Antiworld



Antiworld Capture the Flag (CTF) arena is -- as the name suggests -- a NWN Capture the Flag arena server. The server has been home to a growing community since January 2004. Antiworld is a Team PvP server unique for its system of rules and for its balance. The Antiworld staff have been able to adjust many of the spells and abilities in the game without requiring hak packs in order to play to server, although in order to take advantage of some updates, several files must be downloaded. It has a large and extremely active team of GMs, or Game Masters, who moderate the server and enforce the rules on the server. It is one of the two most popular Arena servers for Neverwinter Nights, the other being Bastions of War.

The Basics
Characters in Antiworld start at level 10 and are able to progress up to level 40. Your alignment does not restrict what classes you can choose. You can relevel your character (unless you're a Red Dragon Disciple) with the Antiworld Archivist, though you cannot relevel your first level.

The Castles
Players are placed on one of two teams, Good and Evil. However, these teams are in no way permanent, players can switch teams if there are fewer players on the other team and players may be switched automatically if the teams are unbalanced. Inside the Castle, you can rest and buff at your leisure, though it is recommended to do so quickly so you can get into the Arena. You will earn no exp or gp inside the castle except for the bonus at the round end for the Most Valuable Mercenary. There are shops inside of the Castle, as well as boards that tell you who is in your range, which Game Masters are online, and who is in the lead for the Most Valuable Mercenary Award. The Castles also contain the entrance to the Arenas.

The Shops
You can buy items at the shops in the castle. You can craft weapons and ammunition by buying the base weapon or the ammunition creator and crafting it with the radial menu crafting system. The items are low powered, not going above +5, or +6 in rare occasions, in Armor Class, Enhancement Bonus, or Ability Bonus. There are multiple rods available that can be used by everyone, such as Rods of See Invisibility.

The Arena
When you exit the Castle though the front door, you are taken to the Arena where the round is taking place. Each round takes place within one of Antiworld's many unique arenas and each round lasts from 6 AM to 12 AM ingame (roughly 36 minutes in real time). Experience and Gold are gained by killing players and capturing the flag. Players also gain a reduced amount of exp and gold when their teammates kill opponents or capture the flag. However, the total value of your items and gold can never exceed your exp. Whenever you kill an opponent, you gain points. The lower the opponent's level in relation to your's, the fewer points you get for killing them. However, if you kill players above your level, you gain more points. In addition, if you capture the flag, you gain 5 points. The points you gain go into your team's total. At the end of the round, the team with the most points wins the round and everyone on that team gets a big exp/gp bonus. In addition, the character with the most points at the end of the round is named the Most Valuable Mercenary and gets an award of exp/gp and a special item.

Most Valuable Mercenary
If you win the Most Valuable Mercenary award, you get a Most Valuable Mercenary item which can be redeemed for a powerful one-use item from the King of Evil or the Queen of Good. You can redeem it for one of any of the following.

Most Valuable Mercenary Award List

 * Black Potion: When a player drinks the Black Potion, the entire enemy team falls asleep and their screen fades to black for 6 seconds, then fades back in.


 * Dragon's Power: When a player uses the Dragon's Power item, they polymorph into an enormous Dragon for 5 minutes and gain immunity to spells as well as the normal Dragon and size bonuses.


 * Fairy Dust: Transforms the player into a Pixie for 5 minutes, giving them a powerful 50 magic damage shield.


 * Immunity Ring: The player is surrounded by a visual aura for 5 minutes. You gain immunity to all spell damage and all weapon damage (but not damage shields, weapon elemental damage, and trap damage).


 * Ring of Epic Speed: The player does not in fact gain speed, but they do gain the maximum amount of attacks for their weapon, as well as +3 ab, Freedom of Movement, and immunity to Knockdown.


 * Time Stop: Stops time for every player but the user for 6 seconds.


 * Wings/Tail: The player is ported to the Wingery where they can choose from a selection of Wings and Tails.

A Quick Summary
Players can only attack and only be attacked by those in their range, which is everyone within 5 levels of their character. There are rules regarding the usage of some abilities more than once every 18 seconds. If the ability hampers stats, hides the character from sight, keeps the enemy from acting, or causes death, then the ability cannot be used more than once every 18 seconds. The balance has been changed significantly, however, only one ability has been even close to removed (Devastating Critical is often turned off), and the staff prefers to give bonuses to weak classes than to nerf strong classes. It is a dedicated server, and almost never crashes.

Rules
Antiworld has a system of rules that seems complex, but in actuality is quite easy to follow.

