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T O P I C    R E V I E W
Sceer Posted - 07 Oct 2009 : 18:30:24
Hey Folks,
First off, as a regular reader of Candlekeep, I have to give this site a deep thanks for such a fantastic and unique community with some truly inspiring material. It is a great resource.

I'd love to introduce the Candlekeep community to the Neverwinter Nights 2 Persistent World called Tales of Moonsea. Tales of Moonsea (ToM) is based around the half ruined city of Phlan and incorporates the lore of the Pool or Radiance. Factions of the city battle for control while the Council holds a tenuous grip against the tide of chaos that lurks just beyond Phlan's fortified walls. Tales of Moonsea is a custom crafted roleplaying server based off of the Forgotten Realms D&D universe with a DM staff that is passionate about making an exciting gameworld to play in that is as true to the PnP as we can get.

Rather than bore you with long blocks of text, have a look at our gameworld summary: (link removed by moderator; see below)

and stroll over to our webpage to get a deeper look: (link removed by moderator; see below)

If you have any questions, feel free to ask them here or on our forums.
30   L A T E S T    R E P L I E S    (Newest First)
Mapolq Posted - 20 Jun 2016 : 06:38:43
Indeed it's not the same game, George. Ours runs on Neverwinter Nights 2, which is, unfortunately, also nearly impossible to play on a Mac these days.
George Krashos Posted - 19 Jun 2016 : 09:20:13
It now appears that you can't run this game using Parallels. Oh well.

-- George Krashos
George Krashos Posted - 19 Jun 2016 : 08:58:17
I must be some sort of moron. Notwithstanding that I have a MAC, I have downloaded the PC Parallels tool. For the life of me though, I can't find a way to play this game! There's no game download, the website keeps sending me round in circles and I can't find the actual site/page/link that lets me download the bloody game. Ridiculous.

Of course I'm talking about this page: https://www.arcgames.com/en/games/neverwinter

Your peristent world might be something else entirely. Sigh.

-- George Krashos
The Arcanamach Posted - 19 Jun 2016 : 01:13:47
Ah thanks Mapolq
Mapolq Posted - 18 Jun 2016 : 18:34:19
It is - I had just forgotten to change the address in my signature again, and it's fixed now.
The Arcanamach Posted - 16 Jun 2016 : 04:38:50
Is Tales of the Moonsea no longer available to play in?
Mapolq Posted - 26 Jan 2016 : 19:06:13
Hello, everyone. I'm sending my usual piece about Tales of Moonsea and the NWN2 community, which is very much alive despite what many people assume...

For this one, I'll copy a text written by one of our DMs (Harluk). It is intended mostly for people who are already a part of the community, since that is where we get most of our "recruits" nowadays, but if you are confused about anything, you can ask me or read the previous posts in this thread.

The idea of the post is to give a description of what is the "feel" of our server. He wrote it in our forum for newcomers, and I think he got it quite right, which is why I'm reposting it here as well.




------------------

I've seen an influx of people from other PWs recently checking out Tales of Moonsea in order to see if it might be a good fit for them.

"Fit" is a really good term for this -- there are a number of PWs out there that I really, really admire, but where I will never play, because my preferred flavor of play is a bit different from what they offer -- I'm not their "target audience." It may surprise many players to find out the degree to which the better PW developers connive and cooperate behind the curtain, too, in order to improve the experience for everybody. We're mostly not actually competing for players, but hoping to retain the ones for which we're a good fit.


So how do I know if ToM is my flavor of fun? What's the basic vibe of Tales of Moonsea?



Harluk's Opinion: Tales of Moonsea is a mashup between Casablanca, the Old West, and HP Lovecraft.

Casablanca: Phlan is a small and not particularly powerful town sandwiched by much more powerful cities. Its political weakness and status as mostly-neutral ground means that it's filled with all kinds of conniving, scheming, back-stabbing, and intrigue.

The Old West: The Northwest Moonsea is a cold and mostly lawless frontier, bordering Vaasa and The Great Grey Land of Thar, which are cold and completely lawless frontiers. Phlan's economy is mostly based on the export of raw materials and mineral extraction. It's not a small mining town, but several of them figure strongly into the plot(s). There's a huge frontier, but what happens in this small town ON the frontier makes a big difference, as does a character's informal status as "townie" versus "country guy" vs "anonymous drifter."

