The World of Layonara
The NWN Persistent World => Layonara Server => Topic started by: Leanthar on October 02, 2006, 01:33:04 PM
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[SIZE=16]Hello folks,[/SIZE]
[SIZE=16]I am sure everybody has been wondering where things were going, why things were taking so long, and just what is going on. This post should answer all of the questions. Please understand that none of this happens until the next campaign begins, which is around January/February 2007.[/SIZE]
[SIZE=16]1) Layonara is NOT (not) going to NwN2 for at least six to nine months, if ever, and that is quite likely. There are many reasons but they include the time it will take to make a new version of the world with NwN2 toolset, the module sizes that the NwN2 toolset creates which in turn limits us in what we wish to create for the world due to server hardware and our desire for the world, as well as the client side needs for the community. The thing is we are stretched to the limits and while the NwN2 toolset creations are gorgeous the manpower and time sink is astronomical as well as the astonishing limitations due to module sizes. By limitations I mean limitations in what we wish to create with areas and world representation and server hardware needs. That is taking nothing from the NwN2 toolset because indeed anything created by that toolset is going to be gorgeous and unique to that module—very powerful and cool. 2) Layonara is moving in to V3 in a phased rollout and will continue to use NwN1. The first rollout will happen around the time that the new campaign begins. Like we did in V2 (current Layonara incarnation) there will be many updates and upgrades over the years that will further evolve V3. By phased rollout I mean that we will begin the changes and updates in the first update to V3 then in future server updates we will continue to update the sections of the world to fall in line with the campaign and design plan. 3) The new campaign will begin in January or February of 2007 and will last for around two years—more or less. The campaign will be in the Dark Ages and the dust cloud will continue to be around the world. The campaign is still being designed and laid out at this time. The dust cloud will go away eventually, just can’t say when at this time. 4) There will not be a character, item, housing, or any sort of wipe. The time frame in the world will be moved forward by three to five years on the first rollout to V3 and when the next campaign begins. In RP sense most humans and half-orcs should probably be retiring but we are not going to force that since it is not forced on other races (due to there being no wipe). 5) We will be updating the current areas, adding new areas, and adding in some much needed tileset updates. The world is going to grow and open up (to include Voltrex and the Forsaken Isles). This does indeed mean there will be changes and additions to the hak paks, sorry. We are going to flush out the world with new details. Since we just did a major server upgrade across the board (thank you to the donators) we should be able to add quite a lot on what we have going at this time. 6) We are going to replace the current NPC’s and quests over time and put in others in their place with different quests. 7) We are going to change encounters around and put in some day/night spawns. That means spawns will be different at night than at day in areas that we think are appropriate. 8) We are going to concentrate on adding new high level content, high level loot and items and raid zones. a) The current “+4” sort of high level item will go up to as high as +6 as loot drops and plot quest rewards will go up as high as +8 (very rare), +7 (rare), and +2 - +6 (common/uncommon). b) CNR will not be increased; the adjustments in these items will be done via additional gathered material, dungeon loot drops, and crafting; these items would then have to be combined to create a new item. c) The high end items will become artifacts and the wielder will be known as a “Legend”. These Legendary items and those that wield them will be quite rare and they will not begin to appear for at least a year but we are working on the system. These items will only be equipped by level 35 or 36+ characters. 9) We are going to change encounters and their respawn rate and difficulty all cross the world and they will be divided up in this type of categories: Topside, Cave, Temple/Dungeon/Ruins, CNR. a) All encounters will be adjusted across the board in those types of categories, to include loot drops, respawn rate, and difficulty (easier and more difficult). Topside will be easier than caves, and caves easier than dungeons/temples/ruins—CNR being the most difficult in the various areas. Some dungeons are going to be puzzle/trap oriented and others will be raid oriented. b) Our goal is to allow topside travel to not require a party everywhere but in places it most certainly will, caves will require a party and dungeons will require very good and well balanced parties that plan and work well together, think ahead and plan. Dungeons and such will have the major loot drops—depending on dungeon/crypt/ruin difficulty. 10) We are going to expand on the mid level quests so that the level 9-14 levels are not quite such a grind—but they will always be to a degree. We are going to work on improving this over time, it will not happen over night. 11) We are going to allow more PvP in certain areas, called siege areas. These areas will allow for combat over keeps, towers, and castles and the owner of those locations will give benefits to those of like faction (organization/kingdom). This will take some time to implement as it is a complicated system and at this time is still being designed. It is a system that I really want to have in place but it will be one of the last systems we start working on, so this is quite a ways off. These will not be in the normal paths that people must always travel through and they will be strictly optional by the players. Time will tell if it even works, but we are going to look in to the system. This is limited to locations and limited PvP. If it does not work it will be removed. 