SmartScout

Robyn de Lyons would read over the missive in Aquilae, smile growing as he'd read over the paper, offering his aunt a smile as she'd come into the keep behind him and congratulate him, asking for advice as he'd go off to enjoy a drink, and then begin his work, the two previous codices in hand.

Robyn de Lyons would read over the missive with a nod, once happy and curious expression still marred with a deep, troubled frown, one which had not oft left it since the death of his father. He'd look to his mother as she'd sign to him and nod, saying softly and reassuringly "We can't let them win, mamej, we can't...not after what they've done to papa...to everyone...." He'd say, expression mostly resolved, already cried as much as he could have, they boy's expression and tone bearing a sort of grim resolve, perhaps a slight tinge of hope upon it, though his frown would deepen slightly as he'd turn away, as time has begun to stress to him his mother's constant silence and cold, and that perhaps his father was not the only thing lost that day, at least in terms of their presence and demeanor.

Robyn de Lyons would read over the missive from his new friend with a nod muttering "You write well, Albert...though it's already too late for her now..." he'd say, clenching his fist slightly, a few tears flowing again as he'd think to the events of the last month.

The young Robyn de Lyons would sit, watching after his younger sister after his mother departed. After some time, he would perk up at the sound of his mother's approach, springing up and looking up to her with a smile saying "Mamej!" in his usual curious, eager tone, though he'd pause a moment as he'd notice her sad demeanor, saying, more quietly, though more curious than anything "Where's papa?" As she'd continue her mournful silence, his expression would drop, mouth twisting into a frown "Is something wrong?" At this he'd move quickly to embrace his mother and start to gather what had happened. As he'd watch her sign out her explanation of the day's events, of his father's untimely death and sacrifice, his frown would grow deeper, as bitter tears would start to flow from the young Lyon's eyes and down his cheeks as he'd tighten his embrace of his mother in their shared moment of grief. Though in the end, a bit of sad resolve would grow on the young boy's features, as his innocence was ripped away.

[!] The young De Lyons would frown as he'd the missive, standing with his parents for the true Petrans.

Rohir would read the missive in his house, letting out a deep sigh he'd place it down, brow furrowing slightly as he'd mutter "Looks like trouble in the Northlands...not good for anyone, especially in dark times such as these..." he'd take a sip of stout as he'd think a moment, scratching his chin "I suppose it can only be hoped that it is settled quickly and without bloodshed, and that justice prevails, not selfish lords who seek naught land and power." he'd say with a final shake of his head before going back to his other business.

I haven't read as much recently as I did in high school, but I can go through some recommendations and favorites. From back when I started the server, I was reading stuff like Lord of the Rings, Percy Jackson, Kain Chronicles, Harry Potter, and various other fantasy and young adult novels, along with some sci-fi like Jurrassic Park, and a lot of classics for school (ancient Greek and Roman myths, Pride and Prejudice, A Tale of Two Cities, etc). Now, more recently, I've been reading Dune, have gotten through the first 3, parts of the Dark Tower by Stephen King, Foundation, Crystal Warriors, First King of Shannarra, and various other Sci-Fi and Fantasy books. I plan to start reading Game of Thrones eventually, along with some other books I've gotten. Overall, it depends on what you like. But reading and drawing ideas from different books and movies and games is definitely a good way to get inspiration for writing lore for the server. I know this is a joke, and no. SmartScout was something that came from my old boy scout days, and I used it back in high school, and I'm not one to change usernames much. My more recent alt, InfiniteMalloc, however, got its name from a programming joke, since I am studying for computer science. It is a reference to crashing your PC by accidentally telling C to allocate an infinite amount of RAM for a program. So, this is a hard one. Favorite is probably Atlas. Had a lot of good RP for me (Dominion, joining the Silma, helping found Aegrothond, etc), and it is probably my favorite map that I played on objectively in terms terrain, layout, size, and the like (including maps I didn't play on and have just looked back to in museum, it and Anthos are probably my favorites, followed by Arcas then Athera.) In terms of nostalgia, probably Athera. I had just found out about the rich world of LOTC, I hadn't gotten jaded by being an old player, and I still look back fondly at training as a human crusader knight, fighting in a 7 vs 7 (or so) CRP battle of elven warriors against cultists and necromancers, killing liches with aurum arrows, and fighting against Haelunor alongside dwarves for freedom. The RP back then was great, and kept me coming back to the server for the next 8 years, though high school and college, so it is probably the most nostolgic, followed by Atlas. Vailor holds a bit of nostolgia, I remember listening to Metallica and Megadeth while guarding the gates of Laurehlin, and joining the dwarves for a while and fighting in my first warclaim. But overall, the map design of Vailor and Axios wasn't my favorite, so I didn't explore and connect with those maps quite as much.

