Good morning,
I've been on the server for a few days, not a lot of playtime but I thought that perhaps one of the best ways I could help would simply share my beginning experience as a new arrival on the server. I hope to allow you to see your server through anothers eyes. You can see my ignorance. See where things are perhaps not being communicated well enough.
Character Creation
Now this is just a hard one because when your coming onto a new server you really have no idea what your getting into. No one really expects new people to have read every inch of the WIKI or to even know the WIKI exists. So its a dice roll if you make something usable for your first character.
Now the set up are is nicely laid out. Its beautiful and honestly gives a good first impression of the server. It shows attention to detail and some of the custom HAKs the server has to offer. That’s good, these first impressions are important.
Starting at level 5
I’ll be blunt. I hate this. I absolutely hate it. I love low level gameplay. I get a lot of servers start you at level 2 or 3 just so you have enough HP so a single bad roll does not end you before you start. But level 5 skips over a lot of the game for me. Only my personal opinion but I think the Olympic level of human performance in DnD is level 12. That’s the top end of believably human in my opinion. After that you start getting into Superheroes and Anime characters. So to start at level 5 feels like most of my career is already gone and I don’t even know how to roleplay my new character yet. At level 5 I’m a veteran… but I don’t even know the server yet, nor do I even know myself. Its… awkward. And it does not “feel” good.
Entering the Server
So I started out in the portal room. Ok… kinda high magic but you have to start somewhere. Ran into some players immediately. This server seems to have a good community forming already. I have zero complaints about anyone. People here are serious gamers, and they are behaving themselves.
Finding things in the main lodge is perfectly easy. I did have to ask some direction but if I had been alone and was just wandering around I would have found it all quickly enough. That’s a good design. Having the Lodge merchant right at hand is very handy.
First Writs
These were easy enough to find. But this is where things quickly stopped being fun. I’m already unsure what it means to be level 5 on this server, because in reality this is your servers level 1. This is the start. And the only writ I have tackled so far is the sewer writ. There were four of us in a single party. That’s a power party. You realize most servers cant form parties that large! Even Arelith with its 3,000 monthly players you rarely see groups that size.
But of course… we needed four. Actually if we had, had five we would have been doing better. For a starting writ the Kobolds are too hard. Each one of them was more than my equal. I was very discouraged by all the debuffs I encountered for my “very first job”. Getting blinded is probably the worst debuff in the game. Because that’s not a penalty that’s the OFF switch. You cant do anything, anything if you get blinded!
The AB of the kobolds is far too high. I was playing a Paladin with the defensive fighting feat. I’m sitting at 23 AC and Im getting hit most of the time by guys with +10 to +12 ab. That extremely discouraging. It also means your healing a lot. And I mean a lot! I was not carrying enough healing, and without help form an experienced party I would have been in serious trouble. I suspect non Full Attack base characters are really struggling with these high attack values. They are getting hit even more with little HP. Which means your drinking potions endlessly just to be functional. That means they need even more coin just to play.
Secondly the Large party size is bad. What happens if everyone out levels you? In a month when everyone is high level is there going to be 4-5 starting characters to help you get going? You need solo content. But also group content. Ill make a separate post about this, because I have a lot to say.
Loot
The loot drop rate started pretty high, but I have noticed today the kobolds do not seem to drop nearly as much now. However Ill simply say that so far it does seem that rewards are out weighing cost in terms of potions for healing. So adventuring is profitable. That’s important! I have played on servers where cost of adventuring being higher than rewards will kill a server. This is what happened on The Dragon Neck, I’ve not been back. I’m a big believer in strong roleplay, but this is still a video game. It needs to be playable.
The DM’s
Ah this is a very subjective topic. Some people love DM driven servers, others want them hands off their characters. Personally I love DM’s. I want the pen and paper table top experience I cant get in the real world anymore. So I log into NWN’s!
Your DM’s are friendly, approachable, and helpful! The approachable part is very important. I’m coming from Arelith where the DM’s are more like Olympian gods, they dwell high above we little mortals and hurl lightning bolts of indifferent judgment upon you. But mostly they just absolutely ignore you… I have had three interactions with DM’s there in seven years.
