From The Desk of Lady Lava ~ July 2008
Posted on Friday, July 4, 2008, 1:16 PM EDT by Lady Lava (GreatLakes)
. ~ From The Desk of Lady Lava Dear Great People of Great Lakes, It is that time of year again. Several times a year I do a " From The Desk of " article. With Stratics recently been down this is a chance to give a few tidbits from the past several months as I see/saw them. Brit and Luna as the main gathering points for many are good places to start. Luna has had yet another transformation. That place changes faces more than Joan Rivers! In my interview with Rhen posted several days ago his departure has had the biggest impact. Of The Ring has moved his museum and appears to want to own Luna. Since the birth of Luna many people have tried to control the city by plot ownership and several have made significant attempts from ULTIMA and Purple to Tas and Rhen himself. Below is a screenshot taken weeks ago of a very odd gorilla setting up a home within the Luna Bank area. Luna action has not been happening just within the city walls. One of the very first Strangers appeared just outside of the city creating a massacre right infront of Isabeau's Expansion vendor shop. Below are two screenshots of that Strangers visit and the hell fire created. On the subject of strangers and bloodshed, Brit has been as busy as ever. Actual blood may not be shed there often but the acid tongue of many a banksitter has cut to the nerve of many. Ahhh....the joys and fun of banksitting. Some have taken the "sitting" of bank sitting seriously. Below is a screenshot of Hosokawa and Chaotic Barbie discussing current personal and community affairs in a seating arrangement they created. These gals know how to banksit in style. For those that bank sit many of the usual suspects have been present the past few months. Even Black Betty has been spotted there wearing an apron created by Lord Saint of Killers and double blessed sandals. More than banksitting has been going on in Brit. Turn In time has been upon us. Note below the locations for those that may have been living under a rock the past few months. The Turn Ins have been an exciting thing for decoraters and plot owners alike. Below are two screenshots depicting some of the turn in item rewards. The first screenshot is one of my Luna plots featuring the yucca trees, beehive and nest with eggs. The second screenshot is of the home of Lord M-One ( a.k.a. Miller Brewing Company ) featuring the horse barding and dragon head wall mount. This is exciting stuff indeed ! If you have not already start cleaning out your chests and boxes and get those glorious tealish green tickets. Moonglow has calmed down the past few weeks after the closure of the mysterious moongate which lead to an altered Moonglow. All that remains is sad scarred wounded area ( see below ). It appears to still have evil properties as one cannot cast near there nor mount an Ethereal. Player run events have been going strong also. FCB had a net toss recently, MOA has been running auctions and scavenger hunts and chickens have been shedding blood at CFC ( see below ). The GOF auction house is still making attempts which is good news. I popped in for a few this past week and some good items went on the block even though some banned patrons were trying to set the place on fire as you can see in the screenshot below. My new frock was a little damaged but I found a great tailor in Vesper to repair it. My singed red hair is another story. As the years go by people come and go in our realm and often vet players depart. Their time here has done what it was meant to do for them. For those that have been around as long as I have I wanted to let you know though you may not see her/him Jamba Juice is still around. Yes, the original Jamba and still creating wonderful designs. She informed me vendor shop ownership is in her past. She is living a quiet life of tailoring and fishing. Needless to say also decor...she is working on a castle right now but below is her recent creation. It is always nice to run into old friends. As a hunter of decor, good and evil, tasteful and tacky,I would like to leave you with a screenshot of a plot I happened upon last month. I do not care for the barrel type cactus and for the first time I actually liked them. All my best. Fondly, Lady Lava
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~ Obit Column ~ Recap Number Three
Posted on Thursday, July 3, 2008, 10:07 PM EDT by Lady Lava (GreatLakes)
. OBIT COLUMN ~ RECAP NUMBER THREE NoNo NoNo dies again Outkast Qu Zayer Queen Sameera Racer Reborn Rayek and Christopher Rob Sensi of Shiblah Silverbrook Spark rests dead on his mare Stooger STORMY Torturer Twister Witch dead three times Viramond X Caliber Zaras
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~ Obit Column ~ Recap Number Two
