I don't really think there is an excuse in that it had always been like this, at all. I generally feel it's more tied to greater player count; Harder to maintain a sense of community, harder to know the other players, so it's not always obvious why they do what they do, and how the server works as a whole, especially to newcomers who have even less of the benefit of knowing others.
But like Strife says above, it is extremely bad sport and in fact, I am fully sure
it is against the rules and the whole foundation of the server and I find it really sorry that such behaviour has been on a raise.
This is a sad look into the Outskirts RP that has evolved. Honestly, any character looking to kill an MPC who takes the time and effort to write the application; and develop the character for the sake of bragging rights should be ashamed. This may sound harsh, but we are trying to tell a group story, with depth, take your missile storms and kill skeletons, Role Play with MPC's they work hard and spend alot of time in solitude to enrich the setting that exists, if you want to slay them, work something out. This kind of behavior disgustes me to absolutely no end. Not only is this Trust breaking on the part of the MPC but what story was created? None.
When an AMPC retreats, you know they have a shelf-life, they will die within the month, they aren't there to destroy your play time; They are approved because the DM's trust them to add to the setting; I make it my personal policy and I will freely tell you, I will NEVER corpse a person as an AMPC/MPC not ever. Because RP finds a way to die when players get angry, Imagine if the MPC logged on his alternate account with three of his friends and ganked every person who killed his MPC? No. That doesn't happen, so it shouldn't happen the other way around.
But isn't the most fitting end for a MPC or AMPC being slain my the more protagonist PCs? Furthermore, whilst I do as well try to keep game mechanical combat as the last resort, in particular with characters who would be much lower level, there's only so far you can go with avoiding combat or offering chances of escape while keeping things plausible.
And after all, I don't think the point is in another player, MPC or not, unraveling a ready story before your eyes, but that the story is lively and always influenced by all sides. Stories get concluded, sometimes by death, and particularly in the case of AMPC I do think that their point kind of is in meeting their end before their maximum time is up.
Though it is certainly true that bragging right or getting another notch in your belt is
not the right motivation for the choices made by your character and you as a player. But it's equally true that a villain's death is not a poor conclusion to a story and that the stories of the heroes are at least equally important as the stories of the villains. I'm not meaning to target this on you BalorVale, but I've wanted to quote something out of Ravenloft player's handbook for quite some time about the nature of good vs. evil:
In Gothic stories, people tend to get what they deserve when all is said and done. In the end, evil is destroyed and good prevails. Innocents may suffer or even die along the way, but we can be more or less certain that they receive the rewards they deserve in the next life.
One important thing of note in Gothic tales is that justice delayed is far from being justice denied. Evil may thrive for long period of time, but it gets what it deserves eventually. It may take years, decades or even generations.
In a way, I've long felt that the position and status of heroes is largely undermined - but simultaneously, they are a huge part the cornerstone of Ravenloft. Yes, on one hand, we've great many of high level players seeking to annihilate MPCs at sight, but at the same time, how often are there long plots for the pure and heroic that get resolved without turning to evil? And why is the role of the MPC so privileged and praised, when a well-played hero is equally important?
EDIT: I just realized how horribly off-topic that went for me.
Maybe might split it to some more generic topic.