Level Range
The foremost of these rules is the attack range system. Players are only allowed to attack those within 5 levels of their character and can only be attacked by players within that range. If an player kills someone who is more than 5 levels below them, they are turned into a penguin and any player in their range or below their range can kill the penguin. The exception to these rules is a character with the flag. If a person has the flag, anyone on the opposite can attack them. If the flagger is attacked by a person that would be normally outside his range, he may retaliate against them, as he will not be penguinized for killing a person below his range. However, it is against the rules for the flagger attack players out of range until the that person has committed an offensive action against the flagger.

It should be noted that if a player lacks tumble, they will draw Attacks of Opportunity from opponents who they run near. This can create problems if a player runs by another character that is above his range, since it will draw an attack of opportunity from the out of range player, possibly killing the lower level player and therefore turning the other player into a penguin. If a player takes one rank in Tumble, they can avoid these Attacks of Opportunity, since Antiworld gives all players a large bonus to Tumble checks. If a player refuses to do so, they are responsible for avoiding Attacks of Opportunity. However, spellcasters and archers still provoke Attacks of Opportunity, therefore these players and the out of range players around them should be conscientious of this. If a player purposely draws attacks of opportunity from players above their range in an effort to turn them into a penguin, they can be punished by the GMs.

Spellcasters should be aware that Antiworld is a Full PvP server. Since many spells have an Area of Effect, these spells can affect players on both teams. If a caster is reckless with his spells, he could kill players out of his range or on his team, turning him into a penguin or a statue. Casters who do not make an effort to control their Area of Effects can be punished by the GM team. Conversely, players who use other players as a shield to force the caster to kill someone out of his range or on his team can be punished by the GMs. These punishments are somewhat subjective, so a considerable amount of leeway is given to the players in question.

Summoned Creatures, Familiars, and Animal Companions do not respect these rules on their own. It is the responsibility of the summoner to keep these creatures from breaking the rules. It is advised that the caster make frequent use of the Stand Ground command to keep the creatures from attacking those out of range. Because some players are careless with their creatures, it is legal for any player to attack an offending creature at any time. However, if a player repeatedly attacks the summons of a summoner who is controlling his summons and is out of range, then a GM can punish the attacking player.

Antiworld has rules regarding healing and buffing those on the same team that are out of range. If the other person is not in combat, then the healer/buffer can heal and buff as much as they want. However, if the recipient is in combat with a person who is not in the healer's range, then the healer must restrict themselves to one heal or buff per fight. On the other hand, if the recipient is fighting a person who is in the healer's range, the healer may heal or buff the recipient at their will.

Ability Spam
There are restrictions on using the same spell effect on a single player more than once per 18 seconds. For instance, a player cannot use Knockdown on another player more than once per 18 seconds (though he can use it on two players in succession). The same rules apply to feats such as Disarm, Smite, and Called Shot. The only offensive feats and spells that can be used without restriction are damage only spells and Ki Strike. These rules are more complex for spells and they are described in detail below. {| border="0" cellpadding="10" cellspacing="0" align="center" width="90%" style="background-color: #EEEEEE;"
 * Merry, an Administrator of Antiworld, states these rules regarding spell spamming here :  â€” The spells are put into groups based on similar effects. So for example, Hold Person and Hold Monster would be put in the same group.
 * Merry, an Administrator of Antiworld, states these rules regarding spell spamming here :  â€” The spells are put into groups based on similar effects. So for example, Hold Person and Hold Monster would be put in the same group.

Each group of spells follow a definition. Here are the groups and their definitions.


 * Hold/Stun - Any spell or ability that makes the target lose the ability to attack on their own accord.


 * Disable - Any spell or ability that causes the target to be disabled, but is still able to attack.


 * Death - Any spell or ability that causes instant death


 * Ability Drain - Any spell or ability that causes the target to lose stats in ability scores.


 * Level Drain - Any spell or ability that causes the target to temporarily lose levels.


 * Hide - Any spell or ability that hides the player from sight.


 * Singular - This group only refers to a single spell that can't be spammed, spells in this group can be used together in combination. Some notes may be added to these spells for further rulings.

If a spell is used from a group, then spells from that group cannot be used for 18 seconds against the same target. The spam timer starts after the effect ENDS.

Singular is the only exception, as explained in the definition.

Here is the list. Spells are in alphabetical order for easy searching.

