Upgrade your account to a Community Supporter account and remove most of the site ads.

Reply to thread

Message: <blockquote data-quote="Tequila Sunrise" data-source="post: 6132531" data-attributes="member: 40398">Thanks, glad you like the Priory!As to why I cut those four factions; they didn't pass my 'long-term viability test,' which is essentially this:1. Is this faction's philosophy distinct from all others, and does it make sense?2. Does this faction's philosophy have emotional or practical appeal?If I could say yes to at least one of these items, I kept the faction. Some faction philosophies score two yeses, while others score only one. (The Bleaker philosophy makes perfect sense, but has little appeal to most folks. The Signer philosophy on the other is air-headed at best, but has great emotional appeal.)The four factions I cut I did so because I couldn't give either question a strong yes. The Free League philosophy isn't terribly distinct from the Bleaker one, or the indifference of the many Sigilians who simply don't choose a faction. The Xaositect philosophy is likewise nearly indistinguishable from the Bleaker one; the notable difference seems to be that Chaosmen don't like things like beds, rooves, money, and good meals for some indefinable reason. Anarchism is a thing, but I don't think it's viable as a continual ongoing ideal. Most people prefer to work with or at least around the system, rather than tearing it down; at least until things get really oppressive.I admit when I first got my PS boxed set, I loved the Dustmen along with all the other factions. But after reading over them all again recently, I couldn't give a strong yes to either item on my list. They have a distinct sort of extreme-Buddhist philosophy, but I don't think it makes much sense even in a universe with undeath and a verifiable afterlife. Maybe that's just me, though -- you're welcome to make an argument for them as more than an extremist sect of the Priory. <img src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/joypixels/assets/8.0/png/unicode/64/1f642.png" class="smilie smilie--emoji" loading="lazy" width="64" height="64" alt=":)" title="Smile    :)"  data-smilie="1"data-shortname=":)" /> The philosophy's emotional appeal is certainly limited -- even Sigil doesn't have that many goths. <img src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/joypixels/assets/8.0/png/unicode/64/1f609.png" class="smilie smilie--emoji" loading="lazy" width="64" height="64" alt=";)" title="Wink    ;)"  data-smilie="2"data-shortname=";)" />Yeah, I cut the faction bennies for a couple of reasons: 1) I feel there are already enough character widgets -- I don't even allow backgrounds or themes, and 2) outright faction bennies (as opposed to BPs which require sacrifice) make faction membership pretty much mandatory in the same way that Expertise feats are pretty much mandatory.I do love the factions, but I do want players to have an 'unaligned' option if they're really not interested in that aspect of PS. I suppose the dilemma could be solved by reinstating the Free League...I'll give it some thought over my coming week of seclusion. Again, feel free to leave me one even if I don't answer for a few days. <img src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/joypixels/assets/8.0/png/unicode/64/1f642.png" class="smilie smilie--emoji" loading="lazy" width="64" height="64" alt=":)" title="Smile    :)"  data-smilie="1"data-shortname=":)" /></blockquote>

Verification