Kudos to the Underdark

[n00bdragon]

Today I rolled my UD character of about a year. It was really hard for me to let them go, but their story was finished and its better to exit at the climax of the story rather than let it peter out in unsatisfying nonsense for another year or two. But this topic isn't to talk about them, it's to highlight all the wonderful people I've had the pleasure of RPing with over the last year.

When I first made my character I had a lot of assumptions about the UD as a longtime surface player. I had heard stories about it just being a good ol' boy's club of barely consensual kinky torture RP and PvP maniacs hiding behind a veneer of villainy. In the spirit of being the change you want I made a character to be the exact opposite of that. Nothing could have prepared me for how wrong I was. Rather than being excluded from in-groups I found that if I made an attempt to reach out and insert myself, even passively, into the stories they were telling I was accepted with open arms. So many people invited my character into their houses, their schemes, and their little acts of everything from villainy to daily life that I was totally floored. Andunor is chock-a-block with people who genuinely care about the health of their community and the Arelith community as a whole, and go the extra mile to step outside of what they are doing to include not just me but others I saw on the fringes as well. There is absolutely a culture of pulling people in and if they don't have a built in way to join your storyline, find a way to fit them into your storyline.

Did I see some questionably sexual-focused happenings and some PvP horndogs? Yes. I did see these things. They exist. They also exist on the surface though and understanding the overall higher density of UD roleplay I don't think they are more common as a ratio of players. However, the vast vast majority of people in the UD are putting out a level of consistent and engaging roleplay that is, frankly, much higher than the surface on average. That's not to insult the surface. I'm just telling you guys facts. You can up your game, and if you want to find out how you should take a look at what the UD looks like on most any given day of the week.

I have interacted with so many people over the last year (I kept an actual notebook with, to date, 17k words in it, on every single person I met more or less, noting what I knew about them and what we talked about) who I wish I could shake their hand, each one of them, individually and thank them for contributing to hands down what is one of the best roleplay experiences you can have on the internet. I could list some of them here, but any attempt to do so only makes me think of the phrase "Expressio Unius Est Exclusio Alterius", To Include is to Exclude. I would only be able to feel like I was leaving people out.

At a very high level I want to give a shout out to the various drow houses I interacted with, including the new one. All of you are awesome. I used to be in the club that thought the playable drow race was a mistake on Arelith. My mind is officially changed. I think it's fantastic and all of you do so much to elevate that roleplay and bring that race to life. My particular circumstances got me within the folds of many houses during my time and each one of them had their own distinct flavors, but all of them felt extremely drow. SURFACE ELVES TAKE NOTE: You should be doing houses like the drow do. The first thing people think of when they think of house roleplay is an insular circle-jerky club, but while there is an undeniable clubhouse atmosphere to them, there is also a wonderful built in conflict dynamic that they bring. You reach out and take characters who don't really have a defined goal or purpose and give them one. You give them a support structure to help them succeed and bounce their stories off of and other houses give them a rogue's gallery of nemesi to build their conflict with. And not only does that atmosphere and faction conflict brew between the houses, oh it does more than that. If you like your elves to be roleplayed as haughty and entitled like I do, houses are a GREAT structure to base that nature on and support it.

So here's to you, unnamed person, who told me "I would rather jump into a giant swimming pool filled with thumbtacks than make a character in the UD, aka the PVP fun zone." you are missing out. It's not just that I was "accepted as one of their own", I reached out and put myself in there and the fantastic roleplayers that fill the UD like cockroaches in a cheap motel played along with it. If someone like me can do it, then you're only holding yourself back by letting those sorts of views color your interactions before you've even had them. Oh, and as far as PvP goes, I'm happy to report that I died exactly three times to PvP over the course of a year while playing perhaps the most eminently killable of characters (a double or possibly triple agent with less than 200 hp at level 30).

And here's to you Entire Arelith Underdark. Collectively crack open a cold one and give yourself a pat on the back. You have earned it. I can't wait until I make another character to get back to meeting all you fiesty rogues, ne-er-do-wells, and monsters. You all live and breathe conflict, which doesn't just mean having conflict, it means living in and around conflict. Some of my favorite moments were those I had with people where we all acknowledged that we were blood thirsty murderers and depraved fiends, but could still be brought down to earthy subjects like food, fashion, and making living breathing people out of these caricatures.

<Jackie Chan's Uncle's Voice>One More Thing</Uncle>
I met a lot of UDers who haven't been to the surface and have some pretty strange ideas about what surface players are supposedly generally like. I found it to be a real hoot, but yall should roll up a surfacer and play them all the way to 30 (not just powergrinding, like actually play them for a year or so). You'll smash a lot of your misconceptions that way and grow your ability to roleplay in different scenarios. Surfacers deserve some love too for the environments they create.

<Jackie Chan's Uncle's Voice>One MORE Thing</Uncle>
Once more. Every single matron of every single drow house (and the one patron!) you guys are amazing. You all do such an amazingly incredible job holding your factions together and giving people a personality to rally around. My hat is tipped to you most of all. Every last one of you is committed to making sure everyone around you has fun, even if it's at your own expense, and I think that's just a really admirable thing. If you can, sitting at your computer or reading this on your phone or whatever, please give them a round of lonely applause all by yourself right now.

[KT28]

When I first made my character I had a lot of assumptions about the UD as a longtime surface player. I had heard stories about it just being a good ol' boy's club of barely consensual kinky torture RP and PvP maniacs hiding behind a veneer of villainy. In the spirit of being the change you want I made a character to be the exact opposite of that. Nothing could have prepared me for how wrong I was. Rather than being excluded from in-groups I found that if I made an attempt to reach out and insert myself, even passively, into the stories they were telling I was accepted with open arms. So many people invited my character into their houses, their schemes, and their little acts of everything from villainy to daily life that I was totally floored. Andunor is chock-a-block with people who genuinely care about the health of their community and the Arelith community as a whole, and go the extra mile to step outside of what they are doing to include not just me but others I saw on the fringes as well. There is absolutely a culture of pulling people in and if they don't have a built in way to join your storyline, find a way to fit them into your storyline.

Couldn't agree more with this; I had the exact same experience with my recent first UD character. Like you, I wasn't really sure what to expect rolling up a UDer, but now that I've had a taste of Andunor I can't go back!

Chasugana was a fantastic character and an absolute delight to RP with. She was actually one of the first characters Isak interacted with, back when he was like level 7. She gave him work and terrified him in the best possible way and during it all I just kept thinking, "This is incredible. My character, practically out of the gate, has already been swept up into something awesome, he has purpose, and I can't wait to see what happens next." For me, Chasugana was exactly the kind of inclusive character you're describing (one of the first, of many), and was a fantastic introduction to the UD. So thank you for that!

I can't wait to see what you come up with next!

[Irongron]

A great post, and one I've been musing on since reading it earlier today. It really sums up my own feelings on the UD, after I started playing there, over ten years ago. I absolutely understand why many find it hard going back 'topside' after experiencing it (though I eventually did).

The Underdark is super inclusive when compared to Cordor (As is Brogendenstein actually). It's hard to even walk across the city without a number of people trying to involve you in roleplay, something one could do over one hundred times in Cordor without a peep from other PCs - it really is another world when one isn't used to it.

But there too is the reason why I sometimes don't want to play there - it is super demanding; the bar for RP is extremely high - you need to have your wits about you in order to play. Sometimes I just want to amble around, without really needing to...do anything. After years of playing in the UD I began to crave the anonimity and low expectations of the surface (and of course the wide open spaces).

Another thing I wanted to reply to is this frequent assertion that the players in the Underdark are 'bad people' and how some who have not experienced it can find that off-putting.

Because, well, its kind of true - in a sense. Playing on the surface has a 'second life' appeal that can be genuinely enjoyable. The line between one's self and the role being played can often be blurred, and I totally understand why some players like the feeling of 'living' there, and being generally decent to those they share a space with.

