Suggestion for Dm run Quests.

[Felnak]

...

This post I know is not a complaint.. and I totaly like the idea.. but I know what will happen when the idea comes to fruition in the server . Bitches Galore! Are you prepared??? I am .

You notice how I don't have the customer service attitude some DMs have??? If I was getting paid for this.. I would be cuddly and nice to you all.. *fake smile* Have a nice day on Sundren!

LMAO!!!

Oh, and I also like the suggestion. It helps balance levelwise and would help decrease the events that do not really require mass numbers of characters. I would rather not be on a quest than be way out of level for the quest. I would also rather not be the 23rd wheel in the party if I am not needed.

SBG, you bring up many good points and issues that will have to be dealt with if anything like this idea is implemented. Personally, I have been on quests but I know the liklihood of many schedules meshing properly is nearly zilch so I do not get upset (much) when I miss a part of a quest series. However, I like to catch up somehow. Posting in the Forums on a quest can be a big help.

Felnak

[Ash]

Well I've started DMing and I've pretty much settled on my approach and methods of dealing with the various problems that come up in a CRPG, that don't come up in PNP.

There's a (n unwritten?) policy for DMs that can be summarised thus - "No favouritism." I know for a fact that if I didn't DM for players I want to DM for, I'd have given up DMing within the first few hours of starting. So, I'm already in deep shit it seems.

The reality of D&D as a CRPG is this - it's pretty flat and dimensionless in respect to character development and mechanics (well I think PNP D&D is somewhat too, but that's another subject). Options are limited, and characters can quickly all look the same and feel the same.

So as a DM, faced with all these "clones", what can I do to increase my enjoyment of DMing? After all, if I don't enjoy it, I won't do it.

The answer is a simple one - it comes down to roleplaying. I look for characters that are distinctive - they stand out from the crowd. How does a player make their character stand out? Do you break all the D&D conventions and play something beyond the norm? No. Go too far and you break immersion. The answer is simpler - you make the effort to play a character with actual, well, character. Something with personality and purpose. A character with an interesting background that actually determines why you are who you are and why you do the things you do (and no, not used as an excuse to "get da XP and da l3wt and l3v3l 4 teh w1n!")

Another reality of CRPGs - a hell of a lot of players just aren't making that effort. Guess what? I'm not going to DM for you.

So this solves many problems for me. Unfortunately it sets up a number of conflicts that will doubtless plague me until I either "toe the line" or more likely, give up. An obvious one is my apparent responsibility to help maintain a healthy, regular player-base on Sundren. Mmmmm, customer service. I'm a DM, not customer service. Another is all those players NOT getting DM time from me complaining and moaning and whinging, and often labelling the world, the server, as a poor roleplay server. Well, I think my response to that is obvious (see earlier discussion - it's YOU, not ME).

To more directly address the issues in this thread -

There is one plot area so far. I've started using it.

There are MANY areas of the world currently under-used. I primarily use those areas for my events.

If other players discover an event in progress and you aren't welcome, trust me, you'll know. Typically I'll find an IC way to tell you to, essentially, piss off. If that doesn't work, I'll do it OOC.

One concern that is still outstanding for me and something I hope to find a solution for, with the help of players - parties. Personalising events to characters doesn't mean those events should be soloed. So I would just add one last thing to my mutterings on this - stop soloing. Develop relationships. Make OOC friends and try to get on together at similar times and work as a party. As a DM I am likely to put off an event with a central PC I had in mind, if you don't have some "associates" with you. I may play favourites, but one on one is pretty bloody boring.

This may seem contradictory to my statement about event-bloat, but it isn't really. I'm basically saying, it's up to you the players, to help stop this happening. You've established a party - now help the DM by finding an IC way to stop it from growing and drowning the DM in a puddle of text and constant hold-ups for "catch up".

Cheers for reading.

[Ula Fey]

Nice to see the DMs perspective on this.

I'm kind of in sync with Ash's point above about finding out when like minded players are on and partying up purely for the RP it adds...and had an initial discussion with a couple of people in the shoutbox just today.

But...yeah...Sundren provides the setting, and the DMs can act as facilitators, but it's down to the players to provide the roleplay.

I do think the general suggestion that started this post, and some of the other suggestions made since, do have a lot of merit. Anything we can do as players to ensure we ALL have a good time, other players and DMs alike, should be considered and at least tried out...if it doesn't work, then try something else.

