Meridian59/Meridian59 — pull request #192 by M59Gar (2013-06-16 19:29:20+00:00)
Title: Newbie Constraints / Streamlining

Created a new AllowNewbies property for rooms, defaults to false. This
change will restrict angeled characters to rooms specifically set to
allow them. I have set the most relevant newbie rooms to true. They can
reach Marion, Cor Noth, Tos, Rook, Shal temple, Faren temple, Icky
caves, and the connecting low level areas where newbies commonly build.

Any angeled character ending up outside of the bounds by any means -
portal, rescue, elusion, or otherwise - will instead be teleported to
Marion Inn. That list includes dying. Similar to deaths in Raza, angeled
deaths will skip the underworld altogether. Since angeleds don't take
death penalties, going to the underworld doesn't make sense (and people
were just using the underworld portals as a form of fast travel).

Finally, all newbies leaving Raza now have Marion as their hometown
instead of a random choice. Marion is the best place for a newbie to
start, and has a familiar dungeon. We can build on the newbie experience
from here.

This whole thing is killing two birds with one stone. First, we need a better
newbie experience, and many have agreed Marion is the best place to start
building it. Second, there are endless abuses, exploits, and problems
based on invincible characters running about all over the world. Guardian
angels are there as a newbie protection mechanic, not as blanket
protection for characters that are 4-school masters and 200 years old,
yet left at 20 hp to remain invincible.

Instead of chasing down problem after problem cropping up because of
guardian angels, this new direction will just eliminate the issue altogether
while giving us a platform to increase newbie retention and education.