also, perhaps a way to sense when it will begin and end. I'll assume that it's been suggested in the past but I've never really read anything in the race folders before, however I for one would think it'd be reasonable to assume that a race of beings that shapeshift would have a sense of how and when their shapeshifting occurs.

Blackguard Danoryiel

"Sogan udazama umbunor fau arrazoi inishatu seiremisai. (Only the fallen have nothing to despair)"

<<would have a sense of how and when their shapeshifting occurs.>>

that's why my rakash is a moonmage. :-)




Preces meae non sunt dignae;Sed tu bonus fac benigne;Ne perenni cremer igne [Dies Irae]

Your level is barely above mine, and I honestly can't remember the last time moonskin transformation even got me so much as nicked. Same goes for the other Rakash around our level of different guilds. So, I have to think that in some part, it's poor training and/or hunting ground. Something that adversely affects a few rather than the whole is not a problem for everyone. #firstworldproblem

>>Losing moonskin throws you unconscious, which as far as I can tell, puts you at 0 defense.

Also, very wrong. If it dropped defense to 0, NO ONE would survive. Period. There'd be absolutely no debate about it. The fact that plenty of people do survive says otherwise.

>>Is it possible to berserk out of the stun that comes in from this change?

Yes.

It never seems to work for me - like I said above(and I'll test it if I don't die in the 1st hit), I berserk, it ends instantly, I die.

Maybe it does at lower level when the penalty scale isn't such a large number, but I haven't been able to do it successfully for as far back as I can remember.

Heres a log of the stun portion(edited for readability):



* An adult desert armadillo swipes at you. You deflect the barbed tail with a scratched steel rapier.
R>
You are overcome by a sudden wave of nausea. As you clutch your stomach, trying to hold yourself together, a terrible itching begins at the tips of your fingers and quickly spreads throughout your body. Just as your fur begins to fall out in clumps, dark oblivion washes over you.

SUPR>
* An adult desert armadillo lurches forward and slashes at you. You knock aside the sharp claws with a scratched steel rapier.

SPR>
* An adult desert armadillo slices wide at you. You beat off the sharp claws with a scratched steel rapier.
SPR>
* An adult desert armadillo slashes fiercely at you. You turn aside the sharp claws with a scratched steel rapier.
SPR>
SP> [ljab]: feint left
You are still stunned.
SP>
* An adult desert armadillo lashes at you. You knock aside the barbed tail with a scratched steel rapier.
SP>
* An adult desert armadillo growls lowly and swings at you. You turn aside the barbed tail with a scratched steel rapier.
SP>
* An adult desert armadillo growls lowly and swings at you. You turn aside the barbed tail with a scratched steel rapier.
SP>
* An adult desert armadillo lurches forward and slashes at you. You deflect the sharp claws with a scratched steel rapier.
SP>
* An adult desert armadillo slashes fiercely at you. You beat off the sharp claws with a scratched steel rapier.
SP>
The armadillo rolls into a ball briefly before uncurling itself again.
SP> [ljab]: feint left
You are still stunned.
SP>
The armadillo burrows into the ground for a short time, becoming nearly invisible.
SP>
* An adult desert armadillo swipes at you. You slap away the barbed tail with a scratched steel rapier.
SP>
* An adult desert armadillo growls lowly and swings at you. You turn aside the barbed tail with a scratched steel rapier.
SP>
* An adult desert armadillo slashes fiercely at you. You fend off the sharp claws with a scratched steel rapier.
SP>
* An adult desert armadillo lashes at you. You turn aside the barbed tail with a scratched steel rapier.
SP>
SP> [ljab]: feint left
You are still stunned.
SP>
An adult desert armadillo rears up and spews forth a blast of stringy white webbing at you!
You are unable to avoid the slimy webbing, solidly caught in its glutinous embrace!

SWP>
* An adult desert armadillo lashes at you. You slap away the barbed tail with a scratched steel rapier.
SWP> [ljab]: feint left
You are still stunned.
SWP>
* An adult desert armadillo lashes at you. You repulse the barbed tail with a scratched steel rapier.
SWP>
SWP>
The Wayerd pyramid emits a low humming noise as the sun's rays shine down on it.
SWP>
SWP>
SWP> dance

* An adult desert armadillo swipes at you. You beat off the barbed tail with a scratched steel rapier.
SWP>
* An adult desert armadillo swipes at you. You repulse the barbed tail with a scratched steel rapier.
SWP>
You are still stunned.
SWP>
You finally manage to free yourself from the webbing.

