MPC Types

[Badelaire]

I think when it takes -months- to handle an app, there's some sort of breakdown in the system there which leads to some seriously frustrated players saying "F**k it, cancel my app."

[WildPirate13]

Hate to agree with you on this one..

 But yup.. when people want more MPC's and AMPC's... with established RP'ers applying.. anyway. Not being negative.. much.
 
Perhaps a person that only handles MPC apps?

The staff and admins are great especially when you consider what you pay to play 

[LawfulJoe]

Tredow, it happens with CC aswell as DMs, something things get forgotten, inquire after a week. No one will get upset or think your impatient, everyone involved in applications are only humans, and we do need reminders.

With my application, I kept in regualr communication with Blue, asked DMs when I saw them online and they had time. Communication is not the only problem, there is a bottle neck somewhere along the lines. Maybe it was due to not so many active DMs at the time of the application. if you have 4 DMs and 2 say yay and 2 say nay, then you have an application that goes nowhere, and sits for months.. This is why I strongly recommend making your applications as air tight as possible. leave little room for doubt, include screenshots, do the research OOC, the RP IC and above all, be patient.

What I don't understand is, if people apply that have no previous record of PVP issues or mass complaints and are proven RPers... it seems to me that should be a no brainer as a yay as long as the application is good. What do the DMs look for in an application? what do they not want to see? When we apply we follow the designated template to put our information in, but what constitues a good application and what is an example of one that will cause a stale mate?

[Ophie Kitty]

With my application, I kept in regualr communication with Blue, asked DMs when I saw them online and they had time. Communication is not the only problem, there is a bottle neck somewhere along the lines. Maybe it was due to not so many active DMs at the time of the application. if you have 4 DMs and 2 say yay and 2 say nay, then you have an application that goes nowhere, and sits for months..

I've always gone with the rules, "If you can't say yes, you might as well be saying no." If there isn't enough required positive votes, the application might as well be denied. As an admin, if an application were at this point, after a week I would speak to the particular player and take five minutes to discuss their application with them and let them be aware of what they could work on, and either suggest they think of a new idea because this idea won't get passed, or work a bit more on the one they already have and reapply in a few days after they get their ideas organized.

[Knas]

Tredow, it happens with CC aswell as DMs, something things get forgotten, inquire after a week. No one will get upset or think your impatient, everyone involved in applications are only humans, and we do need reminders.

With my application, I kept in regualr communication with Blue, asked DMs when I saw them online and they had time. Communication is not the only problem, there is a bottle neck somewhere along the lines. Maybe it was due to not so many active DMs at the time of the application. if you have 4 DMs and 2 say yay and 2 say nay, then you have an application that goes nowhere, and sits for months.. This is why I strongly recommend making your applications as air tight as possible. leave little room for doubt, include screenshots, do the research OOC, the RP IC and above all, be patient.

This is good In certain periods DM activity and especially DM forum activity is lower than ususal and sometimes apps are overlooked or just forgotten so keeping in touch with a DM about your app isn't something we'll get upset about.

[Sharauvyn]

What I don't understand is, if people apply that have no previous record of PVP issues or mass complaints and are proven RPers... it seems to me that should be a no brainer as a yay as long as the application is good. What do the DMs look for in an application? what do they not want to see? When we apply we follow the designated template to put our information in, but what constitues a good application and what is an example of one that will cause a stale mate?

I think that's a really good question. Does anyone have an answer?

[Knas]

This is what we discuss in the applications. We don't know our entire playerbase by heart NOR do we report everything we see everyone do. There's your answer.


A conversation with a DM on a 12 hour diff timezone is bound to take 1 day per post exchange so it takes time.

[WildPirate13]

I wish we had the Red Widow MPC

[Dobian]

What about a ghost for an AMPC?  Can you play a ghost?

