The Deck of Many Things (Round 18)

Found the deck again a couple of times this last month. One good result and one not so good. For the first deck pull I used my nephandi and the second one I used my evil warrior. Here is the first result:

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

>ot I found the deck and got the sun...
You ordertalk 'I found the deck and got the sun...'

 >who imm

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

Princess        Akael Windsinger. (Deity of Arcanes)
Muse            Romani de Carpathia: I love the darkness in you. (Deity of Baali) [Head of The Symposium]
Scapezist       Zistrosk is dizzy from trying to decide which tree to hug! (Dragonslayer) [Quest Council]
3 players.

>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'

Kris ordertalks 'Could just run crab guards on a leveling alt I suppose.   Oooh, what's Sun mean? I've never played the deck.'

>ot can be good or very bad
You ordertalk 'can be good or very bad'

Akael ordertalks 'Deck pulls are SO cool :) What's it doing now? :)'

>ot waiting for an imm
You ordertalk 'waiting for an imm'

Akael ordertalks 'I haven't seen a lot of the newer ones.'

>ot usually means something added to an item
You ordertalk 'usually means something added to an item'

Akael ordertalks 'Er...an imm like me? Or a different assortment of Imms?'

>ot like a 57+
You ordertalk 'like a 57+'

>whois akae

'Akael Windsinger.'
 She is a female level 57 Pixie Princess, 4138 years of age.
 She is a peaceful player, and is Deity of the Order of Arcanes.
 Akael has accumulated 536 glory in her lifetime.
 Akael has yet to create a bio.

Akael ordertalks 'That looks like me!'

>ot Oh - you're 57! Congrats!
You ordertalk 'Oh - you're 57! Congrats!'

Akael ordertalks '*rofl* ;) Thanks! Have been for a while! :D  Did you want me to come see what it says?'

Kris ordertalks ':D'

>ot Sure - Romani hasn't replied to my tell
You ordertalk 'Sure - Romani hasn't replied to my tell'

Akael ordertalks 'I'm just checking with her ;)'

>l
Within a Small Circle of Mystical Stones
All the world is blank. Nothing is visible here but a gathering of smooth rocks, set into a pattern of circular form. Each rock has a faint glow to it, and each one is slightly different. They appear to have been ravaged by the winds of change throughout countless eons, and have been left in this blank void as a testament to the truth of eternity.
Exits: none
(Glowing) (Humming) One of the rocks in the circle glows translucently.

>exam rock
You take a closer look at an opaque rock on the ground...
A faint white light issues from the rock, barely illuminating the space around it.

>where

Players near you in The Deck of Many Things:
| Wroth          (Arcanes)               | Within a Small Circle of Mystical Stones

>garb
You are using:
<used as light>      the sigil of Vl'aresch
<worn on finger>     (Humming) Set's ring of Power
<worn on finger>     (Humming) Set's ring of Power
<worn around neck>   talisman of Darkfire
<worn around neck>   talisman of Darkfire
<worn on body>       (Humming) Golden Plate
<worn on head>       the shade helm
<worn on legs>       Leggings of Arcane Magicks
<worn on feet>       (Glowing) demonscale Boots
<worn on hands>      (Humming) the Bloodied Claws of the Demon Trickster
<worn on arms>       a shadowy pair of dragonscale arm guards
<worn as shield>     a huge shield of oak
<worn about body>    (Glowing) the Robe of the Magi
<worn about waist>   Corruption of the Innocent
<worn around wrist>  woven webbing
<worn around wrist>  woven webbing
<wielded>            (Glowing) darkness
<held>               the Matrix of Desolution
<worn on ears>       (Glowing) a sliver of glass
<worn on eyes>       the shades
<worn on back>       [nothing]
<worn over face>     [nothing]
<worn around ankle>  a turqoise anklet
<worn around ankle>  a blue, glassy chain

Akael tumbles in on the end of a rainbow.

>smile
You smile happily.

Akael says 'Romani's not answering me either, so I figured I'd come :)'

Akael grins.

>nod

Akael looks at you.
You nod solemnly.

>give card aka
You give a card to Akael.

Akael drops a card.

Akael sacrifices a card to Akael.
The bright light of the sun seems to gently enhance your faculties.

