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Ashen Realm 2019

I'm thinking about it. I just can't find any game out that holds my interest the way NWN did.

Are any Ashenites still lurking about? Wanna hunt some Blubbo?
Baldrickk

Comments

  • BaldrickkBaldrickk Member Posts: 3
    im down for some old Ashen fun :)
    Kepp
  • KeppKepp Member Posts: 44
    I sent you a PM.
  • KeppKepp Member Posts: 44
    Also, this will be a brand new PW in the spirit of the original.
  • TheBlackFishTheBlackFish Member Posts: 1
    Long time no see guys, I'm in!
    Kepp
  • KeppKepp Member Posts: 44
    I sent you guys my facebook info. Feel free to pass it along to anyone in the old crew.
  • TenebrusTenebrus Member Posts: 1
    Luxor checking in!

    If Ashen comes back i'll definitely be around. I do have a lot less time now than back in the day, but I'm living in the US now, so no time difference issues.

    I'll try to spread the word

    Catch up around some ales in the crawling crab soon!
    Kepp
  • KeppKepp Member Posts: 44
    edited January 2019
    My goal is to recreate the good old days of tabletop Dungeons and Dragons: adventuring, role-playing, and killing the dragon at the end of the dungeon for its treasure.

    This is a high action/light role-playing hybrid, custom server. Action is a huge part of Ashen Realm: it's encouraged and rewarded! Now, just because action is encouraged, it doesn't mean that you just rush mindlessly into combat. Resources must be rationed: spells need to be used wisely, consumables saved for when truly needed, and resting to replenish spells and hit points must be used strategically as resting is limited to towns and campsite kits carried by the player. Also, learn how to retreat!

    And while combat is where the material rewards are, it doesn't mean that it's a high magic/loot server: treasure doesn't come easily. However, the more risk you take, the greater the rewards. Our magic item system makes hunting bosses very rewarding. The leveling system is also customized: everyone in Ashen works hard for their levels, and it truly makes you appreciate every single level you achieve.

    So, if you are a role-player, a fan of old fashioned Dungeons and Dragons, fond of socializing, love danger-filled dungeon crawls, want to participate in epic boss hunts, and in general, are looking for a fun world to play in, then you have come to the right place!
    Post edited by Kepp on
    Blev
  • BlevBlev Member Posts: 4
    edited December 2018
    Hey Kepp, I'm still around and interested. I saw your Ashen Realms test server on the NWN EE. Miss the old Ashen Realm days...Challenging adventures, slower xp gain , and still RP.
    Post edited by Blev on
    Kepp
  • BlevBlev Member Posts: 4
    contact - blev@live.com
  • KeppKepp Member Posts: 44
    Hey! Sent you a link to our Discord.
  • GuywiseGuywise Member Posts: 1
    edited December 2018
    Hey all was cleaning out my basement came across my nwn disks, installed and played. Forgot how much fun it was. Decided to see if it was still played. After seeing it was on a whim googled ashen realm and ended up here. Ashen was my first online gaming experience and still one of my favorite.

    I played Urendir and was one of the founders of the Companions of which i think a couple of y'all were members at least that's the way I remember it. Was also part of the underdark in the faction themed incarnation near the end.

    Would love to get involved with Ashen again. Contact khuff9@yahoo.com
  • KeppKepp Member Posts: 44
    Hey there! We are currently running around on the test server. I plan to wipe and go live soon, but you'll need NWN: Enhanced Edition to play. Totally worth it. It's on sale for 5.99 on Steam. I sent you our Discord information.

    Hope to see you in game!
  • NumysNumys Member Posts: 18
    Hello friends, I'm trying Ashen and testing, but I feel we need more testers, I was aiming for a party of 4 at least me and keep we play every day but now for final test more players would help keep to balance monsters better. Why any of these Ahsenites come to help? Big hugs Nunai.
  • KeppKepp Member Posts: 44
    edited January 2019
    Another week or two, and I'm looking to go live. With the latest xp change, I feel I have the balance down pretty good so far. This is a 1 person show. I've basically been able to get everything I need from the vault or ripped from my old PW. It's amazing the vast amount of resources available.

    I'm hoping to fill a "difficult, action-based server" niche.

    Basically, it will have a lot of similar systems that role-playing servers incorporate, such as limited resting via heavy adventurer's kits you purchase, but won't be rp enforced. A great server for those who enjoy action, good builds, but don't want a "Monty Haul" type server: players who like a challenge, to feel a sense of accomplishment and danger, and to feel like they've earned their gear and levels.

    And farming and grinding will be a thing here.

    Also, it will be a server that is very easy to get started in: really small start town, action right outside town, no endless NPC conversations before you can begin killing creatures.

