NotEvilAtAll

[!] You find a notice pinned to the village tree of Bywater Jam-Making! ~Wonderful sweetberry jam!~ Just the other day I was eating some bread and noticed a distinct lack of jam here in our village. Despite our vast fields of grain, our many windmills producing flour, and our silo for efficient storage of foodstuffs over the winter, we haven't any jam to put on all this bread we make! This ought to be fixed IMMEDIATELY! As such, as Mayor I am authorizing and encouraging the production of Jam this coming Pumpkin Day. Gather in the tavern to receive the proper equipment 'fore the sun rises. It will be a long and hard day's work, but it should pay off in plenty of sweet jam by nightfall! ~Mimosa Applefoot, Mayor of Bywater ((Event TOMORROW, Tuesday the 4th of January, 2022, at 5 PM EST. Located within Bywater, homeland of all halflings and gnomes. Directions: ))

Mimosa Applefoot wonders why the big-folks measure their population in this strange.... "Activity Percent" thing... "Ah percen'age o' wha'? Is t'ere some global census oi've nay 'eard o'? Oi sure dun remembah fillin' ou' forms fer tha'!"

I mean, why would you give in? If you die, you are revived just as you were before the encounter. If you surrender, you may be disfigured/cursed in a way that you can't really play the character as you used to anymore. At worst, if your captors particularly hate you, you may be "nuggeted" (lose all of your limbs, eyes, ears, or other such vital body parts) in such a way that your character can't do anything without thousand's of minas spent on runic limb replacements or other magical surgeries (effectively a soft PK of your character if you can't afford all that). People WANT their characters to die instead of get captured b/c if you die your character can't be utterly ruined. It's much better to have your character die and be revived intact instead of have their eyes gouged out by bandits when people don't pay your ransom. People don't get mass disfigured/nuggeted as often as they used to (two emps was particularly bad I've heard), but it's still a fear many people have. Death is the lighter punishment by far.

[!] A notice is pinned to the Bywater notice tree! Sheriff, or TRAITOR? ~Nob and the others during the Time Rift incident!~ After an interview with the green-armored Dwarf whose actions caused the Time Rift to occur, it has been revealed that none other than NOB LEEKSHREW gave him some soup to eat before he went into Wee-Tech's machine! This caused him to have some erm, internal problems he wished to fix by consuming grass, thus causing the Time Rift and all its associated problems! Furthermore, Nob Leekshrew claims to have powers over time with his time-bending stews. This casts further doubt as to if Nob truly is on our side. Perhaps these time powers could have been ABUSED to bring about the current situation! Thus, I call Nob Leekshrew to stand trial for conspiracy against Bywater and all halfling/gnomish kind so that the truth (and nothing but the truth) may come out for all to hear! ~Mimosa Applefoot, Mayor of Bywater.

[!] A new board appears besides the entrance-path of Bywater. It seems as though the halfling adventurers are back in business! [!] Within the Village Hall, an old counter sees a new sign hanging above it, just barely visible with the faint light of the crackling fireplace nearby. Adventure awaits you....

