Introduction to the Discworld MUD Playerkiller League

    Below is a copy of an interview with Cold when the PKL first formed. 

PK league forms

I was relaxing in a pub on Short Street when I noticed a shifty man staring intently at me from a corner of the room. I quickly pulled out my accounts book to check that I had fully paid off the Thieves Guild, fortunately I had so I was safe from theft. I was also pretty certain he was not an Assassin since he was dressed in worn black leather that no Assassin would touch with a number 12 throwing knife. As I was thinking about what he could possibly want, he slithered over and, giving me an appraising look, started to talk.

"I hear you're a reporter for The Green Slab?" he said harshly.

I nodded quickly, hoping that I hadn't written anything inflammatory about him in the past.

"Well," he sneered, "I have something you might like to report."

He started to reach into his trenchcoat, I thought it was the end, he must have been going for a knife! I almost cried with relief when he pulled out a club badge and dropped it on the table. I picked it up and read it: "The Hunter's Club".

"What's this for?" I asked.

He loomed over me briefly before pulling a chair closer, "let me explain."

I found out during the course of the interview that he was Cold, the Combat Master of the Thieves' Guild. He described to me a new league, developed by himself and Pica, a priest of Hat, designed for those amongst us who like to test their fighting skills against each other, here is what he said;

C: The PK League (TM) is all about having friendly PK fights, without all the screaming and name calling. With a few rules adopted from observing PK brawls around the disc. But brought into an organised league, so people can really shout "I am teh masta Pker!" or something.

P: What inspired you and Pica to come up with this idea?

C: Well, it was a random idea I had one night...which I mentioned on the PK channel and Pica was online. We started to rant over the channel, with a few other PKs, generated a few ideas, which I then put together. Pica then joined up a few hours later and we started putting the idea together seriously....So basically it was a random idea. :)

P: At the moment you have about 40 people willing to take part, did you anticipate this sort of response?

C: Hmm. We weren't sure, it would either totally fail, or be a hit. I was hoping for about 30, and set it up for 30 originally, but made a few changes as it grew to today's total of 47.

P: How will the league work?

C: it's all 1 on 1 fighting, brawls will be special events. But basically all league fights are 1 on 1, with a few small rules to keep the fighting flowing and fun.

P: How will combatants know who to fight when? and will there be a referee watching the fight?

C: Well, when the time comes. I'll post a list of fights, it's a format which means you don't have to be 100% dedicated to logging on at a certain time to fight someone. People will fight maybe 4 times a month, or 9 times for a bigger division. It's all time flexible to keep it flowing. As for the refs...I'm hoping the PKs will watch each other for cheating, but if they're not too certain, they can ask a league Admin to watch the fight. And we'll be doing some "random rifles" of inventories if we get suspicious about people.

P: How many divisions do you plan to have, and how are players assigned to each division?

C: 3 possibly. We're thinking we may have to change it to 4 if more people apply. But people are mainly placed there by how much I know about them and their abilities...I know most PKs, so it should be ok. And any others will sort themselves out after a while.

P: So if one player found that they were being slaughtered they have the opportunity to change divisions?

C: Hmm, possibly. We're hoping it won't come to that. But a quick change from one division to another might be a possibility.

P: Do you have any planned duration?

C: Mmm, each season will go for roughly 2 months, maybe with added time for stragglers on the end. Then a short period of no fighting for Admin purposes, then another season begins with people shifted around the divisions if they was best/worst. No limit to the amount of seasons though, if it works well and is popular.

P: Will you use a fighting "arena", a place that all of the fights must be held?

C: Hmm, nope. That'd almost need coding really and this has to be flexible. Ideally we recommend fighting in a 3*3 square, such as OC, which has a PO and Shrine close by. But if people wish to try and fight with the spidies in gloomy and risk a NPK death for fun, or a duel down the main streets, such as short street, they can do so.

P: There is a 2 royal entrance fee into the league, is that just for the one season?

C: Yep, it covers all prize monies and contracts hopefully, and some of the club fees too. If people break the rules in a stupid way, such as causing a NPK death, or looting corpses or some other nasty, they'll be visited by the Assassins. The club is called "The Hunter's Club", Lobo suggested it. Apparently it comes from a click he saw and it is the name of a club that went around beating each other up...;)

P: Will all people be fighting the same number of people, or can they choose to fight more in an attempt to boost rating?

C: Nope, people will have set people to fight, so no fighting wimpy people all the time to get a better rating.

P: But will they have the same number of people to fight? For example, if I fought 5 people but someone else fought 6 they have more chance of winning?

C: Depends on the division, but yes. Everyone will fight everyone in their division, so an equal number of fights.... Although I must point out the divisions aren't all the same size. It's possible to fight uneven amounts if someone leaves the division though, yes.

P: You mentioned prize money before, what types of prizes?

C: Hmm, no idea about the prizes yet. Hopefully we'll have about 60 royals to spend on some sort of prize or money token.

P: Do you have anything you'd like to add?

C: If the PK League Admin (TM) catch anyone acting in an antisocial manner, or non-league members sneaking up on fights in order to loot. There will be dire consequences. The league is for fun! Nothing bad should happen in any form! So just enjoy the fighting and keep it friendly! :)

C: Oh, and one more thing. I'm gonna kill you all!

At this point he started cackling maniacally, so I quickly gathered my belongings and left the pub!

I think this explains the original intent of the PKL, a league formed with the intentions of giving PKs a fun way of letting off steam and fighting peacefully.

Since the interview, the PKL has grown and developed into a more complex league, with new forms of fighting, revised rules and rating systems and it grows ever more popular, especially with the middle aged and younger PKs. If you wish to join the PKL, simply go to the "how to apply" section of this website and follow the instructions.