Duskruin/saved posts August 2019

General Information

Category: Paid Events: Adventures, Quests, and SimuCoins
Topic: Duskruin Arena
Message #: 10859
Author: SIMU-WYROM
Date: 7/22/2019
Subject: Confirmed Dates for August

Duskruin will have a start date of August 9th at 9pm ET. It will run at least 14 days.

---

Wyrom, PM

Shops

Category: Paid Events: Adventures, Quests, and SimuCoins
Topic: Duskruin Arena
Message #: 10888
Author: GS4-RETSER
Date: 7/29/2019
Subject: Night Shroud Cloaks

The T5 unlock will now be available, previously it capped out at T4 (4%).

Night Shroud cloak

Retser, ASGM

Compartmentalized Quiver Update

Category: Paid Events: Adventures, Quests, and SimuCoins
Topic: Duskruin Arena
Message #: 10849
Author: GS4-AVALUKA
Date: 07/17/2019
Subject: Compartmentalized Quivers - New Feature and QOL Updates!

Compartmentalized Quivers are coming back for the next run of Duskruin! All of the unlock certificates available last run will be refreshed and available at the same quantities/limits noted before. (Pricing/limits for certificates are listed at the bottom of this post.) All of the quiver designs have been changed/refreshed.

In addition, there is a new feature that can be unlocked for T1 or T2 quivers: auto-advancement. When this feature is active, the quiver will automatically advance to a full compartment when it senses that the current compartment has been emptied. A new unlock certificate will be available to unlock this feature.

A snippet of the new feature in action on a T2 quiver with Flare Display active:

>spin my quiver
Reaching to the side of your quiver, you wind up the spring-loaded gears attached there. Each turn of your hand produces a chorus of clicking noises until the gears reach the correct tension.
Roundtime: 5 sec.
>pull my quiver
In a graceful motion, you reach for the quiver on your shoulder. You remove a faewood arrow from in your quiver.
The layer of icy frost covering the quiver melts away.
>
[About 3 seconds later ...]
Without any contents to hold it back, the tension in the spring-loaded gears attached to your quiver starts to slowly release. Accompanied by a steady clicking noise, the mechanism starts to advance to a new compartment.
With a whir, the gears stop on a bundle of arrows as the compartment clicks into place.
Flickering flames erupt along the length of the quiver.

Notes:

• This behavior will continue indefinitely until you turn off the feature with SPIN.
• There is roughly a 3 second pause before the feature kicks in to advance, but there is no RT associated with it since it is automatic.
• This feature will only kick in if you manually empty the current compartment. If you merely TURN to an empty compartment normally, it will not advance (because that would make it super annoying to try to put arrows back in.)
• As noted above, this will only be unlockable for T1 or T2 quivers, as you need at least one extra compartment to make this work.

Other General Quality of Life Updates:

• The quivers will now play nice with STOW/STORE when the description changes via Ammo Display or Flare Display.
• CLENCH will now do the same thing that PULL does, but it won't knock you out of hiding. Knocking you out of hiding was not intended in my original design when you equip an arrow.
• The compartments are now noted as being lined with veniom in the show, as this more accurately describes the fact they negate encumbrance when not active.
  

[The above QOL improvements should be live already - if you find any issues, please don't hesitate to post here.]

Certificate Pricing:

• T0 to T1 Unlock Certificate. 10k Bloodscrip base price, scaling pricing, unlimited.
• T1 to T2 Unlock Certificate. 50k bloodscrip base price, scaling pricing, limit 2.
• +1 Compartment Certificate. 5k bloodscrip base price, scaling pricing, unlimited.
• Auto-Advancement Certificate. 5k bloodscrip base price, scaling pricing, unlimited.

Thanks!
~ Avaluka

Category: Paid Events: Adventures, Quests, and SimuCoins
Topic: Duskruin Arena
Message #: 10852
Author: GS4-AVALUKA
Date: 07/17/2019
Subject: Compartmentalized Quivers - New Feature and QOL Updates!

>> To be clear: any arrows that you have in compartments that are NOT "the active one", give you NO encumbrance? (So you can carry all the ammo, but not be hindered by it?)

Yes, exactly. There is always 1 compartment that is in the "active" slot. Ammo in this compartment can be pulled from/manipulated and acts normally with encumbrance.

