If detailed knowledge of this system is something all ninja looters are expected to have in order to avoid screwing over other, unsuspecting players, then it seems kind of negligent to just rely on them happening to have a mentor who passes this on to them.
Maybe send an OOC message to players if they enter a dungeon where the loot level has been nuked due to the presence of a ninja looter, or if it is nuked while they are in it because one enters? That way there's at least a possibility for everyone involved to find out what is happening by themselves.
This is a very good point.
I'd be in favour of sources for new players or in game notifications. At a minimum it should be detailed and stickied somewhere on the forums.
I also agree that some OOC notification that the current cell is "looted" is good. It might "out" a stealther OOC but honestly, as a regular stealth player, you don't get much useful information spying in a dungeon and the times it might allow metagaming seem a worthwhile sacrifice for harmony in the playerbase.
I'm going to +1 this one. While I'm aware of some of the mechanics of ninjalooting, in order to do so without causing harm to others' experience, you're required to know things you can only know through OOC communication, happenstance, and threads like this. I'm sure the system isn't explained to avoid exploitation.
ok i wrote a thing. if there are questions to answer or things i missed please note so.
Ninjalooting 101
This is guide written to clarify the mechanics of loot spawning for the purpose of cohesion and harmonious play. Ninjalooting is when you loot a dungeon utilising stealth without killing the NPCs within. Ninjalooting is a supported system with mechanical nuance that is outside the scope of this reference.
What determines loot value?
Loot value grows alongside spawn size. That means at maximum spawn the loot values are at the highest for a dungeon. At minimum it is at its lowest value for a dungeon. There is one exception to this and it will be detailed in this guide.
How does ninjalooting affect loot?
This touches on a concept of "areas" in a module. An area is a space you loaded into. While there are no players in an area it isn't initialised. When a player enters an area it initialises. If all players leave an area and fifteen minutes pass then the area "resets". If you ninjaloot an area without killing any npcs in it and then leave, the area resets after fifteen minutes. If anyone else enters the area after this reset the loot and spawns in the dungeon will be at exactly the same value as when you looted it. If you reenter the area after fifteen minutes the spawns will be exactly the same but the loot in the area will be set to minimum. For this to happen you only need to enter the area before the loot spots have been touched by anyone else. It doesn't matter if you enter after other players intiialised the area. This is a little complicated so here are some scenarios:
a. You looted an area. You wait fifteen minutes and reenter. Loot is minimum.
b. You looted an area. You wait fifteen minutes. Someone else enters the area. You follow that person. Loot is minimum.
c. You looted an area. You wait fifteen minutes. Someone else enters the area and opens a chest. You follow that person. The loot in the opened chest has already been spawned, at the time the chest was opened, so you do not affect that loot. But you do affect all chests yet to be opened.
Basically, the moment you touch an area that you looted all of the loot nodes in that area are flagged and will spit out minimum loot. This flagging will last until the area resets. So if you accidentally enter, then leave. As long as no one tries to visit the dungeon within the next fifteen minutes, their loot will be fine.
I looted an area. When can I visit an area again without reducing the loot?
There are two conditions under which it is safe for you to touch an area without killing the loot. The first is after the server is reset.
The second is after the area has been "cleared" by a party. This means a party killed the spawns in the dungeon. Spawns, once cleared, gradually "grow" back. Once a dungeon has been cleared you can visit it again without affecting the loot. Of course, it takes a long time for spawns to "grow" back so in practice it's likely to take 1-2 RL days for you to be able to loot a place again.
I entered an area and found the loot was poor?
Whether it was caused by a ninjalooter or the spawn simply being low, if you open the node but don't take anything you can leave the area and come back after it has reset and/or the spawn has grown without affecting the loot you later find.
Soloing?
While not ninjalooting, it is possible for classes like clerics and druids to solo lower level content. It isn't technically against the rules, but if you kill spawns in order to loot an area then the spawns will be reduced to minimum after the area resets. This means the dungeons cannot be visited by appropriately levelled parties for many hours.
I am an (a)MPC. Will I affect this system?
If you never touch loot nodes, no. It's possible that if you hang out in an area that someone looted you'd prevent it from resetting and restoring the loot but this is unlikely. Spawned NPCs created by (a)MPCs do not have any effect on an area's loot, either. Though these should not be left unattended if not being used for a specific spooking purpose.
Rules versus Etiquette:
To my knowledge it is not against the rules to join a party venturing to a dungeon you have already looted. You will harm the party's loot, however, and it would certainly be disheartening for them to find their loot cut down. This system is an OOC one that exists to prevent looters looting an area every fifteen minutes. It should not be taken as IC, but you can find reasons IC not to join a venture if you know OOC you will affect the experience. Alternately, if you have some OOC rapport with the others in the party you may notify them you have looted the area and determine whether they would rather have you present or not.
If you use this system to deliberately lower the loot for another party for no reason other than to lower the loot, this seems like metagaming in order to grief others. Which would be against the rules.
FAQ
Can I dungeon log as a ninjalooter?
If you are not currently under threat from the spawns within. Logging in combat is not allowed.
Can I leave items in chests or on the floor of dungeons?
Yes. This will not affect spawns or the loot that is spawned in chests.
Can I tell if an area has already been initialised?
There is no hard measure. However, when you enter a cell that wasn't initialised you will be able to see the spawns "fade in" as they are loaded. They will also be grouped together shortly after you enter but will be scattered by their wandering AI shortly thereafter.
This is extremely helpful.