Akael says 'Ooh, interesting.'

>nod
You nod solemnly.

>say that's a good one :)
You say 'that's a good one :)'

Akael exclaims 'I need a piece of equipment!'

Akael grins.

>rem trick
You stop using the Bloodied Claws of the Demon Trickster.

>give trick ak
You give the Bloodied Claws of the Demon Trickster to Akael.

Akael emits an unrivaled cheer! Woo!

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

Akael exclaims 'Now, to remember how to do it!'

Akael attempts to straighten her halo.

>heh
You seem to get a laugh from something saying, "heh heh heh".

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

Akael exclaims 'Huh, I thought that would do it. Sorry, one sec!'

>heh
You seem to get a laugh from something saying, "heh heh heh".

>say I've seen a few imms do things wrong with the deck
You say 'I've seen a few imms do things wrong with the deck'

Akael grins evilly.

Akael says 'At least I'm just failing, not actually messing it up more ;)'

>nod
You nod solemnly.

Akael says 'Aha! I was typing "scry", the term was "scrying".'

Akael rolls her eyes.

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

Akael gives you the Bloodied Claws of the Demon Trickster.

Akael says 'Save :)'

Akael grins.

>save
Saved...

>c id dem

Object 'the Bloodied Claws of the Demon Trickster' is infused with your magic...

It is a level 50 armor, weight 10.
Locations it can be worn:  hands
Special properties:  hum evil magic
Classes allowed:  Mage Nephandi
Alignments allowed:  evil
This armor has a gold value of 500000.
Armor class is 14 of 15.
Affects damage roll by 5.
Affects intelligence by 1.
Affects resistant:slash by 3%.
Affects mana regeneration by 10.
Affects hp by 50.
Affects mana by 80.
Affects dexterity by 1 if class is nephandi.
Affects cost of demonskin by -10.
Affects affected_by by scrying.

>smile
You smile happily.

>say thanks a lot :)
You say 'thanks a lot :)'

>wear cla
You wear the Bloodied Claws of the Demon Trickster on your hands.
As you place them upon your hands, the claws dig into your skin.
You wince.  Ouch!

Akael says 'A very nice thing... 200 glory worth of upgrade :)'

Akael grins.

>nod
You nod solemnly.

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

Akael wonders 'Need anything else while I'm here?'

>thank ak
You thank Akael heartily.

>shake
You shake your head.

Akael smiles happily.

Akael exclaims 'Have fun!'

Akael waves happily.

Akael is scooped up by a runaway rainbow.

>l
Within a Small Circle of Mystical Stones
All the world is blank. Nothing is visible here but a gathering of smooth rocks, set into a pattern of circular form. Each rock has a faint glow to it, and each one is slightly different. They appear to have been ravaged by the winds of change throughout countless eons, and have been left in this blank void as a testament to the truth of eternity.
Exits: none
(Glowing) (Humming) One of the rocks in the circle glows translucently.

>c wor
For some strange reason... nothing happens.

>tell akael One more thing... Can I please get a trans out of this area?

Akael ordertalks 'That was fun, thanks :) I love deck pulls :)'
You tell Akael 'One more thing... Can I please get a trans out of this area?'

Akael tells you 'Oh, no fun ;)'

Akael has transferred you.
Darkhaven Square
You are standing within the expanse of the famous Darkhaven Square. An immense stone statue of Duke Luther sits in the center of the square, surrounded by fountains of shimmering crystal water.  Gardens and shrubbery enhance the air of serenity and peace here in the center of the great city. A plaque set into the base of the fountain attracts your eye.  Cobblestone roads lead away in the four cardinal directions, while to the northeast and northwest are forested paths.  The cathedral spires of Notre Dame de Sioux rise with  majesty above the treetops to the northwest.
Exits: north east south west up northeast northwest
A large sundial lies here, a shadow creeping across the surface.
A silver key with the initials "D A G" carved on it lies here.
Stone fountains containing crystal clear water surround the Duke's statue.
Mossweaver the friend of small, furry, woodland creatures. is hovering here.
Mossweaver is ensphered by shards of glistening ice.
Jessyl the reptile is standing here.

