Shattered Kingdoms

I was under the impression that roleplay, whether from a PK'er or otherwise, meant just as much.

Guess I was wrong.

You are certainly not SoL if you can't PK. it's just that PK is a very quick and effective way of gaining attention. what you do with it, and what type of attention you get, is then based on your RP. Performing a well-thought out, beautifully written skit in an inn in front of three or four PCs may get you an enlight, applause, and the satisfaction of creating a memorable RP moment, but it won't make your name known to the world. Trying to conquer a country usually will. People are naturally attracted to quick and easy solutions, huge acts of drama versus groups of interesting but smaller scale bits of RP, and action instead of patience. Anybody can pk- less do it well, but with enough time, effort, help and dedication people pick it up in time. After that, it becomes instinctive. Very little energy is required to maintain it. Compare that to RPing a schizophrenic rogue who randomly steals and plants things back on people. Which is going to require more work to maintain? Hell, reequipping after a death is easier then staying in character for hours at a time.

When I hear the term "mediocre" in SK, i think someone who doesn't standout, either in PK or RP. In order to be noticed- and remembered- you have to do incredible things. The turnover rate in this game is very quick for most chars and that makes history and length of memory short. Live fast, die young is the motto of many.

I would advise you not to be discouraged. People play this game for different reasons- find your own. If you find it fun to roleplay in smaller circles, have fun! And if you want to join the occasional global RP or intra-kingdom intrigue, go ahead and wet your feet. See how you like it. Play to stand out or play to fit in- it's your choice.

What I'm not understanding is the claim that PK'ers are supposed to be better roleplayers than non-PK'ers. If that's true my toying with the idea of making a non-violent priestess must make me really, really bad. While I can see from the logs on here that a good number of the people whose roleplay I thought was terrific also does PK, I fail to see the link between the two. One is skill in combat, the other is.. I really have no idea.

I certainly understand that if you want an epic character, you need to participate in epic scenarios. What has me a little depressed though, is the notion that unless my character (whose concept makes her, basically, mediocre by default) learns how to gank those smarter, faster and stronger than herself, she's worthless to the evolvement of the mud. Whatever happened to politics?

Personally, I value people who RP just as much as those who PK. It's possible to have both skills, and that's what is ideal for SK, but if I had to choose between someone with no RP skill and someone with no PK skill, I'd rather have the latter as a player.

Also if you do want to become memorable, be ready to play for the long haul. PK oriented characters tend to flame out quickly. People who play longer have more time to make a name for themselves and become respected even if they don't PK all the time.

I think the correlation is more that good pkers have a lot of experience, and people with a lot of experience tend to be good roleplayers.

We have some PKers who can't roleplay very well. That greatly limits their ability to positively affect the gameworld.

Likewise, roleplayers who can't or won't PK also limit their ability to affect the gameworld. It's not as severe a limitation, but few of SK's organizations would normally respect pacifists. Why limit yourself, unless your IC role or OOC enjoyment demands it?

I agree that a character that is comepletely min/maxed for PK effectiveness isn't a roleplaying triumph - but keeping your character reasonably effective in combat reaps dividends. Newbies should be asking their mentors for advice on worthwhile training.

Thats not true at all. The mud needs more people with flaws, not more people who are "perfect."

Just because you make a character who doesn't pk, doesn't mean that if the opportunity or the need arose, that you didn't or couldn't own the pants off everyone.

Because you choose not to do something, doesn't mean you can't be good at it.

A good rp'er who plays a pacifist who tries to avoid pk if at all possible doesn't mean that he isn't good at pk. Being good at pk is something that develops after playing the game for quite awhile and understanding the mechanics behind it and knowing what precautions to take going into it.

For instance I've logged cilek on everyday for the past week and I have yet to kill anyone because I am rp'ing that im a weak-kneed old as hell centaur who is far to old to be bothered with such. Does this mean that I'm not good at pk because I don't do it? Hell no, I could own you suckers 47 ways till sunday and back with my aged to all hell centaur and make you like it.

Rp ability usually comes before pk ability. The people who are good pk'ers (With the exception of Rial, because lets face it, rial and rp should never be used in the same sentence. <3 rial but sorry its true) are good pk'ers becuase they've learned the mechanics of such over the years. They were drawn to the game however because of rp. RP is what the game should center around. It just so happens that we've reached a cusp where all the people who can rp thier tails off at the drop of a hat happen to to be competent pk'ers and they choose the later 85% of the time over the former. I don't believe sk has ever seen the number of competent pk'ers as it has now.

I mean honestly, who could pk on the mud 5 years ago...lorzatu..jerin..toryn...junta...im drawing blanks...

everyone else was a good rp'er (most everyone) but lets face it they sucked at pk. I know I did.

flash forward 5 years to today...whose a good or at least competent pker. Me, tragonis, summ, mitch, adder, algon, coya (emphasis on the competent =p), finney, toryn, bs101, rial, cyra, noira, jardek, salak, own, inidil, ect, notice how my list more than doubled, on top of that even the people who aren't considered to be pk elite are still elite compared to what the average was 5 years ago. It's not that everyone forgot how to rp, its just that we all are on a more level ground of understanding game mechanics and how pk is achieved and so we tend to do it more.

