Advice For Those New To Our Guild
 

    

 

While being an empath can be frustrating and stressful, it can also be one of the most rewarding professions in the realm. It takes a vast degree of patience and dedication to see you through but in the end it is well worth it to be a member of our guild.

 

Many times people will come to you afraid of imminent death only to find they are barely scratched. But keep in mind often times a young citizen sees any change to their vitality as frightening, and panic is a natural reaction when faced with death. It is our job to soothe them, not just their wounds, but their fears as well. Letting them know that all will be well. Unless they are old enough to know better.... and in that case, just kick them.
I will try here to cover all that you might need to know, most contained here you probably are already well versed in but too much information is better than to little, I hope.

~~Note: You will find much more information on Empathy, Manipulation, our Guardian Spirits, etc...  listed in the Changes book.~~

 


Taking Wounds & Healing Yourself:

Where some still think we actually heal wounds from their bodies this, as we know, is not true. We simply transfer their wounds to ourselves, and then with the gift of spells granted by our leaders, we heal ourselves. To transfer a wound from another to yourself follow the steps listed below:

Touch (person)
Take (person) head
Take (person) head int
And so on until you have covered all of the wounds listed as fresh, then..
Take (person) head scar
Take (person) head int scar
Etc…

*** To break a link and stop taking wounds from a person you would type BREAK [person]. And do it several times to assure that the link has been broken***

When you are young you will have to touch them more than once to keep the link going but in time this will change.
It is better for you and less of a burden on the empaths around you if you only take wounds that you yourself can heal. If you cannot take everything there will almost always be another empath near willing to pick up where you left off.

Once you have become accustomed to healing and your body and skills are able to do so with some ease... I would strongly suggest you get your hands on CRUTCH, a fantastic healing program given to us by Kitrinx. Pelt her with gifts a plenty for this gem if only for the time and work it will save you.  It has been designed for those of us who stay up way to late for our fingers to be able to keep up with the healing load, and who tend who forget to tend their bleeders.
A few things to be aware of with Crutch.
Edit the custom buttons ASAP.. unless you like smiling with rancid teeth, you don't want to do that by mistake at a formal party (trust me I know firsthand). You should also click the diamond on the top left and look at your options you can auto-tend your bleeders (be aware that if it is a leak Crutch does not tend it - it will only tend bleeders that are fully wrapped before they come undone and it will not tend new bleeders you have not yet wrapped), if you have a tab open for a particular person you can also auto-tend their bleeders. Also check your settings, you can modify the program to work best for you there.

Thank you Kitrinx!

Now you should be ready to heal yourself following these steps.
Prep EWH 5
Wait a moment (you will receive a message saying it is fully prepped for casting)
Cast head (or whichever area bears a fresh wound)
Going down the line until all of your wounds are healed.
Then repeat with IWH then of course scars

You will not be able to see what internal wounds you have, unless they are beyond minor. For this you will need another empath to check you and give you a list. Most are more than happy to if you only ask, as they need this help as well.

Herbs are also a GREAT help in healing yourself. You can find, in our library, a listing of all the healing herbs and tips on alchemy.

I know that carrying them all can be burdensome so I would suggest, if you only have room for a few, that you try to always keep Jadice flower, Yelith root, Cebi root and Hisan salve. These will cover all of your limb wounds internal and external and all of your scars. Taking a great deal of the mess off your hands. In fact, I never carry others anymore.

It is not good to let chest, abdomen, back, head or neck wounds get to far beyond minor before healing them. Where you can lose a leg, arm or eye and live… you cannot survive the loss of your head etc. The chest and abdomen typically are the most sensitive areas.

 

Spells:


You can find the full list of spells for our guild and my notes on them in the Spells book in the library.

I would suggest you get the following in the order listed before moving on to others:

EWH, IWH, ESH, ISH, Vit Heal, Flush Poison, Blood Staunch, Refresh, Cure Disease.

