[loramin]

First off, this is purely a request: you all have already given me a great server with stellar CS that I enjoy playing on, and it'd be selfish and short-sighted to demand anything further.

But, a simple explanation of the Shady Goblin variance would be really nice, as it seems to fly in the face of the Project 1999 goals. By that I mean ... does anyone remember buying their OT hammer as a puppet string charge in 2000? Does anyone remember their main tanks clicking mallets to gain agro? Does anyone remember recharges and multi-quests being as common as they are here?

No, because all those things are unclassic experiences, but classic mechanics, and P99 has time after time after time chosen classic mechanics over classic experience. Midnight mallets, puppet strings, re-charging and multi-questing all existed as mechanics on live, so they exist here, even though their use here is anything but classic. This is the P99 way: as classic as possible mechanics, unless there are technical limits or CS limits.

The shady goblin doesn't fit that profile: it's unclassic, there is no technical reason, and it doesn't make the staff's job any easier. The stated reason why GM Cyclock requested changing it was because players knew how it worked, but player knowledge has never (to my knowledge) mattered before in P99 history, with the sole exception of ZEMs. What's worse, this change creates more discord and acrimony among the players. The community has worked really hard to establish a roll for Shady, and the variance has by far been the biggest thorn in our side.

In short, Shady variance is unclassic in a way nothing else on P99 is (except maybe ZEMs). It also creates more drama, not less. All I'm asking, as respectfully as possible, is ... why? Why create drama to fight the stated goals of this project?