The third age of Achaean Newbiedom!

Rispok

Not having taken part in the latest intro as Rispok, this interaction was disturbing. I know it's not a big deal, but it annoyed me.

Rico, the Theran blacksmith says, "Ahh, Rispok! You are the hero who defeated that horrible Orgoraz! What can I do for you?"

You say to Rico, the Theran blacksmith in a monotonous voice, "I never met Orgoraz, nor defeated him.

You say in a monotonous voice, "I'm just here to learn about weapons and armour, I guess. Even though I can forge them myself, and have been doing so for years."

Rico, the Theran blacksmith says, "Nearly all of the weapons and armour you can use are made by adventurers with the Forging skill. You can buy them in shops or directly from the adventurers who make them. You don't usually get them by killing creatures or completing quests, though there are a couple exceptions."

Rico, the Theran blacksmith says, "As a runewarden, your primary weapon will be your sword. You probably received one from the folks who helped you escape the pygmy dungeon. That one should be adequate for now, but those forged by adventurers will be more powerful, so I recommend getting a better one."

Rico, the Theran blacksmith says, "As far as armour, I suggest purchasing some field plate, as well as a tower shield."

Rico, the Theran blacksmith says, "Now, what's important to know is that your weapons and armour don't need to be upgraded as your level increases. The same equipment will serve you just as well whether you are level 20 or level 70."

Rico, the Theran blacksmith says, "If you want more details than what we covered here, you can always read HELP WEAPONS and HELP ARMOUR."

Melodie

All characters who currently exist are assumed to have finished the above storyline.

If you don't know about it, would be worth going through to make a newbie to do it! It's a -little- weird that older characters are assumed to have done it, too, but it's just a thing.

Cooper

Yeah that annoyed me too.

Rispok

I've gone through it several times, it's still silly that no distinction is made. Also... Task 74.

Eld

Is it actually encouraged for newbie knights to bother with shields?

Rispok

Eld said:

Is it actually encouraged for newbie knights to bother with shields?

You can't get duality until level 20, so it doesn't hurt.

Sena

A shield isn't going to make a real difference before level 20 either, no matter how good it is.

Eld

Yeah, that was more my thought. The utility of a shield for the first 20 levels never seemed worth the cost to me; I've certainly never recommended them for novices.

Wysteria

Trying out the trial now (Hashani Rajamalan Alchemist). Enjoying it so far, very balanced, getting quite a bit of gold at a considerable pace and having access to first class-based hunting skill is so much faster and more comfortable now instead of punching everything. Also, Alchemist Educe Iron is a neat skill for the class.

One thing I did notice though, I passed the Death and Dying tasks without dying. If you're Level 10, just walk in and out of Outside the Cave in WI and it registers as a pass. Was this intentional?

ie -

19:12:50 A smattering of clouds fills the sky, lacing it with spiderwebs of grey. A marble statue of a young woman stands beside the highway.
19:12:50 You see exits leading northeast, south, southwest, and northwest.

<walk NE>
19:12:50 700h, 670m, 2396e, 2250w ex-

19:12:51 Outside the Cave (road).
19:12:51 --- Outside the Cave ------------- 1:-4:0 ---

19:12:51 The bright sun shines down, blanketing you with its life-giving warmth. A sigil in the shape of a small, rectangular monolith is on the ground. There are 3 elegant white letters here. Mizik Corten, Herald of Ruin is here. He wields an assassin's dirk in his left hand and an iron-tipped whip in his right.

19:12:51 You see exits leading southwest and northwest.

19:12:51 *** Congratulations, you've just completed the Death and Dying task! ***

Sena

Wysteria said:

One thing I did notice though, I passed the Death and Dying tasks without dying. If you're Level 10, just walk in and out of Outside the Cave in WI and it registers as a pass. Was this intentional?

That seems like a bug, but you can also complete the task just by reading HELP DEATH.

Kei

Correct me if I'm wrong, but do iconic shards still drop from novice-level denizens (imps, pixies, rats, etc.)? I either see a lot of asking about what to do with a shard or they stick out in my head a lot...

If they do still drop, would it be too much to ask that they either no longer drop, or, if this isn't planned to be rolled into the city tasks that Tecton says are coming, have a short task that pops up when you pick a shard up that explains what they are in brief? Just seems like a weird mechanic to introduce to someone potentially very early that they won't even be able to interact with (mostly) until months later.

Sena

I saw a few shards laying around the newbie areas, so I assume they do drop there.

Wysteria

They do. I picked up a few just then from the Pixie Queen. I think it is fair to keep them as is. That House / City interaction is a good way to train them up in the maintenance of an Icon (if applicable). The novices we have that get them at least feel like they're helping when they dump shards on a senior in the House. Every bit counts after all.

Oceana

Eld said:

Is it actually encouraged for newbie knights to bother with shields?

Now I read this I remembered: Rico the Blacksmith told my druid newbie a kite shield would be good. I usually suggest they go for quarterstaff in Groves.

