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Messages - Filatus
41
« on: January 23, 2011, 04:04:37 pm »
*Flynn saunters into the Bulls Eye and pulls up a stool* "Carrick, make it a tall one. And don't spare the kick" *After being served, Flynn takes a long pull off the beverage then sighs* "Carrick, let me tell you. This Green Dragon Cult could be the end of us all. I've never seen anything like them in all my years. Even our friend General Bloodstone could not amass the numbers and strength I have witnessed from this Cult. I fear there is no turning back, and there is only one way forward. I'm not even sure if we all threw up our hands and surrendered that we would be spared. Of course, slavery is no option for a man like me. I've lived too long as a free man. I would rather die. It will be war, and it will not end well I fear." *Flynn leans back and takes another long pull and shakes his head* "I suppose I could move down to Tilmar and bury myself in some cave down there." *Flynn chuckles* "Who am I kidding, I'd rather be a slave then leave the comfort of my Taverns. So be it. Then I will fight until the last of my breath or the Green Dragon Cult is destroyed." *Flynn finishes his drink and gives Carrick a thankful nod, and leaves as quickly as he arrived*
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42
« on: January 08, 2011, 11:39:05 am »
Hi everyone, I have to say ... it's been a great run! That said, this post is to let the community know that I have just stepped down as a GM. The decision to retire was actually some months in the making, but I stayed on a little longer to make sure my work with Center rolled out smoothly, and to finish off my last commitments to CDQ requests. Time. If only we all could have enough! But with my university days over and my full time job becoming more full time by the day, I know in my heart that I don't have the time for the responsibilities of GMing anymore, and it is time to step aside. My deepest thanks to the community. You are what makes GMing here worth the time we give up. So thanks, for your commitment and passion to the world, for your creativity on quests and during every day roleplay, and for all the support you give the GMs as we try our best to weave stories for you, puppeteer a dozen NPCs at once, and keep the monsters on a short enough leash that you can at least try to solve the world's problems in a non-combative fashion. Mine were always a little unruly, and apologies to whoever they took a swipe at accidentally during a quest. I do seem to recall a few strand refunds during my tenure ... ;-) I can say with honesty, it has been my sincerest pleasure to eavesdrop on all your RP conversations, snoop through your character's backpacks and leave the occasional surprise, bash you on the head with the XP wand from time to time, and torture your characters through development quests! Hope you enjoyed it as much as I did. ~Carillon
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43
« on: December 21, 2010, 10:39:06 am »
[SIZE=18]An old DragonCalled, by name of Sallaron Tempest, who seemed to hold some reknown as a carpenter, has died of old age in his house in Haft Lake.
He left behind his wife, two sons and a small fortune in his will was given to various charities.
During the funeral, friends and neighbours were astounded to see a mass of people attend, many seeming to be Ex-slaves rescued from a terrible life, whilst others appeared to be those of great rank and standing from various organisations.
Neighbours were noted to have been amazed by the massive attendance to the funeral, stating " He seemed like such an ordinary man. "[/SIZE]
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44
« on: December 21, 2010, 10:15:37 am »
Well, this might have been seen coming, but its time I hung up the GM gloves. RealLife has took a wonderful turn in the form of two crazy, mad-cap spawns of Mini-Me's, whom continue to suck and drain every ounce of will to live that I have ( kidding of course!  ) Add to that various other things, and sadly I just don't have time for GMing anymore, so I'll put the GM Wand back on the self, and hope someone else will pick it up and have a wave. But I do thank you for the opportunity I had to bring about some chaos, fun and laughs to this wonderful little world you've all created. I'll be sure to keep an eye out for the MMO when it's released, and likely bring about some great ancestor of the Tempest's to see it. I wish you all well, and of course a Happy Christmas!
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45
« on: December 14, 2010, 03:43:52 pm »
[SIZE=24] Although it takes a few weeks or longer, depending on proximity to the Kuhl Forest, quiet words and hushed tales pass through the taverns and places of gossip around Belinara. Decaying soldiers bearing the insignia of the Green Dragon are claimed to have been found scattered along Kuhl's southeast border. Some even claim to have heard of or seen severed heads belonging to Kuhl soldiers placed on pikes. All varieties of drach have been found, including large winged beasts. Oddly, the more draconic varieties have not been touched by the forest scavengers.
