PowerMud

Releases 2004

Date : 12/30/2004, Viper

Renegades - You can now learn Professions not normally allowable by your Guild. See 'help professions' or 'help renegades'. There is now a minimum Experience required to become Renegade.
Drow Houses - The House Medallions have all been upgraded significantly in several different ways.

Date : 12/21/2004 and 12/22/2004, Viper

Spells - All 'entangle' type spells have been upgraded. They should now last longer. Spells affected: Brambles, Wrapping Vines, Web, Forest Hands, and Widow Kiss
Enchantments - The Enchant Armor and Enchant Weapon spells have been upgraded. See their help file for more information. Components have been added to both spells)
Disciples - You now get a discount for repairing weapons/armor, but only in Jaarmin Keep.
Spells - The Corrosive Touch spell has had a damage upgrade.
Cult - The Soul Steal spell now heals more HP, depending on how high your Faith skill is.
Bows (Ranged) - There are now 'Quivers' for those of you who use Bows when fighting. These are worn in the 'misc' armor slot, and you can use them to restock your bow while fighting. 'help bowstock' for more information. Willen in Threshold sells them.

Date : 12/14/2004 through 12/17/2004, Viper

Clerical - The Invulnerablity and Magic Invulnerability spells will now block the 'round attack' effects from such spells as Acid Arrow and Electrical Barrage. I may have missed some though, so let me know if you find a spell that still affects you so.
Politician - Your 'comprehend languages' skill should work now.
Smiths - The smiths who repair equipment now give a discount to the following guilds, as long as you are in the city mentioned: Kal-Thax Stronghold, KeltonElinostDunkrist
Instruments - There are now 'Superb' quality Harps, Drums, and Guitars. They come from various sources, so seek them out.
New Prof - The Bard prof has been added. See 'help bard' and also see 'help troubadour_changes' for info on how that prof has been affected.
Poison, etc - Those extra attacks by weapons will now not hit you or affect you if you dodge/evade the damage done by the weapon, or if stoneskins or images blocked all the damage. They come from various sources, like the Assassin daggers.
Troubadour - There have been caps put on the maximum values that you can get out of all the songs. For instance, Allegro will now only give a max of 4 to your Dex. Having Bardic Enhancement, EQ bonuses, and better instruments will still give you a better chance to get a higher value for each song. Most of the songs were fairly BS and had to be adjusted. They usually were better than any spells, which makes no sense.
Magic Sacs - There is now a drakaan cost associated with some of the sac trade-ins through the dealer. He will tell you the cost when you do the list from him.

Date : 12/09/04 and 12/10/2004, Viper

Thief/Assasin - The 'trap' command is put in. Check out the help file.
Monk - You have a new skill (and cmd) usable by all. See Justarius.

Date : 12/02/04, Viper

Troubadour - Due to extreme exploitation, a 'Guest' can no longer receive any benefit from any Troubadour song. Also, you cannot use the 'race damaging' songs any longer on corpses.
Brawler - The ability to come out of a 'Stun' has been reduced a bit. However, you can come out of a 'Stun' a lot quicker than normal.

Date : 11/19/04, Viper

Militia - The GM System for the Threshold Militia is now in. ('guildinfo')
Battlemage - The GM System for the Battlemages is now in. ('guildinfo')

Date : 11/10/04 and 11/11/04, Viper

Church - The GM System for the Church of Kertaine is now in. ('guildinfo')
Spells - Any non-UD race will now have a possibility of failing a spell when casting that spell while in the UD. (except Dwarves) This basically mirrors the same penalty for any UD race when casting a spell on the surface, although the penalty chance is a bit higher for the UD races than the non-UD races.

Date : 11/01/04, Viper

Rangers - The GM system for Rangers is now in. See 'guildinfo'.

