DrunkenKender wrote:
Please understand that this isn't some weird personal vendetta against Red Wizards. If our setting took place on the inner sea or in the Dalelands, I would be all for a Red Wizard presence. In my opinion, however, a server that focuses on the North should focus on the dangers of the North as well. I know lots of people are enamored with Red Wizards, but the question should probably have been asked: Do they make sense in the setting? Given that their Enclaves are concentrated around the Moonsea and further east, if it were me (which, granted, it wasn't/isn't) the answer would be a resounding "NO."

Yes, I agree with the Red Wizard presence being at least kind of silly, if not downright stupid - but they did start, and they are here. Consider, however, the fact that if they DID start an enclave this far out, that's going to bring them all kinds of problems.

They're not going to have the same resources that an Enclave ordinarily would, as anything arriving from Thay would have to be teleported. If we or they decide to start an international incident because we caught them transporting slaves or put a ban on their goods, they have little military backup, supplies, or anything this far from Thay.

Any Enclave started this far out is going to be a relatively weak Enclave. Considering that Patham is still only a level 11 PC in a sea of epic characters, this seems appropriate.

The bottom line is that when the time finally does come - and it had better come; it seems like the last serverwide storyline to actually see resolution was Chalandra getting executed - to raze the godsdamned place to the ground, it will not be difficult for the server's movers and shakers to do so.

Quote: Any Enclave started this far out is going to be a relatively weak Enclave. Considering that Patham is still only a level 11 PC in a sea of epic characters, this seems appropriate.

I agree in most part with what you've said, however, this is a role playing server. Yes, spell for spell a level 23 character is going to whip the butt of a level 11 character, but where's the rp in that? Where does that leave the level 10 character that REALLY hates Thay and Thayan's and has the absolute will and cunning to do something about it? I really DON'T (read hate) like the Thayan storyline and guild that has come up here, but I'm not going to just say... well we have more epics than you so we win. That's just... bleh to me.

All that does is create grinding to get to epic levels in my opinion. Big whoop! I have a lot of high level characters. What exactly does that mean? It means simply I have a hell of a lot of free time and play alot.

Certainly we can RP a win against Thayan's without resorting to, please excuse the expression, pissing contests? I really detest this idea that only epics know all the answers and can solve all the problems on servers and I sincerely hope this server avoids going in that direction.

CheezyDoodle wrote:
Certainly we can RP a win against Thayan's without resorting to, please excuse the expression, pissing contests? I really detest this idea that only epics know all the answers and can solve all the problems on servers and I sincerely hope this server avoids going in that direction.

Here! Here! Well said and I agree.

I agree... rp to get at them is much more fun... had a fun chat with Patham last night... got him to hang himself almost... he'll talk his way out of it but read my post in council..... letter to ray skyson.

DW

*Knocks his herbal tea off the desk*Oh darn! Oh well,no use getting upset over this.Hm...Now I forgot why I'm posting,.*Walks off to get some more herbal tea.*

(Sarcasm)

I realize the statement above may have seemed a little overzealous and was indeed cast from an irritable state, and would like to retract portions of it; It was not intended as an implication that only epics should be able to solve anything. Thinking on it... I may just be getting burned out by all the generally unsolved server plotlines running around. Maybe I'm getting frustrated.

In other words, it's not so much that only Epics should be able to solve everything so much as I'd like someone to solve something.

Pie's story is gradually moving to a climax, but aside from that, does anyone remember the last server plotline to actually see resolution? The last one I seem to have any memory of is - Public, at least if not necessarily considerable as 'server-wide' - Chalandra getting executed all the way back in March, and whatever opinion you might have held of Chalandra that was hardly cause for celebration.

I mean, seriously, if you were to really think about it, it's starting to look extra-crispy-special dark in the Marches, isn't it?

Now, this might not be so bad if we didn't have so many major threats running concurrently. Don't get me wrong - Having a lot to do is a grand thing, but compare it to the ratio of what actually gets resolved, and... Weeelll... Caravan massacres, the Thayans(Which I would really prefer to see as a DM-run server plotline rather than a PC guild), not one but two kinds of plague, Dragotha, the Enraged, Settlestone, the Refugees, Nesme, whatever Rabbit's planning with Ekizod, along with any and everything else I'm leaving out. A number of previous plotlines - Whatever they were doing with the Bugbears and Vampires way back when I first joined up - just seemed to dissolve into thin air rather than actually see a satisfying conclusion.

Part of this is what bothers me about the Thayans and Cyricists - and thus, the Malarites - as PC guilds. Bryn did create the character as a PC rather than a DM NPC. PCs are, for good reason, very hard to kill permanently. Since this is a PC-based DM-supported "Threat," it worries me that it will be impossible for anybody to "resolve" them, and that there may be an inherent futility in the attempt. To not even have the illusion that one day, the threat could end by someone's hand, epic or otherwise... bothers me. It certainly can't be ignored, and if it can't be dealt with, there's an inherent problem.

Now, there's a chance I may not really know what I'm talking about here, that some of my worries above are irrational. Nonetheless, they are my worries. I more than welcome you - Nay, I encourage you - to attempt to lay some of these fears to rest.

