New Player's Guide Printable version

The Dragon’s Neck, a Neverwinter Nights: Enhanced Edition, Persistent World roleplaying server, primarily based in Southern Amn, Faerûn. Features large overhauls to systems, assets, and more.

• 1358 - Time of Troubles
• 1359 - The Longest Year begins (magic vanishes)
• 1363 - “The First Spell” is cast (magic begins returning)
• 1369 - Start date of the server
• 1370 - Current server date

Most events prior to 1369 remain canon in this adapted Faerûn. If in doubt, ask in Discord. The Longest Year (TLY) detailed below is the biggest lore change.

The Time of Troubles

The Time of Troubles (ca. 1358) precedes The Longest Year (ca. 1359). The Time of Troubles was a period of time during which the gods of Toril (not just Faerunian gods) were forced by the Overdeity, Ao, to walk the land as their mortal avatars. During this time, Divine magic only functioned within one mile of the devout’s god. Arcane magic, no longer overseen by its steward, Mystra, became dangerously and wildly unpredictable. During this time there was major turnover among the various pantheons of the world, not the least of which being Faerun’s own pantheon.

The Longest Year

At the start of TLY (ca. 1359) all magic - arcane, druidic, divine, or even inherent - ceased to function for approximately four years. Magical creatures such as undead, constructs, et cetera, became dormant; no more than remains, rubble or simple inanimate objects.

Candlekeep announces the casting of “The First Spell” in 1363, and magic begins to slowly return. In 1369 it is cautiously recorded that TLY is over. However, magic has changed in ways still being discovered, with previous practitioners forced to learn spellcasting anew.

This collapse of magic brought an unprecedented wave of change and instability to societies. A new surge of reliance upon - and enthusiasm for - things such as practical sciences and physical might erupted. Artificers, tinkerers, and craftspeople of all walks were suddenly in high demand, as were those strong of arm and capable of great feats through sheer force of strength and will alone. The common folk had always had little regard for magic, but now it had little bearing on their life at all.

Additionally, clergy the world over have confirmed the utter silence of the gods. Though magic returns, the voices of the gods do not…

Amn is a mercantile nation, with a fairly varied population primarily of Humans. It is a nation beleaguered and on edge, having suffered great losses at the hands of a monstrous horde that presently occupies the capital city Athkatla. Due to this and The Longest Year, feelings of xenophobia and mistrust of outsiders are heightened. Commoners may even react negatively to more common goodly races such as Dwarves and Elves.

This is only matched by distrust of magic. Anti-magic sentiment is rife in Amn, with many laws and harsh penalties. Casting of any kind is likely to start a panic. Guards will be called and the offending parties arrested. Simply being known as a magic user can carry significant risks and consequences, not least of which would be suspicion and mistrust.

These tensions are stoked by the Palestone Knights, an order as unpredictable as they are zealous. Their approach differs by sect, but they all agree upon the eradication of magic. They despise the Weave and would see it unraveled permanently.

It is known that magic is in rough shape. It was not long ago that only simple cantrips were possible, and even more recently that second circle spells were considered the height of attainable power. Spells your character may have been familiar with no longer feel the same. Casters find themselves in a time of great uncertainty, their magic unstable and prone to strange anomalies…

You now know enough to get started! If you aren’t familiar with Amn, consider playing a foreign character so you can learn in-character as you play. If you’re determined to press on as a local, we have something to help you!

The Dragon’s Neck has performed extensive system overhauls to realise the setting and balance of classes, races, spells, and more. These changes are detailed on the wiki.

1. Launch Neverwinter Nights: Enhanced Edition and connect to the server to automatically begin downloading required files (connection details available on Discord).
2. Read the general server rules, especially Character Creation and Interaction.
3. Review entries for classes and races you’re interested in.

• Note that weapons and armour as well as feats and skills all differ from the base game, such as Tumble granting no benefit while wearing Heavy Armour.
• Spellcasting comes with risks and legal restrictions in populated areas.

4. Join the server and create your character!

• You may have two single digits (below 10) in ability scores, more than this is against the build rules. Some classes have specific level or multiclass requirements.
• You can change your character appearance, portrait, description, and voiceset before leaving the setup area, so you don’t need to finalise these at character creation.
• You do not need to assign skills at character creation. However, you must assign all skill points every level thereafter - skill banking is disabled.
• Social skill points are awarded each level and may be spent on specific skills. You will be prompted to assign these after level-up.

5. Write a biography/backstory for your character on the private bio section of the forums, where only DMs can see it. (optional)

• We are interested in your character's backstory!
• The biography should be at least 3 paragraphs, excluding the character's physical description (which you should include as well!).
• There is an XP reward for any character that posts their biography (which will give you a bit of a headstart)! To claim it, after making the biography open a DM support ticket on the Discord server and link it.

