Attention!! {i.e. freakin' read this one, okay?}

Okay, now anyone who's been on Neverwinter Nights in the past six months or so knows that the game is pretty much and almost officially considered "dead." It's ten years old, official support has been cut off by Bioware, and the servers that are up are usually running at surprisingly low capacity. (I think the Amia and Ravenloft servers have the bulk of what players aren't in social servers. Even one of the most popular social servers, Isle of Styss, has seen a serious drop in player numbers. Yes, I looked.) It's getting harder and harder to find a fun, decent RP server, and also harder to find players that aren't on your MSN/Skype/AIM/whatever.

With that in mind!

I want Venice back and I want it better. I personally want haks- some of the stuff I've seen on a couple of other servers with haks is freakin' phenomenal and CRYSTLE WANT- and I want a quick-travel system. I want little extras like Neko was listing. I want a place in the server that becomes the main hangout- the Sakura came close, but not close enough- and I want faction trouble. Even if I have nothing but vampires to work with- and I hate anyone who doesn't play a changeling after I made kith-specific rings!- I want to see them!

I flat-out admit that I didn't put as much into the server as Neko or Nino did, but I did try to run events and I did try to keep people entertained when I saw them on. So this is what I want from people who are still fans of Neverwinter Nights, still love the oWoD and still want to see La Serinissima in action.

One- how often do you think you'll be available to play? By that, I don't mean how often you can log in and then walk off to go do chores. How often will you WANT TO PLAY? I don't care if it's once a month, once a week or every night. I just need to know.

Two- I'm going to start flat-out demanding feedback on events. After some of the ones I ran went through, I talked to a couple of people and got feedback that would've been a lot more helpful before I finished the events. SO! If there's a style you like, TELL US. If there's a story you want to see happen, TELL US. We're Storytellers, not sadists! (...wait... um... okay, never mind, moving on!) We WANT to run events, we WANT to have fun and we WANT to see players getting into the game. We have forums for a reason, we have Tells for a reason. Even if it's a "Hey, that rocked!" or "You really suck at combat balancing." ANYTHING.

Three- Raise hell. You heard me. Raise. Freakin'. Hell. We all know that roleplaying is a cooperative game, but damn it, when everyone's getting along, you run out of things to RP about really quickly, don't you? Don't be afraid to be the bad guy! (Note: Crystle loves bad guys. I will go out of my way to offer little events, bonuses and the like for well-played villains.) You have an assassin in mind who'd rather stab someone in the back before smile? AWESOME. Play the subtle bad guy. Play the overblown bad guy. Do SOMETHING to stir up hell between characters, and I guarantee it'll be a lot more fun.

Since Neko's putting even more work into the server, I'm going to try to balance out my inability to sleep at nights and sniff around at the hak packs I like, find out how those quick-travel systems work (and probably bungle it horribly *hahahahaha*) and keep an eye on player numbers in NWN. If he and Nino are going to put all the effort in to bringing Venice back, let's give 'em a hand, guys. Throw a support post up on the forums and let us know that you'll don the mask.

Being a geek with no life I tend to be on the comp alot. Haven't been on NWN as much due to there only two other servers then here I play on, one being down for updates/PRC additions.

For getting more people on I might suggest facebook, theres several NWN 1 pages on facebook that have active people on them either looking for servers or advertising their server. More people will be on facebook then they will be on NWN

For Haks my other two servers(Amia and Wolrd Serpent Inn) flat out refused to add haks for the longest time when they finaly did the most liked haks were 1. Clothing haks...god people went nuts over those. 2. Class mod haks, basicly haks to change the classes to better suit the server. Both of those would be great here, cause I mean lets face it...the CEP and basic clothing designs can only go so far, and who doesn't like having class changes? Also I've noticed that servers that have costume features for clases tend to get alot more people interested in them if only just to see the changes.

Hi. vagab0nd57 here.

I only got to play the server a single day before it went down earlier this year.

I noticed a few nuisances that ultimately ruined not only my experience but other newcomers too.

I see a lot of potential in this server, so instead of focusing on the negative I'd rather give some constructive criticism that might enhance the experience and make it a new hub for the dwindling NWN base of players and perhaps even attract newcomers. It is true that NWN has lost a lot of players due to the lack of official support. A server doesn't necesarily need 40 players on each night in order to be considered succcesful. Hell, some of the servers I enjoyed the most had a maximum of 10 players once a week.

The latest version of the server I tried was filled with fundemental systems that was either bugged or simply didn't work as they were supposed to do. I can't stress this enough. Get the basics down and then add all the niceness and bling. This makes it all whole lot easier for newcomers and players in general to interact with the world. Starting on this server was difficult. I started with very little money and a single level to play around with. This of course made it difficult to kill even the easiest critters on the server. Don't get me wrong, I like a good challenge, but combined with a bugged death system it didn't make it anything easier. My suggestion is that you start with enough money to get yourself some basic gear and a level or two to play around with. A few areas with critters or perhaps static events that lets you run errands around the city. This is paticularly a good way to start as you get to know how the city works while gaining a few levels. Once you're done you're ready to leave your mark in the world of darkness.