Not since Kuhl's takeover by those bearing the mark of the Green Dragon have so many drachs been found dead within Kuhl's border. No one has as yet claimed responsibility for the dead drachs, and Kuhl itself has not acknowledged any internal damage. Those who know of the assault on Mistone at Moraken's Tower wonder if the dead patrols are a response to that attack, or if this is something else entirely. Mercenaries of various sorts have always been known to ply their trade around Nesar, but now there are those residents who take a closer look, wondering which side the sell-swords have chosen.[/SIZE] //// This thread is certainly open to GM and player alike to report glimpses of the Triple S and the results of its action. ////
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46
« on: November 28, 2010, 08:58:41 pm »
...didn't want to spam your thread but I wanted to say going to miss you as a gm. your quests were well thought out and full of good twists, and the Jed stuff was great. I'm sorry we didn't get to finish that. You're a great gm and I enjoyed everything you threw at us. Hope life gives you back to us soon!
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48
« on: November 06, 2010, 12:41:47 pm »
Hello Layonara Community, I just wanted to let you all know that I'm trying something different with the way I've done updates. To put it briefly, I'm going to try doing smaller, more frequent updates. Some of them may also be "stealth" updates, meaning that I may not announce them at all. Others may be quick-fix updates, such as those I have done since 3.30 has gone online. So what does this mean? Well, I'm not making any guarantees, but simple changes and quick fixes will hopefully find their way into play more quickly. Also, I'm hoping to keep better pace with plot-relevant changes as well as possibly add some unexpected variability into the world. Such things may not be frequent, as it is still subject to my rather full schedule. However, this is my intent, and I wanted to let you, the community, to know what is going on, so that when you go on your "usual" and find bugbears instead of ogres, for example, you will know why. We'll see how it goes, I guess!
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49
« on: October 31, 2010, 06:37:15 am »
[SIZE=24]
Days have passed, and not a single report of attacks by the mysterious Mist have been reported.
Civilians breathe sighs of relief, guards relax their vigil slightly, children play out in the streets once more.
But many still wonder, and the rumours still circulate.
Who was this mage who supposedly brought down the wrath of the Mist upon them?
What was the Mist's purpose?
More so... who was responsible for delivering the people from the Mist?
As time passes, the answer to these questions becomes lost like tears in the rain.
But surely someone somewhere must know?
Someone somewhere... must have a tale to tell... of a brave and ruthless individual, the most unlikeliest of heroe's... or perhaps not even a hero at all... who walked into the Mist, and came back out victorious.[/SIZE]
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50
« on: October 13, 2010, 09:16:20 am »
Try new Pugcleaner! For when you want to clean the backside of your screen. Now using 100% natural, biodegradable dog saliva. IT'S THE PUG CLEANER 
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51
« on: October 04, 2010, 03:18:50 pm »
This will be pushed back one week, to next Tuesday the 12th. Otherwise same Bat time same Bat location. ~Nimrod
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52
« on: September 28, 2010, 02:48:26 am »
With mornings light Rael is in uproar. Overnight hordes of Dark Elves that also included some mercenaries from surface lands have struck numerous regions inside Rael itself. So far the following is an accounting of the attacks that are emerging from Rael as information filters down the chain of command and to the surrounding lands. Fort Hold: Attacked just after midnight with a force of approximately 500 Dark Elves. it seems their target was the Rofireinite encampment just outside Fort Hold. The Knights of the Wyrm suffered heavy casualties in trying to defend the Principium Wardens and the other priests in the camp. One brave newly appointed Knight Captain, Benjamin Poetr rallied the Knights to hold off the Dark Elf attack until Rael reinforcements could arrive from Fort Hold and help rout the attackers. The Rofireinites claim the Dark Elves seemed to be searching for the records of the proceedings against the other Dark Elves tried at Fort Hold since their