Posted on Thursday, July 3, 2008, 9:38 PM EDT by Lady Lava (GreatLakes)
. OBIT COLUMN ~ RECAP NUMBER TWO Gene Pool Slayer Glamthious Glavin Gliford In Nox Ithido Zoate Jack Gripright Justinas Kelsey Kenny KENO Khanos KK Star Lady Tinna Lady Wind of Hope Lisolette Lucas Malag Aste Marie Minkey Mystique Starr Noel
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~ Obit Column ~ Recap Number One
Posted on Thursday, July 3, 2008, 8:47 PM EDT by Lady Lava (GreatLakes)
. OBIT RECAP # 1 There is a huge back log of Obit screenshots and I do not want any of them to go waste so I will be posting several columns to catch up. Aldrick Aldrick two Athena Caldera Caramon Majere Creation Crypt Angel Daisuke Aramaki Dalamar Destiny killed by her own dragon, lol Draven Elgee Fallula Fallula times 2..lol Lord Faust and Flame Flame and Joe Gabriel Gabriel again
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Dragon Clan Climbs To The Top
Posted on Tuesday, July 1, 2008, 6:01 PM EDT by Lady Lava (GreatLakes)
~ Dragon Clan Climbs To The Top The Dragon Clan Guild (DC*) is the brain child of a player by the name of Shady. Often Shady claims to be an older gal but she has plenty of energy and has worked very hard at turning DC into one of the top guilds on Great Lakes, some say number one. It all depends on how you look at it. *Shady at a guild meeting several months back* Shady's recruitment was intense for many months and the guild is still taking applications. As we all know it takes more than a guild leader to make a guild successful and Shady is quick to point out how thankful she is to all that have helped make DC what it is today. One cannot go any place in the realm, Fel or Tram, without running into the likes of Tika Moondust, Sir George, Aldrick, FREMMEL, Malik, Abel, autumn, Tier, Journey, Henry Zoate, SKULLCLEAVER, Vasco, Alexa and Sarah of Fortune, neptune, Fusion and Janet Jackson to name a few. I remember seeing Janet Jackson many moons ago fishing in the river near the Brit Bank as a newb. In years past I have hunted as a guest with many guilds including G-V and BC. I have had the pleasure of hunting with DC* on several occasions and they are a fun group and very diverse. They do Peerless Hunts, Champ Spawn Hunts, PvM game lure events and rumor has it even PvP. This guild that boasts " Home of The Great Lakes Most Dynamic Guild " has a good website for those interested in joining or just finding out about this guild. That address is www.dragonclan.info
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Rhen's Formal Farewell
Posted on Tuesday, July 1, 2008, 4:18 PM EDT by Lady Lava (GreatLakes)
. . This interview was done some time back and as we all know the face of Luna has changed once again and the departure of this vet player has had a lot to do with it. He has always been supportive of the Great Lakes community. Please feel free to leave your good wishes to Rhen on the boards connected to this article which I will repost there. Ten years is a long time to put into the realm of UO. Soon I will be approaching the eight year mark myself. In your nine years on the Great Lakes shard please share with us several of your favorite memories. I remember the first time a buddy took me into Destard and I saw dragons. That was the coolest thing ever. Big, red, growling, fire breathing monsters! My heart was pounding as we took them down. Truly a joy. The first time I killed a thief trying to get into my little 7x7 shack. Back then you didn't have to lock your stuff down to keep it from decaying so if a thief stealth's into your house he could rob you for all he could carry. I was so proud of myself for defending that which was mine. I really loved that little house right on a quiet beach. More recently, the first time we did Dreadhorn was an amazing amount of fun. All the peerless bosses ended up being my favorite thing to do. The challenge was back in the game with the addition of those bosses. There are so many more I could go on for pages. I have very fond memories for everyone of my guildmates, our old auctions, the shops and all my renters, many many people in the game. Look now I am getting melancholy. When and how did you first hear about UO? I was playing a MUD called Federation and lots of solo RPGs on computer. A buddy had heard about UO and suggested I look into it. UO was still in beta but I was blown away by the info I was finding. I remember the first day it hit the shelf. I took off work that day and loaded it on my computer to find that my PC wouldn't run it...or so I thought. Every time I tried to run it I would get a black screen, finally I walked away in frustration only to find when I returned the game was there and running. On my old PC it took about 