Keeper of the Books ★ NBRC ★’s
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(group member since May 19, 2018)
Keeper of the Books ★ NBRC ★’s
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from the Nothing But Reading Challenges group.
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Okay, so it seems I need to approve my own post above to be posted in the FAQ thread. So that's me approving all three drafts for publication...Not feeling schizofrenic at all... not one bit! LOL!Note: I added an alternative way to complete the quest to make things easier for players. I'm usually on my PC only during weekends, and during the week, I’m mostly replying from my phone. [Let me tell you, the mobile Goodreads app is atrocious—you can’t quote anyone, check other threads, or even edit your posts. Rant over!] To keep things fair, it wouldn’t make sense for players to sometimes wait an entire week for approval of their drafts. So, here’s the solution: post your drafts here in the Tavern and ask the Keeper of the Books to publish whichever they like to the FAQ thread.
To make this process practical, simply posting your draft in the Tavern is enough to earn your reward. No waiting, no need for re-drafting.
Cathy wrote: "I really like the unlimited nuts, but if you need to limit it, the higher the better."Yeah, but it's way too convenient and doesn't make any sense. And got it, the more the better. ;-)
BTW Congrats on your new well, Cathy!
Oops, Rebecca, I mystified you in the Caravan Hill thread. You need to complete Slingshot: The Art of Manliness to get a new slingshot. Pipsqueak is to get a magik shard.
Sorry about that.
Thanks, Red Really, for the suggestion. :)
I don't expect any more substantial changes to the rules. Any future changes will likely fall under the category of "minor tweaks," similar to those announced today.That said, there’s one mechanic that may require adjustment: the use of the SLINGSHOT. Currently, it doesn’t make much sense to shoot 500 nuts in a single turn. I plan to revisit this and propose limiting the maximum number of nuts shot per turn to 1, 2, or 3.
I’d love to hear your feedback on this! Let me know your thoughts.
To explain the changes to the Duplication Potion in more detail:The rule that "Every book can be duplicated only once" takes effect today. This is not retroactive, meaning any books duplicated more than once in the past are fine. However, moving forward, if a book has already been duplicated in the past, it cannot be duplicated again.
To help keep track, I’ll be adding a duplication log to my adventure thread to note which books I’m duplicating from now on. That said, I don’t expect veteran players to dig through years of adventure log entries to check past duplications. I only ask that if you know—or strongly suspect—a book has already been duplicated, you avoid duplicating it again.
This rule also applies to purchases in the Open Market. If you buy a book that was duplicated as part of the transaction (e.g., the seller required a Duplication Potion), the buyer may not duplicate that book again in the future.
I hope everything is clear. Do you have any questions that were left unanswered?
As Rebecca predicted, the changes to the Duplication Potion use are here. Every book can be duplicated only once. (This rule is effective immediately.) Also, Starting July 1, 2025, books read before the end of 2024 cannot be duplicated. Other minor tweaks:
- The Knowledge is power quest is now repeatable.
- The Academy - Part II quest has a new Task 13 to replace the original, which is no longer doable due to the removal of Quizzes from Goodreads.
New Task 13: "Ask your friends and the Goodreads community what you should read next. Use a Goodreads feature to do that."
For more details, check out the announcement here.
Dear Adventurers,In addition to the upcoming cutoff for old books (detailed above), we’re rolling out a series of minor adjustments to refine gameplay mechanics. These changes will be announced as they take effect, with the first adjustments launching today.
✨ Adjustment to the Duplication Potion
Effective immediately:
1. No book may be duplicated more than once. This change prevents overuse of the potion and ensures fair opportunities for all players to tackle quests.
2. Starting July 1, 2025, books read before the end of 2024 cannot be duplicated. This rule applies to all adventurers, with one exception: books included in the Welcome Basket for players who joined in 2025 will remain eligible for duplication.
Updated Duplication Potion Rules:
• The potion allows the duplication of one book currently held or in use by your hero.
• Duplicated books may be used for the same quest or activity or for a new one.
• Books already applied to a quest or activity may also be duplicated.
• However, each book may only be duplicated once!
• A duplicated book cannot be duplicated again (this includes those purchased via the Open Market).
Other minor tweaks:
✨ The Knowledge is power quest is now repeatable.
✨ The Academy - Part II quest has a new Task 13 to replace the original, which is no longer doable due to the removal of Quizzes from Goodreads.
New Task 13: "Ask your friends and the Goodreads community what you should read next. Use a Goodreads feature to do that."
✨📚 Happy questing! 📚✨
Good job, Rebecca and Cathy! Next month there will be a new monster weak to Water magik. Those Sunday pails of water will come in handy.
Fresh BooksWhat counts as fresh?
