Game Mechanic Shafts

Sorcerers are known to have one of the cruelest game mechanic shafts – low strength and/or constitution and a requirement to tote a ton of kit to work spells. Many spells require some sort of component: 740, 735, 725, and 714 just to name the major ones. Bottles, rune stones, ink, paint brushes, pens, chalk and so on.

For this reason, I role play a slightly built sorcerer with glasses and robes. No one should be surprised when he rummages in his backpack for a bottle or sack for some found prize instead of wielding a weapon.

This isn’t the greatest mechanical screw in the game. I think the record holder is the old Tapestry in the Temple, Wehnimer’s Landing’s. Back in the day, the Tapestry was a unique item and space. One character at a time could enter that part of the Temple. So, queue it up and play nice for a deed. Yes, one deed because you were pitched out by the acolytes, just as you are now.

This mechanic was removed years ago, but I still recall the wall of text and line of characters waiting their turn.

Back in the Rest

I finally reactivated my account and now have my main character, Magarven back in River’s Rest.

A lot has change since I left three years ago. Sorcerer’s have Balefire (713) and a new version of Nightmare (713). I managed to curse myself right in front of a bunch of trolls. Actual trolls, tomb trolls.

Years ago, I used to be a master of this area. I would lay down a cloud of Nightmare and then rely on Maelstrom (710) or Pain (711) to wipe out the trolls. That doesn’t seem to work anymore. The trolls have far too many HP. Perhaps they were tweaked or perhaps I am rusty. In any event, I discovered that the lower levels of the Citadel are more to my liking.

As a Volner, I am enjoying the changes to the Order. Symbol of Mana is much better and Symbol of Seeking is amazing. The ability to seek out undead and teleport there from any monastery is wonderful.

As I explore all of the updates, I hope to see you in the game.

Premium Account Mistakes

With a premium account, there is an option to select a starting town. This is a wonderful tool for new adventurers, but there is a tiny bit of trouble with such options. Every character starts at level zero and certain towns do not have alternatives to Thrak’s curtain or running messages.

Obviously, this is a function of game design meeting a newer game system. As it stands, I have a new cleric trying to level up in River’s Rest. It isn’t working well, but I am going to make it work, no matter how painful.

Every area has options that work, albeit slowly. I will try out the Adventurer’s Guild and foraging to get those points.

For some sage advice to hunting The Rest, try Starchitin’s guide.

GameHosts and Bloodwood Wands

Two epic saves in 24 hours.

First, I armed my level zero cleric with bloodwood wands to level up twice in River’s Rest. That felt awesome.

Second, when I switched to Premium, I reactivated every character on my account. Some of them, such as Battery Joaness I had played over a decade ago and was unwilling to reroll. Since it had been so long since her creation, I had no idea where she was ‘born’ and could not locate her locker. Short of traveling to every town guess at her locker location, I did an assist.

The happy ending is all I have to do is check the locker manifest in Four Winds to find the lockers location. No guessing at all. Silly that I had to assist instead of figuring that out for myself, but if it works, I should share it. I am glad the GameHost didn’t laugh at me.

The last time I did an assist, I had just received an enhancive device that pushed my stats so high that I have an 11 spirit. Having been killed recently, I was running around with 1 spirit point and took off the device. I believe I was going to cast 405 on it to see if it was ok. Guess what happened? And guess what happened when I put it on and it suddenly failed?

Fun, but I hope a GameHost has an epic laugh log from my experience.

How to Get the Deeds Done – River’s Rest

Deeds are a little unusual in the Rest. Just like everything else, eh?

There are just a couple of steps:

Kneel
Look in Pool
Look in Pool
Touch Pool
Put gems and/or shells in the pool
Touch Pool and be transported
Touch Flower
Get Seed
Plant Seed

In the Rest, I am not sure if gems or shells are tripled as they are in the Landing. I have not tried coins, so attempt that at your own risk.

Log begins here:
[River’s Rest, Spring Rest]
All about, leaves and small twigs litter the forest floor, but at the forest’s edge, in this clearing, brush marks in the soft dirt show the care that someone takes here. A pool of clear water dominates the area and feeds a small stream which meanders southward beside a small path.

