Rig

Saw my friend Nectorist post, also gonna post to create a little bit of noise and good trouble! 1. Address bans in a timely fashion. a.) If denying players, notify them they're being denied. Limbo = Bad. You don't need to reveal the details of these bans, which might consequently lead to the reporting parties being harassed, but you should issue a statement denying or accepting an appeal. b.) When issuing bans, consider the amount of harm involved (major harassment, libel, worse). 2. If removing members of staff, give them the opportunity to resign. If this courtesy was extended to the last CT Lead, I don't see why it wouldn't be given to Mod Managers/members? a.) Don't remove people for dissenting opinions unless they cause real and verifiable harm (i.e., Xarkly is not harmful, even if his opinions might be strong). Examples of bad opinions include defending bad behavior or CGV/TOS banned players. b.) In the case where there is massive widespread discontentment on the server, address the playerbase in a meaningful way. Ship of Modtheus is a bit on the nose. If every mod is replaced, it's still the mod team; it just might not be the same members. c.) Realistically, removing people for "just keeping the lights on" is messed up. When you remove a staff member, you're basically trading somebody with experience for somebody without it. I don't believe Trinn and Frankdh are incapable of their new roles, but in the case of those two staff members being removed (Spoopy + Xarkly), if there are problems with their behavior or etiquette, that should be the reason. And if it must be omitted, you must explain why the reason is omitted on the post. Otherwise, go figure, you help produce situations like these where people are tilted beyond belief because nobody is listening to them. There's no expectation that you obey every single individual thing people on the server want, but there is the expectation that people should at least feel heard, and that staff members are supposed to be acting in the best interest of the server itself and the community it harbors. My message is consistent. To continue to expect players to remain calm when they're being routinely ignored is just generating more problems than anything else. A lack of answers generates anxiety, and anxiety leads to people lashing out. Lots of people might not appreciate that I'm kind of detached from all of this despite the fact I miss my banned friend Milenkhov, but the reality is I have work tomorrow and I've faced the same situation Spoopy and Xarkly have before. For me, I was put on the chopping block by an Administrator who target banned me for role-play I did where I tried to coup a nation. Lost my Mod role due to that. Spoopy's handled it in good humor for the most part, I don't know much about Xarkly's situation, but it's a slap to the face regardless. HOW TO RECTIFY THIS, - Give banned players a yes or no on their verdicts. - Kiss and make up with the other Admins, negotiate a bit more. - Maybe privately apologize to the staff members who were removed and give them the full reasons for their removal. If it fell down merely to clashing personalities, you can politely explain your stance there. - Begin treating players more seriously so that when the straw breaks the camel's back, there isn't uproar like this, and you could at least say you did your best. For those critical of my stance & assertions, know that these are my opinions as somebody who is relatively tired of the lack of cohesiveness on staff right now, and I predict that if things don't get better soon we're going to be headed into a very chaotic year with lots of staff/player infighting, removals, bitterness, and worse. I know that Josh probably won't listen, but I figured that while there is all this noise, that's the time to get this post out as well. Players are at the forefront of how this server runs. They submit lore, they play every single day, they donate money. It's not that players are customers who are always right or something. But the value of our players should not be understated. Frankly, it's a real travesty that people have been repeatedly stonewalled to the point that they feel the only way to fix it is by making as much noise as possible. But that's what happens when nobody is listening - people get louder!

Primary issue I experience is that I need to choose between role-playing or mining with my playtime everyday. A lot of my time on is spent AFK while I do RL housework or my side gig. LoTC's time sink expectations are not reasonable for adults who are outside of university. Fact is, I play to RP, and I'm never going to choose mining over role-playing. A happy medium would be making certain ores common, but making some scarcer (e.g., netherite). That way there's not gear scarcity, there's just big scarcity for top-notch gear.

"It takes bravery for a man to fail and readily confess so. Dreams are ephemeral and short." The masked fellow continued along the road, guiding himself along the path with his staff.

The people who think that Zar'akal would not produce other Zar'akal are wrong. Mine produces them because he views them as experiments more or less, and as his own children. Every person he can sway to take a grimoire or become a Zar'akal is under his protection. This isn't even out of love, it's because he's a narcissist and they're his tools, and they're extensions of himself by proxy. He cannot rationalize that they are other people, he views them the way somebody would cattle, or a useful weapon. It's very sociopathic at its core. Furthermore, an egomaniacal creature despite fearing death might still produce other creatures despite that, because they are egomaniacal and feel they can exert control over those other creatures. Naztherak is at its core a community-centered magic. Each Warlock has to work with one another to produce a number of different desired outcomes, some ritualistically, and others just being goals like toppling an enemy coven by outnumbering them, or other things that are more hierarchical and socially inclined. It is often Naztherak or Zar'akal who deviate from group norms who find themselves hunted down or fought against. Pack animals aren't solely together out of love; it comes from mutual benefit, and in the case of many Warlock/Zar'akal it can even be a parasitic relationship where an abuser/user converts people into being useful agents to do their bidding. I more or less roleplay Henry Kissinger.

