Orm_Proudfoot

Reading a two month old copy of a Hanseti newspaper that finally made its way to Bramblebury, Oren frowned at an article on the front page. "A new halfling village? And apparently by a group splintered from Bramblebury." He thought about the ramifications of such a split. "This does not bode well for the cohesion of the halfling race. And to name the new village for that ridiculous false god..." Oren shook his head slowly in disbelief before turning the page.

Beautifully compiled, but sorely lacking any halflings. I scrounged around on some old hard drives and found a few images from Dunwood, and a few more of the Undead City.

Here is St. Dan's Cathedral of the Diocese of Dunwood.

The Sturdyfoot Burrow at the corner of Dunwood near the waterfall.

The floating Undead City from afar.

And from nearby.

Proof that even the Undead were regular players who adhered to the server economy.

It was a rather unwelcoming place.

We had some really good times back then. Yes, the world was a lot fuller of random builds and the build style was a lot less refined than it is today, but the community thrived and enjoyed what we did have. A lot has changed in 10 years.

Again passing the notice board on his afternoon stroll, Oren paused to read through the lengthy missive. Another bit of history of the early days in Almaris. An interesting read, but one painting the halflings in a negative light with all the turmoil permeating the supposedly cheery, peaceful village. Having finished, he turned away and continued on his stroll while deep in thought.

As he usually does in the late afternoon, Oren was taking his daily stroll through the village when a colorful pamphlet attached to the notice board caught his attention. He paused to read through the latest installment of the recent history of the halflings. He finally turned away to continue his stroll, mumbling quietly to himself, as he is oft to do. "Interesting bit of history. At least I've met many of them this time."

4 hours ago, NotEvilAtAll said:

Modern roleplaying servers have very little map interactivity compared to other Minecraft servers. Vanilla survival servers have a fully interactable map minus areas players have protected against griefing, factions servers let you build anywhere that isn't claimed by a faction yet, towny servers operate similar to factions but with a less competitive plugin, yet roleplaying servers are in the unique position of having massive, fleshed out worlds that players can't build anything in without going through a bunch of staff bureaucracy (and meeting a bunch of requirements) or begging a Nation Leader for land on Discord.

I don't care if a bandit camp or wizard tower won't have people in it all the time, it's not a detriment to the server in my eyes. I'd much rather have an interactable world full of the strange things players have created rather than a museum where all there is to do is head to a city's tavern or wait around for an event planned on discord.

This exactly. A definite emphasis on the word modern because LotC of old had tons of map interactivity. And a ton of roleplay. They went hand in hand.

Imagine traveling from Providence to Elvenesse. Why? Because you are the Ambassador of Oren to Elvenesse sent to negotiate a trade agreement between the nations. Now, imagine a world without warps. You have to travel between by ship, foot, or horse. If by foot/horse, that's a long way to travel. Along the way, you stop at roadside inns overnight, gossiping with the innkeep, listening to a minstrel play the lute in a taproom warmed by a glowing fire, rolling dice with local farmers. A few days into your journey, your horse throws a shoe. You limp him to a small village just off the main road to find a blacksmith who can reshod the horse. The next day, you stand at swordpoint, wishing you had brought along guards because three bandits are demanding your purse of minas and your shoes, of all things. Dusty and tired from the long journey, you finally arrive at Elvenesse...only to find that war was declared between your nations while you were on the road. Now, you are the prisoner of the elves waiting to be ransomed back to Oren.

The builds don't have to be perfect. The proprietors won't always be online. However, the world will still feel lived in, and if each player is limited to a specific amount of land, then the map won't be completely overrun by abandoned builds. And instead of staff deciding whether builds fit the theme or are "good enough," allow a player-run "Guild of Architects" or "Guild of Engineers" to travel throughout the land roleplaying with players whose builds could either use some help or need to be demolished because of "severe safety violations." 

There used to be a rule that a player cannot remove the walls of another player's build. This made it difficult to break into someone's house if the doors were locked. I remember some crazy go-arounds some people dreamed up to get in without breaking blocks, but for the most part, everyone was cool with the rule because it meant that their stuff would be relatively safe despite their settlement/house/etc. not being protected by a plugin. There are ways of making it work and still having just as much, if not more, roleplay opportunity.

I'm resurrecting this thread for two reasons. First, I read all the way through the replies and found the discussion interesting. Second, I actually have something to say about it.

