Shattered Kingdoms

Can anyone honestly say that the rpless pk has never been an issue? Way too many people left the game due to it. You can only be killed so many times without any interaction before it becomes boring. This is a rpk mud not a pk mud. Anything that will strengthen the 'r'pk aspect the better. Heck, too many people here cheer on the rpless pk in the game and then they wonder why the numbers suck so bad.

My idea of slowing down XP gains would do more to help RP then this would.

I can honestly say that rpless pk has never been an issue. I've never personally witnessed it, and over the years I've played, there are only a couple of instances that I have heard of and verified as rpless pk.

What there has been an epidemic of is people who whine, no matter how they are treated and no matter what kind of consideration they are given, if they wind up on the losing side of the game.

Dayamin, for example, kicked off a 14 page thread by ranting about how Deamuce had repeatedly killed him without RP. He produced logs of "evidence." In each of these logs, Deamuce RPed with his character extensively, and Reneaux chose an IC course of action that led to his death.

In short, no matter what you do, people are going to whine. There have been very few instances of actual RPless PK, as far as I have been able to tell.

Furthermore, the few cases of true RPless PK would definitely not be averted by a small debuff, since these actions are not a result of boredome, but from extreme emotions such as rage, and sometimes from loot envy. Nobody goes around murdering people for no reason out of boredom, and the reasons they do have are not going to be outweighed by this debuff. The debuff would just be a pain in the [REDACTED] to everyone who is trying to enjoy the pvp side of the game as it's intended to be enjoyed.

This change also would not do anything to stop RPless PK. Even hardcore PKers don't kill more than a few people each day. They would be able to rest off this debuff just like they rest off fatigue, and if for some reason they're going after real newbs, they won't have to rest off the debuff unless it is completely debilitating (which would be really stupid). One of the most fun things about this game is the extended skirmishes, which as I understand it, would be effectively eliminted by this bone-headed change.

The reason people get away with it is because ANY lame excuse can be used to dismiss pk. The game should be redefined to PK where Rp justifies it. It's been that way for a long time and the same people scream when their ability to gank anyone they want whenever they want is threatened. OMG you would have to pick and choose your battles, would give people the ability to interact without the worry of being killed for stupid crap.

Whatever though, you keep pushing away all the players except the ones you want playing your way. You have had a bunch of oldies come back and your numbers are still hurting. You aren't getting any fresh blood.

Once again, I'm inclined to agree with whatever Baldric has posted above.

The brutal and sad truth about SK is that it is a game. Like all game, it has mechanics. People that know the mechanics well, will win (and won't even have to resort to twinking). People that don't bother to learn even the basics, will lose.

The main issue is that sore losers will always yell and shout foul play, accusing the winners of cheating in -some- way and the mechanics of being less than perfect. We have all been in that kind of situation if we have played a strategy-based, competitive board game in our lives, even monopoly.

You can change the mechanics as much as you want, you can never change the people. And the people are the ones that make the game, not the opposite.

Also, spider, I just HAVE to ask... Where are all these mindless PKers you're talking about, because in all the years I have been playing SK, I -never- had to suffer through "mindless" pk, only PK. And I never played (or play) a PK motivated character... in fact, I'm quite certain I'm a dying breed of people that still answer the hall of creation questions based on concept, rather than stats. (Hence, a Con 6 Toji)

They are all around you, and they post their hadiwork on another site to show their prowess.

Again whatever, this is just one of those things brushed off to the side. I am not the only one who has had this complaint, the smart ones just walked away from the game and never came back.

Oh trust me, I've been on the receiving end of some of their PK. It's just that I never called it mindless. Silly, maybe. But not mindless.

Silly maybe 9 10 years ago, now it's mindless and stupid.