Shattered Kingdoms

Do you grind areas to red, or stop at yellow?

Depends on the area. The area I used to GM I ground for WELL beyond red. After I hit red, I still managed to get 9 levels (including the final level to GM) there. Lower level areas really aren't worth pushing past yellow, imo. (unless it happens to be a bonus xp bonanza weekend, in which case most bets are off - you could likely level easily in the worst of places those weekends).

Hey, I know I'm jumping in here a little late, but I'm of the opinion that not everybody should GM. It creates a more diverse world when there are people of all levels. You need strong people, you need weak people, and you need people just barely not strong as the strong people (and all in between).

I know some people think that they need to GM to back up their RP, but I disagree with that. A large part of RP is having a mentor, meeting friends as you level, and train. RP starts when you're outfitted by the gods, not when you see that Grand Master (1) in your score.

Don't lower the limit, please.

I hate leveling, myself. Done too much of it the past 10 years of gaming to want to continue doing it, to be honest. A necessary evil. It explains why it took me 1.5 hours to get one tick of exp against tough/powerful NPCs in a newly explored area at veteran(5). It makes me pause to want to make another character after that. Just my opinion.

My first concern about GM is that mana used to not be front loaded like hit points were, which makes higher levels more valuable to casters. Is this still the case, or has mana been readjusted?

What level do spirit dolls stop gaining stats for creating them? I thought it was champion, but do not recall with any certainty.

I don't remember if anyone brought it up. I remember potency of spells, but what about the duration? Don't they continue to get better the higher up you go as well? Faerie fire, poison, plague, frenzy, etc.


While not particularly a leveling issue, I have always felt that going from status to status was just a word, not an accomplishment until later in the game when it becomes a challenge to get that rarer than gold reward of exp. I would really like to see some sort of quest related system for, lack of better words, graduating from status to status.

Someleveltrainer saysto you 'I see that you have progressed well within your field and ready to become a Veteran. Before you may receive this title, I must ask you to do one final task to prove your worthiness.'

From here, it could be gathering something, killing something, traveling somewhere, or any of them. Upon completion, the new status title would be given, an item, maybe some coins and an item, as well as some exp to help get one or two of the new skills/spells.

It could be expanded to make quests unique to the trainer, but that is a lot of work and would probably restrict a lot of leveling trainers who could do this sort of thing, due to the sheer amounts scripting that would be needed done. Or, simply make a list of five random quests for each kingdom for each trainer at each graduation point. That way it's not always the same thing over and over. It just all depends on how much time the staff has to devote on such a thing.

People complain that leveling for twinks is already too easy/fast. This would be a way to slow them down, even if it is a few minutes at a time, while giving the game a much needed sense of accomplishment, even for the lowly status gains.

Another way is to allow players to set a trainer appropriate for their class that they would have to go to each time. A pain, certainly, but it makes more sense from a role playing stance that there should be a main teacher. As well as making said twinks take time from their busy leveling schedule to go to their trainer. For the slower levelers, this won't be too much of a hassle as they go to the inn of their choice and fountain role play, so they can make a quick detour. Or set it so that up to three trainers can level the player, PCs counting, except for status changes.

I really don't see the need for slowing down leveling for those that can do it quickly. We hate it just as much as everyone else - we do it so fast BECAUSE we hate it. It's simply easier to get it all out of the way in one painful stretch of 50, 60, 70 hours than stretching it over 500 or more. Sure some people go through characters really fast (see the people that delete with barely 100 hours) but that doesn't mean that ALL people that level fast do so or that people that level slowly get nearly as much accomplished in the game besides fountain rp (which really doesn't add too much besides a temporary flavor that gets old real fast).

Long post~

A twink is an efficiency monster. They use one hour to greater effect than non-twinks. Adding more tasks to accomplish will not, I suspect, level the playing field. In fact, it will make an even greater divide between Inn-Lurkers and Dungeon-Crawlers.

To paint a picture of this: imagine a 50 meter dash done at, I dunno, a high school gym class. To make it more challenging, the course is on a slope: you must already do more work for the 50th meter, by far, than you did for the first. This is the system as I understand it presently stands.

Things like the familiarity mechanic are like turns in the track: you may very well have to do more work and run further if you do not pay attention and react to shifts in the most efficient path. That is to say: if you keep running on the outside of the track, you'll end up having to run farther. Those who know the track are able to maneuver through corners and use them to their advantage.

Now add hurdles to the track. These are challenges that pop up at regular intervals that everyone must overcome. Those who know the track can pace themselves, be prepared, and jump over them without breaking stride. However, those who are new to the track... and those who are not very athletic... may trip, be floored, and give up the race. People may even begin to trade knowledge of where the obstacles are and the cleverest ways of going through them. Those hurdles are required quests to advance in status.

The really athletic, competitive people who thrill in going fast, conquering challenges, and dominating the course tend to make first place no matter what the race involves. Those who are not cut out for it, enjoy the scenery, and value the journey more than the destination usually aren't offended when they come in last. Its the people between the two, the mixed sorts, who struggle, sometimes succeed, or even sometimes get frustrated.

Complicating the race does not change the composition of the people. Changing the rules of the game does not change the player, unless you have a rapidly cycling population such that through turnover the players who are pleased by the rules will stay... and the ones who do not like them will leave.

What does happen when you switch up the racetrack? More often than not there is a bigger difference between first and last place in the race. Changing the rules of the game applies to every player, and every player's playstyle will shape how those rules are enjoyed.

Casuals will always be casuals. A true casual will see enrichment seldom as complication, and the attempt to add enjoyable, tangible elements to their training may be a good thing if it does not have the side effect of obfuscating their understanding of the interplay between roleplay and tactics.

Twinks will always be twinks. A true power player will never see discouragement, only challenge, and the attempt to slow them down will only make victory all the sweeter for those who are drawn to the hunt.

That these things should be carefully considered means that cool, collected reasoning on the part of implementers should not be dismissed as inaction on the part of players.

tl:dr; we aren't the ones who know if it is working as intended

I only quoted this part in particular, but I will go on record for saying this is a bad idea, and a bad approach to levelling. The changes weren't meant to slow anything down, but to make the entry-game easier. By putting in such a system - and grep says this much as well, though in much longer words - you affect every player, not just the twinks. And mostly, it's the middling players that take it hard; those that are trying to learn about pk, those that are trying to learn about mechanics and the "where-to-go-for-what-and-when" that the "vets" know more about.

Throwing up a slip-n-slide followed up by a spike trap in grep's 50-meter dash just because more people are actually finishing the race is hardly fair game.

I remember a time when people didn't complain about leveling... oh wait.

Nothing wrong with a bear trap now and again. Makes people more cautious.

Anyone remember exactly how much griping was made over the deathtraps in certain levelling areas? Hence, I like to make my snares (bear or otherwise) at least SOMEWHAT avoidable. If people are paying attention.

Tl:dr; IT'S A TRAP!