r/neverwinternights • u/Important_Ask_5918 • 3h ago
Has Mighty Arelith Fallen?
A provocative title, yes.
No, Arelith is not gone, nor anywhere close to disappearing or fading into the mists of time. And yet, there have been subtle changes.
A friend got me into Arelith, the first persistent world I had even played in. And it was glorious. No more simply clicking and going through the motions. I could actually make my character act.
So, what does the title mean?
I was not involved when Arelith and the other Neverwinter Nights persistent worlds began. I am definitely new to this. But even I could see while digging around in Arelith, what much of the player base, administrators and developers have created.
Old characters, lost in battles, have become NPCs. Libraries hold old stories of grand adventures and sacrifices. This world felt real with a history of characters and their actions that resonate through time.
At least, it did at first.
The longer I play, the longer I realize that bigger is not always better, not for certain things.
Gone are the days when players' actions have any real consequence. A PVP battle, some posts on the town message boards, a bit of gossip and flurry.. and then gone. Artifacts are stolen and bashed, records altered. It is likely your character will be forgotten very soon, no matter what they did.
In fact, I would describe Arelith as being in a constant tug of war between players who desire more role play and consequential events, and those who simply like bashing monsters and role playing a drinking event.
There is nothing wrong with this. But the tension it creates is quite palpable at times.
In a recent article with arstechnica, Arelith's owner, Irongron, stated, "Arelith is essentially a mini MMO".
So let me tell you where Arelith excels.
Area development. Arelith is gorgeous. There are so many areas to simply explore, dungeons to delve, new monsters to battle, that if you're itching for some PVE or PVP, it's right here.
Want to play something with wings, horns? Arelith has a wide variety of character races and classes to choose from and a Mix-and-Match style of character building. There are drow, minotaurs, fey, fey'ri, dragon disciples, half-giants, good, evil, monstrous; nearly everything found in a D&D manual (Nearly).
As for what to role play, you can run a tavern or a playhouse, found a temple, manage a shop, lead a band of merry pirates or mercenary guild... quite frankly anything characters can envision is possible...within the limits of the server.
What players cannot do is build. Want a Guild house? You will have to bid on those that are available, and long term players hang on to those like their very lives. Still, creative players will make so with whatever property they can get a hold of and many do.
Development and reworks are constant in Arelith, so why would I ask if it's fallen? Where does Arelith fail?
Setting Integrity.
Now the administrators and many players will tell you there is a definite setting and reading the wiki will certainly make you think that, but.. it seems to have been lost.
More energy is given to developing new fancy tricks, classes, areas, and other things. That is not necessarily a bad thing.
Where attention is not placed is on making Arelith seem like a real place. One of my friends described it as D&D Second Life.
Recently, Arelith opened up their suggestions and feedback on the forums with players making daily requests: "It would be great if [insert wild request here]." Reading all the suggestions makes one feel they are listening to a bunch of children in a candy shop.
Many of these suggestions have been granted, and while some are just quality of life mechanics, others have been the cool new trend of the day, only to fade leaving a whole in the server. It's as if no one stopped to think through the long term consequences of granting every little desire.
There are many settlements on the server that at one time in the past seemed to have distinctive flavors and types of role play you might encounter only in those areas. No longer. Currently there are areas being described as "dead" because few visit them. These are cities with player run governments, theatres, taverns, and yet hardly anyone is there. It is likely that DMs are so inundated with reports of rule breaks, typically those that happen during PVP, that they simply do not have time to monitor and guide players on keeping the setting of the server or do meaningful events.
DMs can and do offer smaller more personal events, but those have been getting fewer and farther apart as more time is being spent on simply mediating player conflicts and rule breaks.
In a recent article with arstechnica, Arelith's owner, Irongron, admitted, "Arelith is essentially a mini MMO".
So, there you have it. If you desire good roleplay, I am not going to tell you it isn't here. There are some masterful role players on this server, and I still believe he server is worth checking out, even if your emphasis isn't on MMO style play.
Just realize that while this server often boasts more than 200 players at a time online (and lag is an issue), there is definitely an emphasis on gaming and not collaborative storytelling.
Can you have a server that does both well? Yes, I believe that it can.
But he owners, administrators, DMs and even the players of Arelith, would need to decide that is what they want. Currently, it seem this server is a fantastic place for developers to hone their skills, and I will not criticize them for doing so.
So, roll up a character.. bash some monsters, take over the Underdark city for a while, or wage war on evil. Arelith has you covered.
If you're looking at making anything stick... some long lasting impact, Arelith may not be your cup of tea.