main target was the records tent. Initial estimates indicate almost half of the Dark Elves were killed and a score captured before the rest fled into the night. Rael forces lost 47 another similar number wounded, the Knights lost seventeen with another five injured. Oakhurst: A major Raelian supply camp just outside Oakhurst was attacked just before midnight with a large force of Dark Elves. Early estimates indicate over two thousand Dark Elves participated in a three pronged attack on the supply post. A large portion of the Raelian Eastern Army was in camp picking up supplies otherwise the enemy may have severely crippled the Northern and eastern armies ability to operate in the field for some time. In a hard fought battle the main dark elf force of a thousand struck the Raelian front lines and rapidly overcame them. At this point a coordinated attack hit from the south and from the north. Raelian spotters recognised the famous Dark Elven mercanery Lirtrisk Noz'Kelizan leading the northern attack while an unfamiliar but powerful dark elf sorcerer led the southern attack. The main force lost over half its number as the Raelian troops rallied and crashed into them. Perhaps recognising a far larger force against them than initially planned for Lirtrisk tried to retreat but was quickly surrounded and her force almost decimated. Raelian troops indicate that at least thirty men were lost to both Lirtrisk and her body guard known to be an esteemed arcane archer before they were brought down. The Rael forces would have killed or captured more of the enemy if it werent for the Dark Elf Sorcerer who used powerful magics to cover their retreat and hold back the Rael forces, as well as igniting part of the supply compound in the process forcing Rael soldiers to try and save the supply depot. Initial reports claim at least a thousand Dark Elves lost their lives while the Raelians suffered heavily due to Lirtrisks people and the Dark Elf Sorcerer. Its estimated over 400 Raelians were killed and another 200 injured. There were no captives. Vale: A small but efficient force of 100 Dark Elves overcame and killed the guards into the Vale and proceeded to the Katian temple where they came to grips with the people there. Priests and Druids held the Temple long enough for guards, inhabitants and rangers and animals called to defend the temple could arrive and help drive back the Dark Elves. The Temple was breached but those Dark Elves that made it inside were killed by those who waited within. The remaining host fled back from where they came leaving the people of Vale and the Katians themselves in a state of shock. Prantz: Murder by night. Dark Elf Assasins have risen onto the cities streets well after midnight and targeted certain individuals in their homes in the city. In the Upper Class Quarter at least a dozen nobles and their families have been found murdered in their homes. Guards have overcome and faced a number of the dark elf assassins as they tried to enter different homes. Several fires now burn in large estates in the city believed to have been deliberately lit by the dark elves to cover their escape. Martial Law in Prantz has been declared while Rael troops search house to house the entire city to seek out how the Dark Elves entered the city undetected. Castle Mask: Murder Most Foul. Dark Elf assassins have struck the camp of the Raelian troops. In an apparent suicidal attempt to carry out their mission thirty assassins have managed to kill the entire negotiation party sent to Castle Mask to meet with the Lorites. The Human nobles from Prantz fell victim to the assasins blades as well as the Raelite General in charge of the force residing there before being cut down by soldiers. Haft Lake: A large group of over 200 Dark Elves attacked Haft Lake, raiding and burning several houses before adventurers and local Guard units mobilised and either killed or drove off the host. As a result of this, as the dust settles over Rael in the next few days Lord Rael has declared Martial Law until order is restored, the borders are closed until further notice and his entire current standing army in the fields south of Pranzt have been ordered into the field. Every road, every village, every farmstead and every field in his nation is to be patrolled until further notice. Current estimates indicate this means that just under 40,000 soldiers, human and demi humans are now helping to restore order in Rael. The forces currently residing north of Castle Mask will remain in place to patrol the souther border with Lor until the new General arrives to take charge.
