February 18, 2003

[kiri]

Welcome to the Barren Realms MUD newsletter! Come visit BR at telnet://barren.coredcs.com:8000/


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NEWS FROM THE REALMS:

Andasa: Upcoming quest!
Sun Feb 16 02:51:22 2003
To: all
Hello all. This note is to announce a roleplaying quest that will be happening in a week.
It will be taking place at 6:00 pm system time on Saturday the 22nd
There are no level restrictions, but those that are very low may find it more difficult
Astral, teleport, and track will not be allowed
Since it is a roleplaying quest joining times can vary, though those who start at the beginning will have
the most advantage. This quest is being sponsored by Everybody, so you know that the prizes will be excellant.
And as always, the more that participate the better the prizes will be
That is all for now, specifics will be explained at the beginning of the quest on Saturday.
And again, it will be at 6 pm -system time- next Saturday evening.
Hope to see you all there,



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IDEAS -- feel free to hit reply and answer these:

Dawne: is there a good reason that low level chars dont see how long spells last? it would make many low level chars very happy to be able to see that...


Beanis: not have fleeing mobs be memory mobs?


Moldfinger: a skill for avians whereby they fly from a fight (like normal birds do) the avian flies high into the air out of reach of non flying mobs and players, this ends the fight but doesn't leave the room


Amarilla: that Clericus cast giant strength for those who need it to get all corpse


AMystery: weather should have a bigger impact on fights, perhaps rain lowers hitroll, hot days make mobs more likely to flee


Beanis: make a deposit box, like the bank accounts, only make them like the chests in the game diablo, and i know alot of you know what i'm talking about


Moldfinger: some randomness in the damage messages. instead of an owl is in awful condition, have a list of possible messages for that damage range. an owl wants to die, an owl is falling apart


Suicide: a "dive"/etc command (similar to land), allowing a flying character to attempt a waterlanding


Liubei: when a demon avatar tans a corpse the item should become demonwearable


Gilvain: Make a time adjustment from military to normal (9 PM instead of 21 o clock) for lazy people like me who doesn't like to do math


Shiloh: when berzerk and frenzy wear off they should deal some minor damage to the person who had the spell cast on them


Moldfinger: when you are fighting one mob, it seems like you should be able to use skills on another. for example, blast. while fighting a condor I can't blast a warbler, i get a message say I'm already fighting someone else

AMystery: it doesn't seem fair that a poison of that magnitude 20000 can be cured by one spell. i think poison should be harder to remove the longer it lasts


Cord: a "help parts" that provides a menu containing all the help-file keywords for demon body parts


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BIOS:

I'm starting a new bio section that I ask anyone who wants to participate to go ahead and do so. The purpose of this new bio section is to provide real life information in order to promote networking for jobs, ways to make nearby friendships or even find love. Basically I'm going to ask you guys to fill in as little or as much as you'd like to, reply to this, and I will include it in future newsletters. If someone wants to contact you, they will via the mud or an email you might provide.


NAME ON BR: Dove

BR RACE/LEVEL: Druid/Immortal

YOUR REAL AGE: 33

YOUR REAL LOCATION (State/province & Country): Wisconsin, USA

YOUR OCCUPATION: Currently enemployed

YOUR GOALS FOR THE FUTURE: Find a job I love

WHAT ARE YOU LOOKING TO DO BY POSTING HERE? PUT AN X NEXT TO ONE OR ALL: NETWORKINGX FRIENDSHIP FIND LOVE

WHAT DO YOU LOOK FOR IN A MAN/WOMAN? N/A

WHAT DO YOU LOOK FOR IN A FRIEND? N?A

WHAT KIND OF JOB ARE YOU LOOKING FOR? Either something to do with my major (Marketing) or working with animals. Both would be ideal

IF YOU GO TO COLLEGE, WHICH ONE? Graduated

HOW TO CONTACT YOU - ON BR VIA NOTE OR EMAIL? email

IF EMAIL, PUT IT HERE: dewdove@telocity.com


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RESPONSE BY CORD:

> Moldfinger: it seems that you should be able to tell which way a mob
> flees during a fight. Perhaps not if you are blind, but in general you
> would see the enemy running away

Cord: has to do with the mob sneaking, and most mort chars not being able
to see sneaking mobs. Course, how easy it would be for a mob to flee a
fight without being seen is somewhat questionable...


