Messages

[1.a]

Suggestions are ways to share your ideas in order to improve the setting. They should be simple, free of hostility/rant and demonstrate some understanding of how EFU:A works. Although everyone loves to share their opinion and seems to believe that every suggestion must be rated in some way by them, this is not the case and just creates ground for opposition and hostility.

 - 1.a Try to keep balance suggestions for monsters or quests to a minimum. Not only those are usually filled with spoilers, there are obviously explanations that we (DMs) sometimes cannot share. If we notice something is grossly out of whack, then we'll fix it.

 - 1.b You can still make balance suggestion for any other aspects of the server (spells, drops, classes, special items, subraces, etc.) but just make sure that you first learn and adapt to the server. Adapt to EfU:A instead of trying to make EfU:A adapt to you. Make sure they are spoiler-free.

 - 2. Commenting on other peoples' suggestions. We never pool in how many people are for or against any one suggestion. If your comments are too negative or too positive, please keep them. If they give constructive feedback to the suggestion, please say them. But keep it friendly!

 - 3. If you need to make complex arguments for a suggestion and go on and on for pages long, it might not be a good suggestion >_>.

How would people feel if there was a way (a thrown item such as a tanglefoot bag but different and more expensive) for monsters or other players to disable Expertise Mode/Improved Expertise Mode of another player.

Example: "You throw an sack of magic dust in the eyes of someone -- it distracts them -- they lose expertise/improved expertise until they reactivate it manually."

"Similarly, a type of monster can throw a special new attack that doesn't do any damage but distract PCs and make them break expertise/improved expertise"

Please make your arguments clear and succinct. Discuss.

It is now possible to provide a one-time permanent enhancement to custom-fitted (The NPC providing the service has to be the same one as the one who made the armor).

These bonuses range from skill modifiers to saving throw modifiers.

This is relatively costly but provide a way for PC faction-leaders or PC factions who make their own outfit to have a bit of a bonus should they decide to invest in it.

Report any bug/oddities associated with this (if any) and enjoy!

[Why limit only to new players or people never having experienced?]

On a similar note, for new players or people never having lived a prelude, the EFU:A DM team is willing to re-open the prelude option for especially good ideas.

This means that DMs may, at their leisure, volunteer to run a prelude for a specifically interesting player idea. Prelude limitations (such as low starting level and lack of equipment may be bent slightly in order to make the prelude more interesting for both players and the DM running it.)

Why limit only to new players or people never having experienced?

Well, it isn't something that will happen OFTEN. So, those who never had prelude definitely are prioritized. It is also essential that these preludes be for characters who will be MAIN characters.

[YOU]

As you have probably seen over the couple of days, many changes have slowly been implemented to the gameworld as well as the clarification to many open dilemmas resolved (I hope) within this page.

http://www.escapefromunderdark.com/index.php?pageid=politics

There has been a lot of refinement of our tools and a lot of work to automatize many processes that DMs find tedious to oversee and that are a Must-have for players (such as faction outposts or outfits).

All the tools have been given, the rules clarified and the gameworld is truly more flexible than ever in that sense. A lot of support in the form of perks (and power) has been given to player factions in order to allow people to be extremely creative and have a lot of power and influence on where the module will be going.

So! I'm looking forward to see how YOU will use these many new tools in order to create the vibrant roleplaying community that is EFU:A .

Huzzah!

The website has been completely modified and contains a lot of setting information, help for new players and overall useful links to key forum articles.

If you notice any inconsistencies between the forum, the gameworld or the website. Please point them out in the bug report section!

["Rotting Death"]

On the Escaped from Underdark : Archipelago Campaign, the return of the Netherese God of Rot and Corruption, Moander, is a fact.

This return was due to the actions of the last survivors of the Cult of Moander. The exact date of its foundation remains a mystery even amongst its more senior members, but the purpose of the cult who first fled to the Underdark has always been clear. Possessed by the last shred of the will of the Darkbringer, these cultists worked to this end in bringing back their master from the dead.

