CoPaP New Player FAQ

Information about CoPaP as it unfolds.
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Orleron
Multiverse Scholar
Posts: 1247
Joined: Mon Nov 10, 2003 11:15 am
Location: Avlis
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CoPaP New Player FAQ

Post by Orleron »

Abbreviations:

AFAIK = as far as I know
AFK = away from keyboard
CE = Chaotic Evil
CG = Chaotic Good
CN = Chaotic Neutral
CRPG = computer roleplaying game
CODI = City of Doors Initiative
CoPaP = Confederation of Planes & Planets
ECL = effective character level
ELC = enforce legal characters
HoTU = Hoardes of The Underdark
IC = in character
IIRC = if I recall correctly
ILR = item level restrictions
IMO = in my opinion
IMHO = in my honest opinion
IRC = Internet Relay Chat
LG = Lawful Good
LN = Lawful Neutral
LE = Lawful Evil
MMORPG = massive multiplayer online roleplaying game
NG = Neutral Good
NE = Neutral Evil
NPC = non-player character
NWN = Neverwinter Nights
NWNX = Neverwinter Nights Extender
OOC = out of character
PC = player character
PM = private message
PrC = prestige class
PW = persistent world
SoU = Shadows of Undrentide expansion pack
TN = True Neutral
XP = Experience point(s)

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1. What do I do when I start ?


Three things:

· Look around where you have started, get an idea of where you are and the layout, but don't venture far until you know its safe.
· Make a map and take notes
· Talk to as many PC's and NPC's as possible

The information from this will enable you to work out what your going to do with the character you have created. Most PC's will be very helpful and friendly. Don't forget they were in your position once.


2. You have many servers. What server do I start on ?


CoPaP is composed of many different PW's, each with its own nuances and difficulties. Whichever world you chose to start on, we suggest you stick with it for a while and get to know the place. If you don't like the world, don't give up on CoPaP, just pick another server.

The newbie-friendly nature of each server may vary, and to find out the best tips and tricks for surviving on that server, we suggest you look at its website. This CoPaP website only serves as an outlet for all the PW's news and social aspects. It will not give detailed info on specific PW's in many cases.



3. What is a Fed Ex quest ?


These are jobs you can get from NPC's whom you interact with. They normally involve you carrying something to another NPC. They are good for two reasons, firstly you get to understand the local area a bit more and you also gain a reward for doing the task. Most can be performed in complete safety.



4. What does Out Of Character or OOC mean?


This is when you have to say something within the game that has nothing to do with the role you are playing. Examples are:
"OOC I have to go now", "AFK (a phone call)", etc.

They should not be used unless really necessary. If you want to discuss something outside the game then private messages (PMs) can be used or use IRC.



5. What are Private Messages (PM's) ?


These can be used from the player list to directly contact a person or persons. Again this should not be used to transfer game information about your character. They should only be used to talk about things that have nothing to do with the events in the game.



6. How do I try to contact a DM ?


One of the options you can choose by selecting Talk in the bottom left hand corner of the NWN player screen is DM. This is a channel you can use to contact a DM about a problem you are having. This does not guarantee a response as there may not always be a DM on line or he may choose not to intervene.

When you talk in this channel, your words will not appear in the chat window, but they do appear to DM's that are online.



7. My character is stuck and I cannot move him. Help!


Sometimes your character will be stuck in place due to a flaw in the mapping of your character onto the terrain. There are three options to try, select the ` key and type "makesafe" and hit return, logging out of the game and logging back in again or calling for a DM. If none of these work you may have to wait for a server reset.



8. When can I use someone's name ?


This can only be used in character when you have been formally introduced or a third party has told you it. Until then you have to physically describe that person, such as "a gnome in black clothes who was very nervous, and he had a very big nose".



9. I got myself killed what happens next ?


In most CoPaP worlds, your items will all be put on a corpse in front of you. You will then go naked to your death plane. Whilst there you can do either of 2 things, complete a quest or be resurrected. The quests are related to recovering your experience points lost in dying, on some servers. Being resurrected relates to recovering your equipment lying with your corpse, because you will appear right next to it.

The actual specific events of death can vary from server to server on CoPaP. To find out the details, we refer you to the individual website of the world you are playing on.



