April 2002

From Mark Antony via Stratics:

COME ONE COME ALL! Announcing the Grand Chess Tournament to be held at Garden City Towers on Tuesday, May 2 at 8:00pm Central Time. Any and All Chess Players are welcome to come and join in the tournament and if you don't know the rules, just come by and watch the games!! We will have many Chess sets with plush chairs ann refreshments for all comers. The Event will work as follows:

All contestants will be paired up with another contestant for the first round of games. All winners of the first round will be likewise then paired up and so on until a Grand Champion is left. (Tournament Style)

There will also be a Grand Prize for the Champion and a lesser prize for the runner up (2nd place). This will be announced at the Event and I'm quite sure you will like the Prizes!!

Garden City is located just north of the Trammel City of Cove. A quick run up the shore line and you will find us.

I look forward to seeing you all there!

From Zeph Wightfyre:

This nonsense that is continuously flowing from the beast known as Blackthorn is really amusing. He speaks of his men reaching levels that a man cannot. I laugh at that statement, Look at your past. You have overcome more than we Ki'Nasa ever thought possible. Though perhaps not physically, you can surpass these beasts. Every creature in this land is beatable by a single man. That is my opinion, I have come to that beleif because I see it everyday. The history of Britannians is dotted with heros and beasts that were deemed invincable who fell at the hands of one man. I beleive that I can defeat anything that comes at me. I may be in for a hard struggle and It doesnt happen everyday but I beleive it to be possible. With that statement I end my letter.



For Strength And Honor!

-Zeph Wightfyre, Scarlet General

This From Nieves over at uopowergamers:

I was out hunting Betrayers when I managed to snag a book. The first time I have seen this book on any of the spawn. Is it a semi-rare? I don't know. Would be cool if it was.
The book is a reddish hue and is 24 UO book pages long.

Here is what the book has 'written' in it:


Greetings to you, new member of the Trusted.

You now read these words because you have been deemed worthy to join the ranks of Britannia's defenders. Some will call you a betrayer of mankind, I say they are misguided. I call you a defender for Sosaria needs saving from itself.

The forces of order once ruled our world. Like a great darkness over our lives we lived under the oppressive watch of a king who dictated our actions and passed judgement on our character. He suppressed our way of life by denying our freedom and the ability to determine who we are and what we stand for.

Even today in the absence of this man we still see the symbol of his tyranny, we watch his personal guards patrol the cities to intimidate us, and we feel his laws like a vice on our lives.

You are here because you choose to be free. Like many Britannians you have felt the opression of one man's ideas weighing down upon you like chains. You have felt the embrace of fear, wondering if you face consequence for simply having ideas not in harmony with those forced upon us. You have seen men fight and die for the principles of a zealot and wondered, 'Who will fight for my principles should they be opposed?" You tire of living under the shadow of dreams that do not belong to you. And most of all, you have wondered what you can do to live free.

Your journey to freedom begins here.

I, like you, once desired my freedom from the limits placed on me. I watched in disgust as this world became engrossed with the preaching of virtue and none of the practice. I held my convictions in check, fearful of the reaction of men blinded by belief. I forced myself to hury the very ideology that made me an individual. I was fortunate that a being of unique power and unimaginable intelligence saw through to the true person I was, the person I was meant to be. Exodus found within me a man of free will, determination and incomprehension for the plight of oppression forced on so many Britannians.

Exodus has also chosen you because of the strength of your character.

Many of the men who were once my peers look upon me and see a betrayer of humanity. They claim my newfound form is unnatural and wong. Because they see the unknown in me, they show fear. They disapprove of my choices and in their ignorance see evil. Yet I hide my true self no longer from these men. My thoughts and my personal morality have been liberated in the face of the oppression that once consumed me. Where they see a man no longer human. I see a man that has not betrayed his humanity but has been freed from it. This is the power that has been granted to me by Exodus. I have been given my freedom. I have been released from my fears.

Exodus will give you the power to conquer your fears as well.

When your fear of this world is gone, then the world truly belongs to you in a way it never has before. You, trusted one, will soon be given a gift. Your body, like mine, will be enlightened and raised to a level no mortal can know. The power to control your own destiny will belong to you for the first time in your life.

You will, at long last, be cleansed of fear.

Together, with the power of Exodus behind us, we shall finally wage war on the oppression that once held us back from our full potential We shall claim this world, and reshape it in an image of freedom of all of us. Those who once told you who you are and how you should live will no longer stand in the way of your free will. Many say you will be adandoning your humanity but in truth, you will be more than human.

You will be freed.



Um. Yeah.

BTW: The above is written word for word. Blackthorn should use a spellchecker.

Hasta.

From Tyrone:

I would like to shout a huge Thank You to all the guilds, allies and non-allies, travellors and citizens of Trinsic for helping in the recent battles taking part in our fair city. It lifts my spirits in these trying tims to see so many, new and old faces out on the streets, working together to rid this evil from Trinsic.

If I could possible mention all of the guilds or people that I have seen fighting the Juka hordes and the other evils they bring with them this would be an incredibly long letter.



So again I say Thank You and urge that you keep up the good fight.



Keep Trinsic Free!!



Sincerely,

Tyrone
Mayor of Trinsic
Great Lakes Shard
Trammel

To General Nero:

From Antonious:

Emergency Letter!

General Nero, I have been in Minoc as of late with several other members of the Order of the Silver Serpent, and it seems to me as if Minoc seems to be the main target of Blackthorn's forces.

At first I thought Yew was their main target and the other cities merely diversions, but now I think Yew is the diversion. Minoc's mines with their bountiful ore supplies would definitely help Blackthorn's minions who seem to be made of iron.

My magery and that of the others here is not strong enough to keep the city safe, I suggest sending the warriors of the order to help. We managed to keep the area around the bank clear of juggernauts and juka, but the northern area of the city is pretty much closed off.

It was definitely a site to see, Ku Kullin himself was here leading the forces into battle. Also such notables as Brother Nordal, Athelsan, and Matriya from OSS and HCD, Wiligan and Raven from HSS were there, as well as Solomon and Jasmine from SBR, and of course the Highland Guard was there protecting their home.

I don't believe us alone can hold this city out for much longer, so please do what you can about sending an army to help. I believe that if this city falls, we will never have a chance to take it back.

*nightshade cigarette burn*

Your friend and comrade,
Edguardo

Bienvenue!

Todays version of the TDU is dedicated to my grandmother, Netha Viola Peel who passed away in the wee hours of the morning at 12:31 AM.

But enough of the bummer stuff, lets get on with the TDU!

Week 2 of the Scenario was published today, and the week 3 story was released. Information about the new Barding systems is still under scrutiny by just about anyone, as OSI has decided not to release documentation on the feature yet again. We'll have more information on this as it becomes available. On a related note Designer Hanse has stated that the new Scale armor does not replace new types of leather armor which are still in the works.

Liquid Development has been designing new 3D models for the 3D client, and theyve got some pictures of their renders up on their website. The new Avatars look somewhat odd, but theres no doubting that they are superior to the previous 3d Avatars. 2D users will not be getting new avatars.. or new art for anything else for that matter.

The Compassion system was moved from Testing to the Published phase 2 days ago. It rewards players for completing NPC escort quests, and you can read the entire document about it here.

Player response this week: Confusion. Players are desperately trying to figure out exactly what scale armor does, and why swamp dragons are so great.

That about does it for this week! Stay Tuned!

Aiella Leigh pulled her horse to a stop at what seemed like the thousandth tree of the day. As she dismounted and set her horse to graze, she glanced appreciatively at the heavy stand of trees in the thicket. It was good to be a bowyer in this part of Britannia, where oak, walnut, and o’hii rubbed shoulders with massive Yew trees. The wood was plentiful around her small brick house; the occasional ettin or giant spider that wandered through made the tedious chopping interesting. She was getting to be a fair hand using the axe as a weapon as well as a tool, although she preferred to use the sturdy bows that she crafted herself to protect herself, if need be.

Recently, it seemed, a lot of people felt the same way. Aiella could barely keep her bows in stock; the hundreds of arrows that she had stocked only the day before were gone. Many of Britannia’s citizens apparently preferred to take on the jukas from a safe distance using archery or magic. She could hardly complain about the business, of course. It paid her vendors and provided gold for anything she might want or need.

“Enough of this,” she said aloud. “We have work to do.”

Before long, Aiella had fallen into the comfortable rhythm of chopping the wood and securing it in her llama’s pack. To her surprise, she worked undisturbed as Rama’s pack filled quickly with the wood she would need for dozens of bows, arrows, and bolts. It wasn’t until she had ridden north a ways, nearly to the city of Yew, that she began to realize that something was amiss. Duke, her normally steady riding horse, began to prance from one side to the next rather than trot forward on the path toward the settlement. Even fat Rama, who rarely showed interest in anything other than the fruits and grains she fed him, refused her command to follow. She peered cautiously through the trees in the direction that her animals gazed, ready to jab Duke with her heels if flight seemed like a good idea. Something was definitely moving up ahead.

Instead of the Juka that she had anticipated seeing, an indistinct shape shambled toward her. She grasped her axe, wishing that she had bows instead of wood in Rama’s pack. It was something that she had never seen before—and in these unsettled times that could not be good. If it had not seen her, and had only been following the path as a matter of course, perhaps she stood a good chance to escape whatever it was. She quietly commanded Rama to follow again and urged Duke off the path, intending to walk him discreetly toward the northeast, and home. Though she hoped that she wouldn’t have to fight it, she continued to hold her axe at the ready.

The creature barely seemed to notice as she rode within mere yards of it. It was difficult for her to tell where the beast stopped and the forest floor began, as if it were growing from the ground itself. It was as tall as an average-sized man, yet not like a man at all—and the breeze carried the stench of rotting vegetation over the three of them from its direction. Rama bleated and galloped off in a panic, drawing the creature’s attention. Aiella clapped her heels into Duke’s sides. He needed no urging to follow the fleeing llama. Even as they left the creature behind, however, the foul odor seemed to ensnare them from all sides. Far from retreating, Rama seemed to be leading her into the thick of the creatures. Aiella glanced over her shoulder to see if they’d left the one behind at least, only to find that now two were pursuing her, the new one smaller and more humanoid than the first.

It couldn’t be! She hadn’t seen the second one anywhere nearby; it was as if it had sprung from the rotting vegetation. Ahead she could see another two—no, four—of the creatures. Aiella used all of her strength to turn Duke from them, toward the safety of the moongate, until she realized that a single warrior was being engulfed by their attacks. She once again turned the confused riding horse, sending him into the middle of the battle. Her axe swinging, she set upon the creature nearest the warrior. As the creature let out its death rattle, Aiella took the time to leap from Duke’s back.

“Duke, attack!” she yelled over the clamor of the melee.

Aiella fell in once again beside the warrior, without pausing to see if the horse obeyed. One glance from the corner of her eye told her all she needed to know about him. His armor had great gashes where rings had been destroyed; blood flowed from many wounds. She had not trained in field medicine, but she could tell she could do little for him, even if they should both survive. But together they had a better chance at survival, even in his weakened state. Finally, five creatures lay stretched dead before them and the air was still.

The battle had not been won without a cost. Rama was dead and Duke limped badly on one of his hind legs. The warrior—whose name she still did not know, swayed unsteadily as he tried to bandage himself. It did not seem like a good idea to remain much longer. There was no telling when the sixth creature had escaped, or where it had gone. If it returned, even if it returned alone, they would not survive another attack.

“Get on my horse,” she said to the warrior. She dragged him to his feet, sending his bandages flying in every direction. The wounded man put up a weak protest as she pulled him toward Duke. As she fought to get him on the horse’s back he crumpled to the ground.

“It was like fighting quicksilver… they never stopped growing,” he said in a soft voice, shot through with amazement. His eyes closed for a final time.

Aiella dropped to her knees to examine the warrior. He was dead. She would not struggle to get him away, not with a wounded horse and no assistance. She’d mark the place where he’d died and return—she needed the wood from Rama, in any case. As she rose from the ground, something caught her eye. The warrior had fallen near one of the creatures. Between them, on the ground, were a few oddly shaped seed-like objects in strange bright colors. Curiously but with haste, Aiella scooped up a handful and put them in her pouch. She mounted Duke and trotted him in the direction of the moongate. As the horse’s hoof left the ground its print began to fill with murky water. A few moments later the ground began to shift as vines and grasses slowly congealed into a mass that throbbed faster and faster as it grew.

If you are a regular on the Daily Herald, then you will notice that we have two new boards. If you haven't noticed or don't read the message boards, I suggest you add them to your daily routine of reading, some helpful information can be found there.

We have two new boards...

Basil's Thunderdome: This board was created so that the Article Discussion board could be used for news items, not my rants. The Thunderdome is also different than the other boards, as in you can flame me or whoever you want to on topics going on our shard. The cussing filter is still on, so you can say all the cuss words you want, but all anyone is gonna see is '@*%#'.

While I am sure this message board will be have its fair share of flames, I also hope that my rants will stir actual intelligent conversations over what should be done, well with OSI I should say what could be done, since... Ok this is turning into a rant, moving on.

Bulk Order Bonanza: I think the name pretty much explains the board itself. This could be a hit or miss project with the Herald, but we always like to give things a try. Those of you working hard on your smiths can use this board to find the Bulk Order Deeds that you want or need.

Likewise, I hope you smiths out there post what BOD's you have to sell yourself. The only way it will work is if we all work together to make it happen.


Thank you for your time, and I hope you all enjoy these new message boards. Don't forget, the Daily Herald is always striving to improve your Ultima Online experience here on the shard of Great Lakes.

Time passes , skills grow and we harden... We have played so long we forget the simple pleasures... hitting 80 in a skill, that awesome waterfall, our first trip into an unknown dungeon and sometimes even those we first met in the world of UO.
We find our niches in this pixelated world, join guilds, form friendships or drift as loners.
When last we looked in on young Khan, he had his first taste of role play and gained a new perspective of bards. Lets take a peek in on his ventures this week......


I get an ICQ and I see its from ‘Gator’. Whooo hooo! He wants to meet, so he picks me up at the Vesper Bank. (I need to get around more, I find this bank is convenient because its so close to a mage shop, BUT its far from an INN to logout and most of the time regs are sold out anyway..I need to explore!) He takes me to ‘Fire Isle’…It looks like a jungle with no swamp. He shows me his house and than says I can use it. Heh, I know, BLAM! Like I was shot with an .88 magnum! I was like “um, excuse me”? I figured Gator must be an old man who just had his 90th birthday and didn’t know what he was saying…but its true! Can you believe this?? He friended me to his home! I finally have a place to store this worthless stuff I’ve been holding! I can have my OWN vendor! Muhahahahahhah!! He’s got it decked out too – its loaded! I cant wait to start my mule smith now!

Gator took off and I explored and sunbathed a bit at the top of the tower. I didn’t know what I wanted to do next and decided I really needed to do this stat thing. I was close to 700 so did spirit speak for 40 points and bingo! I hit 700 unmodified skills (I didn’t go buy the skills like everyone recommended and um, now I see WHY they recommended ..if I just listened!!). So I started the ‘see-saw’. OMG. I am…now…a GOD. Hear me roar!! Int went to 105 quick (I’m gonna lose the hat), but str was slow to gain.
I get another ICQ and its from ‘Cael’. We chatted and of course I immediately told him my problem…I didn’t want INT to go down but friggin str wasn’t raising. Taste ID and Arms Lore were my two. He told me to get that shovel and pretend to be a dwarf – mining is where it’s at he said! Use Item Id as the other to keep INT in place.

Worked like a charm! I now have 100 str and 100 int and dex is 25. Not great maybe for Archer Mage so Ill say I’m a Mage Archer now! I buzzed Diosyn and he told me he has a newbie archer too and if I wanted to kill demons with him.

Heh, year right. A newbie archer and a God fighting a demon??? I was riding that high though and said sure, like I’m gonna wus out to this guy! Bah! So we meet and I’m looking him over…he doesn’t seem to be wearing armor and I’m wondering if he knows that my Archery is at 86, tactics at 89 and magery 78..demons? yeah, I know…

Well we port to ‘Wind’…very, very, very cool place. Mages only! His gate is on the roof. I marked my own rune and went inside…spending a good minute clicking on the pentagram trying to get in until he said just walk over it. (duh!).
Inside we meet a person who kinda seemed clueless like me and joined our party. I will call her Lucky Lurica because she was unlucky but that would ruin the alliteration. Liches are popping up and dying while we sit there talking (and I’m not even thinking of looting, I’m still trying to ‘slow down’…Diosyn is a whirlwind killing liches, talking, healing, curing all at the same time…How the hell do you people do this!?

