Subject: Newsletter August 6, 97 ******* ************** *** *** ************** **** ***Barren Realms*** **** *** *** *** *** *** ******* *** *********** ** ** *********** ***************** Beej: if there's a lot of people in an area, the mobs there should repop faster. Blackwulf: I think the the command should be like , so that you could read what someone told when they where drunk. Kalar: make plague be contagious: maybe every tick, all players in the same room with a plagued person have to make a save against poison or something or be infected. Kalar: more group-oriented skills like circle Tom: Have weapons react better in the area they are from, Like have the Frostbites work Super better in the Area you got them, and like they normally do everywhere else Montu: I think it would be pretty neat if there where some weapons that could shoot into another room. Like a bow an arrow where you attack from the room next to it, then the mob can come at you or maybe it'll be poisone= d. Montu: If you drink too much alchohol, after a while it takes more to get drunk.. You build a tolerance to it. Squier: You should have to type 'sit' before you can sleep... Because most people can not sleep standing up! ie: You can't fall asleep standing u= p. /(*) | / | |\--------------------------------------------\ (@)(((((((( | >----------------Article-------------------- > | |/--------------------------------------------/ | \ \(*) This is not the builders guide, just a informative document to give you an idea of some of the steps you go through in the process of writing an=20 area. For me, making an area is a six step process: =20 1. Inspiration 2. Initial Planning 3. Room Layout/Area Map 4. Mob/Item/EQ Design 5. Coding 6. Final Design, Checking, Submission The first thing you need when writing an area: INSPIRATION. Many of BR's areas are based on some place or a story/book/poem or even an interesting creature that was in one of the above. The basis of everything is a good idea, and this is how an area is born. I personally have written (not submitted yet) several areas, each of which has completely different inspiration. One is based on an adventure for advanced dungeons and dragon= s, another on a creature from a book (modified) that I found fascinating that I built an area around. Whatever your inspiration is, this gives you a good start on your area. Before you do anything else, check with Kiri or Oakley as to the viability of your area. If they ok it, off you go. I personally do not normally do much in the way of planning the area out in= =20 advance. Some people take a lot of time and draw out complete area maps=20 and mob archetypes. I personally prefer to just fire up MZF and let=20 the whole thing just kind of flow out into the area. Once you have=20 some idea of what you want the area to be (your grand design, if you=20 will), either on paper or just a vision in your head, we can do one=20 of two things: Do the rooms and map, or the mobs and junk in the area. =20 This order is more a matter of personal preference. I personally prefer=20 to start with mobs and gear because I find that writing the rooms is the=20 hardest and most tedious part. Some people find that doing the rooms is=20 simple. At any rate, the order is not important. I design my mobs,=20 and usually find that as I write them, more inspiration arrives in the=20 form of the kind of area that these creatures will inhabit. This works=20 for some, but not all. Others design the map and then the inspiration=20 for its kind of mobs falls into place. And if you did a lot of advance=20 design, then neither of these will really do much for you, aside from=20 adding little things for some flavor. Next: What can be the most tedious part but the most fun: turning the area designs into code. If you do this by hand, it can be quite a chore. I personally use Make Zones Fast, a superb program for area design. Of course, there are features in BR that MZF can't begin to replicate, so frequently a degree of hand written code is required in addition to what you crank out with MZF. But, whatever you use, the end result is well worth the effort. The final step in the road is to make sure you have everything you want in the area, look the rooms and mobs over in MZF and then run the code through a spell checker (any word processor will do) to minimalize the chance of a typo. After that, submit it to the appropriate people to have it looked over and checked again, and eventually added. There will probably be a few modifications made by the implementors, but if you adhere to the guidelines in the Builders Guide your area will most likely go through with minimal changes and the Grand Design will have been fulfilled. This is, once again, just an alternative method to the process that can be used for the design of an area. This is in no way set in stone, or even an official method. It is just a way I find helps to get your area done quickly and without a lot of dead time where you don't know what else to do. After all, this area is an expression of your desire or dreams, and should be easy and fun to do. Vercertorix /(*) | / | |\--------------------------------------------\ (@)(((((((( | >---------------Response-------------------- > | |/--------------------------------------------/ | \ \(*) Responses by Flynn: >Reykjavik: I think you should be able to interact with non-object things >in a room. For example, JUMP over the gates on each side of town (and >maybe land on them by accident? hehehe..) or you might need 3 or more >players in a group to PULL a chain bringing up or you might need 3 or >more players in a group to PULL a chain bringing up a drawbridge allowing >enterance to a castle area. (etc.) You could make things more realistic >and fun this way. I like it. It sounds really good in theory, but I imagine it could be hard to code(not like I have any experience other than QBasic) >Dratital: how about a notice when someone is checking out your profile or >asking for info about your charactor I'm always profiling people and wouldn't care much to have them know I do it, half of the time I'm just checking on the race of a hero or imm. I also wouldn't like to see whoever is profiling me if they didn't want me to. >Salim: have the where command tell you the closest of what you're looking >for. > >kiri- we kinda have this. Type "where " - if its in the same >area, it will tell you where (what room name) its in. What she said =3D) >Axle: bombs/dynamite that you drop, and after a set amount of time >explodes and hurts/kills mobs and/or players that are in the room. Pehaps other players are wondering around the same area, or you think it blew and go back to check and *BANG*! Sounds very dangerous to me >Bluewing: c 'mind sweep' , This illithid spell allows the caster to see >every invis and hidden mob/pc in the room, for a limited time Like faerie fire. It seems a reasonable compromise to illithids not getting the detect spells but also for the people who think illithids are too powerfull, I like it >Bluewing: c 'phantasmal armor' -20 ac, illithid spell, can be casted on >others Oh yes, let's give illithids more -ac spells. *bonks Bluewing* >Quiver: How about a web page spot in your profile as well as email? I think it could be usefull, although I've noticed that most people put their web page under their plan >Zog: I noticed that most of the illithid skills are based on psionic >powers from Dungeons & Dragons. I also noticed a lot of people clamoring >for an identify spell for illithids. There is a D&D psionic called >'object read' that lets you know a bunch of s I think illithids should have identify, but why give them another in guild when they only get one skill out of guild. Just give them identify and make it out of guild >Zog: How about a taunt skill for kender? Maybe it would keep mobs from run= ning >away, because they hate you so much Kenders can already learn web out of guild which does the same thing. If th= e out of guild penalty is too steep for you, I guess you don't really need th= e skill >Forent: why not call avians gargoyles to keep with the fantasy type >theme I think avians are very fantastic creatures, and how's a gargoyle gonna plu= ck? >Cutlass: Avian Skill: 'Downdraft' ... Creates an air current that causes >all flying creatures in the room to land Why, so you can trip? >Neverborn: i think a mob's parrying/dodging ability should be hindered >some when blind. Just a thought Kinda like when you get your backstab parried. If they can't see you, how'r= e they supposed to react to you? It makes sense. >Noran: The 5 enhancements per level should not affect attribute and >nutrition enhancements. Let's say you start enhancing at level 30. 