After character creation, you will enter the OOC (out of character) chamber to finish setup.



All communication in this area is considered out of character and the automatic formatting for text is disabled. On your first visit, you will be prompted to make some choices to finalise your character.

There are certain things you should do before leaving, as you will be unable to do so later:

• Check your map for key locations
• Spend your silver at the merchant to pick up any starting equipment (you retain any remainder)
• Use chat commands such as
  • !tailor to adjust your clothing, eye colour, skin colour, hair colour, and height
  • !personas to adjust your default descriptor (seen by other players), your description, portrait, and voiceset
  • !fit to save outfits for later application to the same base armour type
  • !langto see the language commands
    • You get 1+ INT modifier language choices, with additional for the Erudite origin. Chondathan is the language of Amn.
      • Humans, half-elves and half-orcs receive 1 free base language of their choice. Other races receive their racial language automatically as this additional free language.
  • !dpc and !cdpc to delete your character if you made a mistake (but if you remake a character, they must have a unique name to prevent system bugs)
  • !menu and !help to explore TDN specific settings and other system

When you’re ready, exit using the floor transition by the large doors.

Murann: Characters that are not Elves begin here. It is the server’s largest civilized location and the primary narrative focus. Murann is a port city and boasts one of the strongest remaining economies in the beleaguered nation of Amn. Times are tough everywhere, but Murann can be given credit for weathering these tribulations with as much grace as any could reasonably hope for.

Murann is a big place and navigating it can be difficult. The city map is fully revealed by default and is labeled with helpful pins. You will also find signs that may guide your way. When in doubt, ask another player!

You will arrive in Tethir Thoroughfare, where a lot of player activity is concentrated. Enter the gates to the west and behold Murann!

The Circle of the Elements: A Druid grove nestled beneath the currently-closed bough-borne Elven city of Y’Tellarien. This is the default starting location for Elves and is suitable for nature-focused characters, or characters with a strongly anti-human or urban-avoidant attitude.

The Dragon’s Neck deals with many grim and unpleasant topics which are distasteful when viewed through a nonfiction lens. The staff endeavors to treat these topics responsibly and standards of behavior for players are equally mature. Harsh, in-character language is allowed; but it must be kept appropriate for the setting and themes. There’s no tolerance for actual harassment of players.

Out of character (OOC) chat must be minimised in public channels. Messaging via in-game tells or Discord has no such restriction, but keep the immersion and enjoyment of others in mind.

Character speech should avoid modern slang, idioms, and abbreviations. But don’t worry! We welcome new players, and understand how daunting starting out can be. Reach out to community members for help or feedback on finding your character’s voice.

In-character chat is formatted by chat scripts. Quotation marks, some capitalization, and even punctuation are automated. By default, enclose descriptive text or emotes in asterisks (*). Character speech should be entered without additional formatting. You can alter this setting to behave differently in TDN’s custom player menu (accessed with !menu).

Help! I have a question!​

• Gameworld Discussion in our Discord will be happy to help!
• Otherwise, use the Ticket Channel there to contact a DM or Admin.

I found a bug or an exploit!​

• Type !br (and text here without parentheses), and hit enter to report. Be descriptive!

Every player character is named Stranger or some two-word descriptor!​

• The server obscures character names, requiring you to guess or ask people’s names.
• You can rename people, and these names will only be shown to you. Type !n (name here without parentheses), hit enter, and then select the individual to be renamed with left-click.
• Similarly, player account names are obscured to allow for player anonymity.

What languages should I pick?​

• There are recommended languages based on region on the wiki. Some are learned in play.

Where should I adventure?​

• The surroundings of both starting locations are dangerous to traverse alone. It is advisable you seek out other players and rely on their knowledge to find opportunities for coin.

What other major changes should I know?​

• Healing is primarily accomplished using heal-kits which slowly regenerate HP out of combat. You do not need the Heal skill to use them, but it will accelerate the healing process and make each kit more cost-effective.
• Several feats have been removed or changed.
• Monsters cannot critically hit player characters.
• Resting is limited.
• XP is only earned by
  • roleplaying near other player characters (or passively when server population is low)
  • discovering a new area
• To retain map exploration in the wilderness obtain an Adventurer’s Map.
• It is possible to die permanently if you accrue too many grim wounds from repeatedly being downed and bleeding out.
• Read about TDN 11 for greater mechanical insight and expectations for higher levels.

Where can I find more background information?​

Our wiki is the most reliable source. Be careful about relying on external sites or the fandom wiki, because these will often cite information from later, inapplicable D&D editions.