I wish our DMs did more of _____

[Sammael]

I don't know if they still do it, but there was a point at which DMs were having conversations about stuff that seemed completely random to me via Shout. I'm sorry, but no matter how funny that is to people who have any idea what said DMs are talking about or whatever, it completely breaks my immersion. I'm not sure why they thought the rest of the server wanted to read a load of prattle about some DM thing they weren't involved in anyway.

[Slanke]

Yes, I agree. When I have my PC on, I also find DMshouts distracting.
I never use shouts, and I hope the other DM's also can find a way to avoid that.

[Landaren]

Thanks for all the work you guys are putting in

[Tassafina]

Well I think Mako has a great idea with leading the Exigo Faction, I just wish more factions would open up that were broader in aspect...I don'ts think Tass would make a great Thayan knight...and red is just not her color

I think instead of all DM's being on as DM's some should make players that lead groups. Nobody seams to be able make any groups that lasts in Sundren anymore. If we had more groups maybe people would actually stick to one character. We need more ties to land, to make Sundren feel like this is our home now. A reason to risk our lives to fight for it.

[Konchuu]

Well I think Mako has a great idea with leading the Exigo Faction, I just wish more factions would open up that were broader in aspect...I don'ts think Tass would make a great Thayan knight...and red is just not her color

I think instead of all DM's being on as DM's some should make players that lead groups. Nobody seams to be able make any groups that lasts in Sundren anymore. If we had more groups maybe people would actually stick to one character. We need more ties to land, to make Sundren feel like this is our home now. A reason to risk our lives to fight for it.

I agree to 100% on this. factions should be prioritized so that players feel like they have a purpose.

[Saulus]

The majority of faction interaction will come through NPC dialog and not via DMs which will instead act as a supplement. As it stands there really won't be many if any introductions into any faction via DM interaction because the direct benefits of being part of that faction can't be realized yet.

[Tassafina]

The majority of faction interaction will come through NPC dialog and not via DMs which will instead act as a supplement. As it stands there really won't be many if any introductions into any faction via DM interaction because the direct benefits of being part of that faction can't be realized yet.

Well you could always have a DM as like a second in command to an NPC player as long as you had the general direction of where you want that faction to go. This way you could get factions started, thus easing up the pressure on getting things coded while still give players some definite goals. Then if for some reason they strayed from your vision you could just say they were acting on their own and the leader could do what needed to be done to "fix" the problem.

[Saulus]

I'm not in the habit of half-measures, all good things will come in time.

[Leaving Hope]

I'm not in the habit of half-measures, all good things will come in time.

Word.

[rustediron]

NPC Player?

[Leaving Hope]

Well, it's been a while, and we've been shaking things up a bit lately, so I thought I'd revisit this thread and assess how we're doing. As I said before, I really appreciate your constructive feedback, and I hope you've noticed an increase in DM activity, scheduled events, and more.

How are we doing? Have we improved? Have you seen much of a change? What's going on in the world that interests you? What are some events that you enjoyed this month? Did the scheduled events help? What did you like? What didn't you like?

Let me also say that I'm really proud of you guys. Your RP has been very good lately, OOC comments are not as common, and you're getting involved. THANK YOU for making this a great place to play.

That said, here are some direct responses to your comments:

I wish the DM's would encourage people to hang out at other places other than the Exigo campfire.

I burned it down for you, Aries. That kept people away for at least a day.

I've been trying to herd people into other areas, and I think you'll notice that the crossroads, Temple of Helm, Jimmy's, and Sharahan Hills are becoming more popular hangouts.

For me the fun of Sundren is the small things, not the epic world driving stories.

I know Mako has done a great job with one-off events lately, where golems have been lost in the city or at the market. I myself have sent newer players off for goblin ears, and other things.

What "small" things would you like to see?

The only thing I would like is maybe institute one or more larger or Epic stories

It's interesting to see that you have a different take than Sparkeh, above.

