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.

At the Heart of it All

Over the last couple of weeks I've been working on levelling another vampire named Viltrow. I finished it off tonight and was disappointed with the final base of 754 hp's. I did enjoy going back over some of the low level areas I never spend much time in, in particular Along the Forest Path. This area I hadn't been to in years - from memory the last time I did anything in that area was over 10 years ago when I was questing to join the Guild of Vampires and needed to get The Heart of the Forest.

This area has a few mini-quests in it. The first one starts at Theggory the knight:

A small ford
Exits: east southwest
A small creek winds spreads out through large rocks creating a small ford.
A large destrier paws the ground.
A tall man, clad in heraldic branded armor imposes his presence here.
Theggory the knight bows from the saddle.
Theggory the knight says 'Greeting my Lord.'
Theggory the knight wonders 'I am upon a great quest, mayhaps you could provide assistance?'

> say yes
You say 'yes'
Theggory the knight wonders 'Great!  Thank you for the aid in my quest.  Where may I find my groupmate Acwellan?'

> say a small camp
You say 'a small camp'
Theggory says to you 'I need further help from you, Viltrow. My group split up to try to find a cure for our ranger, Landue. He was bitten by a creature from a distant plane of existance. Normal cures here don't have any affect on the poisons that he is suffering from. I was contacted by a witch named Meadhbh. She told me she could help. I was to meet her in a village called Newfane to find out about an antivenom for my friend.
Alas, I can not go to find her, now. My friend Acwellan is in danger and I must go to him. Please go to find Meadhbh, the witch in Newfane. She travels to our plane of  existance through the Machine Dreams. Will you help Landue?
Please say "yes" if you will help him.

I got stuck on this mini-quest. I ended up sitting around in Newfane without coming across the witch. With the low level areas you can easily just level up past the limits for the quests. A more interesting quest was the one from Theggory's friend Acwellan the druid:

> say Theggory
You say 'Theggory'
Acwellan the druid says 'Yes, I sent out a message for aid to help me, help this forest.'
Acwellan the druid wonders 'All is not as healthy as it seems.  Could you help?'

> say yes
You say 'yes'
Acwellan the druid says 'The forest, and Nature herself thanks you.   The guardian of these'
Acwellan the druid says 'woods, a dryad has been driven from her tree.  She has since sought'
Acwellan the druid says 'refuge somewhere in the forest.  The problem is that she left the'
Acwellan the druid says 'symbol of her guardianship in her old home.  She needs to be found'
Acwellan the druid says 'and the symbol returned to her for the forest to regain its full'
Acwellan the druid says 'health. Call her by her name - Semlina - to summon her from her tree.'
Acwellan the druid says 'Then tell her you wish to help.'

 After exploring around the area I found the room that the druid was talking about:

A small glade
The simplicity of this glade exudes an almost magical aura of peace
and harmony, even your most aggressive urges are suppressed in this
place.   The vegetation seems to be in the epitome of life and vitality.
Exits: east west

> say semlina
You say 'semlina'
A thin and pale forest spirit steps from the center of the tree

> say help
You say 'help'
The dryad says 'Thank you mighty Adventurer.  The hope of this forest may rest in your'
The dryad says 'hands.  I have been driven from my tree by a group of foul and destructive'
The dryad says 'people.  Because I am the guardian of these woods I was able to shelter'
The dryad says 'here in a child of my own tree.   While the loss of the hurts me most'
The dryad says 'direly, it is the loss of the Heart of the Forest that matters more.'
The dryad says 'I need you to recover the Heart for in my weakened state I can only leave'
The dryad says 'this tree here for extremely short amounts of time.'
The dryad wonders 'Will you please help me?'

> say yes
You say 'yes'
The dryad says 'Oh thank you for your generous offer of aid.  The tree is the huge tree to'
The dryad says 'the east. I know that the vile ones have sheltered under the roots in my'
The dryad says 'precious tree.  Look for a secret door of bones in the pit at the trees base.'
The dryad says 'Once you are in the lair you need to make your way one of the rooms at the'
The dryad says 'end of the complex.  I know that the one of the band has a hidden room.  '
The dryad says 'In that room there is a secret unknown to the despoiler.  Open the branch'
The dryad says 'of roots to discover where the heart itself sits.  Then simply return the'
The dryad says 'Heart to me.'
The dryad Looks at you hopefully before fading slowly back into her adopted tree.

