Post by kalbaern on Dec 24, 2009 13:43:53 GMT -5
These following suggestions are simply that .... suggestions. Whether you deem to follow them or not will often be a matter of personal RP. Following some or all of the suggestions I'll list will certainly increase any PCs advancement and survivability here though, especially when first starting out.
Foraging for food items: Though food is not required as part of the resting process here, it is a nice RP feature. Many foraged fruits will impart a small amount of healing when "used" and can be very crucial to survival when exploring because of this. There are also a few NPCs which will give out small quest rewards for certain items when you've gathered enough of them as well. Finding a forage items usually awards a small fixed XP bonus as well. The few extra XP and small amount of healing you gain can often mean you'll progress quicker than those that decide not to partake of this feature.
Fishing: Much as with foraging, fishing too awards some extra XP. Your catches can also be combined with other found or purchased ingredients and cooked into meals here. The basic recipes are lsted on the permanent cookpot set up near the Chapel in Orlbar here. There are more recipes for cooking than are listed in it's description though. Most other recipes will need to be learned through RP with others or simple IG experimentation. The "meals" that are created also provide a small amount of healing ... usually at least 4hp worth. So meals like foraged fruits and such can often help defer the costs of healing supplies, especially in the beginning here.
Combat: Pay attention to a creatures actual reactions to your PC. While most wild animals are "hostile", they will not attack unless you get too close or attack them first. Some have meaner temperments than others as well. As a general rule, the larger the wild creature is, the more likely it'll resent you getting too close to it. "SFS" uses a pretty robust "cleaner" to despawn creatures you avoid rather then kill. So if your PC wouldn't normally kill "animals", then it's fine to avoid them and leave them be here.
Fleeing: Knowing "when" to flee can be crucial here. Sometimes help will come from unexpected quarters too. Trolls here hate just about every other living creature and they often hate them back. Don't be surprised if the band of goblins ahead decides to attack the troll that is chasing you or it them. While you can't always count on certain factions to help, sometimes the "enemy of your enemy" can prove a nice tactic to use. Keep in mind also, this is primarilly an RP server. As such, not all, but many encounters/dungeons/areas/etc... are designed with "groups" in mind. So know when you are overmatched and don't be afraid to withdraw from an encounter until you've a chance to return with "friends". We do not "build" stuff here purely to punish soloers, but we do have many places that all but require a group to succeed inorder to promote group play.
Join others: Sometimes there's simply no one else to travel with. Sometimes you'll find level gaps too great and not want to travel with/where your PC can't contribute much. Sometimes there's just no one your PC can travel with due to IC RP issues. That's all well and good. No one will ever be penalised for adventuring alone (soloing) here. Their are incentives to form groups though. "Party's" get small XP bonuses based on the total members in their party. "Party's" as a rule will spawn either more creatures or tougher ones and therefore gain XP slightly faster overall. It also means, that while they may have to split it evenly later ... that a party gains more loot than a soloer and with a good team effort will use fewer supplies. So even if the individual shares from an outing seem less than those gained soloing ... usually the fact that fewer supplies were expended more than makes up for it.
Sheath your Weapons: Many of our NPCs in our starting town (Orlbar) will either tell you to put weapons away or in the case of merchants, they'll markup their prices when you shop for "threatening" them with a weapon. Some NPCs will also refuse to give quests and/or quest rewards if you wave weapons around while talking to them. In the case of Orlbar's Mayor and many NPCs you'll meet in other towns and places ... they'll see a drawn weapon as a hostile act and often respond as if you're attacking them. these are simply "common sense" reactions scripted into many NPCs here. So for your own sakes ... unequip weapons when there is no immediate threat.
Explore and talk to NPCs: All of our NPCs here have at the minimum a list of semi-random oneline responses when you "speak" to them. Many often have "clues" or responses based on quests. Some may even tell you that another has a quest. "Timo" in Orlbar will sometimes tell folk that "Cora" needs berries for a pie she'll bake him. Cora will offer the "reward" if you bring her the berries, but only "Timo" ever tells you she needs them. This promotes getting to know the NPCs we use here. Sometimes personal, racial, class based or guild related messages are also inserted into an NPCs list of responses. As we continue to grow and expand, more such "messages" will utilise NPCs IG.