HP Lovecraft: Lovecraft and RE Howard were both huge influences on early DnD. Since its early days, Tales of Moonsea has had a running undercurrent of horror and cosmic horror where the PCs occasionally bump elbows with things that are WAY out of their league and have to deal with that. Power Ratios matter. Sometimes PCs are the Local Hot Stuff Who Can Dictate Events, and sometimes they're the guys who have to scramble to survive it.

exemplum gratia: "Alien" is a horror movie. "Aliens" is an adventure movie. Because it's a lot different taking on xenomorphs when you're a Spaceship Mechanic than when you're a Space Marine.

You generally don't have to be involved with horror or survival-drama plots if you don't want to, but be aware that even if your PC becomes A Force To Be Reckoned With, there's always a Bigger Fish out there somewhere, and if your PC tries to solo Zhentil Keep, his buddies will miss him.

So What's it like to play here?



--<There's more than one "Plot." So everybody is A protagonist; nobody is THE protagonist>--


Everybody, including the NPCs, has a reason for being and will react to given events, often in unexpected ways. We are less tolerant of players trying to "god-mod" NPCs for that reason, and more tolerant of those trying figure out what's up with them and work with them.

("God Modding" is when a player basically invents NPCs or attempts to dictate NPCs actions and motivations and have other players or the DM staff accomodate it. Feel free to have a background and to have background NPCs, but understand that just because you have created a PC and told us that she is the High Priestess of Swiss Cheese, does not automatically mean that the Temple of Swiss Cheese is going to be sending her an army of mice this week.)

And seriously, just like the real world, Tales of Moonsea has a bazillion plots going on at any given time. At last review I think I counted 18 active NPC factions. Feel free to get involved with any, many, or none of them.


--<ToM is low(ish) level>--


So long as you're not stuck alone by yourself, it is very easy to get a PC up into the level 7-9 range. Higher than that is difficult both to gain and to hold onto (respawning carries an xp penalty), and is considerably more rare. 11th level is our effective "soft cap," and once you're up in the 10-11 level range most of your xp will come from events and spinning plots.

Unless you absolutely require a given level to become The Awesome due to spell or feat reasons, however, there is absolutely no reason why you have to wait to make level 8 (or whatever) in order to start trying to influence things and have an impact, particularly if your PC is trying to do something for which raw power ratios aren't a factor.

--<ToM is ambitious!>--

...often times beyond the Real-Life scope of the devs. We have guys cranking on various systems and areas and then running out of real-life hours to complete them. At any given time we have probably two systems and a half-dozen areas we're trying to squeeze out time to work on without also being real-life fails as employees, parents, spouses, etcetera.

--<ToM is a "high trust" playing environment.>--

We have very little trouble with players engaging in unfair activity, cheating, or exploits here (and encourage players to report exploits as discovered). A great deal of that is because we assume that players are adults and treat them accordingly.

--<ToM is small.>--

We'd be thrilled if we had 15 players logging in every night. But we'd also be recruiting like mad for DM staff. Tales of Moonsea has never been a server posting big numbers, and we're good with that. We have less of a "log into a big PW" feel and more of a "longterm PnP group" vibe.

--<ToM is deadly serious about DMing.>--

As part of that "PnP Group Vibe," we try to keep a ratio of one DM for every four active players. Yes, this IS unusually high, and it's very much on purpose. Our DMs also play characters (and bend over backwards to avoid conflicts of interest; wanna see who's had the most characters permed on ToM? It's always guys on the DM staff, and that's intentional. We give our characters a lot less slack when they screw up, specifically so that non-DMs never have to worry about whether their characters are safe to oppose a DM's character).

Unless the server is empty due to time-zone issues, Tales of Moonsea will almost always have a DM logged in. Though they may be on a player character at a given time, they are very happy to help out and to hop on the DM client either for rescues or to support player ideas.

--<ToM allows players to shape the setting; but you'll have to work to do it>--

Many players are "casual." They want to log in, go on quests, do a little roleplay, maybe do a lot of "campfire" or "relationship" RP, then log out. ToM is totally cool with that. (Though we prefer you keep the "relationship" part to Rated For Teens, please.)

