Messages

[you dont get much attention for making sandcastles.]

The first thing i'd like to do is apologize for how inflammatory my initial post came off. I would also like to thank people for some of their longer posts, particularly TakenbyVisions, and the articulate way they presented themselves.
 
Much of what has been said, I will conceed, is true, and I was incorrect in saying PVP is the most important part of EFU. But there are some niggling points I'd want to bring up.
 

I doubt it. Any time the discussion comes up you log out of IRC in a rage and
refuse to listen.

Part of my frustration may lay in my, frankly, perhaps less than wise choice to often be on IRC because I enjoy the sometimes witty company there. But if things on IRC were expressed half as well as they were on the forums, we might not be having this thread. The reason I 'log out in a rage' is because discussions there are often ridiculing, trolling, and sometimes I feel at least a little insulting.
 
I can appreciate that most if not all of it is just braggadicio and injoking, and I know you need a thick skin on the internet, but some days- that discussion inparticular, it is just too much. I don't need to be told I don't know how to play simply because I never had the NEED to master mechanics to such a degree. I pointed that out saying that 'most people who play NWN never really need to master mechanics', and the response I recieved was "I read that as 'most people who play nwn are idiots who can't figure out how to play a 5 year old game'." Then some backpatting about how people are scrubs and need to l2play followed and I thought it was best just to log off and avoid the conversation entirely, whatever may have come up after I left.
 

This notion that PvP is the crux of everything on EFU really just annoys me, and as Mort said couldn't be farther from the truth. This poisonous idea (really, I mean this; airing this sort of false assertion in public can potentially drive new players away and/or infect the minds of other players) is not in the least reflective of EFU at all, and ultimately is derived from a disconnect with reality born of a player's limited appreciation of the nuances of any given situation.

But directly above your post is a quote by egon, saying
 

Well, let's put it this way: EfU is a huge sandbox. But the sand is full of broken glass and cat shite And you dont get much attention for making sandcastles. But if you set one of the other kids on fire and piss on the burning corpse. THEN build a castle out the now-damn blood caked sand. THAT my friends, is EfU

[/I]

It's not just a fallacious fringe idea. It's a black undercurrant i've felt expressed, usually in joking terms, by players who've been around far longer than I have.
 

You played a great character, a powerful cleric of Chauntea who had many chances and took many others to oppose "evil" or opposing forces. In the end however, you did not pursue that conflict and hid behind a veil of protection that is offered by existing state of things. The end result was thus more extreme and perhaps ruthless than it ever needed to be, and yet it was all decided upon by your (rather prominent) character's decisions.

I never really felt Anette was a success. Maybe thats just me, and my own neurosis. I felt she had finally come started to together and was able to indirectly influence a large number of people, though she never had any directy influence over more than one or two people at any time- she was never the leader I tried to make her, not in a direct capacity anyway, though she was just on the cusp of it when she died. But this post wasn't about Anette. The death was slightly suprising but it wasn't shitty- I fail to see what her living in town had to do with anything, though. I don't really take what your meaning, there.
------
 
Anyway the reason this mess of a thread even came up was partly, in a more recent character, Nick. I made him just to do...something,  and alot about him right down to his low Charisma and alignment was, aside from being an intrinsic part of his backround (because it is) was also a way to step out of my generalities- I wanted to play a character without the pressure to oppose evil, or the pressure to be opposed by good, one who would largely not care about political or materialistic concerns- someone more interested in their own personal and spiritual journey than any conflict going on around him.
 
Then. Numishgat, Bonescreechs exceedingly well played monk informed him that he's going to go around beating up every monk who doesn't proscribe to his philosophy and take their lunch money.
 
Bonescreech is a great player, not dissing him or Numishghat in anyway, but it struck a nerve of irritation to me. The conflict seemed senseless from my (likly unimformed) perspective, something brought on because a character had reached an apex point in their development and the player was looking for something new to do with them. This is an impulse I can understand and perhaps a natural progression of a character journey. But since I had intended the character to largely be a break and (somewhat ironically considering his behavior) relaxing, it irritated me more then it should have, leading to my increasingly erratic play the last few days.

