The Mhaldor Thread.

Katzchen

@Lodi I do worry how many people would bail to Ashtan if there were a blanket ban on OOC clans.

Also, mudlet/SVO, house combat clans, and the UUC, would they count, or just chat clans? I did say I have no 'real' OOC clans, because I have UUC which is quiet most of the time, and when not, half of the talk could pass for IC, and the rest isn't that jarring.

Lodi

Would people really leave? That's sad, but I take your point. I guess I'm just oldschool when it comes to this.

Katzchen

Lodi said:

Would people really leave? That's sad, but I take your point. I guess I'm just oldschool when it comes to this.

I think so. Especially some of the more combat oriented crowd. Not sure if it's oldschool, because I  agree that OOC clans kind of ruin the experience of achaea, and I'm certainly not old school Mhaldorian. I always had clans like SVO turned off when I had them at all. I prefer to instigate IC conversations than chat over OOC clans. If I want OOC talk, I'll come to the forums.

Lodi

Katzchen said:

. If I want OOC talk, I'll come to the forums.

My thoughts exactly.

Jacen

Mhaldor's just so quiet and daunting as a novice though. So little chit chat, it gives the impression of a dying city. My alt would have suicided/ gone dormant within a RL week without the OOC clan hes in.

ETA: Hrm. For clarification, I mean from the viewpoint of a novice. Mhaldor's interactiveness is fine once you get to the point of raiding/defending/HR3/CR2. Before that, though, its not fun being a newbie. I'm glad that Mhaldor wasn't the city I joined out of Rebirth, because I might not have stuck around. Its probably my #1 alternative to Hashan now, though.

Panpardus

I'm in a few OOC clans, and there would be no chance of trying to enforce the no OOC clans.

Do you really think Vadi would quit the SVO and Mudlet clan. - In the bigger picture they add a little bit more for the community than contributing to Mhaldors problems (which I don't think they do, well certainly not Mudlet and SVO)

I don't speak on their often, but if I know the answer to a problem or if I have one (which I have a had a lot of lately) then its my first port of call and because I do have access to things like this it has kept me in the game longer.

After I moved computers if this wasn't a possibility then I would not have worried about redoing anything.

--

The Horde however is a bit of detriment to Mhaldor, sometimes though it's hilarious the rage that comes from there and is directed at its own members, it can't really be that helpful, especially some of the discussion in the last week or so. 

In saying that it does give people a certain outlet to groan and talk about things when Mhaldor and the houses in general are deathly quiet.

Katzchen

@Jacen true, I joined when I at least had the basics, character development, system, trans important skills. It probably wouldn't be much fun as a true novice, though I do try to interact with the Maldaathi ones, encourage them, etc.

Tael

Tvistor said:

Mhaldor still has a fairly strong group of awesome people. They just aren't allowed to do their thing as freely as they used to.

But yeah, I think the difficulty has dropped a fair bit. Something that bugs me is there's an OOC clan called Whiners that has quite a few Mhaldorians. The logic was that the city is quiet, so it's a good OOC outlet for novices and a way to keep in touch.

In reality, like a lot of OOC clans allowing mainly members of org X, it really devalues the Mhaldorian experience. It's a shame, since CR 1 was one of the coolest times if you're green enough to get scared by someone threatening execution.

Whiners is the only OOC clan I've been a part of for more than fifteen minutes and I've actually been very pleasant surprised. Using it as an excuse to make up for the quiet city would be bad, but that's not what I've seen happening at all.

Instead, what I see is all the "lol look what x just did" messages going there instead of house/city/party channels. And that I think is a robust improvement to things. Mhaldor has always had a fairly minor problem with attracting a certain segment of the lolpkers and I welcome anything that reduces the amount of "OMGWTF how did he dodge that lol" on my IC party channel during raids.

I've even seen some decent OOC discussion of the problems with Mhaldor happening on it - the kind that you can't really have ICly.

(As for whether OOC clans are inherently problematic, I don't know. It doesn't personally affect my feelings about someone's character much to know them OOCly, but I can see how it might for other people. I think it's probably ill-advised to assume that it does or doesn't have an impact on others based on whether it has an impact on me. Some people are really good at maintaining an extremely firm IC/OOC separation and some need to just avoid OOC interaction in order to keep things IC. Both are fine.)

Xer

Mhaldor was the first city I joined straight off the bat, and I loved it haha. Admittedly, I didn't do much in the first RL month I played - just hunted around until the Great Hunt happened one weekend and I happened to place third. Until then, there was some prompting involving my House requirements, but not too much. 

