Moving Home Towns — Yes or No?

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In the past few weeks, I've received several requests from a few of the guild members asking if and when we plan on moving our primary RP town. While this was originally just started as a joke, others have been expressing a neightened interest in the idea, to which I have agreed to scope out for potential new RP spots.

I have spent the past ten persistent hours scoping out over thirty-four new possible locations for Blue Skooma to call its new home. These numbers were thinned out based on what towns were taken or phased, and further thinned out based on what our guild requires for it to operate. Ultimately, we were left with two plausible options: S'ren-ja and Greenhill.

In this thread, I will be discussing the two towns in detail, as well as the benefits and drawbacks of making the big decision to move.


Moving. What does it entail, and why can't we just move anywhere?

Great question. This warrants several responses, but I'll categorize them by bullets.

• Some towns are phased. This means that some towns are not accessible without completing a certain questline or story, first. Think of the clinic in Vulkwasten, but for an entire city. Remember when you first joined, and went around saving Auridon towns in the north from Banekin and other Daedric beasts, only for the town to disappear into a mobless ghost town afterwards? That's instancing. And it's bad for roleplay, because it forces a person to complete a questline with their character. If you're solely an RPer, this can be a massive annoyance.
  
  
• Some towns are just way too big. Think of big towns like Skywatch, Marbruk, and the biggest one of them all, Woodhearth. Do people RP there? Yes! Is it compressed and centralized for RP? No! Towns don't have to be as microscopic as Deepwoods to roleplay in, but they also can't be sprawling metropolises for a moderately-sized guild. While it can be great for roleplay diversity, and offer a plethora of different buildings to roleplay in, it also makes roleplay difficult to find, and can be extremely intimidating to new members that attempt to join in on the action, but can't find you because you're playing hide and seek with Kerry Khajiit in the back end of a market stall somewhere in the northeast end of Woodhearth. Localized means betterized.
  
  
• More established towns will mean that we need to rewrite a lot of stuff, that may or may not actually work. So, let's take back-end Vulkwasten for a minute, and list some great things about it. There's not a lot of Dominion presence. Why? Because it's in the middle of nowhere. This means that you have just a bit more freedom to play your supernatural characters the way you want to; there isn't a lot of Dominion presence. What happens, lore-wise, when we move to Skywatch, the capital city of the Dominion? Your secret probably won't take hold for as long as you'd like it. But no, it does not stop there. Moving to a large, Dominion-centered city will mean we have to completely rewrite and reorganize the way the Council and Town Guard works. The Town Guard works as an independent, organization-based form of law that does not necessarily answer to the Dominion, but their own written code of law. While the Dominion has the ability to push the law on us overhandedly, we have a lot more wiggle room in the backend places where the Dominion doesn't have as good of a foothold. This means that their interest on Vulkwasten is low, and that they primarily stay out of these backwater towns. If we were put in the middle of Skywatch, we would be subject, purely, to none other than Dominion law. Any supernaturals would be killed on site immediately if discovered, and the Council would be no more; this also allows certain high-ranking players within our guild—and even other Dominion-based Guilds—the ability to justifiably command our town in a manner that suits the Dominion. Frankly, we just wouldn't be in charge, and therefore couldn't run the town independently. The Council would simply be a thing of the past.

With these factors in mind, we have decided to look for towns that minimize strain by possessing the following prerequisites:

1. The Town Isn't phased.
2. The town is neither too small, nor too big. It's just right.
3. The town is not directly controlled by a Dominion presence, or can be written off as such. If the town is relatively smaller and backwater, but still possesses Dominion Guard NPCs, it's relatively easy to write them off as simply nonexistent, much like we do with the current town guards of Vulkwasten.
4. The town is able to accomodate a Fighters Guild Hall, a Mages Guild Hall, a combat training ground, a clinic, a Guard Hall and Barracks, a Tavern, Prison cells, and an inn.

After pulling down these requirements, we have narrowed our once-wide town choice into a narrow two options. These two options will be discussed below, with pictures, and all the details you'll need to know about our new options.





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S'ren-ja was once the home of Blue Skooma, years ago, but was abandoned after a series of OOC issues led to the eventual withdrawal of the guild. Now that several years have passed, Blue Skooma is once again considering S'ren-ja as a new home of operations within our guild. S'ren-ja possesses even more in the way of accommodations than Vulkwasten. In the spoilers, you will find pictures of S'ren-ja, as well as titles explaining the concepts for what each area in town may be used for.

