Dante's (very) Holy Guide

... and I don't mean Virgil ;)

revised edition

STATS

Well, I'll jump right into it and will start with the subjects of stats, skills and race for clerics. There are several ways of arranging stats, keeping in mind that race influences how quickly stats increase. One suggestion is (highest to lowest):

Aura (gives you your Spirit Points)
Discipline (helps getting better training points)
Wisdom (gives you your mana points)
Strength (helps you drag bodies, offense, and carry more)
Reflex (defense)
Intelligence (influences experience gains)
Logic (influences experience gains)
Dexterity
Constitution
Charisma


An example of level 0 rolls:

Aura 89
Discipline 85
Wisdom 83 + 10 = 93
Strength 80
Reflex 58
Intelligence 58
Logic 57 + 10 = 67
Dexterity 46
Constitution 41
Charisma 32


You really should make sure that your Aura is very close to 90; when you become a rezzer you might want to have at least 9
Spirit points -- that is to say, a minimum of 90 Aura points. With 8 Spirit Points you can rez anyone. You also want Wisdom in the 90s early on, so you have the mana to use spells.

SPIRIT POINTS

Assuming that you use spell 312 to rez, here's a table of how the Spirit Points influence it (point being: DON'T OVER-REZ!)
If you over-rez at this point, you instantly decompose. Many clerics have had their things stolen after decomposing. Also, ALWAYS have at least TWO deeds, or you might die permanently from loss of all your Spirit Points. Personally, I like to have
at least 10 deeds at all times.

Your Spirit Points Body's Spirit Points

10 max. can rez: 10
9 10
8 9
7 8
6 7
5 5
4 4
3 3
2 1
1 don't
dead ;> can't ;>

Hmmm...I'm making some assumptions vis-a-vis mathematical rounding up in the above table :) Guess what, I'm not eager to test these tables out <wink>. Be careful. (Revision note: it would seem that Simutronics chose to round the numbers down, rather than the mathematically correct method of rounding these particular numbers up -- which is good for rezzers. The above  table would therefor err on the side of safety :)

Rezzing with spell 318 obviously makes things easier. To wit:

10 10
9 10
8 10
7 10
6 10
5 9
4 7
3 5
2 3
1 1

SKILLS

For skills I'll simply give you an example of what a level 16 cleric might look like:

Armor 40 (don't train more -- and use double leather [AsG 8])
Shield 78 (train every time)
Blunt 78 (train every time)
(I actually prefer training in one-handed edged weapons, though more expensive)
Climb 35 (you want at least 40 by time you get titled)
Swim 25 (you want at least 30 by the time you're level 25)
Percept. 40
Mana Shr. 102 (don't really need more. Try to have 102 at level 12)*
Physical 66
F.Aid 78 (helps with tending/bandaging...and skinning)
Combat M. 5 (you'll want to train more)
Scroll 40 (this is a good skill to have)

* If you have less than 102 (percent) mana share skills, you may fail the rez.

RACE

For race: DON'T be a Halfling or pure Elf -- unless you insist for, say, role-playing reasons. Halflings are too weak to drag bodies. Pure Elves recover their Spirit Points very slowly. Most clerics tend to be Giants or Half-Elves. By the way, Dwarves and Halflings recover Spirit Points quickest; Humans, Giants and Half-Elves at "normal" rates, and the pure Elven races the slowest.

WEAPONS

Weapons note: excluding normal weapons (those not made of a magical material) that can be Magic Edged to +15 (Wizard spell 902) and used by any level character, you must be half the level of the plussed item to use it. Example:

Mithril (+ 5) must be a level 3 character
Ora (+ 10) must be a level 5 character
Imflass (+ 12) must be a level 6 character
Mein/Glaes (+ 15) must be a level 8 character (very heavy material, btw)
Vultite (+ 20) must be a level 10 character

One "cheap" solution that many level 10, and above, clerics use, is to have their holy mace or white blade ebladed. This gives their weapon a temporary + 20 with special crits added.

REZZING

First off, use the highlighting possibilities of your GS program to the utmost. Highlight "different" (to see when a body loses it's LK/lifekeep spell), "body", your name (both capitalized and not), "whispers", "cloud" (just 'cuz ;). Highlight the names of all other rezzers, if you have room. I highlight rezzers in white, empaths in yellow, etc.; alas, the GS (Genie) Front End only has room for about 50 highlighted items -- so I don't have room for everything I'd like.  Proper highlighting is, in my opinion, the "secret" that differentiates so-called good rezzers from bad ones -- this is especially true when it comes to lifekeeping versus decomposing.

