Sunday, December 28, 2008
Friday, December 19, 2008
Thursday, December 18, 2008
Sunday, December 14, 2008
Latest Poll Results
The votes are in, and the favorite base race is human. wow!
Human 11 (42%)
Elf 4 (15%)
Half Elf 1 (3%)
Half Orc 1 (3%)
Gnome 0 (0%)
Halfling 6 (23%)
Dwarf 3 (11%)
Votes so far: 26
Poll closed
Human 11 (42%)
Elf 4 (15%)
Half Elf 1 (3%)
Half Orc 1 (3%)
Gnome 0 (0%)
Halfling 6 (23%)
Dwarf 3 (11%)
Votes so far: 26
Poll closed
Thursday, December 11, 2008
Where Our Friends Are From
The above map depicts: 1,433 visits from 11 Dec 2008 to 11 Dec 2008Running total of visits to (URL) Qwildurn's DND Server since 10 Dec 2007: 1,433
United States (US) 1,034
Australia (AU) 76
Germany (DE) 66
United Kingdom (GB) 49
Sweden (SE) 30
Canada (CA) 27
Poland (PL) 27
Brazil (BR) 20
Netherlands (NL) 18
France (FR) 10
Japan (JP) 10
Portugal (PT) 7
Russian Federation (RU) 6
South Africa (ZA) 6
Denmark (DK) 5
Spain (ES) 5
Italy (IT) 5
Greece (GR) 4
Finland (FI) 4
Romania (RO) 3
Czech Republic (CZ) 2
Chile (CL) 2
Austria (AT) 2
Mexico (MX) 2
Iceland (IS) 2
Singapore (SG) 2
New Zealand (NZ) 2
Norway (NO) 1
Argentina (AR) 1
Philippines (PH) 1
Turkey (TR) 1
Morocco (MA) 1
Hungary (HU) 1
Trinidad and Tobago (TT) 1
ClusterMaps sent me a note stating that I have been using their free service for exactly one year now. This is some of the information. The larger the red dot, the more people from that area that have viewed our web site.
Interesting, but not necessarily important.
Wednesday, December 3, 2008
HGLL and balance
Since we're talking balance, I thought a healthy discussion/debate about the HGLL system was in order.
Q mentioned in his previous post:
Going over Level 40 added to this un-balance some, but mostly in regards to monsters and Bosses, not to Player vs Player. All Characters over 40 get a list of skills and feats that's well suited for the controlling class. The players choices are the deciding factor here, as it should be.
To say that Legendary levels add to the un-balance is a HUGE understatement IMO. The biggest losers here are mages. We all know that BAB and caster level do not improve from level 41 thru 60. Ok, seems fair on the surface. But melees do have ways of upping their AB by either cranking STR (includes dmg bonus) or DEX (includes AC boost) depending on the build.
For example: Let's say Krunk, a straight human barbarian hits level 60. His legendary levels give him 7 feats and 10 abilities. If it all goes into STR, he's upped his AB AND damage by +8 (not to mention improving his dev crit DC by +8). The same goes for the Gordon Lightfoot the dexer halfling: +8 AB AND AC.
Now what does Elminster the straight human wizard get by grinding out legendary levels? More DEX for AC? Ok, that helps a little. Or more CON? Yup, HP are important. OR more INT for extra spell slots? Very handy indeed. But none of those compares to the double bonus that melees get from legendary levels.
Okay, I can live with the above disparities. A level 40 mage is very tough to kill even for a level 60 melee. My biggest gripe is the fact that monks continue to gain spell resistance even though their "monk" or controlling class isn't technically increasing. Essentially, a gith monk15/cleric15/rogue10 who pumps SR with feats in epic levels can resist a 40th level mage's spells 60% of the time. By taking four more ImpSR feats in legendary, that 15th level monk will be untouchable, even by Elminster the 60th level guardian of Shadowdale. This seems ridiculous to me. We can get into more specifics, but I know you guys can all add and subtract, so here's my suggestion(s):
Option 1: Since casters cannot improve upon their casting abilities beyond 40th, then monks should not be able to improve upon their spell resistance. I.e., Imp SR should not be a selectable feat beyond 40. If you're a monk and you want high SR, you sacrifice everything in your epic levels to get it as high as you can. In this scenario, a gith monk20/cl15/SD5 with everything in ImpSR in epic would hit SR 74. Making him 90% immune to Elminster. Granted, the monk has to give up A LOT of good feats, but he can get them in legendary levels if he wants (eg, epic wpn focus, epic prow, etc.).
Option 2: Allow legendary casters to improve upon their casting abilities by selecting additional (stackable) epic spell penetrations as feats. With possible epic spell penetration feats, Elminster could up his caster roll to 40 + 1d20 + 6 (three pre-epic and epic) + 14 (seven legendary)= 61 - 80. In this case, the mighty Elminster will have a 50% chance of hitting a maxed out SR gith monk with a SR of 80 (effectively 70 after mords). Even under this circumstance, the monk is able to get there with a minimum of 15 monk levels, whereas the mage has sacrificed a lot to get a spell penetration that high.
Keep in mind that I am talking about the EXTREME case of a 40th level pure caster. Most caster/PMs have between 28-29 mage levels. With option #2 above, a wiz/pm who pumps legendary spell penetrations would still not be able to touch the 15monk. At least one of the above would allow a PC to create an Elminster-type that would have a *chance* of landing a spell.
I truly believe that one of the above options will help to balance out the parity that exists between monks and mages in the Badlands. Neither option seems like it would affect a mage's utility versus non-monks. They can already hit normal melee builds, so extra spell pen won't help them anymore there, and a mage vs. mage duel will still come down to who casts first.
There are probably other options that I have not considered, and I'd like for everyone to throw out their thoughts.
Just for the record, I am not particularly fond of either mages or monks (I prefer bard class myself), but I've played on both sides of mage/monk coin and the problems here are glaring and hopefully they can be addressed in the near future.
Q mentioned in his previous post:
Going over Level 40 added to this un-balance some, but mostly in regards to monsters and Bosses, not to Player vs Player. All Characters over 40 get a list of skills and feats that's well suited for the controlling class. The players choices are the deciding factor here, as it should be.
To say that Legendary levels add to the un-balance is a HUGE understatement IMO. The biggest losers here are mages. We all know that BAB and caster level do not improve from level 41 thru 60. Ok, seems fair on the surface. But melees do have ways of upping their AB by either cranking STR (includes dmg bonus) or DEX (includes AC boost) depending on the build.
For example: Let's say Krunk, a straight human barbarian hits level 60. His legendary levels give him 7 feats and 10 abilities. If it all goes into STR, he's upped his AB AND damage by +8 (not to mention improving his dev crit DC by +8). The same goes for the Gordon Lightfoot the dexer halfling: +8 AB AND AC.
Now what does Elminster the straight human wizard get by grinding out legendary levels? More DEX for AC? Ok, that helps a little. Or more CON? Yup, HP are important. OR more INT for extra spell slots? Very handy indeed. But none of those compares to the double bonus that melees get from legendary levels.
Okay, I can live with the above disparities. A level 40 mage is very tough to kill even for a level 60 melee. My biggest gripe is the fact that monks continue to gain spell resistance even though their "monk" or controlling class isn't technically increasing. Essentially, a gith monk15/cleric15/rogue10 who pumps SR with feats in epic levels can resist a 40th level mage's spells 60% of the time. By taking four more ImpSR feats in legendary, that 15th level monk will be untouchable, even by Elminster the 60th level guardian of Shadowdale. This seems ridiculous to me. We can get into more specifics, but I know you guys can all add and subtract, so here's my suggestion(s):
Option 1: Since casters cannot improve upon their casting abilities beyond 40th, then monks should not be able to improve upon their spell resistance. I.e., Imp SR should not be a selectable feat beyond 40. If you're a monk and you want high SR, you sacrifice everything in your epic levels to get it as high as you can. In this scenario, a gith monk20/cl15/SD5 with everything in ImpSR in epic would hit SR 74. Making him 90% immune to Elminster. Granted, the monk has to give up A LOT of good feats, but he can get them in legendary levels if he wants (eg, epic wpn focus, epic prow, etc.).
Option 2: Allow legendary casters to improve upon their casting abilities by selecting additional (stackable) epic spell penetrations as feats. With possible epic spell penetration feats, Elminster could up his caster roll to 40 + 1d20 + 6 (three pre-epic and epic) + 14 (seven legendary)= 61 - 80. In this case, the mighty Elminster will have a 50% chance of hitting a maxed out SR gith monk with a SR of 80 (effectively 70 after mords). Even under this circumstance, the monk is able to get there with a minimum of 15 monk levels, whereas the mage has sacrificed a lot to get a spell penetration that high.
Keep in mind that I am talking about the EXTREME case of a 40th level pure caster. Most caster/PMs have between 28-29 mage levels. With option #2 above, a wiz/pm who pumps legendary spell penetrations would still not be able to touch the 15monk. At least one of the above would allow a PC to create an Elminster-type that would have a *chance* of landing a spell.
I truly believe that one of the above options will help to balance out the parity that exists between monks and mages in the Badlands. Neither option seems like it would affect a mage's utility versus non-monks. They can already hit normal melee builds, so extra spell pen won't help them anymore there, and a mage vs. mage duel will still come down to who casts first.