We have a number of players, on the other hand, who are plot-spinners, and whose actions have shaped the server and its plots in dramatic ways. If you want to achieve X, you absolutely can! If you earn it. And if you're Team Ketchup, the players on Team Mustard may decide to work against your X, too, or else to do things that spin off it in weird ways. It's a game-world, not a wish-fulfillment factory, so just declaring that you're Joe-Bob The Awesome doesn't make it so.

The server is a living setting, and when a character does something to change the context of that setting, you can expect NPCs to take notice. Some of those NPCs will help. Some will giggle and golf-clap. Others will fight you tooth and nail, and not be shy about employing dirty underhanded tricks to do so.

--<The Setting Is A Context: Which means it changes with player action.>--

PC does "The Thing!"
The Thing changes the Context.
PCs and NPCs react to the change in Context.
PC/NPC reactions create Plots.
Which change The Context in which PCs will do "The Thing!"

--<Sometimes your character gets permed.>--

We're not a "hardcore" or "permadeath server" in the mechanical sense. We try really hard to give players "outs" for their characters, but again, Game World, not Wish-Fulfillment Factory. If you're staring death in the face and choose to do The Thing Which Totally Guarantees That You Die, the DM staff will respect the integrity of your play and allow that PC to croak for good.

------------------




That's it - it should give you a very good idea of what we're all about on ToM, at least if you're familiar with how Persistent Worlds work (if you aren't, feel free to ask me). As always, check the links in my signature!
Mapolq Posted - 15 Aug 2015 : 22:28:40
Just a reminder to everyone and a shout-out to new people on the site: Tales of Moonsea, as well as a few other NWN servers, are still online and providing fun gaming and storytelling online!

Check us out (links in my signature).
Mapolq Posted - 27 Jan 2015 : 16:25:15
We're back from holidays and getting up to speed. Good time to check us out if you want.
Mapolq Posted - 13 Nov 2014 : 07:28:37
Oops, sorry. I forgot to update the signature here. We're using the domain name www.talesofmoonsea.com now. The german site you're seeing is from the guy who hosts the game for us (one of the original founders) - the old domain must be directing to his homepage.

I'll fix the signature here now.
Dalor Darden Posted - 13 Nov 2014 : 03:29:23
Ummm...when I go to http://www.talesofmoonsea.info I get a German Website that has nothing to do with the game?

EDIT: sorry for posting the link Mods of Doom...but I just wanted to draw attention to what I was getting.
Dalor Darden Posted - 13 Nov 2014 : 03:17:52
OK...I'm sick at home and decided to jump into this game...

I'm excited to see what you have in the Tales of the Moonsea!
Mapolq Posted - 07 Nov 2014 : 22:28:05
We updated last Tuesday and are now smoothing out the edges as we find a couple dozen bugs to squash... unfortunately we haven't been able to implement the layered armour system we wanted to, but we've gone with a code to mix and match features from several pieces of equipment instead (gloves, boots, helmets, the armour slot itself, cloaks, weapons, shields). It's still bug-hunting season, but we're getting back to action quick.

Will do some kind of update on the most important features once I find the time to document them for our own boards.
Mapolq Posted - 23 Oct 2014 : 00:53:59
It's nothing overly fancy, it's all been done before. The more involved one is basically a two-layer plus acessories armour system. It's a matter of scripting and playing with models, but I've never seen it broadly implemented. And our implementation is looking pretty smooth, hopefully we'll be able to get it online soon.

We want to do creative and ingenious solutions as much as possible, and we're looking at getting past one annoying engine limitation through use of skywing's xp_craft and some code. But with a small team and limited hours, we got to do one thing at a time. Still, pretty excited about it!

Makes me glad people are showing interest in this game.

Edit: Turns out Obsidian threw yet another wrench in our armour system, and it might not get done anytime soon, unless we figure a solution quick. But there's also a whole list of other cool features we're adding, hopefully as soon as we retrofit some of our armour to deal with this unforeseen issue. Will delay our update at least a week, though. I'll post details when it's online.
Zireael Posted - 22 Oct 2014 : 13:23:38
quote:
Originally posted by Mapolq

Bumping my thread on this, mostly to say we're alive and kicking in case someone wants an interactive roleplaying experience in FR.

