Dasaria II - A NWN2 Roleplay and Story-driven Persistent World

Hello.

I have, on recommendation from SilasNorth, tried out Dasaria. Created a Rian elf druid named Arafel that I tried to portray as Neutral. As I was new on the server, it seemed interesting to portray one of the faeriefolk from distant forests come to see again how the mortals had turned out under the new Empire after a generation had passed.

It was a character concept I've come to really like in how I could apply it... but my experience with Dasaria 2 - as well crafted a persistent world as it might be - really hasn't matched the glowing expectations that were related to me by those people that practically begged me to come and stay.

Forgive me if what follows feels opinionated and shortsighted, but I can only relate to my own experiences and circumstances. I post this because I feel the people stewarding Dasaria 2 deserve the feedback.

• Many of the initial quests have felt "find the needle in the haystack" frustrating - for example: being told to find a guard stationed at Cear's Ministry building and fine-combing the place only to find out that he was actually posted outside behind the building.
• Difficulty didn't seem to scale up very well. I'd like to think I played my druid very cautiously, but the undead quest I undertook by the fountain lead me to a place which was surprisingly harsh. At first, it was a lack of blunt weapon that made it hard. When I returned, I seemed to be able to make some headway until - lo and behold - some ghast appears and makes me enjoy my first dirtnap. I respawn, only to have the ghast and friends track me down to the spawn point to kill me again. And again. And then another time. Then, I finally managed to get to the door.
• There actually are very few people in my level range. I play a druid - druids are potent - but around level 5-6 the quests available seemed to be exclusively group quests. This ties in with difficulty - at some point to ramped up drastically and there was no longer anything I could do on my own without pain of dying and being set back even further. Because of that it didn't feel like I had the power to move on.
• Despite the relative kindnesses of existing players, the level difference creates a roadblock that makes it so that my young druid really doesn't have any business being with them. While I'm struggling against beetles and goblins, they are busy with vampires and orc invasions. Their problems are not relevant with mine, which blocks me from the one thing that really could start relationships: uniting against adversity common to others.
• High-level characters whom might have been inclined to help me are barred from doing so due to rules which would expose them to punishment. By the same way, I can't really involve myself in their own concerns becuase I'd be a liability - and I loathe not being able to make myself useful.
• This weekend had DM events, involving mostly the high-level characters. As inclusive as the DMs seemed willing to be, my newness and low-level really didn't make me very eligible to participate. The one thing I did stumble in found me unable to even heal someone, and then fireballed to death for my trouble.

So, I reached an impasse. This evening, I logged on, started running around collecting the quests I could (all that I can't really pull off) with no one I could really join in order to advance. I was looking at my quest journal, and found that all it represented to me was frustrations. Few of the people logged on were visible on scrying, but most were in the much higher levels busy with their own things, most likely. I felt that I was wasting my time doing something that wasn't fun, even after repeated assurances that Dasaria was much better than any other PW I previously experienced.

Basically, I feel I've spent my time in Dasaria 2 grinding in the hopes of eventually reaching the fun parts - which circumstances unfortunately presented as meaning 'being high-level'. I hate grinding. I also hate being low-level; it in fact emphasizes why on other servers like Sundren and Frontier that I had been uninclined to make alts.

By this point, the only real solution I see with Dasaria 2's relevancy in my eyes is if I'd get over that 'barrier for entry' in being able to share experiences with other longer-established members of this community. But I don't see an instant level 15 happening - it'd cheapen the progress of other people whom did manage previously.

Therefore, I'm not intending to continue my participation. Still, I thank you for the opportunity. It seems like a place that holds a lot of potential.

I'd say, as a player, that my best moment was when vastgoten, player of the vampire "Father Marrent", decided to target Arafel as his next midnight snack. I hadn't been involved ICly until that point, being a bit gunshy, and it broke the ice. He was very sporting about the assault, gave Arafel a fighting chance, and this allowed her in turn to make contact with several other people talking in the inn she fled to whom were alerted to the vampire's presence and tried to confront him/do damage control with her.

So, thank you, vastgoten and others involved, for giving me a good memory to remember this place by. I just wish I had managed to experience more of those before I got fed up with the whole meta-side of it.

Damn, wish I'd been on more this weekend, as I happen to have a character also in the level 5 to 6 range who could have used a teammate. And who could have drawn you into the larger world.

I do tend to agree that with the lower new player base, the low level quests can be very difficult (As I've hit much the same wall you're talking about), and are unfriendly to soloing unless you're a very hardcore powergamer, or at least know DnD inside out and backwards, and could perhaps need to be retuned to make things easier.

As to GM events, I tend to agree then tend to cater towards level capped players, as level capped players have very little else to do in the world. That said, you don't need to be level capped to become involved in those events, once you hit level 15 (perhaps as low as 14 on a Druid or Cleric) you can be a valuable asset. GMs will also tend to balance encounters towards what they have online at the time. Storyline wise, all characters can be involved in the major overarching plot of the server. My main began becoming involved in major parts of the plot long before he hit level cap, it's just a matter of coming out and becoming involved. Oh course, much falls on the higher levels players to also ensure that people are involved and taken care of and encouraged to join in the larger plot of the world.

Anyway, if you decide to try again and I'm on, hit me up. My player name is "Peregry", and I'll either be on Phelan Almaran (my main) or Faolen Tennick (the rebuild I'm working on who's also at level 5ish). Unless I'm heavily involved in some major personal or plot related stuff, I'd be more than happy to work with you on Faolen.

