It makes me sad when people can't even imagine how multiplayer would work in a game like this when they used to be pioneers of what multiplayer play was.
You need only look to games like Neverwinter Nights to see how singleplayer RPGs like these can shine when you add in player control via toolsets, self run servers with in game DMs and admins. You can essentially create an entire custom world with your own rulesets (such as enforced roleplay, death rules even perma death from pvp if you so choose).
I wish more people still remembered the roleplay servers (the top quality ones of which some are still running) of Neverwinter Nights Persistent World story servers. That is still what I am hoping to see out of the resurgence of these kind of top down party RPGs.