Zulghinlour pretty much summed it up on Sunday when he kept me from rage deleting. He said something to the effect that I was a good Imperial, but not the greatest bard. I love the Empire. I was nearly over my addiction to CF before they put it back in and ever since I've been playing as much as I was during the height of it.

Wilhath was my first character in hero range since Keniston. That was probably 2 years ago. I rolled up Wilhath knowing I was going to be the underdog and, having never really played an underdog before, I thought I'd give that a try. I'm sure it's fun for some, it really wasn't for me. At least not as a bard. CONSTANTLY having 10+ people in your range gunning for you and, AT MOST, 3 people on your side is ZERO fun as far as I'm concerned.

GOODBYES:

Onglaurst: Thank you for the opportunity to lead the Sect. I cannot imagine your picking me had you had somebody else worth a damn to choose instead. I don't know if the miniscule size of the Sect is a reflection on me as a leader or a reflection on the CF playerbase. I'm sure people gave up on getting into the Sect because they had to gather 100 gold and that is a sad reflection on somebody, I'm just not sure who. One thing is for sure, if people will not gather 100 gold for the bloodoath the Empire is going to be sorely lacking in quality characters. It is my belief that Sect Leaders and the Emperor should rarely die and it was looking as though I was the only Sect Leader dying.

Khasotholas: Wilhath was supposed to be a follower of yours. That road was closed when I got the bloodoath and saw a note from you to the Empire that read something like "Death to the blades." From that point on I was religionless.

Zulghinlour: Thank you for saving me from rage-deleting yesterday. You told me to take a week and that was never going to happen. I play one character at a time and if I would've given it the week I still would have returned to the same #### that I left; dying constantly to gangs of 5, getting full looted, and never seeing new bloodoaths, citizens, etc. that could represent a light at the end of the tunnel.

Mazaufat: Stay strong, you're going places.

Lao: I don't know where the hell you are, but you need to log on.

Faeras: You too.

Astilamos: You are a worthless rank-sitting pile of doo and I had no respect for that.

Yanacek: See Mazaufat.

The rest: You know what? I'd tell you to rank, but truth be told I would not wish the hero range on anybody. It's ridiculous and logging on becomes a chore.

Goodies: I'll lump you all together because the same thing applies to all of you. I hope you're proud of yourself. A strong foothold on the hero ranks and new blood entering it on your side every day. I hope the exploring and the RP is good, because pretty soon that's all you'll have. Killing somebody and then immediately gunning for them again after they've died is not cool. Jesus Christ, as soon as I died my last death Blachmianan gated in on me (nosum off) at the pit wanting to attack me. Two words: suck it.

I'm sure I missed people, but them's the breaks. If you feel slighted post and maybe I'll reply.

Empire: I'll be back, but in the form of something I'm at least better than average at. It'll be better that way.

You have the ability to help the hoards of useless ones rank. Help them. I lost count on how many times you tried stupid retrievals alone or in bad pairings. There is no excuse for the masses of evils who are unable to rank themselves. I made a charactor after seeing 20-30 evils all under rank 40. I passed them all and most have deleted or are unable to rank. Try cooperating more with other evils if you want 'friends'. I guess in the future when deciding what alignment to play one needs to go with the hoards anticipating they need your help...sheesh. I cannot understand why none of them can rank.

On a personal note, I thought you held together well in most fighting situations other than what I mentioned above. You also always seem to have nice gear when you die.

Lemme enlighten you about evil leveling attempts. Case in point the happenings of last night. I am helping an Arial shaman, a bard and a felar warrior level. We run to kiadana, kill 5 mobs goodie gang shows. I teleport everyone out, run to mortorn, kill 2 mobs goodie gang shows, i teleport everyone out. I take a felar and an arial leveling under water, (yes underwter). All the goodies show, with exception of one who sat at my recall point waiting for me to word. This is the joy of trying to hero imperials right now. So don't talk about how you don't understand why evils cant level. First off they have a crappy pick from leveling areas. (Which has been discussed) With lack of mages in empire, power leveling is not quite as easy. Third when you have anywhere from 10-20 enemies hunting you in packs, leveling takes a distant second to staying alive.
You want to look at whats happened to some of the people that have leveled into hero range?
Sakard: Con deathed
Wilhath: Multi killed to rage deletion
Knipit: See Wilhath
Crasner: Being multi killed now
Faeras: See crasner
Lao: See crasner

Its a crazy world for evils right now. Things will change soon enough but till then its they are gonna be eating a lot of humble pie.

Maz, patron saint of evil healer goodness

With questions of faith and thirsting ideals
they might call me a priest if I wasn’t a drunk

n/t

So long, and thanks for all the fish!

The current crop of evils do need some help. Not having mages in Empire is hurting them. (SOrry necros and anti-paladins dont count) Being at odds with Scions is hurting them. My frustration is still in wasting time with my light-walker charactor I rolled with the soul intent of fighting the masses of evils I saw in the game when I was deciding what to do a few weeks ago.

What do the people do who like playing evil invokers, shifters, ect, but dislike the Scion monopoly on being the only evil mage cabal? They induct 1 or 2 people at a time, and whine when they never have their sceptre for more than 1 minute per week. Yes, I could play an uncabled evil, but the fun in the game for me has always been cabal warring.

The fortress is a well tuned machine. They bitch rank their members, aid anyone of their young who is in need with sanc,ect., and the morale is great. If one of them dies, they are regeared by 10 others in mere minutes. Is it boring sometimes, yes.....That is why I bitched about all the sub 40 wusses who contribute nothing.