    I've created a PW that I will enjoy playing in, and I hope others will feel the same way.
    Drakon
  • JhaerikJhaerik Member Posts: 21
    edited January 2019
    I'd reconsider the idea of "heavy camping supplies."

    All this does is force people to play a bunch of RDD melee builds that can carry 50 of these things. Sort of kills the idea of playing Wizards/Sorcs/Dexers. Or you'll end up with fighter builds just running around with pages of healing kits like they do on Arelith.

    From an RP perspective it makes even less sense. You don't need a tent/bedroll/ect to camp. All you really need is a source of food, water, and heat for cold areas. In an area with game you shouldn't need to bring food and water either. It makes sense to bring a tinderbox + flint and steel and maybe a hatchet. "Heavy camping supplies" not so much. Dried rations/fresh water to a swamp. Sure. Water to a desert. Sure. Why would you need "heavy camping supplies" to take a nap in the woods though?

    I mean just think about it. How silly does it sound to require a Druid to go into town to buy camping supplies so he can go back into the woods to rest? He's a druid... lol.

    I think you'd be better off just giving hostile areas an "encounter chance" to make resting more dangerous. Or limiting the number of camping supplies that can be carried at one time. Otherwise... the strongest character = the best character logic just invalidates a lot of builds.

    This still doesn't fix having non caster builds run around with hundreds of healing kits however. Generally I'm just not fond of limited rest servers for this very reason. The game isn't closed to balanced around it. A lot of builds are just useless if you can't rest semi-often. Wizards/Sorcs certainly get the worst of it though. I mean forcing a Wizard to roll something like Wizard/Bard/RDD just so he can carry rest supplies sounds terrible doesn't it?
  • KeppKepp Member Posts: 44
    edited January 2019
    Jhaerik said:

    I'd reconsider the idea of "heavy camping supplies."

    All this does is force people to play a bunch of RDD melee builds that can carry 50 of these things. Sort of kills the idea of playing Wizards/Sorcs/Dexers. Or you'll end up with fighter builds just running around with pages of healing kits like they do on Arelith.

    From an RP perspective it makes even less sense. You don't need a tent/bedroll/ect to camp. All you really need is a source of food, water, and heat for cold areas. In an area with game you shouldn't need to bring food and water either. It makes sense to bring a tinderbox + flint and steel and maybe a hatchet. "Heavy camping supplies" not so much. Dried rations/fresh water to a swamp. Sure. Water to a desert. Sure. Why would you need "heavy camping supplies" to take a nap in the woods though?

    I mean just think about it. How silly does it sound to require a Druid to go into town to buy camping supplies so he can go back into the woods to rest? He's a druid... lol.

    I think you'd be better off just giving hostile areas an "encounter chance" to make resting more dangerous. Or limiting the number of camping supplies that can be carried at one time. Otherwise... the strongest character = the best character logic just invalidates a lot of builds.

    This still doesn't fix having non caster builds run around with hundreds of healing kits however. Generally I'm just not fond of limited rest servers for this very reason. The game isn't closed to balanced around it. A lot of builds are just useless if you can't rest semi-often. Wizards/Sorcs certainly get the worst of it though. I mean forcing a Wizard to roll something like Wizard/Bard/RDD just so he can carry rest supplies sounds terrible doesn't it?

    Thanks for the input.

    Understandable points if that's all the information you have on the server. I haven't listed much information here. But things aren't as they seem. Let me address some points.

    Heal kits - there are no heal kits on this server. We do have bandages that use the heal kit, but they are nothing like the unbalanced munchkin-fest of a NWN heal kit.

    Resting - An adventurer's kit represents a full day's worth of supplies: healing salves, bandages, food, drink, campfire supplies, and bedding. When used, it creates a campfire that allows the whole party to rest.
    You listed some RP stuff about resting, irrelevant to me as I'm focused on making the action aspect fun-rp is always secondary to action here.

    The meat of the game is balanced for groups; however, I understand that groups aren't always an option. Therefore, outdoor areas are balanced for solo players with nearby outposts/towns that provide unlimited resting if you want to grind until you form a group for the good stuff.

    Dungeons are balanced for parties and are where adventurer's kits will be required. No class is going to be running around with pages of adventurer's kits as they are 15lbs each, and I have a gold encumbrance system in place. And gold is ALWAYS valuable as I've controlled for inflation.

    For a dungeon run, you and your group plan things out as far as supplies go. Everything must be rationed out and used wisely. "Should we return to town and resupply?" "Do we go deeper and risk running out of supplies on the way back out?" On Ashen Realm, you don't run around mindlessly hacking and slashing in dungeons. You use scouts, pull enemies to the group for ambush, move in detect mode for (respawning, random) traps, and more. There's a real sense of danger, and this, to me, is what makes a dungeon crawl fun.