Mental Stats:

I am often asked by other empaths what they should use their TDP’s on and as like many other things it is a personal choice based upon how you train your skills and how you live your life, though I would recommend the following regardless.
Stamina stamina stamina, need I say more? You will find that you bleed more than anyone of another guild, and stamina directly affects how much of your vitality pours out of you. It also combined with Strength affects your fatigue and whether a wound is a scratch or a gash on you. Getting overly tired will keep you from being able to cast to heal your self, which can be deadly so I would suggest getting both to at least 15 as soon as you can. Strength will also lighten your load caused by unreal amounts of fluff and herbs.
Discipline, Wisdom and Intelligence go hand in hand, working together to gauge how well you learn. Wisdom is the size of your learning pool, Discipline is how quickly you can drain the pool, and Intelligence how quickly you can fill the pool. For the best results with the least headaches keep them spaced 1 apart in the following order.
Discipline 15, Wisdom 14 and Intelligence 13. These are all-important skills and should again here get them built up as soon as you can. Moving them together cascaded as listed to optimize your learning abilities, though after your 20th circle Intelligence begins to play a more important role and should be moved up with Discipline.

To me these are the most important and the rest all depend upon your lifestyle so will leave them out of this guide.

 

TRAINING:

Lore:

The all important skill set. You will come to find as you pass your 30th circle that lore is an ugly beast, you will need 24 overall ranks per circle (6 of which will need to be empathy) so stay on top of this one. You can add to your overall ranks by training teaching, scholarship, musical theory, mechanical lore, and appraisal. Trading will do you no good, and does not factor in to your overall lore. For those who disagree about trading… well do the math on your lore.

First aid:

First aid you train by tending bleeders or listening to a class. You are going to find that you need a good deal of it to help keep your patients alive at times. So I would not stop your training just because the guild leader tells you it is ok. Plus you will run into your need for survival ranks later even if you outrun them for awhile.

Magic:

While you may marvel at how well you learn magic today… the day will come when the guild will insist you learn 20 ranks per circle and suddenly it will not be so easy. So do yourself a favor and keep up with your power walking and magical devices. Unless you are a herb junkie, your primary and harness should always be on the move naturally. Note: Target does apply toward overall magic and fire shard runes can be fun if you don't mind shock.

Survival:

Though not a harsh requirement for us (it did not catch up with me again until 60th) you will find most all of these skills are necessary for your daily life. It all depends on how you live, so only you know what you need. But as a word of advice Evasion, First Aid, Perception, Stealing, and Foraging are needed by most.

 

Practicing Perception:
You can Juggle (you can purchase beanbags or balls in Aesry for a couple silver), search rooms with people hidden in them, in Crossing search outside the bank or stand there, if you are in Haven you go down the ladder at the slippery dock then go through the gap and search (this works only at night). There are other ways but these are the easiest.

 

Wounds:

While most wounds are self explanatory some can be a bit confusing so will try to list those here.

Eyes:
Bruised and Swollen~ EWH
Swollen and Bruised~ IWH
Crossed~ IWH
Cloudy~ ISH
Black and Blue~ EWH
Empty Eye Socket~ ESH


Head:
Difficulty Thinking~ IWH
Dazed Look~ ISH


Abdomen:
Emaciated Look~ ISH
Greenish Pallor~ ISH
Starvation Look~ ISH


Skin:
Twitching, Minor Twitching or Severe Twitching etc~ IWH
Difficulty Controlling Actions~ IWH
Paralysis~ IWH
Numbness~ ISH
Oddly folded skin~ ESH


These are only some of the wounds of course, but the ones I am most often asked about.

LINKING:

Another skill empaths learn is the LINK skill. This allows you to link another person's skill. For example if you wish to play an instrument, but are somewhat lacking in talent and do not wish to harm anyone's ears.. you can LINK someone's skill who has more, and you will play better (by sharing their skill). This works for all skills, can link power perceive to see better mana, foraging, etc…
To use it you must be taught by a fellow empath first. Then..
Touch (person)
Link (person) forage
Then they will see a message to Link you. There will be an RT when they do this, the farther ahead of you in ranks they are, the longer the RT.

