JadedDM wrote:What is it about online games you don't like?
It's not that I don't like them, but due to time constraints it comes down to making a choice between spending time playing games or visiting my various hobby message boards and Facebook pages. I choose the latter.
One nice change of pace about this game as opposed to playing offline AD&D is that you don't have to go through the process of identifying magic weapons and knowing what their bonuses are.
RPG Dinosaur wrote:One nice change of pace about this game as opposed to playing offline AD&D is that you don't have to go through the process of identifying magic weapons and knowing what their bonuses are.
You do to some extent. There's a skill in the game called Lore, and you can use it to identify some items for free. But otherwise, you need to have them identified either with a spell, a Potion of Lore, or by taking them to a shop and identifying them for 100 GP.
So I logged on and to my surprise, I was where I left off and still had my two hirelings with me. Usually when I log on, all hirelings are gone and I'm back at the starter tavern. So I decided to head out right away, and try heading south, past Len's farm, and see what I could find.
So the area south of the area south of Elspir is called the Southwestern Bryn region. (I really need to start drawing up a map for my own use.) Anyway, there wasn't a whole lot in the area. I encountered a few gnolls at a camp, where some poor human had been nailed to a tree. I discovered a path leading to something called the Old Cemetery. I decided to avoid it, since rogues aren't great against undead (I think sneak attack doesn't work against them). There were a few giant spiders. I also met a teamster, who offered rides to various towns. I declined, though, because I wanted to explore for now. But that might be useful down the line when I'm more interested in the destination, instead of the journey.
So with not much else there, I decided to try going even further south, to an area called Southern Bryn. I had only explored a small portion of it when I came across a small settlement. A man there, named Mestrel Salis the III asked us to take care of some wolves that were threatening his livestock. He warned that the pack leader was unusually large.
So we follow his directions, and eventually find the wolf pack. And that's when things started going south. First, the stronger of my two hirelings, Ardun, got stuck on some trees. So when the fight started, Horrn rushed forward alone. Consequently, he went down fairly quickly. I ran back to Ardun and he managed to get unstuck, but the pack leader, a dire wolf, tore into him. Even working together, we only got it down to 'slightly wounded' before Ardun fell. Then it took me down, too.
Rather than panic, I decided to wait and see if I would stabilize, as well as my hirelings. Horrn came back first, and then was immediately killed by the dire wolf. Ardun came next, and the same thing happened to him. When I revived, I downed a potion and went into stealth and tried to sneak away. But the wolf saw right through it and attacked, killing me for real this time. So that was death #7.
In the afterlife, I didn't want to lose half my gold and XP, so I downed a potion of Aid and a potion of Barkskin and respawned where I died, hoping I could run away before the dire wolf could kill me again.
I failed. So that was death #8.
So I had no choice. I respawned back in Elspir, losing half my gold and XP in the process. I now have two lives left. Despite praying to Sol twice a day, this has not changed. It's becoming increasingly clear Trini won't make it to level 6 at this rate.
Welp, we'll see what happens, I guess. It might be awhile before I venture that far from Elspir again, though.
So first I find myself back at the tavern again, but as I'm leaving, I notice something strange. NPCs are fighting! Not just fighting, they are killing each other. I'm not sure what started it, or if they are programmed to 'bar brawl' now and again, but several NPCs were killing each other. I picked up a gem off the corpse of one when they were finished.
Anyway, today I decided to revisit the Elspir Mines. Haven't been down there in awhile, and never made it very far last time. But this time I'm level 5 and I'm not going alone. First, I recruit Korrd the Ranger again, because he was just really useful last time. I also grab Horrn and Austral to see if they were working now, as Cole had said. And they were. Horrn was now a dual-wielder, using mace and pick. Austral was also dual-wielding his hammers, but I unequipped one of them, because he got penalties to attack otherwise.
I figured with these strapping lads, I would be alright. Hmm, come to think of it, they are all lads, aren't they? I haven't seen a single female hireling yet in the game. Anyway, we head down into the first level of the mine. I try and explore the entire map this time. Mostly we just encounter rats, beetles and stirges. At one point, in the far southeast corner, I find a hidden trapdoor. But it doesn't go anywhere. Clicking on it opens the door, but I couldn't go in it. Later, I found the actual vertical shaft leading to the second floor, but had the same problem. Clicking on it wouldn't actually do anything. Maybe the second level isn't done yet?
