A very lengthy farewell, critique and kudos

[Iceborn]

Arelith is a good server.
Those are the words that I wished to use to start this post.
In the few months that I've been playing, I've had fun. I met both interesting characters and people through the crack of those characters. The way the servers are full of secrets plainly amused me, and finding them with my lil lizard was always joy, if we ignore the dangerous nature of the setting which may have costed me far more experience than what I wanted. And that's fine - it's what I had coming for trying to explore alone.

And while other players may opt to leave quietly, I wanted to express deliberately the own reasons that I have - not to berate the things that I don't like, but simply in hopes of improving the server.

The problem does not lie in the community.
If anything, Arelith's community is like any other server that I've played. It's varied as any other, it has its good players that take a RPing server for what it is, the not so good players that perceive Arelith as a sort of stray MMO that should be played as such, and everybody who lies in the middle - just people trying to play a game.

You know where one of the problem lies?

It's in the fact that it feels like it's the second group the ones that are rewarded by the server's mechanics.

The Epic Sacrifice and You - a love story

Everybody knows the 5% system. It's somewhat one of the most interesting things in the server. The controversy follows every time that it's mentioned, and its mere existence makes my gut twists and excel at sailor-knot competitions.

Every time that I've read somebody mentioning that it should be removed, it was for a reason that edges what's wrong with it.
It's not ought to be removed because somebody got a 5% and rolled another L black dragon.
It's not ought to be removed because it encourages people to shamelessly grind to 26 to get another roll.
It's not ought to be removed because it acts like a huge filter to control 'specialness'.
It's ought to be removed because it destroys one of the very fundamentums of what the roleplay is - character growth.
It shackles the way your character can progress, limiting you to your own quirks, whatever you can fabricate with what the server directly offers you. It's a contradictory freedom - you can do everything you want with what you have at hand, but you better dare not try to stretch an arm, because you are going to find the huge wall that is the 5% system.

Allow me say this the other way around.
One of the main alluring factors, at least for me, of the roleplay is change. It's evolution and adaptability. And that's precisely something that Arelith forbids with the system. You may never become something more than what is already at the table without a 5% roll, which requires by itself deleting your character. There's no space for exceptions, no alternative ways, no mechanics, and as far as I understand it, you can't even quest with the DMs to try an achieve something otherwise special.

It's like living in a very, very little box, and the only way to escape is out of pure luck or a lot of painful dedication, and that's another recurrent theme for Arelith. Pain.
I like the hardcore touch that is given to Arelith. How tough it may seem at times, but that's a toughness that the players should accommodate to their liking, instead of indiscriminately being subjected to the same pain should they wish to ever get beyond level 5.
The RPR bonus simply is not enough to alleviate the pain as it is.
And the pain is everywhere.
It's in the enchanting system.
It's in the exploration by itself.
It's in how devoid of life the environment seems to be sometimes.
"...If you hammer a wall it's ought to go down - in Arelith, your hammer breaks and you lose 500 of XP"

You know what else Arelith could do without?
The survival system.

You know, the system of hunger, thirst and rest?

At the first months, it was OK to RP it.
With time, it became a nuisance.
It never brought anything of interest to the table.
Never provided, chained or at least colored the RP a little better. It was just an inconvenience in the way of the game.
The only part that makes sense of the system is the Rest, since it regulates how often you can rest and refresh your spells and skills.

And that's as much as it can be said of the survival system.
On the next major problem, is the trinity of the game.

In my not-so-humble-sounding opinion, the game possesses an unique trinity that is what makes it truly interesting, in comparison to any other sort of game. A trinity that truly makes it alive, and not just another soulless MMO.
That trinity is composed by oneself, other characters and the environment - an environment that is ought to breath as much as the characters themselves.
This may be one of the most esoteric points of the whole post, since it involves mechanics that I don't entirely grasp. It involves the lives of every single DM, their time, what they do, what they are 'allowed' to do based on the server's rules.
The DM in the game is as essential as the players themselves - it's the constant force, the elements taken shape that exist to make everything better, to break the facade of a structured game and truly give a touch of humanity to every single wall. A touch of true freedom.
And I'm aware this is not tabletop, this is not a bunch of friends sitting together with a few drinks on the table, but that does not alter what a DM is supposed to be. In these kind of worlds and servers, the DM has to also take the role of enforcer, and not only a storyteller, but as far as I've played, I hardly seen the DMs act as anything but the former. With the exception perhaps being the occasional nudge of approval, proving that they do exist and watch.
The second exception for that was a quest that I requested myself, and I am grateful for that experience, even if the circumstances that led me to ask it weren't exactly of my preference.