Akael tells you ';)'

>ot Thanks for it all, so far you're good luck
You ordertalk 'Thanks for it all, so far you're good luck'

The parts I enjoyed about this were I could tell from the message when Akael sacrificed the card that it was a good pull, secondly that she had been promoted to level 57 and third, good old Mossweaver was sitting at DH[]. My second pull was a lot shorter:

Weapon Shop
This is just the remnant of a shop that looks like it was once thriving. Many abandoned tools are left around, none of them looking of of any real use.  Rust fills the room, and the stench of old and foul air sticks in your senses.  You see a counter at the end of one corner, and shelves that once held valuable wares still stand erect on the walls.  You scan  quickly around the room for something that may be of use, but find nothing.
Exits: south
The Deck of Many Things lies in wait for a brave soul.

> 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.
Skold 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 Tower in Ruin.
As you gaze upon it, the scene upon the card comes to life and is acted out.
Your doom is sealed and ruin engulfs you.
..Everything begins to fade to black.

You feel yourself leaving your body... rising up into the air, you feel
more free than you have ever felt before...

However, before your deity comes to collect your soul, you feel a strange pulling sensation as strange and colorful mists swirl around you...
Sonoria mutters a few incantations, waves her hands and points her finger.
Sonoria says 'Welcome back to the land of the living, Skold'

Sonoria utters the word 'gartla'.

This pull is about as bad as it can get.  The warning of "Be Forewarned : You could lose all that you own." certainly came true this time. I guess I was due for a bad pull. Maybe better luck next time.

The Deck of Many Things (Round 17)

While not playing much recently I did have one lucky break with the Deck of Many Things towards the end of June. Here it is:

On the Spiral Staircase
Exits: up down
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 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.
Skold 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 King of Pentacles.
The King's gaze sweeps over your armor, appraising your worthiness to appear before him.
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.

> i
You are carrying 15 items and have room for 5 more:
     a burlap sack
     pouch of combat
     a sack of holding
     black depravity
     a brown leather satchel
     (Glowing) a sliver of glass
     (Glowing) (Humming) scales of alpha & omega (2)
     (Glowing) the Ice Girth
     (Glowing) a magical mystery cookie
     an icicle wand
     a scroll of detect invisibility
     a small birch chest
     a magical tablet of disclosure
     a free rename scroll belonging to Skold

> save
Saved...

>exam scroll
You take a closer look at a free rename scroll belonging to Skold in inventory...
The fine parchment of the scroll has a short phrase inscribed upon it in
letters of gold...
This scroll is worth one free rename and belongs to the person named upon it.

>rec tab rename
You recite a magical tablet of disclosure.

Object 'a free rename scroll belonging to Skold' is infused with your magic...
It is a level 50 treasure, weight 1.
Special properties:  none
This treasure has a gold value of 0.

Failure, Uncertainty and Mending Broken Hearts

I haven't posted on here in months and have hardly been seen at all on in the Realms of Despair in this time. When on a few people have been sending me tells asking if everything is ok and how I am doing which I do appreciate, but things haven't been good lately for me in real life. Since the middle of January the other great love of my life, my wife of almost 8 years hasn't been well. It started off innocently appearing as a summertime flu, then the doctor's said it was bronchitis. Things didn't get better and by May they were saying she had heart failure.

Since then there has been much time spent in hospitals, more tests, ten different medications she has to take every day, doctor appointments and regular heart rehabilitation therapy. So far these treatments seem to be helping and I am trying to remain hopeful.

As a result of all this a lot of other areas of my life that used to matter more have fallen behind. I just wish things could be like they used to be before. In the meantime if you see me don't be scared to send a tell.

Thanks for all the support and understanding.

The Deck of Many Things (Round 16)

I haven't been on the Realms of Despair much lately due to a few real life issues. I've had a few things I've been wanting to try out but they can wait. Today though I did find the deck again. I wasn't feeling lucky so I decided to use my cheaply dressed evil cleric to pull the card:

> 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: west
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.
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 Justice.
The image of Justice fixes you with a stare that seems to pierce your very soul.

A stern voice echoes through the void, proclaiming your judgement and fate.
Justice says 'Your chosen path in life is mistaken. Those who willfully refuse to see the value of balance cannot be permitted to prosper.'
Your coin purse suddenly feels lighter.
The cold winds of never rush through the void, whipping the card from your hand and returning you to the mortal realm.