Due to their fanatical efforts, the cult was able to summon the last divine rotting plague known as the "Rotting Death" converting the saurian tribe of Lizardfolk of Slaal'teesh to the worship of the Dread Rot God as well as bringing a time of death and disease to the ex-slaves city of Sanctuary. As the plague ravaged through the population, the cultists manage to revive the fear of Moander back into the hearts of mortal and with this, the slumber of Moander's power was to end...

At this times, a great many citizens from Sanctuary in hope of slowing the Rot of their body turned to the worship of the Great Dread God, who in turn, slowed their afflication and helped them to live and breathe once more. However, they would turn toward a new life of adoration for their savior and become instruments of his will at the same time. For this, many new cultists were both drawn from the Sanctuarian and Lizardfolk populations of this region of the Underdark.

The renewal of Moander completed. The cult, directed by the visions of their reborn master, turned its gaze upon the greater prizes which was to increase Moander's influence over Faerun as well as bring word of his return to the Main lands...

The faith of Moander isn't spread like other faith. There is no choice. There is no conversion. There is only an infection... Very similarly to how Thralls of Illithid worked in EFU, the servants of the Rot God are also thralls.

The Ascension to One or the ritual of induction into the cult. Our faith has never been spread through mere words, instead, the faithful was give themselves whole to the Darkbringer and become an extension of his will.

Through this step, they do partake in his greatness and ascend to become One with the Cult and One with a God.

The rite requires the harvest of mature spores from the Heart of our Faith. The spores, injected into a mortal, will grow and spread rot from within, cleansing the body from unrequired organs and turning it into the vessel of our faith.

The touch of the Darkbringer shall be known as you see the roots of the spore extend upon your back and ensnare themselves with your spinal cord.

Pain? It is a concept for the weak. You must endure for you will become truly immortal through his greatness.

 --Mouth of Moander

SO! What does this mean to you?

It means that if you are interested in playing someone of the faith who has been infected, You can definitely apply for this. Infected gain access to Moanderite implants symbolizing their connection with the rot, very similar to illithid implants on efu but very different in their powers.

You can also apply to be part of the cult that recently established itself on the Isle of Ymph. You do not need to be an obvious cultist, you can be the subtle ones, the crazed ones or whatever other range of cultists you may think of.

Here is the dogma of Moander for those who are interested:

Dogma:

Feed the Heart of Moander with fresh corpses of your own making. Hew down strong plants and trees to feed It. Keep the land moist and warm for the Heart to grow and for Rot to strive. Seek not to question the ways and words of Moander, lest you be stricken by the Eating From Within. Go forth and possess beings of power and influence for me. Slay, and let the rot cover all. Fight against cold with fire and magic. Fear me, and obey.

[why]

In the hope of making some more interesting and more interactive low levels adventures, I will be running a contest for scripted quest ideas.

Basically, I'd like you to get thinking about ideas that are interesting for new scripted quests. I'm also opened to different variants of quests such as instead of "Kill X", it could be "Rescue X" or "Protect X" as I played a bit with the scripting system and managed to find an efficient way to run these types of missions.

What I'd you to think about when writing a quest idea for this contest is to:
 - Explain why the PCs would have to do such a thing.
 - Where would it be. What kind of interesting/original environment it could be.
 - What types of danger they will be facing.
 - What is the background lore for this adventure and include, if possible, samples of this lore.
 - Loot Theme that you find such a place.

Winner(s) will receive a DM quest for a PC of their choosing. Simply send me a Private Message (PM) in the forum detailling your quest idea and I will look them over as they come. The contest should be open for two weeks, but I may extend it.

DISCLAIMER: Please note that this is for low levels quest ideas, so preferably under 7.

