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Welcome to my playground!
Welcome to my playground!


I just finished my guide on magically opening boxes, now located at [[Popping boxes]]. Want to get all the 416 messages for disabled traps.
Right now, I am working on a draft of a page on magically opening boxes. Although most of the information already exists, it is scattered around, and most guides elsewhere on opening boxes focus primarily on manually disarming traps and picking locks. If I can present enough consolidated information here, it might be worthy of a page.


=Alchemy notes=
Also tossed some quick notes on realm ending points for teleportation...
Notes for myself to keep my buying list straight. However, I have considered making a guide, '''Having Fun With Alchemy''' so I might as well stick stuff here.


==Cheating==
=Magically Opening Treasure Boxes=


'''We wonder when we wrote this here'''
Accessing treasure inside boxes is possible by purely magical means without any skill in [[Picking Locks]] or [[Disarming Traps]]. One may wish to do this for profit, entertainment, and/or small amounts of [[experience]], and if done properly it can be relatively safe. When [[Unlock (407)]] is employed, this activity is colloquially known as '''popping''' boxes.


*Keep asking the arcane masters for a recipe until they give you one you prepared a recipe for. The only loss is the time they take to ask you.
As the basic prerequisite for this work is only knowing spells in either the Minor Spiritual Circle and/or Minor Elemental Circle, at least one of which is accessible by every profession (pending the release of [[Savant|Savants]]), it may be accomplished by anyone so inclined. Pures will tend to learn the relevant spells incidentally as part of their normal training path, and as such this activity tends to be more of a hobby than something to which characters are dedicated. However, there are limitations, as some boxes resist magic, and the profitability and experience gained will be less than someone dedicated to manual disarming and lockpicking skills.


==Exclusion List==
==Skills==
*As for extracting, I completely missed [[Murdroot extract]] for years. That's a really easy one!
Boxes that are enruned, [[mithril]], or with a [[Traps#Glyph|glyph trap]] will be impervious to this approach. While the former two will be readily apparent, the latter will require more consideration.


===Glyph Traps===
==Present==

As these traps cause difficulty for magic users, yet are not as readily apparent, some explicit discussion is insightful. Using DETECT has no risk. However, even a box with a disarmed glyph trap will still resist magic, so disarming a glyph trap is not useful for a magical approach.

*[[Phase (704)]]: [[Cast|CAST]]ing Phase at a glyph trapped box will cause it to resist the magic, identifying the trap's presence.
*[[Piercing Gaze (416)]]: Will set off the trap. Although this does not harm anyone or the box, it is inconvenient.
*[[Disarm (408)]] and [[Unlock (407)]]: The box will resist the magic, but as these can set off other traps, they are poor probes.

==Relevant Spells==
The primary spells:
* [[Call Lightning (125)]]: Vaporize boxes &mdash; trap, lock, box and all.
* [[Unlock (407)]]: Pop the box open
* [[Disarm (408)]]: Disarm traps
* [[Piercing Gaze (416)]]: Check for traps
* [[Phase (704)]]: Directly remove the contents from a closed box or indirectly detect glyph traps

Subsidiary spells:
* [[Presence (402)]]: Likely helps with Piercing Gaze and Disarm
* [[Lock Pick Enhancement (403)]]: Helps with Unlock
* [[Disarm Enhancement (404)]]: Helps with Piercing Gaze and Disarm
* [[Rapid Fire (515)]]: Do everything faster
* [[Self Control (613)]]: Similar functionality to Disarm Enhancement.

==Relevant Skills==
We presume here explicitly not to use manual skills like [[Picking Locks]] or [[Disarming Traps]] since this guide covered the purely magical approach; of course, a character could train in any fashion s/he chooses.

* [[Perception]]: Helps with Piercing Gaze and DETECTing traps
* [[Arcane Symbols]]: Helps to spot magical traps (scarabs, glyphs) with DETECT
* [[Minor Elemental|Minor Elemental Ranks]]: Helps with Piercing Gaze, Lock Pick Enhancement, and Disarm Enhancement.
* [[Spiritual Lore, Summoning]]: Decrease the build up time for Call Lightning and allow the possibility to cast indoors

==Relevant Stats==
It can be seen that [[Aura]] is the most important statistic for popping boxes. Aura enhancives can be useful for difficult boxes or better safety.

* [[Lock Pick Enhancement (403)]]: [[Aura]] bonus
* [[Disarm Enhancement (404): [[Aura]] bonus
* [[Unlock (407)]]: [[Aura]] bonus
* [[Disarm (408)]]: [[Aura]] bonus
* [[Piercing Gaze (416)]]: [[Intuition ]] bonus, [[Logic]] bonus (and if using 404, incidentally [[Aura]] bonus)

==Vaporizing Boxes with [[Call Lightning (125)|Call Lightning]]==
If the box is not impervious to magic, casting Call Lightning at it will, after the build up time, vaporize the box, spilling its contents. This is perfectly safe as long as the box does not resist magic and is on the ground; otherwise it may be fatal. Keep in mind that when a box is impervious to magic, rather than resisting Call Lightning, it will rebound the lightning bolt, probably at the caster.

None of the items inside the box will be harmed, except for any scrolls, which will be 'burned' (making them worthless in the eyes of pawnbrokers and unable to be infused), and silver coins, which will be melted into 'a rough slab of silver' which can be sold, for roughly half the value of the original silver coins, at any gemshop. The silver slab's value can be increased using the first tier of [[Holy Receptacle (325)]], [[Silver to Gold]]. However, it should be noted that because the box, and later its former contents, are on the ground, they are potentially subject to removal by the [[janitor]], or acquisition by other characters or creatures.

Casting Call Lightning under the jurisdiction of [[JUSTICE]] will result in a charge of Endangering Public Safety, despite the fact that opening boxes this way is perfectly safe if they are not anti-magic. Find a preferred location to do your work.
===Messaging===

Foolishly casting a box with a glyph trap:
<div {{log}}>
Suddenly a lightning bolt explodes from the small thundercloud and strikes an uncut diamond with a brilliant flash! As the bolt strikes at a battered steel strongbox, a brilliant blue light surrounds it and deflects the bolt towards you!<br>
<br>
&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;... 20 points of damage!<br>
&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Heavy shock sends you to the ground with convulsions!<br>
&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;You are knocked to the ground!<br>
&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;You are stunned for 7 rounds!
</div>
Foolishly forgetting to drop the box, vaporizing caster and box alike:
<div {{log}}>
Suddenly a lightning bolt explodes from the small thundercloud and strikes a badly damaged fel coffer with a brilliant flash with some of the bolt hitting you!<br>
&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;... 60 points of damage!<br>
&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Terrifying electrical arc destroys spinal column one vertebra at a time!<br>
It seems you have died, my friend. Although you cannot do anything, you are keenly aware of what is going on around you...<br>
<br>
You mentally give a sigh of relief as you remember that the Goddess Lorminstra owes you a favor.<br>
<br>
...departing in 16 mins...<br>
The fel coffer is vaporized!
</div>
Success:
<div {{log}}>
Suddenly a lightning bolt explodes from the small thundercloud and strikes an acid-pitted gold box with a brilliant flash! Wow, quite charred!<br>
The gold box is vaporized!<br>
>look<br>
<br>
[Vornavis, West Road]<br>
The road here was once extremely well maintained, and looks to be more like a city street than a wilderness road. Cobblestones pave the road that runs up to the remains of a broken and ruined tower to the east, and into the distance in the west. You also see a rough slab of silver, some polished red coral, a yellow sapphire, a dark cloud and a large doorway leading into the ruined tower.<br>
Obvious paths: west
</div>

==Phasing Boxes==
The best use of [[Phase (704)]] is to attempt to phase a box for weightlessness. Regardless of the box's weight and the caster's lore training, if the box 'resists the magic' then the caster knows the box cannot be opened magically. For anyone with access to the spell, this is typically the easiest and safest way to find glyph traps.

Alternatively, one may attempt to phase through a box in order to retrieve its contents directly, by [[Channel|channeling]] [[Phase (704)]]. No more than one item can be removed on each successful attempt, and typically a diminishing number of coins are pulled on each attempt.

<div {{log}}>
You channel at a dented iron box.<br>
Suddenly you notice the box's form dim slightly as it becomes less substantial. You quickly stick your hand inside it and fish around for something to grab.<br>
You grab hold of something and pull it out!<br>
You found some neat thrak hide shoes!<br>
Roundtime: 5 sec.<br>
Cast Roundtime 3 Seconds.<br>
Roundtime: 3 sec.<br>
</div>


'''NB: When 'Present' means "Some time ago when I had almost mastered alchemy, and then had a frontal lobotomy kthx''' " Now I make [[elemental soulstone]]s and [[inky black potion]]s, as well as some other things when I get bored. (Kaldonis, Grandmaster Alchemist)
However, phasing into boxes has a good chance of setting off any traps, and extreme failures can sever the caster's hand, leaving it inside the box.