> look
A grey tiled hallway
You are in a grey tiled hallway leading north and south. Dim balls of energy float here and there shedding a warm light, and showing the way.
A feeling of peace and balance comes over you.
Exits: north south

> where

Players near you in High Tower of Sorcery:
| Juxarn         (Arcanes)               | A grey tiled hallway

I'm not sure if that card would have done something different if I was using a neutral aligned character, but in the end it only cost me a few million gold coins.

The Deck of Many Things (Round 15)

I haven't ran across the deck with a card in it for a couple of months though I did have the following two logs saved up. In both cases I pulled out the same card - The Sun, but when sacrificed by the immortal involved a different message shows up. Again in each case the immortal requested a piece of equipment but from past experience I knew one would add a negative affect and the other a positive. Here are the logs:

Torlynn Market
Exits: north southeast
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.
Skold 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 Sun.
What this card bodes for your future, only an immortal of level 57 or above can discover for you.

> look
Within a Small Circle of Mystical Stones
All the world is blank. Nothing is visible here but a gathering of smooth rocks, set into a pattern of circular form. Each rock has a faint glow to it, and each one is slightly different. They appear to have been ravaged by the winds of change throughout countless eons, and have been left in this blank void as a testament to the truth of eternity.
Exits: none
(Glowing) (Humming) One of the rocks in the circle glows translucently.

> who imm
-----------------------------------[ IMMORTALS ]------------------------------
Muse            Romani de Carpathia Vote: http://tinyurl.com/thoric  FB: http://tinyurl.com/thoric-rod Twitter: @RealmsOfDespair. (Deity of Baali) [Head of The Symposium]
Newblet         Loril Gemstone-Edelstone, on Cloud Nine. (Ringbearers) [Co-Head of Newbie Council]
2 players.

> 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 climbs out of your pocket.

Romani smiles happily.

> smile
You smile happily.

Romani says 'Good luck :)'

> give card romani
You give a card to Romani.

 Romani looks at you.

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

Romani says 'here we go'

Romani drops a card.

Romani sacrifices a card to Romani.
The heat of the sun blazes forth, affecting anything it touches.

Romani says 'A piece of armor please'

> remove ankle
You stop using a demonskin ankle bracer.

> give ankle roma
You give a demonskin ankle bracer to Romani.

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

Romani gives you a demonskin ankle bracer.

Romani pats you on your back.

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

> say thank you for doing that
You say 'thank you for doing that'

> save
Saved...

Romani smiles happily.

Romani gives you a magical mystery cookie.

Romani has transferred you.
Torlynn Market
Exits: north southeast
The Deck of Many Things that lay in wait for Skold rests here.

> rec tab ankl
You recite a magical tablet of disclosure.
Object 'a demonskin ankle bracer' is infused with your magic...
It is a level 44 armor, weight 3.
Locations it can be worn:  ankle
Special properties:  none
Genres allowed:  sorcerer rogue fighter aberrant
Alignments allowed:  evil neutral
This armor has a gold value of 20000.
Armor class is 20 of 20.
Affects susceptible:fire by 5%.

 The second log shows a very similar pull but a more positive result:

A Path in the Rice Fields of Edo
Exits: north south 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.

> 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.
Skold 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 Sun.
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 Vote: http://tinyurl.com/thoric  FB: http://tinyurl.com/thoric-rod Twitter: @RealmsOfDespair. (Deity of Baali) [Head of The
Symposium]
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'

> twid
You patiently twiddle your thumbs.

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

> beckon romani
You beckon to Romani...

Romani climbs out of your pocket.

Romani says 'hi'

Romani beckons you...

> say hi
You say 'hi'

Romani says 'hi'

> smile
You smile happily.

> 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 bright light of the sun seems to gently enhance your faculties.

Romani says 'one piece of eq please'

> rem helm
You stop using the Bone Helm of Ryuukoroshi.

> give helm rom
You give the Bone Helm of Ryuukoroshi to Romani.

Romani says, 'ooOOooOOooOOoo.'

Romani thinks, 'Hmmmm.'

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

Romani puts her finger in her mouth and says, "Oopsie! Did I do that?"

Romani grins.
> egr
You grin evilly.

