Agar wrote:This has given me a lot to think about, not just for Wong Wei, but all my characters, to try and figure out how to avoid the "Dolls Teaparty" issue that seems to infect cantr. I haven't come up with anything. Anyone have any ideas how to break the cycle?
The first thing that pops into my mind is to make the game more dangerous, make it easier for a few organized people to come along to even a nice, safe town and crash the party, unless the citizens are awake and active and willing ot pay attention to what's going on around them and participate. But while I think that's what needs to be done, I'm not sure exactly
how to do it.
I've been thinking about something like this a lot too, the way nothing ever seems to change and everyone is so complasant...when I picture a Cantrian town, the people are always standing around like a bunch of cows in a field.
I think iron is a big part of it...a younger char might try ot cause trouble, either by commiting a crime or just saying too many unpopular things, but they're easily killed or locked up and never survive long unless they shut up and leave or start playing by the rules so they don't bother the herd. An older, better equipped char who actually has a chance of accomplishing something big doesn't need to bother, since he already has everything he wants, and it would be crazy to do something that might make him risk having it taken away, and make the player lose the character they've invested so much time in.
And as far as 'shaking things up' on a bigger scale go, I think buildings are unbalanced. Iron for a lock is usually the first thing my chars go for in a place where it's possible, and if not that they build boats...it's mainly to store their stuff, but it gives them a
huge advantage if there was ever trouble. (Not that there is, unless you count a random newspawn who steals a bone knife and a few resources that some idiot left lying around in an unlocked building as trouble).
Buildings are just too powerful, once you drag someone inside there's no way too escape, and you don't even have to kill the person yourself, just forget about them and wait for them to starve. (which seems to be happening to one of my characters in another one of these burecratical towns that
claims it doesn't kill criminals unless it has to)
A crowbar doesn't really help, since a person would have to have a building with an anvil and 215g of steel before even making one, once again making it unlikely someone that established would take a big risk. And they're likely to be killed before they manage to pick a lock, since the crowbar itself would make them more of a target, assuming it even
works the first time, and then even if they do get out, they still have to get away from the town.
As scary as it would be to know the absolute power of a lock could be challenged, I think something needs to be done about it...that alone would mean that a town government woiuld have to be organized and on it's toes, and actually make an effort to keep the people happy, instead of the rule just going to whoever has the most keys by default.
But like I said, I think changes need to be made, but I'm not really sure what those changes
are or how they would work...I do remember comiing an old thread one time about the same subject, something about people with sledgehammers breaking a lock, but I can't remember any details and can't find it with the Search.
)
