How does this idea sound?

First, I'd like to mention that when my phone died, I lost the original of this post. So apologies if this confuses anyone, due to me forgetting something that was in the original. EDIT; and then i lost the second version to internet problems. grr.

Second, my ridiculous character names+titles should not be taken as an insult by any, they are just for fun, and any resemblance to persons living, dead, imaginary, etc. should not be taken as intentional.

Third, if this has already been considered and rejected, apologies for wasting time

Anyway...
So picture the following. Gene the Generic Goblinoid has been coming to Knight Realms since just about the first event. He's sitting in the Inn, when a commotion comes from outside. He looks out, and sees a few skeletons. They are wearing OOG purple headbands, which say that they are low-level monsters, hardly worth an experienced character's time. So, Gene looks around to see if there are any low level characters fighting them. He sees Adam the Average Alchemist Archer, who is at his fourth event, and a few of Adam's friends taking the skeletons on, and eventually killing them.

Then picture this. The fight goes badly, as Marcus the Mainstream Mage (sixth event) accidentally puts all his friends into their death count. So, Carla the Common Cleric (who's been going for almost as long as Gene) and Gene, and maybe a few of their friends, run in and heal the characters while killing the NPCs.

Now, picture this. All the low-level characters are at Tower Mod, so Gene goes and returns the skeletons to their rightful inanimate state.

What I'm proposing is what I refer to as the Purple Headband Theorem. Basically, it makes "go-out-and-die" monsters less likely to be an exercise in "half an hour of makeup leading to five minutes of playtime" and more likely to be dangerous.

My personal concern would be immersion. As a guardsman my character is likely to fight any enemy of the town, purple headband or no. I don't like the idea of monsters being anything other than perceived as a threat no matter what your level.

Let me start this by saying I am NOT speaking for the staff members in anyway I am simply putting my view as a marshal out there, other marshals and staff members may have differing points of view than mine.


Being both a Logistics Marshal and a New Player Marshal I have seen both sides of this coin in terms of "strength" of monsters. You have a point in that a lot of players pounce on roaming NPC's and these NPC's may be too easy for them. Or they may not. No one knows for sure and that is the point of this game. If you feel like you can take on the world, go ahead and fight everything that comes your way. Or you can pick an choose and hope to choose wisely. If you don't we hope you had fun fighting it as that is what this is all about.

The reasoning behind most "veteran" players jumping misc. roaming NPC's is simple for the most part. There is not as much for them to do outside of plot. Yes there are misc. mods but those are far and between.

Newer Players have certain things that go on regardless of the plot of the weekend(unless for some reason the ST has another idea for it). Tower Mod, Midnight Madness, are a few examples. These are the mods that would be "purple headband" as it were without breaking immersion. "Veteran" players don't have that and so they are compelled to feel like "heroes" as well.

Don't take this as I am complaining that veteran players don't see enough action or get enough to do. Far from it. I am just posing a reason to why. It could be completely wrong. Trust me as a NPM I enjoy writing the mods that new players go on and hope it continues for a while.

Personally I also enjoy not knowing what I face power wise as either of my characters. It adds an element that should be in Travance of fear. Am I strong enough to solo this? Do I need a horde of people in order to take this guy down? These are things that I enjoy roleplaying out when things are wandering around.

Just my thoughts on these things.

All ideas that are put forward as politely as you did are always welcome. There has always been a discussion of how to make all level players feel involved. I know that this is always on my mind, and on other staff member's minds as well. We have made progress over the years, but we can always do more. Thank you for sharing your ideas, and while this exact idea may or may not be implemented, it may spark the imagination of someone with another idea.

I thought that I would chime in here. I'm not a Marshal or an ST, I'm just a guy. I hope that an opinion from "just another player" will be a little something to think about, and all around helpful.
I try my best to make an IG reason as to why my character does what he does. In the topic of encounters, there is no question as to what his action would be, flee. My character has seen the Heroes of Travance. He's fought with them, and has watched them kick some ass. He wasn't there during the fight against Zualla, but Travance is still standing, meaning that to him...It's a force to be reckoned with. Thing is, he knows that he's not like these Heroes. He's just a guy with two daggers and Tavern. So when he comes across an unfamiliar group, it's defense mode. Which reminds me of one of the rules I've learned about Travance, "Never travel alone."
The purple headband idea is awesome to me for one reason; I like purple. Other than that, I feel that it would break the immersion of the game and actually give players a reason to NOT roleplay. The roleplay of KR is my favorite thing about the game, I'd rather not have a system that breaks it. You have a good idea, but if you're looking for the opinion of "just a guy", well...There you go.