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53
« on: September 21, 2010, 05:54:25 am »
Okay, I've mulled over this for some time, I've read many of the prior discussions about this spell and I know its been discussed to death but....... Rogues struggle at the best of times at higher levels and with the creatures on layonara once you hit a certain level and go to many areas most magic using creatures that spawn seem to have True Sight as a stock standard spawn spell. True Sight, due to nwn mechanics is almost 100% undefeatable in a sense that for a rogue character or character with HIPS it can see them around corners as well and once a target locks onto the character you have no chance to avoid them. (Yes I know creatures need to have line of sight for them to lock on, but its amazing how many times they lock on without that line of sight) Ideally True Sight would not allow creatures to see through walls or around corners. Thus a rogue could actually make use of their sneaking and hiding abilities regardless of a person using True Sight and if they approached them from behind true sight would still not allow them to be seen in this sense. I know we cannot alter the spell due to nvn mechanics but can we please entertain the thought of finding a way to give Rogues or characters with a hide chance the opportunity to use that ability vs true sight? Ie can a DC check be built into the True Sight so that it checks vs the hide of the creature to see if it can overcome it? Or alternatively can we make a version of True Sight that is specific to Layonara and have that used instead? One that can operate more realistically? So that when the creature does not have line of sight they lose track of the rogue with a successful hide check or something? I know Im asking a lot, but the amount of times Ive heard the laments of players with high level rogues, and now I'm one of them, maybe its time we could do something about it?
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54
« on: September 15, 2010, 01:49:12 am »
Everyone well? I've been trollin' the site for a few weeks, and while listening to some old IWD tracks and couldn't help but say hey.
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55
« on: July 13, 2010, 12:54:54 pm »
An old half gaint opens the door and looks around with his one good eye. "HUmm I is looking for a Mr Oz he is misrable sod like" Spugly gos to the bar "Dat my Bukket der ya dad keep it for me, fill with black beer" Spugly puts some coin on the counter. "So whos about dat I know whos not deaded?"
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56
« on: July 12, 2010, 04:00:30 pm »
Now, I know what you all are thinking: "*groan* not another person making self-interested posts trying to make their favorite class better." And, to a certain extent that is true. But, I want to emphasize, I am not trying to make the druid class more powerful with these changes - I am trying to make the class reflect a little better their role, as I see it, in Layonara. And, I will admit, it is a struggle to try and come up with some things that are appropriate without being unbalancing. I will be the first to admit that druids are a powerful class to begin with, but they do have some noticable holes in their reperatoire. I use cleric for comparison purposes quite a bit, as they are the other class that has a full nine levels of spells, yet also has combat emphasis. Most of my suggestions are ones that I hope are not too difficult to implement - feel free to correct me if that's not the case, all ye with coding skills. - Weapon enhancements. (okay, I lied, this one I admit would make druids more powerful) Everyone who can cast a spells gets some form of them, except druids. GMW seems a little over-powered, as does flameblade/darkfire - on the other hand, Clerics get both, so one or the other might not be too overpowering. The ranger's blade thirst might be a good candidate for a druid spell, with the whole redistributing primal forces, balanced healing as you harm kinda thing, except the slashing/piercing requirement would leave a lot of druids out in the cold, (yes, there are druids who don't use scimitars exclusively). Of all the weapon enchantments, however, bless weapon seems the most thematically appropriate to druids - ending the scourge of undead and aberrant creatures and all that. Since it's a level one paladin spell, level three druid spell would be a relatively close approximation - but, if people feel that's too powerful, make it a level four or five spell instead.
- Speaking of undead... Druids really aren't that good at it. In Layo, clerics are not really about harming undead (necessarily), but still have all the anti-undead mojo. Druids, on the other hand, while very diverse, often take up that mantle of going after undead, as they harm the balance. People are always surprised when I tell them the spells that Pallena can't cast. Other than cure/heal, druids get two very nice high-level anti-undead spells, sunbeam and sunburst.. and that's it. And they're at the same spell level, so its difficult to really have an undead arsenal. So, one possible solution would be to move one of the spells a slot higher or lower. Another would be to give druids something like undeath to death (which even wizards get), at level six or seven. Searing light might also be a nice addition for low level characters.
- Defensively, druids also suffer at the hands of undead. Druids get death ward, which is nice, but again, that's all. Undeath's eternal foe and Shadow shield would be thematically appropriate, but as they are the singe best group and individual defensive spells in the game, they might be a bit unbalancing. Negative energy protection seems to me to be an appropriate spell to give to druids - again, if its viewed as being unbalancing, kick it up to level five or six druid spell, or something along those lines.