Finally we get to the Demons. And..whoa! – these guys have names and everything was very cool. Well, Diosyn is NOT a newbie archer! He is laying down the thunder with his bow….has pretty much the entire demon population mad at him and he’s just cutting em down. I do my small part (100 int is NICE, I can cast ebolts all day long!!) Lucky Lurica ran off down the tunnels with a demon in tow . I’m not sure why he/she didn’t stay with us but I know when I get something coming at me my first instinct is to run…I’m learning its MUCH better to sit there and gun the sucker down.

Well, Diosyn starts wrestling a demon and I’m (really overwhelmed) like what the hell is he doing…his health bar is dropping faster than Enron stock so I go into heal mode which is good for two heals and I hear him die. The demon comes at me as if I‘m now lunch! Remember what I said about sticking around? Well I was low on mana and decided to run myself…and invised (forget hiding, waste of skill pts – see I’m listening!). Diosyn had gotten booted and came back. I carry res scrolls and got him back. We avenged him and than it was laaaate so I waved and logged.

Pretty exciting night eh? Newbie archer…yeah right. : )


I didnt get on till kinda late last night. I get on and recall to my 8x8 rune and start sailing. Talk about a way to unwind from a hard day surfing - one thing I noticed RIGHT away was that Nieves was right, skill gain is muuuuuch faster with high stats. (When I mentioned this to him his reply was more of a sigh "if people just listened to Nieves..".
Well I wasn’t there long when Nieves (pretty odd name isn’t it? I mean I got 'Khan' from the Ghengis Khan thing and than Star Trek II the best star trek movie ever made - but I digress, where is Nieves from? Backward its Sevein which helps none!)
Well he invites me to Deceit! Lets look again into the mind of Khan shall we? Enter.

-Im in power hour! whoo hooo!

-Last time I went to Deceit we got through the first room and a swarm of undead.

-You cannot kill them fast enough finally we ran, until a dragon attacked us.

-My 'skeelz' are still pretty low.

-I am on a whole other level than 'you guys'. I seem to be looking at a cool table in a room or wondering if I go through the green bubbling pool in the middle of the room if it will poison me or I didn’t see no blade trap or wow, there is a secret door, why do they have stairs going down into a pit and is there anything there...well all this is going on and I lose people I’m suppose to be hunting with!

Well I think Nieves sensed my hesitation and to quote him it was "I don’t ask many times..."

hehe, well you know I had to go than! Docked my boat met up with him in Trinsic and bam, we are in Deceit. Pretty easy. Yes, here is where I kept losing him.

And its not just that I mean the time it takes me to pull the health bar of that lich Nieves has it dead. whack whack whack dead. heh. He wanted to hunt Poison Elementals. Of course I’m like sure what the hell. These guys are waaaay tougher than liches - but than maybe our ebolts did less damage than whatever blade he was using we didn’t melee them. But they fell too, not as fast but they kept dying!

I have GOT to speed up my reaction time. Not just in moving, but healing/curing and attacking! How the hell do you guys do that!?

I for one don't like it when there are more than two rants on the front page. I don't like it when there is more than one, but you are going to have to deal with this one since I think it is very well said and hits upon the problems of UO. A ToM member pointed this out to me and I read it on the UO boards.

By Dark Vengeance: What UO Has Lost

I have been playing this game since beta, and over the past year or so, I became genuinely disenchanted with both Ultima Online, and its Development Team. So for almost a full year, I have been trying to put my finger on specifically what I miss about the "old days".

Recently, I realized it in a single moment of clarity.

In the early days of UO, players had to rely upon each other to accomplish most tasks. Skill gain was so slow that not everyone COULD have a GM smith...although everyone certainly wanted one. Not everyone COULD become a GM scribe, or tailor.....and very few could get multiple "mule" characters to high enough skill levels to completely supply their characters. Given the rate of skill gain, even after 5 years, you STILL wouldn't have been likely to see people with accounts that have a single "mule" and 4 adventurers.

Don't worry, this isn't about the rapid skill gain brought on by impatient players and a poorly-conceived powerhour system.

In the old days, you had scores of Dread Lords stalking the countryside, looking to slay anyone in their path. Even leaving town was dangerous.....and dungeons were a central point of conflict. You found friendship fast on either side of the war....because you needed friends to survive.

Don't worry, isn't about statloss or Trammel. It's not about the changes brought on by players who continued to complain about PKs, even after statloss eliminated 95% of all red characters. And it's certainly not about the rushed, inane "solution" to alleviate the housing shortage, and create a geographical PvP switch.

It's about being NEEDED.

Let me say it again.

It's about being NEEDED.

In my early days of UO, I had grand dreams for my original character on Chesapeake. He is a swordsman, named for my favorite character from my tabletop roleplaying days. This is a man that strives to embody all of the traits of goodness in his heart. He killed without enjoyment, slaying undead to release them from torment, slaying Orcs at Cove to protect the town, and slaying PKs to defend those who couldn't defend themselves. He is a quiet, sad man....one that detests what he must do, but dutifully complies because the people NEED him. Without him, who will slay the ogres invading Vesper? Who will chase off the madmen murdering gleefully at the entrance to Covetous? Who will answer the clarion call of someone shouting "HELP ME!" in earnest?

Those days are long since past.

Players now are getting everything they ever wanted. Skill gains that allow maxxed characters in days, and each new scenario or patch seems to contain some new item or change that makes someone MORE powerful. As player powers increase, interaction decreases proportionately.

The Virtue system literally defies the spirit of Ultima 4.....using the names of selfless attributes to describe tasks that players are encouraged to pursue out of self-interest and lust for greater powers, without any appreciable drawbacks. The Unbridled Ambition system is more like it.

Trammel's very existence has driven down player interaction. No longer do you see people running from monsters screaming "Help!" and responding with gratitude for assisting, instead they say "heal" and "mine".

The network of "mules" on various accounts has made NPCs all but useless.....and other players? Bah. If you need something you can't make, you've got thousands of player vendors across each shard. It doesn't really matter if you actually got to know your customer....after all, you got your gold, right?

Ebay runs as rampant as ever, primarily because it reduces "account churn". Sold accounts are reactivated, and stay open longer....and Veteran Rewards actually rewards the players who buy accounts on Ebay, over those that buy the game from a store shelf. Meanwhile, resource sellers have made every conceivable item available...for a price. 5 million gold is less than a day's pay.....1 million gold costs less than some customers weekly allowances.

You have masses of people complaining about only getting a 60% chance to provoke two dragons onto each other!! Yet others are complaining about only being able to use a single dragon as a puppet in battle. And with Golems, its debatable as to whether anyone needs to fight for themselves anymore.....let alone to fight for anyone or anything else.

You have appealed to greed, fear, ignorance, cruelty, and impatience. You've appealed to those that want instant gratification. You've appealed to those whose sole aim is to find joy at the misery of others...all behind a cloak of "innocence". You've appealed to those whose only desire is for ever-growing power and wealth....and to lord it over others. You've appealed to those who don't WANT to learn how to protect themselves....and removed the need for anyone else to protect them. The basest elements of human nature.....some of the most primal and instinctual, and morally deplorable attributes of mankind.

You've stripped the world of any true evil that is left, and turned us all into either legendary heroes, or virtually impotent villains....with no reason for one to oppose the other. None save greed, cruelty, impatience, fear, and ignorance. How are we to fight those evils, those that exist within us all? Make no mistake about it, they are the only evils left in UO.

UO has lost its need for heroes. It has lost the need for people who do things for others without thought of reward.....for others have no need. It has lost the need for people to help those less fortunate than themselves.....for there are few that aren't fortunate already. It has lost the need for people who will steadfastly fight for a cause to believe in.....unless, of course your beliefs revolve around the colors blue, red, green, orange, grey, or black. It has lost the need for those who will protect the weak....for none are weak any longer. It has lost the need for those who will vanquish the wicked.....for the truly wicked are invulnerable to the law-abiding.

Give me a heroic deed to accomplish, and I will be there. Give me a real cause to rally behind, and I will shout its merits to all who can hear me. Give me a reason....no, a PASSION for anything within the world that COMPELS me to log in at every opportunity, and I will. Give me SOMETHING to make me feel like Britannia (and its people) NEED ME, and I will be there to do all I can.

We are heroes that have been denied the ability to do heroic deeds. We are villains that have been stripped of every capacity to be villainous. We are merchants with wares that are available in surplus.

We are 200,000 people with no "supported" means of showing our worth to this world beyond rares, and bank balances, and daemon bone armor, and above-Grandmaster skill titles, and Virtue levels, and fame & karma, and pure mares, and Champion titles, and easily-manipulated "showscores", bounties, or murder counts.

When will UO stop addressing those with ego or self-esteem issues, and start addressing those whose primary interest in a massively multiplayer persistent world was to have a personal and positive impact upon it?

When will UO start living up to its name as an Ultima, and stop being a contest of maximizing skills, and collecting items that don't truly exist?

UO is no longer a "fantasy" game in the sense that it once was. It used to be a fantasy about living in a world rife with sorcery and dragons and evil.....and fighting against that darkness. Now its just a fantasy of being wealthy, famous, and powerful.

The worst torture a hero can endure is life in a world without evil, and devoid of those that need to be protected from it.

Bring the noise.
Cheers...............



Post your thoughts on this post here.

It has been sometime since my last update about my expieriences with ToM as an Initiate.

The time alocated to testing out ToM has also come to and end. So I will summarize the last half of the time spent with ToM.

Basically all I did was log on for some of the meetings and sometimes I logged on to summon daemons for guildmates. The only time I did anything other than that with the guild was during the Gathering of Guilds. I went along with ToM with Ramirez and preached to people on street corners. The event was very fun, and I want to congratulate Lydia and Stratics for a job well done there. It was very fun telling people that Mondain would return soon and bring prosperity to us all.

Of course evil people like Ariyana wouldn't embrace Ramirez like a brother when he asked for a big hug, but thats ok, and no, I will not hold that against you Ariyana. I know your love is hidden deep down.

I also went to battles and recorded them for the guild.

My favorite pic, this bystander started shouting this as ToM crushed Alliance forces of Highland Guard, K*K, and OI-

Within the Meer crypt a small shimmer of light appeared over the carved wooden tiles of the teleporter entrance. Dasha blinked once as the light twinkled out of sight and, with a catlike grace, walked slowly through the great dark chamber towards Adranath. A slight smile played across her face as she approached him.

“Ah, you have returned to us, child. I take it your meeting with the humans was interesting?” Adranath said without looking up, his hands busy casting a healing spell over a warrior.

“Interesting… yes.” She waited for the ancient mage to finish his spell. The warrior’s broken leg snapped back into place and the glow around Adranath’s hands faded. He looked up at her and smiled.

“You seem amused. I do still remember how to cast a healing spell after all this time.” He smiled warmly at her. The Meer warrior walked away to join others in meditation.

“Oh, I was still thinking about my meeting with the humans, Master.” She took a seat near the Eternal. “I sat and spoke with humans, in a human castle. It was not altogether an unpleasant experience, but certainly nothing I thought I would ever do!”

“Yes, it is fascinating, isn’t it? In my time as the Watcher I saw nothing but the more savage humans here in Ilshenar, until recently. When these more civilized humans came into the world my first suspicion was that they had been enchanted with sorcery.” He chuckled. “So you saw this city of… Britain, was it?”

“Yes, quite impressive. They seem very… established. One of them—quite a warrior—named Dupre, has asked us to form an alliance against the Juka.” She smirked. “I expect they have become too proud to directly beg for help.”

“And would it be so wrong for us to assist, Dasha?” Adranath asked quietly. “If it were not for my haste those ages ago, attempting to wipe the Juka away in one chaotic moment, Exodus may not have been able to bring them here. They wouldn’t be threatening the humans now.”

“You have to stop blaming yourself, Adranath. What once was our fate is now nothing but a vision, a nightmare we were spared from. You have sacrificed enough during your time as the Watcher. I warned them of the Juka forces moving toward Minoc…”

“The humans need our help. We did not risk placing our entire race into the great sleep to sit by and watch the Juka exterminate the innocent. Our fight is with the Juka; why do they not fight us? We are clearly weakened as a whole by our slumber and our ignorance of the inhabitants of this time. Why would the Juka not attack us when this weakness is clear?” He stood and paced. “We are not a threat to Exodus, Dasha, not now. The humans are. He would not waste time attempting to destroy them it were not so.”

“What do you suggest we do?” Dasha looked confused.

“I suggest we spare the humans as much trouble with the Juka as we can. Say what you will, but if not for my actions the Juka would not threaten them. I must assist.” Adranath paused. A determined look fell over his face like a mask of stone. “I mean to cast the Decay upon the Juka.”

“You’re willing to cast so dangerous a spell to help the humans?” Dasha stood and placed a hand on the Watcher’s shoulder. “The Juka are spread out over many cities; it would be unwise to attempt to channel so much magic to strike them all. You could damage the very balance of nature!”

“We wouldn’t dare attempt such an act! Never again shall any Meer attempt a spell so large, never!” Adranath clenched his eyes shut for a moment as if reliving the nightmare of seeing his race die at the power of his enraged magic. A moment later he calmed himself and continued, “The Juka began these assaults in the human city of Yew, we shall begin ours there as well. Then we can continue casting on the other cities one by one.”

“But why cast the Decay? Surely there must be a better option.” Dasha’s eyes focused deeply into Adranath’s. The old mage shook his head slowly.

“The warriors need more time before they can make an attack. This is the one spell we can use to counter the Juka without harming the humans. I know the Decay is horribly destructive. I have watched more Juka writhe in agony under its effects more times than I care to imagine. If we do nothing the humans continue to suffer.” Adranath turned and walked away slowly, then stopped and looked sadly at Dasha. “The Juka joined Exodus, Dasha. They have forsaken their honor and declared war upon us.” He continued walking away to find the other mages.

“And in war, horrible things must be done.”

* * *

Outside, Dasha sat at a distance watching the circle of Eternals and mages as their hands moved in perfect unison in a complex pattern. In the center of the circle, Adranath held his arms aloft, his face empty and his eyes closed. In his mind, he began to see the city of Yew. Quick flashes of imagery became full visions of the Juka, claiming lives and being slain alike. The chaos of people running in every direction was difficult to see past, but slowly he focused his view and could envision the entire scope of the battle.

The magic users around Adranath began to chant and raise their voices in a dark harmony that sent a shiver up Dasha’s spine and continued to blanket the area in a slight tremor. Light slowly began to trail from their fingertips and form an intricate pattern like a lace made of flame around the entire circle which seemed to vibrate with the sound around it. The ring of light shrank inward and bathed Adranath in its glow until he seemed to be nothing but a bright speck in the center of the chanting circle. All at once the mages’ voices grew even louder, and with one final discordant note held for what seemed like ages, the light within Adranath fired outward into the sky in a great wave. His eyes suddenly shot open and his face stretched in a moment of terror. Dasha stood and darted as fast as she could to the ancient mage.

Within his mind, Adranath could see the spell shimmering over Yew for a moment, falling to the ground in a shimmer of tiny motes of light. Suddenly, his vision went dark and his mind erupted into pain.

By the time Dasha had broken through the ring of mages and reached Adranath, the spell had been completed and he was already starting to crumple to the ground, exhausted. She caught his shoulders and helped lower him to the ground. His eyes still seemed to stare out at nothing in fear.

“Watcher!” one of the other Eternals spoke as the mages recomposed themselves after the great spell. “The spell felt… different… than it did in the past.” The others nodded and seemed to agree.

“Adranath! Master, what happened?” Dasha shook the old Meer by the shoulder slightly. “Are you hurt?”

“The Decay…” he mumbled. “Nature… magic… it is… bent… skewed since we last… last attempted the… the Decay…” He steadied himself for a moment and looked up into Dasha’s eyes.

“I fear something has gone terribly wrong.”

The other day I was reading rpuniverse.org, chuckling to myself at all the flames. Seems everyone is in a rare mood, a rare mood for blood and several things.

Why is it?

I think Pepper has a good explanation.

