Nex

i know we should pm wodin in-game, but since its hard to find him on (mostly due to my online times i guess), i'll apply here for the fun if thats ok. MRV mp4

not when staying under the cap of course there are ways to max out nearly everything at mp3 (i've done so myself ), but those ways require pushing over the cap. or am i forgetting something painfully obvious?

ok, i'll lift the mystery.... [spoiler]for those who should know: one word - christmas. for new players: christmas was celebrated big-time in MD. there was a decorated tree at GoE, big party, presents and all the nice stuff. those presents contained a random creature (getting a leveled joker was one possibility) and a somewhat random amount of exp for each creature you had at that time. thanks to that you could actually have [b]more[/b] creature exp than player exp. [/spoiler]

hehe, very nice burns. as i'm a friend of unusual tactics, i'd say it would be hella fun to use the priest offensively to eat through enemy defenses. pretty much the exact opposite of what it's meant to do of course thats in no way more effective than a claw II all-hitter with high enough *principle*, but its fun to pull off [edit: just found it, you already pointed it out: [url="http://magicduel.invisionzone.com//index.php?showtopic=3873&pid=31832&st=0&#entry31832"]http://magicduel.invisionzone.com//index.p...amp;#entry31832[/url] i see we are thinking along the same lines ]

just a minor grammatical thing, more of a pun, but i guess its better to point it out before people start splitting hairs in the "she said in her post that she wants to keep it all herself"- kind of way [quote name='Kriskah Arcanu']I do [b]not[/b] wish to keep [b]none[/b] of them. I [b]dont not[/b] enjoy having a bag of coins[/quote] double negative. [i]not[/i] wish to keep [i]none[/i] means you [b]do[/b] wish to keep some, or all. same with do not not enjoy having a bag of coins

there is no absolute safety, but at least there are some things you can do to make it less likely/easy to crack or clutter you up: run noscript check hackthissite.org to get a few general pointers about security

hmm, i wonder.... since when were the mightiest of warriors categorically labeled "stat grinders". i think, aside from the obvious flaws in the honor system, we have a problem with the mentality of some "roleplayers". you know, pejorating a veteran warrior by calling him/her stat grinder is an example for bad ooc gibberish. i support trying to integrate rp and battle again, and there are a lot of ideas out there that sound promissing. as for sword/sheath balance: reduce or remove honor exp, reduce potential honor loss by the % bonus for balance (meaning that those who maintain perfect balance [i]never lose honor[/i]). see how it works out.

it always worked like that, save the period where attack notification didnt work at all. once you come back after your idle loss-farming, you will get this for some minutes. just ignore it. you can still see the last 14 real fights in your battle log.

ok, lets analyze it scientificly: the disease manifests itself in a single symptom, the overabundant use of lol. lol - laughing out loud. the act of laughing is usually provocted by an amusing statement/event or is meant as a general declaration of joy. to heal this symptom, all we have to do is banish every source of amusement and joy from mister bunnys life. when there is no more reason to laugh, the lol'ing will stop by itself and the patient is "cured". side effects of longer treatment could include: [s]anger, avolition, apathy, depression, general grumpiness, political career, entropy of facial musculature, decreased fluffiness, pustules and/or deveising plans of world domination[/s] there are no known negative side effects

with the advent of tokens, ini became the single most important stat and the formula for becoming an unstoppable godslayer was reduced to 3 steps: 1. get *spoiler* and *spoiler* token for your creature(s) 2. pump up your ini stat and *spoiler* to immeasurable highs 3. slay everything with a single hit

since this is for new [i]players[/i] and not for new [i]chars[/i], i think adverticing at marble dale and the typical mp3 locations might be a good idea. chewett is right, few new players are checking the forums right away. i'd be willing to throw in my mp3 just for the heck of it, but thats kinda against the spirit of your contest.... maybe as additional challenge for the winner?

noam chomsky. media. -> manufacturing consent (i'm aware that one could critisize this work for being influenced by political attitude to a degree which is considered undue for a scientist. even so, its well worth to read)

steppenwolf, perfume and dune would have had a place on my list too ok, since there are so many great ones i'll just pick a few jewels from multiple genres: hitchhikers guide to galaxy - d. adams small gods; good omens - t. pratchett the unbearable lightness of being - m. kundera the old man and the sea - e. hemmingway faust I - j.w. goethe to complete the hesse must-read: siddhartha and narziß und goldmund (and if you like his style peter camenzind) the lies of locke lamora - s. lynch (nothing world changing, just very well-written rogue themed fantasy) [edit: @ burns: whats your opinion on the magical theater, the last part of der steppenwolf? many friends who read it loved the traktat des steppenwolf, but disliked the magical theater. i loved them both] [edit 2: @ tarquinus: good omens is actually a co-work of gaiman and pratchett. if you like gaiman and could become friends with pratchetts style you might very well enjoy this one.]

