Aran

Some basic math can be useful when balancing the damage values of a weapon. (I'm assuming from the documentation that damage and other variables are still determined using the xdy + z model, where you throw x dice with y sides each and add z to the result.) The minimum is always x + z, where as the maximum is xy + z. The average result is at x(y+1)/2 + z. So if you have 2d7+4 (two seven-sided dice, adding four to the result), you have a minimum of 6, an average of 12, and a maximum of 18 points. It is easier to decide whether a damage setting is reasonable if you have the values in those terms.

No exponential operations at all? That sucks...

start_state... Isn't that the one called when the party enters the town? Couldn't you use variable town entry in that case?

That should finally give designers the opportunity to include 'pay per HP' healers... Unless the call for restoring HP does not allow for a specific number of HP, which would seem irrational, but not unlikely (can't be bothered to read through the docs again. is it?) In any case, it'll be possible to make destoning, resurrecting or reviving (for stoned, dust, or dead PCs respectively) separate services that vary in price (unless I'm a fool and that was in Avernum 1-3 all along).

What is the probability of the missile vanishing anyway, and is it influenced by any skills (in BoA and all the Avernum series)?

Is it possible to set an AI for charmed PCs as well? It was really pathetic, when fighting a gang of gremlins, to have this walking tank of a melee fighter get charmed and keep using up candles or looking at the various maps he was carrying - not to mention the annoying waste of time closing the map window that popped up literally dozens of times... If there can be an AI set for various types of characters (maybe checking strength and intelligence to get an idea of what the character does best, and then using the appropriate script), so the PC can fight his/her own party effectively... well it'd just rock. Too bad it's too late to add it if it's not there already.

About the Firewall/AIM thingie: I'm using a Proxy server, which is a lot like a Firewall. In the settings for AIM (I'm using Trillian, but I can look at my old messenger to see how it works), you can set the IP of a Proxy so that it logs in through that server. I don't know if a Firewall works the same as a Proxy, but you need to find the IP address of the Firewall server, and it should be in your browser settings somewhere under connections. If it's there, copy it into the settings of the messenger. If not, I don't know what to do either.

You've had this moniker for longer, I thought. But whatever, maybe I was mistaken.

Um, Sam, however did you figure out that "Faustus K. Shame, MD" is called Thuryl by everyone on these boards? Been lurking on these boards for some time?

So the amulet (this isn't part of the myth, is it? Is its existence as debatable than the Phrizoc legend, or did it definitely exist?) was made long before the Aizonian Empire was founded?

This is basically the part of history that is still unclear: Quote: Originally written by *i: I would put the reconquest of Aizo much later than 3. The conquest of Pralgad was not done for some time. It was really accelerated by Sol III. Also, keep the lives of the Pralgad Emperors of fairly standard length; by that time the Emperors are becoming quite human due to the mixing of blood. By that time, all belief in the Aizonic Empire was mostly gone and the situation was one of tribalism and many separate nation-states. The conquest was done by Raven, a general of Sol III, and was met with great resistence. It took many decades of bloody combat before Aizo was conquered. During this time, Raven slaughtered many of the non-human races on Aizo and further efforts were done on Pralgad. In Fission Point, I am going into the foundations of the early Aizonic Empire. Written by an Imperial historian: "According to legend, over thousand years before the Empire on Pralgad, the immortal archwizard named Phrizoc appeared. His magical talents were unparalleled at the time and is said to be responsible for the creation of many the world's most powerful artifacts. One such artifact is the so-called Amulet of Phrizoc or the Sylvian Amulet. It was worn by the Emperors of the Aizonic Empire, although historians have yet to confirm that fact. The amulet is said to transform the wearer over time, giving him or her incredible powers and longevity. These augments allowed the wearers to dominate over other normal humans and eventually led to a ruling class. Some believe that these transformations allowed the Emperors of the Aizonic Empire to live extraordinarily long lives and pass on the powers to their children. Of course, this is all speculation. Sometime after the collapse of the Aizonic Empire, the Amulet of Phrizoc was lost. Although records document its existence, evidence of its true power remains a mystery. Although there are numerous stories of its path, none of them have ever been validated. As for Phrizoc, his existence is even less documented. Many historians doubt of his existence at all. The legend says that opponents of the Aizonic Empire managed to track Phrizoc to an island far in the ocean. They managed to defeat the wizard, but he could not be destroyed. He was entombed with the strongest magics in his Citadel and abandoned. The location of the island was removed from all maps and was forgotten. Since then, Phrizoc's island has never been found and many doubt it ever existed at all. Unfortunately, there is very little evidence for any of these stories. However, much of what we know about the Aizonic Empire has come from tales and legend which later have been validated, but only by a scrap of evidence. So perhaps these tales have a grain of truth in them..." Like much of the Aizonic Empire, there is a great deal of speculation. However, Fission Point will provide a few answers. Assuming that this myth is true: -1000 BP is quite a long time from 150 BP, even for an immortal. When did Phrizoc make the Sylvian Amulet, was it made specifically for the ruler when the Empire was founded, was it made some time afterwards, or already long before? What does this say about the time of the Empire's founding - is it still 150 BP, or much earlier? -Was Phrizoc imprisoned before or after the collapse of the Aizonian Empire, and when did either of the two happen? Also: If the reconquest of Aizo is much later than 3 IE, where would you put it? You mention that Sol III accelerates the conquest of Pralgrad, but that is over a century after the new Empire was founded! Did he actually finish it, and if not, who did it?