Some very good points have been made in the replies. While no one actually summarized them as such, almost all these points regarded player agency. This is a vital concept that is a requirement for retention in any game, but especially in a creative sandbox such as Minecraft. If players, new or old, do not feel as if their actions matter, they won't stay. This comes in various forms.

LotC's hook is the roleplay element. It is what initially brings new players to the server. The application process is the first hurdle to retention. 10% of accepted players never log in! In part, this probably stems from the relatively long wait time between application submission and review. The Community Team currently has 21 members! There is no excuse for eight to twenty hours passing before an application is even looked at by a staff member - and I saw several cases of that in the last week. When I assisted in application review back in 2011, when the number of daily applications was considerably higher than now, we tried to review every application within two hours of submission. With 21 staff members reviewing applications and only a dozen or so new applications per day, the turnaround should be closer to that two hour mark.

The second hurdle is freebuild. Players, new and old, need the opportunity to express their creativity through more than just their writing. Reserving tiles for future nation expansion is a lousy excuse for not allowing freebuild in non-nation areas. If nations want to expand into those areas, they can either declare war on the inhabitants and win it or negotiate with the inhabitants for annexation. Both would be fun, exciting roleplay opportunities. Just last night, I loaded up the old Aegis map and tried to find my old house in Dunwood. I could remember how to find Dunwood starting from Oren, but couldn't remember where Oren was in relation to the orc lands, which is where I spawned. So, I spent an hour and a half exploring the map again while trying to find Oren (which I finally did). In 2011, I thought the builds stunning feats of architecture. Through the reading glasses I now wear a decade later, they were decidedly less so, especially compared to the fantastic skill of today's builders. However, the world felt alive. Everywhere I went there were villages, walled towns, farmsteads, guild halls, forts, mage towers, universities, logging camps, bandit camps, and roadside inns, all linked by an extensive player-built road network. While the freebuilds were for the most part subpar by today's standard, they represent the creativity, activity, and enjoyment of hundreds of players over the course of only eight months or so. They represent the best of player agency - the players had the freedom to roleplay how they wanted. They weren't forced into positions they didn't want. Nations rose and fell, expanded and contracted. Diplomacy was a real profession and roleplayed brilliantly. The military camps that dot the map existed for a purpose.

Almaris feels empty. Outside of the major cities, and not even in all of them, you rarely find another player. Mainly because nothing exists outside of the cities, or at least very little. Roadside inns or bandit camps would generate considerably more roleplay than a city full of afkers and silly jumpers, both of which I have encountered in the last week. Plus, as any author will tell you, conflict drives story. So your player gets murdered by bandits...so what? Create a new character and jump back in. So your farm out in the wildlands is looted and burned by a roving band of mercenaries...so what? Rebuild even better than before - maybe add some fortifications. So your wizard tower has exploded in a flash of light caused by a misfired spell...so what? Now it is an interesting ruin in the forest that adventurers will seek out in a hundred years while searching for the wizard's magical amulet. Destruction leads to more interesting roleplay than peace. 

The third hurdle is the lore. One of the replies to this thread recommended wiping the slate clean with each new map and starting afresh with new characters and lore. I can definitely see the benefits in doing so, but there are also negatives. Players have, in some cases, spent years spinning grand stories about their character or dynasty. Casting that aside will negatively impact player retention. However, lore seems now to be more of a top down system. Once again referring back to my days in Aegis, very little staff crafted lore existed. Yes, some ancient history was in place and the four racial kingdoms existed from the start, but from that point forward, lore was player generated through roleplay. Institutions were created by the players on the fly, not by applying for permission to start a new religion, or guild, or mercenary band. You simply did it and if your roleplay was convincing enough, others jumped on board and voila, you had an institution that worked its way into the server lore. If your roleplay wasn't convincing, your institution failed and faded away into history. Lore is part of player agency. Just let it happen.

There are a lot of lessons we can take from the more relaxed early days of LotC. Things weren't perfect then, but boy did we have a lot of fun. Fun that I can sense is fleeting now. In just the week or so I've been back, I have already fallen into the common pattern of waiting for an event to be posted in Discord before hopping onto the server. Why? Because otherwise I would quickly become bored for lack of anything to do. I can't build anything. There are few players online roleplaying in my region. The crops are growing slowly so I have nothing to harvest and replant. I can't go off into the forests to harvest logs or herbs or mushrooms because it's all protected. And the roleplay I want to do has been denied by the story team. Doesn't leave much player agency.

