When It Feels I Can't Go On, Let Your Armour Cover Me

Alts and Equipment

Since restarting again earlier this year most of my time has been spent trying to equip various alts. My current avatar characters are:

• Vampires - Vilexur, Sashell, Viledri, Viltrow
• Rangers - Jessyl, Jessel, Germal
• Thieves - Kurrs, Parx, Krayaz
• Warriors - Joydi, Panish, Skold, Skurnis
• Mages - Gnodra, Vodra, Modra
• Clerics - Chacix, Charix, Juxarn
• Paladins - Sacix, Tantis
• Nephandi - Wroth
• Druid - Varlok
• Fathomer - Zenth
• Barbarian - Skarl
• Augurer - Aryx
  

There are some that were under dressed from never being fully equipped after reaching level 50, some from playing with the Deck and others from dying and not being CR'd years ago. I've been spending a lot of time killing easier avatar mobs that can (and should) be solo'd be an average player such as Dracolothis, Zeus, Dracula, Rez, Justice, Horus, Ra, and Sir Pereval just so that they all have a usable basic equipment set up. Doing this is also a good way to get back into the hang of running mobs without the the pressure of letting down other players if things go wrong. 

The most time consuming mobs I've been doing by myself again are Rage and Fury from The Underworld in the hope of popping a Maniacal Tendencies. After spending three weeks on and off there I had enough rage and fury essences for 17 attempts at it. The funny thing with pops in the Realms of Despair is the randomness of it. Out of the 17 tries I popped an MT on the first go which was then followed by 16 failures. Now most of my alts are well enough armoured to be useful, with others able to pack a punch.

 

The Deck

I've had a hard time with the Deck of Many Things since restarting. While I have found it several times, the challenge has been that other players have been getting their hands onto it first. These days I need to be on right after reboot to get the card. Only once have I manged to find the deck with a card in it. I got lucky and gained a rename scroll.

Bridging the Maelstrom
Darkness pervades this area of cold, deep sea. The water churns and boils all around, but for a tiny strait of calm that lies between the Blood and Azure seas, on each side. It is said that the seas are almost alive and, like any who are shunned by the world of the living, they extort a tremendous toll on anyone who would choose to utilize this path. Far to the north, amidst the fog and mist, a small island can be seen.
Exits: north east south west northeast northwest southeast southwest
The Deck of Many Things lies in wait for a brave soul.
The Deck of Many Things says 'If you can find a card within me, you might be lucky enough to draw something of value.
However, once you submit to chance, you put yourself at the mercy of the cards.
The Deck of Many Things winks suggestively.

> exam deck
You take a closer look at the Deck of Many Things on the ground...
The deck takes the appearance of a very finely wrought and veneered wooden card case, yet the strong magical aura surrounding it offers proof that this artifact is not simply what it appears to be.
The Deck of Many Things appears to be full.
The Deck of Many Things contains:
     the Key to the Deck of Many Things

> g key deck
You get the Key to the Deck of Many Things from the Deck of Many Things.
The Key to the Deck shudders menacingly.
You drop the Key to the Deck of Many Things.
Vl'aresch gives you one gold coin for your sacrifice of the Key to the Deck of Many Things.
Be Forewarned : You could lose all that you own.
Panish has been given the chance to draw from the Deck of Many Things.

>  g card deck
You get a card from The Deck of Many Things.
You see that you have drawn the Tower in Ruin.
As you gaze upon it, the scene upon the card comes to life and is acted out.
Ruin stretches out to engulf you, but by some happy fate you evade it.
A warm feeling fills your body and a scroll of fine parchment appears in your hands.
The cold winds of never rush through the void, whipping the card from your hand and  returning you to the mortal realm.

 

Lowbie Quest

I've also been working on levelling a second barbarian. It's up to level 37 now so it shouldn't be too long until it reaches level 50. While levelling around level 20 I found a little quest in the Tower of Zenothir that I hadn't seen before. It involved getting an item from the Coral Depths that isn't too hard to find.