Hello, don't post often, but I've been thinking of doing one of these since I've been around for a while. I joined during Athera, starting with a character in the Order of St. Amyas before moving over to the elves, where I have a character, Elros Silma, who I've played from around January 1st 2015 until today, playing in the Republic of Laurehlin, the Dominion, Aegrothond, Fenn, and various other places. I've also played a few other characters on and off over the years. Two Dwarves - Hurin Grandaxe and Fjorvair Emberhorn, and an Adunian - Rohir Vaueryn - being the main ones. I've been around the server, quit a few times, come back, seen a lot of stuff, and grew up with a character from being in around 8th grade to being a college senior. I've written some lore, led some stuff, played in various places, and overall, while the server can sometimes suck, have had a generally good time using it as a creative outlet. So, I was curious what people may have to ask, so I figured I'd make one of these.

I personally lean towards the system from maps like Atlas, Athera, and Anthos, since it feel most natural when you have a series of interconnected main roads with settlements sprinkled about, and smaller roads building naturally. I understand that some people don't like the lengths of travel to, say, Fenn or Sutica in Atlas, but I personally don't mind, and think the fact that there was a fair bit of interesting things to see on the roads and people travelling on them meant interesting RP interactions from time to time. Arcas's design was also fine. I personally think the ring shape with near equidistance was a bit too convenient to seem natural, but it was certainly alright, and is probably a bit more fair, if that's the concern. The big thing I personally hate is the disjointed, disconnected, fast travel reliant systems like we had on Axios, Vailor, and most of all Almaris. I personally love running around on roads, and having roads that stretch across continents to travel places makes sense. It doesn't make sense to have random gates in a weird area isolated from everything else to travel places. It doesn't make sense to have a bunch of roads that don't connect, and that the only roads that connect some of the different hubs were built later. Things should be made around roads that connect from the start. If you want to have carts to fast travel to places, that's fine, as long as there is still a way for those of us who want to walk. At least in Vailor and Axios having the carts along roads, or having boats to go between islands, made sense. Almaris is just very immersion breaking and odd, at least to me. So, here's my suggestion: - A road system that is interconnecting and natural with the shape of the continent, like seen on Atlas or Anthos (though something like Arcas or Athera where things are more concentrated in one area with outlying lands is fine too, though it is a bit less sensible and a bit of a waste of space, imo) - Carts or boats (depending on what makes sense) allow fast travel on a timer between two locations. For example, like the carts in Vailor and Axios that went from the port/CT point of entry on an island to the other settlements along the roads. All places on the same island/continent are fully accessible by roads, but carts/boats are there for convenience to get further along those roads, to areas where nations tend to be. For example, in Atlas, imagine if there was a cart going south to somewhere like the town at the crossroads (I forget the name), one going north to some sensible point (I can't remember one as clear as there), and maybe a third to the deep south (though even getting to the crossroads I am thinking of would probably have cut journeys to Fenn/Sutica/Last Hope from 20 or 30 minutes to 10 or 15). - Along with these free staff made carts/boats to hubs/crossroads further along the roads to save time, which are always free of charge, have the ability for nations to pay for carts/boats with a small fee attached to each trip (probably somewhere in the realm of .5 mina to 2 mina). This would add a third way of convenience, where people could pay for a bit of expediency and added safety when travelling between nations who agree to have carts between them (such as two allies with geographical distance), or they could save the money and add the potential for interesting RP by travelling by the roads (with or without the free carts' help). That way everyone should be happy, the ones who want expediency and safety, and the ones who want long journeys, road rp, and immersion. - All of this is in addition to soulstones, which should allow people to travel to the one or two places they frequent the most directly, which is often enough for most people, especially with the systems above for other trips. - Finally, on speed buffs on roads. I think they are nice. Have them on main roads, which will initially be spread throughout the map, and can be expanded by staff or by nations as needed as the map progresses. Player made roads (such as small ones to vassals or through the backcountries and mountains) don't need them, but there should be options for settlements and nations to get speed on roads down the line if they are willing to pay for it. Also, maybe unused main roads (ones to a dead/dying settlement that may have fallen into disrepair) could be somewhat ruin-ified by build team in a sensible way, and loose their speed buff. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ I think changes like these would provide the server with the best balance of interesting travel experiences, natural immersion, land utilization, and expedient options. I've been around the server since Athera, and have played on every map since then. They've all had strengths and weaknesses. One of my biggest pet peeves is disjointed and unnatural travel methods. In order for a world to feel lived in, travel needs to make sense. I should be able to get on a road and get to all the settlements on whatever landmass I'm on. If there's islands, boats are alright and make sense to get out to those. Otherwise, however, everything should be able to be walked to for the sake of immersions, and the roads should be built to fit the land and the needs of the civilization built on the continent. Though also, in turn, civilization should build around roads. Having RP hubs grow in small towns or taverns or libraries along an busy road or at a crossroad makes sense. Just like rivers and coast lead to bustling port towns or mountains to great dwarven cities and small mountain hamlets or the like, roads should, over the course of the map, lead to the development of these taverns, libraries, stores, markets, hamlets, and towns along them, where people naturally congregate to RP as they pass through on their journeys. The best map at doing this that I played on was Athera. There were little roadside taverns and hangouts dotting the main road, and usually you could stop in and find a couple people there. Things like that were amazing for immersion, and should be allowed and encouraged to promote RP. The stagnation of nations, settlements, roads, etc on this map has been part of what has been making me loose interest in the server as a whole recently - things aren't as dynamic as they used to be, and, even if allowing things to be dynamic and more led by the players has its issues, it is far better than letting things stagnate by forcing things to work with cumbersome OOC systems rather than working with RP and how things develop to build out sensible things in service of what the players create. Sorry my post is so long, it is just a topic I feel strongly about, since I think the road situation is something that has helped lead to the overall stagnation and other negative changes on the server. Thanks for your time! TL:DR: Atlas/Anthos/Athera style, natural road system branching throughout the continent with speed buffs, with fast travel through staff provided free carts/boats to important and sensible hubs (ala Vailor and Axios), nation-negotiated paid carts/boats between nations who agree to have them (like what we've had this map). Nations can pick where spread around the map they want to be, and the roads will be built both to branch and cater to the landscape, and to cater to these nations. After the play is started, players have a way to build/get staff to put in side roads, which can be updated to main (speed buffed) roads for a fee. Unused/less used main roads can become run down and fall into disrepair, and thus loose their speed buff. New small settlements or standalone taverns, libraries, and stores will be allowed and encouraged around the roads to promote player-driven rp, which will in turn lead to more people travelling along the roads to see what is happening in these small hubs players make, which should hopefully lead to the more dynamic atmosphere we saw in maps like Athera or Atlas that had these small, roadside establishments and hamlets about.

