There's a question that I'd like to put forth to the server in general, a very involved question that I feel warrants some serious consideration and thoughtful contemplation. This question is asked not as a member of the DM team, but as an "Amian" in general; it is my hope that the players and staff alike will eventually come to some sort of majority consensus on the matter. I would also request that after reading the rest of this post, you not reply for a day or so, sleep on it, and come back with a more deeply analyzed and carefully considered response. The thread will still be here, and we'll all derive more from this with such consideration. Lastly, I ask that you craft your responses not as replies to individuals or to other responses, but as your own unique perspective on things. By all means quote other posts for inspiration if they did indeed inspire you, but address this more as a critical thinking essay than a debate, because I guarantee we will all have differing viewpoints on this and it will be more beneficial for us to consider each one, than to become mired in who's "right" or "wrong"; there is no right or wrong here.

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The question (or questions I suppose) that I want to put towards you, are about the server's identity. For the questions in their most simplistic form:

What is the server's identity today?
- and -
What do you think the server's identity should become?

These can be rather broad and vague questions at first glance, so I'll include my own (lengthy, sorry) answers below, in the hopes of inspiring further answers and better illustrating what I mean by the questions to begin with.

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These questions first entered my mind after reading through all of the pages and pages of different Constructive Feedback messages the staff got from players on the server, and when I drew a few re-occurring items to the attention of the other staff. While not always expressly stated this way, several of the posts felt that the story behind Amia really had no overarching theme, no grand story-arch that would serve to tie everything together and really form the "meat and potatoes" of the Amian experience. This is what I had posted:



You might wonder why I left the PvP part in there, as it doesn't seem immediately relevant to the questions I've asked at the start of the post, but it is relevant when you see what Yossarin's response to that post was. Yossarin and I disagreed plenty while we were both on staff, quite heatedly and adamantly at times, but every once in awhile we'd find ourselves in full agreement on something. His reply was one of those times:



The first and last paragraphs here are the critical points here, the ones that really made me stop and re-evaluate my perception of the server. Amia is of course touted first and foremost as an RP server, because that's the general deciding factor when considering (at a glance) what server to start on. RP? PvP? Arena? etc. But while roleplaying is one of the critical components, one that sets it apart from other games like WoW or LoL, that's not really what the identity of the server is. Saying that a server is an RP server might tell you how you're expected to interact with the game world you log into, but it really doesn't tell you anything about what it actually is all about.

This thought stayed with me for a few months, niggling at the back of my brain. It made me try to re-evaluate my ideas of what comprises the identity of a server. What I eventually decided was that as Yossarin said, our theme is "adventure" and that roleplaying at its core is the telling of a story, sometimes individually and sometimes collectively. It's almost like writing a book. This made me realize however that our "book" really -has no identity-. At best it is an anthology, and at worst a collection of hodge-podge manuscripts. Each manuscript is often a great story in and of itself, but there are so many different mini-books of such varied type and design that as a collective whole, no publisher would touch it.

This lack of identity, theme, story-arch, and everything that ties into it, is at the root of many of the issues that continue to damage Amia the worst. The below quote is something that I posted recently on the DM forums, but I feel that the identity (or lack there-of) is not something crafted solely by the staff who run the server, but also by the players who connect with it. It's a rather harsh critique in places, but understand that it's written not as a declaration that Amia sucks, but as a wake-up call that Amia could be even better than it already is.



With that all said, I'm not in any way advocating the first option; I think that if we used the "pack up and restart" approach at this point in time, where the server's at currently, it would do more harm than good (at least for a good long while). I'm definitely a believer in option two, it I wasn't I wouldn't have plugged away at things for as long as I did already. My hope, really -the- hope that I have for Amia, is that there are enough people who see the issues the server faces, and who are willing to take that second, white-knuckled approach, that Amia can be reforged with a clear sense of identity that it currently lacks. And if that approach is taken, it won't just be the staff that will have to pull the weight either; players will be just as vital in putting in their own work towards reshaping the server, especially where the "society" of Amia is concerned. And with that in mind the true deciding factor will be the decision of what the server's identity really should be. If Amia is to survive, it can't continue to try to cater to everyone, we have to collectively choose one path and stick to it even if a few people wander off or choose another path, instead of walking back and forth through the thorns between different paths, trying to make sure no one gets lost along the way.

I could go on and with all the lead-ins this creates, specific examples of things that would need working on, etc. but I think the core question is the most important for the moment and this post is long enough as it is. I'm sure that at least some of you have noticed by now that while I've thoroughly provided my perspective on the first question I asked at the start of the post, I haven't given any answer to the second. This is intentional, because unfortunately I'm not sure I feel "qualified" to have a say in the matter any longer. That's a personal choice, no fault of anyone's. My goal is only to try to pave the way for all of you to reforge the server; my arm's too tired to swing anymore, at least for the foreseeable future.

I do not know what identity we should have but i know we lack conflict; specifically WAR. Territorial feuds and armies clashing.

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At one point in time, Amia's identity was at least by my reckoning a Server where all could come and within a set of rules and guidelines which were loose but fair and kept more for restricting content that'd put us in niches we wanted to avoid as we did have younger players at the time.

At that time, we were a bit looser on what would be allowed characters' wise in the server and more then anything else wanted a friendly atmosphere.

With some nescessity that has transitioned over time to what we have today. I admit, there is improvement in regards to a cohesive narrative that could come into place but we have the framework for that in place now with certain events and how certain groups and entities have fallen together in one way or another.

I think what it comes down to in one thing that kind of irked me when playing on here was the constant feeling of larger scale (in power and in .. well, raw scale) threats that would plague the region. Many of these threats would by all rights attract other Faerunian entities to be involved more then have been (A few exceptions I know of however were from past events, where indeed there was guest appearances by major Faerunian powers) , but yet none would even lend an indirect hand to my awareness.

I admit I drift off course of trying to create an identity but considering the server has been set in Faerun, such things do need to be kept in mind. Even if we go off an alternate timeline than the core, that's still something of note.

I've been here a long time. When I first came to Amia, I was a confused player caught inside something called The Horde War, which as far as anyone could attest, was the only national plot. There were large stand-still battles on various parts of the island with the collective Horde, and I remember laying conquest into Guthma's forces, and we the heroes, we lost a lot. It was as though we would lose the entire island to the barbaric forces of the Horde (the horde, which can be thought loosely to Silent's Brogendenstein plot). The identity of Amia then was actually very captivating, perhaps because I was younger and my imagination was more impressionable. I do not think it was the best storytelling in retrospect, compared to some long and well handled plots of other DMs that came later after Sinqnew's reign, but we had this understanding that The Horde was going to be a very long problem, should the adventurers ever see an end to the day of Thornius, the land would know peace. No peace is forever.

Then the Commonwealth started to grow, and it grew I believe quite strongly in its story telling, slowly, and patiently, clever and withholding some very dark secrets behinds its coup. This is probably still my favorite plot, and I thank Yossarin for years of great immersion. Though understandably things slowed down, and I felt that there was a panic drive to create new stories to satisfy the mass versus the small teams who were involved with these other plots. I'm for that really. I think a good story starts small with a small cast, and as the problem grows so should the cast involved with the plot. But peppering the world with different isolated problems sounds.... unimaginable. These things would reflect on each other, and should do so. It would be great if Cordor actually did take over the island as a whole. Why not? Even better for the storytelling if they destroyed Kohlingen. The thing is, we need our backs to the wall, and a reason to work together. As do the DMs.

One problem with this regional-DM service that has developed over the years (That idea that puts specific DMs in charge of specific areas) is that for the player, they must tug the coat of a particular DM to get further along in their own story if they need help in an area. Too many times I have been told a DM cannot put their hands on an area because of Plot Conflicts. And as for the DM's troubles, they can at times be stuck in waiting forever for someone to walk into their house and do something substantial to trigger a tale, neither of these really happen well. I remember receiving a comment after making a significant turn in Cordor: "Finally, someone actually -does- something!"

This is a problem, if we are looking to develop an identity. The myth of the Labyrinth suggests there is a monster, a labyrinth, and a hero. You can only be one of these things in any story. The labyrinth is what you fight and where you must do it, it is there to mislead you, and create a long difficult path, while the monster is there to throw things at the hero and make his or her trail much more difficult.

One example I can think of is back in the Horde War, Guthma, A Horde General (Not the leader of the horde) was ran by another DM entirely. Thornius had his plans and plot all well organized to take over the island, but Guthma was a fiendish wildcard whom would strike at our lines where we did not expect it. I believe he took over the forest in one episode and held it for a significant period. When we finally defeated Guthma, it was a huge victory. It was one less monster off our ass in the way of getting to Thornius. This needs to be allowed to happen in such a way again. Currently we have these 'mini plots' where monsters are completely isolated from the larger stories, I want them back in to the larger stories...Translation: DMs need to work together on plots to make larger and wider stories. Stories that envelop the broad spectrum of the island itself, not just a contained problem. When we feel a problem is contained, we're not going to consider it a major story. I really think so. Some of these plots come off as short-sighted, knowing well that they would end in about a few months if we really dig into them. I think this deters people from focusing on 'small problems' unless a character is personally intercepted by the plot itself.

I believe a head DM should have the groundwork as to how the big story is going to start, what NPCs they want to reserve their rights to, but let things just 'happen' to their empires at the expense of other DMs. Y'all are creative and can think of ways to generate progress and tie these matters together. If PCs seem not to be moving fast enough for you, throw something at them. Make things happen to them, they'll fight back.

