Sorcerer Profession Information

[Blud]

I have a sorcerer that is 16 trains and to be honest, I have needed to do this for a long time, but never made it around to it. I have spent so much time playing my character and training him that I haven't had much time to actually sit around and read more about the "mechanics" of the profession.

I need to get as much information on the sorcerer profession as possible. I fully admit that by now, I should know a lot more about my profession than I actually do. Specifically, I need to know more about magic-specific items (heavy quartz orbs, wands, etc), a game mechanics overview that every spell caster should know, or any other information/resources that you wish you had when you first started playing a sorcerer. If you don't want to put it in a long-winded post, just post a website, as I am always looking for web-sites to surf while at work!

I learn new things every night, and yet I know I am way behind the curve when I see another sorcerer do something that I didn't even know was an option.

As an example, I saw a scarab get a rogue last night. Now this rogue had just picked a box for me a couple of minutes before that and told me to run for it when the scarab got loose (he was too young to deactivate it), so I ran to an adjacent room. A few seconds later, he told me through the amulet that it was safe to come back in. I came back in, he gave me my box, and I handed him another box. This one had a scarab too. He got the scarab out of the box, but it bit him while he was attempting to disarm it. As luck would have it, at that exact moment, another sorcerer came in and saw the scarab bite him just as she entered. Immediately, I got on the net and broadcasted that a scarab was loose (to prevent someone else from coming in and getting bit), but this sorcerer cast limb disruption on the rogue and blew his hand off. This obviously kept the rogue from meeting a grim fate.

After it was all said and done, this sorcerer gave me a good piece of advice. I think it went something like, "Next time something like this happens, don't scream like a little girl, just blow their hand off." The she smirked. I whispered OOC to her that I didn't know that was an option and she whispered back OOC that it was and gave me the appropriate command to do so. Then she went back in character and picked at me some more; wanted to know what kind of sorcerer I was anyhow, etc, etc. :). To be honest, I liked talking to her even though she was picking at me, because I knew she was just RP since she would whisp OOC stuff to me to bring me up to speed.

Anyway, this is the kind of thing I'm talking about. Now, I know that there are a lot of you guys out there that have played your sorcerers for many years and know all of the little "tricks of the trade", and this kind of thing may have you thinking I don't deserve to play the profession if I didn't already know this stuff, but this is a new profession to me. I was a warrior for many years before I decided that I wanted to play a profession that I had to actually think about to play effectively.

Anyway, thanks in advance for any help you guys can offer. :thanx:

[Methais]

Here's a list that you can't go wrong with:

1. Reroll dark elf if you're not one already and do the stupid Dhe'nar thing.

2. Worship Sheru or Luukos.

- If you pick Luukos, speak in old cliches, like "I sssserve Luukossss and talk like a sssnake becaussse of it."

- If you pick Sheru, insist that everyone know how much you worship him while asking someone to set you a ring to the misty chamber so you can go kill some sheruvian monks cause you fry really fast off them.

3. Join Voln and fight the good fight against the undead. Especially if you serve Luukos.

4. Always have your tone set to speak DARKLY or MYSTERIOUSLY.

5. Talk on Psinet about how Marilyn Manson is your inspiration.

6. Make all your alters themed with evil things. Evil pink fluffy things. This is to strike extra fear into people, for they know that a sorcerer who's not afraid to wear pink fluffy things can't wait for you to mess with him just so he can kill you.

7. Buy some of those fake fangs and LICK them for the nifty script everytime you do anything, especially after entering a room and/or speaking to someone. Because everyone knows that an evil sorcerer isn't really evil unless they're part vampire, and sometimes part ninja.

8. Tell everyone you're SOOOOO dark and evil and insist that they acknowledge how evil and powerful you are.

9. Threaten anyone who disagrees with you with a slow and painful death by your hand, because you're so evil. This works even better if you ask someone to spell you up immediately after, especially if the person you're asking to spell you up is the one that's disagreeing with you about how evil you may or may not be.