It is best to cast refresh before linking, or having someone cast courage or zephyr for you first. Maintaining the link will exhaust you so be careful.
This has NO affect on the person you link, nor do you learn anything from it. It merely allows you to borrow part of their knowledge for a short time.

 

 

Shock:

I personally look at shock as a reason to go shopping or take a vacation. What is it? Well, as an empath we feel the pain of those around us. For one of us to bring on that pain in another… well it harms us deeply (if you see it that way). If you say… go fishing and snag a poor fish, kick a rat, or even bite or kick a friend as a joke while yer in Brawling mode, you will shock yourself.

Shock causes you to lose your ability to heal for time. Other empaths can Take Shock from you, lessening the time you are unable to sense wounds and heal. Though be warned, taking shock from another empath gives you the shock as well. You will not be able to heal anyone for awhile after taking it from someone. Though the stain on your soul that you can see in an empath that has harmed another, only remains on the one that actually hurt something.
How long? Well that depends on how many empaths pull it from you. If none, then it can be a few hours. If several then it can be as little as 20 minutes.

Though a word of caution: if you are in a small town and have all the empaths take a bit of your shock… who is going to be left to heal the citizens while you are all on sick leave?

Yes, you can kill someone. Yes you will get shock, and Yes it will last MUCH longer than if you just harm someone. I have heard rumor that every empath awake at the time feels a bit of your pain, but never seen this happen.

 

Tips:

Some of us heal solely for profit; some of us have never taken a gem or gift in all of our days. No way is right or wrong. But if you do accept tips, understand that not everyone has much coin or the ability to pay you for saving their life. A little understanding will keep your blood pressure down. Though yes, a 50th circle player walks in, demands healing, and doesn’t tip you or say thank you… well that is not right. How you react or deal with them in the future only you can decide. I have found that the only areas that seem to have unhappy empaths that do not get tipped or thanked regularly are Crossing, and well Crossing. Though I personally do not accept any gift for my healing touch, I find it is rare to not be offered a token in any town other than Crossing.

Thieves:


Though I hate to say it, there are a few thieves who lack backbone and prefer to steal from those who cannot defend themselves. But before you jump to a conclusion, not all of these people are members of the thief’s guild and most thieves would never stoop to such pitiful depths.
But for the times when you come across jackarses who do, there are a few things you should know.

  • Always keep your gem pouches closed and your coin in the bank. You can keep your gem pouches open IF they are inside of another container. I keep my pouches open, so I do not have to bother with fiddling with them all the time, and in my backpack. That keeps them easy to access for you, and impossible for thieves.

  • Perception is a must. It enables you to see people trying to get into your pockets, and granted is not enough to keep them out; it will give you grounds to ACCUSE at the jail if you so choose.

  • The stealing skill is what directly affects whether or not they can reach into your pockets so training in this is wise, and with friends can be fun.

  •  A much-debated topic, which I will not go into the pros and cons of here, is withholding your healing touch. To me personally if someone spends time trying to steal from ME or threatens ME directly I am not all that inclined to heal them. Though my pockets are almost always open and it matters little to me, if someone is doing it to either cause trouble or without having the courtesy to ask before they try and stick their hands in my clothes, they can bleed to death at my feet.. I will of course be happy to heal their corpse for the exp once they are dead.


I do not ask that another empath do the same because of what may have happened to ME. But MY touch, they will not be granted while it will still do them good. I generally assume they can take the coins they got from my pockets and pay the hospital with them if they are that bad off. But again, that is my choice. Many find this goes against their personal beliefs, which I respect wholeheartedly.

 

Now shoo, go get to work!

May Hodierna guide you gently upon your chosen path ...
and smack you upside the head when you need it.

~Gwynath Remb~