The Silver Marches

[Legacy_TSMDude]

               


http://www.iscandar....plate=signature
Well Met!

Tales of the Silver Marches was first done way back in 2001. After four wipes in those years the current module was deemed a bit unweildingly and realeased and Stonewyvern asked us as Builders and Scripters from large servers ourselves to step in and redo it. So we did.

We used all new systems as well as some of our own and recreated a New Vibrant World...The Silver Marches.


Someone asked how friendly we are to new players and before I had a chance to respond you can see what the Player Base had to say right  here.
 
A collection of pictures

classes to choose from.
 
We are an older PW that was completely rebuilt by a few crazy dedicated numbskulls and it seems word of mouth has gone out and we find ourselves with about 5 to 15 people logging in daily. Hopefully the trend stays to the point we soon have 20 people on all the time. Of course that would be ideal though we could handle more than 20 at a time but then would have to seriously upgrade our Staff. I am hoping to stay about a 5 players to 1 ratio on Staff.
 
We are based in the Forgotten Realms area of the Silver Marches. No…at the moment we do not allow drow as our Underdark is not all in and really...not sure if we could handle a bunch of Drizzit clones running around at the moment. But we are working on it and Drow will be allowed soon as well as 60 plus other Sub Races.
 
Crafting, new spells…so many different fun little bits to see. Hope you take a look at our forums and our Site and let us know what you think. You can pm here or on the forums under the name TSM Junkie.
 
We are very close to Pen and Paper in rules and use only the CEP as our hak. We have swimming, teleport, deity and domains. We have Timed, Exploration and even Player Awarded XP. Heck...we have too much to list here but here goes.
I hope you all come and take a peek at us. We would love to have you.

Our death system was designed by a fellow named aptly Axe Murderer. His system allows it so players when they do expire have some options. They can wait and hopefully their erstwhile partners are carrying their bloated corpses back to a Priest to raise them back to life like Max the Miracle Worker.
Or in the Fugue they may take the portal back which will give them some options from taking random items, some vital xp, or gold. Guess you can buy your way out of hell so to speak, lol. You can even choose whether to go to a temple or to the spot you died.
 
Then our bleeding system is a bit different. When you’re smacked down by a wolf he might eat you or wander away. While a Zombie would of course dig in like you’re the last burger at Rosanne’s House. But a goblin might grab some of your gold or just maybe you gave that bandit as good as you got and he might hunker down a few feet away and try and heal himself up a bit in case that stubborn adventure gets up.
 
Basically like everything we have added we have tried for three things to guide us.
1/ Character Development.
2/ Fun and challenging…not just one or the other.
3/ The Player Base asked for it.
 
In that spirit we have installed and modified the following list of features.
 
Crafting/Tradeskills
Player Housing
True Forgotten Realms Deity System
Spell Storing Devices
Personnel Storage
Hide Level Character List on Start Up
Rest Menu Features
    This needs mentioning as it lets you do a host of things dependant on your PC from Scrying to Praying.
Real Seasons and Weather
Real Time
Fishing
Actual Caravans to lead from city to city for gold
Teleporting
New Spells like Blink and Push
Very very unique Items
   An intelligent sword that backtalk’s dependant on the area your in
   A Robe of Time Stop that can do Time Stop when donned
   A Gladiator Net
   A Cloak of Levitation
Custom Summoning by domains, alignment, schools of Magic
True PnP Style Turn Undead (Heck control them if evil)
Dragon Riding
Horse and Ponies both for riding AND Pack Animals
Pack penguins (don’t ask I was drinking that day)
True Drinking Scripts complete with Dwarven Skills
Gambling from Black Jack to Roulette
Beautiful Designed Naturally Flowing Areas
6 Different ways to gain XP
   Combat/Quest
   Staff Given
   Player Given
   Exploration
   Crafting
   Timed


Basically like everything we have added we have tried for three things to guide us.
1/ Character Development.
2/ Fun and challenging…not just one or the other.
3/ The Player Base asked for it.
               
