Suggestion Discussion: The Arcane Tower

[ShadowLegacy]

It's late, but a few points to toss in here:

Why do you do what you do ever behind closed doors with anyone in real life? ...Yes, because you want to have privacy. You want to limit to some extent the amount of interruptions because you want to rp -with- specific people. In the case of leadership or personal things, you simply don't want other characters knowing and that is -realistic-. If you want every area open to rp, I hope you don't lock your doors and your bedroom is open at all hours. Do you -want- your kids (should anyone have them) open targets for the world with no security? No. So in a world of magic and assassins, do you -want- some security, particularly for level three to ten apprentices and newcomers? Even epics want security at some point and have the right to it. They should pursue and maintain it.

Not everyone wants to rp with ten or twenty people regularly. The tower actually gets fairly full of members alone. I know when I step out of the nomad and there's ten to fifteen people going, my characters moves away. It becomes work to keep up, and that's not fun. Instead of being able to do thoughtful paragraphs of description and conversation it becomes quick sentences and constantly striving just to keep up.

Delving into the "What would characters realistically pursue and desire" Myon has the Mythal. If you're not an elf, you're either babysat or not allowed in. Earthkin have their own portals. Different organizations and races have their own perks that come with it, and that's -okay-. People have rped for years to develop some of those perks. They are reasonable things to pursue. The tower with all of its traffic and shared benefits enjoys a bit of separation with a door to block out some of the traffic noise. All of that is realistic goals of characters to pursue and protect.

I suppose what grinds me most about certain posts is when the value of certain rp is questioned or undermined, particularly within the sense of realistic goals for characters and groups. If a person wants to avoid conflict, they will. Being a warden at the tower, it -does- have conflict certainly, but of a different variety. And at the end of the day, much like your own home, you can go...and lock your door, decompress, and have that relaxing rp. We're all here for different styles, different fun. Typically the rules protect against abusive behavior that disrupts the various types of fun. Don't be a jerk rules.

Well consider that saying what others "should rp" outside of the confines of the already stated rules might be a bit much. Role play as a whole is such a varied and wonderful thing. Let everyone strive iC to have their mythals, have their special portals and their locked doors. To try to start conflict and subversion as others work for peace and security. To support those who want to be out in the crowd and those who want to have a few good friends around as they build a story together.

Rarely do stories involve every random joe. There are tens to hundreds of little stories happening all over Arelith all the time. It is part of why I always return myself and the wonder that is Arelith. Even if you're not directly rping with someone, the ripples caused by all those stories....well.

They tend to influence each other anyways. Rp within the rules and find your niche that makes -you- happy, and be happy for others that find the same.

In short, rp -is- a collaborative effort between two or more people. Sometimes it has distractions and interruptions, and sometimes it doesn't and people work to ensure that( just like any private conversation you try to have in reality). If two people are speaking to each other? Hell, if two people are emoting with their eyebrows while eating grass and chucking spitballs(possibly made of grass and saliva), those two people are amusing each other. They are rping. More power to'em.

[caldura firebourne]

It's late, but a few points to toss in here:

Why do you do what you do ever behind closed doors with anyone in real life? ...Yes, because you want to have privacy. You want to limit to some extent the amount of interruptions because you want to rp -with- specific people. In the case of leadership or personal things, you simply don't want other characters knowing and that is -realistic-. If you want every area open to rp, I hope you don't lock your doors and your bedroom is open at all hours. Do you -want- your kids (should anyone have them) open targets for the world with no security? No. So in a world of magic and assassins, do you -want- some security, particularly for level three to ten apprentices and newcomers? Even epics want security at some point and have the right to it. They should pursue and maintain it.

Not everyone wants to rp with ten or twenty people regularly. The tower actually gets fairly full of members alone. I know when I step out of the nomad and there's ten to fifteen people going, my characters moves away. It becomes work to keep up, and that's not fun. Instead of being able to do thoughtful paragraphs of description and conversation it becomes quick sentences and constantly striving just to keep up.

