The Draconian Mystery & More. . .

[frankymill]

holy shit i just found this thread so much interesting shit. if yall are still doing this send me a pm id like to join the team if theres one.

[Mazrikxx]

I'd like to join the effort aswell if it is still ongoing.

[iMike]

Where have you been?
Any new information?
@Atheist

[Atheist]

NPC’s Environmental Perception:

Now that we’ve talked about how NPCs react to items, I think is time to move on to something a little more intriguing; how NPCs react to their enviroment.

Anyone who has ever played a Paly or ventured into the Shattered Isles knows where and How to buy Assassin stars, you have to be “burning” for the guy to be interested in talking to you, and while it might be a funny little detail, I dont think we’re actually realizing how important and intriguing this is.

Meddling into the stolen NPC data that I’ve mention previously I noticed how this mechanic works; it has been in game since the begining, it is a little line of coding that makes the NPC react completely different to what you say depending on your current ailment, and this only gets more insteresting with the introduction of curse, drowning and whichever new ailment I’ve missed in my retirement.

Example:

Kazordoon’s Technomancer Talphion reactions in NPCSD:

"heal",Burning>0 -> "YOU ARE BURNING! THAT'S FUN, HOW DO YOU DO THAT?"
"heal",Poison>0 -> "YOU ARE POISONED! HAVE YOU DRUNK THE STUFF IN A GREEN BOTTLE? THAT'S SUPERGLUE, NOT SUPPER-GLUE, STUPID!"
"heal" -> "I AM AN ENGINEER, NOT A DOCTOR!"





What does this mean? Well if CIP’s willing to add this funny mechanic into a “nobody” as our friend Talphion could be considered, then this means our variation pool just multiplied by the number of different ailments currently in Tibia. This is of course; an exageration but I’m just getting started, there’s more:

Who can forget our beloved Cipfried, the first friendly face old Tibians (and new ones if you skip the Tutorial) see in their screen the first momentous time that they log into Tibia. Who didnt venture into the sewers with nothing but your club in one hand and your balls in the other thinking you’d destroy the shit out of those rats, only to flee with your tail between your legs back to Cipfried to get a free heal and feel safe again?

Do you see my point?

The amount of HP that you currently have is also recorded into a fairly simple code to recognize your current state and REACT acordingly, in Cipfried’s case (in the NPCSD) it looks something like this:

"heal$",HP<65 -> "You are looking really bad. Let me heal your wounds.", HP=65, EffectOpp(13)

(Note: This is kind of specific; “an amount minor to” so it isnt that bad, praise the Tibian Gods it isnt managed in percentages.

So it turns out that your amount of HP; also factors into the NPC-reaction-game we’re playing at the moment, what does all this mean then?

Well. . . it means your current health and/or your ailments can be as important as having the right item in your inventory for NPCs to react a certain way; it means that shit just got even more complex, if you thought ítem reaction made things hard; adding NPC enviromental perception into the list just raised the limitless variations to a ridiculous number of combinations.

Of course; I’m just exagerating, it would be ridiculous to think that (e.g.) you need to have 100 Piece Of Iron, be at 100 HP, be cursed, burning, poisoned, electrified, drowning AND DRUNK! for an NPC to react a certain way. . . but. . . is it THAT ridiculous? Maybe it is, maybe it is not, who knows lol.

So. . . what approach should we take to factor NPC's Enviromental Perception into the mix in a healthy way so we dont lose all hope and give up on this god-forsaken game with infinite variations? well. . . in the form of the most PURE way of Roleplaying; actually hear what an NPC has to say. It would be insane to try ALL the "keywords" while into all possible forms of ailment, I mean, lets be realistic. But if you can actually HEAR what the NPC has to say and use the Roleplayer's Ultimate Tool which is; FEELING ACTUAL EMPATHY FOR A FICTIONAL CHARACTER (yes; a bunch of pixels) you CAN actually pick up little details in their story which MAY make you try to talk to them while in ailments and/or low HP.