Date : 09/09/04, Viper

Mariner - The GM system for Mariners is now in. See 'guildinfo'. Also, all Mariners now gain a significant Sailing bonus. (Everyone)
Homeguard - The GM System for the Dunkrist Homeguard is now in. ('guildinfo')
Honor Guard - The GM System for the Stronghold Honor Guard is in. ('guildinfo')
Elite - The GM System for the Elinost Elite is now in. ('guildinfo')

Date : 09/07/04 and 09/08/04, Viper

Music EQ- There was a problem with the various Musician Equipment that gave - bonuses to Troubadour songs. The bonus was never added, so in effect they did nothing. That has been fixed. Succor - The 'wait' between uses of Succor has been increased. The Doctor prof still has the least wait time, then Herbalist, then all others. Also, using only your hands when using Succor will now heal a lot less damage than before. So, use components for better healing.
Northmen- Your GM system is in, check out 'guildhelp'. -

Date : 09/03/04, Viper

Disciple- There is now a GM System for Disciples of Xenei. See 'guildinfo' -
Rules - See 'help gm_rules' for information on Guild Master Offices
Profs - The Dmg/ToHit Bonuses for the Archer, Bladesman, Duelist, Sapper, Miner, Lumberjack, and Brawler Professions have been raised significantly. Also, the penalty given when wielding a weapon not of your Profession has been reduced. (Assuming it is one of these seven Professions)
Profs - The Tactician and Acrobat Professions ToHit/Dmg Bonuses have been raised significantly.
Profs - The Spy and Politician Profession gain a natural Comprehend Languages ability. (They can understand any language, but will not neccesarily be able to speak it)

Date : 09/01/04 and 09/02/04, Viper

Thief - There is a new Epic skill for Thieves, check the trainer in the main Guild. Also, use 'guildhelp' for the name and help file. Cult - There is now a GM system for the Cult Guild. Also, the Malevolent Shielding spell has been upgraded on the protection it gives. The spell also now gives 'ranged' resistance. This upgrade will affect anyone who can cast the spell, GM or not.
Assassin- The GM system for this Guild has been updated ('guildinfo'). - Also, an additional power has been given to the Guild for all to use. See the end of 'guildinfo' for more information.

Date : 08/30/04, Viper

Psionic - A bug was discovered that did not allow for Psionic resistance when considering the damage of the Psionic attacks. Now, if the target has Psionics resistance, it will affect the Success rate as well as the damage done if it does succeed.
Northmen- If you are being affected by Dragonfear, being Berserked will - lessen the chance of fleeing. Also your chances of hitting more than one time a round will be less affected.
Thief - There is now a GM system for the Thieves' Guild. Also, an additional power has been given to the Guild for all to use. See 'guildinfo' for more information.

Date : 08/24/04 and 08/25/04, Viper

Northmen- A new CMD is in, check out Warcry. -
Clerics - The Protection from Evil/Good spells have been altered somewhat. A coding error was found that made the results of the spell for Clerics way too random. The results are more regular now like other spells, and the average result is about as high as before. Bastion - The GM system for the Bastion of High Sorcery has been altered. See 'guildinfo' for more information.
Illusionist - The GM system for the the Illusionists has been altered. See the 'guildinfo' for more information. The Project Nightmare spell has been updated, check it out.

Date : 08/23/04, Viper

Trinity - There is now a GuildMaster system for the Dark Trinity. Contact Viper if interested in one of the offices. ('guildinfo') Also, the 'Nether Shield' spell has been improved (for all).

Date : 08/17/04, Viper

Misc - You can now possibly change your Hometown to another city/town. To do so, find the 'donation scale' in that town, then check out the sign on the scale. It will give you instructions on changing your hometown. See 'help hometowns' for restrictions. NOTE: The Scale is NOT the one in the shop. Look near the board.
Knights - There is now a GuildMaster system for the Knights of Nereka. Contact Viper if interested in one of the offices. ('guildinfo')

Date : 08/13/04, Viper

Weapons - Weapons that do 'extra' attacks have been altered slightly. If the wielder of that weapon does not have sufficient skill to wield it properly, there is zero chance of the extra attack working. The Lava Blade, Energy Dagger, Force Hammer, Acid Blade, and Soul Freezer were affected (so far). If others are found, they will be altered without notification.
Priests - There is now a GuildMaster system for the Priests of Eli. Contact Viper if interested in one of the offices. ('guildinfo')

Date : 08/11/04, Viper

Renegades - The bonuses for Renegades have been upped quite a bit. Also a member of Sorcere who is a Renegade can learn additional spells. See the help file (help renegades) for more information.

Date : 07/30/04, Viper

Arach-Tillith - You have a new level 2 Conjuration spell. Check it out.Drow Houses - You now have additional powers for holding a Position in a Drow house. Check Nal Shaddar's board for more info.
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Date : 07/28/04, Viper

Monks - You now have a Guildmaster system. Type 'guildinfo' for more Information.

Date : 07/27/04, Viper

Northmen- The 'Natural Defense' skill of the Northmen has been upgraded by - about half. That is, it will now give you a higher AC bonus now. Also, a Northman may now wear metal armor in the 'armor' slot.
Assassin- The Assassinate skill has been altered. Check your guild board - for detailed information.

Date : 07/05/04, Arruns

Tailors - Skins and hides can now be used again for tailoring creations. The previous upgrade to allow for varying amounts of fabric to be used depending upon the creation (instead of the entire bolt of fabric) rendered the use of skins and hides impossible.

Date : 07/01/04, Arruns

All - If an npc you were fighting sees you die but did not deal the death blow, it will now cease fighting you. Previously, the opposite was true. This change prompted the need to change another somewhat important piece of code, so note any strange combat behavior if such occurs.

Date : 06/30/04, Viper

PSI - Four new Psionic Professions have been put in. Check out the Professions trainer two east of the Mind Flayer. Note that you have to have Psionics before you can go to the trainer, and to get these new Professions. Each has a help file associated with it.
PSI - A new Mental Assault Psionic has been put in, check the Mind Flayer.
EQ - The Black Talisman and the Bright Talisman have been altered to conform with set standars. Their Protection from Good/Evil has been reduced, and their HP bonus has been upped.
Spells - The Feeblemind spell has been enhanced. Before now, the most that it could affect a target's Intelligence was -6. The max has been raised to -15. Please note that it is not possible to get anyone or anything below a 1 in Intelligence.

Date : 06/18/04, Apex and Arruns

Priest - There is now a good chance that Eli will refuse your request to cast attack spells on other elves. If Eli does indeed do so, there is also a slight chance that you will lose hp and sp.
Elves - When fighting another elf, you will receive a substantial hit penalty.

Date : 05/18/04, Viper

Monk - The requirements for learning Triple and Quadruple have been lowered. That is, your Dual skill does not have to be so high to learn Triple now, as well as Triple to Quadruple.
Cleric - All Clerical Guilds (sans Knights) have a new Abjuration spell. See your Abjuration trainer to get it.
Misc - All 'Illusion' type attacks (spells like Project Nightmare and certain Dragon Breath attacks) will now not be stopped by Mirror Images. You would need either natural or spell-like resistance to Illusion.

Date : 05/03/04, Viper

Quests - There is now a minimum Experience needed to attempt the Psionics Quest. The minimum Experience needed is now 10,000. If you do not have that much, then you will not be able to do the Quest. Also, that minimum applies to learning and training any Psionic skills. So, if you are under that Exp right now, you will have to wait until you hit 10k exp before you can train/learn any skills. You will still be able to use any of the skills you already have, though, just not be able to advance them. NPC - A bug was fixed today that only let any NPC only hit 3 times when they use their quintuple or quadruple skill. Now it will allow them to hit the correct (4 or 5) number of times, so beware of any high level NPC, especially the Dragons.
Dragons- Shimmer had a bug where he would usually attack 4-6 times a round - with the regular Melee attacks (biting and claws). Shimmer should only attack 1-5 times per round now, for those Melee attacks.

Date : 04/29/04, Viper

Skills - Three new skills have been put in: Unarmed Dual/Triple/Quadruple. These skills are learned by various Guilds, so check your Guild Trainers. Some Guilds Max out these skills lower than others, too. Also, the Brawler Profession has the Highest possible skill max you can get, and you get all 3 skills when you learn Brawler. Each skill has a help file. Keep in mind that these skills do not apply to Monks.
PSI - There is a new Psionics-only channel called 'psispeak'. Only those who have Psionics can use this channel. You have to turn it on before you can use it, too (use 'channels psispeak on').
PSI - The Feeblemind spell will now drastically limit a Psionically-aware individual to use their Psionic skills. However, casting that spell on a Psionically-aware individual will be harder than when casting the spell on a normal individual.
PSI - A new Psionic Discipline skill has been put in, check the trainer.

Date : 04/27/04, Viper

Spells - The Darkness and Light spell cannot be used in the Killing Fields, except to cast on yourself. Also, the Continual Light spell has been altered and cannot be used except on yourself, regardless if you are in the Killing Fields or not.
Fields - When fighting in the Killing Fields you will no longer gain ANY skill/school/psionic experience. None. This was taken out because a lot of Players abused the ability to get easy exp when fighting another Player in a non-killable environment.

