Materia Magica Latest News

The Followers of Uath Announce Price Cuts and New Wares

Umlaut — Sun, 21 Jun 2009 21:39:22 CST

In an effort to provide affordable gaming to the masses and spread the influence of Uath, the God of Luck, the followers of Uath have lowered the price of their Fnargh game and have also added a new Solitaire set to their list of wares. These games can be purchased at your local REWARD UNIT shop.

For those who have already purchased Fnargh for the previous price, the followers of Uath are providing a Solitaire set free of charge.

In addition to the price decreases, the followers of Uath have institued the office of the High Score Priest of Uath. The High Score Priest is responsible for maintaining the high scores for these games on behalf of Uath. The High Score Priest performs this function from the brand new Temple of Uath in Sigil and is ready and eager to share the contents of these lists with any interested party.

Separate high score boards are maintained for different time intervals. Currently for the games mentioned above, there are separate boards displaying the high scores achieved throughout all time, within the past year, and within the past month (Alyrian time).

Apparently, Uath has also begun to reward players who perform well in these games, awarding practices for achieving high ranks among the high scores. Uath currently favors the yearly and monthly high score boards.

For more information about Solitaire, see HELP SOLITAIRE and HELP RAKSHASA SOLITAIRE. For more information about Fnargh, see HELP FNARGH.

Spell and Proficiency Help Entries Updated and Enhanced

Vassago — Sat, 13 Jun 2009 15:13:59 CST

Attention Alyrian scholars!

In an effort to provide players with more direct access to important information regarding the myriad spells and proficiencies in use on Alyria, their respective help entries have been amended to contain an abundance of additional information.

Each skill now provides a list of its competent classes, if any, and the comprehension required to practice it.

Both proficiencies and spells now make note of any circumstance in which they may not be used, or situations in which their nature renders them especially relevant. These include previously unpublished declarations of the formation positions from which a skill may not be used, alignment penalties that may be incurred through repeated use and the precise nature of any draining affect incurred when maintained.

We hope that this expanded information will be of benefit to you, novice or old hand.

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Phronesis — Fri, 22 May 2009 00:11:53 CST

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Professor Silax's Missing Hares

Vassago — Sun, 12 Apr 2009 00:32:12 CST

Professor Silax is a fairly obscure magical scientist from the Towne of Sigil. Funded by a grant from the Council of the Arcane, he has been researching the great jumping ability of the hare and potential applications for use in designing magical apparatus to enhance humans' jumping ability, perhaps producing a real pair of Seven League Boots. Fraudulent versions of the boots exist in the world, but none can actually send the wearer seven leagues in a given direction. Rumors have been circulating that the Professor had produced a prototype pair that could send the wearer four leagues, but not the full seven leagues as required by the specification.

Due to this end the Professor has been experimenting on hares, giving some of them unusual powers as a result. Thieves and vandals from an organization calling themselves "The Alliance for Animal Rights" recently broke into Silax Labs in Sigil and stole several rare hare specimens and released them into the wild.

Unfortunately, hares are renowned for their fecundity - and especially these hares, who had been magically enhanced - and in no time at all had reproduced and reproduced and are now spreading to many of the major Townes, causing no end of trouble to the residents, who are partially to blame for the spread of the hares off the continent of Auryn. Many people thought them cute, and would take them home, only to discover that in a few weeks they had several dozen hares when they only wanted the original two.

Professor Silax has come up with a magical trap for the hares, which he has been giving out to anyone who offers to help him. The trap - operating under an alchemical spell - will attract the hares and transform them into small baubles of varying power, which may then be given to Professor Silax's assistants Snide, Bide, Wide, and Pride, who are located in the townes with the hares. The trap must be outfitted with a special lure to work, however, and the list of lures that will attract the hares is somewhat limited. Professor Silax will sell you lure. You can see the various lures by typing SHOP LIST. Buy the one most appropriate for your level. Place the lure in the trap and then set the trap on the ground. There can only be one baited trap placed per location.

