Talk:Skellie

Wikicities Migration

This page migrated from Wikicities (now Wikia) in July, 2005. The following contributors agreed to relicense their material here:

• Barrister
• Trazz (minor text)
• Crystallina
• CursedBurger
• Mercano
• Zyborg
• Shagie (minor text)
• 165.247.86.161 (minor text)
• 85.73.8.170 (minor text)

Player Skellies

I distinctly remember seeing player skellies on the Halloween of 2004, and Grimes told me he was turned into one that year. Therefore, I reverted the last edit to say this.--Zyborg22 06:54, 29 September 2005 (PDT)

It only happened once--last year, we got masks, but weren't turned into skellies or zombies. Since they're trying to different things each year, I doubt it will happen again. --Eurydice 07:30, 29 September 2005 (PDT)

Eury, we did turn into skellies and zombies, just not for very long. Se this post in the Greenie Playground.--Fiddler 07:53, 29 September 2005 (PDT)

Whoops. Guess I was on at the wrong hours, as I never saw anybody turned into skellies. Also, perhaps it should be noted that it's possible for players to be turned into skellies or zombies? Somebody posted a screenshot on the ViridianOcean forums of Cleaver as a zombie on Viridian (which has not seen a Halloween yet). --Thunderbird 11:39, 29 September 2005 (PDT)

Does this mean I can changed it to say that it happened every year?--Zyborg22 13:54, 30 September 2005 (PDT)

Player Skellie Hunters Lists

A forum post reminded me that there's another potentially good use of the wiki - the who loves to fight skellies on each ocean list. --Guppymomma 18:41, 29 September 2005 (PDT)

Base payout?

Isn't the base payout 800 PoE, instead of 1000? I'm not 100% sure, so I didn't change it, but I'm 99.9% sure. --Emerson 8 Mar 2006

The base payout is 1000. I am 100% sure.

However, at least on Hunter, the base payout still includes a single piece of (apparently) randomly-generated clothing. Chat log evidence follows - this was the first attempt (note the 1100 payouts), but one person got an extra item (rags, female, tan).

This is also true on sage but it is not necessarily clothing, it is a randomly generated item. Theemperor 14:32, 29 June 2007 (PDT)

Game over.  Winners: Jokerswraith, Teran, Psycopunk, Heero, Depenguinde, Vidiella, Shep, Hooch, Johngalt.
Jokerswraith wins 1,100 pieces of eight.
Teran wins 1,100 pieces of eight.
Psycopunk wins 1,100 pieces of eight.
Heero wins 1,100 pieces of eight.
Depenguinde wins 1,100 pieces of eight.
Vidiella wins 1,100 pieces of eight.
Shep wins 1,100 pieces of eight.
Hooch wins 1,100 pieces of eight.
Johngalt wins 1,100 pieces of eight.
Jokerswraith wins a Rags (female, tan)!
Jokerswraith wins a Chart from Matariki Island to Quetzal Island (7 leagues)!
Teran wins a Chart from Quetzal Island to Matariki Island (7 leagues)!
Psycopunk wins a Chart from Chachapoya Island to Matariki Island (5 leagues)!
Heero wins a Chart from Chachapoya Island to Matariki Island (5 leagues)!
Depenguinde wins a Chart from Saiph Island to Quetzal Island (8 leagues)!
Vidiella wins a Shirt with sash (male, red, blue sash)!
Shep wins a Chart from Matariki Island to Quetzal Island (7 leagues)!
Hooch wins a Chart from Accompong Island to Toba Island (8 leagues)!
Johngalt wins a Shirt with sash (male, orange, orange sash)!

Fuzzrock 08:06, 8 August 2006 (PDT)

A skellie fray I was in this weekend gave out an Atlantis map, in addition to the random item. If anyone can corroborate, this can be added to the winning section.--Vurogj 01:49, 10 September 2007 (PDT)

Corroboration found, thus added.--Vurogj 02:46, 10 September 2007 (PDT)

Colored Skellies.

Added a line to the gist of: Skellie colors do not denote difficulty. Zava made me do it.

--DuoX 27 Mar 2006

Misconceptions.

Added skellie myths/misconceptions for cross reference purposes. These are taken from the rumors pages.