               

               

                     Modifié par TSMDude, 15 juin 2011 - 07:54 .
                     
                  

            

[Legacy_TSMDude]

               Our Main Thread is here if you would like to read more on us.
               
               

               
            

[Legacy_ffbj]

               Congratulations to all involved in TSM and their addition to the:

HALL OF FAME
               
               

               
            

[Legacy_TSMDude]

               

ffbj wrote...

Congratulations to all involved in TSM and their addition to the:
HALL OF FAME

Thank you and because we use a script or two from you that includes you as well.
               
               

               
            

[Legacy_ffbj]

               Oh thanks for the mention.
               
               

               
            

[Legacy_TSMDude]

               In our Start area in two spots we mention all the stuff we have adapted or used from the Vault...heck without the Vault many servers including ours would not be the crazy places they are and I think NWN would have died off a long time ago.



               
               

               
            

[Legacy_TSMDude]

               We have made a new and improved Silver Marches Portrait Pack that has about 1000 pics in it. This does have some Sub Races for tieflings and assimars if you use this as well as Gensai but all in all it is about 50 pictures of each sex and race....except gnomes which have about 25 of each because...well...they are gnomes.

All of these are from the Vault and there is no nudity in any of them or Naruto or Anime pics either.

I also removed LotR Pics as between LotRs and modified pics of Angelina Jolie I almost went mad.

What you will not find is Drizzit in here. Or junk. Or naked breast displayed which btw leads me to think as many pair of ahem pics of naked women there was that some teenage kid made about half the packs on the Vault.

It is NOW loaded to the Vault at the linked page.
               
               

               
            

[Legacy_TSMDude]

               Tales of the Silver Marches has a bit of recent in flux of players while we have lost a Staff to real life and another to a longer than thought real life job. Dang jobs and money....anyhow...with this we need some dedicated Staff who are intrested in maybe pursuing a leadership role or builder role.

We do expect a lot but we are also a very close knitted Community and as such give and enjoy alot as well.


If you have any intrest go ahead and read through our DM Code of Conduct and see if mayhap you would be intrested in joining us. We would ask any potential person that is intrested know that we will either
A/ Expect you to have led a similiar postion on another role play server
or
B/ play on our server for a bit so you know what to expect
or
C/being willing to run a small adventure for some folks with a Staff looking over your shoulder.

Hopefully we hear from some good folks to join our Hall of Fame Server.




The following are the expectations TSM holds for it's DMs. It's posted here for full community view so it's understood that DMs are held to a standard, not just the players.

DM Code of Conduct

Though each member of the crew is important in it's own way, there is no more influential position then that of a DM. Being the ones who interact the most with the player base either through quests, general day to day help, or dealing with issues, it's the DMs who are on the forefront of any server. Even the best built places can fall apart due to a negligent, rude, selfish, self centered or a non-existent DM crew. With this in mind, the following guideline was written in the spirit for the continual harmony of the TSM community.

Conduct 1 - Responsibility

- As a DM it is your responsibility to make sure that you are open and available as often as possible. If you know that in your real life that you don't have the time to devote to being on the server as a DM, then do not volunteer for the position and do not continue to hold on to the position. There is no shame in dropping out if you know for certain other obligations will hold you back. It's better to have just 2 reliable and present DMs, rather then a list of 5 or 6 absentee DMs.

- If you've made the decision to become a DM and still intend to be on as a player as well, you need to do two things.

One is to make sure you log more hours on as a DM, then you do as a player. By accepting the title of DM you are also accepting the fact that you now have a responsibility to the community as a whole. This means being on and being present in your DM form. Taking a break from being a DM to be a player every once in a while is fine, however mind how many hours you are spending as one or the other.

Second is to make a solid separation between you as a DM and you as a player. Being part of the DM crew does not give you allowances to give you access or benefits to your PCs that other PCs (players) do not have. This can include, but is not limited to:




Posting as your character IC in a guild forum that your PC does not belong to.


