Post by dodrudon on Oct 11, 2006 7:10:22 GMT
This is meant to be a beginner's guide to HG, not to NWN.
For a more advanced guide, see The Immortal Guide
Credits: (see thread)
The Newbie Guide
Last updated: 8/9/10
Welcome to Higher Ground!
Higher Ground (HG) is an NWN mod based off of Path of Ascension (PoA). Many servers use PoA as a base, so if you've played any of those servers you've got a head start.
Table of Contents
Basics
- Multiple Servers
-Important Changes
-Loot System
-On Death and Dying
-Teleportation Gems
-Parties and Experience
-Deleveling and Deleting Characters
-Inventory Item Limit
-PC Scry
What to Do First
-The Voyage
-Welcome to Ascension!
-Free Level(s)!
-Around Town
-Where NOT to go
The Journey Begins!
-Cellar, rats, and trash
-Beetles and their bellies
Things You Should Know
-Newbie and Chat Channels
-Getting Equipment
-The Bank
-Splitting Loot: The Wandering Wyrm
-Quests
-Changing Alignment
Things to Buy
-some lists of stuff with prices
References and Useful Sources
-HGWiki
-Build Forum
-Server Map
-General Server Info
-Server Rules
-Higher Ground Class/Ability/Spell Changes
Basics
Stuff to know before heading off
Multiple Servers (IMPORTANT)
Higher Ground has several servers so areas don't get too crowded. You can type "!who all" (without quotes) to see a list of all servers and people on each server. In order to go to a particular server (for instance, if a friend is there, or a run is shouted that you wish to join), just join any server, then type "!portal [servernumber]" and hit the "Join" button on the dialog that pops up (ignore the password field, there is no password).
Important Changes
HG has completely changed the NWN from its original incarnation. All classes have major changes, some with new and powerful abilities, while others have their original abilities made more powerful, or even uses per day increased (sometimes to infinity!). Almost all spells have been completely reworked, some have their original function completely modified, or the level cap on damage has been changed, and more. Epic spells have also been improved, and new epic spells available if you have Epic Spell Focus feats. The critical range and critical multiplier on some weapons have been changed as well, some weapons even have extra attacks. The maximum Dexterity bonus to AC you can get from armors is also increased depending on armor type. Also, there are dozens upon dozens of subraces you can become, some are secret and you'll have to unlock them through questing. Find a link at the end of this guide to the changes section of the forum.
Loot System
HG uses a unique looting system. When you touch a crate, barrel, chest, bones, rubble, loot bag, or any other container not labeled "remains" the container will disappear, leaving a small bag called "remains" behind. The remains will contain the loot from the container. This looting system is used so loot can respawn more easily, simply replacing a looted barrel with another barrel after, say 10 minutes or so. Also, don't bash loot containers (any of the non-remains things), the loot inside will also break and you'll get nothing for your troubles. Certain spells (such as Fireball) will also break loot, so use care. The loot system is highly customized as well, check this FAQ to see how it works.
On Death and Dying
You die if your HP drops reaches -10 or below. If you have between 0 and -9 HP, you will take 1 point of damage per round until you die. There is a small chance you will begin healing, in which case you will gain 1HP instead of taking 1 damage. Regeneration works when you're in this almost-dead state. Also, you can be healed with heal kits and spells, or raised or resurrected. When you die, a menu will pop up asking whether you want to respawn. The death system in HG will give you a time of around two minutes until you automatically respawn. If your allies do not resurrect (rez) or raise you before that time, you will "fugue." Fugue is a verb refering to being sent to a place called the Fugue, which is where you are sent on respawn. On entering the Fugue, you lose a portion of your experience as well as 10% of your gold. Additionally, you have a 25% chance of losing an equipped item. If you die and get rezzed too many times within a short time frame, you will automatically fugue. Talk to the person in Fugue to get teleported back to town.
Teleportation Gems
You'll find this gem lying around at lower levels. When used, it will teleport you back to town. It takes a few moments when it's activated to be used. Don't move too far (or die) during this time! Otherwise it will fail to work. On teleport, you also lose a certain percentage of your gold (up to a maximum of 24000gp). [does anyone know the actual formula?] ALWAYS keep at least one on you!
Parties and Experience
The more people you have in a party, the more experience you'll gain, up to five party members. You must be alive to gain experience. A party can only have a maximum of 10 people, and all party members must be within six levels of each other. However, once you hit level 34, you can party with anyone from level 40 to 60 (read on to find out about Legendary Levels).
Deleveling and Deleting Characters
You can delevel a character if you've messed up, for instance, by choosing a wrong feat or skill. Visit Rowan's Guardian in town, though it will cost you some gold (select the "I wish to walk a different path" option). However, you can't delevel a character after you take your first legendary level, or if you get stat points from RDD levels, or if you've swapped certain feats for stat points (as per a HG changes to some classes). Note that the option to delevel won't show up if you don't have sufficient gold. Also, you can visit the Guardian to delete your character too (or use the !delete command).
