Attitude adjustment.

[Alkapwn]

Black and Red FTW!!!!!

[Lorkar]

The old rack/balance for the twisting in the breeze.

[Korr]

Red and Blue . . . you got nothin

[Ace-of-Spades]

I would not agree with above posts stating NWN is a game about strategy, spreadsheets, finding ubar gear, and researching awesome builds. I would agree that this server, NS4 is like that quite a bit. This server has nerfed a lot of things and added a lot of it's own. That makes it more it's own game rather than Neverwinter Nights in my opinion. NWN was modeled after D&D, and D&D was meant for roleplaying and adventure. NWN was supposed to be a vessel for those to experience and create those adventures, and even do so with friends. By many, the game has been taken at face value and transformed into a monster that is PvP and Hack&Slash.
/rant
Sorry, it just irks me when people refer to that as it's purpose.

[cRaZy8or5e]

How much you decide to make this a game of strategy and spreadsheets and builds is purely up to the player. Some (holds up guilty hand) plan their build to the last skillpoint and item to be worn. Others play it making things up as they go. Neither is necessarily more correct than the other, just some people are focused towards different agendas. There are the pvp enthusiasts (okay okay, insane nutcases who agonize over different class concoctions searching for the best mix) and the adventuring enthusiasts (truly out for the pure fun of the server).

Your analysis is correct about this server and NWN, they are apples and oranges. NWN being a D&D style game wasn't meant to be a pvp game. The amount of work that the devs have put in over the years to try and ensure balance is a testament to that fact. However, an adventuring server doesn't have the lifespan nor does it engage the interest of a community like a pvp server does. If you tried to create an adventuring server, in order to keep the community interested, the adventuring must get perpetually harder and harder, and the gear must keep apace with the adventuring. Before you know it, you have NS3.5.

This server is designed to have adventuring but include a hefty amount of pvp and community interaction unlike NS3.5 where it's a perpetual grind of beating one area/boss after another. Before you know it, you have people competing to see who can solo a boss the quickest or an area the quickest. Listening to Kermit regale me with the 1 or 2 and half hour solo of DWP he completed on NS3.5 was when I realized, ok, this is getting ridiculous and we really need a different challenge. It took me about 3 months to dig him out of trying to come up with the best build to solo Xifu, but once I got him superporcupine followed quickly and we never looked back.

NS4 is in my opinion a wonderful challenge because while bosses may change a bit here and there, the human element is much more unpredictable as different players make newer and better characters allowing for more exciting and entertaining challenges. The fact that there is some trash talking can get annoying, and when it does, take a break. That's what I do, cuz it aint worth getting upset over. Usually if someone is talking trash, they're just trying to push buttons anyway.

In the end, you can try and make people respect your builds through your play, but some never will, purely because they know that you're trying to do that. So play for play's sake. Enjoy the server for what it is. Roll with the changes as best you can, and when you're tired of the microcosmic drama that infests the community, move on and don't sweat it. It's a game and if it can't be played as such, then its time to let go.

I have to take steps back all the time. I get caught up in all the drama too.

[Ace-of-Spades]

However, an adventuring server doesn't have the lifespan nor does it engage the interest of a community like a pvp server does. If you tried to create an adventuring server, in order to keep the community interested, the adventuring must get perpetually harder and harder, and the gear must keep apace with the adventuring. Before you know it, you have NS3.5.

I completely agree with everything in your above post, except this statement, friend. I have played on the same Persistant World, low-magic RP server for about 4-5 years now and the server itself has been up, practically, since NWN was released. Our community has grown tight, especially between us vets who've been roleplaying for so long together. We've been through adventures and deaths, foreign invasions and civil wars, we've seen the world change, and changed it ourselves (being that it is a PW and all).
However, I do agree with your statement about keeping the community interested and keeping the pace. Of course adventurers continue to grow with every day of their lives and you are eventually going to break out of a low-magic type world when you get level 12+ casters. The server has struggled with whether they should do a server wipe and preserve/revert back to low magic, or keep the status quo and continue to let players grow naturally, in which case yes, it eventually turns into something like NS, high magic, high action.
Anyways, sorry...got off on a tangent there.

[Ade]

A new rant for your entertainment.

I apologize to the people who were playing early this morning because I did say a few things about it in game. I woke up early for work and decided to play, so sorry about that:

Anyway, why is it that Tyr does not have a Shrine outside of Avendell? It should not have to be "asked for." I'm sure nobody requested a shrine for Lolth- it was probably there from the start of the shrines.

