I think this would be a good idea just to keep people playing. You can only expect people to show interest for so long before they get bored from non-progression and just quit or leave the city.
Thoughts?
I think this would be a good idea just to keep people playing. You can only expect people to show interest for so long before they get bored from non-progression and just quit or leave the city.
Thoughts?
Still, I do think the line to gangs is unappealing to most due to the constant peer-to-peer pressure and general lifestyle that comes with it. It takes a very resilient player imo to be a ganger, and I indeed hope some things might shift in order for that world to open up be them with IC movement or some small OOC shifts.
There are also no mentors in the gangs that lack members, so a player becomes a pledge and has no idea what to do; or does all the wrong things. Thereby making gangs more suitable for players who are already experienced with the game's theme, as opposed to them being a training ground for newer combat characters.
Pledges are in the unfortunate predicament of just being expected to know what to do, and many of them just don't. Even becoming a pledge officially can take a while so the whole system is much slower than it used to be.
A lot of them are also falling for the homogenization of gang culture and think all ganging is kicking ass or fighting the megacorps. If you deploy more nuance in your RP you may get further, but again, hard to tell unless the world informs you that you're doing it right.
tl:dr
I agree that the process needs to be sped up, but sometimes a character isn't ready to be promoted. Sometimes that's not their fault. Sometimes it is.
If it were possible then the GMs could check in more often on ganger progress – but as mentioned above -- GM time is currently at a premium.
Understandable. I personally think the system is a bit flawed for a lack of better terms but the purist in me thinks making a defined roadmap to success lessens the game itself.
I think this is more of a games problem and complaints issue as the onus for this is probably more on GM's (there is a shortage to keep in mind) puppeting NPC's to better explain expectations and issue guidance as well as blooded gang members doing similar and expanding crime beyond me thump you and take your pants.
There are a lot of avenues closed off to people that decide to pledge. In my opinion, I think pledges should abandon the thought that tolling is their main purpose in life as opposed to just crimes of opportunity and be allowed to have service jobs. It would be no different than say a WCS employee advertising that they are a solo, or a Corporate Janitor advertising they're a fixer. You could even incorporate an automated job system within the gang where a Walker NPC just gives pledges stuff to run or graffiti tasks etc when prompted.
It's awesome.
The leveling up from pledge to ganger is a HUGE success, with a massive failure rate, but that's intentional. It's the roughest hustle in the Dome for a reason and the amount of rep you gain by passing that washout phase of pledging is definitely worth it.
The GMs do pay attention to gangers and do put a lot of thought in moving them up and giving them meaningful RP. It may not seem like it sometimes, because you're out on dem streets, but that's on purpose.
Likewise, there are PCs in game that support or antagonize gangers a ton, giving the experience a very rich vibe even without GM support.
I say keep it hardcore. The Code is doing a great job of making it not uber punishing, and the opportunities for fun and risk/reward abound! Making blood or higher is a serious honor, but it only stays that way if the road is rough and fraught with danger, otherwise it's just another job.