New Area Content Poll

[vivalasvegas]

Expand the abyss.

A place for demons similar to dis for devils.
Create a central hub at balor maw lake with traders, a writ agent and shops.
Add high level writs to area, maybe a couple new dungeons
Add a writ to fight paush

[Eyeliner]

One thing about dungeons vs settlements..while it's better than it used to be, Arelith is still very laggy and unreliable when the servers are full and the servers are full every weekend. Almost nobody I know wants to take on risky dungeons on Saturdays or Sundays, when most players are on, so that seems to be when most settlement RP happens almost by default. I try to arrange dungeon trips on the weeknights I can play and when the servers run smoother so you won't die to lag spike or getting involuntarily booted, but getting a group together to do that is like herding cats so it's lucky to be once a week.

My point being you can hang out in settlements and find something to do or someone to talk to at almost any time of the day, even when it's totally dead someone will be around somewhere... But there are narrow windows for most of us of when we can do a proper, full party D&D style dungeon run.

[Babylon System is the Vampire]

• they were actually designed as areas where owning settlements could fight without the server lag/logistical problems of warfare in the streets. I had hoped DMs and players would come together to make this happen from time to time, but alas there was seemingly no appetite for it.

Castles- and guild houses in general- have a lot of potential. The problem with castles in particular is that they are tied to a settlement, thus keeping the settlement as the ultimate target of any sort of narrative driven conflict. Sure, once in a blue you get a good group that is anointed the lord of castle x, y, or z, but more often than not they don't exist and even if they do they are subject to the whims of settlement elections.

And therein lies the issue with guildhouses in general, because it's not the bells and whistles of the location that makes it interesting, but the players behind it. And with the randomized nature of bids- and the first come first serve nature of what was before- you are essentially putting all your chips in on 8 on a roulette table and hoping it hits. A system where groups earn an open guild house by doing cool stuff in game and making a name for themselves would ultimately be best shot and making sure these places live up to their potential as much as possible, even if there's always going to be duds along the way.

Focusing back in on Castles, I think it ties into what I see as a bigger problem with settlements, the constant upheaval election after election. It's not good for the setting, it's not good for gameplay, and frankly it's not good for the new chancellor. The sheer amount of work that goes into revamping the government is insane and is singlehandedly the reason I would never run for a pc government position again. I like playing the game, not feeling like it's my job.

Now i have mentioned this before, but never directly to you so I'm gonna do it again. The settlements would benefit greatly from "fixtures" in the government that don't eliminate the need for the elected official we have now, but rather enhance the gameplay for them. Using Cordor as an example, here are three ideas:

1) City watch/military: Run by a NPC, but with a position right below him that pcs can earn their way into via promotions. That player would make all the key decisions, unless they did something that goes against the grain of what the faction is supposed to be, prompting the npc to step in.

2) A temple to the faith that most represents the city: This could be whatever god you guys chose, or group of gods that make sense together for more flexibility, with a similar set up to the guards. a npc (or multiple if its multi faithed) with pcs right below them making all the day to day decisions.

3) Daerrowdeep castle: Run by Lord whatshisface, the main rival to the king in the city, that has one or a few lesser nobles on retainer beneath him. The king hates his guts, but given his proximity to the iron mines and one of the islands forest the keep is invaluable to bringing in resources for the city.

Now each of these factions can have "Powers" that tie into their role in the city. If the watch is unhappy with the current chancellors laws for example, crime on the street goes up. If the Church isn't happy, the commoners become disgruntled toward the current chancellor as well. Lord Whatshisface wants nothing more than to depose the king and put his own rear on the throne, but he still has to be kept happy because of the supplies he brings in. Ect ect ect.

Now, these are all just rough ideas tossed together in the time it took me to write this post, and clearly would need a lot more thought and fleshing out. But I hope they were good enough to make it clear how in practice everything would be better if settlements had more of this, and less blank canvas that gets redrawn every time a new person wins an election. And the rub is, the person who would benefit the most in my mind from such a direction is that chancellor who recently won that election, because they now still have a game to play after the election is over as opposed to piles of work organizing a military, a navy, a guard, a trade infrastructure, and a noble to run whatever castle Cordor currently owns until eventually said new chancellor burns out.

[Rowlind Salem]

Connect Dis and the Abyssal Citadel via Blood War writs available from a registry agent at each.

