Atlantic Roleplay Community Boards

[Grignag]

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Man things sure can get slow when there aren't two massive forces of Light and Darkness squaring on in a battle to decide whether or not Armageddon comes now or waits till another day. Community wide activity currently seems to consist of "throw the next festival" or "Curb stomp the Undead". Neither of which is a bad thing! They all have their time, and lord knows I get a hankering to feed Dealthagar through a meat grinder. Not because I dislike him but I am honestly curious as to what he is made of... Sorry, rabbit trail.

Anywho, any good story has its elements of conflict. Whether that be through actual martial combat, mystery or just a sense of active and played out mistrust between characters and guilds. And while it looks like Stonegate might be cooking up something nice (unlike Merci I am not an Oracle, so I can't say I know what to expect) it still leaves a lot of us dangling with a sort of "what do we do while we wait?" feeling. After taking a look at the war maps which hold a lot of claims for largely inactive guilds and not seeing much in the way of conflict, i've moved forward with an idea that several other people and I have been bouncing around.

The Anarchists (ANRK) are essentially a guild designed to produce the sort of story elements I mentioned above. However, they are not a guild/clan/empire in the sense that most are. This group will actually be designed as an ALT guild. Its purpose is not to march on conquests or even exist in a cohesive sort of way. It is to cause trouble and rile things up. ICly only, obviously. While the alts might consist of anything from fighters to crafters they will exist to act as anything from rioting peasants/townspeople, to brigands to actual focused anarchists/terrorists. And beyond. They will exist mostly as an RP entity, moving to PvP only when either forced (attacked) or when liberating cities, which I will get to next.

As I mentioned earlier, I see quite a few claimed territories that I have yet to see any activity with. Either the city is unused or the guild isn't even active anymore. Land claims are an interesting and under-utilized aspect of the ARPC. And why bother? NPCs towns are largely boring and uninvolved. Little more than status symbols. With the creation of the Anarchists, they will become targets. They will allow for RP interaction with those cities as well as liberation of it if the guild claiming it does not step in and stop them.
Essentially a process will be used involving protests, then rioting, then revolting. At each step a guild, if it is active, has a chance to prevent the process from moving forward and securing their claim. If they are active, this shouldn't be hard. If they are inactive, chances are they won't even show up.
The purpose of this IS NOT to take away claims, but to get people involved. If the guild doesn't get involved, then this will open up the city/territory to other people who will! Furthermore, cities that are unclaimed will continue to be harassed, giving incentive for other guilds with an interest to move in and "assist" the locals and thereby claim it. Or at least pacify it.

The thing is, as ANRK will not exist as an actual guild it will not claim territories. It will neutralize them. Make them unclaimed. They will have no "home base" as they aren't an organization. They aren't even individual people persay. The GM, a character of mine named Izual, will not be the "head of a terrorist sect" or the like. He will be the farmer, fighter, necromancer, whatever he needs to be to carry out the act. While I may give him a name so he can be "brought to justice for sedition" or executed, Izual himself (and others in Anarchists) will just be foils. They can be protected or hunted as a guild, ICly, sees fit.

And to preemptively put down several major concerns I can imagine will come up:
1) The guild will not consist of arti wielding Legendary skilled warriors throwing the best the game has to offer at you. They will mostly probably have GM skills and GM armor or worse, depending on the part they play (I don't imagine Izual the farmer will have mysteriously found a berserker maul in his field just as he decided now was a good time to rise up). If the guild is active and has at least some sort of presence, they should be able to put down even a determined revolt. These aren't supermen. They are mooks.
2) Territories that are "home bases", as per the warring rules, will never be targeted for "liberation". Inactive or not, that plot belongs to the guild until the ARPC officially recognizes that guild as dead and gone. The Anarchists might enter that territory to petition or rabble at you, but they won't attempt to "claim it".
3) Any liberation attempts won't be "sudden". There will be RP on the boards and "warnings" sent to the guild involved of possible up and coming protests. The actual protest, riots and revolts will occur in game and in the territory involved. Again, this is not an attempt to steal land from people. It is to get people/guilds active in their territory. If they aren't there, let someone else have a crack at it.