At the edge of the clearing, two large stone pillars mark a pathway west.

Warm sunlight filters through the trees and seems to invite the weary to rest here in peace.
You also see a long pier.
Obvious paths: east, south

>kn

You kneel down.

>look in pool

As you gaze into the pool of water, you feel a sense of well-being steal over you. Your reflection gazes back at you, solemn yet serene and inviting.

>look in pool

Briefly, you glimpse the image of a one-armed man, reaching out to you and smiling as if in invitation.

>touch pool

As you touch your reflection in the pool, it shimmers and fades away, leaving you gazing at a glittering mound at the bottom of the pool.

>get she from back

You remove an emperor’s crown shell from in your oilcloth backpack.

>put shell in pool

The scent of herbs and flowers seems to drift on the air as you drop the emperor’s crown shell into the crystal clear water.

It falls from your hand into the crystaline water of the pool, gently disturbing the surface of the water. An image of a one-armed man appears on the the water and he is smiling at you.

>touch pool

As you touch the pool, you hear a whispered voice saying, “You are welcome to my garden.” The old man who keeps the pool neat and clean wanders in and gathers the things you have dropped into the pool. He smiles broadly at you and as he does, a feeling of vertigo overcomes you and the world about shimmers and fades.

When your vision clears, you find yourself in a garden and you take a deep breath as you look around curiously.

[River’s Rest, Garden of Life]
A riotous display of flowers and herbs of every description assaults your senses.

Most seem to be in full bloom, but here and there you spot a plant ready to seed, ready to give back to the land that which it has taken. Standing next to one such patch of flowers is a one-armed man. He wears a medallion depicting Imaera as she tends a garden that is so beautiful it makes the one you stand in appear quite drab. She appears to be planting seeds and strangely, she seems to be smiling at you.
Obvious paths: out

>touch flower

As you gingerly touch the flowers, a single ripe seed falls to the ground. As it does, the one-armed man smiles at you and seems to nod approvingly.

>get seed

You pick up a ripe seed.

>plant seed

You scramble to your feet.

Walking to the garden’s edge, you spy a bare spot, and lean down to gently press the seed into the rich soil. As you straighten up, a faint image suddenly appears beside the one-armed man. She smiles at you and softly says, “As you have honored the life of this garden, so shall I beg of Lorminstra that she shall honor your own life.” Her voice fades into a rustle of flowers as a small breeze brushes your cheek. When you look again, she and the one-armed man are nowhere to be seen.

Counting Coup

Last night, I was cleaning up some old logs and found my first adventure into The Marsh Keep Area.

Jersea, Moswell, Gutios, Armundia, Sorlu, Spingwell, Khiya Lurrah, Ponrick, Husark and I left the Common’s in search of a mythic fortress in the bog. Following Sorlu, we took a minor detour to Niima’s shrine. Then we promptly got lost.

We were attacked by Necrotic Snakes in the Ghastly Swamps. That doesn’t happen any more, the swamp is just outside of their range now. I am proud to say I am the first Rester to kill a Necrotic Snake. I was also the first to injury a Chimera, which ran for it’s life.

A few minutes later, I got lost and ended up in a running battle with a Tomb Troll Necromancer, a couple of Flesh Golems and a few Tomb Trolls. Fortunately, the group came back for me and handily defeated the Trolls in a truly epic rescue.

Jersea took up the lead as a bard and lore sang many new finds. She pulled knowledge and details unimaginable to us.

Moving deeper into The Keep, we found the Flooded Chamber. The pool with turned out to be an impassable barrier to me. I wished the others well and took up the rear guard position. Armed with a flask, some pretty old songs and my staff I managed to hold the Chamber against hordes of Trolls. I was focused on holding on, I missed the signal. The rest of the party escaped back to town.

My fault, entirely. I went down fighting an uncountable host of Trolls. The rest of the gang escaped back to town.

For the record, I heard that the prize was a book.