12) We are going to have a Kingdom/Rulership/Organization system that will tie in to #11 above as well as other higher end game-play. This will take some time to implement as it is a complicated system and at this time is still being designed. It is a system that I really want to have in place but it will be one of the last systems we start working on, so this is quite a ways off. 13) CN characters as we have it defined now will remain in place. The CN rule is not going to change from what we have in place now. 14) We are going to allow LE and NE under the following rule. A player must have been a member of the server for at least nine months and have a character of at least 14th level. Once that happens a player may submit a new character with these two alignments or request to have one of their current characters (of any level) slowly switched over to evil via RP reasons (RP reasons only). If a character ever reaches CE that character is instantly retired and becomes an NPC in the world and the player has no control over that character. New submissions will need to be well thought out and descriptive in order to be approved. 15) When the first phase of V3 rolls out the following races must start out as CN, TN, NE, or LE: Dark Elf, Half-Orc, Half-Giant, Half-Ogre, Orc, Goblin, and Duergar. a) These races will start in their own location that is separate from the other races. b) Hlint will no longer be the starting location and we will have two starting locations, by race & alignment one for the races and alignments listed above and the other location for all other races and alignments. c) However both starting locations will be somewhat close to each other in order to allow the community interaction. d) The only Dark Elves that will be allowed to start off as good-aligned are Clerics of Az’atta and this character will likely be able to choose their starting location. We might allow that in more cases, time will tell as this is not yet implemented. e) PvP is just like it is now (GM and WL sanctioned only, arena only, or in the siege areas). PvP might be opened up to what we are calling frontier zones but at this time that is not the case and I am not sure it ever will be. We are going to take this slow and easy as I want Layonara to remain a family oriented community and in order to have that there must be respect in the community amongst the player base. Time will tell how all of this works but we will watch it closely. 16) It is likely we will need to balance spells, feats, and items for the higher end game to work properly with NwN and the D20 system. Not much we can do but try to do our best. We are well aware of all of the issues that come with this sort of thing so we will try to keep it well under control. 17) We are going to be working on the Soul Strand system to allow for a “re-attaching of cut Strands” through some method. We have it designed already but need to get some time to work on the system. However, permanent death when all Strands have been cut will remain in place. This is another one of those systems that will take some time to get implemented and it is not a priority during the transition. 18) There are many changes happening in the world. Name changes, style changes, definition changes and they will all start taking effect when this next campaign begins—they have already started really. a) One of those changes is the Planes. We are shifting to our own cosmology (planes) and will no longer be using the D&D planes, in any way. This will be more detailed in the next Campaign Handbook. Players that play characters from the planes will be grandfathered in and will be allowed to continue playing their characters. b) Another change is that all new characters will have to exist on Layonara or one of its own planes—no where else will be accepted in any way. c) Another change is our deities will be 100% Layonara Pantheon and will not be tied to any D&D or other fantasy worlds or deities. d) All world locations will be 100% Layonara and will have their names and descriptions changed to reflect that. Essentially, we are completely leaving the D&D/D20 system and everything will be unique to Layonara. The players have created a lot of history and lore for the world and they have changed the world in large ways, we are taking it that extra step to ensure future plans can progress forward. This is one of those things that have taken us so long, it is a huge undertaking and one that we take seriously.[/SIZE]
[SIZE=16]Why did it take so long to announce this? We have gone back and forth on what we were going to do after the Soul of a Lost Ancient campaign was completed but we could not make any sort of decisions until we had our hand on NwN2 and the toolset. Since I was under a Non Disclosure Agreement with Obsidian and Atari I could not talk about anything so nothing was posted or discussed about NwN2 or the direction we were going until the toolset was made public, which has now happened due to the preorder download. I can not (and will not) talk about the NwN2 beta or NwN2 toolset other than to say I think it is very powerful and produces high quality areas but at the expense of a large amount of time and module size that in turn causes many other issues that when combined caused me to make this decision (in part). There are other reasons but I can not get in to those at this time.[/SIZE]
[SIZE=16]I am quite aware that we will likely lose players to NwN2 and that is very disappointing but I really hope our dedication to the world, community, and servers will keep all of you here. We are not going away and in fact we are going to grow--stay tuned.[/SIZE]
[SIZE=16]I want to emphasize that the NwN2 toolset is a very good product and I think the NwN2 community will make it a big success, Obsidian Entertainment (OE) should be commended and congratulated on a great product that was created in a short period of time. [/SIZE]
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All i can say is... wow... such promising features surely will cause a revolution, and i mean one with positive aspects (hopefully). :)
This is definately the best news i've ever heard so far!
