I would like to publicly apologize for my temper flaring today during some roleplay at Ceyren's Mill. I know that it was concerning an OOC issue and affected IC, and for that, I'm sorry. I will do my best to attempt to not do such in the future, and handle such issues as they should be - calmly and privately.

Again, I apologize to everyone involved. I didn't mean to show my ass like that, and I'll do my best not to do it in the future.

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Espiel Callahan

Thanks for being humble enough to apologize, Swallow.

I feel that OOC hostility between "good" groups and "evil" groups is becoming a huge server crisis. Indeed, Amia seems to have divided into two groups. Either you're on Team A (pallys, knights, druids) or you're on Team B (cultists, Cyricists, necromancers). I have been killed by both sides because certain players knew I was not on their "Side" and as such I posed the threat of being a spy from the other side. This oftentimes results in my Neutral characters being hostiled and attacked without question, trial or much roleplay at all.

The good guys, middle men and villains need to remember that the people playing on the opposite team have OOC feelings too. After all, when it comes down to it we are all just a bunch of nerds that love video games and who are part of the same gamer/RP community. Sure it feels great to win, but when a group is entirely (or unfairly) obliterated then it results in bad/hostile feelings towards the opposite party. These feelings have progressed into OOC hatred of certain player logins.

That said, I have tested this theory by attempting to speak with players who hate my login name. They go quiet, don't speak to my character, attack me, or even walk away. Yet when I use an alt login then that same player will be very friendly and offer me good roleplay. It is extremely unfortunate that IC events turn players OOC against each other.

The final point I would make, and the one I find most disturbing, is the DM reaction to all this. The DM's that I have attempted to ask for help when I felt I was being unfairly treated have treated me with utter contempt. In the event that Swallow speaks of: Before heading to Caraigh I checked the DM event forums to see if Caraigh Mill was officially occupied by the Asylum folks; however, there was nothing to indicate such. As such, I assumed it was safe to travel there. Upon arriving, my friend was attacked by a person shifted into a dragon. I proceeded to hostile every person I assumed to be an enemy before attacking. We won the fight and then attempted to take 4 people to another location for interrogation. Only two came. One of these two didn't even really have much to do with the entire situation, so he was released. Yet the players who could have given us some useful information all refused to come along, claiming we had cheated because not all of our party hostiled, even though the rules state that you do not have to hostile every player if a hostile spell/action is used towards your party. So a DM is called in and immediately says: "Skye should know better". Know better than to what? Fight back? Go to Caraigh when nothing was posted on the DM forum by players, DM or otherwise? Immediately he tells us the roleplay was null and to stop bothering him at work. Why is he even available online if he is at work? As such, I felt like the DM acted irresponsibly given the situation. Some DMs have said I am a pvp addict even though *my* group was attacked at the tavern 5 different times by the "good guys", while we were in the middle of roleplay no less, before I decided to go on the offensive myself.

OOCly: My character is not even part of the cult, however several players have used the assumption that she is one as an excuse to attack her without evidence or roleplay proof. Sure, she may be a heartless opportunist out to profit, but that's not a legit reason to kill someone. I mean Wal-Mart CEOs do exist...

Now DMs might say that this should be filed as a PM report but I would much rather that my "enemies" know that I am a human being, and that I have felt unfairly persecuted, and that I feel the "good guys" are being epic pride-gamers, which are all feelings I'm sure they share about "my" side. (Pridegamers: someone who always plays to win without care for fellow player feelings, and who doesn't give players from the other side chances to escape, etc, but would rather just type *beheads*).

So I suppose this is a plea for the bad sportsmanship on both sides to end. How do we do this? Don't believe every OOC thing you hear about other players/logins. Try to give each character a chance to show you their roleplay at its best -- even make an alt login and opposite-alignment character in order to get a fully unprejudiced view on the other side. If you WIN: remember that the other side is probably feeling down. Don't just type *beheads Billy and chucks him off a cliff*. Try to give them some roleplay to remember. If you're really awesome OOC then even allow them some opportunities to escape rather than guarding them with an iron fist. If you LOSE: remember that mistakes happen on both sides. If one person leapt to PvP then maybe adrenaline got the best of them. Try to go with the ensuing roleplay, whatever it is, and show your fellow players courtesy. While you might be like "Why the crap did Evillle Deatheater attack me like that!" well... maybe the friend you have standing next to you killed his sister, and he logically assumes you will get in the way of his attempted revenge. Either way, if you feel that the PvP was fair, but your friends are spewing out hatred, try to calm them down and give the DM in question a fair, unbiased account of events that present the faults of both parties. I would really appreciate if you told Mahtan and Tormak if you felt that the Pvp yesterday was legit, because our side got yelled at. Thanks

That said, here's to hoping that our next encounter will be a more enjoyable one.

My character's nemesis is one of my closest buds on this server. I never have any problems with PVP, or 'winning' roleplay or whatever with said player. Communication is key and remembering that sometimes you lose the game, and sometimes you win! If you always win why bother playing?

Also you shouldn't be interacting with people you dislike OOCLY, in any capacity, it displays a conflict of interest. You should, however, be working at addressing the issues that cause the strife between you and the player you dislike.

Anyway, locking this thread as it is being discussed by the DM team as I type. Any apologies should be forwarded to the effected players PM box.

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Correction: it was being discussed several hours prior to the second post in this thread, so that no one gets the mistaken impression that JecklynHyde's attempt to "expose" DM corruption has anything to do with any decision rendered. I like to put credit where credit is due, chiefly, in our hands, and not that player's.