I think a lot of it is real life stress. Most of us working folk are in tax season. Students are nearing the end of school yeras. A lot of stuff is going on and it builds a ton of stress. That isn't trying to be an excuse, but may be a good chunk of the reason why tempers are flaring.

Probably the best answer you are gonna get on why tempers are flaring at this moment in time. Hell, I've been yelled at by those I consider my close 'online' friends for considering the idea of selling my keep.

So I am going to try and lighten the mood around here.

Its about time I got a large weight off my chest. I love Gruch. Yes, the Bloodrock orc that only knows how to *grunt*. I look at his sweet bald head, his sexy thighs, and his huge pecs and become just a puddle of my former self. I swoon, my knees buckles, and next thing I know I am mumbling the words.

Gruch has let it be known that he loves me too. If I were to give him my keep, he would reciprocate my love forever.

Gruch, I love you, and thus I have wrote a poem for you.



Gruch... I love thee
Roses are red, violets are blue
There is no one as sexy he
Come give me a sweet kiss
Embrace me like your mother
We will live in eternal bliss

Some question the deepness of my love, some call me 'gay' for professing my love for him.

But look... My idol, Jun Kusanagi.

This is what I considered the perfect woman. There is no finer woman in the entire world. She is by far the most beautiful woman on the planet. Of course some of you will dispute that, but then again you are blind and don't understand how hot asian chicks are god's gift to mankind. He made them perfect.

I even have a nice calander of her that hangs in my room. She is a very beautiful woman. If you don't believe me, I can DCC you pictures to prove that she is.

I would give up any chance (thats if I had one) to score with Jun Kusanagi to be with Gruch for the rest of my life.

Gruch is like a sweet cherry freshly plucked, or even better, a sweet cherry jolleyrancher.

So I warn all of thee, do not come between me and my love. I can hear the wedding bells chiming in the distance.

You all will be invited to the wedding.

There will be tons of flowers, with little urklings running around giggling, hitting you in the kneecap with their little clubs.

Any women with wedding experience, could you please contact Gruch about helping him with his wedding dress? I think he is worried that he won't be able to find the perfect one for this special occasion.

And truely, this is a very special occasion.

Author Unknown:

from the Techronomicon en Exodus:


From chaos, he will come.

beholding the master face to face.

he will give his life for the will of the machine

His soul pleged to the master.

He who will come,

whom we are not worthy to step upon his shadow

will give forth our salvation

and show us the will of the machine.

The enemies of our Lord

shall be scattered like shavings

before the winds of his mighty breath

all shall perish that are of flesh.

He shall be the master's chosen

the prophet of the machine

his words will be of our Lord's

and his formulae will be blessed.---

Poor Sebastian hadn't slept for three days, eating nothing but bread and milk whenever his stomach growled. He spent his sleepless days energized as he read the pages of the manuscript given to him weeks ago by some stranger. They had turned out to become an ancient manuscript of a bygone era...a holy writ of Exodus, the foul monster that now threatened the existance of Brittania. Word had spread to Moonglow of the discovery, and many learned sages demanded the pages returned to the Lycaeum for proper study, but the curator would have none of it! "Fools! You had a chance to get the manuscript and you tossed it away! Why seek your own glory for learning of it by getting it now?" That was what Ku Kullin had said to the Sages when they asked for the Techronomicon. He offered to give them a translation of the so far finished work, but they refused, demanding the original untranslated ones. They made it clear that Sebastian was reckless and easily swayed to be the proper translator, yet he knew ancient Gargish better then any sage that ever lived. He would prove them wrong...oh yes...he would indeed!

He finally placed his quill down and picked up the translation. He grinned as he read the letter, believed to be an old Technomage who was writing to devotees in another city...possibly Lakeshire or Mistas...

Letter to the devoted in Ilshenar, From Deronath the iron

Blessings and harmony in the name of the machine, my brothers and sisters. How my spirit yearns to see my beloved friends and family of the machine dwelling in the lands that our Lord has promised us. Our illustrious Lord, whose name I am not worthy to utter or inscribe, has given his formulae to you and blessed you with prosperity. But still, those amongst your very rank still cling to the weakness of flesh, unsure of the salvation that comes from the machine. Remember from where you came, and what is promised! You who took the step of faith, who overcame the weakness of flesh, to seek the higher purpose of the machine. You who have forsaken your family and friends, who call you mad and traitor, for the greater glory of being more like our Lord, whose name I am not worthy to utter or inscribe. When the time comes, those who mocked you and set you before the leaders of the cities, will bow before you in reverance, for you will be seen as what you truely are: the chosen of our divine master, whose name I am not worthy to utter or inscribe. Be strong my brothers and sisters of the machine, for he whose name I am not worthy to utter or inscribe will not forsake you.

Let those who revel in the wickedness of the flesh mock us! Let those who wallow in the filthy weakness of flesh turn you into the authorities, for great is your sacrifice to our master, whose name I am not worthy to utter or inscribe. They will fall before the might of his power, his armies beyond measure. No blade forged by flesh shall pierce our strengthened hides, nor shall flesh sorcery batter our forces. All praise to his glorious formulae! End Line.

I speak to you of these things cause there is many things that our Lord shall show you in the days ahead. He who was ordained from ages past has arrived at long last! He who our Lord has named Technoprophet has come! He was once noble born, and now serves the master as his devoted speaker. The words from his mouth are like sweet music to our gears, and his formulae are a blessing to those that recite them. You shall know him by his formulae and when he comes, you will give praise for the machine and his power, all doubt will fade, and all will worship before the master's chosen. Glory to the master and all his power! End line.

Before Sebastian could ponder anymore, the door of the museum was smashed, sending Sebastian into a panic. Two men, draped in black armor rushed in, with a large golem right behind them.

"Who are you?" Sebastian blurted quickly, "what do you want!?"

Before he could say a word, one of the men chanted a spell, and Sebastian was engulfed in flames. His flesh blistered, his hair singed, smelling the acrid scent of burning hair. He screamed in agony as he collapsed onto the ground, the sheer magnitude of pain, coupled with his lack of sleep, overloaded his mind. He didn't even feel his head hit the floor before he was out cold.

---

When Sebastian once again regained consciousness, he found himself in a healer's hut in moonglow, the familiar scent of ginsing and garlic all about, mingled with the scent of stagnant water. He tried to sit up, but a powerful hand pressed to his chest, holding him down.

"Hush, my friend." a familiar voice spoke. He opened his eyes and his vision refocused to see the familiar face of Ku Kullin, garbed in the white tunic of his order. The aged eyes and dark blue hair tied in a ponytail was a welcomed sight to the young sage.

"You were lucky I was a light sleeper, Sebastian" Ku said with a smile, "Otherwise I might not have gotten to you in time."

"Master.." Sebastian groaned, "The men..."

"They got away...I held them back as long as I could, but Im not good against sorcery...or that golem. They were after the manuscript, that much I found out..but they didn't get to it."

Sebastian sighed with relief. He stared up at the ceiling and began to think. He was burned pretty bad, and his body could not resist the pain. He was weak, he thought. weak and frail, just like the technomages said that humans were. Were they on to something? Sebastian started to think...that they were.

From Solomon to Rath Stonesoul:

My Lord,

At this time I see no reason for the full forces of Skara Brae to be committed to defense of Yew. It seems that the Yew Militia can handle itself, as well as the army of tamers that has descended on the city. The Juka are easily being dealt with, and if the situation ever gets hairy, it is only hairy for a few minutes.

I would suggest maybe sending someone to see if Trinsic needs any help, because Yew is definitely taken care of.

I will be returning to Skara Brae with the Rangers soon, and look forward to giving you my full report at the city meeting.

Thanks,
Solomon

Nait Dew!
Monday Music!
Where it is STILL Monday...maybe not in Central USA, but at least in Japan! (I know we have readers from Japan, we just got to!)
***********

Feature Song!

First off, in Japan, they not only have Britney, but they also have their very own Japanese answer to Britney. .

Utada Hikaru - Traveling

Very catchy tune. The singer is the equivalent of Brittney Spears, except she is in Japan and can actually sing. Don't believe me? Try downloading "Blow My Whistle" with Foxy Brown. Of course most of this song is in Japanese, so good luck understanding it."

Of critical importance, Basil also adds that "asian women are hot!!" Let it not be said that The Herald has not made attempts to reach out to a wider and more international audience.

Where to use this selection? Anything would sure be better than the LBR battle music, god does that suck. Alternatively, I'm going to suggest Magincia, that place also struck me as having an asian flare.

*******************
Additional tunes:

Chad Kroeger - Hero

Its a very uplifting song and you will find it enjoyable, that is if you haven't already gotten sick of listening to Kand and Basil singing it over and over again in #glrpc or on Roger Wilco. The song is from the Superman Soundtrack and is very good for that 'hero' feeling you get while saving damsals in distress.

Where to Use: I don't care, why must I decide everything for you!

********************

Gorillaz - Clint Eastwood

Great for listening to while reading Basil's rants. Well really, I don't like this song, Basil is just making me post this song cause he seems to think he is the funny clown man in the music video. Basically you listening to this song helps you stroke his ego (Buahaha - Basil). So stroke it at your own risk. Listen to it and it will be stuck in your head for a good month or so.

Where to use: Moonglow, where you stand out if you do NOT have neon hair. Probably the strangest crowd I can think of at this hour.

**********************

Come On Down - DJ Escape featuring Crystal Waters

This accelerated mesmerizing remix of the Price is Right theme song incorporates the smooth vocals of Crystal Waters and one of America's top 10 game show theme song melodies. Dig that funky rhythm. Almost as delightful as winning your very own bedroom armoire and dining set, even if you didn't win the cruise to Bermuda.

Where to use: Battle music for those who laugh when they see blood flying and squeal with delight when they see the body hit the ground.

***********************

Sonatine - Maurice Ravel - Mouvement 2

A fantastic classical interlude, shouldn't be too difficult to find a copy if you're interested. The first movement is rapid, light, and charming, and could also become a valid part of your LBR mp3 collection, but it's the slow enchanting beauty of the second movement which will win over your heart.

Where to use: Replace the second or third Britain mp3s, they are no good.

**********************

Sofa Surfers - Sofa Rockers

Amazing ambient tune. Won't interrupt your game, but will certainly lend an entirely new feel to whatever you happen to be doing at the time.

Where to use: Britain, possibly Jhelom.

**********************

Porcelain - Moby

Another perfect ambient option for your collection, soothing and yet always interesting. Echoes with a male voice, and a minimalist one-fingered piano melody.

Where to use: Cove, from its lush apple orchards to the sounds of the water rushing in. Alternatively: Magincia.

That is all.

Nait Dew
In touch with the Japanese readers

K*K is holding a costume contest

Here are the rules..... Well there are no rules, dress up as your char and the judges will pick the best costumes.


Be (IC) and tell the judges who you are or what you are everyone is invited to this there will be 3 winners.


1st place winner gets a Check for 50k
2nd place winner gets a Glacial Staff
3rd place winner gets a Pile of Snow


Runners-up, well sorry you dont get anything but a pat on the back for trying...

Where is it i bet you ask!! It will be in Skara Bre at the fair grounds on the stage.... on April 26th at 7pm EST. If anything changes I'll post it.

Good luck everyone :}



Nice to see lots of events going on in Skara Brae! Goodluck to all that attend!

Submitted by the Knights of Britannia

A New Friend

Beowolf had returned from hunting to find a note stuck to the door with an arrow. Scrawled in blood was a warning that unless he never again troubled the ranks of the undead or demonkind, Mawgwaine would suffer in the extremes. Such an affront would not go unanswered, rather than step back he would press the assault. Mawgwaine would have done the same he felt sure.

And so it was that the Knights of Britannia rode forth in thunder and fury behind their fearsome leader Mystic Rose into the depths of the Dungeon Fire. There they stood toe to toe with the some of the vilest creatures in any mages tome, a group of liches and their lords, and demons beyond counting. Again and again the creatures pressed their assault, and time and again they were laid waste by sword and brimstone.

Valiant as the Knights were one and all, no information was forthcoming from those insidious beasts, loyal to their masters through death and beyond. Beo continued his hunting and asked that all of the honor-bound assist him by doing likewise, even going so far as to post a heavy bounty on any information that might be found.

After days of hunting, he had only one shred of paper to show for his tireless efforts. Worse, on close inspection he found that the writings on the map meant nothing to him.

He scoured the countryside for a sage of learning in the dark arts that would volunteer their knowledge. Tired and distraught he made his way to the woods near Yew, and discovered something strange. New villains the Juka, and Dragoons of Chaos filled the streets. Many were the swords that were raised against them; among them was StormMyst a new recruit to the folds of KoB. Not daunted by her inexperience she threw herself into the fray and Beo was compelled to leave his troubles for a bit and stand at her side. But it soon became evident that this was new treachery and had no bearing on his quest.

Resolved to make and end to Mawgwaines capture so that he could devote himself to protecting the land of his childhood, he found another bard as he was leaving Yew. Bilbo Baggins, very short, very unassuming, and yet full of knowledge specific to maps.

At once he enlisted his aid, and asked him to go to the Knights, glean what could be gleaned from the maps they had collected and send word via the ravens to Yew when there was word. He then sent Bilbo on his way to the Tower of the Knights to join there counsels and help as he might.

*A letter sent from the Scarlet General Zeph*


I have sent what forces I can muster to the cities of Yew, Trinsic and Papua. Should any town need aid, Take this note as an invitation to ask for it. The city of Yew has been somewhat sucessfully defended and I will send aid to the town of Papua as soon as I am content enough with Yews position. I also would like to ask the aid of all groups to go to the three towns. This new threat is just as much against the virtues as the anti-virtues. Though I do not support these anti-virtue guilds, I do ask for their help. The Cult of the Black Dragon, Bloodrock and any other anti-virtue or chaos followers. I beleive you all know that these invaders are just as much a threat to you as they are to us. For these few short moments let some unification come to the land so that we may ward of these foul creatures.



For Strength and Honor Stands The Legion!

*I can be reached at ICQ 155386440 or AIM name TallanStar03*

From the Tales and Ales:

I shifted the weight of my shopping bags as I fumbled with my keys. I had just finished the morning shopping for Tales and Ales Tavern and if I could just get all this food put away I could get on with my other chores.

"Hold this a sec," I said, smiling and shoving a bag of goods into the arms of one of our new door guards. The Juka were rumored to be headed this way and I had taken the precaution of hiring them to keep the patrons safe and even do a little bartering. He lay down his spear and took the bag of groceries from me.

With my one hand free I could finally unlock the door and as the lock clicked I heard the guard gasp. My eyes shot up to meet his and they were bulging with fear. He dropped the brown sack, and apples immediately began to roll everywhere as he fumbled to retrieve his spear.

"Lady Brena, hurry! Go inside! Go now," the tall guard whispered.

And then I felt hot breath upon the back of my neck. It smelled rancid and my stomache turned. Forgetting the guards pleas I turned around slowly and found myself face to face with a Juka Warrior! The huge monster looked me over and snorted. I was frozen with fear. The beast was wearing red and green armor and had a huge spear in its hands.

The tall guard grabbed me and flung me into the safety of the tavern. As I lay shaking on the floor listening to the clashing of spears I thought of the apples scattered in the grass. "I will have to supply our patrons with more then just food while the Juka are here," I thought to myself. And then I heard a grunt and a heavy thud and I knew my guards had served me well.

The tall guard stuck his head in the door as I collected myself from the floor and said, "All is safe again Brena." But that wouldn't be completely true for quiet awhile.

Within the Meer crypt a small shimmer of light appeared over the carved wooden tiles of the teleporter entrance. Dasha blinked once as the light twinkled out of sight and, with a catlike grace, walked slowly through the great dark chamber towards Adranath. A slight smile played across her face as she approached him.

“Ah, you have returned to us, child. I take it your meeting with the humans was interesting?” Adranath said without looking up, his hands busy casting a healing spell over a warrior.

“Interesting… yes.” She waited for the ancient mage to finish his spell. The warrior’s broken leg snapped back into place and the glow around Adranath’s hands faded. He looked up at her and smiled.

“You seem amused. I do still remember how to cast a healing spell after all this time.” He smiled warmly at her. The Meer warrior walked away to join others in meditation.

“Oh, I was still thinking about my meeting with the humans, Master.” She took a seat near the Eternal. “I sat and spoke with humans, in a human castle. It was not altogether an unpleasant experience, but certainly nothing I thought I would ever do!”