The Heart would be impossible to find without the information from Semlina that the keyword to open the secret door is "branch". The heart itself is rather uninteresting:

> exam heart
You take a closer look at The Heart of the Forest in inventory...
This almost appears to be only a very large and highly polished knot of wood. Then it moves slightly. It pulses as if it has some magical connection.  You can feel a slight buzz in your hand from holding it.

> c id heart
Object 'The Heart of the Forest' is infused with your magic...
It is a level 1 trash, weight 1.
Special properties:  none
This trash has a gold value of 0.

The reward for handing in the heart is getting Semlina to cast blessing of Thoric on you. It felt a little underwhelming at first to just have a spell cast upon you but then I realised just how handy this spell is. It increases all of your stats by 3 and is automatically cast on you by the mysterious robed figure when a character below level 10 enters the Halls of Knowledge. However, what is special about getting Semlina to cast this spell is that she can do it for characters up to level 25. And sometimes a few extra stats while getting a couple more levels before upgrading some equipment is all you need.

Bonus Weekend

This weekend I logged on to not one but two exciting events in the Realms of Despair. The first was a change to the announcement of the day to:

The second exciting event was the following questnews:

 

I didn't waste anytime with the summer breeze quest, logged on my ranger and started running around all over the place to find them. My first success was in Transylvania as follows:

A Trail In The Eastern Forest
As you push through the dense forest growth, you notice blood stains cover almost all of the forest floor.  The silence is ominous, and you wish for the peacefulness of more familiar territory.  You may travel north or south along the trail, or head west towards a lighter area of the forest.
Exits: north south west
A summer breeze drifts through the air.
A little brown bunny rabbit nestles into the greenery.

>g summer
You get a summer breeze.

>c id summer
Object 'a summer breeze found by Jessyl' is infused with your magic...
It is a level 51 treasure, weight 1.
Special properties:  none
This treasure has a gold value of 0.

I continued questing after this and found another four summer breezes between Northern Plains, Dunhill and a couple of other places. In the end I found my fifth summer breeze and handed in 5 minutes before the end of the quest:

Darkhaven General Assembly
This vast room--the largest in the whole building--was designed for meetings of massive segments of the population. Rows upon rows of blue-padded benches line the walls like bleachers, and a small stage rises above the floor at the south end of the giant room, lit by gigantic torches. The floor of the room is tiled  in glimmering silver-veined marble, and the walls are draped in luxurious gold velvet. Crystal chandeliers hang from the ceiling like icy stalactites. Despite the ample seating, there is still plenty of room to walk, and grand balls have been held here in the past.
Exits: north
(Ascendant Goddess) (Red Aura) Destre is shrouded in a demonic aura. [Sanc]

Destre smiles happily.

>ngree
You nod in greeting to everyone present.

Destre says 'all set :>'

>give summer dest
You give a summer breeze found by Jessyl to Destre.

Your glory has been increased by 10.

>tail
You wag your tail. Feeling happy?

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

>say Thanks for the quest
You say 'Thanks for the quest'

Destre says 'welcome :>'

After this it was time to get into the levelling spirit. I started myself a new druid after losing the password to my old one and with the double experience I got it levelled up fast. One thing I found exciting was while levelling the druid I came across a low level quest I had never seen before:

 > The Darkhaven Bakery
Upon entering the Darkhaven Bakery, you find yourself surrounded by citizens of the marvelous city, each waiting in line for their daily bread.  Gazing eastward, you see a farmer's shop which sells all forms of dairy products.
A butcher's shop also lies to the west, while an opening in the tent to the south leads back out onto Market Street.
There is a small sign here.
Exits: east south west
An important looking scroll hangs from a wooden board.
Nimmith, Darkhaven's famed baker, is here.
Nimmith Looks you over.
Nimmith says to you 'Yes, you will do.'
Nimmith claps you rather roughly on your back.
Nimmith grumbles.
Nimmith goes on 'My usual shipment of flour from the Shire is three days late and I am running low. There will be some unhappy customers if I dont have their bread ready when they come in. I suspect marauders in the Forest of Tears. Go to the mill there. And hurry! I must have that flour.'
Nimmith rolls up his sleeves and starts kneading dough.

