I'd still really like to know exactly what the guidelines for Sylvan are, specifically concerning mobs (as was the original question that was pretty much ignored) and other players (which of those are unnatural and why).
With the Sylvan cabal, it seems as though there is little information put forth, but much required to be a capable Sylvan Warder.
Thanks,
Z

>I'd still really like to know exactly what the guidelines for
>Sylvan are, specifically concerning mobs and other players
> (which of those are unnatural and why).
>With the Sylvan cabal, it seems as though there is little
>information put forth, but much required to be a capable
>Sylvan Warder.
>Thanks,
>Z

Ok, I'll see if I can come up with a decent explanation for you.

The basic information you are looking for is pretty much all there in the help file. Found on this website and in game:

http://www.carrionfields.com/Help/Cabals/Sylvan.html

#1: What not to kill: Natural creatures.
"A Warder will never harm a natural creature or take life without great cause."

#2: What to kill: Unnatural creatures, and anything that harms/disrupts the natural harmony.
"Creatures such as duergar, orcs, and the drow, dark-willed perversions of other races, or trollocs, trolls, golems, and goblins, spiritless constructs forged for selfish designs, wound the harmony of Nature by their very existence and must be eliminated. The art of necromancy, too, is anathema to their cause and all its practitioners must be hunted."

"The basis of all life is the preservation of natural harmony, as realized in all its perfection in the virgin wilds,"

"Anyone or anything who disrupts, by existence or action, this sacred equilibrium will find that the Warders will destroy in order to protect."

But now we have to answer the question of what is/is not natural:

Many examples are given in the help file of those who "wound the harmony of Nature by their very existence and must be eliminated": (Duergar, Orc, etc...). Not all are listed, but many of the ones you will deal with are.

Also, you are given some broad generalizations about anything not listed: ('dark-willed perversions of other races', or anything that disrupts the 'natural harmony').

We can't list every creature/class in the help file, as it would be too lengthy. Giving the backstory for each would be even longer. So instead of doing that, the helpfile gives you the basic concepts instead...leaving you to find out the backstory on specific ones through in-character roleplay, or by visiting various areas in game.

Basic rules of thumb:
#1: Look at the creature. Think about whether its characteristics look like they belong on a creature that would normally exist in the wild. Natural? (ex. a bear) or unnatural? (ex. an owl-bear...basically a bear with an owl's head) Most of the time this will be easily seen by reading the description and giving it a moments thought.

#2: Think about what the creature does (all PC races/classes have help files), and where they come from. If the creature has no place in the utopic goals of a warder, your reason for killing them come down to either a matter of:
A: Their existence is unnatural, and therefore harmful to nature. or
B: Their actions are harmful to nature.

Note: Cabals are not always static. At times, the leadership will decide Cabal X is an enemy for reason Y. So your PC enemies can change a little at times depending on mortal leadership.

#3: If you are a sylvan, yes, when you consider something, you should be able to tell if it is a natural creature. If you are still unsure, the safe route is always: "A Warder will never harm a natural creature or take life without great cause."

As far as why certain classes/races are harmful or unnatural?

The ones that deal with harmful actions are usually pretty easy to figure out on your own. If in doubt, asking a Sylvan in-character would be your next step.

The ones that deal with harmful existence are usually bound up in the fact that they are "dark-willed perversions of other races," or that they don't belong in nature in the form they are in, if at all. If you can't pin it down to one of those or want further back story on it, then again ask a Sylvan in-character about it.

I'm not going to go into the back story for each here because:
#1: Identifying whether a mob/PC is/isn't an enemy is probably the more important issue here. Knowing why is something you will learn over time and with experience. (generally through roleplay, or thinking through it yourself)
#2: There are different stories to tell for each, and it is far too much to post here.
#3: Roleplaying is a much better way of finding these things out anyway.

Hope that helped some.

Alysrith

Thank you for taking so much care in your answer, this was very helpful!

As a sylvan you can consider the mob and get an echo if it is natural. The line is somewhere along this: You feel this creature is at home in the wilds. But often general common sense is enaugh..a deer is natural..a troll is not. Glauruks is natural, owlbears are not.

Sylvan is not always the easiest cabal to grasp as a new player, since you are restricted from buying in town(or should be atleast, but I know many do anyway. I think the worst example was when someone complained on CB about being wanted, since they could not buy in town shops).

And keep harmony active. Always!

Later man.

ATK