July 2002

Hail everyone!

If you use our automatic submit feature here on the Herald, you must must must put it in HTML format! (hence the giant "this form supports HTML format only" disclaimer on the automatic submit page)

If you use the automatic submit, and do not put it in HTML format, your post will be one giant paragraph. Case in point: The post below this one. I am sure that it had nice paragraphs at one time, but now it is just one large blob of text.

If you dont know HTML, you can always use the Manual submit feature, which is more traditional AND it preserves your paragraphs.

So, moral of the story: if you like paragraphs, use manual submit!

From Damon Omenborn:

Slayers Across the World of Britannia there are few race’s more ancient, or more defiant, than the dwarves. A proud people, they do not cope easily with failure or personal loss. A Dwarf Troll Slayer is a rare sight in Britannia. The Slayer cult is a strange one to most humans. A Dwarf, who is shamed by breaking an oath or failing in some duty, is driven by his honor to make his vows at the shrine of Griminir. He will shave his head leaving only a narrow crest and dye his hair and beard orange. He will renounce his former life and travel the World seeking death, now not just any death will do. It is a common custom amongst Slayers to adorn their bodies with tattoos or patterns of scars. Most of these are purely for show but Slayer heroes can have runic tattoos and scars added to their bodies. Now becoming a Troll Slayer is not a career willing entered by Dwarves. The Dwarven psyche, emphasizing honor and reputation, prohibits any Dwarf from entering this as a normal exit from any other career. Troll slaying is not so much a choice as it is atonement. If a Dwarf commits an act so dishonorable that he is disgraced, humiliated, or his clan disowns him and the only redemption is an honorable death against overwhelming odds. Such acts might include, but would not be limited to, failing on watch at an outpost (allowing a murderous enemy to slip through undetected), committing a serious crime (burglary, murder, etc.) against one's own clan, and continued cowardly acts when faced with an enemy of the clan. Shamed in the eyes of Grungni and the clan's ancestors, dishonored Dwarves join the ancient cult of Thorin the Slayer. They cover their bodies with ritualistic tattoos and dye their hair orange, spike it with animal fat, and become a Troll Slayer. These are the Troll Slayers most familiar to Human Society. In some cases, new Troll Slayers leave their clan to wander to embattled and besieged Dwarf-holds. Most, however, wander alone or with groups of adventurers seeking honor by hunting the most ferocious of beasts. The prey of choice, naturally, are Trolls and of course a Troll Slayer would never pass up combat with other foes, especially when the odds are greater than seven to one. As exiles from their clan, Troll Slayers suffer from periodic bouts of severe depression. The result is a tendency for Troll Slayers to indulge in frequent bouts of overeating, fasting, and alcohol. They also spend a great deal of time boasting of their exploits and showing off their numerous scars. Troll Slayers wear exotic jewelry such as earrings and nose plugs. Inquiries into their past (especially regarding the circumstance that brought them to Slaying) usually result in an uncontrollable rage which could erupt into a bloodlust. Dwarves, even those who live in Human settlements instead of the mountain Dwarf-holds, respect the clan less Troll Slayers' drive to redeem their honor. In contrast, Troll Slayers avoid other Dwarves; it reminds them too much of their clan less state, their disgrace and dishonor. Dwarven adventurers and Troll Slayers interact with a level of deference and will travel together so long as there are others (i.e., Humans) in the group to provide some separation between the two types of Dwarves. After all, wherever Dwarven adventurers or Troll Slayers travel, danger is sure to rear its head. Should a Troll Slayer have the misfortune of surviving combat, they may become a Giant Slayer. At this point, the Giant Slayer may journey into the Dwarf-holds to join combat units of like Dwarves (such as the Giant Slayer warrior castes of Karaz-a-Karak), but many continue their quest, alone or with groups of adventurers. Unable to meet a dignified death, the now Giant Slayer's shame is increased. They suffer more mood swings, bouts of depression and melancholy than Troll Slayers. This makes the Giant Slayer more vulnerable to dependency upon alcohol. Giant Slayers have set their sights on larger, more dangerous prey. Hence, their appellation. Dwarves in this career rarely survive their death quest. Survivors find that their tenuous hold on sanity is now stretched beyond their ability to cope. Dwarves who survive their careers as Giant Slayers become convinced of one thing; their disgrace is so heinous that honorable death is denied them. To atone for their failure and ever-increasing shame these Dwarves engage in a ritual that involves self-inflicted scarring. The patterns of these scars are as individualistic as the Dwarves themselves. This ritualized scarring and the impact of their failure takes a toll on all Giant Slayers' psyches. At this time, they become Dragon Slayers. So rare are Dragon Slayers that the cult was thought to be extinct. In fact, very few exist and they usually venture alone, away from any civilization. Due to the burden of their humiliation, Dragon Slayers shun any and all Dwarves, except in the most extreme of situations. Usually, only the most reckless and danger seeking of Humans are suitable companions for the Dragon Slayer. Dragon Slayers frequent mountains, swamps, and other remote wilderness areas. Basically, anywhere their favorite prey, Dragons, are known to lair. It is very rare that Dragon Slayers survive the wilderness and its dangers. Those very few Dragon Slayers that survive are further unhinged and become the mythical Daemon Slayers. If they haven't already, it is at this point that these Dwarves disappear from all knowledge of their race. The Island of Fire, namely the Dungeon Hythloth, calls the Daemon Slayer like a siren to a ship's captain. Daemon Slayers seem to have a sense where Daemons can be found. Some Daemon Slayers have been rumored to have located isolated holds of Demonologists and wizards and raze them to the ground. Of course, they usually eliminate the main occupant and any servants, natural and otherwise, of the hold first. The Daemon Slayer also hunts the most dangerous creatures of Britannia. The Daemon Slayers' mind is so enveloped in madness that only in the remote corner of their mind will they recognize any kinship with other Dwarves. Thus, Daemon Slayers do not feel the need to shun other Dwarves. At times Troll, Giant, and even Dragon Slayers will join a Daemon Slayer. This is usually a guaranteed method to find the death sought by all Slayers. Snorri's Story Pt I. "Ahh, krud.... Me poor nephew had to get himself killed. Blast that dammed demon spawned contraption of his... I thought helping him would get it finished faster, but instead it got the poor lad killed...." sighed Snorri to his wife. "Well, you might as well take out all o' your pain on the mine. You might actually get some Valorite out of there this time, and it might help soothe your sorrow." sympathized his wife, NalGrum. "Aye, it might...." replied Snorri. He picked up his trusty pick and shovels and walked off to the mines. After hours and hours of toiling in his mine, without even digging up a copper ore, never mind Valorite ore, he thought to himself, "I can't even mine properly, and I got my nephew killed...sigh.... I am a sorry excuse for a dwarf...." Then he realized what he must do. Snorri ran off to the forest and stripped off all his clothes except for a loin cloth, and took the Slayer’s oath. What he didn't realize before is how hard it would be to shave his beloved head of hair! He sat in the forest for hours going mad at the thought of cutting his precious hair. Finally he got so mad he started yanking on his hair. He pulled so hard he bled all over the place. His blood dyed his hair instead of the traditional Slayer dye. So much blood came out that if stiffened his hair into the Mohawk Slayer style hair. Then he fainted from blood loss. When he awoke there was something standing over him. He instinctively reached up and punched it square in the groin. It collapsed and Snorri got up and took its axe and sliced its neck. He heard the cackle of magic as the axe crunched through it's neck. The thing, he now realized was a troll, the biggest one he had ever seen!! The troll started to catch on fire then a mighty lightning blot arced from the axe into the troll just as Snorri was pulling the axe from the troll's splattered burning neck. "Blood and bloody flammin ashes!" Snorri cursed, "What in the name of Griminir?!?" He threw the axe down in fear of it. He stood a few paces from it fore a while, and then he gathered up his courage and examined it. "Ayuh! Its of dwarven make!" he mumbled to himself, "it says: Green Skin Slayer.... hmm..." He looked over at the troll's crispy fried body and realized that the troll was actually a half breed troll/Orc. "Nasty!! What could have possessed an Orc to have sex with a troll?!? Bloody Flamming Heck!!" Snorri walked over to the troll and pulled off its leg and started eating it. "I might as well get me belly full for breakfast. Oh well if this stuff is poisonous it won’t matter, It will just help me fulfill my slayer oath...." said Snorri to himself, "woo... This stuff tastes better'n me wife's cookin'!! Almost like roast goblins!!" Snorri sat there eating away at his new favorite food (next to ale and beer), for most of the morning. He found 10 Gold shillings in one of the troll's pouches, and a gourd of beer. He washed the roast troll flesh down with the beer. "Ahhh... mighten this be the best breakfast I've ever tasted!!" After Snorri finished picking his teeth with troll bones, he got up and stretched. "Oh krud! I've forgotten to tell me wife of me becoming a slayer...Oh well she won't miss me, I've been a failure all my life..." Snorri Thought to himself, "mighten as well forget me ol' life, I am a slayer now." Snorri started to walk south, while he walk he sang a dwarven folk song "there are 1000 kegs of beer on the wall 1000 kegs of beer, chug 1 down get all drunk, 999 kegs of beer on the wall. 999 kegs of beer on the wall 999 kegs of beer, chug 1 down, get all drunk, 998 kegs of beer on the wall......." When he finally finished his song, hours later, he was in sight of a small Orc village. "Damn Greenskins..." Snorri thought as he started charging into the village. His visage went red with rage and hatred as he chopped through greenskins, magical fire igniting every one of them, then bolts of lightning slamming into the already flamming Greenskins, that were running around like demented monkeys. When he finally calmed down the whole village was leveled and not a single Orc was left unscathed. He just stood there, his blood red beard shimmering in the sunlight. A half dead Orc croaked "Red Beard!!" then fell dead.

