December 2001

Do you have what it takes to rank at the top of our duel ladder? Here is your opportunity to come and show us what you've got compared to other pvp'ers on the Napa Valley Shard.

The Oc'Nivelle duel ladder is a point-based system that will keep track of who is more capable in the ring. All Ladder Duels will be held on top of the Oc'Nivelle town hall, with at least one ref as witness. The Oc'Nivelle Duel Ladder will begin on Monday, December 31st.

Rules:

• Each duelist must submit either an ICQ# or E-Mail address to smerx before participating in any matches. This is to ensure that the duelist recieves proper notification of any challanges made.
• A challanged fighter is obligated to accept, as long as acceptance does not violate their weekly 5-duel limit. It is possible that we may modify this rule at a later date to only allowing challenges to someone within 5 ranks of the challenger, but at this time anyone can challenge any other person in the ladder.
• Challenges can be made in one of two ways:
  1) In the Oc'Nivelle Ladder Duel forum.
  2) In game, with both participants and a ref present.
• Duels will be fought using our Pit Fight rules, unless both duelers agree to a different set of rules in the presence of the ref.
• You must duel at least once every two weeks. Violation of this rule will result in your character becomming "Unranked."
• The ref makes the final decision on matches; arguments may result in disqualification.
• Each duelist will be limited to five duels per week. (Resetting on Monday)
• Losing a Ladder Duel will result in the loss of 3 points.
• The winner of a Ladder Duel will recieve points in accordance to the following table.
  Rank beat -> Points awarded
  1st -> 6
  2nd - 4th -> 4
  4th - 10th -> 3
  10th - 15th -> 2
  15th - Last -> 1
  Unranked -> 1
• Rankings will be updated every Monday.

Reffing

The Refs are currently: smerx, Captain Jade, Josh, Guardian Jade and Jethro. Each ref is assigned one night of the week. That night, their ICQ will be open to duel requests which will be dealt with on a first-come=first-serve basis. Ladder Duels will start at 6pm PST and end at 9pm PST each night. The schedule is as follows:

Monday 6-9
Josh 145683818 (except the first week, which will be smerx)

Tuesday 6-9
smerx 75997483

Wednesday 6-9
Captain Jade 143228319

Thursday 6-9
Guardian Jade 36477063

Friday 6-9
smerx 75997483

Saturday and Sunday There will not be a schedule for the weekend until further notice. If you'd like a duel on either Saturday or Sunday, please contact a ref.

Duels are not limited to the above times. However, if you request a time outside of the above guidelines, the ref in question is free to decline.

Note
For the first week of Ladder Duels, the following alterations will be effective:

• Losing a Ladder Duel will not result in the loss of points.
• The winner of a Ladder Duel will recieve 2 points, reguardless of the ranking of his/her opponent.

Once the Oc'Nivelle Duel Ladder has been up and running for a little while, we will hold special events reserved for those at the top of the ladder.

If you have any questions/suggestions about the Duel Ladder, feel free to contact smerx or any of the refs.

Please refer to the offical post by GUL found here for any further updates or comments.

Your humble servant,
Raeven Aurora

[ Comment on this article ]

• […]The default desktop feature will be temporarily disabled.
• Moving the mouse over a player or creature status bar, regardless of peace or war mode, will now highlight the associated player or creature. This effect will be the same as if you moved your mouse over the creature or player while in war mode.
• Compatibility files for Ultima Online: Third Dawn will be added to the UO directory.
• An outdated sound file will be removed.

Additionally, a client crash caused by using the 2D client on the Alpha Third Dawn shard has been fixed.[…]

We will be publishing the design changes and bug fixes listed in Testing for Next Update to all shards. This publish will be active on all North American shards (excluding Siege Perilous) following their Wednesday, January 9th (local server time) maintenance period, barring any unforeseen downtimes. The publish will be active on the all remaining shards following their Friday, January 11th (local server time) maintenance period.[…]

We are currently releasing client patch 2.0.4.d to all shards. This patch fixes a crash issue with boat/house placement.[…]

The Veteran Rewards system will be active on the Sonoma shard following its Saturday morning maintenance. At that time, eligible players will again be able to chose rewards. Also, the issue with regards to AR and the veteran rewards will be resolved at that time[…]

Are you an America Online user connecting to AOL via the Internet by using another Internet Service Provider, a cable modem, or a LAN connection from work or school? If so, we’d like to invite you to explore the AOL Legends shard with “Bring Your Own Account” access![…]

We are currently releasing client patch 2.0.5b. This patch contains additional localization files.[…]

Due to issues with the veteran rewards system, we have deactivated the system on all shards. At this time, we do not have an updated schedule for when they will be reactivated.[…]

[…]We will be opening the Ultima Online: Third Dawn Beta CD Ordering site at 6:00 AM CST on Wednesday, January 31st. CD ordering will be available in three groups of 10,000 CDs. CDs will be available for the price of shipping and handling, and you must have an active Ultima Online account in good standing to complete your order[…]

We are targeting to release client patch 2.0.7 this evening. This patch contains additional localization files and will resolve text issues with shopkeepers and banking on the test shards.[…]

Looking for a way to put a little excitement in your weeknight gameplay? Join us for Ultima Online Bi-Weekly Events! Beginning on Monday, February 12th, we’ll be hosting an event every weeknight on most Ultima Online shards

Miss the chance to join in on a weekly event? Or perhaps you enjoyed the last one and would like to join us again? We’ll be continuing the Ultima Online bi-weekly events for the next two weeks, based on the same daily shard schedule. Thus, if your shard had an event scheduled for the first Monday, you’ll have one again next Monday.[…]

We are currently releasing client patch 2.0.8n. This patch updates several localization files, fixes an issue with speech commands, and resolves issues relating to clothing and sitting.[…]

As Ultima Online moves closer to the official release of Third Dawn, many players may have noticed the word “localization” popping up everywhere lately. From client patches with localization files to changes in the way shopkeepers react and items are displayed, localization has had – and will have- a significant effect on the appearance of Ultima Online to players around the world.

So what is localization? Simply put, it’s creating a game that is as easily accessible for our customers around the world as it is for our English-speaking players. As one of the first massively multiplayer games to actively embrace a global audience, we’ve been working on this for a while now; and you can see evidence throughout Ultima Online Renaissance and the UO community. Within the game, certain parts of the client have already been translated to our five official languages: Japanese, Korean, Traditional Chinese, French, and German. Outside the game, we have a full Japanese website mirroring www.uo.com, as well as a fully translated New Player Center, and soon-to-arrive translated versions of our PlayGuide documentation.[…]

We are currently releasing client patch 2.0.8o. This patch updates several localization files, fixes an issue with speech commands and vendors, and removes the ninth circle “bad spell” page from spellbooks.[…]

We are currently releasing client patch 2.0.8r. This patch addresses some sound issues.[…]

• […]The addition of the Ilshenar land mass
• Taxidermy kits
• Hair Stylist NPCs
• Item Identification changes
• Good creatures vs. karma
• Player-owned vendor changes
• And several additional updates and fixes listed at Testing for Next Update. […]

We are currently releasing client patch 2.0.8s. This patch addresses updates changes to the magic item properties display, allows guards to be called using the word “guards”, and updates localization files.[…]

Electronic Arts and Origin Systems have announced a plan that will increase their focus on Ultima Online and halt production of UWO: ORIGIN (UO2). The reason is simple, rather than creating UWO: ORIGIN (UO2) as a parallel world competing with UO, we've decided to put those resources into growing and improving the core offering for Ultima Online's 230,000 loyal subscribers. In the near future and with the release next week of Ultima Online: Third Dawn, players will see new lands, new creatures, and a world that is continually evolving within Ultima Online.

We are currently releasing client patch 3.0.0c. This patch addresses and updates more localization as well as some language files.[…]

The Ultima Online: Third Dawn upgrade offer site is now open at http://www.uo.com/upgrade.html. This promotion will last for 60 days, during which current UO customers with active accounts will be able to order this special upgrade for a price of $9.95 plus shipping and handling.[…]

As previously stated, UO: Third Dawn Alpha and Beta testers who do not wish to participate in the full upgrade offer will be given the opportunity to order the Ilshenar and cloth maps for $5.95, with shipping and handling paid by Origin Systems[…]

We will be publishing the changes listed at at http://update.uo.com/design_328.html to all shards to be active following their next scheduled maintenance period.[…]

We will be releasing a client patch on April 23rd at approximately 11:00 am CDT. The client patch will include the following:

• The translation server will no longer pop up a dialog box when it encounters a missing language pair.
• A crash caused by trying to plot a course on a map between two identical locations.
• A fix for the "Unknown Packet Oops" dialog crash.
• Other random crashes.

This patch is for the 2D client only. The 3D client build number remains 3.0.0f.[…]

We will be releasing a client patch on April 24th at approximately 12:00 pm CDT. This client patch will fix a bug related to switching to 800x600 resolution. This patch is for the 2D client only. The 3D client build number remains 3.0.0f.[…]

Origin is pleased to announce the public test opening of Mizuho, our newest Japanese shard, on April 26th (CDT). The shard will open for three days for testing purposes as we monitor the shard for any unforeseen problems. Once it has been determined that the shard is operating optimally, Mizuho will be wiped on April 29th, to be re-opened officially on April 30th. Mizuho is the 9th Southeast Asian Ultima Online shard and our 23rd shard worldwide.[…]

We're happy to announce that we have eliminated several issues that had been impacting the performance of the Third Dawn client. This client patch will be released on April 30th at approximately 4:00 pm CDT, and will include:

• Substantial memory leak fixes
• Various crash bug fixes[…]

In appreciation for participation in the Ultima Online: Third Dawn Alpha and Beta Tests, we are extending the following special offer allowing Alpha/Beta testers to order one of our collector’s edition, full-color cloth maps of the original and Lost Lands of Britannia. This offer includes the map and cost of shipping for $5.95 domestic (U.S., Hawaii, Alaska, Guam, U.S. Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico) or $6.95 International.[…]

After addressing several issues affecting the Rewards system, we will be activating the Veteran Rewards system on the Test Rewards shard on Friday, May 4th. We urge that all interested players stop by to participate in testing![…]

In the coming weeks and months, Ultima Online players will begin to see changes to the UO experience that will affect and impact the game in many ways as we update systems, introduce new content, and continue to grow and expand the world of Britannia.

In addition to systems and design changes, we will address how Origin supports Volunteer programs. Effective today, May 9th, Ultima Online will no longer host Interest, Quality Assurance, and Counselor Volunteer programs in North America and Europe. Though it’s a difficult decision for us, it is based on the reassessment of our online, company-wide business structure as we address growth and changes in the online entertainment industry. As a result, volunteer programs throughout all of Electronic Arts have been affected by this reassessment. This decision does not affect the existing volunteer programs in Japan, nor does it currently affect the Companion program.

Whether answering questions, creating intriguing and amusing events, or aiding their fellow players in any number of ways, these volunteers have enriched their own Ultima Online experience and helped fulfill the Ultima Online experience for so many other members of the UO community. A permanent acknowledgement to these volunteers will be placed on both facets of each affected shard, located near the Britain Counselor Hall.

Over the last several years, players volunteering in Ultima Online have assisted their fellow players with great creativity, aptitude, and grace, and our thanks go out to all who have participated in these programs since their inception. This commitment to UO, as well as the commitment of hundreds of thousands of players worldwide, is the foundation on which we hope to grow and support the game far into the future.

We will be activating the new distributed backup system on the Great Lakes and Lake Superior shards on Thursday, May 24th following their regularly scheduled maintenance period. The system has been actively running on the AOL Legends and Atlantic shards since last month, and has reduced backup times considerably.[…]

In the interest of providing our customers with a safe procedural way in which to transfer UO account access from one individual to another, we would like to remind you of our Origin Account Access Transfer Program. This program allows you to carry out the transfer process officially through the OSI Billing Department, ensuring that in case of any dispute, we can verify the correct owner of a specific UO account. By simply arranging for signatures from both parties involved, completing a confirmation phone call with an OSI representative, and arranging a small transfer fee, your access transfer will be secure and final.[…]

EA has arranged with a small group of international customer support representatives to aid in handling game-related customer support, as well as other tasks, for EA.com. As of Friday, June 1st, they will be spending some time addressing Ultima Online customer concerns on the Chesapeake and Atlantic shards from 5:00 pm to 1:00 am EDT as advisors, appearing in peach-colored robes. Please keep in mind that Advisors will only address game play issues. This is an experimental program, and we will post updates when and if the program is to be expanded.

Reports are pouring in that the orcs have been spotted closer to the cities than ever before. Residents on the outskirts of the cities have said that it appears we're in for an attack within the next couple days.
[…]
NOTE: These updates are related to the continuing scenario occuring in Ultima Online. For more information, read the associated fiction located at http://update.uo.com/bnn/article_430.html. The items associated with the scenario will continue to be available in game after the scenario is complete.

The Real Estate Agents have been disabled on all shards to resolve an ongoing issue. We will update you with more information on when they will be reactivated.

We have published an update to all shards to be active following their next scheduled maintenance period. This publish addresses NPC shopkeeper inventory pricing issues and the way house deeds will be bought from and sold to vendors.

These changes include:
NPC real estate brokers will now buy house deeds back at 20% below the base price of the deed, or the original price paid when the deed was purchased from a vendor (whichever is lower).
NPC shopkeepers will no longer inflate the prices of their inventory when their stock begins to run low, and prices of items will be consistent on all shopkeepers.

We will be releasing a client patch on Tuesday, June 26th at approximately 1:30 pm CDT. This patch contains an interface update and various bug fixes.
The current versions should now be 3.0.2f (2D client) and 3.0.2i Build 66 (3D client).[…]

We will be releasing a client patch on Tuesday, June 26th at approximately 5:45 pm CDT. An issue with the patch released earlier today (June 26th) required some players to alter a line in their uo.cfg file in order to run the client successfully. This patch contains a fix for that problem.

While we are committed to releasing Publish 12 as soon as possible, several issues have arisen in testing that we feel need to be addressed before it can be released. This update (which includes veteran rewards) is still our priority right now, and we are targeting to release Publish 12 to one shard later this week.[…]

We are pleased to announce the global opening of the Mizuho shard on June 29th at 11:00 pm local time (JST). Mizuho is the 9th Southeast Asian Ultima Online shard and our 23rd shard worldwide. The name Mizuho dates from ancient times, when Japan was called "Land of Mizuho". Mizuho stands for beautiful water, and Japan has been long famous for its rich rice harvest. As a result of our localized shard policy, Mizuho has been open only to players located in Japan for the last two months to allow local citizens to build a community base and to allow us to ensure a satisfactory level of local support.

After the release of Publish 12 to the Chesapeake shard yesterday (June 28th), issues related to the event scenario data required that the shard be reverted to a time before the publish was released. We regret this necessity, and are working to see that this problem is solved before Publish 12 is released again.[…]

Since activating Publish 12 on the Chesapeake shard in late June, we have been monitoring the shard closely, and we are targeting to release the final week of the event scenario publish to the Chesapeake shard on Tuesday, July 17th. Once it is determined that there are no unforeseen issues involving the final week of the Savage Empire scenario and Publish 12, a schedule will be set for the release of Publish 12 to the other shards.[…]

Due to an issue causing permanent buildings to decay, all shards with Publish 12 (Chesapeake, Baja, Sonoma, Napa Valley, and Pacific) were given an automatic housing refresh last night (July 19th), and the affected buildings will be refreshed manually until the issue is addressed.

In addition to this, housing decay on all remaining Ultima Online shards has been turned off over the weekend. This means that all homes on these shards will be refreshed to like new status, and will remain so until further notice. We will give at least 24 hours notice before the decay is turned back on, and we will update the patch message to ensure that all players are notified. We apologize for any inconvenience, and urge all players to check the patch messages before logging in to avoid missing important information.

Housing decay has now been reinstated on all shards, to become active following their next downtime.[…]

Publish 12 will be published to all remaining shards today, to be active following their next maintenance period. [..]

We will be releasing a client patch on Wednesday, July 25th at approximately 11:00 am CDT. This patch contains several minor art improvements, including art updates for the following:

• Female armor and clothing
• Elementals
• Ophidians
• Centaurs
• Cats
• Hens

We will be publishing the new distributed backup system to all remaining shards, except for the Balhae and Arirang shards, on Thursday, July 26th to be active following their next scheduled maintenance period.[…]

The choices were extremely tough to make, since we have a great deal of qualified folks apply, but I feel confident that Sannio and Kerowyn are the right people to help Ultima Online and its community grow closer.[…]

Due to a new bug just found which allows players to collect more Vet Rewards (http://update.uo.com/design_350.html) than they should, the re-implementation of the Vet Rewards program is being delayed. We regret having to extend the schedule, but this bug, which involves the use of a third-party program, would negate the benefits of the entire system if left unfixed.[…]

In a strengthened stance against exploits, and due to the high number of support calls generated, we are now taking a stronger stand on illegal purple-hued sigil items. As of today, any players found selling these items, either in-game or out-of-game, will receive an automatic 72-hour suspension from Ultima Online, a final warning on their account, and the items will be deleted. Any accounts that have already been placed under final warning will be terminated.[…]

We have published the change listed in Testing for the Next Update to the Pacific shard, to be active following its next scheduled maintenance period. Note that a previously posted change to the spawn of resource items on vendors has been removed from Testing for the Next Update. Due to player feedback, we have decided to re-evaluate the problem and will notify the players once a new solution is decided on.

The push-through bug that was introduced to Pacific this morning is being fixed, and will be published momentarily. The shard will be brought down for an emergency maintenance at approximately 5:20 PM CDT, after which time this bug should be fixed. We anticipate the downtime to be less than half an hour. We will be monitoring the Pacific shard over the weekend, and will publish the change listed in Testing for the Next Update to the remaining shards once we are certain that this issue is resolved. We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause.

We will be releasing a client patch on Tuesday, August 14th, at approximately 2:00 pm CDT. For a detailed list of changes that will be included in this update, see http://update.uo.com/design_359.html. These changes will be added to Latest Game Updates once the patch has been released.[…]

We have published the changes and fixes listed in Testing for Next Update to the Baja shard. These changes are now currently active.[…]

The items that were listed in Testing for the Next Update and published to the Baja shard last week (treasure map changes, tutorial/Haven changes, and combat changes), were published to all remaining shards on Sunday, August 19th. This publish became active on the East and West Coast shards following their Monday morning maintenance period, and will become active on the European and Asian shards following their scheduled Tuesday morning maintenance period.[…]

In the past, the Ultima Online servers have utilized port 5000 for connections. Because some ISPs have begun blocking that port, some players have been experiencing difficulty connecting to Ultima Online. To resolve this issue, we will be discontinuing the use of port 5000, and will continue to accept connections on ports 5001-5010.[…]

After resolving a multitude of code and hardware-related issues, we will be activating the Veteran Rewards system on the Napa Valley shard today (Thursday, August 23rd) at 12:00 PM CDT. We will determine the schedule for release to the remaining shards once we are certain the system is operating as it should. And as a way to say thank you for your patience, we'd like to offer all eligible players an extra reward choice![…]

After monitoring the Veteran Rewards on the Napa Valley shard over the weekend, we have determined a tentative release schedule for the system on the rest of the production shards. Please note that this schedule is subject to change, and may be extended should any unforeseen issues arise with the rewards system.[…]

Since we began activating the Veteran Rewards system, we have been carefully monitoring the usage and performance of the Veteran Rewards hardware. The release has gone smoothly thus far, but we have found some connectivity issues with the rewards server. As more shards get rewards and the server is accessed more, these connectivity issues will result in packet loss, creating longer wait times for the rewards gump to appear, and for the reward selection to take place. If more shards are activated and the problem is left unfixed, it could eventually result in packet loss on the servers themselves, creating lag on the shards.[…]

We will be releasing a client patch on Thursday, August 30th at approximately 1:30 pm CDT. This patch contains the following changes:

• 2D Gameplay window can now be resized without restarting the client
• When in a party in 3D, the player's status bar will have heal/cure buttons
• Improvements to the "Last Shard Used" button functionality in the 3D client
• The character creation templates have been revamped
• Many crashes and other bugs have been addressed in this patch[…]

Just as a quick update, we believe that the connectivity issue regarding the Veteran Rewards server has been resolved, and the fix is in the testing stages. We hope to be able to continue re-activating the system on the UO shards very soon, and will notify the players once the new schedule is determined.

