Merry Christmas & a Happy New Year

Hiya Blade here.

I have been inactive as far as Badlands RPG is concerned for some time now. Also this site has had little activity for some time. It has been a little while since I saw the Badlands RPG server up too.

I have been playing Dragon Age Origins (new Bioware game) on a new quad core computer and have just finished my first runthrough. Username "Fizzbangblade" if you want to send me an invite on the Bioware server.

Also I still regularly play NWN1 online, playing on Dalakora PW which is a longterm commitment for me.

Would be fun if it was possible to meet up with the old crowd over Christmas or in the New Year.

Wishing you all a Merry Christmas & a Happy New Year,

All the Best .........Blade :)

Problem Solved?

Two weeks ago (July 14), I posted this article Server Crashing / Not Auto-Restarting about the server and the troubles I was having finding the cause of the problem.

The last hing I changed in my blind test, was the removal of the user-made NWNX plug-in that blanks out the Player List Window at log-on. That was about a week ago and the server seems be stable now and able to recover from a crash again.

I have had a few mishaps that are non-related but could seem as if they are the same thing to the players. That is to say that I have had ISP problems causing the server to go offline for hours at a time. In the cases of ISP issues, I and the tech from Verizon were here working on it the whole time. We seem to have resolved those issues as well.

Other than the ISP thing, the server seems to be stable and able to recover from a crash on it's own again. Hopefully, I can end this story with, "And they all lived happily ever after. The End."

Internet Bandwidth (speed)

As some of you may have noticed, the server has been down for hours at a time during this last week. I have been getting my Internet from Verizon FiOS for about nine months now. Last week I had them turn on the TV service which included better Internet service. This has been nothing short of problems. In my warped little mind, it should have been as simple as "hook up a box and go home". But, after three different service technicians, countless hours of their time at my house, countless hours of my time on the phone with tech support, and them changing every piece of equipment three times, it seems to be done.

I am paying for 25 Mb/s download and 25 Mb/s upload. (25 Mega bits per second). When I had cable from Time-Warner I was paying for 5 Mb/s down and 500 Kb/s up.

That's 25/25 compared to 5/0.5. Both charge the same price per month. Time-Warner is "cable" while Verizon FiOS is "fiber optic".

My complaint to Verizon was that I thought I was not getting what I was paying for. For nine months I was paying for 15/15 and getting 15/15. With the "upgrade" to 25/25 and using the same testing tools, my results were less than the 15/15 I had been getting. Verizon has their own "tool" and it won't work with Windows Vista and Internet Explorer 8. My server uses Windows 2000 and gives me a terrible report (it showed 15/15 when I was paying for 15/15).

Basically, Fiber Optic to the consumer is so new that everybody is still learning the new stuff. I feel like a Beta Tester. Beta Testers usually get free stuff. Where is my free stuff?

There are only two tools that show my bandwidth near what I pay for.
http://www.speedtest.net/index.php
http://myspeed.visualware.com/

Now that I'm done bitching, I thought it might be interesting to see what bandwidth others are getting. Use whatever means you want and post a blurb here with your best results. Are you getting what you're paying for? Most ISP's don't want to tell you what you're paying for, so you may have a rough time finding the truth.

To explain bandwidth some:
Dial-up: is rated at 56k. In the USA, the FCC has capped it at 52k. This "56k" is shared between both download and upload. That means that if you're downloading at 40k, you have 16k available for upload.

DSL and Cable (broadband): No upper cap, goes as fast as the hardware can go. Direction is not shared. The ISP uses a throttle to limit your speed. In the fine-print of your contract is the "speed" they are selling you. A typical DSL number will be 1.5 Mb/s down and 256 Kb/s up.

T1 and T3 type connections: These are normally reserved for commercial accounts and are hundreds of dollars per month. Bandwidth is shared, down and up. If you pay for 10 Mb and are uploading 8 Mb to clients, you have 2 Mb left for download.

Verizon FiOS: This is FIBER OPTIC to the consumer. It is treated like DSL or Cable with guaranteed down/up speeds. Like Cable, maxing your download speed does not compromise your upload speed. The ISP can and will throttle back your connection unless you pay more money. Toss enough money their way and they will let you run wide-open.

Contrary to popular belief (spread by the ISP's), UPLOAD SPEED MATTERS. If you're on the WEB, it is constantly a two-way communication with one server or another. You click a link asking for a download or a new page, your request can't go "UP" any faster than your upload speed. While downloading a big file, you probably get bored and start "surfing" to find that things are slow, sluggish, LAGGY. You might blame your own computer for being old and slow. Most likely it is your upload speed that has been compromised.

While that big file is coming in, it comes in what is called "packets". Your computer is talking to the server, "I am ready for the next packet", "The last packet was damaged, please resend".

And you are asking for a new web page. This sets up a new set of packets and communication. Granted, you are using more download traffic than up, but, it is the "up" that is congested.
TRAFFIC JAM - RUSH HOUR
Most any old computer can keep up with the Internet.

The other thing that I have found is that not all hardware is the same. They all make the same claims, but they don't all perform as claimed. I own as much of my own hardware as I can. When I had cable from Time-Warner, I could double what they claimed they were selling.

Let's not overlook the countless unknown variables in the Internet. You don't know what the server is capable of, or how busy it is. You don't know how many connections between you and "The Server". I found a tool the could count Internet "hops" and counted 13 connections to a server that was 50 miles away. You don't know how many others are on the web in your area, or one of the "hops" your going through.

I know most computer users don't need to be as involved as I am. I kind have to cause I run a server (and I kind of like it). But don't you want to know if your getting what your paying for?

Server Crashing / Not Auto-Restarting

As some of you may have noticed recently, the server (game module to be specific) has been crashing and not restarting. Normally there is a third-party monitoring program (NWNX) that detects a crashed game and restarts it. For reasons unknown to me yet, this "auto-restart" has been failing.

The last thing I did was add a plug-in to blank out the player list window. I don't actually know if this is or is not the cause, but I have removed it anyway.

I prefer seeing the player list in this window. My reason is that with it blank, the server appears empty. I do agree that some of it's information is not needed and might even be considered private information that could fall into the "cheat" category.

But, since I don't know how to write for this DLL file to make it work different, it's an "all or nothing" deal. If the server starts to function correctly (recovering from a crash), this is ultimately more important.

If any of you know a bit about programing, I can get you the source code. I think it was written in C, but that just a guess.

Bitch Blade Jade

Okay, so I was really interested in trying Q's new invisible helm system and some other crafting things available on BadLands RPG. The above screen capture is my test character "Bitch Blade Jade" sporting the new invisible helmet and a custom head model that you can download and install from Q's website (see sidebar). All in all it seems to be working great and makes character customization fun.


Another thing you can do to customize your toon is talk to the Tattoo Girl in the Tattoo parlor, she allows you to change different heads and also the colors of your hair, skin, tattoos ect. Pretty cool stuff. One problem I noticed is lack of selection for choosing a new character portrait, or an option to "Keep original" (assuming thats even possible). I ended up getting stuck with some weird lizard thing as my portrait. LOL. Anyways, everything else is fun as hell and you should give it a try! (Minus the portrait changer)

Shifters and Druids

With some careful experimentation and the use of the new Invisible Helm Tool, I bring you this picture.


I carefully put my AC and other upgrades on my gear. Then I shifted into a "polymorph" shape. Depending on what form you shift into determines what item will or won't be used. Those properties get merged together on a "creature skin".

