Karma

There have been complaints in the past from players who have said that our karma formula is a bit abrupt, and not at all smooth. Further examination showed that the Karma curve is far too slow in getting where you want to go, and far too punishing for the slightest transgression.

After discussion with other members of the design team, I implemented a new model. While I believe it will be better for Meridian, some effort should be made to inform players of the changes, since they might find them disconcerting.

The new model holds the following truths:

• Every action has a 'karma value' that it tends towards. Killing an evil monster with -80 karma is an action of 80 karma. If you have a karma of 70, Shal'ille will look favorably upon your act and bump you up. If your karma is 90, you will be bumped down.
  NOTE: This is very different from the old system. In the old system, if you killed a neutral person,there was no change at all to your karma. Players should be made aware that:
• Killing someone more evil than you are good will raise your karma.
• Killing someone more good than you are evil will lower your karma
• Killing someone who tends towards neutrality will push you towards neutrality.
• Getting above 75 karma or below -75 karma should be extremely difficult for both sides of the fence. Since this is different, players should be made aware of this. However, Qor and Shal'ille spellcasters will also find that they have more power if they can get their karma that high, and while they may not be able to maintain that karma all the time, it would behoove them to boost it before any major wars, guild raids, tournaments, or adventure parties, since that spellpower might come in handy.
  In general, most common monsters will have karmas between 75 and -75. Any exceptions to this rule will tend to be supermonsters, such as the Ghost of Far'nohl. Good players, in general, will have to kill a lot of undead to get their karma low. Evil players, in general, will have to kill a lot of good players.
• Different kills and actions lower you by different degrees, or 'swing factors'. For example, killing a player will lower your karma four times as much as killing a monster with the same karma as that player.
• Non-killing actions can also raise or lower your karma. Coders interested in this should examine the vampiric wand code. It's worth noting that you can give any action what I call an 'act_strength'.  This determines the 'swing factor' of that action. This must always be a number from 1 to 10. Some examples:
• Killing a person has a swing_factor of 10 - the highest possible.
• Killing a monster has a swing_factor of 7
• Using a vamp wand has a swing_factorof 6
• Casting Defile has a swing_factorof 5
• Casting Minor heal has a swing_factor of 1.
• What that number means is that it's the raw change over (11-swing_factor). Meaning that killing a person changes your karma 10 times as fast as casting minor heal, and four times as fast as killing monsters.

Appendix A
Chart of New Karma System

This chart assumes that you are killing other players. If you are killing monsters, then divide the number given by 4.

Appendix B
Chart of Monster Karmas

The karma of some monsters have changed. In general, that the fey always offer a relatively easy path to a good karma, but to get to either extreme, you need to kill either supermonsters or other players who have already gotten there.

Appendix C
Chart of Old Karma System

Against Players

Against monsters