Madame Juneo's Sightroom
Exits: east
A gleaming crystal ball sits here, waiting for you to examine it.
A buxom woman narrows her eyes at you.
Juneo is shrouded in flowing shadow and light.
Madame Juneo's all-seeing eyes turn to stare into your soul
Madame Juneo says 'A seeker! Welcome to the gateway to the Future, traveller.'
A slight smile twists the Fortune-teller's lips.
Madame Juneo says 'I see we are both seeking...perhaps, friend, we can aid each other?'
Madame Juneo says 'I can see in your eyes, you want to say yes.....'

> say yes
You say 'yes'
Madame Juneo nods knowingly.
Madame Juneo says 'I knew a seeker such as yourself would be eager to aid me.'
Madame Juneo thinks briefly.
Madame Juneo says 'I have an illustrious client...I cannot say who, I'm afraid, but he is quite powerful.'
Madame Juneo says 'He has an...interesting, shall we say...curse upon him.
Madame Juneo says 'I have delved into the mysteries, and have found a way to relieve his suffering.'
 
Madame Juneo says 'Alas, my otherworldly sources say that the success depends'
Madame Juneo says 'upon locating a very rare regent... a dark black pearl.'
Madame Juneo says 'Bring me this pearl from the depths where it lies, and I shall aid you in return.'
Madame Juneo makes a mystical gesture of farewell.

> give pearl june
You give a dark black pearl to Juneo.
Madame Juneo looks over the pearl's shining surface.
Madame Juneo says 'A perfect pearl...you have done myself--and my client--a great service today.'
Madame Juneo says 'I must reward you. Be calm, this shall not harm you.'
Madame Juneo chants briefly over her crystal ball.
 
Power flows through you! You gain 50,000 experience!!!
 
Madame Juneo sits back, exhausted.
Madame Juneo says 'I must rest now. Thank you again for your help.'
Madame Juneo turns away.

 The quest isn't too difficult and most people go levelling in Coral Depths so collecting the pearl isn't taking you too far out of the way.

Home Ownership

I have managed to snag myself an apartment. It was a bargain for only 30 million gold coins. As a bonus it is on board the Meridia meaning I can use it for free transport around the various ports of the Realms of Despair. It's not much but it's home:

Vilexur's Apartment
A room surrounds you, filled with the dirt and filth of previous tenants.
A spray painted frame of the last tenant can be seen on the floor in a far corner.
Exits: northeast

I have been considering starting my own sect for my various alts but at the same time I need to save my gold coins for when I have enough glory for a prestige class.

 

Bug Hunting

Speaking of trying to make gold, one of the newer quests I've seen has gold coins as a reward. Basically it involves hunting down golden bugs with a nice gold reward. I've found vampires work well on them:

DYING>A golden bug's deathrattle fills the air as you drain its life...
Your suspiric grasp jars a golden bug!
A golden bug is DEAD!!
A golden bug screams furiously as it falls to the ground in a heap!
You get 5090000 gold coins from the corpse of a golden bug.
The corpse of a golden bug holds:
     Nothing.

You can never have too many gold coins in this game.

When the Summer Ends

With the introduction of prestige classes I've found myself needing more glory. The minimum requirement of 300 glory is a little more than any of my characters currently have. As a result of this I've been attempting as many quests as I can with the goal of achieving this 300 glory mark, mostly using my ranger and vampire since they are the characters closest to the 300 glory mark. Fortunately there has been several quests run over the last two months. Some have been the sort of quick quests that pop up with little warning while others have ran over a longer period of time. The biggest was the "Thoth's World" challenge which I'll write about at a later date. Now that the Summer is over here's my short summary of the other quests I've joined in:

Eisengrim's Orb of Winter

This quest ran over the month of January and involved finding Eisengrim's orbs of winter. These orbs were scattered over the whole of the Realms of Despair by Eisengrim on a regular basis. Trying to find these orbs was like finding the Deck of Many Things in that you had to travel to as many areas as possible and scan through all the rooms along the way. I managed to find three orbs all up with having success in Transylvania, Edo and Cursed Lands. This is what it looked like when you found one:

