New player advice

[Malbec]

Hi there! I'm Malbec

I'm new to Arelith. Dusted off my copy of nwn and glad to see there's still some multiplayer kicking. Any advice on starting a new character? And or is anyone keen to run around with me?
Oh is there a chat server on Arelith? I tried looking on the wiki for the irc but the chatroom seems empty.

[Iceborn]

Advice?
Drop a cat over a keyboard. Result is your new character.
If one cat is not enough, add more cats.
Jump to the game.
Obsessively greet and talk to every PC you find about how boring your trip to the island was.
State that you have absolutely no idea where you are.
????????
Profit!


This guide was brought to you by Ice. Powered by Ice Engine 3.

[Trishula]

If you actually read into iceborn's response there is actual advice there.

Seriously? It's the little things that matter. having learnt the hard way recently, Drama isn't that great. Little things like emotes, and knowing things like how your character reacts in snow, or if they like to swim, or if they are vegetarian. They matter, not lying on the floor bleeding and groaning (been there done that: Stellen Varg's player will attest).

Talk to everyone. When doing the speedy delivery quest (if you're one who chose the surface cities) actually ask for directions. You can make great friends from that.

If you chose underdark, i'd highly suggest sticking with someone that has been down there a while to learn the intricate little mannerisms and "etiquette" regarding drow

Most of all, just have fun, and if you need help send a tell to OverTheShoulderBoulderHolder (me) using /tp "OverTheShoulderBoulderHolder" and i'll see if i can help you

Welcome to the mad house.

[mf_hansen]

You can try the Discord chat, see if anyone's online there:
viewtopic.php?f=18&t=6727

[Irongron]

I am currently very interested to hear the first impressions of a new player.

I'm less concerned with feedback on our beautiful, beautiful world, but from a game-play perpsective; how easily one can find their way, how clear or obscure some of our systems are, and most importantly, how fun it is!

Do feel free to PM me here on the forums any time with questions. In the meantime though, here is some advice from myself.

1. Don't bother reading all that instruction/introduction stuff, or rather don't read it all too closely. Arelith is full of interesting and unique systems, but having to read a manual before playing is very off-putting. None of it is crucial for playing the game, and the best way to learn about stuff is gradually, while actually playing.

2. First character? As implied above, don't think too much about the concept, backstory, build etc. These things are often better when they happen in an organic fashion. Also, you may find that after a few days/weeks of playing you decide you'd rather be playing something else.

3. You have 3 possible start locations - Underdark, Brogdendenstein (Optional choice for dwarves, gnomes and halflings) and Cordor. Of these Cordor may be best, it is the default start location, and is considerably easier for a new character, and offers much by way of explanation.

Don't rule out an Underdark start either though. Yes, it is evil, and conflict more likely, but so with it is drama. Despite the background of horror, slavery and general nastiness I do find that the players here are often far more welcoming to new people than in Cordor, which as the big city can be anonymous. If you reach out to players via tells for advice and support in the Underdark, you'll almost always find them all too eager to help out.

4. You get 1000 free gold, in the form of an overdraft from the bank. No strings, Makes a huge difference, so definitely use it.

5. Relatively early work out what enchantment basins are for, and how they are used. You'll see them dotted around, mostly in magical locations.

Anyway, I really hope you enjoy playing here, and that some of our regular players find time to join you on your first low level adventures.

[Trishula]

I'd second that the Underdarks players are more welcoming. Of course there are a few I'd be weary off, but even they can be really helpful.

Don't be afraid to reroll your first character....I myself have gone through WAAAAAY too many before settling on Aniewiel, (read: hundreds). And, even though optimal builds are great, don't buy into it too much. Sometimes something unique is just as refreshing and rewarding.

And mostly: don't be afraid to ask in a tell for help. If we don't want to help (i've never seen this) we'll say so, otherwise usually, if you just say Hey I'm new and want to ask.... we'll help you out.

