Kisho Rovelt
Member
This is a post for others to get a view into the hemomancer experience and get a better feeling as I deem it necessary after reading through the "Minor Hemomancy Change" suggestion thread.
Ok, I am gonna bite.
Current Hemomancer here, about to reach level 7. I am gonna try and explain my experience with voidal magic in rp as fair as I can.
//When did I use my magic until now and for what.
Private staff events. Private rp with other voidal mages. ...yeah that's it, if you would like to survive longer than a few months. One slip up, one person seeing, even the mere suspicion is so much of a danger that it can be called a death sentence (at minimum it's a death sentence for the way you would like to rp.) This limits the amount of magic rp I am comfortable to do to almost nothing. I have not ONCE used my magic in any kind of "public" rp. Only ever with the few other voidal mages or in my personal private magic events. I enjoyed the magic rp in those instances and yes, luckily there have been a lot for me as I know multiple other voidal mages. But because no matter how much I plan, no matter how sneaky I am, even disguises don't give me the feeling of ever being able to create rp with my magic for/with "normal" players without pretty much sentencing my character to social/real death. There are too many players, variables, things I don't and can't know, things that I can't control that make it almost sure (in my view) that I will survive at most two months after being seen once (even with disguise). (I am still having fun doing not magic rp with many others and in public, no worries there.)
//Choosing what/how to play
I have seen many different voidal mages by now, from those who do the villain route, over the ones that play the hidden power route to the ones that are the "hidden mages". All of them were able to decide what they want to play, how they want to play but the moment you are found out you are a living target, only able to play hide and run. Sure, maybe you can still rp with a few trusted ones and live on the street. That could work.
I haven't experienced it myself but the thought of only ever being able to rp with very few players, while hiding and running from everyone else sounds very isolating, rp stopping and just counterproductive to creating more rp. You are being pressed into this way of rp as it is the only way to survive. It is the conclusion of what we chose but at the same time I feel like there isn't even any other option to choose from of how to handle being chased by Eden.
//"But you choose that roleplay"
I chose many types of rp. I started playing a low level worker, started family rp, political rp, even romance rp at one point. My character has been in danger many times, I acknowledge I am lucky to even still be alive, I had rp with people that liked me, people that disliked me, casual rp, conflict rp and more in many different settings. Talked to farmers, knights, kings, leaders, demons, friends, foes, people I only met once. But now I have to revolve my whole character around this one aspect? Being told I have to do a certain kind of roleplay is one of the most insulting things you can do I think.
My magic just by existing already has a massive impact on my character and his development. Should I have to give up on any other rp because the risk is so high? At the moment I am still able to have those other rp aspects but only because I keep the magic rp to a minimum. I didn't even start my character with the magic aspect in mind. It just came along in my years of playing. And I will not give up on all of this fun roleplay so easily.
//Being aware of risk
Before anyone says it, yes. I knew the risk of being a voidal mage. I know it puts my character at risk for everything. We all want our characters to survive as long as we want, and I put my character at a greater risk. BUT the amount of risk I am at is no longer a risk. It is a simple When. When will I be found out, when will my character die.
Because it's not a "You might be found out if someone sees it." it's a simple "You are found out if someone sees it." Since voidal magic has been created it feels like the risk of being found is only growing. A whole branch of mages can feel voidal energy. If I were to go to any public event at which one of them is, it is only a question of time until it gets narrowed down. And I wouldn't even know.
//My possibilities
How should I go about such risks and dangers? Just kill the other player? Not only that it is already hard to fully pk someone without a very strong reason, but needing to end the rp of someone because of my "mistake" or just some unlucky coincidence is not something that drives more rp or motivates me to create more "dangerous" scenarios. It only sounds like one of us will hate however it ends. And it's not like I have a lot of time to plan this, one forum post and the information is spread. Impossible to stop being spread more and more. Even a book ingame or word by mouth is fast spreading on the server.