10. When said person kills you after you cast Limb Disruption at them and fail horribly, REPORT to the GMs that they attacked you for no reason and that they need to be banned.

11. Post the log of said incident here, and accuse the other person of throwing their weight around because they're higher level than you, and that you were just RPing and the other guy and the GM that answered the REPORT are dickheads. Then proceed to accuse the GM of favortism and that you're going to get him fired.

12. Cry on the officials about how you're going to reroll a cleric or empath because they're invincible and how you remember the days when you'd cast Dark Catalyst it would hit its target like 80 million times and you were able to rape everything in one shot. The fact that you didn't play a sorcerer until several years after those huge nerfs is irrelevant. Also, be sure to tell everyone how long you've been playing GS for. Take the number of years you've been playing and add 5-10 years to that number.

13. Post another thread here about what an asshole Emeradan is for pulling your QQ posts on the officials.


That should pretty much cover anything and everything you'll ever need to know about sorcerers. If I forgot anything, hopefully someone else will post and add it in.

[Blud]

I forgot to mention that any REAL advice would be appreciated.

[Warriorbird]

Have many shitty alters. Strive for at least 21 words minimum and include phrases like deathy black and runes of destructive destruction.

[Drew]

LOL @ Methais.

[Crazy Bard]

Speak in dark elven while glancing at other's to make it seem as if your talking about them. Never befriend the "winged ones", and make the life of any elves from vaalor miserable. If at first you don't succeed, accuse them of putting down your culture whether you go Faendryl, or Dhe'nari.

[Blud]

So, basically the advice I'm getting is to be a dick.

Great.

[Crazy Bard]

The Life a sorcerer must lead.

[Blud]

The Life a sorcerer must lead.

Ha! :)

[Warriorbird]

Get female Sylvan slaves. It is even better if you multiaccount them badly.

Basically...you need no advice. Sorceror is the most pathetically simple class in Gemstone.

[Methais]

Spelling sorcerer as sorceror is also a requirement to be super evil.

[Blud]

Welp, thanks for the laughs!

[Crazy Bard]

Honestly ..This thread is making me want to trade my sorcerer.

[Celephais]

You certainly picked an appropriate PC Handle as well, good start, I hope you're name in game is equally transparent to your evilness

[Blud]

You certainly picked an appropriate PC Handle as well, good start, I hope you're name in game is equally transparent to your evilness

"Blud" has nothing to do with my IG character's name in any way, shape, or form. My IG name is rather benign actually, not that it matters.

[AestheticDeath]

Just goto the sorcerer topic, goto the bottom, hit show all threads since the beginning, and start reading. You may or may not learn something useful. Or you can find some knowledgeable player in game and get them to adopt you. Heh.

[Blud]

Just goto the sorcerer topic, goto the bottom, hit show all threads since the beginning, and start reading. You may or may not learn something useful. Or you can find some knowledgeable player in game and get them to adopt you. Heh.

Finally some real advice. Thanks AestheticDeath.

[TheWitch]

I don't see much of myself or my character, or any of the sorcerers I associate with in that satire, but that was funny.

FYI, OP, the scarab will pop out of the disrupted limb and run rampant again given the chance. 705, done. Just in case.

I get what you're asking for, even if these jealous bits don't, which isn't a bunch of cliche bullshit, but mechanical "tricks of the trade", like;

Fill a disk with cuirboilli, flip it and implode for a rockin good time. Might even get you up to the CL if you do it in the right place.

720/417/720/417 = certain death for everyone in the room. And all the treasure and gear is gone, too, don't flip your disk prior unless it's full of cuirboilli.

Animate your dead enemy and parade him around town.

I got more, but I ain't tellin.

