Anyone play on any? What are they like? Give a brief description of what makes it good and perhaps a link to search it on the server list.
Thanks.
I used to play Arabel though I have been taking an extended break. I still browse the forums and hop onto the IRC channel rather frequently. This server was started by former CoA players and there are still people here who play both. The learning curve isn't as steep as EFU and the server isn't as harsh leveling wise as it used to be but I reccomend giving it a try. Though personally I think EFU is in a better place right now but that's just me.
Amia A and B not bad relaxed server.
Blackstone Keep. Grind server.
NWN 2
Baldurs gate tales of the sword cost I am impressed with that one.
Blackstone Keep. Grind server.
I have played on about 20 but those are the active ones I am currently enjoying.
That other place of the mists. Some really great players but some real douche bag DM's and community council. I recommend against playing there unless you want to be some one's toady for years and years.
Overall EFU is the place to be for RP right now.
http://haven.meiercomputing.com/forums/viewforum.php?f=3 This is a new server based around old Netheril that is being developed by some former CoA players and DMs (Kinda like how EFU was :p ). Since it's still in Alpha they are pretty open to ideas at this point so anyone who wants to help feel free to head over and give them a hand. IRC chat channel is #Netherilrising
I heard about this really cool server called Escape From the Underdark. They are in their third chapter of a crazy near sandbox world with an almost infinite amount of war, peace, political intrigue, heros, villains, laughter, tears, and enough unique lore to make your head spin. Definitely check it out.
:P
Seems weird to begin a topic like this on our forums, without probably consulting if it's OK beforehand.
It's not weird at all.
Also, I don't think DMs, or the EFU playerbase at large, are legitimately concerned about losing players to other servers.
The fact is, in every conceivable way, EFU is the superior choice.
Yes, EFU is definitely the ebst server I ever played in any mmorpg.
NWN is not an MMORPG. >_>
No such thing as an MMORPG, if you ask me. Mostly due to the lack of RP. They are all just massively multiplayer online games, no roleplaying involved.
@.@
You know what I meant.
Just want to let folks know that Netheril Rising should be going live in a week or two so please come check it out. It's currently in open beta right now so anyone is free to login and look around the module. You will need to download a hak though but I assure you it is worth it and quite easy to get setup. By no means am I saying stop playing EFU (I still play), in fact EFU and NR are quite similar as they both embrace the sandbox environment in a way that lets players dictate the direction of the story. The DM team is very open to suggestions so no need to be shy if you have an idea that you think would go well with the server its as simple as just pming one on IRC. Everyone is welcome to come take a look, for those who did not see above the IRC channel is #NetherilRising and forums are here http://haven.meiercomputing.com/forums/index.php
Hope to see some of you when it goes live :)
Quote from: Wild Card;280994Just want to let folks know that Netheril Rising should be going live in a week or two so please come check it out. It's currently in open beta right now so anyone is free to login and look around the module. You will need to download a hak though but I assure you it is worth it and quite easy to get setup. By no means am I saying stop playing EFU (I still play), in fact EFU and NR are quite similar as they both embrace the sandbox environment in a way that lets players dictate the direction of the story. The DM team is very open to suggestions so no need to be shy if you have an idea that you think would go well with the server its as simple as just pming one on IRC. Everyone is welcome to come take a look, for those who did not see above the IRC channel is #NetherilRising and forums are here http://haven.meiercomputing.com/forums/index.php
Hope to see some of you when it goes live :)
Tbh- Some Posers trying to take EFU's spotlight, which they will fail at, No doubt.
EFU 4 lyfe
That is not the goal at all, the DM team is aiming to make NR thrive through its own independence and vision. There is no reason why players cannot both play EFU and NR or any other server that they wish to.
It's finally live guys, feel free to come take a peek if you like.
EfU has the best scripts, the best plots, and the best players out of any server I've been on.
I've played Ravenloft, where it was difficult to get involved in anything and every time I tried to start anything I was hounded OOC'ly. Don't even get me started on their lack of PvP sportsmanship or metagaming.
Arelith is supposed to be a sandbox server where everything is up to the players. Unfortunately conflict has little meaning as everyone there is immortal and cannot be permanently killed. Though if you're more laid back and don't care much about stories, and just want to hang out.. it's good.