Coming from that perspective how must the UD seem? Characters are ABSOLUTELY dreadful to one-another. Behaviour that would earn the animosity of almost everyone on the surface is totally ubiquitious in the Underdark. Its highly competitive, highly charged, and often deeply frustrating....and I absolutely love that. Still, in a game where OOC and IC are all too often blurred, I fully understand where players not familiar with the environment draw the conclusion that the players behind those characters are equally unpleasant. That is the misconception - in the Underdark I find the players exceptionally friendly, and I think that is because they have to be - the UD is no place for a player who is quick to take OOC offence when others make life difficult for their character.

There is no objective answer as to which location is better, as with a lot of Arelith, different aspects of it appeal to different players. I wouldn't want to be without the Underdark (which we very nearly were), but then I also wouldn't want the rest of the server to follow its example.

[Cerk Evermoore]

I always shake my head when people mention UD being "Terrible" despite never playing a UD character. It is kinda a big slap in the face to the people who play UD characters and have nothing to do with the toxicity that people reference.

[Skibbles]

Chasugana's massive book of poison had me floored when she pulled that out of thin air. I will keep and cherish May's copy as long as I can. Good luck and happy RP on your next!

[Durvayas]

Chasugana was a gift to the UD.

[LichBait]

Will miss good ol' Chasugana! Was lovely to have been able to RP with her, and you!

[Ecthelion]

I always shake my head when people mention UD being "Terrible" despite never playing a UD character. It is kinda a big slap in the face to the people who play UD characters and have nothing to do with the toxicity that people reference.

Will agree with that, often interactions with UDers are more interesting that those with surfacers I find, however this may stem from their rarity aswell.

[Nikko]

Thanks for the couple of times we RP'd together. Loved Chasu.

[Seven Sons of Sin]

Because, well, its kind of true - in a sense. Playing on the surface has a 'second life' appeal that can be genuinely enjoyable. The line between one's self and the role being played can often be blurred, and I totally understand why some players like the feeling of 'living' there, and being generally decent to those they share a space with. [Emphasis added]

This is hijacking this lovely kudos thread but this paragraph right here is absolutely terrifying.

[Irongron]

Because, well, its kind of true - in a sense. Playing on the surface has a 'second life' appeal that can be genuinely enjoyable. The line between one's self and the role being played can often be blurred, and I totally understand why some players like the feeling of 'living' there, and being generally decent to those they share a space with. [Emphasis added]

This is hijacking this lovely kudos thread but this paragraph right here is absolutely terrifying.

Well for context, that paragraph does lose its meaning when divorced from what immediately followed it...

Coming from that perspective how must the UD seem? Characters are ABSOLUTELY dreadful to one-another. Behaviour that would earn the animosity of almost everyone on the surface is totally ubiquitious in the Underdark. Its highly competitive, highly charged, and often deeply frustrating....and I absolutely love that.

[Mythic]

having played now in the underdark for about one-two weeks, and having played on the surface as a common UD "Enemy", It's really opened my eyes to the depth and fun of RP down here, having not had much luck on the previous characters I tried on, I seem to have hit a gold mine of RP on the current one.

For everyone down there making things interesting, You guys are awesome, And its really not an unfriendly atmosphere, just a bit disconcerning!

I'd say give both the surface and Underdark a go, spend a week or even a month on both, on a new character, new username. It opened my eyes, and thanks to that, I reckon' it's changed my view of the playerbase as a whole.

There is no "Underdark players" or "Surface players", Just players. It's a mentality thats great to break out of. And I look forward to keep playing with and on both.

[Aodh Lazuli]

There is no "Underdark players" or "Surface players", Just players.

Kudos to the people who keep this attitude alive. I think it is vitally important this is stated and restated, often loudly, in public. The frequency with which this is forgotten troubles me.

[Amnesy]

Kudos to you. Chasugana was a pro. I'll miss the Sunwalker.

It is true, UD is generally very RP inviting.

[Petrifictus]

Always good time down here in the Underdark as Main Man Karstaag.