- On high level spells more generally: Druids get two special druid spells at high levels: Nature's Flow, and Nature's Balance. Both have nice druidy names and descriptions... but are rather useless. The big problem with nature's flow is the DR that it gives you. When nature's flow is cast, it overwrites the DR from stoneskin or similar spells (and Pallena at least lives and dies with her greater stoneskin), and leaves you defenseless when it expires. Maybe the DR could be changed to an AC increase or to concealment instead? Nature's Balance... I don't think I've even ever seen the spell cast. I can think of some situations where it might be useful, but the downsides seem pretty large for a level nine spell - compare to implosion, for instance - both affect up to four enemies... but implosion doesn't have the severe downsides. Its rather unfortunate, but Storm of Vengeance so outstrips the other ninth level spells, there really isn't very much reason to memorize anything else... and so the spells loses its awe and cool druidy storm factor. Having another spell or two with comparable oomph would help.
- A while ago there were discussion about changing the Shapechange spell to have some other forms for various reasons (see here). I have no idea whether this is something that could easily be implemented... but its sure would be nice to have something that reflects nature more. Shapechange sure sounds like a great druid spell, but right now the red dragon form is really the only thing that seems vaguely druidy - I mean, why on earth would a druid want to shift into an iron golem? As far as I'm concerned, the stats could stay the same, but if the shapes could be changed to, say, griffons, or ancient dire wolverines, or the Voltrexian penguin of doom ;) It would really turn the spell into something that could have some RP use.
- Finally... Again, no idea if this is even possible, but it would be really really really nice if the animal empathy skill could be used on critters like snakes and spiders and giant bugs. It just seems weird that a druid can tell a gargoyle to behave, but not a snake. And its incredibly frustrating to preach the virtues of all natural creatures, and how you shouldn't step on the spiders, only to have one attack you and be forced to kill it or die yourself. I would love it even more if druids could walk through nature-friendly things like treants or satyrs without incurring their wrath, but that might be too much of an advantage.
Anyway, that's all from me. Fee free to tell me why these won't work now
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57
« on: June 28, 2010, 10:11:21 am »
So now that I have played for quite a few years I have seen a rather strange tendency over the years. Seemingly the player get less and less influence on the world, the WLs(/epics) in particular. Back in the day epics were really really epic, I mean they were the leaders of their churchs, almost avatars of their gods, dragons, you name it... Now it is all about handing XP out to people who are doing a great job in the gameworld... Not that this is bad for anyone, however the change is... I agree that there was some point in Layonara history where there were too huge a gap between what "normal players" and WL's could do. But right now no one can do anything which seems even more silly than someone can do something. Maybe it is just me, but besides one event that took place a couple of years ago I have been unable to do -anything- what so ever to affect the gameworld. I mean really, it has even gone to the point where even if I don't do something things will happen anyway. So now playing is more like getting told, oh you know this thing will happen in the future, you don't have to do anything it will happen no matter what. ((What I have tried so far: Contacting GMs Involving other players RPing IG Answering IC forum posts)) Well alright, if that is the case why even play, because one of the reasons I really liked playing here was that every action has consequences.. Well that is cool, as long as you can actually do something that matters in the first place. Instead I feel stuck in a place where GM's can make a character ten times stronger than mine and with a hundred times the options while having their morning coffee(At least it feels that way to me, I have no idea how NPCs are approved, but just the fact that Storold doesn't actually have a rank as such makes it very easy to make something better.). So all you are left with is following the arrows on the floor and kill the occasional monster in your way, or of course join the eternal grind towards having all upgrades on all your gear and watch your XP counter tick up towards infinity.
