threat. But the thing is, it is uncommon for multitudes of such organizations to exist in one area. Because they inherently have such a positive reputation, most people are content to join an existing one in their area rather than go through the effort to re-create from scratch something that already exists. Mizahar is a unique RP site in that a majority of these organizations have been destroyed due to the Valterrian. This allows for strife and chaos to run rampant in the world, which is the environment in which both Hero's and Villains (perhaps somewhat simplistic terms, but for the purposes of this post they will need to suffice) to make a lasting mark in the world. This ability to either try to create stability in a chaotic world or take full advantage of it is what initially attracted me to Mizahar- and I feel that creating more 'good guys' inherently creates more stability and order within the site.

We already have many stables areas, such as Syliras, Avanthal, Wind Reach, Zeltiva, ect, and they are admittedly some of the most popular areas (from what I've seen). But I feel that this has caused somewhat stagnant RP in these stables areas- if you want to become a better swordsman, for instance, you can stay in Avanthal and do Solo threads training up your Longsword Skill against an NPC or perhaps even by yourself, or by a safe, friendly duel with a fellow PC. I would personally much rather earn my swordsmanship skills fighting against an organization such as the Ebonstryfe or Syliran Knights- but it feels as though there is little opportunity for this if you want to make 'good' character. This Thread is currently my favorite of any of the threads I have read through, although I am admittedly new to the site. It included a real call to action, options and risks available to the PC's at all times, even the possibility of character death (and great roleplaying and moderation to top it off), thus resulting in a fun to read thread (and I'm sure an even more fun thread to have been a part of).

Why Mizahar Needs More Antagonists and their Organizations

Mostly for the same reasons stated above. More Antagonists creates more instability and chaos, creates targets for Heroes (aka PC's) to rebel against, and it even makes sense logically for there to be more of them due to the relatively short time period since the Valterrian. As strongly as I feel that no more 'good' NPC's or Organizations should be made OOC, I feel that 'evil' NPC's and Organizations need to be far more prolific.

And this isn't to say that we need 100 new bandit organizations running around Syliras for the Syliran Knights to mop up over the course of a few seasons- there would be no epic feel to that at all, just repetitive RP quests over and over and over. There should be far more serious threats where a loss means more than the lives of a few mere knights but instead of destruction of an entire society- such as the Ebonstryfe. I feel that the Myrian society has great potential for this as an empire that seeks to expand it's borders. If I get around to making another NPC it will most definitely be a Myrian. But Taloba's long distance from other city states and general underdevelopment cause the great idea to be harder to implement in practice than I would have hoped.

Why Mizahar Needs Harsher Repercussion for Actions- But Not in the Way You Might Think.

Currently in the Mizahar system, characters are able to sit around in a city and safely grind their way to 100/100 skill, and I feel that due to the skills system and deep connection to their character (neither of which are bad things by any means) most people want to do this before getting out and doing the 'fun stuff'- risky battles against Glassbeaks or Mooks from the Ebonstryfe, searching that old Archaeological site for Pre-Valterrian books, ect. And because it is so easy to do this, someone could spend a month (or longer) building up skills, get bored and leave the site with a bad impression (although admittedly their own fault). Thus I propose some sort of punishment to deter this- I have no idea how it would work, and understand how difficult implementation would be. An example would be something along the lines of getting less XP for solo threads after being competent and no XP for solo threads after becoming a master, or getting correspondingly larger XP rewards for taking risks and putting your character in danger.

Not everyone enjoys taking these risks. I understand that. If you spent months creating and development a character, submersing yourself into their mind, only for him to be killed against some lucky bandit- well, it sucks. I've done it before on other RP sites. But I feel that discouraging 'safe' threads would make people more willing to take risks, and I believe wholeheartedly that people, once they find out how rewarding it is, will be glad that they took the risk. I would rather die in threads like this than work my way up to 100/100 in pure solo threads any day (re: grinding), and I think there should be incentive for this.

(Edit: I really need to work on making my writing more concise.)
User avatar
Tacitus
Player
 
Posts: 4
Words: 18518
Joined roleplay: October 25th, 2010, 12:06 am
Location: Oregon
Race: Human
Character sheet

[Poll] Going Forward - What Do The Players Want?

Postby Rayage on June 2nd, 2011, 4:12 am

One of the votes I cast was for: More Antagonists & Their Organizations (the bad guys!).

