BULiK

IC: Varqui [High Eyrie, Summit] Varqui dusted a layer of snow off of his armor as he turned to Merrill. He was not exactly surprised, nor particularly disappointed by the Ga-Lesterin's incomprehensible response. He had to grow his flock somehow, and even a drunkard was better than no one. In fact, the bartender where they met last night seemed entirely supportive of the idea, so in a way, Varqui was building good faith of his just rule with the local Lester;Nii mongrel community. Maybe that would pay off later. It had a better chance of paying off than Merrill's bar tab, but that wasn't saying much. "Yes." Varqui graciously agreed as he inspected Zakaz from a distance with his spyglass. Irnakk's tooth and Tahto;vaa were waiting for him. "Yes..." He tilted the spyglass down to view the steep, dangerous slopes below that lead to the territorial lands of the Kaiakans. "We can go down now," the leader said, quickly sliding the spyglass into its compact form before stowing it away. He took a deep, satisfied breath of the oxygen-deprived mountain air before looking back at his loitering compatriot. "You can carry yourself this time - your legs are looking much less broken now. Neat trick."

OOC: Took long enough to get a post in the new continent. Recommended vibe check: IC: In the frigid gales above Seprilli, blood ran hot, melting a trail of greatness through the soft cap of High Eyrie. They said he had no chance. She slandered that he would never climb to the top of the clan. Varqui would prove them all wrong, and out of spite, the Vo-Skakdi vowed to begin his ascension by taking her advice literally: the Skak:Dii would climb to the very tops of the ends of the world, and from the peaks of his gods and ancestors, he would grow fat from strength. Steel met stone. Gears whirred. The bravest rose, despite his Lester;nii burden. Varqui had trained for this day. Lifted boulders. Fitted tools. Climbed walls. Ran his own marathons. When he knew in his heartlight that he was ready, the Vo-Skakdi swam the channel to Seprilli, the leviathan unto himself warding all sea beasts away during his passage. An icepick dig into High Eyrie’s summit. Followed by another. Followed by a wide-shouldered blue skakdi covered in white runes. Over Varqui’s right shoulder dangled the legs of a blue and orange amazonian figure. Our hero took one knee and then rose to his full height with a gruff, satisfied heave, not that the woman slung over him was in any way a difficult weight to bear. He rose his arms to the stars above, not needing the radiant glow of the rising sun at his back, and began to proclaim his glory so loud and so high that there was no doubt his ancestors could hear him in Kino-Ur. “VELON RAL VARQUI!” I am Varqui! “VARQUI DESHI!” Varqui rises! “JEL:SKAK MATAIE VAA:DII” All Skakdi will kneel to the Mountain God! The Skakdi of lightning’s right hand reached into his thigh holster, pulling out his twin-barreled Thunder. He pointed it to the sky and squeezed the trigger with his weary hands. Two bright flares, one blue, one white, shot high into the early morning sky. The shooting stars arced above the mountain and could be seen for dozens of Kio, if one was watching. Varqui holstered his weapon, and his right arm returned to rest upon the back of his chronicler. "Our agreement is reached. You bore witness to my first ascension on my road to Silva;ria;Dii," the warlord-in-training began. "And in exchange, I... forgive you for nearly draining my Irnakk;Pii tank." Irnakk’s ####, or in the Skak:Dii tongue, Irnakk;Pii, was a concoction only slightly less deadly than Najin dust. Legends spoke that the Great Ancestor himself soiled the lands of the Lester:Nii while humiliating one of their false kings. The royal may have thought for a split second that Irnakk:Dii would spare his life, but the Great Ancestor merely chose to slay the corrupt mongrel with a burial befitting the seafaring demon. The gilded Lester:Nii drowned in a river of gold, and from his unmarked grave spouted an inflammable tide that poisoned his people’s wells and wilted their crops, singlehandedly bringing cities to their knees without a shot fired. It is said that the only Lester:Nii that survived were those with stronger livers, which is why they are so resistant to alcohol to this day. Irnakk;Pii was a gold-tinted phlogiston, inside which coursed the fire of three Ta-Gafna, striking the throat harder than a Lava Ape hollowing its tree. Even the mere odor was said to ward off insects. Rumors abounded of the Nakihl worshipping its destructive and hallucinogenic power. That was the substance that fueled Varqui’s flamethrower gauntlet, the nozzle of which had incidentally become a straw for his Ga-Lesterin follower. The same Ga-Lesterin that was taking far too long to respond to the awe of Varqui’s feat. Wait… Varqui looked over his shoulder in an attempt to see the Ga-Lesterin’s face. “Merrill! Are you awake?” OOC: @Goose

