Hello City of Arabel
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City of Arabel I have come from the RP community of Arelith which I’ve been a member of for about four years and during that time, I have been involved with small development and I was chosen for the DM team for the Fixed Level concept. However it no longer appeals to me because of the direction the development team has taken the server, in my opinion completely changing the priority and feel of the RP experience, and I’m currently looking for a new RP focused community to join.
Your server has caught my attention because of the “low level” aspect which has many perks for quality of roleplay and I have always disliked the idea of how certain individuals can reach a level of power where they can lose a sense of mortality in the world. I’m looking for a fair environment to play in, where players don’t feel pressured to grind the environment for power before they can reach the full potential of their roleplay, where part time players can take part in player driven stories or DM events without being at a major disadvantage when conflict arises.
Is this a server for me and do I have a place here? I will have two months to search for a community that appeals to me because I’m currently serving overseas before I return to the UK and have time to play. Mechanics of a server and how that affects the quality of roleplay will be a big decision factor for me. Also if I decide to make this community my home I’d gladly offer you my experience as a DM (if you recruit in the future) and I have many interesting development suggestions to improve the NwN game mechanics from my time in Arelith which may appeal or interest your team (should you be open to new ideas).
You can find my departure from Arelith in much more detail here which may influence your answers to my questions: http://arelith.com/node/14063 and http://arelith.com/node/14064?page=1
Kind Regards,
Lykaios -
Welcome! I can't wait to meet you in game.
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The only way to find out if you'll enjoy playing here is to try it out!
So yeah, welcome.
Feel free to ask the DMs anything at all, having DM'ed elsewhere you know we're actually just people and not some weird robots from space or something (well, most of us, panel is still out on Mellie on that one.)
I read your posts you linked:
It's very rare people reach level 11 if that helps any.
Our PVP rules can be read here as you can see we like Final deaths to be carried out as the end of a conflict, not as a way to hit the 'win' button, and conflict in this case means a progressive story, that should have involved various others in the telling.
We have 'factions' and stuff, and they do compete with each other in various ways.
Many of the plots/story arcs are entirely player driven, with the city/surroundings/rulers having been changed through player actions many times.
Hope that helps.
Have fun.
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Pop in game and see if you like it, that is the best suggestion I can give :) Zool covered pretty much everything else, we also got an IRC channel #CoA which you are more than welcome to pop into to ask more questions!
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Arelith was my first big rp server. Spent around 5 years there.
I totally understand your frustration. FL could give Arelith a new spin, but people are just too used to how things have always been. So it didn't work the way I (and you apparently) hoped.To answer your question, CoA is probably close to what you wanted FL to be (I know, I did).
What's different?- CoA feels really low-level and low-magic. Grittier, more dangerous.
The sweet spot is somewhere between levels 5 and 8 and on average characters spend most of their time there.
You are expected to think of your retirement when you're 10+. Which leads to the next point: - On CoA characters die or retire as their story comes to a logical end. There are a few very old characters, but they are more of background lurkers. All movers and shakers usually don't linger for more than half a year.
Which means they don't normally accumulate insane power just from years of grinding. - CoA players are much much less trigger happy. Paradoxically, CoA has more meaningful conflict and less actual pvp.
You can also inflict subdual damage, tie people up, etc. Actual death is much more punishing and may even be permanent.
I have not encountered any instances of serious pvp grief so far. - CoA crafting system is not fully polished yet, but I do find it more interesting. Much more recipes too and new ones are added now and then. The only thing I miss from Arelith is placeables.
- Unlike Arelith, CoA DMs are very involved in IG events. Factions all have NPC leaders.
You can always form a player-driven faction though and maybe even win some DM support for it if you're awesome and have enough friends.
To progress as a faction character you are also supposed to cooperate with DMs and impress them.
That said, CoA seems more dynamic. Players' actions change the server more and on a more global scale. - Arelith does provide a more seamless and hands-on rp experience. Everything happens IG.
On CoA you will have to rely on forums heavily. - PrC prereqs are removed, but you have to write an application to progress in one. Same goes to exotic races, backgrounds, faction membership, etc.