Any "extra" compartments beyond the one that is currently "active" are completely weightless. Each compartment only holds 1 bundle of ammo. Each compartment confers 1 pound to the quiver's overall weight. There is a bit of a balancing act with this - do you want the overall quiver to be lighter or do you want more weightless slots?

The total number of compartments noted in the various limitations includes the "active" compartment.

For example, a T1 quiver can have a maximum of 4 compartments (1 "active", 3 "extra") with a minimum of 2 (1 "active", 1 "extra") You would need to get 2 of the +1 Compartment Certificates to fully expand the compartments on a T1 quiver.

It is similar for a T2 quiver, but they can have a maximum of 6 compartments total.

The auto-bundle feature on the quiver will also search in the "extra"/weightless compartments when you put an arrow/bolt inside to try to find a match that it can bundle with. So you can have fire-flaring ammo in an "extra" compartment, cold-flaring ammo in the "active" compartment ... yet when you attempt to add another of the fire-flaring arrows to your quiver, it will turn the "extra" compartment with the fire-flaring ammo to the "active" compartment and bundle it with the rest.

Think of it like a carousel of ammo with only one compartment available at a time. Or like a revolver ... except not with bullets but with bundles of ammo.

There is a wiki article, as well, but I have yet to update it with the new features: Compartmentalized quiver

~Avaluka

Category: Paid Events: Adventures, Quests, and SimuCoins
Topic: Duskruin Arena
Message #: 10854
Author: GS4-AVALUKA
Date: 07/17/2019
Subject: Compartmentalized Quivers - New Feature and QOL Updates!

"To include accounting for Blessed status, on top of just description/Enchant/flare, I'm guessing?" ~ Krakii

If you put a non-blessed arrow inn the quiver with a blessed bundle in the "active" slot, it would find a new slot for the non-blessed arrow and keep your blessed arrows separate. What it is essentially doing is checking each compartment and asking "can I bundle with you?" until it either finds a match or an empty compartment.

"So instead of carrying 600 arrows (6 bundles @ 100) == 60 pounds of encumbrance, a character with a fully-blinged T2w/max# would be carrying 600 arrows == 10 pounds encumbrance (plus weight of quiver itself [== base of quiver +5 pounds for extra compartments]), AND when picking up/"gather"ing used ammo would NOT have to worry about cycling the device to hit the correct one; 'gather/put in quiver' would auto-locate the correct socket and stow them there." ~ Krakii

Correct. In addition, a T2 quiver has the "Auto-Gather" ability, in which you'd merely have to do "GATHER MY QUIVER" and it will scour the ground, gather the arrows and automatically place them in your quiver. (Essentially like doing GATHER arrow, put arrow in my quiver ... but all in one command.)

Also, base quivers are 1 pound. A maxed T2 quiver with 6 compartments would be 6 pounds base, plus whatever weight of the arrows/ammo in the "active" compartment.

"I know that many revolver-users keep one chamber empty (where the hammer is), in order to prevent accidental discharge. Do I correctly interpret your writings here that doing the same thing--6 chambers, 5 with ammo, 'active' one is the empty--would result in +0 encumbrance (only the weight of the quiver itself)? Until it cycled to something for you to shoot, obviously." ~ Krakii

Yes, that is a strategy you could use. However, you would have to use TURN (roundtime 2 seconds) to switch to a compartment with ammo in it in order to have access to ammo to shoot with. You can't equip an arrow/bolt if the "active" compartment is empty. But I suppose if you were not actively shooting anything and wanted to save some weight, you could switch to the empty compartment. (You can also switch to a specific compartment using TURN quiver TO #, where as just TURN cycles to the next compartment in line. INSPECT shows you the numbers of the compartments and what is in them.)

"Does the act of cashing in a T0->T1 certificate, automatically confer the +1 compartment? (Reading the 'analyze' in the "~Unlock Status~ by Tier" section on the CQ GSWiki page could lead one to assume that. Goes from 'nothing special' at Tier0 to '2 out of 4' at Tier1.)" ~ Krakii

Yes. Using a T0 to T1 unlock certificate gives you a "free" bonus extra compartment, as none of the features really work without at least one "extra" compartment. But if you want anything beyond the minimum/base, you need to buy +1 Compartment certificates. At a fresh T1 unlock status, the quiver would weigh 2 pounds (1 pound for each compartment). T0 quivers only have 1 compartment, so they are 1 pound.