Delving into the "What would characters realistically pursue and desire" Myon has the Mythal. If you're not an elf, you're either babysat or not allowed in. Earthkin have their own portals. Different organizations and races have their own perks that come with it, and that's -okay-. People have rped for years to develop some of those perks. They are reasonable things to pursue. The tower with all of its traffic and shared benefits enjoys a bit of separation with a door to block out some of the traffic noise. All of that is realistic goals of characters to pursue and protect.

I suppose what grinds me most about certain posts is when the value of certain rp is questioned or undermined, particularly within the sense of realistic goals for characters and groups. If a person wants to avoid conflict, they will. Being a warden at the tower, it -does- have conflict certainly, but of a different variety. And at the end of the day, much like your own home, you can go...and lock your door, decompress, and have that relaxing rp. We're all here for different styles, different fun. Typically the rules protect against abusive behavior that disrupts the various types of fun. Don't be a jerk rules.

Well consider that saying what others "should rp" outside of the confines of the already stated rules might be a bit much. Role play as a whole is such a varied and wonderful thing. Let everyone strive iC to have their mythals, have their special portals and their locked doors. To try to start conflict and subversion as others work for peace and security. To support those who want to be out in the crowd and those who want to have a few good friends around as they build a story together.

Rarely do stories involve every random joe. There are tens to hundreds of little stories happening all over Arelith all the time. It is part of why I always return myself and the wonder that is Arelith. Even if you're not directly rping with someone, the ripples caused by all those stories....well.

They tend to influence each other anyways. Rp within the rules and find your niche that makes -you- happy, and be happy for others that find the same.

In short, rp -is- a collaborative effort between two or more people. Sometimes it has distractions and interruptions, and sometimes it doesn't and people work to ensure that( just like any private conversation you try to have in reality). If two people are speaking to each other? Hell, if two people are emoting with their eyebrows while eating grass and chucking spitballs(possibly made of grass and saliva), those two people are amusing each other. They are rping. More power to'em.

having a safe place to RP behind locked doors is all fine and good, I don't see an issue with that, but if nearly all of that roleplay happens behind a dc 127 lock, you might as well be skyping for as much as you're impacting anyone besides the select few. at this point maybe addressing it should be considered

IRL yeah you want locked doors and privacy on your home, but this game isn't real life, and making such comparisons should be avoided IMHO

I don't feel so far that anyone is devaluing anyone elses style of RP in this thread, unless I missed something, and perhaps if you feel personally attacked you might step back and take a breath and try seeing this thread as something constructive to the entire playerbase instead of how it affects you as a player

as far as the feeling of having to RP with so many people when you log in, yeah ten or twenty is ALOT, I agree completely, and it would be exhausting, but here delegation would cut down those numbers quite a bit, and maybe the people you delegate to don't absolutely need to be someone you trust as a player, which would make finding people to recruit for the tower, or meet with settlement officials, and the like alot easier, if a little risky.

as far as "What would characters realistically pursue and desire" I find this line of thinking to be rather detrimental to the playerbase, realistic shouldn't be a word we're looking for in a fantasy setting or a cooperative multiplayer. realistically, my gnoll wouldn't bother tending the wounds of a party member, even if it was a gnoll, let alone scrolls that raise dead, lore wise my gnoll would find it cheaper, and easier simply to use the wounded party member as food for herself and her pack, instead of wasting resources, but IC that would drive players away from my roleplay and ultimately leave me to playing by myself, what's realistic and whats fun for everyone doesn't always go together

[Aelryn Bloodmoon]

Before I make this post, I'd like to point out that while I play an archmage, I neither own the tower, nor do I maintain a quarter there, nor benefit from any kind of personal storage access other than the communal chests that everyone in the tower benefits from. Which for me, translates to, I occasionally take some glass to make greenstone spell components, and i occasionally donate spell components.