blue would get lost between the * * blue text

Morrel and Eden [edit: not one of the ancients, but one of the early, exceptional roleplayers: Penelope LightMoon]

[quote name='King Manu' post='30219' date='May 4 2009, 06:05 PM']I initialy had the foolish ideea that if i give all of you lots of tools to play with and build your role you will use then creatively and for improving , changing, adapting a role. However, some of you, i wont say just dst and the celebrity grinders, showed me that this is impossible. A lot of you will abuse thse tools without even realising its an abuse, and maybe its not an abuse. [....] Character classes ? u must be joking ... so what i said so... yes its a very very cool idea, and could turn md into a much more fun place allowing peope to actualy do their role.... [....] NO no more fun stuff[/quote] [quote name='Burns' post='30226' date='May 4 2009, 07:16 PM']well, Mur's got a point, dynamic classes would lead to gods in the long run, but we knew that from the start...[/quote] i beg to differ. if the implementation of classes would inevitably lead to god-chars then it would be by failure of design. as i originally understood it, classes should be mainly a [b]flavour[/b] mechanic, making rp and battles more [b]interesting[/b]. so why should having a dynamic system make some chars overpowered in the long run? i think it could actually achieve the opposite, with each new, advanced class providing a new challenge/ limitation for those uber-powerful characters. guybrush and burns have already made some good suggestions how to balance the strenghts of dynamic class-system. so here is my addition: who said having played multiple classes should make you more powerful? it should make for a more interesting experience! new strenghts and abilities can and should be balanced with new limitations and weaknesses. those who want to play a jack/jill-of-all-trades will not only gain a bit of each classes benefits, but maybe some of their weaknesses as well. it would not be about raw power but versatility. i have to say that dumping a new and great idea that would enrich the game and potentially make it more interesting to roleplayers [u]and[/u] fighters alike just because it could be abused, is a big waste. yes, it may be impossible to prevent that some sly spade would find ways to bend the system so they gain an unfair advantage. things could always be tweaked later if that happens. but should the mere [i]danger[/i] of that happening prevent such a great idea from being realised? i'd say NO. [edit: corrected some stupid typos]

@ zlei: have you tried a rit of creatures with various tokens but without the [kellethafire] or other VE influencing tokens? just to be sure if those are the only tokens that are causing problems or if others do as well.

seperating loyalty to protector and loyalty to alliance could be an idea. also, i think the relation between worshipper and protector could be more emphasized, it looks a little like a generic requirement instead of an important personal choice. anybody some good ideas how to improve/deepen the worshie-protector bond? (maybe in an own topic, as not to derail this thread)

@ guybrush and burns: i must say i really like the idea that took shape in your last posts! a requirement of a certain experience (progress/age) in some basic classes to access a "prestige"class could be interesting for veterans and those who try to perfect themselfs in as many arts as possible. also, a nice addition could be a class/carrier page for your profile in which you can express your choices from a rp point of view. example: an experienced priest and healer who is no longer satisfied by merely tending the wounds of the injured hears about a famous paladin and wants to learn how to wield a blade in order to protect those who cant protect themself. why should he just try to heal the wounded when he could shield them from harm in the first place. he undertakes a quest to meet this paladin and become his student. a novice with the blade, but still a quite capable healer who focusses on a newfound purpose (thus still able to cast the abilities he learned, but not improving in them as long as he focusses on other aspects). the new 'warrior' abilities he gains would be of protective instead of offensive natrure. the story of his change of classes could be integrated into rp and his class page tells of his motivations and the path he walked until now. ...... the famous paladin could have had a wild and bloody past, but redeemed himself from it by dedicating his powers to serve the poeple and is now an inspiring example. students could either join a faction as fenrir suggested or try to become a student of a famous master of a certain proffession. (this could further involve some battle-oriented veterans into rp, in a way they could actually take some pleasure in) it would also encourage the forming of legends based on actual game events and rp. @ fenrir: thats why we(/i) proposed that the class system doesnt start at mp3 but rather step by step with some basic classes at mp4 and maybe some advanced classes for mp5 (or with requirements of age/ class experience/etc that would make sure that those who chose them know their way around).

hmm, actually i think the collector type iab represents could be nicely implemented into a quest. he wants a huge collection, so if you know that one of the items you need is in the possession of a collector, why not making it like: there is this hermit/ rich merchant/ slightly excentric and easily bored guy who has the thing you need. one part of your quest will be to find a rare or shiny knick-knack to distract him from boredom, for which he would give you one of his old items. i agree though, that hoarding items and not being willing to trade them is a big no.

