If you could change one thing about your city...

Taraza

Honestly, I'd like to see more execution chambers in Mhaldor.

Thereon has gained far too much weight since many Viceroys have not used him. Many just want the experience for themselves and would rather just cleave the person themselves. Or just slap the person's wrist. A shame really.

Mhaldor does need to pick back up on its discipline and focus once more. I would not say to an extremist manner. But yes, I have noticed an issue with this and it has been brought up and hopefully it has been resolved. 

Atalkez

Ruth said:

:C how could you, @Atalkez!

Just kidding!

Kuy

Aodfionn said:

This thread makes me feel like the only person who actually enjoys Mhaldor being blood-covered and terrifying ala Barad-Dür. Maybe I just went too hard on LotR as a kid. 

You aren't alone! 

Amarillys

Aerek said:

Invent the ceasar salad 

I think you mean the Nicator Salad

Halos

Taraza said:

Honestly, I'd like to see more execution chambers in Mhaldor.

Honestly, I'd be fine with even one (1) in Targossas. And to all those ppl who cry, "That's too Mhaldorian!", if it has to be dressed up in pro-Good packaging, OK. I'm fine with a starkly beautiful guillotine made of pristine ivory with gold leaf and angelic runes inscribed upon the bloody blade. 

Just give us something.

@Aurora‌
@Deucalion‌
@byallthatisholypleaseandthankyou

Aerek

Aodfionn said:
This thread makes me feel like the only person who actually enjoys Mhaldor being blood-covered and terrifying ala Barad-Dür. Maybe I just went too hard on LotR as a kid. 

That's actually exactly why I don't like it. Mhaldor's philosophy is excellent, but Mhaldor's aesthetic is pretty much ripping off Mordor and every evil stereotype in the book, which means it's just recycling a tropes. Likewise, I've never been a fan of Sartan, because of the obvious bastardization of Satan; Shaitan and Apollyon were a much more interesting dynamic to me, because they were more original. Achaea is at its best when it breaks from obvious tropes and invents its own thing.

Sure, Mhaldor works fine as-is, but it's copying the run-of-the-mill, evil-for-evil's-sake, blood-for-the-blood-god stereotype, when Achaean Evil's actual ideology is so much more than that. In that way, I think Mhaldor's aesthetic detracts from its message. Absolutely no one is surprised when they join the City of Evil and there's people on crosses and blood everywhere. That is utterly predictable. But, join the City of Evil and find it gothic, austere, and foreboding, but otherwise immaculate and well-maintained just like any real city would want to be, you instantly realize this is a whole new kind of Evil. A breed of utterly logical, utterly justifiable, hard-to-deny Evil, which is what makes it so insidious and interesting in the first place.

TL;DR: If Mhaldor's ideology matched its aesthetic, it would be the most boring, predictable place in the game. Therefore, the aesthetic should match the ideology, which is infinitely more engaging.

Austere

I agree,  Mhaldor should be more Austere.  

Aerek

Halos said:

Taraza said:

Honestly, I'd like to see more execution chambers in Mhaldor.

Honestly, I'd be fine with even one (1) in Targossas. And to all those ppl who cry, "That's too Mhaldorian!", if it has to be dressed up in pro-Good packaging, OK. I'm fine with a starkly beautiful guillotine made of pristine ivory with gold leaf and angelic runes inscribed upon the bloody blade. 

Just give us something.

@Aurora‌
@Deucalion‌
@byallthatisholypleaseandthankyou

Is the self-immolation bit in the Flames of Ardu-something just a Deucalion thing? I always thought that was your execution chamber. If not, should make that shit public, that's awesome and shouldn't be behind locked doors!

Kross

I'd remove a single southern room from just outside the gates to Ashtan so that boomeranging people into the city from line of sight didn't enemy us like it doesn't for every other city.

Klendathu

Mizik said:

Naturally, no complaints for Ashtan.

I'd blow up half of it. It's way too big. 

Same with Ashura house hall. It's as big as Eleusis, but all unmapped hidden doors and exits. 

House renaissance is coming, Ashura house hall will go poof then, most likely.

As for what I'd change about Ashtan: other people's attitudes. Ashtan has got a (not entirely undeserved) reputation for having a lot of people who don't care about RP, so assume every character from Ashtan doesn't give a fig about RP so don't even bother. It's a vicious circle

Vayne

Hashan has so many empty unused areas, two abandoned guildhalls, random "mansions", that weird love garden, and the coliseum.

Jules

Cyrene is basically perfect, and will be more perfect when it owns a harbour near Ka'doloki (which should have it's name changed to Port Cyrene) so I don't have to look it up for spelling.  

Eld

Jules said:

Cyrene is basically perfect, and will be more perfect when it owns a harbour near Ka'doloki (which should have it's name changed to Port Cyrene) so I don't have to look it up for spelling.  

Needs a path through that central square for easier dashing from the tunnel to the arena.

Antreus

Cyrene is consistent, charitable, community-minded, and considerate. Things don't change very quickly here. Not much has changed in three centuries, even Czanthria is around these days. Many people seem to be paranoid about cliques forming. That itself is probably a clique. Having discussions on city channels isn't really what city channel is for. People seem to value intimate settings quite a bit here.

It isn't chaotic, but quite orderly. Being irreverent, facetious, or cheeky isn't really apart of the culture. That doesn't mean folk aren't mirthful.  People take everything that happens to citizens very seriously. It's quite civil and incivility will turn you into a pariah rather quickly. Tit-for-tat.