*54 to 63: [[Clear_dye_base#Clear_dye_base|clear dye base]]: grey ambergris and vitreous humor. Boil.
==Popping Boxes==
*50 to 63: [[Lesser_luck_talisman#Lesser_luck_talisman|lesser luck talisman]]: t'ayanad crystal, sprite hair, green malachite stone. Boil, simmer, channel.
Given that between one fifth and a quarter of the Minor Elemental Circle spells are related to getting inside treasure boxes, it's a good idea for anyone with serious training in the spell circle to familiarize themselves with the application and interaction of these spells. A character with good stats, 1x Perception, and reasonable knowledge of the Minor Elemental Circle should be able to open their own boxes from hunting.
*To 58: [[Lesser_mana_regeneration_potion#Lesser_mana_regeneration_potion|lesser mana regen potion]]: violet essence, t'ayanad, s'ayanad crystals. Simmer.
*To 63: [[Greater_mana_potion#Greater_mana_potion|greater mana potion]]: violet shard, s'ayanad crystal (x2), ayanad crystal (x2). Simmer.
*To 63: [[Greater spiritual channeling crystal]]: crimson essence, spirit shard. Channel, boil.


==Future==
===Looking for traps with [[Piercing Gaze (416)|Piercing Gaze]]===
*57 to 63: [[Major_sneezing_powder#Major_sneezing_powder|major sneezing powder]]: essence of fire (x2), s'ayanad crystal (x2). Simmer, boil.
Successful casts of [[Unlock (407)]] and [[Disarm (408)]] typically do not set off traps; however, poor attempts can set off some traps, while other traps may be set off from even the best attempt. Furthermore, although Disarm is able to help the caster find and identify traps, using that spell a caster has no way of differentiating between failing to find a trap and a box not being trapped. For these reasons it is best to begin investigating the box with Piercing Gaze which, when successful, almost always shows any trap (assuming proper training with boxes from creatures like-level and below), and it only sets off glyph traps (which while annoying is harmless).


==Consignment Locations==
Both Presence and Disarm Enhancement aid the power of Piercing Gaze, and it is recommended for the caster to use these first; unlike with Disarm and Unlock, the Enhancement spell will not drop automatically after casting Piercing Gaze. Piercing Gaze should then be cast at the box until the caster has one (or more) success(es); multiple successes may be desired because not all successful attempts of Piercing Gaze show traps, particularly if the trap is a difficult one.
Alchemical consignments are like [[pawnshop]]s except for alchemy reagents. Like the pawnbroker, they will also sell items they purchase on tables. They will only stock up to three (3) of a specific reagent at any one time on the table; however, depending on your location, you might be able to check more than one table. Although you will get kicked out of the consignment table area for loitering too long, you can (and should) visit one or more times per day if you need to hoard up reagents for your present list of recipes.


Below is a consolidation of [[:Category:Alchemist Shops|Alchemy Shops]] in tabular form, including room numbers for the emporium tables. These locations are typically nearby the lich tag for '';go2 consignment'' but this tag will only take you to the nearest location.
If a trap is seen, the caster should decide their course of action based on the type of trap. Below is a comprehensive table of traps (or similar items), the messaging from Piercing Gaze to uniquely identify each, and triggering information with regard to Disarm and Unlock.


The color code correlates with potential danger rather than whether or not a trap is set off.
{| {{prettytable}}
{| {{prettytable}}
|-
|-
! bgcolor = lightgrey | Trap
! bgcolor = lightgrey | Shop
! bgcolor = lightgrey | Piercing Gaze Message
! bgcolor = lightgrey | Region
! bgcolor = lightgrey | 408
! bgcolor = lightgrey | Lich ID
! bgcolor = lightgrey | 407
|- align="center"
|- align="center"
| [[Traps#Scarab|Scarab]]
| [['Tain't Much Magic]]
| [[Northern Caravansary]]
| Peering closely into the lock, you spy a <type> scarab wedged into the lock mechanism. The scarab's surface is etched with tiny runes that seem to writhe as the light strikes them.
| 9280
| bgcolor = red | Sometimes
| bgcolor = red | Sometimes
|-
|-
|- align="center"
|- align="center"
| [[Darbo Phoop's Arcane Outfitters]]
| [[Traps#Poison Needle|Poison Needle]]
| [[Solhaven]]
| You notice what appears to be a sharp sliver of metal nestled in a hole next to the lock plate.
| No
| 9398
| Sometimes<sup>*</sup>
|-
|-
|- align="center"
|- align="center"
| [[Traps#Jaws|Jaws]]
| [[Alchemist's House]]
| [[Wehnimer's Landing]]
| You notice a discolored oval ring around the outside of the <box-type> which makes you suspicious. Your suspicions are confirmed when you look inside the keyhole and notice the spring-loaded jaws pressed flush against the chest walls.
| No
| 6257
| No
|-
|-
|- align="center"
|- align="center"
| [[Traps#Sphere|Sphere]]
| [[Sorena's Emporium]]
| [[Icemule Trace]]
| You see a tiny sphere imbedded in the lock mechanism.
| 13056
| bgcolor = red | Sometimes
| bgcolor = red | Yes
|-
|-
|- align="center"
|- align="center"
| [[Marble House]]
| [[Traps#Dark Crystal|Dark Crystal]]
| [[Mist Harbor]]
| You can see a small crystal imbedded in the locking mechanism.
| No
| 16471
| bgcolor = red | Yes
|-
|-
|- align="center"
|- align="center"
| [[Traps#Scales|Scales]]
| [[The Waggler's Warehouse]]
| [[Zul Logoth]]
| You see a cord stretched between the lid and case.
| 9565
| bgcolor = red | Sometimes
| bgcolor = red | Always
|-
|-
|- align="center"
|- align="center"
| [[Elantaran's Magic Supply]]
| [[Traps#Sulfur|Sulfur]]
| [[Ta'Vaalor]]
| Peering through the tanik box, you notice that the lock casing is coated with a rough, grainy substance, and a small bladder is wedged between the tumblers of the lock.
| 10366
| bgcolor = red | Always<sup>&dagger;</sup>
| bgcolor = red | Always
|-
|-
|- align="center"
|- align="center"
| [[Traps#Gas Cloud|Gas Cloud]]
| [[Ta'Illistim Alchemy Supply]]
| [[Ta'Illistim]]
| Looking closely into the keyhole of the lock, you spy a small vial of liquid and a tiny hammer device which seems poised to shatter it if the lock is tampered with.
| No
| 13053
| Yes<sup>&Dagger;<sup>
|-
|-
|- align="center"
|- align="center"
| [[Traps#Acid Vial|Acid Vial]]
| [[Raechaer's Alchemical Supplies]]
| [[Cysaegir]]
| You notice what appears to be a tiny vial placed just past the tumblers of the lock mechanism. It appears that any tampering with the lock mechanism will cause the tumblers to crush the vial.
| 17164
| bgcolor = red | Sometimes
| bgcolor = red | Yes
|-
|-
|- align="center"
|- align="center"
| [[Lomara's Supernatural Supplies]]
| [[Traps#Springs|Springs]]
| [[River's Rest]]
| Peering through the <adjective> <box-type>, you notice that the hinges have some springs incorporated into the design in an unusual fashion.
| No
| 11004
| bgcolor = red | Yes
|-
|-
|- align="center"
|- align="center"
| [[Thistleberry's Hut]]
| [[Traps#Fire Vial|Fire Vial]]
| [[ Kharam Dzu]]
| Looking closely into the keyhole of the lock, you spy a small vial of fire-red liquid and a tiny hammer device which seems poised to shatter it if the lock is tampered with.
| No
| ?
| bgcolor = red | Yes
|-
|- align="center"
| [[Traps#Spores|Spores]]
| You see a thin tube extending from the lock mechanism down into the <box-type>. The tube appears to be filled with a greenish powder.
| No
| bgcolor = red | Yes
|-
|- align="center"
| [[Traps#Plate|Plate]]
| There appears to be a plate over the lock, sealing it and preventing any access to the tumblers.
| No
| No
|-
|- align="center"
| [[Traps#Glyph|Glyph]]
| N/A
| N/A
| N/A
|-
|- align="center"
| [[Traps#Rods|Rods]]
| Near the lock mechanism, you notice a pair of small metal rods a hair's width from rubbing together.
| bgcolor = red | Sometimes
| bgcolor = red | Yes
|-
|- align="center"
| [[Traps#Boomer|Boomer]]
| The inside chamber is lined with some unidentifiable substance.
| bgcolor = red | sometimes
| bgcolor = red | Yes
|-
|-
|}
|}
:Notes:
:<sup>*</sup> Poison needle traps can be set off by Unlock, but this is entirely harmless.
:<sup>&dagger;</sup> Sulfur traps are always set off once detected, but not set off by Disarm probing...
:<sup>&Dagger;</sup> Gas cloud traps are set off by directly popping, but the gas cloud immediately begins dissipating. However, if JUSTICE is active it will result in a charge for Endangering Public Safety.


