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I'm more tired of the one-sided situation on EfU right now than I was in the end of Sanctuary, and it's a great deal down to one player faction getting a lot of indirect and direct support. The Olid Gang. This isn't sour grapes at losing Labur, but rather the opposite. I stayed stupidly involved in that fight after (known) Company PCs turned up yesterday because I was sick of the faction getting so much backup, and out of sheer IC and OOC frustration hoped I might have a chance to FD one or two of the wounded ones and balance things out a bit.

They have a DM faction behind them, ridiculous supplies and a bunch of goons (PCs and NPC base guards). They piledriver everything, rule the server and nobody can touch them. This isn't conflict so much as bashing your head against a wall. They were cool while it was them and the Amauntori as 2 PC factions against each other, but now there's no rival, and a DM faction on their side. When the server started out, I guess a lot of us assumed the First Bolt and Armada would be at each other's throats in a sort of cold war. Several letters to the Fleet went along those lines. It didn't work out like that.

As a result nobody so can seriously threaten the Company or the Armada, so lots just join them instead. See today's ass-kicking of the druids. It's boring, and frustrating. There's nothing like Seeker/Spellguard rivalry, Montezzi or Ghyrrt/Upper fighting, or the Rebellion and Host hiding out in various places

There is nowhere for a general good PC to go to if don't want to put up with slavers, necromancers, etc. The Gazers will chuck you out a tree head-first if you bring conflict to their woods (so that's hide only), and the Shark's impractical both for reaching the majority of quests and using the sendings.

Any serious Good chars get pretty marginalised. Other than the Bolts, who don't interfere with stuff on land, there's no mostly Good or mostly altrusitic Lawful DM faction like the Greycloaks, Watch, Society, Seekers etc. There's not even any decent Good loot. Hell, I stopped selling potions on Labur for a good while after he was pretty sure it was only Evil PCs affording big orders.

This isn't a rant at any of the Team Olid players, you've got cool PCs there. It's at the way the situation was unbalanced from the start with factions and leaving the Zig to PC faction influence when PCs for various OOC reasons don't organise so well.

It's not made me want to give up, but it has made me pretty much give up on trying to affect the server as I'd want to make PVP-rigged powerbuilds rather than interesting builds if I'm going to risk any chance of a fight.

Never mind. I just don;t reckon it'd work

Firstly i think the chicken is a brilliant RP took, great fun, and very handy with it's lvl 5 ability. However, it also think that most of its abilities are frankly crap purely because of its low HP.

I didn't actually realise how weak it was until I played around with other bird familiars like Ravens and Parrots, which have far higher HP and typically are tougher than their masters.

The chicken gets a wide variety of minor offensive spells, two of which are cone effects. It also gets 2hp a level. Any other familiar could get close enough to deliver them. The chicken, on the other hand can get one-shotted by a Goblin. I love the amusement value of a a chicken with such spells, but there's no chance of ever using them, as why risk 200 xp over a spell?

The other familiars are mostly used just as buffbots. This one could be slightly useful offensively in some areas if it just got a bit of HP.

Please can we have more dyes? The UD had loads of earth and natural colours good for nature/wandering types in Blazon's. Now there are only bright colours, even the Gazer dyes, which are bright green and turquoise almost.

We need browns, greens, that awesome sea-green colour of the tunic in the Sorcery shop, that kind of thing.

[Dwarven Defender:]

Basically, I'd like to see certain Prestige Classes around, and am willing to help out IG for anyone who feels like apping for either Dwarven Defender or Divine Champion (Really it'd have to be a Champion of Sharindlar). I'd try and get them involved in tasks that will provide app background, provide IC clerical guidance, help lvl, and so on.

Dwarven Defender:
Requirements:
Dwarf.
Base Attack Bonus +7 (Fighter, Paladin, or Ranger levels to Lvl 7)
Dodge, Toughness
Must have the Domains override if you want the special Dwarf power you'll get.

Divine Champion
Requirements
BAB +7
Weapon Focus in a melee weapon (Axe or Hammer would be preferred for a dwarf champion I suppose)
You'll have to be a Dwarf champion for Labur to help you out.

To clarify, this it NOT a complaint that the loot is crap. :P

The trouble is, that there is so much "Only useable by: Evil" loot, necromantic loot, animation devices and it is getting ridiculous. 1/day summon chain, bonus Cleric slot gear, loads and loads of amulets with skill boosts and powerful spells, and that's just the stuff I've seen on quests or for sale recently.
What do Good players get: Chalice of Light. Woo yay. Gonna smite me some evil with that. XD

I understand that it's fun to make creepy loot that adds a flavour of "bad news" to QAs, but it's hardly a great stretch to assume that the odd divine champion or crusading good guy has fallen victim to some of these tombs and would have carried such useful goodly relics. Or that raiding tribes of monsters would have pillaged a temple, guard house or something that belonged to a Good Netherese faction.

It's making me thing "hey I should make an evil guy for the loot!" which is kind of a bad reason to go for a concept.

If you've contacted me or another member IG and joined, post up here, so the DMs can add you to the forums. Also, DMs,  if I could get moderator access on those forums so I could add members, that would be great.

So far I know of:
Talir

I got stuff robbed from my pack today, and it set me to thinking "how do I track down the thief, all armor looks the same." If there was an NPC like Anvilkine who would engrave just names onto an items relatively cheaply, it would stop wilderness deaths being risk-free super loot for anyone who stumbles on a pack. You could use it personally (and risk it being spotted on a search or a fugueing), but not flog it off easily.

Stolen kit would be effectively untradable to lawful chars or friends of the victim, and would be a risk in case the victim took revenge. It would *increase* conflict, not make things easier. There could also be a "fence" in a dangerous location, who for a higher price would erase the owner's name.

I recently saw someone had sold a bonus feat: Dodge sword to Tobar, presumably for his same pathetic 12 gp as usual. Since the buying price has been nerfed down to nothing, can we at least have the selling price lowered to a maximum the same way (maybe max price 200GP), so that when this happens, other PCs can buy the things?

I understand the idea was probably to keep the merchants from being a useful income from selling drops, but it's got rather ridiculous. All Tobar does is draw good things [especially scrolls] out of circulation for a pittance and sell them at unreasonable prices nobody pays. It's tempting to sell scrolls for immediate cash, but frustrating to casters to see them there at stupid prices.

I did an invised run to the Sated Shark today to see if it was possible for level 2-4s to make it there. ANd the answer is "Yes, but it takes 3 invis spells and a *spoiler* can see through invis if it spawns in the area". I ran across Trolls and worse, as a lvl 4...

Now, sure, you could organise a huge expedition, or hire some total badasses to escort you, but you'd need a party that IC REALLY wanted to go to the pub.
I've seen a level 2-3 and 2 level 2-4 quests there, none of which are soloable, so the odd low lvl PC that makes his way there can't do them.

I'd love to see a ferry costing say 10 gold that takes you the the Shark. The rest of the area's still deadly, still a challenge, but the Island of Bliss and the adjacent relatively safe area's still accessible. I'm trying to sort this out IC too.

The hidden back entrance appears to be one-way, so if you take it, you're stuck behind a locked and seemingly un-bashable door. Can we have another transition back, an unlock lever, or the door have most of its Damage reduction removed so it can be bashed open?

It's been a couple of weeks, and nobody's so much as seen a half-plate until yesterday. This is a plea that it stays that way, with such equipment super rare. +1 AC Splints, Bandeds and 1/2 Plates sure, but I can't see fullplate making so much sense in the setting. It's an archipelago full of mud, beaches and quicksand, and full platemail is armor made for full on land battles, not exploring, and expecially not sea warfare.

I like the proliferation of interesting, lighter armor, and I'd love it to stay that way, with fullplate not only rare, but not even that desirable in a setting that's hot, humid and with mobility desired.

This isn't to try and nerf Heavy Armor classes, far from it, the 8AC could be accomplished with magic/mastercrafted other armors, but more for the feel of things.

In the Gobsquat dock underwater area near the Vermin Tower, there is no "you are underwater" message, nor air timer, nor any "underwater" effects (resist, vunlerability, spellfailure)

Egon was the first PC I played properly and with a real concept on EfU (the first guy was a crap LN dualwield Rogue who died a lot) and I'm sorry to see him go.At least he did die to a combination of Stupid Bravery and Extreme Overkill (taunting the Way's Pillars O'Death as a distraction so a Seeker could do a scouting run, since all the tanks were suffering from a bad case of Ray of Pussification ;))

His background was of the chaplain and healer to a group of travelling entertainers. He preferred to be called Chaplain not Priest, as he never felt like a "real preacher". He wrote a lot of books for the library, and once made 400 gold by writing a haiku for a PC Spellguard Agent.

