On Departing

[Rias]

This comes up fairly frequently, but I couldn't find any other threads that covered it. I know there are some out there, but eh. Starting a new one.

Q: What does a "depart" entail, IC-wise?"
A: Your body and your possessions ended up somewhere, and you were restored. Your body didn't ICly just appear somewhere in town out of thin air. You should assume that, somehow, your corpse got to a place where it could be Soul Beaconed or Soul ... Retrieved. Not that your body magically teleported to town and spontaneously revived itself. Maybe some unsung NPC hero dragged you back, or something. Maybe your character believes an Immortal stepped in to send their corpse somewhere safe. Whatever the case, your character was dead when it happened, so they don't know anyway. Don't tell people you "departed" ICly, because ...

Q: Is the term "depart" IC?
A: No. If someone asks, or if you feel the need to announce that you're back among the living, you can just say that you woke up at whatever place you're at (or just that you woke back up alive somehow, or whatever). Your character didn't make a conscious decision to "depart" ICly. They were dead, then suddenly found themselves alive again.

Q: Is it bad to depart in big events and invasions?
A: I'm never a fan of insta-departing right after you die. I get the feeling a lot of people do it to avoid admitting, or having it be known, that they died. And sometimes we want it to be a big adventure for others to rescue that corpse, or we want something to happen with it. But really, if you're bored and frustrated after a few minutes of waiting, and/or you know you died somewhere where chances of rescue are abysmally low, I wouldn't begrudge you a depart. Nobody likes sitting dead for hours on end with no chance of rescue, and nobody likes constantly listening to the Deathknell when Super Swordsman Sam died in that incredibly dangerous area that nobody else could possibly survive in to perform a rescue. That's why the depart mechanic exists in the first place.

Q: I refuse to depart, ever! Departing is lame!
A: (That wasn't a question). Sometimes you really should depart, though. If you're dead, and you send off the dathknell and nobody responds or you get the four pulses (which I believe is intended to mean "we can't or won't get to your corpse"), really, just depart. People are just going to get annoyed that you keep knelling noisily in their mental ears when they've clearly indicated nobody's willing/able to rescue your corpse. If it's during an event and you suspect that something extraordinary may happen to your corpse while you're dead, or you think the surviving group will perform a daring rescue and that's awesome, sure, don't depart for a while and give those things a chance to happen.

[ydia]

thank you!

[Kent]

Why is there a penalty for departing, and how is it explained IC wise?

[Rias]

If you type effects you'll see a perfect way to describe how you're feeling ICly. Why does that happen? How are you to know? You were dead. When you came back, you were feeling distant and detached.

Sadly, being dead doesn't give a lot of opportunities to observe the hows and whys of everything that happens to you.

[jilliana]

As a PC that tends to be voluntold to go into the dangerous areas to rescue someone, I'd like to suggest/add that if you plan to depart from the instant you die, don't look at the bell. Please! And if you do look at the bell, wait a minute or three if you are able. Some of us are doing other things and can miss it and are able to grab you.

[Kiyaani]

I agree about Jill's request. If your character dies and you look at the bell please have some patience for a response. If you intend to depart right away, don't look at the bell. If you look at the bell and someone pulses back, don't depart. It's inconveniencing your fellow players to make them go out of their way when they're trying to play their role.

It also might be good to add something to the system that gives an indication if someone has already departed if the bell was rung. "The vision of X dissipates in your mind," or something. Or if there are multiples in the same room - "One vision of X..."

[sona]

agreed. I'd actually support the idea that if you looked at the bell, being unable to depart via an effect status for X min.

[Jirato]

Due to the inherently OOC nature of departing, and the fact that it is still presumed that some entity saved you from death in some form or another, it no longer possible to instantly depart when you die. There is now a five minute window from the time of death where you will be unable to depart. I know this is probably not going to be a popular change, but think of all the cool stuff we can do to your corpses when you rush into our event areas and die now!

[Acarin]

Due to the inherently OOC nature of departing, and the fact that it is still presumed that some entity saved you from death in some form or another, it no longer possible to instantly depart when you die. There is now a five minute window from the time of death where you will be unable to depart. I know this is probably not going to be a popular change, but think of all the cool stuff we can do to your corpses when you rush into our event areas and die now!

Is butchering corpses now FINALLY going to be an option again since we're forced to hang around? I want a ring finger ring...

[Dorn]

...or stake people.