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Nights of the Dead 2020: Don't loose your head!

 

Niami had been away resting for a while, after battling the vile Herbert away with her RPoD. And to be honest, even if the Redhead was missed, it was also a nice resting time for the poor Test server folks. Wait, I hear lots of other folks screaming "WHY??? She's so nice and helpful and all!" from their cosy homes in other areas of Norrath, like Maj'Dul or Kaladim. Why, you ask me? Because OUR ANKLES CAN FINALLY HEAL!!! Do you know what it is to be in the same place as a loose anklegnawer, always going for your nice little ankles? We all had to wear plate armors with reinforced ankleguards! No! You don't! We're covered in blisters and scar tissue!

But now, we can finally heal. We have once more baby skin ankles, they're perfect, no more teeth marks, dripping blood and all. We can all wear robes and shorts without fear... But Mum will be back soon with her sharp teeth and that is the core of our story today.

Leucosia was standing in her nice house, admiring her now-again-perfect ankles and pondering. "She'll be back soon, I need to find a way to remain un-gnawed! But how to do that? Magic? It never works, the red-heared brat is immune. Poison? It'll poison me too and I don't want to ingest antidote all the time. Halfling Repellent? She became immune too a while back. Cooking her? She always manages to crawl out of my pies...". She was at a loss. Not a single clue on how to preserve herself.

That's the moment when Kaitheel decided to dump some more stuff to test around, crammed somewhere between prelude and panda. He called around, launching the Night of the Dead revelries. And inspiration struck. Illusions! that was the key! Imagine your local anklegnawer opening her mouth to bite you and then, suddenly, finding herself in front of a putrid leg? That was the PERFECT idea!

Leucosia went rummaging around her dressing room in search of the perfect outfit. Night of the Dead was the perfect time to find the perfect anti-gnawing disguise! She pondered some more. "Shadowy Lich ? Not bad, no ankles there. Dead Ettin? Too disgusting. Various ghosts? Well, they work well to hide your ankles but sadly you find yourself in a bit of trouble trying to interact with the world. Skeletons? They work but is the anklegnawer gnawing fresh meat or is it just the gnawing that she's searching for? Dogs always gnaw on bones, so being made of bones might not work. Ghoulish Goblin Costume, Fresh Zombie, Moldering Froglok, Troll Zombie or Mindless Corpse? That's some nice and smelly ones and they come in various races! Dead Skeletal Dracurian and Undying Warrior? Nice ones too, they're made of bones, aren't tasty AND they come with ankleguards. Undead Othmir? That's nice too, it's somewhat cute AND repulsive at the same time! Baleful Scarecrow? Not easy to find your way with it, but I doubt Halflings eat straw. Necromechanoid? That one is perfect for gnomes! Sul'Dal Undead? That seems like a must-have! ankles are dried, somewhat moldy, with a dust taste that should work fine. And if you're more into animals, you can go with the Blackfang version. And don't forget the Gooblin Costume for Lera, that one is perfect for someone always hanging around cubes."

Leucosia was happy, she had a long list of nice illusions to hide herself and all the other Test denizens from the sharp teeth of the redhead! She went ahead to test some herself. She settled on the Shadowy Lich, if there was a need to fly away in a hurry, or on the Sul'Dal Undead for basic anti-gnawing protection. She also prepared a stand to sell extra illusions to other Test players in need of Niami repellents. It would be a perfect Night of the Dead celebration!

Happy NoTD Mum!

Ghouls, Goblins, Vampires and Skeletons are back at it! There's even a weird horseman, who seems to have misplaced his head, roaming Nektulos! It's time for the annual celebration of the Nights of the Dead!

This event will run on the live servers* from 12:01 a.m. Pacific on October 8 through 11:59 p.m. Pacific on November 1, 2020. (*The Kaladim TLE server will be lacking the new Public Quest.)

What's New for 2020?

There is a new Public Quest this year to replace the epic x2 Headless Horseman in Nektulos Forest. You'll also have access to 5 new overseer quests on Nektulos docks.

There are new buyables and a new crafting recipe, as usual. Two new variants have been added to the Nightmarish set in the Hollow Hedge and the pieces can once more be sold for 1 copper, no more destroying stuff around or avoiding chests!.

The gravedigging event got 3 new clothing pieces added to the random treat chest, named “Sanguine Witchcraft”. The creepy and undead mobs in Luclin zones should also be dropping NoTD candy during this event.

Are YOU New?

If you are unfamiliar with the Nights of the Dead event, you may want to check out my NoTD Overview for details regarding where/how to get the candy that is used as currency and crafting ingredient, details on gravedigging and on pumpkin pulping, etc.

New Crafted

This year, the new items, including the recipe book "Nights of the Dead XIII" will be sold by Lil' Boo in your home crafting society. All returning items will be on the Nights of the Dead Merchant (also in your home crafting society. This should make it way easier for folks that are looking for "just the new stuff", with nothing extra to wade through.

