The End of EFU:M and the Start of EFU:R Feedback

[The Machinist]

Love the return to the Underdark. Love the story arc. Amazing twist. I think I will really enjoy the new setting.

If I am being 100% honest a tiny bit of me is disappointed that the concept that I came up with in Old Port and had started to really enjoy is unlikely (though I know it is theoretically possible) to get to the Underdark as they are an ill equipped level 5 Bard, but I will stick with it just in case.

[Ommadawn]

Oh my god! This is enough to bring me back to play again. The  underdark setting was one the big appeals to me when I first started playing NWN, and the quality of the new environment is simply amazing.

For the first time in over a year, I'm truly excited to be playing again, woo!

[Yanamar]

It's just the right amount of new vs old-- a lot to see that is full of nostalgia for those of us who have been around forever, and a great deal new to see and explore.
I really look forward to stepping out of my hiatus and seeing what is in store for us here in the Underdark this time around.

[tropic]

I'm so happy to be back in Sanctuary I almost shed a tear of joy.

Yaaay

[Jasede]

Now you just have to make sure EfU 5 is set in space or in the planes and I will at once donate all my earnings to you every month and sell you my organs.

But no, good job, as always. :)

[Knight Of Pentacles]

Spelljammahs oh yea.

Anyhow.  I really like how this chapter has taken a much larger scale than any of the previous.  Instead of being one person on a small patch of the Prime, you're one of the last free-willed survivors in the entire Multiverse.  It makes every little thing you do seem ten times more significant.

[Vlaid]

I absolutely love the way this all went down.

Finally there is no more looming feeling of there being "bigger and badder" things out there. In a way before it always felt like we were playing in a sheltered, low-magic area of a much more magically rich, uber powers that would be elsewhere.

Now that the playing field is level, and we are all essentially "the best anyone's got"....it feels much more impactful and interesting to me. It's hard to explain, but it brings a much greater level of storytelling to our actions now that we are some last sanctuary of free life, that there are no longer any Elminsters lingering in the planes to come rescue us with their Mary Sue powers.

Having said that, I'd like to comment on the fate of those who escaped-

It ended up feeling a little bit shallow to me to escape, only to be told in not so many words"really just don't bother keep playing that PC". I get why, and I actually agree. But I think it would have been more palpable to me if we had known from the offset "if you manage to survive and escape the End, you will be retired and immortalized in some fashion (small area with statues of surviving PC's or of something of the nature)"

Just my personal opinion, but I think it would have been a more interesting way of getting everyone to move on from surviving PC's rather than disabling respawns and letting everyone who survived peter off at the first  death they have after having gone through the grueling way down.

[The Old Hack]

I absolutely love the way this all went down.

Finally there is no more looming feeling of there being "bigger and badder" things out there. In a way before it always felt like we were playing in a sheltered, low-magic area of a much more magically rich, uber powers that would be elsewhere.

Hm. I see where you are coming from, but I never really felt that way myself. I personally envisioned the magic level to be the same everywhere in EfU Faerun and Ymph being an important corner of the world, at least magically speaking. Not necessarily the most important one -- but one where big things could happen, and as it turned out, they did!

Now that the playing field is level, and we are all essentially "the best anyone's got"....it feels much more impactful and interesting to me. It's hard to explain, but it brings a much greater level of storytelling to our actions now that we are some last sanctuary of free life, that there are no longer any Elminsters lingering in the planes to come rescue us with their Mary Sue powers.

I cannot begin to describe how much I loathe the notion of NPC ubermages lurking to move in and clear up PC messes. While I have no problem with powerful NPCs unknown and unknowable to players that pursue enigmatic agendas of their own, I always hated the setup of having a bunch of super-powered demigods hanging around as the Deus Ex Machina police. I cannot describe the joy it brought to my heart when Elminster was killed off and my sole regret is that the Simbul wasn't likewise brutally and horribly killed at the time. I can only hope that whatever poor mind flayer has eaten her brains won't be killed by food poisoning.

~tOH.

