I am Howlando, AMA

[Still Trying]

I loved EFU back in the day...I used to spend a lot of time here. I'm back to scratch that itch though! I reinstalled yesterday and got everything up and good. My only concern now is time...I don't have the time I used to. Any advice for players with limited time and how they can make a difference and gain a little DM love here and there?


Go easy...I'm rusty lol!


As an aside, thanks for this Howland, I played with and around you before there was an EFU. You've always been a top notch player and DM. This server has brought countless hours of enjoyment for many. To me that's something to be proud of!

[Howlando]

I really thought I answered these questions already but perhaps I just dreamed it. Let's get it done before the new year!

1) What is one of the most heart breaking encounters or dialogs you DM’d between PCs?
My heart is cold and shriveled. Nothing really comes to mind... I vaguely recall Amadeus Aethersee murdering his girlfriend or something in a particularly tragic manner, I think the dialogue was amusingly melodramatic. But it wasn't actually heart-breaking or anything.


It is sad sometimes when characters I really like die brutally or fail in some way.
2) How did it personally feel to have PCs escape from the underdark in the first chapter? And are their statues still in game somewhere?
Oh man, that was exciting. And great. But one escape quest in particular killed me. I sort of toolset-dm'ed for some obscenely long period of time, I think it ended with everyone being taunted by rays of sunshine from just above before they all just cannibalized each other. It got dark. And then I collapsed into a stupor, and I heard some wings (from pigeons outside I think), and in my frazzled dreams the wings were my guardian angel telling me not to dm so much. So I took a break for a few months.


But in general escape quests were good times! I always wanted to make every experience feel different and for those PCs who achieved it to feel like they really accomplished something amazing. Sadly the statues are no longer available in EFU. Perhaps I should rectify that somehow.
3) Is there a particular class and/or race you wished people played more in EFU?
Not really.
4) Has EFU drifted from Forgotten Realms Lore as a non-canon PW that it is essentially no longer part of Forgotten Realms?
Certainly by quite a lot, although we still borrow heavily in certain key ways.
5) Are still connected or hear from with the old DMs and Players of old (email, IRC, forums, etc...)?
Not as much as I would like, but there are some oldies who hang around now under new names that I'm aware of. It would be nice if the old gang would come around on to IRC more often!


6) What was your favorite piece of loot created that was a direct result of a players actions in game?
I'm sure there are many good candidates. It's fun when old pieces of loot circulate around in a cool way, or when loot items get improved over time.


I guess I'd pick "Runt's Armor" in EFU Chapter 1. He was kind of the first "Scrapper" type PC long before there were Scrappers. He was a halfling, with goggles, who got into the Machine and who made some armor out of metal scrap that he found under my supervision. I was a lot less generous back then though, and I think the armor was practically worthless and mostly just got him killed with massive fire/electrical damage vulnerabilities. And I tormented him by always trying to kill him with a sneaky Chosen named Krabb. Anyway, for nostalgia alone I'll pick Runt's armor, sure.
7) What are your top three PC battles (individual duels or group battles) that you DM’d? And why?
Well, one doesn't really "dm" PvP usually - just watch. But man, there has been so many. From sneaky assassinations in early EFU to some great EFU:A PvP around Ogerribbit and then that epic bridge battle in EFU:M...
Since returning to the underdark has there been any desire to bring back old factions?


Well, we sort of did!
9) Who was Bobo the clown in real life?


Bobo was a creation of Mundigo the Marvelous, built to entertain all the poor little boys and girls of Sanctuary who never had a chance to see the surface. Of course "Clown Land", despite all its marvels, turned out to be not such a nice place to visit. Interesting how the themes of such an old quest have turned out to be so relevant to the themes of EFUR...
10) What was one regret in each chapter of EFU, excluding the current chapter since it has not ended, that you wish you could alter or change entirely.


Probably a lot of things, but I'll change the question and say the things that I regret I never really got to develop or build properly in each chapter.


Chapter 1: Castle Noctuvir and haunted Noctuvir Island - one of the first building projects I began, and I did dm some stuff there from time to time, but it was never implemented to my full satisfaction.


Chapter 2: I wanted to have more awesome island exploration and naval stuff. I wanted PCs to be able to buy ships and sail around to randomized island locales with badass adventures. Also the King's Oubliette.


Chapter 3: The original plan for the Darkening was to have it not come with the chapter end, but instead have a sort of period of mass war on Ymph between Nightrisers and H'balan Undead with lots of crazy stuff happening.


Chapter 4: Lots of building projects not completed to my satisfaction for sure. Oh well...

[Howlando]

"Any advice for players with limited time and how they can make a difference and gain a little DM love here and there?"

Come up with a character and stick with it even if you don't play him every day. But a sort of steady 1/week presence will do a lot more for your enjoyment than just rolling up a new PC every time you have time to play EFU. IMO, at least.

[IIIIIIIII]

Do you have in mind a proper end point for the story of EFU or is it rather fluid? If it were to end for whatever reason, would you be interested in a 'reboot' or would you want to do something much different?

[Random_White_Guy]

- How is it decided which gods will perish?  I don't mean to say that like trying to predict what will happen next but I remembered early on there was a huge swath of gods that dropped from across the entire spectrum, then radio silence, then entire racial pantheons.

- Lairs are super fun but they all seem to fall into a similar vein of standard monsterization with the exception of the Necromantic lair which has some magical elements. Would it ever be possible to see some awesome Devilish sanctum of evil faustian library? A slaad feeding pit for unpredictable sorcerors and other mad planar pals? Dendar Cultist Lair?  I know EFU is low magic but the monster lairs I've encountered and seem and even on the list all seem very "Primal" if that makes sense.

- With the new PRC adjustments and the ability to modify haks would it be possible to see something like the old Arcaheologist PRC or otherwise resurface?

- Which did you like more, Caermyn or Aberdeen?

- What's your favorite class to play?

[Howlando]

Do you have in mind a proper end point for the story of EFU or is it rather fluid? If it were to end for whatever reason, would you be interested in a 'reboot' or would you want to do something much different?

Yes.

When the story is truly finished, then it is over.

[Howlando]

- How is it decided which gods will perish?  I don't mean to say that like trying to predict what will happen next but I remembered early on there was a huge swath of gods that dropped from across the entire spectrum, then radio silence, then entire racial pantheons.

It's generally discussed internally among the DMs; certainly it's true the thrust is to move away from Deity NPCs being active movers and yet do it in an interesting way. Some of the less interesting deities were just devoured off camera, but with a lot of them we tried to bundle it in some kind of cool little plot.

- Lairs are super fun but they all seem to fall into a similar vein of standard monsterization with the exception of the Necromantic lair which has some magical elements. Would it ever be possible to see some awesome Devilish sanctum of evil faustian library? A slaad feeding pit for unpredictable sorcerors and other mad planar pals? Dendar Cultist Lair?  I know EFU is low magic but the monster lairs I've encountered and seem and even on the list all seem very "Primal" if that makes sense.

I'm not at all opposed to it personally. It just takes a little time to set them up. But I'm not sure I really agree. For example we had -


The Spellguard Faction lair that led to some cool stuff (IMO)
The Dwarf Fortress Lair that has been used from time to time
The Scum Lair

- With the new PRC adjustments and the ability to modify haks would it be possible to see something like the old Arcaheologist PRC or otherwise resurface?

Possible. I'm not sure there's much enthusiasm about Archaeologist specifically.. but I can imagine some move to develop some new PRCs at some point.

- Which did you like more, Caermyn or Aberdeen?

You know it's interesting but Caermyn/Aberdenn is probably one of the biggest EFU 'things' that I really had almost nothing to do with personally. I had very little to do with their conceptualization, didn't design any of their faction areas/NPCs/uniforms, never touched their system, almost never DM'ed their NPCs (aside from Owain when he got the Crown), etc. So I have a quite neutral perspective on them I suppose...


So I'm sitting here thinking about it, and first I wrote Aberdeen, and then I thought about it some more, and then I wrote Caermyn... and now I'm writing this sentence, and I guess what I'm trying to say is that I can't choose between the two. Which is a cop out, but also an indication that I think they matched each other quite nicely and well. But "Menaster Caermyn" is definitely one of the best names we've had in EFU.

- What's your favorite class to play?

Bard or powerful-melee sorcerers. I like the combination of magic/melee and lots of buttons to push.

[prestonhunt]

<Magister> The old burning dead quest.  Was there a way to get into the middle bit?  Or was that just clever use of the area to make an inaccessible area where you could put your loot template containers.  Can you reveal how to get in there, if there was?  Would you please?

[Howlando]

<Magister> The old burning dead quest.  Was there a way to get into the middle bit?  Or was that just clever use of the area to make an inaccessible area where you could put your loot template containers.  Can you reveal how to get in there, if there was?  Would you please?

There was no way to get in there, it existed purely to make players suffer.

[prestonhunt]

Then let me just say that it worked.

[Howlando]

Of course it did.

[Hollow_Mage]

Are there lyrics to any of the EfU custom songs? Do you have your own lyrics for the songs in NWN, EfU, or the ones that Mort added in that old music override?

[Howlando]

No lyrics from me, I'm not very musical. I enjoy some of the EFU poetry that has tumbled up though, mostly from ShadowCharlatan....

[Howlando]

For example in addition to the classic of "Remember Hammer 24," I always thought this (from Shadowcharlatan) was really neat bit of lyricism:

A strange note scrawled in a childish hand.

"I could not be left exultantly here for my year alone... the dead have come to taunt me... there, from this wan life does step a vestigial tide... evoking breaths in the dark which turned into voices.

They spoke of some sphere snuffed, faith cold, me dead... they told me I cannot Life at all in a countless, unshined, sleeping, vast bitterness... Though through here enter the nevermen who are cleansed of Life... and once came a Thing who told me 'In sleep there stir jaws.'

But where shall I go if not sleep?

If any came to his tomb where scribes fell beyond they would find black mad thunder... unless they were under fire, eyes open, unremembering...

As I stopped a Want of Hope there, he glared at me and told me to trip in my fears and grow no certitude there, for it will never come.

So I did..."

"We were... some error... His desert glared dread love... ?

Or wild mirth?

We recur down, down, HEAVE through the cold stride... in which mysteries make missteps for years.

But all anguishes could never offer this wonder. The daylight... pest... ruined angels. So lamps try brittle soups of light in, and murmur women and riches at us in shadows as we sleep. A fell message: WORSHIP THUS, WRETCH:

IN CLAMPS AND SHAPES.

FAITH AND CLATTER.

WILD DARKNESS FALLS."

[TsunamiWombat]

What happened to Grimfael Corval that led to his death?

I'm not Howland obviously but I do know the answer to this one. He perished during EfU:A rescuing a PC from the nightrisers. I remember being involved, an expedition into the ruins below went sour for the Veilguard (or whatever that faction was called)


It was a complete surprise when he turned up again later despite being very dead but that's another story.