There are probably other options that I have not considered, and I'd like for everyone to throw out their thoughts.
Just for the record, I am not particularly fond of either mages or monks (I prefer bard class myself), but I've played on both sides of mage/monk coin and the problems here are glaring and hopefully they can be addressed in the near future.
Monday, December 1, 2008
Game Balance
Balance for any game module might be difficult actually. Any module that is UBER like BadLands (that's a lot of modules) has balance issues. To add to the problem is Sub-Races and going over level 40.
What probably slips past our attention is how and what NeverWinter Nights was built for. NWN was not designed for multi-player, persistent worlds such as BadLands. NWN was originally designed to be the self-standing game campaign that came on the CD. Work for Arebeth and Lord Nasher and save the Realm. Everything was built to support that cause. Nothing else was included or considered. There was no extra Tilesets, Items, Scripting Functions or anything.
The Game included some On-Line Tools so a few buddies could hook up and play with each other. Me and my brother did just that. I had an extra computer that I used as Game Server and we played the NWN game every Tuesday and Thursday night from 8 to 11. We started at 8 pm when his baby boy went to bed and stopped at 11 no matter what. We both had to get up in the AM for work. I would save the game and we would continue as if we had never stopped.
NWN was built with the ADD 3rd Rule Set. To many players log in and proceed to tell me it's all wrong and I am too stupid because nothing matches the book they bought in a store. Bioware did a excellent job at getting the ADD 3rd Rules implemented. On the rare occasion they could not, they did include notes to us builders as to where and why. BadLands is it's own Realm and therefor does not need to follow ANY set of rules nor make since based on what another Realm did.
It is my belief NWN is best balanced in the lower levels and while using blank weapons and armor. I'm not convinced that over level 20 is really balance well. At level 20, while using blank weapons and armor, is probably the closest you will get to real balance. After level 20, you start in with Epic stuff like Epic Mage Armor that put things out of balance.
When I added the DAR II Sub-Race Engine, that really put everything out of perspective, and I will tell you why. The engine I downloaded and installed included a lot of pre-made subraces. Being new to this sort of thing, I assumed that they were balanced and well built. Later when I started to realize some of the balance issues it was too late.
Most of the Subs were being given double stats. That is that a Dwarf gets a +2 Con boost added to its starting roll. Normal, expected. The Dwarven subraces all get an extra +2 Con boost for a total of +4. The Arctic Dwarf in most Realms does not get a +4 Con boost. This is true for all the subraces in BadLands. When I tried to change this and lower it to what might be a better balance, it was too late. BadLands had to many regular players and they all told me what they thought. "Put it back or we will leave." So I put it back and looked for another way to balance BadLands.
Going over Level 40 added to this un-balance some, but mostly in regards to monsters and Bosses, not to Player vs Player. All Characters over 40 get a list of skills and feats that's well suited for the controlling class. The players choices are the deciding factor here, as it should be.
ECL was one of my ways to help balance things. Not very effective, but in the book and better than nothing. And pretty much "by the book" actually.
One of the problems with being an UBER Server is that we hit the Bioware Caps, or the limits of the Game Engine. AC boost to any one type is capped at 20. Attributes (Str, Con...) can't be magically enhanced past +12. In BadLands, you can max out you gear at level 21 (you only need 3 mill gold). This will buy +12 in almost every area preventing spells like Bull Strength from working. Most of these limits effect everyone equally so I have not addressed it.
I built the UBER Barbarian System as a way around this limit. Let's face it, a Barbarian that can't rage is useless and without the +12 gear that everybody else has is pointless. This starts new problems. Most of which is that it can be confusing. Part is that "The Honor System" is needed here. Some of which is that I have not yet addressed some "bugs" that I missed in my build/test.
Deep in the hard-coded part of the game-engine, if your Saves get to 125, the counter will roll-over and go negative. OUCH! I think skills will roll-over at 255. A player can rise to 255 in Attributes like Strength before a roll-over, but Monsters hit a different limit.
Bruce, the Brass Dragon is a good example of this limit. In the editor, I can set his strength to 125, but in game play, it's dropped to 100. I can dress Bruce up with +12 gear like a player for 112 str. But I can't get beyond 112 Strength for a monster. I could increase a monsters AB by adding Weapon Master Levels. I can add 60 real WM levels to a monster for a wad of AB. But, a Real Dragon like Bruce does not use a weapon that is recognised in the WM list. Fortunately, Bruce is plenty tough as he is, but, building past Bruce will prove difficult.
Changing the Weapon Elements in the Upgrade Shops proved to be a very effective way to help balance things. Big weapons do BIG damage and small weapons rely on speed and Dexterity to do more hits with each hit being a small chip.
Wednesday, November 26, 2008
Question about AC and Ride
I've got a Pally with Divine shield. Should be a +12 dodge bonus to AC. (Dodge AC stacks we I should be good until I hit the +20 cap.) I've also got the ride skill and mounted combat feat. That should be good for another +4 for a total of +16 to AC. But they're not stacking. If I'm mounted I get the +4. If I'm on foot and I use Divine shield I get the +12. But if I'm mounted and use divine shield I only see +8 on my sheet, and in the battle spam window. I've got +5 dodge on my boot and zero tumble. If I understand how things are supposed to work this should all stack up to +20. Anyone got any ideas?
Monday, November 24, 2008
BadLands Dating.
Here's your daily does of RPG related humor. I found this on Craigslist. Enjoy!
(Or maybe you want to reply)
Ogre Mage seeks Druid.
(Or maybe you want to reply)
Ogre Mage seeks Druid.
Alignment shift
Every once in a while, I see a toon running around the Badlands that would require an alignment shift. In the past, this has been a beta member testing something out. I've never seen a regular PC with a build that requires an alignment shift. I even inquired about alignment shifts to a DM when I started playing on the BL well over a year ago. I specifically remembered the DM telling me it was not possible to shift your alignment on the server.
Last night, I noticed 'Bad to the Bone' (Paladin 15, Sorcerer 9, Blackguard 1) logged on. Obviously, that build requires a shift from good to evil. Unlike traditional table D&D, in NwN a paladin who becomes evil does not lose all their paladin abilities. For example, divine grace stacks with dark blessing.
Curious, I asked Bad to the Bone (twice) how he accomplished his alignment shift. Both times, he ignored me.
Is Bad to the Bone a DM or beta member, and hence is privileged with alignment shifts? OR am I missing something?
Monday, November 17, 2008
Tips & Tricks No. 12 The Hyperlink
How to add or insert a link into a forum, blog, or web page can be one of the unsolved mysteries of the universe. First of all, a Hyperlink is written in a code that to most resembles Hieroglyphics. Then, each place has there own version of this secret code. Some use BB-code while others use pure HTML Code. Some don't allow links at all. And if you're expecting any Help, forget it, if you're not born knowing these thing you simply don't need to know and probably never will. Learning Latin could be easier.
This Blog uses pure HTML Code. So that actually makes it easier because you can now get free help from hundreds of places. An Internet Search for "html code" will go far. If you're starting a new post you do get some help on things, but, if you're adding a comment to a topic, you get no help at all and are lead to believe that links and stuff can't be done. Most of what can be done in a new post can also be done in a comment.
You could read this Help Article that The Blog has published.
http://help.blogger.com/bin/answer.py?answer=41379&topic=12507
Or you can continue to read this page.
You should start by going to the web page you want to link to and copying the URL so you can paste it here. That in itself is all you need to do. That is exactly what what I did for the above help link. Easy, simple, direct.
However, if you want a cleaner looking link, it gets more involved.
To create a link to: http://badlandsrpg.game-host.org/
that looks like: Qwildurn's DND Server
the code is: <a href="http://badlandsrpg.game-host.org/">Qwildurn's DND Server</a>
Let me break it down.
Every HTML code has an opening <b>and</b> closing statement, as in the <b>bold</b> statement.
A Hyper-Link is just a complex statement. It starts with an opening Anchor <a> and ends with the closing Anchor </a>
Now we need to give it more information. An Anchor can have more than just a Hyper-Link, but we will keep it simple (LMAO). As part of the opening statement, we will tell it we want a Hyperlink to a web page. HREF (Hyper Reference).
<a href= followed by the web page we want to link to in quotes "http://www.msn.com/" and a > to complete the opening statement.
Now, lets add in an easy to understand HUMAN style name such as MicroSoft and close it with </a>
If we did it correctly, our code should look like:
<a href="http://www.msn.com/">MicroSoft</a>
and our previewed/posted comment/post should look like:
MicroSoft
and clicking on it should take us there.
This Blog uses pure HTML Code. So that actually makes it easier because you can now get free help from hundreds of places. An Internet Search for "html code" will go far. If you're starting a new post you do get some help on things, but, if you're adding a comment to a topic, you get no help at all and are lead to believe that links and stuff can't be done. Most of what can be done in a new post can also be done in a comment.
You could read this Help Article that The Blog has published.
http://help.blogger.com/bin/answer.py?answer=41379&topic=12507
Or you can continue to read this page.
You should start by going to the web page you want to link to and copying the URL so you can paste it here. That in itself is all you need to do. That is exactly what what I did for the above help link. Easy, simple, direct.
