Players please read

[Elka]

Ok before I get into the main part of this post I want to start off on a good note and say how great it's been so far on the few events I have run, and watching alot of good Role Play between players.

It's because of those players who are doing the right thing that I feel it is even more important for me to make this post, to ensure that everyone plays fair. So now I'm going to highlight some things I have seen taking place and am not prepared to sit back and watch any longer.

1. Battle Looting

The battle looter is the individual who runs around looking in loot bags, chests, boxes, etc while his party members are still busy trying to kill the enemy. Loot aquired by a party effort belongs to the PARTY not the person who runs to the bags first to see what they can grab without the other players seeing.

You might be able to pull a sly one on your party members a times, but remember we can be standing there watching what you take and you'll never even know it, and I will be watching to see if players try to hide loot from other members of their party...

2. Greedy People

This ties in with the point above, there have been times where either during an event or simply while following a party through an area and throwing the occasional curveball their way to keep things interesting, that I have also placed small items in loot bags or chests, which meet a specific need of certain players in the party.

Then a player who the item is not only not intended for, but who has little use for the item other than selling value finds the item, and rather than passing it to the team member who can use it, he keeps it for himself and dosen't mention it to the party

The most recent example of this was when I placed some armour in a chest, and the player who opened the chest already had the exact same suit of armour. Now before reaching this chest one of his team mates had been asking the others to let him know if they found this kind of armour because he would gladly even pay some gold to the party for it. Did the player who found it mention the find? No, he picked it up and walked off as if the chest had been empty.

This is not acceptable behavour of people traveling in a party who are supposed to be helping eachother, and you are mistaken if you think your actions will not be dealt with in time.

3. Anti-Social Players.

This is perhaps the most strange behavour of all, it's a Role Play server!

Several times I have seen players run right past other players in a desperate bid to reach a spawn location first, or a chest/loot bag etc.

Now I've had some players try and defend this behavour by saying they dont want to join with every player they meet, so let me say this clearly.

"We're Not Telling You That You Have To Form A Party With Every Player You Talk To!"

You dont have to join with someone if you dont want to, but it is a Role Play server so if you do run into other players, interact with them.


4. Pesistant Blabber Mouths

Here is a free lesson in correct behavour for when a DM is talking to either you as a player, or as a group... LISTEN TO WHAT WE ARE SAYING!

Honestly folks, if you are in an event and a DM is trying to give you instructions, clam up and hear him out. That includes those people who for some unknown reason continue to walk around in role play mode saying things like *stands in the corner and whistles* or *wipes the goblin blood off his armour with a rag* even though there is a DM giving ooc advice or instructions to the group!

All you do is distract other players from hearing something important and clog up the chat box. If you have something you want to say, wait for the DM to stop talking, then ask your question.


5. OOC Complainers

Yes it's not a lie, this is still a Beta mode server, so there are going to be bugs and glitches and unpolished areas. So if you do run into something like this, rather than standing around in a group and complaining about it in OOC chat, write it down and then post it on the forums so the problem can be dealt with.


Anyway thats the end of my little rant for now. Again, kudo's to all those players who are doing the right thing and are treating other players and the DM's with respect, we do take notice of you

[Kaldaris]

I'm doing my best on all five points.

[TheId]

Nonsense. For you, the cake is over. Yet you still eat cake.

[Kaldaris]

Nonsense. For you, the cake is over. Yet you still eat cake.

You do not understand, there are rules for that sort of thing.

[Tratz]

I totally appreciate the need for battle looting to stop. That I agree with 100%. But for some of us...unsavory characters though...lying about what's in a chest and palming something is typical behavior. I will follow all of these rules to the T if I must, but in the event I want to my character wants to be himself...what would I do? Roll a bluff check and say "Bah...just a set of rags" *palm the 20 gold...?*

It's hard to draw the line between what activities are abusive and un-called for, and what activities are well within roleplaying limits. One of those defining lines I feel is frequency. I don't constantly, every chest I come accross, lie about the contents or keep a shiny item for myself every time it's my turn to loot.

Would it be more acceptable if I gave my fellow players an oppertunity to detect my deceit?

[GodBeastX]

5. OOC Complainers

Yes it's not a lie, this is still a Beta mode server, so there are going to be bugs and glitches and unpolished areas. So if you do run into something like this, rather than standing around in a group and complaining about it in OOC chat, write it down and then post it on the forums so the problem can be dealt with.

I think I'm going to just start banning these people. If sundren isn't good enough for them, why should we give up slots for people who like Sundren and want to play?

[GodBeastX]

I totally appreciate the need for battle looting to stop. That I agree with 100%. But for some of us...unsavory characters though...lying about what's in a chest and palming something is typical behavior. I will follow all of these rules to the T if I must, but in the event I want to my character wants to be himself...what would I do? Roll a bluff check and say "Bah...just a set of rags" *palm the 20 gold...?*

It's hard to draw the line between what activities are abusive and un-called for, and what activities are well within roleplaying limits. One of those defining lines I feel is frequency. I don't constantly, every chest I come accross, lie about the contents or keep a shiny item for myself every time it's my turn to loot.

Would it be more acceptable if I gave my fellow players an oppertunity to detect my deceit?

It would be more accurate if you did not do that without permission. I wrote countless times that is against server rules. Players who want to RP robbing loot unnoticed must have full party consent since loot is OOC. We are or will be giving out more than enough loot to split with a party where dungeon running is profitable.

