An end to the soap opera
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CoA has alot of conflict that is for the sake of conflict. I have found many conflicts to be completely arbitrary and made up. I would guess that the vast majority of conflict I have witnessed was simply to make waves and attract DM attention.
I believe in IC Actions = IC Consequences. I also believe that this is occasionally used to justify what might otherwise be unjustifiable. Arabel caters to a wide variety of people, including Carebears (http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=Care%20Bear) and People who Pwn (http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=pwn) This represents two totally different playstyles, one which stresses cooperation, and the other which stresses competition, which almost always resolves itself violently on Arabel.
For the Carebear, the disadvantage is obvious. Geared and built to fight in PvE, they are easily massacred by the People Who Pwn, who train, gear, and build for PvP. This breeds resentment and anger, and often very public departures from CoA.
I reference the Battle of Crag where the Red Hart and 20+ Carebear PCs were killed by a handful of People Who Pwn (not to mention stupidly OP gear which still pisses me off more than 1 year later) I was not there, so I can only infer, but the end result was that a large chunk of players, seeing weeks and months of work destroyed, simply left the server, some banded together to form a new server.
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@Green:
The escalation is one from "You don't believe what I say about Shevarra" to "You must be a Lyssan too, I'll have you arrested" and happened instantaneously. This from a character who likely has the influence to do it.
I don't think it's right that anyone else should have the power to arbitrarily dictate to me what kind of experience I have here. If the characters who want deep melodrama like it so much, they should seek it with each other instead of teaming up to force it upon those of us have neither the time, the emotional energy, nor the interest in it. If I'm wrong, if this server is geared solely towards those players who want high drama, and those of us who simply want to say "hi" to old friends and smack a few goblins around are not welcome, then it was a mistake for me to return here and it'd be better for everyone if I humbly apologized and left.
The character in question didnt accuse you of being a lyssan, he accused you of offering aid to one.. the fact you dont like the character in question and that he has some measure of influence should make for interesting conflict.. hes not going to hunt you down and murder you, hes banned you from a building your not even going to enter anyway, and the fact he doesnt like you will probably go some way to earn you the trust of others that dont like him..
@Unneccessary:
Errm sorry, but you've attempted the same thing with Sharlaan when you tried to have him arrested for using Turn Undead as an ability, citing him a necromancer.
I heard about this.. thought it was bs.. You cant start trying to make characters outcasts due to the mechanics of the game (You do know that turn undead for an evil cleric does the control thing, he has no choice in this) and then claim your only here to bash goblins and say hi to friends and whinge ooc about the ic consequences of your characters actions.
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This kind of whining because something didn't go your way is one of the bigger reasons i am on a much needed break from CoA.
People cannot handle it if something does not go their way. If you do not want to get into conflict with someone known for a temper, DO NOT MOUTH OFF TO SAID PERSON. Never, not once, not -ONCE-, in all my time on CoA, have i seen a conflict where you could not remove it by going to said person and say "I'm sorry, can we forget the entire thing because i do not want to get in trouble".
Don't feel like doing this because of pride? Then suck it up and deal with the consequences.
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Errm sorry, but you've attempted the same thing with Sharlaan when you tried to have him arrested for using Turn Undead as an ability, citing him a necromancer.
Wrong. My character never did any such thing. If you'll remember, it was deputy Cain who prompted my character to make a report when she cited controlling undead as a reason she doesn't wish to work with him on unimportant tasks like clearing a mine of kobolds. You'll note that no such report has been made. Nor will it be. She doesn't view Sharlaan as an actual threat to the city, just a minor creep, and feels the Wyvernguard shouldn't waste their time on him. If you'll bother to recall, my friend, what Sadie said IC in regards to making a report is "I don't think it's actually against Arabel's laws. I don't care. It's against mine.".
The character in question didnt accuse you of being a lyssan, he accused you of offering aid to one.. the fact you dont like the character in question and that he has some measure of influence should make for interesting conflict.. hes not going to hunt you down and murder you, hes banned you from a building your not even going to enter anyway, and the fact he doesnt like you will probably go some way to earn you the trust of others that dont like him..
Actually, according to ic reports, the character did initially speak of having my character arrested. I know because he spoke of it in the presence of a character who is a friend of my character. Escalating a minor disagreement into a threat of seriously ham-stringing my character, instantly and without much ic reason, and also without consulting me upon whether or not I have time or interest in it is bs. I absolutely refuse to allow another player to dictate to me what my experience here is like.
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This conversation should be locked if people cannot keep IC matters IC. Referring to IC actions in an OOC dialogue, pointing fingers, and naming names, is unhelpful, and can be considered a personal attack on others.