Using your main PC that you play on a regular basis as an NPC to start a quest, then switch over to a DM to see to the quest.


Giving your own PC XP, gear, or gold to compensate for your time "lost" being on as a DM.


Begging, asking, or expecting more XP, gear, or gold for your PC, just because you're a DM.


Logging off as a player, then back on as a DM in order to raise the party you were with that got wiped out.


Using the IC information you read in a forum to the benefit of your own PC, giving him/her knowledge they normally would not know had you not read it (a.k.a. metagaming).


Giving the guild your PC belongs to unfair advantages, perks, gear, or attention when another player/DM is in charge of seeing to the guild already. -Or- making your own PC part of a guild that you are already in charge of in order to take full advantage.

Always mind that you as a DM and you as a player need to be kept as separate entities. Be fair to the player base by playing fair as a player.

- Don't forget the responsibility to yourself so you continue to enjoy being a DM. To prevent burning out, take time off occasionally from being a DM. Approximately a week out of each month where you concentrate on being a player or just walk away from the server for a bit. When you are on as a player, do your best to concentrate on being a player, not a DM.  This means, when asked for DM attention, you must weigh whether it is vital or not as to whether you should become involved as a DM.  For example, if a player needs help with a problem that can wait till another DM can do it (next day, after a skype shout is sent, etc...) then let the player know that you are on break and will try to ensure a DM knows about it to come in and help them.  However, if the problem is immediate (ie., player is stuck, portion of the map is broke, etc...) then do what needs to be done to allow everyone to continue, but keep it to the minimum necessary. If a player must wait for a bit, let them know that you are on break, and will help guide them to find another DM. There are other DMs who can assist them and they should speak to them. Just enjoy playing and make the most of it. This can also help with seeing things from a player's standpoint and refresh your own DM creative juices.


- Communication is key on any server and this goes doubly so for a DM. They can be a communication hub between players, admins, builders, and other DMs. If you don't make a crew aware of what you have been up to, then it's possible another DM may end up stepping on your toes or you may step on theirs. It's the responsibility of a DM to keep in contact with the rest of the crew either via forums, Skype, or PMs.

If there is a major quest that takes a few days to accomplish, then it's best to let the crew know that it's taking place. You do not need to give details, but a simple heads up of "Please don't use NPC so-and-so until this quest is over and limbo him if the server resets" or even a "Please don't use the cave in area X as I'm still finishing a quest with players A, B, and C." By doing so you won't run into trouble if another DM comes along and decides to use that area/npc for their own quest and you end up with a roleplay conundrum that leaves the players and DMs confused.

If a player needs to be monitored for certain behavior, then make the rest of the crew aware. If the player was caught doing something they shouldn't have (such as ninja looting, running though town, or talking excessively in OOC) then let the rest of the DM crew know that the player had been warned once already and to just keep an eye on him/her. As much as we don't want the TSM crew to become a bunch of cops, there are times where some players have to be guided accordingly. This can't be done if the player is being warned three times by three different DMs and none of the DMs are aware of the other warnings.

Conduct 2 - Self Interest Set Aside

- When helping make server decisions regarding rules, guidelines or mechanics, do not base it on how it will benefit your PCs or the PCs of players who are your favorites. Always keep in mind that various players with all sorts of playstyles are playing on the server. Ask yourself how the decision is going to affect the whole server, from the players, to the builders, to the DMs, up to the Admin. Ask how exactly it is going to benefit a server that is striving to make a true roleplaying environment.

- In keeping with fair play across the board, don't give out extra benefits to players just because they are on the crew, happen to be a "friend", or is a favorite player of yours. Do not give them free raises or refund their XP to avoid a death penalty, especially if they were not involved in a DM run quest. Do not give custom made or high quality items with little to no roleplay involvement. Make the players work for what you give them. Do not worry about them not "liking" you for not being overly generous as this isn't a popularity contest. Remember that fun does not equal loot or XP, fun equals interaction and that you can give to all.