10. I found a body, what do I do ?


This depends on your character. Some people guard them, some ignore them and some look for useful items to take. The final option is called looting and if caught can have serious negative consequences for your character in the game, though there is no general CoPaP rule making it illegal to loot bodies. Different servers may have different specific rules about this, so be sure to check them out.



11. Why did alignment just change ?


Your character or someone you are partied up with has done something outside your characters alignment. This has caused a shift in your alignment for good or bad. You can either rethink how you are playing your character and either except the change or try to correct the change. This is role playing.



12. Why is my character moving slowly all of a sudden?


This is a known bioware bug.
It occurs after area transitions or logging in and can be cured by switching your search and hide functions on and off.

Also, when you die on an Avlis-compliant server and come back to life through a death quest or a ressurection, you are slowed for 2 minutes to simulate your recovery from death.



13. It says I need a special file, where can I get that ?


Look at the download page under http://www.avlis.org/portal.php?getpage=downloads . You should find everything needed there for general CoPaP server usage. Other servers in CoPaP may have additional haks, and you will need to get them from that server's download site or from Neverwinter Vault.

All CoPaP servers use these things called hakpaks, which are files that enhance the functionality of the game. The download link above contains the hakpaks you will need. They are in the hakpaks directory.


Alternatively most of the necessary HakPaks may be found on the Avlis FTP server.

ftp://avlis.blackdagger.net/public%20downloads/

You can either download the "Avlis Custom Content Installer 2.0", which takes care of the whole installation process for you and contains everything (148 MB), or you download the needed haks individually (look in the hakpaks directory):

CoPaPHak1_0.rar - needed for all servers.
UniversalHak2_0.rar - needed for all servers.
Drylands_high.zip / Drylands_low.zip - needed for the wilderness. You can choose between lo and hi res version
jess_treecity.rar - needed for Le Or T'Nanshi
DeglosHaks.rar - needed for Deglos
CR_H.rar - new hak for avlis 1 Sept 2003

Problems with unpacking: Use WinRAR.



14. It says I can craft somehow, how do I do that ? How can I create a sword ?


On Avlis-compliant servers, all crafting ingredients have to be found in the game, either by becoming an apprentice to a craft, or by experimenting. It is also useful to get a book of Tradeskills so you can view your crafting skill progress.

Crafting may vary from server to server. Some servers may use one kind of system that differs from the rest. This also means that your crafting skill progress will only be valid on the world which you earned it. If you go to another world, your crafting skill progress will not follow you. This is also because we do not yet share database information between separarte PW's, but we are working on it.



15. Where can I find information about .... ?


Take a look at the individual world website links listed on the front page of CoPaP.



16. I think I found a bug. Where do I report it ?


Bug reports go in the Bug Report Forum of the world where you found the bug. Please be sure that your bug is not a Bioware bug before you report it. We do not have control over bugs caused by the company that made NWN. We can only fix bugs in the homemade scripting. Thank you.



17. I died and the server crashed before I got to my body to retrieve my stuff. Now I log in and it's all GONE!!! I lost everything! HELP!!!!!


All characters on Avlis servers are backed up at precisely 5am GMT, which is 12am EST. The state of your character at that time is saved every day. So if you are the victim of a situation like the one above, post a "Restore Request" in the Restore Request Thread in the Avlis General Forums.

Your request for restoring a backup copy of your character will be honored if your request is valid. Read the thread carefully for valid reasons before posting there.

Even with the restore request system in place and the persistent corpse backup in place, CoPaP does NOT guarantee the safety of your character's belongings. We are not responsible for item loss due to circumstances beyond your control or ours. You play and collect items at your own risk.



18. What do I do if I log in a character and see only a black screen?


This is a known Bioware bug and there is the following work around.

Create a character locally (valid for server), then email the file to the contact person for that PW.
The file then will be inserted into the server vault manually. This will obviously delay involvement in the game slightly.

<BR>
Avlis: http://www.avlis.org

"My name is Orleron...a dungeonmaster...two years ago I got shot through a game client...I'm in a distant part of the internet aboard these servers of escaped mental patients...my players. I've made enemies, stupid, and annoying...now all I want to do is make CoPaP a reality, to warn Earth...Look inward(to your monitor) and share the newbies I've seen..."
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