Shattered Kingdoms

They don't last longer in real PK situations. Inability to wear armor(aka saves/shield block) and weapons(aka parry) means they lose HP much faster than Balacha, Baltus, Lazeran, the giant legionnaire or any other good law NPC. The HP percentage loss is more or less the same, but it's not as easy to regain that percentage.

I'll take NPCs that deal damage and avoid damage any day compared to NPCs that just soak up damage.

The trio is, however, very [REDACTED] awesome.

The faceless nymph
The half-wolf

All that [REDACTED] make you think 'ho [REDACTED] crap run' whereas

'A peacekeeper templar' ... Is just another random NPC or
'Baltus' .. Is just a name.

For a time, the centaur captain of the guard was an awesome guard for ayamao, but I think they made him unorderable at some point.

Ayamao does, however, have an air elemental that demands respect.

Nerina could use something, too. I propose a samurai-type NPC, and a monk-type NPC!

GM level merc guard NPC with Fist skillset.

This is one argument I just don't understand. If your trio needs your whole mana pool to be healed, that means they have more hit points. More hit points = better, I would think.

EDIT: DA already got owned on this point. I should have finished the thread before posting.

The problem with saying the Talons need to be boosted, is what becomes of their neutrality? Despite immortal pressure to be less light-aura, the Talons are led by a good-aligned leader more often than not. The only thing keeping them from joining the game's anti-evil crusade is that they're so susceptible to attack.

I'm in favor of the Talons getting more things they can use for offensive PK, mob-killing, and utility. A strong NPC far from Nerina in a no-summon zone might be ideal. Good jail guards are fine, for when someone actually does get caught. But Nerina can't become too defensible. It spoils the bias of the place towards tolerance. And I kind of like having a city where you can get away with a kill or two, as long as you don't make it a habit that calls out golden griffons in force.

That's the most rediculous argument I've ever heard.

They're only neutral because some players rp'd them that way for a long time.

Just because they don't necassarily want to get involved in a fight doesn't mean that they shouldn't be able to defend themselves adequately.

Yes, but why was that? For the vast majority of my Talon experience, it was the obligation to protect citizens, not innate peacefulness.

Not to put things too far afield, but this is sort of the same situation where Druids stopped hunting griffons. The game naturally moves towards good vs. evil unless roleplay stops it, because alliances are powerful. When the Druids were no longer obligated to kill griffons and tick off the Hammer/Fist, they all started ganging up on the evil side. I believe the Talons would normally join in, if they didn't have to worry about defending Nerina so much. (Heck, they already did somewhat, when I played one.)

Nothing says Talons can't have great things, as long as Nerina itself is still hard to defend. Turn it into another Exile, and its tribunal will start acting like Exile's.

The only reason they ever rp'd as neutral was because they did not have the means to defend themselves.

Your argument is self defeating Forsooth.

You're saying that because they could not defend themselves, they had to remain neutral and they must never learn to defend themselves because then they would no longer be neutral which they never would have been if they could have ever defended themselves.

Would I be me if I didn't quote this and stick up my hand?
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Anyway, that said... From the logs I've seen, the trio is quite good. They have a lot of staying power, and staying power is really, really important in SKs when you're talking about meat shields (pause for the 'duh'). Perhaps they could use a more realistic HP pool, I don't really care.

I think that what this thread really highlights is that people willing to hoarde EQ can make their tribunal NPCs much buffer than they were designed to be. If a change comes about from all this discussion, it'd be interesting if such a change were to involve removing a tribunal NPC's ability to take and wear equipment. That'd put far less emphasis on hoarding and perhaps put a bit more EQ in the game for actual PCs to use.

Plus it would make the hoarders cry, and I love that.

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Also, Ayamao has a lot of potential re guards - assuming that they have no more and no less than they had when I played a guardian/kos some two or three years ago. They are hideously underused by their players though. Like, seriously. Wow. They have so many high-level warriors it just isn't funny, as well as, if I'm not mistaken, a level 50 sorc (that you admittedly need quite a high cha to order).

What don't you understand D? IMO Ghazzhaz for example won't tank longer than Balacha in full great MP mithril and 2 8/8 wakizashis because when Ghazzhaz will soak damage Balacha will just avoid it through parry/eparry/riposte. In the end imo both will get the same percentage of damage more or less.

But then, Ghazzhaz will need 50% of my gnome priest's mana pool, when Balacha can be fully healed in 20% mana cost for example.

That makes Balacha a tank with far greater potential imo than Ghazzhaz. Sure it takes effort and preparation, but that's what the game is about anyway. Look at the first post of this thread, stratford whines about level 30 undead barbarians and considers them overpowered ffs. Why? Because my priest gives them 6/6 battlewhips, khopeshes and battlespears and usually full MR suits to survive 2-3 BoGs before insta dying.

Generally, NPCs with EQ/inventory >>> NPCs unable to wear EQ/have inventory.

Unless of course I misunderstood your edit and you kinda agree with me, so just disregard this post.

EDIT: About the fear of EQ being hoarded on NPCs instead of PCs, it's far easier to gank an NPC and get the phat lewt than gank a PC.