[Velleity]

And just to sum it all up as neatly as possible:


~ * ~ Who I Would Recommend Unwritten Legends For ~ * ~

-- People who desire rich, in-depth roleplay but don't necessarily want some of the restrictions that come with an RPI. Roleplay is enforced in Unwritten Legends and I've never yet met anyone who wasn't in character while logged in -- everyone roleplays, whether they have twenty years' experience or two days. Also, as mentioned above, many of the characters are simply wonderfully rich, engaging, and memorable people to RP with. On the other hand, people don't take things 100% seriously all the time, and there's significant room for whimsy and just plain fun.

-- People who enjoy being able to extensively customize their characters and make them unique. The detailed character generator allows for a very personalized character appearance, and once you're in the game the customization options in terms of clothing and various other accessories are vast. Also, even though every character must choose a class to belong to, those classes don't entirely dictate what your character is good or bad at or what he or she can do in the first place.

-- People who enjoy a well-developed fantasy setting, but one flavored with historical detail. Many of the broader aspects of the game are based on common fantasy tropes, such as the existence of elves and gnomes, but each race, subrace, and geographic region also has its own distinctive culture and flavor that is firmly grounded in the greater lore of the game world. This gives the game a familiar feel for people used to the typical fantasy setting, but it also allows for a little more depth. In spite of the more fantastical elements, there is actually quite a wealth of historically accurate items (especially in terms of clothing) that allow players to better portray different aspects of a largely Renaissance-based setting. Given this broadly-rendered time period, there's also opportunity for SCIENCE as well as magic; in fact, sometimes they even go together. And who doesn't enjoy a little more SCIENCE along with their dragons and dryads?

-- People who enjoy a relatively small and involved community. There may not be many of us, but most people in UL tend to be pretty involved, we like putting on events, and we all like interacting both casually and more in-depth. Everyone knows everyone else, and odds are you're never going to have to be just a face in the crowd.

-- People who like having the chance to leave their mark on the world, whether through writing lore or items, staging or participating in events, publishing books, or, yes, simply testing things. Since there aren't all that many of us, each of us has an opportunity to make some kind of impact on the game.


~ * ~ Who I Would NOT Recommend Unwritten Legends For ~ * ~

-- People largely interested in combat and levelling, or for whom having the most up-to-date mechanics is the most important thing. UL has always been largely focused on roleplay and providing an immersive interactive experience, not so much on mechanical systems. If what you really like in a game is an expansive hack'n'slash with lots of other coded systems to play around with, and you enjoy advancing your character more in terms of skills and experience than RP, then you probably won't be very excited by UL.

-- People who absolutely can't stand the necessity of combat to level. As mentioned already, I wish there were greater opportunity for advancement outside of hunting, but ultimately I can deal with it. Especially since you don't have to be a high-level character in order to be significantly involved in events and storylines. Others may not be so accepting, though.

-- People looking for a well-developed crafting system already in place. There is crafting in the works, including alchemy, metallurgy, and even cooking, but none of these is fully implemented yet. On the other hand, if you're interested in testing and offering suggestions for such a system as it goes in, you would have a chance to make an impact there.

-- People who want a game that is largely set in stone. Or who are seriously bothered by the fact that testing continues indefinitely. If you're not comfortable accepting the ambiguity of a game whose mechanics are still undergoing extensive change and expansion -- if the mere idea fills you with a sense of loathing and horror -- then you're definitely better off elsewhere.

-- People who want a consistently large and relatively impersonal player base. UL generally has attracted very high-caliber and involved players, but not very many of them at once. Everyone will know who you are sooner rather than later, and odds are they'll have a fairly good idea of what you've been up to as well (if not always an entirely accurate idea). During off hours it can sometimes be difficult to find other people to RP with. Of course, having more people join the game will help with this, but if you know already that you *really* don't want to deal with a smallish pool of players, you're better off looking elsewhere.


All that said, I hope some of you out there will come give Unwritten Legends a try. It's not the game for everyone (what game is, after all?) but it's definitely got a lot to offer.

And now I'm done, I promise. Whew.