Suggestions and comments on the Mist Camp serving as a high level hub

[Soren / Zarathustra217]

As has been discussed in another topic, we aspire to make the Mist Camp a good base of operation and roleplay hub for higher level activity. By orienting this at the Mist Camp, we can better focus and what is needed for higher levelled character and provide an environment that makes better sense for their level of power.

This topic is for you to make comments and suggestions on how we improve the Mist Camp for this purpose. It could all from the general physical setup of the camp or the access to crafting resources in the vicinity to discussing the story background for the camp in itself.

Even if we won't be able to accomodate for all requests, all ideas are welcome.

[Mark Johansen]

i like the idear of an high level hub, but as for example my char Munei. she has no reason to be there unless traveling to somewhere from there - she allways stays around forests and wildlife.

[Emomina]

First thing I would suggest is to enlarge the place.  Its nearly impossible to get far enough away that other people's roleplay is not spammed in the chat window.
One of the strengths of the Western Outskirts is that when the roleplay get way intense with about 20-30 characters on the same map,   you can lessen the load by spreading out just a bit.

Another thing I recommend is a tavern/hangout spot.   With tables and a bar.  Its not the most in-character thing but its not ridiculous thing either.  Having a replacement for the Lady's Rest should be somewhat of a priority. It doesnt have to be a tavern but somewhere inside for people to go that is bigger than the Tent would be ideal.

[HellsPanda]

I would rather see the new Hub be either the village or port. I dont think the Vistani would be happy so many insane outlanders moved into their camp, at all times

[Valerio Umberto]

I'm not sure if this belongs here, please move it if not...but I want to post reasons why the Mist Camp should -NOT- be geared to being the RP hub for higher level characters. Instead, I would suggest the village of Barovia (but that is for another thread)

You Discourage Native RP

Regardless of level, and with a few rare exceptions, no Barovian, Borcan, Invidian (especially!)  is going to be comfortable hanging around a Vistani camp in the middle of a Misty no-man's land. I feel like you'd either force players to break with the general ethnic customs and traits of the characters as laid out in lore or cause a diminishing of an already limited number of native RPers. Understand, I realize that Out-of-Worlders are the sort of adventurer Ravenloft is geared for, but none of us can deny the flavour RP and atmospheric delight of our native RPers.

You Greatly Limit Factions for Higher Level Players

For reasons of lore or common sense you are not going to have military, religious or trade factions being able to establish themselves in a Mist Camp. This will, in turn, make Vallaki a place of very high-level faction die-hards and new players. I just don't think that is ideal to the overall RP of the Sever.


A Disconnect from Core Lands Removes Players From the Story

By making the Mist Camp the hub you remove the players from the daily grind of living and surviving in one of the lands of the Core. Be it Barovia, Dementileu etc...
I just don't forsee the RVT or the various religious cults being able to function sensibly in the Mist Camp due to the nature of the Vistani and their own rules, feuds, lore and culture.


 EDIT: Also, woundn't the Vistani camp be essentially for the most part "safe' at all hours? I mean you'll not see MPCs, feuding groups or Monster spawns raiding it...doesn't it contradict the setting to have an RP hub be ENTIRELY without the dangers of a Gothic Horror setting?

[Kenkaku]

My biggest qualm with staying around the Mist Camp is crafting resources. Primarily, herbalism ones.


More caves that aren't filled with small armies would be nice. As has been suggested before, some random spawn caves around Port with some bounties would be good, and a few around the Village would certainly be a nice touch.

A crypt in Port would be a good addition as well, and maybe have more herbs spawn in the Village crypts. Seriously, throughout that entire complex, I find about 5 herbs.  

A few more Forest spawn points would be nice, though, just a few more areas of Forest terrain would probably be better. Ones NOT filled with a thousand lurking back-stabbers....


Also, a Silver-mine would be great. Currently, there's only one place to get silver and it's across the server (arguably on one of the many layers of hell, as well).


A wider diversity of animals for leatherworking would certainly be a nice touch since the only hides you can find that way are Crocodile, Worg , Bodak and Dire wolf. Ancient Teddies in that one cave by the falls.... And we all thought it was empty.  


For alchemy, some fire reagents in Har'Akir would be useful. Maybe some cold reagents in a possible mountain area? Perhaps some pudding/ooze spawns in any potential random caves could be used for acid reagents instead of... Massive... Puddings... Dear god, those things are horrifying.



One big thing that would certainly help at least the Village area is a Storage warehouse. There's a warehouse, but I've yet to see a place you can store anything.

[Norture]

_{Maybe it's meant to be an outlander concentration camp. . .}



Edit:
Actually, another plus for Village is it has a place where witches could go and hang out. An exclusive witch club.