At the time of this picture I am level 6 and have Dozo gear. As you can see, the item properties are there, but not stacking. The four counts of AC only equals +1 AC. As does all the attributes. Each type is list more than once, but can't stack. Four of these properties are part of this Polymorph Shape, Damage Immunity: Fire; Damage Vulnerability: Cold; Immunity: Paralysis; True Seeing.

In the Stats Window, you will see three damage types listed as the main attack. Without a special tool, I can only guess what this means. On monsters that I have built with three types of monster weapons, they all show up just like that. So I am assuming this Polymorph Shape has been assigned three monster weapons, one in each of the three creature weapon slots (3 max).

The other thing I found, is that some Polymorph Shapes are strength based while others are dexterity based. This means that, You the Druid, need to take Weapon Finesse even if, You the Druid are strength based. Taking Weapon Focus in unarmed does raise the creature weapon AB. So, again, you should take unarmed focus even if, You the Druid, are using a longsword.

I have not got into the higher level Polymorph Shapes like the Vampire that gets a longsword or the Minotaur that gets a big axe. It's till unknown to me how the weapon focus will work here.

While in Druid form, rest and buff up. Your buffs will carry over into your new Polymorph Shape.

The basic monster attributes for each Polymorph Shape is being taken from a preset list, probably hard-coded. This list was designed and balanced for low-magic worlds like the stand-alone campaign with Nashar and Arebeth. It is unknown at this time if I can or even should change the Base Monster List. I can probably change the script to combine the Item Properties together so you get the full effect, not just one fifth. This part is scripted. It was actually developed by a user and later adopted by Bioware in one of the upgrades.

Oh, I almost forgot. Don't use the Invisible Helm if you're going to be Polymorph Shape Shifted. The item on your Invisible Skin don't get used. Wear your normal helm and some Polymorph Shapes will use the properties on your helm.

Note to Wizards and other classes that get a Polymorph Shape spell: You should pay attention to what this says about the Polymorph Shape Shifter. Most of this also applies to your spell as well as the Druid.

New UBER Classes

Hey Guys,

I've been working on the mod, trying to get the next update ready. I'm working off the list of things I need or want to do.

One of the things I'm working on is the UBER Barbarian. I have changed the placeholders that the UBER Items use. It did (currently) use +5 AC, +5 AC, Light, and Weight Reduction to hold the place of the +4 Str and +4 Con. I've replaced that with skills, +20 Craft Armor and +20 Craft Weapon. It is going to work out much better. You will be able to use boots now and your AC won't compromised. This change allows for +6 AC to be added in Castle Sheelo and the Helms of Skill that Gooble sells can be converted to UBER Items.

And yes, you will be able to convert your old UBER Items in for the new UBER Items.

I have also added Dwarven Defender to the UBER list as UBER Defender. The UBER Defender get the same STR and CON treatment as the UBER Barbarian does except it's ten Defender levels required.

Also, I have added Paladin on as UBER Paladin. The UBER Paladin will use STRENGTH and CHARISMA, using the same rules as the other UBER Classes. Ten Paladin levels required.

Now I'm looking for your advice and suggestions. What other classes "suffer" because they hit the +12 cap. The Barbarian, Defender and Paladin rely heavily on their rightful ability to boost certain attributes. This UBER Class System has proven very well at making the Barbarian a fun and useful class at BadLands RPG.

I won't consider any spellcaster class in this, they are already overly powerful by comparison. The UBER Barbarian/Cleric mix is working well. The UBER Paladin mix and UBER Defender mix will be able to prove them self's soon.

So, a wee bit of feedback will go a long way here.

The Invisible Helm System

I have been working on the next updated module recently. One of the things I have been working on is a replacement for the current helms. What I have done is made a special tool that gives the player a "skin" in the Monster Armor Slot and then copies your helm properties onto that "skin".

Here you see my toon Qwildurn with and without her helm.






My new "skin" that is empty because I am in normal helm form.


My new "skin" with the helm properties on it because my helm is invisible.


My helm properties. Notice that pictures 2 and 3 are almost the same.

What you need to do is this:
1. Buy a Invisible Helm Tool from the Dye Guy in Dozo.
2. Wear your favorite helm.
3. Use the new tool.
   Now your done. So simple a caveman can do it.
4. To return to normal helm condition just use the tool again.

Notes and conditions:
1. You also need to know that you cannot sell or drop your helm until returning to normal helm state.
2. You cannot equip any helm until returning to normal helm state.
3. This will work with ANY helm you can wear.
4. Some properties will loose their use or function, such as cast spell.
5. A special script now runs at log-on to put your Helm back to the last state it was at log-off.
6. If the Invisible Helm should ever become "confused", just use the tool a few times and it will sort itself out.


7. The new "skin" uses a Creature Armor Slot that is reserved for monsters. You and the DM can never see this slot.
8. The Dye Guy has the ability to show you your new "skin".
9. The DM now has a new tool that allows him to look at your "skin" and to destroy it if need be.
10. The DM cannot destroy a monster's skin in order to weaken the monster.

Now for the fun part, the part that can help you look as cool or ugly as you want.

• You should get our over-ride package. It has about 1000 new head and portraits.
• You can goto Qwildurn's DND Server and click the links.


• OR you can click the links here (below) and get them from the same source.


• cloakmodel.rar
• soundset.rar
• RPG_Heads.rar
• Cloakmodel, soundset and RPG_Heads all go in your NWN/override folder.
  
• Portraits goes in your NWN/portraits folder.
• portraits.rar
• If you don't have a folder by that name, just create it.
• You will need to expand the compressed files and restart NWN.
• If you don't have a RAR utility, I got mine from:
• RAR Labs

The Server is Down, Again

The server has failed again. This time it's beyond reasonable repair. It seems to me that a multi-IO board has failed. This board controls the Input-Output (IO) to the monitor, keyboard and mouse. I don't know if it's part of the main-board or a separate unit, but, every part of this computer is unique to this one model and I can't bypass it or substitute it.

The computer is about ten years old and has been the primary host of BadLands RPG for the last five. I have tried other computers in that time, for one reason or another, and keep coming back to this unit.

I did make a copy of the game module, player characters and database a few weeks ago. So we won't be loosing too much this time. I only have one working computer now. It's nothing special, but it should do the job.

Hopefully I can have it set-up and online in a few hours.

The Server is Down

The server failed last night. With some choice swear words I coaxed it back into life and logged back in to hoping to resume where I had left off. My new favorite toon, Black Belly, was damaged and the server shut off before I could let out an Orcish grunt.

To surmise the situation here:

1. My laptop is dead and the shop wants $1100 to fix it. Not going to happen! I will try to extract any files I can, but.... I don't expect much.


2. My newer server (Dell) is waiting for me to re-install the OS and related software. That will take a few weeks when I can find the time.


3. My older server (SGI) is probably gone forever. I will try to extract any files I can, but.... I don't expect much.


4. My nice gamer is non-repairable and I have purchased a new mainboard.


5. My old gamer is fixed and working well as of last week. I can set it up to act as a server-host, but as of this moment, I don't even have a copy of BadLands RPG to host.


6. I might have a copy of BadLands RPG on my girlfriends computer. Deimonos might still have a copy. But basically we're hosed. I will do what I can.

Qwildurn Bluemoon,
server host of BadLands RPG

The tale of Pyro and Rakshasha

Pyro asked me while in-game to post this for him, and I said I would. Pyro mentioned something about an English Composition assignment, so, I tried to format it with HTML code to match what was actually sent to me. I made sure not to alter the spelling and grammar. (not that mine would be any better LOL) I hope you enjoy reading it as much as I did.

Qwildurn

PS: Please tell us what score you were given.



Hi Q it's Pyro,

I've had a very funny adventure this evening and I was wondering if you could put that on the blog for me since I can't post on it at will. I'll make an rpg story of it just for you guys:P

------------ The tale of Pyro and Rakshasha ------------

Today is a sad day my friends, today I grieve for the loss of one of the most reliable, and loyal friends I've ever had on RPG Badlands.
This is a tale of friendship through good times and bad, of two great friends that decided it would be fun if they went on an adventure together.

One day Pyro was travelling through Lurid Cave and Highwood Forest, and relying on his persuasive skills for the giants and spiders to let him pass he came across a high tower.
Now this tower is a familiar tower to all of us, but few where brave enough to enter for there is a mighty beast lurking inside the tower.
Pyro however was not so easily frightened, and decided to see the great beast that frightened even the greatest of warriors.
Inside Pyro saw one of the most rare beasts he had ever layed eyes upon, and even he was surprised as he had never been.

It was a great tiger, dressed in a royal's tunic and carrying 2 large Katana's. Pyro, at first cautious of such a great foe, cast invisibility on himself so that he could investigate without the beast interfering. The rest of the tower appeared to empty and Pyro thought to himself what a great companion the tiger must be for adventures, he was feared throughout the realm due to his prowes in battle after all.
So Pyro decided to convince the tiger to his cause, and - after a while he succeeded in befriending the great tiger.
And that, is how the adventure of Pyro and Rakshasha began. They supported each other in many battles, one saving the life of the other and the other way around, and many foes had to give in to the great team that they were.


First they travelled to the high and icy mountains slaying several of the greatest enemies on their way.




They also decided to travel the desert and discover it's many possibilities and defeat it's enemies. And in there was where our friend Rakshasha came in dire peril.
On their travels the duo stumbled upon the vicious Medusa, a foe known and feared through the Realm. Immediately they attacked, and while they had the upper hand in battle, Medusa had more tricks up her sleeve and wasn't going to give in so easily. The wench succeeded in her most feared skill of all, she petrified Rakshasha.
Luckily Rakshasha had not come alone, for Pyro, being the great wizard that he is, managed to slay Medusa before she annihilated his friend. Pyro then used his great wizardry to save his friend from this unfortunate state, and the duo decided that their business in the desert was over and they would travel towards the icy mountains once more.


Once they had arived in the mountains they once again met an almost greater foe than the Medusa they had faced in the desert. Before them, in the Long Cave of Echos stood Stridast.
Rakshashe did not hestitate and rushed into battle, but this was a foe he could never defeat alone. Stridast's skill in battle was too much for our friend and while he was known for his great power and skill, he was no match for the prowes of Stridast. She managed to avoid his every hit and had our heroes baffled.
Pyro was not to give up so easily though, for they had faced many foes and this would certainly not be their last. And although the many travels had left him mentally exhausted and hardly able to use his spells, he used his magic to distract Stridast and they made their way out.


The story has so far seen our heroes fight the greatest of foes, but they were never satisfied and always looking for new lands to explore, and stronger enemies to defeat.
This would also be their end though, for the life of a warrior ends on the battlefield. And Rakshasha knew this especially well.
The two friends travelled higher and higher, up to the top of the mountain. And there they found the greatest foe they had ever faced, on top of the mountain was a sandy desert-like place with a small pond.
Our friends searched around the place but there didn't seem to be any creatures, friend or foe. However, when Rakshasha decided to rest at the pond they where both surprised at the horrible creature that came at them. A shark, over twice their size came at them from under the waters and jumped out of the pond only to continue his rushing towards them with undoubtedly no good intentions.


Rakshasha immediatly gathered his trusty Katanas but he appeared to be no match, and while Pyro was doing all he could to defeat the great beast, they both realised that their prowess were not comparable to this enemy. Rakshasha, being at the end of his energy felt his life fading from him and shouted at Pyro to run. Pyro refused at first but as he saw his magics drying up, he saw the beast slay his friend and stood petrified as his friend begged him to run. Pyro had no choice and obeyed his friends last words, and as he used his magic to port from the place he saw his friend breath out his last breath.


And that dear listeners was how the story of Pyro and Rakshasha ends, and may all remember the adventures of our hero and honour him and his great deeds.
Pyro survived the great battle, and although deeply saddened by the loss of his great friend he swore vengeance upon the monster that slew his friend.

And he would be back for his revenge...

------------------------------------------------------

well that's it really it's a long story I know but I think it'll be some laughs, I've mailed the pics along with it and gave them the number according to where they should go. Thx a lot:P

Goodnight, Pyro

Paper-Rock-Scissors

I've heard the "Paper-Rock-Scissors" (aka Ro-Sham-Bo) analogy used frequently when describing PvP action in the BL.
On the surface, this looks like an accurate analogy: paper covers rock, scissors cut paper, rock breaks scissors. Similar to monk bashes mage, melee bashes monk, mage nukes melee. Essentially, a balance in that no one build will dominate EVERYTHING else.
Unfortunately, PvP on the BL is like Roshambo, only you show your "hand" where everyone can see it. I.e., if you're playing a mage, it's like shouting out "I'm going to play 'scissors' now... hope no one plays a 'rock'!!!"
This is why I HATE the player list at log in. Everyone can see what you're playing and if you're level 1-40. In the spirit of D&D? Hardly. Being able to see a toon's classes and split tells you a LOT of information. Pretty much everything you need to know in order to hunt that character down and kill them. Sorta takes the fun out of PvP, don't you think? This also encourages "Musical characters"- a game that guys like Dano et al. play continuously as they try and figure out what they can beat you with. Also, it allows douchewank players a chance to see your level, allowing them to bring in a toon and spam invites at you, claiming you HAVE to party up since you're similar in lvl.
Am I way off base here? Or does anyone agree with me?

It may not be possible, but I implore the powers that be (er, Q) to look into fixing this. It'd be nice to see what "players" are on (so you can log in and party up with your friends), but not be able to see what characters/classes/levels they have.
Just a thought. Don't expect anything to get done (and again, it might be impossible to code/script), but it's worth looking into.

Confessions of a Noob

One more time I've tried to recreate my original NWN character. This time I might actually have a toon that's playable on BadLands RPG. This has caused me to reflect back on my noobness and how much I've learned over the years.

Qwildurn Bluemoon was my only character to complete the Neverwinter Nights campaign. After I finished the campaign, I started exploring online game worlds. Eventually I found BadLands (the original) and instantly knew I was home. Everything was just right, until I got killed by another player.

Qwildurn was, and therefore, always will be, an Elf. I'm not really sure why she is an Elf, but, this is role-play so I wanted to be something other than what my real life normally is. Since I am a male Human of average everything, my DND persona needed to be anything but....

I picked a Ranger/Bard mix. I actually had a neat write-up in my Bio about my parents being murdered and my search for revenge. Ranger and Bard were new classes for me and I thought that Ranger would give me access to all the divine spells similar to a Cleric. The dual-wield held it's attractions as well as the hide and search/spot abilities.

I had similar fantasies with Bard as well. Although a bit more realistic here, the end results were just as misconceived. I had thought that Bard would get me into all the arcane spells as if I was a true Mage with some good Rogue skills to boot.

The NWN manual talked about multi-class penalties but didn't say one word about Base Attack Penalties. To avoid the XP penalty, I kept my two classes equal.

I don't remember my attribute stats now, but they were probably 14's and 12's with a few 13's. Let's face it, this build needs every attribute in the book.

