I'd agree with you Kinky in that I'd also prefer that it not be a zero-sum game.

I think it should be an IC action, but that doesn't necessarily imply it should be visible to you...

I do like the public v private thing.

No I was just confused. I assume having stuff generated from those stats have broader effects is something more down the road, yes?

And is it still planned for Joe Schmoes to eventually be able to buy domains?

How does changing a stat of the domain affect the people spending the IP? Or am I missing something?

I think that sort of system would vastly overstate someone's chances of catching a lie and would be too restrictive on RP personally.

Stat contests are great, but only in certain situations IMHO. Just cause my int is higher than yours doesn't mean I should get away with a terrible lie. Just cause my dex is higher than yours doesn't mean I can slip out of my bindings and run away even though both my legs are broken and so are my ar...

Players can influence this behaviour a lot on their own. Just award people QP when you see them RPing the limitations of their stats. :)

On the flipside I'd be remiss for not pointing out that there have been quite a few lawful types that have known OOCly exactly who my baddie was and what they did and did not let it inform their RP either. Cheers!

Given that it's right in the Erra Pater that mages have familiars, I was wondering if anyone had any ideas on how this could be expanded? There's already the shadow spell... how about one that creates VNPCs for you? Even persistent ones at higher levels? Or allows you to take over animals for a time?

I appreciate where Kinky's coming from, in that it's very hard to address this issue directly from a policy standpoint, but I'd urge other players to consider it in the RP. When you act on hunches and guesses, it's worth asking yourself how much that guess is based on OOC knowledge and how much on I...