But we're also about to launch some new systems and improvements, some of them messing with a few capabilities and limitations of the NWN2 engine - expect a detailed announcement soon.



The last sentence got me really interested.
Dalor Darden Posted - 22 Oct 2014 : 01:27:22
SOME DAY! Just not this one...or the next few hundred most likely.
Mapolq Posted - 21 Oct 2014 : 16:07:14
Bumping my thread on this, mostly to say we're alive and kicking in case someone wants an interactive roleplaying experience in FR.

But we're also about to launch some new systems and improvements, some of them messing with a few capabilities and limitations of the NWN2 engine - expect a detailed announcement soon.
Mapolq Posted - 09 Jul 2013 : 18:37:28
Do you own the Neverwinter Nights 2 game and its expansions? That is all that is required to play, and if you don't, you can obtain them on GOG.com.

After you install the game and log into our server, you will be automatically prompted to download our custom content (for free) so you can play on our world!

If you have any questions, feel free to post here, PM me, or join our forum (see the link on my signature).
KacyCrawford Posted - 09 Jul 2013 : 17:00:29
Tales of Moonsea, can I download this
Mapolq Posted - 31 May 2013 : 17:24:39
Updated my signature with our new video trailer made with in-game footage by our player Squire (and custom graphics mostly by Sceer, I believe)!
Mapolq Posted - 28 Apr 2013 : 18:16:22
The full pack with the expansions GOG is offering now will be all you need to play, yes.
Caladan Brood Posted - 28 Apr 2013 : 18:11:59
I'm intrigued, if I find the time I might drop by and check it out. I have the NWN2 download from gog.com (my original discs were too scratched), I suppose this works with ToM?
Mapolq Posted - 28 Apr 2013 : 16:39:49
Greetings, scribes.

I thought I would put in a little update on the server status. First off, we have a small, steady and slowly growing population - about two DMs and eight players now who are active in game, which lends itself well for the type of game we are trying to achieve. A few more players would be very good though, so consider yourselves invited. Now a few things we've been doing...

Regular weekend activity:

I've promised (and am making good on it) to be IG every Friday and Saturday night for anything a player might need a DM for, unless of course I have a serious impediment. I also log in a lot in many other times, since I have a flexible work schedule. Last weekend I ran a fun adventure for a group of four, aided by our other in-game DM.

Crafting:

I had said I was going to look into the problems we had in our system, and I've come a long way since then. Weapons and armour are on and pretty much bug-free, as is alchemy and potion-brewing. This will be added to in the future, though I am only one scripter, so it can take a while.

New areas:

We already have a big module size, so I'm looking for creative ways ways to use areas we already have to expand the server. There's quite a few under-used areas, so there's room for expansion. Actually the issue here is we don't have enough players to use all our areas now, so the priority is working on specific ones the players want to use. What this means is, if you play more or less regularly and work on your characters' objectives, you can expect to leave your mark on the server.

Other updates (and bugfixes):

These are all too numerous to mention, but we have a persistent storage system, a dynamic weather system, a custom spawn system, etc, all of which I'm working on to make them even better. Priority here is simulating an environment that feels real and aids you in playing your character, and not adding custom classes, prestige classes, spells, etc. Expanding RP possibilities trumps expanding mechanical possibilities as far as we're concerned. That doesn't mean you can't play a sword-wielding hero or a battle mage who likes to engage in combat often - that's really fun and we have a lot of stuff for you to do, but we feel that, generally, the game already provides enough tools in that respect.


I hope you'll enjoy playing with us. We're really aiming for a sandbox PnP feel here, so I think many of you would find it a different (and better) experience as compared to most CRPGs. The link to our site is in my signature!
Mapolq Posted - 24 Sep 2012 : 23:48:00
Greetings, scribes.

The Tales of Moonsea DM Team is planning a sort of "stand-alone" campaign set on our gameworld. Everyone is going to make new characters for that campaign, and it should serve both as a regular gaming group and an introduction to our PW.

