Ledah

In a shady corner of The Drunken Corpse, two figures sat.
Neither face could be clearly seen beneath their cloaks, yet it was immediately obvious that you would struggle to find a more mismatched pair.
The first chair was well loved. Some might have called it creaky, old, and long overdue for replacement, but its occupant remembered the times sat in that chair with fondness. Memories of time spent with long-lost friends returned, being served by Xcerceses, drinking a little too much of the famous “Phantasm Dark Rum”.
Where the chair slouched tiredly within its wooden frame, the person sitting within it was perfectly straight. While there were fond memories there was also an unmistakable air of irritation that such an undignified piece of furniture was somehow interfering with an otherwise precise appearance.
The second chair, however, was much worse. Old, worn, and apparently designed without any consideration for the shape of a human spine, it inspired no fond memories in its occupant. The second cloaked figure had somehow contorted themselves to fit it, their back forming undulations rarely observed in nature. Anyone watching might reasonably have assumed some terrible deformity. The figure, however, seemed entirely unbothered.
The pair had corresponded in secret, messages passed back and forth through third parties who knew nothing of what they carried. They had met before, certainly, but never like this.
The reason for the meeting was precisely why secrecy mattered.
The first man represented a small group of artisans who had been attempting to create a magical means of trapping someone. Their requirements had seemed simple enough.
Something small. Something discreet. Something capable of holding a particularly troublesome depleter in place long enough for CARD to do something useful about them.
The problem was that every attempt so far had failed. Sticky candy had been magically bonded to spellstones, boxes, pieces of metal, and several objects which everyone had quietly agreed never to discuss again. The results had been disappointing. At best, the intended victim had been left none the wiser. At worst they had become slightly sticky. It was hardly the devastating magical deterrent CARD had hoped for.
Eventually it had been decided that outside expertise was required.
And so Chewett found himself sitting opposite Eggdar.
Chewett explained the problem as carefully as he could. Given the basic idea of what CARD wanted, could Eggdar produce something capable of trapping even a determined depleter?
Eggdar stared back at him. Silence stretched across the table. However just as Chewett went to speak again, fearing Eggdar had not understood, the strange figure finally answered, “Maybe”.
What followed was less a negotiation and more an interrogation from Eggdar.
How strong must the trap be? How long should it hold someone? Could it be escaped? Could it be reused? Could the person trapped inside destroy it? Could it distinguish between the intended target and some unfortunate passer-by?
Chewett had answers to some of these questions. Ideally, this new weapon would target only depleters but he wasn’t sure if Eggdar would be able to accomplish this.
After a similarly long pause, Eggdar leaned forward and spoke quietly “Can make”.
This relaxed Chewett slightly, though the price would prove steep.
Gold and silver held little value to Eggdar. With depletion continuing across the Realm, aromatic herbs had become increasingly difficult to obtain and Eggdar demanded some of these. Why Eggdar wanted them was never explained, but Chewett passed him the last of the herbs CARD had collected before the depletion had become severe.
Some time later, the finished traps were delivered. They were compact, unusual, and radiated just enough magical energy to suggest touching one without knowing what it did would be an extremely poor decision.
CARD finally had what it needed. Or so Chewett believed.
He would later learn an important lesson about clandestine meetings. A quiet pub was not necessarily a private pub. In fact, the quieter the room, the easier it was to hear every word spoken within it.
Rumours spread.
Others began approaching Eggdar, asking for traps of their own. Some wanted to protect their lands. Others wanted leverage over their enemies. A few, Chewett suspected, simply liked the idea of owning something dangerous.
Eggdar obliged. For a price.
Before long, the strange craftsman who had armed CARD was happily supplying those who might one day find themselves standing against it.
Chewett was considerably less pleased when he discovered this.
Eggdar, predictably, did not appear concerned. A war was good for business. A war where you supplied every side was considerably better.
That day Eggdar had once again earned his reputation as a loyal servant of the Demon of the Tribunal.
Creating chaos. Encouraging conflict.
And ensuring that, whatever happened next, someone, somewhere would owe him.

