I didnt mean to imply that bigotry was going to up and disappear. What I meant was as things get worse pride fades when danger becomes less of a distant rumor and more of an immediate threat. Id wager it starts by getting worse as people want something to blame yes the bigotry would in fact get WORSE. But the number of prideful people who dont want to service foreigners or be around them gets smaller when previous solutions fail. I.E the local army and militias arent enough to stop x, y, or z threat thus creating a cultural issue of culture and pride or potential disaster.
History in the real world is full of examples of the exact opposite, that as things get worse, people are willing to lay blame for things squarely at the feet of The Outsider, whoever that is. I won't give specific examples, as I like to avoid touching on real-world politics/history, but there are plenty there to take from. Just because a society is under threat from external invasion doesn't mean they relax cultural norms / invite foreign mercenaries in, in fact it's quite often the opposite. And even when the government does (See, Murann providing sellsword licenses to encourage adventurers), quite often the local populace resents these influxes of foreigners who do not mesh with / adhere to local cultural mores.
Such as the commonly used foreign mercenary. You come to a place to ply a trade for violence in the desire for pay. Should the location provide much in way of pay for this risky endeavor youre liable to be more than willing to put up with a lot.
The Foreign Mercenary is an outsider, one who typically makes and spends coin by the fistful. When introduced to a struggling populace on the brink of starvation and uncertainty for the future, it is very likely for them to be viewed negatively, again, by the locals.
However, if Im not misunderstanding OP. The issue comes a lot from how things are narratively right now and what theyre leading to. That being that nothing keeps someone who isnt tied to the land by birth or obligation of faith there for long especially not if theyre something other than human like half elf. Half elves likely suffer the worst from this but I admittedly only have this from speaking to the few half elf players I have had the pleasure to RP with and talk to OOC. The narrative seemingly pushes many people who dont have these familiarities or obligations away from the city which also doesnt feel like the intent as Murann for all its issues is a hub of trade. Admittedly its a hub of trade that is suffering right now from conflict but that brings us in a circle to my prior point. That when a nation suffers unless the intent is for the nation to come to full ruin measures are taken to incentivize aid from the large mass of players who are foreign mercenaries.
If there is nothing to keep your character in Murann, that is a failure of you, the player, to create a character that has a reason to engage with the setting. There are plenty of reasons a half-elf would stay in / around Murann, ranging from being familiar with the locale and unwilling to chance a dangerous overland journey to elsewhere, to familial or cultural ties to the Wealdath, etc., to any number of other things. I don't know what specifically about 'the narrative' you see as pushing away these characters, beyond the fact that there is inborn anti-elven sentiment in the region due to years, if not generations, of conflict with the elves of the Wealdath. Again, the government of Murann approves of, tacitly at least, sellswords and mercenaries as it pays them very richly for their work. That does not mean
the people share that approval.
Furthermore the biggest point to note is that right now its fine and I agree with you and Twisty that once certain mechanics are implemented and given some more touch ups that incentives beyond doing good will flourish more and more. I love the cast of characters Ive had the fortune to play with and since the server is still young many people remain due to their personal connections with others but while friends are a good anchor the regular risk of torture, maiming and poverty are ever present along with locals disdain even when the country is at the brink of potential ruin from invasion/war what have you. If youre not good natured or a local your reasons shrink quite drastically and I cant overstate how common that will become as time goes on. As players begin to make new characters to replace old ones, alts and the like the issue becomes more apparent as the oppression comes with little caveat to warrant staying especially if youre not human where youre treated doubly worse and paid what can only be considered likely average for the deadly work being done.
There is no 'regular risk of torture, maiming, and poverty' for characters. There is draconian enforcement of authoritarian laws, which falls narrowly on those who flaunt their disregard for them. The country being at the brink of potential ruin is exactly why the fist of the government is so tight, as the city very clearly stands on the brink of spiraling out of control. That is not the sort of environment that lends itself to a loosening of governmental control. Again, if you can't see a reason for your character to stay in Murann, that is because you, as a player, have failed to create a character who has a reason to engage with the setting. And the pay the average player can expect in a day's work is easily 10 to 20 times what the average serf can expect to make in a year. Again, fueling resentment from the populace when faced with an endless stream of rich (and yes, a player with 150 silver is rich compared to the average person) adventurers.
So long as mechanics continue to develop like professions all will be on the up and up but the server is still young and this isnt an issue immediately but with a hub of trade amid war culture will remain but as danger escalates the powers that be who likely enjoy their seat will (at least imo) opt to be pragmatic and utilize all their tools to protect their lofty positions. This does not mean becoming good and honorable but it does feel silly unless things arent as bad as Ive perceived. For an out of setting example Witchers may well be hated and feared but they still get called upon when theres need of them and then once the job is done and order is restored the people can safely go back to spitting as they pass save for the few who remember what they did. Those few will give a decent chunk of players a greater incentive as theyve fought and bled and are more attached to the soil as theyve tasted what it was like to be a part of it rather than consistently feeling like theyre only tolerated with little to gain in way of fortune or safety from this. As for self motivated or callous characters I wont get into it right now as Ive already provided a wall of text thats far too long.
You keep stating that Murann being under threat will lead to the government wanting to loosen their control, and the population being more accepting. As above, this is widely incorrect when compared with historical analogues. As you're comparing TDN to the Witcher and Adventurers to Witchers, that is
exactly what is happening. The government is paying people it finds distasteful and undesirable to handle problems that are out of their reach to solve.
TLDR; Keep being mean to foreigners and non humans just temper it with reasons to want to be involved and not simply watch from a distance beyond i wanna help c: to ensure character motivations do not become funneled towards being good or mean(local)
This is, again, a failure to create a character that engages with the setting. If your only takeaway so far from your time on TDN is that there are no reasons for your character to want to be involved, then perhaps this isn't the server for you, as rough as that is to say.
