Player Killing
From NecroWiki
Description
Player Killing, known in Necromium as simply PK, is when two or more players fight with the goal of killing each other (often known in other games as PVP). There are four types of PK: NPK, SPK, CPK, and PK from Noble Houses engaging in House Diplomacy. With the exception of house diplomacy, each type of PK is limited to specific rooms or zones. In order to enter one of these PK rooms or zones, a player must first select "yes" at a prompt. Movement between rooms of the same PK type will not require additional prompts, but moving from NPK to SPK or CPK, or from SPK to CPK will require a new "yes" at a prompt. This is for the player's protection.
PK is completely non-essential to the game, and in fact you can play from level 1 to 165 without ever entering PK. However, that would take a moderately long time since experience values are higher in PK areas than non-PK areas. There is no set experience scaling for PK, however the policy is that NPCs in NPK have higher experience than NPCs of the same difficulty in non-PK zones. The same difficulty NPCs in SPK have even higher experience than in NPK, and finally the highest experience would be in CPK. In summary, with higher risk comes greater reward.
There are also some equipment zones that have NPK, SPK, or even CPK rooms. These runs are often for some top tier equipment in the game and the PK flags add risk to justify the greater reward. However, most equipment runs with PK flags are rarely forced to actually deal with any PK activity.
For suggestions on how to PK, please see PK Tactics and Strategies
Why?
There are several reasons why players might choose to engage in PK. Some of those reasons are: fighting over a limited number of NPCs to kill for experience, spite, or just as a preferred form of entertainment.
There isn't enough room in this zone for the two of us!
Fighting over NPCs is often a player's first experience with PK. Two mid-level players are moving along in an experience zone, when one decides he/she does not wish to share and attempts to kill the other. If that other player does not wish to fight for his/her right to be in that zone, then there are plenty of other non-PK experience zones. However, balancing risk vs reward, those non-PK zones will likely give less experience or be more difficult for the same experience.
Spite - The most powerful motivator
Spite often comes into play with house diplomacy, but that is definitely not the only factor here. In the case of house diplomacy it is generally clear: The two houses are hostile with each other and, by the definition of the hostile stance, are destined to have conflicts. Aside from diplomacy, sometimes people just don't get along. There is always someone who will run into someone else and just rub them the wrong way. Or sometimes a short-term disagreement can break out. PK is a good way to vent those frustrations, or just spite someone and make them either fight for their PK-boosted NPC experience or move on to safer grounds. Just be careful not to turn spite into an attempt to purely ruin the game for someone else.
Pure, unadulterated entertainment
Some players are here for the character points, others for the equipment. Some people are social by nature, and then there are those who just can't stop killing each other. There are plenty of people, mostly, but not all of them avatars, who get their joy from killing other players. Some see it as a test of their characters abilities vs those of another and a fight for honor, others get a thrill each time they sneak up on someone and surprise them with a backstab, and others see it as their right to increase the risk to an otherwise rewarding PK zone.
What honor?
In general, people who PK for entertainment are not out to ruin the game for others (that's not to say it hasn't happened). Technically, by enrolling in a house that engages in diplomacy or selecting "yes" at a PK prompt you are agreeing to take part in player killing activity. This means that even if you personally do not enjoy PK, if you do one of those two things then you are telling someone who does enjoy PK that it is acceptable for that person to attack you. That is the very definition of the PK prompt itself. As for diplomacy, you are responsible for joining the right house and/or making your wishes clear to the house leadership.
That being said, many people who PK for fun or honor probably won't hunt you to the ends of the world. They may PK you a few times, or track you down a bit, but those actually interested in a good fight will often let up soon enough. Others who feel it is their right to add risk to a rewarding zone, however, will probably not be so forgiving.
Trash Talk
Trash talk is when people who are or who recently engaged in PK begin to discuss the battle, often in a condescending or insulting manner. The important thing to keep in mind with trash talk is that it MUST not take place on any public channel besides the chat channel. If players wish to trash talk each other over tells then that is also acceptable, but if one of the players asks that the insulting tells stop then the other must do so immediately.
Most of the time trash talk is actually not serious at all. Many seasoned PKers consider trash talk to be part of the sport, and will issue insults over chat so that everyone can see them (or at least those who have chat channel turned on, as many leave it off due to its trash talk nature). With that in mind, a player new to Necromium player killing may wish to joke back, thus adding to both players entertainment, or simply ignore the comments as dumb and possibly turn off the chat channel entirely.
Example of trash talking in a real life situation: "Anonymous tells you, 'i wish he was in front of me in real life id knock his ass out'."
