November 2001

Tarne:: Thanatopsis, thank you much for talking to me today about the future of Timberidge. You are indeed the current Mayor of Timberidge, correct?

Thanatopsis: That is correct.

Tarne:: And Timberidge is currently under siege by the Undead?

Thanatopsis: It was taken over for about a week, but fortunately allied forces were able to remove them just a few days ago.

Tarne:: Would you mind taking a few minutes to discuss with me what has already transpired and what plans the Yew and Timberidge communities are making to recapture the town?

Thanatopsis: What happened is that the Undead came to Timberidge and informed us to leave or be struck down in one weeks time....

Tarne:: And has that week already transpired? What of the Timberidge community at this point?

Thanatopsis: Yes, that already happened...I had a meeting with allied forces and the Militia of Yew to take a defensive stance against the evil force. The enitire week went by with the town undersiege. Then came the day of the attack. Allied forces managed to hold of the first wave of Undead and thier evil counterparts, but the second wave was too much to bare. Eventually Timberidge fell. Survivors scattered to various commuinities and to the Abbey in Yew. During the following week, coordinated a counter attack to retake Timberidge. That counter attack worked. Allied forces managed to retake Timberidge just a few days ago.

Tarne:: Good news indeed. So at this juncture Timberidge is currently back under your control?

Thanatopsis: Somewhat it is. However, there is a strange disturbance here that I haven't been able to quite make out yet. Life doesn't quite flourish here like it once did. The setting is somewhat taking a similar effect to what is in Felucca. The air here has a stench to it and is foul.

Tarne:: Do you fear another attack by the Undead and their allies? Or do you believe this to be some sort of residue left by the Undead creatures?

Thanatopsis: I believe that Timberidge has already served some purpose to the Undead at the moment. However, I am sure they will return to occupy the town. At the moment it is almost unbearable to live here. The land itself definitely has some sort of evil enchantment upon it.

Tarne:: Has there been any investigation by either the United Clans of the Empire or it's allies into this enchantment placed onto Timberidge by the Undead or it's allies?

Thanatopsis: I have already begun one myself. However, I will be calling upon Wind for help. They will have a better chance on discovering the power of this evil, and perhaps a way to dispel it.

Tarne:: I hope that something can soon be done. Have you heard any reports of the Undead possibly trying to take further townships? Why do you think they choose Timberidge? First step in a greater campaign or does Timberidge hold some other signifcance?

Thanatopsis: I definately think that this is part of a larger campaign. The Undead have increased their presence in Yew doing raids from time to time. I also heard a rumor that they have given the Keepers of Justice one week to leave the Halls of Justice or suffer the same fate as Timberidge did.

Tarne:: Very disturbing news indeed. Best of luck to you and to the Keepers of Justice as well and thank you very much for your time as I know you are a very busy man.

Thanatopsis: Thank you.

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We had stability issues with the login servers from Wednesday afternoon (around 5:00pm CST) through this morning (around 11:00am CST). During that time, one or more of the login server instances crashed numerous times. We finally found the cause of the instability and it was fixed earlier today.

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Each "Ultima Online: Lord Blackthorn's Revenge" box will come with two game registration codes: one of them will be usable to create a brand new game account, and the other will be usable to upgrade your existing account.

Those with existing accounts will be able to both upgrade their existing account (with the update code) and create a brand new account (with the new account code), if they so choose.

The "new account" registration code will come with a free 30 day introductory period. The "upgrade account" registration code will not.

In order to upgrade an existing account after you have purchased this new CD, you will need to go to the UO account management page (at http://www.ultima-registration.com/), log in with the account of your choice, and follow a set of instructions describing how to upgrade your existing account. In this way, you will not be able to accidentally upgrade the "wrong" account.

You will not need to re-install UO in order to use your upgraded account. After upgrading, you'll simply log in as you did before the upgrade, with the same UO account name and password you've been using. (But don't forget to change your password occasionally for security purposes. ;)

If, after upgrading, you need to reinstall UO at some point (such as after a re-formatting of your hard drive), simply install from the UO:LBR CD, start up UO and allow it to "patch up," then log in as normal.

=========
Sannio
Online Community Coordinator, UO
Origin Systems

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The guild known as Nightmare Creatures is holding a quest that coincides with their story line. The plot of this quest is rather simple the Nightmare Creatures have captured a precious relic from Lord British and are using it to enter the lands of Trammel to murdered innocent humans.

Your mission is to take this relic back from the NiT (nightmare creatures) by storming their tower and capturing the relic.

RULES:

NiT Members can not ban people from tower during quest.

You must be warred with NiT to receive reward for taking relic, and to take active part in the quest you also must be warred so you do not get banned from tower, this is to prevent blues from giving us massive counts.

Gate to quest will be provided at Trinsic (Felucca) moon gate on 7th December at 12pm midnight est. time. (9 pst)

Reward will consist of a cash prize and the relic which will be a rare. And a vanq war axe.

NO MAGIC WEAPONS. NO ANIMALS - ANIMALS AND MAGIC WEAPON USERES WILL GET BANNED FROM TOWER/QUEST. ALL BLUES ARE ALSO BANNED. SO WAR US FOR NIGHT OF QUEST IF YOU ARE NOT YET ALREADY WARRED.

For more information contact Hannibal Elector at [email protected] or by icq at 48731685

~Hanibal

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Q: How do I turn off these new pop-up control menus?

A: The default method for bringing up these new “context sensitive menus” is to left-click a character or item in the game. You can change it from left-click to shift + left-click by opening your Options menu, finding the Interface section (in the 2D client, it’s the tab with the computer mouse symbol, on the top right of the options menu), and selecting the “Hold Shift For Context Menus” alternative at the bottom.

=========
Sannio
Online Community Coordinator, UO
Origin Systems

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Q: Why did my holiday gift goblet/mug/glass lose its special name?

Some of the drinking "containers" that were part of in-game holiday gift packages inadvertently dropped their special names with the onset of Publish 14. We have developed a fix for this issue, and this will most likely go in with the next major, scheduled publish.

=========
Sannio
Online Community Coordinator, UO
Origin Systems

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Q: Why did my treasure chest disappear after 15 minutes the other day?

A: We’ve actually just fixed this problem. For a short time, all treasure chests were decaying after 15 minutes, but we have corrected this issue, and chests should last for 30 minutes after items stopped being pulled from the chest.

Q: I am on a treasure hunt, but another chest is blocking my location!

A: You now have the power to remove that chest yourself, as long as the chest is empty. Double-click your digging tool, then target your treasure map, then target the existing chest--as long as the chest is empty, it will disappear.

=========
Sannio
Online Community Coordinator, UO
Origin Systems

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We've talked about adding the ability for users to select their title from those that they have available, and it's something that several people here would love to see. However, it's not in the schedule right now, and we can't give any promises as to when or if it might be.

__________________
Cynthe
Community Manager
ORIGIN Systems

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The items that were listed in Testing for Next Update (new player experience, context sensitive menus, bulk order deeds, changes to animal lore, crafting system overhaul, faction system updates, and various bug fixes) have been published to all shards. These items have now been added to Latest Game Updates.

As a reminder, there is currently an issue with non-banker and non-minter NPCs accepting bank checks from players. Players are advised to first check the title on an NPC's paperdoll before handing them a bank check. We are working on this issue and hope to have a fix for it very soon.

We would also like to encourage all players to report any other bugs you may find to [email protected]. When submitting a bug report, please remember to include the following information:
* Your UO account name (do not include your password)
* The time, date, shard, and facet of the occurrence
* What steps you took that led up to the bug
* Whether or not you tried to repeat the bug, and if you succeeded

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Triple Prize Storytelling tonight at the YMCA...
beginning at 7:00pm Pacific time and continuing 'till the cows come home. That's right, folks...thanks to Lia Sionnodel's generosity, there will be prizes awarded tonight for the top three most entertaining tales (as determined by the audience in attendance):

First Place: 30K gold
Second Place: 15K gold
Third Place: 5K gold

So polish up those pieces, do some warm-up voice exercises, and be sure to join your fellow players by the fireplace for some cameraderie, good eats, an ale or two, and some fine entertainment. It's all free...and if you just want to sit and listen, that's fine too.

The YMCA is a player-run, blessed establishment on Sonoma/Felucca, directly across the road from the Yew Cemetary...the only tower in the area. All hues are welcomed, be they red, grey or blue. All we ask is that you read the rulebook locked down on the front steps, and follow our non-aggression policy. Thanks...and we hope to see you there!

~Dor

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Here are the results for Saturday's Tournament Champions.

In the first tournament, Warriors of all sorts battled to the death without the aid of any magicks! HydroSqueegee claimed the victory for this tournament and received a check for 25,000 Gold Crowns!

The second tournament was a mages duel and no weaponry of any sort was permitted. Many talented mages showed to test their skill, but none proved more talented than Snap, who received a check for 25,000 Gold Crowns.

A Bonus match was set up in which the winners of both tournaments battled it out to claim the title of True Champion for the eve.
HydroSqueegee and Snap both fought well, but Snap reigned victorious in the end and received a bonus check for 10,000 Gold Crowns.

Congratulations HydroSqueegee & Snap!
-----
The Order of the EbonSkull will be hosting 2 tournaments, Saturday December 1 at 9pm EST at the Sepulchre of the Damned in the City of Caina. (Located at the northern tip of Ice Isle, Felucca.) All are welcomed to attend; however, please stable thy mounts and pets before proceeding to the city. Contestants must be registered before 8:45pm EST. To pre-register or if you are in need of a rune or a gate to the city, please contact Nathalia via raven 115407750 before 8pm Saturday.

The events are as follows:

***3 vs 3 Team Fights!***
Teams of three will battle until one team is eliminated by death. Mages and warriors alike are eligible to participate in this event. If you do not have a team, but would like to participate, please contact Nathalia. A 75,000 Gold Crown Prize will be awarded to the winning team!

Rules:
- Teams must be uniform (wear like colours.)
- No magic items, clothing, armor or weapons.
- No pre-poisoned weapons. Those with the poisoning skill may poison during the fight.
- No casting of Invisibility or Hiding.
- No casting of the gate spell, recall, any summoning spells or offensive field spells.
- The following spells may be in effect prior to entering the arena:
Reactive Armor, Magic Reflect, Arch Protection and a Magic Trap.
- Pre-casting is not allowed.
- All contestants subject to snooping.
- Loss of connection results in automatic loss of match.
- Verbal interaction with the opponent is permitted and encouraged; however, 'talking smack' is not and repeating the same phrase or long string of phrases in order to summong lag will result in disqualification.

After a brief intermission to allow time for contestants to bank their belongs, the next tournament will take place.

***Gladiator Tournament***
A test of true skill, contestants enter the battle arena in nothing more than a loin cloth and carrying nothing more in their bag than a way to leave the city (a recall scroll and rune or a charged book). Sufficient supplies for warriors and mages alike will be distributed throughout the arena. Upon the start of the battle, contestants will equip and commense battle. A Prize of 25k Gold Crowns will go to the winner of this competition. The rules are as follows:

- Every contestant will be snooped prior to the start of the fight.
- Contestants CANNOT have anything other than a runebook/recall scroll in their back packs.
- Looting is permitted and encouraged in this event, as all items will be supplied by the order.
- No casting of the gate spell, recall, any summoning spells or offensive field spells.
- No casting of Invisibility or Hiding.
- Loss of connection results in automatic loss of match.
- Verbal interaction with the opponent is permitted and encouraged; however, 'talking smack' is not and repeating the same phrase or long string of phrases in order to summong lag will result in disqualification.

Please contact Nathalia via raven 115407750 with any questions.

More information can be fouund at: www.ebonskull.org

**OOC Note: Loss of connection means disqualification, some items have been removed from tower to reduce lag.**

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This all started a few weeks ago with the printing of this article by the Japanese branch of the BNN. The article detailed the clear and present danger of a famine in Britain, and was in effect for all of the Japanese shards. Here is the article, translated to English:

~Mayor Finnigan of Britain determined today that the western agricultural area of Britain was in need of an 'urgent protection measure' in the form of what he called "The Western Guard". The project is to commence before the day's end.

The Western Guard is a protection measure which will consist of a few volunteers working in and around a supply tent, receiving donations of food supplies from the citizens of Britannia.

"The damage is serious," murmured Ramsay, a 35 year old farmer, as he held a handful of soil from his field, "to think that the development of the land would have such an effect..."

Due to the favourable conditions of its location, the strip of farmland stretching out to the west of Britain had been used for meetings and events of all kinds, time and time again. Though it is true that these activities have supported the commerce of Britain, it has dealt a crippling blow to the land's true identity, the farmers.

"It used to be that you couldn't see the soil for all the cabbages and pumpkins that grew over it," recalled Ramsay, his eyes staring off into the distance, "But now.. now there are only stones and mice in our fields, and there is nothing we can do about it."

Lowering himself to his knees, Ramsay stared at his barren field. All of the farmers in the area, including Ramsay, had made a futile attempt at winning back their crops, but every time they had plowed their hardened soil and sowed their seeds, another event was waiting to open up shop on their growing crops. Eventually, the farmers grew tired of the seemingly pointless battle.

The mayor, who had received a report on the condition of these fields, had a serious expression on his face when he stated: "The crops produced from this strip of farmland is vital to the very health of Britain. The western guard will be posted as soon as possible, and we hope to depend on the generous cooperation of our fellow citizens."

Also, he made it clear that if the western guard did well in gathering enough food to last the great city through the winter, they would hold a "field-friendly festival". The farmers of the area, however, who had been festering a grudge against the mayor for all of the events which had destroyed their produce to begin with, seemed bitter and dubious about the mayor's new idea.

"The very name 'western guard' is awkward and silly." they say, willing to condemn the created for its creator. "He talks of a festival, but by the end of the month, we won't even have the stem of a potato, and a famine will eat away at Britain."

Being the first of its kind, the western guard's true value will be open for the judgement of all by the end of the month. Donations are currently being accepted in the supply tent by the west field.~

The response was immediate and considerable, as civilians and adventurers alike gathered at the supply tent to give what they could. The stores quickly piled up, and earlier this week the western guard ended its acceptance of food stuffs in favour of building materials necessary for the upcoming harvest festival. Raw materials such as wool, logs, ore and hides were in high demand.

There were many minor setbacks along the way, including a hoarde of mice out to get the sacks of flour, but the people persevered, and that is how we arrive at today, the day of waiting. The "harvest race", as some called it, is now over, and there is naught to do but sit and wait as the steadfast NPC carpenters busily construct the buildings in question. Some structures were pretty common throughout the shards:

a gravesite complete with a book from Mayor Finnigan asking for respectful consideration of the sacrifices made by the creatures whose fruits are our sustenance; a training dummy where farmers and others can express their "love" for the Mayor of Britain; a signpost indicating the locaiton for the harvest festival and a small monument from the Mayor with hopes for the safe excecution of the harvest festival

As for the results? A race just wouldn't be a race without some winners and uh.. well, "not-so-winners".. right? So here are the final rankings:

In 1st place we have Izumo! Congratulations, Izumo! For gathering the most food/materials of all the Japanese shards, you will be graced with beautifully sculpted buildings of marble for your harvest festival!

In 2nd place we have Asuka! Good going, Asuka! For hanging in there at second place, your buildings will be made of some lovely sandstone, shipped directly to you from the walled city itself, Trinsic!

In 3rd place we have Mizuho! Way to go, Mizuho! Your buildings will be made of good, strong, dependable stone, which should hold up well against any jealous sieges laid against you by the other, lesser ranking shards!

From there, we go onto Yamato in 4th place with buildings of wood; good old flammable wood!

Wakoku is in 5th place, sporting the new "orc fort" look with their towering pallisades!

And finally, in 6th place is the always amiable "last-but-not-least" Hokuto, whose poor carpenter has the interesting challenge of constructing their festival buildings out of refuse! That's right: big, fragrant, and way-too-conspicuous piles of garbage!

All joking aside, the contributors to this noble cause should be congratulated on their willingness to help out their fellow (NPC) Britannians. The festival itself should be held some time in the next day or two, and I most certainly am looking forward to it.

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Happy Holidays! Celebrate the season with YULE IN YEW OUTLANDS (TUR Village, Felucca - 94.39 N, 23.50W) on December 17th, 7-9 PM under Great Lakes central skies. All are invited to share the spirit of the season in the tradition begun by Tristam last year in Yew proper.

The holiday festival features: "Reindeer" Summoning, Winter Scene Sculptures (Design in a box), Christmas Character Relay Race, Cake Walk, Crafting Competitions, a grand feast and lots of hot grog.

Of course, you better watch out, 'cause Santa will be there and we hope you'll make plans to be there too!

Check back here for details on gates to the festival site and contest information. Questions? Contact [email protected]. Updates at http://www.theunruled.com.

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I need to … point out that UO:Lord Blackthorn's Revenge *is* a full game (and if $40 is the typical game price, then it's actually also $10 cheaper than typical). No one who buys this will need to buy any other CD to play; people will be able to install & register this game and begin playing pretty much immediately. In fact, it'll also be patched up to somewhere very near the most current patch when it ships. Sannio

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Honestly we are supporting both clients equally. Yes that's right equally. Back when third dawn shipped our 2d players screamed in fear (as Cal said earlier) that we would stop supporting the 2d client. Now that we are showing our support for the 2d client the 3d players scream that we are no longer supporting the 3d client. To set the record straight "We support both clients and will continue to support both clients".

To set another record straight: We are vocal about the expansion because we really think it's going to rock both clients. Yes it has more for the 2d players but we still believe there is value for the 3d player, in fact we view it as value for ALL our players, whether they choose to take advantage of it is their choice of course. On top of supporting our expansion players we will continue to support those subscribers who choose not to purchase the expansion. Still not enough? Well we are continuing to improve the game play for all our players both old and new. We are improving the game's server performance, removing bugs, improving the graphic quality of the 3d client and continue to publish out the event scenarios on a regular basis, and that's just the short list of stuff we are doing off the top of my head.

Ok that's my line and I'm sticking to it!

Prophet

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Ooooh. Someone found Rikktor. Hope they liked his Earthquake attack... :) That only leaves 2, well 3 to be discovered....

Champion of the Abyss?? And what about that Forest Lord?? :)

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Alone on a cliff overlooking the Jukan fortress, Dasha removed her eclectic armor of leather and polished metal. A warm wind ruffled her spotted fur. Obsidian eyes captured the valley before her, watching for a fiery signal.

The sunset at her back transformed the sky into a giant, lavish theater. Yet onlookers from the valley below would not recognize her silhouette among the high, jumbled crags. Neither could she make out individual Juka upon the fortress walls or amid the sea of roofs surrounding it. The only movement inside the city came from waking lanterns. Cook fires smudged the sky with bitter plumes. The evening air rolled around the valley in a mild, temperate breeze, late autumn's denial of the oncoming cold.

The Meer warrior crouched on a smooth-topped boulder, her armor in a neat pile beside her. She did not need it at the moment. No Jukan patrols came this far up the rocky slopes. The only inhabitants of these dry mountains were tribes of gibbering humans, whose crude weapons posed her no threat. Clothed in the wind, she called on the spirits of the exalted ancestors to guide her through this pivotal night. Once the Juka ignited the signal torch below, the trial of two races would begin.

The spirits came to Dasha as a tingle in her belly. The sensation fanned out to her limbs and face, a suffusion of power and tranquility. She welcomed the presence. The ancestors comprised the wisest of the Meer, those elders who had crafted long, fruitful lives and then passed on to a purer state. From their ethereal city of crystal spires they watched the baser realms, aiding young spirits who trod the earth and trees. Dasha was grateful for their help. Though she was an esteemed warrior and officer, her life had spanned less than two hundred solstices. She was still too fleshbound to know enlightenment. If she were to die tonight, her spirit would return in a new Meer body and continue the lessons of material existence. Only with the passage of centuries would she join her exalted ancestors in the holy spires of the afterlife.

Of course, Dasha did not plan to die tonight. She would face the mightiest of Jukan warriors and extract from him an explanation. The Jukan army had destroyed the forest home of the Meer. She would learn why her enemies had betrayed their own traditions of honor. The ancient balance of Juka and Meer depended on the answer.

A new light blinked in the city. Atop a high tower of the stone-walled fortress appeared a single, starlike flame. Dasha's heart quickened. That was the signal. Warlord Kabur had agreed to her proposition. He would arrive within an hour.

Blessed with the guidance of the eternal ancestors, she collected her armor in a satchel and crept off into the twilight.

When Dasha had lived in the old forest, dusk had fallen like long, dark eyelashes. She would miss that restful sight. Here in the mountains the night rolled in like an avalanche of shadows, swallowing up boulders and scrub. She slid without a sound through the labyrinthine gloom. Her destination was a cave pressed between two jagged rocks, where the calm breeze whistled. In the ground before the cave opening she stuck a crossbow quarrel. Then she walked into the cool, black entrance and began to don her gear. As she did so, she reviewed her knowledge of the enemy she had fought for a century.

The Juka were a brutal race, hard of flesh and hard of will. Though sophisticated in their skills and culture, they hungered most of all to enjoy life's infinite sensations. This sublime urge for pleasure was crowned by a roaring lust for combat. The Jukan clans fought each other with unrelenting fervor. And when a single clan came to dominate the others, the united Juka would turn their aggression toward the neighboring society of the Meer. The wars between the two races echoed through legend and history.

Yet unlike the Meer, the Juka did not enjoy the privilege of reincarnation. These jade-skinned warriors passed through the world only once, bound for the Great Hall of Honor if they died with distinction, bound for oblivion if they died in disgrace. And so the Juka absorbed themselves in the pursuit of glory and honor. At the core of their society lay a tradition of unshakable virtues, of courage and honesty and respect for one's enemy. Their souls depended on strict adherence to this code. The Juka called it the Way, as if there were no other.

The Jukan army had trampled the Way when they burned the Meer forest to the ground. Their mysterious new lord, the strangely-named Exodus, had commanded them to do so. But Dasha knew the Juka could neither be persuaded nor coerced into dishonor. Foul sorcery alone could account for the drastic change. She intended to confirm her suspicion by speaking to Warlord Kabur himself. Only with this knowledge could the Meer proceed with their just revenge.

Thankfully the ancestors brought calm to Dasha's mind, for her blood burned to meet the general who had destroyed her people's ancient home.

From inside, the cave mouth was a slash of fading colors. The light vanished when an enormous shape filled the gap. Dasha flinched. A deep voice boomed, "I should not be surprised by this gesture of yours. Single combat is the only hope you have left for victory."

Warlord Kabur brought a lantern into the cave. His other hand clutched the crossbow quarrel. It looked small in his grip. Kabur was a giant of a warrior even among his strapping race. Robust armor of steel and gold padding accentuated his size. Like all Juka he seemed dour to her, with no nose, reptilian eyes and a small, hard mouth. But Kabur's face revealed something more, a cunning that sharpened his glance. She felt compelled to match his stare with her own.

"Yet you have come to meet me," she said, "according to the ritual of the Black Duel. I challenge you to explain your dishonorable conduct, and to atone for it."

The general grunted, "I did receive the note and silk scarf you left me. You know much of the customs of the Juka."

"I have fought your kind since before your grandfather was born. I know that the Juka have always honored the Way. And I knew that you would respect the Black Duel and meet me in secret."

Kabur's emerald lips twisted into a smirk. "I have razed the forest of yours and you still imagine that I am bound to the old codes?"

"Your grandfather and father respected duels of honor. The reputation of your clan instructs you to do the same."

"I am forging a new reputation. Victory beckons me now."

He stepped deeper inside the tall cave and away from the narrow entrance. Dasha heard the clatter of footsteps outside. She hardened her eyes. "Your soldiers will die if they interrupt us."

"There is no Black Duel to interrupt. I have come to bring you before Exodus. Much has changed among the clans, though I would not expect a Meer to understand."

And she knew then that her life was in danger. Kabur had abandoned the Way. He had accepted the challenge of single combat as a ruse to capture her. An instant later the cave filled with sound as a stream of Jukan soldiers intruded. The tips of their spears flashed in the light of Kabur's lantern.

Naturally she had accounted for such a betrayal. Without hesitation she leapt among her attackers.

Like all Meer warriors, her skill with weaponless combat overmatched the Jukas' clumsy polearms. She moved like mist around and between them, striking at the joints of their leathery bodies, crushing steel plates against veins and bones so that their own armor became a weapon against them. When the soldiers clustered together, she scattered them with quick spells that flashed away the shadows. In seconds their bodies strewed the rocky ground.

More soldiers shouted outside. Dasha caught her breath. She could not defeat an entire army, but her objective was now at hand. No Juka blocked the way to Warlord Kabur. She sprang at the giant warrior. He bellowed in response and whirled a fallen soldier's halberd in her path. She ducked its lethal blade, then latched a grip on the weapon's long haft. With a lightning move she dropped to the ground and threw Kabur deeper into the cave.

He vanished the instant he passed over a blink rune that Dasha had inscribed on the cave floor.

She followed quickly. The magic spell wrapped her in light. She appeared inside another cave, deeper within the mountain. With her boot she erased the matching rune underfoot, to prevent other Juka from coming through. Then she rose to her full, proud height, facing the startled warlord who was regaining his bearings.

They stood inside a ring of candles that defined a dueling space. A vast, dark cavern hovered around them. In the dense stillness of the underworld Dasha crossed her arms and murmured, "I invoked the Black Duel so we might talk unhindered. I intend for us to do so whether you spurn me or not."

The fluttering candlelight revealed fury in the Juka's eyes. He snapped two fists around the shaft of his halberd. "If you wanted to persuade me to fight, then you have succeeded, Dasha. By the Great Mother, I shall cut you down like I did the forest of the Meer!"

Like a storm he roared upon her with a series of attacks she did not recognize. She was forced to somersault backwards to evade the strokes of his blade. Then he prepared another charge. For a brief moment Dasha wondered if she might not have misjudged Warlord Kabur again. The exalted ancestors remained inside her, but even they had not encountered a dishonorable Juka before. Could ancient wisdom overcome this strange, black renaissance of the Jukan enemy?

Dasha grumbled to herself, Fight first, then interrogate. If he would rather die than explain his misdeeds, it shall not pain me to oblige him! And she charged as furiously as the hulking warlord himself, her eyes ablaze with a lust for revenge.

"I realize that this is sudden notice for you all, but I, Sage Sundi, will be graduating from UO at the end of November. Even as I thank my fellow players for their continued support in all of my endeavours, I look forward to the future developement of UO. The UO community may still be young, but as far as the online gaming world goes, the UO community is a force to be reckoned with. This community is a product of player cooperation and fellowship and may just be the greatest thing to come out of UO. No matter what kind of online games make their appearance from here on in, the reality that has been forged here can never be ignored. That is how much power you, the players, hold in your hands. It is this power that will continue to grow and prosper, and I hope to watch over it from afar."

Until we meet again... Fare thee well,

-Sage Sundi
Online Service Manager

In the closing paragraph, Sage Sundi stated that all of her responsibility will be going to Duckbill, an IGM and active participant in all that is events. Duckbill already has a growing group of fans in the Japanese UO community, and should have no problems in this new position.

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We are targeting to release the changes listed below to all remaining shards today, to be active following their scheduled morning maintenance periods on Friday, November 30th (local server time).

Complete information on the following changes can be found in Testing for Next Update.

*New player experiences
*Context sensitive menus
*Bulk order deeds
*Changes to Animal Lore
*Crafting System overhaul
*Updates to the Faction System
*A variety of bug fixes that address aspects involving NPCs, houses, skill gain, guild and party systems, spellcasting, and some map regions.

The changes will be added to Latest Game Updates once the publish is active on all shards

Due to an unexpected issue, the Oceania shard did not receive the publish which will be active on all other shards as of Friday morning (local server time). We have rescheduled the release of this publish to Oceania for tomorrow, to be active following the shard’s normal morning maintenance period (local server time). We apologize for any inconvenience this may have caused.

We are aware of an issue whereby NPCs which aren’t bankers or minters are able to accept bank checks from players, and we urge players to take great care in handling their checks at this time. We are working to fix this as quickly as possible, but in the meantime, be sure to check that you are using the correct NPC by opening its paperdoll and confirming it has “the banker” or “the minter” in its name.

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... and the cold scowl of the banshee Yarnear was cast upon the farmlands of Sosaria. As the clouds darkened the sky, and the winds began to cross the landscape, Yarnear's visage changed from her grim faced frown, to a broken toothed grin as wide as the Snake's Pass. With her hands raised high over the crops yet to be harvested, ancient words of power crossed in a groaning whisper, and winter had come early to the land.

The surge of power across the land went not beyond the notice of the high elven council of Sosaria, and called for the scout Caradhras to cross the land, and warn the residents of the early coming of winter.

With the great blessing of the Grandfather Oak, Caradhras mounted his finest steed, and began his race against the mighty winds of the banshee of winter. Though the steed was mighty, it could not bear the full journey on its own power, and though only half the continent had been warned, could continue no more. Caradhras continued his race on foot, and still more citizens were warned. When he reached the sea, he boarded a small sailing ship, and crossed the lands yet still passing on the great warning.

His journey allowed the citizens of Sosaria to rush their harvests, gathering enough food to keep themselves through the winter, and each year, with the passing of autumn, the elves of the land still celebrate his great race against the winter wind with the great Creoso Hrive Merende, The Winter Welcome Festival.

This year, the Elven Federation (ELV), along with welcomed aid from the Council of Yew, invites all citizens of the land to join with us in our grand celebration. On December 2nd, at 14:00 GMT, the race across Britannia begins, a triathlon of horse, foot, and then boat racing.

An entrance fee of 2,000 gold is required, and all contestants are to meet at least 15 minutes prior to the beginning of the race on the Vesper bank. All contestants are required to bring their own mounts (normal horses only, all other mounts are not allowed) as well as a boat. At a point during the race, horses will have to either be stabled or abandoned, so be sure to have room at the stables or prepare to leave the horse behind.

First prize in this race is 100,000 pieces of gold;
Second prize is a full plate suit of valorite;
Third prize is a stone decorating set, and an alchemy set.

A complete and detailed list of rules can be found at http://elv.bmm.it in the forums section. Players are requested to pre-register by posting on Drachenfels Forum. Entrance fees will be gathered prior to the race.

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A site has hit the web: [site link removed for safety]

It uses The UO Auction face, our artwork, news, even our copyright.

This is not the UO Auction site! We Do NOT require downloading to use our web site!

This person seems to be focusing on Napa Valley users...please warn the users that our address is http://www.uo-auction.com, and nothing else. We are taking every step we can to get this person off the web. This is NOT our site, and the download is likely to be infested with a virus or trojan, and/or the login an attempt to get their personal data.

A site has hit the web: [site link removed for safety]

It uses The UO Auction face, our artwork, news, even our copyright.

This is not the UO Auction site! We Do NOT require downloading to use our web site!

This person seems to be focusing on Napa Valley users...please warn the users that our address is http://www.uo-auction.com, and nothing else. We are taking every step we can to get this person off the web. This is NOT our site, and the download is likely to be infested with a virus or trojan, and/or the login an attempt to get their personal data.

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Hear ye! Hear ye! It is time again to make your arrangements to join us in Florida for our annual Ultima Online – Walt Disney World weekend of fun!

This year we will gathering on the weekend of April 5-7, 2002. The event will begin on Friday night for Happy Hour and will conclude on Sunday when we mass invade the Magic Kingdom for questing and gaming fun!

The big day is Saturday when the “official” luncheon will take place INDOORS (a big YEA! after all the rain last year!) at the beautiful Bonnet Creek Golf Club, part of the Walt Disney Resort.  Saturday’s events will consist of guest speakers, door prizes, games, LOTS of food, and plenty of fellowship with UO players from around the country, and possibly from around the world!

If you have ever considered going to a player gathering but have never done it, THIS is the gathering to join! This year we are expecting to have a minimum of 100 players in attendance, but fully expect that number to be closer to 200, if not over.  We would love to count you in that number!

If you register today and pay your attendance fees by December 15^th, then you WILL receive one of the first OFFICIAL UODisney 2002  t-shirts for FREE! Yep, FREE…just for registering and paying early!

Hurry on over to our SITE and read up on the event. Visit the page often because information can change rapidly!

We look forward to seeing you in April!

--Angel Storm
Owner/Editor: UOChesapeake Daily News
Publisher: Player2Player

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M&D spy captures True Britannians Leadership.

Details of this fantastic story are still coming in.
But one thing is for sure. M&D, the premier guild in
the Shadow Lords faction has captured the Commanding
Lord title from the True Britannians. This despite
losing Some key members in the last week.

Crystal D'Bane, sister of the famed M&D member Talon D'Bane,
successfully infiltrated the True Brit's ranks all the way to
Commanding Lord. "I never hid the fact that I was a spy, i'm
shocked that this worked". Crystal's sabotage will be
remembered as one of the most memorable events ever in
factions. LoD, the premier guild of the True Brits are unavailable for comment.

Archangel, leader of M&D, and Commanding Lord of The Shadow
Lords, had this to say about the news of the capture.
"We put a spy in their factions, and she got voted in as
Commanding Lord, We did not think something like this was
possible. This proves that we are supreme!"

.

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We have no plans to remove statloss for murderers. We feel that Felucca gives players a good amount of freedom to play as they wish, while still providing a penalty for killing unwilling victims (and generally, if someone gives you a murder count, that means they are an unwilling victim).


__________________
Cynthe
Community Manager
ORIGIN Systems

In reply to:
----------------------------------------------------------------------
OK this is pretty bad wording here....it doesnt say anywhere that guards wont kill you in town and it also doesnt say they will only kill you perform criminal acts in town. Being as your obviously red, you obviously commited a criminal act which .... obviously falls right into the "...but will kill them if they perform any criminal acts"
----------------------------------------------------------------------

What should be happening on Siege Perilous is that any Red/Murderer should be able to enter town and go about his business like any Blue/Innocent. Only when a (Red or Blue) character committed a crime while in town or any "justice zone"should the Guards be able to be called (by witnessing players or NPCs) on that criminal. However, while Reds are currently allowed in town, anyone is incorrectly able to call in Guards to kill that Red. We're aware of this problem, and are looking to fix it as soon as we can.

=========
Sannio
Online Community Coordinator, UO
Origin Systems

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I just wanted everyone to know that we are fully aware of the slowdown problems we’ve been experiencing on our network the last twenty-four hours. Our host was notified the minute the problems began and the word is that we are sharing a busy switch in the data center with another site. Our servers have been moved off of that switch on to our own switch today. From now on the slowdowns should be alleviated.

We’ve done absolutely everything in our power to get this matter resolved as quickly as humanly possible. No one is more frustrated about this situation as I am. We really do appreciate it and also apologize for the inconvenience this has caused you.

Warm Regards,

Jhariden Community Development

Stratics
http://www.stratics.com
The Massively Multiplayer Network

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The Crimson Dragons guild on Drachenfels shall be departing on their Pilgrimage to the shrines of Virtue. We shall be walking the land from shrine to shrine in Felucca. The last time we departed we got mixed up in a plot to banish our now arch nemesis Natora Lord of the abyss. His minions seem to have started to creep back out of the woodwork again with threats of death. So we now journey to the virtues to seek guidance. Last time only one of our members survived or completed this task, Deacon Frost, and for this he was awarded position as honour guard.

Our departure starts on Tuesday, December 4th from East Bank Britain in Trammel. But we shall be holding a guild ceremony on Monday, December 3rd in Lord British's Castle in Britain. Here we shall be awarding new titles to the brave and valorous and welcoming some new members into the guild.

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Here's my latest interview, "Interview with DJs".

Expect to see a couple more interviews hopefully really soon.

http://members.home.net/foolkiller

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Do you like to drink?
Do you like to either make up tales or listen to them?
Do you a have a tale from the past before the worlds separated? Or per chance you are a bard and have tales to tell.

All are welcome but PLEASE STABLE YOUR PET BEFORE COMING.
The Dragon Tavern will be having its weekly story telling night on Wednesday, November 28th, 2001 at 7PM PST.

The prizes are 20K for first place and 10K for second.

ICQ in advance and rune will be provided. Dragon Tavern is located on
ice Island at: 87o53’N=20
164o41’W

Lord Khel
ICQ: 116819117 for more information.

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DIG is celebrating its 1 year anniversary with an auction to be held at Minoc Bank! And you are invited to come participate!

On December 7th at 7:00pm Eastern, we will be at the Minoc Bank of the Trammel Facet auctioning off many items. We will also be selling many crafted goods, as DIG is a guild for merchants and craftsmen. Members will also be available for giving out runes to our shops and information about our guild.

If you would like to sell anything with us, you are welcome to! I would just like for you to e-mail me with info on what you'd like to sell.

We all hope to see you there!

Shadolyte of DIG.

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That's right, we are back to work this week. The vacation was great though! The entire staff would like to once again wish everyone a happy holiday season.

This week we are planning on holding two auctions (as usual).
Wednesday, November 28th at 9pm by the Eastern Sky
Thursday, November 29th at 9pm by the Eastern Sky

Make sure to come early and get a good seat!

Up for bid this week:
Daemon Bone Armor
Holiday Gifts - Valentines, Muffins, Flutes,
Ropes and Rocks
Tall Candles
Fruit Basket
GM crafted Coal Armor
a Gold Box
Treasue Maps of all Kinds
many Monster Statues
full set of Dye Tubs
a Leprican Suit, with mug
a couple piles of Faction Silver
a Light Fur
Neon Hair Dye - Green Bottle
a Broken Chair
a Vial of Dragon's Blood
tons of Weapons and Armor!

As always, Runes to Riches and the Mystery Chest games will also be played this week following the auction, so please stick around and take a chance with lady luck. Impy has asked that you please stable your pets before the auction as he is allergic to wet fur.

If you don't have a rune, please stop by one of rune vendors: StarLite (Vesper, Trammel), next door to the RD Stables (Felucca), the Sandlewood Box Inn (Dead Heaven, Felucca), Kazola’s TreeTop Keg and Winery (Felucca), Cove Merchant’s Guild and Blacksmith Shoppe (Cove, Felucca), the Mystic Portal (Trammel), the Garden City Mall (Cove, Trammel), Kishan’s Vendor Expo (Trammel).