Thrain

This trial is much more enjoyable that the previous trial, can't wait to finish it and enjoy the rest of the world

Nieelensars

The only issue I've had so far was the fact that an Occultist taught my Magi Elementalism. Based on RP wise that makes NO sense whatso-ever. I know they're more than likely doing that because of the Multi-classes coming out but either way. Oh, and a Monk refilling my vial doesn't make any sense either. But maybe those are just my thoughts.

Kyrra

Maybe he's got a tun in his backpack!

Sena

I also thought it was strange when I was being helped by a runewarden and a bard, and it was the runewarden teaching me swashbuckling.

Skye

Kyrra said:

Maybe he's got a tun in his backpack!

He doesn't fill it to full, he probably just emptied his leftovers into your vial.

Melodie

In the future, it might not be so weird with multi-classing!

Nieelensars

Melodie said:

In the future, it might not be so weird with multi-classing!

Yeah thats what I figured Melodie, but still not sure its a good idea mixing Occultism with Elementalism. Because thats just messing up RP lines majorly.

Bluef

Nieelensars said:

Melodie said:

In the future, it might not be so weird with multi-classing!

Yeah thats what I figured Melodie, but still not sure its a good idea mixing Occultism with Elementalism. Because thats just messing up RP lines majorly.

Agreed @Nieelensars. While I understand how this may all eventually fit together, right now this new trial and its effects feel like a horrible violation of roleplay immersion. We suddenly need to pretend - when we're already pretending  to be a character in a game  - we lived through experiences IC we didn't. 

I don't like it.

I also don't like the mixture of classes at the start of the intros. In many cases, it disregards existing roleplay, which is not something that will just be 'undone' by the new system, no matter who much anyone may wish it to be.

Sure, maybe it'll all flesh out when it is said and done and multiclassing goes in. But then again, when Guilds died out and Houses were born, they were supposed to be a great new addition intended to give players more freedom to class abilities. Those of who have been playing long enough recall how that worked out in some cases, especially early on.

I guess my point is: Just because you build it, doesn't mean they'll come. Some of us have been playing this game for over a decade and have invested a lot of time, labour, and real-life money in our roleplay stories. Personally, I don't like it when that investment is trifled with and I have to meta through moments that should be at this point, after 500+ real-life days of IC game play, second nature. 

Tecton

Guys, remember that house and city tutors, as well as general tutors like Tyrandiel, have taught the skills of multiple different classes for a long time. Many of them, house tutors especially, are clearly part of one class or another. Some don't appear to be part of any class, yet they can teach almost any class. Being able to teach a wide variety of skills is just a trait that some denizens have. It makes sense that some of these denizens would be those who go out and help newbies.

Regarding the fact that you have newbie tasks checked off already and the implication that all players have now defeated Orgoraz (as Rispok and a couple other people mentioned), we did consider what was best, but there isn't a perfect solution. We've taken the flavour text out of Rico's spiel, so he no longer assumes you've been a part of the pygmy/cultist adventure. Unfortunately we can't have separate tasks for different players. The choice was either check off all the tasks for older players, or leave them there as unachievable achievements. I'll see what I can do about blocking the tasks from your list, though, so it will be as if they aren't even there!

Jhaeli

Averi said:

I've always associated Azon and Xanatov with Hashan/Ashtan though. Esp Azon. And not Cyrene.  Etienne/Alexandrian/Ashaela seem more cyrenian based

Just a note - I'm pretty sure Xanatov started in Cyrene (with Mayapple? Am I remembering that right?) and Etienne and Ashaela at the very least are more recent names. (Or at least relatively so. Etienne started with Elora and Metzger, I think, and - ironically - I'm pretty sure the line is descended from some Alexandrians.) I can't remember the history to Azon, though.

I know, silly information to know when our bloodlines are so mixed, but I do remember certain family names carrying more weight when I was a younger player and there's some interesting history to be found in them. Seems funny to think of "Etienne" being a Cyrenian family when I remember it being started.

/end tangent

Xith

The Gods do put in a lot of work with this stuff.

But in the vast stretches of stasis between major changes, I still have to assume this is all that happens behind the scenes:

Kei

@Xith If only Scarlatti would do that for real...or Vastar. Or Aurora. Or Ourania. Or....

...okay, yeah, they all look pretty damn fine and Kei would swoon over almost any of them. And probably die from a heartattack if they all did it at once.

End creepy stalker Kei. I totally don't have nudes that I drew. Nuh-uh. And i totally didn't draw them. (End creepy stalker joke almost always made in poor taste )

Rangor

Hi

After killing a pygmy with firelash I ran out of mana. I had to meditate for like a minute to get my mana back. Good idea to speed up mana/health recovery from sleep/meditate so the newbies don't get bored while waiting.

Rangor

Newbie store is poorly stocked, should be NPC run with very reasonable curatives for the littles ones.

Averi

@jhaeli

Didn't know that!  That's cool! Thanks for sharing!

Kei

@Rangor You mean The Wolves' Den, just outside of Minia, that I swear was always a Druid shop years ago?

(I remember Kei interviewing to join the Druids in that very shop, though. Memories~)