Lyanna

You could turn it into another newbie quest, introducing storage and pickpoints expenditure (with reference to Physique and Coord for increasing carry weight - have them physically bring 200 bones to the NPC). That way, older players won't be able to just bring tons of bones to the NPC and convert them into equipment. (Quests can only be done once, right?) -Lyn-

Yes, you're right. We'll need to know more about the world Ent is creating first before continuing our stories. In that case: All synchronisation and modifications to existing stories will pause for a while until Entropy finishes writing his quests/stories Continuing unfinished stories should be okay, though they will probably have to face rewriting later. New stories should probably be put on hold until the world as we know it has been fully established. Hold on to the Battle of Portland first, Saii, until the creation of the world is over. -Lyn-

YES!! There is a use for perks after all! Haha...Hazor, I win the argument. Perks are now equal or better than cloaks. -Lyn-

Okay, I just trekked through half the continent to record down what the priests said about each of their gods. Here are the descriptions: Aluwen: (Noria) Fitting would it be that the originator of all life be a female, a mother. Aluwen was fair and just in her dealings but was easily taken advantage of with her kind heart, open mindedness and belief in equality for all of the inhabitants of the world. Aluwen followers usually get more defence experience, based on their rank. Aluwen’s enemies are Mortos, the god of death, and Selain, the god of summoning. Her alignment is Lawful Good. Mortos: (Dirhyan) Mortos is iniquity in its purest form, he lusts for war, destruction and death. He contrived a plot to try and take over the newly created world by Aluwen by robbing her of her pure mind and body. This act broke the seal of protection on all life and brought about the first deaths and eventually the great war which he lead by force. Aluwen bore a bastard son, Glydoc. Mortos’ enemies are Aluwen, the goddess of life, and Elandria, the goddess of Alchemy. His alignment is Chaotic Evil. Glydoc: (Durnam) The atrocities of his father and benevolence of his mother set this god apart from the others, torn between the lust of battle and the balance which he maintained. He cherished victory, valor, bravery and blood. His ways are mysterious to the untrained eye but the followers of his ways always felt his strength when they had summoned his name on the battlefield for assistance. Glydoc’s followers usually get more crafting experience, depending on their rank. Glydoc’s enemies are Elandria, the god of alchemy, and Unolas, the god of magic. His alignment is Lawful Neutral. Glilin: (Baostas) Indomitably was the merry spirit of Glilin, father of creativity. Blessed are his followers with the gift of better craftsmanship. Often called the “Dwarfish Lord†by his followers and outsiders, Glilin is often thought to be the soul of a Dwarfish craftsman touched by Aluwen, allowing him his life spared and evolved into a godlike status. Once being a mortal Glilin is looked down upon by other gods for his “impurity†but to this day never loses his cheerful smile or the blessed anvil on which he works his wonders. His alignment is Lawful Neutral, and his followers usually get more manufacture experience. Unolas: (Adrian) Another once mortal, Unolas was granted immortality and godly status for his gnosis of the very spirit of the earth. He was the first to discover the essences and is the namesake of all Elf kind. Born out of his research and hard work were the essences, available for all to use, but in his discovery lay the foundation for the great war; the struggle to control the very power of the planet, all life… Unolas alignment is Chaotic Neutral, and his followers get more magic exp. Selain: (Sylpho) The third “once mortals†was Selain, the summoner. His mind was dangerous and knowledge exploited by good and evil alike. Neutral he remains in all ways, assisting both cutthroat and priest he knew no ally other than coin. Also known as the god of wealth he built an empire based on the wealth gained by his enhancements, the dark lord Mortos honouring his greed and destruction brought about by his hand gave him life beyond life, immortality. Selain’s followers usually gain more summoning experience, depending on their rank. Selain’s enemies are Aluwen, the god of life, and Glilin, the god of manufacture. His alignment is Neutral Evil. Elandria: (not yet ready) Elandria’s enemies are Glydoc and Mortos. -You'd notice that the alignments of some of the gods aren't mentioned. Do we even WANT those alignments in at all? - There are obvious discrepancies between Saii's history of the lands and the descriptions given here....particularly of Glydoc's, Aluwen's, (and to some extent) Glilin's and Selain's natures. What are we planning to do about those? - Glydoc initially was the god of combat, not crafting. As such, his description is based on combat. Now, that has to change. - Roja, are we permitted to rewrite the gods' descriptions to fit in with the storyline? Comments and suggestions appreciated. -Lyn-