Anyhow, in closing, I think the current crop of evils are sub-par and maybe they shouldnt rank afterall...why bother.

If you can do much better. Why don't you roll an evil and show us how its done? Until then.. talk to the hand.




Maz

With questions of faith and thirsting ideals
they might call me a priest if I wasn’t a drunk

n/t

>The current crop of evils do need some help. Not having
>mages in Empire is hurting them.

Stop assuming.

>Being at odds with Scions is hurting them.

No it doesn't...it makes them not the Master/Empire permagroup of old.

>My frustration is still in wasting time with my
>light-walker charactor I rolled with the soul intent of
>fighting the masses of evils I saw in the game when I was
>deciding what to do a few weeks ago.

The one you power-ranked to hero right past all those evils...I don't feel sorry for you one bit.

>What do the people do who like playing evil invokers,
>shifters, ect, but dislike the Scion monopoly on being the
>only evil mage cabal?

Stop assuming.

>The fortress is a well tuned machine. They bitch rank their
>members, aid anyone of their young who is in need with
>sanc,ect., and the morale is great. If one of them dies, they
>are regeared by 10 others in mere minutes. Is it boring
>sometimes, yes.....That is why I bitched about all the sub 40
>wusses who contribute nothing.

That seems permanently attached at the hip currently to Warlock & Sylvan. We fixed the problem of old of Masters & Empire, now there is a new problem to fix.

>Anyhow, in closing, I think the current crop of evils are
>sub-par and maybe they shouldnt rank afterall...why bother.

So get off your ####ing ass and roll up one that is better. Stop talking #### and do something about it.

So long, and thanks for all the fish!

>The current crop of evils do need some help. Not having
>mages in Empire is hurting them.
Stop assuming.
>Being at odds with Scions is hurting them.
No it doesn't...it makes them not the Master/Empire permagroup of old.

Not hurting them? Not having a pet invoker, arcane, shifter, ect. to travel with at all times? I guess I am not playing the same game.

Anyhow, Im assuming nothing. I am witnessing what I see in the game, and whining and ranting about it here. An assumption would be if two months ago I saw a large amount of rank 30 evils and assumed they would be smashing the hero ranks soon. An assumption would be if one month ago everyone was whining about how hard is was to rank with all the 30's and 40's evil deathsquad hunting parties everywhere. Point was, I tried to give it a go and see what the fuss was about. I dont play rank 30 charactors, I like being heroed.

Loosing a bit of focus anyhow. My point was that the evils who are complaining they have no backup should 'help' some of the younger ones rank a bit. Without a doubt if one rolls up an evil to try to 'help out', by the time they hero it will be too late anyhow and the reverse situation will be taking place.

Not hurting them? Not having a pet invoker, arcane, shifter, ect. to travel with at all times? I guess I am not playing the same game.


Most cabals don't have all classes available. It has squat to do with how powerful they are at any given time. Battle is very restricted on this, and they go through the power cycles like everyone else.

Elsewhere, you stated that having necromancers and APs available doesn't help. You're going to have to explain that one to me.

valguarnera@carrionfields.com

>Elsewhere, you stated that having necromancers and APs available doesn't help. You're going to have to explain that one to me.

This whole tirade was in reference to the inability of the 30-40 ranked evils to rank. Necromancers and anti-paladins do not make great support for ranking. The mass of dark warriors, anti-paladins,ect, could use trannies, invokers, defense shifters to rank better. The lightwalkers make use of all classes. The current evils dont seem to.

And yes there are exceptions, and there are people that do just fine. Im talking about the masses in general.

This seems to be an argument I cannot win as clearly you think the evils are doing great.....

There does however seem to be a reoccurring theme with every evil person of late who deletes/con dies. I guess I am the only one who notices it.

Necros and Anti-Paladins aren't helpful for ranking in the 30-40 range?

Hah. You have obviously never played one, or ranked with a competent one. I can think of a handful of areas, decently safe, to go to with both of those classes in that range and be quite productive.

Just as a sidenote... A narrowminded view of Evil is to simply crave power. If you get a more complicated Evil player there are a bunch of other things attached to their character, but that one undertone is always, or should always, be there.

It could be argued that an Evil hero, though quite possibly getting 'ganged' by Goodies, would be hard-pressed (to do anything quick in this train wreck *ignore this*) to help his younger Evil brethren, because that may infringe on his 'power.' Obviously this is a narrowminded view, but it is a possible one.

And now, the following Generalizations:

Goodies want to share power and status, helping their young ones achieve this.
Evils are selfish bastards and may only have shaky alliances with other evils because they suit their needs, for the time.

A-P's have been nerfed so much that most people just don't fear the any more. A sad sad day in evil goodness history. *Thinks about rolling an ap when this char is dead and gone* Teeheeheee




Maz

With questions of faith and thirsting ideals
they might call me a priest if I wasn’t a drunk

nt

>>The fortress is a well tuned machine. They bitch rank their
>>members, aid anyone of their young who is in need with
>>sanc,ect., and the morale is great. If one of them dies,
>they are regeared by 10 others in mere minutes.

>That seems permanently attached at the hip currently to
>Warlock & Sylvan. We fixed the problem of old of Masters &
>Empire, now there is a new problem to fix.


