Arelith

These are my opinions on Arelith. Just how I see things.

Most of Arelith is great, I am not going to talk about the things I like because that would be a huge post and I am not a big believer in praise. However a short list anyway:

Good staff
Good players
Engaging world
Plenty to do

To name a very few and very broad things I like.

What I find more beneficial to art and progress is constructive criticism, so that is what I will focus on. Things I don't like, don't understand, or would like to see changed. This doesn't mean I expect change, nor does it mean it needs to be changed. Simply that I believe that these are things that would make Arelith better.

Without further ado,

Underdark/Overworld position and relations:

It has always been my understanding that the Underdark sits many miles under the surface, that it is the sort of place that takes days to reach and requires fighting through a hellish landscape of frightening monsters and where everything is trying to kill you, is that a snail? No food, no water, even the snails are five feet tall and want to kill you.

Also, the races are simply do not mix. Every civilized race in the Underdark regards every civilized race on the surface as good for only one of three things! Food, Slaves, or Sacrifices. Every civilized race on the surface regards every civilized race below as savage monsters, the stuff of nightmares, and beasts used in children's stories to frighten out bad behavior.

So, suffice it to say the interactions between Underdark and Overworld inside Arelith has me a little perplexed, somewhat befuddled and honestly disillusioned. I do not feel like I am in the Underdark, I feel like I am in a zoo where surfacer peoples come to point and awe at the beasts. (I literally watched a group of all surfacers walk through andunor a few days ago, complete with a tour guide talking about the denizens like like the whole city was just an open air safari.) On the other side of things the interactions between surface and darkness have apparently become so common place that being a monster on the surface often gets you little worse than a shrug of dismissal but even stranger I have been welcomed to join people who I simply cannot reconcile in my mind would accept me. I am a goblin, any other time they've seen a goblin they've killed it in cold blood with no hesitation and no remorse! I am sure.

I think, rather I know, it would greatly benefit the immersion of the server's story and backdrop to greatly separate the two worlds better. Make the task of entering the Middledark from the surface something difficult and reserved only for the truly brave or truly foolish. However maintain the back door exits for monsters to reach the surface in order to play out raids and slaver runs. I am in no way suggesting andunor should be off limits to surface visiters, but it should certainly be a rare occurence.

Additionally, I feel as though 'outcasts' should follow the same rules as 'good aligned monsters' a simple normal award required in order to help maintain a seperation. Or, pay the man (FOIG). The problem with open allowances on outcast is that an outcast is supposedly a person so reviled on the surface they had no choice but to live in the Underdark. That is not how it is played, it is played as a license to live in both worlds freely, allowed to come and go ad they please through both worlds and obtain Undercommon for free. This is causing a great deal of mixing that is further watering down the Underdark experience for us lowly monsters. One should really have to pay for the right and privelege on the ooc level just as the character is paying for their crimes on the IC level.

The Level 30 Cap:

It seems like a bit of an arbitrary choice. I imagine that it was debated at length by the original creators but to me it seems like a weird place to stop. Leaving no character I make ever feeling complete, I always end at 30 feeling like I'm in limbo. 25 would be preferable for a mid level server because 25 is just enough to be better than average but not truly epic. As where 30 is right in the middle of becoming epic but, simply stopped just short of attaining it.

Now, I understand too much is now relying on the established level 30 cap and it will never change, but for the sake of argument I would much rather see a level 20 soft cap. In other words, server supports up to level 20 then from 20 to 30 you're left with meager xp and hard grinds and then further on from level 30 to 40 no monster will give you anything worth calling experience and the only way to actually achieve level 40 is through dedicated play and time invested being alive and playing the character.

What that kind of system creates is a sense of greatness and legend for characters. A level 20 is strong, maybe even a paragon of his or her class. A level 30 is something to be admired, a truly dedicated adventurer or warrior or diplomat. But a level 40 is a truly legendary figure, few will ever hope to achieve what they have they are beings of unspeakable experience and learning.