The PCs need to take a more active role too. I think a lot of the time that goes into character use is not used so much as personal development or taking part in plots, as much as it is used as some sort of pseudo-police task force to make reports and keep their bosses happy, or to have some sort of PvP superiority over people they do not trust. There are too many soldiers, and not enough artists. Factions, my darlings, are killing the story.

Encouraging the Good Versus Evil thing I will disagree with as well for the same reason. Everyone wants to be a killing machine, and then they want a chance to kill. If we're just trying to pit players against players over things as mechanical as 'you're evil', then we're not doing a good job. There are better reasons to create conflict than that. It is this sort of PC activity that has actually driven me to try and re-create a mage guild that has no alignment, back to Mystra's Tower, or the Monolith. A place that fosters an identity and not a faction. Is it full-proof? No. But in the past the mage towers have proven to be the most utilitarian societies where one can just work and things can just happen to them, and are not driven by means to 'beat this faction or that'. I want badly to immerse the arcane community as a place that can just be an arcane community again. That was what was working. It should have been rebuilt when the Monolith was destroyed, but it just wasn't.

To summarize, I would say that DMs should be allowed more freedom to work wherever they're needed to or need to, I think that DMs should work together to make one overlording plotline that keeps PCs oppressed. I think PCs should be less concerned with factioning up and more concerned with developing their personal stories. And I think we need to let go of the Faction Versus Faction game. It's kind of sandbox-y and lame, in my opinion. Others may really like these kind of things, I reserve that everything is based on my own views of what I think works and what does not work.

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MuseReader: Aiseth Nosdivan- Master Enchantress

For the record, I like to think Glim and I agreed far more often than we disagreed! But when we disagreed, it was over viewpoints we had developed from our own experiences. I just wanted to chime in and say that no matter the disagreement I always respected and liked Glim (at times the respected part could be argued, but my head likes to sneak up my ass sometimes). And still do like and respect for bringing this up!

Will I toot my own horn? Why yes, yes I will.

My answer is largely the same as what I wrote thirteen months ago. It matters less what the "mission statement" of the server is, than that there actually *be* one. As is said several times so far here, you can't please everybody; anything you do to narrow and clarify your field of focus is going to alienate those people who enjoyed lurking in whatever margin you cut loose. But if the other option is just to cling to the slowly disintegrating status quo, then that's not really an option at all. So:

Appoint a Head DM. Task that DM with shaping the direction of the server.

That being said, I do have a suggestion for what I think should be the "Amia Mission Statement." Given that we're pretty much riding a dinosaur here (i.e., a 12-year-old game), I think our chief long-term enemy is attrition. Players who leave aren't going to be replaced as easily as we'd wish, if at all. Therefore, the most important (IMHO) overall purpose to which we could dedicate ourselves would be:

Amia is "the server that welcomes new players."

Right now Amia is merely "a server that accepts new players." Changing this would involve two main things, I think. First: making it much easier for the uninitiated or unconnected to find a way into server plots. DMs and plot-connected players should not just welcome but *actively target* new players for the spotlight. Redefine the definition of "good RP" as not just RP that is moving or well-developed, but RP which goes out of its way to accommodate newbies, and successfully hooks them into the game world. This requires a paradigm shift in the server culture; right now, it seems to me like newbies are mostly ignored by the establishment until they "prove themselves." I think that needs to change (and I'm as guilty of it as anyone). Second: more quests, and a clearer system for guiding players through them in a sensible way. This has been discussed pretty exhaustively elsewhere, and I hope it's not going to fall by the wayside with the departure of Glim, who seemed to be its head cheerleader.

Anyways, that's my $0.02.

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Winner of Amia's "Most Ethical Time Traveler" award 2026

Character Portraits!

No. Trust me.

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Davion Telemos - Monk of the Four Winds
Korthan Isharnos - Dragon Shaman of Thunder Spirit Zamasham

Why not?

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Winner of Amia's "Most Ethical Time Traveler" award 2026

Character Portraits!

There's a couple of reasons, Liz. Many of which are why the subject of identity is as slowly moving as it is.

The first is that as a DM team, we basically brainstorm just about everything together. There are a few exceptions, of course. But by and large, when it comes to large events, we come up with a direction or a general plotline as a large group. Realistically speaking, I couldn't imagine putting that burden on any one DM. I suppose, to elaborate, the DM team is able to make events as cool as they are through collective creative techniques. Usually one DM will present an idea, and the others will give their support by saying, "Ooo, this is friggin' sweet!" And others will give feedback that touches on the severity of the event, outside ramifications, or even little suggestions of their own, and by the end, it turns into something much more diverse and in-depth than it had originally been bred as.

So if one person was to decide the direction at the very beginning, the rest could potentially piece something together in that image. But it would introduce an almost awkward hierarchy that I fear would push down the necessary internal criticism and remodeling that takes place in the brainstorming process.
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The next problem is that all the direction would rest in the hands of one DM. Now I know we're trying to distance ourselves from catering to everyone all at once, but we'd need to understand a general consensus of where the players want to go first-- Which is what I think this thread was purposed for.
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I'm not saying its impossible. It would certainly feel awkward among the DM's, as none of us wield authority over each other currently. But realistically, once we determine what direction the playerbase wants to travel, we can start implementing it as a whole team. And rather than burdening a single Dm with reminding us all to keep on track, we'll all do it.

I'm still going to answer Glim's question myself, I just wanted to help answer your question, Liz. Hopefully it was at least a little helpful.

Adventure pretty much sums it up in a word.

How to actually create an adventurous experience in the finite confines of NWN, well there's the challenge.

While I was still actively playing one of my pet peeves was that I could never land a party with the same group twice. Either those guys played on a different schedule, joined up with other characters and stayed with them, or changed characters frequently so there was only a slim chance of seeing them play the same one. This is echoed in that topic about concentration.

The advantage of having consistency or continuity of characters - in other words you do see those guys again later - is that every time you go off together it's like you're continuing a story that was left off last time. You might meet and mix other characters in now and then but basically it's the same adventure that you were on, just a different and new quest.

The tricky problem is that quests are not required to advance in levels. Despite the relatively large quantities of XP available on quest completion, I tend to rely on monster grinding to advance in levels because it's what my party is doing. It's what my character is designed to do. But then if I die and lose some of that XP, I have to do some more grinding to make up for it.

So I have to get away from this notion that grinding is good. Yes, if I'm good at it and I have a good run, I can advance a lot, but really I've spent a whole lot of time tediously incrementing the XP bar when not two areas away I could roast some shaman with my fire breath or whatever and turn his head in for a lump XP reward and an item. Damn it.

Rather than endlessly doling out XP for monsters, I suggest handing it out in one go when you've killed thirty or fifty of a certain type and then no more after that. Party kills count too. You can still kill them for loot if you want or need to.

What this does is give players a particular thing to focus on even if they don't actually have a quest right now, it is limited in scope but rewarding when it is done and lets them get back to exploring Amia, looking for a quest and interacting with each other. It means there's less of the finagling over which area to go to for what monsters and more of a focus on achieving a set goal that most of the party has yet to achieve.

This is not to make it harder to advance, but to make it more rewarding to advance as a team, as a party of like-minded adventurers, and to try new areas either because you need a new thing to slay or because you want the lump sum XP and item from a quest. There are many stories that feature adventurers motivated by and seeking a reward, but there aren't many that tell of how a bloodthirsty band tore throught a forest and slew so many foes that their blood really did make the grass grow.

Moreover, if a particular group tends to stick together because of their shared history then it makes it easier for a DM to work with them and come up with stories that play to their strengths and weakneeses. You have less chance of that if players form casual groups just to run a particular dungeon for XP. I'm not saying that it is prevalent, just that my limited experience is one casual group after another. It's annoying, demeaning and doesn't make me want to come back for more.

Okay, that's my long-winded spiel, bet you're glad that's other with.

I do get what you're saying, Hackums, and I don't mean to seem dismissive or snide here. But... how's that working out for us? What you're describing is the way thing have pretty much always worked, isn't it? At least for the time I've been around Amia. And we're having this conversation anyway. If the definition of insanity is trying the same things over again and expecting different results, then...

Well, that's pretty much it. If we want change, we need to change something.

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Winner of Amia's "Most Ethical Time Traveler" award 2026

Character Portraits!

Change something, sure, but not just /anything/.

I think we have yet to establish that the brainstormy no-head-DM system is that part that's broken and not something else. If it ain't broken, don't fix it? Well, I should say - it sound like the system works fine, really. Autocracy works best with a strong leader that absolutely everyone can get behind, who is comfortable making important executive decisions and clever enough to make them well. That's a lot of pressure.

I have words on the main topic which I may or may not decide to post. I'm bad at this sort of thing and I don't think I have anything worthwhile to say on this topic.

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@Thanatopsis#6293

I wouldn't go so far as to say "broken," I guess. Maybe just, in need of an update, an adaptation to our current circumstances.

I do think, though, that if the goal is to change the server culture, then it's just intuitive that that kind of nebulous attitudinal overhaul can only come from above. And our current structure "above" hasn't proven effective to that task. It's awesome at many, many tasks (fun plots, mechanical balance, etc.) but the setting of a cohesive vision of the server seems to have remained elusive. If, like Glim said, it's time to treat Amia a little bit more like a business, then that business needs its CEO. We need our Steve Jobs to tell us that the iPhone is the future.

