I am Howlando, AMA

[Howlando]

What are, in your opinion, the essential elements for telling a good story in a setting like EfU?

Drama, tension, surprise. Some kind of conflict that is meaningful. Difficult decisions. Engaged players and DMs. That moment when you go, "this is badass."

Are there any plans to add more huge puzzles like Entsenhung (sp?) to the server?

Yes.

What direction would the server have gone in if the Seven Steps of Sanq were not completed?

Difficult to say.

What motivated you to devote so much time and effort to EfU?

I liked roleplaying and wanted to play on a server that better suited how I thought things should work. I tried building and, although I was terrible, found it fun. Then suddenly other people wanted to help and other people seemed to enjoy what we made. Then it took a life of its own. I somewhat regret the amount of time I used to spend on EFU, but in the long run things seem to have worked out fairly well.

Will the Mist play any sort of role in future plots? H'bala? Ymph?

Interesting questions. What do you think?

If EfU could be transferred over to a newer, shinier platform, would you consider it?

Yes. If it was truly better for what we like to do.

The illusionary areas in the Machine are a refreshing change to the otherwise dreary UD tilesets. Are there any plans to expand those areas further?

Yes.

Is Tau immortal?

No. But he is badass.

I vaguely recall hearing about one of the DMs in EfU1 creating a massive permadeath dungeon for players to tackle. I forgot the name of the DM responsible, but are there any plans to bring something like that back to the server?

This was Song of Orpheus who attempted to re-create the classic D&D module Tomb of Doom. Not that long ago I was looking at it and to be honest I think according to current standards of EFU it would not make the same kind of impression as it did at the time - it wasn't really "massive" or even that elaborate according to standards of more recent major EFU DM quests or even some EFU scripted quests. It is true that it was never completed by players though, the final treasure room had some neat and truly powerful treasure that no one ever found. Maybe for fun I'll re-implement it some day and see how players handle it - if I can remember how it's supposed to work. I actually personally lost two characters to it and have fond memories of watching wcsherry's fat Cyricist and wiggyboy's Ordinant having an epic death fight at the end as the only two survivors.

Anyway.

Personally I do love the idea of mega massive dungeons of dooms and I think other DMs do also. I've had and have ideas for such things; but again it is a question of when it will happen. But certainly some day.

[Howlando]

How often do you respond to player speculation behind the scenes? Is stuff laid out in stone, or do you go "Hm. People think the Head Librarian is a secret Cyricist... better make it Ma Murik to blow their minds!"

Not often. Sometimes we get amused by player speculation when it is either accurate or totally wrong. I can't remember any time that we changed something behind the scenes because of player speculation.

What was the Burning Keep behind Mistlocke?

An enduring mystery, admittedly not fully addressed to anyone's satisfaction.

What was in the locked book in Hercule's curio shop? The area was one of my all-time favorites, and playing on EFU for the first time it really created the sense of there being a puzzle to solve.

Well, think of who Hercule really was and what his real agenda was. Everything flows from that.

If the Steps of Sanq were averted, what would have happened? Would Mistlocke just have gone on fighting H'bala and the Count until the Darkening was completed?

I don't know exactly, the story would have gone in the direction that it would have gone.

Who was Muskroot, exactly? And where did he go? No word of him since the Agony attacked...

Interesting question! Of course, shortly before the fall of Mistlocke, there was the proclamation from Old Port declaring...

- That this masked, secretive and hunched figure known publicly and ridiculously as "Old Muskroot" is believed to be an exiled criminal, diabolist, and molester of children who fled the justice of Old Port for Mistlocke many years past

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Maybe this is true? Or perhaps....not.

Whoever Muskroot was (is?), it was certainly someone. Of course, many died in the assault on Mistlocke, perhaps he shared such a fate. Or perhaps not.

Is Tinker Tom alive?

Tinker Tom, that ever cheerful thrall of Ysinode sent to keep an eye on certain events on the surface, has been rewarded for his service and rendered into a nutritious paste to be consumed by a fresh crop of new, shinier thralls. Didn't you notice how careful he was to never remove his hat?

What was the deal with Gross? Was he a demon worshiping Cannibal? Just a greasy, creepy chef?

Closer to the second. Sometimes a man is just a man.

I understand the Sojourners were introduced kind of prematurely during a lull of server activity. What was that faction meant to look like?

I think I'll avoid commenting here except to say that I would not mind if the faction was just quietly forgotten at this point.
 

[Knight Of Pentacles]

Who holds the record for most withered pcs played in EFU:R?

Did anyone ever play a fully withered PC in EFU:M?

Are there plans for any future custom PRCs?

Who is your favorite npc villain in all chapters and overall?

Who's your favorite PC villain in all chapters and by each chapter?

