*i

Yes, but you need to write a separate script for that creature. The DEAD_STATE is called immediately after a monster dies.

Day/night is a town-wide phenomena unfortunately. This is not to say that you may be able to exploit certain things to simulate it. The answer is that it is not possible, easily at least.

Items do have the lifesaver ability that has a 5% * item strength of working. So give an item one charge and 20 strength of life saving and it will do as you want.

Hi Shyguy. Nice to see you back.

Thanks. I coded this up quite quickly and didn't take the time to optimize since I figured it would only run through once per cycle and not loop continuously; therefore I didn't take that extra step. It's not like I'm programming my radiation hydrodynamics code here. However, I like your suggestion and will implement it.

That's okay. It's just some things cross the line and our members need to feel safe so we cannot allow comments like that. Just don't do it again. Cheers, *i

No, it shouldn't because of compatibility issues. Every scenario from this point on would have to be rewritten which would be VERY annoying versus the minor annoyance associated with a slightly awkward notation.

Insulting people will not get any help, especially in such threats. Make another impulsive remark such as this and do not expect to be party to these boards much longer. The reason people probably have not responded is that they do not know your situation. Part of it is that you were vague in your initial request. I suggest you e-mail Spiderweb Software with this concern as they are the only ones who really understand, not us mere board members.

Unfortunately Blades is really geared toward individual works. Things done by one user need to be somehow implemented in a master file which is a real pain to coordinate. The problem is not really in the people here, as a long standing community member who has participated in these failed projects I can atest to that. People on these have always been sincere, but the issues of coordination with personal lives and all have really doomed this to failure. Sure, people could overcome this, but there is no motivation. The hassle is just too great to justify the extra effort. The problem is really a systemic one that makes individual works actually easier than any non-trivial group attempt.

All right, I've uploaded the magekiller script. What it does is it finds the PC with the highest mage or priest skill in the party and sets that PC as its target. It's not perfect as the AI in BoA is quite crude, but there is a definite favoring of going after mages/priests. Let me know if my commenting in the code is sufficient. http://stareye08.tripod.com/scripts/magekiller.txt Yes, there are more general ways of doing this with other skills and I may code something to that effect. However, to utilize the char_with_highest() skill script you need to have it work on the party. I figured this was the simplist way to implement this. I can envision a more advanced code (call it advkiller.txt) that could work as follows: 1) Select a target at random 2) Check visibility, status, and whether or not it is hostile to the creature. 3) Check the difference between strength and mage + priest skills. 4) Record the character number and find the difference. 5) Go on to the next creature and run the same check. If the difference exceeds that of the previous, rewrite this over the old character and record the difference. If not, move on to the next character. 6) Continue this cycle until some truncation ends the loop and picks a target. You could conceivably check every monster in the town and once you repeat, stop. 7) Set the target to the character with the highest difference of skill. You could generalize this further using memory cells with that would record the skills you want to compare. The difference would be calculated as follows: diff = (skill1 + skill2) - (skill3 + skill4) You should probably set some null number such as -1. Any cell with a -1 in it will be ignored.

Actually you can indeed move monsters around and simulate teleportation. Look at the cutscene calls.

I would not focus on the amulet of Phrizoc. It is a an obscure (although important) part of Imperial history. No one knows when it was created.

I would put no definitive date on the Aizonic Empire. First evidences of its existence came about around 1000 BIE as the first real nation formed. However, it was very unstable with no fixed borders. Some evidence suggests by around 250 BIE, that Aizo was very loosely united in one Empire as kind of a confederacy of truce with several warring factions. By around 100 BIE, the Aizonic Empire pretty much was gone, torn apart by the civil wars of the warring factions that made it. There were many who would come to possess the amulet over much warring times. It's influence made the powers of the time. It was probably created before the first formations of the Aizonic Empire and its influence was very subtle. Nobody knows when the Phrizoc incident occurred, it is a myth. The best guests are around 100 BIE. I would put the full assimilation of Pralgad during the middle of the reign of Sol III.

I did refer to a few lines in between Sol and Prazac in Gallows, but oh well.

All right. I need some way to make the leaders of the Aizonic Empire special. It could enhance the elvish parts of normal humans, making them more powerful. I still think the Emperors should be becoming more and more human over time just because of blood mixing. Hawthorne and Prazac would have very little of the original elvish bloodline in them by that point. It is possible that as the Empire declines after At the Gallows, a more pure bloodline seizes the throne. Phrizoc's origins will not be revealed at this time. He does not belong to any faction and has no political ambitions. His motivations are unknown as of yet and his activities are quite indirect. He probably wanted to create an Empire spanning the world for some reason. Exactly why, is yet unknown. I do not want to see a major cataclysm kill the Empire, at least while it is strong. I have the Empire declining after At the Gallows. Although we can have a major event, the Empire should already be on its last legs by that point. Basically, I, like many members here, have a very hard time accepting a huge cataclysm and much of the Echoes storyline as an official storyline. The changes are radical and the scenarios are not extremely popular within the community. That says nothing about your design skills, it just means that the Echoes storyline has failed to capture the audiences of many. I know of very few people who can really explain it. However, if we take Alcritas, his scenarios are very popular and can probably be explained by most people in the community who have been around a while. I tried playing many of the Echoes storylines, and they are really hard to latch onto and often the fights are a bit too challenging. I would be a lot less uneasy if at least one of the Echoes scenarios would be considered one of the best scenarios. That does not mean to suggest that your additions to the history are any less valid than mine. It's just it feels like right now we just have a very small number of people making fairly important decisions about the official history of the universe. Scenario designers may have any unofficial history they like, but if we want to make an official history, we need to have more than what we have right now. I feel Drakefyre should definitely weigh in on this conversation before everything we say is set in stone. I probably do not want all of my parts in the official line. Basically, I have the Empire go into decline after At the Gallows. The Empire as it exists, pretty much begins to fade into the centuries as it slowly loses power. Like Rome, eventually no one feels the same allegance and patriotism to the old Imperial order. The rulers and elites have mostly taken to fighting for themselves. Nobody really cares when the last official Emperor is dethroned, they are too busy trying to survive in a harsh and dying world that has been drained of much of its resources. This pretty much gives about 1800-2000 years during the Imperial era. Eventually humanity finds different ways to survive as societies are slowly rebuilt. If I ever get to this era, I will show what follows. Which way we wish to have the decline/fall of the Empire (if any) is up to the community. We could compromise the two, or do nothing. Either way, no one member should be making arbitrary decisions without consulting other veterans.

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.

The definition of "veteran" is not an easy one to make. There are two factors that are vital: time of active membership in the community and actual contributions. Usually these two go hand in hand. Anyone who has been a member of the community consistently since BoE was released (or a year after) is, in my eyes, a veteran. However, this is an unreasonable and unattainable goal. So, the other measure needs to come into play. The most significant contributions to Blades are scenarios. Anyone who makes several high quality scenarios would definitely qualify. For instance, TM is a very boardline case in my eyes. He has made LOTS of scenarios and been with the community for some time, it's just that none of them have really made it into the hall of greats IMHO. While I have no problems with newer members (or at least newly active members) making contributions, and I definitely encourage it, there are certain areas that I have qualms about such as arbitrarily creating history. I don't know, it's just when we did a lot of the timeline stuff we left a lot open for future scenario designers on purpose. Now it feels as if this void we left for a specific reason is just arbitrarily being filled with little thought. That is why I am a bit uneasy about all of this.

I (and other veterans) already worked out the generalized Imperial timeline about a year and a half ago. Sorry guys, but it's already been done. I left open many spaces for future designers. Part of the fun of creating a scenario is creating parts of the history. Leave that up to actual designers who have actually accomplished something. Creating all of this is really taking a lot of the fun out of what could be a very exciting exercise for someone who wants to write really good stories. I know one of the most enjoyable parts was writing the history of the Empire in At the Gallows, a scenario I wanted to make to be specifically worth such an honor. Leaving enough room for future designers was at least my original intent when we first made all of this. I do not want to sound arrogant or self-righteous, but I feel a bit uneasy about letting anyone who is not a clear veteran touch the timeline in such ways. The only people I would feel comfortable with making arbitrary changes are: Aceron, Alcritas, Brett Bixler, Drakefyre, Akhronath, and probably a few other members who have been in the community for several years. What I am asking is to please slow down and leave lots of space open. Be a historian, not a history writer. At very least, the changes you make need to be brought up with the community who have pretty much inhereted the universe. I would make the official timeline only featuring events from the best scenarios (at least 4.5 on the Spiderweb tables). This will leave the timeline relatively open for the present, encourage designers to write in time periods that are not done, and set a high enough bar such that contradictions are unlikely.

Nobody has a surname in the Exile/Avernum universe, only one name. I cannot think of any exception to this. It is Prazac, not Sally Prazac or Jane Prazac, just Prazac. Why wouldn't anyone name themselves Ironclad, Sol, etc.? Remember we live in a different universe with different names than Josh or Bill. That is how just about every monarchy works in their naming. Take the Roman Empire as a model for how a real Empire will function. The periods in between many of the Emperors was not clean at all. What this government type needs to stay stable is a very strong and wise ruler capable of melding the inevitable warring factions. It is unreasonable to think that every ruler for centuries at a time will be capable of this. Prazac was a very powerful and wise ruler, being benevolent. Her policies ironically led to the later Emperors, at least up to Tahvan IV, to be mere figureheads with all the real ruling done by the bureaucrats. I say, leave the timeline as is only with things in scenarios. If you want to make an addition, write a piece of work. Serious contradictions did not arise in the how many years BoE was released. The timeline can be an issue to be revisited and reshaped as need be. If contradictions do arise, the community can work out ways to compromise things. Here is the timeline as I see it: Prehistory Aizonic Empire Sol I Sol II Sol III Ironclad I Viceroy I * Rebellion where many very short lived Emperors claim the throne; could be Ironclad II-V, etc. * Stability re-established. Many cycles of stability and instability. Genocide of non-human races accelerates. Nephilim nearly wiped out, Troglodytes and numerous other races go extinct, Dragons flee to Avernum. Stewart I (business as usual Emperor) Hawthorne I (start of line of three strong oppressive Emperors) Hawthorne II Hawthorne III (Exile/Avernum) Prazac I (Exile III/Avernum III) * The "golden age" where Emperors have been reduced to figureheads and bureaucracy rules unofficially. Society becomes very open. Tahvan IV (At the Gallows) * Events in AtG cause the Empire to enter a slow decline. Emperors begin to reassert control. Openness policies are revoked in the wake of chaos. Situation slowly worsens. Tigere III (Spears) ************************* Let specifics be decided by the designers. Put in events such as Valorim discovered or Troglodytes become extinct. However, specific details such as the Emperor name or events that are not really part of any major established BoE scenario should probably be left out. Just leave a large open space for the rulers where things are uncertain.

IMHO, the timeline is way too clean. It is unreasonable to expect that centuries will pass with all of the world's rival factions vying for the throne, embittered groups (of which the Avernites are an example), power-hungry relatives, etc. without major disruptions in the ruling chains. Some Emperors are strong, some are weak. The weak tend to be puppets and also live short lives. I've always taken the names of the Emperors to be arbitrary and not indicating a rulership line. It is often out of pride, or arrogance, that rulers will name their hier after them, but this need not always be the case. Remember, Queen Elizabeth I was a member of the Tudor ruling family, but we do not call her Tudor V, or something like that. The Aizonic Empire is ancient and predates known history. It's control has not always been absolute, and its existance has been sometimes tenuous. It was a very unstable Empire, often rich with infighting and barbarism. The purpose of the Aizonic Empire was to unite all of humanity under one nation. The dream was very old, but by about 100 BIE, the Aizonic Empire finally collapsed under its own weight and the dream was but forgotten. Much of the history of the Aizonic Empire was lost during its reign and after its fall; historians know little about it. A century later, Sol I resurrected the dream of the Empire on Pralgad, away from all the old infighting factions, an Empire which would ultimately be more radiant and solid than the one before it. This is according to the story in At the Gallows. I would say leave much of the history writing to designers. It gives an incentive to be able to expand upon the history in places that have not been explored. So I would leave out anything that is not yet part of a scenario. Let the designers write the history, let the historians (community members) figure out how to incorporate it. What is nCa/tCa?

Sol I was the founder of the Empire on Pralgad. Logically, his reign would begin at year one. The Aizonic Empire predates the Empire at Pralgad and had begun to settle the continents of Vantanas and Pralgad. It's decline began centuries before the founding of the current Empire. It finally collapsed when rebels sacked the capital about 100 BIE. A century later, Sol I established a new Empire on Pralgad. Ironclad I lived a very long time and died without an hier, but would not be the last to carry the name. He was the one who started the purges of the other non-human races that would last for centuries. His appointed successor was Viceroy I, whose reign was spaned a mere three years when he was assassinated by an agent who had gone mad after being forced to slaughter numerous innocent Nephil and Troglo colonies. The period after is not so certain. There was long power struggle after Viceroy I was slain with no clear ruler. Eventually someone was able to seize control and reestablished stability. Emperor Stewart came sometime before the Hawthornes. Check VoDT for an approximate date. Assume about 10 years after E3 for the date of the scenario. Tigere III sits on the throne as of 1477 in Spears. Her reign probably started about 10 years prior and will last for at least another decade. Leave some of the spaces in between the times for other scenario designers to create. Before they gain community acceptance, they need to be a high-profile designer and of a high quality work.