08-22-2010, 01:06 PM
Yesterday, just before the raid, I was asked to create a guide on how to RP successfully in the Catacombs area. I've little to say that hasn't already been said elsewhere.
Namely:
What Lurks in the Shadows: A Guide to Intrigue and Villainy - Vrahn
Disguises 'n imitation: A common sense guide. - Azheron
The Top 100 Things I'd Do If I Ever Became An Evil Overlord - Peter Anspach
There's simply no getting around having to read these.
Now for what I can give you:
First and foremost, right when you click the portal in GMI to RP there, it's a character warning. Right off the bat. If you don't like the idea of losing your character, don't come down here. I see people doing absolutely ridiculous things and thinking they can get away with it just because there isn't a GM to puppet the guards at the time. Just like you don't need a character warning to get killed ICly in a major city if you commit a crime right in front of a guard, you don't need one in the crypts. If I or someone else catches you breaking one of our IC rules, you're dead. End of story.
The way the crypts are set up, it's very much like a city. As such, we do have guards made up of all types of NPCs. One thing I should note is that just because you see few NPCs in the area, that doesn't mean that's all there is. Thinking otherwise is like saying the IC population of Stormwind is equal to the amount of NPCs we've spawned there.
Some of Azeroth's worst scumbags make the crypts their home, but we do have laws there. If we didn't, we'd all have killed each other off by now. When in doubt, ask yourself: "Would I get away with this in a major city?" With the exception of a few obvious things like walking around with minions, brewing poisons, killing prisoners, etc.
We have a strict code of silence and anyone suspected of breaking it, or committing -any- form of treachery, will be hunted down and killed. You can hardly expect to cross such people and not end up hunted down for it. And I don't mean by just your former guild mates.
Prisoners, stop antagonizing the jailers. They don't care about you and wouldn't hesitate to kill you where you stand, regardless of who you "belong" to. And I'd prefer it if you'd stop arguing with me about escaping. <.<
Citizens of the Crypts, stop antagonizing the jailers too. They don't care about you, either, and are only doing their jobs. Show some respect or end up joining the prisoners.
And while we're on the topic of prisoners, stop releasing them! The jailor would be slaughtered if they let a prisoner leave the cell. They're instructed to let no such thing happen, hence they're flanked by guards.
I'm constantly seeing people go in and out of the prison cell like it's going out of style, passing around handcuff keys and other items. Realism folks. Do you think any of us could walk into our local County Jail, walk into a cell and pass off items? I am positive the guards and jailors would be watching who goes in and watching closely what happens in the cell.
Another thing I wanted to mention is ff you don't -need- to be OOC somewhere, don't. I see lots of people purposely going places OOC to listen in on stuff... this places IC information into your head while your character wouldn't even be there. If you -do- need to be OOC somewhere, be respectful of those IC... don't disrupt. Nobody wants to be sitting somewhere and have somebody with /DND on to come in and start jumping up and down on a table. This dampens realism and the RP.
Also, when OOC don't emote to people who are IC or if you are IC, don't make OOC emotes. That should be common sense as it too disrupts RP and dampens realism.
You may have noticed the Eyes of Kilrogg patrolling up and down the halls and spinning purple diamonds in the air of most rooms. Yeah, we're all being watched very closely now. Watch what you say and do.
Space, regrettably, is limited. While I do try to design a room to suit the needs of a specific guild, that doesn't mean they -own- the room. Like any RP spot, if it's empty, you can RP owning it. Once you leave, it's up for grabs.
One last thing I'd like to add is regarding metagaming. No one likes to be the victim of it, so here are a few tips on how to avoid it:
First and foremost, remember this one rule: Do not give them the opportunity!
This means:
- If you are speaking and only one or two people are supposed to be able to hear it ICly, literally whisper them. None of this [Low] stuff. Join a party or raid with them and speak ICly in it.
- If no one is around to be able to see what you are doing ICly, don't emote it. If only one or two people are able to see what you are doing, again, join a party or raid and make your emotes in party or raid chat.
- Never, under any circumstance, give IC information OOCly. This includes broadcasting over Chat/Barrens/LFG/etc. Let them find out ICly!
