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| 8/30/2005 | AWESOME AUGUST: PHASE IMPROVEMENTS! |
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The long-awaited Phase improvements are live! Please feel free to share any comments or suggestions in the Sorcerer Spells topic of the Sorcerer category of the message boards. The updated spell description is included below.
Phase (704) Mnemonic: PHASE Duration: See Below Type: Utility Casting phase will momentarily cause some portals to "fade" from existence, allowing the Sorcerer to pass through them briefly. Using CHANNEL on a container allows the sorcerer to reach into closed containers and possibly remove an item. When cast at a non-corporeal creature, the Phase spell will turn it into a corporeal creature for 20 seconds + 3 seconds per warding failure. If cast at a creature with the ability to phase out of existence (banshees & Ithzir, for example) it will be prevented from doing so for the duration of 20 seconds + 3 seconds per warding failure. This only applies to creatures with unnatural hiding ability. Creatures with "natural" hiding abilities like forest bendiths will not be prevented from hiding while under the effects of phase. Phase can also be used on items in the sorcerer's inventory that are not worn. When cast at an item under 10 pounds that the sorcerer is carrying or has in their inventory, the Phase spell will make it weightless for 10 minutes + 6 seconds per sorcerer spell rank. Any items over 10 pounds will require training in Sorcerous Lore, Demonology, increasing by an additional 2 pounds with 3 ranks to a maximum additional weight increase of 34 pounds at 187 ranks (seed 3 of the summation chart). The maximum amount that anyone will be able to phase will therefore be 44 pounds. When cast at locked containers the spell will take into account the weight of the container and all its contents rather than just the weight of the container itself. Casting Phase, Elemental Dispel, or Spiritual Dispel at an item that has been phased will dispel the phase. If the sorcerer drops the item that has been phased, this will also dispel the effects. Note: Phased gear, such as weapons or wands, cannot be activated while in a phased state. Also, the self-cast version of this spell is intended to provide protection against creature maneuver attacks. This portion of the spell, however, will be going live concurrently with the maneuver system overhaul. |
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| 8/28/2005 | AWESOME AUGUST: GRUNT SQUEAK |
| The news, in short, is this: Halflings using the GRUNT verb will no longer produce a squeak, but instead a full-throated grunt. Races with shorter vocal cords (halflings, burghal and forest gnomes) can produce a squeaky grunt via the GRUNT SQUEAK option. Enjoy! | |
| 8/24/2005 | TRAVEL GUIDES TO WORK WITH DEBT COLLECTORS! |
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In collaboration with local debt collectors, the Travel Guides of Elanthia announce that, as of the 1st of Jastatos 5105 (October 1, 2005), they will no longer provide services to new adventurers with debts or fines.
WARNING: As of 10/01/2005, if your character is under level 4 and has any fines in Wehnimer's Landing, Icemule Trace, or anywhere in the Elven Nations, you will be unable to make use of the Travel Guide system until said debts and/or fines are paid in full. Please plan accordingly by either paying all your fines in full (use the WEALTH verb to view your fines), or by progressing to level 4. Characters of level 4 or higher with fines will not be prevented from using the system. |
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| 8/23/2005 | SIMUCON GIFTS |
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The Simucon Gifts are coming! The Simucon Gifts are coming!
Hot from the bird's nest, these little guys hatched and are eager for work! Yes, they really work! WHISPER to them to find out how. To recieve your own lil bird, simply ASSIST and you will get one soon enough. Available choices are a bright red robin charm, a vividly plumed macaw charm, a bright yellow canary charm, a muddy brown finch charm, and a bright blue parakeet charm. We hope you enjoy them, thank you for attending Simucon 2005, and we'll see you again! NOTE: You must have been a registered Simucon attendee to get one of these gifts. ~ The staff of GemStone IV |
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| 8/22/2005 | THIEVES OF THE LANDING REJOICE! ALL OTHERS BEWARE! |
| Reported earlier today by town officials: Some areas are not quite as safe as they once were. The constable was quoted as saying, "It is with a heavy heart that we have to cut back on security. Citizens should use caution in some areas with their valuables." | |
| 8/20/2005 | AWESOME AUGUST: TROLL'S BLOOD (1125) |
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The hearts of all Empaths are pounding all over Elanthia! GM Estild has released the Troll's Blood (1125) update!