I'm fucking bat shit crazy? Maybe, but think about it. . . who EVER talks to NPCs for the sake of discovery WHILE TAKING AILMENTS INTO ACCOUNT?!?!?! Fucking NO ONE; that's who.

Having this "ailment variation" in mind at all times while talking to NPC's will highten your senses/perception/options while looking for answers!

To be reviewed:

NPC; You capitalistic pig! (A look into NPC reaction to outfits/the way you look)

Theories:

1.- Do NPCs react to having items (such as barrels), spilled liquids (such as urine) or any other thing near them?
2.- Do NPCs react to summoned creatures?


Atheist.

[Atheist]

Kazordoon: The welcoming complexity of Dwarven Culture.

WARNING: Some sections of the following post may contain MY personal opinion which you CAN (and probably will) differ from. It is adviced that at all times during the read you keep in mind that this is for entertainment purposes ONLY and I’m just calling it as I see it, nothing more.

Also, this has been devided in several pieces so you can choose and read whetever interest you most:

1.-The Silly/Nostalgic Introduction you dont have to read at all if you dont want to.
2.-The Actual introduction is a fairly quick mention of the Dwarven Race.
3.-"TEH ACTUAL" Review is a more in depth, technical and neutral insight on the Dwarven Culture as a whole.

Also note that I use "Dwarfs" and not "Dwarves" because "Dwarfs" is the correct (grammatically speaking) plural form, where "Dwarves" came to be only because it was popularized by J.R.R. Tolkien in his books.


Silly/Nostalgic Introduction:

When I think of Kazordoon I cant help to get deeply nostalgic, it was my home for pretty much the first few years of my Tibian adventure; as a 13 year old kid in the early 2000’s, online transactions were still frowned upon and even more in a country like Mexico, so it took a couple years to actually acquire Premium (which I ended up buying for in-game cash anyway) so when my Dial-up connection was up; my place-to-be was my beloved Kazordoon.

Thais generally had Giant Spiders lured into the front of the depot, Venore always had Dragon Lords in its ladder ready to 1 shot the shit out of anyone in range, Carlin being “TEH brazilian city” we all know and hate wasnt an option and Ab’Dendriel having nothing but stupid Trolls; was outgrown farily quickly, so Kazordoon was the place to be for any and all free account players looking to level, having a variety of Dwarfs for a large range of levels and promises of profit.

These were the times were lootbags were the only real way to make some serious cash and the art of pushing your lootbag from the depths of the mines all the way up to the depot was one of the biggest thrills I ever experienced in Tibia.

Monsters were alot stronger back then, only level 60/70 with decent skills could venture into the lowest of levels were the fierce Dwarf Guards inhabitated, Paladins needed ridiculously high skills to even scratch them and enough speed to outrun their inminent 3 digit hits, Mages needed the help of Fire Devils or Fire Elementals just to have a chance and Knights needed high skills and alot of luck to be able to lootbag enough items to pay for their UHs, those were the days. . .

I still remember being lvl 40 and lootbagging Hatchets, yes; HATCHETS, to then send them to Thais and push them all the way to Fibula, since Timur was the only NPC that bought them back then (for 25/35g each if I remember correctly) it was THAT hard for a lowbie to make cash and needless to say I was the biggest newbie in town.



Actual Introduction:

Back when there was only Thais, Carlin, Venore and Edron, Kazordoon was the most unique and fresh concept in the whole of Old Tibia (which then was crushed by Ankrahmun but w/e), the idea of an underground city with a dozen tunnels to venture to; was any Roleplayer’s dream, the fact that you could get lost in a labyrinth of mines or explore every corner of the exceptionally large and multi-level’d city was a Thrill on its own, from leveling in the mines to baking your own bread; Kazordoon was promise of good things to come, for its creation could’ve only come from imaginative and creative developers.

Kazordoon may have exceeded in many things, but the one that shone the brightest was the only single thing nobody cared for: its Lore.