SP>
An adult desert armadillo rears up and spews forth a blast of stringy white webbing at you!
You are unable to avoid the slimy webbing, solidly caught in its glutinous embrace!

SWP> dance
You are still stunned.
SWP> dance
You are still stunned.
SWP>
* An adult desert armadillo slashes fiercely at you. You deflect the sharp claws with a scratched steel rapier.
SWP>
* An adult desert armadillo lurches forward and slashes at you. You repulse the sharp claws with a scratched steel rapier.
SWP> l
[Dunes of Despair, Dune Crest]
The dune slopes down to the west and east, providing a precarious perch. Waves of unrelenting heat roll off the unending dunes of sand, blurring the horizon.
You also see a pile of rocks, an adult desert armadillo, a Wayerd pyramid, a Wayerd pyramid, an adult desert armadillo, an adult desert armadillo and an adult desert armadillo.
Obvious paths: north, southeast, south, southwest.
SWP>
SWP>
You come to, feeling somewhat weak and shaky, and vulnerable without your claws. But the whole world seems bright, clean and new colors are brighter and your field of vision is wider.

WP>
WP>
The Wayerd pyramid emits a low humming noise as the sun's rays shine down on it.
WP>
You finally manage to free yourself from the webbing.

P> dance

* An adult desert armadillo lashes at you. You barely block with a storm-bull buckler.
The barbed tail lands a strong hit (6/22) that completely severs your left hamstring.
!P>
* An adult desert armadillo slashes fiercely at you. You attempt to dodge.
The sharp claws lands a heavy strike (7/22) that tears flesh and cartilage as the right leg is ripped clean below the knee (Better order that peg leg!).
!P>
You're far too injured to dance.
!P> !P>
!P>
* An adult desert armadillo lurches forward and slashes at you. You fail to evade.
The sharp claws lands a very heavy hit (8/22) that amputates the left arm and a good deal of the shoulder in a crippling blow, lightly stunning you.

!SP>
There are several blazing flashes of lurid green lightning from the east.
!SP> berserk stone

Your rage boils up within you, clearing the fog of pain from your mind.
You spring to your feet in a sudden burst of vicious strength and balance!
Everything vanishes in a haze of red, and your vicious snarl ravages the air around you. Every trace of pain in your body melts away before the burning hunger to eviscerate!

!>
You feel the frothing rage subside, and as if stepping out of a crimson fog, the world around you emerges with vivid clarity.

You collapse from fatigue!

!SP>
!SP>
* An adult desert armadillo swipes at you. You fail to dodge.
The barbed tail lands a hard hit (5/22) that cleaves off the tips of several of your fingers.
!SP>
* An adult desert armadillo growls lowly and swings at you. You attempt to evade.
The sharp claws lands an extremely heavy hit (9/22) that cleaves the foe clean through from collarbone to hips.
Your rapier and ivory-hilted jambiya fall to the ground.

Your death cry echoes in your brain as it quickly dawns on you that you have just died! Already, you feel the tug of eternity upon your soul and you struggle to remain tied to this world.

A chill takes the seat of your soul as your remaining spiritual strength bleeds away steadily. However, you are comforted that you have curried the favor of your god, which will greatly improve the course of your resurrection or reincarnation.

Your body will decay beyond its ability to hold your soul in 171 minutes.
[You're extremely imbalanced]

...

Again, I don't take any hits until my fatigue drops to 0 at which the point every attack is a hit. Thats when I start getting messed up.

I berserk, it ends instantly. I die.

Any questions?

This has been a Rakash complaint for so long now I've lost track. Its been brought up dozens of times that it makes NO sense that we can't tell when the change is going to hit us. We got fancy jewelry to help us tell when Katamba is going to rise or fall but that doesn't tell you any thing either since it has nothing to do with when Katamba changes from gibbous to full.

But short of a complete rewrite of the Rakash race I don't know what they can do for us. And I certainly don't see that happening until after X3.0 comes out, IF at all. I'd not hold my breathe if I were you. Its a shame Strata doesn't work on my new computer, it was extremely handy to know when the change was coming up. Hopefully we've someone figuring out the calculations now, so anytime you experience a change, post the time in the Rakash folder for them.