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nice, looking forward to it :D
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...Whoah....
This is going to be awesome
Thanks to L and everyone else making this possible *claps*
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Wow.....
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I have to say that the planned future of Layonara is everything I could have hoped for.
This. Rocks.
I'm very much looking forward to V3.
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*has a tear in his eye*
This is going to be so cool!
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ROAR!!!
I will run through the single player campain forsure! I will however always remain here in Layo and look forward to the changes. I LOVE the alignment changes for the races!
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Leanthar - 10/2/2006 4:33 PM
15) When the first phase of V3 rolls out the following races must start out as CN, TN, NE, or LE: Dark Elf, Half-Orc, Half-Giant, Half-Ogre, Orc, Goblin, and Duergar.
I am interested in why LN is not allowed. If the characters can begin Lawful and Evil, why can they not begin Lawful and Neutral?
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It is all up in the air at this time and that exact question is in the back of my head. We may allow it since it is allowed now. Time will tell.
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Cool. Thanks.
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Thanks for the early heads up. I guess a system upgrade is not in my near future, that is a relief. I am looking forward to all of this.
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then drogo will grow to be an elderly elf,and in a few more years he might speak common fluently
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Layonara is my second home. I'm not going anywhere! All I can say is . . Bring it on! Way to go guys and gals :)
~ Jil
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Weston is Immortal!
Like Barron Munchousen.. death can never hold him.. only annoy him
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Hooray!!!
I guess you've probably been waiting for my approval? *grins*
Hooray!!!
As for losing players to NWN2 - I for one will probably now be spending more time on layo, now that I know for sure the ideas I have for my character's future will have a definite time frame to come to fruition. Looking forward to it!
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er wow! *jaw drops*
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I've always said that Layonara is like a second home but my home doesn't allow PvP in ANY form and I'm glad to see that you and the team have taken such an intelligent approach as to integrate it into the game. The changes sound terrific and NwN2, however great it is, cannot compare in any way to the amount of work and dedication that you and the team have put into Layonara over the years. Thanks L. I'll be sticking around (though you probably knew that) for a long time yet. :)
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I for one will not be leaving. I love what L, GM team, and who ever else is involved, has done here (A Family server). We may lose a few but I think the ones that stay will be in for a whole lot of fun.
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Sounds good mate.
Best of luck to you and your team planning it all.
It is definately something I was hoping would happen.
cheers,
Polak76
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Well written, and thanks for the update.
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Sounds great. with or without nwn2 I'm going to stay. and depending on things I might be able to get an other player here but he hasn't got nwn and most likely will only buy nwn2. but I'm going to stay and my character sonya darsus will mostlikly stay to depending on how things are during the transition.
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Woooow!
Nicey!
*sighs* Though... I would have to delay the creation of my 16 int cleric then... ;)
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Well, there go my plans for my Tiefling Warlock... oh well, the bio will work just as well for a sorcerer...
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Hmm, might consider buying a PC just to play NWN2 and get in Layo as soon as possible. *grins* Or maybe they'll decide to make a Mac version early on and we won't have to wait 2 years to be able to play too.
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Wow! Awesome news actually, no pc upgrade needed and now I can get my son into Layo without buying a second copy of NWN2.
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Huge and promising changes here! Though some important decisions need to be made on personal level.
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Wow, thanks for the update L. I have really enjoyed the past 18 months that I have been playing on this server and look forward to being a part of things as they grow into V3, sounds great. I also want to thank you and your team for all the time and dedication you have put into this superb RP gaming experience. Keep up the good work! For everyone else I just want to say, let's continue to enjoy this world, have fun together, and be grateful for the effort of all those that work so hard to make it fun for everyone. See you in game!