- CoA adventuring is based on static quests resembling MMO instances, but the server is large enough for exploration too.
Exploration is more fun here.
Just a few points off the top of my head there.
You won't like everything here. Some things are handled better on Arelith.
But overall, I have a much more pleasant experience here on CoA. Definitely give it a try, for our tastes seem to be similar. - CoA feels really low-level and low-magic. Grittier, more dangerous.
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I also hated the idea of the fixed level server on Arelith sad to see they actually went through with it. Welcome to CoA though :)
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The low level cap is definitely my second favorite part of coa, first being the community. Its immersion breaking to see everyone in the city be strong enough to challenge gods.
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The low level cap is definitely my second favorite part of coa, first being the community. Its immersion breaking to see everyone in the city be strong enough to challenge gods.
No one can challenge me….
coughs
Welcome stranger to these lands! I suggest you give it a shot. Try playing with a few different people and a few different DM's.
CoA has always tried to accommodate various playing styles. We have some people who come in, play just for plot and stay away from scripted quest. We have some that come in and just 'quest' to blow off steam from a hard day at work.
Everyone sticks IC, and the DM styles range from RP and skill heavy, to combat heavy. From dark and horrible to light and comical.
There is a bit of something for everyone.
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We even have a sales pitch.
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@The:
The low level cap is definitely my second favorite part of coa, first being the community. Its immersion breaking to see everyone in the city be strong enough to challenge gods.
No one can challenge me….
coughs
Welcome stranger to these lands! I suggest you give it a shot. Try playing with a few different people and a few different DM's.
CoA has always tried to accommodate various playing styles. We have some people who come in, play just for plot and stay away from scripted quest. We have some that come in and just 'quest' to blow off steam from a hard day at work.
Everyone sticks IC, and the DM styles range from RP and skill heavy, to combat heavy. From dark and horrible to light and comical.
There is a bit of something for everyone.
Welcome to the server! Hope you enjoy it.
Stay away from KiY, though, he likes to crash the server.
*Joking, <3 KiY.
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Welcome!
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I would like to start planning my character to play in Arabel for when I return but I can't seem to find any information on class kits that you have available? I have three character concepts in mind but its all dependant on what build options are available to reflect those concepts. Is there an open source where I can find this information without having to be in game and if not is anyone willing to provide me with class kit information?
Thanks you've all been very welcoming. :)
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I think you may be looking for this!
The Players Resource forum is chalk full of neat tidbits.
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There is also the Wiki to wander about in.
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Welcome to the server, if you want a tour guide of sorts in character, shoot me a tell should you see me in game, i have and always will make time for new players, in the past i would actively hunt for them by checking the player list when the levels were still displayed, i would then bother the player with tells asking them if they were new and if they would like a in game tour guide of the server and city as a whole
I still try to find new players, but have not been as active in this as i had in the past, primarily because the use of haks means most players will be returning ones
seek me out in game via tells, i know this is a ooc thing, but we can quickly turn it in game, my characters are "Rav" and "Cilwa Viiv" look for those characters, shoot me a tell, normally i am not doing very much and will make time to help new ones, also both my characters make it a important point to meet and greet new people, it is part of their characters, mind you their motives are quite different, one wants to make friends..the other wants to have friends
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Pssst… You can still stumble into CoA without the haks!
Also welcome!
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Yeah, you can….Just alot of no heads...
Welcome to arabel!
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Thanks for all the information and links (it has all been very helpful). Just by reading all the features and how roleplay focused the server is I'm getting very eager and excited to play (can't wait). You weren’t kidding about how the forum is full of "tidbits" it's a bit of a link hive. I'm quite tempted with permission to put everything all together on a "players guide" PDF (D&D Manual Style) … but we'll see.
Darlene I appreciate the offer to show me the ropes I may just take you up on that if your online when i first login.
How many posts do I need to achieve or how long do I need to be a member on the forum before it will give me privileges to send (or reply) to private messages? "We are sorry, but you are not authorised to use this feature. You may have just registered here and may need to participate more to be able to use this feature”
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3, just to avoid spammers :) So you should be fine now.