S'ren-ja Town Accommodations

Fighters/Mages Guild

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On the easternmost end of town is a rather large, multistory hall capable of fitting both Fighters and Mages Guilds. This hall isn't phased, but does have a bit of a drawback; ghosts will spawn in certain areas and push you if you touch them. They don't hurt, and they're not hostile; when S'ren-ja was used as BSR's RP hub, they were ICly explained as being a type of illusion/magickal experiment the Mages Guild was working on at the time. If you have completed the questline, there is also a wardrobe on the right, in the top floor, that leads to a secret office (third picture).

Tavern

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The tavern is an enclosed area on the left wing of the large, western building in S'ren-ja. Due to the angle, certain parts of the tavern look shorter than intended, which is why I suggest going there yourself and taking a look. While not as open as Vulkwasten's tavern, it makes up for this with its large enclosure space.

Inn

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S'ren-ja's upper, leftmost wing of the tavern possesses an inn-like space to accomodate travelers.

Clinic

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"Kala's House," in the Southwestern area of town.

Guard Accomodations

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The Guard Hall and Barracks is the house located in the North-westernmost area of town.

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In the past, the sides of stables were used as cells for prisoners. There are three usable stables on the sides of this house.

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Greenhill is a moderately sized town around the center of Reaper's March. While it is a barren creation ground for placing new areas and such, the wayshrine is somewhat far from town, and some buildings are collapsed, making them possible to RP in, but difficult to use for anything other than miscellaneous roleplay. There does not seem to be any official area that the community can use as a tavern. To access the two primary buildings in Greenhill, you must also complete a portion of a quest that is very lightly combat oriented. Nevertheless, Greenhill is a flat, greener area among the Reaper's March area that provides fair views, and a variety of unnamed buildings for a range of assignment.

Greenhill Town Accommodations

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An outside overview of Greenhill.

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One of the buildings within town are accessible, but partially destroyed, leaving this for miscellaneous roleplay.

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The first and second floor of one of the Greenhill homes. These could be used to accomodate anything from guild halls and barracks, to the clinic and inn.

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The first and second floor of the other Greenhill home. These could be used to accomodate anything from guild halls and barracks, to the clinic and inn.

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One of the Khajiiti homes by the field.

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Another Khajiiti home by the field. This is more of a utility area, as it does not possess a door, and could therefore be used as a prison cell.

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Another Khajiiti home by one of the fields.


There is no tavern in Greenhill.

What are the benefits of staying in Vulkwasten?

• Moving towns provides a change of scenery for roleplay.
• Moving could potentially expand some areas within town, albeit at the expense of others.
• Story hooks will occur within roleplay as a result of the move. As such, moving could provide more roleplay opportunities.
  
  
  What are the disadvantages of staying in Vulkwasten?
  
  • Minor Council and Guard tweaks may be required.
  • Some characters are forced to uproot from Vulkwasten. This may not be ideal for some roleplayers.
  • If we do decide to switch after the week's time, Vulkwasten may no longer be available.
  • Vulkwasten is currently the largest unoccupied tavern in AD.
  • A Fighters Guild quest runs through Vulkwasten. This may be beneficial for recruiting.
  
  
  
  What exactly does moving entail?
  
  Even better question. Moving entails a lot of stuff, but by choosing the right spot to move to, we can effectively eradicate a lot of need for faction changes, faction recreation, and all sorts of guild matters that may sprout up during the moving process. Some updates will need to be made to accomodate for the change in towns, but by pre-planning, we allow ourselves to look for a way in which we can minimize the need for mass changes among the guild. These two towns are among those that will not drastically alter anything among the Council or Guard, if used.
  
  What if we decide to move, but then don't like the area?
  
  We will not be packing up our things and moving the day the polls end. From Vulkwasten, we will be taking a week to try out RP in the town we have decided upon. This will be justified through an IC Guild story. After a week, we will re-poll, and if there is a majority vote in favor of moving towns, then we will begin to do so.
  
  I have additional questions, or would like to suggest/comment on something else.
  
  Post your suggestions and comments here. I will be more than happy to look into them, and even request that you do so. I'd like to hear what everybody has to say about the potential move, and would like to answer any and all questions.
  
  
  So, the question remains.
  
  Should we move our Home RP town?

I've RP'ed regularly in all three places and I like S'ren-ja and Vulk the best.

Greenhill is gorgeous on the outside and that lake is beautiful and would give a lot of good outdoorsy RP but the homes are dark, gloomy and a bit creepy. The place was perfect for my old guild cause they were a dark, gloomy (and sometimes creepy) guild but I don't see the place as an upbeat town for BSR. To me, the buildings in Greenhill look abandoned and I just foresee everyone standing around in a dark and empty building, pretending there's a bar there. lol

S'ren-ja has great buildings. Everyone could scatter about and do their own thing but you never risked losing someone or coming into town and saying "Where's everybody at?" because there were only a few buildings and usually people didn't venture off by themselves. I like how each building is bright and decorated, so it would feel like people are actually living in those areas and using them. Plus there's a cool dock nearby that I used to use in rp a lot back in the day. The only bad thing is low level characters can't venture off without a bodyguard or they will be eaten by skeevers. Always stick to the paths!