Rohir would read the letter, a frown growing on his stern countenance as he'd look over the paper. On occasion a sad, reminiscent smile would cross his face at his old friend's characteristic humor, though these looks would disappear back into a troubled frown nigh as quickly as they'd appear. After a few moments of thought and a few more scans of the paper, Rohir would put it down, sighing deeply, shaking his head and saying woefully "We've lost a good man this day, a good friend. Something we cannot afford. We had far too few of those already..." he'd trail off, shaking his head once more as he'd let the letter fall to the table, pull his hood over his head and mask over his face before heading off into the wilds, for they always brought the Bowie peace.

Name: Elros Silma Race: Elf Age: Around 415 Gender: Male [[OOC]] Username: SmartScout Discord: SmartScout#0501 Timezone: EST

The Keeper would look over the missive carefully, set it aside on his desk, and ponders to himself "A little harsher than I would be, but still, it has a point. The Children of Malin have lost their way, and those who give up their culture and people for another rather than helping their own race recover and grow strong are part of the problem. Though I do think some may be redeemed, with the proper guidance, and condemning them wholesale without offering them redemption simply makes all our halls grow more empty..." he'd trail off in thought, before eventually going back to writing his scouting reports and tending his hearth.

While birds can be easily used for meta, I think they are either a necessary evil or that they need to have something in their place, as there needs to be a way to contact people irply under various circumstances. Maybe add a plugin with specific bird messages that take time to travel. This could be done through a simple time delay mechanic between messages or by having a physical "bird" (maybe a reskinned bee), perhaps even one that could be shot down (at least under specific circumstances) to make them more fair. This would at least make meta rallies more organic, plus you can have more control/ability to filter with messages from your own plugin rather than base minecraft messages. Though, really, while some sort of bird plugin would be great, discord meta-rallies and the like would still be an issue and still would be unable to be truly enforced by staff.