“Yes, it is fascinating, isn’t it? In my time as the Watcher I saw nothing but the more savage humans here in Ilshenar, until recently. When these more civilized humans came into the world my first suspicion was that they had been enchanted with sorcery.” He chuckled. “So you saw this city of… Britain, was it?”

“Yes, quite impressive. They seem very… established. One of them—quite a warrior—named Dupre, has asked us to form an alliance against the Juka.” She smirked. “I expect they have become too proud to directly beg for help.”

“And would it be so wrong for us to assist, Dasha?” Adranath asked quietly. “If it were not for my haste those ages ago, attempting to wipe the Juka away in one chaotic moment, Exodus may not have been able to bring them here. They wouldn’t be threatening the humans now.”

“You have to stop blaming yourself, Adranath. What once was our fate is now nothing but a vision, a nightmare we were spared from. You have sacrificed enough during your time as the Watcher. I warned them of the Juka forces moving toward Minoc…”

“The humans need our help. We did not risk placing our entire race into the great sleep to sit by and watch the Juka exterminate the innocent. Our fight is with the Juka; why do they not fight us? We are clearly weakened as a whole by our slumber and our ignorance of the inhabitants of this time. Why would the Juka not attack us when this weakness is clear?” He stood and paced. “We are not a threat to Exodus, Dasha, not now. The humans are. He would not waste time attempting to destroy them it were not so.”

“What do you suggest we do?” Dasha looked confused.

“I suggest we spare the humans as much trouble with the Juka as we can. Say what you will, but if not for my actions the Juka would not threaten them. I must assist.” Adranath paused. A determined look fell over his face like a mask of stone. “I mean to cast the Decay upon the Juka.”

“You’re willing to cast so dangerous a spell to help the humans?” Dasha stood and placed a hand on the Watcher’s shoulder. “The Juka are spread out over many cities; it would be unwise to attempt to channel so much magic to strike them all. You could damage the very balance of nature!”

“We wouldn’t dare attempt such an act! Never again shall any Meer attempt a spell so large, never!” Adranath clenched his eyes shut for a moment as if reliving the nightmare of seeing his race die at the power of his enraged magic. A moment later he calmed himself and continued, “The Juka began these assaults in the human city of Yew, we shall begin ours there as well. Then we can continue casting on the other cities one by one.”

“But why cast the Decay? Surely there must be a better option.” Dasha’s eyes focused deeply into Adranath’s. The old mage shook his head slowly.

“The warriors need more time before they can make an attack. This is the one spell we can use to counter the Juka without harming the humans. I know the Decay is horribly destructive. I have watched more Juka writhe in agony under its effects more times than I care to imagine. If we do nothing the humans continue to suffer.” Adranath turned and walked away slowly, then stopped and looked sadly at Dasha. “The Juka joined Exodus, Dasha. They have forsaken their honor and declared war upon us.” He continued walking away to find the other mages.

“And in war, horrible things must be done.”

* * *

Outside, Dasha sat at a distance watching the circle of Eternals and mages as their hands moved in perfect unison in a complex pattern. In the center of the circle, Adranath held his arms aloft, his face empty and his eyes closed. In his mind, he began to see the city of Yew. Quick flashes of imagery became full visions of the Juka, claiming lives and being slain alike. The chaos of people running in every direction was difficult to see past, but slowly he focused his view and could envision the entire scope of the battle.

The magic users around Adranath began to chant and raise their voices in a dark harmony that sent a shiver up Dasha’s spine and continued to blanket the area in a slight tremor. Light slowly began to trail from their fingertips and form an intricate pattern like a lace made of flame around the entire circle which seemed to vibrate with the sound around it. The ring of light shrank inward and bathed Adranath in its glow until he seemed to be nothing but a bright speck in the center of the chanting circle. All at once the mages’ voices grew even louder, and with one final discordant note held for what seemed like ages, the light within Adranath fired outward into the sky in a great wave. His eyes suddenly shot open and his face stretched in a moment of terror. Dasha stood and darted as fast as she could to the ancient mage.

Within his mind, Adranath could see the spell shimmering over Yew for a moment, falling to the ground in a shimmer of tiny motes of light. Suddenly, his vision went dark and his mind erupted into pain.

By the time Dasha had broken through the ring of mages and reached Adranath, the spell had been completed and he was already starting to crumple to the ground, exhausted. She caught his shoulders and helped lower him to the ground. His eyes still seemed to stare out at nothing in fear.

“Watcher!” one of the other Eternals spoke as the mages recomposed themselves after the great spell. “The spell felt… different… than it did in the past.” The others nodded and seemed to agree.

“Adranath! Master, what happened?” Dasha shook the old Meer by the shoulder slightly. “Are you hurt?”

“The Decay…” he mumbled. “Nature… magic… it is… bent… skewed since we last… last attempted the… the Decay…” He steadied himself for a moment and looked up into Dasha’s eyes.

“I fear something has gone terribly wrong.”

To all denizens of Britannia:

My constables and I have determined that Chaos forces are attacking the cities of Yew, Trinsic, and Papua on the Trammel facet. Non-combatants should stay indoors or evacuate, all able bodied fighters should be prepared for stiff opposition.

Commissioner Alec DeLeon
Royal Britannian Kilted Police

From Solomon:

Lord Stonesoul of Skara Brae has sent the Skara Brae Rangers to the city of Yew to scout the enemy forces. A meeting will be held to decided if the full forces of Skara Brae shall be committed to Yew.

Fear of attacks in Skara Brae have kept the main forces of Skara Brae from moving to Yew to engage the threat of Lord Blackthorn.

Hopefully the Rangers will be able to assess the situation and help Lord Rath be able to decide if full forces should be committed.

If you see a ranger from Skara Brae in Yew, feel free to join with us as we try to fend off what seems to be an invasion by Lord Blackthorn!

Howdy folks, this is not the normal TDU, that will come later in the day. This is a preliminary TDU so that you folks can know the latest information available on the scenario first thing in the morning.

Scenario Activation on Great Lakes is presently scheduled for Server up today. Europa and Drachenfels that their scenario did not begin after their server up. Something similar may happen on Great Lakes.

Reports from various sources reveal the following (note that some of this information may not be fully accurate):

• Swamp Dragons are 95.1 to tame, they function like Ridgebacks. Anyone can own them once they are tame.
  
• You can now get scales from monsters in the Dragon family, they are:
  
  
  • Swamp dragons: Green Scales
    
  • Red Dragon: Red scales
    
  • Brown Dragon: Yellow Scales
    
  • Red Drake: Red Scales
    
  • Brown Drake: Yellow Scales
    
  • White Wyrm: White Scales
    
  • Shadow Wyrm: Black Scales
    
  • Sea Serpent: Blue Scales
    
  • Serpentine Dragon: Black and White Scales
    
  
  
• To make your own Scale armor, you need a Dragon Hammer
  
• Dragon Hammers are craftable by tinkers. It requires 40 skill and 4 ingots.
  
• A full set of Dragon Armor is 39 AR and -19 Dex
  
• Swamp Dragons are not agressive
  
• Killing Swamp Dragons will reduce Karms.
  

For those of you seeking to combat Lord Blackthorns Menace in Yew, we have put together what little intelligence there is available to us. Hopefully, you will find this information informative. May it keep you safe:

Chaos Dragoon

Hail to you, Britannia!

I pen this note most urgent, as it is most imperative in nature. Royal Intelligence officials have reported a massive movement of Jukan troops amassing. At this time, we believe that their target is unquestionably the City of Yew. Citizens are advised to blockade their doors or leave the city immediately. This is no rumor, Blackthorns forces should arrive in the early morning, so evacuation should commence with all due haste!

I call on the BAC aligned guilds and members: please, show your valor, show your honor, show your sacrifice! Defend our fair lands from this blight!

Virtue be with you all. Veramocor!
Marquis Alazraham,
Speaker, Britannian Affairs Committee

Ahhhh! I've been blinded. I was like a deer in headlight's when the sun glinted off those two steel encased beasts. I can't see, someone lead me to sanity, please!

Yes, thats right, your favorite, huggable, sexable, and large chested hero has come to save the day.

Dawn hath arrived...

From Lydia - UOSS:

While I'm sitting here, grinning from ear to ear, I still have to write the last post of my event, The Gathering of Guilds.

First off, stop saying good job to me. Yes, I got the guilds together, yes I picked a date and time, but the real thank you's should go to the guilds that bothered to send in a request to come and on top of that did show up!

Everyone tells me it was a wonderful event and, from what I could tell in my near panic last night, it was. Guilds showed up, set up shop, recruited members and met new friends. That was the entire point. You've all made me proud. Thank you.

I'd like send out two very special thank you's. One: TvG to spend the time gating everyone in and Two: The Stratics Great Lakes staff for helping me through the entire process of creating the event and getting it on it's feet.

Thank you all.

~Lydia Bright

From Lessa Foxsong via Lag - UOSS:

Get your drakes ready for battle!

The GL Rangers Council is holding their first drake tournament which will be repeated on the first Sunday of every month. I would like to invite you all whether you're a tamer that has a drake or would just like to come watch the fun. The tournament will take place on May 5th, 2002 and registration starts at 4pm CST.

The location will be the Nu'jelm chessboard (Trammel). Contestants wishing to compete in the tournament should meet Lessa Foxsong at Nu'Jelm bank (Trammel) at 4:00 p.m. (Central Standard Time) to register for the tournament. DO NOT bring your drake(s) for the registration. People that wish to watch go to Nu'Jelm chessboard (Trammel) at 8:00pm (Central Standard Time). The tournament will begin at 8 p.m. (Central Standard Time) and end when all battles are over. Make sure that you read the Tournament Rules.

The entry fee for the tournament is 10k.

This is not a "to the death" tournament.

For the list of rules and other information please visit the R^C home page

From Gregory via Lag - UOSS:

While visiting Garden City I happened upon a strange person thumbing through books in the town liberary. My first reaction would have been to hide, but being in the presence of this person seemed to send waves of peace onto me. Her hair was long and bright green! Her skin was a fair milky white. Whiter than the whitest I have seen! Her eyes shined a dark purple color! My spine began to tingle as she, not noticeing me, began to edge closer. She began removing books from the shelf next to me! The sensation I felt was so strange! Warmth and love seemed to flow all over me. She looked up and smiled. A picture on a garden flooded my mind along with a word. Her name?... While I was leaving, the pictures faded. I left the city and wait strait home to write in my journal about it!

Later on while I was drinking an ale in the Tales and Ales Tavern, I overheard some people talking about the Dow. Who could they be? I went to the bookshelf in the back of the tavern and to my astonishment found a book about the Dow on the shelf! A skimmed through the pages, and to my surprise the girl I had seen at Garden City was indeed a Dow. The book described them as being very white, with bright abnormally colored hair. I hurried back over to Garden City, but she was no longer there!

It seems 7 words, within a typical Basil rant, have stirred some thought provoking replies on the message board. Those 7 words: decrepid, wasteful, and useless Museum of Memories. The Museum of Memories (MoM) is a unique collection of shard history. Articles donated by the players from shard quests and events, displayed and are open for viewing by the public.

In the past the MoM along with several other establishments blessed by the game masters of Great Lakes were the hot beds of activity. Almost nightly a player could find him/herself involved in an event or quest at such places as Tar Valon, Kazola’s Tavern, RD’s Auction House or Cove Merchant's Guild (just to name a few). They became part of the rich history of Great Lakes.

So what Happened? Many blame the Felucca/Trammel split. Still others blame the removal of the seers from our community. But are these really the answers? Or just a convenient excuse?
Someone wrote on the message board:

If you want to say you are providing history for the shard...

Do events so people know its there. Sitting on your ass with probably one of the largest rares collection in game does no one any good other than making your proud that you have a purty house.
After reading this I thought: “Hey! Why is it up to only those running the establishments to hold events there?”
If these establishments such as MoM, Tar Valon, CMG, Kazola’s RD’s etc.. are there for the community, full of wonderful shard history and memories of times past why aren‘t we using them?. <
Folks I leave these questions to you.. You being the reader, the guild leader, the role-player, the event/quests planner.

Why can't those creating/engaging in different rp scenarios utilize these establishments? (They are there supposedly for the players of Great Lakes... use them!)

Why don't members of the community plan and hold their events there? Hmm too busy? Afraid to take it to Felucca?
Isn't it the responsibility of all those in the community to preserve our history? To share that history with those new to our world?

If you haven't seen it yet, ExtremeTech is doing a series of articles on the Game Engine.

I personally never really gave much thought to what makes a monster think, makes the sound play or how lightning comes down from the sky in any of my little virtual worlds... But this article is an interesting read.

You can read it here....

Laterzzz

~Nols

The stone walls and rocky outcroppings of Serpent's Hold grew smaller and smaller as they melted away in the distance.

Ryth pulled down the spyglass, "Well, we got what we wanted. I didn't think Nero would turn over the body."

The boat was rocking slightly from the waves of the deep sea, but the true turmoil was that in if they should have left the city

"We could have had the city and the body Ryth..." Ryth turned around and faced Raistlin. "Aye, we could have had both, but our goal was the body, do not forget that Raistlin."

The sound of a single cannon boomed from the main deck in salute to the fleet carrying the orcs. The Clan's ships were starting to make their cut to the north and were riding considerably low in the water thanks to the pillaging of the city's shops.

"Of course not, Basil was who I studied under, there is nothing I would want more than to have him restored." Raistlin looked down at the crate that layed to the side of them, "They took his fingers, they left his body to decay as if it were nothing more than the body of a peasant."

A voice rang up from below, "Shall we order full speed now that the orc ships are departing from the main fleet sah?" Ryth leaned over the railing, "Aye, make full speed to the Temple. I want to be home by nightfall!" Ryth turned to face Raistlin once again.

"I don't think Basil would have minded it being that way. He was a man of the people, remember? As for his fingers, I believe that can be taken care of. You worry too much Raistlin." Ryth smiled, "Yes, we can deal with the missing fingers, while I had hoped it wouldn't come to doing this to his body, the fingers can be replaced."

Raistlin fumed, "You are going to make him one of your mechanical whores! Damn you! First you let them keep the city when we clearly had them on the brink of self destruction! Now you are going to turn our master into one of those sick creations like Hugh?"

"No Raistlin. You jump to conclusions too quickly. Basil will need new hands. He would never accept himself if we took them from someone else. Instead, I will have my... well, lets just say I will look into having just his hands done like Hugh."

"You damn us all Ryth! The others don't see it, but you will!" Raistlin started to move towards the ladder leading to the main deck, but Ryth stepped in front of him. Raistlin glared for a moment and brushed him aside.

Ryth shook his head, "Evidentally my dear friend Basil didn't teach you patience."

Raistlin was already out of earshot though.

Nait Dew, reporting on Monday Music.
I see from the Herald poll that you do not like Monday Music.
This is greatly distressing.

I shall have to hone my abilities and bring forth better tunes!

March of the Valkyrie
********************
A battle tune! BA DUH DUH DUH DUH DA DUM! DUH DUH DUH DA DUM! DUH DA DA DA! My career in music was short-lived.

Angel - by Massive Attack
************************
Trip hop at its finest, in one of their most popular and darker tracks. This one would be highly suitable for replacing your standard dungeon tune. It's dark, brooding, and highly sensual.

Default - Wasting My Time
*************************
To welcome you to the banksitting arms of Moonglow Bank citizens and their wasteful idleness. All Hail, King and Queen of the Glow Banksitters, Lord Sien and Lady Melissa! And the duke and duchess, Soap on a Rope and Lady Fantasia!

Kissing In the Rain - Great Expectations: The Score
**************************************************
From the Great Expectations score soundtrack, a gentle mysterious and lovely tune. Perfect as the theme for the lovely city of Vesper, where the waves lap gently upon the peaceful shores of the islands. If you switch this into your Vesper mp3, you'll be banking more often in Vesper for sure!

La Fille Aux Cheveux de Lin - Claude Debussy
*******************************************
In English, "The Girl with the Flaxen Hair." Beauty in simplicity, a suitable theme for Skara Brae.

My Life - Erykah Badu
*********************
Trinsic has always been a city plagued with strife, both internal and external, after countless governments, treasonous coups, and invasions from the undead hordes. What Trinsic really needs is just a little funk and neo-soul. You better dance the dance to make the rain come down, if you want to be a star!

Only you as the reader can take the next step to improving your gaming experience. That being downloading these songs and trying them!