Hate to do this to you, but that isn't really a new idea. There WAS a guild called FUN, and they DID do those things some time ago. Don't exactly know what happened to them, though. -Lyn-

*thinks* Hmm.... cast "noxious cloud" just before the exit from the Underworld...evil... Will it cause server lag, I wonder? The current area effect spells - namely, Heal Summoned and Smite Summoned - are both immediate-effect spells, so they don't really cause much of a strain on the server. But if you have a spell that constantly needs a visual effect over a period of time - worse still, if you have MULTIPLE spells active at the same time in a battlefield - won't it cause lag? -Lyn-

Ravenod, you're wonderful! This will help SO much when answering questions on the Newbie Channel. Thanks! And keep up the good work! (Don't forget the ore prices too, if you can get them) -Lyn-

Nevertheless, the campfire is already marked on the ingame map, so it would serve the purpose of making the location of the Wraith easy to find, #beam me up or no #beam me up. I think teranoz has a good idea. -Lyn-

She does have a valid point, though. I don't think we need MORE competition in the game at the moment. However, it's kinda late, since Learner has already begun to introduce the Ants again. -Lyn-

Saii, are you planning to finish this story? Haven't seen you around for a while... -Lyn-

Amen. And do so in a nice way, please. -Lyn-

Haha...I like it a lot kat. You've got a talent for humour. Your ability to portray certain characters is pretty good too. :wink: Keep at it! Lots of fun to read! As for grammar, there's going to be quite a lot of corrections (no offence), so it'll probably be easier if you complete your story, then send the whole of it to me, Roja or someone else for proofreading and editing. Roja: Will those "fan stories" be the ones like this (ie. having to do with player characters in the game currently), or ALL the stories that people have been writing - including the histories, legends, etc.? -Lyn-

OH...I get it! (Had to read it about six times, but...) :wink: He's talking about the number next to the green bar on the GUI - the one that displays exp to the next level of the overall skill. Uh...this should probably go into the Bug Reports Forum, though. -Lyn-

True, Geelef, but I don't think we have much of a choice. I mean, I was listening to Prattler tell Kayliana's Dragon story when he first came on, and after about the 6th post, I was already feeling a little impatient. Maybe it was just the message speed, though. The longer stories, though, would probably have to be left out. I agree that they would lose too much. Maybe only the short stories and legends can go in. Hmm... do you think maybe it would be better for the bards to simply read the stories here and then craft their own shortened versions? That way, each bard could tell the story in a style unique to themselves... -Lyn-

Possibly... I separated the history into Ages primarily because of the Great War and the WoTG being cataclysmic events that significantly altered the Lands and decimated the races. If a great event similar to that happened two years ago, that could justify it. I think we're going to have to wait until Ent creates his story, find out what it is, and then continue work on the timeline. Hope you finish it soon, Entropy! -Lyn-

