Research:Temporal rift
This will become a research page for the temporal rift which is accessed by the Familiar Gate (930) spell and glyph trap mechanics. Each realm of the game has a fixed number of exit points. Those areas without defined exits will drop the person into their original room. In the past the temporal rift script caused temporary hasting, slowness, and strength weakening effects. Magic will ineffectually fizzle when cast inside the rift. The rift imposes its own randomly flaring hazards in the form of dispels and stuns or health, mana, and spirit drains. These only take a third of your remaining balance.
Walking in the rift incurs RT and an ambient messaging. There does not seem to be a hidden pattern for navigating in these messages. At the moment these rifts are buggy in that they display the regional weather and messaging from the day/night system. In the event an area is removed from the game, it still exists as otherwise inaccessible rooms. If this happens to include exit points for the temporal rift, such as when the Abandoned Inn was changed to the Hanging Inn or the alchemist shop was ransacked and closed down, the wrong version of the locations can still be accessed until it is eventually fixed.
Messaging
Rift Appearance
The temporal rift looks almost identical in all of its instances, but they are each separate and there are minor differences in the wording. Some of them allow "out" as a direction and others do not.
[Temporal Rift] Time and space seem to swirl around you. You catch brief glimpses of events both past and future. Beyond these strange and confusing visions extends a vast, ever-changing field of stars, pinpoints of light against unfathomable utter blackness. It is very cold here. Obvious paths: north, northeast, east, southeast, south, southwest, west, northwest, up, down
Entering Rift
- Familiar Gate
Third Person:
XXX gestures. A panicked look briefly crosses XXX's face as she is suddenly engulfed in a cloud of swirling blue-white essence! Bizarre, alien sounds, discordant and grating, can be heard from within the mist for the moment before it dissipates. When the mist clears, XXX is nowhere to be seen.
- Glyph Trap
Second Person:
Suddenly a dark splotch erupts from the lock mechanism and envelops you! Time seems to slow down and almost stop... Suddenly you see yourself cast at a locked trunk about to try to look inside...something goes wrong but... Suddenly you see yourself cast at a locked trunk about to try to look inside...something goes wrong but... After a moment you feel a great sense of deja vu.... Suddenly you see yourself cast at a locked trunk about to try to look inside...something goes wrong but... Your head begins to throb from all this. After a moment your vision clears and you see...
Third Person:
XXX gestures at an enruned monir trunk. A large, dark splotch erupts from the lock mechanism and engulfs XXX who subsequently vanishes! A stiff wind rips past you and into the gulf which collapses on itself, leaving no sign it ever existed...
Exiting Temporal Rift
- Second Person
You suddenly notice that the images of your past are catching up with you. With a blinding flash you find yourself whisked forward in time and space until...
- Third Person
From inside the rift: XXX wanders off into the star field and vanishes. From outside the rift: Suddenly there is a horrible shriek and a bright, intense flash as XXX appears looking extremely confused!
Geographical Exits
The exits of the temporal rift are finite in number, and seemingly cannot be predicted from the rift messaging. While the rift can be entered from any room where it is possible to cast magic, including non-teleportable locations, the exits will be one of a given set of regional locations or else the same room. These rooms vary in the degree of hazard they pose from monsters.
Broken Lands
There are twelve exit points in the Broken Lands with varying degrees of danger, particularly providing a way of circumventing the huge stairs and puzzles. The temporal rift is a hidden backdoor for the locked and/or trapped Sheruvian summoning chamber and chapel. This is the primary hazard for using the temporal rift in the Broken Lands, as these rooms will fill up with a few dozen greater vruul.
| Number | Room | Region | Hazards | Lich Number |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | [The Broken Lands, Jagged Plain] | Jagged Plain | Giant fog beetles, hooded figures; meteors, boiling mud | 7450 |
| 2 | [The Broken Lands, Jagged Plain] | Jagged Plain | Giant fog beetles, hooded figures; meteors, boiling mud | 17327 |
| 3 | [The Broken Lands, Jagged Plain] | Jagged Plain (far east) | Giant fog beetles, hooded figures; meteors, boiling mud | 7457 |
| 4 | [The Broken Lands, Workshop] | Uthex Abode | Hooded figures | 6629 |
| 5 | [Deep Pit] | Dark Grotto (southeast) | None; magru nearby | 7473 |
| 6 | [Dark Grotto, Cavern] | Dark Grotto (southwest) | Magru | |
| 7 | [Dark Grotto, Huge Cavern] | Dark Grotto | Myklian, rare dark vorteces | |
| 8 | [Dark Grotto, Long Stairway] | Dark Grotto | Lesser vruul, dark vorteces | 24560 |
| 9 | [Sheruvian Monastery, Chapel] | Sheruvian Monastery (center-west) | Greater vruul; priests, warlocks, monks, harbingers | |
| 10 | [Elder's Chambers, Bath] | Sheruvian Monastery (east) | Monks, initiates, banshees, large black cat | 6672 |
| 11 | [Sheruvian Monastery, Summoning Chamber] | Sheruvian Monastery (center-east) | Greater vruul; warlocks, monks, harbingers | 6665 |
| 12 | Dark Shrine, Storage Room | Dark Shrine (west) | Lesser vruul |
Rift Appearance:
[Temporal Rift] Time and space seem to swirl around you. You catch brief glimpses of events both past and future. Beyond these strange and confusing visions extends a vast, ever-changing field of stars, pinpoints of light against unfathomable utter blackness. It is very cold here. Obvious paths: north, northeast, east, southeast, south, southwest, west, northwest, up, down
Icemule
The Icemule and Pinefar regions overlap with each other at the moment.