=Kaldonis's Standard Well-Rounded Sorcerer Guide=
It can be seen that trap properties vary widely, clearly motivating the use of Piercing Gaze. Traps range from the least threatening ones that are not triggered via Unlock and may be safely ignored (<i>e.g.</i> Plated) to the most dangerous traps which are always triggered by either Disarm and/or Unlock (<i>e.g.</i> Sulfur). Keep in mind that boxes with traps easily set off by Disarm and/or Unlock are safe targets for Call Lightning. The most judgement is required for traps which are only sometimes set off by Disarm.
'''NOTE: This is largely deprecated, as [[A beginner's guide to playing a sorcerer]] is quite good.'''


This is a sandbox of a basic sorcerer build guide. However, owing to substantial debates relating to topics like [[Perception]], [[Physical Training]], [[Spell Aiming]], and [[Sorcerer Base]] ranks, at present I want to work on this in my own sandbox, and probably just make my own guide so that I don't have to deal with a majority-rules approach to sorcery even if some of the wisdom is deprecated by one or two decades of knowledge.
====Scarabs====
For instance, [[Traps#Sky Blue Glaes|sky-blue]] and [[Traps#Sea Green Glaes|sea-green]] glaes scarabs inflict powerful disease and poison, respectively, and if the caster or a companion has access to [[Undisease (113)]] or [[Unpoison (114)]] one might disregard the risk of triggering the trap with Disarm or even directly Unlocking it. However, as scarabs are deactivated by Disarm do not fall to the ground and cannot be sold, one may wish to have the box manually disarmed.


The guide does not claim that a path outside the one outlined herein is not viable. However, it shows a way, with plenty of points available for taste, that a sorcerer could always be viable.
In the case one intentionally sets off blue and green scarabs by simply Unlocking those boxes, it is a good idea to know the messaging (shown here for a sea-green scarab):


The prime tenant of this build is that we reject the '''necessity''' to triple train Spell Research to further the Sorcerer Base, which trades vast training point expenditures in a huge sacrifice for minor perks in additional CS. That approach is boring, antiquated, negligent, and most importantly a build the community needs to reject as unsustainable for the class as a whole. It is unsustainable because its an adage of old from GSIII, which is a prime reason creature TDs for the Sorcerer Base are so high in modern times, which results in a positive feedback loop; positive feedback loops cannot be sustained!
<div {{log}}>
As you cast your spell on the strongbox, you hear the buzzing of a tiny insect coming from within. Suddenly, something darts out of the lock and flies straight at you! You attempt to duck out of the way, but it weaves with you and lands on your neck! You gasp in horror as you feel its stinger enter your flesh and you clap your hand to your neck to stop it, but there is nothing there. You suddenly feel very ill.
</div {{log}}>


As long as this is a soapbox, it should be stated that this guide prefers further and extreme nerfing to overtraining in a single spell circle to acquire CS. The irony of all this is that the approach is mostly used by characters of dark elves, who already have something like a 340/0 PTP advantage in CS when it comes to overtraining the Sorcerer Base to other races. Players of other races tend to be a minority but manage to adopt a more sane view, despite the fact they are the ones who actually benefit more from Sorcerer Base ranks owing to the disparity from stat bonuses. (This paragraph probably does not belong in the guide as it has a strong bias and has a very antagonistic attitude...even more than the previous paragraph.)
As such scarabs do not induce any RT, if the caster is removing the disease or poison him/herself, the caster must only way for the cast time of Unlock to lapse. There are also [[alchemy]] potions for Undisease and Unpoison. Either way, one should have quick actions and not forget the proper remedy. A simple trick to remember which of these spells are which numbers, and which scarab colors are which illness, one need merely remember that the spell number (113/114), initial letter of the illness ('d' or 'p'), and initial letter of the alchemy potion and scarab ('b' or 'g') correlate in numeric and alphabetic order. That is, 113 is before 114, 'd' is before 'p', and 'b' is before 'g'; thus 113 is for diseases which are blue, and 114 is for poisons which are green.


Core skills (trained on a per-level basis):
====Messaging====
*1x Physical Fitness
*2x [[Spell Research]], see below
*1x [[Harness Power]], strictly ranks at level
*1x [[Arcane Symbols]]
*1x [[Magic Item Use]]
*1x [[Elemental Mana Control]]
*1x [[Spiritual Mana Control]]
*2x [[Spell Aiming]]
*1x [[Perception]]


This standard and well-rounded path uses 17/43 training points per level, which even without further training is sufficient for success. Fortunately, it does not come too close to allocating all of a character's training points, and allows reasonable wiggle-room for individual taste while staying inside a standard build.
Failure (does not necessarily mean there is a trap):
<div {{log}}>
You gesture at a badly damaged iron trunk.<br>
You gaze at the trunk but your vision is obscured.<br>
Cast Roundtime 3 Seconds.
</div>


Threshold skills
Success with no evident trap:
*[[Armor Use]]
<div {{log}}>
*[[Multi-Opponent Combat]]
You gesture at an engraved wooden strongbox.<br>
*[[Climbing]]
You gaze at the strongbox and see. . .<br>
*[[Swimming]]
<br>
An engraved wooden strongbox which contains:<br>
&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;A pink-banded coquina shell (in)<br>
&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;A snake-etched ora crown (in)<br>
&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;A large pink pearl (in)<br>
&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;An uncut star-of-Tamzyrr diamond (in)<br>
&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Some silver coins (in)<br>
<br>
<br>
Cast Roundtime 3 Seconds.
</div>


Armor Use is only need at 4 ranks if full leathers are worn, and no ranks if robes are used instead. MOC can be discussed later, but only a few ranks, or using an Adv Guild badge is fine. Climbing and Swimming I can take from my work on [[Paladin]]s since it affects sorcerers the same. We may also want [[Survival]] for characters near IMT, etc.
Success with an evident (and very dangerous) trap:
<div {{log}}>
You gesture at an acid-pitted steel trunk.<br>
You gaze at the trunk and see. . .<br>
<br>
An acid-pitted steel trunk which contains:<br>
&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;A green malachite stone (in)<br>
&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Some ambrominas leaf (in)<br>
&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Some silver coins (in)<br>
<br>
<br>
Peering through the steel trunk, you notice that the lock casing is coated with a rough, grainy substance, and a small bladder is wedged between the tumblers of the lock.<br>
Cast Roundtime 3 Seconds.
</div>


If a sorcerer uses the above core skills, it should be impossible to embark on a mutant or otherwise compromised training path, with intention or by accident. However, as the core skills do not allocate all the character's training points, some basic suggestions and guidelines are offered for maximizing the most gain out of the remaining training points.
===Magically Disarming a trap===
After a trap is found via Piercing Gaze or Disarm, the caster will retain the trap in mind for a few minutes and may directly attempt to [[Disarm (408)|Disarm]] it. If Piercing Gaze is not used, or there is a lapse of time between viewing the trap and attempting to Disarm it, initial casts of Disarm will first probe for traps. Note that a trap found via the manual skills DETECT and/or DISARM will still need to be observed by a magical means before it can be magically disarmed.


Lore training can be expected to occupy a number of training points. 1 rank of Necromancy is easy and opens the [[Blood Burst (701)]] health gain effect at a minimal of cost. Demonology, necromancy, and Summoning are all good. Expand on this more carefully later.
[[Disarm Enhancement (404)|Disarm Enhancement]] assists for magically Disarming traps, but regardless of the outcome, the the Enhancement spell will drop immediately after each Disarm attempt. Thus for the best chances of success, a caster should cast 404 and 408 sequentially until the trap is disabled, meaning each attempt requires six seconds and twelve mana. The process can be sped up by omitting the use of Disarm Enhancement and instead using [[Rapid Fire (515)]].