Sadly, LotC is a shadow of its former self. I'm disappointed to see it. After 10 years, I expected more than a museum. Give players agency and retention will improve. It really is that simple.

A year later and still relevant. I definitely consider myself a Boomer.

Slowly passing through the village center on his way back to the inn, Oren notices a new flyer on the notice board. A chance to meet more of the halflings of this village. He pondered over that as he continued on his way.

Congratulations, Treshure!

Love it! It's cozy and well decorated. Definitely looks lived in. I especially love the exterior - how you decorated the top and sides with trees and small garden plots. Thanks for sharing with us.

Just submitted my application for the new character. I doubt I'm still whitelisted after all this time, plus my minecraft account name changed. 

As soon as I'm able, I will hunt you down. Thanks again!

8 hours ago, Treshure said:

Welcome back! A lot's changed, but much more has stayed the same. Think you'll enjoy your time here.

Thanks! I spent a few hours last night reading through the history of the current map and bits of history of the other maps since I left. There's a lot! I mapped myself out a direct family tree, so if I were to create a descendant of my last persona, it would be the 11th generation descendant of my last character. We'll see. I'm playing with a friend this time around, so we're discussing what type of characters to play this time.

1 hour ago, NotEvilAtAll said:

Here's a link to the halfling discord if you're interested. The main halfling village is an Elven vassal at the moment. To get there, just head down the road to Elvenesse at the Western Warp (Idol's Garden), and eventually there will be a right turn off to the village of Bramblebury.
https://discord.gg/uXsA9wq

Here's the big ol' halfling guide I made 2 years ago. I might make a more updated one soon, who knows:

Halflings no longer follow human religion (for the most part, at least. There's been a few Canonist halflings in the past few years). Most of us worship some combination of Pumpkin/Harvest spirits or are Druids and worship the Aspectist deities and use Druidic magic. We even have a Shaman halfling in the village right now, so there's quite a bit of religious diversity.

If you want more information on where Human religion has gone since Aegis, contact @Burnsider I'm sure he'd know a fair bit more than I.

Thank you very much! I was looking at the map trying to figure out where halflings were living in this cycle, but couldn't see any telltale signs of burrows and fields. And the religious differences over the years is infinitely interesting. Might have to return to enliven the religious scene once again.

8 minutes ago, VIROS said:

Welcome back! It has been a long long time since the True Faith had a high priest instead of a high pontiff...

Thanks! Even if the title has changed, I am glad to see that the True Faith continues after so many centuries. 

5 minutes ago, Fie said:

oh wow, welcome back! glad you found the milk

Thanks! It's warm and tastes a bit off, but I'm glad to finally have milk too.

Howdy folks! A long, long time ago, when our people still dwelt in Aegis, I roleplayed three generations of a halfling family, serving as the Mayor of Dunwood with one, Bishop of Dunwood as another, and the High Priest of Oren with the third. If any oldtimers remain, they may remember the old halfling Sturdyfoot family. I was also one the GMs and the chief of religious development. 

Well, I'm back...eight years later. :P Sorry it took so long. I just ran out for a pint of milk. The line at the counter was really long...or something. 

New or old, I'm looking forward to getting to know everyone. I'll see you all in-game, with a new character, of course, as Owen Sturdyfoot has been dead for over four hundred years by this point.

Applicants, when formulating your replies to the various situations, keep in mind that as a Paladin, you are a representative of the Church, and as such, your actions not only need to align with man's law, but also the Law of the Light.

As the Head of the Sturdyfoot Clan, Ah must declare mah support and agreeability fer the appointment of mah cousin, James, as heir apparent.

All are welcome, indeed, but mind yah, yah'll all be carefully watched fer awhile. Most of the town 'as been abandoned fer many years, but thar is at least one burrow still occupied regularly - that of the Mayor, and Ah won't tolerate any disruptions tah our peaceful way of life.

Sadly, I burned the double chest full of books I had last week. They weren't stacking and I needed the room, plus in its current state, I absolutely abhor the book plugin. Perhaps because I don't know how to use it properly. :(

Owen Sturdyfoot had been receiving reports on the activities in Oren for several days. The crowning of Hochmeister Gaius, rather than extinguishing the flame of rebellion, seemed to fan it ever brighter. When Owen read a report from his cousin stating that a new king had been crowned by the people, then another hours later that stated Gaius still held the throne, he knew he had to take action to protect his beloved village and neighbours.