The Path of the Flame The Philosophical Musings of Elros Silma The 13th Year of the Second Age Foreward Some view the mali as twice cursed. Few in number and forced to endure the pain of the world in a way others do not. The life chosen for the Mali is a hard one, for our blessing brings with it an expectation, a duty, which the other races do not have laid out for them. For in our long life comes a challenge to improve and better ourselves, so we may better serve the world. For who are better to serve as preservers of history than those who live through it, as craftsmen than those who have many lifetimes of men to hone their craft, as a shield against the dark armies of the nether and the void than those who have decades or centuries to learn and train, or as a steward of nature than one who can see its patterns and cycles run over the centuries. If you are to learn one thing from this work, then let it be this - do not despair thinking of the pain or hardships a long life may bring, for despair only stays the hand and squanders your gift. Instead, look to your many years as a challenge, to use each moment as best you can, for with time and effort, nearly all things are possible to you. On the Blessing of the Mali The blessing of the Mali is nearly unique among the blessings, for it does not simply offset to a degree our curse, but does more. The Bortu were granted to be strong of mind and hearty, so they may survive and engineer great contraptions deep in the mountains seeking the wealth of the earth they were cursed to crave. The Uruk were granted a degree of honor to try and offset their mindless bloodlust and rage, and the Vallah were granted a special afterlife to make up for their short time in this world. In our gift of eternal life, we may certainly have more time to bear children, which offsets our sterility, but in our blessing we find ourselves appointed as stewards of the world. Compared to us, the other races live on this earth for but a short while, and can thus often be short-sighted. We must worry for the future not only for our children, but for ourselves. If we are to live in the world for a long time, then we must face the outcomes of the decisions made by ourselves and others centuries on into the future. In some, our gift of long life fosters idleness, for they believe that since we have a long time, we can take our time in life. In others, it fosters apprehension, for they fear the many years of pain and tragedy they will face more than they look forward to the good. This has led to some, most notably our brothers of the Bronze, to declare that we are twice cursed. But I suggest that instead of living in dread or idleness, we view our long lives enthusiastically. As a great challenge to overcome, a challenge to improve. We have all the time in the world to master our crafts, to learn of the world and its intricacies, to protect the world from those who seek it harm or those who cause it inadvertently. This is our duty, and in doing our duty, we do good. On Duty and Good A mali has several duties in life. A duty to self, to kin, to nation, and to the world. All of these must be kept in balance, for they are all important in one’s life, and one should not be left entirely forfeit for the sake of another. The highest good for a mali is to, in their own way, serve to better the world in which we live. For no two mali are the same, so thus the path to good is not static. The closest thing to an explanation of the path to good, in my view, is to do your best to find your talents and to excel at them to the greatest of your ability, and to then put them to use to save the world. A man of great strength may seek to become a fighter to protect his people from attacks, natural and supernatural, while one of compassion and wisdom may seek to become a healer. In any situation you are placed into, one must assess themselves and decide their best course of action to aid in it. That best course is almost never inaction, for idleness feeds stagnation, and the stagnant and passive are left to be easily subjugated or torn asunder by the active and dynamic. If you see a building alight, a strong man may assess they should go into the building to save its residents, for they have the ability to do so, and thus in doing so they prove their courage and work towards the good. But what of one who is weak? For them going into the building is recklessness, but doing nothing is negligence. In asking for help or gathering water or healing the injured afterwards, they work towards the good, for they help the situation in a way they are suited to without making things worse. This is the path of the righteous, and what we should all strive for. Some may say that employment and duty are one and the same, for they are both vocations we dedicate ourselves to. But I say they differ in a way. A man has a duty to his employer, a craftsman a duty to make the product requested to the best of his ability. And for performing that duty satisfactorily, the employed is paid by the employer, the commissioned paid by the commissioner. This is only right, for the hard work of a craftsman or the risk of a merchant bearing goods down harsh roads must be compensated, but what of those whose work aligns with higher duties and higher principles, such as the druid, the scholar, or the guard? Ones who follow those paths should follow them not on a duty to gold or silver, but to the world, the truth, and their people, respectively. Thus, the question comes if they should be paid at all. On one hand, it makes sense to compensate those who work hard or are at risk for their efforts, but on the other, pay can draw in those who are not dedicated to the principles they should uphold. A guard working for mina more than loyalty to his people may be bribed to betray them, a scholar working for compensation rather than out of a duty to knowledge and the truth may bend the truth or break it, and a druid who doesn’t see their duty to nature and the world first and foremost may seek to control nature and bend it to their will rather than defend the balance with its help. Thus, it should be assured that people in those sorts of vocations should always put duty and honor above coin, lest corruption seep into our midst. On Leaders and Nations The leaders of the elves should be the servants of the people, not their betters. The