Conduct 3 - Issues and Maturity

One of the harsher lessons that every crew and individual DM ends up learning is that there will always be issues no matter how well put together a place may be. There will be trolls and dinkwads (the naked PC running around, the voice emote spammer, the l33t LOLer who's purposefully being a l33t LOLer) just as there will be issues between various members of the community. All of which can end up being stressful to deal with for a crew.  It lands on the DM to usually be the first to run across such issues and it's a DMs responsibility to be mature when dealing with it.

- The immediate reaction of anger can come up suddenly and without warning for everyone. Be they DM or player, they're all human and can be subject to some very negative emotions, even in a gaming environment. The main key is to recognize when you are getting angry and when it may be time to step back from the computer until you cool off. The term "cooler heads prevail" very much applies to this. Often a volatile situation becomes explosive because one person or another didn't take the time to back away from those feelings of anger. As a DM, it's even more important to remain calm and rational as yelling and screaming when an issue comes up does little in the way to solve the actual issue.

Don't be afraid to give a message to the players you are overseeing that you need to step away for a little while and to be patient while you figure things out. Walk around for a bit, get a glass of water or maybe a little to eat, try and analyze why it made you angry and if it was logical or just a knee jerk reaction, greet those other strange vaguely familiar people living in your house with you known as "family" and interact with them for a moment. When you feel you've calmed down enough, come back and rationally deal with the situation.

- If the issue happens to be between two players and you find yourself playing referee, do not immediately take sides with one player or another. Often, issues come up due to misunderstandings or miscommunications. Players can get angry as well and in that anger they can get information wrong or assume a lot. It is the DMs roll to calm the players down, gather all the facts, and then make a judgment based on reason. More often then not a DM becomes a councilor in order to mediate things between the two and smooth everything over, especially when it was just a misunderstanding.

- Even if the issues isn't with one of the genuine players, but with a troll (someone who only comes on a server to create chaos, get attention, then get banned) you still need to be mature about the situation. There is no quicker way to deflate a troll when they realize they have failed to make you angry. Address them politely, even if they are rude or belligerent. Use light humor when speaking to them. Often trolls do what they do because they are bored. If you happen to amuse them or show that you (and thus the server) are good sports, they will often leave on their own.

- Be mindful of what is said to players OOCly. Often there are issues that the DMs must deal with that can contain sensitive information in a tense situation. Do not speak of these issues outside of anyone who is not on the DM crew. This act tends to do little more then create rumors and assumptions within the community. What is said and decided in the DM circle needs to remain in the DM circle until the Admin makes a general announcement concerning it. Do not give in to ranting at a "friend" about it or giving in to a player that wants to know it all.

- Overall, your position as a DM is a privilege and not a right. The crew here has trusted you enough to warrant you a spot as a DM. Do not break that trust by being immature, selfish, or thinking yourself above others on the server. As a community, you are part of it. Without the players, there is no server. Treat them and your fellow crew members with respect and do not use your position to "get back" at someone you dislike. Griefing a player is unacceptable. It's a breaking of trust not only with the player base, but the crew as a whole.

Conduct 4 - Make It Fun, Make It Fair

The first priority for any DM is to make things fun for the player base. Fun equals interaction. Interaction should range widely from a long quest to see an evil slain to a two hour rambling conversation with an NPC to a simple funny emote made by a chicken. There is no end to how many different ways a DM can interact with a PC and should at least try different ways at least once. All the while, that same DM needs to keep in mind that the fun needs to be balanced with what is fair.

- Sometimes when interacting with PCs (IC) and players (OOC) they can end up doing things you were not expecting. Remember, there is no book or script that the players are going by and you as a DM should be prepared for any contingency. Occasionally they will even do things that starts to give the whole situation a "bad" feel to it or turn it so chaotic that you can't get the quest back on track. Do not think of yourself being jilted for not being able to see to the quest as you envisioned it. Think of it as a learning experience instead.