Slowly walking to the tavern on the lake, past the fields of golden wheat and the sawmill, Owen resolved himself of his decision. At the tavern, he posted the notice he had carefully written before leaving his burrow.

To All the Halflings of Dunwood,

It saddens me to announce that for our safety and continued peace, I am severing the ties to the human Kingdom of Oren, which our fathers and grandfathers forged over sixty years ago. The troubles arising with the fall of the capital, Al'Khazan, and the subsequent rebellions against the monarchy followed by the week of the three kings, have led me to realize that our association with Oren can bo longer be to our benefit. We are a peaceful, quiet folk, and need take no part in these troubling events. For our continued safety, we can no longer be under the protection of a kingdom that wars with itself at the cost of its capital and countless lives. Dunwood is now independent.

~Owen Sturdyfoot, Mayor of Dunwood

Owen Sturdyfoot was sipping a cup of tea in his kitchen in Dunwood when he heard the screech of a messenger owl outside. Retrieving the note attached to the owl's foot, he returned to the kitchen and slid his reading glasses on to read the message.

King Enor has passed his throne to Hochmeister Gaius. Gaius asked for the rebels against Enor to work with him to ensure Oren's survival. Requesting instruction before action. ~Arman

Owen frowned into his tea as he set the note down on the table. He had had few dealings with the Hochmeister over the years, and even his father and grandfather's journals made no mention of the man. Unsure of what opinion to have of the new king, Owen went down the stairs to his basement workroom to compose two notes in return. The first was short, only the first two lines of the message he himself had received and addressed to his cousin, Bishop Oliver. The second, addressed to Arman, was longer, but conveyed a wait and see attitude.

Summoning two of his own messenger owls, Owen attached the notes and sent them on their way. Only time would tell how this change would play out...

There is no "correct" way to "use" one's noble title. However, your assumption of a leadership role is a great way to become involved. Nobles should be players that immerse themselves in the world and strive to create a better experience for everyone else as well as themselves. For instance, nobles should participate in the organization and execution of RP events throughout the world. Rather than expect the staff to create all RP events, nobles should take it upon themselves to create player-driven events.

Hawk, you seem to be doing this as the Commander of the Rangers. Just keep at it.

Zebana, I would like to comment on your assessment of nobles as being pointless. The nobility of LotC has been underutilized considerably in favour of a more autocratic model. Many of the noble houses of note consist of non-donators, while the donation nobles frequently keep a low profile politically.

This is not due to favouritism or elitism - it simply boils down to personality. Noble Houses arise due to the drive of an individual or small group. Players make themselves known through their interactions, motivations, and leadership abilities. Although the donation descriptions state that certain levels of donation automatically confer on the donator the position of a noble of their race's kingdom, many players do not take advantage of that distinction and pursue it to its fullest.

Instead, they either use their protected plot to build a new town off in the Wilds or simply run an inn along the King's Road, either content to stay out of the political realm or unsure as to how to rightfully take their place as a noble of the realm.

In theory, nobles should be some of the most esteemed, active members of society. However, in practice, they often fall short because of the reasons stated above. The highest leadership of each kingdom should task itself to utilizing these players to the kingdom's advantage, by making a place for them in the political structure of the kingdom, using them as advisers, officers of the court, or granting them administrative duties over a certain area of the kingdom. If nothing else, the noble court should exercise some influence in the succession of the throne when the king dies.

Thus, do not criticize the rank of noble, rather aid those with that rank in fulfilling their role in LotC by becoming the personal leaders they paid to be...

I like the ideas a lot. Am I right in presuming that you are a Christian chad? That would make my day because I am a Christian. I study the medieval church a lot in school and will understand where you come from and bring my own ideas forth.

Fairly close. I'm actually Unitarian, but I primarily study the Catholic Church.

The Levitican Church

It's a great name for the human church because it already has hints of religion tied in, but isn't a real religion or even a real world for that matter. Levitican is what I've been calling the church in my own documents.

We can adhere to the standard creation story with a few minor changes, so the background lore won't be as difficult to create. As it is built on the model of the Medieval Catholic Church, the ceremonies can be somewhat shared - both Everard and I drew heavily on Catholic traditions in the ceremonies we performed.