 * * *

At the same time, I'll be using this post to detail newest additions in terms of new adventures to the module:

 - Isaac Solomon has been updated.
 - Jebediah Fahrel (Johan's Mill) added. [2 parts]
 - Jon Craddock/Wounded Mule added.

In progress...

 - Revamping Lucinda's Quest (new ending).
 - Revamping Nightriser Barrack (big update in the work).

Hello,

If someone has no main character at the moment and would be interested in the start of a small/large plot, you should send me a PM. I'm looking for maybe 2-3 people at most and sadly due to the secretive nature, I cannot tell a lot! What I can do tell is that it involves going back to Sanctuary Roots, An Ascension, A Cult and A Natural-inclined group. I will tell more if I do select you and you decide to commit to it 100%!

Very vague, but a group with a very big impact on Sanctuary's history and that seek do more than that. So, lots of secrets, lots of scheming, lots of historical references.

EFUFRS is a fully scripted system that was made in order to track the impact of certain PC actions upon the population in order to promote a certain type of philosophy for the growth of the fledgling city. EFUFRS will be affected by scripted decisions which means that you may impact and gain reputation toward certain demographic variable by doing certain actions IG (without the requiring of a DM), and you may also gain reputation toward a certain demographic group of the population by DM-judgment.

This provides the DM with a tool to monitor the reputation between two groups and therefore aid in determining who the unrepresented population is supporting as the city is being built and what will acts will be supported by the unrepresented population. This is an attempt to provide a finer and interesting new dimension to EfU that go beyond what has been traditionally attempted.

To this end, a variety of banners, each led by an NPC, (but some could certainly be led by PCs or become led by PCs in time), have been introduced in-game. I understand these new 'players' so to speak will cause undue friction as, with everything new that we introduce, there is a conservative feeling of unknown within it and the first animalistic instinct is to oppose change at all cost. This is fine, but it is something that has been fairly long to implement (script-wise and design-wise) and I am fairly sure that if people participate and get active in these new dilemmas that go farther than killing those who oppose you, things will get quite interesting and it will help DMs immensively in determining which groups merits the support of certain group of the unrepresented.

By joining a Banner, you will become a representant of that particular Banner's philosophy and your acts may be noted by the population in favor of that banner. It is a tool for DMs and players-alike to monitor the impact that characters can have on the formation of the city and of the ruling philosophies that will guide this formation. This system is a meritocracy that gives a new political dimension to be swayed and gain influence for your vision (or the vision of the people you represent) to become a reality which go beyond the traditional arm's race.

There are several possible Banners for characters to join at the moment, without applications:
 - The Stygian Armada (Banner must be handed by faction-member character).
 - The Fleet of the First Bolt (Banner must be handed by faction-member character).
 - House Malatesta (Banner must be handed by faction-member)
 - The Fellowship of the Cheerful Dead
 - The Chauntean Precepts (Led by Mother Oggla)
 - The Credo of Strength (Led by Gaeseric the Unyielding)
 - The Tyrran Conclave (Led by Eumond Haramunos)
 - The Ilmateri Theocracy (Led by Samael Lashneveous)
 - The Helmite Guardianship (Led by Karzan Fyoris)

Some of these banners may go or not, they are but a philosophy that requires player-interest in order to grow. Some of you may wish to create your own Banner and this is certainly possible (Note that unlike factions, a PC can only belong to ONE banner.) Due to the rate that characters get killed or die, we thought it best for stability to establish the 'leading' figure as NPCs as they are more stable within the gameworld, but these leading figure would certainly be welcoming of suggestion so long as it goes with the original philosophy of the banner.

Impacts from characters belonging to these Banners will be monitored behind the scene through a reputation system, fully scripted, unique on EfU:A. Impacts can be made through both scripted means and/or adjusted by DMs to allow for a greater flexibility and control. This system was implemented as an attempt to give the best possible balance between a control/impact of the gameworld for characters and a required stability for the gameworld to advance and be amusing/fun for all players involved.