• Charisma for Bard spells.


• Wisdom for Ranger spells.


• Constitution so I can absorb some abuse.


• Strength so I can hit my enemy and do some damage.


• Dexterity so I can dodge attacks.


• Intelligence so I can solve life's problems as they come my way. Lets face it, DND is about solving problems so this is pretty important.

I went with a Katana and Kukri. I wanted the 1d10 base damage of the Katana and the critical threat range of the Kukri. The manual did talk about a small two-weapon penalty and suggested a Longsword / Shortsword combo.

I went with padded or leather armor because of the arcane spell casting failure as well as Rangers loosing their dual-wield functions with medium/heavy armor.

To do anything useful in the NWN campaign you need at least 5 skill points in every area. Certain NPC's just won't offer you quests without some otherwise useless skills. Since my Intelligence was somewhat low, I didn't have many points to spread around at level-up.

In game-play, I never found a Katana or Kukri worth using and usually used other weapons I wasn't trained in. I did the quest to improve my leather armor and it got turned into full plate that I couldn't wear because I didn't have that feat. I had to back-up to a saved game just get my nice leather back. GRRRR I finally got pissed enough about the whole deal that I used the editor to add some comparable weapons and armor similar to the stuff I had found but couldn't use.

When I saw Deekin get his red wings, I said, "OOOO I want some too!" I found that I had everything needed and started a third class immediately. Although all I really wanted was the cute red wings, the boost in strength and other stuff really helped my failing toon. If it wasn't for Daleon, I never would have made it very far.

When I finished the NWN campaign, I was around level 30. I had my cute red wings and could breath fire (the kind that can't do any damage). All three of my classes were equal and I really couldn't do much, I wasn't much better than a level 10 character in a level 30 world.


------------


Recreating this Qwildurn Bluemoon was not my first online toon, nor my first BadLands build. Maybe my third BadLands build. By this time I had learned a few more things about building characters.

• I had learned to skip certain skills and pump certain skills.


• But I still made the same basic mistakes as I had in the campaign.

I have re-made this basic build with more Ranger, less Ranger, more dex less str, more str less dex.... ect. ect. But always with the same basic results. Basic crap and something to be ashamed of.

--------

Recently, I decided to try it again. In concept, it just seems like a good platform, so, what did I do wrong and what should I change? I'm locked into the Elf, Ranger, Bard, RDD thing. After all, this is Qwildurn Bluemoon.

So, what else can I adjust or change?

• I picked the Dargonesti Elf subrace that had not been available before. This gave me a boost in key attributes: Str +4, Con +2, and Int -2.


• I picked a higher Base Attack over multi-class penalty. So what if I level slower, at least I can level.


• It seemed I had gotten more out of the Bard Spells than anything else, so I went with a lot of Bard levels.


• To maximize my BAB (Base Attack Bonus) I took 8 Ranger, 8 RDD, 4 Bard in the first 20 levels.


• I started Red Dragon Disciple as soon as possible to gain the added ability and AC boosts.


• I took only 9 Ranger levels. Ranger 9 is when you get the Improved Two-Weapon Fighting Feat. Ranger 10 would give me a third spell level, but nothing that would be beneficial.


• I finished my tenth RDD levels as soon as I could to get my wings. - LOL. - Actually, this time what I really wanted was the Int boost so I could get more skills.
  
• This leaves 21 Bard levels. High level Bard spells ROCK.


• To maximize the Bard Song / Curse Song, 55 Perform Skills (adjusted) are needed at Bard 21. I got 5 skills from my helm and 28 from my Charisma Bonus. The rest I had to take at level up.


• This time I took 25 UMD (Use Magic Device) Skills instead of 5. This allows me to use any scroll I find or buy without chance of failure, and, I should be able to wear or hold any item I find. My Charisma bonus adds to this for an adjusted UDM of over 30.


• The user manual does not say that for every 5 tumble skill you take at level-up, your AC will increase by +1. Forty points in this skill can raise your AC +8 by level 37.


• Skill Concentration can't be scrimped if you want to do any casting during combat, so I maximized this skill.


• The feat: Extend Spell is a must. Then I extend only the spells that don't last "one hour per level". The hour spells will still out last the extended spells, but, at Bard 21 this is a nice long time.


• I took 16 Dex at birth and wear cloth armor. The +12 dex we can buy later allows my AC to be one point higher than Full Plate.


• I didn't waste my feats on two types of weapons. I went with a small weapon to avoid a big AB penalty. (I still get a small AB penalty).


• I chose the Hand Axe. It's a 1d6 base and has x3 critical damage.


• I did a coin-toss for Epic Feat: Devastation Critical. With my small crit range (18-20), it hardly seemed worth it. The coin said to take Dev Crit, so I did. I am getting enough Dev Kills that I'm glad my coin was smarter than me. Using two weapons increases my chance to hit on a Dev.

I was able to level-up alone fairly easy at BadLands RPG. At times I could get my max XP of 512 easy, at other times I was forced to play down in an easier area. "Tank" I am not, "Party Support" would be more accurate. My Curse Song hurts the enemy as much as Bard Song helps the party. Some say the a +3 AB boost is not enough. I say the -5 AC to the enemy combined with my +3 AB is the equivalent of 8. Anybody want to complain about a difference of 8? Some would call it 16, as our AC goes up 5 their AC goes down 5. Our AB goes up 3, theirs goes down 3. Call it what you will, the difference really shows in close combat.

At level 40, my AC was around 60. Not exactly high compared to a good Monk with 90 AC. But when you figure in the Bard spells that cover damage reduction and specific types of protection that does not get reflected as RAW AC, I am pretty hard to hit and hurt.

Currently I am level 43 and my stats are:
Ha Ha
I took a break from writing and went up 3 more levels.

Stats at level 46:
	naked unbuffed	dressed unbuffed	dressed buffed
HP	474	714	751
AC	27	58	64
AB	40	47	58	(6 attacks per round, 4 main, 2 off hand)
Damage 1d6	+6	+19	+19	(main hand)
BAB	27
SR	45
Str	37	49	49
Dex	14	26	26
Con	16	28	28
Int	14	20	20
Wis	12	14	14
Cha	16	28	28

(edited to reflect correctness about certain statements)

Exploiting Good Looks

When Bioware released the 1.69 upgrade, they included a ton of new stuff. Included was armor and robes. Bioware did not add any of these new items to the crafting menu. So I did.

Among this new wardrobe was what I call a 'surcoat' that is used to protect expensive armor from sunlight damage. Bioware did this in a two-part method:
Part 1) The top, chain mail or plate mail only.
Part 2) The lower skirt.

This is suppose to be a one-piece cover that slips or drapes over. Quite often the surcoats were colored to show which House or Kingdom the soldier was representing.

For the 1.69 upgrade I built a new crafting system from the ground up. Yes it looks and feels like the old one, but it's new. I included all the new armor and robe parts. In this, I chose to only allow the bottom to be used if you already had chosen the top.

The 1.69 upgrade also included the ability to change body parts, tattoos, colors, heads and such. Although crude and unfinished, the ADHD Tattoo Girl was born. She can even make your torso look like armor.

If you craft your cloth armor to have a bare chest, then your new Tattoo will show and take on the color of your armor. This can allow a Monk to look as if he is wearing full plate.

Using the normal method of crafting, you can't get a Surcoat while wearing cloth armor. My toon, Qwildurn Bluemoon, found a way around this. She looks like she is wearing a mix of chain mail and scale mail and a surcoat. And can cast Bard spells without arcane failure. She is wearing cloth.

