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Hey people,

We've had a little bit of time since the event chain with the Bloodtide Coven went down and I wanted to reflect with you upon the OOC side of this. I was barely evolved in the events as they were all vastly outside my native timezone and the times that I could play, so all I can personally contribute is based on the bits and pieces that I saw.

To take the side of the Bloodtide Coven, a side that was very likely to be upon the losing side and "eat dirt" , takes quite a leap of faith to be the "bad guys" in a story that will likely not end in success for those people. And I feel as a player base, we've not done the best job in supporting people taking an active role as our villains in this arc. I found it a marvellous idea and would've enjoyed what I read and hear a lot more, if I wouldn't have had also the feeling that most participants on the Bloodtide Coven got handed very poor reactions IC and OOC.

While I can not speak for those people actually in the coven, the various things that I've heard and seen, suggest to me that none of the participants feel encouraged to take a similar risk in the future again. I know even of one Player who wonders if their character is not at their end.

I feel, it is worth to reflect and have a discussion about how we would like to handle this in the future and how we could support people who are willing to put their characters on the line for the sake of a story. I also think, reflecting as to how people taking such excursions can return to their respective orgs afterwards without facing expulsion or similar potentially character-ending consequences, would be a good idea. (Don't get me wrong, actions have consequences, but I feel no one should have to fear the risk of losing their character because they were on the wrong side of an event).

What are your thoughts on this matter? What are valid things that a character could be faced that would not result in people losing all joy in their characters / get kicked out of orgs? What can we do to support people better OOC?

I, for one, commend all of those who did dare to take part despite the risk and hope that, at least in the future ,we can avoid punishing people quite so harshly for participating in events.

1. When you're in combat using obliviousness can help lessen the combat spam, and/or you can choose to gag some lines that are generally unnecessary for you to read. Also there is typically a person calling out targets, which you would need to be in the proper clan channel for, and people follow their lead in order to be more or less organized. Then most combatants have triggers and echoes for various actions. Lastly, you eventually just get used to the spam. There is no real adjusting to the combat during combat. All that happens after when you analyze logs and see what happened to you that you could maybe remedy the next time. And yes, it can be frustrating that it all happens in a matter of seconds, but it'll improve when you work at it.

2. You buy vials from Trader Bob (v811) or if you have enough goop or credits, you can purchase an artifact vial with goop (ASHOP 327) or buy a vial from Bob and attach a Rune of Glassworking (ASHOP 106). When purchased through the ASHOP, the vials (and runes) prevent decay and allow you to link more than one liquid to it.

3. This is a very, uh, loaded topic. For a long while, it was perceived that Magnagora being called an "evil" city lends itself to some unfair biases, especially for new player retention. The true perception is that Mag is not so much evil but perhaps more immoral and uses any means to achieve their goals in the name of progress or the taint. The "evil" is subjective. The players within also enjoy a wide variety of RP from playing a pariah or a contemptible (who often receive the abuse you seem to be looking for) to the aloof nobility, debutantes, and occasional mad scientist/librarian. Yes, sacrifices do happen, but they're not going to happen to just any newcomer. There is a level of consent and making sure OOCly that all parties are okay with this line of action.  Yes, there are demons and torture and cruelty, but there's layers to everything, and I would strongly encourage that you take a deep dive into the lore of Magnagora to more fully understand their perspectives.  It's not so one-dimensional as being evil for evil's sake.

4. HELP TITLE gives you the particulars, though I can't remember if the requirement that you must be a certain rank to change your title is still in use. I didn't change my own title until after spending a lot of time in the game, so I'm not sure if newbies can do it right out of the Portal.