UO.com has come out with this fansite link program dojigger which allows fansites (like this one) to offer you readerfolks some more of the delicious chocolate-flavored content that I know all of you crave!

To this end, I signed up a couple minutes ago with Kerowyn to get into the fansite link program dojigger, and I suspect that an OSI representative will take a look here on the Herald to make sure I dotted my I's and crossed my T's.

Everyone smile and act happy, and for goodness sake don't tell them about Basil!... DOH, did I say that out loud?

The Hermits of Haven



The fire crackled. The hermit turned the spit slowly to get the ham done evenly. He heard cannon fire off in the distance and the sounds of battle in the forest nearby. The Haven Militia and Guards were fighting with the denizens of the valley again. He was one of the veteran citizens of Britannia that was allowed to enter that part of Haven, and he used it to his advantage. It was quiet there, relatively speaking. There weren’t that many people to deal with and those that did come were usually seeking his wisdom. His services as a Companion.

He thought about the time he’d spent in solitude there as he pulled the ham off the spit and began to take a bite out of it. How he enjoyed still having some bastion of privacy since the kingdom had opened Haven to all the citizens of Britannia. Before that time all of Haven was his sanctuary but now he was forced into a little valley. But it was a quiet home to him at least, having left the care of his estate to servants.

The hermit yawned and began to take another bite out of the ham when a crash sounded through the rattan walls of his hut. A golden katana flashed out from his robes as he went to the crude entryway to see what it was. With a grunt a heavy axe fell mere inches from his nose as he stuck his head out the doorway and the sound of excited orcs found their way to his ears. He leapt out of the hut and spun around, his katana snapping out as he moved and taking the large troll in its forearm, almost completely severing it. The hermit ran about the orcish party nipping at them with his blade as he went. The enraged snarls of the orcs stopped as he slew them one by one and they turned and fled from his hut. He considered himself lucky that the orcs in the area had no shamans, but instead chose to join with ratmen and lizardmen to terrorize the people.

The hermit sheathed his katana and unlimbered his bronze war hammer from his belt side and turn to finish off the troll. As he turned around he brought the hammer up just in time to stop the axe wielded by the troll’s good arm. He swung the hammer at the troll’s knee, shattering its kneecap with a crushing blow. The troll fell to the ground with a loud thud. The hermit brought the hammer up once again to come down on the troll’s neck, killing it instantly.

“Oh, great,” muttered Phoenix,”I’ve gotten blood all over my robe. I’ll have to go wash it in the lake again.” He sighed. Phoenix considered the need for others to live in the valley, and decided he would find someway to bring those like him together again to do their job once again. He decided to start gathering Companions to his cause.





The Hermits of Haven is a new grouping that will consist only of Companions. The purpose of the hermits is to help others, especially the youngs of Haven, but with a new twist: We will live on our own, practically alone, in an area where only youngs and companions can go, doing our best not to interfere with outsiders while living off the land on our own. The resources of the valley in Haven can support a rather large self sufficient group if properly utilized. Those interested should 1. Be a Companion, 2. Be a Companion on Great Lakes, and 3. Should be willing to live without many amenities that one takes for granted (such as banks), 4. Should contact me through the Hermits of Haven website at http://www.paladin-web-design.com/hermit/



Thank you,



Phoenix

Hermit of Haven

This news via Stratics:

Greetings Great Lakes!

The Great Lakes Alliance Community is hosting a huge Craft Fair August 3rd, Saturday 1pm CST. We will hold it in Haven at the bank area. The fair will feature crafters of all types to include blacksmiths, carpenters, tailors, tinkers, bowyers, scribes, alchemists, masons, and glassblowers. If you need anything hammered, sewn, written, repaired whatever come see one of the many grandmaster crafters that will be on hand. As an added bonus the first legendary blacksmith, Bob Vila, will be in person to give a blacksmithing lecture.

How will it work? Show up with resources in hand for the items you wish to be crafted or you may purchase the wares from those peddling their crafts. Anyone that is a self-employed professional is asked to attend the event. Set up a table and let the lines form. Pass out runes to your shop or provide gating service to your favorite business locale. If it is a lesson in a craft you wish to master then pull one of the elder craftsmen to the side and get your teaching.

The event is to have fun and do a little roleplaying of your favorite crafting profession. Come meet other players and make some new friends.

Take Care and God Bless!
www.GreatLakesAlliance.com

I awoke to a noise. A tree tapping on the side of my tower, the wind whistling through my window, the sound of thunder in the distance. But it was none of these that woke me. I opened my eyes slowly, and looked around, I could feel the presence in the room, but could see no one. I spoke the words ‘In Lor’ so I could look into the shadows, yet there was nothing there.

Accustomed to feeling the presence lately, as though someone were watching over me, I quickly got up, and turned to the table where I'd left my pouches. Peculiar. There was a book sitting beside my pouches. Quickly I strode to the table. Not recognizing the book, I opened it to the first page. The words, the writing, they were my own writing, yet I do not remember writing in this book.

After scanning through the pages, I could see it was almost a warning. But from who? How did someone get into my home without me knowing? Why was it my own writing? What was it the writing had said?

'The lands are changing quickly, though some things will always remain the same. To find the answers you seek: '

After this there were names in the book, which I could tell were various libraries, taverns, and homes throughout the lands.

I closed the book, stuffed it in my pouch and spoke the words 'Kal Ort Por', leaving my tower and the presence. Forgetting my plans for the day, I was off to the first name on the list.

Avalon
Death Scourge of Cvn

From Nate Byrd:

I apologize for the short notice of this, but the QfB meeting on Saturday is cancelled. We were not sure what the meeting would be about and I also won't be there to host it, so the meeting altogether wouldn't have served much purpose. Again, I apologize. Thank you.

The next public meeting of the High Council will be Monday the 29th of July at 8pm Central. We will be gathering in Felucca this time, in Serpent's Hold. The meeting will take place in the north east corner of the island in the meeting hall's roof (often used for weddings and receptions).

Look forward to seeing everyone there!

-Dr Jerred Ghyss,
Chancellor of Virtue

Salutus Maximus!

We've had a few weeks off with the lull surrounding publish 16, but now we're back in full swing with a full plate of tasty treats!

1. "Make your friends stop laughing at UO and we will give you a castle!"

Yep, they will.. maybe, you can check out the Ultima Online Buddy Program If you want to try to win a castle. All you have to do is convince a friend or two to join Ultima Online! Neat, huh? You guys are lucky though that I know a little trick to "sweepstakes". By law, they have to let you enter without a purchase. Check this out, a quote from the rules page:

You may also enter by submitting your user/screen name, email address, and date of birth to castlecontest@uo.com. No other methods of entry will be accepted. Each eligible entry will be considered a separate entry. You may be entered multiple times but are only eligible to win one prize.

(and later on)

3. Eligibility. This Program is only open to residents of the 50 United States and the District of Columbia who are 13 years of age or older at time of entry. Winners must have an active UO account to receive Prize. Employees of Origin Systems, Inc., Electronic Arts Inc., and their respective affiliates, subsidiaries, representatives, advertising, promotion and publicity agencies and the immediate families of each are not eligible.

You want to win? go download ezmacros, turn on the record button, write an e-mail with the required into, then send it. Now all you do is set it to play 99999 times, and go to bed/work/whatever. Wow!

Then again, you could probably win the lottery if you bought like 11 million tickets. Heres the catch: sure, you might win a castle, but you have no control over what shard it's on. bummer!

2. "Oops, I Fertberted"

As if you didn't already have enough Dev Team members to kick around, now you got one more!

I'm the new server programmer. I work in C++ on various flavors of UNIX constructing the basic building blocks of the UO code base. Most of what the server programmers do isn't directly seen by the players -- a recent exception being the Publish 16 housing changes. Much of what we work on are new features that the designers need in order to be able to script new gameplay, and that the client programmers need in order to improve the user interface.

Yeah, his name is FertBert! This ones straight from UO.com Honest!

3. "Almost nobody likes pub16, Quick! Do something popular!"

"Okay, How about Stat Locks?" Hard to get any argument from anyone regarding Stat Locks.. people have wanted them ever since the skill lock was invented. Supposedly theyre coming "next week".. an estimate somewhat more specific than "sometime".

4. Beat stuff up, get.. to beat up more stuff?

Thats the idea behind the System of Valor. Yep, if you kill enough monsters at a chamopin spawn, you can use your special Valor Powers to activate an inactive champion spawn. Judging from spending 2 minutes at a champion spawn, this means that all champion spawns will be active all the time! Of course, the document isnt too detailed yet, so who knows?