We will be releasing a client patch on Tuesday, September 4th at approximately 10:00 AM. This patch is the same patch that was previously released and reverted on August 30th, and contains the following changes:

• 2D gameplay window can now be resized without restarting the client
• When in a party in 3D, the player's status bar will have heal/cure buttons
• Improvements to the "Last Shard Used" button functionality in the 3D client
• The character creation templates have been revamped
• Book crash fixed
• Players will not always be put in Britain when not using Advanced creation mode. They are put in a random starting city.
• Since criminal acts cannot be committed in Trammel, players will no longer be asked if they wish to proceed with those acts while in Trammel.
• New characters will now start with 80 stat points.
• Many crashes and other bugs have been addressed in this patch. […]

We will be releasing a client patch on Wednesday, September 5th at approximately 5:30 pm CST. This patch contains the following changes:

• Disappearing macro bug fixed
• Invisible house/boat bug fixed
• Asian characters will no longer appear at the end of macros
• Some localization files

The current versions should now be 3.0.4n (2D client) and 3.0.4n Build 75 (3D client).[…]

We will be releasing a mini-publish today that should fix a connectivity issue with the Veteran Rewards system, as well as fix a problem that caused power hour to reset at the wrong time […]. We will be bringing the shards down to publish this update this afternoon, and we anticipate the downtime to be no more than half an hour.[…]

The connectivity fix for the Veteran Rewards system has been published to all shards, and we are ready to resume activation of the Veteran Rewards system! We are targeting to activate the system on each remaining shard at some point during the day designated below, which means that players should not expect the system to be active immediately following their scheduled morning maintenance. Please note that this schedule is subject to change, and may be extended should any unforeseen issues arise with the rewards system.

Due to issues with the Veteran Rewards system, we have deactivated the system on all shards. We are currently working on the problem and anticipate the system to be back up and running in approximately an hour and a half.

The issues with the Veteran Rewards system have been resolved. The system should be active on all shards that had Veteran Rewards active previous to the downtime.[…]

Player-owned bartenders […] have now been published to all shards, and will be active shortly after their next scheduled maintenance period.[…]

[…]3D Client

Paperdoll no longer closes and reopens to refresh the paperdoll model.

Players will no longer be able to equip non-wearable objects by dropping them on the paperdoll background. This was causing drag slot problems preventing them from picking things up.

Various animation files added.
Both Clients

• Fixed a crash bug that occurred whenever non-humans tried to sit.
• Various localization files added.[…]

We will be releasing a client patch on Tuesday, September 25th at approximately 2:30 pm CDT. This patch contains a fix for a data error, and does not contain any gameplay changes.

We will be releasing a client patch on Monday, October 1st at approximately 9:40 am CDT. This patch contains localization files, and does not contain any gameplay changes.

We feel that a dedicated and active member of the UO community should not be able to lose a house, along with years of accomplishments and items, due to a sudden emergency or other factors beyond their control. In keeping with this, we plan to continue refreshing all houses daily through the end of the calendar year, and we are proposing a new system that, if adopted, will change the current system of house decay. The details of this proposed change can be found in the In Concept section[…]

We will be releasing a client patch on Tuesday, October 9th at approximately 2:45 PM CDT. This patch contains localization files, and does not contain any gameplay changes.

We are targeting to make three new updates, including Commodity Trading Deeds, Secure House Trading, and Service Repair Contracts, live on the Oceania and Great Lakes shards after their scheduled maintenance periods Wednesday morning (local server time). Barring any unforeseen issues, these changes should be made live on the East Coast, West Coast, and Central shards after their morning maintenance periods on Thursday, local server time. The remaining shards should see these changes live following their Friday morning maintenance periods (local server time).[…]

The items that were listed in Testing for the Next Update and published to the Great Lakes and Oceania shards earlier this week (commodity deeds, repair contracts, and secure house trades), were published to all remaining shards. This publish became active on the East and West Coast shards following their Thursday morning maintenance period, and became active on the European and Asian shards following their scheduled Friday morning maintenance period.[…]

There is currently a philosophy within Ultima Online known as the Virtues. The Shrines are named after them, and players can read about the eight Virtues in certain books that are available within the game. But, beyond those small representations, the Virtues have never played a significant role in the world of Ultima Online. A system will be put into play which will reward characters who actively pursue the activities that represent each of the eight Virtues. […]

[…]2D Client

• Radar in 2D will now resize when double-clicked
• Bulletin boards will no longer display garbled text when displaying messages without a subject

3D Client

• Stack gumps close themselves if the item they are being used for gets deleted
• Fixed a bug resulting in inaccurate color selection

Both Clients

• Pop-Up help has been disabled
• Fix for a bug that resulted in the orkish kin mask being drawn on a player’s paperdoll and avatar when it no longer actually existed
• Various fixes in regards to putting pins on course gumps
• Fix for a bug that caused a party member’s paperdoll to become unclothed when the party member ran off screen
• Various localization fixes […]

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™ 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 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.[…]

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.[…]

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).[…]

• 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. […]

• […]Bank checks will no longer be taken by non-bank or non-minter NPCs.
• New player quest gates will no longer leave new players frozen.
• It will no longer be possible to bypass the wait timer associated with escorting NPCs.
• Activation of Holiday trees

• […]Kirins and Unicorns that are part of the Champion spawn will no longer be tamable.
• An issue with trading ethereal mounts has been resolved.

In the past, Game Masters have acted as intermediaries in calls where players have misused game systems to take advantage of others. Unfortunately, this has led to increased call times due to the extreme difficulty in determining the truth of these matters. However, since the implementation of secure house trading, commodity deeds and repair service contracts, we have noticed a significant reduction in scam calls to our support department.

With the success of these new systems, we plan to discontinue our policy of dealing with scams on a case-by-case basis as of Monday, December 10th.[…]

We are targeting to publish the holiday gifts to the Atlantic shard, to be active after their Monday morning maintenance period on December 17th. We will closely monitor the shard for any unexpected issues and will announce a release schedule for the remaining shards as it is determined.

We are targeting to release holiday gifts to the North American shards tonight, December 18th, to be active following their Wednesday morning maintenance periods. Barring any unforeseen issues, holiday gifts should be active on the remaining shards following their Thursday morning maintenance periods (local server time).[…]

Want to get out from behind your monitor and meet other UO players and the UO dev team in person? You’ll get your chance on Thursday, December 20th! To kick in the holiday season, Origin Systems and Guinness will be sponsoring a Holiday Happy Hour on Thursday, Dec. 20th, from 7:00-9:00 pm at Tangerines, located next to the Renaissance Hotel in Northwest Austin. We’re inviting all our players 21 and older in the Austin area to come share appetizers and drinks with the UO dev team and Origin staff. And you never know… you just might get a glimpse of what’s coming up at the UO FanFest 2002! No RSVP is needed – just show up at Tangerines at 7:00 pm on Thursday, December 20th.[…]

We will be releasing a client patch on Wednesday, December 19th, at approximately 10:30am CST. For a detailed list of changes that will be included in this update, see http://update.uo.com/design_401.html.[…]

• […]Players will be limited to 10 status bars on the screen at any time, including the small blue health bars that appear beneath the feet of players and creatures when they are targeted.[…]

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Hail fair traveller, my name is Ricky and on behalf of myself and the rest of the Uotrade.net team we would like to welcome you to come visit our website.

UOTrade.net was built for the community of the popular MMORPG game 'Ultima Online'

Ultima Online has an in-game economy like no other, the UO economy involves frequent buying and selling of goods and resources, just about everything in UO does have it's price, although one may value an item more than another player, this is where the player interacts directly with the economy of UO, for example, you are looking to sell an object and hope to attain 15000 gold for its purchase, if you stand around the bank or other big market for awhile you will probably sell it, if priced reasonably, and by chance that the person wishing to buy such an item is present and sees your offer, not only is this tiresome but also wastes valuable skill building time for your character(s). Our range of services eliminate this hassle, letting you play UO how and when you want, while still staying active in the buying and selling of your goods, not only that but with more exposure and fetching the best price possible for your hard earned possesions that you wish to part with.

UOTrade.net offers FREE auctions and trading forums for ALL Ultima Online shards, We will also offer a comprehensive list of tutorials and playing tips for UO, ranging from Frequently Asked Questions to skill/stat building guides, and even items like in-game ettiquette and other questions that you might have always wondered about.

Once again on behalf of the UOTrade.net team, welcome and please enjoy everything we have to offer!

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Word has reached my humble cabin that the Forest Lord has gained yet another curse in the form of Shane D'Arcy.

I sought him out and spoke with my fellow Dread Lord to find out what was happening in the strange lands of Ilshenar. Here is what he had to say...

On December 18th 2001 at 4:45 am by the central skies, I battled my way to the title of "Curse of the Forest Lord". To get from "Evil" to "Curse" took me about 4 hours of provoking mainly Ethereal Warriors onto Serpentine Dragons. For those seeking to follow in my footsteps, that is your best bet. For they seem to give you the most points towards your title and always give you a lot of fame. I battled by myself when at the spawn area and I play every day from midnight till 6:00 in the morning. While at the spawn, I find it is best to just provoke everything in sight, but like I said, provoking Ethereal Warriors onto Serpentine Dragons works the best and you profit the most off of them in anyway you can think possible, except karma gain. If you are a character with positive karma, you might consider trying to get one of the different hero titles for you will most certainly lose a lot of karma. I have tried quite a few times to summon the champion, yet always to no avail. I let the spawn grow tremendously and then shrink it back down. I have done this a few times and for some reason, everything just seems to disappear and not spawn for a long time when most everything is killed. Perhaps the Forest Lord fears me and rightfully so but I have tried and I will continue to do so until I summon and defeat his champion. Until next we meet, have a great day! Sincerely, Shane D'Arcy.

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Allow me to introduce myself.

I am Methos Meridius. One of the newest reporters for the Great Lakes Shard.

I look forward to interacting with all of our readers and being able to bring you the latest news from around our shard.

If you ever see me riding about, don't hesitate to stop me and say hi!

I look forward to meeting one and all!

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Hail all, the Smiths of Great Lakes are planning a get together to trade off some of their BODS. We are trying to make this a weekly get together. If you swing a hammer and have a BOD to trade you're invited!

It will take place on Saturday at 8 eastern, 7 central.

Place is the Blacksmith's Guild in South West Britain, across the West bridge, Trammel.

Nothing fancy, just smiths taking care of business.

Thanks,
Daniel Flagg

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From the Chronicles of Elder Raticker:

It was past midnight and the air was thick with moisture. The cavernouscatacombs were dark and ominous, interupted only by a small fire burning green flame against the obsidian walls. Sitting in a tight circle the member's determined to invade Sosaria sat, plotting their next move.

"It is time to claim another vessel." stated the alien inside Raticker's form. "The time draws near to open the gateway."

"Has the location been determined?" asked the host to Mystic Rose.

"Yes, a room lit by the stars in the heavens will be used to welcome our Lord and Master. Our powers must be at their peek, as the final battle will be heavy, but we have our special abilities....." mused Raticker.

Farbanti and Darma both looked up into Raticker's eyes. Both seeking knowledge to the plan which would bring them fully to life in this world. "Master, we grow weary having to wait in these bodies, we wish to display our powers! Our minds need the blood of the pure!" cried Farbanti.

"Yes, I too have those cravings. You are allowed one kill a night. Take only the wretched, leave the nobles, as they could present a threat." stated Raticker.

"A threat? You stated we are safe here. None could touch us. What as changed?" asked Raal.

"The Mages of this world have discovered a possible weakness to our powers. Though they have not yet fully exploited it, as they are slow of wit. But it is true, we are vulnerable. This is why we must act quickly and obtain the next three vessels immediately." replied Raticker.

As the hours past, the evil lot planned out their hunt for the night. Opening a gate to Serpent's Hold, they set out to feed their insatiable appetites for blood.

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Happy Holidays from the Homes of the Exotic & Illustrious Tour Staff & Kyra, Tour Coordinator! May you be with the ones you love during these days of celebration and may the new year bring more joy and good fortune then the last! I look forward to spending another adventurous year with all of you!

See you around Brit!
Kyra, Tour Coordinator

P.S. As our small gift to the shard this year all Tour Packs for the Homes of the Exotic & Illustrious Tour have been free this month! If you haven't gotten one yet make sure to do so before the end of December!

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Hear ye, hear ye!

I present to the people of Britannia a challenge for the most worthy of scholars and explorers. Throughout the realm I have hidden away many riddles, your first task is to seek them out.

Should you succeed, your next task lies in answering those riddles. You last task, shall be to explore the lands once again and find the item that represents the answers to the riddles, and bring them all to me. The first person that does this shall receive a prize that is valued around 500 thousand to over 1.5 million gold pieces (depending on shard). Good Luck to you all may the best lord or lady win.

This contest is being held on the following shards: Atlantic, Great Lakes, Lake Superior, Chesapeake, Catskills, Napa Valley, Baja, Sonoma, Pacific, Europa, Drachenfels, And Siege Perilous.

There are a total of 10 riddles per shard (except Siege which only has 5, albeit a harder to solve 5) Every riddle is located inside a bookcase, within an NPC building inside a guard zone.

They are all in the Old lands on Felucca. Why Felucca? Because first you need to have a bit of risk to get the reward, but mostly because only the Felucca facet has bookcases that actually contain any books.

The answer to every riddle is also an item that is obtainable in game, which are all common, or at most semi-rares which are not too difficult to obtain.

I will be on each shard from time to time, in Serpent's Hold Felucca, where I MIGHT give hints to people that ask them of me. I can be identified by my character name, Cuchulainn, and I will also have [Arch Primus, SRG] over my head.

I may be emailed at [email protected] where I will confirm whether or not a riddle you have found is a valid one that I have designated for that shard. I will NOT give hints via email so do not ask.

If you have found all the riddles and think you have solved all of them, then email me the ENTIRE list of valid riddles, with your guess as to the answers, be sure to specify your shard name, and your designated character. INCOMPLETE INFORMATION WILL BE IGNORED. I will then respond as quickly as possible, confirming or denying the accuracy of your submission. If it is correct I will meet with you in game where you will give me the items you have found in game that equate to each answer. (If you don't have them all, or don't have the right ones, then you will have to try again) If all items are correct then you will be declared the winner and I will arrange for you to receive your prize. I must have an email submission as described above for you to be eligible to win the contest, I will not accept the items from unknown persons, even if all the items are correct.

Important! The Date and Time that I receive emails is the order that I will evaluate submissions, which consequently may end up deciding who wins a time, should many people find and solve all of them.

If you are going to email me to validate a riddle, please try to do as many at once in a single email. I anticipate getting a lot of them, and I will try to answer them as quickly as possible.

Save All other questions for this thread,

Questions regarding contest

NO I will not post hints on the board, all of you however, may speculate as much as you wish. Keep in mind, though that you may end up helping your competition, should you choose to post any of your findings or reports. This contest will last until there is a winner for each shard, or until I post otherwise. First Place gets the loot and the glory, second place just gets the sha.,well they get to solve some riddles.

Good Luck!
Cuchulainn of Serpent's Hold, Atlantic Shard.
(And now it seems, of all those other shards too)

Also see Windar D'Sal's informative post here for further information.

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I check the Events team message boards everyday, and for some strange reason I cannot seem to find any entrants. So don't forget! Start decorating...you have until the 2nd of January 2002 to post your entry in.

You can access our website at www.uoevents.com-2.net or www.geocities.com/uoevents.

Also! The Winter Party was a huge success!! Apart from the slowness of the chicken fights and the only one entrant to the snowman building contest, the brand new Event concepted by Companion Uberfish (who is away on business in the netherworld) RUN THE GAUNTLET!

A group of contestants were gated into the deepest darkest dungeon we could find, and they had to escape without recall or gate and no mounts. There was a prize of 10k for the first 5 to reach daylight alive. Many died in this task but their spirits were eventually recovered and ressurected.

Also keep an eye out for the Chesapeake Games at the end of January and more upcoming events.

Companion Black-Ram
UO Chessie Events Co-Ordinator.

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Just an update: I've already fixed the spell icon problem, and have also made them dock together properly when the desktop loads (so you can drag the whole cluster around by holding shift). Since I'm doing this on my spare time I put in another goodie in 3D everyone has wanted for awhile, but I shant elaborate on that yet ; ) It'll most likely go out in a release after the one that fixes the spell icons anyway.

I haven't looked into the sound issues because I don't know much of the sound code, but you can bet on us going after that first thing when we get back into the office.

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Trying to find a list of all the new snowglobes & statues? Want to know all the statue colors? Honey's Rares Price Guide has an updated list. Honey of Great Lakes has been tracking Rare & Semi-rare prices for three years for the UO community. Honey's Guide can be found at here

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*Lord Vecna stared into the dark blade as he placed it upon the table*

"The second sword has been found now, Hate and Destruction are mine." Chuckled Vecna as he used a special spell to bind them to the table.

"Now we must continue our search for the last three swords...and the final Sword of Power to combine their powers. Only then will we be able to complete the future task." Explained Lord Vecna as he turned to his assistants.

" I shall give one to each evil lord who comes to me in search of power. Soon our armies will begin to grow again. Soon Golgotha will become masters of this realm!" Laughed the lich as he walked to his throne in Cavitus. '

*A short time later, messengers were seen riding out from Golgotha in all directions to deliver invitations to the realm's most evil and vile lords.*

Lich Soulstealer is still looking for one more Evil Lord to act as a sword bearer. He can be contacted via ICQ# 135336410. Also the Librarian in the Golgothan labs has information on the next sword to be hunted for (tip him to recieve the information).

I'm looking for stories of this quest, from either side, so if you have any information please mail me

It will be a top priority for us when the office opens up next week.

-Tajima

Rats :(

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One of the questions I see a lot of people ask is “How do I submit an event?" It’s a lot simpler than one may think; Simply email us! [email protected]

Hope to hear from you soon, 
Ajinora Xanthe
Great Lakes Reporter

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Hear ye, hear ye!

I present to the people of Britannia a challenge for the most worthy of scholars and explorers. Throughout the realm I have hidden away many riddles, your first task is to seek them out.

Should you succeed, your next task lies in answering those riddles. You last task, shall be to explore the lands once again and find the item that represents the answers to the riddles, and bring them all to me. The first person that does this shall receive a prize that is valued around 500 thousand to over 1.5 million gold pieces (depending on shard). Good Luck to you all may the best lord or lady win.

This contest is being held on the following shards:
Atlantic,
Great Lakes,
Lake Superior,
Chesapeake,
Catskills,
Napa Valley,
Baja,
Sonoma,
Pacific,
Europa,
Drachenfels,
And Siege Perilous.

There are a total of 10 riddles per shard (except Siege which only has 5, albeit a harder to solve 5) Every riddle is located inside a bookcase, within an NPC building inside a guard zone.

They are all in the Old lands on Felucca. Why Felucca? Because first you need to have a bit of risk to get the reward, but mostly because only the Felucca facet has bookcases that actually contain any books.

The answer to every riddle is also an item that is obtainable in game, which are all common, or at most semi-rares which are not too difficult to obtain.

I will be on each shard from time to time, in Serpent's Hold Felucca, where I MIGHT give hints to people that ask them of me. I can be identified by my character name, Cuchulainn, and I will also have [Arch Primus, SRG] over my head.

I may be emailed at [email protected] where I will confirm whether or not a riddle you have found is a valid one that I have designated for that shard. I will NOT give hints via email so do not ask.

If you have found all the riddles and think you have solved all of them, then email me the ENTIRE list of valid riddles, with your guess as to the answers, be sure to specify your shard name, and your designated character. INCOMPLETE INFORMATION WILL BE IGNORED. I will then respond as quickly as possible, confirming or denying the accuracy of your submission. If it is correct I will meet with you in game where you will give me the items you have found in game that equate to each answer. (If you don't have them all, or don't have the right ones, then you will have to try again) If all items are correct then you will be declared the winner and I will arrange for you to receive your prize. I must have an email submission as described above for you to be eligible to win the contest, I will not accept the items from unknown persons, even if all the items are correct.

Important! The Date and Time that I receive emails is the order that I will evaluate submissions, which consequently may end up deciding who wins a time, should many people find and solve all of them.

