Shattered Kingdoms

Here is a more fleshed out version. The use of any of these commands would create a small amount of lag. Destruction of the cloaking item causes the concealment to end.

Syntax: cloak/decloak <target*>
Conceals your equipment if you are wearing an appropriate cloak/robe. While cloaked, your can not draw weapons or use spells and your speed is reduced. If attacked, you can not retaliate while cloaked but can still dodge, although your chance to dodge is reduced. Rogues have a chance to see your worn equipment with their peek ability. Personal use items such as potions and pills could be used, but not wands/scrolls/staves.

Syntax: hood/unhood <target*>
Temporarily changes your adjective to "hooded" and conceals your description if you are wearing an appropriate cloak/robe with a hood and are not wearing an item on your head. Must already be cloaked and decloaking also causes you to be unhooded. Speed and defense are reduced even further while hooded. Guards will attack hooded characters on sight, unless you have auto surrender turned on, in which case they will unhood you. Rogues can still see your equipment with peek but it does not help them determine adjective or description.

*You would only be allowed to unhood/decloak someone who has been stunned.

*claps* I want one!

Eh...I think that you should still be able to fight defensively somewhat. Take the speed reduction down a notch or two--make it maybe -1 or at the most -2 to dex. Dodge, parry, and deflect should still work without any problems (except for the dex reduction). Finally, I think there should be a whole different auto option for unhooding.

Have you guys walked around in a concealing cloak and hood? It's not really that hampering. I could see maybe a -1 to dex, tops, and no problem fighting (except for aforementioned dex penalty).

Well, of course! *bashes head on wall*
Why didn't we just ask the current MASTER of cloak-y stuff In Da Hood?

The cloak/robe stuff is silly imho, it adds very little and I'm almost starting to think this obsession of in game secrecy is a bad thing.

This proposed feature is supposed to be a RP-aid. I'm looking for drawbacks that sound plausible. But I'm not going to create these cloaks and hoods without signficant drawbacks, because then everyone will run around hooded all the time. And that would be a huge step backward in RP for everyone.

Well, I may just be a no-body around here, but I'll throw my two cents in on a "huge" draw back for wearing robes that hide your desc, adjective, race - When you equip the robes, you unequip everything else and they get put "into" the robes. If you dont want to be known, you aren't going to be going around with your (Sacred) gear of your god, or (Humming) crown of L33T or something like that. You will want to keep EVERYTHING that might give your character away hidden. This will even include your weapons...

Just to clarify, I am not proposing it hide your race or gender.

Normal: A fat male gnome.
Hooded: A hooded male gnome.

Description would be replaced with something fairly generic about a hooded male gnome.

Then make it a cabal specific spell. Members of the Hammer of Light shouldn't be running around cloaked.

I would even go as far as to say the only cabal that should have this ability currently DOES have this ability.

It's not that I don't want you to add as many RP aids into the game as possible D, I'm just saying your time is valuable and let's put your efforts into the best possible 'bang for the buck' that will attract new players and keep the old ones interested. Cabals are -not- hurting for members. Not in any capacity at all. Tribunals are the ones who are struggling, how about we give them something more than just a guard-role? How about a TRS or some form of advanced warfare? Some real political repercussions? More economic features instead?

Right now, imho, dual membership is an ok idea, but, if a cabalite wants to keep their secrecy then that's up to them and their schtick. I don't see why it is necessary to code an in-game adjective or desc/eq coverup when a particular cabal already has that spell. If people are -ssssoooooo- worried about not being found out in a cabal, have them either a) don't join it, b) don't learn or use the special abilities, c) don't participate in raids, d) sit like a bump on a log, and e) pretend to have awesome rp that themselves and 2 other people see.

No, I'd rather have the who list show all affiliations and force players to roleplay around/with/inside situations and push for interaction. Real RP is about interaction and engaging the pbase, across the alignments and cabals. I seriously, seriously see no benefit to this.

If you want to masque yourself, roll a Harlequin. If you want to be a stealthy spy, then be a stealthy spy. At most I'd suggest being able to turn off the cabal tag (which also disables the ability to 'listen' to cb as long as it is off), but this robe stuff does not do anything but further insulate the idea that "quality roleplay" is intra-cabal and continue to separate the players from one another oocly.

I recognize some may claim the "well, people use ooc information!" And if they do, and are caught, it is multiplaying and they will be punished. It is not a factor and I have seen this topic discussed on these forums numerous times.

I guess my main point about this cloak nonsense is:

If you want to be secret, RP being secret. Nothing stops you from doing so. You can even use ingame spells and ingame characters/mobiles to push your secrecy to another level.

Hardcoding ways for people to act anonymously further divides the playerbase oocly and only serves to insulate IC RP inside of their own groups.

In my opinion, if you are a cabal and the entire mud does not know about your roleplay as a group (what you do, what you cause, etc) then you have failed as an active, strong roleplaying group. I don't care how many relics your guardian has, how badass your pk is, how AWESOME your rp is inside your HQ -- if you can't cross that alignment gap and engage most players in some small way - you are not successful in my eyes.

The fondest memories people have when it comes to cabals are linked to faces (or in this case names) and the events that surround them. Don't hardcode things that take away this and allow players not to be forced to push their limit of RP and character interaction because all they need to do is type cloak and let fly whatever notion first comes to their head without fear of retribution or consequence.

In closing:

I'd rather see religion specific spells.