I'd much rather see someone who could rp and not pk than the former as well, but as the average mean of player is expected to be able to hold their own in a fight, the more we tend to look down on those who can't. I've been guilty of it I know and I'm sure most of us have. I don't know why we've moved to this stage but it has happened. Only an effort by the players of the game can move it back and honestly, I don't see that happening becuase as a whole I find the mud far too complacent, even with all the bellyaching that goes on about needing change.

I'm ranting and I'm pretty drunk, which is why I'm ranting. So here is my cop-out statement and I hope this has something to do with the thread.

To make an impact on the mud, you have to have a prominent character. To have a prominent character, you have to create a buzz. This usually takes prowess in PK or memorable PK (not so much skill, but the effect it had).

In this respect, there are two types of good PK'ers, those who thrill themselves with tactics and combos and those with attitude. Those who pride themselves on tactics are your typical min/max'ers and sometimes they fall into the rut of not fleshing out thier RP or not making the best decisions regarding thier RP.

Someone mentioned playing a pacifist. If you plan on doing nothing but playing a pacifist, I think you will be disappointed. For one, this -is- a PK mud, for better or worse. Two, it's hard to accomplish any great feat without conflict. Now, on the other hand, if your goal is to play a pacifist, with a series of phases where he/she evolves into 'I'm mad as hell, and I'm not going to take it anymore' end result, this is the kind of stuff that gets interesting, but of course you have to downplay and let it build up into rising action and then climax.

For all those who feel inadequate about PK, don't. Alot of people pride themselves on challenging themselves, playing odds where they are outnumbered, exhibiting flashy skill. This is all fine and fun. But really, PK is only as difficult as you make it. It's not hard to kill anyone as long as you realize a few physics of PK:

There are three keys to killing an opponent;

You must be able to find your opponent.
You must outmatch them using the four elements of combat. (There are four fundamental elements in combat; Endurance, speed, strength-brute force, or strength in numbers, and initiative or surprise. All four are intertwined. All four must be balanced.)
You must prevent your opponent from escape.

If you can find them, you can surprise them. If they are surprised they are at a disadvantage and confused. If they are outmatched, they will have but two options, to die or escape. If they cannot escape, they will only die.

You really don't have to be all that skilled, and your character can get away with having [REDACTED] stats if you play your cards right. Experience with PK and the game go a long way, mechanics that are typically common knowledge that are taken for granted by veterans are helpful. Hell, you don't have to do anything at all but be associated with the individuals doing the PK, you can just tag along and talk the after PK smack. Play politics. Power isn't only in combat prowess. Sometimes it's not what you know, but who you know.

Someone once told me, the key to PK is all about attitude. I think what this guy meant was, unless you are playing for strategical pleasure, it's not about a 'score' or how flashy or leet your tactics were. It's about the kill and establishing your dominance, making someone your [REDACTED]. If you get the kill, you can talk all the smack, assert your authority, your self-righteous RP, and start a buzz. Think about those movies about some guy going to prison with the parting jewel of advice, pick the biggest badass mofo in the joint and beat the [REDACTED] out of him. It'll send a message to everyone that you aren't to be messed with. The society of SK is comparable in, it is the same as any society that regards violence as a virtue. All in all, you don't have to be a badass PK'er, you just have to establish yourself. If you are less apt towards PK, and more towards RP, this is your ticket.

Not necessarily true. I found out yesterday that one of the people that's been holding a PAR slot for QUITE some time now is on their first character. I was shocked as I would have never guessed that they had just started playing. Same for when I was in the Fist. I found out one of my good friends had JUST started playing and was in a pretty sweet cabal. Perhaps ever-so slightly naive, but none the less I didn't get into my first cabal until a few years into playing. I don't think you can really set in stone who could be a good PKer or Rper. When I was in the harlies I got ganked by some of the best PKers in the game, however they couldn't RP for [REDACTED]. The point is you never really know.

As for mechanics, when it comes down to it people was the best character they can possibly build. They want their att and creation att points perfectly assigned, their character armed with the best possible equipment they can keep at the moment and armed with the best spells for PK. Why? Because if you don't there's a damn good chance you're going to get raped horribly.

There are alot of people out there right now that are focusing on PK instead of RP now and sad to say it's because of the CRS. PK has become far more dominant compared to RP. Personally I would like to see that flip flop as I love sitting down and rping. I think that's why I like creating new characters so much, as people will actually spend time TALKING to you and teaching you things. Recently I made a new character and low and behold someone start RPING a tutoring session. It was great. Had I been able to reward the person I would have. This is what needs to go on more often. Granted I think the person realized I was deffinitly not a newbie but the principle was there.