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Like Turbo and Paha said, if your character is in game then it's in play.  More than one person has been arrested, assaulted, assassinated, robbed, or kidnapped while away.  It happens and "do overs" aren't granted.

I think all of us have at one point or another gone AFK for an extended period of time in a place we deemed safe.  I just want to highlight what was already said, so that everyone knows the risks.

RIP Sigvar. :(

A shining example of what can be achieved on EfU.

You were [redacted], [redacted], [redacted].  So I hope you can understand why [redacted].

[::[ Kythorn 18th : Year 161 : 1383 DR ]::]

::[ Kythorn 18th : Year 161 : 1383 DR ]::

News quickly spreads around Sanctuary of the trial of Prefect Liruwen, the self-styled Matriarch of the Elves.  The trial itself was overseen by Prefect Sinclair by majority vote by the Directorate, who had also agreed to abide by his decision.  She was put on trial for numerous crimes, but chief among them treason for consorting with known or suspected thralls and attempting to endanger Sanctuary by letting them into the city.  All who witnessed the trial speak of Prefect Sinclair's open and unconcealed contempt for Liruwen and any who sought to defend her.

Ultimately, the fallen Prefect was declared guilty and sentenced to be burned at the stake as she had sentenced Bjorl the Troll, her most widely known case in her brief time as Prefect.  Prefect Sinclair is said to have been amused at the thought of burning a "knife-eared witch" alive.

However, as she was carried off to Freedom Square to be executed, one of the elves gathered there started to protest openly.  He called on the crowd to not allow the injustice to take place and to take action.  As he was speaking, Prefect Sinclair ordered Sergeant Balfour to begin beating him until he became silent, but before this could happen a horn sounded from the rebel occupied mansion of Director Gould.

At that moment the elf speaking cried out for those gathered among the commoners who had amassed to see the execution to reveal themselves.  Numerous elven warriors, elven marksmen, worker revolutionaries, and a scattering of cultists from Lower Sanctuary revealed themselves to be armed and armored under their robes.

What took place next varies from account to account.  However, it was a massive and chaotic battle, where it became difficult to tell friend from foe.  Bystanders, spurred on by the actions they had witnessed leaped to join the fray.  Friend turned against friend, revealing at last the deep divisions in Sanctuary.  

In the end the majority of those who had rebelled escaped to Director Gould's mansion, where they regrouped and remained for some time.  Each side began to assess the damage and their losses.  It became clear that the rebels had successfully spirited away the disgraced Prefect, but it did not come without a heavy cost.  

Thanks to the advanced planning by the Spellguard and the Watchers, animatrons and additional watchers were on duty.  They were able to capture three prominent rebels, two lesser known Elves, and the high valued rebel named Sigvar who is believed to be the public leader of the Cult of Ascension.

Sigvar was immediately dragged off to Serena Tower, no doubt to endure harsh interrogation at the hands of the Spellguard.  What he will reveal is unknown, though the rumors are many.

However, the rebels had captured a prisoner of their own, a member of the Watchers.  An exchange was arranged and the Watcher was ultimately swapped for one of the lesser known elves.  Immediately after the exchange took place, the Watchers fired upon the occupied mansion of Director Gould with incendiary flames. All who did not make it inside the mansion perished.

After this Sanctuary fell silent and life slowly started to return to normal.  However, what remains of the elves of Sanctuary are fractured, with some elven civilians now the objects of scorn from their neighbors, and hostile anti-elven graffiti begins to appear near the garden of the lost.

Life has returned to normal, but deep resentments and anger seems to be boiling under the surface.  It is only a matter of time before it erupts again.  Meanwhile, the Watchers quickly move to keep the peace through whatever means necessary.

lol.

Please do not waste anyone's time by trying to "earn" benches IG via politics.  If a DM wants to take the time to set it up so it looks decent, then it'll happen.  Otherwise it won't. :p

Use your time being awesome instead.  Fighting for benches to be added so you can sit your ass down isn't awesome.  

