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Topics - Draklar

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1
Single Author Stories / Time of Legends
« on: May 05, 2007, 11:02:49 am »
Time of Legends




Prologue

    How would you like to live in a world deprived of all the quarrels? A world without struggles or strifes. A world where landlords don't fight over their territories, swayers don't attempt to enforce their rule upon the unwary citizens and no intelligent race discriminates another. A world where everyone are equal, and in fact, the same... It is a world deprived of all the individuality. A world where different opinions do not exist. A world where anger, hate, greed, pride, courage, compassion and love are all replaced by a cold blank stare. It is a world where you're just another number on the seemingly endless axis of an indifferent society.
   This utopia, as it would seem, quickly encounters our disaproval. Peace and balance that cherish our bodies become overcasted by the need of peculiarity and constant change that feed our blazing souls. Convenience of welfare wanes under weight of daily repetition, whilst ambivalent escapades thrive among our growing aspirations. With time this throbbing whim grows to peace-shattering proportions, bursting forth with spasms of wild world-warping intentions that drive you to the point when you no longer seek to live a peaceful life, instead striving to bend the ill-fated reality and write your name on the blood-spattered pages of timeless history.
   It is then when you open your eyes to a brand new world. A world where hues of emotions twitch and twirl, overlapping as the fate sees fit. There, winds of what is now, what had waned in the past and what is yet to come blow into your eyes, bestowing you with visions of splendour and change that still lurk in the shadows of ignorance, waiting for your arms to be brought forth in an attempt to grasp and sway their much valuable strength.
   You bend on your long-cultivated beliefs, while slight and tempting whisper of history calls out your name. It lures you with awe-inspiring dreams of immortality and fame, thus far achieved by so very few, yet desired by so many. You contrive your further moves, at each step turning the pages of the ancient book. You are awaiting to encounter your fabled name there, in past covered by shadows of unknown, but now... Now enveloped in much glory and pride. In your lust for fame your vision fades. No longer do you see anything beyond the dusty pages, which not only bear the tales of brave and noble men, but also deeds anguished by corruption and greed.
   As your distressed focus turns into blur, seemingly familiar, yet distant voices approach your soul. Visions of past pierce your heart with guilt and sorrow once you realise what grand values and life you have left behind. You attempt to ignore them, anihilate all the remains of past that still dwell in your memory, yet to no result. With no will to stop, they pursue in the mission they have undertaken. While you fight them off, pray to leave your mind, there come days when anguished by weakness and doubt, you fall down to your knees, giving in to their dreadful reign.
   Yet again a new world is revealed to your eyes. So odd however, for much similar to one where you once thrived, fought... loved. It is a world of felicity and beauty, a world of apparent peace. A world you once claimed to be your cherished home. And what is it now? An old demon brought back to haunt and torment your soul? A set of demised occurrences, now only existing as memories, so fragile and dim? It is no longer what it once were. No, not your home, but ruins where blooming flowers remind you of what once was there.
   But still you smile. Sitting among the flowers, you watch as the wind lifts their seed into sky. Your hope then turns anew, while your pride raises up high. May this seed speak of the past-came deeds. May this wind spread the grand and ancient tales. You close your eyes and no longer any world envelops your mind. All that remains is the wind, to breeze so akin, now rustling tales of old; Tales exalting the much fabled legends' time.

2
The Hydlaa Plaza / 4000th post and a surprise!
« on: January 03, 2006, 07:40:06 pm »
As you can see I scored the 4000th post around these forums. Now it wouldn\'t be anything special, and I wouldn\'t post about it, but I have a surprise!
I actually planned to do it without telling anyone, but then I\'ve noticed Seperot\'s post saying that no one who makes a thread about leaving, really does it... And since I never made one (unlike some people believe), I do it now. Just because I feel like proving some people wrong.
That\'s right, the surprise is I\'m leaving Planeshift. I wanted to do it for a while now, seeing as I\'ve been helluva annoyed by what is going on on the forums, but... I decided to wait until the 4000th post and see how it turns out.
Result should be obvious now :P
The case is simple: I don\'t like it, it\'s not going to change, so I\'m leaving.

I don\'t fully understand the reason why I reappeared in here the last time... I was happy away from here, but in one moment I received that strange feeling, which reminded me of this place and pushed me to pick in. That led to some serious happenings, and in the end I am glad that it happened, but that\'s behind now.

I hope that if it\'s going to happen again, such feeling will push me to a completely different place than this one.

I suppose that\'s all. Like I said, this thread wouldn\'t be here if I didn\'t want to prove Sep wrong... And I\'m pretty stubborn in stuff like that, so:

Farewell to almost all of you people.

3
The Hydlaa Plaza / Happy Birthday Karyuu and Veromen!
« on: November 20, 2005, 03:04:47 am »
Yup, here\'s another of those threads. However, this time we don\'t celebrate birthday of one, but two great members of this community! Today, on the 20th of November, Karyuu and Veromen, each score the 19th year of their lives! Of course many of us know who those two huggable people are, but for those in here who don\'t, brief descriptions:

Karyuu is an all around lovable kitten, who many times had amazed us with her artistic skills. She is eager to draw and draw and draw, however for all of you who want her to scribble something for you, beware! If you do make her do it, she shall eat your first-born. Of course her interests don\'t end at drawing. Already as a child she used to chase the chickens and challenged them to the war of wit, by constructing all sorts (or one sort; either will do) of dreadful traps. Karyuu is insane, to say the least. You can never be absolutely sure what she may do next... Especially after she eats some chocolate, or other strongly sugar-related product. She is also our trusted community moderator, with great care trying to make these forums a better place to spend the time on. She also loves Finland!

We have sent Drey to make a photo of Karyuu during her drawing session. Hidden in the closet, he managed to catch this amazing view:



Veromen is one heck of a crazy nord. He loves mad driving and getting drunk with his friends. Some of you may say that it may be a dangerous combo, but that\'s nonsense! All those kangaroos shouldn\'t hop onto the street in the first place. You probably ask what the heck do kangaroos do in the nordland... well actually, I ask that myself too, but that doesn\'t really matter. Veromen is loved by everyone. Well, everyone besides his neighbours. Some of the adjectives that would fit him perfectly are: cute, sweet, lovable, huggable, funny, anime\'ish, drunk, nifty or nice. All this gets to new levels once he drinks some soda... Or, well... a lot of it. And remember: If you ever need to find a really, really odd person, Veromen might be the best one to ask some help from.

We have found Veromen in the most odd situation, when after drinking a certain dose of alcohol, he rushed away, on his way losing his pants:



So without further ado, let\'s all wish them (and all the other happy people celebrating it today) happy birthday \\o/

4
The Hydlaa Plaza / Rock Bands
« on: November 18, 2005, 02:13:51 am »
Ok, since I\'ve been looking into new types of music lately, I thought I could start this thread. Basically I already heard good recommendations for rock bands in this community, so maybe taking it a bit further might be a good idea.

Post any rock bands you like or think are good or whatever. I\'d be grateful for pointing out some good songs from them either.

Now bands (and songs) that are really of my liking are

Regicide - Behind His Eyes
And
Armchair Cynics - Bang

Thanks to Pogo and Kary for those, by the way :)

But anything will do as long as it\'s good. First, because I might like it no matter what genre it is. Second, because some other people might be searching for new music here.
So just post whatever you think deserves recommendation.

- thanks :)

5
Wish list / Yet Another Progression System
« on: November 01, 2005, 01:26:21 pm »
Right, i could post this in one of those threads about adding more realism to progression, eliminating power-leveling or whatever, but no, not really. This is an idea I got after merging my old one with some ideas I\'ve seen on various threads. Various, meaning I can\'t go around and post my idea of improvement on multiple threads, as if I tried to enforce my opinion upon others. So anyway, here it goes.

Everything starts with power-leveling. Heck, I\'m not even all berserk against it, basically because power-levelers don\'t annoy me all that much. People fighting on arena or hunting in wilderness isn\'t really something I\'d call \"ruining of role-playing environment\". So that\'s not such a big deal. Only that role-players are practically enforced to do it themselves if they want their character to keep the reputation of defender of the weak. Not so much of a defender of the weak, if some rookie who appeared in the realm just few days ago can beat the hell out of him. So someone who wants this to change, has to spend more time fighting monsters and possibly quit job or school or maybe divorce to get even more time. But I think that\'s not the point. People should have equal enjoyment out of playing such game, no matter how much time they have to do so. And think about people who have two (or more) characters... Instead of both progressing kind of equally fast, one of them suddenly slowed down because the other appeared in the realm. Oh yes, the realism. I actually have this problem myself. I simply dropped the idea of making second character, because I don\'t even have much time to play the first one.

So how about this: Characters would get exactly same ammount of experience points each day, only have them differently alocated. How? Depending on the diagram of used skills.
If we assume there are only 5 skills (Light Armour, Swords, Dark Way, Blue Way and Axes) then it would look like that:

Let\'s say
Light Armour = 25%
Swords = 38%
Dark Way = 19%
Blue Way = 9%
Axes = 9%
And let\'s say someone has 1000 experience points.
This way in the end the character has.
250 points for Light Armour
380 points for Swords
190 points for Dark Way
90 points for Blue Way
90 points for Axes
Which then would be converted to respective levels.

However, there are ideas about making it so characters will lose levels in skills they don\'t use. It can be cared of here as well.
Just make it that on first day character gains (for example) 1000 points, on second day 990, on third day 980 and so on. This way not only unused skills would reduce their level, but also character eventually would get to the stage when he/she/it can\'t progress any longer (with actual exceptions, which cover another idea, but that in a while). Quite frankly, character shouldn\'t grow in power to infinity. And still the levels would change after that (some growing on cost of others). Another problem solved.

How points turn into levels should be as it is now. The higher the level, the more points you need. With only difference that it should depend on race, also. Eventually it would be impossible for a dermorian to get to same level of body development as a well trained Ynnwn. Or just damn hard.