How she did this is kind of complicated, but I will explain.

1) She bought a Dye Kit in Dozo.
2) She bought a new Chain Mail armor.
3) She crafted the chain mail to look like she wanted it, parts, color and surcoat.
4) She used the dye kit to store the color and armor parts.
5) She went to see the Tattoo Girl and made her chest (torso) look like the armor type she wanted. She used a surcoat over chain.
6) She put her cloth armor on and made the chest (torso) look naked.
7) She used the dye kit to restore her armor color and parts.

Now she looks like she is wearing chain mail with a surcoat and can cast without arcane failure. She could do this to look like full plate as well.

I should point out: If you can't wear chain mail or plate mail, you probably can't do this. With the help of a friend, you should be able to get it done.

An Evening of No Great Importance

My evening started out in the usual fashion. Log on, look to see who is near my level, shout for a party "lvl 30 lfp", get no response from those near my level. Amazingly, no level 5's or 60's invited me. Terry was on with his level 30 toon, "Shadow Dancer". As typical for Terry, he refuses to party with anybody.

I rest, buff, and head up to The North Face to hunt ants. About this time I get a tell from Dano. The screen capture tells all.

Sometimes I feal like I'm my Grandfather and stuck in a world that no longer exists. "Kid, I remember when 'bye' meant 'the end'. Nowadays, 'bye' seems to mean, 'wait, there's more'.



Once I recovered from all that mess, I hooked up with a cleric near my level in my area and we ripped those ants a new pair of pants. Soon a third showed up and Dragon Ledek joined us. Ledek actually had a impressive build and was holding his own. Ledek wanted the quest item from the Krenshar, so we ran off in search of bigger and better things. The three of us died quickly, rested, buffed and changed our plan of attack. The second time went better, but we all died again. We went back for thirds to find Darian there with his 58 who healed us all afew times. This time we killed a Krenshar and got the boss drop.

The other guy (sorry, but I forgot your name) had to log, so me and Ledek headed up the hill to hunt a Prismatic Dragon named Sheelo. We needed some dragon blood as the other part of the quest. We saw Shadow Dancer heading out of Northbound while we were buffing. This lead us to believe we would have a clear path past the bears. Who am I kidding here? Terry had run past all his bears leaving them for us. Not that is was a problem, but, as Ledak said, "My how rude."

Shadow Dancer suddenly became our hunt. We eventually found Shadow Dancer and proceeded to pay him back for the bears. He ran all over The North Face spawning spiders with us hot on his tail. No, we never did hit him, but we certainly tried. He finally used his HIPS to sneak off like a coward, leaving us with some spiders. Since we had killed what we spawned, while in search of Shadow Dancer, we only had a few spiders to go back to after we lost Terry.

We finally got killed by Sheelo the dragon. Twice we had him near death. Twice we both died. After that we wanted to go hunt cats to gain a few levels before going back for a piece of Sheelo.

Deurack was there alone and immediately attacked Ledak on sight. Ledak went down after just a few hits. Since we were all the same level, I decided to help my party-mate and jumped in. I wasn't so easy to kill. Although I died and Deurack lived, he was hurtin bad in the end.

Ledek wanted to know what his brother had done to piss off Deurack. I said something about Deurack hating his sister too. Ledek said, "What sister? I don't have a sister. Oh my God! What has my brother done this time?"

Ledek was even more surprised to find his 77 AC didn't help him much against Deurack while my 55 AC held out much better. What can I say? Raw AC isn't the only thing that helps to protect you from attacks.

Christmas Comes But Twice a Year

I finally finished my big job. This built-in shelf / cubbie unit is my Christmas Present to my girlfriend (almost wife).


I can't get back far enough to get the entire wall in one picture. The picture below is three shots that have been stitched together, which is why there is a blur in places.


I am so damn tired and excited at the same time. I seldom do jobs this involved or large. Some how, My Lady was expecting it to take only two or three weeks, not six months. So for the last four months all I heard was, ...well, you know....

Her daughter moved out, so she decided to turn the spare room into her sewing room. She makes quilts when she can find the time. The wood will be left bare and unfinished. We like the look of the wood and we don't want any oils leeching into her fabric. We chose a dry wood (and it didn't cost a lot).

At one point I told her that her new workshop was my workshop first. That pissed her off. LMAO


A dry fit just to see how things are fitting. It's up-side-down and will become the part framing the window.

The "workshop", complete with sawdust on the floor. Here you see what will become the shelf just below the window. I used a 'router' (the blue thing) to make Rabbit Joints. In the fore-ground is a wood jig that took me a week to make cause I kept making it wrong. I used it to guide the router as I cut each joint. Leaning against the wall are the finished 'uprights' that will support the eleven foot six inch (3 meters) shelf.

The shelves are fourteen inches deep. Planks normally aren't that wide because they split and warp to easy, so I had to make my own by jointing two eight inch planks together.


The wood is Poplar. I used a 'Biscuit Joint' and glue to bond the planks together. Then I had to trim them down to my size.


The biscuit is an oval, or 'football' shaped piece of wood the gets put in a small slot in the edge of the planks. Here you can see the biscuit in the edges of the cut wood as well as in one of the rabbit joints. The only reason the biscuit is showing in this rabbit slot is because I didn't have the jointer centered.

I wasn't planning on posting so many pictures or saying so much. I am just so excited that it turned out so nice. Now I have some free time and can get to work on the game updates.

Awesome People Revisited

So here I was, logged on Gamespy quickly just to see who was on and I see a "Raz" person online. I thought to myself.. "What a wonderful wooooorld..." errr... I mean, let's go get some xp for a bit, luckly I can run into the lovely heater5 and we can chat for a little bit..

Hmm, I accidentally hit the wrong buttoms and he died!!! Oh my..
He didn't like that much.. so he came back to teach me a thing or two.. but nah, that didn't end up well for him:

At this point, Razius tried to save some dignity and play it cool.. don't mind needy lycan asking for love lol:


ZZZZZZZZzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz boooooriiing... he relogs with a higher toon.. and I thought "Wow, now that's gonna get interesting.." But he was nowhere to be found.. I use my magical powers to search for his worthless toon but found out he was taking a trip to the Limbo. .. well, well.. I think after getting owned by some random npc, he had enough for one afternoon:

More Awesome People

Not alot needs to be said on this one, the pictures speak for themselves.

Enjoy.

The Lich and Other Wizards

First off, I want to announce that I have finally earned a Mage. This it the first mage I have ever got past level 9 or 12 (NWN).

Thank you, thank you. Your applause is overwhelming.

I will give the credit to Pyro for starting a tank just so I could level without dieing every 3 seconds. I finally made it past 21, I'm 24 or 26 as I write this. Leveling alone is still a bitch, but not as bad as when I was under level 15.

I mostly wanted to check out some of the Lich parameters, good points and bad. So far, my worst failing is that I can't get See Invisible or True Seeing. At level one, I chose Necromancy School which turned off Divination spells. So far, most of the spells I use aren't even Necromancy Spells. I have taken all the spell focus feats for Necromancy, just as outlined for a Lich. (NO! I can't actually become a true Lich yet. I am 'play testing' to see how it might be from a players perspective.)

I took 20 levels of Wizard and then started Pale Master. And yes, I am Chaotic Evil. The thing I am noticing and don't like at all is this: PM is not increasing my spell slots.

I did kill The Sleeping Dragon rather easily. My spells didn't touch the Rak. I will change my spell list and try again.