Will Samson ever make a reappearance?

Who was Hercule?

If Temrariel, Etorix-Once-More, and the Appetite got into a three way brawl who would come out on top?

Do DMs ever hold battle tournaments between NPCs?

[Howlando]

Who holds the record for most withered pcs played in EFU:R?

I don't know and don't see the point of trying to find out.

Did anyone ever play a fully withered PC in EFU:M?

Yes, once fully withered the PC would become undead and then players could app to keep playing it. There were a few... mostly towards the end.

Are there plans for any future custom PRCs?

Yes.

Who is your favorite npc villain in all chapters and overall?

The answer would surprise you.

Who's your favorite PC villain in all chapters and by each chapter?

I don't know.

Will Samson ever make a reappearance?

I hope so, I like him.

Who was Hercule?

​He was a were-rat agent of the Shrieking Cabal, a band of anarchist were-rats living in the sewers of Old Port devoted to the overthrow of the Count. He was also known as Mr. Jackets during EFU:A when he was responsible for various acts of skullduggery - such as, for example, hiring PCs to steal all the books from the Archaeological Society library. And bombings.

If Temrariel, Etorix-Once-More, and the Appetite got into a three way brawl who would come out on top?

Very interesting question.

Do DMs ever hold battle tournaments between NPCs?

Definitely.

[Nezgul]

What's the hardest, least ridiculous app to have approved? Conversely, what's the easiest?

[Spiffy Has]

So...was the Three and One a real thing, or just a heresy?

[Mort]

Nobody seems to be asking the real questions.

Did you ever romance a female player out of game and abuse your 'prestigious' DM status to lay out the moves?

What was the hottest cybor you ever witnessed as a DM?

Do you ever feel sadness inside having to ban those cyborers knowing that deep down they likely feel very lonely and misunderstood?

COME ON people, step your game up. Enough of that story-cheesy-smeezy. Ask the controversial shit.

[Spiffy Has]

Mort, will you ever return to DMing? :(

[zDark Shadowz]

Controversial stuff huh? Great way for targets being painted on players backs. Nice knowing you folks.

Have you ever, and what's your opinion of...

Having NPCs attack/notice invisible players when the NPCs themselves do not have See Invis / True Seeing / Blindsight? (i.e DM Sight Metagaming, accidental or deliberate)

Teleported NPCs in an area when Ward Area has been cast by a player?

Set up traps that are undetectable & undisarmable?

Approved PvP in a public "safe" area without confirming the intended target is not AFK?

Manually control NPCs to go around a 'frontline' of players to pick off fragile supporting roles in the back of the group?

Used shadowdancer NPCs to Hide in Plain Sight in a repetitive manner against PCs? Gone right into stealth again when hit by Sparks of Revelation?

-----

Script Curiosity Questions-

Are DMs able to see tells between players on this server?

Can DMs check stat buffs through 'Examine' or do they need to look at the character sheet?

What kind of portalling scripts do you use for the unique DM transitions, are they paired portals using the same tag and script to exclude themselves as the destination, or are they a bit different than that?

Are there any types of scripts that you wouldn't allow to be implemented into a submitted area due to possible server lag?

I heard there was a chess game, is this true? If not, or if its not well done, do you want my copy? :)

Would the above ever be put into a public area?

Thanks for your time.

[Paha]

I'll be a bit rude and answer these technical questions above without waiting for Howland.

Are DMs able to see tells between players on this server?

Pretty much all actions and events, that includes chat, whispers, shouts and tells, are handled by the server and logged into our server files, so we are definitely able to go through them when needed. We often do if some issues arise or we need to investigate arguments or potential wrong-doings.

Can DMs check stat buffs through 'Examine' or do they need to look at the character sheet?

DM's can still see stat buffs and all such through Examine like in normal gameplay you are able to. On many RP servers, like ours, it's simply disabled for players. Like in our server party system has been disabled, we are fairly big fans of removing some mechanics to leave more room for imagination, and visible queues like effects or just mundane roleplaying.

What kind of portalling scripts do you use for the unique DM transitions, are they paired portals using the same tag and script to exclude themselves as the destination, or are they a bit different than that?

If I understood correctly, they are just general transition placeables and work as such. Basic nwn feature. You give appropriate tags for two corresponding transitions of A and B.

Are there any types of scripts that you wouldn't allow to be implemented into a submitted area due to possible server lag?

There are plenty that could be unnecessary, but it depends. Really hard to start listing up scripts or types. A lot of timer or heartbeat related scripts would be taxing for the engine. If actual area was submitted to us, we rarely simply add them as is. Actual area itself, possibly, with some tinkering to adjust it for what it is used for, but script-wise, it would be checked and adjusted to work with our systems. In all honesty, I doubt any readily scripted things would get added without being checked and understood fully.