And back to the way of progressing beyond the normal limit. Role-playing, of course. You know the way adventurers are supposed to gain higher levels than the simple commoners in various tabletops? It can be made like that in here as well. Basically quests (and possibly other role-playing events) could give a decent number of experience points as well. This way you\'d have easily implemented \'role-play to experience\' system, which would pretty much encourage various forms of role-playing among the players. And there\'s just no freaking way a power-leveler would progress faster than one of those. Quite contrary.

Hmm... and one more thing. Old idea, actually. From Pogopuschel, which then was merged with my magic skills diagram. Don\'t know what happened with it after it was taken by the devs, but I\'ll just use it anyway.
Stats limitating skill levels. Max possible level of all skills would depend on various combination of stats. I guess it would be easiest to just show examples:
Max level of:
Swords = 2/3 Strength + 1/3 Agility.
Axes = 2/3 Strength + 1/3 Endurance.
Daggers = 2/3 Agility + 1/3 Strength.
Light Armour = 2/3 Agility + 1/3 Endurance.
Medium Armour = 1/3 Agility + 1/3 Strength + 1/3 Endurance.
Heavy armour = 2/3 Strength + 1/3 Endurance.

And so on; Same for mental skills.
If certain skill would go above such max level, then it would simply have to wait until we get our stats high enough. Not sure how stats could be raised, but whatever it may be, I would prefer likewise time friendly idea.

6
Guilds Forum / Templars of Steel
« on: October 29, 2005, 06:52:08 am »
I didn\'t really want to post that thread, didn\'t do it for over a year. But I guess this has to be done in order to eliminate all possible confusion. So here I go.

As some of you may know Templars of Steel is a religious organisation made solely for the metalheads. Most likely many will consider this to be a disgrace. Organisation which recruits people because of ooc reasons. But quite frankly I could say the same about many guilds which don\'t mass-recruit. Recruiting someone because of role-playing skills or because you like someone (and gods forbid, know someone from rl) isn\'t really ic reasoning.

Anyway, to move on:
Why recruit metalheads only? Few reasons for that.
1) To gather some Planeshifters and create friendship based on having same interests.
2) Generally people who listen to metal are better role-players than those who don\'t. Might be because they listen to songs about swords, glory, sometimes dragons. Might be because role-players are often attracted to this kind of music. I don\'t know why, but the fact remains it is so.
3) It\'s easier to keep order between people who have the \"brothers of metal\" thing smacked into their heads already.
4) Metalheads most likely will be much more attracted to the ic views of ToS.

Now, since we have that behind, let me introduce you to the actual in-character, in-game part of ToS.

So we are a religious organisation. But against what some may think, it isn\'t about norse believes. Granted our believes will stay close to it, but ToS eventually will have its own set of myths, believes, goals (even though to certain point similar). It\'ll still be barbaric gods, like those in the pantheons of nords or slavs.
All in all let\'s be frank, the current Planeshift faith is way too rational for proper role-play of medieval culture. It shouldn\'t be surprising that many people behave like atheists, rather than worship the unknown powers. So we\'ll try to change it, even if in a tiny degree.
However, belonging to ToS doesn\'t require anyone to follow same gods. As long as he/she doesn\'t stand against its goals.

And about the goals:
Templars of Steel believe in law and balance enforced by the iron fist. Good and evil have same rights to exist and there\'s nothing wrong in war just as there\'s nothing wrong in healing wounded. Of course people can\'t be left with the ability to choose on their own, since most likely that would cause chaos. Be that defender guilds declaring war on guild member of which kicked a groffel, or evil yelling guild trying to destroy everything in the world for no apparent reason. Templars will stand against such things in order to keep the needed balance.

There are different groups which have various functions. Dogs of War will be the first ones to turn to if war arises. Heathens besides cultivating nature, will be the ones to protect our homelands if a dreadful threat shall bring shadows upon them. Craftsmasters will seek for new technologies and make a good use of the current ones. Dark souls will stay in the death realm, making sure that nothing destroys order in there as well.

To make it clear, this is not a promotional thread, it was made solely to reduce the ammount of confusion. For other info I might say that we don\'t offer cake for anyone who joins, we don\'t throw around shiny badges and we don\'t make fancy ranks. But I think that\'s obvious.

Oh yeah, and whatever you might find on our website, it\'s untrue, false and not really right. We simply didn\'t update it and mostly concentrated on the forums.

Have a nice cake.

7
Roleplaying (Communitive Storywriting) / The Cave
« on: October 12, 2005, 01:58:43 pm »
The Cave


  The morning was a bliss. Azure Sun slowly began enlightening the whole area, showing the splendour of the land and bringing her a warmth that she needed so much after the chilly night. Karyuu looked down from the cliff, slightly relished by the weather. The view, now exposed to her glimmering, orange eyes, was astonishing. Wide lakes were reflecting the first azure rays, playing with light by creating all sorts of cheerfull shapes. She could see endless fields covered with tall grass, now swayed by a gentle and playful wind. A smile appeared on her face. She could sit there all day long, everything was so beautiful.
 The chilly morning breeze made her shiver slightly. She didn\'t wear much, just her usual tribal clothes. Karyuu closed her eyes and slightly leaned backwards. Everything was so enjoyable... A pleasant wind was smooching her face gently, playing with her short fur and moving onward to glide through the vast wilderness. The fresh air held a slight scent of the nearby forest. With every breath she took, the smell made her relax even more. The warmth brought by the Azure Sun kept growing constantly. Karyuu grinned broadly and let herself indulge in the delights bestowed upon her by the forces of nature. Minutes passed, she didn\'t feel like doing anything else at the moment.
    The feeling was great. Very few things could ruin this pleasening moment and there were also those things that would make it even better. Karyuu knew that one of the latter was just about to happen. She wrapped her tail around one of her legs and bit the lip, seemingly excited by something. The Azure Sun was finally shining brightly, showing the true hue of her dark gray fur.
  \"You already know I am here.\" Draklar approached her slowly, careful not to make any sound. He stopped just few feet behind her back.
 \"Yes, I could sense you.\" Karyuu looked over her shoulder and moved her eyesight all over the warrior\'s body, as if inspecting him carefully. Strange as it seems, everytime she saw him, Draklar appeared to be even stronger than before. She was certain that with his strength, the enkidukai surpassed most of their race. There was a slightly torn ulbernaut fur that he wore most of the time. It was some kind of a sign that this barbarian was better to be left alone. Fierce and dangerous, that\'s what she always thought about him. But Karyuu felt safe in his presence anyway. She knew that there\'s more about this warrior, than just a bloodlusting beast.
   Karyuu smiled slightly and released the leg from the wrap of her tail, waiting patiently for Draklar to sit by her side. Without any rush, he sat down, letting his legs to rest after the long journey. Soon Karyuu could feel the warmth of his hand on her shoulder. It happened many times before, but every time it did, it always felt as a new and exciting experience to her. Karyuu closed her eyes shivering slightly and unwillingly leaned against the warrior, finally resting her head on his shoulder.
   Although every good-bye she had to go through with him, filled her with a bit of sadness, everytime they met again, Karyuu felt utter joy and excitement. Moments like this one belonged to the happiest moments of her life.
   The enkidukai opened her eyes and threw a glance at Draklar\'s face. She smiled widely, meeting his gaze there. Before Karyuu could gather her thoughts, their lips already met in a ritual of a long, passionate kiss.
   A strong heat radiated from her face, signifying a blush beneath the fur. Once again she opened her eyes and smiled widely. Karyuu turned to the view that she admired just few minutes ago. \"Beautiful, isn\'t it?\" She whispered. Draklar didn\'t answer anything, only turned his sight to the plains and lakes, which showed off with their splendour far below the cliff.
    A pleasant breeze ran past them and carried on its dance in the open fields. Draklar raised his head, exposing a bit of concentration on his face. \"They are almost here.\" He spoke quietly.
  \"Yes,\" Karyuu nuzzled to him. \"I know.\"



-------------

Just a starter for now. Had a need to write something serious after making all the parody stuff. So there you have it... I\'ll carry on with it when I get some time.

8
Poetry, Comedy, and other. / The Planetrix: Reloaded
« on: September 17, 2005, 11:10:46 am »
Before reading this, read the first part.


Chapter I


    \"They are almost here...\" Draklar took a look around the endless plains away from Hydlaa\'s walls.
  \"Drak, I\'m not sure if I want to be part of this sh*t.\" Link sat down and started digging a hole with his finger.
  \"What the..?\"
    \"Who cares about Planeshift? The devs are just half-witted imbeciles. I say screw them.\"
  \"Listen, Link.\" Draklar turned to him. \"I don\'t know why the hell you weren\'t banned from the Planetrix. I don\'t know why the hell someone got you out of there. I don\'t know why the hell you were allowed into the role-players\' area... And most of all, I don\'t know why the hell Kada asked me to accept you into the group!\"
    \"In other words you don\'t know crap.\"
  \"No, in other words... Either you shut your god-damn mouth or I shall close you in a very, very small box together with Seperot and Savion... And then enjoy the show.\"
   \"Pfft, nooblets.\"
 \"So we have a deal?\"
  \"Screw you...\" Said Link. \"Screw you with a metal pole.\"
    \"Did we interrupt something?\" Asked Karyuu once she and Unitearica approached the two.
    \"Yes,\" Answered Link. \"Draklar was telling me a story.\"
 \"Of?\" Unitearica joined the conversation.
 \"Of three little maggots.\" Answered Draklar.
  \"Sounds good.\" Unitearica crossed his arms. \"Care to start over?\"
   \"Care to shut up?\"
    \"Whoa... You might change your skin, but you sure didn\'t change your temper...\" The Ylian cocked an eyebrow. \"Wait, wait... Weren\'t you a Dermorian?\"
 \"Maybe so, what is your point?\"
   \"Nothing, just that... You\'re an Enkidukai now...\"
 \"So I am... Maybe I have had it enough with that fairy female looking model...\"
   \"Hmm...\" Unitearica rubbed his chin. \"Not only you grew some fur, but also your way of speaking changed...\"
 \"Aye... Apparently I have much less charisma now... No way of talking like that anymore...\"
   \"Heh... That puts me at ease.\"
    \"Also, I seem to have lost a crapload of intelligence...\"
 Unitearica winced. \"Alright, now -that- makes me a tidy bit worried...\"
   \"So...\" Karyuu spoke once again. \"Are everyone ready in there?\"
 \"Aye.\" Answered Draklar. \"We are already late.\"


