The Neverwinter community is incredibly dedicated and we see it come out every day whether it’s in-game, on social media or on our forums. We decided that it’s about time we highlight some of our incredibly dedicated community members and get to know them a little better.

For our very first player spotlight we turn our attention to a member of our very dedicated forum moderators. Without them the forums would just be like Las Vegas without police officers. Let’s get to know Zebular!

Tell us a little about yourself and your character.

Well met! I'm Zebular, also known as 'Old Zeb' in Neverwinter. I've been a gamer since I could first hold an Intelivision controller, thanks to my Grandmother who's severely addicted to Space Armada, even to this day. I adopted the nickname Zebular for my main characters in MMOs and have used it, or some iteration there-of, since 1997. 'Old Zeb' is my "main" in Neverwinter, a Control Wizard speced into everything Lightning, down to even his armor and weapon enchants. He's based off of my oldest NPC from my Forgotten Realms Campaign.

When I am not gaming, I am usually watching TV, playing with one of my cat familiars (or as they call it, "serving them"), or taking in the good outdoors. I'm very much into nature despite my ironic love and fascination of technology.

What was the main reason you decided to start playing Neverwinter?

It's the Forgotten Realms! Since I'm unable to open a portal directly to Faerûn (still working on it!), aside from Paper & Pencil Imagination-Land, this is the next best thing!

What’s your favorite game mode/why?

I play almost exclusively PvE. I have been known to be talked into PvPing with friends on occasion. I've never really cared for mixing PvP into my RPGs, or vice versa. There's been a few exceptions, like vanilla Ultima Online and Shadowbane. When I do crave PvP, I prefer games focused on that aspect, just like how I prefer PvE play when I play games of a role-playing nature, like Neverwinter.

What’s your favorite in-game event/why?

Respen's Marvelous Game, for sure! I just loved how it took my favorite Forgotten Realms game and made it even more into its Pen and Paper equivalent. Running around as a little painted "Ral Partha" type figurines is just something hardwired into me that I enjoy greatly. Plus, that green slime is adorable!

We're all gamers so we know you don't just play Neverwinter. When you're not adventuring in the Forgotten Realms, what games do you play?

I've been a fan of The Elder Scrolls games since Morrowind, so naturally I can be found on occasion in Elder Scrolls Online. I also have been playing Star Trek Online, off and on, since Beta. Yes, I am a devout Trekkie and am not ashamed to admit that Voyager was my favorite, followed closely by TNG, then DS9, then Enterprise, and finally TOS. I was listening to TOS episodes in the womb after-all, thanks to my Sci-fi geek of a mother, who was also ironically a "hippie flower child" in the 60's and 70's.

What is your favorite in-game item/why?

That I have? Hmm, that's a tough one. I guess have two... For 'Old Zeb', my most precious item on him would be his "Dweomershard" -- an epic quality Ioun Stone of Allure. It fit in perfectly with his adopted biography from paper & pencil, as he had a Blue Ioun Stone named "Dweomershard." For my second most favorite character, Daxx Dae'Vesh, a Menzoberranzan Renegade Drow Devoted Cleric... her most cherishied item would be her "Valindra's Crown" that came with my Neverwinter Noble's Chest. She looks awesome in it.

However, the Tenser's Floating Disc mount is the one item I do not have yet that would trump them both. 'Old Zeb' MUST have one of these!

There are a lot of fans of Neverwinter who spend their free time playing the D&D in a non-digital space. How long have you been playing D&D and what is your most memorable moment?

I've been playing D&D since I was 15, some 21 years ago now. The most memorable moment would have been with a certain NPC of mine that had been tagging along with the party. I had always rolled my dice behind my DM screen and critical hit after critical hit, he had taken out most of what the party was fighting. So, naturally I got heckled for "being too good" with the dice and was called to roll them in sight of the players. So, after some twisting, I give in and go to roll for his next hit. I rolled a critical... miss!

The heckling resumed as I pulled out the extensive custom made critical miss tables and proceed to roll on it. As "luck" would have it, I rolled the one to "sever nearby ally's limb" for our sword category. Where is the luck in that you ask? Well, that nearest ally was the character of the player who was doing the most heckling. :)  Don't worry, the town cleric re-attached his arm a few (stinky and monster-attracting) day’s journey later.

You moderate the Neverwinter forums, which isn't an easy job, what made you decide to want to do that and how do you keep your cool when things get heated?

It's just something familiar to me, as I have long been active in the Forum MMO scene as I was once a Moderator then later Administrator for the Stratics Forums for Ultima Online. Community Forums are a great wealth of information and personalities, a place to come to gather with other gamers and share with each other. Keeping in mind all the good Community Forums bring to MMOs and their players is the driving and stabilizing force for me.

If you got the chance to decide what direction to move Neverwinter in, what would want to see in future Modules?

Personal and Guild Housing! I've described my thoughts a few times, most recently here on player housing: http://nw-forum.perfectworld.com/showthread.php?753741-I-d-love-to-have-some-Player-HOUSING!&p=8570561#post8570561 -- I miss the custom design features that Ultima Online is famous for and with the Foundry as a backbone, Neverwinter could quite potentially have a spectacular and extensively customizable housing system.

Dungeons & Dragons and Neverwinter is all about having fun in a group setting.  We want you to take some time and give a shout out to all your friends who you spend time with in-game.

Shout out to everyone of the NW_Legit_Community channel! Also, I've run many times with Ambisinisterr and Melodywhr, which is always a blast. Shout out to Mendicant, Elazalin, Kat, Ak, and Bracken as well as many old members of TyrsPaladium, which was my first guild I belonged to in Neverwinter.

Are there any gaming tips that you might be able to share with new players who might be playing Neverwinter for the very first time?

Don't be intimidated by "Gearscore." It's there as a guide and not as a determining factor for success. Just because one item gives more gearscore than another, that doesn't always mean it would be better for your character's stats and abilities.

Thanks for taking time to answer some questions and to allow us to get to know you a little more. As always we thank you for your dedication to Neverwinter and the hard work you put in on the forums! We can’t wait to see you in-game!

Make sure to keep an eye out for more Player Spotlights, you never know when you will end up being featured on the official Neverwinter website and forever known as one of the most dedicated players in the game. 

Click here to register for Neverwinter, the Dungeons & Dragons action MMORPG. The best part about Neverwinter: it's free to play! Get a head start in-game by purchasing Neverwinter item packs which include unique companions, mounts, boosts, and exclusive benefits!

Want more game details, screens, and videos? Like Neverwinter on Facebook for more fan-exclusive content and follow us on Twitter – tweet us your questions! And, subscribe to our YouTube channel for the latest Neverwinter videos.