Never been a settlement leader under current rules (I'm just the Mayor of Bywater, not it's Settlement Leader). I did lead an independent Dunshire for a while in Atlas as its Mayor. You can also argue I count as a Co-Leader along with KingOfHearths in Bywater due to how much event and build stuff I do. 1. What's your favorite part about being an NL/SL? It's really satisfying when your settlement is successful and active. I also think planning events can be really fun and I enjoy making crazy storylines that break creatively use server lore. 2. What's your least favorite part about being an NL/SL? You don't actually get to be a REAL player in your own community. You're always a slave spamming out forum and discord notices for events and whatnot. It's nice to sit back and enjoy experiences and roleplay crafted by others but sometimes you don't get that when leading a settlement b/c if you aren't personally doing anything nothing is happening. My favorite type of player is the player who plans their own events and storylines, makes their own builds, starts their own conflicts & narratives without asking anyone. Some control-freak SLs or NLs might not like these players, but I'm always very fond of them because they take pressure off of me and add a bit of unpredictability that you don't get otherwise. If you ever are an SL or NL and are wondering "Why is everybody reliant on ME and me alone for roleplay and events?", it's because you haven't properly cultivated the above type of players in your settlement. These players are rare and valuable commodities and it sucks whenever they go inactive or quit, so honestly I think the server as a whole ought to promote these sorts of people. To many people are passive in their roleplay instead of actively creating narratives when nothing else is going on. 3. What's your most prominent memory as an NL/SL? Probably doing religious diplomacy with the Orcish Shamans roughly a week ago. I didn't do too much besides generic tavern events when I was Mayor in Dunshire. so I don't have too many big memories of that. Most of my memories of that time period are when other halflings took charge and made big changes, creating the Thaindom system that still survives to this day (somewhat). 4. If you led your Nation/Settlement into a war, do you regret it and did it turn out to be fun? If yes/no, why? Halflings have never been in a war so I wouldn't know. The only thing that comes close is when a few halflings rallied for Haense during the War of the Wigs. I don't regret that (got some pretty cool footage for my YouTube channel), but nothing was at stake for us personally as it wasn't really our war to care about. Independent halflings have absolutely NEVER been in a war (apart from antag stuff in old maps). The above was when halflings used to be a Haense vassal (no longer the case!). We have zero plans for wars of any kind in Bywater so I don't expect to see one in the future. 5. Did you inherit your Nation/Settlements most of the time or build them from scratch? Or was it different each time? Inherited. I was elected Mayor in Dunshire and, when we moved back to a Democratic system in Honeyhill and then Bywater, I've been elected Mayor again. @Hearth pls give ur opinion as the current REAL OOC settlement leader of Bywater, I think it'd be cool.

I like them

[!] You find a letter in your aviary Time-Rift Warning! ~The altered flowers~ Shocking news has surfaced in Bywater today. A time traveler has emerged from the Wee-Tech time machine, hailing from a slightly different yesterday than the yesterday we all know and love. The flowers of Bywater now have slightly different hues, and some birds that used to be present are now missing. This is irrefutable evidence that we now live in a SEPARATE TIMELINE from that which the traveler emerged from. This is because, when heading into the past with a green-armored biggun (the leader of the Forest Dwarves in Heffrum, apparently), said biggun ATE THE PAST-GRASS AND THUS CAUSED THE TIMELINES TO SPLIT INTO PRE- AND POST- GRASS-EATING TIMELINES. This is an unprecedented threat to health and safety across Almaris. There are now separate versions of ourselves on each of the timelines, and it will be no easy task to bring to two back together without killing one or both copies. For this reason, Wee-Tech and the halfling leadership is URGENTLY calling for brave Knoxist adventurers to come back to Bywater and help us fix the issue! The Pumpkin Knights have already assembled & The Sheriff has mobilized his stew-making abilities, yet this will not be enough to mend the Time Rift without outside assitance! ~The Pumpkin Knights are called to action!~ Furthermore, Bywater halflings and gnomes are advised to keep an eye out for EVIL, TIME-BANDIT NEFARIOUS IMPROPER-MUNCHKIN ARUGULEAN ACTIVITY! Shoes have been found dumped into the lakes of Bywater, and the mud-bandit who killed the Thain's fox and the village's cattle is suspected to be involved in the Time Rift too. This is not a coincidence. Nefarious actors are at work here and must be brought to justice if the Time Rift is ever to be fixed. Keep an eye out, and stay safe! P.S: Bigguns, we are very sorry for splitting the timeline, but Wee-Tech will continue to operate for political reasons. Do not be too concerned over your alternate-reality self, as you cannot interact with them without Wee-Tech's guidance anyways. The Time Rift will be fixed shortly, I have no doubt about that whatsoever. P.S.S: Dear Green-Armored leader of Heffrum, why did you eat the grass in the past? Were you misled by some nefarious actors to break Wee-Tech's no-touch policy? Please tell us, for we must know. We're wish to interview you for more information if you are ever available. STAY SAFE! ~Mimosa Applefoot, Mayor of Bywater