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Winner of Amia's "Most Ethical Time Traveler" award 2026

Character Portraits!

Okay but we'd actually need to get a Steve Jobs and not a... crap. Who is a really bad CEO who ended up ruining their company? Well, just pretend I said that.

Not that, y'know, that I think any of our DMs particularly suck, but you know.

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@Thanatopsis#6293

Liz, I am firmly against the idea of a kingpin DM. We stand as a dynamic team and, in my opinion, that is a major asset and a large reason behind why we have stayed alive as a server for as long as we have. The point of Regional DMs is to drive regional plots and keep the NPCs/world alive. Players have the initiative and I, for one, would prefer it stay that way.

So here is a question: Where do the players want the plot to be? What can your character(s) do to bring us there?

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What is the server's identity today?

We are a roleplay server that caters to all sorts of folks, from all over the globe, united in our enjoyment of Amia's unique combination of story, Faerun-based lore integration, individual/ group character development, and ye olde fashioned dungeoneering.


What do you think the server's identity should become?

I feel it should become what the players make of it. Then again, I enjoy the sandbox approach to DMing. Just ask our Drow/UD players.

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Side note: I think we need to cool our collective jets. We all get it: Change needs to happen. I am all for change, but we need to be in a place as a community -to- change first. Moulding 6 threads into focusing on the topic won't make it happen any faster.

Devs need to get caught up, plots need to wrap up, etc. Stretch ourselves too thin and we'll snap. Let's not trip up or get caught up in moving forward at a clip the whole community can't keep up with.

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Eli Hodgewall <{/,~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~X
Sven <=={o===========>
Qeelak \ | / ,

Well, I still think a head DM is a good idea. But I'll agree, Dusty, that it would just be a means to an end, not the solution in itself. The path I advocate might have gotten lost in the head DM discussion... so, to re-address your direct questions more directly:

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Winner of Amia's "Most Ethical Time Traveler" award 2026

Character Portraits!

On the goal of reaching new players, the DM initiative on that has been the Alternate Beginnings plots. That is the most I can speak to as my role in the staff is that of a DM.

I agree with wanting to see more scripted plots and directional guides, but that is something that takes time to get right and it will also take time for folks to make. Glim is leaving some pretty big shoes behind. If anyone has any skill with making these sorts of things, I welcome them to apply to join the staff!

Of all of the DMs, both Sune and Glim have a much better idea of what we need and where.

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Eli Hodgewall <{/,~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~X
Sven <=={o===========>
Qeelak \ | / ,

Amia is and really always has been about RP to me. And by that I mean character interactions with other characters, followed by the adventure themes.

However things like DM plots can have a large impact on how various players and groups interact with each other and how often they do it. And frankly I have found the vast majority of the DM events for quite a while to be rather lack luster, not in the event itself necessarily but about what it is actually doing.

One of my issues is when events are basically just "stories" a DM decided they wanted to tell, ones that really lack much good lore or setup and don't seem to actually have much if any effect on other things on amia apart from the very specific sphere of influence the DM chose to give it. And when they don't really allow for much ACTUAL player ability to shape the events that happen. These events just feel like a dropped in thing and not a part of a world, and while they can be fun which if great they really don't add much once they are over since they are the Amian equivalent of one shot D&D games more or less.

Further on the even stuff I would LOVE to see more DMs actually work together when they are running plots, and I don't mean some of this "oh another DM had an idea and we helped think up stuff or posses NPC for them too!" I mean actually going "hey you have your even and I have mine and this other stuff is going on too so how can we work with all that and have this develop in natural awesome ways that none of us ever actually planned"
This is where a "head DM" would be nice, and by that I don't mean a boss DM but rather someone from the team that the team thinks would be good at tying all the plots and events and story together. Its wonderful that you all like your freedom to do what you want, but because none of you really seem to want to "Mess" with another DM's stuff everything each DM does often just feels so insular.

And I don't mean to take away from any DM with what I'm saying, I can appreciate everyone wanting to add their own individuality to the server and their events but you need to be able to mess with each others stuff or at least have someone who's job it is to specifically do that, because the way you are working together now, it doesn't really work that well.


I understand that that probably all sounds harsh and I don't mean it to but I feel that its something that really needs to get though clearly, but of course if anyone has a different take or ideas on how to go about changing things or just wants to explain how I'm wrong I'd love that too. As I see it the debate can only ever help... as long as people are listening to everyone's points and why they feel that way.

I will get to Glim's questions but, as far as the issue revolving around new player/characters is concerned, I do not see a problem there. I see many new characters that jump right in to the 'action', so to say. (It bothers me to see players ignoring RP, to level up, which I see an overabundance of, a majority tends to wait until max level to begin any substantial RP, but that is another topic all on its own.) They are still 'new' characters, compared to those of us with established characters, and I see many involved in all sorts of various DM plots, and PC plots as well. The immersion level is dependent on the player's willingness to involve their characters, nothing more. The appeal is there, it just needs to be taken. Hell, I even see 'new' characters that act as though they have been around for longer than my own.

You have to understand, that the majority of people that play NWN, are those that have played it for a while. There will be very few new people coming onto the game by this point, it is just too old for younger players to have an interest in. They may be new to the server but, most anyway, know their way around the game. Those that are new to the server, might be shy (like I was for almost a year), but will come around, and either be involved, or move on.

One of the problems I do have, is with players that have so many characters, it is nearly impossible to begin any substantial RP with them. Why even start, if that character will be shelved in a month, for another. This is an RP server, and I do think that the amount of characters should be limited, to a certain degree. Just because I have one or two, does not mean I think everyone should follow that rule, but by god, I find it hard to get involved with new characters, especially when I see their login, and know they have a plethora of short lived characters. And because it is an RP server, it should cater to those of us who want real RP, and not some short cute little quicky RP, to satiate some fix, or they get bored and move on to the next more interesting character. In my honest opinion, those players can go find a server that suits them, and leave this one to those that want to establish meaningful characters. I could really care less about those of you with a shitload of characters, because in the end, the ones that truly want to Role-play, will will take a small few characters, and establish them into the world we are playing in. If you get bored that easily, then Amia is not the server for you.

I think Amia should cater to those that want that immersion, and want to have their characters be an actual part of a living society, and not some cutsey little things that flit around with no purpose, but to disrupt, and then leave, and then maybe show up again, or maybe not. Back in the early days, the RP was much more lax and had little to do with keeping lore. I see some older players complain about the too serious nature, and miss the goofball antics of those days. But guess what, serious role-players, want serious characters. Even serious characters, can get goofball sometimes, we all do, that's not my point.

I believe that Amia has matured to the point, that it can be more selective. I firmly believe that new players should be welcomed, but they, and the ones that already play here, should have that maturity to want to have established characters, and understand that is what Amia is about.

//end rant

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This server is build on three primary pillars. We have the cafe house style aspect, catering to players who enjoy social roleplay in a forgotten realms setting. We have the adventuring aspect, catering to people who enjoy hunting, exploring dungeons, being part of dm events of all sorts. The final is the sandbox, catering to people who enjoy changing the world, be it through political intrique or anything else.

These three pillars are all very important, and they should continue to be improved. They provide a diversity to the server that is very enjoyable. Characters and players can place their focus in what ever of the three aspects they enjoy most. Some enjoy the sandbox, and spent less time in the cafe house and adventuring. Others love to have fun after work in the cafe house and are less interrested in the schemes and plots of the sandbox players.

As to our genre, for me the awnser is very simple. We are a forgotten realms server set in a custom region crossing over into canon regions such as Ruathym and Frozenfar. Baldur's Gate, Icewind Dale, Neverwinter Nights is our genre. We are roleplay focused, meaning that is the first and foremost aspect, and hack and slash taking a back seat.

We can have tales of gothic horror, we can have tales of might and magic, we can have tales of the human condition, political intrique, merry adventure, planar travel, and everything else. We have knights, we have wizards, and we have scoundrels climbing out of the windows of houses when husbands return. We have necropoliticians, matron mothers, tiefling bards and werebeasts good and bad. We have guards and criminals.

What I believe we should improve on, and this has been something I have felt strongly about since a long time, is that we finally flesh out the server. We need lore, background, culture and history. Those should only change through the sandbox, but never abitrarily. It should be a natural change based on story. Plots should have continued influence. If there is a plague then after the plot is done the social, economic and religious factors should be affected.

I would like to see the server finally being a rich world of depth and diversity, and not treated as an undefined batch of clay we shape differently each time. Cities should be more than one thing. Cordor has politicians, it has religion, it has criminals, and everything else. I would love to see that one city, like Cordor, has more than one DM. That perhaps three DMs team up to run the main hub. One for primarily criminal roleplay, one for political and adventuring rp, and another for religious rp.

There should be no railroad leading to set place XY, only interresting plots that evolve in what ever direction the acts of the characters and the reaction of the gameworld would move toward.

I believe once we have all of the meat around the skeleton, and focus more on creating an interactive world of lasting consequences is the day that the server will have leaped considerably forward in quality. Caraigh for example was terrible at this. With every dm the mindset of the npc population shifted drastically, and what has been done before mattered little. Previous work was ignored, the background and established culture was reset, and it essentially became a new version instead of being a contineous storyline.