Thank you,

As Reece pointed out there are a number of ways to play the game and each one is valid. The more character diversity we have the better our game will be.

As a general rule of thumb, combat is a huge attraction for most players/character types. As a result a lot of "jump the wandering NPC" encounters are sent out, which has its own pros and cons. These sorts of encounters have changed dramatically over the years and will continue to do so as our community grows.. As KR moves forward, we're going to need players with good ideas to come forward and politely make suggestions as to what they'd like to see (exactly as you've done!) if we're going to continue growing as a community. As Mike noted while some of those suggestions may not be directly used, they are incredibly valuable and can spark the next big idea to help our game grow.

While I don't agree with Connor on there being little for higher level characters to do outside of plot (there is always something to do and fun to be had) or the oft repeated adage of "Never travel alone" (I highly recommend you be aware of the risks and to give it a go, if you're feeling particularly adventurous), both have merit. To this effect, the only solution I know of is to really think about what sort of character you want to play and then using the different professions to help facilitate that idea; if you don't want to have to worry about most monsters, building a combat oriented character is completely valid. Just keep in mind, there will always be monsters that are scary and tough regardless of your level and while our characters may play for different IG teams, we're a community as a whole. Taking down the big bads is always going to be a group endeavor and its always going to need a diverse skill set ranging from the combative type to social type characters.

On a funny note, sometimes the wandering NPC group can be something as simple as a pack of low level goblins and still be frightening- I once had the pleasure of seeing a bunch of goblin npcs, all well below lvl 5, take out a hapless paladin who has well above lvl 50. Thankfully the paladin survived, but it was a great lesson in teamwork, unfortunate timing, and the fact that while your character/npc may be a specific lvl, that level does not determine what they can and cannot accomplish.

William's comment concerning the Guard is spot on.

That said, I am a decent fighter and I tend not to look for low or medium level mods in which to intrude as they are not for me. I have no problem occupying my time with worthwhile RP endeavors, and if such NPCs intrude on my activities, I offer them the opportunity to leave in peace.

OTOH, and although at this time only having one, at times I have as many as Shiva, should said NPCs threaten a friend, or people I know, all bets are off.

Also to chime in a bit...

I'm not a rules/new player/monster/roleplay marshal... but I've a decent amount of experience with LARP combat and SCA level stuff- far less of that than some might think, believe it or not...

I've often likened KR to a giant free-form Dungeons and Dragons game and it is in many ways.... and just like the pen/paper encounter charts, sometimes stuff shows up you have no business facing or what is encountered is not even a sweat-breaking challenge. And to me.... that's just fine.

I've gone out as Wendigo, a bodyguard for a Census Taker, a bounty-hunter/treasure seeker, a farmer looking for food or money... And as undead too. Hell, I went out as a dire wolf once... Then there was the Westboro Valosian Priest...
Of the things I have gone out as, the ONLY thing that lower PC's should not have tangled with would be the wendigo- and that time, we were told to go LOOKING to mess with higher PC's (and one in particular too!)

Bigger PCs who have played in this game might cherry-pick what they do... its going to happen and does in every LARP I’ve heard of to one degree or another. But even then, surprises happen- like that hapless paladin mentioned by Eli.

To me, part of the game, the draw.... is the UNKNOWN of what an encounter will and can bring. Each and every thing encountered on the road can be interesting in some fashion, be it a fight or rp thing.
My own PC is an old soul Ranger, knowledgeable in his trades and a long-time soldier- a soldier who is somewhat tired of senseless fighting- especially among folks who are supposedly civilized. He would like to resolve everything via diplomacy if possible but knows in Travance, some things just can’t be talked to… or just don’t want to talk to you.