Amia is not a roleplay server. I played there for a few weeks, as various characters. I was essentially the only one roleplaying, everyone else was slaughtering NPC's by the score.
Star Wars, Rise of the Rebellion, is a very fun server based around the war between the Empire and Rebellion. I've been playing there for a few years now but lately the server has gone dead. I am hoping it will come back sometime this summer (it's not the first time).
Then there's City of Arabel but I never got into that. It's not a bad server, and is very similar to EfU from what I saw. It just seems to lack the "OMG RUN FOR YOUR LIFE!" feel EfU often presents you with. :P
EfU is pretty much the best server on NwN. I can't find another that is really worth playing for very long. It is the only one, excluding perhaps RotR and CoA, that will allow a PC to make any meaningful difference on the server.
Valo summarized it perfectly. None of the other servers have the same mature players and sportsmanship. Arelith is a pretty good server, if it wasn't for the death system. Though you could just make an intricate plot to get a PC jailed if you want them retired.
Amia has a few good RP'ers, but they mostly have shitty sportsmanship, metagaming and they all play to win. From what I saw. - Ravenloft isn't too bad, a really nice gothic touch with... a decent set of players imo. Fun if you bring a friend .
My favorite NWN experiences probably come from CoA, in terms of full satisfaction of my character's plot as a whole. It's basically a lighter, less depressing version of EfU, now that I've played both.
EfU has much better quality, but the grimdark is just very pervasive at times. Can be taxing, so I don't blame anyone for wanting to shop around a bit.
Sorry for resurrecting this but given the circumstances I felt compelled to given that we have a lot of players who used to play CoA or still play CoA but also here as well and some of them just might be interested in this information. Arabel will be having a v5 with a wipe not to mention quite of a time jump (50 years to be exact see the link below), there is no official timeline of when this will occur but there is a forum in which weekly reveals will be posted the latest one being this http://forum.cityofarabel.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=504&t=146946 so for those of you who are curious be sure to watch this forum because it's just gonna keep coming for now. Anyways please don't take this as stop playing EFU come play CoA as I said v5 is still aways off and there is no timeline yet of when this is going to actually happen but I thought there might be some people here who would want to know this development anyway.
Hello EFU community and Netheril lovers,
I am happy to announce that Netheril Risen is getting very close to relaunch and would like to invite you to help us with the final stages of testing before we go live. Over the past year the DM team has been busy rebuilding the server to include a full-fledged Netherese city set against the expanse of the Savage Frontier where our story is taking place at a time when the empire is seeking resources to fuel its rapid expansion across Faerun. While the story takes place in a historical period during Netheril’s history by no means are we limiting ourselves to the established timeline in fact it is their aim to allow players to create their own saga of Netheril which they hope will be more wildly imaginative than anything created in canon. Our forums are http://haven.meiercomputing.com/forums/ and IRC channel #NetherilRising
I used to play on Narfell, CoA and city of Splendours. Narfell was elitist as hell, and CoA was too. you used to have "Tokens" for good roleplay, but they were entirely based on OOC arrangements between cliques who would take turns nominating one another, and collecting rewards ig.
I spent three years playing CoA. I saw a DM possess a dog. Once. It was very much a DM's playground with every other player as ambience... Like a bloody lava lamp or something.
CoA nowadays is VERY different I am told by many of the players there, from its tyrannical days and corruption through tokens, though it is forever stained for me personally as a result. By all means though, check it out for gods sake, if you haven't. already Valo definately nailed it. All the players there are pro roleplayers, and we all used to play there and forged many great memories questing together there. You can do far worse than CoA.
I'm talking about Kinky Kingdoms.
You know what I mean. Yes. You. With the nude hak.
CoA is having a wipe in 7 days and will be ushering in the long awaited v5 for folks who might want to check that out and see what's up.
EfU is the best by far.
I can make people on a forum where they hate Oblivion and Skyrim and all other modern RPGs for being modern garbage interested in EfU just by talking about it, that's how great it is.
(They like PS:T, Mask of the Betrayer, Fallout; all things EfU sort of 'gets')
The wipe has now occurred and this shall be the stage for which the new setting occurs for those interested.