Hopefully I answered all your questions! :)

~Avaluka

Plague Cowl

Category: Paid Event: Adventures, Quests, and SimuCoins
Topic: Duskruin Arena
Message #: 10884
Author: GS4-THANDIWE
Date: 7/27/2019
Subject: Teaser - Sable Quietus

Hello!

There is a new shop room in the Sable Quietus. Cowls have been added to the stock. These cowls can be used with or without a Plague Mask. If you are using a cowl with a Plague Mask, then the cowl will interact with the mask.

For example:

>wear my cowl

You lay your hunter green cowl across your shoulders and use the heavy toggles to cinch it over your neck while ensuring that the edges of your leather mask are hidden from view.

>inventory

You have a thick hunter green cowl wreathing your shoulders and neck, and an ebon-stitched waxed leather mask fitted with rose goggles that completely obscures your face.

>pull my cowl

Using both hands, you pull the hood of your hunter green cowl up over your head, the fabric gliding over the waxed surface of your leather mask.

>inventory

You have a thick hunter green cowl wreathing your shoulders and neck, the hood of which cast shadows upon an ebon-stitched waxed leather mask fitted with rose goggles that completely obscures your face.

>push my cowl

Using both hands, you draw the hood of your hunter green cowl back over your head, exposing an ebon-stitched waxed leather mask fitted with rose goggles in the process.

WITHOUT A MASK

>wear my cowl

You lay your hunter green cowl across your shoulders and use the heavy toggles to cinch it over your neck.

>inventory

You have a thick hunter green cowl wreathing your shoulders and neck, obscuring the lower face of your face.

>pull my cowl

You tug the hood attached to your hunter green cowl up onto your head, easily hiding your face in its folds.

>inventory

You have a thick hunter green cowl wreathing your shoulders and neck, the hood of which is pulled up around your head and casting shadows upon your features.

>analyze my cowl

You analyze your hunter green cowl and sense that the creator has provided the following information:
This is a Duskruin Plague Cowl. It will interact with the Plague Mask when they are both worn at the same time.

Do not change the noun!

When the cowl is worn only it blocks visibility of the following features: nose, mouth, face, facial hair, and some distinguishing marks/unique features.
When the hood is drawn up, it will also hide regular hair features.
The cowl is 1 (OTS) out of 2 tiers.

It has access to the following verbs: Pull, Push, Remove, and Wear.

It may be altered freely provided it remains cloth, the hood should have a liripipe, and the neck should have some kind of toggles.

Again, it will work as a stand-alone item. There is an unlock certificate available for it.

~*~ Thandiwe
ASGM of Events

Category: Paid Event: Adventures, Quests, and SimuCoins
Topic: Duskruin Arena
Message #: 10889
Author: GS4-THANDIWE
Date: 7/31/2019
Subject: Teaser - Sable Quietus

Since the thing I wanted to tease isn't ready yet, I thought I'd tease more cowl stuff...

>salute my cowl (hood up, no mask)
You offer a curt salute by pressing the fingers of your left hand against your forehead, the folds of your hunter green cowl's hood rubbing against your skin for a moment before you flick your fingers away with a mocking smirk.

(hood down, no mask) Touching your forehead, your lips, and then your throat through the fabric of your hunter green cowl, you offer a solemn greeting.

(hood up w. mask) Touching your fingertips to the forehead of your leather mask, you then tap its beak and offer a mocking bow by way of gesturing outward from your body. Your head dips down, causing the liripipe at the end of your hunter green cowl's hood to flutter for a brief moment.

(hood down w. mask) Slipping your fingers between the folds of your hunter green cowl and the edge of your leather mask, you make a rude gesture by flicking your chin with the back of your fingers.

>pray my cowl (hood up, no mask)
You cover your face with your hands, a soft pray spilling from your lips as you hide within the folds of the hood on your hunter green cowl.

(hood down, no mask) You murmur a prayer into the folds of your hunter green cowl, the words between you, the fabric, and the gods.