The logic proposed in this thread sums up something like this, to me.

It's not fair that someone who wants to break in and do X hostile thing can't beat your 127 DC lock, so we want to put the entire room on the other side of that locked door, making the lock that much less relevant and useful, even though locks are one of the primary justifications behind the cost of maintenance of a guildhall.

Nothing will actually change, because people who want privacy will just retreat farther into the tower where they can have it.

From my perspective, if anything, this will make it more difficult for the general public to interact with the mages, ironically enough.

If DC 127 locks are such a dirty thing, wouldn't it be a better solution just to lower the maximum DC possible on locks across the server?

Extending this to an absurd conclusion, if locked doors are an impediment to RP, can't we just remove all locks from doors?



I do genuinely believe you'll get better results by re-arranging the ground floor (enabling those that do want to mingle) than by trying to force people to mingle when they don't want to.

[ShadowLegacy]

having a safe place to RP behind locked doors is all fine and good, I don't see an issue with that, but if nearly all of that roleplay happens behind a dc 127 lock, you might as well be skyping for as much as you're impacting anyone besides the select few. at this point maybe addressing it should be considered

I think the Rp hardly affects a select few and I think the point was missed, there are several places where rp affects the select few, Myon being the largest offender racially, but as I stated, that is a -good- thing.

IRL yeah you want locked doors and privacy on your home, but this game isn't real life, and making such comparisons should be avoided IMHO


If it is something that you character would realistically would want to pursue and within the realms of the game (and having been an avid faerun reader, it is) it should entirely be considered.

I don't feel so far that anyone is devaluing anyone elses style of RP in this thread, unless I missed something, and perhaps if you feel personally attacked you might step back and take a breath and try seeing this thread as something constructive to the entire playerbase instead of how it affects you as a player

I did notice whether it was realized by posters or not some disrespectful ....we'll call syntax, words or arrangement thereof, of said words. And I know a poster who didn't appreciate it. I didn't even look at this thread until directed there by someone who wanted a second opinion, and yes, you missed something. There was some rp devaluing, whether a poster realized it or not. And in all fairness, if you read it I was offering my own constructive feedback and thoughts to the playerbase. Admittedly with a strong target towards those who feel rp is only or should be as -they- think, without consideration that Arelith as it sits fits many types of rp. That there are -many- types, all just as good as the other. We are all entitled our opinions but it's a bit rude to go "Here's how you're limiting not just your rp, but the rp of everyone else" Without consideration that A: not all rp should include everyone else and B: if you force someone to rp with everyone else -they- might not have fun anymore. Characters aren't normally designed to deal with everyone, much like a regular human being. Go Bernadette. As much as my character dislikes the character, strong racist human? Don't want her behind my locked door, but kudos for the discussions and conflict she starts just by showing up someplace. Overall if we start saying rp is A and design the system around that, all the B people suddenly feel like they're working and not having fun. Right now it seems like we have something for everyone.

as far as the feeling of having to RP with so many people when you log in, yeah ten or twenty is ALOT, I agree completely, and it would be exhausting, but here delegation would cut down those numbers quite a bit, and maybe the people you delegate to don't absolutely need to be someone you trust as a player, which would make finding people to recruit for the tower, or meet with settlement officials, and the like alot easier, if a little risky.

Delegation isn't the issue. The tower is no one's mistress, they don't want to have to delegate to handle a flood of people. They want to, as many others, be able to provide services to others while maintaining some time to ...I don't know...hang with their fellow friends. They have a right to funnel that and restrict as appropriate.

as far as "What would characters realistically pursue and desire" I find this line of thinking to be rather detrimental to the playerbase, realistic shouldn't be a word we're looking for in a fantasy setting or a cooperative multiplayer. realistically, my gnoll wouldn't bother tending the wounds of a party member, even if it was a gnoll, let alone scrolls that raise dead, lore wise my gnoll would find it cheaper, and easier simply to use the wounded party member as food for herself and her pack, instead of wasting resources, but IC that would drive players away from my roleplay and ultimately leave me to playing by myself, what's realistic and whats fun for everyone doesn't always go together