Eternally yours,
Nait Dew

Submitted By Beowolf of The Knights of Britannia



The Abduction

Mawgwaine brushed a stray lock of red hair from her emerald green eyes as she crossed the patio towards the doors. Today’s rounds of shopkeepers had been exhausting, funny how much more stock was needed on Mondays than any other. Passing the verite tables with their deep green swirls of color in the stone, she noticed several of the display trophies seemed slightly out of place.

“Hmmm Fellucias moon must be waning for my enchantments of holding to have slipped so much. Id better do a little research before I set things to rights.” She mused to herself, then her breath caught in her throat. The front door was slightly ajar. “Curse that absent minded craftsman, I KNOW I closed this when I left.” She gripped the handle to the door firmly and pushed. “VULCAN!” she was listing for the sounds of the smith upstairs, and staring at the ceiling, willing him down to her wrath.

“Ah”, she jumped at the sound of an irritably nasal voice, and found a man in his prime, resplendent in robes of deep blue with silver trim which matched his flowing hair, seated at the Polished gray stone table in the center of the living area. He lounged very casually, insolently even, at the head of the table. At the side of his chair was the largest dog Mawg had ever seen ash gray on color with some charcoal splotching, and eyes of pure yellow. Its tongue lolled lazily between enormous fangs, as it stared at her intently. “Look, Hyretick, we have the pleasure of the fiery one.”

The hair on her arms was standing as if in chill. “Gentlemen, I am sorry if there was inconvenience for you on gods day, but rest assured all the merchants I supply are fully stocked now.” He gave her a slight smirk. “I would be happy to provide transport to any shop you like.”

The man simply raised his left hand in a leisurely fashion, and though she could discern no workings of magic Mawg’s stomach fell to the floor. As she turned towards the door she heard the snap of fingers but loud as the breaking of bough from tree. The door open, and her hands and a foot already outside, she turned to see the hound in what seemed an impossible leap. His forepaws landed squarely in between her shoulder blades forcing her head forward into the heavy wood door. Then she was crushed beneath one forepaw of the dog and enveloped in the copper tainted stench of violence as the man sauntered towards her across the floor, then his feet left the ground entirely. He floated towards her and a shimmering yellow light surrounded him and the dog. As it faded it revealed a corpse with rotting flesh and wispy hair and eyes the jet color of ebony orbs, its yellowed toenails and rotting feet inches from her face. Atop her back was the large hand of a creature nearly as dark as the eyes of the lich, with splotches of ash gray skin where it was scarred and tattered bat-like wings that nearly covered the entirety of the bricked porch.

“We came for him,” a voice like a sandstorm intoned beside her, “but being a pest as well, you will be a more valuable tool.” And darkness enveloped her.


To be continued.......

From the Crusaders of Virtue:

The Papas would like to thank all who attended the Trinsic Circle of Debate on virtue and anti-virtue. Though only a few were prepared to present many were on hand to question and challenge the presenters.

Lisa LeVey earned the 100,000 gold first place discussion on Honor

Thunder was granted second and third place (75,000) for his discussion on Spirituality.

All those present were offered 5,000 gold for their attendance and support. Many refused the checks, requesting they be used toward the next debate.

Special thanks to Mayor of Trinsic Tyrone and White Lotus for helping the Papas and the Cardinal of Trammel judge the debate Also to Daily Herald reporter Lealla for attending.

Aside from a rowdy gentleman named Bilko, the event ran smoothly. It
appeared from Bilko's gestures and conversation that he had a particular gripe with C-V and warned of future meetings.

For those who were unable to attend, C-V will host another Trinsic
Circle of Debate in the coming weeks. Get your brains working and be
ready. First prize in the next debate will be 110,000 gold!

It was indeed an interesting event. The questions opposing the presenters views were very thought provoking. I look forward to the next debate.
Perhaps a few of the community’s more opinionated personalities would dare to show up and voice their opinions. Hint... Hint... Basil? Nieves?

"Britannia is facing an economic crisis" -- this is the conclusion that researchers at the Lycaeum reached late yesterday night. Britannia's rampant inflation rate has been no secret, ordinary citizens have known that Britannia was in an economic crisis for years, but the study is the first in-depth examintion of the Kingdoms finances.

Professor Anmac Talbart explains the findings of the report:

You see, there is far too much gold in circulation. Our economy started off strong, but over the years has been subject to rampant inflation. Things which once cost 2000 gold pieces now cost 20,000 gold pieces. While the value of the individual goold pieve has dropped, the price of goods has increased to compensate, but the wages of th average Britannian worker have not.

The result is that most Britannian workers are making the same salary as they were years ago, and that salary is continually worth less and less. This trend will continue until workers no longer make enough to afford the cost of living, at which point I suspect that severe civil turmoil will result.

Catseye and UOSS:

This Thursday the NRA holds an archery shootout, sponsored by THB, at the Fairegrounds near Skara Brae in Trammel. Start time will be 7pm, central time.

Entry fee is 500 gold (which is added to the Year-End Fund)

Prizes will be donated by the THB for the top three archers, plus we will have something special for the worse shooter, as usual.

So come one, come all and meet the THB while you work your way to a prize.

Hail!

The Guardians of Balance would like to invite you to the Thursday night arena fights at the Garden City Hall (coordinates 42o 48N, 67o 51E). Mages and warriors from all over our lands are invited to pay the 10k entry fee and then fight to the death for the prize of 100k (or if we exceed that in entry fees we will up the prize money 25% per fighter)! Rules for the night are...



1. No poisoned weapons.

2. Only GM Weapons, which you will need to provide. (There is a vendor in the G*C Mall that has them too!)

3. Potions are allowed.

4. Looting is allowed only by the winner of the fight. The loser will not be resurrected until the winner has finished looting.

5. Start only after the announcements have been made and the "go" sign has been given.

6. Hitting the ref is an automatic disqualification.

7. No recalling or gating once the fight has begun.

8. No precasting.

9. Leaving the ring after the fight has started is an automatic disqualification.

10. No pets.

11. Reactive armor can not be on before the start of the fight but can be cast after the "go" sign is given.

12. Have fun!!




Gates will be available in Moonglow and Vesper to take you to the Garden City from 9:00pm CST and the first fight will begin at 9:30pm CST! Don't miss out on your chance to show off your pvp skills and win 100k or more!

See you in the Gardens!

Garden City hosts Tales and Ales this evening... and its no ordinary night at the tavern! It Nate Byrd's birthday! (The Natester is turning 18 on Tuesday!) Nate say's Monday night at Tales and Ales promises to be 'the time of yer life!' So stop by this evening, drink the night away, play some games, win some prizes and just have 'HUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUGE amounts of fun!'

Happy Birthday Nate! (ermmm someone spank Nate for me *winks*)

~~Nols

From Lydia Bright - UOSS:

Yes! The day has finally arrived! The Gathering is about to commence.

For those of you just tuning in, The Gathering is a guild symposium where guilds can all get together for one common goal: to meet, greet and recruit new people!

The Gathering will take place in Nujel'm (Trammel) in the peasent homes (UOAM Coordinates: 37o 10'N 164o 31'E,) on Tuesday, the 16th. Guilds that have signed up should arrive at 6:30 central while people that are looking for guilds should arrive at 7 central.

Gates will be provided from 6 central to 7:30 central at the following banks: Skara Brae, Trammel; East Britian, Trammel; Moonglow, Trammel; and Yew, Trammel.

Where are guilds to go? Buildings have been assigned to guilds. To see where your guild will be, consult the map and key below.



Key:
1. Legion of Hope (L*H)
2. Highland Guard (H>G)
3. Stratics Storehouse (UOS)
4. Crusaders of Virtue (C-V)
5. Forgotten Legions (F^L)
6. Royal Knights of Britannia (RKB)
7. Witch Hunter Society (WHS)
8. Shadows of Death (SOD)
9. StoneWall Guild (SWG)
10. Dark Guard (D^G)
11. Bregan D'Aerth (BDA)
12. Sisters of Enchantment (S*E)
13. Trinsic Virtue Guards (TvG)
14. Needful Things (>.<)
15. Ankh of Unity (OI-)
16. Phoenix Rising (PHR)
17. Lords of Vengeance (Vng)
18. Poison Ivy and the 40 Thieves
19. Nasty Old Vikings (NOV)
20. Black Company (B*C)
21. Order of the Crimson Wolves (OCW)
22. Priests of Armageddon (Amg)
23. The Pirates Of The Sea (POS)
24. Hell on Earth (H@E)
25. Saotome Clan (S/C)
26. Knights of the Eternal Flame (KEF)
27. War & Love, Cove Militia (W&L)
28. Mongtu Society (M-S)
29. Coven of the Secret Shadows (Cvn)
30. Garden City (G*C)
31. Heart of the Dragon (HtD)
32. Tales and Ales (TaT)
33. Stratics Storehouse (UOS)
The black circle on the first map is a one way moongate to the mainland for people who get stuck on the island and want to go home. The red slash through the big brown building with the red slash is the blacksmith shop for crafters to show off their fine wares! Non numbered buildings may be used by guilds that have not signed up.

If, for some reason, your guild can't find their building, Stratics staff will be on hand to escort you! Guilds may decorate their buildings as they please.

For Non-Guilded Attendees:
Feel free to roam about or stick with the guild you find the most interesting. Don't hesitate to ask questions or show off your own skills. Do bear in mind that some of these guilds are roleplay guilds, thus, they will be in character if they choose.

With all that said and all this planning that has gone into The Gathering, I wish to thank the guilds that took time out of their busy schedules and sent in a request to attend. You've all made me proud to be a member of the Great Lakes community.

I hope to see you at The Gathering!

Lydia Bright

We are always happy to offer space to someone that opposes any of our viewpoint, and Basil's colorful desciption used in an article that appeared here earlier was more than enough to get Kaelyn to write a response...

To my fellow Brittanians and Friends:

I feel compelled to respond to Mr. Basil's not-so-kind comments regarding the Museum of Memories. I believe he referred to it as "decrepid, wasteful, and useless." It is sad to see a place that has been part of the shard for nearly 4 years referred to in that manner, and for no apparent reason other than personal anger.

True, the nearly non-stop events that took place there for so long faded out, mostly do to my personal inability to keep up with it at that point in time. But that does not make the Museum wasteful, or useless, and certainly not decrepid. In fact the place received a complete face-lift less than 2 months ago.

It remains intact and open to the public, displaying many items from our shard's colorful past. There are numerous books written by our fellow citizens for others to enjoy. Rare items are constantly on display. I could go on. If Mr. Basil considers such things useless and a waste of time, then personally, I feel sorry for him. The Museum is an important part of our history, and will remain there as long as our world exists.

I am not sure why Museum-bashing took place in this post about Impy's, but I wanted to express my view. Thank you all for listening, and for supporting the Museum over the years.

Kaelyn, Museum Administrator

Thanks for keeping the Museum up and running Kae, I always make a stop on any tour I give a new-comer to our land, or point anyone there that wants to delve into our shard's history...Nols

Ok, I am going to tell you how it is, Impy's Artic Faire sucks.

From what one of their esteemed auctioneers, who just so happens to work for the now decrepid, wasteful, and useless Museum of Memories, says that I am the one that caused Impy's so much harm.

Here I am, minding my own drugged up business in IRC after a nice few hours of single player Jedi Knight 2, when some prick starts trashing me. His name is 'jim' in #glrpc. Why is he trashing me? Evidentally I am the ring leader in some huge Anti-Impy's ring.

Oh yes, Basil, the one who has made around 20 million gold using Impy's wonderful auction services. Yes, I am the one who is wanting to destroy Impy's.

Lets look into the past. When all this hooplah was at full swing about how bad Impy's was, did you see Basil posting his opinion? Yes, thats right if you looked. Basil was mysteriously silent. Almost every voice on the damn planet earth chimed in on that topic, yet the man with an opinion on everything and a constant rash on his ass that he feels the need to scratch didn't say one word. Not one freaking word.

I am like a shark. I can smell blood in the water, and if you see me circling, that means usually something bad is happening and I am here to jump on the bandwagon. So when I am not saying anything, that usually means that something isn't ticking right up in my noggin.

What that meant in Impy's case was that I was keeping out of this. Why? Because I like the services that Impy's provides. I frankly don't give a damn what they do with the money they make off selling other people's items for them. They could be eBaying it or wiping their butts with it for all I care.

The only thing I cared about, was that I hoped some perverted sicko gets fired, but I wasn't going to hold that against them. All Impy's had to do was come out and say they fired the son of a bitch, but they didn't. They played cat and mouse games with the press. All that press blockage would have come down with a nice phrase to the tune of...

I really expected some disagreements with the tamer rant I wrote. Instead all I got was a bunch of "preach it brother" and "amen" private messages in IRC.

I know there are people out there that disagree with me. Like my sweet Gwennypoo (didn't think I would scroll up when I got back to the computer did ya? :) ). If you are a tamer, or not, then by all means give your opinion on the thread I have set up.

I don't like it when all I hear is people agreeing with me.

Besides, I'll be here all weekend to read opinions. Appears Minion knows voodoo and sent me to the emergency room the other night, so I have been told to stay in bed for the weekend.

Play gently!

This was sent to us By Gem

"Britannia needs some excitement," Juntu Malar announced to the Fishing Council of Britannia crew, "It's time to pull those fishing nets you be saving in your holds, we're going to treat the citizenry to some real nautical fun. We'll be aholdin' a sea serpent slaughter this Sunday at 4 p.m. EST (3 p.m. CST). The new recruits raised their hands, "Please, sir. What's a Sea Serpent Slaughter?"

Juntu replied, " We hold them the Second Sunday of each month. The fishers of the FCB bring their fish nets to the Trammel Maginica docks. We cast them onto the sea, 2, 3, or even 4 at time. As any proper fisher knows, but many landlubbers do not, each net spawns sea serpents, water elementals, and even the deadly kraken (who sometimes carry ropes or SOS bottles as loot). 'Tis great fun--many of the citizens die, but there is a friendly healer at the end of the dock who will quickly resurrect the victims. We provide gates at Britain Main Bank."

This month's event is special--all of the nets were donated by Yang--a mysterious stranger who contacted FCB and donated over fifty nets for the fun of the citizenry!

Juntu grinned, " Life on the sea is hard and fishers face these dangers daily, but I pity the poor souls of the landlubbers who dare to attempt it."

Blackthorn passed his gaze over the many maps lying in dusty piles on his planning table. The faint glow of a few candles cast flickering shadows around the room and on Kabur, the burly Juka warrior that kneeled before him. Blackthorn knew that the Juka only kneeled because he was in the presence of his master, Exodus, but allowed himself a short pause to enjoy seeing Kabur showing reverence.

"We shall begin with the city of Yew. Through chaos, we shall rule this land," Blackthorn said. "The time has come for Britannia to feel the full wrath of its rightful ruler."

Kabur raised his head and met Blackthorn's glare. He made very little effort to hide his disdain for one that was still, in his eyes, human. To Kabur, humans had been nothing but primitive pests, animals who roamed the wilderness fighting over scraps of food. Now in this new era the land was almost ruled entirely by humans. Humans with cities. Humans with magic. But worst of all, a human that gave him orders.

"I shall inform the warriors of ours... Lord." Kabur almost growled as he spoke. "The blood of humans will spill for you, Lord Exodus!" Kabur stood sharply and turned. He would kill humans today, but not the one he truly wanted to kill. As he walked from the room, the doors slid quietly shut behind him and sealed with a dull thud.

"I am sending my personal dragoons on this attack as well." Blackthorn spoke aloud, "They have trained well and are eager to become members of the Trusted. Now that they have their mounts, I believe they are ready to do battle."

The droning voice of Exodus filled the chamber like thousands of insects, "I trust the information I provided was useful?"

"Indeed," Blackthorn said as he drifted across the room to a collection of large glass jars. Each contained a creature, different than the one beside it, suspended in a thick liquid. "The final result of my work should prove to be impressive. I never suspected that manipulating the creation of life could be so simple."

Blackthorn lifted one of the jars and examined the dead specimen inside. It resembled a wyrm of some sort, but with an awkward and misshapen fifth leg protruding from its lower neck. The creature’s spine was horribly bent and gnarled.

"After a few attempts, of course."

"You have done well in assembling your personal forces, Lord Blackthorn. I believe the Juka even find them... interesting… as sparring opponents." Exodus paused as the buzzing echo of his voice faded from the chamber. "The Juka have fully recovered from their journey through time and your dragoons shall spread fear with their resolve to prove their worthiness to join the Trusted. The land will be at our mercy."

