Question about lore

[marvalis]

I did read the lore in the /misc file about garkul and the age of pyre, interesting indeed.

7) Why can a human, halfling, yeek, ... just walk into Shatur? Why can they come to Elvalva without even the slightest hindrance?

They are all at peace, with trade agreements and so on. And there are still guards about in case of trouble. Only the dwarves and the Ziguranth are overtly protective of their home towns.

I think what I mean is more more a question of authority rather than race and war/peace:

Let me try to compare with a slightly silly real world example:
I live in Europa. Europe is at peace with the US. I can go on vacation to the US. However I still need a visum and a ID card. If I want to stay for a long time then I need a work permit or something else.
It is not because I can go on a vacation that I can walk into the white house and talk to the president.

I can also not just walk into people's private property. Right now the world feels as if you can just walk around and do whatever you want without any restrictions ... without anyone asking a single question.
It would be nice if the Thaloren town had some guards, and if they would not let you in without at least asking wtf you are doing there and/or asking you to identify yourself.

Similarly the current area's have no boundaries. There is no border between the human kingdom and .. anything really. Surely there must be borders with guards somewhere? Natural terrain choke-points and river crossings come to mind.

[Hedrachi]

I live in Europa. Europe is at peace with the US. I can go on vacation to the US. However I still need a visum and a ID card. If I want to stay for a long time then I need a work permit or something else.
It is not because I can go on a vacation that I can walk into the white house and talk to the president.

I can also not just walk into people's private property. Right now the world feels as if you can just walk around and do whatever you want without any restrictions ... without anyone asking a single question.
It would be nice if the Thaloren town had some guards, and if they would not let you in without at least asking wtf you are doing there and/or asking you to identify yourself.

Similarly the current area's have no boundaries. There is no border between the human kingdom and .. anything really. Surely there must be borders with guards somewhere? Natural terrain choke-points and river crossings come to mind.

I live in the US, and speak English, a little bit of Mandarin, and a little bit of Spanish. If I went on vacation to someplace like the Netherlands, France, or Germany, I'd be a little bit arrogant and rude if I expected everyone I met to speak English like me. ("Hey you, how do you get to that 'Ausfahrt' place I keep seeing signs for? Why didn't that train stop? I wanted to see where this 'Niet instappen' place is!')As I understand it, it's kinda like that for the races of Maj'Eyal. You're friends with the other nations, but it's an awkward peace because the cultures are different. (where irl, it's awkward because the languages are different)

Also, how's life on that moon of Jupiter? You live on the ice or below it?

[Grey]

Let me try to compare with a slightly silly real world example:
I live in Europa. Europe is at peace with the US. I can go on vacation to the US. However I still need a visum and a ID card. If I want to stay for a long time then I need a work permit or something else.
It is not because I can go on a vacation that I can walk into the white house and talk to the president.

I can also not just walk into people's private property. Right now the world feels as if you can just walk around and do whatever you want without any restrictions ... without anyone asking a single question.
It would be nice if the Thaloren town had some guards, and if they would not let you in without at least asking wtf you are doing there and/or asking you to identify yourself.

Well, this isn't a travel sim game. It would be boring if it were made too realistic. There are guards in all of the towns, but they're open for trade and exploration. They'll only attack you if you're undead or you cause trouble.

Also, visas are a modern invention, and though certainly in medieval ages there were borders between countries there were not very effectively policed. At the moment there are certain geographical distinctions between some regions, but it's not overdone.

This is pretty normal in RPGs - heck most do actually let you wander into people's homes and nick their stuff freely. Overall it's more player-friendly than putting awkward restrictions on everything.

[marvalis]

Just to clarify what I mean: I do not suggest that we should limit the player or prevent him from entering the area. I am suggesting that we can add some content to the game by, for example, adding a dialogue when you enter that area the first time. For example, the guard is blocking the entrance to the town. You talk to him. This dialogue / npc only triggers if you are not native to that area.

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You are confronted by a guard.
If player_race = human or dwarf or Shaloren then "What are you doing here, player_race?" (replace human with the player's race)
Else If player_race = Yeek then: A Yeek? I have heard of such creatures but I did not know they actually exist. What are you doing here?
a) I am a traveler.

The guard looks at you for a few seconds.
"Welcome to Shatur. Abide the laws and we will be friends."

*NPC disappears, allowing you to enter and exit as often as you want*

This has no impact on the game, but adds that little bit extra 'fullness' to the world. At least this way it looks like the people care about what you are doing.
This dialogue can also be used to feed a bit of lore to the player:

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You talk to the guard.
"What is your business here, human? These are the native lands of the Thaloren."
a) Hello mighty Elf, I am a traveler on my way to the elven city of Shatur.

Guard:
"Very well, you may pass."

I overdid the lore hints a bit but you get the point .

The first time I went to Shatur, without knowing lore, I had no idea what it was. There was no indication at all. If there would have been an NPC on the world map blocking entrace with a simple message such as:

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Welcome to the Thaloren kingdom of whoever. If you want to trade some goods make sure you visit Shatur

Then I would have had an introduction to the area.

This is an opportunity to give each town a different feeling. Last Hope is a big town, so people do not really care who you are and where you walk. A smaller town might not be used to strangers and they would question who you are.