Shattered Kingdoms

How well do you understand mechanics? Seriously, that's an honest question.

Making all EQ the same means it will be down to the classes/races/levels of the guards to decide how more powerful each tribunal is. Standard EQ means certain classes have more advantage than others. In that case, hybrid classes will win pure warrior classes if the EQ given to them is crap and can't be changed. So for example, paladins > barbs. Why? Because barbs rely on their EQ to be effective, where paladins rely on spells also.

For balance reasons, if the EQ is standard, classes/races/everything must become a standard also. Just like the spawned guards of CRS, everything will be grey auraed humans of certain 3-4 classes that all tribunals will have access to. That's what happened to cabals after all, right? You shouldn't expect to give a tribunal the ability to have combat casting+HW spam and the other tribunal all it has to do is just wield iron weapons to deal damage(that ironguard for example would nullify all damage+weapons would easily break on adam/diamond/energy/etc).

As it is now, do you even know what is the most powerful advantage of each tribunal? I doubt you'd ever think past the few obvious options and try to use tactics that go past that and give each tribunal great advantages.

Being different means more things to play with. More things to play with means increased replay value of the game. If all tribunals have the exact same powers given to them, only thing that changes is the RP behind them. What you do tactics wise in one tribunal, you do it to the other. At least cabals, even with CRS, offer a different skill/spell set.

Who's making the equipment all the same? Somehow, D-A, you've gotten involved in an entirely different question than what Jardek raised. The time for arguing about which tribunal gets what goodies comes after the decision to give NPCs something to use, and holding them to it.

Why you're so pessimistic that all tribunals will be given the same stuff escapes me. If the KD's were all that interested in standardization, the tribunals would look very different.

Balance issues. Hello?

You can't give one tribunal's NPCs battlespears and the other one's machetes or allow one tribunal to have warrior classes that HAVE TO wear iron weapons and another tribunal to have hybrid classes like paladins who don't rely on melee dmg that much anyway and consider these two balanced. Because one of them gets the shaft.

I might be pessimistic, but I've seen what happened to cabals with CRS and how standardized everything in cabals is now except of the skill/spell set. Don't allow tribunals to turn into the same thing with only different room and NPC descs.

And you haven't answered me how well you think you understand how mechanics work in SK.

I'd prefer to talk on point, D-A. If you're arguing that no tribunal is allowed to have better guards than another, take another look at the Talons. Your fear is manifestly unjustified.

And even if balance is pursued, balance does not require turning everything into carbon copies. Tribunals can be strong in different ways. So can tribunal NPCs. One tribunal can have great spellcasters, another highly-skilled fighters, and another advantageous equipment.

If the KDs ever decide to standardize, I'll be happy to join you in objecting. But there's nothing in Jardek's proposal that standardizes tribunals more than they are. Currently, they're all the same in that you can equip what you wish on most NPCs.

I'm talking about being cookie cutter, because that's what you suggest and said you are not buying my argument. That's what I'm trying to prove to you specifically.

Generally though on topic, I've said it before. There is no limitation on how many enchantments can be placed on an item. If you are willing to work on your suit, you can have 120 enchants as you like them(judging from myself, ~120 enchants totally, no MR at all). Others have placed up to 160 enchants on their whole suit. But if you are lazy, you can just take 4 enchants per piece for the whole ~70 enchants on your whole suit. The same applies to carried potions. If you put effort, you can carry many double heal potions, if you don't put effort you just have a few simple heal potions.

So if tribunal members are dedicated enough to buff up their guards with better EQ, let them do it. It's not like the EQ placed on the guards is that hard for the tribunal's enemies to take away and it stays there hoarded forever.

Unless of course SK is meant to have hard coded limitations in everything. But that's not how I see things working anyway.

Now we're back to the argument about rewarding time spent. Does that really make SK a better game? Time spent enchanting is not spent advancing plots with either roleplay or violence. And Jardek is questioning whether such powerful guards are good for the game at all.

I'm sure for you, it does make SK better, or you wouldn't be pushing against this so hard. It's just not a unaminous opinion.

Forsooth, I'll just call you lazy now and end my arguments with you.

And I'll just quote you from here for all of us to remember how lazy you are as a player and because you don't want to be annoyed with doing things that are common sense to most players, you want everything to be lowered to your standards.


Enchanting, equipped guards, gathered herbs, prepared scrolls/potions, etcetcetc, it applies to everything.

So here is my advice. You don't want to spend time doing all these? Just don't then. But don't cry when others understand the advantages from doing these when it comes to mechanics and prefer to do them.

Sks is a game of tactics and RPing. I agree that if you do not prepare your tactics and expect to win against someone who does, you are a fool. If you can't RP and interact with people to help you with enchants, you are doing something wrong too. If you expect to survive a good fight without enchants, you are a fool again.

These things are fine as they are, and make SK what it is. Else, everyone and their mom would simply find a good class/race/cabal combo and stick with it for eternity. It's the EFFORT you put in a game that makes you a successful achiever. If you don't care for this, it's fine, simply don't expect to go against an achiever and have the chances with you. Each gets what he deserves, according to what he puts in his game.

Lazy in that I want to play a game rather than work another job? Absolutely. I'm not much of an Achiever type.

Lazy in terms of being inactive during playtime? Certainly not! But I see the obligation of a tribunal (or any player organization) as creating and responding to roleplay. The more maintenance tasks they have in defending their home, the less they can do that.

Why enforce hard code changes and take away the joy from players who are achievers then and enjoy playing achievers?

Because last I checked, SK allowed players to be achievers(there were 4 categories and a quiz or something wert has posted long ago).

Don't you want to do the "maintenance job"? None forces you to do it. Just don't expect to be on par with others who spend time doing it. It's simple as that. And it applies in 2341341 things, not just equipped law NPCs.