As a side note, those of us with gimped builds tend to quest a lot less then others, but thats because we are busy with what the server is really about. You don't have to be a world class roleplayer to excel on this server (although like anything else in life, the more you put effort into improving the better you get), there's certainly people who have way better emotes and more realistic characters that don't get half the things I do done. You just have to make the concious effort to say "today, I'm going to find out what this rift nonsense is all about, and I'm going to take a group with me" Instead of saying "hmm, let me make a sending for the orc quest."
It really is that easy.
You seem like you have a really solid head on your shoulders, LaF, and your words of wisdom ring true, in an optimum situation. Here is what i experienced in game, that contradicts that.
A bunch of us were fighting orcs at the east gate.. perhaps.. 10ish or so, most of us being 3-6th, with 2 or 3 highers. After atleast a half hour of arguing what to do, if we should even go out, with many leaving, rather than go outside.. The moment we walked out to face the orcish horde at the outside gate, we were hit with 4 Elite Orc mages tossing 36ish point fireballs simultaniously. 7ish or so of us died instantly. We walked outside the gate, to face the orcs besieging the city gates, and didnt even get a chance to roll initiative.
6ish of us were clearing a cave we found, 5 of us being 3-5th, and one 9th, filled with orcs. Round a corner, and low and behold, a summoning circle that is spitting out creatures that need +1 or better weapons, topped with a full fledged Balor after that ( Only guessing, but it musta needed +2 weapons since my +1 wasnt cutting it.) Many died that series of fights.
A month ago or so, we had a grand engagement with Orcs out in the east. Lining the hills above the battlefield were elite archers, hitting for 15-20 per hit. I watched several lower level folks get dropped for just walking to near the front lines. The bravest man there, Wallace, was pretty much left out front on his own, and fell dead after holding valiantly a few rounds. I tried reaching him to heal him, as i had many times before, and was filled full of arrows the moment i got close.
We were defending Eveningstar during the attack on the Black, with around 7-10 folks, most in the 4-7 range, with a few higher , myself included, a 9th Wiz. Problem was, we only had 2 liners, and they both fell the first or second wave of 5 + waves.. each with nearly a dozen lizardmen, with spell casters, and many elites, etc, mixed with trolls and greater trolls. The only reason we held on at all, we were reduced to kiting , using buildings to block Lines of sight , even some luring, and the expendature of at the least ten thousand gold in wands and items. Point being.. your typical adventurers that you want to see in game would have died 1st wave to that mess, and more than likely, we would have too, if it wasnt for some questionable use of mechanics in a heavy lag environment.
Just a few examples off the top of my head. Now i love difficult things, its what makes adventurers what they are. But examples like this, have fostered what i saw as a very non adventurer like mindset in a ton of people on the server. Folks that take no risks, do nothing dangerous, because the real threat of sitting in the Fugue for an hour while everyone else is playing is real. ( been there. )
The threat of death is thrilling and exciting, its what makes things special and worth while. The threat of being bored out of your skull.. or missing that grand fight, because first round, you dropped to something out of your control.. is its antithesis. It breeds cowardice like a festering disease. It makes perfectly healthy characters trail well behind that push into orc lines, looting all the dead bodies instead of fighting.
I hear alot of folks keep saying " I get things done, its the mark of success", and thats started to bug me. The mark of a successful character is not, and cannot be, dictated by anyone to you. Its what YOU want to do. Want to become a melee polymorphing mage known for your odd forms? great. Wanna be a fighter with dual wielding whips, right up there with the other fighters, showing your stuff with panache? great. The point on this slight derailment is, that having fun can have no bearing on effecting the game world's events, yet be a rewarding and enriching character in the world, for you, and anyone you come in contact with. No other player or DM tells you what is fun for you, the player.
Sadly, Its the main reason i stopped playing on this server.