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Access to Drow lands by none Drow

I am starting this post rather than adding to the Drow call to Arms to have a slightly fuller discussion without derailing that thread.

Firstly the reason this has come up is that without giving away too much information there is a quest in Skullport that requires a short visit to Ched Nasad. As the current block stops access to Ched Nasad as well as Menzo it has broken this quest for all none Drow.

Secondly there has to my knowledge been one and only one major visit from a group of surface siders to Menzoberranzan in recent years. The group consisted of Half-Drow and tieflings for the most part and it was one of the most fun RP events to hit the underdark in years !

I am not advocating free access to Menzoberranzan or even Ched Nasad as I do think that would spoil the whole feeling of being a Drow citys even though by canon they do welcome traders of some races, they just have to be careful about who or what they deal with !.

However I do think it should be an option for certain races for example half-drow and tieflings and others generally regarded as evil to get to the Drow lands for the purpose of RP but they had better be ready for how they are going to be treated by the natives !.

Without giving away any IC information the only possible route to reach Ched Nasad is insanely dangerous and requires a strong party and a high degree of local knowledge. If this also required the cooperation of a Drow guide would that not limitation enough ?.

Duranamir

What about adding an item that allowed entry? A ward stone. A token. A charm.

If one drow (or several in similar positions) were assigned the duty of moderating the distribution of these single-use tokens then they could engage other people to come visiting as merchants, as competitors in bloodsports, or whatever else once with that token. Additional tokens could be received and used later on.

Add some abitrary limitations on these tokens beyond merely the discretion of a certain character ("You, matriarch, may distribute one of these per RL month") and you have an opening with relatively small risk to dilute drow role-play, it might even enliven it to some degree.

Thank you for moving this thread, Dur! I didn't want to clutter the other with my thoughts.

I don't know if the Sun Majesty's comments were official, but the policy has always been to keep drow separate. When "exception routes" started to appear, I felt they were being abused a few people "hooked together" OOC-ly. I do believe code abusers should be punished individually but that said, I see many of these proposals ripe with abuse. If the drow policy is changed, it should be equal across the player base. In short, while I like the idea of drow being able to lead parties in, I was very aggravated with the way things stood previously.

I also do not think that surface cross-access is what drow most need. What we need is a self-sufficiency below to grow a strong drow base (not just one or two buffed players,) then we can talk about that surface invasion! Easier transport to Ched Nesad, the new areas in Menzo, and more spell components have been a great help, and I think expansion efforts need to focus and be player-driven here. Personally, I've been working out a few building proposals to correct the problems our new drow have been bringing up.

I do agree Skullport should logically be in the realm of places drow can visit, and would be the inevitable mixing ground for drow and surface dwellers. However, continued abuse by both sides has shut that down to us. Could we perhaps work the code to limited mixing to Skullport? ...Perhaps a magic-based destination gate on both sides that does a race check to make sure the respective races are entering and leaving from the proper directions? (And cut the overland routes.)

UPDATE - just saw Harroghty's post along the same lines! I'm not wild about using tokens, just because it adds to the favoritism/OOC factor I think has already been a problem.

To clarify the current situation as far as who can go where at the moment.

Drow can via Portal go

From Menzo to Ched Nasad and back.
From Ched Nasad to Skullport
From Skullport to Menzo

This give Drow very good access to everywhere they are allowed and is certainly not something i am complaing about !

Additionally

Drow can go from Menzo into the undermountain and from there to Skullport and also from undermountain through a programmed block to a route to Ched Nasad that no one else can currently access (the one under discussion).

I know that none Drow can not use the Skullport to Menzo link but i am not sure about the other portals, i think they might well work for anyone.

Duranamir

Caelnai wrote:UPDATE - just saw Harroghty's post along the same lines! I'm not wild about using tokens, just because it adds to the favoritism/OOC factor I think has already been a problem.

I agree. I am not sure that you can escape bias with any method of access to existing areas. Therefore, I recommend perhaps modifying this idea:

Caelnai wrote:I do agree Skullport should logically be in the realm of places drow can visit, and would be the inevitable mixing ground for drow and surface dwellers. However, continued abuse by both sides has shut that down to us. Could we perhaps work the code to limited mixing to Skullport? ...Perhaps a magic-based destination gate on both sides that does a race check to make sure the respective races are entering and leaving from the proper directions? (And cut the overland routes.)

What if there was a neutral space? A market ground, a sparring pit, and a meeting room (for example) that stood seperate from any extant drow city. This way the drow could interact with other races. Access will still be biased, but the problems caused by abuse (accessing merchants, trainers, quests, etc.) are mitigated and drow are still able to interact with outsiders.