Create your own universe! There isn't anything wrong with choosing Venice as your playground, but not only does it require a lot of work to create a decent replica of the city, you also have to take many things into account when creating the universe such as historical individuals and events which can, but not necesarily, force the plot in a certain direction. Instead create your own unique universe with parallel ties to the real world.

While on the topic. Areas! I don't know about you, but I always imagined the WOD to be loaded with narrow dark streets that turn and twist into a living maze pulsing with every creature the WOD has to offer, each observing the world from their own little personal spot barely lit by a battered lamppost that's seen better days while a steam of hot air filled with....whatever... leaks from the sewer crates, creating a tense enviroment filled with life. In other words - keep the areas nice and tight. Areas should be kept at 8x8. This does not only save server space but also offers more room for creativity and details. A few areas might have to be larger than 8x8, but mustn't exceed 12x12 for the same reasons.

Angel covered another aspect very well. Roleplay. The sole reason we take a few hours off our tight schedules just to sit back get away from the sometimes streesful life outside the comfortable four walls we call home. I can't add anything major here since it's been well covered...well perhaps one thing. Be respectful. There are people behind every character with their own reasons for playing in the first place. Don't expect everyone to be a hardcore roleplayer to the bone, but instead be respectful and help those who struggle to get better.

Events. In the beggining the DM's should take out one day of their calendar and dedicate it to an event. It doesn't have to major nor linear since the best events are usually generated through DM and player cooperation. As you work up a routine, players will notice a pattern and dedicate their own precious time to a single night of fun. This is usually also a good way to get players to join the server.

That's all for now. I will add more ideas as they come to mind (and they will for sho'! ). I hope it wasn't all gibberish and that you can actually get something out of it.

As for playing times. Due to my line of work I will only be able to play during the weekends. I will be active on the forum given you will take another serious shot at getting this project back up and running.

Bonus, people actually read this.

As for the ideas, yes, I want clothing haks baaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaadly. VERY badly.

Class adjustments, spell adjustments and things like that all seem kind of ridiculous to me, to be honest. I'm not playing for the game mechanics. I'm playing for the RP, and having ONE spell do something SLIGHTLY different seems... well, like a silly focus. *shrug* I don't look at the game that way, and if others do, well... Y'all have fun sorting out how to make changes like that.

Respect is kind of part of the game itself anyway, considering we have to keep IC and OOC separate. I haven't had any trouble with most people- the few who we have had issues with were given warnings and then kicked out due to immaturity- and if anyone HAS had trouble and NOT come to one of the Storytellers, then shame on you. This is one of the reasons why we're here.

As for the concerns with the beginning level and the difficulty, Neko has noted that he made it too hard, and that's being adjusted. The point is to make it fun, and I'm good at beating powergamers to death ANYWAY, so giving everyone else a little extra "oomph" to work with shouldn't hurt anything.

Now, the world and setting itself is a) not historically accurate, nor have we claimed it to be, and b) not purely World of Darkness (especially when I'm running a game.) The server's look could probably use an adjustment (that's honestly Neko's perogative) but I am going to fight to keep certain areas, such as the Basilica (because I saw the work that went into that, and the research- damn) and St. Mark's Square. I do agree that smaller areas would probably be helpful, but so would people trying a little harder to RP with each other, to cause inter-character issues and to spur RP and/or offer ideas to Storytellers for quests and events.

Adjustments are being made to spif up, even out, smooth over and buff the server up, so I'm going to hold everyone to what they've said! (By the way? Start thinking about quest ideas now. ^_~)

Have you considered using the system of woD. the d10 thing I mean

We have decided to move away from the WoD completely, some aspects remain being werewolves and vampires are available as characters but beyond that nothing else remains.

Ah I see I see, is there anything specific for the setting, background pulled or something for a reference for any suggestions we may have?

Arcadia wrote:

Ah I see I see, is there anything specific for the setting, background pulled or something for a reference for any suggestions we may have?

Fantasy in all its' forms, really. Neko and I are developing a pretty classic "high fantasy" world- gods, spellcasters, monsters, etc- while trying to avoid some of the more annoying fantasy tropes. (i.e. women in nipple caps and a thong are NOT going to have an AC of 100. I don't care what "D&D armour" tropes say!) That in mind, we also like fantasy tropes because they're there for a reason. (My favourite? Things happening in threes. *lol* I love that trope.) So at the moment, I've been pulling from my goddess, Tanith Lee and her extensive collection of wholly astounding fantasy novels, as well as mythology, D&D mythos and every aspect of fantasy, folklore and myth Neko and I can think of.

If you have ideas, SLING THEM AT US!!!! ^_^ I love ideas!