The Dwarven Culture is the single most Deep, Well Versed, Intertwined, Pure form of Tibian Lore in the game, hands down. In every NPC of Kazordoon you could see how hard CIP tried to give life to the Dwarfs as a relevant and endearing race in Tibia and in its revamping we could clearly see how they treated their beloved baby, making a (pretty much dead and irrelevant city back then) series of changes that polished the beauty that was Kazordoon and not only that, but adding new quest AND non-quest-related NPCs with tons of new information, justifying the lost city of Beregar AND enriching its own lore even further; reminding us of how important this city really is, not for nothing Mulf adviced RPs to start at Kazordoon.

When we talk about the Dwarven Race, there is nothing to this day that we could compare it to, in Kazordoon everything and everyone is connected, from a dozen different Guilds/Fellowships, to its own religion and way of measuring time, CIP has made of the Dwarfs the most fascinating of Old Races.

CIP’s version of Dwarfs live as long (or even longer) as elves; that’s one of the main reasons CIP could go all out on their lore. Although they claim to be peaceful people that mind their own business; NOT ONLY have Dwarfs fought and helped stop the Beholders (a.k.a Bonelords) from conquering the world in the “Old Days”, battled in the “Old War” and protagonized the “War of Welcome” (Refer to the "Did you know" section for more info) they also battled against the Elves AND all of the uprising “younger races” (Humans included), surviving through civil wars and a clear and irreconciliable difference in religion/entity worship and profession choise within its people; it is their unbreakable sense of unity as a race AND their proud history (which pretty much revolves around Durin) what has kept the dwarfs together and be the proud people they are today.



"TEH ACTUAL" Review:

See next post:

[Atheist]

"TEH ACTUAL" Review:

Note: This review comes from the perspective of the dwarfs, it is told from THEIR PARTICULAR POINT OF VIEW, keep in mind that like with all communities; people see things through their own eyes their own unique way; my point being that there are and will be (in other City Series) variations/parallelisms/or even contradictions in timelines or how a series of events happened in the history of Tibia; depending on who’s telling the story, this is a perfectly normal event in history overall and you should take what you want from what I say, regardless of whomever you decide to believe.

Dwarven history is a complicated one, there are still many blank spaces on some key points that I haven’t been able to crack; I don’t know if it’s lack of perception on my part or simply that CIP wants certain things to remain a mystery, nevertheless, let’s start from the beginning.

RELIGION:

All oldschool dwarfs (included in the NPCSD) have the keyword “God” linked to some kind of resentment, many mention how it was the gods who forsaken the dwarven race as a whole but they never truly mention what series of events developed into this rupture.

Although subjectively, most dwarfs agree on WHAT IT WAS in their history that made them as tough and kind of “paranoid” as to being forced to live in a fortress. “They’re dwarfs, of course they live in an underground fortress” you may say, but you have to remember there has to be a reason for this stereotype to be valid in the first place; and CIP has a decent one.

From a Dwarven perspective of things (which is pretty respectable since they don’t rely much on books, but on memory, since they live for so long) the gods are the one who create races, as a kind of “pastime” but like any pastime, when it gets boring you move on to something else, apparently that’s how dwarfs see their relationship with the gods; they were forsaken for another “new” creation which could be one of the “younger races” like the humans.

Dwarfs see gods as kids who treat races as toys to entertain themselves with, and after getting bored they just create a new toy to play with and forget past ones as they forgot Them.

It seems that because the gods forsaken them, they were forced into believing on something else, so they stuck with logical, physical, palpable beliefs; the elements.

For the dwarfs the elements are the only entities worth of worship, specifically fire and earth, they gave themselves to the elements and the elements rewarded them with the possibility of manipulating them at will, they see the elements as reciprocal entities which give as much as they receive (worship wise) instead of the selfish gods they turned their backs to.

It seems that it was after the god rupture and the appearance of new races that the dwarven race was forced into a life of anonymity in the depths of the earth, the “old” and “new” races fighting for supremacy; deteriorated the dwarven strength over the “old tibia” and were slowly forced into a full out retreat.

When I say “dwarven strength” I mean the kind of power Humans have in present Tibia which is pretty much absolute, Dwarfs literally say dwarven dominance back then resembled the human’s today (refer to Emperor Kruzak).