But you have to realise, Mhaldor is a city that rewards initiative a lot more than simply following orders. There were some events that I took part in that got me to know people - helping Vrah out with the torture show case, but what really started getting me involved was submitting a design for a project Jurixe organised. From there, I got more and more involved with other things, and I try to continue to produce events and get other people involved in what I do - so long as it makes sense for them to be involved/Xer to involve them. I see some people follow orders blindly, but never take the initiative to do anything on their own (by which I mean ask a superior if they can help out with something, or proposing an idea first, not just do it without permission >.>).

Mhaldor is a quiet city by nature - It's probably one of the key reasons why I stay in Mhaldor. I tried an alt briefly in Cyrene and Hashan but the city channel just drove me nuts. Mhaldor should be quiet on channels such as the city channel, but have far more clandestine activities occurring via tells, quiet whisperings behind doors, or some lighter conversation in places like the newly renovated Common room (with some activities to pass the time by!).

Katzchen

@Tael I am pretty good at keeping IC/OOC boundaries in place, I don't shun OOC clans for that reason, it is more the disruptive, spammy nature of them can have a tendency to ruin RP moments.

@Xer I love the quiet aspect too. I left behind an often busy CT, HT, and several clans when I left Hashan, and the quiet was really nice. I was glad to see when I joined Mhaldor that it tended to stay that way.

Thaumas

Instant Exsusiai, raise your hands!

Tip: join Naga, wait till those 3 go dormant. Become HL, then start executing people.  Victory. Just look at Tvistor.

Oh wait, you can't be fast tracked into an order anymore, or can you?

Wilhelmina

Mhaldor is the ugliest city. Initially, I was hoping the flavor would be more Mr. Clean evil like the Sith Empire and their relatively spotless floors and waxed hallways. Instead, it's more barbarian evil with blood-soaked streets and piles of skulls and whatnot. What's that about? I always imagined it as a place that was supposed to show the continent the power and glory they could attain by following the ideals of Evil, not the Temple of Doom.

...That is all I have to contribute.

Aktillum

Mhaldor has too many doors. Blabla fortress. It's lame that a large percentage of the city is inaccessible to raiders. It was built too defensively, in my opinion, it actually deters raids and I feel like it wasn't always this way, Mhaldor used to be raided constantly (which is probably what led to all the doors).

I feel this has an impact on Mhaldor culture because Mhaldor's origins were trial by fire, and now the biggest thing you have to worry about is the red tape surrounding your government. Like old Mhaldor was "rargh kill things blood!" and new Mhaldor is "please leave us alone to beat up on the forestals".

It probably doesn't help that Babel / Chaos seems to be 100x more evil than Mhaldor, with sacrificing babies and destroying the world etc. You guys totally got robbed of your spotlight and now your only options are A: ride Ashtan's coat-tails, or B: be a sideliner and burn forests.

I mean really, Babel chaos with their whole "burn the world" ideology kind of leaves you guys with nothing except memories of what you used to be.

Horatio

Eris / Chaos was more evil too for a long while, post-Infernal and pre-Mhaldor. 

Jules

Wilhelmina said:

Mhaldor is the ugliest city. Initially, I was hoping the flavor would be more Mr. Clean evil like the Sith Empire and their relatively spotless floors and waxed hallways. Instead, it's more barbarian evil with blood-soaked streets and piles of skulls and whatnot. What's that about? I always imagined it as a place that was supposed to show the continent the power and glory they could attain by following the ideals of Evil, not the Temple of Doom.

...That is all I have to contribute.

^Some version of this would be neat.  Blood pooling and spattered on a pristine white sandstone street and walls, only to be cleaned up immediately by terrified slaves.  Rawr!  

Xer

@Wilhelmina - You could have stayed and contributed new designs for rooms! The Common room looks great now... Though the rest of the Worm and Grub could still use renovations. Since it's a room that anyone can see with an easy alt, I figure I might as well post the description...

Common room

Blackened and blighted timbers panel this warm common room, the gnarled and knotted wood fitted together in a pattern that stymies the eye with cruel angles violently arcing across the walls. A magnificent painting hangs above a mhun skin sofa to the west, its rapturous lines described in broad, sweeping strokes and vibrant shades. Within a wrought-iron frame a lurid scene unfolds, crimson flames leaping from shattered windows and glittering golden domes shining a sickly, tainted hue as the once-grand Shallamese University catches light. Thick, noxious ash chokes the imagined sky, and reflected firelight sparkles brilliantly on shards of broken glass underfoot as the streets slowly succumb to the Master's glorious plan. The rest of the room pales in comparison to this sanguine scene, its furnishings sombre and built for quiet comfort.

But the rest of the Worm and Grub...