Overtraining spells is not a bad idea, once these core skills are achieved. At low levels, this is generally better to diversify in MnS and MnE than pump Sorcerer Base (except the first 30 days). Sorcerer Base can even go below 1x while total Spell Research goes past 2x to achieve notable spells like 425, 430, 120, etc.
====Messaging====


Arcane Symbols is a definite favorite to put more ranks in, owing to [[Scroll Infusion (714)]]. The benefits of a good scroll collection, strong infusion ability, and long duration of spells cast from scrolls, is likely to outweight almost any other skill, at a mere cost of an additional 0/4 per level.
Unsuccessful attempt to detect a trap, including use of Disarm Enhancement (trap is not in the caster's mind):
<div {{log}}>
You gesture at a badly damaged steel chest.<br>
You begin to probe the chest for unusual mechanisms...The chest vibrates slightly but nothing else happens.<br>
The focused look leaves you.<br>
Cast Roundtime 3 Seconds.
</div>
Unsuccessful attempt after the trap has been detected, including use of Disarm Enhancement:
<div {{log}}>
You gesture at a simple thanot strongbox.<br>
Now to isolate the offending mechanism and disable it...The strongbox vibrates slightly but nothing else happens.<br>
The focused look leaves you.<br>
Cast Roundtime 3 Seconds.
</div>


Spell Aiming training will need a clear, lucid, and compelling argument. The idea is that it affects: 708, 710, 713, 720, 111, 118; these can be supplemented with wands, too. It's known that Spell Aiming is a "2x or go home" skill. But sorcerers already convert PTPs as a general rule, and actually the skill is quite cheap. The main advantages here, among many others, is that the Sorcerer Base warding spells are generally rubbish when it comes to group hunting and invasions, where in contrast ball spells using Spell Aiming really shine. It's also the case of how "maximizing CS against all else" is flawed; Spell Aiming not only opens bolt spells, but also Maelstrom and Focused Implosion. Thus the claim that some creatures have high sorcerer base TD and require over-trained Sorcerer Base CSes is misguided, since any well-rounded sorcerer would immediately have two other options (bolt or implode) to deal with the situation, even at a fair minimum of cost (2x Spell Aiming vs. 3x Spell Research: at level, it's +(3/16) CS vs. a full slew of utility!!!) 708 is also somewhat unique utility, and the TD change is vastly better than anything Spell Research could offer for CS gain, although only for this spell. 710 is also known to be good in the levels like 20-30, but this mostly points out that 2x Spell Aiming is important even early on.
Successful attempt, including use of Disarm Enhancement:
<div {{log}}>
You gesture at a simple thanot strongbox.<br>
Now to isolate the offending mechanism and disable it...The strongbox pulses once with a deep crimson light!<br>
The focused look leaves you.<br>
Cast Roundtime 3 Seconds.
</div>


Perception needs also points. This includes all of the MnE that help for [[Popping boxes]] where this skill is critical. [[Illusions]]. [[Creature maneuver]] defense. And we are #1 suck at foraging.
Viewing most traps after they are successfully disarmed will involve messaging including a 'crimson glow', which may be relevant if a caster Disarms but does not Unlock a box and forgets about its status, or Disarms a trap but experiences difficulty Unlocking the box and has the box manually picked.


===Magically opening the box===
=Piercing Gaze Magically Disabled Trap Messages=
Fire Vial: Looking closely into the keyhole of the lock, you spy a tiny hammer device and several splinters of glass.
If a caster has determined via Piercing Gaze and/or Disarm that it is safe enough, [[Unlock (407)|Unlock]] should be cast at the box until it is opened and the treasure can be removed from within. This is the only way to gain experience with boxes through purely magical means, granting between 5 and 20 experience each.


Also tossed some quick notes on realm ending points for teleportation...
As the case with Disarm Enhancement and Disarm, [[Lock Pick Enhancement (403)|Lock Pick Enhancement]] assists for magically Unlocking boxes, and regardless of the outcome, the enhancement spell will drop after each Unlock attempt. Thus for the best chances of success, a caster should cast 403 and 407 sequentially until the box's lid flies open, meaning each attempt requires six seconds and ten mana. The process can be sped up by omitting the use of Lock Pick Enhancement and instead using [[Rapid Fire (515)]].


Now I'm going to start a draft page on my own character, because I'm conceited.
====Messaging====

Unsuccessful attempt including use of Lock Pick Enhancement:
<div {{log}}>
You gesture at a battered iron box.<br>
The box vibrates slightly but nothing else happens.<br>
The scintillating light fades from your hands.<br>
Cast Roundtime 3 Seconds.
</div>

Successful attempt including use of Lock Pick Enhancement:
<div {{log}}>
You gesture at a battered iron box.<br>
You hear a soft click from the box and it suddenly flies open.<br>
The scintillating light fades from your hands.<br>
Cast Roundtime 3 Seconds.
</div>

Very poor attempts or fumbles sometimes result in no messaging at all, which is one of the very few feedback mechanisms provided by this spell. Traps can be set off either on poor attempts or successful attempts, depending on the type of trap.

==Additional Information==

*http://www.jerrec.com/traps.htm
*[[Traps]]


=Realm Ending Points=
=Realm Ending Points=
Line 407: Line 208:


</div>
</div>

=Kaldonis Harvest-Moon=

'''Kaldonis''' hails from a small farming community near the outskirts of [[Icemule Trace]], typical of his [[Paradis]] ancestry. A product of his environment, he has experienced a sequence of traumas in life, beginning with the destruction of his village and most of the '''Harvest-Moon''' clan. A wandering band of [[sylvankind|sylvan]]s took him in, with whom he traveled far, learning about the [[Imaera|Lady Imaera]], the shaping flesh to suit any purpose, and spiritual magic. Out gathering herbs one day far from the camp, he was kidnapped by a group of [[Faendryl]] for experimentation, including being sent to [[Lorae'tyr]] on numerous occasions, complicating any attempt to quantify his time in captivity. His service to the dark elves terminated upon his escape by squirming into an unstable interplanar [[rift]]. Already missing some extremities and exiting well above the ground, he landed abruptly in [[Kharam Dzu]] with a sickening thud. Unable to discern any apparently useful information amidst his endless screams and prognostications for the future, he was escorted by the local dwarves to [[Teras Asylum]] in short order, where he remained for some decades. His stay there did little to cure, and likely only added to, his tormented mental condition. His strange fascination with the smell of socks found him one day in a laundry bag, leading to his inadvertent release back into the world...

He has been hiding in exile in [[River's Rest]] ever since.

==Views on Demonology==

Having spent significant amounts of time with [[minor demon]]s while in captivity, in particular [[imp]]s and [[shien]], Kaldonis holds an educated and empathetic view towards these creatures. He possesses a rather unusual wealth of knowledge for our plane, including being able to draw from memory several uncommon summoning runes. He also quickly realized that considering all beings from other planes evil as the result of the [[Undead War]] would be similar to considering [[halfling|Truefolk]] evil for being co-inhabitants of Elanthia with the likes of dark elves and dwarves. He also points out that the Paradis clan originated by separating from the other halfling cultures to found Icemule Trace, owing to disgust and shame with their allegiance with such vile and brutish creatures from this and other planes, and yet Icemule Trace is the only city in Elanthia where minor demons are entirely legal.

When the First Common Edition of the [[Enchiridion Valentia]] was published in 5103, Kaldonis had to ensure history would follow its proper course by allowing humans to retain their ridiculous superstitions. Thus, he went into a league of mischief with his longtime demonic collaborators, inconveniencing [[Wehnimer's Landing|greedy people]] by dropping especially loving items (so-called "[[Curse (715)|cursed]]") here and there which they had difficulty selling. Within a short time, he was ejected from the [[Sorcerer Guild]], and the town of Wehnimer's Landing passed an ordinance outlawing demonic summoning. Although such laws originated primarily from the interests of would-be merchants rather than serious concerns for public safety, many other towns heard bad rumors and quickly followed suit. Prior to these legal changes across Elanthia, membership in the Sorcerer Guild was unfavorable to many, as the monthly dues did not seem justified for paltry parlor tricks. Kaldonis suspects a sizable fraction of Sorcerer Guild funding lines the pockets of influential politicians so that the guild can continue to justify its existence.

==Dietary Preferences==

Kaldonis's metabolism never fully recovered from the inadequate foodstuffs provided in his past. To survive he had to consume whatever fungi grew in the dank and dark holes he was locked in. Although these molds largely eradicated his taste buds, he observed they seemed to demotivate the dark elves from consuming his limbs while feeding him a diet full of sovyn. Unfortunately, dealing with Faendryl over such vast epochs, many fell ill and met their demise to inexplicable fungal toxicity. His developed love for any and all mushrooms and molds probably explains the emergence of his peculiar fondness for the scent of used socks.

