Posted by Proud Blade(VIP) on May 9, 2000 at 08:57:41:
In Reply to: For the loners who follow thier own path my thoughts. All thoughts welcome (text) posted by Bacrie on May 9, 2000 at 07:42:42:
1) It's called obligation. Being in a cabal places roleplaying constraints on a character, and will often cause them to fight or aid another when they normally might wish to do other things. Many cabals expect you to fight to defend and retrieve their item. Several expect that you aid your comrades whenever possible.
2) Entering a cabal takes a great deal of time and roleplaying. (Even Empire... you may get inducted quickly, but your actions are scrutinized tightly from there.) It -should- come with a reward of sorts if you do it well. Ditto for tattoos. Both cabals and tattoos also usually mean that IMMs may watch you more closely.
3) Entering a cabal may get you friends, but it will also make you enemies. Ask anyone in an "auto-titled" cabal (Dawn, Scarab, Arbiters) how their life changed afterwards.
Finally, why should there be a reward for doing nothing? If you like to "roam and live your own path", what power is appropriate for all of those people? Should a level 26 duergar warrior who lives on the Eastern Road get these powers? Total newbies who only got to the mid-ranks by being dragged around by groups? Whay type of skill is exclusively learned by people with no strong direction in their life?
I'm not saying that uncaballed people -can't- have an interesting role- many do, including some of the most interesting. I just don't think that there should be some sort of automatic reward for not doing anything in particular. And if you require an interview/quest to get the skill, why couldn't a caballed person do it as well, if the reward is so generic as to apply to anyone?
> I like to run chars that follow no god or cabal but roam and learn and live thier own path. What I'd like to see is some skills/spells given to chars that do not follow a cabal or god. This would give them a better chance to survive on thier own. However if ever they are tattoed or join a cabal they would lose those same spells/skills.
> Sorta like a hermit who learns skills or discovers himself but once he moves to the city and gets a job he begins to forget those skills he had learned.
> Any thoughts and flames welcome