A dingy hallway

The pungent smell of pipe smoke hangs in the air, mixing with the scent of cooked food and grease. Almost overwhelming in its intensity, the cacophonous sounds of tavern patrons permeate the doors which lead into the common room and taproom of the tavern. Several lanterns hung from the ceiling cast a dim light over the hallway, illuminating the cloaks and hats hanging on the wall. Crusted with mud, the floor bears the sign of heavy traffic, the unfinished wooden planks worn smooth from years of abuse.

There really should be a place for both in Mhaldor - Barbaric blood practices, including having a pyramid of skulls seems totally fine to have laying around in a place like Mhaldor. But an option for rooms that are more majestic would be nice though - could even restrict it so only non-slaves (i.e. CR2 or higher) can enter, or something along those lines.

And Mhaldor is sufficiently Evil enough @Aktillum. There are plenty of goddamn awful experiments happening behind doors - torture, vivisection, sacrifices, and the like - it's just not privy to the rest of the world. You also seem to have forgotten we summoned Bal'met, and decimated your city to the ground >.> Mhaldorians have plenty of things that we want to do, events in mind and on paper that they want to have carried out - the lack of a Divine to make anything happen is probably why you only see us restricted to player sermons and torture showcases within the city and raiding Hashan/Eleusis. I mean, you wouldn't be seeing all of these Ashtan ritual deathsights if Babel wasn't actually around to make them happen (unless it's a hardcoded thing). Not to mention that we *want* our Sarapin Sacrifices, but they're still missing <.<

Ruth

I always thought the doors were there all the time.

Katzchen

Katz was tortured to death by her brother on someone's orders just the other day. Torture and sacrifice are pretty common, like Xer said, and execution even more so. You just don't see it from outside Mhaldor.

Aktillum

Katzchen said:

You just don't see it from outside Mhaldor.

That was the gist of my post, though. I mean I understand how much not having divine sucks, and my post was more empathetic than aggressive, I'm legitimately sympathetic that Evil's role in Achaea has been upstaged by Babel and now you guys are reduced to sitting around and having convoluted discussions on Mhaldor's role in the world.

Nellaundra

I really really hope that the latest batch of Celani (or however the - you spell it) gives Mhaldor the Sartan they need.

Katzchen

I don't think Mhaldor being insular is much of a problem. More events that effect the outside world would be nice, but realistically we can't really have those happen without Divine help. We certainly have been raiding a lot more lately.

Iphis

Not likely. It's not that there isn't Celani willing and wanting to take the position, but rather...hmm.. the position is unavailable due to certain circumstances.

Nellaundra

Okay.  Then solve the circumstances.  Mhaldor has basically been without gods aside from Keresis (who by all accounts did a great job, just she was clumsily inserted into the same power as the twins) for bloody forever.  That's cruel to the players and they shouldn't have to have their RP cut off because no one can be arsed to admin for them.

Iphis

Nellaundra said:

Okay.  Then solve the circumstances. 

Tell the admin to solve the circumstances. It's their issues holding back.

Jacen

I don't think that's the circumstances he's referring to.

Xenomorph

Iocun said:

I'm really not quite sure why Xenomorph was picked as city leader. I mean, he makes you lol enough and I guess he's somewhat "badass", but he's just not quite the material for city leader of an RP-heavy city. Having good rapiers and cursing a lot just isn't all it takes.

You don't know the first thing about me, you likely never will.

Not to toot my own horn, but to rather explain why such a choice was made: I just retired as High Lord of the Maldaathi, my 5th such tenure. I served as GM of the Infernals Guild in Ashtan back around, oh, 2001-2002 I think it was. I was a completely different animal when I started, compared to my mindset now. My fondest aspect of Achaea will -always- be the Infernal Knights, the Maldaathi Knights, and the brotherhood of people you meet in that private sector. No matter where I go, I will always hang my hat there. Its just what I do. You make some very good friends there, people that you work with for rl years in some cases. When you handle a Guild with great care and ensure you are putting the people first, you are doing a fantastic job. With that said, people don't hear about people that do good jobs. People talk about the vile aspects of the game and the failures of others, rather than point to a leader as being a selfless "tech support" admin, esentially, to keep the gears turning.

When it came time to pick a Tyrannus, on one hand, you had a guy that counted his eggs before they were hatched and declared himself emperor and just assumed he'd get Tyrannus (and did the person really have Mhaldorians in mind, or numero uno?). On the other, there was a small melting pot of "old faithfuls" to consider. I never wanted to the position, as I'm so vehemently Maldaathi oriented (-was- anyways), but it was my selfless service and my rl ethos on how you treat the Mhaldorian faction as a leader so that its firing on all cylinders and representing achaea.com the best it can. That ultimately put me in place. It's a mere fluke I'm even here, I only returned to Achaea out of duty: to intercept and protect the Maldaathi when its 2 previous leaders all but vanished and the place was decaying from the ground up.

