The Awesome of the DM Faction: A New / Old Player's Thoughts
-
I would not say that it is a faction at all, not even an auxiliary. At best your example tells me that said Retainer is hiring mercenaries or founding a mercenary outfit for a distinct purpose, once that purpose is fufilled, the group is assumed to be disbanded. I also highly doubt a DM would push for somesort of auxiliary force without one or two very specific goals that it must achieve and not merely exist.
I am arguing against the fringe/auxiliary factions that do nothing other than be a player-run shell of the greater picture. Green Dragons, for example, did not need to exist.
-
@Broken:
I am arguing against the fringe/auxiliary factions that do nothing other than be a player-run shell of the greater picture. Green Dragons, for example, did not need to exist.
Both yes -and- no.
The Golden Griffons of House Thond and to a lesser extend the Red Falcons of house Fezznick had no real purpose. They could just as easily have been retainers. The Bhaliiran Mercenaries, could and were on occasion used as the thugs of the household, when their silver tongues wouldnt suffice.
But the Green Dragons, at least in theory, could and should have been used to show that House Deschurr were the main military power in the region. Could the role have been handed by the retainers? Most likely. Yet, then again, the Retainers -could- have the voice of the house, while the Green Dragons were the strong arm.
Personally, I think it is all about -how- it is done. If the Green Dragons of House Deschurr, had been a mercenary company, sold to the highest bidder, then it would have worked brilliantly. Yet, it was too often used as Wannabe retainers, and imo, that is where it fails.
House Bhaliir, should have had a group of thugs, rumored perhaps to be connected to the house, but with no clear evidence of said ties to do the dirty work the retainers themselves didnt want to be dirtied by.
House Deschurr, should have had an actual mercenary company, doing actual mercenary work, yet which could be "called upon" when the retainers needed bhaliiran dogs beaten.
House Thond -should- have had a group of secret wannabe harper agents, doing what the more Official parts of the house couldnt.
All of it supported by the dms -through- the retainers. Yet whatever attempts of such, always ended up becoming Fringe, or shadows of the Noble houses, rather than actual, self running units.
-
Not all faction characters must be server changing. That kind of pressure is not something we want our players to experience. Also time investment is of little concern. You can apply for a faction even if you can play just a couple of hours a week.
-
While the auxiliary factions like the Green Dragons really didn't serve much purpose, they were still fun for the people in them which I think made them worth having.
-
I dunno much about these auxiliary factions, and this is not really the purpose of the topic, but for me it is and was always fun > win.
If you need win to have fun, play to win. If you just need cameraderie and adventure for fun, get into a group regardless of how useless it might be plotwise. -
Hey guys I think we got a little off topic here. The point of this was to encourage new players / frustrated players to give the DM factions a go. I admit, I am just one data point. But they were very welcoming to me and filled with players willing to lend a hand. If you had a bad experience I encourage you to roll up another character and give them a try again. One DM on another server put it this way, server changing leaders are awesome but don't get anywhere with out helper / followers. There is room for all of us and the point is indeed to have fun!
-
I like the current DM factions alot more than the old ones they are much less restrictive in race and alignment than the old ones were.
As to side factions like the greendragons ..yes they were fun but the server was different for starters there was alot more players so linked factions for characters that didn't have the correct alignment or class/race could still get involved.
Now alot less players less need for as many factions also you can join a faction now ingame without having to write an app,this is great for me as i suck at apps and time wise i play a couple of hours most nights not a vast amount but im in a DM faction i enjoy my time and try to gives others fun also in the end thats all that matters you don't have to change the world just have fun as it moves along. -
@The:
Not all faction characters must be server changing. That kind of pressure is not something we want our players to experience. Also time investment is of little concern. You can apply for a faction even if you can play just a couple of hours a week.
This is very good to know especially as someone who has very limited play time due to college.
-
Could always make a PC faction or group instead of a branch of an exhisting one.
-
Not once did I state you HAVE to be server changing to be in a DM faction. What I feel is expected is that you don't always loiter in the Guildhall every time your log in whilst having the benefits of a DM faction behind you but rather become a conduit for plots and adventure for other players. THIS IS NOT DIFFICULT.
-
Look at this way; as a member of a DM faction you have more access to plots than the average joe, even though you might not make much of an impact on things yourself that doesn't mean you can't get other people involved who can. That is what I think BG is trying to say.
-
I have played in and out of factions on and off for years. To me it seems that if your playing time is limited like mine, it’s easier and more immersive within a DM faction. I don’t feel like I am expected to do any more than RP my char and include other players. Frankly, it’s easier to include other players from within a DM faction and I think that is part of their purpose. Player factions however, can and do succeed, and I measure that success in the amount of involvement and RP the faction generates. Player factions have always been difficult and take immense work and patience by the players of them.
I fully endorse what There And Back says, and encourage players to join DM factions and not be put off by perceived expectations.
-
Time and time again, people say that to be a member of a DM faction requires huge committment in terms of time and effort. This is not the case. The DMs understand that different people can commit different amounts of time to playing their characters.
The only commitment we expect is that, if you have an application character, DM Faction or Concept, we expect you to commit the majority of the time you have available to that character rather than playing lots of altyernate characters. This, and involving others when you do have time to play.
If you can play only once a week for only a couple of hours, this is no bar to a DM faction. Play what you can and involve others.
-
I have played in and out of factions on and off for years. To me it seems that if your playing time is limited like mine, it’s easier and more immersive within a DM faction. I don’t feel like I am expected to do any more than RP my char and include other players. Frankly, it’s easier to include other players from within a DM faction and I think that is part of their purpose. Player factions however, can and do succeed, and I measure that success in the amount of involvement and RP the faction generates. Player factions have always been difficult and take immense work and patience by the players of them.
I fully endorse what There And Back says, and encourage players to join DM factions and not be put off by perceived expectations.
This is true. Ignore the percieved, and over-hyped expectations from other players and talk to a DM to get the real expectations.
-
I think many players, including me, have fallen victims of the false idea that you need much RL time to be in a DM faction. Personally I never viewed this from this perspective (Wulf's) and it is good that it is clarified. Maybe it is that some of the most successful characters were part of DM factions and were very active IG that made me (and others probably) think that you need a similar amount of time to succeed. Truth is it helps, but knowing DMs have simpler expectations than most players do (I don't exclude myself) surely is news to me. Frankly I took it for granted and never really asked…
-
Yeah DM factions are great if you're time poor. If you've only got an hour to play, you've got allies, plots to help with, and enemies to scheme against all right there waiting for you once you join a faction.
Also you can keep up to date via the forums much more easily.
-
I think many players, including me, have fallen victims of the false idea that you need much RL time to be in a DM faction. Personally I never viewed this from this perspective (Wulf's) and it is good that it is clarified. Maybe it is that some of the most successful characters were part of DM factions and were very active IG that made me (and others probably) think that you need a similar amount of time to succeed. Truth is it helps, but knowing DMs have simpler expectations than most players do (I don't exclude myself) surely is news to me. Frankly I took it for granted and never really asked…
By golly! Someone's GOT IT! Maybe there IS hope, after all!
-
And thats pretty much the answer to years of useless topics about that subject.
-
All those waste years!
-