 \"The news on the changelog articulate it understandably.\" Said Ayshe to all the players gathered in one of the tavern rooms. \"The developers are implementing a passageway that will proceed straightaway from Hydlaa to the ojapath sector.\"
   \"They are avoiding the gate...\" Spoke Hevrah. \"Our primary defense.\"
    \"How fast are they implementing it?\" Asked Bora.
  \"Tardily, as always.\" Ayshe crossed her arms. \"But they will refine it soon enough.\"
    \"How far are they in the development?\" Dagger winced slightly.
    \"They\'re in the final touches phase.\"
  \"Crap!\" Uttered Enraged.
  \"It can\'t be accurate.\" Hevrah shook his head. \"Maybe they\'re just faking it.\"
    \"It may be...\" Ayshe shrugged her arms.
   \"That\'s not possible.\"
 \"But that means we have just few days...\" Added Bora.
 Ayshe nodded. \"That\'s right.\"
  \"It can\'t be!\" Enraged shook his head.
 \"Why not?\" Draklar and the rest of the group entered the room. \"Every monster spawning point already has three campers not walking away from it even for one second. The developers are running out of space where they could put new ones. Ojaveda has lots of free space... It also has few trainers that no one from the outside can reach in any way. They need to find a way inside.\"
  \"Draklar.\" Ayshe turned to the newcomer. \"Gladsome you could league together with us.\"
  \"Ayshe...\" Draklar nodded. \"I\'m sorry for being late. But as you all know, we no longer can stay in the Death Realm... The birdies are now staying there, removing all rebels that enter the sector. We had to find a new operations point.\"
 \"They\'re being a pain in the ass...\" Muttered Enraged.
 \"If Ayshe is right,\" Continued Bora. \"The next few days will be even worse.\"
    \"What will we do about it?\" Hevrah turned to Ayshe.
   \"We intend to extemporize what the oldbies require us to effectuate. We intend to evacuate all nonconformist accumulations conglomerated around Hydlaa and repatriate to Ojaveda.\"
    \"And I am sure the oldbies have any decent plan of stopping hundreds of power-levelers that will soon storm the city.\" Draklar smirked slightly.
  \"No, but the strategy is nevertheless being formulated.\"
  \"What are the chances that Aendar shan\'t order everyone to sit in one place, praying to him for salvation?\"
    \"He might ascertain from his own misapprehensions...\"
 \"He didn\'t last three times he tried that...\"
  \"It is enunciated that Annah shall conduct the preparations of defense anyway.\"
   \"That doesn\'t make things sound better, now does it?\"
  Suddenly Unitearica turned towards the door.
    \"What is it?\" Asked Karyuu.
   \"I don\'t know...\" He walked outside.
   \"...Now whether you people believe it or not,\" Draklar continued. \"We are reaching the end of our struggles. For I, the greatest, have found the one!\"
  \"Here we go again...\" Enraged rolled his eyes.
    \"That\'s right! Me! And not any of you... I think that should say something about my supremacy...\" Draklar hemed. \"Now to get back to the case. I believe one of the groups should stay near the Hydlaa to try and contact Grono. The prophecy is being fullfilled, but it shan\'t find its conclusion if we lose contact with her.\"
    \"You ask us to disobey oldbies\' orders.\" Hevrah crossed his arms.
  Draklar turned to him. \"Who cares about what they have to say anyway? Group can go to Ojaveda and after few hours return to the operation area, long before devs finish their feature.\"
   \"Fine, we will stay.\" Said Bora.
  \"Nay.\" Draklar shook his head. \"This mission requires someone of great competence. And there is only one person that has it...\"
 \"You...\" Ayshe cocked an eyebrow.
 \"Me.\" Draklar took a look around.
 \"Damn you, Drak.\" Enraged shook his head. \"If you get killed on your mission... I\'m sure it\'ll be the best for the rest of us.\"
   Draklar smirked. \"So it is settled.\"

  Suddenly someone approached the doors of the tavern. \"Im looking for Uni\'o...\" He spoke.
   \"Never heard of him.\" Answered Tybalt.
    \"I haves something for h--\" Before the person could finish, Tybalt started touching his face. \"What the...\"
 \"I need to get to know what is your face like...\"
 \"Well, are you blind?!\" The person pushed him away.
   \"Yes... Yes I am...\" Answered Tybalt.
 \"Hmm...\"
  \"But my other senses are sharper than a steel pole...\"
    \"...What?\"
    \"And pushing me away, will cost you your eyeball... Ough!\" Tybalt hit the door.
   \"Hmm... Yes, anyways, I haves something for him... For setting me free.\" The stranger handed the martial artist a smelly object.
  \"Fine, whatever,\" Tybalt took it. \"Now beat it!\"
    \"Who was that?\" Unitearica walked down from the stairs.
   Phinehas limped towards the Ylian. \"Some tra--\" Before he could finish, he tripped over and smashed his face against the floor.
   \"Ouch!\" Unitearica turned away. \"Now that\'s gotta hurt...\"
   \"He gave you this.\" Tybalt handed him the smelly object. \"I can\'t see what it is... But my other sharp senses are telling me that it\'s Klyros\' hand...\"
    \"Hmm... a fish...\"
    \"He also said you set him free...\"
    \"The meeting is over.\" Unitearica turned to the doors. \"Take the cripple and join the others.\"
  \"What?\"
   \"The Game Masters are coming.\"
    Tybalt moved away and started sniffing around. \"I can\'t see you, Phin... But thanks to my sharp senses I will find you anyway... Hmm... You are just about--\"
  \"Argh!\"
  \"Oh, sorry... Was that your leg, or...\" Tybalt picked him up.
 \"Just let\'s go...\" Phinehas blinked. \"Tybalt watch out for the...\" He watched as the martial artist fell to the ground. \"...The wall.\"
 Unitearica sighed. \"Or yes, you two may just stay here...\" Suddenly three Game Masters entered the tavern. \"Hiya, fellas.\"
  \"It\'s him.\" Said one of the Game Masters.
  \"The anomaly.\"
    \"Do we proceed?\"
  \"Yes...\"
  \"He is still...\"
  One of the Game Masters winced. \"What was I supposed to say now?\"
 \"Only role-player.\"
   \"...Only role-player.\"
    One of the Game Masters attacked Unitearica, but he could dodge all the strikes with ease. After a while he sent a punch himself; The Game Master blocked it. \"Hmm... Higher levels.\" Just then all the others attacked. Unitearica dodged few blows and turned around, hitting with hilt head of one of the Game Masters and striking the back of another with his axe. The third Game Master was in shock and before he could get back to attacking, Unitearica sent a few blows at his corpus and head, finally sending him dead to the ground. The only remaining Game Master stood up, clutching his head in the place where he was smashed with the hilt and after a while, with eyes opened wide, he watched as Unitearica pierced him with his sword. The Ylian walked outside and took a look around. After that he moved directly into sky.
 
    \"What happened there, Link?\" Draklar sent a private message.
  \"I don\'t know, I\'m watching TV. Leave me alone.\"
    Karyuu rolled her eyes. \"Is Uni\'o ok?\"
 \"Yeah, yeah, whatever...\"
 \"Where is he now?\" Asked Draklar.
 \"He\'s doing his Burnt Face Man thing.\"
 \"What?\" Karyuu cocked an eyebrow.
 \"Heheh... Burnt Face Man...\" Draklar chuckled.
    \"Damn it, you guys!\"

  Unitearica landed in front of the temple and walked inside. After he reached the pedestal, he took a look around. \"Where are you?\"


    \"This is Draklar\'s group.\" Link made contact with Ojaveda. \"Let us in, I can\'t stand those people anymore.\"
   \"Group 7, this is Ojaveda control,\" He heard in return from Natrina. \"You may enter the Gate 1.\"
    \"Wait, wait...\"
   \"What?\"
   \"Why do you call it Gate 1? We have -only- one gate...\"
   \"Well if you don\'t like it, why don\'t you go and build a second gate?\"
  \"Screw you, noob.\"
    Suddenly Link got smashed in his face. \"Ojaveda control, this is Draklar. Can we enter the Gate 1?\"
   \"We\'re opening the gate right now... Welcome home.\"
    \"There\'s no place like it...\"

9
Roleplaying (Communitive Storywriting) / The Planetrix
« on: August 30, 2005, 11:43:59 am »
Yup, after parodying Lord of The Rings and Iliad, this time I decided to do so with The Matrix movie. Won\'t be writing much about it, just enjoy it :] (logo from Karyuu)


Chapter I


    Waiting for server data...
 
    Loading game...
 Requesting world...
 Loading world...