Tyr is the most often mentioned god of DnD in the entire NWN offline campaign. Why didn't he have a shrine to start? Is this my "conspiracy" about the clear bias against "good" rearing its ugly head again?

[--Ashe--]

If you are speaking in terms of setting a deity, you can do that from creation. Additionally you can also get your deity set by a dm by gaining the "attention" of your chosen deity thru certain boons, quests, and/or other displays of your deep devotions.

If you are speaking in terms of a building, statue, etc that you can just pray at in terms of role play only, Avendell is neutral, it has no interest in entertaining alliance to any particular deity in fear of upsetting one of the others. You carry the deity within you, you don't need a shrine.

Or you could just announce that you are going to consecrate the shrine in Hallowtop to his name and then try to hold it as the vast legions of the spider queen come to clean you out... that could be entertaining.

I see no bias whatsoever. Head to Daeron if you want more Tyrian influence. Join the guilds, they have shrines aplenty.

[Ade]

Ashe, don't know if you've been near Ave lately, but there's a bunch of Shrines to gods right outside the gate. Clicking on them allows you to switch your patron god.

Tyr was the only major god I didn't see there. Heck, even Brandobaris, who is only a god in Atheria and not the rest of the Forgotten Realms, was there. I see that as a bias against good, or an attempt to "get my goat."

[Ade]

Another disappointment.

I rock damage in PvE, but in PvP I'm good against about 1/3 of builds, namely Evil. I can beat SOME neutral builds if I get lucky. The only "good" aligned build I could probably beat is another paladin.

What's the point of being good at PvE? Helping people who can kill you gear up faster? Really all that matters is who can beat who in a fight, when it comes down to it.

[renarð]

I'm assuming you are either pally or cot for some nice smiting action. One thing you are probably taking for granted is the fact that your saves pretty much ensure you never get imploded or wailed or feared by a barb or 1-shot by an assassin.

Stuff other builds must build around or accept. Each build has its boons and banes, might wanna look at how you are playing it and who you are playing it against before drawing overarching conclusions.

[Pappypapa]

The soul of NS4 is building, and no single build will be, or should be, good vs. all the other ones. Many builds are pretty versatile, while some builds specialize in killing some sort of enemy. The perfect example would be the hardcore spotter that usually sucks vs. everything, except when it comes to sneakers where he will win 99% of the times. And paladin happens to be a class that specializes in killing evil characters to an extreme degree (depending on your number of Great Smite feats), which, in turn, fairly and NS4-logically also makes it weak vs. non-evil. It's as simple as that. If you plan on staying on NS4, this probably won't be the last time you level a character to high-level, only to realize it wasn't as satisfying as you'd hoped. It sounds like you just need to make a new character (pure paladin is no fun, I know), and if you want something that is both versatile and fun, I suggest leaving NC for SL or RK.

As for the gods, Tyr probably wasn't represented because Torm is the common patron of the do-gooders on NS4. When was the last time you saw someone shout "Praise Tyr" after a relic raid? The deities that're most important in the FR lore aren't necessarily as important on the NS4, due to the choices of developers and players.

And being good in PvE being pointless is not true. First, if you make your character good for PvP only, and leave out the PvE part out completely (which would be a pretty extreme character), you'll probably have a hard time getting people to invite you to planes. Most parties don't want a member that doesn't help, other than himself with a 20 roll when it's time to divide the loot. And helping the enemy get good gear by tagging along is the price you have to pay to get any of your own, unless you start being more picky with parties (which can be hard without a guild). If you need something in particular, you should let the party know from the beginning and just ask if you can have it, and in return leave everything else alone when it's time to roll.

Since you think evil has such an easy time on the server, I think you should just sit down and build an evil, versatile and fun character (because pure paladin sure isn't fun ).

[Dalan]

To Ade,

Those shrines in Avendell Crossing were temporary. Next time you see a grouping of shrines somewhere in Aetheria, Tyr will be among them.

Brandobaris is a deity from Forgotten Realms. He appears in the Everis Cale series. A halfing by the name of Jack Fleet, is a cleric of Brandobaris. BTW, that series is my favorite.

http://forgottenrealms.wikia.com/wiki/Brandobaris

[Ade]

Thanks! So there's no conspiracy against good? <.<

[LinuxPup]

Being good is easier than being evil... at least as far as smiting is concerned... Take an evil character to Celestia and you'll see what I mean.