Messages

I don't know if this is supposed to work like this.

In Ring 101, by the broken bridge, there is an NPC that gives you a delivery quest. The object to be delivered is a 50-charge Yellow Ash. This quest can no longer be completed, as the target NPC used to be in Ticker Square. As soon as you get the quest, your journal gets an error message, and you walk away with the ash.

You can repeat this every reset to get additional 50-charge Yellow Ash bags. Bug or feature?

In Little Tickertown, inside the "Harmony in Style" shop, there is a lady named Elizabetha d'Auvergne.
When approached, she greets the player with a  rough voice, possibly a half-orc's.

EFU FOR THE ROLEPLAYNG SNOB

It's not uncommon that RPG players and DMs turn to online videogames looking for a decent reproduction of the familiar tabletop experience, only to have their expectations drastically frustrated. This is a humble guide to EFU for those who come from a roleplay-heavy background in RPGs, so that they may make the most of their experience in the server. EFU is a unique gaming environment that has a lot to offer, but old-school roleplayers may need to adjust some of their expectations and be flexible with their play style.

NOTE 1: This guide is an ongoing work and may be edited further.
NOTE 2: This guide represents an interpretation of EFU from a specific point of view and play style. It will not suit every player.

[the "tl;dr" here is you can skip the following paragraph entirely]

In order to make it clear who the target audience is for this little guide, I will comment on the kind of RPG player that I am, and hopefully not come across as a huge d-bag. I'm a roleplay centered RPG player, the type of player who will show up to your D&D table with a pacifist bard with a limp and expect that to work out. In my defense, more often than not it will actually work out, because I don't mind being the punchline of the group and dying quickly if necessary. I've been playing RPGs since the mid 90s and what attracted me to RPGs was the possibility of a non-competitive game, one that was cooperative instead. I understand that this has since changed, especially since Wizards of the Coast bought TSR, a move that catapulted D&D (and other tabletop RPGs) to new spheres of collectability and competition. Computer RPGs had their role in this as well, helping to shift the meaning of RPG towards "a game where you get points to improve an avatar." The very definition of what "roles" are changed a lot as well. I recognize that RPGs are not the same kind of game that they used to be "back in the day," but I can't stop myself from expecting that some of that experience may be recaptured every time I join a gaming group, be that group sitting around a table or mediated through a game server. I am always looking for a collaborative medium where my style of play may, at worst, be welcomed and, at best, celebrated. If you see yourself in some of the things I just shared about myself, this guide is for you. I'm not an RPG genius either, I just look for specific things in an RPG game, and EFU meets some of those expectations while failing to meet others.

[1] CUTTING TO THE CHASE: RP IN EFU
Short answer: YES, probably moreso than in other so-called "RP" communities within MMORPGS.
Long answer: from the point of view of an old-school roleplayer, it is important to understand a fundamental point about EFU: it is a fantasy combat setting with RP added to it, not the other way around. EFU is fundamentally a competitive videogame and, should you be unwilling or unable to have fun with that, you will be in for disappointment. As a roleplayer, you will probably be shocked by how much EFU centers on fine-tuning every little stat and equipment item the characters can get. The general attitude around the server is that EFU is hard, so it is your responsibility to "learn" how to play. There is a high standard of RP to be found in EFU, but that plays second fiddle to mechanic effectiveness of the characters and strategic competence of the players. It is very important that the target audience of this guide understand this point from the start: your character will NOT be able to survive on RP alone. Make an effort to build a character that can (a) take a few punches and (b) help other characters take even more punches. EFU is a pretty brutal setting, so design your character for a zombie apocalypse, not a United Nations congress. That being said, once you get the hang of not constantly dying horriffic deaths in EFU, you will find the opportunities to make your RP stand out, and you will certainly see other players do so.

[2] ALL RIGHT, BUT HOW ABOUT THE DM TEAM, ARE THEY ANY GOOD?
Short answer: YES, I don't think I've ever met a more dedicated or approachable DM team in any MMORPGS.
Long answer: the DMs in EFU are very frequently online, and they will enforce server rules and even role-playing standards. Metagaming is discouraged in EFU, and even extremist roleplayers will be able to admit that serious metagaming seldom happens (it does happen a lot, but there are standards in place to regulate what is acceptable). Griefing is discouraged and very rare, as far as I can tell. DMs will help you if you are in a jam due to game bugs or simply because you're stuck in a stupid limitation of the NWN interface. In my experience, DMs are polite, helpful and creative, and they keep a tight ship. You can expect cheaters to be punished and misunderstandings to be cleared with help from a DM. The player base is also very cooperative in that respect. Unlike other MMOs I've played, in EFU you really do get the impression that there are people running the game in a coherent sense.

[3] AN ONGOING STORYLINE
EFU plays out mostly as a continuous story unfolding as a result of previously scripted events and the way characters interact with them. There will be a "world out there" that keeps turning even if playing characters do nothing, which is to say, you cannot expect the storyline in EFU to revolve around certain key PCs or even NPCs. EFU is centered on a story being told in installments, not unlike an interactive TV series. Actions of the PCs do matter but, much like in the real world, small actions will have small consequences, and the characters who stand out are those who fully immerse themselves in the politics and economy of the server. There are entire plotlines started by PCs, but you should never expect your character to have a custom-made, significant side plot. Start by reacting to the major events already happening and slowly wiggle your way into finding allies, gaining a position of influence, and then finally exerting a major role in the EFU story. Also, if you want your character to become a major character in the game, you need to work on playing it as a conflict driver. EFU is a confrontation-based server (as I'll discuss in the next item) and the more your PC contributes to that principle, the higher its chances will be to ascend the political ladder.