[quote name='Watcher']rampant ignorance[/quote] for one to critizise it, i'm afraid your post gave a good example for this very attitude. i must say, and i apprechiate the irony, that although she said that she doesnt care about the idea guybrush has, all she did until your premature attack was giving constructive critisism. guybrush told his idea, dst and burns pointed out a few flaws concerning things they know a lot about - stats and game-mechanics. they did not attack the idea itself. bringing suggestions in correspondence to how things actually work (even if the as-is is something you'd want to get changed, someone has to bring to mind how things currently work) is an honest try to help him improve the idea, not a blatant rejection. by the way, you do realize that a lot of what you pointed out in your post (3rd paragraph) is pretty much what they proposed? i assume your critisism just sounded a lot more offensive and self-pleased than it was meant, so let's go on with the original idea of the topic i like the ideal of the polymath, so i think it should be a [i]choice[/i] if you want to strongly specialize and dedicate yourself to a certain role/class or if you are a restless wanderer, a seeker learning from many masters but never fully satisfied by what you know and what you are. as for on what stats (or behaviour) the classes should be based, i'd say oversimplifying at the start makes things only more work-intensive when you want to add more-/ more complex classes later. in the best case you could base some classes on multiple stats (briskness and power for mages), maybe some on principles and stats (a healer benefitting from having the syntropy principle sounds reasonable) and others nearly completely on quests and rp (merchants/thiefs). simply said: having something for everybody. [i]when to introduce classes:[/i] the game introduces its elements step by step with each new mp level. i agree that letting new players learn about the general battle system and develope an own role at mp3 and introducing the class system as a means of specialization at mp4 once they got a hang of basic mechanics and a better grasp on which role they really want to play in this realm sounds like a good idea.

loyalty is not necessarily loyalty to your leader, but dedication to your alliance. [*] being able to overthrow a leader based on how much s/he trusts you.... thats generally refered to as treachery i think there should be another system in place for those military alliances that value strengh in a leader rather than the individual person that happens to be leader. [*] the problem with this is that most loyalty is gained via sacrificing heat to your protector, not via winning battles for your alliance. your suggestion does make sense for those alliances that are based on a certain personality. MRD for example is not just founder and leader of the MRs, he embodies the MRfrat. same is/was true for savel and the savelites, etc. i guess thats one reason why mur implemented a system where a leader can reclaim the alliance even if overtaken loyalty-wise. my suggestion would be a 3 fold system: 1. guybrushs suggestion (leader able to delegate power) for alliances based on certain individuals (with an option to overthrow the leader if the vast majority of the ally doesnt support him/her anymore. it should be very difficult though) 2. general influence based on military power, counting only loyalty that was gained when fighting for the alliance. leader can be challenged to a battle by those with enough loyalty and is overtaken if s/he loses the fight. the strongest wolf leads the pack. 3. social influence. ally lead by a counsil, counsil members elected by majority of the ally. strongly rp based, less (if any) 'loyalty'- stat influence on the ally structur. [edit: @ watcher: i agree on large parts of what you said, thats what suggestion 3 could look like for example. BUT: those who happen to enjoy the battle system have been constantly bashed on for a quite some time now. i strongly agree with whoever it was that said that stats and the fightsystem should be stronger integrated into rp, instead of seperating rp and battle. those who want to play a mighty warrior should have the stats to back it up, master-tacticans should be able to compete in battle by knowing how to properly set rituals, etc. mages, necromancers and the like should emphazise their choice by selecting fitting principles, and should actually base their 'power' on those principles and principle values, and not on wishfull thinking and the munchkins' guide to godmoding i tried to show that there is/can be a place for those who like fighting most (suggestion 2) and for those who'd rather rp (1 and 3). leaving one of those groups behind is neither necessary nor desirable. those who hate integrated battle systems might want to think about playing a MUSH instead.]

it seems, like burns suggested, that all tokens that increase VE are causing problems. this would be: [jewelshards], [kellethafire] and [sunshine] depending on principle combination. any more tokens that can effect VE? has anyone experienced problems [b]without[/b] a VE effecting token?

yeah, like grido said "basic claw token" can randomly give either claw I or claw II, which can both be distributed to the same creature. i know that there is a claw III token, having the effects of both claw I and II, but i guess its one of the unlockables and not a "basic claw token". [quote name='Gauge']Alright Grido, if thats the case, then what happens if you try to buy an item (ie claw1) that is already on all your creatures? Will you in essence lose that token, or will it just not let you use it? And if it just doesn't let you use it, then will it only activate once you "draw" a claw 2 token?[/quote] interesting question, but most likely one that only mur + dev team or somone with a lot of shop resets can answer. a thing that would also be interesting to know is if the effect of claw III would stack with I and/or II.

nice idea, seconded.