40 seconds to fully load, I though it was just locking up. I freaking loved the opening screen with the squeaky chest and the music. Its the little things you remember. There are always positives and negatives in real life and in the gaming realms. I try to stay on a positive note but I am sure our readers would like to know why you are leaving the game. Tough question and one that doesn't have a single answer. The guild that we built in UO is something that I will be proud of for my entire life. Good people, all working to help each other, funny, fun, and yes at times we argued but always like friends. UO, to me, has become too easy. Even the peerless bosses became easy. My own success in a way killed the game for me. I know this will generate some grumbles but it is true. The years of hard work paid off and I wanted for nothing, needed nothing. The only thing I never got that I wanted was a castle. UO was a game for me, for fun, so I was never willing to spend RL cash for anything. I waited too long to get a castle and within the last few years you could only get one with cash. So it boiled down to there was no more worthy goals, no more challenges. And now EA is killing the game even more by continuing to make it easier. A good example is Doom, it started hard, then got harder, then got super easy. The KR client is another killer for me. We listened to the rumors for years about this super new client. My hopes were so high for KR. I prayed it would bring new players to the game and add that new blood. KR has no hope, sorry but that's my opinion. In your nine years on Great Lakes you have acquired very pricey properties, many of them and countless items. When you first started this game was that a goal of yours? To have fun. The goal from the first day to the last was have fun. If it wasn't fun, I didn't do it. That's why I never got into PvP, it wasn't fun to me. I really really enjoyed running the shops. Being a merchant was the thing I had fun doing. I loved when people would tell me "I love your shops, I always find what I need at them". That was a big goal for me, keeping well rounded shops including the low or no profit items like repair deeds and such. At our height, myself, Gold Matterson, Dante Hicks, and Indiana Jones managed five shops in Luna. It really was a team effort. You ran a very successful auction house for some time. On several occassions I helped with decor and enjoyed it a lot. How long did the auction house run and what was your favorite thing about that experience? You are being kind by calling our auction house successful. Running the auction house was the hardest thing I ever did in the game. You cannot fully understand the amount of time and effort that goes into an auction unless you do it. People do not flock to you dropping off tons of good items to auction, you have to go out and get people to submit items. Then you have to make sure every week you have people to work. We started the auction to fill the hole REA made when they left (for those that remember the REA auctions). Our plan was to have fun and give ALL profits back to the attendees in the form of games. From the first to the last auction we never kept a single gold piece from the fees. We stopped because attendance dropped to 20 or fewer, we were auctioning our personal items because submissions were so low and it was just too taxing on us. We decided to leave the auctioning to the professionals at MOA. I think our auction ran for just under a year. On the subject of auction houses MOA will be selling your UO history. How many items will that be approx. and how long do you think it will take? I have five packed houses that will be auctioned over time at MOA. I was not a big rares collector but I did like the old potted plants/trees and rare armor but mostly you will see things that are useful. Ethys, tok arties (including tons of dyes), full bod books, etc etc. The only thing I am not selling is Rhen's suit. I want all properties and items sold by mid Sept when my accounts renew. Things will get sold faster if I get off my lazy butt and get them submitted to MOA quicker. I know Pratt, I'm trying, really I am! LOL. Everyone needs to know and understand that the folks at MOA are some of the best in game. We have been friends for years (I hope they would agree to me saying that). They supported our auction house and never ever looked at it as something to take their business. It all helped the game community and that is what MOA is about. "Good people" is how you describe those at MOA. I have to ask this question because our readers will want to know. What was the highest number of accounts you had opened at one time and will you still keep one open even though you may not play? A good friend and I managed, I think, 