As I work out a few elements of the guild and collect some people we can expand its purpose. Make them available to guilds that want small crowds to preach to. Make them open to incitation by propaganda of Humanis, Oblivion, ZOG-blah (though I doubt you guys use much propaganda...), whatever.

I have no idea how big the guild will be, as it depends how many actually want to participate. 3? 20? Again, as it is an alt guild it is not designed to take away from your main guilds. It is just a way to drum up some activity and get guilds talking and interaction in a way that doesn't involve picnics or smiling at the sunshine all day.

I am sure there are other elements I wanted to point out, but that's all I got for now. Questions? Concerns? Comments? If you have flames keep those for my Inbox. That way I can savor them 4evah.
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Femmies?! HOWAH!

Can't we all just get along? No? Excellent.

[Sara Delan]

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MAN, you love to cause trouble!
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I have no idea what you are talking about.

Sig curtisy of Yasamin

[Grignag]

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A twink I came into this world and as a twink I shall depart it.
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Femmies?! HOWAH!

Can't we all just get along? No? Excellent.

[Sara Delan]

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I wouldn't mind helping out if you'd need it.

Trouble's [not] my middle name!
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I have no idea what you are talking about.

Sig curtisy of Yasamin

[Samon Triest]

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Anyone else proposes this idea, I love it. Grig tosses it out there? HATE IT!

Nah, solid idea, bro.
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Through all else, let Honesty lead you!

[Blindwolfe]

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We need to get together. Chaotic Justice is a misfit guild and we could use some friends We've been around a while but haven't had much opportunity to get into the fray lately.

[Bishimi]

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[Grignag]

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I'll be gone most of this weekend, from tomorrow till sometime on Sunda. Starting Sunday though i'll start collecting those interested and we'll start working out how we want to move first. Maybe talk to the board administrators and see if we can get ourselves a board to make planning and announcements easier.

Until then, keep asking and questions you may have.
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Femmies?! HOWAH!

Can't we all just get along? No? Excellent.

[Ceinwyn ab'Arawn]

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Great idea for RP, but it shouldn't affect actual land claims. There is already a process in place to remove inactive claims, which has been working fine so far.

Aside from that it's a great idea, and it gives everyone more things to do. I look forward to seeing/hearing more about it.

[Grignag]

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Given that I know that the level of inertia for change of policy in the Atlantic community is akin to trying to push a boulder with your bare hands, Ceinwyn, I hope you can respect my reasoning for being slightly cynical about such maintenance being taken seriously when the maps haven't been updated since I last left the game many a month ago.

That being said I am willing to defer on that particular element as this guild really isn't about land claims but about activity and keeping things interesting. The land claims element was mostly due to a talk I was having with someone about territories just being sat on. It is not designed to "clean" house, but to get people involved.

On that matter I will begin sending out ICQ's to those who have shown interest this Wednesday. From there we will start having some fun.
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Femmies?! HOWAH!

Can't we all just get along? No? Excellent.

[Ceinwyn ab'Arawn]

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As a map updater, I will argue that the maps have been updated whenever I see an official "Approved" stamp on them. They are up to date as we speak. I would like to know what maps you were looking at?

Thank you for clarifying your intent. It did read as if it would be heavily based on land claims. I am very interested in learning more about your idea, so I will be looking forward to any ICQ you send my way.

[Merci d'Rue]

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Actually I just want to say, alot of the land claims you are saying not much is being done with, the gms inactive are up for review right now, you just cant see it. Alot of changes to the map will be done soon.

The inertia of change was brought on by the staff of the ARPC needing more help. I know for a fact that Cal has been all over inactivity checks like a tornado, and I have been trying to keep events and updates going like crazy.

And yes Ceinwyn is pretty timely on map updates but she has to get approval plus it has to be uploaded in order for them to be seen.

What I am saying is there is alot more help around here these days and alot more going to be kept on top of things. You should see lots of good changes.

However, your idea does intrigue me and I will say that going towards a blowing up angle of anarchy would get my interest a great deal. I love to blow things up. Was in a different anarchist guild not long ago!
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May destiny guide you...