Mnemonic: TROBLD Duration: 600 seconds + 10 seconds for every empath spell known Type: Utility Through the use of the spell Troll's Blood, the empath is able to inherit some of the minor regenerative properties and combat effectiveness of a troll. While under the effects of the spell, the empath is able to restore 6 Health Points (HP) and heal any minor (rank 1) wounds at a base 20 second interval. Additionally, if the empath is non-magically stunned when the effect triggers, there is a chance to break out of the stun. Training in Mental Lore, Transformation increases the base amount of Health Points (HP) that is restored at each interval by an additional +1 HP at 3 ranks to a maximum of an additional +17 HP at 187 ranks (seed 3 of the summation chart). Training in Spiritual Lore, Blessings decreases the duration between each interval beginning with an additional -1 second at 5 ranks, with an additional decrease of -16 seconds at 200 ranks (seed 5 of the summation chart). If the empath is a member of a group, his or her group will receive the Troll's Blood benefits as well. Discussion on this spell update will take place in the Empath - Empath Spells folder of the GemStone IV Forums located at http://www.play.net/forums/messages.asp?forum=102&category=26&topic=15 |
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| 8/19/2005 | AWESOME AUGUST: ASSUME ASPECT EVENT MEMENTOS |
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After recovering from his possession and inner struggles, forest gnome Ahndo Maeza returned to the public to express his gratitude to all who assisted him in his trying times. After much thought, he stated that the formerly tainted artifact would be broken back down into its components.
"With its natural influence already released into the world, I felt that this would be the best way to prevent any further chance of corruption," stated Maeza. A number of the figurines that once made up the outer ring of the medallion that Ahndo beared have been temporarily loaned to the Ranger Guilds of Elanith. The figurines have been set up at the paths to each branch of the guild, in order to allow access to all. "It seems that, even when separated, the figurines still hold a sort of memory of their complete intended form. A simple touch will trigger this memory in them, producing a replica. You'll find that they have plenty to tell, for those who are willing to listen," added Maeza. Shortly thereafter, Ahndo began his journey back home, accompanied by a dark silver stratis. The artifact copies appear to respond strongly to those with a higher familiarity with nature than for others, though they seem to bond to any who claim them. |
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| 8/19/2005 | PANARKATI FESTIVAL 5105 IN ICEMULE TRACE! |
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Come listen! Come learn! Come share! Come worship!
The House of Serenity and Daingneach Onoir join together to sponsor the PanArkati Festival this year from Restday, day 11 of Imaerasta, through Feastday, day 17 of Imaerasta (Sunday, September 11th through Saturday, September 17th), in Icemule Trace. The festival is a week-long celebration of religion in Elanthia through lectures, discussions, religious rituals, contests, and song. For the schedule of events occurring each day, go to the Events Calendar at: http://www.play.net/playdotnet/events/calendar.asp?ID=1002&date=9%2F19%2F2005 For more detailed information regarding the festival, including individual event descriptions and contest rules, go to http://carabele.com/panarkati/festival.htm |
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| 8/19/2005 | THE TA'VAALOR FALL FORTRESS FAIRE |
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It's that time again! The Ta'Vaalor Fall Fortress Faire will begin on Niiman, the 22nd day of Imaerasta (Thursday, September 22nd), and last through the weekend! Gathering to bring you the great events this year are The Elanthian Explorers' Society, The Ta'Vaalor Ceremonial Guard, Vaalor's Venerable Ventures, The Elanthian Performance Troupe, and the House of the Argent Aspis.
