June 7, 2001 News from the Realms, June 7, 2001. * Thanks to Bluestar, the maps to Whytl, Pern and Mahntor are now right. * Thanks to Slart, the gold in Horror Hills is FINALLY getable. That was an odd bug, folks, and I thank you for your patience! * Ledwick's and Western Woods have been updated by Faustus. * A new area by Divebomb is in for levels 25-40 through the Old Marsh. It's called The Underworld.. check it out! * Thanks to Faustus, we also have updated (and better) helps for buy, sell, value, and a few others. :) Announcement from Joysinger about her Loser Quest: hello everyone :) the lenghty loser project i started is finally over, and i got a couple fun entries. no, i didn't make any prizes yet, i haven't even figured out places yet. however, i'll get that done within the next week (i really hope) and i'll of course note you when i am done. so don't worry, you will not miss to get a prize for your hard work. i got entries from: kharn, solomnius, darklight, leiland, bruce, snarf, brodgar, armageddon, setsuna, and lanisa. if you send me an entry and didn't find your name listed, please post me a note about it - i've encountered some problems with my computer (*cough* AGAIN, one of these days i'll just kick it out the window - just how do i mud then? *sniff*) so i might have forgotten the one or other entry (although i think i have them all). thanks for participating everyone, i did hope for more entries, but i guess it just means less work for me ;) ooo, today is a holiday here, so happy-whatever-you'd-call-it-in-english to you :) joy Ideas (feel free to hit reply and comment on them) AMystery: be able to put mental barrier on mobs when writing areas. the spell lasts until someone attacks the mob then it goes for the normal one round Jin: escape code for colors.. so we can color a single word and leave the rest default Leshrac: clericus should cast the newbie spells on you for a price Kharn: make it possible to enhance movement! Faaip: Alignment movement should not happen until lvl 10. The character should stay neutral till then Keleios: like buying things (buy 4 pie) be able to put a certain number of things into a container or get a certain number of things from a container I'm out of Bios, please send me more! a. What's your BR name? Faustus... and a few others b. What race/level are you? Human, 152 c. How did you pick your BR name? It's a name I had been using online for a while. I took it from a really bizarre, but cool play called Dr. Faustus Lights the Lights d. What's your favorite area? Geez, this is a loaded question in my case... of the areas that I didn't like, I think I like Isles of the Pirate Lords best. Ones the ones I have written, I'm most proud of Tropical Forrest/Temple of the Snakemen/Village of the Amazons (in a way, those three are really just one big area all together) e. Where do you live (State or province/Country) Wisconsin f. What do you do for a living? High school teacher g. If you're a college/grad student, what's your major? I was a Spanish major h. What do you want to be when you grow up? Young at heart i. Are you single? yes (and have been for quite some time) j. What are your hobbies? reading, juggling, playing with Legos, and writing areas k. What's the hardest thing you've ever had to do? Admit that I am wrong or that I have made a mistake. l. Who do you most admire? My old high school Spanish teacher m. What celebrity would you love to hook up with? I'm drawing a complete blank, unfortunately. n. What's the last book you read (including for school). Did you like it? The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay. It was an amazing book. (Plus, it won the Pulitzer Prize for fiction, so it can't be too bad... go out and read it today) o. What's the last movie you watched? Did you like it? I saw Memento last weekend. Very captivating. I'm still thinking about it at odd moments. p. If you could be anywhere in the world for a week, where would you go? It wouldn't really matter where, as long as I could spend the time with my friends. plus one more from a previous version of the questionnaire, for which I have an interesting answer: Have you ever been convicted of a crime? No, but I was investigated for tax fraud a few years ago... Responses by Cord: Cord: allow "slist" command to take full race names... ie. "slist druid" doesn't work, "slist dru" does... have it so both work Packor: When you began your character, it was 3 letters too to choose which race to be. Just makes it easier if we don't have to make the code recognize more than one answer, in my opinion. Also, Dwarf is dwf so we can't make it just recognize short and long like you can with inv. Cord: I'd argue that you only need to add one more string compare for each race for both the short and long versions to work; it should be pretty simple. It's more a question of whether or not it's worth it. Heh; I just can't help but think the following is a little funny: slist Dwarf That's not a race. .......... :) Replies from Fury: >>Fiend: a dwarves kick should do more damage as the dwarfs lvl increases Dwarves do an awful large amount of damage as is... Umm, do you have a reasoning behind this request perhaps? (other than you just think it should be that way? ie because kick is underused? etc.) >>Firestar: a new argument (or whatever it's called) for the 'who' >>function... who would list all the female characters on the mud, and >>who would list the male characters on the mud. I don't think it a >>necessary addition, but it'd be nice if it were add >>Kiri -- someone is a little lonely *wink* Hey, I'll take personal ads for >>the newsletter if you want. Look at all the lonely people.... Hmm, new on Barren Realms, fully coded dating help! >>Cord: when in combat, have dirtkick default to the mob you are >>fighting, rather than asking for a target I have no objections to this, it is quite irratating to have to type it all out. I recommend that you make an alias in the meantime tho cord. >>Mathis: have something in quest hq or like a file you can read that >>shows quest winners. plz! Hasn't someone already talked about this? At least you said Plz... >>Blackwing: We should have hangovers in BR.. Such as new heroes who >>drank most of their mort lives couldn't move (or move with great cost) >>for 3 or 4 mud days I vote we make new heros say "all your base are belong to us" over and over, but thats just me. >>Mathis: when a spell is running out, and it has 1 our 2 hours >>left, you should be able to recast it and renew it I am trying to recall why this was turned down, I *know* its been suggested before. Perhaps on the ever-secret-never-revealed to do list? Kiri? Kiri's www of URLs: The follow up to the weird espn story: http://espn.go.com/mlb/columns/stark_jayson/1204732.html Just what we all needed. The Haiku-o-matic http://64.81.243.163/haiku.html A really good fantasy name generator (not the same one posted before) http://spitfire.ausys.se/johan/names/ Who the heck knows. http://lycos.mondominishows.com/shows/viral/tellmetoy/play.html Ten Commandments of Mobile Phones Failure to obey these commandments can result in your being ridiculed by strangers and disassociated by your family and even your closest friends. 