This post comes from the fact that our Noble group is currently working on the Laws for the Lumberton site. One might think that it's pretty straight forward to come up with laws and be a noble, but it really requires a lot of forethought to be a GOOD noble.
The key is that you are a representative of your game. Whether you are an owner or have any kind of share in the game, the people who put you in charge have entrusted you to maintain the fun of others in the game. And I'm sure there are countless people who read this blog who can tell you story after story about bad nobles. And I'd prefer to not be one.
1. Building Appropriate Laws
As I mentioned, we're designing laws for the town that we're nobles. The point of our design was to limit making things illegal, sticking with the things that are illegal from a game world standpoint (like Necromancy or Undead) and things that take the fun away from others (Theft, Murder, Assault). And when dealing with those laws, we rarely punish with Death on the first offense, and rarely will take away people's rights (tantamount to banishment.) Death and Banishment have the ability to remove someone's ability to play the game from an OOG standpoint, which is why you want to avoid them, except for repeated or extreme crimes.
2. Helping the Town
I know that this seems like a no brainer, but as a noble, you should be increasing the fun of others. Generally speaking, the game staff will give opportunities and resources to the nobility, because it makes sense in the game world and they have some trust in the nobility. In response, nobles should be willing to pass mod hooks on to others, and even offer to pay people for work that needs to be done (as long as they can maintain the coffers.) If plot gives you 100 gold for being a noble, you should really try to pass a huge chunk of that on to the rest.
3. Generally Being Nice
Another no brainer. I understand that there are reasons for your character to be gruff or isolated from others. Or even to be untrustworthy of certain people. But that doesn't mean you can't use that as an opportunity to roleplay, rather than a reason to be mean to people. As Mickey once said, even a bad guy can literally choose from hundreds of possible responses, so there's no reason to pull the most dickish one. Even if your character doesn't like someone, you should go out of your way to make sure that you like them OOG. That way, when the rubber meets the road, those people are more likely to have your back.
So there you have it. Being a good noble in three easy steps. Do you have any tips on being a good noble? Drop them in the comments!
The key is that you are a representative of your game. Whether you are an owner or have any kind of share in the game, the people who put you in charge have entrusted you to maintain the fun of others in the game. And I'm sure there are countless people who read this blog who can tell you story after story about bad nobles. And I'd prefer to not be one.
1. Building Appropriate Laws
As I mentioned, we're designing laws for the town that we're nobles. The point of our design was to limit making things illegal, sticking with the things that are illegal from a game world standpoint (like Necromancy or Undead) and things that take the fun away from others (Theft, Murder, Assault). And when dealing with those laws, we rarely punish with Death on the first offense, and rarely will take away people's rights (tantamount to banishment.) Death and Banishment have the ability to remove someone's ability to play the game from an OOG standpoint, which is why you want to avoid them, except for repeated or extreme crimes.
2. Helping the Town
I know that this seems like a no brainer, but as a noble, you should be increasing the fun of others. Generally speaking, the game staff will give opportunities and resources to the nobility, because it makes sense in the game world and they have some trust in the nobility. In response, nobles should be willing to pass mod hooks on to others, and even offer to pay people for work that needs to be done (as long as they can maintain the coffers.) If plot gives you 100 gold for being a noble, you should really try to pass a huge chunk of that on to the rest.
3. Generally Being Nice
Another no brainer. I understand that there are reasons for your character to be gruff or isolated from others. Or even to be untrustworthy of certain people. But that doesn't mean you can't use that as an opportunity to roleplay, rather than a reason to be mean to people. As Mickey once said, even a bad guy can literally choose from hundreds of possible responses, so there's no reason to pull the most dickish one. Even if your character doesn't like someone, you should go out of your way to make sure that you like them OOG. That way, when the rubber meets the road, those people are more likely to have your back.
So there you have it. Being a good noble in three easy steps. Do you have any tips on being a good noble? Drop them in the comments!
No comments:
Post a Comment