Ward

From NexusWiki

Wards are magical barriers that can be erected in a location (either inside or outside). Wards are "fire and forget" spells and they are non-adaptive: once they are cast, they become independent of the control of the caster (e.g., the caster does not have the power to remove the ward unless he or she casts the appropriate Dispel Ward spell). Wards are targeted to prevent specific types of characters from entering the location.

Factional Wards are the wards present in every faction Stronghold. They differ from magical wards in that they cannot be cast or dispelled, although they can still be destroyed by non-magical attacks. They prevent people who are not members of that faction from entering the stronghold.

With Straylight, wards of the same "type" do not stack when cast in "normal" and "extended" forms: they are treated as the same ward, and increase the duration and reset the ward's hit points to the maximum of the ward type.

[edit] Use of Wards

Locations with wards active in them are visible to players on the map. Locations with wards placed on them will display this image: . The color and number indicates the type of ward and its strength.

There are several types of wards. The specifics of what each ward is targeted to, the Magic Point cost of the casting, and the duration of the ward depends upon the ward spell itself.

Wards have differing strengths. The strength of a ward defines the character class tier that it prevents access to.

• Minor Wards prevent access to characters who are Mortal and have not ascended into a second class. These wards have 200 Hit Points each. These wards increase the Action Point cost of movement for characters they do not block (2 AP for tier 3 characters and 4 AP for tier 2 characters).
• Major Wards prevent access to mortals as well as characters who have ascended into a second tier class. These wards have 400 Hit Points. These wards increase the Action Point cost of movement for characters they do not block (4 AP for tier 3 characters).
• Greater Wards prevent access to all characters that meet the targeted criteria. These wards have 600 Hit Points.

For example, Bill casts Major Ward Versus Evil on a location. Four different characters attempt to enter the location:

• Joe, a mortal with a morality score of +40 (good)
• Beth, a mortal with a morality score of -35 (evil)
• Agharth the Destroyer, a Void Walker (tier 3), with a morality score of -40 (evil)
• Thomas, a Myrmidon (tier 2) with a morality score of -40 (evil)

Joe may enter the location. He is good and thus is not targeted by the ward. Agharth may enter the location. He is a tier 3 character, and is thus more powerful than the ward. Beth and Thomas, however, may not enter the location, as they are both evil and the ward is strong enough to repel either of them.

Wards cannot prevent egress. That is, if an evil character is in a location, and then someone casts Major Ward Versus Evil in that location, the character may still exit the location (provided that he or she can move into an adjacent square). Further, if a character is inside a building and a ward is cast on the outside of the building, the character may still exit the building.

The inverse is not true, however: if a ward is cast on the inside of a building, the character cannot enter the building.

[edit] Removing Wards

Regular wards expire 2.5 hours after the initial casting. Extended wards expire 8 hours after the initial casting. Wards may be stacked, so casting a ward multiple times will extend the duration of the ward.

Wards may be dispelled. That is, a character with the appropriate spell (Dispel Minor Ward, Dispel Major Ward, or Dispel Greater Ward) may destroy a ward in a location. If the location contains more than one ward, only one of them will be destroyed. The character does not have to be in the same location as the ward but they must be on a location that borders the ward. Note that when you are indoors, choosing "current location" still attempts to dispel wards outdoors; to dispel an indoor ward you have to choose "inside current location".

There is a limitation with regards to casting wards upon locations that contain a Faction Stronghold. Only members of the faction whose stronghold is located in that location will be able to lay down a ward there. Additionally, wards may not be cast upon a location that contains a Portal. Attempted warding will result in failure in either case, and the caster will expend the AP and MP costs associated.

Wards may also destroyed by force. Each ward will absorb a certain amount of damage before dissipating, and characters attacking any ward receive a 25% bonus when attacking it. Wards cannot be targeted with spells except for the dispel spells listed above.

[edit] Multiple Wards

Multiple wards can be cast in the same location to reinforce an existing ward, this works in one of two ways:

• When multiple wards of the same type (strength and alignment) are cast, the duration of the wards will combine.
• When multiple wards of different types are cast, each ward will act seperately, and so, each ward will have to be dispelled separately.