   
    Karyuu appeared on one of the Laanx\' Temple\'s balconies. For a while she stood there, staring blankly at the opposite side of the Temple, not breathing or making any move at all. Seconds were passing and sparkles emerging from the center of the temple slowly started cumulating on her dark gray fur. After a minute from her appearance, Karyuu finally blinked and sniffed with her nose.
 \"Eugh, what is that awful smell?\" She started sniffing around, soon realising that the sparkling substance was floating in her direction, in the end remaining on her fur. Karyuu moved her arm to the nose and once again sniffed slightly. \"Huh?\" Her eyes widened. \"Oh! Oh, this is just great! Those animals were urinating to the pink, sparkling... thing, again!\" She shivered. \"What\'s wrong with those people anyway?!\"
 Suddenly she received a tell from Jazeera. \"Were you just shouting?\"
  \"Ehh, yes, I... I saw a spider.\" Karyuu returned the private message.
 \"A spider?\"
  \"Yes, it was a big... no, giant spider.\" Karyuu tried to get rid of the awful substance from her fur.
 \"A giant spider...\" She heard another message. \"In Molecular Blue?\"
 \"Oh, be quiet!\" Karyuu moved to the barrier. \"I think he\'s coming.\" She glanced to the left, at the entrance to the temple hall she was standing in. Through the gate rushed exhausted Unitearica, who then quickly passed great hall and disappeared in the next room.
  \"We\'re going to pawn him, you understand that?\" Another message came to her mind.
  \"Draklar believes he is the one.\" Answered Karyuu.
    \"Do you?\"
 \"Do I what? Stop being so mysterious, Jazeera! For once ask a normal question!\"
   \"No, I mean...\"
   \"Shh.\" Karyuu ducked. \"Did you hear that?\"
  \"Hear what? Karyuu, just because I\'m sending you private messages, doesn\'t mean I hear everything you hear!\"
    \"Are you sure no one else entered the temple?\" She glanced at the opened gate.
    \"Yea, of course I\'m sure.\"
 \"I better go...\"


  Four armed warriors sneaked onto the stairs and quietly started going up. Making sure no one would see them, one after another they approached the open doors. A tall Ynnwn made a sign for the others to move further. They stared at him as he painted a black arrow on the wall, but once he finished, everything was clear. All at once, they rushed throught the door. \"Freeze!\" The Ynnwn shouted. \"Hydlaa\'s plumbing and canalization department! Set your hands in a letharging ruby position! Do it! Do it now!\"
    \"Huh?\" Karyuu was in shock.


   \"Lordbug!\" Cad, followed by Tmed and Drey, approached a band of armed people standing in front of the temple. \"Lordbug, you were given specific orders.\"
    \"I know,\" Answered Lordbug. \"We were supposed to send our best men to get that vandal that keeps urinating to the temple\'s pedestal.\"
    \"Huh? Is this the Champions of Yliakum guild?\" Asked Cad.
 \"Nooooo... This is the plumbing and canalization department!\"
 \"So, like... The Forsaken Ones?\" He kept asking.
  \"Hmm...\" Lordbug pondered over the question for a while. \"Nope, just plumbing and canalization department.\"
 \"Ok, so where are the champions then?\"
    \"Over there.\" He pointed to a smaller group standing nearby.
  \"Ah, thanks.\" Cad went in their direction. \"Vanderbal!\" He stopped just before him. \"Vanderbal, you were given specific orders..\"
 \"I know, we also followed them.\" Answered Vanderbal.
  \"Oh...\"


   \"Letharging ruby position?\" A small dwarf glanced at the Ynnwn leader.
    \"Yea, they teached us that on one of the combat trainings.\" The Ynnwn answered without taking his eyesight away from Karyuu.
  \"Don\'t you mean the letharging diamond position?\" The dwarf continued.
 \"Hmm... Could be.\" The leader looked down.
    \"Yeah, it must be!\" Some Enkidukai joined the conversation. \"I mean, did you ever see a letharging ruby?\"
   Karyuu stood there without moving, trying to ignore the conversation. Suddenly something touched her back. Somewhat shocked, she glanced back. The Ynnwn was poking her back with his longsword, seemingly uncertain of what to do. \"So... How do we fight it?\" He spoken. Karyuu twitched and drawn a pencil, aiming it then at the large Ynnwn. \"What are you going to do with it?\" He laughed. \"Draw whiskers on my face?\" Karyuu only grinned.

    \"Argh!\" The Ynnwn started running all around the balcony. \"Get\'it out of me ear! Get\'it out of me ear!\" He kept shouting while trying to pull out the pencil.
 \"Over here, boss!\" The dwarf yelled. In same moment the Ynnwn turned in the direction of the Stonebreaker. The dwarf with fear watched the impending warrior. \"Slow dow-- Ugh!\" The Ynnwn tripped over the dwarf and both warriors fell over the barrier. The ramaining Enkidukai and Ylian rushed to the barrier and looked down. \"We\'re all right!\" They heard. \"Fall damage not implemented yet. But I don\'t think we\'ll be able to pull out that pencil now...\"
    \"Hey,\" The two remaining warriors heard the voice from behind their backs. They turned around, just to see Karyuu, grinning widely and holding her hands up, aiming the palms at the two warriors.
   \"Lol, no collision detection here, noob.\" The Ylian spoke to the female Enkidukai.
    \"Oh really?\" She pushed the two warriors, who then tripped over the barrier and fell all the way down. \"Draklar, someone... Uhm... Wee-weed at the sparkling thing.\" She sent a private message.
   \"Thank thee, I want\'d to know that...\" She heard in return.
    \"No,\" She sighed. \"I mean it brought here the canalization department.\"
 \"Oh, I know, Thou hast not much time. Thou shalt have to get to some secret log-out place.\"
   \"Are there any Game Masters?\" Karyuu glanced down over the barrier.
   \"Aye.\"
    \"Damn it\"
 \"Thou hast to focus, Karyuu. There be an invisible room in the tavern. Hurry up, thou can\'st make it.\"
 \"All right.\"
 \"Go. And may the great Odin be with thee.\"
    Karyuu started walking towards the stairs down, but soon after, from the doors emerged a band of characters, with Tmed on their lead. Not waiting even one second, she turned around and rushed towards the wall. Tmed wasn\'t going to let her escape. Immediately, he started chasing her, taking all the characters with him. Upon reaching the wall, Karyuu started strafing into it, finally disappearing behind. The Kran Game Master glanced at the wall and then turned to the right. Just then he noticed the Enkidukai emerging from the ceiling above the other balcony. Without saying anything, he started typing a command. \"That\'s impossible...\" Said one of the characters upon seeing Karyuu\'s achievement. Suddenly Tmed teleported to the other side of the temple, but still the Enkidukai managed to jump down just in time. She turned to the exit. Now she had to run as fast as possible.
    The Enkidukai rushed by the fire torches and quickly got onto the main street. Taking the first left, soon after the view of Kada-El\'s tavern reached her eyes. But she wasn\'t safe yet. To the left from the tavern stood cad, now ready to ban her. Karyuu wasn\'t going to wait for that, she rushed into the tavern and took the stairs up. Cad was right behind her and it was a matter of seconds before he would get her. She turned to the kitchen and quickly disappeared in the ceiling.
  Cad, Tmed and Drey gathered in the kitchen.
    \"She escaped...\" Said Drey while entering the room.
   \"Doesn\'t matter.\" Answered Cad.
    \"The informant is real.\" Tmed entered just after Drey.
    \"Yes...\" Cad nodded.
         \"We have the name of their next target.\" The Kran continued.
  \"The name is Uni\'o.\" Added Drey.
   \"We\'ll need a search running.\" Cad took a look around the kitchen.
 \"It has already begun...\"


 Unitearica returned from his afk phase. To his surprise in front of him lied various crystals, which created some words. He checked the phrase made of rubies: \'Wake up, Uni\'o...\'. \"What?\" He whispered and checked the words made of emeralds: \'The Planetrix has you...\' \"What in the Death Realm?\" He still could not understand what was happening. The phrase made of diamonds was saying \'Follow the bearded woman.\' Then he checked the last phrase, made out of all three types of crystals. \'Greetings, Uni\'o\'.
 Suddenly Auran greeted the confused Ylian. Unitearica looked around and greeted him back. After doing so, he glanced back to the crystals, but those were already being picked up by a big group of newbies. He turned back to Auran. Together with him there were standing Xordan, Savion and Illyria.
 \"Uni\'o, my champ. Do you have the Zim\'s catnip I asked you for? Nothing quite like it anywhere else. And here my dear buddy sells two doses for the price of one! Where would uncle Jimmy be without you!\"
  \"Auran, I don\'t sell two for the price of one - You know it well.\" Answered Unitearica. \"And you asked for diamonds, not the catnip.\"
    \"Ah diamonds, the rapture of Krans. What would uncle Jimmy need it for? Come on sonny, give your dear uncle what he really asked you for. I remember it quite well that I asked for some catnip. Two doses actually, no - even three. But don\'t worry, good ol\' Auran won\'t be that upset if he gets just the one dose. Know my good heart. So what will you say? Come here and give your uncle Jimmy a big, toasty hug!\"
    \"Fine, I\'ll bring the catnip. Just stay away with the hugs.\"
   \"Ah, you don\'t know what you\'re missing, sonny. You could come with us to the tavern party and your dear uncle Jimmy would be sure to show you what wonders a big bear-hug can really do. Oh, I could be telling you the tales about all the hugging I did in my whole life, heh heh, if you know what I mean.\" He winked \"Hugging here, hugging there, hugging women everywhere. You could learn a lot from this old gaffer. If you don\'t believe me, just ask my delightful companion here. Oh, i could hug Illy anytime. She might have a beard, but hey, uncle Jimmy isn\'t picky.\"
  \"Bearded woman?\" Unitearica whispered and glanced back to the place where he found all the crystals. \"Sure... I\'ll go.\"


