Ryzom: A third faction? Possibly.

I started off with some questions about faction. I am not a member of the Kami or the Karavan (the two main factions in the game), so have always thought about a possible THIRD.

I have always wondered what it would be like to start another faction. That's right, just start one. Of course, it wouldn't be recognized by the game officially, but so what?
Just curious. We could share information about neutral TP's, have neutral treks, walks in the park, cuddle parties..ok just kidding. But seriously, I would love to see this happen. Perhaps a totally neutral guild? (No OP's, just a kick butt guild).
So, IF we had our way..would you like to see an officially recognized "neutral" faction?
And for the sake of religion, since each side seems to have their god/gods...the neutral would have to be agnostic, right? Unsure of "what" is out there? I know that the lore explains everything, but surely we could think that in an advanced society like Atys there would be SOME homins that aren't sure WHAT to believe?

Here's some great responses:

First of all I agree with one of the previous posters who said there is already a neutral faction on Atys though not officially recognised by the devs.

The definition of neutrality is very hazy and basicly you can be true neutral like VVV, use only neutral tps and never take part in Pvp conflicts or you can be a neutral guild but kamikara aligned for tps and defending or attacking some other guilds as you see fit like Fluffy Bunnies. It does not really matter, cause you will still be called neutral.

Well let's see what are the benefits of having an officially recognized neutral faction :

1. TPs only for neutrals. Yes and nobody else. And at least as many as Kara or kami ones.

2. Neutral faction chat.

3. A certain quest or mission that you need to accomplish to become neutral.

4. A separate PvP tag. Why not? Why should neutrals refrain from PvP? yes they are agnostics but they can just aswell be agnostics in arms and fight AGAINST both factions. Imho it can be tons of fun to go neutral tagged when both kara and kami can nuke you at any time. If these people choose to walk the thin line, who's there to stop them?

5. Some Lore backup. Tryton would do just fine. Call them trytonists instead of neutrals and then all the pieces fall into place.

Well atm my little RP guild is neutral but as for the OP's question I'd say YES and I would join only if the above stated terms are met.

PS And then we will still have two more factions: The undecideds and the Dune farm farmers who cater to everybody Well the more factions we have the more interesting politics we get. The more - the merrier I'd say.

Trader

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The rise of a third faction would require some pretty significant changes to the back story and cultures of the present factions and nationalities. Somehow a third faction would have to gain the ability to respawn and teleport Homins. If these abilities become Homin controlled then the existing factions become pointless.

Ryzom was designed as a two faction game. The story has already been outlined and it is quite possible that given time and/or new worlds dozens of new factions could arise. To arbitrarily add a new faction at this point, might as well add undead and orcs.

Within the existing game there is just no room for a third faction to develop without completely abandoning the storyline, themes and plot that brought us to this point. Also a third "official" faction still means two factions as far as PvP goes. Eventually, and most likely very quickly, two factions would ally against the 3rd.

If it makes sense and fits in with the existing story I am all for adding anything. I hope that GF will continue to listen to what the players want but will be guided by the original vision of the game and not cave into the desires of the 3% of players who are vocal on the boards.

Please do not abandon the Saga. Ryzom is known for its story. I like this game because I play a character in a complicated world. There are rarely comfortable or easy choices here and that is very, very uncommon in an MMO. I do not think GF can successfully market this game on graphics and skill sets. It is the story that makes Ryzom attractive, abandon that and I think most folks will go to a game that has much larger resources.

Danolt

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From memory, Elias Tryton had some kind of special access to TPs, probably picked up a copy of the keys back when he was shagging Jena
Depending on how you interpret the Lore, there is scope for 'hacked' TPs..
No matter how powerful the Karavan and Kami are relative to Homins, they are at a reduced level themselves - with the Karavan stranded on Atys waiting for Jena to get back, and the Kami weakened by the goo and Ma-Duk desperately in need of a reinstall and a couple of service packs to return it to its program.
The forces inherent in Atys itself far outweigh the 'powers', so a Homin who has access to Karavan knowledge and technology, without being indoctrinated into the cult, has the potential to stand (almost) equal to the K guys. And Elias Tryton - part of the original Lore - fits the bill pretty well. Of course, he would still need to be fast on his feet, and very sneaky.

So as an official faction.. Trytonism works. but the tenets of it dont lend themselves to PvP much.
For gratuitous conflict Racial faction tagging sounds more beleivable.. with hordes of trykers stoning Zoraļ visitors to Fairhaven, and Tryker tourists getting kidnapped and sold into slavery in foreign lands, Matisian expatriates being burnt out of their apartments in Pyr, City guards everywhere stopping people and checking their papers...
It all feels so much cleaner than this nasty religious persecution we have now !
Iwojimmy
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When discussing factions there are many variables to influence our choices.....But these can be diluted into two categories, initial observation shows us...
Location, and Peer Influence.

In effect many of our free 'choices' are in fact pre destined for us. Let me give an example....
The survival of a species depends on their ability to adapt to an environement.
Who would expect A Zorai living in the jungle to learn the skills of the Fyros residing in the desert.
Of course the same species ..in this case our little Homins, will diversify over time into very different cultures.. The Fyros living in the harsh desert survive through strength and endurance, And the Zorai rely on their their minds more using the natural protection and bountiful resources of the Jungle.

As more time passes the two cultures become completely independent of one another.....
This has happened on Atys over time to create Four cultures.

Do we have now Four Factions ?

And as history has shown on many occasions, the same message delivered by the same messenger has the capability to be interpreted differently by each audience....in our Atys, we have four possible interpretations.

Let us assume ONE deity was recruiting followers, once the message had been delivered and interpreted,

Is it conceivable we have now Four Gods ?

Now we can see the potential for confusion arising from this evolution of a single species who diversify to survive.

Of course I have not included the basic Homin emotions such as Desire, Greed, Ambition...
Which in turn attract their own followers wishing to achieve immortality, wealth, power....

How many factions do we now have I wonder ?

Of course the Four cultures are still independent in the above statements,

What Factions are created when we mix them ?

As you see we already live in a world of Multiple factions, even the Karavan or Kami Follower has an allegience to their clan, creed, culture, family, to consider.....This creates sub-factions....True/passive/theory followers/believers.

So I have concluded there is only One Faction I believe in......

I call that Faction ......Homin !.

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Thanks to everyone for the honest answers. And those are just the tip of the iceberg. The original thread went on for 5 or 6 pages. It was a great discussion.
I am looking into the Tryton thing now, and will post on it when I find out more.
A third faction? It's possible.

Beau