Every so often, I get the peaceful resolution/interaction…. And I enjoy those as much as the non-peaceful ones (though if I get dropped, its less fun unless it was an epic fight)
For instance... More than one occasion, I've encountered NPCs who were just merchants, a pair of would-be cutpurses just looking to feed their family and a band of Goblins protesting the winter. All of these could have gone violent and in the case of the cutpurses, what should have been violent went peaceful as they were talked to....

I’ve also broken the 1st Rule of Travance and traveled alone- which resulted in my getting jumped by the Venier two months ago. Epic fight but still sucked to be crippled without my prized sword….

So yeah, Not every meeting on the road need start or end with "Defend Yourself!" though it often happens….. And I find it fun to find out what the encounter is and see if it can’t be turned on its head.
I think if you look at it from the Grand Adventure perspective, y’all will have as much fun as I and very many others do…. And just remember, Nothing says you have to get involved in fighting- as Reece mentioned, there is no shame in running away. If it fits the persona, why worry?

Your mileage, as it does for others, will vary. :)

Long time player here *waves hand. Big Gap between start and now in play. That gaps shown me how much this game has changed. New pcs now level five. I started level one with nothing but the phys reps I had and steel blades in Game There are younger pcs that I in this game with bigger better weapons baubles tricks and magic than I carry even now. The tower was a secret. The Upper levels, old lower, remember its inverted, were not even clear for adventure. Slavers came through town and would take you!. Going out by day alone meant death was likely. Remeber level one pcs, so you ran to the big guys or buildings for safety when anything came by.

And most importantly you never ever knew what was out there or if it wanted to kill you. There was no trade system to live well on and get more build. Working the camp didn't happen because we rented. Set up was rewarded with SPs and 1000 was a LOT!

Now what does this have to do with purple headbands... Flash to now. Mods made with level caps. Entire programs to get new pcs started. New player marshals dedicated to you... The new players. Treasure given out after every mod not just plucked off NPCs. Roaming NPCs dedicated you whom is out and pointed in directions. Vendors in game selling real food and wears. Lords ladies knights squires... Older PCs dedicated to lands. Get into trouble recognize one go ask for help! Its their duty. If they dont help RP it.

All this is added new and keeps with full emersion. We can't lose that. If we start labeling things in the manner you suggest its like the computer game with ID above the heads of NPCs. By your own scenario the player thinking through all that, loses the characters responses in the process. When I go IC its my PC that does the thinking i just sit in the back of my head making sure its a safe thing to do and thats it.

In another larp a mechanic used was to have monsters have specific immunities to upgraded or more advanced materials used in weapons. For instance in KR steel would be the only type that would harm an individual npc.

Another idea i have seen was like a reverse threshold, where damage under a certain amount would count, but anything higher would be minimum damage. Perhaps add an immunity to specific spells or superior attacks.

The rationale could be an enemy's attempt to ward his minions against Travance's elite warriors.

These are all very good points, most of which I hadn't thought of. I would like to offer a counter argument that may or may not be 100% relevant.

Does a king go out of his castle to catch every thief? Does he make sure to land a blow on every member of the invading army? No, he has peasants, knight, people who in his eyes are less important*, to make up the body of his army. Same goes for a general, which is probably a better metaphor anyway.


*That's not to say new players are viewed as less important, it's just the only phrase I could think of. At least, I sure hope not, given I can't speak for experienced players personally...

Historically, a king had justicairs to dispense justice. Nobles could as well, depending on their rank. Peasants and other non-nobles rarely,m if ever, had such power in Western civilization. There was a well established system and order, often having little to do with justice.

As to "generals" that is laughable in Europe. The ranking noble, unless the King expressly ordered otherwise (and that was a rare occurrence, indeed) took overall command. The "battle" was usually divided into three sections, left, center, and right, with the "pride of place" going to the commander of the right (some nobles realized that a reserve was a good thing to have, and usually kept that with themselves). Naturally, that devolved to the highest ranking noble besides the leader.

Following orders was a hit or miss thing. Percy did not receive the sobriquent "Hotspur" due to his sanguine disposition.

Travance, for better or worse, has a more egalitarian manner of assigning commands. It would be interesting to see the results and repercussions if say, a Lord disagreed with Grim's disposition of forces prior to a battle being joined.

