The Anatomy of Random Events

1) Yes!!!!! Woo-hoooooooo!

2) Just my luck... *sigh*

3) Erm o_O

Based on those three reactions, we can group random events into three categories: the good, the bad, and the just plain weird.

The Good

Generally speaking, the good random events involve you gaining something or benefiting in some way. Random events may give you an item/neopoints (which appear in your inventory/are added to the neopoints you have out), change/benefit your pet, or give you a miscellaneous advantage.

The most common ‘good’ random events seem to be finding small yet significant items such as codestones, bottled faeries, a piece of a secret map, etc. These items are now yours to keep and it’s up to you to decide whether you would like to sell them, use them or store them.

However, there are other ‘good’ random events out there which are more uncommon to come across. These may include having a faerie floating down and handing you a paintbrush, Dr. Sloth appearing and giving you a transmogrification potion, or a mysterious man appearing and offering you a lottery ticket.

Other ‘good’ random events may not have anything to do with items. These random usually have to do with you finding neopoints on the floor and *hastily* picking them up. The amount of neopoints you receive may range from as little as ten neopoints to as much as one thousand neopoints.

Yet another ‘good’ type of random event includes your pet being changed in some way. Boochi (a baby Bruce who loves turning other pets baby) may emerge and fire his ray gun at your active pet and turn them into a baby species. Of course, Boochi may also miss, which can be regarded as a good or bad thing depending on whether you want a baby pet or are happy with your pet the way it is. Other changes may be slightly less drastic, such as having your pet restored to full health or having them gain a level.

This last type of random event ranges from having your shop increase in size to having Dr. Sloth deem you worthy of using his image on the neoboards to giving you three more plays of a specific game.

The Bad

Where there is good, there is bound to be bad, and random events are no exception. Bad random events are the opposite of good random events and generally involve you losing something as opposed to gaining something. Like good random events, what you lose is normally related to items, neopoints, or your pet.

Losing items is a common random event when it comes to ‘bad’ random events. How, you may ask, is it possible for you to lose an item? Well, I’m sorry to say that anything in your inventory is fair game for being lost, stolen or damaged. Is it extremely common? No. This is not in any way implying that every time you load a page, a dreaded random event is going to pop up and you may have lost a treasured item forever. However, if you immensely treasure an item, it is safer in your gallery or safety deposit box. But, that doesn’t answer your question, now does it? How you may lose an item ranges from having the Pant Devil (who is infamous for stealing items) attack and steal an item to the Grundo Leader appearing and taking an item. Oh and let’s not forget about Meuka stealing an item and leaving you with a consolation prize: a lump of snot. These events offer no warning and any item in your inventory is subject to the risk, however slim, of being stolen or destroyed. However, items in your SDB, trades and gallery are safe from the evils of the Pant Devil, Grundo Leader, and Meuka.

Losing neopoints is also a ‘bad’ event which may occur. The amount of neopoints you lose certainly ranges from small to big. Having ghosts take some neopoints from you to put on the Money Tree is not uncommon and they usually only take a small amount. However, if Dr. Sloth decides to come after you or the Tax Beast arrives, the number of neopoints you lose may be a lot more than a couple hundred. It depends on how many neopoints you have out at the time of the arrival of Dr. Sloth or the Tax Beast. Dr. Sloth usually takes 20% of the neopoints you have out and the Tax Beast may take 25%. If you only have a hundred neopoints out, you don’t lose much, but if you have thousands... well, you get the picture. I don’t mean to raise any alarms: these random events are rare just as any random event is, and this doesn’t mean you can’t have large sums of neopoints out; just be prepared. Neopoints in your bank are safe from these types of random events.

Another type of ‘bad’ random event usually has to do with your pet. They generally affect the health or mood of your pet. These types of random events may suddenly make your pet come down with a disease or lose hit points.

The Just Plain Weird

The final category which random events may be grouped into is the ‘just plain weird’ category. These random events don’t actually do anything. You neither gain nor lose anything... however; you may be left wondering exactly what the point of the random event was.

It is not uncommon to have a random event where your pet demands a certain type of food, even if they are already bloated. Your pet may say it’s starving when it is already full or it may say it wants to play a game which you have already played. These random events are not necessary to follow through with, yet some may wish to heed the wishes of their pet and buy them the item they are requesting.

You may experience random events where pets simply stop by to say ‘hi,’ in which case you may simply want to carry on your way.

You may hear mysterious chanting coming from far away; watch a spider crawl all over the page or have a terrible dream about having all your neopoints stolen and all your pets sick. A monocerous may tell you about how many pets it has eaten, or you may have to hide under your desk during an earthquake, but overall it’s pretty safe to say that these random events have no effect on you, your items or your pets.

So there you have it: a complete and thorough breakdown of random events which you may experience during your journey through Neopia. It’s important to remember that these random events are just that: random. They are not planned, and you do not need to go to a certain page to experience them; just remember that every time you click the left mouse button and are taken to a new page: a random event may be waiting there for you. Enjoy them: you may experience the bad random events, but rest assured that the good will balance out the bad and who can forget about the ones that make you go o_O?

Some closing advice: Take pleasure in the randomness of random events. =)