On a whim...

Totems

Message posted on DR boards by Solomon.

Fragments are returned to the sky by holding a totem and a glowing fragment in your hands and using the RAISE verb. This increments your totem's "fragment count" by 1.

The totem reaches its first bonus level at four fragments and becomes "active". After that point, the totem will then become "dirty" after one week of real time. Once it has been activated, the totem is capable of providing multiple types of bonuses that drain charges from it. These charges can only be restored by CLEANing a dirty totem and, as only dirty totems can be cleaned, the totems have an effective recharge rate of 10 charges each week.

By the way, to CLEAN the totems, you're going to need items for your totem that match what you sacrifice to the appropriate altars in the Alternate Favor System.

Here is a list of the abilities and associated costs:
• Level 1 (Unlocked at 4 Frags) - Light
PUSHing the totem allows it to act as a light source. Costs 1 charge.
• Level 2 (Unlocked at 10 Frags) - Bless
This is activated by the WAVE verb and will add 10-30 blessed strikes to a weapon in the hand of the target (either another player or yourself). Costs 2 charges.
• Level 3 (Unlocked at 18 Frags) - Stat/Attribute Boost
This is activated by the POINT verb and will boost at single stat by 6-10 points for the target. The stat chosen will depend on the deity of the totem. Each has 3 possible. Not going to break down which each has at this time. Costs 3 charges.
• Level 4 (Unlocked at 28 Frags) - Skill Boost
This is activated by the SHAKE verb and will apply skill boosters to the totem-wielder. The stat boost is slanted based on the chosen deity's "flavor" being dark, light, or neutral; a bit toward the offensive for dark, defensive for light, and more balanced for neutral. Costs 5 charges.
• Level 5 (Unlocked at 40 Frags) - Favor
This is activated by the KISS verb and will bestow a favor upon the wielder. The ability will bring the favor count up to 15, but no higher. If the PC's count drops below 15, it will work again. Costs 10 charges.
• Jackpot (Capped Totem) - RPA
This is activated by the RAISE verb and has a 20% chance to bestow a Level 1 RPA on the wielder. Takes all remaining charges.

So, as I said, once your totem is capped, you do not need to worry about more fragments. Any additional fragments you DO find have a chance to provide the jackpot bonus, but the basic functionality of the totems themselves is permanent and you cannot "break them" or "run them out", again, as I said.

There will be fragments in the treasure system to allow for the occasional jackpot or to allow those who need more to cap out their totems to cap them out. There's no deadline on capping them out.

So, aside from a very small number of typo issues, the totems were not "buggy", they were not working improperly, and they were working 100% as intended. Wythor and Lohkrian did an absolutely amazing job on them.

As we said, they're fairly complicated, but it was felt that they needed to be more than simple props, given their benefits.

If you have a billion fragments squirreled away, you might as well help someone cap out their totem, since most of them will die in a week or so. Any newly generated fragments currently have a lifespan of 1 week, but after the festival that will drop dramatically, so your best bet after the festival will be to use them, give them to someone, or sell them quickly. I'm going to ask Armifer to drop the lifespan on newly generated fragments significantly over the weekend (down to maybe an hour or so) and we'll re-add ways for people who need them to get them in order cap out their totems more quickly, but again, if you're holding a bunch of them, they're not going to do you any good, so help out your friends.

For those of you who are wanting to exchange your totem because you messed up and got the wrong one and are holding fragments now, this shouldn't affect those fragments you already have.

Also, something that many people declined to investigate or participate in:

Fragments could be (can still be) given to certain NPCs and exchanged for "tricks" or "treats", which can be stored in special bags and can summarily be given to your friends or used yourself with various effects.

Posted by Rajara | 11.19.08

Our totems

Rajara's and Soosha's.

a detailed willow shariza totem
Spaced evenly about the face of the shariza totem are clusters of pearlescent opals. Encrusted about the edge of the shariza totem are flecked bloodstone cubes. The pair of crescent moons decorating the surface of the shariza totem are covered by a cascading pattern of blue diamond shards. The symbol on the disc is suffused with a flickering orange light.

a rough-hewn ebony black crow totem
The black crow's beak is fashioned from clear faceted crystal and heavily detailed with intricate scrollwork. Fine-edged obsidian plumage rustles occasionally from its wings. The eyes are a pair of faceted forest-green emeralds, shining brightly with hidden wisdom. One of the black crow's wings is extended fully, reaching out at something unseen or perhaps unknowable.

Posted by Rajara | 11.19.08