Aucune réponse à ce sujet

[Darth Kirin]

Duranin: A Drawing of Shadows has been in development over three years, by a very small group of dedicated players who found something missing from the persistent worlds of the time.  While there were (and are) many wonderful and well-designed PWs to choose from, there was not one specific one that held the same philosophies and design principles we desired in a home; thus we set out to forge a new world for the hardcore, immersion-craving roleplayer with a casual lifestyle.


So how is Duranin different?


The Player's Story:
Our focus from the beginning of the project was the player's story.  Duranin as a world is not just a platform for you to experience stories, nor does it's lore follow a pre-built chain of events that you are merely witness to.  Duranin has been designed from the beginning to expect that every player is a storyteller in their own right, and to shape the world around their choices and actions.

Have a character story to want to a DM to pick up?  Post a Quest request and a DM might run something personal.  Surprise and delight a DM during a quest with your roleplay?  You might end up with a plot-significant item that shifts the focus of a campaign story around you.

Our players are not only observers to the events in the world, they are meant to be active participants in history, both with or without a DM present. 


An Experience system for the player with a family, not the grind-minded:
We don't think you should have to play every single night to keep up with your peers; as older gamers ourselves, we realize that the strength of roleplay you offer is not directly connected to the amount of time you log in.  Beyond the 5th level in Duranin, which you may level to freely with no caps or restrictions, we employ a weekly "soft cap" of experience derived through combat, that helps reduce the experience curve between those that can play every day of the week, and those that can only play on Friday nights after the kids have been put to bed.

Do not fear, however, that you are unable to advance outside of the cap.  There is a persistent experience system that rewards small amounts of xp over time for exploration and roleplaying, and actively participating in the world; this has no cap. The increments are kept small, so as not to rapidly outpace those players who cannot commit as much time:  In Duranin, we try to reward participation without encouraging excessive grinding or leaving players with limited playtimes completely in the dark.  There will be a difference in levels, but a much narrower one than you might be used to.


An equipment philosophy that emphasizes the character and the class:
When we began with Duranin, one of the first things we did was throw out the loot tables from the single-player campaigns.  While it is great fun to quickly become God-like in the campaigns, we felt that a persistent world needed a much different experience.

The equipment in Duranin has been designed in such a way that your choice of class matters much more to your style of play and uniqueness than the right combination of gear.  This is not to say we are entirely low-magic, (never fear, melee classes!), but that we avoid certain types of gear:  We try to limit the amount of skill bonuses on gear, gear is never intended to replicate unique class abilities and feats, and we don't wish for players with Use Magic Device to be able to completely replicate a wizard's spell list (Unless a wizard chooses to sell him or her scrolls, of course!)  So you will not find a ring with Hide in Plain Sight, nor are you likely to find a perfect set of gear that covers all your character's weaknesses.  We think it's your character that should matter more than your gear.

That being said, there is still a wide variety of gear to discover and collect; we've had to think outside-the-box a bit on how to diversify gear in new ways from a straight upgrade treadmill.  Many times you will find a new dagger with one advantage (Chance to Daze!) but missing something a similar dagger has (Not much bonus damage). In this way, players are encouraged to carry different items for different situations.


Story Death and Game Death are not one and the same:
The idea of "permanent death" has merit from a roleplaying perspective, but it's implementation on most PWs that advertise it simply did not work for us.  We do not feel it is okay to lose a long-time character over non-story factors, such as lag, crashes, sudden PvP, or your cat jumping on your keyboard.  Game Death as permanent death simply has too many issues for us as roleplayers, so in Duranin you will not permanently die from exploring with friends and daring some new dungeon you've found.

However, we do believe in Story Consequences:


Story Consequences: Or, yes, you can die in a DM Event:
We believe that if a character dies, and for good, it should be as a consequence of their actions, not from mechanical factors.  It is not advised for you to challenge an entire drow army on your own in Duranin and expect the DM to help you escape: actions have consequences in Duranin, and one of those consequences is a potential story death.

There are a few caveats.  A DM will not randomly drop a mountain on you, a player always has to make a choice somewhere along the line.  There are many, many "consequences" you can experience other than a story death: you can be injured, cursed, or outcast for your actions if things take a bad turn.  And a DM will warn you beforehand if an event is venturing into territory that may lead to actual death, and players will always have the option to flee or withdraw (though, other consequences can come with little forewarning).

What's the point of all that?  Well, with great risk comes great reward.  A character that defies injury or death to pull off some heroic deed may earn great fame in the world of Duranin, and may even attract followers.  History is written about those who gamble against fate, and win.

If you are a more humble player who does not wish to be so famous in the world, never fear: you will never lose your character unless you choose to do so.


DM Events: Sometimes random, sometimes announced:
In Duranin, we see the merit of both scheduling and announcing a quest or a quest-chain in advance, and in the spontaneity of randomly stumbling into some great adventure.  We see no reason not to do both!

You can pick and choose what style you prefer, or do both.  Can only play for a few hours?  Sign up for a scheduled event that fits within your schedule.  Prefer to play at random times?  Explore and interact with the world!  If a DM spots an opportunity for a fun event, he will craft it on the spot.


The Artifact System:
Do you remember the first time you picked up a truly unique item in a pen-and-paper roleplaying game?  When you got that sword passed down by your ancestors, or stumbled across the enchanted gloves of a long-dead wizard that grumbled whenever you picked up a martial weapon?