* * *

"The people need a symbol to rally behind. They have all but abandoned the King's virtues, and it is tearing the land apart." Clainin turned and stared out the castle window over the landscape of Britain. "I fear no one is capable of filling the role our king left behind."

"He and Nystul are gone," Dupre responded. "And I don't believe they would have left unless they knew that the land and the people would be safe in our hands. We may never have another king, but the people are resilient; I have faith in them. I have faith in you as well, Clainin. I know we will find a solution." The paladin smiled warmly at the mage.

"I'm worrying too much, I know." Clainin removed his glasses and rubbed his eyes. "So much has changed in so short a time. I thought I had my hands full trying to study everything the Gargoyles had to offer and then the Meer and... Tuka?"

"Juka," corrected Dupre.

"Juka, yes... they and the Meer both show up at the same time... The Meer! I apologize, Dupre, I interrupted you." Clainin sighed and straightened himself. "Ilshenar. Things went well?"

Dupre looked as if he was struggling for the right words. "The Meer are... very private. Very proud. Unlike the Juka, they don't mean us any harm, although I don't believe they will be throwing us any festivals. I only spoke with a Meer woman named Dasha, but she seemed to be one of the higher ranking Meer... if they have ranks."

"Did they accept our invitation?" Clainin asked.

"I... I think so. I told her that on behalf of the kingdom I was inviting her to the castle so that we may become allies. She seemed... amused, although I can't imagine what it was that I said. I had the impression that Dasha would come alone. She said most of her people were saving their strength to do battle against the Juka."

"So they are related!" Clainin said. "The two races revealing themselves at the same time... is this some kind of war?"

"I fear it may be." Dupre sighed. "One that has already lasted for centuries without end from what Dasha said." He leaned heavily on Clainin's table. "And Britannia could become the battlefield."

Well folks, time for another TDU! JOY! to be honest, not very much has been happening because the Dev Team is "busy with publish 16 testing" but what little information we have, we give to you!

Some comments about Companions from Sannio:

There were essentially two levels of Companions: those who were "robed"--appearing as in robes similar to Game Masters and in charge of the daily operations and training of the Companions, and those players who were able to voluntarily use their normal characters to help [young] players in certain special ways. Although the robed-level of the Companions program was disbanded (on the American and European shards), there are still quite a few of the player character Companions still playing Ultima Online and helping out when they can--although no new players will be added to the Companion program.
These remaining Companions still have the ability to seek out [young] players, have access to the [young]-only areas of Haven, and will need to maintain a positive Reputation, but, as stated somewhat by some others in this thread, essentially work now as individuals rather than as part of a larger organization. Also as stated elswhere in this thread, although Companions appear as regular player characters, [young] players should know Companions by the special "Companion" tag over their heads.

While shopping in Trinsic, a parchment was passed to me by a young man in a dark hooded cloak. As I inquired as to whom it was from, an eerie red glow flashed from his eyes and he was gone.
A chill ran down my spine as I read the parchment......

Hail!

The Guardians of Balance would like to invite you to the Thursday night arena fights at the Garden City Hall (coordinates 42o 48N, 67o 51E). Mages and warriors from all over our lands are invited to pay the 10k entry fee and then fight to the death for the prize of 100k (or if we exceed that in entry fees we will up the prize money 25% per fighter)! Rules for the night are posted in our forum!
( http://boards.stratics.com/php-bin/guilds/uo/greatlakes/showflat.php?Cat=&Board=grcforum&Number=3428&page=0&view=collapsed&sb=5&o=&fpart= )

Gates will be available in Moonglow and Vesper to take you to the Garden City from 9:00pm CST and the first fight will begin at 9:30pm CST! Don't miss out on your chance to show off your pvp skills and win 100k or more!

See you in the Gardens!

A new tavern is opening this week. Trinsic Bar and Grill...... Located on the Trinsic Penninsula, the Large Marble Patio Tavern offers all a chance to relax and lift a few tankards of ale.

The tavern features an inside bar and a patio bar. Plenty of room for weary travelers to sit and talk to friends and make new friends. Relax by the fireplace or sit and watch the Pirhanas in the fish tank swim around. Citizens of Trinsic shall be tending bar and mingling with the customers. Food and drink are available including the finest wines from Yew, ale made by Elven hands, Cider made from the apple groves of Skara and delicious BBQ ribs basted with tangy sauce made from an ancient Orc secret.

Stop by and enjoy the view. Runes shall be available by banks in the realm. Tavern is open at 7pm CST each evening. Stop by and have a drink with us. Bring the guild, bring your friends or come alone and make new friends.

Grand opening will be held at a later date.

The rudeness of some players has failed to tarnish the excitement young Khan has for our pixeled world. He has now experienced first hand why the actions of a few rude bards leave such a bad taste in the mouths of so many. He continues to make friends and grow in skills and confidence.

Can you recall your excitement, as your bank account grew fatter? As you got closer to that goal you set for yourself? The purchase of your first boat? first packy? When earning gold took time and energy?

Lets check in with Young Kahn.......


Woot!!! Yay me!! I saved enough for a boat! Now I can start that 8x8 gaining everyone talks about. Well I get on and recall to my boat (Boy that sounds great! MY boat!) and start sailing. Talk about a way to unwind from a hard day surfing. I start on powerhour and nothing I did seemed to raise my evaluate intelligence. I’d sail slow right/left casting my arse off and nothing…. out of curiosity I’d cast equake and bam! Magery up. I guess resource squares are friggin skill specific? It makes me doubt the whole 8x8 thing.

With a wasted power hour I wasn’t happy.. until I just laughed it off and shrugged, just play the game… So play I did!

Sunday I saw Tactics hit 100(!!!!!) and about a half-hour after that Archery hit 100! Was GREAT! I quickly brought up my paperdoll to see the 'grandmaster' tag and it still says 'warrior', but now it has the gm in front!!! Now that’s 2 of my 7 under my belt!!

Haha, of course I’m fighting now and I go to 'lock' my 100 skill. Just as I hit the up arrow I shoot off an arrow at a monster. Anatomy goes up .1 and you guessed it, Archery went down .1!! HORRIBLE timing! Clicking the skill arrow I had it down for maybe .3 of a second! Hehe, so I had to GM it again (about 15minutes) and this time I'll just keep the arrows up!

I’m starting to really love my guy, I think he’s coming along great! Magery is a bitch to raise, meditation seems to have stopped at 94 and I refuse to cast one more damned magic arrow to raise Eval Int which has decided that 94 is as far as I can go!!
Oh, and I gained a new title too, 'Famed'. Go me!!

The Famed Khan Grandmaster Warrior!

I was invited along on a level four treasure hunt. I’ve read what can spawn and was very excited. I met up with the famous (infamous?) Clyde the Jive Great Lakes Treasure Seeker in Trinsic. After bank sitting a bit while waiting on a bard we gated to the X. I thought we were going on a treasure hunt, NOT a safari!! Excuse my elven as I say I friggin HATE trees/bushes/unseen vegetation/foliage that gets in my way!

Upon arrival I’m immediately set upon - by..? Yup, a thrice damned Mongbat. I swear somewhere on a bathroom wall on the top plane of the Abyss, where the mongbats hang out there is a scribble "Always go after Khan!".

I stray.
So Clyde and the Bard - an Antinius by name (what a GREAT person - old scraggly white beard and all - this bard was good!!!) Well, being the vets they are they immediately start digging, para fields come up, they go invis.. I’m still trying to decide whether to invis or deal with the Mongbat..

I forget the order in which they popped up. Demons, Ogre Lords, lich lords, Giant Serpents (who also hang out in aforementioned lavatory.. grrrrr) and Dread Spiders. Ant is strumming em softly with his song, Clyde is a whirlwind of blade spirit, ebolts and a strong dose of invis...all while keeping Ant apprised of who he should be provoking and STILL having the time to say "Khan, what are you doing?".

*Switch to Khan.* Mongbat is dead, and I just casted a blade spirit on an Ogre Lord. A lich lord is casting on me so I do a mana dump of ebolts.. I think a few landed.

Running around some more, Ant is keeping em busy, Clyde keeps em coming. "Anti keep the Ogre Lord up, Khan, wtf are you doing?"

*Back to Khan.* Giant serpent is dead, I’m healed up, phone is ringing and wife is yapping about something. "casting blade spirit!" *picks up phone/slams phone down/turns off ringer* "alright honey brt". And they say men can’t multi-task.

Bam. Before I know it its over. 13k(!!!) Safari over, buh bye trees and we are in Trinsic. I’m paid my gold for keeping the Mongbat population down on hell island (9k which I totally didn’t deserve but I did get a few zaps in with my trusty blue bolts of Khan!).

Clyde runs off to deal with his own family and so I’m chatting with Ant about the babes in Trinsic. Off to his house somewhere nestled in the mountains of Shame and we finish the night jawing about nothing and how envious I am of his pad! (talk about a RPer, I had NO clue Antinius was a rl female!*blushes now thinking of some of the babe comments in Trinisic*)

Thanks for GREAT night Clyde and Antininuaussuns. I now have a new appreciation of Bards and my first taste of RP!

Sent to us By Alaric:

The Crusaders of Virtue (C-V) would like to offer a unique event for the City of Honor, Trammel. We affectionately call it the Circle of Debate. The Circle of Debate will offer an opportunity for intellectual enlightenment. Our first debate is on the Virtues and Anti-Virtues.



We will host this first Circle of Debate on the edge of the crystal blue sea as you exit the Southwestern gate of Trammels Trinsic. The bridge will host the speakers and onlookers may take a seat along the shore.  Should it become necessary to move from this location due to rowdy attendees a gate will be opened to the Monastery of Rose and the debates will continue in sanctuary.



DATE/TIME: Saturday April 13, 2002 beginning at 3:30 p.m. est.



Rules of the Debate



We need to have rules for this to run smoothly. There are two sets of rules Registration and Engagement.



Registration



1. Go to Crusaders of Virtue and click on the Forums link. From the forums link go to the Circle of Debate
Forum.


2. At the Circle of Debate Forum you need to register under the appropriate thread. We will have two registrations running. One registration will occur during daytime play hours and one will begin for those who have evening play hours. Any registration occurring before the official time launch for each registration period will be deleted.

3. The Registration hours will begin at Noon EST and 9:00 p.m. EST on Wednesday April 10th.



Engagement



1. We will rotate between the two Registration threads for whom will debate/discuss first, second, third and so on. We will start with the first registration at Noon EST. The second debater will be the first person to register at 9:00 p.m. EST.

2. Each debater will have 5 minutes to present his or her debate/ideas with a team debate lasting for 10 minutes.

3. At the end of the evening the judges will determine the top ten winners. A team will split the prize. The judges shall be the Cardinals and Papas of C-V and the mayor of Trinsic.

4. Those who become unruly will be asked and if possible under the rules of guild war, persuaded, to leave the area.



Prizes



First Place: 100,000 gold

Second Place: 50,000 gold

Third Place: 25,000 gold



Top 10 places who scribe a book with the points of their debate and give them to the Monastery library shall receive 5,000 gold.



In closing



If you have any suggestions or comments please use the Contact Guildmaster link on our website. Crusaders of
Virtue

I don't want to get off on a rant here, but I've always wanted to take a stab at tamers and tell them how badly they suck. Unfortunately for the tamers, many are women that play for the joy of owning a cute and cuddly pet while the others are of either sex and just want to gold farm. So more than likely I am gonna make some poor woman cry because I want her white wyrm 'Pookey' to die a horrible and tragic death at the hand of the Lord of the Abyss.

Why is it that a dragon, that is hundreds to thousands of years old, in theory, be controlled by some human character that means jack shit to them? A human is just lunch to them, so why are they going to bow down to the words 'Pookey come', 'Pookey guard me', and 'Pookey kill' for you all of a sudden? Because they like you? Hell no!

Dragons, white wyrms, and beings of such power have no right being controlled by players. These are supposed to be the oldest and most mythical creatures in game. Instead, they have been turned into little pets that heed your beck and call that sit at the bank all day looking pretty. Do I like this? No! Do several others agree with me? Hell yes!

Tamers, along with the Great Duping Era and Bards (which are being fixed), have sent Ultima Online's economy to the crapper. People that are buying large houses today with in game money are either tamers, bards, or old money (i.e. old duped gold that is still left). If you are some honest mage or warrior and you want a large house, you better look next to the computer where your wallet rests, cause thats the only way you are getting a house.

Drakes are fine with me, since a Drake is basically a wanna-be dragon, I have no problem with a tamer controlling them. I have no problem with a tamer having a nightmare, but one of two things needs to happen for me to approve of that. (1.)The AI of monsters needs to be severly upgraded so that they heal and cure themselves regularly or (2.)the Nightmares need to have their strength reduced. There is no reason why a group of nightmares should be able to own an entire dungeon besides the balron room.

Dont believe me? Take a gander at these idiots that even offered to pose in a pretty line for me.

From Cade the Dow:

I am a professional writer and web site designer. I got into online games about seven years ago. I started off with a few action games then moved on to website mud's and such. Around the mid 90's I decided to create my own mud site. (a mud is an online kind of role playing adventure which is basically all text) This site was basically about a world in which many races live. The basic races were of course dwarves elves humans orcs and such, but these were becoming old. So I created the Dow. I came up with the idea new years eve 1996. I got drunk and was talking about how close it was to 2000 and how the world might end and so on. So in my sleep or, you may call it drunken stupor I created the word Dow. Which actually stood for Dimension of Wyrd. But eventually evolved into the name of an exotic race of creatures resembling humans but different. I put together a background where the world was destroyed by humans and the Dow lived on to correct humanitys mistake in the future. This mud went on for about two years. Then I got into the online shooter half-life and my mud days ended very fast. I neglected to update the page so all of it soon got wiped because i failed to pay my host. Then I got Ultima about three years ago. I didnt play that often because It was very hard and I was getting into console rp's. Finally after a year or so I began to get into guilds and such. Although I was a role player i began to become a kewl dewd because they are so many of them. Finally I entered the role playing world with the creation of a warring guild. This was no ordinary guild. It was actually two friendly guilds that warred in one town. My friend tony was the gm of the "Might and Magic (light)" and I was gm of the "Might and Magic (Dark)" this was an awsome experiance but after about 3 weeks of tony mysteriously being gone it died off and I was alone with a few friends and that was all. As I was walking around in Skara Brae I noticed two guilds fighting. They were role playing great! So then talked with a few guilds and read some of there things. I dug up my old Dow files and fit my creation into the history of the great lakes rp'ing. It worked out great. I then began to write a few books ingame and pass them out to people. (these books are rare and hard to find now) Things were looking great! It was beginning to feel like my old rp mud days. Then I realized I was missing people! The Dow themselves! I only had the knowledge of them out to the public! So I took my main char, painted his skin white, dyed his hair bright red, put on a funny glowing hat and called myself a Dow. I acted out my part in towns and player events. But this isnt enough I need some more people. It is very hard to roleplay and recruit for your guild of non humans. First I tried saying I was looking for my lost brothers around the world. People would tell me If they saw a dow theyd tell me. Well thats fine but what I meant was that I am recruiting role players for a non-human role playing guild of Dow. They look at me funny and say "Dont you mean Drow?" I looked at them funny then continued on my way. As I found out there was a race called Drow which were dark eleves. But I didnt think this would be a problem I had set up the dow with a complexity so vast that no one would question me copying somone elses creation. I bet people even remember the old Dow mud (www.rpgcountry.com) So here is my conclusion. I am recruiting people to role play a Dow. A Dow is a human like exotic creature with white skin strange colored hair and very intelligent. You may icq me at 59386507 or send an email to rpgcountry@hotmail.com or mike@cadeproductions.com


-Cade

Submitted by the Knights of Britannia:


The sun sat lazily in the evening sky, as brave warriors, mages and knights began to gather at the KoB tower. Plate armor in pristine condition adorned with crimson cloaks and sashes. Tonight was to be a night of honor, a testament of loyalty, a night of tradition.

Guild Mistress Mystic Rose sat quietly, watching as the members of KoB filed in to the main chamber of the tower. Pride filled her heart as she looked from one face to another. The Knights of Britannia still stood strong and proud. Brave knights of early days still standing strong, setting examples for young new squires, guiding them on their paths. She watched as greetings were exchanged, this truly was more than just a guild ...... it is a Family.