In your extreme example perhaps. I would offer we all play those who tend to be different than the norm, NPC gnolls are the norm. And if your gnoll could not hunt as safely due to his actions, he'd learn. Stepping away from that extreme example, lets examine my use of the term "realistically": Something a player (lets say surface player) Would reasonably desire and be able to accomplish. A:world is dangerous B: full of people C:A desire to privacy. The fantasy aspect affects many things, such as on Arelith death doesn't mean much. So it changes how a character feels about it (Casualness of rezzing people). Not -wanting- to die is still a strong feeling for many. The tower is also really fun for those involved and those who choose to use their services and be their friend.

Lets remove the term realistically. Then the statement is simple without a word not appreciated: Some people want to have privacy and control the flow of traffic invading their rp, period. This is something reasonably desired, they have reasonably acquired. Many other such places have it.

I suppose to sum it up and address the final point made is that a desire for privacy and control of traffic is entirely reasonable and fun for many. Without that, it wouldn't for fun for many. My advice which was overlooked is that there are many types of people and rp. Just because someone can't "See" the fun for someone else doesn't mean it doesn't exist. So when we view these things from a lens outside of just ourselves, why does it matter there are locked doors you can't penetrate?

And as admitted, didn't bother much with this thread until directed here to verify someone wasn't crazy. I'm glad I was directed here however, because as a Warden who's been in the middle of the craziness that happens in the tower -with- a private locked door, I think my thoughts hold some merit on the way things are. I will toss up to Aelryn Bloodmoon, rearranging the ground floor is likely the more productive and interesting topic here. I appreciate the pointing out of the absurd conclusion of "if locked doors are problems for rp, do we remove them?" I tippeth, mine hat good sir. I tippeth mine hat.

[Septire]

DC 127 doors is basically like having blast doors on your house and bedroom, with your children needing to perform a retinal scan to get clearance to enter. That's not realistic either.

[ShadowLegacy]

Upon reflection I'll admit as again, someone who leaves the area swiftly when there's ten to fifteen people chatting outside the nomad and flees~, I am protecting my own enjoyment and rp. That and playing a warden who takes his job seriously I'm against poor Raziel's job getting ten times harder for no rationale reason. He'd be the first going "Why are third circle casting apprentices not safe anymore?!":P. So my view is colored by this

[ShadowLegacy]

DC 127 doors is basically like having blast doors on your house and bedroom, with your children needing to perform a retinal scan to get clearance to enter. That's not realistic either.

I would offer when you have spellhold and everything it contains, that is entirely reasonable and realistic. The difference is do you put the blast door in front of just spellhold, or do you design your blast door in the most reasonable place to offer protection to all of your members? But this, is fairly my opinion on the matter of "I'm designing a place to raise students and keep artifacts/enemies of stupid power levels behind lock and key".

I will offer though that it does seem more and more like 127 doors are the issue, and support that perhaps that can be looked at so a dedicated individual could potentially breach them. I think I'd insist on a key required door in front of spellhold then, because one or two people with the revised dc to get through are just going to take one artifact every twenty four hours and cause permanent havoc, leaving spellhold only decent for some mage jailing rp. It's a really neat place with so much history inside it, I don't think that needs to change nor do I believe there shouldn't be a blast door between it and everyone else.

[JediZero]

So for some reason people seem to think we hide upstairs to avoid conflict with other groups?

Shall I give a short list of what exactly the conflicts/Open RP we've had?

The Tower sat down, and entertained two of the most dangerous characters on the island to settle a conflict. Vivian Le Chaunce and Heinrich Weyer. We invited them UP INTO THE COMMON ROOM. When *everybody* had told us that there was no use trying diplomacy, that we were idiots, and they were going to betray us as soon as they had the chance.