This "Soap Opera" as you scathingly call it is one of the reasons why City Of Arabel continues. If you wish to play in a non-violent manner and pursue non-violent resolutions to plots, then you may do so. However, if another is intent on pressing conflict on you, then you need to deal with it in a mature manner and approach the DM crew about it- HOWEVER, as this is an interactive world, as long as you continue to play here, you are giving everyone the permission to make your experience an amazing one where you stand upon their corpses, or using your corpse as a step ladder to greatness. Or inbetween.
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@SpiffyHas:
This conversation should be locked if people cannot keep IC matters IC. Referring to IC actions in an OOC dialogue, pointing fingers, and naming names, is unhelpful, and can be considered a personal attack on others.
This "Soap Opera" as you scathingly call it is one of the reasons why City Of Arabel continues. If you wish to play in a non-violent manner and pursue non-violent resolutions to plots, then you may do so. However, if another is intent on pressing conflict on you, then you need to deal with it in a mature manner and approach the DM crew about it- HOWEVER, as this is an interactive world, as long as you continue to play here, you are giving everyone the permission to make your experience an amazing one where you stand upon their corpses, or using your corpse as a step ladder to greatness. Or inbetween.
Agreed… hath degraded into whine fest and arguments. No real constructive discussion left here
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TL;DR. "L" is for lack of objectivity, not "long". I stopped here:
As of yet, you're the only person creating conflict for OOC sake that I see, by the way.
I have a list (of those I think are doing that). I just avoid them. It's not that short though.
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@Green:
Since most of the people, like yourself, who enjoy pvp play evil characters, have you considered playing a LG Paladin (or something) and going after the ones you know also enjoy it? Or at least an evil character with goals in opposition to the others? Wouldn't that be better than trying to force the sort of rp you enjoy upon those who don't enjoy it?
Oddly enough, I have played good aligned characters, but found my companions excessively carebear and boring. It's much more fun when you're fighting people like Sophia Silverscale, tbh.
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I reference the Battle of Crag where the Red Hart and 20+ Carebear PCs were killed by a handful of People Who Pwn (not to mention stupidly OP gear which still pisses me off more than 1 year later) I was not there, so I can only infer, but the end result was that a large chunk of players, seeing weeks and months of work destroyed, simply left the server, some banded together to form a new server.
I will only say that we all fully expected to die during that battle. And a couple of us did. Your tactics, I heard, were pretty terribad.
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Well, it would seem that the majority feel that it's wrong of me to want to simply relax and smack monsters without investing a great deal of creativity and emotional energy into the server. I can sorta understand that position. After all, if I'm going to get something out of the server, I should put something in. Thing is, I do creative work for a living and have numerous creative side projects. I don't really have much energy left over to invest in CoA. Really, truly, chatting with old friends and beating up some goblins is all I wanted. All I have energy for. If it's ok for a minor disagreement to instantly escalate into a threat of arrest, potentially ham-stringing my character and forcing all kinds of stress and drama upon me that I just don't have the energy for without checking with me first, then, well…. this server and I just aren't a good match.
It was good seeing some of my old friends again, however briefly. Thank you all for your input. Goodbye, and thanks for all the fish.
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Firstly, Green Monster, you are overreacting. You are complaining about something that didn't even happen yet (were you even arrested, attacked by guards or anything?). Even if guards approach you, this is not the kind of "DRAMATIC" situation you've been on about. It's a simple character interaction which will probably bring no harm to your PC if she doesn't do something stupid on purpose. You have escalated the whole thing in your head, while in reality things might not even start going that way. Give it a go and see it through before making a decision.
Secondly, I would like to remind certain other posters in this thread that we have few players around as it is and you really shouldn't be all rude/patronizing to people who do not share your opinions. Chasing people away will not solve anything.
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Secondly, I would like to remind certain other posters in this thread that we have few players around as it is and you really shouldn't be all rude/patronizing to people who do not share your opinions. Chasing people away will not solve anything.That
That should trump anyones notion of "if you can't handle it, don't do it."
Especially, when the OP did not think they were getting into conflict and it was pressed upon them unwanted. -
@Dedagin:
I am so new here I do not know just how to respond to this. But I'll try anyway.
I have spent most of my time on an action based pw, and had a ton of fun. I missed the RP aspect
of the game though, and so looked elsewhere. I stumbled upon CoA accidentaly one night during the inevitable server crash, and decided to check it out. I had no idea what to expect here.
I am on my 4th PC, and Finally having fun. The PC conflict in game is causing My PC to make decisions
about who, and what, he is doing. He may wind up going fruitloopy, his internal conflicts are huge.
And the external conflicts have yet to be resolved. Hard thing is I like to be liked, and have a dificult time
when my own gregarious nature is not responded to in kind. Its then that I have to remind my self.