I myself have run two major things lately, the arson plot which lasted about two weeks and something currently underway. The current plot is so involved that it has people changing factions, a legal trial, conflict between players--and we're just getting started.

Other DMs have larger stories in place, too. I can think of one DM who's been sending a herald...

I'd like to suggest the campfire be made more 'player-friendly' since it's already where players gather

Petition the Exigo Syndicate in-game and on the forums, and who knows what could happen.

I'd like to see DMs be a bit more reactive to PC requests that are already going on as opposed to designing their own events and stories. ... Being reactive and responsive to current events instead of running your own story can really make the world seem more alive (and in the above cases, hold PCs accountable for questionable practices!).

You may have noticed that guards are becoming more alive and involved with stopping crime at the trade post. They make rounds. There have been a number of fines dished out for breaking the rules. We have NPCs that visit the camp fire just to say hello. There are cats and chickens that wander by. Some pigs got loose the other week.

Spontaneous events or NPC interaction is a great thing, and I personally try to do as much of it as possible. I give my NPCs a background, and have them act in character. So I can say we're trying, and if you have any ideas on how we can make the world seem even more alive, let us know.

Conflict. Conflict, conflict, conflict!

I think we've taken your suggestion to heart, Kangleton.

We have PCs changing faiths and teaming up with the "bad guys", we have wild druids in the Sharahan hills, people are getting mugged on bridges, drug dealers are causing moral dilemmas, PvP happens regularly, and events aren't so clear cut anymore.

We have a trial going on, and half of the player base is supporting one side while half is supporting the other. We had one PC wipe out about 15 others. You'd better believe people want him dead.

Look at the position Elric the PC is in. He's representing Kemnebi as his lawyer, and possibly jeopardizing diplomatic relations with the Church of Helm. Cadmus the PC made a dramatic change, and that had serious repercussions, too.

I just wish I could catch some events sometimes, lol.

Do you still feel that way? What time zone are you?

We scheduled the city meeting event for a reasonable time, and well in advance.

Having cool non-human like creatures to role play with was one of the reasons I made my druid

Agreed! Humanoid's all the time are boring.

Our druid and barbarian PCs have been getting a lot more love lately, and will continue to do so. Animals in the forests are much more reactive.

Mako recently did a quest with a winter wolf, and a druid escorted it to safety. I have an NPC named Nes'Anah who really only speaks to druids or those concerned with the land. There's even a demonic horse ...

I don't think players often request things. I think a great majority of players think the answer is automatically no all the time. Truth is, if people request things that are reasonable, you get a yes, unless of course, DMs are flooded.

GBX is absolutely right. There's no harm in asking. It's my job as a DM to help you within the rules.

I think it would be great to see characters with more custom items that might add a little bit of flavor and individuality to the characters.

Perhaps these could be reward items for RP'ing above and beyond, or rewards at the end of epic DM quests and such?

I have been creating custom items as rewards for long term plots. I hope to continue to do so. I won't name any names, but there are some fun, new items out there.

Two things made it kind of disappointing, though. Dare I say we never got any experience for the thing, [and] the DM disappeared just at the climax of the plot, which left us suddenly without any resolution to what had been built up for that long.

Overall, I'd say that the plots the DMs put effort into creating have been by far the most fun -- bringing the whole NWN2 experience to a new level. Kudos to them for that.

I personally like to give out cookies for strong RP. If a PC makes me laugh, or they say something that requires a detailed knowledge of sundren or FR lore, or they're just being quirkly, I'll drop some extra XP on them. We also dish out XP at the end of plots.

I'm sorry to hear that the DM involved with your plot had to leave, but as you said things do come up--especially when the plots take that long. Still, we should do our best to bring closure. Point noted.

But I have yet to play in a single DM event

Is this still the case? Try getting more involved with other players and factions.

Ms were having conversations about stuff that seemed completely random to me via Shout.

DMs should not be using the shout channel for anything other than announcing a restart or communicating something relevant that needs to be sent to a number of players at once. We do this rarely. If a DM is abusing the shout channel, please contact Saulus.