As playing a 'bad guy' myself I would love to see more evil organizations and have them actually influence more than the surrounding area (Ive been playing with the idea of starting one of my own in fact). It would be nice to see the Organizations influence about everywhere. Something epic. I think it would give all the good PCs here something to work against and give them a suitable challenge; maybe a type of ultimate goal.

It will also give all us bad guys out there something to organize us and make us that much more of a powerful force in the world of Mizahar. Though maybe why Im not seeing much of the evil-dooers influence here is because Im rather new here myself...
“Method is more important than strength, when you wish to control your enemies. By dropping golden beads near a snake, a crow once managed to have a passer-by kill the snake for the beads.” ~ Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

Image Image Image
User avatar
Rayage
Sahova All-Star
 
Posts: 1073
Words: 980399
Joined roleplay: February 5th, 2011, 9:40 pm
Location: Sahova
Race: Nuit
Character sheet
Storyteller secrets
Plotnotes
Medals: 5
Featured Thread (1) Lore Author (1)
Overlored (1) Donor (1)
2012 Mizahar NaNo Winner (1)

[Poll] Going Forward - What Do The Players Want?

Postby Acanthus on June 2nd, 2011, 8:43 am

I voted for epic plot lines, divine interaction/intervention, small plot lines, battles between gods, and other. Other is just my wish to see Charbosi developed.

But really, I like Mizahar how it is. Not much to complain about. :)
User avatar
Acanthus
Wizard
 
Posts: 68
Words: 11928
Joined roleplay: May 31st, 2011, 9:52 pm
Location: Syliras, Sylira
Race: Human
Character sheet

[Poll] Going Forward - What Do The Players Want?

Postby Caelum on June 5th, 2011, 1:06 am

Rhuryc wrote:In-Game Construction - Giving PCs the incentive/resources/motivation to develop their own area of the game lets them feel like they've really impacted the world in a lasting manner, even if it is building their own hovel in the middle of nowhere. It's also an awesome springboard for consistent quests/Rp in one particular area. This would also give those people who bother to develop their civil skills a reason to use them beyond just landing a job. I would love for Rhuryc's Blacksmithing to help in the construction of something.



I firmly second this. Honestly, I love world-building, from beginning with a brick and a chimney to entire cities. My greater interests and, if I'm honest with myself, greater talents don't lie in skill creation. I'm not very good at that.

So what am I good at that I think a lot of other players are too? Ideas. Big and small. One of the biggest ideas presently occupying my brain involves a concept for the undeveloped city of Claridon, for example, but I'm not a storyteller nor have the time to apply to become one at present so my idea just sort of sits there and withers.

That's really what caused me to pay attention to what Rhuryc said regarding In Game Construction. I think that done right it could really garner player interest as well as more PC interaction.
User avatar
Caelum
The best way out is through.
 
Posts: 1961
Words: 1093768
Joined roleplay: March 18th, 2010, 10:27 pm
Location: Riverfall
Race: Ethaefal
Character sheet
Storyteller secrets
Scrapbook
Journal
Plotnotes
Medals: 11
Featured Character (1) Featured Contributor (1)
Featured Thread (1) Guest Storyteller (1)
Lore Author (1) Peer Reviewer (1)
Trailblazer (1) Donor (1)
One Thousand Posts! (1) Extreme Scrapbooker (1)

[Poll] Going Forward - What Do The Players Want?

Postby Reshimi on June 5th, 2011, 3:09 am

Everyone wrote so many good things about the choices I also chose! But I'll focus on "Other." I would love to see some sort of race support thread (OC). For example, a "Human Support Thread" or "Chaktawe Support Thread," mainly focused toward new members. I know when I joined, the first thing I did was to find people of my own race for flashbacks and so she started in something. Perhaps a working support thread, even filled with idle chatter, would help new members find a place to begin.

I also chose city interaction; Mizahar is one world, with a whole bunch of people beginning to move from place to place. Why shouldn't there be major conflicts (or peace agreements)? That said, smaller plots tying to larger ones can maintain the feel of written roleplay but give a greater direction to aim for.

I would also like to see the gods and godesses more often on mizahar. Some live on the surface, and I feel like they are too distant from the 'mortal' characters.

♥ Thanks!
User avatar
Reshimi
Abayla Woman of the Kalanue Tribe
 
Posts: 147
Words: 31281
Joined roleplay: May 23rd, 2011, 8:45 pm
Location: Eyktol
Race: Chaktawe
Character sheet
Storyteller secrets

[Poll] Going Forward - What Do The Players Want?

