The State of EFU:R

[Howlando]

Dear Players -

I'd like to take a moment to offer you all a glimpse of what's behind the scenes, discuss the state of the server, and introduce some new content.

EFU is approaching its tenth year anniversary and I'm confident that, despite all this time, there are some good times ahead for those who continue to play here. This is an old game and old server, but with a core of enthusiastic players and DMs we will (I think) continue to flourish.

Before I continue I would like to address the issue of DM plots that fizzle out prior to their completion. For example, a few months ago it seemed as if Sanctuary was going to be imminently invaded by a large Orog Warforce but, with the absence of DM Ladocicea, it was never resolved. Believe me, I understand that it is frustrating for players when a DM plot builds up and then just disappears - it is frustrating to me also. All I can say is that we have to remember that this is just a hobby and try to be patient when it happens. In this case Lado had some kind of RL issues and is no longer able to be involved with EFU. In the case of the Red Star Storms and the Orog Warforce, it's likely best to just assume that the storms stopped on their own and the Orogs moved on.

Now, on to the fun stuff:

New Built Content:

- Many (many!) areas have been aesthetically polished, tweaked, or updated to reflect the passage of time. Some areas have been rebuilt altogether and some are in progress for being re-built.
- I've taken a look at a lot of the loot, upgrading some items and removing many others. New varieties of loot and new sets can be found.
- There are many (many!) new exploreable areas, and would emphasize that in many cases there is additional hidden content to these that I don't think have been discovered by anyone. Some exploreable areas now no longer require two characters to access them but instead can be entered by solo PCs.
- I've done much of what was discussed in this thread (tweaking quest rewards, adjusting random monster spawns, etc.)
- Many new monster types
- We have a new (optional) starting sequence that reflects the passage of time on the surface. Instead of starting as a solitary wanderer on the surface, your character will have spent much of the past two years living in a hidden Ilmateran refugee camp. If players prefer it, I will eventually replace the original solitary wastes sequence with this updated one. Feel free to try it out and let me know if you have any suggestions.
- New high level, randomized quest content is on its way (very close to completion)

New Subrace:
We have a new EFU-specific subrace, "The Roachman." [hide="The Roachman"]The Roachman

After more than a year of surviving in one of a handful of desperate communities or alone in the blasted wastes of the surface, many survivors have begun to manifest extreme physical changes and deformities. In the most severe examples, former humans have begun to grow quivering antennae, mandibles, elaborate bug-like compound eyes, and even develop a chitinous exoskeleton around the face. These survivors have become what is known as a "Roachman." Often driven from small surface communities or forced to hide their bizarre mutations, a few Roachmen have started to trickle into the Underdark...

Application required: Yes
Base: Male Humans with special hak headset
LA: +1
Class: Non-Druid, Paladin, Cleric (fallen versions of these classes may be acceptable)Perks: Resist Disease, Survivor Perk, Darkvision, Light Sensitivity, Keen Senses, Roachman Mutant Powers
Ability Scores: Special (randomly determined)

When an application is accepted, the player reaches out to a DM to request that the ability scores be rolled for. The player may choose one ability score that is locked into a score of 18, all other scores are randomly determined. This roll should be done prior to making the character so that the INT score can be properly set prior to character creation. Additionally, INT can not be lower than 8 regardless of roll. According to the ability score roll, a DM may need to work with the player to discuss how the concept needs to change.

The player rolls 1d12 for each stat other than the one that is fixed at 18 for stats 6-17.

Additionally, as Roachmen PCs advance in levels and time, they are subjected to additional random rolls. These new rolls might completely reshuffle all the ability scores, add new (positive and negative) mutations, or perhaps even kill the character.

We hope that playing a Roachman will be a new and fresh-feeling experience. Note that due to the nature of random rolls and in order to discourage 're-rolling,' it will be difficult to have a second Roachman approved unless your first reaches a very satisfactory conclusion.

We would like to thank Zool for his help with setting up their special roachy hak headset model!
[/hide]

And finally....

The State of the Metaplot:

Behind the scenes, we've been laboring and preparing for the next stage of EFU:R. Note that at this time we are not predicting or discussing an imminent true chapter change. There are, however, some major changes in store. The stability that Santuary has enjoyed the past year or so will soon be but a distant memory...

