Useful information for new players



Introduction to the Depths
The Depths is a NWN2 persistent world for the PC game NWN2 with a particular focus on questing and storyline, character development and problem solving. The campaign takes place in a bespoke game-world with a long pedigree: it has its own pantheon and history, and a full complement of customised creatures, items, feats and prestige classes to reflect this.

Character advancement is based firmly around the very large number of scripted quests on the server. Some of these quests are simple, others are far more complex and are strung together in long quest series of up to 20 quests; there is also a single player campaign involving a much longer storyline.

Experience is primarily gained through the completion of quests, rather than simply for slaying creatures, and there are opportunities for characters to use non-combat abilities such as stealth and conversation skills should they wish to, although there is plenty of combat for those who want it.

The Depths also aims to offer intelligent dungeon-delving in a fairly classic Dungeons & Dragons vein. A lot of attention has gone into area design: the areas are large and attractive with numerous dungeons, many of which have multiple levels. There are plenty of puzzles and scripted events to give these dungeons extra pizzaz, and many of the battles are designed to present a genuine tactical challenge to the player, so that when you do choose combat there’s a bit more to it than repetetive strain injury.

Our design intent is to challenge the playing skills of the player, not the character build. You will find yourself exploring gradually deeper into some of the larger dungeons as you increase in level, and although there is considerable scope for solo play, most higher level adventure areas are designed with parties in mind. Because most of the content is pre-coded, you can drop in and out of the server as the mood takes you without feeling that you are missing out on any of the major storylines: in this respect, The Depths is like a single-player module, with the advantage that you are playing it with other people.

What should I know about building a Depths Character?
The quick answer is not all that much. Just focus on having fun and opportunities for advancing your character will present themselves.
 * Unlike Vanilla D&D, in The Depths, your character has expansive opportunity for development. There is no need to worry about “gimping” your character because you did not take the perfect feat selection.  Gaining new feats and abilities is not limited to the level-up process; that is just one of a number of ways you gain them.
 * Quests - You can acquire feats from completing certain quests; a number of trainer type NPCs will offer quests that give feats as rewards.
 * Quest Token – There are 100s of quests in The Depths. For every 10 quests you complete you gain a Quest Token.  These tokens can be taken to a trainer and exchanged for a Class Feat.
 * Tomes of Knowledge – You can learn new feats from Tomes of Knowledge which you acquire during your adventures. Boss and Sub-Boss creatures all have a chance of creating a randomly generated Tome that provides feat training for a level-appropriate feat.
 * Traits – There are 10 different traits that give a wide variety of character bonuses. As you adventure, explore, and complete quests; your knowledge of these traits and the bonuses they provide grow stronger.
 * We do suggest you take care when assigning ability scores. Depending on the class, you should make sure your ability scores are consistent with the role of the class.
 * The 4 initial classes are designed as such;
 * Conscripts are strength and constitution based
 * Scouts are dexterity based
 * Scholars are intelligence based and
 * Healers are wisdom based.
 * In addition, skill points are a crucial element of both character design and are heavily used in various systems and adventures. We recommend that characters with a low skill point based consider increasing their intelligence to gain additional points. Many class feats have skill rank requirements and you will find your options suffer if you lack the proper training.  For example, the Use Artifact skill allows you to put powerful items into your ranged slots; effectively increasing your equipment slots by three.
 * Feel free to experiment with your character design. Since your progress is not closed-ended, there is nothing preventing you from developing your character for one style of play and then deciding to pursue a different route in the future. Do not be surprised if fate plays a part in the progression of your character; a couple of rare Tomes of Knowledge might give you opportunities you did not expect.
 * Finally, when deciding upon a class to play, review the master paths associated with your choice. Each base class will eventually elect one of four mastery paths that determine the overall role of your character.  If you choose to be a Scout for example, at level 13 you will be asked to decide between the Burglar (the rogue-extraordinaire), the Dervish (the deadliest of all close combat participants), the Marksman (the master archer) or the Pathfinder (the well-rounded adventurer). Knowing what you want to achieve can enlighten the journey.

Role-playing
The Depths is roleplay lite, heavy on story, heavy on adventuring and exploring, and heavy on character development. Role-playing is encouraged but not required. If some players in a party are role-playing, it would be great if the other party members could join in. However, there are no role-play cops here, and we are not going to create rules that are punitive for people that don’t choose to role-play. For the most part, we believe that the issue of role-play is and should be driven by the player community.

Player vs Player
PvP is not supported and we will protect the rights of players to remain free of harassment. Attacking or picking the pockets of another player character is not permitted.