1. Thou shalt not subject defenseless bystanders to cell phone conversations. When people cannot escape the banality of your conversation-on a plane, train, bus, cab, or at a restaurant-spare them. We are just not interested, you boorish twit. 2. Thou shalt not set thy ringer to play "La Cucaracha" every time thy phone rings. Or Beethoven's Fifth, or the Bee Gees' "Stayin' Alive," or any other annoying melody. Is it not enough that your phone goes off every other second? In addition, any phone that announces "INCOMING CALL" should be tossed in a toilet. 3. Thou shalt turn thy cell phone off during public performances, in theaters, during speeches and meetings, family dinners, at weddings and funerals and on first dates. 4. Thou shalt not wear more than two wireless devices on thy belt. Techno-jockeys attempting to look like they are carrying Batman utility belts are not cool. 5. Thou shalt not dial while driving. This madness must stop. Put the phone down and just drive. There are enough people in the world who have problems mastering driving a vehicle by itself. 6. Thou shalt not wear thy earpiece in the presence of thy friends and coworkers. This is similar to wearing headphones connected to a CD player-it's just rude. 7. Thou shalt not speak louder on thy cell phone than thou would on any other phone. Phones have sensitive microphones, and it's gotten to the point where you can tell if someone is calling from a mobile phone simply by their volume of speaking, not how it sounds. If your signal cuts out, speaking louder won't help. 8. Thou shalt not grow too attached to thy cell phone. For obvious reasons, an addictive dependency on being constantly "in touch" is not healthy. At work, go nuts. Away from work, give it (and the rest of us) a rest. 9. Thou shalt not display thy cell phone on a restaurant table just in case it may ring. This is not the Old West, and you are not a gunslinger sitting down to a game of five-card stud in a Dodge City saloon. Be a little less conspicuous. If it rings, you'll hear it just as easily if it's in your pocket, purse or "holster." 10. Thou shalt not attempt to impress with thy mobile phone. Not only is using a cell phone no longer impressive (unless, of course, it's one of those really cool new phones with the space-age "Matrix" design, interchangeable multi-colored face with a laser-linked heads-up viewer and solar battery charger), but when it is used to impress, said user shall be immediately identified as a neophyte impost or a poseur and an outright ass. June 15, 2001 Happy father's day to the many dads out there on BR. :) Local news: Notice from Leiland: This story was written by one of my teachers... It's called "Lest We Forget" and it's about his son, Collin. Collin Willis was diagnosed at birth with trisomy 13, similar, but much worse than trisomy 24 (I think) which causes down syndrome...Anyway, it tells of his life, death, and funeral.... It's depressing but inspiring, and I think everyone should at least have the chance to read it. You can get to "Lest We Forget" by going to www.geocities.com/athens/acropolis/7784 and going to the lest we forget link Sorry if this depressed anyone... -Leiland Joysinger's Loser Quest results: first of all, thanks to everyone who participated. i got a really good laugh out of this ;) second: prizes. impatienlty awaited by everyone, i finally made up my mind on winners (this was a HARD thing to do, folks!) heroes: 1st: brodgar with his 'Grumblefoot the Swordpupil' entry. beautiful descrip, brodie, great equ. i'd have given you two prizes, but i felt that someone else should win one, too, so best lookin goes to someone else ;) *hugs* 2nd: kharn (i'll post overall stats in the next note ;)) 3rd: lanisa 4th: leiland (congratz for winning worst-looking for heroes! had a really good laugh ;)) 5th: armageddon (uuuuhm - you kinda failed to see the purpose of this quest, but you'll get a participation goodie anyway) mortals: 1st: frans (i REALLY don't want to be left to the mercy of your hands ;)) 2nd: solomnius 3rd: bruce 4th: setsuna 5th: darklight oh, winner on worst-looking mortal was darklight, for a totally made up character that was just dead funny (imo). what a luck it's all subjective... ;) i REALLY had troubles judging this, and i am sorry if you feel unfairly treated. i really liked all the entries. solomnius, your char had a couple funny made-up items, too. :) thanks for the creativity! :) everyone contact me for their prizes, please! (unless you don't want it *grin*) i'll see that i'll type the winning results for everyone to read into a file, send it to kiri and ask her to post it in the newsletter (for those of you who don't get that one yet - just write her a note/email with your email address and ask to be added!). see you for the next quest, folks (coming up soon!) i hope you can keep up the good work! (specially after you find out that prizes indeed can be very spiffy!!!) IDEAS: Rhyme: Install a hot tub at recall ;-) so recall bums can just sit around in it and talk story Babe: A mob shouldn't be able to dodge your attacks when it is blinded Christine: To have color available in description... *drool*.. Snarf: give the slot machines their own channel Once again I am out of bios, please send me more! a. What's your BR name? Arias, Crovax, Teagan...etc b. What race/level are you? Got a couple heroes c. How did you pick your BR name? Not really sure where I got Arias from, Crovax is from a game, and Teagan is my sons name d. What's your favorite area? It's gotta be the Tropical Forrest...loved exploring that area e. Where do you live (State or province/Country) Manitoba, Can f. What do you do for a living? Stay at home mom g. If you're a college/grad student, what's your major? Didn't go to college h. What do you want to be when you grow up? Don't wanna...can't make me!! i. Are you single? Nope, happily married j. What are your hobbies? Playing cards, reading and playing with