And it's for those reasons that I simply deem myself non-compatible with Arelith.
I may understand that other players like this precise sort of gameplay, even though I have yet to meet those players, but this is precisely my undisguised view on it and what I make of the server.

But don't get me wrong - Arelith, beyond some of the fantastic players that I could play with, has certain strong elements that were a sight for sore eyes.
The language system, the activity in the Underdark, the slavery, how big and wide the servers are, the mapping, their secrets, the design of some areas, the end game hunting, things like the Astrolabe that, as far as I know, was created mostly out of player initiative. The way gold seems to be scarce and valuable to most, certain degree of the hardcore nature of the server, the variety of areas, the constant updates, the ample class modifications, the paths, but beyond all that, the potential of the server to still grow beyond its current nature.

Finally, there are a few names on top of my head. People that made my time in Arelith worth all the pain that the server seems so able to fabricate. People that I couldn't really nudge directly and say "I like your character. It's awesome".

And I am sorry if a name or two escapes me.

Kiya and Kethend. Stooge is something of a kobomancer (because kobolds are scientifically regarded as a form of energy, of course), and I immediately clicked with her. I've always liked her RP, and looking at the diversity of her characters while I played, how even sharing the same race they could draw from different parts of their nature, was something I always enjoyed.
Stormwind is possibly one of the first characters that I met when I originally played, but she's always had an air of difference. It was strange, because I don't think I can disarm and reverse engineer what makes her interesting. It's just... foreigner.
Versvesh was one of the characters that I really wanted to know more about. That my lizard originally despised, but with time all the hatred turned in cold disdain, and finally curiosity. I really wanted to go on with that RP and see what would have become of them.
Talayne was pure joy to have around. The quality of her RP, the precision of the emotes, the breath of life that was present in the character, how she reacted to every single minuscule thing, it was bliss, and I am sorry that I couldn't spend more time with her.
Roy was a character that I merely glanced above, and I always wanted to know more about. He had the air of a well constructed character, somebody that I had to play with.
Qintarra disappeared without trace, but I always kept a tab on the playerlist waiting for her to return any day. She was so cold in all the right ways, and the touch of burning fanatic was fantastic.
Vaavas was, while it lasted, something like a bro to my lizard, and I just loved their interaction. I loved how they got along, even when they were so absurdly different and similar at the same time.
Kalika was one of the most important characters that my lizard met. She had a little of everything that made both him and me joyous. She had everything that he wanted, a sort of image to look upon, and it hurts me more than it should that I am not going to continue that development.
I'd even write something about Flameborn here, but that's... almost unnecessary.

There are many, many others, but those are the ones that I automatically have on top of my head.

I'll linger for a while to see if I can find a way to conclude the arcs of my RP, and maybe tend to this post. For those who wish, I am not hard to contact.

[Feral One]

I would try to...describe my sadness...but I just tried five times and cannot word it how I wish to...so... farewell! Glad to hear you are going to linger a bit...and kudos to you! Kai has definitely changed Ambroz' whole perspective on underdarkers, especially the kobolds of Arelith!

[Cortex]

holy tl;dr

I've not read everything in full yet but here are some things to take note of:

1) The epic sacrifice was made mechanic a few years ago, before then, you had to contact Jjj/Mith/Artos, it was a slow and clunky system, and there was no incentive to roll maxed out characters and they stayed around FOREVER. The new system is not perfect, it automates the process but in return it rewards heavy grinding, although it takes at least a month of dedicated grinding to get to 30, less if you're no-life tier, and even then it's only a 5%, assuming you get a character to level 30 in a month, your odds of getting a 5% in a whole year would still be around 50%. I don't know anyone with that much will to grind. People who get the 5% are just lucky, it doesn't rewards RP or punishes bad RP, which is its major flaw, but a good functional alternative is lacking.

2) Enchanting is requiring an overhaul due to how item advancement has been progressing in Arelith, but I doubt the XP cost will go away. Enchanting needs a drawback, gold is super easy to get, so only gold is not enough, it needs to hit somewhere that makes enchanters worth seeking, specially mega enchanters(epic enchanters who are level 30 and have little/no XP drawback).

3) As far as exploration goes, I really don't see how can it be painful. I'm at the point where I know Arelith's geography to its near fullness, and it's all been done very well, and still is being done as it's always been a work in progress, and there's been a lot of work put into breathing more life into it recently. Maybe I don't know about the other servers enough, but I'm quite satisfied with how it is and how it is going to be.

4) I actually agree the food/thirst is a nuisance and unnecessary, but it's certainly not a breaking point.