Inventory Item Limit
You can hold a maximum of 150 items in your backpack. If you enter the town of Ascension (it's not hard to find, it's the only (friendly) town around) with more than that, you'll get teleported to a place called Encumbria, where you'll have to sell items at a greatly reduced price or drop them until you have 150 items or less to return to town. To check how many items you have left, use the PC Scry, or !count all. Stacks count as one item, so a stack of 10 scrolls will count as one item, while three of the same yet unstacked scrolls will count as three items. The 150 item limit will not count equipped items. Speaking of which, many stackable items now stack to 50 instead of 10 (such as potions and scrolls).
PC Scry
Probably one of the most useful tools you'll ever come across! On activation, it will show you a menu letting you do many different things. You can call up a list of players on the server (shown in your combat log, the right text screen), see who's on other servers, or get information on yourself (choose this option to see how many items you have). Perhaps the best option on the PC Scry is the "Teleport to Party Leader" option. If you're in a party, you can use this option to immediately, well, teleport to your party leader. You can also access the scry using the command: !pcscry.
What to do first
Before you do anything else....
The Voyage
The first map you'll encounter is on a small ship where you talk to a captain. So talk.
Welcome to Ascension!
Ascension may look odd if you've played other PoA mods. Talk to the town greeter (the dwarf standing at the end of the ramp off the ship) for more information. Now would be a good time to read the book in your inventory called "The Crown of Ascension." Read the signs to the right for HG specific changes (there are a LOT, and the changes are what makes HG so unique, fun, and popular). Well, you don't have to read it all, just scan through it to get an idea how HG is different. An important change is Legendary Levels. You can read more about these changes in the books at the Wonderous Item Shop in town proper. Go north to head to the main part of town.
Free Level(s)!
Check your minimap and head to the Rowan Tree. To get there, head north a little from the docks, and turn right down the long path between all the buildings. Head to the end, and you'll find a tree with a glowing symbol beneath it. Talk to the Rowan Tree Guardian there. Depending on your class, you'll be able to get one or two free levels.
Around Town
After you level up, walk around and talk to the NPCs. Watch out, one of the NPCs will change your alignment depending on what you say.... After that, explore each of the buildings and see what they sell and what the NPCs in there have to say. You'll definitely want to check out the tavern for some good information, and the sage. There's also someone around town that will pay 50gp for a fire beetle belly (even though he says he'll only pay 5gp). Head to the Merchant's Emporium. This is where you'll be buying most of your equipment at lower levels. Eventually you'll start buying items from the merchant in the tavern when you hit level 10 or so. The item merchant in the Merchant's Emporium has teleport gems for sale under the "misc" tab. Also for sale are Lens of Detections, which can be used three times a day to detect traps (be sure to check the changes to the Detect Traps spell). It will also disarm traps with a DC of below 35, which is the best a non-rogue can do. The Wonderous Items shop sells Second Chance packs, which are basically free stacks of Cure Moderate Wounds. Buy some! When you get enough money, buy a few Raise Dead scrolls (if you can't use/afford Resurrect scrolls yet). These are especially useful when your party members die.
Where NOT to go
Don't go to the East Road, that's for much later. Feel free to go to the Arena up north, though. Oh, and avoid the second level of the well. The first level is fine, but the second is for the 35+ range.
The Journey Begins!
Dire rat, meet short sword +1....
Cellar, rats, and trash
The first place you'll want to hit are the rats in the cellar behind the tavern. If you talked to enough people, you should have this quest in your journal. Go and bash on a garbage pile here, and see what the loot drops. Broken Loot is worthless, so don't bash anything (else). Fight the rats as you get progressively farther into the cellar, and loot as you go. Hint: a Lens of Detection will help in dire straits.
Beetles and their bellies
Remember the guy who said he'd buy Fire Beetle Bellies? Go to the Road to Town, which is on the west side of your map. All fire beetles (and their kin) will drop Fire Beetle Bellies. Sell these to that guy. Watch out for quicklings! They always come in pairs and will try to pickpocket you. Kill them before they disappear to get your stuff back. Explore the caves and paths around here (if you dare). The paths off to other areas are a bit harder, so stick to the caves for a level or two at least. Keep an eye out for well-hidden loot! The Beetle Cave goes especially deep, so you should bring some friends with you when journeying down there. Continuing down the Road to Town, you'll find stirges and bandits. The bandit cave has some nice loot if you manage to survive. Go up and down this road and its connected areas for early levels. If you get bored, you can also check out the cemetery in the southeast corner of town.
What You Should Know
Newbie and Chat Channels
There are interserver channels where you can ask for help or get a party going. Type !newbie [message] and it'll broadcast to the newbie channel, where you can ask for help. !chat [message] sends a message to everyone (who has not opted out of the chat channel), and you can request a run or state your own. !runmsg [message] is another channel, which you can only use three times a day, but broadcasts to everyone. These run messages will also show up online so players can see them even when not logged on!
Getting Equipment
For the first 20 levels of your life, you'll be mostly living off store-bought equipment. Stop every few levels and go shopping and see what you can upgrade. Once you hit your teens, though, start taking a closer look at the random loot you find lying around. At higher levels, especially past 20, the loot you find is oftentimes better than the stuff you can get in the store. Hold on to what you pick up and compare it to store items before selling. Also, note that there is a differentiation between set loot and random loot. Set loot always appears in the same place. For instance, Cesspool (aka Cessie) drops a Dragon's Blood, which is set loot because she'll always drop a Dragon's Blood, and a loot spot in her cave always drops the same shield, which is also set loot. Note that set loot sometimes only appears a percentage of the time, such as MoaD's Blood from MoaD (a dragon you may encounter later in your troubles), which only drops occasionally. Random loot is just that, random. It can appear in any loot spot. There are different tiers of rarity of random items, use "!list rarities" to see which random items you have and how rare they are.
