Lots of things have changed related to totems just now. For help,
see HELP TOTEMS for starters. Other changes will be apparent in
AB RUNELORE, and specific scrolls, new and changed, therein.

The main changes are that now totems can have clearly identifiable
owners, and that totems can notify their owners of attempts to
uproot or smudge them.

When a crafter implants a totem, that crafter can then DESIGNATE
an owner (person, order, guild, city, oakstone, or church). This
constitutes an offer of transfer of ownership. Hopefully the
crafter has been working with the owner-to-be so this will be no
surprise!

The owner-to-be (the person, or a member of that org) then goes
to the totem and does CLAIM <totem>. The totem then belongs to
the person or org. Or the person can REJECT <totem> to just forget
the whole thing.

Totems may be EMPOWERED by any person with the same or greater skill
in runelore as the crafter of the totem. If they are EMPOWERED, then
totems will report any attempt to smudge or uproot them to their
owner (person or org).

Empowering can wear off, and is a bit pricey in terms of mana,
but at least it does provide a notification.

Smudging specifically takes longer now, if the smudger is not
the owner or in the owning org. Currently the smudge time will
be 30 seconds if you are not the/an owner.

A public meeting to answer questions about this will be held
soon.

Penned by my hand on the 21st of Scarlatan, in the year 390 AF.