Alliances between cabals are most often formed by leadership decisions and roleplay and are very much affected by the roleplay and actions of the individual members of the cabals involved. What I have observed is that these alliances do and will shift. Right now the Tower and the Grove are at war and Fortress is often caught in the middle, having to choose which side to support since they are allied with both. But that isn't set in concrete. There are things that happen IC that can change this completely, depending on the actions of certain individuals in the cabals mentioned. Cabal issues and alliances are completely dependent on roleplay of the players (and cabal IMMS) involved and should be allowed to develop in the way the players see fit. I can say for certain from what I have observed as my character IC that the at-hip attachment that has been mentioned here and observed in game may not last long, then again it could go on for a very long time. IT DEPENDS ON ROLEPLAY. Certain recent developments could change things drastically or might just go by the wayside.

This is one of the GREAT things about CF...the actions of a few players can change things very quickly...a lot depends on who does what and who reacts in what way to things that happen. It leaves it all up to chance, to fate, to the choices of individual players, to the choices of leaders of organizations. It's like reading a book where you simply can't look ahead and read the ending, you have to wait for the collaboration of various writers to make it up as they go along. This makes it FUN...don't "fix" it.

My point here is that the current alliance situation does not need "fixing" any more than the good/evil flux does, it will resolve itself on its own in the long run. And if and when the Imperials rank up (and I don't doubt that they eventually will), the balance of power will be there again anyway. Maybe it will be even stronger on the Evil/Imperial side at that point, who knows?

I really think that the Empire leaders should also have some say as to whether they can ally with Scion or not, too. Maybe it is in the current laws that they can't for good reason. But shouldn't the laws be subject to change perhaps, maybe by a vote of the Council, maybe by a vote of the citizens? Maybe whoever becomes Emperor would be able to decide if/when an alliance or at least a truce could be made and then ask for a vote? Some might vote for (because they want some allies and support) while others might vote against (because they like taking and holding the sceptre). This way the alliance thing could fluctuate and change...which in my opinion makes the game fun and keeps it interesting.

>Alliances between cabals are most often formed by leadership
>decisions and roleplay and are very much affected by the
>roleplay and actions of the individual members of the cabals
>involved.

In truth, alliances are formed by immortals' decision
in order to fix broken balance.
Of course this decision is going to warped into roleplaying
before passing to a mortal cabal leader.
In practice, the leader either will follow this decision
or will be uninducted ( or demoted ).
While this approach is not as wounderful as we wish,
immortals basically have no choice ( so we as well )
because should they let mortal leaders handle
cabal balance, the game would be instantly ruined.
Leaders aren't perfect, many of them are newbies
who basically can't produce right decision
( in terms of game balance ), some of them are cheaters,
also sometimes they delete or stop showing, so
their cabal becomes stagnant in policy.
You simply can't pass game balance issues to
current cabal leaders/members.
Just imagine, fortress, warlock and sylvan
decide to unite their efforts and wipe all evil from the world.
That will happen promptly should immortals step down
and let mortals manage their cabal policy.

The best thing happens when mortal's wish and immortal's
decision coincides, in this case everbody are happy
and we even don't need rose glasses.
Though sometimes it is not so, thus you see a couple
of pissed and deleted players as a price for hard decisions.

> What I have observed is that these alliances do and
>will shift. Right now the Tower and the Grove are at war and
>Fortress is often caught in the middle, having to choose which
>side to support since they are allied with both. But that
>isn't set in concrete. There are things that happen IC that
>can change this completely, depending on the actions of
>certain individuals in the cabals mentioned. Cabal issues and
>alliances are completely dependent on roleplay of the players
> and cabal IMMS) involved and should be allowed to develop in
>the way the players see fit. I can say for certain from what
>I have observed as my character IC that the at-hip attachment
>that has been mentioned here and observed in game may not last
>long, then again it could go on for a very long time. IT
>DEPENDS ON ROLEPLAY. Certain recent developments could change
>things drastically or might just go by the wayside.
>
>This is one of the GREAT things about CF...the actions of a
>few players can change things very quickly...a lot depends on
>who does what and who reacts in what way to things that
>happen. It leaves it all up to chance, to fate, to the
>choices of individual players, to the choices of leaders of
>organizations. It's like reading a book where you simply
>can't look ahead and read the ending, you have to wait for the
>collaboration of various writers to make it up as they go
>along. This makes it FUN...don't "fix" it.
>
>My point here is that the current alliance situation does not
>need "fixing" any more than the good/evil flux does, it will
>resolve itself on its own in the long run. And if and when
>the Imperials rank up (and I don't doubt that they eventually
>will), the balance of power will be there again anyway.

From practice, history and experience
the current alliance situation NEEDS "fixing"
And it should be some split in goodies cabals.
As they tend to unite when not "guarded" by immortals.
Because majority of players prefer to be safer
and in numbers.
Two evil cabals who don't cooperate ( again, because
immortals keep them from a such trap )
can't stand against united goodies cabals.
And Nexus doesn't work because this cabal is unconvinient
for players ( have to have someone to bond, have to turn
against friends sometimes which isn't fun for many players,
also they have a little to do when the world is balanced ),
so nexans of prefer to log in with other characters
instead of trying to defend a lone necromancer
against a horde of paladins.

>Maybe
>it will be even stronger on the Evil/Imperial side at that
>point, who knows?
>
>I really think that the Empire leaders should also have some
>say as to whether they can ally with Scion or not, too. Maybe
>it is in the current laws that they can't for good reason.
>But shouldn't the laws be subject to change perhaps, maybe by
>a vote of the Council, maybe by a vote of the citizens? Maybe
>whoever becomes Emperor would be able to decide if/when an
>alliance or at least a truce could be made and then ask for a
>vote? Some might vote for (because they want some allies and
>support) while others might vote against (because they like
>taking and holding the sceptre). This way the alliance thing
>could fluctuate and change...which in my opinion makes the
>game fun and keeps it interesting.
>
>

You are missing my point. I'm not saying the IMMS should never step in to change the way things are. They should. I mentioned them as part of the whole process. But I just think that certain situations can and do arise through roleplay of the members of the cabals INCLUDING the IMMS that can sway an alliance change without coming out with some kind of "fix".

