In defense of NERO
MacGhille Eoine said:
In reply to this, I'm going to say something here. Some healers *can't* quit healing. Not if they want to continue playing their characters. I've heard numerous threats against Diera, for example, if she stops healing people. I've *also* heard the same threats against her if she "dares to charge for healing"
Excuse the hell outta me, folks, but how is the Healers Guild supposed to make any money? We get absolutely *nothing* from the advernturers, and because of vulture looting, we again get absolutely nothing. Add to that the fact that *nobody* buys potions, and you see the picture. Nothing plus nothing is...you guessed it...nothing.
So lets see here. We have healers who are sick of it, but can't stop, or they get killed. We have adventurers who are willing to kill the local appointed Guild Mistress if she dares to charge for services, bu if Kauss wants to sell armor, he can go right ahead (just an example). NEVERMIND the fact that the Healers Guild is FIRST AND FOREMOST A BUSINESS.
No business can run forever with no money. Think about this folks, the next time you need healing. If the guild has no resources to heal *with*, it looks like you're all in a spot, doesn't it?
Just something to think about, people, the next time "you" decide to make threats, or when "you" decide you don't want to pay for healing that costs *somebody* to perform/produce/affect.
Food for thought, folks. Don't make a game no fun for someone else.
This specifically, is an In Game problem.
I realise the difficulty of people expecting you to heal them but that's heavily based on the position you place your character in. I've had to threaten Robert's life in order to get him to life someone and almost no one in the game would dare ask him for healing. If you're playing a "healer" who is concerned with the general welfare of people you will miss out on loot. If you're playing an earth caster with an interest in loot (ie Hawkestral, Mykel, Elryon, Masticon, Gregor) people will treat you differently.
Over the course of an event no one ever comes to Masticon and asks for healing. He'll heal those who absolutly require it and people expect no more of him. But that has been developed in game as a part of his character. People will always threaten you to try to make you do something but almost all the time they will fail to back it up. If you give in to every death threat you'd probably never be able to leave your cabin. Healer's don't get money because they're busy healing, Fighters don't get money because they're busy fighting, looters get money because they're busy looting.
To add another point to this, In modern day society if I was to loot a dead body, I would simply flip them over and search their back pocket, maybe the front two as well. I'd take their wallet and go. Maybe I'd try to pocket their gun if it seemed worth it to me. In most cases looting would consist of cutting someone's money pouch and slipping it into your bag. Those who do it with style will get away with it and those that are clumsy won't. The main point is that so long as every magic item is propperly physrepped then it is propperly easy to steal and hide. No one could hide the Spider Egg Sacks at the last Oregon event, but the mushrooms could easily be palmed. Components are propperly physrepped and are as easy to hide as a tongue depressor.
Vulture looting is absolutly an Ingame problem. It may be causing out of game strife but look at it from a low level character's perspective. There's nothing for them to fight because everything that's scaled for them is gunched by the highbies before they even know what it is. Everything else will usually turn them into a grease spot before they even know what it was. What is there for a newbie to do but loot, loot, loot. There is ingame ramifications for this but players are absolutly entitled to take such actions. If you don't get loot and want it, loot more bodies. Those that stop in the middle of combat to loot will get more loot. Unless they're discouraged to do this by other PCs they will never (and should never) stop.
Additionally when loot get's split it does not get split according to "anti-vulture looting" rules. It generally gets split evenly. As one of the more powerful fighters in the game I would say I am far more likely to kill more foes and therefore are more entitled to the loot. Another person may spend a considerable ammount of money on alchemy or scrolls and therefore are more entitled to the loot. Someone may have looted more and therefore are more entitled to the loot. So far the only one that has any real claim on the money at the end of the day is the one who's willing to fight for it. IG fights over who get's what loot is a GIANT part of RP at NERO. I've seen Characters fight near to the death over who gets two silver from a goblin. If you don't like someone taking your loot, rogue them. Remember that almost no matter what you're going to get screwed out of some of the loot that is justifiably yours. This is how the game works. If you don't like it, take it back. If you can't take it back... you need to get stronger so you can, or find people to back you up to take out the person that vulture looted from you. I assure you that if you go to Kriger, Soloman, Masticon, Slice, Daylyn, Derek, Kauss or any of the "powerful" characters and kindly asked for their assistance in dealing with a vulture looter they'd be glad to help you lay some smack down on a deserving ninja looter.
But in the end there really isn't much for plot/staff to do to remove this concept from the game. If you don't stop and loot each and every one of your kills, I assure you, someone else will. You either need to take responsability for the loot you're "entitled" to or start accepting that if you leave your kills unlooted to save other people, when you come back a less moral character will have looted them.
Vulture looting is a problem. Healers not getting loot is a problem. But so long as plot puts out loot ingame, it is an ingame problem. Even with laws, punishments, threats, possible obliterations, so long as a character can get away with loot unnoticed, vulture looting will continue.
Marc
.. Do keep in mind that some charicters do make sure some healers get loot, and so they do "pay" to some extent.