Hold/Stun

 * Balagarn's Iron Horn
 * Bigby's Clenched Fist
 * Bigby's Crushing Hand
 * Bigby's Forceful Hand
 * Bigby's Grasping Hand
 * Charm Monster
 * Charm Person
 * Charm Person or Animal
 * Cloud of Bewilderment
 * Color Spray
 * Confusion
 * Dominate Monster
 * Dominate Person
 * Earthquake*
 * Evard's Black Tentacles
 * Fear
 * Flesh to Stone
 * Grease
 * Great Thunderclap
 * Gust of Wind
 * Hammer of the Gods
 * Hold Monster
 * Hold Person
 * Knockdown**
 * Mass Charm
 * Power Word: Stun
 * Shadow Daze
 * Sound Burst
 * Stinking Cloud
 * Stonehold
 * Storm of Vengence
 * Stunning Fist**
 * Tasha's Hideous Laughter
 * Terrifying Rage**

Disable

 * Bigby's Interposing Hand
 * Blindness/Deafness
 * Entangle
 * Incendiary Cloud
 * Mass Blindness/Deafness
 * Silence
 * Slow
 * Spike Growth
 * Sunbeam
 * Sunburst
 * Vine Mine
 * Web
 * Word of Faith

Death

 * Circle of Death
 * Death Arrow
 * Destruction
 * Earthquake*
 * Finger of Death
 * Implosion
 * Phantasmal Killer
 * Power Word: Kill
 * Quivering Palm
 * Slay Living
 * Wail of the Banshee
 * Weird

Ability Drain

 * Bestow Curse
 * Called Shot Arm***
 * Called Shot Leg***
 * Contagion
 * Feeblemind
 * Infestation of Maggots
 * Negative Energy Burst
 * Poison
 * Ray of Enfeeblement

Level Drain

 * Energy Drain
 * Enervation

Hide ****

 * Greater Sanctuary
 * Hide Mode
 * Sanctuary

Singular

 * Disarm
 * Drown
 * Harm
 * Imbue Arrow
 * Prismatic Spray*****
 * Seeker Arrow
 * Smite


 * Earthquake is in both the Hold/Stun and Death Categories. However, this may be soon to change.


 * Knockdown, Stunning Fist, and Terrifying are currently spammable with each other. However, this may be soon to change, possibly along with the entire Hold/Stun category.


 * Called Shot Arm and Leg are currently spammable with each other. However, this may be soon to change, possibly along with the entire Ability Drain category.


 * All spells or abilities in the Hide category cannot be used until the user has been visible for 18 seconds after the last Hide spell or ability expired. Note that Invisibility is not in this category and is spammable.


 * Because the results for Prismatic Spray are random, it is under the Singular group.

If the spell does not completely cast, such as from Spell Failure or an Action Cancel, that spell does not count towards the spam count.
 * }

Running Rules
Another action that is regulated is running. Once you start melee, ranged combat or cast an offensive spell at an opponent, it is illegal to run away from an enemy until 6 seconds have passed. This is to prevent abuse of bugs and the hide rules. The rules have recently been changed regarding Arcane Archer feats and offensive spell casting. You must now wait 6 seconds after using these on an enemy.

Gold Rules
Characters may not have more gold than experience. This rule is automatically enforced by the jail system, which will jail players who try to buy items or enter the arena when they have more gold then experience. The players will not be allowed to leave the jail until they drop the excess gold.

Team Rules
Players may not attack other members of their team. If they kill a teammate, they are Petrified and anyone inside their range or below their range can kill them. In addition, their point total is subtracted by 5 points. If they ever reach -5 points, they are automatically booted from the game, though they can return at their will.

Other Rules
Antiworld also has rules against obvious violations, such as exploits, bug abusing, spamming, and hacking. In addition, trash talking, especially the insulting variety, is discouraged on Antiworld, and players can be banned for it. There is a catch-all crime called griefing that can be punished on Antiworld. Whenever a player tries to ruin another player's fun, through repeated suicide, trash talking, exclusive hunting, and other unsportsmanlike conduct, then they can be punished by a GM.

Game Master Team
All the rules are enforced by the moderating team, the Game Masters, or GMs. They can punish people by sending them to the pen, by freezing them, by booting them from the server, and by banning them for certain amounts of time. Players should not argue with staff members and should instead explain their situation and opinion politely. Persistent rulebreaking should always be reported to a GM or other staff member.

Reporting
If no GM is on, players can report rulebreakers on the Pigeon Box in the Antiworld forums. Players should submit screenshots of the rulebreaking as well as an explanation of the situation and the offending player's name and account.