If you are going to email me to validate a riddle, please try to do as many at once in a single email. I anticipate getting a lot of them, and I will try to answer them as quickly as possible.

Save All other questions for this thread,

http://boards.uo.com/cgi-bin/showthreaded.pl?Cat=&Board=Disc&Number=919305&page=0&view=collapsed&sb=5&part=

NO I will not post hints on the board, all of you however, may speculate as much as you wish. Keep in mind, though that you may end up helping your competition, should you choose to post any of your findings or reports. This contest will last until there is a winner for each shard, or until I post otherwise.
First Place gets the loot and the glory, second place just gets the sha.,well they get to solve some riddles.

Good Luck!
Cuchulainn of Serpent's Hold,
Atlantic Shard.
(And now it seems, of all those other shards too)

Hear ye, hear ye!

I present to the people of Britannia a challenge for the most worthy of scholars and explorers. Throughout the realm I have hidden away many riddles, your first task is to seek them out. Should you succeed, your next task lies in answering those riddles. You last task, shall be to explore the lands once again and find the item that represents the answers to the riddles, and bring them all to me. The first person that does this shall receive a prize that is valued around 500 thousand to over 1.5 million gold pieces (depending on shard). Good Luck to you all may the best lord or lady win.

This contest is being held on the following shards:
Atlantic,
Great Lakes,
Lake Superior,
Chesapeake,
Catskills,
Napa Valley,
Baja,
Sonoma,
Pacific,
Europa,
Drachenfels,
And Siege Perilous.

There are a total of 10 riddles per shard (except Siege which only has 5, albeit a harder to solve 5). Every riddle is located inside a bookcase, within an NPC building inside a guard zone. They are all in the Old lands on Felucca. Why Felucca? Because first you need to have a bit of risk to get the reward, but mostly because only the Felucca facet has bookcases that actually contain any books.

The answer to every riddle is also an item that is obtainable in game, which are all common, or at most semi-rares which are not too difficult to obtain.

I will be on each shard from time to time, in Serpent’s Hold Felucca, where I MIGHT give hints to people that ask them of me. I can be identified by my character name, Cuchulainn, and I will also have [Arch Primus, SRG] over my head.

I may be emailed at [email protected] where I will confirm whether or not a riddle you have found is a valid one that I have designated for that shard. I will NOT give hints via email so do not ask. If you have found all the riddles and think you have solved all of them, then email me the ENTIRE list of valid riddles, with your guess as to the answers, be sure to specify your shard name, and your designated character. INCOMPLETE INFORMATION WILL BE IGNORED. I will then respond as quickly as possible, confirming or denying the accuracy of your submission. If it is correct I will meet with you in game where you will give me the items you have found in game that equate to each answer. (If you don’t have them all, or don’t have the right ones, then you will have to try again) If all items are correct then you will be declared the winner and I will arrange for you to receive your prize. I must have an email submission as described above for you to be eligible to win the contest, I will not accept the items from unknown persons, even if all the items are correct.

Important! The Date and Time that I receive emails is the order that I will evaluate submissions, which consequently may end up deciding who wins a time, should many people find and solve all of them.

If you are going to email me to validate a riddle, please try to do as many at once in a single email. I anticipate getting a lot of them, and I will try to answer them as quickly as possible.

Save All other questions for this thread,

NO I will not post hints on the board, all of you however, may speculate as much as you wish. Keep in mind, though that you may end up helping your competition, should you choose to post any of your findings or reports. This contest will last until there is a winner for each shard, or until I post otherwise. First Place gets the loot and the glory, second place just gets the sha…, well they get to solve some riddles.

Good Luck
Cuchulainn of Serpent’s Hold,
Atlantic Shard.
(And now it seems, of all those other shards too)

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Yes, we are back after our vacations! It was a wonderfully white Yuletide here at Impy's - big surprise since we "live" on Ice Isle. Even Impy gave the staff a present, we get Wednesday night off.

This week we have several very special items we are auctioning on Thursday at 9pm EST.

Pig Iron - (Pagan Reg)
Black Easter Eggs w/ Blue Outline
Obsidian (Pagan Reg)
Dull Copper Runic Hammer
Gold, Valorite and Verite Robes
Light Green Easter Eggs
Not to meantion all the great Holiday Gifts, Rocks, 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).

~Impy's Staff

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HWC will be hosting a 3v3 Team Mage Tourney. It will be held at the Jhelom Farms in Fel on Sunday, Jan 13th at 7:00pm EST. The grand prize will be 1 million GP. The entry fee will be 75K per team. (25K per player). For more information, please visit HWC's website at http://www.atlantic-hwc.com

Enjoy!

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The peasants and villagers who lived outside of Nujel’m were still in fear, after the recent raid. The streets were overrun with guards, keeping watch on the little slum town. Being outside of the town gates came with its share of problems. Most of the villagers now found themselves with a sense of security. Why would they not? The guards wandered their streets. No one would dare attack with the guards out and about. Thier sense of security was misleading. It was the day after the raid on their village, and the sun barely peaked its weary head out over the horizon. Daylight had faded into dusk, dusk soon faded into night. While the courageous were off fighting for the Moonglow Alliance, the sloth remained to guard the town. The guards drifted off into sleep, not thinking about the safety of that which they were supposed to be guarding. Again, no one noticed the same vessel creep down along the shoreline, and dock in the same spot it had the previous day. The same hooded figures…no…more of them had come. The grasped unlit torches in their hands, and waited patiently for the ship to reach its destination. Again, the same stern-looking man stood at the bow of the ship, gazing out over the sea to the slum town. This time, though, a man stood beside him, with a noble stature, as if he was of importance. He barely had his hood drawn over his face, as he also gave the town a cold glance. The crewmen of the ship dropped anchor and lowered the gangplank. As they did the day before, the hooded figures swiftly moved off the ship onto the shore. One of them walked over to a wall torch, and lit hisfrom it. Another, who spoke louder than the others let out a clear command:“Burn it to the ground.” They all lit their torches, and pulled out flasks of oil from their robes. With the fury of the wind they swept the town yet again.They threw burning oil flasks into windows, surrounded houses in walls of flame, unleashed fire elementals upon the citizens, even broke into houses and lit the furniture on fire… There was no escaping their wrath. The screams of the people, and the glow of the blaze that engulfed the houses caught the attention of the Palace guards. They ran full stride towards the burning shacks, and arrived in time to see the outline of a ship off in the horizon, hearing faint sounds of laughter in the wind.

It was just a few days that I hath returned to my beloved Home Island of Serpent's Hold. Soon received word from a courrier coming from Moonglow. Mayor Greypawn was seeking a meeting.

Had just met with Lord Chaodin and Lord Taproot Elf of the Rangers of the Silver Serpent, and so as Taproot Elf went his way to make preparations on the things decided in this preliminary meeting I asked my trusted friend Chaodin to come with me in Moonglow.

Once there, we met with Mayor Greypawn who welcomed us with a very happy face, something that gave both of use some suspicion, however holding Honor high, we accepted the welcome and followed the Mayor while he proceided to give us a tour of Moonglow and it's establishments.

There we met with other Moonglowites, and in many occasions the only thing that came out of their mouths was a simple 'Hail', their eyes looked weary under the shadow of the Mayor.

Once the toor ended Mayor Greypawn invited us to the Moongow Keep on a remote section of the northern Island. There we visited all its sections, Its Grand Hall, its Military Meeting Chamber, its Heating System, the Laboratory of the Mayor, and the Communications Tower. 'Very Impressive Mayor', I replied. Finally we sat at the central Guest room near to the Heating System, (It was propably the best heated place in the intire complex).

The Mayor asked to talk to me in Private, and I gave a reassuring nod to Lord Chaodin, who departed thereafter weary but trusting that the situation was not dangerous.

...After all, Mayhap the Mayor had forgoten about his previous altercassion with me in the past, notably the 'Faction Incident', the one that insured support for the Loyal Britannians while wavering support for the Council of Mages and turning people away of the promisses of Blood and Glory made by the Mayor at that time. In spite of this I listened, not dismissing the possibility that the Mayor may have had something else on mind, on the other hand I could not also dismiss the possibility that the Mayor was a new man either...

In any way, the Mayor made an official proposal to Serpent's Hold, he offered to Rent the island in its intirety for the sum of 300,000 gp for a period of two weeks, promissing to Evacuate and hand it over to the Parliament of Courage once finished.

'And Mayor, may I ask, for what purpose do you wish to rent the Island?', I asked.

'We are planing Military Operations against the Orcs and we need Serpent's Hold as a Naval Base during our Campaign', the Mayor answered.

I almost Interupted, 'Mayor, Serpent's Hold and Moonglow have always kept a Honorable status of relations, does it need to be a complete hand over? I hear our Rangers are also fighting against the Orcs you wish to exterminate, we could grant thee a Right of Passage and offer Harbor to any of your
vessels if need be.'

The Mayor gave a swift answer, his tone of voice was higher now, 'No we are not interested in a mere Right of Passage', he sudently paused and adopted his previous calmer tone, 'I insure you Duke, the Island will be turned over to you after the two weeks, we need to have complete control over the Island as we have Many ships and men that will need a Base of their own during the Campaign'

The discussion continued for several hours, with Diplomatic exhanges back and forth, proposal and counter-proposal, to finally come to a final decision. I was not sure what exactly the Mayor was after, but I knew that I had to gain some time, to say nothing about informing the Parliament of
Courage. So the answer was to be given to the Mayor by Thursday Night, the day of the Proposal was Sunday.

Upon returning to Serpent's Hold I informed the Leaders of RSS as well the Leader of SRG in an unnoficial manner, and we decided upon a meeting day, the first in many Moons, of the Parliament of Courage.

And so the day came when the Silver Serpent Family, came together again in the form of the Parliament of Courage, officially this Parliament os constituted by three parties:

-The Order of the Silver Serpent, the Royal Order of Knights belonging to the King, Lord British. Sworn to uphold the Virtues, defend the Crown, it's People and it's Land. The King Originally built Serpent's Hold to represent the Principle of Courage and gave that to OSS as Base and as a reward for
the Long years of Loyalty and Dedication to his cause.

When the King brought his people to Trammel, in Order to safegurd against the Invading Minax, the Order Followed, and is now responsible of Insuring the Defense of the Hold in the facet of Trammel.

-The Rangers of the Silver Serpent, a special force of Veteran warriors, who have chosen the free and spiritual path of a Ranger. Founded by Lords and Knights that once were in the ranks of OSS, they chose to remain behind and insure that the Silver Serpent, as well as the Cause of the King had representation in the Facet of Fellucca. The Rangers act as an Offensive Force, Information Gathering and Trusted Envoys, their diversity of ways constitutes their greatest Asset.

-The Serpent's Royal Guard, founded by the eldest of the eldest Warriors and Citizens of Serpent's Hold. A highly trained force, dedicated to the Defense of Serpent's Hold in the Old Lands, the facet of Felluca. They posses a very Intimate knowledge of the Island, and can respond to almost anything out of the Ordinary that may happen in the Island with the speed of Lightning.

During the meeting of The Parliament, many things were decided upon, communication, coordination, and Leadership priviledges in relation to Facet and role in any upcomming battle.

And so any attack upon the Hold would mean Fighting it's Intire Family, The Parliament of Courage and any Independent Warrior's of the Hold that may wish to join the fray. Needless to say, the numerous Allies or our Brethren belonging to the Regency, but that I supose, need not be explained as it is writen in stone.

And then we discussed the Proposal made by Moonglow, at that time, little did we know that Mayor Greypawn was considered a Criminal to the Crown, wanted by the forces of the Regency.

And so the proposal was considered very seriously and as legitimate as possible. The only Problem was that the Goblins had just started an Invasion of Serpent's Hold, we were in a state of Alert as Battles against the raiding Goblins was imminent. And it was therefore decided to refuse this proposal for the time being. We were almost sure that Moonglow in it's Wisdom would understand our position and respect this by trying to find another way to satisfy it's need to protect against the Orcs.

Mayor Greypawn received a missive with the answer, The Honorable Refusal due to extenuating Circomstances along with a counter proposal for a Right of Passage in the ammount of half the Originaly offered one. In that missive there was also a date when this decision was going to be made public to Serpent's Hold, Moonglow and the Regency in an Official form.

Mayor Greypawn rushed to Serpent's Hold, preceided by yet another messenger with a letter stating 'Do Not make Public the Decision Yet! I am comming in Serpent's Hold, I want to Address your Governement, signed Mayor Greypawn, MTC'

And so an extraordinary Odiance of the Parliament was summoned, as we awaited the arrival of The Mayor of Moonglow. In mean time courriers from Yew arrived with messages to stall the meeting upon Official arrival of representatives of the Regency, no other details were disclosed.

And so the show down, mayor Greypawn was addressing the PArliament of Courage wjen Lord Sunwolf entered the Hall, I welcomed him in and invited him to take a set in the Parliament, Lord SunWolf of Yew has always been a Distinguished Guest in these parts. Greypawn frowned, and continued his address Offering a counter proposal only to be interupted by Lord SunWolf, who brought forth the allegations. We were stunned!

And through our amaisement, our suspicions came true, the atmosphere was growing firery, many of the Members of the parliament were asking more and more questions of the Mayor, expecting emediate answers, the Mayor had trouble talking, was trying to explain and then was interupted by yet another angered Warrior. This continued for several minutes until the Mayor himself had no words to offer, he was just standing there looking around with nothing to offer as an explanation. Duchess Alita of OSS, came forth to address the Mayor, he offered no answer, Lord Cuchulain of SRG, Ranger Falco of RSS, one by one with no answers. Finally the Mayor was invited to make his leave and never set foot in this Island without threat to his life. he was given a warning as at that moment, we would gladly have thown his corps as a gift to the Local Jungle's Fauna.

Mayor Greypawn left swiftly without a word. Lord SunWolf Infomed us of the arrival of several contingents comming from the Mainalnd under the Banner of the Regency. And they were welcomed. There was no saying what Moonglow would try to do next.

In our ayes, as Warriors of Honor and Valor, he has tried to betray Serpent's Hold by taking advantage of our Ingorance in relation to his dissiving doings in Yew and his Status in relatuion to the Regency.

Our Fleet has Mobilised and formed a corridor to the Nort Western Docks of Serpent's Hold, insuring Arrival of the Regency Fleets and Warriors. Scouting Boats ahve signaled a Large Armada of Monglow Ships taking positions around the Eastern shores of Serpent's Hold.

The Bell of Courage shall ring again then the time is right.

We move as ONE

We fight as ONE

As ONE, we shall Prevail!

- Duke Surak'nar of OSS, reporting from the Parliament of Courage

Hear Ye! Hear Ye! Calling all the Lords and Ladies, the knights and paladins, mages and warlocks! And anyone else who thinks he can fight! On December 29 at 9pm EST, The city of Caina would like ye to participate in their Tournament of Torment! Peril awaits ye who dare to step foot in the arena! Flames will shoot forth from the ground, fields of noxious vapors will arise, and walls of stone will build and crumble around ye! This event is not for the timid! Only the best will survive! Spectators are welcomed to watch the bloodshed. The massacre should prove to be a most interesting show! The city of Caina is located on the northern tip of Dagger Island, Felucca. Registration will end promptly at 8:45pm on the eve of the fight. Direct any questions, requests for runes, pre-registration requests to Nathalia via raven at 115407750 or via raven at 35905519. Any and All are welcomed, but your horses are not! Stable thy mount before proceeding to the city! Unattended (and attended!) mounts will be quickly dismissed and fed to the orcs! The winner of this tournament will walk away with a prize of 75000 Gold Crowns!

**Tournament of Torment**
Participants will be equally and randomly divided into two teams. Teams will be given robes of the same colour so that the enemy is easily distinguished. The objective is to eliminate the entire opposing team. The winning team (including any members of the winning team who died,) advance to the next round. Once the first team is vanquished, the winning team (and that includes those who died as they were on the winning team) is divided and faced off in the same type match... and so on until one man stands. The winner of this tournament shall recieve 75000 gold crowns.

Rules:
-No poison is to be used (not in spell form and not on weapons).
-You are to come fully equipped as you will not be allowed to leave the arena once the tournament begins.
-Magic weapons, armor, items, clothing, wands, etc. are not allowed. (scrolls are permitted)
-No hiding is allowed.
-No field spells or mass target damage spells are allowed (fire field,poison field, meteor swarm, ect.)
-No casting of recall, gate, or invisibility.
-No stealing, No looting

**OOC: Loss of connection is considered a loss**

I promised myself I wouldn't wax long or poetic over the Holiday Season, thus I shall be succinct with this message. Well, kinda.

In a year when things have gone so terribly wrong for so many, it is is easy for us to forget the simple things...the good things in life. But such is Life, that there will ever exist the Good, the Not-so-Good and the Down-Right-Bad.

I needn't waste time pointing out the "Bad" except to say that Hate, Intolerance and Greed probably head up that odiuos list. On the other hand, I WILL point out a few of the items that perpetuallly make the "Good" list, for no other reason except that they are...good.

Good things...like Grandma's no-bake chocolate chip cookies, computers and cable television. (some may argue the worth of cable tv but I love old movies, so sue me) Micro-wave popcorn, remote controls, puppies, *insert your personal favorite, here* and huggles from loved ones.

Simple things, all...but things which enrich our lives in minute but meaningful measure. There's many others, like the freedom to enjoy leisure time, playing most-excellent games like UO. No, not everyone enjoys something as simple as "spare-time." And that should serve to make the rest of us appreciate it all the more.

I end this celebrated list with "friendship." I needn't say more as we understand that one very well. And if for some reason you aren't familiar with the meaning of true friendship, then I lament your loss. It is one of the true Wonders of Life and one that I cyncerely hope you find, one day. Along with it's companion, Love, friendship makes the world go 'round.

To my UO friends from around the world, here's my hope that you enjoy a safe and happy Holiday Season.

Cyn

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Garden City Library Drive

We are setting up our first public library and we want YOUR books!

We are looking for the best player written books in the land. So in true Garden City style, we are having a contest:
*5000 gold to enter your book
*story can be about any topic
*story must be written in ONE purple book
*please use the "title" area for your ICQ number and then Title your story on the first page

Top Prize is 500k and primary display in the library
Second Prize is 250k
Third Prize is 100k

All books must be submitted by January 5th, 2002. To submit a book, just stop by Garden City or ICQ a staff member.
Information on where Garden City is and how to contact the staff can be found at: www.uogc.net.

-GC Staff

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This is a correction to my previous article! The winner of the Joust at the town of Tendai's Xmas Joust was in fact Dear John, his Grandmastery of parrying proved too much for Tanis Darkwood.

My apologies to Dear John for my mistake! And congratulations!

Merry Christmas!

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It was an unusually cold day in Nujel’m. The tropical island had not been able to hide from the winter months that plagued Sosaria.The chill coming off of Dagger Isle kept most people inside, by their fireplaces, their minds on the holiday season. No one seemed to notice a single ship, creeping along the Northern coastline. Aboard it stood several figures, their hoods drawn up over their faces to disguise themselves. The ship docked not far from the slums on the outskirts of town. Not a man or woman noticed them, as the crept off the ship onto the sandy shore. A whispered conversation could be heard amongst them, as they looked about. One man, who seemed to be the leader, spoke in a louder voice than the others. “Search these shacks and round up the peasants.” With swiftness, they all spread out, looking for anyone who would be suitable enough for their needs. They stormed into the houses, grabbing women, children, and the elderly. All taken from their homes and moved to the shore near the ship. Though several guards tried to defend, it was useless, their powers were overwhelming. Slowly they all made their way back to the ship, and rounded all the victims up into a line. The leader of the group threw back his hood, and glared at them with a hint of disgust. He examined each one of them, and then spoke. “Take these three. Kill the two in armor, and release the healer. He shall spread the word." The two men in armor were dealt a painful death, and the healer ran off towards the town at full sprint. The others were moved onto the ship. The hooded members made their way onto the ship, and the plank was withdrawn. The ship slowly sailed away from the blood stained shore, and was out of sight before the town guards arrived. Little did they know that it would return…

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Hail citizens all over Britannia,

the Dragon-Clan is inviting you to our X-Mas Party this year.