I guess my idea of a "fix" is like "price-fixing", meaning that X cabal can never align with Y cabal again. I understand that balance should be maintained, I just think it can be done through subtle means that still allows for fluctuations in the cabal power struggle.

My experience with cabal alliances and how the players in general handle them tends to be somewhat different than yours. You point to the Warlock/Sylvan war as an example, yet while it's good for players to have an impact on things, and to have some freedom to make wars and alliances, everything I've seen tells me that the vast majority only ever act in their own personal interest, and not in that of what their character or cabal ought to think.

I've lost track of how many times I (or the Sylvan Imms) have had to step in to stop Warlock and Sylvan from declaring peace so they can go back to beating on Scion, and now Empire. This was true even when there were less than ten members in the whole Scion cabal. The war goes on because the Imms realize that the whole situation would be even worse than it is now if we hadn't stepped in to prevent such a peace.

The playerbase does not default to wanting an even, fair, fun fight. It defaults to wanting absurd odds in your own favor, and not really caring if that detracts from the overall fun of the game, *until* they're on the receiving end. This is why everyone bitches about ganging, yet everyone still does it.

I really would love to just let the cabal leaders all run with things, and fight wars and make alliances as they saw fit, because having that could make for some really cool scenes and stories. Unfortunately, from all I've seen, it would just lead to ganging on a cabal scale level.

These are all just my opinions, though, not necessarily those of anyone else.

People say a cabal leader is just a player, but while you are a cabal leader you do have some influence and thus responsibility to the game as a whole. I think maintaining game balance is a part of this. You can't just do what you want.

I agree that the ganking would be worse.

I actually think that it is a good thing for Empire and scion to be at odds. However, something similar needs to split the fortress and the sylvans. Hell, you could even do that on the pretext that they stuck a massive fortress in the wilds if you wanted.

Fortress/Sylvan buddy-buddy isn't near as bad as it used to be, having seen it from the inside now. Just because we don't fight each other directly (and this happens, though, as any warlock when we come to defend the warlock tower), doesn't mean we are in bed.

Occasionally we will have joint defense, but I think it's been awhile now since they've joined and struck out. (last I saw was one group of four, with Starkad Dachael, myself and Aemelius. Was it ugly? Yes, anytime you can summon into a cranial and entwine, with a slightly empowered healer keeping them all healthy, you are going to loose*)

As the sylvan's grow, they will strike the Warlocks more. This in turn causes the Fortress to come to the aid of the Tower, which in turn pits those Sylvans against the Fortress, even if in a limited way. Which leads to bad blood (yes, this is happening now, I know some fortress and sylvans who refuse to group).

Just my thoughts, being new to the fortress sylvan thing.


*Unless you are a hand or whip spec, with a cool head, and a little luck

you mention hand or whip specs.

In fact, a range of other classes can escape from a summon/entwine/damnation or curse trap.
Invokers can do it.

Arcanes can do it.

Some thieves can do it.

Assassins have a very good chance of survival (unless the whip spec is also a sword spec).

Not every class can engineer a way of escape without preps, but a surprising number can. AP's for example have at least three ways of doing it. Two ways if the summoner actually lands the recall preventing supplication/spell.

That's not including obscure bits of gear that certain ap's recently held (or hold).

This is exactly what I'm refering to...it IS changing.

If you rolled up your character with the sole intention of fighting the masses of evils then why didn't you stay in the ranks with masses of evils instead of levelling past them?

I too rolled a character with the intention of killing masses of evils. I am in that mass of evils, and I'm killing them there. What stopped you doing this? Not once have I allied with another evil to kill someone. My last 6 kills were all evils with the excpetion of 1 neutral who was the latest addition. The last two people to kill me were evil. You might ask what distinguishes me from being one of a few good-aligned characters in these ranks. The answer is my motives for killing evils are evil. That is the difference between me and a good aligned character. Oh, that and the fact that not only do I have the evils as my enemies, but I have the odd good aligned who blunders into those ranks too.

I could say that you couldn't handle the masses of evils in the 30-40 range and so you levelled fast. Then you complain that they use level to avoid you. And you probably include evils in this who, like me and whilst evil, have more enemies than allies in their range, because you don't know any better.

If you want to fight masses of evils like you say, I have three suggestions.

1. Roll up a good-align and sit at ranks 30-40 fighting them.
2. Roll up a neutral-align and sit at ranks 30-40 fighting them.
3. Roll up an evil-align and sit at ranks 30-40 fighting them.

It doesn't matter what alignment you are. If you want to fight masses of evils, you can. I could turn around and say that you need the support network of the good alignments, and the lack of enemies present at hero. I don't believe this to be the case, but you are complaining about something entirely within your power to rectify. There is no reason you cannot spend much of your life in the 30-40s instead of at hero if you want to fight other people in this range.

Cant overly do much with my charactor in those ranks. I agree and am planning on making a level sitting gear whore, who never heros.

"gear whore" is not applicable to most of the evils in that range.

The only time I have had good gear around those levels I lost it 30 minutes later. Since I've killed more than half of the evils in that range I can vouch that many of them don't have good gear either. A couple did but I was unable to loot them for one reason or another. Most had fairly ordinary gear.