100 enhances aren't enough? >Noran: New Illithid skill- Temporal Displacement: The Illithid speeds up = time >within their own space, allowing them to heal fully. Drawbacks: All >spell effects are cancelled, caster becomes hungry and thirsty. Sounds pretty fair when you consider all of the spells illithids drop on themselves >Quiver: How about allowing blank lines in your prompt? (%b maybe?) If I knew what you meant by this and what to acomplish I could respond >Deuces: skill for kenders: Kender Grab, kender reaches into their deep >pockets andpull out something that may or may not have value Ok, let's keep pulling stuff out of our pockets 'till we get something good and then do it again. This won't get out of hand at all >Deuces: skill for kenders: Kender taunt, sends target into a rage making >them worse AC and such, but attack kender Why is everybody trying to give kender a taunt skill, I think dwarves could out taunt a kender anyday >Deuces: kender skill: Kender Cry, stops all fightning in the room while >everyone pities the kender if someone in your group is almost dead use rescue >Deuces: make alcohol effects race targetted, dwarves can drink all day >and not get drunk, elves just a glass of wine or drunk, etc etc Makes sense, but what about the all of the dwarves who practice every skill they get like fireball and such and want to get drunk too? >Trapspringer: note clear all: allows one who has been gone a long time >to clear all the notes out of the current note category > >Kiri- there is a way to do this now. Type note list, and then note read > and all will be marked read. Does she know her stuff, or what? =3D) >Totmacher: we need a command to discover who is in the arena and possibly >where they are. without our actually entering the area. save appearing >beside an angry hero But we like it when you guys jump in right next to us. And there's also a very little used one room arena in Alandra, make use of that too. Or appear in some obscure arena color and type where >Totmacher: we need a mob that is exceptionally sensitive to socials. not >just one that doesn't like them directed at it. but one that cannot stand >having them done in the same room as it Doesn't sound entirely bad, as long as the mobs were not in low level areas >Tom: In battle instead of your body parts falling off after death, have >it where you can lose arms and Legs and still be able to flee Are you willing to lose the armor and weapon slots too? >Govinda: what about a telephone in the newbie section to call for jenny >to come pick them up? :) Sounds like a good idea, but it also sounds really hard to acomplish >Darkemist: there should be a command to see all the things other races >get. like for example, instead of slist it's dwarf slist, or something... I think this is a very good idea, I've found many a times that I've wanted to see another race's slist /(*) | / | |\--------------------------------------------\ (@)(((((((( | >----------------Bios----------------------- > | |/--------------------------------------------/ | \ \(*) =20 Razorback=92s Bio =09My name is Razorback. I=92m not sure how long I have been on Barren Realms because I was off-line of several months. This is my first Hero, and I am working on 2 others right now. I am going to try and Hero one character from each class so I can learn about each one. I=92ve met some very nice people on Barren Realms. I have played on one other mud, but it was not as much fun as this one. Since I=92ve come here I have not wanted to leave. =09In real life I am 28. I have lived in Las Vegas for almost 15 years. I am not employed right now, but I have found a good job and I=92m just waiting for it to start. I am originally from Minnesota, and I have=20 travelled a lot before coming to Las Vegas. =09I have played AD&D for 14 years, with several groups. I have managed to make a couple of characters that are still talked about. I have tried quite a few RPG=92s. I used to work in a hobby store, and had to know about most of the games. I love to read fantasy books, and have started to gather a collection of hard backs. My favorite authors are Robert Jordon, Terry Brooks, Joel Rosenberg, C. S. Friedman, and Davis Eddings. I am a on-line junkie, I just can=92t get enough of it. When I am not on-line I like to play fantasy and science fiction games on my computer. I love to work on my computer, and plan to take some=20 classes, probably in programming. I like to collect guns, go fishing, and camping. I like pick-up trucks and motorcycles. I hope to write a couple of short stories for the newsletter, I have never written before, so I=20 hope they are good enough to put in the newsletter. Well I can=92t think of anything else to write about so I=92ll end this. Thanks for taking the tim= e to read this. I hope to see you all on BR for a long time to come. =09=09=09=09=09=09Razorback, /(*) | / | |\--------------------------------------------\ (@)(((((((( | >---------------Messages-------------------- > | |/--------------------------------------------/ | \ \(*) Happy one day late birthday for Darkrift/Revolver. Hope it was a good one! ___________________________________________________________________________= ____ If you would like a message here, please note Kiri with your message. Subject: Newsletter August 12, 1997 ******* ************** *** *** ************** **** ***Barren Realms*** **** *** *** *** *** *** ******* *** *********** ** ** *********** ***************** Totmacher: track should return the name of the mob that it found. make it easier to know where one is going Quiver: Someone mentioned that they didn't know what I meant by a blank line in your prompt. Basically, so you could put a blank line after your hps or after the entire prompt or whatever. Piper: Not that I mind, but for the record here's my 2 cents: Nobody ever complains about being a human..why? Because there's too few people in on the mud STUBBORN enough to play one! How would you like to play a character that's the same level after level with no advancement in skills or quality of use in existing skills? How would you like to wait 45 levels to finally get the ledgendary 'quivering palm' skill..only to find that it's no better that the also-useless 'chin-kang palm' you got 25 levels earlier? Granted I'm managing just fine...it's a long haul...but some of the weaknesses are offset by taking some OOG skills...but there SHOULD be something after 'roundhouse'. Being a good tank is useful..but Ill's are better..we do little enough damage (My 'kicks' still tickle sometimes), and our spellcasting is practically useless...if humans are supposed to be 'generalists' what can we do to emphasize this? I suppose I'm just getting lonely now that everyone I've grouped with (practically) has hero'd. I'm not REALLY upset..but it's good to re-consider all the classes every now and then..:) Peace, Piper (Jerard the Human) @>--------------------[AURA'S SPOTLIGHT]------------------------ Hi folks, welcome to the first edition of Aura's Spotlight! As I pointed out in an earlier notice, much more will appear on this part of the Newsletter as it progresses and a new tidbit of perspective from your fellow Realmers will greet you every visit, every Newsletter. Not too long ago, a randomly selected handful of Realmers were asked a simple question: If they could choose a mob, for a public execution, which mob would it be? Well, the responses were from the bizarre to the common. Nevertheless, there seemed to be a general consensus on one particular mob. A mob we all tend to meet at around level 20, and come to terms with at about level 25 and above. He sees us when we're invisible and hidden, and he attacks always with an infuriating ferocity. Indeed, he is hated by most, if not everyone.He is the infamous: Mean Lag of Lag Central It seems most Realmers want this one dead, and not just killed for experience, but killed in public! Of course, there were other nominees for this "honor." Coming up in a close second was Mr Boddy of Boddy Manor and, of all people, Papa Smurf of Smurfland! Do we want to execute a smurf! Ha! There were two other mentionables which I must bring to the light for all to see. Cindy Crawford of MTV Land was also chosen as an evil witch seeking the guillotine as well as, believe it or not, the Temple Guardian himself, from Calathar. Well, now we know who we hate--and wish to see dead. But... how should we kill this Mean Lag? He's killed us in so many ways. We can only kill him once, and so must do so with all our heart into it, right? Har! Well, then, we'll just have to have another round of opinions. One person's suggestion for the best execution will be selected as the best way to kill this heathen! Who will it be? Catch it here, on the Spotlight! COMING NEXT: Who will be the clever executioner? I will be out asking, hope to see you out and about. It could be you holding the axe! /(*) | / | |\--------------------------------------------\ (@)(((((((( | >-----------------Article-------------------- > | |/--------------------------------------------/ | \ \(*) (Derrydale) There has been nothing short of a controversy on Barren Realms about the races, and it seems everyone