  Everyone in the tavern had a great time. Even though no one was sitting behind the bar, still all the people had their mugs filled with ale. Unitearica was standing by some wall, listening to the conversations. Suddenly a female Enkidukai approached him.
  \"Greetings, Uni\'o.\" She spoke.
 \"How do you know that name?\" Answered Unitearica.
 \"I know a lot about you.\"
 \"What, were you stalking me or something?\" Unitearica cocked an eyebrow.
  \"What?! No!\" The Enkidukai energetically shook her head.
  \"Because, you know, if you did, that would be pretty darn sick...\"
    \"No, it isn\'t!\" She blinked. \"I mean, I really didn\'t stalk you!\"
 \"So anyway, who are you?\"
 \"My name is Karyuu.\" She bowed.
   \"Karyuu...\" Unitearica repeated. \"The Karyuu? The one that climbed the skydome?\"
    \"That was a long time ago...\" The Enkidukai shrugged.
 \"Geez...\"
    \"What?\"
   \"I just didn\'t know that...\" Unitearica glanced to his side. \"That you\'re yet another of all those fenkies.\"
  \"Most people are...\"
  \"It was you who made all those crystal writings.\" He looked at her again. \"How did you do that?\"
    \"Right now all I can tell you is that you\'re in danger.\" Karyuu started talking quieter. \"I brought you here to warn you.\"
   \"Of what?\"
    \"They\'re watching you, Uni\'o.\"
  \"Other people besides you?\" Unitearica cocked an eyebrow.
 \"Pay attention!\" She shouted. \"I already told you that I wasn\'t watching you!\" Everyone in the tavern turned to them.
    \"Uhuh...\"
 \"Gah! Just listen. I know why you\'re here, Uni\'o. I know what you\'ve been doing. I know why you hardly afk, why you crystal-hunt alone, and why night after night you keep exploring Hydlaa.\"
    \"Wait.\" Unitearica interrupted her.
   \"What?!\"
  \"You told me that you weren\'t stalking me.\"
    \"Be quiet!\" She shouted again. \"You\'re looking for him. I know, because I am smart like that. But the truth is... You\'re not looking for him, but for the answer. It\'s the question that drives you mad. It\'s the question that brought you here. You know the question just as I do.\"
  \"Who is the guy you\'re talking about?\"
 \"No! That\'s not the fricking question!\" Karyuu got seemingly annoyed. \"The question is what is the Planetrix! And the answer is out there, Uni\'o. It might be looking for you and it might find you... If it\'ll want to bother! Good-bye!\" The annoyed Enkidukai stormed out of the tavern.
    \"What?\"

10
The Hydlaa Plaza / Fantasy World Online
« on: August 27, 2005, 04:34:53 pm »
No this isn\'t advertising for any mmorpg, this is yet another of my writings :P
I think I made enough observations about what was going around Planeshift and other online games to actually start this project. As, well, I decided to write a parody of life in a mmorpg. Wish me luck with getting the best of it, as I wish you fun in reading it.


Prologue

   Millions of  colours spinning around in a lightning-fast dance of various shapes and ridiculous forms, in one moment surrounded his body, throwing him into the whirlwind of a new, yet to be discovered fate. Confusion, excitement, curiousity and even anxiety - all started storming his mind in one moment, creating a dangerous, explosive mixture, that at any time, might just burst forth and lead to unforeseeable behaviour.
    He moved his hand towards the source of light, which on and on kept glittering cheerfully, as if trying to lure the still shocked visitor. The glowing colours started spinning around his arm, faster and faster, until the view could be no longer put up with. They stopped, sticked to his arm.   Slowly the colours began moving further, taking over new parts of his body. The process was irritating, but also fascinating at the same time. It didn\'t take much time, before his whole consistence formed a perfect unity with the invading colours... A new form was created.
  Just then a pitch darkness covered everything. He could not see, nor feel anything. Finally he found some time for the first reflections. Everything went on so fast, he hardly had any time to carefully plan his actions... It might bring awful results in the future, but the whirlwind was just too tempting... And where is he now? What will happen next? Is the \'next\' going to happen at all? Numerous thoughts gathered in his mind, leaving no space for rational thinking... And finally it happened, a calm, warm voice pierced through the overwhelming darkness.
   \"Sir? Sir?!\" It was a great relief to hear it. Finally he could talk with someone, find out what just happened. From the tone of the voice, he could tell it was a man. But nothing more, it was simply too dark.
 \"H-huh? What just... Where am I?\" The confusion was still in control, but the chaos in his mind slowly withered away. It was time to ask the first questions.
 \"What would be your name, newcomer?\" The voice continued, as if not paying attention to his question. It was weird, but not nearly as weird as the rest of the things he just went through.
   \"Huh? But...\" He still wanted to hear the answer to his question, but his will was too weak at that moment. He decided to just go with the stream. \"Erm, my name is Joe...\" He answered quietly.
    \"Just Joe?\" The voice kept inquiring.
 \"Uhh, right, just your average Joe.\" He didn\'t pay much attention, just hoped all this would end soon.
 Suddenly the pitch darkness vanished, leaving only bright light that quickly made Joe close his, already used to the darkness, eyes.
    \"Well then!\" The voice uttered. \"Joe Average, welcome to the Fantasy World Online!\"



Chapter I

  The weather was fine and the sun was sending its warm rays at his slightly tanned skin. Joe opened his eyes, curious where the recent oddities took him to. The light was still hurting him, but it wasn\'t causing blindness anymore; He could see the details.
  Joe found himself standing on some island, surrounded by clean water and filled with lots of green trees. It wasn\'t big, getting to the nearby bridge was just a matter of seconds. Still, Joe didn\'t want to move on. After all the strange things that happened to him lately, he was happy to be standing in a normal place. Once his eyes accommodated to the light, he looked up to the sky. The clouds were strolling slowly, from time to time hiding the joyfully shining sun.
    \"Sir?\" Suddenly the familiar voice interrupted his thoughts. He looked down into its direction; It was some young, dressed in a black suit man. He had dark, short hair and his face was filled with slightly suspicious enthusiasm. Joe didn\'t like it, but he decided to answer anyway.
  \"Yes? Umm, where am I?\" He asked with a tint of fear in his voice.
    \"Why, you just came to the Fantasy World Online! The biggest, the best, the most completed and the most avaricious online game in the world!\"
 \"Huh?\"
    \"We have the most advanced player base you will ever see, due to the fact that anyone can find something interesting for himself in here!\"
    \"But...\"
  \"Dark caves, high mountains, green forests, beautiful lakes and all that filled with fearful monsters and epic adventures. You\'ll have a great time no matter whether you\'re a hack&slasher or a role-player!\"
  \"No, wait; What was that word?\" Joe finally managed to stop him.
  \"What? The role-player?\" The man glanced at him with curiousity.
  \"Who? No, no,\" Joe shook his head. \"Some other... Umm... The avaricious one.\"
   \"Hmm? Oh, you probably misheard that.\" The man was about to carry on, when he got interrupted once again.
 \"No, seriously, I have it in my log.\" Joe insisted on hearing the answer.
 \"Actually, your logging is currently turned off. If you\'ll want to turn it on, I have some instructions here somewhe--\"
    \"Look, it doesn\'t matter, I know what I heard,\" Joe was more and more annoyed. \"Now what was that about?\"
    \"Hmm... Wait, ah, that!\" The man started laughing. \"I completely forgot, yes, we use that word in introduction. We do it in order to prevent new sueing cases from silly players that were pulled forward against our company. Nothing important, really... Now, about those instructions...\"
   \"Ehh... Yea, right, whatever... I think I\'ll be going now.\" Said that, Joe moved towards the nearby bridge.
    \"By reading our manual you\'ll feel like at home in no time,\" The man started walking after him. \"Starting from the introduction followed by the chapter one - \'known races\' and going all the way to the chapter one hundred seventy six - \'reasons why toilet is your friend\', by the end of the week you\'ll know absolutely everything about our game! And the best part is - it\'s all free!\"
    \"Wait, what did you say?\" Joe\'s eyes wide-opened.

  The bell above the doors jingled as Joe opened the doors and entered the tavern. He slowly walked a bit further, holding a big stack of books and without enthusiasm reading one of them.
   \"Elves are one of the rarest races, they usually stay in their woodlands, making sure that no intruders find them. Physically they\'re tall and slender. The biggest difference between the genders is that male elves wear more make up than the female ones... This is all crap...\" He dropped all the books and took a look around the tavern. Quickly he noticed a muffin lying on the bar. He picked it up and turned to the crowd.
    \"Hey! Anyone wants to help a noob?!\" Hearing the question, everyone turned in Joe\'s direction. There was a visible anger on their faces. \"Chill! I will pay for it, you know!\" Said that he took a bite of the muffin and moved forward.
 There was a lot of people in the tavern. Joe could notice all sorts of races, from short halflings to the tall elves. Most of them were drinking various alcohol drinks and showing off with their deeds and their strength. Suddenly an elven woman approached him.
    \"Hiya, so you must be new here?\" She asked with a wide smile.
 \"Yea, about that muffin - I really will pay for it, I just don\'t have any money ye--\"
  \"Oh, don\'t worry about it,\" She giggled. \"I just want to help you.\"
  \"Oh,\" Joe sighed with relief. \"So can you give me money to pay for the muffin?\"
 \"Err, I meant more like giving few hints, but sure, why not.\" She handed him a heap of coins.
 \"Now about those hints,\" Joe hid the money into his pocket. \"What did you want to tell me?\"
 \"Uhm...\" The woman glanced at his pocket \"Aren\'t you going to return the money to the barkeep?\"
  \"Sure I\'m going to,\" Joe smiled slightly. \"If he\'ll ask for it. There\'s no point in wasting money if he didn\'t notice that I took it, right?\"
   \"Right...\" The woman cocked an eyebrow and soon after glanced above the newcomer\'s head. \"Joe Average? Now that\'s a funny name...\"
    \"What? How do you know my name...\" Joe stepped back. \"You witch!\"
   \"Calm down, will you?\" She sighed \"You have it written above your head.\"
    \"Huh?\" He looked up. \"I don\'t see it...\"
 \"You have to activate it, but don\'t worry - I\'ll tell you how to do it.\" She smiled. \"Anyway, let\'s sit at some table, shall we?\"
  \"Sure... Hmm... those guys over there seem like a nice bunch to sit by...\" He pointed in a direction of a loud group.
 \"Joe...\" She sighed. \"Those people speak in numbers...\"
 \"Yeah, cool, isn\'t it? I wanna learn that!\" He started approaching them, but soon after the elven woman pulled him backwards.
 \"No! We\'ll sit in a quiet and peaceful place, Joe.\" She pulled him by the collar, making the newcomer choke for a moment.
  \"Christ, lady... What did your parents feed you with? You almost strangled me there...\" Suddenly Joe got thrown onto a chair.
 \"There...\" The woman clenched her fists, restraining herself from bursting out in anger. \"This seems... like a good place to sit... doesn\'t it?\"
 \"Is that a vein on your forehead?\" He moved closer to her face. \"I think it is. You know, you should see a doctor, it seems to be pulsing stronger and stronger...\"
 It didn\'t take long before the fist of the enraged woman smashed face of the curious newcomer. Joe fell over the chair and landed on the floor. Everything spinned for a while, before utter darkness covered his mind.

