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...../ Celebrating / /./ /./ /./ /.../ /./ /
..../ our 11th year /_/..\______/./_____/./__/.../__/./_______/ MUD
.../________________/ running on mud.legendmud.org 9999
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VOLUME TWELVE, NUMBER EIGHTEEN November 3, 2005
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TABLE OF CONTENTS

The Editor's Note
Shadowlands Part 2 Installed!
LegendMUD Calendar of Events

RECENT UPDATES
Mutterings from the Imp
Area Updates
Code Updates

The Halloween Games

Ask the Imps

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/__| The Editor's Note |__\
'-------------------------------------------------------------'

We've had an exciting last couple of weeks here at Legend, I hope you
were able to make it for some of it. We introduced a new Halloween game
that met with rave reviews (see article below). Not only that, but the
article just below this particular editorial should make a lot of
people
very happy. We have more and more exciting things on track as well. One
of
them, in case you haven't been keeping up with current events is an
attempt by Rufus to improve PKill by lengthening the fights, and that
should be around in the next couple of weeks.

So hop on by, check out the welcome board, discussion board, the Q&A
logs
on the website, and the forums at www.legendmud.org/forums.

Keep on truckin, Huma

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/__| Shadowlands Part 2 Installed! |__\
'-------------------------------------------------------------'

Shadowland expansion was installed on Tuesday, November 2nd at
5 pm system time! Please see welcome board for more details:

Welcome Board:
(49) Rufus Shadowlands Expansion (SL2) 11/01 [2 appends]

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/__| LegendMUD Calendar of Events |__\
'-------------------------------------------------------------'

November 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

Wednesday, November 3th, 7:30 pm Q&A in the OOC Auditorium
Wednesday, November 9th, 7:30 pm Q&A in the OOC Auditorium
Sunday, November 13th, 7:00 pm Complete the Sentence with
Chaykin
Wednesday, November 16th, 7:30 pm Q&A in the OOC Auditorium
Wednesday, November 23th, 7:30 pm Q&A in the OOC Auditorium
Sunday, November 27th, 7:00 pm Complete the Sentence with
Chaykin
Wednesday, November 30st, 7:30 pm Q&A in the OOC Auditorium

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/__| Recent Updates |__\
'-------------------------------------------------------------'

Mutterings from the Imps

-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

Another holiday come and gone. We do hope you enjoyed the Halloween
game that Lenore and Chaykin created for this year's celebration. From
all reports, this game seems to have been a hit with just about
everyone who had a chance to take part. It even spurred us to our
highest mortal turnout in over a year! Kudos to both Lenore and
Chaykin for their efforts. We know we had a blast playing, but this
was one of the coolest, most original ideas we've seen in a long time.
Congrats!

And of course, which should also be mentioned more fully in this
issue, we would like to give a hearty welcome to Mertjai, our newest
admin immortal.

We hated to do it, but we needed to delay the install of the PK damage
code. After reviewing the current backstab formulas and code, we're
going to install it as-is and we'll work off of the feedback we
receive.

The install date for the new PK damage code goes into effect on
11/4/05. Again, we have to reiterate that this is certainly not the
solution to all of the problems. It is merely a step to allow us to
collect more information. Please be patient and help us work out the
kinks in the PK system. We know it's been a long time coming, but
we're starting to narrow in on some of the bigger issues. We have a
long road ahead of us, but at this point, it seems infinitely
attainable that the PK system will be more fun for more people in the
somewhat-near future.

Okay, how's that for vague and cheerleader-ish? We'll try not to do
that in the future.

So that moves us to a few other things -- namely PKOK, PKE and clans.
There are so many ideas, and so many of those good, out there that
we're still in the early stages of determining a direction for this.
Since players are the sole consumer of the PKOK, PKE, and clanned
goods, we're going to hint at setting up a summit or ongoing council
of players and imms to help discover, assess and come to some things
to try to alleviate problems and change these systems into being
things people want to use. Since this note will come as a surprise to
many, let's call it in the early stages. It's something we've
discussed doing for the last 6 months or so, but I really want to see
this move forward. So watch over the next couple of months or so for
calls for volunteers. We'll try to think of a good system for
organized input beyond the current channels. Not promsing magic at
this point, though!