DM's some should make players that lead groups.

I'd prefer that the PCs worked to gain reputation and rank in the groups. If PCs put in the work to join a faction and gain a position of authority in it, they'll have a major say in day to day things.

I can think of a handful of PCs right now that are demonstrating their worth in groups/factions/organizations.

Factions are becoming more open to players. But it's up to the PC to get accepted. If you're a thief and you want to join Eboncoin, the first thing you have to do is find them and/or get noticed. If you want to join the militia, go sign up! Don't sit around a campfire waiting for them to come to you.

[nickbeat]

I really enjoyed how the bar came to life a while back. We had a group of 3 evilish characters in a bar just sit down for a drink. It started with a conversation about how dead the place was, just O'Mally there in the place. But slowly the action unfolded...

2 sentries walked in and chatted with O'Mally, then a few customers walked in. Our characters had some fun, Neblin got incredibly drunk and belligerent while the other two canoodled a bit at the table. Eventually we all ended up at Jimmy's, which was fun too.

The thing is, we really didn't uncover any plots or fight anyone. It was just normal people having a night out on the town and it felt real and we got some XP for it too!

I really appreciate all your effort LH.

[Drider-man]

I'd like to see more:

Non-combat events. It seems to me that the (admittedly few) DM events I have been involved with follows much the same pattern; Plothook, buildup, a lot of killing to wrap it all up. These events have their place, but I personally prefer those that doesn't need to involve combat at all.

Player-run groups, with real estate: I've been told that HQs, housing or other such things for player run factions and groups will be out of the question, due to the fact that some players may throw hissy fits. I hope this may change in the future

[Chiangtao]

DMs should not be using the shout channel for anything other than announcing a restart or communicating something relevant that needs to be sent to a number of players at once. We do this rarely. If a DM is abusing the shout channel, please contact Saulus.

I haven't been able to join too many events. Wrong bat time, wrong bat channel, so to speak. I will say my impressions of DM events have greatly improved since I've joined. They seem to indeed be going uphill--great work!

Regarding shouts--I've seen this abused more than once. Sometimes it's been used to announce the "start of an event." It's not something I personally enjoy (gads of semi-RPers suddenly flock to a location and you're stuck with 10-man events with little-to-no character interaction), but I completely understand if a DM wants to use that to round people up.

That being said, I've seen things on shout about player party chat (OOC comments, something the server rules say is acceptable). I've seen shouts teasing certain players--the player himself may find it funny, but what about the other twenty online? I've seen some right-click insta-deaths on players "for fun." Not only do these break the emersion, but they really feel like a breach of trust to me as a player.

These kinds of practices are rare, but believe me, they leave a lasting impression of the DM and of the server for those who witness them.

[Saulus]

I haven't been able to join too many events. Wrong bat time, wrong bat channel, so to speak. I will say my impressions of DM events have greatly improved since I've joined. They seem to indeed be going uphill--great work!

Regarding shouts--I've seen this abused more than once. Sometimes it's been used to announce the "start of an event." It's not something I personally enjoy (gads of semi-RPers suddenly flock to a location and you're stuck with 10-man events with little-to-no character interaction), but I completely understand if a DM wants to use that to round people up.

That being said, I've seen things on shout about player party chat (OOC comments, something the server rules say is acceptable). I've seen shouts teasing certain players--the player himself may find it funny, but what about the other twenty online? I've seen some right-click insta-deaths on players "for fun." Not only do these break the emersion, but they really feel like a breach of trust to me as a player.

These kinds of practices are rare, but believe me, they leave a lasting impression of the DM and of the server for those who witness them.

The only players I DM kill are ones that completely try to highjack events and resist blatent DM narratives and implement their own "DMing". It cracks me up when I see a player bragging about beating up a NPC right in front of it, especially after just having got mashed by him (because he attacked a friendly NPC trying to narrate). Some people are just asking for it.