Arelith

As someone who has a character that has barely been fleshed out yet and also as someone who flourishes when making groups, I am curious about what the community might be interested in whether it be race-specific, religion-specific, combat-based, location-specific, politically-based, driven by a specific goal (i.e. Crypt Knights of Jergal), or something between or everything all together.

Lay your ideas out brazenly!

Gangs. Gangs! GANGS.

I desperately want to see (and honestly I am holding out hope for a Shanty Town type area to do it in) mafia/criminal/smuggler/shady groups that blackmail people or threaten them for tithes, that are together for protection and money rather than something overtly evil or religious like that. I want there to be struggles over turfs and people paying others for protection so their home or shop doesn't get ransacked. I want it to be the kind of criminal that doesn't just get dunked on by Team Good, because TECHNICALLY they're within the law and you can't prove they're not.

Peaky Blinders Arelith, please, I am desperate for it.

new religious orgs that aren't the common faiths but able to get enough influence that it has some kind of impact as opposed to "hey look it's spooky joe and his two minions"

Now that genasi is only a normal reward, we could get genasi gangs going.

FIRE GANG!

Criminal gang. Rogues, smugglers, those willing to break laws and not get caught. People you can go to if you need a package delivered or lock opened. Freeport would likely make a great location for a mafia style group.

Two words: Gnome Mafia

I would love to see more criminals (the less edgy and sadistic, the better). More neutral faiths. More elves/hin/dwarves/gnomes in 'human' settlements/less traditionalists.


-S

Eira wrote: ↑

Wed May 05, 2021 3:08 pm

I want it to be the kind of criminal that doesn't just get dunked on by Team Good, because TECHNICALLY they're within the law and you can't prove they're not.

Here is my proof: !

I would enjoy seeing more criminal gangs, but in the server's current zeitgeist, I can't see them surviving for too long without being steamrolled by Team Good unless they base the concept in Sencliff or Andunor. I hope I am wrong, but this is the feeling that I get from the Surface side these days.

Guldorand with its unusual layout, free-of-politics zones and sometimes dubious citizens, is great for all these ideas.

I played a thiefish character for a bit in Guldorand, and can confirm it is an EXCELLENT location for that sort of roleplay. There's so many nooks, crannies, and hide-aways.

Also want to confirm that now is a great time for rogue shenanigans. Thieves guilds, gangs and criminal organisations are something I’ve wanted to see on Arelith for a long time. Some have come and gone. There’s a lot of potential out there right now!

A cabal of red wizards, each one a specialist in a different school.

A circle of diviners who also ESF illusion, conjuration, and transmutation, say five or six (enough to cover a full cooldown of the first scry plus a little extra in case of area transitions.) Completely neutral and loyal only to each other, as a mitigating force on the island.

A displaced troupe from one of the other planets in the FR solar system.

A group of displaced gully dwarves from Krynn.

A group of displaced kender from Krynn (you all wanted thieves....)

A band of circus performers, some rough ideas of events:
- Dominate/Animal Empathy/etc to capture exotic critters to show, could even have a fighting pit sort of thing which might lead to:
- Gambling Hall
- Comedy acts or some sort of performance that can be done within the limits of the engine
- Fortune teller
etc

Travel around to different settlements to do performances.

That can just be the on the surface as you have lots of potential undercurrents from thieves, cultists, whatever. Or it could be on the up and up.

Aelryn Bloodmoon wrote: ↑

Thu May 06, 2021 7:44 am

A displaced troupe from one of the other planets in the FR solar system.

Oooh. Yesss!

Hazard wrote: ↑

Wed May 05, 2021 3:51 pm

Now that genasi is only a normal reward, we could get genasi gangs going.

FIRE GANG!

I see your fire gang and raise you with one word.

Hikeshi (Japaneese fire fighters from Edo)

Look it up. It's awsome.

The GrumpyCat wrote: ↑

Thu May 06, 2021 1:29 pm

Hazard wrote: ↑

Wed May 05, 2021 3:51 pm

Now that genasi is only a normal reward, we could get genasi gangs going.

FIRE GANG!

I see your fire gang and raise you with one word.

Hikeshi (Japaneese fire fighters from Edo)

Look it up. It's awsome.

I looked it up. It's awesome!