Postby Robynson on June 16th, 2011, 12:46 pm

EDIT:
I feel like a total idiot. I failed to look at the time/date of this post nor relate this poll to the thread about the storyteller campaign on creating more overarching plots. Oh well, please read my rant anyways. lol.

Aeie bon dia todo,

I am new to the website, but after reading a lot of lore, and going through different threads there are some things that I noticed immediately and want to bring up here (especially after Gossamer's poll) I have RP'd for awhile on another website that had the same quality driven attitude (i.e the Creative Manifesto). Through my past experience, reading through the forums, and talking in chat I think I have a good grasp on what this website is all about.

Anyways here is my opinion on the three topics I voted for in the poll. I want to actually discuss these points I have made and I really want people to respond with their opinions.

I believe that Mizahar's first priority in going forward should be to put more emphasize on "Epic overarching plot-lines". I also believe that "small scale plotlines that tie to larger plots" and "battles between gods (short term and long term conflicts)" will fall under overarching plots lines.

Overarching Plot-lines:
I think that there should be a main plot-line in Mizahar that encompasses most, if not the whole world. I think that there should be conflict between nations. The reality is that nations compete, whether it is through war, technological races, religious disputes, social-political problems, or trade negotiations. Also I think that there should be collaboration between nations. Nations can collaborate for the same reasons that they have conflicts.

That being said, I don't want you to think that we (myself and the others who want more over arching plot lines) want to destroy the freedom that PCs have in Mizahar (that is why I joined in the first place). The RP site is great, but having a overarching political-social plot line will:

A) Make it easier for players to place their characters in-context of the game. Players can use events that have occurred as tools to shape their characters. Even if the character is not participating in these plot-lines. They can fit their character in the worlds history, so to speak, they can shape their characters based on current events and still maintain the freedom that Mizahar has. Not only does it make it easier, but it also creates more opportunities to truely make a great character.

B) It allows opportunities for character who want to "play their hand in history" and be part of the development of the world. It allows people to play character archetypes that normally wouldn't be supported that well by Mizhar. I think that it is possible to keep Mizhar like it is now, allowing great opportunities for freedom, personal plot-lines, exploration etc. At the same time it could cater to those who want to play a character who is more involved in the world so to speak.

C) Small scale plotlines that tie to larger plots
It is easier to develop and connect individual plots, with a large meta-plot. PCs can make and develop their plots to coincide with each other. For example, if their is a conflict or war between two nations, a player could create a privateer character and make a plot about being about him/her stealing from the opposite countries ships. In this example, not only could players make pirate characters to join this privateer group, but also characters from other factions can set up interactions between each other. There will simply be more opportunities to make small/personal plot-lines, because their will be a skeleton so to speak for people to work with.

D) Battles between gods (short term and long term conflicts):
After reading lore, it is very easy to understand that gods have a huge hand to play in Mizahars main plot. I think that with a meta-plot in effect involving the gods, we can expand the horizons of character development and plot-lines. Not only would this intensify the meaning of receiving a gnosis mark, but it would also add a new dimension to the game. I can already imagine characters, being "used" by goods to complete the god's goals. If gods were in active conflict, making a character that is religious is much more serious and much more complex. Like everything else I mentioned, this will allow more and more opportunities for awesome character ideas and original plot lines.

E) I think that introducing epic overarching plot-lines will consequently touch the following poll topics as well, allowing for easier and further development of the following:

  • IC Building Projects & Development (technology, artifact, and construction competition)
  • City Interaction (obviously)
  • Divine Interaction/Intervention (considering the lore of Mizahar meta-plots will bring in the hands of gods more into play)
  • Business Opportunities! We want to make money! (I can for see meta-plot contributing to this)
  • Lore Development (Out of necessity lore will need to be developed more)
  • History Development (same as lore development)
  • More organized religious groups (I think this will naturally occur as well)
  • Easier or more organized travel (a possibility if the meta-plot requires a lot of travel)
  • Violence - we want a whole lot more of this.(this could occur naturally too),
  • Secret Societies (want to go indie against the factions/god involved in the main plot?)