[Dillusionist]

I'm really excited for the new setting. The end of the world came about in a way I'm sure no one really anticipated, touched on obscure Faerunian law in a nice way, and nicely wove the stories of Ymph and Sanctuary back together. Just fleeing Old Port, scavenging in the prologue, I'm already getting this terrible sinking feeling that eclipses even seeing the Agony rip Rabbanatha in half.

The new emphasis on survival is great. I adore how wilderness survival let's you go without food. Really makes you feel like a badass when  you range out into the underdark away from Sanctuary.

Having said that, I'd like to comment on the fate of those who escaped-

It ended up feeling a little bit shallow to me to escape, only to be told in not so many words"really just don't bother keep playing that PC". I get why, and I actually agree. But I think it would have been more palpable to me if we had known from the offset "if you manage to survive and escape the End, you will be retired and immortalized in some fashion (small area with statues of surviving PC's or of something of the nature)"

Just my personal opinion, but I think it would have been a more interesting way of getting everyone to move on from surviving PC's rather than disabling respawns and letting everyone who survived peter off at the first  death they have after having gone through the grueling way down.

But I'd like to echo Vlaid's sentiment. The high rate of PC turnover definitely moves the server along. But after escaping into the new setting it feels a little hollow; is the take-away message "Play your PC if you -want-, but we'd prefer you step aside?" With the inability to respawn hanging over your head it forces you to be careful, but also it seems to discourage a lot of the more fun risks (BoM quests, etc.) as even just questing against high-critting enemies can spell a rather dull end for your PC; or worse yet leave to a dull life.

[PlayaCharacter]

I have not even played yet because I'm still too excited about this and can't decide what I want to do. I feel like every off-hand comment I ever made in IRC about what I loved about EFU was made manifest in this new setting. As a grown-up, this is the closest I've come to the feeling of Christmas morning since the Nintendo.

[Ommadawn]

I have not even played yet because I'm still too excited about this and can't decide what I want to do. I feel like every off-hand comment I ever made in IRC about what I loved about EFU was made manifest in this new setting. As a grown-up, this is the closest I've come to the feeling of Christmas morning since the Nintendo.

Thank you playa, this captures my feelings about the new setting perfectly.

[Sponduli]

I played a goblin today who died on the same day. It was glorious and some of the most fun I've had on EfU in a while. Sanctuary and the Underdark as a whole is a brilliant setting and I'm very happy to see a return to it.

[Knight Of Pentacles]

Oh.  The death of abunch of useless gods is nice too,  Moar pls

[UnholyWon]

In the conclusion of the EFU:M I had the chance as a player to finally have my finger on the big red button, and that allowed me to live out one of my dreams as a player to be active in the change of the server in a major event. Thank you to Howland and the Mortals, and all that jazz. It was truly an epic experience.

The idea to escape Ymph and undeath at all costs was invigorating, and I saw a lot of players really stepped up their RPing. The feeling that the ship sinking time to jump ship was real. I remember wandering the Ymph, and feeling so alone and deserted, and this was truly the End. There was almost a sense of mourning for me in the end of this chapter because even though H'bala was defeated Ymph was still lost.

I have to take my hat off to the players that really facilitated the closing of this Chapter, but while I say that I can't ignore the players that may have had supporting roles. Supporting roles always have a special place in my heart because I like to play those roles a great amount. Great job players, keep it up because are walking the hallowed grounds of Sanctuary, and for some of you this is the first time while for others, like myself, it is a return to home.

I can't imagine how it was as DM to watch it all come to pass, and know where the next chapter was moving. As I have yet to log in and see the changes of Sanctuary and revisit old stomping grounds, I look forward to seeing the changes in the Underdark.

Now as a Player of multiple characters that has longed to return to the surface, seen the Sun of the surface and walked underneath its warmth, and watched it swallowed up and destroyed helplessly as hordes of mindless creatures swarmed the surface. It is only fitting that we return to the very place that birthed us, but not to use as a hidden Sanctuary, but a Sanctuary to regroup and muster the full strength of a town that despite all odds and abandonment has survived where all other places have fallen.

Cheers!

-UnholyWon

[Ethikos]

I am extremely excited about the server moving forward. I liked EfU, thought EfU:A was a needed break, got really intrigued with EfU:M, and am blown away by EfU:R. Really looking forward to all of this DMs.