1. A book you read after the quest or event start date.
2. A book purchased from someone in the Open Market thread (even if they read it before the start date). The date of purchase becomes the new "read" date. (This should not be misused to bypass fresh book requirements by swapping older books with friendly adventurers to "create" fresh books.)
3. A book created by gluing two books together with book glue after the start date—but only for tasks requiring a specific page count (e.g., 500+ pages).
4. A book created by covering two books together with book cover after the start date—but only for tasks requiring a specific number in a series.
5. A book you read after the start date and later duplicated yourself. The "read" date remains the same.
What doesn’t count as fresh?
1. A book you read before the quest or event start date.
2. A book you read before the start date, even if you duplicated it yourself before or after the start date. The "read" date remains unchanged.
Important Note: Swapping older books via the Open Market to bypass fresh book requirements is not allowed! Please honor the spirit of this rule to keep the challenge fair and fun for everyone.
New Announcement on the Notice Board! Cutoff for old books!As we prepare the game for an influx of new players, we are conducting a thorough review of all threads to correct errors and enhance game balance. Our goal is to create a fair and enjoyable experience for both veteran adventurers and newcomers alike.
The most significant upcoming change is the cutoff for old unused books (see here ), which will take effect on July 1, 2025. This will provide ample time to incorporate these books into quests or wait for the cutoff date to gain compensation for forfeited books.
Note: To use a book, incorporate it into a quest. The quest must be marked as "completed" in your adventure log before July 1, 2025.
!!! Important Announcement! Cutoff for old books !!!Dear Esteemed Adventurers,
First, let us express our gratitude to our veteran players whose dedication and incredible reading accomplishments continue to inspire the Novel Kingdom. Your efforts have set an exceptional standard for others to follow. However, we recognize that the long gap in quest publications has inadvertently created an imbalance. With vast backlogs of completed books, veteran players often find themselves completing new quests retroactively.
While we understand and appreciate that experience should carry some advantages, we also want to maintain fairness for all adventurers, both new and seasoned. To address this, we are considering introducing a cutoff for old books, with plenty of notice to ensure a smooth transition.
Starting July 1, 2025, any unused books finished prior to January 1, 2025, will be surrendered to the Bibliomancy Gods. As a gesture of appreciation for your efforts, you’ll receive 1 XP for every forfeited book. This early announcement provides ample time (6 months) to incorporate these books into quests or wait for the cutoff date to gain compensation. This adjustment is designed to ensure that everyone enjoys a fair and balanced journey while continuing to celebrate the dedication of our veteran players.
Thank you for your understanding and continued support in making the Novel Kingdom a vibrant and inclusive community for adventurers of all levels.
✨📚 Happy reading and questing! 📚✨
Note: The cutoff will not affect books included in the Welcome Basket for new adventurers who join the game after January 1, 2025.
Note 2: "A used book" is a book that's part of a quest that's marked as completed in your adventure log.
So I polished my answer to what is/is not considered a fresh book. If anything is still unclear, ask now. Otherwise this is going to the Ye Olde FAQ later today. :)Fresh Books
What counts as fresh?
1. A book you read after the quest or event start date.
2. A book purchased from someone in the Open Market thread (even if they read it before the start date). The date of purchase becomes the new "read" date. (This should not be misused to bypass fresh book requirements by swapping older books with friendly adventurers to "create" fresh books.)
3. A book created by gluing two books together with book glue after the start date—but only for tasks requiring a specific page count (e.g., 500+ pages).
4. A book created by covering two books together with book cover after the start date—but only for tasks requiring a specific number in a series.
5. A book you read after the start date and later duplicated yourself. The "read" date remains the same.
What doesn’t count as fresh?
1. A book you read before the quest or event start date.
2. A book you read before the start date, even if you duplicated it yourself before or after the start date. The "read" date remains unchanged.
Important Note: Swapping older books via the Open Market to bypass fresh book requirements is not allowed! Please honor the spirit of this rule to keep the challenge fair and fun for everyone.
Spell-It-Out Rules used in this game (unless stated otherwise in the quest description)Read books to spell out the word(s) using:
◈ the first letter in the book's title
◈ the first letter in the series
◈ the first letter in the author's first or last name
◈ the first letter of a character's first, last, or nick-name
As always, if the first letter of a title starts with an indefinite or definite article ('A', 'An', 'The', etc.), you may use the first letter of the second word in the title to spell out your chosen word.
Ray (user2637) wrote: "Also, my partner would like y’all to know he helped with the monster and the name! I originally had it as a Hill Troll, living in the hills, but realized we had already had Trolls. He suggested Gol..."This is great, Ray. Please extend my thanks to your partner. I love the process it took to arrive at the final monster name, description and battle dynamics. Thanks for sharing it. :)
Ray (user2637) wrote: "THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU ♥️♥️♥️"You're welcome, Ray! 😘💖
Rebecca wrote: "Also I'm curious - do we think that duplication potions can be used to duplicate books that we purchased? My instinct is yes because we "have it".Also I completed my first battle against the Great Emerald Dragon....phew!"