What happens next is going to be highly dependent upon player actions. The DM team has selected 13 major possibilities for the future of EFU:R while still being prepared for some sort of combination or even something entirely unexpected. The success and failure of each of these possibilities is really up to you guys. I would emphasize that although it's much more work to run a plot this way, in this case we are really focusing on character actions being what determines the next stage of our story.

I'm obviously not going to list all 13 possibilities here OOC'ly, but to give you a general idea of what may soon be happening...

- Cults in Lower being eradicated or achieving triumphant objectives
- Major factions in Upper gaining or losing dominance and playing a decisive role in strategic victories or defeats of Sanctuary itself
- The possibility of securing major environmental changes or fundamentally altering the atmosphere and structure of Sanctuary
- Massive rituals and the introduction of huge new NPC monsters or forces
- The revelation of major secrets and mysteries
- Failure and eradication of all that your characters hold dear

By the nature of things, it is true that EFU is occasionally a place where - for long periods - there is little change. But for now, please understand that change is on the way and your actions or inactions will determine what happens next.

How do you get involved? Well, to begin with, it might be worth considering how you actually want the server to change. What is your OOC preference for what will happen next with Sanctuary? What do you want to see happen? Give it some thought. Please note that this is not an invitation for coming up with entirely original ideas, but is instead rather an opportunity to engage in the existing setting dynamics. If you have an idea for a new faction of werewolf-vampires who want to start their own Beetle Soup Franchise, we're not interested. But if you'd like to join an existing group or interact with an existing force to secure its victory, we are probably interested. If in doubt, feel free to talk with me or another DM on an OOC level to see if your idea will fit in with what's next. Also note that many of the NPC supporters of these different 13 possibilities will be recruiting or advertising IG, but perhaps secretly...keep an eye out for things with red text.

Once you decide what you're interested in, remember that a major factor in the success or failure of any group or cause is the number of players who are involved. Although not impossible for a single solitary character to push the levers of power and dramatically change what happens, it's far more likely that it's the groups that will be successful. So consider joining up with each other!

Each of the 13 possible victory/failure conditions requires a large number of steps to accomplish. Many of these will certainly require DMs and be rolled out over time as special events, but a lot of it is automated or randomized or otherwise can be accomplished without much DM-supervision.


I don't know what EFU:R version 2 will look like. But I do like each and every of the 13 different possibilities and am sure that, as always, players will surprise us with their capacity to take things in an interesting & unexpected direction.

We think some cool stuff is on the way and we hope you all will enjoy. I genuinely believe this stage will likely be unprecedented for us in terms of the extent to which things are set up to depend on player actions & how much of it can be pursued without a DM.

[Spiffy Has]

A fine state of the EFU union, sir Howland.

[Ziya]

This is awesome and you are awesome. If only I don't live on the other side of the bloody planet... ._.

[Kotenku]

I am extremely excited.

[PanamaLane]

Very much looking forward to it! Thank you for all your hard work.

[Haer Dalis 83]

Very exciting.

[Pentaxius]

Good times ahead. I can't wait

[Hound]

The hype is real.

[Yalta]

This is why we love EFU. Completely awesome that there is a palpable ability to shape the world we play in.

[Dirge of Karrnath]

Why can't an other DM pick it up where an other left it, like in the exemple you provided? I'm not involved in that Orog plot, but I agree it would be really frustrating if I was.

[Howlando]

Most of the time with plots this is exactly what happens, but sometimes it's not easy to do so. And now it's too late anyway.

[Paha]

There are periods where DM's have their own plots, and where they have very intrique plans and directions. If such personal plots are ran, it may be at times difficult for others to take a hold of it. Whether it's because of lack of familiarity with the background / events so far and future direction, or whether other DM's have their own stuff in the play as is - sometimes there just are not available DM's to do it, or there is not enough info.

These events are unfortunate, but it can happen as a result of unfortunate timing and events. Howland put it very simply there. Sometimes it simply is not possible.

[goate]

Thanks guys. I'm eagerly looking forward to seeing what's in store. My three year history within EFU has been extremely rewarding for me. Your fruitful, hard work is much appreciated.

[Kinslayer988]

Thank you DM team for your great investment into EFU and the experiences it brings. It is a shame they reject the absolute future of Werepire soup kitchens though.

[bobofwestoregonusa]

This sort of player driven momentun is why I've come to efu as opposed to other servers. The DM team here understands that there isn't a point in DMing without players, and responds accordingly.

That and this is the only server where it's founder is not only involved, but a driving force behind it. It makes a tremendous amount of difference and my hat is off to this server and it's team.