  \"Joe? Joe?\"
   \"Huh? What happened?\" He made an attempt to stand up. \"Ouch, my head.\"
  \"Um, you fell from a chair,\" She giggled \"Silly you; But don\'t worry, I fully healed you.\"
   \"You can do that?\" Joe finally managed to stand up.
   \"Of course I can. I\'m a healer,\" The woman made a wide smile. \"Now let me teach you a few things, all right?\"

11
The Hydlaa Plaza / Music Videos
« on: August 25, 2005, 07:02:46 am »
These videos are pretty old, but I can\'t get any decent host so sharing them is pretty hard. So whilst they\'re still online, I\'ll post here the links.

In any case, these are music videos made by me by skillful (of course) messing with various movies and using their fragments so that they would fit the music. If you\'ll want to see it, just download from the links.

Movie - Band - Song
King Arthur - Rhapsody - Steelgods of The Last Apocalypse
King Arthur - Manowar - Hail And Kill
Troy - Blind Guardian - Battlefield [part1] [part2]
Braveheart - Turisas - Battle Metal
Shaolin Soccer - Cryonic Temple - Thunder And Lightning
The Matrix - Mercenary - Bulletblues

12
The Hydlaa Plaza / Need opinions on a writing.
« on: April 16, 2005, 03:06:36 pm »
This story has nothing to do with Planeshift, so I\'m posting it here :P
Anyway, like the topic says, I need some opinions on the writings I just started. It\'s beginning of first chapter (I\'ll edit in the rest of it sometime next week when I actually have time) of book I\'m writing. I would be grateful for any opinions on my writing style... or anything for that matter... Besides that, enjoy :)


------------


       Rarely does the human eye witness nature\'s manifestations of a power that could raze a whole town in just one night. Tidal waves, earthquakes and whirling winds can bring both fear and amazement to the masses taking part in the demonstrations of nature\'s might. These powers many times have plagued mankind, leaving mayhem and despair wherever they went. What could born in the hearts of those who stand face to face with the force ready to take their lives in its never-ending crave for fresh blood? The last hope of escape? Can one really fool his mind to believe that there is always a possibility to elude the devastating strikes of enraged elements? Or is it just a need to prolong the existence of one\'s miserable life? One thing is for sure - beings limited by their flesh stand absolutely no chance against the godlike materialisations of rage and destruction. Not much can be done in such situations. People may often conclude on saying their prayers in hope that pleased gods would let them keep their worthless lives. Strange as it seems, citizens of Rathurn showed completely different behaviour. But what could be expected when they had the dubious pleasure of experiencing such manifestations many times a year?
 
Without a word, Daramir stared at a raging thunderstorm extending its realm of pandemonium not that far away above a vast sea. Every few seconds mighty lightning bolts pierced through the disturbed air, annihilating the pitch blackness of the night and sending a dreadful peal through the atmosphere, as if a shock-wave of countless souls filled with agony ran right above the tract of water and towards the shore. Heavy hail kept thrusting into the sea, with each blow sending eerie ammounts of liquid into the air, as if trying to dig right to the very ground. Nothing quite like it ever appeared before his eyes, Daramir was filled with awe and dismay caused by the impression that compared to such fearsome force, he was just about nothing. Still, in some way the whole situation was causing a tingling sensation. His skin felt as if the electricity was running through his whole body, pulsing together with the rapid pounding of his heart. He could smell it in the air... an odd tint of sulphur was floating all around, somehow inflaming his soul and bringing passion to his bright grey eyes. It was more than obvious to him - it couldn\'t be a normal thunderstorm. Some fearsome force had to be responsible for all that he could witness in that very moment. Just for a while Daramir turned away from the awe-inspiring vision and took a look around.
   
Many of the Rathurn citizens were already standing on the shore, gazing into the play of the raging force of nature. None of them seemed to be surprised though, with ease on their faces they fed their eyes with the normally uncommon event. From what Daramir heard, people of Rathurn were used to seeing such manifestations up to five times a year. He still did not understand how they could get familiar with them, completely throwing away any signs of fear. Is a possibility of death any less dreadful if it happens on a regular basis? He glanced down to Garnil, his old dwarven companion whom he went through many tough and often macabre fights with. He was standing by his side, calm like all the others. Whether that was caused by his frequent visits in this city, or the dwarf\'s fearless attitude still remained unknown to him. It was truly strange to see such peace in the city, whilst the sea showed its lust for chaos and mayhem, sending blackened waves towards the crowded shore.
 
Daramir snapped out of the reverie as the thunderstorm projected a mighty lightning bolt, thus creating an outstanding peal that pierced through his heart, instantly triggering all of his nerves. The passion in his eyes quickly got replaced with a shock and his heart started pounding even faster than before. With fear clutching his chest, he could hardly catch a breath. Daramir clenched his fists in an attempt to regain his calmness.
   
\"The citizens must have offended Wador in some way.\" Still struggling with fear, he tried to make his voice as calm as possible and yet loud enough to pierce through the noise filling the shore, so that his friend would hear his words. It appeared quite obvious to him that the lightning must have been a form of manifestation chosen by the god of war himself to send a message to the unwary citizens. How else could have he done it? There were no temples devoted to him in the city, let alone priests who could pass on Wador\'s will.
 
\"You speak of deities?\" Garnil looked up to him and slightly shook his head. \"It is not gods that hold blame for what we can witness here,\" He frowned and went on, raising his voice. \"The fault lies in the actions of careless humans, who think of nothing but themselves.\" The dwarf was going to end his answer on these words, yet seeing the surprise on Daramir\'s face, he decided to carry on. \"You see, large ports are not the only cause that brings fame and renown to this strange city... This place is also holding the greatest mages\' guild in the whole land. Yes, mages of Rathurn know a lot about their art,\" Garnil turned around to face the city, with his eyes seemingly searching for something in the blackness of the night. \"But the careless magicians hold no regards for the safety of the common folk. Their experiments bring pain and despair to the lives of people inhabiting this city... They disgust me.\" He concluded his answer by spitting on the ground.
 
\"But wouldn\'t emperor cease such experiments?\" Daramir many times had experienced hardships of life in the empire, but he couldn\'t make himself to believe that the life of citizens could be so unimportant.
   
\"Emperor? Ha! And why would he think about safety of the people? All he really cares for is the money... His greed is legendary even among us dwarves!\" Garnil still could remember the military campaign launched against the forces of chaos, which eventually ended up in a complete failure. Failure caused solely by the still young emperor, who didn\'t send the final blow to the armies inhabiting the Dark Mountains, because, as he himself said, \'The war took enough of money already\'. \"Remember, my friend,\" He continued. \"For your emperor it is all about the money... solely... don\'t expect him to care about anything else.\"
 
Sadness covered Daramir\'s face. He understood it pretty well that the emperor wasn\'t really a person that could be trusted. His greed had often proved to have more strength than his common sense, but Daramir still could remember his own service as a city guard in the capital of the empire. He had always followed law and took pride out of service for the emperor. However, if the emperor indeed was an unjust man, then where\'s the honor? Where\'s the pride?
 
It was all gone now though. Many years passed since Garnil took him away from the city life and brought to the way of an adventurer. Although they did not find the promissed \'richies\' and great fame yet, this life was far more exciting and rewarding than that of a city guard. The large risk of losing his life didn\'t seem to be too appealing as well. Over the years Daramir learned that more blood spilled is just that and nothing more. No sorrow over the killed ones, just moving forward. He could die as well - that\'s true, but so what? Did he have anything to live for? Anyone? Quite contrary. His blood spilled in a battle could give him a pass to the realm of the wargod Wador. What could be more rewarding than meeting the ancient brothers in arms, with whom he could then fulfill the will of his lord?
   
\"Ah, it is ending now,\" Garnil was gazing into the thunderstorm, which seemed to be sending the last of its lightning bolts. \"Maybe we should head back to the tavern. We have some work to do tomorrow.\"
   
\"Yes, maybe we should.\" Daramir answered silently and once again glanced towards the sea. Strange thoughts were gathering in his mind. The thunderstorm showed an immense power, but it was fading away now. He on the other hand remained so little, unnoticed, and yet his life force gave him the possibility to carry on his existance. So what was the superior force? Daramir was given a chance to live on, maybe for many years to come, whilst the horrid manifestation was about to cease its existance. Could it be that he, such a tiny soul, might hold the superiority over such a fearsome power? Daramir shook his head shrugging away all of the thoughts and whispered: \"Let\'s go.\" As he turned his head towards the city.
   
It was pretty late, the time most likely reaching midnight. The streets were void from any signs of life. Most of the people who remained awake, were either gathered on the shore or enjoying their careless moments in the taverns. The air was somewhat heavy, bringing both Daramir and Garnil a feeling of tiredness and melancholy. It seemed like the best thing to do would be to get some sleep and let the day come to the past. After few minutes they reached the Golden Buckler tavern. With a jingle of a bell they opened the door, soon immersing themselves in the loud racket of the tavern patrons.
 
Passing by the cheering drunkards, they finally found a free table. There was some ale spilled all over it, but that detail didn\'t seem to be too important for the tired adventurers. Daramir quickly sat on a chair, leaning backwards and sighing loudly.
   
\"I don\'t think either of us is in a partying mood right now,\" Garnil chuckled. \"But a pint of ale won\'t do any harm. Wait here while I go to get us some.\" The dwarf didn\'t wait for Daramir\'s answer and quickly walked towards the bar, soon disappearing behind the conversing bar flies.
   
