CLOK BBS

So, on the whole people seem to be really good about embracing the whole In-Character thing. There's a few subjects though where I, and probably some other people, have trouble knowing what the line between IC and OOC phrasing is. I thought I'd post some of them and get some feedback advice.

1) ESP
"Is Bob awake?" "Is Bob currently listening?" "Are there any traders/locksmiths around?"

These all seem kind of contrived. Is most of the general population of Clok on the ESP network? Is it okay to ask IC if someone is listening, awake, around? What's a better way to phrase these.

2) Death

How are we supposed to react IC to the undying thing? Dying is routine for some players. Is it a big deal IC every time? Are we unusual in thatwe get ressurrected, or does the general population get routinely ressurrected as well?

3) Area descriptions.

When given tasks, we are often given specific area names. Sometimes, asking about the location of these names seems OOC. How do we handle questions like "Where is the thoroughfare?" or "How do I get to area X?"

I think these are some of the more common OOC/IC pitfalls, and I'd love some feedback on IC phrasings and approaches to these topics.

Skah wrote:Is most of the general population of Clok on the ESP network? Is it okay to ask IC if someone is listening, awake, around? What's a better way to phrase these.

First of all, know that ESP range is limited. It's not a global-range network - you're only going to be communicating with people that are relatively close, geographically. I've intended to limit ESP range a bit mechanically depending on location, so thoughts seem faint or quiet if they're coming from somewhere particularly far away, or not received at all if it's too far. "Rias, this will kill community togetherliness!" Whatever, that's a discussion for another time. Moving on ...

A significant portion of the Northern Lost Lands population listens to ESP, though I imagine it's a fairly small fraction overall. Of those people, a good portion of them likely avoid the Gray channel, as it's a common hangout for those creepy Undying people and others who are often offensive, rude, or dangerous. I imagine Gray is considered something of a creepy, dangerous place for people to broadcast their thoughts and such, and that most of the NPC population makes use of tuners for specific channels, and tune out the Gray channel.

I think it's okay to ask if someone is listening (the term "awake" bothers me), although it does bug me that people seem to always ask once they notice someone has logged in. I'm not saying this will get you into trouble and you'll be banned or something over it - it just bugs me, and it is metagaming when people mysteriously just "happen" to ask right after someone logs in. How fortuitous! If people want to make their presence on ESP known, they can do the pulse, or send a general greeting or something. Consider the idea that some people may prefer not to have their presence on ESP known until they specifically announce such, by either a pulse or a broadcasted thought of their own. Seeing that someone is online in the WHO list should not be reason for your character to assume that they are now tuned in to ESP. That's taking OOC information IC.

How are we supposed to react IC to the undying thing? Dying is routine for some players. Is it a big deal IC every time? Are we unusual in thatwe get ressurrected, or does the general population get routinely ressurrected as well?

First of all, for your reading pleasure: http://wiki.contrarium.net/index.php/Undying

It should be a fairly big deal IC every time. I don't think anyone ever gets "used to" death, even if they're Undying, to the point that they can say "meh" or just brush it off like it's not a big deal. ICly, being parted from the body conveys an extreme sense of loss and displacement, and memories are often lost or broken upon one's return. There is also a period during which one is significantly drained, disoriented, and confused after returning (see your effects and the skill gain dampener for a mechanical effect of this).

As mentioned in the article I provided above, there is always, lore-wise, a chance that an Undying person's death will be their last, despite the fact they're "Undying". People shouldn't assume in-character that they're immune to death - there's always that chance that next time, they won't be able to come back.

How do we handle questions like "Where is the thoroughfare?" or "How do I get to area X?"

Regarding the first, I would say something like "Which one?" A thoroughfare is just a road. The place to which they're referring actually has a widely-known name ("Tarueka"), and they should use it. That's like saying "meet me at the clearing." Which one? Unless you're in a specific situation where the context is already known (say, two hunters out in Bristbane Forest get separated, and one says to the other "Meet at the clearing", obviously that's going to be a clearing in Bristbane that they're both familiar with), please try to be specific. Just because there's only on thoroughfare that PCs can go to with the command "go thoroughfare" doesn't mean that's the only thoroughfare out there. Might I suggest something like "Meet at the Tarueka thoroughfare?" I know, it's more keystrokes, and who has that kind of time, right? We got serious MUDding to do!

Using oversimplified terms in general tends to bug me. One of my (least) favorites is the frequently-uttered "hunting merchants". Yikes! Did you hear that, traders, merchants, and peddlers? Merchants are being hunted, better be on your guard. I've even had NPCs react with worry and fear a few times to this type of situation. Is it really too hard to be a little more specific and say "infested merchants"? Sure, you and other player characters might get the generalized lingo, but the majority of listeners (NPCs) are going to think you're some kind of brigand or highwayman who's targeting traders and merchants along the roads or something.

Related to that situation, it also bugs me when people say things like "meet at the caravan." Just like the "thoroughfare" situation: which one? There's bound to be more than one caravan in the Northern Lost Lands.

First to add to the original post, I agree that area names can get a little sticky with trying to stay IC about them. Particularly though, areas of the wilderness can get confusing. It's been said by other players that the area command is ooc, and yet guild tasks send us to very specific areas sometimes. So, lore wise, how do people know what area of the wilderness they are in? I would say that off screen pretend maps would work, but that wouldn't make sense either when someone's asking, hey where is this whatever area I've never heard of? And yet, limiting ourselves to never ask for hints on how to find a part of the wilderness seems a bit harsh.

Along those same lines, how should we portray new areas found? I know that lore wise they've always been there, but it's hard to play that exactly when no one actually knows where it is. Of course a simple solution would be for admin to announce the release of new areas and a general idea of where they are, then people can just play it like we've always known it was there, but this may not be what the gms want to do. Is it reasonable to play it as if the area was there, but for some reason no one could access it? Trees were too thick and as the frontier is slowly cleared the new sections are discovered, or something similar?

Another tricky item is skills, particularly when it comes to teaching. Even trying to determine if one can teach another gets messy, because of course saying skill numbers would be super ooc. Often, I just try, and if it doesn't work I just sort of fake it, sometimes better than others, like oh, you're better at that trick than I am! Or if I get the message that they're studying too many skills already I might say, huh this doesn't seem to be sinking in very well, perhaps you should practice the other things until they're more natural then you can learn this? Similarly the whole, can anyone give me a lesson in dodge? In some ways it seems ok, in other ways it just seems slightly gamey, but perhaps I'm being just a bit too particular there. I've even tried to roleplay teaching a particular aspect of whatever skill, or emote something about rambling on about whatever, but I admit sometimes I get lazy and just do the teach command.