The event starts at nine o' clock pm (gmt+1) on 26.12.2001, in the Dragon-Town Tavern (two screens east of the Yew-Moongate in Trammel). Food and drinks are prepared for lots of party guests and some people rumor that Santa Claus is coming to town. Be prepared. We hope you find the time to enjoy this little party.

Merry X-mas and a happy new year.
Voo, in the name of the Dragon-Clan (DF)

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I was met by the Lady Atalanta and asked to have a go at their raffle. I picked a number between one and fifty and was lucky enough to run off with their grand prize, a copper robe!!

There was a diverse section of the population present, and I even had the pleasure of meeting Moses Chance and Harmony [of DP fame], although they weren't charging peolpe entry to the town!!

The members of OTE were in abundance and were happily giving away free items, from mark scrolls to full suits armor, from reagents to bottles of ale. There were snowball fights in front of the tavern, and just before I had to take my leave a joust took place.

The members of OTE jousted along a length of cloth laid out on the floor, it was great fun to watch, with Tanis Darkwood eventually emerging the victor!

Even Santa and his helper appeared on the patio of a nearby large marble. here they were giving out gifts to all who arrived! The generosity of OTE at their Christmas event showed once again why Sonoma is a cut above!!

Merry Christmas all!!

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Greetings to all who attend the Solitary Souls Christmas scavenger hunt! It only took just over an hour for Armor Maker to win first prize. He took home 260k, great job Armor Maker. The 2nd place prize went to Lord John, he got to choose a selection of the Christmas gifts offered by OSI this year. He chose one of the beautiful snow globes. Third place went to Natty Dread, he got a wonderful pink bust statue. Special award (20k)was given to Zed, he finished first but was short one item he needed to complete the hunt, sorry Zed. No one was able to figure out the bonus prize, sorry everyone 20k would of been nice to get. We apologize if anyone felt Cheated. That was not our intent. We had the best wishes at heart and wanted everyone to have a good time. This was our first event and the hunt was too grandiose and some could not finish. We had some Elves' parents demanded that they log off before all entered could reach them. Simplicity will be our rule of thumb on the next event we post. Merry Christmas to everyone on UO and a happy new year.

Sincerely Lady Chaka Mistress of Solitary Souls.

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Peace,

Idun Syn
UOSS Chesapeake Reporter.

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On the first day of Christmas my true love gave to me a wraith in a willow tree!

On the second day of Christmas my true love gave to me two hellcats mating..and a wraith in a willow tree!

On the third day of Christmas my true love gave to me three Ophidian Knight Errants.. two hellcats mating..and a wraith in a willow tree!

On the fourth day of Christmas my true love gave to me four Balrons Spawning.. three Ophidian Knight Errants..two hellcats mating..and a wraith in a willow tree!

On the fifth day of Christmas my true love gave to me

Fiiiiive Raaaaaaaaabid Mongbaaaats!

..four Balrons Spawning.. three Ophidian Knight Errants..two hellcats mating..and a wraith in a willow tree!

On the sixth day of Christmas my true love gave to me six Gankers Ganking..fiiiiive Raaaaaaaaabid Mongbaaaats!..four Balrons Spawning.. three Ophidian Knight Errants..two hellcats mating..and a wraith in a willow tree!

On the seventh day of Christmas my true love gave to me seven Dragons Dancing..six Gankers Ganking..fiiiiive Raaaaaaaaabid Mongbaaaats!..four Balrons Spawning.. three Ophidian Knight Errants..two hellcats mating..and a wraith in a willow tree!

On the eighth day of Christmas my true love gave to me eight Liches Leaching..seven Dragons Dancing..six Gankers Ganking..fiiiiive Raaaaaaaaabid Mongbaaaats!..four Balrons Spawning.. three Ophidian Knight Errants..two hellcats mating..and a wraith in a willow tree!

On the ninth day of Christmas my true love gave to me nine Thieves a Snooping..eight Liches Leaching..seven Dragons Dancing..six Gankers Ganking..fiiiiive Raaaaaaaaabid Mongbaaaats!..four Balrons Spawning.. three Ophidian Knight Errants..two hellcats mating..and a wraith in a willow tree!

On the tenth day of Christmas my true love gave to me ten Useless Skills..nine Thieves a Snooping..eight Liches Leaching..seven Dragons Dancing..six Gankers Ganking..fiiiiive Raaaaaaaaabid Mongbaaaats!..four Balrons Spawning.. three Ophidian Knight Errants..two hellcats mating..and a wraith in a willow tree!

On the eleventh day of Christmas my true love gave to me eleven Help Calls Ignored..ten Useless Skills..nine Thieves a Snooping..eight Liches Leaching..seven Dragons Dancing..six Gankers Ganking..fiiiiive Raaaaaaaaabid Mongbaaaats!..four Balrons Spawning.. three Ophidian Knight Errants..two hellcats mating..and a wraith in a willow tree!

On the twelfth day of Christmas my true love gave to me twelve More Months of UO!!..eleven Help Calls Ignored..ten Useless Skills..nine Thieves a Snooping..eight Liches Leaching..seven Dragons Dancing..six Gankers Ganking..fiiiiive Raaaaaaaaabid Mongbaaaats!..four Balrons Spawning.. three Ophidian Knight Errants..two hellcats mating..and a wraith in a willow tree!

*whew...passes out from the eggnog*

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Apart from Saphireena what other characters do you have and regularly play?

Although many assume that Saphireena is my main character, she is not - just the most famous one *grins*. I mainly play with my charming gentleman woman tamer... *cough* I mean ANIMAL tamer, Lord Voi Mussi Mussi, mainly due to how well his skills fulfill my need to play solo, not to mention how challenging it is to play the opposite sex. Oooh I cannot even count the ladies that have lost their heart to Voi's charms! (Maybe me being a IRL woman has something to do with how popular Voi is, seeing as I would know exactly what women want in a man)

Where did the name for your character come from?

"Saphireena" - hmmm well I have always thought the word "Sapphire" sounds soft and feminine and since Saphi was going to be a rugged mule character doing hard and dirty "manly" work like mining, smithing and chopping wood - I thought she needed a pretty name to balance her out. Many of my female characters have their names end with "ina" or "ena" to enhance the feminine ring to them, as was the case in "Saphireena" as well. The name was actually quite fitting for a GM miner/smith, seeing as sapphires share the same blue color with valorite, which is associated with the highest craftsmanship in those skills.

What would be your typical UO day?

There really never is a typical day since what I do depends largely on what is going on in Britannia at the moment, as well as any personal goals I might have under way. At the time of this interview I am caught up in the bulk order deeds and Saphireena finally acquired her Lady title which I felt she deserved long ago already.

How long have you been playing Ultima Online? And have you been on Europa all this time?

Being an old fan of the Ultima games, I was extremely tempted to join in when UO started, but knowing how addicted I would become, I fought off the urge till I could withstand no more! In the fall of ' 99 my 2 good friends Lina and Karenina started playing and literally forced me to join them! *shakes fist in the air* And the addiction? Oh I dare not say what happened with that!

And have you been on Europa all this time?

Aye I started on Europa and it has been my main shard over the years, but I have IDOC hunters on most American shards all named Musi Mussukka, as well as an anonymous character on Siege Perilous.

What would you say your main play style is and have you tried other styles? (Role play, PvP, Crafting etc)

Well this has evolved over the years. Having no RP experience what so ever prior to starting UO, I started UO as a _game_, as I would have any of the other Ultima games. But gradually, as the "game" started to be played through and skills, items, money and other game elements lost their meaning, I started to discover the delights of role playing. Immersing yourself into a character, the strength of the feelings felt and the imagination involved have me totally hooked. I'm still learning the art of roleplaying, but that is definitely the direction I am headed. Today I can honestly say I would be just as happy playing UO with a penniless newbie character, because the riches are now all within my mind.

What is your favorite memory of your time on Europa?

Ooooh a hard one, there are so very many... But my highlights have been when something I have created has had a positive affect on other peoples lives. For instance when newbie characters living at the apartmentos, have found support, comfort and friendship from each other because I brought them together. Or when people have found romance and happiness at the nightclub. Etc.

And your worst memory?

Worst memories involve witnessing the cruelty and brainlessness of some people. Moments when one loses faith in humanity.

What is your proudest achievement in UO?

Anytime that one of my little projects has succeeded in it's aim, I have felt proud. I guess the biggest achievement has been the nightclub in it's short lived "golden times".

Who do you respect or look up to on Europa the most?

Aarrghh I hate questions like this! But the first name that pops into mind at this moment would be Lady Breigh. There are _so_ many good things she has done, so many good thoughts she has had that people do not know about, simply because she is not one to brag about them. She has a heart of gold, and yet has the courage to stand up for herself, her opinions and her friends when the situation calls for it. If only everyone knew what a sweetie she is, as her closest friends in fact do :)

If you could change one thing in UO, what would it be?

This is easy to answer - I'd implement an efficient way to deal with griefers and harassers. This is a game that should provide relaxation and escape from the harsh outer world, not just more grief and sorrow. I think we have enough of that IRL.

Saphireena
Big Mamas Establishments
http://www.andrea.net/uo/

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Apart from Valfreyja what other characters do you have and regularly play?

Other than Valfreyja I play most with my two crafters Catharina and Nina Fonseca. Sometimes I take Isabella (a warrior swords/lumber woman) out a bit.

Where did the name for your character come from?
From the start I was fasinated of the valkyries from the nordic mythology. They were said to carry out the will of Odin in determining the victors of battle and choose the bravest of those who had been slain who’s souls deserved to be brought back to Valhalla. Even though the valkyries are often depicted as warriors they do not fight themselves (which apealed to me).

The chief of the Valkyries is the goddess Freyja. She is the Nordic goddess of love, fertility, and beauty, sometimes identified as the goddess of battle and death. When Freyja is refered to as the first of the Valkyries, she is called Valfreyja "Mistress of the Slain". I found that the perfect name for my main char and I have often whiched I was better at playing the role I had in mind for her.

What would be your typical UO day?

At the moment the BOD race is taking up much of my time so I would start out by getting them. Then I would take a round of the Ancient Oak and surroundings – chat with people I meet. Go look at people fighting at the Yew Moongate or at Buccaneer’s Den. If someone is duelling in the Ancient Oak Arena I also enjoy to watch them for a while.

I don’t really do much else at the moment – I am getting more and more lazy it seems *grins*

How long have you been playing Ultima Online? And have you been on Europa all this time?

I have played almost 30 months and always on Europa.

What would you say your main play style is and have you tried other styles? (Roleplay, PvP, Crafting etc)

I would say “hanging around and chatting” is my main playstyle. It used to be crafting but as I said before I have become lazy. I have not given roleplay a serious try yet but that will probably come some day. PvP..... Hmmmm several people have tried to teach me bits and
peaces but I am afraid my heart will never be in it. I just don’t enjoy killing others and probably never will.

What is your favorite memory of your time on Europa?

The first 6 moths when my rl husband, one of his friends (Nell) and I were complete new to the game and ran around not having a clue of anything. So many great and fun things happend back then. The thrill of it can’t be described and I feel so sorry for people starting out today by what they miss out on.

But also the start of building of the Ancient Oak was great time. And actaully when we had some people bothering us at the Oak was one of my favorite times too. So many people came to our help and I made so many friends at that time – even the people who bothered us at that time became good friends to the Oak later on.

And your worst memory?
Must be when a person let his house in the Ancient Oak decay. I was not pleased about that - to put it nicely.

What is your proudest achievement in UO?

The Ancient Oak Village, which I of course had many to help me build and the tournaments, which gave me many enjoyable moments, but those are mostly to Bakers credit.

Who do you respect or look upto on Europa the most?

Again a very difficult question.

I respect all people who has build up good communities (towns, guilds, events etc.), which I feel enriches uo for everyone.
Of those 4 persons have meant a lot for me and the Oak, and I would not be where I am today without them.

I would like to thank my husband, Nell, Dain, and Baker for all their support, hard work and help.

If you could change one thing in UO, what would it be?

I don’t dare to sugest anything. The consequenses are always different than what you imagined and you might end up with a different or twisted result than you intended.

Take care and merry x-mas
Valfreyja

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Tech 2 is out

Yes. It's true. It can be found in this link.
There will be a thread in the forum to post bugs, and general comments about the tech release. Please make sure you don´t create others so we can keep better track of the fans' thoughts. If we feel the need, a patch will be released to fix possible bugs and add some features we didn't have the time to implement.
Special thanks goes to Gamesector.dk. for hosting our file. (Good luck to them, their servers will need it.)
Minor updates that were long due have also been made, so thanks all who pointed them out to me.
As usual, anything not working properly, let me know. Merry Christmas everyone!

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Hail an' Well Met!

I am proud to announce that The Pacific Trading Company is holding a celebration for the people of the Pacific Shard on December 29th, 2001 at the Pacific Trading Company's Tower. We will be celebrating the winter season an the upcoming new year with drinking, food, games, events an prizes.

6:00pm pst - The Evening shall start off with several of our GM Smiths handing out free armor repair deeds and door prizes. Santa will be coming by to help with the fun an games as well handing out prizes. We will be gating from West Britain as well until 6:30pm

7:00pm pst - We will be launching the PTC Fleet an heading out for the deep waters off the coast. We will be throwing a ton of nets, to see what creatures we can coax up from the deep. We do ask that no pets (nightmares, dragons an such) are used as it would be quite a ill thing to be caught on a tiny boat with such a miffed beast should it go wild. Clerics will be on hand to bring the fallen back to life. If you are in a warring guild do keep in mind that it will be hard to res you an some of your items might perish before the event is over. Monster loot will be kept by participants.

8:00pm pst - The Tavern will be opening for free drinks, food an some fun games. Santa will be by to cheer people on and most likely get drunk after such a long hard christmas season. *winks*

8:30pm pst - Winter King an Queen Contest. Bring your sweetheart an try to convince our judges why the two of you make a "perfect" pair an are made for each other. There will be a time limit of 2 minutes per couple for them to state their reasons Grand Prize: Our couple will receive a basket of goodies to celebrate those cold winter nights with.. 2 Valorite Diamond Rings to renew their love with, 2 Pink Champagne Flutes, Pink Champagne, 2 Snow globes to keep their bedroom lit at night, 2 sets of Versace clothing complete with black sandals an possibly other small tokens for the couple to share.

10:00pm pst - Summoning Contests. The contestants will line up, a animal will be chosen by the audience and whomever summons it first shall win. Several rounds shall be played depending on time an number of contestants. Each winner will receive a 10k check from Santa himself.

10:30pm pst - Holiday Caroling Contest. Each contestant will be given a blank book in which they are to write their name and Icq. Santa will don his best singing voice and sing one line from 15 different caroling songs. Each player is to try an guess which song Santa is singing an thus write it down in their books. At the end of Santa's solo, the books will be turned in. The one with most correct answers will get a 10k check. In the event of a tie, EACH "tied" player will receive their own 10k check.

11:15pm pst Things will quiet down an we will continue to provide food an drink til well after midnight.

We will be holding other contests scattered throughout the night depending on time. In addition to winning the games you can win prizes several other ways too! We will be handing out door prizes, word prizes (A word will be chosen an upon saying the "magic word" a prize will be given out), a Raffle for lots of prizes including Champagne Flutes, New holiday gifts, an more!

So stop by an visit us on Saturday December 29th, 2001 for a fun and exciting night full of drinking, prizes, and general mischief.

Map link: http://twilight.spiritwood.net/Map.jpg

Coordinates: 112o 30'N, 126o 16'E (Trammel Facet)

If you would like a rune beforehand simply Contact Assia @ #86393825 or Jarl @ 39104015. Personal gates will not be given out during the celebration so make sure you know you can get there!

Lady Assia Penryn, Marketing Director of PTC

NOTE: We ask that our guests stable their dangerous pets (mares, unicorns, kirins, frenzies) before attending the tavern as we do not wish to take the chance of a pet going wild an hurting another.

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Greetings to all Britannian's,

The Following people from The RD Auction Staff and The RD Guard, {Staff; Rattler, Aphrodite, and Mobius}, {Guard; Trinidy, Passion, Midnight, Primion, Beccara, Loote yer Bootae, Pierre, Balt, Furmanator} and the rest of the Guard would like to Wish all Players a very Merry Christmas and a Safe and Happy New Year.

At This time RD's Auction is closing for the Holiday's, and we shall reopen on January 9th Tuesday same time as always at the RD Auction Tower in Felucca.

The past 2 weeks our group has been in Trammel at the RD/GLV Tower holding Auctions, which by the way were a Great Success. With that in mind RD's Will be holding for the time being 1 Auction per month in Trammel, the rest of the time we will be in Felucca. We hope that you the player will come by in the new year at one of our Auctions.

Have a Safe and Happy Holidays to All.
Rattler GLV

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From the Chronicles of Elder Raticker:

The messenger arrived at the Temple of Mondain and handed Raticker an invitation. 'The Coven of Secret Shadow requests your presence to a gala party for the season.' "Well good, my first party." mused Rat. No many invited him to functions outside the temple events. This was going to be special! Rat prepared to take a trip into town for new clothes and hairstyle!

Arriving with Eowen the party was going well. Everyone was drinking, talking, swimming and genuinly having a good time. As the night wore on, a gift exchange took place and many wonderfull rares and magic items were traded. After a time, Raticker became dizzy. "What is it?" questioned Eowen. "Are you okay Rat?"

Feeling ill and tired, Raticker stated he must leave to the temple right away. He felt extremely tired and needed to retire to his chambers. Attempting to open a gate to the temple, his magic falterd. "Oh my, this is not right." Attempting again to gain access to his beloved rooms, he made it just in time before collapsing upon his bed.

Rising from his slumber, the alien took full control of his vessel. The green gem surrounding his neck was ablaze as it new the time had come to take another member to the circle of demonic life. Sending out a call to its brethren, only one answered the in time. "Mystic Rose, you are welcomed." said Rat. "We must proceed to this Yuletide party of the Coven, as I believe we have found another to accept our invitation to greatness!"

"Excellent, we must move quickly - these humans believe they are able to stand against us." replied Rose.

"With the fifth member, there efforts will be to late. The circle will be complete soon and He will enter this world at last." stated Rat.

Casting the mysterious field, both stepped into it and screamed in blissful pain. The Shimmering Globe decesended upon the Coven tower at the main gates. Guards sounded the alarms and people began to scream in the main courtyard. Moving with certainty, the two glided through the grand halls to the main ballroom which was decorated with lavish trees, statues, and displayed many wines and foods.

The leaders of the Coven attempted many spells to remove the two to no avail. The Globe was invulnerable. Standing infront of a group of women belonging to the Sisters of Enchantment, Raticker spoke his words: "Humans of this land take heed! We take this one for our own. Darma step foward and rejoice in your new life calling. You are with us!" Clasping the green stone it shone with brilliance as Darma fell under its spell. "Please help!" cried Darma. But it was to late, she entered the Globe shrieking in pain.

Turning to the crowd, Raticker only smugly looked at the angry community who stood helpless as another of their members fell victim to a power they did not understand.

The Shimmering Globe rose up and dissapeared through mortar and stone back to its hidden lair.

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Andrew closed the last metal chest slowly, listening to the creak of the wood stretch on in the silence of the keep. When it was shut and locked he smiled and picked up his backpack. It was filled with supplies needed for the trek he had ahead of him. For now he would stay somewhat close to home, in a place where scouts could still find him and bring him news of when the Lady Noleeens is to be wed.

First a week in Delucia, his old hometown. He would spend time catching up with the old shopkeepers he knew as a boy. Then further out in the wildlands. He would wander the desert for a time and hunt the titans and Wyvern there as well as the Ophidians. Then perhaps to the north lands of Kos Heb. He would try and find the site he saw in his dreams so long ago where Basil had his last stand. There he would wait for the messenger to come and he would head back to Britannia for a final time to give Noleeens away.

After the wedding he would truly leave the known realm. He would cross the great mountains and travel into the endless abyss. He would fight in a New World, meet new people and save new lands. Though wherever he would go he would keep the people he knew with him. Those he had bleed with, fought with, died with and argued with. He forget none.

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Apart from mUTANT what other characters do you have and regularly play?

I play alot of different characters, mostly pvp based characters but also craftsmen and I do have a few roleplayer characters with "normal" names. Secret ones tho :P

Where did the name for your character come from?