Foraging for food items: Though food is not required as part of the resting process here, it is a nice RP feature. Many foraged fruits will impart a small amount of healing when "used" and can be very crucial to survival when exploring because of this. There are also a few NPCs which will give out small quest rewards for certain items when you've gathered enough of them as well. Finding a forage items usually awards a small fixed XP bonus as well. The few extra XP and small amount of healing you gain can often mean you'll progress quicker than those that decide not to partake of this feature.
Fishing: Much as with foraging, fishing too awards some extra XP. Your catches can also be combined with other found or purchased ingredients and cooked into meals here. The basic recipes are lsted on the permanent cookpot set up near the Chapel in Orlbar here. There are more recipes for cooking than are listed in it's description though. Most other recipes will need to be learned through RP with others or simple IG experimentation. The "meals" that are created also provide a small amount of healing ... usually at least 4hp worth. So meals like foraged fruits and such can often help defer the costs of healing supplies, especially in the beginning here.
Combat: Pay attention to a creatures actual reactions to your PC. While most wild animals are "hostile", they will not attack unless you get too close or attack them first. Some have meaner temperments than others as well. As a general rule, the larger the wild creature is, the more likely it'll resent you getting too close to it. "SFS" uses a pretty robust "cleaner" to despawn creatures you avoid rather then kill. So if your PC wouldn't normally kill "animals", then it's fine to avoid them and leave them be here.
Fleeing: Knowing "when" to flee can be crucial here. Sometimes help will come from unexpected quarters too. Trolls here hate just about every other living creature and they often hate them back. Don't be surprised if the band of goblins ahead decides to attack the troll that is chasing you or it them. While you can't always count on certain factions to help, sometimes the "enemy of your enemy" can prove a nice tactic to use. Keep in mind also, this is primarilly an RP server. As such, not all, but many encounters/dungeons/areas/etc... are designed with "groups" in mind. So know when you are overmatched and don't be afraid to withdraw from an encounter until you've a chance to return with "friends". We do not "build" stuff here purely to punish soloers, but we do have many places that all but require a group to succeed inorder to promote group play.
Join others: Sometimes there's simply no one else to travel with. Sometimes you'll find level gaps too great and not want to travel with/where your PC can't contribute much. Sometimes there's just no one your PC can travel with due to IC RP issues. That's all well and good. No one will ever be penalised for adventuring alone (soloing) here. Their are incentives to form groups though. "Party's" get small XP bonuses based on the total members in their party. "Party's" as a rule will spawn either more creatures or tougher ones and therefore gain XP slightly faster overall. It also means, that while they may have to split it evenly later ... that a party gains more loot than a soloer and with a good team effort will use fewer supplies. So even if the individual shares from an outing seem less than those gained soloing ... usually the fact that fewer supplies were expended more than makes up for it.
Sheath your Weapons: Many of our NPCs in our starting town (Orlbar) will either tell you to put weapons away or in the case of merchants, they'll markup their prices when you shop for "threatening" them with a weapon. Some NPCs will also refuse to give quests and/or quest rewards if you wave weapons around while talking to them. In the case of Orlbar's Mayor and many NPCs you'll meet in other towns and places ... they'll see a drawn weapon as a hostile act and often respond as if you're attacking them. these are simply "common sense" reactions scripted into many NPCs here. So for your own sakes ... unequip weapons when there is no immediate threat.
Explore and talk to NPCs: All of our NPCs here have at the minimum a list of semi-random oneline responses when you "speak" to them. Many often have "clues" or responses based on quests. Some may even tell you that another has a quest. "Timo" in Orlbar will sometimes tell folk that "Cora" needs berries for a pie she'll bake him. Cora will offer the "reward" if you bring her the berries, but only "Timo" ever tells you she needs them. This promotes getting to know the NPCs we use here. Sometimes personal, racial, class based or guild related messages are also inserted into an NPCs list of responses. As we continue to grow and expand, more such "messages" will utilise NPCs IG.