I think it's time for LOTC to abandon it's FAILED text-chat model and move onto a more modern, streamlined proxmity voice chat system. Simply put, with the FUTURE of gaming in an integrated metaverse with Virtual Reality, NFTs, and mark zuckerburg worshipped as a god-emperor as we escape our dystopian reality in our tiny cells eating bugs and drinking soy, LOTC is doomed to fall behind if we cannot adapt to this new reality! This is why we should use voice chat instead, as voice chat works much better with virtual reality when compared to text chat and thus prevents the server from being shut down for being disloyal to MetaAmerica. We should also do away with the TERRIBLE monk revival system and instead use a "You die in game, you die in real life" system. This dramatically improves player retention by blackmailing all applied players & their progeny to play LOTC forever until they die and their VR headset explodes, killing them instantly. These changes combined should keep LOTC alive well into the 2100's until the nukes drop and end modern civilization.

Nice

[!] A letter is pinned to the entrance of the newest burrow in Bywater ~The burrow by which this letter is pinned~ Dear Humbert and Pigling, Per your request, I've constructed you both a burrow underneath the potato patch. I hope it will suit you! Although it is not fully finished, for I've left the bedroom construction up to you, this burrow should be more than adequate for a humble life here in Bywater. P.S: I left some supplies in the pantry, do take a look! Regards, Mayor of Bywater, Mimosa Applefoot.

Mimosa Applefoot readies her shovel "Knox forgive us for wha' weh mus' do... T'is nay goes unpunished..."

"Wai', t'ey don' 'ave ah public aviareh 'n Mini'z? Tha's terrible! Where am oi supposed ter send t'uh birds too?" says Mimosa Applefoot, a local halfling of Bywater, contemplating sending a bird to an old friend of hers from Minitz through her village's local delivery owl.

[!] You find a flier in your aviary mailbox KNOX Shall Guide Us! The United Knoxist Church of Bywater is now open for mass, private prayers, weddings, and other such religious activities! Within this church we shall worship the perfection of creation, the Great Farmer Billy Bob who grew us from the fields, and Lord Knox, our patron spirit! All are welcome to attend, be they worshippers of the true faith, shamanic or druidic teachings, or pagan religions from abroad, for all are welcome within the Knoxist church. May Knox bless Bywater and all weefolks (Gnomish and halfling alike) and reward the faithful with His blessings. May the potatoes from the creator Billy Bob never stop flowing! ~Mimosa Applefoot, local Knoxist religious leader. ((Knoxist mass event at 5 PM EST, Monday the 26th of December, 2022. Located within Bywater, the home of the halflings: ))

"Oi darn... meh roses 'r lookin' ah bi' s'range t'is season... knew oi shoulda followed t'ah Fiddleberreh gardenin' advice.." comments Mimosa Applefoot, a halfling of Bywater, as she tends to her garden.

Absolutely big-brain staff take wherein plugins that spam users chat and are more confusing for new players are better functioning for some unexplained reason. Can you just admit you want nodes to make the server "feel" different from more vanilla servers? That's the only real advantage to nodes I can think of.

Lol! It's only nicer looking if you use 3rd party mods or clients that completely rework how chat works. Why not just use pits then? Pits are familiar. People understand pits and how they work from their knowledge of vanilla minecraft or other server genres and don't have to be taught "purple sparkles coming from block = click with x tool".

Literally just the Arcas pit system but with nodes instead because staff exist to troll the playerbase and will never listen to us. We will have spent two years with this node system only to convert it into a cruddy resource pit wannabe that spams your chat if you click too fast.

potatoes are a better crop than wheat and you should grow them

[!] A letter is pinned to the Hayhollow notice tree Cloth! ~Hayhollow by night~ After a talk with Taylor, I've noticed we nay have any cloth 'er clothes making facilities set up 'n running here in the village! Of course, that can nay do! Thus, I'm gathering together a few o' us halflings to prepare the first few rolls of cloth from our new home! Hopefully then we'll be able to patch whatever holes arise in our shirts and trousers! ~Mimosa Applefoot, Mayor of Hayhollow. ((4 PM EST, TOMORROW on December 20th, 2022))

((Delayed to 6:30 pm est, apologies!))