When asked by divine, how the other "potential candidates" would do as Tyrannus, I offered nothing but loyal and great things to say to best help them, a loyal friend knows to take care of his own. I on the other hand, was not reciprocated the same, and had my name dragged through the mud. Ultimately, it was the deciding factor. You have one guy that is trying to help his friends, then you have the rest putting daggers in eachothers backs. I'll expand on my ethos so I'm clear, shortly.

All of a sudden, I'm contracted for the position, and almost immediately many "have a problem" with the choice made by the Garden. Which is pretty sad, because does that mean?: I'm good enough to be the most seasoned Infernal leader ever, but too novice to take care of a city? Please. They believed in someone that had so much success with the Maldaathi could apply the same to his own people. We all have "our time." I'll be crystal clear in saying this: If you aren't Mhaldorian, I don't like you. In fact, I probably hate many to most of you depending on history and circumstances. You know me, Xenomorph, at a far glance, from whatever cancer ward you haunt. Only a Mhaldorian, one that has stood by me and worked with me close is going to know the real guy, or makes any impact on any emotional level. The ones that do, know someone that puts loyalty and brotherhood far above his own personal goals. Xenomorph wears a silver ring of Iniquity, I won't expand on what that is, but lets just say its extremely rare. In other words, I didn't get to the top by being f'n daft. Believe it or not, the Garden holds a magnifying glass up to potentials. For those that hate me, and rightfully so, this is nothing more than an opportunity to take your digs at me. For example, you have a Delphinus "like" on your post. Next to Cooper, I can't think of a person who hates me worse. For as intelligent as he is, he's only fooling himself that the man behind the curtain isn't a clever and seasoned leader. As much as I hate him, even I know he's a good leader to his people, and probably cares a great deal for his faction like I do mine. I just don't stop to say things like that. Neither do most of you.

To end this already longwinded post, I'll quickly touch on my ethos. My job, my purpose is to ensure players associated with the Mhaldorian faction of achaea.com receive the best treatment possible to enrich their experience while here. Treatment that fosters an environment that caters to their own personal goals, asking them what they want as players, and can I help you achieve something, a goal? The members that make up the Mhaldorian Government are constantly encouraged to let me hear their voices, so that I can realize they have visions and dreams they too would like to accomplish. Any leader that tells you I'm unwilling to support an idea are just lying. I'm extremely easy to work with, and very very approachable. Just as a decade plus ago, Xenomorph answers to Lord Sartan, God of Evil. The opinions of non-Mhaldorians that have a problem with something so far away, so removed from the equation, have zero impact on me and the way I run shop. Like I said, you don't know anything about me, and you all have skewed opinions about someone you've never even worked with. In the end, my job is to ensure Mhaldorians are having fun with the game, and I'm placed here to help them get there. I do this because I care, and as an elder I believe its my duty to help foster positive relations as Lord Sartan's appointee so that this goal can best be reached. Having served under the gamut of Tyranni over the years, it was painfully clear my reign would do something that none of the others did. Care enough to stop and ask questions to the little guy. What do you want from life? How can I make you happy with achaea.com from the Mhaldorian faction standpoint?

Anyways. Iocun, I really don't know who you are, but I hope you are happy reaching combat levels I achieved years ago. I may not fight much anymore, but once upon a time I burned babies by the bonfire and smashed in enough heads to make 10 ashtrays for every player. I've forgotten more than you know.

Anyone in Mhaldor is welcome to take part in how the city is run, but remember loyalty is where it starts. "Play ball", wow, you can achieve anything, huh? Be underhanded, unsupportive, or untrustworthy. Well, let me take a moment to say, it won't turn out well for you. This is a dictatorship. The city IS on lockdown and siezing control by underhanded means is out of the question. Play ball, be a team player, the sky is the limit.

PS: You should all be a lot more thankful of High Lord Vadimuses. He gave you the ability to compete with the old guard rather than watch you fend for yourself.

Tvistor

It isn't as simple as 'solving' the circumstances. The vast majority of the Gods, to my knowledge, are volunteers and allowed to play whatever Divine role they want. Even if you guilted one into playing Sartan, it would be like forcing something into HoN -- their work would likely be uninspired and they'd constantly be haunted by regret.

There's also like months of preparation that goes into get new batches of Celani. 

Iphis

Tl;dr Non-mhaldorians, screw you. 

Xenomorph

Iphis said:

Tl;dr Non-mhaldorians, screw you. 

Well, I mean...just..

 

Yeah, you said it best.

Trey

I too have felt that the particular flavor of Evil Mhaldor possesses is unbearably cartoony at times. Wilhelmina's 'Sith' description is closer to what I'd like to see. However, a byproduct of that cartoon-like exaggeration is that people take more notice of the people who fit the latter.