(hood up w. mask) Folding your hands in supplication, your fingertips brushing the beak of your leather mask, you offer a soft prayer that seems to echo within the confines of the hood of your hunter green cowl.

(hood down w. mask) Clasping your hands in front of you, you offer a simple prayer. You repeat the whispered closing as you touch the forehead of your leather mask, and again when you touch your throat through your hunter green cowl.

The above are Tier 2 unlocks.

~*~ Thandiwe ~*~
ASGM of Events

Energy Weapon

Category: Paid Events: Adventures, Quests, and SimuCoins
Topic: Duskruin Arena
Message #: 10890
Author: GS4-RETSER
Date: 7/31/2019
Subject: Energy Runestaves (Teaser)

Hello everyone!

This Duskruin (95% sure!) I will be introducing Energy Runestaves. These staves are affinity and tier driven much like parasite and sprite weapons.
The flare type by default will be available in 4 varieties: Ice, Fire, Earth, Lightning
These are script flares and do not take up the regular slot/spot.
The strength of these flares scales with the affinity of the weapon.

Players will need to bond to these. Bonding is achieved by using the weapon in combat and letting it flare.

Drained Flares:
Drained flares are when the wielder sacrifices the strength of their flare to store energy.

Surged Flares
The stored energy can then be used to increase the strength of the flare through SURGED flares.
You cannot drain energy while surging your flares.

You can also turn on and off the flares entirely.

In the examples below I'm using an impact variant of the weapon.

Unleashing
At affinity 4 and above (T2 unlock) players will be able to unleash the weapon. Once unleashed, players can use the stored energy and their own mana to blast targets.
This can hit 1-4 targets, each subsequent target hit will receive reduced damage. The power of this attack is scaled above the innate flare and surged flare.
This lasts until the wielder is out of mana, out of energy, or out of time. (1min * Affinity) This also gives the wielder + 2 AS per affinity for the duration.
It will also grant +1 CS per affinity for the duration.

nuzzle staff
You flick a small lever near the center-point of the shaft of your rune staff. The end of the rune staff glows with white and black energy.
Roundtime: 3 sec.

point staff
You flip your sleek rune staff end over end until snatching it out of the air by the base. You take aim as the staff glows brightly with white and black energy!
[SMR result: 85 (Open d100: -52, Bonus: 49)]
Your shot goes wide, completely missing the Ithzir adept.
Roundtime: 3 sec.
G>point staff
You flip your sleek rune staff end over end until snatching it out of the air by the base. You take aim as the staff glows brightly with white and black energy!
[SMR result: 147 (Open d100: 9, Bonus: 49)]
The sleek rune staff glows brightly as it unleashes a large torrent of white and black energy!
A beam of white-colored energy emits from the tip of your a sleek rune staff and collides with an Ithzir adept's right leg!

... 50 points of damage!
Right hip pulped, severing the leg.
An Ithzir adept falls to the ground grasping her mangled right leg!
[SMR result: 128 (Open d100: 34, Bonus: 4)]
The sleek rune staff glows brightly as it unleashes a large torrent of white and black energy!
A beam of white-colored energy emits from the tip of your a sleek rune staff and collides with an Ithzir adept's back!

... 50 points of damage!
Crushing blow to the spine!
The Ithzir adept slumps to the ground.
It is knocked to the ground!
The Ithzir adept is stunned!
[SMR result: 140 (Open d100: 47, Bonus: 4)]
The sleek rune staff glows brightly as it unleashes a large torrent of white and black energy!
A beam of white-colored energy emits from the tip of your a sleek rune staff and collides with an Ithzir adept's left arm!

... 10 points of damage!
Bones in left arm crack.
Roundtime: 3 sec.

Reactive Armor
At affinity 7 and above (T3 unlock) players will be able to coat themselves in magical armor. This armor gives the wielder a 20% chance to have a defensive flare from their runestave back at the target.
Each defensive flare drains energy and mana. The power of this flare scales with the standard flare of the weapon. This lasts until the wielder is out of mana, out of energy, or out of time. (1min * Affinity)
This also gives the wielder + 2 DS per affinity. This armor also shows up in your LOOK based on the type of flare the weapon has.