Tacitus wrote:I voted for everything except More Protagonists and their Organizations, Things for Child PC's to do and Other. I'll explain my reasoning for the ones I feel most strongly about

Why Mizahar Does NOT Need More Protagonists and their Organizations (as NPC's)

It takes time and strong leadership for organizations- especially larger organizations, such as nations or city-states- to be created. Organizations with a strong moral foundation will inevitably gain the support of their members (citizens)- such as a city-state with non-corrupt leaders or a group such as the Syliran Knights. These organizations have a tendency to grow and expand indefinitely because they represent something that people are willing to rally behind should it come under threat. But the thing is, it is uncommon for multitudes of such organizations to exist in one area. Because they inherently have such a positive reputation, most people are content to join an existing one in their area rather than go through the effort to re-create from scratch something that already exists. Mizahar is a unique RP site in that a majority of these organizations have been destroyed due to the Valterrian. This allows for strife and chaos to run rampant in the world, which is the environment in which both Hero's and Villains (perhaps somewhat simplistic terms, but for the purposes of this post they will need to suffice) to make a lasting mark in the world. This ability to either try to create stability in a chaotic world or take full advantage of it is what initially attracted me to Mizahar- and I feel that creating more 'good guys' inherently creates more stability and order within the site.

We already have many stables areas, such as Syliras, Avanthal, Wind Reach, Zeltiva, ect, and they are admittedly some of the most popular areas (from what I've seen). But I feel that this has caused somewhat stagnant RP in these stables areas- if you want to become a better swordsman, for instance, you can stay in Avanthal and do Solo threads training up your Longsword Skill against an NPC or perhaps even by yourself, or by a safe, friendly duel with a fellow PC. I would personally much rather earn my swordsmanship skills fighting against an organization such as the Ebonstryfe or Syliran Knights- but it feels as though there is little opportunity for this if you want to make 'good' character. This Thread is currently my favorite of any of the threads I have read through, although I am admittedly new to the site. It included a real call to action, options and risks available to the PC's at all times, even the possibility of character death (and great roleplaying and moderation to top it off), thus resulting in a fun to read thread (and I'm sure an even more fun thread to have been a part of).

Why Mizahar Needs More Antagonists and their Organizations

Mostly for the same reasons stated above. More Antagonists creates more instability and chaos, creates targets for Heroes (aka PC's) to rebel against, and it even makes sense logically for there to be more of them due to the relatively short time period since the Valterrian. As strongly as I feel that no more 'good' NPC's or Organizations should be made OOC, I feel that 'evil' NPC's and Organizations need to be far more prolific.

And this isn't to say that we need 100 new bandit organizations running around Syliras for the Syliran Knights to mop up over the course of a few seasons- there would be no epic feel to that at all, just repetitive RP quests over and over and over. There should be far more serious threats where a loss means more than the lives of a few mere knights but instead of destruction of an entire society- such as the Ebonstryfe. I feel that the Myrian society has great potential for this as an empire that seeks to expand it's borders. If I get around to making another NPC it will most definitely be a Myrian. But Taloba's long distance from other city states and general underdevelopment cause the great idea to be harder to implement in practice than I would have hoped.

Why Mizahar Needs Harsher Repercussion for Actions- But Not in the Way You Might Think.

Currently in the Mizahar system, characters are able to sit around in a city and safely grind their way to 100/100 skill, and I feel that due to the skills system and deep connection to their character (neither of which are bad things by any means) most people want to do this before getting out and doing the 'fun stuff'- risky battles against Glassbeaks or Mooks from the Ebonstryfe, searching that old Archaeological site for Pre-Valterrian books, ect. And because it is so easy to do this, someone could spend a month (or longer) building up skills, get bored and leave the site with a bad impression (although admittedly their own fault). Thus I propose some sort of punishment to deter this- I have no idea how it would work, and understand how difficult implementation would be. An example would be something along the lines of getting less XP for solo threads after being competent and no XP for solo threads after becoming a master, or getting correspondingly larger XP rewards for taking risks and putting your character in danger.

Not everyone enjoys taking these risks. I understand that. If you spent months creating and development a character, submersing yourself into their mind, only for him to be killed against some lucky bandit- well, it sucks. I've done it before on other RP sites. But I feel that discouraging 'safe' threads would make people more willing to take risks, and I believe wholeheartedly that people, once they find out how rewarding it is, will be glad that they took the risk. I would rather die in threads like this than work my way up to 100/100 in pure solo threads any day (re: grinding), and I think there should be incentive for this.

(Edit: I really need to work on making my writing more concise.)