OOC: Recommended vibes: IC: Kreigero [Ko-Wahi, North, Glacial Caves] An eerie silence dominated everyone's attention. The echoes of Atamai's knock had long faded, but the drumbeat continued in each Matoran's heartlight as they looked towards the mysterious edifice. Kreigero's shiver intensified for a moment as she felt Savrehn's hand steady her shoulder. Soon it was a relief - less cold than the sharp air surrounding them. His support was a reminder. They did everything right. It wasn't their fault. They lived and died by Ihu; this was their way. The mountain extracted a toll for it's beauty, it was merely a question of when. If this was truly their time, at the foot of a stranger's fortress, they would face it together. "S-s-see?" the trapper broke the silence. "Nob-b-body's h-h-home," she lied. Kreigero felt her Hapaka's fur slip out from under her hand as Reyal left her side to approach the door himself. He was attentive, yet curious, as he carefully slinked past Atamai to stand directly in front of the door. He looked up, then down, and began to sniff each side of the door's edges with his peculiar snout. Was he bored, or did he sense something? Kreigero's heartlight sank.

To answer a few: Religion hasn't really been shown to be organized - the closest there probably was to religious leaders may well have been the Turaga, who are long dead. It definitely exists, but isn't delved into often. I don't think it's productive to overanalyze what the average mata nui thinks on religion, but I think it's fair to say that it's prevalent in some form or another, but not necessarily universal or consistent. Yeah, by now each Koro is more of a city than the villages you might have seen in Bionicle media, and while we often have different interpretations of the size, especially when people try to put rough numbers to things, a good rule of thumb that's been suggested is that Koros are big enough to not be able to recognize everyone, for the purposes of the game. So, yeah, a city (sometimes compared to city-states), although each Koro has expanded and changed in different ways from its canon counterparts. Generally speaking it's accepted that smaller villages, hamlets, rest stops, random shacks, et cetera have been around forever and became much more common after Makuta's defeat. There are some named settlements both occupied and abandoned, but just because one hasn't been specified yet doesn't mean it doesn't or couldn't exist. The exact timeline is malleable - we tend to play fast and loose with the dates, with the only real set in stone markers of time being large timeskips that happen every several years OOC. I think it's safe to say that we're in the territory of longer than a year since the start of the original 2011 arc (which started a century after the Toa Mata's defeat). Definitely in the realm of several months to few years and not in the several years to decades range, IIRC. Staff, particularly @Ghosthands would have more details on the specifics of Lesterin, but I think a safe assumption is that native Mata Nuians initially thought of Lesterin as foreign strangers when they began appearing on Mata Nui after the defeat of the Toa Mata roughly a century ago, much like Skakdi, Vortixx, and increased numbers of Toa. Given the similarities Lesterin have to Toa... I doubt the Lesterin/Matoran relationship is too remarkable, compared to Skakdi or Vortixx who fit more clearly into niches and archetypes. Regarding the Piraka... I think so? Unless I've missed something, that sounds right. They're still around but nothing big has happened with them yet so far since then, though I remember hearing of plans in the works.

Yeah if you have broad strokes questions go ahead and shoot, you're more likely to get a full answer if it's generally in here where lots of people can see and respond. If you're looking to specifically plan out things with other players or their characters you can do it here too or in PMs.