All of the new crafted items require a nights of the dead treat as the primary ingredient, along with tier 2 commons and tier 2 fuels. Combines yield 2 on pristine completion.

Alchemist's Scale
 Alchemist's Tome
 Amber Jack-o-Lantern Pike
Blackhearted Glass Dining Table
 Cadaverous Cart
 Ghoulish Vials
Gravedigger's Cart
 Hate-fueled Lightpost
 Haunted Chair
House of Midst Screaming Sconce
 Iron Maiden of Nektropos
 Jade Jack-o-Lantern Pike
Orange Candle Ringed by Russet Leaves
 Pestilent Shank
 Russet Desert Briar
Sorcerer's Grimoire
 White Candle Ringed by Russet Leaves

Notes on the Haunted Chair: Item floats and bobs in midair.
Note on the Candle Ringed by Russet Leaves: Flame doesn't show properly and will be adjusted by the art team.

 

New Buyables

These items that are sold on Lil' Boo in your home crafting society cost candy corn -- except for the two costumes, which will cost coin.

Cadaverous Dais
15 candy corn
 Diaku Corral Empty Gallows
15 candy corn
 Disturbed Grave Soil
10 candy corn
Fettered Wraith Plushie
15 candy corn
 Macabre Witchcraft Ensemble Crate
30 candy corn
 Night of the Dead Brokenskull Shaman Costume
1s 20c (illusion)
Night of the Dead Maj'Dul Guard Costume
1s 20c (illusion)
 Noble Qeynosian Sarcophagus
15 candy corn
 Petamorph Wand: Skeletal Prowler
5 candy corn
Phantasmal Tombstone
10 candy corn
 Skeletal Candelabra Plushie
15 candy corn
 Vile Lich Plushie
15 candy corn

Notes on the ensemble: Set is heirloom and is made of 3 pieces: hat, cloak and ensemble.
Note on the Disturbed Grave Soil: Item has a buzzing sound... yummy! (or "yuck!" maybe).

 

New Public Quest: Headless or Tails

The old Epic x2 Headless Horseman in Nektulos has been turned into a Public Quest. You'll find him roaming around close to the Darklight Woods entrance, maybe searching for his head.

To aggro him, you'll have to right-click and give him "a lost necklace" found in the Gleaming Chest in the Hedge Hollow maze after you killed the boss. You need to have completed the haunted house in main city and Hollow Hedge at least once previously. It also requires a pair of gleaming lockpicks looted from the body of Altius Volfban which are no-zone. You can check EQ2Map for the exact spot if you're unfamiliar with the zone. Necklace needs to be in your inventory and not in the bank.

The fight is pretty straightforward: you need to DPS him and his adds by having him stand next to the gallows tree (-1440, 28, -1168 ). He'll randomly switches aggro and can do some serious damage depending on number of adds. There is a skull that players lower than 120 can click next to the tree for a buff.

Chest reward contains two belt, a cloak, a cowl and weapons for each tier, and a special 200 resolve belt at level 120 and a chance at a familiar crate. The cowl for mages is black with a little gold rim so don't expect any wow head armor. Items vary with class, a scout will see forearms and head slot and a slashing 1H but you get the gist.

New Overseer Quests

Crinn Bryggin is a shady halfling hanging around the Nektulos Docks (757, 2, -146 ). His family is a group of notorious artifact dealers. The Night of the Dead is a time of esoteric anomalies that allows to find some usually hidden curiosities. You'll send you agents in search of those artifacts.

There are 5 overseer quests available.

Petamorph wand: Bloody Tooth Skeleton
 Dapper Charcoal Baby Dragon Clothwork
 Bite Club's Lujien Illusion

New Drops

The gravedigging yields three new rewards, the “Sanguine Witchcraft” clothing pieces (Hat, Ensemble and Cloak). Note that there is no longer a hitchhiking ghost girl spawning during your digging! No more "Daddy loves the horses!".

Two knew pieces of the Ceremonial Nightmarish armor set now drop in Hedge Hollow (Plate Chausses and Plate Sleeves) and you can sell extra armor pieces back to a merchant for 1 copper.

Sanguine Witchcraft

Old Ceremonial Nightmarish armor set
 New Ceremonial Nightmarish armor set

Note in the nightmarish armor: the armor itself is a very dark black. Those screenshots were taken with two brigh lightsources to make them more visible.

Kasa kindly put up mannequins of all races with the new ensembles. Here are images.

Quest Tracker?

There are quite a few quests and achievements for this event, and Casdoe from Maj'Dul has already kindly updated her quest tracker in XLS form as well as her PDF version of the tracker. Thanks!

Videos?

You asked, she delivered. Ocarinah has put together house item previews in a silent version and a longer narrated version. As always, thanks!