~Impy’s Staff
www.impys.net

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From the Journal of Tre'Lianne
Monitor of Dracona
http://www.alterythem.com/cad
Ven'Vytec, Year of the Clockwork Beasts

Tre'Lianne looked around the mountain and smiled as the cool spray of water cooled her in the warm Ilshenarian sun. "I see why ya came here, doll."

Ra'Dian chuckled. "Aye, tis a beautiful view, though the travel through hell I could do wi'out." He sat down on the ledge of a pool formed at the base of one of the falls. "What brings you here, Tre?"

"The trial. I think Joa'Qyyn would be best suited for the trial. I think it's time ya made him a full magistrate."

"Then it shall be." Tre'Lianne watched as Ra'Dian ran his fingers through the water, staring deep within. "I trust yer judiciary choice."

"Will others?" She sat down next to him and stared at the rippled reflection of his face in the pool below.

His lips moved oddly as waves crossed over from the waterfall. "You wonder if others will think that Dracona would seek revenge on Leshyani for her deceit?"

"The thought has crossed my mind. Surely it will cross others."

Ra'Dian dried his hand upon his white meditation robe, and then rested a hand on her shoulders. He looked up at her, and she stared into his crystal blue eyes. "If I won't let Aryn have his way with her, I certainly wouldn't put her into a court I didnae trust. I have no doubt that the magistrates of the High Court be the only way she will receive an impartial trial."

"Why are we involved?"

"I gave her my promise. I swore to her that I would do all in my power to ensure she receives a fair trial." He siged and looked back to the water. "As much as it pains me to do so, I am one of my word. We both know that left to Britannian courts, her trial would be as much farse as Edguardo's. She would be executed without chance of defense. Ca'Y'vodek Y'devorn."

Tre'Lianne punched him lightly in the shoulder. "Would you stop switching languages in mid sentence?"

He laughed and looked back at her. She couldn't help but smile at the impish look resting upon his face. "My word is my bond. It means..."

"I know what that means, you blasted elf!" She got up and prepared to head back to Dracona. "Hopefully the rest of Sosaria understands."

"Little can be done but to show we can remain impartial even in the face of great strain." Ra'Dian stood, and they walked back to the entrance. "At least this way anyone who wish speak on her behalf may do so. Imagine if Ramirez entered a Britannian court."

Tre'Lianne bowed towards Ra'Dian and turned to walk away.

"Even the Mondainites. I know of Mordain's fancy for her. I expect he will want to hae his say as well."

Tre cast a quick glance behind at the elf, his long blue hair flowing freely. "I don't know about you sometimes. I know you mean to be fair though."

"It is the only way, Tre'Lianne. Justice can only be achieved in balance. If one side weighs down the other on silence alone, you only mock justice."

"Be well, Rad. We all hope you return soon."

She watched as he entered back into his retreat, his voice echoing even above the noise of the falls. "On'ac an'rhy'ut vakorak talf'duc."

Tre'Lianne hefter her battle axe and let out a low groan, rolling her eyes at his insisted use of the Dragothan tongue. As she started into the mountain, she softly muttered, "Elves..."

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An issue involving the rapid decay of treasure chests has been resolved. We are targeting to publish the fix for this issue to all shards tonight, to be active on Wednesday, November 28th following their regularly scheduled maintenance periods (local server time.

(with additional notes by CitizenKane2 in italics) The time limit (for obtaining deeds from NPCs)below 70 real skill is two hours, but does not award deeds other than would give your character skill gains (ie: no exceptional, no colored, no large).

50.1 - 69.9 the delay is 2 hours. Below that, it's 1 hour.

Below 70.0 skill, the rewards for those deeds are shovels and pickaxes, some gold, and fame.

In reply to:
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Does this mean "this is fixable and we are planning to code a fix for this issue" or does it mean "we are seeing if this issue is fixable."

Please clarify.
----------------------------------------------------------------------

Some of the drinking "containers" that were part of in-game holiday gift packages inadvertantly dropped their special names with the onset of Publish 14. We have developed a fix for this issue, and this will most likely go in with the next major, scheduled publish (but not with the current Publish 14 that's still being "rolled out").

In reply to:
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Sannio had a post awhile back saying that this would happen on locked down forges. Since the forge is a house addon it does not need to be locked down. I believe the post said they are looking into it, but removing the lock down status from it should make it usable again. If it is not locked down, then I am not sure what the problem is.
----------------------------------------------------------------------

Yes, your statement about what I said is correct. You should be able to use all house add-on forges, although there's a little "glitch" that somehow may disallow you from using one that has been (unnecessarily) locked down. Try unlocking the existing one and using it before you destroy it, or if you create a new one, don't lock it down (as it's a "permanant" part of your house just by the nature of your placing it).

There is no way for us to check what rating an individual player gave a GM. If someone really did come to you and state you shouldn't have given the rating you did, they were bluffing. However, if someone really did come to you and state that, I would REALLY appreciate it if you would send me the details on the situation. That sounds highly inappropriate, and it is certainly worth investigating. Customers are free to give whatever rating they feel is appropriate, and should not fear any sort of retribution.

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Factions, Factions, Factions...

In this team comments I’d like to focus on Player vs. Player combat, specifically within the context of the UO Faction System.

When I first joined the team in June of 2000, one of my initial big challenges was to get up to speed on the faction system. This system had already been coded and was in QA’s hands when Evocare and I were challenged with getting it released as part of the Renaissance upgrade. After spending about a week researching what was there and writing up documentation, we decided to expand on the system to include a broader audience. We spent about three weeks writing documents and coding additions. I wrote faction traps, redid the gumps, and worked a lot on the craftables. Evocare wrote the enhanced faction guard AI, added faction silver and faction allied monsters. We wanted the system to include more than just hard core PvPers, while making it fun and challenging for all. We wanted to include crafters and PvMers, as well as provide some political context to offices.

After the initial release, Evocare and Vex worked on factions up until February of this year. They fixed several bugs and added trap removal kits, and a few other balance issues were addressed.

In March, the task of addressing some of the remaining bugs in the system began. In publish 14 (which was publish 13 for a while), approximately 30 annoying bugs with the system, as well as some balance issues, were resolved. You can find complete information on the faction fixes that are being implemented in Publish 14 by clicking here.

Moving forward, we plan on addressing some balance issues with the strongholds, and working on removing ways blues can interfere in faction fights. Our goal is to have all bugs and major balance concerns addressed once Publish 15 is live, so that any future work on factions will focus more on enhancements.

I know many of you will have strong opinions on future faction changes, so I’d like to throw out some ideas for the future. These things are not currently scheduled, and may not be implemented at all, but I’d like to hear your thoughts on the following possibilities.


1] Lowering the corruption times down to about 8 hours or so to allow more fast-paced conflict and create less of a chance that off-hour, low peak hours will determine the fate of a faction.

2] Allowing guilds to form new factions, possibly as part of an alliance system.

3] Expanding the control factions have over Felucca by looking into dynamic spawns of monsters and resources.

4] Adding more political elements to the leadership of a faction beyond simply voting. This would include putting in some checks and balances to ensure that the commander and those who he appoints are doing a good job in the eyes of a majority of the faction. Also, as part of this, allowing players to vote to remove other players considered a spy by a majority of the faction.

5] Allowing factions to have control over both the town and surrounding area (follow up to item #3). An idea here is that all resource gathering could be taxed by the controlling faction.


All of these, and more, are only ideas we are currently discussing as possible enhancements, and we welcome feedback on these or other enhancements. Please feel free to talk about these on our boards, or email suggestions to me at [email protected].

Take care,

Pete "Adrick" Warner
Designer – UO Live

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NOTICE OF TRIAL
From Tre'Lianne, Monitor of Dracona

Leshyani Rianne is to stand trial at the High Court of Dracona to face charges to be brought against her by the Royal Knights of Redemption on behalf of the Crown and Peoples of Britannia. The charges she faces are as follows: Rebellion against the Crown; Inciting rebellion against the Crown; Illegal use of magic against the citizens of Britannia, specifically for enchantment, charm, and befuddlement; Withholding information that led to the death of a Dragon Knight.

She is to stand trial held by an impartial magistrate at the High Court to ensure that she receives a fair and impartial trial, and, if found guilty, fair punishment. In accordance with our laws, we wish to convey a message from Leshyani to the Empire of Armageddon. She requests that the Empire send Counsel to speak with her and on her behalf, and that she misses them. We have also granted her request that she will be able to speak with one of the Sisters of Enchantment, but we must ensure that there is no chance for her to escape, and so we will make arrangements for such a meeting in the very near future.

The trial will take place in the High Court of Dracona (located southeast of the Tower of Three Dragons healer room, at the Crossroads betwixt Yew, Britain, and Minoc - a map will be made available soon to those who are not familiar with the location) upon Al'Xac, during the Year of the Clockwork Beasts (Friday, November 30, 2001 at 9:00pm CST). All who wish to speak against Leshyani or upon her behalf will be afforded the chance to do so. If you wish to speak in person, simply appear at the court starting at 8:00pm CST, and no later than 8:50pm CST upon the day of the trial and register with the Courtroom Clerk. We will allow those of any allegiance to attend these hearings. As the City-State of Dracona is independent from the rule of both the Crown and the Empire, we hold this trial as Neutral Ground and will look harshly upon any violence or attack.

If you cannot attend the trial, you may contact the court (via email at [email protected]) to arrange for a written affidavit to be read into the Courtroom Record upon the day of the trial.

Fyrm'vodek ca'cylos, Traskin'ut sym'ood.

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The results from the last story night at the Dragon Tavern.

We had 7 noble and valiant souls show up for the event.

Winners
In first place, winning 20K was Forever Exodus with an entertaining tale and valuable tip for life.

In light of the recent departure of Wolf of Evermore, the new proprietor, Lord Khel, wrote a poem in memory of his friend and wished him the best in his endeavors.

==============

Goodbye to a friend.

The day has come, I never thought it would...
The day when my friend, would leave these lands for good.
Althought we will not see him or hear his words in the air.
I know to myself that he will still be there.

It started long ago, in a far distant land.
A kindling of friendship that across worlds would span.
I offered help, advice and guidance when I could...
Never expecting payment, for I knew this one was good.

Yet to my surprise, payment I did recieve...
A true friend, loyal, generous and never to decieve.

And when I found myself lost, confused and alone...
T'was my friend who came and showed me a home.

It is because of this man that I am with you tonight,
to continue his legacy and keep it burning bright.

As my friend departs, I am not sad.
For he takes with him the memories of good times that were had.

To a man virtuous, generous and kind....
I wish him the best in his endeavors and the success I know he will find.

Goodbye my friend, I've enjoyed the ride.

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Tarne:: Thanatopsis, thank you much for talking to me today about the future of Timberidge. You are indeed the current Mayor of Timberidge, correct?

Thanatopsis: That is correct.

Tarne:: And Timberidge is currently under siege by the Undead?

Thanatopsis: It was taken over for about a week, but fortunately allied forces were able to remove them just a few days ago.

Tarne:: Would you mind taking a few minutes to discuss with me what has already transpired and what plans the Yew and Timberidge communities are making to recapture the town?

Thanatopsis: What happened is that the Undead came to Timberidge and informed us to leave or be struck down in one weeks time....

Tarne:: And has that week already transpired? What of the Timberidge community at this point?

Thanatopsis: Yes, that already happened...I had a meeting with allied forces and the Militia of Yew to take a defensive stance against the evil force. The enitire week went by with the town undersiege. Then came the day of the attack. Allied forces managed to hold of the first wave of Undead and thier evil counterparts, but the second wave was too much to bare. Eventually Timberidge fell. Survivors scattered to various commuinities and to the Abbey in Yew. During the following week, coordinated a counter attack to retake Timberidge. That counter attack worked. Allied forces managed to retake Timberidge just a few days ago.

Tarne:: Good news indeed. So at this juncture Timberidge is currently back under your control?

Thanatopsis: Somewhat it is. However, there is a strange disturbance here that I haven't been able to quite make out yet. Life doesn't quite flourish here like it once did. The setting is somewhat taking a similar effect to what is in Felucca. The air here has a stench to it and is foul.

Tarne:: Do you fear another attack by the Undead and their allies? Or do you believe this to be some sort of residue left by the Undead creatures?

Thanatopsis: I believe that Timberidge has already served some purpose to the Undead at the moment. However, I am sure they will return to occupy the town. At the moment it is almost unbearable to live here. The land itself definitely has some sort of evil enchantment upon it.

Tarne:: Has there been any investigation by either the United Clans of the Empire or it's allies into this enchantment placed onto Timberidge by the Undead or it's allies?

Thanatopsis: I have already begun one myself. However, I will be calling upon Wind for help. They will have a better chance on discovering the power of this evil, and perhaps a way to dispel it.

Tarne:: I hope that something can soon be done. Have you heard any reports of the Undead possibly trying to take further townships? Why do you think they choose Timberidge? First step in a greater campaign or does Timberidge hold some other signifcance?

Thanatopsis: I definately think that this is part of a larger campaign. The Undead have increased their presence in Yew doing raids from time to time. I also heard a rumor that they have given the Keepers of Justice one week to leave the Halls of Justice or suffer the same fate as Timberidge did.

Tarne:: Very disturbing news indeed. Best of luck to you and to the Keepers of Justice as well and thank you very much for your time as I know you are a very busy man.

Thanatopsis: Thank you.

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GUL Arena Combat Results 11/25

• 50,000 first place winner-Scorpion
• 25,000 second place winner-Jenny
• 10,000 third place winner-Butthead

Pictures and commentary here. Thanks, Katroine

GUL Arena Combat Results 11/25

• 50,000 first place winner-Scorpion
• 25,000 second place winner-Jenny
• 10,000 third place winner-Butthead

Pictures and commentary here. Thanks, Katroine

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Hail, I am here to announce the upcoming tournament of champions. The tournament will be held on Saturday, December 1st. This month the battles will be "1 on 1" battles between warriors of any type! The location will be at SOUL Tower in Felucca. A rune to the SOUL tower can be found in the rune book at the Hungry Halfling Tavern in Rivendell. If you do not know where Rivendell is that is not a problem, upon registration I will be handing out runes to the location. Registration will begin on 6:30 PM at the stormhaven citadel.Tournament begins at 9:00 PM est. There is an entry fee of 1,000 gold to enter, this goes toward the prizes listed below. for a map to the citadel go to For Those of you who know where SOUL tower is you can register there as well prior to the tournament beginning.

http://www.uo-rivendell.com/sg
------------------------------------------------------------
Tournament Rules
1. Battles are to the DEATH.
2. No outside interference/aid is permitted for contestants.
3. No Looting!
4. No DP weapons.
5. No hiding.
6. No magical weapons, armor or items.
7. Yes horses & other mounts are permitted.
8. Yes potions and scrolls are permitted.
9. This is a Tournament which follows rules of honor and any disregard of the rules, dishonorable conduct and/or interference/aid for a combatant(s)shall disqualify said combatant(s) and declare the other combatant(s) victor of the round.
------------------------------------------------------------
1. Contestant(s) will be called to the battle area by assigned number which will be given to them at time of registration.
2. All Contestants will proceed to opposite sides of the area.
3. The Tournament Host shall begin the battle with a shout of "BATTLE ON!" Any contestant(s) starting before this time will be disqualified.
4. Contestants will battle according to the rules of the particular style tournament for the month.
5. Contestants will continue till one contestant dies. In case of team
battles, when all team members Die.
5. A rezzer shall enter the arena at the end of each round to rezz the dead.
6. The winner of each round shall be promoted to fight winners of following rounds til only two are left to enter the arena and only one shall leave victor and CHAMPION!.
7. The Winning prize purse will be awarded at the end of the Tournament and the Champion(s) shall be added to our HALL OF CHAMPIONS page.
------------------------------------------------------------
Battles are to the death!
Prizes include.
1st place: 50k gold
2nd place: 25k gold
3rd place: A suit of armor of the players choice.

I hope to see you there!
-Dol'gorath
-Tournament Master, SHS

Calling all landlubbers! Come test your fighting skills against some of the fiercest monsters of the sea this Saturday. The Trinsic Council of Honor is sponsoring a public net toss with a twist. To see just what that twist is, you will need to come see for yourself *grins*

To participate, come to the Trinsic docks (at the far eastern part of the city) in Trammel at 8pm eastern on Saturday, December 1st. Be prepared for battle with sea serpents, water elementals, and mighty krakens. We will be providing nets, but of course you are welcome to bring your own as well, the more the merrier! We hope to see you there on Saturday.

Annunzio
Trinsic Council of Honor
http://tcoh.hypermart.net/
Atlantic Town Councils Calendar
http://www.calsnet.com/atltc

Earlier today, we were alerted to an issue involving our registration web page not accepting game time codes. This issue has now been resolved. We apologize for any inconvenience this may have caused.

The changes listed below are currently active on the Lake Superior and Pacific shards, and will be published to the Great Lakes and Napa Valley shards during their normally scheduled maintenance period on Tuesday, November 27th CST. We will continue to monitor the publish on these shards throughout the week, and will make an announcement when the schedule has been determined for the remaining shards.

Complete information on the following changes can be found in Testing for Next Update.

(a)New player experiences
(b)Context sensitive menus
(c)Bulk order deeds
(d)Changes to Animal Lore
(e)Crafting System overhaul
(f)Updates to the Faction System
(g)A variety of bug fixes that address aspects involving NPCs, houses, skill gain, guild and party systems, spellcasting, and some map regions.

The changes will be added into Latest Game Updates once they are active on all shards.

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Exceptional quality items can be forged into a weapon along with the magical properties.

You cannot repair the runic hammers.

Mining gloves (+1, +3, and +5 bonuses) do not wear out due to mining. They will wear out (just like normal gloves) if worn in combat, though.

If you use your young player's deeds to fill large orders (or any character below 70 skill), you'll find that, because of the skill level, you can't get exceptional and colored bulk orders. This means the large bulk order requiring those armor pieces will yield a lower quality reward, of course.

Over 70 skill, it doesn't matter what skill level you are. It's purely random. Selling magical items to the vendors does not increase your chances for higher value deeds.

-Hanse
UO Live Designer

Lower or higher, it doesn't matter. The odds are the same for anyone 70 skill and above to get the deeds. Skill doesn't come into play with the random selection of what deed you get (aside from exceptional - you get a 10% bonus for being GM).

We're aware of the old holiday items and such having been renamed at the onset of "Publish 14," and this was unintentional. We're looking into correcting this issue.

In reply to:
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Dev team can you tell us if it is at the least psible that you will make a Europa seige perilouse shard?

it would be nice if you told us if it was either a posibility one will come up or if it will never happen
----------------------------------------------------------------------

I'm sorry, but there are no plans at this time to create another Siege Perilous-style shard in Europe (or America).

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Hail!

Not one, but in fact TWO new episodes have been uploaded.

Also, some big news at http://cgi.clanpages.com/news/index.asp?newsid=7657

May the corpses of fallen players line thy path!

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HI!

ME NOOBIEDOOD AND ME HAVE MANY MANY ADVENTURES! ME MAKE WEBSITE OF ME ADVENTURES AND TRY TO HAVE A NEW ADVENTURE EACH WEEK! MY LATEST ADVENTURE WAS A TURKEY DAY ADVENTURE! IT BE FOUND HERE!

http://normalguy.keenspace.com/noobiedood.html

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Good morrow, ladies of the realm! Are you single? Have you sought for something more? Do you sit about nights wondering what to do?

We have an answer for you! Nightzangel is reinstituting the tradition of the old Ladies of the Lair with some of your favorite ladies from there and some all new faces. It is all happening in the town of Silvervale. You can visit their website for a map or seek your way there on the road northwest from Vesper. Silvervale is just before the desert there.

We will be needing to find other young ladies of the realm, and guardians for the Sirens.

Not every lady will qualify for the Sirens, but if you are interested, and we know you might be, then come to Silvervale this Thursday night, the 29th of November, to meet with the other ladies who will be running the tavern!

You can speak to them there of the qualifications for becoming a Siren, and enjoy the tavern evening. Gentlemen, get your first peek at the Sirens, and join us too on the night for some tea (spiked) and ale!

If you cannot attend, use the mail address to contact one of the ladies, and she will get back to you.

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In the town of Rosewood, that lies just below the swamps west of Vesper, will the gypsies of Clan Ayr be this Wednesday, November 28th!

Gypsy games are planned including a horse race, games of chance, and a scavenger hunt. Prizes of gold and of stone and glass will be awarded! Horses will be available from the gypsies for the race.

The games are open to all citizens of the realm, and we hope that you will join us in the town of Rosewood. Rosewood map can be found here, if ye seek directions. It is a new town, and has been a quiet one, but we hope to have the gypsies change that on Wednesday eve!

Rilla will be there to read cards again, as Rosewood is the town of the Wheel of Fortune. Perhaps Fortune will be with you that night!

Time grows short, and the deck dwindles. Dordi! It is just a short way away. Join us!

Those who would read of the quest can seek at Chessienet on the quests forum to read of what has passed. The story of the gypsies is also available here.

All are welcome to follow the gypsies, or perhaps even join us!

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The economy of Sosaria has always been largely driven by "collectors." These are citizens who spend much time and no little gold on "rares" and other desirable items. Under Patch 14, the collectible market may see some rather radical changes, in which certain player-crafted items become highly sought after. If you've not yet read the most excellent article regarding Patch 14, please refer to the UO Stratics main page, in the General News section. The title of the article is "Soon-to-be rares and craftable itemns...". You may want to pay particular attention to the section on craftable jewelry.

Also of note, are the growing rumors regarding upcoming Order/Chaos wars. Now, we've all heard these rumors before and even witnessed minor resurgences of this storied form of PvP. However, with the growing number of disenfranchised Factions participants, the time may be ripe for "old school" Order/Choas conflict. As with all things, only time will truly tell the story, but I for one would like to see O/C particpants running amok through the streets of Trammel Britain, once more. In fact, in days of Olde, there was no better way to initiate new players to the art of PvP.

Often, new gamers are intimidated by all the tales of quick death and quicker looting in Felucca, thus they never give PvP a try. Order/Choas wars seemed to help new players gain a better understanding of the basics of PVP, thus encouraging them to try it. Alas, PVP is not for everyone just as PVM isn't for everyone. But it IS a shame that misconception deters players from at least trying new forms of gameplay. Just the thoughts of an old druid.

Safe journeys to you, one and all.

Cyn

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Samhain of the Fishing Council of Britannia, Napavalley Branch writes:

FCB is having another fishing trip!

• When - Sunday Nov 25th, 2001 @ 2pm pacific time
• Where - Vesper docks, Trammel
• Bring - poles, friends, toques (cuz it's november and kind of chilly out at sea)

Hope to see all you hoopy froods there!
Samhain, hoopy fleet captain

Your humble servant
Raeven Aurora

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Another pair of adventurers has decided to journey through this world and husband and wife. Read on.

Hail Cyn.

Hail and well met friends and fellows.

The Knights of Days are pleased to announce the wedding of the Training Mistress Lady Raistlin to Supreme Chancellor Lord Valcor of Trinsic, both long time guild members and companions. This event shall take place on Saturday Dec. 1st at 7pm central in the Guild tower located due West of the Brit crossroads at the Northern peak of the Clearing. Gates will also be available at the West Brit Bank. All are invited to join us in this blessed event with a reception to follow.

One thing is asked. If there are warring guilds or governments that wish to attend please recognize the tower as neutral for this event. We ask that no weapons be produced and all act accordingly. If anyone requires further information contact the guild at [email protected]. Until then may you all be safe in your journeys.

Falstaf
Guildmaster
Knights of Day

Safe journeys to one and all.
Cyn
Legends Reporter and Patron Saint of Sosarian taverns.

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From the Journal of NEMESIS ENFORCER
Famis Qalil'Ut, Cult of the Azure Dragons
http://www.alterythem.com/cad
Sep'Norac, Year of the Clockwork Beasts

Nemesis Enforcer let out a light sigh as he sat behind Ra'Dian's desk. As much as he knew that the role of responsibility was now his, it was not a task he had been prepared to take up again. Still, he would do as best he could. "I am ceasing all ties to the Temple of Mondain."

The Monitor of Dracona sat across from him. Her eyes turned upward as she lifted her left eyebrow slightly. Blinking twice, she looked back at the Enforcer. "You do know they expect you to take responsibility for the Cult attacking them at Nujel'm."

"I'll take responsibility for it alright. I have no idea who landed the first blow, the Cult or the Temple, but I do know this much." He picked up Ra'Dian's journal and flung it across the room, the pages flapping briefly before the tome slammed into the wall and dropped harshly to the floor. "I know that it was those traitorous villains who attacked the allies of the Cult first. They speak now of whether or not they were justified, and what they did or did not promise to Ra'Dian, and I will tell you this... it makes little difference to me. They are common criminals. They worship an old, dead, musty corpse with less power than I have in my index finger, and they wouldn't know knowledge if it bit them in their hind quarters. They seek revenge and power. All else is beneath them."

Tre'Lianne pointed to the west. "You know those 'common criminals' live just in the desert yonder. Why not seek vengeance upon them. Why not paint the desert red with their blood."

"Because they are unworthy of our attention. Because attacking them in revenge for Edguardo's death, for their interference, for anything... we would be no better than they. So I choose to sever all ties with them. Let the guardians of Dracona exact justice upon them if they break the laws of the land, but elsewise, they are no longer our concern."

The Enforcer stood and walked past Tre'Lianne. "I go now to deliver the termination of our relations."

"Ra'Dian would be pleased by your decision." Tre'Lianne stood and put a hand upon the Enforcer's shoulder. "He will return someday, you know. He is simply collecting his thoughts."

"I know." The Enforcer smiled. "Elves love solitude to think. He won't be gone for long."

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We are raffling a small BajaTrammel Ice Isle marble workshop located at coordinates: 91'24"N/172'33"W. From Nov 24, at 6am PST to Dec 3 at 3:00pm PST, you may purchase tickets in the form of a book for the raffle there. You may purchase as many tickets as you wish. All participants will be assigned a time to come and redeem their ticket(s) for the corresponding key to try their luck at the 10 prize chests.
Chests will contain one of the following prizes:
Grand Prize: workshop key (ownership of the home)
2nd Place: check for 75,000 gold
3rd Place: check for 50,000
The remaining 7 chests will contain an item or items valued between 1,000 and 40,000 gold!

The ticket books will also contain instructions for participation. The tickets may be presented starting at 3pm PST on Dec 3. Each book will cost 50,000 gold. Questions may be adressed to [email protected] or by ICQ: 140353317

Good Luck!
Ilandra the Hand, Cowboys of Baja (CBY)

68th Assembly of the 6th High Council

Date: Monday, November 26th, 2001
Time: 10 PM EST/9 PM CST
Location: Magincia Parliament Building, Trammel Facet.

Agenda:

• Announcement by Lord Galahad regarding a tournament of Knights to be held in Trinsic.
• Announcement by Lord Singlarad regarding the installation of the new Mayor of Minoc and the search for council members.
• Announcement by Lady Aine Blackwood formally announcing the search for Guilds to serve as Yew Guards.
• Announcement by Lord Buzz Aldridge regarding the postponement of MageFest until January.
• Announcement by Lord Buzz Aldridge regarding his search for a new Adjutant.
• Other items to be announced at the meeting.

The High Council of Britannia

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So just in time, here are a few simple decorations you can build to make your house feel a little bit more festive. All of these are extremely easy to make, but they all require the use of a decorator's tool. You can get one from any NPC carpenter. The tools run about 10K, but they making house decorating a breeze and are blessed so one will last your whole life.

This season, you can liven your house up with a Holiday Snowman. Thalia came up with this charming fellow. Stack a small vase on a top of a large vase to form the body. Once you lock the small vase down, you will need to lower it several times with the dec tool. Then put a dice cup on top, lock it and lower it. Add a jester hat to cover the cup, lock and lower, and there's your basic snowman. Here I've done a few little variations. Try locking and lowering a bandage on top of the large vase to add a scarf, or use two small vases to make a tall snowman who has his hands stuffed in his pockets. You can also visit NPC farms and dig up carrots that point in different directions. Try using one of the oddly pointing carrots to give Frosty a nose.

Been wondering what to do with all those Holiday Bells you collected last year that have now been moldering in a secure for ten months? Dress up any banister with a holiday garland made of bells and whispering roses. Once again you will need to use the dec tool to adjust your bells and roses until they stack nicely. A little too rich for your blood? Try making a garland using a single piece of nightshade with a ball of yarn dyed red on top. These little sprigs of holly (shown on the stairs) also look nice on top of bookcases. Be sure to get the dark yarn that has a little tail pointing down. The plain round yarn with no tail won't stack correctly on the nightshade.

Need a kiss? Servant Hecubus has made an arch and hung a few sprigs of mistletoe down to catch unsuspecting ladies (and ostards). Lock a row of benches down, as wide as you want your arch. Then raise each bench with the dec tool as high as it will go. To make the sides, stack 3 wooden thrones, lock them down, and use the dec tool to turn them until they are facing backwards. Raise the top one until the bench hides the arm. Raise the middle throne until the top throne hides the arm. You will need to then raise the bottom throne two or three times to center it and hide the arm. Use the dec tool to lift apples and nightshade in the center squares. Raise them until they appear to hang from the benches and then pucker up and wait for visitors.

If you don't like the limitations imposed by the way objects stack on other objects, you can try your hand at some Holiday Backpack Art. Here the only limit is your imagination and the 125 item count. Jade and Forge at Destard Village are the undisputed masters of this art. Here at the Destard Village Armory and Gem Shop, some of the vendors sell GM Smithy goods, and some are just there to add a little holiday zing to your shopping experience. The traditional wreath and funky glowing tree, the bright red Christmas Ostard, and the little spider silk angel are all small enough to leave room for packs of traditional goods for sale if you so desire. Backpacks of items for sale would also fit underneath the sides of the Menorah.

If you have an easy and charming Holiday House Decoration idea you'd like to see featured here, feel free to drop me an e-mail at [email protected] containing basic instructions for re-creating the object, the name of the person who invented it, and the co-ordinates and facet where I can go to see it. Please include some sort of landmark like the closest city or dungeon or shrine. Please do not send attachments, even jpg files.

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Enjoy !

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The process of deciding the winning numbers was as follows: three of the participating audience members' names were randomly drawn from a box, and they each rolled a set of dice twice to determine the numbers. The first roll was to show the two possible numbers, and the second roll was to show which of the two numbers in the first roll was to be used. The three people selected, in order, were sachi, maanaito and GeaVe.

In order from left to right, sachi, maanaito and GeaVe express how they feel about being on stage.

After some tense moments and cries of anguish from the crowd, the numbers turned out to be 3, 1, and 6. If any of the entries were in that exact order, it would be considered a "straight" win, and the winner would get the whole 687 000 gold pieces. If, on the other hand, an entry had those numbers, but not in the right order, it would be considered a "box" win and would still win part of the prize money. There were no straight winners, but there were two box winners, sabuyan and naitu, who consequently each won 343 500 gold pieces.

The final, defining roll by GeaVe... and the results.

At the after party, food, drink and entertainment were available to the lively group assembled. Through all of the drinking and "polymorphed player hunting", I was able to catch the two winners for a little interview about their newly won riches.

"I'm very happy. I have a scribe who requires many resources, but this should take care of the expenses. I look forward to putting a few entries into the next lottery as well."
~sabuyan

"This is the first time I've held so much money. I am going to buy a boat and go on a cruise. I will definately enter in the next lottery; I look forward to it."
~naitu

Of course, my visit to the 4LC's lottery event would not be complete without a little Q&A with the man of the event himself, Clow of the 4LC. I found him sitting off to the side, watching with a smile as the party grew rowdier and full of laughter. I took the opportunity to ask him about the lottery and about the guild itself.

"'Numbers 3' is an actual lottery played in Japan. It is quite popular. Our process has changed slightly every time, as I hope to make the event as streamlined and convenient as possible for the people involved. The more times we hold events, the more regulars we recognize. I am happy with the way things turned out today, but having winners has got to be the best part of holding any lottery or similar event.
When we first moved to Izumo, we noticed that the shard was pretty low ranking as far as PC events were concerned. That's when we came up with the idea for a guild based soley on the hosting of PC events. We have many more good ideas for events, but some require more people than we have, and therefore are currently on hold. We are always looking for new members, people who are enthusiastic about events and the Izumo community. We intend on holding a 'Numbers 3' lottery every month, but we also look forward to holding other kinds of events as well."
~Clow

As Clow mentioned, 4LC is welcoming new members. UO history and skills don't matter, as long as your heart is in the right place. So if you're on the Izumo shard and you want to get more involved in the community through PC events, 4LC is the guild for you!

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From the Journal of NEMESIS ENFORCER
Famis Qalil'Ut, Cult of the Azure Dragons
http://www.alterythem.com/cad
Bri'Norac, Year of the Clockwork Beasts

"I am a great fool."
"Not so great a fool as I, Valerix."
The Enforcer stood and stared at the blue-haired elf seated behind the granite desk. It had been ages since anyone had last spoken his name... ages since he had last heard his true name spoken in fact. He knew that for it to be spoken now, times of change were upon him. "You are leaving."
Ra'Dian's lips curled into a smile. "I've never been able to hide much from you, old friend." He chuckled softly, and then let out a long, slow sigh. "I take responsibility for Edguardo's death. It was I who ordered you to head for Fire Isle, when all along, my heart knew truly he had never left Nujel'm. And it was I who believed that planted letter found in the Tower of the Three Dragons. It was I who opened a dialogue with Mordain, and it was I who failed the Cult. I have grown old, Val. Old, and forgetful."
Nemesis wanted to say something to his friend, but he could tell that the High Priest had made his mind. There was little he could say to console him over the death of his friend, and little more he could say to convince him that mistakes happened. That they could only have been at the Isle or in Nujel'm, but not both at the same time. That had the force been split twixt the two locations, the force in Nujel'm would have been repelled by the Empire and the power-mongering Mondainites.
"Tal'Mah'Ra. It is a name likely unfamiliar to you, Valerix, but one that I should not have forgotten. There is no possible way that a letter was written that long ago by Mordain as leader of the Temple when Mordain was but a fledgling acolyte, if part of the Temple at all. The Temple planted that seed to gain our trust, all while seeking re-admittance to the Empire of Armageddon.
"It is funny though, Val." Ra'Dian's eyes were focused down on the table, staring at his journal. "I thought the ploy before me was of Leshyani speaking that Mordain hurt his chances at rejoining the Empire by attending her questioning. The facts were all in front of me, and I chose to believe the wrong ones, discounting the true. I could not have made any larger mistake. The daemon temple indeed."
"Your final orders, my lord?" The Enforcer looked at his friend, and knew that this burden of honor was eating the aged elf.
"Orders, Enforcer?" Ra'Dian looked up, his blue eyes filled with tears. "I have no more orders to give. I am torn between strangling Leshyani with my bare hands and beating Mordain with the handle of my crook until a fine pulp is all that remains of his 'knowledge-seeking' mind. I cannot decide whether to gather forces full and strike Nujel'm until not one of the Empire stands, or to simply grab Ramirez, visit Nero, and slam the Arch-Mage's face into the rotting corpse of his father, pressing it there until he suffocates to death by cause of that which he most desired. I am not fit to give orders."
"What then of the Cult?"
"That, my friend, is truly now your decision. I once entrusted you with the care of the Cult, and I do so again. I cannot say if or when I shall return, but the future now lies with you."
"Where do you go?" the Enforcer asked, praying that he would still be able to find the elf at times.
"Ilshenar. There is a peaceful mountain, overlooking several falls. It is quiet, undisturbed. It will give me the time to ponder, to think, to clear my head." Ra'Dian stood and walked to the far table, opening the small chest upon it.
"Dor'eg-l'nar vi'ert o'nerin Yl', Ra'Dian Fl'Gith." The Enforcer saluted the founder of the Cult, and watched as he pulled several reagents from the wooden container.
"O'nerin fa', Nemesis Enforcer. O'nerin fa'." The elf ran his fingers through the air in an arcane pattern. "Vas Ter-Mur Rel Por," he intoned, and a vibrant crimson moongate formed before him. Beyond, Nemesis could see a mountain. As Ra'Dian stepped through, the visage faded.
The Enforcer looked down upon the granite slab of Ra'Dian's desk... his desk... and saw the charcoal scroll lying there, tucked under the journal. "To your graves, Mondainites. To your graves."

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Help! I am looking for my daughter! While travelling to buy goods at a vendor, we were attacked by a bear and we were seperated. I have been looking for her, but I haven't seen anything. I did hear one clue as to where I may find information on where to find her, but I was unable to figure it out. I believe the clue went something like this:
A man named Sylvester lives in a cabin on the road in the land of Trammel along the plains of blood. The road is between 2 guards. One guards a dessert of virtue and one guards a mountain of vice. When you find him, ask him about a quest.

To anyone who can locate my lost daughter, I will award 50,000 gold pieces for her return.

Beverly

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As the time for his execution drew closer the members of the Temple of Mondain gathered at the great square in NuJelm in front of the jails. With content and grins on their faces they watched as Edguardo was carried out to a raised platform to which would be his last place to stand, knowing that his face and the faces of those whom he had attacked and committed crimes against would be the last thing he saw before his transition. Where was his "Lord" British now? In his next life would he get to see him? Stand before him and make excuses why he was not saved? No.... Instead he will see the deathly pits of hell to which his true lord really stood for, domination, death and control. British has murdered and stole what was rightfully Mondain's and the death of Edguardo would hardly be retribution for the years of suffering and war that those in the temple had gone through however it is in the right direction.

As the arrows flew into the heart of Edguardo he gave out a burstful laugh that echoed throughout the square and his face was an unchanging devotion to the "lord" he served for so long. However disturbing this was, justice was served with his last breath taken and his body slumping to the ground.