11 accounts for a while. A more stable number was around 9. Mainly they just held houses. Right at this moment we are at 5. I will keep Rhen's suit and a couple million in gold in case I ever decide to come back but for now all accounts are being shut down. This interview is kinda like a formal farwell. Can you give myself and our readers any advice and/or is there anything you would like to say? I quit smoking about 5 years ago. I did it cold turkey. The only way I can quit UO is cold turkey. I am playing another game now but the one thing I have learned in that other game is it does not and can never have the community that UO has. It was extremely rare that I saw a name on GL that I didn't know. I miss that and I am positive I will continue to miss that. I still chuckle when I think about some of GL's infamous / nefarious people. LOL, you all know one or two. Such characters, such a diverse group, it makes me smile. I know there are some in game that did not like me or REN. I am betting 99% of those people don't even know me. Myself and REN members got what we had through hard work, luck and friends in game. I never tolerated cheating, scamming, or stealing in any form in REN or from shop renters. We had fun and that was why we played. Advice is like a-holes, so here comes my a-hole. Play your game, have fun playing your game, do not try to force others to play your game. That's good advice for RL or in game. If you can't understand it, you never will. Thanks UO it was a great 10 years, Rhen
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Great Lakes News
Posted on Sunday, June 29, 2008, 2:27 PM EDT by Mystra (GreatLakes)
Greetings All, As you all know we have been forced into this new look for stratics due to issues with the previous forums. Working out the bugs in what we hope is a temporary home the reporters are all having problems getting the news program to play nice. We hope to have this fixed very soon because we know you miss all the great stories and interviews! Thanks for understanding ! Mystra
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OBITUARY COLUMN ? June 2008
Posted on Saturday, June 28, 2008, 9:42 PM EDT by Lady Lava (GreatLakes)
Is it true ??? Are we up and running? It seems like forever and I have missed you all. Over the many weeks my letter box has been filled with Obit Screenshots. As a return my first article will be an Obit Column. They are not all from Lady M either, lol. As you can see I have only done the A's and B's so there will be many a column to come in the near future to play catch up. Fondly, Lady Lava witch Aldrick Ang Animal Apolla Arch Ariona Zoante Lady Aurora Baby baby and Eala Beastman Black Jack blanc De blanc Boni Hama Boom Boom
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Poison Apple / Clash at MNM
Posted on Wednesday, April 30, 2008, 3:21 PM EDT by Lady Lava (GreatLakes)
This just in from the Monday Night Madness crew. Monday Night Madness got off to a rocky start this week. First, Will got there late due to the patch. When he got there the house was in an uproar due to some immature people. A few people were removed and some banned. There were a few deaths during the night. We played Poison Apple and Spaz picked the box with the apple that killed our hostess, Demi. Later in the evening, Will and Walter battled it out during Clash of the Titans, with Will coming out on top. The last time they fought Walter won so this evened up the score. Raven was our big winner of the night. She came in third in Flipped Out but traded for the box that contained a Clothing Bless Deed. She then answered the last mini deal of the night and won a check for 100k. We wish to thank all of our patrons who attended. We will have another event in 2 weeks, announcements to follow later.
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Madonna Creates A Gem With Animocity's Inc
Posted on Monday, April 28, 2008, 5:14 PM EDT by Lady Lava (GreatLakes)
. Taking a much needed rest from the Moonglow slaughter last night I stopped by the Brit Bank which I have not done in months. The bank was a steaming bed of commerce and drama as always. Some things just never change, even after seven years plus. In the past often I would enter gates at the bank just to see what I might see and I did just that last night and I was transported to a lovely shop on waters edge. It is owned and created by Madonna. Nicely designed with a player created fountain the vendors offered much in the way of needs and luxuries. The owner was AFK during my visit so we did not get a chance to chat but by the looks of things even more vendors will be added. The cords to this shop are 168o 55'S, 140o 34'N If you would like me to stop by your shop PM me and I would be more than happy to take a tour.
