Arelith

So I was replying on Bluesky to a game blogger interested in the solo, combat/exploration focused experience on Arelith, and I replied this is often how I play (Time zone limitations etc), and that I find it quite possible, depending on start locations (For me Cordor, Brogendenstein or Andunor start, coupled with a multitool class)

Anyway, they asked I share insight in how best to do so, and rather than doing so within the Bluesky limit I thought it best to throw it out to the playerbase and link them here.

Have at it!

My go-to for solo play is Andunor Start, Human Outcast. Class is a Shadow Mage Wizard / Pale Master. It's a great build for PvE with its spells and Undead (Even after Undead summon Nerf). Blackguard is also a solid choice. I also think most players fail to utilize leadership skills and hire guards, which is a game-changer on Skal.

Was that what you were looking for, or did you want more strategies, etc?

Okay, but Arelith is a roleplay server, isn't it? The combat/exploration stuff tends to be pretty mid to tedious without it. Especially at the low and early-mid levels I assume this person will be playing at.

Why not try talking to them about the basics of making a character to experience the world with? That's the true fun of it, after all, as well as the main point of the server. Stay In Character (IC), engage in good faith, and you'll probably have a really great time no matter where you start at. Although I would never recommend Andunor to a new player.

Soloing is certainly possible, especially if you go prepared and have a bit of foreknowledge. Having heal kits, knowing how to do things like raise AC (potions, expertise, having a shield/armor, etc) and stats, and so on, are important to the early game experience. Getting over a hump like the sewer rat writ comes to mind, it's kind of hard if you don't have enough AC/AB for the leader, or a summon to get through it for you.

You don't, because Arelith is a cooperative RP server not intended for an audience of solo combat/exploration players, but rather those who prefer to roleplay with others and build the lore and story that is the server's 20+ year history.

Or just roll up anything with summons, like a PM or Druid, because those make PvE ez pz.

No huge feelings here, but one thing that would be really nice... especially for solo players but honestly just players in general, is if writs could give clear, obvious, big hints if Open Lock is needed to complete a writ. Or, even better, if no writ required that. (Maybe some writs could be quicker/more profitable with it? But none REQUIRING it). There's nothing more frustrating than getting half way through a writ, or an area, and finding you can't complete it due to not having someone with that skill with you.
That said, whilst I think it's good that at least in early levels solo play is easy enough, I'm not sure we should be massivly encouraging it on later levels - especially given the impact in profitability of adventures.

I don't think soloing dungeon content and being part of the RP is necessary mutually exclusive. In all my time in Arelith I've soloed much more often than not, oddly with more RP then when accidentally getting attached to parties grinding for XP. Solo play, punctuated by interesting character encounters, drinks at a crowded tavern, or just happening across some local drama is a rewarding experience.

When I really want to adventure with a party, and really be in the thick of interactions from the get-go I choose Skal, when I want to take things slower I choose Cordor. Andunor, while certainly easy to solo still can turn very dramatic at a moments notice.

I find myself soloing a lot these days.

20 years ago I had the time and drive to engage in long-term RP, collaborative story-writing and thought-provoking plots, and I did, but these days I will be honest and admit that between juggling career, family, hobbies and remaining somewhat sane I often use Arelith as an outlet, logging in at the end of a day to get an hour or two of playtime. Right until the baby screams and I get to instantly log out and go afk.

I prefer to play in an RP environment but it's been a long time since I saw any of the plots that I envision come to fruition - still, they live rent-free in my head

As for the actual topic, Skal start is my favorite. It's just so chaotic and random and is the excellent place for a newbie to get their bearings without too much commitment. The RP is usually somewhat light and fun and with a central hub it's to get everything you need. Casters are far easier than mundanes, warlocks especially (Demonstrated by the fact that they're a dime a dozen)

I don't think soloing and RP are mutually exclusive, I'm mostly just talking about approaching the server with the right mindset: that it's a roleplay server, not a combat/exploration server. I say this because I've recommended the server in the past to people who didn't know what to expect and they ended up not really having a great time due to not really understanding what it's all about. The idea of roleplaying your own self (not through the mechanics of a game) can be pretty foreign to the average gamer. A simple reminder to keep an open mind and think of what your character would do is not amiss. That's all.