What now? What is the next step? A voice from behind Mordain asked. "We wait and prepare, it is time to assure our survival and restore the rightful claim of this land to Mondain, to seek his wisdom in the arcane and to practice the knowledge he has taught us through the years, and to find a city of our own, where we belong. Just then a loud rumble could be heard and shouts from those in attendance. "TO ARMS! Order of the Silver Serpent and its allies have arrived!" a voice yelled out. Upon hearing this Mordain gave the order to form up and attack. The battle was long and for the first time in many months the Empire and the Temple fought side by side, but this was not for an alliance or for a friendship, this was for survival and justice. After long the bodies and injuries took their toll on the forces of british and they were destroyed but only have casualties of our own. When the battle was over Mordain gave the withdrawal command from the battle field as there were no more enemies to purge. A gate of blue glow was opened and the members of the ancient temple filed through it silently without uttering a sound. Slipping one by one through the magic gate they disappeared from view and returned the their stronghold.

-Mordain
Prophet of Mondain

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We are proud to announce the opening of DeedFinder! A true database for Blacksmiths working on Bulk Order Deeds.

Search our growing database of deeds available for trading on your home shard!

With Publish 14 now active on Pacific as well as Lake Superior, we are proud to announce the release of DeedFinder!
DeedFinder allows you to enter your deeds in as a seller or trader, or post your needs list up as a buyer! UO Gold or items only.

DeedFinder will turn on each shard as they receive Pub 14.

deedfinder.shard.net is the brainchild of an old blacksmith on Pacific.

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Some of the first-time vendors were nervous before the bazaar officially began, but once things got underway, they were all so busy that they forgot about being nervous. The customers were very pleased to find a wide range of goods at exceptionally low prices.

The consumers had come to shop, certainly, but most found themselves unable to leave the bazaar without first trying their hands at the MMA's dice game. The rules were simple; you had to roll against four MAA members, one after beating the other, and get the higher roll each time. It cost 100 gold pieces to play, but the rewards were well worth the risk. The prize packs were highly attractive, including such things as a set containing 1000 of each reagent or a full set of valorite plate armour. When asked why they had decided to run the dice game, Lord Deen and EvaEvaEva of the MMA responded that they had hoped to run an event that was both unique and enjoyable for all of the people present. The potential gamblers, who were lined up as far as the eye could see, agreed that the game was highly addictive and a few hardcore gamblers had played through at least three times. Some even say that a certain Stratics shard newsreporter was seen playing through - twice, in fact - but such rumours have not been confirmed. After a few grueling re-matches, maki was the first to beat all four MAA members, and bagged herself 1000 of each reagent.

At the centre of all the commotion, Exist had set up a temporary tavern where tired shoppers could rest their mounts and pack animals before going back out into the battlefield for another round of impulse buying. The honourable Scarlet, a tailor of Exist, was standing by the tavern with a few pack animals, distributing souvenirs in exchange for donations to the Britain Food Drive currently underway on all of the Japanese shards.

After the bazaar had ended, and all of the stores had been closed up, I was able to catch the general overseer of the event, JIEI-Craftsman of the MMA, for a quick comment.

"I could not have run this event alone. The success of these bazaars is the product of the combined efforts of people like my trusted caravanmates, the willing merchants, and the advertising front which includes websites that inform the public of our events."

He assured me that the caravans of Exist will continue their travels, holding bazaars in any town they happen to pass through. So for all you avid shoppers out there: Keep your eyes open! Exist may be coming to your hometown next!

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I have compiled a list with the soon-to-be rares, in other words craftables that cannot be crafted any more after Publish 14 is active on a shard.

Alchemy
No changes as far as craftables go, but there are issues with the proper labeling of potions (bug) and you will no longer be able to pour the created potion directly into a keg. The keg issue will be addressed with Publish 15 however.

Bowcrafting
Except for a bug with skill checks for heavy crossbows that is going to get fixed, there are no changes to the craftables.

Carpentry
No changes to carpentry are known so far.

Cooking
No changes, as it wasn't possible to place a maker's mark on cooking items before, and every cooking item (except savage skin paint) can be bought from NPCs as well.

Inscription
Some issues with inscribing scrolls have been introduced, mainly:

• It is possible now to meditate and inscribe at the same time.
• Mana is also consumed if you don't have the necessary items with you and inscribing fails because of this reason.

Runebooks have been changed also. First of all, you now need 10 blank scrolls instead of 8 scrolls to create a runebook. A more severe issue is that it is now impossible to create runebooks with 10 charges. This is most probably a bug. It is now also possible to craft non-exceptional runebooks with 9 charges - and with a rather high chance as well!

Tailoring

• Caps and tall straw hats (as opposed to the regular straw hats) are no longer craftable. I really liked my caps!
• Short pants are finally craftable!
• The skill requirements for a plain dress and a fancy dress have been switched (12.4 / 33.1). This makes sense, as there is no reason for a plain dress to be much more difficult than a fancy one.
• Another type of cloth (cut-up cloth) - very similar to folded cloth - is now craftable as well. I don't see the purpose yet, but it's nice!

Tinkering
A lot of changes have been made to the tinkering skill with new tools to craft and a major change to traps and jewelry. Tinkers may now also craft the tools necessary for Bowcrafting, Cartography, Cooking and Inscription:

• rolling pin
• flour sifter
• skillet
• fletcher's tools
• mapmaker's pen
• scribe's pen

Golems may no longer be repaired with Pub 14, but this is a known bug and should be fixed before the Publish hits all shards.

Regarding traps, there are quite a few complaints on the boards that tinker traps are way weaker now than they used to be. This means no deadly poison trap any longer - only lesser poison is possible, and no tough damage with explosion traps - only 5 - 15 HP damage are dealt with the new explosion traps.

Finally, jewelry is now crafted rather differently with the menu. You can no longer craft items like a "100 diamonds bracelet" or a "50 rubys necklace". Only "diamond bracelets", "ruby necklaces" and stuff like that are craftable after Publish 14. I expect to bekome the other player made jewelry to become quite rare over time. Oh, and the ring has been changed and renamed as well. While it used to call itself a "weddingband" and was newbified, it is now a plain, non-newbified ring.

Raphael the scribe

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With the threat of the golems and controllers finally gone, the town of Ravenshire can again go back to its normal activities.

The War of the Golems will not be forgotten though. As I write this missive, my scholars are busily at work, recording the events of the past months.

Many things have happened that I now am able to freely reflect upon...

Most notably is our dear Apollo. He is slowly on the mend, and Syren is never more than an ear shot from him...unless he decides to slip away. His frequant wanderings sometimes worry me...But I feel that he must do this in order to fully heal from his ordeal. We shall see in the future just how much his capture has altered him. I hope only for the best...

The return of my sister Nehalennia was both a shock and a joy. With the war going on, we were unable to spend much time together...which i dreadfully want. My past beyond my early days in Ocllo is an utter blank to me. I beleive she holds the answers that I seek. She and our Brother Gilbert did a wonderful job in keeping the spirits of our warriors high and our wounds healed, both physicaly and emotionally. I must reward them and thier groups in some way...

I pause here only to take a glimpse out the window... Ravenshire is indeed enchanted. The snowflakes, large enough to look like tiny rainbows as they grasp for the evening suns light, disappear almost magically before touching the fair grounds of our city. Alas, there is not even the smallest bite to the air.

What can we expect to come from Ravenshire now I wonder. We have survived our first war, but I wonder will it be the last? Gradually we are getting...refugees; coming here seeking a safe haven. I rarely travel far from my own lands, and I wonder what drives these fair folk out. Only time will tell...

But for now, tis a joyous time. We are alive, we are well and we continue on dispite all hardships...

Humbly,

Lady Bronwyn, the White Raven

The Merchants on Tour (MoT) on Drachenfels are always good for events and action. Therefore we decided to plan an event for UOs 4th birthday. But one event would not be enough .. though two events aren't much better either. 'Lets do a complete event-week.' A ridiculous idea? Maybe. This is only possible to take place when many players are involved and are ready to have much fun.
We scheduled a main-event every day in the first week of december. Just click to your left at the different days of the week and get the informations to participate at the event.
We gathered a big amount of prizes which wait for the event-winners. The biggest prize of all - a workshop decorated with all you need to start as a worker - will be given away at the big party on sunday the 9th.
We would love to invite players from other shards to have fun with us, too. Some events do not need very much to start and creating a char on a different shard is done in no time. Please be our guest.
We are going to create this eventweek to thank OSI for the ongoing effort in creating new ideas and running a world we would all miss if it vanishes one day; and we thank all players, too, who pay for this game and make it possible that such a complex world is existing ..
Enjoy and have fun.
Raknar (Guildmaster Merchants on Tour)

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We are republishing the Lake Superior shard with fixes for two outstanding issues, to be active at approximately 12:00 PM Wednesday, November 21st CST. This publish will contain the following changes:

Players will no longer be able to mine unlimited amounts of ore
Several memory leaks have been addressed

We are also publishing the changes listed in Testing for Next Update, as well as the fixes listed above, to the Pacific shard, also to be active at approximately 12:00 PM Wednesday, November 21st CST. This will require an unscheduled maintenance to the Pacific shard, but we anticipate the shard will return within 30 minutes.

We will continue to monitor both the Lake Superior and Pacific shards to ensure the publish is working optimally, and will announce the release schedule for the remaining shards when it is determined. The changes will be added into Latest Game Updates once they are active on all shards.

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UOSS is currently looking for active, talented citizens of Pacific to add to our crack team of top-notch Ultima Online reporters. As a volunteer you are required to:

• Be a competant writer
• Be an active, knowledgeable member of the Pacific community
• Be willing to attend events and quests, interview VIPs, report news of interest to the community
• Be able to dedicate a minimum of six hours per week to writing and/or posting news items
• Have a familiarity with basic HTML
• Be pro-active

1. Real name
2. Contact email address
3. ICQ number (if applicable)
4. Character name (this must be the name of the character you will be using as your potential shard reporter)
5. Rate your HTML knowledge from 1-10, where 1 is poor and 10 is phenomenal
6. Answer this: Why do you wish to be a shard reporter for UOSS?
7. Include a brief writing sample, no more than 500 words (pictures are not welcomed and no attachments)
8. Any questions???

Good luck to all applicants!

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The Chesapeake UO Events Team is hosting a Thanksgiving party at the Village of Mythndale on the 24th of November 2001 at 8pm Eastern. Activities will include a Dungeon Crawl and races, which include pumpkin pies and turkeys and a turkey shoot out.

Entry fees are at the usual prices charged by the Events Team...FREE!!!!!

We hope you can come and join us in the festivities. If you would like more information, you can contact me on my new email address [email protected].

Companion Black-Ram

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A letter we received from Ajax, Expedition Master of The Yew Mercantile League, sent to us by Gerrick:

Night came, as the setting sun gave its place to a full moon and a dark veil of stars and constellations covered the former sky of amber and ruby. This night was more than expected and a horn sounded the gathering to the tavern.

A group of hearty adventurers and keen rangers joined all together round a man who was dressed himself in ranger clothes. He wore a long green cloak and upon his brown boots hid a dagger.

He put the horn near his belt which held steady his studded leggings and armor. After seeing 
the many people that gathered he said:

"Grand. Let it be written that The Southern Expedition begun Sunday 18th of November."

The scribe nodded and followed his command. The Expedition was finally a reality.

"From Dreamstone we departed and followed the long lost Southern Trail. It was the quickest and probably the only way to reach our destination which was the towns in question Skara Brae and Spiritwood.

At first, things where not so well. The expedition fell victim to deep mud which almost risked the life of a mount. Fortunately Ajax, the Expedition Master had a rope with him and gave it to Boromir who in turn lassoed it to a nearby tree thus enabling to pass slowly but steady through the treacherous mud. In our trail we had seen many guard outposts that most where unfortunately not manned and ruins of houses of old. A sorcerer in the Expedition tried to cast a spell to light our path but alas the nether around the Southern Trail was too corrupted for any Virtuous magic to be used of. However we were not disappointed.

We camped nearby the woods as to rest and to have strength to continue our trail. The Dreamstone Defenders that accompanied us scouted the area and spotted a Brigand Camp. We were lucky we bypassed it and we did not fell victims to their savage intentions. As we reached a crossroad however, the Defenders where called home by a distress pigeon saying  that the town was under siege. The Expedition though did not come to an end although its numbers severely decreased. We came along many a monster and for a moment Decker, a citizen of Yew and Dreamstone and known for his skill in carpentry, went berserk refusing help from any of us. Luckily some cider made him stand to his feet.

We reached the crossroads by noon, and there where plenty of people awaiting us...with a glare. We paid no heed to their intentions and in their agitation they launched an attack. Our retreat to the woods was most successful and we got away from them. Many where heavily injured though and the aid Daelin Proudmoore offered was more than encouraging.

We continued our way until we came upon another crossroad sign, recently painted that pointed to both the townships we sought ... Skara Brae and Spiritwood. We chose the later as to see if this famed city had survived from any possible misfortunes. Luckily all was intact.

By afternoon we arrived, tired yet filled with joy and had an ale at the Spiritwood Tavern. 

The first part of The Southern Expedition was successful. All that remains is a report on the status of both towns, new maps to bring back to The Merchant Hall of The Yew Mercantile League and perhaps a gift representing each city. We hope the second part of The Southern Expedition attracts even more of those who seek an "adventure" out of the ordinary and want to learn more of the townships that surround our fine realm.

Signed,
Ajax, Expedition Master

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We received these disturbing news from Tyrghen of Ravenmoor:

Ravenmoor is in need of help against its attackers! (Border Line Part III)

All those who are willing to help the free men in the struggle to defend their freedom are asked to come on Thursday at 21:00 CET (8 PM GMT) in Ravenmoor, at the Tavern.

The Map to Ravenmoor can be found on our skypage : http://ravenmoor.ng22.com/

We hope to see many of you !

Tyrghen [UT] of Ravenmoor.

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The Chesapeake UO Events Team is hosting a Thanksgiving Party at the Village of Mythndale on 24th november 2001 at 8pm Eastern.

Activites will include a Dungeon Crawl, races which include pumpkin pies and turkeys and a turkey shoot out.

Entry fees are as the usual prices charged by the events team, FREE!!!!!

We hope you can come and join us in the festivities If you would like more information you can contact me on my new email address: [email protected]

Companion Black-Ram

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The Guardians of Lore are pleased to present our second annual writing contest.

Here it is, your chance to get rich and famous just by typing a series of letters in an interesting sequence! The Guardians of Lore, that shadowy organization behind all the important events in the world, is celebrating its second all-Sosaria writing contest by giving away more than one million gold in prizes.

Yes, that's right, you can live the dream of so many aspiring writers and make real money without waiting tables. Just submit your writing, any kind of writing at all, to us before the deadline, and our crack team of literary analysts will begin dissecting it, looking for errors and inconsistencies. If you have fewer than your other illiterate, slobbering peers, you can win one of these fantastic prizes:

1st Prize: 1 million gold
2nd Prize: 100,000 gold
3rd Prize: 50,000 gold

There are only a few simple rules to follow, most of them only designed to protect our own tenuous grip on sanity.

1) Your work must be submitted in an in-game, purple book. You can buy them from any provisioner for just a few gold. Please don't send us text via icq, or give us a url to something you wrote, as this will simply cause us to taunt you.
2) You must put your icq# and/or email on the first page of this book. This is so we can contact you to give you your large check! If your submission is more than one book in length, put this info in all of them. Speaking of this....
3) Your work can be no longer than 3 purple books in length. If it is we will not read it, though we will make remarks about your sister.

If you can follow these rules, and submit before the December 20th deadline, you too could be a winner! So how do you submit, you ask? It's easy! We have set up an easy to use bookmo-boat for dropping off your works at your convenience. It is located just next to the South Trinsic gate in Trammel, as pictured below. All you need to do is drop your book(s) in the hold while standing on the shore.

After submitting your book, please send us an icq message at 136528908 so we can confirm we received your submission. If for some reason the boat doesn't work for you, we can also arrange to pick it up somewhere else.

So, fawners and gadflies, satirists, propagandists, essayists and journalists, writers of yellow prose and blue verse, we invite you to sharpen your pencils and your wits and enter the only writing contest officially endorsed by the Guardians of Lore. And the only one that will put massive amounts of gold in your pockets. Good luck and good writing!

Hear ye! Hear ye!, the city of Caina (located on the North West corner of ice island) shall be holding the following tournaments on Saturday, November 24th at 9pm (Eastern time). Anyone is welcome to attend, however please stable thy mounts before proceeding to the city. You must register before 8:50pm to be able to participate, to register or if you are in need of a rune or a gate to get to the city you may contact Nathalia via raven at 115407750.

**One vs. One Warrior Tournament**
-No magic items or weapons.
-No pre-poisoned weapons.
-No looting.
-No mounts.
-No casting of spells is allowed.
-Potions are allowed.

The winner of this tournament shall recieve 25000 gold crowns.

**One vs. One Mage Tournament**
-No magic items.
-No summoning spells or recalling/gating is allowed.
-No mounts.
-The only spells allowed to be precasted are: Reactive Armor, Magic Reflection and Magic Trap.
-Healing with bandages is allowed.
-Potions are allowed.

The winner of this tournament shall recieve 25000 gold crowns.

**Tournament Champion**
The winners of the above tournaments shall fight to see who the tournament champion is. The champion shall recieve an additional 10000 gold crowns.

Ever travel the realm and wonder what else is out there? Tired of seeing the same old sights? Then the Knights of Sosaria have the cure for your ailment. On 11/26 at 8 PM EST we will be hosting a tour of the realm. This tour will include some of the more noteworthy and interesting sites in both Felucca and Trammel. Tour Guides will show you taverns, strange places and forgotten monuments. The tour will be leaving from the East Bank in Britain at 8 pm sharp. We hope to see you there!

Lord Breti,
Knights of Sosaria
http://knightsofsosaria.tripod.com

Hear Ye! Hear Ye!
The results of Caina's Fight Night are as posted! The winners are as follows:

The Team Duels:
A tough battle in which teams of 2 players battle to the death! After much bloodshed, it ended in a glorious victory for Vineyard and Aspyn! The two defeated all and walked away with the grandprize of 50,000 Gold for this event!

The Summoned Creature Duels:
A contest of pure luck, contestants summoned forth creatures using the 5th Circle Spell. Alastair summoned the first pet, and although Bok tried in earnest to make his master proud, the poor chicken was no match for Blaze's polar bear, affectionately referred to as Ahahah. Many summons later, the High Priest Bal-Anon Dak carried away the grand prize of 12,500 Gold when his Polar Bear mauled the walrus summoned by Khelvestar!

Jousting Competition:
An strict bout in which warriors charged each other on horseback swiftly, but with force. HydroSqueegee vanquished Krule and stood victorious in this event, walking away with the Prize of 12,500 Gold!

By demand of the crowds, and informal team match with no prizes to be had was orgazined after completion of the tournaments. The Orcish team, Neg'Latuk (consisting of Lurtz and Acejuk) quickly eliminated Zechs and Krule, the Roleplaying Dogs in the first round. Dryton Rune and HydroSqueegee, Team Discovery Channel fought well, but did not preside victorious over Team Canada (Divine Night and Jamie ddd). The Final Match brought a swift and brutal death to Team Canada, as Neg'Latuk took over the ring! Congratulations to the Orcs on a Glorious Win! Hoooowahhh!

(edited by CitizenKane2) ... This topic is being WAY over-analyzed. The original question was regarding a player who had named a character using the title "a banker" and dressed is character in NPC style clothes. He was, for all intents and purposes, trying to appear like a banker with the intent of scamming people who didn't know how the banking system worked out of their gold. It doesn't matter if it's one gold piece or 1million, it's still scamming.

The issue of that thread was scamming. Not NPC names. If you have a name such as Kevin, or Sherry, or even Cat, it's not a scam. You're fine. Panicking over a character name like that is like panicking over having the last name Taylor and naming your daughter Elizabeth. But if you name yourself "Kevin the banker" and positioned yourself in the bank to steal a check, or named yourself "a cat" and polymorphed yourself into a cat to lure someone into killing you, that's wrong.

Some in-name titles are more problematic than others. The title "the guard" isn't as severe as trying to trick people into thinking you are "the banker." If someone calls a guard to assist and you don't teleport and kill something in one hit, obviously you're not an NPC, as Sannio points out in his post on Stratics. Players CAN play a legitimate "guard" role, whether in player run towns or NPC towns. But most characters named "the banker" are created in attempt to scam unsuspecting players out of their goods and/or gold. As I have stated previously, GMs will delete these characters, they and action may be taken against the owning player's account.

---------------------------------------------------------------
Actually they are refering to having a name AND TITLE like a characture, such as a foolish person on Napa who called himself Anthony the Minter, dressed like a NPC banker and stood around the Vesper bank for almost a month befor he got deleted.
So just having a characture name like an NPC is not what they are refering to, its also having the title, like "The Guard" or "The Banker" attached to it.
---------------------------------------------------------------------

This is correct, although having a title like "the guard" isn't as severe as trying to trick people into thinking you are "the banker," however--if someone calls a guard to assist and you don't teleport and kill something in one hit, obviously you're not "the NPC for the job." ;) Even still, players can actually attempt to successfully fill a guard role, either in an NPC town or a player-town, and there's some value there. But as far as players who name their characters "the banker," an overwhelming percentage of these characters are created in attempt to scam unsuspecting or ignorant players out of their wealth and valuables, and when GMs encounter these particular characters, they will most likely be deleted and action may be taken against the owning player's account.

Yes, they should be working better before 2002. : b Some bug fixes related to the health bars are being tested by QA now. I can't give a time line, but the fix will be in the next major client patch.

The client has many changes for 2D and 3D however, and with the holiday weekend I wouldn't expect it before December.

In reply to:
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Any idea when the other shards will get publish 14 sannio?
----------------------------------------------------------------------

We're still assessing the effects & results of Publish 14 on Lake Superior, but we hope to be able to put this publish on all the shards soon.

In reply to:
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There have been problems reported about potions loosing their label when moved in/out of a keg, and pets not remembering who their masters were. Are both of these issues considered OK to publish to other shards?
----------------------------------------------------------------------

I, personally, haven't heard anything about potions losing their labels, but I (and our bug-checking QA team) do know about concerns players have been sharing about pets not remembering their masters, and we're looking into that, certainly.

In reply to:
----------------------------------------------------------------------
how does a player "manually" remove a used chest?
----------------------------------------------------------------------

I think the current method allows the cartographer who dug up the existing treasure chest to double click his shovel, target the related treasure map, then target the existing chest to remove it. I believe also that the chest needs to be emptied first.

In reply to:
----------------------------------------------------------------------
We on LS have to wait till publish 15 before the chest problem is fixed?? How long will that be? Days? Weeks? Months???
----------------------------------------------------------------------

Not days, probably weeks, hopefully not months.

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Impy’s Artic Faire

The staff here at Impy’s would like to wish everyone a safe and happy holiday week! Eat lots of turkey (or ham if you wish) and enjoy the company of your family and friends. They are without a doubt the most important things in anyone’s life.

With that in mind, we have chosen not to hold an auction this week. No, we are NOT going out of business! And yes, we will be taking submissions all week. Just like normal. So stop by and submit!!

We also would like to remind folks of a few things we have here at Impy’s:
Full set of Mining Rune Books – located on the second floor in the main room.
Full set of Treasure Map Rune Books – located on the second floor in the main room on the tables.
Full set of City/Dungeon/Shrine Rune Books – located in the main auction room.

And we can’t forget, OUR VENDORS! If it is craftable, we got it! That is the motto around here and our vendors make every effort to keep those “Impy Dressed” workers as full as possible. So stop by today and check out the great selection.

If you don't have a rune, please stop by one of rune vendors: StarLite (Vesper, Trammel), next door to the RD Stables (Felucca), the Sandlewood Box Inn (Dead Heaven, Felucca), Kazola’s TreeTop Keg and Winery (Felucca), Cove Merchant’s Guild and Blacksmith Shoppe (Cove, Felucca), the Mystic Portal (Trammel), the Garden City Mall (Cove, Trammel), Kishan’s Vendor Expo (Trammel).

~Impy’s Staff
www.impys.net

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I'd like to take a minute to solicit news of upcoming events. Whether it be a tourney, wedding, grand opening...or all of the above, it matters not. Send your announcements to us and we'll assist you in spreading the word. Until next we meet, safe journeys!

Cyn
Patron Saint of Sosarian Taverns and Cub Reporter

As I wandered about the countryside, seeking to reacquaint myself with Sosaria, I chanced upon a lonely, though well provisioned tavern. I decided to bestow my blessings upon this worthy institution and proceeded to order a flagon (or 3) of mead. Alas, it was not to be as at that precise moment, a solitary messenger entered the establishment and made straightway for my table. Without preamble, he produced a ribbon-bound scroll and handed it to me. Thirsty for news, (and mead) I quickly read the missive. Here is the content of that scroll. Read on, pilgrims!

Greetings and well met, Cyn.

First off, glad to have heard from passing merchants that you have returned to your post of reporter. I indeed hope that your return has been comfortable to date.

Our Order sought to establish a governmental structure of the Yew area some time past, and though we sent material to the acting reporters at that time, it is with some confoundment that we have awaited word back concerning these matters. It is no major matter : we understand that transitions have been in effect throughout Stratics, and understand these things takes time.

We shall be posting news of martial law being imposed in the Yew area in the coming days by our Order on the message boards, and would be grateful should you see fit to give such notice to the greater community beyond the message boards via your news position. Our Order shall be assuming the duties of a militocracy based government in the Village of Yew, as there is no civilian government in place for our home village.

If you would be so kind as to instruct us on the necessery steps to be taken to become officially recognized as the acting government of the Village of Yew (such as being listed at the Stratics site concerning governments of the various Cities and Tows) I for one would consider myself in your debt.

Merely let me know when you desire a copy of the notice of martial law that we shall be instituting, of course, at your leisure.

Until we speak again;

Inquisitor-General Lolth of the Knights of the Templar,
in service to the General Staff of the Order

Till next we meet, safe journeys to you, one and all.

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Even though it may be quiet around the office here on Thanksgiving holidays, our networking team never stops, and they've being cooking up some great improvements for UO. Come help us test our newest hardware upgrades by logging in to the Thanksgiving Test Shard this weekend. This shard comes complete with all the trimmings, including a new and more stable hardware configuration!

Our test shards have been specifically adapted to allow players to easily test game systems. You may adjust your own stats or skills, and your bank box comes filled with a variety of reagents, items, moonstones, and runes

The best way to contribute to the test of the new hardware configurations is by logging in to the Thanksgiving Test Shard and playing! Try anything, try everything. This test shard is a world we want you to do your best to abuse.

Find bugs we need to know about? Send them on to [email protected]. Bug reports should contain the following information:

1. Client Version Number. This is located at the bottom of the main UO login screen.
   
2. Server Name
   
3. Detailed Bug Description (step-by-step, tell us what you did and what happened)
   
4. Date/Time of Occurrence
   
5. Location (Sextant coordinates, facet, and city location)
   
6. On-site references (If you spoke with a counselor or GM, what was his/her name and what were you told?)
   

It is extremely important to include the necessary steps to recreate a bug, thus allowing the QA Team to promptly review it. We do recommend that you try to be as concise as possible when sending in reports as well. Try to tell us only those steps that were necessary to activate the bug.

Happy Thanksgiving, and we look forward to seeing you this weekend!

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• When: Friday, December 7, 2001 8:00 pm PST (9:00 pm MT, 10:00 CST, 11:00 EST


• Where: The Golden Globe Theatre, Town of Golden, Trammel Facet, Baja Shard

How to get there: Golden is located east of the town of Yew, just north of the Justice Shrine about mid-way up the Peninsula. Most public rune libraries in Baja should have a rune to the Brew, or you can contact Kita Talith at [email protected] in advance to arrange to obtain a rune. A map of the location is located at www.jindy.com/goldenbrew/mappage.html for reference.

Meeting FAQ

What is the purpose of the meeting? Many of Baja's roleplayers have expressed a longing to return to the times when Baja was full of player-run towns, events and establishments. Much of the landscape has been empty of players in recent months, and this is an effort on our part to encourage players, old and new, to involve themselves more in the community and events of our shard by hosting events, attending events, improving communication and planning joint events and quests.

How will it be run? Although the idea for the meeting originated with Kita Talith of Golden, Dormax of RFL and Sinclair of S^G, the ultimate goal is to create a sort of council that will equally represent all the communities/guilds/event sponsors of Baja who would like to participate. For this first meeting, in order to keep it manageable and small, we would like to request that each group who would like to participate choose two (ONLY 2) representatives of their group to send to this first organizational meeting. One representative is fine, but we suggest two in order to ensure that differing views within a group have a chance to be offered when the situation arises.

Those people should register in advance by e-mailing [email protected] with their character name, the name of the guild or group or town they will be representing, and their contact information. The first two persons registered from each group will be considered the official representatives, unless a guildmaster or other authority in the group contacts Kita later to change them.

Then at this first meeting, which will be closed to the public, the council of representatives will listen to suggestions, vote on and determine the form and mission of the council going forward. We are not trying to dictate the way that this group will work, nor do we propose to "run" the group to suit ourselves, we're just simply setting up a first meeting to get things started.

After that time, we would suggest that the council hold regular open meetings for all interested players to attend, but again, the group will decide all of that at the first meeting.

My group is not an official guild or a town - just a group of people who like this idea - but we still want to participate. Is this open to us? Absolutely. Every group is welcome to send up to two representatives - no matter what size the group - from two to two hundred even! This is not meant to exclude anybody who would like to have a real involvement in helping to organize events and interaction on the shard, and is willing to spend a bit of time to make it happen. Be aware, however, that if you join the council, you'll probably be expected to host an event or two, or help out in someone else's. These things are going to take a bit of time.

Other questions? Send an e-mail to [email protected] if you have other questions.

Kita

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"Well, well, it seems my spies confirm they are sailing off towards Fire Isle." Ramirez paced the cell in front of the pirate. "I am afraid I have no choice friend but to go through with this." The pirate nodded to Ramirez, "May I have one last wish then?" Ramirez turned, "Indeed, you may. What be your final wish?"


The pirate entered the jail cell of Antonious Mestro, Ramirez shut the cell door behind him. "Antonious, where are you?" A slight chuckle emanated from a corner of the cell, "Where be am I? Where be am you?" Antonious emerged from the shadowy corner. The elf’s features were worn and his eyes had the look as if nothing was behind them. His uniform from the Order of the Silver Serpent was ripped and torn, hardly recognizable. "Who be you?" The pirate frowned as Antonious didn't seem to recognize him, "I am an old friend, an old friend indeed. Forgive me for this!" The pirate moved quickly pinning the elf to the floor. Antonious struggled in vain. The pirate put his hands on the temples of Antonious's face. Antonious made a silent scream and passed out. "Remember what ties us, ties us in death too. My brother will answer the question."

The pirate stepped out the cell and nodded to Ramirez. Ramirez quirked his eyebrow, "I hope you didn't hurt my precious prisoner." The pirate winked to Ramirez, "Nothing that can't be solved." Ramirez gave a questioning look but proceeded no farther, "It is time."

The two stepped out into the courtyard between the two jails. It was filled with the forces of the Empire, and to the north, the forces of Mondain could be seen shining the swords. Ramirez motioned to the pirate and led him up to the post. Taking both hands, Ramirez tied them to the post. He took the tricorner hat that was upon the pirate's and flung it to the ground. "Be strong friend," Ramirez spoke and turned away stepping to the side.

Blackened from the Bregan D'Aerth stepped forward. "Edguardo, you have been found guilty of high crimes against the Empire. It is my pleasure to have you executed."


Blackened stepped back to give the line of archers a clean shot. "Archers! Prepare to fire!"

"1!"

"Sacrifice will be served today!" cried Ed.

"2!"

"Cah!"

"3! FIRE!"

The body of Edguardo was flung back against the post as bolts from the crossbows ripped into his chest. The body seemed to linger for a second, then went limp and collapsed to the ground.

Blackened stepped forward towards the body and inspected it. He turned to Ramriez and nodded. A single tear ran down Ramirez's face as he hung his head quickly to hide it. He stepped forward to Ed's body and whispered, "I am sorry friend."

Reaching down, Ramirez took the sash that had been partially hidden. It was the sash of a Dragon Knight. Ramirez shrugged and put it on. If they wanted it back, they could trade Leshyani for it...

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On Sunday, the Society of Archers (S|A) Baja Chapter sponsored November's "Best Shot in the Realms" Archery Contest. The crowds have continued to grow each month, as nearly 50 people, including over 30 contestants arrived late in the afternoon to hone their skills and prepare for the event. October's "Best Shot" and the returning champion, Starr was in attendance, as well as two-time champion Sniper Wolf. This would be Sniper Wolf's final showing at the event and all the big names had come. Red Sonja and the Lady Faerr Woolwillow represented the S|A Baja Chapter in competition.

The event carried through three intense rounds, until the contestants had been narrowed to a small handful. As big names such as Starr, Adian O'Rourke, Silanthos, Sniper Wolf and both of the S|A Representatives fell out of the single elimination tournament, it became clear that a new champion would be crowned. After a very tough round, two Archers remained: Bel McInnis, and Fernege. For the third straight month, the Contest would come down to a shoot-off.

Bel McInnis, in her first appearance at the event, and Fernege, an old acquaintance of S|A, both landed two excellent rounds out of three; however, heading into the final round Fernege was well ahead. Bel needed three bulls-eyes out of three shots to tie the Contest. Showing her skill on the bow she landed two straight bulls-eyes and the crowd cheered, wanting to see the shoot-off continue. Everyone froze for the last arrow, but it was just off the mark. Fernege took home the 120,000gp purse, and the title of November's "Best Shot in the Realms". Congratulations to Fernege for his victory!!

Also, due to many requests, the Society of Archers will be holding a yearly Contest to determine who truly is our Land's finest shot. Each monthly winner will be given an invitation to the yearly "BSR" Championship. Thanks to all who came out, it was perhaps the finest "Best Shot in the Realms" yet. Keep working on your shot, and keep an eye out for next month's "Best Shot in the Realms" Archery Tournament. A free event for all people of the Bow. 'Til December, Archers. *bows* Farewell.

Theoran
Head of Baja Chapter
Society of Archers S|A

Following an unexplained absence of several weeks, King Desmond Cross returned to his homeland, the Kingdom of Dawn, last eve. Upon his return, he and Queen Hayloh held court with the nobles and citizens of the realm.

Desmond revealed the reason for his mysterious departure from Dawn weeks ago. He told of the appearance of a Time Lord in Dawn, one of those strange and almost mythical beings who ensured the normal flow of time and space through the ether. The Time Lords normally did not involve themselves in the affairs of mortals and were only known to appear during times of great danger to all of Sosaria.

The Time Lord told King Desmond that he was to assemble a small party of trusted comrades and to leave the Kingdom immediately. None could know of his destination, lest his mission be jeopardized. Gathering Lord HellRazor as his escort, and a small number of servants, King Desmond set off the very next morning.

Once underway, the Time Lord told King Desmond that there were two great threats that would rise in the near future to threaten all of Sosaria, and that the Kingdom of Dawn was to play an important role in meeting these threats.

He first directed Desmond's party to the far-off city of Britain, with instructions to speak with Nystul, Lord British's court mage. Nystul acknowledged to King Desmond that he was, indeed, aware of a threat to the land. Rumors of a child, born of Mondain the Wizard and Minax the Sorcerer, had been confirmed; a hellish creature unlike any before seen in the history of the world...Exodus. Exodus was a creature not human nor daemon nor machine, but some strange combination of the three, and its power far exceeded that of either of its parents. Worse yet, Lord Blackthorn had gone missing from Britannia, and there was reason to believe that he had formed an unholy alliance with Exodus in a bid to conquer all of Sosaria.

Following their departure from Britain, the Time Lord told Desmond that there was yet another threat. At that, a golden moongate was opened, and Desmond's party was transported to the Trammel facet.

After several days journey, Desmond's party arrived to a location somewhere near Vesper. Here, where there was once nothing, a dark city had sprung, seemingly overnight...the nightmare city of Shadowfell. It was here where the second threat became known.

Camping miles away from the city, Lord HellRazor was sent in as a spy to determine the exact nature of the threat. Here, he found that the recent discovery of the magicks used to create Golems was no accident...the discovery had originated here, in Shadowfell. The mages of the dark city had uncovered these magicks in order to create an army of unliving Golems to conquer the cities of Sosaria. The town of Ravenshire had already been under heavy assault, and HellRazor learned that the Kingdom of Dawn itself would soon be under attack as well.

Armed with this news, the King hastened his return to the realm. There were still many questions left unanswered by the Time Lord. Were the two threats related? Were Exodus and Shadowfell working together or independently? When would they attack the Kingdom? And what role was Dawn to play in the forthcoming events?

Alas, with the disappearance of the Time Lord, there were no answers forthcoming. And so, all that was left for the Kingdom to do was to prepare...and watch...

...and wait.

Noah
Dawn Town Cryer

It has been discovered that treasure chests in Publish 14 will decay about 15 minutes after being dug up. The reduction of the 30 minute time frame to 15 minutes was made inadvertently. Lake Superior is currently the only shard with Publish 14 (except for the occasional test shard), and on all other shards treasure chests still decay after about a half an hour.

We will be returning this duration to the 30 minute time span in the next scheduled publish. Rather than having to wait for "used" treasure chests to naturally decay, players will still alternatively be able to manually remove an empty treasure chest.

=========
Sannio
Online Community Coordinator, UO
Origin Systems

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To all who have interest in seeing Edguardo freed, we meet this evening at 8:00 (CST) in Serpent's Hold at the Southern Guard Post (the area just south of the bridge connecting the north and south portions of Serp's Hold). We will board vessels at 8:15 (CST) promptly to set sail for our final destination. Come prepared for battle. I hope to negotiate for Edguardo's freedom, but if need be, force will take precedence.

Ra'Dian Fl'Gith
Esorei'Toryn, Cult of the Azure Dragons

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In reply to:
----------------------------------------------------------------------
I might be able to go on step father on your ideas about a vets dugoen or town...they made haven for the new player..why not make an island for vets saying 36 months and better..you can use one of the fel or tram islands that isnt used alot...place a dungoen there....or something else...or even a place in Illsher...for the vets only
----------------------------------------------------------------------

Although this may not be exactly what you had in mind, but the city of Wind fills some of the requirements you not that you would like to see in a "vet-only" dungeon or town, in that there is a certain (magery) skill requirement, and contains within it both a city and aspects of a dungeon.