[4] PHILOSOPHERS WITH CLUBS
AD&D players who have played the Planescape setting, as well as White Wolf players in general, will be familiar with this aspect of EFU. The server more or less works as a "faction wars" setting, with special interest groups articulating their shifting goals and rickety alliances in the shadiest ways possible. Take time to learn at least the general details of that dynamic before you dive into the server, and that may save your PC from a lot of mistrust and hostility, not to mention the occasional beating in a dark alley. Finding an active faction your PC can join can be a good option for starting players, but remember that EFU will put you in an us-or-them situation: for each friend your PC makes, it will make an enemy. Cutthroat is the word! And if you can't have fun with that style of play, it is possible to skirt by and avoid the major conflicts in the server, but you will most likely be marginalising your own PC in the process. EFU is simply not designed for pacifism. Over and over again, you will see a surge in activity around the server when there are duels, arenas, street brawls, tournaments, any kind of combat-oriented activity going on. Also, don't expect your character's arguments to be heard in any dispute unless you can back them up with muscle. Clerics can be especially frustrating to roleplay, since most characters will not be interested in religion beyond the point where worshipping a god tags the character as a member of yet another faction to be supported or opposed. Intellectuals have little to no value in EFU society unless, again, they can somehow stoke the fires of armed conflict around the server. Clerics from particularly belligerant cults will do fine, though.

[5] BLUR AND GUTS
Character-building in EFU is an advanced art that beginners will take a while to master. EFU offers a ton of customized game systems that affect how characters are built, from their appearance and character sheet to special perks and abilities that you will not find in "vanilla" NWN. That alone can stump old-school roleplayers who are used to being minimalists when it comes to stat building. On top of that, EFU has been running for years, and a large portion of the player base has sharpened their character building skills to a deadly edge. On top of all that, the server is deadly enough that normal decisions made by outside players when rolling their PCs may mean their EFU characters will be fatally flawed. Don't go overboard on the RP side of character building because, as I said before, RP is not the most important aspect of EFU. Combat is. Your PC will survive through carefully selected abilities, cultivated alliances, and the right equipment. They call Ghostly Visage "blur" in EFU, and that's a word you will hear a lot! Buffing equipment, especially consumables, are considered a major factor towards a character's success in EFU. To the role-play centered player, a PC's equipment may seem like a silly thing to focus on, and even a sign that there is something wrong with how the campaign is being run, but there is no use fighting it. EFU is what it is, not what you would like it to be. Stock up on that blur!

[6] YOU ARE WHAT YOU DRINK
Most playing characters in EFU are within the 2-8 level range. The challenges are often aimed at the higher end of that range, and the difficulty gap is bridged by an extensive use of buffing magic, magical items, and potions. In EFU, you will be drinking potions by the bucket, so don't skimp on the potion vendor. Assume that every quest will cost you at least a couple of buffing potions and a handful of healing ones. Again, remember how important Ghostly Visage is, and always try to keep at least a couple on you. When it comes to PvP, potions become even more critically important, with duels often looking like a drinking contest. GET POTIONS. I was once told by a player that your character's AC needs to be in the 24-26 range to be safe for melee combat, and that is just for the initial, "safer" areas.

[7] A GOBLIN-BASED ECONOMY
There are crafting systems in EFU. They take quite a while to master and are largely counter-intuitive. However, even though they can be fun to tinker with, none of the crafting systems will be really useful as an income source. EFU runs on a goblin economy, i.e., the money and resources are infinite and come from murdering and looting weaker monsters. The server operates a theme park system of automated quests (besides the fairly frequent DM quests) and players will farm them for money, xp, and loot. The improved potion brewing system can be a decent source of income, however, and is worth looking into if your PC is a spellcaster. Some players get to run entire businesses as well, which can be a fun way of stepping away from the dungeon looting if you want that. But mostly, EFU has constructed a robber-baron society with no real economy, which is not actually rare in a D&D game. 

[8] THINK SHORT TERM (periodic wipeout events, random deaths)
Your character will die a lot in EFU. Every time it does, it will lose a level, which adds insult to injury. But, for the most part, your PC's career as an adventurer will be a rolercoaster of levels, going up and down until you generally approach the top levels in the server, which are around 10. After level 8, in fact, your character will not be able to go on most of the scripted quests, so unless it has an established social role within the EFU setting, it will probably stall. Characters that reach level 10 are encouraged by DMs and players alike to just retire. Besides the random deaths from mismatched monster encounters and occasionally fatal PvP, your PC will also be subjected to wipe out events, which would be large (and extremely entertaining) DM events where something catastrophically dangerous happens, leaving the PCs to deal with overwhelming odds. The gist here is, you cannot expect your character to have a long and meaningful life. Most PCs will cycle through the lower levels a few times and either meet their final death or be abandoned out of player frustration.