DemonRealms
From NWNWiki
DemonRealms (DR) is a server vault persistent world, originally based on Mystic Realms by Daniel vd Akker and others.
Contents |
Introduction
A demonic war rages on the continent of Exule. The city of Franser has been destroyed, and Port Ever is on the brink of destruction. Everyone is leaving by boat to the more peaceful kingdown of Redvale. But is it as peaceful as said?
Connecting information
DemonRealms can be found in the PW Story room of GameSpy.
- Direct connect IP address: 212.227.76.64
- Patch: 1.68
- Level limit: 40
- Player limit: 36
- Vault type: server vault
- PvP mode: party
Gameplay
This is information a player should know before logging on to DemonRealms. Listed below are specific changes that the staff has made to scripts as well as standard items and spells. Also, importantly, listed below are the rules. Players should read these before playing.
Script changes
- Find traps now only finds traps and does not disable them.
- Greater restoration is as the original, except it heals a maximum of half the maximum hit points of the target.
- Heal, harm, and mass heal will heal/harm a minimum of 150 hit points. Casters over level 15 will do 10 hp extra damage/healing for each level.
- Only people in the current area are caught in the time stop effect. (There is no annoying module-stopping effect.)
- True seeing has been changed so that the target gets the following effects: see invisibility, ultravision, spot skill points raised by 1.5*caster level, and listen skill raised by 1 point per caster level. Also, using true seeing from a scroll will only give ultravision and see invisibility, not the skill raises.
- Prayer does not affect neutral players anymore, only enemies and players in the caster's party.
- Gust of wind no longer dispels area of effect spells it should not dispel (e.g. dragon fear, blade barrier).
- Assassins and blackguards (who get the use poison feat), have the duration of poison last as long as their class levels in hours. For example, a level 1 blackguard / level 2 assassin gets 3 hours of usage from his poison.
- Devastating critical has been disabled.
- Items granting immunity have been altered to have skill bonuses or have been removed from the module.
- There are no permanent haste items or permanent true seeing items.
- Resurrection scrolls and greater restoration scrolls have been removed from stores. You still may find them while adventuring!
- Pick pocket has been changed.
- The shout chat channel has been disabled.
Rules (v 2.3)
In order to keep DemonRealms as sane as possible, these are the rules that have been implemented to make it as fair as possible for everyone. They are not open for debate. They are not exhaustive and are subject to change. But they are the basis.
- Class restrictions have been removed for now. Instead, excessive powerbuilding will be met by harder encounters.
- A custom subrace system is in place. There are plenty of subraces to choose from, and changes to a PC's subrace can be made during the first 3 levels.
- The name chosen by a player character can be more important to how others view them than most think. Names must not contain special characters (accents are allowed), symbols, numbers, unnecessary spaces, or inappropriate use of capital letters. Furthermore, it is forbidden to create names of famous characters, such as Gandalf and Chewbacca. Titles (e.g. "Lord") are given on DM authority only. A name should be a name, not an item or animal, etc. Names should be original. DMs will ask violators to log out, and unacceptable names will be changed without warning.
- Leveling a character quickly is allowed, but looping the same area endlessly is not, nor is sneaking past spawns to get loot.
- PvP is allowed, but it should only be for roleplay reasons. There should be no out of character reason behind it whatsoever. Furthermore, reasons such as "He is evil" or "I am evil" are unacceptable. Murder for no reason is unacceptable. DMs can be consulted to rule on acceptability. Hunting down low-level characters for no particular reason is totally unacceptable. Consenting non-roleplay PvP is to be kept to arena areas within the game.
- Picking pockets is limited to at most five items from one character in the space of one server reset. Victims who spot a pick pocket attempt are entitled to take whatever actions necessary to retrieve the items. Victims may not be a much lower level than the thief.
- Metagaming is not allowed. This includes, but is not limited to, logging to avoid death, logging to save a character with another character, and passing items between characters that you have (including giving items to friends to hold for you).
- All assassination contracts must be first cleared by a DM to ensure it is done for the correct roleplay reasons. Contact a DM via the forums or the DM channel.
- Player harassment is a difficult thing to define, as it covers a wide range of possibilities. Some examples of player harassment are rudeness, badgering, nagging, pestering, annoying, plaguing, troubling, persecuting, threatening, and demanding. More serious offenses include foul language directed in a personally attacking fashion and initiating PvP against another player for malicious reasons. It is up to the player to come forward if he/she feels she is being harassed; screenshot evidence is a very good resource to provide a DM with. Harassment may instantly lead to being banned from the server for good.
- Server crashes and the like happen. Experience, gold, and items lost because of such an event will not be returned.
- DemonRealms is a family server, with many younger players, and many who may be offended by vulgarity. Swearing and cursing is not allowed. Action will be taken against people who persist. Racist comments, obscene or indecent sexual language, or out-of-character personally attacking comments are totally disallowed and will probably get an offender banned from the server.
- When BioWare created NWN, they left a huge trail of bugs, many of which became outright exploits. Players are not allowed to take advantage of these exploits. If a player accidentally uses one it is up to the player to report it to a DM and have it dealt with. Any bugs/exploits found within the actual module itself should be reported to the DMs so the appropriate action may be taken about it. Exploiting bugs may lead to a ban from the server.
- Characters will not be de-leveled. See the sticky posted in the Helpdesk forum for more information.
Consequences
DemonRealms employs a "3-strike rule" for those who break the rules. The consequences for each successive broken rule are
- a warning from a DM in the game,
- loss of half the character's levels, then
- banishment from the server.
Each case is unique, therefore no rigid guidelines can be provided on punishments. In every case things such as previous offenses, etc. must be taken into consideration. Most cases will be resolved by either warning or level-stripping; however any DM can take any action on the list if he/she deems it necessary. The DM has the final say in any case, but players may contact an administrator if they feel they have been treated unfairly. There will be no excuse for breaking any of these rules. They are posted here, on the server, and repeated many times. The administrators reserve the right to modify or change these rules at any time, dynamically, on a case by case basis.
Respawning and death
When PCs die, they can wait for someone to cast resurrection or raise dead, or they can respawn. Death persists over server resets.
Respawning costs 100 XP per level, and an amount of gold dependent on character level: 100 gp per level at levels 4-10; 200 gp per level at levels 11-20; 300 gp per level at levels 21-30; and 400 gp per level at levels 31-40.
Geography
Exule
Exule is a continent under fire, with cities in danger of being destroyed.
- Franser: The once mighty Franser lays in ruins after a visit from the King of the Damned.
- Port Ever: The Nocent demons are invading and the town is rioting. The sparse city guard does its best to keep the uneasy population under control, but there are still roaming thugs. It is not recommended that anyone stay in this town longer than necessary. Leaving requires a boat ticket.
Redvale
An aura of calm surrounds this continent.
- Dalermon: This is a quaint farming community run by Mayor Durnan. Elvith's shop has general supplies, while Tolan, the town smith, has metalworked goods. The town also features a fletchery, a lovely pet shop, and the only casino in Redvale. What happens in Dalermon stays in Dalermon.
- Port Dermont: Nestled along a quiet bay, Port Dermont serves as the perfect weekend getaway, featuring an authentic dwarven tavern with some tasty dwarven brews. Across the road from the tavern is a shop for traditional dwarven weaponry.
- The Cove: The Cove is a true getaway. On an island all to itself, the Cove has many amenities for travelers, regardless of budget. The inn pampers guests, or, for those with deeper pockets, there is Kilik's Rentals which rents seaside homes for a day, week, or month. It does tend to rain in short spurts though.
- Arangaon: The city in the Golden Forest, Arangaon boasts the best selection of weaponry and magical items available in Western Redvale. However, the forest is not meant for the inexperienced, so travellers should be cautious. In the city proper, safety is guaranteed by the experienced, dedicated, and thoughtful guard staff. Prominent residents of the forest include Taron, Robert, and Jessica.
- Dusk: This city was destroyed by Nocent demons.
- Somos:
- Princess Outpost:
Guilds
Guilds have played an important part in DemonRealms' history, but their relevance and importance have fluctuated over time. At times, guild play has been important in the module and at other times, it has not.
- The Circle of the Raven: The original evil-aligned guild, led by Avasar LeChuck, is based in the Arangaon castle.
- The Dominion: This player-created blackguard guild is based in New Dusk. It is well-known for throwing the first party in the module. The party was crashed by the Queen of the Witch Elves, and chaos ensued. When New Dusk was destroyed, the Dominion's home was destroyed as well. Later, they moved into the Arangaon castle after the Circle of the Raven had been defeated.
- The Celestial Templars: The original good-aligned guild, led by Lukas Adler and Tyron Brown, was based in the Dalermon castle and thrived in DemonRealms' early history, besting the evil guilds and other uprisings of evil in several PvP conflicts.
- The Thieves Guild: Based in an abandoned tunnel hidden deep in the forest, this guild is best-known for secrecy and "The Bank Robbery". Its current status is unknown.
- Aura of Dark Sun: A recent arrival to Redvale is the evil Aura. Moving into the Dalermon castle, the Dark Sun quickly rose to power in the area. Eventually they had overthrown all other authority in the habitable Redvale region. Over time, their interest in the region seems to have faded as their guards now only guard their castle.
- The Alliance: This secretive good-aligned guild was plotted by Jet Penfold and his school friends Velia Vellows and Samuel Lyons. With a hidden base somewhere in Redvale, this guild operates to spread goodwill and the values of The Triad to the area. To the public, the leader of this guild remains a mystery.
Tips & tricks
Where to level
Player characters begin their journey in Port Ever. Some choose to remain in Port Ever for quite some time (to level 5 or 6), and some choose to hurry through as quickly as possible. Regardless, once through Port Ever, most new characters end up in Dalermon and in the cursed graveyard just north of town until nearly level 10. For variety, some players head west, south, then east to find the pirates and fill their coin purses. Those interested in a steeper beginning challenge try the goblin cave north of the graveyard. There are, of course, various quests to complete along the path.
When those options sound boring, a trip to the cove is an alternative. Some other level 5-10 places to visit include the mansion south and east of town and the kobold cave south and west of town. Again, there are several quests to complete.
Once a character approaches level 10 and above, it is time to consider taking on more challenging territory. The bugbears near Dalermon, the bugbears in Arangaon, the scavengers near Arangaon, the undead pirates in the cove, and the lizardfolk in the cove are all good choices. A powerful group might consider trying the werewolves just north of Arangaon or the undead army just south of Arangaon.
In the mid-teen levels, options begin to narrow. The werewolves and undead army will continue to be options, but the main choice shifts to a steady diet of orc fighting. The two orc tribes are both located east of Arangaon.
At the end of the teen levels (levels 16 through 20), characters sometimes try to visit the giants that lie east and north of the orc tribes, but the more northern storm giants are best saved for more experienced characters and strong parties.
Options begin to expand again in the epic levels. At level 20+, a staple is the witch elf forest which lies to the east and south of the orc tribes. Also available is the undead-filled lower mausoleum in Dalermon. Finding the underwater region in the cove by the sunken town, or the earth caves through the animal caves in the distant forest, are more choices.
In the later 20s (25+) party play becomes an emphasis. The Princess Outpost east of Dalermon Forest will provide a hearty challenge for a strong party.
At level 30, choices still include the lower mausoleum, including the Eternal Golem, and the Princess Outpost, but new choices include the Dig and Northern Peaks. The Dig lies directly east of Arangaon, and the spiders that live there are nasty. Continuing past the spiders will provide even greater party challenges and even greater rewards. Also, the Northern Peaks, which can be reached by going north and east through the storm giants' territory, will give even a party of high level 30s a challenge.
Puzzles and riddles
There are many puzzles and riddles in DemonRealms. Giving away the answers would ruin the fun.
Items, items, items
There are many custom items in DemonRealms. Most items place DemonRealms firmly in a medium-magic setting. Of special note are the 4 custom item "sets":
- Tiamat's,
- Hekate's,
- Ravager's, and
- Eternal Golem.
Collecting all the pieces is a worthy goal. Also of note are the chests in the cove that spawn items specially designed for each character. The randomly magically enhanced items that spawn are worth the hunt for these chests.
Roleplaying
Roleplaying on DemonRealms is encouraged but not enforced. Everyone has a different style of roleplaying and there is no one true way to do it. One does not need to sit around a fire to roleplay, though that is often a nice place to do so. Characters can also roleplay during combat. Well-designed text macros that rotate periodically can liven up combat with groups, even for those who cannot type fast enough.
When participating in a DM quest, one should assume that roleplay is expected unless otherwise stated by the DM running the quest.
The following general tips may be useful to beginner roleplayers.
- Dead characters cannot speak.
- Characters do not actually walk around with their names floating above their heads.
- Not everyone gets to be the hero all the time.
- Inspiring and encouraging others to roleplay with you makes the experience richer.
The DemonRealms forums has an IC section where players are encouraged to post character histories or other stories. Sometimes these stories are rewarded by DMs.
DemonRealms etiquette
Some basic etiquette rules are expected from players on DemonRealms.
- Party chat is generally considered out of character unless otherwise directed by a DM.
- Prefixing text with "//" designates out of character talk (in the other chat channels).
- Players should not log into the server and indiscriminately invite everyone to join a party.
- Help should be requested politely either in the tell channel or on the forum.
- Profanity is forbidden at all times.
- The in-game message boards are to be used for roleplay.
Character build advice
Characters do not need to be min/maxed (optimized) to succeed on DemonRealms. It is more important that a PC fits the style of the player. A character that is dynamic and exciting for the player is more likely to be taken to the high levels than one the player loses interest in. Some of the common ways to build a character include finding an existing build (such as with Pulse Cap's search engine), designing a build in advance, and simply improvising as the game progresses.
When building a character, be sure to choose an appropriate name. (See the Rules section.)
Famous citizens (PCs)
The following player characters have achieved level 30 on DemonRealms. (The format is "[account name] character name".)
- [Buzrael] Eowung Dessa
- [ChefRobert] Ruben
- [Eluce] Jet Penfold
- [Kenbok] Kenbok Thistletoe
- [ylztuh] Akire Ylztuh
- [ylztuh] Sanica Boh
Staff
The administrators of DemonRealms are the following people.
- Bytewaste: module builder/scripter/maintainer/general admin
- MrMicks: server admin/script guy/developer/NWNX/SQL admin
- Proxim: server admin/hardware geek
- Dak: forum coder/website admin
There in one non-admin builder for DemonRealms.
- Frosta Inferna: module builder/scripter/DM
The active Dungeon Masters are
- Buzrael (DM Buzrael),
- ByDemonsBeDriven (DM Smoke),
- DMS (DM Stephen),
- Kenbok (DM Kenbok),
- RashaB (DM Mystikal),
- Vorath (DM Vorath), and
- Xenon the Red (DM Drac), and
- Zithare (DM Zithare).
Former Dungeon Masters of DemonRealms are DM Aaron, DM Crovax, DM Daniel, DM Eluce, DM GregMark, DM Kex, DM Kierra, DM Luni, DM M1ke, DM Oulan, DM Ozelo, DM Splinter, and DM Zach.
