Ongaku was made to be a bard... and now he's a Mage. :/ I can't remember why I didn't decide to go to Cacophony after leaving the Blacktalons and came to Mag. I guess because demesnes were neat at the time.

I have a problem with my Lusternia session slowing to a crawl when my hard disk gets indexed. That's likely not what's happening to you, but thought I'd throw it out there just in case.

Part of the reason may be that the people who are drawn to play bards are the ones who are verbally-inclined, thus giving the impression that it's somehow a soft requirement! This tends to be somewhat self-fulfilling, given that even in a text game the ratio of really verbal people isn't that high. On the flip side, it does mean that bard guild novices are generally more eloquent than the norm (at least from what I see of the Spiritsingers).

In the end, though, it comes down to the concept (at least, with true newbies, who won't have any idea beforehand how "good" a class is), and to guild inertia. As Felicia said, it may be the "cool" factor - I opted to play a forest enchantress from the start of my main character, and found the idea cool enough to stick with even considering other more utilitarian factors. I can't speak for anyone else, but I'd be perfectly happy as a bard. It's just that the RP factor of a slightly bookish moon-loving sorceress in a white tower got there first, and is not yet exhausted.

Edit: Also, I will add that bard RP - the influencing of the world through word and song - is plenty appealing to me, though it would be even better if they were also keepers of history and cultural wisdom, at least in communes (I don't have any experience with cities). But since Lusternian cultures are not primarily oral, the keepers-of-history part falls mainly to the wiccans, who are somewhat more "lore-oriented" than the rest and cart big books around.

Monk RP, on the other hand... yeah, if I were ordered under pain of permabanning to play a monk, I'd probably choose the banning.

I write very little (people keep bugging me about my description even) and I love being a bard. It's great to be slinging my mandolin and doing all these music related things. Even though I'm built for influencing, I've learned how to bash high level stuff so I'm pretty happy with the bard capabilities.

I loved being a bard and occasionally still get tempted to return to being one but, I still prefer being a wiccan these days (I blame Aramel, Kelysa, and Xedrik for me switching and the fae for me staying as a wiccan). I recall enjoying getting to have my own song back when I still a complete newbie, and with the help of a lot of people, I slowly understood how the bard skillset worked, and eventually, how the game works. I don't think bards should be deleted. Bards are an enjoyable class!

EDIT:

I feel the need to change my description.

I'm certain they could be more popular than they are if more effort was put into them by the admin, but they probably still wouldn't beat warriors, because EVERY game has warriors (or even only has warriors) and people like the simplicity. It seems like wiccans and guardians would be equally niche though - at least the lost city guardians which you can't simply sub "cleric/evil cleric" for - so maybe they could catch up to them.

Part of it might just be that I can sing and perform IRL perfectly fine, but I cannot summon fae to do my bidding.

I'd thought of that too (that music and such are quite possible IRL), but then again, you can't turn yourself into a rock, create magical fireworks or enchant music boxes (not that anyone does that in Lusternia, either, but I digress).

Must not hunt when the deceptive calm of a seemingly fine connection is present.

Does suck, doesn't it?

That hardly seems more germane than saying I can do a spiral dance in a coven in real life, but I almost never make people's heads explode. (Though if it were germane, then the fact that in real life I can't sing and am a piss-poor musician on almost-but-not-quite-all instruments might explain something.)

But what decides whether a class exists isn't whether it's better or worse, it's whether there's enough people who would play if it's there, and wouldn't play if it's not. That was kind of the point. There merely has to exist a group of people for whom the niche makes the game appealing enough to play, regardless of reason.

I can imagine that a monk-like archetype could appeal to a group of players who might not find any of the others appealing, but I'm really not sure if Lusternia's monks fit that. The trick of making monks more popular wouldn't be making them appeal more to the people who play warriors now; it's making them appeal to the people who aren't playing Lusternia at all, but would if monks were more like... something, I'm not sure what.

If monks were more like clerics? Benedictine monks, rather than Shaolin monks?

I dunno. It seems to me like polish and interpersonal connection would have more to do with who stays and leaves than the presence/absence of certain classes (although I've known people on a few different MUDs who said they would be willing to play a slightly underpowered class that better fit their idea of cool than even a thematically similar class that doesn't). Lusternia certainly has the polish, and most people are really great with the newbies. Even the people who disdain the hoops of serialized novice introductions. I'm rarely accused of being motivated by normal things, though, so I could be way off the mark there.

Definition of Depressing: Coming back after a hundred year hiatus and finding that your character's life's dream had come true...

... and then realizing that it was essentially the antithesis of everything it should be.

Over three RL years ago? What was the life dream, something to do with a new city?

At this point, you can find brand-new, even shinier dreams for your character, though! Look on the bright side.

Nah, Gaudiguch was the center of Akraa's world. Everything he was revolved around it. And now the city is essentially... anti-Gaudiguch. One dictatorial leader who has CF'd his cronies until he has a stranglehold over it. I gave Kalin the benefit of the doubt, despite some rather disturbing attitudes for the leader of the city of the Free.

Not about to go inactive again unless he comes up with an excuse to boot me from the city.

The kicker is being stripped of the clan name you've held for your entire life. Heck, I wore that name when I talked to Lady Isune and Lisaera about Gaudiguch related things, and neither of them objected to me having it. But apparently, unless you are registered as an official bloodline, you can't have a surname in Gaudiguch.

Just to clarify, he is crying because myself and numerous other members of the city told him claiming lineage to one of Gaudiguch's prominent families and namely being the son or grandson of of Scuchidira was an insult to her name unless he could prove it. I then removed Scuchidira's family name from his title, because... he is not part of that family.

Not a son or grandson, a distant descendant... seriously.

A core part of the character's RP for ages... and you're going to stick on this?

I must say I'm disturbed about how this sort of thing has become a regular part of your character's RP. Honestly from an OOC perspective I think it's pretty neat, running Kalin the way he is as a leader of a city like Gaudiguch. It's the ultimate subversion, and I'm rather impressed with the RP concept.

It just upsets me as a player that you're trying to invalidate my entire character's history at a whim.

Akraasiel (Male Dracnari).
He is 185 years old, having been born on the 5th of Urlachmar, 79 years after the Coming of Estarra.
He is ranked 989th in Lusternia.
He is an extremely credible character.
He is a Peasant in the Holy Grand Duchy of Gaudiguch.
He is a Landloper in the Fellowship of Explorers.
He is in the Seekers of the Crimson Eye in the Divine Order of Kalikai, the Crimson Eye.
He is a graduate of the Shadowmaze and the Order of the Secret Flame.
His motto: 'Our Father, residing within us, hallowed be thy name.'
He is considered to be approximately 5% of your might.
He is not currently active in any family.


You are not part of the family, plain and simple. I could say I am related to Gandhi, it doesn't make it true just cause I say it. Historical families are serious business in Lusternia, that's why you have to jump through hoops to become one.

I keep hearing this, and now from someone who's looking upon the game with fresh eyes after a full three-year hiatus.

Idealism without law is a springboard for tyrants and cronyism. Gaudiguch has few laws, if I'm remembering properly. Freedom isn't free, power corrupts, etc.

Seriously though, expect to see frequent cronyism. Geeks within the context of a MUD generate more drama and perpetrate more childishness than a busload of teenage girls, as a group.