Shattered Kingdoms

Seconded.

ditto

I mentioned it in another thread but I'll repeat it here.

I think priests are the best starting class for new players, for a number of reasons:
• The prohibition on learning spells past lvl 10 without religion requires that they get at least partially involved in the SK community by finding one. I've seen a number of occasions where religions provided the prime ground for introducing a new player into long-term gaming relationships with other players who serve as real mentors- not like the mentor system but to really provide guidance, introduce to the ways of the SK, provide equipment, resurrect when they die, defend when they're attacked, be shown and helped through areas and quests. I just wish [CENSORED] HP players would stop making [REDACTED] "quests" for people to do before investing them. They're always lame and rarely contribute ANYTHING to actual quality roleplay, more often just being really lame time-fillers with the end result of just making it take longer for someone to actually get invested
• New players want to explore. Priests are great explorers:
---sanctuary, identify + locate, gate, cure light/serious/critical, heal/mass heal, cure poison/plague/blind/deaf/curse/cancellation, word of recall
• Priests can be quite powerful in PvP & PvNPC, even by newbies:
---spear of faith, harm, holy word
• Priests get mad exp - they can just constantly crank in exp whether they're in combat or helping lowbies or roleplaying in an inn
---everything mentioned above, enchant
• Any of the available races can be played to become a competent priest
• Even if a newbie messes up their stats as they learn, they still can become competent because they aren't as stat-dependent as other classes
• The roleplay opportunities available for priests are really quite vast across the spectrum: roleplay styles, pk styles, racial + alignment + nation preferences, etc.
• Everybody wants to know a priest. Everybody wants to have a priest on their good side. Most players know that feeling. You know the one... you've been lingering there in the afterlife trying to figure out how the hell you're going to get back to life and how much exp it's going to cost you, when suddenly... *gasp* There's the priest! Please be awake, please help me, if I lose that suit of armor I'm going to be so pissed....
• Priests are completely self-sufficient. Plus, odds are, in the middle of the night you won't be sitting there bored for long until the player noted above starts sending you tells.


All around, I really believe priests make the perfect first character for a new player. In fact, the ONLY thing wrong with priests IMO is that they are not available for ALL races.

Otherwise, I think all the other classes make for good starting classes with some notations:
• Swashies, barbarians, mercs, rogues, scouts, and shaman are all really good, solid, strong characters for newbies (good in combat for n00bs, easy lowbie levelling, expansive RP opportunities, high self-sufficiency)
• Paladins & hellions are also great first characters, but newbies should be aware that they're both pretty RP + PK intensive classes
• Sorcs make great first characters, but take a bit more skill to operate than the warrior classes
• Warlocks are okay, but they're an interesting, versatile class that can be tricky for MUD newbies
• Bards aren't great for newbies. They can get a lot of good rp and people always want a bard around too. But they can be awfully weak and difficult to level at the low levels for inexperienced players.
• Necros aren't great for newbies. You start out weak as a twig, most of the world hates you, and stinky, rotting corpses follow you around. This is no class for the weak of heart.


Some racial considerations should also be noted:
• Humans, half-elves, halflings are good races all-around
• Dwarves don't make the best spell-casters
• Gnomes don't make the best warriors/adventurers
• Giant warlocks can't conjure elementals until they've grown old
• Centaurs can't dance without magical help and make weak bards
• Deep-elves make excellent spell-casters, are thoroughly dark aura; they're hated by half the world- be prepared.
• Elves make excellent adventurers, thoroughly light aura, are hated by the other half of the world- be prepared.
• Griffons aren't great for newbies. You start out strong, but most of the world hates you, and many accuse you of being created in a cauldron. This is no race for the weak of heart.



However, with all that said, my first character was a drow warlock, at that time in the game one of the weakest and most underplayed classes. And, frankly, one of the most boring. But I still fell in love with the class and the game immediately, in spite of the challenges and my countless deaths & resurrections. I was introduced to roleplay pretty early, by the priestess Finola (I think that was her name...), who very actively recruited me into Dreddnahr's religion. An active patron immortal who both roleplayed with me and showed me that SK could be a truly interactive + dynamic game and an active HP who took an interest in mentoring my character were probably the biggest factors in my SK addiction. That addiction was cemented while I played in the S'hochi, a player group we founded that acted as tribe, religion, cabal all at once.

So I suppose the short of that is that the best thing a newbie can do is get involved with groups early. That can overcome any class/racial weaknesses.

Screw the HP of faiths, My Hellion and Priest got invested by Immortal intervention. Like I'd settle for the [REDACTED] players that end up with that title and flag.

I mean seriously, why waste the time with a player that's either Inactive, Thinks making you wait days on end to prove your worth, or give you some time wasting Quest that most new players wouldn't be able to figure out. I found sweet talking the Immortal to be much quicker, and less idiocy to be endured than the fucktards that get the HP flag.

Hell, my Hellion wouldn't have wasted his time on Lantern's pansy Hellion for an invest into the Fear faith, or my priest having to endure that countless stream of idiots that find their way into the Nature faith.

As for the topic, Warnings: Yes!, restrictions: No!

Regardless of being new or not, you should not be restricted to playing something you think is cool, just warned is by far the better approach.

I never make it hard to join the faiths I lead. But I'm all alone anyway.

On topic like: I agree priests are a wonderful class to start the game with. My first serious character was a priest and I keep coming back to them. Many people complain about leveling them until they get flamestrike. But, if they get a good mentor to show them how, it isn't as difficult as they think.

I always suggest priest to new players. My first was a merc, which made it easier to level, but if I had played a priest first not only would I not have minded the leveling length as much, but it would have indoctrinated me to SK spellcasters. A merc will always be easy. Getting the hang of a spellcaster after playing a succession of mercs I have found is a little rocky.

Still trying to manage to fortitude to stick with a priest.

I down this entire idea.


If anything do it like the Krychire portal used to be.

When it was player-test and not recomended for a loooong time.

Just like a little flag added to the portal or something. Not a helpfile or extra emotes. Just a simple two or three word at most tag on the portal it's self.

IMO any of the fighter classes are probably by far easiest to play when just starting SK. I've been playing for 5+ years, and I'm still horrbile leveling spellcasters. Some people say spellcasters are way easier though...I seriously think it just depends on the person...

But anyways, I wouldn't restrict anything from newbs, maybe just a warning, like with deep-elves/elves/necro/griffon/pally/helly that the class/race is a bit more prosecuted(or whatever) than others ICly.

I'm not going to play spellcasters again for a while. Warlocks are too flawed (and proposed changes won't fix them), necros take too much work and can be made into fodder quite easily, and sorcs... Meh. Let's just say I'm not that fond of sorcs, excepting for charm person/city drop combos.

I was told "necromancer" was the hardest to play, always. And because I don't devote as much time as others here, I didn't want something that would frustrate the living [REDACTED] out of me when I first got started.