This has always been a problem on EFU in a lot of capacities but lately I've been trying to think of ways to improve on the life of conflict in EFU. One of the most fundamentally difficult parts of conflict on EFU is the fact that in any area with an NPC you will require a DM to act. This isn't a "WE NEED FREE PVP IN LOWER" Post.
I know it's the elephant in the room and it's not very politically correct to talk about but there's a very common trend on EFU that when people are in conflict to use NPC Populated areas as a childish game of "HOME BASE".
In the last few months I've witnessed the following.
- PC's kidnapped in no NPC areas and taken through NPC populated areas of Upper or Lower limiting pursuit since no DM on. Even if you're kidnapping a blacked out PC to get back to your base the SECOND you step foot into an NPC area it's over, It was a supreme problem in EFU:A back when the Warden's District was a hotspot for snatch and grabs. This trend has been on the rise. The result is PCs sitting around going "WELL FUCK" and just walking away at the border territory.
- PCs involved in DM sanctioned events are often told time and again they are not to store Plot Items in Faction security chests because the assumption they are unobtainable. However what isn't raised at all is that PCS involved in high conflict can just loiter in Upper, Lower, Thomas', or another region with their precious cargo and never set foot beyond unless they've got their OOC coordinated crew to log on with them. No DM on, no problem. Meetings and RP and coordinating events and everything within the safezone.
This isn't a post I wanted to make to throw blame at anyone but address this issue of the looming "DM SPECTRE", or lack there of. So I've tried to patchwork together a potential solution.
Anyone on EFU can gank anyone. It's a nature of the beast and part of the game that you are outright at any time able to go "Hey, DM on? This guy I've been fighting with I'd like to stab in the middle of town". In a lot of ways the Assassin PRC is one of the most under-utilized PRCs in the game because it's the only PRC that caters to the fact that what you're doing everyone does anyway. It's fun and flavorful sure- At the end of the day though on the 3 PRC holding assassins + countless aspiring hitmen I've played on EFU a common concern is "Why should I pay you when I can do it myself, keep all their supplies, and be that much richer?"
The Assassin PRC requires DM approval and vetting via Application I'd recommend it's powers be extended even further.
- The ability to Full Death PVP without a DM present in NPC areas - only if confirmed for your hits. The notion that it's entirely on you and if you break rules you face supreme punishment. No looting, no stripping the pack, no stealing items, Just hit and run attack and flee. Also that your fate is in the hands of others if you fail in your assassination. PC allies or others may raise the victim through funds.
Similar to maybe the application process? Something in a PCN where you inform the DMs that you've been contracted for murder and they have to sign off on it giving it some credibility. You would submit a little explanation of how you were hired for the job, by whom, screenshots of half-up-front payment or whatever job is being done. So the title in the PCN would be something like:
Hit job - Bob the Cutlist - Hired by Dave the Cultist
Then just like application results DM tag it as [APPROVED] meaning DM free PvP with no looting or [REJECTED] DM required if NPCs present.
The whole point of the assasisn PRC is premeditated and vile deed of murder. On EFU though it often becomes a quick and rushed thing of "HEY A DM IS FINALLY ON HEY CAN I MURDER THIS PC IF I CAN FIND HIM?". With this method it would still be a DM involved affair simply not at the point of the execution itself.
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- No more requirement of "You didn't cut off the head" when assassinations occur with DM present in NPC areas. Say it's the same poison on the weapon that allows them to paralyze or any reasonable justification. If an Assassin has the PRC, has a DM, and performs a super dangerous FD in the middle of the server's populated areas there's nothing more gutwrenching than hearing about a raise. Dealers of Permadeath for hire if a DM is present is a pretty potent and prestigious thing that would make the PRC more in demand. The kind of thing people would shell out gold for instead of just doing it themselves
The only hurdle I can think of really is the issue of making sure someone doesn't go "OH HEY THERE'S A DEAD GUY IN THE HOUSE OF TRADE LEMME LOOT THE SHIT OUT OF HIM".
But I just wanted to throw out this discussion to at least get the conversation rolling.