    Mages/casters
    -Mages have custom familiars that are combat ready.
    -Druids have custom companions but are not as powerful as mage familiars.
    -Attack scrolls are readily available and affordable.
    -Spell modifications to make cantrips more useful such as increasing the damage to per level and adding a debuff effect.
    -Time on Ashen Realm passes in a way that makes it so 1 hour/level spells last 15 minutes/level real time.
    -Bards have custom instruments tied to their vanilla bard songs that they actually hold in their hand and play enhancing themselves and the group.
    Mages are incredibly useful to a group on Ashen Realm.

    Some classes will always be more powerful than others, but I have never had an issue with certain classes not being played for being too weak on my past servers. There is a great synergy in a mixed group on Ashen Realm that makes ever class feel valuable. Balance is very important to me as is all classes being fun to play.

    Some of my thoughts regarding NWN and my playstyle:
    -I can't stand being able to rest and regain everything in an instant. Makes the game cheesy. it has nothing to do with roleplaying for me.
    -I think vanilla NWN is easy and cheesy. ;)
    -I can't stand huge towns full of NPCS.
    -I don't care for NPC quests, or to even talk to them unless they are a merchant.
    -I don't care to have NPC conversations when I have just started on a new server, I want to grab my gear and go kill stuff.
    -I don't care for fast leveling or free levels/items.
    -I like to struggle, I feel most games nowadays hold your hand and are too simple.
    -I come from a classic Everquest background which influences my game design.
    -My main focus when creating a server is: "is the action fun?"

    We have been heavily play-testing. I'm a powergamer and cater to a powergaming style of play. I play heavily under this alias and am right there with everyone else testing and modifying. I want a balanced server as much as the next player: I'm always tweaking and updating based on playing and feedback. However, the goal is, and always will be, a difficult server.

    I know that population count is no indicator of a server being good, but back in the day, my server used to regularly hold 40/40 players with slots filling in as soon as they opened.

    With all of this being said, things on paper almost always feel different in practice, so you're welcome to try out the test server. It's just a laptop I'm using for my test server until I get it live in a few weeks. Let me know, and I'll shoot you the password and discord info.

  • JhaerikJhaerik Member Posts: 21
    I'd love to test things out, as long as input is welcome. Which from your posts that seems to be the case.

    As I was pointing out with the weight though something to keep in mind as a powergamer yourself you well know what 40-48 STR melee builds aren't exactly uncommon.\

    Lvl Normal Heavy
    40 4853 7340
    41 5973 9080
    42 7093 10820
    43 8213 12560
    44 9333 14300
    45 10453 16040
    46 11573 17780
    47 12693 19520
    48 13813 21260

    An RRD melee build can literally carry 10,000 lbs of those things with a ton of room left over for looting.

    My suggestion would be more along the lines of making them bulky in terms of the inventory space they occupy.
  • KeppKepp Member Posts: 44
    I'll PM you the information.
  • KeppKepp Member Posts: 44
    Let's just say for now that resting often is not desirable for a melee where adventurer's kits are required.
  • KeppKepp Member Posts: 44
    We are now live.

    Discord: https://discord.gg/znMDFpg
    Drakon
  • BlevBlev Member Posts: 4
    Was fun,  but they didn't show up.  Still playing the game on Forgotten Realms Cormyr  
  • KeppKepp Member Posts: 44
    edited February 2019
    I just don't think players are after what I'm offering. People want to role play, but these days, I hate typing and just want to kill stuff while chatting on Discord. Lots wanted Ashen back, few showed up, and none helped promote.


  • NumysNumys Member Posts: 18
    Hi come and play old ashen realm it is on and PW come and see it. We can play together. Kepp masterwork. The server is on now till 2020 try it and have fun.

  • NumysNumys Member Posts: 18
    Ashen Realm Nums CEP
    Ashen (old) 2019 _v_0
    213.22.201.30:5121

    https://www.facebook.com/NumsADMIN/?modal=admin_todo_tour

    PW Roll Play with allot of Action.

    Bosses

    modified summons

    All classes have items just for them.

    Horses

    Tent or Bedoll to rest.

    Recall Stone Ect

    Portal to go to some areas.

    No limitations in builds.

    Balanced monsters.

    Medium Magic server +3 is the best you can get.

    Fun server to play with a lot of dungeons maps and Bosses.

    Up till NWN is ended.

    Try it I think you will like it.

    Nums
  • MerithMerith Member Posts: 1
    Am I too late? I installed NWN EE this past summer ('21) and put in some time. Played on a server called Blackstone for a month. Was just scrolling through the server list tonight looking for something to catch my eye and I see Old Ashen! It's up but it needs a hak pack. Some of the old guys where messing around and looking for some nostalgia. Merith, Tor, Florin, Diemlyn from the old Adventurers of the Endless Sun. Wouldn't mind cruising around a little in game.
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