Important Updates

[Woodz]

I am starting this thread, so we can provide easily accessible updates to the game that we believe should be announced. Not all changes will be posted here as some may be obvious or not important.

It will also provide players who visit the boards less frequently, a place to visit and find out about the latest changes that they might be interested in. And if something does change that you believe should be posted here, file a @request and we'll look into adding it to this topic.

[Woodz]

Any monsters with Grunt Mastery should now be able to summon grunts (or warrior grunts) from anywhere at double the cost they would normally pay at their breeding pit.

The command to do so is: summon <grunt> or <warrior>.

[Woodz]

Other Changes to Grunt Mastery:

The number of grunts you can command per rank of grunt mastery has been decreased, you no longer get 1 per rank. However the ability now gives bonuses to the grunts' defense and offense, as well as their hit points.

[Woodz]

Some changes have been made to a couple of special abilities.

Task Masters increase the speed at which their grunts mine and build structures. This effect may not be noticeable until you put several ranks into the ability.

Task masters also have access to a new command, reprimand. A task master can reprimand another monster's idle grunt and tell it to do other activities depending on the amount of time it has been idle (it starts as one real day). As a monster's ability increases in task master, it'll be able to command grunts that have been idle for less time.

Monsters can no longer cast spirit shield on other monsters. It only affects the caster. This was done mainly to differentiate the skill from sphere of protection, and to provide the healer with defense bonuses while in battle.

[JasonH]

[reposted from the general board]

We've made some changes to the NPC AI today that should help to balance things out, removing some of the loopholes that some
Chimera and wandering monsters have been taking advantage of.

First, retreating has been modified so that the retreat is a separate action from moving to another location.

Second, while wandering about, they will no longer attempt to enter water or climb steep inclines and fail. This means that they'll be somewhat smarter about escaping some of the common killing grounds in the game world (I hope!).

Finally, some NPCs failed to attack flying monsters correctly. This has now been fixed. Beware when trying to take to the skies to avoid the wrath of the Uglies!

Please do submit more bug reports so that we can continue to make the Uglies more challenging and engaging combatants.

- Bruce

[Woodz]

The charges command now gives you more information about the trap you are viewing. Here's a summary of the information:

Trap Type
Trap Creator
Trap Kills
Trap Potency
Charges Left
Total number of times the trap has been triggered

Note: None of this data has been recorded until recently, so all old traps will obviously not have the correct data.

Trap Potency indicates the level of that particular trap based on who set the trap. The level is determined by the your rank in basic traps and attributes. Level mainly affects the difficulty to disarm, and the damage, and a few other things. However, when you improve your skills, your old traps do not improve, so you can now see the potency and whether it needs upgrading.

Disarm and Detect is no longer its own special ability, as it didn't wind up being very fun as a single-minded activity. The abilities of disarming and detecting traps have now been combined with Basic Traps.

Removing traps. You can now also remove your own traps with the disarm command without any fear of failing. However, to disarm any clanmate's trap requires that you search for it and disarm it correctly. You will not gain favor for the disarming of clan-mate or allied traps or for traps whose creators have deleted their character.

Trap discharging also grants a few favor points, when someone triggers it. To determine the favor points awardee, the system chooses randomly from a weighted list of everyone who has set charges on the trap. This is not a retroactive change, so will only occur for future trap charging. The creator of the trap is chosen as the default FP awardee if no charges have been set on the trap.

[JasonH]

Certain items which should never have been takable are being reclaimed. If you have one of these items, expect it to be removed from the game. Just wanted to give a fair warning to all.

[ScottM]

Better Mentor bonuses are now in effect!

Mentors can now be multi-classed and the Mentor Special Ability is now available in the character generator.

The Mentor/Newbie channel is now in place for use by Mentors and new monster characters. "mentor <message>" to use the Mentor channel.

Newbies who are being Mentored get from 10-110% Favor Point bonuses for all activities they do while in the presence of their Mentor, and from 10-25% bonus while away from their Mentor. These bonuses depend on the rank of the Mentor.

Mentors themselves get a bonus of 5% of all Favor Points gained by their Minions.

Clan members who have Mentored monsters in them may now reincarnate to the location of any of their Mentored monsters by using the "reincarnate <monster name>" option.

All resources looted by a Mentored monster get a 40% "tithing" bonus tacked on to them (meaning the clan hoard gets free loot!)

Enjoy the new and improved Mentor system and get out there and Mentor those newling monstrosities!

[Woodz]

Greetings Revengers, we have a couple of new changes to the game that should spark your interest.

*Death Penalty*

The death penalty has been changed. All monsters level 20 and above will now suffer from a favor point loss. There is also a temporary attribute penalty that will lower your attributes by a percentage for a period of five minutes.

Another effect that the death penalty imposes, if you continually attack a player and/or clan, and one of those members kills you, the penalty will be increased by a large factor. This has been implemented to discourage wandering monsters from repeatedly attacking the same clan.

Of course, we will monitor the results of this change to see its impact on gameplay and make further changes if it doesn't take care of the issue.

*Structure: Well*

For all clans that have a wishing well, unholy fount, or natural spring in their lair (or for any builders that can build one), they can now use a command that will allow them to set that well as their respawn location.

Command: respawn -- Type this command at the location you would like to set as your new respawn location (note: it will not work if you are not at a Well). Respawn reset, will reset your respawn to the default location--either Grendel's Shrine or the entrance to your lair).

[Woodz]

We hope everyone is excited about our recent changes, here's another quick update about the lairs.

In the near future we plan to give clans the ability to put multiple traps in a single structure (the entrance, and empty rooms). So, in light of this information, there has been some small changes made to the charge command. If there is more than one trap at a location, it defaults to choosing the first trap on the object, you can also specify which trap by indicating the optional trap number. The charges command now gives information regarding the number associated with a trap.

The command now works like this: charge <here|item|direction> [trap number] <number of charges>, this should also make it a bit more consistent with setting traps and the charges commands.
-------------

There are now limits on the amount of resources you can store in a storage chamber. You can store up to 5,000 (as the default) of each resource type in a storage room. This limit will be upgradable by different types of structures depending on the resource type.

Note: If all your storage chambers are full, and you are mining resources, then those mined resources will be lost.

[Bruce]

Builders may now build dens for wandering monsters. These dens are single-room hideouts for the wanderers and let them hoard goodies.

A builder may build one with:

build den down

anywhere outdoors. Once the den has been built, the builder can either abandon it (causing it to get destroyed), or offer it to a wanderer. If the wanderer accepts, then the den belongs to the wanderer and they will be responsible for paying an upkeep cost.

Builders may also repair a den for a wanderer, in the event that it gets damaged. For the moment, dens may not be trapped.

- Bruce

[Bruce]

There are now limits on how many minions you may have, as well as limits on the total grumble size.

They are largely based on authority and are larger for social monsters than for wanderers.

Please @report any problems that you see or potential balance problems.

Thanks!

- Bruce

[Bruce]

Hello all,

Limitations are now in place that require that a monster be of a particular level before descending deeper into the lair. This serves both to protect the clan from new members who might go awry, as well as works in conjunction with some upcoming changes to ugly spawning that will make the uglies appropriate to the level of the lair upon which they've spawned.

To start with, anyone is granted access to the first level. Fifth level is required for access to the second level.

As usual, please file an @report for any problems that you're experiencing.

- Bruce

[Bruce]

Hello all,

Races and roles no longer automatically grant abilities. This means that you have complete choice and freedom in deciding what actions you get, apart from tooth and nail and the ability to fly.

The abilities that used to come with the roles and races will now be available for purchase via karma at a discounted rate of 50%.

Also, dual-roled characters will pay an increasingly greater amount of karma for additional abilities.

- Bruce

[Bruce]

When you attempt to command a grunt, it now looks for your own grunts first.

So, when there are 6 grunts somewhere that don't have names, and you'd like to command your own, you don't need to figure out which is yours. If you have multiple grunts in the location, then the usual 'command 2 grunt to XXX' will work as well.

This should eliminate a lot of confusion, especially around the shrine area.

Cheers,

- Bruce

[Bruce]

The reset for the released version will happen tonight after the event. That'll probably be about 10pm Eastern. The reset will take roughly 2 hours during which the game will be closed.

- Bruce

[Bruce]

The lair access restrictions now only apply when changing levels. If you're on a level of the lair, you may remain there without an escort. You'll need an escort to leave that level of the lair again.

- Bruce

[Woodz]

I hope everyone is doing well, and enjoying Grendel's Revenge.

We are asking all the players to please use the assist command to report a problem or ask for assistance. This command allows us to log the problem, so that someone may answer it later if they are offline.

We have also added a new command to the list of commands so that players can communicate with the StoryGuides. Therefore, when a storyguide contacts you or replies to an assist you submitted, you may respond back using this command:

sgp?roclaim <text>

The command, proclaim, is still in place, but should only be used if you are speaking to one of the administrators or if you do not get a response from one of the storyguides or through an assist.

Thank you. If any one has any questions, please feel free to contact one of us using any of the above channels.

[Woodz]

To solve some of the balance problems with advancement for monsters who mainly gain Grendel's favor from battling, we have tweaked the number and level of adventurers that spawn as well as increased the favor point gain for each kill.

Happy 'Hooman' Hunting!

