INCENTIVES & YOU
Hi, guys! We're back again. We've been getting a lot of questions regarding the incentives in Season 2 lately. We didn't want to release any information piecemeal so there would be no confusion, but we have decided to release a bit of information regarding the incentives to ease the worries regarding Season 2.
To clarify, we will not be releasing any more information on its own regarding Season 2. It simply isn't finished, for one thing, and we feel it will be much more understandable within the context of a larger framework. We have only chosen to release this information to reduce player anxiety. The rest of the information regarding Season 2 is expected to be released at the beginning of December, but may possibly be out earlier, depending on when the mods can get it done! We are all very excited for you to see it. :)
Without further ado, let's talk about incentives.
WHAT ARE INCENTIVES? Characters will be offered the opportunity to work towards a personal goal as incentive for their participation. They can be anything from a big payout to the cure for a disease, and everything in between. ICly, contractors will be hired to work toward achieving your character's incentive, using a small portion of their stipend to fund the work. OOCly, the incentive is ready whenever you would like to have your character retire through a permanent drop. (If you do not wish to drop permanently, regular drops will function much like they do now.)
ARE THERE LIMITS? Yes! You can think of them as similar to "genie rules". » No reviving the dead. This is generally possible through the miracle of science or magic, but it isn't pretty and reputable contractors will refuse to do so on moral grounds. It's just messy.
» No instant murder. Asking for someone to drop dead is impossible. However, one could ask to hire an assassin -- this does not mean there is a guarantee the assassin will be successful.
» No making someone fall in love/changing someone's attitude, thoughts, or feelings. This is akin to hypnosis and is a hotly debated topic. In order to avoid the implications of interfering with autonomy, this service is not offered.
» Nothing intangible. The incentive has to be something that is achievable through the laws of physics. In other words, you cannot ask "make me king," but you can ask for help overthrowing a king so you can take their place. Again, this is not a guarantee of success, only a guarantee that the armies (or whatever else it is the character requests) will be provided. What happens after that is up to the characters.
This means no vague incentives. For example, a bad incentive would be "end world hunger", but a good example would be "enough grain to feed the population for five years". Scared? Don't be. We will be offering an incentive workshop to help you out if you need assistance!
CAN I CHANGE MY CHARACTER'S INCENTIVE? You may change your character's incentive along with a canon update or independently. However, independent updates may only happen once every six months, so choose wisely! They will also not receive the original incentive if it is changed.
We hope this clears up some confusion and reduces some anxiety. We are happy to answer any questions you may have about incentives, but remember, the rest of the information is not ready to be released!
Finally, we would just like to make a small note: we have received many player contacts recently, and while we thank you for your honesty and always prefer direct communication, we urge you to remember that your mods are people with feelings, too. We spend many hours each week working on the game to make fun for the players and genuinely care about it. Although anonymity may obscure our dispositions, our motivations in making decisions for the game are always in good faith; we do not make them lightly, nor do we make them for any reason besides thinking they are the right decisions. Many of you were very polite and we thank you for that, but we encourage everyone to consider their tone before communicating with us, and remember that there are real people behind the screen receiving your messages and working hard to give you a good time.
We love you all, and we'll see you on the upcoming log!
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