//Fighting
And that assumes I am able to kill them. I am at level 6. I think about my spell combinations, how to dance along the rules and get the most out of them. I even came up with a way to have constantly all three ichor friends on me just for the plus 1 on intelligence. But against a normal player with just sword and shield? I give myself a 50% chance. Considering neutral terms like a open field with starting distance. My best scenario is a single long hallway (which is the only way to guarantee the enemy not evading the blood bolt which only covers one square) with starting distance. And I still "only" give myself maybe 75% (not mentioning that such a single block wide long hallway does not exist). The amount of times my strong spells (like crackling skin) seem to fail is too high for me to take them as perfect weapons. (I am not asking for a buff, the current magic is balanced for the most part, it just doesn't give me enough confidence to rely my whole characters life on one fight against any player).
//"What are you afraid of? Just hide it better."
I am in a lucky situation. At this point in time I think about 5 to 10 other non-voidal players know/suspect about my magic. This number might be higher/lower than I think as it is just impossible for me to know. "See, so many people know about it, you are fine." Those players are the ones experienced, who have played a long time and multiple of them even on the fnf team. They know they could just call me out. But they are kind enough to let me life longer as I have never "forced their hands" as I haven't used the magic in public. But one ear too far and it might reach someone who doesn't think like this. The moment this happens a single forum post could mark my character for the rest of my rp (assuming I somehow dont get killed). There has been the case of another voidal being called out and not having this problem but they were in a powerful position in rp. If not me, what about a "commoner" voidal mage? They will not have such luck.
I also already mentioned the other mages that can detect voidal power (which should not be removed as it is a nice idea, it just creates a huge risk for a small amount of players).
Also there is level 10. At which I will have permanent blood fingernails which I will have to roll for to hide every time I want to go into the public. Interesting aspect, will possibly restrict how much rp with others I do.
Many players can just stay in safe spaces and have not dangerous rp. Many other players will choose to place themself in dangers when fighting monsters or in war. Temporary danger. But I am at the constant danger of being found out, chased, killed, losing the ability to do the rp I want with the character I want. And because of that danger I will not use my magic in any public setting any time soon.
//Putting together.
1. The idea of having to play a certain kind of rp or character based on one aspect (that might not even have been planned for the character) is nothing but limiting and forcing to conform or hide.
2. I am not stupid. I am aware of the risks I took on but the ratio of risks and dangers to rp possibilities and benefits does not feel balanced.
3. The only way to save my ass if I am ever found out being to kill another player is hard/limiting/unfun and almost impossible considering how fast information spreads.
4. At level 6 I believe to be a strong mage but I am not confident enough in being able to kill a "normal" player to consider attacking or creating villain rp without instantly dying/ostracizing myself. Crp is balanced and fair and therefore unsafe for me.
5. Placing your character in dangerous situations is expected and done by most. But constant (growing) risk/danger where I have no chance to control some of the aspects creates a dangerous environment even outside of fights, that is something different that should not be down played.
If someone wants to debate/discuss anything of this, I am open to do so. Just make sure to read the whole view and not just the short conclusions (which cant mention every aspect.) This is also not an attack on anyone or a request for change, I am just offering a view into the current experience for others to see (especially in consideration of a recent suggestion). Also please consider this is a personal, subjective view so there are gonna be people who think I am just wrong.. If there are blatantly wrong factual comments please mention it and I will try to correct it. (Also I left out most of the more positive things like cool magic and spells as those are not all limited to voidal magic and I wanted to give a better understanding of the "struggles" of a hemomancer in this post.)
Kind regards.
Dimonok
Edit:
Sooo.... the first trait wave just dropped. Yeah. No hate, it's a really cool idea and I like almost all of it. But it's a very good example of how the risk of being a voidal mage keeps growing. A trait that literally makes all of my magic damage null and one that only allows me to deal two damage of any kind max per round. "But there are also traits that make voidal mages stronger" Which one? Extra low level spells? That's also available for every other mage. And they don't have to worry about voidal resilience and voidal origin. Also what do extra spells help if they can do no damage or not more than my others already do? "Just don't fight anyone with those traits." How am I supposed to know who has which traits irp? I am not saying there shouldn't be traits that help against voidals but I think we need more of a balance for that. It just seems like everyone got the same "buffs" and then there are extra special buffs against voidals while the reward for being voidal has stayed the same. (This could maybe be balanced by giving every race a "voidal" trait possibility. Doesnt even need to be that strong, just something to make it worth taking the risk on. Just a quick idea.)