So on to the infamous bulleted list of the mutterings:

o Era Experience. Era experience is now under full development.
Snapper is hard at work laying the groundwork to start final
implementation.

o New spells for creates. Imps have found their way into Legend and
we hope you like them. We have plans for different types of
familiars in the future. We are continuing to tweak and test
the 'Spectral Guardian' spell. Look for it soon!

o Stat Swapping. These acts are done but we're looking for a good
place to put them in game. Testing is still ongoing, but they
should be in soon. We do know, though, that you will have to have
completed all of the +3 stat quests in the game. You need not
complete any of the others, but the quests that give +3 to each
stat will be required.

o Forgetting your profession. The groundwork has been set for
the ability for any character to change their entire profession.
What does this mean? This means at some point in the future you'll
be able to forget ALL of your skills and start anew. There will
be a cost associated with this, and you will not be able to
change your hometown. We're still working out the details, but
this is something that's coming down the pike.

o Areas! Dartmoor is getting close and Hawaii is starting to be
fleshed out. The Silk Road has undergone a flurry of development.
These are areas we are really excited to see.

Until next time, the communication lines are open.

Sandra and Rufus

Area Updates
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

Alhambra: You'll now have a chance to 'dodge' the bandits' trip act.

Bengal/Seoni: Housing is now available. Dying in the middle of the
Seoni
Jungle quest will no longer set you back to the beginning. Bees will
not
repop infinitely.

Beowulf: Disguises are now available. Bug in skyblade quest fixed -- if
you tried to do it and got stuck half-way through, please give it
another
go.

Legends of the Past: Arturo's amazing no-skill-lag bash is no more.

Greece: Erythra now accepts other trophy items.

Tartarus: Complete new quest in Tartarus! Players might be interested
in
discovering Orpheus' stories.

Some minor changes to how mobs deliver specialized damage. You may
notice a small fluctuation but nothing major.

The following areas had small fixes completed this week:
Dreamtime Australia, Tartarus, Dante's Inferno, Salem, Sherwood,
Tartarus,
Tudor, Med. Seas

The following in-progress areas saw commits this week:
Dartmoor, Medieval Japan, SL2, Silk Road, Tombstone, Industrial Hawaii

In addition, changes were made in area files which cooperate with the
code:

- Mob acts were tweaked for the create familiar spell.
- A homunculus will rem all/drop all when they leave (unless you
dismiss
them)
- Mobs which heal players will obey the pk healing code.

Code Updates
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

GENERAL

o Heals that are truncated for PK dam are still charged old
mana value.
o cc line for notes will now be 240 characters.
o Posting a note will still leave a copy in your inventory.
o You can now get a status on your charmies by typing 'status
charmname'
(ex: status angel) you can only get the status on charmies that are
charmed to you.
o Corrosive death's acid burn will obey pk damage modifiers.
o New spell: familiar (help file in place)
o Poison affect will obey pk damage modifier.
o If you WFW stun your opponent, you will once again be able
to do other spells/skills/actions while they are WFW'd.
o Lag on assist reduced
o Lag on repair, mend and trueform reduced
o 'Make Bandage' will always make a roll of bandages, never a single
bandage
o 'Make Bandage' will make a number of bandages in the roll based on
the
size of the object. Each player-created bandage roll should have
between
4 and 24 bandages. (Note: Roll has not been altered yet)

BUG

o Crashing bug fixed.
o gtells will only be sent to afk if the person receiving the
message is afk.
o Should no longer be able to kick your familiars
o Fixed comma->period problem in dazed affects

___ ___
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/__| LEGENDITES: Information Regarding the People of Our World |__\
'-------------------------------------------------------------'

The Halloween Game
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

On October 31, 2005 a new yet strangely familiar kind of evil took
over
Legend for the day. Thanks to Lenore and Chaykin, eight of the silver
screen's most feared horror villains were set loose upon the
unsuspecting, and delighted citizens of Legend. After agreeing to
participate by speaking with the Crypt Keeper, folks scoured the mud
looking for the various secret entrances to the haunted houses that
housed the evil denizens. The nine antagonists lying in wait were:

Norman Bates of Psycho
Dr Vannacutt of House on Haunted Hill
Reverend Kane of Poltergeist
Jack Torrence of The Shining
Dr. Hannibal Lecter of Silence of the Lambs
Jaws of Jaws
The Living Dead of Dawn of the Dead
Carrie White of Carrie
Regan of The Exorcist

The rewards were varied and rich and the game was so fun it led to our
highest number of people online in quite awhile. A big pat on the back
goes out to Lenore and Chaykin for making this great game possible and
to
those who participated and made it a very fun day.

