Goblin Squad Member
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KS2 Update 2 - Player vs. Player Conflict
Lee Hammock: Hi, I'm Lee Hammock. I'm the Lead Game Designer at Goblinworks.
Stephen Cheney: And I'm Stephen Cheney. I'm also a Game Designer at Goblinworks.
Let's Talk About The Rsik of Being Murdered
LH: For example, right now, logically speaking, I could kill Stephen.
SC: I didn't sign up for this.
In the game, Gentlemen... Player vs. Player Conflict
LH: Our power curve is going to be less steep than most MMOs. I think we all know in most MMOs, a character who's been playing for 6 months will decimate somebody who just started. We're shooting for a much smaller, a much less steep power curve. So, if a guy who's been playing for a year or two gets jumped by a bunch of low levels, they stand a good chance of killing him.
SC: Especially if they're carrying their best gear and he's carrying only what he's willing to lose because he's out there griefing people.
LH: Right. NPCs will come up and murder you in the face if you somebody in some areas. We have a Reputation system where if you go around killing people, you get a bad Reputation. And Reputation is required for some types of Settlements. The better a Settlement wants to be - and when I say better, a better Settlement would have better training, better merchants, bigger banks, better defenses, all that kind of stuff - comes with on some level having a better Reputation for that Settlement. If you're a very low Reputation character you will not be welcome in high Reputation Settlements.
Why does Reputation and Alignment Matter?
SC: Lawful Good characters will have to work very, very hard to stay with Lawful Good and will accrue benefits both from being able to access Paladin and Monk classes that lower Alignment characters won't have access to; to in-game bonuses that apply directly to your Settlement. Other than your Classes, your Alignment doesn't have a huge impact on things, but being a part of a Settlement, and as we've mentioned, your Settlement is your Life's Blood, your Settlement will not necessarily want to have a lot of Chaotic Evil characters with low Reputation. A Settlement might get by with having... they've decided that they'll be Lawful Evil and thus have a bunch of people that aren't being served by all the Lawful Good Settlements, or they'll be Chaotic Good in the same way. Because basically they're not quite as strong as a Lawful Good city, because Lawful Good as I've said is really hard to achieve, and so we want to provide a bonus to people who try to be the good guys in this setting. But you can have a fully function Lawful Evil or Chaotic Good town, and a less functional Chaotic Evil town with a high Reputation. Basically, this trifecta of Alignment and Reputation is where you place yourself on the efficiency of your town, both as far as your Morale for your Good vs. Evil and your efficiency of taking in taxes for your Law vs. Chaos.