Ok, I am gonna bite.
Current Hemomancer here, about to reach level 7. I am gonna try and explain my experience with voidal magic in rp as fair as I can.
//When did I use my magic until now and for what.
Private staff events. Private rp with other voidal mages. ...yeah that's it, if you would like to survive longer than a few months. One slip up, one person seeing, even the mere suspicion is so much of a danger that it can be called a death sentence (at minimum it's a death sentence for the way you would like to rp.) This limits the amount of magic rp I am comfortable to do to almost nothing. I have not ONCE used my magic in any kind of "public" rp. Only ever with the few other voidal mages or in my personal private magic events. I enjoyed the magic rp in those instances and yes, luckily there have been a lot for me as I know multiple other voidal mages. But because no matter how much I plan, no matter how sneaky I am, even disguises don't give me the feeling of ever being able to create rp with my magic for/with "normal" players without pretty much sentencing my character to social/real death. There are too many players, variables, things I don't and can't know, things that I can't control that make it almost sure (in my view) that I will survive at most two months after being seen once (even with disguise). (I am still having fun doing not magic rp with many others and in public, no worries there.)
//Choosing what/how to play
I have seen many different voidal mages by now, from those who do the villain route, over the ones that play the hidden power route to the ones that are the "hidden mages". All of them were able to decide what they want to play, how they want to play but the moment you are found out you are a living target, only able to play hide and run. Sure, maybe you can still rp with a few trusted ones and live on the street. That could work.
I haven't experienced it myself but the thought of only ever being able to rp with very few players, while hiding and running from everyone else sounds very isolating, rp stopping and just counterproductive to creating more rp. You are being pressed into this way of rp as it is the only way to survive. It is the conclusion of what we chose but at the same time I feel like there isn't even any other option to choose from of how to handle being chased by Eden.
//"But you choose that roleplay"
I chose many types of rp. I started playing a low level worker, started family rp, political rp, even romance rp at one point. My character has been in danger many times, I acknowledge I am lucky to even still be alive, I had rp with people that liked me, people that disliked me, casual rp, conflict rp and more in many different settings. Talked to farmers, knights, kings, leaders, demons, friends, foes, people I only met once. But now I have to revolve my whole character around this one aspect? Being told I have to do a certain kind of roleplay is one of the most insulting things you can do I think.
My magic just by existing already has a massive impact on my character and his development. Should I have to give up on any other rp because the risk is so high? At the moment I am still able to have those other rp aspects but only because I keep the magic rp to a minimum. I didn't even start my character with the magic aspect in mind. It just came along in my years of playing. And I will not give up on all of this fun roleplay so easily.
//Being aware of risk
Before anyone says it, yes. I knew the risk of being a voidal mage. I know it puts my character at risk for everything. We all want our characters to survive as long as we want, and I put my character at a greater risk. BUT the amount of risk I am at is no longer a risk. It is a simple When. When will I be found out, when will my character die.
Because it's not a "You might be found out if someone sees it." it's a simple "You are found out if someone sees it." Since voidal magic has been created it feels like the risk of being found is only growing. A whole branch of mages can feel voidal energy. If I were to go to any public event at which one of them is, it is only a question of time until it gets narrowed down. And I wouldn't even know.
//My possibilities
How should I go about such risks and dangers? Just kill the other player? Not only that it is already hard to fully pk someone without a very strong reason, but needing to end the rp of someone because of my "mistake" or just some unlucky coincidence is not something that drives more rp or motivates me to create more "dangerous" scenarios. It only sounds like one of us will hate however it ends. And it's not like I have a lot of time to plan this, one forum post and the information is spread. Impossible to stop being spread more and more. Even a book ingame or word by mouth is fast spreading on the server.