What the hard 30 cap creates is a feeling and sense more like.. level 20? That was easy! Oh, you're level 30? Eh, so what? Good for you.

I never really feel like I earned my levels, up to twenty they almost feel like they've been handed to me. Then levels 20 to 30 is such a short path I feel like I haven't really done anything at all. So, all in all the entire level cap and level up system in place leaves me feeling grey and hollow inside in so many ways that I find myself intentionally hurting myself just to make the effort feel worth it.. playing with one hand, refusing to heal until combat ends, being a total recluse, ect. Yet, at the end of it level 30 it's self sits in its own grey area all its own and I can't get over it.

Then, also. Sort of following a similar line, many of the class changes and custom classes focus very hard on level thirty and on a rigid course. Making one of the greatest things about NwN, Cross Classing and essentially Custom Classing very difficult and with fewer viable options.

Player Housing, Locks and Factions:

I noticed the locks had just been mentioned and I apologies for the repeat but I'm repeating.

What is the point of locks that cannot be unlocked? If player housing is impenetrable just make the locks plot. Remove the entire tease because it's meaningless. Or, make locks on player doors pickable.

I would like to see more faction housing. It seems there is only a few, which means it is unlikely they will ever be available outside whatever clique currently owns them. They will be passed down eternally from friend to friend and likely or only rarely change hands to a new group. A few more would be nice. If they're more available they'll be available more often.

Dungoeneering:

I am a huge fan of dungeon crawl. The dungeons in Arelith don't do it for me. They are short, monochromatic and easy to escape. I personally would love to see some end game dungeons so deep and difficult you could live in them, a well equipped party of three had better come prepared because they will be down there for a very long time, there will be no rushing as every trap WILL kill you and every advantage will be taken because every monster WILL eat you. Then once you've reached the end, prepare to turn around and walk out because there is no portal and your lenses will not get reception. Truly, it would be better to commit to the life and live here, in this wilderness because tourism is not an option. Sort of places.

Loot and Gear:

I understand the need for balance but gear and loot is stale and boring and I frankly don't look at any of it any more. It would be nice to find a completely randomized item every now and then, to have a glimmer of hope of finding something truly unique and epic. To own something no one else owns, and not have everyone running around with essentially the same equipment. Something like a 10% chance on epic chests for a completely randomized but potentially game breaking item an item that breaks the rules. Even if that item cannot be repaired or has a time limit on it.

Racial Requirements, AA:

Real short, I understand DD racial. I do not understand AA racial. It seems arbitrary a decision made simply because that expansion did a lot of arbitrary things. Something for the sake of the sake of. There is nothing in the trade of being an Acrane Archer that should imply elf blood only. You're empowering arrows, that seems like a pretty straight forward idea. Not like a Dwarven Defender where body shape, size, and cultural traditions all play a huge role in how it functions. To be an arcane archer you basically just have to know a little about enchanting or inbuning or scribbling runes. The racial requirement on AA has always and will always make no sense to me. Why not make barbarian racial restricted to Half Orc while we're at it? Or shadowdancer to halfling?

UMD:

It's too strong here, since it requires nearly no investment to use almost any magic item, not having it makes you a fool. It's creating a small imbalance where just about anyone is essentially also a spell caster.

Summons:

They seem to be a tad over strong. Anyone who can summon is essentially on a clear ride anywhere they go. It's allowing casters to be lazy and making for lazy casters. I am guilty of it too.

Then getting into Dragon Knight v Mummy Dust. Dragon Knight is practically useless. Meaning your only option for an epic summon is Mummy Dust and Mummy Dust is so strong you're kind of silly not to have it. Nevermind if you don't feel like it suits you because it's either that or nothing. Maybe increase the Dragon Knight duration to something that makes it functional. As it is now it hardly qualifies as a cute trick. Same could be said of Gate, actually. Why does Spell Foci Conjuration not augment summon times? Even if only slightly? These spells consume a lot of dust to be so short lived. But, I did just say summons may be too strong so what am I saying? Maybe the whole summon system could use a look over.

