What town government do you hate the most?

[The Sociologist]

Worst town government is by far in Akypor...its not so much a government as a set of rules that noone fully understands which end up making everyone a lawbreaker. Fortunately they're not really enforced, otherwise it'd be a bigger mess than it is already!

Yes, Akypor is the result of the OOC incorporation of what is in any case a misunderstanding of the liberal political concept of the "social contract". The idea that all social order arises out of a voluntary social contract between free individuals. It never happened like that in history. It was much more coercive, more like Jos's quotes from Olson--sedentary bandits, tax theft and whatnot. Olson is himself a liberal, more or less, but he recognizes the essentially coercive nature of the state.

Of course, Akypor is really controlled by Heaven, except that Mol doesn't want to be bothered by the details of running it. When Francesca suggested a Senate, she said no and so it was no. But Fran no longer cares since she gets on well enough with Mol. The Xanth Commune will do its own thing but, as Fran has said, there isn't a "town community" as such, merely several separate organizations.

[Marian]

but I really enjoy the freeform "everyone be nice" the most.

*shivers*

Hey, at least "everyone be nice" is more original than "Don't attack people, don't pick up things off the ground, don't go into buildings, don't hunt animals that are 4 or less".

I have a couple of chars now that are trying to start towns with none of the standard rules...why do most places seem to have them anyway?

Some newpawn attacking people will still get a butt-whupping by the citizens, it's not like the need government intervention anyway, and who cares if somebody takes 200 grams of carrots off the ground? In the time you waste chasing them down you could grow ten times that many. Hunting laws in general are useless now too, I think, animals wander around so much that even if you kill the last one in a town some more will come back soon, and it's best to hit them while they're there instead of giving them a chance to leave. And what kind of idiot leaves a building open with valuable stuff on the floor and empty machines? They deserve to be robbed (maybe they don't deserve to be sabatoged, but they should have know they're taking a risk, and it's easy to keep projects on machines so no one can mess with them). And if someone working for you needs to get in an out often enough to make unlocking and relocking the door all the time a problem, they should have their own key anyway.

[The Sociologist]

Hunting laws in general are useless now too, I think, animals wander around so much that even if you kill the last one in a town some more will come back soon, and it's best to hit them while they're there instead of giving them a chance to leave.

This is worrying me too, and especially the ease with which animals can be killed on the roads. Also the cantrian populations are spreading out from the formerly "big" towns and so many youngsters now live by hunting with whatever weapon they managed to score. So the "backwoods" reserve of animals is being depleted. Again, Akypor is typical. It loses most of its young population as soon as they spawn, but then even our New Xanth is hardly doing any better. Haven't had a decent newspawn with staying power in ages.

You see, we built the Commune when iron was chronically labor intensive to make and it did seem that collectives were the best option. With all the groundrules changing, we are having to turn into a sort of "biker gang" to keep the resources flowing fast enough. I noticed the same with the Mac Gregors. I once counted eight people actually working in their factory, not just sleeping. There were ten at a time in just one of the factories in New Xanth. Now there is hardly anyone indoors in either place (semi-comatose visitors excluded). So it's a very different world. I'm not sure what this does to the aim of "social organization", but generally I can say that my "loner" characters are now prospering rather more than my community characters.

[Phalynx]

I long to form a town where the rule is absolute silence, communication by notes and certain death to those who arrive and introduce themselves.... it won't happen but it would be different!

[Marian]

Actually I think it would be fun to do the opposite, outlaw whispers and note passing since people might be plotting to overthrow your paranoid dictator.

[Hellzon]

Actually I think it would be fun to do the opposite, outlaw whispers and note passing since people might be plotting to overthrow your paranoid dictator.

I've heard of at least one town where whispering is outlawed. The rulers are basically played as religious nutcases, it seems. (Also outlaws laughing.)

So the "backwoods" reserve of animals is being depleted.

Well, that's one of the reasons to why I want to see domestication of animals.

/Hellzon

[Marian]

I'm not sure what this does to the aim of "social organization", but generally I can say that my "loner" characters are now prospering rather more than my community characters.

They're not technically "loners" (I like starting businesses) but my characters who travel a lot seem to be doing the best to. Actually, except for my "chatty" ones in bigger towns (who don't need good weapons or anything anyway) most of my chars run around trading and gather everything for themselves, mainly because it seems like you can't send someone else out for resources and expect them to come back, and you can't rely on a trader with the resource you need to show up in your own town.

I've had good luck so far with starting businesses, and (sort of) running a couple of towns, and from what I've tried so far it seems best to leave the people who are working for me home on a big project while I go trade or gather. There's still a problem with them falling asleep while I'm gone, but at least the work gets done and I'm not stuck wondering if so-and-so will ever make it back and if I should risk sending away one of the few people left who actually talks to try again. And even if I hate it when they fall asleep I usually get a newspawn or newspawn traveller to replace them before long

(BTW, does it effect the chance of spawning if people are inside a building or not? I usually drag sleepers outside, but I'm not sure if it's necessary.)

[Phalynx]

BTW, does it effect the chance of spawning if people are inside a building or not? I usually drag sleepers outside, but I'm not sure if it's necessary.

Surely your charracter shouldnt drag sleepers outside or leave them inside unless there is a legit reason IG to take either course of action...?

[Maelstrom]

BTW, does it effect the chance of spawning if people are inside a building or not? I usually drag sleepers outside, but I'm not sure if it's necessary.

Surely your charracter shouldnt drag sleepers outside or leave them inside unless there is a legit reason IG to take either course of action...?

...such as the character making the observation that people seems to spawn more the more people are outside?

-Mael

[Phalynx]

If they had noticed it IG they wouldn't have to ask here would they?

(No offense Marian)

[Marian]

Well, the IG reason would be that my char doesn't want to have to deal with corpses in their building, and they like to clear the place out before they go on trips anyway. On the off chance that the person did wake up before having a heart attack they'd probably starve inside, since there's no way she's going to waste food on a worthless sleeper...might as well leave them outside for hawk bait.

[Phalynx]

On the plus side, they dump all their goods in your building if they die there?

[Marian]

Not much of a plus if the only goods they have are the bone shield and knife you gave them. I don't trust sleep-risks with the good stuff, and anything being made winds up in my inventory anyway since I start the projects.

[Phalynx]

Well it seems you should be draggin them sleepers outside then!

[Peter]

quote: *Cough* Tom of Blojt Forest east *Cough*

lol