Cormyr in a state of decline and deep depression as a result of a trade embargo from Sembia throttling Caravan Trade. Suzail and the coastal cities grow more and more impoverished, and taxation results in more people flooding to the frontier, regardless of the danger.
Hardcastle, coupled with his Red Wizard allies keeping Arabel somewhat exempt from the economic and social crisis effecting the rest of the nation, though the fall of the primordial, crashing down over the King's Forest raising the water levels, flooding bospir, vast swamp, and the king's forest, turning it into the king's swamp and also the expansion of the helmlands has cut off many of Arabel trade routes, and easy access for Cormyrian reinforcements. A new material is found within the region, one with great value and the potential to restore the city, and the nation back onto its feet, if only it can be recovered.
Hard times have fallen on the Forest Kingdom, and Arabel finds itself experiencing death throes as the once proud frontier city is forced to confront new realities. It’s been fifteen years since the Second Cormyr â€" Shadovar war ended in a tenuous peace accord. This fragile peace between The Empire of Shade, and the Kingdom of Cormyr has held.
If only just...
Zhentarim expansionism to the north, coupled with pressure from the Lords Alliance make outright war undesirable for the Emperor. Granting Cormyr much needed time to try to recover from a near decade of strife. To the east, the great Forest of Cormanthyr and the Dales experience upheaval as well, as a war of reclamation is fought by Elves seeking to eradicate an ancient foe, and return to a home bitterly lost many centuries earlier.
With Cormyr no longer an easy prize, and the Dales now protected by their powerful Elven allies, the Shadovar turned their attentions to the small collective of mercantile city states called Sembia. Instigating a civil war, several Princes of Shade manoeuvred and successfully place a puppet to the head of a unified Sembia, taking over the nation in all but name. Whatever hopes that Cormyr enjoyed as a result of a stronger Elven presence in Cormanthyr, are soon shattered by a Sembian trade embargo, and the implementation of severe tariffs on Cormyrian goods. The Caravan Trade, the lifeblood of the Cormyrian way of life slows to a crawl. The nation, barely recovering as was, now finds itself ever closer to economic and social collapse.
A Nation in Decline
Even a nation as wealthy as Cormyr could not thrive after a decade of warfare, and once the embargo began, the Crown was left with few alternatives to rebuild or grow strong anew. Strong ties with a budding reclaimed Myth Drannor, and what little remains of the trade from the Sea of Fallen Stars is all that keeps the nation afloat. With the Crown no longer able to bear the burden of maintaining its large armies and holdings, it has been forced to rely more and more on the local nobility. This power shift has resulted in a strengthening of the feudal class system. With a harsh increase in tax, and a general lack of employment, an ever widening social and wealth disparity started to form. The time honoured foundation of Cormyrian working class, “an honest days wage for an honest days work†became a luxury fewer Cormyrians were able to attain.
Realities of the Frontier
Nowhere are the hardships of the dying nation understood with more clarity than in the frontier city of Arabel. The lands around the city have grown wild, and dangerous over the past decade. Both the treaty with Shade, and the lack of gold to properly fund a military have allowed monstrous hordes to take root and fester in the darker corners of the frontier.
In the wake of the calamitous floods that swallowed much of Northern Cormyr, agents of the Furies were quick to claim responsibility before a shattered nation. Although many among the adventuring population showed them enmity for this act, it was impossible to prevent the tide of hysteria which swept the nation. Arabel, once a city renowned for its benevolent patrons, now plays host to the vengeful Furies as the hostage populace watches with dread the sacrifices and violent prayers of their new shepherds, as they announce time and again that Arabel belongs to the Furies heart and soul - and to spare it destruction for one more year.
With the former lifeblood of the city being throttled, necessity dictated more and more, though a substantial minority clung ever more to higher values, and the gods, trusting that either Tyche, or the gods of the Congress would relieve them of their current plight. Lord Hardcastle grew more powerful. His mercantile acumen, and alliance with the Red Wizards of Thay, has allowed the former Southern districts to flourish, becoming the true jewel of the city.
