Hepzibah the Spook

Village random event. Wizened old woman with greying hair standing in shock and hooked, gnarled nose approaches you in village. If Marquee module installed and you don't have voucher: gives free pizza voucher. If Marquee not installed or already have voucher: just says hello and wanders off. Brief tourist-themed encounter with zero interaction. Frequency decreases with higher dragonkill counts.

The Encounter

"As you're walking around, admiring the sights, a wizened old woman approaches. Her greying hair stands out in shock, and her nose is hooked and gnarled. It takes all your willpower not to run away from this ghastly sight. She smiles the most evil looking smile you have ever encountered."

She says: "'Hello, warrior!'"

Two Scenarios:

Scenario 1 - Get Voucher (if Marquee installed + no voucher):

  • "'For you, a gift!'"
  • "Before you can protest, she has grabbed your wrist, and placed a small voucher into your hand"
  • Voucher reads: "One Free Pizza at the Marquee"
  • "'Enjoy your stay in [city], warrior!' she says, before wandering off"
  • Marquee voucher pref set to 1
  • Can redeem at The Marquee for free pizza

Scenario 2 - No Voucher (if Marquee not installed OR already have voucher):

  • "'Enjoying your visit?'"
  • "Before you can answer, she has wandered off towards another tourist"
  • "You shudder and head away quickly"
  • Nothing happens - purely flavor encounter

Event Frequency

Weight Calculation:

  • Formula: max(1, (500 - dragonkills) / 5)
  • At 0 VE: 500/5 = 100 weight (very common)
  • At 10 VE: 490/5 = 98 weight
  • At 100 VE: 400/5 = 80 weight
  • At 400 VE: 100/5 = 20 weight
  • At 500+ VE: 1 weight (minimum, very rare)

Event designed for low-level players/tourists. High-VE veterans rarely see Hepzibah.

Location Restriction

Setting: hepzibahloc (default: villagename)

Only appears in configured city. If you're in different city, event won't trigger.

Follows village name changes automatically via changesetting hook.

The Marquee Connection

What is The Marquee?: Separate module - pizza restaurant in village

Voucher Benefit: If Marquee installed, voucher = one free pizza

Voucher Limit: Only get voucher once (voucher pref tracked per character)

If Marquee Not Installed: Hepzibah appears but gives no voucher, just says hello

Strategy

Zero Strategy: This is a passive event with no player interaction.

If You Get Voucher: Visit The Marquee (if installed) to redeem free pizza.

If No Voucher: Event is pure flavor text, enjoy the creepy old woman roleplay.

For New Players: You'll see this event frequently (high weight at low VE). It's harmless - just Hepzibah being tourist-friendly.

For Veterans: At high VE counts, Hepzibah becomes rare. You probably already used your voucher decades ago.

Technical Notes

  • Event does NOT set specialinc - no screen takeover, just inline output
  • Originally tried complex location check in event hook, simplified to require_once + function call