What does it mean for Arabel to be a Roleplay server?[]
Players are expected to remain in character as much as possible and denote out of character comments with some notation, such as an OOC prefix. Powergaming and metagaming are frowned upon. Gameplay is substantially different from Diablo or Everquest.
What is powergaming? []
The exact definition of powergaming varies from person to person, but it is generally agreed to describe actions that have no roleplay logic to them, but are rather designed only to 'power up' a player. Exploiting quests to powergame may be considered 'cheating'.
What is metagaming? []
Metagaming involves using knowledge that your character could not possibly know. This should be avoided entirely for any PvP situations. Here is an example: An assassin tells a low level wizard that he killed his friend. The player who controls the wizard logs off and logs back on with a high level paladin and slays the assassin for his crime. The paladin could not possibly have known this.
I keep on getting booted. What's going on?[]
The module reserves slots for DMs (usually 2). Watch your server bar; you will be sent a message before being booted.
What happens when I die? []
You will be moved to the Fugue Plane and your body will remain in the 'real' world. A companion can use a Raise Dead or Resurrection spell on your corpse to revive you. Your corpse can also be taken to an NPC cleric, who will charge a nominal fee for resurrection.True Resurrection, while costly, affords no experience loss. In the Fugue Plane, one also has the option to respawn, but the XP penalty is very heavy. Raise Dead and Resurrection also incur XP penalties, but they are not as steep as respawning. This system leans towards "true death" while allowing for the option of respawning for those who absolutely want it. It also allows those of low levels to 'get started' in the world a little easier.
You can choose to respawn at your corpse, wherever it is, or to a safe location (like a temple).
What if I'm killed in PvP?[]
Among other changes, the respawning has been changed. Someone killed in PvP now has to wait an half hour before he can respawn. The raise spells can still be used immediately. This was done to prevent PvP victims from immediately returning to the point where they died and accusing their attackers.
I ran into a problem. Will DMs reimburse my lost XP/gold/items?[]
No. If you run into a problem, we'll do our best to help you at that time, but messages like "I died and lost 2000gp due to a bug yesterday" are difficult to deal with. We will always listen to the issues and try to get them solved, but we will avoid giving experience, gold, or items in the process. We sympathize with players that have lost time spent improving their characters, especially when it occurs through no fault of their own, but the sheer amount of these requests is overwhelming, to the point where DMs do not want to log on. The DMs are here to play with everyone, not to be 'gods', and so the best we can do to be fair is a blanket refusal of such requests.
Can I play an evil character?[]
Yes. Keep in mind that any character you play has been admitted into the city and is allowed to remain there. This means that he or she must be generally accepted by the society - no insane dwarves or mass murderers. Evil characters can be selfish, lying backstabbers, but there are no 'killing for fun' personas, as rampant murder is not tolerated even in 'evil' societies. Alignment is just a guideline of how to play your character, and in any society, they can and do change. A paladin slaying a thief just because he knows him to be evil or dislikes his verbiage will be arrested and charged with murder, along with all the other common criminals.
Being an evil character or PvP-oriented character carries with it the responsibility to ensure that you are providing an entertaining time to the players whose characters you are working against. You must be almost like a DM in that you must be fair in the degree you play your character. Hunting newbies is not fair. It offers no challenge for a new player to overcome because they haven't a chance. That is not fun for a player.
Are player guards DMs? []
Player guards are not DMs. Like everyone else, they are role-players, acting out the part of an adventurer who has the part-time job of a city guardsman. Like other PCs, they have their own personalities. Bear in mind that the city laws are 'in character' laws, and PCs should treat it as such, even trips to jail. Breaking city laws is completely different from breaking server rules. The latter incurs a ban, but the former is almost expected from good role-players of certain characters.
Is PvP allowed?[]
Yes. Respect your fellow players. Remember that, despite what characters say and do. There is another person behind that mask that you do not know. This person puts hours, weeks, and months into his or her character, just as you do. Each piece of equipment they own and all the experience they earn is all paid for with that time.
If you steal or kill another player, make sure that you are earning the right to do so.
Make sure that you are returning the time that player has lost to them in entertainment value. Do not cheapen the loss of their experience or goods by doing it OOC. That only makes the other player feel that they have wasted their time in acquireing what they have.
If, for any moment, people feel they are wasting their time, then they will have bad feelings and leave.
Can I PK?[]
Everyone plays a character who has been admitted into the city and, for the most part, follows its laws. Players are not given the option to control 'insane dwarves' or 'mindless monsters' who attack anything in sight. Paladins and assassins may personally strive to slay evil or kill for money, but both live in an ordered society which does not accept wanton murder.
PKing and PvP in general can be a very touchy subject. If you cannot be sure that both parties understand that the conflict is fully within character, then you should avoid the issue entirely. This 'understanding' should be present before anyone is killed. Blatant PKing is not allowed under any circumstances. Even if you have a reason for it, it will not be tolerated.
Player Versus Player and Player Killing can cause some major headaches for the DM team. There are often a lot of hard feelings involved with poorly conducted PvP and PK, and several bans have even been distributed for people who could not differentiate playing a character that engages in PvP and PK from being a complete griefing jerk.
We've said this multiple times: There is no such thing as "subdual death." If you subdue someone, you have subdued him. If you want him to be harmless, you can subdue him into concussion. But if what you want is him being dead, by all means, set full damage on and kill him.
So, remember: subdued is subdued, unconscious is unconscious and dead is dead.
PS: Just in case, by saying this I'm not encouraging a killing spree. But death threats work better when there's actual death to back them.
What kind of server is Arabel?[]
Arabel is a persistent world server based on Arabel, a city in the Forgotten Realms. Arabel is part of a kingdom called Cormyr. The server is primarily a role-playing environment. It makes use of the Hardcore Ruleset.
What is Forgotten Realms?[]
Forgotten Realms is a campaign world based on the popular game known as Dungeons and Dragons. The main module shipped with Neverwinter Nights is based in this world.
What is a Persistent World?[]
For Arabel, this means that the world will be up 24/7, notwithstanding unexpected crashes. The players and characters will continue to develop throughout an extended period, as opposed to a single session.
Is the world scripted?[]
Yes! Even excluding HCR, Arabel has nearly 2000 script files, purely original work.
Do DMs play?[]
Very often. As opposed to being a local 'god', the DMs on Arabel join in by playing the parts of NPCs. DM quests can and do occur without notice. Sometimes half the server will be involved in a special quest, while the other half go about their regular routines.
How does ECL work?[]
As an example, a Tiefling has an ECL of 1. This means that a level 1 Tiefling is considered, for purposes of party level and experience, level 2. This character needs 2000xp to reach the next level, instead of 1000xp. In Neverwinter Nights, you cannot change the amount of XP needed to go up a level, so the experience earned is scaled. The Tiefling will get 50% of all XP that a normal character would get. When he reaches 1000xp, a regular character doing the exact same things would have earned 2000xp. In short, though it may not reflect on the character sheet, subraces with ECLs work correctly, as defined by D&D rules.
Can I log off when my character is in trouble? []
Arabel is role-playing server, and the abrupt disappearance of a character, especially while in battle, ruins that atmosphere. This is doubly true when it occurs in events involving other players, and often upsets other players when used as an 'escape route'. Robberies, muggings, and death are all a part of a character's life in Arabel. Logging to avoid death is a bannable offense.
Can I shout?[]
Shouting has been disabled.
Can I be un-banned?[]
The address to turn to is cityofarabel@gmail.com. Add the account name you were using and your public CD key. It needs to be the public part from the primary key you used to install base NWN with. We will then look you up in our banlist and decide whether we should let you back in.
If you know who banned you (you should have gotten a warning by the DM before he banned you, unless you logged off before a DM could get a hold on you), you can contact this DM directly. Only the DM who banned you will decide whether to lift the ban. We do not ban for trivial offenses, so if you are banned, the chances that we will be inclined to lift the ban are pretty slim.
Buying another game DOES allow you to play again, but whether we let you continue or ban the new key again is decided on a case-by-case basis.
Becoming unbanned is rare, because if you broke server rules once, it is rather likely that you will do it again. And we DMs prefer to play instead of watching possible cheaters.
Can I transfer items between my characters? []
Item transfer between characters belonging to the same player is forbidden and it's a bannable offense, since it's metagaming to the extreme. This also applies if the transfer is done through one (or several) third parties. Freely giving items from old characters to newly created character of other players is frowned upon and may be considered a violation of this rule. Of course you can give items for free, but be sure it is done in character. It's not acceptable to load each new character of your buddies with uber gear they would never be able to earn by themselves. Be buddies in character, and be moderate in your gifts.
When we advise to remake a character, we mean to delete the old one and start again from level 1, with no item transfer. If you screwed up at creation time, it's not acceptable to 'notice' when you are level 10. You can export your character to your local vault and experiment with several paths of development, so don't complain if you make the wrong choice.
We reserve the right to make exceptions to this rule, but we will not accept requests to transfer items. If you insist, we may help you with the first part of the transfer: deletion of the character.
Is it against the rules to loot corpses? []
In short, no. Adventuring is a dangerous profession. If a PC stumbles across a dead body with gear, he is at liberty to take it, though some morally upright characters would feel the need to return the items. However, if the owner of the items is nearby, or a friend is standing over a bag of equipment, the items are considered 'in possession'. Taking things is then considered stealing, just as if one person put a bag down at his feet, and another took it. Though it is understandably difficult, we ask that players do their best to stay in character and have their characters value their lives more than their items.