Aside from that, the most interesting thing I found down there was a basilisk. Luckily, it failed to petrify anyone and when we killed it, we got some nice XP and found a chest with 315 GP in it.
Since I couldn't access level 2, if there is indeed a level 2, I went back up to town to check out Elspir's new Trade Skills Learning Center. It seems to have everything needed for crafting. I didn't spend a lot of time there today, but I did learn I can craft my own traps. I can use those quartz crystals I found in the mines to make electric traps, but only if I can roll a 19 or higher on a 1d20. So that will take some practice. Maybe later, I can figure out how to use those curing tubs with my animal hides.
So that being done, I decided to head north again. But when I came across the temple and the graveyard (careful to avoid the corpse wagon this time), I noticed something I had missed before. A small mausoleum, locked. As a rogue, that was no issue, so I unlocked it and entered what was called the Undercroft. As expected, it was full of undead. Mostly zombies and some ghouls. As expected, my sneak attack was ineffective against them, but at least I had a cleric who could turn them. I mean, he could have. He didn't. Actually, he wound up dying. Well, he was only level 2. At least I still had Korrd and Horrn with me.
Exploring the level, I found a large chamber with a sarcophagus on it, guarded by some kind of skeletal creature known as the Bone Collector. We managed to defeat it, and it was carrying a magic hammer (+1), which I'll probably sell later. I tried opening the sarcophagus, but nothing happened. The 'perform an action' icon would appear in my queue, but I wouldn't actually do anything. Well, I still got a magic hammer, so that's something.
Eventually I found an opening to a lower level. It was a single but large room, some kind of summoning chamber. A fire elemental lurked there. We managed to kill it, but there was no loot found.
At some point I did find a key, but I couldn't figure out where it went. Unless it was for the front door that I picked? I guess...if I ever want to come back and don't want to pick the lock, maybe? Or maybe it was for a quest I hadn't activated. I don't know.
Regardless, I made a little XP and GP. Not sure it was enough to make up for that last death, but at least I didn't die this time. So that's progress in my book.
It started like any other day, with me spawning in the tavern. I hired Korrd for 300 gold, and the two of us headed north of Elspir. Last time I was here, I saw there were two paths to take. One led southwest to the Road to Ekothia, while the other led northwest to the Far Western Region. I decided to try the Road to Ekothia first.
The area was desert like, and kind of eerie. We ran into a thri-keen, and managed to kill it, but I noticed boulders kept falling off a nearby mountain and landing on Korrd. Some kind of trap or something? I get closer and realize no, that's not it. It's an Ettin! It's standing on the top of a slope, throwing boulders. Unfortunately, Korrd's AI isn't smart enough for him to turn the corner and run up the ramp, so he just stands there, trying to walk through the mountain and getting hit by boulders. (In retrospect, I should have changed his weapon over to his bow, but I didn't think about it until afterward.) In order to save him, I start shooting at the ettin. But, this causes it to turn and start throwing rocks at me. And then, Korrd suddenly turns on his heel and runs the other way...to fight another thri-keen!
Long story short, by consuming a lot of healing potions, I manage to kill the ettin and then help Korrd finish off the thri-keen. We made some really good XP, but both of us are near death. I decide continuing on is probably too risky, so we retreat to the entrance of the zone, rest, and then decide to take the other path, up to the Far Western Region.
The Far Western Region is kind of a big valley, and a perfect ambush spot. And it is covered in bandits. Luckily, they weren't hostile. At least, not at first. Their leader approached me and asked for a toll to pass through to the next area. It was only 5 GP, so why not? But I think it bugged out a bit. As I crossed the valley, I started getting glitchy messages...something about dividing by zero? I made it to the other end of the valley, but there was nowhere to go (guess that area isn't done yet). So I started heading back the way I came. The bandit leader creepily followed us the whole way.
I'm not sure what happened. If Korrd somehow provoked them or if they just turned hostile on their own, but before I knew it, the bandits were all red (hostile) and started shooting at us. We took out a few, then made a run for the exit, just barely making it out alive. Once out of the zone, we rested up. I realized I was really close to level 6. Way closer than I thought. So we went back in to pick off a few more.
