Elixirs Anyone?: A Discussion

[Badstench]

Like most adventurers, Judge Fury is a regular visitor to Mergspil and, in particular, Grutlang's Trading Post. But when he's divested himself of all the booty gathered from various places, he will sometimes avail himself of an ale at The Lost Crown.

Intermittently, Judge Fury will quietly ask Gilbornn, the tavern proprietor, if he has any elixirs for sale. To date, the answer has always been "No".

This got me wondering what type of elixirs he will eventually have available, and this led me to wonder about Kebbek elixirs being a viable game addition when it comes to scenarios like the quest for the gems that fit the bowl of blood (The Temple of Skar-thingy).

Bear with me on this...

1) There are 18 traps that can be negotiated in the temple, though only 6 need to be negotiated to reach the exit.

2) The more traps that are successfully negotiated, the higher is the end reward.

3) To make this more of a challenge, the gm has placed an anti-magic device at the entrance to the temple that drains all NV points.

4) The end result of this is to deny adventurers the use of Restoration spells, though they can still quaff any kebbek elixirs on their possession (which some adventurers have done to their benefit).

5) This makes me wonder... If the gm wanted to deny us the use of restoration spells, was this done purposefully to make the full reward of the challenge harder to achieve, and if so, did he consider the use of healing elixirs?

6) and following on from the previous question, if the gm did consider healing elixirs, has his devious mind come up with another way to help us spend our hard earned gold?

7) But more importantly, if the gm didn't consider healing elixirs, would the inclusion of a shop where you can buy them go against the intent of scenarios like the Temple of Skargakk?

8) and, ultimately, is the inclusion of elixirs for sale a good idea?

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There is another matter I wanted to bring up concerning elixirs, but I'll save that for a different discussion.

[Joddelle]

It has always bothered me that Keppik's are only available in set drops. Why can't we explore an area where the leaves grow and collect them? Sort of like Murk where you can get the worthless trollsnake skins and Tossik horns?

Why can't you take the leaves you have to a vendor to have them turned into elixers? why can't someone with Lore, Arcana, and Woodsmanship 100 craft such an elixer from the raw materials?

[Badstench]

Ah, Joddelle... you've gazumped me with the second part of the discussion.

These were questions I've also recently wondered about, and in a similar vein... if we could find elixir ingredients, why shouldn't the new skill of Alchemy be included. This would work in much the same way as Arcana, for the identification of herbs, etc.

And at high levels, maybe alchemy could let us use ingredients and make our own potions?

Good call, Joddelle.

[Oldschool]

Whether it be a new skill like Badstench mentions or Arcana or a combo of skills we already have per Joddelle's post I like the idea.

It would be nice to have a separate adventure to introduce this ability and if a new skill is added it could be added then.

Like Judge Fury Hawk often checks in on Mr. Surhelm and the availability of his wares.

His handler remembers the opening being put "on hold" due to a bug which led me to do a bit of necrothreading across dimensions/planes. Here is the official announcement (from 2/19/09).

Elixirs
Due to issues encountered while testing the new elixirs, they've been put on hold for a while so that they can be fixed when it won't interrupt the flow of new content and adventures.

[thingirl]

What I want from the elixirs:

(1) Sale of kebbek elixirs/ leaves
(2) A adventure that unlocks the sale of (for 50k gold or so)
(3) Another stat boosting item like the EoT
(4) The above three sometime soon.

[Young Ned]

There's also been some speculation that the elixirs available from the tavern keeper wouldn't necessarily just be healing elixirs. I, for one, would be more excited about elixirs that restore your NV than ones that restore your Stamina, since we already have kepbekk elixirs for Stamina (though in limited quantities).

How about an elixir that causes you to regenerate a certain amount of SP in each round of battle? Or one that for one battle lets you hit enemies that require magical weapons when you're fighting unarmed, even if you're not currently wearing Whozit's Ring? Or one that turns you "invisible", effectively upping your MR so the enemy can't hit you?

I would also mention elixirs that temporarily increase your strength or speed, but most players already have those maxed at 20 so those wouldn't help much. :cool:

[Oldschool]

While waiting for elixirs wouldn't it be nice if those empty flasks that whosit sells could be used in Tarn's fountain.

[Joddelle]

While waiting for elixirs wouldn't it be nice if those empty flasks that whosit sells could be used in Tarn's fountain.

Or to collect the nectar pods in the Jadefang lair. In fact, way, way back when I first did the lair, I tried collecting those pods in a vial.

Also, vials are for sale in the Durnsig Market, or they were.

[Badstench]

Okie dokie... I'm going to hijack my own thread back.

Although the content of this post would better fit in the "Suggestions" board, it also fits here as being part of the discussion.

The original question was meant to be... "Do you think the gm considered the use of healing elixirs at the Temple of Skargakk?"

This progressed to the question... "Do you think the eventual addition of elixirs obtainable from a store is another way of getting hard-working adventurers to part with their gold?"

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I'd like to address the second question first: The plain answer is, "why not?".

