VonAulus

I think I have been on both sides of this issue pretty recently and it is extremely difficult to legislate for. Player's and staff both want defined rules that they can use to make situations go away that are a problem. More charters/settlements does not equal more integration into the server for new players. The activity data from that last year would show that is inverse, more people log in when the roleplay hubs are more active. If people really wanted, World Team could publish a report of what the data shows. We have detailed data at least ranging back to February which would be  before Corona went global.

However, I am reading this thread and there is something to the suggestions of chaos and dynamism being important. That is not necessarily something the staff can fix all on its own. Charters are not dynamic though, they are linear. You make a city - you recruit people - you burn out - there is an empty city staff has to deal with and make rules around. It is a viscous cycle that only the most capable are able to upend. Maybe this has caused an over reaction on the part of World Team, including policy I helped push through. Dynamism server wide, however, must rely on player actions and decisions. From perspective of being an Admin and from being one of the almost decade long players, the desire to prevent one's loss is high these days. No one wants to lose now with so much invested, which touches on Urara's point of investment. That is a double edged sword with players being so invested in a nation they will sacrifice greater server health to protect the existence of their nation. I am sure there are moments I could have been accused of the same thing during my play time. Though I think I might have had the most cities burnt down in LotC's history.

I wish we could go back and see data from two maps ago and the freebuild era. I would guess it would not look as good as rose colored glasses see. Most of the best parts of the map where occupied by inactive free builds that had one person breaking activity check signs to keep their chests there. The server was much more racist, homophobic, transphobic, and full of sexual predators during that map as well. Of course those are not things that are completely fixed and never will be, but it is obvious meaningful improvements have been made on some of those fronts. 

I think most of the nations are controlled by a stagnant veteran player leadership that does not dream big or think creatively. People are set in their aesthetics and friend groups and would rather ride out slice of life roleplay. That is not something Admin's or Moderation or World can fix. I do think allowing Nation's to completely control their roads and way larger amounts of land across the board will bear fruit later into the map as Nations expand into each other. I am sure we will get our fill of war. I predict a summer war... there normally always is one.

I will be doing some more self reflection on how to help solve some of the 'boring' problem but my own ability to fix that has slightly been exhausted on the organization of the creation of this map. Sometimes you are going to have to look at yourself and see if you are contributing to the boring or doing something interesting. I remember a lot of epic or fantastical things that happened just because someone with an iron will refused to be denied IRP or OOCly. Maybe we are lacking those new personalities or they are prevented by waiting on the Admin team to approve anything. 

It both starts at the top and the bottom. It is unreasonable to expect 6 volunteers with no real power over the future of the server to fix our problems. However I could not see a solution to that problem besides change in ownership and a complete changing of what LotC is. Are we ready for what LotC would look like on the other side of an ownership change? I think a lot of people would rather hold onto their character/magical/national investments.

I appreciate people's comments on this thread, it has engaged my idle brain on this snowy day. 

RP Name: Alphonse Sylvester Halcourt
MC Name: Almaris
Voted: Yes :)

Keep up the good work Junar!

Good work Hiebe, so proud of everything we have been moving forward with! +1

So proud!

Hype!

So hype!

4 hours ago, Lurkero said:

dw im not even trying, I scrambled my old account and I have no intent to play or mess with ppl, i just made this to access areas I cant without an account. like this thread, but once this is done im out again lol

If anyone cares, its Arkelos.

I told you that you would be back. You promised me you would never come on here again. Maybe you should not make promises. 

I quite like the build. You guys put a lot of work in and it shows!

Please remain civil and the Administration will comment soon. Reminder, all involved are human beings and members of our community.

23 minutes ago, ScreamingDingo said:

 

That is pretty cool. 

8.0: Settlements

Howdy future citizens of Almaris, I am reaching out today to give a bit of an update on the Settlement system for next map. Firstly, four active Settlements from this map have already received vouchers for next map based on consistently meeting requirements. Al’Faiz, Vaelya, Talons Grotto, and Marsumar.

More info will be coming very soon to those four about land placement for next map.

For all those who did not meet this initial wave, there is going to be a simple process to attempt to get a Settlement for next map. There will not be a ton of these slots available and will be reserved for the best ideas the World Team thinks have a good chance of success. This form is applicable to both Settlements from the current map, and for new ideas.

Quick refresher on what we are looking for can be found in the current Region Rules post:

That is all I have for today, I will be checking the responses on this post for questions. You can also hit me up on Discord at Grool#6871.

https://forms.gle/rWArdFiuJwGWCB6A8

Welcome to the team, Anore!

Douglas ‘Douggie’ Denims would read over the notice with a tear in his eye. He would exclaim to any who would hear him. “This Simon Basrid fellow knew how to talk and knew how to listen. Very rarely do you find someone who has mastered both skills. The Empire will miss his service and I look forward to seeing what he does next. I imagine some magical curiosity will catch his fancy.”

Very proud Muffins, good job!

On 7/1/2020 at 10:33 PM, Keldrith said:

So about 2 years ago I led the Wilven Sanctuary Monks. I would like to ask the Community Team to stop using my Guild without my permission, as I still have a character who technically leads it. It was a player run organization, and was disbanded back in Vailor I believe. The Temple Monks are a different (Non-Playable) group that we used for the lore of revival, after our ability to do so was taken away. When I eventually left the Wilven Sanctuary to take a lotc break, I had made it clear to those in charge of the Community Team that our organization (Wilven Sanctuary) was strictly player-based. Not staff owned. I knew they had intentions on playing Temple Monks, but I never thought I would be unable to make Wilven Monk Items, even though I led the Guild for about a year or more. I got a notice after putting some Monk Items on the market, saying I was ‘falsifying’ them. I found this pretty strange, considering I helped manage the lore for the organization for years. If there are any monks left, I would be the last Wilven Monk around. So saying I can not make items that are clearly labeled Wilven Sanctuary Monk items, is very strange and I feel very wrong. Please contact me if you have any questions, Keldrith#4510. If this does not get fixed, I will try my best to work my way up the totem pole until it is fixed. It’s blatant plagiarism to use our guild name and lore without any given permission.

There are two separate issues you are wanting addressed here:

1. That Community Team has taken player run organization and is now using it.
2. You Own the Wilven Monks idea and LotC Staff is plagiarizing you. 

First, the Wilven Monks are part of the collective of LotC since the creation and the project was contributed to by players and staff, some around, some gone. 

If anyone has ownership to the name, it is @shiftnative

Here is an early lore piece, building on top of Native’s idea and group:

It appears players have in the past been allowed to participate in the organization, which was created by an Admin of the server, and have had special perks such as having homes and a base at the Cloud Temple to help new players. I agree with you that this has been the case in the past and it may be a good idea to take it back that direction in the future. 

This doc I found seems to be from 2016.

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1Qka8JHMr1TxA1CsJKK65BjoobKh_mGhhm_i5I1JXjkc/edit#heading=h.oz78tctpxlu6

This is 4 years after the order was founded by Native and naturally formed into something else. Since 2012 there have been multiple versions of staff monks, new player guides, roleplay mentors, and various other devices to attempt to help new players. The Wilven Monks are apart of that history and that is why Community Team took something that was inactive and attempted to use it to help the server. 

To take from my own brief example of submitting lore of the server. I helped Boogerbuster with finishing off the witch doctor shamanism lore back in the day. Once it was accepted I took a break and came back. It was completely different when I came back and they told me I had to reapply because things has changed in the magic system and shamanism. I realized that since I was gone, I was out of the loop and others who were actively using it had co-opted it. There is nothing wrong with that and it is part of being in a culture. People will take something you make and do something else with it. 

Another example would come more from my career as a builder. Many times I have built something for someone and they have left it abandoned and someone else moved in. The classic example would be the old city of Ves this map. The people I built it for let it go and someone else stepped in to use it. I might have bad feelings about that and not want them to use it, but there is no route or reason for me to take it away from them. They also evicted me from my own city I built but that is life. They were more proactive in taking hold of it and actively using it then I was and they are more then welcome to use the build or tear it down once I had vacated. 

A third example I will give is Carrion/Ruskan culture. The people who created Carrion/Kralta/Raevir do not condone the usage of the culture by all the different groups. The same could be said about the founding of Horen, Malinor, Krugmar, or the lore/culture of any player group. Once you create something it is out there to create off of. You don’t get to say, “No thats mine and only mine.”

I think there is an argument to allowing players to participate in the order and to have Wilven Monk Characters. That seems to be another discussion then the one we are having about who owns the lore. Insert meme about ToS but this is why that clause is important. The Wilven Monks were not your idea and you have no claim to any ownership in any sort of plagiarism case. The Monks are a central aspect to the lore and culture of the server and live in the collective. I personally see no issue in the Community Team using this IC representation as a front to their activities because it adds to the immersion. Why use a different group of monks when this one has been doing the same job for years, off and on? Now if you want to have a Monk civil war story line, sign me up for that warclaim. 

I would prefer to shift the conversation towards how the Monks could better integrate the player base and work from their current base of operations to offer the best experience to new players the server can provide. New ideas for content and positive steps is definitely where the Admins’ focus lies, not in the gerrymandering of the past. I can not comment on items being taken away from you but that has happened to me before and seems like a conversation to have the with Story Team on how to balance the current iteration of the monks and in returning your Lore Items. 

I am a slave to CMU ban me

Accepted, please msg me on discord : Grool#6871.

Hello Seuss, this application does not meet the Staff’s standard for what a Lair is. This camp could be done in another group’s region in coordination with them. I would suggest communicating with another group on Korvassa or on the mainland if you are still interested in putting this camp together. 

The First Bicentennial Helena House Tour Competition

Sponsored by Helena Red Ruby: Unleashed

The Ishikawa Room in the Gradic Manor of Felsen, 1554

To all homeowners of Helena, let it be known that in this year of our Lord 1767 the First Helena Housing Competition shall commence. Be you a smith or a merchant, an expert or a novice, you have the chance to earn a grand prize for the beauty of your home. The home is a person’s own kingdom, some people say. I don’t know them, but they sure say that. And you! The monarch of that land! Of course, not in truth. Our Imperial Majesty is the monarch. He owns all of your houses; he owns all of you in fact. My apologies, dear reader, I lose my train of thought. You are charged with decorating your castle- your house to your heart’s desire. Not the outside, unless you want a fine. The interior, I mean. The judges shall set upon your house like a pack of wolves on a babe left alone in the snowy woods. My overseer tells me that this metaphor is a bit overkill? Forget I even wrote that. Instead, they will set upon your house like a group of eager judges on an interior they have to judge. That’s a bit boring of a metaphor, but I’m not the one with the coffers am I? Damn bureaucrats. 

Moving on, I guess. The competition will be divided in a tripartite manner:
 

The Business Bracket | Prize: 2,000 Minas and the title Master of Business Decoration
There are those of you who battle in our free market system like gladiators of commerce. Some of you have beautiful shops, others have quite drab and ugly ones. It does not matter because now you have time to decorate your place of business! So decorate to your heart’s content and the most creative, the most intuitive amongst you vultures of the marketplace shall win a prize of 2,000 minas! Lord knows you need it, maybe you can invest in some cologne.  

The Manor Bracket | Prize: 2,000 Minas and the title Master of Manor Interior
To be frank, I’m not sure there’s even a point to including you folk in this competition. We all know that you’re too rich to afford an apartment but too lowborn to possess something of actual prestige. You’ll probably just hire the local interior decorator and, my boss says, that’s alright! Whoever among you has the most magnificent manor will score a prize of 2,000 minas. Not that you need it, parasites. 

The Apartment Bracket | Prize: 2,000 Minas and the title Master of Apartment Design
The apartments! This is where those of you in the city’s middle class can finally shove it in the manor folk’s face. Sure, they might win their bracket. But did they have to work with a ten by ten closet of a house? No! They had all the room in the world to work with, those retches. You folk, you salt of the earth, it is your duty to decorate the interior of your apartment and earn 2,000 minas to put food on the table. And…  maybe to make up for the debt you accrue buying decorations.

The Municipal Judges of Interior Design
+ Peridot Carrington, Sheriff
+ Green Carrington, Treasurer 
+ Douglas Denims, Master Builder 
+ Alpha Carrington, Former Mayor
+ The Colonel, A Colonel

Competition Entry Form

OOC

Welcome to the World Team Competition! 

The World Team is introducing a Building Competition to gifted, creative players! 

The general concept of this project is to come together with the community to provide a competitive event with the cooperation of the Community Team to enhance the players’ experience. It will reward players who show promising creative ability to provide to the Lord of the Craft’s platform, allowing others to share a more realistic experience. And for those interested in such,  perhaps entice some players to join our team! The competition is a glimpse into what both the World Team does daily and to connect our players with that!

General Rules

1. Theme: Participants must present a centralized theme in their build. 
2. With permission, participants will be allowed to work in groups. Players may not exceed a group of four. 
3. The World Team will host this competition for a few hours on the day, allowing all to complete their builds within a six hour time period.
4. Once in the competition you will be able to have access to a 100x100 plot but the required plot size is only a 50x50, a flat plotworld will be what you will be working on.

General Application Requirements

1. Players must be thirteen years old or above.
2. Given the style of your builds will determine your qualification. If you meet such requirements, you may be invited to an interview with the World Team.
3. This event will give you the tools and resources to extend a helping hand to those who seek to become a part of our team! 

So, what is the general application process?

To join our competition you simply need to join our Discord Server! (https://discord.gg/8WuyvY6)
Once you’ve done that simply follow the format in #interview-request to get a chance to join the competition!

So, what is the staff application process?

   Those who we see as fit to join the team will be approached by a member of our management. If you manage to get back to us with an interest in joining us we will consider your builds as your trial plots as if it was a normal Trial! No more than 10 applicants will be accepted at a time to the World Team.

Thank you for reading this post, we will be starting soon so do make sure to request an interview before then!

Prizes
First place: 10k Mina, 5 Rename Tokens.
Second place: 5k Mina. 4 Rename Tokens.
Third place: 2.5k Mina, 3 Rename Tokens.

Participation: 2 Rename Tokens.

Send inquiries to DylanDeNewb#3399 on Discord for more info.

Hi, I talked to you a bit in PM’s about this application, however, we did not seem to get to a consensus about what you need. Before fully ruling on what is going to happen with this Lair Application can you please expand on where or if you need a region. If you do not need a region there is not much of a point for this app. If you do end up losing your home, I think we would be more able to help with setting up a spot for camp roleplay. If you want, you can edit your responses to the questions above and send me a PM on Discord when you have reconsidered that point. 

Hi guys. I regret to inform you that your application for a lair has been unsuccessful.

Firstly, your ‘lair lore’ section was incomplete. We expect 1000 words of original content lore, written for the purposes of this application. You failed to meet that criteria - it is not optional. I did have a look at your past posts, and I’m not finding anything particularly compelling that explains what your group is about or why you require a lair. To me, this sounds like something that you can easily work with the event team to create, for event purposes rather than a player-run RP group.

Please keep in mind that anybody taking the details of your lair application into RP would be objectively metagaming, which is against the rules, so I do not accept your claim that ‘you can not explain nor give away every detail of what you are planning’. You did not give away any detail at all - not even an outline beyond past forum posts. If you really, really need your lore to be secret, I would encourage you to read the bottom of the lair application format. You can PM a mod to hide your thread if you feel it needs to be private.

You did not complete your ‘lair builds’ section satisfactorily. You need to have original builds prepared, including photos. You did not provide either.

Furthermore, I do not accept your response to the question about undertaking this group in an existing nation. You need considerably more detail and you need to interpret this through the prism of IC actions - you can not just say ‘oh, well, we’re edgy’. I want to know what it is you do to be edgy, why this would not be accepted by existing nations, what it will do to antagonize people, etcetera. Please elaborate on some specifics next time, perhaps even with some hypothetical scenarios. Why are you abducting people? What is your motivation in-character? This would be more apparent if you had completed the other sections.

Finally, I have to reject your response in respect to what this lair might add to the greater world around them. If you decide to make another lair application, I would like you to explain the nature of your ‘player run events of a dark caliber’ and your ‘unique dark lore’. Currently, a number of dark magic groups are extant on the server. I do not accept that you are unable to work with them for the purpose of what you are aiming to do here. Perhaps if you had developed your ideas further, I would be more inclined to do so.

Please remember that receiving a lair is a privilege afforded to those groups that are best placed to contribute to the server’s shared story, and that means this application is going to require a fair bit more detail to get you over the line. At the moment, this does not meet the required standard.