Strangely, when we returned to the Far Western Region, the bandits were...gone. I explored around and found a small area in a forested section where they had some kind of camp. There were four of them there. We got into a fight, and two of them broke off to fight me. We managed to kill a couple, but ultimately both Korrd and myself died. So that was death #9. Luckily by that point, both of the remaining bandits were almost dead. So I gulped a potion of Bless and another one of Barkskin, respawned, and took them out. I found a short bow +1 in one of their chests, which I already have, but hey, I can sell that for some decent gold. I also found a couple of horses. One was nearly dead, but one was healthy, so I mounted it and decided to ride back to town.
However, on my way back, I ran into the bandit leader again. I started to ride away, and noticed all the missing bandits had suddenly returned, and they all started shooting at me. I had the horse, though, so I was able to escape to the previous area again. But to my surprise, the bandit leader followed me. Well, remember I said I was close to leveling up, right? So since it was just him, I just rode a short distance, took a shot at him, then rode a short distance again, and so on. He couldn't keep up and he couldn't get close enough to hit me. He drank a couple of healing potions, but eventually ran out and I killed him. It took awhile, though. He had a +1 spear on him, so I can sell that, too.
Once he was dead, I killed those three zombies near the church again, and that was enough to get me to level 6. I took the Stealthy feat.
So I leveled up, and got some good loot. But, I am mortal now. My next death--barring literal divine intervention--will be my last. Funny thing is, I'm not sure where to go next. I feel like I'm too strong to fight anything nearby, but too weak to go beyond where I've already been. Well, maybe I can start working on that crafting stuff now.
Yeah, just added that bandit area last night, had a few bugs, but it's fixed now (i hope) That's the area we are expanding west.. 90% of the areas are found off the South road leaving Elspir. The "Far West Region" will soon lead into another region and then into "Barnweal", which is the border town between "Bryn" and "Borme" and that will lead to "Westwood" which is already built and explorable. Till then, most of the areas you want to see Jaded are down the south road. Hundreds of areas! including the capital city of Agoria. (yes back towards the farmlands.... just keep following the roads
CON DEATH is not currently being enforced during beta stages, so you technically can die forever suffering just normal penalties, however you will be in "Hels" servitude for eternity which will have consequences later on. This has been turned off because we are all semi playing / testing and a ton of PC's are already past their CON counter limits (including mine). Some players are very good though and I've noticed a few have very low CON counters considering their level/time played. Always pray
I learned something neat. If you are mounted on a wild horse when the server resets, you will still have it when you log in next time. So I had still had my horse. I rode east to Stonecall to try out that hireling there. He was a half-dwarf barbarian 7/fighter 1, named Mulk and he cost 500 GP but I talked him down to 400. Unfortunately, I had to turn off the game shortly after that because some real life stuff came up, and when I returned, the server had reset again, so I had lost Mulk. So that was gold down the drain. But I still had my horse.
So I went to the fighter's guild and picked up Horrn and Ardun again. Hopefully they'll prove sufficient to keep me alive (Spoiler: They don't). I decide to try and find another town. I know there's one out there somewhere, I've just yet to come across it. I mean a real town, like Elspir, not a little village like Stonecall. So I head south, then east, and find myself in Bryn's southeastern region (I think? Or maybe it was Bryn's south central region or something like that). I'm exploring the map, trying to figure out which way to the next town, and ride right into three ogres. They just kill my companions in seconds, and I ride around pelting them with arrows, taking them down one by one, until only one remains. But he manages to catch up and kill me just as I kill him, so that's death #10.
But wait, I find I can still respawn! I guess I misunderstood. I have a CON of 10, so I don't have 10 lives, I have 10 respawns. Which means technically I have 11 lives.
So I return to the ogre camp, loot it and try to figure out what to do next. My companions are dead, so it's not really safe for me to continue on. I decide it would be smarter to retreat back to town. I ride around the area, looking for a way back to the exit. The map is kind of a maze of hills and forests, so it takes some doing. I enter a clearing and out of nowhere, a bulette burrows out from beneath me and one shots me. That's it, death #11.