I like the idea. I don't feel that it'd be exploited if the PRC itself was given only to classy and proven players. That said, if it did get exploited the victim could just as well notify the DM team who could in turn check the logs for shenanigans. It's been done before. I'm not sure how much of a headache it is though.
That said I figure it's worth a shot. A trial period at least. It's not like there's a ton of folks clambering for the assassin PRC right now anyways.
I think there's too much that can go wrong, and there's also some IC weirdness. What does a PC bystander do? They would have to wait for DM go-ahead to defend the person being attacked. And what about the NPCs nearby? The Watcher at the corner just stands there and watches? And if the victim in his desperation uses an AOE attack and hits a nearby NPC and gets attacked by them as well? I've had that happen when chasing people around the Barony, and I was very glad a DM was present at the time.
Edit: Also, it bodes ill if Petey supports it
I've never played an assassin, or even made an attempt at one. That said, if I had to diagnose potential crippling issues with EIG, it would be:
- My target is not in my typical playing time window, which means extra shenanigans are required for me to get my shot at them. There's no simple solution to this, beyond find a new target.
- My target doesn't move outside the 'safe zones' without his buddies, which is irritating but not really a problem that can be 'fixed'. How do you police that? Who would want to? DM-free pvp seems like it would create more problems than it fixes in this case.
The one thing I will chime in about is FD kills. To give permadeath some weight, players killed by other players should be unable to respawn without a DM present. Maybe that's to oversee candles of life, resurrection or whatever other shenanigans involved, but the number one thing trivializing an assassin's trade is the fact that in our gold-rich efu, anyone with money in the bank can shake off your murder with no ill effects. This really shouldn't be that big of a deal to implement anyways, as DMs are typically required for most pvp. If you're going to kill another player, you should have even more time to find one if they're available- and if not, you can screenshot it and throw it in PCN's.
To address the concern in the original post, another approach. What about applying or getting DM permission, on a target by target basis, to waive the "no pvp with NPCs around without a DM" rule. Tell the DM exactly why your doing it and what areas you want to try to grab them in. Restrictions would be placed so that you don't go after them right next to NPCs but if you try it in more isolated areas it is okay. Or you may be required to flee after X many seconds, under the assumption that NPCs will swarm and get you?
Being a player who has a chequered past of overstepping and shady behaviour in terms of almost everything, I can certainly understand the reluctance some people have towards gravitating to RwG's plan. Rules that help regulate this sort of interaction are incredibly important for the functioning of this server.
After some hesitation and experimentation, faction PCs and law enforcing PCs have been given leave to initiate PvP in their respective territories of influence, even if a DM couldn’t be found. This came to be because it was realized that a lot of nonsensical situations could occur if people had the advantage of the fact that there’s not always a DM around to watch.
It is generally speaking easy to play a faction PC and if they can initiate PvP in their areas without a DM, why could we not entrust the same privilege to DM approved murderers? Death tends to irritate us players and therefore needs to happen as cleanly as possible to avoid serious grievances, so a special set of rules should be in order to moderate unsupervised PvP.
I can name a handful of Assassin approved PCs from the top of my head and they were all responsible players. It's part of the reason why DMs approve a player for a prestige class like this one. This could be the thing that helps set aside the Assassin, which already struggles to find a legitimate claim in the hierarchy of most fearsome classes to have stalking you.
There need to be some rules though, which the DMs can flesh out better than I can. This could be the gist of it though, for the sake of furthering this discussion:
- Alert the DMs prior to the PvP. Permission is not required to commence.
- If the hit succeeds, don’t stand around the dead body for too long. Perhaps long enough to type out a quick line, or to snatch an item that your employer sent you to retrieve. Similar to what PC ‘criminals’ can do if they defeat a Watcher that initiates unsupervised PvP around NPCs.
- Use common sense about where it is acceptable to conduct his PvP and for how long you should allow the PvP to last. Town Square, for instance? Only if you expect to drop the target in a very short period of time. If that fails, you must jolt. Inside an inn room? Only for as long as the room’s door is shut (and then perhaps a few more seconds).
- Indeed, consult with DMs beforehand. Gain one’s approval (in DM Q&A Private Forum for instance) and do this case by case.