I really love this server. I am so glad it's free of so much of the stupid bullshit that has plagued every server i've played on since I first started playing NWN years ago. But i've always been better at the pnp 'cooperative party' structure than interpersonal conflict. Overcoming challenges with others is what appeals to me, and i've done my best to try and express that in my characters, never really succeeding to my own satisfaction.

That's a very shallow perspective of things and I hope it's a joke because it's very untrue.

I'll respond to this in it's own thread since wherever this tired old debate comes up it's destined to get trolled down, and this should be a place to discuss druids.

Why bother finding non ganksquad ways to handle problems? Thats all anyone loves to do and thats the only way to get props.

Nicholas Webly: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cyJgTTUoBDk

[Halforcs...]

Halforcs...
 
Hate everyone because they're godless killing machines.

[Elves:]

Racial attitudes are discussed in Races of Stone, Races of Wild, and Races of destiny. But the general idea is -
 
Elves:
 
Generally reguard Humans as shortlived and childish, but also with great potential if they would JUST FUCKING LISTEN. Humans can also be destructive, drawing their ire.
 
They reguard dwarves as level headed and respect their crafts, but their fundamentally different views on life (elves valuing freedom and leisure, dwarves law and labor) as well as the Dwarven tendency to mine and lumber put them at odds. They also have fundamentally different views on aesthetics, so something that is beautiful art to a dwarf would seem a lumpy squarish thing to an Elf.
 
Halflings tend to hold elves in awe, and they get along well, though halfling humor and 'ownership concepts' can occasionally cause problems.
 
Elves and Gnomes get along, generally, having very similar outlooks.
 
Halforcs, see humanity, but add orcyness for some extra hatred.
 
Dwarves:
 
Generally see humans as shortlived and childish (noticing a trend?), but respecting their capacity for industry. Humans are stupid, but have potential.
 
Elves and Dwarves respect each other for their crafts, and in the manner of rivals who've gone at it enough times to gain respect for one another. Similar lifespans also make friendships easier than with shorter lived races. However, they have dire fundamental cultural differences- 'the good life' to a Dwarf is to work all day, every day. They see elves as lazy and listless and are amazed they can produce such fine weapons and armor- not as good as a dwarves mind, and certainly alot more fluffy. Elves have this annoying habit of putting too much value in lumber. We burn that shit to make coal to make steel. It's not like you mined it out of the ground.
 
Dwarves and Halflings do not get along very well. Halflings are very lawful, but have a relaxed down to earth culture that values personal freedom, and differing concepts of 'ownership'. Halflings for their part, think dwarves have no sense of humor at all, and are stubborn- great for playing jokes on.
 
Dwarves and Gnomes get along well befitting their shared origins of stone, though they are culturally very different- though they value fine workmanship and precious stones, and this is usually enough to prevent incessant gnomish pranks from causing civil wars.
 
Halforcs are just like humans but with a shade of hated orcs, making them even dumber and more hated.
 
Halflings:
 
Halflings tend to keep to themselves and integrate well into all manner of societies, so they generally get along with the populous humans very well and can be found in almost any human city. That being said they don't see themselves as 'half' of anything and don't like the condescending attitude some humans give them, or how everyone thinks they're thieves.
 
Halflings admire the industry of dwarves but think they need to relax and take a hit of this Brandywine pipeweed this shit is the kings yo. Too uptight.
 
Halflings hold elves somewhat in awe, finding them ancient and mysterious, but with similar appreciates for art and culture. They can be a bit too ethereal though, for the down to earth Halflings.
 
Halflings get along great with gnomes. They love jokes, community, and live underground. Gnomish humor can be a bit much even for a halfling sometimes though.
 
Halflings are wary of Halforcs if for no other reason then they're so damned tootall. They're usually willing to give them more of a fair shake, though they're perfectly ready to poisen their food the moment they suspect them of worshipping Gruumsh.
 
Gnomes:
 
Gnomes are a somewhat private and magical race and are rarely found in human settlements, but they tend to reguard humans fondly- if somewhat too serious or wild. Their lack of communal identity mystifies them. Gnomes are the patronizing grandpa, grinning and shaking their heads at the kids foolish games. Humans are varied enough that some of them take jokes well though.
 
