From Player to Player : New Folks please read ...

I was once new here myself.  I know it can be differently daunting, frustrating, and throws you off  with it's multitude of things you can do.

I often call the server, "Gygaxian Style" , meaning it' s more akin to Gary Gygax's type of modules and "old school" DnD pen and paper play.

It is, but ... honestly I think it goes even beyond that.

My point is , it is not a MMORPG  here.  If you are looking for a place that will lead you by the nose, so you can in minutes go raid goblin lair, then run next door and beat up gnolls, then onto ogers ... this places isn't one of those.  

Not everything here is "perfect" , if you log in , you notice it's still in BETA ... a VERY extensive and playable BETA.  There are bugs, things needing tweaked.  Somethings we are discovering , it used to work .. but no longer does.  
 You have to take these things with a grain of salt.  We all do.  
There is a very small team of two that made this, and work on it.  Considering it's the best scripted PW ever created, with over 1000 areas, 18,000 custom monsters, 25,000 custom items ... + subraces, + dieties + Class modifications and tweaks to make each one with perks and interest, that alone is amazing in itself!  

This place encourages exploration, and discovery.  
We have players been here years playing, and THEY still discover things.  Still exploring.  

Part of it, you do have to dig in and start making your own fun.  
There are Dm events , but light on it for lacking enough players to warrant having 18 idle DMs.  
Of course, these events are not going to be some MMO "lets all play kickball" events ... they are challenging and make you think.  
Even between sessions.  
But the majority of it is, getting INVOLVED ... find other players in game, and RP.  Not only will this START integrating your characters into a very extensive realm like no other , YOU as a player will learn loads of things, if you pay attention.
Mechanically wise ... ODA is far better at describing what can be done.  There is so much, I forget each thing thats offered.

The "realistic systems" -  
H/T/F or Hunger, Thirst, Fatigue  ... also includes a resting system, weather , moon cycles, day-time/night time and time of year activities.  
Every single thing has a purpose here.  It's not there to annoy you, there are REASONS for them to be in place.  
Griping about , I can't rest my wizards anywhere ... doesn't do anyone any good.  We already know you can't, you hav eto us ethe system, or explore and discover the places offered all around, you can.  
No, you aren't going to get away with exhausting spells, and rest spam.  Not necessarily.  < There are IN GAME ways around some limitations.
Possibly about ... 10,000 or more ways, you just have to discover.  

Complaining about it , doesn't help.  
Especially to me ... I have no authority, no DM abilities , I am just like you ... just a player , I just happen to know alot.  I've been shown a lot, discovered a lot , RP'd and found out a whopping ton more.  
I promise I understand frustration , I have been there ...  , but just complaining cause you don't like something , doesn't help.  

Jump over here ... report, and offer solutions to issues you face.  Oda and Eriniel are open to suggestions.  They have tweaked and changed things, based off player-feed back since the beginning.  

This isn't a place to be , if you don't have time to invest in playing , I am sorry for that.  
But, this isn't a "videogame" PW ... it's not designed for absolute quick dungeon crawls , mindless monster slaying, and high looting of such.
Those of us whom love the server , don't want that either.  It will never be that, and never go that route.  

Everyone, I love new players.
I try to help meet, integrate in when I can.  I will show your characters things that are helpful for navigation , how to use certain things. I'll give you the very top of the ice-berg of such things, I can't in good conscious lead you by the nose , to every secret I know and have discovered.
i'll answer any question honestly, and impart what I know ... if I can or know it.  
I'll TRY to come RP with you ... but I've gotten involved with my favorite characters too , finding it more difficult to spread my play time between our characters stories/plots , and breaking immersion to run out.  

Sorry all ,  much of this I know doesn't apply to everyone here already.  
Just got left with feeling horrible after showing a new player around,  facing many of the issues above.  

This place is great ... one just has to expect the un-expected, get into it , and put the time in.

BenevolentDevil wrote:... I can't rest my wizards anywhere ... There are IN GAME ways around some limitations.
Possibly about ... 10,000 or more ways, you just have to discover.

 

For those who can cast arcane spells, resting-angst is one of those 'grains of sand' we put in your boot to make you go research spells. We consider all the standard NWN spells to be the "First Circle" of spells. There is a "Second Circle" of spells, and these you must discover by research or convince a PC or NPC caster to teach you. Research is easy, just put things in a Research Desk along with your Spell Book and 'close' the desk to initiate the research. You can use a Research Desk in Pel Durek's place (North Egbort), or by graduating the College of Dohral (you get access to the Senior Facilities), or buy your own and decorate your own wizards lab.

Wizards can to awesome things. This includes find a way to get rest in (magical) style and comfort. Least among the spells that cover this need is the Rope Trick spell, followed by Leomund's Tiny Hut and Mordencainen's Manse. The whole trick of it is finding the correct item to use in your research. For those who want to avoid the need to rest totally, there is an Ioun Stone that sustains the user against all fatigue.

While making camps may seem a bother - it has purpose. Note that if your PC ever "smells smoke" it means that a fire is or was recently in this area, or an adjacent area. This can be a clue about creatures in the region, it can also give away the party presence when you choose to make a camp with a fire. EPIC level rangers and other 'nature  boys' can make fireless campsites too.

BenevolentDevil wrote:this isn't a "videogame" PW ... it's not designed for absolute quick dungeon crawls , mindless monster slaying ...   

but that's not to say we lack all the adventure memes; you can find rats galore in the sewer, you can find goblins hunting the roadways by night (and if you search nearby such hunting zones you may even find their lair), you can find a troll lair (nasty seriously), you can find a thieves guild (but I didn't tell you that), you can find all sorts of nasty monsters wandering about and in their lairs too.

The main difference is, we don't force you down some set series of adventures. We put the whole world in front of your PC in arriving at this strange new city. The path you take is yours to choose. Interact with natives to discover rumors in the region, explore the city or even the countryside and you can almost not avoid stepping into some form of intrigue. It is up to you to go step in whatever you please, whenever you want. SOME NPCs are patron sorts, but you may need to earn a small reputation on your own before they might seek to hire you directly.

The server is big. You will need to think your way through a lot of situations - getting to know the layout of the region either by exploration or by review of the wiki maps is a very good idea. Large areas let us hide lots of useful stuff - allows us to present players with choices of route when they travel too (the route you choose may be a long one or the short-cut or something in-between, but you have choices IF you know your way around some). Exploration is its own reward, your PC earns 20 XP or more for exploring new areas (there is more than 26K xp to be had just from exploring).