Upon the Village Dock
Planks squeak and boards bend under the weight of hundreds of years of sea air and crashing waves. Small weather worn holes are visible all over the dock and all those who traverse its rotting timbers are warned to be very careful. The sea mist, caused by the crashing waves, makes it difficult to see more then a few feet out into the gloom, though this doesn't stop the masses of people who who congregate on this lonely outlook in search of loved ones taken by the sea.
Exits: east south northeast northwest
A small glowing white sphere lies here, shimmering waves of mist emanating from its core.
A village elder looks to the sea to find his lost son.
Master Kosuke glows with an aura of divine radiance.
Boards creak and shake under the weight of the sea.
The villager looks up at you momentarily, then back to the sea.
Master Kosuke says 'I've lost more than I can bear to this sea..'
Master Kosuke says 'If interested, ask me about it.'
The sphere's glare intensifies as you near it.

>g orb
You get Eisengrim's Orb of Winter.
The orb flares, rays of white energy illuminating the area.
The cold arctic winds flare up, throwing powerful gusts around you.
Flakes of pure white snow begin to fall, covering the ground.
At that moment the realization strikes: winter has arrived.
Your score has been recorded.
You have found 2 of 15 possible orbs.

In this quest each orb was worth 2 glory giving me a total of 6 glory all up. 

An Ace or Two

The second quest I participated in was a fun quest involving finding cards across the Realms and then hoping you hold a better card than the hand-in mob Tristram the traveling gambler. I only managed to find two cards - one in New Darkhaven and the other in The Barren Wastes. Once you had the cards you had to hand them in, cross your fingers and hope for a lucky deal.

The Dancing Pony Inn
Exits: north south west up
A long rough hewn bench stretches out before an obviously well used table.
A small wooden table stands here, a painted wooden sign attached to it's base.
A middle aged woman bustles briskly about the room, taking orders.
A drunken fisherman lightly dozes, one armed curled protectively around his beer.
(Creator) (Translucent) (Red Aura) Incendi is shrouded in a demonic aura.
(Exalted God) (Red Aura) Gonnil is shrouded in a demonic aura.
(Lesser God) Eisengrim radiates with a godly light.
An older gnome man stands here, dressed in an overcoat and top-hat.
(Creator) Sarakin radiates with a godly light.
Tristram the traveling gambler looks up as you enter, sizing you up.
Tristram the traveling gambler says 'Well hello there!'
Tristram the traveling gambler says 'If you be here to play some cards, I suggest ya look at the sign there.'
Tristram the traveling gambler points towards the crudely painted wooden sign.
Alsandra says 'C'mon in and have a seat! I'll be with you in just a minute.'
Alsandra smiles at you.

>tail
You wag your tail. Feeling happy?

Eisengrim smiles at you.

>say I found 2 cards
You say 'I found 2 cards'

>eat card
You try to nibble on a lost playing card found by Jessyl (2)...

Eisengrim says 'give all cards to tristram to begin'

Eisengrim says 'and dont forget to l sign'

Incendi cheers you on like it's going out of style.

>look sign

crudely printed letters on a wooden backing say:
***********************************************************
*                  1 card means 1 play.                   *
*                                                         *
*         Playcount- check how many plays you have.       *
*         Draw card- you and me draw, kiddo.              *
*         Cashout- You wants to get paid.                 *
*                                                         *
*         3 pts for a win, 1 for a loss, 2 for a tie.     *
*         Unplayed cards worth 2 pts.                     *
*                                                         *
***********************************************************

Sarakin cheers you on like it's going out of style.

>give card trist
You give a lost playing card found by Jessyl to Tristram the traveling gambler.
Tristram the traveling gambler says 'Excellent, This will buy you one play.'

>give card trist
You give a lost playing card found by Jessyl to Tristram the traveling gambler.
Tristram the traveling gambler says 'Excellent, This will buy you one play.'

>draw card
You draw a card and place it on the table face up...
ace!
Tristram the traveling gambler draws a card and places it on the table face up...
five!
You Win!

