Publish 16 – Siege Ruleset Shards

UO Team 23 Jul 2002 00:00:00 EST

The following is a compilation of all aspects of Publish 16 which affect the Siege Perilous and Mugen shards (both of which use the “Siege ruleset”).

[Note: The sections below in red indicate updates made after the original posting of this document.]

The following is a compilation of all aspects of Publish 16 which affect the Siege Perilous and Mugen shards (both of which use the “Siege ruleset”).

PvP and Felucca enhancements on the Siege Ruleset shards

• Changes to Combat and PvP
  • Unarmed “to-be-hit” changes (chance to get hit while unarmed is now the better of either Wrestling skill, or an average of Anatomy & Evaluate Intelligence).
  • Players will no longer be able to “run away” from arrows/bolts.
  • The dexterity stat will no longer affect at what point in the swing animation a hit or miss occurs.
  • Mace weapons will now do less damage to armor than before (but still more than other weapon types).
  • Staff weapons will do the extra stamina damage that “true” maces do (they still do not get the extra armor damage that “true” maces get).
  • The damage done by the earthquake spell has been increased.
  • The 8th circle summoning spells will now have a normal spellcasting delay.
  • Purple potions deal extra damage based upon the thrower’s alchemy skill.
  • Ethereal mounts will now have a 3-second “summoning” delay.
  • Bolas will now deal damage when successfully dismounting their target.
  • Bolas will no longer require the tactics skill to use.
  • NPC archers will no longer be able to shoot from outside the normal range.
  • Player “bones” will now follow the same rules as player corpses for being looted.
  • Players will no longer be able to cut up the bodies of players’ characters.
  • Red characters will not be able to gain Virtue, or use any Virtue abilities.
  • A character that joins a faction no longer receives a reprieve on his murder counts.
• Changes to the Dungeons and Lost Lands areas of Felucca (This only applies to the Dungeon and Lost Lands servers on the actual Felucca facet on Siege Perilous and Mugen — even though Trammel on Mugen, and Ilshenar on both shards operate under the Felucca ruleset, this will not apply to those facets.)
  • Many Dungeon/LL areas of Felucca will contain “champion spawn regions” (a.k.a. “Evil-in-a-Can”).
  • The various champions of evil and “The Harrower” itself (a new champion monster, not to be confused with the mere “tentacles of the Harrower”) that spawn in Dungeon/LL areas of Felucca will carry special Scrolls of Power (detailed further below).
  • The Minax faction stronghold will be relocated from the lost lands to another location in Felucca (the mountains west of Trinsic).
  • The city of Delucia will no longer be a “faction city.” However, the city of Vesper will become a faction city.
  • Some new items that are available exclusively through adventures in the Felucca dungeons and lost lands will be “cursed” (the opposite of “blessed”), meaning that they will be assured of staying on a player’s corpse upon death and be lootable.
  • Note that characters that die in Felucca’s dungeons or Lost Lands areas on Siege Perilous or Mugen will not have to wait 30 minutes before they are able to return, as will occur on non-Siege shards.
  • Note that ghosts will continue to be able to enter the dungeons and Lost lands areas of Felucca on Siege Perilous and Mugen (which is not the case on non-Siege shards).
  • Note that there will not be any special limitations on what can is stealable or lootable while in the Feluccan dungeons or Lost Lands areas (as there will be on non-Siege shards). 
• Changes to “Criminal” and “Thief” status
  • Innocents (blues) will no longer be able to negatively affect other innocents through the following area effects indirectly: purple potions, mass curse, meteor swarm, chain lightning, earthquake, fire field, poison field, paralyze field, blade spirits, or energy vortex. This applies to all facets of Siege Perilous and Mugen.
  • Stealing will no longer be considered an aggressive act, although it will continue to be a criminal act (players will not be able to report a thief for murder if they attack the thief but lose the fight). This applies to all facets of Siege Perilous and Mugen.
• Increased reward in all of Felucca: (This only applies to the actual Felucca facet on Siege Perilous and Mugen – even though Trammel on Mugen, and Ilshenar on both shards operate under the Felucca ruleset, this will not apply to those facets.)
  • Felucca will have much of its spawn modified to include fewer monsters overall, yet a much higher percentage of medium to high-end monsters (liches, daemons, ancient wyrms, blood elementals, etc.), and far fewer low-end monsters (slimes, rats, snakes, headless’, etc.).
  • Monsters in Felucca will provide more Fame and Karma.
  • Note that mines, trees and sheep will not produce double the normal resources in the Felucca of Siege shards, nor will all creatures that produce leather or feathers produce doubled resources, as will occur on non-Siege shards.
• Champion Spawn Changes: Many changes have been made to the Champion spawn (“Evil-in-a-Can”) system. These changes are summarized as follows:
  • Champion status shrines to display progress in defeating champion spawns
  • Addition of an undead creature group to defeat
  • New, dynamic, Felucca spawn locations in dungeon and Lost Lands servers
  • Ability to summon the “The Harrower” (super-champion monster)