Those brave souls who dared to defeat all 9 monsters were:
Amducious Fry Sammi
Chunk Kastina Sanji
Darktalon Korgan Shingen
Dusana Krista Spanish-Flea
Ephiany Life Star
Fayline Mariachi Trousers
Ford Ozurr Tuco
Fry Reaver Zqua

* * *

Ask the Imps: Backstab and Weapons
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

Dear Imps,

I have heard rumors of backstab damage being not so influenced on
weight of the weapon. Is there any truth to this?

Does a 6kg weapon do very similar backstab damage as apposed to an
8kg? If not, why?

If weight of the dagger doesnt influence backstab damage, this would
leave a lot more options for dex/perc fighters. Currently, if you run
with a sure shot, your options are limited to what weapon you use... I
see 1 choice, the katar.. while another choice being the magic bone
(both of which are 8kg) is not very productive vs the katar.

I figure if I am going to use a gun, it might as well be the biggest
baddest q5 gun I can find, though I have also heard rumors from
LadyAce during a qna session that there are 2 q5 guns in game, the
other I have yet to armslore or find...

Though the same person can use a 2 handed bow, yes I understand
balance etc, with a 2handed 8kg weapon or higher... Also, strangely
enough, I have seen players use a 17-18kg sword with a sure shot..
this boggles my mind... Since they cant use the 8-9kg dagger with it,
but they can use their sword... Comments?

Sincerely,

Stabbed in the Back While Shooting

* * *

Dear Stabbed in the Back While Shooting,

To answer your first question, it's sort-of yes and sort-of no. A
weapon's weight helps determine the maximum damage of a weapon, and
that maximum damage is used in determining the damage of a backstab.

For example, an 8kg dagger, which are usually 9 maximum damage, will
do more backstab damage than a 5kg dagger, which usually has a maximum
damage of 6. To say an 8kg dagger will always out-damage a 5kg dagger
is mostly true, but there are instances of daggers that weigh more
than their maximum damage. An 8kg dagger with a 6 maximum damage will
do the same damage as an 5kg dagger with a 6 maximum damage.

Only about a third of backstab damage or so is based on the actual
weight of the weapon (it's actually a little bit less than that). The
larger determining factors are level and perception.

As to your other points, when you start getting into the mysterious
world of 'hold slots' ("worn as shield", "hold" and "wield"), there
are a number of factors which influence how many things you can hold
(1, 2, or 3). Most of this is determined not by weights but by the
size of the items, which is a number that is thus far relatively
hidden to the players.

Oddly, the total overall size of items you can hold is determined by a
combination of strength and constitution (and a somewhat complex
formula surrounding their combination). This is why you see people
holding a number of items when they have higher strength (or
constitution). Dexterity, which seems like the logical choice, is what
actually determines how many items and the size of those items you can
have in your inventory.

So yes, trying to get the best backstab weapon in the game (or one of
the best) plus having the best projectile weapon in the game means it
greatly limits your choices.

Now we could try to justify this visible discrepancy between
high-weight
weapons and low-weight daggers and the ability to use such a thing as
a sure shot by saying that the dagger has more real-estate in the
handle area because of how's it been used, but frankly, I'd be talking
out of my backside. There are rough guidelines on size, but they aren't
as deterministic as weight, quality, damage, and myriad other factors
of weapons and other items.

Size is something we have on the backburner to look at after we work
on a few other areas in the game that currently need more attention,
but backstab, being the extremely-damaging skill it is, plus all of
the effects of a 5-quality have to have some limiting factors when
compared to those who have weapons that don't get high-damage special
attacks (such as backstab).

As to the other q5 gun in the game... well, we can't tell you that!
Good luck in your searches!

The Imps

** Ask the Imps is a new LT column where the imps answer your
** questions about the game. Miss a Q&A? Curious as to what this
** or that does? The imps might be able to answer your questions!
** Submit your questions to askimps@legendmud.org. Names will be
** withheld unless you otherwise specify.

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The Legendary Times is published by the immortals of LegendMUD.
Please send replies, additions, or corrections to lt@legendmud.org for
inclusion in the next issue. All subscription options are handled at:
www.legendmud.org/lists/listinfo/legendarytimes and submissions at:
www.legendmud.org/Community/ltsubmission.php. For RP submissions,
copyright ownership remains with the author. We do reserve the right
to moderate the forum and edit or reject any submission.
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Volume Twelve Issue Eighteen - Revision history

Mertjai: Created page with " =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= .............._______ ............./ / THE LEGENDARY TIMES ............/..."