OWE News

TI and Metz

noreply@blogger.com (Torin) — Mon, 29 Sep 2008 06:10:00 +0000

The Open Hunt started out on Tenebrion's Island, but it proved too difficult for the group. The rescue took a while, but eventually we relocated to Metz. Another group was hunting the Gloaming area, so we stayed to the northern beach and jungle areas.

I was happy to see a few new faces today. The changing roster is always a challenge, but it's a good test of leadership. Sometimes the more experienced exiles get bored or frustrated. However, the younger ones have told me that they enjoy going to places they rarely see. Puddleby is such a small community these days, so I think it's important that the "ubers" spend some time now and then with the up-and-coming fighters and healers.

Largo's Fen Treasurer

noreply@blogger.com (Hunter) — Mon, 22 Sep 2008 16:01:00 +0000

I was cloud gazing in town the other day when I was blessed with the presence of the recently returned Largo. Even in his absence, he settled disputes from afar with his LargoStars and sketched impressive, insightful portraits. He is a Renaissance man for sure. Our conversation led to his new presidential campaign. As we chatted, he intuitively sensed my immense trustworthiness and wisdom. So he offered me the position of Fen Treasurer.

I accepted, wholeheartedly. What an honor! Who better to handle Puddleby's finances than a Dwarf, or more particularly, Hunter - Puff Higgy - the Ultradwarf! As the head of the Hunter Fund, Puddleby's most exemplary charitable organization, I have excellent financial advise and progressive ideas for the future President Largo. My credentials and communal oriented views are legendary. I am often seen wearing tan, as I am one of the people.

Just last year, in honor of our leading pledger, I built the Kalian Home For Homeless Halflings. To date, the Hunter Fund has contributed over 2 million coins to worthy causes. Meanwhile, our economy is suffering under the reckless spending of the current administration. As Fen Treasurer, I will ensure our coins are spent carefully. Largo is a friend of the common man, the working man, the proletariat. Largo will revitalize Puddleby and bring untold prosperity. We need change! We need Largo!

Vote Largo for a better tomorrow!

Cachus Enters 5th Circle

noreply@blogger.com (Torin) — Mon, 22 Sep 2008 03:40:00 +0000

Cachus came out of retirement to pass the 5th Circle fighter test. Tuska Cachus! He promised to be in the lands more often, so we look forward to seeing him.

TMN Interviews Noivad

noreply@blogger.com (Torin) — Sun, 21 Sep 2008 02:00:00 +0000

Check out Paramedic's Q&A with Noivad about his job as a sheriff, hunting, becoming a Ranger, and threats to Puddleby.

Lava Wurm Cave

noreply@blogger.com (Torin) — Thu, 18 Sep 2008 00:39:00 +0000

I came out of the library to hear that there was trouble in East Forest, but it had nothing to do with Orgas. A cave to the northeast of town had some very hard-hitting creatures called Lava Wurms, as well as Lava Beetles, Lava Walkers, and Lava Elementals. I can't remember ever having been to the place, but others had. ~~However, we did discover deeper caves that no had seen before.~~ [Edit: My mistake. See comments.] Overall though, the area is pretty small. Once the first cave was captured, the rest was pretty easy.

All Quiet on the Eastern Front

noreply@blogger.com (Torin) — Sun, 14 Sep 2008 22:55:00 +0000

The Open Hunt went to the Slime Cave and Hippie Hollow to see what remained of the new tribe of Orgas that we fought over the last two zodiacs. The Slime Cave had only slimes, which were quickly dispatched. Hippie Hollow was challenging because of its heavy lightning, but no more so than was normal before the Orga Uprising. Our pathfinders found nothing new.

We are left with a mystery: Why did the new Orga tribe retreat? It seems unlikely that they would give up so easily. Maybe they only wanted to test their new biological/magical creations and then go back to their labs to make refinements. I wouldn't be surprised to find that our next encounter with them will not be so easily won by the forces of Puddleby.

OWE present: J'jh, J'nder, and Torin.