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Kiri's WWW of URLS:

Fans Outraged at New Character in The Return of the King
http://www.bbspot.com/News/2003/01/jaromir.html

I can still tell your wife, Bill (some nudity) - from Amystery

http://icanstilltellyourwifebill.com/

Dumb things this guy and his girlfriend have argued about. (From Amystery too). Mouse over the picture, it's creepy.

http://homepage.ntlworld.com/mil.millington/things.html

Tell me you all haven't had this before with "females" on the mud

http://www.paranoide.ch/misc/media/iwhore.gif


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These are actual answering machine answers recorded and verified by the world famous International Institute of Answering Machines...

My wife and I can't come to the phone right now, but if you'll leave your name and number, we'll get back to you as soon as we're finished.

A is for academics,
B is for beer.
One of those reasons is
Why we're not here.
So leave a message.

Hi. This is John: If you are the phone company, I already sent the money. If you are my parents, please send money. If you are my financial aid institution, you didn't lend me enough money. If you are my friends, you owe me money. If you are a female, don't worry, I have plenty of money.

(Narrator's voice:) There Dale sits, reading a magazine. Suddenly the telephone rings! The bathroom explodes into a veritable maelstrom of toilet paper, with Dale in the middle of it, his arms windmilling at incredible speeds! Will he make it in time? Alas no, his valiant effort is in vain. The bell hath sounded. Thou must leave a message.

"Hi. Now you say something."

(From a Japanese guy in Toronto.) He-lo! This is Sa-to. If you leave message, I call you soon. If you leave *sexy* message, I call sooner!

"Hi! John's answering machine is broken. This is his refrigerator. Please speak very slowly, and I'll stick your message to myself with one of these magnets."

"Hello, this is Sally's microwave. Her answering machine just eloped with her tape deck, so I'm stuck taking her calls. If you'd like anything cooked while you leave your message, just hold it up to the phone."

"Hello, you are talking to a machine. I am capable of receiving messages. My owners do not need siding, windows, or a hot tub. Their carpets are always clean. They give to charity through their office and do not need any pictures taken. They believe the stock market is a random crapshoot, and the entire insurance industry is one huge scam perpetrated by Mafioso accountants. If you're still with me, leave your name and number and they will get back to you."

"Hi. I am probably home, I'm just avoiding someone I don't like. Leave me a message, and if I don't call back, it's you."

"This is not an answering machine: this is a telepathic thought recording device. After the tone, think about your name, your reason for calling, and a number where you can be reached, and my owner will think about returning your call."

"Hi, this is George. I'm sorry I can't answer the phone right now. Leave a message, and then wait by your phone until I call you back."

"If you are a burglar, then we're probably at home cleaning our weapons right now and can't come to the phone. Otherwise, we probably aren't home and it's safe to leave us a message."

"You're growing tired. Your eyelids are getting heavy. You feel very, sleepy now. You are gradually losing your willpower and your ability to resist suggestions. When you hear the tone you will feel helplessly compelled to leave your name, number, and a message."

Hello, you've reached Jim and Sonya. We can't pick up the phone right now, because we're doing something we really enjoy. I like doing it up and down, and Sonya likes doing it left to right...real slowly. So leave a message, and when we're done brushing our teeth we'll get back to you."

[Divebomb]

I don't even know if I should have responded here for these, but you know what? I am.

is there a good reason that low level chars dont see how long spells last? it would make many low level chars very happy to be able to see that...

It's one of the perks of gaining levels (like being able to see the number of your armor class). The underlying idea is you learn more about the world and your own skills and limitations as you progress and grow through it.

not have fleeing mobs be memory mobs?

Think of it as guerilla warfare. You flee, wait for your opponent to follow you, then assault and flee again.

a skill for avians whereby they fly from a fight (like normal birds do) the avian flies high into the air out of reach of non flying mobs and players, this ends the fight but doesn't leave the room

So basically a guaranteed flee. I would be more in favor of something like this (and something similar for a kender) if there was a way to stop flying people from flying (mobs and players). I know vertigo exists, but it's a pretty crappy spell that rarely works. All you're really suggesting is the ability to get out of a fight without having to lose experience.

And just as a side note, I assume it would only work in specific terrains or at least on rooms not flagged "indoors".

that Clericus cast giant strength for those who need it to get all corpse

Part of the "penalty" of dying is getting your corpse back. Part of the "experience" of doing a CR is tackling that ever elusive problem of "Oh crap, I was carrying too much and had giant strength before."