And Vulk is possibly my favorite of the three but the constant new NPCs have made it feel very crowded lately. The clinic being on the top floor always felt very silly to me for story purposes and I hate the gloomy rain but other than that, I like the place. It had nearly everything we need but is it too small for our growing guild?

Just my two cents.

What are the benefits of staying in Vulkwasten? should be What are the benefits of leaving Vulkwasten?

What are the disadvantages of staying in Vulkwasten? should be What are the disadvantages of leaving Vulkwasten?

I cannot edit this, because it will reset the poll.

I feel like moving from Vulkwasten is going to take a lot of effort, but in the end it will be extremely beneficial for the guild all around. Currently Vulkwasten is very limited, and lacks necessary room for a lot of potential rp. The mages guild and the fighters guild currently have no room to grow, and to really thrive unless we rp outside of town.

The tavern is also getting cramped with NPCS and players. Having access to more room would help take care of that.

I don't know the best place to go, but I feel like we should move.

Personally I've always felt that Vulkwasten was a bit too small for a guild this size. I've considered the issue of a new tavern which is essential since the tavern is the heart of the guild and S'ren-ja meets the requirement. Also it's a larger town with more homes and is just out of the way enough so that sups won't be suffocated by the dominion. I say move to S'ren-ja.

I've been with BSR for almost 3 years at this point, and personally, I think S'ren-Ja is better in size and practicality. Moving and re-establishing everything may end up different, but it will suit the guild better than many of you may think. The current town is too small, and not enough people get outside the tavern enough to do anything except for some third-party events.

Leaving may be hard for some to get used to if it happens, but things honestly work themselves out. As far as I know, BSR moved several times before it was moved to Vulk and many have come and gone but still the guild seems to be progressing and gaining in activity, and one way to really uplift the experience is for a shift in gears. I cast my vote to move back.

I'll be short and frank here. I'll be biding you a goodbye if we leave Valenwood. It makes little sense to uproot my characters, and there is very little reason for them to return to Reaper's March. It's true the guild is growing, and it's a good thing to see. But personally, I just don't want my characters to uproot yet again.

i'd miss vulk, especially since it's where i started, but i think s'ren-ja is much more functional. besides, moving and the things that come with moving could provide a really engaging story and further or change some characters in a fun way. also, like bhi said, people pretty much only hang around in the tavern here. s'ren-ja would provide more settings while keeping rp public and easy to locate.

I'm not keen on moving. The forest is a big draw for one of my characters, so without it, he wouldn't really have a reason to stick around. That and I (personally) don't see the appeal in the other two places. They're alright, but they're not great. Vulks is small, yes, but it has charm and it's so pretty. The other two feel boring in comparison. I mean, there's a reason why people want Vulks so bad and yet these places are open, right?

I don't actually know who is scoping out Vulk, if anybody, at the moment.

I really don't like either of the options. Moving from a Bosmer town to a Khajiiti one wouldn't make sense for a lot of characters. And S'ren-ja is so open and dull looking, I get that there are more buildings and things like that, but I still feel like it's big enough that it'd be hard to find people. At the moment the tavern does get a little cramped, but the one in S'ren doesn't have that much more space, and is inside a building, meaning if the tavern crowd spills to outside like it does now they'd be split into two groups.
Wren would follow a move, but she'd hate it. There are less nooks to hide in for 1 on 1 RP around the town, less trees and it'd be harder for hunter characters to hunt. Plus Vulk is just so much prettier.

I understand there's a leaning away from player housing, but from what I've seen the main push to move is a lack of decent guild halls, I don't see the difference between players being in a building in town and being in a player home that's open to all guild members to access at any time. I'm really against a move to either of these locations, and I'm worried that people who aren't wanting to move may split from the guild to stay and keep Vulk, instead of losing it, I know I'd be very tempted to.

Vulk -

Pro- Cozy, small, and familiar. Has that fantasy setting feel to it and has the essentials. It's easy to find where people run off to, if they are in the village, and easy to gather for full events. This also makes watching and moderating easier.

Con - It's...small. The tavern feels crowded to the max, and even in the village center things feel squished.

Greenville-

No. Next pls.

S'ren ja -

Pro- It rains less, has a larger and in charge furnished tavern and furnished buildings. More buildings are available to allocate to events.

Con- It would be a change and change is scary. That and everything looks dead.

What are the benefits of leaving Vulkwasten? Finding a bigger place to fit the Guild, which is growing. Vulkwasten was perfect when the numbers were smaller but BSR is starting to outgrow it. Frankly, Tavern RP gets dull after a while. And there are many characters that wouldn't normally hang out in a tavern but since it is the main hang-out spot in Vulk, then you have to either force them in there or risk missing some RP. Having the Clan Mother's House in S'ren-ja will allow most characters a reason to be there. We used to use it as a bar, restaurant, common room, and office.

And I don't believe that the different homes will cause too much separation. In Vulk now, there are people hanging out in the clinic, some in the Mages or Fighters Hall and then some outside. People are going to spread out and form little cliques where ever you go. I am just thinking of more room for more members. More space for proper storytelling. And more inspiration. And one great thing about the Clan Mother's house is that people can form their little groups, go off to their own corners and you can still read what's going on all over the house in chat.


What are the disadvantages of leaving Vulkwasten?

Familiarity. Security. The urge to want to keep everything exactly the same. We know exactly what we have with Vulkwasten. We know the pros and cons. Everyone has their favorite spots and know the place like the back of their hand. The characters know why their there and have grown attached to it. Moving OCCly, means making up a reason for each character as to why they have to move a place they love and call home. I know that I'll have that problem with at least one of my characters.

Other than that, I can't think of a real reason not to move. As much as I love Vulk, I think moving just makes sense right now.

I'm in agreement with Elsy. My two mains, Lulie and Krimie have no reason to leave the village that has been their home for most of their lives. They will most likely not be relocating to Srenja. Especially Krimie, who is biased against Khajiit and also has a checkered past with Srenja. However, if we were to move I'd probably make new characters to explore and bring Fabian who has yet to show his face in Sren'ja.

PRO of Srenja: It is in Reaper's March. Since it is in the same zone as a major Dominion player hub we'll get to see a lot of zone chat messages for various activities and requests.

CON of Srenja: It is in Reaper's March. Since it is in the same zone as a major Dominion player hub we'll get to see a lot of zone chat messages for various activities and requests.

this is invalid for those of you who don't have zone chats turned on...you pansies!

I dont mind the move since I have not really been RPing a bunch lately (Im trying to I swear) My characters can literally appear anywhere really and not have real issues since one follows Fedris and the main is assumed dead.

But I feel the bigger building might be used for tavern RP and you cant see emotes outside,unless you yell. Even though thats not a big deal the one thing I also liked about some vulk RP is that you can still see what other people are doing when they went behind the tavern or standing guard near the door. Also I have ptsd from all the crimes I witness in Srenja.

Srenja is a good spot, I mean its big but I dont think its big enough that it will be hard to spot the RP. Vulk is bigger than you think, its just we all gathered in the same spots every day. I have a secret cliff area that I feel only Me, rac and Lu know about thats still in vulk and there are a lot more that remain untouched. So i doubt size is a issue.

There is only one tiny issue that might not matter a lot, but eso has different instances or 'channels' for zones to help deal with lag in populated zones. And reapers is THE most populated zone in the game so a lots of times we will get put in different instances of that zone unless we port to a specific players. Not a big deal but might get a bit annoying having to re port cause you are in different instance of reapers. And since the last few patches people get put in different instances before the first one is even filled up. Places like malabal tor dont have that issue cause it have very low population at any given time.

Butidunno those are my words. Idunno. Srenja cool i guess

I am definitely against moving to Srenja. Sure, it had some great rp back in the day but my main has outgrown that town and has no reason to return to that hell hole, ICly speaking. Elros also used to live in Greenhill for a time so its not too much of a problem for him if the towns people want to move there. Just seems to me that both options are kinda drab. I would like to see the possibility of moving some place else within the Dominion that gives the guild a new change of scenery, cuz yeah, Vulk is starting to get boring. Elros is in the tavern too much and I cannot assume that he is drunk 24/7, he's got other stuff to do. Like be evil. Steal money to feed his kids, y'know? That sort of thing.

I think a lot of the issues with Vulkwasten will be resolved if we periodically take trips to other areas and RP there for a week or so. What if we did a Return to Srenja Event? We can find a reason to go back to Sren'ja for a week. Maybe someone's character has unresolved issues there and needs the towns help to resolve them. And then another week, we'll use a different location for an event, while keeping Vulkwasten as our hub if people don't want to partake in these events.

Elros Delodil wrote

If you have suggestions as to where, please let us know. The officers and Kashya and Kcreble went through every single city/town in AD and narrowed it down to these two viable options. Everything else was either taken, small, no interiors because Zeni perma-locked the buildings, or a bunch of tents.

Who said the vacation spot had to be in AD?