[Gaal]

Freedom for Gnomes! A nice Gnome Bar and our own Government so we are no longer the getto and sewers of the Dwarves

[Irongron]

To be really clear regarding the gnomes - there will be no mechanical gnome stand alone gnome settlement. They can vote/stand in Brogendenstein, Bendir or other cities.

I removed the previous settlement mechanics for gnomes because the numbers in no way justified it. Our smallest (surface) settlement currently has about 150 citizens, which I also consider too small. For the gnomes it was generally between 10 and 30. I'm also not removing, or moving the Grotto.

[ClockworkRed]

Sorry, a bit off topic, have you ever considered to add more random encounters to spice up existing areas? I came across a few random encounters in different locations and really enjoyed each and every one of those. Unpredictable encounters always excites RP when you are not traveling alone in my experience.

[miesny_jez]

I would respectfully want to request small changes to the Great Grotto as well - actual ideas are:

• upper grotto (with the meeting table) changed to a rest zone like a tavern

• inner quarters in the lower grotto changed to rest zones

• addition of a tavern (maybe instead of the wardens building)

• changing the currently non functional wardens of the web building in lower grotto into a small 2 to max 3 quarters guildhouse and moving the currently located barracks from the upper grotto into there (changing the upper grotto barracks to a normal quarter)

• and of course an actual player owned submarine

[The GrumpyCat]

To be really clear regarding the gnomes - there will be no mechanical gnome stand alone gnome settlement. They can vote/stand in Brogendenstein, Bendir or other cities.

I removed the previous settlement mechanics for gnomes because the numbers in no way justified it. Our smallest (surface) settlement currently has about 150 citizens, which I also consider too small. For the gnomes it was generally between 10 and 30. I'm also not removing, or moving the Grotto.

If gnomes had a gnome only settlment they wouldn't be ... drum-roll gnomadic!

[serono]

Personally Id love see Bendir getting a lick of new mechanics and/or area expansion. However I voted for planar content. When I joined the server, my focus wasnt doing writs or engaging in settlements. I had the most fun in exploring the areas/maps of the server especially the unnatural ones. The longer I played the more I interacted with the playerbase, and was given opportunities and Ideas for future characters.

[Drogo Gyslain]

I'd also like to see an expansion and an update on Bendir. Mechanically, it is one of if not the oldest, most original settlement left on the server with several things in need of some updating.

Bendir is a cultural hot-spot of Arelith, being directly connected to Brogendenstein, and being the midpoint between several settlements at the center of the island. It would be good to see it getting a few upgrades to show it's importance and growth since it's ancient days as a fort.

Would love to see some more housing, more shops, and maybe a utility building or two we could use. Expand the Tunnels, Expand the Hawk inn, something to give a bit more to Bendir and her gentle folk.

[The Magical Space Papa]

hi if youre adding new areas i would love to have brog a one transition stairway before a transition or not and show a few statues of kneeling dwarves cause it looks cool or maybe a short staircase down and up maybe? c:

[Edens_Fall]

Many have already expressed so many great ideas, I love it!

I will keep my own thoughts direct and straightforward to avoid eye strain.

1) More public use locations attached to the Hub area, such as a museum/art gallery, meeting halls, event venues, etc. As it stands, most everything of the like is in one of the districts and can change depending on who currently rules the settlement. A great example would be past players' attempts to create a library or museum only to see it all lost with the next election or loss of a guild house.

2) General facelift of all of Andunor and Districts (Minus Greyport which looks great BTW). Royal Blood stated it best on page one, so I will avoid repeating the matter.

3) Spire Freth quarters or guildhouse? It's a great location with a deep history to the server that doesn't seem utilized enough. Also, those who try to make a go of it are at the whims of any thief who gets past the door's FOIG lock.

4) A new upper-dark castle/fortress that can be bidded on by both surface AND Underdark. Currently, Andunor has several biddable areas for settlements, though none are used much due to location/access/other reasons. Such might be said for one or two of the surface castles. Having a fortress that sits at a practical halfway point between the Surface and Underdark that both sides can bid on would be pretty interesting. Whoever holds it would have an easier time for surface/UD raids and would provide a focus for military RP-minded players. Add in the bonus of being a contested money sink, and we have a winner.

