Quoted from the feedback I have already given:
Undying (pardon the pun...) gratitude to the architects and executors of this immense campaign. Above and beyond anything that could be expected or demanded: (mainly, but not exclusively!) DM Bloodlust, DM Dialectic, DM Golem, DM Theophanies in alphabetical order, displayed incredible commitment and DMing skills, as well as professional-level organization. You have every right to be proud of this outstanding achievement.
Very special thanks to DM Bloodlust for creating and conducting what I believe to be the most massive of all campaigns that ever were as far as NWN2 is concerned. Revolutionized timeline management, complexity, information value, combat scale & challenge, level of devastation and player involvement, visual experience...and incredible number of events, to boot. I have never seen such a manic attention for every possible detail, even though I have been lucky enough to take part in wondrous events created by fantastic DMs over the years (DEFINITELY including the aforementioned ones, without whose splendid ideas that intrigued me to the core, Kael would not even exist anymore).
As a player, I am enormously grateful. As a former DM, I am awestruck. And as a NWN enthusiast, I am proud to have been a small part of this.
-) COMPLEX STORYLINE: well thought out, complex storylines and amazing NPC backgrounds and developments are absolutely fantastc The sheer possibilities this offers to all guilds and lone players alike to carve themselves a slice of it are the beating heart of an RP server. However, you need many more than 1 fully committed DM and a handful more assisting him to pull it off, otherwise it becomes immediately exclusive: players and/or entire factions immediately get cut off just for lack of DM resources.
-) TIMELINE MANAGEMENT: this new system for planning and executing events, together with player cap and "can't be everywhere at all times" rules are outstanding additions to the server, and need to be enforced in the future (even more firmly, if possible).
-) AMOUNT OF EVENTS: Having this many events is fantastic for the server. Just look at the population spikes, despite DDOS attacks and whatnot. I have never seen a DM more active than Bloodlust: I would never have been able to do half of what he did. However, this staggering amount of work cannot be demanded to a lone DM and a few brave others trying to help him as much as they can. Many more DMs need to take up a small amount of work, say, one or two events per week/two weeks, and meet the event cap in order to organically involve all factions and lone players interested alike.
-) INFORMATION VALUE: I have rarely seen a campaign where information was so hard to come by, and so important. This is great for the plot overall, but it can exclude the vast majority of players from the RP in and of itself. In such a complicated situation, there should be a forum thread "new" players can refer to with an idea of "the road thus far", at least what's overtly known or believed. Something to start with. From there, they would be able to begin their RP and PM the DMs with their ideas on how to go on. The DMs. Not 2 or 3: many. Otherwise, DMs (even excellent ones, like those in question) are overwhelmed and people get ignored.
-) COMBAT SCALE & CHALLENGE: the DMs showed mechanical competence, and the battles were some of the best fun I've ever had with the game. Challenging to the breaking point, with minimal lag only in the events with a player cap, which made legendary plays possible, to my great joy. Too many players meant usually worsening the experience, as is well known, but to avoid that we need to split events. So again, a few more DMs involved in order to schedule additional events.
-) VISUAL EXPERIENCE: absolutely outstanding. I didn't know it could get to this level of excellence. Very, very nicely done.
-) PLAYER INVOLVEMENT: lots of players and guilds of every kind have been involved with, according to me, excellent results. A sign the DMs are very skilled planners and storytellers. I feel Thids' pain, though, and I think that, too, would be a problem easily solved sharing the workload more evenly across the DM team.
-) A PERSONAL NOTE: Personally speaking, I don't care about DMs saying (or implying) characters are weakling and nobodies (sorry folks
). I consider PCs some of the most powerful individuals in the world. I play for campaigns like these. The enemies like the Blight are my enemies. I like situations that call for MY presence. If something can be solved by literally anyone showing up in my stead (as in: not a hero, a PC), then I don't see why my character should bother with that crap, unless he literally stumbles upon it, or he feels the need to rip the heart out of the unfortunate targets. Situations like this one give me motivation to play.
Conversely, the good Flaming Fist commander of ten that tries to order me around just acts like a magnet for my death spells. I don't like NPCs placed over PCs. I like PCs in control, I like when they are more powerful than NPCs, I like when they handle the situation and take decisions, and I like when they take responsibility for their failures. I like when they die, and stay dead. I like DMs that are fair all along, and don't try to hand you a win, save you or kill you. I enjoyed it immensely when Bloodlust thought (and his NPCs kind of mirrored his beliefs...) we were dead and lost in some of his events, and some crazy plays turned the tide, making us emerge victorious. No NPC rushed in to save us, and we didn't face weak opposition: all was in play, we were down under, and we found within us the resources to beat seemingly impossible odds and come up on top. Great storytelling and great conflicts become truly memorable when you maximize the uncertainty.
-) CONCLUSION: Almost everything I noted above was great in my opinion, and the flaws could be compensated by more DMs actively participating to the metaplot, thus enabling more PC voices to be heard and acted upon, and less NPC "Deus ex Machina" situations. Put an event cap to be met for DMs: if one can't meet it for a time that isn't "I am traveling for the week" or "I am off this month", then they have to retire and return when they can. This, of course, excludes HDM and CC, since they have additional duties that get in the way of "field" activities.
More lasting consequences for deaths should also be pushed, at least when it's not purely due to technical nature (DM notices he royally screwed up, the server froze for 2 mins causing TPK and the likes): if someone is not "permakilled", it doesn't mean he/she is in condition to fight in the next battle, or in the entire campaign, for instance.
Thank you for reading, and for DMing.
Happy RPing everyone.