5. "I loved the controversy of Pub16, can I please get that as a vet reward?"

Yes! The New 4 and 5 year vet rewards have been announced. Say goodbye to decoration kits, say hello to etherial ki-rins and swamp dragons! If youre lucky enough, you might just say hello to an extra 20 points of skill cap.

6. Just in case you didnt notice pub16...

OSI's done a nice little Review for you. Maybe now I can figure out what the heck a Fire Horn does.. maybe not.

7. My little FLAMING PONY!

I don't usually cover UO.com's spotlight section because it usually a story about some guy learning that a Pitchfork is a fencing weapon. This week's caught my eye though.. Behold!
Aside from wanting to be a fairy princess, owning Barbie dolls, and cooking pastry with a lightbulb.. All little girls want ponies. Its no secret. What OSI has done here is upped the ante, theyve analyzed the "girls want ponies" gene and made a calculated effort to exploit it in adult women. That's right! The fire pony is carefully calculated to make women go nuts and want one!

In related news, I have 50 gallons of leftover neon orange paint. All you guys having trouble getting dates send me an e-mail, and you can paint yourself.. the women will go for it.. trust me!

8. Thieves, you cant be uber yet, sorry

So sayeth Greywolfe:

It is true that stealth and stealing scrolls have not been added to the game. It is possible that stealth might be added in the future; we are looking at balance issues that the addition might have. Stealing scrolls are not possible at this time, due to the way that stealing is coded. Although adding the scrolls for stealing would have an effect on the thief's title, there would be no difference between what a GM thief and a Legendary thief could steal. We're looking at possible fixes for this issue, but it's not something that will be changed in the very near future.

9. Looking like a fish might be sooner than you think!

This one borrowed from UO Stratics:
Some of you might remember when they announced that you could look like a fish if you wanted to.. it was some time ago, before the last scenario even started. Well, dont fret, your new fish suit is still on its way according to Tajima.

Dont like fish? You can also look like a Disney Character or a guy that has to pee.

10. Better start saving that $30 now!

Age of Shadows is coming!
What is Age of Shadows?
Its the next UO expansion!
Why should you buy it?
Because you can design your own house!
What does this mean?
There will be thousands of poorly-designed neon-colored houses all over Britannia!

SCORE!

Thats about all I have for this week folks. Remember: Never write a TDU when you have been up for 22 hours straight!

From Damon Omenborn:

‘Come on lads’, Damon Omenborn shouted in the rain. ‘The city’s not far now’. Visible through the rain was a small band of dwarves. Burdened with heavy packs on their backs, following their leader, Lord Damon Omenborn, they continued on the path sloping up a small hillside. Through the rainy fog, a faint silhouette was visible in the distance. ‘Look lads! There it is. Can’t ya smell all that loot just waiting for us?’ a few of the dwarves cheered, the others grumbled something as they looked out from beneath their cloaks and stumbled on up the muddy road. Water washed around their boots as they marched on and left deep footprints in the ground. Soon, the prints were all washed away and nothing remained of the passing dwarves. Keran Blackstone looked up to where Damon had pointed a minute ago and what he saw did not raise a smile on his face. How did he ever get himself in to this? At first everything seemed interesting, but now this whole thing meant nothing more than another scar on his face. Silently he moved on. The rain seemed to increase the weight of the pack strapped on his back. It was probably soaking up the rain like a dry acre soaking up the first rain of the fall. He wondered if all the others were feeling this to. After a few hours marching they took a short rest under a few blackened tree stumps. The rain had cleared but for how long. The trees weren’t going to provide any kind of shelter and all they had to sit on were a few knocked down trees and a few wet rocks popping out of the ground. All of the dwarves were soaked to the bone and a few wringed their beards, hoping to get the water out. Another few were getting some rations from their packs and others were looking if there was anything the rain hadn’t soaked. ‘Well look at that lads. Were almost there. Tomorrow and we’ll be fingering that precious verite ore’ Kadrin laughed. ‘We’ll get stinking rich!’ he bellowed. The others looked out from beneath their brows and a few managed to grin faintly. The thought of getting their hands on some of that precious rock did seem good to them. And it would make them stinking rich. And then there was the thought of the gold from slaying all those fell beast that was sure to cross their path. Keran Blackstone had heard about the stories told by other adventurers who had dared to venture near Lord Blackthorns Castle and managed to get out again, that once you had passed the walls of the damned castle. Infesting the castle like so many rats, are the evil Juka, Juggernauts, Betrayers, and even Controllers. Only the brave and some would say foolish, dare risk this journey. But Keran gripped his crossbow with both hands and cranked the string. ‘What ya doing lad?’ Snorri asked. ‘Your not going to shoot at us are ya?’ he laughed. Keran hadn’t realized what he’d been doing, but quickly released the pressure and looked around. He wondered how long his mind had been away. ‘S-sorry’ he stuttered. Snorri laughed loud. Keran was shocked, thinking that anyone inside the city could hear him and knew it didn’t matter to the half mad Dwarf Slayer they were seeking death and what did it matter it him if here was the place to die. All these dark thought filled him with fear, but then he remembered what the old slayer had said to him. “Don’t worry lad,” Snorri had said, “Snorri not let anyone lay a hand on you if I can have something to say about it.” These words calmed the young dwarf and he managed to shut his eyes for a while. ‘Come on lad, wake up’ Snorri shouted at Keran as he pushed the dwarf over with his foot, another dwarf approached from the mist. “Do you mind keeping your voice down, who knows what’s hiding in this fog. There’s no honor about getting killed in an ambush.” Keran woke with a shock. He looked around but all he could see were Snorri standing next to him and that other dwarf, Durak, or something, just within sight range. ‘Where is everybody?’ Keran said standing up. “Everybody” Snorri said, is waiting for you! Your snoring kept all of us awake and since we couldn’t shut you up without killing you, we decided to move on. So how’s about it, are ya coming?” “ how long has this been going on and how old is he” asked Jerem as he slung a pack on his back and moved on, Keran quickly grabbed his things and with one last look around, followed after Jerem. A few yards ahead were the others but he could only see them if they were standing next to him. ‘Ya can barely see your own hand in front a’ your face!’ Mistral said as Keran came standing next to him. The thought of being ambushed in a fog like this one always discouraged Keran and he was sure there was evil around in the area, especially so close to the castle. Without a word the company moved on. Up front there were Damon and Jerem, the Dwarf ranger. Behind them were two Ironbreakers fingering their great hammers and peering out into the fog. Behind them walked Snorri and Gotrek with their magic axes over their shoulders and talking. They showed no sign of any fear, what did you expect of slayers. Then came Keran and Durak, peering into the mist as well and fingering their weapons while behind them a single dwarf was with the packhorse’s guarding the rear. They marched on and on for several hours and Keran was wondering if the fog wasn’t leading them away from the city, although that thought somehow didn’t displease him. But then another thought came to mind. If they weren’t going towards the city, where were they going? Snorri looked at him for a short while, as if he could read the dwarf’s mind, and then peered back into the mist again. Although it was a summer’s day and it should be about three o’clock in the afternoon, things were as dark as a mine without torches. Back home everyone would be working in the mines or in the fields with the goats, but here they were marching through a fog as thick as a brick wall, heading towards a evil stricken castle filled with treasure and evil monsters guarding it. Keran had never seen a Juka before but the descriptions that the old man in the tavern had given them was more than he wanted to know. He just hoped this was over soon. Finally they stopped. The fog had cleared up a bit about an hour ago, but Keran still didn’t feel right. Damon spoke: “all Right laddies, Jerem here says we should be in the castle in about an hour, maybe two. If we get there we should all keep our eyes out for baddies. We have a lot of verite ore to carry, and I don’t want to carry any of your corpses too, all right?’ he said. The dwarves looked at him with a sincere face. Lord Damon laughed out loud. The other dwarfs let out a short laugh, hardly worth mentioning and Damon continued. ‘Right then. If we’re to believe crazy old Azgul, the castle should be swarming with Juka’s. I don’t know if any of you’ve ever seen Juka before, but if they pop up, don’t worry. A good firm blow to their necks should remove their heads and, if they survive, they’ll not be bothering us again. Right then, any questions? No, then lets get going,” He turned around and walked on again, followed by Jerem and the others. ‘Do you think we’ll be running into those Juka in there?’ Durak asked. ‘Don’t know’, Keran said, too busy with his own thoughts. ‘I hope not, but then again, the practice do us good.’ Durak continued. He spoke all the way until the castle walls appeared within sight and all the dwarves fell silent and looked up with open mouths. They stared at its magnificent walls. ”I heard this castle just appeared from out a no where.” Dillon finally said. ”Well, if it did, there’s not much left to show what was here”, one of the Ironbreakers said. It was Ultan, and he hadn’t said a word all day. ”I wonder what’ll be waiting fur us inside.” Dillon said as he came up from behind. Damon checked his crossbow and made a practice aim. Snorri gripped his axe and seemed happy of sorts. He made a practice swing through the air and Jerem gripped his quarterstaff with both hands. Gotrek got his axe from his belt and the Ironbreakers shifted their hammers too. Keran check the war mace on his belt and moved his quarrel of bolts from his back to the front of his belt.. ‘Let’s get moving then’ Damon led ahead towards the castle. The road led them over a huge arched bridge, which foundations stood deep in the river that flowed under it. The end of the pillars disappeared in the fog deep below. It was an eerie fog. The bridge was a few hundred yards wide and the Dwarves moved cautiously over it, as if it was able to shift and fall any minute, but the bridge could have held another thousand over their number, so their caution was quite unnecessary. The great walls of the castle were filled with holes, probably struck by catapults of armies that had been her before. As they moved under its gate Keran did get the feeling he was being watched. Cautious he searched the walls, looking for anyone who was looking at him! He granted the others a quick view and he saw that they were examination the walls too. Slowly the company walked through the ruined gate. One of the two great doors was lying halfway into the ground and the second was hanging on its last hinge. Keran looked at it and realized that the hinge itself was three times larger than he was. He wondered how they ever found a tree large enough to make that door out of, not to mention two! Within the walls itself there seemed to be chambers. Whole stairways could be seen disappearing into the walls. ‘If this is only the beginning’, Keran thought, ‘I wonder how the rest of castle will look like’. The Dwarf’s moved on only slowly, because they were staring at the workings carved in the castle walls. Keran was looking high up over his head and suddenly he thought he saw something move. ‘Lads’, he whispered without turning his head, ‘Lads, look. Up there!’ He nodded in the direction he was looking. ‘What is it?’ Durak asked. ‘Do you think its Juka’s?’ He asked as he was standing next to the young Dwarf. ‘Don’t know I didn’t get a clear sight. It moved to fast. But there’s something there. I’m sure!’ The tone he said it with made the other dwarves shiver. ‘I suggest we move on quickly’, one of the Ironbreakers said as he looked up. The other dwarves only nodded their hairy heads. ‘I bet there’s lot of verite ore up there though’, Durak said with a greedy glint in his eyes. His eyes always glinted like that when he spoke of verite ore. ‘Yes, and I bet you there’s lots of death too!’ Snorri said. Keran could see what Snorri was thinking. Without a word the company took up their pace, cautiously looking for anything they might see up in the walls. The halls before them were filled with rubble and white bones. Bones of stupid adventurers who thought they could get in and out quickly, without getting into trouble. Now the dwarves were hoping for getting in and out without getting into trouble too, but they weren’t counting on it. Keran kept both hand on his crossbow at all times and the Ironbreakers held their hammers in their hand constantly. They moved in and out of ruined rooms all the time. Sometimes they didn’t even know they were in a room until they encountered a front door leading out. And everywhere they went were bones, some of humans and others of unknown origin. At first the dwarves were shocked to see so many dead bodies but after a while they forgot to care about it. They hadn’t encountered anything alive, except for a few small rats scuttling away as they approached, and a few black crows looking for carrion amongst the ruins. All flew away as the dwarves came closer. But the thing that puzzled the dwarves minds the most was that everywhere they found a corpse, there wasn’t a shred of Armour or weapon left. All they found were broken arrows and massive charred wounds covering the corpses. They had spent the entire afternoon searching the castle, and yet they’d only seen a very small part of the entire palace. ‘Some thing about this place spooks me’ Damon after they stumbled across another ‘naked’ corpse. ‘Who’s taking the weapons off of these bodies. I don’t think anyone is stupid enough to enter with out even a dagger to defend themselves.’ And as he finished his sentence, a spear came whistling through the air and struck into a wooden doorway. The dwarves as one aimed their crossbows into the direction from where the spear was thrown, but nothing could be seen. Nervously Keran cranked his crossbow and placed a bolt in the firing slide. ‘All right lads, prepare for company’, Damon said as he crept on alone towards the place where the spear had been thrown from. The others followed him at a few paces. Tension was wrecking the Dwarf’s minds, except for the Slayers, who didn’t fear death; Damon had been in tougher situations, and Gotrek was excited to get into a fight. ‘Come on then, show yourselves’ he bellowed and immediately three large Juka’s leapt out of one of the rooms chittering in their foul kind of language and clutching their weapons. One was armed with huge claws made of iron and tied on to his hands, (if hands they were). The castle echoed with the clash of bolts on metal from the crossbows as two of three Juka’s were struck down by dwarves bows. The third jumped up into the air and straight for Damon, but the dwarf smacked the Juka in mid air with back of his crossbow, sending the Juka flying back into the ruined room. It didn’t get up again… To be continued

