Posted by The Angel Gabriel on September 22, 1999 at 04:20:54:
In Reply to: Other exceptions you'd probably have to make. posted by Proud Blade on September 19, 1999 at 02:24:17:
> > I think the code should be changed to kill anyone who sits at a level for more than 100 hours. > Well, you should also put in code to not kill: As a general response, let me say that instituting a code where anyone who sits at a single level for over 100 hours is killed would force people to actually do a little planning, a little thinking, perhaps even make their character be a character. For example, it would spur a person to apply to masters at level 14 or fifteen, rather than wait until level 20. It would spur a communer to get in touch with their god -- and their rp -- right from the start, and not at level 10. That's a good thing, in my eyes. > 1) Level 10 empowered classes. > 2) Invokers who just got their shields. > 3) Level 20 Master applicants. > 4) Troupers, who might be focused on things other than advancing for lengths at a time. This is my point. Gaining in your guild should be part of everyone's life, everyone's character. I'm not saying it needs to be the same drive for everyone, you can be leisurely or power-rank, but at some point you are no longer just ranking slowly, you have in essence stopped ranking, and that is the problem. A trouper, like anyone else, can take the one hour real time, maybe even two, and get one rank, and bam! the clock is reset. > 5) Anyone of sphere Sloth, Chaos, or other beliefs that do not mesh with discipline towards rapid advancement. I can see a justification for spheres of Sloth or perhaps Chaos, though Chaos less so. I am not sure I agree, but I recognize the concept and am perfectly willing to discuss it. So let's say there is an exception for Sloth. > 5b) Anyone of sphere Knowledge, Dedication or the like who believes they must perfect each skill. Again, I don't see how this correlates to someone not ranking anymore. You cannot get new skills/spells without ranking. You cannot perfect some skills/spells without a target, which means ranking would help you do it. And again, just one rank will reset the clock on your time. Also, other than rank 38 for invokers where you get seven spells -- though not all at once -- you just dont get enough spells/skills at any rank that would require 100 or 75 or even 50 hours to perfect. Even the horror stories we hear about shapeshifting or hold person or fire giant ap's take no more than 15-20 real hours. Even with two spells coming, that is plenty of time to rank at least once. > 6) Arbiters who log on when they're the only one around. > 7) Anyone on a quest. > 8) Anyone who actually explores. Not just for the time they spend exploring, but the time they end up digging themselves out of that xp hole. =) > 9) Anyone who made a character primarily for RP reasons, who may not care if they ever see hero. Like a quest, if they really are roleplaying someone at a given rank for a real reason, not just to exploit the powers of that class at a certain rank, etc, then fine, but this would not be in the code, this would be an Imm deliberately exempting the person. And not often. > 10) Paladins, who are required by Theran Law to sit in their guilds for at least 100 hours before venturing out. There could be assassins! Or thieves! Excellent point by you. Absolutely right. One caveat though: Paladins of Shokai are not granted the exception. They must go out and kill goblins and kobolds at least once every 25 hours. > 11) Cabal Leaders who are the only ones who interview. Cabal leaders already have extended lives. And every cabal I know (save entropy) of has some sort of midlevel interview capability, as well as Imms. (Empire has an emperor and sectleaders, sylvans have lieutenants, masters have adepts, arbiters have lords and elders, ragers have veterans, scarab lets almost any hero initiate interview) If a leader spends 75 hours interviewing, more power to him, but he can likely take an hour or two here and there to get a rank or two here or there, especially when he can pretty much just order two others of his cabal to help him. > 12) Battle applicants, if Battle reinstates their practice requirements and fourteen-step triple-redundant interview process. Like before, it just doesn't take 50-100 hours to get these mastered, and again, a battle applicant should be working on them right from the start, not delaying until the last possible rank and then working on the skills. > *yawn* Not your best idea, T.A.G. You've had some good ones, but I'd drop this crusade if I were you. Better fish to kill. Perhaps not my best, but I still think that coding for level sitters is worth it, with a sufficiently long period before a character "expires." >
> > You are a warrior. You are a ranger. You are a necromancer. (And by the way, I would put a different code in for necro's that hit 47 since obviously they are in a special situation.)
If you have really spent 100 hours praying/sending notes/roleplaying and have not been able to get empowered, something is wrong. Either you have refused to ask for empowerment by gods of similar align/roles (which is perfectly fine, and in fact when Immortals of any given sphere leave for a while, they expect other wizi-imms to empower for their spheres) or you have perhaps failed and you just aren't going to be empowered. And, of course, the difference between level 10 and 11 is pretty much nothing, except you are now a real person, can pk, be pk'd, loot corpses, enter cabals, and all the rest, and getting that one rank means you have an entirely new 100 hours to work with. So no, I would not have an exception for this.
I've had invokers. Most, if not all invokers, have some if not all of their shields ready to be practiced at the guildmaster by level 38, having mastered the prerequisites. It does not take 100 hours at 38 to perfect them. And again, there is really no functional difference between 38 and 39, and mastering six or seven spells will get you a nice chunk of exp anyway, making the rank relatively easy to obtain. And once you get 39, your clock is reset.
Like any cabal, you should start rp'ing from the start. If you waited until level 20 to apply, you made a mistake. And you still get the full allotment of code time. It is not as if the level bar for master entry is a surprise. A little forethought and this is not a problem.
Perhaps, but arbiters are not required to stay in town even when alone, just encouraged to do so. They can rank. And I have a hard time imagining being alone for 100 consecutive hours. I've been arbiters. I've been lonely arbiters. But there were always times when someone would come for an hour here or there. Even at the lowest of the low times.
Quests are god driven. A god can exempt a character from this. Fine by me. The point of this is to make people really be their character, not be a person playing to exploit levels and skills by staying at a lower level. Being on a quest by definition means you are rp'ing. Well, most of the time. :P
I think it makes sense that someone who explores and dies often enough to get into holes would shake his head, brush himself off and say "you know, I keep dying. Maybe if I were actually older, stronger, wiser, better skilled and suited to endure these travels, I would die less." So they rank a little and try again. That's what someone would do, don't you think?
> > You are a member of a guild and are learning your profession. Your life is based on attaining the power/knowledge/skill/etc of that guild, regardless of what other affiliations you might have. Everything else you do is something that is a belief or motivation, whatever. The way you do it, though, is with your class. There is no rp justification, in my mind, for simply stopping and sitting and not attempting to complete the learning of your guild. The only reason is an ooc one, and so I address that next.