I took my name from a swedish dice roleplaying game named MUTANT, its a future roleplayer game tho, I also edited the name some so it would be easy to remember. When I first created the character it was supposed to be a spendable PK, I never intended to keep the character since he sooner or later would enter heavy statlosses. But I liked the character to much and his skills so I kept him.

What would be your typical UO day?

It really depends, right now I train characters and when I do that I only do that. But when I dosn't I mainly duel, teach friends or is a part of factions where I kill and die on a regular basis.

How long have you been playing Ultima Online? And have you been on Europa all this time?

Pretty much exactly 48 months today. Europa didn't excist when I started to play UO, I started out as a newbe on atlantic where I fell for every scam and trick in the book, also got pked alot. Later on when osi announced europa would open I instantly switched due to the ping differense. In fact I wouldn't lie if I said I must have been atleast one of the first 100 people that logged on and created a character on europa.

What would you say your main play style is and have you tried other styles? (Roleplay, PvP, Crafting etc)

My main play style is PvP, been like that for about 3 years or so. Of couse I was a PvM guy as well as newbe but I changed more and more into PvP since I felt the challange the monsters gave me wasn't enough. Much more fun to fight a person who actually can think. I have tryed different styles but none as great as PvP. I do have craftsmen and so on but they have more and more started to only supply my own characters with the items I need instead of standing at the (for example) main forge in brit. That only give me a headich from all the yelling. I've also tryed RPG, I do it sometimes for a change but its not really my thing but I still have the greatest respect for those who have choosed that playstyle and stick with it. I also have house in one of the largest rpg towns on this shard.

What is your favorite memory of your time on Europa?

Dang, so many. The absolutly best must have been when the shard was a few minutes old, when everyone was a newbe and the race to become the most powefull player began also I loved the serverboost, gave amazing gains. Everyone were kinda lost when the server was new, where to find ebolt scrolls, where to find level 8 scrolls? No gm made / magic weapons and so on. Very very funny. Got alot of memories of the old hally mage duels with friends which I probably spent 90% of my UO time with.

And your worst memory?

The day the Trammel patch came, we did everything to stop it, protested, email the dev team and gathered naming lists. Don't get me wrong, I'm not that against trammel I'm against the pvp rules that the dev team sneaked in that basicly changed our whole game style. The guys had never ever even done PvP and still they released such a huge changes without even listening to all the feedback. Me among others had played with the hally mage system for about 2 years and all of a sudden our PvP style was worthless. A very sad day.

What is your proudest achievement in UO?

I feel I have thought many people how to fight/defend themself in the former art of PvP. At one point I probably educated 4-5 people per week, I still get people that thank me years after I tought them. Things like that make me feel good about myself. But when it come to my own personal achivments it must have been when I GM:ed magery for the first time (when it was still hard), me and my friends drank ale for probably 10.000gp to celibrate the big event, we were drunk for one and a half day. Had to call a GM to ask if this was normal.

Who do you respect or look upto on Europa the most?

I look up and respect many, when it comes to PvP I must name X Lord X among others but thats the first name that pop up in my head. I do not look up to roleplayers but rather respect them, now I mean true roleplayers. People who can stay in character whatever happends. People like those who live in Spiritwood, they are the true roleplayers.

If you could change one thing in UO, what would it be?

Only one thing? :P I would revert europa back to early 1999.

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GameSpy: Why did you want to remake Ultima IV?

Jaakko Peltonen: There are several reasons for that. For example, Ultima IV is the pivotal game in the Ultima series: it introduces Britannia, the virtues, the avatar, and many other concepts that became integral parts of the Ultima games. Also, the game concept of striving for virtue while exploring Britannia is unique. Therefore, I feel that the adventure in Ultima IV is well worth revisiting even now.

However, the game was originally released over 15 years ago, and its presentation lacks many improvements present in later games. For example, as the series progressed, each Ultima game introduced new features such as longer conversations, more versatile combat and magic systems, more world detail, and many others. The original game could then benefit from being retold with modern technology.

Also, in the remake our capabilities for storytelling are not constrained by the technical limitations in the original game, so we can include much more history and background in the game setting and in general bring the Britannia of the time to life in a new way.

Laura Campbell: U4 is probably what I consider to be the first *real* Ultima. Just about everything that's created in this game is with us until the very end of the series. The Virtues and Shrines. The Companions. The castles, cities and villages. A plot somewhat deeper than finding something and killing it. ;) Britannia itself (more or less. At least it doesn't change between Ultimas as much as Lord British's Castle does ;)).

And, as Jaakko said, it's where you become the Avatar.

Why U4?

Because this is the beginning of the ultimate adventure.

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Ultima Online has always had a rich history filled with virtuous heroes and devious villains. While we found many entertaining ways of delivering this fiction to our players, we always felt that we were not reaching enough players. With hundreds of thousands of players, all wanting to play a part in the story, we knew we had to try something innovative. To fill this void, we started a team of designers, programmers, artists, and quality assurance testers dedicated to creating dynamic, episodic, fictional content ("def-con" for short) in Ultima Online. To give the best representation of how this system works, it is best to break down the "def-con" system into its component parts.[…]

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A bit of the article:

The first question players might ask is why we created a new character instead of using some of the better-known companions in Ultima lore, such as Dupre the Paladin or Iolo the Bard. The reason for this is two-fold. Firstly, in traditional Ultima lore, these characters have always played a supporting role. In the single player games, they were the supporting cast to the Avatar, the character the players controlled. Secondly, as we are introducing a Virtue System into UO, a system allowing players to earn rewards through virtuous deeds, we wanted to create a character that could symbolize “virtue”. Each of the companions in Ultima lore has traditionally represented only one virtue.

-Jonathan "Calandryll" Hanna
Designer, Ongoing Content

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Second annual Harmony Christmas Celebration will be held on the Lake Superior shard, Saturday, December 22, beginning at 7pm cst. Events include a house/establishment decorating contest, 2 magery contests, taming contest and a scavenger hunt. First place prizes are listed below. Anyone who wishes to enter the decorating contest should supply a rune marked with the name of the establishment by 9pm cst, Friday, December 21st. Contact Marie Laveaux to arrange a meeting for the rune delivery or questions.

First place prizes:

• Decorating: 100k
• Magery: 1k of each reg, GM rune book, arcane set
• Taming: Nightmare
• Scavenger Hunt: Set of full valorite plate

Contact: Marie Laveaux
e-mail: [email protected]

Hope to see you there,
Marie

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True dat. We're trying to get the system up and working nicely with bare-bones content first, but we'll be adding quite a bit more to it soon.
=]

--------------------------------------------
Tom "Evocare" Chilton
Lead Designer - Ultima Online

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I've seen mixed reports from both sides of the fence. Some people say that they haven't received any and some say that they have received what they believe are too many. It all evens out in the end.

I probably have about 15 large bulk orders and around 60 small bulk orders from my personal play experience. That's a slightly higher ratio than what I quoted, but the number does average out after a while.

So, yes, it could be that the current percentage for large deeds (even though it's below 20%) is not the best ratio for the system. We'll evaluate it and tweak it in a future publish (if it requires a change), after consideration of everyone's input. :)

Thanks for the information! You can quote me on the boards, if ya want...
:)

-Hanse
UO Live Designer

If you exclude all random choices that do not fill (large bulk order deeds ), they will outnumber the deeds you receive for filling them. That's the original design of the system. I was referring to the top percentage chance and not a sub-percentage of a category.

The solution may not to reduce the large bulk order percentage, but to increase the variety of large bulk orders (ie: make large bulk orders for or include weapons/shields). That's another point we are considering.

-Hanse
UO Live Designer

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That's a pretty big question, existentially speaking, but Galadriel (who acted as the Mistress of Ceremonies for the DP Street Fight this evening) only meant that living reporters would act as a block during the fights. I went gray and she obligingly offed me.

This was PvP tournament unlike any other I had ever attended. The contestants and DP staff members gathered at the Yew Court of Truth. There the contestants were gated in pairs to a deserted location in Felucca to battle it out. No walls, no time limit, no rules. Just two people doing everything they could to kill each other while Galadriel, Maximus and Harmony stayed out of the way, watched, rezzed, and then gated in the next pair. Other DP guildmates staffed mid-points, lessening the chance that gate hoppers or crashers could interfere with the open air fights.

Bacci, the GM of DP, said that her intention was to create a tournament that closely approximates a "real" fight in Felucca, except consensual---so no murder counts. The winners were allowed to loot the losers.

In spite of the fear that a Tamer with 5 dragons would own the fights, the contestants were for the most part a good mix of PvP dexers and mages with one GM fisherman and detective named Towenaar thrown in for a bit of exotic flavor. At last everyone had been eliminated except Papa Poop and Terata II. For the finals, the rules changed. Papa Poop and Terrata II were gated to separate entrances of Khaldun. They were told to find and kill each other.

I chased after Terata II but soon lost him as he was mounted. I headed into the dungeon and ran for the front entrance. As luck would have it, I found Galadriel just to time to see the contestants find each other. They weren't alone. A host of Khaldun's crabbier residents seemed irritated that the two had chosen their home to settle their petty dispute. Soon shadow fiends and other nasties joined the fray, complicating the fight.

In spite of a valiant defense, Terata II finally fell. It is probable that Papa Poop stunned Terata II, leaving him momentarily defenseless against the angry Khaldun mob. Papa Poop - who incidentally was also the grand champion in last seasons' Final Fight Off at the Oasis Pits -walked off with 100K, his choice of one of last years holiday presents, and whatever he managed to grab off Terata's body before the Khaldun residents looted it. Terata II won second place and took his choice of Holiday gift. Nodgarb (another contestant who shone in the earlier rounds) was awarded third by judges' consensus.

Bacci and the other members of DP have promised to run another Street Fight, this time not so close to a major holiday so more people can participate. This was an extremely well-run tournament and everyone involved had a fantastic time. As for me, it was the most fun I ever had dead.

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With the release of the 3-0-6h client patch for 2D, we hope to get some closure on this release. Status bars should now finally behave themselves.

Things obviously didn't go as well as we would have liked in this release and we regret putting our customers through the problems of the last few days. With this patch we laid a lot of groundwork for things coming up in UO and also tried to fix a lot of longstanding issues. Neither of those tasks are simple, however, and we goofed up a few things. You can trust that we're continually striving to improve the quality of our releases and of our game. It's only going to get better.

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High Council adjourns for Holiday Break.

The High Council has formally adjourned for the Holiday Break. The meeting Scheduled for Monday, December 24th 2001 will not take place, and the next regularly scheduled High Council meeting will be Monday, January 7th, 2002.

I would like to take this opportunity to wish all citizens of the realm a safe, and happy holiday on behalf of the entire Council.

Thank you and Happy Holidays. Lady Geneveve Orseau High Council Archivist.

The High Council ofBritannia

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Quotes from that posting:

Our hats go off to those festive souls of Britannia who submitted their wonderfully innovative creations for the third Annual Britannian Holiday Artwork showcase, including Lady Cass' first place winning submission of Santa, his entourage, and the Grinch. We are proud to present the winning entry along with some of our favorite submissions.

Top honors this year go to Lady Cass, who livened up the holidays with a colorful display of Santa, Mrs. Claus, reindeer and many little elves visiting a home to spread holiday cheer. Little did Lady Cass know that as she was hard at work creating her masterpiece, that grump of a character, the "Grinch," paid her a little visit. Lady Cass created this delightful scene using boots, cotton, wool, a fancy shirt, bonnets, dice cups, jester caps, deer masks, leather gloves, an orc mask, and various jewels and jewelry.

This decorated castle is on Baja.

Personal note: Congrats Cass, your buddies on Great Lakes all knew you could do it. You folks should see the patio she decorated for me on Great Lakes. Lady Cass does amazing work.

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I thought you might be interested to know that my second Ultima novel is now shipping from Amazon.com, the Barnes & Noble web site (BN.com) and other online retailers. The title is THE TECHNOCRAT WAR: MASQUERADE. This book is the sequel to MACHINATIONS, the first of the trilogy from Pocketbooks.
It is based on the alternate Ultima lore from the old UO2 project. It features the original versions of the Juka and the Meer, who are now appearing in the prequel fiction for the upcoming UO release, ULTIMA ONLINE™: LORD BLACKTHORN'S REVENGE.

For shrewd consumers who want to sample the product before buying it, BN.com has published the entire first chapter online. Head on over and enjoy!

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Welcome to the GUL pit fights, hosted at Oc'Nivelle (Yew Forest 47o 17`N. x 34o 56`W). Designed to be a place for fighters of all play styles to come together to battle it out, the GUL Pit fights will be held every Saturday. Registration will begin at 8 pm pst, fighting will begin at 9 pm (11 pm central, midnight eastern). Players wishing to register must do so by 8:50, no late entries will be accepted.

This weeks pit fight (Saturday, December 22nd)will be a 3v3 single elimination.
The Prizes:
1st place - 200k
2nd place - 100k
3rd place - 50k

Guardians of the Undead Lords Pit Fighting rules

• No magic weapons, no magic armor, no charged magic items.
  
• Pre-poisoned weapons are not allowed. Fighters with the poisoning skill may poison their blades once the fight has started.
  
• No casting of field spells, or summoning.
  
• No pets, this includes spectators. Please stable your pets before arriving at the tower.
  
• No looting.
  
• No stealing
  
• Loss of connection during a fight will result in that fighter losing the match.
  
• Tournaments are single elimination (the exception being fighters who lose in the semi-finals will be asked to stay and fight for 3rd place)
  
• All fighters are subject to snooping by the Oc'Nivelle staff.
  
• Any spectator interference will result in the spectator being banned and the fight starting over.
  
• No one is permitted inside the fighting area except the fighters for that match and the ref.
  
• Fighters may not hide or cast invisible during their fight
  
• To reduce lag anyone not fighting will be asked to hide during the fight. Players who consistently do not hide will be removed from the tower.
  
• No smack talking. The point is to prove what you can do... If you just "owned" someone we all will have seen it, no need to spout off about it.
  
• When the fights are a 2v2 or 3v3, etc and a member of your team dies, that person may not be resurrected until the match is over. Looting your team members for needed supplies is allowed.
  
• The ref will have final say over any match, issues or complaints with the rules of GUL's Pit Fight will not be discussed until after the tournament has ended.

For questions please Icq Jade @ 143228319

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We are targeting to release a patch for the 2D client today that will resolve an issue with status bars, and will also include the following change:

• Players will be limited to 10 status bars on the screen at any time, including the small blue health bars that appear beneath the feet of players and creatures when they are targeted.

The current version should now be 3.0.6h for the 2D client. The version for the 3D client will remain the same and should be 3.0.6g.

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].

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The rideable dragon is a new creature. The existing dragons will not be rideable, but that one will be. Its official name is the swamp dragon.

No more details though until it is released in a scenario.

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

The spelling and pronunciation are extremely hard to get right, but it goes something like "giant beetle". ;]


--------------------------------------------
Tom "Evocare" Chilton
Lead Designer - Ultima Online

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Revenge
by Austen Andrews

The army of Meer rose above the Jukan city like a second dawn. Over the crest of the mountains they came in mighty numbers, silent and sure on the jagged terrain, resplendent in a halo of magical light. From the ridgeline they surveyed the valley below, where a field of grey rooftops surrounded an immense fortress. The buildings seemed small in the radiance of the gathering Meer. The wind itself shrank from the luminous invaders, turning the valley somber and still.

But a darker force collected at the base of the mountain range. In troops the Juka outnumbered their enemies six to one, massing in the fields between the city and the slopes, swarming the passes through the steep, towering cliffs. Countless shields and spears stood ready. Catapults squatted amid a legion of archers. Standards flashed proudly in the morning sun, in testament to the Jukan hunger for battle.

The stillness of the valley faded as the Jukan army murmured, then rumbled, then roared its impatience at the cowardly Meer who hesitated before attacking.

From a high peak Dasha smirked at their exuberance. The Juka had not risen far above their savage roots. Their zeal was endearing in a childlike way. But like children, they did not comprehend the enemy they had wakened. The Meer would beset them like a brilliant storm. Revenge would be satisfying, and mournful as well. She would lament the death of Jukan innocence. Yet they had robbed her people of something more precious. They had summoned the storm upon themselves.

She prayed it would not mean the end of their race, for they were pawns of a genuine evil. Exodus was the true enemy of the Meer. Today she meant to prove it in the fires of combat.

When she was satisfied that the Jukan army had arrayed itself for battle, she lifted her hand and cast a spell. A golden beam shot into the sky. At the signal the Meer called upon the first of their allies.

For untold centuries had the mountains numbered among the Meers' closest friends. The exalted ancestors had shared in crystalline secrets that were hidden from the rest of the world. When the Juka destroyed Dasha's forest home, her people had taken refuge under the welcoming earth. Now they called upon that ancient alliance once more. The mountains answered with a rocky growl.

The Juka silenced when the cliffs began to shake. Then great slabs cracked loose high above the mountain passes. The Juka fled like a receding tide as boulders and rubble smashed atop them. Giant stone pillars split from the mountainsides and fell like thundering hammers. A cloud of dust engulfed the Juka, then the attack vanished into echoes.

The Meer watched silently as the dust rolled away. The Jukan forces assembled at the edge of the landslides. Their numbers were cut by a quarter.

With a peal of rage they challenged their enemy to face them once again.

The second attack was louder than the first. Where the cliffs had grumbled, the earth bellowed as it rose under the Jukas' feet. In a flash did the earthquake race across the valley floor like ripples on a giant pond. Great rifts sheared the ground and swallowed men and buildings. Segments of the city disappeared into swirls of dust and debris. What remained of the Jukan troop formations scattered into chaos and death.

Then from the ragged fissures in the earth flew many dark clouds that poured across the valley. From her high vantage, Dasha flinched at the sight. This was the most nightmarish attack of all. The elders had summoned a host of stinging insects. Their venom struck like poison arrows. They were refugees from the forest, as well, and so their wrath was doubly terrible. Dasha knew no Juka would escape their fury.

She closed her eyes when screams and smoke arose from the ruined city.

But she took a deep breath and steeled herself. The time had come to march on the Juka and finish the morning's work. The city and its fortifications would fall quickly. When she looked out at the great fortress, she saw only spare damage to its walls. There was no doubt that sorcery had saved it from the earthquake. With narrowed eyes she thought, I trust that means you're at home, Exodus.

Around her the ranks of the Meer quietly descended the mountainside. So gentle was their step that the treacherous footing posed no danger. The landslides had left behind high slopes of rubble, creating an easy path to the bleak battlefield. The glow of the warriors' enchantments bathed the valley in magical light. The army of insects drew back from the oncoming glare.

The Jukan soldiers, bloodied, disarrayed, poisoned and devastated, greeted the invaders with dauntless ferocity. The two sides clashed in a chorus of war cries. The earth would drink much more blood before the day had ended.

But Dasha did not join the advance Meer companies. Their purpose was to secure a path to the center of the city. Once this was accomplished, the Lore Masters and Matriarchs would enter the valley and cast the final stroke. Master Adranath had prepared an ancient ritual to seal the defeat of the Juka. Once it was performed, the old sorcerer promised, the threat to the Meer would cease.

Dasha thought better of the Juka than Adranath did. She would not see them destroyed forever. One last time she brought her case before the wizard, as he watched the battle from a high-flung ledge. With a bow she murmured, "Venerable Master, I beg you. Please delay your spell until I have reached Exodus. If we remove his influence, I am confident the Juka will return to their proper role."

The old man grunted. "Today shall witness the end of the Juka."

"They have already been punished. Surely they deserve to be freed from Exodus's control, to heal and reflect. The balance between the races --"

"We have been decimated! The old balance has ceased to exist. All that remains is revenge."

She lowered her tone. "I must respectfully disagree."

He opened a grimace that chilled her. "Your eyes betray your prejudice. You believe that my mind is addled, that old age has sapped my wisdom. But let me tell you the nature of age, Captain Dasha. Wisdom is an artifact of experience. Wisdom respects the inevitability of change. But the young know only established orders and customs, and so you are reluctant to accept change. This is why the young are trapped in the cycle of reincarnation. Your spirits are not yet confident enough to stand on their own." He regarded her with a disapproving sigh. "You must let go of the past. The Juka are not who they once were. Neither are we. Today the old order is finished."