[JasonH]

The damage of cold touch, boulder throw, and tail attack has been increased. The damage on these actions are now at an equivalent level to other actions of their types.

[JasonH]

The carapace and endure damage bugs should be fixed. Please refer to the new help files for further information about their usage.

[JasonH]

Recent ability modifications:

Cure: Works now

Corpse Feast: Healing amount greatly increased. Can now cure small amounts of poison and disease.

Stun: Increased duration at lower levels, so that it is useful. Decreased duration at higher levels, so it is not overpowering. Randomized duration, instead of it being constant.

Evasion: Helps you retreat

[JasonH]

Boss Monster:

Movement penalty decreased. Out of lair penalty decreased.

Intimidate:

Fixed. (Effect greatly increased)

Bureaucracy and Dungeonmaster:

To-hit and defensive bonuses now work. Dungeonmaster reduction of building cost works.

Stun:

Stunned enemies are easy to retreat from.

Stop Em:

Stop Em now helps prevent enemies from retreating from you.

Koncentrate:

Now works with all weapons. Does not reduce damage, only increases accuracy.

[JasonH]

Inspire:

Inspire now works at a distance. At starting levels the master and minion will still need to be in the same room, but as favors are added to inspire, this distance can increase to become very significant.

Battlecry:

Battlecry also now works at a distance. The further you are from the source of the battlecry, the less the effect will be.

Grunt Mastery:

The defensive and hit point bonuses for grunts have been increased.

Hoarding:

Resource carrying capacity bonuses increased. Resource carrying capacity increases also now apply to direct minions of the monster.

Warmonger:

The hit point bonus now works.

[JasonH]

CHANGES TO CORPSE DECAY:

Some changes have been made to corpse decay. The purpose of these changes are to reduce the amount of items littering the world, to increase the amount of resources persisting in the world, to provide a resource reward for killing uglies with traps when no one is around to loot the corpses, and to prevent the proliferation of high-powered items.

When corpses decay, the items inside of them now decay with them. Resources inside the corpse now drop to the ground in the area that the corpse was in. You can still get items out of a corpse before it decays, but once it decays, they are gone forever. Players do not lose items from their corpses decaying, but they do lose any resources.

Grunts and offering:

Grunts will now accept an item that is offered to them by their master, or by anyone if they do not have a master.

[JasonH]

As an addendum:

If a corpse decays in a storage room and there is no room to store the resources in the room, the resources will decay as well.

[JasonH]

Structure upgrades and structure effects should now all be working properly. Any upgraded structure has had its proper effects installed. Any further upgrades or new structures built should have the proper effects, as listed in the help files. Thanks for bearing with us while we fixed the bugs, enjoy your structures!

[JasonH]

A new command is available:

unlearn <ability name>

Example:

unlearn fireball

Will cause you to unlearn an ability. This ability will be completely removed from your character. You will not receive any favors or karma, but your level will be reset appropriately. Tooth and Nail, and fly, for chimera who did not purchase it, cannot be unlearned.

[JasonH]

A new command is available to chimera:

devour <armor or shield>

Example:

devour studded leather

All chimera now have the ability to devour armor and shields. Devouring a piece of armor or shield will add a defensive bonus to the chimera that is temporary. Chimera must wait one hour between each devouring. The amount of protection will depend on the protection value of the armor and the level of the chimera. The duration of the effect will depend on the level of the chimera.

Enjoy the feast!

[JasonH]

Armor round-time changes.

Armor now effects your roundtime on all actions. The more armor you wear, the more your roundtime will be affected.

Below a certain level of armor protection based on your level, you will receive no penalty at all. Increasing the armor you wear, above that level, will increase your roundtime. These increases can be small, but can be somewhat large. It will be up to you to balance speed vs. protection.

Edit:

Shields also affect your round-time. Knowledge of the shield master skill will reduce or eliminate the round-time penalty for shields only.

[JasonH]

scan clear will clear your list of scanned targets. If you are getting the "x is no longer visible in that direction." message when you can see something of that name there, first scan clear, then scan again, and the problem should be fixed.

[JasonH]

Fane and Avatar Seat updates:

Avatar effects slightly increased. Duration slightly increased.

Grunts Fane and Shamans Fane work properly now.

Fanes and Avatar seat changeover times have been reset. They may drift in time, but should be evenly spaced.

Leaders may now search fanes, and might discover when the fane will next change hands.

Monsters of the same caste as the avatar seat may search avatar seats, and will have a chance of determining when the next avatar will be declared.

Your ability to successfully search is based on your authority.

[Bruce]

As part of the premium services, people with premium accounts may now purchase NPC human characters. These characters are a typical NPC of the type selected and may NOT be reincarnated.

This means that you will have to be careful with the life of your happy new human, lest the hungry monsters eat you.

Please let us know of any problems, technical or otherwise via the usual channels.

Cheers,

- Bruce

[JasonH]

Ascended monsters should now be able to be shot at with all ranged attacks. Please report any problems. Death from Below!

[JasonH]

A new command is available:

knock

When used above a lair entrance, knock now knocks on the lair entrance, and creates a sound inside the lair entrance that most monsters on the first level should hear. You may only knock once a minute, to prevent spam.

[JasonH]

The uglies who are invading Uthgol have rediscovered the lost arts of powerful armor enchantment! Enchanted armor is now appearing in the game world.

Some enchanted armor is clearly noticable. Most of it looks like regular equipment. There are a few ways to figure out if something is magical. These will need to be discoverd in game, but searching equipment you might think is magical is probably a good start. Magical monsters would sensibly be better at this than other monsters.

Chimera who devour magical armor will convert the enchantment into extra defensive power and duration over the normal affects of devour.

More information than this will need to be gained in game, but the equipment is appearing now. Magic items are very rare, but definately findable.

[JasonH]

A round of updates:

Armor now has a chance of taking damage. If an attack misses, it can still hit the armor and take damage. Most attacks will not do full damage to armor, but fire-breathing, cold-breathing, and tail attack can do even more than their usual damage to armor.(chimera offensive capabilities having evolved to deal with pesky armor wearing enemies) will do full damage to armor. Armor thus damaged can be reduced in quality. It can also be eventually destroyed.

Koncentrate

If you are stunned, you can still try to koncentrate. A succesful use of koncentrate will break your stun.

Natural Armor

Natural Armor now provides good protection against damage sustained from falling, with masters of natural armor being immune to damage from falling.

Hit Point bonus

All monsters gained a small hit point bonus. Praise be to Grendel.

[JasonH]

As an addendum:

The armor enchantments provided by scrolls are weak and can be destroyed when armor is damaged.

[JasonH]

Changes to stun:

Stun success cannot be reduced below 50 now.

Energy protects against stun.

Knowing the stun ability protects you slightly against stun.

[JasonH]

Soldiers and armor:

Players with the soldier role will see their armor damaged at a much lesser rate than other players. Soldiers will also receive less damage to armor than other players. Soldiers receive much less of a round-time penalty for armor, although they still receive a general roundtime penalty.

Here are a few details about the hows and whys of armor damage:

The chance of your armor being damaged is roughly equal to the portion of your defense that is armor. Each time an attack misses, the system determines whether the attack missed because of your armor, or because of something else. If a majority of your defense is armor, the chance of the attack having missed due to armor is high. If you have other defenses, such as a high agility, the evasion ability, or other abilities and spells which protect you from being hit, the chance that an attack missed because of your armor is lower. A chance of an attack having missed due to "random" factors not having to do with either character is also incorporated. A special case is the shield master skill, which increases the amount of "non-armor" defense, and decreases the amount of "armor" defense by reducing the value of your shield when making this calculation. Note that the shield master skill both increases your defense and decreases the chance of your armor being damaged.

Armor is a valid defensive strategy. The armor damage addition was intended to encourage balanced defense - use of armor as one defensive strategy in combination with another becomes more effective with this change, while use of only armor as a defensive strategy does become less effective.

As a side note, because of this change we have increased the frequency of armor enchantments and armor enchantment scrolls appearing. Armor enchantment scrolls now also increase the quality of an item. Think of these scrolls as things that uglies bring into battle to temporarily repair and buff their armor - not as tools of wizardry. This is why the armor enchantments can be destroyed by attacks. Think of the "glowing" or "humming" effects like the smell of a new car - they make the armor look pretty, but aren't really an indicator of quality.

[JasonH]

Trap bug fixed!

We've fixed the bug that has been causing all traps set on all items and portals in a room whenever the room is entered. When entering a room, only traps in the room and in the portal travelled through will now fire.

Please report any errors with this. Hopefully this should solve all the problems with limitless traps in lairs. :)

[JasonH]

Influence:

Hoarded resources now affect your influence.
Leaders of clans now gain influence based on the size of their lair.
The effect of level on influence has been decreased.

Spirit Shield

Spirit Shield will now auto-activate when you are attacked. Auto-activation of Spirit Shield will happen without any commands from the user. A success roll is still required. Auto-activation does not cause the character to become busy, but it does cause the action to be considered used. In plain english, this means that after auto-activation, you can use other skills, but cannot use spirit shield again until the action becomes ready again.

If Spirit Shield is up, it now has the added benefit of preventing opponents from approaching you. If spirit shield succesfully prevents someone from approaching you, it will stun them for a short period and knock them down.