Date : 04/19/04, Viper

All - Before, the Dodging and Evasion skill would only depend on the skill of the NPC or PC who was in fact dodging or evading. So, that entity would Dodge/Evade at the same rate vs a Dragon or a Squirrel. The target's skills had nothing to do with success. Since that obviously makes no sense, the success of a Dodge/Evade now is also impacted by the opponent's 'To Hit' bonuses, their Dexterity, and their skill with whatever weapon they are using.
Knight - The resting healing of Skill/Spell Points has been raised for Knights. Before, the Knights were using the standard regen that all the other fighting Guilds used. Since they have spells, though, they are now right in between the fighting Guilds and the Clerical Guilds in relation to SP regen while resting.

Date : 04/15/04, Viper

Monk - You now have an Epic skill, check Justarius for the name of it.
Northmen - You now have an Epic skill, check Helfstaag to see what it is. Also, your maximum skill level for the Natural Defense skill been raised, and you will see that you get more exp in it now, when fighting.
Knight - Knights have a new Epic skill, see Sir Jaspen for more info.
Thief - You now have an Epic skill. See Artemise to find out more info.

Date : 04/14/04, Viper

Dragon - If you are affected by Dragonfear, any Guild attack command (cleave, feint, etc) will suffer a penalty when fighting a Dragon. This penalty only affects the chance of success, not damage done.
Mages - There are new 'Epic' Schools for the Mage Guilds (Bastion, Sorcere, Illusionist, and Battlemage). They can be learned when the lower School (Evocation, etc) is at Perfect. Do a 'list' at the trainer for that School for more info. The benefits of these Epic Schools are similar to the magical EQ mentioned in 'help magical boost'. The higher the Epic School, the better the benefit mentioned in that help file. Note that this is the ONLY benefit, as these Epic Schools are in no way releated to any other Epic skills such as Epic Faith.

Date : 04/13/04, Viper

Psi - The 'maxes' for each discipline has been raised in general. Those of you who have Psionics have been adjusted, and all of you now have a higher Max skill level in each of the 3 disciplines.
Spells - The Nova Flare spell had a large exploitable bug, and has been fixed. It will also now check against the target's Blindness resistance when factoring in success, and will NOT work on a target that has already been blinded.
Dragon - If you are affected by Dragonfear, the following skills will have a penalty when attempting to use them when fighting a Dragon: Dual, Triple, Quadruple, Dodging, and Evasion

Date : 04/12/04, Arruns

All - Those with the miner profession will have the chance to yield more than just one unit of material per mining. Lumberjacks already have this opportunity when chopping wood.

Date : 04/09/04, Viper

Cult - The Soul Steal spell now uses Alignment in the factoring of casting success. The more 'good' the target is, the better chance the spell will work successfully.
Cult - The Phantasmal Leech's general success rate has been upped.
Spells - The damage that Acid Arrow does has been raised. Also, the spell will NOT go through Mirror Images now.
Spells - Two new spells have been added to Mage-type guilds. Check your trainers and spell lists to see which you now have, if any. (Bastion, Sorcere, and Battlemage only)
City - A Gem Dealer has moved into the city of Kalinport. Check the city map to see where. (Use 'maps kalinport')

Date : 03/30/04, Viper

Cleric - There is a new skill called 'Epic Faith' that can be learned by very experienced Clerics. See 'help epic faith' for more information. More 'epic' stuff for other Guilds is in the works.
Armor - Minotaurs can now wear a Helmet, as long as it is a specific type that is indeed usable by Minotaurs. You will be able to tell by looking at the helmet. There are two types that can be 'forged' (help forge) and there is also a Magic helm that is out there in a dragon's hoard.

Date : 03/29/04, Viper

Potion - Several potions had a minor glitch where sometimes they would not last very long after being quaffed, sometimes lasting only a few seconds. They have been fixed and should last quite a bit longer, on average. The potions adjusted were: fly, weakness, strength, free action, water breating, agility, and detect invisibility

Date : 03/24/04, Viper

Spells - The amount and time of inspiration given by the Prayer spell has been significantly increased.
Arrows - The weight of a bundle of arrows has been reduced by about 33%.
Profs - The Muse profession has been made a Lower profession. Please see 'help muse' for more information. Several Guilds cannot learn this profession now, check 'help professions' to see which ones can learn it. A Muse now gets a bonus to the length of time between 'sp heals' when resting, as well as a bonus to the sp amount that is healed. Previously the bonus only applied to the sp amount healed. The Constitution requirement for learning Muse has been removed.