A List Of The Classics

I was talking to someone last night who had not played for a long time and was trying to remember and build some of the “Good Old Builds”. He had a build that was xp’ing on Sheelo Mt and was fairly effective, but I made one little suggestion that would greatly improve the effectiveness of his build and he was ready to feed his level 39 build to the shark. This got me thinking that many hours of frustration could be saved if people had a list of some of the simple but effective builds that they could reference.

So this post is for people to give some of their favorite classic builds. I’m not asking for your “SUPER SECRET UBER BUILD OF DEATH THAT NO ONE CAN TOUCH CAUSE IT’S SOOOO L33T!!!!!!11111” build, just the old classics that everyone should have in their stable.

The Lich, A Quested Subrace (Continued)

With all the conversation this post has generated lately, and considering that it's not even on the first page of posts anymore, I thought I would bump it up to the top. Here's the link:

http://badlandsrpg.blogspot.com/2009/04/lich-quested-subrace.html

I like the way this discussion is going, it sounds pretty cool and like it could really work. I also like that this is going to be a CHOICE that people can make, not something that is automatically applied to all toons with 10+ levels of Pale Master:P

How about some Love for the Arcane Archer?

I have made a few Arcane Archers on Badlands over the past 2 years and anyone who has made an archer here will agree with me, THEY’RE FREAKING EXPENSIVE!!! So I had an idea: Can you make a low level mini-boss that drops a low level bow with unlimited ammo? That way someone who wants to make an AA can kill it early and use it until they have made some decent money and can afford to design their own bow with their own better arrows.


It would also be nice to have a high level Boss drop bow as well, for those AA’s that make it to level 40+. Maybe take Leech off the Medusa and put it on her, that would make sense anyway since she uses arrows when fighting…and I cant remember ANYONE using Leech since Sephka, and that’s not much of an endorsement.

A New Spring Migration/Invasion?

For those of you who might not have been around about a year ago, the Badlands had a bit of an invasion for a while of a peculiar species of player that some lovingly refer to as an "Oki". They were players from Denmark, and we called them Oki's because if you asked them a question, they would always answer "Oki" instead of "OK". If you're interested in learning more about these fascinating creatures I'm sure you can find a few old posts that can help you understand just how special they were:

http://badlandsrpg.blogspot.com/2008/03/annoying-players-part-ii.html
http://badlandsrpg.blogspot.com/2008/03/hellie-and-bers-apsis-tep-commiserate.html
http://badlandsrpg.blogspot.com/2008/02/annoying-players.html

Well, hopefully if you read through some of those you'll get an idea of how frustrating these people were, but unless you were there you just cant relate. But, for your viewing pleasure, here is a nice screenshot of a typical Oki in action. Check out the lovely shouts by Shadow Mendon [PL], he is good person.

I think he left because of Game Mistake.

Dano's Still a Bitch

Dano asked me to Blog some things, so I'm doing it. Wouldnt want him to think I'm uncooperative.

Dano killed 3 of my builds tonight. There's no way around that. I wont sugar coat it or try to say he didnt. He did. And he's still a little bitch. Here's why:

Dano has a build called Man-Bear-Pig, a 26 Bard/4 Black Guard/10 RDD. It's a fun build with lots of Str that relies on Bard/Curse Song and Taunting to lower his opponents saves, skills, AB and AC, then tries to knock them down or Dev them. I had one before the most recent crash, it's an XP machine. Anyway, he was fighting some people in the Underdark and some harsh words were traded (he tried to draw me into the conversation and I told the bitch not to talk to me like he knew me). I was playing Sidian (20 Monk/15 Cleric/ 5 SD) who is level 42 and still getting his equipment together. I was on my way up Sheelo to upgrade my helm when dano came and Dev'ed me. I think he was suprised when the server shouted that Sidian was only level 42, so I asked him if he wanted to try fighting someone his own level, to which he said yes. I logged on Necur (lvl 58, 28 Cleric/ 2 Bard/ 10 RDD) and fought him. Necur is a fun build but doesnt have enough AC to go toe to toe with a high AB Str build, and Dano got a knockdown the first fight and killed me, then I rolled low on a Dev the second fight and he killed me again. Shouting that I should "Blog THAT!!", he sent tells to people in my party that I was a "Weak little turd" and asked if I had anyone else he could "Turn into a pin cushion, since I was a nice sheath for his scimitar."

So I logged on Mordred. Mordred is still a work in progress, but even at level 43 I was fairly sure that Man-Bear-Pig wouldnt be able to kill him, and I was right. We started fighting and I was hitting him regularly and he was having a hard time hitting me. Then one of the mages in my party began casting IGMS's at him and killed him. When she started casting I said "lol, it wasnt my plan for her to start casting" but he still shouted that I should "Blog THAT" again, like it was my plan to have her help because I needed her help to kill him. So I told him to go rest, buff and we would try it again.

But Dano is a bitch. He knew that my build was a match for his and he wouldnt have an easy victory, so he sent me a tell "I have a cool build, brb" and logged off, returning with his Mage. Mordred is basically a Cleric, and anyone that knows anything about PK knows that Mages kill Clerics fairly easily, and anyone that knows anything about Dano knows that he cant stand a fair fight. But, because I'm a good sport and I dont need to switch builds to win and boost my self esteem, I stayed in the Underdark with Mordred, suspecting that I would be killed by the Mage, which is exactly what happened.

After the fight I asked Dano the bitch "What about that challenge, not interested in fighting Mordred with Man-Bear-Pig? Mordred is only 43, your 57 should be able to kill him easily". He said something about "not wanting the PK points" and that I should go level up. Funny, he didnt care too much about the PK points before when he was one-shot Dev'ing the people in my party, but when I had a build that could stand up to him, he didnt seem to want to fight.

Dano might have some high level builds, but he's still the old Dano that will run from a fair fight and come back with either a different toon or help from his buddy Quad. In short, he's still a bitch.

The Upgrade Shops

The BadLands RPG Upgrade Shops have changed over time. For the most part, I think they are working well now and won't be changed in the future, except for a minor adjustment to fix an unknown problem.

Crafting your equipment is not the same as Upgrading your gear. Crafting is the art of coloring you're toon to look cutesy. This is done by right clicking self and choosing the Craft icon. This is free and very custom on BadLands RPG.

Upgrading your equipment is not free. To buy all new gear at maximum value (level 21) will cost about three million gold. If your dual-wielding, be prepared to spend around four million gold.

The first thing I need to explain is how the "item level" works. This is a NWN thing and is hard-coded. Yes, I can dis-able the checking system, but I won't, so don't ask. You don't want "The Wrath of Qwildurn". Just ask any old-timer. ("The Wrath of Qwildurn" is a bit nicer than "The Wrath of my Girlfriend".)

The "Item Level" is based on the gold value of the item. Simple. Different upgrades change the value, but not in any logical fashion. NWN uses a chart to determine how much each single upgrade effects the Gold Value. I tried to make a math equation once to sort this out, but it's not a logical value base.

What I have set up for the Upgrade Shops to follow is rather easy to explain, and I'm sure most of have seen the pattern by the time you made it to the shops in Underdark.

Each set of shops is set to a maximum level they are allowed to build to.

1. Level 6 (+1) in Dozo
2. Level 9 (+2) in Crystal City
3. Level 15 (+3) in Newport
4. Level 18 (+4) in The Duergar Mines
5. Level 21 (+5) in Underdark

At level 21, a total of five types of items can be added. No more than three types of elements. And no more than +5 AC, AB or EW. (Armor Class, Attack Bonus, Enhance Weapon)

The Element Damage can not exceed the base damage of the weapon. A Dagger is 1d4 base and can get up to 1d4 element damage. A Long Sword is 1d8 base and will stop at 1d8 element damage. A Great Sword is 1d12 base, with 1d12 element.