But Daramir wasn\'t going to answer anyway. He closed his eyes, drifting away to the realm of his deep considerations, where various thoughts nonstop stormed his mind. Some time passed since he joined the last adventure. Together with Garnil and few others, he was supposed to venture into some godforsaken cave to retrieve an ancient statuette said to symbolise an old idol. There were no statuettes though... lots of goblins instead. Who would expect those creatures so deep in the empire? They usually didn\'t go far beyond the southern fortresses - too risky for them to encounter the empire\'s army. But either way, the statuette was lost and the quest turned out to be a complete failure. Pity, but that\'s just how it is.
   
Twenty or so moons passed since then. He and Garnil were supposed to meet in Rathurn to hire themselves as guards for some merchants\' caravan. The spring was reaching its end and the season for certain wares, in this case silk clothes, was about to start. Such journeys were usually pretty dull, but hey, the merchants paid pretty well. Still, the caravan wasn\'t supposed to start until the next week, Daramir didn\'t expect to see his dwarven friend in the city just yet.
   
It turned out that he was doing a favour for a friend of his, who seemingly couldn\'t come to the city himself. Some old wizard living in a village several miles away, Daramir didn\'t really know much about him.
 
\"And the troll roared with a deep voice that could bring dread to the hearts of the bravest of men!\" Suddenly Daramir\'s thoughts got interrupted by someone uttering some kind of a tale. He turned around. It was a bard, at the moment surrounded by few men who listened to him in enjoyment. \"But he did not step back, oh no! He extanded his naked blade and looked into the beast\'s eyes, as if trying to tell it that one of them shall die... and he intends to live for many years to come. The troll didn\'t wait any longer, it swinged its enormous club at Werelor, but the paladin was quick enough to evade it. Not waiting for the beast to regain its balance, he charged at it while uttering a loud battlecry. But the attack failed... The troll sent a blow at him with its left fist, completely smashing Werelor\'s shield.\"
 
\"Just the shield?\" One of the men suddenly interrupted him. \"I think a punch of a troll would do far more than that.\"
   
\"Well Werelor survived it,\" The bard smirked. \"And wasn\'t going to give up.\"
 
\"Fine, fine,\" The man laughed. \"Carry on with it.\"
 
\"Well my throat is getting pretty sore,\" The bard slightly motioned to an empty mug standing next to him. \"I\'m unsure if I can...\"
   
\"Another pint of ale!\" The man exclaimed towards the bar and with a smirk turned back to the bard, as if expecting him to continue now.
   
\"Ah, much appreciated! Well as I said, Werelor received quite a mighty blow from the troll. But the troll didn\'t use the occassion to finish him off. Instead, it sent a mighty roar, as if trying to show its superiority over the paladin... that caused its doom. Werelor once again charged at the beast and with a mighty swing, he slashed through the troll\'s flesh, opening its stomach. Acid from the beast\'s bowels streamed right at the paladin, in same moment destroying all of his armour. But the protective aura guarded him... and by his will, Werelor survived.\"
 
\"Hah, bards\' tales!\" Garnil returned with two pints of ale right before the storyteller described the death of the troll. \"I have seen many men die under the force of trolls\' acid. Let me tell you this,\" He put one of the pints before Daramir. \"No aura may protect a man from something like that!\"
   
Daramir didn\'t answer, only smiled slightly and took a sip from his mug. He recalled an old story he once heard, of a man who lost his hand when trying to take a luckily found diamond out of troll\'s stomach. Daramir never seen the acid in action on his own eyes. In fact, he had never even seen a troll.
   
They sat there for a while, enjoying their drinks. Anyone who would look at them, might think that they were about to join some kind of a warpath. Daramir wore his plate armour, missing only the helmet, thus letting his brown hair to freely rest upon his shoulders. By his side there was his trusted sword, remaining in sheathe made of some fine leather. Garnil on the other hand had no armour. His hair dyed to orange however, was a sign that this dwarf was ready to fight anywhere and at any time. Fight for his honor and with no regards for own safety. His hazel eyes showed a bit of insanity and traces of alcohol could be noticed on his brown beard. Not exactly someone to pick a fight with. All in all, Garnil was ready to make use of his large battle axe for any, even the smallest insult pointed at his person.
 
Garnil glanced into his mug. It was empty already. \"It always ends before it starts for good...\" He mumbled to himself. \"Well we should get some sleep,\" He nodded to his companion \"Are you coming?\"
 
Daramir who until now was immersing himself in the bard\'s story, turned back to his dwarven friend. The tavern was quite silent already. Some drunkards, who seemingly couldn\'t take their alcohol were lying next to the still filled mugs. Daramir took the last gulp of his pint and answered: \"Yes, let\'s go.\"

13
Single Author Stories / Draklar's History
« on: March 28, 2005, 05:24:32 am »
Volume 1: Secrets of The Past


Chapter 1: Child of The Wild


Is there anything in the world of greatest beauty than the sight of a forest going through its upmost bloom? The sight which gives all spending their time there a pleasant, soothing feeling, often accompanied by drifting away to the enchanted realms created by, so strange and distant to our minds, nature\'s game. The green tracts spreading their might and majesty during the warm kravaan days grasp their visitors\' attention, inviting them to the nature\'s dance, dance led by tall trees swaying under the force of gentle yet mighty winds. The sound of streams rushing through rocky areas become so soothing for the ears of those who each day have to experience the city\'s racket, it often becomes an emancipation from the disturbing civilization that they have been forced to live in. Finally, the beauty of the forest gets fulfilled by various flowers presenting themselves in most charming shapes and colors, as if trying to drag us away from everyday considerations and worries. It leaves no wonder that in such amazing world, always can be seen rich and vigorous life. Many birds sing their serenades all day long, a blessing and a form of thanking the forest for the shelter and wonders it creates. And while the birds cheer on the trees, down on the ground can be seen all sorts of animals roaming around in search for food or taking care of their younglings. The variety between them can be so great, that it becomes an amusement, or even adventure, just trying to observe all of them.
It was a creature just like that resting nearby a vigorous stream, every once and then chewing on quite long grass. Traces of water on its short, gray fur indicated that it could get splashed not much time ago. Those creatures didn\'t like their fur wet, they rather stayed away from the streams and drank only from forest\'s ponds. It certainly wasn\'t big. Such a small mammal with rather short limbs would be quite an easy prey for various predators roaming the forest, if not for its fossorial forefeet. It didn\'t take much time for them to dig themselves into the ground. That didn\'t discourage the predators however, as their meat was widely known as a titbit. Very rarely could they feel completely safe. Even in that very moment a hunter was awaiting behind a nearby tree for a chance to attack. It wasn\'t a common predator however. The one standing behind the tree was a seventeen years old male elf. Draklar was no different from other dermorians. He had long blonde hair resting upon his shoulders, sometimes covering his cheerful blue eyes. Like most of other elves he was quite slender and not so muscular either. He had however some fighting skills that he learned from his father, or simply from wandering around the forest. At the moment he was wearing some green clothes, showing many rips as a sign of numerous adventures undergone in the woods. He was also wielding a two meters long staff, sharpened at one of its ends.
Draklar was living in a small hut located next to the forest. With the nearest village over five miles away, most of the time his only companions were his parents and various creatures roaming the woodland. From time to time two of his father\'s friends would come to pay them a visit. Draklar was always glad to see them. Everytime it was an opportunity for him to test his fighting skills and the two knights were always glad to spar with, as they called him, \"eager cadet\". Draklar first started using a sword when he was fifteen years old. His father, Gordor, made a broadsword for him in his smithy located just by the hut. Draklar often watched his father work there. He wished to learn smithing himself, but he knew his father wouldn\'t let him practice that until many years later. Gordor, in his wisdom, knew it wouldn\'t stop his son from reaching for smithing tools. He knew him too well. It was quite obvious that Draklar would go to the smithy while his father was away. Thus Gordor decided to drag away his son\'s attention, forging a new sword just for him to train with. The results were as expected. Draklar started staying away from the smithy, trying to make use of his new weapon. He didn\'t manage to use it properly, but he never hurt himself either. Mostly because the forged sword was pretty blunt. After the three years he still was no match for the old knights. None the less, fighting with them was giving him a lot of joy. Still, fighting wasn\'t the only reason why he was glad to see them. Everytime they would come to their hut, they told stories of battles and adventures. Draklar kept listening to their stories, hoping that one day, he would take part in one of such quests. Besides the knights\' visits, the only chance for him to meet different people, were occasional trips to the nearby village, where his parents bought necessary accessories. Draklar didn\'t like it too much. After years spent in the wild, he couldn\'t get used to so many people in one place. The crowd was overwhelming the young dermorian. However, with most of his days spent near his home, Draklar\'s life was a very peaceful one.
Draklar looked from behind the tree, checking what the mammal was doing. The furry creature was turned away, carelessly chewing on the bits of grass. It seemed like a good moment to attack. The dermorian stepped away from the tree a bit and aimed his weapon at the animal. He had to move silently or it would disappear in the ground in a blink of an eye. Draklar assumed he was close enough. He threw his weapon, hoping it would pierce through his unfortunate prey. He wasn\'t so lucky however. The sharpened staff digged itself into the ground a few inches away from the mammal. It was enough of an alert for it to start running away.
- \"Swounds!\" Draklar exclaimed and removed his weapon from the ground.
He glanced in the direction in which the animal ran off to, to see if he still would have a chance in chasing it. He could still see it, that gave him a bit of hope. He rushed after it, avoiding any stones and tree-trunks located on his way. On its way, the animal encountered a stream of water. Afraid of getting wet, it changed the direction of its escape. It was now on its way to a forest clearing. Draklar kept running after it, but after getting to the clearing he couldn\'t see it anymore. He took a look around and soon he knew what happened. On the clearing, there was a small mound of loose earth raised in the middle of it. A certain sign that the animal dig itself into the ground. Draklar, now filled with anger and disappointment, thrust his weapon into the ground and sat down on a nearby stone. He didn\'t feel like hunting in that day anymore.
Draklar was about to stand up and head back to his home, when suddenly he heard a worrisome sound, a silent growl that filled his heart with a fine dose of dread. The dermorian slowly picked up his weapon and made few steps backwards. However, before he could get to a safe distance, from the bushes emerged the beast\'s head. It was all black and had a pair of glowing red eyes angrily staring in the elf\'s direction. It bared its teeth at Draklar, as if trying to show him that those lethal weapons shall end his short life. When the creature walked a few steps forward, Draklar could see more details about it. It was walking on all fours, if it stood on its rear limbs, it probably wouldn\'t be much shorter than the elf. It had short fur, almost as black as its skin. Generally, the beast looked dangerous and draklar wasn\'t going to wait for it to attack. He turned around and started running away, hoping that he would lose the predator. It started chasing him in the same moment, supposedly holding a need to taste elven meat. Draklar kept running away, until he encountered large tree-trunk lying on the ground. He jumped behind it, hiding from the predator. Soon after, the beast jumped over the tree-trunk and landed few meters in front of Draklar. It stopped for a while, sniffing in order to locate the dermorian. Draklar slowly approached it and just when the beast turned around, he swinged his staff at its head. The creature groaned, stunned by the mighty blow and made an attempt to keep the balance. Draklar didn\'t wait for it to react, he swinged his staff, once again damaging creature\'s head. It groaned again and made a few steps backwards. The dermorian turned around, giving spin to his staff and launched an uppercut at the beast\'s chin. It got thrown up into the air and landed a few feet away on its back. Draklar looked at it, the creature was certainly dead. The stench coming from its corpse discarded Draklar\'s idea to take it as his prey. He had to head back home with empty hands. He didn\'t encounter any other problems on his way back home.
The day was still young and draklar didn\'t rush on his trip. The forest was really dear to him. A certain bond was forming between him and the woodland. He never thought about moving away from it. He kneeled at a stream to get himself some water. When he glanced at all the trees and other plants forming the unity, a dome known as forest... he knew it was his true home. He stood up and approached some bush, picking small, red fruits from it afterwards. It wasn\'t the same as the hard earned meat, but it would do. With a sack full of delicious snacks, he turned back to his home. It didn\'t take even an hour before he could see the familiar hut. He walked further with the intention to go inside, when suddenly something dragged his attention away. He could hear a distant sound. Draklar turned around to see what it was: two horse riders - a diaboli and an ynnwn. It left no doubt to him - the two visitors were his father\'s friends.
The door of the hut opened and Gordor appeared on the porch. He was a robust dermorian, with no doubt he could do very well in any battle. he had a long brown hair and at the moment a smirk was appearing on his face. His gray eyes showed that he had much joy in seeing his old friends. They also showed a lot of wisdom. Gordor always thought that a warrior needs as much wisdom as strength. Many times such approach saved his life and many times it earned him respect among the people he met. Because of his common sense and high tactical skills, he was offered a high position in Hydlaa\'s army. He had to turn down the proposition however. Back in those days he met Sil, Draklar\'s mother. She didn\'t like the city\'s life, preferred to live close to the forests. Gordor had no doubts about what should he do. Soon they got married and moved to a hut located next to the forest.
The two knights finally arrived at the hut, both wearing full heavy armour. Gordor approached them with a grin on his face.
- \"How was the trip?\" He finally spoke.
- \"Ah, \'twas quite pleasant one\" The diaboli jumped down from his steed. That old warrior was much stronger than a common diaboli. Dragor had gone through many battles in his life, many scars on his face could certainly prove that. With his high charisma as well as uncommon wisdom he would make a great leader. He wasn\'t aiming for that however, he preferred a simple life as a knight. He and Gordor had known each other for twenty years. In that time they managed to develop a trust that helped them on the battlefield more than once. \"We would be earlier\" He continued \"If not for Alkar flirting with a wench in the last tavern\".
- \"Hey!\" The ynnwn exclaimed \"You are just jealous\" A grin appeared on his face. Alkar was always a fun-loving fellow, he had often proved to have a certain weakness for the women. Physically he was not very different from other ynnwns. He had bright, almost white hair and a dark red skin. Alkar was only a bit stronger than the typical ynnwn. He also had a tail, a heritage from his mother, as he always called it. A fairly big crack could be seen in his breast-plate, many times his friends told him to fix it. Each time he refused. He believed that this crack was bringing him luck on the battlefield and in fact, many who saw him getting out of various troubles thanks to nothing but sheer luck, were ready to believe him.  