Trini is now trapped with Hel for eternity, with her horse. I could make a deal with her (Hel, not the horse), but that would be wildly out of character. Guess praying multiple times a day wasn't too helpful after all. What's the actual odds of that working, anyway? Well, I never had good luck with rolls anyway.
So that's the end of Trini's adventures in the mortal world. Thank you all for reading.
The "actual" odds of your god hearing your prayers and granting you an extra CON counter is 90%. (10% chance of success).
So if you log in with Triniti (while in Niflheim) still, you can always still pray there and try in get that CON counter bonus once per server reset. Which is usually every 24 hours or more pending on me patching
Cole wrote:So if you log in with Triniti (while in Niflheim) still, you can always still pray there and try in get that CON counter bonus once per server reset. Which is usually every 24 hours or more pending on me patching
I tried doing that today, but she was gone. Deleted, perhaps?
Also, I tried rolling a new character, but I couldn't get in. It says I don't have certain .haks. Were new ones added recently?
Trini awoke suddenly back at the inn, in her old room, wearing the white death robes. How did she get back here? Was that all a dream? Or did the gods, in their infinite mercy and wisdom, allow her to come back?
Perhaps she would never know. Quickly getting up and getting dressed, she stepped out into the familiar common room. But it wasn't exactly the same. The dancer was gone now, and she could only feel that was an improvement. Stepping outside, she felt the rain again and once more breathed in fresh air.
So many possibilities remained before her. Where would she go? What would she do? Should she start again, in mapping out the land? Should she try and reach the next town, as she had before? First, though, she'll need supplies. She steps into the bank and...
...finds herself back in Niflheim! Noooo! Was this all an elaborate ruse, a mind-game to entertain Hel, or was the months spent in the afterlife causing her to lose her mind? What is real and what is illusion?!?!
No, but seriously, is that a bug or something? I didn't die, I just walked into the bank and was suddenly teleported back to Niflheim. And now I'm stuck there again.
After waking from a terrible nightmare where she died and was stuck in Hel forever, tormented by false visions from Loki, Trini was glad to find herself still alive on the mortal realm. After taking some time to get her bearings again, she hired Horrn and Ardun and found a job to rescue a little girl from bandits. This was a new quest, or at least one I hadn't done yet. Unfortunately, the wording was a little vague. It said the bandits had likely taken the girl 'west.' But there is no western path in Elspir, so did they mean northwest or southwest?
I headed south, into the farmlands, and then still couldn't find a westward path, so headed south again into the Southwestern Region of Bryn and ran into the same problem. By this point, Korrd had died (I really should stop hiring him; he's only level 2, poor lad) and I realized it was probably northwest then. I think I remember seeing bandits there before, so probably the same ones. I returned to town and called it a night. Next time, I'll try heading north.
I really should start mapping this place out for future reference. Below is what I have so far, at least.
Elspir
|
Farmlands
|
Bryn (Southwestern Region)
I didn't get much loot, but I did get some XP from fighting goblins and wild animals like bears, lions and cougars. More importantly, I didn't die. In fact, I didn't take a single point of damage. So I'll take that as an omen for future adventures for Trini.
I double checked that quest, it says "Last seen in Western Bryn" not west. Western Bryn is actually out the North end of Elspir. I really need to get my map posted... I'm working on it
Yeah me to! I enjoy the log. Hopefully she's past the stumbling block of Hel now and can carry on.
Warning Trini: Cause and effect in place. Because myself and testers voted to remove the ultimate death penalty of being stuck in Neflheim, there had to be some sort of punishment still towards those who die to often and frustrate their god. So we implemented the XP death penalty in these instances which now takes ALL of your XP back down to the beginning of the PC's current level.
So beware... you are FORCED to play smart now. Don't take huge risks when your nearing level up time, or poof! Your back to the beginning. In case you are confused.. here is an example;
If you are at 8th level (and have run out of souls to burn) IE the CON tally... and have (let's say) 34,800 xp and you die... then you go back to the beginning of 8th level and start adventuring again at 28,000 XP.
We voted on this because it forces people to play properly and wisely (like in PnP), yet still allows continued play. So enjoy and keep posting. I'll keep building, testers will keep testing and soon we'll start promoting Arkuth and see if we can drum up a good group of dedicated folks
including the capital city of Agoria. (yes back towards the farmlands.... just keep following the roads 
