The Noble Play Experience

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Kinaed
Posts: 1984
Joined: Wed Jan 05, 2011 8:54 pm
Discord Handle: ParaVox3#7579

Sat Sep 22, 2018 7:23 pm

Staff have recently put a lot of effort into improving the play experience for noble characters. This includes re-instating the Keeper of the Seal in the role of the Seneschal, giving them the ability and right to sit on the Council, the ability to preferentially impact city metrics, started a prestige system, and Noble Projects.

Issues we combated:
- Little functional to do
- Players often not wanting to play with or interact with nobles
- Minimal differentiation from gentry or freemen
- The inability to thematically fill a role in Lithmore

What do we think of where nobles are at now? Do we need to do more? Do we need to give nobles more or better commands to represent who they are and their powers? Have we achieved a net improvement or no? What should we be looking at doing next?

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Buzz K[ir]ill
Posts: 172
Joined: Tue Aug 21, 2018 3:42 pm

Sun Sep 23, 2018 1:02 pm

I think the greatest barrier to good noble RP is the thematic learning curve: understanding how nobles should (in general) behave, what to expect, how they can involve themselves, what they should reasonably know, etc. You put effort into an app and a character concept, but once you're on grid, it can be very difficult to find themely RP, or you may make a huge misstep because you weren't aware of something thematic tucked away in some helpfile somewhere.

So my first suggestion is to round up all those EXTREMELY USEFUL HELPFILES in one place. Right now they're spread out all over. Here's a short list off the top of my head:

- help courtesy
- help noble power (super informative, but not necessarily easy to digest or put in practice)
- help titles
- help precedence
- help sumptuary
- help prestige
- help nobles
- help social nobility
- help noble marriage
- help noble rights
- help noble projects
- maybe even help great lord
- help ALL THE LITHMORRAN RACE FILES, and all your own race files, if you're not a Lithmorran noble and you're new to the game

Beyond that, I think we need a HELP THINGS TO DO for nobility. Because it's just not obvious, once you're on grid, what your role should be -- especially given that you're away from your domain. Here are some ideas to get that list started, in no particular order:

- Meet up with the city's other nobles, get to know your peers
- Host a tea party or an evening of sampling fine smokes and/or brandy
- Visit the historic Queen's Inn and Tavern and be seen by the locals
- Co-host a public event with another guild (ball, auction, play, ceremony, etc.)
- Organize a hunt through the King's Forest
- Get involved in politics (join Council, pester Seneschal)
- Rally support for a project
- Increase your support base (helps with projects)
- Involve yourself in a charitable cause
- Become a patron (sponsor an artist or musician, etc.)
- Hire PC servants and employees
- Build a grand villa one room at a time or purchase from Real Estate Office, host parties there
- Pay PCs to run errands for you
- Hire an informant who can go places you can't
- Use the bounty system to get back at people who offend you, or
- Have offenders publically whipped
- Subvert your rivals
- Offer your support to fellow nobles or guildleaders you like
- Surround yourself with expensive luxuries (pets, NPC retainers, etc.)
- Have a hobby or two (another luxury)
- Post rumors about what you're up to, or what your goals are, to hook others
- Sire a bastard (or use a background connection to invite one into play)
- Start a new (themely) fashion trend or tradition from your home domain

Finally, a last bit of advice I would offer any new noble:

DO NOT WAIT around for the RP to come to you. You're going to be terribly disappointed. Be proactive and go involve yourself. Nobles are in a unique position to insert themselves into city politics, which is a great avenue into RP.
Last edited by Buzz K[ir]ill on Tue Sep 25, 2018 10:51 am, edited 5 times in total.

Starstarfish
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Posts: 536
Joined: Sat Dec 10, 2016 10:13 am
Discord Handle: Starstarfish#4572

Sun Sep 23, 2018 1:07 pm

I'd love it if different noble areas could as part of the noble's demesne asset get a unique resource from that area. Granted, those would need to be worked into crafting somehow, but ... I think something that could help is to bring the importance of the different areas to life in a functional way. Even if it's just a resource for things currently sold/available on grid that don't otherwise have an asset. (The blue butterfly dye is an example that comes to mind.)

