User:DAID/Sandbox

The official GemStone IV encyclopedia.
< User:DAID
Revision as of 00:15, 1 April 2013 by DAID (talk | contribs) (→‎Step 1: Finding traps with Piercing Gaze: acid vial is not set off by 408!! Jerrec's page is wrong/dated)
Jump to navigation Jump to search

Welcome to my playground!

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.

Magically Opening Treasure Boxes

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 perfectly safe. It is also one means to access the contents of a treasure box with a fused lock in which an acid vial trap was set off. When Unlock (407) is employed, this activity is colloquially known as popping boxes.

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 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. Basic point: most of the requirements here are things magical casters will be able to do with little or no additional training. We should fairly contrast with dedicated box opening, which not only provides more information (difficulty of traps/locks), can be more profitable (selling scarabs, decreased value of some items by 125), can open all types of boxes (see Exclusion List), and with at least 30 ranks of Picking Locks, can gain a lot more experience compared to doing it magically (citation on 30 ranks...?).

Exclusion List

Boxes that are enruned, mithril, or with a glyph trap will be impervious to this approach. While the former two will be readily apparent, the latter will require more consideration.

Glyph Traps

This probably warrants explicit discussion. Phase can tell us if a box has a glyph trap. Using DETECT can also work. Piercing Gaze will set off the trap. Hard to know at what place in the guide to list this information, but being relevant to all cases, somewhere near the top is a good idea. It may also result in some repetition with the Phase section....hmmmm

Relevant Spells

The primary spells:

Subsidiary spells:

Some of these help with detecting traps I've heard...not sure (also must consider scope of article...do they help with traps we'd care about magically?!)

Relevant Skills

We presume here explicitly not to use Picking Locks or Disarming Traps (maybe we should include Disarming Traps for detection?)

  • Perception: Helps with Piercing Gaze and DETECTing traps
  • Arcane Symbols: Helps to spotting magical traps (scarabs, glyphs) with DETECT
  • Spiritual Lore, Summoning: Decrease the build up time for Call Lightning and allow the possibility to cast indoors

MnE ranks should be listed?

Vaporizing Boxes with 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. NEED TO TEST THE RESULTS OF THE FOLLOWING: To ensure the safety of other curious by-standers, the caster may wish to place an object on top of the box to hinder anyone attempting to pick it up. The rose illusion is particularly effective for this purpose, as it can be covered to be turned invisible, making it entirely impossible for anyone else to remove.

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.

Justice status? I guess I have to go try in town to see if I get arrested....

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 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.

You channel at a dented iron box.
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.
You grab hold of something and pull it out!
You found some neat thrak hide shoes!
Roundtime: 5 sec.
Cast Roundtime 3 Seconds.
Roundtime: 3 sec.

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.

Popping Boxes

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 1x Perception and reasonable knowledge of the Minor Elemental Circle should be able to open their own boxes from hunting.

(Do we need the propaganda? It makes it a smoother and friendlier read, but may introduce bias and also partially obscure the truly useful factual information we want to present.)

Step 0: Potentially check for glyph traps by 704 or DETECT

Step 1: Finding traps with Piercing Gaze

Although Disarm (408) can find traps, using this spell, a caster has no way of differentiating between failing to find a trap and a box not being trapped. Furthermore, Disarm can set off some traps. For these reasons it is best to begin investigating the box with Piercing Gaze which, when successful, almost always shows any trap (any more information here?), and only sets off glyph traps (are there any others? Not in my experience).

Both Presence and Disarm Enhancement aid the power of Piercing Gaze, and it is recommended for the caster to use these first.

If a trap is found, the caster needs to consider into which category it falls: irrelevant to popping; safe to magically disarm; dangerous.

We want 416 messaging for all traps. Maybe a table with some information about which category? It might be a better way to present the information than the text and stuff below.

Working on a table now...

Trap Piercing Gaze Message 408 407
Scarab 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. Sometimes Always
Poison Needle You notice what appears to be a sharp sliver of metal nestled in a hole next to the lock plate. No No
Jaws You notice a discolored oval ring around the outside of the chest 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. ? ?
Sphere You see a tiny sphere imbedded in the lock mechanism. No Yes
Dark Crystal You can see a small crystal imbedded in the locking mechanism. No Yes
Scales You see a cord stretched between the lid and case. Sometimes Always
Sulfur 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. Always Always
Gas Cloud 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 No
Acid Vial 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. No Yes
Springs Peering through the maoral coffer, you notice that the hinges have some springs incorporated into the design in an unusual fashion. No No
Fire Vial 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 Yes
Spores You see a thin tube extending from the lock mechanism down into the strongbox. The tube appears to be filled with a greenish powder. No Yes
Plate There appears to be a plate over the lock, sealing it and preventing any access to the tumblers. N/A ? No
Glyph N/A N/A N/A
Rods Near the lock mechanism, you notice a pair of small metal rods a hair's width from rubbing together. Sometimes Yes
Boomer The inside chamber is lined with some unidentifiable substance. No Yes

Notes: for acid vial...do we care that it is set off? We need some footnote or another way to denote? In other words, merely setting off a trap may be irrelevant if it is not harmful.


Traps of No Concern

List here. Need further research. Plated at least we don't need to care. Some other sources indicate others.

If a trap is of this type, proceed to step 3.

Traps Safe to Magically Disarm

List here. This is essentially the remainder of traps from the other two lists.

If it is a trap we can safely disarm, proceed to step 2.

Deadly Traps

Two categories regarding 408: always set off, and can be set off. Traps which can be set off require judgement of the caster (eg likely difficulty of trap, consequences of setting off trap, like blue/green scarabs if the caster or someone present knows 113/114)

List here. Can pull from highlights and check against other sources

Obvious options, like getting someone else to do it or blasting it with 125 if that spell is also known. Also good with 125 to check for scrolls.

Step 2: Magically disarming a trap

404 will fall after each cast, so put it back up each time. If a trap is found with 416, the messaging of 408 will be "having found the trap" blah blah instead of the probing message, if cast within something like 1-2 minutes of finding the trap with 416 (quantify...and if wee keep casting 408, does it refresh this duration or not?). Success messaging with deep crimson pulsing.

Step 3: Magically opening the box

403 will fall after each cast, so put it back up each time. Rapid Fire is especially good here. Once it flies open, get your loot!

Additional Information

Retrieved from "https://gswiki.play.net/index.php?title=User:DAID/Sandbox&oldid=46897"