Shattered Kingdoms

Calm discussion on these boards about what should be allowed and not allowed in order to provide a good play experience is not at all the same as throwing a tantrum. No specific incident was initially raised by Storm. It was a statement that a specific play-style followed by a few unnamed people was not fun.

That being said, it seems that most people on the thread do agree with the statement that being gray-aura and non-confrontational IS the best way to avoid being PK'd. SK is a game about tactics (including PK) within the bounds of RP while exercising good sportsmanship. If you never want to step into the PK arena, it is a valid question as to why you would want to play SK. A fair fight against other players is probably the best experience this game can provide.

The staff is committed to emphasizing that PK will always be allowed within the rules. But we will also continue to clarify rules and enhance systems that encourage and reward those who perform their PK with good sportsmanship and who make an effort to ensure the aftermath is just as satisfying for all involved as the combat.

I get from the staff's replies that indeed this game may not be for me.

That pretty much sums it up.

I would like to apologise for the sociopath term I used earlier and say that the guy posting (more like trolling) as Storm on the other forums is certainly not me.

SK is a game where you can definitely get killed because of reasons your character wasn't aware of, but in the case of Taran you can't pin him for PKing people that didn't involve themselves pretty directly: And again, for what it's worth, joining a tribunal isn't something that should be done unless you are willing to take part in the wars that the tribunal gets drug into. That isn't always fun, but it provides you with a very clear path of RP that you can take in order to get out of the realm of being PKed.

In the specific case of Taran, from what I've seen recently you have to join the Peacekeepers in order to draw his ire, which isn't something that you are in any way expected to do unless you're willing to enter into the world of PK. If the person who inducted you into the Peacekeepers didn't set you up to expect PK from the people that were at war with him, then he's the person that you should ICly take up issue with, in my opinion.

However, don't tribunals get revive now? In other words, even if you do get PKed because you're in a tribunal when no priests are online, can't you get back to life? That seems like a very gracious upside to the whole deal.

I'm sorry that you feel that way.
If you wish to hang out and adventure, and RP with people then rolling a grey character from uxmal. Not a race with natural enemies. No necros, pallys, or hellions. Avoid cabals and tribunals.
If you follow all that, you could easily play the sort of SK that you seek.

And if you stay long enough, I'm sure the mechanics of Pk will become intriguing and you'll be able to roll a character that is fitting for it.

Either way, good luck in your future endeavors. Be they Sk or otherwise.

It really is perfectly possible to play SK without getting involved in PK. There have been tons of pacifist characters through SK history. Granted, you may still be targeted on occasion or get killed if you're grouped with somebody who's at war, but it's not that difficult to get away from.

However, most of us consider the PK to be a part of roleplay in Shattered Kingdoms. Characters who are designed to engage in conflict, especially in the ages-old war of GOOD vs EVIL, such as paladins, priests of war, members of tribunals or warring cabals, etc, will certainly bring you into PK through normal RP. This can be frustrating, sure, especially for the losing side of the fight- but I argue that a good roleplayer can- and will- roleplay the losing side of the battle too. In fact, I would argue that it usually requires a better roleplayer to choke down his OOC pride in order to play out his character's in-game defeat. You should probably know by now already if you want to engage in PK or not. If you don't, then orient your character's RP away from that. If you do, then stick with it, but just understand that dying and losing your equipment is likely going to be a part of that. Unless and until you become a skilled player, there might be a lot of death and looting while you build up your skills. That should be considered as a part of the game.

Now, it's true that you could be trying to play a character who can participate in PK, only to find yourself constantly on the losing end of mob-ganks. This can be a sad reality of the game, particularly for those who don't play with a group of OOC-friends, and when the most skilled PKers follow each other to the same factions and/or ally with each other (also makes sense- we all want to play with our friends). The game doesn't always encourage *FAIR* PK, and actually probably encourages group-v-solo gank-fests, and I'm sure that can be discouraging for anybody trying to break into it. But by & large, we have a relatively balanced RP/PK landscape out there as far as MUDs go. I hope you can find a place within that balance that appeals to you, and that you decide to stick around for a while.

I will also add that while playing a grey aura character is ideal for avoiding PK, you can definitely play a light-aura or dark-aura character and successfully avoid being attacked, as long as you:

1) Are not in a tribunal
2) Are not in a cabal
3) Are not a necromancer
4) Do not hold onto powerful unique items
5) Are not an elf
6) Are not a deep-elf
7) Are not a griffon
Are not a paladin
9) Don't threaten or insult other characters

Those 9 things are enough to avoid getting attacked 99% of the time. Really the only thing missing is grouping with PKers or otherwise helping them with scribing/brewing etc, which can get you ganked.

Point is, you don't have to go grey.

Split this into it's own topic since it really has nothing to do with the code update.

I can completely agree with this. Most of my characters over the years were not directly involved in PK but did assist from the outside. Enchanting for battle preparation, etc, etc. As such, I have rarely run into the event of being PKd in game as I usually don't involve myself directly and on the events that I was involved, it was usually because of who I was hanging out with, not because they were after me directly. So yes, it is very VERY possible to have a non-PK character in this game... but, to be honest, I think the entertainment value of the game comes from the possible combination of PK with RP. The fact that I could be killed always kept me on alert, wary of my actions one way or the other, etc. And I do plan to venture more into the actual battlefield in the future and not so much from the sidelines, but that's my choice, not because I'm obligated by the game.

It's a little strange to see the convergence of opinion on at-will PK in this thread. As a point of comparison, I used to play characters that simultaneously violated #1, #7, and #9 without getting overinvolved in PK. When my tribunal character killed someone who was training on citizens, that even got forum complaints of being inappropriate. I think it's reasonable to ask whether a more at-will PK environment really makes the game better.

SK wasn't designed for players who won't tolerate getting PKed occasionally, and that's fine. However, if "You're an XXX, die!" becomes your primary roleplay experience, you might as well go play a FPS. If that PK is joined with story elements, then there's something to enjoy before you gain the skills to effectively fight back.

Things that have historically made SK great and frustrating:

Limited items - Does it suck when something is hoarded? Yes. Is it awesome when you have the elite item? Yes.

PK - You have an super sweet limited item? Awesome. Now I have a chance to take it.
- You want to be billy bad [REDACTED]? Great, prove it.
- You want to be the super crusader purging the world of evil? Great, prove it.

Fact of the matter is, conflict (mostly PK) has and should (hopefully will) be the engine that drives RP. Who here remembers that really great circle jerk fountain RP session from last year? No one? Weird. Who here has heard of/remembers the 'Blood Wars'? Yeah damn near anyone that has played the game from before it became rainbows and unicorns/play within this certain set of rigid rules or be site banned.


Long rant over. Storm sorry you got ganked. Get over it. In the terms of the new internet kids "get gud scrub". I don't mean that to be hostile, but this game at its core is a RP/PK Mud, which makes it old school. You mechanically lose at this game every day, how you handle defeat is what makes it great and makes you a "winner".

Sorry if this is a little scattered at work.