We've had fights break out between the tower and others in the lobby, and we were for a short time actually attacked consistently by a group of UDers. But we never hid in the upper areas, we stayed accessible. I myself used one of the attacks to generate RP with my character being left seriously wounded and in danger of dying, even if mechanically he was alive and would remain such.

We hold weekly lectures, and I've not made it a secret of when exactly they'll be held. Anyone who wanted to bring conflict, via RP or PVP knows to come there. And indeed some of the most interesting tower/outsider RP has come from that.

If I have nothing going on when I log in (Rare, because everyone comes to me at once) I sit in the lobby, waiting for someone to come in so I can say hello, welcome to the Tower. Can I assist you. 9/10 times I'm ignored to simply hit the portal.

It's also hurtful considering how much I, and my character have worked, to ensure the Tower *IS* open for RP, *IS* Available to chat and talk to, and *IS* more than willing to give people that I know that I shouldn't, a chance. We do because it's fun for them as well as us. Some of the points brought up here are just patently false.

The claim that we can root out Sharrans by demanding they cast a light spell? WYSIWYG and no DM is sitting around watching Sharrans to find out if they're casting a light spell or not. We've dropped even asking people to cast spells unless they've acted suspicious. Hell, when interviewing Jacob says 'You can refuse to answer this if you wish' when he asks about patron deities, and it wouldn't matter if they were allowed in or not.

DC 127 doors is basically like having blast doors on your house and bedroom, with your children needing to perform a retinal scan to get clearance to enter. That's not realistic either.

Then clearly the answer here is we need to lower the maximum lock level on *all* doors, instead of singling out the Tower, because you can get those locks on every single quarter door.

[ShadowLegacy]

*points up to Jedi's post* Roland Asen once broke a chair over a new prospective students head during a lecture. That was a tense and amusing situation~. Which happened all of two or three days ago and generated it's own rp that same day as well, in the public lecture area and behind aforementioned often locked doors. Kudos to Roland on that, he handled it in a very classy manner. Guy doesn't like the thought of undead parrots man. He just doesn't.

[triaddraykin]

Hi folks. Player of Amana here.

The thread has really derailed, and while it's good discussion, it draws away from the point of this thread, which was to help the Devs working on the Tower know what we're looking for. It's a presumption to say that they want the help, but I meant to provide a place for them to get inspiration, should they need it.

My own two cents? I'd like to be able to keep our members safe when the normal method of attacking the tower is killing low-level mages having a conversation in the lobby. Even just an entryway that lets us do two locked doors, sort of an airlock, would be fine.

I will go along with whatever the devs come up with, I'm sure I'll enjoy it, and I want to thank Septire for working on this for so long.

[Septire]

It seems the sentiment of these last few posts is that people appreciate different forms of RP, and RPing behind impenetrable doors is fine because players play for different reasons. Suggesting that there's better ways of going about things infringes on someone's values of why they play Arelith and devalues others.

Should we not be making suggestions about RP conduct? Who gets to evaluate when something is or isn't working? In each of the conflict situations you described, you were in total control of whether you wanted to entertain those scenarios or not. The other parties involved were at the mercy of your decision to participate. If you had chosen not to (and I am glad that you did), you could very well have sat behind a door and ignored others. I'm saying that the underlying system allows for this without recourse and is problematic, and that's what I am looking at, not the methods or practices built atop this by the current players to be more welcoming. I'm grateful for the efforts taken by the players to be more inclusive, but I am looking at the underlying system from the perspective of an outsider.

I think there's some misinterpretation happening here so I want to clear it up and reiterate again: I am very glad that the players have facilitated others and have been open to RP. That's great. What if the tower were to change hands tomorrow, and the new owner just didn't want to do this or make an active effort? The way the layout is designed and how the doors function, other players are entirely at the mercy of the guild owner with little recourse. If the guild masters are good and welcoming, all is well. If they are not, what then? I get that players want to have private RP, nothing wrong with this, but I'm talking about the level of assurance offered by DC 127. If you want to guarantee security, that guarantee should come at a substantial cost, but it seems to be trivial to maintain.

