The Dragon's Village 2017

[Mirgalen]

8-9-3 The losing hand.

The name "Yakuza" originates from the traditional Japanese card game Oicho-Kabu, a game in which the goal is to draw 3 cards adding up to a value of 9. If the sum total of your hand exceeds 10, the second digit is used as your total instead, with the exception of 10 (which equals 1). If the three cards you draw are 8-9-3 (pronounced ya-ku-sa in Japanese), your score is 20 and therefore zero, making it the worst possible hand you can draw.

Tenko had been found by the clan. How was that possible? Destiny? Pure luck? Was he spotted while leaving the city and followed all the way to the dragon village? He would probably never know the answer to this question.

Now he had to follow the new orders or face the dire consequences not only for himself but for his friends. He told them a little bit. How much could he tell? He was not sure yet if he would need to show them the message. Apparently they were happy to tag along. He was going to tell them more on the way. How much more would depend. He was not sure he wanted to mention the shinobi incident.

//

I was checking NWN EE. I may need to buy it right away as it is supporting Mac OS and Linux. I just want to be sure that after installing it I will be able to play this campaign with EE (after adding the necessary haks obviously). Any comment?

[Karvon]

//@You won't be able to play in this campaign using ee unless everyone upgrades to that. Given that it is still in beta I don't see that happening anytime soon.

[Vanya Mia]

((Karv called it correctly, and I have no plans to update until I'm certain it's not going to muck anything up with respect to anyone else playing. Not least as the developments seem very much aimed at the single player visual experience.

I need to feel confident it's not going to mess up anyone's ability to join multiplayer games and work properly with custom content. Currently I don't and with the bugs that are being reported I don't feel I will until full release. At the very least the timing of a switch has to be a shared decision, with everyone able and happy to upgrade at the same time.))

[Mirgalen]

//

Now I am confused because they kept mentioned (in a video) about backward compatibility. They mentioned that they were enhancing graphics but not touching other things and that we should be able to play existing modules. There was no mention that everyone needed to use ee or that current PW would become obsolete.

So to clarify, my question was: If I install ee, would I be able to direct connect and play the campaign as usual. That's all I need.

Also, I wanted to share that although I did not have equipment or network related problem the last time and despite all my efforts I did fell asleep (snooze would be more precise) a few times during the game. Some of the measures I have taken:
- Taking a nap before the game: not possible if I am working almost up to game time (when the game starts I may have been up for 18 hours)
- Drinking coffee: I am immune to coffee, I can drink several cups and go to sleep right after
- Playing with an alarm clock/snooze function on: Only wake me up but does not prevent me from falling asleep. It also reduces immersion
- outside noise sources e.g. TV: May distract me from the game and reduce immersion

Short of waiting for Spring (when the times switches back) what do you guys suggest?

[Karvon]

//If you install NWN EE(1.74), you will NOT be able to use that to connect to and play on servers still running NWN1 (1.69). Thus, until our group decides to move to EE, you would not be able to use EE to play with us.

You should be able to play most existing modules and take advantage of community custom content in single player mode. I've played a couple of modules so far without significant incident, that crash on my current NWN1 install - a whole other story altogether.

It can be a little confusing at first to know where to put 3rd party content to work with the game, as they store stuff in your documents directory rather than in the game directory.

I've been following EE threads an the vault and BD and am pretty pleased about the direction they seem to moving and the openness BD has to community ideas and input so far.

[Vanya Mia]

(( Stressing this.

//If you install NWN EE(1.74), you will NOT be able to use that to connect to and play on servers still running NWN1 (1.69). Thus, until our group decides to move to EE, you would not be able to use EE to play with us.

The reverse compatibility applies to single player only in the same way as you can run 1.69 and load modules created under earlier patches, or the vanilla campaign when you have HoTU for that matter, without it causing problems. That does not stand for multiplayer. All players have to have the same version as the host to connect to a server, be that for a PW or a campaign.

I'm really sorry but I'm not prepared to update the server until all my concerns with respect to custom content and player access are covered - and bear in mind I both play in and DM other campaigns with players who are not in this campaign so the timing of change is wider than this group for me, plus develop the D20 Modern hak pack still and so need to be in a position to adapt that.))

[Lazybones]

Well, it's still in beta so we have a while before we have to make our decision.

I have two PCs capable of running NWN, so if it lives up to its promises I could install the EE on my newer one and try running a test server--assuming that my connection challenges for certain players don't persist. But I agree with VM that I'm going to wait until the full release and see how others deal with these issues.

[Karvon]

The group pushed deeper into the caverns hunting out the remaining ratmen. They finally found their lair and torched their huts, forcing out the last survivors onto their blades. Unfortunately, the flames consumed anything of value the rats might have had, but Gojiro doubted they'd missed out on much. With the troubles resolved, the builders were ready to resume shipments, so the party returned to town to report their success and claim their small commission. Gojiro fingered the few coins and wondered how long it would take him to save up for some new gear.

[smartalec]

"Heng Shan..." said Wen, musing. "We're going to have even more stories to tell, aren't we! I feel as if I'm truly on an adventure... like the old tales of youxia, wandering swordsmen travelling the land, putting things to rights, bringing justice and protecting the downtrodden, before the Dragon brought peace to the land... why look, I'm wearing armour! The people at home wouldn't recognise me. Ha."

*He3's about to pop some vegetable into his mouth when another thought makes him pause. "... though... the land has not seemed at peace much, in our short wanderings." He puts down the food, concerned. "The Wise Man of Water once said, 'Cultivate virtue in the town, and it will be lasting. Cultivate virtue in the country, and it will be abundant. Cultivate virtue in the world, and it will be universal.' That was the world as I understood it. Hm. What could have gone wrong that there is banditry and dangerous creatures on the road, and even the servants of the state cannot travel safely?"

[smartalec]

((OOC: Topato is having trouble and managed to drop me a message asking to put this on the forum for him.))

Tianlong was very pleased with their battle agaisnt the rat men, although he'd have prefered a more elagant solution than burning the hut. It was still a good fight for a worthy cause. As they returned to the town and spoke with the wife of the lord, his hopes began to rise that someone eould actually listen to their warnings before it was too late.