[GodBeastX]

Right, like why would a group of drow go get lettuce for someone ? *Sorry if this offends* I agree with this statement 100%. If you are playing Jon the half-orc brute who cuts off heads for a living, ask yourself the question Myrddin just posed when a dm quest is being run to go save teddy bears for little kids. Great post Myrddin.

I'll tell you why.

The Drow went to go get lettuce because an undead who promised their yathrin a powerful artifact asked them to. Drow + Powerful Artifact = Ching Ching! The quest was also fun for those involved, because it brings out RP you don't consider. Would someone who has lived beneath the surface for hundreds of years know what lettuce was? Why would anyone write about it, or have alot of information on it in underdark? Hilarity ensues.

Quests are about having fun. Events are about having fun. I've said it once, and I'll say it again. Stay in character, but you can change what IC is alot of times for the enjoyment of everyone.

[InquisitorFury]

Yeesh. What is this thread even about anymore?

[Saulus]

Not really sure. I'm closing it because it's all over the place. If anyone would like to continue this discussion, please start a new thread.

[GodBeastX]

GBX's 2 cents! You knew it was coming!

1) I use the "Find People to RP With" tool every time I login as a DM. So don't feel that I focus on any one spot for events. I pop in and watch people and stuff and you don't know I'm there Might see an event even!

2) What you'll find with me is, people who run dungeons all the time don't see my events much. Dungeons aren't a place to start alot of things. You can do some things, but generally they gotta pull you out of the dungeon to do anything with.

3) I also look at things in the "Fair RP act". Where as, we want people to RP and those who do things away from dungeons deserve to grow and get attention as well. It's also easier to discern someone's personality when they are interacting than when they are killing a zombie. So I can personalize and challenge their designs. You'll see more people with custom items who don't enter dungeons that people who do. From me at least.

4) It's also difficult to do something special in a dungeon other than to bring that dungeon some randomness. I mean, if you're standing between a necropolis full of undead and a temple defending against them, what do you expect for events? Commoners, officials, friends, foes, all wouldn't be caught dead there, so you wind up with Undead attacking you or you attacking undead, or something related to the undead. Sick of undead killing you? Don't go in their house.

5) Ash is right with her stand out remark. Right as rain. Here's an example. Every wizard is a bloody Necromancer on Sundren. They are all trying to become liches. Kollotta got 15 people a day asking her about becomming a lich in the Dark Advent. "Yawn!" I'm still looking for a diviner so I can run some plot ideas I have. Nobody takes diviner though because it's not PowerBuild Accepted. I can see an oracle/seer having soooooo much to do with those abilities.

"But godbeast, I'm a generalist, I can cast divining!"

Great, but I like to say "Well, you specialize in it, so you're better." to people. Don't be afraid to take some sort of build for RP reasons. I gots plans, and some people are in them just cuz of their RP builds. And DEFINITELY don't be afraid to stick to cannon! 30 Moon Elves on the server that are trying something different and make Evil Archmages isn't going to impress me much

6) Keep it fun for everyone around you. Characters with "Character" as Ash calls it. I love the quirky chars the most. Anyone can make a paladin that goes "Die Evil Doer!" Anyone can make a paladin who has an Emo mentality where "Smiting evil somehow makes him feel evil!" But not everybody can make a Paladin that walks up to a character and goes "I just love Silvermoon funnel cakes! MM mm mm!". Personality is the key to me. Not a long history that's 20 pages of how your character came to exist, but the 5 sentences that are his personality that include "He feels if he doesn't close a door, evil might get in when he's not looking, so he closes ever door he can and yells at others who don't." Quirks and personality are my happy days.

I'm surprised from all the Pen & Paper players on sudren, people don't have quirkier characters. I mean, I know in P&P that I've played, people always start a character design with "I'm totally gonna make a char who is XXXX!" and people laugh. One of mine was "I'm totally gonna make a necromancer who has necrophobia!"

7) If you want to have fun, be fun. Entertaining others 99% of the time will bring entertainment for you. Do things for enjoyment, not because it's 100% correct. I'm not saying be a stupid stupid character. "I'm so dumb, I don't know that rocks hurt when they fall on my head! Tee hee!" That gets old. I'm talking about cliches, exaggerations, all the things that bring fun. Long speeches to the evil you are smiting to empower righteousness because you're the epitome of light. Telling everyone your evil scheme "Since they are going to die anyway". Nothing wrong with all that. And people will enjoy it more. Sometimes evil can be so fun for the good guys, they'll just let you escape so they can see the next episode of what your character is going to do.