Sirus whispered his words of magic. A swirling cobalt mist appeared and the members of KoB entered it’s embrace. Rose watched as members and friends took their places in front of the Shrine of Justice for the procession of Honor. With a gentle reminder to remove a hat here and a weapon there, Rose began the procession into the Shrine. The warmth of this tradition filled all that entered the shrine.

Standing before the gathered members of the guild, Rose thanked one and all for attending. She spoke of days gone by, of the tradition and honor of the ceremony about to begin. She spoke of the pillars that were the backbone of KoB.. Honor, Loyalty and Justice and of the many brave Knights that have walked the path that brings us to this ceremony tonight.

Rose called forward Bill Alric and Beowolf as his sponsor. Rose began the Knighting Ceremony by speaking of Bill’s growth not only in KoB but in himself. She spoke of his activities within KoB and of his proven leadership qualities. Rose relayed to all present Bill’s bravery and show of loyalty when confronted by ex members drawn to the darkness of evil. Bill stood his ground protecting fellow members of KoB, exacting Justice for deeds against the guild.

With great pride Rose, presented Bill Alric a Crimson Sash of Knighthood. A sash to be worn with honor and pride to signify his new rank as Knight of KoB. With the completion of the Guild motto, thunderous cheers filled the air welcoming Bill Alaric as the newest Knight of the Knights of Britannia. Rose invited all present back to the KoB tower to continue the celebration as tradition called for.

As the members of KoB proceeded from the shrine, each would pause. Listening closely in the halls of the shrine, echoes of many a brave Knights’ stories can still be heard. In true KoB tradition another was added tonight never to be forgotten.

I read a very interesting article on UOPowergamers called "UO Dev Team impersonator r0xxx0red by URK". Its by Fixxxer, who is the head of the #uorpc line of channels on irc.stratics.com.

I found the article rather funny. It was rather obvious to me it was someone impostering, but I thought it stupid that some jerkoff would actually take that much time to do something like that.

Yet things really get interesting in this thread. One of my favorite quotes:

To sum it up, B*C is many, many things. Most of you see us from the perspective of "Those stupid BC bastards just gave me a dirtnap!" The reality is none of you know jack shit about our guild and stereotype us in ignorance. Black Company does not approve or allow behavior like scamming.

Oh, wait, and this:

You call us griefers, I think the term is Evil. There is no such thing as playing by the rules and being a griefer at the same time.

And this...

Griefers are people like the one reffered to in this thread, someone who scams and cheats, both of which are not allowed in Black Company.

Of course Fix lays the smack down with this:

May I also mention Seer Darklight and Seer Lazuras?

B*C griefed an event those two were doing, and framed them.

Those two seers ended up getting fired... and B*C joined the IRC chat channels and bragged about it... over and over and over. Calling everyone names for doing 'gay shit' like RPing.

F*ck off B*C

Of course I then fell out of my chair laughing at their reply:

yep, we are assholes, but doesn't make us griefers. Afterall, all the events mentioned happened in Felucca, so those who held the event as well as those who attended did so at thier own risk.

You know, there are some B*C I like, they are mature, adult players, but then there are idiots like the guys posting here. People like Slade and Rancid have the most respect I can give a player. These two have always been honest with me.

Of course, those are just two of the few that I like. The rest can rot in hell as far as I am concerned. This guild had two of the finest seers to ever roleplay on Great Lakes fired. They on purposely set-up these two because some of their members were banned for griefing at Sandlewood, just so they could get these two fired.

It was a horrible day for this shard when that happened. Anyone that knew Seer Lazuras (Azreal in #glrpc) knows the great stories he did. What was even sadder was the heads of the Intrest team knew B*C had set them up, but fearing a stupid scandal, still fired these folks.

So I am not even going to shed a tear for any idiot that gets banned for this. Karma has a great way of biting you in the ass when you least expect it.

Rot in hell loser!

The smoke had reduced visibility to two feet, the town of Serpent's Hold was ablaze. From the Warrior's Guild down to the Stables, a mammoth fire engulfed the town.

The noise of ringmail could be heard as orcish warriors moved through the city together. Behind them a large force of mages used the smoke to hide their presence. Slowly the sound of horse hooves pounding on pebble roads grew louder, as the horses could be heard approaching.

The Bid Red Machine formed up, the war drums beat faster, the air crackled with electricity as electric bolts cut through the air from the mounted mages of the Alliance. Some of the mages from the Clan moved forward and began to cast defensive spells on the warriors, while mages from the Cult began to return fire.

Bola's were flung wildly into the haze at targets unknown. Everynow and then, the clunk of a human being dismounted would be heard, and the warriors would charge the him. The battle continued until finally silence reigned on the battle field.

Ryth turned to Thraka, "Was Jakob Covenant among the dead?" Thraka shook his head, "nub!" The order to move towards the stables was given, and the Big Red Machine moved slowly towards them.

They descened upon the stables, finding a force of Highland Guard inside. Sturm and the golem Hugh the Hand rushed them. Humans began to fall left and right inside the stables as the two worked their way inward. Ryth's eyes lit up when he saw Jakob, he screamed at the others to focus all their fire upon him. Grool too saw this and called out his name to the Big Red Machine. Arrows and magic slammed hard into Jakob, severing his life force from his body. Their objective had been met.

A cry was heard from the rear of the force, the Alliance mages had returned and had beset upon their back forces. For a moment it seemed as if a trap had been sprung, there were still members of the Highland Guard inside fighting, but quick thinking proved to disarm this trap. A group of mages kept the warriors inside fighting healed, while another group repeled the attacks of the Alliance mages.



Finally only one Alliance member remained, Brother Nordal. He used the permeating smoke to hide his attacks, and slowly killed his enemies one by one. Ryth could no longer stand fighting this gorilla warfare, and ordered all his forces together. He pulled out his map and looked to see what buildings could be taken. He put a General with several healers inside each of the three buildings that could be attacked by Nordal.

With the buildings secure, the Chaos Knights; Thraka, Boromir, Raistlin, and Ryth moved out to see if they could take down Nordal. Appearing from nowhere, Nordal cut down Ryth, but had made the mistake of giving away his presence. The Chaos Knights chased him, and finally Nordal committed a suicide run on one of the Generals, where he was cut down.

Victory was given to the foces of the Clan and the Cult.




Ryth looked to Eli as they sat at the tavern, "The Dark Tide had the blessings of several gods on our side today." Eli sipped his ale and nodded, "Aye, there was not a scratch on my armor."

Ryth chuckled, "That is odd, my spies tell me you were the target of an assasination today." Eli blinked several times.


"You are kidding me right?"

From Jakob Covenant:

The Highland Guard is pleased to host a night at the Tales and Ales Tavern on Sunday, April 7, 2002, from 7:00 PM Central to 10:00 PM Central. We will be serving all the ale, scotch, bread and stew that you can handle. Come and enjoy tall tales and camaraderie.

We will hold the first Yew Invitational Hog Races. So bring your hogs and be ready to race. Fastest hog will win 20K, and will then promptly be barbecued. First race is at 8:00 Central. Second race at 9:00 Central.

To find Tales and Ales, travel southeast from the Yew, Trammel, moongate. It is the large L-shaped two story frequently packed with friendly folk.

A big congrats to Kyra and the staff over at Home Tours from all of us at the Daily Herald!!

Hail and Well Met!

Can you believe it? April marks the Homes of the Exotic & Illustrious Tour's ONE YEAR ANNIVERSARY! I didn't believe it myself until I double and triple checked the records and sure enough April is when it all got started!

So to celebrate the Homes Tour is doing a Top 10 Tour Review! April's Tour Pack will hold not the usual five runes but TEN runes. One rune to each of the homes chosen to represent the best of the best for the year's houses and of course the tour booklet telling you what not to miss in each house along the way! And don't miss the newest way to take the Homes of the Exotic & Illustrious Tour, our new website or the newest way to submit your home our forum

Tour Packs are available in...

~Trammel~
Garden City Mall (43o 35'N, 67o 46'E)
Fishermen Council of Britannia (72o 14'N, 56o 36'E)
S/C Lag Tower (49o 18'S, 23o 45'W)
WH Guild House (120o 56'N, 179o 14'W)
Last One (100o 59'N, 157o 18'W)
Homes Tour Tower (24o 25'S 9o 25'E)
Yewtopia (72o 30'N 46o 24'W)
The Mystic Portal (56o 51'N, 92o 6'E)
Ultrazone (117o 9'S, 19o 41'E)
Blatos 4M's Vendor House (10o 22'N, 39o 22'E)
Southerbelle's Twin Marble Shops (69o 57'N, 54o 59'E)

~Felucca~
Macy's (33o 55'N, 140o 0o'W)
Sandlewood Box (77o 46'S, 33o 40'E)
Cove Merchants Guild (36o 28'N 67o 46'E)
Mystic's (87o 58'N, 86o 50'E)

I would like to take the time to say THANK YOU to everyone. A huge thank you to all of the home owners who were on the Homes of the Exotic & Illustrious Tour and to those who aspired to be! Thank you to everyone who collected runes to houses for me and to everyone who bought a Homes Tour Pack. Thank you to every person with the vision to create a beautiful, watery fountain out of pewter bowls and cotton or a fireplace out of benches, communication crystals and kindling. Thank you to everyone who trusted me and friended to me to their homes, allowing me to place tour pack vendors! Thank you to everyone who stopped me at the bank and told me they enjoyed the Homes Tour, you made my day everytime! Thank you to my devoted,
rune marking staff, without you I wouldn't have ever been able to keep up!

THANK YOU ALL for making this last year so much fun for me!

Thank you,
Kyra, Tour Coordinator

P.S. I am always looking for great vendor houses to place the Tour Pack Vendors at! Please let me know if you would consider one at your home! And I am always looking for great homes for up and coming Tours! Think your home has what it takes? Let's find out! Contact me and I will come for a visit! (kyraheit@hotmail.com 89209043)

Thanks!

The war drums pounded, the Clan was lined up pounding their chests and their comrades chest too, the Cult was in the corner whispering prayers while smearing goat's blood on their armor.

The time had come, the Jihad was upon Serpent's Hold. Nero's refusal to release the body Basil had brought war to the island city. The ships off the coast rose up and down at anchor, firing their cannons off to honor and urge the Clan and Cult on to glory.

One of the orcs sniffed the air, "Ee smellz blud, die battlz hav beegun." The drums stopped and a silent hush fell over the compound. Ryth blinked, then a huge roar of "NOOOOOGRAH" echoed through as the Clan charged out of the front gate towards their mission. The stables would fall tonight.

Ryth told the Cultist to be with Chaos and slaughter the enemy. They started up the stares, their shoes making only the slightest sound. With that, Ryth turned and follow the main force.

Battle came quick, a small force of the Alliance engaged the Big Red Machine, and quickly as one, two, three, members from the Alliance fell. Of course though, it did not stay so easy for long. The Mages of the Alliance turned their attention towards the slow moving mass, and conjured many spells upon them. Fire and lighting rained down on the orcs, with Ryth and Thraka frantically casting defensive spells.

The Alliance mages managed to kill a few orcs, but the Big Red Machine Rolled on until it rested outside the stables. Word came that some of the Cult force had been slain by the main force, and the Clan grew angry. They charged towards stables, then explosions rocked the Clan forces and they were forced to withdraw back.

The Clan reformed outside the stables. Yet the Alliance mages continued to rain down fire and lighting, keeping the impending charge off. Though none of the orcs fell. Aureal grimaced, "None of them shall die until Ryth dies."

A weak point had been found in the Big Red Machine, only two mages kept them healed and the enemy poisoned. The Alliance charged, and Ryth fell. The Alliance charged again, and Thraka fell. The Cult and Clan forces now could no longer poison, making the power of their archers weaker.

The Big Red Machine knew the only way to take victory now would be to charge, and charge they did, screaming bloodthirsty cries.

Out at sea on the boats, only a pillar of smoke could be seen eminating from the stables. The captain mummered back to his first mate, "I can not see them anymore, they charged and I lost them in the chaos..."




"Part of me yearns for the glorious battle Syndar, but part of me weaps for what it costs us and the people of this fine city." Looking at Nero, Syndar nodded, "Indeed, I think we all battle with those desires." They stood on the walkway above the stables, surveying the clean up of the orc and human bodies. Members from the Highland Guard worked hard to control the blaze that had started in the stables.

"We won a hard victory today Syndar. It will boost the morale of the men, but we must be sure that they not forget this is far from over." Nero turned and looked out across the city.

Loud war drums could be heard echoing through the shops and alley ways of the city.

I usually don't post non Ultima Online stuff, but since I know most of you use KazaA, and I am also sure some of you use it to download Monday Music, I'll post an article similar to what I saw on UOPowergamers. Kitiara has also submitted it, so I will post it.

With regards to the many articles circulating about Brilliant Digital's hidden file swapping software, installed with the Kazaa file sharing software:

It appears to me that BD's software is installed in other ways as well. I had never even heard of Kazaa before and have never downloaded or installed Kazaa. I was ignoring all of the hype on Brilliant Digital for that reason. Then, I thought, well maybe I'll take a peek and make sure my system is clean. Sure enough - I had the Brilliant Digital software installed. Only parts of it, mind you, but many parts.

I highly recommend checking your system, even if you've never used Kazaa. I followed the instructions from CNET's article, as found over at UOPG.

I hope this helps any of you that are out there that may be worried about this story.

From Red William:

Orville walked calmly throught the busy streets of Britian, the regular tone of his platemail clad feet sounding on the cold cobblestone streets. The timing of the clanging metal was a mild comfort to the disguised Controller. He found the cold lifeless metal a soothing reminder of the blessings of his lord and master, Exodus, who promises a freedom of the flesh, and a renewal of the spirit with the machine. The city of Britian was a chaotic cacophony of noise and bustle, no reason, no logic. It took the quiet chanting of Exodus' holy formulae to keep him from going mad from such chaos. He hated this city, and all its ugly flesh-thinking constructs. He longed to return to Ilshenar and to the home he knew: back in the service of Exodus.

But he was serving Exodus. The Traitor had fled from Ilshenar and had taken something precious of his master. He was given the chance to show his love for the machine, by finding the traitor, retrieving what he stole, and slaying he who betrayed the master. Orville almost felt sorry for the foolish thief; he gave in to the filth of his flesh, and seeks to give those that share his sin an advantage against his master.

He would show the traitor what it means to betray Exodus...Death.

---

"Please!" The young man said, thrusting the pages of parchement in the sage's arms, "Take them and hide them! If you serve virtue you must take them!"

"What are you talking about, man?" The sage said, frustrated at the frightened man's actions. He looked at the odd scribblings that he could of the pages and could only mutter to himself.

"You must take them and hide them! Or give them to whoever rules in your Kingdom!" The scared man said pleadingly.

"Our king has departed this realm for another world. We are ruled by no one now." The sage thrust the pages back to the man and stepped back, "Now if you will excuse me, we have little time to deal with your doodles. Good day!"

The man grunted as the sage closed the door on his face, making him drop the parchements to the ground, where the wind caught hold of one, sending it flying. The scared man yelped and gathered what he could, reaching out in vain for the one page that escaped his grasp.

Instead, the page was caught by another man, one of slender build and nimble fingers. He wore the robes of a healer and sage, but his visage was more of a young man, fresh and vibrant as the spring flowers in bloom. The scared man gasped as Sebastian held out the paper for him, "Here, friend" he said calmly, "You dropped this."

The scared man replied by thrusting the other pages into Sebastian's arms, and before he could protest, the man fled, crying out as if being chased by invisible daemons. Sebastian called out to him, but the man would not even look back. Taking the papers in his hands he looked at the words written there and of diagrams. The pictures were of things Sebastian learned about only recently, of Betrayers and Golems, but these diagrams were exquisite and intricate, showing detailed cross sections of important parts of their bodies. He could not read the runes, but he understood them as some sort of blueprint. The other pages were of an ancient text of Gargish that Sebastian knew only in part, training under the Brittannian Explorer's guild's specialist, Ku Kullin. They were some sort of story...no, prayers...or mantras...formulae that were so advanced, his mind swirled at the very concepts of them.

It was then that Sebastian gasped as he found the title page of this strange book...

The Techronomicon...