has their own opinion about which race is superior to the others. Here is my opinion about each race, it's strengths, weaknesses, and special skills/spells or traits. Human: The most basic race on Barren realms. The human race generally has a higher DEX than any other on, making them harder to hit. Benefits: Naturally low Armor Class (AC) plus more -AC spells, skills like kick and roundhouse, and the ability to heal themselves with medicine. Drawbacks: Many spells/skills are out of guild, and not many attack spells. Avian: A cross between a bird and a man, this race gets the most skills, and fewest spells. Skills like hover, vision, and carry replace commonly used spells to the other races. Benifits: No mana used for skills, more HP's per level (Due to being able to have CON at 25). Drawbacks: Lose armor slots, which makes it harder to bring up AC, hitroll, and damroll Kender: The thieving race, a kender is small and fatal. They do get alot of spells/skills, even if they are out of guild. Another dextrious race, the kender can hit well as well as not get hit. Advantages: Usefull skills, such as backstab, steal, hide, and sneak, as well as a few offensive spells, such as fireball. Drawbacks: Also has quite a few OOG's (Out of Guilds), giving them ALOT of experience per level. Druid: A healing race, the druid has many powerful attack spells, but also cannot hit very hard. Advantages: MANY spells, healing spells, spells that give an advantage in combat, and quite a few offensive spells which can do a tremendous amount of damage. Drawbacks: Cannot hit very hard, often have OOG's which give them also quite a bit per level Elf: A user of magic, a mage also does not do as well with a sword as they can do with the spell. Advantages: Many many useful spells, most of which are in-guild, powerfull attack spells, such as fireball, lightning-bolt, and acid blast, as well as a few healing spells. Drawbacks: Like the druid, the elf uses more magic then strength, so they are a little hard at low-levels, but enchant weapon and fireball after that really makes up for it. Dwarf: The strongest race on Barren Realms, a Dwarf is not as easy to play as it looks. There are many OOG temptations on the way to hero, which makes it tougher. Advantages: Skills like dual, and enhanced damage, as well as a normal boost in hit/dam make a dwarf hit VERY hard. Disadvantages: Warriors dont know many spells, and what they do get to learn is usually OOG, making it hard to level if you like magic. Otherwise, it is one of the most powerful races on Barren Realms. Illithaid: The magic-user turned evil, this Necromanicar can be deadly. While not hitting as hard as the other races, the Ill's get many -AC spells, making them almost invincible to a mob's blows. Advantages: Almost everything to this race is in-guild, keeping experience per level tolerable. Also require less than most races per-level. Disadvantages: Without offensive spells, this race dosent hit very well. /(*) | / | |\--------------------------------------------\ (@)(((((((( | >--------------Responses--------------------- > | |/--------------------------------------------/ | \ \(*) Some Responses from Phantasm. > Dratital: how about a notice when someone is checking out your profile or > asking for info about your charactor I don't think this is really necessary. If you don't want people looking at your profile, don't put anything in it. > Axle: bombs/dynamite that you drop, and after a set amount of time > explodes and hurts/kills mobs and/or players that are in the room. Although I like the idea of a timed weapon, its not very realistic considering the time period Barren Realms is based on. You'll notice that there are no tommy guns or grenades either. > Bluewing: c 'mind sweep' , This illithid spell allows the caster to see > every invis and hidden mob/pc in the room, for a limited time I think this idea has potential. Illithids are supposed to have good mind power, not necessarily eyesight. What if instead of letting you see all invis/hidden mobs/pcs in the room, you just get a message something along the lines of: "You sense you are not alone here." > Bluewing: c 'phantasmal armor' -20 ac, illithid spell, can be casted on > others I think that Illithid's have more than enough armor spells. (But I do like the suggested name!) > Quiver: How about a web page spot in your profile as well as email? A good idea, but why not just put your web page in the 'plan' section? > Zog: I noticed that most of the illithid skills are based on psionic > powers from Dungeons & Dragons. I also noticed a lot of people clamoring > for an identify spell for illithids. There is a D&D psionic called > 'object read' that lets you know a bunch of s Is it really that hard to take an object to Thesius? Or just give it to a druid or elf. > How about a taunt skill for kender? Maybe it would keep mobs from running > away, because they hate you so much I like this idea. I don't think it should be a spell though. It should be a skill, and only useable to start a fight. This means you can either taunt or backstab. The penalty of not being able to backstab should be enough of a deterrant to the spell being overused. It's affects should also be timed, as is the 'web' spell. > Forent: why not call avians gargoyles to keep with the fantasy type > theme I'm not sure about this... but from the looks of the cartoon, gargoyles don't have feathers! > Cutlass: Avian Skill: 'Downdraft' ... Creates an air current that causes > all flying creatures in the room to land I like this idea too. But it shouldn't nullify the effects of 'hover'. Thus only affecting those mobs/pcs that weren't meant to fly. > Neverborn: i think a mob's parrying/dodging ability should be hindered > some when blind. Just a thought No Way!!! If you can't kill a dodging and parrying BLIND mob, fight something else! > Noran: The 5 enhancements per level should not affect attribute and > nutrition enhancements. If the limit of 5 excluded the attrib enhancments, everyone would have all 18's as base stats by level 40, which would make the mobs too easy. > New Illithid skill- Temporal Displacement: The Illithid speeds up time > within their own space, allowing them to heal fully. Drawbacks: All > spell effects are cancelled, caster becomes hungry and thirsty. I don't think that speeding up time is very realistic. (But I like the concept.) > Deuces: skill for kenders: Kender Grab, kender reaches into their deep > pockets andpull out something that may or may not have value At least this might help keep their hands out of everyone elses pockets.... :) I like the idea, but there should most definately be some way of limitting what they can pull out of their pockets. ie) ImNotAThief reaches into her pocket, digs around, and produces A Frostbite Sword of Winter. I don 't think this is very realistic. ie) ImNotAThief reaches into her pocket, digs around, and produces a half eaten apple. That's more like it. > Deuces: kender skill: Kender Cry, stops all fightning in the room while > everyone pities the kender I think this would only serve to annoy others. A weeping kender stops the fight so you can pity him, and costs you a bunch of exp... how happy would you be? > Deuces: make alcohol effects race targetted, dwarves can drink all day > and not get drunk, elves just a glass of wine or drunk, etc etc This is a great idea, but is totally backwards. The dwarf who has next to no need to drink in his entire life, has a high alcohol tolerance?? And the problem with reversing it, is that elves and druids and illithids (seasoned alcoholics) NEED to get drunk. > Totmacher: we need a command to discover who is in the arena and possiblywhere they are. without our actually entering the area. save appearing > beside an angry hero If you are that worried about being killed, stay out of the arena. Try typing just 'arena' instead of 'arena red' or 'arena blue'... this will put you inside the arena, instead of in a booth. (Most people fight in the booths. > Totmacher: we need a mob that is exceptionally sensitive to socials. not > just one that doesn't like them directed at it. but one that cannot stand > having them done in the same room as it Do we really? It sure can't be anyone in Calathar. Nothing like a newbie smiling, and being slain. > Tom: In battle instead of your body parts falling off after death, have > it where you can lose arms and Legs and still be able to flee The mob's attack ***SLICES YOUR LEFT LEG OFF*** The mob's attack ***SLICES YOUR RIGHT LEG OFF*** You flee, You lose 100 exp. Doesn't make much sense to me. > Govinda: what about a telephone in the newbie section to call for jenny > to come pick them up? :) I have never really timed how long it is between Jenny's stops, but I think a newbie has time enough to wait and get spelled up at Clericus before calling her. > Darkemist: there should be a command to see all the things other races > get. like for example, instead of slist it's dwarf slist, or something... I like this idea. 