my kids k. What's the hardest thing you've ever had to do? Bury my brother (boating accident) l. Who do you most admire? My mother...who would have thunk it!!!!!! m. What celebrity would you love to hook up with? I would love to meet Rosie O'donnell....yep..how can ya tell I am a mother...lol n. What's the last book you read (including for school). Did you like it? I'm reading Suspicion of Deceit by Barbara Parker...its ok...I enjoy reading John Grisham more. o. What's the last movie you watched? Did you like it? The Emporers New Groove....very funny movie...me and my kids loved it p. If you could be anywhere in the world for a week, where would you go? Anywhere by myself!!!!! Although I have always wanted to see Australia Responses by PACKOR: Blackwing: We should have hangovers in BR.. Such as new heroes who drank most of their mort lives couldn't move (or move with great cost) for 3 or 4 mud days - Don't you think that's a waste of memory, counting how many bottles of alcohol you drank? Okay, first of all, drunk length is somewhat random, and so is the amount depleted, and there is no amount drunk. That means one bottle could be totally drank down with an effect of 10 hours if it's average is 14 hours. Second of all, some people just take a long, long time to make it to hero. That makes them have longer to get rid of the alcohol in their system and drink more right? However, you are suggesting a hangover over amount drunk, and not including over time. If you do that, you are adding more steps and wasting more time for something unimportant. (feel free to summarize) Mathis: when a spell is running out, and it has 1 our 2 hours left, you should be able to recast it and renew it - I like this idea, but the purpose of it telling you that it wore off is so that you can renew it... I understand what you mean though. Responses by Baltar: > Mathis: when a spell is running out, and it has 1 our 2 hours > left, you should be able to recast it and renew it I've seen this suggestion a lot, and I still like it. How hard would it be to have a spell just reset, regardless of whether it still has time left? (Keeping in mind, of course, that the second spell may not be the same level as the original spell, such as when Kiri gives you a nice level 153 sanct that should last a good long time, and you accidentally wipe it out with a low-level sanct that lasts one tick...) (Which leads to a follow-up thought: this probably shouldn't work on mobs, otherwise you could theoretically wipe out their permanent spells by casting a temporary version on them...) (Hmm, maybe this is more complicated than it appeared at first...) > Blackwing: a remember command.. so you can remember an item > if you had it and need it again, should show what mob it is on, or where > you had gotten it before What? And put the paper and pencil manufacturers completely out of business? Kiri's WWW of URLs: Feel free to do a review of us on Mudconnector: http://www.mudconnector.com/mud-bin/prev/submit.cgi?mud=Barren+Realms Oprah's site teaches you how to do yoga (neat) http://www.oprah.com/health/intrain/health_intrain_yoga_exerci.html Where do you want to hike today? http://www.onedayhikes.com/ Gas price watch, because gas is so expensive. Tells you where the cheapest place is in your neighborhood. http://www.gaspricewatch.com/ FORWARD: The Top 14 Signs Your Car Needs Washing Your beautiful new VW Beetle is constantly being mistaken for the Oscar Meyer Turdmobile. On their way to the fishin' hole, Andy and Opie stop by your windshield for bait. Greenpeace won't let you move the car for fear of displacing some dung beetles that have taken up residence. Neighborhood kids offer: "Mow your Volvo, sir?" Your pine tree air freshener is now a protected old growth forest. Satellite photos reveal crop circles on your roof. "Wash Me" appears on your trunk -- chiseled with a jackhammer. Impossible to drive with the kids always clamoring to have a look through the periscope. Your "cell phone antenna" is really a sapling which took root. The kids seem really freaked-out by those blood stains in the Bronco. Visits to the farm always result in pigs humping your tires. Kids write "PLOW ME!" on your trunk. When you blow the horn, prairie dogs pop up from the hood. June 23, 2001 Welcome to the BR Newsletter! This week in the Realms: If you see Faustus, wish him a happy birthday! And remember you can click on any link to visit the person's webpage :) From Scab: just wanted to see if I could get a few suggestions for my new web page. http://www.angelfire.com/punk2/TheScabMan/index.html if you think it sucks, then please sign the guestbook and tell me what to do Joysinger's Master Alchemist Quest: There it goes again. You just went to your local alchemist and he just doesn't have the darn potion you need. Well, at least if he does have it, he doesn't want to sell it to you. So you walk all the way to your local witch, just to discover that she just ran out as well. Shucks. I swear, every time i REALLY want something (And right now i could really use a good love potion) they're out - or just don't think i'm worth them. So i went strolling around all over the realms - not ONE decent potion-brewer around here! Help me out guys! I think the realms are desperately in need for someone creative... someone... able... and mean spiri... i mean good-heartedly enough to create what i need! Rules: 1. Create 3 potions. The first MUST be a love potion (hehe, everyones most wanted ;)), second be an oil of your choice, and a completely random creation of your own as the last entry (can be another potion/oil or pill etc.). 2. You must use items found within the realms to create the stuff. An already existing potion can be used as an ingredient, but i will not consider the spells that potion casts already (name counts). 