"never heroes" is an ignorant comment. I could sit at those levels for 250 hours and still play 300 hours at hero. In my case, I do expect to spend around 250 hours total getting to hero. Not because I can't hero. Not because I am afraid of heroing. Just because I am doing stuff as I work my way through the levels.

Also, I find being a hero can get quite boring after 100-200 hours of it. Therefore I am making a concious effort to spread my life over a range of levels. This actually tests my ability more, not less, because I have to fight with a variety of skillsets for an extended time. You said your character wasn't suited to fighting at those levels. I like to try to make it work anyway. Even if I fail I'll know that I tested myself in the process.

>The current crop of evils do need some help. Not having
>mages in Empire is hurting them. (SOrry necros and
>anti-paladins dont count) Being at odds with Scions is
>hurting them. My frustration is still in wasting time with my
>light-walker charactor I rolled with the soul intent of
>fighting the masses of evils I saw in the game when I was
>deciding what to do a few weeks ago.

I honestly don't know what "masses of evils" you saw a few weeks ago. The goodies have had a stranglehold on the hero ranks for quite some time now. Hell, Esmi, my last character was rolled a LONG time ago because evil was in power, and I can't remember a time much beyond that when I could honestly say good didn't have the upper hand.

>What do the people do who like playing evil invokers,
>shifters, ect, but dislike the Scion monopoly on being the
>only evil mage cabal? They induct 1 or 2 people at a time,
>and whine when they never have their sceptre for more than 1
>minute per week. Yes, I could play an uncabled evil, but the
>fun in the game for me has always been cabal warring.

Roll up, rank up, and step up. Get yourself a position of power in the cabal and change what you dislike about the way it's run. I did, you can.

>The fortress is a well tuned machine. They bitch rank their
>members, aid anyone of their young who is in need with
>sanc,ect., and the morale is great. If one of them dies, they
>are regeared by 10 others in mere minutes. Is it boring
>sometimes, yes.....That is why I bitched about all the sub 40
>wusses who contribute nothing.

I'm not commenting on the current crop of people in the Fortress. I don't want this to turn into a rant.

>Anyhow, in closing, I think the current crop of evils are
>sub-par and maybe they shouldnt rank afterall...why bother.

It's not that they are sub-par at all, it's that they are disgustingly outnumbered. Being the underdog is one thing. Being killed by a gang is one thing. Being hunted from the second (or in some cases even before) you can unghost, no matter where you go or what you do by gangs of "good" people, gating, wrath and bash spamming, and full looting, makes the game unplayable. When the bored heroes of the Fortress have nothing better to do than follow around groups of much younger members, healing and helping them to gang the #### out of every evil person in their range, it's no fun for the oft killed evils. (Note the recent surge of evil deletions due to this)

Does it make someone sub-par to stop playing a character they just aren't enjoying, can't rank with, and see no light at the end of that tunnel? I don't think so.

I think it makes them sub-par in that they did not accomplish what they set out to do. If someone rage-deletes because they get killed 5 times in a day, how many could they have avoided?

I haven't played in about two months, since Zekasiq, but from what I've seen it looks as if the Goodies are more successfully carrying out what they wanted to do. How many of those Evils that have deleted 'as of late' have rolled up goodies? How many have refined their tactics and made more Evils?

This is a tired discussion, as CF is filled with cycles. Goodies are on top now. Give it another month or so and Evils may be, and then we'll see posts about all the Evil ganging.

nt

CONSTANTLY having 10+ people in your range gunning for you and, AT MOST, 3 people on your side is ZERO fun as far as I'm concerned.

The problem is that we've somehow created this vicious, self-perpetuating cycle. Obviously, some people prefer playing goodies, some people prefer playing evils. As a goodie, getting through the low to mid pk ranges is like running across a bed of hot coals... you just need to do it as quickly as possible or the coals will catch you and burn you to a crisp. For the evils it's the other way around, so they avoid the hero ranks and sit down at the mid ranges where they're strong. And on, and on, and on.

Goodies: I'll lump you all together because the same thing applies to all of you. I hope you're proud of yourself.

Getting mad at "goodies" as a group doesn't make any sense, though I understand why it's frustrating for you. I'm sure there are plenty of goodie players that were just as frustrated with their inability to rank past level 35 due to all the evils around. It's everyones fault... or no ones fault, depending on how you look at it. People like you play a part in it by getting to hero range then deleting, people like Astilamos play a part in it by stopping just shy of hero range, and so on, just as much as the goodie characters play a part.

I have no idea what it's going to take to fix it, since it's been mostly lopsided since about the middle of Ulthur's life, right after Dullameh imm'd I think. There have been times when evil made a resurgance, but it never seems to hold for long. It actually seems to me like we might be on the brink of a resurgance now, but I bet the War Master deleting will be a pretty big blow unless they are able to fill the spot quickly. Just yesterday afternoon the hero range was largely dominated by evils, though I don't remember who all was on, so maybe you just missed it.

Anyway, I hope you enjoy your next one more.

Ulthur

"Don't worry cutsy buttons. Tonight, dyin's not on the menu!"

- Strong Bad as Dangeresque

I had my first goodie recently and there was seldom a time when a hero healer or invoker wasn't willing to bitch rank me at incredible speeds.

Quick note on this ranking...generally, it is because there is not much else to do. Items are all taken, don't want to chase down that one evil still logged, nothing to practice...it is just a little less boring to rank someone than to sit and stare at a screen. Just my opinion on the matter.

Well I'm doing my own part to even things out, but eh, I might just
get gunned down in a blaze of glory by the sickening hero range. Heh,
now if I could only find a way to RANK!(!UI*# YUN98y87w*)&QHS*Q


(sorry, you may have noticed some agitation in that statement.)