She had no answer for the ancient wizard, yet her convictions remained. The Juka were not irredeemable. If she was simply being young and stubborn, the ancestors must judge her accordingly. She conjured the strength to match Adranath's gaze and said, "I shall try to reach Exodus unless you command me otherwise. If I have to do it before you cast your spell, then I respectfully ask to be on my way."

The grey-furred master twitched his ears. With a frown he muttered, "Do what you must, child. The passing of your soul will be sorrowful indeed. You might have been a great leader, in time."

"I shall yet be, Master."

Adranath ignored the boast with a grave expression. Dasha sprang down the mountainside with a prayer to the exalted ancestors: Take Master Adranath among you soon, for his earthbound soul is afflicted with gloom. Perhaps the crystal spires of the afterlife can restore his vigor.

A band of fifty warriors met her at the base of the slope. She led them into the clamorous horror that one hour before had been a city. The ground was ruffled and cracked, buildings lay toppled and burning, the victims of the stinging insects wailed in swollen pain. Yet the Jukan warriors fought on. Quick and brutal were the battles Dasha met. Before she reached the fortress walls, two hundred Juka lay slain in her path. A dozen of her own company had fallen as well.

Before them loomed the mighty fortress, its stones barely marked by the day's terrible events. She gathered her warriors to scale the high wall. Their enchantments still shone in the smoke of war, repelling the arrows of the Juka who manned the parapets. As the Meer started to climb, another light appeared. Dasha did not recognize the spell. So, Exodus, she smiled, you are inside! But what trick do you have for us now? The light seemed to encompass the entire valley. She braced for some effect, when her spine suddenly tingled. The valley was not aglow. She was aglow. The spell was directed at her.

And a moment later she stood in a chamber she presumed was inside the fortress. A ring of Jukan warriors surrounded her, their spears penning her at the center of the floor. They looked unaffected by quakes and insects, save for the largest among them. Warlord Kabur must have returned here from the front lines. His armor was pale with dust from the landslides. His emerald skin cascaded with angry stings. Blood painted his massive form. Dasha knew that it was not Jukan blood.

"You are mad to come," snarled the giant warrior.

"I am here because of your own honor," she replied, "since you left me a weapon in the cave. You gave me life and I thank you for it. And yet you did not cast the spell that reeled me into this room. Where is your lord Exodus? It is he with whom I have business this morning."

"And I with you," boomed a deep voice. It emerged from the shadows of an alcove. Dasha could not see into the darkness, except for the sparkle of a few gemstones. "Forgive an improper welcome, Captain Dasha, but the day has been a busy one."

"Surely you know why I have come. You have corrupted the Juka. I mean to restore the old balance between our peoples."

"Yes, you must save the Juka, but I am not the target you want. There is greater treachery afoot at the hands of your Lore Master Adranath. He seeks to restore a balance, as well. The ritual he intends to perform will erase the Juka from Ilshenar. And Captain Dasha, the Meer shall fall with them. Adranath seeks the tranquility of oblivion for both races. Time runs short for us all."

And she knew that Exodus spoke the truth, for he had identified the nature of Adranath's despair. Now she understood the Lore Master's statement, All that remains is revenge. Her body shot through with icy panic. The ancient wizard had indeed gone mad. And she was the only Meer who would dare to stop him.

Her tone was sharp and low. "Damn you, sorcerer, for putting this on me! But I'll need help. Come, Warlord Kabur, if you have the courage to stand against a Meer elder."

The Juka seemed trapped between a frown and a laugh, but he answered by lifting his bloody spear in an abbreviated form of salute.

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Join Coven of the Secret Shadows for this Yuletide with a Celebration of the year past and the year in our future. Friday, December 21 at 7:30 by the evening central skies. The Yule fest will be held at Boromir’s Fellucian Tower of Arcane Knowledge. Yule cookies and spiked eggnog and hot cider and lots of festive cheer will make this a great mix for a grand holiday celebration!

Bring a gift in a crate with your name written in a book for a gift exchange. Awards will be given out to the recipients of the best and worst gifts.

Runes will be placed at various locations, contact Boromir #65941477 for a rune or a rune location. Hope to see lots of you there!!!!

From the Chronicles of Elder Raticker:

The Sunday night meeting was going as scheduled at The Temple of Mondain. Frederick was going over the various items of war, and giving out the deserved promotions to different guild members when Raticker began to feel extremely tired. Excusing himself from the main chamber, he quickly ran past the posted guards to his private chambers. Servants and townspeople scattered as the mage stumbled down the hallways. Finally arriving at his door, he spoke the spell which unsealed the glyph guarding his rooms.

Racing for his bed, Raticker passed out only to rise again a few minutes later. Changing his form into a gargoyle, the alien intended to capture one of the members of the guild he was hiding in! Summoning Mystic Rose and Farbanti to the temple the three of them proceeded down the long halls of the temple seeking another member to aid in their ill fated circle. The Shimmering Field lighted the polished floors and broad passagways with a dimmed sense of complete despair. Moving towards the great hall, guards rang alarms and began to advance, arrows dissolved into the field and swords could not penetrate it.

Upon the alarms, the members erupted into the hall to stand before the disguised Rat. "MYSTIC ROSE!" boomed Frederick. "What is the meaning of this? and the Cult? Do you realize what you do?"

"Silence! Fool general of a nothing army. You will stand silent." stated Rat. Moving closer to the members, they attempted to destroy the field with magic to no avail. Clasping the green stone around its neck, Raticker looked over to Raal and claimed him to the circle.

Raal slowly moved closer to the circle and inside. "Come new brother we have much to plan." stated Farbanti. The circle moved above the gathered crowd and disappeared through the roof of the temple.

"Where is Raticker!" demanded Frederick. "Where are my Elders!"
But no one was available to counsel the Dark General.

A few hours later, Raal was waking up back in the main chamber with healers and mages all around. "Master Raal, are you okay?" asked an acolyte. "Yes, I am fine - what happened? How long have I been asleep?"

And so the fourth member of the circle is now a part of the aliens plans.

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Winter silently creeps upon the land, and just as stealthily will this gathering occur.

Where: Township of Heaven's Forge (http://heavensforge.tripod.com) at the Celestial Spirits Pub atop the Tower of Light (right next to lowest mining cave within the valley below Wrong) 108o 59'N 43o 10' E, Trammel facet.

When: Friday, 12/21 beginning around 8pm pst

Why: 12/21 marks the Winter's Solstice, the shortest day of the year, and the first day of winter.

Free food will be made available, but Celeste our barkeep insists on charging for alcohol and the food that she stocks. Since it is taxed, I cannot fault her for it.

This is an opportunity to visit the town of Heaven's Forge, for the citizens of our town to get together in friendship, and for the members of the roleplaying community to meet again informally to discuss ideas in a comfortable environment. The roof is decorated with an old Celtic altar to celebrate the death of the old year and the dawning of a new one. Anyone wishing to share seasonally appropriate poems or songs are welcome to entertain us.

There *may* be door prizes, but my father, Phaltran the crafter, has been rather busy of late and is tired of custom orders even from me. HF offers a wide variety of vendors throughout the town and visitors are encouraged to visit the many homes. HF also offers a spirited sporting life. Within the woods or along the mountains you may find many a miner and a water elemental in a footrace, or a troll affectionately hugging a lumberjack. Life is never dull in the valley. Don't forget our surprise guests; those ever present and popular brigands. Be sure to bring friends. The brigands always do.

Come and relax in the valley with friends as winter descends upon us and begins to cover the land with her white blanket. No pressure. No events. Just a cozy place to unwind. Join us if you wish. If I don't see you there, happy holidays to all of Britannia.

Darius, Mayor of Heaven's Forge

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…I have a vague recollection of this being addressed in the recent past, and want to have a clear understanding.

I know that Calandryll said that the Virtue System will "go in" in the first week as part of the next Scenario, and I seem to recall that he also said the Sacrifice will be the first Virtue introduced, but are we actually getting the first Virtue in the Scenario?

Can anyone clear this up for me? Calandryll?

Calandryll’s responsed:

Yes.

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

You can review the Sacrifice Virtue proposal here.

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This will be a quest that takes place in Feluccia(which means that in order to destroy the sword, you will have to come to Feluccia). No more of me going to tram cause I learned last time that I have little impact on anything there. There will only be 1 way to destroy the swords (at least as part of the quest there will only be one way) and each "sword bearer" must learn how or face becoming evil or beig destroyed by Vecna's armies. I'm going to try to get as many evil type guilds in with me on this (we all know that evil loves power.) Rest assured that we (Golgotha) will be coming for everyone that holds a sword and that we will not give up till we have claimed them all (or they have been destroyed). Those who bear the swords will not know who the others are(unless they post it here) but are encouraged to seek them out. There will be some characters that will help along the way and they will announce when they will meet with those intereted in helping with the swords.

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You can see the pictures here.

Apart from Kofu what other characters do you have and regularly play?

Miss Steel - 7x GM crafter (first Mule now one of my most Popular chars)
Niaca Lucinda - Healer of man and animals (also Tamer)
about 4 or 5 others but remain secret :))

Where did the name for your character come from?

Disneyclassic the Lion King

What would be your typical UO day?

Typical?? no day is typical but it always starts with answering dozens of questions, refreshing the houses and then training one skill or another :)

How long have you been playing Ultima Online? And have you been on Europa all this time?

I started in Beta and after that went to play several shards with my friend (who lured me into UO, we shared at first his account) when euro came I started my characters there and stayed there. I still play Drachenfelfs, Catskills and some other shards.

What would you say your main play style is and have you tried other styles? (Roleplay, PvP, Crafting etc)

My main play style is cooperative play, I like to help others in the game and create things (could be towns, trade imperium, guild etc etc). I tried all playstyles and i still try to be a good RP'er but I lack the patience most of times so PVP and PKíng still hold my attention.

What is your favorite memory of your time on Europa?

Very hard to answer, but most probably the day my guild (Order of the Ebon Hand) and I went to lost lands and the entire guild apart from me got wiped out in seconds by 3 PK's and it took those 3 almost 10 minutes to get me cornered and i died from recallign of the wrong rune :) (couldnt recall to old lands then from t2a). It was the most exhilirating fight ever :) (even though i lost)

And your worst memory?

The day friends leave UO and sadly it happens to often :((

What is your proudest achievement in UO?

Probably the day I created Valoria in felucca (pre trammel) and it was a nice town for my guild and with help from many we succeeded to erect an even larger town on Trammel and have it open to everyone not just 1 guild.

Who do you respect or look upto on Europa the most?

mmh there are several people i respect, among them are the founders and oldest members of Healers of Europa. Anna, Kris and Nightingale all three of them are among the most loyal and trustworthy people i ever met. Also many people left UO already like Elof, Morollan, and Falish Lightblade.

And finally if you could change one thing in UO, what would it be?

Hard thing as I like the change aka evolution of UO. I hated trammel at start but gradually got lured into liking it and now I ama trammie most of my time :) But i would want to have extra space for housing on a subserver so everyone can experience the luxury of owning a castle or tower. (if not possible please introduce a unique naming convention like EQ)

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When the Royal Lute from Britain’s music conservatory goes missing, the noble Lord announces a major reward for it’s safe return….

Falamar made his way down the twisting staircase. The crowds were already gathering outside, waiting to be let into Britain’s Conservatory of Music. The sound of hundreds of people, a merry gathering, was the very reason Falamar had first chosen to become a musician.
Twisting a large bronze key in the lock, he was surprised that he did not hear the familiar click as the huge lock released. The door swung open, and a gasp escaped his lips as a scene of disarray opened before him. At the centre of the main storage room, the glass display case was missing...

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The Uo Chessie Events Team would like to invite you to its Christmas Events Party!!

There will be a few events going on. Sadly Santa Claus can't make it this year, but he has sent us 2 of his packhorses filled with goodies!!!! We are also pleased to announce that we will be hosting our first Run the Gauntlet challenge. Other events will be Snowman Building contests and also a Snowball Fight.

Entrance Fee is always FREE!!
Time: 9pm Est
Date: Saturday 22nd December!
Location: Brit Stables Field (South of actual stables)
Facet: Trammel, of course!
Merry Christmas/Advent/Hannukah and all the other holidays at this time of year!!

Companion Black-Ram
Lead Uo Chessie Events Team Co-ordinator

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We just released another client patch, this time for both 2D and 3D. Both clients will now be version 3-0-6g.

The 2D patch cleans up some old code relating to status bars and should resolve most if not all issues related to them.

The 3D patch makes Kirins visible again. It also has a tidbit of code that improves the spell icon problem but we do not have a final fix for that yet. Spell icons will still tend to get moved around when you log into the game.

We also tweaked the music system a little bit and got a couple improvements in there.

Thanks for your patience with this patch. This was a bigger one then you may realize, and we couldn't have done it without the understanding of our players!

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Are you missing a statue for your collection? Got duplicate globes? The Library of Knowledge is sponsoring another Holiday Swap.

Where: Ix, Trammel
Date: Friday, December 21, 2001
Time: 8:30pm Ix Time (Central)
Transportation available: 8:30 pm, Britain Main Library

Come finish your set, or find a present for someone else! While you're here, indulge in a bit of last minute holiday shopping for a friend or loved one next door at the mall. Melody Reed has added her elite fashion line with her assistant Iman, Kurrgan has welcomed Gracie with colored granite and Coleen with mining equipment. If you're looking for something, come try the Merchants of the Isle of Ix. If we don't have it, we know where to get it!

All parties interested in selling or swapping holiday presents are welcome to attend. We look forward to seeing you there.

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The following change will be published to all shards, to be active following their regularly scheduled Friday morning maintenance periods (local server time):

· Crafting menus will no longer allow players to craft items if their backpack already contains the limit of 125 items.

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Specifically addressing "Can't throw snowballs while riding a mount": this is as designed. There were some issues that required us to put in this restriction. You'll need to dismount before throwing any snowballs.

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

It has been quite some time since I last posted a news story here. I have been having problems with my computer for the past few weeks, and I ended up having to buy a new one (it was outdated anyways) in order to fix the problem. All that is taken care of now. I would like to thank Cyn and Dengar for running the Legends News section in my absence. Now, on to more important matters.

First, I have received numerous reports that at various times of the day, both Castle Britannia and Castle Blackthorn's gates are closed and locked. A few players are locked out, but when they return, the gates are found to be open. As of now there are no clues that can provide any names and/or groups responsible for this. For now, we can only speculate, but could it have something to do with the new Order/Chaos war that has risen up? Only time will tell.

While having a small chat with some pirates from Buccaneer’s Den at the local tavern, one man spoke of a duo of citizens who have run amok around the town, slaying shopkeepers, bankers, bards, and anyone who got in their way. One is reported to have short blue hair with a blue goatee, rides an ostard or llama, and is an excellent spell caster. The other cannot be identified, as a mask of orcish kin reportedly covers his face. However, he is an excellent fencer, rides on a horse, and is reportedly wearing arcane clothing dyed the color of his kin mask. Any information on the suspected "Duo of the Islands" should be sent to us fine folks at Stratics, as we will post it in hopes of keeping a sharp eye out for them.

Vesper seems to be under heavy fire from opposition groups yet again, as this warning was sent to us some time ago:

Hail there!

The Knights of Minoc, a new guild rich in development of skills and in search of adventure, has decided to war. Our guild has had a tie vote that if we should ever go to war, it is in our near future. There is much scuttle, but here us now: Vesper shall be ours. We have defeated LDA morally. They are a dying guild, hanging on by history and their good-for-nothing leader, Kerovan. We are not fearful of size. It just gives us more to defeat. --------- Melinko, Knights of Minoc

In still other news, a new Clan of Sin has formed. Located an island off the shores of Felucca Britain, the Legions of Rimuldar are a group of Vampiric knights, mages, and leaders. What these Knights have in store for us is unknown, but yet again, time will tell. We will be updating the Councils of Virtue and Sin Page very shortly.

Are these the signs of political unrest? Or of something more dangerous and evil yet to come? Yet again, only time will tell. If you have any information on either the mysterious gate locking, the Duo of the Islands, or if you have another story or report of political unrest in your area, be sure to send them in!

Safe travels, friends, and happy holidays!

On Saturday 22nd, some time between 19:00 and 21:00 GMT, an "IDOC" will be recreated just outside Vesper (Felucca)

A small tower, containing between 500K and 1000K's worth of items will be redeeded, allowing anyone in the area to grab a bell, a globe, a check or other items, fight over chests of booty, or even place a house!

Bring friends, pets, thieves, pks, professional house placers... the more the merrier! Everyone welcome!

To find the house, exit Vesper from the west gate, and walk along the road. You'll find the house in about ten seconds...

Perelandra

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Tomorrow (12/20/01) we will be migrating from our current web server to a new server. This move is designed to provide more stability and security for all of our web sites. It should also help in preventing the intermittent slowdowns we have experienced over the last four weeks or so.

I do not have an exact time frame that the servers will be down tomorrow, but if all goes well it should not be very long. This is just a note to let you know that the downtime is planned and should be relatively short in duration.

Once we have this server fully functional, we should be back to business as usual from here on out. Thank you once again for your patience!

Regards,

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

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The Uo Chessie Events Team would like to invite you to pop along to the Village of Mythndale, located on the Chesapeake shard, and light a Candle. The Event will take place on Friday, the 21st of December, between 8 and 10pm est.

Mythndale has many attractions, such as its museum, and is well known on the Chesapeake shard for having one of only three red 2 story statues on this shard.

If you would like to come and place a candle, just take a 5 minute walk from West Britain and follow the coast round (south from Britain Docks).

We hope you will come and celebrate the day of the Longest Night and welcome in the longer days of sunshine.

Companion Black-Ram

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The Uo Chessie Events Team would like to bring you its house Decoration Competition!!!

All the details are on our website at www.uoevents.com-2.net or www.geocities.com/uoevents (depends on how you like your advertising).

Rules are simple! No editing, as pictures must be genuine. The winning house will be checked to see if it is the actual winning house. Screenshots of your decoration ideas must be only one floor of your house and cropped so no gumps or desktop show. Only one floor per house is allowed, unless it's of the small variety in which 2 floors are granted (sandstone and cabins are 1 floor only).

Entrants will be required to post their entry into the forum provided, where the judges will view your entries.

It should be something like this format:

Subject: The Wilderness Tavern
The Wilderness tavern is open to all who roam around in this wilderness.
Location : Felucca, Vesper (134'N 28'W) or (X,Y,Z)
Then your actual picture.

The Prize Money is 100k! It will close on the 2nd of January 2002.

Hope you have fun decorating those houses!

Companion Black-Ram
www.uoevents.com-2.net

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Hear Ye! Hear Ye! All are welcome at the 'Christmas in Casandreal' Party.

On Saturday, Dec. 22, Casandreal will hold its Second Annual Christmas Party!

Everyone is welcome to join in the fun! There will be many exciting events planned throughout the day. We hope to see everyone at the clearing in Yew, just south of the moongate. Below is a schedule of events:

All times are in EST.

10am: Dungeon Crawl (No Prizes; Loot pooled and split among all who attend.

12pm: Tmap Hunt (Loot will be split at end)

3pm: Dungeon Crawl (Loot same as the morning crawl)

5pm: Santa and Mrs Claus Costume Contest (requires a team of 2 to enter as one and a First Place Prize will be awarded)

6pm: Poem Contest (a First and Second place prize will be awarded)

9pm: Net Toss (Prize is monster loot)

Don't miss out on the Season's Best event, 'Christmas in Casandreal'! For more info regarding this event: Moonbabie 3403725

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Report just in tonight of a group of soldiers called "The Pageboys" making a debut on Lake Superior.

Pageboy "Tollbooths" were set up in various places all over Felucca. Travelers were stopped, and a tax was demanded from them to use what the Pageboys called the "King's Highway." They claim the true ruler of Britannia is not Lord British nor Lord Blackthorn, but King George. Those failing to pay the tax were subjected to a merciless firing squad. We know of one major skirmish with the Road Keepers for Destiny led by D'Artagnon, which the Pageboys claim was an unmistakable victory ending with the surrender of the Keepers. They also asked that we not bother to confirm the Keepers'side of the story, as it would probably only upset them.

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That image is indeed the Virtues gump. If you look at the image carefully, you will see that it is not a pentagram at all, but a six-pointed star with three circles in the center of the image.