3. Make up brewing instructions as well as a unique potion-/whatever-name and shortly describe how it will affect the user when it's quaffed/eaten/applied/etc. 4. If you have more ideas for cool potions then 3 - pick the 3 best. ;) I will not reward extra potions. (quality, not quantity, folks! ;)) 5. When you have everything, send me a note or - much preferred - an email to sharunel@gmx.de. Once you send me your entry no further changes will be accepted, so choose wisely! ;) 6. This quest will end within a week, once this note has left your note list, it's over and done with. So work on it in time! :) Prizes will be determined upon participation. However, i think that i tend to hand out good prizes for a well done job, so try your best! As always, if you have ANY questions concerning the rules of this - feel free to ask me. Oh - you can enter less then 3 potions... prizes won't be anywhere close to what a complete set will get you. ;) So get working and show me imagination and creativity, i'll make sure that it wasn't a waste of your time and effort if it is a GOOD attempt. I hope you'll all enjoy this quest, it'll be my last for a while since my provider is being a pain in a couple days... so i hope for lots of entries :p well, erm, yes... when you have all your ingredients - tell me so you can get a bag to put em all into ;) i do want all of the stuff turned in to me - makes it easier to check. if you have nodrop items, you may use them, though. it'll still be less work for me to only check on the few nodrops that will be collected (yes, i'm paranoid, i suspect cheaters everywhere! *grin* ;)) Divebomb's BAMF quest update: I'm running a second round that will not be complete until everyone who is eligible has participated. Please consult the following list. All of these PLAYERS are eligible. If you own any of these characters you may compete in the second round of the quest. If you own more than one character, you may only compete with one of the characters. You must tell me you own more than two, if you try to cheat and are caught, the penalty will be swift and painful Please alert me asap, the second round does not take long. The Qualifiers: Aezaan, BabeII, Cristobol, Darkcrad, Delta, Dio, Disbelief, Doggy, Doug, Eden, Eru Fnordie, Forrest, Igression, Isis, Jasper, Kharn, Lacuna, Loom, Nafai, OldGuy, OrangeKnight, Pendraco, Pre, Pride, Racer, Shiloh, Vovin, Ziyat If you name appears on this list, contact me ASAP! DB I'm sorry about my horrid mistake, but everyone did a great job. There were 71 different characters that competed. Only 14 of those characters were unable to complete it either because of bad luck or running out of time. Awesome work and awesome participation everyone! Dreamkeeper's ABC Quest update: A big thanks to all who entered there is prizes on there way to you now the moment al entrants have been waiting for the winner! First place was a tie between Sabin and devilsangel so they both get the first prize the special prizes for list match goes to Streamliner. It has a very hard decision to make for both my sponor and I as all entrants were outstanding I would like to make a note of one entry fireheart the only char to find a mob for x except xor, even me everyone who entered congratz for all mortal char please contact amystery for your prizes for hero char please contact myself once again thanks for taking part *hugs* dreamkeeper Ok here they are the winners and entrants into the abc quest. winners are sabin level 47 and devilsangel level 63 most matched winner was streamliner level 4 entrants were cynic level 141 liquid level 62 darklight level 32 eru level 15 lanisa level 151 christine level 151 thrasher level 61 bliink level 106 fireheart level 49 All levels were correct at time of sending, All my love dreamkeeper IDEAS: I'm short on ideas, please use the idea command or email me some! :) Kiri: make identify give info about type of hit Thrasher: It would be nice if we could set friends and we would get a message when they log on. BIO a. What's your BR name? Dulm, Jamesbond b. What race/level are you? Uhh.. Dulm's a thief guy like 38 i think and Jamesbond is a druid guy around 31.. And I had Flan, a human around lvl 10 but i forgot the password for him.. c. How did you pick your BR name? Dulm derives from Dulmli which I created from this game Magic (a necromancer was called Lim-Dul and it's an anagram of that), which Crovax comes from too ;p (see a previous bio) d. What's your favorite area? ::shrugs:: I've been busy with school so I haven't played in a long time e. Where do you live (State or province/Country) New Joisey f. What do you do for a living? I'm goin to college next year :) g. If you're a college/grad student, what's your major? Computer Science at Stevens Institute h. What do you want to be when you grow up? Software Devolpment i. Are you single? Yes ma'am.. j. What are your hobbies? Any teenagerly thing.. and most things involved with computers.. k. What's the hardest thing you've ever had to do? I'm too young to have dealt with anything emotionally disturbing.. l. Who do you most admire? My eldest sister.. she's lived her whole life in a wheelchair but been so independant.. m. What celebrity would you love to hook up with? Name her and I probably wouldn't mind :) n. What's the last book you read (including for school). Did you like it? I'm almost done with the 5th book in WoT (Fires of Heaven). I started the series in march after my tern paper was finished. Oh and it's an awesome series.. o. What's the last movie you watched? Did you like it? Some monty Python flick.. and yea they're all good.. p. If you could be anywhere in the world for a week, where would you go? I dunno.. I lead a pretty happy life so i think the summer camp I work at is a good place to go Responses by PACKOR: Dio: duplicate for druid they make a duplication of themselves that gets hit for one round then dissapears - I didn't know druids were illusionists, seems more fitting for an elf. I like that idea for kenders, they are kind of bad fighters, and they are tricksers. Blackwing: a remember command.. so you can remember an item if you had it and need it again, should show what mob it is on, or where you had gotten it before - That might be admitted if it's only for one item. I mean, you could think of hundreds of items which are useful. A character can probably only remember a few things anyway. I think it's a waste because you can probably remember it by yourself, and if you have to remember just that one, you wouldn't need a command to do it. Mishael: newbie channel.. so people not helping newbies can turn off newbie babblings, and newbies can stop flooding chat channel.. or mabey just start using the question... err whatever. >Kiri -- I don't feel right about segregating newbies. This is supposed to be a friendly mud where everyone pitches in to answer questions. Segregating newbies doesn't promote that. -And besides, you have been a newbie, and you would get upset if nobody helps you right? By the way you say it, it seems most people would turn a newbie channel off. I would also like to add that many of us babble and/or like to babble and would flood all those newbies with useless stuff. I mean, newbie babble and babble, what's the difference? We'd rather babble in one channel then have 2 seperate channels to babble on in. Mishael: ok. last idea today. how about a ban on characters from books.... kinda lame seeing all these dragonlance names being used. people should be more original. >Kiri -- I HATE HATE HATE HATE muds that do this! It is SO obnoxious. - I also see X-men names, Star Wars names, Final Fantasy names, and almost names from many other things. Some of these names people sometimes think of even when they haven't watched the show/film or read the book. It's kind of like you like this guy and want to be him or like him, you know, if you do pick a name from something. Some people even RP in it, and that is what my view is on people doing that. Brak: As I saw in previous newsletters, the mass teleport, well maybe a create portal, which created a portal to the mob? it would last for a tick or 2?? - I would think portals take you to places. Also, read help teleport, hehehe, and people teleporting to your room. Responses by BALTAR: > Lacuna: let hangman accept more money, maybe 10k instead of only 2k? I suggested this once, as I recall...time to revisit the issue? > Hiatus: infravision should work against the "too dark to tell" in the = > exit command Why? Infravision is temperature-sensitive, so it tells you about mobs, not room details. Besides, that would take all the "fun" out of trying to navigate mazes at night... > Mathis: you should at least be able to put nodrop items in a pack or = > something. its not noput... So all you have to do to get rid of a cursed item is put it in a pack and then drop the pack somewhere? Not what the builders have in mind... KIRI's WWW of URLS: Yoga for Beginners: http://www.mv.com/ipusers/howell/ejh/ About.com's Tai Chi page: http://healing.about.com/health/healing/cs/taichi/index.htm From Scavenger. Made with 100% real cats: http://www.stimpsoft.com/catcam/catcam.htm I'm going to keep posting this link until someone does a review for us *grumpy* http://www.mudconnector.com/mud-bin/prev/submit.cgi?mud=Barren+Realms [Scavenger: This was originally a forward about simple and real friends. One of my friends added a third category describing the friendships in our group.] A simple friend has never seen you cry. A real friend has shoulders soggy from your tears. A Freak friend will smack you when you're being stupid. A simple friend doesn't know your parents' first names. A real friend has their phone numbers in his address book. A Freak friend hangs out with your parents even when you're not around. A simple friend brings a bottle of wine to your party. A real friend comes early to help you cook and stays late to help you clean. A Freak friend comes early to help you cook, stays late, and realizes cleaning is overrated. A simple friend hates it when you call after he has gone to bed. A real friend asks you why you took so long to call. A Freak friend tends to use e-mail because we get sick of talking to answering machines. A simple friend seeks to talk with you about your problems. A real friend seeks to help you with your problems. A Freak friend is usually somehow involved *with* your problems. A simple friend wonders about your romantic history. A real friend could blackmail you with it. A Freak friend ususally figures prominently *in* your romantic history. A simple friend, when visiting, acts like a guest. A real friend, when visiting, opens your refrigerator and helps himself. A Freak friend tends to be a roommate. A simple friend thinks the friendship is over when you HAVE an argument. A real friend knows that it's not a friendship until after you've had a fight. A Freak friend knows it's not a real friendship until you have a fight about a LARP character. A simple friend expects you to always be there for them. A real friend expects to always be there for you! A Freak friend never leaves. June 30, 2001 News from the Realms!: June 24, 2001 Kiri: Just fixed a bunch of typos. I wanted to thank some people for reporting them: Lehua, Frans, Belle, Darth, Amystery, Johan, Solomnius, Xorex, Alarys, and Divebomb. Much appreciated and keep reporting them! June 25, 2001 -- Kiri: how your support for BR and vote for us on Topmudsites: http://www.topmudsites.com/cgi-bin/topmuds/rankem.cgi?id=brkiri Or you can do a review of us: http://www.topmudsites.com/cgi-bin/reviews/robboard.cgi?action=review&subject=Barren+Realms+MUD Check out http://www.coredcs.com/%7Ebarren/pics Just added, Jasper & Faustus :) Kiri: * Thanks to Isomnak, Mrs. White is no longer a ball-hogger. Whew! * Thanks to someone I won't name, the wearable weapon in Moria Depths has been changed to be armor, as it was intended. * Thanks to Joysinger, the pusher in Alandra now sells all of his wares. * Thanks to Meri, you can now get in AND out of Boddy Manor. * Thanks to Daii, the mobs in Olympus will no longer wander randomly all over. * Thanks to Brodgar, you can now wear the chain shackles in High Tower of Sorcery. * Thanks to Alarys, the unwanted daughter in Dwarven Catacombs is actually FEMALE, and the rastafarians on the Pirate Seas are no longer protected by the gods. * The serrated dagger in Cormyr is now piercing. The fake fur boa is no longer always broken. * And finally, thanks to Agilblade and Would, help enhance and help displacement are correct. Kiri: Hi folks... Oakley has a request of you for something he's working on. Please send a note with your age, your favorite websites, and the websites you visit most frequently. If you don't want to do it to all, you can post it to me or hit reply and I won't tell anyone your age but Oakley. Everyone who participates will get a molasses when the week's up and this note scrolls off. Thanks! Divebomb: BAMF Quest This is a final call to those who have not contacted me for the second round (for those who qualified). I'm giving you through July 4th to catch me online and participate or you forfeit your chance for the prize. The people who have not participated are: Delta Disbelief Doug Forrest Igression Pendraco Ziyat I'll try to be on a good amount of Saturday and Sunday if I can. DB Oakley's doing market research on a website (which is why I asked the other question of all of you guys.) It's kind of important for his job, and therefore I've volunteered to help him out. I will reward any hero with one stat coin (you know, when you get 5 you get a stat raise) if you go to xap.com and email me answers to these questions based on that website: Your age Did you like xap.com? Did you find the site easy to use & to get around? Were you able to find the buttons and links? Did you read the text? What could we add to make xap.com more interesting? Any additional comments as