You slam the base of your rune staff into the ground sending a blast of white and black energy upward! The energy crackles audibly as it coalesces around you in the shape of armor.
Roundtime: 3 sec.

look Retser
You see GameMaster Retser the Last Resort of the Consortium.
He is tall. He appears to be wizened with age. He has eyes and brown skin. He has short, chestnut hair with his bangs gathered to the right temple and woven into a single five-plait braid adorned with twin indigo macaw remiges. He has a small nose and a bushy chestnut beard.
He is encased in pulsing magical armor.
He is holding a rune staff in his right hand.

An Ithzir adept thrusts both palms toward you!
An Ithzir adept hurls a freezing ball of pure cold at you!

AS: +394 vs DS: +110 with AvD: +55 + d100 roll: +75 = +414
... and hits for 150 points of damage!
A freezing and accurate strike renders your right leg but a memory!
You fall screaming to the ground grasping your mangled right leg!
You are stunned for 10 rounds!
The rune staff glows brightly as it unleashes a large torrent of energy!
A beam of white-colored energy emits from the tip of your a rune staff and collides with an Ithzir adept's throat!

... 25 points of damage!
Neck broken.
The Ithzir adept twitches several times before dying.
The Ithzir adept falls to the ground in a crumpled heap.
The Ithzir adept no longer bristles with energy.

Retser, ASGM

Category: Paid Events: Adventures, Quests, and SimuCoins
Topic: Duskruin Arena
Message #: 10903
Author: GS4-RETSER
Date: 8/1/2019
Subject: Energy Runestaves (Teaser)

The Energy Staves will also add CS equal to the current affinity when unleashed.

Retser, ASGM

Shield Cape

Category: Paid Events: Adventures, Quests, and SimuCoins
Topic: Duskruin Arena
Message #: 10897
Author: GS4-THANDIWE
Date: 8/1/2019
Subject: Teaser - Shield Cape

Are you an unarmed combat fighter that always has both hands empty? Are you an open caster that dismisses the thought of using a shield or runestaff? Are you an archer?

Then have I got a thing for you...

The Shield Cape will be making its debut in the shop "Shield Thyself" in Bloodriven. What is a Shield Cape, you ask? Let me tell you!

A Shield Cape is a new outerwear garment that is attached to the left wrist by a large bangle of some kind, it is drawn across the left arm and shoulder before dipping down the back (it is Aelotoi friendly after all) and hugs the right ribcage before being pinned across the chest at the left shoulder by a large brooch of some kind.

But Thandiwe, you may ask, what if I don't like the bangle and brooch that come with the garment? Have no fear! An OTS Shield Cape can have both the brooch and the bangle removed for customization purposes. AND, "Shield Thyself" sells eight different brooches and eight different bangles to allow for immediate customization if you do not like the ones that came with your garment.

So right now, you are thinking to yourself, "Thandiwe, this isn't too much to get excited over. Why do I care about some wacky cloak-like garment?"

And I would have to say, "But you haven't heard about the unlock features!"

Tier 1 - The Shield Cape has a 1% chance to block an incoming attack. It will look something like this:

Moving your left arm into a defensive position, the surface of your red tartan wool cape suddenly flares to life with blue energy that turns solid enough to block a kobold's incoming blow.

Tier 2 - The Shield Cape has a 2% chance to block an incoming attack. It loses its locked status and gains access to the following verbs: close, hug, open

Tier 3 - The Shield Cape has a 3% chance to block an incoming attack. It also gains an auto-close feature and access to the following verbs: flip, nudge, tap

Tier 4 - The Shield Cape has a 4% chance to block an incoming attack. It also gains access to the following verbs: bow, cover, rub

Tier 5 - The Shield Cape has a 5% chance to block an incoming attack. It also gains access to the following verbs: attend, pinch, snuggle, tilt

BUT WAIT! There is more!

If you upgrade your brooch, then it gains the reactive ability. Each time you block an incoming attack, there is a 50% chance that it will absorb a charge. Once it has absorbed 10 charges, on the 11th block it will automatically reactively flare with impact damage.

If you upgrade your bangle, then it provides a boost to your brooch that will give it an additional 25% chance to absorb a charge AND the upgrade allows you to change your reactive ability from impact to one of the following flare types: fire, cold, lightning, vacuum, disintegrate, unbalance, acid, plasma, steam, or magma

Does it still function as a normal cloak? Yes, it does! So, you may ask, can it be lightened? And I would say, yes, it can. Down to whatever the normal weight is for a normal cloak-worn item. Can it be deepened? Yes, it can. Up to whatever the normal maximum is for a normal cloak-worn item.