In reply to:
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[A sandle dye tub] will not create more items to sell at Britain bank per se; this would be an equivalent to the leather armor dye tub in terms of creation of new unique items. It would create additional variation in characters, and allow for further uniqueness in avatar appearance. Just as player vendors now sell colored leather armors so they will also sell the sandals as part of the packages to match.
----------------------------------------------------------------------

There is a very important difference between dyed leather good and dyed sandles.

Until the leather dyes tubs were introduced, specially-colored leather goods did not already exist in the game, except perhaps as the rare quest item or gift/reward. Conversely, there are a great deal of colored sandles "out there" that have been collected by players, each of which is considered a rare to some degree (dark brown, blue, black, blessed, etc.). Introducing a sandle dye tub would have a high risk of "nerfing" most, or even all, of these existing colored sandles--and these sandles would not have the same luxury as green "ranger armor" to have equally rare names (allowing pre- and post-sandle dye tub sandles to be differentiated). We need to be conscious of the tremendous effect on the colored sandles trade that introducing a sandles dye tub would have.

This is not to say a means for players to color sandles could never happen, it just means that we have to tread lightly, so as not to diminish all the personal and/or long-term efforts many players have already gone to in order to become colored sandles traders.

(edited by CitizenKane2)...this act is illegal on two levels. First, naming a character after any NPC is not permitted. Dressing such a character as an NPC with the intention of defrauding anyone is a scam and therefore illegal for that reason. Such a character will be deleted and it is possible for the player's account to get temporarily suspended for a short period of time. I have been advised by a GM that you should page using the harrassment option next time you see a character like that.

I think it is perfectly clear what is meant in my post. If there is an intent to scam other characters, if you have any name that would identify you as an NPC (or creature), then it is illegal. To ask if you can't use common names to name your character or if it is not permitted to dress in common clothes seems spurious.

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Also some preliminary information on the Piper has been added to the Hunter's Guide. We're still trying to find out more about this recently discovered Champion.

Kudos to Lady rin and Father Ganja for getting to the new titles first :)

Enjoy!

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Greetings to all Britannians,
This past weeks auction was a success, including the givaway, which a check for 25k went up for grabs in our numbers game. many fine items were in the givaway as well. We have been rummaging thru RD's stuff and seem to keep finding many suits of GM made armor and archery suits in all kinds of colors, so in the future givaway's some lucky person will win some fine GM items Crafted by RD, will have to shake the dust and cobwebs off those items for sure.

Just a reminder that our event is for all players in either facet, so come on over and enjoy a fine night at our Auction. Many fine items come up for sale, including magic items like plate, weapons, virtue weapons, fine Rare items, even some most unusual items, like the Golem items you make, even the new craftable glass ware.

Our Auction starts promptly at 8:30 pm CST/9:30 pm EST we are located south of the desert, and the swamp on the east side of Brit, a 5 minute brisk walk from there. We take submissions on the monday before the auction and one hour before the auction starts on Tuesday evening. So go to your bank box or chest and dig out those items you have not used in years,{those keepsakes} and put them up for auction. make some money and enjoy the Auction.

As always, be kind to the Snooper, he is there for you protection, he only snoops your pack, he is not there to take anything from you unless you have purple potions.

Hope to see you here at our Auction this Tuesday Evening.
Rattler GLV

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• Prize: 1,000,000 in gold and a log cabin in Felucca.
  
• When: Saturday, December 1st, 2001 at 9:00 PM Pacific time.
  
• Where: In the Yew forest under the shining Felucca moon, providence of Napa valley.
  47o 17`N. x 34o 56`W.
  
• For more information, please visit: game-master.net
• For a historical backdrop, please read: History of the Guardian

-------------------------
Hail dark friends.

Lucanis has just returned from Britain. He brings the news we have been waiting for.

It sorrows my heart, but Livia is the traitor!
I feel somewhat responsible, but I had no idea she would turn against us, and Kahn's memory.

We attained this letter from within the castle itself, but we were unable to determine if it has yet been read by Lord British. We must assume it has.

Lord Guardian,
Adam Ant

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

My Dearest darling,

I have news of those wretched Guardians you so loath.
I hear tell both sons of Kahn Anthias are heavily involved.
Lucanis, and his baby brother Adam have sworn allegiance with the undead! Hahaha, Those fools!

Please my darling, forget that eve-of-blood, it was so long ago. You owe the memory of the Mystic Council nothing! They were trying to take your kingdom; you do know this, remember?

I have news. I know how to hurt these so-called Guardians of Undead Lords.
They have a Captain, a wealthy land baron who feeds these mangy barbarians and funds their campaigns against our people. I know how to stop her.

Jade, the Captain of these Guardians, is selling a large parcel of land, your land my dear.
I believe the price is 1,000,000 pieces of gold.
I want you to send your most trusted warriors to this auction.
At the conclusion of the bidding, when the gold has been delivered, we will move in with shield and spear, taking back what is rightfully ours!

Now darling, you must trust me on this, the Guardians are weak. They are unable to fight and are nothing more than loudmouth braggarts, deluded by their own cause.
Indeed, the Anthias boys were once Virtue Guards, but their life on the outside has weighed most heavily upon them.
Those two traitors, Lucanis and Adam, aren’t fit to tend your flocks. And their Captain? Heh, no problem for Draco I would guess.

Do this thing for me my darling. I have always thought that area so beautiful.
I would like to have it for my maidens, and where I may watch the moon rise over the Mountain Wind on cool October evenings.
Were we might watch the moon rise over the Mountain on cool October evenings.

Be the hero I know you to be.

Your one true love,
Livia

-------------------------
Steel yourselves friends, for we will move forward with our plans.
Let not word, nor action speak of our knowledge of these things.

If Lord British whishes to send forth his people to our fair town, to pillage and plunder, I say "very well!"
For we Guardians will never live in fear. We shall take care of our town and protect her wealth with all our hearts.

Now go friend Guardians. Go to those places where we speak of war and may plan for our protection.

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

***************************
The Loot:

The loot will be 1,000,000 gold and a log cabin in Felucca.
There will be 40 checks, each of which is 25,000 gold.
(This means the first one to the loot won't necessarily get it all!)

***************************
The Rules:

As with all Adam Ant quests, you need only defeat the Guardians, kill Adam Ant, and claim the loot.
(Hmm, seems easy enough!)

As always:

• Leave your pets at home
  
• Don't give murder counts
  

***************************
The Hints:

• We Guardians don't often leave our riches laying about, so taking along the highly skilled lock-picker may prove valuable.
  
• When the Guardians have been defeated, beware of those you think to be your friend, for 1,000,000 gold can turn the head of even the most loyal of comrades!
  
• The Guardians of Undead Lords will protect their home with their very lives.
  You have been warned.
  
• A book will be placed with the checks. The first to post the contents herewill get the log cabin.
  
• While the warrior may lie the Guardian low, 'tis the cleaver that shall prevail.
  
• There will be a live cast on the game-master WebCam to help you locate the treasure and plan your attack.
  

It all starts here

***************************
The Sponsors:

Jade - 1,000,000 gold
Mishra - log cabin
Adam Ant – Quest script, logistics

For the full story, look here.

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To all who have interest in seeing Edguardo freed, we meet this evening at 8:00 (CST) in Serpent's Hold at the Southern Guard Post (the area just south of the bridge connecting the north and south portions of Serp's Hold). We will board vessels at 8:15 (CST) promptly to set sail for our final destination. Come prepared for battle. I hope to negotiate for Edguardo's freedom, but if need be, force will take precedence.

Ra'Dian Fl'Gith
Esorei'Toryn, Cult of the Azure Dragons

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Come one, come all! Tuesday November 20th, at the stroke of 8 o'clock on the American Eastern time. For a live phone interview with Richard 'Lord British' Garriott, creator of the Ultima series, including the smash hit Ultima Online. Now his workings take him to his new company Destination Games, where there is no telling what wonders will be created!!! The show will be run from Stratics IRC, in the channel #radio, and hosted by yours truly, Dariuas!

To listen you'll need a media player, such as Winamp, or Windows Media player. In your player, find where 'Open Location' is. In Winamp, you hit ctrl-L and in Windows Media player, go to File, then Open Location, put in the address 66.28.48.200:18692 and hit connect!

I hope you enjoy the show, bug me if you have questions!

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22nd of November, Thursday at 20.00 CET

Hail to thee Traveller! It is our pleasure to announce the Second Market Day of Cove (Trammel). This will be your day to meet people and make good trade agreements.

The Tradeport’s Merchants will be offering follow goods and more:
-         Both stone crafting and glassblowing items.
-         Alchemy, Carpentry, Blacksmithing, and Tailoring products.

Please note that we welcome visiting merchants as well. If your interested in coming to the Market and reserve a place (note that you can come without notice too, if you prefer, but you have to provide your own sales table), drop a note at our bulletin board at: http://cove.rper.org/cgi-bin/dcforum/dcboard.cgi.

The Market will be hold at the Gaveston Manor roof, and exact map can be found at: http://cove.rper.org/

Wishing to see thee there,
The Gaveston Family

Sounds good.

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Beginnings

Time tramples greatness to rubble and dust, but glory is never forgotten. Elder winds sing of the past to those calm enough to listen. -- Meer proverb

Dasha lounged on a tree limb and smiled as the black army marched toward her. A small crossbow rested nearby, but she had not bothered to load it. She knew the forest would shield her from harm. So it had done for a hundred years, and so it would continue to do.

Sunrise crowned the ridge of the valley and the black army poured down the slopes as if a dam had burst. Helmets and speartips glinted in the dawn. The air shook with the stomp of countless armored boots. Yet the tall, tangled forest on the valley floor halted their advance like a cliff holding back the sea. So thickly woven was the barrier of trees that military formations dissolved into single-file columns. Streams of men and weapons vanished in the dark lace of the forest's interior.

Hidden near the edge of the treeline, Dasha sat up and crossed her legs under the stout branch that supported her. A veil of sunshine draped across her cheek. She smiled at the warmth. Coppery light glistened on her fine coat of fur, dappled with delicate spots in contrast to her long, athletic physique. For a young Meer woman, Dasha looked uniquely dangerous. She wore neither a dress nor a headscarf but rather an eclectic ensemble of metal and leather, identifying her as a warrior. Rosy hair spilled like blood over her shoulders. Her high, pointed ears twitched in the morning breeze.

She swallowed a chuckle and thought, So it starts again. The Juka shall attack, we shall repel them and the eternal balance shall assert itself anew. You'd think they might learn from centuries of failure, and yet the Juka will never quit. Battle is their proper nature. So the ancestors recorded long ago.

Somewhere in the distance she heard a screeching commotion. With ease she sprang up from her high-flung perch through the loftier branches overhead. When she breached the forest canopy, she peered across an ocean of treetops and spotted the source of the noise. A fountain of crimson shapes erupted from the leaves to the north. Great, red wings unfurled like banners in the sky. It was a tribe of gargoyles fleeing from the woods. The invaders were driving them away. For a moment Dasha watched the brutish creatures glide toward the low, morning clouds. They possessed a wild beauty that she reluctantly enjoyed.

Then something else rose from the leaves. It was a pillar of smoke that quickly spread. Soon curtains of black and grey wafted up from the distant greenery. The scent of ash drifted past her. Dasha perked her ears. They're clearing a space to camp, she thought. The Juka must be planning a long battle this time. And why not? The forest is pleasant in autumn. A brisk siege will add spice to the season. I shall enjoy this. I must remember to thank Warlord Kabur before I send him limping back home.

The elders at the stronghold would be interested in this development. With hardly a sound she ducked back into the trees and navigated toward the deeps of the forest. Like a murky sea was the vast tangle of branches through which Dasha moved unfettered. She became a spotted streak, too quick to follow. Such was the character of the nimble Meer, who were ancient allies to nature's society. Wherever they settled they befriended the land and traveled as freely as the wind.

The magnificent stronghold of the Meer stood as an island in the center of the forest. Its towers and parapets were a wonder of sorcerous architecture. Every stone of the edifice was marked with a rune, coursing with magical strength. On rare campaigns, in ages past, the Jukan army had managed to reach the mystic fortress, yet never could their battering rams puncture its enchanted walls. The castle was the dauntless heart of Meer civilization, the center of their ancient culture.

Within its opulent chambers dwelled the grey-furred elders, the guardians of ancient lore, draped in robes of fine, flashing silk and mantles embroidered in gold. Greatest among them stood the sorcerer Adranath. Tall and proud in his silvery coat, he strode like a spirit through his people's long history, cloaked in the legend of his centuried career. Adranath was the oldest of all Lore Masters, older by half than the stronghold itself. His great age lent him an air of mystery. His moods and manners echoed a time when the world was a crueler place.

Sometimes, when he was not looking at her, Dasha imagined the years might have wearied the old man's senses. The thought made her uncomfortable. Presently she delivered her report in his audience chamber, an austere place of shadows and incense. The undecorated walls seemed to listen as she spoke.

When Adranath heard the news, gloom deepened his sigh. His ancient eyes grew dark. "You carry the portent of doom, my child. The magic of our fortress depends upon the vitality of the forest. Without it, our walls will crumble. The more trees the Juka burn, the weaker we become."

Dasha bowed her head. "With respect, Venerable Master, they would have to burn down the entire forest before our walls might fail us. They have never attempted such an atrocity before."

"And you are confident they will not do so now?"

"They are militant and aggressive, but they keep strong traditions of honor. I know they would not betray their values. I have fought the Juka for many of their generations." She lifted her chin as if proud of the accomplishment.

Adranath leaned back in his tall chair and grunted, "You underestimate their reclusive lord. He has brought great changes to the Juka in the last decade."

"You mean the one they call Exodus? He fears to show his face to us. He is hardly a threat."

"He has taught them sorcery."

She frowned. "Healing and petty enchantments. Even I am more of a sorcerer than the Juka shall ever be. Venerable Master, I don't understand your apprehension. The ancient balance between Juka and Meer has never faltered before. What makes this attack dangerous?"

"Because Exodus is dangerous," grumbled the sorcerer. "He is an impurity in our world. I fear he will upset the old balance. A harsh winter looms ahead of us, my child, and if the Juka overcome us we shall face a catastrophe. I fear we may not survive."

At that moment Dasha knew that Adranath's age had enfeebled him. Even a legend must fade in time. With conjured grace she excused herself from the old wizard's chamber and returned to the forest, where her fellow officers had begun to organize the defense of their magical home. She tried to forget Adranath's presage of ruin, the brooding of his senile mind.

Yet long ago the ancestors had warned against dismissing the counsel of elders. For Dasha and her fellow soldiers, the lesson proved devastating.

Terror is a wall of embers rushing toward one's home. In the ensuing days the Meer battled two enemies at once: the relentless onslaught of Jukan warriors and the roaring fury of the blazes they had set. The Jukan troops drove back all efforts by the Meer to extinguish the inferno. The sun vanished behind a storm of black smoke. With horror Dasha realized that the castle was not under attack. The leader of the Juka, Warlord Kabur, intended to level the ancient forest itself. The crime was an affront to Jukan honor as Dasha had always known it.

Defeat came as a red blast of heat and a blizzard of ash and cinders. As the Meer abandoned their crumbling stronghold, the Jukan warriors charged out from the smoke and felled them like brittle timber. Dasha fled with the survivors while the holocaust devoured the lush woodland. The forest had been her home for a hundred years. It was vanishing in less than a week.

She and her fellow soldiers had succeeded in evacuating the elders. Even now some were plotting their sorcerous revenge. But Dasha nurtured a different rage. Her obsidian eyes sharpened as she ran through the fiery gloom. She knew what must be done.

Adranath, of course, had been correct. The lord called Exodus had corrupted the Juka by some unthinkable sorcery. To craft a strategy against the enemy, Dasha had to learn what had happened to the Juka. It was a question she would put to their leader, Warlord Kabur himself. Dasha would meet him face-to-face and demand an explanation. If his answer did not satisfy her, she would meet him blade-to-blade.

In that case, she knew, satisfaction would be hers. Then the elders would return the holocaust to the Juka and the eternal balance would assert itself anew. Such was the proper course of history, which could not be diverted. So the ancestors had promised, countless generations ago. Of that, if nothing else, Dasha had no doubt at all.

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This is just a brief note to let you all know that www.rpgmarket.net is now online and ready for use.

With RPGMarket you can easily host your own dynamic market for buying and selling Ultima Online items.

Once you sign up for your RPGMarket.net account (RPGID) other players can view all of your ongoing sales through the site by going to:

www.rpgmarket.net/~yourRPGID

Please check out www.rpgmarket.net and feel free to respond with any comments or suggestions.

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… If memory serves, the only two McFarlane creatures we are using that are "technology" looking at Blackthorn and the Juggernaut. All of the other monsters (including the ones specifically created for UO) designed by McFarlane are very much medieval.

The vast majority of monsters that McFarlane drew for UO are not even the slightest bit futuristic. The four-armed demon, swamp dragon, and the bog thing (the one with three arms) on the UO:BR site are more indicative of what we had him draw for UO.

Just wait till you see them all. :)

…We'll be explaining a lot about Blackthorn in the upcoming scenario. :)

There are no, nor will there be any, guns in UO.

…Also let me add that the setting is not changing. If the majority of the new monsters were technoogy based I could see why one would think that. But the fact is, the vast majority of the new monsters are fantasy based (demons, swamp creatures, dragons, etc).

Jonathan "Calandryll" Hanna
Designer, Ongoing Content
a wizard did it

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On Sunday, the Society of Archers (S|A) Baja Chapter sponsored November’s “Best Shot in the Realms” Archery Contest. The crowds have continued to grow each month, as nearly 50 people, including over 30 contestants arrived late in the afternoon to hone their skills and prepare for the event. October’s “Best Shot” and the returning champion, Starr was in attendance, as well as two-time champion Sniper Wolf. This would be Sniper Wolf’s final showing at the event and all the big names had come. Red Sonja and the Lady Faerr Woolwillow represented the S|A Baja Chapter in competition.

The event carried through three intense rounds, until the contestants had been narrowed to a small handful. As big names such as Starr, Adian O’Rourke, Silanthos, Sniper Wolf and both of the S|A Representatives fell out of the single elimination tournament, it became clear that a new champion would be crowned. After a very tough round, two Archers remained: Bel McInnis, and Fernege. For the third straight month, the Contest would come down to a shoot-off.

Bel McInnis, in her first appearance at the event, and Fernege, an old acquaintance of S|A, both landed two excellent rounds out of three; however, heading into the final round Fernege was well ahead. Bel needed three bulls-eyes out of three shots to tie the Contest. Showing her skill on the bow she landed two straight bulls-eyes and the crowd cheered, wanting to see the shoot-off continue. Everyone froze for the last arrow, but it was just off the mark. Fernege took home the 120,000gp purse, and the title of November’s “Best Shot in the Realms”. Congratulations to Fernege for his victory!!

Also, due to many requests, the Society of Archers will be holding a yearly Contest to determine who truly is our Land’s finest shot. Each monthly winner will be given an invitation to the yearly “BSR” Championship. Thanks to all who came out, it was perhaps the finest “Best Shot in the Realms” yet. Keep working on your shot, and keep an eye out for next month’s “Best Shot in the Realms” Archery Tournament. A free event for all people of the Bow. 'Til December, Archers. *bows* Farewell.

Theoran
Head of Baja Chapter
Society of Archers S|A

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Ramirez sat on the beach and twirled a little dagger in the air with magic. Keeping his attention mostly on the dagger, he turned and spoke to the pirate next to him, "Since you being locked away and out of sight, I guess you haven't heard that I am no longer with the Cult. Things have called me in another direction."

The pirate looked suprised, "That is something I would have never guessed, to see you leave the Cult. Don't you think your dad would be disappointed?" Ramirez chuckled, "He probably would, but he isn't in my position now is he? I don't know what he would do."

The pirate rubbed his chin, "How does this affect your status as Arch Mage?" Ramirez raised his eyebrow, "I would hope it had no effect and they would accept me as is, but who knows. Things could change overnight."

Ramirez studied the old features on the pirate trying to guess what he was thinking. The pirate spoke, "So this means what?" Ramirez let the dagger twirl through the air and drop straight down into the sand between the pirate's legs, "Don't know, could be your lucky day I guess."

Ramirez stood up and dusted himself off. The pirate could see the twinkle in Ramirez's eyes, and he knew well what that meant. That meant Ramirez had something up his sleeve if things didn't go they way he figured.

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Ramirez sat on the beach and twirled a little dagger in the air with magic. Keeping his attention mostly on the dagger, he turned and spoke to the pirate next to him, "Since you being locked away and out of sight, I guess you haven't heard that I am no longer with the Cult. Things have called me in another direction."

The pirate looked suprised, "That is something I would have never guessed, to see you leave the Cult. Don't you think your dad would be disappointed?" Ramirez chuckled, "He probably would, but he isn't in my position now is he? I don't know what he would do."

The pirate rubbed his chin, "How does this affect your status as Arch Mage?" Ramirez raised his eyebrow, "I would hope it had no effect and they would accept me as is, but who knows. Things could change overnight."

Ramirez studied the old features on the pirate trying to guess what he was thinking. The pirate spoke, "So this means what?" Ramirez let the dagger twirl through the air and drop straight down into the sand between the pirate's legs, "Don't know, could be your lucky day I guess."

Ramirez stood up and dusted himself off. The pirate could see the twinkle in Ramirez's eyes, and he knew well what that meant. That meant Ramirez had something up his sleeve if things didn't go they way he figured.

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It is nearing December once again. It is a time where many relgions, even ones that no longer exist, celebrate major holidays and festivals. In Ultima Online, holiday gifts come to mind. Indeed the gifts have not been given out this year and many are hoping that they will not overlook this time to make good on the hopes for tiny presents when they log on. It is with this in mind that I officially announce:

The Ideas Den topic of the Week: Holiday gifts!

Because this topic will surely be very popular, here are some pointers to help you come up with a great idea that all will love:

Religion: Try to steer clear of items that are specific to any one major religion. This ensures players regardless of backround will be able to enjoy them equally. You may be thinking "What of the Christmas tree?" Christmas trees have their origins in pagan holidays as do aspects Christmas itself.

Balance: As with any idea, do not propose an unbalancing item. Because they are gifts, propose things that do not have much use outside the realm of looks. If they are long-term useful items, then they would probably be a better non-holiday idea.

As normal, at the end of the week, any ideas posted relating to the week's topic will be compiled and sent to Calandryll to assist him and the rest of the development team.

So, if you've got a special order for Santa (or whoever brings you your gifts), pop over to the Ideas Den and post it! Don't forget, you can also vote on other people's ideas!
(More general ideas of improvement to UO are still welcome, of course)

Got ideas about Massively Multiplayer games in general? Try the Stratics Central Game System Design And Development forum!

--------
Thodin, UOSS, SC and WoW moderator and UO-Europan player
[email protected]
ICQ# 46499380

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This will be the Last Story Telling Night that Wolf of Evermore will put on. He is leaving UO to work on his novels. However the Dragon Tavern is in good hands of a trusted friend and the Story Telling nights will go on. Gold and items have been provided so that the prizes can continue for as long as UO is around.

Do you like to drink?
Do you like to either make up tales or listen to them?
Do you a have a tale from the past before the worlds separated? Or per chance you are a bard and have tales to tell.

All are welcome but PLEASE STABLE YOUR PET BEFORE COMING.

The Dragon Tavern will be having its weekly story telling night on Wednesday, November 21st, 2001 at 7PM PST.

The prizes are 40K for first place and 20K for second. Wolf may have some special prizes(*wink*).

ICQ in advance and rune will be provided. Dragon Tavern is located on ice Island at: 87o53’N 164o41’W

Wolf of Evermore
ICQ: 39012719 for more information.

Your humble servant,
Raeven Aurora

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The results from the last story night at the Dragon Tavern.

We had 8 noble and valiant souls show up for the event. Numerous tales were told including at least one made up on the spot! We also had the 6th part of the Minds Eye saga. Wolf of Evermore plans on telling part of the tale every week.

Winners
In second place, winning 20K was Yug’Luk with a short tale of a shotgun. And in first place, winning 40K was Kaylar McCloud with a tale of Suno and the fire breathing Diamond.

Stories
You may remember that when we left last Khan had hear the follow:

As that became clear to him, he found himself back in his study. Death was there smiling always ready to shake his hand.

"Begone" Khan yelled, as the house shock to its foundation. For death had awaken that old magic in Khan and it started to stream out. Power in its most pure form was one of the gifts that Khan had been given. "Death I am tired of you. Leave now before you regret it."

We now begin tonight’s portion of the tale

The smiling face of death turned sour as the force of Khan’s will caused the world to change. Death at this moment did not hold sway over the world. Khan had removed death’s sting and now held the scythe that could cut the ties that bind a mortal to this plane. With an evil grin Khan walked past death and out to the stables. Thunder and lighting proceeded him as he walked the path that lead to the four horses that he would now need.

The four horsemen had dismounted and bowed as Khan proceeded to pet the manes of these wondrous beasts. As he did this the air turned golden and as the last steed was touched, the four disappeared and in that golden light one steed rose up. This was the horse of life and death. Its name can not be said or heard by mortal man without death occurring. Khan however called it by name and it came to him. The steed bent down and Khan stepped on.

With that the horse moved at the speed of lighting and in a blink of an eye they were at Starlight’s home. This was that place where nothing and all existed. Khan yelled at the door to the castle and the wall’s fell. Starlight flew up into the vapor that was the sky. " You fool what have you done?" She yelled down to a force of nature.

In a booming voice of the apocalypse Khan said "Woman you have failed. I will have the gems of virtue and you will be no more." With a swing of his borrowed scythe the light of a star went out and it’s implosion pulled light inward. The death, of another force of nature, caused the flow of life to be healed. At that moment the bag of gems appeared back in their resting spot.

Khan had returned them in a swing of a blade. He rode this beast back to the stables only to find a small army. The King rode out and began to speak "My friend I need you help. The gems have been stolen."

Khan smiled and said "My dear friend I have already returned them and all is right with the world." Khan chuckled to himself for the King had a look of surprise on his face.

"But how, why ummm" the King stammered as he attempted to collect his thoughts. It was at this moment the Khan’s true nature was revealed. The King got off his steed and bowed to Khan. For it was foretold that one day, one would come that would charm death. Whose wishes could become deeds and all that opposed him would fail. It had happened. In a blink of an eye the ancient prophecy had been fulfilled.

"Oh Servant of the Virtues you have come at last. We are in need of your aid." Said the King.

Khan had always known that he was the Servant of the Virtues. The one who could call on the forces Truth, Love and Courage in their pure forms. Thus unleashing the most devastating power ever to be seen. But what was this that the King spoke of in a voice with at least a hint of fear? "Pray tell me more of what troubles you."

"The Dread has be let loose. I can feel it in the marrow of my bones. We know not what is next but the Kingdom last lost hope." The King looked down as he spoke for he felt like a coward. For he was more then a man. He had slain all nature of beasts and rescued nations within his Kingdom from war, slavery and pestilence. This was the golden age of the world and he was its ruler. He did not feel fear, till now. He was ashamed.

Khan knew this was part of the dread that had turned this proud lion into a timid mouse. He asked the Gods that be, why now? Why after he had just faced an immortal and driven it into the pit of hell did this have to happen. The day turned to night as the Dread came and turned the troops to cringing babies.

Khan could hear that laughter again and he knew another long adventure into the heart of darkness had begun. Turning his eyes skyward and then into the darkness he whispered "Father I will. Dread you are nothing to me and now I still to cleanse the world." With those words spoken a cry of pain went out and the earth shuttered. In the distance the cry of a newborn baby could be heard to ring out before it was stifled.

come back next week for the next installment

Your humble servant
Raeven Aurora

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It's been a while...perhaps longer than I originally thought. The Face of Change has swept across the Land of Legends and for good or ill, the Sosaria that I once knew has ceased to exist.

Or perhap...just perhaps, the "old" Sosaria is still here, though altered enough that it escapes immediate recognition. New faces, new creatures....so much "change." But "change" is good, or so said Lord Blackthorne. And who am I to gainsay one such as he? Mayhap, it is I who have changed.

Thus I embark on a new and vigorous campaign of Discovery. Then we shall see, what we shall see. And as in the days of olde, I shall report my findings to you, the shapers and crafters of this storied land that we call Legends.

I humbly solicit your tales of war and daring-do, failure and triumph, adventure and misadventure.

Cyn, First Druid of Legends and the Patron Saint of Sosarian Taverns, has returned home.

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As DNS updates for everyone on their ISPs, markeedragon.com is being removed from the face of the Internet. We have run into a problem that I have never heard of anyone running into before. Our registrar ( One of the many companies that you can go to if you wish to purchase a domain name ) seems to be having major technical problems. Them going down has faced us with the fact that our domain name is being removed from DNS servers around the world as they do their regular updates about once every 3 days. We don't currently know if they are just having technical problems or if they are going out of business. One thing is for sure though. Everyone that used www.totalnic.com to purchase their domain name is currently offline or experiencing problems.

Currently all of our other domains are up and working fine as they were purchased through a different registrar. Because of the problems we have decided to move the domain to another registrar. A move like this can take up to 10 days. Once the move is successful though we should have the domain beginning to be active for people again within hours. I already know though that for many people their DNS is updated once every three days. When we get the domain fixed though it will still take up to three days for everyone to be able to get to the site correctly. Until such time as markeedragon.com is restored www.markeedragon.net points to our site as well. Most of the links on the site should work if you use the .net address.

Our email is also affected by this problem. All of us here can be reached by putting shatteredcrystal.com in the address as the domain name. Example: [email protected]

Also. Please spread the word to your friends and to other gaming sites that while markeedragon.com is down, markeedragon.net is still available. We look forward to getting things back to normal.

Thanks,
Markee Dragon

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Remember again that although we are using Meer and Juka, their history and culture are different than originally written for UO2. We're not simply taking Meer/Juka and slamming them into UO...in fact, we asked Austen Andrews, one of the original creators of their history, to help us rewrite them for UO. That prequel fiction will be starting on the site really soon.

and….

I don't want to give anything away. There will most certainly be similarities between the UO2 ficiton and the UO fiction, but you'll have to wait until we reveal it. I don't mean to tease, just that I don't want to spoil the upcoming fiction.

We don't plan on adding any of the wearables made for UO2 at this time, however, we do plan on using the unused wearables that are in the UO3D CD in upcoming scenarios.

Jonathan "Calandryll" Hanna
Designer, Ongoing Content
a wizard did it

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Horses are an advantage in movement. Stamina limitations act as a limiter to this advantage, which manifests in both PvP and PvM. A mounted person can run faster, forever, than someone who isn't mounted. Standard horses have less stamina than other mounts, because characters who can ride the higher stamina mounts (either through taming skill, or faction / veteran status) should have a slight advantage in movement. Horse stamina drain occurs faster on a higher connection; as a trade off to moving much faster than characters on a slower connection, this advantage will be countered to some degree by the horse fatiguing.

There are several ways for players to increase their horse's stamina:

?Bring apples - They restore approx. 1/3 of a mount's stamina.
?Train your horse - Spar with it, etc. It will gain dex and thereby stamina.
?Manage horse stamina - Run only when necessary. Trotting barely lowers a horse's stamina at all.

an additional comment:

Just as a note, this change was pulled from Publish 14, and we are targeting to implement it in Publish 15, which we don't have a date set for just yet.

__________________
Cynthe
Community Manager
ORIGIN Systems

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What's the latest craze to hit Britannia? That's right - the new glassblowing and stonecrafting items! The UO Merchant Alliance is conducting a cross-shard pricing survey on these great new items.

If you're a merchant currently selling fine glassblown or stonecrafted wares, stop by the UOMA web site and fill out our survey. The results will be compiled for each shard and posted on the site shortly.

Direct link to the survey.

Never been to the UOMA web site? We specialize in reviewing player run vendor shops across all shards, and offer a searchable database of products from all vendors we've reviewed, as well as tips and resources for novice and master merchants alike. Chat in the forums, post a classified ad, or add a link to your web site - the UO Merchant Alliance is a community of merchants, by merchants, for merchants!

UO Merchant Alliance - Celebrating 1 Year of Service to the Merchant Community.

Kitiara
Webmaster, UOMA

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17 November - Where's Waldo!?

Our "Where's Waldo" event was a great success! Over a dozen participants showed up to help us find our long lost newest member. The volunteers arrived via moongates from all the major banks and lined up to hear word of the misfortunate Waldo. Books were arranged on the porch to give clues to where he could have gone to. Waldo was on foot and he didn't have a boat, thus eliminating any remote locations that could not be reached via moongate. He had only a rudimentary knowledge of the arcane arts so his Magery would not allow him admittance to Wind. He is deathly afraid of dungeons and caves eliminating more locations. He was smart enough to know that once he got lost he should head to the nearest town or road, so remote wilderness locations are eliminated as well.

With these clues in hand, the brave volunteers set forth to scour the land. Some searched alone while others grouped together as a team. Some were on foot and some were on horseback. All were motivated with a purpose!

After an exhaustive search, it was Kessia of the Champions of Virtue who found the wayward Waldo. Apparently he had sought shelter in an abandoned winery near Empath Abbey and had gotten a little thirsty. When Kessia found him, he was fairly drunk and babbling on about "pink elephants" (possible spoiler for a new monster to be introduced!). After convincing Waldo that she could not tame a pink elephant for him, she cast a gate to return them both to the SAM Vendor Mall where they were met by a crowd of grateful guildmembers!

Kessia accepted her reward graciously and even bestowed a gift upon Waldo in recognition of his...umm...accident prone nature. The SAM members were too grateful to see Waldo returned to be mad at him for disappearing in the first place...especially since he brought back so much ale with him!

Our heartfelt thanks go out to all who volunteered to help in the search for Waldo and a special thanks and congratulations to Kessia of COV for returning our wayward guildmate. It was a great success and everyone had a good time. Waldo would like to say...umm...Waldo? WALDO?! His map is here...but where'd he go? Oh no...not again!!!

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Hail all, I'm holding a relay race! The race is set for Novemeber 23 at 9 pm CST. But there are a few rules to be posted...

1. Race runs from Skara Brae, fel, to Vesper, fel, taking the Yew road.
2. Fee is 1k to run per person, teams are to be of 4 people.
3. Killing is allowed, giving counts is not.
4. Runebooks are allowed to be carried, but not allowed to be used unless the situation is dire.
5. Most importantly, have fun!

Everyone who wishes to run must be at the Skara Brae docks on the island. The more people that show up, the bigger the prizes!

Lydia, Lil Quar of the Seraphyn Clan

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Edguardo has been moved. Perhaps through my own stupidity, or perhaps as someone has been listening in ‘pon my conversations within the Temple of Nexchronosis. Either way, Edguardo now faces grave danger. I learned that the Royal Knights of Redemption, the Holy Cross Defenders, and the Order of the Silver Serpents acted must swifter in response to Edguardo’s movement than I. For Aryn was able to take Leshyani Rhianne prisoner before I was able to seek her out.

I was however allowed to speak with her, to learn what I could of where he might be. While I will not openly discuss yet where I believe him to lie, certainly some of the information she provided may provide clue.

I assisted in moving Leshyani to a new prison last even, I pray only that Alcornierden forgives my presumption. Even still, there are tales that perhaps Leshyani has been mistreated, and to that I cannot speak. I know only that the Order of One are investigating, and asked to see her. General Nero allowed me to arrange communication via crystal instead, and I believe that Lore Denin was satisfied of her condition.

Alas, on other fronts, I am beginning to realize that we of the Cult are in a tenuous position at times. For Mordain still wishes Edguardo to pay for his crimes of treason against the Temple of Mondain, however, Mordain did stay his claim at my behest. I fear though that relations between the Temple and the Holy Cross Defenders is not as well defined. I found myself sitting on the stone floor of the Holy Cross tower while those around me bickered and fought, distracting from the return of Edguardo.


I also spoke briefly to Ramirez who visited Dracona late in the evening. He will not trade Edguardo for Leshyani. He wants the corpse of his father, Basil Stag Hare, and I believe he will execute Edguardo before any other trade. General Nero has, however, made it most clear that he will not allow such a trade to occur.

And a full scale assault on Edguardo’s current prison is not an option either.

Which leaves me with two choices... Plan a minor incursion to attempt to extract him and risk his life, or find a way to change Nero’s mind. Either way, I fear that Edguardo has little time remaining to him.

I must think on this matter, but I must think swiftly. For now, I must consult the shadows and ask their advice.

Ra’Dian Fl’Gith
Esorei’Toryn, Cult of the Azure Dragons

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WHERE'S WALDO? Our newest guild member, Waldo has gotten himself lost in Britannia and can't find his way home. Please help Sonoma Alliance of Merchants find our long lost newbie on Saturday, November 17 at 7pm pacific standard time. The search will commence from the SAM Vendor Mall and gates will be provided from Moonglow, Vesper, and Britain Banks 15 minutes prior to the event. Reward for Waldo's safe return will be 200k.

Poor Waldo left the Sonoma Alliance of Merchants(SAM) Vendor Mall in the North Minoc mines several days ago. He didn't have any recall runes, nor did he have a boat. He has only a rudimentary knowledge of magery and is deathly afraid of dungeons and caves. Though accident prone he may be, he does know enough to stay near the major roads and towns if he gets lost (which he most certainly is). Also, he is quite shy so he will not cry out unless you approach him first stating your intention to help him return home. Since we hate to lose any members (we have so few...grin) we will pay the premium reward of 200K to the first person to locate him and assist him in returning home to the vendor mall. Be at the vendor mall Saturday @ 7pm PST or we will provide gates from the major city banks starting at 6:45pm PST.

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Exactly. Some other examples of new AI and abilities that we did already to give you an idea of what we can do:

-Gargoyle Enforcers call ofr help and are healed by Gargoyle Destroyers.
-Exodos Minion and Overseer magical barriers
-Savage Shamans doing a tribal dance casting group spells
-Needing a bola to knock a savage rider off its mount

We have plenty more in store for the McFarlane monsters as well.