Palemaster:

I never intend to play one but I see them around. I feel like they loose much of their allure and intrigue by summoning the same vanilla deads as everyone else. I'd like to see a return to unique undeads for the PM. Maybe Demilich and Alhoon is too much. But maybe just a cosmetic change? Vampires to Risen Lords, Mummies to Grave Golems.. something like that. Similar could be said of Blackgaurd and Warlock, maybe, to a degree.

This is kind of an Arelith standard problem for me, everything sort of feels generic and cookie cutter. Not entirely but just enough that it's a bother and a drain.

There's other things I don't particular care for but, these are the things I feel are most detracting from my ability to enjoy the server. They may seem small or stupid to most people but for me, the devil is in the details and I know as a person that people will cover the barn in new paint to hide old wood but will forget to replace the nails. So if I want to know the true value of a thing I look for rusty nails. I'm seeing enough rusty nails to make me want to point things out. These aren't even all the nails just the ones that combined give me a headache. Any one alone I would be able to over look but it's not just one it's multiple.

Also, again, I am not calling for change, I am not expecting anyone to agree or care or read. I am in fact expecting nothing but naysayers and trolls because this is the Internet and I have not much faith in humanity. This is, for me, an opportunity to vent and offer up my point of view and nothing more.

Thanks for reading and thanks for your consideration.

Bishop Mystera wrote: Mon Sep 17, 2018 12:27 pmMake the task of entering the Middledark from the surface something difficult and reserved only for the truly brave or truly foolish. However maintain the back door exits for monsters to reach the surface in order to play out raids and slaver runs. I am in no way suggesting andunor should be off limits to surface visiters, but it should certainly be a rare occurence.

How, exactly, is this going to improve the server?

It's already ridiculously easy for UD to attack the surface and kill/enslave as many low levels as they please, then portal back down without fear of retribution.

It might be really fun and thrilling to run around PVPing everyone in your path, but it's not enjoyable for the players on the other end of it.

Please, name one person you know who is a forced slave?

Please, give me the last date of an actual attack you witnessed where it was an actual organized assault and not just a rabble stirring up trouble?

Every single solitary slave of dozens I encounter down there is a volunteer. Most from character creation some because they asked for the RP and as far as I can tell? Slavery is entirely compulsory if you get pulled down? Opt for prisoner and end the experience as soon as RP is ended. Portal home and now you have a fun story.

And I know there are few if any real attacks on the surface because it's like pulling teeth to get people to go up with me, then when you're there no one wants to get into trouble. You get one or two players at MOST ready and willing to swing a fist in a party of seven who kind of cower behind the one until a fight breaks out then they engage put of loyalty to the one and nothing more.

No one is up there stealing your friends and no one is up there engaging in wholesale warfare. Wherever you're getting these notions is beyond me but it's not from reality.

The blanket "here's what I think about arelith" posts really never do anyone good, Bishop. You've broadened the discussion from UD to AA requirements and everything in between. You'll get a much more qualitative post if you open discussions targeting specific things.

Oh, and any time someone brings up discontent with the UD the thread tends to get locked. Why? Because people really can't help themselves but diatribe their own personal opinions which are often factionalized within the server. The "yeahs" the "nays" and the "mehs".

I would really abandon ship and repost with specifics in mind.

There's other things I don't particular care for but, these are the things I feel are most detracting from my ability to enjoy the server. They may seem small or stupid to most people but for me, the devil is in the details and I know as a person that people will cover the barn in new paint to hide old wood but will forget to replace the nails. So if I want to know the true value of a thing I look for rusty nails. I'm seeing enough rusty nails to make me want to point things out. These aren't even all the nails just the ones that combined give me a headache. Any one alone I would be able to over look but it's not just one it's multiple.