The build was a bard 7/Cleric of Lurue 1 and was 400 XP or something off l9 when he bit the dust of the Way. He made a LOT of wands, and I think at least a quarter of those may have been for that Way run :). At one time or another he'd worked for a lot of factions (Helped out Druids quite a bit, spent a lot of time with Dentra and Wyric trying to start a mushroom farm, was a member of the Cloak and Coin, but not the Thieves' Guild, Squire of House Archibald...)

Really loved his alchemy and using Identify Spells to help his already high Lore, but due to some bug, his Alchemy Set would randomly claim ingredients didn't do anything (I actually both OOC and IC checked with Arkhaman that I had the Thunderstone recipe right). That messed up his study a lot. His usual weapon was a Crossbow, but his favourite weapon was Choking Dust.

So long, and thanks for all the tunes!


LEWTS!
One of Egon's other favorite bits of kit was the Lightened Bedroll Gralg got for him when we went to raid Jubal's Tomb. Prepping spells/Bardsong in the UD makes for a happy Balladeer)
Egon in all his gear (Dunwarren Chain and Lesser Dunwarren Cloak)


Badass Bracers (From Mort's first ever DM quest, in fact both my DM Lewts and my prized 1/day Lesser Dispel Beholder Gem were off Mort Specials. :))


My Hat. This was an amazing hat, and I went through a hell of a quest to get it. It involved trying to invis my entire party and haul out two bodies under both water and the noses of an entire Duergar Expedition at one point. Also I managed to turn a LOT of ghouls with my 1 Cleric Level and 16 CHR :D. I miss my Hat. thanks to that and Surgeon's Knives I had about 23 Heal and spammed Herbs in combat even on the Way.



The DM Quest that I earned it on. Faceless trying to negotiate with the Orog Chief that then killed all the meleers but one, who I was spamhealing like crazy at the end so he could finally finish it off. Of course, this was only about a third of the way through the quest...


The debate I ran before Sanctuary's Last Election.

Total casualties:
-One mage subdued and arrested for buffing up in invis and not cooperating with Everard.
-One chair smashed by Grom to prove he could smash Chosen.
-The last shreds of Silline's dignity after Grom kept hitting on her and she swapped between either ranting or being insulted by attendees. Thanks DrD for making such a great nutter.

With Halara and Lothar, enjoying the fact that a drunken Lothar was lusting after a man in a robe.


Egon hung out with the Host a lot towards the end, in fact providing them with most of the supplies Kedrick wanted for his *spoiler*

Escaping Mur.


In the Kobold city for a bit, when the Host figured they might be wanted for associating (read: Escaping from Duergar) with rebels.


Plotting in Sslalt'eesh


After Dalavan's (I think) crappy driving blew up the animatron we needed for the Machine puzzle, several people tried to fix it. And failed.


The last minutes of the Old EfU Module:


Watching one of the rebel hierarchy Wrestle a Pig. Yes, people like THIS beat the Spellies :P


Egon. Ebon. Both bard/Cleric builds, both in some form of yellow clothing, both with facial hair. Even Kedrick kept confusing us (For the record, *I* wore yellow first :))


On the recieving end of a bloody awful joke for a change.


And, the last time he was seen alive in the encampment:


So, thanks to everyone who RPed/Quested with Egon, but especially Crimson Magician for the Mystery Crap-Rat moments and randomly dropping things in his pockets, The Circle members for being kickass to quest and RP with, TNVW for Hafur and Ebon, Kairn for sharing my appreciation of Choking Powder (It's a lvl 3 Spell effect anyone can use, cheaply!), Mort for giving him a lot to PANIC about, AKMatt for Elina, who was as happy to have Egon as backup as I was to have a Weaponmistress up front, Meldread for the Host, and Agent Cain for explaining conjurative reagents. If I missed you here, then just take your WIN from the general bucket I'm passing round XD.

Boss too hard.