Dwarves are respected cousins who value the earth and gems, community, and good workmanship. They're way, way too serious though.
 
Gnomes like elves, they really do, but sometimes they're too mysterious and proud for their own damned good.
 
Gnomes and Halflings get along pretty well, although Halflings take the concept of 'communal property' a bit further than them, and swiftly escalating prank battles can be the stuff of legends
 
Gnomes are suspicious of Halforcs but generally good natured enough to give them a chance until phantasmal killing them out of improved invis becomes necessary.
 
Humans:
 
As a massivly eclectic and varied race, exact human attitudes are difficult to pin down, however, they tend to reguard:
 
Elves as beautiful, elegant, but perhaps too dainty and too proud.
 
Dwarves as reliable, dependible, and good workers but too damn stubborn and surly.
 
Halflings as good neighbors and bargainers, but GODDAMNIT WHERES MY DAGGER YOU LITTLE SHIT
 
Gnomes are strange, but good natured and peaceful neighbors. Hey, is that a pig bladder filled with wa-*sploosh*
 
Halforcs are the product of rape and war, and carry more spiritual and emotional baggage for humans than perhaps any other race. Opinions vary much, but they are all reguarded with a subtle mixture of horror and pity.

Racism is one of those RL things that -can- upset people, so above all it's important to have class.

Plant domain cleric provides hours of fun with scarabs, btw, these seem scary.

EFU: It's where the class is.

Fighters do get ALOT of feats, though... Maybe something that would exemplify a fighters rigerous training to master all aspects of warfare, however.

It's important to remember of course that Halflings are better then all the other races of course because they incorporate a balanced reverence for nature and civilization along with a very lawful but freedom loving society, and they alone amongst the races (excluding the gnomes) have not have a failed destroyed empire.
 
Frankly, everyone will be better off when the longshanks realize they aren't the future anymore and accept their 3 foot overlords.

Also less halflings worshiping human gods.
 
TO BE SERIOUS NAO THOUGH, yes, racism does make sense, though it's hard for us to simply remove decades of enlightenment from our behavior and thinking process. I think it's a wonderful thing that 'racism bad' is so ingrained in our mentality now that we have difficulty even PRETENDING it isn't. Ofc we could adjust this for roleplay and it makes for an interesting experiance.
 
Speaking from experiance, 'soft racism' is easy to get away with and adds alot of flavor to characters. For example, Sigrun and Drem talking shit about humans capacity to ruin -everything- amongst one another, and telling the poor simple humans 'they just don't understand' what it's like to have gods that really love and look out for them like Yondalla's children. Does this mean they HATE humans? No, they just acknowledge how -clearly- inferior the poor half mad humans are and wonder if the world might not be better off without them.
 
Fastforeward 100 years, deathcamps.

[Ghostwise Halflings]

More Halfling Info
 

O Hai thar.
 
I'm not sure if this qualifies as a player faction, just yet, but a small movement is growing from a handful of Halfling characters to form a Halfling centric player faction, led by a cleric of Dalliah Thaun (and if you don't know who that is, apparently your everyone but us).
 
Halflings have a bad (good?) rep as the most laidback of the demi-humans, content to wander around being neutral good, eating pies and smoking the chron- PIPE WEED. TOTALLY PIPEWEED.
 
And while this is mostly true, Halfling culture has within it the seeds of isolationism, homocide, and religeous zealotry.
 
Yeah. Thats right. Halflings. They're alot more hardcore then you think. During the Hin Ghostwise war thousands of years ago, the Strongheart halflings led by Chand the Hunter slaughtered the Ghostwise halflings down to almost the last woman and child. I'll be sharing the details later, but suffised to say, half the halflings were so bummed out and horrified by what Chand did they left Luiren forever, adopting a nomadic lifestyle and becoming the lightfoot halflings who've become synonymous in Faerun with 'halfling'.
 
Halflings are ruthless little bastards when you get right down to it. They just act nice around the tall people. When it comes to the protection of the family, the burrow, or the race, they adopt an 'anything goes' mentality. Halfling honor is based heavily on how you treat your friends and relatives- enemies merit absolutly no special treatment, especially enemies of the race.
 
