Volume Twelve Issue Eleven

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VOLUME TWELVE, NUMBER ELEVEN                            June 08, 2005
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			   TABLE OF CONTENTS

                           The Editor's Note

                         NEWS, REPORTS, UPDATES
                        Mutterings from the Imps
                           Calendar of Events
                             Area Updates
                             Code Updates

                              LEGENDITES
                          Complete The Sentence
                      A Deadly and Adorable Challenge

                               PK FRONT
                   The Mercenaries are Open for Business

                               CLAN NEWS
                           Clan Lazy Forms
                      The Secretives Clan Disbands
                      A new PK clan? Couldn't be...

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/__|                      The Editor's Note                      |__\
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 Don't forget to vote for Legend at all the various Mud ranking 
websites!
The number of people voting has dropped recently, and the higher we are
on these websites, the more newbies we get to introduce to our little
game here.  Just hit up www.legendmud.org/forum and click on those
little buggers and get our ranks back up.  Unfortunately if we don't
do it everyday, we lose ground.  That's all for now!


-Hum4z0r

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/__|                  Mutterings from the Imps                   |__\
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First of all we would like to thanks everyone for the amazing amount of
response from the two major topics we have been toying with and have
posted on the discussion board (PK and Newbie Changes). Keep the 
feedback
coming!

We are still in the throes of investigating fully the ramifications of
all the ideas that have come about as part of this exercise. The
original intention was to implement them all at once, but, after
reviewing and taking into consideration all of the feedback we have
received, we're taking a much more measured approach.

To the newbie end, a number of changes will start slipping in in the 
near
future on the code side. To highlight a few of those:

 o 'Entangle' command will be available to people who learn herblore.
    There will be an initial limitation that those from Arabia who
    learn herblore will not have access to this command.

 o 'Wither' will be changed to be a more newbie-friendly direct damage
   spell.

 o A new create spell, 'Malaise', will be available to young create
   mages that will somewhat mimic the utility of the 'wither' spell
   at lower levels.

 o First-aid will have its requirements lowered slightly and will be
   available at level 2.

 o Basic fighting skills will have their level requirement reduced
   to 2 (from 5).

 o Expert fighting skills will have their level requirement reduced
   to 30 (from 35).

 o A Quest Journal will be added as a new feature. Though originally
   intended as an aid to new players, some quests at all levels of the
   game may take advantage of it.

These changes are not exhaustive. We're continuing to evaluate all of 
the
ideas and suggestions of both players and staff and looking at what we
can implement and when. Builder changes will be part of the next Imp
message.

On the Player Killing front, much of our investigation had originally
centered around figuring out ways to make fights last long enough to
defer chance from dictating the outcomes. Suffice to say we are 
currently
doing a number of code-side evaluations and testing. We have no answers
yet, merely more questions, but expect another, more verbose, update
soon.

On the previous items we had announced a while back (5/10 Legendary 
Times)
we have the following updates:

 o Failed Saves - Most of the new failed save code is in and working
   though we have experienced some strange occurances with auto-
   renting. We are looking into the issues and hope to have them
   resolved soon.

 o New Spells - The regeneration spells that use the new regeneration 
code
   are in the queue to be worked on. There is no ETA on the addition of
   these spells.

 o New Affects - Some items have entered the game using the new
   regeneration code! More will enter the game as areas are installed 
and
   older areas are revised.

 o Bondable Objects - The code behind bondable objects is in and 
working,
   but a spec is still being created as well as modifications to
   identification spells and skills are left to be made. Look for these
   very soon.

 o Post-50 Game - This is still early in the design stages and has had
   to be put on the backburner while other more pressing issues are 
worked
   on. We're looking to install this in about a 4 to 6 month timeframe.

 o Levels in Who - We are currently re-evaluating this decision.

 o New Item Specs - LadyAce has been working hard on new equipment rent
   and value specs and some of this has started to seep its way into
   the game. Expect more in the near future!

This has been and continues to be a very busy time for a great deal of 
the
immortal staff. As life settles down a bit, expect these items to work
their way into the game much more rapidly.