The idea is to create monsters that are more fun, interesting, and challenging. AI is kind of a misnomer in the gaming industry. The concept isn't to make monsters "smarter"...it's to make them more fun and challenging to fight...which in a sense, makes them appear smarter.

So far, only 4 middle-range rewards have been given out on LS. No high-end rewards have been given out yet. The highest runic hammer is Bronze (only one so far). This means the highest craftable weapon is Might, at the moment.

The fame levels are as designed. Although, they look to be a bit high. We already had reduced the fame reward from feedback on Test Center. So far, we have not decided to reduce them, though.

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Actually it is quite intentional. You should also notice that the other "Champions of Evil" spawn area's have this same darkness effect happeneing now as well...

hmmm... ? :)

Yes. The previous issue was there was not enough creatures respawning to actually kill to make the evil regions shrink in size. So I added the ability to make spawn areas have variable spawn rate control. I then used that to make the spawn rate directly proportional (with a little randomness thrown in) to the spawn area size. So if creatures are respawning really fast that means the area is very large. If they are spawning slowly then it is quite small. This should make it so there are always plenty of creatures to kill to meet the criteria to shrink the regions. It does mean that you may need a few more people with you though. :)

And as far as the crazy spawn in Ilshenar, maybe, just maybe there is a "Champion of Good" that can be defeated... :)

This group of creatures was part of the original design, but didn't get through QA initially due to some creature powers specific to the good group. As far as titles, kill the critters and find out. :D

And you shouldn't be able to tame the unicorns and ki-rin in that area actually as they are under the control of someone else.... :) But I'll look into that.

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Samhain of the Fishing Council of Britannia, Napavalley Branch writes:

FCB is having another fishing trip!

• When - Sunday Nov 18, 2001 @ 2pm pacific time
• Where - Vesper docks, Trammel
• Bring - poles, friends, toques (cuz it's november and kind of chilly out at sea)

Hope to see all you hoopy froods there!
Samhain, hoopy fleet captain

Your humble servant
Raeven Aurora

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The Merchants Of the Maze Tavern will once again be opening its doors! This sunday the 18th we will be holding a Christmas Party (a bit early i know but never know, there could be another closer to christmas =-).

The Party will begin at 2pm Pacific time and last approximatly 2 hours. Gates will be provided from Britain bank by myself (Deathstrike) between 1:30pm and 2pm. There will be 2 events at this party :

Fancy dress competition, winner will recieve a golden chessboard (worth approx 100k)

Drunken Darts (an old favourite) - winner will recieve 20k

After the events there will be time to wander the tower, have a good talk and laugh with friends and make lots of new friends, at about 3:30pm there will be a sit down meal on the roof for those who wish to attend.

Hope to see EVERYONE there, come havew yourselfs a laugh and celebrate christmas and the reopening of Merchants of The Maze tavern with us.

Tavern Location - The Tavern is located about 2 screensnorth east of the hedge maze in trammel in the round clearing.

Deathstrike.

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Many of the UO Vets feel the game has been curbed more towards newer, less experienced players. While that will help people starting out...do you feel it will help increase sales and keep people playing longer?
I don’t know if an improved newbie experience will help sales, but it will absolutely make the game simpler to learn. In the long run, we think this will help keep people playing longer. UO is really a game about socialization and community. Helping people to get into the game faster allows them to meet new people and make new friends faster, and it’s establishing those bonds that keeps people in the game longer. I think it’s important to note that this also adds value for the veterans. Keeping a strong, diverse community helps to keep the world interesting and alive.

What incentive will there be for current 3D players now that Ilshenar will be 2D compatible as well?
The 3D client is still more easily updateable, has better spell effects, better animations, a zoom feature, etc. There are reasons why some players like 3D, just as there are reasons why some like 2D. Allowing players to access Ilshenar from the 2D client won’t change the things that some players really like about Third Dawn.

Now that the 2D client will be allowed in the not-so-new lands of Ilshenar, are there any plans to make a Felucca facet of it as well, or will it keep the Trammel-only rule set?
At present, we have no plans to make a Felucca version of Ilshenar. Ilshenar is a facet unto itself. We chose the Trammel rule set for it, because that is the rule set that is currently most popular among the players.

Before the closure of the volunteer program, rewards in the form of unique items for completing quests were stopped due to certain less reputable players pretending to be Seers and taking advantage of other players. Since the Seer program no longer exists, will unique quest rewards be reinstituted?
No, but the ongoing content team will continue to add new items to the game.

Are scenarios completely replacing quests, if so, why?
Oh, Calandryll could probably write a whole book in answer to this question. Scenarios are very different from quests in that they require far less direct development interaction, and yet can affect far more players than most quests. They can also have greater-reaching and more permanent and meaningful results in the world of Sosaria.

After the crafting overhaul is implemented, will crafting skills continue to be developed and expanded?
This is highly likely. The dev team has traditionally tried to improve and enhance the game over the years. As you’ve seen, we’ve made numerous changes to nearly every skill, in the attempt to achieve better balance, respond to player requests, and just plain optimize our engine. I see no reason to believe that this pattern won’t be continued.

Are there any plans to implement new skills, such as Masonry and Glassblowing?
Possibly. That’s not a question we can answer with any accuracy at this point.

Will Ilshenar remain no recall/mark/gate when it is converted to 2D? (please say yes, oh please oh please...)
This is still being discussed, so I can’t answer the question just yet.

What costumes did the Staff wear for Halloween? Is it true that Calandryll really dressed up like a Pixie?
Interestingly, we did have quite a number of staff members dress up as pimps, for some inexplicable reason. We had the expected number of cloak wearing mages, axe-weilding psychos, and even one person dressed as a Federal Express package. And no, Cal did not dress as a pixie.

Will gifts ever be given out on real and UO holidays again?
This is very likely. Just don’t ask me when.

Will current subscribers get a discount on upgrading second/third/etc accounts to UO:LBR?
No. That issue was pretty well explained in the FAQ on the web site.

Are there any plans to make new housing areas available?
This is under discussion right now. There are a number of technical hurdles that would have to be overcome in order to accomplish it, so we have to determine the technical feasibility before committing to a plan.

Will there ever be any in game aid for those who wish to roleplay evil? For instance, Calandryll is planning a full Virtue System for the Good Guys, but leaves nothing for those who like to delve into the darker side of things. For instance, have you ever considered adding Pagan Magic into the game?
We don’t have any plans for that at this time. Giving rewards for evil acts is a rather difficult design challenge. How can you differentiate between a role-played evil act and a random grief tactic (with the sole purpose of, say, simply wanting to destroy your gaming experience)?

With the addition of NPC context-sensitive menus, will players still be able to use speech to interact with NPCs? For instance, for use in a Quest System?
We’re not disabling any of the old methods of interacting with NPCs. All of that will still function as it always has. Context-sensitive menus will be an added way of interacting with NPCs. Players who prefer speech triggers for their immersion value will still have that option.

Will archery be re-balanced or extended (e.g., new bows, bolt types, etc)?
It’s always possible that we could add something for archers as part of a scenario.

Have all the virtues got rough ideas for their implementation?
Yes. However, we are releasing them a few at a time so we can focus on player feedback and evaluate each one carefully before the designs are set in stone.

Do you think the scenarios are proving popular, and why?
Yes, I do. Have you seen any of the screen shots and fansite sections specifically devoted to the scenarios?

Any plans on getting Felucca repopulated?
We have a couple of experiments underway to try to give players more incentive to visit Felucca. However, in the end players must always have the right to choose where and how they want to play.

Will North America or Europe be getting any new shards?
Obviously, that’s a question of subscriptions. I can say with certainty that if the subscriber numbers warrant a new shard anywhere, then a new shard will be installed. For example, recently the subscriber numbers in Japan have increased to the point that it was necessary to install the Mugen shard there. Shards are fairly expensive to put in place, so they need to be justified financially.

Where you an Ultima fan before you got the job at OSI? Did you play Ultima Online before joining the team or do you now?
I was only playing UO for about a month before coming to OSI. Since then, however, I have gotten into the game and I have characters on Lake Superior, Napa, and Catskills.

What type of characters in RPG’s do you enjoy playing most?
It must be some after-effect from all of my days playing AD&D when I was younger, but I always prefer to play mages.

What did you go to school for?
I got my degree in Electronic Engineering from Penn State in 1986, with a minor in computer programming.

What did you do before being hired at OSI? Where did you previously work?
Directly out of college I was involved in circuit board design for automated test equipment with the Navy. We were building equipment to test avionics and weapons systems on F-14s. I did that for about 4 years before getting into the gaming industry in 1990. I worked for a little independent developer called Paragon software, which was eventually bought up by an investor from New York and became Take 2 Interactive Software. I started off as a programmer, the later moved into game design, and finally became a producer.

Tell us how you got hired on at OSI? How did you make it into this position?
I went through a game recruiter. With about 9 years of experience in the industry on several different platforms and numerous different game genres, I guess they liked my qualifications.

How interactive is a Senior Producer in the daily designs and programming of the game?
I think different people handle this sort of position in different ways. While I really enjoy contributing creatively, I don’t want to smother my team. I think it’s extremely important for them to feel like they have some ownership over the game systems they work on. What I try to do is provide overall direction and focus. And while I enjoy discussing system concepts with both the programmers and the designers, I try to let the do their jobs without feeling micro-managed.

How in touch are you with the players and their wants and needs for the game?
I think we at OSI make a very substantial effort to stay ‘tuned in’ to what the players are talking about. We really do listen. I make a point to read the message boards and chat individually with a number of different players on a daily basis. While we aren’t in a position to implement every one of the thousands of suggestions that are made, we try hard to listen to them all and evaluate them objectively.

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On Monday, November 19th, The House of Blaine will be hosting the third installment of our role-playing classes. Romance will be the main topic this week, but many other subjects are likely to be covered as well. The class will be held at 7 p.m. CST in Trammel, at Blaine Tower in the center of Ilithien. Maps to the location can be found at ilithien.homestead.com/maps.html.

The role-playing classes are being held every two weeks in Ilithien. If you can't make it to this one, be sure to come to the next one!

Lord Blathe,
Duke of Ilithien, The House of Blaine

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The High Council of Britannia is now accepting applications from those who would wish to serve the Realm by occupying the Eighth Seat on the Council.This is the traditional seat of the advocate of Spirituality, representing Skara Brae.

We will be accepting applications until midnight on Sunday, November 18th. We will then send you a questionnaire and hold a small get-together to meet with the candidates prior to making a final decision. Please email us with your intentions of applying, as well as why you feel you would be a good match for this seat. We are accepting applications from any and all who might be interested.

Please send your applications to [email protected]

The High Council of Britannia

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We received this from Lord Baratus, Paladin of CLOWN regarding the gargoyle Inmanilem, who had, together with Benon Trag, several appearances two years ago in Clowntown, Deepwater and Spiritwood:

Hail!

Many moons ago, what seems like an age ago now, the land of Felucca was besieged by gargoyle hordes, angry and restless and troubled by infighting. It was then, a wise ancient gargoyle Inmanilem, came to Yew in search of aid, from the "hiumans" as he himself spoke it. He indeed found the Crazy Lunatics of the Wild North, along with many other  humans, including the famous architect, Brenon Trag, who wished to aid him in anyway they could. After much bloodshed, lost life, and broken swords, the Gargish folk were finally appeased, Inmanilem fled, never to be seen again ...or at least so many had thought ...

But many things change in the lands of Sorsaria, many mechanical men, and their despicable controllers, have invaded our lands with wave after wave of assaults.

But Nystul, perhaps the most wise of mages living today, provided salvation, and a solution to the invasions, a great machine was constructed, to detect the towers that powered the great magical barrier, which divided the lands in Ilshenar, but many great mages, warriors, and traders alike worked together with great effort, and generosity, to provide Nystul the resources needed for the great plan.

Soon there after, so many souls drove towards the the goal of destroying the devices that the sage Nystul asked....

No sooner had this been done, but a whole town of the gargish kind was located! But perhaps many times more so exceptional, is the way the gargish folk welcome the humans here, even protect them, with massive gargish guardsmen.

As for Inmanilem? Perhaps indeed he is long gone of our world, with his work done... It is hard to tell, however when inquiring about the great Inmanilem, I indeed found several gargish folk, whom answered to this name, whilst their language was difficult to understand, leaving a barrier (perhaps even the great Nystul cannot solve without some good time....) but perhaps these are the legacy of the one such named as Inmanilem!

As for the town? It seems nameless.... However...... I feel strongly that the town should be known simply as "Ter De Vas-Pri"

Gargish, for the "Place of the Great-One". In memory of the great gargoyle; Inmanilem, whom without his efforts this lasting peace with gargish kind, could of never happened.

Perhaps, shortened by human tongue, to VasPri...

Farewell

Lord Baratus, Paladin of CLOWN
Europa Shard

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In reply to:
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Basically, the question is as follows; When they get re-added, will the nightmares have different model textures for UOTD, so we can tell the difference between the mares in UOTD, or will they all be the jet black red eyed ones, as the current mares are? This would be helpful to know in advance.
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There are four 2D horse types, and when a horse spawns it is randomly one of those four types. When a nightmare spawns, it will also randomly be one of those four types, albeit an extremely dark version of one of them. There is only one 3D mare design, however, so while a certain mare may appear "lighter" or "pure black" in 2D, all mares will look the same in 3D.

Probably the protection one or something similar to it. Honor is not going to the next virtue though, so we have time to figure it out. I'll probably be updating changes to the virtue documents sometime in the near future.

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The items listed in our "Next Update" section include a wide variety of updates and fixes (noted here), and these changes were recently published to the Lake Superior shard while we monitored them. We noticed some instances that required additional attention.

We have brought down the Lake Superior shard, and upon its return, the items listed below will have been corrected. We will continue monitoring the Lake Superior shard for any further issues. We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause.

Fletching problems: The fletching skill was not properly noting/checking the fletcher's actual skill level when crafting, with players receiving error messages stating they don't have enough skill to make a given weapon, and non-GM fletchers were unable to craft heavy crossbows. These issues have been fixed.

Too many arrows being used per shot: Archers have been using up more than one arrow for each arrow shot. Sometimes, for example, 3 arrows will disappear from the archer's pack when only one arrow was fired. This has been fixed.

Pre-patch Moonstones: When players attempted to use pre-patch moonstones, they did not work and the user was told that he "cannot bury it here." These pre-patch moonstones should now work properly.

Golems could not be healed with the new tinker menu: Golems should now be able to be healed, with the aid of a new feature in the new tinkering menu.

Some players are not being paid for completed bulk blacksmithing orders: Player who receive & complete bulk orders should now receive the proper payment for them.

Runebooks were not displaying their player-created titles: This has been fixed, and runebooks should now properly display their player-created titles.

Runic Hammers were allowing players to enchant armor: This will no longer happen. Runic hammers will still enchant weapons, as intended, but will no longer enchant armor. Any armor that was enchanted in this manner will lose their enchantment.

Skill gains in Cartography were advancing too rapidly: This has been fixed.

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Hail all!

In honor of the entire shard, and especially those who went above and beyond their call of duty, Ordo Sylvanus is hereby inviting everyone to attend our celebration of Sonoma's trademark "Give till it hurts" culture.

The celebration is to be held in our Yew Annex, the Garbage Chute, which is located 26o 43' N - 23o 37' W Trammel, which is the second clearing south of the Yew crossroads. The fun starts on Sunday the 18th of November at 7pm Pacific Standard Time. Everyone is encouraged to attend.

Some of the individuals who caught our eye during the scenario (all stages) will be receiving a little gift from the guild.

The honorees are being PM'ed as this is posted.

Please no pets at the celebration.

--Hec

A word to the wise - get to the celebration on time! I know of one super-fun game Ordo has planned that will begin immediately. You do not want to miss this one folks!

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Samplings from the site:

In order to match our schedule for profitability, we need to focus on the projects we believe have the greatest revenue potential. This includes: ad sales / pogo, Motor City Online, The Sims Online, Earth & Beyond, the EA SPORTS CENTER and ongoing support for UO and Majestic.

Today, managers and human resources staff will notify impacted employees of a headcount reduction and plans for severance and outplacement assistance. This afternoon, managers will meet with their teams to outline our strategy for improving our focus, reducing costs and driving revenue.

Confirmed: Customer support // DAT for EA.com will be taken over by Ienergizer (Indian company). They can't pay Americans but EA will pay them. Dime on the dollar probably... Wonder what their working conditions are like.

In an e-mail group, Calandryll responded to some of the issues brought out in this memo. When noted that the memo stated UO's importance to the profitability of EA, Calandryll added.

Yup. It's sad that it took the public posting of a private e-mail (something that quite frankly sickens me) to show this, but at least know you all that we (EA and OSI) are serious about keeping UO going.

Calandryll on the Indian support team:

These are educated, professional customer support representatives working for a corporation that specializes in customer care. Just because they don't live in the United States doesn't make them somehow less qualified or dedicated. ;)

-Jonathan "Calandryll" Hanna
Designer, Ongoing Content
a wizard did it

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The Chesapeake Society of Archers will be holding another open archer hunt Friday at 11:50pm EST. We will meet at Empath Abbey, Trammel, on the second floor. This may be the last open S|A hunt for a couple weeks. If you wish to go on the other ones, just ask about joining the S|A. So if you have been wanting to come on one for awhile,this is a great time to do so.

*raises bow*

Fairfax

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"To: Captain John Hawkins, Commanding HMS Victory

Captain Hawkins,

I trust this letter finds you in sound health. Your letter arrived during a long overdue shore leave from which I fear I needed some recovery, 'ere I could respond appropriately.

I feel I need to clarify my intentions in pursuing the path laid before me. I do not now nor ever intend to trouble with most citizens pursuing their goals on the seas of Felucca. My work is both simpler and more complicated.

Our mutual friend, the Wanderer, no doubt informed you about my Prince and his quest to restore Felucca to her past glories. He decided to take a well-earned rest from this task and pursue one of his favorite past-times from long ago – yachting. On this trip, the Prince took his lovely bride and a few of us who remained from long ago.

We were all intrigued by the odd behaviors we observed many of our fellow citizens performing. One chap was repeatedly attempting to magically poison his own ship’s tiller man. Fortunately, the sailor seemed immune to these attempts and stoically allowed his captain to continue. Another captain, a rather attractive lass wearing the tag from the Council of Mages, was trying to bandage up a ghost. And yet another captain was repeatedly attempting to produce earthquakes far from any land where this spell could have an effect.

The most bizarre aspect of these captains was their failure to simply acknowledge our hails. Even when my Prince blocked their ships with his to get their attention, these captains continued their weird rituals seemingly oblivious to our presence. This perplexed my Prince greatly.

As the Wanderer can attest, few have sought an answer to the how and why of the land of Trammel more than my Prince. He has even dared the oddities of that land thrice in order to understand how seemingly perfectly reasonable folk could want to live there. His tales of having even heavily armored warriors walk literally right through him are actually quite comical – and unsettling.

My Prince has hypothesized that this strange sea-trance and the resulting behaviors associated with it are likely caused by some undetermined influx of waters from the oceans of Trammel. He bases this on the well-documented fact that some persons living in Trammel are known for their odd behaviors. If you doubt this fact, take some time and observe the people who lounge around any large banking facility in Trammel.

Ty the herbalist has tried to create new potions to alleviate the symptoms of those captains who have succumbed to the sea-trance. Both my Prince and myself have sought new magics and variations of common magics to help these poor souls. Alas, all of our efforts were in vain.

That is until, in my frustration and anger over not proving worthy to my Prince, I discovered that relieving these pitiful captains of their mortal coils actually gets results! As their ghosts howled and glided across the decks of their ships, I could tell that the sea-trance was lifted. And although I cannot commune with the dead, I felt they were more than happy to pay me for my efforts with those items they left behind in the land of the living.

It is too early to tell if this sea-trance is addictive to those who were once engaged by it. If so, perhaps these captains - upon their resurrection - will transfer their ships to the lands of Trammel where these practices might be less unusual.

I will continue this effort on behalf of my Prince and all of the people of Felucca. I also welcome your assistance if my goals coincide with yours. I await your reply.

Faithfully yours in service,

Shakespeare

Postscript – One item of note. The vast majority of captains suffering from the sea-trance also seem to be members of the warring factions or the warring guilds. I have decided to focus my efforts on these persons because they cannot be allowed to succumb to this malady if they intend to pursue their battles with the crystalline, focused thoughts that a capable warrior needs. I have yet to receive any missives of gratitude but these are no doubt delayed because my ports of call are widely scattered."

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Evocare and I discussed it, and decided to implement creating potions directly into kegs. However, we will not be able to get this done before Publish 14 goes worldwide. Instead, it will be a feature of Publish 15. That publish is going to be a fairly small one, and expected to go live before the end of this year (but that is NOT A PROMISE).

Here is how it will work:

1> You must have a keg, that has at least one of the type of potion you are making already in it. This keg must be in the top level of your backpack.

2> You must have at least one empty bottle.

3> You make the potion as normal.

4> If there is a keg in the top level of your backpack holding the type of potion you are making, and that keg has room for another potion, the one you just created is immediately and automatically dumped into the keg and the empty bottle is returned. Otherwise, the potion fills the empty bottle. If the potion went into the keg, the Alchemy menu will inform you of that when it re-opens.

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There's been several questions & concerns about some of the changes in "Publish 14," which is currently active on Lake Superior. Here's some information on some of what's been asked about:


Unusable Forges : Some players have been saying that they cannot use forges, getting some kind of "you cannot do that" message. We're found that this is forge-specific, and the only type of forges affected in this way are "house add-on forges" which players have decided to "lock down" (note: house add-ons, such as house forges, don't need to be locked down). All players should be able to use any "house add-on forge" that is not locked down, or any "NPC forge." Nevertheless, we're looking into trying to fix this small glitch by the next scheduled publish.

Fletching problems: The fletching skill is not properly noting/checking the fletcher's actual skill level when crafting, with players receiving error messages stating they don't have enough skill to make a given weapon, and the inability for non-GM fletchers to craft heavy crossbows. We're trying to get this fixed as soon as we can.

Pre-patch Moonstones not working: When pre-patch moonstones are used, they do not work and the user is told that he "cannot bury it here." We'll also be looking into fixing this A.S.A.P.

Too many arrows being used per shot: Archers have been using up more than one arrow for each arrow shot. Sometimes, for example, 3 arrows will disappear from the archer's pack when only one arrow was fired. We'll be fixing this as soon as we can.

Pre-patch potion kegs are announcing mixed-messages: Some kegs, when single-clicked, are displaying "A keg of " over it, but "I'm not telling you how much this has in it" at the bottom-left of the game window. This shouldn't be happening, and we're looking to fix this as soon as we can.

Players have noted that they can't dump potions directly into potion kegs: This is by design.

Golems cannot be healed with the new tinker menu: This should also be fixed soon, with the ability to fix golems being added to the new tinkering menu.

Some old, rare items are being renamed: This was unintentional. We hope to have a fix for this in the next scheduled publish. Until we announce a fix for this issue, players should use extra caution when buying or selling "rares."

Various, random words are bold: This doesn't seem to affect and actual gameplay, but was certainly unintentional, and we are looking to have it fixed by the next scheduled publish.

Some players are not being paid for completed bulk blacksmithing orders: This is unintentional, and we hope to have this fixed very soon.

Murderers can no longer enter Ilshenar: This is also by design.

Runebooks have lost their titles: This was unintentional. The titles from "pre-patch" runebooks are actually still available & attacked to those runebooks, and we're hoping to be able to fix that soon. Some players have noted, however, that they have re-named some of their runebooks and this new name remains as it should.

Runebooks are now able to be used while inside a locked-down container: This is an intentional change. Owners, Co-owners, Friends, and any random visitor should be able to use runebooks within locked-down containers.

Runebooks can no longer be equipped/held in your hand: This was intended, and meant to address a situation where a player holding a runebook could attempt to cast a spell, but the spell would never actually go off.


We'll try to keep you updated as we have more information.

=========
Sannio
Online Community Coordinator, UO
Origin Systems

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As I sit here in my office, listening to the whirring of my computers, a smile is inching across my face. Every time I get a spare moment to think about what's coming up for UO I get all a-tingle again. This is no small feat, as I've been working on it for three and a half years now. I've survived T2A, Renaissance, and Third Dawn - I am a seasoned veteran. Nothing should faze me anymore, and there certainly shouldn't be anything I could get excited over. Right?

Well, I'm excited. The upcoming releases are going to knock your socks off. We're going full-bore with content, new models, new spell effects, new sprites for the 2D players, new audio... a lot of stuff. Tack onto that the huge leaps and bounds we're making in improving the clients and I am simply astounded. Of course, the client is where most of my interest lies - being the Lead Client Programmer now, so that is where I shall focus my thoughts.

The upcoming client patches are going to have lots of goodies for the 3D client, somewhat less so for the 2D client. I should note that this is not because we have less interest in the 2D client, but because the 3D client has greater potential - and has a greater need for improvement. I decided this "Comments" post would serve mostly to share my excitement with the rest of you, so I'll just delve into what we'll be releasing "soon":

? We have taken an initiative to wipe out the bugs in the Party System and started with the clients. The Party System will be more stable and pleasant to deal with than ever.

? Several aesthetic improvements will be coming to the Third Dawn client soon. This includes mip-mapping to reduce "noise" in textures, a fix for a problem with alpha maps on the wings of dragons and the like, as well as some fancy text rendering code. These changes result in a greatly superior looking Third Dawn client.

? Our 2D client is getting a "Quick Menu" of its own.

? The Third Dawn client is getting support for more fonts. Different fonts will be used all over the interface, and can also be selected by the player for in-game chat.

? Both clients are getting a new interface for acquiring help and information regarding playing Ultima Online. This will be a searchable, cross-indexed font of useful information players can access in the game. This system will launch with a less than complete data set, but we'll be filling it in rapidly.

? The ability to switch from full screen mode and back again in real time has been added to the Third Dawn client. Players can also resize their Third Dawn client window as big as they like - limited only by the ability of their video card.

? We have also added several performance enhancements to the Third Dawn client. The overall frame rate is up, and zooming in your view will yield an even greater frame rate - very useful at banks.

? Players will soon benefit from indicators on the Shard Selection screen of both clients which will relate the amount of latency and packet loss between them and the Ultima Online shards.

All this, and more which I'm going to keep under my hat for the time being! The client is slowly undergoing a progressive overhaul to create a more stable, faster game-playing environment. This is due to all the people who work on the client: Greyburn, BulldoZ, Indy, Jalek, FierY iCe, and myself (Alai). That's a lot of people working hard to improve the quality of just the client alone, with more on the server. Ultima Online has a long, glorious future ahead of it. I hope you stay with us - or you'll miss the best of it!

Special Addition:

Every time I check up on the boards, I see at least one post where somebody could use a quick review of some of the special interface features of the Third Dawn client. So here it is:

? If you can't click on something because it's too small, or buried under other objects, press and hold Shift and Ctrl down to bring up "Object Handles." You can drag/click/target these things like you could the actual object. If one Object Handle is obscuring the one you're after, right click on it to get rid of it and dig your way to the item you were looking for.

? If you hold down Shift when you drag a stack of items, it will pick up the WHOLE stack without being prompted about how many you want.

? Similarly, if you hold down Alt and Shift when you drag a stack of items, you'll only pick up one.

? The Third Dawn client has a command history. Assuming you haven't remapped the macro, you can press Alt-Up and Alt-Down to cycle through commands you've used recently. If you prefer to use different keys for this, create some new macros that use "PrevCommand" and "NextCommand."

? When shopping in the Third Dawn client, you can buy the maximum quantity of an item by holding down the Shift key and double-clicking on its listing in the shopping gump instead of sitting there holding down the little "+" button.

? Open up your options display and switch to the macro editing section in the Third Dawn client. See that gray rectangle to the right of the key entry field? Drag that off the gump and put it on your desktop. You can double-click that icon whenever you want to use that macro. This is especially useful for using skills. You can also re-label that icon by changing the text in the "Name" field of the macro-editing screen before you drag it off.

? You can create a "Command" macro in the Third Dawn client to execute any command you could enter into the main input field. This includes gestures - just create a Command macro with the parameter `bow. Note: that's the single quote key on the tilde (~) button. Now drag off the macro icon....

? The four small boxes to the left of the paperdoll are used to equip and remove small articles of equipment in the ring, necklace, wrist, and ear slots.

? If you stick several status bars, spell icons, or macro icons together, you can drag the whole mess of them around at once if you hold the Shift key while you do it.

Alai
Lead Client Programmer
Ultima Online

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One Million Gold 1 vs. 1 Fight Night Event at the Grimoire Arena

Friday November 16th, 2001, at (9 PM PST, 10 PM MST, 11 PM Central, Midnight EST)
No Entry Fee

1st place One Million gps, 2nd place Katanna of Vanquishing, 3rd place Black Sandles

Registration
To avoid confusion, registration will start at 8:00 PM PST, and end at 9:00 PM PST. No late entries.
Tournament will start at 9:10 PM PST.

We must have a minimum of 4 teams to start this event!

Here are the rules:

• No charged magic items, clothing, or jewelry. No magic armor and weapons allowed.
• No pre-poisoned weapons. They may be poisoned during the battle.
• No use of summoning spells, offensive field spells, blade spirits, energy vortex, recall nor gate.
• No Stealing is allowed during battle.
• The only pre-casting allowed (casting done before the match countdown) is Magic Trap, Reactive Armor, and Magic Reflection.

Disclaimers:

• All contestants are subject to snooping by Grimoire Staff to ensure everyone is participating fairly.
• The Event Coordinator's decision on all matches is final and will not be disputed during the event.
• Anyone who disrupts the flow of the event for any reason will be banned until after the event.
• In the event that a contestant loses connection during the event, the Event Coordinator will make a decision as
• to the possibility of a rematch. That decision stands and may not be disputed. Any disputes will be handled after the event.
• A connection loss during combat events where the roof is sealed off, will result in an automatic forfeit.
• The Event Coordinator reserves the right to adjust these rules at any time without notice.

This event takes place in the Grande Grimoire Battle Arena. Once you have entered the Grande Grimoire Battle Arena, all Contestants are bound by the Rules of the Battle Arena. Failure to follow these rules may result in your death or banishment from the Arena. Contestant Battle Arena Rules

Contestants and Spectators must observe and obey all the Village Laws. Failure to do so can end in your death or banishment from the village. Spectator Rules

For calendar of events, rules, maps and community message board, please visit Grimoire

Grimoire Staff

Your humble servant
Raeven Aurora

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Enjoy!

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There is so much information in this update that I am not even going to try to sum it up. It's all there, the who, what, where and when of Animal Taming, and more... Make sure you check out the two links above and from there just follow all the taming related links.

In the meanwhile, research continues to get to the bottom of the recent changes on Animal Lore. Expect an update for that section when we've concluded our research on it.

Should be enough there to keep you reading for a couple of hours :)
Enjoy!

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The sun was setting over the mountain west of the Monastery shrouding the great monolith in shadows. It was a peaceful day as usual in Trammel. The Knights Templar assisted new and old citizens alike through the sale of goods and services.

Alaric Torquil, Keeper of the Monastery and Papas of the Templars sat pouring over the Journal of Xerxes. It was written in an unscrupulous style. The deciphering of this aged text would require the learned linguist Gwyneth Torquil or Silvanus Fellows. Alaric returned the dusty leather bound volume to a well-secured chest and wisped away through a gate to meditate at the Shrine of Spirituality.

Ludwig Faulk had been helping Alaric attempt to read sections of the manuscript. Upon Alaric's departure Ludwig spent some time dusting and sweeping various rooms of the Monastery of cobwebs and debris from the days activities. Tezozomoc Quando assisted Ludwig in the evening chores. A few citizens arrived to purchase wares and talk of Britannian politics.

Night now loomed and a starless sky offered no light to travelers. Tezozomoc lit the flames of candles and torches throughout the monastery to welcome passerby. Howls rippled in the distance. Tezozomoc and Ludwig looked at each other surprised by the sound. No wolves had been seen in this area of Britannia for ages. Most scared away by the growing population and hunting. A scream rang out which seemed to shake the mountain loose from its foundations. Ludwig threw open the double doors and a vision of horror met their eyes. The bloody remains of a lamb lay disemboweled only a few yards from the doors. A ravenous beast of a man covered and dripping in blood sat hunched on heals over the corpse. A wide grin of mockery flooded the skinny face. Wild eyes peered eerily forward and a guttural growl, barely audible and understandable, retched toward the bewildered men. So said the demented carnivore, This is where thyselves hast hidden thyselves? Tezozomoc and Ludwig, the shock now dissipating and having experienced the demonic possessions of men before readied for the conflict, hands on silver blades. The man continued his verbal assault, Hastening to Trammel we dost see. Ahhh, thyselves thought safety from mine Fallen Ones? With a glib cackle the demon possessed man fled into the woods. Darkness followed him, the only clothing he wore.

Ludwig and Tezozomoc exchanged glances and returned to the inner sanctum of the Monastery. Alaric and the rest of the Templar Order will need to hear of this. Ludwig rambled. Tezozomoc opened the door of the Monastery again to peer outside. The howls of the wolves had stopped.

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In modern times, the term "knight" can be equally applied to men or women. Below is a related notation from The Columbia Encyclopedia, Sixth Edition, available on the internet, here.

In modern Britain, knighthood is not a title of nobility, but is conferred by the royal sovereign (upon recommendation of the government) on commoners and nobles alike for civil or military achievements. A knight is addressed with the title Sir (e.g., Sir John); a woman, if knighted in her own right, is addressed as Dame.

=========
Sannio
Online Community Coordinator, UO
Origin Systems

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Lagged server or not, have a look at our new sections on Glassblowing, Stonecrafting and Mining for Sand and Stones and find out if you can make these items also.

Enjoy!

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Do you like to drink?
Do you like to either make up tales or listen to them?
Do you a have a tale from the past before the worlds separated? Or per chance you are a bard and have tales to tell.

All are welcome but PLEASE STABLE YOUR PET BEFORE COMING.

The Dragon Tavern will be having its weekly story telling night on Wednesday, November 14th, 2001 at 7PM PST.

The prizes are 40K for first place and 20K for second.

ICQ in advance and rune will be provided. Dragon Tavern is located on ice Island at: 87o53'N 164o41'W

Wolf of Evermore
ICQ: 39012719 for more information.

Your humble servant,
Raeven Aurora

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We had 12 noble and valiant souls show up for the event. Numerous tales were told including at least one made up on the spot! We also had the 5th part of the Minds Eye saga. Wolf of Evermore plans on telling part of the tale every week.

Winners
And in first place came Celban OBanyan with a tale of dread. Samhain and the sons of the dead and Kaylar McCloud with a tale called Sano and a rainy day of fighting. They both won 30K.

Stories
You may remember that when we left last Khan had hear the follow:

Oh could it kill. He had lost count many years ago of the thousands he had slain in the name of righteousness. Righteousness could be such a cruel taskmaster in that, too most it was a subjective quantity and thus could easily become a doubled edged sword. As this fire of confusion, spread and burned a path clearing his mind of clutter, the white-hot rage of righteous indignation fueled this inferno within his mind. As with a lump coal and thousands of years of pressure, the diamond that is clarity burst into his conscious mind. In that instant he was back in that space and the screams where fresh.

She turned and smiled, as her face seemed to change into that of a devil. With that the room went black and the laughter of an ancient evil could be heard echoing down the corridors of time.

We now begin tonight's portion of the tale

Khan awoke in his bed. All seemed right in the world but he had this vision from last night/yesterday that he could not shake. He got out of bed and proceeded to look around his home. He lived out in the countryside and even if he called it his simple abode, the truth was it was a structure fit for a king. It was located on the rear of his land and was not the main house. That was the tower with fortifications designed to withstand years of siege. No he was in the space that he liked to live.

Made of wood, which had been polished, to a shine that made a crystal lake jealous, the home had 20 rooms and could house a small army. However he lived there by himself with the servants from the Tower coming to clean and care for the building. The truth was that Khan was normally away from home. For he was a finder of things. He made his living locating things that had been lost long ago.

At this moment he was using his talent to determine what was real. The rooms seemed well kept and there was no sign of another guest or himself recently making a long trip. Looking at his calendar he saw that it was the 60th of the 2nd cycle and there was nothing about gems of power needing to be found. Had he dreamed it? How could he be looking over a 3rd of a cycle in the future?

The how he knew well and that was part of his secret. Khan could see and experience life in the future or the past. This allowed him to find items and normally helped him to stay alive. To date that had not been an easy task, for death seem to follow him like a homesick puppy. Knowing that the future was going to put him into the jaws of death one more time had stopped effecting Khan. It no longer ruined his day.

Thus he went to the kitchen to make he breakfast. It was in the hallway that it hit him. He knew he was about to have one of these moments but his talent was such that he could delay it. So he proceeded to make a meal of eggs and a loaf of bread he found. He thanked his staff for always making sure there was food. He sat down and ate knowing that a dragon of the mind was waiting for him. He finished and placed the dishes near the sink and walked to his study.

He sat down in the most comfortable chair in the whole house and allowed his mind to open. There she was riding a horse away from a castle like death was chasing her. This was Starlight and as his mind cleared he could see that she had a large bag attached to the saddle. He knew what was in the bag without looking and something that had never happened before occurred. She looked up to his line of sight and smiled.

"I know you are there oh man of death. I will come for you for these" as she touched the bag "are not going to be found till I am ready." With that she rode off into the sun as it meet the horizon.

He was now at a lake and something was wrong. He turned and found that the water was heavy and held him up. "NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO" he screamed as head appeared from beneath the water. He could not be here. This was not possible even for him.

As always Death smiled and hoped that Khan would not figure out the lesson of the lake and that in the future this human, that had been a drain on even death, would admit defeat and slip silently into that good night.

Khan had regained his composure and smiled for he recognized his old friend. " He always hates it when I smile at him' was the evil thought that went in and out of Khan's mind. As if on cue death saw this pest smile a smile that at once said Hi how are you and gave the feeling of one wiggling their open hands with thumbs in the ears. A universal gesture that was normally restricted to the schoolyard but one that Death found rather insulting.