However, if you want a cleaner looking link, it gets more involved.
To create a link to: http://badlandsrpg.game-host.org/
that looks like: Qwildurn's DND Server
the code is: <a href="http://badlandsrpg.game-host.org/">Qwildurn's DND Server</a>
Let me break it down.
Every HTML code has an opening <b>and</b> closing statement, as in the <b>bold</b> statement.
A Hyper-Link is just a complex statement. It starts with an opening Anchor <a> and ends with the closing Anchor </a>
Now we need to give it more information. An Anchor can have more than just a Hyper-Link, but we will keep it simple (LMAO). As part of the opening statement, we will tell it we want a Hyperlink to a web page. HREF (Hyper Reference).
<a href= followed by the web page we want to link to in quotes "http://www.msn.com/" and a > to complete the opening statement.
Now, lets add in an easy to understand HUMAN style name such as MicroSoft and close it with </a>
If we did it correctly, our code should look like:
<a href="http://www.msn.com/">MicroSoft</a>
and our previewed/posted comment/post should look like:
MicroSoft
and clicking on it should take us there.
Old Tale Same ending
During the week a lot of old faces returned to see the Badlands land they left changed.
Last night one of those faces was heater5. Poor old razius appears still baffled at the animosity he receives in some quarters.
Thats right ...poor.
For more background read this link on the blog.
--march 27 Fun with Raz archive story ----It seems from my second hand tale that razius cant even level without some jerk trying to kill him. Imagine that ....... You try to level and someone gets their kicks murdering you repeatedly.
After a "heated" exchange with Crazy gnome , Razius challenged him on his uber toon in the Underdark.
After a typically boring duel that occurs between palemaster melee builds and infinite heal kits Razius Jilkerk gets down to near dead. And even in a fair fight he runs off to the sanctuary , cheating Sill Nefzen of an honest victory.
Apparently heater5 thinks we should all just forgive and forget.
The quote of the shout contest I had replied to me was poor Raz has tried three separate online gaming communities only to find " all of them are full of retards".
Not 3 servers , 3 entire gaming worlds . Imagine that ...... being that misguided and sad .
Hence the title and the poor Raz. Someone end his suffering ........................
Forum is Down?
The link to the BadLands RPG Forum seems to be down. But, I found that it is actually still accessable.
http://www.phpbbplanet.com/badlandsrpg/index.php?mforum=badlandsrpg
Qwildurn
http://www.phpbbplanet.com/badlandsrpg/index.php?mforum=badlandsrpg
Qwildurn
Saturday, November 15, 2008
The Sylmar Fire
If you've seen the big fire in Los Angeles that is raging out of control, it is about 30 miles from where I live. I am not in any danger (I hope), but, the electricity service might me disrupted. That means the server might go off-line as a result of the Sylmar fire.
I am currently at my brothers house (aura), Saturday at 11:00 PST. The fire is about 3 miles away and the smoke is so thick we can barely see the stop sign at the end of the block. We keep looking at each other wondering when the Fire Department will knock on the door and tell us to leave.
At which point, him, his family and pets would be at my house. Qwildurn
I am currently at my brothers house (aura), Saturday at 11:00 PST. The fire is about 3 miles away and the smoke is so thick we can barely see the stop sign at the end of the block. We keep looking at each other wondering when the Fire Department will knock on the door and tell us to leave.
At which point, him, his family and pets would be at my house. Qwildurn
Thursday, November 13, 2008
Backstabber
It's time to spotlight another boss drop. Today we're looking at the nifty little +5 dagger named "Backstabber" used by the Royal Assassin. Though weak by boss-drop standards, it still has a healthy 1d10 cold and a slight chance of stun on hit (if the target rolls a "1"). Ultimately, you'd probably be better off upgrading a normal dagger in the Stone Conjoint. Still, this boss drop seems appropriate, given the fact that the Royal Assassin is the most used and abused of all the bosses--- and he's easily accessible, whereas other bosses require at least a long walk thru spawn-laden territory.
Tuesday, November 11, 2008
New Blood Welcomed
More often than I like, I get asked by new players the same question, "How do I post a new topic in The Blog?"
Unfortunately, new topics are limited to those on the short list of contributors.
Anybody can, however, add a comment to an existing topic. Feel free to add to this topic without regards to "staying on topic".
Or, we sort of have a real Forum http://www.badlandsrpg.tk/
The forum was started by a player named Leg, who recently stepped down as the Admin there leaving me holding the bag.
I don't want to impose on The Blog, which is a wonderful place to chit-chat, brag and snivel. Simon Hawk is the Admin here at The Blog and I'm just a Contributor. Simon can also be the Head Admin at The Forum if he wants to be.
Unfortunately, new topics are limited to those on the short list of contributors.
Anybody can, however, add a comment to an existing topic. Feel free to add to this topic without regards to "staying on topic".
Or, we sort of have a real Forum http://www.badlandsrpg.tk/
The forum was started by a player named Leg, who recently stepped down as the Admin there leaving me holding the bag.
I don't want to impose on The Blog, which is a wonderful place to chit-chat, brag and snivel. Simon Hawk is the Admin here at The Blog and I'm just a Contributor. Simon can also be the Head Admin at The Forum if he wants to be.
Monday, November 10, 2008
Tricks & Tips: No. 43 The Desktop Shortcut
You can skip all the movies and Gamespy crap if you want to.
This will work on any server, but you need to know that servers IP Address and port. An IP Address is a 12 digit number very similar to an 11 digit phone number: 532.016.832.120 An Internet Port is a colon followed by a number. :5121
BadLands RPG can be done differently. We host our own Web Page and you can use our web name instead of a IP number. When our IP changes, the Name Lookup will automatically reflect those changes and the shortcut will still function.
If you did a default or recommended install, your command should look exactly like this:
C:\NeverwinterNights\NWN\nwmain.exe +connect qwildurn.game-host.org:5123
The :5123 is the port to the server (not a magic port stone) and is needed for the 1.69 server we host.
:5123 is the port to BadLands RPG 1.69
Please note: I did not use HTTP or WWW in his shortcut.
You might want to change the name of the shortcut to match the server, BadLands RPG 1.69
This will work on any server, but you need to know that servers IP Address and port. An IP Address is a 12 digit number very similar to an 11 digit phone number: 532.016.832.120 An Internet Port is a colon followed by a number. :5121
- Make a shortcut of nwmain.exe on you desktop.
- Open the Properties menu and make sure you're in the Shortcut Tab.
- In the Target Box it should look similar to this: C:\NeverwinterNights\NWN\nwmain.exe
- Add this: +connect
followed by the servers IP Address.
It should look something like:
C:\NeverwinterNights\NWN\nwmain.exe +connect 532.016.832.120
BadLands RPG can be done differently. We host our own Web Page and you can use our web name instead of a IP number. When our IP changes, the Name Lookup will automatically reflect those changes and the shortcut will still function.
If you did a default or recommended install, your command should look exactly like this:
C:\NeverwinterNights\NWN\nwmain.exe +connect qwildurn.game-host.org:5123
The :5123 is the port to the server (not a magic port stone) and is needed for the 1.69 server we host.
:5123 is the port to BadLands RPG 1.69
Please note: I did not use HTTP or WWW in his shortcut.
You might want to change the name of the shortcut to match the server, BadLands RPG 1.69
An Old Idea Re-Visited
First, thank you to all the people putting work into making new subraces/areas/bosses/drops, they're really cool and add a great deal of variety to the server. I've been having a great time making new builds or old builds with new subraces and then using those builds to explore the new content that has been added. Your work is greatly appreciated and has breathed new life into the Badlands.
I was reading through the old posts (the post archive addition is GREAT btw, THANK YOU to whoever set that up) and came across one about our Mega Spawn problem. In the replies I came across this:
Qwildurn said... ...Cup of the Underdark thingy...
Making a "snow pipe" type quest to the castle will work. For now, if your level 41 you can bind there.
I would love to see a "Snow Pipe" item for the Mad Clerics Tower added, and wanted to keep this idea from fading from peoples memories with all of the hard work that they've been doing with the new content.
That's all. Thanks again, the new stuff is great.
I was reading through the old posts (the post archive addition is GREAT btw, THANK YOU to whoever set that up) and came across one about our Mega Spawn problem. In the replies I came across this:
Qwildurn said... ...Cup of the Underdark thingy...
Making a "snow pipe" type quest to the castle will work. For now, if your level 41 you can bind there.
I would love to see a "Snow Pipe" item for the Mad Clerics Tower added, and wanted to keep this idea from fading from peoples memories with all of the hard work that they've been doing with the new content.
That's all. Thanks again, the new stuff is great.
Pulling a "Simon"
Pulling a "Simon":Phrase: the act of participating in online role-playing video games while extremely inebriated, resulting in erratic, self-deprecating, and potentially suicidal behavior.
Saturday night, I pulled a "Simon". After several beers, followed by a couple strong whiskey and cokes, I logged into the BL to see what was going on. Response time was definitely slowed down (i.e., I should have quit after three failed password attempts), which makes PvP much more interesting. Seeing Grimmy and Shady lurking around the Newport Barracks trying to claim it, I port there with Elric. Not being too familiar with the Barracks, I didn't realize I'd be locked in a room, with Shadowblades only a few feet away. Unable to get to Shady, Elric grows bored (being drunk with a Chaotic evil legendary character usually means trouble), but after several minutes of waiting while Shadowblades plays several rounds of "musical characters" my buffs were low. Unable to rest in the Barracks with enemies nearby, I thought I'd port out, rest/buff, then port back in. But what's this?
There's an open portal in the room I'm in. Hmmm... portals are cool, they send you to neat places where you can rest (at least, that's my drunk rationale at the time). So, I step into the portal. The red mist is an instant give away--- the portal sent me to the Maze... in an area where I was trapped and couldn't even suicide! Since there was no DM on at the time, Elric lets out a drunken wail that reverberates throughout the maze. Then he gets the munchies and raids the cheetos and gardettos after logging off.
Friday, November 7, 2008
I'm evil and brave... or not..
After a couple of weeks of constant pvp action going on, I've noticed some disturbing behaviours lately. The "I am evil, Let's fight. Oh wait, hold on, without backup, I ain't going there. No way!" thing.
We all know dano has stumbled on a very nice build and he did it fine.But what have seen lately is the lack of pvp ethics. Is there such a thing?
Last time I was on a ud battle royal with these guys (lycan, blade, dano, darina the bald and conan), I witnessed the same jumping in during a fight by conan..
I was fighting blade 1 x 1 while shady was bashing lycan. Conan was fighting another guy, but when he sees he's losing and I'm badly wounded, he changes target and finishes me off.Then Cage appeared and killed the halfling monk, blade and the bluish jumper.. lol?
We all know dano has stumbled on a very nice build and he did it fine.But what have seen lately is the lack of pvp ethics. Is there such a thing?
Well, there should be, especially to a LAWFUL evil monk, such as Shady.Elric challenges him to a duel and he accepts but since he knows he can't kill him easily and threatened by the neutral characters watching the fight, he goes and asks other guild members for help.. on a 1 vs 1 fight..Which resulted in a ud massacre.. even with free lancers jumping in.
Apparently, the only one really following the pvp code is lycan, fighting 1 x 1, not rez killing and not, NOT jumping on others.That's conan, the guy with no caps lock or shit buttom on his keyboard, the warlord of "free blads".
Last time I was on a ud battle royal with these guys (lycan, blade, dano, darina the bald and conan), I witnessed the same jumping in during a fight by conan..
I was fighting blade 1 x 1 while shady was bashing lycan. Conan was fighting another guy, but when he sees he's losing and I'm badly wounded, he changes target and finishes me off.Then Cage appeared and killed the halfling monk, blade and the bluish jumper.. lol?
Pyro is more and more involved in pvp stuff. Too bad he's an indigo fairy.Well, well, more targets, I suppose?Did I tell you he was fighting a mage called my mishu. That mage is an exotic one, I can tell you that. She dual weilds rapiers.And after dispelling Pyros's monk/wm/fig buffs and casting darkness in the area, she was bashing him good. He even had to heal kit spam to avoid getting meleed to death.. by a mage!! rofl!!
Royal (Oyster) Rumble
As you may be aware, the Arcane Brotherhood and Death Dealers have joined forces to become "The Brotherhood". Despite the name, female PCs are welcome to join (we just didn't think "The Sisterhood" sounded as good).
Last night, the guild leader, Osiris Ellow, began building his army. After infusing the recruits with "the red", the foot-soldiers dispersed and began capturing territories and fortresses. After a few hours, The Brotherhood laid claim to nearly all outposts... with the exception of the Maze, Docks, and Battlefields.
When I log on this morning, I see a shout that Wrath Shadowblade was destroyed by the Cockatrice. Soon, Fadra De'Twent (Brotherhood champion) is battling it out with the Super Chicken. After a storm of IGMs, she slices the bird into juicy buffalo wings.
Fadra and new Brotherhood recruit Friam proceed to the Hall of Mirrors, where they are jumped by Wrath. Wrath was quickly destroyed, and the territory was claimed.
My toon (Elric) joined up with Fadra and Friam to go tangle with Ryuji, but he's gone. So we head to the Docks. Meanwhile, dano1122 logs in Shady, since it's his only build that's worth a damn and he knows he can beat a mage with it. He wants a piece of Fadra. Not going to stand by and watch a fellow guild member get bashed, Friam and I wait with Fadra. After several minutes of waiting and waiting (meanwhile, all buffs are wearing off), Shady comes to the Oyster. Without mestil's or EW, Fadra is easy pickings. Elric is another story though. Shady goes through numerous Restores before he runs like hell... claiming that 3 on 1 is unfair.
Elric calls for a straight one-on-one with Shady in the UD. I make it abundantly clear to all bystanders to not interfere- and all agree (Bambi, Fadra, Friam and son of thor all just want to watch). After he kills time while waiting for "backup", Shady finally comes out of the Sanctuary. The throwdown ensues between Elric and Shady. Everyone watches with great interest. All of a sudden Pyro and Jakle show up and start fighting on Shady's side (so now it's 3 on 1). Not willing to stand for a unfair fight, Bambi, Friam and Fadra all jump in. Major lag ensued! It was a fun fight watching pyro get bashed and/or run (relogging with several different toons). The fight raged for a loooooong time. The mages all had to go re-rest several times, while Elric and Shady continued to duke it out in between bashing enemy mages. (side note: battles between PM builds and monks with epic dodge last FOREVER, lol) Eventually, one of Bambi's spells goes errant and takes down Elric.
I laugh, and go get a cup of coffee and take a leak. I come back and Shady STILL hasn't killed me. Finally, Shady bashes the helpless Elric into oblivion. Nice job Shady!
After the carnage, Pyro, Jakle and Shady all claim that we weren't fighting "fair", and that's why they all jumped in. Funny thing was, it was obvious to anyone that there was a duel with interested(non-interfering) bystanders looking on. In fact, Bambi is not associated with a guild, but wanted to see a fair fight, hence she jumped in. Oh well, this is what we've all come to expect from Shadowblades. It's not the first time, and I doubt it'll be the last.
On the bright side, it looks like we started a good ol'fashioned guild war! So dust off those legendary toons and join a guild to get in on the carnage!
post-script: Jakle did send Elric a tell after the battle claiming that he only attacked me because Shady offered him entrance into a guild if he sided with him. After which, he said Shady turned on him!
not sure if that's true, since Jakle has done some strange things in the past, but it wouldn't surprise me in the least if Shady did what Jakle said.
Fun, fun, fun!
Last night, the guild leader, Osiris Ellow, began building his army. After infusing the recruits with "the red", the foot-soldiers dispersed and began capturing territories and fortresses. After a few hours, The Brotherhood laid claim to nearly all outposts... with the exception of the Maze, Docks, and Battlefields. When I log on this morning, I see a shout that Wrath Shadowblade was destroyed by the Cockatrice. Soon, Fadra De'Twent (Brotherhood champion) is battling it out with the Super Chicken. After a storm of IGMs, she slices the bird into juicy buffalo wings.
Fadra and new Brotherhood recruit Friam proceed to the Hall of Mirrors, where they are jumped by Wrath. Wrath was quickly destroyed, and the territory was claimed. My toon (Elric) joined up with Fadra and Friam to go tangle with Ryuji, but he's gone. So we head to the Docks. Meanwhile, dano1122 logs in Shady, since it's his only build that's worth a damn and he knows he can beat a mage with it. He wants a piece of Fadra. Not going to stand by and watch a fellow guild member get bashed, Friam and I wait with Fadra. After several minutes of waiting and waiting (meanwhile, all buffs are wearing off), Shady comes to the Oyster. Without mestil's or EW, Fadra is easy pickings. Elric is another story though. Shady goes through numerous Restores before he runs like hell... claiming that 3 on 1 is unfair.
Elric calls for a straight one-on-one with Shady in the UD. I make it abundantly clear to all bystanders to not interfere- and all agree (Bambi, Fadra, Friam and son of thor all just want to watch). After he kills time while waiting for "backup", Shady finally comes out of the Sanctuary. The throwdown ensues between Elric and Shady. Everyone watches with great interest. All of a sudden Pyro and Jakle show up and start fighting on Shady's side (so now it's 3 on 1). Not willing to stand for a unfair fight, Bambi, Friam and Fadra all jump in. Major lag ensued! It was a fun fight watching pyro get bashed and/or run (relogging with several different toons). The fight raged for a loooooong time. The mages all had to go re-rest several times, while Elric and Shady continued to duke it out in between bashing enemy mages. (side note: battles between PM builds and monks with epic dodge last FOREVER, lol) Eventually, one of Bambi's spells goes errant and takes down Elric.
I laugh, and go get a cup of coffee and take a leak. I come back and Shady STILL hasn't killed me. Finally, Shady bashes the helpless Elric into oblivion. Nice job Shady! After the carnage, Pyro, Jakle and Shady all claim that we weren't fighting "fair", and that's why they all jumped in. Funny thing was, it was obvious to anyone that there was a duel with interested(non-interfering) bystanders looking on. In fact, Bambi is not associated with a guild, but wanted to see a fair fight, hence she jumped in. Oh well, this is what we've all come to expect from Shadowblades. It's not the first time, and I doubt it'll be the last.