mali race does not take well to conquerors, for we have faced many over the past four centuries. We do not take well to tyrants either. The Mali live long, and thus grow independent, and thus they follow most often those who they deeply respect. The respect of the people can be gained through many ways, but it is often best gained through shows of wisdom, compassion, skill, and tact. Some will follow those who are overly forceful, or who build their regimes on violence, fear, and censorship. But often, sooner or later, a large resentful party will grow to overthrow such a regime. Better to gain the respect of a people through decisive action and driving and enabling action in the city. For a city with nothing to do - no guilds and no military - will surely fail. The leader may accomplish this in many ways. They could allow guilds the freedom to grow and act on their own, or they may constantly and actively promote activity sponsored by the government. Either method is valid, though the former requires far less maintenance than the latter. However, the point remains - some are doers and some are followers, and the goal of the leader should be to aid the doers as much as he can to keep his city flourishing and his streets full. Nothing kills the drive of a doer and turns them into a follower or rebel more than being slowed and scorned by bureaucracy. Doers thus scorned will often either become reluctant followers, no longer willing to put in the effort when the system works against them, or they become rivals to the leader, believing themselves as doers could organize the system in a better manner. This is natural manner in which stagnant and failing regimes fall and new, more active ones take their place. So thus another role of a good leader is to keep enough control on this cycle to assure that the right new leader rises to take their place when they are no longer able to fulfil their office. For if one steps down gracefully when worn out and unable to fulfil their office rather than holding onto power until the breaking point, they are able to have some choice in who should follow them. It is better to give up one’s own power to one more worthy for the sake of the betterment of the people and nation than it is to hold onto power when unable to maintain the nation and thus trust the future of the nation to chance. Chance that is often cruel, for when a leader is overthrown, it is more often by the violent, brash, and over-ambitious than by the tempered, wise, and kind. On Society and Tradition Tradition is the core of Mali society. The knowledge, wisdom, culture, and experiences of our forebears are forged from millennia of life and are not to be ignored, forgotten, or violated. But to focus only on those traditions, and to emulate the past when we can look back and see its failings or look to the present and see the same problems, choosing not to progress by appending and improving these old traditions and systems using our own wisdom and experiences is folly. To the long-lived, the cycles of history are clear. I remember the fall of Malinor and the Dominion, and I see the same seeds that led to the collapse of those societies being sown here today. Many try to say that Elvenesse is not like the Dominion simply because it has a smaller military, more isolationist politics, and has rid itself of the Court of Princes and the Elective System, however they ignore the many similarities that come in turn. A nation for all mali dominated by the will of one subrace, topped by a large, slow, and often inefficient bureaucracy. I would argue that the best times of my life were spent among smaller groups such as seeds and guilds, or in smaller nations, like Laurehlin before the Orenian Subjugation or the Principality of Aegrothond in Atlas. Small groups or nations that were united by their culture and ideals, and where every member of the small group was willing to work actively for the betterment of his people and the maintaining of their culture, traditions, and ideals. The mali are best served when at peace with each other and able to interact with each other as equals, but also when they are able to organize themselves into smaller groups where they are able to practice their culture freely with those of like mind rather than being pressured and assimilated into a single way of life. Siramenor exemplified this ideal in recent times, in that it had a close knit community of similar ideals that ran itself and focused purely on practicing its culture the best it could. If a system of groups of a similar model could arise in the form of guilds based on each culture within the larger nation, and if these groups are allowed the autonomy to prosper, I believe this could lead to a more ideal society for the Mali. While this may or may not be true, it is unknown unless tried, and trying new ideas is far better for the progress of the race than staying entirely in the past. For when one tries new things, they are able to learn from the problems they face to get closer and closer to the greatest system possible, while treading the same paths as we have for centuries can only lead to stagnation into predictable cycles of success and failure. Conclusions My philosophy can be simplified down to but four ideals. The Ideals are as follows: The Mali’s blessing of long-life and nigh-eternal youth serve not as a curse or call to stagnation, but as a challenge to improve one’s talents beyond the capacity of other races. The life of an elf is precious beyond measure, and should not be wasted if it can be avoided. The Mali should use their talents and gifts to serve the world in the way they are best suited. What way depends on the individual. Wasting your talents and gifts or using them for the ill of your people are the two paths of evil. The Mali should be led by one wise, kind, and decisive, chosen by the people for his merits. He should also be willing to pass power to one better able to do the job when incapable of keeping up. Do not dwell too much in the past, for while traditions and culture are of utmost importance, emulating failed societies and ideas will ultimately breed naught but failure in the future. Follow these, and the Mali will prosper. Fail to, and we may well once again fall under the rule of tyrants, foreigners, and fools, with empty halls, bare hearths, and complacent people.

