HI all,

I'm an old table top D&D player  and I'm looking for something even vagualy close to that online that involves dialogue with other ROLE players. I've recently done trials of LOTRO and WoW after reading about them on this site. I was deeply dissapointed in both. Sure they look nice and I'm sure are huge with many many players. But, although both are games of a sword and sorcery nature neither to me a MMORPG's by definition. Yes, there might be Masses of Mulitplayers Online but no, neither were RPG's. There was no role to play in either.

Both games were about individuals levelling and seemingly not caring for others in the game whatsoever. Sprint here, kill this, sprint back to the NPC that gave the quest, gain more power for the player. Repeat.

Please, can anybody help me by pointing me in the direction, if there is one, of an online game that's even close to a tabletop D&D. I have a high powered gaming pc but I don't care about graphics or  anything like that. I just want to be drawn in to a "role" and have fun playing it out with other people online and not seeing that 99% of my dialogue is with scripted NPC's sending me on "Go kill 6 of these to get a certain reward" type mission which is boring  (at any level).

oooooooo boy.

you picked the wrong time to come into the MMORPG genre.

The short answer is "no".  The entire MMORPG genre has been dumbed down with LotRO being a perfect example of your standard quest theme-park, casual, solo-friendly game.  The are pretty much all like this now.  Why?  Because WoW brought this type of simplified game play to the genre, and now all the other game companies are in a huge rush to have millions of subscribers like WoW does.  To do so, they have to make simple, casual games that anyone can play.

However, there are a few games coming down the line that will offer more for gamers like you (and me).  They are niche games, but will offer much more freedom than the mainstream games.  Investigate titles such as Earthrise, Fallen Earth, and Darkfall.  I'm sure some other posters here can offer more games to watch for. Welcome to the forums... there are plenty of people here who are very hungry for better games.  Sadly, there isn't anything out right now that offers more than the games you already tried.

That's not true.  There are still games with a strong community feeling where you really take on the role of your character.  There aren't any new ones, however.  There are a few in development but we can't know what they'll be like in the long run.  The only 2 games I know of that are like this are both very old.  Their names are Tibia and Ultima Online.  Ultima Online has a lot more features than Tibia, it seems.  I played Tibia for a few years when I was first getting into MMORPGs and since then have not found anything with anywhere near as close of a community.  In that game everyone knows everyone in some form or another, through people, from hearsay or what have you.  People build reputations and a lot of people explore in groups, like in D&D, to discover new areas and opponents and work together to survive, since the death penalty is much much harsher than 90% of the games out now.  It also has a skill system separate from the leveling system.  You increase your ability to use magic, weild swords/axes/maces/distance weapons and block with a shield by using them.  The more mana you use, the higher your magic level goes and so on.  I can't tell you much about Ultima Online because I never played it.  I only know what I've heard of it and it seems to be as closely knit as the Tibian community.  I'd recommend either.  Both of them have 2D graphics, though, so don't get disappointed when you see them, lol.

Edit:

Oh I'd also like to point out that in Tibia characters have the ability to manifest runes or ammunition via spells.  People tend to use this as a form of crafting while also working on their magic levels.  It makes for a system where people prepare for major hunts in advance by creating their supplies ahead of time.  It makes big hunts a lot more fun, in my opinion, because of the time spent preparing for them.  The game also has twice-yearly major updates, in the winter and summer.  Each one is similar to a chronicle in L2 or a full expansion in other games.  It usually introduces new landmass(the world is huge), new mobs and tweaks to each class and their abilities.  Also, quests in Tibia are few and far between and actually worth doing.  They generally give rewards that players really want.  They're also usually very difficult and require a group of a few people to complete.  It really helps create the kind of atmosphere that it seems like you're going for. 

Try Dungeons And Dragons online. It's based on Dugeons and Dragons and all quests are done in a group.

Originally posted by Capn23

oooooooo boy.

 

you picked the wrong time to come into the MMORPG genre.

Haha yes you did

But I encourage you to check out Darkfall online

Originally posted by Seekeli

Originally posted by Capn23

oooooooo boy.

 

you picked the wrong time to come into the MMORPG genre.

 

Haha yes you did

But I encourage you to check out Darkfall online

I dont think its the worst, close though. I think dev are starting to relize that makeing WoW clones stop being successful after everyone and their mother made one. Dev are starting to take risks. 2 come to mind best. Mortal Online and Darkfall, Both I think will have very close communities. And if they do good, maybe devs will make unique stuff...or just copy them...

At release, Mabinogi had a bunch of people that will quite happy to spend nearly all of their time besides camp fires in town and playing instruments.  That segment of the population has noticeably dropped off since then unfortunately.  The game does encourage grouping for just about everything at least.  Even the crafters sitting around town will almost certainly be forming one large party while they weave.

