[Balanor]

This thread will be used to provide information to players and DMs on server updates that may affect you. Please note that this is not a complete list of all updates, but rather the more important ones which may affect players or DMs in a more visible way.

If you have any questions or comments on any update, please feel free to reply to them here.

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Version 1.1
-Look for Red Wizard Cedric in the Temple of Myrkul in Southeast Bezantur as our first new 'static' quest giver - one that will always give the same quest and provides a special reward (beyond just gold and XP)

-All the new shield appearances that became available with the 1.69 patch can now be selected when using a Tailor Model. You will primarily see a much larger selection of Large shield types to choose from

-The Red Wizard master will sell scrolls and other items to his apprentices that can be purchased no where else

-Thugs found on the streets of Bezantur will now subdue those they attack and take a random percent of any gold they possess if the PC is knocked down by them

-The selection of higher level (medium range) treasure has been VASTLY improved

-DMs now have the ability to boot PCs out of factions (should their in-character actions merit it) through the DM Menu

-The following bugs have been fixed:
1. When choosing to decrease the appearance of a robe, you will no longer receive a 'Too Many Instructions' script error in your combat message window
2. Some Tower Shield models will no longer show up as bags (invalid appearance) on the Tailor Model's arm
3. Upon login, PCs should no longer be reduced to 1 hit point even when they previously logged out with full or most of their hit points
4. Multiple mount issues have been addressed, such as temporary hit points not being removed after dismounting, and logging off an on while mounted causing the PC appearance to be incorrect

[Balanor]

-The writing system for Thay has been completely revamped. Any old writing quills or blank parchment or books your characters possess should be discarded or sold as they will not work with our new, more robust system

-Message Boards are available in-game. You can use the options that became available with the new writing system to write message board notices and post them to these boards

[Balanor]

There have been many minor fixes and changes throughout the last couple weeks that have not been ammounced. However, a couple of the more impactful things that have been implemented or will take affect with the next server reset today are:

-The number of overland Plains areas you will find has been doubled using one of the new 1.69 tilesets. This will increase the variety and randomness of overland travel. In addition, any new overland areas will be three quarters the size of those you may have previously encountered (12x12 areas instead of 16x16). As a result, your travel time between cities or points of interest may be reduced by up to a quarter of what it has been previously.

-When changing your subdual status, any of your PC's summons, mounts, familiars, animal companions, dominated creatures, or shackled slaves will switch to match your status

-XP for attempting to convert NPCs to your faith has been doubled

[Balanor]

-The Temple of Talona is now a joinable faction, per request

-You may now speak with shackled, dominated, and summoned creatures to change their tactics

-Halfling Mercenariess now have abilities that will make them a little more dangerous, and not quite the pushovers they were prior to this update

-The first level of the Temple of Kossuth is complete, along with all the nasty surprises within it (DMs look for more info on the staff forums)

-DM Possessed creatures now understand all languages (for RP purposes should the DM need it), and can speak any language as well

-The following bugs have been fixed:
1. Druids using Wild Shape should no longer receive an item called “PC Properties”
2. When a shape-shifted creature gets saved, they are no longer forced to re-equip their armor resulting in temporary paralysis
3. New PCs were not getting their clothing, cloak, and starting weapon equipped for the opening event. This has been resolved

[Balanor]

-The Salamander War has been concluded and the gates of Bezantur are open!!! Stretch your legs and try out our unique overland travel system. Visit many newly available locations like the Keep of Sorrows, Thasselen, Murbant, Nethwatch Keep, and Nethjet. All praise to Kossuth and the brave adventurers who made this possible! ;)

-The Flaming Brazier (Temple of Kossuth) is now a joinable faction for Clerics (Firewalkers), Monks (Disciples of the Salamander), and Fighters (Fire Drakes)

-The Second Level of the Flaming Brazier is complete

-Exits from any area should no longer have traps potentially set on them

-The following bugs have been fixed:
1. All doors in the Temple of Mask Underground will now properly open for those with the Temple’s faction item
2. Logging in while under certain polymorph effects will no longer result in having your appearance changed to that of a dragon
3. Halfling Mercs should no longer drop a creature skin when killed

[Balanor]