I'll probably add more to this as new ideas come to mind, or anyone else has something to add.
Namely:
What Lurks in the Shadows: A Guide to Intrigue and Villainy - Vrahn
Disguises 'n imitation: A common sense guide. - Azheron
The Top 100 Things I'd Do If I Ever Became An Evil Overlord - Peter Anspach
There's simply no getting around having to read these.
Now for what I can give you:
First and foremost, right when you click the portal in GMI to RP there, it's a character warning. Right off the bat. If you don't like the idea of losing your character, don't come down here. I see people doing absolutely ridiculous things and thinking they can get away with it just because there isn't a GM to puppet the guards at the time. Just like you don't need a character warning to get killed ICly in a major city if you commit a crime right in front of a guard, you don't need one in the crypts. If I or someone else catches you breaking one of our IC rules, you're dead. End of story.
The way the crypts are set up, it's very much like a city. As such, we do have guards made up of all types of NPCs. One thing I should note is that just because you see few NPCs in the area, that doesn't mean that's all there is. Thinking otherwise is like saying the IC population of Stormwind is equal to the amount of NPCs we've spawned there.
Some of Azeroth's worst scumbags make the crypts their home, but we do have laws there. If we didn't, we'd all have killed each other off by now. When in doubt, ask yourself: "Would I get away with this in a major city?" With the exception of a few obvious things like walking around with minions, brewing poisons, killing prisoners, etc.
We have a strict code of silence and anyone suspected of breaking it, or committing -any- form of treachery, will be hunted down and killed. You can hardly expect to cross such people and not end up hunted down for it. And I don't mean by just your former guild mates.
Prisoners, stop antagonizing the jailers. They don't care about you and wouldn't hesitate to kill you where you stand, regardless of who you "belong" to. And I'd prefer it if you'd stop arguing with me about escaping. <.<
Citizens of the Crypts, stop antagonizing the jailers too. They don't care about you, either, and are only doing their jobs. Show some respect or end up joining the prisoners.
And while we're on the topic of prisoners, stop releasing them! The jailor would be slaughtered if they let a prisoner leave the cell. They're instructed to let no such thing happen, hence they're flanked by guards.
I'm constantly seeing people go in and out of the prison cell like it's going out of style, passing around handcuff keys and other items. Realism folks. Do you think any of us could walk into our local County Jail, walk into a cell and pass off items? I am positive the guards and jailors would be watching who goes in and watching closely what happens in the cell.
Another thing I wanted to mention is ff you don't -need- to be OOC somewhere, don't. I see lots of people purposely going places OOC to listen in on stuff... this places IC information into your head while your character wouldn't even be there. If you -do- need to be OOC somewhere, be respectful of those IC... don't disrupt. Nobody wants to be sitting somewhere and have somebody with /DND on to come in and start jumping up and down on a table. This dampens realism and the RP.
Also, when OOC don't emote to people who are IC or if you are IC, don't make OOC emotes. That should be common sense as it too disrupts RP and dampens realism.
You may have noticed the Eyes of Kilrogg patrolling up and down the halls and spinning purple diamonds in the air of most rooms. Yeah, we're all being watched very closely now. Watch what you say and do.
Space, regrettably, is limited. While I do try to design a room to suit the needs of a specific guild, that doesn't mean they -own- the room. Like any RP spot, if it's empty, you can RP owning it. Once you leave, it's up for grabs.
One last thing I'd like to add is regarding metagaming. No one likes to be the victim of it, so here are a few tips on how to avoid it:
First and foremost, remember this one rule: Do not give them the opportunity!
This means:
- If you are speaking and only one or two people are supposed to be able to hear it ICly, literally whisper them. None of this [Low] stuff. Join a party or raid with them and speak ICly in it.
- If no one is around to be able to see what you are doing ICly, don't emote it. If only one or two people are able to see what you are doing, again, join a party or raid and make your emotes in party or raid chat.
- Never, under any circumstance, give IC information OOCly. This includes broadcasting over Chat/Barrens/LFG/etc. Let them find out ICly!
I'll probably add more to this as new ideas come to mind, or anyone else has something to add.