Good job from all I saw, it's hard being the underdog, but you seemed to try and I respect that. While I know that most goodies are looking for kills now a days, or seems to, I never tried to gun for you except usually once a log on or at least once a few hours... I try to keep a bit of respect for my enemies... Again, from all I saw, good job.

Dacheal

Well done, and trust me when i say i share your frustrations...

I mean, i cannot remember the last time i logged in having the sceptre, i cannot count the times i raided to get it back, only to find 4-5 marans/sylvans/warlocks at the chasm, raiding!

I to was about to delete just 14 days ago or so, but an imm told me to stay there as i waited for some answer on a small question... Never got the answer though, so dont know why i still hanging there.?!


/Zharaluzar DorArzar, Voice of the Raven

It must have been for about 50 hours now, but every time I talk to someone they either don't have the power to induct or I never see them again.

What can i say... Patience??? Ghuljun is Chancellor and there isnt any Advisor appointed yet, try to reach one of the imms perhaps if your times doesnt matches Ghuljun's

/Zharaluzar

I have spoken with Ghuljun a few times, attempted to retrieve with him, given him presents that I would love to have kept etc., but this was all before he could induct. Since he could induct, I've not seen him. This is possibly because my own hours have dropped off recently, but not entirely.

In fact, I first applied when Jhaelnyra was alive but after she stopped being active much.

I've tried to reach the imms but only once or twice, so no surprises there.

Don't worry. I am very patient. If I never get into scion it won't spoil my fun. Just that scions are more than a little outnumbered, the scions I've met seemed to view me favorably, and yet somehow I can never catch the right person at the right time. At least now I know that if I catch Ghuljun he can induct me if he wants to.

I only added my 2 cents because scions comment on being short of members, and I wanted them to know that at least one person is intending to help them out.

The only time we ever spoke was when I asked if killing a bloodoath with a fiend was a prerequisite for becoming a blade. I must admit I am really saddened by you departing the whole good vs evil thing right now is somewhat of a double edged sword. We really want you all to rank so we can have a real war going on, but at the same time it is bad rp to let you do so, no?

Anyhow I wish you had stuck around.

P.S. I always wanted to send you tells about how you had the brushstrokes of a novice and that any child with a horsehaired brush and a bucket of pig slop could create masterpieces better than yours, but I held back because I didn't think it was a really the kind of rp I am wanting to portray. Just kidding man, get back in there and kick some tail.

I did paintings because they were easier than rhyming words or somesuch. I've always hated bards who had no "talents." As Warmaster I was of the mind that if a bard had no talent he wasn't worth having in the Empire because a perfect society needs artists. I was never going to promote any bards that didn't display some sort of something either through notes, lectures, or otherwise.

For those who put things in the Lyceum if you're interested in having my paintings I can email them or something.

Just got back from out of town. I liked you. Blade is not a fun time right now. Can't really blame you.

I was pretty impressed when you came to retrieve on your own. There was like three squires on (including me) and there was three imperials in my range, but I guess the other two didn't want to come. When you showed up alone, I was like, 'Wow, the other two must be sitting at the gate waiting for us.' Then we got there, and it was just you. We had some harsh words after you died, but you didn't whine about being full looted. And then of course, I had to laugh when you got your revenge with that nightmare song. Because of you, I went and invested in some extra mental protection.
Well anyways, you made it clear you hated me IC. And you made it pretty clear you hate anyone that plays a goodie OOC. But good luck to you in the future.

Blade sect seems like it wasn't meant to be.

We already exchanged goodbyes in my thread, but would you like me to post that RP session we had since we're both gone?

Blade sect is the hardest one to be in with this hero range, and it shows. I think that's the problem more than the gold. Who wants to be an evil warrior hero in times like these?

We might have made a fun team under different circumstances.

Yeah, this is a Shadow and Divine kinda time. You either need to be able to hide or be able to escape quickly.

I liked reading your notes a lot and did some commentary on them over Fortress cb. When you moved up into hero range I was kind of looking forward to competing against another bard with more than just words, see who could toss of the first fiend and whatnot. It was rather annoying not being able to do much to defend when you and your Imperial buddies were just below my range, so I was happy when you got up high enough for me to do something about it.

I think I got you good with that fiend during the raid attempt Saturday. I don't recall actually ever fighting with you other than that. It's too bad you got tired of this character, because I think if you Imperial guys who hero would hang in a bit longer you might be able to encourage the 30-40 somethings to rank up. I don't know though, and I'm sure it isn't easy and not too fun. I'm not one who can play an underdog yet, so kudos to you for trying.

If I recall correctly you died to one of my fiends. The fiend you put on me in the Fortress I beat with imperial offense (ie 3 or 4 hits per round as opposed to the regular 2).

I don't remember battling you any other time except in the Fortress. Maybe I did but just don't remember it. I've battled a few bards in my time so maybe you're right.

Were you in the group that retrived the codex from Fortress just before the attempted raid on Saturday? I did die that time but I don't really remember who or what killed me. I was blackjacked for quite a while and died not long after I came out of it. I remember getting beat on by some phantoms that I couldn't seem to shake, I think that was what did me in.

Later when we were inside the Fortress I didn't die, I got away and I wasn't fiended.

Well that whole thing was a lot of fun anyway.

During the retrieval you died outside. I think that was my first and only "powerful" fiend I ever landed. Then inside after you unghosted you fiended me and I beat it before the god damned eagle/tiger made me have to leave.

