New player saying hi! And... also completely lost.

[AasimarNerd]

Howdy! Folks might have seen me starting to scuttle around the beginning of Baldur's Gate in the form of Shadefha. A lil' nun hailing from Mulhorand!
However, I'm completely at a loss for what to do after a few days of exploring, and even some brief RP.

I.... don't know the hotspots or even how to form any real connections for her, or otherwise get her involved for RP.
My second conundrum is... the apparent timeperiod we're in. The Time of Troubles.

My first time peeking into the RP server and..... two of my favorite archetypes; wizards and clerics, have (in my very personal, magic-happy opinion) been... kind of screwed over. I create my first character, a cleric, to find that.... magic in all forms has been made ICly illegal, to my understanding; not to mention that apparently I... can't be a cleric? With my magic being restricted to 3rd level or lower? All turning attempts now fail too, so I can't... even go to to the Graveyard to smack the undead.
Arcane magic got screwed up as well, apparently, due to Mystra's fall and the Weave going all pear-shaped, with failure chance and backfire chance apparently having gotten amped up quite a bit.
Now, I was reassured the other night that this would only last a few months, however, I'm going to be honest, this... has really not left the best impression on me.

So I'm really just sitting here left twiddling my thumbs and feeling very lost. Anyone have any suggestions or able to help with my little conundrum here? I know this sounds whiny and I'm sorry for it, tbh, I'm just frustrated.

[selhan]

I assume you started in the Harbor of Baldurs. Talk to npc's and seek out quests around the city. All the quest within the gates should take you to level 3-4 before needing to even leave the City. Dont be shy from trying to ask for assistance. Better to learn then find whats enjoyable then to stay timid and not find means to progress.

[JustAnotherGirl]

First of all, welcome to the server! I know it can be overwhelming to hop into a game and not know where to go or what to do, especially when there are special circumstances like the Time of Troubles.

The hot spots tend to be around fires. There is one outside of Baldur's Gate that sees a lot of traffic. Taverns tend to be good places to pop into also.

As frustrating as the Time of Troubles is, I think it can be great story for developing a new toon! Try to get inside her head and figure out exactly how not being able to use magic is affecting her and how she'd react to that and then go from there.

In my opinion RP is the best way to get your xp in, so not being able to go out and grind the xp isn't necessarily a bad thing. That being said, I've seen quite a few new toons around lately. Maybe you'll be able to get into a group with someone who's more melee oriented so you can get out there and see some undead fall while you're getting some RP in.

I'll keep an eye out for your toon and will see if we can get some RP drummed up for you. I'm generally around in the evenings, GMT-5, but have been hopping it at other random times when I can.

[JustAnotherGuy]

Firstly, welcome to the server!

Right now we are in the Time of Troubles, where magic is all screwy. Arcane casters can cast any spells, but they are subject to wild magic, which means that the spells can go wrong and can have unintended affects. Divine magic is restricted to 3rd circle and below, and is subject to wild magic. All divinely granted abilities work, with (I believe) the exception of turn undead.

There's a lot of mixed feelings concerning the Time of Troubles, and actually playing through it. But if someone doesn't like it, the good news for them is that it will only last a few months; until October-ish. We haven't had official word on the end time.

Magic is currently illegal in Duchal lands, due to the wild affects it can have. However, it's not illegal over the entire server. Essentially, as long as you don't cast either in a city or in "populated" areas, you're going to be ok.

As far as hotspots, it actually depends on who is online at the time. The fire outside of Baldur's Gate (BG Outskirts map) is usually a good starting point. If your toon is the kind to visit a pirate tavern, then the Broken Goblet has been seeing lots of RP lately. To get there, you head south from the BG Outskirts, and before you cross the bridge, take the boat to Roaring Shore (50 gold), and then follow the path up the side of the hill.

House Vale, and House Darius in Baldur's Gate see some RP, depending again on who is online. The fire at the Friendly Arms Inn is sometimes a hotspot. To get there head south from BG Outskirts, and just keep heading south for a few maps. You'll have to kill kobolds and low level bandits.

If Edelgarde is online, RP can be found at Candlekeep. To get there, head to the Friendly Arms Inn map. On the map just south of that, head west. You will have to fight beetles for sure, and there is an occasional bandit ambush that ranges from low to mid level.

Back to the Time of Troubles, you're not alone in not enjoying it. Or at least, not enjoying it as much as usual. My druid, while he can still shift, cannot cast almost any of the wards on himself that he usually can. This means that while he can fight, my level 30 druid is in danger of some level 20-22 mobs, having a rough time with them. And that's in dragon form. He's feeling very worthless, and with the recent loot changes (where higher levels can't loot lower levels), there's literally no way for him to go out and earn any coin, as the areas I used to be able to solo, I currently can't go into even with my "usual" party, as they rely on the same wards that we can't cast.

But chin up! It's an RP server, and so this is a great time to focus on the RP. Make interpersonal relationships with other toons, get involved with a guild, or even make your own RP and ask people to help you with your story.

And if you see me online, feel free to shoot me a tell with any questions, or if you want to do some light RP. My character's name is Guardian Emmanuel. I believe our toons have met at least once already.

[Almarea90]

Hello hello and welcome!

Although I personally like Time of Trouble as a character development tool (even though my character is wizard/cleric) I completely understand this can be frustrating or confusing for a new player.

As JAG said, feel free to drop by Candlekeep. If you are IC confused I am more than happy provide a modicum of answers. For the OOC you can join our discord at this link: https://discord.gg/KxE3pvyC, there is a channel specific for new players or you can drop me a PM I will be happy to assist.