Next on 'When 13 Year Olds Attack'!
He was just a small boy, from a small town. A star football player, no one would have figured something like this could happen.

Crying Woman: "It's so horrible, I can't believe he did it! Oh my god! Oh my god!"

Old Man shaking his head: "Just a shame, a damn rotten shame."


What happened? Another 13 year turned violent, a violence that would only end a killing spree.


Ok, enough ripping off the lame FOX shows directed towards the red-neckism in all of us.

Nick was right, we witnessed history. We witnessed someone totally self-destruct and try to drag down the rest of the community with him in a temper tantrem. Then, when it seems as if the community is unphased and ready to move on, they get mad and go on a massive non-rp killing spree.

How many ways can you spell attention problem? I mean, come on, putting yourself as King is one way to get the spotlight, but then trying to trash the QfB page, then trying to PK the roleplaying community?

Since you don't want to be a part of the roleplaying community anymore, I'll treat you like the dewds you are. I was a dewd for three years, so I will put things in perspective for you, while giving you the dewd grief talk you give.

Dovolick (2:11 PM) :
frankly, i think its best that the QfB was halted.
it turned into a place, where the board was full of nothing but hate. i mean, all the incoming threads were bitter. i even found myself cought in the game. His ICQ is filled with hate mail. wouldnt you leave?

Yea, thats nice for you pal. I am glad to hear your little heart is broken. I am crying, no really, I am shedding a tear for all the sins of the world. I think god just killed a kitten, so sad.

Sorry, did you bother to think about us? The community. Yeah, big daddy started the community, but then again, he turned over the keys to that ferrari to us. When he gave us the keys, it was no longer his. It wasn't his decision to 'kill' QfB. Or did big daddy forget that?

So much for him stepping out of the way...

r0xxx0red

From Marcus

I took down this site, and the message boards for the community for many reasons. Undoubtedly many of you will feel that I should not have done so, and that somehow, that too was wrong of me. The difference this time, is that I won't have to listen to it, or be compelled to answer the charges.


You know, I remember when I told you that I wasn't posting ToM news when it was interferring with my quest, you turned and said, "Who made you god?"

Well Marcus, this was not your decision. This would have been a decision of ours. QfB should have taken all your mod powers and put up their own page before this to avoid your little temper tantrem. But yet again, I, as well as other QfB members, was hoping you might not pull a shit stunt like you did with RKB. But you made a decision for all of us by trying to kill QfB.

Who made you god Marcus?

j00 suck!

Yes.... This has come to my attention as well...Let it be known from this day forward the First Army Of Britannia and their hired mercenaries will not longer be considered allies to the Ankh. They were seen attacking an enemy guild in a dungeon and griefing their play, also have been seen trash talking and OOC kewl dood speak all over the world, including their hometown of Skara.

Geez, now you are running around res killing people? What the hell? People move on without you, now you are pissed and start trying to ruin their fun? Talk about childish. I am starting to wonder if big daddy is 13 years old too.

Is it just me that is noticing a bunch of little kewl dewds mad cause 'their' sandbox doesn't want them to play in it anymore?

Their solution? Screw roleplaying, screw war rules, lets just kill for the fun of it.

l0s3r5

But you see, alot of us here in the roleplaying community don't like it when you try to pick on us. Some of us, people like Zand of ToM, go and whoop the asses of little pricks that try to screw over the rp community.

What happens when you mess with us?

This





0wn3d



Say 'farewell' to Marcus here.

Hail Readers!

The Herald Banner Exchange has 107 organizations on it, many of which are not active. On August 1 I will be going around to the various sites represented and checking for appropriate coding, etc. I will also be removing inactive or defunct guilds which no longer exist from the rotation.

Those of you who have signed up for the exchange, but your banner is not in rotaton, please mail me and I will tell you what you need to do to get it fixed.

Thanks!
--Nick

From Lealla:

Well Folks the rumors are true The QfB message boards and main site have been deleted. Does that mean the end of the QfB? A resounding Hell no! was heard throughout the lands.. As my grandmother always said." One door shuts in front of you, open a window" New message boards and a New QfB web site will be up and operational soon! So stay tuned folks.. together we shall overcome! There will be a meeting Tomorrow evening at 9pm central for all QfB Gm's or their Representative. We will gather at the Serpent's Hold Councillor's Hall and then gate to the meeting location. We ask that each guild to please send only one representative.

I dont know if this counters the other meeting, or what the deal is what that. I suppose some confusion is to be expected after their ordeal.

This information taken from "The Kings Castle" site:

I wish you all well. I hope that somehow, in the future, someone will come to Great Lakes that can bring about real change. I am not that man, and will no longer walk this shard. I have made many friends here, and to them I bid a fond farewell.

I took down this site, and the message boards for the community for many reasons. Undoubtedly many of you will feel that I should not have done so, and that somehow, that too was wrong of me. The difference this time, is that I won't have to listen to it, or be compelled to answer the charges.