Hrmm its a shame you deleted. I was actually looking forward to more ummmmm tactical fights on my behalf when you hero'd instead of my last tactic......(although can you blame me for not letting you fiend? )

I tried never to gang you and all because I dont like it when it happens to me and I have no chance at all the get away. And I kinda apologise for you not being left anything at your inner that time, but people were all telling me to kill you and stuff and I was trying to hold them back with a long stick so I could fight you alone.

So all in all its a shame you deleted cause it would have been fun if you hero'd and stuff stopped going bad for you.

Well good luck with your next and all that stuff

Akrangol

It sucks when you get maybe one chance in a fight to get a command through and it's a song that doesn't work. I tried reducing myself, I tried enlarging myself, I tried carry a lot of weight. Nothing worked to stop the bashing. Add on top of that your weapons and you're a bard killing machine. My only hope was When You Don't See Me and I don't think I ever got it to land on you.

Bastard.

Im glad to see you go,and not glad.You were a good bard who just decied to attack me,when I became anathema.Heh I guess you had to.Anyway You not the only one in the graveyard.Overall a good char with good rp.Cya around.
Shalashaska-

Having a bardo on any side really helps out alot, specially one that was around as much as you were. Personally I dislike air forms they get in the way to much. Good luck and I think it's time to go baddie and be underdog or cat or drow!

Selatiel borne to boogy n'####.

Well, I can't say that I am sorry, another imperial gone. I agree though, level sitters are nothing more than a very minor nuisance, all yap and no ass to back it up. When I targeted you, you were in range and after getting all ready then gating, you were a ghost. What the empire is going through right now is basically what the warders went through until it got strong. At least you had the balls to try.

Really sorry.

I never got along with any of your previous characters (knowing now that you were Keniston) but it was a pleasure lending you and the Sect what support I could.

As for me not logging in, much - I'm married. You can't imagine the detailed negotiation I spend with my wife to log in at least once a day for at least 1.5 hours (which is about my minimum), and how disappointing/frustrating it is sometimes when I spend that 1.5 hours hiding/running from 10-14 enemies with little Role-Play interaction (with the exception of like two of them). I actually tried to log in at the times when I knew you would be around just because it would make the time more interesting to have someone to talk to, but unfortunately, most of the times I had the time to log in did not mesh with your hours. Believe me when I tell you that if I didn't play enough for you, it had nothing to do with the PK range - this is my only character and I'm spending as much time as I feasibly can on a hobby. All I can say is, we must have played at different times because my experience was much the same as yours.

I thought your notes were interesting (although I like Sylvrin's poetic style more, but that's just taste) and a great and much needed element of the Empire. And although I'm not the best judge of how many times is too many to die (because I've died tons as Faeras), given what was stacked up against you, I don't think it made a dent in your effectiveness, or the respect I had for you, at least.

Anyway, like I said, I'm sorry to see this. If you keep playing CF, good luck with the next and have fun.

Thanks for the compliment on my writing. It gives me a good outlet for my creativity sometimes and it's actually one of the reasons I like playing a bard.

And I know what it's like to have limited time to play that has to be negotiated with a spouse and children. I think my hubby and I have it worked out finally, but mine is limited to about 2 hours a night too and a bit more on the weekends, if he is otherwise occupied. While it makes it hard sometimes, especially when some major thing is going on and then I have to log off in the middle of it, it also keeps me from ever getting bored...I always want to come back and play.

For the most part I tried to fight you as square as possible. I think I may have killed you once one on one. You were a slippery bugger. That time when you got your item back and I went south to cranial and you put up the centurions. I was like awe crap I'm dead. Good job on that kill you got lots of nice goodies. When I look back on that fight I wish I would have tried something different.

Awesome character. Bard + imperial defense is sweet. And I liked the talks we had about you trying to get me to join empire. Very smooth.

Once I age die, I'll be on the empire bandwagon.

Onglaurst: Thank you for the opportunity to lead the Sect. I cannot imagine your picking me had you had somebody else worth a damn to choose instead. I don't know if the miniscule size of the Sect is a reflection on me as a leader or a reflection on the CF playerbase. I'm sure people gave up on getting into the Sect because they had to gather 100 gold and that is a sad reflection on somebody, I'm just not sure who. One thing is for sure, if people will not gather 100 gold for the bloodoath the Empire is going to be sorely lacking in quality characters. It is my belief that Sect Leaders and the Emperor should rarely die and it was looking as though I was the only Sect Leader dying.

100 gold is alot these days with all the sources being cut down. I would never in my lifetime kill mobs to get 100 gold. Empire's going to be lacking for any characters because of how it's run. Either it's going to change, or it's going to stay small and ####ty as a haven for level sitters.

Cheers.
Jhyrb.

Good char anyway, for some reason i thought you were ok.


Cheers.
Jhyrb.

Onglaurst required 100 gold of me when I took the bloodoath and I had it in somewhere under 2 hours of play time. It was all in coins. Somebody of the 30th rank can have 125 gold in items in 30 minutes. Know what I know now I could get 125 gold in items in 3 area repops.

Considering that I donated over 5 million copper in coins and items as a bard tells me something about how hard it is (ie: it's not).

100 gold is nothing, as far as I'm concerned.

How many characters/players have fun gathering these coins.

Considering it is implemented this way,
there "should be" a significant part of players
who enjoy money gathering and the whole donation system.
Yet still I fail to see one.