On the bright side, it looks like we started a good ol'fashioned guild war! So dust off those legendary toons and join a guild to get in on the carnage!
post-script: Jakle did send Elric a tell after the battle claiming that he only attacked me because Shady offered him entrance into a guild if he sided with him. After which, he said Shady turned on him!
not sure if that's true, since Jakle has done some strange things in the past, but it wouldn't surprise me in the least if Shady did what Jakle said.
Fun, fun, fun!
Thursday, November 6, 2008
The Missing Woodsman
Nobody really knows for sure who the woodsman was that Bruce ate, but he sure had a Great Axe.
Jim's article about Bruce and the Dark Ritual made realize that it (the Axe) just wasn't up to the UBERNESS (is that even a word?) that the Realm has progressed into. The next module update will reflect a nicer Axe worthy of the efforts.
The story behind the Anchiant Caverns is that the Trogs are searching for something. Probably something evil and powerful. They found a small chamber and sealed off to protect themselves from the monsters in it.
Being a good Bard with lots of lore, I read the sign warning us to stay out. Like the greedy fools my party members were, they went in anyway and got bombarded by IGMs. About this time the floor collapsed from under our feet and we fell so far into the ground we couldn't see up. I was glad to be alive and not hurt to badly in all that.
We wandered around for quite some time without a clue as how to get out, or if there was even an exit. The monsters weren't so bad at first. A slime thing was hard to kill and wiped our attributes down to nothing. Was glad we had a Cleric in the party to restore our attributes.
The Dracolich wasn't so tough and some sort of a giant two head skeleton got smashed into dust.
Then we stumbled on a magic door that ported us all in separate directions. That's when it got hard. A little tiny rat found me and I tried to step on it. In just a couple of bites i was near dead and ran like all hell. Luckily, Gonads the Dev Master found me and Deved this scurvy rat in one hit.
Callico Bend found a campfire to sit beside and warm up. While she was napping, (lazy is what we call her), the campfire attacked her! LMAO Being a Red Dragon Disciple, the fire couldn't hurt her and she held it at bay until the fire department showed up to save the day.
Still in search of an exit, we stumbled upon a huge Brass Dragon named Bruce. Bruce didn't waste any time attacking us and spit out a Hell-Ball that knocked us all on our butts. Can't say for sure, but I think he knocked himself down too. The battle raged on... and on... Our Mage wasn't much help, Dragons being what they are, most Mage spells bounced right off. While Callico absorbed most of the blows, Gonads kept pounding away. Merculees our Cleric kept us all healed and even walked away once and rested to get more heals. Dark Shadow, the Mage of the group claims that a few of her spells softened up Bruce for us, but I think that's just a story.
Bruce finally fell with a thud that shook all the lands. Callico Bend sliced off his balls and wears them around her neck like a trophy. Now we call her "Brass Balls Bruce". Gonads slit open the belly of the beast and found a powerful Axe. Dark Shadow jumped through a portal without concern for the rest of the party and the portal closed before we could get it together.
Dark Shadow claimed a new Outpost and we were stuck looking for an exit. Fortunately we had already killed most every thing and wandered around until we found an Anchiant Throne. Gonads being the dim-witted sort, sat in it as if he was the new King of BadLands and was then able to leave. We were smart enough to follow him out.
Bruce (no, not Springsteen) the Dragon
Bruce is an ancient Brass Dragon who resides in the Anchiant Caverns. (Do not venture there unless you have an uber toon in a party of uber toons... and a lot of time on your hands because the Caverns are HUGE).
Should you find Bruce and manage to defeat this Great Wyrm, you will be rewarded with Dark Ritual- a powerful Greataxe.
Though lacking in elemental damage (only fire 5), the +7 enhancement bonus is highly attactive. One could also use scroll/spells to buff this item up even more! This would make a great Christmas present for your Ogrillon meat shield, er, I mean melee focused party companion.
Bruce, being the badass dragon that he is, also possesses a pair of massive "balls" which he drops. I tried rubbing them like the description recommends, but all I got was hairy palms. Then I started to go blind... what gives?!
Should you find Bruce and manage to defeat this Great Wyrm, you will be rewarded with Dark Ritual- a powerful Greataxe.
Though lacking in elemental damage (only fire 5), the +7 enhancement bonus is highly attactive. One could also use scroll/spells to buff this item up even more! This would make a great Christmas present for your Ogrillon meat shield, er, I mean melee focused party companion.
Bruce, being the badass dragon that he is, also possesses a pair of massive "balls" which he drops. I tried rubbing them like the description recommends, but all I got was hairy palms. Then I started to go blind... what gives?!
Tuesday, November 4, 2008
UBER Barbarian
Being to UBER can have it's problems. There is a +12 cap on stuff added to gear. Once you hit that +12 cap, buffs from spells stop working. The Barbarian relies on her Rage to boost Strength and Constitution. But with +12 gear, the Rage has no effect making the Barbarian, useless, to be blunt.
On BadLands RPG, a Barbarian can get beyond this +12 cap. This is done by taking the +12 Str and Con off you gear and putting it on your person. Now, Rage will function normally and the Barbarian is a worthy foe or companion.
In the above pictures, you see my Pigsnout. On the Left, freshly rested. On the Right, she is fully buffed and Greater Raged.
You can see the sever messages about being level 40 and ready to take level 41, as well as Two Weapon Shield adding 1 AC. Getting beyond level 40 and up to level 60, is possible on BadLands RPG. You can also get up to +3 AC while useing two weapons or a two-handed weapon. These are separate discussions.
To become an UBER Barbarian, you need to be level 21 and have 10 Barbarian levels. Currently, you need +4 Str and +4 Con and +5 AC on three items that you're wearing. In the Stone Conjoint, is a big Half-Orc that will work with you. He takes all 12 Str and Con off of your gear and puts it on your person. Then you can Rage and get you bonus that your entitled.
A Barbarian (UBER or not) can also get UBER Rage (or did I call it Legendary Rage?) If you have 35 levels of Barbarian and all three Epic Rage Feats, then you get +12 Rage, and the use of using you standard Rage for UBER Rage. The Terrifying Rage gets bumped up a bit so it's possible to fear some monsters that are your level.
Feat: Blindsight 60
There are many unique things in and about BadLands RPG. Some you may find in other Realms and some you may not. Blindsight 60 is available to a few select Sub-Races. For now, Deep Orc and Orkling have the natural hunting instincts that give them Blindsight 60.
Blindsight 60 feet is similar to True Seeing. Better probably. Nothing can escape your senses within a 60 foot radius. Darkness and Blinded have little to no effect. Blindsight is the combined input from all your senses. Not just sight as with True Seeing or Spot Skill. Unlike True Seeing which is a spell and can wear off or be dis-spelled, Blindsight is permanent.
Think of a worthy predator seeking it's prey, like a Shark or a Mountain Lion, they have naturally high senses. Now, think of a Bat flying at night in total darkness, never hitting things we can't see. Finding tiny insects to eat that we could not see even in the best conditions.
Now, combine all those together. You can be deafened, but it still have other sensory inputs. Bind and deaf? Not a problem. Did you bathe today? I thought not. You stink!
And yes, everything has it's weaknesses, even a Deep Orc with Blindsight 60.
Monday, November 3, 2008
Le Whip
The Famed Le Whip has been found and returned! The next module update will reflect this change. In some sort of not-so-funny mix-up, Le Whip had been replaced by (gag me with a spoon) Ritualistic Whip.I feel the need to point out that this is much more desirable of an item and worthy of the effort to get it. Even if you don't want to use it, it sells for a wad of gold. A "wad" is more than you can count, if you were wondering.
This was Sheelo's drop, but was given to Bebilith some time ago. It's hard to say which boss is harder to kill. A lot of that depends on you build, party and level.
Good hunting and good luck!
What is the Spirit of Dungeons and Dragons?
Leg enD said... Q said : I run a "Dungeons and Dragons" server. This is not a "Whatever" server.
I have said that many times before.
I can also be quoted as having said, "It's BadLands, not BadPlayers and not SoftLands."
This Topic is not to bust on anybody, but to ask a simple question:
What is "The Spirit of Dungeons and Dragons"?
Dungeons and Dragons started in the 70's as a board game with a setting of five players. One DM and four Characters. Everything changes with time and so has Dungeons and Dragons.
Now that Dungeons and Dragons has opened up to Multi-Player On-Line Gaming, how has this effected Dungeons and Dragons?
I have said that many times before.
I can also be quoted as having said, "It's BadLands, not BadPlayers and not SoftLands."
This Topic is not to bust on anybody, but to ask a simple question:
What is "The Spirit of Dungeons and Dragons"?
Dungeons and Dragons started in the 70's as a board game with a setting of five players. One DM and four Characters. Everything changes with time and so has Dungeons and Dragons.
Now that Dungeons and Dragons has opened up to Multi-Player On-Line Gaming, how has this effected Dungeons and Dragons?
- Question One: What was that Spirit like before computerized gaming?
- Question Two: Has computerized gaming changed this Spirit and if so, Why?
- Question Three: What is the modern Spirit of Dungeons and Dragons
- Question Four: Why is this Spirit important?
