Cortex wrote:This shuts down even more options for surfacers to go to, constantly pushed into the Underdark.)
I'm really tired of the Underdark having more dungeons, and all of them better than their scant few Surface level equivalents. It's really silly to be effectively penalised for not treating the Underdark as an underground XP farm.
As it stands, past a certain point (roughly upper/mid teen levels), the dungeon quantity on the Surface clamps - hard. Almost every spot worth the time and healing supplies to do requires you use a ship. If you're in the mood for some adventuring, you're at a certain level range and the Rose is taken, or you aren't lucky enough to be friends with someone who has access to a ship, you might as well log off, as there's very little you can do in terms of adventuring aside from oppressing lower level areas.
The Underdark does not have this problem. Dungeon variety is relatively even throughout levels, and what's more
these dungeons are nearly all worth doing. I don't come out of Myconids, or the new Ruined City areas feeling a bit miffed that I've spent more coin on healing kits than I made, nor was I insta'd by a 1 roll versus a BBOD. Neither one of those examples really make for much fun to me. Both of them feel shitty, like I was cheated - cheated out of decent mechanical reward because I refuse to twist my RP and acknowledge the OOC fact that the Underdark is a more numbers-effective place to adventure.
I'm unsure the purpose of repeatedly neutering the experience and gold gain for Surface dungeons but letting it remain without check or balance in the Underdark. Not that I think the Underdark is too easy, or needs to be filled with BBOD summoning, sequence buffing, 9th level AOE damage spell spamming mobs either. I don't think that's particularly a fun design of monster to fight, and really I doubt you'll see very many people at this Pirate place anymore. Repeat visitors even less so, as they come to realise what a waste of time the place is now.
The discrepancy is confusing: why is the Underdark, a place described as "a realm of countless legends, where evil lurks behind every shadow,"
easier to level up and play the dungeon content in?
Not only is it easier, it's very markedly so, and the original poster's point about running into surfacers on his Underdarker rings true. I don't think fighting people over the rights to punch ghosts is really meaningful or particularly compelling roleplay, especially when I have to do it on what feels like a daily basis.
