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In order for there to be true moments of triumph, feeling of success or absolute streak of luck, the moments one remembers over 90 other times they've had mediocre or less memorable events, it is those few where everything clicks that you remember - it is because they are out of the norm and average.

I have not played EfU in quite a long time because I never experience these moments of triumph any more. Since shortly after the beginning of EfU:M, my consistent experience here has been one of repeatedly beating my head against a wall to see what sticks. I spent three years after that trying to make it work, believing that the problem was something I was doing wrong. If it were a matter of luck, I should have gotten lucky at least once by now. Somewhere along the way, EfU strayed from its original mission of a grimdark and difficult setting to being needlessly frustrating. Thwarting player ambition is a poor substitute for challenge. When I found myself getting angry every single time I tried out a new concept, that's when I realized it was time for me to play something else for a while.

These days, I occasionally drop in and read the forums to see if anything has changed. That's why this thread caught my eye.

If this is a game breaker for you, I am really sorry about that. This is not something any of us wants, but some people accept and maybe even like the possibility of it.

Random HP rolls is not a game breaker for me. It was never a problem before. Extreme difficulty is not a game breaker for me, we've always had that here. Not even the removal of player storage was a game breaker for me, despite the fact that it makes the use of the crafting system obnoxiously frustrating. No, the game breaker for me is the answer I just got to my question. The policy is bad, you know it's bad, and you won't change it because that's the way it's always been.

There is something that a new player said a couple of years ago in the Improving Player Retention thread that really comes to mind right now:

But you're trying to be too many things as a server. You're trying to maintain a high level of RP, but you don't want people to act rudely to new players. You're trying to encourage people not to powergame, but you've made a set of rules so harsh that that feels like the only option. You cannot be everything to everyone.

There was once a time when all these various issues were balanced out. It was possible to balance out all the competing goals of the server because the DM team accepted constructive feedback and listened to the community. That is no longer the case. I had some good times here, and I'm going to miss this place. If anyone wants to find me, look me up on Steam.

You can now lock this thread. Good dark.

Default is random and that is what we like here.

I would sincerely like to know why, from a DM's perspective, this is desirable at all.

• We know that NWN is not balanced for PvP and was never intended to be.
• PvP is a large part of EfU, and it often determines major outcomes for both PC and DM plots.
• Static HP would improve PvP balance in this setting, as our OP so ably pointed out.
• There is quite enough randomness in the 3.5 system already.
• It makes some sense in single player or pen and paper campaigns, but in this setting only adds to player frustration and burnout.

I am at a complete loss to explain how there can such unanimity of opinion among both DMs and players about which system should be preferred, and why they are in complete opposition to one another. I can easily understand the player perspective, as I share it, but I really can't see what the DM team gets out of of random HP rolls that is so valuable that it's worth all the downsides. At the very least, static HP means the DMs have to do less math when designing dungeons and quests.

I just don't see the upside here.

I have no idea what you two are talking about with regard to double stacking bonuses but I do wish Protection from Alignment had an option for true neutral. That's the alignment for all animals and some of them do have mind-affecting spell-like effects. It's pretty bizarre that you can use magic to protect someone from a red dragon's fear aura but can't use the same power to keep people from taking off running at the sound of a wolf howling.

So... is this an update adding the player tool or has the duration been changed as well?

Either way, this is so awesome Talir, EfU poisons are pretty amazing but have long been difficult to use. I know Granny is going to be hyped.

I would only add to this suggestion that if Exploring the Dark is to be once only, make sure that the fishing supplies and other needful content in some of those chests is respawning. I've sometimes come into that quest only to find all the fishing bait gone and most of the chests looted. Thankfully, someone always leaves the other tools in a helpful place where I can find them, but AFAIK it's possible for someone to take that quest and abscond with all the tools the next player will need to complete it.

If you turn on chat logging in your nwn.ini file you can copy / paste the trial into the forums that way. Just make sure you backup the log as soon as you log out of your session or else it will get overwritten. I usually just rename the file with today's date. Also, you'll want to do a search and replace to get rid of the usernames. It's a bit of a chore doing it that way but it's better than typing out a summary.

The bank clerk knows the color of real money.

On occasion, I get an odd problem with NWN where I can't click on anything. It usually happens on startup for me, but sometimes it crops up when I tab out. The workaround to this problem is to tab out, then tab back in. That usually clears the bug. Try using Alt-Tab to escape NWN and then use it a second time to get back into full screen mode. That might fix it.

Also, try adding the following line to your nwn.ini file under the [Display Options] section:

Code Select Expand

[Display Options]
AllowWindowedMode=1
Even if that doesn't fix the problem, it will at least allow you to use Alt-Enter to switch to windowed mode.

Dude I am going to go to so many dark places now that I know about this.

Literally every single time I encountered that PC there was some drama. Good stuff.

So, my character got into it with some Society members. They forced their little test on me, during which they put the worm in my ear. My character had previously sworn to commit suicide if they enthralled me, so when I got the description of the test, I took that to mean my character should assume she's been enthralled.

She dove into the water with the intent to drown herself, which led to a merry chase through the Scamander. Upon drowning, my pursuer put me in knockout mode, dragged me back to the surface, then put me in subdual mode. As soon as was possible, my PC slit her own throat and rolled into the water again. Upon "death," I got the subdual message again, and am now stuck in the water with 1 hit point, "dying" over and over again. At the time of writing this, the fortitude save DC is now past 100.

I'm just going to log out to see what happens, if it fires the auto-retirement script that's fine, the point was to end the character.

Account: Sweet Summer Child
Character: Mira Summers

EDIT: Relogging cleared the bug. It also reset the "you are now underwater" script, so I had to leave and re-enter the water to start the drowning process again. Here is a screenshot of the order in which the scripts fired:

I have to say, with the dramatically increased necessity of hoarding things due to the new crafting system and the existence of set items, along with the destruction of a major source of player housing, I think the current policy on player storage needs to be re-examined. Faction storage was already pretty tight, but now it's impossible. I don't understand why EfU is the only game I play where inventory Tetris is still a thing. This is just a basic quality of life issue. Please, give us some place to put our stuff.

Hey, EfU. You guys are pretty much my online gaming perma-homies so I feel like I need to share this one with you: Life is Strange is the single best game I have ever played.

The writing is superb. The voice acting, while occasionally spotty, is for the most part top notch. The music is perfect, the game's soundtrack sets the mood for each scene and it is obvious that the devs spent a lot of time carefully choosing each song. The premise of the game, the idea that you can rewind time and change your choices, is flawlessly executed. The plot is incredible, and I know for a fact that 100% of EfU players will find it engrossing and compelling. This game is a tour de force, I have never played anything like this before. I can't possibly recommend it strongly enough and I know for a fact that none of you will regret playing this game. I'd buy every last one of you a copy if I could afford it. This is a game that will change your life. No shit, it's that fucking good.

Episode 4 just came out, and it kicked my ass up one side and down the other. You all need to play this game. What I'm saying is that you need to stop what you're doing, get your ass on Steam, and download it. Why are you even reading this sentence, you need to be playing Life is Strange right the fuck now.

Well, that was fun.

Welcome to the server. You're probably going to get addicted. You're probably also going to need some help figuring things out. My current main character is Mira Summers, feel free to message me in game if you get stuck, need some help, or just have an idle question. You can also PM me here on the forums if I'm not online.