 This led to a short trip to The Shire for the following:

Bywater Road
You stand on Bywater Road, the busiest street in all of Shiredom.  The road
continues to the east and west.  A large, imposing building lies to the south.
You catch a glimpse of the Brandywine River to the north.
Exits: [north] east south west
The Miller is here, overseeing his busy mill workers.
'You're from Nimmith. I can tell by the flour dust all over you. No respect for personal space is all I'll say on the matter.'
The Miller chuckles politely.
'I knew that he would send someone when we were late. 
A wolf got my last delivery boy and I havent hired another yet. '
The Miller snaps his fingers and a millworker appears with a sack of flour.
The millworker gives the sack to the Miller.
The Miller gives you a sack of flour.
'Hurry now. Nimmith relies on these shipments.'

The flour was then returned to Nimmith for the following result:

The Darkhaven Bakery
Upon entering the Darkhaven Bakery, you find yourself surrounded by citizens of the marvelous city, each waiting in line for their daily bread.  Gazing eastward, you see a farmer's shop which sells all forms of dairy products.
A butcher's shop also lies to the west, while an opening in the tent to the south leads back out onto Market Street.
There is a small sign here.
Exits: east south west
An important looking scroll hangs from a wooden board.
Nimmith, Darkhaven's famed baker, is here.
Nimmith says to you 'Varlok, did I mention that the Western Trade Route would be the best way to go? Did you find the Shire?
If you have my flour, please give it to me.'

Nimmith says 'The Shire better bring that next flour shipment soon...'

> give flour nimmith
You give a sack of flour to Nimmith.
Nimmith claps you rather roughly on your back.
Nimmith exclaims 'Well done and just in time, Varlok! My thanks!'
Nimmith gives you 100,000 coins.

It is amazing the little quests scattered through the game you can easily pass over.

I thought it was great idea for the immortals to test the double experience out. It has been well thought out and advertised on the twitter account:

The proof of the success of this initiative will be when the mudstats site updates its numbers. I can't wait to see what new initiative the immortals have lined up next...

Lowbie Quests

After taking a break for a while my low level thief that I used to buy cheap potions deleted so I started a replacement today. I called him Vioby since his main job is buying violet potions. One thing I enjoy about the lower levels is there are a number of low level quests available with different rewards that are easy to miss. I found two interesting quests I hadn't seen before - the level five quest from the spirit guide in the academy and one from Dave the bard in Jed's tavern 8s, 3w from DH[].

The level five quest from the spirit guide was this:

You raise your hand in response.
The guide says to you 'You need to learn to acquire beneficial equipment while
'exploring. Not only keep your knowledge broad enough for your level when you
'are ready to gain another but also gather the items that you can use and that
'are doing the most for you. Look everywhere when exploring. Open containers
'and look in them. Try the consider command at every interesting mob. You
'should be able to easily explore Isle of the Monkeys. It is a small area. Get
'a woolen blanket there and bring it to me. It is simple.

So I travelled to the Isle of the Monkeys, tracked down Captain Eldyr killed him and got this item:

Object 'a woolen blanket' is infused with your magic...
It is a level 3 armor, weight 1.
Locations it can be worn:  about
Special properties:  none
This armor has a gold value of 50.
Armor class is 3 of 3.
Affects damage roll by 1.
Affects affected_by by detect_hidden.

After returning to the academy I gave the blanket to the spirit guide and the result was:

You give a woolen blanket to Spirit Guide Selmanovic.
Spirit Guide Selmanovic nods to you and says "Ahhh, yes..."
Spirit Guide Selmanovic tells you 'This is the right blanket, Yes.'
You gain 1400 experience.
Spirit Guide Selmanovic gives you a heavy woolen blanket.

When identified the item I received in return was:

Object 'a heavy woolen blanket' is infused with your magic...
It is a level 5 armor, weight 1.
Locations it can be worn:  about
Special properties:  none
This armor has a gold value of 50.
Owner:  Vioby
Armor class is 6 of 6.
Affects damage roll by 1.
Affects affected_by by detect_hidden.

 Notice that it is a slightly improved version of the previous blanket. The second quest from Dave in Jed's tavern starts when you walk into his room.

A Dark Corner Room
Exits: east
A pensive soul sits at a table, randomly questioning his liquor bottle.
Dave the introspective bard tells you 'So, Vioby. If you must be taking up space in this room, please sit down, at least.'
 