As always, your feedback is welcome and encouraged. Thank you all for
your continued participation in LegendMUD.

Rufus & Sandra
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/__|                LegendMUD Calendar of Events                 |__\
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          [All times are system time unless otherwise specified]

                               June 2005
                          Su Mo Tu We Th Fr Sa
                                    1  2  3  4
                           5  6  7  8  9 10 11
                          12 13 14 15 16 17 18
                          19 20 21 22 23 24 25
                          26 27 28 29 30



Sunday,   June 5th,     7:00 pm        Complete the Sentence with
                                       Chaykin!
Thursday, June 9th,     7:30 pm        Q&A in the OOC Auditorium
Thursday, June 16th,    7:30 pm        Q&A in the OOC Auditorium
Thursday, June 16th,    Post-Q&A       Vorpal Squirrel Challenge with
                                       Chaykin!
Sunday,   June 19th,    7:00 pm        Complete the Sentence with
                                       Chaykin!
Thursday, June 24th,    7:30 pm        Q&A in the OOC Auditorium


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/__|                       Recent Updates                        |__\
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                            Area Updates!

                           <><><><><><><>

Ancient Seas: King Hiram is a bit weaker, and his behavior better
explained.

Carnival: the prize lady should now always give prizes for prize
tickets

Carthage: Temple pendant is now NO_DROP. The Hidden Camp is now 
well-lit.
The Guardian of the Temple of Moloch is tougher than before, and
his rewards changed to match.

Crusades: Assassins will pick on lower level folks a bit more.

Dante's Inferno: The serpent of a twisted nightmare is now agg. 
Furniture
should be more logical to use. Shades have more logical responses. 
Famous
people now know who they are. Pins are now aux. There is now a place to
catch a breath along the Styx. The innkeeper no longer closes and 
sleeps
through the night, but rather is willing to serve at all hours. The
Acheron will no longer send corpses to the Styx. Door/exit problems 
fixed.
Charon and Phlegyas are now more alert. Lucifer has a new toy. The 
boatmen
won't turn agg anymore.

Klein: more guidance and teaching is now available for those intending
to be spellcasters.

Legends of the Past: Malorn will obey skill lag.

Malta: the merchant won't have an endless supply of potions.

OOC: You can now go ooc if you are raging but not fighting.

Pittsburgh: cars and taxi drivers should behave more logically.
The nurse uses skills more appropriate to her time.

Pirates' Den: the healing scroll will repop less often and be NO_RENT

PR: the prize machine has been updated

Romania: Shop doors won't lock you out. Guards in the castle are less
likely to repop while you are mid run.


San Francisco: Presidio doors are now unlockable. Priest won't talk to
entering nonhumans.

Shadowlands: Ferdia has returned, with a new ability to assist those 
who
inquire.

Level recommendations were adjusted in:
Anasazi, Carnival, Dreamtime Australia, Boston, Savanna, Tudor

Assorted minor fixes went in to:
Abbey, Anasazi, Carnival, Dante's Inferno, Legends of the Past,
North Africa, Pittsburgh, Salem, Viking

The following in-progress areas had commits during the last week:
Pittsburgh Expansion, Industrial Hawaii, Tartarus


                         Code Updates

                       <><><><><><><><>

GENERAL

o The chance of having a full round stun when headbutting will be
  influenced by damage.  The harder you can hit, the more chance
  you'll have the possibility of a half round stun.
o You'll only be able to backstab an opponent twice per tick.
o Backstabs will now be possible on paralyzed opponents.
o Backstabbers will now get a message when they should be able
  to stab again.
o Combat skills will have a small dex req.
o Augment will have a small dex req.
o Pick lock will have a higher success rate against stronger locks.
o HP and MANA regen rate increased.
o Begging will change to an everyman skill, it'll no longer require a
practice.
o People with the begging skill will automatically be reimbursed 1
practice.
o Headstand social added.