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Just throwing in my 2gp as a developer and, more importantly, as a UO player. I'm glad this update was posted and is finally in place...it is something UO has needed for a long time.

I think it's more an issue of dealing with insensitive people, rather than over-sensitive.

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

and…

Some general thoughts:

While "rape" can be generalized to mean "violently dominate," unless there's some definite set-up and context to explain that beforehand, we will almost always presume the word "rape" means "incorporating a non-consensual sexual act in a violent domination." Some people may be able to use the various definitions of rape in a book or story, but most people in modern online games keep their phrases short & simple, and their audience recognizes that and is left to presume the simplest, most commonly understood definition of whatever terms or phrases are being used. When communicating in games (or chats, or e-mails, etc.), sometimes the shortest sentences can lead to the most fouled miscommunications and the worst feelings in the aftermath.

But we have seen that, often times it's not an accident of miscommunication. If someone writes "I raped you," they don't want you to think of what they are saying as "I have conquered you on the field of battle," but do want you to crush whatever remains of your spirit by making you feel as if they have beaten you as though you were naked, defenseless, worthless, and worse. Such terms are designed to damage the victim's morale, but feel extremely bad and damage their sense of self-worth for a long time after the fact.

Ultimately, the problem ends up being what everyone sees you typing, and not whatever you think you were communicating. New rules come into play when too many people people can't or won't recognize the consequences of their actions.

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

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Lemming's post is fairly accurate.

Large Bulk Order Deeds are definitely not 1 to 1. There is a less than 20% chance to get one.

We profiled the system with millions of bulk deed generations. It takes many many deeds to see the average percentages in semi-accurate numbers. Until then, your perception of the system will seem skewed. :)

Here's the flow of choices when the system generates an offer for a person to accept... (spoiler info)

1) Chooses LBOD or SBOD (SBOD's have a greater than 80% chance)
2) Chooses between 3 quantities (10, 15, 20). Each is a third of a chance (ie: one is not weighted over the other).
3) Chooses an item randomly from a list of 49 weapons and armor (each item has a slightly better percentage than 2% to be chosen).
4) Chooses Exceptional or Normal quality. (GM smiths get a 10% bonus to this choice.)
5) Checks if item is huable and flips a coin between whether it is iron or not.
6) If the item is not iron at this point, then it rolls up the hue. Valorite is very low (lower than your chances of fishing up an SOS bottle per cast).

-Hanse
UO Live Designer

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[...], if you've been banned for language before, then you know what a powerful weapon it can be, how people can take offense, and how it can impact with your own game. But take a different approach to all of this, please. Just bear with me for a moment.

Once, not terribly long ago, the computer world was a fairly exclusive domain inhabited by men ranging from 14-30 something. It was kind of l33t, and a rough place to be. The introduction of the Internet created sort of (in many cases) an international fraternity. There was lots of fraternity-type behaviour, including crudity and sexual harrassment. It was the era of the LambdaMoo "Mr. Bungle" type of chatroom experiences. (If you don't know of Mr. Bungle, check out Julian Dibbell's essay, here. Because of experiences like this one, women were nearly flamed out of Internet existence for quite some time.

Essays like Dibbell's show that there is power behind the word "rape," even in the virtual world. Yes, the word has had many connotations over the years--look at the classical painting "The Rape of the Sabine Women." It refers not to violating their bodies, but stealing them away in the dead of night from their conquered lands. But the scantily clad figures in that painting suggest the other, sexual, connotation too. The two connotations are not often far apart.

The problem comes when people use the word as a weapon. I'll never forget the pre-Trammel day when a friend of mine was in tears in the Skara Brae tailor shop because she was overweight (several hundred spools of thread, remember those days, vets?) and someone trapped her near the loom for a longish period emoting "rape" and asking her terrible personal things. He threatened her physical well-being in the game and in RL. Why didn't she just log off? Only she can answer that. Maybe she had paged a GM and didn't want to get knocked out of the queue; maybe she was hoping he'd go away. Maybe she was looking for the ignore feature. But the point is, such things are not uncommon. Add to that the people who emote various rape messages over slain opponents and you have an uncomfortable place to be for a significant portion of our player base. The wonder of the game is that you can play characters of either sex--the disadvantage to that is that it leads to some unfortunate interaction.

"Rape" is really not a necessary word for game play, except in rarified situations. If you want to set up an RP adventure in which there is a backstory including a rape or a death, no one is telling you not to. If you have had a terrible experience in RL, no one is saying that you can't discuss it in the game between friends. And look at the number of times I've used the word in this message. No one with common sense would report me (I hope!) for such usage. However, should you run around yelling "rape" in all caps throughout the town, or threaten other characters with it THAT can lead to banning if it is reported and you are caught at it. No one wants to take away your freedom to enjoy the game; all that is being asked is that you show a little respect to those who play the game around you. Is that really a terrible thing to ask?

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Check out the newest comic in the Adventures of Blackthorn series on UO Disorder.

This episode has nothing to do with pirates. Nope, instead Lord Blackthorn gets in more trouble as he leaves the safety of his castle once again.

We hope the new comic, and keep watching for more episodes.

PacMan
Storm

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Fair Journys Lord GorMach VonLeal

by Segun Stheno of Lake Superior

Early Friday morning at the Lake Superior Brit Forge in Trammel, Lord GorMach VonLeal, curator of the famous Glowing Orb Museum, announced that he was leaving our lands. Those close to him reported that he did not seem himself. Some speculate that concerns of a personal nature may be behind the action on his part.

By early Saturday morning those close to Lord GorMach learned of his passing from our lands into those of the other side. A brief, but very moving funeral was held early Saturday morning. Lord Onyx Ironhoof who has been an apprentice to Lord GorMach presided over the funeral. He assured those present that while Lord GorMach would no longer be with them in body, his spirit would live on through the museum he had created. It was one of Lord GorMach ‘s final wishes that the museum remain open for generations to come.

For those who have not heard of Lord GorMach VonLeal or his museum the Glowing Orb, I would strongly suggest that you visit this treasure today. Lord GorMach procured and displayed the history of Lake Superior and the Lands of Britannia in his museum. The artifacts include rares used by the Seers of old in their Quests. These are one of a kind items that exist nowhere else. For each item displayed Lord GorMach wrote a full history of the artifact's origins and use. The museum is located on the Trammel facet just East of Skara Brae, almost half way to the Hedge Maze, close to vegetable patches. The coordinates are 63 43'S 27 21W

Although I have never had the honor of meeting Lord GorMach VonLeal personally, I hold a deep admiration and respect for what he has given to us in his museum, and in his living. He was one of those who not only believed in the Virtues, he brought them to life.

Lord GorMach was also a Blacksmith by trade and is sure to be familiar to many of you from the time he would spend at the Brit Forge mending armor, and making new weapons and armor as requested. Those who wield his weapons and wear his armor into battle speak highly the quality that goes beyond exceptional. It is as if some of the man himself, and his values have been forged into the very items he made.

Lord GorMach is also well known for his generosity of heart and hand in that many of his finest weapons and armor were given freely with the only admonition being that the same favor be done for others in the future. In this way Lord GorMach’ s generosity has spread throughout our lands.

Here is a verse written by Lord GorMach Von Leal himself, which was given to one of his many friends, Lord Onyx (not Ironhoof)Wolf, just prior to his death, in the way of a farewell. The words here, like those many books written for the museum, hold much of Lord GorMach’ s spirit for all times to come. I hope they touch your heart in the way they have touched mine.

Fair Journey’s End

The figure stops along the road less traveled to catch his breath, and as he looks behind him he smiles for he has come so far.

"I must rest”, he mumbles knowing quite well only those in his head can hear him speak.

Bones groan and creak as he leans upon his staff to lower himself to a small tuft of grass.

"Aye quite far indeed"
He says as he closes his eyes.

Sounds of bells can be heard as the figure smiles at their soothing song.

"Hello my Love", a voice whispers ever so gently in the figures mind.

Opening his eyes the figure is bathed in the purest of light as a woman stands before him. He knows this woman and his heart skips a beat.

"How? Your!! No wait!! There is so much more for me to do there still my love I have not finished my journey" the figure exclaims as she calms him in her gentle embrace.

“Thy Journey ends here my love. Together we shall walk through the next.”

"But those left behind?" Tears stream from his eyes…

"They shall remember thee in their thoughts and actions, for ye have taught them well." She says as they are lifted from the ground on heavens wings.

Along the path less traveled lies a walking staff and worn and battered smith’s hammer, reminders of a fair journey's end....

GorMach VonLeal

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I am Lord Joram Soulrift, a noble bard with a love of animals. I wont bore you with tales of my past, for it's the future I'm intersted in.

I live on Dagger [Ice] Island in Felucca, and therefore I'll be spending most of my time scouring the Feluccan player-run establishments (such as the YMCA) and towns (like Tendai and Golgotha) for stories. I enjoy sitting around a fire and chatting with my friends, and for this reason I've decided I'll be conducting a series of interviews with some of the more respected, and feared, members of our society.

Although I spend a lot of my time wandering the less fashionable facet of Sosaria, I certainly will not be limiting my reporting to there. You will often find me around the cities in Trammel looking for a good story.

So, if you hear any good rumours or rumblings please let me know :)

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Woot" is a term that existed before Ultima Online, EverQuest, or any of the massively-multiplayer games came to be. It was, and continues to be, commonly used as a generic cheer or announcement of joyous satisfaction.

(Side trivia: the word "woot" is also a form of "wit," and so carries meanings of "to know" or "to be wise" in some pre-modern English dialects--"I woot" means "I know"--although the current usage isn't likely to have been derived from this old form of the word.)

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

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Ho Ho Ho! Let's have a decorating contest!

Okay - here are the rules:

You may only enter once per house.
All entries must be in by midnight December 25th.
You can do as little or as much decorating as you wish. We'll have several categories and your decorating will fit in nicely no matter what you do!
Decorate with the time of year in mind.

To enter, email me at [email protected] or PM me via the Stratics Message Board System (nickname kittykat) with the following information:

-Your name and your character's name. (if you post to stratics board, please include your stratics name as well!)
- The location of your house, specifically the coordinates. (this is done by taking a sextant and standing in front of your house and using it to get your coordinates or standing on your steps and looking at UO AutoMap) - please do not forget to include which facet your house is on!
- The name on the sign at your house.
- What type of house it is.
- Any landmarks, other houses, etc near it (this is so I can actually FIND it!
- If you only want certain parts of the house considered for the contest be sure to mention that in your email or PM.

As I get entries, I will visit each house, marking it for later return with the judges. After the deadline I will then take the judges around to each house and allow them to look to their hearts content. I will do this sometime in the period of the 25th-29th so please leave your decorations up until then! Once the judges have made their decisions, I will then post the winners here on Stratics, as well as posting screenshots of all the entries! The winners will then be contacted individually to arrange to meet to retrieve their prizes.

The Prizes (the good stuff !)
There are many prizes that will be available for winning. So far we have procured the following:
A large painting
A small painting
2 glacial staffs
Pillows
Various craftable and non craftable statues.
Other prizes will likely become available throughout the week. I will post a complete list by Dec. 25th.

The Door Prize!:
Thanks to the great generosity of Ordo Sylvanus, every entry will recieve a "Door Prize". This gift is a surprise and is our way of saying thank you for entering!

The Categories: Best Overall Entry
Best Small (one room) Entry
Best Vendor Art
Most Clever Innovations (use of normal items to make decorations)
Best Themed Entry
Funniest Entry

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KingDavid is pleased to announce that the People's Army of Sonoma (PAS) will continue its weekly tradition of dropping gold for others at the West Bank Britain, Trammel, at 8pm cdt, this Wednesday, December 19, 2001.

This week's gold drop will be a special Christmas treat for the citizens of Sonoma. In addition to a gold drop of $200,000 (4 times our normal weekly drop), the People's Army will also be bringing many of its gm tailors and gm smiths.

The tailors will set up shop inside the bank and will make and give away gm leather armor sets (dyed any color) and possibly some other items. The smiths will set up shop at the NW Britain blacksmith shop, and will make and give away free gm weapons and possibly some other items.

The People's Army hopes that every citizen enjoys a safe and happy holiday season!

KD

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KingDavid is pleased to announce that the People's Army of Sonoma (PAS) will continue its weekly tradition of dropping gold for others at the West Bank Britain, Trammel, at 8pm cdt, this Wednesday, December 19, 2001.

This week's gold drop will be a special Christmas treat for the citizens of Sonoma. In addition to a gold drop of $200,000 (4 times our normal weekly drop), the People's Army will also be bringing many of its gm tailors and gm smiths.

The tailors will set up shop inside the bank and will make and give away gm leather armor sets (dyed any color) and possibly some other items. The smiths will set up shop at the NW Britain blacksmith shop, and will make and give away free gm weapons and possibly some other items.

The People's Army hopes that every citizen enjoys a safe and happy holiday season!

KD

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From the Chronicles of Elder Raticker:
It was time to gain another vessel for the creation of the powerlinks necessary to open a dimensional door to Sosaria. The invading creature and all but taken over the body of Raticker. While the mage slept the creature was able to prepare his plans. Tonite a female was needed to hold the energy of a dark sister. Farbanti was present and they began the lyrics which would open a way to obtain the female. Screeching with agony, the creatures stepped into the green gate and where transported to the lands controlled by The Knights of Britannia.

"These lands seem more lush than where we are staying". stated Farbanti's creature.

"Yes, these lands are rich with the foods our people will need to survive." replied Rat.

Beginning the spell which will deflect all attacks from energy and fire, the two moved towards the main tower. Searching each face, each movement, each soul looking for the next victim proved difficult with the number of citizens lazing about. Children could be heard screaming as many rushed to alert the noble knights.

"Look at how fat and lazy they are mighty one. They will be hard to turn to slaves." observed Farbanti.

"I feel a link, we must move to the center of the main mansion. I believe I can see a name coming across my conciousness. We must take a female named Mystic Rose." said Rat.

"With the third link we shall be able to demonstrate greater powers, as we will then be able to kill these fools with a word." Rat grinned with the thought killing a few people stored in his vessels memories. "This one has many people he would see dead."

"Good. We shall have plenty to practice on." agreed Farbanti.

Attempts to stop the two where unsuccessful. Mighty warriors with the strongest of weapons could not penetrate the shielding, and mages were unable to draw enough mana to harm the two intruders. Moving down the halls, searching for the one called Mystic Rose, finally led them to a chamber where she was speaking of guild matters to her fellows.

"What is this?" cried Rose.

"Be honored lovely one. You are to become our sister. We shall care for you and prepare the way for your new master." stated Raticker.

"Never, you are fool to think we shall simply lay down our arms and accept the ancient evil you wish to bring to this land. Your actions are known to us and even now we prepare to fight you." mused Mystic Rose.

"Silence! You have nothing to fight us with." bellowed Rat.

Grabbing the stone about his neck, it flared a sickly and unnatural green. Their eyes locked, the link between the three was established. "Nooooo!" Slowly Mystic Rose took her first steps towards the shimmering field and entered it. Turning towards the crowd which had gathered in the chamber Rat addressed the shocked citizenry.

"Be warned people of Sosaria. The Third Link is complete. And know this, you ways of life prevent you from stopping this. With each link we become stronger. Your magic cannot defeat us, and looking about your cities, your minds cannot either."

"Rejoice in the new world order. And serve your way to peace." the three stated together as the field lifted up through the ceiling and back to The Temple of Mondain.

When the three arrived it was almost dawn. Farbanti and Raticker returned to where they each had awoken. Mystic Rose blinked herself awake, and looking around the temple gasped as she stated: "The temple cannot be behind this. Even Mordain could not hope to control something like this." Not understanding how she arrived at the temple, Mystic Rose opened a gate back to her lush kingdom and began making plans with her generals.

We are targeting to release holiday gifts to the North American shards tonight, December 18th, to be active following their Wednesday morning maintenance periods. Barring any unforeseen issues, holiday gifts should be active on the remaining shards following their Thursday morning maintenance periods (local server time). You can find complete information on the holiday gifts here.

This change will be added to Latest Game Updates once the holiday gifts are active on all shards.

Several updates and bug fixes for both clients, including numerous party system bug fixes, mip-mapping, 2D and 3D additions, general performance improvements, and miscellaneous bug fixes.

2D Client

• The 2D client will get a menubar.
• Added support for new 2D monster art.
• Interface drawing optimizations.

3D Client

• Added support for more fonts.
• Fixed issues involving the color picker.
• Increased the radar gump drawing speed.
• The version string will no longer display a build number.
• Mouse cursor will now be correct when over generic gumps.
• Fixed an issue involving pathfinding when zoomed in.
• You will be able to switch 3D from fullscreen to windowed mode on the fly (Alt-Enter).
• You will be able to resize the game in windowed mode as big as you want. However, the bigger you go, the slower the game will run.
• Added Mip-mapping. (Mip-mapping is a method of drawing fewer and larger textures when the camera is zoomed farther out, eliminating the "sparkly" effect some users may have noticed in Third Dawn.)
• Tweak for drawing spider silk when zoomed in.
• Particle density configuration setting now works.
• Fixed an issue with garbled textures on GeForce 3 cards.
• Improved rendering of transparency on dragon wings.
• When zooming in, objects that are no longer in view will not be drawn. This can be used to speed things up at crowded areas like banks.
• General performance improvements (5%-20% depending on hardware and what's going on in game)

Party System Bug Fixes

• 2D - Fixed a bug relating to party status bars becoming “frozen” and not closeable.
• 2D – Fixed an issue involving overlapping text and the party manifest.
• 3D - Fixed an issue with health bars moving to the center of the screen whenever party members reconnected or joined the party.
• 3D - Fixed an issue relating to a party leader’s paperdoll automatically closing whenever a player would accept an invitation to join their party.
• 3D – Fixed an issue regarding the “kick” button being displayed incorrectly in the party manifest.
• 3D – Fixed an issue with party health bars not updating properly.
• 3D – Fixed an issue involving skin hue and resurrecting dead party members.
• 3D – Fixed an issue with names not being displayed for certain people when using the party speak option after reconnecting to the game.
• 3D – Fixed an issue involving party message color.
• Both - Typing ‘/#’ will no longer send a direct tell. Now you must type ‘/t#’ or ‘/t #’ to send a direct tell.

Both Clients (Miscellaneous)

• Added support for the Virtue gump.
• The version string will now have the patch number in it.
• Both clients will get the new "Codex of Wisdom" help system.
  • F1 or clicking on the "?" button on the menubar will bring it up.
• The old popup help system has been disabled.
• Various localization files.

As we work to upgrade our login servers, it will be necessary to direct public traffic to the test login servers for brief periods of time over the next several weeks, beginning Wednesday, December 19th, 2001. It is possible that, once these test login servers are taken down, players might find themselves attempting to log in through a test login server that is no longer accessible. We do not anticipate this will happen often; however, we ask that these players simply try to login again. If this does not solve the issue, players might need to reboot their machine to clear their cache and log in to a working login server.

We apologize for any inconvenience, and appreciate your patience as we work to implement our new hardware.

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The Beast
by Austen Andrews

Said a voice in her mind, Wake, child of earth, for the reckoning day is at hand.

Dasha knew the ancestors had called her to rise again. Yet the cry of her wounds informed her that she had not moved at all. She lay on the ground in the forgotten cave, a helpless meal for a dark-dwelling predator. The huge beast slavered nearby.

When her eyes cracked open she saw the warm gold of the candlelight. It sparkled on the reptile’s glassy scales. It gleamed on two rows of serrated teeth. This was her fate as rendered by Warlord Kabur, the greatest warrior of a race beset by the tragedy of dishonor. The Juka had embraced savagery again. Her hatred became an ember inside, stoked by each of the beast’s rancid breaths.

Said a voice in her mind, Delusions will not save you.

But it was Kabur’s voice she heard. Those were his last words before abandoning her.

The beast thumped closer, materializing from the darkness. It was weighty and low, its tail dragging, its talons chafing the cavern’s stone floor. Dasha tensed her body. Her strength was gone. She was too weak to heal herself, too weak to fight, but perhaps not too weak to flee. In the beast’s own lair she had little hope of escaping, yet she resolved to die on the move. The ancestors had presented her a few more seconds of life. She would honor the gift.