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Well this is awesome! I have to get a character to level 14 though :(
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Graphics are one thing, excellent RPing is why I love this game and this server. Thanks L, I look forward to all the changes.
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Sounds like some great stuff... I'd like to voice my only concern and that is with the expanded PvP systems... I know we have people here who want PvP real bad.. but I hope that RP remains the focal point of the world... everyone knows of other MMO's that PvP is a main part of and RP does suffer because of it.
I'm sure whatever comes will be weighed from many angles to make sure it works with the world as a whole... as the team has always done before.
G-452
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This is everything I hoped Layonara would be. You're taking a risk, Leanthar, but I like risk takers. I knew I picked the right server, it only took about three and a half years and a long post by it's creator to affirm that. I'm happy to be here, and happy to see that I will be able to stay for years to come. Thank you, Leanthar.
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When the topic came to NWN2 I was apprehensive about what was going to decided, but I was happy that L made the choice that he did. Layonara is aabout the community and the immersiveness of the game through quests and constant changing to the world. and despite the strong possibility that we are still staying on NWN i think that the community will continue to grow.
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yeah. wow.
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well I had looked forward to better graphics and propaly a system based more and strategy than hack'n slash, but... This sounds better anyway! And Im glad I now can finish Zan's tale (though that would proably still take some years :P) Looking very very much forward to those puzzle dungeons by the way :D
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Here's an interesting question:
Is the Licencing for NWN2 going to change?
Will L be able to charge a small nominal fee, like 1/100 USD per character level per day?
-Tribble
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We are not allowed to make a penny from NwN/NwN2 and we can not give "benefits" for people in game or anything like that for donations. Our hands are tied so that we can not make a penny and all money (other than a donation) that is made via NwN/NwN2 goes to Bioware/Obsidian/Atari/WoTC. That is how the system works.
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Leanthar - 10/13/2006 3:10 AM
We are not allowed to make a penny from NwN/NwN2 and we can not give "benefits" for people in game or anything like that for donations. Our hands are tied so that we can not make a penny and all money (other than a donation) that is made via NwN/NwN2 goes to Bioware/Obsidian/Atari/WoTC. That is how the system works.
Yes, that's what I suspected.
HOWEVER,...
I read in one of the developer interviews (linked from somewhere in these Forums, I think)
where he talked about how the "meshes" would make hugely numerous maps impractical. He goes on to say
(I paraphrase from memory), "We are counting on the NWN community to help figure out solutions
to this problem."
I think Bioware/Obsidian/Atari/WoTC might be convinced to support the Layo community.
If you, Dan Scott, collect a nominal manditory donation at non-profit levels (just enough to
pay for hosting and a new server every 6 months). And if you send in a check to B/O/A/W as
per the licencing agreement they might be convinced to simply return the check as a donation
to the Layonara Community.
The upside to B/O/A/W goes like this:
1. Several hundred people buy NWN2 who would otherwise have good reason to skip.
2. A dozen or more developer/mapmakers with known track record work on making NWN2 more robust.
3. Lots of goodwill to the map-making community for truely small anounts of money.
4. If too many people start asking for the same kind of deal B/O/A/W reserves the option
to renegotioate.
Do you think they would go for it?
Would enforcing "manditory donations" take all the fun out of it for you?
Would all the accounting take up too much time?
Just some ideas...
-Tribble
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"....I think Bioware/Obsidian/Atari/WoTC might be convinced to support the Layo community. If you, Dan Scott, collect a nominal manditory donation at non-profit levels (just enough to pay for hosting and a new server every 6 months). And if you send in a check to B/O/A/W as per the licencing agreement they might be convinced to simply return the check as a donation to the Layonara Community....." Not a chance. They do not support PW's and have made that abundently clear with dozens of posts that state as such. "...Do you think they would go for it?..." Nope, not a chance. They have their own goals and focus and really do not care about PW's as it is the SP that makes them their money. I hear what you are saying but it has been told to them at least a few hundred times and I bet a thousand or more. "...Would enforcing "manditory donations" take all the fun out of it for you?..." If I am going to have some sort of 'income' it is not going to be through donations. Donations do not work and people that are 'forced' to donate will just be angry (rightfully so) that it is no longer a 'donation'. On top of that you then cross over in to federal and internaltional laws, taxes, and it goes on. If one is going to try and make money they have to do it the right way otherwise it will not work and the effort will not pay off--not even close really. If you were to do this you might as well be a full fledge company...which means you should not be using NwN/NwN2 because the EULA does not allow you to make a penny. The reason I say donations do not work is because look at our community, it is good but we still lose a good amount of money every single month.