[JasonH]

Influence:

Fixed a bug causing clan leader influence to be lower than it should have been. Clan leaders should see their influence go up.

The passive favor point gain (every fifteen minutes) for single role leaders has been increased, they now receive more than dual role leaders (this change was made a week or so ago but is only being reported until now, forgotten during the holidays).

Grunts and Spawning:

For Non-Builders:

The effect on the level of the uglies spawned by non-builders caused by grunts has been reduced to the level it was originally intended to be. It had been set much higher than it was supposed to be until recently.

For Builders:

The grunts of builders no longer have any effect on the level of the uglies spawned by them.

For Single-Role Builders

Single Role builders with grunts are considered to be skilled at sneaking from building project to building project. For this reason, any single role builders travelling with grunts will actually have the level of uglies spawned by them reduced.

[JasonH]

Alpha leader role:

The Alpha minion defense bonus should now be working properly. It was only affecting the leader before, and not the minions. Please report any problems with this.

[JasonH]

Wanderers and grunts:

Wanderers now receive warrior grunts at Grendel's Shrine when they donate. The cost is still 50 gold and 50 of the wanderer's caste specific resource.

[JasonH]

Wanderer Grunts

The grunts of wanderers should now attack any monster or ugly they see, except for their master.

[JasonH]

Teleportation, scanning, and shooting.

Monsters were able to use ranged attacks through walls and at any distance after they teleported. This has been fixed. As a side effect, you will lose all of your scanned targets when you teleport.

Searching for hidden monsters

Hidden monsters can now be searched for and found. Your success depends on your authority, and the skill and agility of the hidden monster. Having the hide skill will help you a little to search for hidden monsters (as you know what the good hiding places are).

[JasonH]

{eyes}

Sphinxes got their eyes. If you are a sphinx, and have {eyes} eyes, send an assist, and we will give you eyes of your choosing. This offer does not apply to any sphinxes that already have non {eyes} eyes.

[JasonH]

Lair upkeep costs:

Clans must now pay upkeep costs for their lair. These upkeep costs must be paid each day, or the lair will begin to fall into disrepair, and crumble into dust. Each room in a clan's lair adds to the resource cost of the lair. Dens do not have costs, and wanderers do not need to pay for their upkeep.

You can check the cost of your clan's upkeep by going to a market and typing "resources". This will give you complete information. The entire cost must be met, or all rooms will begin to crumble. Costs are paid each night around midnight CST.

Lairs which are less than 2 weeks old do not have to pay upkeep costs. Grendel encourages new clan growth, and will pay your costs from his massive hoard.

On a side note, all those Abandoned lairs out there will now begin to crumble and eventually dissapear, freeing up new real estate.


Edit: Personal hoards do not add to the clan hoard for purposes of paying resources. Any resources in personal hoards will not be used to pay upkeep.

[JasonH]

Additional information on lair decay:

When the lair upkeep cost is not met in a day, each room decays by a small amount. If the lair upkeep cost is met for a day, no rooms decay at all. It will take at least 100 days for the first room to fully decay in this way. Damaged rooms can be repaired as normal.

Abandoned lairs can be kept from crumbling! They pay upkeep like normal, so if you place resources in the hoard of an abandoned lair, you can prevent it from decaying.

[JasonH]

New command:

shrug

Monsters who find themselves surrounded by more combatants than their size should allow can now shrug off the extra combatants. No success roll is required, but the combatants you shrug off are randomly selected.

[JasonH]

Racial Special Abilities


Races with special abilities (troll, vampire, spirit, etc) may now purchase those special abilities for half price always, even if their choice of role would normally prevent them.

[JasonH]

Dens:

Wandering Monsters now receive a message when a monster, ugly, or human (or whatever) enters their den. This will only trigger once a minute, to prevent spamming of WMs.

[JasonH]

Mentor favor gain

Mentor favor gain has been reduced. Mentors also no longer gain passive gain from minions who are less than level 2.

Stunning

Maximum stun duration reduced. Knowledge of the koncentrate ability reduces chance of being stunned. Energy now protects more against stun. If stunned while flying, characters now fall.

[JasonH]

Change to discharge:

Clan leaders may now discharge any member of the clan, even if that member is not their direct minion.

[JasonH]

New Command:

Abandon <clan> A clan leader may abandon his or her clan. This makes the leader leave the clan. The leader's minion with the maximum amount of minions becomes the new leader. All of the old leader's minions become minions of the new leader, or one of the new leader's minions. If there is no space for the old leader's minions in the clan, they become clanless and lose their master.

[JasonH]

Chimera special abilities:

Chimera can now all purchase the extra special ability they should be able to have.

To clarify:

Chimera have 8 max special abilities.
All other castes have 7.

[JasonH]

Abandoning Lairs

abandon <lair>

Clan leaders may now abandon the clan's lair. Abandoning the lair removes it from your clan, allowing you to found a new one. It also removes all zone of control from the original lair. Only clan leaders can abandon the lair. All clan member respawn spots are set to the shrine. Traps in abandoned lairs will fire on you the moment you abandon them, be careful!

[JasonH]

Multiple Accounts and the Master/Minion relationship:

Several changes have been made to prevent the use of multiple unpaid
accounts to gain the benefits of master/minion relationships.

A player with multiple accounts may not have the monster from one of those
accounts be the minion of a monster from another one of those accounts.

Also, monsters from alternate, multiple accounts may not have the same
master.

For all unpaid accounts, we have gone through and retroactively enforced
these new rules. Paid accounts are grandfathered in, and may continue in
any of the above master/minion relationships.

What this means:

If you have two accounts, one of them cannot be the master of the other.
If you are a master, you can't have two minions who are alternate unpaid
accounts of each other.
If you have multiple unpaid accounts, they can't have the same master.

[JasonH]

Carapace

Carapace should be fixed now. If you experience any problems, please let us know.

Shrine Safe Zone

Players may no longer teleport enemies or use Stop Em while inside the shrine safe zone. You can still teleport yourself and anyone following you.

Teleporters

No more anti-spam warnings while using teleporters. You can now teleport to the same location more than three times. :)

[JasonH]

Teleport Resistance:

It is now possible to resist being force teleported by another player. Resistance is based on the following factors:

Energy
Your level in the teleport ability
Your level in the Stop Em skill
If you are being guarded by a monster with the Stop Em skill, you will have a high resistance to being force teleported.

[JasonH]

Hidden Dens:

All new dens are now built with hidden entrances. Any player can still walk into and out of dens, but the entrance will not be visbile. Players can search for den entrances, and the success rate is based on their authority. Builders are also slightly better at finding den entrances. The owner of the den will always find the entrance while searching.

This does not apply to existing dens. You will need to build a new den to see this new feature.

[JasonH]

Mentor and level of minions:

This change was actually made a while ago, but was not reported. Mentors now receive favor while their mentees are level 20 or less, and the mentor is higher level than the mentee.

[JasonH]

Dens

Dens cannot now be entered unless you know of the entrance or it is your den. This change has been retroactively applied to all dens. To find a den entrance, you must search for it. Once you have found it, you will be able to enter and exit the den. The number of den entrance locations you can remenber is based on your authority.

[JasonH]

More about Dens

For clarification:

It is possible to see a den entrance and not be able to enter it. Den entrances are well disguised, and tricky to enter.

To enter or destroy a den, you must first seach and find it. If you find a new den entrance, and don't have room to remember it, one of the old entrances you knew about will be randomly deleted.

New stuff:

When any lair structure or den is being destroyed, those in the surrounding area will hear it crashing to the ground. When a sleeping chamber or den is being destroyed, the den or sleeping chamber owner will receive a message telling them it is being destroyed, no matter where they are in the world.

[JasonH]

Boulder Throw:

Boulder Throw can now be defended against by all means that protect you against all other attacks. Boulder Throw now has a chance of knocking targets out of the sky if they are flying, knocking targets to the ground if they are standing, and stunning any target that it hits for a very short period of time. The chance of this occuring is based on how high you roll above your success number.


Edit:

Boulder Throw has a chance of breaking Koncentrate.

[JasonH]

Wandering Monsters and Social Leaders

Wandering Monsters no longer gain benefits from their leaders, other than mentor favor gain bonuses. This includes bonuses from Warmonger, Bureaucracy, Spirituality, etc.

[JasonH]

Wandering Monster's Grunts

Wandering Monster's grunts can no longer be invited away.

[JasonH]

A new command is available:

command [grunt] to sever [direction]

This command is available to all builders. It removes an existing exit between two lair structures, whether this exit had a portal or not.

[JasonH]

New Portals!

Builders may now build new portals. The command for this has not changed. The following new types of portal are available:

Level 0: Opening
Level 10: Curtain
Level 25: Arch
Level 50: Door
Level 100: Grated Door
Level 200: Hatch
Level 300: Double Door
Level 500: Magical Door

Note that portals can be built by any character that is a builder. The levels above refer to the level of the builder, not a building skill.

All portals except the opening and the arch can be opened and closed. No portals currently have "special effects" other than the Magical Door.

For example, if you are level 200 or above, you can

command grunt to portal hatch n

To build a hatch to the north.

Magical Doors:

All magical doors have a password. The first time a magical door is built, anyone can whisper a word to it to set that word as the password. After that point, all commands must be whispered to the magical door, and the password must be the first word in the command.