Sarakin grins and shouts 'WooHoo!!!'.

Eisengrim says, 'ooOOooOOooOOoo.'

>draw card
You draw a card and place it on the table face up...
jack!
Tristram the traveling gambler draws a card and places it on the table face up...
five!
You Win!

Sarakin grins and shouts 'WooHoo!!!'.

Eisengrim says, 'ooOOooOOooOOoo.'

Eisengrim says 'please 'cashout' when done'

>cashout
Tristram the traveling gambler tells you 'Your request to cashout has been made.'

Your glory has been increased by 6.
Saved...

I was rather impressed with this quest. It was obvious that a lot of time and effort had gone into putting together this quest with the extra twist of a little uncertainty of how much you'll win.

Bean Crushing

The third quest I participated in involved killing coffee beans. I used my vampire for this one and found it a rather straight forward kill.

DYING>A coffee bean's deathrattle fills the air as you drain his life...
Your suspiric grasp hits a coffee bean!
A coffee bean is DEAD!!
A coffee bean screams furiously as he falls to the ground in a heap!
You get 916200 gold coins from the corpse of a coffee bean.
The corpse of a coffee bean holds:
     Vilexur's coffee bean

The maximum number of kills for this quest was two which earnt me 10 glory in total for the challenge.

To be honest I'm not sure how the immortals manage to put together original quests so frequently. I would find it rather daunting to find the time, inspiration and energy required to create quests like the Quest Council does on a consistent basis.

Returning to the Realms of Despair

Ever since I've started playing Realms of Despair two months ago I've been amazed at how much the game has grown over the three years since I last played. While it seems like other muds are struggling and dying the Realms of Despair has been going through a renaissance of late with a steady number of players, new content and other changes being implemented. As a returning player what has struck me is that the changes that have been made over the last few years have all been improvements. This post will cover the changes since I've been away and my thoughts about them.

• Prestige and Multi-classes: This has been the biggest change that has impacted upon gameplay over the last few years. It is now possible to upgrade level 50 characters to either the new more powerful prestige classes of dread vampire, hunter, harbinger, knight, infernalist & buccaneer or to multiclasses such as mage-thief and so on. These classes have opened up new parts of the game bringing new strategies and options to killing bigger mobs. While there is a significant barrier to unlocking these new classes in glory, gold and experience points the benefits outweigh the price. It just means I need to work on getting glory anyway I can so I can join the fun.
• Discord Server: Zistrosk has set up a discord server for the game. This has been a fantastic way to connect and communicate with players outside of the game. Announcements about new changes and events are broadcast to the players on the server while also allowing for feedback to be given. It's been useful for me when I'm not online but I get a notification on my phone through discord saying that a quest is about to start. I can just log on and start questing. I also love that on discord Zistrosk, the proud druid chose to use this picture for his avatar:
  
  It's from the old game Druid. I used to play this game 30 years ago on a commodore 64. I loved playing this game and remember having nightmares about the demon skulls spitting fireballs at me. The music in the introduction was one of the catchiest tunes ever made in 8 bit music. I asked Zist about this game and he said that in his mind this is how he pictured druids in Realms of Despair, which funnily enough is exactly how I envisioned them too.
• New Immortals: Since I stopped playing Sarakin, Lilith and Incendi have all been promoted to immortality. The Council of Elders have shown excellent judgement in elevating these three to their group. Each of these individuals are skilled players, have demonstrated knowledge of the game and contributed to game's community. On top of this they are all good people who have earned their position.
• Training: We can now train the stats for new characters in pre-auth. This beats the old systems of having to reroll a heap of characters overnight until you get the stats you wanted or the older method of making unpronounceable statnames that you had to cross your fingers would get authed. The no more rerolling means that no longer new players will see a screen full of spam names of people trying to roll that perfect thief.
  
• New Areas: I haven't had a close look at these new areas as yet, but from what little I've seen and heard they will be worth a look at. Honestly the more recently built areas have all been made to a high standard in writing, puzzles and challenges.
• New Races: There are two new races available now - dragonborn and tiefling. While I am less excited about this change and would have preferred a return of the lizardmen, however, it does allow other options for race and class combinations.
• Top MUD site voting: Ok this is the one change of the last few years that annoys me.
  
