"Keeping Your Wits About You in Elanthia"

by Jolebin Swordstaff

I trust you have all read my last article and, having taken the advice therein to heart, have survived to read this next installment in my ongoing series, meant to advise young adventurers on how to safely enjoy the wonders of fair Elanthia. That's not to say that you would be unable to stay alive without the benefit of my council, but it does help, doesn't it?

Well, now that I have described a number of situations and locations that adventurers should avoid at all costs, I would like to move on to a discussion of precautions that all explorers should take. This will help you to begin entering into situations that will enable you to prove your might as a Realmsman (or Realmswoman, of course) without having to be foolhardy. It is my belief that if one desires a fulfilling life, then he or she must take risks. However, there are intelligent ways of doing so, as well as foolish ones.

The first point I would like to address is protecting yourself from theft. Don't get me wrong here; the Thieves Guild is a fine establishment, and many guilded thieves are fine, upstanding citizens of Elanthia, in their own way. I cannot count the times that thieves have helped me disarm and pick the locks of treasure chests I have found over the years. Still, that doesn't mean that I want to leave my pockets unguarded against their zealousness, and neither should you. Once again, let me say that a true guilded thief (or at least one with any concern over the way members of his or her profession are perceived in Elanthia) will refrain from stealing from you if you simply ask him or her to do so. However, there are a fair number of unguilded or otherwise disreputable thieves out there, and they are the ones you should be most concerned about. They can steal coins from you, as well as gemstones. As far as protecting your gemstones goes, your best bet is a sturdy gem pouch with a lock on it.

Keeping your coins safe will require a bit more strategy on your part. The important thing to remember is that a thief can only grab a certain number of coins at once. If you withdraw 100,000 kronars from the bank, all in platinum coins, then you have just ten coins, and your entire life savings could be stolen by a thief the moment you set foot out of the bank. Personally, I try to avoid carrying any coins other than bronzes and coppers. Granted, 100,000 kronars in coppers is a great deal heavier than the same amount in platinums (in fact, most people would be unable to even waddle about with such a burden), but at least no thief would be able to grab more than a few dozen kronars off me at once.

I often pick up large amounts of money while hunting swamp trolls, so I make frequent visits to the bank for deposits. That way, I am free to go about my hunting, virtually unencumbered, knowing that my money is safe, just a few leagues away. I only make withdrawals when there is something specific I want to buy, or when I am attending an auction or a festival. That way, I minimize the opportunities that thieves will have to steal from me. In fact, it has been more than a year since the last time I lost any significant amount of money to theft.

When out hunting, one's main concern should be staying alive. This probably does not come as a surprise to you, or strike you as a revolutionary concept. Hopefully, you are already working towards this goal. There are three basic steps for staying alive while hunting. The first is: Hunt at your level. This does not mean that you should shy away from challenging foes. It just means that a fifth level warrior mage should not be fighting swamp trolls, and a ninth level barbarian has no business in Adan'f. Speak with other members of your guild in order to determine which opponents will provide you with the most appropriate level of resistance. If you choose to seek a more difficult foe, that's admirable; just try not to get into too much trouble.

The second step is: Always re-adjust your armor before entering battle. The whole point of my writing here is to spare you from mistakes I myself have made. In that spirit, I will now confess my own shameful foolishness. On numerous occasions, I have forgotten to put my chain helm back on after having removed it in order to play the ocarina. It is sad but true. I have also neglected to re-affix my chain gloves after a session of treasure box popping. I would wonder why my eyes or hands seem so vulnerable, and then I eventually realized what had happened, and I felt stupid. Or I felt dead, as only a gaping hole in the back of you head can make you feel. So keep that in mind.

The third, and possibly most important step is as follows: Know your weapon. Each type of weapon lends itself to different battle tactics, and you should make sure that you are using an appropriate strategy. I happen to prefer medium edged weapons. If I tried to go out there and fight with a mace (a medium blunt weapon), using it the same way I use a scimitar, then not only would I look stupid, I would once again most likely be dead. Speaking from experience, the best way to use a medium edged weapon is as follows:

1) Alternately parry and jab. This allows you to conserve
your energy, while gradually improving your position.