I've mainly just skimmed trough most responses up to now, so forgive me if I repeat some of what's said above. I'm going to follow Glim's template, but first I have to put in a disclaimer.

I loathe Forgotten Realms. For its inconsistent, poorly considered, hosh-posh blanket of different concepts and settings. The more I try to figure this setting out, the more I hate it. I loathe vanilla D20. It might be the grandfather of all role-playing systems, but it doesn't work for anything that has more depth than a hack-and-slash campaign. The Good-Evil alignment system is nonsense while characters have the slightest bit of sentience. HP is a retarded system suitable only for anime-style power trips. Magic is not magical - hells, it's not even risky. Both combine into what is, in my opinion, a system and setting that is largely unsuitable for a persistent world like Amia where adventurers are common.

That said...

Overarching Theme:
At this time, I'm going to argue that there is no overarching theme - just a collection of different ideas and styles. We have such a wide variety of sub-settings (Amia, Careigh, Underdark, Khem, ...) around, each with their own history and look and feel that there's no general line in between. It's going to hurt to do so, but I think if you want an overall theme you're going to have to cut away those things that don't "fit" the theme. I like Khem, but it's just a bit of an oddball place compared to the rest of the setting - sort-off just tucked away into a corner and given little more than cursory attention. And I'm sorry drows, but Amia isn't Escape From Underdark - the Underdark is a whole and unique setting in itself and if it has to be part of a server, it deserves to be all it is. While Amia remains predominantly a surface setting, I don't see the Underdark as having meaning aside from being another area to hunt around in.

Amia offers a wide variety of RP styles, and I think that's part of the strength of the server. If you can come up with a character concept or motivation, there's likely a niche for you to fill - and I think this is definitely something that needs to be kept. On the whole, I think that Amia (and Careigh too, for that matter) has a curious "frontier" feeling to it. Despite having two respectable cities, much of Amia is still wilde and untamed. Monsters, bandits and evil adventurers lurk beyond the walls. There's no central government and it's a pretty rough place at times. This gives the adventuring characters things to do, but it also gives other kinds of characters the (theoretical) opportunity of helping to "settle" this brave new world. And I think this is a good thing, because everyone should be able to affect the setting - that's the strength of having a PW, in that it can be altered in response to these things.

On the other hand, Amia is decidedly isolated and quarantined from the rest of the world. On the whole, the happenings on Amia don't affect the greater world, and vice versa. When is the last time any of the more "canon" realms made its presence known? For all purposes and intents, Amn, Tethyr, Calmishan, Waterdeep, Cormyr, etc. might as well not exist at all - let alone large organizations like major churches. This just doesn't help immersion, to me - and this hampers political or economics-based characters considerably over more straightforward "adventuring" characters.

The church of Lathander is one of the largest and most powerful in Faeruhn, with literally millions of followers. It makes no sense why the greater church should just outright what's happening in Cordor (the thousands of deaths - though realistically it might still be too soon for any real help to arrive) especially when there's a temple of Lathander in that very city. Not only is it political/religious suicide ("Lathander has abandoned us!"), but it also strongly undermines Lathander's concept as a proactive force of good and compassion. Does this mean that the whole church needs to plunge into the Amian region? Not at all, but Lathander isn't exactly a minor deity - I'm sure the church can spare at least a token effort to support its efforts in the regions. Another example would be the Zhentarim. AFAIK they (or Zhentil Keep) aren't supporting the local Banites due to historic reasons, but I get the impression there's a DM block on PC's working to rebuild that support. Is it scary to let PC's have access to the resources that such an organization can muster? Sure, but keep in mind that Amia is on the far end of the continent - and the logistics of support might be limited. Plus, if any PC calls in favors from an associated organization, there's bound to be a price to pay sooner or later. While this option should be open, it shouldn't be easy - your character will have to work up a reputation good enough that the larger organization would be willing to support him/her. And any starting favorable "stance" with a certain faction should require a DM request before character creation.

The current lack of interaction with the greater realms seems to be symptomatic to a fear from the DM side to "break the canon". Well, you already did. Salandra, Anubis and Ma'at are not canon. Amia isn't canon. And why should it be? The canon is a starting point, from which you can build. Don't be afraid to affect profound changes to the world - and especially Amia it self. If you want to pull Amia's theme together you're going to have to cut the fat out of the current setting in order to get to a leaner, better Amia. I'm a dedicated Cordor player, but if it's better for the server to make Kohlingen the central hub, then by all means sink it. Blow it up. Let the Arcanum win. Turn Cordor into a Myth Drannor-ish nightmare ruin for adventurers to pillage where blood creatures rampage and chrono-wild-magic zones are rampant. Anything, really. Sever the cancerous growth of "this is cool and we should have it no matter if it fits the whole" and make the setting a pure, unique and interesting place with a defined flavor and fluff.

And why? Because I find Amia to be bland. It's a very generic fantasy setting, with little that really makes it unique and stand out. Sure, Cordor is -supposedly- to be inspired by Venice, but aside from a canal and a council is it? What's really so special about Kohlingen? Aren't large and brooding forests a little 1989*? If it was set in the Moonshae Isles, there would be a predominant "celtic" feel to it that would give at least a measure of guidance as to where it could go in terms of fluff, creatures, plots, etc. If it were set in Chult, it would have a jungle theme, at least. Personally, I'd -love- to have a desert-based setting. Calimshan with its strong Arabian theme would work well. The Anaurach would be fantastic; build outward from a city hub (with enough inner politics and criminal underground to sate those RPers) into a desert landscape dotted with Netherese ruins filled with whatnot. Add nomadic berber halfling clans. Replace generic goblins/kobolds/orcs with giant beetles, snakes, scorpions, stingers, lizardpeople. Make control of the limited water supplies a central theme of conflict. Whatever you do, don't let it become generic. I loved Khem - if only it wasn't a footnote on Amia.

Goal for the Story-Arch:
This is a bit of a head-scratcher for me, because it implies that Amia's story is moving towards a conclusion. Is it? Should it? It would be interesting for Amia to gradually turn into a single republic, but that's only meaningful if you have international interaction for those in the highest echelons to deal with. And if it isn't punctuated by internal struggle, that sort of golden age quickly becomes far too dull to be a suitable setting. On the other hand, flushing the whole island into the sewers and turn it into a post-apocalyptic nightmare would certainly give players enough to do, but it would also be a slap in the face of all characters who have been working towards "something better" all these years.

Personally, the idea of Amia as a republic with "barbarians at the gates" and "politics within the gates" as main challenges sounds appealing because I just have no idea where it could lead to. Which brings me back to the question of conclusion. I'm not sure if it is feasible to have such a thing, but an never-ending story is just not very interesting - and starts feeling like a bad tv series that should have quit when it was ahead, three seasons ago. It has to go somewhere. There has to be a bottom line. And I'd much rather have a very well-written, well-considered and thought-out story of one year with a defined beginning, middle and end than a "story" that just drags on and on for no other reason but to assure us it will still be there tomorrow. How dull and pointless.

While I'm at it, I'm going to kick some shins and say I find the Arcanum exceptionally unappealing as villains. They are so blatantly evil that it's comical. It's quite possible they chuckle darkly and twirl their mustache as they plot and scheme to become a god. Really? It might work if you want to establish them as "comical" villains, but as the driving force behind arguably the server's largest and longest plot? Who in their right mind would ever join these guys? It's one thing to be elitist, but how did they ever get to where they are now if they're so blatantly malicious? Even the Zhentarim and the Thayvians have -some- appeal to them, if only because they're far more pragmatic in what they do and might just tempt a desperate enough character to accept their devil's bargains. When even Tarkuul' mages are wheezing "you guys are nuts, gtfo" trough what remains of their undead vocal cords, you know your villains are off. This kind of "evil" doesn't have a place in any respectable setting. The best villains are those that genuinely hold appeal as individuals and as concepts. They have to have "a point". There must be a lure to join them, a temptation to agree with them. The Arcanum doesn't. There is no reason whatsoever to join them - and even the most amoral mercenary by now realizes that the Arcanum will just eff them over in the end all the same. Come on guys, I know we can do better than this.

Strategic Plan:
I am not in favor of regarding it like a company, because it suggests a one way flow of product (content) from business (DM/dev) to client (player). It's a two-way thing. Instead, I'd like to see DM's more inclined to support player/character actions - which often lead to plots and conflicts which are far more dramatic, dynamic and interesting than anything a single DM can cook up. It doesn't remove the need for the occasional "outsider" to come in and stir things up, but I think there's plenty happening player-side that isn't given the attention it could/should. If only for a certain character's minor actions to have huge, unexpected consequences - enough to make any player go "woops".

Promote active good vs. evil RP:
Egh. Good. Evil. Nope. I hate the way this works in vanilla D20. It's cliche. It's juvenile. I much rather see a conflict between moral and amoral.

That said, open conflict often has little strategic gain attached. There's interpersonal conflict and ideological/religious conflict aplenty, which don't require a policy of interventionism from the DM's; these things sustain themselves just fine. But there's one thing that Amia has that would make any conflict far more interesting, and that is the possibility to claim/blockade/toll ley nodes somehow. You need to create a need for groups to want to control certain areas (via the ley node) - I'm looking at a more meaningful job system and natural resources - but that kind of "area ownership" could completely change the way factions interact. Especially when ley nodes become the only way to reach certain high-profit areas. I'm not exactly sure how it would work in practice, but I think it's something worth thinking on.

