Lore FAQ Thread

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Artifice
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Re: Lore FAQ Thread

Postby Artifice » Wed Jan 04, 2017 11:57 am

Thanks for the FYI - very insightful! I was mostly interested on how that'd effect the setting and if its just a catch all term that's really helpful for me to know.

Also for Blatob, and I don't say this to enter the topic of politics in any way, but as a bit of D&D history they were originally demons and devils in the first edition of the game. However, due to conservative backlash in the USA, it was changed to Tanar'ri and Baatezu in AD&D and has remained Tanar'ri and Baatezu from then on in the core manuals. You know, the whole 'Satanism' scare. Blah.
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blatob
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Re: Lore FAQ Thread

Postby blatob » Wed Jan 04, 2017 2:37 pm

Ah, that explains it! I got contradicted informations from several sources. Thank you :)

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Re: Lore FAQ Thread

Postby Toros » Thu Jan 05, 2017 6:36 am

Silver Snow wrote:there is clearly less guard and warsword activity.
I'm a little curious where this impression comes from, as the city was crawling with warsword, what appeared to be warwands, and the order of the Sacred Shrike prior to the attack, and while there were likely casualties from the attack, the guards only need to watch 5% of the previous population.
Silver Snow wrote:From Sarshel alone just under 6,000 people are now spread out and either reduced to refugee status or banditry, not counting refugees from other areas.
There's a pretty massive difference between refugees and bandits, and based on LW's post the majority were evacuated by boat, meaning it's unlikely they're going to be causing any trouble locally.
Silver Snow wrote:Whether or not the roads are completely lawless or not isn't relevant, but they are far -more- lawless than they have been in any recent times unless I'm mistaken.
There are more people on the roads currently, but the long winter would lead to significantly decreased crime before that because travelling is more dangerous due to weather and thus banditry would be less rewarding.

Crime rates in midwestern cities in the US typically are the highest during the summer because people are out and about, not during the winter.
Silver Snow wrote:If before we could rp there being extensive bandit and smuggling operations what with the dungeons that represent such, it's only more believable now.
I'm quite confident that you did RP there being extensive smuggling as yet another example of triadic indifference, but the server is designed to be very dense dungeons and if someone would RP clearing out the smugglers, and the builders deleted the dungeon, the server would be poorer for it. Sarshel is also probably the worst place to be in the smuggling business currently, as their customer base is drastically reduced and those that could should have pulled out of Sarshel before it was crawling with demons and paladin.
Silver Snow wrote:With something like a horde of demons and a full abandonment of a small city, dystopian does seem like a fairly good way to describe the region. Of course it makes sense that what order there is wouldn't be abandoned but I took away that it'd be plainly limited in scope until further notice.
A warsword member typically has 25% of the year off, though I doubt that would be the case anymore as they have significantly more to do in the short term. We don't know what the casualty percentage is, but if it is 25% or less they could continue to operate at reasonable efficiency in the short term. The warsword actively recruiting is a positive sign, and while Sarshel certainly was in a bad place, weather and danger wise the future looks optimistic.
Vogelens wrote:
I think this is in part because I have seen some DMed guards in the past who were not portrayed as too competent, while there are also quite a few bandit dungeons in Sarshel itself, and the surroundings.

Clarification would be good though, so we can also RP how well hidden and skilled those bandits/smugglers would be, if they can get away with it in Sarshel etc.
I think it's very easy and potentially fun to DM a corrupt/shady/incompetent/racist guard, as if guards are doing their job there's not a lot of opportunity for conflict. Depending on what events you've seen, it could be a lot of DMs individually doing it without realizing other ones are doing it, leading to a perception that the heavy paladin ratio wouldn't tolerate.
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Kerstman
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Re: Lore FAQ Thread

Postby Kerstman » Thu Jan 05, 2017 7:09 am

In general I always suggest that PC's assume that dungeon X or Y is new, rather than saying that some bandit or smuggler hideout has again been repopulated. This will make it more fun for all players along on a dungeon run and it will help setting believability and immersion. The same idea can apply to all previously cleared dungeons. Including the ones with ominous names such as Fort of Mal. I prefer to not speak of this name because the dungeon has been cleared a hundred times. I'd rather say something like "the mountain fortress." If previous more or less successful dungeon runs specifics are considered as in the past and left unmentioned later you'll find that there are a few bandits and smugglers around and not dozens of gangs.

If you feel you're finding a lot of these types of enemies regardless then I suggest to look for other, possibly more monstrous foes and leave the humans be for a little. It's still a game and dungeon respawn is very much an OOC feature all players have to handle in a manner that makes sense. I strongly recommend a little convenient amnesia and avoidance of some places if you do not wish to see the same foe too often.
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Re: Lore FAQ Thread

Postby Vogelens » Thu Jan 05, 2017 8:30 am

To be fair, it actually makes more sense for a higher crime rate in a time of trouble. Food is sparce and refugees make easy targer. That winter made travel more dangerous means people are more isolated on the roads and patrols are less likely to root people out.