Later topics to discuss:

1.-Durin.
2.-Firstborns.
3.-Pyromancers.
4.-Geomancers.
5.-Temple of Fire and Earth.


The Birth of Kazordoon:

The “Big Old One” was the mightiest mountain in the whole of tibia, it used to be surrounded by a huge river and it was the Dwarven Pyro and Geomancers who (with the blessing of the elements) were able to turn the very path of this river into another direction, drying the mountain and making it livable; that was when Kazordoon was born.

The creation of Kazordoon’s tunnels was in charge of “Rotworm tamers”, yes, Rotworms, apparently dwarfs saw the potential of Rotworms and used them as drilling machines to create tunnels and move underground, they even have an association (obviously not in the game but its only mentioned for the sake of justification) that delivers “Drilling Licenses” to those capable of taming Rotworms.

But there was also another group that helped with the drilling and construction of the city; the Technomancers.

Technomancers:

Technomancy in Tibia is considered the use of the elements (still as a magic force) for practical uses, Technomancers claim to respect the elements in the form of practicality, unleashing their full potential in the form of machines, seeing them as means to an end. Technomancy is ironically the dwarf’s proudest AND most shameful “profession”. From a technical (pun intended) point of view Technomancers are ahead of their time, creating machinery for the sake of convenience and efficiency for all dwarvekind, they’re the engineers of Tibia. But from a religious point of view they’re considered heretics who misuse the power of the elements for personal gain.

Technomancers also have a shaky reputation for the chaos failed experiments have caused in the past; even though they see these disasters as just a result of trial and error, many dwarfs hold grudges against them for it and that’s part of where the resentment from the dwarven community comes from.

The Technomancer guild seems to have only 4 members, be very shut to outsiders and kind of antisocial, which is understandable if you take into account the rejection they get from their own people.


Their greatest creation seems to be the Steamboat (that takes you to Cormaya/Farmine) leaving aside this monster of a machine which reason to be/practical use isn’t mentioned by anybody.



Kazordoon’s greatest legends; The Basilisk.

Aside from the famous Dragon Scaled Room that we all know and wish it was accessible (which even though it breaks my heart to say; it’s mentioned as the Emperor’s Treasure Room, which is indirectly a way of saying it’s not accessible, IMO) it is the Basilisk tale that takes all the attention because of its consistency; from a textual point of view, this is no legend or myth, this is a solid part of Dwarven History that happened relatively (dwarven lifespan-wise) recently.

We all think we know what a Basilisk is but truth is that its real meaning or significance depends highly on the source that mentions it, but I'll mention the version that best suits CIP's version of the beast:

The Basilisk is more than just a monster, it’s more of a magical creature who doesn’t just turn its victims into stone, but makes them disappear from existence, what do I mean by that? I mean that all memories, actions, or resemblance that that person ever existed are erased from everyone who ever knew him, their friends forget his name, their families erase his very birth and his name is lost from the history books, quite literally (kind of what happened with the people of Dressrosa after they were turned into toys in the Doflamingo Saga, for any One Piece fans out there).

Why do I mention this specific approach in such detail? Because I think that is the version of the Basilisk CIP went for; in the Kazordoon Library there is a book from a historian that mentions the tail rather lightly (as do everyone) saying that even though he did a lot of research, nobody seems to remember the name of the Hero who trapped the Basilisk in its current lair.

People say “we lost a lot of miners” and “lives were lost” but a name is never mentioned, there is a couple books in the library which seem to be miner’s diaries before they were attacked by the Basilisk and only 1 has a signed name, which no NPC reacts too.

Aside from that, it is hard to believe that nobody remembers the name of this “Hero” that saved the dwarfs from one of most horrific “internal” catastrophes of Dwarvenkind.

Now a little digression:

There’s this part of the Kazordoon mines which wasn’t in the game when I first started playing, my point is it was added after the very tale of the Basilisk, I think of it as a form of justification for it, even though it makes little sense I think we can make something of it.



What does this look like to you?

To me it looks like a former “battlefield”; broken swords, burned capes and scrolls, worn boots, and they ARE supposed to be there, since they respawn with every server save.