5) Lastly, I understand sailing has been the big thing of late, (primarily thanks to AR epic skills) but I wouldn't mind seeing some high-end Surface dungeon that gives awards close to what one might get from doing a sailing dungeon. This is primarily because not everyone has the many hours of game time in one sitting to do the sailing-only dungeons, and it can feel a bit disheartening to miss out on end-game content as a result. To make it easier on the Team, we could adjust a few of the current land dungeons rather than making brand-new ones, such as the Deep Wells of Sky Giants.

PS - I would also love to see some Unseelie village/area not unlike the Seelie grove recently added for the new evil allingment fey and those that enjoy the RP of the Winter Court. Nothing fancy, just a hidden area with a few NPCs, soul binding point, etc.

Thank you for humoring my thoughts and suggestions!

Edit: For spelling!

[Maracide]

I would respectfully want to request small changes to the Great Grotto as well - actual ideas are:

• upper grotto (with the meeting table) changed to a rest zone like a tavern

• inner quarters in the lower grotto changed to rest zones

• addition of a tavern (maybe instead of the wardens building)

• changing the currently non functional wardens of the web building in lower grotto into a small 2 to max 3 quarters guildhouse and moving the currently located barracks from the upper grotto into there (changing the upper grotto barracks to a normal quarter)

• and of course an actual player owned submarine

This.

• Currently all quarts within the Grotto proper, including the barracks, are one location with fixtures limit. This is painful when we manage our guildhouse and personal quarters together.

• We do not have a place to hang out - none in the Grotto which is supposed to where Gnomes live. The Wardens building seems like a fair chaice to me for a tavern - it does look perfectly suited for it, and easy to implement on the settlement, just need to add doors to the location.
  Besides - We have our own player run unit, Stoneguard, Wardens of the web do not reflect it. There is not much lore of it either.

I see talks about how there's not enough gnomes. But there's a reason - Grotto doesn't attract new gnomes. I know this is a niche issue, but for our fraction it's a serious hindrance - Grotto does indeed feel like Brog's basement. Gnomes have their own culture, technology, traditions, don't feel the location reflects it. There are nice touches - I am huge fan of the table with columns named after pantheon, but the place overall is too dark, there are couple of NPCs that look so generic it throws me off the immersion (and their location should be fixed, as one npc notoriously blocks one of our three stalls nobody knows about, other one sits exactly in front of one quarter's doors)

I don't ask for a standout settlement, I ask for little love to reflect the effort we put into making this place more alive, which will allow our group to grow, influence and work on overall rp quality of all parties included. Yes, I talk to you, pesky kobolds, bring it on!11!

Perhaps I'll have something more to talk about with friends once I invite them over, other than content my kinsmen and I have created and maintained. So I could show them beautiful underground river, full of colours, lamps, and small stalls full of gnomish toys and other oddities, rather than try to justify the heck are paupers doing there in a settlement which size doesn't justify the slums.

[Irongron]

4) A new upper-dark castle/fortress that can be bidded on by both surface AND Underdark. Currently, Anundor has several biddable areas for settlements, though none are used much due to location/access/other reasons. Such might be said for one or two of the surface castles. Having a fortress that sits at a practical halfway point between the Surface and Underdark that both sides can bid on would be pretty interesting. Whoever holds it would have an easier time for surface/UD raids and would provide a focus for military RP-minded players. Add in the bonus of being a contested money sink, and we have a winner.

This is such a solid idea. No promises of course (for one it would require significant change in the code), but I think it would really serve to enliven the server if done right.

[Mamma ama Warlock]

Anything that would facilitate player interaction with built-in hooks for cooperation, factions, conflict and a need of active player participation.

[chocolatelover]

BEFORE we get anything new, can we clean up what we have? I am so tired of desyncing everytime I use the Speedy Messenger or losing my spell effect icons just because I have my Avenger out. And the lag ... Perhaps cut Surface down into ocean /port areas versus land areas. Perhaps put Brog/Minmir on its own Server. Clean up the surface tile sets where no one likes to RP like the Lighthouse Tavern. Then maybe I could think of what new content I might like because right now it just makes me think it's going to just add twenty new bugs.

[Svrtr]

BEFORE we get anything new, can we clean up what we have? I am so tired of desyncing everytime I use the Speedy Messenger or losing my spell effect icons just because I have my Avenger out. And the lag ... Perhaps cut Surface down into ocean /port areas versus land areas. Perhaps put Brog/Minmir on its own Server. Clean up the surface tile sets where no one likes to RP like the Lighthouse Tavern. Then maybe I could think of what new content I might like because right now it just makes me think it's going to just add twenty new bugs.