The schedule can be found at the EES website: http://www.gsranger.net/FortressFaireSept05-Schedule.html |
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| 8/18/2005 | CIRCLE OF THE GREY MOON HOSTS FAITH AND THE DARK QUEEN |
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To those who seek interest in the path of Darkness,
The Circle of the Grey Moon will be meeting on the 29th day of Phoenatos (August 29th) in the town of Solhaven. This meeting will take place within Eorgina's Temple in the Lornon Garden at 10:00 PM Elven time. All are welcome to attend as we continue our discussion of Faith and the Dark Queen Eorgina. For those who do not know how to find their way to the Lornon Garden, there will be a Circle member outside Her temple who will be glad to show you the way. We hope to see many of you there and may you walk in Her darkness until then. Do not fear the Darkness, for it is the breath of all things worth knowing. |
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| 8/18/2005 | THE SEVENTH IRREGULAR TYRAMIA HOLLOW FISHING TOURNAMENT |
| On the 27th day of Phoenatos at 8:00 PM Elven (August 27th, 8:00 PM eastern), the Elanthian Explorers' Society will be hosting a fishing tournament at Tyramia Hollow! Prizes will be awarded for most fish caught and most fish of a particular species caught. After the fishing, we will hold the "One that Got Away" storytelling contest. Give us your fishiest tale and you could walk away with the top prize. | |
| 8/17/2005 | CONSTABLES IMPLEMENT TWO WEEK RECLAIM RULE |
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In an effort to clean out some of the clutter on their desks, the Constables of Elanthia have decided to implement a two week limit for reclaiming your possessions. As of September 1st, any items left unclaimed on a constable's desk more than two weeks after their owner's arrest will be forfeit.
Under normal circumstances players are granted a certain amount of in-game time to retrieve their belongings, which are otherwise sold if they are not claimed in time. Since this timer is in-game, it is possible for a player to log out in the middle of the justice pipeline and their items will remain on the constable's desk indefinitely, hence the new two week rule. After two weeks all boxes will be held in a secure place for an additional 6 months during which players may use the ASSIST/REFERRAL system to request item replacement under extraordinary circumstances. |
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| 8/17/2005 | AWESOME AUGUST: DEMON PERMITS IN ZUL LOGOTH! |
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The Deputy of Zul Logoth is proud to announce he has finally hired a clerk to manage the sale of demon permits. The sales office can be reached by heading east upon entering the main Clerk's Office.
A permit may be purchased from the residing clerk for a moderate cost, and of course there is a discount for citizens. Permits may be purchased for up to three months in advance and do not need to be in one's inventory in order to be granted permission to summon and handle a demon in Zul Logoth. |
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| 8/14/2005 | AWESOME AUGUST: SKILL MIGRATION TIME ESTIMATION |
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The SKILLS command has been updated to provide a more accurate estimation for skill migration times when using SKILLS BASE or SKILLS BASE FULL. The factors involved in the migration estimation time include: current migration rate, number of training points migrated in the current migration period, and time remaining in the current migration period.
Skill migration occurs when a skill goal is set to a rank that is lower than its current rank. Every 30 seconds, a migration pulse occurs, which slowly lowers each of these migrating skills toward its goal. As these ranks decrease, training points are regained, which can be used to train in other skills. Each migration period is 30 days, and begins whenever you first start to migrate one of your skills. For the first 60 points of a migration period, .010 skill points are migrated per skill per migration pulse. For the next 20 points after that, .002 skill points are migrated per skill per pulse. Every pulse after that in the period will migrate .001 skill points per skill. If the 30-day duration expires during migration, the process begins anew at the .010 rate. Here are some numbers to assist in further understaning of the process: Rate | Time at Rate (minutes) | Max Points Converted at Rate .010 | 3000 | 60 .002 | 5000 | 20 .001 | 35200 | 70.4 TOTALS | 43200 | 150.4 A character logged into the game for an entire 30-day span would be able to migrate at most 150.4 training points of a single skill. Note that any number of skills can be migrating at a given time, and they all contribute to the total number of training points migrated for the current migration period. Therefore, as more skills migrate, the maximum number of points per skill that can be migrated decreases. To provide a frame of reference to consider when migrating skills, a countdown timer has been added to SKILLS to display the number of days that remain until the next FIXSKILLS is granted. For further information, please see SKILLS FAQS. |
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| 8/14/2005 | WILLOW HALL'S ENCHANTMENT IN THE FOREST FESTIVAL |
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Come join Willow Hall for four days fun and learning on Leyan, Phoenatos 24th through Feastday, Phoenatos 27th (Wednesday, August 24th through Saturday, August 27th.) All times are Eastern.