I'm afraid you've expectations are a little overwhelming for a server run by a volunteer staff. If you honestly can't enjoy Arelith with the little details then the server may not be for you. In fact, I'd challenge you to find enjoyment despite the flaws. A lot of people have played here for ages, and while we know Arelith isn't perfect, the opportunities for engaging roleplay are available at such a consistent level that we can look beyond the blaring faults with the system and the player base. It's honestly not bad considering that there's nothing else out there that I've found even remotely similar to Arelith.

My View On Arelith: It's a sick addiction that swallows up people's lives and suddenly ten years later they realize they haven't done much with theirs in the real world, exchanging the possibility of real accomplishments for false one's that no one will remember on their deathbeds or even two years down the road.

Speak for yourself. It's possible to enjoy a hobby and progress in the real world. Also don't take advice from strangers on the internet but if you really feel that way like, idk maybe take a step back.

And the hassle begins.

I am not sure what this is about, level 40 is boring, but yes i would be for a cap on lvl 21 (we all know no shift will happen).

Dragon knight is awsome, you buff it and it takes out many bosses out alone in dungeons.

AA is elven blood only becaus.e..dnd inspired? From dnd wiki:

"Elves live long lives, learning slowly but with great skill. Many elves take up archery or wizardry as an art, and many still become great rangers or wizards in their own right, but few are as capable of marrying the two as the arcane archer. Arcane Archers are typically elves that have trained with both magic and elven longbows all their lives, but both wizards seeking to learn useful combat skills that don't put them in danger, or rangers and fighters that seek to add a bit more of a punch to their ranged weapons can be Arcane Archers.
Arcane Archers are feared combatants on the battlefield, capable of imbuing their ammunition with magical properties and even casting spells through their arrows. "


Arelith was like tripple time harder when i joined it first time. Then came customizations of classes, addition of new items, constant increase in characters power. It is now easier, for good or bad, and i doubt it will return back. People of this time tend to be overall more lazy, have no wish and desire to put that much effort into things anymore, and as I grow older, I am not much tempted to play games where playing is nearly suffering trough anymore

I like Arelith it is cool and fun.

I wold recommend more focused critique in the future. It's hard to go over a general statement.

AA is a classic NWN thing stemming from lore, for example. The only Arelith change is allowing you to take it with ranger levels only.

Housing/Locks has been discussed a few times. There's a thread in the feedback section currently active about it you can add your thoughts to.

Some of these other ones are better suited for single player over multiplayer. Dungeons likely won't be as long because saving is not a thing in multiplayer, and some players are stripped for time.

With lenses a thing and the ability to portal to home with ease, escaping without a prisoner is already easy, escaping with slightly harder (As it should be). I don't think the answer is module changes, if you see people treating Andunor like a zoo, report it and we will correct the view. Same for vice-versa, if you see underdark races being too comfortable in a surface town, we'll correct that view too.

For Outcast, there is no man to pay to become an outcast, we removed that some time ago. They are solely through creation or application now.

UMD is difficult to balance. Changing the max level away from 30 is also even more difficult to balance.

I don't agree loot is usually useless, you'll find occasional very useful things worth keeping over selling. It's also occasionally rotated.

There are ways to change cosmetics of summons, I don't think palemastery changes is needed.

Not sure I agree summons are too powerful, with the counterplay available.

Bishop Mystera wrote: Mon Sep 17, 2018 12:27 pm So, suffice it to say the interactions between Underdark and Overworld inside Arelith has me a little perplexed, somewhat befuddled and honestly disillusioned. I do not feel like I am in the Underdark, I feel like I am in a zoo where surfacer peoples come to point and awe at the beasts. (I literally watched a group of all surfacers walk through andunor a few days ago, complete with a tour guide talking about the denizens like like the whole city was just an open air safari.) On the other side of things the interactions between surface and darkness have apparently become so common place that being a monster on the surface often gets you little worse than a shrug of dismissal but even stranger I have been welcomed to join people who I simply cannot reconcile in my mind would accept me. I am a goblin, any other time they've seen a goblin they've killed it in cold blood with no hesitation and no remorse! I am sure.

