Developing the Underdark

[Melisende]

All right, can we have a show of hands as to who would be interested in playing scheduled weekend events?

The main aim, as I see it, is to open up possibilities for both RP and adventure. I believe that existing areas and the general ambiance of the Underdark are quite good, that said, with a limited player base, quests, and variety, DM supported events could prove a real boost to those of us who would like to experience more than weekly quest runs and occasional ad hoc roleplay.

As an example, a group could explore opening a trade mission with an Illithid outpost on behalf of the 7th Circle. Or a novice Drow party could try to make it to the surface for a "Blooding". Both of these are examples of RP that require DM participation and support. Clearly no novice party could make it to the surface on their own (through the Netherese Maze) or successfully conduct a Blooding once there. Should a DM wish to support it however, players could be ported to a relatively empty area (such as the forest between Gullykin and the orc-held portion of the Wood of Sharp Teeth) and a Blooding could be playacted. Similarly, no negotiations could take place with Imaskari, Illithid, Duergar, or the Kuo Toa without a DM event.

In other words, the point is not to eliminate or reduce player initiated RP, but rather to augment the former with plot narratives that can spur player interest and activity in the Underdark.

Personally, I have a number of ideas for both one off and sustained "campaigns" and I know that Eldebryn is anxious to further the development of the 7th Circle. Of course much will depend on whether player and DM participation can be secured. Still, I for one am encouraged by DM ZabelSwords' post and will attempt to reach out to him once I have a better idea about the level of interest in such a scheme.

[Eldebryn]

You can count me in for any such attempt. As a matter of fact, if you gather a few people and send me a PM with time 1-2 days prior I will try and perhaps think of a mini plot, possibly related to the Circle to bring some RP to our expedition, if you are interested.

Any way, I hope it all goes well

[Gruk]

yea im in to , grogland has his kids one weekend on two so he'd join sometimes.

yea a kind of RP group or pen and paper cession style where we could bring our own pc driven litle pc plots and go out do stuff... Kind of the general direction im taking anyway ; school of mages, Elde's classes , 7 th circle ... get in groups , get organized do stuff for a reason and provoke quests or events ...

[Styxwash]

I've been away abit from this server, but I havn't forgotten Aether and I def. would love to participate in some planned events in the UD afterall. I'm keeping my eyes open.

[Eldebryn]

I've been away abit from this server, but I havn't forgotten Aether and I def. would love to participate in some planned events in the UD afterall. I'm keeping my eyes open.

I missed your illusionist, I suggest you take a look in 7th Circle topic for starters, we might have a meeting in the weekend.

[C_aribou]

DM support is great, don't get me wrong - I love a DM plot, and interaction with NPCs as good as anyone. Its true, certain raids and things should have a DM(s) watching over them, but thats something the players need to request in advance. However, to be honest, I have been on a few UD servers which had very little DM interaction (in-fact I have noticed most UDs get very little DM attention on average), and the RP was still incredible, dynamic and very active.

When we are dealing with evil races like Drow/Duergar/Imaskari, we need to focus (as players) on creating dynamic factions that cause conflict between one-another. Eldebryn has the right idea with the 7th Circle, cooperation is good (especially for a lot of new players who have no idea what to do), but ideally we want more conflict, intrigue, and (dare I say?) chaos. A lot of us are playing EVIL characters in the UD, and if we don't do EVIL things... things will be boring. I don't just mean going around and grinding things and enjoying the 'gore' of it all.

For example, if there was an active and organized Vhaeraunite church (and houses?) in Sshamath, and an active and organized Lolthite church in Sshamath . . . I think things would be very interesting. The conflict between these two faiths, would be dynamic and great (undoubtedly there would be some PvP). Plus, it would balance out the 'concerns' I have seen on these forums about Lolthites being 'too powerful' in Sshamath.

The Drow are a very devout people, its very rare, if ever, you find an atheist Drow. They are passionate with their religions (as described in 'Drow of the Underdark') and thats where a lot of their RP is going to come from. I am mainly speaking about Drow here though, keep that in mind you players of Duergar/Svirfneblin/etc.!

[nwnolan]

The problem with your ideas caribou is this: players. The UD doesn't have enough players to make those things possible unfortunately.

Oh, and Imaskari are a predominantly neutral race. Just saying

[C_aribou]

Sorry, don't know that much about Imaskari. As for the players, I was on today, and yesterday, and there were at least 10+ UDers on at some points. Also, for just playing in the last 3 days I have encountered three different Clerics of Vhaeraun... so I think it is very possible.

[nwnolan]

Really? Well good to hear the playerbase is growing! But I just wonder how many of them will stay/play out their characters. This server is notorious for abandoning a character around level 10.

[C_aribou]

Oh noes!!! Does something really bad happen at level 10??? :/

Well! I just think the UD is an evil setting, so the RP should be super evil/hatred all around; in an ideal and beautiful world there should be 2-3 factions (would be Drow houses usually, but not in Sshamath's case!) at each-others throats vying for power. Maybe the DMs could even have the Conclave stirring it all up in a way so the player-factions fight amongst themselves and stay at the top? Mainly though it only takes a little player initiative on our parts, I think...!

I absolutely love the setting and I usually only like Lolth-only cities. Sshamath is a sinisterly 'cosmopolitan' (lol) place!

