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INTRODUCTION:
The Westlands are filled with a large variety of dangerous criminals, powerful Shadowspawn, and notorious individuals who threaten the safety of humanity. Colloquially referred to as “smobs”, these beings pose a serious danger to others, but also hoard valuable equipment, and bringing them to justice can be a valuable enterprise.
Although a number of classes have been taught on the subject of hunting smobs over the years, and a great deal of information about them is publicly available in encyclopedias within the Tower Library (https://wotmud.fandom.com/wiki/WoTMUD_Wiki), I have observed in my time as an Accepted that information published about these smobs is often outdated, sometimes by several years or more, even some by 8 years. Although many of the entries are largely standardized, there is also significant variability in how thoroughly they have been completed and documented.
Furthermore, as I have seen firsthand from my apprenticeship with Liia Sedai, as much as I deeply value the importance of accurate archiving of information, there is also something to be said for a practical index that can be referenced quickly and efficiently when one is afield. To my knowledge, no such tool has ever been created before.
Overall, the primary goals of this project were to:
1. Create a current index spreadsheet for all known smobs in the Westlands, with a focus on creating a shareable tool that other members of the White Tower and the larger public would find helpful.
2. Update encyclopedia entries for all of these smobs with my current, updated data, including at least one strategy for defeating the smob effectively.
METHODS:
I began by reviewing a published list of every known smob in the Westlands (https://wotmud.fandom.com/wiki/Smob), and then narrowed my target list to all of the smobs that are known to be aggressive to humans. (There was one noteworthy exception: I included Jonar Tragon, whom I later learned carries the equipment of a Warder and does not willingly attack but will defend himself against attacks from others.) This resulted in a list of 93 smobs. For each smob that was located outside the restrictions of a Tower Accepted, I requested an ally of the White Tower, close family friend (OOC: alt), or trustworthy acquaintance to collect the data firsthand. In all other cases for smobs within my travel boundaries, to the best of my knowledge, I personally collected and documented the data and kept a written account (OOC: log) of the interaction.
After deciding on the list of targets, I created a list of variables to collect for each smob (and in fact expanded the initial list by adding a few more variables after I had already initiated the project). I decided on this list to ensure it was respectfully thorough without being overly exhaustive, to balance the benefit of the index against the amount of time it would take to complete the project. Briefly, my index includes all of the following for each smob:
- The name of the smob and any minion(s) affiliated with it, including their respective amount of worldly experience (OOC: levels).
- The room and zone name of where the smob is located, including the names of all doors leading up to the final room and precise names of keys required to open them, when relevant.
- A note regarding whether the area is within travel bounds for a Journey Accepted or a Tower Accepted.
- The general type of armor (i.e., dodge, combo, abs) and weapon category (e.g., short blades, staves, 2-handed long blades) that the smob typically carries, and whether it protects a chest with additional equipment.
- Whether or not the smob has currently or previously been associated with a peculiar “hole” in the Pattern that can send attackers directly into Tel’aran’rhiod, the World of Dreams.
- Properties of the room or the smob’s minions, including whether one can hide inside the room, if the minions assist, and whether faceoff applies to the combat.
- Any quirks of the Pattern that hinder or prevent use of Blind, Water damaging weaves (specifically Ice Spikes), or Fire damaging weaves (either Flame Strike or Fireball).
- Any other general notes or traits of the smob, its minions, or the room (OOC: mobol effects), such as special attacks (emote damage), stuck doors that cannot be closed from the inside, whether the smob or its minions bash or kick assailants, and so on.
To determine whether faceoff applies to combat against the smob, I had to travel in company with another research assistant, and we then would attempt to assail the smob at the exact same time upon entering the room. I then took notes on whether we were both able to do so successfully, and whether its minions (if any) leapt to rescue the smob against our attack. I collected 1,860 data points on this project over the course of approximately 8 months, 279 of which I had to rely on another person to collect (faceoff, rescue, and Fire weaves, as I am very weak in Fire and have no training in any of the associated damage weaves). Although I cannot recall every single person who has helped me, I wish to extend my gratitude for Liia Sedai, Melosa Sedai, Isela Sedai, Draz Gaidin, Accepted Vala, and Accepted Maddy, among countless others.