I think you'll find your complaint is a consistent issue with any quest based MMO.  You're probably going to find your best luck in sandbox MMOs or Asisn grinders with practically no quests and harsh time requirements.

It's sad to think about but there's really nothing out there right now that's appealing to our type of MMO gamer at the moment. Personally I enjoy freeform roleplaying and sandbox styled MMOs. Right now it seems all we have to look forward to (and I really am looking forward) are Earthrise, Darkfall, Fallen Earth and possibly Aion (though Aion might still be your typical cookie-cutter MMO).

I have been searching now for over a year for a new MMO to satisfy the urge to play until some of these ground-breaking MMOs pop up but it's turned up nothing. I actually feel like I'm on one of those horribly designed quests, a chain quest of continual disappointment, in trying to find something worth playing. I think though the entire game industry has been suffering over the past few years in terms of truly new and innovative gameplay and MMOs are no exception.

I've become so bored with everything out there lately that I feel as if I'm going crazy (or crazier than I already am). It's sad really but what can you do? I guess we just keep waiting for new stuff and see what happens.

EDIT: I've considered going back to Second Life just because it's so open and sandboxy, but I'm not sure it's worth the drama.

vanguard is a very good game, has a 14 day trial, might want to check out the forums at the main site to see if that interests you.

What the heck? If you're into D&D then play D&D online. Its very conducive to RPing. The environments are immersive, interesting, and interactive. If you're a fan of D&D then the mechanics won't dissapoint either. Its much more deep and complex than the rest of those watered down kiddie mainstream MMOG's.

You'll want to bring a friend or find some like minded gamers to play with. There are still plenty of players who just want to speed run everything for loot. But then again, those exist in tabletop D&D as well. :)

Try have a look at Never winter nights.

It is not a typical MMO but some of the servers and comunity around it are trying to get it closer to pen and paper/table top games.

Many thanks for all of the replies to this thread I started. I guess that there's no MMOPRG for me right now. I've just got back home from a table top game of D&D (4th edition) which was great fun. Trouble is the group are a long drive away from me and it's something I can only manage as a treat now and again (Ii have 2 young kids and a busy life). It certainly isn't as easy as logging in to an online game in the evening a couple of nights a week.

What I'd really like to see is a MMORPG that -

1.has dumped levelling and grinding. Once you're in the game you're there to experience what is around you and not charge through it to get to the next "level".

2. has a "Dead is Dead" scenario. After "death" in my trial of LOTRO I just recieved a message saying a I had "withrawn from the battle". All I had to do was run right back and have another go from full heath with no penalty whatsoever. I hadn't "withdrawn" I had died. The lack of penalty for death leads to lack of respect for risk and no thrill of fearing death. If I die I will start a new character or restart the one that died from the beginning.

3. I spend more time in dialogue with other REAL PEOPLE than NPC's with pre-prograamed responses. Of course, I don't mind some NPC interaction. That's great. But I don't want it to dominate over the fact that I am playing in a community for real people.

4. encourages me to role play and rewards me for it. If I join in with others and we work as a team I get rewards that a single player cannot achieve.

5. has a first-person point of view only. Just like I might have in an FPS game.

Going off what you said, Darkfall seems like the way to go.

1.)  There are no levels in Darkfall, although there are skills that you increase by using them.  This will happen fairly frequently and without having to put too much effort into it, at least in the beginning.

2.)  When you die you become completely lootable.  It doesn't have the sort of perma-death that you seem to be going for but it is a very real consequence that makes you really want to avoid dying.  When you're killed, everything, and I mean EVERYTHING, on you can be looted from your corpse.  It's not the same as starting from scratch but it's definitely a consequence worth trying your hardest to avoid.

3.)  The game has very few quests.  All dialogue, with the exception of basic interactions at the bank and within cities, is between players only.

4.)  Given the intense AI of the game and the danger of being ganked by a member of a rival alliance at any time it is definitely favorable to travel with a group.  It greatly increases your odds of survival and occasionally allows you to accomplish something that would have been impossible to do alone.

5.)  Darkfall DOES use first person aiming/dodging/blocking.  It's active combat to the fullest extent found in any MMORPG today.

Everything you've mentioned seems to be consistent with Darkfall.  The good news is that it releases in 12 days.  I'd advise against playing it immediately at launch though, as it looks like it will contain many bugs that need to be fixed.  Waiting a month or so after release should be enough to enter it in a fairly polished condition.

Originally posted by Domain33X

Try Dungeons And Dragons online. It's based on Dugeons and Dragons and all quests are done in a group.

Sometimes the obvious answers are the best.