An Elephant By Any Other Name

noreply@blogger.com (Torin) — Sun, 14 Sep 2008 22:29:00 +0000

Elindir', who recently became a Ranger (Congrats!), has shortened his name to Eli. Also, he is interested in commissioning a portrait of himself, so Puddleby artists should seek him out for details.

The Education of a Stone Dwarf

noreply@blogger.com (Torin) — Thu, 11 Sep 2008 22:29:00 +0000

It's been a little over a zodiac since I got enough Corsetta training to use my stonegirdle. Many people call it almost useless, but I like it a lot.

I can use it about once every ten minutes, so I have to be selective. On the other hand, I have found it most likely to be useful in emergencies, so I have to be fast enough to activate it before I fall. I am sure I have a lot to learn to hone my judgment, but I am inspired by the example set by Manquilor, Garr, and Farhope.

Habba Enters 7th Circle

noreply@blogger.com (Torin) — Sat, 06 Sep 2008 23:28:00 +0000

Habbakuk Lal passed the 7th Circle fighter test today. Congrats! Tuska Habba!

PAG at Orga Wall and DTN

noreply@blogger.com (Torin) — Thu, 04 Sep 2008 22:34:00 +0000

PAG went to the East Forest to check on the new tribe of Orgas. A gruesome warning left by them in lower East Field, just across the bridge, threatened a new attack soon. We discovered that, for the moment at least, their walls are unbreakable. However, we did find that there were small holes in the wall that allowed us to hit through it.

It appeared that we couldn't do much about the Orgas for now, so we went to DTN for the rest of the hunt. We had the good fortune to find a selenite crystal for Axell!

OWE present: J'jh, J'nder, Natas, Torin, and Yor.

Orga Salad

noreply@blogger.com (Torin) — Fri, 29 Aug 2008 03:44:00 +0000

Today PAG went to the new Orga Farm, which was recently established in East Forest, right next to the University of Puddleby. We used the University as a safe haven. Its closeness allowed the fighters a chance (for a few seconds at a time) to kill the Dredlocks by the entry to the Farm while the healers rodded the lightning. After several attempts, we captured the Farm! It seems that the Orga are interested in growing kudzu. Don't be surprised if they use it against us in the future.

After that great success, we decided to try DTN. The combination of Orgas, including bolters, and webber Noids was formidable, but eventually the first cave was ours.

At one point outside DTN, a carrot hat appeared on the head of Natas, the Carrot Zo. It disappeared when we went back into the cave. Then a little later, three of the healers — Dandelion, Han, and Praetorius — found themselves wearing vegetable hats.

Not long after our victory in DTN, the Orgas struck back. They began pouring into the snell outside DTN. The early Orga waves were mostly cannon fodder. We killed hundreds of Orgas and Death Vermines, but still they kept coming. Eventually the weaker Orgas were accompanied by Dreds, Hatreds, Slimes, and even a Loathing. They overwhelmed us, and those still standing had to retreat closer to East Field. Those who were fallen and waited were eventually rescued.

OWE present: Elindir', J'jh, Natas, Torin, and Yor.

Extreme Zo Makeover

noreply@blogger.com (Torin) — Thu, 21 Aug 2008 14:38:00 +0000

The original Zo's Zo has changed his look, heralded by a new battle cry of "Carrot Zo!" What is behind Natas's remarkable transformation? Has he gone vegetarian? Is it a mid-life crisis? Kisa quickly drew a new portrait to chronicle the new look. (Click on the thumbnail to the left to see the portrait much larger and in color.)

Open Hunt, PC, and Scandal!

noreply@blogger.com (Torin) — Sun, 17 Aug 2008 22:35:00 +0000

The Open Hunt had an excellent turnout today — 22 exiles! I was also happy to see several Elephants in attendance. We went to the Pitch Caves, up to PC 5.

In addition to the Noids, the four blood bladers entertained us with their falling antics, and Revlis was busy draining corpses of their blood. We also heard gossip on the sunstone about Noivad and Jady, who (some say) got married last night. Jady, however, remembers nothing of it.