The first thing you do when you see a body, is to cast LK (spell 305) on it -- unless you're pretty darn sure someone else has LK'd it already.  By the way, always try to keep a white flask or two handy; sometimes you won't have the mana to LK. Also, if you're in RT when a body is dragged in, announce something like: "Still in RT, can't LK". It doesn't hurt to announce once in awhile that you haven't recovered enough to rez yet (if it's true, of course) -- just to educate the masses that there can be a lenghty recovery period involved.

The second thing you do is to switch to Guild speech (type: Guild) and ask: "Any other REZZERS here?" Asking in this fashion makes it more noticeable.

Wait for a possible response. Assume that the first rezzer in an area is in charge -- and treat that person that way. Even if you are "in charge" of TSC, and leave for one second, assume someone else is in charge when you come back (till you find out otherwise). Don't be selfish is such matters.

If there is a rezzer present, and few bodies, leave everything in that cleric's capable hands. If there are many dead ones, ask if help is needed. Sometimes it's fun to simply give help -- that is to say, to give the resident cleric some mana or WoL. Remember, to send mana to someone, type SEND <# of mana> <name>. Notice that this is not in the same order as when you give an item to someone :/  Also, if you have lots of mana, for goodness sake send some to a Healer or another rezzer. Or infuse it into the mana pools, so that Wizards can enchant items easier.

Switch back to COMMon speech.

Diagnose the person to see if the body is bleeding. Do NOT rez a body that is bleeding. Type DIAGNose <name> FULL to diagnose. If body is bleeding, ask an Empath/Healer to help. If none are close, consider bandaging the wound yourself; type TEND <name> <area>. You might get a long RT (round time) doing so. By the way, the healing brews from the Isle might be of help vis-a-vis banged-up bodies. Diagnose fully again after you've tended, and tell the dead person to get properly healed as soon as possible after the rez.

Beware of bodies that are diseased. Diseases do not show when you diagnose full. What might happen is that the person might die again right after you rez, if the disease is still active.

If needed, type APPraise <name> to check how many Spirit Points the body has as a maximum. Don't kill yourself by using up all of your own Spirit Points.

If there are other rezzers there, or any question at all about the rezzing order (if more than one body), announce that you're "rezzing <name>".

In general, don't ask other rezzers to WoL (Well of Life) you; it robs them of Spirit Points and, thus, creates a hardship for them. Better to simply ask them if they'd like to do the rez. Always be polite when it comes to such matters. Simply giving WoL to friends and such is always appreciated, though.

By the way, you might want to be careful RPing a rez when in such a busy area as TSC; there is often so much happening there already, that the extra chatter can be detrimental.

Consider the order in which you rez. Might it make sense to rez Empaths/Healers first? Or are other rezzers needed desperately, so you should rez other rezzers first? And screaming naggers? Do they get rezzed last? Rez titled people first, to help beat back the beastly hordes? Checking people's Spirit Points might also be helpful when deciding. In general, though, you'd probably want to rez on a first come, first serve basis.

If you hear on the ESP net that a rezzer is needed at some remote location, and you decide to go out and help, DO announce that you're doing so on the regular net. No fun to have 2-4 rezzers show up in, say, Krolvin, because no one announced their intentions. On the other hand, keep in mind that there are now "private" ESP nets, AOL Instant Messages (IMs), Ranger thoughts, Voln thoughts, etc. <sigh>. In other words, it's a mess ;>
Also, keep in mind that there are so many rezzers these days, that it seems that one stumbles upon them wherever one goes -- so be understanding if there are already rezzers present when you rush off to help someone.

Keep the Lesser Sanctuary spell in mind when rezzing. It really isn't very helpful vis-a-vis beasts -- 'cept the two-legged bratty version ;>    So, if LordMegaWarriorBrat is standing next to the body, leaning on his mithril megasword, and glancing eagerly at the cadaver -- well, you might keep that Sanctuary spell in mind <wink>.

The Calm spell can be very helpful vis-a-vis real critters when it comes to field-rezzes. Airwall (spell 102) can also be helpfull in these circumstances -- remember that both you and the rezzed are in a weakened state right after a rez.

REWARDS

Whether you accept rewards for rezzing, or not, is totally up to you. Role-playing certainly enters into the picture. I will say this, though, so many high-level rezzers refuse rewards these days, that they're in the process of setting a standard: don't pay rezzers. Very bad and unfortunate for young rezzers who often are very poor. I suggest that if you strongly feel that you should not accept any rewards, please consider telling the person you just rezzed that they should be sure to reward other rezzers, should it come to that. My personal approach is that I don't ask for silvers or such, but I do gratefully accept it if  offered. Also, keep in mind that deeds might be hard to come by for rezzers, so a nice deed stone is always a nice gift.

All in all...relax, role-play, have fun with friends, and enjoy yourself <bites you!> Whether these lands are your Inferno, Purgatorio, or Paradiso is, ultimately, up to you.

...notes from the journeys of...

Dante St.Etienne