Since his re-introduction to society, he can often be found rooting around for and munching on such delicacies as blue trafel, daggerstalk, softwhite, and trollfear mushrooms. Unlike many of his more well-fed cousins, he will not usually eat donuts, tarts, muffins and the like unless they are at least partially stale, and greedily devours ones which provide thriving colonies of mold.

==Appearance==
You see Keeper Kaldonis Harvest-Moon the Witch Doctor.<br>
He appears to be a Halfling.<br>
He is diminutive and appears to be decrepit with age. He has hazy mismatched violet and green eyes and waxy sallow skin. He has ankle-length, knotted silvery white hair with a large bald spot. He has an emaciated face and large feet.<br>
He has a tattooed rendition of a large-pupiled eye on his forehead, a series of numbers boldly inked on the back of his neck, and a tattooed Faendryl pentagram on his wrist.<br>
He is in good shape.<br>
He is holding a flame-etched ebonwood staff capped with a rusty doorknob in his right hand.<br>
He is wearing a sunshine yellow wide-brimmed wicker hat with woven golden daffodils and sunflowers cascading down the sides, a sickly faewood mask grossly contorted into a scream, a pulsating blue sunstone earring, a starched white ritual robe covered with a thick layer of black soot, an oversized silk cloak with muddy footprints stamped about the hem, a blood-eagle feather talisman, a moonflower amulet covered with a blue crystal carapace, a golden brown acorn amulet, a harvest moon charm, a deep crimson silk sash, a gore-covered troll-leg backsheath, a polished maple baby rattle, a mithril chain wristlet, a hoary green tourmaline band, a braided leather rope belt with an ink-black ribbon woven into the braids, a snap-top small metal case, an inky black pouch intricately woven with verlok feathers and clasped with a polished runestone button, and some mismatched black and grey socks sporting a large hole in one toe.<br>

==OOC Harvest-Moon family history==
Just copy/pasting this from the official forums, in hopes one day I'll get my shit together.


Sometime I want to formally write everything down about what has now become the Harvest-Moon clan, probably on GSGuide. I've some text files floating around, and some initial attempts on my KP user sandbox. But if I'm being honest, then part of the problem is that not only has the history of my character been somewhat fluid over the years (especially early on), but some things are not even decided or known to me. For the former, it's just a fact of trying things, finding they didn't work, and changing my mind. For the latter, it's less a lack of creativity or ideas and more because I don't necessarily like to set things down and decide them too early. I also don't really like telling people the OOC version of Kaldonis, either, since it's kind of spilling the beans, but here goes...at least as a general outline from my perspective as the player.

Kaldonis started out with the simple concept: "I want to try to make and play a crazy character." I've always played short races (see being 6'8" in real life), and a halfling sorcerer seemed like the oddest combination of class and race available in GS3. This was definitely a good decision for me as a player, because Kaldonis has always been really interesting and challenging to play, and I'm always trying harder. At first, he worshipped Zelia ('Harvest-Moon' was conceived as a reference to this), but this quickly seemed too canned for me, and further didn't make much sense because a truly crazy person wouldn't know or believe they are crazy. He went through a Luukosian phase but this definitely didn't work out, and it was more like being evil than insane.

His basic backstory was his small farming village burned down in early childhood (this is why, until recently, he was the only Harvest-Moon left) and being taken in by a band of wandering sylvans. Since halflings are often good with elemental magic naturally, and many sylvans are frequently empaths, it was a simple construct to justify insanity as well as knowledge of both spiritual and elemental magic. Once necromancy was released, everything fell into place. His name is Harvest-Moon, he's raised largely by sylvans, and one can definitely bend Imaera's being "the mistress of shaping flesh, bone, and plant to suit any need" into a wonky idea with necromancy. Of course, there's Imaera's "direct opposition to the twisting and deformation of life forms practiced by some of the Dark Gods," but this hardly need stand in the way of an insane halfling from making his own interpretation.

He's always hated dwarves, since I figured he did a stint in the Teras Asylum, but other than that, I wasn't sure really how he learned sorcery specifically, or how he got from somewhere near Icemule Trace to Teras Isle, either.

Then I figured, hey, why not have him out gathering herbs one day and getting kidnapped by some evil dark elves. Whether they were Dhe'nari or Faendryl I never fully decided, since they exhibit characteristics of both, but the weasel way out of that decision is to just say that Kaldonis didn't know where he was or who they were. Of course, deciding that the dark elves would abduct a halfling for experimental and culinary purposes, caging him with demons and variously chopping off his limbs and feeding him sovyn clove, that was an easy thing for me to conclude. And by years of observation, he could learn some secrets of sorcery, too (among them, lots of uncommon demon runes, yay!). Well, that was easy, I thought, so now, how do I get him to Teras Isle? I guess one day he isn't being properly supervised, and leaps into an unstable planar rift, teleporting him to Teras by mistake. The dwarves find him naked and raving conspiracy theories, no surprise he got carted off to the loony bin.

His earliest alteration was being the first person to poke some merchant who was hiding in town. I literally had only junk and no clue at all about my character, so while I was waiting for the game to finish, I went and killed a kobold, found "some yellow socks" and got them made into "some mismatched black and grey socks sporting a large hole in one toe". (Incidentally, those are now +5 DB and have closing pockets: best socks in Elanthia!). So I figured he escaped from Teras Asylum in a laundry bag after that, and that seemed like a credible enough back story to go with.

But some summer in undergrad, I must have gotten bored playing Kaldonis. I remember when I was in high school, my friend and I saw some red thrak hide sweater (that was really altered half plate) and some "halfling-sized" pit flail being variously sold, and we were like, "Someone really needs to be the halfling Flail who flails and kills with a hafling-sized flail, while wearing a red sweater." You can see I put tons of thought into the characters I create at the outset. So that was a warrior I got to level 20, and got bored of. More recently, I converted him to a paladin (since I wanted Divine Word and it was at least a goal), and taking advantage of the family name sharing possibility, elected him as a member of the Harvest-Moon clan. But all the Harvest-Moons were supposed to be killed off...how do I get out of that contradiction?

Oh, I've got it! When he was being experimented on by the dark elves, because of the Basilica and the threat of execution, they sent Kaldonis to Lorae'tyr a lot of times instead of going themselves; Kaldonis must just be from the future because of time dilation in Lorae'tyr and that final unstable rift he stepped into, and Flail is just some ancestor of his from the past. Of course, for the dark elves to do this, mostly they need to be sending him to abyran temples, otherwise they couldn't bring him back consistently in their time line to question him. It can pretty much be justified, because Kaldonis didn't personally have to breach Shieltine's Ward, and it was just some unknown dark elves who were doing it in secret; those dark elves are from the future, anyway, so that's the catch-all answer for everything I suppose. But this only seemed to make more questions. Why would dark elves want to send Kaldonis to various stone temples in Lorae'tyr? There was also the long-standing issue of a Paradis halfling summoning demons anyway, since that clan split off after the Undead War explicitly because of their shame in alignment with demonic summoners (although, ironically, Icemule, founded by Paradis, does not have laws against demonic summoning). Anyway, the Book of Tormtor is only assumed to have been destroyed by an implosion. But the legend Kaldonis heard was that the dark elves confiscated it, and eventually hid it in a specific temple in Lorae'tyr, and that's the information they are seeking, which is the real reason for the ban and monitoring of travel to Lorae'tyr. It also nicely ties up the natural question of why no dark elves followed him and tried to re-capture him when he went to Teras Isle. One question, for sure, was answered, which is why I have a Kaldonis in Platinum and have always jokingly referred to the main one as "Kaldonis Prime" as if he was a Transformer; SimuCoin age-resetting potions, make Kaldonis Platinum younger! (Whenever I get around to playing Platinum again, anyway...)

Recently I've been training Kaldonis in lockpicking (kind of always wanted that because of escaping from Teras Asylum), so I had a lot more reason to play Flail the last couple weeks, since he can get boxes for Kaldonis to pick. So now I've definitively placed Flail into a pretty intricate back story of another character (and am actually playing him at all), and I'm trying to decide where to go from there. At least I managed to get them to look kind of like they are related:

>You see Flail Harvest-Moon.
>He appears to be a Halfling.
>He is tiny and appears to be decrepit with age. He has mismatched haon grey and lavender eyes and sallow skin. He has raggedly cut, unruly white hair and a graphite wool flap cap with demon-cut diamond-buttoned ear flaps worn at a rakish angle. He has large feet.