RESULTS:
The index itself can be found here: The Smob Index, and is also copied at the start of my report. I have woven a Ward around the report itself, so that only I can directly edit the report, but I have arranged so anyone can leave comments with a Tower library clerk and they will notify me of the message. Anyone reading it is also welcome to make a personal copy (OOC: save a local copy of spreadsheet to their Google Drive), which will allow them to use its full intended functionality, including the ability to filter and sort the data for their viewing benefit.
At the time of submitting this report, I have updated (or created, as necessary) entries for each of these 93 smobs in the Tower Library (OOC: WoTMUD wiki).
DISCUSSION:
Due to the nature of this project, I did not have any specific hypotheses to test before collecting the data. This was a descriptive and observational study that may not seem particularly exciting, but I view it as a foundation for any future endeavors to expand the knowledge within the Tower Library on these smobs. However, I did make several interesting observations about the various smobs I studied.
First, I was able to reverse engineer the formula to determine the health (HP) of a target smob that was calculated by an unknown scholar and referenced within each entry in the Tower Library encyclopedia (wiki). Based on this theorem, which anecdotally matches my experiences with the smobs and how easy or hard they are to defeat, the minimum health of a smob is equal to 11 times its level, and the maximum is equal to 11.2 times its level. For example, for the mother grolm (level 40), its estimated health pool is thus between 440 and 448.
Barring any special protections or effects, the smob’s estimated health is an important benchmark for determining generally how easy or hard it is for a channeler to defeat it alone or grouped with other channelers. For example, in ideal weather, Ice Spikes and Fireball deal an estimated average 68 points of damage, so a channeler with a particularly strong connection to the True Source (OOC: 19 Willpower) could weave 9 times for an average of 612 damage before exhausting her energy or relying on dangerous strategies such as Overchannel. This means that any smob of approximately level 55 or higher would be challenging for a solo channeler to defeat without some luck, whereas two channelers should be able to do so more effectively.
Second, I was able to confirm that Freeze is a viable and underused weave that enhances a channeler’s repertoire when hunting smobs. This weave appears to prevent minions from rescuing a smob but does not allow attackers to bypass the faceoff principle, so it is particularly useful against smobs that have faceoff, especially if that smob’s room has protections in place against the Blind weave. It also can double as a defensive or offensive weave in combat if a group of weaker (OOC: lower level) Shadowspawn attack the smob group during their hunting trip.
Third, I found that creating and then regularly referencing the spreadsheet increased my personal working knowledge about the world, equipment, and ways to re-equip myself after falling in combat. It also helped me offer meaningful advice during hunting groups, which increased my own confidence in my burgeoning leadership skills. I hope that this is a sign that the index is working as intended and that the general public will find it helpful as well.
One variable I specifically did not track for every smob was a precise list of equipment it loaded. The primary rationale for that decision was that it was already readily available by another scholar and redundant with their work, including a searchable index with confirmatory dates of data collection (https://wotcode.azurewebsites.net/mobs). For library entries that had not yet been created, I did include a list of their equipment; for all others, I intend to update the Tower Library encyclopedia (wiki) with more notes about the equipment each smob wears and carries, but that is for a future task.
Other variables that I did not track but could add in the future include:
- Specific keywords or target names for each smob and its minion(s).
- Whether the smob protects or retaliates against Bash, thrown projectiles, Charge, Earth weaves (Earthquake), Air Weaves (Hammer of Air), or Spirit weaves (Sleep).
- Whether the room is outdoor or indoor (which impacts available strategies, such as Call Lightning).
- For smobs that lead to the World of Dreams, I intend to compile data on whether specific smobs always trigger entrance to specific alternate “mirror worlds” or if this is truly random.
Sincerely,
Amarea Helsen
Tower Accepted
Brown Ajah Apprentice