CLOK BBS

So a fellow Clok player and I were talking about how it's really hard to learn how to play an instrument when you're not a mummer, not to mention how it's difficult to even find someone to teach it, whether PC or NPC. Then I learned that there used to be an NPC in the Mummer's camp that was killd by a power-hungry player.
So, I was wondering if we could have the NPC back? I don't know about anyone else but I know my char would like to be musically inclined as a break from all the other stuff.
Agree? Disagree? Totally reject?

I checked out every hamlet and town (except Corvus) looking for someone to teach me about music. I found two NPCs. One teaches Music: General and Strummed Strings. One just teaches Music: General.

And since it is impossible to play an instrument without some training in it... Well, I've been bugging people on the network to no avail.

I'm of two minds of this. The first is, that it's severely unfair to the general MUD to have to suffer because of one player's action.

However, I also think it's appropriate to the Lore, that most NPCs actually disappear. On top of that, if NPCs (even important ones) always come back, it just promotes PCs to play that brand of evil in which they MUST MURDER ALL, to prove their evil street cred. Which, is valid I guess. But also a lazy form of antagonism, that usually promotes a bad OOC environment.

I don't think NPCs should necessarily come back when killed. Only if they're one of those weird Undying people. Even then, I'd imagine there would be consequences.

However, I also don't think that there would only be one person in all of CLOK who can teach musical skills. We have multiple trainers who can teach combat, survival, professions, etc. but no one to teach music.

And I think people who gank NPCs should be declared persona non grata. It is ganking: It isn't like these NPCs can effectively fight back or even run, and if the law code isn't recognizing when a murder is taking place then I'd also say you're exploiting a bug. Hunt these people down and make examples out of them. IC murders should have IC consequences.

I don't plan on just respawning that same NPC, as she was killed and is now dead, but I'm working on placing some more music trainers.

For instance, an old fiddler has started offering lessons in the Shadgard Music Shoppe.

I completely understand that it's a pain in the rear to replace something that constantly gets killed. On the other hand however, it would stand to reason that IC, the shop no longer has an instructor, and thus loses business because there are no longer any newcomers coming in...so it stands to reason that they get replaced sooner than later. Now, I'm not saying that GM's should drop everything to replace something that a PC killed just because he was bored or felt macho. As Elystol said, there are a number of combat NPC's and it's reasonable to expect the same for those of us who like our chars to have a little fun on occasion.
BTW, thanks Rias!

Rias wrote:I don't plan on just respawning that same NPC, as she was killed and is now dead, but I'm working on placing some more music trainers.

For instance, an old fiddler has started offering lessons in the Shadgard Music Shoppe.

Excellent news! Thanks!

I have a question about playing music. Right now I have to spam 'play' every five seconds and it gives me this message:

You begin playing a simple tune on your varnished maple violin.
Halting, many missed notes, and repeatedly going back to try again.
Roundtime: 5 seconds.

Will my songs last longer when I stop sucking? I kind of expected music to auto-play like mining, logging, and foraging do so that I start a song and continue playing it. Maybe with an energy cost to keep people from playing forever since it is tiring to perform.

Just to clarify, the bardess at the Mummers' camp didn't teach every music skill, and she wasn't a shop owner. Presumably just a resident of the Camp that decided to offer lessons in order to make ends meet.

Regarding music-playing, it'll eventually be expanded and songs will go for a certain length of time before ending, with more and varying flavor text (though not as crazy as Gemstone's music text, for those who may be worried). I pretty much got the bare bones coded, declared "It works!!" and moved on, intending to get back to it and expand it more later. Like pretty much everything I do in CLOK, for better or for worse.