If a player is continuously running ahead and getting the rest of the party in trouble, drop a spawn or a nasty trap on him/her to get them to slow down. If by the third time they do not learn and die from the situation, do not resurrect them. If they start to complain, tell them exactly why the traps and/or spawns were done.


If a player is not giving you enough time to type a response and is interrupting the conversation with question after question or inane babble, have the NPC react In Character that they are getting irritated by the interruptions. Even threaten to end the conversation if they are not willing to listen. There is no quicker way to get a person to slow down their typing then the chance of a quest not happening at all.


If a player or a group of players obviously didn't listen to a word your NPC said and starts treating the situation like any other hack-n-slash quest, start removing the combat encounters from the area. When they see nothing is spawning, they may just concentrate on talking about the situation and why the "expected" creatures are not there, which may lead them to talking about the plot itself.


If a player is insistent on pressing things with an NPC that you only possessed for a moment to make an idle comment (and didn't intend to have any quest or plot connected to it) take the moment to make them realize that not every NPC interaction will lead to some grand quest. Have a bartender get them to take out the trash or a farmer tell them to catch all the chickens that got out of the pen. After it's done hand them 1 gold and 10 XP for the "quest".

Some of these methods may sound 'cruel', but if done with the intent to try and better the player it's better then the alternative of simply getting angry and letting the situation turn into an Issue.

- Try not to corner all your quests and attention to just one set of people or one particular play style. Just running things only for evil characters or only for a single race or guild will make other groups or players feel neglected. It can also stymie your own growth as a DM if you never branch out and experience different styles of play. When thinking up quests, try to not have it that only good characters can come along or that only dwarves can be part of the fun. In a multi-player environ it's always good to compensate for the fact that you might have a Lawful Good Elf and a Neutral Evil Gnome in the party. Granted, there will be times where, due to plot devices, only one alignment, race, or guild can see to the quest. This is fine and to be expected. However, do not make a constant habit out of it.

Also, do not constantly cater to only the highest leveled or longest lived characters on the server. Give some of that DM love to new folks and PCs of lower and mid levels as well. Run quests or interact specifically with them for a while so they also feel part of the community, even if it's just a level 3 PC. By spreading your attention around you help the players avoid the mentality of "needing" to level up fast just because they know only the high level characters get quested.

And don't leave the non-combat PCs out of it either. Not all quests have to be based around combat. Puzzle quests, mysteries, intrigue. There are many different non-combat situations you can get the PCs into. Even players of PCs with low Intelligence can have fun with it as they can roleplay their character stumbling over their own brains.

- When it comes to dishing out rewards try to be fair to each and every PC participant. If you're looking to give a small RP XP reward give the same amount to all the PCs involved, regardless of level. When it comes to treasure, give something nice, not overpowering for their level. Don't get egged on by "is that all we get" comments. If the PCs were only on your quests for the end rewards then they've missed the point.

By giving out extremely high powered items or lots of XP/gold for your quests, you are only encouraging the players to expect to receive that from you every time. They will purposefully seek you out for quests (a.k.a. DM Quest Farming) because they know they will get good items from you after it's over. By being fair and even realistic to the quest (such as a beggar NPC will not have much to give in the form of a reward) you make them realize that high prizes should not be expected each and every time. This also keeps it fair to the other DMs on board. Remember again that this isn't a popularity contest. Giving players bribes in the form of quest rewards so they will like you is no way to run a server.

- All items made by a dm for a specific reward must have the DM name in the description so that everyone on the team is aware of the item.  Because of the limitations on the magic items allowable, you need to show the item to another DM to get their opinion on whether or not the item is within the magic level range and is appropriate.
               
               

               
            

[Legacy_ElgarL]

               I have looked and scoured your forums for any sign of a server connect link (IP). I was looking to take a peek to see what your world was like, but unable to find ANY mention of it's IP to connect to.

