Advanced Questing in PVP – a simple example
As an example, concerning my ideas in this post
Jack the newbie has just spawned into the world. In the next 15 minutes, he will equip his torch strip off his shirt and run down the road looking at the scenery. He will run outside of the town guards, ignore the warning and then get res-killed by PsYcOMaGe [TeABagger]
Instead, Jack goes to the end of town – probably Trinsic so there is limited exit/entrance and gets prompted by a quest giver. The quest reads: (subterfuge is an ability to lie if you’re not aware)
“Hello traveler! There are [quite a few, some, a couple] of killers frequenting [region] in the last hour. They are dangerous and x of them are Grand Master mages. I need to get some goods through to the next village and I’m not the adventurer I used to be. I have a the fastest horse in [region] and it will speed you by any of your pursuers. If you take it to the next village your skill will surely increase and I can offer you 500gp. None of the killers in [region] are fluent in subterfuge as you are. Toggle your subterfuge skill to active on the way, lest you are captured you may be able to get out of their assault.”
Now the player goes out, and is genuinely faster than the PKers because the system has either made the mount faster than any ownable mount, or increased it higher than the PKs mounts visiting the area in the last hour.
PKers know Jack the newbie is on his way and they decide to recall into the region (they knew the quest giver was keeping a record of the last hour and sat outside for an hour to make themselves not tally). They recall and are transported away from their previous location into limbo… for about 30 seconds. During that 30 seconds a gate or signal of some sort opens in their desired location marking their entry. Then they appear.
If there is a surprise and the player is forced into a contest with the PKers, his subterfuge is toggled as his default social skill for the moment. The PKers try to attack the newbie, having invested their 700 points into all attack skills. The player’s meek 50 points in subterfuge bests the PKers and they get a system message something like “The target has no useful belongings and the risk is too great” after attempting a test against that players ability to use his silver-tounge.
You might have a useful interface for presenting contest data – even allow the player to select what sort of lie they tell using subterfuge or such.
Now because it would be impossible in the previous scenario for anyone without subterfuge to attack the newbie, you can make it possible by considering the PKer’s group. Allow the PKer without subterfuge to have a tiny amount of skill in detecting the lie based on his intelligence. You can add some points to him in the contest by having an intelligent friend, say a mage (also without subterfuge but, high int). Though significantly at a disadvantage, they still have a slim chance of getting the newbie. A group of 5-10 PKers would probably see through almost any lie unless they all had 10 int, or unless it was someone GMed in it.
If the newbie does get killed, he still speeds away for a screen or two before he dies (provided he meets the conditions for this). Since he is negative in hit points, it might be 4 times more difficult to land a heal on him, and less effective. Chances are he falls over without serious healing action. – and the PKs get infamy and maybe something else, not sure what.
Now is the point where the newbie is going “#(*$ I only have an hour to play tonight and I spent the last 30 minutes of it getting killed. Do I have to spend the next 30 minutes resurrecting?”
Now the newbie have some sort of after-death things to do. Some actions might allow him to resume his quest once he is alive. He might be able to talk to an NPC necromancer and ask him to collect the dropped goods and help finish the quest for 30% of the profit (which are locked and unable to be looted by the PKers unless they have GM lockpicking)
He might have to work on his undeath quests, bank some sort of the death points he’s accumulated from being killed, etc. He are still in the game really - albeit in a less desirable position but, not immediately seeking resurrection and thinking to himself “time’s a-wasting being dead because of those jerks”
Jack the Newbie resurrects in the next town having conscripted a necromancer at 30% to recover his goods. His quest ended in death but, it wasn’t a failure. The PKs got to kill someone and run away before blues rally together by a moongate.
As an example, concerning my ideas in this post
Jack the newbie has just spawned into the world. In the next 15 minutes, he will equip his torch strip off his shirt and run down the road looking at the scenery. He will run outside of the town guards, ignore the warning and then get res-killed by PsYcOMaGe [TeABagger]
Instead, Jack goes to the end of town – probably Trinsic so there is limited exit/entrance and gets prompted by a quest giver. The quest reads: (subterfuge is an ability to lie if you’re not aware)
“Hello traveler! There are [quite a few, some, a couple] of killers frequenting [region] in the last hour. They are dangerous and x of them are Grand Master mages. I need to get some goods through to the next village and I’m not the adventurer I used to be. I have a the fastest horse in [region] and it will speed you by any of your pursuers. If you take it to the next village your skill will surely increase and I can offer you 500gp. None of the killers in [region] are fluent in subterfuge as you are. Toggle your subterfuge skill to active on the way, lest you are captured you may be able to get out of their assault.”
Now the player goes out, and is genuinely faster than the PKers because the system has either made the mount faster than any ownable mount, or increased it higher than the PKs mounts visiting the area in the last hour.
PKers know Jack the newbie is on his way and they decide to recall into the region (they knew the quest giver was keeping a record of the last hour and sat outside for an hour to make themselves not tally). They recall and are transported away from their previous location into limbo… for about 30 seconds. During that 30 seconds a gate or signal of some sort opens in their desired location marking their entry. Then they appear.
If there is a surprise and the player is forced into a contest with the PKers, his subterfuge is toggled as his default social skill for the moment. The PKers try to attack the newbie, having invested their 700 points into all attack skills. The player’s meek 50 points in subterfuge bests the PKers and they get a system message something like “The target has no useful belongings and the risk is too great” after attempting a test against that players ability to use his silver-tounge.
You might have a useful interface for presenting contest data – even allow the player to select what sort of lie they tell using subterfuge or such.
Now because it would be impossible in the previous scenario for anyone without subterfuge to attack the newbie, you can make it possible by considering the PKer’s group. Allow the PKer without subterfuge to have a tiny amount of skill in detecting the lie based on his intelligence. You can add some points to him in the contest by having an intelligent friend, say a mage (also without subterfuge but, high int). Though significantly at a disadvantage, they still have a slim chance of getting the newbie. A group of 5-10 PKers would probably see through almost any lie unless they all had 10 int, or unless it was someone GMed in it.
If the newbie does get killed, he still speeds away for a screen or two before he dies (provided he meets the conditions for this). Since he is negative in hit points, it might be 4 times more difficult to land a heal on him, and less effective. Chances are he falls over without serious healing action. – and the PKs get infamy and maybe something else, not sure what.
Now is the point where the newbie is going “#(*$ I only have an hour to play tonight and I spent the last 30 minutes of it getting killed. Do I have to spend the next 30 minutes resurrecting?”
Now the newbie have some sort of after-death things to do. Some actions might allow him to resume his quest once he is alive. He might be able to talk to an NPC necromancer and ask him to collect the dropped goods and help finish the quest for 30% of the profit (which are locked and unable to be looted by the PKers unless they have GM lockpicking)
He might have to work on his undeath quests, bank some sort of the death points he’s accumulated from being killed, etc. He are still in the game really - albeit in a less desirable position but, not immediately seeking resurrection and thinking to himself “time’s a-wasting being dead because of those jerks”
Jack the Newbie resurrects in the next town having conscripted a necromancer at 30% to recover his goods. His quest ended in death but, it wasn’t a failure. The PKs got to kill someone and run away before blues rally together by a moongate.
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