Would it be reasonable to expect a DC 127 locked door within a dungeon? Or perhaps in a city? If players can afford this, shouldn't NPCs also be able to afford this? How do you think war RP would go down if the gates of Wharftown were indestructable and had a DC 127 lock that could be toggled during wartime? They are pursuing security and should be afforded this. Realistically, any character knowing the gates were indestructible would have no reason at all to step outside the city, and just wait for the attackers to get bored and leave. I don't think any of the above scenarios make for a compelling story, it's an underlying problem that is covered by good players.

I'm not singling out just the tower in this either, as mentioned in my previous post about the Citadel. I don't want to remove all locked doors. I think some measure of closed door RP is fine within reason and when others still have a choice in writing the RP. In terms of robbing a place blind of all its artifacts, that's precisely why I wouldn't want to lower the DCs, because once a player can meet that threshold, they can get in everywhere. The door in question that I am talking about would give people access to the second floor landing where the couches are. There's no chests there. There's still quarter doors blocking the storage chests in other areas of the tower, and the 3rd floor would still be behind a locked door. This isn't opening up the place to wanton pillaging or putting the tower at risk of having its history stolen away over the course of a few days. That's exaggeration.

For Aelryn Bloodmoon's mention that they'd just retreat further in and further up, this is to be expected. The 3rd floor is still private.

[The Rambling Midget]

I think more of the space should be public, so that it's easier to use for events, regardless of the owner's RL schedule.

Pretty much my favorite quarter in the module is the manor with the giant foyer in Upper Cordor, because it's got lots of space both public and private. I've held parties and lectures there. It's a great layout, and still gives the residents plenty of room.

[ShadowLegacy]

A far more reasonable post, and I appreciate that. I would offer then that what is the difference between the couches room and upstairs? There are public areas down below where people socialize regularly, with chairs and tables (lectures get held there) among other things. For those who wished for the added security, they would just head up to the next level then where you're fine with the door, and that's their library. And cool Throne knights of the rectangular table set up, which does -not- get used enough and I suppose it would encourage that as a private sitting area.

As to the repercussions of not participating in conflict, of -course- there are repercussions, there always have been. I've played some characters who's entire life has been conflict, and thrived off it. Other times I need a character to relax from it. The difference? One was embedded in dealings across more than half the isle and among leaderships of several settlements was a well known individual with perks. Avoiding conflict characters? You end up a guy in the background save for those closest to you. Even then they may view your character differently and open or close opportunities based upon their own views as characters. The brave knight or the pacifist? Perhaps coward?

I appreciate addressing the underlying system, I would simply offer that it may not be necessary as participating in conflict or not -always- has repercussions. Your reputation, how you're viewed, your prominence, your respect, the opportunities your character has and your characters relationships are all affected.

As to:
It seems the sentiment of these last few posts is that people appreciate different forms of RP, and RPing behind impenetrable doors is fine because players play for different reasons. Suggesting that there's better ways of going about things infringes on someone's values of why they play Arelith and devalues others.

It's not suggesting that there are better ways, its how things are laid out certainly don't come off as suggestions as times and even dismissive, something one must be respectful of. Particularly when newer players are throwing out their two cents and trying to stretch. So its not the offer, its the method. And the counter offer being that perhaps that can be fair advice, but not fit for everyone, and what they pursue and do -is- best for them and being mindful of that. Though that is worthwhile to evaluate at times, I will certainly grant that!:) And that will be up to individuals as people or as their characters.

I appreciate the clarification. And to Rambling Midget, I do agree to that. Reading some of the posts, it would be cool to have the Chess area and storage chests separated, so that the chess area could be more accessible to people. It's large, good for events (ran a combat training in there, all the space) And a beautifully scripted chess set of awesome.