[ethinos]

From another thread:

Alright, I'll try to address the suggestions so far:

  Ghost/Spectre/etc.: not impossible but very unlikely
  Vassalich/Lich: highly unlikely due to engine issues
  Werepanther: certainly possible, although from a mechanical standpoint it's practically the same as a wereleopard.
  Weremink: wtfno
  Drider: no
  Worm that Walks: no
  any kind of golem: no way
  Mohrg: maybe
  Revenant: could work as an AMPC
  any kind of hag: no
  Werebat: possible and different enough from existing types to be worth it
  Broken Ones: no
  Goblyn: no
  Shadow Fey: absolutely not
  Ogre: no
  Werecrocodile: possible and different enough from existing types to be worth it
  Doppleganger: no
  Warforged: no, besides there's no model for it and no way to reproduce the "living construct" properties in the NWN engine.
  Wereshark: highly unlikely, besides, there's no model for it

[Dobian]

As this is a Gothic horror server, I think ghosts should be a no-brainer.  I have come up with an idea for an AMPC ghost that fits in perfectly with the Gothic horror concept.  Really, all you have to do is make it look ghost-like.  For example, a permanent ghostly visage.  Or just have the required class for a ghost to include so many levels of sorcerer, and have one of the spells be ghostly visage or an extended ghostly visage (better if the effect is permanent, though).  The race type should be able to vanish at will as well.  That's pretty much it, it's just working out the visual representation of a ghost.  And really, what type of monstrous creature gives you more character and story possibilities than a ghost?

BTW, I do like the weremink concept.  A wealthy noblewoman wraps her mink stole around her shoulders and goes out.  It suddenly comes to life and rips her throat out.  

[WildPirate13]

Ghosts should be a MPC.. look at the banshee.. or van richtens guide to the ghost..

Red widow is from the Monster compendium.. ravenloft edition 2nd... which one it is in I am unsure. 20 years past now since I read it. We should have more AMPCs or MPCs....

Please no were teletubbies..

[ethinos]

Here's another quote from the thread I linked.

The problem is that we'd have to come up with a complicated incorporeal system that's just for player characters. If one of our scripters wants to do it, that's cool, but I'm not going to volunteer their time for them.

Incorporeal undead wouldn't need food, wouldn't be able to interact with material objects (doors, equipment, etc.), wouldn't be affected by a lot of types of damage/weapons/spells/etc. It's a bit more difficult than just 'looking' like a ghost unfortunately.

[Dobian]

Incorporeal undead wouldn't need food, wouldn't be able to interact with material objects (doors, equipment, etc.), wouldn't be affected by a lot of types of damage/weapons/spells/etc. It's a bit more difficult than just 'looking' like a ghost unfortunately.

Just use the visual model for when people die in the game and become ghosts, except for the ability to enable PCs to see them without True Seeing...truly making them ghost.  This would be a pure RP AMPC then.  Lots of freaky, ghostly encounters in the night.  And you wouldn't have to worry about figuring out weapons/spells/damage then because the ghost will be a totally non-combat AMPC.

[Little Lotte]

Incorporeal undead wouldn't need food, wouldn't be able to interact with material objects (doors, equipment, etc.), wouldn't be affected by a lot of types of damage/weapons/spells/etc. It's a bit more difficult than just 'looking' like a ghost unfortunately.

Just use the visual model for when people die in the game and become ghosts, except for the ability to enable PCs to see them without True Seeing...truly making them ghost.  This would be a pure RP AMPC then.  Lots of freaky, ghostly encounters in the night.  And you wouldn't have to worry about figuring out weapons/spells/damage then because the ghost will be a totally non-combat AMPC.

It sounds to me by what you're describing you want is just the same thing as you have when you're dead so...why not create this character as living and then kill him off...and then rp as his ghost?

[Dobian]

Incorporeal undead wouldn't need food, wouldn't be able to interact with material objects (doors, equipment, etc.), wouldn't be affected by a lot of types of damage/weapons/spells/etc. It's a bit more difficult than just 'looking' like a ghost unfortunately.

Just use the visual model for when people die in the game and become ghosts, except for the ability to enable PCs to see them without True Seeing...truly making them ghost.  This would be a pure RP AMPC then.  Lots of freaky, ghostly encounters in the night.  And you wouldn't have to worry about figuring out weapons/spells/damage then because the ghost will be a totally non-combat AMPC.

It sounds to me by what you're describing you want is just the same thing as you have when you're dead so...why not create this character as living and then kill him off...and then rp as his ghost?

The two drawbacks are that first, I want everyone to be able to see the ghost (unless the ghost goes invisible and does environment emotes...which brings up the other point that I want the AMPC ability to do marks and environment emotes).  And second, I don't want the drunk/weaving thing.  And there is another thing with my particular ghost, in that it needs to carry something (don't want to say what that something is now, though).

[Bluebomber4evr]

Like I said in the posts Ethinos quoted, it's not an easy thing to do, so don't expect it any time soon, if at all.