This, at least, I can address directly and succinctly: It should not be happening. The reason it is happening is that we have recently, because of EE, gotten a massive influx of new players who aren't familiar with server culture and lore. If you see surfacers being welcoming of monster races, monster races wandering the surface without fear, or surfacers touring Andunor without fear, send a PM to the Active DMs group here on the forums with the names of the people involved so that they can have a chat with the people involved about the expectations the server has for interactions between UD and surface.

The discussion about the role of outcasts and the requirements for them really does deserve its own thread. It's a topic that has come up before, and which has led to changes like outcasts being made unable to use certain services on the surface.

Regarding the level 30 cap: I don't disagree, but this is such a foundational part of Arelith at this point that changing it would require redoing the whole server.

Regarding player housing locks: See viewtopic.php?f=37&t=20861. It's a fairly common subject of debate.

Regarding dungeoneering: It's true that most Arelith dungeons are designed to be completed in an hour or so, depending on the pace of the party. I believe there are some considerably harder dungeons in the Lowerdark, though I've personally never visited them. What it sounds like you're looking for, though, is Dark Souls: The Dungeon. I imagine there might be a dev or two out there that would love to take on this project, but it would be a HUGE undertaking, and at the end of the day I'm not sure that it would fit Arelith, which has generally opted for a more casual dungeoneering experience.

Regarding loot & gear: We had, at one point, items called artefacts, which were exactly what you're describing - equipment drops with much more random properties that had a chance to be game-breaking. (Or utterly useless. My favorite was a set of full plate which just had the one property - Class Restriction: Monk.) People farmed them like crazy, and eventually they broke the game, making the server impossible to balance between those who had these super-rare, perfect artefacts, and those who didn't. The artefact system was scrapped and replaced with the runic system that we currently have.

Regarding AA: I honestly wouldn't mind seeing AA become a race-neutral prestige class. Have a good hard think on it and drop it in the suggestions box with a list of pros and cons.

Regarding UMD: I'm hesitant to touch this one, as again, it really needs it's own topic, and frankly I don't think I understand the ramifications well enough to do it justice.

Regarding summons: These have undergone a TON of changes over the years, ending up in a place that supports the casual dungeoneering experience. The reason Dragon Knight and Gate are such short-duration spells is because they're intended to be used in a different way than most summons, as quick nukes that respond to large problems, rather than as dungeon companions. Palemaster, notably, does get the unique dracolich dragon knight, while Blackguard and Warlock are the only classes with access to the T5 & T6 demon/devil/yugoloth summons. Major awards can be redeems for summons with unique skins, if you are so inclined.

Regarding a feeling of cookie-cutter sameness: You're not entirely wrong. Mechanically speaking, there is often very little to distinguish one character from a hundred others of the same archetype. I mean, we've got a thread called Cookie-Cutter Builds! I get the impression that you want to be able to create a very unique character, but generally speaking that isn't going to happen mechanically (excepting in the case of Major awards, as mentioned earlier). Where you can be unique is through your RP, through taking a character, no matter how generic the build, and doing something completely different with it, that only you and your character could do.

I love the summons on this server and while they do make many areas too easy this does not mean a caster can afford to be lazy. The mobs in high level areas can and will defeat even the best summons if you don't take care to keep them healed and buffed and even lower level mobs do get lucky now and then. While most summons are very difficult to harm in melee magic can bring them down very rapidly if you are not paying attention. And then you have the mobs who's AI is smart enough to go after you and ignore your summon... good luck surviving that if you are lazy.

yea i'd probably rate arelith a decent 7/10

Only really two topics I think worthy of discussion that can offer any real change:

1) I certainly am one to agree that seeing monster-races walk the surface toting attitudes they belong, and encountering surface races offering these monsters support with the backup argument, "well, he saved my life a couple of times, he MUST be trustworthy" is still on the level of immersion breaking to me. (emphasis on the "to me" part.)