I’m considering setting a limit on duplicating books to keep things balanced—perhaps something like, “No book can be duplicated more than once.” Since purchased books are considered fresh, you would still be allowed to duplicate them one time.
I haven’t decided yet whether to enforce this rule, but if I do, it will be announced in the Notice Board thread!
As for your question, Rebecca, the Duplication Potion should work on bought books.
BTW Congrats on your first Emerald Dragon Battle! You go, girl!
Ray (user2637) wrote: "Should I know this? bonus question lolFresh books?
EDIT: After some polishing:
Fresh Books
What counts as fresh?
1. A book you read after the quest or event start date.
2. A book purchased from someone in the Open Market thread (even if they read it before the start date). The date of purchase becomes the new "read" date. (This should not be misused to bypass fresh book requirements by swapping older books with friendly adventurers to "create" fresh books.)
3. A book created by gluing two books together with book glue after the start date—but only for tasks that rely on page count.
4. A book created by covering two books together with book cover after the start date—but only for tasks requiring a specific number in a series.
5. A book you read after the start date and later duplicated yourself. The "read" date remains the same.
What doesn’t count as fresh?
1. A book you read before the quest or event start date.
2. A book you read before the start date, even if you duplicated it yourself before or after the start date. The "read" date remains unchanged.
Important Note: Swapping older books via the Open Market to bypass fresh book requirements is not allowed! Please honor the spirit of this rule to keep the challenge fair and fun for everyone.
Original answer under spoilers (to avoid confusion) ;-)
(view spoiler)
Ray (user2637) wrote: "Should I Know This?1. In the Digging for relief quest, it says "Find a book where "deep" and/or "depth" appears at least 40 times". So I just have to find the book? Not read it? ;) ;)
2. 2. Heal Potions: Minor Heal does 5 hp, Major Heal does 15 hp, and "Heal" does 10 hp. Why isn't it called "Medium Heal"? (I call it that in my logs!)
3. Doubling attacks: what's included in the doubled part?
ex. Cat: base atk = 2. Using Radagast and Pet Plus Potion, it would be 2 * 2 * 2 = 8 atk, yeah? But what if the Cat is wearing the Lucky 13 Collar?
Is it (2+1) * 2 * 2 = 12 atk
or (2 * 2 * 2) + 1 = 9 atk?
Ditto with the Fish. I think this can all be remedied by adding "to base attack" or "to total attack" to the items that add atk points."
1. Fixed. It's now "read" to make it clear. Thanks for spotting that, Ray.
2. You’re absolutely right—it does seem like “Medium Heal” would make more sense. But I can also understand the logic behind the original naming: the basic Heal Potion represents the standard healing value of 10 HP, with Minor being 5 below that and Major being 5 above it.
Even if I wanted to rename it to "Medium Heal," doing so would be a big task. It would require reviewing and updating countless posts, many of which are locked or can only be edited through the mod’s account. At this point, most players are probably used to the current naming, and the change would be purely cosmetic for what would be a massive amount of work.
3. Doubling pets' attacks:
Cat's basic attack is 2 + 1 (Lucky 13 Collar),
Pet Plus Potion, Radagast and fish all can double a cat's attack: 3 x 2 x 2 x 2= 24 AP
Other pets with Pet Plus Potion in effect and Radagast as the companion:
Horse: 1 x 2 (PPP) x 2 (Radagast)= 4 AP
Puppy with the Intermediate Attack Certificate: 2 x 2 (PPP) x 2 (Radagast)= 8 AP
Note on Radagast: He only affects pet's combat skills, i.e. when their interacting directly with the foe - either detracting its HP (cat, dog, horse) or AP (Rock LVL1).
The best example is the Rock:
Rock LVL 1: diminishing your enemy's attack power: 1 x 2 (PPP) x 2 (Radagast) = detracts 4 AP from the opponent's attack power
Rock LVL 2: healing power: 1 x 2 (PPP)= heals the hero for 2 HP at the end of the battle (Radagast has no effect)
!!! PPP doubles drops from all your pets, but only pets - Bird the Friend is not your pet, also Lemon tree, Pumpkin, Horse Rug, or the Garden are not your pets - so PPP has no effect.
Rebecca wrote: "Also is the consensus that the magic pumpkin can duplicate an egg? That's consumable right?"We really need to put together a clear list of items that can and cannot be duplicated.
At first, I was going to say yes to the bunny egg, but then I realized something: the egg only lasts up to a week before it rots. The magic pumpkin requires you to keep the item in your possession for two weeks while it works its duplication magic. Since the egg would spoil before the process is complete, the duplication would fail. The pumpkin can’t create something out of nothing, after all!