Code of conduct
We keep it very simple: we have two very basic rules.
 * Rule 1 is the golden rule: treat others as you want to be treated.
 * Rule 2 is even simpler: be good or be gone. The expectation is that players will be cooperative,fair, and friendly. This is a mature server, not in the x-rated sense but in the sense that players act like adults and deal with others in a grown up manner. We would rather have ten mature, respectful players than a thousand immature players: we want the same type of people we would call friends in the real world to be our friends in our fantasy world.

If you meet another player in a dungeon, it is good manners at least to say hello to them, and better still if you join up into a party: if another player has just cleared a room and is recovering, please do not rush straight past them after they have done half of the hard work for you. Do not take the loot drops of creatures slain by a player who is not in your party unless the correct owner of the loot has clearly left it, or you have an agreement.

Using the shout channel to ask occasional questions is fine, especially for those new players. Try to refrain from having one-on-one conversation in shout; if a conversation can be taken to the tell channel then it probably should: overuse of the shout channel can be very disruptive for other players.

''One additional rule applies: conduct that would be inappropriate in the work place is also inappropriate in The Depths. Racial or sexual harassment, excessive swearing, abuse and so forth are prohibited and will lead to a permanent ban. This is my 8th year of operating a persistent world and I can count on one hand the number of people that I have banned, so I am not really expecting any problems but I do want to set the correct expectations'' - Segal Soulsaver (Lead DM)

What do I need in order to play on the the Depths server?
You need to have the game NWN2 installed on your PC, and both the Mask of the Betrayer and Storm of Zehir expansions (without which you may run into problems when leveling up or entering certain areas). The Depths generally keeps up-to-date with the latest official patch from Obsidian (give or take a day or two), so you will probably need to do likewise.

As with all NWN2 servers, you will also need to download & install several server files, however with the advent of the 1.23 patch this process is handled automatically by the game whenever you connect to the server.

There is no password required to log on to the server as a player, and you are welcome to join at any time. You can find the server in the PW Story category in gamespy, under the name of The Depths. You can also connect to the server through the “Direct Connect” option on the Multiplayer menu. This method is useful on occasions when The Depths server does not appear on the server list. It should be accessible through entering this address:TheDepths.game-host.org This address might take a few minutes to update if the server IP address change. Don't worry. The process is automatically. Just try again in 5 minutes or so.

NOTE: Please make sure you have no files in your override directory. This causes problems on the server. If you play on another server that uses the override folder, kindly ask them to be a good neighbor and stop.

Where can I report a bug?
Player feedback and constructive criticism is welcome (provided it's expressed politely). If there is any particular aspect of the game you would like to discuss, or if you need to report a bug or get stuck with a quest or puzzle (it happens to us all), drop in at the Depths forums (or paste the following into your browser: The Depths Forum). You will find information on spells, feats, classes and more on this wiki.

Where can I find out about some of the customised features of the Depths?
A list of the more signifcant customised features of the Depths (such as the Death system, crafting, and so on), as well as detailed information about them, can be found in the Customised World Features section of this wiki.

How can I communicate with other players in NWN2 multiplayer?
Pressing enter, or clicking in the dialogue box will allow you to talk to characters nearby. Type in your message and then press enter. It will appear above your head. Adding /s or clicking the S button in the dialog box (for “shout”) in front of your message will mean that it gets sent to every player on the server. Adding /p or clicking the P button in the dialog box(for “party”) will mean that it goes to everyone in your party. You can send a “tell” (private message) by typing: /t “player's-in-gamename” and then your message, or by clicking on the NWN2 "eye" button (usually on the bottom left of your screen), and selecting player chat from the option list; then click the name of the player you wish to send a message to, type your message and press enter. You can also type /r before your message to reply to a tell.

How can I barter with other players in NWN2 multiplayer?
To barter, right click on the player who you wish to trade with and select the barter option. The trade window will then appear and you can drag the items and/or gold you wish to trade into it. When you have finished selecting your items to trade click offer, and when the other person has made their offer (and if you are satisfied with it), click accept. When both parties accept the items will be exchanged.

How can I form a party in NWN2 multiplayer?
The player list command on the NWN2 “eye” menu will give you a list of all players in game with both their character name and account name. If you highlight a player’s name and then click the open hand button at the top of the list it will invite that player to join your party. The other icons allow you to remove players from your party, block them and so on. Hovering the mouse of each button will tell you what they do. You can also right click on a player who is on screen and select send invite to join party.

Are there any useful default keys I should know about?
 
 * The Shift key by default will toggle walking/running, or disable walkmode if you accidently pressed it.
 * The G key by default will toggle your mode bar. The N key by default will toggle your minimap.
 * The F key by default will toggle your quickcast menu.
 * The P key will bring up the player list.