I find it difficult to play my dedicated elven paladin in Myon because of the high prominence of the Dark Dancer, to the point the Ellistreaen Altar is directly adjacent to the MAIN Corellon Larethian altar in the temple district of Myon, sending the signal (perhaps unintentionally) that Ellistraee is the 2nd most revered diety of the Seldarine.

My paladin had a quite entertaining conversation with another paladin elf of Myon that was very entertaining, but in the end left me unmotivated to pursue my elven paladin in the current climate of Myon attitudes toward 'friendly' drow. At the end of that conversation, however, my paladin was quite disheartened at the attitude of how easily drow can gain favor of a king or knight or sentinel of Myon, and gain the trust of the elves. That's an immersion-breaking experience for me, as in all the table-top campaigns I've played in (granted table-top D&D is very different from NWN) that sort of thing just could never ever happen. Even when playing the massive "Living Campaigns" from the 90's (if anyone remembers Living Greyhawk, Living City, etc.. the predecessors to today's Adventure League D&D table-top campaigns)

I know the OP posts as a goblin giving the perspective of surfacer-outcasts walking about Andunor as immersion breaking, and that I believe that a minor award shouldn't be enough to have a "good" monster-race character on the surface. If "Good" monsters are supposed to be rare, they need to be rare. They should be Major awards. They should be 5%. And "Outcast" or "slave" at creation should be medium rewards. They should be Special, and they should be a very small % of the population in order to stay true to the campaign.

Unless, of course... Andunor is a Skullport... which I don't believe it is... but it certainly seems like a Skullport to me, so it could just easily be declared by the Campaign DM to make Andunor into a Skullport, and that would solve a lot of problems, and we will instead of threads of people pining for the old days when Surfacers were killed almost on sight in the old Pit Town.


2) Arcane Archer is a D&D prestige Class... and it has so much lore behind it, you can't really open it up to other races as that would just break it. I do, however, believe that Arcane Archers are underpowerd and poorly utilized within the Campaign. The Arcane Archer 'could' be turned into a true Prestige Class, where it can ONLY be trained by NPC's that are a part of Myon. That taking the Arcane Archer prestige class requires IC restrictions of RP expectations that are monitored with penalties for violating them causing the character to no longer progress in that class in the same vein of restrictions of a Paladin.

Backj in the proverbial "day", Myon had these feard character archers of Shevaras, the Black Archers. The old Black Archers were legends. They were Death Incarnate. The Arcane Archer class -could- be beefed in a way that when AA's went into combat against DROW raced characters, their damage was tripled, making them truly DEATH INCARNATE...

And Drow AA's would have the same benefit when attacking surface-raced elves. The doors swing both directions.

AA's are pretty darn good classes, but their damage output is in no way equal to the melee-prestige class of Weapon Master. This is a crime. AA's should be Ranged Weapon Masters. With as much ease as well built Weapon Masters dispatch Bosses in fights... AA's should be equally deadly.

This increase in power, as stated again... ought be monitored and come with RP restrictions that relate SPECIFICALLY to the Elven City of Myon. This makes amazing RP opportunities, and truly makes sense for the fantasy campaign Arelith is.


Now.. regarding opening up AA to no-elf-blood races. In 3rd Edition, the prestige Class "Deepwood Sniper" came out in the supplement books. Deepwood Sniper is an archer-canon prestige class that has no race restriction. It wouldn't be too dificult to add "Deepwood Sniper" as an alternate to the Archer path of the Ranger... The old "sniper" ranger path was kind of like this, but it really did not nearly do justice to the Deepwood Sniper class.