14
Wish list / Magic Weapons
« on: March 26, 2005, 07:59:39 am »
Well this wish is about a common problem that could be encountered in many MMORPGs, especially in ones where magic weapons are pretty easy to come by. It is quite common phenomenon that a warrior would name the weapon which he had by his side for a long while. Of course that would especially occur when the weapon was enchanted. But what if the warrior who used his shortsword with the orotund name of \"Death\'s Scythe of Doom\" finds a weapon which is much stronger than his shortsword?

I think this could be fixed by letting players make their own magic weapons instead. So just like a sword passed in family from father to son, a character would be able to create a sword very close to him. Such development would take time and could be made thanks to the glyphs. For example a character who met a mage could target him and type /enchant. A test depending on owner\'s weapon skill and enchanter\'s way (of the glyph) skill would decide whether the ritual was successful. Such weapon with one glyph wouldn\'t be powerful nor would it have a visual effect (We don\'t want everyone running around with light sabers, now do we?).

But it should be a possibility to add further glyphs. The test would be affected by previous glyphs as well, for example:
4 crystal glyphs, another crystal glyph added - would require a mage with amazing skill in the Crystal Way.
2 red glyphs, 2 azure glyphs, a crystal glyph added - would require a mage with decent skills in Red, Azure and Crystal Ways.
More glyphs would also require higher weapon skill of the weapon\'s owner.
Maybe there should also be a longer time which both (owner and caster) have to wait until they can participate in such ritual again.

Lastly, the weapons would have effects basic for glyphs used:
red glyphs - fire damage
brown glyphs - defense
crystal glyphs - additional damage against dark creatures, protection from dark spells
azure glyphs - weapon speed

Or depending on special effect the glyph has.

15
General Discussion / Experience Gaining System
« on: March 21, 2005, 12:05:48 am »
Well I have few thoughts about the current Planeshift experience gaining system, whereas the general thought is \"It\'s bad\". I have no idea how other players feel about it, but in my opinion it is kind of dull and not really innovative. Sure, there is a good point in it
and I mean here that you can gain experience not only from fighting monsters, but also by mining and so on, but I think Planeshift could move a little further. Maybe I should start from stating what bothers me most:

First of all, I think the speed with which characters advance in power is too fast. It might be good in early testing phase, but I don\'t think it will bring anything good in the future. Having an overpowered character can often prove to be discouraging for roleplaying, for example: A warrior has a mission to retrieve an item from a castle filled with all sorts of traps. Whilst overpowered warrior could collect various potions and let the traps damage him, a character with lesser power should find a thief with detect traps skill and maybe a mage to back them up with various spells. What is more, if the detect traps skill affected whole group, the thief would have a possibility to leave the group while being between many traps and have certain power over the rest of adventurers. But that\'s just a side note, there\'s also second point:

Generally people can gain experience by fighting monsters all day long. As we all know, that has a strong connection with the phenomenon known as power-leveling. Simply, as long as people see that hack&slash brings lots of experience, they will do that. And that brings me to the point where I share my idea of a little more innovative (I don\'t think it was used in any other game) system.



To give a general picture, here\'s an example that should be quite familiar with the real life:
Normally when someone studies from a book, he won\'t be able to study all day long on same ratio. His mind would keep getting tired and the studying potential would decrease. So let\'s say that this person would take a bath. The results are quite obvious - he would relax and the studying potential would go up. What is more, he could also go outdoors and play football, decreased potential for studying wouldn\'t have many bad effects on playing it.
By using some mathematical calculations, something like that could be brought ingame without bigger problems. Of course, there would be many factors affecting all sorts of things. Besides potentials for studying, fighting and so on, gained experience would be also affected by how tired or hungry the character is.

With that stated, here\'s a more ingame example:

Let\'s say that a dermorian trains on the arena in order to gain more experience. With each hit he gains some experience, however in same time he gets more tired and his fighting potential decreases. After longer time, keeping in mind that the fighting potential is too low for further practice, the dermorian goes to a library to study a bit. His studying potential would be at its full, but still being tired after the fight makes it hard to study anything. The character is slowly getting less tired, his fighting potential goes up while the studying one goes down. However, because of being tired studying doesn\'t go well and the dermorian decides to get some rest at a tavern. There he talks with people (talking should give a bit of experience too, after all we also train charisma and who knows what can we learn from others) and drinks ale (liquids should increase the potentials). After getting some rest, he goes to mine a bit, where he spends his mining potential.

Relaxing would also depend on place where character spends his time. While everyone are doing quite well in a tavern, a dermorian would relax even faster in a forest, while a dwarf or a kran in a dungeon. That wouldn\'t however stop the dermorian from getting used to a dungeon. If he spends lots of time there, after a longer while, his relaxing ratio would be higher in a dungeon, not in forest.
Same goes for potentials. If character does more fighting than studying, then fighting potential decreases slower, while studying one faster.
That could create such characters as gladiators who feel great while fighting monsters on the arena, or druids who while in forests, can study for a very long time.

Also, characters who don\'t fight or study as much (explorers or bards) should have different ways of gaining experience. While everyone would gain minimal experience by talking or changing locations, bards (characters that talk a lot) should get more experience from talking, while explorers (characters that travel a lot) should get more experience from changing locations (note that the biggest variety occurs in the locations, the more experience is gained - switching between same two would give very low ammount of it).

As the last point - experience shouldn\'t be given at once. Rather stored together in a pool (player shouldn\'t be able to see how much there is) and, for example, after every ingame hour certain percent of stored experience would be gained by the character. That would make the character gain experience constantly, no matter what he\'s doing. And with bigger variety in his life, he should gain more experience. Simply, characters would develop just by living.

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