Commands for use with Magical Doors:

whisper [door] [password] Open
Opens the door.

whisper [door] [password] Close
Closes the door.

whisper [door] [password] Name [name]
Changes the door's name.

whisper [door] [password] Password [new password]
This will change the password on the magical door.

[JasonH]

I almost forgot:

New command for builders:

portals

Will show you which portals you can build, and what your next portal is.

[JasonH]

Spawning

Overland spawning has been tweaked to make it more regular. The more time a monster spends in the wilderness, the more likely humans will detect them and attack.

[JasonH]

Spawning

If you are within a certain distance (not in the same room, but close) to humans that you are attacking or that are attacking you, more humans will not appear to attack you. Being in the same room as humans still prevents more from coming after you.

[JasonH]

Cure and antidote potions

Fixed a minor bug with cure and antidote potions (they should be more effective now, and give more accurate results - if it tells you you are fullt cured, you should be fully cured).

Human Players

Players with humans can now hang out in the human village. Details are up to you to discover. :)

[Dawn]

The problem with discharge should be fixed. If you encounter any further problems, please send in an @report with the details as to what you did.

Thanks.

[JasonH]

The following help files have been updated:

Teleporter - Added entire file

Clan Hierarchies - removed the statement that a monster could only have 10 minions

Scarab - fixed the "phoenix" link

Imp - corrected statement that they could evolve into an 'imp' or a kobold

Spirit Shield - remove the statement that it was a permanant shield

General Traps - noted that this had been integrated into the basic traps ability

Disarm Traps - removed "goo sprayer" and added "slice and dice" to the traps list, added commands for charging and disarming

Infamy - removed the statement that it was reduced when killed

Mentor - added affects and commands

[Dawn]

We have implemented a mail system for GMs to contact players with. You won’t be able to mail other players or the GMs, however. Mainly, this will be used with the request and report system. We can ask questions, answer questions, and give clarification through this new system. If you are asked to reply, send in another @request or @report, whichever is appropriate.

The commands for use are:

@mail on me
@read # on me

Have fun!

[Sceadu]

The effects of battlecry should no longer stack. If you notice any problems please send in an @report.

[Sceadu]

The bug that allowed a character to use a teleporter while stunned should be fixed.

Also, characters with the teleport ablity can no longer teleport into an area they already occupy.

As always, @report any problems you may find. :)

[Sceadu]

Characters are no longer able to stun in or near Grendel's Shrine.

[Sceadu]

Stun scrolls no longer function within the protection of Grendel's Shrine.

[Sceadu]

The bug that allowed a monster to hide while flying has been corrected.

[Sceadu]

All lair entrances that had 0 integrity points have now been destroyed.

[Sceadu]

Corpses may no longer be trapped.

[Sceadu]

Stun time for fainting has been increased.

[Sceadu]

Intimidate should be working properly now.

[Sceadu]

Hidden characters should now be revealed when knocked down by the effects of a knock down scroll.

[Sceadu]

Items in containers or corpses can no longer be trapped. Please @report any problems.

[Sceadu]

It is no longer possible to devour a trapped item.

[Sceadu]

Vein sniffers can no longer build magic fountains, but can build burrows.

Any other chimera builder with the advanced structures ability can now build magic fountains, but not burrows.

This was inadvertantly reversed to begin with, but has now been corrected.

[Sceadu]

To help with the lag issue, we will begin having regular resets of the server on Monday mornings.

[Sceadu]

A language filter has now been added to the shrine. Each time a character uses offensive language, they are given a "strike". Once a character recieves 3 strikes, they will be sent to nowhere until a GM or StoryGuide can discuss the situation with them and evaluate when to allow them back into the game. Hopefully this won't be a problem we will have to deal with often.

[Sceadu]

Old portals must now be destroyed before building a new one in it's place.

[Sceadu]

Grunts will no longer notice when a hidden monster or human is in the area.

[Sceadu]

Monsters can no longer invite humans.
Humans can no longer invite monsters.
Humans can invite humans.
And as always, monsters can invite monsters.

[Sceadu]

Koncentration is now broken by being stunned, allowing the monster to koncentrate again.

[Sceadu]

The defensive bonuses against being stunned for energy, knowing how to koncentrate, and knowing how to stun have been increased.

[Sceadu]

Carapace should be working properly now in the types of damage it will protect against. Please @report any problems.

[Sceadu]

The ability to transport is up and working now. Please report any problems you may find.

[Sceadu]

The damage of iron claw has been toned down to be more reasonable.

[Sceadu]

Clan leaders can now discharge their grunts from a distance again.

[Sceadu]

The skill level cap for higher tier wandering monsters has been raised beyond the previous 1000. However, the cap on skills for lower level wanderers has been lowered. For example, a scarab won’t be able to reach 1000 in its skills, whereas a dragon will be able to go beyond 1000.

The attribute penalties for some of the lower tiers have been lowered, and bonuses for higher tiers have been raised.

In some cases these numbers are significant, but in others minimal. It’s up to you to find out what they are. This update should make the higher tier wanderers more of the force they were intended to be.

[Sceadu]

Clan grunts are now affected by battlecry.

[Sceadu]

Grunts that are discharged from a clan can now be invited by someone outside the original clan. Also, they will become an enemy to any other clan grunts in the area as soon as they are discharged, so be careful if you want to keep them after discharging them. ;)

[Sceadu]

Reincarnating to mentored monsters that are in a lair now follow the same level restrictions as walking deeper into the lair.

For example, a level 1 monster will not be able to reincarnate to a monster that is on the 10th floor of a lair.

This should help clans that wish to enforce lair level restrictions on new members.

[Sceadu]

Due to the nature of mines, they can no longer be marked.

If your character has marked a mine, it is possible they will "mysteriously" forget that mark.

This should fix the problem of clans having unremovable marks made in their lairs.

[Sceadu]

Searching for dens should now be working correctly. Keep in mind that even though a den may be visable, you may not be able to find a way in until you search for it. Dens will not be easily found, as they are built to be well hidden and tricky to enter.

As always, please @report any further problems.

[Sceadu]

Due to a typo in the code, characters where allowed to have 10 times as many marks as they should have been allowed. This has been corrected. No marks will be erased from those that already have them, but if you are above the corrected limit and wish to add a new mark, you will need to remove the appropriate about of marks before doing so.

[Sceadu]

"Abandoned" lair entrances can now be destroyed.

[Sceadu]

You will no longer get the mesage that you have disbanded everyone that is following you when you disband a particular follower by typing DISBAND <character>.

If you are following someone and you die, the one you were following will now automatically disband you.

If you are being followed when you die, you will automatically disband all that were following you.

Please @report any problems.

[Sceadu]

The bug that allowed a monster to fall into water and live has been corrected.

The bug that allowed a monster to imidiately fly again after falling while ascended has been fixed.

These two were actually fixed a few days ago. Sorry for the delay in posting.

[Sceadu]

Typing FORUMS while in game will now open up the Grendel's Revenge forum home page just as LEADERS opens up the leader boards page.

[Sceadu]

To help the balance issues of the bonuses provided by the leader skills warmonger, bureaucracy, and spirituality, only a monsters FIRST role will now dictate which bonus they can receive.

We would like to thank the players for their patience in this issue and will continue to monitor the situation to see if further changes are needed.

[Sceadu]

The recent fix has brought to our attention an oversight that was made with the warmonger skill. It is supposed to be a pure-role leader only skill. This has been corrected for anyone wishing to learn it in the future.

Those that are currently dual-rolled and have the warmonger skill will have it removed and be compensated double the amount of favors they have invested in the skill. This compensation should cover the favors invested in the skill and any favors spent on karma to initially learn the skill.

Also, due to the affects of the recent changes, anyone that wishes to reverse their character’s roles should file an @report and it will be done, but keep in mind that this will NOT be done again for future changes.

Once again, thank you for your patience and understanding as we try to bring balance to the game as make it more enjoyable for the players.

[Sceadu]

Following the spirit of the changes to leader bonuses, the combat bonuses that Dungeonmaster provides have also been changed to affect only those that have builder as their first role.

[Sceadu]

Monsters can not longer just "look down" to discover hidden dens. To see one, it will have to be searched for and found just as if they were trying to enter it.

Old dens are not affected by this change since they are able to be seen easily.

[Sceadu]

Monsters that are gigantic or larger can no longer enter lairs.

[Sceadu]

Additions to the previous update:

Gigantic monsters CAN fit in oversized lair structures (3x3 rooms).

Gigantic (or larger) monsters can't teleport into a lair structure that is too small for them to fit in.

Gigantic monsters can't be force teleported or teleported as a friend into a lair structure that is too small for them to fit in.

[Sceadu]

A bug has be fixed that was allowing characters to build and own multiple dens. If any builders have problems building new dens, please file an @report and it will be looked into.

[Sceadu]

Fighting along the ledges is no longer possible.

Teleportation from within the pit to a location outside the pit is no longer possible, although it is still possible to teleport from one area inside the pit to the another.

[Sceadu]

Lair structures should be working properly now.

If a clan has a lair structure that has already been upgraded to a point that bonuses should be provided, they'll need to add at least 1 favor to the structure and upgrade it to get it functioning.