[Gruk]

i dont think were there yet ... i've been playing in Ud for about a year so far the only only guild i saw have some activities were Charnag and Bregan , both have fell inert a while back ... (( as far as i can tell ))

So inner conflict between faction isnt a possibility right here and now at this point , 7th circle if the first organisation that can , and will , reunite evry Ud player and faction , you can be from a house , bregan , charnag , loth , masks ... evryone can sit at the circle representing his own faction's interests and work on goals we can ALL agree on , like the defence of Sshamath.

The DMs are coming up with an awsome plot between Sshamath's conclave , the Zentharim and 7 th circle , petty bickering political or religious pales in comparaison to the magnitude of what's coming , i feel we should focus on that .

Once the 7th circle has had some miles and runs well , it can serve as a plateform for personal conflict i have no doubt about it , but right now i dont feel it should be a priority much more interesting stuff coming up ...


Besides , if Shamath the cosmopolitan has been harboring all those factions all this time without continual civil war and coup d'états , i cant imagine the first trading city in magical devices of Faerun being all that chaotic , there must be a certain equilibrium no ? there are bunch of surfacers ( in lore) teleporting up and down the city ... surfacers !!! if they are tolerated and not murdered evryday , why should male wizards or non enslaved deep gnomes be all that conflictual...

my 2 cents

[Eldebryn]

i dont think were there yet ... i've been playing in Ud for about a year so far the only only guild i saw have some activities were Charnag and Bregan , both have fell inert a while back ... (( as far as i can tell ))

So inner conflict between faction isnt a possibility right here and now at this point , 7th circle if the first organisation that can , and will , reunite evry Ud player and faction , you can be from a house , bregan , charnag , loth , masks ... evryone can sit at the circle representing his own faction's interests and work on goals we can ALL agree on , like the defence of Sshamath.

The DMs are coming up with an awsome plot between Sshamath's conclave , the Zentharim and 7 th circle , petty bickering political or religious pales in comparaison to the magnitude of what's coming , i feel we should focus on that .

Once the 7th circle has had some miles and runs well , it can serve as a plateform for personal conflict i have no doubt about it , but right now i dont feel it should be a priority much more interesting stuff coming up ...


Besides , if Shamath the cosmopolitan has been harboring all those factions all this time without continual civil war and coup d'états , i cant imagine the first trading city in magical devices of Faerun being all that chaotic , there must be a certain equilibrium no ? there are bunch of surfacers ( in lore) teleporting up and down the city ... surfacers !!! if they are tolerated and not murdered evryday , why should male wizards or non enslaved deep gnomes be all that conflictual...

my 2 cents

Gruk pretty much said it all.

Conflict is certainly an interesting part of drow/UD roleplay, however the current situations does not favor such. Moreover it is well known lore-wise that Sshamathians rarely have fights or physical conflict, that is almost unheard of.

In spite of that, I find the choice of Sshamath by the staff as the UD city rather ingenious because it allows those who want fanatical Lolthites to just to RP being raised in another city. That opens the possibility of playing any concept you want, within the Sshamath lore limits for instance.

I agree that a Lolthite action would be nice, there is always a place for a lolthite Representative in the Circle and you can always PM me if you need anything related to that.

Just keep in mind that I designed the Circle to be a rather "neutral" organization in that everyone can join it, every member has to work with each other towards common goals and inner conflict *that hinders the efficiency of the Circle or it's member* is frowned upon.

[Rasael]

Bah, God slaves have no place in the city of dark weavings!

Know your place servants!

[Mammothtruk]

Bah, God slaves have no place in the city of dark weavings!

Know your place servants!

Thems fighting words!

[Melisende]

Just to underline what was said before by Gruk and Eldebryn, the player base and proper roleplay structures are simply not there for the type of faction based conflict that you seem to desire, C_aribou.

As a point of fact, I have received only three messages indicating significant interest in agitating for scheduled weekend events. Given the relative lack of interest I will defer organizing cooperative roleplay in the Underdark to the 7th Circle as, at this time, it appears to be the only viable entity there around which a reasonable player base can coalesce.

Alas, I am not in a position to spend hours prodding and cajoling other players to join together for group-based roleplay. What time I do have, I rather spend developing my own characters and exploring their options. If this leads to organized roleplay in an organic fashion great, if not, c'est la vie. Regardless, I am glad to see that Eldebryn is willing to put so much time an effort into improving the prospects for interactive roleplay in the Underdark.

I do agree that the Underdark has plenty of intriguing possiblities. The tidbits that Gruk hinted at regarding grand plot developments are encouraging, though much will depend on just how it will be implemented. Personally, I am not especially fond of large group dynamics in an online setting, as much is lost in the din when a dozen players vie with each other to get heard.

AS a final note, the reasons for giving up on developing Underdark characters vary a great deal. One aspect is certainly the difficulty of advancing characters who are not self-sufficient beyond a certain point. The obvious solution is party-based play but from my experience players for such are not always readily available. I have previously offered (and will stand by my pledge) to assist any and all as much as time and circumstance permits when I am on the server. It might not be dedicated in character roleplay but then I think helping others get traction in the Underdark is far more likely to promote a sense of community and belonging than scintillating roleplay that leaves others mired in frustration.