While Arabel has, as a result of Lord Hardcastles influence, managed to remain relatively free of the oppressive taxes, or poverty festering in the southern towns, and cities, it has come at the cost of Arabel being a place where being weak and not contributing to society are not tolerated. And, as ever, death is a constant threat. Even Arabel's walls, strengthened thanks to a sizeable donation from the Thayan Red Wizards, are no guarantee here on the frontier. Ideals cannot keep a man warm, or his family fed, and the moral spark that once burned so brightly slowly flickers out. The Archmage Kanthea Farelven has not been sighted for many moons now, her tower warded from entry, causing great concern among the well educated. Many worry of what this might mean for the future.
Weight of History
Long before the banners of the Purple Dragon soared over the land, proclaiming Obarskyr rule, what is now known as the Forest Kingdom housed first the Elves of ancient Miyetar, and millennia after, the remnants of Netheril. Arabel itself is built over the ruins of a fallen Netherese city, brought low by the hubris of Karsus, a massive complex of lost lore, secrets, and treasure, much of it still buried in collapsed halls and warded vaults. The past history of the region, while significant, is far more subtle. Elven ruins, hidden from today’s world, can still be found in the wilder parts of Cormyr, the Hullack, the Vast Swamps, and the Stormhorns. In forging its future, Arabel may have to look to the past.
Time of great opportunity…
The crisis that grips Cormyr erodes much of the status que that has upheld social norms and rank within the nation. Some have taken advantage of the situation and laid a stake in a reborn Cormyr should that day ever come. The Red Wizards of Thay were among the first, having ridden the crisis to reclaiming their former position within the city. An embassy, one enjoying the rights of diplomatic immunity is now found within the prosperous southern district, though there are only a couple of Red Wizards here, Arabel being such a gamble. These Red Wizards retain their cultural heritage, though appear as though they may not be the best Thay has to offer, more likely, the task was given to them to get rid of them. Hardcastle himself has tightened his reigns of power within Arabel, the south being the only part of the city with any resemblance to the old qualities of life Arabel has historically enjoyed. Hardcastle Guards enjoy equal rights with the Watch to enforce the Law, though both of these forces are few in number, and most are concerned with keeping the defenceless from being oppressed by the strong, and mostly stay out of the affairs of adventurers.
Within the last year, even more opportunities have arisen, with a band of adventurers exploring the ruins coming back with a rare metal, one unseen in the realms to date. Wizards marvel at how attuned it is to magical energies. "A staff made of solid Mythalite? they fantasize, "Such a thing would create a fireball with the effort we expend making a spark. Imagine! Used for good or evil, the ore - native only to the lands around Arabel where the cataclysm occurred - quickly becomes one of the most sought-after resources in the lands. At once, fuelling the Red Wizard wards and yet leaving them ever lusting after its power for their own personal intrigues.
Druids, in their wisdom, declare the magically warped metal an alien creation, disrupting nature. Industrialists seeking wealth, Wizards seeking power and Druids seeking to contain this volatile, corrupted ore clash in the new age. Over the course of the year, Hardcastle surveyors verified vast amounts of the ore below the city, within the ruins. Despite the danger of the ruins, and the difficulty to mine and refine it, its financial value is quickly apparent to the industrialist. For the first time in a decade, the people of Arabel dare to hope of a recovery, and a return to their former glory. Adventurers once again flock to Arabel.
...And Fear of an Uncertain Future
The city residents fear that the tenuous truce with the Shadovar, reached only a decade ago, may end. The more local threat - such as the wild frontier, bandits, and roaming monsters - are things that adventurers will need to handle, if the region is to truly recover. Many fear that the ore itself is tainted, and using it will bring ruin to Arabel, and that the recovery will fall onto itself once the reality becomes known. Worse still, miners and adventurers working in the deeper halls speak of the once quiet ruins coming back to life, and of the remnants of an ancient race slowly stirring to life.
A shame dendar slaughtered them all.
After about a week of techinical difficulities v5 is now indeed live, I invite folks to come check it out. For older players who are used to the v3 Arabel much has changed and the city now has a more frontier feel to it and there are no DM factions whatsoever including the absence of a guard faction. This means all perks associated with DM factions are now earned in game including the right to throw folks into the pit a place where criminals are sent to. Hope to see some of you oldies back in game.
New Forums: http://forum.cityofarabel.com/forum/index.php?sid=d2421792e73b39a555922997552d753c
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