The keeper would read the story, a slight smile forming on his face "Fairly wise allegory for these harsh times, especially from one so young."

The aged Keeper would read the missive, a growing frown forming on his face "Why must our people bicker and fight among ourselves like this? All it does is spill blood, waste potential, and distract from the greater threats to this world..." he'd say with a sigh, as he'd turn away to tend to his hearths and to his duties

The Maehr’evar Order The Guardians of Knowledge Overview The long lives of the Elves tend to draw them to scholarly pursuits, either to fill a want for adventure, so they may improve their own knowledge and wisdom, or so they can protect knowledge and the world for future generations. The Maehr’evar seeks to be a place for the Elves who seek to learn, research, write, teach, and explore. Their duties are as varied as they are important. Headquartered in the Great Athenaeum of Elvenesse, this group of scholars and adventurers are always seeking new recruits to improve both the nation of Elvenesse and the world at large. Structure The Maehr’evar are organized in a loose but effective structure, which tends to serve their purposes well. The ranks of the order are as follows: Grandmaster The Grandmaster of the Maehr’evar has the duty of keeping tabs on those below him in the order and allotting resources to different projects. It is he who organizes meetings of members, calls major expeditions, maintains the library and its collection, and who deals with both foreign scholarly guilds and the Council of Elvenesse. The position is currently held by Elros Silma. Masters of the Order Masters of the Order are those who are experienced at their craft and can serve as a bridge between the Grandmaster and the Ordermen. Generally, there is to be a Lorekeeper, who is to coordinate the librarians, writers, and teachers of the order, and the Scoutmaster, who focuses more on expeditions, adventurers, and cartographers. Ordermen The Ordermen of the Maehr’evar is the rank and file position of the guild. They are all considered equal scholars and adventurers of repute. They may lead their own projects, write their own books, and teach their own lessons as they will, and they may help each other on larger projects when needed. Journeymen The Journeymen are those who just joined the Order and seek to become Ordermen. They are to hold an apprenticeship under a current member of the Order, preferably one with similar interests, in order to learn our ways, tenets, and procedures. Once deemed ready to start their own projects by the one whom they are shadowing, they are inducted into the order as full Ordermen. Duties The members of the Maehr’evar can be anything they want within the wider category of scholars, and may determine their own projects. They may freely move between any field they have interest in. However, many projects will tend towards a few areas, broadly categorized as writing, research, teaching, and exploration. Writing An imperative part of preserving knowledge and enhancing culture is to create new works, both artistic and educational in nature. The Maehr’evar will encourage and sponsor works of create and non-fiction writing among the people of Elvenesse, in order to expand our collection and enhance our peoples culture and knowledge. Research In order to learn and to record knowledge, one must seek it out. This may be through visiting other libraries to read or purchase copies of new books, by looking at ruins found by explorers, or by looking into the powers and effects of the less dangerous artifacts within our possession. Teaching It is no use to horde knowledge if you do not pass it on to future generations. Hence, teachers and librarians who organize lessons and help people find the books and knowledge they seek are another important facet of the order. Exploration The final major task of the Maehr’evar is the exploration of the world to find ruins to explore, monsters to fight, and dark cults and covens to exterminate. We seek to map the world, note where places of interest are, and deal with them as necessary, independently or with the help of other, more combat focused groups. The Maehr’evar Code The Ordermen swear to uphold this code upon entry to the guild, the four rules of the Maehr’evar Order. Breaking these rules bring you under the mercy of the Grandmaster, and can warrant anything from a warning to expulsion from the order. I. Unwarranted Harm Or Death Should Be Avoided At All Costs. We’re here to codify the world, not turn it into a pile of ash and bones. II. The Sovereignty Of Nations Shall Be Respected At All Times. While it pains us to allow knowledge to go unrecorded, or worse, for dangerous knowledge to run amuck, it is not our place to supercede any nation. It is best to not become criminals in the eyes of the world. III. Knowledge Should Be Treated With Respect And Care. It is difficult to index burnt books, or to categorize a destroyed relic. Obviously not everything we attempt to collect will survive it’s travel to the guildhall, but try to not willingly break things. Nothing is worse than lost knowledge. IV. Power Merits Respect. Along with the mundane, we may often collect pieces of extraordinary danger. Proper respect should be given to such things, and they should never be trifled with. Understand that pieces that have been deemed ‘restricted’ are not toys we horde for ourselves, but are items we guard the world from. The Great Seals The Maehr’evar Order grades every piece of knowledge in their possession with a seal. The seals are red-wax, and the individual stamps are in the possession of the Grandmaster. Each Seal is stamped with a piece of parchment which gives a brief detail of the object, and any needed information. There are four seals in total: Mundane, Guarded, Prohibited, & B.C. The Mundane Seal is the most common, and identifies this piece as typical knowledge, giving it the lowest rating of danger/power. All pieces which are open for public viewing, such as the books in the public library, are stamped with Mundane Seals. Mundane seals are given the mark ‘M’. An item with a Guarded Seal means that this item is normally only to be handled by Ordermen. These items are considered a bit too dangerous to be shown to the public, but on request may be taken from the reliquary to be studied or used by outside forces. This seal is marked with a ‘III’ symbol. The Prohibited Seal signifies that this item is of immense power or otherwise value, and should never leave the reliquary under any circumstances. These are pieces which are kept away from the world due to high risk of abuse. Even Ordermen are disallowed from viewing these pieces, and need the express permission, as well as chaperoneship of, the Grandmaster. The mark of this charm seal is a bolded ‘X’. Finally, the B.C. Seal is the most important of all the graded seals, and is given independent of the others. This means a piece can have both the B.C. Seal as well as one of three previous seals.. Standing for ‘Black Contingency’, any item with this seal is to be destroyed if at risk of falling into outside hands. Obviously, only items which are deemed as near cataclysmic are ever given this charm seal. The B.C. Seal is the only time any piece of Knowledge is marked for destruction, and holds a rather powerful and somber place in the Order’s culture. It’s mark is a ‘Skull’ symbol. How to Join In order to join the Maehr’evar, a candidate should seek out the Grandmaster in person or start a correspondence via bird. The Grandmaster will then set up a short interview with potential candidates to gauge their interests and disposition so he can match them with an Orderman to study under. Once deemed ready, the Grandmaster will give the Journeyman the Oath, at which point they will become a full Ordermen of the Maehr’evar. As a note, those seeking to join must be citizens of Elvenesse, or at least able to enter the city. OOC Notes

