Shattered Kingdoms

I think when you're dealing with gear like this -- which is by far and away the upper tier of all the gear in SK -- that fatigue-stacking affects should be keyword-only.

A good example that ties in well with the gear previously mentioned: the armor of Spartan Samtavan. It doesn't automatically do anything.

So: Only non-fatigue affects should be automatic on wear.

Exactly what is going on is that, once worn, the items will cast giant strength on you if you don't have it already. It'll last until it wears off, then fatigue will start and the item will fire again. Changing the frequency won't really solve this problem, will just make it even harder to control when/whether you get the GSTR - the solution of making them keyword controlled is best IMO.

This reminds me of a bug I've been noticing re: fatigue time. Will post in appropriate forum.

For the record, I personally think it's only Appropriate for the benefits of a truly "unholy" item to
* be significant
and
*come with an "annoying" price

, and would totally build something like this on purpose.

I mean, the gauntlets were built for devils, and you chose to wear them anyway. QQ.

I can already see this as a supporting argument for "how things cater to lighties". Not only can they request good loot (like the alternative to the above mentioned gauntlets, the ones of HOLY might), but they also don't have stupidly ridiculous negative effects.

"Stupidly ridiculous?" Come on.

I see your point, of course, and it's my personal opinion that elite lightie-only equipment should ideally kick a little less [REDACTED] pound for pound except in very limited circumstances, and that the greater "punch" of the most fearsome dark artifacts ought to be made up for in subtle negative ways.

Another thing that complicates this issue is the 'request' command, as you've stated... and the fact that proper roleplay would dictate that lighties would be better able to cooperate and coordinate with one another to make up for any net disadvantage they end up with in such an equation [that's part of what defines virtue and heroism in this genre, after all]. I should hope that's something other builders try to take into consideration as well, and it definitely figures into other constant topics of debate [like how powerful necromancers have to be to balance out the crippling RP disadvantages they face, for instance].

Asymmetrical balance is a hard thing to achieve, and its pursuit is an ongoing process. I want to make it clear that we all welcome input on stuff like this - and that I'm not stating some kind of Immortal Policy Point here, just joining in the discussion. Nothing I'm saying here constitutes a "building rule" that everyone up here is bound to follow by any means, so there's likely no need to freak out if you don't happen to agree.

Phew. That was deceptively diplomatic of you.

BTW: I do tend to have a love for the superfluously redundant use of diction in wording things.

I used to respect the way Thuban worded things. Now he just sounds lame-o and like, way too conceited. I mean does anyone actually talk that way? lol

I think that the best leadership is cut and dry simple, not some convoluted serpent's nest of verbiage and diction.

No flame intended, just commentary.

Oh, please. Criticizing someone for making effective use of the English language is weak, especially in an environment like this.

It seems a silly thing that elite items like these would have any such limitations - sure, you don't want to create blatantly overpowered equipment, but why should we be afraid of rewarding hard work with great equipment? Giving a player something to feel proud about and then essentially forcing them not to use it is pretty backwards.

I'm with Thuban on this one. Everyone and their mom have been pampered way too much lately, and keep a stance like crying babies for more and more convinience.

First: Stratford, if that ”commentary” of yours was in any way meant to get a constructive feedback from anyone, you need to work on your phrasing. All it did in my case was to *seriously* deter my desire to support your initial cause. If you want to act like a punk, stick to GD and expect to be ignored.

However, despite my eyes having rolled far into the back of my head, I’ll say this. I do think that the best and most difficult to get items should get should be either keyworded or served with another and equally effective function. Achernar is clearly all over this already – I have complete confidence that he will find a suitable solution, so there is really no need to wobble around in that anymore.

As for the ‘ideal’ discussion behind the other, it’s a checks and balances issues from my POV. I tend to agree with both Thuban and Sinnoch that darkie only items on a general level should be slightly more powerful than lightie items. I will, however, here note that there are several IC ways of removing zap effects on items, and some of them don’t remove original enchants or risk blowing it up. Effectively, no item is completely out of the reach of any one hand, thanks to a few very creative areas. If you don’t know where or how you're able to remove zap flags ICly, it’s because you’ve been a lazy and/or unlucky explorer. QQ.

Phat lewt lightie items should of course not be requestable. If you stumble across that, let a KD know. It’s possible to fix the issue with an apropriate quest, or some other, and I can’t imagine any of us being opposed to fixing that type of imbalances.

Lighties caught grinding on lightie NPCs/killing them for loot will be cursed. If you don’t get caught, you’re nothing but lucky. Grey aura NPCs is another matter and depends on the concept of the individual character in my opinion. The familiarity code limits the time you may spend levelling on the same dark aura NPCs, so there are a bunch of balance issues to consider on top of the rp issue. However, that’s a real long debate and not appropriate to consider here.

I’m not getting this claim that we’re unwilling to 'lay down the law'. I am unwilling to punish anyone I don’t have solid proof of a misdoing on, but that’s not the same as refusing to punish lighties for being twits, if and when they are. Got an RP issue? Send up a log. We aren't omniscient, need a little help from the pbase.