Criminal Record System
Antiworld maintains a Criminal Record system so that players and GMs can keep track of the punishments that GMs have given to a player. If a player is punished by a GM, then a criminal record is created for his CD-Key and is tied to that first account. If they are punished under another account with the same CD-Key, the punishment lists the account name as an alias of the original account. If a player is punished under the same account with a different CD-Key, his record is given another section for that new CD-Key.

The punishments are as follows. When a GM ports a player to the pen, it is listed as a Verbal Warning in the player's record. If a GM turns a player into a penguin as punishment, it is listed as a penguinization. Confusingly, penguinizations are also added to records for 2-hour bans. When a GM bans a player for 2 days, then it is listed as a Temporary Ban. On the record, Permanent Bans refer to a 5-day or longer ban, and are not Permanent as the name might suggest.

When a GM's criminal record is viewed, it instead brings up his punishment record. This shows a listing of every punishment performed by that GM, with the recipient's name listed at the right.

Punishment records and criminal records are kept in a database that can be accessed here.

It should be noted that the GM team is well aware that their bans can be avoided by morally bankrupt players, however, the admin team takes particular joy in hunting these renegades down, as demonstrated by the punishment records of Hennet66 and Vertrandis-xd. Avoiding a ban is the quickest way to get permanently banned from Antiworld.

Changes
Many changes have been made to the game in Antiworld. These changes never remove a feat or spell, only change its usage. The only exceptions to this are Time Stop and Devastating Critical. The Wizard/Sorcerer spell Time Stop has been disabled, but a single-use Time Stop item can be obtained in exchange for a Most Valuable Mercenary award. Devastating Critical can be turned on or off by a GM. When 'Anti-Dev mode' is activated, characters with the feat cannot enter the arena. The full list of updates can be found here; however, several classes have received major and noteworthy changes.

Casters
Improved Expertise and Expertise are deactivated when a players casts a spell.

Mages
All disabling spells (paralyze, hold, stun, petrify, charm, dominate, confusion, fear, etc.) have had their duration lowered to 1/5 of the normal duration. Charm and Dominate spells now daze the enemy. Wizard and Sorcerer damage shields have had their damage reduced. Additionally Elemental Shield and Mestil's Acid Sheath each become less powerful if stacked. Isaac's Greater Missile Storm and Isaac's Lesser Missile Storm have had their damage halved, casting time doubled, have a Will Save for 2/3 damage, and are condensed so that they do 2d6 damage per missile and grow by 1 missile per 4 levels. Greater Sanctuary acts the same as Sanctuary in that it has a Will Save. Epic Warding has been reduced so that it only gives 30/+15 DR. Bigby's Crushing Hand and Bigby's Grasping Hand now have more appropriate grappling checks. Many more spells have had certain aspects changed - a full list can be found here.

Clerics
Most Cleric spells that increase Attack Bonus (AB) no longer stack. These non-stackable spells are Battletide, Divine Favor, and Divine Power. If you cast one of these spells while under the effect of another, the lesser spell will be overridden. In addition the spells Heal and Greater Restoration no longer heal the caster fully. Heal will only restore up to 200 HP or 50% health if cast on self, or up to 400 HP if used on an ally. Greater Restoration heals up to 60% of a target's HP.

Paladins
Divine Favor grants two less attack and damage bonus than normal (it is capped at +3 attack/damage bonus rather than +5). Divine Might and Divine Shield require two uses of Turn Undead, rather than one.

Shifters
Many Shifter shapes now take advantage of every item slot.

Blackguards
Blackguards have access to an improved spell list. These spells include Eagle's Splendor, Darkness, and Ultravision at level 5; Protection from Elements and Freedom of Movement at level 8; a new Corrupt Blade ability at level 10 (adds negative damage to a weapon). In order to gain these spells, a small file must be downloaded from here.

Assassins
Assassins now gain access to Fox's Cunning at level 2 and Hide in Plain Sight at level 8. In order to acquire these feats upon leveling up, a small file must be downloaded from here. In addition, the Assassin Death Attack is rarely useful due the constant combat in Antiworld. It is very difficult to catch an opponent when there is no combat within 100 ft. therefore the Death Attack usually has no effect other than dealing sneak damage.

Bards
Bard Song and Curse Song progressions have been altered so that they now max out at level 40. The specific progression can be found here. 

Barbarians
Barbarian Mighty Rage now gives an effective +8 to Str and Con rather than the normal actual bonus to these stats. That means that players receive the full benefits of the ability regardless of the +12 cap on stat bonuses. In addition, Thundering Rage gives Barbarians the ability to penetrate Dragon Damage Reduction. Terrifying Rage cannot affect characters out of range and cannot be used on another player more than once a minute.