  
  Everytime I want to vote for the game now I have to prove "I am not a robot". From the sound of things there was some controversy with other muds playing the system to get higher rankings. I guess that this is why we can't have good things...

I'm sure that there are other changes over the time I've been away that have slipped past me. One thing that hasn't changed has been the community. Everyone has been very supportive and encouraging of me despite leaving without a trace. I'll write more about me at a later date, but thanks everyone who has sent me a tell, written an email or been in touch other ways.

Thank You.

Vilexur.

1295 Days

Welcome to Realms of Despair, Vilexur...
You were last online on: Wed Jun 21 09:39:00 2017

 

It looks like much has changed. To be continued...

Even More Deck Adventures

I've had a few adventures with the Deck of Many Things recently (well since February) with positive results. Here is the first:

The Deepening Darkness
The curving passageway has become increasingly more difficult to descend. Water still flows upon the floor, and from the ceiling large droplets fall, further eroding the already saturated soil. The air is much thicker, making it increasingly difficult to breathe, and while large enough to fit most humanoids, the unstable nature of the tunnel heightens a  sense of foreboding.
Exits: north southwest
The Deck of Many Things lies in wait for a brave soul.
The Deck of Many Things says 'If you can find a card within me, you might be lucky enough to draw something of value.
However, once you submit to chance, you put yourself at the mercy of the cards.
The Deck of Many Things winks suggestively.

> g key dec
You get the Key to the Deck of Many Things from the Deck of Many Things.
The Key to the Deck shudders menacingly.
You drop the Key to the Deck of Many Things.
Vl'aresch gives you one gold coin for your sacrifice of the Key to the Deck of Many Things.
Be Forewarned : You could lose all that you own.
Modra has been given the chance to draw from the Deck of Many Things.
 

> g card deck
You get a card from the Deck of Many Things.
A mystical being appears and points at you. Your senses reel as you are flung through the void to another place.
The card twists and wriggles in your hands.
A great flash of light envelopes the room, blinding you momentarily.
When your vision returns, you see that the Deck of Many Things lies before you once more.
It is highly recommended that you examine the deck before drawing from it. When you are ready, simply take the card.

> g card deck
You get a card from The Deck of Many Things.
You see that you have drawn The Page of Swords.
What this card bodes for your future, only an immortal of level 57 or above can discover for you.

> tell destre Hi Destre. Can you please help me with the deck
They aren't here.

> who imm

-----------------------------------[ IMMORTALS ]------------------------------

Scapezist       Zistrosk is adepting shapezisting.  Gotta stay in shape. (Deity of Dragonslayer) [Quest Council]
1 player.

> tell zistr Hi Zist. Are there any 57+ imms around to help me out with the deck?
You tell Zistrosk 'Hi Zist. Are there any 57+ imms around to help me out with the deck?'

Destre steps out of the dark umbra.

Destre says 'hi :>'

> say hi
You say 'hi'

> eat card
You try to nibble on a card...

> give card des
You give a card to Destre.

Destre grins.

> cross
You cross your fingers and hope for the best.

Destre says 'exactly'

Destre drops a card.

Destre sacrifices a card to Destre.
Whispering voices fill the room and a faint breeze blows from somewhere...
The Page of Swords confers a Knight's gain in health upon you.

> oo
You go ooOOooOOooOOoo.

Destre says 'nice one'

> nod
You nod solemnly.