If a clan has a fully favored structure (1000 favors) then they'll need to file an @report from inside the structure so we may correct it manually.

As always, please report any problems.

[Sceadu]

The bonuses to agility for flying has been sligthly increased.

A slight bonus to agility for floating has been added.

The penalty to agility for being stunned has been slightly increased.

[Sceadu]

Focus:

The focus ability allows the monster to tune out destractions so they may bring their magical energies to bear on the task at hand. A focused attack will be more likely to hit than normal. Focus can only be learned by monsters that have magical as their only role.

Take a look at HELP FOCUS for more information.

Enjoy. :)

Edit: The command to use this ability is FOCUS.

[Sceadu]

Characters on a trial account can no longer invest in lair structures.

[Sceadu]

Monsters now recieve a refund of half the favor invested in any ability they unlearn.

(This does not include any karma purchased to initially learn the ability)

Edit: This change will NOT be retroactive as it is impossible for us to check on any abilities that may have been unlearned by any character in the past.

[Sceadu]

The HP regen rate that is provided by the spirituality ability has been corrected.

There will be a very noticable difference, but keep in mind that spirituality was never intended to provide such huge bonuses to regen.

[Sceadu]

Everyone's (including uglies) max health has been doubled. This should help make battles more interesting between all.

Enjoy. :)

Edit: The fortitude ability has not changed and will follow the same formula it always has.

[Sceadu]

Trap damage has been increased to keep up with the previous HP change.

[Sceadu]

There is now a penalty to agility based on the number of creatures approached to a character.

This change should make group combat more effective since the more characters that approach the target, the easier that target will be to hit.

[Sceadu]

There is now a small delay when a character uses the teleport ability along with a message that lets those in the area know what is about to happen.

[Sceadu]

The previous update has been altered and no longer applies.
A new combat penalty has been put in place to provide penalties for being outnumbered by social opponents.

In one on one combat, no penalty is applied.

This penalty does not take affect by being approached by wandering monsters as they are not as adept in group combat tactics as socials.

The greater the number of social monsters approached to a target, the larger the penalty.

[Sceadu]

The delay for teleporting only applies to force teleportation since the magician must exert more energy in trying to teleport unwilling victims.

[Sceadu]

Knock down scrolls will now knock down anyone standing in the area other than the chanter. (this includes the chanter's grumble or clan)

They will no longer knock down flying monsters.

[Sceadu]

The bug that was keeping grumble and clan mates from being stunned when chanting at a stun scroll has been fixed.

Note, only the chanter will recover from the stun more quickly than those affected by the scroll.

[Sceadu]

The bug that allowed a monster with a less than huge base monster size to be able to learn the ability boulder throw has been corrected.

Those that may have already learned it by using items with the growth enchantment will be allowed to keep it but may only use the ability while under the effects of these items.

Be aware that item rarity may vary thoughout the life of the game.

[Sceadu]

Trap damage has been revamped.

The bug that was preventing them from reaching their full potential in damage has been corrected.

Each individual trap will have a wide range in damage it can deal, meaning that it may do miminal damage once, but do a great deal of damage the next time it is triggered.

Please report an problems.

[Sceadu]

Trappers should no longer have a problem finding their own traps when searching.

Please report any problems.

[Sceadu]

The bug that was allowing uglies to be considered as wanderers when taking fanes has been corrected.

The bug that allowed socials to recieve karma when at a fane that wanderers have taken has been corrected.

The formula for determining how much karma is awarded to wanderers for taking a fane has now been standardized for all fanes.

[Sceadu]

Due to an bug, the poisonbreath ability was allowed to be purchased by non-chimera mages although it is a chimera pure mage only ability. This has been corrected. Those undead characters that have already learned it will be allowed to keep it, although no new undead characters will be able to learn it.

This bug was corrected a couple of days ago. Sorry for the delay in posting.

[Sceadu]

The undead caste penalty to attributes during the day has been slightly reduced.

Undead now have a slight bonus to attributes during the night or while indoors.

[Sceadu]

The degenerative effects of poison and disease now half each time damage is dealt instead of only reducing by 10.

This should bring poison and crud damage more in line with other combat abilities.

[Sceadu]

The dengerative effects of poison and disease has been tweaked.

Higher levels of poison and disease will disperse more quickly, but as the level drops, so does the rate at which it leaves the system.

Also related to this change, characters may find the rarity of cure potions has increased.

[Sceadu]

The bug that was keeping characters from gaining favor from splash deaths while using the poison breath ability has now been corrected.

Enjoy.

[Sceadu]

Scrolls now have a chance of failing.

Those with the magical role will have a much greater chance of doing a successful chant on all scroll other than the healing scrolls.

Shamans will have a much greater chance of a doing a successful chant of a healing scroll.

[Sceadu]

@toggle-grumble

This command will toggle the grumble channel on and off, just as @toggle-mentor does with the mentor channel.

As a default, this is set to OFF and must be toggled ON before you can begin using the grumble channel again.

[Sceadu]

Chimera can now wear necklaces along with some other neck items. It's up to you to discover what other neck items they may wear.

In addition, sphinx may now wear helmets.

Please report any problems.

Enjoy.

[Sceadu]

When looking at the who or who clan list, those that are listening to grumbles will have thier names highlighted.

[Sceadu]

Favor gain for traps has been tweaked.

Favor gain is now based on the potency of the trap.

Traps discharging on humans now stop giving favor after a set amount of traps have hit that human.

Favor gain for rope snares has been significantly reduced since they are a means to delay and not kill.

[Sceadu]

Mentors will no longer earn passive favor from minions that have been inactive for a week or longer.

[Sceadu]

The cut-off for gaining passive favor for mentor has been extended to 1 month.

[Sceadu]

When a character learns the teleport ability, they will now immediately gain one extra mark.

As a side effect, all characters with the teleport ability now have an additional mark added to their previous limit.

[Sceadu]

Chanting at scrolls will now impose a roundtime.

Drinking will also now impose a roundtime, though much shorter than chanting at a scroll.

[Sceadu]

There is now a very good possibility that an exploding room kaboom will damage the structure it is in.

[Sceadu]

Hot springs, grottos, and quagmires now heal a percentage of a characters health (based on invested favors) when used instead of a flat amount for all characters.

[Sceadu]

Structures and Favor

When favored structures are destroyed, a percentage of the favors invested now return to a lair “favor pool”. The favors from the favor pool can then be reinvested into other structures in the lair. The clan leader may invest from this favor pool using the command invest <amount> while standing in the structure to be invested in. The amount of favors in the favor pool can be seen by typing invest alone.

Teleporters

Teleporters are now able to be used by non-clan members, although the transcribe command is still only available to the controlling clan. There is, however, a chance that a teleporter mark can be found by searching the teleporter based on certain attributes. This chance is very slim for those without the magical role, and slightly better for those with the magical role since magical monsters are more in tune with the energies needed for the act of teleportation.

[Sceadu]

SUICIDE

I'm sure you all can figure this one out. ;)

[Sceadu]

Tapestries and wanted posters can now be hung up like portraits.

[Sceadu]

Monsters will now recognize the scents of monsters they’ve smelled before that have been in an area they’re sniffing, though a monster can’t remember ALL the scents of monsters they’ve smelled before.

To remember a monster’s scent, they must be sniffed first. If you have more scents than you can remember, you’ll begin to forget each time you sniff a different monster.

[Sceadu]

A bit more info on monster smells.

As a monster (or human) travels, it leaves behind its scent everywhere it treads. If enough monsters (or humans) pass though the same area, it is highly possible the orginal monster's scent will be overrun by the fresher scents.

When a monster sniffs an area, they're not smelling the monsters that are there, but the ones that have passed through before.

[Sceadu]

Poison needle traps may now be set on rooms and will discharge when a non-clan member searches any room or item they're set on.

Please @report any problems.

[Sceadu]

Haste should no longer cause a round time when walking.

Please @report any problems.

[Sceadu]

There are now limits on how many items can be dropped in a room (area). These limits vary depending on the room type. It's up to the players to figure out these limits.

If an area already has more items laying in it than is allowed, any item picked up in that area will have to be moved to an area that has spare room before it can be dropped.

[Sceadu]

The focus ability now reduces the chance of the splash effect of breath attacks, fireball, and lightning . The better a monster is at focusing, the less chance they'll hit a target they're not aiming for.

[Sceadu]

The Venom and Creeping Crud abilities are now working in conjuction with the sneak attack ability.

In other words, if you have the Creeping Crud ability and/or the Venom ability and successfully execute a sneak attack, the target will be poisoned and/or diseased just as they would if you used the Tooth and Nail ability.

[Sceadu]

While using an attack capible of splashing, if the target is flying, those on the ground will not be splashed. If the target is NOT flying, then those that ARE flying will not be splashed.

[Sceadu]

The extra damage caused by Sneak Attack has been brought up to date with the current damage system.

Ranks in Iron Claw DO affect the amount of extra damage caused by Sneak Attack if attacking with claws.

[Sceadu]

Leaders that have the bureaucracy skill and also have a master that has the bureaucracy skill will now only benifit from their master's bureaucracy, and not their own.

Note: their direct minions will still benifit from their bureaucracy.

