I'm not going to offer up replacement ideas, because I'm a bit jaded presently concerning the whole game. Instead, I'm just going to point out obvious flaws and things that are just sad to have in the game in general.

Empire: Overall, I don't have many issues with Empire. I do think that Centurions is one of the most useful and equally laim powers in the game as far as cabals go. Simply put, they're death to any non-commune or casting class that gets word of recall in anyone with a clues, hands. You've tightened the purse strings on cash and such and then have a mob that will deny even newbies being able to pass them without forking over some copper or equivalent item. Top this with the fact that if an imperial (or bloodoathe) attacks you at the centurions, you can't flee or pay (while fighting) while they can flee at will. Then the final insult to injury, they're pretty darn hard to even hit and they hit like they're buffed out the whazoo. Mangles are common on regular people. Simply put, not counting how useful this is to bar easy mobility for many, this power just sucks. I don't however expect anything to change because like on any mud, it's the coders pet cabal so the imms in general won't touch it. Onwards...

Scion: The fog stuff, no clue what it's called. That affects a greater area, blinds, pops people out of camo or being hidden, does damage etc. This is a supremely crap power. Very useful, and if I wanted to make a nice assassin I'd go scion, no clue if warrior types get additional hitpoints but mobs that acid blast, poison and tanke for you after you first initiate are pretty sweet. This cabal has no real purpose and doesn't seem to add anything to the game as a whole from what I've seen. Again, I don't expect anything to change because obviously someone thinks that a common joe shouldn't have any difficulty overcoming these things. It's amusing...

Fortress: I know there are exceptions to the rule, but is this cabal good for anything whatsoever other than being a pat eachother on the back 'I'm ok, you're ok.' cabal? I never see them doing much of anything except either being non-existent or gathering in squads of six or more. As I said there are exceptions but come on, either push them to be the sword and shield of light or just let the fortress crumble into the dust it seems to be. No clue on their powers, cause I rarely see any of them around or using anything.

Herald: Good RP cabal, good for players who hope not to die and like to sit around. Kind of like an RP mud chat room. Guess that's ok for whoever likes that sort of thing.

Battle: No sense of self. This cabal is a mess, and it's the Immstaff's fault. With conflicting credos like be courageous and if you have one foe and eight of you, you should 'all' crush that 'one' foe into the dirt and all the variances in-between. You have ragers demanding one on one's then ragers who will kill a mage and sometimes anyone else full throttle five to two odds and so forth. The altered powers obviously aren't a stupendous draw, though I give an 'A' for an attempt at variety that might have worked if the cabal as a whole were more cohesive. There are enough preps in the game that anyone who wants to monotonously trudge through a bunch of hoops can get them and tool most of these cabal members. It's ironic when a rager is hitting someone for scratches while eating obliterates and worse. Kind of funny, but basically says that the cabal is obviously wrong about its whole focus. Skill and knowledge of tactics make one better than being fully shielded with barrier... more often than not shields and barrier wins.

If there are any other cabals they don't count... obviously

I think the Immstaff whips ass with innovative new ideas, nice changes that make the mud a better and more unique mud but I think it falls flat on its face with promoting any kind of contiguous world plot-line or focus. Those cabals with active Imms are filled with seemingly noteworthy screw ups and ne'er do wrongers. While those cabals without active Imms are crappy and though the players within them might be every bit as good as their peers, well who's around to notice or give a crud? Destroying Sylvan was both good and bad. True, like 'all' the cabals its purpose was kind of vague and useless in the face of a changing mud, but likewise before its powers were utterly rearranged to make it docile and effectively passive, it added another proverbial monkey wrench into the overall mechanics that helped keep everything fitfully churning along. At this point I'd say destroy all of the cabals and either let them stay gone or come up with a whole new variety of organizations. No more of this, Oh HO! It's back! The new and IMPROVED Empire! or any malarky like that. When even playing a cabaled character gets to be blah, there's something seriously wrong with the mixture...

A concerned mudder