by FaithfulToadd » Mon Jan 26, 2026 8:07 am This idea was primarily motivated by the following examples (discussed here), which I do, indeed, consider cases of abuse, and in more or less dire need of a fix:
MightySheep wrote:[1.] I can aggro your [visiting] character and close a fence gate and you are trapped forever. ...
[2.] I could surround you with alts and logs because u can't pick things up or aggro them so you get stuck in place [indefinitely].
I also consider this my contribution to the discussion around making PvP slightly more optional. There were a couple of posts on the subject (see here and here) by one Robben_DuMarsch, which got my wheels spinning. Also, this topic. While my suggestion does not fundamentally keep 'non-participants' in PvP from getting perma-killed, it could be modified to help with that (namely, by striking item 2.7 from the proposal).
The principle behind this suggestion is that combat relations between hearthlings must be allowed to resolve, sooner or later. And now, without further preamble, I humbly present:
The Fylgjur: A Proposed Implementation of Self Knock-Out; Offered in Pursuit of Enabling a Timely End to All Combat Relations
As stated above, The Fylgjur are suggested as a means of voluntary self knock-out, allowing combatants the option to forfeit in situations where they could previously be locked into a combat relation indefinitely. Hearthlings without Rage or other crime skills learned would benefit the most, since they can teleport to their hearthfire when knocked out, and cannot be engaged while unconscious. My understanding is that the indefinite stalemate occurs when the victim has the Visitor status effect, and cannot reach their opponent(s). They cannot escape, or travel to their hearthfire. There may be other methods of achieving a stalemate - perhaps this suggestion will fix those too.
In Norse folklore, the Fylgjur are spirits believed to follow individuals throughout their lives in connection with their fate. Notably, 'seeing one's Fylgja is an omen of one's impending death'.
New Horrific Entity: The Fylgja
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You startle at a vivid apparition, glowing ghostly white, with maw greased red, and two hollow craters where eyes should be. In the black soot sky of the New Moon, its maw whispers to you in secret, despairing you of the doom of all things; of murder most foul; and of Lunacy!
- 0.1 As presented here, Fylgjur are nightmarish phantoms similar to Haven's Nidbane. Their stats work similarly as well, in that their combat strength is based on that of their prey.
0.2 A Fylgja may be intentionally summoned by a hearthling who wishes to be knocked out. See the New Hearth Magic: Hello Darkness... below.
0.3 Once a Fylgja is summoned, it cannot be unsummoned except by being killed, but fades after 20 minutes of combat. If its target runs far enough away, it will vanish (despawn).
0.4 Fylgjur, unlike Nidbanes, cannot be Attacked, or otherwise interacted with, by any hearthling besides their target. Attempting to click on or target someone else's Fylgja with the cursor will simply ignore the Fylgja, instead clicking whatever is beneath it.
0.5 Fylgjur move slower than a hearthling's Walk speed, but faster than a Crawl.
0.6 Fylgjur, like Nidbanes, ignore armor when attacking.
0.7 Fylgjur deal the Lunatic wound.
New Wound Type: Lunatic
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You have seen, in your waking nightmares, a bad Moon rising, and are having trouble keeping a lid on things. It will take some time to dislodge the terrible whispers from your tormented mind.
- 1.1 While knocked out, a character with the Lunatic wound may choose to Give in to Lunacy. Selecting this option will add a value equal to their maximum HHP to the Lunatic wound at the moment they would have recovered from being knocked out, which kills them instead. New characters may inherit from the Lunatic as an ancestor, receiving their stats in normal course.
1.2 If one dies a Lunatic (i.e. they have even a single point of this wound at their time of death), voluntarily or otherwise, they leave no corpse behind. Everything they carried in their inventory, equip screen, or study window is dropped into a new container, called a Pile of Moon Dust, which resembles the ashes of a campfire. Such containers last for the same length of time as the corpse would have, but they cannot be Lifted or Destroyed, and have no collision (e.g. they can be walked on, built on, etc.). After the container expires, it drops its contents onto the ground. Taking items from a Pile of Moon Dust besides your ancestor's is a Crime of Theft.
1.3 The hearthling's skull can be found in the Pile of Moon Dust. No skeleton is present.
1.4 Because dead Lunatics do not leave a corpse or skeleton behind, their body cannot be buried. It is still possible to bury the skull, and for their descendants to Lament the Departed, as normal.
New Hearth Magic: Hello Darkness...
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- 2.1 Hello Darkness... summons a Fylgja, with stats equal to the summoner's times 2.5, in order to knock out the summoner.
2.2 Only 1 Fylgja may be summoned at a time by Hello Darkness...
2.3 A Fylgja immediately vanishes when its target is knocked unconscious.
2.4 To cast Hello Darkness... hearthlings must satisfy 2 requirements:
- • They have earned at least 200,000 LP throughout their lifetime;
• and they have at least 50 points in each of 2 attributes, or 75 points in 1 attribute.
2.6 Hello Darkness... has no cost associated with it.
2.7 Hello Darkness... takes 5 minutes to cast, thus making it difficult for the caster to control precisely when they get knocked out.
2.8 Another hearthling cannot interrupt Hello Darkness... by any means (e.g. by Pushing) other than to K.O. the caster. Only the caster may cancel the cast.
2.9 The spell is also cancelled if the caster attempts to move of their own accord.
2.10 The spell is also cancelled if the caster does anything that would cause them to have a combat cooldown (e.g. Attacking, Pushing(?), Shooting, lowering openings, changing weapons, etc.)
Thanks for reading! \o/