Date : 03/23/04, Viper & Sassman

All - The regeneration rate has been altered to have a minimum time between 'heals'. Previously there was no minimum and it was possible to get a 'heal' every round in some cases.
All - The wait time between uses of 'succor' has been increased. The time is now approximately double what it used to be.

Date : 03/19/04, Viper

Spells - Previously, the spell damage done when a Player casts a spell at another player was reduced by 50%. Now that reduction is at 25%. Therefore you will see that damage spells will do more damage when cast by a Player, at another Player.
Spells - The 'Dispel Magic' spell has been altered. Any Guild that can cast spells now gets a Bonus to resist the effects of the spell. Mage type Guilds get a higher Bonus than Clerical type Guilds. In the same vein, Guilds that do not have any spell casting ability will now have a slight Penalty. That is, the spell will affect those Guilds easier. This all only affects the target, there has been no change on the entity casting the spell. Ranger - Previously a Ranger would only shoot one arrow during any round when a delay was in affect. For instance, after using 'disarm' a Ranger would only shoot one arrow a round for 2 rounds. This check has been taken out.
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Date : 03/04/04, Apex

All - There are 4 new 'eset' variables that affect various ansi color events. Please see 'help variables' for the descriptions. They are: send_ansi, receive_ansi, separate_ansi, and exclude_ansi.

Date : 02/25/04, Viper

All - The Artificer Profession now gives a bonus when you are rolling cigars (roll-cigar cmd).

Date : 02/18/04, Viper

All - Two items have been added to the Forge command : Steel Arrow (1), and Steel Arrows (a bundle of the arrows).
All - Judge now works for arrows. However it only takes into account the regular damage that an arrow can do, not any damage from an 'extra' source like Energy or Poison, etc. Note that is for comparing one arrow with another one, as by judging them by itself is not a true indication of the effectivesness. The reason fir this is that the damage an arrow does is added to the Bow's weapon class.

Date : 02/17/04, Viper

Mage - Check out 'help magical boost' for information on new Magic EQ that gives out helpful bonuses to spellcasting.
Cleric - The following spells have been upgraded (they now heal more) :Cure LightCure SeriousCure CriticalHealArea Heal This applies to any Player or NPC who cast an above spell. Potions and scrolls have not been modified.
Ranger - Rangers now get a bonus when using the 'skin' command. This bonus applies to the success rate only.
All - You can now bundle up to 100 arrows. The old maximum was 75.
All - A bonus is now given to any quadruple/triple/dual check when the opponent is Stunned. This affects both Players and NPCs. Note that damage is not increased, only the chance of getting the extra hit in.

Date : 02/12/04, Viper

All - The chance of misfiring a spell while under the affects of Dragonfear have been potentially reduced. Your Natural Dragonfear resistance (if any) and any magical Dragonfear resistance is now applied to the success/failure rate, and was not in there before. Also, if you are a Dragon Hunter (or Slayer) then you get a bonus as well. Your DKR may affect it too (see below).
All - There is now a DKR on your 'character' sheet. DKR means Dragon Killer Rating, and is calculated by determining how many dragons you have killed. (Killing means you get the last and final deathblow) This will improve your basic chance at resisting Dragonfear, and will affect spellcasting (see above).
Cleric - You will now be able to cast spells on players who share your Guild's alignment (Church is Good, Trinty is Evil, etc) and also Neutral players. Before you could not always assist Neutral players.

Date : 02/06/04, Viper

Monks - The Chef profession can no longer be learned by the Monk Guild. Those Monks who already have it can keep it if they want, or get rid of it by doing the profession removal.
All - The effects given by the Intensification skill now have a longer duration. This will be in effect for anyone who uses 'intensify'.
All - When you are freed from the Jaarmin Keep jail, you now cannot be re-jailed for at least three minutes. Previously there was no 'free' time at all.
All - The Priests in Minot now correctly display their special attack. It has always been 'blunt' and now will look that way.
All - Demogorgon, Orcus, and Gothmog have been upgraded slightly. The loading chance for the items they carry has been upped as well.
All - The Dragon update/patch has been put in. See 'help dragon_guide' for more information. Also, added 24 new pieces of magical items.
All - The Beholder has been upped a bit as well, going along with the new changes to all dragons.
All - The Drow Artifact quest has changed slightly. Be sure to hear what he says, in accordance to what you have to bring him. Spells - The Hiation and Planar Gate spells now use components. Check the help files of the spell for that information.