7578 - a small bow of peanuts

[Harroghty]

This object will no longer be what it is now during the updating of Zhentil Keep. I suggest that you eat them quickly. Contact an immortal via ask if it transforms into something larger than your container will contain!

[Harroghty]

Zhentil Keep has undergone some serious reorganization. It will continue to evolve; things will continue to move, but not the things that have moved already. In the near future, there will be a new area added to it with some mid-level quests for would-be Zhentarim members.

• It now sports (simple one room) temples to Tymora, Tempus, and Umberlee.
  
  It includes fewer taverns and garbage shops.
  
  The cemetery is now in the EASTERN part of town, not the northwest (a guide from Reliable Guides will take you there).
  
  The fighter's guild is now in the WESTERN part of town.

[Aldren]

These are some great changes so far, great job and I can't wait to see more.

On a secondary note, if you enter The Mug and Mutton Tavern off Twilight St. (the exit is to the east), you enter into the Tavern and can only exit south (western exit toward Twilight St. disappears). Southern exit also takes you back to Zhentil Ave.

[Harroghty]

Thanks. The entrance from Twilight Street is a hold over. Zhentil Keep has virtually no room for new stuff and thus I am left to moving existing stuff; this means there will be some things that I miss. I will fix those errors as soon as they are pointed out.

[Lirith]

Just a little note about colours:
I have found one room (the entrance to the cemetery) where the text is yellow on a white background. It's really impossible to read this on a black background, could the text be changed to something that contrasts more with white?

Alright, that was weird. When I returned to the same room it was fine (80). Must have been something screwy with Fang.

[Harroghty]

You caught me. I could think of nothing better to convey Zhentil Keep's sense of dread and horror than tacky colors!

[Harroghty]

New changes:

• The original city of Zhentil Keep is now sealed. Each gate has a guard and all four gates function. They don't like Mystrans or Kelemvorites (identified by their symbols), or those who Harp (same).
  
  The arena has moved to the east side of the city.
  
  The Teshwave is now outside the walls in the harbor.

I will continue to make the city Cyric-centric to the joy of some and the lament of others.

[Aldren]

Are we sure the gates still work? I know for the last week they have, but I ran into this today at 6pm gametime:

Code: Select all

The Throat Gate
 N-Pair of huge gates adorned with spikes E-Narrow door  S-Before the Thro W-Worn door
Two semispherical towers crowd around the great Throat Gate,
but it is wide enough still to permit all to enter or depart
(if the guards will allow it). The walls are hewn of granite
black as a moonless night, beveled around the gate to reveal
impressive depth.  The adamantine-steel gates themselves, be
they open or shut, can be seen with their ghastly details of
spikes and baatezu bas-relief grostesques.
The sky is cloudless and warm and a cool northern breeze blows.
A Zhentilar soldier stands here in dark armor.
King of tumult, a powerful ebony hippogriff is here mounted by you.
A Zhentilar soldier steps back out your way and bows his head quickly in deference.
You say 'Open the gates.'
You say 'I am Nerian Xavril.'
A Zhentilar soldier steps back out your way and bows his head quickly in deference.
A Zhentilar soldier says to you 'Your name is known to all who are not fools, my lord. Enter.'
The pair of huge gates adorned with spikes is closed.
The pair of huge gates adorned with spikes is closed.
The pair of huge gates adorned with spikes is closed.
The pair of huge gates adorned with spikes is closed.
The pair of huge gates adorned with spikes is closed.
The pair of huge gates adorned with spikes is closed.
It's locked.

[Aldren]

Correction: Gates all seem to function fine now, this likely has something to do with the switchover times (from closed to open and back again), much as Waterdeep once suffered from. Good thing is they work perfectly fine for 23 hours/day in game.

[Harroghty]

I was not able to reproduce this.

[Sithiel]

The locked gates happened to me as well yesterday.