well. If you do a really thorough job I'll throw in two coins :) This is a big help to Oakley and he *really* appreciates it. I'll forward your answers along to him. My email is kiri@megapathdsl.net or you can just note me. I will give morts 2 healing molasses for answering these. Thanks! Lugin: At Sunday 1 July, 12.00 EST also 11.00 system time(I think), I will hold a quest for mortals. The quest contains 3 parts where everyone will compete in the first part, 5 of them will continue to part 2, and 3 of them to the last part. The quest is constructed so that a lvl 5 character will have the same chances of winning as a lvl 50. Killing, running and creativity is what the quest contains. I hope to see as many of you as possible on Sunday :) IDEAS: Shuluk: A notepad that you write down the current amount of gold you have in your bank account on after each transaction Sledgefist: spell cast grace improves dex as giant str improves str Joysinger: it'd be nice if identify told you the spells on pills - after all, id'ing potions does it, too (or wands, staffs, etc.) Liquid: Maybe the hangman shouldn't count guesses that you have already made to be wrong. Thordain: Restrict morals from the newbie area from level 5 (maybe 10? Maybe something else) and up, until hero. Newbies tend to get overwhelmed with so many mortals tromping through the area. Plus, it would keep mortals who don't know enough about the game(not to sound unappriciative of their efforts, though). And, of course, add another enhancer to Calathar. East and north of recall, maybe? (idea got cut off) Thordain: Modify the newbie area slightly to allow newbies to be self-taught if there are no heroes or immortals on-line to help them. Basically make it a little easier by shoving the required information down their throats. I'd be willing to do this if you Thordain: Make recall a command gained at level two or three, to avoid people who know the command but do not know the mud from getting lost in Calathar. They don't really need to be there anyway. Wasabe: Why can't I id something I'm wearing? Similar to looking at your tag on your shirt... a little challenging, but quite doable. Gruff: travel games. connect 4 that you can play anywhere. BIO: >a. What's your BR name? >Dio >b. What race/level are you? >Avian >c. How did you pick your BR name? > Got it when i rented FF7(Final Fantasy 7) >d. What's your favorite area? > Hmmm..... i would have to say Fur Paridise(hero area) cause there are many animals there >e. Where do you live (State or province/Country) > New York USA >f. What do you do for a living? > go to school(8th grade) >g. If you're a college/grad student, what's your major? > uhhh im not a grad >h. What do you want to be when you grow up? > hmmm i dunno i never think about it >i. Are you single? > yes. >j. What are your hobbies? > gaming, soccer, baseball >k. What's the hardest thing you've ever had to do? > hmmm go through having my leg broken >l. Who do you most admire? > probably my parents >m. What celebrity would you love to hook up with? > Jackie Chan to learn karate or whatever he does. >n. What's the last book you read (including for school). Did you like >it? Golden Compass it was pretty good book >o. What's the last movie you watched? Did you like it? > Vertical Limit and Little Nickie both were really cool movies. > p. What is your favorite band? > Mudvayne or Blink 182 >o. If you could be anywhere in the world for a week, where would you go? > ummm somewhere up north where its cold and i could go snowboarding Joysinger's Loser quest results: kharn: a lightsphere (Like New ) ethereal amulet (Like New ) ethereal amulet (Like New ) a straitjacket (Like New ) (Glowing) (Humming) a Beautifully-Carved Bone Helmet ethereal Hammer of the Damned (Invis) an unbearable odor! (Glowing) a lighter a skeleton ______________________________________________________________________________________________________ Solomnius: ***********QUEST FOR LOOSER************ This man, is not like his brother his looks, are like no other if you stare, for just a bit you'd have to then, anounce and admit he's the sun of the loosers mother. used as light raidioactive waste*:str-3 hp-50 dam+5 worn on finger engagement ring:BIG FAT 0 worn on finger chocolate donut*:weight carried+100 worn around neck a dead rat*:con-2 dam+1 hp-19 worn around neck golden necklace:BIG FAT 0 worn on body hunched-back lump:con-2. worn on head HUGE chin:hp+15 hit-2 dam+4 str-1 dex-1 wis-1 int-1 worn on legs blackened steel greaves:wis-4 move-50 worn on feet shackle:move-150 worn on hands pink rubber gloves:misplaced stats(looks) worn on arms floaties*:wis-6 str-6 int-6 con+4 held in offhand foul odor:mana-200 con-5 move-400. worn about body whatchamacallit cape:namevalue+50 worn about waist cable tie*:move-50 worn on wrist rubber chicken:mana+10 worn on wrist black band:hp-20 wielded transsexual laser:str-7 con-7 held (looks) pulverizor staff:11 charges of lev 3 change sex (effect) artifact:exp-500 gold-500 NOTE: where asterix * items were made up as couldn't find anything ____________________________________________________________________________________________ Darklight: Name: Sylvester Swartznegga Race: Dwarf Stats: Str 24, Int 2, Wis 2, Dex 20, Con 22 (Glowing) Greased Shiny Chest Speedos Kleets McDonalds Hat Bracelet with direction to home Bracelet pointing to bracelet with directions to home Bra for man chest Muscle A sign saying 'I'm Sylvester Swartznegga, the #1 loser in Barren Realms' Look at this guy, he's your typical jock. Buff, strong, but dumb like a doornail. He greases up his chest so much that he uses it as a light. Always wearing his sport kleets, and he works at Mcdonalds He's so dumb that he needs to write down the directions to get home. also his chest is so big it needs a bra. This guy is the Loser of all loser! for crying out loud look at his sign! lol ____________________________________________________________________________________________ Leiland: Weapons: 2 Geats: -150hp, -1str, +5/2 hit/damroll each About Body: Lice Infested Cloak: +3 str, -1 con, ac=8 Around Neck: 2 Demon-faced Talismans: ac=5, -8dex, -10 str each On Body: Skintight Black Dress (from the whore in Alandra ;) ): ac=4, -2 int -- Held: Demon Amulet: -1 wis, int On Head: Bone Helmet: -2 str, int, con, dex, wis, ac=15, -3/3 hit/damroll, +25 ac, -100mv, -50hp, -50mana On Feet: Muddy Boots: +1 dex, ac=3 -- On Wrists: 2 cherry stem bracelets: ac=10 On Waist: Carpenter's utility belt: +3 damroll, +2 str On Hands: Thin black gloves: +7 hitroll -- On Fingers: 2 Large diamond rings (with