Posted by The First Apostle on June 7, 2000 at 10:29:34:
In Reply to: Empowerment Tweaks From Somebody Who's Never Had a Problem With the Current System posted by Oft-Arbiter(VIP) on June 7, 2000 at 08:44:34:
> The Mortal Avatar - This is a tattooed follower of the immortal in question who has shown great interest in spreading the word of the immortal. This Avatar should be logged on a fair amount, should be wise as to all aspects of the religion, and should be an exceptional roleplayer. The Avatar would interview the empowerment-seeker and if pleased with what he/she has heard can grant an "extension" to the empowerment seeker. The extension would be an additional 5-10 ranks(number based on the roleplay, devotion, etc of the of the seeker) that would allow the seeker to use the supplications/skills of those ranks. For example, let's say I'm a shaman of Balgrimnr. I speak with Bal's Avatar who is slightly pleased with my roleplay/responses. The Avatar grants me an extension to the 16th rank. So now I can practice the skills/sups up to rank 16, but not beyond. To go further I have to get in touch with Balgrimnr himself. The extension just allows the seeker to feel as though he/she is making SOME progress, instead of being stuck at 10th or 11th rank for hours on end.
This idea has come up so many times I've lost count. I think it's a great idea.
And to Scarabs comments below, it's not any different from cabal inductions when
people also tend to "turn on" their roleplay. I agree that it's a weakness of the
process, and there could plenty of "misses" when it comes to empowerment, but there
also might be many "hits" as well. There are a couple of characters that I've tried
to play that would have benefited from an avatar.
>
> The Quest - The quest could be used in conjunction with the Avatar, or could be an automated, but RANDOM, set of tasks for the empowerment-seeker. Basically, the shrine's guardian or Avatar can send the seeker on a quest that has been set up by the immortal. Upon completion of the quest the seeker could be granted a small extension(2-3 ranks). The quest should be closely linked to the religion of immortal. The quests should be lengthy(5 times as long as the boot quest maybe) and should be fairly difficult. They should also be random so seekers can't just run through the same quest time after time with ease. This would also cut down on the tendency for people to spit out quest secrets on the forums.
I'm not a fan of this idea because it doesn't support any sort of real
roleplaying. It's how good someone can deal with quests. I don't see how
someone would deserve empowerment even in a limited form as you suggest.
> The Feedback - Sometimes an empowerment-seeker just isn't going to get it. They're RP might suck, they might not have a description, they're role might be 3 lines long. It's in these instances where the immortal should just say "You're not going to get empowered, sorry."
I like feedback, but the problem is the game is littered with too many
self centered children who would turn the session into a bitch fest making
themselves look dumb.
> The Absentee's Shrine - There certainly could be certain events that could occur to let a seeker know that his chosen immortal has been or will be dormant for some time. Perhaps pechoes could be set up to let the seeker know that the god is on extended leave when said seeker enters the shrine. It could be as simple as "Upon entering you notice the dust and empty feel of the shrine, as if your God has been dormant for quite some time."
Nice idea, but maybe when a god becomes dormant it should be rp'd
with gechoes. For example:
Calling upon all of the Five Magics, Nepenthe encases Vassagon in
tomb of pure magic and casts the Battle god into the ocean.
Then have the pecho within the shrine for anyone who might have
missed it.
> Bake at 350 degree and season to taste.
After 1 hour place on wire rack and let cool for 5 minutes.
Serves 8.