NOVEMBER 7, 2001

Project M Implemented:

Tonight we have patched something to the PvP servers that many players have been waiting for. The ability to play that gnoll, orc, or the cute and fuzzy rat. On your character select screen you will notice another button in the upper right part of your screen called "Monster". Clicking this button will randomly place you in a low-level NPC in a random zone. You will be given full control of the creature to do with it what you like. You may hunt and kill other creatures. You may even attack other players.

Some things to remember when playing your own personal monster (NPC).

• You will not be able to interact with players or NPC's other than moving and hitting attack.
• You cannot speak, trade, sell, or do anything else that a player can do.
• You will spawn with normal loot for the monster you are playing and Player Characters will be able to kill you for loot and experience.
• If you are a spell casting monster you might want to take a moment to memorize some spells.
• Once you die, you will return to the character select screen where you may choose to return as another NPC or play your normal character.
• You may gain experience, levels, and skills as this NPC, but once you die, it is all lost. You will need to start over the next time you choose to be a NPC character.
• You can't zone as a monster. If you try to cross a zone-boarder you will lose your progress and return to the character-select screen.
• Monster PCs (MPCs) can not loot, sell, or gain items. They only get what they start out with.

This ability to play a monster is being implemented for PvP servers only as we have no plans to implement non-consensual PvP on a non PvP server.

However, we are still working with this system. We may find other ways to implement Project M on the non-PvP servers that are acceptable. We aren't done looking at the possible uses of this new feature.

PvP Server Related:

• Guards, when seeing PCs in combat, will now attack the one that they like the least (the one with the lowest appropriate faction). If all the PCs involved are highly regarded (have very high faction) the guards will allow them to resolve their own issues without interfering.
• Guards should also refrain from attacking PCs that are attacked by pets of any sort.
• Sullon Zek now has an across the board experience bonus of 20%, and the experience loss on all deaths on Sullon Zek is now 50% less.

Zone Specific Changes:

• Kael now has specific bind locations, located only at the entryways. This means that binding will only be possible in those areas.
• Trivial Loot code has been removed from the Stonebrunt Mountains and the Warrens.
• Added a melee bind location to the dock in Iceclad.

Bug Fixes:

• Fixed a bug that allowed corpses to get stuck inside walls while creating a phantom corpse at the zone line (on your client only) with which you could not interact. Now if a corpse ends up in a location that is not 'valid' the corpse will be moved to the 'default coordinates' of the zone. Also, the /corpse command will now summon your own corpse to you anywhere in the zone as long as that corpse is on the default coordinates. As a rule of thumb, if you died near a wall and cannot find your corpse where you died, try /corpse before petitioning.
• Fixed it so that Critical Hit damage messages match the actual damage done.
• The visible damage bonus modifier on two-handed weapons has been corrected. The value that was displayed was incorrect, no change has been made to the damage bonus itself.
• Fixed a language-learning bug on the Firiona Vie Server. Players will now be train each other up in languages once they train the first point with their guildmaster.

Item Changes:

• Fixed an issue with the Bardic Epic weapon. Now if the bard has his Epic and an instrument that gives bonuses to songs, the best effect will take precedence, rather than the Epic bonuses always being used.
• Cloak of Imperception should now have charges. You will need to exchange your old one for a new one with your GM within the next five days.
• Donal's Chestplate of Mourning has unlimited charges again. You will likewise need to exchange yours should you get an 'out of charges' message when attempting to use it.

Gameplay / Interface Changes / Additions:

• We have changed the way the /consider command works and expanded the level range at which players are able to gain experience. We have added a 'light blue' area between green and blue. NPCs that used to /consider green but gave experience will now /consider light blue, as well as NPCs of slightly lower level than those greens. You will always get experience for something that is light blue. You will not receive experience for greens. At the same time, by including lower level NPCs in the light blue /consider, we have increased the range of lower level NPCs that will grant experience. This will be most noticeable for characters of higher level.
• Added /targetgroupbuff. Type /targetgroupbuff on to activate, off to turn it off. When on, all group buff spells you cast will require a target but will affect everyone grouped (and in range) with that target, even if it is not your own group. When it is off your group buff spells will act normally. This will only work with group buffs that have a duration, and will not affect heals, portals or change form spells.
• Added code that will put one item onto your cursor if it won't fit into your inventory due to a cancelled trade or looting items (and other cases). This will only work if there is not already an item on the cursor.
• Added code that prevents player characters from dropping coins on the ground. This should prevent the loss of coins due to accident or scam.
• Made a modification to the chase camera mouselook code. Moving the mouse forward or back in this camera view will make the camera move up and down, and the camera also automatically pitches to keep your character in view.
• You now see the number of hit points you are healed, and you also now see how many hit points you heal when healing others.

Skill Changes:

• Bard Piercing cap was raised to 250 at 60th level.
• Foraging and Fishing will now result in a wider variety of items, especially in zones that have unusual items available to forage or fish (such as quest items). Quest and unique items were too common in zones that had them, often making it hard to use those skills to obtain items such as food and drink. These quest and rare items will now actually be rarely foraged or fished, as they should have been. Such items will still be available, even to those with low foraging skills, but they will be more easily found by those who have practiced the skills.

Norrathian News:

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