[Dobian]

Like I said in the posts Ethinos quoted, it's not an easy thing to do, so don't expect it any time soon, if at all.

But if you just made them like the ghosts when people die, except they can be seen, and give them AMPC permissions like the environmental emotes, why wouldn't that work?  They would be non-combat, they wouldn't fight.  So you don't have any work to do with spells or weapons.

[WildPirate13]

I think they have so much great content they want to review and work on already. They may be able to do it but... lets face it adding more MPCs probably not high on the massive list that these unpaid volunteers do. May I have a get out of Jail card free now?

[Bluebomber4evr]

Like I said in the posts Ethinos quoted, it's not an easy thing to do, so don't expect it any time soon, if at all.

But if you just made them like the ghosts when people die, except they can be seen, and give them AMPC permissions like the environmental emotes, why wouldn't that work?  They would be non-combat, they wouldn't fight.  So you don't have any work to do with spells or weapons.

Because you don't become a true ghost when you die in our death system, and what you're describing is too close to cheesing. Besides, creating exceptions to the death system will be problematic.

[Dobian]

Like I said in the posts Ethinos quoted, it's not an easy thing to do, so don't expect it any time soon, if at all.

But if you just made them like the ghosts when people die, except they can be seen, and give them AMPC permissions like the environmental emotes, why wouldn't that work?  They would be non-combat, they wouldn't fight.  So you don't have any work to do with spells or weapons.

Because you don't become a true ghost when you die in our death system, and what you're describing is too close to cheesing. Besides, creating exceptions to the death system will be problematic.

Technical difficulties I can understand, but I don't get the cheesing part.  It's an AMPC whose sole purpose is to walk around and create atmosphere and role play for people.  What does that have to do with cheesing?

[Masquerade Mask]

I think what he means is that ghosts do things like making the walls bleed, creating scary scenes of the past, things like that which a non-DM couldnt do. I am curious as to why playing a ghost would be so exciting. They can't react directly to new stimuli. They only haunt their place of Death. They can't actually effect anything. While I do agree they can be a powerful DM tool, I'm not sure this should be opened to PCs.

[Exordium]

Ghosts would be, in any case, extremely limited AMPCs and their destruction and salient powers are not something that NWN engine makes easy to do, which is why I doubt it's a suitable for a PC.

[Dobian]

I think what he means is that ghosts do things like making the walls bleed, creating scary scenes of the past, things like that which a non-DM couldnt do. I am curious as to why playing a ghost would be so exciting. They can't react directly to new stimuli. They only haunt their place of Death. They can't actually effect anything. While I do agree they can be a powerful DM tool, I'm not sure this should be opened to PCs.

Ghosts would be, in any case, extremely limited AMPCs and their destruction and salient powers are not something that NWN engine makes easy to do, which is why I doubt it's a suitable for a PC.

A ghost can create a Gothic horror atmosphere like few other supernatural creatures.  There are a ton of things you could do when role playing a ghost, you are only limited by your imagination.  Not everything has to be driven by the conventional AC/AB/Saving Throws.  A purely RP creature such as a ghost could be great.  Just walking down a dark alley in Vallaki or Barovia Village and seeing some strange thing flitting past you would be terrific.  The stories you can tell with ghosts are far more intriguing than the "I'm going to eat you!" of some other creatures.  But I can see this isn't going to happen so I'll let it go.  And I do appreciate the limitations of this game engine, you can only do so much with it.

[Dread]

I am slightly curious as to why a vaasalich would be hard to make and I think we might be overthinking things a bit. I think all it would require would be some fiddling with the scripts for vampires to make the coffin a phylactery instead with the appropriate placable. There would be no forms available for the vaasalich, but when you die, you turn into a form similar to the mist form (different appearance maybe?) so that you can return to your phylactery. From there, all you'd need to do is change around the creature item to be more fitting for a pseudolich. As far as abilities, perhaps a fear aura that can be activated (do mummies get that? I think they might).

The argument was in the past that there aren't really any liches that could be able to or willing to teach and help a guy become a vassalich, but given recent quests (like Mephisto's "Sins of the Father" quest), I think the door could be opened for vassaliches on the server.

Would a developer be willing to try a hand at this? I know that the cons are quite obvious: I know aMPCs are time consuming to construct, and if we use the vampires as a base, then we're going to have some bug issues at first, but the pros are also quite obvious: liches and vassaliches are pretty wicked.