I definitely agree with you; I've always said that I think we have too much going on at once. I'm glad we have so many DMs who do such a GREAT job of running these wonderful events, but I really, truly, honestly feel that we should try to spread out these little life-shattering events just a teensy bit.

Then again, I'm one of those easy-to-please folks who's just happy to get a little RP in with a random NPC Harper or RP a bout of drinking between my Illuskan cleric of Tempus and a travelling dwarven soldier from Settlestone as far as "DM events" go. The little things in our characters' lives can be just as enjoyable as any epic Braveheart-esque saga, to my mind.

To clear up a few of these plotlines:

The Enraged: The ending for this storyline will take place (hopefully) on Tuesday. I had hoped to resolve it about three weeks ago but RL along with some creative block prevented me from doing this in a timely a fashion as possible, and for that I apologize.

The Caravan massacres- I can not reveal spoilers as this just started, but expect this to be a relatively short storyline which should finish within a week.

Vampires: This line of events finished a ways back when the undead assaulted Rivermoot and were turned back. The leader of the vampires was slain, although it was rumored one of his lieutenants went awol somewhere around Winters Edge.

Bugbears: This was an idea Scrumm was working with, and to my knowledge decided not to go through with..possibly because the invasion of Settlestone made it overkill.

Nesme- Nesme was never a plotline so much as it was a setting. When implemented there were no plans to clear it or end it no more then we would have planned to allow evil characters to overthrow the Confederacy. Does it mean it cant or wont happen? No..it just means we hadnt planned for such a thing and nothing 'progressed' because there was no story to progress. Nesme is more then an infested barracks and 5 spawn points. It represents a HUGE problem with encroaching monsters from the Moors in seeming limitless quantities. These monsters arent an invading army per se...they are a displaced population of monsters which has unfortunately crowded in on Nesme. Again, not saying PC's cant change it...but it will take alot more then several characters running through the war zone incinerating/hacking apart/death spelling the monsters...even if it is done on a regular basis. We are currently discussing the best way to represent the efforts PC's have put into Nesme.

Those are the few I can comment on, and I hope that helps to clarify things a touch.

I hear ye both, DK and Kasen. Frankly, most of these plots would have been fine as the primary serverwide plot that just about every char could sink their teeth in... but frankly, there's so many that I as a player find it hard to know where my character should focus her attention. Research that sword? (Wolfrug's quest that mixes in Kyria's golem and some strange orcs, could touch on the settlestone conflict)... Try to help Delia? (Khan's plot)... Prepare for another war in Quaervarr? (Pie)... Prepare for an orc invasion of any city through that tunnel system Obould uses? (Multiple DMs)... Search for the source of this plague... IE find that Blightlord? (Multiple DMs)

As much as I'd like for Ser to focus on any of these... It's just not possible.

I think part of the "problem" with the multiple plotlines is that so many of us as players try to be everywhere at once. Yes, there are many things going on simultaneously, but not every problem has to be confronted by the same group of people time and time again.

Honestly, I'm as guilty as any person when it comes to this - if there's something happening to break the monotony of "kill things, hang out and RP at the fire in front of the inn", I'm almost always very eager to participate. It's hard to decide where to focus one's efforts, however, when every event is a dire-emergency-threatening-the-Marches-as-we-know-it scenario.

I think we're very fortunate to have so many creative DMs who have the time and the inclination to run events of this magnitude. I've always said and still maintain that TSM has the most awesome DM team of any NWN server I've ever played. I just think we as players and DMs alike should try to restrain ourselves! Hehe.

I hear ye. 's why I'm so frequently stating to stay out of the whole Settlestone thing... But just about all the other things I listed... it'd be out of char for Ser -not- to be concerned of those. And the same holds true for many characters I think.

Quote: Nesme- Nesme was never a plotline so much as it was a setting. When implemented there were no plans to clear it or end it no more then we would have planned to allow evil characters to overthrow the Confederacy. Does it mean it cant or wont happen? No..it just means we hadnt planned for such a thing and nothing 'progressed' because there was no story to progress. Nesme is more then an infested barracks and 5 spawn points. It represents a HUGE problem with encroaching monsters from the Moors in seeming limitless quantities. These monsters arent an invading army per se...they are a displaced population of monsters which has unfortunately crowded in on Nesme. Again, not saying PC's cant change it...but it will take alot more then several characters running through the war zone incinerating/hacking apart/death spelling the monsters...even if it is done on a regular basis. We are currently discussing the best way to represent the efforts PC's have put into Nesme.
Then that area and it's warzone needs to be reworked, possibly with a similar idea as Settlestone, with Riders and guards attacking ogres, trolls and giants, right?

I'd like to see the area around Nesme reworked to have that setting part finished honestly, tons of pc's have killed tons of giants and trolls there, including quite a few organized raids ont he place to drive them out including one that ended in quite a lot of "artistic" corpse modification and left a the warzone looking like something out of a bad slasher flick with the darkest sense of humor imaginable that would possibly frighten the giants or atleast tick them off well enough for them to want to divert some attentiont o coming after the marches defense force.