The World of Avlis

Great site--- I've been looking a loooong time for a good place to resume playing NWN, and after reading the forums as a guest and looking at all the content and community activity this seems like the perfect place for my style of play.

I stopped playing NWN a few months after it came out (originally) after the two PW's I liked closed shop. I played a lot of EQ because its a great place to roleplay but it became boring eventually-- even RP'ers would farm for cash, spawn camp etc because everyone else did too...

Just one real question before I apply: How easy/hard is it for someone (I will most likely be playing a gnome thief/ illusionist) to find people to play with on these server(s)? I can stand soloing to a certain extent, especially at 1st or 2nd level if need be... but I truly prefer adventuring in groups.

And (ok 2nd question, but its not too important): what alignment would most facilitate grouping up with folks? Or do good and evil aligned characters work together in this realm?

Thanks and again, great website!

chupacabra wrote:Great site--- I've been looking a loooong time for a good place to resume playing NWN, and after reading the forums as a guest and looking at all the content and community activity this seems like the perfect place for my style of play.

I stopped playing NWN a few months after it came out (originally) after the two PW's I liked closed shop. I played a lot of EQ because its a great place to roleplay but it became boring eventually-- even RP'ers would farm for cash, spawn camp etc because everyone else did too...

Just one real question before I apply: How easy/hard is it for someone (I will most likely be playing a gnome thief/ illusionist) to find people to play with on these server(s)? I can stand soloing to a certain extent, especially at 1st or 2nd level if need be... but I truly prefer adventuring in groups.

It all depends on when and where you play...At this time...Elysia is by far the busiest server, it also tends to be the most newbie friendly. elysia is city of Goodly aligned folk, but all alignments travel here. If you live in europe the server traffic may be lower than the peak hours in the US when I've seen well in excess of 30 people on the server. 1st and 2nd level are dangerous anywhere in avlis....you either do fedex quests and such which will help you learn the lay of the land or you must party up.

And (ok 2nd question, but its not too important): what alignment would most facilitate grouping up with folks? Or do good and evil aligned characters work together in this realm?

Thanks and again, great website!

Your PC of course has no idea what the other PC's alignments are, who you group up with is of course your own business and dependant more on RP than any ooc meta issue like alignment.

Welcome and Enjoy

How easy/hard is it for someone (I will most likely be playing a gnome thief/ illusionist) to find people to play with on these server(s)?

It's fairly easy to fnd people to play with, overall, but there are some tips and tricks that will help you in this endeavor. First, there are meeting spots, especially on the Mikona and Elysia servers, where you can usually find people hanging out and roleplaying. In Mikona, look for the big rock on the road out of town. In Elysium, look for the area called "Elf Gate". There is some disparity in activity based on playtimes, but there is almost always a fair population on both those servers. Le'Or and Ferrell are still a bit less populated, and Deglos is becoming more popular but this is often due to adventuring parties heading off to go find danger. The Wilderness server is the most challenging of our servers, in terms of finding people - it is very spread out and there are very few places where people congregate. Moreover, it is dangerous for lowbies to travel there until they know the area well, so I suggest starting in Elysia, Mikona, Le'Or, or Ferrell, with a bias towards the first two listed; they're still more populated and have more to do, though Ferrell and Le'Or are catching up.

what alignment would most facilitate grouping up with folks? Or do good and evil aligned characters work together in this realm?

Hrm. Well... interesting question. Yes, good and evil people can and do work together, though there are group memberships that can preclude such activities. That is to say, you can't tell someone's alignment by looking at them, so you can easily end up spending time with someone of opposed alignment. However, if someone is a Paladin of Gorethar, or a Reaver of Maleki, and if you know this about them... well, then you know what kind of person they are, and might not wish to travel with them.

Avlis (and D&D in general) supports any alignment, but traditionally there are more Good-aligned characters than Evil-aligned, and this does hold true in Avlis as in almost every other PW. That isn't to say you can't play an Evil character in Avlis - you assuredly can. But if you're looking to travel with people of the same alignment as yourself, then you'll find more such if you're Good-aligned than otherwise. But then ... you don't NEED to travel with people of the same alignment as yourself, so... eh, do whatever seems fun.

- Aloro

chupacabra wrote:Great site--- I've been looking a loooong time for a good place to resume playing NWN, and after reading the forums as a guest and looking at all the content and community activity this seems like the perfect place for my style of play.

I stopped playing NWN a few months after it came out (originally) after the two PW's I liked closed shop. I played a lot of EQ because its a great place to roleplay but it became boring eventually-- even RP'ers would farm for cash, spawn camp etc because everyone else did too...

Just one real question before I apply: How easy/hard is it for someone (I will most likely be playing a gnome thief/ illusionist) to find people to play with on these server(s)? I can stand soloing to a certain extent, especially at 1st or 2nd level if need be... but I truly prefer adventuring in groups.

And (ok 2nd question, but its not too important): what alignment would most facilitate grouping up with folks? Or do good and evil aligned characters work together in this realm?

Thanks and again, great website!

Avlis is a highly social PW. Traveling in groups is common place. Depending on how you roleplay your character, you may find it easy or more difficult to find adventureres to roleplay, travel and fight alongside. Alignment can be an issue if you wear that alignment on your sleave. Evil characters aren't going to want to travel with Mary Poppins (except to lure her away from town to kill her) and good characters aren't going to want to travel with Beelzebub. Sometimes the good and evil characers work together but I'd say that was not the norm.

Welcome to Avlis. 8 )

- Manuel

Good and Evil characters play together all the time (bwahahaha) they just might not know it. When I first started playing, I quickly found the "hot spots" on my own and sometimes would just sit there. Eventualy people will come by. Feel free to say hi, and behave as you would in the real world (well, as your character would). If your looking for a companion RL, you'll probably try to meet lots of people and introduce yourself. Maybe chat them up a bit. It works in Avlis too. The are also tons of youngas running through Elysia, so you'll find someone in your range, no problem.

I am a college student so I alternate between having lots of time and (almost) no time for such things as roleplaying games... I am amazed at the amount of detail and depth I've seen so far (and I've just been poking around the website for a couple of days, haven't even 'officially' applied yet)! Excellent PDF guides posted, I must also point out. I still play some PnP roleplaying games (since I'm around other people with odd schedules and time on their hands) but generally its more along the lines of RIFTS or Paranoia.

The gnome I am envisioning will most likely not swing too strongly towards good or evil... his most basic motives would boil down to: the yearning desire to explore and understand his world, the need for good companions, and having enough silver in his pocket to be able to afford some ale to toast those same companions with. The rest will come naturally as this young and inexperienced gnome experiences life beyond his own farm and family.

Again, great site! Looking forward to playing sometime in the next week or two!

This might seem obvious, but when your character meets others, neither one has a little sign over its head saying 'Warning - Evil Character'.

So, one character might be Good and when discussing a topic he or she might be open and honest - because that is the way they are.

The other character might pretend to be Good and nice and open, even if he or she is not - i.e. they are lying - because they are Evil and Evil people don't always tell the truth.

Another point is that people tend not to be absolutely Good or absolutely Evil. It depends on the subject and the circumstances. Even the Good ones are not perfect and few of the Evil ones are truly, constantly Evil.

Just make and play your character and Roleplay as you wish with whoever you meet. The only problem is if your take on Evil means killing other player characters - be careful of being accused of Griefing if you do that - most players are not keen on having their characters killed by other player's characters.

Welcome to Avlis - have fun - Roleplay is Everything.

Aloro wrote: In Elysium, look for the area called "Elf Gate".
- Aloro

The have an elf gate in Elysia too

Flakey wrote:

Aloro wrote: In Elysium, look for the area called "Elf Gate".
- Aloro

The have an elf gate in Elysia too

Shh... this is part of my evil plot to kill newbies off, and you're ruining everything!

Or... * coughs * maybe it was a typo, and I really meant Elysia.

- Aloro

Aloro wrote:Or... * coughs * maybe it was a typo, and I really meant Elysia.

Typo or laziness?

Dralix wrote:

Aloro wrote:Or... * coughs * maybe it was a typo, and I really meant Elysia.

Typo or laziness?

Typo - because I didn't notice it. If I just never bothered to learn how to spell it, or if I saw the error and ignored it, that'd be a different matter...

- Aloro

I'd actually advise starting in Mikona. Though people CLAIM Elysia is more newbie-friendly, its all lies. That, and Mikona has far less lag than Elysia these days, which is rather important when you're level one and makes the difference between getting away from the bandits or getting killed by them.

And Avlis is a highly social world, and people do wander with most alignments... its more character interactions that matter.

Vichan Lyonsen wrote:...At this time...Elysia is by far the busiest server, it also tends to be the most newbie friendly.

ARRRGGG! I'm sick of hearing this! Mikona is just as well travelled and just as newbie friendly as Elysia and with less lag!

Explore them both, but Mikona's the place to be!

What I'm sick of hearing is the whole Mikona vs Elysia argument. Why does it have to be one or the other? Can't we all just get along?

Penumbra wrote:

Vichan Lyonsen wrote:...At this time...Elysia is by far the busiest server, it also tends to be the most newbie friendly.

ARRRGGG! I'm sick of hearing this! Mikona is just as well travelled and just as newbie friendly as Elysia and with less lag!

Explore them both, but Mikona's the place to be!

I'd say:
Human - start in Mikona
Others - start in Elysia

That's my view. They both are fine servers to start out, though I prefer Mikona for obvious reasons

Its only 200 gold to go between the two, so I say it doesn't matter. My characters "live" in Elysia (one may move to Mikona soon..., but I like the easy access to Le'Or) but they both travel back and forward via the boats. No big deal, really.

Nighthawk4 wrote:This might seem obvious, but when your character meets others, neither one has a little sign over its head saying 'Warning - Evil Character'.

*flattens a loose scale and then rearranges his Ebony robes absently*
You sure about that?