Before Bind
EXPRESSion
Brad has stated that you CAN change your homepoint... but it will be very difficult. This is one thing I think EQ needs to really address. I mean if you die. You'll probably lose all eq, all gold and some exp. This is VERY harsh, because in almost all Mud's I have played, regular dying is part of the game... to be transported 10.000 virtual miles away from your body would make even the most dedicated player thinking about quitting... it would be VERY frustrating. Getting gold... buying back chainmail that took you months to get, it's almost like restarting all over again...
Maybe there's could be a option to pray to your god for your eq or corpse... and each time it would decrease your favor to him/her...
From what I know EQ has been fairly silent on this, only saying that "you won't want to do it often"... maybe they can set up "respawn points" across the map like in Asherons Call...
Just my thoughts...
Limbo
Ok. I would like to tackle this question because… well… because I have died and lost my corpse before, and have died and found my corpse. The starting points are not a bad thing. Being bound to a certain point doesn't limit your travel as long as you are careful. Also, once you achieve a certain level as a pure caster you can bind yourself to other areas. If you aren't a caster, you better hope you make good friends with one, or have some money to pay one to bind you to a new city.
Retrieval of corpses for the most part isn't too difficult. Well, let me rephrase that. As long as you didn't die in a middle of an orc warrior camp, or ruins filled with undead you can usually retrieve your corpse without hassle. It helps to die by a landmark. If by chance you don't, you can usually let a shout asking if anyone has seen your rotting body lying around anywhere. You will usually get some help from others. If by chance you did die in a hotspot, you will need to petition the help of others to fend off the angry monsters so you can get your belongings. Most people are usually willing to help you in this effort.
Sure, I have died and had to travel QUITE awhile to get back to my dead self. I think it's fun though. Nothing better than running unequipped through a field of very angry and hungry creatures. In some cases though, if you have a caster friend who is bound to the same city as you, he can gather your belongings and gate back to town. This proves to be very helpful at times.
Death is something no one wants to experience, but everyone will from time to time. Death sends you back to your homepoint, which is usually your starting city unless you have been bound elsewhere. Your body remains lying where you fell, and remains there for quite some time. The hardest part about death is loss of experience. This may sound crazy, but getting the experience back is fun. You get to kill things even more and plus you get the added bonus of making more money that level than you usually would. Well, I tried to make death sound good… still sucks though.
If by chance you lose your corpse. All of your belongings are gone. Recovery isn't too hard. It is even easier if you have friends to help you out. A good way to avoid losing EVERYTHING is to make sure to make frequent bank trips. Drop that money in the bank. Keep a spare sword and a few pieces of armor, with some food and water. This will give you a chance to start recovering quicker than if you were to lose everything. It isn't too hard to get re-equipped, unless of course you just lost all of the magic items you had been searching for for weeks. Then, it kinda hurts.
Death as a caster isn't all too harsh. You maintain all of your spells in your spellbook. This gives them a slight advantage over the warrior who has died and lost everything. Mages can pick easy targets and spell them to death and recover quicker than a warrior type. Just my opinion.
Overall loss of corpse and starting points doesn't really affect game play that much. I have traveled all of Norrath and have not had a problem retrieving my corpses, unless I died from my own stupidity (or that wretched B word.) I don't see many people complaining about starting points, or death in this game. It is a great system and works wonderfully. It is easy to adapt too, and as long as you have some friends, you will never lose your corpse.
EXPRESSion by Elaanilus
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