The Bank
-When you first got off the ship, you probably noticed some temples and a bank. The bank used to let you deposit and withdraw gold, but now it is accessed through the !wallet command. Use !wallet withdraw [value], !wallet deposit [value], and !wallet balance. The wallet can only be withdrawn from and deposited to in no-pvp zones (such as in town).
-At the bank are item storage chests. Use the pedestal to be teleported to a private vault. Be sure to read the sign on how to use the storage chests. They can hold a maximum of 50 items each (or max 10 randomized items), but will not hold containers/bags/boxes. Be sure the CLOSE the chest when you finish with it! Otherwise the items inside won't save! You have as many storage chests as you'd like now. Use !bc [chestname] in order to access a chest (make sure the chest is closed first, unless you want to change the chest name), and !bc list to see what chests you have. This is a great way to organize a large amount of items.
Splitting Loot: The Wandering Wyrm
-You'll find a strange building called the Wandering Wyrm in the eastern part of Ascension. This is where most parties head after a fruitful run. In the lobby area, you'll see a pedestal with a light shining on it, called the Mass Identifier. This lets you identify all unidentified items in your inventory, but for 125gp each instead of the normal 100gp.... Two chests are also here, an auction chest and a priced items chest. This is where players can sell or auction of items they don't need. Read the sign to see how they work.
-To split loot, find and enter an unoccupied room. The door will close behind you. If you are not the party leader, get whoever is to set you as party leader. Then have your entire party use the "Teleport to Party Leader" option on their PC Scry. Have everyone dump the loot they got on the run into the Armoire at one end of the room. Usually at the beginning of the run, one player is set as the "bank," which means that person is in charge of collecting all the loot. This just makes things easier to keep track of, but is up to the party. When all the loot is in the armoire, have the party leader say "!partyroll" (without the quotes). This is a chat command that will automatically roll a 100 sided die for each player in the party. Whoever rolled highest gets first pick of the loot from the armoire. Then whoever rolled second highest gets second pick, and so on. This continues on down the list, and after you reach the last person, you return to the first person to choose again. You can say you don't want anything else, and skip the rest of your picks. When everyone's done splitting the loot, take what's left in the armoire and dump it into the Mass Sell chest in the middle of the room. When the chest is closed, all the items in it will be sold and the gold from it will be evenly divided among all the party members.
Quests
-PoA is more an action mod than a quest based mod, though that doesn't mean there aren't quests. With that in mind....
-There are four rings you can only acquire before certain levels. The Ring of Waterbreathing by L10, Ring of Levitation by L15, Ring of Firewalking by L20, and Ring of Passwall by L25. These rings allow travel through environments otherwise unpassable. The first ring should be easy to find if you explored well enough, but the rest are harder and you'll more than likely have to find someone who knows where it is to show you the way (though perhaps the captain at the barracks might have a hint... for a price).
-There are several low level tags you can acquire. They are level capped and currently provide no benefits besides bragging rights (though they may provide some bonus some day). For a reward for hunting them all down, see this thread.
-The process to becoming immortal (immo) is long and hard, and not without its perils. HG uses a system called "tags" to keep track of information for your characters. When you complete certain runs, you will get a tag saying so (check what tags you have in the same menu on the PC Scry as where you check the total number of items you're carrying). In order to go on an immo run, you need a Xulrae (Xul) and Lloth tag (which means you need to kill Xulrae and Lloth). To go on a Lloth run, however, you need to kill Xul. They can all be found in the Manatakloss (Mana). However, you'll need to be at least level 33 to enter. It's not too hard to find Xul, but the Lloth run is long and time consuming. You can NOT do these runs alone, find a party! From here on out, the runs all but require a decent sized party.
Changing Alignment for Rover/Rag'
Occasionally during the game, you may want to change your alignment, perhaps just for fun or maybe because you need to fulfill a certain alignment requirement for a prestige class. One way to do this is to talk to the priest near the center of town. However, please LEAVE YOUR PARTY before you do this, as it changes everybody's alignment! Other ways to change alignment include killing (neutral) animals, using the Deck of Hazards, or performing certain actions (such as condemning a person's soul to torture for eternity). Don't worry, the vets in your party will warn you of any of the more obscure ways to change alignment beforehand and do what's needed to prevent your alignment from changing.
Things to Buy
Shop till you drop!
Sometimes my friends complain I take too long shopping for equipment, but the perfect combination goes a long way! You'll eventually want elemental resists, damage resists (both general and slash/pierce/bludgeon-specific), immunities (death, level/ability drain, mind, knockdown), freedom, true seeing (or quaff a potion), stat boosts, and of course, plenty of AC. I try keep around two or three items of different slots (maybe boots, a bracer, and a ring) that give one of the attributes above, such as a for knockdown immune and elemental resists. That way I can switch around my set-up as the situation warrants. You won't have to worry about this yet at low levels, but don't throw away that necklace cuz you found boots that can replace it...
The following list of items you should consider buying, if you have the money. These are worst-case prices, taken from an unfavorable merchant (in other words, no appraise).