Long winded exposition - and I know history does not matter in the instance of KR.

That would be an intriguing moment of roleplay indeed, but I think the point we're trying to make is most people, even high level people at KR, aren't nobility, and don't have command of other peopleto do things for them. If you see a monster outside of a newbie-specific mod, and it starts acting hostile, then you can only assume it is a threat to you and yours. Mind this doesn't mean we butcher every NPC we meet (though some folks do) interaction and waving them off is a thing, but most NPCs are sent out with recycles and the like and we'll consciously go to try to entertain both low and high level players if we can.

The ability to be able to resolve PC-NPC interactions without combat can be one of the most important and rewarding skills you can develop as a player. It adds diversification to your character and breaks up the monotony of grinding every NPC into a red paste. It also leads to some very interesting and memorable RP interactions, which I can guarantee you will be more memorable than going out to slaughter that pack of [insert random npc group here].

While I probably wouldn't want to add a headband, like many things in KR, being thoughtful can go a long way toward helping others have a good time in game. I know I want as many people to enjoy KR as possible, so that I have a lot of people to interact with and because I think KR is a special place.

While I agree that it might be OOC and break immersion for some PCs to ignore threatening wandering NPCs, we can still be conscious of our actions at an OOG level. For example, I NPC'ed main mod in January. Despite the fact I love to fight, I am not very good. When I NPC in this type of situation, I usually take a lower level NPC card and try to engage lower level players. I was a bit disappointed to watch some very high level players jump into fights I was having with some lower level players and one-shot my NPC. The newer players were doing just fine and would have taken me out on their own, and probably had some excitement doing it with a tag skill that might have been useless against one of the higher level NPCs. It really would have made it more fun for those lower level players if the higher levels had stood back and watched the fight (or found someone else to fight). And while I understand the IG motivations, one could argue that more experienced IG fighters would understand the need to allow less skilled fighters to get some experience . . . I realize it is tough in the middle of a dark fight to get a sense of who is where and how powerful a NPC is, but to the extent people can . . .

Just a thought, but wasn't the idea of the new player zone targeted to this? You go into that area, and only the lower levels can participate?

Regarding what Crystal said, this is why I as a higher level tend to either end up as a commander or personally engage the "boss"

And yeah, the new player zone does tend to cover this.

When weather turns foul, few people want to venture out without a good reason, so "plot hooks" are sent out. Thing is, you never know what kind of attention the "plot hook" will get so, many varied people of varied levels might follow/might not follow.

The new player zone was meant as a way for new players to goto an area & get their kicks, & keep out the seasoned players. Again, this requires people leaving certain areas & travelling to others. As well as keeping new player zone populated with NPC's during the duration it's open. Having enough NPC's can sometimes be a problem during certain events.

Also, there's no forcing a player to go to a mod against his/her will. If Jack the Junior Swashbucker wants to stay at the Inn, playing checkers against someone & not go help the farmer's daughter get back her apples stolen by some goblins... then so be it.

I saw on some MMO's they have a "Teacher system"... where if Higher level players are grouped with lower level players in a zone/fight/etc... the higher-lvl player gets "capped" to where he/she is almost the same as the other group members. This helps with aggro & power-leveling. We've done that before, where if you were above the level & entered the "magical area" you lost a percentage of your level/build/etc to make you as strong or weak as some other folks.

Yes, the new player zone definitely helps, and yes, Bill, I do not mean to suggest that many or most higher level players are not thoughtful in this regard. But sometimes such a zone doesn't exist (either in MM or at other times). My point is that when it doesn't, people should be aware, that is all.

I remember years ago when KR was located in P.A and they had a special in game amulet that allowed the P.C to see Npc monsters in another dimension, but this meant other P.C's had to have this item in order to see or fight them.
This was meant for the low level characters but was later tossed. Thanks for the flashback .
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This is off topic, but I feel the need to address it since twice it was brought up as kind of "Adventureous!" to walk alone.
While that might be true for Ingame interactions, OOG The paths are treacherously icy in the winter and there are bears in the summer -- so please guys, be safe.

~~
On that note,

If ANYONE needs to get to their beds safely in game or out, you can always ask a guards member to walk you there.