Happy new year everybody! Many of you probably are aware, for the past year I've been committed to developing a cyberpunk RPG based on the Vortixx island of Xia. For a long time I've teased that this would be the year I would finish and launch it, and I still plan on that being the case... but it's by no means ready yet. In the coming weeks I'll should have more to discuss as time in my life opens up to commit directly to finishing my designs. Until then, starting today, I'm opening up the formerly-unofficial-six-kingdoms-discord-server as the new official Xia Discord server, so that everyone can get on the same page with the ideas we've had there in the past and give suggestions and feedback as I continue to create the game. Why join? What am I even talking about? Here, have a quick rundown: What is XIA? - In pre-production since December 2020 - Planned launch at some point this year. - Run by @BULiK , Co-GMed by @Umbraline Yumiwa - A world in the spirit of canon. What does that mean? - Fitting into the rough canon time period & world just before the great cataclysm, when all kinds of cool intrigue is happening. - But with our headcanon cyberpunk flair you'd expect from a BZPower RPG. What mechanics are in the works that make XIA unique? - The Mountain. Ascend or die trying. - Player-run corporations fighting it capitalist dystopian black ops fisticuffs in the Matoran Universe's mashup of Shenzen and Casablanca. - A hacking system. Jack in and explore the glory and dangers of cyberspace. - Seasonal timelines; plans to experiment with a more gamified system of action and planning phases to allow for an attempt at balanced faction powerplay at the macro level while making it easier to jump characters right in to where you want them to be. - Only one Toa team on Xia, and it's as corrupt as they come. Antroz's Hagah are called "The Six" and they have to abide by the Toa Code or risk expulsion. Toa are rare, and with great power comes great responsibility. If you get them to cross the line and can prove it in a court of law or even the court of public opinion, they become excommunicado. What species and factions are out there? - Lots of vortixx. Lots. - Plenty of other species too though! - A mysterious hacker group called the Rode Collective. - Dark Hunters? - Brotherhood of Makuta agents? - Order of Mata Nui agents? - Makuta Antroz and his personal Toa Hagah, colloquially known as "The Six" - Breakthroughs in the science of synthetic beings ("Synths") and other ethically questionable corporate research

IC: Kreigero [Ko-Wahi, North, Glacial Caves] The shivering Ko-Matoran's head snapped towards Atamai with a look that said I wasn't talking to you. She looked back to Savrehn, wincing beneath her Kaukau's visor. What was a group decision had been made for them. All they could do now is pray.

IC: Kreigero [Ko-Wahi, North, Glacial Caves] Kreigero shivered as she took careful look at the situation. The trapper tried to shove the pain back inside, to shut off the ringing alarms, and to think about the grim calculus at hand. There were only so many options, and none of them were good. "Something is wrong, no m-m-matter what the Karz t-t-this is," she began, looking back towards the only opinion that had any sway with her. Besides Reyal, of course. "We can't open this, but someone can, and that someone IS inside. It's nightffffall, with a thick storm. Even iffff we find a way out of this ravine, we'd need to make camp to wait it out if we don't want the drifts to take us again. And when this Toa comes out, they'll know we were here." "So the q-q-question is: do we want this Toa to find us, or us to find them?"

IC: Kreigero [Ko-Wahi, North, Glacial Caves] Closer inspection of the monolith raised more questions than it answered. Kreigero ran her hand along the almost seamless edge of the embossed threshold, as if trying to prove that what she was feeling was real. It felt wrong. It felt real. The fresh prints stood out to the trapper like a sore thumb. The preceding visitor made no attempt to obfuscate his approach, much like the three matoran had made too many tracks to cover up. There was no telling if or how the hermit would emerge, but when he did so, unless the matoran made it to the drifts above in time - of which there was no guarantee - it wouldn't be difficult to know they were there and follow their own, larger trail to catch up with them. If that was the unknown's intention. The hermit clearly had the tread of a Toa, but that did not sway Kreigero towards any particular guess at their allegiance. What would someone be up to with a bunker out here? Was this a hideaway of a criminal or their gang? One of the rumored secret Ko-Koronan listening stations? Or perhaps an unmarked temple of ancient treasure? Mystery and Fate were at work, and both were equally dangerous to the huntress. She took a step back and looked to her companions. "If they wanted to be found, they would have. I know nothing of this place, or any like it."