What if I am not an archer, UAC user, or open-handed caster? No worries! The Shield Cape will still work for you but at a 50% reduction. (ie: Tier 1 = .5%, Tier 2 = 1%, etc)

~*~ Thandiwe ~*~
ASGM of Events

Category: Paid Events: Adventures, Quests, and SimuCoins
Topic: Duskruin Arena
Message #: 10899
Author: GS4-THANDIWE
Date: 8/1/2019
Subject: Teaser - Shield Cape

1. Much like Nightshroud cloaks require skill in Hiding & Stalking to execute the "vanish" attempt, will this cloak require Shield Use skill to functionally block? It does not require any specialized training to utilize the feature.

2. Does this boost to Block stack with Shield Use-derived Block attempts? It is its own separate chance to block.

3. Are two-weapon combat users able to benefit from this item without the 50% effectiveness reduction? No, they suffer the same reduction.

~*~ Thandiwe ~*~
ASGM of Events

Category: Paid Events: Adventures, Quests, and SimuCoins
Topic: Duskruin Arena
Message #: 10901
Author: GS4-THANDIWE
Date: 8/1/2019
Subject: Teaser - Shield Cape

The Tiering is as follows:
OTS
Tier 1
Tier 2
Tier 3
Tier 4
Tier 5

~*~ Thandiwe ~*~
ASGM of Events

Category: Paid Events: Adventures, Quests, and SimuCoins
Topic: Duskruin Arena
Message #: 10938
Author: GS4-THANDIWE
Date: 8/7/2019
Subject: Teaser - Shield Cape

The confusion in this may come from the name Shield Cape, but it is a cape-like item (cloak-worn) providing an extra chance to block an incoming attack. It is not a shield.

Any spells, C-Mans, Guild Tricks, etc, that require you to hold a shield will still require you to do that while wearing this item.

This item doesn't change any of those rules for you.

The decision for full percentage chance vs. 50 percent chance was based around which weapons styles do or don't use 2 hands.

~*~ Thandiwe ~*~
ASGM of Events

Parasitic Weapon/Sprite Weapon Update

Category: Paid Events: Adventures, Quests, and SimuCoins
Topic: Duskruin Arena
Message #: 10929
Author: GS4-RETSER
Date: 8/5/2019
Subject: Teaser - Parasite And Sprites - BOW FLARE UPGRADE!

At this Duskruin you will be able to purchase a side-unlock for parasite or sprite bows. There will be a limited number of these unlocks.
This will allow your bow to flare. The flares are the same as the regular flare variant and scale with the affinity.

You can use any ayanad crystal to power these new flares with a charge.

ayanad = 100% chance to consume the charge per flare.
s'ayanad = 50% chance to consume the charge per flare.
t'ayanad = 25% chance to consume the charge per flare.
n'ayanad = 10% chance to consume the charge per flare.

The flares automatically apply to any arrow that does not have any flare, script, and is 5 times enchanted or lower. This effect will consume the arrow.

load bow with crystal
You smash the ayanad crystal awkwardly against your bow. Your white sprite huffs in annoyance before saying, "The crystal goes in the crystal hole! Let me help you!" The white sprite on your shoulder begins to chant. Slowly, the ayanad crystal seems to melt into the surface of your bow. Your bow glows dimly before the light fades.

fire
You nock an arrow in your bow.
You fire an arrow at a triton combatant!
AS: +430 vs DS: +200 with AvD: +20 + d100 roll: +22 = +272
... and hit for 38 points of damage!
Nice shot to the head gouges the triton combatant's cheek!
You feel a slight sting as the sprite draws upon your power to attack.
The white sprite on your shoulder sends forth a cylindrical, white blast of magic at a triton combatant's throat!
... 25 points of damage!
Neck broken.
The triton combatant twitches several times before dying.
The triton combatant collapses, gurgling once with a wrathful look on its face before expiring.
Your bow continues to glow.
The arrow explodes with a white light.
Roundtime: 5 sec.

Retser, ASGM