[Necromancer]

Heh, my advice would be to find one of the 'big name' (hahahahahaha) sorcerers in game and see if you can follow them around for a bit. There are LOTS of little nooks and crannies of sorcery that even most players of a sorcerer don't know, but we're usually pretty tight-lipped about them.

One of the great things about the profession, however, is that it has a sort of cultish aspect to it. There is definitely a core group of sorcerers who are well-known to the profession and will play the role of teacher in game. But the down side is they're all pretty prickly, so it takes some work.

Krolnivar, Rheisia, Evarin, Sereg, Hakwea, Virilneus, Moredin, Ulthripe, Desorceri, Querthose, and Kastrel are good starts.

[Stanley Burrell]

I dunno why sorcerers have to be so evil. If you're researching necromancy and purely a spectator to its unlocked secrets, why does that have do give you a predisposition of ub4r evil?

[Necromancer]

Well, most sorcerers aren't evil per se. But they aren't the most social bunch. They focus on Elanthia's two biggest taboos: necromancy and demonology. Both of which nearly destroyed Elanthia, which doesn't exactly scream 'team player'.

And let's be realistic, what kind of personality type goes for a life studying a spell list that focuses largely on curses, jugular bleeding, pain, and exploding limbs that come back and drag you across the ground? What were you expecting? The neighborhood animal shelter volunteer?

[Blud]

I don't see much of myself or my character, or any of the sorcerers I associate with in that satire, but that was funny.

FYI, OP, the scarab will pop out of the disrupted limb and run rampant again given the chance. 705, done. Just in case.

I get what you're asking for, even if these jealous bits don't, which isn't a bunch of cliche bullshit, but mechanical "tricks of the trade", like;

Fill a disk with cuirboilli, flip it and implode for a rockin good time. Might even get you up to the CL if you do it in the right place.

720/417/720/417 = certain death for everyone in the room. And all the treasure and gear is gone, too, don't flip your disk prior unless it's full of cuirboilli.

Animate your dead enemy and parade him around town.

I got more, but I ain't tellin.

Thanks TheWitch, this is exactly what I was looking for.

I usually do a bad job of writing what I mean to say (look at my other posts), but I was not looking for RP advice, rather I was looking for exactly what you gave me. Thanks a lot.

Anyone else have stuff like this they feel like sharing?

[Blud]

Heh, my advice would be to find one of the 'big name' (hahahahahaha) sorcerers in game and see if you can follow them around for a bit. There are LOTS of little nooks and crannies of sorcery that even most players of a sorcerer don't know, but we're usually pretty tight-lipped about them.

One of the great things about the profession, however, is that it has a sort of cultish aspect to it. There is definitely a core group of sorcerers who are well-known to the profession and will play the role of teacher in game. But the down side is they're all pretty prickly, so it takes some work.

Krolnivar, Rheisia, Evarin, Sereg, Hakwea, Virilneus, Moredin, Ulthripe, Desorceri, Querthose, and Kastrel are good starts.

Thanks Necromancer, good advice.

[Blud]

I dunno why sorcerers have to be so evil. If you're researching necromancy and purely a spectator to its unlocked secrets, why does that have do give you a predisposition of ub4r evil?

My character is very unassuming and only has three, maybe four very close friends. He can usually be found in the background quietly observing; he does not "get involved" usually, but he does have a good time occassionally.

He does not fit the "evil sorcerer" mold at all. He feels that to be a Dark Elf is a responsibility, not a privilege. He has a benign concern for the well-being of the "lesser races".

That's how I play my character, although I am sure there are others who would take a dim view of that RP style for a Dark Elf sorcerer.

[Xandalf]

Heh, my advice would be to find one of the 'big name' (hahahahahaha) sorcerers in game and see if you can follow them around for a bit. There are LOTS of little nooks and crannies of sorcery that even most players of a sorcerer don't know, but we're usually pretty tight-lipped about them.

One of the great things about the profession, however, is that it has a sort of cultish aspect to it. There is definitely a core group of sorcerers who are well-known to the profession and will play the role of teacher in game. But the down side is they're all pretty prickly, so it takes some work.

Krolnivar, Rheisia, Evarin, Sereg, Hakwea, Virilneus, Moredin, Ulthripe, Desorceri, Querthose, and Kastrel are good starts.


...Thanks, jerk.

[Blud]

Just goto the sorcerer topic, goto the bottom, hit show all threads since the beginning, and start reading. You may or may not learn something useful. Or you can find some knowledgeable player in game and get them to adopt you. Heh.

Took your advice and read all of the sorcery posts from the beginning and found some useful information...and got a some valuable insight.

I thought I would post the model I have been following. I got this model from Eredhen i’Larien from this website: http://myweb.cableone.net/darkmoon1974/runeraven/sorcery.htm

I have been following it from level 0 with a little bit of deviation for the first 5 levels or so where I trained in sword and board due to the lack of a good mana pool to start out with. After level 5, I ditched (i.e., recovered) the TP from the OHE and shield use and reallocated those points to more "useful" areas.

Here is a summary of the model in case you don't feel like looking at the above link in detail:

Absolutes for every level of train to build spell base and make effective use of my runestaff:

1x Arcane Symbols
1x Magic Item Use
1x Harness Power
2x Spell Aiming
1x Elemental Mana Control
1x Spiritual Mana Control
2x Spell Research
1x in Sorcerous Lore

Remaining TPs (what few there are) are distributed through the following:

.5X - 1X Physical Training
.3X Climbing
.3X Swimming
.5X - 1X Perception
.5X - 1X Multi-Opponent Combat

My character is 15 trains (about 1.5K from 16) and has the following (approximated) vitals:

55ish Mana
85ish HP

I can post the Stats later if you think it will help you help me. I will update this post with any information you might need. I can't get to my character at work due to the firewalls blocking game websites, so it might take a day or so to get the info updated.

I guess my first question is: This training model seems to be working out OK. I hunt Spectres and Wolfshades pretty regularly, but occassionally hunt in NTF in Vaalor when there are a couple of people to go with. I run out of mana before I'm fried, so I have taken a sorcerer's advice and stock up on wands for now to offset the low mana when I hunt. Without spending a fortune on wands, I usually limit my spell usage to 702 since it only takes 2 Mana to cast the spell, and seems pretty effective. Can this model be improved any? What would you change and why?

Next question: I just joined the guild in Vaalor (haven't even begun training yet) and need to learn more about the crystals I saw discussed in the other threads. How do these crystals work? Is it part of the alchemy training? How long before I need to worry about saving the hundreds of crystals (OK, not hundreds, but a lot!) I keep finding while hunting (I usually sell them)?

Finally: It seems I have noticed that the lower the CvA of a critter, the harder it is to hit them with my spells. Is this normal? Is there a way to get a critter's CvA to change? I ask this last question because I was hunting in an area where one creature I was attacking had a CvA of 10, then another creature of the same type came in and his CvA was -2. I got to wondering if there was something I could do to affect their CvA to make them easier to hit. Some spell maybe?

There may be more questions as these are answered, but we can start with these.

Thanks for the help.

[Necromancer]

Stay far away from Xandalf, she be ignorant in da ways of da sorcery!

Here are some more suggestions:

1. Keep one or two containers with locks added by a rogue on your person. Keep components in them and phase them, when locked, before every hunt.

2. Use 703 on sand devils to prevent them from waving wands.

3. Use a demon in the Rift to pick up doomstones and oblivion quartz for you.

4. Animate Shan Wizards and Rangers for spellups. Animate moulis for an easy 4 hours of strength.

5. Use an aishan to track a hidden thief on the run to completely unnerve them.

6. Curse hollow gems and keep them in your containers.

7. Trick new players into eating your illusioned roses

8. Torment your enemies and walk away.

9. Have your demon carry around weapons for your animate.

10. Eat a wizard every day for breakfast.

[Anebriated]

Look, all you need to know about Sorcerers is that they are completely underpowered and lacking in cool spells. You should just save yourself some time and reroll into a cleric.

[Allereli]

don't start guild training until 70 or 80, start with alchemy if you plan to grandmaster, not that we can grandmaster yet, but eventually we'll get the skills. If you only plan on doing illusions, you can start earlier, but wait til after 20, and do your alchemy requirements first. not sure what the exact numbers are to diversify, but I've been telling people to go 5/5/5 to be safe. You won't have to make anything for potions or trinkets, just do random cleaning and list tasks. For general you won't have to make anything beyond wolifrew.

trust me on the waiting part, you get ripped a new asshole if you rise the ranks too early. You need so much shit per rank that one character can't even hold it. Yes, between the different types of crystals, you need to save hundreds, and you go through them fast.

if after that you still want to start early, after rank 41 is where you really have to start making stuff and the guild system of needing more points per rank with a lower training becomes a serious issue. it's all easy before that, if you commit yourself to it.

[Blud]

don't start guild training until 70 or 80, start with alchemy if you plan to grandmaster, not that we can grandmaster yet, but eventually we'll get the skills. If you only plan on doing illusions, you can start earlier, but wait til after 20, and do your alchemy requirements first. not sure what the exact numbers are to diversify, but I've been telling people to go 5/5/5 to be safe. You won't have to make anything for potions or trinkets, just do random cleaning and list tasks. For general you won't have to make anything beyond wolifrew.

trust me on the waiting part, you get ripped a new asshole if you rise the ranks too early. You need so much shit per rank that one character can't even hold it. Yes, between the different types of crystals, you need to save hundreds, and you go through them fast.

if after that you still want to start early, after rank 41 is where you really have to start making stuff and the guild system of needing more points per rank with a lower training becomes a serious issue. it's all easy before that, if you commit yourself to it.

Someone else told me to wait to start training until Level 20 for the same reasons (used similar verbage).

What is 5/5/5?

What about CoL? I was a member when I was a warrior, but didn't master (left the game before I mastered). Is it still a pretty useful society? Anyone know?

[Allereli]

5/5/5 refers to alchemy advancement in general/potions/trinkets.

I would say that most sorcerers do col so they can wrack, which restores all your mana for 5 spirit. staunching is great, too. healing has saved my life a couple of times. With CoL you have to progress until you master, or you get demoted.

[Blud]

5/5/5 refers to alchemy advancement in general/potions/trinkets.

I would say that most sorcerers do col so they can wrack, which restores all your mana for 5 spirit. staunching is great, too. healing has saved my life a couple of times. With CoL you have to progress until you master, or you get demoted.

I didn't realize there was the benefit of regaining all of my mana at the expense of spirit points...That's an easy decision to make since I need mana all the time. Thanks.

[Eoghain]

...Thanks, jerk.

Hahahaha.

[AestheticDeath]

Stay far away from Xandalf, she be ignorant in da ways of da sorcery!

Here are some more suggestions:

1. Keep one or two containers with locks added by a rogue on your person. Keep components in them and phase them, when locked, before every hunt.

2. Use 703 on sand devils to prevent them from waving wands.

3. Use a demon in the Rift to pick up doomstones and oblivion quartz for you.

4. Animate Shan Wizards and Rangers for spellups. Animate moulis for an easy 4 hours of strength.

5. Use an aishan to track a hidden thief on the run to completely unnerve them.

6. Curse hollow gems and keep them in your containers.

7. Trick new players into eating your illusioned roses

8. Torment your enemies and walk away.

9. Have your demon carry around weapons for your animate.

10. Eat a wizard every day for breakfast.

Not that he can use most of that right now.. but why curse hollow gems?

And on phasing, the container has to lock to be able to phase out? I was having trouble phasing some of my containers, and can only assume the locking thing is what messed me up.