~ Schedule of Events ~ Leyan, Phoenatos 24th (Wednesday, August 24th) 9:00 PM - Fungus Fun Contest. Have fun finding fungi and put a little silver in you pocket while you are at it. 10:00 PM - Foraging Class. Learn how and where to find the healing herbs that grow in and around Wehnimer s Landing. They might even tell you where to find those elusive mushrooms. Niiman, Phoenatos 25th (Thursday, August 25th) 9:00 PM - Archery Contest. See who is the best marksman in the lands! Is it you? 10:00 PM - Fletching Class. Learn the fine points of making arrows and bolts. Day of the Huntress, Phoenatos 26th (Friday, August 26th) 9:00 PM - Lost Ranger. Find Willow Hall members at various landmarks around the Landing area, times are recorded. All teams get a prize. 9:00 PM - 12:00 AM - Kissing booth open 10:00 PM - Feast 11:00 PM - Story telling Feastday, Phoenatos 27th (Saturday, August 27th) 9:00 - 10:00 PM - Fortune telling & Kissing booth 10:00 PM - Costume party To get to Willow Hall, from the North Gate of Wehnimer's Landing go southwest, south to the fork in the road, take the southeast fork and go east till you get to the bridge, climb the trail and follow the path to Willow Hall. |
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| 8/13/2005 | MOONSHINE MANOR'S LOOT 'N' LAUGH LOTTERY! |
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Want to get a lot for only a little? Good, then you're cheap like us! So then you, your family, and all of your friends should come to Moonshine Manor's Loot 'n' Laugh Lottery! The objective is simple: for only 5,000 silvers, you will randomly get one out of a hundred boxes, each one containing prizes! The prizes vary from fluff and clothes, to enchanted armor and weapons, to unique items and even hundreds of thousands of silvers! Everyone is a winner! Some more than others!
The Lottery is taking place on the 14th day of Phoenatos, at 5:00 PM elven (August 14th, 5:00 PM eastern). The game will be held in Wehnimer's Landing, inside the Wayside Inn and upstairs in the Garret! (The Wayside Inn is located just outside the city's North Gates.) Remember, only one box per person! You can't afford NOT to play! -Moonshine Manor- More information can be found at: www.moonshinemanor.org |
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| 8/12/2005 | AWESOME AUGUST - CLEAN SWEEP AT TABLES |
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The Elanthian Tavern and Innkeepers Alliance has struck a deal with the International Federation of Ragpickers, announced today at a briefing in Solhaven. "We are very pleased," said Mr. Pierrot Credulent, general manager of the Solhaven Inn and chairman of the ETIA, "that by bringing the excellent services of our colleagues in the IFR to our patrons, their enjoyment of their dining and socializing experiences at our tables will be vastly improved." Representing the IFR, Mr. Thom Cranker expressed his views: "Yeah, whatever. We get da goods."
-------------- You may now CLEAN tables at inns and taverns to clear away empty boxes and other unwanted debris. Cheers, GM Bernt |
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| 8/11/2005 | CHARACTER MANAGER BUG FIXES |
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Two important bug fixes were rolled in last night that pertain to how the Character Manager (CMGR) calculates training points during migration.
1. The CMGR will no longer give out extra training points due to double-counting partial skill ranks. 2. The CMGR will no longer allow a character to truncate their downward-migrating skill ranks when they abandon changes to their skills. This bug fix does not change the way TPs are calculated or change migration time in any way. Basically, the bug fix prevents game mechanics abuse. :) Happy day to you all! Discussion will take place in Game Design Discussions - General Discussions about GemStone IV folder located at http://www.play.net/forums/messages.asp?forum=102&category=6&topic=3 |
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| 8/10/2005 | AWESOME AUGUST: ASSUME ASPECT (650) |
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"A band of golden incandescence streaks across the dark sky, trailed by whorls of verdant green that momentarily paint the nightscape with its color."
AWESOME GM Mestys of MAYhem fame has released the first level 50 spell of GemStone IV! Learn all about the most advanced ranger spell, Assume Aspect (650), at http://www.play.net/gs4/info/spells/assume_aspect.asp Assume Aspect (650) discussions can be found in the Ranger - Ranger Spells profession folder located at http://www.play.net/forums/messages.asp?forum=102&category=27&topic=13 Thanks to Ahndo the Ranger, a forest gnome of the Greengair bloodline, who endured much hardship in order to fulfill his grandfather's dying wish. |
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| 8/10/2005 | AWESOME AUGUST - SPINNER UPGRADES |
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The trusty spinners used by many merchants to select customers have gotten some new features that should make everyone's lives a bit easier.
