[Wids]

Thank you and double thank you to you, Thayan. And welcome back! How was your vacation? :D

[DarkRanger]

Question about the temple of Set in Moszabbar. Is it a standard temple progression where only cleric or CoT levels count, or are Blackguards accepted?

[Balanor]

I see I forgot to put that one on the list. It's updated now and since Set is a Lawful Evil Deity, the temple will accept Blackguards into the clergy.

[Wids]

So regarding my new character (a monk/sorcerer, c/o the Order of the Dark Moon), if I wanted to eventually start my own faction with her, would it be more advisable to open a new temple to Shar somewhere, or would it be better to open a new monastery? The temple would accept the usual Clerics and such (and could shore up the healing supplies in a relatively temple-less area), but the monastery could open a new exclusive faction for Evil Monks (and possibly Neutral Monks as well).

And as a minor suggestion, what say ye to the idea of the temples of Mystra and Shar allowing Sorcerers and Wizards as clergy, for those arcanists who would rather not go the Red Wizard route? ;)

[MoreThanThree]

Isn't it illegal for practicing arcanists to be outside of the Red Wizards in Thay?

[Wids]

Well, the non-Evil ones can join the Harpers, and Harpers don't jibe with Red Wizards for some reason or other. So I'm guessing "no". :-/

(But then, the Harpers are pretty much outlaws in Thay, so even if you're right, non-Red-Wizard wizards can just follow the Harpers' credo: "Don't get caught." :P )

[Balanor]

So regarding my new character (a monk/sorcerer, c/o the Order of the Dark Moon), if I wanted to eventually start my own faction with her, would it be more advisable to open a new temple to Shar somewhere, or would it be better to open a new monastery? The temple would accept the usual Clerics and such (and could shore up the healing supplies in a relatively temple-less area), but the monastery could open a new exclusive faction for Evil Monks (and possibly Neutral Monks as well).

I personally would enjoy seeing a faction unlike others we have. So I'd go the route of starting a chapter of the Order of the Dark moon for monks only. But the choice is ultimately up to you.

For anyone interested in starting a faction - begin by using the tools in-game to get one going. Buy a building somewhere and decorate it, create a faction outfit, get a merchant for your faction's inventory, and so on. If enough people show interest and/or you simply stick with it long enough, we do have a process in place for people to follow in order to make it permanent - which Wing and Purulent Carcass recently used to create the Tyraturos Thieves Guild. But at this point, before that happens, I'm requesting that interested players spend the time and effort (and coin) in-game to create the foundation for it.

[Wids]

I've already set my eye on a few good manors and towers which might make for good monasteries. Something in the colder, darker, more northern reaches of Thay (in Umratharos, maybe) would be ideal, I think. But anywhere where Thay might need a bunch of ascetics how to show the Legions how to fight bare-handed is good. :)

It's still a distant goal at this point, but I suppose there's no harm in planning that far ahead.

[Wids]

Okay, so now my stable has grown to five characters, and I've considered trying to rein in my altaholism by focusing more on one or two of them. Weedy and Jaliskar have displeased me by getting their butts kicked a few too many times; apparently, Jaliskar is deathly allergic to vampires (whom she attracts in droves), and Weedy is deathly allergic to, well, anything which has more than two points in Listen. So now I'm focusing on Zelis, who has already proven to be considerably more immortal than the rest of my stable combined (even if her Will saves suck). Meanwhile, Eilbren's still fairly hard to kill, and Corella routinely spends her R&R time in the most horrid nadirs of crypts everywhere.

This leads me back to the idea of founding a new faction. Regarding that end, Corella's already devoted to Bezantur's Temple of Leira, and Weedy's earmarked for Eltabbar's Thieves Guild. So they're out of the running, which leaves the other three, who all so happen to be going the merchant/mercenary/freelancer/unaffiliated route. And oh, do I have ideas for them:

Eilbren: A new temple, lodge or feasthall to Eilistraee (a faction for non-Evil elves (drow or otherwise) and/or non-Evil and non-Lawful Rangers, Bards, Clerics and/or Druids, to be located in some quasi-uncivilized outlying settlement (like Nethjet) or one of those houses in the Forested Valley. As per Eilistraeen custom, non-drow worshippers should be prepared to darken their skin with charcoal or whatever, dye their hair white or silver and generally act like drow elf wannabes in Eilistraee's honor; yes, that goes for the rare human or forest gnome among the ranks too. Members should also expect such practices as getting together on every full moon, tossing off any heavy armor or clothing, forming a hunting party, choosing some sort of random prey critter (such as a bear, a werewolf or a Lolth worshipper) and rushing out to find one and kill it. While butt naked. So make sure your survival skills don't suck. The hunt is then followed by the traditional Circle of Song, where all the Eilistraeens sit together, get drunk, dance around and sing bloody awful jam sessions. So if you're just itching to air your quasi-medieval parody of Fifty Cent's "In Da Club," this is the place to do it. :P )

Jaliskar: The aforementioned new monastery or cloister (a faction for non-Good monks. While the Order of the Dark Moon (Shar's monastic order) will obviously hold a certain preference, the monastery can also be availed to other non-Good orders, such as the Disciples of the White Rod (Loviatar's order), the Brotherhood of the Scarlet Scourge (Yurtrus' order) or the Order of the Long Death (those pesky nutters who think that death is the coolest thing ever). Gathering for group prayer at dusk is expected (except for those Long Death monks, who are free to skulk around and stomp on whatever rats and mice are scurrying about the place), as is punctual attendance at nightly ascetic sessions involving a regimen of exercise, training and sparring; the practice dummies may occasionally be replaced with captured Sun Soul monks or monks from one of Ilmater's fifty-billion monastic orders, so don't wear anything fancy, expensive or difficult to wash.)

Zelis: The "Barbarians of Love" Matchmaking Service (Thay's first dating agency (!), a faction for Sunites, Sharessans, Hanali-Celanil-ite-ian-whatevers or other touchy-feely sorts who are interested in helping other people find that special someone to make their lives complete. This one should be the easiest one to set up: take a house, add stuff that gives the house a warm or romantic atmosphere, add a merchant, stock that merchant with a bunch of blank sealed letters and writing stuff, then leave instructions for any would-be clients to fill out a form, seal it with wax and sell it back to the merchant, where Zelis or some other Barbarians of Love associate will review the form, compare it against all the other clients and try to arrange meetings, dates and the occasional spontaneous marriage between whatever clients match up. The merchant will also be stocked with wine, food, jewelry and gift items, the better to make that first romantic encounter memorable. (And the merchant's payouts will be very friggin' low, so all the lamers out there can find some other place to get rid of their glowing daggers, weight-reduced rings, Tower Shields of Ambidexterity and other such junk.) But be warned that Zelis is a brash, nosy, uncultured, semi-illiterate Uthgardt barbarian teenager, so her ideas on how to help people find their soul mates can be a bit...weird.)

So which of these factions in the rough do you suppose would benefit the server most?

[DarkRanger]

I wonder how a "hook x up with y" quest might work. But either way, I think whichever one you like best would be the one you should go with.