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Kel's Crafting Guide : Part 1 By: Kelani ~ v1.18 ~ Last Update: 7.30.08
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Table o' Sexy Contents
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1.0 - Scope, Introduction, Caveats 1.1 - What is Crafting, and Why Should I Care? 1.2 - Crafted Item Examples 1.3 - Crafting Benefits 1.3.5 - Crafting Limitations, Issues and Annoyances 2.0 - Terms, Resources & Links 2.1 - Glossary of Crafting Terms 2.2 - Crafting Recipe Links 2.3 - Affix Level, Area Level, Item Level & Monster Level Links
3.0 Basic Crafting FAQ 3.1 References / Credits
=============================================1.0 - Scope, Introduction, CaveatsThis guide is about crafting. It doesn't cover: magic find, gambling or rolling magic/rares in the cube. Many excellent guides exist for that stuff. If you need it, Google is your bestest friend.
To protect reader sanity, this guide is split in two parts: Part I covers only the basics: Crafting Terms, Examples, Recipes, Links and FAQ. Part II will delve into crafting formulas in all their confusing, complex glory (hate damn math), plus explore stuff like "not-so-random" mods, optimizing Ilvl and other boring junk. Obviously, Part II will assume you completely grok Part 1.
CAVEAT: While I encourage anyone to report any errors, a few D2 gurus will notice my simplified Ilvl formula isn't correct (technically). Specifically, in Part 1, I totally ignore Qlvl when calculating Ilvl/Alvl. This is intentional, so please don't report it. Part 1 has enough terms & formulae to learn. The effects of the evil Qlvl will be dealt with in Part 2.
Anyway, on with the guide... 1.1 - What is Crafting and Why Should I Care?Crafting is a cheap way to recycle useless magic junk into high-quality rares, which, depending on the recipe you use, will have 3-4 preset mods, plus 1-4 random mods and that sweet orange color. Crafted items range from utter crap to Godly. Crafting differs from rolling rares because you have a chance of getting sweet mods like +2 skills, 20% FCR and 10-60% all resists. Also, preset mods mean YOU get to decide half the mods your item will have. Still, crafting is a form of gambling. Crappy items are all-too-common; Godlies require patience and luck. So, don't expect crafting to be lika a Godly Item factory.
Why should you care about crafting? Speaking selfishly, I hope NONE of you do! :D For years, crafting supplies have remained ridiculously cheap, but as more people get into it, well...I see lots more people bum-rushing Lister to pick a flawless gem. Seriously, crafting is smart alternative for the gamblers among us, and can be a lot of fun (but usually just agonizing). It's also a great tool for people who love fine-tuning chars, who hate cookie-cutter builds, or just want to have an item that NOBODY else will ever have. I craft for all the above reasons. 1.2 - Crafted Item Examples Here are some pix of a nice smiter blood glove and decent pally caster amulet I made, plus a link to a cheesy little slideshow which shows a few more blood/caster/safety items. I usually only craft blood/caster jewelry/gloves/boots and safety boots (ever notice how there's not any really great boots in D2?), so these pix represent a very limited example of crafting's possibilities. ________ _______Smiter Blood Glove______________+2 Pally FCR Caster Ammy________________Slideshow of Crafted Items1.3 - Crafting Benefits- Cheap source of custom, high-quality rares. Aside from theft/botting, there's no way to get as many rares -especially with preset mods.
-Cheap Hobby! Crafting uses junk most people don't even pick up. Even If you gamble, your one expense is gold, which you mostly get back by selling bad crafts.
- You can wear crafted items all over. Each category has a recipe for Helm,Shield,Glove,Belt,Armor,Amulet,Ring and Weapon.
- Unlike magics/rares, you have control over the mods that can appear. Each recipe has a slightly different list of preset mods.
- You can get 12%L/9%M dual-leech on crafted melee weapons, amulets and rings.
- Many preset mods can't ever spawn on magic/rares OR that item type. Ex: Deadly Strike, Open Wounds, Crushing Blow, Fire Absorb.Also life leech on boots, Damage reduction on gloves and FCR on Belts that aren't Arachs.
- Recipes let you to craft using the normal/exceptional/elite quality of an item, so you can craft stuff for chars of all levels.
- Even crappy crafts are sometimes tradeable. They also make good freebies for friends or newbs.
- Random & preset mods stack: 10% FCR is max on a rare ammy, but Caster ammy/belt have a 5-10% FCR built in. If you get FCR as a random mod, it stacks, giving a max of 15-20%.
- Stacked mods can cheat an affix's level requirement, and thus great for LLD. Ex: A Blood ring can stack a 5%LL random mod with the 1-3% preset mod to get 8%LL with a 35 level req. To get 8%LL on a magic/rare ring, it could only be a single affix, which would have a 77+ level req.
- Crafts can outdo any rare, some uniques, and sometimes even a few runewords. With luck, you can craft an ammy that makes Mara's look like costume jewelry. I've done this dozens of times over the years.
- On rare occasions, crafted items CAN glitch (In a good way). The effect is usually either triple-stacking a single affix, or attaching 1-8(!!)extra random mods. 15 mods is the highest I've ever confirmed. This is a ridiculously rare occurrence, but it does happen. In the last 7 years, I've gotten 12 and 8 random mods once each, and 5 random mods dozens of times. Even with crappy mods, these items can be useful due to the sheer number of affixes. With good mods, they are beyond godly.
- No More Home Perm. I laugh @ sites sellling $17 "Godly" (and duped) crafts. News flash: You can make an equal or better item for free. One exception: Unless the item glitches +2 to two different class skills (Pally & Sorc) can't spawn on one item anymore. But IMO that's fine, since it's basically a wasted affix anyway. Make one yourself, save your cash and skip all that moronic perming. You'll notice you have lots more playing time when you quit trying to stop your stupid cgrip from poofing.
- Crafted items help build unique characters. Your crafts will usually be one of a kind. People who hate cookie-cutter builds should love this possibility.
There are many benefits to crafting. However, this is D2. So anything this cool will have something about it that sucks...
1.3.5 - Crafting Limitations, Issues and Annoyances- No +3 skills. That prefix only spawns on magic items. Crafted items are considered rares; so only affixes that can appear on rares or rares+magics can spawn on crafted items.
- Crafted items usually have a higher level requirement than a rare with the same mods.
- Crafted items that get +2 Class Skills as a random affix will have a Level 89 Requirement. - Like magics/rares, you can't get the same random affix on an item twice; be it the exact same, or a mod from the same family. e.g. Random mod #1 is 16-20% Resist All. Random mods #2-4 can't be any other level of Resist All: (16-20% / 12-15% / 8-11% / 3-7%). Luckily, single-element resists (ex: 10% Resist Fire) are all in different families, so you can get up to three single-element resists stacked with 16-20% Resist All. - Some random charged skill mods, e.g. freezing arrow/lightning strike, will give a crafted item a 92-98(!) level requirement. This is rare, but does happen. Luckily, the mods that do this pretty much suck, so you usually won't be stuck with an otherwise-godly useless item. This stupid behavior is actually an improvement(!!). Up until 1.11(I think), crafted items could get up to an 108(!!!) Level Req. Now the max is 98, although out of several hundred crafts, I've only gotten lvl 94 twice.
- Each recipe requires a specific magic item to work, although you can use the normal/exceptional/elite version of that item. Example: Blood Gloves = Magic Heavy, Sharkskin, or Vampirebone gloves. No normal, rare, set, uniques or other gloves work. -Some recipe item types SUCK. e.g. Blood Body = heavy Plate Mail/Templar Coat/Hellforge Plate. Then there's Safety Boots. Casters would love this recipe, but it uses magic Greaves/War Boots/Myrmidon Greaves. Not many sorcs have 208 Strength, so it's low-defense greaves, or use a different recipe. Due to this, ~10 of 16 helm/armor/boot/weapon recipes are mostly useless for all low-strength builds. - Random skill mods on some recipes exclude certain classes. I've done hundreds of Blood Gloves, but NEVER gotten any +2 skill other than Zon/Assassin. Can the others spawn? I have no idea, but it ain't likely. I'll explore this in Part 2. - Crafting is addictive, and can fill your stash FAST. Each craft requires four specific items that most people don't keep in bulk. This, craftfreaks tend to hoard supplies, since they always run out of something. Craft regularly, and you'll usually end up needing at least one dedicated mule. 2.0 - Crafting Resources2.1 - Glossary of Crafting TermsThere are some important terms used in this guide. To understand basic crafting, knowing these terms is a must. This will also make crafting MUCH more productive. Note: Some of Blizzard's names are confusingly similar. So, I've renamed a few to make it easier to tell them apart.Affix: aka Mod. Affixes are random properties that can appear on magic/rare/crafted items. Each Affix has an Alvl that determines if it can appear on an item. See Xlvl.Alvl / Area Level: A numerical level assigned to each game area/map. ALvl starts at 1 in Norm Act 1 Blood Moor and rises with each area to Alvl 85 in Hell WS Keep Lvl 1. Alvl is generally what sets the monster and item levels for an area. When a normal monster/chest drops an item, its Item Level (See Ilvl) will match the current Alvl. Class Skills: Affix that gives +X Skills to a specific character class, i.e. amazon, druid, sorceress, paladin. Not to be confused with All Skills. The Class Skills random affix is used frequently throughout this guide in crafting formula examples.Clvl / Character Level: Your character level, from 1 to 99. This is what you see on your screen. If you didn't know this one, you're so not ready for this guide.Failed Craft: A crappy/worthless crafted item.Ilvl / Item Level: A numerical level on an item that determines what affixes can or can't appear on it. ALL items are given an Ilvl when they spawn. What that Ilvl is, works like this:
Normal monster/treasure chest drops: Ilvl = Alvl (Area Level) where the item dropped. Champion/Unique/SuperUnique monster drops: Ilvl = Mlvl (Monster Level) of monster that dropped it. See Mlvl below. Gambled items: Ilvl will be a random number from -5 to +4 of the gambling character's Clvl. Purchased items: In Nightmare/Hell, Ilvl will generally be the purchaser's Clvl +5. For ALL items: If the Ilvl is lower than: Alvl, Mlvl or Quality Level (Qlvl), it is set to whatever number is the highest of the three. NOTE: Ilvl is NOT the level requirement needed to find/use an item, nor does Ilvl affect an item's level requirements. Ilvl is CRITICAL for a crafter to understand. If nothing else, DO learn how Ilvl works. Magic Prefix: An affix that can only appear BEFORE "of" in an item name; e.g. Shimmering, Arch-Angel's. Also called a Mod. Magic Suffix: An affix that can only appear AFTER "of" in an item name; e.g. of the: Whale, Anthrax. Also called a Mod.Input Item: The blue magic item you use to craft.Mlvl / Monster Level: A numeric level given to each monster in each difficulty. Think of Mlvl as character Level for monsters. Mlvls range from Mlvl=1 for Quill Rats in Normal Act 1 Blood Moor, to Mlvl=99 for Hell Baal. Usually Mlvl=Alvl where the monster is; with three exceptions: Champions (Mlvl=Alvl+2), Uniques (Mlvl=Alvl+3) and Bosses/Superuniques: (Depends on boss. Ex: Pindle is -1, Baal is +14). Note: If a monster's Mlvl is higher than the Alvl he's in, his drops Ilvl will be his Mlvl i.e. Ilvl=Mlvl. Ex: #1: Baal's Mlvl=99 is higher than the Throne's Alvl=85, so Baal's drops Ilvl will be his Mlvl: Ilvl=99. Ex: #2: Baal 1st wave = Colzenzo, a Warped Shaman: Mlvl=83. But, Colenzo is Unique: Mlvl=(Alvl+3) = Mlvl=88 and his drops are Ilvl=88 Colenzo's Fallen groupies are normal monsters (I think), so their Mlvl=Alvl. Therefore: Fallen groupies: Mlvl=85 and drops: Ilvl=85. Mod: A general term for affix, magic prefix and magic suffix, I use it when affix sounds stupid. Ex: "fixed affix". Olvl / Ouput Ilvl: A variable only used by a crafter to predict a crafted item's Ilvl. When an item is crafted, the input item's Ilvl does not transfer over to the crafted item. Crafted items get a NEW Ilvl based on half the original item's Ilvl plus half the crafter's Clvl. I call this "new Ilvl" the Olvl. Olvl is what determines which random mods can appear on the crafted item. Olvl is needed to avoid confusing the Input Item Ilvl with Crafted Item Ilvl. You'd use it before crafting to see if the crafted item's Ilvl will be high enough to get a specific mod; or when finding the optimal Clvl+Ilvl combo to get several mods. Once you craft, Olvl becomes Ilvl and ceases to exist. Olvl (aka the crafted item's Ilvl) is calculated by: (1/2 Clvl) + (1/2 Ilvl) = Olvl. Fractions round down. Ex: A character about to craft an ammy really wants +2 Class Skills as a random mod. He knows that affix can only spawn on an Ilvl=90+ ammy. However, the input magic ammy he's using came from Hell Lister, so it's only Ilvl=88. Not good. BUT: His character is Clvl=92, so maybe that'll make a difference. He checks using the above Olvl formula: ( clvl92 / 2 ) + ( ilvl88 / 2 ) = 46+44 = Olvl=90. Sweet. His crafted item will be Ilvl=90, so +2 Class skills can appear as a random mod.Output Item: aka crafted item. The sexy orange item you end up with after crafting.Preset Mod: An affix that will always appear on any crafted item. Each recipe has 3-4 preset mods, which vary depending on the recipe and item type used.Qlvl / Quality Level: A numerical level all items have that you should forget exists for Part I. Qlvl is an item's quality. Normal items have low Qlvl, which increases up to Elites. Qlvl plays a part in In Blizzard's Ilvl/Alvl formula. Qlvl can raise an item's Ilvl, and decrease an item's Affix Level, and thus the possible affixes on an item. This formula seems complex at first, but it's not. Since Qlvl's effects are negligible for our purposes here, forget it exists. I will explain the evil Qlvl in Crafting Part II.Random Mod: An affix that is randomly chosen when a crafted item is created, and thus can be influenced by manipulating a crafted item's Olvl. Each crafted item will have between 1-4 random mods. The actual number also depends on the crafted item's Olvl.Xlvl / Affix Level: A numeric level given to each magic affix that marks the LOWEST Ilvl where that affix can appear on a given item. Xlvl is NOT the Level Requirement, and does not affect a lower level character's ability to find/use items with that affix. Note: An affix's Xlvl may vary depending on item type and the affix's range. (16-20% Resist All has a higher Xlvl than 3-7% Resist All; and Resist All has a higher Xlvl to be on a ring than a circlet.) Ex: Shimmering (+3-7% All Resist) is Xlvl: Shields(6), Amulets(8), Circlets(8), Rings(45). Yellow means this prefix can ONLY appear on magic or rare versions of those item types, and the numbers mean it can appear only if the item Ilvl is equal or greater than the Xlvl listed for that item type. So, for a given affix to appear: - Dropped by normal monster/treasure chest: The Alvl where the item dropped must be equal or greater to the affix's Xlvl for that item type. - Dropped by Champion/Unique/Superunique: The Mlvl must be equal or greater than the affix's Xlvl for that item type. - Gambled: The Ilvl of the item must be equal or greater than the affix's Xlvl for that item type. 2.2 - Crafting Recipe LinksThere are 4 crafting recipes, but are better named 4 Categories. Each category has a different focus, item type, and mods, and contains 9 recipes - one for each item type: Helm/Boot/Glove/Belt/Shield/Body/Amulet/Ring/Weapon. All of a category's recipes will use the same perfect gem, but the rune and item will vary. Preset mods will also vary slightly between recipes. Posting all 36 recipes is just too much info, so here's links to the recipes and a handy summary of each:Ingredients: Perfect Ruby, Any Jewel, Runes from Eth thru Sol, Magic item. Focus: Life-related mods; regeneration, sweet damage mods unavailable on magic/rares. - Preset Mods: + Life, 1-4% Life Leech, Life Regen, and damage: Deadly strike, Crushing blow. - Notes: Sasy 1-3% LL, but it's actually 1-4%. Good for dual leech rings, skill/IAS/leech/CB gloves & skill/leech/frw/resist amulets.Caster RecipeIngredients: Perfect Amethyst, Any Jewel, Runes from Tir thru Amn, Magic Item. Focuses: Mana-related mods, faster casting and increased blocking. - Preset mods: +Mana, +% Max Mana, Mana regen, Mana Leech, Mana per kill, FCR, % Increased Blocking. - Popular recipe since the Hdin explosion. Uses more common runes, and is a great all-purpose recipes.Hit Power RecipeIngredients: Perfect Sapphire, Any Jewel, Runes from Tir thru Amn, Magic Item. Focus: Defense, blocking, hit recovery, damage, protective and retributive mods. - Preset mods: Def vs missile, Def vs Melee, Dmg to Mana, Monster flee, FHR, %+ block, +Dex, Knockback, % Enh. Dmg on weapons. - Not that useful, IMO. Most commonly use: Hit Power Gloves for the Knockback preset.Safety RecipeIngredients: Perfect Emerald, Any Jewel, Runes from Eth thru Amn, Magic Item. Focus: Increased defense, resists, dmg reduction, magic dmg reduction, + Vit and blocking - Preset mods: % Enh. Def, Single resists, Dmg reduced, Magic dmg reduced, + vit, half freeze duration. - Useful, but 3 recipe's item types suck. Safety Shield was (may still be) the ONLY D2 item with % Magic resistance: (5-10%)! So, which recipe to pick? Caster, Blood and Hit Power (just the gloves) are most popular, but it all depends on what you need. Pick a recipe with preset mods useful for your char, then make sure the random mods you're aiming for are able to appear on that item type. After that? It's all about luck. Don't focus on the lameness of most of the preset mods, because you'll also get 1-4 random mods, which can stack with the presets, making something pretty damn good. Ex: 12% Life or 9% Mana Leech. 2.3 - Affix / Area / Item / Monster Level LinksLevel lists are way too big to post, so use these links if you want to tune your crafting.Crafted Items Basics o Arreat Summit's crafting page. Contains basic info and tips, plus a handy printable PDF of recipes. Bookmark this.
Diabloii.net Crafting Page o Diabloii.net's crafting info. Outdated, but you can reminisce over all the sweet disabled crafting recipes.
Affix Level Calculator - New! o ingame.de's affix calculator. Lets you quickly find affix levels, and on what items a given affix can appear. Bookmark this!
Area Levels List o D2Sector's Area Level (Alvl) Chart. Useful for looking up what an item's Ilvl will be. Bookmark this.
Monster Mlvls - New! o D2Event's list of Monster Levels sorted by name or level. Good for looking up any Mlvl. Bookmark this.
Magic Prefixes and Suffixes Main Listing o General Magic Affixes Index. This page also includes links to the charm and jewel affix lists. Bookmark this.
General Magic Prefixes o General Magic Prefixes List: For looking up Alvls, ranges and on what items they can appear.
General Magic Suffixes o General Magic Suffixes List: For looking up Alvls, ranges and on what items they can appear.
3.0 - Basic Crafting FAQ
Q: How can I make sure I always get 4 random affixes on my crafted item?
A: This is one reason why figuring the Olvl is helpful: Olvls 1-30: 40% chance of 1 random affix, 20% chance each of 2-4 random affixes. Olvls 31-50: 60% chance of 2 random affixes, 20% chance each of 3-4 random affixes. Olvls 51-70: 80% chance of 3 random affixes, 20% chance of 4 random affixes. Olvls 71-99: 100% chance of 4 random affixes.
Q: Can I craft using Ethereal magic items?
A: Blizzard says you can, but the crafted item won't remain ethereal. Note: Since Jan '08, I can't seem to get eth gloves to craft anymore, so, ymmv.
Q: Can I craft using socketed magic items?
A: Yes, but the crafted item won't have sockets. You can add a socket with Larzuk's quest or with the SOJ+3Pskull cube recipe.
Q: Does the jewel/rune/gem Ilvl, Original mods or level requirement affect the crafted item's outcome?
A: None at all. Only your Clvl and the input magic item's Ilvl affect it. So don't waste that +3 skill ammy hoping some of that goodness will rub off on the crafted item.
Q: Can I craft with a rare/unique jewel?
A: Rare, yes. Unique? No idea. I'd like to know, but...not really wanting to test that anytime soon.
Q: How do I know if I can get______ affix when I craft?
A: I'll list the most-common formulas more in part 2. Til then. everything you need to figure it yourself is in the Crafting Glossary. Hint: Use the above links to find your input item's Ilvl and the affix Xlvl chart to find the minimum Ilvl where that affix can appear. Then add 1/2 your Clvl to 1/2 the magic item's Ilvl to figure the Olvl. If Olvl is >= the Xlvl for that item type, the affix can appear.