Oh.. and aren't demons killable?

[Katt]

I *think* because hollow gems can't be sold so are worthless for anything else. Put them in containers so that when theives try and steal they grab the cursed hollow gem instead and get a little treat.

[Eoghain]

Hollow gems are only good for getting deeds. Or cursing.

[Blud]

Not that he can use most of that right now.. but why curse hollow gems?

And on phasing, the container has to lock to be able to phase out? I was having trouble phasing some of my containers, and can only assume the locking thing is what messed me up.

Oh.. and aren't demons killable?

You're right, I don't even know what most of that meant, but I think I might be able to shed a little light on the phasing of containers. I could be totally wrong about this, but here's what I understand. Correct as necessary so that I can learn too:

Containers do not have to be locked, but there are weight restrictions. A closed container weighing up to 10 pounds can be phased without failure. Anything heavier than 10 pounds looks at some factor in your training, and allows 1 extra pound beyond the default 10 pounds to be phased for each time this (unknown to me) skill is done.

ex. 15 pound box requires 5X training in whatever this skill is.

10 lbs (default) +5 lbs (extra).

Again, I could be totally wrong on this, but this is what I thought I read somewhere on the GSIV page.

By the way, you obviously can't phase only part of the box, so if you don't have the required training to phase the 15 lb box, you will fail when you try.

I think the fail message is something like, "the ITEM loses substance, but then fades back into existence" or some-such garbage.

[Allereli]

Not that he can use most of that right now.. but why curse hollow gems?

And on phasing, the container has to lock to be able to phase out? I was having trouble phasing some of my containers, and can only assume the locking thing is what messed me up.

Oh.. and aren't demons killable?

Yes the container has to lock. Seek out a rogue lockmaster, they can put the same lock on multiple containers so you can use the same key. Demonology lore ranks determine how many pounds can be phased for anything over 10 lbs, this increases at 2 lbs per 3 ranks and maxes out at 187 ranks for a total of 44 lbs.

I've never seen a demon killed. As far as I know, they are outside the combat system, with the exception of guarding your pockets. I've never seen my demon go after a thief either. I think it should attack everyone who gets caught by the jaws.

[Blud]

Footnote:

I would go to wherever it was I read about this, but the firewalls at work block GSIV's web page. I can try to find it when I get home and update this post if anyone thinks it will be necessary/helpful.

[Blud]

Yes the container has to lock. Seek out a rogue lockmaster, they can put the same lock on multiple containers so you can use the same key. Demonology lore ranks determine how many pounds can be phased for anything over 10 lbs, this increases at 2 lbs per 3 ranks and maxes out at 187 ranks for a total of 44 lbs.

I've never seen a demon killed. As far as I know, they are outside the combat system, with the exception of guarding your pockets. I've never seen my demon go after a thief either. I think it should attack everyone who gets caught by the jaws.

Actually, Allereli is right (about the phasing thing)...It's easy to remember when I see it writing, but that looks pretty much verbatim to what I read.

Thanks Allereli.

[AestheticDeath]

Yeah I knew all about the demon lore affecting the total weight, and was wondering wtf was up when my closed container phased out but still weighed the same. Boxs were working and all that.. just my scroll satchel weighed the same even after a successful message.

Looks like I will be putting locks on some things.

edit: except you cant put locks on something with a show can you? :(

[AestheticDeath]

OK so I have only come across a few hollow gems, and never off a creature. So where do they come from? Or are they made somehow?

[Allereli]

by-product of animating (730)

[Asha]

Worth loads. Hang onto them.

[Blud]

Can you guys elaborate a little bit on the hollow gems?


by-product of animating (730)

The hollow gems are a by-product of animating? Does that mean you need a gem in order to cast 730, and as a result of the animation, the gem becomes "hollow"?

If I curse a hollow gem, can I still use it for deeds and/or sell them for the same value? Do I even want to sell them or use them or deeds?