Well, here goes... I'm going to have to build up the love subplot slowly... ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------- “Any luck?†Banner asked. Jarrett shook his head and dropped into the chair his brother pulled up. “No good. I spent the whole day down at the docks, talking to Hulling, Kirtan, Pishgar, and the rest. Everyone’s either too busy or has other plans.†He gave a tired smile. “Hulling’s finally planning to propose to Rhinda next week. Captain Gaildren’s going to love that.†The brothers shared a chuckle at the thought of the Captain’s reaction to his prospective son-in-law. It was a good time to be away from the docks. Jarrett gave a cursory glance around the tavern. It was beginning to fill up with the evening crowd. Diana was bustling about as usual, serving tables and berating Andrew for mixing the wrong drinks. Every now and then, her eyes strayed to the dark corner where Banner and Jarrett – especially Banner – sat. “Any luck on your side?†he asked. “Nope,†Banner replied. “I’ve been sitting here all day too, and no one’s asked about the notice. Didn’t realise it was going to be so difficult to find adventurers.†“Well, you know it’s only because the weather’s been unusually good this year. The sea’s as flat as a mirror, and there hasn’t been a good squall since last spring.†“I know, but how does that help US? We’re stuck here because there’s no one that’s willing to go to Vermor Castle with us, and we can’t fight that mage alone,†Banner said, with not a small amount of frustration. Nearby bar patrons looked up for a moment before returning to their drinks and conversations. A hulking dark-skinned Orchan rose from a seat at the far end of the tavern and made his way to them. He was a brutish-looking fellow, with ragged scars lining both cheeks and an aura of fearsome danger hanging around him. He was wearing what looked to be a suit of custom-made leather armour, adorned with colourful tassels that somehow seemed incongruous with the other aspects of his garb. At his side swung a finely-crafted steel sword of a make that Banner was unfamiliar with – but then again, he reflected, he was no expert in swords. The warrior glanced critically at the both of them, then looked at Banner and grunted out, “You two the Vermillion brothers?†Out of the corner of his eye, Banner could see his brother eyeing the stranger rather dubiously. Jare was too cautious at times. “Yeah, we’re the Vermillion brothers,†Banner replied, trying to match gruffness with gruffness. “You here about the job?†He dropped into the seat opposite Banner and shrugged. “It depends on whether it’s worth it. I got a partner too. What'cha you offering?†Jarrett pulled Banner aside a little and whispered. “Banner, I don’t think he’s exactly what we’re looking for. I mean, he look mean and tough, but what’s that got to do with magic? Looks too dumb to be of any use. And you know what they say about mages being able to control weak minds easily…†“We don’t have much choice, Jare,†Banner hissed back. “It’s already been two weeks. Just leave it to me.†He turned back to the orchan and said aloud, “Two hundred gold coins each – for both you and your partner, if we succeed in our mission. But it’ll also depend on how well you and your partner perform. Anyway, where IS your part–†He was interrupted by a commotion at the bar. A drunken sailor was roaring out a bawdy song and stumbling around the room. The sailor bumped into cloaked figure, causing the hood to fall back and reveal a stunningly-beautiful Elven girl. He lurched towards the girl, belched, and peered blearily at her, brightening as he saw her face. “Hey, you’re a pretty girl. What’s say you and me go upstairs and enjoy ourselves a little?†He threw an arm around her and attempted to plant a slobbering kiss. “Get off me,†the girl said, in a cold voice. She deftly sidestepped out of the man’s way and was about to proceed when he grabbed her from behind. “See here, girlie. Garlet don’t take no for an answer. I’ma gonna –hic– give you the time of your life. You just come with ol’ Garlet.†He dragged her to him and was about try kissing her again when he found a knife blocking his neck from getting any closer. The girl was holding it. “How about this for an answer, then?†she said, and drove her knee between his legs. The sailor collapsed in agony as she coolly slipped the knife back inside the folds of her robe. Banner and Jarrett sat stunned, while the orchan let out a roar of laughter and waved his hand. The girl saw it and proceeded to make her way to their table, sitting down opposite Jarrett. Behind her, Diana and Andrew were helping Garlet out of the tavern, still moaning in pain. Chuckling, the orchan said, “You wanted to know who my partner was, eh? Gentlemen, meet Alyssa. She’ll cut your tripes out just as soon as she will your enemy’s.†The orchan smiled slyly, “provided the price is right, of course.†Alyssa gave a brief, cool stare in reply to the brothers’ slightly amazed gazes. “Purgul, get back to business,†she told the orchan. “Yes, Alyssa,†the orchan named Purgul straightened up, and his features lost their dull, semi-idiotic aspect. It must have been a blind, Banner realised, to throw people off his actual intelligence. The eyes that met his now were certainly not those of a brainless meathead. He began to fire questions rapidly at Banner. “Any promise of loot?†“No.†“What sort of danger are we looking at?†“We’re going to kill a mage that’s occupying Vermor Castle at the moment.†The orchan gave a low whistle. “You don’t say. Heard about that incident, when I was a young ‘un. Some sorta wizard butchered the entire Vermor family, didn’t he?†Banner felt his face hardening at the thought. “Yes.†“How long’s the job?†“It depends. Finding a way into the castle may take a while. Killing the mage and whatever he’s got inside would take less than a day. A month, at most.†“And you expect to pay us a lousy two hundred coins for an entire month, as well for putting our lives on the line against a mage?†“We’ll also provide money for all food, supplies, and other expenses along the way.†The orchan shook his head. “No way. Even with that, I’d expect at least three hundred and fifty. Up front, too.†“You must think I’m crazy,†Banner rebuffed. “How can I trust you to stick around after I’ve paid you? Okay, I’m willing to go as high as two hundred and forty – after we’ve completed the job.†“You’re out of your mind,†Purgul snorted. They then got down to the serious business of haggling. As his brother continued to trade offers with the orchan, Jarrett gazed at the figure that sat opposite him. He hadn’t taken his eyes off her since the hood had fallen. She had glossy jet-black hair that fell to her shoulders, softly encircling her oval face. Despite her wintry disposition, she did not look like a person who was naturally harsh by nature. Her large, blue-grey eyes were seemed to be more appropriate for a dreamer than a cold-blooded mercenary. Her neck was a graceful as a swan’s, leading down to a body which was concealed by the robe she wore, but which Jarrett had no doubt would prove to be as appealing as the rest of her visible parts. Her hands were folded in her lap, and she sat almost perfectly still, reminding Jarrett of a statue he had seen once. Only her glorious eyes gave any indication that she was, in fact, paying close attention to everything happening around her. They flickered from side to side, watching sudden movements, measuring distances, and then unexpectedly focused on Jarrett. He became uncomfortably aware of the fact that he was staring and quickly lowered his gaze, coughing slightly to hide his embarrassment. Unlike his brother, Jarrett had had almost no experience with girls, since he was almost invariably seen in the company of Banner – and hence had come off second-best by comparison. A rather strange, light-headed mood had taken hold of him, making his gaze continually wander in the direction of the girl, but he firmly told himself to pay attention to negotiations. “All right, two hundred and fifty each – half now and half upon completion of the job. We’ll bear all the expenses. And that’s my final offer, take or leave it,†Banner’s voice was firm and he straightened in his seat. Purgul looked inclined to argue the point further, but checked himself and agreed rather reluctantly. “All right, done. So when are you planning to leave?†Banner’s voice was triumphant. “We’ve been preparing for two weeks. Everything’s ready now. We leave at first light tomorrow for Vermor Castle!â€