Format: Item Name (level to use, blank if level 1) x[number if sold in packs] [cost]
The merchant at the Druid's Grove sells potions for the best prices, as well as Raise Deads, which you'll be using until level 7 at which point you can use rezzes.
Cure Medium Wounds x10 495gp
Cure Serious x10 990gp
Cure Critical x10 4,200gp
Heal x10 19,800gp
Raise Dead (3) 2,431gp
Lesser Restoration Pack x10 45,864gp
Speed Pack x10 48,510gp
The Items Merchant in the Merchants Emporium sells a TON of useful stuff. She also has a nice collection of scrolls that will help if you're a mage.
Gem of Teleportation (4) 5,589gp
lets you teleport from (almost) anywhere to town, except from other planes, which you won't have to worry until you're past level 40
Gem Pouch 28gp
a container that takes up only one square in your inventory, but with no weight reduction, perfect for strength builds
Bag of Holding 4,303gp
a container that has 100% weight reduction, nearly a requirement for all non-strength builds, unless you want to crawl home, that is
Saintsblood Pearl (9) 27,360gp
this charged item is a favorite, it has 10 castings of restore, useful for removing negative effects, plus it's cheaper than a stack of 10 restore scrolls
Scabbard of Blessing (6) 12,289gp
casts Bless and Aid 3x a day each, both will give you +1 ab for a total of +2, used even at legendary levels
Rod of Reversal (10) 27,380gp
this item is availible from the Weapons Merchant in the Emporium, it has 50 charges, Dispel Magic takes 3 charges and Great Dispel takes 5 charges, it's good to dispel many enemy spell effects, and maybe clear that pesky cloud spell
The Wonderous Items Merchant has many, many scrolls that a mage cannot go without! Buy some summon scrolls if you can afford them, they help so much at lower levels. Maybe invest in a stack of fireball scrolls. He also carries a useful selection of potions.
Potion of Speed 477gp
gives Haste effect, I can't tell you how valuable this is at low level before you can get an item with haste on it (lowest haste items are level 9 and a little hard to find, others are level 10 and 11), Haste gives an extra attack, +4 Dodge AC (which stacks), and you run away--I mean run towards the enemy 50% faster
Potion of Bull's Strength 190gp
Rez Pack (7) 135,742gp
The Tavern is a higher-end store that caters to characters above level 10. There's also a bartender in there that sells one useful drink, as well as several... mysterious ones....
Potion of Negative Energy Resistance x10 27,720gp
gives 100% immunity to negative energy, necessary in some places for those without the spell Shadow Shield, also used on some runs
Sage Ring (12) 58,845gp
gives immunity to mind spells, a favorite at low levels, it's downright useful in many places
Avat's Unending Cosmic Suicider (3) 1,869gp
despite its name, it casts Stoneskin on you, and does nothing else, get this from the bartender
The Alchemist's Shop holds many odds and ends, including colored wands and potion bottles, so any home-made wands and potions can be easily told apart by color. He also has a variety of venoms and grenade weapons ranging from 45 to 360gp apiece.
Health/Agility/Strength Pack x10 3,024gp
casts the appropriate spell for bonus Con/Dex/Str respectively
Wisdom/Intellect/Charm Pack x10 3,402gp
casts the appropriate spell for bonus Wis/Int/Cha respectively, great for that small boost to spell DC
Perhaps the most overlooked shop is the Clothing Store. It actually sells a variety of useful robes for mages and monks and rogues.
At higher levels, start shopping at Imports for specialty items.
Oh, and for those times when you have a lot of loot to unload, and don't have a party to split it with, keep in mind the Weapons Shop merchant (not the one in the Emporium) will buy your items for the best price, especially if you have a high Appraise.
Keep a sharp eye out for hidden loot as you journey out. There are many useful items out there, such as the Epic Flag of Ascension (level 15) that gives Haste, Darkvision, True Seeing, Freedom, and +5 Regen, a flag that I use from level 15 to 45 on characters that don't use shields. Other items like this are invaluable to your journey, and I'd tell you where to find them, but that's a secret.
References and Useful Sources
Where to find the information you need
HGWiki
The HGWiki is a project started up by Jillybean as a encyclopedia of all information unique to Higher Ground. It can be found at wiki.hgweb.org/wiki/Main_Page. Being a wiki, it is open to editing, but please exercise caution and verify all your information before you post.
Build Forum
The [Build Forum] is a great place to look up what builds work on HG. If this is your first time playing here, it'd help to use one of the more popular builds in this section of the forums until you get a feel for the server. Also, definitely check out the [Open Builds Forum]. It has several builds that use no secret subraces. Any of these builds can get you started, and they each include explanations of relevant HG changes and what build decisions were made and why.
Server Map
Holla has made an amazing map of the entire server, it can be accessed here.
General Server Info
Fusa has put together a document covering the basics of Higher Ground, from ability changes to maximum levels at which dragons drop loot. Find it here.
Server Rules
READ THE RULES
Higher Ground Class/Ability/Spell/Equipment Changes
Find all the changes to HG, from subraces to Legendary Levels to new epic spells, even equipment: [here].
Have a good time playing Higher Ground, and feel free to ask anyone for help. Most people on the servers are more than willing to give a helping hand. Your journey has just begun!