The campaign is going to revolve around the crew of an aged warship, which is currently doing blockade runs from the harbour of Phlan. The crew is going to be represented by the players, as well as some DM characters and minor NPCs.

We plan to run the game weekly, possibly featuring episodes on GMT and EST evenings (you don't need to make all the sessions). It's in an early planning stage, but you can see the basic setup following the link in my signature and entering our forums. There will be a topic named "Ship Plot" under General Discussion with some information.

You are going to need the Neverwinter Nights 2 game and the Mask of the Betrayer and Storm of Zehir expansion packs to play.

If you have any questions, feel free to ask me here or in the Tales of Moonsea forum itself.
Mapolq Posted - 02 Jul 2012 : 19:39:24
So, I promised you some information about what's going on with our PW. Here it goes, then!

ToM V2 - Plots

Strating in August last year, the setting has undergone a few changes. The state of matters in the city of Phlan has been evolving, with representatives of various factions claiming ruined sections of the city. Unexpectedly, however, an army of mercenaries of uncertain allegiance, known to the Phlanites only as the "Black Banners" are attempting to besiege and take the city, with mixed success. In the meantime, rumours abound of an even more serious threat looming in the far north.

Crafting

We have started to implement a custom system for player crafting of items, such as armor and weapons, alchemical items, and minor magical items. We have substituted all Obsidian scrolls for custom made ones as well. Currently the system has limitations and has been on hold since our scripter has taken a break due to RL. Even if he does not return, I hope to eventually be able to continue from where we left off.

Custom armour scripts

We have modified the standard D&D based armour system to make it so that wearing armour grants a character Damage Reduction instead of AC. We also have added specific Damage Immunity bonuses to certain armours against Slashing, Piercing and Bludgeoning damage. In addition, wearing Gloves, Boots and Helms will influence how much Damage Reduction you actually receive.

New areas and quests

More new areas have been added to the module, such as the Stojanow Gate District of Phlan, the interior of Mendor's Library and new sections of the sewers. There are also new sites on the Overland Map, such as the village of Glister. We are also working on a custom system of random adventure areas which are in a beta stage also due to the lack of a good scripter for the moment. Some new static quests for various levels have also been included.

General state of affairs

The Tales of Moonsea server is a wonderfully well-made PW which has unfortunately suffered from many of its DMs and players leaving due to reasons beyond our control. The current DM team is attempting to revitalize the server by increasing and promoting activity, so that all the work that went into making this world can be enjoyed by a new generation of players. Our player count is currently very low, so the general focus of the PW has switched, at least temporarily, from being a sort of mini-MMO to a campaign world where we can play a graphics-enhanced PnP-style RPG with our friends, though, of course, open to everyone. We invite you to join us in this game, and will do our best so that you will have much fun with us!

Take a look at our website, and join our forums to get an idea of what is going on. If you have any questions, I will be happy to answer them, either here or through the ToM forums or IRC channel.
Dalor Darden Posted - 25 Jun 2012 : 12:47:08
quote:
Originally posted by Mapolq

Hello to you, Dalor, and to all other scribes as well!

The Tales of Moonsea Persistent World is still ongoing, yes. I have been playing in this richly detailed server for over four years now, and very recently I have taken up the mantle of DM. Somehow this thread had escaped my notice until now, but I shall remedy that by posting some more recent updates soon!



Glad to hear that it is still going...and that mighty Mapolq is at the helm as a DM!

I'll have to re-purchase NWN, but consider me intriqued at least!
BARDOBARBAROS Posted - 25 Jun 2012 : 08:32:09
Ok... That's good news because i also plan to play soon in this world...thanks
Mapolq Posted - 25 Jun 2012 : 06:28:30
Hello to you, Dalor, and to all other scribes as well!

The Tales of Moonsea Persistent World is still ongoing, yes. I have been playing in this richly detailed server for over four years now, and very recently I have taken up the mantle of DM. Somehow this thread had escaped my notice until now, but I shall remedy that by posting some more recent updates soon!
Dalor Darden Posted - 12 Jan 2011 : 18:50:25
Still wondering about this game...
Dalor Darden Posted - 04 Aug 2010 : 05:27:08
Is this Game still ongoing?

I've suddenly got a hankering to play!

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