Sorry to see you go, always hate to lose a good player. A game is what your make of it, it's supposed to be fun. It's a game, after all. Anyway, door's open if you want to give us another try sometime.

As to pairing with higher-level characters, it is not against the rules in Dasaria. Our XP system automatically adjusts for that. What is against the rules is higher-level characters completing low-level quests for for lower-level PCs, which is a different animal. I get that there is an 'economic' problem there, if your RP companions all want to level quickly with the static quests they will have a tendency to run off to the 'big kids' quests without you; No system is perfect, but this has been overwhelmingly more satisfying than the alternatives under which cheating can proliferate and there are all the wrong incentives for all the types of players we're not trying to attract here.

Unfortunately many of the quests on Das are intended for group play, although there are some that aren't. The difficulty lies in that its nigh-impossible to find out which ones are good/bad for solo play... Without asking other players. And if you asked other players - well you should be able to play with them and make it irrelevant for the time being.

But, don't worry about playing with higher level characters. For RP purposes, as long as they aren't doing low level quests for you, there isn't a roadblock between higher levels and lower levels. If you met a level 16 and wanted to help them on a daring adventure (say their own RP event even) then there isn't anything stopping you. A druid can still use a sling and heal. Unfortunately there will be times when its a bad idea for low levels to come along. When its a PvP event like this Saturday then its probably going to mean your death to join us. In fact, it meant most of our deaths, and most of us were 17+!

Personally, I prefer the low-mid levels. Between 7-15. Its when the most fun quests are, so don't sell yourself short on what you can do. Especially as a spell caster, you can always do a little (unless in a no-rest area...). For example, I have a character that was level 7 RP/playing with a group of level 13-15s. A few levels each later (so he was like 11, they closer to 20) we fought a dracolich. I still did stuff, even though I wasn't even near 20.

Most importantly. Talk to people. As Pere said, he'd have been willing to play with you. If I wasn't busy at the time, I'd have played with you as well. Talk to Silas, maybe you can try again when he makes a new char - it'd greatly increase your survival-bility, and give you a good RPer to hang out with

Either way. Welcome to Das, even if it was a short stay

A shame to see a good RPer go.

My advice is to consider Dasaria a RP and story server fore most. The quests and leveling is here to make things work but at the end of the day you will not have an easy time to find an alternative setting where you as a player can get so involved in various stories, not to mention the main campaign.

Patience is required but I have never had any difficulties taking a place in an event made for high levels even if I have been low level myself.

Regardless, it was fun to RP with you even if it was a one time thing!

I'd be happy to play with you if you return

Listen to the clever ones above me though.. they know what they are talking about.

sorry to see you go.

one thing that i also noted is that people hide away from the scrying. i thought that was forbidden? the intention of it is to more easily find other to rp with.

Players can opt out of the Scry if they care to; not everybody wants to be found. We want to encourage RP, but if they just want to play, that's their business.

I'll be brutally honest in saying that I opt out of scrying simply so that folks don't look there and say"oh he's level x, I can/can't party with him"
I find that when my character meets people, I want them to judge him on the RP and way he talks rather than his level.
If the scry had level disabled, I would use it 100%

I can look into the option, sure.

Necrosphere wrote:I'll be brutally honest in saying that I opt out of scrying simply so that folks don't look there and say"oh he's level x, I can/can't party with him"
I find that when my character meets people, I want them to judge him on the RP and way he talks rather than his level.
If the scry had level disabled, I would use it 100%

On the contrary, I prefer that feature simply because it gives me an indication of which quests I can do with a person. If I can see that everyone online is like 15+, I'll log on a higher level. If everyone is like level 5 then I'll log on a lower level. It helps prevent awkward situations like "Hey, we need to go save this lady that was kidnapped!" "((Darnit I'm too high level )) *Looks thoughtful a moment* Unfortunately I can't be of aid, as I have an important task... Elsewhere..."

And then log on a lower level that can actually join and redo introductions...

It also helps when partying to know "OKay, everyone in my party is >12, but <15. We can do this subset of quests" that way we don't waste time travelling somewhere. Yeah, I can ask, but its faster to just see it in the Scry, and involves less OOC chatter.

Wouldn't your character rather meet people his level to RP with?

I am with Alt here. I like to look and see that there are a bunch of X level people in one area. That gives me an indication that if I "happen" to bump into them all I may (or may not) be able to get into a quest with them. However, if i see that there are a bunch of different level characters together in an area I can probably go there and wow them all with my RP skills. /s

As an aside, if people are doing a DM mini-event and don't want me bumping into them... Please hide yourself in the scry tool so you don't have to stop your RP to ask me to leave the DM event when I happen to wander in. I don't like to interrupt good RP!

If looking to do static quests - yes it helps to check a players level.
If just Rping or during events (player or DM led) I could not care less of a characters level. But I use the scry to see where people are and draw myself into the nearby areas hoping to find some RP. If people hide from scry I seldom encounter them randomly. Dasaria is too large these days ;9

You Rp the same character wether he is level 3 or 17 (although if time is spent it might of course mean that the chcracter has undergone a personal "story" development. Even so, its how you RP your character that matters. Your level is only interesting if I would be looking for a bud to do a static quest. I think most actually play this way so IMO hide from scrying is just hindering RP, not the other way around.