diamonds as big as my knuckles!): ac=10 As Light: A small stick: no stats... -- On Legs: Peanut butter leggings: ac=7, +1 dex On Arms: A pair of carved bronze bracers: ac=8 OK, my character is a male Kender... wearing a skintight black whore's dress, accented by a lovely utility belt and a lice infested cloak. The muddy boots make a great addition to the ensemble, and the ornately carved bone helmet is the perfect accessory. Instead of panty hose (too feminine for his taste) he has decided to literally stick with the peanut butter leggings, which are much warmer, and taste better, too! Encircling his dainty wrists are bracelets made from the stems of cherries, which are ideal because they are cheap, lightweight, and very chic. The thin black gloves match the dress perfectly, and look absolutely gorgeous with the carved copper bracers on his arms and the two giant diamonds on his fingers. The talismans around his neck and the demon amulet give the whole outfit a sort of gothic look that is very popular this year. __________________________________________________________________________________________ Fnordie: well, since diamonds are a girls best friend let's have two ring(Diamond) str -1 ring(Diamond) str -1 I like black, so why don't we wear some sexy blackened greaves, even if it's not a wise move blackened greaves wis -4 moves -50 now that we are talking about sexy, how about throwing in some handcuffs a pair of handcuffs (from cop) str -1 hit -3 EB has another pair that is fun a pair of handcuffs (from dragon desert) moves -300 and well you can't go fully naked sooo, let's wear a tshirt ac/dc t-shirt str -5 int -12 dam +2 Bring in the clowns, with these sexy, clunky clown shoes clown shoes dex -1 moves -20 and this sexy red clown nose red clown nose wis -1 int -2 Scars are sexy, no ? say well one can ask if this one is bloody constitutional bloody scar con -4 A belt, a belt is nice, especially if it affects unknown things ;) Belt of burdens affects (unknown) with 100 now let's talk weaponry... I would have liked the transexual lasers, but... a lighter str -4 int -12 dex -4 hit +3 dam +2 hp +20 a lighter str -4 int -12 dex -4 hit +3 dam +2 hp +20 and about body, well what about a smell that has a life of it's own unbearable odor con -5 mana -200 moves -400 ____________________________________________________________________________________________ Brodgar: Grumblefoot the Swordpupil Most likely a maggot in his previous life, that garnered even more negative Karma, this feeble and unsightly looking dwarf looks truly pitiful. His left shoulder arches a hand higher than his right, and is covered in strange boney bumps. Large splotches of pasty white birthmarks cover his skin and only manage to make the foul colored warts appear even more obvious. His dark brown hair is patchy, leaving abundant bald spots in several places, where clumps of hair have fallen out over time and never grown back. A viscous white substance remains forever stuck to the corners of his lips, as he stares at you with vacant eyes, almost begging for you to put him out of his misery. Lava Lamp (Light) Object 'helmet' type armor, extra flags glow hum nodrop noremove. (Beautifully-Carved Bone) (head) Object 'ring diamond' type armor, extra flags magic noremove. (from old red dragon) Object 'ring diamond' type armor, extra flags magic noremove. (from old red dragon) Object 'flesh ripper gloves' type armor, extra flags none. (hands) Object 'jewel jeweled armor' type armor, extra flags glow evil anti-good. (body) Shadow armor (about body) Object 'talisman demon' type armor, extra flags glow magic. (neck) Object 'talisman demon' type armor, extra flags glow magic. (neck) Object 'Handcuffs Cuffs' type armor, extra flags nodrop anti-evil noremove. (wrist) Object 'Handcuffs Cuffs' type armor, extra flags nodrop anti-evil noremove. (wrist) Object 'pair leg shackles chains' type armor, extra flags nodrop noremove. (legs) Object 'chains heavy set' type armor, extra flags bless noremove. (feet) Object 'invisible sword geat' type weapon, extra flags invis magic. (offhand) Object 'pick mining dull' type weapon, extra flags nodrop noremove. (primary) Voodoo doll (held) ____________________________________________________________________________________________ Armageddon: Ok, yeah. I know I'm a pretty big loser. I really hope that I'll be able to acutally "win" something!!! So, I tried my hardest to win this quest ;) Lets hope I don't LOSE this one as well! Equipment: a shimmering light:mana+200 a pink shell:ac-25 int-1 dex-3 mv-200 mana+270 hp+250 a donkey's blanket:ac-30 damage+20 mana+100 hp+100 hit+25 savevbreath-5 savevspell-5 a curved tooth:mana-350 hp+300 dam+45 hit+45 a bracelet of grevious harm:ac-60 dam+54 hit+54 move+2000 mana+2000 hp+2000 the crown of thorns:dam+35 Anubis' sword of the order of the stars: savevb-50 savevs-50 mana+200 hit +100 damage +100 ac-325 mv+500 hp+200 con+13 int+13 wis+13 dex+13 str+13 the talisman of tiamat: savevbreath-15 con+5 wis+5 dex+5 str+5 int+5 the horn of ragnarok:ac-60 dam+54 hit+54 move+2000 mana+2000 hp+2000 eldarin mail: savevbreath-3 savevspell-3 mv+200 ac-200 ____________________________________________________________________________________________ Setsuna: BR's "It CAN get worse" Equipment List -------------------------------------------------- worn on head: A blindfold (the Circus) worn on body: A spacesuit (BR Museum) worn on waist: (invis) A sprite belt (Faerie Ring) worn on legs: Wheelchair (BR Museum) worn on feet: Spiked boots (Dangerous Neighborhood) wielded: Transsexual Laser (RHPS) held in offhand: Transsexual Laser (RHPS) held: Bee Bread (???) used as light: A small stick (Redferne's Residence) BR's "U-G-L-Y" Equipment List --------------------------------------- worn on head: A HUGE chin (The Circus) worn around neck: A cowbell (???) worn around neck: A noble prize (BR Museum) worn on body: a French maid's outfit (RHPS) worn on waist: a condom (Aod) worn on legs: fishnet stockings (RHPS) worn on feet: a pair of dirty boots (???) wielded: a steaming mug of coffee (MTV Land) held: a happy face balloon (Lag Central) used as light: A glowing abdomen (Insect Gardens) BR's "At least he practices safe sex" Equipment List ---------------------------------------------------------------- worn on head: (invis) A glass jaw (BR Museum) worn on neck: (invis) a storm cape (???) worn on neck: (invis) a storm cape (???) worn on body: a feathery boa (RHPS) worn on arms: a "Love" tattoo (???) worn on finger: (invis) a sapphire ring (???) worn on finger: (invis) a sapphire ring (???) worn