Romani gives you the Bone Helm of Ryuukoroshi.

Romani says 'there we go'

> say thanks
You say 'thanks'

> rec tab helm
You recite a magical tablet of disclosure.
Object 'the Bone Helm of Ryuukoroshi' is infused with your magic...
It is a level 50 armor, weight 10.
Locations it can be worn:  head
Special properties:  bless
Races allowed:  Human Elf Dwarf Half-Orc Half-Troll Half-Elf Gith Drow Sea-Elf Lizardman
Classes allowed:  Druid Augurer
Genres allowed:  fighter
This armor has a gold value of 50242.
Armor class is 30 of 30.
Affects damage roll by 5.
Affects strength by 2.
Affects wisdom by 1.
Affects save vs breath by -3.
Affects save vs spell by -1.
Affects hp by 75.
Affects mana by 75.
Affects affected_by by scrying.

The same card, same warrior and same helpful immortal both times but different results. The only difference was the message after Romani sacrificed the card: "The heat of the sun blazes forth, affecting anything it touches." compared to "The bright light of the sun seems to gently enhance your faculties."

My other favourite part of this was watching Romani sacrifice a card to Romani. Thanks again for the help.

Dying Isn't All Bad

I've been very slow on the updates again lately. It's not that I've stopped playing though the Christmas/New Year period did slow me down, but more a combination of procrastination, not having anything exciting to write about and not having any major success of late until a small breakthrough today.

One area I've been working on exploring lately is D'Morian's Land. I'd heard of a rumour of an item that could be only gained through an unusual way - death. This is unusual in that to get an item you normally need to find it lying around, put it together from the other pieces or from the cold dead hands of the mob they are on. The hard part is you need to die to a particular mob in a particular room.

The room you need to die in is the following:

At the Back of the Tower Knoll
A short flight of steps leads from the path up to the back of the knoll. The steps are badly chipped and also caked with the thick dried blood that seems to be so liberally spread about here. The air here is mysteriously calm, although the heather further down hill still ripples in the wind.  A few odd looking items are scattered about on the stony ground at the foot of the steps, they seem to be broken pieces of armor and a few blood-soaked rags.
Exits: northeast northwest

You can examine both armor and rags which gives some clue that there is more to this room than meets the eye:

>exam armor
A steel vambrace lies bent and discarded at the foot of the steps, while
what resembles a pouldron is sticking out of the heather off to the side.

>exam rags
A few fragments of clothing are caught tangled in the heather, or glued to
the steps with blood. 

The mob you need to kill you in this room is a decaying zombie. This is made hard as the rooms in this part of the area have a program where the wind blows you out of them. Add in zombies then chasing you and casting spells that drain your movement points quickly and things start getting tricky. I've been most successful by killing all the zombies and then waiting in the room for repop to die. However, when you do get lucky:

A decaying zombie's bite wounds you!
You wish that your wounds would stop BLEEDING so much!
The Zombie's hands clutch around your neck.
(claws of the mole gets damaged)
Curse the gods, you've lost 0 experience!

..Everything begins to fade to black.

You feel yourself leaving your body... rising up into the air, you feel more free than you have ever felt before...

However, before your deity comes to collect your soul, you feel a strange pulling sensation as strange and colorful mists swirl around you...

If you are lucky (pop rate isn't 100%)... When you do your corpse retrieval the following item will be in it:

>c identify dented

Object 'dented vambraces of a fallen warrior' is infused with your magic...
It is a level 50 armor, weight 6.
Locations it can be worn:  arms
Special properties:  metal
This armor has a gold value of 3000.
Owner:  Charix
Armor class is 14 of 14.
Affects damage roll by 6.
Affects armor class by -10.
Affects constitution by 1.
Affects strength by 2.
Affects hp by 10.

>exam dented
You take a closer look at dented vambraces of a fallen warrior in inventory...
You see nothing special.
As you look more closely, you notice that it is in superb condition.
It appears to be within or below your level range.

Frustratingly they are owner tagged - this one to a cleric of mine.  I'm not sure what the best use of these arms are for - maybe a barbarian or to replace a few cheapo evil characters using Shimmergloom arms? It's an option though that not many have heard of before. Now hopefully I can figure out a few more things in this area.

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.