--DuoX 00:26, 25 April 2006 (PDT)

Skeleton bone bludgeon

Added a note in the winning section linking to the bludgeon page adding that players can win this item from skellies. --Demonyaj 08:19, 12 May 2006 (PDT)

I was digging around in my logs and found I had won 151 skellie frays and 3 femurs, a chance of about 2%. Are there any known figures that agree with this? --Therobotdude 14:42, 11 March 2014 (PDT)

Regenerating

Was looking for how long they took to respawn after being defeated. I found this thread where several seem to agree it is every 6 hours and after a reboot. Supporting evidence welcome. — Callistan ^{(talk/contrib)} 18:58, 22 October 2006 (PDT)

It is still after a reboot, but now the re-appearance time has been randomized. Vorky 12:39, 16 March 2007 (PDT)

Bottom of page?

I was just thinking, should the Other Links section just use the skellie footer like the Skellie Hunters Across <Ocean> pages do, so that it's up to date for all future oceans? And so people like myself don't edit just that and not notice the skellie footer :) --Curlykidd 16:24, 7 November 2006 (PST)

Mission requirements

I got my alt to Narrow/Grand-Master but did not get the skellie mission. Could the requirement be Broad/Renowned? - Nysv March 12 2007

Are you certain that there were skellies out at the time? The mission only appears when they are. -- Thefirstdude ^(t/c) 14:47, 12 March 2007 (PDT)

And that you had at least 100 poe on your pirate? -- Cedarwings ^(t/c) 15:05, 12 March 2007 (PDT)

And also an item which the skellies could take? -- Vorky 16:08, 12 March 2007 (PDT)

If you had all of the above, the skellie mission appears in other missions and not the main missions. You may have over-looked it. --Theemperor 14:55, 1 July 2007 (PDT)

Ocean-Wide Renowed Requeriment

If I'm not wrong, the requeriments to get the skellie mission is Narrow/Ocean-Wide Renowed Swordfight, isn't it?

I keep hearing it's full renowned but as ocean-wide is the one that is publicly displayed im guessing that is a possibilty, not sure myself but i have never recieved the mission on ocean wide renowned only. Best to get full to be on the safe side(does anyone have a definate answer?). -wicked4591 29-06-2007

yesterday i sucessfully got the skellies mission with ocean wide renowned and master arch so yes it is--Theemperor 04:17, 8 July 2007 (PDT)

Update Needed regarding Release 2007-10-16

In reference to Release 2007-10-16, would someone mind updating this article to reflect the changes? LiquidXKal 18:36, 16 October 2007 (PDT)

Can anyone explain the winnings (PoE/items) from this fray?

I was only there for one fray (the final one that won), and have no knowledge about how long the skellies were there nor how many frays it lasted. I am unable to figure it out from the resulting log. This fray just ended on Sapling Island, Cobalt, with 25 pirates vs 25 skellies. --Geeky kitty 16:20, 14 January 2008 (PST)

Game over.  Winners: Stevey, Applet, Janfri, Lingo, Gooblenka, Jdon, Jillin, Seawanderer, Speeddemon, Tribekka, Rustee, Dubblemiss, Bossynickers, Anchorlord, Lcaptain, Vene, Leslieann, Melliep, Larkspur, Munchen, Donsgirl, Pitti, Rehio, Geekers, Deadfreddy.
Stevey wins 2,044 pieces of eight.
Applet wins 2,044 pieces of eight.
Janfri wins 2,044 pieces of eight.
Lingo wins 2,044 pieces of eight.
Gooblenka wins 2,044 pieces of eight.
Jdon wins 2,044 pieces of eight.
Jillin wins 2,044 pieces of eight.
Seawanderer wins 2,044 pieces of eight.
Speeddemon wins 2,044 pieces of eight.
Tribekka wins 2,044 pieces of eight.
Rustee wins 2,044 pieces of eight.
Dubblemiss wins 2,044 pieces of eight.
Bossynickers wins 2,044 pieces of eight.
Anchorlord wins 2,044 pieces of eight.
Lcaptain wins 2,044 pieces of eight.
Vene wins 2,044 pieces of eight.
Leslieann wins 2,044 pieces of eight.
Melliep wins 2,044 pieces of eight.
Larkspur wins 2,044 pieces of eight.
Munchen wins 2,044 pieces of eight.
Donsgirl wins 2,044 pieces of eight.
Pitti wins 2,044 pieces of eight.
Rehio wins 2,044 pieces of eight.
Geekers wins 2,044 pieces of eight.
Deadfreddy wins 2,044 pieces of eight.
Stevey wins a Hand regrowth salve (1 swig left)!
Stevey wins a Striped shirt (male, blue belt, blue stripes)!
Applet wins a Whisking potion (9 swigs left)!
Applet wins a Leg regenerating draught (1 swig left)!
Janfri wins a Bandana (male, tan)!
Janfri wins a Whisking potion (9 swigs left)!
Lingo wins a Chart from Sakejima Island to Terra Island (4 leagues)!
Lingo wins a Feather hat (male, black, white feather)!
Gooblenka wins a Chart from Dragon's Nest to Hunter's Point (6 leagues)!
Gooblenka wins a Sword rack!
Jdon wins a Chart from Dragon's Nest to Hunter's Point (6 leagues)!
Jdon wins a Posters!
Jillin wins a Rags (male, red)!
Jillin wins a Patch-eye remedy (1 swig left)!
Seawanderer wins a Map to Lost Wall!
Seawanderer wins a Whisking potion (3 swigs left)!
Speeddemon wins a Map to Distant Stronghold!
Speeddemon wins a Chart from Fintan Island to Tigerleaf Mountain (4 leagues)!
Tribekka wins a Whisking potion (3 swigs left)!
Rustee wins a Chart from Dragon's Nest to Swampfen Island (5 leagues)!
Dubblemiss wins a Leg regenerating draught (1 swig left)!
Bossynickers wins a Chart from Corona Reef to Kirin Island (5 leagues)!
Anchorlord wins a Chart from Hunter's Point to Olive Island (4 leagues)!
Lcaptain wins a Foil!
Vene wins a Pair of flared pants (female, red with white)!
Leslieann wins a Whisking potion (4 swigs left)!
Melliep wins a Whisking potion (5 swigs left)!
Larkspur wins a Scarf (female, red and blue)!
Munchen wins a Whisking potion (1 swig left)!
Donsgirl wins a Veil (female, tan and tan)!
Pitti wins a Whisking potion (4 swigs left)!
Rehio wins a Conquistador hat (male, lime plume)!
Geekers wins a Chart from Tigerleaf Mountain to Dragon's Nest (14 leagues)!
Deadfreddy wins a Shirt with cape (male, brown with orange)!

It's what happens when some group desides to start a fray before getting all the people they need to fill it. In that case, probably the first, was started with 11 people. .44 = 1/(25/11) Hence the 44 poe left over instead of a full 100 poe from that round. And usually the succeding rounds are full, so they get the full 100 poe per pirate wager. So in this case, there were 11 rounds, and chances are, the first one, most of them voted as they entered (till there was a greater than 1/2 ratio of yea to nay) or they all waited too long and got gutsy enough to try and take them on underhanded. Klostro 21:49, 25 February 2008 (PST)

This looks like it was won in only 1 round. And no I do not think there was a round that included 11 people or any number of people in it. Occasionally the winnings from a skellie fray can be more then the 1000 poe plus 100 poe per round. It usually occurs when the winning fray is the 1st or 2nd round though. There are many theories why this happens. I once was part of a winning fray against 3 skellies in the first round that produced about 30 items and 18k for each of us. It's rare but it happens. -- Cedarwings ^(talk) 08:11, 26 February 2008 (PST)

This post from Cephalopod should explain it all. --Fiddler 08:15, 26 February 2008 (PST)

Thanks for pointing me to that thread. I missed it on the forums initially. --Geeky kitty 19:02, 14 March 2008 (PDT)

Leader misconception

The article reads:

The skellie who sends /tells giving status of the fray is the "leader." Another common misconception; in reality, there is no such thing as a skellie "leader." Another variation of this is that this "leader" is somehow more difficult than other skellies. Again, this is a misconception and can be dismissed. (my bolding)

Now, I recognize that all the skellies are of equal skill. But Cephalopod speaks^[1] of a "head monster" in his post explaining how PoE is distributed following a match, so doesn't that make the bold sentence invalid? --Yaten ^talk 15:04, 5 August 2008 (UTC)

Players as skellies -- update needed?

The article talks about players as skellies as if it were a one-time thing, for a limited period, long since over. The article on the Skeletal amulet, however, appears to contradict this. Should the appropriate section of the Skellie article be updated to reflect that players can become skellies through use of the amulet? Gascony 22:57, 5 September 2011 (PDT)

screenshots versus text

I've been adding screenshots of skellie tells (and likewise on the zombie page) to indicate what they say at certain times. Would this look better in plaintext (<tt></tt>) form? E.G.:
Skellie name says, "One little pirate in the fray.. ha ha ha!" cheers --Therobotdude 06:53, 16 October 2013 (PDT)

I think the screenshots look horrible, no offense. But plaintext would also be more accessible - there is currently no alt text at all for these messages, so this article and others like it are quite unhelpful for the visually impaired. Chupchup 22:16, 16 October 2013 (PDT)

Yeah, I agree with all of that. Surprised it's taken me so long to notice how bad it looks too. Since the rest of the article (aside from that dodgy looking table) is mostly in order, I suppose all that needs doing is replacing file links with text. I've started a mockup of the page, here, let me know what you think. I am getting the feeling already that messages ought to be highlighted in a light backcolor or something, so they stand out. --Therobotdude 08:13, 17 October 2013 (PDT)

References to other media

In 150+ skellie frays since 2007 I've not heard any skellies say the line "There's something you should know. I am not left handed!". This is confirmed from my chatlogs. Is it possible that I'm just unlucky or is this an outdated skellie remark that should be moved to historical notes? --Therobotdude 06:37, 24 November 2013 (PST)

I just searched my chat logs from June 2007 and found nothing of this phrase at all. The phrases were introduced in this edit with the summary "I'm sure I have the skellie lines paraphrased, but they're definitely from Princess Bride." You bet they were paraphrased, because the wording was wrong on the "decent fellow" quote (and the changed wording is still wrong). I have done searches on several permutations of the "left handed" phrase and still nothing comes up, so we can safely remove it. Chupchup 12:18, 24 November 2013 (PST)

I was digging through some of the game files earlier, and that phrase isn't there anymore (when it was removed is an interesting question). That said, it used to be there, as there are some (very old) forum posts referencing it. I found two via a Google search: http://forums.puzzlepirates.com/community/mvnforum/viewthread?thread=107810#1615400 http://forums.puzzlepirates.com/community/mvnforum/viewthread?p=453644#453644 Also, someone should double-check the skellie join phrase, as the translation files have it as "ye" not "you" in there.--Thunderbird 21:09, 24 November 2013 (PST)

The first link you give is a reference to YPPedia (citogenesis) because it uses exactly the same inaccurate wording, and it is from 2008. The second link is plausible. As for the latest edit to this article, I think Therobotdude's intent was to quote the film rather than the game. Chupchup 06:11, 25 November 2013 (PST)

I find it likely that the author of the post in the second link has genuinely heard the line spoken by skellies. He supplies references to the film, but does not use the (incorrect) wording on the latest revision at that time. This suggests to me it's not copied directly from the wiki, but instead he has recalled it from memory because he knows the film so well (there is another reference in his "Life without masks?inconceivable!"). I believe he wasn't actually aware of the wiki page at that time, since he appears to know the film well enough to quote word-for-word from it but has not changed the incorrect wording on the page. (And if he did know about it, why did he not copy/paste in the quotes?) By that reasoning it's highly likely that he had seen skellies say the line for himself, unless of course a friend of his had told him about skellies saying it (which I find less likely). This kind of backs up Crystallina's original edit to the wiki, and she was pretty sure about the line existing too (paraphrasing aside). My suggestion is that we should leave the line on the page, but with a note to say it was removed pre-2007. Although the edit says it was paraphrased, it actually matches up well with what the first guy said, so it could be left as it was.

Re the latest edit, my intention was to quote the film (the game text is already quoted in an above section somewhere) - I'm already regretting my wording, perhaps it could be rephrased for clarity when a decision is made on leaving the line in or out. --Therobotdude 09:45, 25 November 2013 (PST)

Monster taunts

Because the skellies, zombies and werewolves say an awful lot, what about having a section entitled "List of known skellie/zombie/werewolf taunts"? Within that we could plonk all the spammy things they say into one large table, kinda like the brigand kings (e.g. Admiral Finius#In_battle). --Therobotdude 11:35, 14 August 2014 (PDT)

Drop patterns

Nobody has proven that NPC sword fighting completely ignores drop patterns. It would be wrong to enshrine that assertion in this or another article as fact, especially to "dispel a rumor". The best knowledge we have says that color distribution of drop patterns is indeed taken into account in some way. This would actually make sticks and foils worse, if it weren't for the teaming effect. Think about it this way: if sticks were fine to be sword fighting with, then how could Three Rings sell "better" swords at iron mongers? Chupchup 06:54, 17 August 2014 (PDT)

Good grief. Stop putting up strawman arguments. I didn't say that the drop pattern was *completely* ignored, but there is no proof that even the color distribution matters. I didn't say that drop patterns don't matter for PvP SF, so why wouldn't OOO sell better swords? There is a heck of a lot more evidence that swords don't matter when fighting NPCs than that they do. Wrs1864b 07:28, 17 August 2014 (PDT)

I fail to see a strawman in Occam's Razor. Why would Three Rings sell swords? Because it makes sword fighting more effective. Pillaging is the central activity in Puzzle Pirates. Leaving aside PVP, which fountains no poe into the economy, we have pillaging against brigands and barbarians. That means that the most central activity of the game is sword fights and rumble against NPPs. Why would the game be designed so that the carefully crafted swords and bludgeons into which players invest much money are totally ineffective in the most central activities of the game? Chupchup 08:11, 17 August 2014 (PDT)

You aren't a programmer, are you? Occam's Razor: it is too difficult and cpu intensive to write a SF puzzle simulator that takes drop patterns into account and a simpler one is good enough. Remember, NPC SF has to be quick enough to simulate all NPCs on all ships at all skill levels and on a server that has a lot of other things to do. even back 10+ years ago. PvP SF is enough reason to make drop patterns worth implementing. Brigands also never run out of booze/balls, even though real ships do. All that matters is that it is still fun. Wrs1864b 08:30, 17 August 2014 (PDT)

As a matter of fact I am a programmer, and this insults my intelligence. It would be absurd to me to create a feature and then fail to implement it for the core cases when it was supposed to be functional. Particularly absurd if customers were spending money, however virtual it is, on that feature. Chupchup 14:32, 17 August 2014 (PDT)

I'm copying the following from my talk page:

Ahoy - re your edit to Skellie here, are you certain that the NPCs don't take a sword's drop pattern into account at all? In other articles I've avoided stating if the drop pattern has any effect, because I couldn't find a source for it - and it's quite a bold statement to make. I've heard forum whispers that NPCs do use some metrics calculated from drop patterns - The ratio of the four block colours for instance - but I have yet to see solid proof. I can't be sure they do do this, can you be sure they don't do this? :P --Therobotdude 05:52, 17 August 2014 (PDT)

There have been a bunch of threads discussing it over the years, and yes, the color distribution seems likely to make a difference, but not the pattern. Yes, I guess I'm making a bold claim, but it is a heck of a lot less bold than the claim that sticks are less effective. Without looking at the source code, it is almost impossible to prove, but one indications is that NPCs SF boards always form a perfect "U" shape. (OK, there is one block that is sometimes out of the perfect "U".) If you drop a single large sword, it doesn't appear as a sword on their board, but melts into the "U". You can't have NPCs paying attention to the pattern when the pattern is mushed. Wrs1864b 06:51, 17 August 2014 (PDT)

I have replied on Talk:Skellie. Chupchup 06:55, 17 August 2014 (PDT)

How can anyone object to the assertion that "sticks are commonly teamed with other swords that perturb the color distribution." This is one of the reasons why sticks are not as ineffective as usual. Look, I am not happy with the passage as it is worded. I object strongly to the insinuation that sticks are just as good as any sword. I will object until wording is changed or the whole passage is removed. So I propose now that the whole passage be removed since you cannot agree on wording. Chupchup 07:31, 17 August 2014 (PDT)

There is no proof, or even much evidence, that even the color distribution is paid attention to by NPCs, the fact that teaming happens is irrelevant. I've seen multiple times when someone complains about (known skellie experts) fighting with sticks, and the rest of us switch to sticks too. I've seen times when the only players left in a fray have sticks, and we march through the skellies just as fast. There really isn't any evidence that sticks are worse, and a lot of evidence that swords don't matter at all to NPCs. I strongly object to any hint that sticks are worse. Wrs1864b 07:44, 17 August 2014 (PDT)

Your anecdotes are not data, so let's remove the passage entirely and not engage in personal opinion about how the game works. Chupchup 07:47, 17 August 2014 (PDT)

Evidence in support of "drop patterns don't matter": When a human opponent or ally is defeated or the game ends, you can see the exact layout of their board. When a swabbie or other NPP opponent does the same, you can't. Frankly, "I object strongly to the insinuation that sticks are just as good as any sword." and other arguments you've put forward are based on a feeling of how things ought to be, which is, to be honest, more tenuous than anecdocal evidence. One way for a more scientific test may be to try fighting the palace training swabbies - they'll always use the same sword as you. So fight them with a stick and count how many swords they drop on your board, then fight them with something else, and count the swords. Try to keep the volume of blocks you send them around the same each time. --Belthazar451 15:18, 17 August 2014 (PDT)

Good idea on how to test this. You would have to send a lot of swords because the sprinkle pattern of sticks and foils are the same, and the sprinkle pattern on a lot of other swords are very similar. You would also have to do a fairly large sample to even out the RNG. Wrs1864b 17:21, 17 August 2014 (PDT)