Baldur's Gate : The Sword Coast Chronicles : NWN2 Persistent World

My kids take up all my spare time, otherwise I'd be in the thick of it!

It's been proven time and again that all the UD needs is people to invest into it. Over the years there have been cycles of high/low population swings. Usually these high populations have been player driven rather than DM, with a few exceptions (Strahd and Absolution come to mind), that's largely been due to the complete absence of DM presence. I think this is one thing people who were generally surface players struggled with when they head downstairs, they expect some free hand outs of RP and quests from DMs, and get discouraged when they realise the're going to have to make all the RP off their own back, and there aint no DM rewards at all...! I would say that my enjoyment of the underdark highlights has eclipsed anything I've found on the surface on other characters. This is because of the dedication (and sometimes just awesomeness) of the players that invested into the place, they created the world themselves, they were its life. The 'Sunday Drive' drow quickly became disinterested and headed back upstairs, and it left an UD population that was low, but the RP of the player base was high. The surface comparatively whilst having those same pockets of awesomeness also got the dilution of the Sunday drivers running around *waving* "Hi" and running off.

illithid wrote: It's been proven time and again that all the UD needs is people to invest into it.

I think this is one thing people who were generally surface players struggled with when they head downstairs, they expect some free hand outs of RP and quests from DMs, and get discouraged when they realise the're going to have to make all the RP off their own back, and there aint no DM rewards at all...!

The 'Sunday Drive' drow quickly became disinterested and headed back upstairs, and it left an UD population that was low, but the RP of the player base was high. The surface comparatively whilst having those same pockets of awesomeness also got the dilution of the Sunday drivers running around *waving* "Hi" and running off.

This is exactly what I mean.

I don't think it "It's been proven". I think it has been almost 9 years and it still doesn't work. It is never a moment of self-reflection for the players, it is always a point the other way saying things like "we need more players" and then "surfacer expect some free hand outs".

That doesn't make more players want to play with you, firstly. Secondly, I have been in one DM event in the last four years. On the surface. I expect very little by way of handouts.

The last bit of quote just reinforces the dog-eat-dog mentality that many players promote in relation to those that only play casually, or don't play enough to know 'real drow RP'.

In a nutshell, it seems like a good time for some self-reflection.

thids wrote: Because I roll my eyes every time i run into a lolthite using drommon, screaming "lolth tlu malla! Xas! Chaos!"
I'll take surface bake sales over that.

The lack of bake sales in the UD is what does it for me.

thids wrote:

adobongmanok wrote:Aside from the ECL +2, and the stat attributes that doesn't fit in your build as well as the recent game mechanic changes. I would like to hear your opinions.

Because I roll my eyes every time i run into a lolthite using drommon, screaming "lolth tlu malla! Xas! Chaos!"
I'll take surface bake sales over that.

I like it how you managed to present mechanically the best race we have by far in a somewhat negative light though. Good effort. You did forget that there are other races down there as well.

Hey thanks for the opinion. Just not sure what you meant by the 2nd paragraph. This thread is meant for all UD races, Half-drows, Rock Gnomes, Grey Orcs, etc.

EDIT: If you meant my saying ECL +2, well most surface people assume you are drow in UD. It was well-targeted to those people. But, it is an open discussion nevertheless.

For me, a couple of things.

First off - Trust is non-existent. A drow trusting anyone is a dead drow. This means I have utter difficulty justifying partying with anyone, as being backstabbed is more likely than being rescued. I'm better off doing anything deadly solo, because at least I needn't worry about being backstabbed.

On the surface, while the above is true with dubious people, you can always find a random paladin or cleric of a goodly god, or someone from a renowned institution to party with. On the surface, you can even make friends and the lore doesn't prevent that, allowing you to party with unlikely people you ended up trusting. A drow trusting anyone is a dead drow.

Secondly, difficulty finding reasons to interact. Maybe a drow wizard hiring underlings who are definitely weaker than them CAN work, but they still need to watch to appear as if they didn't need help, merely didn't want to bother. But a non-wizard? If such asks for help from someone, they show weakness -> backstab. If they seek to hire themselves out -> backstab to not have to pay. In a random tavern, I MUST play an intrigue char to have reason to interact with a stranger, lest my PC runs risk of offending someone greater than them with nothing to gain.

Playing an UD character is stressful, as it can be compared to walking on eggshells.

I may be overthinking such. Overthinking is my speciality.

It is honestly this, and only this:



Let me have map markers, let me see the area itself on my minimap. I am just annoyed to the bone by the forced need to buy a stacks of mundane arrows, splitting those into the several stacks, renaming them all, and dropping them to give myself some indication of where I have already been so that I can map my progress on a piece of this:



Yes, it is something that I could easily do. But I do not even bother doing that on the surface with the minotaur ruins. I will just follow the path of already opened doors and that is that. Therefore, I find those those big black empty squares of UD minimap just a massive turn off and bother.

In no particular order:

1. I don't want to learn dozens of words in a fake language (a few is ok). Roleplay and immersion quality should not be determined by this fact, and people who refuse to do it shouldn't be mocked or called "bad roleplayers."

2. I do not want ERP. I do not want anything approaching kinky stuff. It seems only a matter of time before some lonely dude tries to pick up my female drow (I realize I could keep it ic and try to kill him for the affront, but I have zero interest in fueling anyone's ooc kink, or rewarding someone who violates my limits).

3. Some people act like they are entitled to relationship, romance or ERP even after I say no. I'd rather not bother. This applies to surface and UD.