- The Temple of Hoar in the Keep of Sorrows is complete

-The Third Level of the Flaming Brazier is complete

-Several new riddles have been added to the Riddlemaster’s repertoire

-Magic Kukris have been added to the random properties treasure system

-The following bugs have been fixed:
1. Many scripts have been reviewed and revised to try and reduce lag
2. Red Wizard potentials were not being called to the trials if they owned a house. This has been fixed
3. Red Wizards Apprentices logging out in their master’s tower will now be jumped to their last persistent location on login to avoid getting the wrong master in their tower
4. The AFK functionality will work as intended if logging out while AFK and then logging back in
5. Resolved an issue with PCs who were not members of a faction being unable to place a merchant
6. Priest healers should no longer run away after healing a PC

[Balanor]

- Engraving tables now allow you to change the description of an item (up to 320 characters). This change has been made possible due to the efforts of KTA - be sure to thank him if you like/use it!

- Custom descriptions created through the engraving tables will be kept when modifying those items at the Tailor Models, Enchantment Forges, and when selling them to Player Owned Merchants

- There are four new unique quest givers - Captain Sparrow found in the Captain’s Pub tavern of Murbant, Mantorra Hennaflame found in the Flaming Brazier of Bezantur, Terraseer Halavar found in the Temple of Hoar in the Keep of Sorrows, and Lug the Bonecrusher found in the Tin Tankard of Nethjet.
All are similar to Cedric the Red Wizard (who has moved to the cemetery in Thasselen) in that each asks for a larger number of a specific item and will provide a nice (typically unique) gift in return as a reward - which (depending on the quest giver) could be dependent on your class. Also check the message boards in each city for some details on what they might be looking for

- Scrying has been changed to make it more ‘realistic’. Those using it must possess a crystal ball, or be near an existing crystal ball, mirror, or divining pool placeable object in addition to having cast clairvoyance on themselves. There will also be several temporary negative effects after casting scry due to the draining power of the spell

-The following bugs have been fixed:
1. Writing Desks will no longer give an incorrect portrait to a copied parchment, book, or message notice
2. Duplicate engraving tables in the Flaming Brazier have been removed
3. Non-hostile NPCs (such as the healer in Nethjet) will no longer disappear when entering overland area transitions
3. Changed scripts to try and reduce lag at area transitions and when logging on to the server

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- Artificial Intelligence (AI) for NPCs and monsters has been improved. Be careful adventuring as you may likely experience improved monster tactics which will make your foes more dangerous, and considerably less stupid, than they were before. If you encounter any strange AI-related problems, please let The Thayan know

- Legion factions (such as the Priador Legion) now have all ranks completed for them. PCs who join those factions can rise through the ranks of Sergeant, Lieutenant, and eventually to a Captain

-After a PC legionnaire attains one of these new ranks, they can use their legion cloak to send a call for aid to other PC legionnaires which tells them where they are at. In addition, calling for aid in this manner will also summon an NPC legionnaire of varying ability based on the PC’s rank to assist. The ability can be used once every 4 game hours - 1 hour real-time

- As individuals gain rank in the legions, they will receive better prices from their legion quartermasters

- Being this *is* Thay, PCs will begin to see Red Wizards more often than before - along with their entourage in tow! In addition, you will see more of the commoner Thayan NPCs with their slaves as well

- To help promote a more fair and balanced economy, NPC merchants now all have maximum buy prices set for any item being sold to them. This means it’s in your PC’s best interest to try and find another PC buyer for a very powerful item since NPC merchants will no longer give you all their gold to purchase it. This change also fixes an issue where powerful items would be un-sell-able if they were valued at more gold than the NPC merchant has in its store

- Average purchase limits will range between 1000-3000 gold per item, however you may find limits as low as 100 and as high as 5000. Faction merchants will have the higher average limits, while common marketplace merchants will have the lower average limits

- Body Models available with DM assistance can allow PCs, or NPCs being created by DMs, to change their portrait, hair color, skin color, and tattoo color. In addition, the wings and tails that were added in 1.69 patch (in addition to the wings and tails that were already available through these Body Models) can now be accessed. With these additions, now ANY aspect of your character’s appearance can be changed in-game!

