Geas

I understand the reason chars sit on the floor in all manner of weather or next to bums in the streets of trash riddled Arborea when there is a perfectly comfy inn with chairs and stuff just a few feet way. Its because they dont want to miss the chance that another pc might wander by. Especially when there are few players online.

Still, aside from a newbie who is new to muds, wouldnt it be easy to when you pass by a crossing, peek and see if anyone is in the inn? I personally much prefer to rp in the setting of an inn than just outside of one. Lets try and take the conversations indoors hmmm?

yeah see command wise just sitting at the crossing or outside the inn on a road is easier. But RP wise poGojin is right, its probably more sensible from an RP perspective to sit on a chair or something, unless you have an IC reason not too. (Eg. you hate the owner because he killed your goat)

I'd suspect another reason for sitting outside is because the inn would be a fairly easy place to be trapped or ambushed in, as opposed to a more open area, given how much less safe the mud seems to be for characters since a few years ago.

tessa wrote:I'd suspect another reason for sitting outside is because the inn would be a fairly easy place to be trapped or ambushed in, as opposed to a more open area, given how much less safe the mud seems to be for characters since a few years ago.

I found this funny since some of my best hideouts while being hunted by lets see... Crusaders, Sathos, Thieves, <insert your guild here>... have been the inns. Cuz noone looks in them Anyways, thought it was funny.

*Goes to think of new hiding places*

That's a great thought. I agree to it, and will change.

I often thought about this, especially since people go inside to buy their beer, and bring it out with them This makes sense when the weather is fine, but I wouldn't do it IRL in a cold autumn night or even in rain...
Yet I don't see how to change this - if you're sitting insde, you're missing out on all the fun.
The inns could have some tables outside, but that doesn't change the problem with sitting in the rain
Just a thought: I'd also like to be able to sit on the fountain rim (and not just by emote)

A few months ago, I had been trying to think of some ways, codewise, to drive people indoors. Lightning strikes if you're sitting outside too long, rain being uncomfortable, stuff like that. But it's a bit tricksy to do code-wise. So I'm all in favor of handling the problem roleplaywise!

Thanks for the reminder, its sometimes too easy to just loiter infront of the inn without fire or shelter even. I would not mind if weather had more effect.

As far as ic effects weather is concerned --

My mother always said that if I stayed out in the rain, I'd catch a cold! She also said the same thing about snow, wind, and frost.

Although I'm quite sure she was entirely wrong, maybe this could apply to Geas. Catch a cold if you're cold for too long or out in the rain without protection. Get sick. Sneeze. Wimper. Get a killer fever.

I think the only reason characters eat and drink is the nagging messages and threat of eventual death. Maybe weather could do the same.

Devi, master of impossible-to-code ideas

What about a simpler solution... if you try to rest outside in a bitterly cold day you recover very very very slowly... as in thirty minutes meditating or the like. That will get people resting indoors much more quickly. Or the only way to rest in the rain is under a tent! (An actual use for tents would be great!)

Camping off of the roads is one thing, but resting just outside the inn is ridiculous in bad weather (though in the summer time it seems perfectly natural). Perhaps a few more weather room emotes would be good as gentle reminders. One of the reasons why I love winter in Asador is that there is no way you are going to forget when it's cold outside... everyone shivers every few minutes.

What about room emotes when it's raining that say things like "you feel the rain soaking through your garments" or "you feel soaked through to your skin." You might also get a few emotes for bad storms like "Lightning flashes... wow that was close!"

It might be fun as well to have a few added rooms in the inn instead of just the taproom. Maybe an entryway and a taproom with an upstairs as well? As a side note it might be possible to add a window to the upper room so that paranoid characters can jump out of the window if they think they are cornered (something for everyone).

-poAlamar

yah i really noticed that the only way you can know if it is rainy, sunny or cloudy is by checking the weather. hot and cold is easy, either you sweat or freeze.
but with rain its alot different, there is no way to know unless you check weather. maybe some emotes would be helpful ? (not important at all though)

I remember a very funny day when Stilgar was struck around 3 times by a lightning at the crossing. Within 10 minutes RL. Beeing in a bad shape afterwards

Something came to my mind as i just disconnected in a inn. Maybe you should have few tables at the windows, so you could 'watch' outside with very few fatigue, and see those passing by the roads, so you can jump outside and call them for a beer or a meal.

I think we all could work on the roleplaying solution to this. If we all tried to change our ways, the parties would move indoors.

That being said, I also like some of the other ideas. Having windows, so we could shout at the passers-by and tell them we're in there. And the weather is kind of tricky, yeah. Maybe include a blip about the rain or no rain along with the temperature in the weather line of the vitals command? I don't think you would have to spend a real action to look around for a bit, noticeably, and go "Wow. Whadda ya know? It's rainging!" Introducing a cold would be great too, for those hanging out too long in the cold. Fun stuff.

I think the reason why noone rests indoors is easy: easy ambush.

The solution should be rped but I hardly see anyone forcing him/herself to roleplay and rest at the inn in a rainy night knowing a satho is after him/her, because most likely you know how this ends.

What about a... "inn fight" coding? Maybe in places like Asador, Arborea or the crossroad inn, if a fight starts between two players, suddenly some of the "hidden npc's" that were enjoying a drink join the fight and 7 or 8 npc's appear, attacking everyone at the bar

What about a... "inn fight" coding? Maybe in places like Asador, Arborea or the crossroad inn, if a fight starts between two players, suddenly some of the "hidden npc's" that were enjoying a drink join the fight and 7 or 8 npc's appear, attacking everyone at the bar

Nice idea! but best make these npcs easy and in stunmode

What about a... "inn fight" coding?

Nice idea! but best make these npcs easy and in stunmode

Sounds like fun! Best to make the NPC's quite random in terms of number/toughness though, so one can never quite expect how things end up.

Wow! Great solution. I'm all for barroom brawling. Perhaps with a little tweaking, each location could even get its own feel. For example, the Tree of Life in Elvandar specifically states that brawling is pretty much unknown there. But in Naarved, I can see a fight happening randomly before I even open the door!
This even opens up more RP and opportunities. Think of a thief... pick a pocket, start a brawl, escape. Perhaps the guards would show up soon enough to stop a brawl, or not as soon in rowdier towns.

Maybe the majority of the NPCs could assist the person with the higher reputation in the area as well?

I'd figure in a brawl, people would more likely just hit whoever's closer.