5) Last semester was super slow in DM-activity, every semester there is a new DM shift, so judging your experience with DMs during one shift is very narrow minded. There is also a rather vocal part of the server that hates DMs and everything they do and will rage, oh man they'll rage. So they're usually careful and take their time to do something regarding to storytelling.

6) From the names mentioned and some details described, you played mostly in the UD. If you haven't played in the surface in-depth yet, perhaps you should give it a try, it is a different "eco-system" that often appeases people in a different way. And like the UD, there'll be people willing to help your way around, IC or OOC.

[Flameborn]

As much as i've tried here, I have to agree on all the points presented. Its simply too difficult to enjoy the server in its current state, and i'll be around much less often myself.

Thank you for the few of you that saw past the weirdness of my rp and kept rolling with the punches.

[Swirling Stars]

I am literally almost in tears. You are such a wonderful rper and friend, you're characters have impacted Kali in a way that pushed her to change and be more proactive about her own enviroment and others around her... one of the influential characters that inspired her to be who she is now.
There is so much in this comment that I wish I could express and convey into words, but I am truely at a loss for them. Kai was a large part of Kalika's life, a living example that not all in the dark share the same hatred, evil, and horror that they are said to possess.
I am going to sincerely miss our ranger/druid teaching sessions, the long ic philosophical conversations on good, evil, the balance, and everything in between...The epic adventures and situations that your character has influenced mine to go through.
It really does pain me to see you go. Arelith is losing a good player, and a wonderful friend.

[Iceborn]

Ah, let me debate a little Cortex:

1) It's a system, yes. It's better than what was before, that too.
But it could be way better.
Way better.
Good RP should be the way to reward players with privileges like more exotic characters. Not luck.

2) I agree.

3) I do not exactly disagree, but let me develop.
Exploration is something both terrifying and fun - if you are walking for the first time into an area, you don't know where you are going to end. What you are going to find. What is waiting at the other side - the sense of awe of the exploration of Arelith is wonderful. Until you find a mob that instantly Range Touch-Attacks for paralysis or you get double-sneaked by stealthing slimes. This is mostly a balance concern, and I don't really mind it because it's something that I can deal with.

4) No breaking point. Just something to remark.

5) I may be at fault at this point, and I do not argue. I am biased in my own experience, that was mostly negative in this aspect. Regardless, my perception of what should be remains.

6) This is somewhat unrelated, since my issues stand with the general mechanics implemented. I did spent my fair time in Surface, and disregarding my other problems, I've always enjoyed the contrast they provided, both in mapping and in characters.

[Cortex]

Do you have another system that would best the one currently used? Criticizing what Arelith has is one thing, proposing something to build something greater is another. I mean no snark with this.

There is a first time for everything, at least everyone once died due to bad luck or carelessness. That's why exploring in groups is the ideal, if someone is caught by surprise, they can try and save the other, or in the worst case scenario, flee and prepare a rescue. Of course, there is always the case a dragon or similar lands on your party and you're all f'd, or you thought the big bad giant was weaker than he looked. But it can also be argued that the constant danger is what keeps exploring and dungeoning fresh, where would be the fun if everything was predictable? That is already a problem, the server is very predictable, there has been updates to counter that, but it's still a thing.

Considering that you've left enough of a mark to have such a "good bye" party here, I'd suggest you give it another try, even if given a break. I can't personally consider any of your points, even if all of them together, as enough reason to give up, perhaps something else has been bothering you, something you don't even know of yourself?

[Mayonnaise]

Wherever you end up, good luck. Arelith isn't for everyone, and I'm sad that you didn't enjoy this beautiful server. As I say to each leave, apocalyptic rage quit, or long time AFK; the porch light is always on.

Safe journeys and happy gaming!

[Whitewood]

I wouldnt nessesarily call the server 'beautiful' but regardless, it might be a wise choice to take a lengthy break from the server. Or just scurry on up to the server and play there.
DMs dont normally come down into the Underdark unless its to deal out punishment to folks or to reset/restart the server in my experience. They're all up on the surface, watchin all those nasty hobbitses and humies and elfses.

[Marsi]

1) It's a system, yes. It's better than what was before, that too.
But it could be way better.
Way better.
Good RP should be the way to reward players with privileges like more exotic characters. Not luck.

that will be a hornet's nest of DM favoritism and claims of DM favoritism

and tbh most 'Good RP'-ers come to an understanding that being special and exotic is over-rated

[Iceborn]

Mayonnaise;

I did actually enjoy the server while I was, and sort of still am here.
My problem lies in what I can't stomach anymore.