[Aldren]

11pm game-time, mounted on a horse (non-flying)

Code: Select all

A Zhentilar soldier stands here in dark armor.
Lau'zoril, a spirited Andaluarian warhorse is here mounted by you.
A Zhentilar soldier steps back out your way and bows his head quickly in deference.
The pair of huge gates adorned with spikes is closed.
You say 'I am the Banelord.'
A Zhentilar soldier steps back out your way and bows his head quickly in deference.
A Zhentilar soldier says to you 'Your name is known to all who are not fools, my lord. Enter.'
The pair of huge gates adorned with spikes is closed.
The pair of huge gates adorned with spikes is closed.
You say 'I am Nerian Xavril.'
A Zhentilar soldier steps back out your way and bows his head quickly in deference.
A Zhentilar soldier says to you 'Your name is known to all who are not fools, my lord. Enter.'
The pair of huge gates adorned with spikes is closed.

I walked out, and back in.

Code: Select all

A Zhentilar soldier stands here in dark armor.
Lau'zoril, a spirited Andaluarian warhorse is here mounted by you.
A Zhentilar soldier steps back out your way and bows his head quickly in deference.
You say 'I am Nerian Xavril.'
A Zhentilar soldier steps back out your way and bows his head quickly in deference.
A Zhentilar soldier says to you 'Your name is known to all who are not fools, my lord. Enter.'
The pair of huge gates adorned with spikes is closed.
It starts to rain.
You say 'I am Nerian Xavril. Open the gates'
A Zhentilar soldier steps back out your way and bows his head quickly in deference.
A Zhentilar soldier says to you 'Your name is known to all who are not fools, my lord. Enter.'
The pair of huge gates adorned with spikes is closed.
You dismount Lau'zoril, a spirited Andaluarian warhorse.
You say 'I am Nerian Xavril - open the gates.'
A Zhentilar soldier steps back out your way and bows his head quickly in deference.
A Zhentilar soldier says to you 'Your name is known to all who are not fools, my lord. Enter.'
The pair of huge gates adorned with spikes is closed.

Dismounted, still the same.
I employed Ishak to take me into the city, which he obliged. From the other side of the gate...

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 N-Bridge Street   E-Zhentil Avenue  S-Pair of huge gates adorned with spikes W-Zhentil Avenue 
The street here exists in the shadow of the city's walls and
suffers for it. Stagnant water feeds lichens and crabweed on
those cobbles which emerge from it and the offal tossed from
windows or passersby spoils in the shade when it cannot make
its way to the sewers opening. Despite the filth, those with
plans of profiting from visitors to the city, crowd close in
to the road's side. A tall black spire is visible off to the
northwest.
The sky is rainy and a cool northern breeze blows.
A Zhentilar soldier stands here in dark armor.
A Zhentilar Captain is here wearing ornate armor.
A Zhentilar soldier steps back against the gates, out of your way.
A Zhentilar Captain steps back out your way and bows his head quickly in deference.
A Zhentil Keep guardsman walks in from the east.
The pair of huge gates adorned with spikes is closed.
You see Bridge Street.
a Zhentilar soldier is not too far off north from here.
It's locked.
A Zhentilar soldier steps into your way and snarls.
A Zhentilar soldier exclaims to you 'Your name before you touch the gates!'
The pair of huge gates adorned with spikes is closed.
You say 'I am the Banelord.'
A Zhentilar soldier steps back out your way and bows his head quickly in deference.
A Zhentilar soldier says to you 'Your name is known to all who are not fools, my lord. Enter.'

...and it worked just fine. Something's wonky with it, but shouldn't require an immediate fix if these are isolated incidents.

[Harroghty]

I think the issue is that you don't need to give your name (your PC can walk through without a name because of faith and rank). Thus, I feel that something wonky might be happening if you get the bit twice? Anyway, I put a safety valve in there. Let me know what happens, please.

[Harroghty]

There's a new area adjacent to Zhentil Keep's Throat Gate, but it is not finished. Right now it just provides some color, some ale, stables, and mounts for sale. In the future, it will include more.

Just don't drive yourself crazy trying to figure out what it does!