I removed the forum and the site because I strongly feel that what I founded here has done more harm than good. Many will now say, 'I told you so', and in fact they did. I chose not to listen because I have a naive faith in humanity. I was wrong. While there are good people among us who strive for the betterment of all, we also have detractors in our midst who will stop at nothing until all is lost.

For that reason, I have removed their voice, or at least the medium I created myself. It is my feeling that our only defense against their treachery is to not allow them a public forum to spread their poison. I built a stage upon which they stood and tainted us all. I apologize to you all for that gross error in judgment.

Be well my friends. Try not to listen to negative. Try not to be offended or distracted by attacks on your character, for they will surely come again. Ignore them if you can, and take your light to those who would appreciate it. Be well, ....enjoy.

Marcus

From Nate Byrd:

Quest for Britannia had recently gone through hard times... many know this.. This post is for all of the guildmasters that were involved with QfB. Lealla, Destiny, Lore Dennin, Lady Lust and I will be hosting a meeting SATURDAY, JULY 27TH at the SERPENTS HOLD COUNSELOR'S GUILD at 8 PM CST. This will be to discuss the future of QfB, as we know we can make it through these difficult times. Our pigeons are as follows - Lore Denin (96629882), Destiny (98868633), Lealla (46628339), Lady Lust (153898470) and Nate Byrd (1743120). Thank you for yer time!

Sometime during the first of May, there was a new roleplay community on the scene. They popped up beginning with Rath Stonesouls bid for king. It's leader, Marcus provided a webpage and forums for its members. It seems though that from the start "The Quest" was cursed.

Perhaps one of the more public problems the Quest encountered was the frustrations of Rath Stonesoul. Rath found himself caught in the middle of a sea of politics, he quickly burned out and quit UO altogether. The exact details of how and why Rath quit I leave to the rumor mill.

Another problem the Quest faced was a constant, droning adversary. Most people who didn't join QfB had very passionate opinions why they thought QfB was a bad idea. Some of these people went so far as to carry on personal attacks vs QfB founders and bigwigs. The founders and bigwigs tired of the constant barrage and resigned.

Not all of the dirision same from without, some came from the QfB's own members. It's no secret that many times people do not agree, and it is also common for these persons to express their opinions passionately, and sometimes scathingly.

Despite the vexing which QfB seemed stuck with, QfB did do some good. It brought together roleplayers of many different creeds. It encouraged those people with those creeds to work together.. and work together they did, for a time. They even managed to work out specific war rules, and siege systems. An impressive accomplishment.

Our own history has a similar parable: The story of the Tower of Babel. Long ago, men spoke the same language, and so they were united. They determined to build a tower which would reach into Heaven so that they could meet God. God destroyed the tower, and changed their languages so that they could never again collaborate on such a project. The moral being that doing the right thing for the wrong reasons will never allow you to succeed.

This Morning, the Quest for Britannia's forums disappeared, and one can only assume that with Marcus recently killing himself that he pulling out from the whole project. The future of QfB is certainly in peril.

We dont often post guest rants, but here is an exception to the rule. They say that knowledge is power, so please avail yourself of this opportunity to gain knowledge.

Hi.. I've never ranted before here, please be gentle with me. In fact, I think I'm a rant virgin, but here goes..

RIGHT! I have a few things to say, here. Firstly, there's some things in UO with regards to roleplaying that you can and cannot do. And it's not about physically being unable to do it, it's about being ethical in your roleplaying. What am I talking about? Well, I'll explain it:

1. You can't claim or roleplay something if it is incapable of being done or if it relies on another character you aren't in cooperation with. When this rule is broken, I call it Arbitrary Roleplaying. Let me give some examples:
A. You can't roleplay having a special power that allows you to fly. I'm sorry, but you just can't fly in UO, how can you roleplay it?
B. You can't roleplaying having a special sword that steals another player's soul when you hit them with it. If it was part of a quest, and the player you're hitting was PLAYING ALONG, then sure. But it's not possible to just go around hitting people with your sword and expect them to play along.
C. AHEM -- you cannot write up a letter from Lord British and give it to yourself and then say to the rp community "Hey guys, guess what? Lord British just gave me a letter saying I'm king!". There's some little guidelines you have to go by here. That's like writing myself a letter from Origin saying that I now have the power to ban people and anyone I say is banned shouldn't log in again.. even though they still can.

2. You cannot put words in to other people's mouth. Such as, I dunno, prime fiction characters. Let me give an example:
A. Writing yourself a letter from Lord British saying you're the new King. What if Origin places new Kings on each of the servers, appointed in a scenario? Suddenly, your story line is contridicted. What if Lord British comes back? Suddenly, your story line is contridicted. And LB is a real person, unfortunately. I doubt he would approve of someone writing a letter from him.

3. If you're going to do an event, make sure you give it some forethought. Let me give an example:
A. Say you've just pushed a player character to be the new King of Britannia and then have him kill himself. Here are some things to keep in mind when the body is discovered:
a. You can't discover the body if the person who died is in a locked room with the only key on his possession
b. if you do accidently do that, don't turn around and decide that the guard who discovered the body had a key after all
c. then after that, don't change your mind again and say that there are three keys
d. Then AFTER THAT, don't turn around and decide that the body isn't even IN the locked room; it is instead upstairs on a table
c. When your event comes to the point where the players need to see the body, try to have something to represent the body. Such as a pile of bones or some body parts. Don't just say the body is a table.

*loses his rant virginity*

Oh.. it feels so Gooooood!


-Redlow

Tell Redlow he sucks here!

My humblest apologies to everyone, but a serious issue has arisen in real life, and as such, tomorrow will not be conducive to a meeting. Instead, I am moving the date forward one week to next Tuesday evening at 8:00 PM CST at the Magincia Parliament building on the southeast corner of the isle (Trammel Facet). Again, I apologize for the short notice, but this was entirely unexpected.

Thank you,


Ra'Dian's player

From Dusty:

About a year ago, the Great Lakes Player Seer Organization hosted a faire at the Skara Brae fairgrounds. The faire was a huge success thanks to the many guilds that participated. It is a year later and we wish to do it again. The faire is planned for August 24th at the Skara Brae fairgrounds. We hope that this year’s faire is even bigger. This is why we are asking any guild, organization, or player establishment that would like to participate e-mail me at Dusty_54665@hotmail.com. We are in need of one-time events that would take place at a specific time, and events that go on all day long. Thank you for your support.

Hallu everyone!

You might notice the rant icon to the right side there, and then you notice my name on the headline and say "woah, Nicks ranting!" Well, sort of. This is probably the only time I will ever use the rant icon, so I suppose you could consider this to be a once-in-a-lifetime event.. but, I am not here to rant, I am here to make a very important request of all of you readers out there in.. er.. readerland.

You, the roleplaying community of Great Lakes, are about to experience history in the making. For those of you who have been around for awhile, you will experience history repeating itself.

So, this I ask of you.. young or old, good or evil, veteran or newbie.. pay attention, remember what happens, why it happens, and how it happens. In the future, this information will prove to be invaluable to you.

Thanks for reading, folks. Enough of that ranting baloney, back to the news!

Just a very brief annoucement...

The next public meeting of the High Council will be held Monday, July 22nd at 8pm CST in the parliment building in Magincia, Trammel. Look forward to seeing everyone there!


-Dr. Jerred Ghyss
Chancellor of Virtue, High Council

A press release direct from the Electronic Arts:

ORIGIN SYSTEMS ANNOUNCES DEVELOPMENT OF
ULTIMA ONLINE AGE OF SHADOWS

For the First Time, UO Players Will Be Able to Design and Build Their Own Houses


AUSTIN, Texas, July 16, 2002 -- Origin Systems™, an Electronic Arts (NASDAQ: ERTS) development studio, today announced the development of Ultima Online™ Age of Shadows, the most ambitious expansion in the award-winning Ultima Online™ (UO) series. In Age of Shadows, fans will be introduced to two new professions and an exciting new realm to explore and settle. In addition to the expanded availability of housing, a 'House Design Tool' will also be included in this latest version.

"Housing has been one of the key features of UO since its launch in 1997, "said Ben Noel, vice president and chief operating officer of Origin Systems. "We are continuously looking for ways to improve and expand the fun factor of owning a home in Britannia. Not only will Age of Shadows create more housing availability, but the new custom-design feature will allow all our players much more creativity when building a house."

The immersive nature of Ultima Online's world continues to expand through the introduction of the House Design Tool. This tool, accessible to anyone who owns a house within the game, will allow players to build new houses from scratch or modify existing ones with compelling new structures, spatial elements and textures.

In addition to building homes, players will have two new professions to master: a Paladin and a Necromancer. The chivalrous Paladin is a courageous warrior fortified with awesome new powers and the cunning Necromancer is wielder of the darkest magic and forbidden secrets. As players role-play either of these two opposing forces they will discover a large new landmass to conquer and to settle.

As players explore this new area within the game, they will be able to utilize an enhanced magic system featuring new spells and powerful items. Additionally, new combat techniques and weapons add more depth and challenge to the fighting experience, and will be useful when facing the dozens of new monsters roaming the dark realm.