>You see Kaldonis Harvest-Moon the Witch Doctor.
>He appears to be a Halfling.
>He is diminutive and appears to be decrepit with age. He has hazy mismatched violet and green eyes and waxy sallow skin. He has ankle-length, knotted silvery white hair with a large bald spot. He has an emaciated face and large feet.
>He has a tattooed rendition of a large-pupiled eye on his forehead, a series of numbers boldly inked on the back of his neck, and a tattooed Faendryl pentagram on his wrist.

Got any ideas to add to this jamboree of madness?

~daid (player of Kaldonis)

PS: Flail's real name is Marlenot, and if you know the whereabouts of that pit-flail or red sweater, you should definitely tell me. And for Kaldonis, you can perhaps understand why writing a character history from the first person point of view is a major challenge! The problem is, I've made such a crazy backstory for him that Kaldonis himself winds up being pretty sane to me by now, ugh.

Revision as of 18:55, 13 September 2018

Welcome to my playground!

I just finished my guide on magically opening boxes, now located at Popping boxes. Want to get all the 416 messages for disabled traps.

Alchemy notes

Notes for myself to keep my buying list straight. However, I have considered making a guide, Having Fun With Alchemy so I might as well stick stuff here.

Cheating

We wonder when we wrote this here

  • Keep asking the arcane masters for a recipe until they give you one you prepared a recipe for. The only loss is the time they take to ask you.

Skills

  • As for extracting, I completely missed Murdroot extract for years. That's a really easy one!

Present

NB: When 'Present' means "Some time ago when I had almost mastered alchemy, and then had a frontal lobotomy kthx " Now I make elemental soulstones and inky black potions, as well as some other things when I get bored. (Kaldonis, Grandmaster Alchemist)

Future

Consignment Locations

Alchemical consignments are like pawnshops except for alchemy reagents. Like the pawnbroker, they will also sell items they purchase on tables. They will only stock up to three (3) of a specific reagent at any one time on the table; however, depending on your location, you might be able to check more than one table. Although you will get kicked out of the consignment table area for loitering too long, you can (and should) visit one or more times per day if you need to hoard up reagents for your present list of recipes.

Below is a consolidation of Alchemy Shops in tabular form, including room numbers for the emporium tables. These locations are typically nearby the lich tag for ;go2 consignment but this tag will only take you to the nearest location.

Shop Region Lich ID
'Tain't Much Magic Northern Caravansary 9280
Darbo Phoop's Arcane Outfitters Solhaven 9398
Alchemist's House Wehnimer's Landing 6257
Sorena's Emporium Icemule Trace 13056
Marble House Mist Harbor 16471
The Waggler's Warehouse Zul Logoth 9565
Elantaran's Magic Supply Ta'Vaalor 10366
Ta'Illistim Alchemy Supply Ta'Illistim 13053
Raechaer's Alchemical Supplies Cysaegir 17164
Lomara's Supernatural Supplies River's Rest 11004
Thistleberry's Hut Kharam Dzu ?

Kaldonis's Standard Well-Rounded Sorcerer Guide

NOTE: This is largely deprecated, as A beginner's guide to playing a sorcerer is quite good.

This is a sandbox of a basic sorcerer build guide. However, owing to substantial debates relating to topics like Perception, Physical Training, Spell Aiming, and Sorcerer Base ranks, at present I want to work on this in my own sandbox, and probably just make my own guide so that I don't have to deal with a majority-rules approach to sorcery even if some of the wisdom is deprecated by one or two decades of knowledge.

The guide does not claim that a path outside the one outlined herein is not viable. However, it shows a way, with plenty of points available for taste, that a sorcerer could always be viable.

The prime tenant of this build is that we reject the necessity to triple train Spell Research to further the Sorcerer Base, which trades vast training point expenditures in a huge sacrifice for minor perks in additional CS. That approach is boring, antiquated, negligent, and most importantly a build the community needs to reject as unsustainable for the class as a whole. It is unsustainable because its an adage of old from GSIII, which is a prime reason creature TDs for the Sorcerer Base are so high in modern times, which results in a positive feedback loop; positive feedback loops cannot be sustained!

As long as this is a soapbox, it should be stated that this guide prefers further and extreme nerfing to overtraining in a single spell circle to acquire CS. The irony of all this is that the approach is mostly used by characters of dark elves, who already have something like a 340/0 PTP advantage in CS when it comes to overtraining the Sorcerer Base to other races. Players of other races tend to be a minority but manage to adopt a more sane view, despite the fact they are the ones who actually benefit more from Sorcerer Base ranks owing to the disparity from stat bonuses. (This paragraph probably does not belong in the guide as it has a strong bias and has a very antagonistic attitude...even more than the previous paragraph.)

Core skills (trained on a per-level basis):

This standard and well-rounded path uses 17/43 training points per level, which even without further training is sufficient for success. Fortunately, it does not come too close to allocating all of a character's training points, and allows reasonable wiggle-room for individual taste while staying inside a standard build.

Threshold skills

Armor Use is only need at 4 ranks if full leathers are worn, and no ranks if robes are used instead. MOC can be discussed later, but only a few ranks, or using an Adv Guild badge is fine. Climbing and Swimming I can take from my work on Paladins since it affects sorcerers the same. We may also want Survival for characters near IMT, etc.

If a sorcerer uses the above core skills, it should be impossible to embark on a mutant or otherwise compromised training path, with intention or by accident. However, as the core skills do not allocate all the character's training points, some basic suggestions and guidelines are offered for maximizing the most gain out of the remaining training points.

Lore training can be expected to occupy a number of training points. 1 rank of Necromancy is easy and opens the Blood Burst (701) health gain effect at a minimal of cost. Demonology, necromancy, and Summoning are all good. Expand on this more carefully later.

Overtraining spells is not a bad idea, once these core skills are achieved. At low levels, this is generally better to diversify in MnS and MnE than pump Sorcerer Base (except the first 30 days). Sorcerer Base can even go below 1x while total Spell Research goes past 2x to achieve notable spells like 425, 430, 120, etc.

Arcane Symbols is a definite favorite to put more ranks in, owing to Scroll Infusion (714). The benefits of a good scroll collection, strong infusion ability, and long duration of spells cast from scrolls, is likely to outweight almost any other skill, at a mere cost of an additional 0/4 per level.

Spell Aiming training will need a clear, lucid, and compelling argument. The idea is that it affects: 708, 710, 713, 720, 111, 118; these can be supplemented with wands, too. It's known that Spell Aiming is a "2x or go home" skill. But sorcerers already convert PTPs as a general rule, and actually the skill is quite cheap. The main advantages here, among many others, is that the Sorcerer Base warding spells are generally rubbish when it comes to group hunting and invasions, where in contrast ball spells using Spell Aiming really shine. It's also the case of how "maximizing CS against all else" is flawed; Spell Aiming not only opens bolt spells, but also Maelstrom and Focused Implosion. Thus the claim that some creatures have high sorcerer base TD and require over-trained Sorcerer Base CSes is misguided, since any well-rounded sorcerer would immediately have two other options (bolt or implode) to deal with the situation, even at a fair minimum of cost (2x Spell Aiming vs. 3x Spell Research: at level, it's +(3/16) CS vs. a full slew of utility!!!) 708 is also somewhat unique utility, and the TD change is vastly better than anything Spell Research could offer for CS gain, although only for this spell. 710 is also known to be good in the levels like 20-30, but this mostly points out that 2x Spell Aiming is important even early on.

Perception needs also points. This includes all of the MnE that help for Popping boxes where this skill is critical. Illusions. Creature maneuver defense. And we are #1 suck at foraging.

Piercing Gaze Magically Disabled Trap Messages

Fire Vial: Looking closely into the keyhole of the lock, you spy a tiny hammer device and several splinters of glass.

Also tossed some quick notes on realm ending points for teleportation...

Now I'm going to start a draft page on my own character, because I'm conceited.

Realm Ending Points

To clean up later, using Lich ID numbers or something, but should be useful to know the precise breaking points of realms for various intrarealm teleport (gold rings, 130, 225, Travel Song, Planar Shift, etc etc etc). See eg Kastrel's Planar Shift Guide Realm Colors as note the places with the same color are the same realm.