A Great Axe is 2d6 base, will max out at 2d6 element and requires a level 24 shop to put this much magic on it. To add +5 EW, keen and three elements at 2d6 requires a level 24 shop.

There is a level 22 shop in the old castle on Sheelo Mountain. This is for strength based melee builds. +6 AC is available if certain conditions are met.

• Strength 30 (natural)
• Ten levels in a single class that gets "one BAB per level" (fighter, blackgaurd, ect)
• There is a minimum player level of 35 or so (this is in a level 45-50 area)
• Medium or heavy armor only
• Can add +6 AC only (only +6 AC)
• Armor, Helm, Shield
• If you use cloth or light armor, you can't upgrade your shield and helm here

All weapons can be upgraded here to level 22 as well. There are only a few weapons that can be upgraded past level 21. Great Axe and Great Sword are the only two that come to mind, but I'm sure there are a few others.

No upgrade shop will not go past the +5 AB / EW cap. To do that requires a quested weapon, usually a "Boss Drop".

Currently, there is no shop to finish building the Great Axe. This will require a level 24 shop. I do have plans to build one on Death Island. Hehe, good luck getting past Black Betty.

Let's not overlook the Monk Gloves. This follows the same outline as steel weapons. As the Monk grows in levels, so does his/her base damage to her fists, which should be registered as a deadly weapon. This is Monk Level based, not Character Level based. As the base damage grows, so will the allowed element upgrade. Currently, there is no Monk Shop to work beyond level 21. Cubwolf is building a new area named Westfold. We plan on putting a level 22 Monk shop there. Be prepared to do a quest first.

The size of the monk and the level of the monk determine the base damage and is "hard-coded". They did not make provisions for players using "huge" bodies like the Ogre. Here I allow for more element damage than the base damage.

Bolts and Arrows follow the same "base" damage. Short and Long Bows have a differant base damage, hence the Short and Long Arrows.

Sometimes, the Monk Gloves or Ranged Projectiles get bugged and won't work. All you can do at this point is sell them and replace them with new.

I'm sure I missed something, so don't be afraid to ask.

Qwildurn Bluemoon

DM Helpline

For those of you that can't start a new topic and want specific help from a DM, please create a blogger account and leave your questions under this post. The BadLands DM's will try their best to check this post which will be a permanent link in the sidebar of this blog.

Please keep your posts simple and limit them to questions regarding the game, possible bugs, or exploits.

Email the DM's at...

DM's: badlandsrpg@live.com

Server Host: qwildurn@verizon.net

An Error In Judgment

I had a terrible error in judgment today and I’m hoping that my tale of woe and sadness can both entertain and educate others so that they can benefit from my mistakes.

So I’m happily xp’ing with my Halfling Paladin experiment in the Savored Sands on my way to the smoke shack when I get a party invite from some guy named something like “Mister Picksyourpocketmaster”. I think to myself “why not, I want to know who is playing a toon with that name anyway so I can watch out for him” and click accept. I click on the person’s picture and find out it’s Velocite, or something like that. Now, for those of you who don’t know, that’s the new name of Dragon Ledak. I instantly regret accepting the invite but decide to ride out the storm. I mean, how bad could it be, right?

When I accept the party invite the first thing I notice is that my companion is in the savored sands as well and has 2 hp. I discovered that we’re both level 8, so there shouldn’t be any problems with the creatures here. I was making a bee-line to Bane for the extra Xp; I didn’t really care about the harp or the armor. I get to him and realize that Ledak is nowhere to be seen. He’s off fighting some other spawn, which didn’t overly concern me as I was fairly confident that I could handle Bane on my own. I begin fighting him and see Ledak running towards me trailed by 2 Kobolds. At this point I begin to get a little concerned. Some of them can cast spells that can be bothersome at this level, and the thugs can actually do some damage if they get lucky. I continue fighting Bane and while we both almost died, we (meaning “I”) were able to kill all 3 of the enemies.

Shaking my head at Ledaks stupidity, I use a healing kit and head towards the gate, leaving the armor and harp in the corpse. I didn’t need the money and if Ledak did, he could have it. However, as I killed 2 more kobolds and got close to the gate I noticed that he wasn’t following. I get a party chat saying “Stay” and then “I’m Encumbered”. So, I wait for him. He comes up to me and “offers” (using the trade tool) me the armor I just left behind. Now, I might be playing a Paladin, but there are limits to how gracious I am willing to be. This jackass expects me to carry his loot, the same loot that was rightfully mine that I left for him? Shaking my head again, I decide to accept, thinking that if this build wasn’t a Paladin it would just keep it. Anyway, we go through the gate (which he shut on me while I was trying to go through…moron) and I stop and buy some Bark Skin and Negative Energy Protection potions. Ledak doesn’t, he goes right into the tombs. Shaking my head again, I follow him in.

It doesn’t take long for me to figure out that his build sucks. I’m shocked to the core of my being to find that Ledak didn’t make a good build, but it’s unfortunately true. He can’t hit a thing, and when the planets do all align properly and he gets a hit he does under 10 damage. Resigning myself to the fact that this is just another pathetic installation in the pattern of Ledak leeching xp off of me, I soldier on. We get to one fight where he is forced to run for his life, leaving me to fight all 3 of the undead myself, which I dutifully kill. It then dawns upon me that I haven’t seen him use a healing kit yet. Every time he gets damaged he rests. (BTW, this is making for some SLOW progress through the tombs). I ask him “You don’t have any healing kits?” and he responds “no.” This time I cant even shake my head. I just stare at the screen slack jawed and stupefied. I manage to type in “Adventuring with no way of healing yourself isn’t very smart” but get no response. Having recovered from the shocking lack of intelligence displayed by someone who’s IQ I already would have compared with that of a common garden slug, I shake my head and continue on to the next fight.

It’s at this point that Ledak stops fighting. It’s not like he’s been doing much to begin with, but at least he was trying. He starts saying something about his AC being 15 and his AB “for the 1st axe being +3 and the second axe being -3”. Again, I just stare at the screen. Now, I know it’s possible to have a build with 15 AC, but you have to try REALLY hard. I mean, let’s think about this. If the person has put ANY effort into upgrading his equipment, he should have gotten +1 from armor, helmet, amulet and boots. That’s a 14 AC right there, with no armor. Even if it’s a Str build, ANY armor would have put him well over 15, but I’m assuming that he’s not playing a Strength build because he was encumbered by the Leather Armor from Bane, wich means he’s some sort of a Dex build. How can a Dex Build NOT have more than 15 AC???? My mind boggling from this realization, I’m then overcome by the even greater stupidity of Dual Wielding axes at level 8. I’ll just let that speak for itself.

I’m starting to get irritated because Ledak is just standing back and not attacking. I’m doing all the work for someone who invited ME into HIS group. As the leader of the group, he should be doing SOMETHING, right? The final straw was when I ran into a room and started fighting 3 undead myself, 2 of which were Tyranfog Zombies, which at level 8 can be quite a challenge. Ledak didn’t just come into the room and hang back, he hugged the wall and went around to the other side of the room close to the door, supposedly so he would be ready to run to the next leach session. I typed in “You need to help me fight and stop leaching xp from me.” He replied “When we get to the smoke shack I will”. Not the response I was looking for. I typed “No, now. Do what you can” to which he replied “yes mother”.