So I then sit down. Sit as a command only seems to have an affect in a handful of rooms besides here. The first time I ever saw sit doing something was in a room in the Desert of Despair. Next happens:

You sit down.

Dave the introspective bard tells you 'I could tell you quite a story, Vioby. I

once ventured with a band of eager thieves into the stronghold of the Hobgoblin King.'

Dave the introspective bard tells you 'We went in to steal the hobgoblins' gold. We were led by a brave warrior, he could kill three or more hobgoblins in a fight. Our thief only needed to take on one hobgoblin at a time, the warrior was so strong.'

Dave the introspective bard tells you 'That left me free to navigate to the Hobgoblin King, and find the hidden treasure I had heard about. The warrior fought, the thief was able to open locked doors and I knew about the gold.'

Dave the introspective bard tells you 'When we were surrounded by the hobgoblin soldiers, though, the cowardly thief ran. He and my leader were both killed. They kept me alive as a trophy to give to the king. I was enslaved and forced to work alongside the miners.'

Dave the introspective bard tells you 'I was forced into hours of labour that no human should be subjected to. But I listened to the miners. The miners sang songs while they worked. They chanted songs about the centuries old conflict with the gnomes.'

Dave the introspective bard tells you 'I listened to their songs and I learned the secrets of the hobgoblins. The gnomes had a secret weapon. I know the gnomes' secret, the hobgoblins sang about it.'

Dave the introspective bard smiles at you.

Dave looks away, apparently aware of something you don't see.

Dave the introspective bard tells you 'I know the secrets. The secrets of the hobgoblins and the gnomes. I know the secrets.'

Dave the introspective bard tells you 'Anyway. If you are joining me, you could buy me another winter green ale.'

 

The winter green ale can be bought from just a couple of rooms away in the tavern. Giving Dave the ale results in:

You give "Black" Jack's Green Winter Ale to Dave the introspective bard.
Dave looks at green.
Dave the introspective bard tells you 'The gnomes scientists can make a liniment, a paste that they apply to their skin to make themselves invulnerable to the hobgoblins. They keep some of it around and the whole village is ready to defend against attacks.'
Dave the introspective bard tells you 'Apparently the gnome children go out and kill fire ants to collect the blood, I have seen the flasks that they use. If you were to collect fire ant blood from the tunnels below the academy, the gnomes might let you have some of the salve.'
Dave the introspective bard tells you 'So anyway, here.  Have the flask, take it, and I thank you for the ale.'
Dave the introspective bard gives you an empty flask for collecting blood.
 

After killing the third fire ant:

Your stab rends a Fire Ant!
A Fire Ant is DEAD!!
You receive 581 experience points.
As the fire ant collapses, you collect enough of its blood to fill your flask.
Now you must take the filled flask and find the Gnome Scientist that Dave spoke
of.
A Fire Ant catches its guts in its hands as they pour through its fatal wound!
You can't carry that many items.
The corpse of a Fire Ant holds:
     340 gold coins

The gnome scientist is found in the Shattered Refuge not far from DH. The result of giving the flask to the scientist is:

Breaks in the trees
Exits: north east south west
A scientist wanders around deep in thought.
A gnome scientist says to you, 'I see you've been gathering plenty of blood from
 the fire ants.'
A gnome scientist says to you, 'If you give it to me, I will gladly share the sa
lve I can make.'
You give a flask filled with fire ant blood to a gnome scientist.
A gnome scientist thanks you heartily.
A gnome scientist says to you, 'This will be of great use to the gnomes. Please
take a sample with our gratitude.'
You have gained 9050 experience points.
A gnome scientist stops using a wicker basket.
A gnome scientist gives you a wicker basket.
You take a closer look at a wicker basket in inventory...
You see nothing special.
A wicker basket appears to be nearly empty.
A wicker basket contains:
     black and red paste (5)
 

The paste in the basket is kind of handy:

Object 'black and red paste' is infused with your magic...
It is a level 6 salve, weight 1.
Special properties:  none
This salve has a gold value of 12200.
Has 7(7) applications of level 29:
  'fireshield'  'dragonskin'

It casts fireshield and these days there aren't many fireshield items out there since they stopped them being brewable. Either way I got some handy experience out of it for my lowbie and found a couple of little known quests along the way.