Kilivin wrote: ↑Tue Apr 06, 2021 10:26 pm
post on elitism and "reinforcing" the same argument - snipped
in both cases feel like the only way to enjoy time playing is to enforce unrealistic bends to the character concept in order to fit in to the different groups/factions and enjoy the game.
In other words, it's a status symbol to have angel/devil/dragon wings for example from PLAYER to PLAYER that "Hey, I'm not a newbie." I have never heard of a 5% race or character not being extremely popular, and as much as I want to chum it up to good roleplay - non 5% race/characters tend to always fall by the wayside unless they've been on the same character for 2 years+.
I think you confuse your perceived elitism with what others might refer to as
arelith experience, the experience gained of players who have played along time (and some are naturals on their first attempt), who are both more comfortable with how to get involved in roleplay, and toe the line between whats a good character concept in your own mind, and what actually plays well with others. Remember, this is a collaborative story telling game, and to do so we need a concept that is actually enjoyable for the collaborative story of all.
I know for myself, i've had alot of GREAT ideas, that either: I couldn't execute well enough, OR, i could execute it awesomely but it wasn't wholesome for the playerbase as a whole... And then i have other ideas that i wasn't as sold on when i originally made it that blossomed beautifully.
I feel like theres a big misunderstanding happening here with comparing arelith to pnp. Arelith/nwn is a video game based on pnp, yes, but it is not, pnp.
I've never seen a pnp game where you have up to 60 players sitting around the table roleplaying through a story - which, while it doesn't happen out adventuring, its a common occurence to have 60 players taking part in an event, all in the same zone ingame.
Player Characters are a fraction of the population of Arelith.
True, But PCs are almost the entirety of what you will interact with while role playing the game, unless you happen on a DM event.
I would also repeat that Arelith has a number of very very very rare creatures in a geographically very small area relative to the rest of Toril.
lets use the baseline measurements of a tile in NWN. 10x10 meters. So, By this logic, from Cordor to Bendir is probably less than a kilometer, or mile (shakes fist at the US). Theres a suspension of disbelief one has to take with regards to the size of the
fictional* island of arelith compared to the actual FR lore on location sizes.
Infact on the topic of suspension of disbelief, your entire argument is trying to base around "verisimilitude to FR lore" - There is a balance between verisimilitude and suspension of disbelief to make something fun and enjoyable... and this is a
game that is meant to be fun and enjoyable. Its a delicate balance that Irongron, Grumpycat and the DM teams have been supervising for years, to create a server/environment that 20 years after NWNs release, has a playerbase that is still
growing.
To me, that means they're hitting the nail on the head with maintaining that balance.
*Fictional compared to FR lore
**Edited becauase i can't string a coherent sentence together.