on waist: a condom (Aod) worn on feet: (invis) Herme's sandals (Olympus) worn about body: (invis) Vest of the Hawklord (???) __________________________________________________________________________________________ Bruce: i'm going for the worst looking char. my outfit is what a drag queen would wear. 1.unbearable odor 2.spiked heeled boots 3.a skin-tight black dress 4.a black feathery boa 5.a spiked choker 6.fishnet stockings 7.a condom 8.romeo's feathered hat 9.pair of pink rubber gloves 10.long black leather gloves 11.a apron 12.a glass of champagne 13. a transsexual laser X 2 as weapons RESPONSES BY PACKOR: Lehua: a spell for illithids that lets them understand what drunk people are trying to say, if they miscast however, they are affected by not being able to understand what people say - Strange spell... just how do you think an illithid can understand what a drunk person says? It's obvious of course that different people are affected by alcohol differently. So an illithid that can understand what one drunk is saying probably can't another. Maybe you should have something like 'mind tap' (bad name) that makes your mind 'opened up' to minds around you (in the room). You'll understand anyone but drunk people gives you drunken affect when you are in the room with them. Armageddon: maybe have it so that you can change the name of your character. I have a few high level chars that have been abandoned because I realize I didn't quite like their names. - Shouldn't you have thought out the name carefully then, before you started the character? I think people changing names once in a while is not a good idea. You are prone to do it every few months if given the option. Keleios: illithid spell.. images? it'd make copies of the person, and the enemy would have to hack through the images (well mabey he 'd hit the real mccoy) but they'd dissapear one at a time as they were hit.. great mind spell. - By the way you say it I know it means creating several temporary mobs( images of yourself). This is because the mob fights one at a time, if it's possible to hit you, it must be attacking one at a time, and not killing images. What happens after the battle? Do the images disappear? It seems like it should. If it was a spell it would probably only work on one at a time too. It's possible to make this spell, but I really think it is a bad spell. Quanin: if you lose exp for fleeing, shouldn't you gain exp for making someone else flee? - Blah, they are cowards, you must conquer to gain exp!! Muhahahaha. Exp gain is only possible by killing. If you don't destroy something, you don't get exp for it. Let's say your opponent (previously attacking you) happens to fall asleep and you just killed another mob. It doesn't get exp. That is why you don't get exp for making something flee, because there MUST be a kill. Keleios: make hungry spell. - Just how the hack can a spell make a person hungry??? Mylo: incremental healing - each tick you heal a standard amount - how about the more you got hurt, the more you'd heal each tick, and as you got closer to full health the heal would lessen. This wouldn't really change the amount of time to get to full health. - One phrase: 1000 + hp. Maybe 600 + too. Takes an awful lot longer time on steady gain rate. Note that you regen fastest sleeping, faster resting, slow standing, and quite quickly drunk. We like to go to the healer or get healing potions. Druids are good too. At your level ( as you say incremental and steady doesn't vary much), it doesn't matter much if you have to sleep to get to it, it's not that bad at all. Reply to Hiddukel's weapon suggestions... - You make things too complicated :> There are some kind of items like one of what you describe. I know some boots that give you +2 to certain attributes. These could vary with each, they are basically one or the other attribute. I think it would be great if items had several choices to pick from in magical abilities. Sometimes it doesn't even get it. The part about restricting weapons to classes is going a little overboard. No knowledge really prevents you from using a weapon. Also, there is a strength restriction on weapon wielding and you know that our class system is the race system at the same time. Just not a good idea to me. I do think adding some weapon/magical artifacts using skill modifier might be nice. Like the more you use a kind of weapon, the better you get at it (like maybe exp gained from a kill using that weapon would help you get better), just a thought. Kiri's WWW of URLs: Hot deals on student loans! http://www.fool.com/Specials/2001/Sp010613z.htm?ref=SpAg Ifoundaduck.com! http://www.anti-static.freeserve.co.uk/ifoundaduck/index2.html Ok, this monster-generator rocks http://www.technosphere.org.uk/ Research paper idea directory http://www.researchpaper.com/directory.html RESIGNATION I am hereby officially tendering my resignation as an adult. I have decided I would like to accept the responsibilities of an 8 year-old [Image]again. I want to go to McDonald's and think that it's a four star restaurant. [Image] I want to sail sticks across a fresh mud puddle and make a sidewalk with rocks. I want to think M&Ms[Image] are better than money because you can eat them. I want to lie under a big oak tree and run a lemonade stand with my friends on a hot [Image]summer's day. I want to return to a time when life was simple; When all you knew were colors, multiplication tables, and nursery rhymes,[Image] but that didn't bother you, because you didn't know what you didn't know and you didn't care. All you knew was to be happy [Image]because you were blissfully unaware of all the things that should make you worried or upset. I want to think the world is fair. That everyone is honest and good. I want to believe that anything is possible. I want to be oblivious to the complexities of life and be overly excited by the little things [Image] again. I want to live simple again. I don't want my day to consist of computer crashes,[Image] mountains of paperwork, depressing news, how to survive more days in the month than there is money in the bank, doctor bills,[Image] gossip, illness, and loss of loved ones. I want to believe in the power of smiles,[Image] hugs, a kind word, truth, justice, peace, dreams, the imagination, mankind, and making angels[Image] in the snow. So . . . here's my checkbook and my car-keys, my credit card bills and my 401K statements. I am officially resigning from adulthood. And if you want to discuss this further, you'll have to catch me first, cause........ ......"Tag! You're it." [Image]