[Mairsil]

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I am all for conflict and I am all for anarchy, so I'd say go for it.

However:

I do have an issue with effecting territory. Even if you don't claim it, you don't have anything to lose here, while guilds you target do. I'm not saying that you will have hordes of PvPers who aren't roleplaying - but as you said it is an ALT guild. People always seem to enjoy this sort of thing, and I imagine it would be pretty popular. I also imagine that it could end up being one sided and more a hardship over time for guilds that are targeted by a massive amount of by standards and end up losing their land because they can't do anything about it.

What is to stop this group from trying again and again and again until they get what they want? Again, they have nothing to lose. If the anarchists were willing to let the characters be caught and killed or tried or imprisoned..that would be pretty cool, but again, they will be just as easily replaced by a new name. I don't suspect that you personally would intend to abuse this system, it just seems too easy to do.


I think that this could definitely work, but it shouldn't really have bearings on land.
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"You see I can not be forsaken, because I'm not the only one. We walk amongst you, beating, r#ping, must we hide from everyone?" - Jon Davis

[Grignag]

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You did bring up several issues that I had considered Mairsil, and I would like to respond to them. The main being that this guild will some how hammer active but not PvP savvy/strong guilds into mush by sheer weight of numbers or through repetitive attacks. This will not be the case and I will have a system in place (clearly mentioned rules on whatever passes for the guilds forums) to prevent what happened with the Orcs raiding Moonglow and other such places every night. For example, even if 30 anarchists show up against a guild of 5, only 2-3 (GM trained GM armored) warriors would actually be allowed to fight the home guild, while the rest would either turn on each other and have it out (representing loyalists and rebels or whatever) or perhaps having everyone else disarm and assail the home guild with their tiny fists of rage and impotence. We would just kind of roll with it and see what was fun yet still gave it a sort of "epic" feel. This is all just an example, but an idea of how to make things interesting but still give the home guild a more than reasonable chance of victory. I'm easy, and as long as those within the guild recognize that their job isn't to undo the community but to encourage it, then there shouldn't be a problem. Those that see otherwise will be kicked. Similarly, the guild would not be able to target the cities of guilds that proved themselves active through responding to the Anarchists movements. If the home guild made an effort to push the Anarchists back (as a lands claim issue anyway) then they SHOULD win.

That all being said, with reassurances from Merci and Ceinwyn that such issues of inactivity are in fact being dealt with (even if its not in a place we grunts of the community can easily see it) then I gladly remove the proposition for the Anarchists activities to have any bearing on land claims. I wouldn't want things to get too messy/poltical for a group designed to screw around anyway. And yes, there is always room for abuse, though that exists in any guild, not just one designed to stir things up. Just to be clear however, this isn't me saying we still wouldn't try to protest, riot, etc. It just means it wouldn't affect land claims. A guild would just rule over an unruly town. Again, this is designed to get people interacting. Guilds that normally wouldn't be involved to start talking or meeting because they believe they have a common interest (or a conflicting one).
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Femmies?! HOWAH!

Can't we all just get along? No? Excellent.

[Alaundril Do'Rhett]

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The Sirah was working on something similar years ago during the Minoc war. We amassed quite a crowd of "just the people" for lack of a better term. The guild still has members with seemingly random and trite titles. No "Death Knight of Pwness" or anything like that. Titles like "Shopkeeper", "Gardener", "Management." There are issues that will arise though, no doubt.
The Minoc war was started by the Dark Order as they attempted to claim large unclaimed areas of Fel, for those who don't know about it. If it weren't for the Sirah then it would have been rather boring, as they had no one standing in their way. I wanted to say this though, it doesn't necessarily mean that you're going to be on the winning side all the time. In fact, the "Northland Militia" as I called it back then, was always outnumbered and outclassed. But it was fitting, because the militia was just that. A militia of people who weren't necessarily the most bad ass in the land. But a group that came together to rise against the Dark Order.

Just using this as an example. During the Minoc war, the Militia didn't fight to hold territory. The Militia fought to keep D|O from taking territory and to foster RP.

Give me a holler.