Hierarchy of the Clergy

1. Patriarch - The Patriarch is the head of the church, first and foremost. This player presides over Church Councils, mediates between clergy members, advises and/or gives orders to monarchs, and performs any other administrative duties necessary.

2. Archbishop - An archbishop is a powerful clergy member that presides over a large ecclesiastical area. The archbishop's seat is almost always in a capital city at a large, lavish cathedral. The archbishop advises the local monarch and acts as a diplomat of the Church in that land. The archbishop also oversees the clergy within their archdiocese and are ultimately responsible for the spiritual well-being of every soul within their diocese.

3. Bishop - Bishops are the middle men of the Levitican Church. Presiding over a smaller diocese and seated at a cathedral in a town or smaller city, the bishop answers to an archbishop, but also oversees the parish priests within their diocese. The bishop advises the local noble or mayor and acts as a liaison between that official and the Church.

4. Priest - The priest is the foundation of the Church. They have the most direct contact with the ordinary citizen as the priest of a small parish church in a village or in the Wilds. Priests often become influential members of their community because they have contact with every member of the settlement on a regular basis. Priests officiate at weddings, funerals, and baptisms, and may choose to hold regular sermons if they so wish. A newly ordained priest may be appointed to a specific parish, or may be granted the right to construct their own church in a new location. When the Patriarch dies, resigns, or is removed from office in some manner, an assembly of all the Church's priests is held to choose a successor, indirectly giving priests a good deal of power within the Church hierarchy.

Duties of the Clergy

For ease, clergy members in this section will generically be called priests.

Priests are beholden to Church law at all times or risk excommunication. Church law will be explained in a later post.

Priests have a duty to their congregations - the non-clergical members of the server - to ensure their spiritual well-being and provide sanctuary for those that require it. In exchange for their intervention with god, citizens should donate to the Church regularly to ensure that they maintain a good relationship.

Priests are to perform certain ceremonies as need arises. Priests will perform weddings, funerals, baptisms, coronations, ordinations, purifications, excommunications, healing rituals, and exorcisms as needed. Priests are not required to perform regular sermons, but may if they so desire.

Parish Priests of small settlements are required to organize occasional events, such as a market day or a church festival, to encourage interaction between citizens.

Priests may seek political office or may hold an appointed government position as long as the duties so entailed do not interfere with their ecclesiastical duties or go against Church law.

Priests may also accumulate individual wealth, although a small tribute will be expected on certain occasions to the Church coffers.

More later.

As it is inevitable that multiple villages, towns, and cities will arise within the human kingdom, and that later predominantly human independent towns, cities, and kingdoms will be founded, the church hierarchy will become important to the organization of the church and the accumulation of power, wealth, and political influence. I attended university to gain a degree in history, which I did, then later went to seminary and received a doctorate in theology. My primary focus is on the development of the medieval church, which fits in well with LotC because we have a fairly High Medieval fantasy theme.

The Medieval Church was very pragmatic. Most church officials thought more in terms of secular power than spiritual power. Medieval clergy was still the intermediate between the ordinary person and God, but with that position came great secular power. The Church basically scared people into submission by preaching about damnation and hell. Sermons were not pleasant during that time because the priests had an ulterior motive - to make the ordinary people so scared of hell that they would do anything to get to heaven. That included paying large sums of money to the Church for salvation and subjecting themselves to manual labour in the Church's employ.

I'm not saying that we need to create a church of doom and gloom. We can have a positive message, but at the same time take the example of the Medieval Church as a method of accumulating power and wealth. For the clergy, their primary duty will be to act as a liaison between the people in their parishes and the Church leadership. Ecclesiastical laws can be passed requiring all settlements to build a church within their borders. Villages will get simple parish churches, towns will get larger churches, cities will build cathedrals and become the ecclesiastical seats of bishops, capital cities will also have cathedrals which will be the seats of archbishops. The capital of the primary human kingdom will have within it an independent, sovereign district that will serve as the seat of the Patriarch, the head of the entire church.

Other races are more than welcome to adhere to the church, but most likely, there will be three or four main religions. It is in the church's best interest to have neutral relations with most other religions, tolerating their existence, but we should choose one to declare heathen and blasphemous, thus encouraging holy wars, which will bring great RP events to the server and serve as a form of strife on an otherwise peaceful world.

More in a bit.