It gave me something to do when there was nothing else to do but hide. How many Warders enjoy putting out forest fires? How many Magistrates of Seantryn Modan enjoy their job? How many Warlocks enjoy spell-spamming? As I said earlier, at rank 18 I gathered 100 gold in coins in less than 2 hours of play time. By the time I deleted I had over 5 million copper in donations, most of it from items.

There are EASY to get items that are worth almost 13 gold. I had an item that I could collect in 10 combat rounds that was worth almost 40 gold. There are difficult to get items that are worth 100-500 gold so if you pk the right person you're good to go.

If you want to play an Imperial and you want to be something more than a bloodoath it's something that you have to accept. Just like Warders have to accept time wasted empty canteens, Magistrates have to accept time wasted sitting in the city, ragers have to accept not being able to quaff a return potion, and so on.

>How many characters/players have fun gathering these coins.
>
>Considering it is implemented this way,
>there "should be" a significant part of players
>who enjoy money gathering and the whole donation system.
>Yet still I fail to see one.


Sounds to me like you want all the cabal powers and perks but no
obligations or responsibilities to the cabal. What a shame. Lump
item retrieval and raids with this and you've basically got a bunch
of quest skills with no work. That doesn't define 'cabal.'

So you need drawbacks and boring things
to feel yourself as a part of cabal.

Is it possible to make things intresting so
players would enjoy them,
or it is necessary to obligate them with boring job
( which is close to stupid as it doens't add much to the game )
just to make a cabal?

Notice, item retrieval and raids are "good" parts of cabal life,
sometimes you may be pissed with stupid deaths and gangs,
but, in general, people enjoy them.
And I would call it "obligation and responsibility" to the cabal.

But things like donations and emptifying skins all around the world
are just plain stupid
I would accept them only if somebody can't produce better ideas
for cabal mates to prove their loyality.

You don't have to repeat other's words
Just ask yourself and your heart honestly,
does this or that thing make the game better for you,
or it is just the thing you have to do because it is necessary
in current state of cabal policy.

I like donations.

I think it makes the game more interesting. It is a concrete way to measure your contribution, with in game and noticeable rewards for outstanding participation. I would imagine that every cabal would want something like donations, especially once the Empire grows. I also do not think 100 gold is a great sum to ask, given how much is expected. In fact, if you spend a long time lingering c.100 gold as an Oath, I would imagine you'd find yourself Anathema.

Are utter bullsh1t. There have been like 8 different people find some easy to get item thats worth some ungodly amount of money. They then do mass runs and rack up like 10 million gold. That totally puts a crunch on the people who are trying to do it the legit way, and it skewers the scales of "acceptable" donations heavily towards the insane side.

Eh, but who cares right?

Gabe

For the Immortals to review the value of Most-Commonly-Donated-Items and tweak the value - or just to tweak the value of CF items in general (I know Imms do this with new areas and it'd be a pain in the ass to revise the value of every CF item given how many are still flagged "magical" so perhaps just the Most-Commonly-Donated-Items instead. This would affect me as much as everyone else, but I think it is a very important revision process to take. That being said, without going into IC values, your assessment of 10 million gold is wildly exagerrated (hint: Wilhath was War Master and he just said he amassed only 5 million).

given how many are still flagged "magical"

We've looked for these, and we're happy with the current set. If you see one that looks incorrectly flagged, let me or Thror know.

valguarnera@carrionfields.com

Sorry, Valg, I was talking out of my ass. It just seemed like a ready comparison for a complex, and time-intensive fix (reviewing the value of every CF item) - so I made the comparison without fact-checking. I haven't played anything with detect magic for a long, long time.

n/t

So long, and thanks for all the fish!

n/t

So long, and thanks for all the fish!

A lot of cabals require a mundane task to balance the awesome powers and the pk potential that comes with joining the cabal. Warlocks have to practice, Sylvans have to watch the trees grow, Tribs have to watch the cities rot, and Empire has to collect coinage. You know truth be told, I have seen some pretty sweet donation from some of the divines. They seem to be able to hit their mark pretty easily thus you see a ton of them getting promoted. As far as the trend of the uber donaters is concered, its dying. Immortals have pretty much fixed all the crazy stuff taht could be repeat donated for insane gold. Not to say there isnt still stuff out there thats worth incredibly sums of money, there is. Now you just gotta go out and work for it and then its a choice between donating the said piece of eq for its incredible value. Or wearing it or trading it. Heeheh
Personally id much rather donate crap than have to sit and do some of the silly things other cabal'd people have to do.


Maz

With questions of faith and thirsting ideals
they might call me a priest if I wasn’t a drunk

I noticed from your role how you turned from being a follower of mine. Was always curious why. Odd thing was, that note was just to check to make sure the sect note systems were working, and I forgot to delete it.

Anyway, I thought you did a pretty good job, overall. Good luck on your next... I can't believe I forgot to delete that note.

n/t

So long, and thanks for all the fish!

Well I can't say I blame you. There have been times where I have felt like throwing in the towel and saying bah this. The odds Empire is facing are pretty insane. Fighting 3 cabals that have no real enemies outside of empire with heros up the wazoo. Blades catch the brunt of the punishment since they have no easy outs in crappy situations. So for what its worth, You did good. Zulgh was right you were a good imperial. The bard thing didnt work out so great though hehe. Better luck next time man, hopefully you will make another imperial real soon.


Maz

With questions of faith and thirsting ideals
they might call me a priest if I wasn’t a drunk

Hated you since well...you tried to be what you weren't. (That may sound like a flame but it isn't.) You played what an Imperial should be even though...I would have kicked your ass Anyway good job overall and yes...I do understand what it is being the underdog (Since Sakard was all his life or most of his life). Good luck for your next.

.