Thanks for all the support! It's awesome to see people excited about the game, I'm glad I can help people rekindle those memories of a game they played or wished they could play a long time ago. Due to popular demand, I've set up a discord server for quick technical support and to let users coordinate play. That way, if the server goes down for any reason or account creation goes offline, you can notify me as quickly as possible. https://discord.gg/SAck8rsNWC

IC: Kreigero [Ko-Wahi, Echelon's #### House, Exterior] Something was very wrong. Kreigero was hoping that it was a hallucination, or that she was already dead and this was a sign they were in Karzahni, but no, this was all too real. "You don't get it," the trapper snapped. "This isn't l-l-like the outskirts of other Koros - maybe a few people live out here periodically, but nobody builds out here." OOC: @Ghosthands, care to set the scene?

OOC: Ho ho ho! IC: Kreigero [Ko-Wahi, Between a glacier and a hard place] Survival was the only option. The unknown was their only path to it. The group continued their slow march, the only saving grace to their predicament being shelter from the biting winds they could hear howl dozens of meters above them. Otherwise, it was eerily quiet in the abyss. Utterly devoid of life, there was only the crunch of snow and ice underfoot and their own struggled breathing that echoed from the narrow walls. The setting sun's light softly drifted in through the opening out of sight far above them, slowly wavering even further, prompting the group to pull out any remaining lightstones. The darkness fought their glow, seemingly swallowing the light just a few meters ahead. Strange shadows danced along the walls as the crystals jostled from the movement. It was in these conditions that Kreigero froze still after seeing an unusual metallic glint reflect back at them after three matoran rounded a corner. "Am-m-m-m-m I...? is that...? did my optics g-g-get damaged?" the freezing Ko-Matoran stuttered. She knew this is impossible. This was impossible. Impossible. Embedded in the glacial wall before them was an impossibly smooth metal wall.

Hello everyone! Merry Christmas, as well! On December 5th, Darkflame Universe, a long running community project to develop a replacement server for the abandonware MMO Lego Universe, went open source. This is an astounding achievement, but there are caveats, some of which of which being they can’t distribute or patch the Lego Universe client themselves, and they cannot publicly run their own server. This means that it’s hard to actually play the game unless you find someone else hosting a server or you’re rather familiar with highly technical topics and have the time and patience to troubleshoot them. Luckily for you, I’m in the latter category. It’s taken longer than I hoped due to various factors in my own life and the fact that Darkflame Universe’s server released with rather poor documentation, but I’m confident enough in the stability of the server I’m running now to open it up to others on BZPower outside of my close friends, who’ve been kind enough to put up with the occasional bugs and technical difficulties as I’ve polished my deployment to a somewhat stable state. ~~~ GENERAL DISCLAIMER ~~~ This server isn't affiliated with Lego, BZPower, or the Darkflame Universe project. This is a service I’m running and allowing others to use, there is no warranty, and any support I give is on my own free time. If problems arise, unexpected maintenance may occur. In fact, based on what my friends and I have played, there are plenty of strange bugs and glitches that can be frustrating. Just be aware of this. ~~~ MODERATION ~~~ There’s a certain charm in having an active enough population to see another player in a dead game, and part of allowing more players into my server is to allow for some of these dynamic moments or more easily let friends play together. But, this isn’t anarchy, and if any players abuse their privilege of playing on my private server and become a problem, please make me aware of this so I can resolve these issues. I don’t think this will be a problem, but it’s worth mentioning up front as a warning and a path to resolving any issues. The server management dashboard gives me the ability to approve names of characters and pets, though I don't check this every day. Due to the growth in size of the server, chat filtering remains on as a precaution ~~~ SETUP INSTRUCTIONS ~~~ So, how do you play? Let’s cut to the chase 1. Acquire a Lego universe client. If you own a copy of the game from back in the day, it theoretically would still work, however, this isn’t necessary. Out of an abundance of caution, I won’t link any of these downloads in this topic, but it is possible to find these out there. Google searching for things like “Lego Universe Client 1.10.64” and asking others who have found one can eventually get you there, although sometimes it will find you unhelpful advice. Once you've done this, Darkflame Universe lists a few known valid checksums if you want to verify that the client you’ve found is safe. 2. Configure your client. Download this configuration file and use it to replace the ‘boot.cfg’ file in your lego universe client. This provides the necessary information to tell your game client to connect to my game server. 3. Create an account Go to dlu.bionicle.zone to register an account. No play key is needed since distributing those is a pain. No email is required - there is no PII associated with your account. 4. Log in Run `legouniverse.exe` in your client folder and you should see the name of the server at the bottom of the screen if you correctly replaced your ‘boot.cfg’. Log in using the account info you created, and enjoy! ~~~ KNOWN ISSUES ~~~ Logging out of the game or getting disconnected will temporarily break your client’s configuration. Why it does this is beyond me, but this means you can’t log back in until you close the game and open it back up again. A minor inconvenience, but it’s not the end of the world. ~~~ It’s been too long since I’ve posted in this subforum. I remember getting the opportunity to play the LEGO Universe Alpha as a kid and being so excited. It’s funny to think all these years later, now I have learned the skills needed to set up a server of it for my friends and play the game for the first time in far too long. Hopefully some of you will get to relive some of those memories or perhaps experience a game you missed out on for the first time. Let me know in this topic or via Discord if you encounter any problems that I can help with, and I’ll get back to you when I have the free time to do so. ~~~ ADDENDUM ~~~ I've created a discord server for support of the server. Access it through the link and use it to talk to other players or to get in touch with me for solving technical issues.

