Finding a Corpse Etiquette - Rez em, Give em back their coins

[Fizzicist]

First, there is likely a thread about this...and I missed it. Sorry.

Opinion: When finding a random corpse during my travels, the first thing I do after securing the area is to look at the player list to see if they are online. If they are, I contact them OOC to tell them I'll take them to a rez location. My thought is that I want them to know whom picked them up and that they don't need to respawn. Also, it lets them know who found them for loot purposes too. I always give them back their coins. Sometimes they offer a reward, sometimes they don't. Back in the "carry a bunch of rez scroll" days we always gave them replacement costs for the scroll.

Sadly, to me anyway, many choose to loot a player's corpse and let it lie. I'm not a fan. I expect a variety of justification replies on this topic but my opinion is that we all spend a bit of time here for fun and if your version of fun is at the expense of another (that is not complicit as in PvP and so forth) then your actions are akin to that of a griefer.

Lastly (TL;DR), if you find a corpse but are with a group or have a limited amount of time to play and just can't afford the time to take it back to a rez altar, at least tell them OOC. Heck you can loot them and give them the coin back via transfer or IG meeting later just to save the poor sap his/her coins (especially if she just sold scrolls or was on her way to buy something and had a bigger purse).

It is my opinion that folks RP'd this much much better in the pre EE days. The frequency of corpse looters seems to have greatly increased. I don't know if it is due to the game mechanic change, a lack of maturity of new players, or something else...but it seems that far too many "tribes" of players are only for themselves at the cost of all others playing. And, they know you can't do anything about it as their actions are anonymous.

[RedGiant]

And, they know you can't do anything about it as their actions are anonymous.

[The Rambling Midget]

I don't usually have strong opinions about stuff like this, but I find this offensive. It is not my fault that another player got in over their head and died. I am not griefing by taking their gold and leaving their body, or even just walking past it. I am not in any way obligated to go out of my way to fix another player's mistake. I might do so, because it's in character, or to be nice, but that's my choice, and I would never guilt trip someone for making a different one.

Be Nice, but do what your character would do. If you don't want to lose your gold, don't die.

[Drowble Oh Seven]

Some characters'll help. Some characters won't. Some characters will rifle through the pockets of the fallen for spare change.

I'd argue that all are pretty valid approaches to roleplay and, once you're dead, you don't really have any right to anything. I've seen someone sit on a portal for real-world hours trying to PvP the person who resurrected them for having the audacity to save them and then forget to give their coin back. Would I prefer it if someone revived me and offered a bit of roleplay? Absolutely. Should it be an expectation? Absolutely not. I'd like people to RP with me because they think it'll be fun, not because they feel obligated.

Adventuring is, tragically, a risky business. Sometimes you get what you get, and you don't get upset.

[Mr_Rieper]

This might be a controversial opinion, and many may disagree with me - but:

If you find a corpse of a character that is no longer logged on, avoid bringing it to a public location and dumping it there. Leaving it laying in the middle of a temple or infirmary area isn't a pretty sight. It's generally awkward and/or inadvisable to RP around the corpse of a player that isn't logged in - as there is nothing anybody can do about the body and the only logical conclusion your characters can reach is that they are permadead (which they are not).

The reason why players log off before respawning is unknown to me, but it could be because of the frustration of dying or perhaps they crashed (and that is the reason they died). Whatever the reason, they probably won't expect to log back in a few hours later and be revived by somebody who found their corpse. No, they'll likely just go ahead and respawn from the Fugue. So as a player, I think it's vital to check the playerlist before you start interacting with the random corpses you find. Being logged off is very much an OOC thing, I think you are forgiven if you metagame this and ignore or get rid of the body out of courtesy.

As for rezzing players? I prioritise reviving the bodies of the logged-in characters I find over pretty much everything else. If my characters are evil, they will ask for compensation or insist that the person "owes them one" but generally it's just me as a player wanting to help other players. I prioritise RP over everything - but not this. It's a gesture of respect from one player to another when you take the time to help them out. Plus reviving at altars is pretty easy and free.

[Iceborn]

^
Not controversial.

[Kenji]

Try and resurrect the dead ones, build rapport, make them "owe" the personal character a favor.

Then, when it is time to call upon that favor, exploit them ICly: whether it is to gauge them for sensitive information, use them as unwitting accomplices in a heist, or even ask them to back the PC up in a fight (when applicable, of course).

It's how I'd justify my evil characters upon seeing a corpse and bringing them back alive anyways. The player can be nice, but the player character can have ulterior motives.

[azrael_athing]

I don't usually have strong opinions about stuff like this, but I find this offensive. It is not my fault that another player got in over their head and died. I am not griefing by taking their gold and leaving their body, or even just walking past it. I am not in any way obligated to go out of my way to fix another player's mistake. I might do so, because it's in character, or to be nice, but that's my choice, and I would never guilt trip someone for making a different one.

Be Nice, but do what your character would do. If you don't want to lose your gold, don't die.

Second this.

[Jagel]

Do what your char would do

[Nitro]

Sadly, to me anyway, many choose to loot a player's corpse and let it lie. I'm not a fan. I expect a variety of justification replies on this topic but my opinion is that we all spend a bit of time here for fun and if your version of fun is at the expense of another (that is not complicit as in PvP and so forth) then your actions are akin to that of a griefer.

I disagree with this in particular. The person who died did so on their own, especially if they were alone they shouldn't expect to get rez'd or retreive their coins. If someone comes and loots the corpse without rezzing they haven't taken anything from you, since you'd already lost those coins and your life. Thinking about them as a griefer is a very negative way to do things and I'd say that you're the one who needs to re-think your attitude to the game if that's how you feel.

[Lady Astray]

In the past I've found corpses, picked them up, rezzed them, and given them back what little coin they had on them. I've also found corpses, brought them back to town, dropped them, and bashed them. That second example probably makes me seem like a terrible person, but context matters. It was some drow that I found dead right outside of a surface settlement with my elf character. As a true elf I was gonna make sure that drow stayed dead.

Currently I'm playing a low STR character with an already full bag. Gotta use Bull's Strength just to walk around unencumbered. If I'm alone with her and find a corpse somewhere way out in the wilderness or deep in a dungeon far away from any shrines, it could take a RL hour or two to get them to a place where I can res them. Of course, later on she'll have access to the Resurrection spell once a day, so that will no longer be an issue.

If the corpse is that of a Goblin or an Ogre or some other monster race though, she probably isn't gonna Res them as that would be out of character and a huge risk to her. If she did it would be in a jail cell and only after I sent that player a tell asking their consent for that sort of role play as per the rules.

Personally, if I die, and someone loots my corpse, I don't really care that much. At most I lose one or two thousand gold, and usually have enough trinkets and scrolls in my inventory to still make that much more once I respawn and sell the loot. Dying should have some consequence, losing a little bit of gold and XP and having to wait around an hour isn't that bad compared to some other servers where you lose entire levels or risk permanent death of a character.

To quote that kid from the Pixels movie with Adam Sandler, "Pretend you're the guy and try not to die." Find an easier dungeon to grind for gold, take death seriously, and don't rely too much on the kindness of others.

[Ork]

TRM is 100% right. Yikes, the entitlement.

[theCountofMonteCristo]

First off: Respond to corpses IC, how your character would. Don't let the OOC determine it. Each character will have different motivations to do different things. A Talonite Priestess, while capable of raising the dead mechanically, likely wouldn't under most circumstances.

On Etiquette: If you pick up someone's corpse with any intention other than putting it back down after taking their coins, send the player a Tell. "Hey, I've got you and I'm going to look for someone to rez you." or "I tossed your body in a barrel, I don't think anyone is going to find you there."

Just so that they can make a decision as to wait or not. I think that's where Etiquette starts and stops.

Re:

If you find a corpse of a character that is no longer logged on, avoid bringing it to a public location and dumping it there. Leaving it laying in the middle of a temple or infirmary area isn't a pretty sight. It's generally awkward and/or inadvisable to RP around the corpse of a player that isn't logged in - as there is nothing anybody can do about the body and the only logical conclusion your characters can reach is that they are permadead (which they are not).

Again, follow your character IC. My current character will tend to take them to a graveyard or something, even if they're offline. (If she even picks them up)

[Durvayas]

If I come across a corpse of someone I know is online, I'll generally raise them if their PC's race is aligned with Andunor. If I find some random elf in the wilds, I'll also bring them back to Andunor, because OOCly I know who some of the hidden goodies are, and I'll make sure that my drow 'assigns' these (almost always) lower ranked PCs to 'dispose of this trash'.
I do this knowing full well that said character is going to get raised, probably handed a lense, and leave, but moreover, I think it a good opportunity to foster RP between them and a closeted 'good' UDer that they probably wouldn't RP with without fighting normally because a lot of these characters are deep cover goodies. Let 'em shine in the dark, even if it might be an audience of one.

Characters my PC will raise themselves, will be raised personally. If its a drow, the raise is free (Because my main is La'laskran), otherwise, my PC is keeping the gold to compensate for the service, or demanding a favor. Mind that this is gold they would have lost anyways by respawning, so really I'm saving them exp loss and debuff time. If the dead PC is not a drow, my character will very often pass them off to someone of aligned race (gnoll corpses go to gnolls, goblins to goblins, etc.) to help foster RP between the deceased and the living, and also because my PC likes being owed favors for 'rescuing' downed members of various tribes.

I DO however feel that we should get a notification of who has our corpse when it is picked up. This would have immeasurable value in sorting out who to send tells to after large scale PvP, who found a corpse so that tells can be exchanged in the wilds, who has the corpse after its been handed off to a third party, etc.
While its true that nobody is entitled to a raise, its also absolutely not fair and wrong to give them false hope. They should be able to contact the person who found them and find out if they are getting a raise or not, so they don't sit there for another half hour wondering if they should respawn or not following the 'you have been picked up' and 'you have been dropped' messages.

Imagine if someone was told they would be taken somewhere to get raised and then their corpse is instead dumped in a barrel somewhere obscure? They could wait for a very, very long time, and there would indeed be no consequences for that kind of dickery because it would be wholly anonymous. And we know this has happened before! Knowing who had your corpse would at least leave a paper trail to prevent such a little better.

[Nobs]

My pirate wil bless the soul of the dead fella as he strips the corps of gold and what ever els he can find on it.

[Brahtius]

Pick it up and put it in the nearest charity barrel.

[Richørd]

From what DMs told me so far you actually need a player's permission to revive them, prayers or by spell does not matter.
It's a reportable offense to revive someone without their consent.

And about "bad etiquette"? I don't see why my character, a former sellsword and rather rough guy with varying levels of morality, would not loot a corpse he finds on the side of the road.

[TimeAdept]

TRM is 100% right. Yikes, the entitlement.

[Blood on my Lips]

I'm going to do whatever is appropriate for the character I'm playing at the time.

I've played some really nice toons, that would stop and rescue anyone.
I've played a toon that really liked to take things that didn't belong to her. She would definitely go through your pockets and go about her business.

I don't like to break character just because I find a corpse. Sure, OOC I may feel bad for you, but my toon may or may not. And I have to behave accordingly.

[Aren]

Guys, I think OP is just trying to advocate good gamesmanship, as in Being Nice.

RULE 4: Be Nice
"Cybering is NOT PERMITTED on this server. There is a vast age range that plays on Arelith, for this reason, restrict any conduct you may be involved in to a "PG-13" level of interaction. Unwarranted rudeness, potentially offensive role play, inappropriate sexual references, foul language, harassment, killing non-hostile NPCs without DM supervision, and poor gamesmanship (including wanton destruction, griefing of any kind, exploiting known or unknown bugs, transferring items, logging to avoid consequences, etc) are prohibited.

[The Rambling Midget]

Guys, I think OP is just trying to advocate good gamesmanship, as in Being Nice.

your actions are akin to that of a griefer.

That's not encouragement, it's admonition. If it was a polite request and a suggestion that we take the feelings of other players into account, that would be advocating good gamesmanship. This is a personal attack against those OP feels slighted by. If failing to interact sufficiently to satisfy another player's desires is to be considered griefing, then this community is doomed.

I agree with your message, Szaren, not OP's.

[DM Atropos]

Whether you raise someone or not, or take their gold or not, is not a part of the Be Nice rule. Things like being overboard about PVP are, but you are perfectly within your rights to do whatever your character would do with a corpse (within reason!!)
You DO NOT need permission to raise someone unless you were in the PVP that felled them. If you just find a body you may want to ask them if they are in fact still dead/even want a raise just to avoid wasting time or a scroll if it's a glitch that has their body laying there.
Do what makes sense for your character. Give a raise if that's what makes sense. Don't, if it's not.

[CosmicOrderV]

TRM is 100% right. Yikes, the entitlement.

[Aren]

Whether you raise someone or not, or take their gold or not, is not a part of the Be Nice rule. Things like being overboard about PVP are, but you are perfectly within your rights to do whatever your character would do with a corpse (within reason!!)
You DO NOT need permission to raise someone unless you were in the PVP that felled them. If you just find a body you may want to ask them if they are in fact still dead/even want a raise just to avoid wasting time or a scroll if it's a glitch that has their body laying there.
Do what makes sense for your character. Give a raise if that's what makes sense. Don't, if it's not.

I'm not saying it is. Merely that the OP is advocating the opposite of what they believe is poor gamesmanship and what they consider "griefing".

[The Rambling Midget]

I'm not saying it is. Merely that the OP is advocating the opposite of what they believe is poor gamesmanship and what they consider "griefing".

And what I'm saying is that people need to stop throwing around the word "griefing" so liberally when anything at all doesn't go their way. It's one of the most severe accusations in the world of gaming, and shouldn't be used without great care.