* Merchants may now use spinners to pick a group of people in quick succession without duplicate spins. * Alternatively, merchants may set their spinners to skip over characters recently chosen by that spinner. As always, spinners choose among eligible characters in the room randomly. (Merchants have always been able to set eligibility based on Premium status or upon the date of the player's last merchant alteration.) It's a statistical certainty, though, that this random process will sometimes select the same character twice in a row. Spinners now allow merchants to "sample without replacement," as statisticians say. Every precaution has been taken to ensure that the spinners remain as random and secure a system as ever. Cheers, GM Bernt |
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| 8/9/2005 | AUGUST POLLS |
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Check out the GemStone IV polls for August!
http://www.play.net/gs4/poll/home.asp |
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| 8/8/2005 | TA'VAALOR PENNANT CHANGING CEREMONY |
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Once a month, on the Day of the Huntress, (at approximately 7:30 PM Elven), the Ta'Vaalor Ceremonial Guard will be holding a ceremony to change the pennants flying around Ta'Vaalor. We will start outside the gate to the Guardian Keep and proceed around town to replace each set of pennants. The entire ceremony will be held in Elven, and no translators will be provided. We will ask for a minimum of noise during the ceremony, so any translations provided by others will need to be in whispers.
Currently scheduled Pennant Changing dates are: The 9th day of Imaerasta (Friday, September 9). The 7th day of Jastatos (Friday, October 7). The 4th day of Eoantos (Friday, November 4). The 2nd day of Eorgaen (Friday, December 2). If you are a Vaalor elf and interested in joining the Ta'Vaalor Ceremonial Guard, please contact [email protected] or [email protected]. |
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| 8/8/2005 | ELANTHIAN PERFORMANCE TROUPE IN CONCERT IN TA'ILLISTIM |
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Come join the Elanthian Performance Troupe for an evening of song. The Troupe will perform in the Ta'Illistim Theater on Glamesine Var on the 21st day of Phoenatos (August).
Anyone interested in joining the Troupe should stay after the concert to speak with the group or check out their home at: http://www.gemstone.game-host.org/ElanthianPerformanceTroupe/main1.htm |
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| 8/7/2005 | CALL FOR ENTRIES FOR VVV'S MERCHANT MAKEOVER |
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All of us have them. Good friends with bad wardrobes. Now you can remedy it, courtesy of Vaalor's Venerable Ventures!
Send us your friend's name, profession, race, contact information, and an approximately 100 word essay on why your friend needs to have a new wardrobe. We need your entry by the 1st day of Phoenatos (September 1) to give us time to observe your friend and put together his or her wardrobe. Entrants will be notified on or before the 8th day of Phoenatos (September 8) if their friend has been chosen as the winner. The winning friend will be given a lesson on the flaws of the old wardrobe and a new set of clothing on the 22nd day of Phoenatos (Thursday, September 22), in Ta'Vaalor as part of the Fortress Faire. Your friend MUST be present, and it would be a good idea if you were too. Entries and questions should be sent to [email protected]. |
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| 8/7/2005 | CALL FOR ENTRIES FOR VVV'S MERCHANT MAKEOVER |
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All of us have them. Good friends with bad wardrobes. Now you can remedy it, courtesy of Vaalor's Venerable Ventures!
Send us your friend's name, profession, race, contact information, and an approximately 100 word essay on why your friend needs to have a new wardrobe. We need your entry by the 1st day of Imaerasta (September 1) to give us time to observe your friend and put together his or her wardrobe. Entrants will be notified on or before the 8th day of Imaerasta (September 8) if their friend has been chosen as the winner. The winning friend will be given a lesson on the flaws of the old wardrobe and a new set of clothing on the 22nd day of Imaerasta (Thursday, September 22), in Ta'Vaalor as part of the Fortress Faire. Your friend MUST be present, and it would be a good idea if you were too. Entries and questions should be sent to [email protected]. |
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| 8/7/2005 | EES HOSTS: ASK A RANGER |
| On the 10th day of Phoenatos at 8 PM Elven (August 10 at 8 PM eastern), come ask the members of the Elanthian Explorers' Society all your burning ranger questions. We will also field questions regarding archery and brawling as hunting techniques. No question is too silly or too hard. Find the rangers at the Garden of Ancients in Ta'Vaalor. | |
| 8/4/2005 | AWESOME AUGUST - FERRY TIMETABLES |
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The Lake of Fear Transport Company is proud to announce the posting of ferry schedules at both the North Dock (on the Ta'Illistim side) and the South Dock (near Ta'Vaalor).