A special lure, silver clover, is offered to help brave adventurers capture the illustrious silver hare, a magically mutated version of the previous hares. This hare will turn into a pair of two, three, four, or five-league boots when he is captured. If you should happen to stumble across a pair of these two, three, four, or five-League boots, take advantage of them while you can! They will last about a week maximum before the magical field sustaining them wears out.

Professor Silax had a second experiment underway with some of these unique hares that allows them to produce, of all things, brightly- colored eggs. The purpose of this experiment has yet to be understood by anyone outside the magio-scientific community, but the Professor has made it clear that he will reward adventurers who, should they run across one of these special eggs, return them to him or one of his assistants.

Unfortunately the eggs are extremely frail and reactive to their environment. A slight trip or lapse of concentration while carrying one of these eggs will almost instantly cause the egg to shatter. The special hares that produce these eggs have mixed in with the others, so it's anyone's guess as to where the eggs will appear, but you can bet there will be hares nearby!

The hares have been cleared from Sigil using the traps, but the Townes of Xaventry (where you will find hares for levels 11-60), New Rigel (where you will find hares for levels 61-120), Rune (where you will find hares for levels 121-180), and Vospire (where you will find hares for levels 181-241) yet remain hare-ified.

If you'd like to help Professor Silax, try finding him in Sigil and saying to him, "I will help recover the missing hares". If you'd like Professor Silax to exchange your trap (if, for instance, due to multiclassing your current trap is no longer appropriate), try finding him in Sigil and saying to him "Exchange my trap". It is expected that it will take until Monday, 4/13/2009, 10am CST to recover all of the hares.

At the request of the Lords and Ladies of the land all traps have been upgraded to reduce clean up time. If a trap that sits with a bauble in it for an extended length of time, it will be moved to a designated lost and found location depending on the town. Xaventry's "lost and found" is Towne Bulletin Boards, New Rigel's "lost and found" is New Rigel's Visitor Information Center, Rune's "lost and found" is the Towne Dump, and finally Vospire's "lost and found" is Abdalla's Pawn Shop.

The hare recovery will begin at 10am CST on Sunday, April 12th.

To discuss this global quest, please see this thread.

Bracketed PK Tournament April 4th!

Vassago — Fri, 27 Mar 2009 23:22:37 CST

Attention all Alyrians!

It's time to grab your weapons, and dust off your equipment! There will be a bracketed PK tournament on Saturday April 4th, at 5:30 p.m. system time. This tournament is going to be held in the name a great player and fallen friend, Spizy. So come out, have fun, bash some heads, and try to survive to the end. There will be prizes for every class.

Rules for the tournament are:

No use of tanzanite cabochons.
No use of any item that has 'multiply magic' cast on it.
No use of rare scrolls such as 'firebolt' scrolls, or "special" (scripted or possibly scripted) items, such as pain spheres.
You are not allowed to use herbal mixtures unless you are a monk or ranger.
No spells requiring astral reagents may be used.
No smoke bombs, use of the 'calm' spell, or use of the 'flee' command.
No use of combat-assisting NPCs, such as toy soldiers or wizards, summoned elementals, summoned imps or shadow golems.

Please see this message board thread for discussion and additional information.

A Royal Proclamation from King Cronus: Clanhall Shops!

Duende — Thu, 26 Feb 2009 13:24:31 CST

Adventurers of Sepharia, and other lands:

Lady Undya has offered to allow me access to her increased public visibility to announce a special new storefront recently opened by the associated guilds of Alyria!

Gaston's furniture shop offers a variety of clanhall-appropriate goods, from the ever-popular mailman automaton to the barber with the mathematical mind.

He accepts the sought-after maleficarum roots as payment, and only from the owner of the purchasing clan! Visit Gaston's shop today, conveniently located on Dargon Walk!