Just a few examples of the new scripted tools that will work independetly and without a DM:

 - Organize caravans to bring ore shipment Caravan or to guard ore shipment Caravan to the city in order to gain reputation through the system.

 - Organize bandit raids or trade embargo in order to prevent Caravan from delivering a particular resource back to the city.

 - Control territories of fertile lands or raid resources on behalf of your banner in order to improve your reputation or control over specific groups within the city.
 - Indulge in donations to specific groups in order to sway them.
 - Do certain scripted quest/event that would improve your relationships with a specific group that may not have XP or Gold reward.
 - Establish trade routes with other nations/city on behalf of your banner
 - etc. There is no limitations to what we may come up to script that players can engage in without the help of DMs in order to have an impact on the gameworld and all the above have been scripted, but would need to be beta-tested.

DM events or DM-sanctioned Player ideas to improve relationships with certain demographic group will certainly be another way to give flexibility to this massive entreprise.

As was said before, EfU:A is still in beta-stage and this was seen as an idea, that require some test, in order to create a fully vibrant world in which players can engage in meaningful and interesting conflicts that go beyond what was traditionally seen with or without the supervision of a DM.

[Brief Overview]

I've very happy to introduce a new faction that will be one of the many new facets of EfU:A that will be shown over the course of the next weeks to the players. One of the many new groups that players will come to know and, hopefully, appreciate.

Brief Overview
The Stygian Armada is a mercenary group that is situated in Old Port. They have a very 'draconian' code of conduct associated with honour and bravery in the face of overwhelming odds. They are led by one, Commandant Antoine Trenada, the charismatic duelist and captain that is behind their founding. Sharing the xenophobia common to Old Port, the Stygian Armada only recently departed its home by sending a few of its force to the fledgling colony near the Ziggurat. With words of peace, they have so far collaborated with the colonists from the Ziggurat in supplying them with basic weapons and armors in exchange for a relationship of non-aggression. The Stygians, as they referred themselves, are deeply intolerant of any form of destructive magic and ranged weaponry as they believe these techniques of warfare are what dehumanized war as a whole leading conflicts to lose its civility and turning wars into massacres rather than into the beautiful confrontations that they ought to be. Despite its mercenary nature, the Armada has always retained a very fearsome, yet chilvarous reputation amongst the citizens of Old Port.

Features:
 - Divisions: Multiple divisions of the company are available to the PCs depending on the class or specialization of its characters. Each division is led by specific NPCs and receive customized perks.
 - Intrigue: The Stygian Armada, although having only arrived to the island, has many desires, objectives and potential, both to be -made- or -discover- by the PCs.
 - Assignments: Without spoiling anything, PCs who advanced within the faction will receive troops (NPC) that they will be able to assign to various tasks.
 - Advancements: Up to four ladders of advancement are available to PCs depending on how well your particular PC fares within the group, each strata customized with specific rewards in equipment, influence and scripted systems.
 - Induction Rites: In order to cater to their very demanding style, the Stygian Armada has a very unique induction ritual that best be learned in-game. Aside from this, PCs who wish to join will need to prove themselves in the eyes of the company.
 - Stories: Of course, you can expect the level of quality in terms of secrecy and depth associated with the factions of the old EfU.




* * *

Recommendations:
Classes: non-cleric, non-druid, non-wizard, non-sorceror.
Alignment: non-good, non-chaotic.


* * *

And to end, a slight picture of the Commandant overseeing the Auction square within Old Port...

We seem to have some problems with the connection of the server at the moment. A real shame this would fall upon the exciting first week-end of EfU:A.

The problems are due to the weather (Hurricane) in the area that the server is located. We are still inquiring about a new server host and will probably do the switch to a new dedicated host very soon.

In the meantime, the connection will probably be back to normal soon, but we truly wish to avoid these events from happening in the near future.

Thank you for your patience.