Vale tribesman attempting to assassinate Emperor Hadrian of the Emperor of Man, colorized.

Naztherak is a magic so thematically compelling that it took my character (a pious and religious monotheistic elf) and warped him into a Demon King. Originally rolled with Templarism in mind, my character was gradually ushered from being a hunter of Inferi to being one himself. Below I will illustrate things the magic does well: Positives: The lore is well-balanced and taken care of. Many of the groups in the player base are intentional about their villainy RP and kind to people they interact with. The magic is useful and can drive role-play very well through things like Cursed Idols and trickery on the part of the Naztherak sorcerer themselves. The magic has very cool mechanics and the end game rocks. Genuinely. Lots of work has been invested by the community as a single body to make the lore better, even if people in role-play don't agree on much of anything. The changes to disconnection have added stakes to the magic. EXCELLENT character development, great descriptions on part of the writers as to what happens to your character. Negatives: It is too easy to be granted an Inferis. I think that Zar'eika and Imps should have timers, and costs for their creation like Kloning. That way, people can't just pump endless amounts of them, which go AFK, then we have a stack of unactive Inferi sitting around. The player base has too many internal debates on themes that can more or less be solved by each respective side minding their own business. An acquaintance of mine Gomi was mocked for wanting to try their hand at playing a Warlock who attempted to remain good, this was more or less trolled to death on the out-of-character level. The point of the magic/CA is that the character is more or less at war with themselves and will always fall prey to their bad decisions, and to their malices. I understand people have their own beliefs on what qualifies as good role-play, but this is an example of a situation where I feel people should have been more tolerant. So long as a Naztherak isn't going around sipping tea all day, I don't personally care how they develop their character, as long as they always fall prey to their malices, and do not do stereotypical anime protagonist RP when they're at best a satanic idiot who's been duped by one of the five evil Pentacle Lords into being an errand boy. I feel like the lore can use polishing when it comes to the Demonic Compendium, and that Moz'Strimoza itself requires more elaboration as a lore location. I also think language can be clarified more on the lore thread and some passages can be shortened or explained differently. I think that this is going to be my most unconventional opinion and one that might attract outcry, but I believe that Naztherak should be able to have a mele route they can choose, and instead of being a caster they have a cursed weapon. Additionally, I think a future addition should emphasize the deal-oriented nature of the magic and add in spells that are for pacts between individuals. This opinion will draw lots of fire, I think it would be interesting to have Naztherak who refuse to progress to T4 or T5 (thus being fully dedicated to evil), and that tricksters could steal the magic and be constantly hunted by Inferis and Naztherak. It'd be cool to have people who steal the abilities and as a consequence end up hunted down for trying to do "good guy" or "anti-hero" things. This should have immense costs, but I love the idea of Inferi hunters who practice Naztherak. I also like magics on the server being open-ended. A big part of why I love Templarism is that its focus on courage doesn't necessarily emphasize good or evil. The character's own values shape their use of the magic, they just aren't allowed to be a coward. Inferi characters should be rarer and given more autonomy, rather than Warlock slop summons. They should have a real, elaborative contract. If they fulfill this contract, they should be given their freedom in return, and be able to roam on their own.

L

"That was the Orcs you silly Pinkie," said the vengeful apparition of Rhak'Dom, Rex of Lurak.

bernard we need to kill the bellyslappers before we argue about temporal and Ecclesiastical authority, you have been most pragmatic in your assertions here

aen Sov represent

"This guy was supposed to carry me in this game we were playing," seethed the Demon King. "Where is he? My reputation is COLLAPSING."

I like it! Please include more avian symbology though. LoTC's bird people were made by this guy!

Favorite war? Favorite personal character? Favorite historical figure in LoTC?

"Good soldiers follow orders. All counterrevolutionaries shall be terminated." said Inquisitor Gaius to Misha. @Malta

"Pride comes before the fall," said Inquisitor Gaius.

"I HAVE BEEN SAYING THIS!" shrieked High Inquisitor Gaius.

The Emperor's pageboy attempted to defend the woman's honor, and was promptly sent to the gallows for raising his tongue. His corpse dangled in front of the city gates. A stark reminder of how class consciousness continues to elude Imperial civilians. In some other part of the world, captured Goblin metalworkers are seen working on the hull of a great weapon of mass destruction, one of them tumbling into the thing's exhaust port.

Inquisitor Gaius does a fourth wall break where he looks through Grand King Ulfar's computer monitor and directly into his eyes. "You're doing your best and sometimes that's all you need. A lot of people will be quipping on here, but the end result doesn't matter. It's about how hard you try!"

Elijah de Felsen looks to John de Felsen, "We have our work cut out for us." He said while he polished his hauberk on a little log he was sitting on in the de Felsen encampment.

P sure that guy was on your side, KBR killed him when he fought on your side. If he came back to sabotage you after death, you can report him for violating death rules. EDIT: Just read the main post, I basically said water is wet lmfao. I agree, team griefing should not be enabled.