BUG

o Spells will now check for chant success, valid target, room/fighting
  restrictions, magic sink and binding in that order before the actual
  spell effect is reached.  These checks existed in in other orders for
  some spells, contributing to inconsisent results.  E.g. your spell
  could be absorbed by someone's sink, even if you couldn't cast it on
  them.
o If you stop someone who is using an autorage item, they will begin
  raging with new combat.
o Empathy will no longer take you one over your max hp/mana/mv.
o Disintegrate and restring will no longer randomly drop keywords.
o New overrent model will now work with autorent situations.
o Renting shouldn't cause aligned items to be dropped any longer.

Newbie & Other Changes by Rufus

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/__|  LEGENDITES: Information Regarding the People of Our World  |__\
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             Come And Play... Complete The Sentence!

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If you've been waiting for a fun game to play that doesn't require a 
fast
Google trigger finger or the typing skills of a 49-year-old 
receptionist
with bad hair, we've got something for you!

Complete the Sentence is a game we'll be running twice monthly on 
Sunday
evenings. It's simple! I give the first half of a sentence, and players
try to complete it in the most clever, unique, funny and/or bizarre
way they can think of. Everyone gets time to answer, and the best ones
win points, awarded by the two judges (me, and one guest judge).
Collectors of the most points at the end win prizes!

Come to play, and get your creative juices flowing and your one-liners
zinging. Or just come to watch and laugh yourself silly! Either way,
everyone can have a good time. Sundays at 7 pm system time! Come along
and see what it's all about, will you?


Chaykin

              A Deadly and Adorable Challenge

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Of old, there was a time when the woods outside Tara were prowled by a
creature so vile, so deadly, and so unfathomably cute that countless
newbies fell by their claws, and the citizens knew true terror. This
blight has long since been stamped out, and all that lingers is some 
vague
myth of which the people are only faintly aware. But it's time that a 
new
generation of Legendites came to know and respect this gruesome castoff 
of
the Gods.

That's where the Vorpal Squirrel Challenge comes in. Any brave warrior 
who
dares to answer the call shall come to the Amphitheatre in Aquae Sulis
during the ancient period, not far from where the beasts once reigned.
Here shall be held a competition, where combatants must face off 
against
these abominations, gladiator-style. Any type of character is welcome
(create mages are limited to one servant at a time in the battle with
them), and the object will be to slay as many as possible without 
stopping
or healing.

Think you've got what it takes? Join me on Thursday June 16th right 
after
Q&A (roughly 8:30 pm system time), and make with the hacking and the
slashing! But be warned...while these creatures look adorable, looks
can be deceiving!

See you there!

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/__|                     PK Front                                |__\
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          The Mercenaries Clan formed on May 30, 2005.

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Grendels everywhere are panicking..

So called Lords, nowhere to be found..

Underworld members have locked themselves in their halls..

The Secretives, disbanded...


Word had gotten out, The once great Mercenaries have been reborn.

Uncaring of things like rules and etiquette, they only seek to line

their own pockets with your money. Contracts on people's lives

are now being accepted according to 'help contract';.



Happy to do your dirty work for a small fee, this group will now

negotiate any circumstance pke, and pkok alike.



Please mudmail all inquiries via the following syntax and a Mercenary

Will be in contact with you.

"mail (note) gm mercenaries" with the name of who you'd like to have
killed and a Mercenary will be in contact with you to work out
details.

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/__|                     Clan News                               |__\
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             Clan Lazy Clan formed on May 16, 2005.

              "Maximal yield for minimal energy"

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     the Secretives Clan disbanded on June 2, 2005 by the GM.


            <><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><>


                A new PK clan? Couldn't be...

Greetings, citizens...
I'm testing the waters with this to see where everyone
stands and how much interest there is, since a lot of
you ace PKers are already clanned. *wink*
To keep it short and sweet, I'm looking at a dual-function
clan, meaning that it would be classified as a PK clan, but
also be considered an RP clan. If you have any questions,
comments, or suggestions you can submit them via

http://www.angelfire.com/rebellion2/enfantsterribles/

You can send an e.mail through that site to request details.
There's already a post about this on the news board as well,
and I only need responses from two or three more people before
I will go ahead with forming the clan.
Yours,

   - Santiago, of the House of Terrible Children.

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