Hashan or Targ

Kashiru

I'm a returning player after a long period of sleep and wanting to start anew. I'm not particularly keen on joining a house so Cyrene, Hashan and Targossas are my only options (I think?). I don't want to make this character Cyrenian, so tossing up between Targ and Hashan. In terms of choosing Darkness or Light, I can make up backstories for my char for either, and I'm interested in both. It's more the city environment I'm trying to choose between.

What I'd like:
-Plenty of RP opportunities, not fond of OOC references at all
-Opportunities to integrate into city and help out with city affairs without being part of a house
-Opportunities to learn combat via city defence, but might later participate in offensive
-A city atmosphere that enjoys or needs a lot of ministry/ development work
-If possible, a program or clan for city rogues (I remember Cyrene used to have a rogue clan)

Any thoughts? Not sure what the two cities are like these days. I was surprised but glad to see that Hashan has grown and Shallam gone. Still not entirely sure what Hashan stands for nowadays though - from the help file it sounds like they are on the verge of rejecting gods in favour of mortal prowess, but then they still have Twilight. I'd love to play with the former idea if there is potential there. I also like that Targossas has a more hardcore inquisitor- type Good stance now, which I'd love to pick up on.

Any advice or comments appreciated. Thanks

Frederich

@Kashiru

Targ has LOTS of RP opportunities, and you can actually have fun interactions with folks in all cities, especially if you dont get enemied in them due to raiding at first chance.

You don't have to be in a house, but if you aren't, you have to work in ministry work, which is nice with what you want.  Combat is always taught though, and there are TONS of teachers for it.

The Shepherds of the Dawn is the integration process for joining Targossas, but if you are a Devotion Rogue.. I think you become part of the.. whatever they're called.  Diaspora.  Overall, Targossas is a pretty fun experience, has been since I joined.

Aegoth

Neither. come to Mhaldor

Tesha

There are multitudes of problem with every city. I'd suggest really interacting with some citizens from both cities (both higher ups and relatively younger people, like mid 20s-30s) and seeing if you find anything that clicks. If you don't, you can find what you're looking for in every city. Just as every city has problems, every city has good things about it too. Good luck!

Asmodron

The RP for Darkness is not as straightforward as the more zealous faiths, but is definitely worth the time to discover. It is perhaps the faith with the most depth, intrigue and wonder that can be associated with it, and it is generally why it is so hush hush.


As for Hashan, as mentioned the city itself attempts to focus on the strength of 'self' through learning and personal advancement. It actually holds blind faith in Gods, which has taken control of much of sapience at this point, in strong contempt, and this very notion is agreed upon by Twilight. If you ever take the time to speak with Him and attempt to throw yourself upon Him in worship...He will actually look down on you for being so weak-minded. This is one of the reasons He is so strongly associated with Hashan, as he encourages the advancement of self to 'see true' and rejects notions of blind faith.


So, why is Hashan hated and mistrusted? It is basically our Association with Darkness. We love Twilight and love what His realm offers, but anyone that says Twilight is innocent is fooling themselves. He is one of if not perhaps the most dangerous god, as the very ideas he teaches of self-progression, He also follows as he attempts to self-progress His power in the world. He has attempted several times to take control of the world or a force of power, merely to increase His own. Unlike other Gods such as Sartan that are pretty straightforward in their actions, Twilight is all behind the scenes and you usually dont know what is going on before it is too late. Thus why Hashan is held in contempt (other than rejecting the ideals of most zealous gods) and because Hashan seeks to learn from Him on how to advance itself to greater levels of power.

Mathilda

Easy road is Targossas. Lots of people, combat behemoth, easy-to-jump-in-to zealous Good roleplay.

For Hashan, the roleplay is, on the surface, a strong streak of secularism, but with subtle undertones of actually-we-are-secretly-and-probably-unknowingly-serving-Twilight. The city also keeps a good navy, helps citizens with mining, curates a wonderful growing library, and (in my opinion) is generally very good at taking care of newcomers. Not the shower-with-freebies kind, but with the we'll-show-you-how-to-find-the-answer.

Combat-wise, Hashan might be near the bottom (not counting Cyrene -- although at this point, Cyrene might actually have a stronger combat core than Hashan, kekeke). Not to say that there aren't combatants in the city, but we don't have leaders that shine other than Kasa and Regi, and Kasa had been absent for a long time (and having just one good leader is a hefty drain on that poor soul).


 If we're doing range, though, we can still Targossas sometimes. 

Xaden

Mathilda said:

curates a wonderful growing library

@Talamond can attest to this

Talamond

Xaden said:

Mathilda said:

curates a wonderful growing library

@Talamond can attest to this

whistles innocently

Mathilda

@Talamond You!!! 

Ismay

Daeir said:

Hashan's nowhere near the bottom, have some confidence!

This. Hashan is actually much better than they give themselves credit for!

Omor

Obligatory "what's a hashan" post.

Arcturus

@Mathilda Yeah! Give us credit!

But anyways, join Hashan, it's fun, I recently came back from over 18 months away and looking at all the cities, I was surprised that Hashan stood out as most appealing to me via the help files post-renaissance. I was thinking to myself, "Naw... this can't be." then went there and was hooked. Asked to join, they approved me swiftly (A few hours), which I appreciated as it indicated active enough leadership, or I got lucky. 