//Fighting
And that assumes I am able to kill them. I am at level 6. I think about my spell combinations, how to dance along the rules and get the most out of them. I even came up with a way to have constantly all three ichor friends on me just for the plus 1 on intelligence. But against a normal player with just sword and shield? I give myself a 50% chance. Considering neutral terms like a open field with starting distance. My best scenario is a single long hallway (which is the only way to guarantee the enemy not evading the blood bolt which only covers one square) with starting distance. And I still "only" give myself maybe 75% (not mentioning that such a single block wide long hallway does not exist). The amount of times my strong spells (like crackling skin) seem to fail is too high for me to take them as perfect weapons. (I am not asking for a buff, the current magic is balanced for the most part, it just doesn't give me enough confidence to rely my whole characters life on one fight against any player).
//"What are you afraid of? Just hide it better."
I am in a lucky situation. At this point in time I think about 5 to 10 other non-voidal players know/suspect about my magic. This number might be higher/lower than I think as it is just impossible for me to know. "See, so many people know about it, you are fine." Those players are the ones experienced, who have played a long time and multiple of them even on the fnf team. They know they could just call me out. But they are kind enough to let me life longer as I have never "forced their hands" as I haven't used the magic in public. But one ear too far and it might reach someone who doesn't think like this. The moment this happens a single forum post could mark my character for the rest of my rp (assuming I somehow dont get killed). There has been the case of another voidal being called out and not having this problem but they were in a powerful position in rp. If not me, what about a "commoner" voidal mage? They will not have such luck.
I also already mentioned the other mages that can detect voidal power (which should not be removed as it is a nice idea, it just creates a huge risk for a small amount of players).
Also there is level 10. At which I will have permanent blood fingernails which I will have to roll for to hide every time I want to go into the public. Interesting aspect, will possibly restrict how much rp with others I do.
Many players can just stay in safe spaces and have not dangerous rp. Many other players will choose to place themself in dangers when fighting monsters or in war. Temporary danger. But I am at the constant danger of being found out, chased, killed, losing the ability to do the rp I want with the character I want. And because of that danger I will not use my magic in any public setting any time soon.
//Putting together.
1. The idea of having to play a certain kind of rp or character based on one aspect (that might not even have been planned for the character) is nothing but limiting and forcing to conform or hide.
2. I am not stupid. I am aware of the risks I took on but the ratio of risks and dangers to rp possibilities and benefits does not feel balanced.
3. The only way to save my ass if I am ever found out being to kill another player is hard/limiting/unfun and almost impossible considering how fast information spreads.
4. At level 6 I believe to be a strong mage but I am not confident enough in being able to kill a "normal" player to consider attacking or creating villain rp without instantly dying/ostracizing myself. Crp is balanced and fair and therefore unsafe for me.
5. Placing your character in dangerous situations is expected and done by most. But constant (growing) risk/danger where I have no chance to control some of the aspects creates a dangerous environment even outside of fights, that is something different that should not be down played.
If someone wants to debate/discuss anything of this, I am open to do so. Just make sure to read the whole view and not just the short conclusions (which cant mention every aspect.) This is also not an attack on anyone or a request for change, I am just offering a view into the current experience for others to see (especially in consideration of a recent suggestion). Also please consider this is a personal, subjective view so there are gonna be people who think I am just wrong.. If there are blatantly wrong factual comments please mention it and I will try to correct it. (Also I left out most of the more positive things like cool magic and spells as those are not all limited to voidal magic and I wanted to give a better understanding of the "struggles" of a hemomancer in this post.)
Kind regards.
Dimonok
Edit:
Sooo.... the first trait wave just dropped. Yeah. No hate, it's a really cool idea and I like almost all of it. But it's a very good example of how the risk of being a voidal mage keeps growing. A trait that literally makes all of my magic damage null and one that only allows me to deal two damage of any kind max per round. "But there are also traits that make voidal mages stronger" Which one? Extra low level spells? That's also available for every other mage. And they don't have to worry about voidal resilience and voidal origin. Also what do extra spells help if they can do no damage or not more than my others already do? "Just don't fight anyone with those traits." How am I supposed to know who has which traits irp? I am not saying there shouldn't be traits that help against voidals but I think we need more of a balance for that. It just seems like everyone got the same "buffs" and then there are extra special buffs against voidals while the reward for being voidal has stayed the same. (This could maybe be balanced by giving every race a "voidal" trait possibility. Doesnt even need to be that strong, just something to make it worth taking the risk on. Just a quick idea.)
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