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Buzz K[ir]ill
Posts: 172
Joined: Tue Aug 21, 2018 3:42 pm

Sun Sep 23, 2018 1:15 pm

As for improving on existing systems, I'd really like to see the rest of the prestige system come into play. Moreso for the small extra bit of income (for the extra work) than for the bragging rights.

Having money to DO things really makes a difference. Without it, there are fewer excuses to RP with people who are outside your social class.

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Buzz K[ir]ill
Posts: 172
Joined: Tue Aug 21, 2018 3:42 pm

Tue Sep 25, 2018 10:50 am

Aaaaand, another bit of advice for new players:

See HELP PRESTIGE and request that the flag be added to an appropriate item (I recommend head slot, if you wear gloves) while in chargen.

It's not super intuitive, the way 'He has a prestige item.' is printed under affects -- it doesn't tell you that your prestige item ISN'T visible. It only tells you that it IS visible. 'He has a prestige item. It is visible.' So it is easy to add the [P] flag to a ring item and cover it up with your gloves and not even realize that the [P] flag is not showing to everyone else.

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Niamh
Posts: 1070
Joined: Wed Nov 30, 2016 9:04 pm
Discord Handle: Niamh#3824

Sun Oct 14, 2018 12:57 am

Buzz K[ir]ill wrote:
Sun Sep 23, 2018 1:02 pm
I think the greatest barrier to good noble RP is the thematic learning curve: understanding how nobles should (in general) behave, what to expect, how they can involve themselves, what they should reasonably know, etc. You put effort into an app and a character concept, but once you're on grid, it can be very difficult to find themely RP, or you may make a huge misstep because you weren't aware of something thematic tucked away in some helpfile somewhere.

So my first suggestion is to round up all those EXTREMELY USEFUL HELPFILES in one place. Right now they're spread out all over. Here's a short list off the top of my head:

- help courtesy
- help noble power (super informative, but not necessarily easy to digest or put in practice)
- help titles
- help precedence
- help sumptuary
- help prestige
- help nobles
- help social nobility
- help noble marriage
- help noble rights
- help noble projects
- maybe even help great lord
- help ALL THE LITHMORRAN RACE FILES, and all your own race files, if you're not a Lithmorran noble and you're new to the game

Beyond that, I think we need a HELP THINGS TO DO for nobility. Because it's just not obvious, once you're on grid, what your role should be -- especially given that you're away from your domain. Here are some ideas to get that list started, in no particular order:

- Meet up with the city's other nobles, get to know your peers
- Host a tea party or an evening of sampling fine smokes and/or brandy
- Visit the historic Queen's Inn and Tavern and be seen by the locals
- Co-host a public event with another guild (ball, auction, play, ceremony, etc.)
- Organize a hunt through the King's Forest
- Get involved in politics (join Council, pester Seneschal)
- Rally support for a project
- Increase your support base (helps with projects)
- Involve yourself in a charitable cause
- Become a patron (sponsor an artist or musician, etc.)
- Hire PC servants and employees
- Build a grand villa one room at a time or purchase from Real Estate Office, host parties there
- Pay PCs to run errands for you
- Hire an informant who can go places you can't
- Use the bounty system to get back at people who offend you, or
- Have offenders publically whipped
- Subvert your rivals
- Offer your support to fellow nobles or guildleaders you like
- Surround yourself with expensive luxuries (pets, NPC retainers, etc.)
- Have a hobby or two (another luxury)
- Post rumors about what you're up to, or what your goals are, to hook others
- Sire a bastard (or use a background connection to invite one into play)
- Start a new (themely) fashion trend or tradition from your home domain

Finally, a last bit of advice I would offer any new noble:

DO NOT WAIT around for the RP to come to you. You're going to be terribly disappointed. Be proactive and go involve yourself. Nobles are in a unique position to insert themselves into city politics, which is a great avenue into RP.
Helpfiled a variation on the above list.

Azarial added a "nobles' index to the helpfile system. Enter HELP NOBLE for a list!

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