Criminals are also not just smugglers, in the case of Sarshel. For smugglers it could be argued that a foothold in a port city is pretty ideal, it doesn't need to be Sarshel as their final destination for goods, it is merely a stop for smuggler ships etc. But, as I mentioned it is not just smugglers, but also cults of dark gods who seek to damage the Triad even more. Now is the ideal time for them to take root.

I thought a fair number of warswords also died due to deamon attacks, and with riots breaking out because of food and travel both dangerous and refugees on the roads (And some towns overcrowded) I would imagine the warswords on duty would have their hands full, and it would be easier for criminals to slip through the cracks.

Food is rationed and a lot of people lost what they once had, like their homes and belongings. Times of trouble make it more likely for people to turn to crime, out of desperation. The Triad did suffer a blow in the eyes of the people and many Triadists died too and their temple is destroyed, so their authority with just their pressence alone would be less of an issue for people too.

Keep in mind this is not modern mid-western US, with winter. This is a time of crisis with daemons, refugees on the roads who have no homes and no food and a winter that laster for a year through summer in a medieval setting. You cannot really compare a medieval time where everything is bad and shitty to a modern time period where everything is fine. People are up and about right now, even if not by choice. But in larger numbers than in the summer, relativly speaking. As there are more people per area with the population being denser for some towns and roads. They are also likely tired, afraid and hungry so easier targets.

Also, if people RP smugglers as being present a lot etc, that also does not mean it is an OOC statement. I mean, I have not really seen much of that as OOC statements on the forums, aside from what is discussed here. RP is based on a character's point of view either way. It could be right or wrong, or it could come from a different perspective. If a character has seen some smuggler dungeons and has been in events where guards were utterly incompetent, that does form a character's opinion, regardless of that the situation should be on the grand scale.

That is not to say there is NO Warsword activity and I figure the Triad does work towards keeping order etc. But... It makes sense they have a lot more work to do too, and are more spread out (And possibly less numbers). So it is likelier that more things slip through the cracks now.
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Re: Lore FAQ Thread

Postby Xanthas » Thu Jan 05, 2017 5:14 pm

From what I gathered in LW post law and order is still present in and around Sarshel, roads are patrolled still, crime is investigated, all of that continues and while there are likely less warswords and such the majority of people left by ship before the demon attack so there are also far less citizens as well. That said it sounds like there is also a spike in crime as well, but not one due to a lack of law enforcement, from what I understood its often being caused by the law being enforced instead. There are probably a few remote places that are more lawless at the moment and more crime in general but for the most part to me it sounds as though there are fewer people in general and many feel abandoned but not that the warswords are too overworked to do their jobs at all or that crime is running rampant or unchallenged on the roads or in the city.
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Poisonous
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Re: Lore FAQ Thread

Postby Poisonous » Thu Jan 05, 2017 5:20 pm

Vogelens wrote: and with riots breaking out because of food and travel both dangerous and refugees on the roads (And some towns overcrowded) I would imagine the warswords on duty would have their hands full, and it would be easier for criminals to slip through the cracks.
There has only been one near-riot.
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Toros
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Re: Lore FAQ Thread

Postby Toros » Tue Jan 10, 2017 6:12 am

I have a question specific to the detect evil ability. Currently there is yellow text that tells everyone nearby that a paladin has used detect evil, and I have never been sure whether that was IC or OOC.
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Kerstman
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Re: Lore FAQ Thread

Postby Kerstman » Tue Jan 10, 2017 6:44 am

I think that detect evil is a rather intense ability to use. Surely, it has unlimited uses / day and it is not as exhausting as a barbarian rage. I would emote it as my paladin becoming strangely silent for a few moments, as if focussing intensely on something most do not see. Something else could be the eye pupils narrowing, expanding or eyes flashing slightly. It doesn't have to be an overly obvious ability. Imagine you focussing your eyesight on something you cannot see entirely sharply in the faraway distance. You would need a few seconds free of distractions to make it work and perhaps you actually shut yourself out of your environment for a brief moment. At least I am very capable of completely but unintentionally ignoring people when doing something like this.

As for the yellow text. The same applies to other PC's using spell-like abilities or actually casting spells with barely making a gesture or sound. Still the rest of the people nearby will get a little text in the combat log. My spirit caller does something like using a 'spirit guide ability' which is emoted in the slightest way. I assume fellow PC's will still adjust their rp on the emote I make and not so much on the combat log text. And ofcourse everyone is free to ask me if they can roll a perception check.
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Re: Lore FAQ Thread

Postby Vogelens » Tue Jan 10, 2017 7:30 am

Detect Evil (And other detect spells like detect good/magic etc) do require some concentration, so the paladin would be focussed on this, I figure. And that sort of focus likely would be seen. In PnP the spell requires some time to fully get all the information too, so the paladin would stand staring in that one direction for 18 seconds if they want to get the full information.
You can sense the presence of evil. The amount of information revealed depends on how long you study a particular area or subject.

1st Round
Presence or absence of evil.

2nd Round
Number of evil auras (creatures, objects, or spells) in the area and the power of the most potent evil aura present.

3rd Round
The power and location of each aura. If an aura is outside your line of sight, then you discern its direction but not its exact location.
I do not fully know how it works on TER, but with how I know Detect Evil in DnD, it does require some form of concentration and effort, as well as some time to fully learn all of it.
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