Thanks.

[Katt]

Can you guys elaborate a little bit on the hollow gems?



The hollow gems are a by-product of animating? Does that mean you need a gem in order to cast 730, and as a result of the animation, the gem becomes "hollow"?

If I curse a hollow gem, can I still use it for deeds and/or sell them for the same value? Do I even want to sell them or use them or deeds?

Thanks.




The animation of a corpse is not a simple procedure. Animation requires intensive preparation by a skilled sorcerer, who has proper knowledge of alchemy, and the appropriate ingredients to make the animation work.

Before beginning the animation process, a corpse must be preserved properly. To do this, the sorcerer must first collect ocean water with a vial (COLLECT WATER WITH VIAL) and then pour it into a mortar. Next, the sorcerer must acquire the blood of a troll (COLLECT BLOOD FROM <troll-type-creature> WITH VIAL), which holds much of the regenerative properties for the animation process, and pour it into the mortar. Finally, the sorcerer must put a moonflower into the mortar. This flower, which is rumored to have magical properties, only blooms at night and can be found in arctic climates with cultivated environments. The sorcerer must grind this mixture up with a pestle until he has a homogenous solution (PUSH MOONFLOWER WITH PESTLE, then PUSH MASH WITH PESTLE).

The sorcerer must set the solution aflame by casting the Dark Catalyst (719) spell at the solution, which creates crystals used to preserve the corpse for the animation process. Sprinkle the crystals over the body (SPREAD CRYSTALS ON <creature|character>). After preservation, the corpse must be magically imbued with the ability to be animated. To do so, the sorcerer must be holding a gem while casting the Animate Dead spell at the corpse.

Animate Dead works off a concept called Maximum Animatable Level (MAL). This means that if a creature is above your Maximum Animatable Level, it is not animatable. The MAL is based on the sorcerer’s level, Sorcerous Lore, Necromancy ranks, and the quality of crystals used. The quality of crystals is based on the Sorcerous Lore, Necromancy ranks of the sorcerer who created it (it is possible to use crystals created by another sorcerer) and the level of the creature from which the components for it were gathered. Training in Mana Control, Elemental and Mana Control, Spiritual also contributes to the success of animation.

When animating creatures, the duration is based on the number of levels the sorcerer’s MAL is above the creature being animated. For example, a level 90 sorcerer animating a level 10 creature will have a very long duration. Another important factor in duration is the level of animation success. This is based on d100 warding roll, Sorcerous Lore, Necromancy ranks, and the Discipline stat. The final duration factor lies in the value of the gem that was used in the alchemic process. Gems with higher value will add to animation duration. Any gem used with a value below 600 silvers will decrease the duration.

The duration for animating a player character (PC) is 10 minutes + 4 seconds for every Sorcerous Lore, Necromancy rank known. Gem value is also a factor in PC duration, but it is less of a factor than when animating creatures.

A dead PC may use the GROUP CLOSE command in order to prevent animation. The UNLINK ANIMATION command will break an existing animation link that has been made between a dead PC and a sorcerer.

Tip: It is not possible to animate non-corporeal creatures (such as banshees) or elemental-type creatures (such as stone sentinels). It is also not possible to animate golems. Additionally, it is not possible to animate a creature or player character (PC) that has been recently animated.


http://www.play.net/gs4/info/spells/animate_dead.asp

[Blud]

Awesome Katt.

Thanks for the info, after reading it twice I'm pretty sure I have the procedure and criteria in mind. So let me ask you this...

If/when I animate a creature (know that I understand it will be a long while before I am able to do this) and I leave the game before the animated creature expires, will he be there when I return later, or does he just expire immediately? In other words, does it work like a disk (roams around for a few minutes looking for its master, then goes away if I don't return within a few miinutes) or like massed spells (duration is real-time total of in-game time)?

Thanks again.

