Best Of

https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/s1kcb0e0y47w121mvd2ai/Seafaring-Wilderness-Map-Ver-2024-final.png?rlkey=s9s4obbptpc2xiswhzn6l3qzy&dl=0

The Long Awaited 2024. I have updated the shoreline near where Targossas was and where Targossas now is. I have added two ports that were created awhile ago. (You get to find them, if you haven't already). I finished the wilderness area on New Hope (I missed some of it last time).

IRE did a major overhaul to get rid of Guilds and bring in Houses to solve other issues.

It is now trying again to cure the same issues which existed then. This may work or not work - but this time there is the twist, and this, along with multi-class, is definitely part of that.

Now, I didn't say there was anything wrong with that. I expect IRE to want to maximize profits. I never said, "Bad IRE, no profits!"  I just pointed out that profits are a good portion of its motivation.

This is supposed to be a discussion, not an argument - but if y'all want to debate / defend something I didn't say, instead of having a discussion about the various things we're all saying, enjoy.

I prefer discussions myself. 

Exelethril said:

Renaissance = cultural rebirth, just saying. I'd like to see a more integrated Eleusis where the Houses actually work with the village and not try to be off-shoot entities. There are high clans for that.

Renaissance = new way to try and engage and retain customers in order to maximize profits.

Sometimes that conflicts with RP, and sometimes it does not. 

But let's not pretend it is about anything other than the above.

Antreus said:

Sena said:

As a complete outsider with very little idea of the inner workings of Eleusis/Oakstone and their houses:

It seems like the current setup already fits pretty well with how Targossas and Cyrene are handled (splitting the houses by playstyle; though it seems there's not a lot of distinction between Druids and Sylvans), but it still has problems and is pretty tied to class. So I think the primary goal is to divorce the houses from the forestal classes, with a secondary goal of making the new houses different enough to shake things up a bit (which means splitting them up in a different way). Anything that leaves warriors vs scholars/priests as the main distinction is probably going to be too similar to what they already have, and so the old stagnancy/problems (whatever they may be) will remain.

With that in mind, my idea: Three houses. One focussed on defending Nature (not just through combat. Think a mix of protectors and tenders), one focussed on studying/exploring Nature, and one focussed on actively seeking out and working against potential threats to Nature, including all cities (again, not just through combat, but also through espionage, diplomacy, etc.). If Eleusis's population is better suited to two houses, then drop the scholarly house (I mostly left it there as a clearly non-combatant choice, since Eleusis seems to have a large population of hardcore non-combatants). The main point of this is the internal/external distinction, with the bonus of having a house that's inherently antagonistic towards the rest of the world.

As for lore/theme, I'm not sure. Something that promotes a wild/savage/tough image over the "kind and gentle" Nature would be good. Maybe you could go with animal motifs; Bears for the defenders, hornets for the invaders, owls for the scholars? Or maybe something like "Keepers", "Seekers", and something scholarly or explorer-ish ("Walkers"?). Or maybe Gaelic-inspired names (like leath-ri), though no obvious examples comes to mind beyond "Fomoire" or "Fomori" (though that's already used in Annwyn).

When I lived there last, Druids were the isolated conservative traditionalists, Sylvans were a liberal minority that left the Druids to live in Eleusis (druid culture was highly favorable to elders), and Sentinels were the Communists who were quite militant and cliquish. At that time there were 3 very clear definitions of what being a forestal meant. As a Sylvan who was formerly a Druid a lot of things the Sentinels did were entirely alien to me, such as yodeling culture. 

People may overlook the fact that Druids, Sentinels, and Sylvans all came from very unique cultural mores and traditions, perhaps even contrary to what is contemporaneous now due to Houses. Oakstone in the early stages of Eleusis seemed to be a hegemonic arm of the Druids. Eleusis has had an equalizing affect on forest politics and consensus overall.

It will be interesting to see how it all plays out or if Druids will choose to fade into a High Clan like the Serpent Lords. I can definitely see the Sylvans retaining their scholar bent, because of how deeply ingrained that culture is within that House. They have quite an extensive library and laboratory set-up.

I think that Druids have a unique background and history rich for RP that lends itself to so much, and I am going to be very sad to see it merge / evolve into "just another House" or disappear entirely.

I don't overlook the fact that Sentinels, and then Sylvans, left Druids because of different view points (and yes, in part, because of feeling stifled or pushed out).

Sentinels wanted City life, and gave up their Groves to move to Hashan. 

Sylvans were Druids merged with Magi to, uh, well.... see reason the second.

Druids always was, and is, something special.

That I can no longer with certainty say "and always will be" hurts me, the person, Deborah Levinson, the person behind the player. Old woman. Windmill tilter, not just in Achaea, but in offline life as well. 

Druid culture afforded us the opportunity to choose so many distinct paths, to think for ourselves when it came to service, so long as we were serving.

For a time we could argue against the establishment, in many ways go against traditional thought so long as we served, served, and served some more.

In game Conor and I had some differences, all related to some aspects of management style, NONE related to what service to Nature was or should be. 

It really is too bad we could not stay in the same place to share that culture, those thoughts, those feelings, with others. Work together to continue to instill that core belief ideology in others.

Conor, then Brae, and now Oceana all have kept Druids true to Druid history and culture.

Bending over only when forced to by Divine will.

Player driven world?

Most of the time.

But not in terms of what was done to the Druid House close to a year ago.

Hopefully the Ren will not do the same, and kill off the balance of what makes Druids, and the balance of the Forestal community, unique among the game.

Antreus, I don't think Druids will go the way of a High Clan. Too many people/players are now vested in the concept that Houses must be part of Cities to thrive and survive, even though that very concept is inimical to Druid history and culture.

So they will have to work from within the confines of the Village. 

And you and I, old friend, we will watch, mostly from afar, shaking our head sadly.... while still being inexorably pulled to find a way to be part of it.

The 2024 Version. I have not sailed the Oceans or checked all of the Wilderness. If you know of an area that needs updating, please let me know and I'll update the area. I updated the southeastern coast where Shallam was raised and became Targossas.

https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/16xg438rkmc758xz51xr4/Seafaring-Wilderness-Map-Ver-2024-draft-ver1.png?rlkey=8lzfame1v9o4d618ude69g0c3&dl=0

Comment here or send me a message IG and I'll respond here or there. As I've said in the past, not all stuff gets recorded.

Happy Sailing and Wandering

A long time ago, shortly after fishing was introduced, I asked about automation. The reply from Clementius/Maya led admin was that if you could leave the keyboard and it would keep doing something indefinitely then it wasn't allowed. The upshot was that as long as you manually cast, you could automate the rest of fishing.