If, for some reason, they become masterless or move under another master that does not have the bureaucracy skill, then they will again benifit from their own bureaucracy

[Sceadu]

The bug that was allowing non-humanoid and/or non-warriors to learn boulder throw has been corrected.

[Sceadu]

A bug that was keeping lairs of clans that cannot pay their upkeep cost from decaying has been fixed.

This means:
- Abandoned lairs will begin to decay.
- Lairs of clans without a leader will decay. (This can sometimes happen due to a minor bug)
- Valid clan lairs that do not have enough resources to cover upkeep cost will decay.

Lair decay was implemented some time ago but a problem was found that was preventing it from working correctly. Hopefull this problem has been corrected now.

Please @report any problems.

[Sceadu]

The rate at which lair structures decay has been increased from 1% to 3% for every day that upkeep isn't paid.

This means that instead of taking 100 days for any lair that does not have upkeep paid to decay, it will take approximately 33 days.

Remember, if upkeep is missed and a valid clan's lair structures start to decay, upkeep can begin being paid again and the structures repaired.

Right now there are 134 lairs in the game world. Hopefully this will help us free up some room for active clans.

[Sceadu]

Characters that have been inactive for over 30 days will no longer appear on the leader boards.

If a character becomes active again after losing their spot on the boards, they will reappear (if they are still eligible) after the next leader board update.

[Sceadu]

The minions list will now indicate which characters have been inactive for over 30 days.

[Sceadu]

In the spirit of the above update, the "Largest Clan" leader board will now only reflect members that have been active within the last 30 days.

[Sceadu]

If a clan leader becomes inactive for more than 30 days, the leader will abandon the clan by default, leaving the clan to next active member in the clan that can control the most minions.

Also if a clan leader now volentarily abandons a clan, it will fall to the next 'active' member that can control the most minions. This means no more abandoning clans to an inactive leader.

Please report any problems.

Edit: When a clan leader abandons a clan, the next active member that can handle the most minions (REGUARDLESS OF THEIR ROLE) will take control of the clan.

Also, if a clan has no active members, all members of the clan will be evicted from the clan and the clan will cease to exist.

active = at least some activity in the last 30 days.

[Sceadu]

The minions list will now indicate if your grunts are idle.

[Sceadu]

Being intimidated will now affect the difficulty of using the stun ability.

[Sceadu]

When a character is hidden, and is found by another while searching, the one that is found will now have a roundtime before they can perform another action.

[Sceadu]

Being intimidated will now effect the difficulty of teleportation and force teleportation.

[Sceadu]

Characters may now only invest an amount equal to twice their level into lair structures.

For example:
A level 10 character can invest up to 20 favors.
A level 25 character can invest up to 50 favors.
A level 100 character can invest up to 200 favors.
etc...

Structures still max at 1000 invested favors.

[edit] The investment limit is per lair structure, not an overall limit that may be invested.

[Sceadu]

Characters may now unlearn a portion of their ranks in an ability in any skill instead of only having the option of unlearning the entire ability.

As in unlearning an entire ability, half of the favors invested in the unlearned ranks will be returned to the character.

Level and favor points needed for next favor will be reduced accordingly.

This can be done using the UNLEARN command.

[Sceadu]

We all know how contagious a yawn is.

If you witness someone yawning, it's possible you catch the bug and yawn as well.

For you hiders out there, if you're hidden well enough, you haven't got much to worry about, but if you're not, it's possible you'll blow your cover.

[Sceadu]

A bug that was allowing characters to use the sneak attack ability with little to no round time has been corrected.

[Sceadu]

The roundtime that was inadvertantly added for a hidden character purposly revealing themselves using the unhide command has been removed.

There will still be a roundtime for a hidden character when "fumbling" out of their hiding place as "fumbling" isn't intentional, therefor catching the character unawares.

[Sceadu]

Character names and grunt names are now limited to 12 letters or less.

[Sceadu]

Here is a list of a few minor recent updates:

Due to the change in yawning, a short roundtime was added.

It is no longer possible to commit suicide in the main room of the shrine.

It is now possible to guard other monsters in the shrine, but objects and exits are still unguardable.

Shouting a battlecry of " " is no longer possible.

A bug that was keeping traps on abandoned lairs from triggering was fixed.

[Sceadu]

Wandering monsters will now retain their first mark when tiering instead of having all marks wiped.

For example, this means if a wanderer with the teleport ability marks his den first, and then adds multiple marks afterwards, when he tiers he will lose all marks except the one to his den.

[Sceadu]

The damage dealt by grottos/quagmires/hot springs has been increased.

Note: Damage dealt by these structures is based on invested favor.

[Sceadu]

Clans can now form alliances with each other. When a clan forms an alliance all effects of battlecry, intimidate, and inspire will act as though all members of the alliance are of the same clan. Also traps in allied lairs will not trigger on the members of the alliance. Only the leader of the clan may form or break an alliance.

Commands:
ally with <clan leader name>
accept <name of leader offering the alliance>
allies

The ALLIES command will bring up a list for anyone to view who their clan is allied with, but only the leader will have access to the other functions which include the option to break alliances.

Alliances do not give non-clan members access to teleporter marks in an allied clan lair.

Please @report any problems.

[Sceadu]

The focus ability now gives a bonus to damage based on ranks in the ability and it's related attributes. The bonus will only take affect while the character with the ability is actually focusing.

[Sceadu]

Success in any ability can no longer be higher than 950 nor drop below 50.

Being stunned will make the ability to Koncentrate more difficult.

[Sceadu]

There is now a chance that a monster will be forced to prove his/her worth in battle when entering the Pit and be rewarded for doing so.

Details must be found out IG.

Please @report any problems.

[Sceadu]

The bug that was preventing room kabooms from tossing victims through open portals has been corrected.

[Sceadu]

Magic doors will now prevent novice noncorporeal characters from fading through them.

Once a noncorporeal user becomes good enough, they'll begin to have a chance of successfully fading through the magic doors.

Ranks in the noncorporeal ability will increase the chances of successfully fading through a magic door.

In the spirit of this change, a roundtime has been added to fading.

[Sceadu]

A battlecry will now cancel out the effects of being intimidated.

Intimidation will now cancel out the effects of a battlecry.

Enjoy. :)

[Sceadu]

Now when a player logs in and has unread mail they will recieve a notification informing them that they have new mail and a list of all new mail messages.

Instructions on how to check and read your mail is included in the notification.

[Sceadu]

Due to popular demand and our desire to make the game more enjoyable for our players, we have increased the number of characters each player can control.

Basic accounts can now have 2 characters.
Premium accounts can now have 4 characters.
Trial accounts are still limited to 1 character.

We hope you enjoy the change and opportunity to experience even more variaty in your playing experience.

[Sceadu]

It's is now possible to build and assist in building in the lairs of your allies.

This should allow assistance to new clans by older established clans without the need to "loan" members.

Please @report any problems.

[Sceadu]

The bug that allowed those with the sacrifice ability to resurect grunts and humans has been fixed. Also you can no longer command a grunt that is flying to sacrifice.

[Sceadu]

You now receive a message when you are no longer busy and when an ability has recharged and is ready for use again. These messages are in addition to the timer bars included in the client.

By default, these messages are toggled on, but if you don't wish to receive these messages you can toggle them off using @TOGGLE-ROUNDTIME-UPDATE.

[Sceadu]

You can now tell if a character is wounded now by looking at them (this includes grunts and NPCs). The amount of damage they've taken will determine what you notice when looking at them.

[Sceadu]

It's no longer possible to intimidate others in the safe zone of Grendel's Shrine.

[Sceadu]

New characters that are still protected by newbie status will now lose that status when entering any den.

[Sceadu]

Some tweaks to the newbie status system.

New characters will retain their newbie status for 4 weeks unless:
They become level 5 or above.
They enter a lair or den.

In addition, 'newbie' characters will now get a warning before entering a lair or a den and have the choice to change their mind. Note that this should also affect being force teleported into a lair or den as well.

Please @report any problems.

[Edit] This change does not affect the fact that new characters are protected from favor loss in death up to level 20.

[Sceadu]

It is now possible to command your grunts to kill themselves by using 'command grunt to suicide'.

Go easy on the little guys. ;)

[Sceadu]

There is no longer a definate time between the changing of hands between the fanes and avatar thrones.

The searching of fanes and thrones will no longer give an exact time of when they will change hands.

We are still looking into the possibility of other roles being able to successfully search for fane times.

[Sceadu]

It is now possible for others to determine the time a fane will change hands. It is up to the players to find who can search which fanes. ;)

[Sceadu]

New characters no longer lose their newbie status when entering their own clan lair.

[Sceadu]

The DIG command has now been implemented along with it's companion the BURY command. It's now possible for monsters dig holes using their claws. Items can then be put into these holes and buried for hidden storage. Roundtimes for digging and burying are based on the monster's size.

For you players of humans out there, humans will need a shovel to dig and/or bury.

Commands:
DIG
Bury <hole>

Note: Not all locations can be dug in.
Please @report any problems.

[Sceadu]

A new ability is now available to warriors (undead or humanoid)!

Thrown Weapons

With this skill a monster will have the ability to use thrown weapons that may be found in the game world. There is also the chance of turning up a good sized rock suitable for throwing if one searches enough.

Command: throw <weapon> at <target>

Check out the help file on “Thrown Weapons” for more info.

