Some of my favorite memories come from running around Sanctus Seru when Luclin was first released. It was fun trying to find quests and learning as much about the lore as possible. To that end, I went back recently to check it out again. It seems that all of the NPC text was removed beyond a basic "Hail". Anyone know why they took out all the lore information and fun NPC text in Sanctus Seru? Examples of what was removed: All references to "The Question". Every NPC would answer questions about each faction inside the city, answers varying by which faction they belonged to. You could ask anyone who Seru was and get some biography info. I *think* they removed the guy (or at least his text) that referred you to PoG when you asked him about phat lewtz.
http://everquest.allakhazam.com/db/zone.html?zstrat=142 2001 post by Cinamdar I've had success in getting some of the NPCs to talk. Below is text describing the location, how the NPC considers to me, and the chat. The chats listed are from NPCs that do not seem to be listed in any other Sanctus quest. All locations are within the Sanctus Seru zone. Later today I will attempt to engage these NPCs in more conversation in hopes of gathering a little more info. Your Location is -985.65, -525.84, 59.75 Torsten Reidan glowers at you dubiously You say, 'Hail, Torsten Reidan' Torsten Reidan says 'Oh, hello there. Sorry I didn't notice you before I was thinking of an old friend. This used to be his room. I guess no one else has been assigned to these quarters. You say, 'what old friend' Torsten Reidan says 'His name was Bregun Dorey. What a funny little halfling he was. He had a good heart and worked hard. That is up until one day he just started acting odd, very nervous like he was hiding something. Then all he would talk about was Bixie Treats and then show off some weird heirloom charm bracelet. His time for the question came and due to his odd behavior he was sent to Marus Seru. I sure wish I knew how he was doing. see some of the posts talks about what npc says. this is considered a city and might have some of the same setups other citys does but maybe your faction is stoping them from talking to you?
I'm speaking about generic zone wide messages, not quest NPCs. Every person used to respond to a large list of triggers such as "What hand/shoulder/heart/eye?" "Who is Seru?" (Seru himself talked in the 3rd person on this one) "What question?". All of those responses seem to have been removed. My faction is about as high as it can get with everyone in the zone, not even KoS inside the Arx. There was an NPC near the entrance behind that first statue/pool thing in Sanctus Seru that if you asked him about phat lewtz would respond with something along the lines of "Have you visited the Plane of Growth lately?" (It looks like the 4 Praesertum may still give this response, but I've not been able to catch them up to chat in a long time.)
If you look up the four raid-type named who drop the pieces for the inner key quest on ZAM, I got most of their hail text and dialogues put down. Really frustrating to get it, because they're still perma-farmed by players who want a bridle or want to keep anyone else from getting access to Seru. Most if not all NPCs now just respond with "Greetings, _____." when hailed. Only a very select few respond with anything else. I ran through and took the time hailing everyone. lol There's a couple that don't have any quest associated to them, but actually respond with unique text. There's a guard in a house that stutters badly like he's sick, for example. It's just amazing how big the zone is and yet so little content in the way of quests. Part of the problem is when they lazily added [bracket words] to be clicked and it broke a lot of NPC dialogues in the classic world as a result, which quickly became ignored and unfixed. Mentioning "fat" to any NPC in the zone results in a response to the Plane of Growth, for example.
From what I recall, everyone always has responded to hails with the "Greetings, _." line, but they used to also respond to key words. This was removed long before the bracketed text was added. The guard that stutters rings a bell in my memory, I want to say there was some lore about him and The Question but I can't remember exactly what it was. I think he has a sister in the city somewhere. Mentioning "fat" to the npcs refers you to PoG because they want you to ask the prince and get DT'd. Interesting that they left that particular one in. (I sent you a message on ZAM a few minute before you replied Uxtalzon!) The zone always felt unfinished, there was so much lore and space and population, yet nothing went anywhere other than a few small quests. It was Kendrick's baby I believe (the entire outer ring wall being guarded my members of the safehouse and all), but I don't know if they just never got around to finishing it or just gave up on it. My question is really... does anyone know why they went through and scrubbed all the text out of most NPCs in the zone?