"Oh yeah, it is a game, and specifically its RP, and MAYBE that guy, or girl, is just not the freindly type." Not personal, just his characters response to mine.
I see nothing wrong with player conflict. My biggest issue is deciding where my character stands regaurding some of the conflicts, and that is the fun for me In PC conflict.Of course, I could be wrong :-)
I am so f***ing glad you chose CoA. Stay for a while, it'll be worth it.
But, to reiterate, and this really should have ended the discussion a long time ago: "IC actions spawn IC consequences; IC should not mix with OOC; and if you're deeply affected OOCly by something IC, it's time for a break."
There is no "divide" between people who enjoy conflict and do not; I am a huge fan of what some people derogatorily call "CoA Sims," just as much as I love watching characters go on crazy adventures and plot against each other. There is plenty of room on CoA for people of different kinds of play styles, although the hope is that they can mingle together and have fun.
This thread is quickly running out of any useful discussion, and most of the points that should be made have been made. It's slowly devolving into a spiral of OOC knee-jerk accusations regarding IC events. If there's nothing constructive in a day, the thread will be locked.
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(Despite what my forum title states I'm not a DM any more..)
CoA could certainly use more conflict!
A lot of that needs to come from the DMs with the factions - Team Palace is too chummy and nobody seems to care that a load of Thayans have turned up. Things got much less interesting, in my opinion, when Kreswell was chased off and the city became all happy again.
A tyrannical ruler with a racist vendetta against elves employing secret police trumps what we have now. I'm not saying revert back to that idea, but my god something needs to happen with what we have now. They are the core of the server and in my eyes horribly care bear, uninspiring and very dull (other than the Thayans, bitches love Thayans)
If players want conflict then go and create conflict. Put balls on the line and jump in to conflict with both feet! Doesn't mean go and murder people, PvP is everything under the sun that promotes getting under someone's skin! Good vs Evil, Evil vs Evil and Good vs Good!
It is refreshing to see new players with the attitude Dedagin Andagin has, and a shame that older players like Green_Monster carry on with the same old whining.
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Green Monster did make one important point though.
With numbers of players online dwindling it is really hard to play a character with highly conflictogenous agenda. You can play a respectable human with strong opinions and be ostracized and you can play a nice tiefling and be loved and involved in every plot. Unless it's a joint concept and you have a number of buddies who will keep your company.
caek is also correct concerning DM factions being a bit too homogenous and carebeary. Thayans are the only ones who would embrace open conflict but even they are placed in a situation where they really can't.
So it's like we're told that CoA is all about conflict but the server's whole infrastructure seems to actually punish those who push conflict vs. established characters.
I think this needs being discussed too. -
A very valid point Direfish.
And while we as players can do much, I see the need for dm involvement. I dont care if one of the nobles has to die, an evil version return in his place for the Palace to gain some friction. But someone needs to throw in some dirt in the Harcastle vs Palace machinery.
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So very true. None of the nobles wants to piss anyone off, thayans have their balls in a vice and everyone is ebst buds working together.
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When you log in and there are 3 other people other than yourself. Making conflict with one individual because "it is what my character would do" might not gain the results you had hoped for, and in some cases may make the person being targeted feel like they are being bullied. That is not good for the server and at least one of the players involved
There is not the population to support this type of conflict on a protracted basis (game spy being the culprit here)
There is plenty of room on CoA for people of different kinds of play styles, although the hope is that they can mingle together and have fun.
i am not really feeling this now
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I personally miss the Kreswell reign myself. When it disappeared, it took with it the political conflict that made the server so interesting at the time. There are so many factions now that the player base is spread too thin. There are too many factions that NOTHING is developing. You'll see a small spark here and there, but they die out as soon as they came.
The Mage's Guild vs the Sheriffs, the Legion vs the Red Harts, they were so much simpler than what we have now, which made it much more effective. Because the conflicts were easy to see. They got people involved. Now we have this elaborate web of political conflicts trying to happen, but it just won't work when we have a maximum of one retainer from each house. The truth is that nothing is going on right now that's interesting enough to pull people in.
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@SpiffyHas:
EFU is doing MUCH better in terms of playerbase and server health because it promotes conflict at every opportunity and handles it maturely. CoA can take a ticket from them and attract some of their players.
You know, become mature adults and suck it up when you die. Go on and be awesome, fuck the police and do what you think is fun within the rules of gameplay.
Fully agree with this sentiment. I am not saying CoA should become like EFU but having played their on and off I can definitely say conflict is a lot more common not to mention PCs can get directly involved with politics like electing a town mayor and such. Playing there reminds me somewhat what CoA used to be like back in the day.