  • New paperdoll titles
  • “Champions of Evil” boss monsters will carry Scrolls of Power (see Scrolls of Power below)
• Scrolls of Power: Scrolls of Power will allow veteran players to continue the development and/or specialization of their characters.
  • Skill Scrolls: : A new type of scroll will be added that allows players to raise the limits of their possible maximum skill values beyond 100.0 (up to 120.0).
    • The player’s skill will not actually be raised upon using the scroll, but the cap on that skill will be raised to the appropriate level, depending on which scroll was used.
    • These scrolls will only be found on “Champions of Evil” that spawn in the Dungeons and Lost Lands areas on the Felucca facet.
    • For each eligible skill, there are 4 different types of scrolls:
      • +5.0 (raises the appropriate skill’s limit to 105.0)
      • +10.0 (raises the appropriate skill’s limit to 110.0)
      • +15.0 (raises the appropriate skill’s limit to 115.0)
      • +20.0 (raises the appropriate skill’s limit to 120.0)
    • The skill scrolls are not cumulative (you must use one +20.0 skill scroll to reach a maximum value of 120.0 skill; that character cannot use four separate +5.0 skill scrolls to achieve the same result).
    • Once a scroll of a given type and value has been used, scrolls of lesser or equal type and value can no longer be used (ie: if you use a +10.0 Magery skill scroll to raise your Magery skill limit to 110.0, that character can no longer use any +5.0 or +10.0 Magery skill scrolls).
    • The more powerful scrolls will spawn less frequently than less powerful scrolls.
    • Once a player uses the skill scroll and raises their skill limit, they will then be able to gain in that skill (through normal means) until they reach their new skill limit.
    • The skill cap will remain at 700, and all skill points gained above 100.0 continue to count against the player’s skill cap (if the player is a “7x GM” and wants to raise 5 skills to 120.0, they would have to lower 1 of their GM skills and eventually become a 5x 120, 1x 100 character).
    • Skill scrolls are “cursed” items (explained further below), but are consumed upon use.
    • Players may trade and/or sell skill scrolls to other players (it is not required for the player that found them to use them).
    • Only the following skill scrolls will spawn as of Publish 16:
      • Swordsmanship
      • Fencing
      • Mace Fighting
      • Archery
      • Wrestling
      • Parrying
      • Tactics
      • Anatomy
      • Healing
      • Magery
      • Meditation
      • Evaluate Intelligence
      • Magic Resistance
      • Animal Taming
      • Animal Lore
      • Veterinary
      • Musicianship
      • Provocation
      • Enticement
      • Peacemaking
    • The interface for skill scrolls will function as follows:
      • Player “uses” the skill scroll (double-click).
      • The appropriate skill now has a “cap” of 100.0 + the value according to the type of scroll (i.e.: 105.0 for a +5.0 skill scroll).
      • The player may view their maximum skill cap value, as well as their current skill value, in the skills window. For example, a player might see:Magery 92.1/115.0 
  • Stat Scrolls: A new type of scroll will be added that allows players to raise the limits of their possible maximum stat values beyond 225 (up to 250).
    • Stat scrolls can only be found on “The Harrower” (a new “arch champion” that will also be found in the dungeon and Lost Land areas of Felucca, and will be described in more detail in the near future… not to be confused with the mere “Tentacles of the Harrower”).
    • When used, stat scrolls increase the character’s actual stat cap, thereby allowing players to gain stats beyond the normal 225-point limit.
    • Stat scrolls can be found in 5 varieties: +5, +10, +15, +20, and +25.
    • The stat scrolls are not cumulative (you must use one +25 stat scroll to reach a stat cap of 250; you cannot use five separate +5 stat scrolls to achieve the same result).
    • As of Publish 16, the new limit on any one stat will be raised from 100 to 125. This is independent of the stat scroll additions, and will be applied to all players, regardless of whether they have obtained Scrolls of Power.
    • Once a scroll of a given type and value has been used, scrolls of lesser or equal type and value can no longer be used (ie: if you use a +10 stat scroll to raise your stat cap to 235, that character can no longer use any +5 or +10 stat scrolls).
    • The more powerful scrolls will spawn less frequently than less powerful scrolls.
    • Once a player uses a stat scroll and raises their stat cap, they will be able to gain in any stat (through normal means) until they reach their new stat limit.
    • Stat scrolls are “cursed” items, but are consumed upon use.
    • Players may trade and/or sell stat scrolls to other players (it is not required for the player that found them to use them).
    • The interface for stat scrolls will function as follows:
      • Character “uses” the stat scroll (double-click).
      • The character now has a stat cap equal to 225 + the value according to the type of scroll (i.e.: 240 for a +15 stat scroll).
    • The player may view their stat maximum status window (this will be patched as a publish 16 client change). For example, a player might see: Stat Maximum 230

The Virtue of Justice: This system will be introduced into the Siege system in the same manner as non-Siege shards.