Destre says 'take off all your stuff please'

> rem all
You stop using the Dragonhide Breastplate.
You stop using Set's ring of Power.
You stop using talisman of Darkfire.
You stop using a crystal dragon bracer.
You stop using talisman of Darkfire.
You stop using a turqoise anklet.
You stop using Dark, fated mists.
You stop using a set of icy leggings.
You stop using boots of ancient spider venom.
You stop using the Matrix of Desolution.
You stop using a turqoise anklet.
You stop using a shadowy pair of dragonscale arm guards.
You stop using a crystal dragon bracer.
You stop using the black belt of Tigorly.
You stop using the shade helm.
You stop using the shades.
You stop using an earring of GlassWalker bone.
You stop using the Robe of the Magi.
Removing the vestment, your body returns to its corporeal form.
Ok.
You stop using Set's ring of Power.
You stop using Sin.
You stop using darkness.
You stop using Shifting black flames.

A cold breeze from the winds of never washes through the void.

The deck of many things is once again shuffled and dealt by the Gods.

Destre says 'you know I have never seen this pull'

Destre says 'have to figure out how to actually do it'

> say last time i got this card it was bad and i got -hp on the char's base
You say 'last time i got this card it was bad and i got -hp on the char's base'

Destre says 'thath should have done it'

Destre says 'yah, now your hps are up 20'

Destre says 'be sure and save'

> nod
You nod solemnly.

> save
Saved...

> say it worked :)
You say 'it worked :)'

Destre jumps into the air and gives you a MEGA high five! Woo hoo!

> say thank you very much
You say 'thank you very much'

Destre says 'enjoy :>'

> thank des
You thank Destre heartily.

 Plus 20hp on the base of any character is a big win even if I did use a back up mage for this pull. My second deck pull was:

Small Hut
These are the living quarters of these villagers.  Very simple looking, it is circular in shape with pots and pans along one side, an outhouse along another and miscellaneous items scattered about.  These people live a very simple life with no luxury.  You wonder how they entertain themselves.
Exits: south
The Deck of Many Things lies in wait for a brave soul.
The Deck of Many Things says 'If you can find a card within me, you might be lucky enough to draw something of value.
However, once you submit to chance, you put yourself at the mercy of the cards.
The Deck of Many Things winks suggestively.

The desecrated Clan Tree mourns for a more prosperous time.

> g key deck
You get the Key to the Deck of Many Things from the Deck of Many Things.
The Key to the Deck shudders menacingly.
You drop the Key to the Deck of Many Things.
Vl'aresch gives you one gold coin for your sacrifice of the Key to the Deck of Many Things.
Be Forewarned : You could lose all that you own.
Juxarn has been given the chance to draw from the Deck of Many Things.

> g card deck
You get a card from the Deck of Many Things.
A mystical being appears and points at you. Your senses reel as you are flung through the void to another place.
The card twists and wriggles in your hands.
A great flash of light envelopes the room, blinding you momentarily.
When your vision returns, you see that the Deck of Many Things lies before you once more.
It is highly recommended that you examine the deck before drawing from it. When you are ready, simply take the card.

> g card deck
You get a card from The Deck of Many Things.
You see that you have drawn The High Priestess.
What this card bodes for your future, only an immortal of level 57 or above can discover for you.

> who imm

-----------------------------------[ IMMORTALS ]------------------------------

Muse            Romani de Carpathia: I love the darkness in you. Vote! http://tinyurl.com/thoric http://tinyurl.com/thoric99. (Deity of Baali) [Head of The Symp
osium]
1 player.

> tell romani Hi Romani. Can
you please help me out with the deck?
You tell Romani 'Hi Romani. Can you please help me out with the deck?'

Romani tells you 'Sure, sec'

Romani climbs out of your pocket.

Romani smiles happily.

> smile
You smile happily.

Romani wonders 'First draw?'

> shake
You shake your head.

The deck of many things is once again shuffled and dealt by the Gods.

Romani nods solemnly.

Romani wonders 'Card please?'

> give card roma
You give a card to Romani.

> cross
You cross your fingers and hope for the best.

Romani says 'Good luck'

Romani drops a card.

Romani sacrifices a card to Romani.
The High Priestess gestures with her right hand and hope fills your heart.