Pale Masters
Pale Master AC has been reduced to 1 AC per 4 levels. This will result in a "AC Decreased" effect on any PM character.

Druids
Nature's Balance now acts as a Greater Spell Breach. Firestorm is not effected by Evasion and the Reflex Save is for 3/4 damage. Flame Lash is uncapped by level.

Winged God
Winged Gods are players that are allowed to change their appearance inside Antiworld. Once this title was given to donators, however, this practice was discontinued long ago once it was found that this violated the EULA. Recently, the staff has begun giving this title to exemplary players in order to reward them for good behavior.

Staff
Antiworld has a large and diverse staff that traverses the globe. All staff members work to punish rulebreakers. They are listed below, with their game accounts in parentheses if they are different from their forum accounts.

GMs
The Game Masters, or GMs, moderate the forums and the server, enforcing the rules.

GM List

 * Bellenia
 * Big Bad Wolf (Blazin Bird)
 * Eva01goneBeserk
 * Jak (jak-o-shadows)
 * Killapanda1
 * Lance (Silvis)
 * Moff (abadname)
 * Pest (winterwolf24)
 * Puma
 * Rubyn
 * Scaesar
 * Terminer
 * Uengoshi (misobenotlafsta)
 * Wandor (Steve1173)
 * Zoe Zero

DMs
The Dungeon Masters have access to the DM Client and can fix bugged characters. They are famous for launching events of sorts, commonly called pwnages, where they disrupt the normal CTF in some way. This can vary from dropping monsters in the arena, porting everyone to the welcome, caging them in, and rinsing them with bombardment spells, to attacking players with their rigged DM characters or super powerful NPCs. These events are generally enjoyed by many players, who enjoy the occasional break from the routine.

DM List

 * Anksunamun
 * Mel (heart-)
 * Lord Ven
 * Xen (Xen_Ted_Zen)

Admins
The Administrators control the server. They have access to anything and everything. They often help create and run the pwnages.

Admin List

 * Jantima
 * Xargoth (ENIRO)
 * Vladiat0r
 * Merry (abiscuit)
 * Aez
 * Riddler

Jargon
Players on Antiworld tend to use certain words that are inapplicable outside of Antiworld or NWN. This is somewhat complete listing of these words.

The List

 * Effy: Effortless player. Effortless players are at least 6 levels lower than your character and are therefore out of your range in Antiworld. It is often used to inform a rulebreaking 'effy' that he is attacking someone that is above his range.


 * Imp: Impossible player. Although certain Impossible players are only 5 levels higher than your character, most Impossible characters are more than 5 levels above your character. Therefore, the term is most commonly used to tell a 'imp' that they are attacking someone below their range.


 * Pengy: Penguin. A player who has been penguinized for killing a player who is below his range. Players below his range and inside his range are allowed to kill him while he is penguinized.


 * Penguinized: The act of being turned into a penguin for killing an effy. Also a punishment that can be given by a GM, though it is usually used as a joke rather than as a legitimate punishment.


 * Stoned: The act of being Petrified for killing a teammate. These players can be attacked by anyone in their range or below their range. This term can also be used to refer to players who are affected by the spell Flesh to Stone.


 * WG: Winged God.


 * GM: Game Master.


 * DM: Dungeon Master.


 * Admin: Administrator.


 * Spamming: Using a certain ability, spell, feat, or effect more than once every 18 seconds, in a way that breaks Antiworld's Spam Rules.


 * Confused: The spell Confusion can force a player to attack the nearest player indiscriminately. This can force a player to kill an imp, effy, or teammate against their will. It is often used a manner such as "Sorry, I'm confused", meaning that they have no control over their actions due to the confusion and therefore did not intend to break the rules.


 * Hips: Hide in Plain Sight. At Antiworld, the acronym HIPS is also used to refer to the spamming of hide mode in general, which is illegal whether the character has Hide in Plain Sight or not.


 * AoO: Attack of Opportunity. Often used in apology for an unintended AoO against a character out of range.


 * Pwnage: An event of sorts in which the DMs and/or Admins decide to disrupt the normal game for whatever reason. The event can be anything from swarms of creatures inside the arena to a massive bombardment of spells and projectiles in the Welcome area. These are usually done once a month or every other month. Certain DMs and Admins will award XP and GP after the event.


 * AW: Antiworld.

Miscellaneous
Antiworld is the only gameworld to have it's own category in the NWVault Hall of Fame, as can be seen here.

Direct connect to the server can be performed through the IP address: 209.123.8.115:5122 or just antiworld.biz.