Bard Changes: This system will be introduced into the Siege system in the same manner as non-Siege shards, eliminating any differences between the way barding works on Siege shards and non-Siege shards.

Taming Changes: This system will be introduced into the Siege system in the same manner as non-Siege shards.

House Ownership & Decay Changes: This system will be introduced into the Siege system in the same manner as non-Siege shards.

Resource and Crafting Changes

• Players on shards with Siege Perilous or IGR rulesets will now be able to receive bulk order deeds.
• Armor crafted with colored ore now yields better armor ratings the more rare the ore type.
• Players will now be able to collect the following new stackable resource types.
  • Spined, Horned, and Barbed leather
  • Bones
• Blacksmithing Bulk Order Deeds: This system will be introduced into the Siege system in the same manner as non-Siege shards, but with the following changes coming as of Publish 16:
  • The reward value for items with an exceptional requirement has been increased.
  • Large bulk orders will now be received for sets of weapons.
  • Grandmaster smiths will now have a greater chance of getting bulk order deeds with color requirements.
  • Several new rewards have been added to the Blacksmith’s bulk order deed system.
    • Prospector’s Tool.
    • Powder of Temperament.
    • Blacksmith Scrolls of Power
    • Gargoyle’s Pickaxe.
  • A new entry will be added to NPC blacksmith context menus, which will display the time remaining before another Blacksmithing Bulk Order Deed may be collected.
    • When a Siege player selects this context menu options after the timer has run out, she will receive a Bulk Order Deed.
• Tailoring Bulk Order Deeds: This system will be introduced into the Siege system in the same manner as non-Siege shards, but with the following changes coming as of Publish 16:
  • Players with an appropriate amount of tailoring skill will now be able to craft bone armor.
  • Tailor NPCs will now issue bulk order quests to players.
  • Several new items have been introduced to Britannia as rewards for completing tailoring bulk order deeds.
    • Special cloth (20 new hues).
    • Brown Bear Rug.
    • Polar Bear Rug.
    • Flower Tapestry.
    • Small Stretched Hide.
    • Medium Stretched Hide.
    • Specially Hued Sandals.
    • Tailoring Scrolls of Power.
  • A new entry will be added to NPC tailor context menus, which will display the time remaining before another Tailoring Bulk Order Deed may be collected.
    • When a Siege player selects this context menu options after the timer has run out, she will receive a Bulk Order Deed.

Guaranteed Gain System: This system will not be introduced into the Siege ruleset.

Miscellaneous Changes and Bug Fixes

• NPC shopkeepers will no longer sell gatherable resources (ingots, boards, leather, wool, and feathers).
• All NPC shopkeeper prices are triple the prices of those found on non-Siege shards.
• Furniture dye tubs will now be usable by appropriate players when locked down or when in that player’s backpack.
• Sandstone houses will no longer have a “hole” in one of the wall segments.
• Items should no longer “fall” through the steps of a log cabin.
• All items that can be used for crafting will list their number of remaining charges.
• A bug that could result in players being alive on one subserver and dead on another has been fixed.
• Players will now receive a message when the archprotection spell fails to take effect on a target in range.
• Stablemasters will no longer spam the names of their inventory when the stablemaster is created.
• Bolas will now properly dismount players on Unicorns, Ki-rins, and Ethereal Mounts.
• Players will no longer be able to use items that are stored on stabled pack animals.
• Some misleading messages in the new-player tutorial area have been fixed.
• A bug that allowed players to enter houses they were banned from has been fixed.
• Players accepting a guild war invitation will now receive the correct message.
• Gypsies in Ilshenar will no longer report incorrect inventory descriptions.
• Players will no longer be able to steal from Guards.
• A bug that could prevent locked-down forges from working correctly has been fixed.
• Thread will now work correctly when used on a loom.
• Players will no longer be able to use items of teleportation to gain unauthorized access to faction strongholds.
• Forges will now play the appropriate sound under all conditions.
• Some vague Bulk Order Deed text has been clarified.
• Players will no longer be able to use health potions unless they are damaged.
• Items that are un-equipped while the wearer is already at their item limit (125 items) will drop to the ground.
• Various erroneous system messages have been fixed.
• Players killed by guards will have their hit points set to zero under all circumstances.
• Players will no longer be able to gain the snooping skill by using the skill on barkeeps.
• Treasure chests will no longer appear below ground level or upon invalid terrain.
• Players with over 100.0 mining skill will be able to use mining specialization books.
• Various “rares” that were improperly renamed to seem like normal items will regain their proper “rare” names.
• House add-ons do not decay by their nature, and can no longer be locked down. Any such locked down add-ons will be automatically released.