I've seen other posts where players have vocally noted the increasing price of blessings, and bemoaned the 'tweaking' of the value of item drops, etc, etc.

Get over it, people! I have to say, I've become a bit dismayed at the "I want" attitude seeping into the complaints being aired by players. "I want it cheaper, but more powerful and more abundant and longer lasting and blah, blah, blah!"

The plain fact is, things supplied by traders will cost you money, and instead of going into a rant about the effects of supply and demand within an economic society, I will just keep to the facts of the use of money within "the game environment".

Gold is most useful for training those all-important skills and powers to a higher level. If there is a best reason to search for and save gold, training is it!

New types of trading goods will, ultimately, offer players new items to play with that offer increase benefits to the gaming experience. These, along with items already available to purchase, should be viewed as a viable option to spend your money on. However, they are not a necessity... you don't have to spend your money at these places.

Example... need a replenishment of blessings from the Cathedral? Getting close to enough xp points that will allow training in a skill or power? Running low on cash?

Here's what you do... make a choice! Either go do some more adventuring (grinding) to raise your cash stakes, or just spend your available money on whatever best suits you.

Here's what you don't do... Don't write a post in the forum that blames everything else for the fact that you have no money.

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Ooooooo... I've got quite carried away with this rant... and I haven't finished making my point yet, but I want to get some gaming time in, so I'll continue later.

Feel free to challenge me in the meantime.

[shadowblack]

Frankly, I don't care how much the potions cost... as long as they cost ONLY gold. We need some gold sinks. Currently we have only one: the Blessings. That guy that offers full heals in the Battlegrounds would've been a nice gold sink, but alas.

Seriously, we have WAY TOO MANY ways to earn gold, and very few to spend it. That's why the number of millioneers is increasing.

[thingirl]

I don't want to fight that. You seem mad.

The GM might have given it some thought, and it might be a reason for us to buy Kebbek Elixirs and Leaves from Gilbornn. So, the other 12 snares are optional and might require the use of a Kebbek Elixir.

And I too don't care how much the Elixirs cost, as long as the most expensive one doesn't cost more that 10,000 and they cost ONLY gold. And if what's his name over in the Battle grounds were to remove the 1 AT, but triple or even quadruple his price, that would be good.

[Badstench]

Shadowblack chimed in...
Frankly, I don't care how much the potions cost... as long as they cost ONLY gold. We need some gold sinks. Currently we have only one: the Blessings. That guy that offers full heals in the Battlegrounds would've been a nice gold sink, but alas. [Edit: it includes an AT expenditure]

Seriously, we have way too many ways to earn gold, and very few to spend it. That's why the number of millionairs is increasing.
And that, folks, is my point without all the long-winded passages and insults (which, by the way, were generic, not personal).

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thingirl hazarded...
I don't want to fight that. You seem mad.
Hahahaha.... thingirl, as you get to experience more of my rants, you'll get to know that anger has nothing to do with it.

When I first started posting in the forum, I quickly gained a reputation as being controversially opinionated (and opionionatingly controversial).... the other descriptive was , "He's a horse's ass!"

Eventually, people finally started to "get it". I was being a "horse's ass" on purpose. Much of what I write is calculated... it is splashed out to engender a response, to get people contributing their own thoughts. From this, some really good ideas are brought to the surface.

If it takes for me to jab somebody's sensibilities and moral outrage to achieve the airing of good ideas, then, yes, I'm a "horse's ass"... and proudly so.

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But, since my psychiatrist urged me to suppress my narcisstic tendencies, I'll next carry on to answering question no. 3, especially since question no. 1 has been made superfluous by Shadowblack's excellent riposte.

[thingirl]

So, I was exploring Fougbough and came across this: Tallys tells you that he's been on a short expedition through the outer wood, collecting various specimens of flora and fauna for a project he's recently undertaken. That gives me hopes that we will be able to gather stuff for What's his name is Mirgspil.

[Badstench]

Yeah... I wondered much the same thing, though I wonder if it's tied in with the 'shrooms.

Speaking of possible potion ingredients, is everyone still hanging on to their small piece of blightroot? (I'm being a meanie, 'cos I know most of you won't have one of these...
A Small Bit Of Blightroot

* Class: Misc
* Encumbrance: 1

This is the small bit of blightroot you took from Loyarn after subduing him.
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Blightroot is the common name for a combat-enhancing substance created from the blighted root of a palo tree.

The blighted root is ground and mixed with a strong spirit and the mixture then hardens over time into a chewy, pungent substance that has powerful combat-enhancing properties.

Blightroot is not outlawed, but its use is frowned upon in nearly every corner of the North Broadlands .

Blightroot has been known to cause horrid side effects -- sometimes only surfacing long after it has been ingested.

[Oldschool]

Hmmmm Blightroot with it's "horrid side effects -- sometimes only surfacing long after it has been ingested." - makes me think of LSD. Now "shrooms", makes one wonder what kinda potions we may see. :cool: