Find Ring
Forest and travel event with moral choice. Stumble upon small pearl ring concealed under leaves. Decision: Pick it up (risk/reward based on dragonkills) or leave it alone (safe, no consequence). If picked up: Low DK players (≤20% chance) = +1 charm and feel charming. High DK players (≥80% chance) = ring burns into flesh, disappears, lose 5% HP (minimum 1 HP, can't kill). Requires cities module. Where you find unexplained jewelry in the Forbidden Forest and the game tests whether your greed outweighs your survival instincts.
The Encounter
Trigger:
- Forest event (100 weight, only if cities module INACTIVE)
- Travel event (100 weight, only if cities module ACTIVE)
- Requires cities module installed
- Random encounter
Initial Message:
- "`n`2You stumble upon a small pearl ring concealed under some leaves.`n`n"
- "You know that the forest is full of surprises, some of them nasty."
- "Will you pick it up?`0"
- Ominous warning hints at danger
Your Choices:
- [Pick it up] - Take ring, risk consequences
- [Leave it Alone] - Ignore ring, continue safely
Choice 1: Leave it Alone
Safe Option:
- Message: "`n`2You don't think it's worth your time to pick up the ring, and you travel on your way.`0"
- No consequences (no rewards, no penalties)
- Continue forest/travel
- Boring but safe
Choice 2: Pick it up
Initial Action:
- "`2You lean down and place the ring on one finger.`n`n`0"
- Ring goes on your finger (automatic)
- Outcome determined by dragonkills
Chance Formula:
- dkchance = max(5, ceil(dragonkills / 5))
- Success if: e_rand(0, dkchance) <= 1
- Probability: 2 / (dkchance + 1)
- More dragonkills = worse odds
Dragonkills Table:
| Dragonkills (DK) | dkchance | Success Probability | Outcome |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0 | 5 (minimum) | 33.3% (2/6) | +1 charm |
| 1-4 | 5 | 33.3% | +1 charm |
| 5-9 | 5 | 33.3% | +1 charm |
| 10-14 | 5 | 33.3% | +1 charm |
| 15-19 | 5 | 33.3% | +1 charm |
| 20-24 | 5 | 33.3% | +1 charm |
| 25-29 | 6 | 28.6% (2/7) | +1 charm |
| 50-54 | 10 | 18.2% (2/11) | +1 charm |
| 100-104 | 20 | 9.5% (2/21) | +1 charm |
| 500+ | 100+ | <2% | +1 charm (almost impossible) |
Outcome A: Success (Low DK)
Good Ending:
- Message: "`^You feel charming!`0"
- Reward: +1 charm
- Ring accepted, no negative effects
- Probability: 33.3% for DK 0-24, decreases thereafter
When You Get This:
- New players (DK 0-24): 1 in 3 chance
- Mid players (DK 25-49): ~20-30% chance
- Veteran players (DK 50+): <20% chance
- High DK players (DK 100+): <10% chance
Outcome B: Failure (High DK)
Bad Ending:
- "`4A strange feeling comes over you.`n`n"
- "Before you have a chance to remove it, the ring burns into your flesh."
- "The pain is intense, but in a moment is gone, and as you look down, you see that the ring is gone too.`n`n"
- "`#You `\$lose `#some hitpoints!`n`n`0"
HP Damage:
- Damage = 5% of current HP (round down)
- Minimum damage: 1 HP (if calc = 0)
- HP floor: Can't go below 1 HP (won't kill you)
- Example: 200 HP = lose 10 HP, down to 190 HP
- Example: 10 HP = lose 1 HP (5% rounds to 0, min 1), down to 9 HP
Ring Fate:
- Burns into flesh (painful)
- Disappears (no permanent equipment)
- Gone when pain subsides
- No lingering curse or debuff
Strategy Guide
Risk Assessment:
- Low DK (0-24): 33% charm gain, 67% minor HP loss → WORTH IT
- Mid DK (25-49): 20-30% charm gain, 70-80% HP loss → MAYBE
- High DK (50+): <20% charm gain, >80% HP loss → NOT WORTH IT
- Very High DK (100+): <10% charm gain, >90% HP loss → TERRIBLE ODDS
When to Pick Up:
- DK 0-24 (33% success rate acceptable)
- High HP (can afford 5% loss)
- Need charm badly (worth the gamble)
- Feeling lucky
When to Leave Alone:
- DK 50+ (<20% success rate, bad odds)
- Low HP (5% loss could hurt)
- Don't need charm urgently
- Risk-averse playstyle
Lore Analysis
Why Does This Happen?:
- Ring is magical (obvious)
- Reacts to player's dragonkill history
- Theory: Ring judges worthiness based on DK
- Low DK = pure/innocent = ring accepts
- High DK = corrupted/experienced = ring rejects violently
Mystery Questions:
- Who left the ring under leaves?
- Why is it booby-trapped for veterans?
- What is the "strange feeling"?
- Where does ring go when it disappears?
- Why pearl specifically?
Cities Module Dependency
Event Weights:
- If cities active: Travel hook returns 100, forest hook returns 0
- If cities inactive: Forest hook returns 100, travel hook returns 0
- Never appears in both simultaneously
Purpose:
- Without cities: Forest event (no travel system exists)
- With cities: Travel event (forest reserved for other content)
- Adaptive event placement based on server config
Comparison to Other Ring Events
- Find Ring: Pearl ring, DK-based charm/HP
- Crying Lady: Diamond ring (from breakin), return for rewards
- Engagement Ring: Relationship mechanic (if exists)
- Multiple ring-related events in game
Limitations
- Punishes Veterans: High DK = terrible odds (almost always HP loss)
- Low Reward: +1 charm is minor (not game-changing)
- Minor Penalty: 5% HP loss is small (not devastating)
- No Explanation: Why does ring judge by DK? (unexplained lore)
- Binary Outcome: Only 2 results (charm OR HP, nothing interesting in between)
Find Ring: where you stumble upon a small pearl ring concealed under leaves in the Forbidden Forest and must decide whether picking up mysterious magical jewelry from the ground is a good life decision, which the game helpfully warns you about by noting "the forest is full of surprises, some of them nasty." If you choose to leave it alone you walk away safely, but if you pick it up you place it on your finger and the ring immediately evaluates your dragonkill count using the formula max(5, ceil(dragonkills/5)) to calculate a "worthiness" threshold, then rolls a random number to determine whether you're pure enough to deserve charm bonuses or corrupted enough to deserve punishment. Low-DK players (0-24 dragonkills) have a respectable 33% chance of feeling charming and gaining +1 charm, while high-DK veterans (100+ dragonkills) have less than a 10% success rate and will almost certainly experience the ring burning into their flesh with intense pain before disappearing mysteriously and dealing 5% of their current HP as damage (minimum 1 HP, can't kill you). The module never explains why the ring judges you based on how many dragons you've killed, whether it has sentience, who left it under the leaves, or where it goes when it vanishes, but it does create an interesting risk-reward calculation where new players should absolutely pick it up while veterans should walk away unless they enjoy losing HP for a 1-in-10 chance at a single charm point.