If you want to sit down, go to the House of Heroes.  If everyone decides to hang out there, then the suggestion here becomes moot.  All it takes is people who are having a conversation to say, "Hey, let's go talk about this in the House of Heroes.  I'm tired of standing around."  The more that happens, the more people will just start chilling out in the House of Heroes instead.

On the topic of Shar killing Ibrandul during the Time of Troubles... this is not knowledge that any PC would possess, even the clergy of Ibrandul themselves unless revealed to them directly by their deity.  Even Sharran Clerics would not know whether or not Shar killed Ibrandul, and indeed - even the other deities themselves believe Ibrandul is still alive and kicking.

This is purely 100% OOC knowledge, and in fact may not even be true in EfU even if it is true in canon.

Of course, this doesn't mean the faith of Ibrandul can't be infiltrated like any other faith by Sharrans, Cyrists, Maskarrans or other religious cults that might use secrets, lies, or shadows to conceal their true faith.  However, it is equally possible, and indeed even more likely that those who serve Ibrandul legitimately believe that they serve him... and there is no reason that any PC - unless given a reason to suspect by a DM - should believe otherwise.

From an IC perspective most people will likely never have heard of Ibrandul unless they're from Waterdeep or Calimshan, and even then it's completely possible that he'd be unknown to many due to his obscurity.  Rationally speaking, Ibrandul is to the Underdark what Umberlee is to the sea, although he's likely viewed as more indifferent than malevolent.  Offering the occasional praise to Ibrandul, especially if you head out into the Underdark regularly, makes perfect sense for most PC's.

Even if a PC is revealed to be say - a Cyrist and a prominent member of the faith of Ibrandul - it would be nuts to jump to the conclusion that the entire faith is a front for the faith of Cyric.  The PC would be viewed as an infiltrator, just as if we had a Cyricist posing to be a follower of Ilmater.

The Underdark, in general, is a really dangerous place.  Everyone has already given really good advice, but I just want to emphasize some practical points.

1.  Don't travel alone.  Ever.  Everything is always safer and better in groups.  It doesn't matter where you're going or what you're doing, bring friends.

2.  Make sure you have access to invisibility either through items or spells.  One of the most common items you'll find are potions of invisibility.  They're common for a reason.

3.  Make sure you have access to adequate and proper healing.  Aside from gold itself, healing is probably one of the most common types of loot you'll find. This is common for a reason: you will need it.

4.  Spend your gold.  A lot of people make the mistake of hoarding gold, but that's a pretty pointless thing to do.  Spend your gold on supplies and items that will enhance your survivability.  You can be insanely rich, but it isn't going to save you if you're dead.

5.  Don't be afraid to run.  Trying to stay and fight something that you realize is too strong is usually a mistake.  Sometimes it's just smart to turn the other way and run, and live to fight another day.

I just want to point out that you don't need everyone present to do stuff.  Ideally there would be a situation where there are at least the following three individuals:  Shakti, Nathanya, and Ceres.  

Everyone else Ceres can meet one on one.

Not sure what exactly happened here with this Quest as I wasn't observing.  However, three times I had to be called to solve problems and issues involving it. (The first was mentioned in another thread where Patrice somehow killed Thomas despite being multiple areas away.)

I unlocked the chests and there was nothing in them.  The group had apparently become stuck in a room and couldn't get out after having killed all the bosses.  I jumped the group back to the portal, after awarding them some XP and healing loot for completing the quest, then had to unlock all the doors that lead to the exit.

I'm not sure if they were doing something wrong or if there was something bugged with the quest.

I'm not sure what happened here either, but I was in the room with Patrice Vermand.  Both Garem and I saw the message that he had killed Thomas Mis-Born with no explanation as to why or how it happened.