Romani says 'One piece of armor please (not ankle or back)'

> eq
You are using:
<used as light>      (Red Aura) Shifting black flames
<worn on finger>     (Red Aura) (Humming) Set's ring of Power
<worn on finger>     (Red Aura) (Humming) Set's ring of Power
<worn around neck>   (Red Aura) talisman of Darkfire
<worn around neck>   (Red Aura) talisman of Darkfire
<worn on body>       (Red Aura) (Humming) Golden Plate
<worn on head>       the cloth hood of the Chosen
<worn on legs>       the cloth leggings of the Chosen
<worn on feet>       (Magical) (Glowing) demonscale Boots
<worn on hands>      gauntlets of the deep lode
<worn on arms>       armguards of the deep lode
<worn as shield>     shield of the deep lode
<worn about body>    the cloth robe of the Chosen
<worn about waist>   (Magical) (Glowing) the platinum band of the Draco Viridis
<worn around wrist>  the cloth wristband of the Chosen
<worn around wrist>  (Magical) (Glowing) a crystal dragon bracer
<wielded>            (Magical) (Glowing) The Dragon Claw of Legend
<held>               (Red Aura) the Matrix of Desolution
<worn on ears>       an earring of GlassWalker bone
<worn on eyes>       the shades
<worn on back>       stripe of the badger
<worn around ankle>  a turqoise anklet
<worn around ankle>  a blue, glassy chain
(type 'garb' for a list of all wear locations)

> rem golden
You stop using Golden Plate.

> give golden roma
You give Golden Plate to Romani.

Romani utters the words, 'uoculoihuyl'.
An item held by Romani briefly luminesces.

Romani gives you Golden Plate.

> c id golden

Object 'Golden Plate' is infused with your magic...
It is a level 48 armor, weight 23.
Locations it can be worn:  body
Special properties:  hum dark evil
Alignments allowed:  evil neutral
This armor has a gold value of 0.
Armor class is 12 of 14.
Affects damage roll by 8.
Affects hit roll by 8.
Affects hp by 100.
Affects dexterity by 2.
Affects mana by 100.
Affects affected_by by flying.

> save
Saved...

> oo
You go ooOOooOOooOOoo.

Romani says 'Enjoy'

Romani grins.

> say thanks'say that one is nice
You say 'thanks'say that one is nice'

> wear gold
You fit Golden Plate on your body.

Romani says 'That one is sweet'

> nod
You nod solemnly.

Romani says 'Sending you back'

Romani has transferred you.
Small Hut
These are the living quarters of these villagers.  Very simple looking, it is circular in shape with pots and pans along one side, an outhouse along another and miscellaneous items scattered about.  These people live a very simple life with no luxury.  You wonder how they entertain themselves.
Exits:
The Deck of Many Things that lay in wait for Juxarn rests here.

The hazy sun rises over the horizon.

> tell romani Thank you very much for that one
You tell Romani 'Thank you very much for that one'

Romani tells you 'I am glad it was a good one.'

Two good pulls in a row. I must be starting to get lucky.

For Absent Friends

It has been quite a while since my last post on here and sadly during this period we have lost not one but two members of our Realms of Despair community.

Firstly in November there was the tragic news of Kellian's passing. I knew he had serious health problems but his passing came as a shock to me. The announcement posted on the Archives was:

[ 19] Romani: Kellian
Wed Nov  2 21:38:38 2016
To: All
It is with a heavy heart that I bring you the news of Kellian's passing last Monday. As those close to him knew he was ill for a very long time. He was always a man full of energy on the game and he did live his life to the fullest here.

You will be missed.

Kellian I knew from the Guild of Nature. He was an excellent leader, a good listener, patient, wise, funny and dedicated to the people who played in the Realms of Despair. He was an all round great guy who I loved just chatting to one on one.

When going through old logs I found a farewell message from him which sums him up well:

Kellian guildtalks 'Later Nature Types, friend all :)' 

 More recently there was the news of the tragic passing of Dexamph/Benibyle. This has personally shaken me to the core. The announcement was as follows:

[ 22] Dornado: Benibyle/Dexamph
Sun Mar 19 21:41:27 2017
To: RoD
Hi friends

I'm sad to report that Benibyle/Dexamph passed away over the weekend. He played here between around 97 and 05. He held leadership spots in GoV and RB.