Straight from my runebook:

1. a set of squiggly aquamarine "beq-beq-sh-gy-op" sigils [Solhaven, North Market]
2. a set of circular aquamarine "beq-beq-sh-gy-th" glyphs [Solhaven, Liabo Plaza]
3. a set of angular aquamarine "beq-zi-op-op-zi" glyphs [Vornavis, Broken Tower]
4. a set of curving slate grey "beq-eks-pu-jil-ka" glyphs [Northern Caravansary, Stockade]
5. a set of angular aquamarine "beq-noj-eda-wo-zi" runes [Redwing Spire, Planning Room]
6. a set of twisting aquamarine "zi-ka-fs-pu-rov" signs [Solhaven, South Market]
7. a set of circular aquamarine "zi-ka-fs-so-th" sigils [Solhaven, Beacon Tower]
8. a set of twisting slate grey "beq-eks-pu-jil-rov" glyphs [Northern Caravansary, Green]
9. a set of curving slate grey "beq-eks-pu-jil-ka" glyphs [Northern Caravansary, Stockade]
10. a set of curving stone grey "ul-str-ka-rov-ve" glyphs [Plateau, Flynth River]
11. a set of spiraling stone grey "ul-str-ka-rov-ch" symbols [Tor Aganrahk, Switchbacks]
12. a set of broken stone grey "beq-eks-eks-fs-so" glyphs [Zortahg's Spine, Highroad]
13. a set of sinuous stone grey "beq-eks-eks-pu-lu" symbols [Stoneharrow Swale, Roadway]
14. a set of broken stone grey "beq-eks-eks-pu-eda" glyphs [Stoneharrow Swale]
15. a set of jagged ash grey "beq-eks-so-mer-beq" symbols [Cairnfang Pineforest, Bridge]
16. a set of curving aquamarine "beq-eks-gy-rov-gy" symbols [Marshtown, Glok's Pier]


1. a set of squiggly twilight grey "mer-pu-jil" glyphs [Wehnimer's, Land's End Rd.]
2. a set of squiggly twilight grey "mer-th-jil" runes [Town Square Central]
3. a set of jagged twilight grey "aq-beq-beq" glyphs [Town Square, Small Park]
4. a set of twisting twilight grey "ve-fs-gy-rov" sigils [Courtyard]
5. a set of broken twilight grey "im-op-eda" symbols [Graveyard, Crypt]
6. a set of curving twilight grey "rov-qom-eda-gy" sigils [Lysierian Hills, A Small Shrine]
7. a set of angular twilight grey "rov-ac-so-sh" sigils [Monastery, Misty Chamber]
8. a set of jagged twilight grey "es-hee-so-mer-eks" sigils [Inside the Glacier]
9. a set of sinuous twilight grey "ve-rov-ty" glyphs [Foothills]
10. a set of thin twilight grey "ul-qom-str" symbols [Baker's Shop, Alcove]
11. a set of broken twilight grey "ty-qom-eda" glyphs [Spider Temple, Near Altar]
12. a set of twisting twilight grey "ty-ac-fs-pu" glyphs [Sea Caverns, Stagnant Pool]
13. a set of sinuous twilight grey "es-hee-lu-ty-lu" signs [Temple, Crypt]
14. a set of twisting twilight grey "mer-th-pu-qom" glyphs [A Faint Path]
15. a set of circular twilight grey "es-gy-rov-ve-mer" sigils [Locksmehr River, South Dock]
16. a set of squiggly twilight grey "es-hee-so-mer-jil" runes [Glatoph, Glacier]
17.
18.
19.
20. a set of thin twilight grey "pu-ty-wo" runes [Abandoned Inn, Ruined Workshop]


1. a set of squiggly frosty white "ul-str-gy-aq-jil" glyphs [Icemule Trace, Town Center]
2. a set of sinuous frosty white "beq-es-so-mer-ul" symbols [Abandoned Farm, Garden]
3. a set of jagged frosty white "beq-es-eks-noj-beq" signs [Ice Plains, Shrine]
4. a set of angular frosty white "beq-hee-op-op-sh" runes [Northern Slopes, Rocky Incline]
5. a set of spiraling frosty white "beq-hee-op-op-aq" glyphs [Northern Slopes, Rock Ledge]
6. a set of angular frosty white "ul-str-so-fs-sh" glyphs [Tartifacts, Balcony]
7. a set of curving ghostly white "ul-str-pu-jil-ka" glyphs [Glatoph, Glacier Chasm]
8. a set of squiggly ghostly white "ul-str-pu-jil-im" runes [Snowy Plains, Bridge]
9. a set of squiggly pearly white "ul-str-pu-qom-jil" glyphs [Snowy Plains, The River]
10. a set of squiggly pearly white "ul-str-pu-ty-op" runes [Blue Glacier, Mountain Pass]
11. a set of squiggly bone white "ul-str-pu-fs-im" glyphs [Icemule Trail, Tundra]
12. a set of spiraling bone white "ul-str-pu-ay-aq" symbols [Icemule Trail, Snowy Forest]
13. a set of sinuous frosty white "beq-es-sh-im-ty" symbols [Icemule Trace, Forest]

Kaldonis Harvest-Moon

Kaldonis hails from a small farming community near the outskirts of Icemule Trace, typical of his Paradis ancestry. A product of his environment, he has experienced a sequence of traumas in life, beginning with the destruction of his village and most of the Harvest-Moon clan. A wandering band of sylvans took him in, with whom he traveled far, learning about the Lady Imaera, the shaping flesh to suit any purpose, and spiritual magic. Out gathering herbs one day far from the camp, he was kidnapped by a group of Faendryl for experimentation, including being sent to Lorae'tyr on numerous occasions, complicating any attempt to quantify his time in captivity. His service to the dark elves terminated upon his escape by squirming into an unstable interplanar rift. Already missing some extremities and exiting well above the ground, he landed abruptly in Kharam Dzu with a sickening thud. Unable to discern any apparently useful information amidst his endless screams and prognostications for the future, he was escorted by the local dwarves to Teras Asylum in short order, where he remained for some decades. His stay there did little to cure, and likely only added to, his tormented mental condition. His strange fascination with the smell of socks found him one day in a laundry bag, leading to his inadvertent release back into the world...

He has been hiding in exile in River's Rest ever since.

Views on Demonology

Having spent significant amounts of time with minor demons while in captivity, in particular imps and shien, Kaldonis holds an educated and empathetic view towards these creatures. He possesses a rather unusual wealth of knowledge for our plane, including being able to draw from memory several uncommon summoning runes. He also quickly realized that considering all beings from other planes evil as the result of the Undead War would be similar to considering Truefolk evil for being co-inhabitants of Elanthia with the likes of dark elves and dwarves. He also points out that the Paradis clan originated by separating from the other halfling cultures to found Icemule Trace, owing to disgust and shame with their allegiance with such vile and brutish creatures from this and other planes, and yet Icemule Trace is the only city in Elanthia where minor demons are entirely legal.

When the First Common Edition of the Enchiridion Valentia was published in 5103, Kaldonis had to ensure history would follow its proper course by allowing humans to retain their ridiculous superstitions. Thus, he went into a league of mischief with his longtime demonic collaborators, inconveniencing greedy people by dropping especially loving items (so-called "cursed") here and there which they had difficulty selling. Within a short time, he was ejected from the Sorcerer Guild, and the town of Wehnimer's Landing passed an ordinance outlawing demonic summoning. Although such laws originated primarily from the interests of would-be merchants rather than serious concerns for public safety, many other towns heard bad rumors and quickly followed suit. Prior to these legal changes across Elanthia, membership in the Sorcerer Guild was unfavorable to many, as the monthly dues did not seem justified for paltry parlor tricks. Kaldonis suspects a sizable fraction of Sorcerer Guild funding lines the pockets of influential politicians so that the guild can continue to justify its existence.

Dietary Preferences

Kaldonis's metabolism never fully recovered from the inadequate foodstuffs provided in his past. To survive he had to consume whatever fungi grew in the dank and dark holes he was locked in. Although these molds largely eradicated his taste buds, he observed they seemed to demotivate the dark elves from consuming his limbs while feeding him a diet full of sovyn. Unfortunately, dealing with Faendryl over such vast epochs, many fell ill and met their demise to inexplicable fungal toxicity. His developed love for any and all mushrooms and molds probably explains the emergence of his peculiar fondness for the scent of used socks.

Since his re-introduction to society, he can often be found rooting around for and munching on such delicacies as blue trafel, daggerstalk, softwhite, and trollfear mushrooms. Unlike many of his more well-fed cousins, he will not usually eat donuts, tarts, muffins and the like unless they are at least partially stale, and greedily devours ones which provide thriving colonies of mold.