keep up the good work daniel don't give him an inch of ground

IC: Kreigero [Ko-Wahi, Drifts, Abyss] The trapper's optics refocused, no longer blankly directed at the ghostly infinite stretch of void in the distance. "What? Oh. Cold." she responded. It was unclear whether the adrenaline had yet to wear off, if she was hiding the severity of her wound, or if nobody truly knew. What all three Matoran could clearly tell was that she wasn't dead yet, and certainly looked to be improving, at least in terms of comprehension of their dire scenario. As for the latter question, from where Kreigero was looking, it was clear that she intended to show, not tell, her answer. Most likely because she needed to answer it for herself. Snow crunched as Kreigero first sat up, then pushed herself on her feet. The huntress dizzily stumbled forward a few steps from the inertia of standing, but caught her balance just when it seemed she would topple. The Ko-Matoran uncharacteristically shivered and shook snow off of her, absentmindedly patting various pockets to check what gear of hers was still on her and intact. "He... might be able to climb out here, maybe make it back, if we can attach a message." Kreigero finally answered the previous question as she began to follow the other matoran, no longer at the front of the pack. At the pace she could barely walk at and with the overbearing weariness she felt, Kreigero was glad that they still had a rope making sure they didn't lose each over. In a comforting way, that meant they couldn't get any more lost. "That's a lot of area for a search party to cover... we.... we're... not in very charted territory."

IC: Vrill [Po-Koro, Akiri Residence] Stannis was gone, and although the Maru had left many a Kikanalo in the room, he did cede a crucial tactical position to Vrill; the Cy-Toa walked to where Stannis had been seated and poured himself another mug of coffee.

IC: Long Dihunai [Ga-Koro, Docks] The soulfire warrior stopped following Yumiwa as the Rora embarked upon the Yukanna. Pragmatic as ever, Dihunai knew she had a perfectly fine view of the creature from the edge of the docks, and that staying put had the least likelihood of causing any further delays.

IC: Kreigero [Ko-Wahi, Drifts, Abyss] Savrehn's bright red scarf shifted into a darker gradient was it was applied to the head wound. The knot that kept the makeshift bandage tight dangled over Kreigero's visor. She seemed to be extremely interested in its movements as she lightly tilted her head back and forth out of a childlike curiosity, the smooth movements only interrupted by her occasional shivers. The Ko-Matoran was now laying down atop the same pile of snow from Mt. Ihu's attempt at strangling her not long before. Her shemagh was lowered to no longer obfuscate the lower half of her Kaukau, and she continued to take measured breaths, savoring the sweet icy knives of Ko-Wahi's air like a cigar aficionado after a smoky puff. As she did so, the huntress stroked Reyal's fur, the Hapaka having moved to nestle in her lap after some sniffs and a visor-blurring lick that verified the effectiveness of Savrehn's field triage. “Maybe we can send Reyal back to civilization and find some help." Kreigero giggled slightly with the drunken happiness of someone seemingly not fully 'there' yet, but Reyal was now staring right back at the other Ko-Matoran. The Hapaka's tilted head and devilishly clever eyes showed that he understood that he was the topic of conversation, and that it wasn't a thanks for helping the dull-sensed Matoran figure out where Kreigero obviously was. Savrehn was talking about Reyal and doing something, but anything past that was too strange and unusual to sound familiar.