[Malbec]

Thanks everyone, just had a great past few hours.
Suggestions were actually spot on. Literally just said Hi to whoever was walking past. Totally used Iceborn's way on greeting, how boring the trip was and have no idea where I was lol. Unfortunately didn't have a cat to help me roll a pc.

Shoutouts to Trishula who sent me some nice tells with advice in it, Kyomi who took my char Rico on a wee adventure. Also cheers to llyana, zeldina(sp?) and Daniel who I met as well.

I totally did want to read the whole wiki before I even tried logging on to see what the worlds like. And you're right Irongron it twas intimidating, but also very helpful as well.

So in terms of First impressions, right at the start I did feel very aimless. But I suppose that's what prompted me to make this forum thread; and really I felt that really helped kick things off. I would totally encourage if there is any other new players out there like me to do the same.

Thanks for the fun night all

[msterswrdsmn]

Just practice emoting and exploring. Don't be afraid to say "hey, i'm new to the island and need help" in-game with your character.

Most important thing? Just talk to people. When I first started, getting to know some other people that were regularly playing at the same time I was made a HUGE impact on how willing I was to play. I ran with a small group of about 4 or 5 people regularly in-game, bonding over the "hey, you're new? Me too!" thing.

[Tarkus the dog]

My best advice for you is just to play and have fun, ask whenever you have a question about something - plenty of folk will be happy to help As you play you'll learn everything you need to know sooner or later. Talk to people, they will help you both IC and OOC. Have fun.

[Dalenger]

Be outgoing. You'll feel silly just walking up to someone and saying hi, but in the end that's what you do, and it's great.

I like what was said above about the little stuff: Focus on details that others may just attribute to being "part of the game" and start a RP focused around it.
Do that for about a week or so, just to get the feel of the game. Say hi to everyone. Tag along on trips to places you're waaay too low level to go to. Sit down and have a beer with some dude.

Longer term, to help build an ongoing RP, there's plenty of routes to take. One of the easist is to join a faction-- Cordor Guard, Wharftown Waymen, one of the UD factions, etc. I'll also shamelessly promote my own "faction", the Cordor Press: being a reporter rocks. You get to talk to /everyone/.

As for UD vs Surface: I'd agree, UD rocks. Even though my main is a surfacer, I'm a UDer at heart... all the folks down there are really great, and anyway, gnolls are really cool. Be wary not to mistake IC hostile for OOC hostile, as often it may appear a blurry line; it's /really/ not, they're cool guys.
Surface is great too. Much bigger, so its harder to learn your way around, and harder to build an ongoing RP with the same people as everyone is all over the place. But if you're looking for a classic D&D NG RP, surface is the way to go.

[Broken Hopes Shattered Dreams]

.

3. You have 3 possible start locations - Underdark, Brogdendenstein (Optional choice for dwarves, gnomes and halflings) and Cordor. Of these Cordor may be best, it is the default start location, and is considerably easier for a new character, and offers much by way of explanation.

Don't rule out an Underdark start either though. Yes, it is evil, and conflict more likely, but so with it is drama. Despite the background of horror, slavery and general nastiness I do find that the players here are often far more welcoming to new people than in Cordor, which as the big city can be anonymous. If you reach out to players via tells for advice and support in the Underdark, you'll almost always find them all too eager to help out.

Tells is the only way we can be nice to each other in the Underdark

[susitsu]

Tells is the only way we can be nice to each other in the Underdark

It's so, so true XP

I looove a lot of the UD players the most on the server.

And meanwhile IC, I'm in a constant, daily inner struggle of "Make friends with for new ally or just MURDER? ...I'll start by being as snarky as absolutely possible and see where the night takes me."

[Maladus]

I'm not sure what your first character's class is, but I would stick to something straightforward for now. Something like a sword and board fighter is hard to mess up, but useful in a group and will help you learn your way around the island.