For a more advanced guide, see The Immortal Guide
Credits: (see thread)
The Newbie Guide
Last updated: 8/9/10
Welcome to Higher Ground!
Higher Ground (HG) is an NWN mod based off of Path of Ascension (PoA). Many servers use PoA as a base, so if you've played any of those servers you've got a head start.
Table of Contents
Basics
- Multiple Servers
-Important Changes
-Loot System
-On Death and Dying
-Teleportation Gems
-Parties and Experience
-Deleveling and Deleting Characters
-Inventory Item Limit
-PC Scry
What to Do First
-The Voyage
-Welcome to Ascension!
-Free Level(s)!
-Around Town
-Where NOT to go
The Journey Begins!
-Cellar, rats, and trash
-Beetles and their bellies
Things You Should Know
-Newbie and Chat Channels
-Getting Equipment
-The Bank
-Splitting Loot: The Wandering Wyrm
-Quests
-Changing Alignment
Things to Buy
-some lists of stuff with prices
References and Useful Sources
-HGWiki
-Build Forum
-Server Map
-General Server Info
-Server Rules
-Higher Ground Class/Ability/Spell Changes
Basics
Stuff to know before heading off
Multiple Servers (IMPORTANT)
Higher Ground has several servers so areas don't get too crowded. You can type "!who all" (without quotes) to see a list of all servers and people on each server. In order to go to a particular server (for instance, if a friend is there, or a run is shouted that you wish to join), just join any server, then type "!portal [servernumber]" and hit the "Join" button on the dialog that pops up (ignore the password field, there is no password).
Important Changes
HG has completely changed the NWN from its original incarnation. All classes have major changes, some with new and powerful abilities, while others have their original abilities made more powerful, or even uses per day increased (sometimes to infinity!). Almost all spells have been completely reworked, some have their original function completely modified, or the level cap on damage has been changed, and more. Epic spells have also been improved, and new epic spells available if you have Epic Spell Focus feats. The critical range and critical multiplier on some weapons have been changed as well, some weapons even have extra attacks. The maximum Dexterity bonus to AC you can get from armors is also increased depending on armor type. Also, there are dozens upon dozens of subraces you can become, some are secret and you'll have to unlock them through questing. Find a link at the end of this guide to the changes section of the forum.
Loot System
HG uses a unique looting system. When you touch a crate, barrel, chest, bones, rubble, loot bag, or any other container not labeled "remains" the container will disappear, leaving a small bag called "remains" behind. The remains will contain the loot from the container. This looting system is used so loot can respawn more easily, simply replacing a looted barrel with another barrel after, say 10 minutes or so. Also, don't bash loot containers (any of the non-remains things), the loot inside will also break and you'll get nothing for your troubles. Certain spells (such as Fireball) will also break loot, so use care. The loot system is highly customized as well, check this FAQ to see how it works.
On Death and Dying
You die if your HP drops reaches -10 or below. If you have between 0 and -9 HP, you will take 1 point of damage per round until you die. There is a small chance you will begin healing, in which case you will gain 1HP instead of taking 1 damage. Regeneration works when you're in this almost-dead state. Also, you can be healed with heal kits and spells, or raised or resurrected. When you die, a menu will pop up asking whether you want to respawn. The death system in HG will give you a time of around two minutes until you automatically respawn. If your allies do not resurrect (rez) or raise you before that time, you will "fugue." Fugue is a verb refering to being sent to a place called the Fugue, which is where you are sent on respawn. On entering the Fugue, you lose a portion of your experience as well as 10% of your gold. Additionally, you have a 25% chance of losing an equipped item. If you die and get rezzed too many times within a short time frame, you will automatically fugue. Talk to the person in Fugue to get teleported back to town.
Teleportation Gems
You'll find this gem lying around at lower levels. When used, it will teleport you back to town. It takes a few moments when it's activated to be used. Don't move too far (or die) during this time! Otherwise it will fail to work. On teleport, you also lose a certain percentage of your gold (up to a maximum of 24000gp). [does anyone know the actual formula?] ALWAYS keep at least one on you!
Parties and Experience
The more people you have in a party, the more experience you'll gain, up to five party members. You must be alive to gain experience. A party can only have a maximum of 10 people, and all party members must be within six levels of each other. However, once you hit level 34, you can party with anyone from level 40 to 60 (read on to find out about Legendary Levels).
Deleveling and Deleting Characters
You can delevel a character if you've messed up, for instance, by choosing a wrong feat or skill. Visit Rowan's Guardian in town, though it will cost you some gold (select the "I wish to walk a different path" option). However, you can't delevel a character after you take your first legendary level, or if you get stat points from RDD levels, or if you've swapped certain feats for stat points (as per a HG changes to some classes). Note that the option to delevel won't show up if you don't have sufficient gold. Also, you can visit the Guardian to delete your character too (or use the !delete command).
Inventory Item Limit
You can hold a maximum of 150 items in your backpack. If you enter the town of Ascension (it's not hard to find, it's the only (friendly) town around) with more than that, you'll get teleported to a place called Encumbria, where you'll have to sell items at a greatly reduced price or drop them until you have 150 items or less to return to town. To check how many items you have left, use the PC Scry, or !count all. Stacks count as one item, so a stack of 10 scrolls will count as one item, while three of the same yet unstacked scrolls will count as three items. The 150 item limit will not count equipped items. Speaking of which, many stackable items now stack to 50 instead of 10 (such as potions and scrolls).