If your interested in a Halfling, good reading is the Forgotten Realms Campaign Setting, as well as Races of the Wilds. Also, a link to a wiki page never hurt!
 
http://forgottenrealms.wikia.com/wiki/Halfling
 
Classes: Any
 
Races: Halfling
 
Goals: While generally following a neutral good template, the groups primary goals are the propogation and protection of the halfling race by any means necessary, as well as possibly missionary work in bringing the faith of the halfling pantheon to the native stargazers.
 
Remember what happened to the church of Helm? 'Nuff said.

"Three major subraces of halfling dwell in Faerun: the lightfoot halflings, the rare ghostwise halflings, and the strongheart halflings of Luiren in the south. Like the rock gnomes, many halflings live among the Big Folk in the human lands. They are resourceful and quick, perfectly at home among the sprawling human settlements or living apart in their own settled communities.

The halflings name for their race is the Hin, though most accept "halfling" with a shrug and a smile"

Ghostwise Halflings

These wild, nearly feral halflings rarely leave the confines of the deep forests. Strange and reclusive, they form close-knight communities because of their amazing talents and are uncomfortable with strangers. Like other halflings, they refer to themselves as the Hin. They do not have another name for their subrace, because their culture is almost entirely cut off from the outside world and their awareness of other kinds of halflings is very low.

Regions: The Chondalwood, south of the Vilhon Reach, is home to a number of Ghostwise settlements. Other forests inhabited by these reclusive folks include the Methwood between Chessenta and Unther, and the Forest of Amtar south of the plains of the Shaar.
-
Lightfoot Halflings

The most common type of halflings seen in the world, the Lightfoots are the most likly to give in to their desire to wander. They are at home living side by side with folk of many different races and cultures. Lightfoot halflings are more likly to worship nonhalfling deities then any other halflng subrace.

Regions: Some lightfoot halflings are wandering traders, craftsfolk, and entertainers. A clan of several extended families may settle in a human town for a year or two, working and trading, then pick up ntheir stakes and move on for reasons known only to themselves.

Many lightfoot halflings prefer a more sedentary existence. The kingdom of Luiren is the ancestral homeland of the halfling race, and some lightfoots live there. Other lightfoots settle permanently in just about any land in which humans live. Any region entry for a human land is acceptable for a halfling character.
-
Strongheart Halflings

While the lightfoot halfling value the experience of travel and the sight of new lands and people, the stronghearts are a more organized, orderly, and industrious race. They build to last, and fiercely defend their homelands against threats that their lightfoot kin would simply flee. Northland humans familiar with the easygoing ways of the lightfoot halflings are suprised to learn that some halflings are capable of a warrior tradition and aren't afraid to show a hint of arrogance or confidence in their own abilities and strengths. Strongheart halflings enjoy athletic contests and value exceptional skills of all kinds.

Regions: Strongheart halflings make up most of the population of the land of Luiren. They are uncommon in other lands."

"Capital: Beluir
Population: 838,080 (halflings 92%, humans 4%, elves 2%, half-elves 1%
Government: Benevolent theocracy
Religeons: The Halfling Pantheon, Tymora
Imports: Metalwork items, livestock
Exports: Ale, beer, fruit, grain, produce
Alignment: LG, NG, N

Luiren is the only realm of Faerun rules and inhabite nearly exsclusivly by halflings. It is the homeland of the Strongheart Halflings in much the same way that the Great Rift is the homeland of the gold dwarves. Small numbers of lightfoot and ghostwise halflings live here as well, but nine-tenths of the halfling population is made up of the stronghearts - infact, the term "luiren halfling" is widely taken to refer to the strongheart folk, even though it is not always strictly accurate.

Luiren's folks are farmers, artisans, and merchants, as are the folk of most lands. Luiren's rich green fields feed the great rift, and it's orchards produce oranges, limes, and lemons greatly in demand in the nothern lands. Luiren woodcarving is superb, on par with that with Tethyr, and pieces of woodworking are traded too. While few people think of halflings as possesing any real military tradition, the Luiren folk maintain well-organized militias led by the monks and clerics of the local temples and supported with powerful divine magic. Halfling archers and clerics standing their ground with strength and skill have crushed more than one invasion of humans, orcs, or gnolls from the Shaar.