It would appear that a 100$ single buy (not the monthly) gives more gold than the 100$ monthly sub. If i remember correctly the monthly sub was supposed to give more gold than the single buys am I wrong on this?
@Chewett @Muratus del Mur
Unless this is intentional due to the monthly sub giving a magic fire?

Hi Mur,
I didn't reply as this seemed to be between you both - but I will, now that I see otherwise.
As a TLDR - this is based on a lie. In addition, the only reason DR posted this was to try and screw me over, plus he loves attention - another reason I didn't reply.
Now, for the dissection...
I don't like DR. I'll be honest about that. It is why my threshold for spending a gold coin on murdering him is so low. What made me do it however was some inane comment in the chat I logged in to about me owing him something. I considered it a violation of the Non-Aggression Pact, and I took it personally. So the bit in bold is obviously not true.
Interesting bit here - I don't seem to recall being asked about the block being removed, but who cares about that But also interesting is how much someone can contradict themselves in so few words. You don't see where you have acted as you previously had, but then after admit that at worst you have - just a bit of friendly banter. But then, you've had zero interactions with me and give me my space - bit of a roller coaster to read, which is it?
I am curious why a mechanic of the game is no longer needed? There are resources that can only be obtained while dead, and scenes that can realistically only be visited whilst dead. Likewise, alliances, peoples in game roles, and indeed an entire land are based in no small part on this mechanic. I am considering whether there is a point in the Caretakers alliance existing now.
Again though, you give away what this is about - you just want to be able to annoy me without consequence, why else would you mention lock in chaos?
I would suggest a rather large balance to killing tools would be - shockingly, revive tools. The fact you were able to revive so quickly also should go some way to showing they are balanced - or perhaps they are too weak, considering how consequential killing apparently is.
In reply to yourself Mur, frankly the killing tools really have no consequence apart from nice global scary text. Especially since your changes when I killed BSR - sorry, Aamon - you can revive quicker than you get killed. To call them powerful tools just isn't true, teleportation spells are more powerful.
I've passed you the A25 tools, as I don't want people to think I abuse powerful items at my disposal, plus I wasn't using them in truth. Life has taken some big turns for me and even the time to make this post was a struggle to find. I would be interested to see DR use them - they seem very keen on being a part of the community and giving back selflessly - a real paragon of virtue.
There are many ways I could still mess with or otherwise interfere with DR if I wanted to, so he has been a bit of a silly sausage with this. Luckily I am not (too) vindictive!

I have chosen the option in deck 30 to reduce my point total.
The description implies all branches over 50% get reduced by 50%, but only 3 did.
It is not explicit about reducing all of them over 50%, nor about there only being a set amount of branches it will reset - I would have changed my point gathering strategy had I known how it actually worked.
It does take a few minutes as well for the reduced branches to show up as receiving additional points when you do whatever they count, when you check your progress, but they do count in that timeframe, so purely visual.

Also, the ability to cast spells mid-fight, within the chat there, that only apply to that fight - might allow some more OP spells ;) A real Magic Duel!

The ability to craft cards, for each creature - sacrifice a creature at max level to get the ability to do so, plus some other card related resources.
Likewise, certain items enhance existing or give different abilities, perhaps ones it cannot normally obtain - aromatic tea gives Regenerate, death spore Steal Life etc.
The ability for the Forge to also create creature cards - I think most species have a card available in the MD Shop, not sure though.

The issue with using % as a cost for doing something, is you disincentive any extra effort to get the thing you use, in this case stats, so I'd prefer a fixed amount.

The ability for the shmsh to finally spawn Darklings would be nice - it has been 13 years after all ;)
Perhaps the shmsh consuming Wiiya to create the Darkling fenth, which then needs to be animated with Liquid Dust - that would help close that resource loop and incentivise people to do the SA quest.