Age of Shadows will debut in early 2003 and will offer continuing new intrigue through ongoing fictional scenarios in which players often determine the outcome.

Ultima Online has 225,000 subscribers and is played in more than 50 countries located in every time zone.

What do you think?

From Gem:

The stinky, friendly fishers of the Fishing Council of Britannia (FCB) have a public service for the citizens of Great Lakes. We have established a fleet of free ferries throughout the realm. Our stalwart new boatswains, Hunter and Alex, will be maintaining a free ferry for public use in each of the following Trammel towns: Britain, Maginica, Moonglow, Vesper, Skara Brae, Trinsic, and Minoc. Look for our ships at the docks (the plank will be down) in these fine communities. The Minoc boat will be west of Town Hall. Our swains will keep the boats refreshed, and sail them back to home port as needed. Use these sailing vessels for improving your fishing, taking your date out for a Sunday sail, or just to learn the allure of the sea. Please leave a note in the book in the hold and let us know if you enjoyed it.

Hail all citizens of the city of Magincia, and all who hold interest therein!

This coming Tuesday, July 23 at 8:00PM (CST), I wish to meet with those who are interested in the future of Magincia. The town meeting shall take place in the parliamentary building on the southeast edge of the isle. The topics of discussion are to include:

What issues, if any, you would like to see addressed to the High Council?
What can we do to bring interest to Magincia (such as craft fairs, treasure hunts, and other such events)?
What else would you like to see happening in Magincia?

I take my role as Councilor of Magincia seriously, and would like to see an increase in the trade and economic stature of the city, as well as see some interest returned to this fine isle. Any who are interested in such, I beg of thee to attend, that we might work together towards our common goals.

Yours in humility,


Ra'Dian Fl'Gith
Councilor of Magincia, City of Humility
Priest of the Azure Dragons

From Jasmine and Dark Fool:

Stars glistened in the night sky like diamonds on a bed of velvet, as two young lovers strolled through the lush green fields of Haven. A gentle breeze whispered sweet nothings through the boughs of the ancient trees adding to the hushed beauty. He turned to gently kiss her, taking her hand he dropped to one knee. Staring lovingly into her eyes he asked her to forever bind her heart to his. With a tear of joy sliding down her cheek she replied yes.

Congratulations to Dark Fool and Jasmine!!!

No wedding date has been set.

From Zeph:

Unlike many of my former notices this note is not calling the people to action. The people of Britannia have lost their will to speak and act for themselves. The desire to change the land, to shape it into something great is there but they do not show it. I even lost my will to encourage people to stand up and fight for what they beleive. The people are the soul of Britannia. We talk of Lord British being the shaper of Britannia and of Virtue. Where would he have gone should the people not been there to support him? I hear people say that a people cannot exsist without leadership. Leadership also cannot exsist without a people. My point is simple, the High Council does not lead the people. The people lead themselves now, one defined Lord cannot cut it as it was shown. The Council had potential but now they too have failed. If this land is to have a defined leadership they must capture the hearts of the people. I will say this again, those who are labeled Rebels and traitors are for the most part agreeing with what I have wrote. As long as people blindly follow this Council freedom will never be truly attained. The cold fact is that the people have lost their voices. Millions of people are silenced because of lies, time, and propaganda. Please note that is is not a call to action but a call to the closed hearts of the people. Speak up on behalf of the people, of you and the ones you love.

Another hasitly scrawled note that indicates anger towards the newly elected High Council of Britannia. As one of the Councilors upon this new Council, I must wonder wherein this hostility lies. I knew in volunteering to serve the public in the name of Britannia that I would be subjecting myself to dangers and diplomatic problems and all other sorts of unusual events. We have been threatened by the Atalan, the Bregan D'Aerth have had issue with us (which is still under investigation), bandits, rogues, and rebels have all begun to form their own councils for fear that we would not give them their desired ear. True that bandits and rogues, if committing crimes against innocents, would not likely receive our ear as they would like, but even so, a council formed of bandits is not going to be recognized by innocents either without much prestidigitation.

Now we face an unknown. Who is here for reasons that we do not know. And he or she is angry. Angry at us because we are... old?

Maybe I've missed some of the activities of the other councilors, or perhaps I am blinded by my own faith, but I am certain that my ear is open to those who would like to avail themselves of it. We cannot work to correct issues if we are not made aware of them. There are a number of councilors, elected as a body because we would have differing opinions and differing ideas. If you have issue with one councilor, your best bet would be to approach another.

In with the old and out with the new... sometimes a valid cry; sometimes the old guard is jaded and corrupt. If such is the case, then change should be made. I do not believe such is the case currently, particularly as the council is itself not very old, and just begun rolling forth.

All of this said, I welcome anyone who would like to contact me to send me letter ((to radian@alterythem.com)) or to visit me at the Temple of Nexchronosis in Dracona. I will also soon be announcing regular hours that I may be found within the city of Magincia. All of this failing, you may post upon the bulletin board of the High Council, and seek audience.

I would much rather discuss what issues that people may have and work to correct them than to face another threat of war or expulsion or execution for being a representative of Britannia. Together we can affect great changes and great events. Continued threats to the High Council do nothing but show us that we must work harder, but without knowing what is at issue, we cannot correct anything.

Thank you,


Ra'Dian Fl'Gith
Councilor of Magincia, City of Humility
High Priest of the Azure Dragons

*a scratchy note was found signed by ???*



You people don't even know who I am or why Im here. The Old has to go and the New has to step up to the plate. The guys and me, were not the bad guys. Were not evil, were not demon worshiping wackos. Were just a little ticked off. Ticked off at this Council or whatever you call it. The Rebels well all I can say about them is that theyre a Joke. Sure you will all calls us rebels when the time arrives. Quite frankly we don't care what you think! Not only are we going to take over Britannia but were going to destroy everything that gets in our way! The new order is coming, be afraid... be very very afraid.

The second public meeting of the newly formed High Council brought startling news of the good and bad ilk. However, before I get to the potentially dreadful news, I'd first like to take a moment to thank the Brother Hood of Light for their valiant rescue of Vesper's council member, Lilly Than. You have our most sincere thanks.

As for the startling revelations.. After some general discussion about open positions in the council and voting soon to take place, information on the once-dead Basil Stag Hare was presented before the council.

What the council knows:
-Rumors almost certainly true are abound that Basil Stag Hare is alive once more
-A seer named Thanos confirmed that Basil's spirit was not among the dead
-The two reagents needed to ressurect Basil were in possession by Ariyana Sune

Despite this jaw-dropping, forboding news (although, the arguement was made that Basil could have been changed for the better by his time in the world of the dead), some good news was also presented. It would appear that one of the last - if not the last - Dragon Knight, EdGuardo, could perhaps be alive once more again as well. Which certainly brought the light of hope to a meeting otherwise filled with dread.

More was brought up as well, such as a supposedly authentic letter from Lord British appointing an heir to the throne.

The discussion will, of course, likely be continued again during the next public meeting. All are welcome to attend. Announcements regarding the meeting will be made soon.

-Doctor Jerred Ghyss,
Chancellor of Virtue of the High Council

I guess its part of moving up in the world of journalism. You make some noise at the lower levels by being a loud mouth, then you move up to where they actually expect you to be respectful.

So if you didn't know already, Stratics hired me to write articles for the World of Warcraft site. Ultima Online is still the greatest game out there, and I think the Herald is the best site there can be for giving roleplaying news to the community. Yet the fact is, eventually we are all going to leave UO.

Does this mean I am leaving the Herald or UO? No. So you can stop dancing Lotus, really, put yourself back in your chair and stop dancing.

I am still going to be here, giving my wicked and cruel view on the community of Great Lakes, but I will also now be writing at Stratics.

What kinda articles am I going to be writing for Stratics? Ones that apply more to game mechanics and what would be better for us, the players. I won't be able to drop any f-bombs or stuff like that, so my articles will be tamer. Yet at the same time, I really think I've taken the quality of them up a notch.

I'll give you a brief quote from it.

Take that chill and turn it into something that would scare us in a MMORPG. Let’s go back to the part of only being able to see six feet in front of our faces with a torch. Add the breathing and subtle heart beat of a dragon to the sounds that surround us. If possible, give it an echo effect that travels down the dungeon hall. Now the man next to us starts chattering about how the last person he heard that came down here got swallowed whole, all valuables were lost. Maybe they are now in the belly of the dragon? Now I am starting to get that thrill. Do I want to turn back and save my precious weapons and armor? Or, do I want to forge ahead for riches and glory?

You can read the entire article here. It is called 'Will We Find Adventure'.

If you want to comment on the article, go here.

I hope you all feel the same way about finding that sense of adventure in a MMORPG.

Via Stratics:

On July 20th at 1pm by the Eastern sky, the Carnival of Souls will be hosting our first PvP event! It's a throwback to the games of ancient Rome with the improvised gladiator games! Below are the rules and guidelines for all competitors... Anyone interested in competing should meet on the road in front of the East Britain bank at the designated time.