Easy mode ->
1) Get something capable of summoning creatures (Any kind of wizard, Cleric... You have a lot of flavors)
2) Go to Cordor as a start. No Andunor, no Skaljard, keep it simple and easy, you like portals and hate the underdark threats.
3) Get bandages and invest in heal skill.
4) Your minions attack, you heal them and act like a coward. If they die, time to get to safety and rest. Invisibility if possible.
5) Always get Summon Creature, Planar and Gate when choice is given.
6) Get to 30.

Extras:

• Get herbalism as profession, create Runic Sequencer to buff your minions.
• Visit Cordor Charity, because why not?
• Planar Conduit as soon as you can, then gg easy.
• If you can, get feat spell focus conjuration.

Completely echoing Karris' views

Definitely start in Skal. It's the easiest place to start interacting with people and not get drawn into topics that aren't really relevant to them at the moment. It's much easier to find people to adventure with.

I think a basic battle cleric (With GSF Conj) is the easiest class and most familiar to people coming with minimal NWN experience. Just learn that player tool!

Most summoners are squishy themselves if anything actually gets close to them. If someone uses their Associate tool well (which is a tool that you can use to manually control your minions), they will seldom have an attack roll made against themselves, but if someone is already "good" at the game, they already know which classes to pick.

But we are talking new players here.

So for them, as some people have previously mentioned - a summoner cleric is solid. Powerful summons, but the summoner himself can both take and dish out some damage themselves.

Other than that, for someone wanting to be strong 'on their own' I'd recommend a Spellsword. A guy that knows both how to cast spells and how to hit things very hard.

You get powerful very quickly, you can customize your character by switching out enchantments on your equipment... and perhaps most importantly, you do not need equipment. You can do without knowing which consumables to get and what pieces of armor or weaponry you need to buy.

A spellsword can put enchantments (so-called imbues) on their armor and weapons, turning any piece of ordinary equipment into something perfectly capable of handling level-appropriate content. Other classes often need specialized equipment to function, while a Spellsword can grab any piece of junk they find, magic-it-up and it will work. The imbues scale with your level and are completely free. They can be customized too!

Are you fighting your way through a tundra infested with ice elementals and other frosty creatures? Put an ice imbue on your armor to make yourself resistant to cold, and a fire imbue on your weapon to melt anything in your path. Fighting some monsters able to cast mind-affecting magics? You can cast Mind Blank on yourself and render their mind-affecting stuff harmless. You get in serious trouble? Cast haste and invisibility on yourself and just run away to safety. While every other character has to wrangle fifty wands/potions to be prepared for combat, you can cast almost all the buffs you need on your very own.

Spellsword has everything it needs with minimal required effort or knowledge.

Late-game it might get a bit harder, due to a recent nerf to their defenses, but people should know how to play by then.
Early-game the thing is just dynamite.

Here is a pretty decent way to make one.

If you do choose to use the above spreadsheet for your build, then be aware that Arelith has a 'Gift system'. If you try to get the stats listed in the spreadsheet, that is
Str:18
Con:16
Int:18
you will not be able to do so. Leave them all at 16s. Once you make the character and enter the server, you will get asked in a special dialogue window which 'gifts' you want for your character. Pick the gifts of Might(str) and Intellect(int) which will increase both your str and int by 2, thus giving you the desired stats.

I'd suggest a standard weapon master (a build can be found on the wiki) strength based with a sword and shield. It is big general damage with fast killing groups of monsters. Take the heal skill and live in improved expertise. Take the crafting gift and learn forging as you go. Ask lots of people lots of questions. Don't be afraid to look stupid. Learn what all the consumables do (potions, wands essences, and more). The roleplay is also fluid and can fit in with anyone: a mercenary, an aspiring knight, a mean thug. Simple and fun.

I always start in Cordor, I never made an Underdark character because I don't want to become too familiar down there and keep it an alien hostile world. I never do Skal anymore because it's always too busy with players, waiting on a hunting party ahead of you to finish so you can go ahead. I tend to stick to human and I prefer casters over melee builds, they have more utility and do a better job of soloing in general, and I generally prefer the caster RP, be it wizard, cleric, or whatever. Clerics are probably better for soloing since they can summon, buff themselves, wear armor and fight alongside their minions.