I would like to take a moment to second this post. I am new like Tacitus, and after pursuing various threads I have come to the same conclusion as Tacitus. Although, I have no qualms with the antagonist/protagonist situation that Tacitus describes I think that is an issue that can be addressed when developing a meta-plot (How can we get more people to be villains?)

What I really agree with is Tacitus's opinion on on the skill system. I do not think that people should be able to solo grind skills by safely sitting in a major city. This could lead to people leaving as Tacitus pointed out Even non-combat skills like fishing or being a brick layer or a weaver or whatever should require that character must be involved in some risk after a certain skill level. A fighter can only spar to a certain point, he/she needs to experience real battles/fights.

Maybe to become a "master" in a certain skill one must embark on a quest of gain skill points. Using the examples I mentioned before: To gain master skill points one would need to travel to a distant lake or sea to catch a huge monstrous fish. Or a brick layer is recruited to build a fortress in a frontier land; the brick layer moving far away from home and living in constant danger as he/she builds this stone building. The weaver must create a magical cloth that requires magical threads that have been blessed by a god or something. In order to find these magic items to finally become a weaving master, the character must go through a awesome quest to attain it.

That being said though, I think that there should be some level of grinding at the novice and competent levels (lvl 1-50), but once your in the master area (>75) the character should need to complete something epic and dangerous. To become a master at a certain skill, the character needs to be able to complete the most daunting versions of the skill. For example martial arts. One could train for many years in a dojo and achieve expert skill status as a martial artist. However, in order to truly become a master martial artist, one needs to go out in the world and fight the most talented people/ monsters. I think that this is essential.

TLDR:
I think that introducing an overarching or meta plot line would be a huge boost for Mizahar. Not only will it unlock more potential and possibilities for character development and plot lines, but it also brings to the table many of the other topics discussed in this thread and on the poll. I also second Tacitus's post on skill points and I believe that one should not be able to "grind", so to speak, ALL of their skill points. Grinding is fine at first, but characters should have to go out into the world to achieve master status on their skill.

Conclusion:
Whoo! Now I am done. Sorry about the huge wall of text my friends, but I am really excited to RP on this website and I would like to contribute IC and OCC as much as possible. After writing all of that out I now realize that it is a huge daunting task for the storytellers to take up a project like adding a meta-plot as it would seemingly open up many other topics to address.

Please, please, please discuss in this thread! I think it's important that more people post in this thread and have discussions and conversations about how to improve the website. Please tell me what you think of my points, and the points of others. I think the storytellers will really appreciate us as a community a lot more if we all take time to have an in depth discussion about this.

Thank you for your consideration if you took the time to read my post, also thank you in advance if after reading this you decide to enter this discussion.

-Mike

PS
I really do not want to come off as pretentious or as an idealistic moron or whatever it may be. I am truly being humble, and only saying what I think would be a good addition to the website. My discussion is based on what I have read and seen on this site in the last week. I am obviously missing the knowledge that older and more experienced players have, but that is why it is important that we all discuss in this thread. Please let me know if I am interpreting some of these things incorrectly.
User avatar
Robynson
Player
 
Posts: 10
Words: 13387
Joined roleplay: June 14th, 2011, 6:16 am
Location: Sylria
Race: Human
Character sheet

[Poll] Going Forward - What Do The Players Want?

Postby Gossamer on June 16th, 2011, 4:57 pm

One problem. Mizahar has no nations. We set up the entire game system here to not have an overarching political plotline (say one or two big nations) because we came from a site that had one which overshadowed and absorbed most of the creativity there. We instead set up far flung city states that are not in a situation were they are competing for territory, food, or other valuable resources. Mizahar is resource rich, so there's a lot of it to go around - land too. What they do compete with instead is the environment, which people tend not to rp about a lot but in which they should be.

D) Battles between gods (short term and long term conflicts):
After reading lore, it is very easy to understand that gods have a huge hand to play in Mizahars main plot. I think that with a meta-plot in effect involving the gods, we can expand the horizons of character development and plot-lines. Not only would this intensify the meaning of receiving a gnosis mark, but it would also add a new dimension to the game. I can already imagine characters, being "used" by goods to complete the god's goals. If gods were in active conflict, making a character that is religious is much more serious and much more complex. Like everything else I mentioned, this will allow more and more opportunities for awesome character ideas and original plot lines.


Uhm... we do this already in a very powerful and frequent way.