[Vespertilio]

-Make the map bigger or add more than one area to the mist camp hub so it doesn't feel as cramped.  Right now it feels very crowded with just a few pcs.

-Add herbalism nodes to the maps if expanded a bit, perhaps consider some sort of herb which would only be found in the mist camp areas.  It doesn't have to be a new potion making recipe but could be something like a fifth option for making healing or curation/antidote/resore potions.  It would still take four and critical would be the most potent, but there would be a fifth plant variable to use in the recipes.

-A few smaller safe rest area tents scattered about for pcs to rp in.

-Alchemy stations and supplies vardo 

-Herbalism station and supplies vardo

-An NPC who has rumors and lore about the various domains reached from the mist camp hub to 'direct groups of pcs to high adventure'.



All these suggestions being said, I fully agree that encouraging the rp hubs to be other domains adds more to the feeling of the ravenloft setting. Each domain is different so they add the opportunity to experience rp/dynamics/plots/events vastly differing domains.  The mist camp is a stopover point to a journey, adding more reasons to stay longer stays will, I agree, generate of feeling of rp'ing in 'limbo'.

[Norture]

The problem with having resource spawn in the mist camp is resources would rarely spawn there, just like resources rarely spawn in the outskirts due to how high traffic it is. The respawn script just doesn't get a chance fire.

[dark_majico]

I would rather see the new Hub be either the village or port. I dont think the Vistani would be happy so many insane outlanders moved into their camp, at all times

I agree it aught to be a city or a village, having a giant mist camp with a mist tavern, and a mist shop, and a mist whatever else seems like an idea from a bizzare final fantasy game.

[k_moustakas]

My main issueis it takes too much time to go and leave the mist camp. Whereas the outskirts are thirty seconds away from logging in and two minutes away from adventure.

[Dread]

I am totally biased here... but what is wrong with Dementlieu? Put in a few low-level areas closeby, and expand on the countryside with some caves filled with some low-level and high-level spawns (in different caves, of course), maybe a haunted house or two, add Chateaufaux (since it's small) and you've got yourself a nice little hang-out space.

I'd actually like Dementlieu to be a hub, not for some camp in the mists to occupy the role a real place in the Core should, and for a large group of people to stay there longer than for when a player organizes and puts on a event. A lot of good arguments come up about the faction hubs being in Vallaki, so I think it would be far better to have most of the factions get a place in Port-a-Lucine to stay (obviously the Vallaki Garda can't be represented in Dementlieu, but perhaps there could be Barovian diplomatic mission in Port-a-Lucine that native Barovians could work out of)? For example, a Rectory associated with Ste. Mere des Larmes, perhaps built out of the labyrinthine catacombs beneath Dementlieu. A chapel to the Morninglord possibly opening in the Quartier Ouvrier, competing with the Halites for the hearts and minds of the poor? The Vardo have an outpost in Port-a-Lucine already, though it could perhaps be expanded upon.. and other factions like the Wayfarer Kinship, being heavily associated with Mordent and the Weathermays as far as I can tell, could have a faction based in perhaps one of Jules' summer homes in the countryside?

Just some ideas - I think Dementlieu would make for a much better hub than a place in the Mists that's only real draw is the raunie and the trader dude.

[Jay]

At the risk of taking a step backwards. I'm all for having a hang-out for the higher up characters, but a lot of us are not actually detrimental to a low-level characters experience in and around Vallaki. A lot of the "learning" people do on the server about what is good, what is bad, how to behave and who they can ally with is done through talking to already established characters. Likewise a lot of the Faction RP is focused on the headquarters of that faction (in the city) so when the low level members of your faction need you, you can be there.
I recently took a character i made (level 3) to Port Au Lucine since he is not suited to the atmosphere of Barovia, and he nearly died twice along  the way, so if a Lowbie needs to get help from or talk to a High level character they risk being killed somewhere along the way, for the sake of finding someone to RP with.
There is also the fact that the player economy is somewhat dependant on the interaction betwen higher level character and lower levels ones (such as my favourate way of making money with new characters, herb selling). I can't help but feel the notion of excluding the server from itself this way actually discourages the development and inclusiveness of the community here. I can't help but feel this is a small overreaction to a handfull of irresponsible Higher level characters throwing their weight around too much and giving the rest a bad name. But those are just my thoughts.