Appearance

You see Keeper Kaldonis Harvest-Moon the Witch Doctor.
He appears to be a Halfling.
He is diminutive and appears to be decrepit with age. He has hazy mismatched violet and green eyes and waxy sallow skin. He has ankle-length, knotted silvery white hair with a large bald spot. He has an emaciated face and large feet.
He has a tattooed rendition of a large-pupiled eye on his forehead, a series of numbers boldly inked on the back of his neck, and a tattooed Faendryl pentagram on his wrist.
He is in good shape.
He is holding a flame-etched ebonwood staff capped with a rusty doorknob in his right hand.
He is wearing a sunshine yellow wide-brimmed wicker hat with woven golden daffodils and sunflowers cascading down the sides, a sickly faewood mask grossly contorted into a scream, a pulsating blue sunstone earring, a starched white ritual robe covered with a thick layer of black soot, an oversized silk cloak with muddy footprints stamped about the hem, a blood-eagle feather talisman, a moonflower amulet covered with a blue crystal carapace, a golden brown acorn amulet, a harvest moon charm, a deep crimson silk sash, a gore-covered troll-leg backsheath, a polished maple baby rattle, a mithril chain wristlet, a hoary green tourmaline band, a braided leather rope belt with an ink-black ribbon woven into the braids, a snap-top small metal case, an inky black pouch intricately woven with verlok feathers and clasped with a polished runestone button, and some mismatched black and grey socks sporting a large hole in one toe.

OOC Harvest-Moon family history

Just copy/pasting this from the official forums, in hopes one day I'll get my shit together.


Sometime I want to formally write everything down about what has now become the Harvest-Moon clan, probably on GSGuide. I've some text files floating around, and some initial attempts on my KP user sandbox. But if I'm being honest, then part of the problem is that not only has the history of my character been somewhat fluid over the years (especially early on), but some things are not even decided or known to me. For the former, it's just a fact of trying things, finding they didn't work, and changing my mind. For the latter, it's less a lack of creativity or ideas and more because I don't necessarily like to set things down and decide them too early. I also don't really like telling people the OOC version of Kaldonis, either, since it's kind of spilling the beans, but here goes...at least as a general outline from my perspective as the player.

Kaldonis started out with the simple concept: "I want to try to make and play a crazy character." I've always played short races (see being 6'8" in real life), and a halfling sorcerer seemed like the oddest combination of class and race available in GS3. This was definitely a good decision for me as a player, because Kaldonis has always been really interesting and challenging to play, and I'm always trying harder. At first, he worshipped Zelia ('Harvest-Moon' was conceived as a reference to this), but this quickly seemed too canned for me, and further didn't make much sense because a truly crazy person wouldn't know or believe they are crazy. He went through a Luukosian phase but this definitely didn't work out, and it was more like being evil than insane.

His basic backstory was his small farming village burned down in early childhood (this is why, until recently, he was the only Harvest-Moon left) and being taken in by a band of wandering sylvans. Since halflings are often good with elemental magic naturally, and many sylvans are frequently empaths, it was a simple construct to justify insanity as well as knowledge of both spiritual and elemental magic. Once necromancy was released, everything fell into place. His name is Harvest-Moon, he's raised largely by sylvans, and one can definitely bend Imaera's being "the mistress of shaping flesh, bone, and plant to suit any need" into a wonky idea with necromancy. Of course, there's Imaera's "direct opposition to the twisting and deformation of life forms practiced by some of the Dark Gods," but this hardly need stand in the way of an insane halfling from making his own interpretation.

He's always hated dwarves, since I figured he did a stint in the Teras Asylum, but other than that, I wasn't sure really how he learned sorcery specifically, or how he got from somewhere near Icemule Trace to Teras Isle, either.

Then I figured, hey, why not have him out gathering herbs one day and getting kidnapped by some evil dark elves. Whether they were Dhe'nari or Faendryl I never fully decided, since they exhibit characteristics of both, but the weasel way out of that decision is to just say that Kaldonis didn't know where he was or who they were. Of course, deciding that the dark elves would abduct a halfling for experimental and culinary purposes, caging him with demons and variously chopping off his limbs and feeding him sovyn clove, that was an easy thing for me to conclude. And by years of observation, he could learn some secrets of sorcery, too (among them, lots of uncommon demon runes, yay!). Well, that was easy, I thought, so now, how do I get him to Teras Isle? I guess one day he isn't being properly supervised, and leaps into an unstable planar rift, teleporting him to Teras by mistake. The dwarves find him naked and raving conspiracy theories, no surprise he got carted off to the loony bin.

His earliest alteration was being the first person to poke some merchant who was hiding in town. I literally had only junk and no clue at all about my character, so while I was waiting for the game to finish, I went and killed a kobold, found "some yellow socks" and got them made into "some mismatched black and grey socks sporting a large hole in one toe". (Incidentally, those are now +5 DB and have closing pockets: best socks in Elanthia!). So I figured he escaped from Teras Asylum in a laundry bag after that, and that seemed like a credible enough back story to go with.

But some summer in undergrad, I must have gotten bored playing Kaldonis. I remember when I was in high school, my friend and I saw some red thrak hide sweater (that was really altered half plate) and some "halfling-sized" pit flail being variously sold, and we were like, "Someone really needs to be the halfling Flail who flails and kills with a hafling-sized flail, while wearing a red sweater." You can see I put tons of thought into the characters I create at the outset. So that was a warrior I got to level 20, and got bored of. More recently, I converted him to a paladin (since I wanted Divine Word and it was at least a goal), and taking advantage of the family name sharing possibility, elected him as a member of the Harvest-Moon clan. But all the Harvest-Moons were supposed to be killed off...how do I get out of that contradiction?

Oh, I've got it! When he was being experimented on by the dark elves, because of the Basilica and the threat of execution, they sent Kaldonis to Lorae'tyr a lot of times instead of going themselves; Kaldonis must just be from the future because of time dilation in Lorae'tyr and that final unstable rift he stepped into, and Flail is just some ancestor of his from the past. Of course, for the dark elves to do this, mostly they need to be sending him to abyran temples, otherwise they couldn't bring him back consistently in their time line to question him. It can pretty much be justified, because Kaldonis didn't personally have to breach Shieltine's Ward, and it was just some unknown dark elves who were doing it in secret; those dark elves are from the future, anyway, so that's the catch-all answer for everything I suppose. But this only seemed to make more questions. Why would dark elves want to send Kaldonis to various stone temples in Lorae'tyr? There was also the long-standing issue of a Paradis halfling summoning demons anyway, since that clan split off after the Undead War explicitly because of their shame in alignment with demonic summoners (although, ironically, Icemule, founded by Paradis, does not have laws against demonic summoning). Anyway, the Book of Tormtor is only assumed to have been destroyed by an implosion. But the legend Kaldonis heard was that the dark elves confiscated it, and eventually hid it in a specific temple in Lorae'tyr, and that's the information they are seeking, which is the real reason for the ban and monitoring of travel to Lorae'tyr. It also nicely ties up the natural question of why no dark elves followed him and tried to re-capture him when he went to Teras Isle. One question, for sure, was answered, which is why I have a Kaldonis in Platinum and have always jokingly referred to the main one as "Kaldonis Prime" as if he was a Transformer; SimuCoin age-resetting potions, make Kaldonis Platinum younger! (Whenever I get around to playing Platinum again, anyway...)

Recently I've been training Kaldonis in lockpicking (kind of always wanted that because of escaping from Teras Asylum), so I had a lot more reason to play Flail the last couple weeks, since he can get boxes for Kaldonis to pick. So now I've definitively placed Flail into a pretty intricate back story of another character (and am actually playing him at all), and I'm trying to decide where to go from there. At least I managed to get them to look kind of like they are related:

>You see Flail Harvest-Moon. >He appears to be a Halfling. >He is tiny and appears to be decrepit with age. He has mismatched haon grey and lavender eyes and sallow skin. He has raggedly cut, unruly white hair and a graphite wool flap cap with demon-cut diamond-buttoned ear flaps worn at a rakish angle. He has large feet.

>You see Kaldonis Harvest-Moon the Witch Doctor. >He appears to be a Halfling. >He is diminutive and appears to be decrepit with age. He has hazy mismatched violet and green eyes and waxy sallow skin. He has ankle-length, knotted silvery white hair with a large bald spot. He has an emaciated face and large feet. >He has a tattooed rendition of a large-pupiled eye on his forehead, a series of numbers boldly inked on the back of his neck, and a tattooed Faendryl pentagram on his wrist.

Got any ideas to add to this jamboree of madness?

~daid (player of Kaldonis)

PS: Flail's real name is Marlenot, and if you know the whereabouts of that pit-flail or red sweater, you should definitely tell me. And for Kaldonis, you can perhaps understand why writing a character history from the first person point of view is a major challenge! The problem is, I've made such a crazy backstory for him that Kaldonis himself winds up being pretty sane to me by now, ugh.