All I can say, is that as someone (like Chew) who needs to do 4 branches, a limited subsection of the total branches at that, daily, it is not as easy as some of you seem to imply. I notice some of the people saying it is, don't need to do it yet.
Whilst I do have a routine that means I can do it somewhat easily, I have also grinded the evo shop a lot, and at some point, from what I see now, I will potentially run out of options, or at least will need to spend a long time to get the 4.
It is what it is, but this felt like a quick spur of the moment change that wasn't thought through too much.
Someone said to me recently to think whether my actions had caused more harm than good, something to think about here, as most games allow you to just login for something with no effort and it is a hook to get people in.
What happens if that goes, well we may find out.
Ultimately, this is a game, if it is no longer enjoyable, or any incentive to keep coming back goes, you just stop playing it, it is not the end of the world - but having logged in and been active as much as I have - more than most of the people arguing for this change I would note - I feel it was not a good one overall.

All I can say, is that as someone (like Chew) who needs to do 4 branches, a limited subsection of the total branches at that, daily, it is not as easy as some of you seem to imply. I notice some of the people saying it is, don't need to do it yet.
Whilst I do have a routine that means I can do it somewhat easily, I have also grinded the evo shop a lot, and at some point, from what I see now, I will potentially run out of options, or at least will need to spend a long time to get the 4.
It is what it is, but this felt like a quick spur of the moment change that wasn't thought through too much.
Someone said to me recently to think whether my actions had caused more harm than good, something to think about here, as most games allow you to just login for something with no effort and it is a hook to get people in.
What happens if that goes, well we may find out.
Ultimately, this is a game, if it is no longer enjoyable, or any incentive to keep coming back goes, you just stop playing it, it is not the end of the world - but having logged in and been active as much as I have - more than most of the people arguing for this change I would note - I feel it was not a good one overall.

All I can say, is that as someone (like Chew) who needs to do 4 branches, a limited subsection of the total branches at that, daily, it is not as easy as some of you seem to imply. I notice some of the people saying it is, don't need to do it yet.
Whilst I do have a routine that means I can do it somewhat easily, I have also grinded the evo shop a lot, and at some point, from what I see now, I will potentially run out of options, or at least will need to spend a long time to get the 4.
It is what it is, but this felt like a quick spur of the moment change that wasn't thought through too much.
Someone said to me recently to think whether my actions had caused more harm than good, something to think about here, as most games allow you to just login for something with no effort and it is a hook to get people in.
What happens if that goes, well we may find out.
Ultimately, this is a game, if it is no longer enjoyable, or any incentive to keep coming back goes, you just stop playing it, it is not the end of the world - but having logged in and been active as much as I have - more than most of the people arguing for this change I would note - I feel it was not a good one overall.

All I can say, is that as someone (like Chew) who needs to do 4 branches, a limited subsection of the total branches at that, daily, it is not as easy as some of you seem to imply. I notice some of the people saying it is, don't need to do it yet.
Whilst I do have a routine that means I can do it somewhat easily, I have also grinded the evo shop a lot, and at some point, from what I see now, I will potentially run out of options, or at least will need to spend a long time to get the 4.
It is what it is, but this felt like a quick spur of the moment change that wasn't thought through too much.
Someone said to me recently to think whether my actions had caused more harm than good, something to think about here, as most games allow you to just login for something with no effort and it is a hook to get people in.
What happens if that goes, well we may find out.
Ultimately, this is a game, if it is no longer enjoyable, or any incentive to keep coming back goes, you just stop playing it, it is not the end of the world - but having logged in and been active as much as I have - more than most of the people arguing for this change I would note - I feel it was not a good one overall.

All I can say, is that as someone (like Chew) who needs to do 4 branches, a limited subsection of the total branches at that, daily, it is not as easy as some of you seem to imply. I notice some of the people saying it is, don't need to do it yet.
Whilst I do have a routine that means I can do it somewhat easily, I have also grinded the evo shop a lot, and at some point, from what I see now, I will potentially run out of options, or at least will need to spend a long time to get the 4.
It is what it is, but this felt like a quick spur of the moment change that wasn't thought through too much.
Someone said to me recently to think whether my actions had caused more harm than good, something to think about here, as most games allow you to just login for something with no effort and it is a hook to get people in.
What happens if that goes, well we may find out.
Ultimately, this is a game, if it is no longer enjoyable, or any incentive to keep coming back goes, you just stop playing it, it is not the end of the world - but having logged in and been active as much as I have - more than most of the people arguing for this change I would note - I feel it was not a good one overall.