That’s when I logged off and left him in the middle of a zone he couldn’t handle on his own. I wish I had thought to scroll up and take some screen shots of the dialogue but I was too irritated. My fondest wish is that the undead set upon him and messily devoured him in a manner befitting “Night of the Living Dead”.

So, that’s my story. It’s official; Ledak has added his name to the very small but prestigious list of people who are on my Shit List.

Awesome People

http://video.stumbleupon.com/#p=l14b8d3yw1 - Triumph the Insult Comic Dog at a Star Wars Premier. One of the saddest, most pathetic things I have EVER seen!

This is primarily about Star Trek losers, but then someone shows up who makes even the Trekies look good. You'll know it when you see it :)

The question is, who does the black wizard with the Filet O'fish play on Badlands? I think it's Dano, but that's just a guess.

Blind Quests, need SOME braille!

Okay, Im sorry, but after reading the comments from THIS post, I have to wonder about the person creating and DM'ing these so called "Blind Quests".

Here is how I interpret Q's logic on quests & DnD.


Qwildurn as Dungeon Master of a Pen & Paper Game

Q: “Your party wanders into a town”

Player1: “Is there anyone nearby I can talk to?”

Q: “Yes, but they don’t know anything.”

Player2: “Do I see any signs?”

Q: “Yeah, but they don’t lead anywhere helpful.”

Player1: “Oookaaay, do I have a gut feeling telling me where to look?”

Q: “No.”

Player2 “Grr, ok, I start digging right here, do I find anything helpful?”

Q: “No.”

Player1: “WTF, ok, I map the entire city with a 12” x 12” grid and comb the entire thing. Anything now?”

Q: “You find a map that doesn’t lead anywhere, and a broken compass.”

Player2: “This is INSANE, I’m gonna go stab some horses in the face, let me know when you find something .”

And the night continued on like this until Players 1 & 2 drank themselves into oblivion.

A Day in the Life of a Beta Tester

Many times I have been asked, "What's it like being a Beta Tester?"
Quite often I get asked, "What does the Beta Room look like?"

With the help of an unsuspecting Beta Tester, I will try to glamorize what a typical day is like for a Beta Tester. This is a Reality Show, it's not scripted and they aren't actors. This is the real deal folks. And please, don't try this at home. This is extremely dangerous and people can die. They are professionals, you are not.

Simon Hawk, one of our finest DM's and beloved Beta Testers was caught on a new secret spy cam I was testing inside the Beta Room. Obviously he is laying down on the job. Tsk Tsk.

When questioned later by the Cult Leader, Simon said, "Hey dude, not sure how this happened. But I logged off of BadLands while in the Beta Room, and when I logged back in I died. It was weird."

One thing a Beta Tester needs is quick wits, like Darian who was on to something and pointed out what the others had missed, "Clearly what's happening here is that the Beta Room is finally developing some class ....I mean .... to kill Simon shows she knows whats she's doing.............. I say Beta Room 1, Simon 0."

(Makes you wonder what Darian and the 'female' Beta Room do when the lights are out.)

It seems that a new spy cam was not the only thing being tested that day. Qwildurn told us about her other new toy. "I planned it that way. :) It's the new AI (Artificial Intelligence) I'm testing. Simon just did a Beta Test. Soon, all areas will be killing Simon. LOL."

Being able to roll-with-the-punches seems to be a much needed skill for a Beta Tester. And I think Simon had to use his Acceptance Feat this time as well. "LMAO! You know you're screwed when empty areas start killing you! hahaha", was Simon's responce.

After some brow-beating by the Non-Believers, Simon finally owns up.

"I remember being near death when I logged out. I was in a rush to go and PK "Gina the wild thing level 49" because she mega-spawn killed my level 20 in the Drow Stronghold." (Do Beta Players really PK others? Or is this another test?)

"I ran in the Beta Room to check player position so I could go get my level 43 Mage and teach a lesson in manners. I finally tracked Gina down to the Newport Docks and started to dispense some justice, but she immediately ran back to the safe zone." (Ahh, now the test finds a coward, results are what Beta Testers live for.)

"Since I was already at the docks I decided to kill the Royal Ass, but Gina decided she had balls and jumped me while I was attacking the Royal Ass. But that didn't matter, Royal Ass was on his back so I turned my attention to Gina. The fight didn't last long and Gina was dead. I ported out, rested and came back to finish off the Royal Ass, only to discover that he was walking about in the docks area. He then proceeded to cast a FIREBALL spell on me WTF?" (What they don't know is this: Assassins are good at other things too. This test proves that a well built assassin can pick Gina's pocket and use that stolen scroll to piss off Simon.)

"I used Bigby's and some IGM's to finish off the Royal Ass, and then I found some interesting drops from him. A sweet magic wand. That's a new one on me. Maybe a DM was on at the time? Not sure. Either way I got a cool ass drop for some reason. (BRRF, you loose. No DM's on. It seems that a fireball scroll wasn't the only thing the "Royal Pain in the Ass" stole that day. And this Beta Test confirms that if you can kill the Royal Ass, you to will get any stolen items he has.")

I lost count, just how many times did Simon die during this Beta Test?

And what did we all learn from this Beta Test?

Hmm.

How about, 'Gina the wild thing' is so tough she can kill players when she isn't even trying or in the same area.

No, that's not it.

Can We Bring This Back?

Speaking of interesting items and things that could spawn some different build ideas, can we bring this little beauty back? Right now the "whip drop" is the Ritualist whip, which sucks Donkey Schlong (in my humble opinion).


Just a thought.

The Lich, a Quested Subrace

A Lich is a Mage that has literally "Sold His Soul to the Devil"! Greed and Power can drive a person insane.

As I recall, killing a Lich is much harder than killing a regular Mage. Not only is a Lich much more powerful, they have a lot of immunities and better defences. Typically, a Lich does not die just because you kill it's body. You only think you killed it because the body was destroyed. The Lich's soul finds it's way back to it's container (I forget the name) and will eventually find a new host body to control. Call it respawn if you wish, but it's actually quite different. Destroy the Soul Container to permanently kill the Lich. I remember the container as being easy to smash with a sword, but the explosion was usually fatal. Finding the container was usually very hard. On rare occasion I would find the container first, and the Lich later. Without a container, the Lich was screwed.

I also remember finding hordes of magical items where I had killed the Lich and again near it's container.

I do have a Lich system I have been working on. It is not finished and there are adjustments I need to make. Testing it has not even begun. But I will give you a walk-through.

1) This Mage seeks to become a Lich and looks upon four varieties of Lich bodies he might possess. Most likely it has something to with The Power that the Mage/Lich possesses as to which body he can possess. One body appears to be floating and is assumed to be the most powerful.

2) This Mage has 30 levels of Wizard, 10 levels of Pale Master and specializes in Necromancy. I won't spill any details about the quest or quests involved in getting to this point.

3) The offering begins.

4) "Oh Dark Lord, I have done your bidding as you wished."

5) "I have upheld my end of the agreement. Now I call upon you, Oh Dark Lord, to give me what I have earned."

6) A magical storm begins. No doubt an answer from the Dark Lord.

7) The magical power climaxes here in this ritualistic area of Darkness killing all living beings.

8) The transformation has begun.

9) From life to death to undead. From mortality to immortality.

10) A new young Lich has been unborn, ready to do thy Masters bidding.

11) Just a few of the promises have been kept. You just can't trust an evil Lord these days. Maybe I need to hunt down the Dark Lord and kill him myself in order to get more power.