I'll be stepping away from CF for a while, perhaps indefinitely. This is partially due to playing from remote parts of the world being more or less untenable with lag and I'm just supremely disappointed in how, well, almost everything is being handled.

I feel like the current climate of CF is really lackluster in a lot of areas and I keep playing trying to recapture magic that is long since lost. The fun stick as far as cabals isn't being addressed in a way even moderately construed as accurate. Battle is swelling with consistent leadership, but they don't have a cardinal foil so it feels...aimless.

Tribunal is bloated, but without any sort of imm-driven incentives for people to break laws, or work against them, it's easier and safer to join them rather than beat them. I remember multiple instances in the past where if one side was getting too massive there'd be some sort of imm-driven bounty on them, or at least some extra pats on the back and immeraction for underdogs.

I appreciate someone throwing a bone to one of the Scarab pledges but really...that's a band-aid and more of a 'hey we ####ed up for a while so we'll throw one dude a bone' instead of something sustainable or an actual long term fix. I'm not going to kick Fortress's dead horse, nor am I going to rehash my suggestions or issues with the current state of cabalwars in CF. That's in a post on this page, which received precisely one token response from Ishuli with little in the way of actual discussion or transparency toward the players.

Despite multiple characters with distinctive roles, goals and aims, over the course of hours and hours of praying, RPing with mobs and people, and trying to find something to sink my teeth into from an Imm-to-mortal interaction standpoint...I've gotten nada, unless it was an empowerment interview and then it just seemed very textbook and almost assembly-line-esque "We have now talked. Please proceed to step 1 to get shaman path shortly." Even following religions now, instead of it being a unique experience character to character, a number of religions follow a very structured path for each character. Notably Panmorne, Ergush, and Ishuli all have set in stone tasks. It's not organic or unique to the character, it's just a checklist.

Which is a shame, because 75% of the fun any of my characters had were mortal-to-Imm interactions. Really learning their stories, talking about more than just 'the next step.' Iunna, Whiysdan, Enlilth, Thror, Ysaloerye, hell even Daev and Baer who I butted heads with a lot during their last few years. They all stick out as really coming alive, and consequently bringing a far greater depth to my characters as well. Rayihn 'gambling' with my villager as I tried to retrieve against odds. Nnaeshuk and Enlilth impaling or punting me during some tense immeractions. Whiysdan sharing drinks and stories. Akresius vis'ing and doing some quiet-but-cool #### after a good fight. The rager who was the divine duelist for always trying to duel imms.

I haven't seen ANY of that in as long as I can remember. Recently when one Imm was vis, I tried to approach them a few times over the course of their visibility to only get the 'they can't hear you' message. Which is just disheartening. CF needs Imms who are visible, and open to immeraction. It brings the world to life. It's the heart that pumps the roleplay blood through Carrionfields.

Cosmetic things such as titles, long descriptions and last names are a rarity and feel like a Nobel prize, whereas before I really enjoyed them being relatively common, or at least semi-present on other characters and myself for the flavor and bringing people alive. Remember when Amatrysti had spectral javelin? Remember the custom AP weapons for Fjodir and that fire giant empire AP JMC played? Those are long gone.

Now, it feels like titles, tattoos, lastnames, are all given out based almost solely on longevity and if you've checked the boxes. I miss the lowbie titles and lastnames if you were cool. When's the last time someone who wasn't a hero had a tattoo or a title (and not a stock title like Morius followers get)?

The last 50 HERO characters on the graveyard, you're looking at like 5 lastnames and 3 titles. That's seriously disheartening. One of the current leaders, who is definitely RPing hard still has no title, despite being one of the most unique characters in the game.

I'm sure the playerbase is partially to blame. Maybe we have soured the imms. But man, it's depressing. Something that I've passionately sunk thousands of hours into for the past 15+ years is an absolute shell of what it used to be. I tried not to attack anyone in particular in this post. I truly hope that people can gutcheck and take steps to improve upon CF, because it's special.