Qwildurn - The know-it-all teacher that can't learn anything new because I already know it all.
Sunday, November 2, 2008
Silencer
Here's a sweet staff with all kinds of added goodies for you. If you think you're man enough to take down the Queen of the Underdark, then this can be yours.
Ritualist Whip
If you're into whips-n-chains, then this beauty is for you.
You can claim this prize by defeating the evil spider named "Bebilith".
Saturday, November 1, 2008
Nephtys Ellow, the Gnome
Friday night and a drunken Simon.. He logs in with Jim and we go trogging for a while. Jim logs off and Simon stays. He stays in ud sanctuary for a long time. Telling me that he had just made a drink, I get curious. Simon is always Simon, plus alcohol = major laughs for everyone.
We needed an extra ethercap gland but Simon couldn't focus much. After a few laps in deserted caverns, we went back to Cold Cliffs, but a shades with a robotic voice had killed the ethercap before us. So Nephthys, the gnome wanted revenge..
After getting her ass kicked by the robotic shades and Kitiara, the mage, we resumed our xp'ing on North Face. It got interesting because darian and dano logged in, so we had a pretty "role playing" experience over shout.
Til Nephthy's big mouth made a indigo fairy pretty pissed off...
Of course, it resulted in a dead hafling.. errr.. sry, gnome..
Not long after that, we were able to see/hear an interesting shout. For you who never met mickes or Ledak, here's a sample of what you have missed:
The gnome still wanted revenge but apparently couldn't even concentrate to send a tell to the correct person..
I was half asleep here, so I just laugh at that..
We had some interesting pvp stuff between Simon and dano but I didn't take any screen caps, sry about that!
Friday, October 31, 2008
Open Season on Leg | enD
In a forum post by Leg, he made it very clear that he wants to be able to PK lowbies without penalty. So let's give what he wants. Open Season on Leg.
Legs post: it did not copy/paste well:
"just an idea, love it hate it, it up to you a system where an account is in ONE guild, every character made from lvl 1 is in that guild (unless u want to keep different characters at different alignments, then this whole idea kinda blows) makeing all characters watever thier alignment restrictions are, the alignment of the chosen guild. guilds imo should be able to use all of the games 'lamer' areas, disarming pickpocketing hunting of lowbies (without penalties) as freely as they want considering thier alignment (there will always bee a good evil and neutral guild, usualy more neutral but thats un avoidable really) e.g in a 'war' for the good to surpress the evil and the other way, should those guilds be able to try halt how fast thier opponents create more characters? and how powerful the items the characters use are? feel free to add to or ignore this, a comment of any kind is always apreciated *edit* rofl, will try go into this more when i aint so wasted :\"
Legs post: it did not copy/paste well:
"just an idea, love it hate it, it up to you a system where an account is in ONE guild, every character made from lvl 1 is in that guild (unless u want to keep different characters at different alignments, then this whole idea kinda blows) makeing all characters watever thier alignment restrictions are, the alignment of the chosen guild. guilds imo should be able to use all of the games 'lamer' areas, disarming pickpocketing hunting of lowbies (without penalties) as freely as they want considering thier alignment (there will always bee a good evil and neutral guild, usualy more neutral but thats un avoidable really) e.g in a 'war' for the good to surpress the evil and the other way, should those guilds be able to try halt how fast thier opponents create more characters? and how powerful the items the characters use are? feel free to add to or ignore this, a comment of any kind is always apreciated *edit* rofl, will try go into this more when i aint so wasted :\"
Big Jak Attack
Here’s the story of what happened with Nephthys Ellow lvl 17-18 (Halfling Rogue) vs. Jakle lvl 21 - 22, (shades wiz/monk, with disarm)
1.) I’m XP’ing in the beholder caves, minding my own business as usual.
2.) Jakle walks up and says “invite”. And being the wonderful person that I am, I oblige.
3.) Jakle ends up being higher level than me, my xp drops from 800 per kill to 600. I politly ‘leave’ the party, I do not boot the person.
4.) Jakle aks “why?” I explain, he says “ok, I won’t take all the spawns”. Im thinking, whatever.
5.) Simon hears a loud noise on the roof of his house and stupidly leaves his rogue standing un-manned to go investigate.
6.) Simon returns to see his rogue surrounded by many beholders and Jakle bashing it.
7.) Simon quickly realizes Nephthys has NO WEAPONS. And immediately runs for the weapon shop.
8.) Jakle sends Simon a “tell”. “To be honest, I didn’t want to share, and I needed the money”
9.) Witty banter ensuses.
10.) Deimonos logs in 2 minutes after this has happened with the same lvl range char as Simon, they party and start XP’ing.
11.) Jakle sends a ‘Shout’. “Which shop buy for the highest price?” Yep, he’s gonna go and sell my weapons for money. He was wondering if there’s a shop behind a locked door in Newport.
12.) Jakle private messages Deimonos asking if he can pick locks, lol, Deimonos using his quick-wit lures Jakle back into the beholder caves where we are waiting for him.
13.) Nephthys & Margo (Deims cleric) start bashing Jakle. Jakle starts running like a bitch. Nephthys literally chases Jakle through most of UD yelling “Run Bitch!”
14.) Jakle escapes due to his great speed and hides up in mountain slide (I think)
15.) Margo the cleric makes her way up to mountain slide and finishes him off. LoL, nice job.
Jakle had said before most of that had happened that he was an old BadLands player from 3 years ago and that he planned on “Taking it all back”. Good luck, my friend. Good luck.
After getting bashed he wanted to be friends and even offered to return my Kukri.
I had to then let him know that the Kukri held no sentimental value to me.
1.) I’m XP’ing in the beholder caves, minding my own business as usual.
2.) Jakle walks up and says “invite”. And being the wonderful person that I am, I oblige.
3.) Jakle ends up being higher level than me, my xp drops from 800 per kill to 600. I politly ‘leave’ the party, I do not boot the person.
4.) Jakle aks “why?” I explain, he says “ok, I won’t take all the spawns”. Im thinking, whatever.
5.) Simon hears a loud noise on the roof of his house and stupidly leaves his rogue standing un-manned to go investigate.
6.) Simon returns to see his rogue surrounded by many beholders and Jakle bashing it.
7.) Simon quickly realizes Nephthys has NO WEAPONS. And immediately runs for the weapon shop.
8.) Jakle sends Simon a “tell”. “To be honest, I didn’t want to share, and I needed the money”
9.) Witty banter ensuses.
10.) Deimonos logs in 2 minutes after this has happened with the same lvl range char as Simon, they party and start XP’ing.
11.) Jakle sends a ‘Shout’. “Which shop buy for the highest price?” Yep, he’s gonna go and sell my weapons for money. He was wondering if there’s a shop behind a locked door in Newport.
12.) Jakle private messages Deimonos asking if he can pick locks, lol, Deimonos using his quick-wit lures Jakle back into the beholder caves where we are waiting for him.
13.) Nephthys & Margo (Deims cleric) start bashing Jakle. Jakle starts running like a bitch. Nephthys literally chases Jakle through most of UD yelling “Run Bitch!”
14.) Jakle escapes due to his great speed and hides up in mountain slide (I think)
15.) Margo the cleric makes her way up to mountain slide and finishes him off. LoL, nice job.
Jakle had said before most of that had happened that he was an old BadLands player from 3 years ago and that he planned on “Taking it all back”. Good luck, my friend. Good luck.
After getting bashed he wanted to be friends and even offered to return my Kukri.
I had to then let him know that the Kukri held no sentimental value to me.
Thursday, October 30, 2008
The True Essence Of Lameness
So, after Darian got jumped by many.. I was grouped with mango, blade and tron.
We got some lvls.. wait, I was actually grouped with Simon.. and we got jumped by jakle the shades monk20/wiz2.. that guy was hilarious..
After Simon logged off, I joined Merin.. (A-Rock) and we went to lurids---sheelo.. since we had a big group we had to go back and forth for glands..
When me and blade reached lvl 28 (tron was 30+), Simon relogged and after seing him in ud sanctuary, he popped right in front of us on north face. Being a polite person that I am, I said greetings, but by accident I stepped on his head and the little thing was gone :(
Then, 12blahblahragnarok12, the tough guy comes one slope up and we all know what's going to happen.
He casts a Hellball on us, then goes straight to me and deved my char in one hit. I didn't see what happened to the others, I just joined the fun.
Cain, after a long time in torpor, wakes up to have some quality time bashing tough guys wannabe.
He goes to Sheelo and sees some traces of dead polar bears along the way to polar cap. He follows and not long after he sees the "Damned" killing some bears.
So the igms spam begins. After taking some and lagging everything from bears and igms, he tried to hide near the wall, to block Cain's view, which stops the igms flow. He tried to spam heal himself, but he knows it will not be enough, so he tries to swing his sword at Cain, but he can't even hit a flat-footed con based mage. Fearing that his end is near, he tried to run to the cave entrance, dying while running away, like all tough guys do..
After I heard simon telling me Jakle wanted us to be buds and lvl up together.. I just thought it was too damn sad.. the guy disarmed Simon twice, tried to pk us once or twice, and after seing that he couldn't handle us, he tried to make amends..