And this goes to you, Cortex;
This is something that would be far easier to understand if you had a... crave. A desire to play something monstrous and inhumane. To break the bonds of what is defined as standard.
Personally, that's where I get my kicks from as a player, and in Arelith the only way to achieve that is through the 5% system. Not only that, but I like to see other players try new things, taking the exotic turn and watching how they perform outside their normal field.

It's a matter of contentment, and that's the codeword here.
You have to content with what you have, rely on the automatic systems.
And I am not one that can content for long. I am ambitious, and with time I always want more.

And yes, pointing at what's wrong is easy. Indicating the solution... not so much.
I would, however, suggest to keep in mind what is truly important in the server (which I want to believe is the RP), and work toward modifying the systems and implementing new in a way that it actually appeals more to the roleplay than the hunting-turning-grinding.
One first step would certainly be allowing players to achieve their goals through the dedication of their RP toward said goal.

As example, Dragon Discipleship becoming available for characters who actively try to embrace the slightest tint of draconic blood they may have.
This kind of things would be possible by keeping documentation on the character's activity, from the player trying to attain such goal and the observations of DM Team both.

Liches, daevas, vampires, werecreatures, dragonwroughts, fiends, dragonborns - a good portion of those a character may /become/ through RP. In Arelith, none of those are achievable without a 5% roll, which I'll never get tired of saying how much I dread and I perceive as the bane for RP.

And, Marsi, two things:
The claims of favoritism are, like beauty, in the eye of the beholder. A DM will be always ought to remain impartial, at least in my own little perfect world.
And whether it's overrated or not... is purely subjective.

[Cortex]

The things you seek would never function in a community as large as Arelith. If you want to be special, maybe this is indeed not the place for you. It is a common saying that in Arelith, greatness is achieved via deeds, not the race.

[Iceborn]

I politely disagree in the former, but you may be right in the latter.

[P Three]

The things you seek would never function in a community as large as Arelith. If you want to be special, maybe this is indeed not the place for you. It is a common saying that in Arelith, greatness is achieved via deeds, not the race.

I have an inkling of who you are, Iceborn. Pretty sure Vorel'isk still has those wings, wherever she is, if that helps

That said, this is mostly true. Certainly not ALWAYS, nothing always is. But what you do will (almost) always, always matter more here. People like Erik Silverarms, a plain human, or the Greltecae twins, elves (I believe), made their mark because of their expert play. Go through the AE, and everyone who is "historic", is historic for their actions, as judged not only by the DM team, but by other players. These are just two examples out of hundreds.

The 5% is what you make of it. If you get a dragon, but your RP isn't compelling or interesting, nothing will ever change. And I can say with absolute certainty that our DMs, though I think they are awesome and I have absolutely nothing negative to say, could never police classes that closely all the time. Ten people cannot constantly watch hundreds individually. It's just not possible.


The rest/eat/drink can die in a fire and I'd be okay with that.

[Cortex]

Erik Silverarms was an Aasimar.

Edit: He wasn't known for it. And he's super, super old, which is part of the reasoning he's famous.

Most of the 5%'s I have seen have been anything but interesting to me.

[P Three]

Was he? He was still the best, and that was loooooong before the 5%.

[JediMindTrix]

Why the aversion to special? Carbon copies everywhere are not what I want to see in this game. Saying 'special is bad' is silly and misconstrues what should really be said: race does not make a character compelling.

[Cortex]

Why the aversion to special? Carbon copies everywhere are not what I want to see in this game. Saying 'special is bad' is silly and misconstrues what should really be said: race does not make a character compelling.

Special is super burnt into the Arelith dictionary as "special snowflake character", don't dream of changing it

[Marsi]

Saying 'special is bad' is silly and misconstrues what should really be said: race does not make a character compelling.

no-one said "special is bad"

I said it was 'over-rated' -- as in more people fret about it than it is important, that it's completely accessory to fun and meaningful roleplay/character development. I assumed it was fairly obvious I was talking about starting PC races?

Cortex said almost exactly what you said.

[JediMindTrix]

Special is super burnt into the Arelith dictionary as "special snowflake character", don't dream of changing it

I wouldn't dare

[Mithreas]

Special is bad.

Why?

The reasons captured above about special characteristics being a poor replacement for proper character development are a part of it, but not really much of it. Sometimes a character 'clicks' for a player and becomes 'real' (in a Velveteen Rabbit sense) and sometimes it doesn't; whether it has a fancy skin or not doesn't have a significant impact on that.

But where special matters more, is in the environment.

Arelith attempts to faithful to the Forgotten Realms setting. It's not perfect, of course, but it tries to create an environment that's convincing and immersive.

For that to work, we need to have plenty of characters who adhere roughly to the stereotypes of the world. Banites attempting to dominate the isle. Wizards gathering together to share some of their knowledge while jealously hoarding the rest. Elves and Dwarves jealously guarding their strongholds, with little tolerance for evil. And in the darkness below, nefarious forces backstabbing each other and occasionally gathering under a charismatic leader to threaten the World Above. A city full of humans being, well, human, with all the light and darkness you'd expect of humanity.

Arelith does a pretty good job of setting this up. When you play on Arelith, the players around you are a key part of your environment, just as you are a part of theirs. The characters around you are far more important than the NPCs and areas to the story you can weave.

So where does special fit in? Two ways.
- The first is variety. The more the playerbase is split into different factions, races etc, the harder it is to pull people together to RP with. Take a vampire, for instance - playing one severely limits the number of players on the server you can have meaningful RP with. But this is even an issue with existing races - if you're the only Gnoll player on the server, for example, the range of RP options you have is far more limited than if there are lots of others of your tribe around. Being special automatically restricts your options for meaningful RP with others.
- The second is immersion. If you're playing, and the ten PCs you meet are a vampire, a werewolf, a dragon, a slaadi, a gelugon, a pixie, an aasimar, a talking panther, a giant and a rakshasa, you're not in Faerun any more. At best, you're somewhere like Sigil - but even that is less weird. And - speaking from experience - the attempt to find common ground with other PCs ends up with everyone playing funny looking humans (that is, they tend towards human mannerisms and characters, regardless of their race). Far better if the ten people you meet include 4 humans, 3 elves, 2 dwarves and a halfling... you're likely to find the Elves talking to one another in Elven, careless of the way others view them as snooty. There's reasonable odds that the halfling will be trying to pickpocket you... and/or will be offended when you assume that. The dwarves may be able to point you to a good smith. And so on. You have more RP hooks in front of you that lead to meaningful interaction, and more stories available than "figure out why this talking cat-girl is here".

This is by no means the only way to run a server, and there are other servers out there that cater to unique characters far more than we do. Our focus is on creating an immersive and deep environment to play in, and that means that we have to police the most important part of the RP environment - player characters.

-Mith

[Durvayas]

I get what Iceborn is saying, and I understand the dogma behind the idea that special is bad. But the 5% roll, as it is, is also bad.

I've been playing a lvl 11 merchant and, since the time I made her, I've watched a player I know grind through two epics to take a shot at that 5% roll twice.

You can say it's not punitive to those who RP, but the plain fact is that those that do RP their hearts out in the end have less a shot at being able to play something special than the powerbuilders that grind through characters in an attempt to farm a 5%.

Its negative reinforcement to RP. Perhaps if RPR had any effect on the 5% roll to make it more favorable for people who go out of their way to do anything other than grind, it might be a bit more fair. But as is, aside from the mind numbing aspect of it. I don't see any good reason not to grind. And that is an endemic problem with how this server is built.

Virtually every RP mechanic/system on this server encourages grinding. Super expensive quarters, xp and gold cost-intensive enchanting. The settlement system (requires lvl 8 before you become even tangentally relevant to politics). The war system(its bad... you are completely irrelevant if you aren't already high 20-s to 30). The crafting system(more levels= more craft points, which really aught to be static across the board with the DCs remaining as they are.). Even wand/potion/scroll crafting is geared towards people who grind due to the xp costs that RPR simply does not support.

This last bit impacts me as a player the most. Because my character makes potions. I chose to play a merchant because I thought it'd be fun. And it is to a point, but its also incredibly demoralizing to watch everyone around me leveling up their characters grinding while crafting causes mine to remain stagnant.

Every time I make 20 of a specific potion(thats in some demand, but overhead is a pain), my character loses 800xp. Thats the same thing as a failed adventure where I go out and get massacred and respawn. Thats right. Every 20 potions, I may as well have died and respawned, all to make potions that are still going to rake in less gold than the adventurers buying them make in an hour. At lvl 30, thats not a problem, you've got nowhere to be; but at lower levels, its crippling.


Surely there is some way that things could be done to make RP more rewarding.

[JediMindTrix]

Special is bad.

I'm curious to hear your thoughts/intentions on 'special' character traits and personalities. I wholeheartedly agree with everything you said about races/skin colors.

[High Primate]

Everyone has moments where their disappointments with the server build up and they need to go public about it. When that happens, yes, it's time to leave or take a break--you're too emotionally invested in the server.

[Flameborn]

Surely there is some way that things could be done to make RP more rewarding.

This, is 90% of the issues.