I think the first two (#1 - adding areas/quests, and #2 - divine interaction) will help alleviate #3. Sometimes it seems like those who enjoy PK and are currently dominating get bored with the lack of competition and resort to forcing PK (e.g. by raiding).

The forced PK then either:
A - Drags people out of exploring/questing/etc. to go fight battles that they know they're most likely going to lose yet again.
B - Forces people to abstain from defending because they already know it's hopeless, and then feel bad about it afterwards.

#3 seems to address the -amount- of PK. But I wonder if people are really sick of the -amount- of PK, or just the imbalance of it. That is, would you be more interested in it if the outcome wasn't so predictable.

Or to put it another way -- If each city/commune had the same strength in fighters and experience, and your side lost/won with roughly the same frequency, would you still want combat banned from the un-influenced villages, or would you enjoy the extra dimension of having your armies battle whilst the diplomats influence?

I realize the imbalance is going to be hard to fix at this point, and maybe pacifying villages for the short-term will help. But if we're talking about the long-term future direction of Lusternia, I think that limiting PK too much as a general goal/policy is a bad idea.

While conflicts can be non-violent, the fact is that we have so many skills that are most effective in PK. Having more reasons to PK means that it's more rewarding to learn and use these skills. It also opens opportunities for those who excel at PK to become the legendary names that people like to fear/admire/emulate, which adds depth to the world.

And while PK remains open on non-Prime planes, it is also true that the most interesting things happen on the Prime plane because villages and our home cities/communes are there. With a few exceptions, most people will spend over 75% of their time and effort on the Prime plane.

And on a side note -- #1 and #2 also benefit those who are currently at a loss because they have lost affilitiations with all of the current (albeit few) existing organizations.

Village influence needs to be less combat dependent.

Power quests need to make more of an impact as compares to village power input.

Avenues need to be made available to individuals to gain commodities outside of dependence upon city and village shops.

Greater balance needs to be achieved between all archetypes on both a 1vs1 and group-cooperative level.

Everything needs to be sloooooooowwwwweeeedddd down. No one has time for character development because every second they spend in the realm is spent fighting, preparing to fight, discussing the ramifications of a recent fight, or trying to recoupe the losses of a recent fight.

I voted for more avenues of exploration and discovery, though I'm really happy with Lusternia's quality as is. Also quests... I know there are plenty out there, but it would be nice if there was more opportunity for new people to attempt the honor line ones.

The third choice about non-violent gameplay is a big one for me as well. Personally, I'd really like to see a few more class-based skills that aren't directly useful in combat, so that there are some interesting activities to choose from aside from bashing/combat. I don't really know what they could be, but thats something I've always wanted to see. Hmm... Aquamancers breeding different species of aquatic fish? It might sound silly - but there are times when you are bored and want to do something purely for the interest/prestige value.

Few observations here;

The problem with an assasin class is that it's so obvious. Is anyone going to assume a card-carrying member of the Assasination, Toxicology, & Hypnosis club is innocent and trustworthy? No. And therein lies the problem with those guilds.

The guilds in this game represent the way guilds were in real life - the equivalent of labour unions. They're factions within a city.

Finally, a hearty second to Rhysus' call for a smaller part for combat in influencing.

The main reason PK is so extensive is probably do the low player base which becomes a problem. Because you have a lot of people in Celest who don't want to fight and you have a lot in Magnagora wanting to fight. PK having prevalance already in a low population can be quite brutal.

I hate how influencing has turned into who can put the most statues down and cover the whole village in a demesne. I find it hard to roleplay coming from Delport and living in Celest when they are being influenced then killed by Magnagorans. I think Villages should be more random in the sense that they will go dormant and not allow any city to have influence over them and allow the commodity markets to recover in villages. If I lived in Delport or any other Village would I want a city to put statues that killed people? Different villages should have different laws on how they accept people putting statues while they are a neutral entity of themselves. The other fact to this is it becomes more and more difficult to do honors quests because of all the guards you can put in villages if your enemied to that city. If you have complete dominance over villages you control honors quests and people cannot buy commodities if they are enemied.

I personally would rather develop and study my Cosmic plane without having to worry about villagers being killed or Valek and Daevos coming in and killing 40 guards and demolishing all our statues at 3 am in the morning with only four citizens on. In fact if I had a choice I wouldn't fight for a very long time and for good reason too.

I voted for nonviolent play development, partially because I'm a great big wuss and partially because I love the idea of influencing and want to see what other fun the staff can cook up. The emphasis would be on ways to build experience without bashing or PK, not "here is something else to do" (though I agree with Elryn on how it'd be a blast having more trade skills, animal husbandry, whatever), as a decent imagination is all that's required to kill a little time and enjoy oneself. See also: Mary's recently-bequeathed title, courtesy of Llexyn.

Events and areas are both equally important, of course. Anyone who was around riiight after open beta started remembers how awfully cramped the world felt, so new places to explore and hunt would definitely be good. Right now the world is so dynamic and interesting that I think only a few events now and again would be more than enough to keep people happy, since players cheerfully take the results and expand upon them. Alternating between direct Divine intervention and standard player-based intrigues might help keep people from feeling so overwhelmed by everything (not that lots of events are bad, heavens no).

So...uh...yeah. Another way to advance a character beyond force of arms or glibness of tongue would be great! I have no idea what it would BE, mind you, but I'm sure whatever it is would be just dandy.

Breeding would be so fun! Especially if it were possible to experiment with different species to produce hybrid species that were strongest for various things.

For example, what if you could breed rockeaters to mine raw gems or ore? More successful breeding will produce species that can mine:
- more gems/ore
- higher-quality gems/ore

Maybe certain gems/ore would be findable only by certain hybrid species of rockeaters that can only be produced by inter-breeding.

The gems/ore might be either used for mine village comm quests (how hard is it to find ore currently without killing miners?). Or they might be used as straight gems/silver/etc. commodities.

Or maybe you could breed rockeaters that are specialized in converting mined ore into useable commodities.

If #3 includes this kind of thing (expanding non-violent options over limiting violent ones), then I'm all for that

Edit: "experiment", not "experience". Oops!

Ok I voted for one, because with two more cities, and a commune, peaceful RP will become an option as more options become availble... in truth not everyone will fight everyone, once Magnagora tries to take over Hallifax and Guadiguch, you may have a rebuilding of the Holy Celestine Empire and suddenly three cities agansit one... that means more fighters, less requirment for you to get involved personally.

But, while I understand why this is in place, I personally hate it, and that is the power system. So far this is better then Achaea and Aetolia, but if I had not had a bad personal experience on Imperian, I would be there. The reason for this is the power system.

In imperian, you had a choice on who you were, you didn't need a city or a guild to be effective or any of that. You could be self sustaining, and succseful.

Now Lusternia, if you leave your city, you just lost more then 1/3 your skills because you can't use power anymore. Nementh doesn't really fit in any city right now, and I doubt he will ever really fit unless he makes one himself, which aint going to happen. He is to much of a 'Republican' for all intensive purposes, the way he sees government would get him killed in his own city, and would make people uncomfortable anywhere else. Not saying power gaining should be easy outside a city, but I think it should be possible...

The best way I could think would be a guild that, maybe not sneaky or spy like, but roguish. This would open up more options for players, and get rid of this huge need for cities. Not all of us want to quest all day long for power, comms, and villages for a city. I want to run a little personal story with Nementh, with him refounding his family, and his history coming together.

This power requirment is to an extent forcing us to RP a certain way. It does feel forced, and I hate it. The idea of power is great, I love it, but using it to force people in cities I hate.

Definately number 2. I practically wet myself when the guardians event occured in Achaea, as it was the first I'd ever been in.

I voted for 2, but 2 and 3 are really important to me. I'm not big on combat AT ALL...I like the RP much more. I'd love to see more events and God interaction to encourage RP, and a downplay of the combat side.

I voted three, cause things really are going way to fast, and focusing way to much on PK. I understand that it's a very intricate and important part of the word, but there really is way to much of it. As a couple peopel have pointed out, it's constantly this place being raided, that place being raided, those villages opening up to be influenced, over and over.

Now yes, I haven't taken part on any of it, but that's due to the views my character has on it. But I still hear about it a lot, and fully understand where others are comming from when they talk about how it's constant kill kill kill, defend defend defend.

Also, getting more chances to develope characters, thus histories and the story of the game, will, in my opinion, attract many people to the. Not everyone is a top class fighter, and the more you can work with others ways to play the game, but still have that fighting option alongside the otehrs, would be kick butt.

Although, if there we ways to begin drawing PK off the rpime, while equally increasing it upon the outter planes, would be completely awesome.

I agree with Dumihru in the sense that PK is interesting (hey, I have helped defend the city and villages a few times, and even though I had to run upon being wounded at first time, I loved it). If we totally restrict PK on the prime plane, then it is going to become boring.

However, we have a problem in the sense that all PK-loving and PK-skilled people are in Magnagora. Since they are in better position, people who are more neutral or unaligned end up in Mag because it is more comfortable for them.

And PK has excessive importance on village influencing. You rarely need influencers or chanters... you need fighters who can stop Magnagorans from killing everything.

In short, PK is not bat. The people who raid every day are the ones that make it become boring or pointless.

As ever I believe Dumihru hit the nail on the head with her first post.

I voted for more areas to explore/hunt whichever. More hunting means more enchantment sales

And really, the introduction of new cities is not going to help matters at all whatsoever. So Hallifax, Gaudiguch and Glomdoring get dropped in. The playerbase we have now would mean that each of these cities probably wouldn't have enough people to fill all the government positions. Meaning Magnagora could stomp on all of them at the same time without blinking an eye.

Keep the guilds part of the city, keep the power system the way it is. Its nice and all to be able to completely be your own person but being accountable to something is what keeps things from sliding into total apathy.

I wanted to say more but I've completely forgotten what I was going to say. Oh well.

Guild-city combination is VERY much a good thing. The organisation as far as cities and such go is awesome, especially since it reduces rogues considerably.

I just want ways other than PK to be -viable-. Pure pacifism is dumb, but so is pure killing. It becomes a pretty simple battle: Magnagora is willing to do things Celest is not, and thus, they win. The best way we hvae to judge who is 'winning' is villages. The best way to win at influencing? Kill everyone. Including denizens, after you influence them. Celest isn't going to go around doing that. There is no other equally good way. Celest loses. Period.

Killing and war are realistic, yes. They can make a game interesting, yes. But when it's -all- there is, and you're defined by being the losing side because there's nothing -else- you can do, it is just not fun. There are always going to be winners and losers, but which side is which can change. Ideally. That's what makes it okay. It's not okay that our side is, literally, just plain worse. We simply don't have the option of using what is clearly the most effective strategies without tossing aside centuries of history and all our ideals.

PK should be what happens between influencing periods. Raiding villages and planes, that's all good. But what is the point of a whole new system based on persuasion and charisma when it is decided by slaughtering everyone just as much as your average raid?

What was cool was when Celest got Rockholm and Southgard because a treaty got made more or less allowing them to be killed. We got an advantage for being the good guys for once. We're not the ones who made the dwarf-killin' treaty, so we got a benefit. I'd love to see things like that. Though not -exactly- like that, being that I understand that it would be a huge pain in the ass to lose a village every time you worded something poorly. Just things where killing is a disadvantage, or at least not always clearly the best way.

So, I went option 3, because I want -alternatives-. Not to get rid of violence, or even to make it altogether less prominent, just for there to be other ways to try. This could fit under option 1 or 2 as well, if events and quests can come up that benefit people for not killing everything.

PS: Dependance on cities is the best part of the game, I think. You live in a city, you have access to more resources. You want to go it on your own, you don't. Makes sense. City-guild relations and power are my favorite parts of the game, makes 'Who care what I do, I'll just take off if I have to face any consequences' not quite so viable. You have to try a little diplomacy.

How much you lose if you leave guild and city and go it "lone wolf" is a delicate balance. Realistically, there's an advantage to going it alone (no need to conform to someone else's rules or make sacrifices for someone or something else) and a disadvantage (no one to aid you, teach you, help you). Many games (including MUDs) model the former half of this balance but not the latter, to their detriment.

If we have to err, better we err in favor of making it advantageous to be part of organizations, because it is that, more than anything, which forces us to bump up against one another, and that's where roleplaying usually happens. Sure, you can get a lot of roleplaying in while you're the lone wolf if you're good at it and determined, but it's a lot easier to roleplay if you're interacting with people more.

I don't particularly care about there being too much PK myself, I'm pacified and I hate it...but I do think putting in Hallifax and Gaudiguch would be a good thing in the sense of...the people that want to have some peace and rest and get out of the war-spiral Lusternia is in, can join those cities, it'll attract more new players, and it'll make sure the current ones stay...

so while Magnagora and Celest/Serenwilde are beating eachother up, the ones that don't want to be in constant conflict, can build up the new cities, with their politics, rules, laws, whatever. So I think if we want to keep a solid playerbase of PK'ers AND peaceful, only-roleplayers, I think the cities should be the first priority....they don't need to have a huge population right away, but they'd be a nice, more safe haven for people, just Like Cyrene was during the Ashtan-Shallam wars.

You do realize Gaudiguch and Hallifax will fight too?

Heh, I'm 99,999% sure they will NOT fight as intensely like the fights going on now. Not right away in any case, I highly doubt a lot of hardcore pk'ers will be joining either city.

Based on what reason...?