* Arbitrary date. Don't try to find a reference, there's non to be found.

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Aernoud Van Brabant: Heir of the House. Proprietor of the Beer Wagon.
"Go to the Mayfields, have a pint, and wait for this to blow over."
Aurelius: Sunmaster of Amaunator. Contemplative. Aspirant to Transcendance.
"Sol Invictus"

I'm just gonna go ahead and say "all this".

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Aly'dra Zau'ana: Priestessish Of Eilistraee
Danika Nefzen: Druid of the Earthmother
Delia Am'Anodel: Paladin of Torm

And war! We lack proper Battle and armies clashing !

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Amia Minecraft Server Ip: vps1602.directvps.nl
NWN Damage Calculator: http://www.afterlifeguild.org/Thott/dnd/
NWN Build Calculator: http://nwvault.ign.com/View.php?view=Other.Detail&id=856

"When you let good completely take over and win the day, then the movie is over...and you do something else."


(PM sent, with full analysis and possible ideas)

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When good wins the day, and evil is destroyed, then the movie is over ...and you do something else.

Let's make it, not over.

Pardon this if I sound pissy.... but, here goes:

I've been playing here on and off for about 3 years, some of you know me, most don't. I've had many characters, why? Because I was trying to do two things 1) find a character that could fit in to the server, and 2) find one that I can play long term.

While I know, things can take time to build up, I am very disappointed in some recent events.

I have been trying to get involved with other characters and things happening on the server, actively trying. I've met soooo many people. Yet, I get shunned. Not just me either, happens to a lot of people.

I just watched well over 25 characters simply waltz into a DM event, most of which were NOT from the home city where this happened. Now, the people I was with and myself tried really hard to stay IC and not simply include ourselves in something we knew nothing about. As people marched past us, we spoke up, saying things to the effect of "what's going on?" We were IGNORED.

We went to ask, and we did ask, and were essentially told, "It's nothing, the Silver Dragons can handle it." Great, a door slammed in the faces of people who simply want to play.

This has happened to me so many times.

Glim, you asked what the identity of this server is? What it feels like to new players?

It feels like the cool kids club in high school. There's no way in unless you're in, and no one to help you get in. If you aren't a friend OOC of someone in the clique, you're out. Sorry, but that's the truth.

I sent a tell OOC to one of the people involved, and they said "I can get you involved", umm.... why did that have to happen ooc? Isn't asking and trying to ICly involve myself enough anymore? How many hoops does one have to jump through to be a part of the story of the server?

I've seen DM's making shouts about DM events before, and IC, I would have no way of knowing what was happening.... I've watched hordes of people rush to the event with absolutely no reason for their character to be there. It's crap, and I just can't do that.

Now, if a DM announces "at this time on this date, I'll be doing a little something, if your character has reason to be in XX place....." that works. But... I simply see so much exclusion it's ridiculous.

Also, the HATE, OMG, the hate. People who claim to want just simple RP and peace are aggressors too! I've never seen an RP server with so much PVP! It's insane.

My suggestion from all of this? DM's... how about trying to include people... get the playerbase united toward a single threat? Of course, there will always be dissidents, and those that want to be part of the threat... that's a good thing too. But don't turn your back on players that want to play. I mean, what's the point of the server if you do this?

I am seriously considering never logging into Amia again..... it saddens me, really it does. I have some friends here and I will miss them, but... from an IC perspective, Simi would long to go back home. My wife has about given up too.... for much the same reasons as myself. I've heard from others as well. Its a damn shame. The people who just want to play are considering leaving and all the PVP'ers are staying..... perhaps it's time to rethink calling Amia an "RP server"? I've seen as much PVP in two weeks here as I saw in YEARS on other servers..... really! When PVP is a daily thing, I don't think RP is the overpowering theme anymore. When conflict is what drives people to RP, there's a problem.

My character can go into a room of people, and within minutes have people laughing and enjoying themselves..... yes, she's that kind of rp'er. However, on a PVP server, that rp is ignored..... interestingly enough, this is what I witness here on Amia now.

Sad truth is.... I love this game, and I truly love to RP. However, how many times can you run into a brick wall before the headache gets to be too much?

/rant

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Bidocks, you unfortunately just asked about something that has been top secret Kohlingen business for quite a long time, they're not going to willingly tell you that they're about to march to war. I'm sorry if it felt that way, but i can assure you it wasn't to leave you or anyone out, that was just an IC reaction!

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Aoth Nathandem - Wizard of house Tholaunt and chosen of Ma'at.

If that was the only instance of that occurring, I'd agree with you.... it was merely the last instance. In other words, it happens too often.

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There are many that feel this way (pretty much all of what was said, but the lack of reaching out to people who are seeking RP, the slapping in the face of people who want to RP instead of constant aggression, and the severe overabundance of PvP are especially egregious). And lots of people do leave over it. Some of us trickle back, some of us don't. A lot of it is beyond frustrating.

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Exactly. When you start dividing up the community and not working together, you end up with less community.

If it was Amia versus life-sucking space aliens you would see everyone pull together.

Glad to see I am not the only one who feels like this.

bidocks, while specifics aren't needed, I'd like to clarify that the Hins had IC knowledge of the events and were performing a mission there.

And yes, what you said is 101% true IMO. Unless the DM says a way for you to know that it's happening, using a shout for (what I feel it to be) "Free DCs" is depressing to see.

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I really am beginning to wonder how many times this needs to be said by people who aren't in the "golden clique" until it dawns on people that it might just be true.

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Aly'dra Zau'ana: Priestessish Of Eilistraee
Danika Nefzen: Druid of the Earthmother
Delia Am'Anodel: Paladin of Torm

Since I've been in and out of this server a lot since '05, I initially typed up a semi-nostalgic meandering monolith of text. To save you all the misery of reading my somewhat confused essay, I've condensed it down to a few things.

The server is catering to too many different kinds of people.
This is a valid point, but I think an overarching story plot could really help pull everyone into their niche. The casual social types, the adventurer types and the hardcore roleplayers. What I personally dislike is the amount of emphasis placed on PvP balance and the build culture. It's something that I associate with Amia when I consider its identity, and I know this is not an intentional aspect of it, but I feel it's worth adding my voice to the others who have said similar things already.

If we're going to marginalise a section of the playerbase I would rather it was the action/PvP crowd. That's a terribly blunt and undiplomatic way to put it, and I understand how much work has been done on these kinds of areas to maintain that broad appeal, but frankly I keep coming back here because I associate it with shutting down NWN at 3am thinking 'Holy shit, that was intense' after a DM event/good RP session, not the times I've killed/been killed by other players or found phat epic lewtz on boss runs.

I would rather know the developers and testers were using time to craft module changes for DM plots than altering abilities because somebody's ego got bruised. Magic has always been overpowered in D&D. You really think sword-man can stand up to wizards who know how to control time? If the primary concern is PvP viability when creating a character I can only wonder why it's being made at all, if not to provide a flimsy backstory to justify aggression. We all already know the NWN mechanics can be ass; why not agree to *emote* and use diebags for PvP encounters, so the fights might reward the more imaginative over the most mathematically minded?

Now, I know I sound like an elitist dick here, but that's just the way I feel, and I know My Ideal Amia(tm) would upset a lot of people, so I won't expect any draconian measures to be implemented. Personally, though, I would like to see some big changes. I would like to see adventuring as a bit more punishing, dangerous but rewarding, too.

I'm not saying I want the server to be 'everyone sits in a café and tells stories from their past because nobody wants to visit the horribly difficult lairs outside the town,' I just feel like a lot of people spend more time hunting in quiet groups than doing anything else on the server, and they only contribute to the emptiness on an already quiet server. The business model was a good analogy. But people of Amia; who is your target audience? Who is your demographic?

Newbie concerns
Since everyone I knew well on this server disappeared a long time ago, every time I return it's as a complete newbie. I know little of the current goings-on, little of who's the biggest faction these days and have no 'guaranteed RP' to speak of. I just wander round, maybe apply for a faction or two, but even when I've invested serious hours into a character I can still find it really hard to have fun. It all depends on the people you meet, and that's why it's so important to decide on who you want to appeal to.

If you want to run this gigantic server-wide plot that encompasses people big and small, you want people who are going to flesh out their characters properly and spend time roleplaying proactively to get others involved. If Silent Bill wants to log in and solo hunting grounds without speaking to anyone, that's the kind of thing Amia has previously said: "Yeah, that's cool, we like all flavours. Maybe there's nobody online to RP with."

But if there's even one other person on the server, you can send them a tell and ask 'Hey man, I'm bored and can't find anyone to RP with - want to make something happen?' This should be encouraged. I'm not saying we aggressively persecute people who just want to go out and kill stuff, but we need to drag them into RP encounters so they contribute to the people on the server.

As Yoss said, we're all here to adventure. So why is it that me, Newbie McJim, strolls off the boat in this city that has been receiving immigrants for years and am greeted by nothing more than dockworkers and a tour guide? Where are the people baying for fresh blood? Where are the people looking to dig their claws into you? Crafters, magicians, soldiers, performers, people with 'special talents' you wouldn't discuss next to a guard, all dropping names of PCs for you to pester, errands to run, places to familiarise yourself with...