PC Scry
Probably one of the most useful tools you'll ever come across! On activation, it will show you a menu letting you do many different things. You can call up a list of players on the server (shown in your combat log, the right text screen), see who's on other servers, or get information on yourself (choose this option to see how many items you have). Perhaps the best option on the PC Scry is the "Teleport to Party Leader" option. If you're in a party, you can use this option to immediately, well, teleport to your party leader. You can also access the scry using the command: !pcscry.
What to do first
Before you do anything else....
The Voyage
The first map you'll encounter is on a small ship where you talk to a captain. So talk.
Welcome to Ascension!
Ascension may look odd if you've played other PoA mods. Talk to the town greeter (the dwarf standing at the end of the ramp off the ship) for more information. Now would be a good time to read the book in your inventory called "The Crown of Ascension." Read the signs to the right for HG specific changes (there are a LOT, and the changes are what makes HG so unique, fun, and popular). Well, you don't have to read it all, just scan through it to get an idea how HG is different. An important change is Legendary Levels. You can read more about these changes in the books at the Wonderous Item Shop in town proper. Go north to head to the main part of town.
Free Level(s)!
Check your minimap and head to the Rowan Tree. To get there, head north a little from the docks, and turn right down the long path between all the buildings. Head to the end, and you'll find a tree with a glowing symbol beneath it. Talk to the Rowan Tree Guardian there. Depending on your class, you'll be able to get one or two free levels.
Around Town
After you level up, walk around and talk to the NPCs. Watch out, one of the NPCs will change your alignment depending on what you say.... After that, explore each of the buildings and see what they sell and what the NPCs in there have to say. You'll definitely want to check out the tavern for some good information, and the sage. There's also someone around town that will pay 50gp for a fire beetle belly (even though he says he'll only pay 5gp). Head to the Merchant's Emporium. This is where you'll be buying most of your equipment at lower levels. Eventually you'll start buying items from the merchant in the tavern when you hit level 10 or so. The item merchant in the Merchant's Emporium has teleport gems for sale under the "misc" tab. Also for sale are Lens of Detections, which can be used three times a day to detect traps (be sure to check the changes to the Detect Traps spell). It will also disarm traps with a DC of below 35, which is the best a non-rogue can do. The Wonderous Items shop sells Second Chance packs, which are basically free stacks of Cure Moderate Wounds. Buy some! When you get enough money, buy a few Raise Dead scrolls (if you can't use/afford Resurrect scrolls yet). These are especially useful when your party members die.
Where NOT to go
Don't go to the East Road, that's for much later. Feel free to go to the Arena up north, though. Oh, and avoid the second level of the well. The first level is fine, but the second is for the 35+ range.
The Journey Begins!
Dire rat, meet short sword +1....
Cellar, rats, and trash
The first place you'll want to hit are the rats in the cellar behind the tavern. If you talked to enough people, you should have this quest in your journal. Go and bash on a garbage pile here, and see what the loot drops. Broken Loot is worthless, so don't bash anything (else). Fight the rats as you get progressively farther into the cellar, and loot as you go. Hint: a Lens of Detection will help in dire straits.
Beetles and their bellies
Remember the guy who said he'd buy Fire Beetle Bellies? Go to the Road to Town, which is on the west side of your map. All fire beetles (and their kin) will drop Fire Beetle Bellies. Sell these to that guy. Watch out for quicklings! They always come in pairs and will try to pickpocket you. Kill them before they disappear to get your stuff back. Explore the caves and paths around here (if you dare). The paths off to other areas are a bit harder, so stick to the caves for a level or two at least. Keep an eye out for well-hidden loot! The Beetle Cave goes especially deep, so you should bring some friends with you when journeying down there. Continuing down the Road to Town, you'll find stirges and bandits. The bandit cave has some nice loot if you manage to survive. Go up and down this road and its connected areas for early levels. If you get bored, you can also check out the cemetery in the southeast corner of town.
What You Should Know
Newbie and Chat Channels
There are interserver channels where you can ask for help or get a party going. Type !newbie [message] and it'll broadcast to the newbie channel, where you can ask for help. !chat [message] sends a message to everyone (who has not opted out of the chat channel), and you can request a run or state your own. !runmsg [message] is another channel, which you can only use three times a day, but broadcasts to everyone. These run messages will also show up online so players can see them even when not logged on!
Getting Equipment
For the first 20 levels of your life, you'll be mostly living off store-bought equipment. Stop every few levels and go shopping and see what you can upgrade. Once you hit your teens, though, start taking a closer look at the random loot you find lying around. At higher levels, especially past 20, the loot you find is oftentimes better than the stuff you can get in the store. Hold on to what you pick up and compare it to store items before selling. Also, note that there is a differentiation between set loot and random loot. Set loot always appears in the same place. For instance, Cesspool (aka Cessie) drops a Dragon's Blood, which is set loot because she'll always drop a Dragon's Blood, and a loot spot in her cave always drops the same shield, which is also set loot. Note that set loot sometimes only appears a percentage of the time, such as MoaD's Blood from MoaD (a dragon you may encounter later in your troubles), which only drops occasionally. Random loot is just that, random. It can appear in any loot spot. There are different tiers of rarity of random items, use "!list rarities" to see which random items you have and how rare they are.
The Bank
-When you first got off the ship, you probably noticed some temples and a bank. The bank used to let you deposit and withdraw gold, but now it is accessed through the !wallet command. Use !wallet withdraw [value], !wallet deposit [value], and !wallet balance. The wallet can only be withdrawn from and deposited to in no-pvp zones (such as in town).
-At the bank are item storage chests. Use the pedestal to be teleported to a private vault. Be sure to read the sign on how to use the storage chests. They can hold a maximum of 50 items each (or max 10 randomized items), but will not hold containers/bags/boxes. Be sure the CLOSE the chest when you finish with it! Otherwise the items inside won't save! You have as many storage chests as you'd like now. Use !bc [chestname] in order to access a chest (make sure the chest is closed first, unless you want to change the chest name), and !bc list to see what chests you have. This is a great way to organize a large amount of items.
Splitting Loot: The Wandering Wyrm
-You'll find a strange building called the Wandering Wyrm in the eastern part of Ascension. This is where most parties head after a fruitful run. In the lobby area, you'll see a pedestal with a light shining on it, called the Mass Identifier. This lets you identify all unidentified items in your inventory, but for 125gp each instead of the normal 100gp.... Two chests are also here, an auction chest and a priced items chest. This is where players can sell or auction of items they don't need. Read the sign to see how they work.
-To split loot, find and enter an unoccupied room. The door will close behind you. If you are not the party leader, get whoever is to set you as party leader. Then have your entire party use the "Teleport to Party Leader" option on their PC Scry. Have everyone dump the loot they got on the run into the Armoire at one end of the room. Usually at the beginning of the run, one player is set as the "bank," which means that person is in charge of collecting all the loot. This just makes things easier to keep track of, but is up to the party. When all the loot is in the armoire, have the party leader say "!partyroll" (without the quotes). This is a chat command that will automatically roll a 100 sided die for each player in the party. Whoever rolled highest gets first pick of the loot from the armoire. Then whoever rolled second highest gets second pick, and so on. This continues on down the list, and after you reach the last person, you return to the first person to choose again. You can say you don't want anything else, and skip the rest of your picks. When everyone's done splitting the loot, take what's left in the armoire and dump it into the Mass Sell chest in the middle of the room. When the chest is closed, all the items in it will be sold and the gold from it will be evenly divided among all the party members.
Quests
-PoA is more an action mod than a quest based mod, though that doesn't mean there aren't quests. With that in mind....
-There are four rings you can only acquire before certain levels. The Ring of Waterbreathing by L10, Ring of Levitation by L15, Ring of Firewalking by L20, and Ring of Passwall by L25. These rings allow travel through environments otherwise unpassable. The first ring should be easy to find if you explored well enough, but the rest are harder and you'll more than likely have to find someone who knows where it is to show you the way (though perhaps the captain at the barracks might have a hint... for a price).
-There are several low level tags you can acquire. They are level capped and currently provide no benefits besides bragging rights (though they may provide some bonus some day). For a reward for hunting them all down, see this thread.
-The process to becoming immortal (immo) is long and hard, and not without its perils. HG uses a system called "tags" to keep track of information for your characters. When you complete certain runs, you will get a tag saying so (check what tags you have in the same menu on the PC Scry as where you check the total number of items you're carrying). In order to go on an immo run, you need a Xulrae (Xul) and Lloth tag (which means you need to kill Xulrae and Lloth). To go on a Lloth run, however, you need to kill Xul. They can all be found in the Manatakloss (Mana). However, you'll need to be at least level 33 to enter. It's not too hard to find Xul, but the Lloth run is long and time consuming. You can NOT do these runs alone, find a party! From here on out, the runs all but require a decent sized party.
Changing Alignment for Rover/Rag'
Occasionally during the game, you may want to change your alignment, perhaps just for fun or maybe because you need to fulfill a certain alignment requirement for a prestige class. One way to do this is to talk to the priest near the center of town. However, please LEAVE YOUR PARTY before you do this, as it changes everybody's alignment! Other ways to change alignment include killing (neutral) animals, using the Deck of Hazards, or performing certain actions (such as condemning a person's soul to torture for eternity). Don't worry, the vets in your party will warn you of any of the more obscure ways to change alignment beforehand and do what's needed to prevent your alignment from changing.
Things to Buy
Shop till you drop!
Sometimes my friends complain I take too long shopping for equipment, but the perfect combination goes a long way! You'll eventually want elemental resists, damage resists (both general and slash/pierce/bludgeon-specific), immunities (death, level/ability drain, mind, knockdown), freedom, true seeing (or quaff a potion), stat boosts, and of course, plenty of AC. I try keep around two or three items of different slots (maybe boots, a bracer, and a ring) that give one of the attributes above, such as a for knockdown immune and elemental resists. That way I can switch around my set-up as the situation warrants. You won't have to worry about this yet at low levels, but don't throw away that necklace cuz you found boots that can replace it...
The following list of items you should consider buying, if you have the money. These are worst-case prices, taken from an unfavorable merchant (in other words, no appraise).
Format: Item Name (level to use, blank if level 1) x[number if sold in packs] [cost]
The merchant at the Druid's Grove sells potions for the best prices, as well as Raise Deads, which you'll be using until level 7 at which point you can use rezzes.
Cure Medium Wounds x10 495gp
Cure Serious x10 990gp
Cure Critical x10 4,200gp
Heal x10 19,800gp
Raise Dead (3) 2,431gp
Lesser Restoration Pack x10 45,864gp
Speed Pack x10 48,510gp
The Items Merchant in the Merchants Emporium sells a TON of useful stuff. She also has a nice collection of scrolls that will help if you're a mage.
Gem of Teleportation (4) 5,589gp
lets you teleport from (almost) anywhere to town, except from other planes, which you won't have to worry until you're past level 40
Gem Pouch 28gp
a container that takes up only one square in your inventory, but with no weight reduction, perfect for strength builds
Bag of Holding 4,303gp
a container that has 100% weight reduction, nearly a requirement for all non-strength builds, unless you want to crawl home, that is
Saintsblood Pearl (9) 27,360gp
this charged item is a favorite, it has 10 castings of restore, useful for removing negative effects, plus it's cheaper than a stack of 10 restore scrolls
Scabbard of Blessing (6) 12,289gp
casts Bless and Aid 3x a day each, both will give you +1 ab for a total of +2, used even at legendary levels
Rod of Reversal (10) 27,380gp
this item is availible from the Weapons Merchant in the Emporium, it has 50 charges, Dispel Magic takes 3 charges and Great Dispel takes 5 charges, it's good to dispel many enemy spell effects, and maybe clear that pesky cloud spell
The Wonderous Items Merchant has many, many scrolls that a mage cannot go without! Buy some summon scrolls if you can afford them, they help so much at lower levels. Maybe invest in a stack of fireball scrolls. He also carries a useful selection of potions.
Potion of Speed 477gp
gives Haste effect, I can't tell you how valuable this is at low level before you can get an item with haste on it (lowest haste items are level 9 and a little hard to find, others are level 10 and 11), Haste gives an extra attack, +4 Dodge AC (which stacks), and you run away--I mean run towards the enemy 50% faster
Potion of Bull's Strength 190gp
Rez Pack (7) 135,742gp
The Tavern is a higher-end store that caters to characters above level 10. There's also a bartender in there that sells one useful drink, as well as several... mysterious ones....
Potion of Negative Energy Resistance x10 27,720gp
gives 100% immunity to negative energy, necessary in some places for those without the spell Shadow Shield, also used on some runs
Sage Ring (12) 58,845gp
gives immunity to mind spells, a favorite at low levels, it's downright useful in many places
Avat's Unending Cosmic Suicider (3) 1,869gp
despite its name, it casts Stoneskin on you, and does nothing else, get this from the bartender
The Alchemist's Shop holds many odds and ends, including colored wands and potion bottles, so any home-made wands and potions can be easily told apart by color. He also has a variety of venoms and grenade weapons ranging from 45 to 360gp apiece.
Health/Agility/Strength Pack x10 3,024gp
casts the appropriate spell for bonus Con/Dex/Str respectively
Wisdom/Intellect/Charm Pack x10 3,402gp
casts the appropriate spell for bonus Wis/Int/Cha respectively, great for that small boost to spell DC
Perhaps the most overlooked shop is the Clothing Store. It actually sells a variety of useful robes for mages and monks and rogues.
At higher levels, start shopping at Imports for specialty items.
Oh, and for those times when you have a lot of loot to unload, and don't have a party to split it with, keep in mind the Weapons Shop merchant (not the one in the Emporium) will buy your items for the best price, especially if you have a high Appraise.
Keep a sharp eye out for hidden loot as you journey out. There are many useful items out there, such as the Epic Flag of Ascension (level 15) that gives Haste, Darkvision, True Seeing, Freedom, and +5 Regen, a flag that I use from level 15 to 45 on characters that don't use shields. Other items like this are invaluable to your journey, and I'd tell you where to find them, but that's a secret.
References and Useful Sources
Where to find the information you need
HGWiki
The HGWiki is a project started up by Jillybean as a encyclopedia of all information unique to Higher Ground. It can be found at wiki.hgweb.org/wiki/Main_Page. Being a wiki, it is open to editing, but please exercise caution and verify all your information before you post.
Build Forum
The [Build Forum] is a great place to look up what builds work on HG. If this is your first time playing here, it'd help to use one of the more popular builds in this section of the forums until you get a feel for the server. Also, definitely check out the [Open Builds Forum]. It has several builds that use no secret subraces. Any of these builds can get you started, and they each include explanations of relevant HG changes and what build decisions were made and why.
Server Map
Holla has made an amazing map of the entire server, it can be accessed here.
General Server Info
Fusa has put together a document covering the basics of Higher Ground, from ability changes to maximum levels at which dragons drop loot. Find it here.
Server Rules
READ THE RULES
Higher Ground Class/Ability/Spell/Equipment Changes
Find all the changes to HG, from subraces to Legendary Levels to new epic spells, even equipment: [here].
Have a good time playing Higher Ground, and feel free to ask anyone for help. Most people on the servers are more than willing to give a helping hand. Your journey has just begun!
Thanks'
I know you're not supposed to go into an area that's already taken, but... Is killing really allowed for this?