Sorry for the double post, but I believe two weeks is enough of a distance between them. Just for your information (assuming you haven't been keeping in touch with my site, which I know you didn't ), the History of the Empire chapters are all taken but one. Of course, the timeline of the emperors itself is not as steadily progressing... I think we left off from the original topic of this thread after TM's and *i's discussion of the Aizoan Empire. Which of their theories do you think I should put in?

It's not really html, I'd say, or it wouldn't work, right? Easiest way for me — if I don't know the code — is to go to Insert Symbol in Word. Problem is it usually gets changed to a ? when pasted here...

She actually says that she got sent down by the predecessor of the current Hawthorne, goes on to say that the current Hawthorne is even worse, and gives you the quest to assassinate him somehow. I know what you mean, I thought it would logically have to be the same one, but I played through Avernum again just recently in order to find out about this. It's actually in there.

That link is dead. I don't think it's the URL, but the page doesn't load for some reason.

Well, the only board I've ever been on was a paid-for one, and it's the best I've ever seen on the web. I guess the free ones are not as good, but they can't be that bad...

What the hell is wrong with ezboards, I'm at one and actually find it has a better interface than this one.

Why is that feeble? And Shift Alt don't work for me, maybe coz I got a PC. I do it with the same thing I do the æ in encyclopædia and Alo's — with. & o slash ; : ø & O slash ; : Ø Nuclear fallout, move continents? I certainly don't think so, but the guys over at the arena seem to. Dunno. I don't like the idea of something so technological and SF-related *at all*, to be exact. This is fantasy, based on a medieval world that never makes technological process. There's magic, but no technology.

Well, Ørangutan (haha, that was easy!), the map wasn't made by me, so I can't do anything about it. Also, the map appears to be highly inaccurate concerning the current non-arena timeline, from what I heard. That's why I'm constantly asking how it really looks, but nobody wants to tell me...

Well, from one point of view, all of it is made up. Some of the emperors are in the games by Spiderweb though - Prazac, Hawthorne I-III, and Stewart, some more maybe. (I think Sol is also in the spidweb games, but I'm not sure). The rest is made up by the veterans here. It goes like this: I and some others ask questions, the veterans answer them, when we've got enough info we make a list. There's a version of the list online here: Encyclopedia / Emperor Reigns It's as simple as that.

Okay, as I take it, the history written by Lord Arkanor is part of the arena, and it's not well-liked. Is there anything at all that should be taken into official history from the arena, not being part of scenarios? Custer raised a point here about 'non-canon' stuff messing the thing up. I'm not sure about Drakey's site, since Jeff more or less approved that one, but should the arena history also be included?

So then, somebody got a map of the first Doston? I think there's one of the second Doston already.

Does Doston (the huge continent, the second one), rise within this timespan, before 1872 IE? If so, when? If you all could agree on the first Doston's size , could you make a map for it?

By the way, concerning the arena in relation to this topic: The arena is now seemingly several millenia in the future from the Avernum trilogy (6000 Years I think), and has developed a load of history that has never been developed in any scenarios, while the last scenario seems to be somewhere at 3000 IE. I'd say we break off the BoE/BoA related Ermarian history there, since what happens afterwards has nothing to do with the scenarios. And, to paraphrase some of the people posting here: "It restricts the freedom of the designer too much if a load of history is included". While I disagree as long as the history in question is already developed in scenarios (that should be a criterion IMHO), it definitely applies to the 6000 years of Arena History.