Shattered Kingdoms

I think ladyjennbo is my favorite now.

Then again, you never do.

Factions do not have alignments or auras. Calling any faction aligned by the standards of a player character is wrong. Presuming any wrong-doing on the part of a particular character for being in a specific faction based on their aura is wrong. Punishing player characters for association with particular factions, when said player character is acting within the bounds of their alignment, is wrong. Punishing violations of player character alignment based on SPECIFIC INSTANCES OF ALIGNMENT VIOLATION is right.

Do not apply alignments to factions. It is a violation of the intent of the implementor of this game. Alignments are for NPCs and PCs, not factions.

No specific examples need to be discussed. I don't really care whose character did what. I just want the factions to be appropriately led and staffed. It's unequivocally deleterious to the game when they are not. If the IMMs see problems with alignment adherence they should start here to make their jobs and the lives of the players easier. To simplify it further move Druid HQ to S'hochi Island or somewhere else that is in an unclaimed territory. No need to have them tied to Ayamao.

But this is just my small gripe. This thread is for other people to air grievances too, so by all means proceed.

Did you really just read the caps'd portion of my post only and completely ignore the fact that Dulrik himself invalidated the entire premise of your OP just because? Cool. I'm bowing out. Dulrik has spoken on this subject already.

Just look at the auras and names of the cabal guardians and relics. Look at the auras of tribunal NPCs. Do not overcomplicate things with semantics. In what internally consistent vision for SK would lightie tribunal NPCs take orders from an overtly evil person? They have alignments, too. Should the IMMs start handing out curses to Lazeran and Quarin? Why would a dogmatic, principled, or even aberrant character defend or work with a "guardian of chaos?" Why would a relic such as a scabbard of pure light impart powers to something impure? The list goes on and on. I will listen to no specious claims that the cabals are not distinct from each other in their place along the internal moral axis of SK.

The factions have very obvious roles to fill to accommodate the variety of alignments that SK offers. When this gets hijacked it drowns the game in a sea of tedium and obnoxious RP and leaves players who want to play characters with appropriate alignment/cabal choices with no options. It also repeatedly leads to IMMs feeling the need to step in and get involved when things inevitably get out of hand. Both of these outcomes are bad for the game, end of story.

It is not a "specious claim." It's literally the intent of the game's creator. And yes, tribunal NPCs should follow the orders of their superior officers because, again in Dulrik's words, "tribunals don't care about good or evil - they are all about the law."

Quote me only all you like. Dulrik has, once again, pre-emptively invalidated your arguments.

No need to huff and puff at me because you do not understand what Dulrik said. That text you cited has nothing to do with anything I have said. It does not address issues of leadership or the OOC balance provided by a variety of different factions for all alignment choices. When you hijack a faction by leading out of aura you subvert this intention of giving all appropriate character builds a chance to participate in a faction. You also create a bunch of IC dynamics that force IMMs to get involved. Nothing good comes out of it.

I agree with Styles.

We need more players willing to play closer to the "stereotypes", especially since we are so few. Otherwise the world just does not make enough sense to seem realistic.

I hope you know that I was being sarcastic when I said I would report diabolic aligned characters for acting nice.

And as far not wanting to be involved in any ooc dispute that would carry on into the IC realm, you will eventually see what I mean.