- Additional Red Wizard NPCs have been added to the palette for DM use

-The following bugs have been fixed:
1. Fixed a MAJOR lag issue in regard to map pins. Please note though, that all existing PC-specific map pins will be lost so you will need to replace them, unfortunately
2. Guards should no longer care about PCs who are AFK with weapons in their hands. However, it is recommended you put away your weapon before going AFK near a guard
3. The item Lesser Dust of Appearance will have charges assigned to it so it can actually be used
4. More changes have been made to reduce or eliminate the bug of being unable to recall your mount and then being unable to purchase a new one. This *should* not occur anymore, however if it does you will be reimbursed some gold (OOCly) and your mount ownership status will be reset without having to contact The Thayan (and the incident will be written to the server logs)

[Balanor]

- I am very happy to announce that it is now possible for Red Wizard Apprentices to become Red Wizards! When the time comes, eligible Red Wizard Apprentices will be taken to the trials area automatically.
IMPORTANT NOTE: This is a ‘do or die’ situation for the PC. Aspiring apprentices who fail the trials of the Red Wizard will be (perma)dead since their mysterious allies will *not* be able to intervene to save them (i.e. – NO RESPAWN!!!). For apprentices called to these trials, prepare well before beginning as you will not get a second chance at it!

- Red Wizards gain several benefits such as the ability to summon a Thayan Knight and/or their Apprentice via their Red Wizard robes. They also give and receive a bonus to all notoriety awards, gain a discount at merchants, and receive their own Large House deed upon completion of the trials. See the Red Wizard post for full details on available benefits: http://thaypw.7th-sphere.net/showthread.php?tid=20

- PCs can now bribe guards and legionnaires to leave them alone if they’re caught doing some things considered ‘bad’

- New creatures have been added to encounters. In addition, some encounters have had creatures within certain level ranges shifted to a higher level spawn bracket

- For game balance purposes, Red Wizard Apprentices can now only teleport themselves to their master’s tower once every two game hours

-The time delay for summoning faction aid via a faction item has been reduced to once every two game hours (instead of once every four game hours)

-The following bugs have been fixed:
1. An issue with writing items has been resolved. As part of this, please throw away any items in your inventory that include ‘Quill Pen’ in their description
2. If previously healed through feeding, Familiars and Animal Companions can be healed through feeding after an hour (game time) has elapsed like, they are supposed to
3. Fixed multiple issues in regard to recalling and using Paladin and Blackguard mounts
4. Shackled Slaves and Summoned faction aid will now despawn properly if their PC master logs off
5. Fixed DM module reset command so the DM does not have to stay logged in to the module once issuing the command in order for the reset to actually occur
6. Fixed issue with being able to access a mount’s inventory
7. A large number AI fixes and modifications (still more to come though)

[Balanor]

- Consuming a rich, normal, or poor food or drink item will heal your PC up to 15% of total hit points. However, no food or drink item will heal more than 10 hit points at a time.

- For those players that dislike/hate Hunger, Thirst, and Fatigue (HTF) systems, HTF may be turned off now through the Character Options section of the Player Menu. Once it is turned off however, it *cannot* be turned back on for that character.

- PCs who have their HTF monitor off do *not* receive healing benefits from eating or drinking, but then they no longer have to worry about carrying food and water around or suffering penalties from becoming fatigued. It’s now left up to you to decide what you like better for your characters….

- The Orcish Temple is joinable upon player request

- Some emotes have been changed or removed, so something like *studies* will no longer result in your character doing the ‘die’ action (falling over)

- Persistent storage containers are now limited by item size, rather than total number of items placed in them. This means it will be much easier to store multiple scrolls and rings in one container than suits of armor and great swords. However, due to performance concerns, you will never be able to persistently store more than 15 items in any one container

- The number of available Respawns has been changed so they based entirely on your notoriety. Your mysterious allies no longer care about any combination of your physical attributes or other factors. So now there is one more reason to RP with others and do activities outside of combat to get that notoriety up!

- The House of Cyric is complete; however it technically does not exist yet and cannot be accessed until after the Time of Troubles (since Cyric isn’t a god...yet!). After the Time of Troubles when it is accessible, it will be joinable upon player request

-The following bugs have been fixed:
1. Multiple issues with the slavery system have been addressed in regard to maximum number of slaves that can be captured at one time, and being unable to capture Assassins or Slavers
2. There is a very good chance the issue with being jumped to Bezantur from a dynamically generated overland area due to a reported error has finally been resolved. HOO-RAY!
3. Elemental and magical damage will no longer be improperly counted as subdual damage when attacking NPCs. This means if you want to cause them only non-lethal damage, be sure you are using a weapon that does not have a special damage bonus on it (magical +1 or +2 weapons are OK though)
4. An issue has been fixed that should once again allow DMs to possess NPCs in order to transition across overland areas