Most of the time, I would prefer a pen and paper adventure run by a competent, imaginative GM and some good RP companions. I believe the reasons can be used as a list of 'what would make killing mobs more interesting."
I. NPC's/Monsters are connected to an overall story.
A. As plot/story advancement devices.
The bloodied merchant who stumbles in the tavern at
the beginning of the adventure provides a rally-point for
our intrepid band of RP'ers, and gives them a specified
goal that leads them in a particular direction. Motives
can vary from the Paladin wanting to wreak holy
vengeance, to the thief looking for booty.
The group of highwaymen are lead by a charismatic
NPC leader with a yet undisclosed tie to a VPM
(Very Powerful Mage) who of course has the overall
goal of ruling the entire world.
Key NPC's and monsters are part of the adventure to
set the wheels in motion, and to move them along in
whatever direction the group decides to go.
Putting this to work in a MUD can be done as it is with
most commercial CRPG's: Set pieces, and storytelling
dialogs.
The weakness is that with a random number of players
logging into the game, you have to leave that piece
there for all the newer players. The only way the vets
would return to such a sequence is if they get some kind
of RP or XP for doing so... barring the occasional PC who
goes back to check on information to solve a mystery.
Providing this level of interaction necessitates a
relatively low-tech solution... not really more than
conditional triggers and HD/DB space to store the text.
A better solution to my thinking is to have these story
and plot setting NPC's run by a human. This of course
requires dedicated and knowledgeable staff/volunteers.
The major drawback here being that few people meet
the requirements of 1. Ability, 2. Trust, 3. Dedication.
By trust, I mean someone who shares the vision of the
MUD operators, to keep their directed RP within guidlines.
Trusting them not to cheat, create Uber-weapons for
friends and so on is so basic I only mention it because of
my anal-retentive thoroughness.
II. NPC's and monsters in PnP games display a great variety
of types and even within types there are skill and
weapon differences.
A. Variety.
This is where I believe MUDs and PnP are most closely
alike. Mature MUDs have dozens of mobs, weapons,
forms of attack and armors. Even in a PnP session, there
will be hack and slash elements where the dwarves run
screaming curses into the enemy goblins with their axes
swinging or the party stumbles into a rat-infested room
where a mage cleans up with a fireball. The quantifiable
difference is that in PnP, many of the NPC's/monsters
have their own motivations/needs/ and:
B. Intelligence and ablility to adapt.
NPC's who can respond in a variety of ways. This
is more difficult to implement in a MUD. Intelligent AI
may sound cool, but the overwhelming majority of what
passes for AI in computer games is simple cheating
where NPC baddies are given abnormal stats or bonuses
unavailable to a player. AI is DAMNED HARD to do, eats
up money and time and isn't something likely to have a
13 yr old code and release to public domain. Good AI
code is worth far too much.
Compare the costs of such an endeavor to having
volunteers or even a paid staff to 'run' the NPC baddies.
Much better return on investment.
Continued after coffee...
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