4. My limits are outlined in my bio, and those are routinely violated (surface and ud). I'd rather not bother.

5. The UD seems more likely to draw people who are interested in kink, ERP etc. No thanks.

Xorena wrote:In no particular order:

1. I don't want to learn dozens of words in a fake language (a few is ok). Roleplay and immersion quality should not be determined by this fact, and people who refuse to do it shouldn't be mocked or called "bad roleplayers."

2. I do not want ERP. I do not want anything approaching kinky stuff. It seems only a matter of time before some lonely dude tries to pick up my female drow (I realize I could keep it ic and try to kill him for the affront, but I have zero interest in fueling anyone's ooc kink, or rewarding someone who violates my limits).

3. Some people act like they are entitled to relationship, romance or ERP even after I say no. I'd rather not bother. This applies to surface and UD.

4. My limits are outlined in my bio, and those are routinely violated (surface and ud). I'd rather not bother.

5. The UD seems more likely to draw people who are interested in kink, ERP etc. No thanks.

**Previous Comments removed**

Like I said, the Dark Elf theme is already highly 'sexualized' with the content of the dominatrix man-slave stuff. It's not cool, its contrived.

It should be noted that this is a PG13 server and violations of that rating are against server rules. I've never had anything happen like this surface or UD, but it (unfortunately) doesn't surprise me that it does happen. Really should report folks, especially if you politely decline IC or OOC and they badger you over it. That is unfair and there are other servers that support that kind of stuff, this isn't the place for it.

Reckeo wrote:

Xorena wrote:In no particular order:

1. I don't want to learn dozens of words in a fake language (a few is ok). Roleplay and immersion quality should not be determined by this fact, and people who refuse to do it shouldn't be mocked or called "bad roleplayers."

2. I do not want ERP. I do not want anything approaching kinky stuff. It seems only a matter of time before some lonely dude tries to pick up my female drow (I realize I could keep it ic and try to kill him for the affront, but I have zero interest in fueling anyone's ooc kink, or rewarding someone who violates my limits).

3. Some people act like they are entitled to relationship, romance or ERP even after I say no. I'd rather not bother. This applies to surface and UD.

4. My limits are outlined in my bio, and those are routinely violated (surface and ud). I'd rather not bother.

5. The UD seems more likely to draw people who are interested in kink, ERP etc. No thanks.

[Comments removed by Moderator]

Like I said, the Dark Elf theme is already highly 'sexualized' with the content of the dominatrix man-slave stuff. It's not cool, its contrived.

I've not encountered any of that or had any issues whatsoever with that, and I played actively and lead a very active UD guild. A male, pretty drow if that matters - had interest but that was all within rules and IC. I wanted to play evil openly, which is why I made a drow.

With the low playerbase the UD has, really... you'll find most ERPers on the surface (and odd folk for that matter). However I'm quite against judging a corner of the server based on one encounter. I've had numerous encounters with odd people sending odd tells like that on the surface to which I say 'sorry' or plain ignore, don't reply to any tells and move on. It's a game after all. So many people forget that simply because you get a tell doesn't mean you're obliged to reply to it. I'll echo Chad - report, report & report.


Oh, I've been asked coerced to say to join Bregan D'aerthe.

chad878262 wrote:It should be noted that this is a PG13 server and violations of that rating are against server rules. I've never had anything happen like this surface or UD, but it (unfortunately) doesn't surprise me that it does happen. Really should report folks, especially if you politely decline IC or OOC and they badger you over it. That is unfair and there are other servers that support that kind of stuff, this isn't the place for it.

In terms of ERP and all that, I highly agree. I've never had things forced RP or anything like that, but it does unfortunately happen that people are going to be doing this stuff.

I think part of the issue for me, is the whole CONCEPT of Drow, with the dominatrix stuff, and the idea of men-slaves and spiders and half dressed armor etc...the images, the backstabbing, the poisoning......this isn't the kind of theme itself that caters to a PG-13 type environment, it has ADULT written all over it.

I could see the rare betrayal and such as more of a PG-13 style setting, but once you get into it being a cultural identity like the Llothites, you can't stay true to the Intellectual Property of what it entails when you have to water it all down during RP.

I understand where you are coming from, but to be fair Sshamath isn't a Llothite setting

i think there is a sense of sexuality with the drow as part of their mystique. it is the lore of them. its the matriarchal domination of the lolth worship and society. same can be said for orc rp, but it is the brutal and patriarchal domination of a nishrek worship and tribal society. it is also the same with humans (and the like). a mutual relationship that follows more of a standard we know in our RL. so less upsetting. they are there, but in the shadows outside our common RP. something that is like details in the environment, not portrayed in the game and just known to be there. if two adults want to bring this from the shadows, then that is not for me to judge. I like it just where it is. not in my RP.

if this RP is being forced upon anyone then it is wrong on a level that deserves the highest level of oversight. this kind of behavior will make people leave the server for good. it would me.

Glowfire wrote:
However I'm quite against judging a corner of the server based on one encounter.

I was asked my opinion, and my opinion was formed before I even came to this server due to previous encounters with 'Drow' characters on other games, and yeah, it was the same for me on this server as I also encountered it here.

This is not to say that people on the surface aren't odd, or also don't have a fair share of....whatever. However, I suppose it is more noticeable from Drow BECAUSE they're already such a small % of the player base. If I meet 100 humans and 10 are odd, ok. If I meet 1 Drow and that Drow is weird, this is 100% of my experience.

And yes, I realize there are different Drow sub-factions, but when I think Drow, I think Llolth.

The problem is the Underdark, by it's very nature, is NOT a PG-13 setting. And trust me, this is not me advocating for a non PG-13 setting. I have played an Underdark server without that, and those scars will last forever.

The very setting itself is too wrapped up in fetish for me to take seriously. As stated, it's just contrived and forced.