[Katt]

I think it stays like a familiar does. But I am not sure hopefully one of those sorc experts will be able to tell us.

[Blud]

Anyone?

[TheWitch]

The animate will stay. There was a day this was not the case, but that was one fix that was made to the spell, among the many bugs that are left.

On phase.

Base weight is 10lbs.
You can phase an unlocked, open or closed container but only the container itself will beome weightless. The items inside will still weigh what they weigh.

I'm not sure how someone (?) ascertained that the container weighed the same, since when phased you can't "weigh" something. You'll get messaging to the effect "manipulating phased objects is dangerous". Which is misleading, as an item cannot be damaged by phasing it. It either can be phased, or it can't.

Limits on this include the base weight, plus demonology training thresholds, as well as the usual magical resistance: mithril, enruned, glyphed. Other random items can't be phased alone, ie quartz orbs, but once inside a locked container, will become weightless when the container is phased successfully.

You can phase things you're carrying but they will loose their properties.

So, you can't carry a 12lb shield phased and have it do anything for you, or swing a 10lb maul to any effect.

You cannot wear phased items, but you can put them inside other non-phased items that you are wearing.

The weight does not count toward item limits at that point, but the item count does.

SO.

For a newbie sorcerer getting ready to phase stuff, do yourself a favor.
Plan ahead and get three containers, all light weight and holding a large amount, and have locks installed on them AT THE SAME TIME, using the same key. Store them until you need them, if necessary. Plan ahead also, in that you'll need three lightweight containers that go in different inventory slots that hold a very large amount, into which to put these phased containers when you're using them.

Have the rogue install a simple lock, so you can pop them in the event you loose your key, or would just rather pop them. The effect is the same as the superior quality lock, and will cost you much less.

Don't worry about what the containers look like at this point. You probably don't want/need to carry all three and should have an opportunity to get them altered prior to use. If you're like me and don't bother with merchants then worry about what they look like. Because once the locks are on and the key is made, its a royal pain in the ass to change out, and a waste of silvers.

And get used to hauling around 40 lbs of shit no one else hauls around.
It's a lifestyle choice.

[Katt]

Usually when I put locks on things for people I make them an extra key mold or two and tell them to locker it. That way if they lose their key they can hand the mold to any rogue able to make keys to make another. You could ask the rogue who puts the locks on to make a few extra just in case.

Picking a lower lock so you can pop it though is also a very good idea.

[Blud]

Thanks for the information. You guys are awesome.

[AestheticDeath]

Because I phased things inside another container. You cannot phase things that you are wearing that I know of. I would pick up a box put it in my satchel, and phase the box.

I noticed at one point after phasing a container inside another container that I was still encumbered when I shouldn't have been. So I removed the holding container and weighed it, then phased the container in the one I weighed.. and there was no weight change. Even though the container I was trying to phase was like 20 lbs...

[TheWitch]

Well, keeping in mind that "weight" in GS notoriously inaccurate, it would my guess that you phased the container itself only, which may have weighed only 2 or 3 pounds unphased. This little bit of difference would likely have left you encumbered, yes. And could likely have been lost in the inaccurate weight system. I've had stuff off as much as 8 pounds that I recall, in different weighings.

Carabele's lore chart has all the info on demonolgy ranks as they contribute to weight limits, but just for reference at 70 ranks of demonology I can phase 28 lbs. You need 25 ranks to phase 20 lbs. The container of course contributes to the total weight. Assuming you have the required ranks, yes, the locking issue is the problem.

[AestheticDeath]

I already said I know how the lore ranks work. And I know how to weigh things.

I'm not retarded. Just didn't know about the locking requirement.

[TheWitch]

You certainly seem retarded when you feel compeled to snark back when someones not trying to insult you but merely explain a system with which you don't seem particularily familiar. The locking requirement if a fundamental basic of using 704, since you didn't know about that, I wasn't going to make any assumptions about what you did know.

I won't bother next time.