Here it looks like the stone is placed very specifically to “block” the path. Because of IDs we can see that the hole isn’t legit, but of course it should be blocked; you’re trying to trap something inside after all; it just makes sense. But the most intriguing part of this scene is of course; the statues, their positioning doesn’t make much sense (since behind the southern one there’s the rock blocking the path anyway), they don’t have any writing and seem to be out of place, what I mean is that they don’t seem to have been “placed” there.


Now look at the statues in the basilisk room; I think it is pretty clear what CIP wants to tell us: people turned to stone by the Basilisk look like “Statues” no shit right? Well, this could mean that the statues on the last image were actually victims of the Basilisk that fought it when they wanted to trap it. Now, there’s a pretty big disparity in the ground levels and holes, since the little room the Basilisk is in is clearly a bit to the south of where the supposed “battlefield” is, and another curious detail is that the statues in this room are actually destructible, unlike the ones in the other picture, needless to say; all those holes aren’t legit and take you nowhere.

I think even before CIP included the differentiation of NPCs we all knew the Basilisk was actually an NPC, now let’s take a look to what he had to say back then (taken from the NPCSD):

Note: "Effects" are short lines of code with their own specific use; mimic a physical “reaction” from an NPC anything from “blessings” (colored sparkles) when you help them, to burning or electrifying when you piss them off.

Behaviour = {
ADDRESS,"a",! -> EffectMe(9), Idle <- This is a unique “effect” not seen from any other NPC.
ADDRESS,"b",! -> *
ADDRESS,"c",! -> *
ADDRESS,"d",! -> *
ADDRESS,"e",! -> *

ADDRESS,"f",! -> EffectMe(13), Idle <- This one seems to be char-related sparkles, like when you get married or cast a heal; not sure if blue or green.
ADDRESS,"g",! -> *
ADDRESS,"h",! -> *

ADDRESS,"i",! -> EffectMe(14), Idle <- This effect is related with “burning”
ADDRESS,"j",! -> *
ADDRESS,"k",! -> *
ADDRESS,"l",! -> *
ADDRESS,"m",! -> *

ADDRESS,"n",! -> EffectMe(15), Idle <- This one is related with “poisoning”
ADDRESS,"o",! -> *
ADDRESS,"p",! -> *
ADDRESS,"r",! -> *
ADDRESS,"s",! -> *

ADDRESS,"t",! -> EffectMe(17), Idle <- This effect is also unique, only the Basilisk casts it.
ADDRESS,"u",! -> *
ADDRESS,"v",! -> *
ADDRESS,"w",! -> *
ADDRESS,"y",! -> *1

What can we make out of this?

Nothing really; apparently the Basilisk reacts to the letters A, F, I, N, T, (FAINT? any other ideas? English is not my first language) he doesn’t seem to like the letters I and N since he burns you and poisons you respectively when said, letters A and T seem to have a unique effect no other NPC in the NPCSD has AND he seems to like the letter F since he “blesses” you for it (although sparkles not always mean something good for CIP, since when a character gets banned you get green sparkles right before getting kicked out of the game; just a funny thing to mention).

What does all this means? Nothing really; they can be clues, they can also mean nothing, the unknown effects could be anything (although I have ruled out teleportation because in that case it would look something like this):

Topic=12,! -> "WRONG!", Idle, EffectOpp(11),SetQuestValue(212,0), Teleport(32725,31589,12), EffectOpp(11)

Note: Taken from “the Riddler” of the “Paradox Quest".

Is the Basilisk trying to tell us something with those letters? Are the statues destructible for a reason? What are those mysterious effects? Maybe someday, when someone finds the way to its lair, we’ll know.

Later topics to discuss:

1.-The Dark-Haired Beauty.

[thorekz]

what server are you playing? we could chat sometime =)

[oualid]

Holy shit awesome thread! Is anyone still working on this?

[Biske]

Thumbs up for this thread!Just find out and finished the whole thread. As soon as 2016 begins i will star RP more often with my main, keep the good work!

[iMike]

Wassup? @Atheist