'Nough said. >>Berry: get xp for quests. just a little to compensate for you time and >>to increase quest participation which is declineing as the number of > >players decreases Experience is given for fighting. Quests are for fun, and for extra prizes. /(*) | / | |\--------------------------------------------\ (@)(((((((( | >-----------------Bios---------------------- > | |/--------------------------------------------/ | \ \(*) Hi, I am a new hero and my name is Squier. I am a dwarf! So all the dwarves out there: Rock on! :P I have been playing on Barren Realms for about 3 monthes. My Barren Realms age is only 60 so I haven't gotten to meet everyone yet. I am still adjusting to all the new Hero responsibilities and I hope I do not screw up! I am currently working on building areas and learning C++ (ACK!) I live in Poland, Ohio a suburb of Youngstown (One of those cities by Cleveland) I am currently entering the 9th grade at Poland Seminary High School. I like to play my guitar (if anyone plays it's a black Fender Strat with a white pick guard) listen to music, and hang out with my friends. I also like to go swimming in my pool :) My favorite music groups are Nirvana, Metallica (old), and I like The Cream (Eric Clapton, .. DUH!) I like many other bands and songs as long as there is a guitar or drum solo. I make web pages in my spare time (http://neonet.net/scott, and http://www.geocities.com/SiliconValley/Park/starwars.html) and I am interested in anything you have to say... Mail me at Scotty@neonet.net, I LOVE e-mail! -Squier, The Wise, Friendly Smiley Master =) PS- If you see me online, don't hesitate to send me a tell! If you think about it REALLY hard..... NO! /(*) | / | |\--------------------------------------------\ (@)(((((((( | >----------------Webpages-------------------- > | |/--------------------------------------------/ | \ \(*) >From kiri@li.net Tue Jul 29 18:51:57 1997 Vercertorix's Barren Realms Page This is my page of Barren Realms information. I have finally gotten it up. Its all set up for ICQ as well. I would like to compile a list of the Barren Realms players on ICQ, so if you would like your name in it, mail your intentions to me at direwlf@ibm.net and I'll let you know what you need to do. Any way, check the page out for some good info, but not all of it is up yet. Still working... THe page is at http://members.tripod.com/~vercertorix so go check it out. Battletech: Heavy Metal Mayhem Fans of Battletech, this is a site for you to check out. I have some great pictures, links to some really great sites, and some great programs and designs for you to try. just go to www.geocities.com/TimesSquare/5253/ /(*) | / | |\--------------------------------------------\ (@)(((((((( | >--------------Silly------------------------ > | |/--------------------------------------------/ | \ \(*) ** Imperial Rhapsody by Queen ** ** (sung to: Bohemian Rhapsody) LANDO: This is the good life This is a fantasy Working on Bespin An escape from Reality. LEIA: Open your eyes Stand up to these guys and see. LUKE: I'm just a farmboy, I need some sympathy Cuz who's my dad, I dunno Little whine, little moan. HAN: Anywhere the Force goes, doesn't really matter, to me PIETT: Vader just killed a man. Raised an arm up in the air Now his life is no longer there. Vader, we had just begun, And now I've gone and lost the reb-el scum. Vader, ooooooo. Didn't mean to make you mad If I'm not alive again this time tomorrow, There'll be a new admiral, as if nothing ever happened. YODA: Too late, my time has come, Sends shivers down my spine Body's aching all the time. LUKE: Goodbye everybody, I've got to go Gotta leave you all behind and learn the Force. PIETT: Vader, ooooooooo. I don't want to die I sometimes wish I'd never been born at all. LUKE: I see a little silhouetto of a man Palpatine, Palpatine, can it be the Emperor? Thunderbolts and lightning, very very hurting me! R2-D2, R2-D2, R2-D2, R2-D2, R2-D2, Where'd ya go? C-3PO O O O O O OH! I'm just a farmboy, nobody loves me. REBELS: He's just a farmboy, with a dead family. Spare him this life of such mendacity! HAN: Spice'll come, spice'll go. Jabba let me go. JABBA: Bo shuda! (NO, we will not let you go) HAN: Let me go! JABBA: Bo shuda! (We will not let you go) HAN: Let me go! JABBA: Bo shuda! (We will not let you go) HAN: LET ME GO! JABBA: WILL NOT LET YOU GO! HAN: LET ME GO! JABBA: WILL NOT LET YOU GO! HAN: LET ME GO! JABBA: NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO! C3PO: Oh R2-D2, R2-D2, R2-D2, Come along. LEIA: C-3PO has a rebel put aside for meeeee, for meeeeee, for MEEEEEEEEEEEEE! (Stormtroopers start headbanging) LUKE: So you say you're the dear old dad of mine? But you cut my hand off and left me to die! Oh Vader, can't do this to me, Vader. I know there's some good, I know there's still some good in you. OBIWAN: May the Force be with you. Use the Force to see. May the Force be with you, May the Force be with you, alwaaaaaaaaaaaaays. HAN: Anywhere the Force goes, doesn't really mat-ter, to meeeeeeee. Subject: Newsletter Aug 20, 1997 ******* ************** *** *** ************** **** ***Barren Realms*** **** *** *** *** *** *** ******* *** *********** ** ** *********** ***************** Grindo: scribe skill for elves. they can inscribe a spell at their level into a blank scroll Grindo: you should be able to raise the amount of mana it takes to cast a spell so it does more damage. like you were putting more of your life power into it. also you should not be able to change it back or lower the mana taken Ears: slist inguild If you want, I can write this up for each race.. I think it'd be cool, tho. Grindo: dont have so that when your somewhere like out on the ocean it says you bump into a wall when you go a way where there is no exit Nilla: A quest category for notes Omnipotus: a way to respond to responses to your ideas since many responses are questions Omnipotus: in response to the question if it was so hard to bring stuff to thesius or give it to a druid/elf, yes or nobody would practice identify out of guild Jerard: Why can't we make a way to make charmees recall at a distance? That way they wouldn't get left around..or at least a way to make them ARENA.. Jerard: Since Humans and Illithiads can't DISARM..perhaps an opposing effect would be nice..like EVADE which would convey a defense against disarming.. Omnipotus: since now there's a limit on # of enhances per lvl, maybe hit and/or dam enhances Omnipotus: have age have some effect on something since there are a reasonable number of items which affect age Omnipotus: a way to see how many times you died in the arena, or not in the arena, to separate regular deaths from arena deaths in info Bluewing: synapse short, like frenzy, you lose control of your mind and go crazy. Please illithids need this Omnipotus: have the command "arena" without argument acually bring you to the center of the arena Bluewing: the illithids are handicapped a little too much, can we at least have some form of a second attack, like an extra mental burst of energy? Ears: new quest channels.. one for each team in team quests.. maybe a cone for each arena booth color. Austock: clericus should do fly sometimes :) Omnipotus: elemental attacks and spells, with resistances and immunities. /(*) | / | |\--------------------------------------------\ (@)(((((((( | >------------Article------------------------ > | |/--------------------------------------------/ | \ \(*) Laron: Humans and Lags When Mota--Goddess of order created the realms, she created beings as keepers of the order known as "Humans". For years these Humans lives off the land, growing crops and such. When Mota's Humans decidid to venture out into the realms, Mota created various creatures fot the Humans to hunt as a challange. The humans made weapons out of the wood from trees and learned of making certain metals. These weapons helped the humans hunt the creatures Mota created. the humans prospered over most of these creatures, but one kind of creature gave the humans trouble. These creatures ventured into the village where the humans lived in the middle of the night and stole scrolls and weapons. These creatures soon developed weapons and armor of thier own. These creatures slowed down the progress of the humans as a race, so the humans named the creatures "Lags". The humans had to set guards out to keep the lags from entering the village. These Guards did no good because the lags pushed them aside and did what they always came to do. The humans came up with another idea, they would send out warriors known as knights to follow the lags back to thier habitat. When the Knightsdidn't come back the king of the humans named "King Arthur" gathered his strongest knights and folllowed the path of blood left by the knights who were killed in cold blood by the lags. King Arthur settled his men west of where the lags lived and called the area Camalot. King Arthur set a furious attack on the lags and slaughtered them. The few lags who escaped ran for weeks and stayed where they stopped running for years and years. When the lags felt safe to come back to thier home..they slowly came back. The lags who came back cleaned up thier city and kept away from the humans and have never bothered them since. /(*) | / | |\--------------------------------------------\ (@)(((((((( | >---------------Response-------------------- > | |/--------------------------------------------/ | \ \(* Responses to the newsletter! >Avon: I think it would be really cool and realistic to be able to infuse >spells into wands etc. > This might be good to a point. But to allow a lower level human to have a staff of Level 50 Sanc from some druid might be too much. I guess having the normal level restrictions on it, or maybe a time to fizzle out might work. Like a Staff that would have a better chance of working the newer it is. It could only have one spell and maybe only a limited number of charges that go up with the level? Just ideas for thought. >Kalar: I think it would make sense for avians' beaks to harden and do >more damage with peck at higher levels since I wouldn't expect a birdman >to not peck once he's powerful in other respects too Nice Idea.... But with Claw and the Blast and Windzone that Avians already get I think you would be increasing the already TOO strong fighters to incredible killing machines that are TOO powerful. Avian are strong enough. >Christina: make it so you can see the hit dam of both weapons if you're >wielding two Not needed.... That is what Identify is for. >Omnipotus: how 'bout making the sex in your profile be your original >chosen sex. ????? I guess I don't understand. >Omnipotus: add more damage words after Discombobulate. People commonly do >much more damage than 200 and words are certainly not lacking. > >Kiri- This is soon to come. GREAT!! >Xiata: what if the bank crashed and gave interst? > Crashed? I think we have enough crashes.... Intrest is a neat idea. But It is not like the bank is using the money for anything. >Chaos: Implement more traps for those Kenders to disarm and lower the >level that Kender's can practice detect_trap and disarm_trap =) >kiri- this is also soon to come. Kinda up to the level creators. Good suggestion though. >Omnipotus: have poison do different damage based on the victim's >constitution (high con, low damage. low con, high damage) >also make plague's damage be con-based Good idea.... Not sure on the coding though. >Kalar: a way for mortals to move corpses. I know this could lead to >problems but it's realistic that oyou could drag a body out of a room, >and you could have severe punishments for people who drag it somewhere >mean or something. Understand the point but would lead to TOO many problems. >Omnipotus: extend ac below -300. mobs at high lvls easily hit that, and >the ac-driven illithids can somewhat easily plummet thiers down to -600, >but currently that's no better than -300 Nice Idea.... But it would lead to UNTOUCHABLE players. >Chaos: How about an area that you enter thru a time portal that was >ripped open in some forest, the area could be like BR in the >Pre-Calatharian times =) Time portals I have seen on other muds. It worked well. But it was nothing more then a redesigned area. It was based around a martial law setup. Where it was the goal to destroy the Evil Dictator that currently controlled the land. An Idea of my own. 'Why should just heros be rewarded for input to the Newsletter and or web page? It would be nice to do a MINOR upgrade to a player that contributes to the news letter to otherwise helps the mud out. A mild thing like maybe just a normal weapon named after something special, or an unusual article of clothing. >it this way you can pick the race you Liked the best. Just think how it >would be if one race was more superior to all the rest...wouldn't you >feel weird? Just a few thoughts from Tom I have played a Druid and an Avian, Human, Dwarf, and just started an Illithid. I think you have done a wonderful job in balancing the Characters. I don't see many if any changes that should be made! > I know it is still a bit buggy, but I'm waiting for my new PC so I can > continue doing some proper development work. > >Reality I can help quite a bit in this area. I will forward ideas shortly. Reality has done a wonderful job thus far and I have a few ideas to make things even better!! > >If 99.9% is good enough then.... Great note by Phantasia!!! Please take these as intended. Only as comments and Ideas. I think this is THE BEST MUD ON THE NET. Otherwise I would not still be here through thick and thin over the last 2 years. Logic @>---------------------[Aura's Spotlight]-------------------------------- ************************************* Hi folks, and welcome to Aura's Spotlight, where the talk of Calathar and the voice of the Realms are brought to light. Our last edition revealed to us that most Realmers considered the Mean Lag of Lag Central to be the one mob they would most wish to see executed--publicly. Well, killing him outright would be boring, so I decided to make another quick tour of the Realms and ask a few mudders exactly "how" they wanted the Mean Lag executed. The answers I received were astounding in their detail and thoroughness. I took note of each one and finally decided upon the best method of execution. Below are the ideas given a few of those I interviewed: Ghandi says with a convinced air, "Bah! Sick Cherye on him, that'll teach him!" Mobile says with no trace of mercy, "Backstab him, twist him double twice, and then explode him into a thousand fragments." Charlotte, after a satisfied nod, says, "Starve him till Death begins to tickle him, then offer him newbie cookies." Roshi, grinning most evilly, says, "Ok, skin him first, then drop him off the highest building you can find, into a meat grinder, through a giant smashing apparatus, and into a pot of boiling hydrolic acid--then do it again." Totmacher, remembering his younger years, says," Tie him up and then all levels one through five beat the life out of him." But the one method of death I believe was the most clever and the most dramatic was given by Phantasm, who with a serious face, and a graceful voice, says, "Let Clericus kill him. Afterall, all the damage the Mean Lag, falls upon the priest to fix. Let Clericus have his revenge." I say, nothing like pitting mob against mob. Hence, that is what is going to happen. This Saturday night, on August 23, there will be a public execution of the Mean Lag. Finally, he will pay for his crimes, and such will be paid by our beloved Clericus, who for ages has held only malice to he that continually slays his Realmers. Well, on Saturday night, Clericus will finally have his chance at revenge when he will be pitted against our arch nemesis in a fight to the death. A duel to be remembered in the annals of the Realms. Make plans accordingly, as this event is a once-in-a-lifetime event and will happen at the end of the week at the fountain in Calathar. Clericus's twin brother will hold the office in the Temple while Clericus duels and the King of Lag has allowed the Mean Lag to be taken prisoner for fear of conflicting political situations with the Realms should he withhold the criminal from the justice of the Empress. Make plans to watch! Notes will be posted daily of the event. I hope to see you all there to cheer our champion on. COMING UP NEXT: Many of us have different strategies on our roads to Herodom... so what are they? Tune in next time to hear how your fellow mudders kill in a special discussion on modern battle tactics in the Realms. ******************************************* /(*) | / | |\--------------------------------------------\ (@)(((((((( | >--------------Webpages--------------------- > | |/--------------------------------------------/ | \ \(*) Do you like the game QUAKE?? Want more information, tips, and previews of Quake 2? Screen shots, multiplayer files, editing files? Custom Levels? Check out: http://nightfall.simplenet.com/VideoGames/Quake -Oakley /(*) | / | |\--------------------------------------------\ (@)(((((((( | >------------Bios--------------------------- > | |/--------------------------------------------/ | \ \(*) Hi my name is Durwin (at least thats my characters name).Im a 18 year old student who sells used electronics outside of school and I play BR every chance i get. I've even got my friends from school playing here to.Like i said i go to school but im on summer holidays right now (doesnt feel like it though with working full time 6 days a week).well I first found out about BR when i first got a modem. I plugged the thing in and signed on with a provider, I was looking over thier home page when i saw this thing about MUDS i didnt know what they where so i thought heh I'll check it out. And i tried to get into the ones that where there.But they didn't let me in so i went down the list till I found one called Barren Realms i said heh I'll try again, I was amazed i got in and there was even someone there to help me get through the first little bit. So i started playing before i new it i was addicted to it and ive been here ever since. I have tried out other MUDS since then but i have never found one where the other players even payed attention enough to help me so i have stopped looking for other good MUDS and have decided to stay here where my friends are.I guess i would like to try and get a hero from every race. I think i can do it because I'm here about 8 hours every day. I have to say this place is like a second home to me. Another thing is i would like to some day make imm but i think that will take a long time since theres so much work to be done before then *smile*. chow Durwin ( A.K.A stan) /(*) | / | |\--------------------------------------------\ (@)(((((((( | >--------------Silly ----------------------- > | |/--------------------------------------------/ | \ \(*) Undocumented Error Codes The following is a list of undocumented Windows 95 error codes which somehow got overlooked when printing the documentation. WinErr 001: Windows loaded - System in danger WinErr 002: No Error - Yet WinErr 003: Dynamic linking error - Your mistake is now in every file WinErr 004: Erroneous error - Nothing is wrong WinErr 005: Multitasking attempted - System confused WinErr 006: Malicious error - Desqview found on drive WinErr 007: System price error - Inadequate money spent on hardware WinErr 008: Broken window - Watch out for glass fragments WinErr 009: Horrible bug encountered - God knows what has happened WinErr 00A: Promotional literature overflow - Mailbox full WinErr 00B: Inadequate disk space - Free at least 50MB WinErr 00C: Memory hog error - More Ram needed. More! More! More! WinErr 00D: Window closed - Do not look outside WinErr 00E: Window open - Do not look inside WinErr 00F: Unexplained error - Please tell us how this happened WinErr 010: Reserved for future mistakes by our developers WinErr 011: Window open - Do not look outside WinErr 012: Window closed - Do not look inside WinErr 013: Unexpected error - Huh ? WinErr 014: Keyboard locked - Try anything you can think of. WinErr 018: Unrecoverable error - System has been destroyed. Buy a new one. Old Windows licence is not valid anymore. WinErr 019: User error - Not our fault. Is Not! Is Not! WinErr 01A: Operating system overwritten - Please reinstall all your software. We are terribly sorry. WinErr 01B: Illegal error - You are not allowed to get this error. Next time you will get a penalty for that. WinErr 01C: Uncertainty error - Uncertainty may be inadequate. WinErr 01D: System crash - We are unable to figure out our own code. WinErr 01E: Timing error - Please wait. And wait. And wait. And wait. WinErr 01F: Reserved for future mistakes of our developers. WinErr 020: Error recording error codes - Additional errors will be lost. WinErr 042: Virus error - A virus has been activated in a dos-box. The virus, however, requires Windows. All tasks will automatically be closed and the virus will be activated again WinErr 079: Mouse not found - A mouse driver has not been installed. Please click the left mouse button to continue. WinErr 103: Error buffer overflow - Too many errors encountered. Additional errors may not be displayed or recorded. WinErr 678: This will end your Windows session. Do you want to play another game? WinErr 683: Time out error - Operator fell asleep while waiting for the system to complete boot procedure. WinErr 815: Insufficient Memory - Only 50,312,583 Bytes available -- Raymond Eisenstark +1.212.238.2588 Subject: Newsletter aug 28, 97 ******* ************** *** *** ************** **** ***Barren Realms*** **** *** *** *** *** *** ******* *** *********** ** ** *********** ***************** Kalar: since there are items that make you invis, maybe items that let you see invis while you wear them Avon: have report show your current level Orgyl: There needs to be a change in the arena so that someone cant just go into the arena, get killed, stand up, go into the arena, get killed. All they do is slowly push your hp down Orgyl: How about an option that prevents you from being summoned if you dont want to be Omnipotus: be able to consider players in the arena Omnipotus: a spell that could target mobs and players and let you see stats like their hit/dam, spells affecting 'em, and hps or something. Squier: Maybe a Note List section called QUEST or QUESTS I was thinking about a flavor text paragraph that could be added to the portion of character creation. It would be nothing to overwealming just a point of view from a "respected" character of that race of even a third party point of view from another race. Something that would be funny but truthful. This would elieviate the need to create and delete after finding out that your character race was not what you were looking for. The text that is currently on hand is very informative and usually people will create based on it alone. This additional text would let people see the hardships of growing up as your seleted race because lets face it life is not fair and you should learn to use what your "created" with to the best atvantage. Here is an example, if you can do better DO IT please. Humans, funny little creatures well adapted to life in these parts. While they have an uncanny ability to fight, it is nothing compared to the Dwarfs. There ability to grasp the Magical powers on the other hand is...well...not quite as good as the Elves or Illithids. They use there bodies as weapons Pretty good...But it is nothing compaired to the Avians. Hmmm seems to me that that Humans are just Muts. Yes that is it Muts, 31 flavors, yes that about summs them up Took a little good and a little bad from everbody and rolled it all in to one. Greywind (tired of the squabiling) Whystler: here are some ideas to alter races slightly. they are really still in crude form, mainly because i could use some input on them. please put it in the newsletter and mull over it yourself if you can. i'd apreciate some serious thought about this because i feel it's about time to make races a little more interesting..... Ills are supposed to be psionicists. This should mean that they shouldn't cast spells, but rely on psychic prowess to work their "magic". As such, wouldn't it be nice to have their magic work entirely different from the way elf and druid spells work? This is how i'd propose it: First of all, completely redo the spell cost to reflect the rest of the changes. An ill spell should not have a duration, instead it should constantly demand a small amount of mana (the mental effort to sustain the spell) as long as it's active. this could be deducted every tick, every 2 ticks or whatever would seem apropriate. An ill should also be able to end any duration spell he cast whenever he sees fit, even on other players (did i mention this opens up a whole realm of possibilities for new spells?). of course as long as he doesn't, the spells keep eating up mana. If the ill runs out of mana to pay for upkeep, his spells are randomly terminated untill they can be sustained by whatever he has left. I think there should be more skills like circle and rescue, that would only have real use in a group. preferably requiring their own tactics (like circle does). This would make grouping A LOT more interesting without compelling it on anyone who likes to solo. Any ideas on this line? Whystler /(*) | / | |\--------------------------------------------\ (@)(((((((( | >---------------Response-------------------- > | |/--------------------------------------------/ | \ \(*) ******************************************** Newsletter stuff: Suggestions: Roleplaying is a bit scarce on Diku-Type Muds. So why not give any player (after lvl 10 maybe) the possibilty to make three or (slightly) more personal socials, which apply only to him. I know, that this could be done whith aliases, but it would be nice to have them right into the mud and mayhaps something like a ps (personal social) of the month tournament, where the imms and/or heroes vote for and give due prices. [Maybe also an anti-social of the month with due punishment?? :>]. In the same line runs another suggestion: Give heroes the possibility to enter 3 different alternative descriptions. (adescription1=xxx etc.) Why? If I for example help a mortal retrieving its corpse in that i kill the aggro mob in the room and watch over the corpse, it would be nice to put something into the desc, that give advice (or mocks - as the hero likes), which is to be seen automatically with entering the room. This additional desc's should only apply, while I stay in the room, where casted (c adescription 1...3) and will automatically change to the default description, when I leave. For example I could enter: "Taar towers above you and ponders the question, why you walk alone to areas, which are so DANGEROUS to you and didn't even type before walking here..." and the such. This is just, so that heroes can cast this nomana spell and forget about explaining the "dead ones" every aspect of their mistakes (I don't think there a more than 3 major mistakes you can do, when dying: 1. Walking in areas too high for you 2. Forget the con command 3. Lose your way) I think, the more individuality at least the imms and heros can generate, the more the roleplaying will profit :) In a recent newsletter I read about the topic: "More aggro mobs", which was discarded with the argument of "having a good time and not be frustrated". Well, I think in SOME areas there should definitely be more aggros, even in some lowbie areas (ok, lowbie mobs). But it really is ridiculous, walking through hell for example and all the devils just follow their daily arrangements. Or if you leave gnome village an enter hobgoblin area: It is not really realistic, that these >evil :)< beings don't attack on sight. I would suggest a forced description in the entrance to any area which warns about aggros and gives _realistic_ suggestions about the recommended levels. I don't share the sight, that players would stay in secure areas... Just give them either something to hunt for in that areas or do some quests involving them and the rumour that it is not "that really hard" will spread quickly ;) As I mentioned: much more aggro mobs, but in balance with the area, they belong to - just as in school :) cloghan. ******************************************************************* /(*) | / | |\--------------------------------------------\ (@)(((((((( | >--------------Article---------------------- > | |/--------------------------------------------/ | \ \(*) Ethics in the Arena By Squier. I am writing this article due to the overwhelming majority of users who use either Aliases, Fireballs, and Fling (which is illegal) In the arena I am going to try to prove a few points and get you to do a few things that will make arena killing more fun. I have been poisoned and almost killed 3 times since I began this character, all from people who didn't know fling was illegal.Well I am writing this article to tell you that... Flinging is illegal in the arena and if used can get you in big trouble. Aliases are not illegal and are not even a bad thing to use. But you should tell your oppenent that you will be using aliases and even inform him your going to use Breath Spells or fireball aliases. I now if this happened and people told me they where going to use a fireball or breath spell alias, I would not fight them and it would save a lot of hitpoints and time. I am not saying that it should be made a rule you have to inform your opponent what type of attack method your going to use but I am just recomending it. For those of you who benifited by reading this article please tell me online.. I'll appriciate it! :) -Squier. /(*) | / | |\--------------------------------------------\ (@)(((((((( | >--------------Bios------------------------- > | |/--------------------------------------------/ | \ \(*) Hiya, I am Chuckle on Barren Realms, I have been playing for about 2 years, I think, but not as Chuckle for the whole time. I was introduced to BR at school by someone I had never met, it was kind of weird, come to think of it I still don't know his name, oh well, anyway, I started as Jbert, then later had chars named Guido, Skunk, and the rest you will have to ask me, I may tell you ;) After I learned of MUDS from the "anonymous man" I looked for more, I tried a bunch only to find out that I couldn't stand them, not after playing BR, and no I'm not just trying to suck up *grin*, I have to say I love it here mostly because it is so friendly and because I am familliar with it. Now a little about my real life. In RL I am from Ankeny, Iowa which is a suberb of Des Moines. I won't ever give out my name, so please don't ask me. My life is basically goto work, eat, sleep, doing somthing with computers, play BR, and raquetball. I am 17, male, and a senior in high school. This may be kind of out of order and a little confusing, but I tried my best to share "my life story" butif I left out anything that someone wants to know just give me a ring :). P.S. Thanx for taking the time to read this. :) /(*) | / | |\--------------------------------------------\ (@)(((((((( | >---------------Silly----------------------- > | |/--------------------------------------------/ | \ \(*) A man is sitting at home, when he hears a knock at the door. He opens the door and is greeted by a 6 foot tall beetle. The beetle takes one look at him and ***BLAM*** punches him right in the nose. When the man comes to he goes to the doctor and says "Doctor, I think I have a broken nose". "What happened to you?" the Doctor asks. "Well", says the man, " a 6-foot tall beetle came to my door and punched me really hard!" "Ah..." says the Doctor "yes, there's been a nasty bug going around". /(*) | / | |\--------------------------------------------\ (@)(((((((( | >-------------Spotlight---------------------- > | |/--------------------------------------------/ | \ \(*) *************************************************** Hello, my fellow Realmers. Welcome back to another quick, enriching edition of Aura's Spotlight. Today's topic is relevant to all our lives, and perhaps in more levels than one-the strategy of battle. Each race has its own unique abilities and strengths and should be employed as effectively as possible to ensure success on the battlefield. But before we begin this discussion, I'd like to thank all of those who were able to attend the execution Saturday night, and for those who could not make it, you missed a great show! Personally, I had never before seen so many people in one room at one time-my screen actually scrolled when I gave the "look" command. It was lovely to see so many smiling, joking faces, anxious for the blood of the lag. Unfortunately, there were a few problems that had to be quirked, such as my confusion with all the time zones. A Guardian of Time and I had the hours mixed up, sheesh! Anyway, Clericus and the Mean appeared in resplendent armor and weaponry and had a historical battle. The loveliest scenes our Realms provide us have to include times when all of us are in one place cheering for one common purpose-the death of the Mean. For those wondering, the Mean was given no burial and his corpse is with me. As Guardian of Time, I placed the corpse in a time warp so it will never rot, forever serving a reminder. Yet we have war to discuss! Thus, during this last week, as several people know, I went around interviewing people from the various races for brief opinions on their preferred methods of combat. Understand that these people do not speak for all of their race, but merely give their views on how their race should perform when steel meets steel. AVIANS-NILLA: I started out with the Avians, and I was fortunate enough to have Nilla give her thoughts. Given she is a Hero already, she gave some good advice on those trying to Hero themselves. For example, when asked how she would approach the horror of the Realms, she shook her finger as she said, "Make sure you have plenty of staves, sanctuary, and healing items." Naturally, one with as many hitpoints as she had, 1800 I believe, would not wish to waste time sleeping after a few battles but rather heal up and keep with the attack. She mentioned that most of an avian's extra attack skills were quite inefficient, stating, "Blast is decent enough, it mangles sometimes, but there was too much lag between blasts for them to do enough damage. Putting this together, she believes a great group is one of a druid and an avian, and that is only if you do not wish to solo the Realms, which she mentioned was often much more lucrative than grouping, when she said, "If you enhance alot, go solo, otherwise, group, and do so with druids-they're the best groupers." DWARF-WASABE & MILENKO: For the Dwarves, I had two people to speak with and so the interview was quite filled with opinions. When asked how dwarves should fight, in general, Wasabe suggested a "Hit & Run" tactic. "Because of our strength and enhanced damage, one should hit hard, retreat if hurt, heal, then come back again and finish the job. And this should be done to most `lucky's' and even `perfect matches.'" Milenko agreed with the strategy to a degree, saying, "That's good, but fight a mob who disarms and you're in trouble." Milenko is a dwarf who will fight and stand there until he wins or is killed-and usually he wins. He practiced many of the important "out-of-guild (OOG) skills" like Fireball, Cure Critical, an Identify, though he said that last was optional. Concerning practicing, Wasabe said, "Practice all of your inguild skills and ignore OOG's for several levels," and adding as a last piece of advice, "And when you group, do so with a good elf or druid. And