As if Khan had crossed the line he was instantly out of the lake and in the castle that Starlight had been riding away from. He knew this was bad before but now he saw them. One hundred knights had been killed. It was as if their armor had been melted and somehow the liquid steel had flowed into the their souls. For the courtyard was littered with the broken bodies of virtue.

For virtue lived here in this castle and called it home. In fact the gems of power that were in that bag contained pure form of virtues and could be used in many wonderful ways. They had in the past been used to cure plagues, stop droughts and even change the heavy heart of a king. But these gems also contained the power to destroy and corrupt. For that which can give life can also be an agent of Death.

As that became clear to him, he found himself back in his study. Death was there smiling always ready to shake his hand.

"Begone" Khan yelled, as the house shock to its foundation. For death had awaken that old magic in Khan and it started to stream out. Power in its most pure form was one of the gifts that Khan had been given. "Death I am tired of you. Leave now before you regret it."

come back next week for the next installment

Your humble servant
Raeven Aurora

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Question: You go to the spirituality shrine, and are sent to the humility shrine.. you do your humility task and gain humility.. when are you gaining the spirituality points?
-You gain Spirituality after you complete the task. So if you do a Humility task, you gain both Humility and Spirituality. Note again though, the increase the Humility is small. Also, you don't go to the Humility shrine.

I recommend that you change it so that the people in spirituality have "automatic spirit speak" as opposed to their ghosts being able to speak clearly.
One of the reasons I made it work with ghosts is because a lot of RPers like to have a ghost as part of their quest. Problem was, anyone without spirit speak could not understand. This way, only the ghost has to have spirituality and then everyone can hear him.

And what does this have to do with the current (horrid) system of squiring [young]s for gaining Humility?!
-Nothing. That's the point. It's an alternative way to gain in the virtue, different than the main way. That way you have a choice and it can hit different play styles.

The shrines will accept checks (but not credit cards j/k!)

The gains are slower than using the primary method. So yes, you will gain the second path in Spirituality faster than Humility or any other virtue if you use Spirituality exclusively.

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We're not planning on releasing dyable runebooks, at the moment. There's a possible issue to prevent that, as well. We'd need to deliberate on how future spellbooks (if any) are to be represented in the game before allowing them to be dyable or making a strict decision not to. This means we think ahead of the future of a piece of artwork, because we have limited artwork to work with.

Some objects in the game should not be dyable or have limitations on how they can be dyed. Although, the majority of objects that you folks can dye have a broad range of colors.

If we were to allow dyable bright blue staves, would ice staff scamming occur? Probably... It's not a simple matter of flipping a switch and something becomes huable. This is the same with any feature change in the game. We must deliberate over positives and negatives of a system in an attempt to reduce its potential abuse by players.

-Hanse
UO Live Designer

I have happy news and informative news...

The informative news first. We made runebooks able to be titled in multiple languages. Sadly, the titles your runebooks had prior to the patch did not convert (on Lake Superior). We're looking into the issue. The title is still on your runebooks, but it isn't displaying properly.

Now, the good news. Runebooks on branch 14 published shards can be locked down in containers in your houses and recalled from (even by non-friends/co-owners/etc). This should help you runebook librarians out. :)


-Hanse
UO Live Designer

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Two nights in a cowardly act, Aryn of RKR and Naomi Armitage of HCD came to the Sister's House to discuss Edguardo's fate. While there, of course a battle ensued and Leshyani and Tee Tee were defeated. Seeing an opportunity, they captured Leshyani and took her to a cabin in the woods. After she arrived no one knows what happened until Lore Denin, a member of the CDB and Kaleta, a Sister showed up to inquire on Leshyani's rights and health while in the care of the 'Knights". Finally, Kaleta had decided she had had enough and attacked the knights. Of course, since she was outnumbered badly, she valiantly lost, trying to save her High Enchantress.

All chained up, Leshyani and Kaleta were forced to march to the Holy Cross Defenders' tower in Felucca, where they were to be imprisoned, possibly as barganing chips for 'poor' Edguardo. In a scuffle with the help of Sister Dementia X, Kaleta somehow managed to escape, able to give us the information that you are reading now. Yet another attempt to free her was attempted last eve by the army of the Sisters, led by Mercantile Sorceress, Southernbelle. But when they arrived at the tower, they were thwarted by the combined force of HCD and RKR. I wonder what one thinks about while in jail? Ahh well hardly for me to decide. And what is this? This morning yet another twist in this long string of events...

A note delivered upon carrier pidgeon-

"Dear lady leshy I am afraid that it has come to this. You are in part responsible for the death of too many good citizens of these lands. You have trangressed justice too long. With the help of dissidents from your guild we have 'rescued' your son, and hold him in our 'safekeeping'. I hope our extreme measures here will help you look at what is important to you, and rethink your association with EoA...
Signed Lord Phoenix-Shaddock Katal
Guildmaster of Phoenix Rising, and servant to the land."

And this letter received from Leshyani herself in captivity...
"Last night I was captured by the forces of the Order of the Silver Serpent, the Royal Knights of Redemption, and the Holy Cross Defenders. They wish to trade me for Edguardo. They wish to put me on some sort of trial. Please respond.
Leshyani Rianne"

What is Leshyani's fate? Does the fate of 'poor' Edguardo rest solely upon Leshyani's purple shoulders? We shall have to see.
Brianna Lavendar,
Scribe to the Sisters

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The UO gold auction site, Pacific Marketplace http://pacific.shard.net/auction is proud to announce it's first two winners of our random drawings!

Azerith wins 10,000 gold as a random winner from our first 100 subscribers!
Chris wins 11,000 gold as our random winner from our first 110 subscribers!

If you are planning on swapping alot of blacksmith bulk deeds when they arrive, our site will be opening a special section devoted to the task.

Check out Pacific Marketplace's UO gold bidding system with registration and email notification. Our next drawing is 12,500 gold randomly selected from our first 125 subscribers.

Strength and Honor!

- Celtain

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We received this most interesting story from Shri of the Custodes Fati:

Rumours had been reaching us for some time now about a mysterious black gate, an archway of bones surrounded by the paraphernalia of malevolence, that has been sighted taking shape atop the black spire of Nohkmahr, city of the damned. Having heard additional rumours of a new uprising among the accursed Severed Head Orc tribes, and a dark plot to call forth some sort of legion of darkness, we decided to gather our forces at last and journey to Nohkmahr’s vile realms to investigate first hand. With mages and warriors of Spiritwood gathered, we steeled our nerves and at last made our way there, passing through our own magical portal into the wild woods of Yew. As we cautiously strode into the maze of twisted streets and fetid allies that the outcasts of the land call their home, an eerie silence greeted us. Wind blew detritus through empty streets and only the distant howls of wolves broke the stillness. Nothing else stirred.

This we found unnerving, as some had reported an Orc spy creeping about earlier that evening in Spiritwood as we gathered to make ready. Sensing a trap, half the forces made their way into the black spire that crowns this wicked place, while the rest stood guard in the streets below, gathering our cloaks against a cold wind that began to whistle through the deformed buildings that pressed in on all sides. Still the silence remained unbroken. But then a call was sent down to us from above. It seems that the ancient Orc Wozza Saktoth himself had emerged from the shadows above and stood in defiance before the assembled host, taunting them with his wicked plans. Quickly, the remaining guards climbed the stairways of the black spire to join those gathered about the evil black gate.

There we saw it, the gate of bones with its blackened orifice yawning open, surrounded in unholy trappings and pools of blood. On an alter facing it, flanked by prophets of doom, a sinister book sat before all. Before this stood the Wozza, defiantly bragging about his dark handy work. He spoke of his insane plans to bring a violent and bloody end to this, our beloved realm, through summoning an army of demons through his gate of blackness. Pad O’Lion made a valiant attempt to reason with the brute, demanding to know the sense of destroying a land that was, after all, home to orcs as well as the races of men and elves. To this the withered Wozza merely laughed his maniacal cackling laugh, stating that he and his tribe would be soon depart this land, leaving destruction and damnation in their wake. The leader of the Custodes warned him that we would never allow this to happen, to which Saktoth demanded to know how we would manage to stop him. He pointed out, rightly so, that in spite of our use of force in the past, he somehow has always managed to return once more, bringing ever more woe to the land. Pad scratched his head and pondered these words, even as new figures of menace began to appear. Few at first, but surely dangerous, members of that damned cult calling themselves Cataclysm the Final Chapter began to show themselves, giving truth to the rumours of a dark alliance. Then passing Savage warriors had gathered to, no doubt attracted by the commotion. We considered our options as the Wozza’s threats and taunts continued; to simply kill him would be futile, as he had shown an ability to somehow return time and time again. Some suggested taking him alive and imprisoning him, others that his mysterious powers resided in his black staff and that we should make an effort to seize this.

Finally, we could wait no longer, as the Wozza turned to the mysterious book upon the alter and began to turn its pages. They appeared to be the skins of many races, now hardened as stained leather. The words, a runic scrawl more like jagged weapons than words, appeared to be as tattoos preserved upon these bound hides. The whole seemed to exude malevolence and a chill went through the assembled crowd as the Orc began his incantations. At last the order was sounded, Pad O’Lion shouted “Take him alive!!”.

I cannot say for sure what happened next, but it seems that Orcs and evil members of the Cataclysm sprang up everywhere! In a flash the top of the dark spire was awash in freshly spilled blood as battle erupted on all sides. Pad himself was cut down by hidden enemies before he knew what hit him, even though warriors and mages from both the Custodes Fati and the Knights of Virtue fought valiantly on all sides. Mayhem reigned and new foes leapt out of the shadows all around, but at last the tide turned in our favour, and the last of them fell, pin cushioned with arrows. Alas, the old Wozza again escaped capture in the confusion. As order was finally restored, the forces of righteousness began to pick through the remains, wondering what to do now, and still worried about the midnight-portal that remained, yawning oblivion before us. I myself turned my attentions to the wicked book, and with the help of others, began trying to pry it loose from its magical bond to the black spire. To touch it was agony as it burned with acidic fury, ruining first one then a second pair of toughened leather gauntlets. We tried cutting, prying, pounding and levering it free. We tried dispelling the accursed incantations that held it fast. At last it began to loosen, and with Jen pouring cooling ale- the only liquid we had at hand- over its hissing bindings, I was finally able to wrench it free. But all was not well, as I immediately realized when a sickly fire gripped me and I nearly fell unconscious by its virulence. My comrades rushed to steady me and cure the affliction that flowed from the book I grasped in my hands. It was then that others began to shout about a new difficulty. It seems that in his impatience to learn the secret of the gate, or perhaps out of some misplaced longing for his own homelands in a far distant world, the Oymak Dogei Matur had fool-heartedly leapt through the black gate itself! Only the faint smell of Kumis still lingered where once this proud Nomad had but a moment before stood gazing into its un-knowable depths. His poor horse stared forlornly after him whinnying softly. No one was sure of what to do next and most agreed that to follow would perhaps lead to death for many. It was determined that we should depart that wicked place as soon as we could, taking the accursed book in the hopes that, through study, we might learn its secrets and find a way to rescue the missing Oymak. A moongate was quickly called into being and I stumbled through it, still clutching the wicked tattooed hide tome, even though it injected venoms into my hands. In Spiritwood I quickly set it down and collapsed as friends ministered to my afflictions. We decided to secret the book away and study it. It is hoped that soon we might journey back to the black gate of bones and thence through it to rescue our departed Nomad friend. The book is now safe- we hope, but the table in the Custodes tower is still blackened from where the book lay…..

Shri,
Proconsul Custodes Fati

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Hello everyone!

This is a brief update to let you know what the current situation is with our servers and the horrendous slowdowns we are experiencing. As I mentioned previously, our host moved its Data Center to a new facility this last weekend. The move was completed in short order and it appeared to have gone smoothly. However, as you can see our pages are loading extremely slowly.

We have been in constant contact with our host and have been working with them to try and resolve the situation as quickly as possible. The problem for us is that the cause of this issue is located within their new facility and we have no control over it. So we’re stuck in a holding pattern, sending out daily “Hey remember us!” reminders to them.

They have indeed acknowledged the problem and have stated that they are working very hard to fix it. The explanation we received was that they are working on load balancing on the network segment in which our servers (and other affiliate sites) reside in.

Trust me, we are just as frustrated as anyone. My guess is that we’re likely much more frustrated. ;) I would like to personally thank all of you have written to us. Especially those who provided us with trace route and ping information in order to help us track down the problem. All such information has been forwarded to our host and they indicate that they are aware of the cause and are working on it. At this stage we’re waiting patiently like I hope all of you will be patient. We will get our speed back - it is just a question of when. But I can safely say it will be a matter of hours/days rather than weeks or months. So please bear with us. We hope to have the matter resolved very soon!

Regards,

Jhariden
Community Development
Stratics
http://www.stratics.com
The Massively Multiplayer Network

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Before you read my comments on this, please read the update located here. Then come back. :)

Spirituality to me has always been the virtue that was more about understanding the other virtues. This system was designed to not only cover that fictional aspect of Spirituality, but also to address some concerns that some of you have expressed.

It will provide another way to gain in each virtue. This is something I have seen mentioned many times. Now, if you are not into helping people or don't like PvP, you can still gain some Humility or Honor through Spirituality. You wont gain points as quickly as you would through the primary method, but it still allows you to gain to the second path in any virtue you chose.

It also will allow us a way to demonstrate some aspect of the virtue that the primary way of gaining in it may not have covered while also teaching players not familiar with the virtues something of each virtue. The lack of fame for humility and giving up wealth for sacrifice fit their respective virtue nicely and offer a quick glimpse into the virtue.

The last thing this system allows us to do is recreate the moral dilemmas so popular from the single player games. If you chose to forgo fame in the pursuit of Spirituality and Humility, you cannot gain towards Sacrifice. Not every virtue will have that kind of counter-system, but we can add when appropriate through this system.

We don't have an idea for Honor yet, but am open to ideas.

Thoughts?


Jonathan "Calandryll" Hanna
Designer, Ongoing Content
a wizard did i

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Spirituality is part of a philosophy within Ultima Online known as the Virtues, and is one of eight pursuits within the upcoming Virtue system.

The Virtue of Spirituality has been described as:

“Spirituality is the concern with one's inner being and how one deals with Truth, Love, and Courage.”

Pursuit of Spirituality will help players learn about the Virtues philosophy and game system, and give them alternate ways to gain in each Virtue.

Tasks: Players will be able to visit the Shrine of Spirituality (on Felucca, Trammel, or Ilshenar), and be able to double-click it in order to get a special gump-menu.

• The menu will ask which Virtue they wish to learn about.
  • Eventually all Virtues will be listed, but initially only those Virtues with “systems” that have been introduced into the game will be listed here.
• Once the player selects a Virtue, the player will be given a task based on that Virtue.
  • Humility task: Upon visiting the Shrine of Humility, players will be asked to pursue a Humility-based task.
    • Players will be asked to kill an amount of monsters which would normally gain them “Admirable” level of Fame, although no actual fame will be gained for these kills during this task period.
    • Players will be notified when they achieve their task, at which time they will also gain some Spirituality and Humility, as well as be able to continue gaining Fame.
  • Sacrifice task: Upon visiting the Shrine of Sacrifice, players will be asked to pursue a Sacrifice-based task.
    • Players will be told to tithe a certain, specific amount of gold at the Shrine of Sacrifice, into a certain chest placed there.
    • If players put in the exact amount of gold requested, they will gain some Spirituality and Sacrifice. If there is not enough gold, the chest will refuse the offering.
  • Other tasks: As more Virtues systems become available, other Virtues-based tasks will be added.
• Limitations:
  • Characters cannot pursue more than one task per day.
  • Characters cannot pursue the same task twice in a row.

Virtuous Title & Abilities: When a character has achieved enough Spirituality points, he is considered to have achieved a certain step on the path of Spirituality.

• When a player moves his cursor over the Spirituality symbol, a title will be displayed, indicating the step currently achieved in Spirituality for that character.
  • First step: Seeker of Spirituality
  • Second step: Follower of Spirituality
  • Third step: Knight of Spirituality
• Players who progress any number of steps on the path of Spirituality, but do not continue to actively pursue it, may discover that this Virtuous title reduces in steps over time.

• Characters who have achieved any steps on the path of Spirituality will recover from being dead faster than other characters, resurrecting with a few more hit points and mana than normal.
  • The exact numbers are still to be determined, although it is not likely that they will exceed 50% of the character’s maximum natural stats.
  • A player who resurrects through use of his Sacrifice power will not gain these additional, post-resurrection recovery points.
• Ghosts are normally only understood by those who successfully use the Spirit Speak skill. Characters who have achieved any steps on the path of Spirituality will be understood by anyone while as a ghost, including those who listeners who are not using Spirit Speak.

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Greetings all.
I would like to announce the Grand Opening of New Beginnings. We will be holding the Opening on Saturday, November 17, at 8 pm EST. The location will be at the villa just west of BTF/Regency castle. We will be holding several events, open to all across the Atlantic Shard. Free drinks will be provided.
Below is a list of the events as scheduled.
------------------------------------------
1. A sheep fight will be held. Bets can be placed during each round of the fights. Maximum bets allowed are 5,000 gold. Bets must be placed at least 10 minutes before fight starts. There will be 8 sheep tamed, 1st round will be the first event. Winners will get double their bet.

2. A scavenger hunt will be held. There will be teams of four people allowed. Each team will have a team captain. Each captain will be given a book, listing the required items to be found. The teams will have a maximum of 1 hour to find the items. If time expires, the teams are to return to the start point, and the team with most items wins. Grand prize will be announced before start of the hunt.

3. A storytelling contest will be held. There will be a panel of judges to judge entrants. The only rules for this event are the story must follow roleplay...ie, no out of character stuff. Grand prize for this will be announced at the start of the contest. Entrants must register at least the day before, so we can have an organized presentation.

The 2nd and 3rd rounds of the sheep fights will be held after each of the other respective events.
---------------------------------------------
This will also be the Grand Opening of our new school, New Beginnings. We are looking to teach anyone that wishes to learn about Brittania, as well as the ways of role-playing. So if ye know of someone new to these lands, or just looking to learn, feel free to send them our way. Also, gates will be provided from the East Bank of Britain to the event.

Signed,
Dayn Elderan
Headmaster
ICQ 129503370

Skylar
Headmistress
ICQ 91151101

*You see before you a scroll bound with the seal of Caina*

Hear ye! Hear ye! The results of last week’s tournaments are as follows:
The One vs. One:
Many courageous contestants battled it out, but only one triumphed over all! Tip took home the grand prize of 50,000 Gold!
The Golem Fights:
Tywat Pare boasted to be the best tinker in all of Britannia, and a fine machine did he build! But Alas, Tip proved to be a better controller as his Rosco left Psychotron nothing more than a heap of metal and gears upon the ground! Tip carried home the grand prize of 25,000 Gold!
The Gladiator:
A test of true skill, the men entered the battle arena in nothing more than their loincloths prepared to battle it out until only one man was standing. The supplies necessary for battle were scattered about the floor. Many were swift and many had quick wit, but none proved more skillful than Adal N'thrak! He carried home the grand prize of 25,000 Gold!

Saturday, November 18th at 8pm (Eastern) Casino Night shall take place, come drink and gamble to your hearts content and at 9pm (Eastern) on top of the Sepulchre of the Damned; the following tournaments shall take place...

**Two vs. Two Tournament**
-No Looting.
-No Mounts/Animals.
-No Magic Armor or Weapons.
-No Pre-Poisoned Weapons.
-No Hiding/Invisibility Spells.
-No Recalling or Gating.
-No Summoned Creatures.
-No Stealing.
-The Only Precasted Spells Allowed are Reactive Armor, Magic Reflection and Magic Trap.
-The winner of this tournament shall receive 50000 gold crowns.

**Summoned Animal Battle**
-No healing of the summoned creature.
-No aiding your summoned creature in its fight.
-What you summon is what you get.
-Every participant shall be using their summoned creature to battle at once, this is not a tournament
-The controller of the summoned creature is allowed to move around inside the arena with its creature, but not allowed to attack other controller’s summoned creatures in any means other than using his summoned creature.
-If your summon creature does not last the duration of the fight you are disqualified and not allowed to summon another.
-If there is no winner, the last controllers with summoned creatures alive will be allowed to summon a new one to finish the battle.
-No Recalling or Gating.
-No Stealing.
-The controller who wins this battle shall receive 12500 gold crowns.

**Jousting Tournament**
-Warriors only.
-The weapons allowed in this tournament are halberd, war hammer and spear.
-Any combination of non-magic armor is allowed.
-No Magic Weapons or Armor
-Each warrior must be mounted.
-If you do not come mounted, you will be given access to one at the tournament.
-This is to the death, each warrior shall stand where they are told, and when a wall of stone falls, rush their enemy in a strait run and return to the position their opponent was standing.
-No Stealing.
-No Recalling or Gating.
-The winner of this tournament shall receive 12500 gold crowns.

Festivities on Pacific sponsored by Council of Seguns.

When: Sunday, Nov. 18th at 11AM Pacific time (2:00PM EST)
Where: Skara Brae Fairgrounds (North of Ranger Huts on the Mainland)

Events/contests include:

Magery Contest -(bring your own regs) First to summon a slime one by one, no entry fee, prize 5k.

Roleplaying Event- various roles in books to play no entry fee, no prize, no winner.

Magic Trap Contest - First to blow wins 5k, no entry fee.

Mounted Race - race on mount (any mount) from the start point to finish, no entry fee, prize 5k.

Raffle - Entry fee 5k, winner takes all.

Scavenger Hunt - Make your own group,entry fee 5k per person. Winning group takes all.

Trivia Contest - Test your knowledge!

Tegun Janeson

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*Greywolfe looks at paper in hand*

This brief memo just in--pure mares will be reintroduced with Publish 15.

*We now return you to your regularly scheduled forum*

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Come one and all to the Town of Sailor's Rest First Annual Chess Tournament!

To be held on November the 17th 8 PM Pacific time!

This is a open invitational Tournament (aka no fee!) following the standard International ruleset with one exception..no en passant.

First Prize .... A dragon Statue!!!
Second Prize ... 100,000 Gold pieces!

There are 16 spaces available and once their gone, their gone!

In addition to the tournament, there will be other activities, including a Singing and Story Telling session in the tavern! There will also be the begriming of a Quest - "Find the lost galleon 'Titan's Hammer'"!

The town is quite easy to find! Its the beach just south of the West Brittain Bank! Just leave town, cross the bridge, head south and hug the shore! Its the Sandstone Patio on the waters edge. Sextant coordinates are 21°S 12°E

PLEASE leave your mounts stabled as the tavern hasn't the room for such.

Chess spots will be filled on a first come first serve basis! No advance reservations!

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IMPY’S ARTIC FAIRE…
Events this week:
Auction Wednesday, November 14, 9pm EST
Auction Thursday, November 15, 9pm EST

Impy’s would like to remind everyone about our great 24 hour vendor collection. Everything from house additions to regents to rares. Something for every walk of life can be found in the Impy Vendor Section at the Artic Faire. Stop by today!

Coal Plate Suit
Banner Deed
Daemon Statuette
Fruitcake
Light Green Easter Eggs
Frying Pan
Tall Potted Tree
Green Champagne Glass
Blue Glass
Connected Silverware
Lots of Nets and Treasure Maps
Tons of Weapons
and some Great Armor Sets!

As always, Runes to Riches and the Mystery Chest games will also be played this week following the auction, so please stick around and take a chance with lady luck. Impy has asked that you please stable your pets before the auction as he is allergic to wet fur.

If you need a rune visit one of our rune vendors located through out the lands. Vendors can be found at: StarLite (Vesper, Trammel), next door to the RD Stables (Felucca), the Sandlewood Box Inn (Dead Heaven, Felucca), Kazola’s TreeTop Keg and Winery (Felucca), Cove Merchant’s Guild and Blacksmith Shoppe (Cove, Felucca), the Mystic Portal (Trammel), the Garden City Mall (Cove, Trammel), or at Kishan’s Vendor Mall (Trammel).

~Impy’s Staff

www.impys.net

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I have happy news and informative news...

The informative news first. We made runebooks able to be titled in multiple languages. Sadly, the titles your runebooks had prior to the patch did not convert (on Lake Superior). We're looking into the issue. The title is still on your runebooks, but it isn't displaying properly.

Now, the good news. Runebooks on branch 14 published shards can be locked down in containers in your houses and recalled from (even by non-friends/co-owners/etc). This should help you runebook librarians out. :)

-Hanse
UO Live Designer

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Why were these changes done?

These changes were made to increase the rarity of rare ores, as well as give experienced miners the ability to influence their frequency of obtaining the rarer types of ore. Overall, we feel this will make the mining experience much more interesting.

Previously, since ore zones never moved, the designed-in rarity of colored ore was diminished. With miners selectively mining as much of any particular color as they wanted at any time, the rarer colors were simply no longer rare. Players with the knowledge of rare ore locations could, in time, mine as much of that ore as they wished, with no limits. However, we do agree that a miner should be rewarded for diligently recording where colored ore is found, and we do believe that using Recall or Gate Travel and a packhorse are valid mining strategies. Therefore, we decided that while it is for the greater good to have ore zones change color, it is best to have them do so only very slowly. This means that those who maintain runebooks and ore color maps can still do that to their advantage. The only difference is that now the ore color maps and rune books will have to be periodically updated to keep up with the changes.

More value has been added to being an experienced miner, since miners will have to expend more effort in tracking ore location, even though some of the other modifications have significantly increased the availability of ore all over the game world. Furthermore, experienced miners will also have the opportunity to learn how to improve the ratio of colored ore they get when mining, giving players more control of what they mine, as opposed to allowing the yield of an experienced and skilled miner to be equaled by the yield of a less experienced miner with a runebook.

There was never a fixed ratio of ore zone colors. It was always completely random. We do feel that if it is indeed the case that certain colors are mined more often than others, it is possible that overall the number of areas spawning ore in that color will decrease. However, we do not feel that it is possible for a single shard to ever be completely bereft of any color, no matter how rare. There are a huge number of ore zones and large numbers of people mining them. If many people concentrate their mining efforts on a few ore zones, then the likelihood of those ore zones changing color is increased. However, other mining is always being done elsewhere on the shard, which will change other ore zones' colors, ensuring those colors continue to be available. Also keep in mind that miners of lower skill will be mining the more common ores, ensuring that those will change in their own time to more rare colors as well.

I know the different ore spots will change slowly, but will the timing be random? Or will it depend on how often that vein has been mined?

There is a very small chance every time an ore zone restocks that it will change color. The odds are low enough that *on average* any particular zone will change color approximately once a month if mined continuously for the entire shard's uptime. However, it is conceivable that an ore zone could change twice in consecutive restocks (extremely improbable), or one could go for many months of heavy mining without changing at all (also very improbable).

Is it possible for a newbie miner to change a vein to a higher level ore and not realize it, because they don't have the skill to mine it?

Yes.

But what about all the ore libraries in Britannia?

We never want to see work go to waste on anyone's part, but if we refrain from making changes because it will negate someone's work in documenting the systems, then we're shackled to doing things the way they've always been done. For every system, there is someone who has researched and documented that system, and for every change we make, someone's documentation will no longer be accurate. It's unfortunate, but we honestly feel that the game is better and more interesting for this change.

It is important to note that Origin/EA have never guaranteed the persistence of ore color locations. They have been re-randomized on all older shards at least once due to circumstances beyond our control. We have also stated in the past that the game designers felt that a change to randomizing ore colors would be considered in the future. With this bug fix, we felt that making the ore colors shift periodically would benefit the entire mining subgame. Keep in mind that, due to the slow rate of change with regard to ore spawn, ore books can still be used. They will just now have to be periodically updated, which should raise the value of keeping newly updated and accurate runebooks.

We do recognize that some players are negatively impacted by these changes. For those who feel this way, you are urged to explore the new mining system. We feel that the new features more than make up for any loss that comes as a result of ore colors beginning to slowly shift.

=========
Sannio
Online Community Coordinator, UO
Origin Systems

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Heroes come in many shapes and sizes, roles and reputations. Not all of them are spotlight seekers; in fact, some prefer supportive roles over those more appealing to glory hounds. They often make a difference from behind-the-scenes without any expectations of praise or repayment. Sometimes, they are just good people that happen to be at the right place, at the right time, who give up a moment of their time to offer assistance in some fashion before heading off with a wave and a smile. Because of this, they are not often recognized for their contributions and efforts.

For our next Spotlight topic, we would like to showcase the selfless deeds and kind intentions of those everyday players that enrich the game with their compassion for others. If you know a tale of such a person, then we want to hear from you!

Send your story as an e-mail, with a single screenshot attached, to [email protected] by Wednesday, November 21st. Please be sure your story falls between 500-1000 words, and include "Unsung Hero" in your subject line. The screenshot should be in bitmap format, and 640x480 resolution. Please provide a name and phone number for verification of the story. Submissions to "uo-profiles" become the property of OSI and may be used for special events, promotions, and/or advertising. All submissions must be made by the original author and are subject to verification. Also, if there are any topics that you would like to see covered in our weekly Spotlights, please feel free to submit those as well!

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We fixed a bug causing areas in Ilshenar to produce pieces of ore that didn't produce ingots when smelted, and a direct result of that bug fix was that ore areas will now restock independently of each other. Other changes were made at the same time to increase the rarity of rare ores, as well as give experienced miners the ability to influence their frequency of obtaining the rarer types of ore.

Here is what changed:

• Ore zone restock times are now random, where they used to restock on a set interval simultaneously across the entire server. The average restock time is shorter by approximately two minutes than the old fixed interval.
  
• The amount of ore stocked in a zone is no longer constant, but is now randomized. The minimum amount is higher than it used to be.
  
• Ore zones will now have a chance to change color every time they restock . We set the odds of a zone changing color to a very low number. Basically, if a particular zone is mined every minute the server is up day after day, then on average it will change color once per month (but it could happen much sooner or much later than that).
  
• All randomizations are done using bell curve distributions, meaning that the average time interval/ore amount will be more common than an unusually high or low time interval/ore amount.
  
• There are now things players can do/learn to influence their mining results, but we're leaving it up to the players to discover those.

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I am Gandalf, Avatar of Truth, from Avatars of Virtue. On December 14 at 9pm PST (Pacific Standard Time) our guild will be holding the grand opening of a new tavern/casino, Sarah's Virtue !!

On this night you will be treated with a new and exciting experience on Baja. We will have a full service tavern where you can wet your pallet, converse with fellow travelers and play some darts.

After throwing back a few you can head on up to one of our playing tables where you can try your hand at one of five different games! Such as Virtue 8, Leap of Faith, or Chaos/Order.

In addition to these we will have several events planed that evening where YOU can win gold, casino chips and more!!

Over the next few weeks leading up to our grand opening we will be posting further updates.

We thank you fellow Britanians for your interest!

Gandalf, Avatar of Truth
Avatars of Virtue

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Hear ye! Hear ye, one and all!

The time has come for Casandreal to hold its First Fall Festival! Come one and all to see their wondrous little town. Take advantage of the vendor sales going on that day, have a grand time at the costume contest, test your mettle in the cannonball race. Or just plain outright have a blast at the Net Toss! You can even join in all of them, if you so desire!

The date for this magnificent event will be November 17th 2001. Things will be happening all day. The costume event will be held at 5pm EST. The race will start at 7pm and has a time limit of two hours on it. Racers will be entered in teams of two. Each team will register before the race begins. Registration begins at 5pm and will last one hour. Prizes will be given for the 1st, 2nd and 3rd place positions. There will also be a consolation prize for 4th-13th places who complete the course within the time frame. The Net Toss will be held immediately following the race!

So don't be the one on the day after saying, "I really missed out on the Festival of the year, didn't I?". Make sure you attend and be a part of history!

Tallic Greenleaf

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Greetings Fellow Britannians,

The Weekly RD Auction continues each week. This past week was a great success as usual. Anyone who has a submission please come by 1 hour before the auction starts on Tuesday evening. The Auction starts at 8:30 pm CST/9:30 pm EST. Bring your item(s) in a bag with a book, in the book type in your name and icq, if no icq then your email address, what the item is and your mininum bid you will take for that item. Hand it to any one of the Auction Staff that is in the stage area. Your items are secure with us.

It is hard for the Auctioneer to see the bids in the Journal with all the constant talking going on, so here is an updated ruling to help stop this problem; If you are seen talking other than bidding you will be warned once, if it happens again, you will be removed and one of the Burning Heart Guard will see you outside to explain why you were removed, if you continue to talk after the warning, then you will be banned for the night no questions asked. Any of the Burning Heart Guard or the Auction staff can remove or ban. We hope that we will not have to do this many times. We would much rather have you the player as part of the auction.

Our weekly givaway has been a great success, and it will continue. Last week we gave away a check for 10k, GM Valorite Archer Suit, Glacial Staff, 4k in gold, semi rare archer shafts, etc. This week will be even better. So come on out and have a nice evening and bid on some great items and maybe even win a nice free item. As all of you know we do not take any percentage from the submitter, we do this as a service to all the players in the game.We hope to see many of you for Tuesday Nights Auction.

Rattler GLV

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It is with great pleasure that I announce that Kishan's Vendor Expo and Casino will pay the 5,000th visitor 500,000 in gold. That's right! Just by walking in the door, you might find yourself laiden with a half a million gold pieces.

If you are unfamiliar with Kishan's, the tower hosts a wide array of vendors. They hock wares of all sorts. Dye tubs of each variety are available for adding that special color to your wardrobe. The waterfall on the roof is not to be missed. But, the fun doesn't end there. On the second floor lie the Mystery Box Vendors. Within each vendor's pack is a 1 in 15 chance of taking home your very own rare item. You can choose to pick from 5 sets of vendors. Only want to risk 3k? No problem. Buy a grab bag, where EACH box is a winner! Or, you could buy a box for 5k and get a chance to win a 25k item, 10k gives you a chance for a 50k item, 20k yields a chance to win a 150k item and 50k gives you a chance to win an incredible 500k item!

Runes to Kishan's will be dispersed at th East Britain Bank in Trammel on Tuesday evening. Look for Dref Nimblethumb and you'll be given a rune to the tower. Dref will be at the bank on the hour marks, starting at 6pm eastern.

You don't have to wait until Tuesday, though! For those more fleet of foot, Kishan's is located at 90o10'N x 31o34'E. Be sure to purchase from one of our several rares vendors Or anything else from raw materials to finished goods!

Good Luck!
Dref Nimblethumb
Kishan's Vendor Expo & Casino

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From the Journal of Ra'Dian Fl'Gith
Chro'Xac, Year of the Clockwork Beasts
Cult of the Azure Dragons

"Minoc did not fall, little thanks to you." The gravely voice cut through the air as it echoed off of the stones of the tower.
Ra?Dian set his quill back into the inkwell upon the stone desk before him and let out a deep sigh. "Nemesis, I had t? make a choice. One that had I made any o?er way perhaps would had brought further destruction t? both Ilshenar and eventually t? both Sosarian facets. I understand little o? what you saw ?neath the Controller Pyramid, but I assure you that there is somethin? most wrong in Ilshenar. We had to assist."

Nemesis slammed his shadow helm upon the table, an odd noise resounding as stone met metal. "You turned your back on Felucca, just like that coward king whose name is swiftly falling off of the pages of the Feluccan history books."

The small chamber became aglow with a bright sapphire light as Ra?Dian stood swiftly, resting his fists upon the edge of his desk. "By the hells, you will nae compare me to that man! I bled in Trinsic to stop Minax, and I bled there again t? reclaim it from the clutches o? Juo?nar and that queen. I bled in Cove as savages overran it. And my blood has stained the grounds of Dracona and the foul dungeons of these realms more times than I care count. British hasn?t bled in longer than one would dare speak!"

"Then why is one of your friends rotting in a cell, held captive by the Empire of Armageddon?" Nemesis asked, a slight violet glow to his eyes. "Are you too enraptured by the Mondainites search for knowledge? Too busy looking beyond the Battle of Minoc with Leshyani, towards the collective goal of studying magicks? Too busy ordering me into Ilshenar to war mechanical abominations? Too busy to save your own friend?"

The azure glow became stronger, lighting the room far more than the candle upon his desk or the lanterns upon the walls. And then the light subsided. "What would ye hae me do?"

"I would have you live up to the precept that this cult of yours was founded upon." The violet light was too gone from the Enforcer?s eyes. "I would have you strike Nujel?m and free your friend from captivity."

"We could not possibly strike the heart of the Empire and hope to survive. It would be far easier if I were to speak to Nero and arrange for the return of Basil?s body to the Empire. They have means of preventing all but their forces from gating or recalling into their ?capitol,? and they have redirected the moongate that sits on the far shore. We can?t simply pop in, grab Edguardo, and sneak out unnoticed. They have sealed the isle quite well."

The Enforcer let out a hearty laugh. "You are getting old, you feeble elf."

"I?m getting old?" Ra?Dian allowed himself to smile. "Ye be fifteen thousand years older than I."

"At least I am not afraid of the ocean, you lazy excuse for a mage." The look upon the Enforcer?s face was stern, but Ra?Dian knew he simply enjoyed being the one to point out the flaws in his logic.

"And I suppose you have thought about how would go about this?"

Nemesis Enforcer pulled a scroll from his belt pouch and unrolled it, setting it on the desk before him. "First we require transport..."

Ra?Dian smiled inwardly as the Enforcer spoke. There was little wonder how the man before him had attained the title of Nemesis Enforcer, one of the most prestigious honors that the Emperor of the ancient Dragothan empire could bestow, granting him command of a legion of warriors. Perhaps Edguardo would soon be free.