[Cortex]

all these 'safe space' people should go back to tumblr...............

[Yma23]

Perhaps the sum of my thought is this:

Places like the Arcane Tower, need to have some private spaces, yes, but need to have a large amount of facitliies open to the public, so as to engage in these facilities, the current player base do not depend on gaining access to said guildhouse.

To put it another way: If Meany Mc PoopyFace owns the Tower, and decides for whatever reason that no one ever ever ever should have access to it - then many players can still take quarters, talk to Westen, enjoy the library, have a go of the Chess set and the dueling arena et cetera.

Yes, there should be some private areas (spellhold being a good example, maybe a private meeting room, and of course the quarters themselves will always be private) but much of the tower should be open to anyone.

Of course, this does mean a loss of 'controle' over the Tower. But honestly this is probably a good thing. Yes it means that the current Archmage can't ban peop[le from it, unless they have the pvp ability set up, but they can still go to quite places to talk, and I think it's better for roleplay in the long run is improved the more inclusive it is.

And yes, it's good to give examples of when Team Good owned the tower and you needed to pass ridiculous tests to proove you were the sweetest mc Goody Two Shoes ever. But this could be swung the other way.
Imagine, if you will, someone owned the tower and demanded that anyone who enter it must first slowly torture to death a young child.
'Wha- But my character wouldn't do that!'
'whoops bad for you. Tower is only open to mages who torture to death a baby. Sorry mate!;'
See? Bad either way.

If we minimise the areas that he Tower has 'closed off' then we minimise the impact on server resrouces if someone owns it who a) is rarely on b) is entirely unfair with their recruitment practices.

[triaddraykin]

Okay, after a reread, and realizing I missed a few posts, I'm chiming in a bit more.

I'm rather particular about where I converse at, because depending on the intensity of the RP, I may or may not want additional interaction. If I'm tattoing runes on a student? I want the security of my room.
If I want to see through everyone's problems, be visible to the Tower, I'm in the common room. If I want to work with everyone, I'm out in the lobby.

Having these multiple settings give me that freedom. Being able to control the amount of people I'm interacting with has been key to not burning out. Yes, I know some wish I would.

Here's a suggestion, then: Have a social area in the lobby. I've set up chairs and tables multiple times, but there's that pesky fixture limit, and fixture thieves. Good thing there's some we had safe upstairs.

What I want, in order to be an effective and interactive guild leader, is a place that I can interact with my guild comfortably. The Archmages are highly sought after (everything happens at once) when we log on, but our priority is the Tower. I'm glad you want to talk about a petition in Wharftown, but I'm really trying to keep two of my mages from fireballing each other. I'm glad that there was a door that allowed me to delegate a warden to take care of it, rather than having to interrupt RP, because people WILL go straight to me and require my attention right then and there.

By the sound of your changes, I will only be able to attain this level of time management if I stay upstairs in the more formal settings, the library and meeting hall. This is a big and serious area, there's no coziness. It's stone and wood and nothing soft. The very area, well-designed, lends itself to serious RP only, and little chatter. It's a place where the fates of many are decided, and casual talk dies with but a glance at the screaming door of spellhold. There's a reason I don't use that meeting table; I like comfortable RP. I'm all for an intensive two-hour RP session of keeping someone's soul from being destroyed behind locked doors, but when I'm done with that, I don't want to worry about what's on the other side of my door.

I've gone on longer than I meant to, but this was primarily to answer:

7. What is the tone and feel of the tower? What is the tone of RP that happens?

[Cortex]

I'm not sure if somewhere in these massive text walls it was mentioned, but comparing the areas that are locked and the ones that are public you got:

•Portal/Shops and two class rooms(public).
•Casual room with portal to Arelith Forest and quarters(private).
•Meeting room and library(private).
•Arena/pocket plane(private).