OWE present: Clubby, Elindir', J'jh, Kalian, Noivad, and Torin.

Noivad Chooses

noreply@blogger.com (Torin) — Wed, 13 Aug 2008 19:16:00 +0000

A little bird told me that Noivad left the company of plain old vanilla fighters and became a Ranger yesterday. Congrats! He joins OWE's other Rangers — Kalian, Lucero, and Natas.

Metzetli Calling

noreply@blogger.com (Torin) — Tue, 12 Aug 2008 01:18:00 +0000

A small group — Callisto, J'jh, Kisa, SnowLion, and I — had a nice hunt in shallow Metz. Noivad joined us for a while. There was a funny moment when he first arrived. Kisa captured it perfectly in a sketch! Click on the thumbnail to see the picture much larger and in color.

Ranger Heaven

noreply@blogger.com (Torin) — Tue, 05 Aug 2008 05:00:00 +0000

Blackhole wanted to hunt Death Trap Noids, and a small group started to do just that. However, there were too many webbers near the entry for us to have a good chance of making progress.

At Mujin-kun's suggestion, we changed venue to Pitch Caves. It turned out to be great for the two Rangers in the group. Blackhole got enough Malachite Arachnoid lasties to get the message for 600, and Sythe made progress in studying Crimsons. Mujin led us to PC 4 and back without breaking a sweat.

OWE present: Galadriel, J'jh, and Torin.

Selenite Quest

noreply@blogger.com (Torin) — Sun, 03 Aug 2008 21:03:00 +0000

The Open Hunt had a relatively strong group today, so I figured we would try for the selenite crystal at the Gloaming caves. However, there were a couple of fallen in Dred Wood, and Toto wanted to study Book 3, so we made a quick trip there first.

Once on Metz, we made good time and had only a couple of close calls. We found a selenite crystal, which J'jh won in the die roll. Thanks to everyone for a fun hunt!

Next week, Pun'isher is leading a Book 1 expedition, so we will help out.

OWE present: J'jh, J'nder, Lucero, Noivad, and Torin.

TI and DTN

noreply@blogger.com (Torin) — Fri, 01 Aug 2008 00:22:00 +0000

Stinkfist wanted an escort to Tenebrion's Island in order to donate to Barny. PAG took him there, and we saw some recent changes to the island, including newly charted waters by the coast and a Darshak wall that was extended.

Then we went to Death Trap Noids. We got to DTN 3 easily and were luring the fourth cave, when a combination of a big lure and a backspawn downed most of the group. A few escaped, a couple departed, and the rest were rescued pretty quickly. Unfortunately DTN 4 didn't have a selenite crystal.

OWE present: J'jh, J'nder, Kalian, Natas, Noivad, Torin, and Yor.

Pre-PC Caves

noreply@blogger.com (Torin) — Sun, 20 Jul 2008 20:52:00 +0000

The Open Hunt went to the Book 3 cave to help out another group that was stuck. Some of them joined us, and we decided to hunt the three caves before the Pitch Caves. J'jh did Valley-style runs, and we used kudzu when needed.

There was a little confusion among some of the younger fighters about when to enter and why we needed zu in some places. I will have to remember to give more explanations so everyone will be on the same page. Anyway, we managed the trip very well and were never in serious danger. Thanks to everyone who attended!

Asklepian

noreply@blogger.com (Galadriel) — Mon, 14 Jul 2008 18:02:00 +0000

Some days ago, I had the chance to speak with Chiron about his experiments in advanced healing.
He had burned out his own Asklepian staff, and was seeking fresh selenite crystals to further his work.
I gave him mine, and he promised to attempt to build an improved Asklepian with it, after some consultations with Rady Ann and Elaph.
He was impressed with my own experiments with the raw crystal, which I found to act just like a moonstone except for one thing. If selenite could allow multiple self heal pulses, I would have switched to using it instead of the moonstone itself.