As always, please @report any problems.

Note: There is currently no icon file for this ability yet.

[Sceadu]

It is now possible to abandon property you own even if you are not standing inside it.

Command: Abandon property

[Japes]

Mining

Previously, the mining skill has suffered from a lack of favor point gain. Although sufficient in the beginning, as the monster grew in ranks, the amount of favor points quickly became insufficient in later levels. Many monsters are forced to unlearn mining in order to advance.

- The formula for calculating the 'passive' FP gain for mining has been modified. The rate of FP gain now increases alongside Monster Level and the character's rank in Mining. It should still be around the level expected of a passive, automatic skill, however.

- Miners now have access to the mine command. This command lets them try their hand at digging directly from their clan's mine structures, increasing that mine's output and granting favor points in the process. This is an active skill that lets the miner work directly on acquiring resources.


Advanced Traps

This ability is now available for builders who have at least 400 favors invested in Basic Traps. It will give them access to an array of more sophisticated, more deadly, and more expensive traps than before. Keep in mind the following points:

- Actual ability in Advanced Traps cannot exceed one's ability in Basic Traps. If a character, for example, has 400 ranks in Basic Traps and 1000 ranks in Advanced traps, the system will treat his ability in Advanced Traps as being 400. Additionally, he won't have access to advanced trap types that require more than 400 ranks unless he ranks up in Basic Traps as well.

- Many advanced traps are highly deadly. However, they are balanced by their tremendous resource costs and high round time to fashion. These are obviously not traps to sow around freely during the middle of an invasion!

- The commands for using Advanced Traps are basically the same. They will appear on your 'Traplist', and the command format for setting them up is unchanged.

- Additionally, Trappers now get a small amount of FP every time they set up a trap.

[Japes]

Bugfixes

- You can no longer sit on furniture while flying or touch items on the ground. This has been an issue in some of the Avatar throne battles.

- Sipping 'no liquid' while sitting down (particularly at Throne battles) is no longer an option.

- The avatar thrones should now correctly empty themselves when the occupant has died or has left the area.

- Barghest and Dracolich description templates fixed.


New Releases


What's this? A Portable Container!?

Uglies should now spawn two types of portable containers: backpacks and satchels. Backpacks have a larger carrying capacity and are generally more useful, but cannot be worn by non-human-shaped monsters (essentially Chimera).

To prevent an imbalance in regard to carrying capacity, portable containers have the following restrictions:

- Items can only be put into and taken out of a portable container when worn.

- Portable containers take up one wear slot, the 'back'. This is a new wear slot created specifically for them. Generally, you can only wear one portable container at a time.

- Portable containers cannot be taken off when carrying items.

- Taking and removing items from a portable container requires some amount of roundtime, making them unwieldy in the heat of battle.

- Each container has a limited number of items in use.

Keep in mind that these are test items, so please @report any issues with them.


Spitting Acid

Magical Chimera have access to a new, short-ranged, magical attack. 'Spit Acid' is an offensive ability that damages both the target and the target's armor.

Description: The stomach acid of some chimera is so corrosive that it can melt and destroy the strongest of materials. Monsters with the spit acid ability can direct this liquid at their enemies, causing damage and corroding items.

Usage: acid <target>

Notes:

- Spit acid is a concentrated, short-ranged attack. It doesn't affect multiple targets.
- Spit acid can be used on anyone in your area, but you cannot target far-away characters with it.
- Damage done to a piece of armor will be proportional to its overall durability, although the maximum amount of damage that spit acid can do will always be the amount done to the wearer.
- Although it's a single-target attack, Focus still serves to improve its accuracy and damage.


Disease Breath

Magical Undead also have a new attack, long range and much less concentrated. This attack works as a ranged version of the Creeping Crud.

Description: This ability is only available to certain undead creatures. Such creatures have reached the point that their very bodies are home to a host of deadly diseases, viral scourges, and other agents of pestilence. By the simple act of directing their breath in a particular direction, they can use this pestilence as a weapon, especially against targets still clinging to life.

Usage: disease?breath <target>


Misc

- The amount of residual fire damage has been increased, as well as the damage fire attacks do to items if they are absorbed by armor. This should hopefully bring fire attacks up to the usefulness of other elemental attacks.

[Japes]

In light of much of the feedback received during the meeting, the following changes have been made:


Cold Breath

The cap for cold breath's effect has been reduced slightly, as with its duration formula. It is still mostly as effective as before, as frozen monsters can now "rub" themselves to warm up.

Usage: rub


Boulder Throw

Boulder throw now requires a free hand to use. This usually entails unwielding a melee weapon.

On a related note, the overly-high damage done by the hand catapults found as Arena prizes has been reduced.


Shroud of Mist

The effects of the shroud should now last longer and is now slightly less affected by outdoor environments. Wind still has a full effect, however.


Resonance

The effect of Resonance has been increased slightly. Also, Resonance does NOT affect the caster. The latter was changed a few days after its release but is worth mentioning as it is still commonly believed to affect the caster.


Hide and Sneak Attack

It is now possible to retreat while hidden. Failing a retreat roll will reveal your presence.

Using OOC commands such as 'forum', 'report', etc. will no longer cause you to leave hiding.

Expiring passive effects will not be announced if you are hidden. For example, if you are hidden and your Koncentrate effect wears out, the game will not announce it.

Sneak Attack is now improved by Koncentrate.


Healing and Cure

Heal has been made more effective per skill rank earned.

The FP rate for healing has been improved.

Heal and Cure have been updated for pack hunting. Use the "pack" target to heal all members of your pack.

Usage: heal pack
Usage: cure pack


Fire Attacks

Fireball and Firebreath now cause higher amounts of lingering damage. Lingering damage now constitutes a higher proportion of the initial damage dealt. In other words, the "burn" damage done after the attack has been increased.


Fire and Cold Attacks

Both fire and cold special effects now calculate correctly for victims struck by splash damage.

Prior to this, lingering burns and freezing effects were based on the damage done to the primary target. Now, each individual target gets lingering burns or freezing effects depending on the amount of splash damage that struck him.


Attribute Potions

The effects of attribute-increasing potions have been reduced to prevent overpowering attribute levels.


Fly

The amount of available flying time is now based much more on rank than it is on Energy. This has been done to provide added incentive for investing in it.

Also, the fly duration given by sky blue potions has been halved.

Skill in Fly now also gives the flyer a chance at avoiding the negative effects of Boulder Throw and Tail Attack.


Notes

- Some other issues raised by the meeting have yet to be addressed. Hopefully, they will be covered in succeeding updates.

- As always, please @report any bugs encountered with the new changes.

[Japes]

Instead of specifying a target for every macro, try using the term <target> in the command line. For example, when prompted to enter the string you want the command to expand to, you can enter:

slice <target>
or
firebreath <target>

Then, set your current macro target by using the @mtarg command.

@mtarg IpQuin
@mtarg Babayaga

This will allow you to change your current macro target on the fly.

[Japes]

Cold Touch is no longer exclusively magical, but can be used by those with two roles, including a magic role. This should increase its appeal in character design.

[Japes]

Pointing down will no longer work for finding dens that you haven't discovered.

[Japes]

The Arena should now have two more tiers for lower-level monsters.

[Japes]

Carapace should now work properly against Tooth and Nail and Iron Claw.


Endure Damage will now repulse acid attacks as advertised.

[Japes]

Golem Assembly

Builders, once having scaled the red tower and read the tome of the artificiers, will have access to the Golem Assembly skill in the Karma menu.

Golems are similar to grunts in that they are commandable creatures that you can use to aid you in various ways. Golems have similar commands to grunts, and in addition they can be commanded to wield and unwield weapons and shields.

The abilities of a golem depend on the parts you give it. As you progress in the skill, you'll learn more types of components.

See @help golem for a detailed list of the commands.


Notes:
- The number of golems you can control are dependant on your skill.
- Golems can also mine, build, and do other menial task. Worker components help them with these jobs.
- The quality of the components depends on your skill and the success roll. You can determine the quality of the component with the 'look' command, IF you have the golem assembly skill.
- You can disassemble a golem to get back its components.
- Occasionally, when a golem is killed, its components will fall to the ground but these will be of lower quality, having been damaged.

[Japes]

Human adventurer characters are now semi-permanent. Once you die, you no longer lose your character or your equipment. Rather, after a (real-time) day of recovery, you can reincarnate your human using the 'revive' command.

Keep in mind that we are a long way from fully supporting human characters. The focus still remains on playing monsters. Human characters allow you to play the "bad guy" and create troublesome plots for your fellow players.

[Japes]

Iron claw now provides a bonus to accuracy. This bonus is improved if you are of the martial artist role.

[Japes]

Some tweaks have been made to attribute-improving potion formulas.

[Japes]

Try out @skills for a list of commands to use with your skills and sstats for a short in-client listing of your character's stats.

Addendum:

Edited the sstats command template to be ss?tats.

This means that you can type in ss, sst, ssta, or any other combination after the first 'ss' to use the command.

You can also add in the flag s?hort at the end to get only your vital statistics. So:

sstats short

or

ss s

will get you only your current state.