Luiren boasts no real government other than local authorities, but the temples of the halfling pantheon tie together society and collectivly govern the land, generally under the guidance of the Temple of Yondalla. The Devout Voice of Yondolla Faran Ferromar (LG male strongheart halfling Clr13 of Yondalla) is the preeminent leader of the faith and thus the effective leader of Luiren.

Luiren halflings don't see themselves as half of anything or anyone, and generally refer to themselves as hin.

Life and Society

Most of the Luiren folk live seminomadic lives, dwelling no more than six months or a year in any one city. Luiren's city eflect this wanderlust and mobility. Clans, families, businesses, and temples maintain permanent dwellings and hillside holes - complete with jobes and duties, normally - that are open to newly arriving individuals or families. At any given time, only three-forths of the living quarters of Luirens cities are occupied. Before leaving a home, halflings who want to be welcomed back clean and ready the home they've been living in for it's next occupants. Unless they've been extremely bad tenants, their neighbors and friends help.

Teamwork is important to the Luiren hin. Compared to the halflings native to the north, the hin emphasize group effort and communal work over individualism. Individual halflings don't often remain in the same gorups for long. The groups themselves tend to endure, but the halflings filling the roles one season are not guaranteed to be present, or even part of the same social group in another city, two seasons later.

Humans, elves, dwarves, and even gnomes have a difficult time understanding how Luiren society can appear so orderly and lawful when it's individual members change their stripes the way other people buy new cloths. Luiren hin know that outsiders think their ways are strange, but find it disturbing that outsiders maintain the same habits all their lives.

The one habit that Luiren folk enjoy far too much to leave behind them is their dedication to the Games. Luiren's games are local, regional, and kindomwide sporting events followed with interest by the nations citizens. The type of sport thats played during the Games constantly changes. At the moment, the two most popular sports are ridge running and kite fighting. Ridge running is a kind of competetive obstacle course inb which teams form different cities compete in races. Magic cast bthe competitors during the races is allowed, but participants who use magic can also by targeted by magic cast by members of the other team. Kite fighting is "art-free" meaning it is conducted free of magic of all types.

It's rare for halflings raise din northern Faerun to visit Luiren and have any desire to stay - most halfling immigrant find the land and it's ways strange. But some nothern halflings emigrate to Luiren and stay forever, and some Luiren hin can't wait to escape their home nation and live like northern folk.
-
Major Geographical Features

Monsters of the forests and swamps once plagued Luiren, but over many generations the Hin have tamed large stretches of the land. The land is fertile, rich in game, and pleasent-looking. But it's also full of wildlands that resist all attempts to pacify them. These days, young hin warriors and mages keep an eye on the wildlands to keep monsters from troubling the roads and cities. Foreign adventurers are welcome to "try their luck" in Luiren's forests and swamps, and can even keep half the treasure they find - a bargain, given that the monsters obviously took the treasure from Luiren's folk in the first place.

Lluirwood: This dense forest defines Luirens nothern borders. Druids, rangers, and some rogues of Luiren feel most comfortable in the Lluirwoods sothernmost parts. Other hin seldom venture into the forest, lacking the skills required to stay one step ahead of the monsters that come down from the Toadsquat Mountains. When the tall mouthers, trolls, and other beasts make the mistake of venturing out of the Lluirwood, they're usually quickly dealt with by Luiren militia, Yondalla's clerics, or hin hunters. But the Lluirwood remains dangerous to travelers.

Mortick Swamp: The Mortick Swamp, the only Swamp in the region, is infested by a large number of merrow (aquatic ogres) and scrags (aquatic trolls). These hulking monsters often raid the lands nearby, carring off livestock and plundering foot stores. A powerful ogre shaman or chieftan known as the Bog King leads the merrow, and sometimes succeeds in bending the scrags to it's will as well.

Southern Lluirwood: South of the Lluirwood, and west of Luiren, the Soutehr Lluirwood is mostly untamed The eastern flanks of the frest is relativly tame, patrolled by militia units from Luiren and halfling druids and rangers. Beholders and yuan-ti roam the forests deeper zones.
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Important Sites

Luirens cities welcome foreign travelers in peace. A small number of human merchants and craftsfolk have taken up residence in the cities.