Circus troupes / criminals for sure. Organized crime would also be amazing, but way harder to pull off.

Ilmateri by day, Loviatari by night.

surface gobo clan that are nomadic ?

The issue with playing smugglers, as far as I know, is that there isn't any practical way for players to enforce penalties for transporting and selling items; and so, there's no way to play a smuggler in any way that's meaningfully challenging.

Dr. B wrote: ↑

Thu May 06, 2021 9:13 pm

The issue with playing smugglers, as far as I know, is that there isn't any practical way for players to enforce penalties for transporting and selling items; and so, there's no way to play a smuggler in any way that's meaningfully challenging.

Two options do exist, at least. Threatening shop owners with the removal of their permanent shops if they sell and/or purchase illegal items, and threatening exile to smugglers and contraband merchants who don't own shops.

However, it's hard to convince a smuggler to admit they're in possession of contraband without a search-type mechanic to prove they are. Definitely would take players willing to lose to make a group of smugglers work for everyone involved.

Speaking of... a smuggling group does sound really fun. Definitely the more doable shady-esque group given it's somewhat a victimless crime, so Group Good won't find too much reason to curb stomp them.

I think a moderately criminal group that doesn’t do (or get caught doing) any super evil stuff could work.

Sneaks, disguisers, and diviners who can be hired to get things done that Team Good can’t do themselves. Could even have some less-villainous UD or Outcast characters involved (a deep gnome or a deugar for example).

Sneak into enemy HQ to gather intel.
Shop in Andunor for that Draconic armor.
Socialize in the hub to report the goings-on.
Hang out around some Big Bads to report on their appearances and habits, as well as their associates.

The leaders could be semi-respectable and well-known. It obviously the agents would have to be secret.

The same thing could be done in reverse as well.

I've long held the belief that an Arelithian "Peaky Blinders" would be most successful as intelligence brokers and information thieves, going after stuff like racketeering, blackmail, spying, etc. rather than smuggling or contraband.

I've tried "organized" crime before - albeit, a long time ago. Surprisingly, my conundrum was that there was not enough goodly opposition, and there was a great deal of laissez-faire - made me roll up a paladin later!

Also, the other narrative difficulty with the organized crime arc is the availability of wealth and the lack of classism. A lot of great mafia shows are really mythologized stories of the "working man."

It's why, I think, a lot of Arelithian evil just eventually winds up into fanatacism and occultism and all the "Big" evil stuff. It's hard to go after the, "we will find wealth and power through clandestine practices and thuggery" when you can steamroll dungeons for hundreds of thousands of gold. It's hard corrupt cops in a land of paladins (without resorting to devilry); it's hard to be angry "at the man" and support the poor, when there really are no poor, etc.

Some stuff just doesn't really lend itself well to a high fantasy Faerunian landscape.


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in regards to the OP, I'd always love to see a geographical cohort, because it's something we rarely see outside of Red Wizards. Give me a band of Tuigan cavalry or Untherian rebels or Rashemi berserkers.

A goodly Mulhorandi regiment that cleans up Sibayad and manages to twist the arms of the dev staff into giving the poor place proper settlement mechanics. I have a shelved PC ready and waiting.

Seven Sons of Sin wrote: ↑

Fri May 07, 2021 3:01 am

I've long held the belief that an Arelithian "Peaky Blinders" would be most successful as intelligence brokers and information thieves, going after stuff like racketeering, blackmail, spying, etc. rather than smuggling or contraband.

I've tried "organized" crime before - albeit, a long time ago. Surprisingly, my conundrum was that there was not enough goodly opposition, and there was a great deal of laissez-faire - made me roll up a paladin later!

Also, the other narrative difficulty with the organized crime arc is the availability of wealth and the lack of classism. A lot of great mafia shows are really mythologized stories of the "working man."

It's why, I think, a lot of Arelithian evil just eventually winds up into fanatacism and occultism and all the "Big" evil stuff. It's hard to go after the, "we will find wealth and power through clandestine practices and thuggery" when you can steamroll dungeons for hundreds of thousands of gold. It's hard corrupt cops in a land of paladins (without resorting to devilry); it's hard to be angry "at the man" and support the poor, when there really are no poor, etc.

yesyesyesyesyesyesyes