If players continue this activity we will make crap drop always and reward people who we see not doing this. I seriously will because my point isn't getting across enough and I hate repeating myself 20 times.

[Ethereal Edge]

Beta

Adjective
1. second in order of importance; "the candidate, considered a beta male, was perceived to be unable to lead his party to victory"
2. preliminary or testing stage of a software or hardware product; "a beta version"; "beta software"

Thanks to Dictionary.com, picked to be the most obvious to anyone confused. To further alleviate confusion, below the essential part of that post is bold.

Beta

Adjective
1. second in order of importance; "the candidate, considered a beta male, was perceived to be unable to lead his party to victory"
2. preliminary or testing stage of a software or hardware product; "a beta version"; "beta software"

[Scarlett]

I hope I didn't do any of those... >.<

I do try my best though...

[Rhazeal]

Scarlet; You stand accused, and have refused. You will be burnt at the stake as a witch, a blasphemer against the true faith.


Carry on.

[Fizzer]

Sounds fair enough to me. One thing I would mention is the running thing...My character can only run in wildform as he's a very old, heavy drinking fellow, so I often end up missing all the action if folk run about (*is secretly relieved!*)...I can see why people would want to do it..their characters might be exceptionally quick, hyper active types...I once played a monk in Arleah who was such years ago..running around in circles all the time - can be great fun...but make it an rp reason not a get there quick reason, or all the sound mapping work to give us interesting places to rp in that's been done is wasted.

ALso - whoever designed the Hills - I dig the pool bit in the NE! It's mine!!! *erects sign in most undruidic fashion - Zeb n OneEars Pool*

Zeb - tracking down his next pint...

[Stonehouse]

3 quick things.

1) Escalation- I am guilty; if I'm in a group where there's a battle looter, I ask them politely OOC to wait until the battle is over. Should it persist I say "&$%* it" and try to beat them to it. I have since matured... realized it's only a game and decided to be happy with my share of the EXP.

NOTE- I WAS called out for battle looting early on in the beta and have since seen the err in my ways.

2) Abundance of loot bags- MOST of us know that the garbage script doesn't work. If a party walks into a room full of loot bags, the unwanted junk of previous explorers, that triggers something in some I think. They want to know if there's anything good in them. Some of us (and I will say that I DO do this) check them all out number 1 to see if there's anything that was forgotten and number 2 to pick up the crap and drop it out so that the garbage script can get it.
If EVERYONE did this the first time then there wouldn't be bags laying around tempting people and making others, potentially, look bad because they're playing garbage man. For the record, I will continue to play garbage man because people leave the BEST stuff laying around on the ground and besides... 10 gold here and there adds up.

3) Two nights ago (after the mossclaw attack/ server crash) I came across 10 to 15 bags laying on a hill in Sharnahan. It looked like a platoon of goblins was sitting around playing cards and the fist of god smote them where they sat. I took a look around, didn't see any "events" or other players and took the lot of it. Guilty. If this tiny treasure troves was meant for something, speak up. If not, PC's, be on the look out for unlucky platoons of goblins.

[GodBeastX]

2) Abundance of loot bags- MOST of us know that the garbage script doesn't work.

It does, just not on loot bags. It works only on items right now. Forgot loot bags were a placeable. I'm looking into a means of separating loot bags from other placeables so it can clean them up too. Shouldn't be long.

[Ithildur]

Suggestion, perhaps DMs can periodicly send out a shout when they see piles of unlooted corpses piling up to let people know what you are saying GBX; while I think there are players who simply may not care regardless, others just don't know or forget.

Let me add something else that's quite frustrating to watch and happens all the time, and something that even more experienced players seem to do constantly here. WHILE IN A DANGEROUS AREA, DO NOT RUN AHEAD OF THE SLOWER MEMBERS OF THE GROUP TO THE POINT WHERE YOU'RE HALF AN AREA AWAY OR EVEN WORSE IN ANOTHER AREA ALTOGETHER.

This is very poor form both IC and OOC; usually it's the fighter types who run ahead clanking around in their heavy armor too, making it worse, while casters are buffing up, others are RPing, bantering, discussing tacts, etc. If I were to be extremely strict about this my PC would think very poorly of a lot of charcters on Sundren because he's seen this happen constantly; apparently there are a lot of midlevel 'adventurers' who care little for their comrades, don't understand tactics, and are as overeager and skittish as puppies let out for a walk. You also run past things that DMs may set up, as well as leaving others in vulnerable situations.

The same thing can be said for some casters and archers as well; is your INT 18 PC daft enough to start firing spells right away without warning at a pack of gnolls while the rest of the group is bantering or doesn't even know enemies are there? Or archers firing at a group of ogres in the distance who aren't even aware of the party yet; instead of giving the party a chance to RP discussing a plan or buff up, you get the entire pack of ogres charging you while everyone is completely unprepared; unless your PC has low wisdom/intelligence or actually has that kind of a personality, that's usually ooc impatience and inexperience that can potentially spoil good RP and good tactics for the rest of the group.

Even if your PCs are high enough lvl that a pack of goblins doesn't require much in the way of tactics, sometimes it's just better RPing to not dive in headfirst; now if your PC *is* a hotheaded wreckless charger, a pack of goblins might be a perfect opportunity to RP that. But unless you have some idea what you're doing, don't expect to do that constantly against a bunch of gnolls or ogres and expect the results to be pretty.

[Forlorn]

All good points, now if only theres a way to get those antisocial/battle-looters to actually read the forums...