RULES:
1) There is an entrance fee of 5000 gp for this event with all monies going towards 1-3rd place prizes PLUS various other prizes thrown in as well!
2) All competitors will join Carnival of Souls PvP guildstone for this event. All competitors will be removed from the guild stone as soon as the event is over.
3) ALL competitors will begin the competition wearing only a loin cloth!
4) ALL competitors will begin with NOTHING in their backpacks EXCEPT a spellbook (Not even a Runebook will be allowed). We will have several folk on hand who will check everyone's packs to ensure everyone is on the up and up.
5) Pets of ANY type will NOT be allowed. This includes MOUNTS of all types, including ethereal mounts! However, if there are animals in the arena you may tame them and use them!!
6) Poison will be allowed IF you are able to acquire the necessary items to make them with once the competition has begun.
7) All competitors will meet at the East Bank in Britain 60 minutes before the competition begins and must pay your entry fee at this time. Once your entry fee has been paid then you will be gated to the guild stone location to be put on the stone for the event.
8) At the designated time we will have 2 of our Guild Mages open gates to the "arena". If you miss one of these gates we will open 2 more right after the first ones close but please keep in mind that those who DID make it through the first 2 gates WILL have a head start on you so PLEASE make sure you are there to go through the first pair of gates.
9) Once you go through the gates you will arrive at the arena. In the arena there will be various items of destruction placed around it on the ground. There will various weapons, reagents, bandages, crafting tools, crafting resources etc... for the competitors to use in order to prove triumphant. There will be something for every fighting class in the game to combat with (Including mages).
10) Items MAY be looted from fallen competitors.
11) Anything goes. However, we are highly discouraging hiding or invising. if you hide or invis and remain that way for more than ONE minute at a time then you will be removed from the competition.
12) Anyone leaving the Arena area will be immediately disqualified!!
13) The last person standing wins the competition.
14) We will have numerous folk there to bring fallen warriors back from the grave.
15) Once the competition is completed we will Gate all competitors back to the East Bank in Britain.
16) All rulings are in the hands of the event coordinator, Fate. That's right, your destiny is in the hands of Fate. If you are found to be abusing any of the rules then you will be terminated with great haste.
17) Please direct any questions regarding this event to CarnivalOfSouls@hotmail.com

NOTE: We would like to thank Guardians of the Undead Lords for their inspiration of this event!

They released some additional information on "Guaranteed Gain System Jul 11 2002 7:22PM CST"

Read it here....

~Nols

In case you missed it....

Publish 16 Schedule Jul 11 2002 6:38PM CST (GMT -06:00)
We are targeting to release the "Publish 16" changes, currently live on the Pacific and Test Center shards, to all remaining shards starting tomorrow, Friday, July 12th CDT. Barring any issues, each shard will have this publish active following their respective morning maintenance periods as per the schedule below (listings are in chronological order).

Each of the related maintenance periods may last around 90 minutes.

Publish 16 introduces a number of substantial changes into Ultima
Online, and we encourage all players to familiarize themselves with the latest documentation on these changes. Please click here for those Publish 16 details that pertain to the regular shards, and here for those details that pertain the Siege shards.

Chesapeake & Great Lakes
9:00 am CDT, Monday, July 15


So get those characters finished folks!

~Nols

Last night I had the opportunity to sit down and have a little chat with Oaks....

... Clothing Bless deeds are comin back!!!
... More pixel crack is on the horizon!
... Ever wonder why one animal is stronger than another - even though they are both fresh tames?
... I offered him the ability to blend time periods, things, people, and events into one days' grand adventure.....


Step inside and read the sordid details....

~Nols

From Trinsic:

The Trinsic Town Council shall be holding their first crossbow competition on Thursday July 18th at 7pm central time at the Clan Omenborn Training Compound (Trinsic Training Grounds). Once again NRA Rule set shall apply to this event, giving prizes to first thru third and last place contestants. First place shall receive a check for 50,000 gold.

Come show that you can shoot the apple of the Mayor’s Head or be the first to hit him in the Adams Apple before he shoots himself there

Trinsic Town Council

Greetings!

I'd just like to take a moment to inform everyone that the next meeting of the High Council will take place Monday, the 15th in Castle Britannia on the Trammel facet. The meeting will be held in the northern dining room at 8pm CST.

Also..


The council is currently seeking applications for the Britain council member position as well as a new opening in Skara Brae. If you wish to apply, please send your name and a short (7+ sentences) essay on why you think you'd make a good councilor to winski@redlow.net

-Dr. Jerred Ghyss,


Chancellor of Virtue, High Council

From Fishing Council of Britannia:


Fleet Captain Gem called the stalwart crew of the Fishing Council of Britannia together. “I have an important announcement. From this point forward, we have two new officers. They shall share responsibility for serving as our Events Coordinators. Please join me in welcoming FiFi LaForge and Leif.” The crew broke into loud applause.



“Their first event in their new positions will be to host this Sunday’s Public Net Toss. On the second Sunday of every month, the FCB donates nets worth thousands. We toss them out to sea from the Maginica docks (Trammel). All of the public is welcome to join us in fighting the kraken and other monsters. The public gets to keep the loot—even when it’s a rope or an SOS bottle.”



We hope you will join us this Sunday at the Maginica docks (Trammel) at 7:00 p.m. EST (6:00 CST). Come join us in welcoming Leif and FiFi by killing a few serps with us.

From Trinsic:

A new alliance is born. Let it be known thru out the realm that the fair city of Trinsic has made an alliance with the Clan Omenborn. The Mayor of Trinsic and his council, guarded by the AFT, met with Lord Damon Omenborn, King of the Dwarves in the Government House of Trinsic.

It was agreed upon that the Armed Forces of Trinsic shall patrol their city. The Mayor graciously gave their Rangers a barracks to live in while in Trinsic.

As a sign of friendship, Damon named Tyrone a *Dwarven Friend*, a great honor to a human. Tyrone is only the fourth human to gain that title. Trinsic gave Karak-Kol a lantern of Friendship to hang in their keep reminding them of Trinsic.

Please all welcome the C/O to Trinsic.

From Anonymous:

*a short note signed ???*

The new age of Britannia is apon us. The change is coming, its time for the old guys to leave and the new guys, the new blood to come in.


Very interesting, it seems dark forces are at work.

From Lydia:

The Dragon Academy has opened it's doors! We welcome all cadets with the desire to learn. The Academy teaches various kinds of roleplay and player versus player styles. Our dedicated professors are willing to help you!

For more information, visit http://peewee.darktech.org/dragon/htm

From Clan Omenborn:

The dwarves of Clan Omenborn have kept to themselves for many years now, living in their two remaining strongholds in the realm known as Britannia. They are Karak-Kol (Enduring Blackstone) and Karak-Grong (Enduring Anvil). There was a third named Thingaz-Valdhaz (Forest Brewery) but this hold near Yew was lost to the Orcs just over two years ago. The hold is now known as Zan-Grim (Harsh Blood), due to the loss. But in the halls of Karak-Kol they do not speak of this and consider it a stain on the clans reputation that they no longer live there.



The hold of Karak-Kol was resettled by the dwarves after the attacks by Minax on Yew. Some of the dwarves stayed to fight, others headed to Trammel and built Karak-Grong. Karak-Grong is located near Mt. Kendall in the land of Trammel, due north of Minoc. Many of Clan Omenborns craftsmen can be found here, for these mines are seen as some of the most profitable in all of Britannia.



Karak-Kol stands guard to the pass that leads to the shrine of Honesty on the southeast end of Ice Island in the territory of Felucca. It has a ring of snow globes lit on all its towers, which are used by the dwarves to aid their ships over the stormy seas and rocky coast of Ice Island and has prevented many disasters over the years. Karak-Kol is the most heavily defended hold of the two dwarven strongholds. Members of the elite guard the Hammers and are stationed on all of the towers, and two Gatekeepers stand at its massive gates. It has to be well defended because of the many Orcs, Frost Trolls and Murderers on Ice Island often attacking the stronghold. Because of this the hold is under constant protection by the most trusted and hardened of the dwarf warriors.



The dwarves of Karak-Kol have many mines. Due to their rich supply of ore, they have vast quantities of ingots for trade. The dwarves trade for miles around and traders come for their ingots from an even more wide-ranging area. They do trade on a regular basis with Skara Brae and Jhelom and have forged trade routes as far south as Trinsic. They trek to Trammel to hunt and visit with their kinsmen. Along these trade routes they manage to get in a bit of Orc hunting, as many of the routes pass through Orc country.



The dwarves of Clan Omenborn are considered to be some of the most adventurous clans in the dwarf kingdom. They are renowned for their ability to find large deposits of rich ore and granite. A perfect example of this would be the expeditions to the mountains of Ilshenar. The very nature of the clan is to be ferocious if provoked, but they mainly keep to themselves. The fighting styles of the dwarves of Clan Omenborn range from tactical fighting of the Hammerers and Ironbreakers, to hit and run strategies of the Rangers, as well as the mad battle rage of the Dwarf Slayers.



