First off, thanks for making such a wonderful game and environment. I am new, but I have enjoyed so far the roleplaying. It's very refreshing compared to the whole hack & slash scene.
I have been playing lately and have come up with a couple things I think would help improve the experience for new players and encourage them to stay and help develop the world.
The skill system is a little odd when first starting out. For example, I am an 189 year old elvish minstel type character (that's young for an elf). But when I start the game my only skill in a weapon is concussion types (hardly the idea type for an elf or my character) and I can hardly play the harp.
If I were to play my character based around the skills I have in the beginning I would have to reduce his age to about 20 (which would leave me at home with my family and incapable of roleplaying).
My proposal is this..a skill point system. This would of course be based on the race and also trade selection of the character. At the beginning of the game you would get a set amount of skill points to put into the skills (this would be the only time you would see the numbers so as not to ruin the roleplay when you actually get started).
An example of skills that I could select from during character generation as an elf and a bard would include items such as:
Long Swords
Bows
Harp
Lute
Flute
etc..
There of course would be more, but this gives a general idea.
All this would be done during character generation and the skills are REQUIRED to reflect the history of the character. To ensure proper utilization this could be checked by the GMs before the character is approved.
Using this method would improve the gameplay by allowing the skills a character has to be equivalent to the skills the character has obtained from birth up until actual creation in RL.
This would of course also reduce the temptation to powergame. For example, I have felt it necessary to sit in a room and play my harp over and over and over again (I of course roleplayed actually practicing the harp even though no one was watching). I do this in an attempt to get my skills up to the actual amount of experience I would have naturally at my age as an elf who has chosen to base his life (and earnings) on his proficiency in using both musical instruments and his words.
So, even though I am enjoying myself immensely, my one complaint is that my roleplay is hindered somewhat by my skills not living up to the realistic idea of my character. And feeling the need to increase these skills before I can get into any of the major story lines with the ability to realistically portray my character.
Also, I don't mean having the ability to MAX any of these skills at the beginning. Almost average to average at BEST. As not even the average 189 year old elf is PERFECT at using a long sword. And if you look at RL most people are generally only average at what they actually do best. People who really stand out (Like Albert Einstein or Abraham Lincoln) are people who have above average skils.
Realism is the key here.
And if it's not seen as beneficial to have them select their skills at the beginning before analyzing some of their roleplay, perhaps there could be an application for the aquisition of skills? The person would submit a list of skills he/she feels would be necessary for realistic roleplay and then also a couple examples where the character has actually used them in roleplay. Along with a thorough history of the character. The GM would then decide which skills are actually necessary for realism and at what level these skills should be.
I still find it hard to believe that an elf of 189 years (who was trained by his father to hunt using a bow. An example of my history can be seen here http://mahdee.50megs.com) has no skills in the bow or even the longsword.
Thanks for listening.
Well i hope that helped in a way.