always remember to make friends." Milenko agreed and added to that saying, " Ask for advice from the higher levels, nicely, and use pets and groups to help you along." As a last point, both agreed setting a good wimpy setting is vital. KENDER--WALDO: For this crazy race of mischief, Waldo was our man and he had much to say. As most kenders would suggest, he offered a strong effective way of laying waste to the mobs. "Well, Backstab them first, of course, then switch weapons, and dirtkick." Most of this can be done with a simple alias and is most deadly for most foes. Switching the weapon is a good tactic for most early daggers just don't scare a Lag of Night as effectively as a huge Xcalibur glowing blue. Naturally, dirtkick is a marvelous skill and is wonderful in helping to kill much stronger foes. Waldo also suggested kenders use their taint skill. Though perhaps a little tedious to prepare, he believes taint is a weapon of great power and should be harnessed often. I asked him for a list of daggers one should attempt to use during their journey to herodom and these are the one he suggested, in order or lowest level to highest: 1.Barbed dagger 2.Silver dagger 3.Magic or Jeweled dagger 4.Golden dagger 5.Platinum dagger. And who should a kender group with? "One should group with a strong dwarf and an elf or druid," says Waldo. As a last piece of advice, Waldo said, "There are many things to help, but always remember to set your wimpy high, keep AC low, have a good dagger, and group often." Kenders just aren't made to be alone perhaps. HUMAN-GREYWIND: When using a human, Greywind had one point to make clear. "Use ALL your skills and equipment in your battles." I'd have to agree, considering that humans fight with just about every part of their bodies-they can be quite the killing machine. At low levels, Greywind suggested young humans carry a mirror. His reason is that a blind mob added to a human's high defense is a wonderful combination. Also, he did advise for young humans to practice their OOG's, specifically, Bless, Armor and Shield. I personally know that OOG's are a tremendous hassle to humans, but Greywind insists these three are very useful and worth the extra experience. Further, he pointed out the beauty of the Iron Monk technique. Naturally, AC is and should be of prime concern to humans, who, if protected, can dish out massive amounts of damage longer than others as they take in hits. "Proficiency in your skills are the most important thing to remember, not so much hit and dam rolls, though they do help." In other words, use what you have and do so often. For grouping, he suggests teaming up with a lone, powerful dwarf and laying waste to the countryside. Further, he says only group for aggressive mobs, stating that humans are prime in a solo environment and can do quite well on their own. His final advice? "Explore the Realms, learn it and use it, and always ask for advice on practicing. ILLITHID-SERENETH: Not only was I happy to see a Summer Realmer returning to us, but I had the chance to speak with Sereneth as well on the grace of illithids. Topmost on her list was the importance of spelling the life out of a mob. Frankly, I'd agree with that considering illithids are blessed with so many inguilds and should thus crank them out. When speaking of attack and defense, Sereneth expressed her admiration of strong AC. Having grouped with her a long time past, I know she loves to run around invincible. Besides, with spell like Combat Mind and of course the equipment one can acquire, an illithid can afford to stock up on a few strength and damage oriented items to create a suitable attack threat. As for the best spells, Sereneth said that Intellect Fortress, Combat Mind, and Inertial Barrier are excellent, considering they can be spelled on a group as well. She goes solo only at the top range of an area, which is wise in my view since better experience can be gained from such a tactic, yet she does group often and she suggested a strong dwarf with a druid or elf. Her advice for younger illithids seems an echo of words I have told many others, "Be patient, get decent equipment, and always ask for advice." DRUIDS-CHERYE: I managed to tie this enjoyable druid down for a few minutes in hopes she could enlighten all aspiring druids with her prowess in battle. A bit different from what the other races declared, Cherye insists on grouping all the time. She explains with the fact that druids weren't designed to take warhammers to the head but rather to heal and defend the ones wielding the warhammers. Of course, when healing isn't too important, such as in the Molasses Swamp, as I remember, a druid can cast some mighty Flamestrikes and Cherye reminisced wistfully of how she had done so in her days as a mortal. For OOG's, she promoted Pass Door and Second Attack, the former skill she liked for when she gained access through a door and then summoned her group to her-a nice trick in my book. Speaking of grouping, Cherye says, " When you group, have an avian, because we have to get drunk all the time to be useful and there is nothing worse than a drunk druid trying to follow a group by foot." Being an elf myself, I'd have to agree. ELVES-AURA: I figured I could speak a few about elven war stratagems, since I am one, that is. In my day, as Roshi and a few others can attest, I was a solitaire elf and grouped only when necessary. I, unlike a few others, believe elves can be on their own and go without the axe of a dwarf or the claws of an avian. Sure, they can be useful, but in a war, its all about experience and you're just better off on your own, at least if you are a battle mage like myself, or like Uthar, who also tended to travel alone. But in the eraly life of an elf, nothing can be more a blessing than Blind. I often fought mobs that laughed mercilessly at me and gained tremendous hp in a short amount of time, and believe me, any elf can agree that reaching even level 7 can be a bear. Experience will come as a trickle if you don't use Blind effectively. Acid Blast or Shocking Grasp or even Chill Touch can be a boon early on, but the famous Fireball of elves is what will keep you alive, so learn it. OOG's can severely hamper leveling, so I suggest practicing only those OOG's that assist in direct fighting, like Duel and Second Attack and Parry. Leave the rest for other levels. And my advice for all elves? Be patient! It could be that as Guardian of Time I have a good sense of patience, but all I know is, waiting and taking your time can sometimes, if not always, be your best weapon. And there you have it! The races of Barren Realms and their logic on the field of battle. All of us have our own blades, but perhaps, with the aid of our brethren, we can all reach Herodom that much faster. See you next time! COMING UP NEXT: I wish! I wish! All of us have that cool weapon we always wish we had so we could just blow away those pesky mobs, well, now's your chance to tell everyone what the dream weapon is, next time, on Aura's Spotlight! _____________________________________________________________________ | _____ __ ___ ___ ____ ___ ___ ____ __ _ _ _ _____ | | | | |__| |__/ |__/ |_ | | |__/ |_ |__| | | | | | | | |_____\ | | | \ | \ |___ | | | \ |___ | | |___ | | | \_____ | | | | ___ ____ ____ _ ____ _____ _____ ____ ___ | | | ______/ | | |_ | | | \__ | |_ | | |_ |__/ _____/ | | ________| | |___ \_|_/ ___/ |___ |___ | | |___ | \________ | |_____________________________________________________________________| | | | No such thing as a failure who keeps trying...coasting to the bottom| | Is the only disgrace...-Blues Traveller | |_____________________________________________________________________| | | | Be sure to check out the Official Barren Realms Homepage | | http://nightfall.simplenet.com/Kiri | |_____________________________________________________________________| | | | -> Barren Realms: barren.coredcs.com:8000 <- | |_____________________________________________________________________| | | | You can contact me at Kiri@li.net for any of the following: | | | | Ideas for Barren Realms | | | | Questions/Complaints | | | | Your scrapbook memories of BR | | | | Your poetry, stories, questions, comments, and bios for the | | mort/hero/imm bio section of the newsletter and BR Magazine. | | | | Getting on the mail list for: | | | | Players file: How to play the game, helps, and the BR story. | | Great information for ALL players, no matter what | | level. | | | | Builders guide: An all new guide on how to build areas for BR. | | Full of new information on bits, liquids, and a | | step by step instruction on building areas. | | | | Builders forum: A place to ask email questions about the area you | | are building | | | | Area list: A list of areas and descriptions of each, in depth | | and helpful | | | \_____________________________________________________________________/ Ascii by Cutlass-Mark Sherlock-msherlo@ibm.net