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A question about EM abilities and permissions

Farsight

Crazed Zealot
Stratics Veteran
Stratics Legend
I don't expect to get an answer to my question/observation from an official source, so what I'm asking for is more here say and rumor. I know it isn't my usual style, but I'm just curious.

Back in the Seer-days of UO, one of my favorite Seer/IGM abilities was in the making of villians (or heroes) which were controlled by the Seer and could interact with or actually battle against the players. One of my favorites was when the Napa Seer spawned as a balron in Hythloth and proceeded to wreak havoc on the players as part of a quest.

In the latest incarnation of the EM program, the only EM controlled characters I've seen have been invulnerable (yellow named) characters.

The question I have is: Why?

Is it not possible, or would it be fun to have an EM controlled villian or army? One of the most heard criticisms of the program is that the EMs have only dropped much of the same monsters, but with more hit points and who hits harder.

Now I understand that the mechanics of Trammel would make an EM controlled fully interactive character would be difficult, but could it still be possible to have a demon overlord sort character (Taking a page out of Kasaven's Catskills event) which can PvP with the rest of them? Rather than a really big NPC, an event could end with fighting a character, surrounded by spawn and with monster ignore on, with nearly infinite mana and somewhat high resists who could proceed to support his AI minions with fields and area effect spells, take out the opponents who are most troublesome, etc.

Care would need to be taken that the EM-monster wouldn't have anything out of the ordinary to loot and wouldn't be too overpowered (i.e. limit the heals, no off-screen or teleporting away, etc), but I think it is a good time to have intelligent enemies as opposed to more of the same but harder hitting.
 
F

Fink

Guest
I can recall one instance where an EM character wasn't supposed to die but she did. That was under the "old" EM program. Perhaps vulnerability is no longer permitted? I can't say I've seen an EM character attackable that didn't appear to be a spawned monster of some type, not recently anyway.
 

Restroom Cowboy

Crazed Zealot
Stratics Veteran
Stratics Legend
Invulnerability is an option afaik...I have seen GMs make themselves vulnerable and imagine EMs are same same.
 

Taylor

Former Stratics CEO (2011-2014)
VIP
Alumni
Supporter
Stratics Veteran
Stratics Legend
UNLEASHED
Campaign Benefactor
Just based on my interactions with our EMs, I think that the current program affords our EMs very little authority/power. However, one of Atlantic's EMs did play a wisp, so I know they can portray mobs other than characters. As to whether they can become vulnerable, I couldn't say.
 

jbfortune

Slightly Crazed
Stratics Veteran
Stratics Legend
Our EM played an invun char, that was till they went to the Slasher. Think thats been fixed now though.
 

Mapper

Crazed Zealot
Alumni
Stratics Veteran
Stratics Legend
Our EM played an invun char, that was till they went to the Slasher. Think thats been fixed now though.
Sadly the EM character is still blue, So perhaps EMs can't make themselves invul? A GM/Dev needs too?
 

Crysta

Babbling Loonie
Alumni
Stratics Veteran
Stratics Legend
Our EM played an invun char, that was till they went to the Slasher. Think thats been fixed now though.
THAT'S why they changed the Slasher? Damn your EM! That invulnerability-ignore ability was cool! :(
 
B

BeefSupreme

Guest
Yeah, I remember the battle of Trinsic, Juo'nar was controlled by an EM/etc.
He was smashing players all evening long. well, except for the times he teleported high up
somewhere and laughed at us all.
 
K

Kiminality

Guest
I'd guess that's a bit of a risky path to travel.
The EM plays a monster and kills some players, then someone noticed that another player or guild managed to survive, and then there's a thread here about EM favouritism - "The EMs are PKing players that aren't their friends" and all that twaddle.
 
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