Regards
Cory

I first knew Dexamph through the old Guild of Vampires and later I met him in person through a group of local RoD players.  Over the years I have felt close to several players I have never met in person but only met a handful in the real world. The few who I have met in person though have left a lasting impact and we share a common bond. While I hadn't seen him in years I'll always have fond memories of having a beer and chatting with the man about RoD topics like what strategy to use on certain mobs, which mudclient is best and so on. He left a mark on me and I will personally miss him.

Both Kellian and Dexamph will be missed. I feel privileged to have known them both.

Bereft in Deadly Bloom

I've been working a little on Zistrosk's undead scourge quest. The quest message is:

(  1)  Zistrosk     10/08/16     A dangerous undead scourge marches across the Realms...

News has reached Darkhaven of a deadly group of undead souls that have been involved in sinister trapping rituals. Peaceful living beings are having their very souls extracted and trapped in gravestones! The gravestones seem to be most commonly found near those with great power, where adventurer deaths are common. The motivation of the  undead and the purpose of their soul storage are unknown, but it is clear that their intentions are not benign. Who or what could be behind this sudden attack on the Realms?

A call to action has been raised by the good citizens of Darkhaven. Find these gravestones, free the innocent souls trapped there, and fend off any undead souls that dare to make themselves known.

Scapezist's Note: This quest will run throughout the month of October, with a climactic end-event on Saturday, October 29th. While any level player may free souls, only AV players should fight the undead, so choose your one char to involve in this event wisely. When questing, be IP1 in the area, and if player corpses are on the ground at the undead please select another target to attack. Quest activity will be tallied automatically. Declare your quest character to me please before you start, so there is no misunderstanding (tells/mudmail). Scoring will be a composite of gravestones sacced, and undead kb'd. All actions must be taken on your declared quest character to count. If you have yet to start this quest you have until the final event on the 29th to join in.

After trekking around the Realms I found my first grave in this room one before Blackmote in the Tower of Despair. It appears that Zistrosk has put a lot of effort into this quest. Here it is:

The Last Cells
The cells to the east and west are denied access to by a pair of iron-bound
wooden doors.  Upon each door is a sigil depicting a crescent moon entwined
by serpents.  Both cell doors glow with a red light, outshining the flicker of
the torches.  A lull descends over the hallway.  The horrid stink near the
altar has faded, but been replaced by wisps of a strange ether.
Exits: north [east] south [west]
The ground is covered in a thick misty haze of undead evil.
The gravestone of a trapped soul lies here preventing a happy afterlife.
A mystical spring flows majestically from a glowing circle of blue.

>exam gravestone
You take a closer look at gravestone on the ground...

Sacrifice the gravestone and the following happens:

>sac gravestone
Vl'aresch gives you one gold coin for your sacrifice of gravestone.
The gravestone crumbles into rubble, freeing the poor trapped soul within.
The Undead Minion Master moans as its power weakens!
Vilexur's help in freeing trapped souls has been recorded.
The ground shakes and shifts as an undead minion rises to protect his master's interests. 

The undead minion pops and looks pretty cool too:

The minion isn't too hard to kill, especially for a vampire, though you will need a handful of heals. Without too much trouble it will die:

An undead soul's bite grazes you.
An undead soul's kick scratches you.
An undead soul tries to bite you with his disease ridden teeth!
(a strand of polished jade gets damaged)
Your pierce rips an undead soul!
Your pierce gashes an undead soul!
An undead soul is DEAD!!
An undead soul screams loudly!
An undead soul exclaims 'The master will avenge me, and then you shall be turned to dust!'
Vilexur's deeds have been noticed by The Undead Minion Master.
An undead soul gasps his last breath and blood spurts out of his mouth and ears.

You get 967100 gold coins from the corpse of an undead soul.
The corpse of an undead soul holds:
     Nothing.

Quite a nice amount of gold on it too. Thanks to Zistrosk for running this quest. I hope I can find some more gravestones and am ready when The Undead Minion Master appears.