A Sundren Discussion

[Cornuto]

So, if I can mediate, this comes down to feelings. Not facts - feelings. They can't be argued, they just need to be stated as such so that good dialog can come from it.

TPK feels neglected and unheard.

The staff feels accused and unappreciated.

Start from there gentlemen

Let this picture of Fred Rogers and the Dalai Lama sharing respek knuckles be your inspiration.

[Gamling]

I'm every bodies favorite, just thought everyone should realize this.

[Torgar]

All those events Roguethree was in? I was there too, and I can honestly say, the Judicator of wrath does not always "Ride in and save the day" from evil. I can not count the number of times I've seen him get his epic level, paladin butt handed to him. Same with me, I get my butt whooped all the time. Heck, I'm proud of it. When I DM controlled minions first reaction is to kick MY ass over anyone else there, first, before Dain, I feel proud. Means my guy is a bigger threat to evil.

Do I get a lot of Me-specific attention from the staff? No, but then again, I don't ask them for it either. My (personal) opinion is that if I ask for something, two things are going to happen.

1) The DM is going to feel obliged to do the event, and even if it's not intentional, I will be able to tell they are not really doing it because they decided they wanted to, but because they feel that 2+ years on the server deserves some kind of reward. I've seen people with 1/4 the time spent on the server who have put 4X the amount of effort into it, and I don't like to think I will get an event before them, when they are more deserving.

2) I'm going to be told "No" for the reason of me stating my request wrong, because Aye rz teh gud spellr, or because it doesn't run well with the story lines they are currently running, or because I said something in passing at some point that irritated them, or something else. That simply creates bad blood between myself and staff, and other people.

Now, this is just me. I'll admit, when I give my opinion about what I think is right, I'm an ass about it. I've told Roguethree, other players, and even staff when I think they are being unfair, stupid, or just plain wrong. Without hesitation. Do I play favorites with people? Yes, but like they said before, everyone has favorites. Most of my favorite people don't even play anymore, or are currently not DMing. Do I give better treatment to people I favor? Hell yes. But, there's a reason:

They earned it.

Just like working at any company, they earned my respect, they earned my favor. When I came here, several years back with Talleyman99, the two of us were ignored. By everyone. We were not part of their cliques, therefore they did not RP with us, or help us with items, or gold, or leveling, or information, or anything. We had to do everything on our own, and one day, we earned their respect. I like to think things are better now then they were years ago. People are, for the most part, far friendlier, the staff is far more willing to sit down and listen to our whining and try and fix problems, and Tigen's death-per-event ratio is dropping. But, even now, you have to still earn the favor that other people are given.

I'm not saying you have to be a really super friendly OOC person, I'm not saying your RP has to be awesome, that your characters build has to be good. The one thing that I think many of us can agree on, that makes the community more cohesive and makes us more willing to work with you and each other is this: That you don't take what happens in the game as a personal insult. Out of all the people I play this game with, I know....maybe 5% of you outside of NWN2. I've actually spoken with a very small number of people, and of that number, have gotten to know an even smaller number of them. The thing that makes them all good people: They don't take this game seriously.

I"m not saying they don't work hard to help make the server better. They do. I"m saying they do not let the crap they catch from playing the game weigh them down. Me and Roguethree can joke about getting murdered fighting some evil NPC mega-boss. Me and Bloody Redjack laugh about the 20 minute fight we had where neither of us won. I've murdered Axxius's halfling necro about four times now, and he almost got permed from it. We had a good laugh over each attempt he made on my life. Tigen and Xaayne hate each other with a passion, but me and Jotunwarrior are buds in the online sense of the word, and we think it's funny.

So, TPK, you aren't wrong. There is favortism, there are favorites. Players have them, DM's have them. We're human, it happens. Grinning Death is also right, and attacking the staff over it isn't helpful. But, what you don't see, is that DM favorites? They go in waves. Do you realize Dain Tornbrook hasn't really been pertinent in any sort of storyline fashion since Myrkul was reborn? Well over a year ago. Most of the people who featured majorly in events over a year ago? They are not in the major events happening right now. Not just their characters, but the actual players. It's about being on the right character, at the right time, with the right DM, with the right event. Just because you aren't involved with something now, doesn't mean you won't be involved as a major character later.

So, let those who are being favored NOW, be favored. Trust me, been here long enough to say this for truth: Everyone gets a turn. Just remember though, when it IS your turn, don't be afraid to stand up for your character no matter what happens. Standing up, to both players and a member of the staff, in defense of your character because you feel something unfair has occured isn't always a bad thing. It shows you actually care about your character. In the end, that's what really will get you noticed. If you care about your character, so will others.

This has been a Torgar rant. Bam!

[Satoshi]

This thread has stayed a lot more positive than I worried it might, and that both surprises and re-assures me. GBX, Chiantao, Torgar, and GrinningDeath all have made a great case for why, even though role-playing equates to an intellectual wankfest, we can all invest in it and enjoy it. I just wanted to state before I go to bed that everyone who is the most interesting man in the world is my favourite. That's pretty much over half of this thread, not counting Cornuto.

[Kaybrie]

Doors to my clique are always open, just gotta ask.

[Catastrophe]

Doors to my clique are always open, just gotta ask.

Hey Kasso, can I be one of your favorites?

[Cornuto]

That's pretty much over half of this thread, not counting Cornuto.

PM me if you need to hug something out, friend.

[Snowmane]

As a new player, (And I still consider myself a novice), I had a hard time finding my place on Sundren. I was about to give up and quit, but Yevelian encouraged me to stick it out a bit. Now I've made a few friends and feel a bit less on the outs.

As for DM involvement, more often than not it's just happening to be in the right place at the right time, a prospect that becomes more likely the more time you spend online. One of my characters, Minael, by sheer happenstance blundered into the center of a cool event that Poltergeist put on for me. It was awesome and I definitely feel like I had my turn in the spot-light.

I spend a fair amount of time on Sundren. I think I am on for an hour or two just about everyday, and it took me a few months to really start feeling like I belonged. I am not sure what more could be done to help new players assimilate more easily, but it might be worth considering. Maybe a welcome to the server night where players who are new to the server can get a quick intro from a DM and give them a quick run down on the server and then a short event? You could even have current players volunteer to show up with their PCs to act as catalysts for a short event. That would be a good way to build a relationship between new players and old timers.

[Kaybrie]

Hey Kasso, can I be one of your favorites?

No.

[Vaelek]

Join a clique.

JOIN THE KELEMVORITE REMNANTS.






Saulus, you saw nothing.

[Saulus]

Join a clique.

JOIN THE KELEMVORITE REMNANTS.






Saulus, you saw nothing.

Too late, remnants vaporized.

[Cornuto]

*Salutes the ashes*

[Catastrophe]

I WILL AVENGE YOU




not really <3

[Kaybrie]

Join Hoar today, he needs moar.

[blurry89]

Edit: Nothing to say.