Link to info on Deepwood Sniper: https://www.dandwiki.com/wiki/Deepwood_ ... ige_Class)


Adding in Deepwood Sniper... and morphing AA into an elven prestige class linked to Myon in the same vein the of the Radiant Hearts for Paladins would be super super cool. ..well at least in my opinion.

"DM Titania" wrote:
Comment 1: The best thing for you to do is alter your perspective of what Andunor is. It is /not/ a Surface town. House Freth and House Claddath are the two powers. It is better to see it as Skullport.

DM Grumpycat wrote:To make Andunor 'Drow Only' would mean stripping it of 80% of it's NPCs, most of it's guard, and a good chunk of it's merchants. Further more following this trend tends to lead to some less than steller gamesmanship. Andunor is set up so someone can log in of a vareity of underdark races, and jump in with a relitivly equel chance at power. Not so they can log in to be ground forcefully under the heel of anyone playing a Drow.

The only one I feel strongly against is the AA suggestion.

For one, it would encourage more human builds (as if we don't have enough of those). But more importantly, it IS a Forgotten Realms lore thing. I think elves deserve their own prestige class, given that they are the masters of the bow.

AA is fine... you'd need to lower their AB and remove their +10 enchantment arrows (19 AA) if you want to give them more damage. they used to be the only class that could kill dragon shifters fairly easy before they was nerfed.. cause the dragons had damage reduction 40/+6 and could shoot them when they got stuck because of size. Unless there is some Arelith specific path that give better AB, arcane archer have the best AB in vanilla NWN, if build right. i'd rather have less AAs then more... i hate called shot with that sick AB -.-'

About long deep dungeons:
Neverwinter night has something called the aurora toolset and a huge vault of pre made modules. i think most of those pivot around a long adventure and dungeon crawl. you might be able to find some friends at Arelith and ask them to join you in one of those and play it out with them on your own server.

just an idea tho, and wellcome to Arelith, Bishop Mystera.

Some dungeons are pretty darn long, folks just don't travel to them usually. Especially the dungeons where folks have to travel through the lowerdark to reach them.

Ciiiiircling back to the actual topic.

I can agree that UMD is too strong on this server. The biggest strength of it is actually no roll check on scrolls. If this was enforced it may be a game changer for the skill as most melee PCs only invest 10 or 15 points in the skill. (This may also lead to riots though).

Bishop Mystera wrote: Mon Sep 17, 2018 1:12 pm Please, name one person you know who is a forced slave?

Please, give me the last date of an actual attack you witnessed where it was an actual organized assault and not just a rabble stirring up trouble?

Every single solitary slave of dozens I encounter down there is a volunteer. Most from character creation some because they asked for the RP and as far as I can tell? Slavery is entirely compulsory if you get pulled down? Opt for prisoner and end the experience as soon as RP is ended. Portal home and now you have a fun story.

And I know there are few if any real attacks on the surface because it's like pulling teeth to get people to go up with me, then when you're there no one wants to get into trouble. You get one or two players at MOST ready and willing to swing a fist in a party of seven who kind of cower behind the one until a fight breaks out then they engage put of loyalty to the one and nothing more.

No one is up there stealing your friends and no one is up there engaging in wholesale warfare. Wherever you're getting these notions is beyond me but it's not from reality.

As someone that also has to help people out of being tricked into slavery, because people will often hide you need to ask consent for such, Yes it does happen, a lot, and it's beyond annoying and infuriating.

To answer your "question" no, no one will be giving out names as what you are doing is encouraging someone to publicly shame and calling them out, which is against the rules here.

Also, last week when the same place was raided 3 times in a row is a very good example of what your "asking" for.... Same as when bendir was attacked everyday for a week.

So to say Cuddles experiences is not of reality is not only petty, but down right mean, dismissive, invalidating to those that have had to send reports, and covering up for a lot of what happens.