Mordibar

This is all part of why I was working to track the changes on elanthipedia. After seeing the incredibly wide range between not only shifts but length of moonskin, I kind of stopped. GMs I have asked suggest that not even those behind the scenes really know the formulas, so it's probably a system that needs to be looked at (on the long list of systems that need this).

The moonphase jewelry is neat but apparently it was actually targeted for Moon Mages and the shop is not? returning.

As far as that moonskin death log, I'm going to assume you use genie(a good majority of people hunting at that level do). If you do, I suggest you install TimeTracker plugin and routinely check Katamba. Also keep in mind the current times known for moonskin length and downtimes. They're on elanthipedia on the Moonskin page. That's really all I can say for that one.

---
Inauri

* An adult desert armadillo lashes at you. You evade.
R>
* An adult desert armadillo slashes fiercely at you. You dodge.
R> [wjab]: feint
You are overcome by a sudden wave of nausea. As you clutch your stomach, trying to hold yourself together, a terrible itching begins at the tips of your fingers and quickly spreads throughout your body. Just as your fur begins to fall out in clumps, dark oblivion washes over you.

SUP>
* An adult desert armadillo growls lowly and swings at you. You barely block with a gargoyle-hide shield.
The sharp claws lands a very heavy hit (8/22) that explodes the heart and lungs with a bone-shattering blow to the chest.
Your steel cane falls to the ground.

You come to, feeling somewhat weak and shaky, and vulnerable without your claws. But the whole world seems bright, clean and new colors are brighter and your field of vision is wider.
Your death cry echoes in your brain as it quickly dawns on you that you have just died! Already, you feel the tug of eternity upon your soul and you struggle to remain tied to this world.

A chill takes the seat of your soul as your remaining spiritual strength bleeds away steadily. However, you are comforted that you have curried the favor of your god, which will greatly improve the course of your resurrection or reincarnation.

Your body will decay beyond its ability to hold your soul in 171 minutes.
[You're extremely imbalanced]


LUUUUCK

I'll save the good ones for a rainy day.

...

Nice! Thats the day of my quest.

What could possibly go wrong?

---

IM: Dannyboy00001111

"Fool proof system do not take into account the ingenuity of fools, nor the power in numbers."

Any chance we could make moonskin an activated ability for older/higher circle Rakash? I don't understand how we have so little control over this ability if we are at all similar to werewolves. Also, I would like the blood of a vampire elder for the ability to fly and wing spears. Well, maybe not the last bit.

> Outside of the Underworld universe the majority of your werewolves in fiction do not have control over when they turn. It happens when a full moons comes out which is what the lore is behind Rakash.

Folklore is full of stories of werewolves that don't work that way. And if you want modern fiction examples, you shouldn't ignore WoD.

The lore I recall of werewolves is they are either able to control the action or have absolutely no control of their actions while under influence of the moon.

As controlling the change is clearly overpowered with all the benefits (howl verbs and minor grappling bonus), please, take away the stun or let it be a stat roll.

> It wasn't until The World Dragon charred Katamba

This puts it back in pre-history, making it by no means reliable. It's the Rakash myth for why they have their moonskin, not necessarily the truth.

> But as you said its been the way it is now with a shift at full-moon katamba since 'pre-history'.

Certainly any change to the way it's done would require a big IC explanation. It wouldn't be the sort of thing you could just brush under the rug with a "Pretend it's always been like that."

So I have been playing DR since about 1999 and have been playing the same character pretty much the entirety of that time as my rakash character, he is now a grizzled elder, is there any chance that maybe there could be some sort of option for characters that have been played for say 10 years real life time to where they can change into moonskin at will? maybe even have a timer on it to where you can only do it a few times a month and it only lasts for a couple days or more. i mean moonskin is kinda tied with katamba but yet katamba rises and sets every day... and one would think that after how ever many years 10 years real life equates to game time that the rakash would have some form of mastery over their urge to change into moonskin.. am just asking because my character feels so naked and just not right when out of moonskin.. at least that is how i rp it when one asks his opinion on moonskin... any way figured i would ask and see what happens. than