People who don't want combat to be the center of their game experience just tend to naturally gravitate towards this city.

I sometimes feel a bit indignant in regards to Cyrene, but there's a reason for everything that happens here. It's all very transparent. When you're a bad person in Cyrene, you just feel bad, and you know you deserve everything that happens to you.

When in 'Cyrene'.. that's the Cyrene way. But I can't quite see anything that I would change.

Antreus

Vayne said:

Hashan has so many empty unused areas, two abandoned guildhalls, random "mansions", that weird love garden, and the coliseum.

Detroit?

I like Hashan's various districts. Old Hashan is one of my favourite neighborhoods. All you need is to gentrify those areas with yuppies and before you know it -- boom town!

Hashan is one of the more interesting cities west of the promenade. The west and east division is very clear. The weirdest part of Hashan is the southeast side and the northwest side, just from my personal experience as a former resident and shopowner there.

Jukilian

Hashan is easily sectioned into quarters and is how I try to get newbies familiar with City geography. Thinking of it in for quarters is easy. But then explaining what is in each one...

They don't have much "practical" stuff in each quarter.

Jacen

Would redo Hashan's southern entrance. Probably just remove paradise road so southern traffic is routed across crossroads, at least.

Would like to see the menagerie turned into the animal testing division. Would be neato for the alchy/scientist RP.

Dome of the Triad is like, not used whatsoever. What even is it?

I think it'd be neat if the Coliseum was the new combat House's househall. 

Why does Ereptor street even exist?

Lose the courthouse. Why do we have a courthouse when we don't have a court?

More sciency stuff plz.

Jukilian

Demolish most of Epitine (lose the House of Delights pls).

Make the Observatory a House Estate.

Remove the key locked rooms in Hashan that no one can even access (I know of four doors..).

Blow up Sentinel Guildhall and old Merchants Estate (latter included in killing most of Epitine).

Taraus

Mizik said:

Naturally, no complaints for Ashtan.

I'd blow up half of it. It's way too big. 

Same with Ashura house hall. It's as big as Eleusis, but all unmapped hidden doors and exits. 

It is huge, and it has so many different areas (are these neighborhoods?) in it, there are still parts of the city I can't find my way around. Or find at all, for that matter (thank you, mapper).

Tael

Jacen said:

Dome of the Triad is like, not used whatsoever. What even is it?

The Dome of the Triad is where the Disc of the Nocturne used to be. Pretty important building, at least in terms of history.

Jukilian

Pretty sure it's still there, if I recall correctly.

Orzaansyn

Actually I really agree with Mhaldor's rant about dirtiness and all, but with time I don't even notice that gore everywhere anymore. Not mentioning the "borderline inconsistancies" with some things (like the fallen Angel that @Melodie pointed out to me, among many others).

Also, I am annoyed with the "inconsistancies" I notice the other way (Tenwat and Creville, for exemple, wich both pretty look Mhaldorian). Some things are cool, though, like the red fog. Mentioning it, I'd make it hurt enemies like forests hurt us.

Bade

Jukilian said:

Pretty sure it's still there, if I recall correctly.

Actually it's in the observatory.

Mishgul

Aerek said:

Aodfionn said:
This thread makes me feel like the only person who actually enjoys Mhaldor being blood-covered and terrifying ala Barad-Dür. Maybe I just went too hard on LotR as a kid. 

That's actually exactly why I don't like it. Mhaldor's philosophy is excellent, but Mhaldor's aesthetic is pretty much ripping off Mordor and every evil stereotype in the book, which means it's just recycling a tropes. Likewise, I've never been a fan of Sartan, because of the obvious bastardization of Satan; Shaitan and Apollyon were a much more interesting dynamic to me, because they were more original. Achaea is at its best when it breaks from obvious tropes and invents its own thing.

Shaitan is the arabic word for Satan and Apollyon is the kind of an army of locusts in some hebrew writing according to wikipedia (Apollyon's in game symbol was also a locust).

Orzaansyn

You are right, @Mishgul‌, let's change that about Mhaldor!

Mishgul

yes

Aerek

Mishgul said:

Shaitan is the arabic word for Satan and Apollyon is the kind of an army of locusts in some hebrew writing according to wikipedia (Apollyon's in game symbol was also a locust).

I guess that's par for the course.

Deucalion

Aerek said:

Halos said:

Taraza said:

Honestly, I'd like to see more execution chambers in Mhaldor.

Honestly, I'd be fine with even one (1) in Targossas. And to all those ppl who cry, "That's too Mhaldorian!", if it has to be dressed up in pro-Good packaging, OK. I'm fine with a starkly beautiful guillotine made of pristine ivory with gold leaf and angelic runes inscribed upon the bloody blade. 

Just give us something.

@Aurora‌
@Deucalion‌
@byallthatisholypleaseandthankyou

Is the self-immolation bit in the Flames of Ardu-something just a Deucalion thing? I always thought that was your execution chamber. If not, should make that shit public, that's awesome and shouldn't be behind locked doors!

It is voluntarily self-immolation. 

Kenway

I'd make raiding a thing and get rid of a lot of the western portion of the city. A lot of it's just kinda -there-.
Would also make the Shield house hall more than three rooms.

Carmell

Make the champions bridge one up from approaching and then drop back down so that it get's rid of the stupid LoS that is a pain in the backside.