Moons
The two main moons in the Kingdom of Loathing are named Ronald and Grimace. They can be visited (and could be seen from The LAAAAME Observatory, while it lasted), and their phases affect several things in the Kingdom. There are certain days, called Stat Days, on which stat gains are 25% higher for one particular stat if not in Hardcore or Ronin. If Ronald is full, MP gains from resting or relaxing are doubled. If Grimace is full, HP gains from resting are doubled. Other things vary with the amount of moonlight available.
The revolutions of Ronald determine the length of a KoL month in the KoL Year. Ronald takes one KoL month to complete one revolution, while Grimace completes its revolution once every two KoL months. A mini-moon called Hamburglar, a former chunk of Grimace, is in orbit around both, through 11 positions, advancing two positions every day. It adds or subtracts light, affecting the effects of moon-dependent equipment, but not changing stat days. The whole cycle repeats once every 176 days (about half a real-life year).
Most moon-dependent equipment works off the total amount of light coming from the moons. The formula for this is as follows:
- Count one for every lit sector of Ronald and Grimace (0 for a new moon, 4 for a full moon).
- If Hamburglar is in front of a lit sector it will be dark and block the light -- subtract 1.
- If it's in front of a dark sector it will be lit -- add 1.
- If it's to one side of either moon then it is lit if the neighboring sector is lit -- adding 1 if it's lit, but having no effect if it's dark.
- In the front and center position, it is lit if either the right side of Ronald or the left side of Grimace is lit -- and if both are, it has a doubled effect, adding 2.
- When it's behind a moon it has no effect.
Adding all these together you get a number from 0 to 8, which represents the amount of light from the moons.
Out of the moons' cycle of 176 days, they give an average of 4.27 units of light, giving the following distribution of days at varying degrees of light throughout the cycle:
| Degree of light | 0 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Number of days | 8 | 12 | 12 | 19 | 33 | 42 | 34 | 15 | 1 |
To give a sense of just how the 16 day/11 day cycle plays out, here's a graphical representation of the light fluctuations over the full 176 day cycle.
Effects of Moonlight
- Temporary Lycanthropy (obtained from blood of the Wereseal) has a base Muscle bonus of 10%, and adds (√light) times 20%.
- Mild Lycanthropy (obtained from the bite of a warwelf) will give +1% Muscle and Moxie for each unit of light.
- Lycanthropy, Eh? (inflicted by a weremoose) will give +2% Muscle and Moxie for each unit of light.
- The Grue will attack if it is 5 or less.
- The Wereturtle will attack if it is 6 or more.
- The Talisman of Baio will give +10% to all stats for each unit of light.
- The Jekyllin hide belt will give +9 to all stats and +15% item drops, minus 1 all stats and plus 5% item drops for each unit of light.
- Glow-in-the-dark gifts from Crimbo 2008 also use the 9 - light formula for various enchantments:
- The glow-in-the-dark wristwatch adds Mysticality and spell damage, as well as a constant +3 rollover adventures.
- The glow-in-the-dark stuffed burrowgrub adds Muscle and weapon damage.
- The glow-in-the-dark dart gun adds Moxie and twice the formula's value to ranged damage, in addition to a to-hit bonus.
- Miniature antlers, also from Crimbo 2008, adds +X pounds to familiar weight, where X is half the number of units of light, rounded up, plus 1.
- The One Mood Ring
- The Domed Cities of Grimacia and Ronaldus will generate alien encounters more frequently depending on brightness of each moon, making up M/12 of the encounters (M being the number of lit moon segments).
Grimacite Equipment
The Grimacite equipment has a different formula. Being previously a part of Grimace, it is particularly attuned to its motions, but less so for Ronald. Hamburglar, as it was also once part of Grimace, also has an effect. For them, count one for each dark segment of Grimace (unless it's blocked by lit Hamburglar), plus one if Hamburglar is visible and dark.
Out of the moons' cycle of 176 days, the average darkness is 2.2954 units of light, giving the following distribution of days at varying degrees of light throughout the cycle:
| Darkness level | 0 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Number of days | 18 | 34 | 46 | 44 | 24 | 10 |
A graphical representation of the darkness level fluctuations over the full 176 day cycle:
Effects of Grimace Darkness
- The Grimacite equipment given as prizes from The Raffle House, such as the Grimacite galoshes, have a constant enchantment, and then give +10% to one stat per unit of darkness. The Grimacite guayabera and Grimacite gown give +10 Monster Level per unit of darkness instead.
- The depleted Grimacite equipment smithed from plans won from The Raffle House, such as the depleted Grimacite gravy boat, give 5% to one stat per unit of darkness, and then grant 1 extra adventure or PvP fight at rollover per unit of darkness. The depleted Grimacite hammer gives +5 Monster Level per unit of darkness and allows smithing of other depleted Grimacite items instead.
- The mutant familiars won from The Raffle House, such as the Baby Mutant Rattlesnake, each have abilities that decrease in power as Grimace becomes darker.
- The depleted Grimacite kneecapping stick from Crimbo 2008 gives +X% chance of criticals, where X is half the Grimacite darkness, rounded up.
- While not Grimacite items, the Periodical Paintbrush and Seasonal Beret are special items whose enchantment also depends on the darkness of Grimace and Hamburglar, with +5% to each attribute for each darkness unit.
- While not Grimacite items either, the Moonthril set of items available at The Isotope Smithery and several off-hand items available from Dollhawker's Emporium are also affected by Grimace darkness.
- The hairshirt enchantment uses Grimace darkness, but in reverse -- it grows weaker with more darkness, and stronger with less darkness.
- The Solstice Shield gives +5% to each attribute per unit of darkness.
- The Frown Exerciser's Monster Level bonus is based on Grimace's darkness.
For a rundown of upcoming moons see Noblesse Oblige's calendar or the KoL Almanac . You can also enter chat and give a private message consisting of "day" to Chatbot (/msg chatbot day) to be told how many days until the moons have an effect on a stat.
References
- The names of the moons, Ronald and Grimace, are the same as Ronald McDonald and the Grimace, two of the mascots of the McDonald's fast-food restaurant chain. Also, the mini-moon orbiting both larger moons was officially named Hamburglar by the Dev team, the name of another mascot of the chain.
- As for the moons themselves, they are very reminiscent of Trammel and Felucca, the moons from the Ultima series of games by Richard Garriott.
See Also
- Full Moon Table
- Moons (before the comet)
- Transpondent, the effect which lets you visit the moons