The game needs to scream "Get over here and immerse yourself in my vast bosom RIGHT NOW or I am going to EXPLODE," from the get-go. Now I know Cordor has become quite anti-adventurer, but for the sake of adventure I feel it needs to be more lively and accessible to newbies, or we need to make somewhere that is. I'm alright; I've come back here plenty of times and know where to look, but I can fully sympathise with people who come in and aren't in the 'cliques' mentioned, and wander around for ages doing nothing but feel excluded.

Hubs
Since I played first the number of settlements has seriously increased, and I feel the number of factions has too. Now, old Cordor was a silly place, but I'll be honest: it was entertaining. Inside those city walls I was chased by a vampire cult who wanted my blood, hellballed numerous times, captured by Drow and handed an item labelled 'A Jar of Whoopass' by a DM, which, when I used it, unleashed a hellball that killed me and most other people there.

The point is, old Cordor was a proper melting pot full of all kinds of crazy people who were up to something, and it was easy to just stroll in and get involved. I know it caused a lot of headaches and was unrealistic as a place for people to actually live what with the amount of nonsense that went on, but I feel this throwing together of people from all walks was what RP servers were all about.

If I come to Amia as a desert man, hear about Khem, then I.. go and live there... Doesn't that hurt diversity in the rest of the server? It makes sense for me to go there ICly, but guess what: it's probably full of other similar desert people who are busy pursuing their agenda in their closed-off portion of the world. [I'm just using this as a random example, I don't really know what Khem is like on a day-to-day basis.]

Wouldn't if be more interesting if I was forced to stay in some miserable, wet, cold city and adapt to life there, always reminiscing about the wondrous oases found while surviving sandstorms in the desert? Next to some guy who came from the frozen North, and reminisces about the beer and the women? Next to the city's elven bard troupe performing a ritual dance while a gnomish inventor is sitting in the back trying to perfect an invention for making cheese-on-toast?

I feel that the hubs situation is a good physical representation of the server trying to keep everyone happy; everyone has their little niche now that Cordor has gone no-nonsense mode, but it's not helping people come into conflict with each other, especially with a dwindling server population. I don't mean large-scale war conflicts, I just mean interacting with lots of characters who are very different to yours outside of 'ur diffrent i kill u.'

I'll echo Glim's sentiments here: what I agree would be nice now is the DM team to pick a direction - any direction at all - so we can all get behind it. The community needs some kind of unification so we can all pull together and RP together like happy little tots. Whether the direction is 'Uh, the island got blasted, Cordor is now a survivor camp ala Fallout or STALKER, enjoy trying to survive this terrible harsh new landscape' or 'An army of pixies has come to plague the entire island by stealing their socks. Can YOU find the Pixie King and end this terror?' Many of you have said it yourselves; we know the reasons behind the problems, but delaying action now might only hurt the server more in the long-run than taking a hit right now.

I think that's all I have to say. Forgive me if I come across as blunt or rude, it's not my intention at all. I'm just keen to see the server change for the better.

Everything that Bidocks has said so far has effectively summed up why I stopped playing. It's really damn hard to have fun when people treat in-game as well as real-life (the thing I was trying to get AWAY from.)

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I'm done. Goodbye.

I get the same feeling bidocks does. It's either I come back and get to hear about people OOCly hating on each other over inane, trifling things that happened IC or in PvP(both things that I see as being related to one another, and no, will not name specific instances) or I find there is little to foster anything that's happening outside of the scope of what's happening in certain plots or popular places. Now, I understand hostility happens and that big DM plots can be(and usually are) a blast. In fact, I support things happening in a consistent manner, it's just there needs to be something there to make it more apparent that you can invoke RP or cause change in some way or another.

What are your thoughts on an Alternate beginnings story where the characters are completely cut off from the rest of Amia? It would take a bit of toolset work, I realise, but I sort of like the idea of a band of unlikely adventurers in an isolated region having to use their guile and limited resources to stay alive. Or has that been done already?

The reason I suggest it is because it could pave the way for something bigger and nastier that needs everyone to pitch in, doesn't leave them feeling like a fifth wheel.

Silent did it with the Mazticans.

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Aly'dra Zau'ana: Priestessish Of Eilistraee
Danika Nefzen: Druid of the Earthmother
Delia Am'Anodel: Paladin of Torm

Hooray and good for him then.

It's hit and miss. Sometimes those characters end up getting RP'd excellently and go on to be valuable characters in Amia's overarching story. Usually what I see is alt beginning characters play until the alt beginning ends then they stop playing that character. It encourages 'alt'-ing, which is already a story problem in my head. Let's get soviet a second.

I think we should only allow 2 PCs per player. A main and one alt. If they want more characters, then they need to kill off one of their old ones to start a new character. Just get tough on alt people.

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MuseReader: Aiseth Nosdivan- Master Enchantress

I absolutely fell in love with Amia when I started back gaming, almost two years ago. My character was not instantly liked. Kay had a lot of trouble fitting in at first, and it was difficult to play her up to a level. It's when I tried climbing the ladders that I felt like I was not working towards the goal of my character, but towards the goal of something else--how the DM's wanted things ran (there are some exceptions here, but I will get to that momentarily). Amia is a welcoming server, this is true, but after a point, it doesn't feel so welcoming anymore. It starts to feel like a job, instead of a game. It starts to consume you, and while most of like this, it often times doesn't work out for the players. The DM interaction was very slim for me, until I started /working/ on making her rise up the chain.

I tried to put a lot to this server. I spent countless hours writing, making excel sheets, doing poetry, making a person with a true personality, flaws, and hunger for something. I wrote background stories, kept up with posts, appearances, and tried my best to keep up with what is considered "true" roleplaying. It took away a lot of my life, honestly, and for that---I'm not really pleased about. I understand that was my choice, but to be able to climb that hill from a newb--to a roleplayer that people actually want to involve in things, that's what I found I had to do. I had a character that was known, busy, always doing something--and yes it was fun, but what people don't realize is that---it wasn't really fun to me. I just had gotten so use to it, had made it almost like a job, that I wasn't aware what was really going on.

I know some of you are probably thinking, why am I ranting, because I don't even play here anymore, but it needs to be said---a lot of people don't have time or the energy to do all of this, all this planning and plotting, just to PLAY a character. This is things a DM should be doing, and by damn--some of the DM's are amazing--and then there are some that aren't. I worked my ass off, and I ended up meeting a dead wall. I spent over a year working and working, playing and playing, and was met with someone declining how /I/ wanted my character to be, because it was already set up how /my/ character was going to be changed. I'd already played into the system, into the hands of the DMs, and I couldn't change a thing. It starts to effect how your playing, not to mention, sometimes your real-life frustration starts leaking into the game.

This isn't how a server should be ran. A server should be open to watching and appreciating roleplay. You should not have to bust your ass off, just to be looked at as a "good" roleplayer. I personally think this is a reason a lot of people play alts. They just want to have fun, and they play alts to have fun---who can fault them for that? This is a game. It's about fun. You should be able to do this by just having fun with your character, not burning yourself out planning and doing things over and over again. DM's should /not/ chose the path of characters, but allow them options on which paths to take. I think that the DM's also need to listen to the server when they're saying they're sick of certain things. I've watched people, great people, come and go because of things these people are saying. I've listened to many stories from friends who've left, because of this. There are cliques, you can't change that, there are cliques wherever you go--but I think perhaps some sort of looseness needs to be added--or the playerbase is just going to continue to dwindle. Some of you might not care about this, because you're happy with your groups you play in, but even when I was happy with my group---I always sent friendly tells to new players, random people, just because I know what it feels like to be considered an "outsider". I, personally, left for my own reasons--but part of this was one of the reasons why.

I agree that the server needs some revamping. I think the playerbase needs to be more considerate and open to the newbs, just as DM's should. This could of changed in the three months I've been gone, but honestly, I don't think it has. I think that large plots that can effect the server need to happen, so that everyone can be included, and players can decide how the server is going to change--not what DM's already have in mind--but I also think that small and secluded events, that deal with just one area or a few characters, doesn't need to be announced in shouts---so random people start flocking to take DC's because they're bored.

I personally don't like the idea of having a Head DM. I've been on way too many servers where I've seen this be the ultimate downfall. Electing the wrong leader could just make this place go "Boom" within weeks.

I'm kind of a natural editor and not really much of a creator so I really have to fight the urge to not so much answer the original question as go over what's noteworthy to me about everyone else's answers. I have an opinion on everyone's opinion but not so much on the server's identity itself. Lemme see what I can do (even though I guarantee that my post will be lost in obscurity), but I will say that I like Liz's suggestion of becoming more welcoming to new players, because at least that's something we can do.

Like a lot of people have said, I find what's distinctive about Amia is the sheer variety it offers. Exploration/bashing of monsters, silly social stuff, political intrigue, adventure, worldbuilding, world-saving, status-quo-preserving - I can get my fill of pretty much whatever I want. People around here keep saying "You can't please everyone, you have to choose" but it does beg the question as to what you choose and whether or not we need to lose this variety for that. Come to think of it, Forgotten Realms is terrible but still pretty much the frontrunner on D&D campaign settings despite all the hipster hype for Eberron (I just never got into it), and this is largely because of its ridiculous kitchen-sink approach. D&D itself and NWN mechanics by extension undeniably encourage the Adventurer setup (somewhat nomadic misfit with the talent to do what they want) but it's also designed for a small group and Amia is a large community of hundreds of such individuals crammed into a module which is already bursting at the seems. To top it all off, this is a curious medium which isn't as comparable to MMOs, other videogames, or even other forms of roleplaying. To elaborate on that, compare tabletop RP, which is largely social, fairly focused and immersive but only involves a handful of people. Forum roleplay varies a lot but as a rule it's slower (how slow depends on how much detail you'd be expected to write, but minimally you would need to put in more than you do for Amia and you don't have a 3D representation of the world to work with). This makes determining a fix kinda difficult because we'll all instinctively look to what makes sense in other forms of media and trying to apply it here and often we don't see some rather key differences.