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Monday Game Night Is On ! Great William as MC
Posted on Sunday, April 27, 2008, 1:22 PM EDT by Lady Lava (GreatLakes)
Lava, Sorry about the late notice, but we wanted to let you know that we will be open for games on Monday April 28th. This Monday's game is Let's Make a Deal. Gaters will be Bailey and Nameless Mule, look for them at West Brit and Luna banks. Our hostess will be Demi with Walter handing out checks for mini deals. I will be the MC. We are all, but Walter, new at our jobs but we are hoping to give you a fun and entertaining evening. We will also be interested in ideas of what our patrons like and would like to see us continue, or suggestions for new ideas of things they would like to see us try. Come and join us. We'll be waiting for you. Great William ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ . William, I am so glad to hear Monday Night Madness is carrying on without a sabbatical. Often it is highly entertaining when people take on new jobs. See you there! Fondly, Lady Lava
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It Continues in Moonglow ~ 4 / 27 / 08
Posted on Sunday, April 27, 2008, 6:50 AM EDT by Lady Lava (GreatLakes)
. OBIT ~ PART TWO With Moonglow being the hot spot these days most of the screenshots coming my way are from that locale. I give you part two of this weeks column. Kwahari Olliquit Medusa Moon NameTorque Nancy Ann Cianci NightStriker Sir Wastedruin Tanuras Toni T Wind of Hope
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Elvish Ears and Centerfold Headlines
Posted on Sunday, April 27, 2008, 6:26 AM EDT by Lady Lava (GreatLakes)
.~ I spent the entire day yesterday at The Huntington Library, Art Collections and Botanical Gardens located in San Marino California. For those that have never been it is a true gem and worth a visit for sure. Housed in the library are some of the rarest books from the Canterbury Tales, the Gutenberg Bible and a large original Audubon's Birds of America. An amazing collection of Shakespeare's early edition works and Medieval books/tales brings one back to the realm we all live in as it is from that period in time. The above and below photographs I took are of a statue that is displayed on the North Vista lawn. Needless to say I was reminded once again of the realm with the elvish-like ears. To learn more about The Huntington go to www.huntington.org Now onto this weeks Obituary Column. After months of no appearance I am proud to start this weeks column with the Obit Centerfold Princess Amara. Welcome back girl ! Princess Amara, Boni Hama and Thanatos Aridas of FCB Big Shooter Chug Gunther Dunson....Am I seeing double death? ... I think so :) Hawthorne Kelsey
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Ethereal Returns To MOA Auctions
Posted on Thursday, April 24, 2008, 6:48 PM EDT by Lady Lava (GreatLakes)
. Ethereal Returns To MOA Auctions It has been months and months since I last attended an MOA auction. They run Wednesday and Thursday evenings. For many years the MOA auctions were never missed by me. I was there both nights every week without fail. Things change , life changes but MOA always holds a special place in my heart and I still attend MOA Monday Night Madness game nights at Ice Castle as often as possible. On the subject of Monday Night Madness I am happy to report I was told that game night will return in the near future. * jumps up and down * Upon arriving at the auction house on wednesday I approached the ever so sexy Melian to see if she had any checks for me and indeed the raving beauty did. She was free of her MOA granny gown and feeling very sexy indeed, looking it also. To my surprise MOA main stay classic Ethereal was marking her return to the auction house. I had no idea she took a leave. She was always there and the foundation of the place burned in my memory. I was happy to see her. Ethereal,Melian and DJ Scorp were welcoming faces indeed. Most of the patrons were strangers to me. I received no warm welcome which seemed odd as MOA was my stomping ground for so many years. Out of sight out of mind I guess ..... the world is always changing. It was a very busy night at the auction house with Dracklure, Betty Boop, Travesty, Drinyll, Tyrael Kreegan, Lady JuJu, Huma, Ermac Firebrand, Lady Liesha, Brooke, Tiggermeat, Davey, Drugist, Lewis, kevin, Lord Big Bear, Lisa Valorite, Lady Creation, Night Star, Evista, SLASH, Monster Energy, Tia, Sven, Gargomel, Pyro, Ruric, Ghost, Hannah, Falconess, Chaotic Barbie, Joe Dirt, Symbolia, KK Star, Ramalad The Dark, Big Bertha, Elah, Bailey Bugs and Cold Fire were some of the patrons along with MOA staff Praxiska, Aubrey and Sid. I did some bidding myself and won several items as the highest bidder. As always good items were on the auction block. It seems that MOA will be presenting some new events in the near future. DJ informed the crowd Pratt is behind some upcoming things and that mongbats may be involved. We always look forward to anything MOA hosts!
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~ OBIT COLUMN ~ 4 / 20 / 08 ~ Part Two
Posted on Sunday, April 20, 2008, 12:42 PM EDT by Lady Lava (GreatLakes)
. OBIT COLUMN ~ 4 / 20 / 08 PART TWO Michelle Vanna White Neon Noodle NightStriker Obtus Polyphemus and Jack Senor Snach Shen Ye Siren War Toy
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~ OBITUARY COLUMN ~ 4 / 20 / 08
Posted on Sunday, April 20, 2008, 12:29 PM EDT by Lady Lava (GreatLakes)
. OBIT COLUMN ~ 4 / 20 / 08 Anastasia Bailey Bugs Cappan Verra KENO Gemini Hunter Jim and Dale Journey Lisolette
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