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On the eve of the battles of Minoc, and against Lord Blackthorne, the Lord Phoneix gave a speech to the guild Phoenix Rising:

"Phoenix Risning, my family, my warrior brethran hear me this day. We are on the eve of a day of great darkness, a day of great glory, a day of two great battles that may be fought. On the one hand we have the tower thats been built in Britain, that will show us the location of those responsible for the recent attacks of the golems and controllers, and for the enslavement of the gargoyles of Illsnair.
Then on the other we have the defense of Minoc from the Empires of Armageddon. Soon these two great battles will take place; good versus evil across the lands. And we are a force of good. We must stand, we must stand against evil wherever it arises. We must meet evil whenever it challenges the peace of our lives, the security of our lands, the freedom of our people. Though you may fall in battle, stand with me now. For it is said that '...he who sheds his blood with me, he is my brother'. So honor me Phoenix Rising, shed blood with me on the day of these battles. Hope that it may be the blood of those that make us force our hand, as opposed to our own, may good triumph without cost.
But that is most unlikely, many will fall tommorow, and in the dark days ahead. Yet, though you may fall in the war against evil, you will stand forever tall in our hearts as heroes. So I ask you today, as I asked you all when you chose to serve these lands when you first joined PHR, will you protect these land with your life, will you stand with me tommorow?"

And Upon the day of battle...

Shaddock Katal looks over those that came:"Only three," he think, "I had hoped for more.", he says. Shaddock:"But this will have to do do. Everyone ready?" Mighty Maximus:"Aye sire." Elmcarra:"Yes my lord". Raist:"Aye". Shaddock:"Then let us meet with the rest of CDB, they are waiting for us". So the foursome from PHR set out to felucca, a trip not so often taken by this group. Upon arrival to the supply base of CDB in Felucca the army prepares. Shaddock:"Hail, and well met all, is this all we have to defnd Minoc with?" White Lotus: "Aye, save for a few more troops lagging behind this is the bulk of the force. Have you men gotten into uniform?" Shaddock:"Yes, shortly they will be all prepared, once we get a few last supllies from our stock here." White Lotus:"Very well, godspeed to you and your men, and thnak you for helping." Shaddock:"Aye, godspeed to us all, and thank you as well my lady, for organizing us all here tonight."

Several minutes pass while the rest of the forces arrive and continue to organize. There are lots of good blessing and words of encouragement floating around the muster point. Calls of "To Honor!", "For Victory!", "For Britannia!" can be heard amongst the chatter. White Lotus:"We are all gathered, I am proud of you all, remember why you fight today. Lets us leave for Minoc" Inside the mighty cheer that arise you can hear the words of power calling forth gate after magical gate to move the army to Minoc. Upon Arrival there White Loutus and the other guildmasters begin positioning their troops in tactical points throughout the city. Nerves and tensions are running high as everyone strives to get good positions before the attack commences. The Phoenix Rising forces are part of a contingent of about 15 stationed near the center of town designated as the fallback point, and other forces are distributed throughout the city. Some time passes, that felt like a life time to some, like mere moments to others as they all lay in wait.

Suddenly a runner comes through the lines and cries "It has begun, there are forces to the west and to the south!" and he swiftly rides back towards the fray. The sounds of battle can be heard, and several at the center of town wish to enter the fray now. Shaddock:"Hold fast, this is where we will make our stand today, it is here our forces were told to fall back, we will stay here and wait for them to bring the battle to us!" They did not have to wait long. Soon from the south the sounds of battle drew nearer, and words of orcish toungue can be heard. Max:"Orcs, I hate orcs." Shaddock:"Aye, myself as well, the stench reminds me of you, hehe..." Raist:"We are ready my lord." Then the four of them look up to see several CDB troops running from a massive Bloodrock Clan formation. Shaddock:"Now attack the head of the column, blunt the assualt and hold until reinforcements arrive!" Then the clash began, one of the largest parts of the battle of Minoc. Warriors rushing headlong into the orc party, with arrows and spells flying every which way. Men and woman alike of both sides are turned into pin cushions, or blown away by massive spells. The orcs are amazing in their brutality and wipe most of the opposition aside. Here Maximus fell to the mace of an orcish warlord, and shortly thereafter Shaddock fell to an archers arrow. CDB forces are starting to falter; when suddenly from the west come the reinforcemnet, having defeated the enemy there. They rush madly into the orc lines hoping to force them to run. But they stood fast. Then Raist falls on the sword of an orc screeching as he pierced the belly of his foe. The battle raged on in confusion for several mintues more, the orc trying desperatly to regain the momentem to continue the assault, and CDB trying to remove the wounded, and keep the orcs off guard. Then Elmcarra, while trying to heal a wounded CDB soldiers is herself felled by an arrow, the last of PHR to stand in this battle. The orcs despite heavy losses began to move farther into the city past all organized defenseive lines. However then the remanents of fighting elsewhere on the city subsided, and the remaining strength of the defenders was sent into the fray. The orcs were surrounded and finally routed. The defenders of Minoc stood victorious. But at an amazing cost. Estimates post battle are as high as 90% casulties, even for the victors. The wounded, of both sides, are taken off the field of battle and treated as best as they can be. Those beyond medicine or magic to save are burried in solemn rememberance of the sacrifices they all made. The armies both go home, to lick their wounds, and to view what was lost and what was gained. Many are left wondering if it was all worth it. PHR's members all returned home, glad to have victory after their failed raid on Nejelm some days before, but still sadened at the losses that had been sufferd. Elmcarra:"Will there be more battles my lord?" Shaddock:"Yes Elm, this was but a simple battle in a larger war my lady. They will move on to other cities, and Nejelm is still imprisioned by these foul creatures". Max:"I recived a carrier pidgeon that brough tidings from Illnair, seems the forces there succeeded in freeing the gargoyles tonight!" Raist:"Wellt thank goodness for that too, we have won a great victory on two fronts this day." Shaddock:"Yes we have, but we msut remain vigilant, the Empire of Armageddon is not so easily stopped, we must rest now, but soon again we will prepare for battle."

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Greetings Fellow Britannians, The Weekly RD Auction continues each week. This past week was a great success as usual. Anyone who has a submission please come by 1 hour before the auction starts on Tuesday evening.

The Auction starts at 8:30 pm CST/9:30 pm EST. Bring your item(s) in a bag with a book, in the book type in your name and icq, if no icq then your email address, what the item is and your mininum bid you will take for that item. Hand it to any one of the Auction Staff that is in the stage area. Your items are secure with us.

It is hard for the Auctioneer to see the bids in the Journal with all the constant talking going on, so here is an updated ruling to help stop this problem; If you are seen talking other than bidding you will be warned once, if it happens again, you will be removed and one of the Burning Heart Guard will see you outside to explain why you were removed, if you continue to talk after the warning, then you will be banned for the night no questions asked. Any of the Burning Heart Guard or the Auction staff can remove or ban. We hope that we will not have to do this many times. We would much rather have you the player as part of the auction.

Our weekly givaway has been a great success, and it will continue. Last week we gave away a check for 10k, GM Valorite Archer Suit, Glacial Staff, 4k in gold, semi rare archer shafts, etc. This week will be even better. So come on out and have a nice evening and bid on some great items and maybe even win a nice free item. As all of you know we do not take any percentage from the submitter, we do this as a service to all the players in the game.We hope to see many of you for Tuesday Nights Auction.

Rattler GLV

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A journal found on the steps of the Champions of Light's guild hall contained details of a plague that nearly spread throughout Britannia a few years ago.

The plague had a striking resemblance to the disease one of the CoL's guild members has.

The journal was writen by an old alchemist, Gayduray.

We will form a search party on FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 16TH AT 8:00PM EST to locate this alchemist and see if we can find a cure for our friend. If anyone is willing to help us, we will be at the West Britain Counselors Hall, in Trammel.

We need all the help we can get.

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The list below (which also apprears in the current patch message, and has been posted here) notes numerous fixes & updates that will be available to all shards with the next update. However, all the these changes are currently available on the Lake Superior shard (and only on the Lake Superior shard).

Obviously, there's a lot of different changes going on, in a wide variety of systems. We'd like to hear from anyone who plays on Lake Superior about their interactions with these changes. If things are working exactly as written, let us know with a reply to this post. If you've noticed something that doesn't "seem quite right," let us know that, too (if you need to discuss the details of a bug, don't post the details here, but instead please e-mail them to [email protected] and/or me at [email protected]).

Any positive and constructive comments or critiques are welcome in this thread. Share your thoughts on as little as one item in the list below, or on all the listed items if that's your preference.

Thanks!

GAMEPLAY ADDITIONS / CHANGES (currently live on Lake Superior only)

NPC UPDATES

- Shopkeepers will now give murder counts correctly
- Multiple following NPCs will no longer stop following their target
- Problems with shopkeeper items not matching up with their images and prices has been fixed
- Shopkeeper pack limit has been increased to 230 items
- NPC vendors will no longer buy bank checks

HOUSE AND LOCKDOWN UPDATES

- Scrolls that are locked down in houses will no longer decay
- Fixed a problem with items decaying when placed in a locked down chest
- Players will no longer be able to combine ore with ore that is locked down
- A problem where the buttons would overlap in the recipient side of the house transfer gump has now been corrected
- Fixed an issue not allowing co-owners to redeed a house if a flaming head was placed in the house
- A player now needs to be within 6 tiles of the target area to place a house
- Co-owners are now able to dye locked down furniture

SKILL UPDATES

- A problem with being able to gain carpentry skill without using up resources has been fixed
- Fixed an exploit using a dead boat key to gain Eval Int and Meditation

GUILD AND PARTY SYSTEM UPDATES

- A problem with guildstone teleporters has been fixed
- A problem with guild wars in Trammel has been fixed
- You will now receive a message when you have been kicked out of a guild
- Fix for the party message spam crash
- The initial loot state for party leaders will now be "can loot"

SPELL UPDATES

- A consistency problem with spell casting gestures has been resolved
- Spell damage will now disturb your meditation
- When you cast polymorph, your avatar and paperdoll will no longer "fall down" when the spell takes effect
MAP UPDATES

- Spawn between Minoc and Vesper has been reduced
- Mongbat spawn at Moonglow moongate has been reduced
- The forge at coords 1259 284 -19 in Ilshenar is now functioning
- Some important buildings in Haven have been rearranged to make it easier for new players to find things right away

FACTION FIXES AND UPDATES

- Faction messaging will be re-enabled
- Faction messages increase to 4 per hour
- Faction message typos and incorrect messages when in the war/peace phase have been fixed
- Issues with murder reprieves are addressed (some characters were not getting the reprieve)
- Minax stronghold will become part of the map -this will address the load times and people being stuck there
- Faction vendors will not block players
- Sigils will remain at the correct elevation at all times
- Sigils cannot be stolen unless you are the same z or lower and have clear line of sight
- I honor your leadership will work for all faction players
- Faction skill loss penalty will affect all skills
- If you are quitting a faction and hold an office you will be removed from office
- Issues with players not getting a faction robe when joining a faction have been resolved
- Issues with players not being able to equip the correct number of faction items have been addressed
- Issues with characters being stuck in order and chaos guilds and thus not being allowed to join a faction have been resolved
- Faction vendors and guards can be dismissed using a targeting cursor
- Issues with warhorses not highlighting the correct color have been addressed
- Faction warhorses will not respond to orders from anyone not in their faction
- Faction warhorses cannot be transferred or friended to anyone not in their faction
- Faction warhorses can only be retamed by someone in their faction
- Issues surrounding houses above the yew crypts blocking access to the shadowlord base have been addressed
- You can no longer heal a faction guard if you aren't a member of its faction
- Faction guards will call guards if they are attacked by non-faction enemies (same faction and blues)
- An issue allowing young players to join a faction temporarily has been addressed
- Faction titles will no longer display in Trammel
- Faction enemies will hue blue in Trammel
- Faction war horses will require rank 2 to ride
- Players flagged as aggressors to another player, or criminal for any reason, will not be able to use public moongates
- Sigils will not be stealable for 1 hour after a server starts, to avoid thieves stealing a sigil before anyone is online to defend it
- Issues involving the rules of moving around with sigils have been addressed - meaning the rules governing what you can do while carrying a sigil will work in all cases
- Faction warhorses will not be as deadly an offensive weapon in combat
- Issues with silver for killing enemy monsters and players have been addressed
- Issues with faction traps not giving correct silver to trap placer have been addressed
- Issues with faction allied mobs not highlighting and giving silver in all cases have been addressed
- Corpses will now hue the correct color for looting - a corpse that is orange is lootable (meaning you did damage), while a corpse that is blue is not lootable (it will include enemies you didn't damage). Grey and red corpses are lootable
- Problems with transferring killpoints and karma have been fixed
- A problem with faction robes has been fixed
- Players that are not in a faction will no longer be able to heal NPCs that are in a faction

MISC BUG FIXES

- Harm wands now work in Trammel
- The "zero iron ore" bug has been fixed
- A problem with murderers getting stuck in Ilshenar has been fixed
- If a player becomes a murderer in another player's presence, they will now highlight red immediately
- Boats will no longer get stuck near Haven's border
- Arrows will no longer float on water (floating arrows would block boats)
- Players will no longer be able to shoot arrows that they do not have
- An issue with player speech location has been fixed
- Fixed a stealing/recall exploit
- Fixed a problem with GMs becoming visible while walking through player-created gates
- Players will no longer see "you cannot use this" messages when they try to open the paper doll of a player that is using the poisoning skill.
- Fixed an exploit where players were dying their hair purple by using the sigil
- Fixed an exploit allowing dead players to still have their items when resurrected
- You are now able to collect your items from a dead pack horse without being flagged a criminal
- A problem with gargoyle pickaxes has been fixed
- Items will no longer fall beneath pentagrams and abbatoirs
- Treasure maps not found in Felucca will default to Trammel - Unicorns and Kirin will now consume normal fruit provided by player
- Pets now inherit the karma level of their owner
- Killing wild pets will no longer give bad karma to the killer
- All containers should now show their contained count and weight
- Fixed a bug involving stacking containers
- Empty bottles now weigh 1/10 stone when in a stack
- Players will no longer be able to equip runebooks

=========
Sannio
Online Community Coordinator, UO
Origin Systems

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A large variety of bug fixes and changes are being addressed in this update, involving some aspects of NPCs, houses, skill gain, the guild & party systems, spellcasting, some map regions, the faction system, as well as including various miscellaneous bug fixes. (Please note that these changes are already active on the Lake Superior shard.)



NPC Updates

• Shopkeepers will now give murder counts correctly
  
• Multiple following NPCs will no longer stop following their target
  
• Problems with shopkeeper items not matching up with their images and prices has been fixed
  
• Shopkeeper pack limit has been increased to 230 items
  
• NPC vendors will no longer buy bank checks
  

House and Lockdown Updates

• Scrolls that are locked down in houses will no longer decay
  
• Fixed a problem with items decaying when placed in a locked down chest
  
• Players will no longer be able to combine ore with ore that is locked down
  
• A problem where the buttons would overlap in the recipient side of the house transfer gump has now been corrected
  
• Fixed an issue not allowing co-owners to redeed a house if a flaming head was placed in the house
  
• A player now needs to be within 6 tiles of the target area to place a house
  
• Co-owners are now able to dye locked down furniture
  

Skill Updates

• A problem with being able to gain carpentry skill without using up resources has been fixed
  
• Fixed an exploit using a dead boat key to gain Eval Int and Meditation
  

Guild and Party System Updates

• A problem with guildstone teleporters has been fixed
  
• A problem with guild wars in Trammel has been fixed
  
• You will now receive a message when you have been kicked out of a guild
  
• Fix for the party message spam crash
  
• The initial loot state for party leaders will now be “can loot”
  

Spell Updates

• A consistency problem with spell casting gestures has been resolved
  
• Spell damage will now disturb your meditation
  
• When you cast polymorph, your avatar and paperdoll will no longer “fall down” when the spell takes effect
  

Map Updates

• Spawn between Minoc and Vesper has been reduced
  
• Mongbat spawn at Moonglow moongate has been reduced
  
• The forge at coords 1259 284 -19 in Ilshenar is now functioning
  
• Some important buildings in Haven have been rearranged to make it easier for new players to find things right away
  

Faction Fixes and Updates

• Faction messaging will be re-enabled
  
• Faction messages increase to 4 per hour
  
• Faction message typos and incorrect messages when in the war/peace phase have been fixed
  
• Issues with murder reprieves are addressed (some characters were not getting the reprieve)
  
• Minax stronghold will become part of the map -this will address the load times and people being stuck there
  
• Faction vendors will not block players
  
• Sigils will remain at the correct elevation at all times
  
• Sigils cannot be stolen unless you are the same z or lower and have clear line of sight
  
• "I honor your leadership" will work for all faction players
  
• Faction skill loss penalty will affect all skills
  
• If you are quitting a faction and hold an office you will be removed from office
  
• Issues with players not getting a faction robe when joining a faction have been resolved
  
• Issues with players not being able to equip the correct number of faction items have been addressed
  
• Issues with characters being stuck in order and chaos guilds and thus not being allowed to join a faction have been resolved
  
• Faction vendors and guards can be dismissed using a targeting cursor
  
• Issues with warhorses not highlighting the correct color have been addressed
  
• Faction warhorses will not respond to orders from anyone not in their faction
  
• Faction warhorses cannot be transferred or friended to anyone not in their faction
  
• Faction warhorses can only be retamed by someone in their faction
  
• Issues surrounding houses above the yew crypts blocking access to the shadowlord base have been addressed
  
• You can no longer heal a faction guard if you aren't a member of its faction
  
• Faction guards will call guards if they are attacked by non faction enemies (same faction and blues)
  
• An issue allowing young players to join a faction temporarily has been addressed
  
• Faction titles will no longer display in Trammel
  
• Faction enemies will hue blue in Trammel
  
• Faction war horses will require rank 2 to ride
  
• Players flagged as aggressors to another player, or criminal for any reason, will not be able to use public moongates
  
• Sigils will not be stealable for 1 hour after a server starts, to avoid thieves stealing a sigil before anyone is online to defend it
  
• Issues involving the rules of moving around with sigils have been addressed - meaning the rules governing what you can do while carrying a sigil will work in all cases
  
• Faction warhorses will not be as deadly an offensive weapon in combat
  
• Issues with silver for killing enemy monsters and players have been addressed
  
• Issues with faction traps not giving correct silver to trap placer have been addressed
  
• Issues with faction allied mobs not highlighting and giving silver in all cases have been addressed
  
• Corpses will now hue the correct color for looting - a corpse that is orange is lootable (meaning you did damage), while a corpse that is blue is not lootable (it will include enemies you didn't damage). Grey and red corpses are lootable
  
• Problems with transferring killpoints and karma have been fixed
  
• A problem with faction robes has been fixed
  
• Players that are not in a faction will no longer be able to heal NPCs that are in a faction
  

Miscellaneous Bug Fixes

• Harm wands now work in Trammel
  
• The “zero iron ore” bug has been fixed
  
• A problem with murderers getting stuck in Ilshenar has been fixed
  
• If a player becomes a murderer in another player’s presence, they will now highlight red immediately
  
• Boats will no longer get stuck near Haven’s border
  
• Arrows will no longer float on water (floating arrows would block boats)
  
• Players will no longer be able to shoot arrows that they do not have
  
• An issue with player speech location has been fixed
  
• Fixed a stealing/recall exploit
  
• Fixed a problem with GMs becoming visible while walking through player-created gates
  
• Players will no longer see “you cannot use this” messages when they try to open the paper doll of a player that is using the poisoning skill.
  
• Fixed an exploit where players were dying their hair purple by using the sigil
  
• Fixed an exploit allowing dead players to still have their items when resurrected
  
• You are now able to collect your items from a dead pack horse without being flagged a criminal
  
• A problem with gargoyle pickaxes has been fixed
  
• Items will no longer fall beneath pentagrams and abbatoirs
  
• Treasure maps not found in Felucca will default to Trammel
  
• Unicorns and Kirin will now consume normal fruit provided by player
  
• Pets now inherit the karma level of their owner
  
• Killing wild pets will no longer give bad karma to the killer
  
• All containers should now show their contained count and weight
  
• Fixed a bug involving stacking containers
  
• Empty bottles now weigh 1/10 stone when in a stack
  
• Players will no longer be able to equip runebooks
  

Client Patch

• We released a client patch on Monday Nov. 12th (CST) to all shards, containing:
  
  
  
  • A memory-related crash fix for the Third Dawn client
    
  • Various localization files
    
  
  

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Ver Lor Reg is indeed the name of the Gargoyle City. :)

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09.11.2001
Version 0.08f Released
COMBAT!!!!!!!, well mostly.

I am going home this weekend, so I am releasing what I have done so far due to me not working on the game this weekend.

I added monster combat completly and added monster sound effects. Player combat is most of the way there. You can attack a monster that is right on top of you and also one square in front of you. So far the only weapons that are in the game are, the rapier, the shield and your hands.

While in the dungeon, press "A" to attack and the R for rapier, S for shield and any other key for hands. I am going to rewrite the combat system after so that the text actually updates as you select new weapons. This is due to the structor of the game, but will change. All weapons have thier own sound effects, most have sound effects for hits and misses.[…]

04.11.2001
Version 0.08e Released
I just have one thing to say, MONSTERS!!!

Yes I finally got one monster in the game. It is the rat, based on the orginal design fromt the my first Akalabeth remake. Check out the Current Work sectino for a screen shot of the new model. There is still on combat or movement on the part of the monsters but that will be coming as soon as I can get some free time. All of the monsters are being generated but there is only on monster model so far. So I used to model for all of the monsters until I can get some more models done.

It only took me a few hours to make the rat model. I know it is not that great but I am trying.

Also in this release is some new keyhoard options. One is a speed control for the keyboard. So you can now slow down or speed up the response time for the keyboard. I also added a second keyboard scheme. It is the orginal keyboard layout from the first Akalabeth and Ultima games. If you are not familar with that control scheme then look at the readme file for instructinos on it. These options are accesssible in the options menu.

I plan on doing up at least one more model before I start working on the combat and movement systems of the monsters. If anyone out there has experiecne with low polygon count models, (ie from quake 3 unreal), and want to help just drop me a line. My email has changed, it is now [email protected]. I hope by next weekend to be able to have the thief model done or the snake model. I will also work on the combat system and movement system for the monsters. […]

08.11.2001
Good news folks. An important announcement was posted by Telemachos over at the message boards. I'll put it up here so none of you will miss it:
We at Peroxide are happy to announce to you that the upcomming tech2 demo will be released at december 23, 2001.
We have finally reached a point where we feel that we have enough new stuff to show you to justify a new tech demo. What you will see will not be the final game engine and several features will be missing in the tech2 demo that will be implemented later for the final game.
We think you will be pleased with what you're going to see though.
-Telemachos
We're pretty happy to finally be able to announce a release date for the tech demo 2. The Faq will also be updated this week to reflect this and contain some new questions. If you have a question about U1 and would like to see it in the FAQ, please visit our boards.

24.10.2001
Ultima 1: A legend is reborn was mentioned in this article over at Wired news.
On a note, I'd like to clarify some statements made in this article by an EA spokesman. He claimed EA has no knowledge of our remake, thus we could still hurt their intelectual property rights.
Peroxide has attempted to contact EA at an occasion last year, and having received no answer from any public relations or any department, it was assumed then we were allowed to proceed.
Also, as it's been known by now, and is explained in our FAQ, we have been granted verbal permission for this project by Richard Garriott, the owner of the Ultima franchise when this project started. As Richard Garriott was a (Or at least one of the) creative president of Origin Systems by then, we assume this would represent the position of the whole company. What is really an unfortunate statement though regardless of its legal validation is that Richard Garriott's permission is as meaningless "as Toto's allowance to remake the Wizard of Oz". The implicit sarcasm on this sentence is in my opinion disrespectful towards the creator of the series and the responsible mind behind the most successful and lucrative projects of Electronic Arts, likely the ones that took the company to the top of the computer gaming industry today.
To any extent, we have taken measures to attempt and speak to them directly, though we have done this before and unfortunately did not get an answer.
Visit our boards to comment on this. Thank you.

03-10-2001
U2 Upgrade Maintenance
While this site may appear to be dead every now and then, I can assure you it is not. In addition to my full time job, I'm taking two classes this semester that have turned out to be more demanding than I had expected. Development is progressing, albeit at a snail's pace. To prove it to you, I have a new version of U2 available which adds some new content that continues my previous work and also fixes a create character bug.

Welcome
This is the homepage for Ultima III for Windows, a project intended to re-engineer Ultima III as a native Windows application.
Ultima III is a classic-role playing computer game, in which the player controls a party of four adventurers and embarks on a quest to save the land of Sosaria from the grip of the evil Exodus. It was originally written in assembly on the Apple II by Richard Garriot and released in 1983. Subsequently, it was ported to a variety of other platforms, including the Commodore 64, the Atari 8-bit computer, the IBM PC, the Commodore Amiga, the Atari ST, and the Nintendo Entertainment System. Most recently, it has been rewritten for the Apple Macintosh and the Nintendo GameBoy Color.
Ultima III for Windows is a recreation or re-engineering of the original Ultima III, but written as a native Windows application. It is a game engine that uses the original Ultima III data files to provide an alternative way to play Ultima III. Players can switch back and forth between using this version of the game and the original Ultima III to complete the game's quest and save the world of Sosaria.

[…]

I intend to take the project through several phases before it is finished:

Phase I

• Fully playable game, a near complete reproduction of the original Ultima III.

Phase II

• Multiple supported resolutions
• Improved graphics, including several optional tilesets
• Eliminate some of the kludginess of the gameplay and UI
• Documentation and spellbooks available from in-game
• Enhanced cutscene graphics

Phase III

• Hi-res tilesets, and isometric view
• Improved special effect animations
• Optional turn-based tactical dungeon exploration
• Automapping
• Higher detail world map
• Additional game content, higher character levels, more items and tougher monsters.
• Larger party, and in-game characters that can join your party
• Gameplay automation features, similar to those used in Ultima III for the Macintosh

This is not a complete list of things I plan to do to the game, but it should give you some idea as to what direction I am headed. Currently, the project is somewhere between phases I and II. The game is not yet fully playable, but many of the features slated for Phase II are in and working. You can create a party, walk around the map, talk to people and shopkeepers, even sail to Ambrosia and visit the shrines. Lots of little stuff is working. What is still lacking is combat and dungeons. Of course, these constitute a huge chunk of the game.

05.11.2001

• Added a new entry to the developer diary. This one discusses dialogue in the game. It's based on a reply I made in the message forums, and includes a complete example conversation.
• New music! Added a theme for Buccaneers' Den to the media page.
• Interface screenshots! Added two new screenshots to the media page, showing the main inteface and the conversation screen.
• Added two new screenshots to the media page. The screenshows show a dungeon entrance and a wintry mountain range. Check them out!
• Added a a new portrait of Mariah the mage to the media page.

25.10.2001
A progress update: the game is nearing the 'walkie-talkie' stage. Since there is more to tell than will fit on a short news item, I've started a separate developer diary to talk about the game development. I've also added a link to it on the features page.

04.10.2001
Another progress update: the code for handling scripted conversations is now working. Much work has also been done on the game interface; first images of it will be released soon.

11.02.2001 -Update
Any Editor Folk out there?. It would be great if someone could help with finalizing the U4 module. All that needs to be done is to add the dialog which I have and monsters and NPC's. It takes just time :) The actual towns and castles are included in this version. Look at lvl 501 and you can see the near final level. Level 001 contains the world. Use the editor to view it. Level 501 is Buckaneers Den i think - well it's the town where Green Beard lives....
If you want to play the 1 finished module, then download women_and_orcs and play that one. It is pretty hard in some areas and the teleportation puzzles are interesting...
11.01.2001 -Game News
1 town is live. Download the newest town I ported. I have included ALL the towns in the game already (in this version) and the things missing are the towns folk (NPC's and Mobs) and dialog. The actual tiles are done. That was accomplished via an interesting program I wrote. Anyway creating the dialog and creating the people is just a matter of doing it. In other NEWS - progress for OptimaIV been slowed down because I am working on the 3D version, albeit a bit like Everquest in terms of battles and database management. 3D stuff like scenery is being worked on. The idea is in proof of concept.

30.10.2001
HELP WANTED!
Are you a talented writer with a firm understanding of descriptive writing, dialogue, and effective characterization? Are you a long-time Ultima fan who would like to see Ultima V reborn better than ever? If so, Team Lazarus wants you!
We're currently looking to fill two positions as dialogue writers. As a dialogue writer with Team Lazarus, you would be responsible for creating the dialogue scripts for all the NPCs in your assigned locations. For example, you might be asked to write dialogue scripts for all the characters in Empath Abbey, Paws, and Cove. The Design department would provide you with an overview of local history and geography for each of your assigned areas, but the actual writing would be all up to you. We're adding a handful of entirely new NPCs to each of the major in-game locations, so you would also be responsible for creating the new NPCs for your assigned locations and writing their dialogue scripts. If you wish, you will also have opportunities to devise your own sidequests.
If you're interested in joining Team Lazarus as a dialogue writer, please download the application form, fill it out, and Email the file back to Tiberius Moongazer ASAP.

08.11.2001
New Moonglow Maps
New concept sketches for the fair towne of Moonglow have been added to the Tapestry Page. Take a peak.

05.11.2001

• Both DrCode and Dominus have managed to complete Serpent Isle. This doesn't mean the experience is perfect, but many bugs have been fixed along the way !!!
• Dominus updated the FAQ and Documentation to reflect the latest changes
• WJP added mousewheel support for the slider gumps
• Other bugs fixes

25.10.2001

• We have lost all messages in the forum, because of a bug. WJP took the opportunity to upgrade to the latest stable version of the forum software. We'll try and keep regular backups in the future. Sorry for the inconvenience :(
• As promised on the forum, Colourless added support for multiracial Avatar in BG (SI is required)
• Also, from a suggestion from the forum, Nadir added an option to show a tinted background behind text in conversations to make it easier to read
• We have some new paperdoll artwork from Oblivious
• Fawn Trial should work again
• Other bugs fixes

18.10.2001

• Some monsters can now split
• Gumps are now a bit more modal
• Some more effects are now implemented (e.g. swordstrike)
• Telekinesis and Fetch work

12.10.2001

• Gameplay Options dialog togther with fast mouse and middle-button support have been added by Christian Ohm. Thanks !
• Slimes should behave a bit better now
• Powderkegs are much more explosive !
• Lots of combat fixes
• Support for SI freezing attributes

06.10.2001

• Dead party members are now properly handled
• Some bug fixes related to books and signs
• Many more SI bugs fixed (endgame, trappers, Batlin scene, etc...)

12.10.2001
Well, I've completely rewrited the Ambrosia part as well as the Gargoyle Lens quest. I've also remapped Ambrosia and the Underworld. The Island of Ambrosia on the Overworld has also been mapped out.

Back to normality.
Finally ! I've completed this web update and am writing that bit of news from my room near my university. This implies a few things. First of all, I do not have Internet access right here, and it's not always easy to access the one at my uni, since I'm not the only one there :p. That means that I won't be able to answer mails immediately. A 1 or 2 weeks delay between the questions and answers is now in order. On the other hand, I've got a lot more of free time than in the last weeks (surprisinly enough :p), this means that the web updates are going to be weekly, and I'll probably have times to update two fictions a week. This time however only Geoffrey's journal has been updated with quite a large bit.
The poll of this week is now closed, and I've added a few MP3s for download. Those are essentially remixes of familiar themes from the old Ultima. This is why Eriadain is looking for a new music artist.
A new poll has been opened.

30.09.2001
The maps for Citadel of Courage, Abbey of Love and Court of Truth have been done.
I'll try to do Ambrosia and rework the lens sidequest next week.

Poll you ! (And virus)
Life can sometimes be harsh. I'm at one of these moments and this is slowing down Eriadain a bit. The web updates aren't weekly anymore as you have noticed it, because of that. I'm currently studying in one university and might switch to another one in the next days. I'll then have to find a room quickly. In the meantime there's a lot of wasted time and papers to fill. But it's really just a matter of time before things go back to normal and that I'm able to dedicate as much time as before to Eriadain.
All right, so a POLL system has been added. Some will be serious, some will be for curiosity. Feedback is something Eriadain needs and I'll try to take it in account as much as possible.
The Game World fiction has also been updated.
Also, very huge thanks go to PRAX DRAGON for notifying me of a virus/worm file in the RM2K version of Eriadain. If you do have that version, DELETE AT ONCE THE FILE NAMED "VIOLETTE.VBS" Eriadain itself can be launched, and is not infected, but that file must not be opened or edited in any way. I am fully responsible of that stupide mistake and I'm sorry for it. A new version, virus free, has been uploaded.

11.11.2001
UW Update
Orkybash has fineshed the Ultima Underworld 2 Theme, go get it now. I've added some more downloads to the Ultima Underworld Section of the site and also added 4 new screenshots, one of which shows the new textures.

10.11.2001
Help Needed
Although we have a fine team of 2D graphics artists,Music Composses and programmers we still need 3D Moderlers so if anybody wan'ts to help more and has tallent in 3D moderling please e-mail me.

02.11.2001
Welcome
Welcome to Twister Software, sorry about the site being down for the whole week, we had a few problems with FTP. Well anyway here is the new web site design. Ultima Underworld News will now be posted on this page so you don't have to go far for it. Details on Ultima Underworld 3 have been released so go to the Ultima Underworld section of the site. Also if you have a web site related to Ultima Underworld please join our Ultima Underworld Web Ring and link to our site, also if you like I will add a link to your site. Sorry for the length of this post, Lord Wicca

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To address an issue with stackable pillows, we will be quickly republishing Lake Superior. This will mean the shard will come down briefly while we republish, and should return within approximately 30 minutes. This should not result in any lost play time. We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause.

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On the Thursday of the Ides, the fifteenth, shall the gypsies of Clan Ayr be in the town of Aryslan. There will they hold a riddling contest with many prizes and cash awards.

A series of rounds of riddles will need to be solved. To move to the next round you must have answered among the top three in a previous round. Nicolas Rasputin and Stefan will be handing out the riddles, and the prizes are secured in the bank for now, for Aryslan lies in the old lands of Felucca.

Single riddles may also be posed, very difficult ones. Do join us for an evening of fun and of entertainment. We cannot guarantee your safety in the far lands, so leave valuables at home and come dressed in old clothes. You need only your fine mind and your wits this night!

The stars hold only a small share of the light of the soul of man.

Dordi! Join us!

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Despite some legitimate complaints that many of the stone crafted items dwarf (no pun intended, Beldas) smaller houses, most people are really enjoying having their repertoire of possible house decorations expanded.

This alchemist's workstation found at Mindle's Wind on Ice Island uses Shadow granite to make the bright colors of the glass items really stand out. And notice that the blue bubbling flask stacks perfectly on top of a heating stand! The decorator, Ezcaari the Drow, has taken the color of the house's floors and walls into account before choosing a granite color for his furniture. You might not want to use the darkest granites in a log cabin, for example. Before committing to an expensive colored stone set, consider putting a pile of colored ore or a colored stone on your floor. You will then have a very good idea of how well your new furniture will show up.

One of the most interesting facets of House deco has always been the ability of players to take some random objects (like cloth and a desk and a few crates) and make an object that did not previously exist as a craftable or an add-on (like a piano). People are already experimenting with what new objects they can make with the new craftables. Here at the UOSS Tower, Thalia has used 2 vases, a dice cup, and jester hat to make a perfect Snowman - just in time for the Holidays! He'll look perfect next to a Holiday Tree!

[ Comment on this article ]

We are targeting to publish the changes listed in Testing for Next Update (Context-sensitive menus, bulk order deeds, crafting system overhaul, changes to animal lore, updates to the faction system, and the directed experience additions) to the Lake Superior shard early on Tuesday, November 13th CST, to be active after that shard's normal morning maintenance period.

We will monitor the Lake Superior shard to ensure the publish is working optimally, possibly waiting until the following week to publish to the remaining shards. We will announce the release schedule for the remaining shards when it is determined. The changes will be added into Latest Game Updates once they are active on all shards.

[ Comment on this article ]

Glad to see so many people like the new craftables.

A couple of things though. First, we are looking at ways to allieviate the issue of getting granite when you don't want any. Second, I need to know which craftables have the same name as current rares. All of them were suppsed to be named differently and if any of them are not, it's a bug and we'll fix it. Not sure if any existing ones can be fixed yet, however, we are investigating that as well.

Thanks all!

The bubbling flask's real name is just "a flask". The ones created through glassblowing are called "bubbling flask". The name should be different.

So far it looks like the glass blowing items are fine, but the stone crafting are not. still checking to confirm that though.

Can someone who has one of the "rare" vases contact me via the private messge system on the baords? I want to take a look at an actual rare vase and compare the two as far as any variables attached to them.

1) Why not make granite and sand a stackable commodity?
--Two issues. First, the graphic used for the rocks and sand are not stackalbe in the server code that handles those tiles. Second, making them not stack means it is more difficult to store them. That creates a little bit of rarity with the items, which will make them more valuable for a longer period of time. All of that said, I am not against making them stackable and will investigate it further from a design and code perspective.

2) Why can 1 sand only make one bottle?I think it should make like 5 or so.
--I think the reason that seems like a lot is because there isn't a lot of sand around. In a few months, sand wil be far more common (especially if we make it stackable) and the ratio of 1 to 1 may not seem so bad.

3) I think we'd all really appreciate a seperate tool for mining up granite.
--Definitely planning on doing something so people don't have to mine stones if they only want ore. Not sure what or when though.

4)Will the Mallet and blow pipe be available for tinkers to make?
--I see no reason why not, but it's something we'd have to schedule in to be added.

5)Why is there a minimum skill requirement when you can only create these items at GM?
--That's just the way difficulty works. The numbers you see are based off how difficult the item is.

6) Are these the 'Over 30 new items to craft, collect, and trade' to be featured in UO:LBR or should we expect more? :)
--Thse are part of those 30 items although you can expect to see more as we release more scenarios.

Again, I am not against making mined resources stackable. But, in so doing, the value of the crafted items will go down since the resources will become more available. If the community doesn't mind that, then I don't mind making them stackable. There might be code issues that prevent it though, but we are investigating those two art tiles.

The new craftables & related resources are now a permanant part of the game, and they aren't slated to disappear with the end of this Scenario.

You don't have to "refresh" your masonry or glassblowing skills by reading another book...in fact, once you learn either ability, you know have that ability forever. In other words, learning masonry is a one-time purchase, and glassblowing is a separate, one-time purchase.

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We will be releasing a client patch on Monday, November 12th at approximately 2:00pm CST. This patch includes a memory-related crash fix, as well as various localization files.