Go for it, kat! -Lyn-

Ah, yes, I see. My apologies. Just checked the #date command several times. It DOES change the day every 6 hours. If you don't mind me asking, then, how does your calendar work? By that, I mean - does it follow the RL calendar system (30/31 days per month, with Feb being 28/29, 7 days a week, 12 months per year, etc.) exactly, or did you change certain things (like making all months a standard 30 days each)? Also, when I checked the date, I got the year as 0002. You're planning to change this, right? For the purpose of changing the current timeline of EL history, can I assume the year to be 4,002 rather than 0002? Hmm...that would mean the Dragon Wars would have to happen about 2,500 years ago, the War of the Gods about 1,500 years ago, and the Great War about 500 years ago - provided they don't clash with your story. That also makes it 17 generations of Dreagoni since the beginning of the world, and 133 generations of Humans/Orchans (taking the generation gap to be 1/3 of the lifespan of a race). Hmm...can be done. (Although I wish I knew what your creations story would be like in advance so that I can start synchronising the histories again) Relevant threads: Current Timeline: http://www.eternal-lands.com/phpBB2/viewto...opic.php?t=4990 Race Lifespans: http://www.eternal-lands.com/phpBB2/viewto...opic.php?t=5480 My original suggestion for calendar system: http://www.eternal-lands.com/phpBB2/viewto...opic.php?t=4926 -Lyn-

Actually, I meant an EL date, not RL date. Since the EL day is only 6 hours, we can't have four days with the same date, can we? -Lyn-

Hmm...6-hour-day. Workable. I already included that in my calendar, but I synchronised it on the day-level, so that 1 RL year/month/week would be equivalent to 1 EL year/month/week (provided that EL's calendar has a lot more days in it). However, if you're thinking of keeping the number of EL days in a EL year at about 365, and making 1 earth year = 4 EL years, that can be done also. We'll just have to synchronise it on the year-level, which is rather difficult to keep track of, unless you have an in-game calendar/date system. Would it be too difficult to program that into the game to make it official? Something that allows you to see the date, I mean. (Maybe #date? Or some sort of display near the clock?) -Lyn-