Q: This crap is HARD! / I'm confused! / There's too many %$#@'n levels!
A: Those aren't questions. Crafting is simple once you learn how Ilvl and Xlvl work.
Q: Is manipulating the Clvl+Ilvl when crafting really worth it?
A: It is if you want the best chance of a certain mod. Say the mod you want is Xlvl=5. Crafting to get Olvl=90 give dozens of other mods a chance to appear. Craft for Olvl=5, and you remove 95% of the competition and get a good chance of getting the your desired mod. Put another way: If you played a lottery with tickets numbered from #1-100, and knew the winner would be #5 or under, would you buy ticket #5 or ticket #90?
Q: Is there an easier way to reliably good mods, without all the math?
A: Sure. Just craft with your highest level character, using a magic item found after Hell Act 5 Frozen Tundra.
A: Gamble AND craft with a Clvl=74+ char, and you'll always get the max number (4) of random mods.
Q: Can you tell me the best way to craft and get ______ affix?
A: Um, no. Answering that for everyone would be a part-time job; even I gotta look up the info. I figure, If you really want to know, you'll do the same. Luckily, the glossary & links have all the info you need.
Q: Can I still find out my magic item's Ilvl if I don't remember where it dropped?
A: No, but if you're lucky, you can narrow it down. If the item has an affix that only spawns above a high Ilvl, you can know the item's Ilvl must be that Xlvl or higher. So, if you have a +2 skills ammy of unknown origin, you'll know it's at LEAST Ilvl=90.
Q: Isn't there an easier way to find Ilvl than guessing / looking at stupid charts?
A: Sure, if you don't mind a ban. Most maphacks and some rv plugins can do it. Me? I just do it the hard way. Not really wanting to remake another Clvl96 crafter.
Q: What's the best crafting recipe?
A: Depends on the preset mods you want, the class it'll be for, and whom you ask. There's only one recipe I HATE: Hit Power. All but three preset mods suck, the random mods usually suck, and half the item types also suck.
Q: WTF?! I saw a crafted item with +3 skills and/or 11 mods!
A: I believe it. Crafted items CAN frequently glitch. High lag really seems to help. Back 1.09, I actually crafted a blood glove that got 13 freakin' mods! Count 'em: +2 bow skills, 20% IAS, 8% life leech (2 mods stacked), 3% mana leech, +18 Life, +14 Dex, 9% crushing blow, 29% lite resist, 28% fire resist, 23% cold resist, 21% poison resist, 24% MF. I'm still kicking myself for ever letting that damn account expire. :( Also, some of those popular 1.08 /.09 crafted dupes have a few extra mods. Note: Some affixes like of Light/Radiance/Sun contain two mods. (Light: +15 AR and +1 Light radius), so don't confuse these as separate mods when counting them.
Q: Wow, this guide was, like, life-altering! Can I pay you back, like, maybe with some sweet fg?
A: If you like. Donate fg here.
Q: What if my question isn't answered here?
A: Ask and I'll try to answer. If it's helpful or relevant to others, I'll post it here.
3.1 - References / Credits
This guide owes its thanks to a few orgs. Without their resources, this guide (and my crafting addiction) would not exit: So, thanks, Arreat Summit, Blizzard, D2sector.net, Diabloii.net. You don't suck! Also thanks to Cosmo Kramer for his original question about crafting that inspired me to dig up my old guide and post it. :)
============================================================================== Kel's Crafting Guide: Part 1 : Version 1.18 : Last Update: 7.30.08 ============================================================================== Update History ==============================================================================
7.30.08: v1.18 - Correction under Qlvl. Minor edits; updated FAQ. 4.22.08: v1.17 - Minor edits, updated FAQ and credits. 4.20.08: v1.16 - Added Affix Level Calculator & Mlvl Links, FAQ, terms, and updated definitions. 4.20.08: v1.10 - Post-release fact correction. 4.19.08: v1.00 - Whee. Initial Post in buggy glory. ============================Fine=Print=========================================== This guide is Copyright ©2008 Kelani Design, and may not be publicly displayed, redistributed, repackaged, modified or reproduced in any form, for any purpose, without the express written permission of Kelani Design. ==============================================================================
Last edited by kelani on Thu Jul 31, 2008 12:09 am, edited 7 times in total.
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