The version for the 2D client will not change from 3.0.5d, since no executable changes are included in the patch for that client. However, the version for the 3D client should now be 3.0.5f Build 82.

If you have any difficulty receiving this patch, please check the following:
Check the “Patch” directory within your Ultima Online directory (the default location is C:\\Program Files\Ultima Online\Patch). This directory should be empty. Any files in this directory should be deleted.
If you are unable to connect to the patch server at all, and are using an original (Non-T2A) version of Ultima Online, you may need to update your verinfo file. For details on updating this file, please see the information posted at http://support.uo.com/tech_6.html.
Run a virus scan on your computer. Undetected viruses may cause conflicts with patching Ultima Online. For information on up-to-date virus detection software, please visit http://www.mcafee.com/myapps/vso/default.asp.
If after trying the above, you are still experiencing difficulty patching the Ultima Online client, please contact Technical Support at [email protected].

We are targeting to publish the changes listed in Testing for Next Update(Context-sensitive menus, bulk order deeds, crafting system overhaul, changes to animal lore, updates to the faction system, and the directed experience additions) to the Lake Superior shard early on Tuesday, November 13th CST, to be active after that shard’s normal morning maintenance period.

We will monitor the Lake Superior shard to ensure the publish is working optimally, possibly waiting until the following week to publish to the remaining shards. We will announce the release schedule for the remaining shards when it is determined. The changes will be added into Latest Game Updates once they are active on all shards.

It can be difficult to start off in a new world, with only the tools of your craft and no training in how to use them. We are in the process of adding several "directed experiences" to the early game, as a way to help those players new to Ultima Online learn their craft and be better prepared to excell in their chosen profession.

Blacksmith: This Haven-based tutorial will focus on helping new players to develop the abilities and skills needed for a blacksmith. The player will be assisted by one or more NPCs and given the option to participate in several activities, specifically designed to guide new players in the basics needed for a blacksmith character.

Some focal points of this “directed experience” will be learning the tools of the trade, how to craft items, and how to mine.

Mage: This Haven-based tutorial will focus on developing the abilities and skills needed for a mage. The player will be assisted by one or more NPCs and will be given the option to participate in several activities, specifically designed to guide new players in the basics needed for a mage character.

Some focal points of this “directed experience” will be learning about reagents, casting spells, and adventuring as a mage.

Warrior: This Haven-based tutorial will focus on developing the abilities and skills needed for a warrior. The player will be assisted by one or more NPCs and given the option to participate in several activities, specifically designed to guide new players in the basics needed for a warrior character.

Some focal points of this “directed experience” will be learning about armor & weapons, combat with monsters, and adventuring as a warrior.

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We are slowly recovering from the datacenter move. Most (if not all) Stratics Forums are back up at this moment. As you will without a doubt notice, we are not back up to full speed yet. If you do a traceroute to uo.stratics.com, you will see that one of the hops is not working as it should (with pings over 1000ms), and I can only hope the network people will be able to fix this issue soon.

And to clarify things a bit; Stratics did not move to a new host. We are still hosted by UGO, but UGO moved it's datacenter from New York to New Jersey. With the current speeds it makes you wonder why though...

*yawns while waiting for pages to load*

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Never been to a UOCC before? The UOCC is a forum wherein we bring to you celebrity guests from the UO community, ranging from OSI personnel to people from your very own shard! To join us, simply download an IRC client such as mIRC and connect to one of the following IRC servers:

irc.stratics.dhp.com - USA - Pennsylvania
stratics.frws.com - USA - Colorado
riot.tac.net - CAN - Toronto
stratics.truefear.net - USA ?Texas

As an alternative, you can use our Java IRC client located here.

We hope to see you there!

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There are some things that even ones like myself cannot see. I was at a lost when I had heard what fate had bestowed upon the Lord of the Society of Arcane Shadows. How could I, a Prophet, not see this? Rune Artisem had came to me many times to see what the future could hold for him. But this was never foreseen by either Artisem or myself. I was shocked when the daemon Verimos gave word to me on all of this.

I am told that Artisem had summoned the entire Society of Arcane Shadows to meet with him within his stronghold of Skara Brae Trammel. The ones who had came to his calling were Erland Silverose, Nas'Rath, Ole Jelly, Anais de Quoi, Tristram Si'kara, and Sigurd Rotharia. There he had planned to discuss his plans to bring about the end of the magics that created and hold the facet of Trammel. It seemed that he was much closer in achieving this goal then any could have thought. For he spoke of large devices that had been created and powered by magic that would enable the end of Trammel to be at hand.

It was then that a purple glow engulf Artisem's entire rotting body. It is said that the lich was quite perplexed when all this happened. And then he was gone. It seemed he had disappeared without a trace. And then a dark laughter filled the town hall of Skara Brae Trammel.

The creature was draped in the darkest of all robes. His flesh was not flesh but some twisted crimson mockery. He held a small crystal high above his head and laughed at the members of the Society. For this was the one named Monric. The one who Artisem had feared so much over the last few weeks. His former master had returned to take his vengeance against him. Monric was quite pleased with himself. He explained that the lich named Rune Artisem was now trapped within the crystal he held. It would only be a matter of time before Monric would extract all of Artisem's power and magic into himself. And with that Monric was gone with his new toy.

The members of the Society entered into a panic. Erland Silverose suggested a complete search of the entire Skara Brae Trammel area. And so it was that nearly every inch of the city was looked about in hopes of finding some sort of trace of Monric. Several of the members had given up any hope of finding anything when they received word that Monric was making his way towards the Moongate of Skara Brae. They all bolted with speed towards the Moongate. And there Monric had awaited for them.

He let loose a mad cackle and went into the dark blue energy that makes up the Moongate. Ole Jelly, Anais de Quoi, Nas'Rath, and Erland Silverose all jumped into the gate after the mad creature. But no luck. They could not find any trace at any of the other Moongates.

It was then that Verimos emerged from the gate. The daemon servant of Rune Artisem was curious as to why so many members of the Society had gathered at the Moongate of Skara Brae Trammel. They all informed the daemon of what had became of his master. Some members of the Society even believed it was too late, for they thought Monric had already extracted Artisem's powers. Verimos then spoke and told them that he, and the girl Vailanna, were both bonded to Artisem by powerful magic. Should Monric extract Artisem's powers into himself, then they would both become the servants of Monric. And Verimos made clear that his master was still Rune Artisem.

Another search then began. This one was more vast then the last. For it covered all of the Moongates once again, but also the city-state of Moonglow, and the dark city of Caina. And yet again they could find nothing. It was decided that they must contact The Lady of the Society, Lynne Darkthorne. For both her and Artisem ruled over The Society and Skara Brae Trammel with iron fists. Verimos would set forth and attempt to locate her whereabouts so that she might be able to lead The Society in freeing the lich called Rune Artisem.

I shall be looking into this myself and hopefully I can find something to help the Society in their search to restore their missing Lord...

It is just unclear just how dangerous all of this could be...

Saul the Prophet
The Society of the Arcane Shadows

Come join us on November 14, 15, and 17 at the Third Annual Festival of Virtue! This year's festival is hosted by the city of Sacrifice - Minoc. We have all sorts of events scheduled and more are being added as the festival fast approaches! A full Schedule of Events is posted and will be updated as I receive more information.

In addition to the scheduled events, you'll also find: recruiters from various guilds at the gypsy tents south of town; crafters and treasure hunters for hire at the Forgery and the gypsy tents; gambling and guest bartenders staffing the Barnacle Tavern; street performers throughout the town; people handing out programs listing the activities.

I wish to thank all the guilds and individuals who volunteered to help with this year's festival and if you haven't heard from me yet, you will!

Warmest Greetings Dear Citizens of the Land

Lady Raven of Harmony and Lord Singlarad Arlista request the honor of your presence to celebrate the joy and sanctity of the union of marriage.
The joining will be held in the feast hall of Blaine Tower in the township of Ilithien (Trammel) on the eve of Friday the 16th of November at 8pm CST.
Gates will be provided from the Minocian Bank beginning at 7:30pm CST.

A cordial reception will follow the ceremony. It is our fondest wish and desire to share this joyous moment with our friends, fellows, and confidants.

Lord Singlarad Arlista
Lady Raven

(Maps and sextant coords can be found here: http://ilithien.homestead.com/maps.html )

Finally a new Dud interview.

Interview With a Spammer.

Enjoy, thanks!

http://members.home.net/foolkiller/index.htm

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Here's an update on the server move: Some of our servers are back on-line, and as you can see the web sites and also email are working again. The responsiveness of the sites is way below acceptable though. We're working hard on finding out what the problem is exactly, and hope to get back to full speed again soon.

The servers that deal with our forums are not yet back up, but should be ready later today or monday.

Thank you all for your patience :)

This weeks comic is called "To Battle!" and its now available, with many others at

www.outofcharacter.com

In case some of you missed the earlier announcement, I have, due to some time constraints, cut back to one comic a week. The comics will now be on Saturdays.

-Arak

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Hold onto your hats, everyone, this is going to stoke your house decorating fires. After the defeat of Exodus' power generator last night, the Gargoyle city was freed. The freed Gargoyles happened to know quite a bit about mining, stonework, and alchemy... and they were delighted to share that knowledge with their new protectors. On Gargoyle Shopkeepers we now see these new additions:

The tools do NOT stack

The books are used by the following people:
Mining for Quality Stone -GM Miners
Find Glass-Quality Sand -GM Miners
**These books allow you to find sand and stone, respectivly.
**Stone comes in all different shades, just as ore does.
**Stone weighs 10 stones.
**Ore spots have been psuedo-randomized, so expect it to be a little difficult to find things.
**Miners will continue to mine ore as they mine stones.
**Sand can only be found on beaches... and takes a long time to find. **Sand weighs 1 stone and does not stack.
**There appears to be roughly a 9% chance (9.04 to be more precise) to successfully dig up sand per attempt.
**The distribution of sand seems to occur in 8x8 resource grids that can be emptied out ("There is no sand here to mine.").
**I have seen distributions of sand ranging from 6-13 samples per resource grid area (8x8).
**It would seem that the restocking follows at least a similar formula to the new mining one, seeing as how I saw restock times ranging from 10-20 minutes. To this end, I could have just been lucky or whatever when the sand respawned, and I believe that I would have to take a larger, more targeted sample size to accurately determine the respawn timer/distribution of the sand.
**You can use both books on the same miner, reading the second one will not make you forget the first one.


Making Valuables with Stonecrafting -GM Carpenter **Simply use the book, and if you have GM Carpentry you will gain the ability to make stone items.
**To create stone items, you must use a mallet and chisel, a new item from the Gargoyle City.
**mallet and chisels do wear out, about the same ratio as a shovel.
**You can select to make stone items in various shades, if you are carrying the right shades of stone on you.
**To craft an item from colored granite, you will notice an arrow and selection on the bottom left of your menu. The button should say NORMAL by default. Hit that arrow to select a different style granite; EX: Valorite, Verite, etc.
**Stone is mined my miners.
**See the Stone Items chart below for success ratios.


Crafting Glass with Glassblowing -GM Alchemist
**Simply use the book, and if you have GM Alchemy you will gain the ability to make glass items.
**To create glass items, you must use a Blow pipe, a new item from the Gargoyle City.
**Blow pipes do wear out, about the same ratio as a shovel.
**Some items can be changed in color by using a house decoration tool. See the Alchemy Items chart for details.
**Sand is mined my miners on beaches, and is hard to come by.
**See the Alchemy Items chart below for success ratios.


Alchemy Items, broken down



Empty bottle (the ones we use for potions)
1 Sand 95% Chance
Small flask (changes color and direction when turned with interior decorator)
2 Sand 95% Chance
Medium flask (changes color when turned with interior decorator)
3 Sand 95% Chance
Curved flask (changes color and direction when turned with interior decorator)
2 Sand 90% Chance
Large flask #1 (changes color when turned with interior decorator)
4 Sand 85% Chance
Large flask #2 (changes color when turned with interior decorator)
5 Sand 80% Chance
Bubbling blue flask
5 Sand 80% Chance
Bubbling purple flask
5 Sand 80% Chance
Bubbling red flask
7 Sand 80% Chance
Empty Vials (can be turned with interior decorator)
8 Sand 70% Chance
Full Vials (can be turned with interior decorator)
9 Sand 70% Chance
Spinning hourgalss/Gargoyle hourglass (turning it with interior decorator will stop or start the hourglass)
10 Sand 50% Chance

Masonry Items, broken down


Notice the different shades of stone


**Decorations:
Vase
1 Stone 95% Chance
Large vase
3 Stones 95% Chance
**Furniture:
Stone chair
4 Stones 90% Chance
Medium stone table (east)/(south)
6 Stones 70% Chance
Large stone table (east)/(south)
9 Stones 50% Chance
**Statues:
Small statue (south)
3 Stones 80% Chance
Small statue (north)
3 Stones 80% Chance
Small statue (east)
3 Stones 80% Chance
Pegasus statue
4 Stones 60% Chance

Other Sources:
UO.com Boards Thread
Markee Dragon Pics
Credits

Courage of MD
Shazam of UO Boards
Stormwalk of the UO Boards
DuNoir of the UO Boards
Cat'trina of LS

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We are happy to announce our newest upgrade to Ultima Online! UO: Lord Blackthorn's Revenge will bring players into a world under siege, replete with more than 30 new and exotic characters created by none other than Spawn(tm) creator Todd McFarlane! Players will face evil forces that have aligned their powers in an attempt to destroy the virtuous and take control of Britannia. Integrated into the fiction as the evil controller of most of the new, fantastical monsters is Blackthorn, a character from UO's history who has now undergone a transformation, leaving him half human and all evil.

Blackthorn's forces, comprised of many of McFarlane's creatures, lend a dark, edgy twist to the game. Read more about the future of Ultima Online on our UO: Lord Blackthorn's Revenge mini-site at: http://www.uo.com/blackthornsrevenge.

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As I went to Britain City there was a large commotion. People were speaking about the device Nystul was building all around. I also received many reports of the device's construction. Nystul the wise mage and advisor to Lord British had asked for the aid of Britannians to supply iron ingots, shadow ingots, gears, arcane gems, "clockwork assemblies" and "power crystals" in the construction of the device. The power crystals were the strange new purple glowing crystals that could be found on the Golems still being sighted in Britannia. From all around people gathered and gave what they could.

I finally arrived only to witness the completed device. It was a strange dark tower standing about two stories high. Crystal-gems adorned the device along its edge and a strange mechanical motion could be seen as spike-like protrusions rhythmically moved in and out of the machine. The device appeared both magical and mechanical. I am no tinker so I had no clue as to how the device worked. Nystul the mage merely replied it would be used to reveal magically hidden towers that Exodus has placed throughout Britannia. Nystul also said these towers are stealing energy from this realm.

Walking about the onlookers I asked questions. Recounting many tales I learned that the device took an amazingly large amount of ingots and crystals to create.

The necessary components were:

• 100,000 iron ingots
• 50,000 shadow ingots
• 250 clockwork assemblies
• 100 power crystals
• 5000 gears
• 5000 arcane gems

With such an astounding amount I am truly in awe of the efforts of the citizens of Britannia to join together and aid in the construction. To all that aided I thank thee for thy efforts.

There were also reports of a minor attack at the bridge in Britain City. Apparently someone was attempting to stop the construction of the device. I also received reports from the Yew Town Council and the Yew Militia of Gargoyle Enforcers in the Yew territory. I asked Ambassador Syrina of the Lia Fail Empire to ask her brethren to be on the watch for these gargoyles. According to the people I asked these Gargoyle Enforcers are quite powerful.

I later went with Warduke of the Trinsic Honor Guard and the Yew Militia to investigate. Some Gargoyle Enforcers were encountered but not many. They appear to be scattered by themselves with some Golem and a Controller nearby. They appear as strong as demons and with powerful magic. They all seem to possess a magical axe of some kind. I advise those travelling through the regions to be cautious.

Auren Therion
Mayor of Britain

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67th Assembly of the 6th High Council

Date: Monday October 12th, 2001
Time: 10:00 PM EDT/9:00 PM CDT
Location: Magincia Parliament Buildings, Trammel Facet.

Agenda:

Announcement by Lord William Wingate with Updates on the Virtue Festival.
Announcement by Lord Buzz Aldridge regarding the Festical Of Mages.
Announcement by Lord Singlarad Arlista of a personal nature.
Other items to be announced at the meeting.


The High Council of Britannia

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The place was crowded ... so much people that it was extremely hard to move, as a heavy air blocked your attempts to walk. But finally he arrived ...

And as soon as he appeared, his requests were clear: various materials in great quantities. And indeed material started to flow by the generous hands of the citizens: craftsmen taking some of their labour fruits, and warrior some of their fighting loots ....

In no time, as driven by magic powers, the tower grew higher and higher, both in size and in beauty. People all around looked interested at the tower in construction, most with the real desire of helping the building, but many adversing it, and calling it as a bad omen.

 

But nothing could stop the continuous flow of more materials, from the remotest regions of the realm ingots arrived till, at least, the tower was finished, and people rejoyced. The vision was astonishing.

And soon the machine started working ... or so it seemed, as parts of it were actually moving. Nystul accomplished his task. And before leaving, a new revelation was carried by the wind, or maybe it was just Nystul's magic: the dark towers will be revealed. Soon.

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I hope by now everyone is aware of the upcoming Stratics Server move. All Stratics sites will be unavailable for a short while. This also means that our Stratics email server will be off-line, and that no email sent to a @stratics.com address will be reaching us. So please, if you send us something and the mail comes back as undeliverable, send it to us again when the website is up and running again. We are targeting to be back late Friday or early Saturday.

On a sidenote, Stratics IRC will not be affected by the move, so feel free to join for instance #ultima-online on the irc.stratics.com server.

Regards,

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At the first tower I visited, folks like Pondor the Okay of FST and Elrond of Tsn worked to solve the four puzzles needed to bring down the tower. Everyone working on the puzzles told others what they learned as they tried different combinations. The idea was to destroy the tower through team effort. It was not a competition to see who could solve it first.

Meanwhile, guards like Onyx Ironwolf of KH and the unguilded tamer Lady Gabrielle and her dragon, Rage, patrolled the area, keeping it spawn free so others could concentrate on the puzzle without worrying about pesky golems and controllers.

Elrond was actually the first to solve a puzzle, and received a power crystal for his efforts. He solved the second of the four puzzles as well. Then Bob McDeath of Ordo Sylvanus solved the third puzzle in about thirty seconds. Khalis got the last puzzle, and the tower fell. Thanks to the team effort, this tower by Vesper was the first of the twenty-four to fall. The group cheered as Nadia of Ordo Sylvanus reported back that Nystul was now trumpeting that only twenty-three towers remained.

The now experienced tower killers gated to the next tower near Deceit, and with teamwork like this, I have no doubt that soon the tram side of Sonoma will be free of all twenty-four! Unfortunately, teamwork does not seam to be the order of the day in Felucca. Several groups at Fel towers (they seem to have spawned in the same places on both sides of the moongate) are ganking those who try to solve the puzzles. Those who wish to solve the Feluccan tower puzzles are advised to go in groups and carry big sticks.

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Here's a little story for you:

I was in a Seer-sponsored one-on-one tournament once, and so was a "real life" friend of mine. He talked a lot of trash, trying to psyche himself up, but he never had any real PvP experience. Me, I just die a lot and take it on the chin. ;]

So, anyways, his match was first. He goes right into it, tries to take on an experienced PvPer head-to-head...and dies pretty quickly. We were laughing about it over the phone, and even though he was pasted right out of the gate, he was pretty happy about how it happened, and then my turn came up.

I think my character was, at best, GM Tactics, but I wanted to give some "consentual PvP" a shot. The first hit from my opponent dropped me to less than half health...and I ran. :D I ran around like a little sissy for 2 or 3 passes, hoping my healing would take, but my opponent cut me off and took me out with only his second hit.

The moral of the story is that my multi-GM friend was cocky and died right away, and I was weak but cowardly...I mean cautious...and I lasted longer than him. I only with I had the opportunity to earn Honor back then! ;D

I also need to practice my running skill for when Honor comes into play. :}

Sannio

=========
Sannio
Online Community Coordinator, UO
Origin Systems

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You can use poison during the fights, you just wont get the honor points. You would still get full ranking points though.

I'm already seriously considering changing it [honorable characters to be immune to poison], based on the comments here and on the boards. I chose poison because it kind of made sense to me that an honorable person would be protected from a dishonorable attack... but totally understand the concerns.

-Jonathan "Calandryll" Hanna
Designer, Ongoing Content
a wizard did it

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PvP isn't for everyone...which is why we have 7 other virtues that people can participate in. The idea is to create a system, that when completed, has at least something that almost everyone will enjoy. But not every virtue is going to appeal to every player. If I tried to make every virtue appeal to all play-styles, what we'd wind up with is a system so watered down and generic that it would be completely useless.

Most people (not all) equate PvP in UO to the gank-fests of what it was back in the old days. The old days of UO gave PvP a bad rap in MMOGs because PvP was handled poorly then. PvP can be so much more than that when it is consensual and there are rules that help balance things.

But again, it's not for everyone and we understand that...which is why most of the virtues wont involve PvP.

-Jonathan "Calandryll" Hanna
Designer, Ongoing Content
a wizard did it

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Our poor friend Lothar has been afflicted by some evil wind roaming through Britannia, which has made him a little ill. At his request, I would like to inform you that the PvP Tournament will be held in Serpent's Hold on Sunday night at 8pm EST, and NOT tonight!

He apologizes for the inconvenience, but he hopes you will forgive him! To contact him, you may send him pigeons at 59646938 or write to him at [email protected].

Regards,

Idun Syn

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Fight Night Event at Grimoire Arena, 1 vs. 1

Friday November 7th, 2001, at (9 PM PST, 10 PM MST, 11 PM Central, Midnight EST)
No Entry Fee

1st place TBA gps, 2nd place TBA gps, 3rd place TBA gps.

Registration
To avoid confusion, registration will start at 8:00 PM PST, and end at 9:00 PM PST. No late entries.
Tournament will start at 9:10 PM PST.

We must have a minimum of 4 teams to start this event!

Here are the rules:

• No charged magic items, clothing, or jewelry. No magic armor and weapons allowed.
• No pre-poisoned weapons. They may be poisoned during the battle.
• No use of summoning spells, offensive field spells, blade spirits, energy vortex, recall nor gate.
• No Stealing is allowed during battle.
• The only pre-casting allowed (casting done before the match countdown) is Magic Trap, Reactive Armor, and Magic Reflection.

Disclaimers:

• All contestants are subject to snooping by Grimoire Staff to ensure everyone is participating fairly.
• The Event Coordinator's decision on all matches is final and will not be disputed during the event.
• Anyone who disrupts the flow of the event for any reason will be banned until after the event.
• In the event that a contestant loses connection during the event, the Event Coordinator will make a decision as
• to the possibility of a rematch. That decision stands and may not be disputed. Any disputes will be handled after the event.
• A connection loss during combat events where the roof is sealed off, will result in an automatic forfeit.
• The Event Coordinator reserves the right to adjust these rules at any time without notice.

This event takes place in the Grande Grimoire Battle Arena. Once you have entered the Grande Grimoire Battle Arena, all Contestants are bound by the Rules of the Battle Arena. Failure to follow these rules may result in your death or banishment from the Arena. Contestant Battle Arena Rules

Contestants and Spectators must observe and obey all the Village Laws. Failure to do so can end in your death or banishment from the village. Spectator Rules

For calendar of events, rules, maps and community message board, please visit Grimoire

Grimoire Staff

Your humble servant
Raeven Aurora

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In reply to:
----------------------------------------------------------------------

if you wipe say a valorite vein today, what is going to replace it?

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

It is replaced with a randomly selected color, using the same weighted table for initializing ore zones from the start. It could even re-initialize to the same color that was there before, effectively looking like nothing changed. So, that means an iron-only spot could turn into Verite tomorrow, or an Agapite spot could turn to gold, or iron only.

Folks, don't get caught up on the tower idea. It's just a concept I added in at the last minute. It can be added/removed very easily. I'm much more interested in feedback on the other ideas in the system.

The way it works is if someone wants honor and wants the poison resistance, they can't use poison. But those that do want to use honor can't get the resistance. So in effect, it's a choice. Either you can be one that uses poison or you can be one that has a resistance to poison. But not both.

Part of the reason for this is so that people will actually use thier cool magic items. Some people don't use them much in PvP because of the very real chance of losing them. I thought about making it so no magic items could be used, but in truth, trying to police that through code might be problematic and I really do like the idea of people being able to use the stuff that otherwise sits in their bank collecting dust

We'd probably make it so you can't win two towers, but you could still be the top ranked person twice or more. The tower would probably go to the second place finisher, as long as s/he didn't already have a tower either.

Again, don't focus on the towers so much though.

1) Can you use Teleport rings? Frankly I'd like to be able to use Teleport but I guess thats an open field tactic, hehe. I guess in a close space it wouldn't be too effective.
-No. No teleporting at all. Any spells that are disallowed also includes items.

2) On the Tower thing. I don't think the Top person should get it. I don't think any 1 player deserves that big of a reward. But for a guild it would be awesome. I think the Guild with the highest "Honor" should get it. Maybe base it off only members in the top 10??
--Again, tower = concept idea. Don't focus on it so much yet. :)

3) Also on the house, how do secures and lockdowns work? And what happens if they lose the Tower, will their stuff become unsecure/unlocked down and free to grab by the next person??
--No clue, again it was a last minute addition to the concept. You would not be able to lose the tower though.

4) I don't think the time is long enough. 10 mins is pretty short.
--Yup it is. The idea is to create something that is fast and furious.

5) I really don't like that people can't watch. IMO that would be awesome to see, especially for those not use to PvP. If for nothing else just to get to see other players tactics. I certainly agree players shouldn't be allowed to interfere in anyway. But I'd still like to be able to watch.
--Spectators = lag. I do have some ideas on how to handle that though, but it won't involve people physically watching the bouts.

Doesnt it make more sense for the person with the greater amount of points from the lesser amount of duels to be the winner?
--Yes it does.

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This system could easily fit Valor as well, but there is a pretty good reason I assigned it to Honor. This tournament system is actually going to be part of the fiction, or rather, why it exists will be. I don't want to give away any of the details, but think about the reasons tournaments were held in medieval times. It was more than just a way to see who was the bravest knight in the realm. That will make more sense as the fiction rolls on. Some of the concept prizes (like the towers) are also based on those real life tournaments as often, the winning knight might be offered a plot of land. That's just a concept, within the concept.

The way this system fits into the three goals I set for the virtue system as a whole are:

Promote a more "Ultima" feeling in Ultima Online. This will be explained more through the fiction I alluded to.

Give veteran players new goals to achieve that have an impact and are fun. This one kind of goes without saying. Certainly a dueling system like this is for veterans. The skill minimum also ensures that only relatively established characters will participate.

Reward positive behavior in the game.At first glance one might say that the Honor tournament system doesn't achieve this goal. In truth, it would be ok if it didn't since not every virtue is going to achieve all three goals by themselves. But, this system actually does fit this goal. Many people in UO don't like PvP and in general PvP has a negative connotation when talked about in UO. For the most part, there are four very distinct reasons why people don't like participating in PvP in UO. One: they don't like to lose their stuff. Two: they don't like having people talk "smack" over their corpse. Three: people still remember the old days of being "ganked" while not wanting to be involved in PvP those experiences left a bad taste in peoples' mouths. Four: they often feel that the PvP has no real meaning or purpose. With this system, those four concerns are removed. You don't lose your stuff, nobody can smack talk over your corpse, it is 100% consensual, and an ongoing purpose has been placed into the system. All of this will hopefully lead to more people giving PvP a try and having a positive experience with it.

-Jonathan "Calandryll" Hanna
Designer, Ongoing Content
a wizard did it

[ Comment on this article ]

Ok folks, this one is my fault. Miscommunication between myself and QA with regards to when we wanted to publish. The US shards did not get the publish. Truth is, it was better to wait to make sure everything was ok on Sonoma since technically the scenario update didn’t really even start until 7pm last night. We usually like to have a full 24 hours before moving on.

We are going to publish the nonUS shards tonight as planned and then publish the US shards tomorrow morning. Basically that means that all shards will have the scenario update active at 7pm Thursday local server time.

Again, my apologies for the delay. Nothing is wrong with the scenario and last night went without a hitch, so the publishes should occur as above barring any last minute problems.

[ Comment on this article ]

However I also felt Eram'aluum deserved recognition. He was the first person to send in the exact co-ordinates, as he went searching for the spot in Trammel. Eram'Aluum has been the Where's Here's version of "always a bridesmaid, never a bride." He has participated in almost every Where's Here without ever winning, and is usually the second or third person to send in the correct co-ordinates. Congratulations to both these winners.

From now on, Where's Here contestants should plan on submitting a Facet as well as the map co-ordinates, but only if it is possible to determine the facet from the picture.

[ Comment on this article ]

Honor is part of a philosophy within Ultima Online known as the Virtues, and is one of eight pursuits within the upcoming Virtue system.

The Virtue of Honor has been described as:

"The courage to defend and uphold the truth."

Pursuit of Honor will be designed around an arena-based dueling system, which will track all results of related "duels of honor" combat.

Joining/Participating:

• Players can use special bulletin boards to sign up their characters to participate in dueling tournaments.
  • These bulletin boards will be placed inside and outside of towns, allowing for even "reds" to participate in duels of honor.
  • Players can only sign up for that day's duels.
    • Characters with less than 500 skill points cannot sign up for a duel.
    • Each character may participate in one dueling bout per 24 hour period.
  • Sign-ups for dueling tournaments begin 60 minutes before the start of that tournament, and end 10 minutes before the start of that dueling tournament.
    • For instance, if you sign up between 7:00pm and 7:50pm, you will be selected in one of the dueling bouts occurring between 8:00pm and 8:50pm.
    • Sign-ups for a dueling tournament will close when there are 180 characters signed up for that tournament period, or when there is only 10 minutes left to the next tournament.
• Each dueling tournament is divided into six 10-minute bouts. In this way each dueling tournament lasts one hour.
  • Each dueling bout will take place in a special arena. Each arena will allow 10 characters to duel one-another at one time. Each duel will be "free-for-all" style, with the last character standing declared the winner.
  • Only characters that are selected for duels will be allowed to enter the arenas; characters that are not part of an active duel will not be able to access or visit the arenas.
  • There will be three dueling arenas, and all three may be used simultaneously. In this way up to 180 characters may be dueling (albeit in separate areas) at one time.

Preparing to Duel:
10 minutes before each hour, the duels begin.

• Characters will be randomly grouped together. While players may find themselves grouped with friends and guildmates, this would be a random happenstance.
• Players who sign up will be messaged and given their dueling bout time.
  • Players who are not online are dropped from that tournament session line-up. Another player who has signed up will be given that opportunity to duel.
  • Players who are not online and become dropped from a particular tournament session may sign up for the next dueling tournament.
• Each duelist will receive a gump or message 10 minutes before their scheduled dueling bout, asking if they are ready to duel.
  • Should the player fail to respond to this gump within 10 minutes, he will be dropped from this dueling tournament, but may sign up for another one.
  • A character must be considered "ready" in order to duel.
    • If the character is mounted (on a horse, ostard, etc.), he may not duel.
    • If the character is under the effects of any stat-altering spells or potions, he may not duel.
  • Should the player fail his readiness check, another gump will appear and describe why to the player.
    • When the player has corrected this situation (such as by dismounting his horse), he may then accept the first gump.
  • Should the player pass his readiness check, his character will be brought into a waiting area.
    • No fighting can occur in this waiting area.
    • No spellcasting can occur in this waiting area.

Dueling:

• Each of the 10 players in a dueling bout will be placed together in an arena before the duel, one on each of 10 start points.
• None of the duelists will initially be able to move or act.
• A countdown will appear to these duelists, counting from 5 down to 1.
• At the count of "1," the duel begins, and all duelists may act.
  • Felucca rules will be used, regarding "pushthrough."
  • The arena will have some special rules, where player will not be able to:
    • Hide
    • Cast Invisibility
    • Cast Recall or Gate Travel
    • Cast Teleport
    • Use an ethereal mount
    • Steal
    • Cast Blade Spirits, Energy Vortex, or Summon creatures
    • Stat bonuses gained through the pursuit of Humility will not count in an Honor duel
• Each time a character is hit, a check is made to see if that character would normally die from that attack. If not, the duelist continues, but if so:
  • That character is removed from the arena and returned to where they were before accepting the duel.
  • No actual damage is done to the character. (Note: any potions, healing rags, reagents, etc., that were used during the duel will still be gone, and armor & weapons that were damaged will still be as such.)
  • The character is fully healed.
  • A message tells the player his placing in that dueling bout.
  • Note that, because the character does not actually die, no stat-loss (such as from being in a faction or a murderer) will occur.
• When there is only one character remaining in a given duel:
  • A message announces to that player that he has won the duel.
  • That character is removed from the arena and returned to where they were before accepting the duel, fully healed and undamaged.
  • A town crier announces that character as the winner.
• Each dueling bout will only last for 10 minutes (including the 5 second start time).
  • If a duel does not have a decisive winner, and there are multiple characters remaining in that bout at the end of the 10 minute time frame, all characters within that arena will be fully healed, and removed.
    • A town crier will announce that more than one person survived.
    • All surviving characters will gain "points" based on their ranking (see below).

Points:

• If only one person in the dueling bout survives, the points for that duel are distributed as follows:
  • Tenth duelist removed: 5 points
  • Seventh, eighth, or ninth duelist removed: 3 points
  • Fourth, fifth, or sixth duelist removed: 2 points
  • First, second, or third duelist removed: 1 point
  • Note: If there are less than 10 duelists in a bout, then no one can receive 5 points for being the "tenth duelist removed." The winner in this case (the ninth player out), would get 3 points.
• If there are two survivors in a duel, the points for that duel are distributed as follows:
  • Both survivors: 4 points
  • Seventh duelist removed: 3 points
  • Fourth, fifth, or sixth duelist removed: 2 points
  • First, second, or third duelist removed: 1 point
• If there are three or four survivors in a duel, the points for that duel are distributed as follows:
  • All survivors: 3 points
  • The three most recently removed duelists: 2 points
  • All other duelists: 1 point
• If there are five or six survivors in a duel, the points for that duel are distributed as follows:
  • All survivors: 2 points
  • All other duelists: 1 point
• If there are seven or more survivors in a duel, the points for that duel are distributed as follows:
  • All survivors: 1 point.
  • All other duelists: 1 point.

Awards:

• At the end of each month, the top 3 ranking characters of that month's dueling tournaments will receive:
  • A "no-loot, no steal" sash, showing their dueling ranking and the name of the month.
    • Only the sash's owner can wear this sash.
  • Their name listed on the official Ultima Online Web site for that month.
  • Their name listed on an in-game list of winners for each month.
• [Concept only] At the end of each month, the top ranking character will receive a special tower.
  • These towers will be of a special, new design.
  • Most of these towers will be placed in the ocean, and will not reside on the mainland or any existing island.
  • Owners of these towers will automatically receive a special "blessed" item that will allow them to Recall to their tower.
    • This item will be "no loot, no steal."
    • This item will not require any Magery skill in order to use it's ability to Recall.
  • These towers cannot be transferred, and will not allow for co-owners.
  • These towers will never need to be refreshed.
• Guilds (of 5 or more members) with high scoring duelists will be tracked, and the "Top 10" dueling guilds will be ranked on the UO.com Web site.
• Players may be able to associate their characters with (NPC) towns, and these towns will be ranked on the UO.com Web site. (See below)
• In the event of a tie:
  • The character with the most duels is ranked higher.
    • In cases where characters have the same number of points and duels, the winner will be decided randomly.
  • An example if 3 duelists tie: Cal has 45 points and has fought 15 times, Augur has 45 points and has fought 12 times, Gromm has 45 points and has fought 12 times.
    • Although all characters have 45 points, Cal gets first place, because he has dueled the highest number of times.
    • Augur and Gromm are equal in dueling points and number of duels, and so the winner of this tie is decided randomly.
    • The remaining character is awarded third place.

[Concept only] Allying with Towns:Each character may duel for the Honor of a particular (NPC) town. Characters may change this allegiance once each month.

• Characters will go to an inn in the town which they wish to represent, and choose it with the bulletin board provided.
  • Players will be given a gump asking them to confirm this choice.
• Once allied to a town, that character's points are counted toward that town's total dueling ranking for that month. These rankings will be displaying on the UO.com Web site.
• All Britannian and Lost Lands ("Second Age") towns, from both facets, will be included as choices.

Gaining Honor: Dueling points and Honor "points" will be gained in two different manners. Every character that participates in these duels will gain some amount of Honor, although those that excel will gain a slightly higher amount.

• First place: a great deal of Honor.
• Second place: a large amount of Honor.
• Third place: a fair amount of Honor

Dishonorable acts: There are certain actions that are considered dishonorable. Performing these actions, even if that character is not dueling, will reduce the amount of Honor a character has to some degree. These activities include:

• Stealing from an innocent (character or pet)
• Attacking an innocent (character or pet)
• Using poison in any way (even against monsters). This includes:
  • Applying poison to food
  • Applying poison to a weapon
  • Using a poisoned weapon
  • Casting poison

Virtuous Title & Abilities:
When a character has achieved enough Honor points, he is considered to have achieved a certain step on the path of Honor.

• When a player moves his cursor over the Honor symbol, a title will be displayed, indicating the step currently achieved in Honor for that character.
  • First step: Seeker of Honor
  • Second step: Follower of Honor
  • Third step: Knight of Honor
• Players who progress any number of steps on the path of Honor, but do not continue to actively pursue it, may discover that this Virtuous title reduces in steps over time.
• Each step gained in Honor will progressively allow the character to be more resistant to dishonorable attacks, such as resistance against poison.
• Characters that have progressed any number of steps in Honor cannot be affected by level 1 poisons.
  • First step: A chance to reduce poison effects by one level, and a small chance to cure it outright.
  • Second step: A chance to reduce poison effects by 1 or 2 levels, and a chance to cure it outright.
  • Third step: A chance to reduce poison effects by 1, 2, or 3 levels, and a chance to cure it outright.