Fantasy RPG Forum - Standing Trials

I think it would be great if we could have more non-faction positions of power, prestige, and influence around the realm. They're sprinkled around (The knights of Rynmere, the Thunder Priestesses of Rharne, etc) but many cities are left with only general Idalos-wide factions. I think that these positions of power are a great way to engender a sense of devotion to a city. If a PC is working towards becoming a politician in Ne'haer or the head of a committee in Etzos, they'll stay longer and have a big goal to align themselves with that goes hand in hand with all of their smaller goals (e.g. attain 'legendary' in Politics).

I think that most of these are already available to PCs. If I sent a PM to a city storyteller saying "Hey I want to lead the xyz" I would probably get a pm back informing me that it's totally possible, provided that I put in the IC RP legwork and obtain the right number of knowledges/skills. However, I think that putting these into list form and actually delineating what needs to be obtained (perhaps by using current NPCs as a guide) would help spark the imagination of newer players that don't know that it is possible to become a minister. I'd imagine that there would have to be some sort of disclaimer involved along the lines of:

"Simply having xyz points and knowledges doesn't automatically gain you access to the <faction/government>. You must show dedicated RP effort by doing abc over <#> of seasons."

To take this idea a little bit further - there can be ranks before that coveted Minister/Politician position. Perhaps if a PC excels as an aide for a few seasons, they're given more influence and tasks to contribute to the city that will have a positive effect on their fame and development.

I know there are a lot of priorities higher than this, but I think it would be great for cities that are further along in development, or those who want to seduce attract new players.

I agree completely. This is something I've been saying for a while! haha

We need more awesome factions with worthwhile rewards and motivations for getting to the top. That's a part of why I began to develop the Benevolo, and then more relevantly, the Saintivelle. Some city-specific or region specific factions would be great, considering the significance of one's region in any cohesive plot. There are many goals one can possess in ST, but some of the most important goals come from one's belonging to a group, faction or community, and their progression throughout that hierarchy.

If Ali did not have the goal to become the Duke of Venora, or King of Rynmere, I don't know what the heck I'd even do with him. He'd just slump around doing nothing. I think one of the reasons the nobility of Rynmere works so well to enrich the domain so much (in popularity and intrigue) is the nature of its progression -- it's the same with the Skyriders, Knights, etc. Rynmere's greatest asset, imo, is its many goals that can be achieved within the city. Other cities need that.

So yeah, I agree with this suggestion 100%. I'm glad you've brought this up.

I also agree with this! I want Avrae to be involved in politics or a faction of some kind, and there really isn't all that much in cities like Ne'haer. Plus, advancing as a character and working to be put in a bigger role is really fun to roleplay. I think ST would benefit a lot from having more inter-city government and positions that could change things.

I'd also agree completely - these things do exist, but we maybe need to be a bit more explicit about them as city mods? In Scalvoris, we have a range of city factions (five or six) that I'd love to see pc's getting involved in - they are for one so far, which is great considering it's our first season of being open. There's also the Merchants' Guild, which I'd love to see PCs rising in, the military (got a couple of recruits, which is great), the Academy (got 1 pc professor so far....) and the government - all of which I've made explicit in the lore and made locations for. Your comment made me think, though, Inali, that whilst I *have* done all those things - what I haven't done is told the pc's that I'd like to see pc's in positions for them.

Maybe, in a way, that's the extra bit it needs. A bit of advertising / pushing. My ideal would be to see pc's in positions in all of those organisations I've named up there, and I'm sure other city mods feel the same way.

Excellent point - definite food for thought there.