Beluir (Metropolis, 27,210): Outsiders think of Beluir as the capital of Luiren because it's the biggest city and contains a high temple to Yondalla. None of Luirens cities are really the center of authority, but froeign diplomats and emissaries come here first in search of the Devout Voice of TYondalla. Great Sea merchants make port in Beluir to buy Luiren's produce and handiwork.

Chethel (large city, 14,512): This port town is one of Luiren's main trading cities. Roughly one-tenth of it's inhabitants are elves and half-elves. Of all Luiren's cities, Chethel seems most like an ordinary human city. a few families who have befriended the elves choose to stay put, placing a veneer of stability over the otherwise nomadic foundation. The other long-term residents are hin who make a fine living at boat-building.

Thruldar: Lying on the esternmost verge of the Lluirwood, Thruldar is a ruined Estagundan town watche dover by several nearby tribes of Ghostwise halflings. About a hundred years ago, a powerful evil druid allied with dark trees and murderous plant monsters destroyed Thruldar, but the nearby ghostwise tribes slew the druid and raised magical wars to contain the druid's minions in the ruins. The druid's ghost and numbeous plant monsters still lurk in ruined Thruldar, along with what is left of the town's wealth.
-

Regional History

Thousands of years ago, Luiren was an unsettled wilderness roamed by three great halfling tribes: the lightfoots, the stronghearts, and the ghostwise. The three races fiercely defended their woodlands against all intruders for centuries, driving off Dambrathan barbarians, packs of rabid gnolls, and sharing the Lluirwoods resources. Feuds between the tribes were not uncommon, but for the most part the three tribes lived in peace.

Around -100 DR, an evil spirit entered the forest. Under the leadership of a powerful cleric named Desva, the ghostwise halflings fell into darkness, worshiping Malar and florifying in violence and bloodshed. Feral ghostwise hunters, their faces painted like skulls, prowled the forests in search of halfling prey. They grey ever stronger as Desva led them deeper into Malar's worship, teaching the greatest hunters to take shapes as werewolves and poisening the forest
s natural predators with maddening bloodlust. For a generation the Lluirwood was a place of death.

In -68, a strongheart hunter named Chand became warchief of his tribe and struck and alliance with the war chief of the Lighfoot tribe. The two united to root out the madness of the ghostwise halflings. Over three years each ghit wise stronghold was found out and destroyed, until Chand himself slew Desva of the ghostwise in -65 DR. The fighting was merciless and awful - entire ghostwise villages were burned and their folk killed. Chand held to his purpose and saw to it that no hin warrior stayed his or her hand.

In the aftermath of the Hin Ghostwars, the Ghostwise halflings were reduced to a handful of their former number. Most were exiled from the Lluirwood, although a handful who had repudiated Desva and joined with Chand's warriors were allowed to stay. Those who left settled in the Chondalwood, taking an oath never to speak unitl they had atoned for the animal-like savagery of their past. The atonement is long past, but to this day Ghostwise Halflings thing long and hard before they choose to speak.

Many of the lightfoots, horrified by what Chand and the stronghearts had done, chose to leave the Lluirwood. They became a nomadic people spread across all of northern Faerun, adopting the customs and traditions of the folk they traveled among.

The stronghearts remained in the Lluirwood. Unchecked by the lightfoot or ghostwise ways, they began to clear the forest and settled in semipermanent villages that grew larger and more permanent with each passing generation. They changed from woodland nomads to settled farmer and craftsfolk, defending their lands against numerous invasions and raids over the years. In time some lightfoots returned to the new realm of Luiren, but this is now a strongheart land.
"       

Helpful reading materials-

Forgotten Realms Campaign Setting
Races of the Wilds
FR: The Shining South
Races of Faerun
Hero Builders Guide

Master servers down. Has been for a day or two

Knocking out PC's as they spawn and carrying them to murdertown for food. Adds a whole new dimension to 'full looting'

The best way to explain halflings is that they tend to be affable, good natured, and down to earth, but god help you if you cross them.
 
A humans honor depends on how he treats his enemies. A halflings honor depends on how he treats his friends.
 
Treating your enemies fairly is stupid.