To return to the topic of variety, I should probably add that the above curiosity of the medium of PW RP also kind of distorts my perspective, as I've mostly only played Amia and barely touched other servers. The size of the server is pretty much guaranteed to generate variety, and I'm not sure how different servers handle that. We'd definitely lose people if we started trying to specialise, the question is if we'd be gaining/keeping more, and if it's worth the risk.

I don't really want to say "let's keep things as they are" because it's the boring, I-fear-change answer. Though I /am/ reasonably happy with Amia. It's addictive. This is a problem for some of us, it really is. Especially when the opponent effect comes into play, and we start enjoying what we like less and hating what we don't more. But it means that it's still doing something right if a lot of us keep coming back, even if we complain about it. Anyway, I ended up giving a long rambling answer that was less about what I think and more about the situation we face and how people are responding. Bugger.

I want to elaborate on Good vs Evil ie Player Conflict, as I spent my most-active year on Amia thoroughly embroiled in that, and talk about Tarkuul's high point. And it really was, we'd been the most active in years even though it never really escaped being thoroughly quiet, we always had stuff to do, there was a character dynamic... Probably about when I started to really hit my stride with Amia, personally, and have a lot of fun with the server. We had our problems (insularity and elitism was a big one) but I feel like we provided a viable alternative to "Normal" and "Good-aligned" activity that wasn't just casual PvP encounters. What ended up driving us a great deal was this fear that (spoiler alert) if we didn't start getting serious and focused, Kohlingen would march in, wreck us, and if we even survived we'd have nowhere left to go. This was basically good vs evil but since a lot of us weren't moustache-twirling cacklers, it very much became "freedom of expression vs ethical repression". This is good player-driven conflict, I think, because we have sympathetic ideologies at play. Both sides ended up keeping their distance the vast majority of the time and it /worked/ as Kohl was always this "enemy other" and it didn't really matter so much if all they were really doing was braiding each others hair and gossiping instead of actively preparing to nuke us (and I don't know how the Kohl playerbase feels but yeah a lot of the time we really were basically just braiding each others hair and gossiping instead of doing evil things). Glim was a great Tarkuul DM and when he was around we always felt like we were getting things done, but DMs can't always be there and for those of us interested in progressing plot like me, we need something to go on. Two ways to handle this, I figure - either the DMs can leave stuff behind for us to play with, or we can generate a strong, lasting conflict specifically with other players/factions.

This doesn't work for Cordor/Kohlingen because I think for a long time Cordor has been an unsympathetic evil (insular, bigoted, corrupt) and yet too welcoming to become an "enemy other" like say a demon horde, in that plenty of PCs hang around Cordor all the time and may or may not try to get involved politically. But I guess I have this image in my head of Kohlingen being more or less united behind a sympathetic ideology (for the players) which may or may not be the case. In any case, while good player-driven conflict as a Thing Which We Should Have is relevant for the topic at hand, it might be a bit too tangential to the central matter to be continued on in this thread.

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@Thanatopsis#6293

I'd like to respond to some things I read.

I have seen very little ooc hating on new people but there is some 'being busy and having no time to include new people'. Nothing out of proportion though, I think there is no server that doesnt has it.

With Amia I do have the feeling the DM's try very hard to make this a fun experiance for everyone with the same attitude and thats heartening to me. As long as that doesnt change I think Amia will be a happy place to spend time for most.

As for Bidocks statement: While I dont think its completely true it defenitely has a grain of truth to it. If you dont have ooc friends on the server its hard going. You will struggle to get gear for your character and level progress wont be fast as you need to solo or be lucky and find someone on the party ball (which while meeting new people can be akward "Oh, you are a Cyricist baby-eater maybe teaming with my Mystran mage isnt the best of ideas' - I would prefer to level with faction members as well (get to know them ic, brothers in arms, rawr) but so far that never happened as they are all level 30 it seems.
That really makes me feel an outsider at times as Harold has little in common with some of those people (Him being a mage and them being holy warriors and social talking just isnt as good as a bonder as battle together and saving each other and the likes especially between people with differant interests.)

The shout response I have seen as well. Standing in Kohlingen with seven or so people, a shout about an event in Cordor follows and suddenly we are with two?
That did make me perk a brow and then log as there wasnt an rp to be had anymore and while I would love a dm event I just couldnt bring myself to following to Cordor as standing orders were 'stay out of Cordor'

All in all the good outweights the bad for me though. People are (mostly) friendly, DMs try hard and are very dedicated and knowledgeable. There is a lot in the gears but it comes out slowly in some cases but then again; often its worth waiting for.

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Characters played:

Harold Kendry (Illusionist) -> see avatar
Elloanore (Travelling bard)

yeah . the dm shouts need to stop.
Sadly its.often the only way to get DC's by hunting dm events

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NWN Damage Calculator: http://www.afterlifeguild.org/Thott/dnd/
NWN Build Calculator: http://neverwintervault.org/project/nwn2/other/tool/characterbuildcalculator-nwn2-cbc2

I'll try to toss in my own view on this, hopefully I'll be bale to do so without it being an unreadable mess.

Amia's Identity

This is actually something I've debated a lot with a close friend of mine who plays on Arelith, and he used a comparison that I sort of liked. Now, this isn't to directly compare the two servers, it's just a lead-in to what I have to say. He spoke of the two as Arelith being the strict father and Amia being the overly protective mother, and his oppinion was based mostly on the much harder leveling process that Arelith has where soloing might very well have you fleeing for your life half the time, and where the RP-rating they have (something about getting free RP/minute or whatever, based on your level of RP) is supposed to encourage RP > hunting, compared to Amia's rather easy-to-level-in module, where people have vast freedom to play their character as they want to and are free to run around like headless chickens killing things left and right.
Personally, I think that's a bit harsh, but I do see his point about Amia being a very forgiving server to play on. That's both good and bad, as I see it, but it could certainly use some tweaking. I don't know if it's that Amia needs a stricter set of rules on the subject of builds, if encounters need to be made harder, or if it needs something that encourages RP akin to the RP-rating system (though please, not the RP-rating system, it has future complaints of favoritism written all over it, even those complaints would be bs). Sure, we have DCs, but because they're so hard to get (due to the limited amount of DMs) we end up with the problem of people zooming in on locations that have been shouted about. Hell, in some cases I've gotten a DC for being part of an event, and all I'd done was be present, maybe I did some killing of monsters but I certainly didn't exhibit "great RP." Again, I have no idea how to "fix" this, but it seems like an area that needs looking into.

See? I trailed off. The identity of Amia, as I see it, is that of the PW that continues to expand whether it's needed or not. It's a beautiful server, it's a huge server, and it's a highly confusing server at times. It's the big, jolly, protective, nurturing, overly sweet mother, who really ought to start taking out the belt when her kids aren't behaving.


What do I think Amia's identity should become?

Stricter. Less forgiving, and I don't mean in the sense of exp/gold loss on death. As an overall feeling, it should be stressed that Amia is an RP server and not a hunting ground for extraordinairy builders. This is not to say that multiclassing should be illegal, but perhaps some limitations are in order, or at least some rules as to how building is allowed to be done. I think that Amia should be better at rewarding RP, especially when it is done outside of factions, and I think that players who don't necessarily want to take part in factions should be offered more opportunities to take leads on various plots and events on Amia. In the past I've had a number of characters involved with factions. In fact, all the characters I consider my more "important" ones, have been part of factions, with the exception of my very first, a halfling who I, more or less used to learn the ins and outs of Amia.

I'd like to see Amia as a server who caters to roleplayers, who has large plots and schemes (and small ones, on the side) where even the unaffiliated rogue can turn out to be key to unlocking the mystery (and I don't mean in the sense that "anyone can be important" as it is right now, because it certainly doesn't feel like "anyone" can), and where we actually have to worry that, if we don't manage to secure X then shit will most definitely happen. In short, I just don't want to go into an event thinking that it's just a matter of beating down a small/large force of creatures, then everything will be alright.



As for some of the other concerns in this thread, especially those of Bidocks, I completely understand where he's coming from. I've been lucky enough to get just inside a couple of these cliques (because of how loveable I am, I like to think), and even though I've rarely had the sense that "no one else is allowed into the tree house," I can definitely understand why people would be anxious to approach them. Sure, I've witnessed attempts at barring certain players from certain factions, but it really hasn't happened a lot of times, in my experience. So yes, there are cliques, but no, I don't think they happen on purpose, and people in general should just start "forcing" their way in.
What I see as a much bigger problem, is that big events seem to happen around the same people every time. No no, I'm not calling favoritism, I don't believe the DMs are aiming events at certain people, I'm actually implying that the same people seem to be in charge of factions all the time, and if they're not, they're incredible at getting positions of power at a pace no one else is. That's curious, to me.