I must have spent about 30 minutes just searching as everyone links to the forums, not the main website. I FINALLY found the IP under the server status hyperlink on the main web page.

I'd suggest a more prominant place for connection info.
               
               

               

                     Modifié par ElgarL, 17 octobre 2010 - 03:54 .
                     
                  

            

[Legacy_TSMDude]

               Thank you very much for that feedback Edgar. I will make it so.
               
               

               
            

[Legacy_TSMDude]

               

ElgarL wrote...

I have looked and scoured your forums for any sign of a server connect link (IP). I was looking to take a peek to see what your world was like, but unable to find ANY mention of it's IP to connect to.

I must have spent about 30 minutes just searching as everyone links to the forums, not the main website. I FINALLY found the IP under the server status hyperlink on the main web page.

I'd suggest a more prominant place for connection info.

We have listed it in several more areas following feedback.

Thanks for the heads up Edgar and we also included a visual How To Direct Connect as well.

http://www.talesofth...hp?topic=3533.0
               
               

               
            

[Legacy_Angelo Sovereign]

               Direct connection FTW! Love it here '>
               
               

               
            

[Legacy_TSMDude]

               
 

After  days of intense combat against the raging dragons have left a shattered landscape of gutted buildings, crushed wagons and charred bodies.

A divination through the city revealed a picture of utter destruction, with magically strengthened stone houses flattened, mosques in ruins, trees down, and rubble with human and elf remains littering the empty streets. The north-west district, once a idlywilde park of beauty, looked like a ghost town, the only sound the rumbling of some large beast spent.

Spellguard mages prowl down abandoned streets, past simple parks, now deserted. Four bloated and burnt bodies lay on the main cobleways, not far from the soldiers. The stench of the remains hung heavy in the air, mixing with the dust.

Another body lay stretched out on the next street, its head missing, perhaps in one of the countless explosions which rent the city day and night. Some bodies were so mutilated it was impossible to tell if they were commoners or nobles, male or female.
Silverymoon, regarded as a place with a bright future where its citizens even defied the Great Orcen Horde, seemed lifeless. The minarets of the city's dozens of temples stood silent, no longer welcoming the call to holy worship that so often echoed across the rooftops, inspiring so many to join the Gem of the North.

Tavern and Inn signs were covered in soot. Pavements were crushed by 20 ton dragons, and rows of crumbling buildings stood on both sides of deserted streets.Noble homes with entryways looked as if they had been abandoned for years. Stalls and wagons lay crushed in the middle of the market place.

The Spellguard mages sat on the roofs staring at the ruins in shock and awe. Suddenly they are spotted and disappear in the blink of an eye, pulled from their roof top perches and quickly into the Fugue itself.

As a small convoy of Knights moved back to position on the outskirts of the city well away from the walls themselves, a fireball had landed about 100ft away, a reminder that dragons now ruled the proud city. The few people left in Silverymoon talked of a city left in ruins hunkered down as the screams of the dead rising and something even more sinister filled the night air.
They had cowered in buildings as the battle unfolded past the windows.

About 30,000 refugees fled the fighting, and there have been outbreaks of the Spotted Fever and other diseases.
People leaving the city described rotting corpses being piled up and hundreds still trapped inside their homes, many of them wounded and without access to food, water or medical aid.

Escaping commoners described incidents in which women and children, were killed by not only a dragon but also demons and devils. A nine-year-old boy was hit by a building that exploded Unable to reach a temple or cleric, he died hours later from blood loss. His father had to bury his body in their garden.

Silverymoon, Gem of the North lies in ruins.

(Oh and to the folks who pmed me yes it is true...in the name of story we blew up our main city, lol.)
               
               

               
            

[Legacy_TSMDude]

               How to download the haks.

First you click on it.

Then you download to your hak folder. (This is the same place your CEP is already.)

You unzip/nrar it out of the package you downloaded it in.

Your done.

On Skype I am Paco Petro if you need help.

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