As someone that also has to help people out of being tricked into slavery, because people will often hide you need to ask consent for such, Yes it does happen, a lot, and it's beyond annoying and infuriating.

To answer your "question" no, no one will be giving out names as what you are doing is encouraging someone to publicly shame and calling them out, which is against the rules here.

You're entirely right, Atlantahammy! Definatly the thing to keep off a public forum thread! That said, I would be interested in knowing of any cases where there were such skulldugery myself. If you hear of players being tricked/ooc 'colluded' into taking the collar, can you report that to me/us? Thanks!

And I know there are few if any real attacks on the surface because it's like pulling teeth to get people to go up with me, then when you're there no one wants to get into trouble. You get one or two players at MOST ready and willing to swing a fist in a party of seven who kind of cower behind the one until a fight breaks out then they engage put of loyalty to the one and nothing more.

Two points of information.

1) I think we had a proper overseen UD 'Raid' about... a week? Two weeks ago? Whilst I wouldn't neccesarly say proper 'raids' are very common, I think overall they average out to about... one, maybe two per IRL month? ( some months we might have two or even three, other months we'll have none. This is only a very rough estimate.)

2)
'Raids' as in 'Bob and Joe Drow pop to the surface and cause a bit of mayhem on the roads' arn't really counted in the above. If what you mean is 'A large force of drow attack a settlment and there is epic battle!' (which is what I was referring to) one of the reasons they're a little rarer is that they need to be overseen by a DM.
If you want to gather a group, and make an active attack on a settlment, or on the outskirts of a settlment, you should contact one of us, so we can oversee it and also provide the requisite flavour.

How the hell does someone trick a person into slavery lol? "Hey take a look at this necklace i have for sale. Whats that?... nah it only looks like a slave collar its not actually one, here try it on."

Vrass wrote: Tue Sep 18, 2018 8:45 pm How the hell does someone trick a person into slavery lol? "Hey take a look at this necklace i have for sale. Whats that?... nah it only looks like a slave collar its not actually one, here try it on."

'Why doeosn't your character agree to be my characters slave? I'll just free you in a day or so! And it'll be good fun!'

Or.

'If you don't accept the dialogue options, you'rea really crap RPer and I'll report you to the DMs and you'll get your RPR lowered!'

At best the first one is at the least highly misinformed, if not just outright lies. The second is both untrue and manipulative. Mechanical Slavery is a pretty serious business. It's really cool, and I'm glad it exists, and really I wouldn't change it for the world - but no player should go into it blind or misinformed.

Vrass wrote: Tue Sep 18, 2018 8:45 pm How the hell does someone trick a person into slavery lol? "Hey take a look at this necklace i have for sale. Whats that?... nah it only looks like a slave collar its not actually one, here try it on."

Also either you take the slave collar, or I will just kill and corpse bash....was one I have heard before, and since no one wanted that....

Well.. I mean at least

Bryce Silver-Wind wrote: Tue Sep 18, 2018 10:08 pmAlso either you take the slave collar, or I will just kill and corpse bash....was one I have heard before, and since no one wanted that....

I mean ..at least this one is IC. The other examples are horribly manipulative. I feel like the permanent collar needs to be locked behind a DM request & the prisoner's collar available always. If the system is abused to that extent, it's the only way to safeguard against misdeeds.

Ork wrote: Tue Sep 18, 2018 10:25 pm Well.. I mean at least

Bryce Silver-Wind wrote: Tue Sep 18, 2018 10:08 pmAlso either you take the slave collar, or I will just kill and corpse bash....was one I have heard before, and since no one wanted that....

I mean ..at least this one is IC. The other examples are horribly manipulative. I feel like the permanent collar needs to be locked behind a DM request & the prisoner's collar available always. If the system is abused to that extent, it's the only way to safeguard against misdeeds.

Fairly...if you have been OOCly manipulated into the collar, I have no doubts the DMs will remove the collar.