IC Building Projects & Development (technology, artifact, and construction competition)
City Interaction (obviously)
Divine Interaction/Intervention (considering the lore of Mizahar meta-plots will bring in the hands of gods more into play)
Business Opportunities! We want to make money! (I can for see meta-plot contributing to this)
Lore Development (Out of necessity lore will need to be developed more)
History Development (same as lore development)
More organized religious groups (I think this will naturally occur as well)
Easier or more organized travel (a possibility if the meta-plot requires a lot of travel)
Violence - we want a whole lot more of this.(this could occur naturally too),
Secret Societies (want to go indie against the factions/god involved in the main plot?)


I think you're stating the obvious here. We already know this. What we wanted to know is which sort of things people really prefer as part of an exercise to get our storytellers jumpstarted a bit. We know big plots generate big results but if people are unable or unwilling to risk their characters, I am unable and unwilling to give them big rewards. It's also been my experience that lore development, on a grand scale, will only ever be done by a few select individuals even though lots of folks want to try their hand at it. We have a low follow-through statistic here, so that means if we want it developed, we need to do it ourselves (we meaning storytellers and founders).

I do not think that people should be able to solo grind skills by safely sitting in a major city.


As far as I'm concerned, a person can solo practice a skill as much as they want. It has nothing to do with the fact they are doing solo threads and everything to do with what the CONTENT of those threads are. As a person who's played a PC here from the day the boards opened .. and has NEVER had a multiple player plot/quest thread come to conclusion because of newbies dropping out repeatedly (I do have a policy to play with them and give them the benefit of the doubt), I'd never ever consider restricting solo threads in terms of XP awards. That's counter to our whole spirit here.

I think that introducing an overarching or meta plot line would be a huge boost for Mizahar.


These are already happening. I can think of at least four meta-arched themes that are ongoing that folks are involved in.

I appreciate your input, I really do, but that's honestly the problem with brand new folks contributing to this conversation and 'discovering' this thread. After perusing a few lore pages and talking to chat (Which is amusing since chat is in no way indicative of what our gamers here are like.. only a select few hang out there and they are generally a certain type of player and not at all representative of the game as a whole) - your words not mine - you think you understand Mizahar from A to Z. That's with 7 posts. I suggest you play here a bit and then re-evaluate your thoughts on these topics and see if what you said still makes sense to you or if you have other thoughts. Really its like trying to have a debate about an issue by just skimming the cliff notes and not cracking open the cover of the book. I appreciate the time you took to write out what you said, and I do know it took some goodly amount, but most of what you did have to say had very little to do with the conversation because the conversation is about storytellers delivering what players want and need - helping them to decide what they should do with their domains to make them more interesting for players. We aren't asking the why. We already know this and frankly your post sounds a whole lot preachy. What we are asking is what methods of delivery do people actually want. Until you get the local domains really mesmerizing and interesting, then you'll have very little luck getting the whole game united over common themes.
Image
BBC CodeHelp DeskStarting GuideSyka
User avatar
Gossamer
Words reveal soul.
 
Posts: 21137
Words: 6356204
Joined roleplay: March 23rd, 2009, 4:40 pm
Location: Founder
Blog: View Blog (24)
Race: Staff account
Office
Scrapbook
Plotnotes
Medals: 11
Featured Contributor (1) Featured Thread (1)
Lore Master (1) Artist (1)
Trailblazer (1) One Thousand Posts! (1)
Hyperposter (1) One Million Words! (1)
Extreme Scrapbooker (1) Power Fork (1)

[Poll] Going Forward - What Do The Players Want?

Postby Gossamer on June 16th, 2011, 5:01 pm

PS. I'd appreciate it a whole lot if you want to post again if you tell us what you LIKE as a player and what you WANT (which is what this thread is about) rather than what you think Mizahar NEEDS. That was the original question and reason for the poll.
Image
BBC CodeHelp DeskStarting GuideSyka
User avatar
Gossamer
Words reveal soul.
 
Posts: 21137
Words: 6356204
Joined roleplay: March 23rd, 2009, 4:40 pm
Location: Founder
Blog: View Blog (24)
Race: Staff account
Office
Scrapbook
Plotnotes
Medals: 11
Featured Contributor (1) Featured Thread (1)
Lore Master (1) Artist (1)
Trailblazer (1) One Thousand Posts! (1)
Hyperposter (1) One Million Words! (1)
Extreme Scrapbooker (1) Power Fork (1)

PreviousNext

Who is online

Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 0 guests