I would define High Quality Roleplay as being well-thought out speech and emotes grounded in the experiences of a character, the lore of the world, and the present situation. You can draw influence from other sources of fantasy lore (eg. LotR, GoT, TES, The Witcher, D&D, Mythology, etc) or Ancient, Medieval, and Early Renaissance History, but nothing that is too anachronistic (eg. Modern science/medicine in a Medieval Fantasy Setting). Drawing from other eras of history or from sci-fi is okay, but it needs to be done tastefully so as to not break the server’s overall setting. Overall, Good RP is creating a believable atmosphere that fits in with the world and the group you are RPing with, and basing how your character acts and what he thinks and feels about the world around him. Conversely, Low Quality Roleplay would be roleplay that is anachronistic – draws too much from modern, early modern, or futuristic elements. This would include Meme RP (drawing from modern meme culture heavily in RP), Anachronistic RP (pulling too much from modern culture or science, or elements from a sci-fi source that don’t fit with a medieval setting). Another obvious type of bad RP is RP that breaks the rules (obviously), such as metagaming, powergaming, godmodding, random deathmatch, etc. Good RP always leaves a chance for others to respond and adapts to fit the responses of others, just like real life does. Bad RP would be forcing things to a narrative without allowing other characters to effect it, or knowing things you shouldn’t know with no RP reason. Another form of bad RP is allowing your character’s decisions or outlook on other characters be effected by your OOC opinions of their player. Meme RP can be fun, if isolated and done in private with a group of people who all understand they are just joking around. However, doing any other kind of low quality RP regardless of situation, or doing Meme RP in public, is extremely distracting to people who are trying to rp serious situations and immerse themselves in the lore, and tends to break the cohesion of the world. In some cases, it can work, like Dwarves having some early modern, steampunk style tech, since that sort of thing has been established in lore. In any cases where anachronism is used suddenly with lore backing, however, it is a problem and breaks the flow of rp for people, and makes each group on the server feel like they are in a different world than the others. It should always feel like Oren, Elvenesse, Urguan, Krugmar, Haelunor, Norland, etc are all in the same world as each other. All types of rulebreaking rp or instances of bringing OOC into RP and vice versa should be avoided at all costs, as it isn’t fun for anyone involved. RP is engaging when it is done with a high quality and draws you into the world. It should make you feel immersed in the setting, and that setting should be rich and deep enough to support such immersion. In engaging rp, you are interacting with other characters, reacting to what they do as your character would, and are receiving thoughtful reactions in turn. My favorite niche has generally been Tolkienesque Elven RP, though I also enjoy Dwarven rp. I haven’t tried rp with the Humans that much, and have never tried Orcish rp, so I don’t have much of an opinion on them. I enjoyed the wars between the Wood Elves of Leyulin and Embermoore and Haelunor in Athera, and all the political interactions that came with that. More recently, I enjoyed the RP in the Dominion of Malin in its prime in Atlas, and the rp immediately after its fall. I also enjoy open-ended events (player or ET led) focusing on exploration, deduction, research, and experimentation, or ones that focus on the history and lore of the world.