I have had three interactions with your DM’s in two days!!! I have had DM’s answer my questions, help me out when in trouble. And they have come roleplay with me! I LOVE YOUR DM’s. You have a good DM staff. I want to see more of them. I’m looking forward to seeing their stories and being part of them.
The Admin
Scary topic… talking about the big man himself. I’m now going to be at risk of flattery and kissing up, I can hear the ice breaking under my feet, but here goes... I like what I see from Pyro. He’s a coder and trouble shooter. I’ve mostly interacted with him on discord. He spent 12+ hours yesterday squashing bugs, and responded very quickly to a few things I found missing. Now this is server launch and he’s all hands on deck. So in a month no he wont be running over for things this quickly. But he “IS” working. That tells me this is a passion project for him. And the coding I’m seeing is very very solid. This is someone who’s working, and that speaks very well for the future of this server.
The Verdict!
So at some point you have to ask am I having fun? The short answer is yes I am. The server is rough. Very rough. But its got heart. More importantly its got a solid gameloop of adventure, loot, sell, buy gear, adventure again. I know that seems basic, but The Dragon Neck never seemed to figure this out, the owner seemed offended people wanted loot and XP. I don’t know.
I’ve been on Arelith for 7 years. That’s a highly polished, highly bug tested server. So it would take something special to make my leave it. But 7 years is a long time and I’m tired of Arelith. Been there… done that, done it many times. Have all the T-shirts. This server has my interest. Its very different, it does not seem too high level. Nor is it some elitest roleplay server ether that has forgotten this is still a video game. The community is healthy and people are having fun. Its very easy to have fun with them.
I have decided I’m going to suspend my Arelith play and come here for a while. I know everything is new, and subject to change. But that is also why I want to come here. Nothing is set in concrete. The place has not been here 20 actual years and is set in deeply in its ways. The server is willing I think to do new things, try things, fail and try something else. That’s a wonderful thing that is to easy to lose. I want to be a part of that trial and error. I want to get involved with the team building this place and make it my own playground too. At least this is my hope right now it is still very early!
I have a ton of suggestions but this is a long enough read already Ill make a separate post for those.
I've been on the server for a few days, not a lot of playtime but I thought that perhaps one of the best ways I could help would simply share my beginning experience as a new arrival on the server. I hope to allow you to see your server through anothers eyes. You can see my ignorance. See where things are perhaps not being communicated well enough.
Character Creation
Now this is just a hard one because when your coming onto a new server you really have no idea what your getting into. No one really expects new people to have read every inch of the WIKI or to even know the WIKI exists. So its a dice roll if you make something usable for your first character.
Now the set up are is nicely laid out. Its beautiful and honestly gives a good first impression of the server. It shows attention to detail and some of the custom HAKs the server has to offer. That’s good, these first impressions are important.
Starting at level 5
I’ll be blunt. I hate this. I absolutely hate it. I love low level gameplay. I get a lot of servers start you at level 2 or 3 just so you have enough HP so a single bad roll does not end you before you start. But level 5 skips over a lot of the game for me. Only my personal opinion but I think the Olympic level of human performance in DnD is level 12. That’s the top end of believably human in my opinion. After that you start getting into Superheroes and Anime characters. So to start at level 5 feels like most of my career is already gone and I don’t even know how to roleplay my new character yet. At level 5 I’m a veteran… but I don’t even know the server yet, nor do I even know myself. Its… awkward. And it does not “feel” good.
Entering the Server
So I started out in the portal room. Ok… kinda high magic but you have to start somewhere. Ran into some players immediately. This server seems to have a good community forming already. I have zero complaints about anyone. People here are serious gamers, and they are behaving themselves.
Finding things in the main lodge is perfectly easy. I did have to ask some direction but if I had been alone and was just wandering around I would have found it all quickly enough. That’s a good design. Having the Lodge merchant right at hand is very handy.
First Writs
These were easy enough to find. But this is where things quickly stopped being fun. I’m already unsure what it means to be level 5 on this server, because in reality this is your servers level 1. This is the start. And the only writ I have tackled so far is the sewer writ. There were four of us in a single party. That’s a power party. You realize most servers cant form parties that large! Even Arelith with its 3,000 monthly players you rarely see groups that size.