-King Cronus

An Official Proclamation From Lord Agrippa

Vassago — Fri, 13 Feb 2009 15:59:38 CST

Attention one and all,

As you all may know, I had the life of my beloved Lady Saresyn snatched out of my hands by the dastardly actions of Lady Bane, Vortex, and Baba Yaga! I have considered this issue long and hard, trying to determine a proper tribute honoring the memory Lady Saresyn. I, Cornelius Agrippa, Lord of Rune, do hereby declare an official holiday - Lady Saresyn Day. This day shall be used as a memorial in celebration of the love that we all shared for her. It is my wish that all Adventurers, the denizens of Rune and the outlying areas spend this day with the one they love.

Sincerely, Lord Cornelius Agrippa

Alyrian Yule Global Quest

Vassago — Wed, 24 Dec 2008 13:55:29 CST

Professor Silax is a fairly obscure magical scientist from the Towne of Sigil. Funded by a grant from the Council of the Arcane, he has been researching animal breeding experiments, in attempts to produce faster, more efficient, leaner, tauter animals. His latest experiments have focused on Lord Vendredi's prized pack animals, south Auryn reindeer. Magically tampering with their physical and mental prowess has produced very interesting results. An original sixteen reindeer were selected for the breeding program, with half as the control group. The other eight were made nine, after one of the control group proved himself too intelligent and rowdy to be tricked by pine wands, rather than yew. They were experimented on over a course of months, finally producing three quarters of a dozen super reindeer. The test was a success, producing capable, strong, responsible reindeer for towing Vendredi about the winter solstice nights, as he traditionally delivers all of his year's work worth of toys to children around Alyria.

In fact, not only was it a success, breeding the smartest, strongest reindeer possible, but it was too successful, allowing the reindeer to see their inbred inferiority and subjugation by the humans. Although never Lord Vendredi's intent, it was indeed true. The last test subject from the program, Charles, led a revolt among his fellow enhanced reindeer. Up, they levitated into the night sky, as they always have, only without their master's sleigh. Feeling vindicated, free of their social, zoological and physical bonds, they also freed their lesser kin, the hundreds of other reindeer raised in captivity since the start of the domestication of the animals. The original nine led their brethren through the sky, dispersing themselves back into the lands whence they came.

However, many had only known city life for their entire upbringing, particularly the young, and quickly gravitated towards the respective city centers of the continents they landed on. Viewing it as a temporary setback, rather than a fundamental flaw in their plan for freedom, the nine followed them into the towns, to help them adjust to life beyond the feedbag. Professor Silax, the director of the experiments, now needs help in gathering the creatures, to bring them back into captivity.

He has come up with a magical trap for the reindeer, which he has been giving out to anyone who offers to help him. The trap - operating under an alchemical spell - will attract the reindeer and magically teleport their organic matter back to Sigil, where they can be chained once more. To receive credit for their captures, their original laboratory tags will fall to the ground after their teleportation, and the tags may be redeemed by Professor Silax's assistants Snide, Bide, Wide, and Pride, who are located in the townes with the reindeer, attempting to corral the beasts. The trap must be outfitted with a special lure to work, however, and the list of lures that will attract them is somewhat limited. Professor Silax will sell you lure. You can see the various lures by typing SHOP LIST, and may purchase the one best suited for the type of reindeer you will be catching.

A special lure, the reindeer moss, is offered to help brave adventurers capture the illustrious silver reindeer, the fastest reindeer bred that did not receive neural enhancements.

The reindeer have been cleared from Sigil using the traps, but the Townes of Xaventry (where you will find reindeer for levels 11-60), New Rigel (where you will find reindeer for levels 61-120), Rune (where you will find reindeer for levels 121-180), and Tellerium (where you will find reindeer for levels 181-241) are still plagued with the antlered beasts.

Keep on the lookout for the lead reindeer, Charles Billingsworth III, and his fellow conspirators, Temper, Stamper, Doughnut, Mitten, Tulip, Steelwool, Stupid, and Pigeon. They have managed to make themselves immune to Professor Silax's traps and therefore must be fought to quell the reindeer resistance.

If you wish to change your class after receiving your trap, and need a new trap to accomodate this change, you may sayto Professor Silax "Exchange my trap", and he will give you a new one.

If you'd like to help Professor Silax, try saying to him, "I will help recover the missing reindeer".

An Alyrian Chronicle Special Report

Vassago — Mon, 22 Dec 2008 23:37:47 CST

It has come to the attention of this humble reporter for the Alyrian Chronicle that Professor Silax intends to open his research laboratory to the public on December 24th at 2:00pm (System Time) for a demonstration of his most recent technological developments. This reporter and most of the staff of the Chronicle are a bit concerned about the mishap that occurred last year when someone mistakenly unleashed a herd of magical reindeer, and earlier this year the serious bungle that released a plague of rabbits upon Alyria.

Although concerned that such a disaster may be repeated, this reporter wishes to give the esteemed Professor Silax a chance to redeem himself. According to the Professor's assistants, security has been tightened this year and we have been assured that the disaster of last year will not be repeated. Lord Vendredi has sent word that he is excited to see what new innovations the Professor has come up with to aid the citizens of Alyria, and will personally view the demonstration this year. The Professor's assistants have all confirmed that they will be present during the demonstrations to help with crowd control for the masses of people, who will no doubt be drawn by the incredible mixture of science and magick.

I speak for the majority of the staff at the Alyrian Chronicle, save those out on special assignments, that this will surely be an event to remember, and I for one, won't miss it.

-- Phalandrius Roost, Staff Reporter, Alyrian Chronicle

The Legend of the Bearded Gnome

Vassago — Sun, 14 Dec 2008 17:40:08 CST

As the Yule season begins each year, talk inevitably turns to the Bearded Gnome. While this has been a tradition in some areas for many years, he has been celebrated mostly in the countryside--the traditions only recently making their way to Alyria's cities and towns.

With five clockwork winged mules pulling his flying sleigh, the Bearded Gnome sneaks into denizens' homes during the Yule holiday, leaving behind gifts for the owner of the house. It is traditional in the Alyrian countryside to leave snacks out for him, as legend says his gifts are better if his stomach is full of cookies and milk. Some even leave presents of oil for his clockwork mules.

An Alyrian Turkey Hunt

Vassago — Thu, 27 Nov 2008 09:40:24 CST

GOBBLE GOBBLE GOBBLE! It seems that a mad turkey has escaped Strecht's carving knife, and isn't too happy about the pending massacre! Turkeys have been disappearing from butchers' storehouses for weeks, with nary a trace of their whereabouts... but it looks as though the Mad Turkey has been gathering them for a full attack on the citizens of Alyria! Fortunately, the Adventurers do not stand alone in their protection of the world's citizens. The renowned Turkey Huntress has been brought out of retirement, and is currently holding court in Rune. Should any adventurers care to help her bring down the threat against our populace posed by the feathered foes, she should be consulted. Due to her long travels, however, she has not eaten in several days, nor have the Beltan refugees she was in the midst of rescuing when this global threat arrived. Should any food be found in the course of the battle, it would likely be appreciated most by the pilgrims new to Sepharia's shores.

Spies have uncovered the following information about the locations of specific turkeys:

Levels 2-35: a tiny turkey, appearing in Rune Forest, Sigil, Xaventry, and Tellerium

Level 36-60: a small turkey, appearing in Rune Forest, Sigil, Xaventry, and Tellerium

Level 61-120: a medium-sized turkey, appearing in Rune Forest, Sigil, Xaventry, and Tellerium

Level 121-180: a large turkey, appearing in Pirate's Cove, Diocletian, and Atlantis

Level 181-239: a huge turkey, appearing in Pirate's Cove, Diocletian, and Atlantis

Level 240: a plump turkey, appearing in Maldra's Keep, Pirate's Cove, Diocletian, and Atlantis

Level 241: a champion-sized tom, appearing in Hellbent Mountain and Maldra's Keep