While I believe that scientific development on the server could be interesting, I think that there should certainly be some limits, and that adding hand-held firearms would cause a slew of issues. This may be my bias, since my primary character is a Tolkeinesque elf, but I still feel that they would cause an imbalance with archery unless implemented in a very specific manner. I believe that cannons are fine, and perhaps very limited, rare, and weak hand cannons for dwarves and perhaps humans would be okay as well, I think any sort of widely available musket or rifle would ruin the fantasy sort of feeling of the server.

I think option 3 could work quite well if a style of map design similar to Anthos, in that each race (elves, dwarves, humans orcs) or general alliance (Aegrothond, Fenn, Urguan, and Oren, Orcs, Renalia-Gladewynn, for example) is given a zone. That way, RP isn't broken up much because the players that usually play together aren't disturbed. As for wars and PVP, perhaps you could streamline a system of point defense warzones (like has been tried historically) that can be used at any or at least most times rather than warclaims. That way you don't have 200+ people in each zone. The warzones, exploration zones, and wilderness zones could be a buffer state between the main zones, so that then people could then travel in between rp hubs or groups of ro hubs on that server, and then most rp (and thus most players) would tend to be in the city zones. Perhaps you could do it in 3 or 4 zones, so no zone would tend to have more than 100 people at once. TLDR split the map into several zones by race or alliance, have a zone for all the roads/wilds/buffer zones, and decentralize wars and events so that everyone isn't doing the same world event or battle in the same place at the same time.

RP Name: Elros Silma MC Username: SmartScout Discord: SmartScout#0501 What Nation Are You Affliated With?: Aegrothond Why Do You Wish To Come?: I lived in Athera back in the days we resided there and would like to revisit the place where I made so many memories, and perhaps unravel some of its unsolved mysteries which have kept me curious ever since I lived there two and a half centuries ago. What Skills Can You Bring?: I lived in Athera, and hence would likely be able to remember the lay of the land and locations of the various nations fairly easily. I also remember a good deal of what occurred in Athera, at least among the mali and to a point the dwed as well. I would likely be able to serve as a credible guide and could hold my own as a fighter and scholar as well.

Atlas was my favorite map due to the historical landmarks, open-ended exploratory world events, and the fact that it was about the right size in that it wasn’t super spread out like Vailor and Axios but also wasn’t super small and close together like Athera, though I personally even preferred Athera’s style to the super large maps (note that I started playing during Athera, so there is also nostalgia to factor in there). Arcas really just feels a bit bear. It has some ruins, but most aren’t as complex, interesting, compelling, expansive, or important to events as they were in Atlas. I likely spent well over a hundred or two hundred hours just exploring the southern part of the world in Atlas, looking at all the old Vaeyl ruins and trying to map out all of the darkways entrances and the locations of the keystones. The only thing I didn’t like about the Vaeyl event line was that it should have been able to be run by multiple ET members so that it would be more easily interacted with by interested parties. Frankly, whether it be for this map or the next, I think it would be good to put in another open ended, investigatory event to keep people invested and immersed in the world, and then write up story guides for various events and areas so that any ST Actor can run it. But that’s just my two cents, so take it as you will.

Reminds me of the App I had to fill out in Athera to join the server, and I didn't know it had been made easier, so it gets a +1 from me! Only comment would be that full rp scenarios are hard, as you don't have people to emote at you further, so it can be hard to remain dynamic, unless you only expect a 1 emote response.

A Final Farewell ~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_ [!] A missive would be posted around the Principality of Aegrothond, The Underrealm of Urguan, the Druidic Grove, and the Princedom of the Fenn. Brothers and Sisters in the Silma and Friends and Allies without them, it is my sad duty as the Keeper of Malin’s Flame to announce the passing on of Loriens Silma. You may have known him as a brother, a father, a Commander, or as a High Prince, for the great man touched many in varying ways throughout his long time living in this world. From the Times of Malin to recent decades he sought to serve and protect elves however he could and brought the light of Malin’s teachings where ever he tread. I wish to invite all those in the realms to whic this missive is sent to a Memorial for Loriens Silma next month on the beaches near the city of Caras Aegrothond in the Principality of Aegrothond. I wish all of you peace, and May the Flame of Malin and whatever gods you hold always guide your path. Signed: Elros Silma, The Keeper of Malin’s Flame, Lord of the Silma, Councillor of the Seastone Court of the Principality of Aegrothond OOC: