Cormyr and the Dalelands

My RP partner and I are searching for new community options we came across Cormy & Dalelands. I'm interested in hear some reviews and opinions from you the community. My RP partner and I play a pair of Elves. A Sun Elf Bladesinger, and Elf Knight. We are pretty invested in our storyline over on Amia. Though we aren't too happy with that server so we've found this server.

How is the elf community? or elf factions?

What are the best times to play? 

Is the player base mostly US? 

What year is it in forgotten realms? 

I can't speak too much about the Elf factions.

Daylight to evening US times get a fair number of players. Anywhere from 5 to 20+ until 10-12 central, then it recedes.

Dunno about nationality of much of the playerbase.

I believe the current year is 1378 though most Forgotten Realms content post 1372 from books has not occurred. I think the exception to this is Lolth's Silence, which happened off-screen.

Most of the playerbase is in the US, I believe, yes. That or Canada. I've over here in sunny California (Though the shithole of the state, Bakersfield), and will likely be wandering off in some other direction once dad's estate is taken care of.

There's a decent amount of elf players, though I don't know much about the factions either. (I'm not that big into elven lore.)

I'd say the best times to play are (usually) between 5 PM PDT and 11 PM PDT on weekdays. Weekends, it's a free-for-all of who might be on.

~BR

Thank you. That is helpful information. As I am, in East (-5)

Well, welcome to CD! Hope you stick around and enjoy it, I've been here about a year. Everyone's friendly!

~BR

I am very, very interested. My rp partner and I, love Cormanthor, and Elf RP.

So does anyone know. If the Elven Cursade happen already? Is Myth Drannor part of the mod?

Don't forget there are some European players and as a Scotsman I am the only one who can speak in dwarfish with an official accent :-p

The Crusade has not happened at CD and Myth Drannor is not part of the mod. The elven community is located in Deepingdale, primarily in Velethuil/Bristar.

Also welcome to the server, always good to see more elf players, although I'm not sure how often we can meet each other in game as I'm in euro timezone.

Ty.I'm usually quite available. Though 1372 is date that far before Nya and Faelon's Story. So we might have to story to rewrite. Though thats no trouble of yours! Too bad the Elf Cursade hasn't happen yet!

How is the action on the server? Is it low level,  is it fast pace? Is it low xp reward? low gold?  +3 max weapons?

According to this we're in 1378. It's just that most stuff after 1372 from the canon has not occured.

I love those books. The Last Mythal. They were amazing. I listen them last year in my car and then on my flight back to Japan.

Is there way too give items custom descriptions?

I can't really compare to other servers, but in my experience here, gold is pretty easy to earn. Weapons do scale to +5, but those are extremely rare to the point that I've never actually seen one that wasn't a DM award. But +2-4 are color coded along level tiers where you have to be at least a certain level before you can equip them (+2 = 6, +3 = 11, +4 = 16, +5 is considered epic, so 20, and CD caps at 30).

We do have xp caps that start at 8th level that require rp/dm xp to progress.

No, this is not something we have available for players. We do have tailoring models that allow characters to design clothing and armor and a text entry command ( /rentorso ) that allows such items to be renamed for easy organization and recognition in your inventory, but description editing is not included.

Custom, roleplay-only items can be requested in the appropriate forum (Miscellaneous Requests), and characters using the item creation feats and mage-forges can request appearance changes and description edits for the items they make there as well. But changing the appearances and descriptions of common loot treasure and similar items is not usually something we do.

EST Evenings are the most active times, though during the day there might be a couple people on.

You can easily get to level 8 in a day or two, if you want to rush it, then you start needing steadily increasing amounts of RP XP from the "XP Fairy" or given by DMs in events. There's also a couple of scripted quests which reward a small amount, usually somewhere between 200-400. These can assist you in getting to level 10 decently quick, as they're worth a full day's worth of Fairy XP (I believe it caps at 300 per day?)
The formula here is that at level 8, you require 1000XP RP XP, and each subsequent level requires an additional 1000. So 9 = 2k, 10=3k and so on. This might seem ridiculous at first, especially if you're used to faster or unlocked leveling, but it's really not that bad. It's not unheard of to hit 20 in 6-8 months if you're active in a lot of events, though you're encouraged to take your time and enjoy the ride.

CD ends up being a decently "high magic" server once you get to level 16+, and has only become moreso over the years in attempts to give the loot pool more flavor and feel more unique. Heck, some of the newer level 6+ items I've seen are really unique and strong. Between adventuring and the pawn shop that other players sell their loot to, you shouldn't have too much of a problem getting useful gear for your character.

Gold eventually becomes inconsequential if you adventure a lot. There are a couple characters (Granted, old ones) that have over 20 million, granted this is an exception rather than a rule. Most of my characters sit around 400-500k if I was very active while playing them. My only epic character floats between 1-2million, based on how active I am and if I buy a massive stack of healing potions or not. But heck, I remember feeling rich when I started and had 20k.

I don't know jack about the elves, other than it seems they go from very, very active to only moderately active. That isn't to say that there's not a large elven playerbase. More often than not they've been one of the most populous races on the server. One thing to keep in mind is that Bladesinger is a "special" PRC and therefore requires approval to play. This is as simple as applying and linking your character's biography and as long as your character isn't doing things completely ridiculous and un-elven, you're good. Darvins and cherrycoke2l are the two players I can think of with Bladesinger characters. They'd be your in-game resource for training and, if not a DM NPCing for you.

As for the RP, I'd say the server falls under "medium" in RP. There's no survival, worrying about shelter and food (that isn't to say you can't play like that if you want, though!), and leveling and progressing is fairly relaxed. Death has a penalty to it, but it's more to prevent rushing back to where you died, just to die again, than to actively discourage risk-taking. You can still "examine" enemies to see how strong they are in relation to you to gauge if you should just leave instead of engage. Sometimes you wander into dangerous areas, but exploring the server in general is quite fun. It's decently large and with new additions, I can no longer say I've got it memorized. A lot of the interacting you'll probably end up doing with other players is social RP, just passing the time. Inside jokes, pranks, friendships, grudges, are all great ways to make your character come alive and make their relationships more real.

90-95% of the playerbase is really friendly! (the rest are just grumpy.) So if you're in-game and have any questions to ask, don't be afraid to send a tell and ask for help.

There are a few elves. One of my main character's IC best friend is a Bladesinger. Though I believe for that prestige class, to start into it your character needs to be trained by a bladesinger, so you'll need to hook up with one of them around.

And welcome! I'm Surri, I play a Doomguide, and if you need anything just send me a message. I know next to nothing about elf RP, but my Doomguide is interested in elves so in that way I am patching up my ignorance of that part of the lore.

Good evening, morning, afternoon, and a very good greeting to you.

I am one of the many players of the elven community (even though I'm not majorly part of said elven community). The community here for elves and non-elves is pretty great, and everyone in general are pretty cool people. Very welcoming, especially to new players!

We do have a few non-US players, and they do tend towards being mostly US or EU orientated, though I know we've had some players from places such as NZ/Australia. Everyone's already answered what most of the people's playtimes are, so hopefully you can find time to RP with people, and most people are also comfortable with having an arranged time to RP that's comfortable for both parties!

If you ever need any help, don't hesitate to ask, we're all pretty happy to help!

Have fun!

Also, note that the rename torso function is for non-magical items only.  If it has a colored name, don't rename it.

Okay, now that I have a bit more time, I can answer some of these questions.  Most of them have already been addressed, so I'll chime in on the elven culture/faction.

Elves make up a good percentage of our non-ECL races.  We have every type of character, from forlorn (disconnected from elven culture) to bladesingers and elven nobility.  As a faction, the elves are rarely called on to work together and largely inactive.  That said, there is an elven faction (The Moonshadows) that are designed to be comparable to the Purple Dragons of Cormyr.  IC contacts are Rhea Seleben (my loremistress), Jaylithel (onivel), and Aaliya (theshobit).  There are several key events that have happened in our elven community, such as a "recent" (4 years ago?) invasion by a Drow Matron that destroyed Sshrenshen.  As a result, the previous more open attitude of Velethuil has become guarded and more conservative due to events.

Velethuil is a relatively small village.  The lower areas are public, but the upper treetop areas are residences that require an elven escort to be entered.  The town is governed by two elders and a priestess, who are advised by a council of elders and elven nobles.

Of particular note, there is a mythal around Velethuil that prevents drow-blooded characters from willingly entering the town.

Elves are also common in nearby Highmoon.

We support the bladesinger prestige class, but require a special application for it due to its importance an influence in the elven community.  You will need both an IC mentor and the OOC application.  Also, said applications tend to wait a period of a few months for new players (so that the staff/admins can get to know you better before deciding on the application).  In these cases, after the application is approved, the character may request a relevel to take the class (if they levelled in another class in the interim during the application process).


The elven crusade has not happened.  Whether or not this event will happen is still a matter of discussion among the staff/admins.  Myth Drannor is not part of the mod and will not be in the foreseeable future.

Alright. Thank you for your answers. This helps  I completely understand the care in the prestige class and the story lore. Me and my Rp partner will have to take all this into consideration. We have character concepts in mind. Alot of our back lore is based around the cursade and being involved as bladesinger already that just don't' exist here or are special restrictions by admins. At this junction it would be question of starting from scratch or not. But not at place we are at right now. Maybe in the future but who's to say.

It was really nice getting chance to meet you all. I'm excited to hear that there are still RP Communities that are strong in NWN1. Thank you very much for your time.

If I could trouble you for one more question-

What are the log in names of the players behind Bladesingers on this server?

I have one that really should be retired but I can't quite give up on him, so if you get stuck on looking for someone give me a nudge. Log in Darvins, usually on either the Human Wizard Rogue, the Wild Elf nearly naked Druid or the suspicously robed Elven woman. If you do run into problems matching times with a Bladesinger as I said feel free to nudge me in game. (that is Erliza, Iyanna or Valar)

blessedcurse is my login name (although I run around with a few others) I should be back playing a little more after the US Thanksgiving holiday.

I play Kerynar Orbryn (level 14 - 8 of them bladesinger levels) who could take on a student. I would not take on more than one as that would run counter to bladesinger's generally only training one student at a time.

I would say most of the Cormanthor proper is north of the mod. But there is a pretty significant importance to Semberholme. There could be unexplored or hidden danger/magic/lore there, etc. which the remaining elves could need protection from. Other DM events have certainly alluded to that.

I would add server history wise not helping the Velethuil isolationist slide is the fact that the Elder who would have resisted it died in the final battle against the Matron, and while he died a hero, well he's still dead leaving the Elders far more conservative than they might otherwise have been.

Yes. I understand that whole one student at a time thing. It would only be my character training. The others ware just part of a Elf House we belong too.

Just as a side note - while Myth Drannor itself is not a regular part of the server module, we try to take a very expansive view of the Forgotten Realms, and have a second "Events" server for the purpose of running DM events that can take place elsewhere, whether that's a trip to Waterdeep, an expedition to Myth Drannor, or really anywhere we want, either using a large slate of generic areas repurposed for the occasion, or specially importing custom-made ones. The idea behind this is to let us cover the entirety of anywhere we might want, while taking into account the limits of what we can cram into an NWN module or two.

Also, generally speaking we're quite willing to help with arranging things for peoples' storylines - so, just for example, if someone couldn't get a bladesinger sponsor/teacher played by someone, for whatever reason, such as schedule conflicts, we'd figure something out to get around that, such as a DM creating an NPC if need be, rather than leave someone stuck/out in the cold, et cetera.

Lastly, feel free to ask questions at any time, here, via PM, or through tells in game, and we'll be more than happy to help. (I'm usually a good one to pester for this)

And to add to what Bella said as far as the Timeline goes, we haven't stuck to the official timeline, since we started playing before some of these events came out, and we wanted to let the community (players and DM/Storytellers alike) tell their own stories, and have their own ability to shape the world, rather than feeling chained to only what happened in the Novels/etc - though that doesn't mean we can't or won't use aspects from those things (and we certainly have in the past).

Also, another bladesinger player would be Wittle Dreamer.

Finally, I should emphasize that our goal here is to help people play the kinds of characters they want, and to tell the sorts of stories we want. We do try and keep oversight over things, whether that be special RP focus classes like Bladesinger, unusual subraces, or such - not because we want to restrict them, but because we want to make sure that there's a certain level of quality and understanding of what it means to play that. And to that end, if someone wants to try something, but is unfamiliar, then we'll do our best to help them do so, whether it's by learning more about the class/etc, pointing out things that they may not realize would be an issue, etc, so that it doesn't wind up becoming a problem for them and/or other players.

I keep thinking of one more thing to add. >.>

As far as items go, magic levels go up to +5, with custom scripted item level limits (so you'd need to be level 20 to use a +5 item, for instance), and the overall level cap is at 30, in rough keeping with the Forgotten Realms setting. There is item customization and enchanting, though much of the customization comes from DMs (in terms of item names and descriptions), and one of our favorite rewards for story development tends to be personalized DM-reward items, which have RP and sentimental value in addition to any magical stats.

Also, there's actual functioning elven chainmail, like so:


They're suitably rare, of course, and elf-only as you'd expect, but they're out there, with their proper weight, dex modifier, et cetera.

Thank you so much FireWraith for such a detail information. Chainmail looks great too!

Sure thing.

Also, part of the reason we haven't incorporated the Crusade yet isn't because we don't ever intend to, but partly because we'd want to let the various elven players have a role in any events surrounding that. The module itself expands to encompass a large chunk of the southern part of the Cormanthor (i.e., the Semberholme part of it), and as such they'd likely not just let it go ignored.

So really, if players are interested and a DM/DMs want to run a story arc for it, we'd be all for it, even if it might not take exactly the same route (and possibly would feature players in more of a starring role, naturally).

Like so (section highlighted in red):



Also, if either of you want someone to bounce ideas off for adapting your story, I'd be happy to chat and see what I can do.

Yes. The storyline, I had worked out for Nyacelil. Was that her family was from Semberholm but was destroyed during the Weeping Wars. Nyacelil grew up in Evereska, and i'm thinking, now- has come to deepindale for bladesinger training?

Nyacelil actually went to Semberholm to find the house that was left behind by her family. Where she found some relics and such. Though switching servers now it will have to be reworked or written as it never happen or so on. 

The trouble is that, player who's been my rp partner for little bit, his story doesnt' really exist without the elven crusade. As his character was a crusader in Severial's Army. Thats how the two met. So all that is gonna have to be reworked.

Was there another major conflict that happen recently? A war of some sort that might fill that in?

Did Kimal Nimson's Rebellion happen in Evermeet?

In the elf RP we mentioned Kymil Nimesin's invasion on several occasions, so I think you can safely assume it happened. Same with the Phaerimm invasion in Evereska. Oh and by the way I have a bladesinger character too, the NWN log in is Maciektg.

How is time done on the server? 1 day = 1 rp day?

We tend to play kind of fast and loose with time. By the official server timeline, it's only been about six years or so since the server launched, despite it being over ten in real-life time. On the other hand, one IRL day is generally considered, give or take, about three IC days - this is the only time calculation that's really important for mechanical reasons, as that's what we use when calculating times for crafting items, studying epic spells, and other time-sensitive requests. Yes, we know that doesn't add up.

Simply put, server time and date advance forward as the server storylines and such move forward. Otherwise, time is treated very loosely.

Ah, no.  There is still an elder that is fighting the isolationism.  The "not helping" bit is that before it was 2 elders not supporting isolationism, and now it's only one.

There was also the Drow attack on Velethuil/Bristar a couple of years ago that they could have been involved in somehow. There was also Cormyr's war with the Shadovar. More recently, the Zhentarim have been attacking cities/towns on the northern Cormyrean border.

That would have me bring Galdern out full time...  I really want to play him more but felt his story was done, but the Crusade yeah that would be something I could see being of interest to him... *makes puppy dog eyes at DM's*

I'd still say the Elder who died's loss is a big one to the issue, since he was the 'General' of the defence and a hero, on top of being an Elder;)

Heheh. Last Mythal was great story I agree.

I tend to play 1 day = 1 day until it becomes neccessary to forward or slow down time (or possibly reorder preset timed events) to keep things sane. I find it keeps me creative to keep the time scale fixed.

Like I said, except when it comes to crafting and spell research and other things like that, the time scale isn't really important all things considered. So whatever works for you is generally fine, so long as it doesn't become an issue =)

If you like Myth Drannor restored, don't get into 5ed and the Sundering. Just saying, don't go there.

Our "point of divergence" from the official timeline is 1372 DR, which is the date for the 3rd edition FRCS sourcebook. So, yes, the attack on Evermeet has occured (as described in the novel, Evermeet), as did the attacks on Evereska in 1372 DR described in the Return of the Archwizards (though not the later ones from the Last Mythal trilogy).

Probably the best stand-in for the elven crusade, given the similarities in the timeline, would be the war with the Drow that others described above. I don't have the exact date when that was supposed to take place in our timeline, but it should be roughly around 1375ish, and covers lots of fighting in the Cormanthor/Semberholme, along with the attack on Ssrenshen. It was a major conflict in the area, albeit against the Drow rather than the Fey'ri, and while I don't know that there was any particular large calling of elves from elsewhere returning to fight there, it certainly would not have been at all out of place. It also took place over several months, building up to the attempt by the Drow Matron to drop a large meteor on the region.

I should also note that Ssrenshen is usually referred to as Moonrise Hill in most FR works, and Velethuil is referred to as Bristar. It's been one of the quirks/traditions/etc in CD that they've been referred to by their "elven" name versions on CD, starting with the person who built the areas for them and for the surrounding woods/Deepingdale/etc. In fact, I don't think anyone on CD would even know what you're talking about if you mentioned them in those names, by now.

Regarding time scale, the initial design intent was to peg the overall passage of time to phases of the overall campaign story, which is defined in Books and Chapters, sort of as if we were all playing characters in a series of FR novels. Within that, you wouldn't have an explicit set length of RL time, and instead the RL length would vary based on the amount of stuff going on, so that sections with more action/activity might last longer in RL, and vice versa.

This didn't really work out in practice, in part because we had difficulty at times in keeping with those stories. Some of the "Books" have done a better job of writing themselves than others (we've been in something of a lull with the current one for a bit, that's kicking back into gear now with events in the Stonelands, but I digress).

Roughly speaking, we've been at something more like 1 to 1 at the level of seasons, which lets us peg in-game social events and holidays (like Midwinter or Greengrass) to the real-world season. That said, there's no exacting ratio in game, and the NWN game clock isn't set at 1 to 1 (for various reasons), so there's still a degree of flexibility in terms of how things go, such as truncating/skipping ahead on travel and so forth, in order to keep the story/rp flowing.

I'm not sure that's completely analogous.  The invasion by the Drow Matron didn't see a return of elves so much as an alliance with outside forces (Cormyr, Highmoon, Eilistraee worshipping Drow, etc.).

I would say if you are looking for an elf-centric battle/war situation look to the Phaerimm invasion of Evereska to parallel your meeting. From there it sounded like there were ideas that could draw you to Semberholme.

Right, nowhere near on that scale, but certainly individuals could have come to help within the context of that, was what I mean.

Yeah I do GURPs for my pen and paper with my theater group

Reading through my Sword Coast Adventurer's guide made me sad hearing about Myth Drannor falling again...well, I suppose technically it was fell on...by Netheril, but you get the idea. So far the lore for 5th Ed has been more sane than 4th at the very least.

Yes. It seems when ever the elves are making progress they get stomped in FR. Lol but they are supposed to be a mysteriously aloof /and magical bunch of creatures.

I quite like 5th Ed, myself. Though I haven't looked much into the Lore of 5th Ed yet. I've only got source books. Because I'm poor. XD

Well (to get off topic a little here  ) I think part of it has to do with the whole "Myth Drannor as dangerous, exotic, magical ruins of mystery and adventure" was part of Ed's whole original intent with the place, and inasmuch as 4th edition pretty much ran roughshod over Ed's creation, moreso than 3rd ever had, 5th is sort of Ed's (and Salvatore's and others') attempt to undo all that.

Personally, I like the idea of retaking Myth Drannor. But that's me.

And, luckily, CD is our creation, so we can do as we please in that sense - we're not tied to any official timeline or such. And by 'we' I mean all of us, because CD is a community, and everyone has some degree of input and ability to affect it, even if individuals don't always get their way - even me, and I pay the bills   .

Not unreasonable especially as I do think a few characters did have their chars go looking for help elsewhere. I vaguely recall for example Galdern going to Evereska looking for help, and I do not think I was the only person that had their characters do something along those lines.

Yes, pretty much this. It's a reason that could have drawn individuals to the region from Evereska/Evermeet, though not on any major scale - but certainly enough to explain why a given PC or two made their way to the Cormanthor.

I have been reading all your posts, and have been discussing details with my rp partner. I'm very happy to see the invested response that everyone has given here. It shows a quality of a community that really is attractive. I respect your decisions to mantain a separate storyline.

Prehaps I can ask one of you now, that your invested in my thread. What has been going on lately? I don't need any meta or / details, just some general things.

Is there large ongoing quest going on? Are events active? Is something like the Elven Cursade on the project list of the Story Lines to be told.

You mentioned Bristar was conservative / Isolationist. How does that affect the rp?

Are there Elf quests specifically, around Semberholm lately? are the Elf Story Parts of the Server active? Or is the focus based around more mainstream storyline?

I guess my real question is, logistics and event management, how players get involved, and or is on the player to drive storyline and petition the dm's for NPC interaction.

And,

What's currently going on in Bristar? Are there active plots going on right now? or is it inactive?

To my knowledge there are currently no plots ongoing in Velethuil/Bristar – last thing I can think of were some political struggles as to whether to accept non-elves in one part of the town. What hasn't been mentioned yet is that we've had some RP in the past regarding the end of the elven Retreat, so that might give reason for various characters to arrive in Cormanthor.

The Princess Regent and Mage Royal have both gone missing after an incident involving a far-plane being and creatures.  Currently, Cormyr is settling into a Regent Council formed from the nobles.  The Queen Mother is missing, having fled after multiple assassination attempts.  Deepingdale faced some troubles from Drow and Sembians, only to discover that some others may be behind the troubles.  The Zhentarim destroyed a stonelands mining village of Griffon Hill (that had a Thayan Tower in it), and then conquered a Cormyrian settlement of Stonehaven.



If you mean a server plot, yes and no.  There is the Princess Regent storyline (that I hope to address soon), and there IS a server-wide plot that is beginning.    In general, quests are left to the DMs to decide on.  We are fairly active, though currently there are several personal development quests in progress.



Maybe.  It's something the admins haven't decided on.