So that's three fourths locked behind a door, for what is easily the second or third biggest guildhouse in the server.

[LasharaDyran]

•Portal/Shops and two class rooms(public).
•Casual room with portal to Arelith Forest and quarters(private).
•Meeting room and library(private).
•Arena/pocket plane(private).

I'm seeing a lot of votes from non-Tower and Tower members alike to open the arena up as a private area provided the storage containers are moved to a safer location.

I'm seeing a lot of push from non-Tower players to open up the common room and a lot of pushback from Tower-players saying no - we need and want this room.

Is it a viable solution to make the arena/chessboard area public; and create a separate lobby that is public and lends itself to being a resting place - perhaps with a speedy messenger, without removing the ability to access a private, guild only common for Tower members? That would see to satisfy all sides.

[Cortex]

Worth to keep in mind that a lot of "non tower players" have played Tower mages in the past. So a point that is better not brought up considering its validity is ... poor.

edit: Also worth to keep in note nobody is entitled to actual ownership or exclusive use of the Tower, it is a server resource, one that could be used far better given a few changes.

[METAL BAWKSES]

Couldn't having the lobby be public but the library still be private work out? If people truly feel the need they can just RP in the library, which I think is sort of an underused section, unfortunately. I would like to see the public areas a little more lively.

I know plenty happens on the inside but I'm sure if you're someone new and you went to the Tower you might get the idea it's not a very active faction. Even if you look on the noticeboard you'll see a few notes in regards to lectures and what not but most other notes are people looking for services or looking for Tower members.

I'm sure there's a happy medium somewhere and I do feel like perhaps making the lobby(maybe not quarters?) publicly accessible so people can see the mages interacting(and retreating up to the library when they want to be private) might be cool. Everyone has their own RP and I get that but I do feel as if there are benefits from changing the place for the possible future. These benefits in my mind outweigh the current way the Tower is being RPed. I don't mean that as a way to put down or dismiss people's RP I just see thoughts about the potential future as more important when making the design decisions.

[DarkDreamer]

Honestly, I think all thats gonna change, is that they will move private rp behind other closed doors when they dont want the forced interaction.

[METAL BAWKSES]

Honestly, I think all thats gonna change, is that they will move private rp behind other closed doors when they dont want the forced interaction.

Perhaps, but if areas like that were publicly accessible then in the future people who want a more public face/RP for the Tower can do so.

[ShadowLegacy]

Worth to keep in mind that a lot of "non tower players" have played Tower mages in the past. So a point that is better not brought up considering its validity is ... poor.

edit: Also worth to keep in note nobody is entitled to actual ownership or exclusive use of the Tower, it is a server resource, one that could be used far better given a few changes.

It's not poor in the slightest. She's referencing current tower members with their current needs and wants. That is a valid point to make. While in the long term, whatever happens affects many if the devs were to read this for ideas and look at the overall discussion current rp matters. It's how some changes have been done across the server, from developing settlements to the areas around them. Current rp is important, as is past reference, and future forethought. It has been noted how many differences in the past have occurred and what worked better or not based on differing situations.

Referencing the current situation and how people directly involved feels versus past experience or non-current experience inside the tower isn't a bad point to make. I played a commander who was Wharftown Militia Commander at one point. Might I have some experience? Sure. I may have some opinions. I have no idea what wharftown needs most -right- now. When I was commander, it needed to fight Cordor apparently~.

Constructive is good. Very good.

Could the tower be better utilized with some changes? Debatable, but I like the discussions that could enhance very much!

[DarkDreamer]

Fairly, if people want to be more public, they honestly will. My Warden has spent HOURS standing in the lobby looking stupid to see if people show up for nothing. Many of his own growths have been in private with certain people. Things in public wouldn't be done. So in closing on this post, there is a strong time for private RP, and a time of course for public.

[Cortex]

Changes of this scale should never be made on a whim based on a singular group of characters.