Shattered Kingdoms

At this point, I'm bowing out because that puddle of goo that is this horse you've been beating for a week now is not involved. In fact, quite the opposite. On numerous occasions it has been stated there are no level requirements for involving yourself in pk, and that if you do choose to involve yourself in pk, there will be consequences that being under lvl 50 can't protect you from.

Sorry. Duck test failed me. Carry on.

Asking questions is not the same as enforcing a non-existent rule. There should be a reason (and roleplay) behind EVERY PK in SK, regardless of level. If you're on either the giving or receiving end of a PvP beatdown, you may need to discuss the incident with an IMM. The staff is well within its rights to determine if a kill is justified based on roleplay, and both parties are typically consulted when making a final judgment on such things (something you would probably appreciate if you had differing views from the other involved player). That doesn't mean there was whining from the other party, and that doesn't mean that you've necessarily done anything wrong; it just means that you're being asked.

It seems that no punishments were given out in this scenario. It looks, instead, like a player made an assumption about why he was questioned by a staff member and came to justify the PK to the assumed "whiner." I'm personally much more likely to indicate if there was a complaint than if there wasn't, but that doesn't mean it's not a good idea to explain specifically why I'm asking questions of someone. It's also a fine idea to ask the IMM if you're in that situation as a player. Yay for communication!

Just to clarify, when I spoke to the player who did the attacking and ultimately the killing, I did in fact inform them that there was no complaint registered in this instance, that I was notified of the kill via the game and due to the disparaging gap in level I felt the need to investigate. The investigation furthered because of the lack of role play that was involved in the situation and I sought clarification on the situation.

Let me add one more, gentle reminder, that even when factions are at war with one another it is still expected that some level of role play be engaged when you are involved in killing other players.

Like say, an enemy just attacked the city of the tribunal you are in. Killed one of your IC friends and fellow tribunal members. Then, just to top it off, they try to attack you. Is this enough justification/RP to PK them?

Chris

It is enough to me. You don't need to warn me every time you are about to shoot me with an arrow. If factions are at war, I don't feel the need to issue a challenge like a paladin.

Why would anyone let you know they are coming for you? That would decrease their chance of actually landing the Pk because it would give me time to prep up. If there is any RP after the battle that is fine with me. If there isn't any like the 8v1 stomping corpse snatch grab I just ate, then so be it. Its understandable to get RP afterward via tells because everyone's adrenaline is up during Pk.

As for the other PK, some guy was handing out voodoos left and right to my allies so I took him out. Should he be surprised he was killed especially when he is in an enemy faction? Did he RP those voodoos? Am I surprised I was killed for taking people out?

Politeness. Professionalism. Sportsmanship. Roleplay. Community-building comraderie among players, even if their characters are at odds. Giving your enemy a chance to give you a satisfying challenge. Giving the player of your enemy a chance to try to drop hints that they're taking care of a baby and not able to entertain a battle. Taking pleasure in their quivering boots. There are many reasons why.

In my opinion the most significant is this: if you're coming for someone, and you want them to die in your arms, then it's a classy idea to make sure they know who to call afterwards to talk about it and have something to talk about when they do so.

There are a lot of options, as many as there are players, but "getting the gank" is probably not one of them.

If that's the only measuring stick, then, well, I guess we have an elephant in the room.

I logged on my swash earlier and issued a challenge, he denied the challenge and when I started attacking the city guards, he logged off. Some people will just avoid the action.

I will not tell people, hey there Im headed your way, get a guard and a pet to stand behind. Be sure to get your defensive buffs up, because here I come.
On one of my pks I did rp with the guy afterward via tells and I even give back the loot that I didn't need. Does that not count for something?
I didn't get any RP before or after my last death, nor did I get any gear returned to me, but hey it happens in a pk mud especially when you decide to join a faction of any kind. What would they tell you if you asked them why there wasn't any RP with THAT kill? I killed their friends and we are at war plain and simple. I really don't see why they would have to let me know that they are coming to kill me.

I understand the need for the RP, but due to the nature of the cabal that I am in, I prefer to keep my identity a secret until it becomes pointless. Once I am known, I will do even more RP post-battle but I don't foresee myself giving up the preemptive advantage with RP moments before PK. Surely I'm not the only one here who sees it this way.

[MODERATOR NOTE: MERGED CONVERSATION END]

Given this apparently new opinion on the staff that every pk needs to be preceded by at least dinner, and dancing or a movie, and then to have a consent form signed by the target, I'm going to remind them that there is no separation between mechanics and RP in this game.

Therefore, once that lobster has been sprung for, the credits roll, and the consent form is signed (and notarized!), failure of the other party to engage in mechanical combat constitutes just as much breach of RP as failure to stroke the hand of the target on the part of the aggressor. There are plenty of players (who involve themselves in factions, and carry limited loot often obtained by pk from their allies) who will log out, or go hide in some random wilderness room and refuse to meet an even challenge (even while their bounty NPCs are screaming about dying in droves). If aggressors are going to be threatened for failing to go buy condoms before they go on the offensive, then the defenders ought to face the same penalties for failure to meet the challenge in a mechanical sense. I'm not talking about people that bail from 6 v 2. I'm talking about people that refuse to go 1 v 1 or engage in similar sized group pk.

I think the fact that mechanics and faction membership are a built-in part of RP and that flowery emotes and says are not the only thing that constitutes RP in this game needs to be remembered on-high. Let's not pretend we can have our cake and eat it too. If you're going to insist on the flowery emotes to enemies, then insist as well on mechanical participation. The same penalties ought to apply.

Agreed.

Chris