The matter of missing icons in the top left is a problem with the base game engine from my understanding and thus not an arelith thing.

Desyncing when using a speedy messenger too is not something I've heard others mention or experience, and so it should be reported as a bug with as much detail as can be included

Likewise, hosting servers is expensive and moving areas to new servers a long and laborious process, so one can't just simply add more servers and move stuff on a whim unless someone pays for it (which from my understanding basically all the patreon donations go to sever hosting)

Lastly, the area design team is separate from the code team is separate from the art team. Someone adding more areas can't be expected to fix bugs, as all devs specialize in different things.

[For My Next Trick]

There isn't really a home for surface evil.

There -sort- of is, if you belong only to the Banites. But I feel like Sibayad is very horribly underutilized.

Cordor and most of the settlements are kind of fanatically good that it makes playing evil relegated only to the Underdark, or pirates. I feel like there could be something here for Sibayad if it had something of an expansion to make it the morally grey area people can play in. At least then evil players have a location they can be where they can't necessarily be attacked just for existing while being able to experience surface content.

[BurntGnome]

Desyncing when using a speedy messenger too is not something I've heard others mention or experience, and so it should be reported as a bug with as much detail as can be included

It's the Guldorand speedy office. 9 times out of 10, you go in, you desync, in my experience. That is if you make it down the road without being thrown into the Elven quarter, anyway.

[Grunf]

Maybe two suggestions on areas:

• Grotto, the middle part with "the way out", over years of talking with many players, it simply aint working especially the quarters, I had a bookshelf once with files that someone stole from behind the wall , none rp ever happens in those huts due to clumsy way to zoom in or out, would rather fewer quarters but somehow better shaped (like river ones) and if possible instanced. Dunno how to describe but middle part always been a bit odd-ish to like 99% of the players, even as its very, very pretty............the village(kudos to the last update) and upper are in my opinion best maps ever on Arelith with great vibe. Live Warden's barracks would maybe raise more tensions with the Underdark.

I presume having opened housing areas on that middle grotto map are made for players of gnomes easier to meet each other due to mentioned numbers, aye?

• As Sibayad was mentioned maybe somewhere in the depths of the Sibayad deserts a Tower of Knowledge for those with high Lore skills or oghmites, something like a Grand Library of Alexandria, with no quarters but just a place with a foyer first floor, second-floor scribe/lecture place and third grand moot place.....idea would be for the shelf to accept only books that are not in the loot matrix, so players can only add those tomes they write in, and can inspire DMs for plots or newcomer players, a place for pilgrimage.....unless that would drain other libraries of Arelith. But I see this more as a nice spice not nearly as a must.

[DM Poppy]

As I prepare to start concentrating on area building again, after the long work on Brogendenstein and the (hopefully) upcoming Blades of the Netheril NWN title I find myself wondering what kind of new area content our players think Arelith would most benefit from?

I have my own preferences of course, but don't want to influence the outcome here by saying just what it is...

I would love to see the Underdark development we once spoke of. Your idea on how you'd adapt it using the Trading Post, that would be very very exciting without changing the directive of Andunor to greatly.

[Preserver]

Settlement updates for sure!
I believe that, in the wake of the new improvements that have been made to the "look" of cities (Guldorand and Brogedenstein look stunning!), Cordor could use a little love itself. Not necessarily big expansions, but maybe a new layer of cool with more modern-looking areas, especially if we can make it look culturally distinct from Guldorand.

[Hazard]

Dis is probably my favourite place to explore and hang out in. The fact that the guards actually matter there, means you can get some very interesting d&d-like interactions that you otherwise couldn't, because it would quickly devolve into PvP. It also has the benefit of being ruled over by NPCs and not a single player is capable of throwing around their "authority", no matter how many friends they have.

IMO, it's a great model for what a settlement/trade hub should be.
It's probably about as close to a Sigil as we'll ever get, and I'd love to see it exapnded upon.

So I'm not entirely sure if I should vote 'Settlement' or 'Planar', but I'm going with 'Planar' but with specifically Dis in mind.
Settlements themselves, I've sort of grown to despise and avoid, but that's another topic for another thread.

More Dis is my vote.

[Gaal]

We have Dis, Abyss and Shadow plane, maybe we could get Celestia, Mount Celestia or one 7 layers.