I heard there was a chess game, is this true? If not, or if its not well done, do you want my copy? :)

Would the above ever be put into a public area?

Yes, there was and probably still is. Much appreciated but if such was needed we could definitely be able to put it out. I am not sure we'll add actual chess into public areas as such. Though it is always fun tool with some spice and fantasy added to it.

However, and while it may be disagreed on, I don't quite view our game as a sudo-real life social game where you would want to spend time playing chess in game. There's plenty of good options for that online, if you felt like a good game of chess with any of our community members.

[zDark Shadowz]

Thanks for the input, appreciated.

[Howlando]

What's the hardest, least ridiculous app to have approved? Conversely, what's the easiest?

It's really just about whether it's the right concept with the right player. I suppose some of the PRCs and sub races are hard to get approved - the more powerful ones. I suppose something that requires a high degree of trust. I'm not sure exactly, I guess.

So...was the Three and One a real thing, or just a heresy?

Who knows? ~Revelations~

Did you ever romance a female player out of game and abuse your 'prestigious' DM status to lay out the moves?

No but I would not hesitate to do so given the right circumstances. I will be utterly amazed if there is a single moment of my life in in which saying "Yeah I founded EFU" will get me ANYTHING in the real world. I am fairly sure this strange pastime will be a secret brought to my grave.

What was the hottest cybor you ever witnessed as a DM?

​To be perfectly honest I have witnessed almost none. I think people into that realize there are other places for it.

Do you ever feel sadness inside having to ban those cyborers knowing that deep down they likely feel very lonely and misunderstood?

I can only remember banning one person for it and mostly I was just amused at the circumstances.


​HEY Paha, get your own AMA thread!  

Having NPCs attack/notice invisible players when the NPCs themselves do not have See Invis / True Seeing / Blindsight? (i.e DM Sight Metagaming, accidental or deliberate)

When a DM possesses a NPC they only have access to what their detect scores and whether or not they have see invisible. They would need to cast or drink a potion to get see invisible. They can chase after invisible PCs only in the same way that normal PCs can - if they're close enough. So I'm not sure this is an issue.

Teleported NPCs in an area when Ward Area has been cast by a player?

Has this ever happened? Bear in mind that the way NPCs teleport are presumably different than the standard teleport spell - i.e. Strangelings are fairly obviously using something quite different to hop around.

Set up traps that are undetectable & undisarmable?

This can only be set up by DMs in the toolset and there is absolutely nothing wrong with setting up traps to be undisarmable - presumably sometimes it is a feature of the building or whatever and can just be removed with a bit of wire. I think undetectable traps are quite rare in EFU, and generally would have some reason for it.

Approved PvP in a public "safe" area without confirming the intended target is not AFK?

Err, I don't think it's a DM's responsibility to ensure that everyone is not AFK. Anyway, you shouldn't go AFK if you're not prepared to accept the risk that something might happen.

Manually control NPCs to go around a 'frontline' of players to pick off fragile supporting roles in the back of the group?

This seems completely fine to me.

Used shadowdancer NPCs to Hide in Plain Sight in a repetitive manner against PCs? Gone right into stealth again when hit by Sparks of Revelation?

Completely fine. Completely fine.

-----

Script Curiosity Questions-

Are DMs able to see tells between players on this server?

Sure we can pull up the logs if we need to.

Can DMs check stat buffs through 'Examine' or do they need to look at the character sheet?

Examine works.

What kind of portalling scripts do you use for the unique DM transitions, are they paired portals using the same tag and script to exclude themselves as the destination, or are they a bit different than that?

Paha is not correct, there's EFU specific script here that handles this. You make a portal, you use a dm tool to set a wp for the destination, you use the tool on the portal to set a local variable on the placeable that determines where it points to.

Are there any types of scripts that you wouldn't allow to be implemented into a submitted area due to possible server lag?

Yes lots.

I heard there was a chess game, is this true? If not, or if its not well done, do you want my copy? :)

I'm not sure chess would actually be fun to play in NWN. How does your work?

Would the above ever be put into a public area?

Depends if it was actually fun and plausible somehow.

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[efuincarnate]

Is it true, that once a clark kentesque history teacher, upon winning the local state lottery, you transformed into the worlds most interesting man, and  embarked upon a world journey, soaking in all the atmosphere the world and freedom to travel gave you, and the image of you,the one in my head at least,.. in a tavern in Prague, siting at a laptop drinking a fine wine, watching efu is a true and accurate one? Inquiring minds want to know.

[Howlando]

No. And see rule 3!

[Dash]

Which chapter has been your favorite plotwise?  Why?

Which has been your favorite to build? Why?