*sighs* It's not isolationist.  The situation in Velethuil/Bristar is that a LOT of character SEE it as conservative/isolationist because an elder is promoting that.  What is not being said is that the other elder and high priestess oppose it.  The community is divided between the two viewpoints, with the clergy opposing the isolationists.  The RP is that the community is in conflict, with the Moonshadows supporting the high priestess.  Any character is welcome in Bristar, as long as they're not drow-blood.  (See prior post on the wards that prevent that.)



Currently, no.  There have been, in the past.  (I've run several, and the prior server plot involved a Drow invasion of Deepingdale/Velethuil.)  Most of the elven community frequents both Cormyr and Velethuil.  Our current focus is on the mainstream storyline.  It cycles around, depending on the individual DM interest.



Ah, that's more complicated.  There is currently a rather even divide between open quests and personal requests.  The Announced Quest forum is used for open-involvement quests.    That said, if you have an interesting quest idea, the Quest Requests forum is used to gain DM attention.

Just an idea: it would be good to have a forum sub-section (we can call it "What's up in Cormyr?"), listing each major settlement/geographical area in a separate thread, and with each, the current status of things there which are considered common knowledge. Even some rumors, as there are always rumors when something is not clearly known.

It would help a lot the new players, also old ones like me, who is not an expert on FR lore, to get on speed and more easily involved in the plots. Not to mention that server canon is different to FR canon.

I know we have a thread about what's happening in the realm, but with the format I suggested the information would be more clear-cut and faster and easier to find.

+1

Have seen and contributed to this sort of format on a couple other servers in the past, super helpful.

Maybe organize a sub-forum called current events that starts with Announced Quest then would have subforums for different regions/cities.

One stop shop for what is going on in Cormyr.

Could also have a History sub-forum, that starts at present day and 'archives' summaries of major happenings for 'server' memory.

Yeah... I've been meaning to set up a section of "ask the staff anything" and "Timeline and Events" forum.

With this format, basic geographical and other information can also be added, rounding out the look of a place for the players even outside the NWN engine limitations.

So, in terms of builds. Doing bladesinger build. I was thinking about Ranger 3, Wizard 7, Bladesinger 20? Does anyone have recommendations?

The idea is too, start off melee at first, and then acquire wizard skills later, then build up Bladesinger. Though I have few questions.

Can Epic spells be taken with Bladesinger PRC?

Would it just be better too do- Wizard 20, Bladesinger 10, ?

Could anyone post a build? hehe

You will need 9th level spells and an effective character level of 21 to qualify for Epic Spells. Bladesinger does have spellcasting progression so it would work if you meet the other per-requisites.

It seems like a melee class, so if you want 4 attacks per round you'll need 16 AB before 20 - so mixing with Ranger would help considerably in that regard. I don't know much about building, however!

Something to keep in mind is that the server has a script which requires a certain amount of RP XP in order to progress a level. It begins at level 8, with a 1000 requirement, and you can earn 300 a day with the exception of any quest you might find yourself on. That's 3.3 days for level 9, 6.6 for level 10, 10 for 11, and on from there. It's going to be a considerable amount of time investment and the server is fairly generous on re-levels so if you make a mistake, you can always request going back to fix it.

Yes. I am aware of the slow level progression. I just like to have my build guide made before i start anything. That way that stress is solved, and I can just focus on palying, and knowing what I need to take as I level.

Bladesinger has 1 caster level for every two levels progression, so if you want epic level spells you'll need to mix in more wizard.

Also keep in mind that it would be very difficult to get a +20 bladesinger AC bonus and I'm not sure you'd want to, as the bonus is a dodge bonus which would count against the total max dodge bonus.

By level 11 or 13 of bladesinger you've pretty much tapped out all that bladesinger can give you, unless you go really heavy INT (its a 36 to get +13 even, which isn't undoable just slightly lopsided) investment. You'll want a touch of strength for damage at least so you may prefer to be a touch more balanced.

I would look at Ranger 3/Wizard 7/Bladesinger 10 for level 20, Ranger 3/Wizard 16/Bladesinger 11 for level 30

That will give you 21 caster levels for epic spells, +11 on AC from bladesinger bonus (with a dodge bonus from boots and haste that will close to max out your 20 dodge bonus), and 4 attacks at level 20 (5 with song of fury).

You could go Ranger 3/Wizard 14/Bladesinger 13 and still hit all of those as well, but you might find that the early access to higher level spells (mind blank especially) is more valuable than the extra +1 to AC.

This is very helpful thank you!

We're generally quite willing to let people tinker with their build and relevel later (as long as it's not changing the core character concept, or the like), so no need to stress on it too much.

Generally, here are some thoughts for bladesinger-centric:

First, we look at the requirements:
Base Attack: +5
Feats: Combat Casting, Dodge, Expertise, Still Spell, Weapon Focus (longsword) or (rapier)
Skills: Concentration 4+ ranks, Lore 3+ ranks, Tumble 3+ ranks.

This is a total of 5 feats, which is probably your biggest hurdle. If you take it off of pure wizard, you can do it by level 9 (4 core + level 5 wizard bonus feat), but you can probably do it a bit earlier depending on what you other class is. I'm assuming that we're going with Wizard as your spellcasting class. Sorcerer and Bard are about to become usable for this, but then you suffer from a lack of stat synergy, since Bladesinger gets its main bonus from Intelligence, so I'd consider them less ideal for that purpose.

As far as your third class,  You might be better off with pure Fighter, though Eldritch Knight is also a possibility, since while that requires WP:Martial, it also gives you a free feat, so is a wash. Here are some thoughts on pros/cons:

Ranger - isn't bad, but you won't be able to make use of their free dual-weapon stuff since it negates your Bladesinger bonuses. The extra skill points probably won't be all that big since you'll have a lot from high INT anyway.
Fighter - extra melee feats. You can take this if you want to have better lower-level combat ability, since it will allow you to get to Bladesinger slightly earlier (probably starting around level 7, as a 3 ftr/4wiz is eligible to take Bladesinger if you pick your feats right).
Eldritch Knight - this would be a route for better magical ability. At level 5 wizard, you can take EK if you've picked WP:Martial as a feat. This is somewhat of a waste as an elf (you've already got WP:Elf for Rapier), but EK gets a free combat feat to make up for it. You'll get to Wiz5/EK4 and be able to start taking Bladesinger levels. This is probably the route I'd recommend offhand, since it gives you several extra caster levels.
Divine Champion - Doesn't really work too well because of the AB requirement. You'd already be into Bladesinger territory by the time you pick this up.
Duelist - Int bonus doesn't stack with the Bladesinger one. The feats requirements aren't bad (you'll have or want most of them anyway) but the AB requirement puts it into post Bladesinger level range as well.
Barbarian - Probably doesn't fit thematically for anyone save a wild elf, and rage isn't all that useful for a dex/finesse type.

So assuming we go with EK, the build looks something like this:

1 wiz -> 5 wiz -> 5wiz/4ek -> 5wiz/4ek/1bs -> 5wiz/5ek/10bs

You get a base AB of +17 at 20th level, and cast spells as a 15th level wizard.

Other notes:
Taking the feat "Practised Spellcaster - Wizard" will give you a +4 caster level bonus for duration/damage/etc, up to your character level, meaning that you'd still have 15th level spell slots and such, but for duration etc you'd be level 19 effectively, with that setup.

You rock fire, ty! That is also very helpful!

As far as stats, I'd suggest sticking to DEX and INT. As most elven subraces, you'll get a bonus to one or the other (Sun Elves get +2Int, Moon Elves the standard +2dex, etc). Your target INT will probably be 20 (to let you cast 9th level spells), since with gear/buffs at/near epic you should be able to get +12 int on top of that, giving you 32 for +11 AC bonus.

This leaves the rest pretty much for Dex. If you use rapiers and take Weapon Finesse, you can put your Dex into attack bonus as well, so this is a pretty solid way to go. (There are also some pretty nice weapon models for elven-style blades as NWN rapiers)

If we assume you start with 16 in one and 16+2 in the other, you'll probably hit around 20 in each by epic levels. I'm not sure if that's the best way to go, as you may want to just get to 18 with natural + buffs and use Elven Chain armor (which caps at +4 dex), and put the rest into Int. But it's something to think about.

So my biggest concern is being versatile at the low levels since I'm going to be living there for while with slow lvl progression.

At lower levels you'll be mostly a wizard under that build, though your spell progression slows after level 9. You should be pretty decent AB wise at least, once you start picking up EK levels.

If you go dex/int eldritch knight, the only thing I'll caution is that you are going to probably gravitate to melee with that ridiculous AC you'll have and remember a 20 roll always wins so you get diminishing returns at the really top end of AC, especially if you plan to get epic mage armor. Sometimes uber-specializing in AC can be not quite as good as almost as good.

You will miss the extra melee damage of your strength/longsword/weapon specialization (4-6 point loss per hit for rapier and maxed dex build x 5 attacks = you'll miss it) especially since with elven chain mail you are really only talking about a 3-4 point swing in top end AC.

On another server with similar bladesinger setup I played a Fighter 4/Wizard 12/Bladesinger 11, low levels were tough but consumables at that time there were harder to come by, on CD that is not the case, its not the ultimate solo build but its not bad. Slower to pick up caster levels, but you make up with scrolls and the extra weapon damage. But by the time that character was mid epic, it was fairly ridiculous to the point where 9th level spells were fun toys to play with.

Here I played an wizard/eldritch knight/bladesinger that used a longsword. Not a bad mix, probably my best solo character to date. Strength/Int with just enough dex.

Yeah a Dex-Rapier Bladesinger is the best way to go, it's possible to do Longsword but your then being pulled in too many different directions in the build and well. Not saying it's impossible to get a good one that way, just it becomes a very thin wire your walking, and a step wrong will leave you tumbling into a lake of fire. While of course the strongest builds are not the point, Bladesinger is one of those PRC's that has no middle ground, your either kickass or you die every fight, and the latter is no fun at all. Also if you do go Rapier I'll get Galdern out of the cub-board he's originally from Evereska too so, it'll be fun.

Well, you'd also be a pretty high level mage too, even if not a full-on DC/slots build.

I'm likely going to go with rapier.

FireWraith's post is pretty much a 10/10 in a class breakdown.

I'm tempted to agree with Blessedcurse here in that Longsword/STR is the way to go over rapier, simply because of the damage. You're really not gonna want lower than a 14 STR at all as a melee (and I have an epic DEX ranger with 10 base, trust me, you miss the damage). Starting with 12 or 14 DEX isn't gonna hurt you too much AC-wise as Blessedcurse said, since reaching the +3 or +4 Dex cap in armor isn't too hard with buffs.

Basically there are two build paths here ability score wise. One where you start with a base 13-14 Dex and don't go any higher (except for maybe +4 item enhancement to insulate against a cat's grace dispel) and one where you get your base dex to 18+ (through a combination of starting Dex and Level ability increase).

If you go the base dex 13-14 route then longsword and mixing some of your ability score boosts into strength is will be key.

If you go the base dex 18+ route then weapon finesse and rapier are the way to go.

As Demonic_Angel mentions above, if you go the base 18+ dex build route you have to be sure not to totally ignore your Strength, otherwise your damage and your crits (however frequent) will be low. Eventually you'll be trying to fit a +12 enhancement bonus to Dex, +12 enhancement bonus to Int and as much Strength enhancement as you can muster. That is a lot of maxed out body slots.

The 14 Dex build (sort of a sweet spot) can basically just use a cat's grace spell with elven chain armor and devote all their body slots to Strength/Intelligence bumps with a touch of Constitution in the mix. The top end BAB's will be about the same and the AC differential will be about 3 points in favor of the base dex 18+ build but your top end damage will be quite a bit higher (even without weapon specialization).

If you go Strength/Intelligence Eldritch Knight you might have to squeeze a light armor weapon proficiency feat into the mix (I can't remember if bladesinger gets that by default or not) so that you can wear light armor.

I've found that Fighter/Wizard/Bladesinger and Wizard/Eldritch Knight/Bladesinger are both fairly survivable builds (unless you get dispelled, that always sucks) on CD having played both here.

One thing to note, I don't think a combat casting bladesinger is super viable. I've seen it attempted, but if you are looking for an offensive casting wizard who can use a rapier well, then I would go straight up Wizard/Eldritch Knight and hang to the back until you need to plug a gap for your meleers.

As I mentioned before with your super high AC and wards (stoneskin, ghostly visages, etc.) you are going to be drawn to melee, because you will be harder to hit than the others in your group. That means if you try to cast you are going to AoO and at times seem to be flat-footed until you pick a target and re-engage in melee. For bladesinger (of any but even more so high Dex build) losing your dex and dodge bonuses to AC hurts.

Wizard24/Fighter4/Rogue2 (or Bard2)

STR:10
DEX:17->22
CON:10
WIS:8
INT:18->20
CHA:8

Fighter Levels
Discipline,

Rogue Levels:
Tumble, UDM,

Level Spread:
1.) Wiz / Experties
2.) Fighter / Wep Feness
3.) Wiz /Wep Focus: Rapier
4.) Wiz
5.) Wiz
6.) Wiz /Improved Experites / Extend Spell
7.) Wiz
8.) Wiz
9.) Wiz /Blind Fight
10.) Wiz
11.) Wiz /Metamagic: Max
12.) Fighter / Knock Down, Impr Knock Down
13.) Wiz
14.) Wiz
15.) Wiz / Improv Crit: Rapier
16.) Wiz
17.) Wiz / Craft Wand /or potion
18.) Wiz / Combat Casting
19.) Wiz
20.) Wiz
21.) Wiz / Epic Wep Focus: Rapier
22.) Wiz / Greater Spell Pen
23.) Wiz
24.) Wiz / Epic Spell: Mage Armor
25.) Fighter / Skill Dump (Discipline)
26.) Rogue / Skill Dump (Tumble)
27.) Fighter Weapon Specialization Rapier/ Epic Wep Spec: Rapier
28.) Wiz / Epic Spell: Mummie
29.) Rogue Skill Dump Use Magic Device
30.) Wiz / Epic Spell: Greater Ruin or Hellball


Notes:
-For skills, Tumble, Discipline, Concentration, Spellcraft, Use Magical device and anything else you like.


That was my old server build. What would the Long sword build look like?

That depends on what path you want to take and whether you want to be a sun-elf (+2 INT, -2 CON) or moon-elf (+2 INT, -2 CON). I am guessing since you'd like to cast Epic spells you'd shoot for the more arcane build and if you do the strength build sun-elf is a little more beneficial statistically.



Str 15 (+12 enhancement = 27 but I would devote most of your epic level increases to Strength)
Dex 14 (+4 enhancement can be from items or cat's grace spell)
Con 12 (14 - 2 for sun-elf) (you probably won't have enough body slots here for a full +12 enhancement bonus, but you I'd try to boost this with items as you can)
Int 15 (14 + 2 for sun-elf) > 20 (all stat increase up to level 20) (+12 enhancement = 32 for a +11 bladesinger class AC bonus)
Wis 10
Chr 10

You can min/max your Strength (to a 16) a bit more if you bump down your Wisdom or Charisma to an 8, that would really depend on whether the character you envision is particularly unwise or particularly un-charismatic. If not I would not bump it and use my first epic ability score bump to raise it to 16.

Keep in mind with practiced spellcaster your spell effects (duration, damage, etc.) are calculated using the higher casting level, the actual number of spells available to you will be based on your wizard (1 per)/eldritch knight (1 per)/bladesinger (1 per 2 levels [on levels 1, 3, 6, 9, 11]).

*denotes a bonus feat

Concentration 4+ (no problem wizard class skill), Lore 3+ (no problem wizard class skill), Tumble 3+ (cross class skill)

General note on class skills: Pick up Discipline when it is available and don't forget to max out Tumble during your bladesinger levels.
Option feats that can be useful in this build: power attack (for when you want a little more stank on it), cleave (nice to get extra attacks sometimes)
Bladesinger bonus feats are very limited as I recall metamagic, improved crit (rapier, longsword), practiced spell caster (I think) so you may get to pick a metamagic you like other than still spell for the bonus feat at level 17.

Wizard 1: combat casting
Wizard 3: weapon proficiency (martial)
Wizard 5: *still spell (effective caster level 5)
Wizard 5/Eldritch Knight 1: dodge, *weapon focus (longsword) (effective caster level 6)
Wizard 5/Eldritch Knight 4: expertise (effective caster level 9)
Wizard 5/Eldritch Knight 4/Bladesinger 1: (effective caster level 10)
Wizard 5/Eldritch Knight 4/Bladesinger 2: *practiced spellcaster (wizard) (effective caster level 11 - only gets +1 from the practiced spellcaster feat here)
Wizard 5/Eldritch Knight 4/Bladesinger 3: light armor proficiency (if you don't get it from bladesinger)(effective caster level 12)
Wizard 5/Eldritch Knight 4/Bladesinger 5: *improved critical (longsword) (effective caster level 14 - practiced spellcaster bonus +2 from bladesinger levels 2 & 4)
Wizard 5/Eldritch Knight 4/Bladesinger 6: toughness [extra hit points are nice] (effective caster level 15 - practiced spellcaster bonus +3 from bladesinger levels 2 & 4 & 6)
Wizard 5/Eldritch Knight 4/Bladesinger 7: (effective caster level 16)
Wizard 5/Eldritch Knight 4/Bladesinger 8: *bladesinger bonus feat (effective caster level 17 - practiced spellcaster bonus maxed at +4 from bladesinger levels 2 & 4 & 6 & 8)
Wizard 5/Eldritch Knight 4/Bladesinger 9: available feat of your choice (effective caster level 18)
Wizard 5/Eldritch Knight 5/Bladesinger 11: epic feat 1 (effective caster level 20)

Honestly that will hold you for 6-9 months of play at early epic I'd focus on boosting Strength and doing an epic toughness or two. Also I don't really recall the epic level spell magic system here, but I don't believe it works through epic feats you take at level up. Someone who has used it can chime in.

I'd probably be tempted to go 10 levels of wizard to get an extra feat I can use for item creation rather than get the extra 2 hp per level from Eldritch Knight. So my final level 30 build would probably be Wizard 10/Eldritch Knight 9/Bladesinger 11.

Yah sun elf.

Thinking meta-Magics would be like Extend, and Max?

I have question though. Don't Elves give you Rapier / Long sword, already as bonus feat?

yes .. those come with the elven racial weapon proficiency

You do, but you need martial weapon proficiency to qualify for Eldritch Knight.

Oh. That makes sence. Mmm- Alright. I'm glad i have pretty good idea. I've been working on my profile, and some details or personality, and so on.

Maybe I am missing something here, but isn't 31 the maximum ability score available on the server (giving +10 bonus)?

I think i'm gonna need to rebuild. Since last night we decided on Storyline that will allow me to play Nyacelil! But, only like 2 levels!

Maximum ability score is your current base score+12 from items and buffs.  So if your character has a base of 19 in a stat then the maximum it can hit is 31. If however you have a 22, then it will be 34.

Aha! Thank you Remmy!

As a newcomer to the server, I must take the opportunity to say what a wonderful world you've created here. Still a bit shy to approach IG and IC, but once I've found more solid approach to the character, can't wait to meet you!

Please feel free to hit us up in game, myself included, with anything we can help with.

Hey! I might have missed it, but I think I read somewhere the year the IG has going on... But I can't find it anymore! Can someone help me and tell me what year is this world living in? :S


Edit: And is there any info on Highmoon? Saw posts of Velethuil but these places are far too interesting

As stated on the first page of this thread, the current IC year is 1378. However, nothing in canon post-1372 is canon on CD. So no Elven Crusade, no Rage of Dragons, no Spellplague. Lolth's Silence happened but it was off-screen and mostly ignored.

Velethuil is more the center of a lot of the activity in the Semberholme, especially among the elves, so very little comparatively goes on in Highmoon; it's rather a halfway point, too far from Arabel to really be the focus of most Cormyr-centric events, and since elven/Deepingdale events tend to focus around Velethuil and the Semberholme, it tends to get overlooked somewhat in that regard.

Any pre-4e material you can find on Highmoon is probably accurate to the state of CD's version.

Hello everyone!

New player here.

Mostly making this post to say hello and offer a little feedback. ^^

Please make a public post for the required hak pak files.
It took me hours to finally find them. <.<

I know what you might be thinking that i'm lazy but not every player that wants to check out the server wants to dig into forum posts and undertake the strenuous task of registering

The link to them is stickied at the top of each forum.

I'm sorry, but your papers don't look authentic. I'm going to have to ask that you step into this dark van with no windows. Security purposes, of course.

Ok, ok. You no like passport, I understand. I come back again with better one.

First off, welcome aboard =)

Secondly, regarding the "strenuous task of registering"... it's kind of a must for CD. A great deal of game involvement is tied into the forums, particularly the faction involvements and perhaps most importantly the announced quests. While it is certainly possible to play on CD without being involved in the forums at all, such a player will be extremely out of the loop when it comes to DM involvement, and will likely be unaware of plots and events going on, even the ones that are open for new participants, as prior signup is generally required.

While some DMs do run small ad-hoc events on the fly, most longer or more plot-heavy quests are scheduled in advance on the forums (with handy Calendar function! Check the links in the menu at the top-left of your screen) and, unless several participants fail to show, only generally allow the players who sign up on the forums in advance to participate to avoid overloading the DM.

I didn't recieve any citations. I am a flawless inspector...y-you can't do this! *gasp*

By the way Edge, thanks for replying to the year question. I also just notice that everytime you logg in, it announcens in yellow text the current year and season.. So embarresing! >.<'

Hey hey. New guy looking for some fun RP. So far so good. Like what y'all have done with that place. =D

Shoot me a pm, or a tell or...whatever you feel like if you see me IG and feel like playin. I'm EST. 

See you IG!!

Hello, everyone. Many of you have met my paladin of the Red Knight, Yander, already. I just thought I'd introduce myself properly on the forums.

See you in-game.

Ya done good, new blood, ya done good, soon you'll be smokin' with ya boy Rick James.
Hold my drink

Hello there! I came across this place and thought I'd pop my head in to see.
I like the promotion of immersive RP here. Hope you don't mind if I drop in for a spin?

Absolutely, we'll just need you to sign this small stack of documents here... and here... and here... and initial here... sign here and here... and here... and ....

LOL! Yes, more paperwork! Woohoo!  XD

OOOH, you forgot to notorize it, you'll have to go back to the end of the line, and fill out the form TPS-123-98 and have that stamped by a sponsoring government...

Remember to use blue in #614.5 - #614 is too little, and #615 is too much. #616 is waaaay off!

Thanks. *Eyes them warily in case they are Vogons of the Galactic Hyperspace Planning Council*

They are. Be careful. Be very-very-very careful...

Would you like to hear some poetry? *Clears throat*

LOL nice.