"People were always saying I didn't run a reliable ferry," the captain commented. "But the problem was that folks just didn't know when to expect the ship!" |
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| 8/4/2005 | AWESOME AUGUST - TA'VAALOR RANGER SHACK |
| The elderly herbalist leans on his broom, a bit winded from the exertion of sweeping leaves off the cobblestone road. "Potions you want, eh?" the old man says, "Well, if you be look'n for a potion t'imbue armors, I suppose I could help you with those. Just come on out to my shack!" With that, he turns and heads off down a small footpath into the woods. | |
| 8/4/2005 | AWESOME AUGUST: SORT VERB RELEASED |
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As part of Awesome August, we're proud to announce the release of an awesome* new verb: SORT! SORT allows you to rearrange the ordering of items in your inventory or containers without moving them to your hands first. Take a look at SORT HELP to see how it's used.
SORT helps you choose the ordering of items by moving all items of the same name in the same location to the top of the list of items they are contained in. By repeatedly sorting, you can rearrange your inventory or container contents as you please. Unfortunately, some scripted containers may not be able to have their contents sorted. As well, the SORT verb provides support for automatic methods of inventory sorting. Currently, the only automatic method is head-to-toe sorting, which will sort your worn items in roughly head-to-toe order. As there's no consensus for what constitutes head-to-toe order, this may not be exactly what you desire, but it should be close enough that you can easily adjust it using the normal SORT functionality to get it how you'd like. If you have any suggestions for improvement or additional automatic sorting methods, please post them on the GemStone IV Message Boards, in the Roleplaying Verb Discussion topic of the General Roleplaying category. * Awesomeness of verb is certified by GM Kitrina |
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| 8/3/2005 | AWESOME AUGUST ANIMATES RECEIVE A POLISH! |
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Animates will no longer be lost when their masters log off or disconnect. They will patiently wait at their local animate pub (animates always get 2-1 specials) until their masters return to Elanthia. Upon a master's return, his animate will make its way to the location where it was left. Unfortunately, player animates are not stowed when their master logs off.
The MAL restriction has been removed from the animation of players. One can now attempt to animate a player of any level, but rolling over 100 is (as previously) still required. The success formula adds in a bonus for every level that the target is below the animator's MAL. The bonus that players previously received will still be in effect. If you animate a player above your old MAL, you will not receive any negative penalties, but will not receive any MAL bonus either. |
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| 8/3/2005 | SKILL MIGRATION |
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A long existing bug that allows the average player to max all of their skills has recently received an alarming increase in player attention over recent days. A number of good-natured people brought forward details of this some time ago, for which we are grateful.
It's inevitable that problems creep into game systems, and it's inevitable that paths of easy advancement will beckon. We sincerely hope that those of you who are considering exploiting this bug will seriously consider the ramifications it will have on the GemStone community. We consider the exploitation of bugs to be a very serious offense. We will exercise zero tolerance for anyone participating in the exploitation of this bug and consider such activity grounds for immediate lock-out from GemStone IV. If you are found to have abused the bug, and have received a warning for doing so, further abuse of the bug will lead to immediate suspension of your accounts. |
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| 8/1/2005 | AWESOME AUGUST! |
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It's the last full month of summer. Instead of going outside in the sweltering heat, stay indoors playing GemStone IV and experience AWESOME AUGUST!
Here is a sneak peek of what is so AWESOME about AUGUST: Premium Premium Points System Not a Premium member? Sign up today! http://www.play.net/gs4/premium/ Storyline Plight of the Reivers: Part 2 New & Updated Spells Assume Aspect (650) Phase (704) Troll's Blood (1125) New Hunting Area Thanatoph Bowels Documents Skills webpage update Lores webpage update Citizenship webpage update Justice document And more! Close all the windows, turn up the air conditioning and get ready for AWESOME AUGUST! |
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