In Duranin, we've tried to bring that feeling back.  While rare, sometimes during a DM event (and depending on player actions), you will stumble across an Artifact: a truly unique item.  Only one copy of an Artifact will ever exist in the game-world.  If you give it away or sell it, it's gone forever.  Artifacts are almost always directly related to the story of a quest or events, are usually a bit more powerful than regular items, and can be identified by their golden text.

Artifacts are a measure of prestige, and nostalgia for the events that spawned them.  They add a personal flavor to the world and the events that shape it.  Not every player will obtain one: but when and if they do, it will surely be remembered.


A fully-realized world:
Duranin counts about 100 areas, which may be smaller than some gameworlds you are used to.  Duranin, however, has a unique claim to fame for it's world design: Every single area was hand-crafted by a single person with a single vision.  There are no pre-made areas.  There are no jarring shifts in style or quality between areas.  Every map flows into the next as part of an organic whole, and every area is fully-realized as a scenic element unique to Duranin.

But don't take our word for it!  Scroll to the bottom of this post for some examples of Duranin's hand-crafted world.


Want an extra layer of immersion?  So do we.  Miss some NWN1 elements?  So did we:
At Duranin, we've modified the engine and UI to be just a little more seamless than it is by default.  We've removed the scrolling feature from player chat, so it stays still in the game world and you can read it without resorting to your chat box all the time.  We've removed the glowing circle that is persistently beneath your character, and jarring to immersion.

We do not use the overland map in any form, as we feel it's too immersion-breaking.  In Duranin you travel the world without a bird's eye view, by traveling the open roads on foot.


Censorship?  We don't believe in it:
Duranin is not a "social" server, but at the same time, we don't believe in censoring our players or imposing a specific set of morals upon them.  Some of our greatest works of fantasy literature push the boundaries of what is socially-acceptable.  Because of this, we require that all of our players be 18 or over.  If your character is profane, they may be, but keep in mind that other characters and NPCs may react to you with disgust.  If your character is overtly sexual, they may be, but keep in mind other characters and NPCs will not take you very seriously.

We only draw the line at acts of rape or anything involving underage characters in any way.  These two things may not be roleplayed at any time, and will result in a non-negotiable ban from the server.


Custom races?  Unique character backgrounds?  Yes, and yes! (but with a few conditions):
We are of two minds in Duranin, and they are not necessarily in conflict:  We believe in keeping the world somewhat "down to earth", and having the tone and feeling of a low fantasy in the vein of the Song of Ice and Fire series, but at the same time will consider anything.  We never wish (nor will never have) a situation where dozens of characters with wings are standing outside the local tavern chatting about the weather, but at the same time, do not feel the need to ban all winged races outright.


So if you want to play a nonstandard race: wow us.  Write a story that that shows us why we would be fools to not allow your Winged Aasimar or your Wererat.  Show us why they would add so much more than they would take away. Nothing is completely off the table, though the table may be some distance away.

As a player of a standard race, never fear for being outnumbered.  Races that cannot hide their unusual heritage are not able to enter the major cities, and are treated with distrust by NPCs.  The strange creature with wings is something you meet along a forest road, not in the local tavern.

Races that are outcast?  Never fear, there are still places for you to meet, and places to trade, though fewer.  You life is more difficult, but not impossible.  And that's the balance we're shooting for.


Five years of Community Content:
Duranin has incorporated some of the best models and content from the vault into it's haks, and you should always be able to give your character that unique look and feel.  We utilize Charlie's Appearance system for giving yourself some basic clothing alterations, but quest items or custom gear can lend to an even greater variety.

Not that we have modified Charlie's Appearance system to not work on items held, such as weapons and shields.  This is intentional, as the more impressive and unique models of weapons/shields are reserved for unique weapons/shields. 

Your clothing, however, is widely customizable.


The Community: aka You, the Player:
You are the single most important person in Duranin's community.  You, the player.  Without you, the server does not exist.  Without you, there are no quests, no RP, and no events.  Everything we do in Duranin is built around the concept of the Player, rather than the DM or the admins.  We crafted and we support the world, but it is your world.

From the very beginning we vowed that the Player had to be kept foremost in our minds when running this world.  We've seen too many times before where players were ridiculed, or outright verbally abused by their staff.  This is not acceptable, and it won't happen in Duranin.  If it does, send me a direct PM.  I will handle it.

We have seen a dozen persistent worlds come and go due to a culture of mistrust between players and staff, and a lack of open communication.  We do not want to make those same mistakes.  We may not agree with you, but we will always talk to you.   We will share our plans and philosophies with players, and consider all their feedback about the world.

You will not be ignored, and you will not be forgotten.  You are Duranin.


If you have any question about Duranin or it's philosophies: please ask in this thread, and I'll respond as soon as I can!


Sign up on the forums at:
http://duranin.com



400x250http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y264/kirin_fenrir/NWN2_SS_061411_201615-1.jpg[/img]

400x250http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y264/kirin_fenrir/NWN2_SS_061711_063031.jpg[/img]

400x250http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y264/kirin_fenrir/dura2tcoast1.jpg[/img]

400x250http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y264/kirin_fenrir/Duranin/NWN2_SS_033109_132754.jpg[/img]

400x250http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y264/kirin_fenrir/Duranin/NWN2_SS_030409_015948.jpg[/img]

400x250http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y264/kirin_fenrir/Duranin/NWN2_SS_041409_135948.jpg[/img]

Modifié par Darth Kirin, 13 février 2012 - 08:30 .