Lord Damon Omenborn is the first Omenborn to sit on the High Dwarven Throne in 500 years. His family, Clan Omenborn is one of the oldest of the dwarven lines and dates back to the ancestor dwarf gods themselves. Clan Omenborn originally came from the Frozen Mountains on Ice Island, and was driven to the Forests of Yew when the dwarf Stronghold of Karak-Kol and the mines on Ice Island first fell to the Undead. Damons father, Willen, set up a brewery and armory near Kazolas Treetop Keg and Winery. It was here that Willen set about to muster an army to retake Karak-Kol and the mines from the Undead. During this time Damon was making a name for himself as both a fine blacksmith and a stout warrior. After his fathers death, Damon expanded the smithy and acquired a considerable reputation for the fine quality of his weapons and armor. It was easy for Damon to ship his goods on ships across the globe to the great cities. Where he became renowned for his skill, soon Omenborns Brewery and Smithy had grown into a small dwarf settlement and other families came from all over Britannia to join him.



Within a few years, Damon became a prosperous merchant and a reasonably contented dwarf. With triumphs like this and the fact of him being a well-known warrior, his name was fast becoming recognized throughout the realm. His small community lay near the edge of Yew and was frequently attacked by Orc raiders rampaging through the region. It was during one of theses attacks that Damon met his first wife Willow; it was love at first site, yet the courtship was quick. All seemed going well for Clan Omenborn at this time. The army was growing and business was brisk.



One day Damon went with a shipment of Valorite armor and weapons to Britain, for this was to be a gift for Lord British. In the course of this trip Damon met Lord Alric Stonesoul and the two became fast friends. Damon found Lord Stonesoul to be a stalwart warrior and an gifted statesman, the two swore oaths to aid the other when ever the need did arise.



As he returned home he saw the smoke gently rising from his brewery among the trees and thought it was about time that the great chimney was swept. When his troop rounded the bend in the clearing, Omenborn saw the smoldering ruins of his settlement. For during his absence Minax had unleashed her assault on Yew and a Orc raiding party had found the Armory. All the forges had been smashed in an orgy of destruction, the anvils were broken, empty crates lay strewn about and there was no sign of any inhabitants. The Orcs had taken off with every last one of them to who knew what fate. Damon and his companions swore vengeance on Minax and the Orcs for this foul deed and resolved to hunt them down and rescue their kinfolk if they could. The posse trailed the Orcs across the Serpents Spine Mountains, rumors of the cunning ambushes and night raids on Orc camps became the stuff of legend.



During this time Lord Alric Stonesoul had heard of all that had happened to the dwarfs and had convinced Lord British to consent to give lands north of Minoc along the Mount Kendall to Damon and his clan to settle. This is known as the time of great sorrow for Damon, for his beloved Willow had perished during one of the raids to reclaim his lost kinsman. It was at some point in this time that the great Runelord of Clan Omenborn Quill Runebrand had convinced Damon that the moment in time had come, the time to reclaim Karak-Kol and regain her mines.



Within a few months enough ships had been readied and a great throng had been mustered, so along with Knights of the Order of Stonesoul, The magnificent army sailed, their hearts burning with thoughts of vengeance upon the undead. For a hundred days the rocks of our catapults made the walls and ground shake. Lord Damon led the breach at the gates with his with elite guard the Hammerers and fought his way to the throne room where he found the traitorous Lich Lord Jou'nar. Finally spurred by his predicament, the Lich Lord gathered his magic about him and he and Damon did duel. Long lasted that fight, for although a Lich, Jou'nar had been taught magery by the best of Moonglow. Yet Damon was no beardless whelp, and neither could land a blow upon the other. Finally as night began to draw its veil over the ruined stronghold, sturdy dwarf craftsmanship won over. Jou'nar cried for mercy, but the fires of retribution burned in Damons eyes, for he knew that the affront of the undead would never be cowed with leniency. His hammer ended it and Jou'nar was dispatched for you can never truly kill a lich. Great was the slaughter, many of the undead did regret their folly that day, but Clan Omenborn paid a high price in blood too. Thus the grip on Ice Island by the undead had been broken and they fled to the depths of Deceit. And yet there are still unnumbered entries in the Great Book of Grudges that must still be atoned for. On behalf of his heroics and his devotion to his people his war chiefs honored Damon with the title of High Dwarven King.



With this chapter in dwarven history closed the High King set about rebuilding Karak-Kol. With the blood of Kings flowing in his veins it is hardly surprising that Damon is deeply concerned with the fate of his race. It is that concern that Damon has formed many alliances and keeps the Dammaz Kron, the Great Book of Grudges at his side. Even though the dwarves are reluctant to go to war and risk lives of their diminishing number of warriors, the cause of honor and freedom is considered so just that they rally to Damon with eagerness and follow him wherever he leads.

The following was rec'd from Avalon, Death Scourge of CVN....

I sat silent, and still, looking out the window. Was it a shadow I seen creep by? Was it my imagination? Was someone finally coming to disturb me? How many hours had I been lost to my study, or was it days? Had I eaten? I felt famished. So many questions, so few answers, but I needed to know. But know what? I didn’t even know what it was I looked for as I scoured the contents of each text. And yet I continued on.

It started with a Grammer of Orcish, and continued with various texts, some about birds, some about dragons, some about weapons, one about dimensional travel which I found very interesting, and flagged to come back to when I had more time to fully study it, and even one on Virtues, which I very near threw out, if not for it being part of a collection. I read night, and day, had there been a night and a day? I did not remember.

When did such an unquenchable thirst for knowledge begin? I had always known I was looking for something, but now it seemed to have urgency, it seemed to force me to the pages. To read languages I hardly understood, to read literature long forgotten. What was it that pushed me to read of gods, mortality, monsters, and daemons. What pushed me to read of magical items, and the alignment of the moons.

As I continued to stare out the window, I realized my body would soon need rest, but how would I quench this thirst? I had to make it go away, it haunted my thoughts, yet I knew not what it was. It gave the feeling of someone watching over my shoulder, yet when I looked around I was alone. With this on my mind, my body finally giving into the urge, I quickly nodded off to sleep to let the thoughts haunt my dreams. . .

I had occasion to see Avalon on the eve of the Eeevil Cocktail Party.. and while many a less virtuous spoke of current events and enjoyed drinks Avalon saught out the solice of my library... He seemed interested in little else... Only in the books which I have collected... and a place to sit and read them. I am curious to see what drives such a thirst.......aren't you?

Laterzzz
~Nols

From Nate:

Attention all Great Lakers - I, Nate Byrd, am putting together a carnival for all of Great Lakes. We are in need of guilds, peoples, volunteers, slaves and trash picker-upers. We have some events planned so far, but not enough to span the proposed time. The date is looking to be Saturday July 27th from 12 pm to 12 am est.

There will be crafting events, games, contests, auctions and more!

If you are interested, ICQ me at 1743120 and leave a message regarding what you need to know. Thanks!

From Trinsic:

The Trinsic Town Council is pleased to announce a new writing contest for the month of July. All entries should be submitted in a standard ingame book with the authors name and contact details to a Trinsic city council member between 5 and 7pm on the 22nd of July at the Trinsic Branch of the Bank of Brittania.

The theme for your stories should be "what makes trinsic special" and all entries, will be reviewed by the council and the best 3 authors will be informed once all the submissions have been read.

These 3 authors will then get the chance to read their tales to the citizens of Sosaria at a date to be announced later once the initial process is completed, with great prizes going to all 3 winners!.

The final winners will be chosen from the players present for the reading.

Stay tuned for an announcment when the second stage of this interesting and exciting contest will take place.

The Trinsic Town Council

From Skara Brae:

Info on Ryth:


Name: Ryth
Age: 84
Height: 6'2"
Weight: 164
Birthplace: Vesper
Known For: Not much is known about this man. What he has told us has checked out so far. He was a good friend of Basil when they both were very young in Vesper. Ryth wasn't of noble blood like Basil, but he was of a rich family. Basil and him both studied together. About the same time Basil turned to Chaos and founded the Cult, Ryth disappeared. No records can be found of him. He re-appeared a few years ago after spending almost an entire 12 years in Ilshenar studying the land. This man was responsible for reuniting the Cult. Was found dead in cell.


Dear folks of Britannia, I bring good news, or well good news to some of thee. Ryth, the leader of the Cult of the Black Dragon, was found dead in his cell today. It appears that he took his own life because he didn't wish to be put to trial in a false court.

Lady Jasmine and Mawgwaine from the Ranger Enforcers of Sosaria found the body. Solomon alerted the Highland Guard, but Jakob didn't come to see the body. After a bit, it was decided that it would be best to search his body.

Besides some food and water, only a book was found on his body. The book seemed to mumblings from a man that had already assured himself that he was meant to die in his cell.

Did you ever elect a King? Do you prefer the things that scare those in the ‘other lands’?? Is ‘the man’ getting you down? Are you tired of dealing with people hiding behind the virtues??

Join Noleeens and Belayin Pin Bob at the Sandlewood Box Inn this Tuesday evening, 9pm under the eastern skies to discuss the good that plagues this land. Refreshments and food provided, mounts not recommended.

All evil-do’ers welcome, actively pickpocketing someone or attempted murder will be grounds for removal from the premises.

If ye need a rune to the Sandlewood, contact Nols at pigeon 26424082.

Once again, Carde has worked his magic with pencil and paper. Art lover rejoice, for today we unveil Carde's most recent masterpiece: Branwen!

Get your own Character art done with Carde's Ways of the World Gallery!