But of course… we needed four. Actually if we had, had five we would have been doing better. For a starting writ the Kobolds are too hard. Each one of them was more than my equal. I was very discouraged by all the debuffs I encountered for my “very first job”. Getting blinded is probably the worst debuff in the game. Because that’s not a penalty that’s the OFF switch. You cant do anything, anything if you get blinded!
The AB of the kobolds is far too high. I was playing a Paladin with the defensive fighting feat. I’m sitting at 23 AC and Im getting hit most of the time by guys with +10 to +12 ab. That extremely discouraging. It also means your healing a lot. And I mean a lot! I was not carrying enough healing, and without help form an experienced party I would have been in serious trouble. I suspect non Full Attack base characters are really struggling with these high attack values. They are getting hit even more with little HP. Which means your drinking potions endlessly just to be functional. That means they need even more coin just to play.
Secondly the Large party size is bad. What happens if everyone out levels you? In a month when everyone is high level is there going to be 4-5 starting characters to help you get going? You need solo content. But also group content. Ill make a separate post about this, because I have a lot to say.
Loot
The loot drop rate started pretty high, but I have noticed today the kobolds do not seem to drop nearly as much now. However Ill simply say that so far it does seem that rewards are out weighing cost in terms of potions for healing. So adventuring is profitable. That’s important! I have played on servers where cost of adventuring being higher than rewards will kill a server. This is what happened on The Dragon Neck, I’ve not been back. I’m a big believer in strong roleplay, but this is still a video game. It needs to be playable.
The DM’s
Ah this is a very subjective topic. Some people love DM driven servers, others want them hands off their characters. Personally I love DM’s. I want the pen and paper table top experience I cant get in the real world anymore. So I log into NWN’s!
Your DM’s are friendly, approachable, and helpful! The approachable part is very important. I’m coming from Arelith where the DM’s are more like Olympian gods, they dwell high above we little mortals and hurl lightning bolts of indifferent judgment upon you. But mostly they just absolutely ignore you… I have had three interactions with DM’s there in seven years.
I have had three interactions with your DM’s in two days!!! I have had DM’s answer my questions, help me out when in trouble. And they have come roleplay with me! I LOVE YOUR DM’s. You have a good DM staff. I want to see more of them. I’m looking forward to seeing their stories and being part of them.
The Admin
Scary topic… talking about the big man himself. I’m now going to be at risk of flattery and kissing up, I can hear the ice breaking under my feet, but here goes... I like what I see from Pyro. He’s a coder and trouble shooter. I’ve mostly interacted with him on discord. He spent 12+ hours yesterday squashing bugs, and responded very quickly to a few things I found missing. Now this is server launch and he’s all hands on deck. So in a month no he wont be running over for things this quickly. But he “IS” working. That tells me this is a passion project for him. And the coding I’m seeing is very very solid. This is someone who’s working, and that speaks very well for the future of this server.
The Verdict!
So at some point you have to ask am I having fun? The short answer is yes I am. The server is rough. Very rough. But its got heart. More importantly its got a solid gameloop of adventure, loot, sell, buy gear, adventure again. I know that seems basic, but The Dragon Neck never seemed to figure this out, the owner seemed offended people wanted loot and XP. I don’t know.
I’ve been on Arelith for 7 years. That’s a highly polished, highly bug tested server. So it would take something special to make my leave it. But 7 years is a long time and I’m tired of Arelith. Been there… done that, done it many times. Have all the T-shirts. This server has my interest. Its very different, it does not seem too high level. Nor is it some elitest roleplay server ether that has forgotten this is still a video game. The community is healthy and people are having fun. Its very easy to have fun with them.
I have decided I’m going to suspend my Arelith play and come here for a while. I know everything is new, and subject to change. But that is also why I want to come here. Nothing is set in concrete. The place has not been here 20 actual years and is set in deeply in its ways. The server is willing I think to do new things, try things, fail and try something else. That’s a wonderful thing that is to easy to lose. I want to be a part of that trial and error. I want to get involved with the team building this place and make it my own playground too. At least this is my hope right now it is still very early!
I have a ton of suggestions but this is a long enough read already Ill make a separate post for those.
