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The problem with this is some players may wait for certain DMs to get online, then ambush them with requests. It can potentially make it very difficult for a DM to set up and actually DM if they're getting all kinds of questions and requests while they're in the Client, trying to run something.

It seems to me that IRC is the best way to chat up a DM and find specific DMs to ask them if they'll help with this or that. Once ingame it's likely better that they feel free to do what they want/had planned without constant interruption and request by name.

Darkness. That's only one, there's others but I won't list everything I can think of down here for spoiler-ish reasons.

There's more to questing than buffing and charging. Being able to separate and disperse mobs is a big key. I always carry these kinds of items with me, they're very easy to find.

I also have done that particular quest dozens of times and haven't died on it since my very first PC on EfUA, well over a year ago. The gist of this thread is that this quest is so difficult as to be near-certain death, and needs to be adjusted, yet that hasn't been my experience at all. Sure it's dangerous, and sometimes people do die, but I really don't see where it needs changing, and as a matter of fact I think it would then become a ridiculous cakewalk.

Maybe people disagree with me and that's fine, but there's a certain amount of uncertainty when you walk into this QA about exactly how bad it might be. I rather enjoy that and think it would be a shame to turn the quest into a bland run for healing supplies. It's dangerous, yes, it can be very dangerous indeed, but it's more than doable with gear that's very easy to find all over the place.

Are you sure? I remember having carried around a very powerful item that had been cursed for weeks and weeks.

I'm certain as my PC was cursed in a DM event which shouldn't have worn off yet. But so far it's worn off both after resting (DM recursed me) and then again when the server reset.

You don't have to metagame the quest to be successful. Near all of our characters are adventurers. People who are competent and used to frequently walking into kill or be killed situations should and would have a bit of an arsenal to use to cover certain contingencies. This particular quest doesn't have dangers that your average adventurer wouldn't anticipate.

Attacking a fortified position where the only entry is covered by crossbowmen is sort of an obvious defense, having the means to counter that should be essentially standard kit. If it's not then, well, maybe those particular adventurers aren't the most competent sorts.

You can see all the crossbowmen from quite a distance, stopping and planning is a very reasonable thing to do. >.>

Just do the quest never again. (Bad pun).

Anyway, I've done this quest dozens of times, in groups large and small. There's certain difficulties but there's ways around them. The key is making it so that all those crossbowmen can't fire at the same place at once. The solutions to that (which I won't detail) should be somewhat obvious. With the right items, spells, etc. it's certainly doable.

As far as plot ADD, the trick is to only leap at the plots that very much directly involve your PC, and stay borderline for the rest. This tends to help with not being tugged every direction at once.

It's understood that PCs in certain factions are bombarded worse than others, however delegation is your friend. There's nothing wrong with grabbing another PC to do all the legwork and only have them reporting to you. As a matter of fact, I think that's the best way since it gives those PCs importance, and center stage in plots instead of always trying to be front and center yourself.

Come out into the wilds. You'll see groups of 8-10 bandits rather frequently, with three or so of them being the veterans.

But yes, if unsure it's best to always avoid.

What constitutes real varies depending on the person who's perceiving, it's why you would need to set conditions on the definition to begin with.

I can speak on this as an artist, because as an artist we learn how to trick and manipulate peoples' perceptions. This is a lot of what art is because the eye is only a camera lens, it's the brain that defines the input it receives.

The eye only sees light, it's all it's capable of. The eye does not define if something is solid, near or far, it can't tell texture, you need other senses for this. It doesn't even see things right side up as the images projected onto the back of your eye are flipped. It's your brain that rights it without effort or even without the person's willing cooperation.

Distance is judged by the eye using relative input, perspective. The basic, known size of other objects which are intuited as compared to the object you're looking it. It's why it's not difficult to fool the eye with tricks (such as trompe l'oeil) if you know what you're doing.

I mentioned texture, which is determined by touch and not sight. But through learned experience that when something looks a certain way it then feels a certain way. You can create an expectation for the viewer that what they're seeing will feel a certain texture. But think about it, if someone photographs a realistic tree and you then touch the surface it won't feel like a tree no matter how convincing the effect is.

This is why perception can be so easily manipulated to the point that it becomes reality. People do it all the time, just look at politicians, actors, artists, musicians, countless other professions...it's what they do. This is because people are generally easy to predict, and by feeding the correct information, while limiting the things that will sway them in the undesired direction, they can be led into seeing things in the way that's wanted. It's really just the way we're built.

To be honest, sometimes I think character success here is misinterpreted as the only way to become a "great" character. A great character is a character who is very well roleplayed, regardless of prominence, success, faction rank, etc.. They could be an in-game failure in the sense that they fall short of their in-character goals, and yet be amongst the elite in terms of how that character is roleplayed.

A successful character within the hierarchies and factions of the setting is not necessarily a well-roleplayed character (although most probably are well-roleplayed). It's just a character that's been successful in chasing whatever goals the player may have gone after for their character.

There's times I feel that roleplay takes a back seat to chasing goals and success, mostly because EfUA is very difficult and competitive between players. The key is, and should always be, having fun and creating fun for those around you...full stop. The rest is unimportant, but draws too much player attention, which just muddles things up and creates barriers to that fun you're supposed to be having.

I've noticed this with a lot of the 10th level stat buffs you'll find. They seem to last the same amount of time as the normal ones, wearing off at the same time you take the level 3 ones.

I had this happen before to me. I think the DMs need to clear your spawn point, then you won't be constantly ported into the DM area.

From the rules:

- It is not acceptable to target level 2-3 characters with muggings,  ritual sacrifices, random beatings, or other PvP. If conflict occurs, it  is acceptable to engage in PvP if they have done something to earn it.  The exception to this is monstrous and app'ed characters.

I don't claim to speak for the DMs, but as I recall, they have an official policy of leniency toward low level wilds characters doing the ziggurat quests.

Yes, there is, but all the same most don't do much of them. Maybe just starting off some will do a couple since until you have a couple levels and a bit of gear trying to even stealth around in the wilds is deadly. And Stargazers near never do any of the zig quests.

It just would seem odd to me to have gathering quests on the zig where you get all kinds of supplies and such in the midst of famine/poverty, essentially giving PCs access to more supplies and resources instead of less.