Old Ta'Faendryl
There are at least nine exits within Old Ta'Faendryl.
Pinefar
The Icemule and Pinefar regions overlaps with each other at the moment.
The Rift
There are twelve exit points in The Rift. Temporal rifts are an obscure method for randomly hopping between planes without having to climb threads. The primary hazard is that it can drop you onto Planes 4 and 5. The lower planes can be accessed this way from the Scatter.
Rift Appearance:
[Temporal Rift] You are trapped in a time rift! You catch brief glimpses of events both past and future. Beyond these strange and confusing visions extends a vast, ever-changing field of stars, pinpoints of light against unfathomable utter blackness. It is very cold here. Obvious paths: north, northeast, east, southeast, south, southwest, west, northwest, up, down
River's Rest
There are roughly a dozen exits around River's Rest.
Shadow Valley
There are approximately seven exit points within Shadow Valley.
Solhaven
There are at least thirteen exits around Solhaven.
Ta'Illistim
There are no special exit rooms for the Ta'Illistim region.
Ta'Vaalor
There are at least nine exits around Ta'Vaalor.
Teras Isle
There are at least eleven exit points on Teras Isle.
| Number | Room | Region | Hazards | Lich Number |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | [Fhorian Village, Storage Shed] | Fhorian Village | 12632 | |
| 2 | [Small House, Bedroom] | Fhorian Village | 12655 | |
| 3 | [Depths of V'Tull, Lower Eye] | Eye of V'Tull | 12788 | |
| 4 | [Glaes Vein] | Glaes Cavern | 2234 | |
| 5 | [Lava Flows, Greening] | Lava Flows | Massive pyrothags, cinder wasps, skayl | 2145 |
| 6 | [Lava Flows, Molten Stream] | Lava Flows | Cinder wasps | 2126 |
| 7 | [Glade] | Logging Road | 12567 | |
| 8 | [Fish Plant, Office] | Wasp nests | 2098 | |
| 9 | [Abandoned Mine, Scaffolding] | Abandoned Mine | Kiramon workers | 12546 |
| 10 | [Wind Tunnel] | Luukos Temple | Wind wraith | 12596 |
| 11 | [Mausoleum, Catacombs] | Mausoleum | Banshees | 2292 |
Rift Appearance:
[Temporal Rift] You are trapped in a time rift! You catch brief glimpses of events both past and future. Beyond these strange and confusing visions extends a vast, ever-changing field of stars, pinpoints of light against unfathomable utter blackness. It is very cold here. Obvious paths: north, northeast, east, southeast, south, southwest, west, northwest, up, down, out
Wehnimer's Landing
There are twelve exit points for the Landing, which are places of power with subtle histories. These are shrines, magical workshops, and greater essence focii.
Zul Logoth
There are ten exits around Zul Logoth.
Historical Context
The Familiar Gate (930) spell was released at approximately the same time as the very beginning of the Vvrael quest. The apprentice of Malaphor, a surviving royal mage of House Ashrim in exile on Ruin Creek, fled a black knight through a portal using the spell. The black knight was killed by adventurers in the Elven Village near Danjirland. The apprentice brought an elven babe that had emerged from a rift in the enruned box that was present. This turned out to be Daephron Illian --- an ancient Faendryl sorcerer from the time of the Undead War who was responsible for opening the rift that allowed the Vvrael to enter --- whose life force was tied up in keeping the rift sealed. He rapidly aged and told his story until finally dying of old age over a period of some minutes. The Rift itself is not obviously temporal in nature, but most of its rooms correspond to Tarot. The Vvrael quest had a number of prophecy subtexts. These will be analyzed separately on Research:The Rift (planes) and Research:The Vvrael Quest.