Sebastian rolled up the parchements and stuffed them into his robe, moving as fast as he feet could carry him. He had to show master Kullin what fate had thrust into his arms. Was it fate, or the virtues that guide man that did this great thing? Could the Lost King's spirit remain true to his country and have inspired such events? Whatever the reason, Sebastian knew that these pages were important, so much in fact that men will kill one another for the secrets lying herein the parchements he clutched to his chest.

The rumors that were told by the Gargoyle seers was true; He had been given the pages of Exodus's unholy Bible...

----

The Techronomicon can be found at the Brittanian Explorer's Society HQ in Moonglow. Further information can be found at this site

Earlier today, forces from Bloodrock Clan and the Cult of the Black Dragon landed on shores of Serpent's Hold. It took several hours for the Serpent's Hold Alliance to become aware of it, and found that they had already settled themselves in the city.

They came upon some Cultist unloading supplies from a boat onto a dock. One man in a Chaos Knight robe was walking around checking the crates and a list of items. Immediately the troops from the Alliance halted the workers. The one checking the crates stopped his work and turned around to address the oncomers.

Turns out this man was Ryth, old friend of Basil, and the last Chaos Knight to be knighted before the death of Basil. Apparently he has been in Ilshenar for over ten years studying the land. He asked that Basil's body be turned over peacefully, but the tyrannical Alliance refused saying it was theres. This hints that the rumors of General Nero having some sick love obsession with Basil's body may be true!




Brother Nordal demanded that the Cultists leave, but it was too late, the forces of the Black One had already gotten a foothold in the city. The workers on the boat prepared to move the boat out to see so that another one could land with supplies.

Ryth told him calmly, spreading his arms widely, that if they body wasn't given peacefully, they had come fully prepared to take it with force. Syndar scoffed at this and begged that the General let them kill the defenseless workers, but unlike Syndar, Nordal had some honor.



Because of this show of honor, Ryth spoke that they too would apply the Virtue of Honor and allow them ti'll tommorow to ready their forces. It had been decided, Nero would refuse to give away the corpse he holds so dear, while the Cultists and Bloodrock Clan would refuse to leave without it.

It is unfortunate that these line of events have happened. Once again war has come to Serpent's Hold, once again the peasants under tyranical control line up at the southern docks trying to flee the town. Orcish drums eminate from the stronghold that the Cult and Clan control. The sound of strong and confident voices eminates from the stronghold of the Alliance.

From Lydia - UOSS:

Hail again. It's just me, Lydia, no cause to be excited.

I've been working hard on getting this "Gathering" to run as I want it to run. Thus far, I have a complete total of, drumroll please..16 guilds! Though, as this is my very first Stratics run event, I'm going to be just a bit greedy and ask for more.

For those of you that do not read this section religiously, you may be asking, "What is this 'Gathering' she's rambling on about?" Perhaps I should explain..

The Gathering of Guilds is an event where guilds of all shapes, races, sizes, ect. can get together for one common goal: To gain new members and to meet new people. It's as simple as that.

Guilds that wish to join in on the fun should send me a message containing the following:

Guildmaster/mistress's Name

Guild Name and Abbreviation

How to contact Guildmaster/mistress

A short description of the guild.

As I have announced before, The Gathering will be taking place on the 16th of this month. Time and place will be released a couple days prior to the event..server permitting of course.

I hope to see you there!

From Lag - UOSS:

Every dreamed of running a tavern but didn't have the money to invest in your own business? Well here is your answer!

Tales and Ales Tavern is looking for a few responsible guilds to host the tavern from 7pm to 10pm CST! If you are in a orgainzed and active guild or know of one that might be interested please let them know we are looking for them! Take a look at The Calendar and see if you will fit in!! Thanks and please pass this on
!
Don't miss this great opportunity to get your guild involved in the RP community of Great Lakes!

I’m sure we all remember the excitement of killing that first really tough monster...Heart pounding as you watch not only your health bar start getting red but also that of the creature you are attacking. The excitement as the realization takes over that you are actually going to defeat it!

When last we looked in on young Khan, his skills were growing, friendships forming and he had found a spot he enjoyed using to work on his skills.

Let's take a peek in on young Khan.......


Remember how I said I found the Ogre Lords? Well I had so much fun I wanted to do it again. I made it there alive! Only one other person is there, a bard by the name of Asteroth, he has the whole island to himself. Every time an ogre lord would spawn he would have it join the ogre orgy he had going. When I asked for one he wouldn’t respond. I’m really starting to not like the rudeness of bards!

One of my tactics when taking down 'big boys' is to just stay ahead of them and keep plinking arrows. Kinda cool cause archery keeps going up and they eventually die. But when I hesitate or lag I get the beat down and all the cursing at my monitor doesn’t help. (course a few times it wasn’t lag I was stuck on a bush I didn’t see...doh!)

Anyway, I was pretty dejected but I figured this guy had to get overweight soon with all the dead Lords...so I just worked on archery skills and just waited for a Lord to chase me.

Than another bard joined in and I was forgotten. The two bards kept battling to see who could provoke new Lords the quickest. (I’m really starting to hate bards!!) Well, I guess this is when 'Dark Khan' was born. When a bard lost control of one of the Lords or I guess failed at their music the Lord would attack, hehe, I found myself ROOTING for the monster! Man that’s sad and I felt guilty (for just a second).

I was about to just forget it as I know there are tons of other places to go...(my project for today is to find them!) Than suddenly ... yep you guessed it!! A lord got me!! Elation! I started it over the bridge back to the entrance (I need a good 20 minutes to take it down). One of the bards starts chasing me. Ok, so now I have a Lord on my tail and a bard. What the hell!! The bard casts INVISIBILITY on ME and the Lord stops! Luckily it got re-mad at me and the bard left me and it alone...but oh I was mad!! I really really hate bards now!

It took me 20 minutes but it was worth it though, that Lord was just fun to kill. I am now “Honorable”!!


To be continued........

Well hello!
Your newest reporter, Nait Dew, reporting for duty.
I'll be covering Monday Music so long as Nick will have me.
I love all sorts of music, so expect great variety, but variety being the spice life,
try to come with an open mind. The numbers beside them are suggested for where you
can throw them into your folder. Read Nick Seafort's second Monday Music for an
explanation.

-------------------------------------------------

Disturbed - Conflict
Metallica - Die, Die, Die
Both have a fast pased tempo with heavy guitar and base.
They are harder than most other songs to provide andrenaline stimulation
for added excitement during a fight.
Spice Girls - Tell me what you Want
Why? General purpose PK sprees. Nothing like those weak pop vocals and that
"zig-a-zig-aah" to irritate you further into an angry frenzy.
Weird Al - Dare to be Stupid
Britain! This song is truly a masterpeice. It mixes white trash comedy with the
sophistication that the capital city deserves.
Disturbed - Violence Fetish
Jhelom! Cause cmon man... the pits... need I say more?
Crystal Waters - 100% Pure Love
BUCS DEN!
Server lines, thieves, murderers. 100% Pure Love.
From the back to the middle and around again, 100% Pure Love.
Just shut up and try it!
Daft Punk - Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger
The 8x8 theme song. This one is a MUST.
Macy Gray - Sweet, Sweet Baby
You are dead. Sweet sweet baby, life is crazy.

-----------------------------------------------------

Thanks! If they seem out of place, it's not me. It's you! Just try them all. =)
And be kind, rewind.
Nait Dew

I will spare you all my journal dribble today to bring forth a topic that has frankly been annoying the piss out of me for several years. Good guilds have this tendency to get upset when a bad guy says bad things to them.

So last night, Cult of the Black Dragon is in Skara Brae working on their two non-pvp quests. Since its basically been screwed up thanks to these idiots, I'll go ahead and explain part of it, but not all in hopes of salvaging it.

One of our members was trying to befriend Jasmine in order to see how she felt about her father and what she would be willing to do to help the Cult. Well, as of right now, the Cult is a neutral guild and we haven't been actively warring anyone. Yet we do have a few guild orange to us, and unfortunately one of the guild was the Ankh: Citizens Defense of Britannia. One of their stupid members started harassing Jasmine and our member. She was asked to stop, but she proceeded to question our member. So just because we are orange means you have to come and question us right? Hell, she didn't even have a title over her head, but immediately you assumed she was evil. So of course, we are all in party and the member tells us that this girl won't leave them alone, and being in town doing other things, three of us came and tried to get her to move away. She wouldn't, so we tell her either leave the city then, or die.

She makes the right choice and leaves. So we go back to what we were doing and our other member goes and does her job. So here we are, sitting peacefully at the bank, watching Dovolick and ToM banter back and forth. ToM gates out about the same time OI- comes in. There is two of them this time. We go up to them and start to roleplay. Of course we banter back and forth, but we don't ask them to leave this time. Then one of them slips and accidentally misplaces his '/' for party talk and reveals that they planned on jumping us. I am not one for getting ambushed, and they immediately die. Sturm stands over one of the corpses, a woman's, and spits on her corpse calling her a wench. People need to learn that this is roleplay. Did he call you a bitch? or many of the worse things I can think of? No, he didn't. He called you an acceptable roleplaying cut down.

So you know, we start to leave, Ankh isn't saying anything, when this Minion fella comes up to us and starts calling us names. At the time, it was acceptable, for we figured it was roleplaying, but then the idiot started calling us lamers saying it was three on one. I'd like to point out it was two on two, seeing as they were dead before I could cast. I've been pinging 800 with 30% packet loss the past few weeks.

I realize this Minion fella isn't going to do anything more than scream "war me pussy" for the next hour, so I tell B-D to leave and we go on our merry way.

So, everything seems fine? right? wrong...

I log on this morning, Raistlin informs me that Ankh has peaced us. I am like, "ok, probably because they didn't know we were back yet." Raistlin shakes his head and tells me its cause we killed them and said OOC cut downs to them. Obviously I was shocked, seeing I was there for the whole thing. Then to add on top of all that, he says Lore is trying to get guild to peace B-D. Now of course, I don't mind what Lore does, if he doesn't like us, that his deal, but he can dig his own grave if he thinks guilds we have worked with for two years are going to peace us to play with him.

I am a calm individual, I try to work things out. So I ICQ the gal that is saying we are making OOC cut downs, and what does she do? She flat out lies to me. Then she proceeds to make up a story about how we did such and such, confusing parts from two totally different encounters. Yea, we told you to leave, we told you to leave after you wouldn't leave us alone. So yeah, you are going to have us a picture of us telling you to leave the city. Whats so bad about a 'quasi' evil person calling you a wench after you made it apparent you all were going to attack them? So anyway, finally she ticks me off and I proceed to lower myself to a stupid battle with her. Finally we both just give up.

Not five seconds later, guess who has my ICQ? Minion of K*K, the Knights of the Kodec. He starts telling me I am not invited to the story and that I have no right to tell people to leave Skara Brae. I am like, "What story?" He then starts speaking for Mordain, whom I promptly informed that Minion was doing so. He basically humiliates himself in my eyes, because here I am seeing him say stuff while Mordain tells me the truth. It also takes it awhile for it to get through his head that we aren't part of ToM's conquered land scenario at this time, that we aren't allies with ToM. He also ignores my question about whether or not I should just slaughter the Ankh or try and get them to leave us alone first. The man is so short sighted, he couldn't see the crap flying at his face.

Obviously he had no idea who I was. He had no idea I was a ToM iniate, he had no idea I was good friends with several of his allies, and he sure as hell had no idea I was the opinionist column writer for the Herald.

So see, all of this spawns from one little girl being upset cause someone called her a wench. Dear god, what do you want us to do? Give you sweet kisses, which Sturm offered, on your cheeks? Want us to give you roses? No, you want us to be bad so you have an excuse to attack an orange.

As far as I am concerned, if Lore wants to act like what people are repeating to me, thats fine. If Minion wants to go on thinking he is in charge, thats fine, but he is in for a cruel awakening.

So in the future folks, if someone calls you a wench, we don't mean that you the person behind the computer accepts pay for sexual favors. I hope this sheds some light on the subject of people taking things to seriously.

Update: Geez, this story just gets better, as they make up more and more things. I swear, what people will do to protect their lies. Here is a post made by Minion.

From now on i ask that all members in the war to if you seen any one that claims they are part or are a part of this war do anything wrong (Break any rules) that you report them to Me or Lore. We will make sure they pay for there crimes and that they are removed from this war.....Seems that a guild called B_D has used foul langue attacked on site and have looted there for they will be removed from war... We try to make this fun for everyone so if you want to help keep this fun then report all bad activites

Shows you how much this guy knows, refers to us as B_D, says we looted when we didn't kill him nor is he orange to us. Also this Akara girl has posted her version of what happened. Notice how she totally leaves out the fact that she left and came back with friends. Love those types of stories. Makes you feel good when they leave out why they died and all of that junk.

Weeeeee!

Update: Wow, I was wrong, she mentions in one senctence how she left for a moment, but only to go find a friend to help her. Why don't people just leave people alone when they ask?

This quote kills me though...

I am truly amazed, I have never seen any rpg guild act in this manner, I have found all enemy guilds to be very outstanding in their role play and manners. A sad day indeed.

We aren't there for tea and crumphets. We are there to do our business, and not be harassed by someone thats only interested because we are orange to them. This shard roleplayed without massive wars for almost two and a half years, why do we depend on them so much now for roleplaying? How sad...

Update: w00t! It took me posting on the Herald my feelings about roleplay, but Lore Denin finally contacted me. He made it clear that Minion does not speak for him or the Ankh, and that B-D was mistaken for B-S, an ally of ToM. That is why they were confused and hounded us.

See, this is what I talk about, communicating like adults. None of the people I talked to before this wanted to communicate like adults, and thus crap happened. So things are taken care of and Lore has extended his wish to roleplay further with the Cult. I am sure Ankh will have fun with the quests we are prepping in Skara Brae.

See, its amazing what people can accomplish when they are willing to sit down and not lie to each other.

Its dummies like Minion I feel sorry for. The dumbass is probably just now figuring out that strange sensation in the seat of his pants is my boot up his ass. Hes seeing what happens when you speak for others, and hopefully he will grow up because of the experience.

Oh well, on to roleplaying!

Update: Its like the song that never ends. I bet Minion's face is all twisted sickly right now as I twist my boot. Turns out Minion isn't even the guildmaster of his guild. What do you mean he isn't? Didn't he say he was? Yes, he did...

You have received a message!
I am a guild master of this war and you should care i have spoken with Mordain he does not condone your acts there for you are out of this war end of storie

Mordain notified me that Minion's guildmaster was apologizing to him for Minion's actions. That sometimes he gets a little power hungry and wants to be a big shot in the roleplaying community. So it gets even better. Minion is running scared now and has posted here and here. The boy must be 12 years old, either that he isn't reading this article and has no idea what people are saying.

Hopefully when this is said and done, he will have grown up. See, all this from one little incident.

From Samuel Mekings BNN:

Britannia is in a panic! Early this morning, the sky darkened as a group of steel like birds descended upon the land. Like huge, terrible, flying dragons, the huge birds shoot fire from their gaping mouths at humans, creatures, and buildings without discrimination.

I stood paralyzed when I first saw these mammoth beasts. I was minding my own affairs, handling my resources at the bank when the horrible monstrosity came near me. Some of the more veteran warriors and magicians near me charged towards the ferocious animal and attempted to use their high arts to conquer it. They thought this was nothing more than a new variety of monster, as yet undiscovered, and easily destroyed.

They were woefully mistaken. I watched in horror as the mighty ones fell all around me while the fire breathing steel bird still swooped about, doing damage to all in its path. Finally, my wits about me, I turned on heel and ran for the protection of my friend’s house nearby, narrowly escaping the same fate of the fighters.

From the safety of the house, I quickly penned this report, and I hope to find eventually find a cryer to whom I can deliver the news, so that they might warn the other cities and villages of the attack. All seems in chaos, and I fear the worst. But if you are reading this, then perhaps my message has found its way into good hands. For this, I can only pray. And that we might have some brave souls who can defend us against this enemy.

Watch the skies! Beware! These huge birds may be those that are called Kilrathi, a mysterious race that only the wisest of sages are privy to. Written about in the ancient tomes, and prophesied of in the most secret of scrolls, the Kilrathi are said to be a race from beyond the skies, from between the stars. Most of the educated scholars who have heard of them, believed them to be fairy stories, conjured to frighten the young ones. But by the virtues, today I believe, and I warrant by the end of today, so shall all of you.

Go in peace, and may the virtues keep you safe.