[Sceadu]

Human PNPCs now have the ability to project their thoughts to any other humans that are listening. To do this, a human must ask Isolde’s resident wizard about the magical amulets that allow this to be done. Once the amulet is aquired and worn, all a human has to do is THINK what they wish others to hear and any other human wearing one of the amulets will hear that persons thoughts. If a human wishes to stop listening to projected thoughts, all they need to do is remove their own amulet. These amulets will NOT work for monsters as they’ve been specially tuned for the human mind.

Humans can no longer grumble. That’s a “monster” thing. ;)

All humans are now allies of all other humans. This means, for example, actions such as a battlecry by a human will affect all humans within range.

[Japes]

During your adventures, you will come upon written words of various forms. To attempt to read a document, make use of the READ command.

Usage:

read <what>


Occasionally, you will come across a book. To use book, you must first OPEN it. TURN the pages to get to the part you want to read, then use the READ command to read the page you are on. Once you are done, CLOSE the book before putting it away.

Usage:

open <book>
turn <book> to <page number>
read <book>
close <book>

[Sceadu]

The amount of karma that can be won by a wandering monster at the fanes has been slightly increased. However, the amount is now affected by the number of monsters on the fane at the time is awarded. The smaller the number of monsters on a fane when it is won by the wanders, the greater the amount of karma may be awarded. This should give the wanderers greater incentive to fight it out amongst themselves as well as the clans.

[Sceadu]

By popular demand, allied clans can now hear each other’s grumbles. By doing a bit of work, it has been made togglable. To toggle on or off your allied grumbles just type @toggle-agrumble. If you do not have your allied grumbles toggled on, no one in an allied clan will hear your grumbles and you will not hear theirs. By default, allied grumbles are toggled off. Please report any problems.

[Japes]

Illusion -

Usage: illusion blur

This function of the skill blurs your appearance, making you harder to hit. It acts as a defensive ability. It can only be used on yourself.


Usage: illusion acquire <target>

This function allows you to memorize the appearance of <target>, allowing you to apply it elsewhere.


Usage: illusion disguise <target>

This function will disguise <target> with the appearance of your previously-memorized target, effectively changing the name, gender, and appearance.


Notes:

- Players have a chance at seeing through illusions using the 'look' command. Their chance depends upon their authority combined with their ranks in True Sight.

- Making small creatures look like big creatures and vice versa adds to the difficulty and reduces the strength of the illusion.

- Making low-tier monsters look like high-tier monsters and vice versa adds to the difficulty and reduces the strength of the illusion.

- Illusions are temporary and will dwindle in strength over time.

- Illusions are only for fooling player-characters. NPCs will not react differently to an illusion. Also, illusions do not affect minion, pack, and social status More advanced forms of disguise are preserved for the 'shape-shifting' ability.

- Items can be disguised as other items and characters can be disguised as other characters, but neither can be combined for illusions.





True Sight -

Usage: <automatic>

True sight reduces an opponent's defensive bonus based on your ranks in true sight and your energy rating.


Usage: Sight <target>

Attempts to dispell an illusion on <target>.

[Sceadu]

Finding Enchantments

It’s now possible for those with the magical role to notice an item is enchanted by just looking at it. The chance of this happening is based on the character’s level, energy, and ranks in the true sight skill. To bring out the enchantment, however, the item must still be examined using the ‘search’ command (which has been adjusted to account for a character’s ranks in the true sight ability).

Also, now when ‘searching’ corpses there is a chance you will notice any enchanted items that may be on the corpse without having to look at each item individually. If a corpse has more than one enchanted item, it is possible to notice one and not the other.

Pure role magicians will have a greater chance of noticing and/or bringing out the enchantment on an item.

[Sceadu]

Favoring Immortality Tombs

Favoring immortality tombs will now lower the amount of corpses that must be desecrated in the favored tomb before karma will be granted to the desecrator.

Also, when you desecrate a corpse, you will now be told how many more corpses you must desecrate in the tomb before being granted karma.

[Sceadu]

Changes to the Who list

Characters can now toggle whether they want to be listed on the who list or not with the new toggle-who?-name command. If a character chooses not to be listed on the who list they will show up as “Anonymous” whenever someone views the who list. Note this will also affect the ‘who clan’ list.

Also, clan allies are now listed when using the ‘who clan’ command.

[Sceadu]

Off With Their Heads!

For those monsters that wish to collect trophies of their kills, it is now possible to behead corpses of humans and creatures. However, Grendel will not allow the beheading of his children.

The command is:
Behead <corpse>

Please @report any problems.

[Sceadu]

Stick ‘em Up!

In conjuction with the previous update, you can now also impale heads on a spear and plant them in the ground for whatever purposes you like.

The commands are:
Impale <head> (To impale the head on the end of your spear)
Push <spear> (To plant the spear in the ground)
Pull <spear> (To remove the head and return the head and spear to your inventory)

Note that anyone can remove the head and spear once it has been planted.

[Sceadu]

Small change to beheading.

SOME chimera are now capible of beheading corpses. It is largely based on the size of the monster now.

[Sceadu]

Diplomatic Solution

The bug that was allowing clans without a diplomat to invite non-caste members should be fixed now.

Note that if we find clan members that have gotten into a clan by using this bug, they may be removed without warning.

[Sceadu]

Favor gain for mining has been re-enabled with a cap put in place as to how many favor points can be gained per mining action. We will monitor the change to determine if any further changes are needed.

[Sceadu]

Due to some problems of people force teleporting creatures such as hill giants, snakes, etc, into the shrine, it is now impossible to force teleport ANY enemies into the shrine safe zone. Please @report any problems.

[Sceadu]

New functionality has been added for macros in the form of Macro Sets.

Macros can be put in to sets and activated at different times. Sets can also be imported between your characters. Your current macros will automatically be put into a macro set named 'default'.

Examples of use would be:
-Importing navigational and regular use macros after creating a new character.
-Having one set of macros for use when using one of your characters skillsets, such as healing, and another set for another skillset, such as combative skillsets.
-Switching between sets dependent on hunting grounds and styles of fighting.

Suggesions for use:
-Create a basic Set for all of your regular use macros (navigational, simple combat, etc) and import this set in to all other new sets you create.
-Creating several setups for the java client's macro bar, using macros named fe1 to fe15.

This functionality is available through the @macro command. You may choose your active Macro Set either through the menu setup on the @macro command, or through the new @mset (Syntax: @ms?et <macro set>) command.

Thanks to TEC GM Wombat for this update.

[Sceadu]

Give it back!

The new RETRIEVE command will now allow characters to retrieve items that have been discarded by them. This should help with those of you that have found themselves accidently discarding a prized item.

The cost of retrieving a discarded item is 100 karma.

Note that discarded items are cleaned out of the system on a daily basis. If an item you have discarded does not show up on your list of items you can retrieve, it means it no longer exist in the system and is gone forever.

[Sceadu]

It is now possible to toss items in a direction instead of just to other monsters. This may come in handy with some items you find laying around in the future, if you can figure out how they work. ;)

[Sceadu]

The continuous damage caused to non-clan members by a lair hot springs / grottos / quagmires has been updated. Please @report any problems.

[Sceadu]

Use the new @birthday command to enter in your birthday for possible future additions.

[Sceadu]

A character must now be approached to their target to use the stun ability against them. Also stun victims will now have a random time between 2 and 10 seconds after recovering from a stun before they can be stunned again.

As always, please @report any problems.

[Sceadu]

Snipe

Snipe will allow a monster, which is proficiant in both missile weapons and hiding to fire from a hidden position as long as there is no one standing nearby to notice them.

Requirements: 500 ranks in both the Hide ability and Missile weapons.

Bonus: Since a sniper is proficiant in judging things such as distance and windage, they will be more accurate when using both missile weapons and thrown weapons even when not sniping.

The roundtime for sniping is much more than just firing while standing out in the open due to the fact that the sniper is taking more time to be sure he/she is not noticed. If a sniper fires while anyone is near (in the same area), they will stumble out of hiding and be discovered. There is also a chance (based on ranks in snipe) that a sniper will fumble out of hiding when sniping even if no one is in the same area as they are.

Command line: snipe <target>

Note: We do not currently have a picture or helpfile available for the new skill. I'll hopefully be working on the helpfile in the next couple of days. A picture may take longer.

[Sceadu]

It is not possible to use Intimidate or Resonance while standing in the arena entrance. Also, it is impossible to hide on the arena floor as there would be no place to hide.

[Sceadu]

I've added the @custom?-item command that TEC uses to protect custom items (items that have had SP spent on them to alter them in some way) from being eaten by the system if they accidently get discarded or lost due to a glitch in the system. Use this command to designate any items you've spent SP on so we may find them easily in the future if we need to.

Syntax: @custom-item <item>
or just @custom <item>

DO NOT use this command on items that have not had SP spent on them.

Note: This will not save custom items from being destroyed in an IC manner such as acid.

[Sceadu]

You should now notice a reward when logging in on your birthday. Enjoy!

[Sceadu]

To handle some issues we were having with arena matches, you will now lose Grendel’s favor if you sleep during an active match. The amount of favor you loose may be increased if we continue to have the same issues in the future.

[Sceadu]

The problem with people abusing newbie status in the arena should now be fixed. Anyone with newbie status will automatically loose it once they enter the arena floor.

[Sceadu]

The problem with people abusing smoke bombs and exploding spheres in the arena entrance has been fixed.