Like Irongron and others here, I have often found myself 'soloing'. What I mean by this is not "silent run grind dungeon x," but "Going out to accomplish x alone with a reasonable expectation of success."

Just this last week, I took a writ for a mid-epic dungeon and could not find anyone to accompany me. So, I went and did it by myself. I got my stuff done, but more importantly I was mobile and active.

Any you know what? I find more roleplay 'soloing' out and about than I do in settlements.

That's right.

If I go out and do something, I more frequently run into other players to interact with than I do when in a settlement. People traveling from point A to B are engaged as they are steering their character, clicking on world objects, etc. People standing on a wall in Cordor/Guldorand/Andunor/whatever are more likely to be tabbed out and unresponsive or disengaged. Or in a call.
Or even worse - the city is dead because large groups are in closed door, unadvertised, scry-warded meetings that logistically halt the influx of new blood.

I can go to any city, see someone on the corner, try to get them to come with me, and if they don't bite, I can go do something. When I come back more often than not that person is still standing there even three dungeons later. If I run into someone who is actively moving through an area, I know they are at their keyboard at least enough to bang out a VSW or type nods.

So now that I've turned everyone off with a tl;dr wall of context, here's how I think it's best to both Solo, and PLAY Arelith as it's advertised to be played:

Starting Area
Start in an area that has high turnover and low level play. Skaljard because of the size and cap, or Cordor because you can move easily to anywhere else.

Before Classes
Pick. As. Many. Gifts. As. You. Can. Get a +2 in your main stat, and a +2 in your secondary. CON is never bad. I played a commoner once who terrified midlevels simply because she had over 600hp and damage reduction. She couldn't hurt them, but she was a pain in the butt to kill quickly. It took time.

Classes
Play classes that can be functional alone. Jack mentioned summons - if you're a caster, start off with something that benefits from GSF:Conjuration and bind the associate tool to F1. Buy the Skal tradition of "Bottledog." Roll up a 20/7/3 that can function relatively effectively on a bull's strength potion and a song. Pick cantrips that not only damage, but slow/stop enemies to allow you time to react. Play a pre-nerf warlock.

Classes Part 2
Play classes that have a skill that benefits a party. Does your rogue suck at combat? That's okay, people will want you if you can say, "I can pick locks" (or if you're a bard, "I can make you pick locks better"). Especially those wizards who miss opening chests without having to swap out gear and loose spellslots.

Interaction.
Say hello to other players you see in dungeons. Announce your intent to go and do xyz thing. Put a paper on the floor saying "Single Elf Female looking for Lockpicking Waifu looking to loot Cordor Crypts Chests." Listen to other people who are doing/saying/looking for something. How will you know which bare-chested muscleman needs coal, and which noodle-armed wizard will pay your thousands for 32 glass?

Crafting
Put 1 point in art crafting and 1 in tailoring and 1 in herbalism. Use this to make your own healing potions at low levels and be semi self sufficient. But also, you can harvest common resources and wh- I mean offer your crafting points for basic materials such as glass, cloth, cut gems, etc. People will pay you a lot for this, and one point in a skill gets you much of the early stuff.

Basic Mechanics
Learn how the enchantment basin works. There is no build that cannot be improved in playability by having 2-3 Basin Items of Relevant Stat +1. You will blow all your gold from level 1-5 writs, but your fighter with 4 gear pieces of +1str will hit harder than a fighter who found a +1 sword, and you'll be able to carry coal to sell to midlevels and epics who will absolutely debase themselves for a 10 stack of coal as we hinted at above.

Seduce Everyone's Heart
No really. You don't have to select one of the many low cut tops or show off those tree trunk man thighs. But you DO have to play a character that entertains other people. Aspire to bring joy to other's experiences whether through empowering their goals, providing comic relief, being useful, or being a halfling that wears shoes or an elf that wears pants. Be a Banite that beats someone to the point of death, then stops and says, "YOU ARE WEAK, NOW TAKE THESE POTIONS SO YOU MIGHT LEARN FROM YOUR WEAKNESS AND RISE TO BE STRONGER AND GLORIFY BANE", then go away and let them continue with their writ after having a brush with death and 'recovering' stronger than they were before (cuz you buffed them technically.) If someone likes your character, they will seek you out to the point you'll be begging Khorin for pointers on how to manage being too busy. Sometimes, they will seek your character to beat them up. Play the heel from time to time, and remind folks that it's more fun to type when subdualed than it is to get up and get the mail while you're waiting for the respawn cooldown to expire.