1. Hey guys I like D&D and want a similar MMO, can you help?

2. Handful of OT posts

3. WINNER - DDO

Originally posted by Jay_NW

Many thanks for all of the replies to this thread I started. I guess that there's no MMOPRG for me right now. I've just got back home from a table top game of D&D (4th edition) which was great fun. Trouble is the group are a long drive away from me and it's something I can only manage as a treat now and again (Ii have 2 young kids and a busy life). It certainly isn't as easy as logging in to an online game in the evening a couple of nights a week.

I am a little confused as well, you want D&D but online, did you try the free trial for D&D Online and not like it? It is actually designed around small groups solving quests (and when I say quest don't think noddy WoW quests think complex and handcrafted, with traps, ambushes, secret doors etc.) If you can persuade your friends to connect in at the same time as you, you will have a blast without the travelling. Nothing like a group of real friends in a DDO quest for the first time, real seat of your pants jumpy stuff.

What I'd really like to see is a MMORPG that -

1.has dumped levelling and grinding. Once you're in the game you're there to experience what is around you and not charge through it to get to the next "level".

Think of the very best instances in other MMOs and that is a standard DDO quest, add in some twitch combat where you can dodge arrows, move behind scenery, jump and grab ledges to pull yourself up, dont need to target in melee. It plays surprisingly fast for a D&D game, you need your wits about you.

2. has a "Dead is Dead" scenario. After "death" in my trial of LOTRO I just recieved a message saying a I had "withrawn from the battle". All I had to do was run right back and have another go from full heath with no penalty whatsoever. I hadn't "withdrawn" I had died. The lack of penalty for death leads to lack of respect for risk and no thrill of fearing death. If I die I will start a new character or restart the one that died from the beginning.

If you die your party has to carry you to a shrine, unless you have someone who can raise dead. Some of the raids don't allow it and your soul is sucked to another place in the hope your party can get it back later. If you want dead is dead then a permadeath guild would suit you.

3. I spend more time in dialogue with other REAL PEOPLE than NPC's with pre-prograamed responses. Of course, I don't mind some NPC interaction. That's great. But I don't want it to dominate over the fact that I am playing in a community for real people.

Spot on, party communication especially in RP groups is great fun, there are a maximum of six of you and the quests are party designed (soloing is an art form and needs to be built carefully for) and you need to work as a team. So communication actually means something, unlike open zones where everyone is either shouting across zone chat or treating each other like NPCs.

Plus you get DM voiceovers (including Mr Gygax bless his soul) and there is built in voice chat if you want to use it.

4. encourages me to role play and rewards me for it. If I join in with others and we work as a team I get rewards that a single player cannot achieve.

Well you will not be able to finish a lot of content if you don't work as a team, simple as that. DDO has made itself very niche in that it requires grouping at mid to high levels.

5. has a first-person point of view only. Just like I might have in an FPS game.

Well not only, but from the next mod (coming early March at a guess, we get free updates by the way) FP view will be a play option. Which will be a nice addition as the twitch combat really suits it (you can manually aim melee and ranged attacks already).

Thanks for the help and info once again from the people using this forum.

I will trial DDO and certainly also try Darkfall a few weeks after its out.

You could try the roleplaying servers of various games.  Players who chose these servers are more into roleplaying

The hard part is to find people with similar aspirations that you can group with regularly.  I would suggest that new players are more likely to take their time and enjoy the experience.

As a Lord of the RIngs Online player, I enjoyed journey.  The Mines of Moria expansion reminded me a lot of the good old dungeon crawl and I loved it. 

On my first LoTRO toon, I took my time and enjoyed the journey.  However, by the time I was gong through the content a third time, on a different toon, I knew where to go to complete quests (rush here, rush there sounds familiar) and rushed through the content.

Originally posted by Jay_NW

I've just got back home from a table top game of D&D (4th edition) which was great fun. Trouble is the group are a long drive away from me and it's something I can only manage as a treat now and again (Ii have 2 young kids and a busy life). It certainly isn't as easy as logging in to an online game in the evening a couple of nights a week.

I'm also a 4th Edition D&D player who is disappointed in the current wave of MMOs.  I find it difficult to get out to play D&D for the same reasons as you.

However, I now play D&D over the internet on my computer.  My friends and I no longer travel to our houses, we use "virtual gametable" software (free to use) and ventrillo to communicate and play D&D online.  It's a load of fun and there are tons of groups that you can join that play this way.  The software sets up what amounts to dungeon tiles and miniatures.  Its very easy to get started.

If you are interested in trying this out, I'd be happy to help you get set up.  There are plenty of gametable programs to choose from.  I like MapTool (www.rptool.com) the best.  As I said, we use ventrillo to talk, but you can use any number of voice programs or just type in the chat feature which is part of MapTool.  It comes with everything you need to get started, including a dice roller.  There are tons of other helpful programs from many different sources, such as an interactive character sheet that helps you create a character, a character builder, a token maker for making miniatures for use on your gametable.  Anything you can think of, really.

If you want any additional information, feel free to post here or contact me directly.