TL;DR
RP and PVP are not mutually exclusive. Looking at the two as separate or opposing portions of the playerbase is damaging to the community, bad for the world, and unrealistic.

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Each year we get a number of emails and issues asking about the separation of PK and RP, and how "non combatants" can be a part of Achaea. We recently answered an email on this topic, and we think our macro level vision for Achaea is worth sharing.

We think it's important to make our stance clear here before continuing - we do not consider roleplay and PK to be mutually exclusive. There are certainly people who PK that don't try to roleplay, but their not roleplaying isn't a result of them being interested in PK - there are many people who do not PK who also don't roleplay.

We don't believe it's constructive to draw the line down the middle between roleplayers and PKers: we find this to be a historically divisive and ultimately destructive approach. (Primarily destructive to organisations at the micro level and destructive to the game and community at the macro level.)

We can categorically state that attempting to divide roleplayers from those who enjoy PK is damaging to Achaea, the world, and the community. Many of our top tier PKers are also stellar roleplayers and character players. That they PK does not detract from their roleplay, but is in fact entirely the opposite.

That is not to say we expect everyone to want to PK or engage with Achaea on a PK level. There are many (past and present) characters who just don't have interest in that aspect of the game, which is more than fine. That said, it is also important to understand PK is a part of the game, it is part of playing a role in the world, and it is a primary vehicle by which consequences are imposed between characters for slights (perceived or real). As a conscious design decision, these scenarios are always opt in and tend to come with tangible benefits if you do opt in due to said risks.

We operate under the assumption that anything that happens in Achaea is an opportunity for roleplay. While PK might be an obvious way to get involved with an event, RP with the various involved denizens, your enemies, your peers, and your Gods is always available, and always encouraged. Sometimes this opportunity for character growth and story influence goes unexplored by characters because of OOC beliefs regarding the outcome, but we do plan for upheaval with all events, provided the attempt is made in good faith.

To address the concerns regarding hunting (bashing as it is often termed) in particular, we've long believed there is a really unfortunate attitude where people treat denizens as... well, objects. This is understandable from an OOC perspective, but from an IC one we really want these to be part of the world of Achaea.

Certain denizens contracting on those who kill them is simply step one in our push to give a feel of agency to core denizens in the game. We appreciate that this might inconvenience players who really don't like to get drawn into PK, but we also believe it's a really good opportunity for character growth and interaction. We do intend on expanding this integration into other systems, mitigation options, and alternatives over the coming year. Some of those changes might be PK related, and some will not be, but a key part of being a successful storyteller is creating an engaging story, and part of this is making the denizens seem real, with relatable motivations all their own. As roleplayers, if you cannot relate to something that is happening, it is much harder to engage with it.

As a comment on consequences: there being consequences for actions is what gives the world of Achaea its teeth. Consequences create stakes for actions, words, and stances, but this is an actual line, so if someone is entirely averse to conflict they can embrace this in their roleplay, which while fairly rare in the wider context of Achaea does happen. We do however feel it's very important for RP expertise to be rooted in Achaean reality. A player who does not want to PK might be an excellent saboteur/politician/etc, but if they want to roleplay being a great general/soldier/what have you, this by design has mechanical expectations attached to it.

Briefly on the topic of development: RP is constant in Achaea, with your peers, your leaders, your Gods, the members of your faction, and the world at large. Class releases, classleads, and new systems are designed to give players better expression for their characters and more options for creating story arcs both admin and player driven. The purpose of events for example is universally to drive character growth forward (be that personal or much larger scale like a whole organisation in the case of something like a world event). These might not get announces like a mechanical update, but we can assure you they often take just as much if not more developer work than mechanical changes. When we come up with our content schedule for a year or three, we strive to make sure there is content for all the varied players.

Penned by My hand on the 21st of Mayan, in the year 866 AF.