Do all these things, and you will be able to have fun soloing, be more available to meet engaged people, and able to participate in what Jack noted as the point of this server:

Collaborative Roleplay.

I don't think scolding people for soloing is at all constructive... If you can't play in the peak hours you'll probably have to solo at least part of the time, that or sit on a bench for long and silent stretches wishing something would happen. It's a valid part of the game. I've played on servers that almost completely disallowed it and it doesn't make the game any more fun, it makes it a lot more frustrating if you either can't play peak times or you can't get into the most active cliques.

I mostly see soloing as taking care of all the business you need to do, gathering and leveling and what not, so when people are around to RP with you can focus entirely on that. I think if you want to play a loner that should be okay too, as long as you do engage in RP when you are around others.

In my experience, I've had the smoothest leveling experience with Healer Cleric (pre-summon nerf; I haven't tried it since the changes), and Abjurant Champion Spellsword, which I've levelled twice. Of the two, I'd suggest Spellsword as it really showcases numerous aspects of what makes Arelith's combat mechanics fun. It has a little bit of everything and blends them together really well. It can feel extremely daunting at first though, because you're given a number of complex tools quite quickly and success will require the player to rely on the heavily. Healer Cleric, by contrast, was very "fire and forget". You conjure your summon, then arrange your spells around supporting it.

For starting areas, Skal can be great for solo play. Navigation is fairly straightforward, and the writ progression flows naturally with how you'll explore the areas. There are one or two low-level "traps" that can put a hindrance on solo runs, as they require certain skills/knowledge to properly solve. The real issue is player congestion. You are likely to encounter other players during dungeon runs. While writs in Cordor start fairly clustered together, they rapidly spread out. This can give you space to do content on your own with minimal interruptions.

Another fun option is to play a Shadowdancer build. Shadowdancer is not the most optimal soloing build, but it can be a lot of fun to play. It has elements of a summoner class with the high damage potential of a sneak class. The summon auto-positioning next to you is amazing quality of life, and it's exceedingly tankier than most traditional summons. It also lets the shadowdancer produce massive damage from flanks. It's effectiveness tends to drop off at later mid-levels, but it makes up for it with the addition of defensive tools. Shadowdancer also has numerous utility skills.

I think overall the surface is the best place for solo leveling as it presents the most options based on skill and build. Everything I have heard about skal is that its team up central, and the underdark used to have a reputation of being more about the mid-level circle grind than doing writs. That may have changed in recent years though. While I have never actually done this, I suspect I could level two characters doing a completely different set of writs save the early ones in Cordor, and both would make it to thirty easy. You don't get that anywhere else.

Oh!

I forgot to mention builds! If anyone wants an easy go of things and is new (or at least doesn't have a PhD in spreadsheets & math), I would advise them to visit the official discord and check out the premade builds. Picking one that seems interesting. While it would be nice to jump in without one if they want a comfortable solo experience, a good build can make things so much more enjoyable and stress-free.

I think, soloing in Arelith can be pretty simple if you know the few that i'm going to list, it's not too complicated nor is it lengthy.
I'll just write the Martial since Caster class are pretty straight forward with summons.

Utilize scrolls and potions that can be found IG ( rather easily now even in Skal ) & Healing kits
Mage Armor, Shield, Magic Weapon, Animal buff and of course, Barkskin (Potion) and Essences(Temp or Perm, even +1 or +2 makes a difference)
( All these can be bought even with 1,000gp from borrowing through the bank and therefore, owing them money and probably the only time ) Yea, you just need to buy a single each and off you go, you should be able to complete 3 writs with those buff, getting back more than 2,000gp to continue the cycle of replenishment.

These will be able to pump your AC to around 30 or higher with equipped shield and you're good to go for solo content from level 3 to 13.