I think we're actually pretty good for the numbers we get for combat, we can hold our own a good amount of the time. Come out ahead in the kills:deaths ratio enough of the time. The more the merrier, and I think we're getting a growing presence of people willing to fight even if it's not their first priority. 

As for the RP. I really liked/like being able to laugh at any/all who are "religious zealots" and stuff. Also, you don't need to be in either of the houses in Hashan. A good bit of us are very active and social across the board. I really still don't even know who's in what house to be honest, besides a few folks, because everyone interacts on the citizen/shared city level so much.

Last but not least. @Ireth has cookies.

Bade

Join Hashan we love new people, and I love new people, I'm Krymenian myself, I left during the renaissance and just came back in January and even though I was a better fighter then than now I get so much Great help from people in the city and most aren't in my house. We don't have a lot of experienced combatants in my house but that don't mean others won't teach us.

RP there is a lot of great role play if you reach out to people, and if I'm around I love to chat about my many interests, and I find a lot of other people are the same. I believe there are a lot of ministries that could always use more help, I think the Library could use help if Ehene don't mind me saying I work as an aide there.

we have a few clans that all are free to join no matter their house, don't know about a city rogue clan though.

Ailea

I don't think it wise to tell you to join a specific city, in the game though I will likely tell you something completely different. 

I agree with @Tesha each city has their own problems and issues, and really the best thing to do is to speak to people and to learn of the city's tenets to find where you click in the most. For me personally that's Mhaldor, whereas that will differ from person to person. 

Bann

I agree with @Ailea. I personally really love Ashtan, and that's why I chose this place. Not terribly sure where I'd go other than there! Definitely would recommend testing out each for yourself, or asking someone who knows you/the kinds of characters you play well, for their input.

Farrah

You might decide you want to join a House anyway. I can't really think of a reason not to, at least in Targ and Mhaldor. You may have had a bad experience with some Houses in the past that doesn't accurately reflect other Houses now.

I probably wouldn't pick a city based on whether you have to join a House, without any further information. In Targ, it's optional, for example, but I don't know anyone who isn't in one (it's a little hard to tell for some people since Luminai don't always use House titles). Everyone chooses to join one, because there's no reason not to.

There aren't really "novice reqs" in a lot of Houses now. It's just a community to do things with and helps provide a direction and framework to RP within.

Ismay

So true. I always hated guilds/houses because of the ridiculous reqs. From what I can tell now though, most houses have eased up on that sort of thing. Anything streamlined is a plus in my book. 

The thing is, joining a house usually offers a sense of brotherhood and more interaction with other members that doesn't seem to be as easy to find when you're just in a city.

As for deciding on a city, I'd strongly suggest that you make an alt or two and find out yourself. Only you really know your preferences. Personally, I didn't like Hashan because of the whole wellspring thing. It seemed a flimsy basis for the city and houses. Others like it though, so who knows?

Torinn

Yah.  Listen to Ismay, she's awesome.

Aerek

Minor aside, but Hashan has a very competent core of fighters at the moment. Perhaps not the actively raiding kind, but I can think of about 5-6 names that I respect as technically and mechanically skilled combatants that don't rely on artefacts to win, who I would not want to run across in a dark alley. 

That's actually more than I can think of for any city except Ashtan, so Hashan should be pretty proud of its arena/Mark/1v1 scene. 

Nazihk

Yeah, but arena heroes are pretty much meaningless in the big picture. They can win a lot of duels, but so what? The city still lacks the ability to meaningfully project force. They can't defend their own territory, they can't attack the territory of their enemies. 

Sure, it's nice that the city has 1v1 champs, but that doesn't affect most people in the city in any fashion whatsoever. You join Targossas, you'll be raiding and defending and defiling next to the best fighters in your city. You join Hashan, your best fighters will be sitting in the bank watching your raid team get spanked. 

Aegoth

agree, arena bots are a pretty lolol way to rate a city's combat prowesd

Minifie

I only play during aussie hours but use the arena to test scripting and duels or getting jumped to see how it turns out. I dunno I feel I've not done enough yet to warrent education I am finding more problems to solve out of the arena.

Farrah

They don't even duel or complete bounties. I haven't seen Hashan's "good" fighters do anything meaningful for the city even in 1v1 context. Targ, Ashtan, and Mhaldor's 1v1ers go out and kill enemies and stuff.

I can't personally name 5-6 good technical fighters in Hashan, but I assume it's because they're arena only fighters, and I don't really play in the arena often.

That being said, Targossas was pretty much at the bottom not too long ago, and now we're being referred to as a "combat behemoth." Anything can happen.

Cailan

Targ.  

Anedhel

I'd like to say that Achaea (especially in the roleplaying aspect) is basically only as fun as you make it. How much you delve in, how much time you dedicate to it, how well you get to learn the people you play with, the lore of your faction, the preferences of your government and players OOC both, and so on will really determine how well you can acclimate and feel like you're a part of the place you pick. 

If you really give it a good, honest shot, and you do your best to make it work, every City in Achaea can be a fun place to play in (even no City at all!). At the same time, there's no shame in switching, if you're not feeling the spot you first chose. It's a game, and it should be enjoyable and, if not effortless, then at least worthwhile proportional to the investment you sink into your faction, so don't feel constrained to stay in a place you don't enjoy! 

Also, Targossas has some pretty cool people, and so does Hashan, I don't really think you can go wrong.