Adding this as a PS, as it is the 2nd or 3rd time I am mentioning it and don't want people to think I am intentionally exploiting things.
Infusion is still incredibly easy to max, even easier now with recent changes - I assume this is intentional unless it is not?

I have chosen the option in deck 30 to reduce my point total.
The description implies all branches over 50% get reduced by 50%, but only 3 did.
It is not explicit about reducing all of them over 50%, nor about there only being a set amount of branches it will reset - I would have changed my point gathering strategy had I known how it actually worked.
It does take a few minutes as well for the reduced branches to show up as receiving additional points when you do whatever they count, when you check your progress, but they do count in that timeframe, so purely visual.

That is right everybody. It's time - for a tourrrrrnament!
To celebrate the new combat system (particularly as it may not last the month) lets celebrate it with a good old fashioned tournament.
Settle rivalries, set to random, and best of all forget to heal your crits - we'll have it all.
Current rules are:
Any creatures allowed
Spells and other effects on your character forbidden
0% influence
If possible, tokens and shards will be disabled. If not, they won't!
Best of 5 - the player with the coolest name (as decided by me in the random matchups) goes first
Bribery and match fixing are not forbidden, but will also they will be... penalised.
Rewards? Is participating in a tournament, an actual potential quest made by me, Ledah, not enough?
We will have to see, maybe Wishpoints, but if we get enough players I may put up use of a kill item, a creature spawned by my Primordial (especially the super cute skull kid) when the time is right. Gold, rare crits, the use of my terrible skills in forging an item - that is all to be decided!
So what are you waiting for?
Express interest TODAY and who knows, maybe this will happen.

I like the new system more than the old one, but I am not sure it is generally speaking, as practical for raising creatures.
I'd like to see the old system stay as-is (or perhaps, only giving wins but no stat rewards?).
I'd like to see the new system give greater rewards, as it does take longer and is much more PvP.
I can see the new system being used for tournaments, like we used to have, for roleplay as well.
I sort of see the old system fights as a passing comment, whereas the new one is trying to win a debate - it takes longer, more effort, and so should be the more rewarding of the two.
TLDR: Keep both ;)

Jakubhi decided that enough was enough. By carefully observing the pattern of depletion, he had concluded that Ledah was using night mode to move unseen through the lands. The trail of devastation led him to the Archives for what would become their first showdown.
Standing outside the Archives building, Jakubhi called out across the deserted grassland “Show yourself, dark demon, you creature of night!”.
Seemingly from everywhere around him, a voice confidently declared “I am not here”. Acting quickly on Ledah’s mistake, Jakubhi cast movelock, pinning Ledah in place. While he could not see him, he was now certain Ledah was close by.
Ledah laughed at the attempt and continued his taunting, warning Jakubhi that he could dispel the movelock whenever he wanted. It would be folly to challenge Ledah to a straight fight, he was known both as a strong warrior and a trickster. Instead, Jakubhi had another plan.
Jakubhi stood confidently looking towards the place he believed Ledah to be and offered a simple game of dice. Best of three, the highest total would take each round. Ledah agreed not to gather water for an entire day if Jakubhi won, however demanded pure gold should he prevail. Grimacing, Jakubhi accepted, knowing that stopping the depletion mattered more than his gold.
The first round went to Ledah, who threw a far superior 6,5 over Jakubhi’s 6,3. Unfortunately, while Ledah’s faults were many, an inability to add two numbers together was not among them.
Fate changed in the second round, with Jakubhi throwing 5,4 and Ledah rolling 4,1. While Ledah cried foul and claimed trickery, both knew the dice were fair.
Tied at one round each, Jakubhi knew he had to trust in the heart of the dice. While Ledah mocked him for being a librarian he confidently threw the dice. Both came up sixes. Ledah again protested that the dice were enchanted, but threw them anyway, finally rolling 5,2.
Jakubhi took the moment to gloat, proclaiming that the Green CARD had claimed it’s victory and promising that he would meet Ledah again for another battle. However, ever the trickster, Ledah left Jakubhi something to remember him by, an enfeebling curse, before sulking off in defeat.