12--ragnarok--12 is a total different matter. I even heard he was bitching to the online DM at that moment. Which is kinda fun. The guy bashes a lowbie and that's fine. When you do the same to him, he cries. Why is it common with all those guys? Guess it's just not as fun when the lowbie you kill has many legendary chars and can probably choose which one to kick your ass.
Ahh and all that in just one day.. good and fun Thursday.. lol
I may make him my shado251988. Call me Deurack.. :)
We got some lvls.. wait, I was actually grouped with Simon.. and we got jumped by jakle the shades monk20/wiz2.. that guy was hilarious..
After Simon logged off, I joined Merin.. (A-Rock) and we went to lurids---sheelo.. since we had a big group we had to go back and forth for glands..
When me and blade reached lvl 28 (tron was 30+), Simon relogged and after seing him in ud sanctuary, he popped right in front of us on north face. Being a polite person that I am, I said greetings, but by accident I stepped on his head and the little thing was gone :(
Then, 12blahblahragnarok12, the tough guy comes one slope up and we all know what's going to happen.
He casts a Hellball on us, then goes straight to me and deved my char in one hit. I didn't see what happened to the others, I just joined the fun.
Cain, after a long time in torpor, wakes up to have some quality time bashing tough guys wannabe.
He goes to Sheelo and sees some traces of dead polar bears along the way to polar cap. He follows and not long after he sees the "Damned" killing some bears.
So the igms spam begins. After taking some and lagging everything from bears and igms, he tried to hide near the wall, to block Cain's view, which stops the igms flow. He tried to spam heal himself, but he knows it will not be enough, so he tries to swing his sword at Cain, but he can't even hit a flat-footed con based mage. Fearing that his end is near, he tried to run to the cave entrance, dying while running away, like all tough guys do..
After I heard simon telling me Jakle wanted us to be buds and lvl up together.. I just thought it was too damn sad.. the guy disarmed Simon twice, tried to pk us once or twice, and after seing that he couldn't handle us, he tried to make amends..
12--ragnarok--12 is a total different matter. I even heard he was bitching to the online DM at that moment. Which is kinda fun. The guy bashes a lowbie and that's fine. When you do the same to him, he cries. Why is it common with all those guys? Guess it's just not as fun when the lowbie you kill has many legendary chars and can probably choose which one to kick your ass.
Ahh and all that in just one day.. good and fun Thursday.. lol
I may make him my shado251988. Call me Deurack.. :)
Wednesday, October 29, 2008
More shirts!
I was thinking of making a onesie or toddler sized clothing, but only Dano and a few others would fit in them.
Coming Soon (If You're Lucky)
For the ladies.
Anyone interested? If so, I'll pursue some different things.
Player Etiquette (Guilds)
Here's my random question for the day, is it okay for one player to have his/hers various PC's in different Guilds. One can see the obvious advantages and exploits doing this has to offer.
Your thoughts?
Your thoughts?
Tuesday, October 28, 2008
Love and Balance
The following was sent to me in a PM (Private Message) by Leg enD. Leg is not new to BadLands, just BadLands RPG. I know of Gnoff as an NPC in BadLands, did not know Gnoff was also a real Person. But quite a few of the Bosses and/or high-level NPCs were named after the original members that started building BadLands as a group. Stride is one we all know as a BOSS. It is a lot of reading, but I found it interesting and will pass it on without any edits.
Qwildurn
From: Leg enD
To: Qwildurn
Posted: Tue Oct 28, 2008 9:20 pm
Subject: some light reading, ignore if your not interested, its long here's the reply i got after asking a long time badlands player (longer than even me) what he thought about dodgy/badlands X. it also imo sums up ideal balance as the person who wrote it... really knows thier shit.
Gonff "Measure in Love" says:
It's taken me a little bit to get back to you on the whole Badlands and Balance thing...
Gonff "Measure in Love" says:
People never seemed to understand what a multi-faceted thing PvP balance was, the ideas that resided in it, the concepts that went with it, and the math involved in it.
Gonff "Measure in Love" says:
I wanted to make a post detailing that on the still flopping Badlands X forums, but have no real active account... you see.. people see balance as a singular issue, they look at one issue troubling them, and to them, at that second, that is balance... but in reality, it's like looking at a scratch on one side of a gem covered in other sides, and wondering what, if anything, you can do to it without shattering the gem in question.
Gonff "Measure in Love" says:
what I'm saying is... it's like looking at a tree-chart that all flows into balance... actions players can / are allowed to take affect balance (locks, pick pocket, disarm, so called griefing).
Gonff "Measure in Love" says:
weapons affect balance (I cannot count the number of times I have had to argue with someone why, exactly, 2d6 is better than 1d12, or why 2d4 is better than 1d10 for that matter, despite the upward of two damage potential.), and you can have your boss rapier if you intelligently accomodate for it by creating things that are less used that people can build for (someone is always going to use a crafted rapier/kukri/scimitar, the critical hit range is just too worth it).
Gonff "Measure in Love" says:
spells affect balance, how you nerf heal should be proportional to how IGMs is nerfed, how acid sheeth is nerfed in relation to elemental shield / death ward, the spells you disable and the spells you enable.
Gonff "Measure in Love" says:
: items affect balance, what statistics you can gain for your character, what you can merge into shape shifts, the variety of maxed stats you can make if you're willing to sacrifice things, the bonuses to skills you can find if you combine items properly.
Gonff "Measure in Love" says:
There's a slew of other things that affect balance as well... Classes, skill points, traps, basic character progression, money (to an extent), how fast one could feasibly level (no xp transfers is generally a rule of thumb) alignment restrictions, and lack of subraces (to create the potential to add towards one stat IS unbalanced, as it's not accomodated for in the original design, I.e. a character with the ability to gain +2 wisdom while still making the race playable and implimentable, no matter what detriment you give them, will always be a great DC cleric / druid, or a wonderful zen archer.
Gonff "Measure in Love" says:
but these things don't just affect THEMSELVES, and that's what people miss out on. They influence EACH OTHER. Your powerful items are indeed useful so long as dwarven defenders are still viable class selections. Your maximised IGMs can do 120 unerring damage as long as a player can potentially and feasably break the mage's damage reduction in some way shape or form, you can have characters that potentially heal for 390 hit points if you accomodate for it with character ability traits like stunning fist or devistating critical hit, you can get rid of healkits if you are willing to modify acid sheeth slightly.
Gonff "Measure in Love" says:
and these choices should be left up to someone who has spent a great deal of time studying and learning from how they all coincide, someone who will not feasibly lose sight of the bigger picture, despite the fact that they still play and experience the game.
Gonff "Measure in Love" says:
not simply one person, as we learned from leaf, but a staff of people all similarly educated, with slight differences in class selection, potential building strategies, and module affecting skills that they bring to the table.
Gonff "Measure in Love" says:
there need not be a public relations officer if this is done right, because players should play and be happy... sure it may suck to get trumped by the mage on path of the beaten, but the ten people who made it possible obviously thought of a way (or in the case of a mage, several dozen) to kill that mage and many more.
Gonff "Measure in Love" says:
simple lack of inginuity and resourcefulness isn't an excuse for the clamour that the Badlands 3000 staff constantly recieved. While we tried to finalize balance, we got earfuls of complaints from everyone from Sweetly / Dhast, to Highv, about how we could reel in more players, when we lost sight of what our ten people had been elected to do... there were no propaganda machines here, our ten man staff was no office of immigrations, it was a government of balance.
Gonff "Measure in Love" says:
why should the people who are focusing so hard on the balanced side of the server be the ones responsible for bringing in players... in the past, that was the job of OTHER players. When I played and was not a DM, I went from server to server, sometimes using less subtle methods, but sometimes simply playing there for an evening, making a variety of friends, and then bidding them farewell as I left to return to my intriguing home.
Gonff "Measure in Love" says:
Players who played DeX obviously came here steadily as a result of players who played here who USED to play on DeX. We know DEX players played here, because DEX shortly after changed its crafting system and spell balance to imitate ours. It has since strayed, yes... but there were obviously people there... now there were no DEX members on the staff, with the possible exception of Gein, (a lot of ex DEX members though) and yet they still came here in droves, because their fellow PLAYERS told them about it.
Gonff "Measure in Love" says:
there's nothing we can change here that will bring in players if those players don't know what we did... changing things to attract a fanbase is futile. A techno artist does not become a country singer in order to bring in droves of rednecks. They enjoy their noteriety in their field, despite the fact that it may be significantly smaller (Small circles of people vs the entire south)
Gonff "Measure in Love" says:
and yet people clamoured like mad for the changes they got with Badlands X... Dodgy was the Barrack Obama of Badlands... he came forward, no experience, said "Let's have change", implimented the change, and now he's closing the doors.
Gonff "Measure in Love" says:
Sure, his charisma and people's desperation made for a lot of suckers... but it's obvious that some change is not good change. Sometimes the old standby needs a tad bit of tweaking to be worthwhile again, but a solid system that malfunctions is better than a new system that doesn't start.
Gonff "Measure in Love" says:
Badlands is the exact same way... and yet people still don't see it. People like Highv still advocate that people should be allowed to say exactly what gets changed... but sometimes you get an ignorent majority, and then you're on thin ice... And when that ice cracks, Badlands X happens.