[::[ Tarsakh 21st : Year 161 : 1383 DR ]::]

::[ Tarsakh 21st : Year 161 : 1383 DR ]::

The town is afire with rumors of what occurred this dark.  There is a great deal of conflicting rumors as people begin to point fingers at each other. What is known and is confirmed is that there was a massive riot outside the recently rented Temple of Waukeen in the Residential District.

According to confirmed rumors the Priestess of Waukeen, Blythe Silverscales, set about to give her planned sermon regarding the current events surrounding the Workmill.  The crowd was deeply divided along political lines, with those of the Black Guild supporting the Workers, those of the Red Guild supporting Director Gould, and average citizens deeply divided.  Things took a turn for the worse near the end of the sermon, when Blythe began to give the workers present a meager sum of gold.  The meager sum caused some to protest.

According to the most widely believed accounts, members of the Black Guild then offered a substantial sum of gold to be distributed to the workers.  This gold was given to the priestess of Waukeen, who immediately was assaulted by sad stories from the workers.  She began to hand out even larger sums of gold, which in turn began to solicit desperate cries from average citizens.  Rumors of gold being handed out by the priestess quickly spread about Sanctuary, and soon the Temple was overrun with desperate citizens looking for their share.

As the crowd grew more agitated and desperate, and more than a few agitators among those present started to show signs of violence, magic was used to try and subdue the crowd. This caused a panic, which almost allowed the priestess to escape unharmed.  However, she was spotted before she got away, and the crowd began to surge toward her.  As this happened an all out riot broke out, leaving many wounded, and a handful dead.  Quite a few citizens spent the dark crammed into a Watcher cell for disorderly conduct.

Things grew worse still, after the Watchers cleared out the area, some individuals - it is unclear who - went back to the Temple of Waukeen and vandalized it.  

From this point forward it is difficult to know the truth, as rumors devolve quickly into finger pointing and political propaganda.

[New Characters:]

I think Blast9thewarrior had a really good suggestion about breaking up the OOC room a bit more.  There is quite a bit all jammed in there, and that can be a bit overwhelming when you're new.

TheTurboNerd also made a really good point about inside knowledge.  Once you've run through things once as a character, it becomes easier to excel.  You start to learn what quests you need to do, you know more about the setting in general, about the major ongoing plots (both PC and DM), and all of this makes it so much easier to integrate.  

What I think we need from new players is immediate by-in to the story of the server.  We need things to be zeroed down to the most basic essentials:  you're one of the few survivors of an event of apocalyptic proportions, huddled in an underground city with the last known free-thinking peoples of your kind.  

It would be interesting to try out some very generic scripted preludes, that give people an opportunity to get a feel for the tone of the server, as well as a chance to integrate their characters into it.  I'd also include a cutscene introduction similar to how things were setup in EfU:M to introduce people to the server for those taking the generic preludes.  It would give some basic background history of recent events (the rise of the Red Star, the Darkening, and the coming of the Dread Empire) which would give a player a good idea why their character came to be in such a grim position for the prelude.

Another thing I'd do would be to create IC and OOC incentives for DM factions and associations to involve new character arrivals (regardless of whether or not they're new to the server).  OOCly those who get their Sanctuary Rings should appear on an OOC list for DM factions and associations when a character logs in.  They'd sit on that list for a week so long as they're flagged by EFUSL as actively playing characters.

There would be two lists:  New Characters (with Online / Offline indicators) and New Characters Introduced (along with Online / Offline indicators).

The list could be accessed at any time by typing /c newpcs.  

The new characters listed as offline are characters PC's should keep an eye out for to see if they spot them, and those listed as online are the characters PC's should ACTIVELY be seeking out.  Finally, the New Characters Introduced list are people who've become "known" by a particular faction.  We could treat that like IC rumors, allowing faction PC's to "spot" someone who has recently been introduced to a faction and introduce themselves.

Examples of what it could look like in combat chat log:
New Characters:  XXXX [Online], XXXX [Online], XXXX [Offline], XXXX [Offline], and XXXX [Offline].

New Characters (Introduced):  XXXX introduced by YYYY [Online], XXXX introduced by YYYY [Online], XXXX introduced by YYYY [Offline], XXXX introduced by YYYY [Offline], XXXX introduced by YYYY [Offline].

The Spellguard and their Agents would want to introduce new arrivals to the Auxiliary, as would other members of the Auxiliary itself.  The Watchers are actively looking for new recruits, and would want to inform new arrivals about the law.  The Civil Servants would want to get a new arrivals name, and some basic information about where they've come from for their files and records.  The Society would want to get new arrivals to sign up for their Crusade.  The Scriveners are going to want to get your last will and testament, because - well, you're going to die, and they need to inform you of this fact.  Finally, the Stewards are going to want to try and sway people away from the Machine and Sanctuary.

Basically, it would be setup as a fetch quest for faction PC's where they actively go out, look for new players, and bring them back to their faction base.  For doing this they'd receive some XP and gold.  It's a quest that could be done at any level, and an unlimited number of times.  (With rewards scaling appropriately based on level to maintain server balance.)

This is valuable because it provides new arrivals with the opportunity to get involved in plots, as well as to learn about Sanctuary and its surrounding environments from other PC's.  It also provides ample opportunity to become a member of an association:  Oathsworn to the Society, a member of the Scriveners, a member of the Civil Servants, a recruit of the Watchers, or a member of the Spellguard Auxiliary.

I wholeheartedly endorse bad ass paladins who try to beat the evil out of evil people.  

"I sense your taint!"  [Bitch slap.]  "Do not try and lie to me, your crimes are laid out before my very eyes for they are painted upon your blackened soul!"  [Grabs him and throws him against the wall.]  "The only reason I do not kill you where you stand, is because I am hunting someone far worse.  I am going to give you one chance to spare your pathetic life.  If you lie to me, I will know it."

DM XP, incoming.

I'm kicking this because we've had instances of this recently.  

I also want to expand upon what was written, and say that this not only includes DM Quests, but spice on scripted quests as well.  

It is perfectly acceptable to play a thief.  However, it's important for us to know that someone is ACTIVELY stealing so that we can handle things properly and fairly ICly.

Also, stealing doesn't just include taking everything - it includes skimming off the top as well.  If you find a pile of 1,000 gold, and 10 potions of cure serious wounds - then you need to inform the entire group.  If you tell the group that you found 900 gold and 8 potions of cure serious wounds (with the intent of keeping 100 extra gp for yourself, along with two of the potions) that's skimming.  You need to inform us, so that we can handle things appropriately and fairly.

[::[Third of Tarsakh : Year 161 : 1383 DR]::]

::[Third of Tarsakh : Year 161 : 1383 DR]::

Rumor quickly spreads around Sanctuary of a grizzly event that took place in the House of Heroes.  Though the rumors are unclear of what exactly happened, many speak of a brutal murder of a child and another citizen, and of a horribly distraught mother.  The Watchers were attempting to keep people away from the crime scene in the House of Heroes, as it is said it's gruesome savageness was too much for most to view.

Many turned out for the trial, where three individuals stood charged, two foul-smelling humans and one mute halfling female.  The halfling was said to be the murderer.  It is widely known that Clerk Renee Greystarred was acting Prosecutor, and openly called for leniency for the child-murdering halfling.  She won her case and leniency was granted as she requested, and all three of them were cast out of Sanctuary and into Exile.  

Few seem happy with the verdict, especially the mother of Little Russ, the boy that was brutally murdered.  As the Prefect ruled in Clerk Renee Greystarred's favor the mother screamed and cried out for justice to be done - for the criminals to be stoned.  However, her wishes were not granted as she was led out of the court room by sympathetic citizens.  

Some now whisper angrily about Renee Greystarred's prosecution style, and speak of her sympathy for child-murderers.  Yet another potential scandal could be brewing for the embattled Civil Servant.