fixes eggy will announce shortly:
- max 16 auctions per month regardless of their outcome, canceled, concluded, etc
- you can widthdraw if reserve is not met, but not once sale is guaranteed
- you can extend an auction only once

First things first - I have previously abused the auction for evo points, as announced.
Now that is out of the way, it has been mentioned before but the auction is open to abuse in a few ways. Those being:
"Fake" listings to obtain evo points, from both listing, bidding, and selling - bidding has already been fixed with a previous change
Maliciously setting up listings and extending deadlines to lock up other players resources
For point 1, I have attached some recent examples - see how the player repeatedly does the same auction with a short timeframe, so they can re-list it. See how they have also cunningly then put a different creature up after doing the same thing a couple of times - very subtle.

This same player then, presumably, has put up another auction, with of course a secret reserve price. They then allow the one that was not bid on by me to lapse, the Worry of Wanderes, but have repeatedly extended the ones I have - why, for what cause? I wonder.

I propose solutions to all of the above:
Cap the amount of listings someone can do to 10 per week - that seems generous
Remove the ability to set a reserve price - you can already set a starting price, that can be used as a reserve essentially, it is also, more importantly, public information
Either remove the ability to extend an auction (which is an unnecessary feature in my opinion - if it is so important to sell, re-list it) OR if an auction is extended and the reserve not met, allow the bidders to withdraw funds, including the one in the lead
For point 3, I am more in favour of removing extensions entirely, as otherwise even if the reserve is met you could still extend the deadline to lock up funds.
I'm interested to hear from people, particularly @Fang Archbane

Genius. Let me go ahead and bother one of our only two coders every time I want a single blank space or an / removed or edited. Surely, that won't grow old quickly. Do I have to continue or do you see why your last statement there was a bit silly?
I appreciate the offer and it means the world. Truly, it does. I can not accept it however, as what I am after is the ability to make all of my tools follow a simple "Fang's x" not "Fang Archbane's x" on some, and just "Fang's x" on others, etc. It is absolutely maddening. I will not be wasting your time or Chewetts asking for typo fixes. I'll just learn to live with the illogical aggression and rage I feel every time I see an uneditable error.
I'm sorry for wasting your time, yet again.

Enabling email notifications for in-game PMs again - SMS is nice, but very few people tick the box.
Letting me mark crits as to not be saccable - although maybe the accidental sac is a feature.

@Ledah and I were discussing this but it's my view (and possibly his) that the heat fed to Primordials are affecting them too much. It's causing most of them to end up with fire/stream and probably biasing the process too much.
Even creatures which haven't had anything "heat" related (as far as I have spoken to people) are getting fire shown on their primordials.
It's possible that future primodials heat should be removed, optional, or made to affect the system less?
Thoughts @Muratus del Mur ?

Enabling email notifications for in-game PMs again - SMS is nice, but very few people tick the box.
Letting me mark crits as to not be saccable - although maybe the accidental sac is a feature.

Ledah had walked the lands for many years, straying into some of the darkest places and returning changed. One of the things he learnt was to channel the darker magics of the world, today he would put that to a use, however whether good or bad it would be up to the reader.
Unknown by Chewett the Gazebo of Chaos was the perfect place for Ledah to channel these darker powers. A punishment became a mistake.
Ledah stood in the centre, pinned by Chewett’s spell, and begun chanting. Here, stretching out to the five pillars of the Gazebo, he pulled together the ancient teleportation magic and perverted it. Instead of sending his body to another place it was used to resurrect his thoughts in another body.
A long dead figure stirred on the Gateway Island, filled with vitriolic hate towards CARD. All it knew is that it must deplete as much as it good. Fumbling around the land it grabbed the nearest tools and begun to deplete the land.
The punishment of Ledah became a greater threat, the depletion of the Gateway.