We can do out of game things, like forum adds but that didn't work because somebody in the community was clicking on the adds for no reason and Google close down our adds because of that. Very sadly....
We could do subscriptions on the forums but that sort of defeats a forum community. And it would have to be in a way that gave no in-game ability/bonus/item etc. Hard thing to do but it could work. I just don't think the community would go for it.
We could charge for LORE but I am not so sure the community would go for it and it would take a ton of time/effort to find out if it would work or not.
We could do a magazine (and are trying to work on a magazine) but I am not sure people would pay for it and I wasn't able to get much help from the community when we went down that trail. However, we do have some effort (and some very talented people at that) so we are going to see what comes of it. No idea at this time. "....Would all the accounting take up too much time?..." For a donation thing...yes it would take up far too much time with all of the other headaches that come with it.
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I am wondering if it will be possible, through a well written character bio, to start good characters in the dark races area. I am specificly thinking of a deep gnome character.
Aeon Blues
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looking good, but a question..i might have missed it somewhere but i noticed a few characters now coming close to the lvl 40 mark..will the lvl limit be opened up moreso?
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@Hoodlum, no probably not. I do not think it will be moved beyond level 40.
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Thanks for the update L. It will take a hell of a lot to take me away from Layonara. I've been playing PWs for almost four years now and haven't found anything that comes close to it. Keep up the good work and thanks.
As far as revenue from this endevour, perhaps a book "Chronicles of Layonara" would sell. I know most of us would buy it, but perhaps it would sell to others as well. Reading about things we were a part of (and maybe even seeing our characters names in print) would be a kick. It could be sold as a non-fiction :)
Just a thought.
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Awesome!
I have been gone a while and was hoping I did not have to start my character all over again. I look forward to the new campain. I will be able to be in from the start.
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Any thoughts of new Prestige classes? I hate to be self serving, but a Monk prestige class would be nice since Monk's really have no place to go after epic. Perhaps an Elemental Monk to align with the Elemental Monk Order. Choosing your element (Water, Air, Fire, Earth) would give different capabilities/responsibilities.
Just a thought.
- Jade
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jadewillow, please post that in the "Quests,Ideas, Suggestions... from the players" part of the forum.
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I like the good and (almost) evil separate starting points idea
The text mud 'two towers' has a great version of this that keeps them separate enough to avoid becoming a mainly pvp game but close enough to make things interesting (good quests to the evil town and vice versa)
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We always post about how grateful we are to you guys, the team for doing what you do. We know that you spend time out of your days and busy lives and do this as a labor of love for the enjoyment of many.
So in advance, I personally just want to say, thank you, the hard work is appreciated, I acknowledge that this will be trying for you guys as one player among many, and it means a great deal - this entire community-driven world and the amount of work it takes to keep this whole thing running. You've all brought countless hours of joy into the lives of much of the server player base, so take heart in that.
I hope I can speak for the masses when I say that as a player, patience, understanding, and appreciation are paramount as the team upgrades to V3. Cheers!
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AeonBlues - 10/24/2006 9:11 PM
I am wondering if it will be possible, through a well written character bio, to start good characters in the dark races area. I am specificly thinking of a deep gnome character.
Aeon Blues
You are aware, that Deap gnomes and Drow get along just as well as Elves and Drow =P
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lol, yah except deep gnomes are less likely to fight, and more likely to never be seen. After much soul searching, I think I found the character concept that I will most enjoy on Layo, and it is not a deep gnome ranger/wizard.
AeonBlues
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Just out of interest... is the re-attaching of soulstrands system still going to be added? :P
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I hope so Witch Hunter...That is the plan from my side of things. But we need more help on oh so many fronts that I am no longer sure what will and will not be implemented. Time will tell what can happen given manpower and time and resources. Time will tell.
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Hehe good things take time :)
can't wait! good work dev-team!