Been working the 8pm to 8 am shift. rough.

But, last night, I got my first cf "char idea" in a long time, and for the first time in months, I'm literally ITCHING to step into this char's personality for some quality rp/pk.

Problem is, I haven't played in what feels like nearly a year or so.

I could fit this role into the new hand-pally (could also fit it into either a good or evil shaman role...or even an assassin of any align...or even a ranger, I think.)

But, the idea of hand-pallies only having ONE defense...and that defense being a mana drain...scares the living poopies out of me at first glance.

No parry, no dodge, no shield block...ouch (not to mention no wrathing/healing early weapon to help lvl up the early lvls...and no exploiting vulns to help in ranking or pk)! Then I realize, shifters...they lose mana while in form...but, the mana loss isn't all that great, they can still grind mobs without having to rest after every fight.

SO, I guess my question is...are the hand pallies solo-rankable (at least up to mid-30's?) Is the mana drain of their one defense closer to shifter form mana drain? or more like righteousness mana drain where everytime it fires you lose alot of mana? I tend to get more enjoyment out of chars that can go out and "do stuff"(lvling/pk/prepgathering) solo pre-lvl35 if no groups are available....are hand pallies able to do that? or at lvl 15 will I be struggling to solo kill one mob, then resting because my one defense drained all my mana?

Yes, I could roll a hand-pally to test...but I hate playing empower classes without a really good role that I want to play, and I only have one of those in mind right now. If hand pallies really aren't able to solo at all pre 35-ish I'd rather tweak the role to another class and play that, than waste this cool role on a "test" char.

Thanks in advance for any replies.


OH!!! A big P.S. Is the official website "active religions" page current? or should I roll a throwaway to find out in game?

I don't know about all that, but as Odrirg's former patron deity, I definitely say you should play. Come on, I'm playing again. Everyone's doing it!

Actually, I guess the one thing I'll point out is that almost all paladin builds, particularly those with certain virtues, are huge mana whores. If I remember correctly, for dwarves and humans you're talking an average gain of maybe 10 mana per level. It's particularly bad in the mid levels, when you have access to most of your communes without hero-level mana.

It would probably be even worse as a monk, and it might get frustrating only being able to fight for one go-round before needing to retreat and rest, but it's a downside that nearly all paladins share, to one degree or another. I've never tried a monk paladin, so someone else will have to help you with that part.

Aarn (Velkurah)

PS: Here's the current wizlist, with all the imm times and whatnot that they update.

Active Religions
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Twist Magic Random 8am-11pm CST
Zulghinlour Passion, Knowledge, Victory 8-11pm PST
Thror Fire, Strength, Purity 9-11:30 PM EST - Bloody 'ell Iunna!
Beroxxus Death, Destruction, Revelation/Divination Either early AM or Late PM EST for the most part
Corrlaan Mercy, Protection, Dedication Email me for appt.
Daevryn Pride, Lust, Destruction, Earth 6-9 CST
Rayihn Healing, Water, Vanity, Love 5-9 PM CST
Iunna Fire, War, Poetry M-F 9-11pm CST - Fargin' Thror!
Baerinika Courage, Combat, Purity 5-9 PM CST
Marcatis Death, Judgment, Spirit M-F 8am to 4pm system time. Can make appointments via e-mail.
Ysaloerye Combat, Rage and Earth M-F 10am-3pm EST. Weekends by appointment.
Enlilth Strength, Envy, Greed By appointment, and sporadic otherwise.
Yean Strength, Knowledge, Beauty Random 9pm-1pm CST
Neltouda Storms, Music, Greed 12-1pm and 8-10pm - Varied on weekends
Padwei Passion, Seasons, Vivimancy M-F 9-11pm CST
Mergulla Gluttony, Covetousness, Sloth, Para-Elements Gametime Evenings, by appt
Urtrekis Spirit, Protection, Vivimancy M/W/F Evenings, Sat/Sun AM (System Time)
Jasthrean Anger, Creation Weekdays, Saturday daytime and note for an appointment.

Dormant Religions
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Scarabaeus Purity, Truth Dormant
Sebeok Spirit, Fertility, Revelation/Divination Starting to have a little more time but still fairly inactive.
Amaranthe Fertility, Seasons, Death Now some spotty availability between 8-5 CST
Cyradia Destruction, Strength Dormant
Valguarnera Dedication, Judgment, Truth Dormant
Arvam Passion, Gluttony, Revelation/Divination Dormant
Trabryn Order, Dedication, Honesty Dormant
Kastellyn Combat, Poetry REALLY busy with work-related stuff.
Lyristeon Chaos, Deception, Wisdom Dormant

This indicates the immortal in question is not actively accepting
followers or empowering followers. Your chance of interaction is VERY limited.
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Official page isn't correct. You can search for the help wizlist2
file from the webpage though, and that should be fairly accurate.