2) Once you feel that you are optimally balanced, draw your
weapon forcefully.

3) Slice repeatedly at the enemy, until you feel yourself
losing ground.

4) Return to 1.

This tried-and-true method is well known to most users of medium edged weapons. When preparing to bring a new weapon into battle for the first time, I suggest that you try to speak with someone who has already been successfully using a similar weapon. Naturally, most casualties in Elanthia occur in battle, so that is when you need to be the most alert.

After you valiantly defeat your foe, you can gather the spoils of victory. Often, they will include locked containers that can be quite difficult to get open. Typically, the boxes of more difficult opponents also have locks that are more difficult to pick. The important thing to remember here is that the box is probably booby-trapped as well. It may harbor a poisoned needle, a compressed jet of acid, a volatile bit of gunpowder, or even a rapid-fire crossbow mechanism. These traps can be quite deadly, so it is a good idea to work on disarming them in the presence of Empaths. However, some of the traps can have area affects, so if you realize that the trap you are working on is of that sort, it would be considered polite to excuse yourself from the immediate company of others while you continue your efforts. Although it is certainly useful to work at disarming traps in order to improve your abilities in that area, you would be wise to seek the assistance of a Thief or Ranger when it comes to more difficult traps. It just may save your hand from a flying razor blade.

Of course, you will die on occasion. It really can't be helped. If you never die, then you're probably living a rather boring life. Luckily, death is not the end of all things; Elanthia is dutifully served by the altruistic Cleric's Guild, and is also graced by the favor of the gods, so Elanthians routinely return from the dead. There is, however, a certain knack to picking a place to die. Often, you will escape from a losing battle, only to realize that you are mortally wounded. You lack the first aid skills to tend your wounds, no Empath is present to take them, and healing herbs are insufficient to remedy them. In a situation like this, the only thing you can do is to make sure that you die in a good place.

Allow me to elaborate. Although you can of course allow your soul to abandon your body at any time, you then run the risk of losing your possessions. The most desirable option is to be raised by a Cleric. But that cannot happen if nobody finds your body. Although most of Elanthia's hunting grounds are fairly well traveled, many are directly adjacent to much busier routes. For example, if I find myself grievously injured while hunting faenrae reavers, fire sprites, or blue-bellied crocodiles, I make every possible effort to get back to the Northern Trade Route. Hundreds of people walk the length of the highway every day, and a corpse is not likely to go unnoticed for long.

There are other heavily visited sites near popular hunting grounds. They include the Southern Trade Route, the Zaulfung chickee and the northern end of the nearby deer trail, the various gates of all the major cities, and all the ferry docks. In such a location, the chances of being restored to life are greatly improved. However, such placement of one's corpse is not without risk; although the frequent passage of caravans provides ample opportunity for discovery, it can also result in damage to your body if the driver of the caravan does not notice you in time.

Be wary of joining the fight against invasion forces. The enemies that invade parts of Elanthia from time to time are usually a great deal more vigorous and skilled than the monsters native to those regions. I tried to aid in the recent effort against Lord Sorrow, and all I got for my trouble was a fatal Elpazi arrow in my leg. In fact, that happened twice over the course of the war. Before you go gallivanting off to make a name for yourself as a great war hero, take some time to improve your chances of survival.

For instance, get a vault at the Carousel (good advice for anyone, really - who wants to lug all their stuff around, day in and day out?), and put all of your extraneous belongings in it. There's no need to wear fancy clothes and jewelry on the battlefield; all you need is your armor and your weapons. Unfortunately, graverobbing is a significant problem during invasions and wars, so you wouldn't want anything really nice winding up in your grave.

By incorporating these simple safety precautions into your everyday routine, you can noticeably reduce the occurrence of potentially ruinous accidents. These preventative measures will enable you to safely, or at least less dangerously, undertake tasks that could otherwise have disastrous results. Now, go out there, and see what challenges await you!

Safe Paths.
Jolebin Swordstaff, Elemancer of Riverhaven