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58
« on: June 20, 2010, 11:19:09 am »
Dear Neverwinter Nights, I never actually finished your official campaign (any of them), and most of even my favorite modules were left off around 95% completion. No more than a handful of areas from the module project I started were ever done, even though building was the only reason I went PW surfing to begin with. I am a poor modeler and have not given you any shiny new toys like other people have over the years, as with my most valiant efforts I am generally just translating the work of others to work for us. I rarely finish stories, and my scripting in any language is akin to the tourist that greets natives with "the cat is black" and says his farewells as "the cheese is stinky". I only dabbled with your sequel, and even when I poked my head into another PW I didn't speak with another soul. I bought that nice premium module that I heard was very good, but like other very good modules I only got halfway through it, along with that expansion. Expansions. I've found that the things I love most about your sequel are the models that got ripped from it and given to you. Enjoy!I did not get you a card, because I hate cards, and also I don't care for wrapping paper, bows, and in general anyone bothering me, and also I am officially 2 days late. But I thought I would say it anyway. Happy 8th Birthday, NWN! Eight years later you are getting some of the best content since your release. Here are just a few examples of the continued labors of love on your behalf, to cheer you and make up for my own lack of contribution. I did not even count the last patch they labored on for you, and the premium modules that were cancelled but given to the community, or any of the older content that is still in the top ranks! NWShader (Ignore them when they say adding bloom to NWN is like putting lipstick on a pig - they should have said gilding a lily. The possibilities cannot be measured!) NWNCQNWN Enhancedsixesthrice's pretty tilesetsCTP BabylonCEP 2.3 (the new DM tools are crazy!) Senemenelas' Underdark TilesetKotoR HeadsSciFi PlaceablesWorms Fantasy InteriorsSen's Seasonal Workshop (remember when we were trying to make the seasons change dynamically with worms, NWN? That was silly. This is easy.) Community Music PackLastly, while I do not have anything of my own that is anything of note, and have not in general added to your lifespan with so much as a font, you must understand that with your kind I am a fickle creature. Drawn to shiny and ever dissatisfied with its empty reflection, I move on and on and on from "games," leaving a trail of open manuals and dusty boxes behind me, bouncing from latest and greatest back to Betrayal at Krondor, Mario, and King's Quest, and, more recently, Lemmings. Forget all the others. You are the only one I have been (semi-)faithful to, and with you are the only characters (singular) I've made that have lasted any significant length of time, even when we are called silly for still caring about a game nearing a decade-old and wanting to do good things for it. Did I say a decade? No, no, you are closer to 5 than 10. Forget all that. So thank you for the toolset, and thank you for Acacea, and happy birthday!
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59
« on: June 17, 2010, 05:01:46 pm »
I started this thread based on CNR gathering discussion origionally posted here: http://forums.layonara.com/layonara-server-rules/276452-cnr-harvesting-camping.htmlI'm still trying to get a better feel for what the Team wants the end result to be for CNR gathering. However, from what I've read it looks like there is both a "time spent over a CNR area component" and a "number of times you harvest CNR component". From my reading, it seems that it is not out of the question that a particular CNR area (emeralds is what I'm really thinking of right now) can by harvested at least twice within the current 30 minute rule. Granted you'd have to be very precise about when and where you rested, you'd have to kill creatures as quick as possible, work crazy fast to chip at the CNR, and God forbid you try to add some RP into that. So, my point is then if two passes is possible for the ultra skilled and quick, why not just say the rule is 2 (two) passes for all CNR? That way you don't have people looking at their watches and worrying all about some 30 minute timer which is not condusive to RP and can really take you out of the immersion. I would propose the following rule then: 2 (two) passes for all CNR, and keep the 60 minute looping rule in place. CNR not falling within the 2 (two) pass rule would be plants and sand type CNR (aloe, wheat, barley, sand, clay, etc); these would fall only under the 60 min looping rule.
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60
« on: June 11, 2010, 11:28:28 am »
I recently had questions brought to me about how many times can CNR be gathered from an area. It seems there is a lot of confusion currently on this topic and people think there is a "Rule of Three" passes. Here is Layonara's rules on camping and looping: LORE: Player RulesThe rule for harvesting CNR -is- a timer limit of Thirty Minutes. Depending on the difficulty of defeating any guards, the time spent choping, chiseling or mining and the inclusion of any rest break, once may be in effect our limit. Hopefully this helps those who asked or were mistaken about the rules. If anyone has any questions, as always feel free to ask them. Don't fret over anything in the past, just focus on doing things right heading forward. Enjoy and have fun
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