So I dug up Vaslin's old compendium (I knew I'd given him the text but couldn't remember if it ever made it in.) Most of these triggers are no longer answered: If you notice by the name, this is just a random guard. Skecpa says, 'What question' Vigilum Cosaki says 'The Question is what keeps us pure. Every two years, each citizen of Seru must submit to the Question. You can refuse the question, but then you are cast out of the city, one of The Recuso. Those that submit spend three days in the care of another Praesertum. If you are pure of thought and deed, you have nothing to worry about. If you are not pure, you can be cast out. Skecpa says, 'Who Seru' Vigilum Cosaki says 'Seru is the genius behind the Combine Empire. A man of unfailing honor and honesty, he devised the Inquisition, to root out unclean elements in the Empire. His saddest day was when he discovered that Katta himself was a traitor. When confronted with proof of his treachery, Katta feigned his own murder, and fled to Luclin. Seru had no choice but to amass an expedition and follow after him. Skecpa says, 'Who Katta' Vigilum Cosaki spits on the ground. Katta, bah! Betrayer and destroyer of the Combine! I curse his name, curse his name, thrice curse his name! Skecpa says, 'What caravan' Vigilum Cosaki says 'We run many caravans to and from Shadow Haven. As much as we dislike dealing with that unsavory lot, we find ourselves needing supplies only they can provide at the moment. Since they are not fond of coming out of their hole in the earth, we provide them with raw materials from the Lightside in return. Skecpa says, 'What arena' Vigilum Cosaki says 'We have a fine coliseum here in Sanctus Seru. Many glorious events are held there throughout the year, from plays to races, to gladiator games. It can be found at the far south of the city. Skecpa says, 'Suck' Vigilum Cosaki says 'I know you do, but what about us? Skecpa says, 'You suck' Vigilum Cosaki says 'Verily, methInks YOU doth sucketh much more than I, Skecpa. Skecpa says, 'Gimme Lewtz' Vigilum Cosaki says 'Have you visited the Plane of Growth lately? Skecpa says, 'What rogue guild' Vigilum Cosaki says 'Um, er, I think you might want to visit either The Hand, The Eye, or The Shoulders. And stop looking at my purse. Skecpa says, 'Who Praesertum' Vigilum Cosaki says 'The four Praesertum can be found in the center of the city. Each has their own building, easily identified by the symbol above the main entrance. Stay clear of the Arx Seru, the central building. This is the resting place of Seru, who does not allow anyone but the Praesertum to disturb him. To venture inside is death for all that are not invited. Skecpa says, 'What eye' Vigilum Cosaki says 'The Eye keeps us informed of all that goes on beyond the walls. They are responsible for security and purity inside the walls as well. They also monitor the other three Praesertum. Skecpa says, 'What heart' Vigilum Cosaki says 'The Heart is in charge of all things administrative. From collecting taxes to issuing swords, to making sure each citizen knows when it is time for the Question. Skecpa says, 'What druid guild' Vigilum Cosaki says 'We have no primitives in our city. You might find them among the slovenly merchants in Fordel Midst. And I know there are some of them hiding in the foul Loyalist city. Skecpa says, 'What Necromancer guild' Vigilum Cosaki says 'Do not speak to me of such foulness. It was evil of that nature that brought the Combine together in the first place. You will find nobody of that ilk here! Skecpa says, 'What monk guild' Vigilum Cosaki says 'Check with The Eye. Their Manstoppers are all of that profession.
lol, yeah some had such memorable attack and death messages, I never forgot them. Had no idea they responded to many keywords like that, Kecpa. Some city guards will respond to some things still, like "I need healing" and they tell you to find the cleric guild back in the player origin cities.