Today Chiron appeared in town once again and sought me out by sunstone.
I was busy with a group searching for more selenite crystals, and he wanted to join our hunt, but since we were quite far away already, we pressed on. Unfortunately, we saw found new crystals.
When I returned to town, Chiron was waiting for me, and returned my selenite in the form of an Asklepian.
He told me quite a few items of interest: per discussions with Master Hekus, a healer must demonstrate mastery of basic skills by reaching the Fourth circle before being able to use it. Beyond that, Chiron stated that the Asklepian definitely is not for everyone, and that some mysterious ratios (Rady knows more about the pesky details than he does) are best. Rady Ann is formulating a training regimen for the Asklepian, and while Proximus is helpful for using it, this is not quite the right skill and has limited value. Rady Ann considered setting up for training in the Healer Hall Fourth circle room, but found it too crowded already, so she is still deciding where to go. Rady and Elaph should be more accessible soon, however. As it is, the Asklepian does not burst heal nor self heal, but Elaph is experimenting with bursts. He also warned me strongly that the current version is unstable, and may well break rather catastrophically. And it only works on wounded exiles sharing me, and presumeably not on fallens.

I had a chance to test it out during a hunt in the deep Tok'Han lair.

First, I was surprised at the low spirit drain compared to a caduceus, since if someone walked outside my range they simply failed to be healed rather than draining my spirit away inefficiently. This is great, since I can't chase 5 folks at once!
Second, it worked well to heal everyone within range, but it was clear that healing speed drops with each new exile being healed so that my total healing is about the same, just distributed widely instead of to just one individual.
Overall, I think it is a fine tool and I'll find ways to use it, especially as I can develop a larger range. But it is no replacement for a caduceus.

Hopefully we'll learn more soon.

Galadriel

Deep Toks

noreply@blogger.com (Torin) — Sun, 13 Jul 2008 23:47:00 +0000

The Open Hunt went to Deep Toks today. We considered going to Tenebrion's Island, but reports of Greater Deaths there ruled out that idea. The Toks hunt was a success. The initial pathfinding entry was a little tricky, and we had a couple of over-lures (as shown in the sketch), but overall our group today was well-matched for the area.

Ortlinde Revealed

noreply@blogger.com (Torin) — Thu, 10 Jul 2008 21:59:00 +0000

I was buying some kudzu from Ortlinde, when she accidentally slipped off her cloak. I had never seen her without her Snow Lemming uniform. Who knew she was a cute, brown-haired human girl?

Malachite Lasties

noreply@blogger.com (Torin) — Sun, 06 Jul 2008 22:27:00 +0000

Gremlins wanted to get some Malachite lasties, so we went to Pathfinding Book 3 for the Open Hunt. We were in luck: the cave had several Malachites. Afterwards we managed to get back to town without anyone getting flash-fried or left behind.

Twilight Recovery

noreply@blogger.com (Torin) — Sun, 29 Jun 2008 21:33:00 +0000

Today's Open Hunt went to the Twilight area of Metz. At first we had several healers, but Suu'ub III and Jeepers left early. We hunted the entry for a while, but then an Ancient Greymyr cut short our fun. Only Terise and I were standing. We huddled in a corner and eventually got almost everyone up. It was good to be able to walk home this time.

OWE present: Lucero, Noivad, and Torin

Return from Gloaming

noreply@blogger.com (Torin) — Mon, 23 Jun 2008 02:09:00 +0000

Today's open hunt took us back to Metz. Slayer called directions for the first half. We met Shiner and Pun'isher later, and Slayer handed over the lead to Shiner.

We went into the Gloaming caves with the idea that Shiner would lead us through the river path and save us a long walk home. However, there was a jam at the path so most of us didn't make it. Those of us left behind started back the long way, and Shiner got Lorikeet to join him on a run toward us from the beach.

We got into trouble on the narrow rocky snell next to the jungle. A few of us survived behind a kudzu wall until Lori and Shiner arrived. Once recovered, we tried the river path again, with more success that time.