EfU:A, The Missing manual

[TheImpossibleDream]

Yesssssss!



Spell hour (5 mins real time) or day/night time hour (27 mins real time)?

Spell hour.

[TheImpossibleDream]

You might want to mention some items in efu have "Greater" spell charges on them.

For example: "Greater Bulls Strength"

Greater Bulls Strength works just like bulls strength adding 1d4 +1 strength. The benefit of these greater spells is that they stack with the lesser variant making for an ability increase of 2d4 +2.

Needs some formatting though and I'm way too lazy!

[derfo]

Section on summoning points would be enlightening IMO.

[Nihm]

This is a great idea, but some things should stay FOIG.  People don't need to know that druids can app for Ancient Dire Dragon form and Dire Tarrasque Animal companions, nor do they need a list of what can be created through crafting.
 
Spell changes should definately be up to date.  It is an unfair expectantion for spellcasters to have to continually test their spells in case they suddenly start working differently.

[SkillFocuspwn]

Yes, agreeing with Nihm. Things like what Crimson Brew does, what Familiars do, what Wildshapes there are should be kept secret! But spell changes, mechanics changes, perks / efuss / backpack and hood / quaterstaff stuff really, really needs to be put out there.

Also, the word attributes has no NWN mechanics meaning. Abilities? Skills? Everything?

[lovethesuit]

I've been banned from IRC for postulating on what Crimson Brew and Elixir of Improvement do. Is this no longer a spoiler-type information?

[Snoteye]

This is a great idea, but some things should stay FOIG.  People don't need to know that druids can app for Ancient Dire Dragon form and Dire Tarrasque Animal companions, nor do they need a list of what can be created through crafting.
 
Spell changes should definately be up to date.  It is an unfair expectantion for spellcasters to have to continually test their spells in case they suddenly start working differently.

I'm going to reiterate this just because.

[Ranek]

I've been banned from IRC for postulating on what Crimson Brew and Elixir of Improvement do. Is this no longer a spoiler-type information?

What does Crimson Brew do?  :D

[Barehander]

Secrets are for losers. Transparency and absolute equality first and foremost.

That's why I suggested we make a player-managed, off-site Wiki, to be honest. Something completely voluntary and player-maintained, under nobody's authority and the information therein subject only to the better judgement of those who update it. The general traits (but not exact stats) of animal companions, familiars etc. should definetely be listed. So should the main things you can apply for, because otherwise new players and those not part of the in-crowd will have no idea about them. I don't expect or want details, though. Just clear hints of what's there so you can go for it and find out. But mechanics changes should all be 100% public, insofar as they concern PCs.

"FOIG" doesn't make sense, because it's not FOIC: it doesn't matter whether you learn this stuff IC, it's enough to see something once on some PC and then apply the knowledge to your advantage on a new PC. That's why secrets are bad: they create tiers of players and reward player experience, as opposed to character experience. If you enjoy not knowing, feel free not to look into topics like this, and don't ruin the fun of those who do prefer to know.

[Howlando]

There's plenty of information I'd love to be more accessible to the playerbase as a whole and presented in a better format, but obviously final editorial control of what and what isn't publicly revealed will always be subject to the dm team's discretion.

[Barehander]

Obviously, insofar as your are the editors and you host the information. Since I'm a worst-case-scenario man, in case information was actively kept from the public yet known to some players, hosting an independent Wiki would be best because it would require neither the DM team's initiative nor their approval to update.

By that, I don't mean to say I suspect you to be unreasonable, or to quote ninelines, that "hitler dm is hitler," but I'm naturally suspicious of any possibility of censorship, however slight. It is never anyone's right to control what information other people have. It's just wrong and does more harm than good in almost any scenario.

The biggest reason I support player administration, though, is that it gets things done quicker and takes pressure off the DM team. There's more important things for you to do, and there are plenty of players motivated to share their knowledge.

[Howlando]

It is never anyone's right to control what information other people have. It's just wrong and does more harm than good in almost any scenario.

What? No, on the contrary it is perfectly reasonable and perfectly legitimate for us to limit all kinds of information. For example, the EFU:A module is "information" and we don't give it to everyone.

Likewise, there's lots of information that although may potentially be known to some players, is not something we have any interest in revealing to the general playerbase. For example, the ingredients and requirements for a Bloodmage ritual - recipes for crafting powerful items - the properties and powers of certain hidden summon themes - what kinds of items drop on what quests - etc. etc. etc.

[Listen in Silence]

I can guarantee that should such intimate details of the server be made public, I would stop playing. The greatest reason I play on EfU at all is for the mystery of the setting and design.

[Barehander]

What? No, on the contrary it is perfectly reasonable and perfectly legitimate for us to limit all kinds of information. For example, the EFU:A module is "information" and we don't give it to everyone.

Likewise, there's lots of information that although may potentially be known to some players, is not something we have any interest in revealing to the general playerbase. For example, the ingredients and requirements for a Bloodmage ritual - recipes for crafting powerful items - the properties and powers of certain hidden summon themes - what kinds of items drop on what quests - etc. etc. etc.

Granted, there is information that shouldn't be known OOC. I'm exaggerating, no doubt. The examples you listed are the sort of detail that needs to be found out IC, because using it based on OOC knowledge is metagaming. However, things such as choosing your animal companion or familiar, making applications and setting goals for your character, are (at least partially) OOC decisions and people should be on the same line here. IC you could theoretically pursue any goal out there, but OOC only some of them are possible and the guy who knows there is such a thing as a Bloodmage ritual is obviously at an advantage to the one who, just as IC, chooses to pursue the path of a Mystic Theurge: one exists of EfU, the other doesn't, and this should be known.

But I'm mainly talking about mechanics changes, not what's in the world. Classes (including companions), spells, vague outlines of summoning themes so you know what you can pursue IC. Like I only recently found out that there are actually diviner perks you can go for. I still don't know how you get them in practice. What they are exactly is best kept mysterious, but that they exist and can be strived for should be public.

There's also a difference between choosing not to tell something, and stopping someone else from doing so. Once the cat is out of the bag, you have no right to force it back in.

[Howlando]

Everything you mention is publicly available already to some degree (including the fact that Spell Focus: Divination and Greater Spell Focus: Divination extends "divining" - this is written in the list of mechanics changes - however this was a system that really only existed in the Underdark and was largely limited to equipment possessed by a few factions - and a DM would need to spend a lot of time to implement it on the surface, so isn't something we need to rush to advertise).

Definitely I am all for presenting the basics of our systems and changes in a better way, and for this work load to be handled by the playerbase, but as I said editorial control must be at the discretion of the DM team.

We're really not that unreasonable about it.