Basically I agree with Kamikze. I understand your position and the type of player you are, Dumbledore, after reading your other posts, and I do empathise, but I feel that the majority of the EL population is not going to support this idea. Many of us play in the game and continue to play in the game because of the community - and these friendships were built up partly through chatting on the channels. Although the rules do prohibit mindless chatter and spam, I feel it's important also to allow a little bit of slack once in a while and let people talk - provided there's no other pressing business. This 'fanta' thing is probably just a passing fad, and will blow over in a week or so. YES, it detracts from the role-playing aspects of the game, and YES, it can be annoying especially if the channel is not fulfilling it's purpose. (I can only speak for the Newbie Channel, since that's the channel I most frequent - or used to frequent...) However, one has to take into account the demographics of the players. Full-grown adults are probably a minority. And "youth", as they say, "likes to talk". People who get irritated by the mindless chatter on the channels always have the #lc option. :wink: However, having said that, I also do believe that there is a problem with genuine newbie questions not being answered at times. The best solution, I feel, is simply better enforcement of the rules and more dedication from the NHs/mods - both official and unofficial. In fact, it's pretty good as it is, isn't it? Hazor, fig and the rest should be doing their jobs fairly well. Entropy chooses his mods and NHs carefully now, and there are still plenty of helpful people on the Newbie Channel who aren't NH (and who would not get exempted from this rule, by the way) Hopefully, as duran and 70347 said, the multi-channel chat system will allow players to send comments to the appropriate channels (although it may get a little confusing, with possibly 5 simultaneous conversations going on at once). Basically, you can't force people to stop mindless chatter, or to stop spamming, if they're really determined to. The NHs have been given sufficient powers to moderate the channel, and I DO strongly feel that this method, while it may be partially effective in cuttting down mindless chatter, would also have greater negative effect of discouraging people who are willing to contribute usefully to the channel, and severely damaging the sense of community that keeps the players together. -Lyn-

No, I won't be joining any guild in the game. And it's okay...I was just asking for curiosity's sake. Would be interesting to know who helps out on the Newbie Channel nowadays. -Lyn-

By 'shouting', I assume you mean talking on the channels, as opposed to local chats or PMs. If this assumption is wrong, forgive me for misunderstanding and ignore the whole passage below. If that's the case, people on the Newbie Channel, especially the very new players and the NHs would be seriously affected. A typical NH-newbie conversation would last about 5-6 posts from each before the newbie is properly oriented (knows how to get out of buildings, eat food, equip items, spend PP, etc.). NHs and other helpful players would probably be down to 1 MP after a few hours. And the new players would probably be a little bit scared to see their MP dropping with each message they post. The counter-objection to this would be newbies PMing people, and queenjenny's idea of mentoring newbies. But again, I don't think it would as effective as talking on the channel, because you can learn a lot from just listening in to other people talking. I learned most of my information that way. And lastly, channel talk (even the "mindless chatter", to some extent) allows newbies to get into the community a lot faster than PMs or local chat to people who may be busy or AFK. I won't go into the other arguments why channel talk or 'shouting' is better than local or PM, but you get the picture. While there probably should be a solution to help clean up some of the extra chatter on the channels, I don't think this will do the trick. (No offence) -Lyn-

Really? Who were these 5 people, if you don't mind me asking? And are they all going to join the guild? -Lyn-

I agree that it would probably be more fun, Slay, and it would definitely add a lot more interest to the role-playing elements of the game, but what if the group in your scenario happen to turn their switches off? Then the revenge could NEVER take place, irregardless of whether they're in a tavern or not. Or, if you see an enemy coming, you could quickly turn your switch off, and become invulnerable to harm. However, working with your idea...if all you want is being able to fight in and around buildings, then why not just create a fully-populated PK map with buildings whose interiors are also PK maps? That way, you still get to fight in taverns, just in special PK taverns and towns. Or, going a step further...if some sort of PK zoning code could be introduced into the game (I'm not sure of the programming involved, so this may be impossible...) that allowed the developers/mods to switch on/off PKing in certain areas on the map by some sort of in-game command, you could have the same effect. For example, let's say someone wants to stage an invasion of White Stone. Ent, Roja or Moon could switch on PKing for the duration of the event, and post a message to all, warning them. Then, after the event, switch it off again. How about that? -Lyn-