Back on topic:
I agree that the mist camp lacks a lot of the atmosphere of the setting, it strikes me as a sort of "Temporary adventurer supply camp that happens to have gypsies in it" rather then somewhere permanent or welcoming. For me the most immersive paces are the Village of Barovia, Kroftburg(oh i love that place even though it's in the middle of nowhere!) and Port Au Lucine. From a logistical point of view (travel time etc) it makes sense, but i just do not find it as welcoming or immersive as a player. It's -clearly- the Vistani's place, and you're a paying guest there. I certainly would never have a character call it home (Unless they too were a vistani i guess).
Rather then be nonconstructive and nay-saying however, I'll try and make some constructive suggestions; Perhaps having a "Dispatcher" in Dementelu who sends you out to retrieve specific thing (quest items) form dungeons that have reached a certain spawn level so you have an idea of which places are good spawn levels to go dungeoning at. Offer Faction exclusive travel options to some of the (Important)Factions members to allow them to better support there low level members and save them having to trek across the entire server to RP through a ten minute (important) scene. I'm reluctant to say "allow rarer items to be purchased outside Barovia" because then the hub will be treated like some kind of "Stop an shop" rather then a RP hub. But perhaps making some of the more difficult to find reagents more prominent around the hub would help?

Anyway i have blathered enough.

tl;dr Perhaps we are overreacting? here are some more idea's

[DM Tarokka]

Ponies.










Could not resist

[Elfric]

Ponies.










Could not resist

 

[dark_majico]

My main issueis it takes too much time to go and leave the mist camp. Whereas the outskirts are thirty seconds away from logging in and two minutes away from adventure.

This is only an issue if the factions remain set at the mist camp on the outskirts - traveling back and fourth back and fourth every reset. I suspect when the hub goes in, in whatever form and whereever it is put, there would be an option of setting your faction location to that location instead, or perhaps it will be changed for you once you reach a certain level.

[HellsPanda]

The Hub is more a place where we as Players jointly decide to gather

[dark_majico]

The Hub is more a place where we as Players jointly decide to gather

lol yeah I know, I understand that, but if the entire server population decides to screw this and stick in the outskirts no matter what, then all the DEV teams efforts are wasted, and they still face this issue.

[WildPirate13]

Were ponies.

Travel points were already mentioned about from Vallaki to the mist camp... One thing that has not been covered is it will isolate a large number of Outlanders from the Dwarven city and the Elven Village which are key RP spots for some people.  

This will also isolate Barovians from Outlanders even more so...  I may play a iadul/ladul outlander but I enjoy the interaction with the Garda and the native Barovians.

Vasco has also said it will force native Barovians act most un barovian.. to hang out in the mist camps. Perhaps the mists could change some locations around to make it more feasible. We have character back grounds from the stone age to the renaissance. The outskirts fit better for some than others also has anyone thought of the poor cellar dwellers?

Crafting materials would have to be accessible to all even those with high ocr which I have full faith will be addressed. The other issue is the exp gained from the plot the barataks aka Eg. The graveyard, the wolf caves, and the vampire crypts... some of us find it very very hard to gain exp. I know myself I dont know all the in and outs of the game mechanics to gain exp or the resource nodes.

I would like to see a caravan to the outskirts and back.. I would also like to see more accesible resources that are equal to or greater than what can be found in Barovia for all the crafts..

Perhaps open some of the *closed* dungeon areas up which would draw more people in.. The dm and dev team only have so much time... in addition..

The outskirts have been home for over 6 years for some people...

  Has anyone thought of maybe moving the mist camp itself? They are after all wagons and tents.. and Vistani...

[dutchy]

the mist camp is simply fine as it is.

the vistani are treavelers  and there for the camp should not be bigger and not house more then it does.

the server and it setting takes mostly place in barovia cause thats the largest country we have ingame so fine tuning should be done there....*mumbles and the port* 

[Knas]

I think a problem with the mist camp is that there are so many npcs there. Makes many rp situations awkward

[Soren / Zarathustra217]

Thanks for all the feedback and please keep it coming!

To make it clear, this topic is just for discussing how to make it better for it's purpose. We all have our preferences, and some high levels may choose to hang out elsewhere (like VoB or Dementlieu), but it won't hurt anyone if we looked out how to make the Mist Camp work better.

[Aduial]

A suggestion, perhaps we can make a poll where players can vote wich place will be the second hub , so the staff can concentrate their efforts mainly in that place?

[ethinos]

Being that the Mist Camp is one step away from Port-A-Lucine (which has all the crafting stations from what I recall), I don't see the Mist Camp needing crafting stations and such. It's a transient place, and crafting stations seem pretty permanent to me. I think any village or town within a close distance to the Mist Camp can serve as a high level hub, whether its the backwater folks preferring the Village or uppity folks preferring Port-A-Lucine. 6 minutes of travel through the Camp is a lot quicker than walking from Vallaki to the Village.

[dutchy]

not a bad idea.


soren eo or blue   i suppose this is more in blue's alley of things.

could you post more about the background of the mist camp?   is it cannon why is it there etc etc   so that we know what the limetations are and above all the usefullnis of that area if we know more background better ideas might come forward.