Recently, a game collector looking for something different than the usual
checkers and chess stumbled across an ancient board game -- one whose name he
didn't recognize, whose instructions were unfamiliar, and whose pieces
resembled twisted versions of the people he knew. Curious, he tried to play.
If you've ever seen a horror movie, or possibly Jumanji, you know how that
ends.
PHYLACTERY
The 32nd anniversary event has you chasing the pieces of the board game
Phylactery, which have spread all over BatMUD. Track them down, bring them to
Xoff in Xoff's Gaming Den, and...deal with the consequences.
Xoff's Gaming Den is in the side of a mountain in SE Furnachia.
HOW IT WORKS
The Phylactery board game's pieces are mostly cards, which don't hold a ton of
power, but might contain useful information about the game and its contents.
However, the game's playable character figurines are attached to powerful
adventurers from another world. These pieces contain great power -- enough to
bring the adventurer the figurine represents to this world.
Giving a smaller game piece, such as a card, to Xoff will net you a reward.
Bringing a figurine in, however, will bring that figurine's character into the
outworld in a controlled way, where they can be challenged and defeated.
Beware -- these characters play by different rules than you do, and they have
access to items, weapons, spells and allies that you don't. Worse, they're
randomized, so each time you face them could be different than the last.
Game pieces have been picked up by monsters all over the game. Anything from a
Newbie Mines Orc to an Aurak Draconian might have one. So for most of the
event, just keep doing what you're doing, and you should find some game
pieces. Or, you could go out of your way to murder large groups of monsters,
searching out these pieces.
THE OTHER CHARACTERS
Phylactery has twelve playable characters, and each boot, each can be summoned
once. Assuming you find their figurine, of course. When Xoff puts the figurine
on the map, make a note of its location, tell everyone, and head there. As
usual, kills are shared between players/parties who put in the effort needed
to kill them, so consider coordinating attacks to deny the characters the rest
breaks you take yourself.
These other characters will bring their own eq, which can affect how they
fight. These eq do not work by BatMUD's rules and will not survive their
death. Each also has their own abilities and powers, so each fight should feel
different from the others at least a little, other than the fact that they all
hit REALLY hard.
PHYLACTYER BONUS
The more you know about the rules of Phylactery, the easier the fights will
be. Turning in a card or figurine will give you a Phylactery Bonus. The higher
your Phylactery Bonus, the more damage you will do to monsters and characters
from the game, and the less damage you'll take from them. Also, it's possible
to find Phylactery rules manuals that, when read out loud, will give
Phylactery Bonus to everyone in the room. Group up and read them for maximum
effect.
High-level characters won't get as much benefit from Phylactery Bonus, but
also won't need it. They already have high stats and good defenses.
Lower-level characters will get a much higher benefit, and while it won't let
them be as effective as the strongest UHB players, doing double damage while
taking half damage should let them be effective enough to put in the effort
and earn some kills. Newbie helpers are encouraged to point lower-level
characters to areas where they can get more cards, so they can get a higher
Phylactery bonus, and help with the event fights without being immediately
stomped flat.
Phylactery Bonus lasts the entire boot. It is capped, turning in five cards
should do it.
PRIZES
Prizes are purchased with Phylactery Points, which only come from defeating
the game's characters. You get 100 points from each of the first two victories
in each reboot, and 25 for any others.
Prizes scale with the wearer's level. Their stats and other bonuses go from
insig to greatly, depending on the mortal that wears them. As per usual, they
can only be worn by the player that purchases them, they're indestructible for
a year, then their stats decline and they basically become decorations.
The first prize you buy costs 300 Phylactery Points. The next 600, then 900,
and so on. If you kill only 2 bosses each day on both weekends, you'll have
800 points -- enough to buy one and within striking range of a second. If you
somehow play all day every day and kill all 12 bosses for two full weeks,
you'll have just enough points for six prizes. I...don't think that's
realistic, but if you're active, you should be able to get three or maybe
four. Plan ahead, and maybe don't spend ALL your points until you know how
many prizes you'll end with.
You can see the effects of the prizes in the shop before buying them.
Extra consumables to burn excess points will be made available later. Those
prices will not increase.
TIMELINE
Sunday April 24 will be the event's test-run. I'll be looking for bugs, such
as unkillable enemies or game pieces that refuse to drop. Once it's up and
running, the plan is to have it run two full weeks, ending Sunday May 8.
I'll be making tunes on the fly for balance and fixing any bugs that pop up.
Shinarae "Always Pick Prophetess" Lluminus