Geas

Ok, so, question...
I'd say for 75% of the day, if not more, I hardly see another soul.
I have stopped by cities, and just don't see anyone for 20-30 minutes before getting bored and leaving.
So, I have been spending loads of time just non-stop killing.
I go from one camp to the next to the next.
Around and around and around.
Because there is no rp going on, am I being penalized in any fassion?
I know there are other skills I could pick up like craftsman skills, but really, its not in my character to do most of the other skills.
Yeah, thats my own fault lol, I know.
I'm just wondering about any possible penalty.
I'm not currently in a guild, so, I am just working on the same basic skills one has at creation.

Welcome to Geas

I don't know if there's any real penalty for just being a pure fighter, the more you do something the better you learn that subject matter. So basically the more you fight without doing anything else, the easier it will be to learn fighting skills in the future. So if you're happy with that then that's perfectly okay. Joining a guild will definitely open up more communication/teaming methods for sure, it can be hard to catch people in cities if they're out adventuring.

Joining a guild also has a downside, since you make new allies you'll make new enemies, so just make sure you're ready for the positives and negatives before you make your decision.

Hi there

In answer your question: in my experience, there is no penalty for being focussed only on fighting and combat. In fact, it could be the opposite, particularly for Tshaharks. However, if you find that narrow focus boring, by all means add something on the side that interests you and fits your character.

You don't need to be in a guild to pick up craft skills. For example you can master mining without ever going near gem cutting, and you can learn languages and reading without become a scribe.

I personally added mining to my skills because I enjoy making custom equipment and it adds an extra reason to go exploring in search of new holes in the ground.

There are few mechanics linked to interacting with other players and none I know of have an affect on progression. The two main RP/Interaction mechanics are reputation and karma. If you hang around people that are hated by the NPC population of a region (criminals, etc.) then your reputation will also be lowered (cos people who hang around with criminals must be dodgy, right?). Karma works on a similar principle but isn't dependent on the region. Someone with a significantly different karma to you will cause a drift towards their alignment (and theirs to yours). If you hang out with the Archbishop for a while, you're likely to find your karma has drifted towards the light a bit.

As to quiet times for RP, the server does seem to be going through a quiet spell just now (at least from my perspective, though I haven't been playing much recently either). Sometimes it's absolutely hopping and you can't get a moments peace Player numbers will vary a bit through the year and will also vary depending on your timezone. Certain time zones have more players than others. There is an option to set your timezone in the who list so you can see when people are more likely to be active.

You're just in the wrong time zone. Play peak EST and join the craziness that's happening now.

Yeah, I'm in Mountain Time (2 hours behind EST) and always seem to log in after the craziness has happened. There do seem to be more players around during the day/early evening my time.

Regarding your question, no I don't think there is any penalty for fighting without interacting with others, although I have noticed that most improves for me seem to come when switching off between fighting and studying/magic/mental stuff. So if you're pretty multiclassed, I think it helps to vary things up.

Also, if you're who I think you are, don't just run past people when you're in a town. Stop and interact. Even if people don't react the first time, try it again. They may just have been afk for a moment. Also give them time to react. It's really frustrating having someone say something or do something and then run off while you're typing a response.

If anyone has felt ignored, my apologies.
My character didn't start understanding/speaking common until recently.
So, unless you could speak hark, you couldn't have communicated.
Also, I use a screenreader. so, I may have mist you all together.
However, if I did speak to you, and then left, then I apologize.
My intentions is never to be "rude" to anyone.

One thing I will say, though I don't know if this has been changed since then. In the old days, it was well known that the entire reason improves tend to be slow is that the wizzes don't want this to be a mud where people just grind all day long. There's supposed to be a considerable amount of emphasis on rp. So if you just grind forever, eventually your imps will dry up. Pausing for a while to chat or do something else is generally a good thing.