For level 14 to 20 writwork, you'll need GMW scroll, Improved Invisibility (scroll or wand) and you're easily set.
Your targeted AC should be average 40AC which is achievable with the above mentioned scrolls, potions and tumble(skill) and/or expertise(feat which is usually taken)
your average AB simply need to be between 20 to 30 which isn't all that hard to achieve.

For level 20 to 30 writwork, you should have no trouble getting allies to help you since there're plenty of players around that range to do writ with. If you've master the usage of wands and scrolls, most content should be simple enough and of course, buying those end game armor and such.
Rule of thumb in average for the 3 most important equipment, around 200K for armor, 200K for weapon, 100K for equipped shield.

RP and Solo aren't mutually exclusive. It's more of an enjoyment if you've surprise encounter or forge surprisingly good relationship during conversation that lead to dungeon together etc.

I'm not going to get into the "This is a roleplay-oriented server" part of this topic; thats a whole different, incredibly long and nuanced discussion.

As a long time player who mainly ran as a solo player, heres my input from the last...jesus, 15+ years I've dabbled on Arelith.

The big thing to keep in mind when trying to solo is that not all classes are equal.

I absolutely despise the "Meta" push that has become more prevalent over the years, as it means very specific playstyles and builds excel consistently while builds that don't adhere to the general meta template loose steam -very- quickly both in pve and pvp. While I appreciate that this means some solo-friendly tricks have remained relatively unnerfed over the years as they've likely gone unnoticed, it makes it very, very difficult for newer players to find "creative" means of playing.

I can't speak on how things are now, given my sketchy playtime, but for a point it seemed new npcs were being balanced around the average theoretical meta builds of the time, and not what most of the server was running with. Which created a death spiral of meta building and rebalancing. I think its around this time I kinda checked out of Arelith for a while.

Arelith is not solo friendly if you aren't familiar with NWN mechanics, Arelith's custom mechanics, and the server layout and hostile npcs. Even with this knowledge, certain classes have far more solo potential than others. Spellcasters typically are poor choices for solo builds, as spell slots are a finite resource that aren't easy to replenish without a risky rest attempt. Most spells target a saving throw as well, and once you start hitting high levels, you don't really have much of a chance of breaching an enemies saves. Assuming the enemies don't have some weird, unexplained immunity or resistance (ex: fire giants being immune to fear. Is that still a thing?) The most success I had with a solo caster involved the usage of stealth, summons, and AoE crowd control, which at the end of the day, was basically playing with the discount Temu version of a PC party. This style was completely nonviable upon hitting the lower high levels.

There are some exceptions to this, like some of the warlock variants (not all of these are equal in terms of power), which have a combination of powerful summons and infinite casting

Even at low levels, some enemies had ridiculous defenses against spells. Quaagoth Elders having something like a save of 17 vs spells, or things like -deer- having improved evasion. Undead are fairly common enemies, meaning mind affecting spells aren't going to help you much for a very large chunk of the server.

Ranged builds typically don't deal enough damage, and shooting one enemy as the potential for the entire mob to descend on you. They're also incredibly resource intensive, requiring ammunition and ranged templates (and the items needed to buff said templates) along with your usual slew of items and consumables.

Melee builds are the most viable solo archtype, but require the player have some ability to buff themselves. Melee builds have the advantage of having higher HP (typically) and having their main means of attacking not being a finite resource (spell slots or ammunition).

Builds that rely on saving throws to disable and kill enemies start off strong at low levels, but get progressively less effective the higher level you are, to the point where save-heavy builds become more of a gimmick that an actual effective strategy (ex; swashbuckler-heavy builds). The exception to this being Terrifying Rage Barbarians, but thats probably a different discussion.

The Build Compendium on the wiki reflects this somewhat, as most of the builds listed are melee oriented, with a few ranged and -very- few spellcasting builds.

ON THE POSITIVE NOTE:

Soloing can be wildly profitable once you figure out how to make the most of your build in are profitable area. Skills like appriase, pickpocketing, search/open locks/disable traps, and sailing can dramatically boost your profit intakes by insane margins. My last character was making 10k-20k per solo run (after selling all the loot) before he hit level 10. And since you aren't running with a party, you don't have to split the loot!