Gonff "Measure in Love" says:
I've already got deli signed on for hosting badlands roughly once a week so that the older players who actually understand all of these things can have a place to go... People served a great deal of time and effort into the server with actual knowlege, only to be put down and scoffed at by hyper-critical people who, rather than learn the game, would have it handed to them.
Gonff "Measure in Love" says:
Over the time I've played Badlands, there were so few people who were non staff members that I still respected, that it disheartened me. I respected people who had a drive to learn the game, and the humility to admit that even if they'd been playing it for five years, they still didn't know what they were doing.
Gonff "Measure in Love" says:
Dodgy was one of those people, but he felt that rather than listen to wisdom, changes could be implimented to the system that he saw fit... Unfortunately, I think we can all agree Dodgy's system was more than a little broken. If someone says they have played other servers, and did not like them, and need to play badlands, why do those same people advocate the addition of things that would make badlands no more than one of those very servers we were just talking about? Subraces, additional classes, etc. have so little bearing on the world at large.
Gonff "Measure in Love" says:
What matters isn't what you offer, it's how you offer it. Badlands had a nice 60 players when DEX was no more. DEX came back, and its balance sucks. It offers by far the most terrible PVP experience I've ever born witness to, and yet it draws a crowd, because it has members that do just that, draw a crowd. Badlands was once the place that noobs stepped into and came out as hardcore PVPers, but that age died a long time ago. If you're looking for a game or a server with a ton of people, simply put, play world of warcraft... but if you're looking for a balanced hand at being able to create a wide variety of characters, you need to get over some of the more boring parts of the game.
Gonff "Measure in Love" says:
People bitch and moan about leveling, they say they have fifty characters, but what's important is making the experience worthwhile. Strid and I have never once complained that leveling is boring. Each new character is an adventure that we usually share together, from level 1 to level 40, and we do it because we make the world our own. Vampires and Driders hold a special place for me when leveling, because I remember a great deal of things happening in those areas. What's important isn't what you offer, it's how you offer it. You can sell a blind man oranges, if you can just convince him that they're sweet apples.
Gonff "Measure in Love" says:
I enjoy leveling because it's the unique experience. If you think about it, the ability to combine character races, classes, and abilities, are what adds for so much diversity to the game, and sets it apart from world of warcraft. If you're in it for players, WoW has it hands down... if you're in it for that diversity, stop complaining about what it takes to get there... Those millions of combinations can't be available and still be something else. The people balancing that give birth to that which makes NWN what it is, an excersize in diversity, the ability to build characters endlessly, make thousands of them over the course of years, and still have new ideas and new potentials. As time goes on, it only gets more challenging, but it gets easier to learn to... Databases exist that can take a lot of the work out of learning. To make the game fun, you have to embrace what makes it what it is, and that's balanced diversity, not a large player base.
Gonff "Measure in Love" says:
If you're willing to read all that insight, bravo to you. If you're willing to copy paste it to forums, a round of applause for you. I'll grant you I still have access to reading them through other accounts, but I'll not be posting there again. I rarely post in places where vast amounts of experience and opinion are not rewarded
Gonff "Measure in Love" says:
Until we talk again Leg, take care, and best of luck in everything you do.
Stupid Question Of The Day.
If you're a high level PC, will the treasure chests in the lowbie areas still randomly generate blank scrolls, bone wands, and History of Newport books?
New BadLands Forums
A player that goes by "Legend" or "Leg" as you may have seen has created an offical forum for all things BadLands RPG. Go check it out and start posting!
I also added a permanent link in the "Neverwinter Links" section of this blog.
BadLands Forums
Monday, October 27, 2008
Badlands Revelations
"And I saw, and behold, a pale horse: and he that sat upon him, his name was Death; and Hades followed with him. And there was given unto them authority over the fourth part of the earth, to kill with sword, and with famine, and with death, and by the wild beasts of the earth."
The Arcane Brotherhood, though possessed of a few mighty sorcerers and those with the Blood of the Magi, are rarely seen in the Badlands. Perhaps it's because they travel the planes and dimensions seeking absolute power, leaving them little time to make brief returns to the Prime Material Plane. Whatever the reason, they have noticed a changing pattern in the Badlands: The prisoners are running the prison; the impure and feint of heart run roughshod over the few remaining lesser nobles. This incursion by half-breeds and serfs has spread like a plague from Newport to Sheelo. Hellie Layne has convened the Council of Elders in Newport to deal with the uprising of the peasantry. With far laying interests throughout the known Universe, the Arcane Brotherhood cannot hope to punish and remove the "Shadow Blades" and "free blads" from their reign of terror without help from the Arcane's ages old enemy- the Death Dealers.
Okay, enough of my RPG mode. There's been some discussion of this over the past few weeks, but I'd like to see something become official. "Blades" and "blads" are seriously out of control. I suggest either an Arcane/Dealers allegiance, or dissolving one (or both) and starting fresh. Perhaps Thanatos can become reborn. Whatever the case, Simon and I can't deal with these scrotes by ourselves. I now open it up to comments from the audience...
The Arcane Brotherhood, though possessed of a few mighty sorcerers and those with the Blood of the Magi, are rarely seen in the Badlands. Perhaps it's because they travel the planes and dimensions seeking absolute power, leaving them little time to make brief returns to the Prime Material Plane. Whatever the reason, they have noticed a changing pattern in the Badlands: The prisoners are running the prison; the impure and feint of heart run roughshod over the few remaining lesser nobles. This incursion by half-breeds and serfs has spread like a plague from Newport to Sheelo. Hellie Layne has convened the Council of Elders in Newport to deal with the uprising of the peasantry. With far laying interests throughout the known Universe, the Arcane Brotherhood cannot hope to punish and remove the "Shadow Blades" and "free blads" from their reign of terror without help from the Arcane's ages old enemy- the Death Dealers. Okay, enough of my RPG mode. There's been some discussion of this over the past few weeks, but I'd like to see something become official. "Blades" and "blads" are seriously out of control. I suggest either an Arcane/Dealers allegiance, or dissolving one (or both) and starting fresh. Perhaps Thanatos can become reborn. Whatever the case, Simon and I can't deal with these scrotes by ourselves. I now open it up to comments from the audience...
Saturday, October 25, 2008
Badlands Lives Up To Its Reputation
Recently a number of nasty pvp interactions have been going on. And we all love it.
Try to remember the basic code most people follow.
1. Accept defeat with some dignity.
2. Heal kit spamming and spawn running is considered most embarrassing.
3. If you need allies , rely on friends or guild members. Don't cry ( see rule 1)
4. Try to fight someone about your own level or you will be hunted soon after.
5. Enjoy it .... and remember its a game.
Personally I got owned more than I like. So if you think you had a good start to the weekend , I will settle the score.
Tuesday, October 21, 2008
Random PvP Tip Of The Day.
NEVER start shit with a fellow BadLander and then leave your character standing with its thumb in its butt in a full PvP area, while you, the player, are AFK (Away From Keyboard).
The other person WILL kill you. You've all been officially warned. :P
Monday, October 20, 2008
Random Money Tip For Noobs.
So you've managed to earn a few levels on BadLands RPG and you're still willing to keep battling your way through new and exciting lands, but in all your excitment you've managed to run out of money early on making it impossible to upgrade your gear to make life easier. "What ever shall I do!?" you ask, well thats easy, remember all those treasure chests, crates, & coffins early in the game? Yeah, the ones you didn't feel like checking because you were to busy hacking enemies to pieces. Those things are full of useful itmes! REALLY!? yep, they are.
One being gems that you sell for GOLD! cool! The next important thing you may not realize are those pesky blank scrolls, bone wands, and History of Newport books. What good is all that garbage? You don't even have scribe scroll or craft wand skills, and you definatly HATE history. Well, forget about yourself for once stupid! There's a good chance that your local high level mage or other PC would be VERY interested in buying those from you, so make sure you stuff your inventory full and cash in, then when you hit lvl 21 you can upgrade all your junk and become a BadLands Badass!
One being gems that you sell for GOLD! cool! The next important thing you may not realize are those pesky blank scrolls, bone wands, and History of Newport books. What good is all that garbage? You don't even have scribe scroll or craft wand skills, and you definatly HATE history. Well, forget about yourself for once stupid! There's a good chance that your local high level mage or other PC would be VERY interested in buying those from you, so make sure you stuff your inventory full and cash in, then when you hit lvl 21 you can upgrade all your junk and become a BadLands Badass!
Saturday, October 18, 2008
Subraces txt file
I have a request for Q:
Would it be possible to update the DAR subraces text on your website with the latest subrace listing on the Badlands?
Friday, October 17, 2008
The Real Evil
This is an image of the older factions of evil that once haunted Badlands. Lovely , yes? All Shadow Blades pretenders better prepare nappies and tell their mommas to get a safety blankie ready.
The factions of Arcane Brotherhood and Death Dealers will soon undergo a diabolical transformation that makes these three hotties beg for more.
No longer will Shadow Blades own all the outposts , new recruits and guild dominance.
Soon the sisters will eat all those naughty little children left out in Badlands.
Words of Uthlari Rendflesh, the stocky one with the eyeshadow :)
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
Posts