Also, keep a journal using Word or Google Drive. It will help immensely when you have important information handy that you can reference.

[Artos13]

Getting off the ground can be very difficult, especially if you have a squishy build for the first few levels. Here's a few things to keep in mind to get you started:

-Many of the NPCs found in Cordor/Andunor provide tutorials of systems, or at least some good advice about playing. You'll want to learn about Deities, Enchanting, and Banking as soon as you can.

-The rat infested boats at the south end of the Cordor Cultural District are a good place to get some early XP. You can turn in the rat tails for even more. If you find yourself damaged and without healing supplies, the Social Club is very close and you can always rest inside taverns. You also have access to the sewers from there, and again can retreat back to the Social Club to rest off your wounds (and save money on healing supplies).

-Figure out what's worth GP, and find vendors who will buy them. Meat is a common drop on early critters you fight, and you can sell it to Bernto out in the outskirts of the city, near the boat. Animal hides can be sold to the tanner in the Farmlands just to the west of the outskirts. Bows can be sold at Bull Snyder's place in the Mercantile building. They are relatively light weight for the coin you get for them.

-Healing kits are sold by many NPCs, but you can often find them much cheaper from the player run shops scattered about the city. Find a reliable store to get your healing supplies.

-Gems are sold in gem scales, found generally in mercantile areas.

-I highly recommend to take at least one point in Open Lock and Disable Trap, even if it's cross-classed skills.

-Don't feel like you have to distribute your Crafting Points right away. Take some time to talk to other players about their trades, figure out what your needs will be, and then make the decision. The Crafting system can feel bewildering at first to brand new players, don't let it overwhelm you. Taking points in trades you won't use can cause regret down the line. Decide if you'd rather be a master of one trade, or a jack-of-all.

-But most importantly, as others have already said in this thread, the best thing you can do is to find others to travel with. It makes the encounters a lot more manageable, you can take on harder areas (thus higher rewards) and make important allies who can aid you with answers to questions (and you'll have lots) and the spare bit of coin or gear that can make the difference at that crucial point.

I generally find the low levels to be the funnest part of Arelith. There's tons of places to go, and just about everything is needed, so rewards come quickly.

[Silverrock]

I'll add just a couple of things to everyone elses great advice:

For crafting, I'd recommend the same advice for Open Lock/Disable Trap. That is, put one point in everything. A LOT of things that people find useful, high or low level, have relatively low DC's. It's also an easy way to familiarize yourself with the system and learn about making things before you decide which career you want to jump down.

Typing '-' brings up a long list of console commands which let you see a bunch of useful things, many of which are self explanatory (ex.: '-date' lets you know the day and year you're in). -languages is another often used one.

Up to 4 people in a party increases the XP for every extra person that comes along. It declines somewhat after that, but as stated above you can tackle much harder areas with a group. Plus, if it's time to run, there's a much better chance of someone getting help so your whole party doesn't get wiped out.

This is one that I STILL screw up, so pay attention:
Go. To. The. Bank. Before. You. Leave.

And finally, remember to have fun!

See you on the inside.

[WildOrchid]

Take 1 point of art crafting. You can make glass for people. I made a lot of money doing that when Elise was new.

[Maladus]

A few points invested in Art Crafting will allow you to cut the basic gems you find on various NPC's, which will increase your funds early on.

[The Pretty Prince of Parties]

I'm going to give you the piece of advice that Dhugg Vinstarr gave me eleven years ago when I shot him a PM asking for advice on how to get better grounded on Arelith:

Dhugg's #1 Tip for New Players: Be a Veteran!


'hem. But, uhh. On a more serious note: just kind of jump right in. Act like you own the place. Throw yourself into whatever character you decide to make, however silly or serious they are. Approach people like you've known em forever and initiate conversation and interaction (because 9 out of 10 times, that's the only way for you to get your foot in the door). Give it a whirl, and don't forget to have fun. And if you aren't having fun - scrap it, and try something else.