Aiseth mentioned the possibility of limiting PC characters to two/account. As a terrible altoholic, I would love to see that happen. I can never figure out which character to focus on, and I have so many by now that I'm actively considering just getting my entire vault wiped. Part of my problem with creating all thse characters, is that I want constant RP. If I can't have that on my "main," I'll just create a new character for another part of the server population. I've gone from halfling to tiefling to genasi to RDD to SD to wizard to WM to necromancer to druid to paladin, and I now I'm looking at all of them, and nearly all of them seem only semi-fleshed out. So few of them actually turn me on to RP that I barely feel like logging on at times, simply because I know who I should play, but there are better possibilities of RP on another. It's a freakin' terror, and I hate myself a little more every time I see my vault.
Oooh, related idea! Award people DCs for old 30s they throw out! I'll be rich! I kid, of course.


I don't know, I probably missed something. The most important point I made, I think, was actually that I might just need to get my vault wiped.

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Profiles: DakoDako & ElWacko

Characters: Currently trying my best to stick to Beridoc Brushgale

I just feel like there should be more continuety. Winya Ravana, during my mains time, has had around 3-4 different DMs. Everytime I started something with one, it went forward for a moment and then they dissappear. I know real life happens, but when I see that they logged in and saw my PM's or see them at the player side, I can't help thinking that I am being ignored. Especially when my char is left with a condition that she can't do anything about. And I've been very patient with DM plots because they do so much work to give us something, don't think I do not appreciate it, because I tend to thank OOC:ly any DM who can take the time to help me/us.

I would like to see, especially with Winya, that the things you do for the NPC and community actually matter. By my previous experiences, I can't help to feel that this has not been the case. Even though I spoke with Rigella about it already, thanks for that discussion Rigella, you helped a lot! The problem for me is that when I need to include other players, there is not much to choose from. My main, for whatever reasons, (As she is sooo innocent.) isn't in good standing with many characters and thus does not even want to include them. However, in order to get to the Council or proceed in matters, I need players to get it, this should be changed. In other words, if your not inside a faction, your nobody.

And the other problem is that whenever Ael got inside a DM plot, doing her research, I suddenly ran into the very same characters, a dead end again. I simply can't compete with their resources as I am one player and I do feel it is frustrating especially when you are forced to work alone by whatever reasons. Mainly becuse you are not part of the faction that took over.

It is frustrating to see that even if you try, you kinda know the actions don't really matter anything. Sometimes I feel like I need to steamroll everywhere in order to get to one thing, I constantly bother the DM's and best was actually yesterday with the amazing Cordor plot, only downside was that I felt like I was spamming the DM's trying to get something, anything. I mean that I felt bad that I had to spam them so much as I knew they were definetly busy with everything, but in order to get something, I felt like I had to do it. I still have a feeling that even though Ael, what I think, rescued some group of around 60 elves from Cordor chaos, it doesn't really matter anywhere. The chars whos view on her she tries to change was not there to see her do it. And yes, for me it is very important because I am trying to build her reputation.

What comes to the good vs evil, I believe it to be just so boring scenario, we know who is going to win anyway. The Kohlingers come and steamroll you in a heartbeat, companied with their allies. At the moment I have seen this happening in numerous plots and the statement is based on my experiences.

As well I would like to see that it is not always about the powerbuild, who has the best build to kill the freaking monster. I do not consider my chars build powerbuild, she is focus in Conjuration and Divination and has feats that are not so important for a build and even multiple classes. Would actually be nice to be able to gather information through divinations, I usually get "You get this image, which doesn't help at all. " And that is that, one time I even got //Can't give you that information at this stage of the plot. Great, so basically I was told I succeeded in casting it but because of OOC I couldn't get it. in my opinion the whole point of diviner is to have a chance at getting such information which might even ruin the whole plot. If the caster succeeds that is.

Or just something that does not require you to be a powerbuild to survive and still be able to solve the matter.


In short:

I would like to see that it does matter what you do with the NPC's.
It does feel like you need to know the players in order to get anywhere.
Sometimes there is great amount of exclusion, no matter what you try to do.
As elven player, I do feel like Winya Ravana is excluded from everything at times, there is not much going on by DM's. We need to go elsewhere to get our fill. And even when there is something happening, it is something to with war brought to us, disease or something like that. Nothing to do with expansion or growth usually. IMO.
Seeing change in the 'Need powerbuild to survive or complete the plot'.

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http://www.d20srd.org/indexes/spells.htm

I'll just +1 this. No idea why I forgot to comment on that part, but Magiros said what I'm thinking on the matter.

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Profiles: DakoDako & ElWacko

Characters: Currently trying my best to stick to Beridoc Brushgale

A current secretive plot has me worried this'll happen.

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Guys and gals, I am really getting tired of the allstar discussion. So I will be more blunt than I usually am. These characters are what keep the plots and factions running. They are the characters that breathe life into cities and hubs. When they drop out, it is usually followed by a lack of activity in a hub, the death of a faction, or serious complications with a plot.

That is not because they hog it and keep everyone else out. It is because there are few players who are willing to take on the same responsibility who will work with them closely and step up when they drop out. It requires a lot of things, among them time, dedication and responsibility. It also means you need to be creating events and roleplay for others and deal with any ooc issues that may arise.

It is not hard to get into those "cliques". You approach those characters or factions and you build a rapport with them or join them. I for instance love to take on squires, show them the ropes and let them handle more and more events and plots. When I led previous factions I always was at the lookout for someone who would help out or take over.

So I am flat out denying this is about favoritism, or hogging, or not wanting to involve other players. There are players who climbed that ladder shortly after joining the community. The problem is that it is a enormous workload, often just streneous organizing, generally thankless and too few are truly willing to step up or just blow it.

When we do step back we get a lot of flak for abadoning everyone, for leaving plots unfinished, for not being around often enough for your storyline. When I stepped back a few months ago from all but one plot, I had to go through all of that.


As to Kohlingen just being able to steamroll everyone. It is not the case. This was litterally years of work, organizing, taking precautions, forging alliances, getting the city prepared in case it would be needed to act. It comes down to the characters in the heat in the moment when a lot of things could go badly wrong. This statement really is a pretty bold and very unfair fuck you for all of those who put in the effort.

Seeing as part of what I wrote could be interpreted as you seem to have, Ponyman, I'll elaborate on what I meant. As I said, I'm not calling favoritism on anyone, and I agree that there are a select few on the server who do carry that extra load, you being one example (going back as far as The Eternal Order that I can remember, possibly even earlier, I wouldn't know), but don't you agree that, if the same handful or so people are heading up nearly all the major plots, some pressure should be placed elsewhere to encourage others to take over? It's good that you try to teach others to lead, but sometimes responsibility should be placed on someone who hasn't exactly undergone extensive training on how to deal with all the bullshit. Of course not everyone can handle it, but I really don't think that everyone has to be trained for responsibilities.

My personal preference will always be to not lead, but rather be in the vicinity of the leading figures. In the past, sure, I wanted to try leading, and I did, for a very short time, and I instantly realized that I wasn't able to make the decisions needed. That's cool, I'll play my part elsewhere, but I'm sure that a lot of people are just itching to get a shot at something bigger than being a footsoldier, and I can definitely understand why they feel like they don't have much of a chance at it.




I'll deny the favoritism with you, but I have to disagree to some extent with the "hogging" and "not wanting to involve other players," though I wouldn't use those exact terms as they imply that it be done intentionally. The "hogging" comes as a natural part of the responsibilities you take on yourselves, both for better and for worse, and as you should be well aware, it doesn't matter if you feel like you're hogging something if "everyone else" does. Trust me, this is not me pointing a finger at you or accusing you of anything, or anyone else for that matter, I'm just trying to point out how it might feel to the people who walk around with the feeling that there's no real way to get to the top because, at the top, a handful of people sit, saying who can and who can't, and in the end they're not completely wrong in the sense that, they can only go so far until they reach the second-to-last step on the ladder, only to find you above them, unable to go any further until you feel like moving. If you then decide that you're comfortable with them taking over, you'll go off and head something else. Again, I'm fine with you taking on that responsibility, I don't want it, but it's very obvious to me why people might see that as a pain in the ass.

At the same time, it really seems horribly wrong that "mere" players should have to deal with that sort of responsibility. Just as I will never understand why you're not a DM (I bet it's you, refusing to), but that's an entirely different matter.




Here I have to disagree, not with the hard work of course, but Kohlingen, or rather "good" in general is always steamrolling any and all attempts of "evil" to get a foothold on Amia. It's just not fun being evil on this server, unless you're the kind of sneaky evil who never really goes for any major plots or schemes. Sure, DM plots are different, but evil factions might as well not exist on Amia. Tarkuul has held out for a long, long time, but even they don't really feel like any sort of threat anymore. Underdark drow? Do those even exist still?

Being "good" on Amia is too easy unless a DM actively makes it hard for them in a plot, and that's a damn shame.

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Profiles: DakoDako & ElWacko

Characters: Currently trying my best to stick to Beridoc Brushgale

Yes, the part about plots is a bit rough, but otherwise, I wrote this in the last topic that involved into talk of "Allstars." In short: Shit happens, but that doesn't mean it's gone for good. It's only that way if you don't spark ANY interest in reviving it.

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I'm done. Goodbye.