IC: Kreigero [Ko-Wahi, Drifts, Crevasse, Abyss] For a long time, there was darkness. Then the darkness became a brilliant light that lead to a new darkness. Darkness under the crushing pressure the squeezed all and threatened a darkness greater. Fear. Fire. Burning. Wet. ~~~ The rope connecting Kreigero to Atamai began to oscillate. The snow trembled from within as Savrehn and Reyal attempted to wipe it away. In the darkness, the rapid pulse of a heartlight could be seen beneath, the blue right refracting and revealing the troubling red streaks within the snow as they got deeper. Finally, through their combined effort, there was the sound of a set of lungs fighting for its life. Life! Coughing and choking, but life regardless. There was a sense of relief on both sides as Kreigero's head was no longer covered, but the faint blue optics behind her visor showed a deep, solemn weariness like no other. As the excavation continued, it became clear that the snow her head rested on was now a sticky maroon slush.

As a secondary measure to combat spam, I made it so an admin would have to give new users a role for them to be able to edit pages. You should be able to edit now.

IC: Vrill [Po-Koro, Akiri Renaka's House] Vrill gave a slight nod of thanks to the Maru before he slinked back beside Muirtagh. He didn't need a Rode to know that Stannis wasn't lying - one sip was enough to confirm that the Po-Toa's barista skills were surprisingly proficient, although in Vrill's line of work, he had become quite acclimated to coffee of dubious quality. He gave the Maru a silent nod. #### fine cup of coffee. Finding himself at a impromptu war council meeting, Vrill took the opportunity to remain silent as conversation swiftly moved past his identity. Fine by him - there was no rush in finishing the process of blowing his cover that he had intentionally started. Best to not interrupt now. The Cy-Toa's audio receptors perked up at the mention of Stralix charges - it didn't take an engineer to tell why someone with the capability to manufacture the explosives would be intrigued by the possibility of finding an application for inordinate amounts of it. He wondered what Korzaa, or his new Akiri, would say if they were in this meeting. Would they support such an expedition? Was this mechanization of warfare Tarkahn's long play?

IC: Long Dihunai [Ga-Koro, Docks] There are times when fire is the most effective tool a firefighter has, and this was one of them. Dihunai held her tongue, but both were well aware this wasn't the familiar sign of fear at crossing one of the Kentoku Archipelago's many cultural lines - Yumiwa had a point, in that there was a time to discuss strategy, and other to improve tactical effectiveness. Dihunai would always ask for the strategy to be a tactical improvement, but she recognized that a good strategy was varied and had more nuance than sole mastery of one domain. If Dihunai slipped on her training, and entirely focused on one technique of applying her soul's fire, she would be a much weaker warrior. In the same way, while Dihunai's goal of improving Yumiwa's Menti skills were important for her safety, the morale of others, and for broadening the empress's view of the other corners of the island her empire interacted with by proxy, those were perhaps not the most urgent of priorities, at least so soon from landfall. Dihunai was in the business of saving lives, not becoming a personal trainer. She was convinced that being the person to continue Yumiwa's training would save lives, but she could risk waiting a bit longer. "That's reasonable," was Dihunai's reply before, having settled the matter for now, the trio continued their march towards the Yukanna. When the time came and her expertise was needed once again, Dihunai knew her many calls would be remembered. For now, she would continue to observe the Imperials and the locals.

Too busy for a full answer, but https://wiki.bzprpg.com/ (also accessible via https://bzprpg.wiki) is the more up to date wiki that we're using going forwards since I deployed it earlier this year. The old one was very outdated, so we imported all the pages over and have been renovating it ever since. Still a fixer-upper though, but useful in a pinch.

IC: Vrill [Po-Koro, Akiri Renaka's House] The Cy-Toa walked over to the coffee pot and bent down to hover his freshly-grown crystal mug just above the surface of the coffee table, looking into Stannis's marble optics expectantly.

IC: Vrill [Po-Koro, Akiri Renaka's House] A quartz mug grew in Vrill's hand as he glanced at his partner, whom the question was clearly directed to.