CRing yourself has already become phenomenally easy with the addition of the death defeater potions. Also, corpse melt times have been increased to over an hour instead of 15 minutes. I don't think CRing needs to be any easier.

AMystery: weather should have a bigger impact on fights, perhaps rain lowers hitroll, hot days make mobs more likely to flee

If both members of the fight are having a reduced hitroll, is it an equal hitroll or a random number? If it's equal, what is anyone gaining except a fight that takes twice as long? I do like the idea of weather playing into the game a bit more than prevent scan and enabling call lightning though.

make a deposit box, like the bank accounts, only make them like the chests in the game diablo, and i know alot of you know what i'm talking about

For what purpose?

some randomness in the damage messages. instead of an owl is in awful condition, have a list of possible messages for that damage range. an owl wants to die, an owl is falling apart

That would probably confuse people on a ridiculous level. Instead of a set of messages relating to "awful condition" which i'm fairly sure is based on a percentage of total hitpoints, why not make more damage ranges? Like <10%, 10-20%, etc. Instead of just 5 or 6 ranges (however many we have).

a "dive"/etc command (similar to land), allowing a flying character to attempt a waterlanding

And you would land where? On the water? I can't walk on water.

If you're talking about stop flying in swimmable water, then that's a good idea as long as you can't fly again (the assumption is you have no way to push off into the air).

when a demon avatar tans a corpse the item should become demonwearable

Demons only get tan as an avatar which is just a perk of being an avatar. It's not really a big deal to put in, but it doesn't serve much purpose either.

Make a time adjustment from military to normal (9 PM instead of 21 o clock) for lazy people like me who doesn't like to do math

Not everyone uses "normal" time. What you call "military time" is "normal time" to some of our playerbase.

when berzerk and frenzy wear off they should deal some minor damage to the person who had the spell cast on them

It's already increasing your armor class by monumental proportions. If you're using it as a mortal, that AC hit is a big deal.

when you are fighting one mob, it seems like you should be able to use skills on another. for example, blast. while fighting a condor I can't blast a warbler, i get a message say I'm already fighting someone else

That's a problem with that particular skill. You can fight one mob and cast spells on another one (like you can blind all 3 mobs in a room but continue fighting the first one).

it doesn't seem fair that a poison of that magnitude 20000 can be cured by one spell. i think poison should be harder to remove the longer it lasts

That's not such a bad idea. There's usually two spells when you talk about poison levels. One is slow poison - which is what you're talking about, and the other is cure poison which is what we have. Cure poison draws out all of the poison whereas slow poison reduces the damage and makes it less-lethal. It might be more interesting to have clericus do a "slow poison" that reduces the time on the poison (so you might have to do it a few times to completely remove it) and give the races both spells, but cure comes later in the game.

a "help parts" that provides a menu containing all the help-file keywords for demon body parts

Beautiful idea.

[Anakin]

make a deposit box, like the bank accounts, only make them like the chests in the game diablo, and i know alot of you know what i'm talking about

For what purpose?

I guess he's talking about something like a stash where we can store some items we don't want to get lost?

[Eviene]

Like if you don't want to accidentally eat something... a heart for instance....

[kiri]

Just so you know, you all are more than welcome to respond here!

[RadicalEd]

my thoughts exactly eviene and anakin. Sometimes you wanna make sure that a certain item is safely packed away, and you have no chance of loosing it (well some) but far less chance of loosing stuff. Plus certain items like stars, souls, memories, boxes..etc are stuff that normally take a while to compile enough and use. Just have the deposit box/stash have a weight limit on it, or maybe increase the weight limits at hero/avatar. Just a thought

[Shonsu]

Make a mule char if ya have somewhere to store stuff so it doesn't get destroyed or lost. It isn't that hard to make a level 51 char.

And as for increases the weight limits for heros. I can see a pfile corruption coming and anyways the only way ya actually get anywhere close to the limit is if ya fill up on white potions.

[Everybody]

I understand the point of deposit boxes, but, imo, it's moderately unnecessary. As a mort, you can simply make a level 2 dwarf that can carry (for the most part) as much as you might want to drop onto them. And as a hero, you have no weight restrictions, so the problem of not being able to carry it is negated. Most imm rewards are also no-burn... provided you don't put them into a separate container. True, this may lead to large inventories, but that's part of the price of being a hero...

[disaster]

the idea of a "stash" comes up every 4-6 months, and has been doing so for over 6 years, probably alot longer. it's been regected every single one of those times, and i see no reason to expect anything different in the future.