No matter what though, after a certain point, soloing just isn't going to be viable. I can't imagine doing things like the Maurs (high damage, high HP mobs that can dispel) as a solo being worthwhile. Even if you're capable of fighting solo on that level, the resources spell vs rewards gained are typically not worth the effort.

If you're interested in soloing -and- new to Arelith, Cordor is probably your best bet, as the variety of writs, locations, and resources make it a bit easier to deal with that say, the Underdark (fewer settlement options, terrain hazards, difficulty spikes) or Skal, which is like "Arelith - Hard Mode" if you aren't familiar with Arelith and NWN mechanics.

Edit: wow that sounded a lot more negative than I meant.

So. You're probably saying "wow, that sounds salty. Why did you bother playing as a solo?" I'm partially a masochist, but mostly because I enjoy finding creative solutions to problems, and I find more satisfaction coming up with solutions I can use myself, rather than gathering a part and letting them brute-force the problem. These workarounds become harder to do later on, and eventually soloing just isn't viable, but I enjoy it still. Even if in 15 years I've never seen things like Paush, the beholder, or mindflayers

I also mostly solo due to awkward time-zone, but I also think soloing is it's own kind of fun and I dont really mind it in the absence of an interesting encounter with other characters. That is why I mostly play classes and builds who are capable of soloing, on principle.

My two cents:

All starting locations have appealing and unappealing things in them and I wouldnt say one is more difficult than the other. They have different atmospheres for sure. Skal would be where it's the easiest to find a party in early levels but I dont think it should be the main factor in choosing a starting location.

In my opinion, in Arelith, making a new character is better with a pre-set build. We have many classes and many builds written by veteran players. If you're new, use them. Think of a character concept, and pick a build from the list that facilitates the concept the most. It doesnt have to be perfect. It can be min-maxed. Then play it to epic levels and dont worry too much about mechanics, they'll come to you over time.

Some classes that I would consider very beginner friendly and relatively easy to level up solo:

Cleric (Evangelist), focused on summoning, healing and singing bard songs. Doesnt really need a pre-set build
Cleric (Defiler), focused on offensive casting at melee range and life stealing, summoning undead. Doesnt really need a pre-set build, just death and suffering domains.
Harbinger (Crimson Count), focused on stomping everything with twohanded weapon and lifestealing. Available build(s) on discord.

Since everyone is focused on class, I just want to say that you can level anything to 30 solo, even a total jank build. PvE is all about consumables and damage in 95% of the dungeons, with only most bosses that have a runic chest behind them becoming a real challenge for weaker builds to solo.

That being said, if you really want it to be easy as a new player, it doesn't get much easier than a battle cleric. Most of your casting is done before you go in the dungeon, and you only have to worry about divine favor/power, and I guess shield and might if you are crazy and go that route. Barring bad luck, you will devour everything in your path for the most part once you figure out what spells do what.

you best solo by petitioning irongron to remove damage shields balagarns spam and breaches from enemies

The question of "how to best solo" has to begin with the question of "how do you PREFER to play?"

Assuming you want to solo, do you want to facetank things, or play as a summoner, or use stealth and traps to handle enemies?

With that said, it is hard to go past Spellsword or Warlock as a class for soloing, assuming you are willing to cross-class one rank in OL/DT and get a gearset for OL/DT/Search, so you can handle traps and locks whilst out soloing. Both classes have the options in their mechanics to viably handle content all the way to level 30 solo, especially if you follow a build guide that anyone can find in the Character Build Advice section of the Official Arelith Discord (Link: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/ ... id=0#gid=0)

Then it becomes a question of what setting you prefer:

• Frontier style play without portals, more relaxed: Skaljard
• Civilisation as a point of light from which to go out, portals and strong RP: Cordor
• Forced proximity to danger and walking on the wild side: Andunor
• ROCK AND STONE: Brogendenstein

Kuma wrote: Thu Feb 27, 2025 4:28 am

you best solo by petitioning irongron to remove damage shields balagarns spam and breaches from enemies

I always load up on breach wands and extra buffs high on the breach list (love me some irongut potions these days, they used to be a bunch of garbo) and I remove those things as a threat without any petition. While I'm at it, I always make sure I have some way of casting displacement for bosses to eradicate the other annoying thing, invisi purge.