Her spine arched as she prepared to stand. The monster, startled, drew back into the gloom and exhaled a sultry hiss. Dasha got her feet beneath her and rose to a half-crouch. The exit lay beyond the creature. Escape hinged on the first move she made.

Something behind her glinted in the firelight. She glanced back to see a long weapon lying in the dust. It was Kabur’s halberd. Her blood painted its steely edge.

The Juka had left her a weapon with which to defend herself.

Her heart quickened. She did not have the strength to fight unarmed, but the halberd gave her a chance to ward off the reptile. With a backstep she retrieved the polearm. The monster parted its mighty jaws and crept forward, its putrid hiss announcing an attack. Dasha gripped the halberd’s shaft, tested its weight, then slashed the blade across the beast’s eely tongue. A percussive roar thundered in the cavern.

She sprang past the long-bodied creature and stumbled into the darkness. A muscular tail lashed about her. She knelt beneath it and chopped the meat with a desperate stroke of the halberd. The beast howled and spun around. She thrust with the spike at the tip of her weapon, which met the reptile’s open maw and punctured the softer flesh within. Dasha expended the last of her strength to push the spike deeper and deeper. Then she scrambled away. The monster howled and thrashed behind her.

Through the pain of her injuries, she forced herself to stagger on. Through the blackness she groped for the exit that lay ahead. When the predator did not give chase she felt a surge of relief, though she did not allow it to weaken her pace. A single thought burned in her mind: Kabur did not leave me to die. He left me alive to prove I was wrong. There is honor in him yet, damn that cunning snake!

And onward she reeled through the rocky gloom until all sense of direction had passed. Then black stone turned to glimmering crystal and she found herself in the arms of Meer healers. They brought her to the hollows under the mountains where her displaced people had sought refuge, where long ago the ancestors had dwelled in the crystalline bosom of the earth. In a flashing hall they dispelled her wounds. Then they led her to Master Adranath’s emerald chamber. There she recounted her tale to the wizened sorcerer, who answered with a doleful sigh. “Do the Juka know honor? Little does it matter, child. Their lord Exodus has loosed a fell wind over Ilshenar that cannot be retracted. Our people are devastated and winter is nigh. We must strike down the Juka for their crime.”

“But Venerable Master, I tell you that they are not irretrievable. They are more brutish than before, but not greatly so. Exodus has led them astray. Let us kill him and restore the Juka to their proper state. The ancient balance need not be foregone.”

“You are an officer, Dasha. Take what action you will. But our spells are prepared and our warriors stand ready. Tomorrow our enemies learn the price of disdaining the natural order.”

Morning came unseen in those glittering temples of crystal and fire. She spent many hours among the Meer troops, surveying the ranks of armored soldiers hungry for revenge. Never had she seen them gathered in such a vast display. When they moved, they glided in perfect unison. Magic lustered around them like stars. Her heart swelled with dark joy at the brilliance of her people. Indeed the Juka would regret their deeds when the battle roared upon them.

Yet the Juka were not the truest enemy. The ancestors themselves had forced her to learn that lesson. Rather the one called Exodus had brought this nightmare to the world, and it was he that Dasha would hold accountable. When the Meer army set forth, she would take her grievance to the Juka’s mysterious lord. Perhaps then might real justice arise from this chaos. Perhaps then might she quell the embers that still smoldered and sparked inside her.

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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, December 19th, 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 164o41’W

Lord Khel
ICQ: 116819117 for more information.

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Celebrate Christmas in style this year... The Sword and Shovel Tavern, Valoria, will be holding a Christmas Party!

It will take place on Sunday 23rd December at 19.00 GMT. The Tavern is located in the player-run town of Valoria (130o 20'N 79o 56'E), which is on the Trammel facet of Europa, in the
Minoc Plains. All are welcome to meet and celebrate with the citizens and enjoy the party atmosphere at this fully staffed Tavern.

A great time to give and receive gifts, feast and be merry!

More info on this event and the town of Valoria can be found at http://www.valoria.org
or e-mail the Tavernkeeper at [email protected]

Bran Silverleaf, Tavernkeeper, Sword and Shovel Tavern

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Doing something to gain the benefits of doing it is not nearly an issue compared to doing something to grief someone.

and….

People will grief someone no matter what system is in place.

Agreed, I'm not saying any different. What I am saying is I don't want to a create a system that rewards someone for doing actions that can sometimes be considered griefing. And with evil acts, it is often very hard (if not impossible) to tell the difference through code. The anti-virtues may exist in the form of losing virtue "points" (similar to the single player games) such as losing honesty points for stealing for instance. But giving someone a reward for stealing when they already got a reward (the object they stole) makes little sense to me.

and….

To be clear, remember, Chaos is actually not a virtue or an anti-virtue.

and…

…even evil acts on NPCs can be annoying to other players. For instance, killing the wandering healers really has no benefit to the game at all and in truth, does nothing but annoy those players who are trying to find one to get a res. Same with killing escorts. And again, is someone killing the wandering healers because they are RPing evil or are they doing it just to annoy people who might be in need of one? There is no way to tell through code and the difference is significant.

"Murder" is not an anti-virtue, however the act of murder would probably fall under one or more of them. But, again, the murderer already got the all of the other player's items...why reward that even more?

and….

If you are only going to set up the virtues with no anti-virtues, then it dosent belong anywhere.

I dont agree. If the virtue system was eliminating the ability to be evil, then I would agree with you. But it's not. You can still RP evil just as you always have. The only difference is there wont be a system of rewards for anti-virtuous acts. That does not mean that evil cannot exist.

and…

…so the person killing/stealing from the escort gets the loot while saving the time of actually doing the escort as their reward. Why give even more reward to them?

and…

…believe me, I am not saying that anyone who kills a healer is a griefer...just saying that it's not possible for the code to know why one is doing it.

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Yes. :) The spawn system was completely rewritten from scratch right before working on Evil in a Can. In fact, Evil in a Can wouldn't have even been possible without the rewrite of the system. The previous spawn system could only setup spawn area's when the game was loaded and they couldn't be changed on the fly. The new spawn system can allow us to change any attribute of a spawn area on the fly, add new spawn areas, remove spawn areas, move them around, etc. In fact we do have spawn area's that move right now. The Gypsy camps that bounce around Ilshenar do this. :)

So if we wanted to scale area's based on player density, time of day, random things happening, or things that players can interact with we can. Some of the event scenario stuff also uses this dynamic spawn technology as well. We also have a newer feature of the spawner that I added recently that hasn't been used much and that is the ability to dynamically control the spawn rate of a spawn area. You may have noticed that most of the spawn areas only create one creature every time that area gets eligible to spawn something. Now we can actually adjust that number on the fly so if we wanted to change an area to do quick bursts of spawns we can. Evil in a Can actually does this now. It scales the number of creatures that get spawned at once based on the size of the area. :)

So yes, we can do it, but it's just a matter of getting time to design, implement, and test it...

-FierY iCe
Programmer: Ultima Online

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While I do like the idea of mentioning or even showing those places in a comic there are a number of issues...for example: One, as you said, we have 20+ shards. While Kazola's Tavern or the Golden Brew may be famous here and even on other shards outside of where they exist, there are other, equally famous and important, establishments and places on the other shards. To the player running an only "fairly well known" tavern on Great Lakes or players running role-playing events on Sonoma their fiction is just as important (in fact, probably more important) to them as any other, more "famous" places and fiction. Second, these places are the creations of their respective players. Putting them in a comic may not only have legal issues (I have no idea to be honest, there may or may not be) but more importantly to me, it also has the issue of representing the establishment/character correctly. This would include their look, the way they speak, how they react to the situation we put them in, and a host of other issues. I would *never* want to use someone else's character in one of the stories we write without their knowledge, permission, and approval of concept. Which would probably mean some kind of sign-off process with the person we chose to put in the comic, something that frankly is probably not possible given contractual agreements and our own time schedule. Lastly, who is to say what is and what is not an interesting story to people? A story about Kazola may very entertaining and interesting to the folks here, but to players on say, the Atlantic shard, who may not have a clue who she is, they may care less and in fact, may even harbor a bit of resentment since a well known figure on their shard was not used.

So while I totally agree that the largest factor in the fiction is the players in the game (I've been saying that for over 4 years now :P), I think it's perfectly acceptable to keep that aspect *in-game* and tell a "bigger picture story" in the comic using the mainstay (and some new) UO feature characters and places. The comic is not *the* story of Ultima Online...it's *a* story. And by sticking to these characters we hopefully do create a story that is interesting to the majority of players.

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

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Ever gotten "spanked" in a guild war? Have you "owned" players in PvP? In a game like UO, where players from all over the world come together in a society of their own creation, it's common for terminology to evolve into new meanings. Sometimes those words are innocent, like the words above, and sometimes, as in the case of the word "rape," they're not. The word "rape" is not an acceptable term to use in UO, regardless of whether it's being used to mean the act of sexual assault, or simply having "raped" someone in PvP (meaning to have won, or dominated, the fight).

Why is there no distinction made? Well, our GMs have no way to discern what someone actually means when they use certain terms, and we will not get into debates as to the intended meaning of terms that are considered offensive by others. So if the word "rape" is used, and called in as harassment, the player will have their account penalized up to and including termination, regardless of the context.

When talking to other players you don't know, don't assume that they understand your meaning in cases like this. They could be new to the game, or maybe not a native English speaker. In short, please consider your audience when speaking!

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Apart from X Lord X what other characters do you have and regularly play?

My other favorite characters is mainly my Archery mage, called Deus that i play as often as i player X Lord X, also i have a "warrior/Mage" char, he has the skills of a warrior, but mixed with magery/Eval which is mage skills, so him i see as my test character, to try and create new templates that people havent thought about.

A guy was laughing at me, because Quake had 0.0 tactics, and thats very unusual for a char that uses weapon skill, never the less i won both fights against that guy, and then he had to admit, maybe the char werent so bad afterall, even though the skills looked strange.

Where did the name for your character come from?

Name for my character came after having played under another unusual name (SheepDog) on the pacific shard, so when Europa came up, i wanted another unique name that i would be the only one to have..
and at this time there was no people at all, who had names with X in the start and in the end, so therefore i thougt about something as unusual as X Lord X.

What would be your typical UO day?

Typical day in UO changed a lot these times sadly..

I used to log on, and fight as many people as i could find to fight...simply for the thrill of it...i also used to PK a lot with my SheepDog character, and my RL friends like Gork, and look in your bag. No one had all the safety to "not die" as they do now....there was no trammel, there was no stattlossed pks, there was no other safe spots than inside a town, so people was acting very differently from how they do now, because back then people was used to know they are always at risk, so when a fight situation came, people was prepared to take it.

Nowdays my typical UO day, is to search most of the time, and when i do encounter enemies they often does not wish to fight, but rather save their regs/loot and run off...its very sad tendencies, because people who does this will never improve themself in combat.

If i had always done so, when i was a no-good pvper, then i would still be so today, because you only learn from your failures. The people who only wish to fight safe fights they are sure to win, theyll never learn anything they did not know already.

How long have you been playing Ultima Online? And have you been on Europa all this time?

I have been playing Ultima online, ever since the Beta..first on a test account just to try the game with some friends, and later i bought the acc i have still now, and i started my "serious" playing on Pacific Shard, there i played a couple of years, until Europa came, then i moved there, and i have been playing Euro shard ever since that.I also played Chessapeake, with some rl friends, we had a huge pk group there in old times, called DfV.

What would you say your main play style is and have you tried other styles? (Roleplay, PvP, Crafting etc)

It was clear to me from the beginning that what i liked about this game was the thrill in fighting other people, its like playing a good game of chess or anything else, where 2 people has to outsmart each other, and the more tricks, and tactics they can create by themself, the more success theyll have with their pvp.

And trust me, you do not become a good pvper over a month, the real good ones has had their time to learn it, because even old tricks that does no longer work brings you the essence of what tactics can be created in the new systems of pvp.

I never tried to RPG, but i know many RPGers, and i have been a so called "pvp teacher" in an old big RPG town called Deepwater on Europa. PvP teacher means that i was teaching their "city guards" to become good player vs player fighters, because PKs and Noto´s favorite battleground was Roleplay towns, as they always had people around.

I have never made myself a crafter char of any kind, i always lived by the rule that, aslong as i have 50 each regent on me, i can fight for the rest, so no need to craft it.

What is your favorite memory of your time on Europa?

My favorite memory in UO is hard to Answer...i have many memories that i love...One of my favorites is back when i was playing Pacific shard, and me and my guild was so bored in deceit dungeon one day, that we filled the whole floor of the dungeon with goldcoins...there was goldpiles on each title of the floor, and then i called a Gamemaster, and told him to come look at how bored we were, and if he then would not create us some fun. Indeed he came, and created fun...He spawned a mass spawn of all kind of monsters, that instant attacked me and my guildmembers. When he was about to leave he said "you had fun now SheepDog?". as usual, i couldnt help myself sounding challenging, so i answered him, that this spawn was nothing much. Then he spawned a Black demon infront of me, and made it attack me, after all my members having emptied their mana on healing me, and trying to get the demon killed with weapons, i died. That was a very great and fun night.

Another time, was also at Pacific...it was back in the times where Grandmaster Resist really meant something, because the Evaluating skill was not made yet, so spells on a GM resist char did 5-15 dmgs average. So this one night i had killed some Leaders of a huge japaneese guild on pacific, and they planned a huge revenge on me, so they gathered about 25-30 mages to go to deceit where i lways "hanged out", and to search me and kill me.

They found me, and suddenly i found myself fighting a screen full of people, and the one member from my guild i had with me hided himself instantly and took on a Greater heal wand, with lots of charges in it, then as they all started to bomb me, my friend was healing me constantly with the wand, and when it was running out of charges, the ppl was also running out of mana...it was fun to see how they switched from Ebolts and Flamestrikes, to fireballs, and then finaly magic arrows.

Later that evening i was Jailed by a gamemaster, who said he had recieved very many complaints from people about me. So i asked the GM, what these complaints where about? He answered me, he could not say at this time, but for now i was jailed for using a Stealing 3rd party program. so i laughed and told the GM to check my skills, so that he could easily see i have 0.0 in stealing skill, so it was impossible that i could be stealing from anyone.

Then the gm said, sorry but he had to jail me, it was not his decision, but a decision made from a guy who was higher ranking than gms.

So that was the first time i was simply jailed, only to satisfy a lot of people who just didnt get their kill. :)

And your worst memory?

My worst memory is very clear to me, it was a time where i was Banned. The story was, that me and some friends had been using a trick to make other people Criminal flagged, so we could pk them without recieving any counts, a GM found this out, and jailed me, and everyone of my guild.

He told me, he was perma banning my account, and he did not even want to discuss the case, so i just recieved a little dialog box saying "GM Spitfire kicked you" Connection lost.

I was of course 100% sure my account was lost forever now, and that i would not play this game again, but 24 hours later, and a LOT of emails later i for fun tried to log on my acc and it was re-opened, i entered the game and a GM told me, to not use any tricks again, because next time it would really be a permanent ban.

What is your proudest achievement in UO?

My proudest achievement in UO would be my RL gf *smiles* I met her over the game, and now we have been together irl, for almost 2 years.

Other proud achievements would be to take part in developing PvP, to invent tricks, and see other people using them, to make out tactics that people can´t figure out, so they react by either hating me, or respecting me, which is a very typical image of xlx char, either people hate xlx, or they like him.

Otherwise, what I've wanted to achieve, was to win the big PvP tourneys, after many years on pacific, being a "newbie", i assured myself i wanted to be between the best pvpers, and i wanted to win the tourneys, and not just look at them. Now on Europa i achieved that goal, after much hard work and many boring visits at healers, i finaly think i achieved this goal. I won most of the tourneys i joined, and latest was the 3 big pvp tourneys on Europa.

Who do you respect or look upto on Europa the most?

I respect my friends, and i respect the few enemies that are left, who plays this game sameway as we used to play it in old days.
That means to take chances, to not take loss nor victory too serious, but to just enjoy the fight while it lasts.

Often when i fight people, who does not run from me, or tries to avoid the fight, i never loot them if they die. I leave their loot and ressurect them, simply because theres no reason to loot a few graphical items, if you can let them stay and make sure that next
time this guy will stay to fight aswell, because he wont be scared to loose anything, then i know ill have another fun moment pvping next time i meet him.

If i have to put names on people, which style i like in this game, its also often the people i have become closest friends too: Nahum, LiGhT, and Primus of Uman.

Primus has been an enemy throughout the years on Euro shard, but he has been a good enemy to have, an honourable fighter, who just enjoys pvp as myself.

Anf finally if you could change one thing in UO, what would it be?
There is no doubt in what i would change, if i could change one thing in UO.

Away with trammel, lets have back the old times with only one facet, that is united by every kind of player there is in this game, whether it is Rpgs, PvPrs, Crafters or Buisness players. The game was never the same after Trammel was implanted. We lost the andrenaline feeling the game had.

We used to always have the exciting feelings running in our veins while playing, that anything could happen anywhere, you could never feel 100% safe, there was always a risk lurking around the corner, and this gave Andrenaline and Excitement to the game, it added feelings to the game, and added a feeling of community.

Now with trammel, and safehavens, this feeling is lost...now the fear has to be nursed so it is non existing, and so no one feels any hard times ever if they do not wish too.

But we all know, if there is no bad, then we cant recognize the good
anymore, and everything becomes a boring daily rutine, without feelings, without andrenaline rushes ever.

Its the losses, that makes our happyness shine, when we achieve a victory, so if we never suffer any losses, then we never feel any victory neither.

Thats my quote, and my absolute view.

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Hear ye! Hear ye!

The Moonglow City Council is inviting all people to a winter festival ... The "Moonglow Midwinter Merriment".

It will happen on ---- Sunday, December 23rd, starting at 18:00cet (5pm UK Time) in Trammel Moonglow ----

The following events are planned:

18.00cet (5.00pm UK) - A Jousting of the City Guards -- bets on the winner are taken

19.00cet (6.00pm UK) - Mongbat Hunt -- You think you are strong enough to wrestle Mongbats!? Then try it here and win a vanquish dagger *smiles*

19.45cet (6.45pm UK) - Cow Tipping -- Milking cows is boring .. we rather like to push 'em over! 5000 coins for the winner of this event.

20.30cet (7.30pm UK) - Hicup Contest (SW-tavern trademark) -- You really need a reason to drink on a festival? Alright here it is! Earn the most honorable title of "Midwinter Drunkard" in this contest!

21.00cet (8.00pm UK) - Horse Race -- Get your fastest horse and win a pet of your choice!

21.45pm (8.45pm UK) - Christmas Couple election -- You cannot compete alone in this one .. you need a loved one for it *smiles*.
But if you can convince the judges that you two really fit together, you can win 100K of honeymoon coins, Two weddingbands and .. a romantic candle light dinner!

22.45pm (9.45pm UK) - Official Opening of the Moonglow Mall -- by mayor Kulgan

23.00pm (10.00pm UK) - Tombola, Vendor Based -- Buy boxes at a vendor in the Moonlgow market. Who knows what prizes are hidden there ...?

23.30pm (10.30pm UK) - Story Telling -- You got a good-night story? A frighting tale? Let us know and win a "glassblowing" or "stone crafting" book of your choice.

We will try to stay with the times, but they cannot be guaranteed. So if you really wish to watch/ take part in an event, please come early.

More information about the City Council can be found on http://stop.at/moonglow

Hope to see ye there!
Yoldran
-- Towncrier of Moonglow.

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Lady FELICIA would like to invite you to join her and all your UO friends to Louisville,KY during the weekend of April 19th-21st of 2002. There will be a trip to 6 Flags KY Kingdom, a small party Saturday night, and a brunch on Sunday. The cost is $30 per person which covers the cost of the ticket to 6 Flags, party, and brunch on Sunday. Rooms are available at discount rates. If you would like to come join the fun, or have any questions,please feel free to contact me [Lady Felicia] @ icq 72757198

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For those of you interested, the "original" version of stones that is on the UO:LBR CD is posted on site. Some of you will probably recognize it. :)

UO:LBR Download

The one that is called "new" is actually the version of stones that was going to be in UO2 and is also on the UO:LBR CD.

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

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Yup! Should have hopefully more than one this week. But definitely at least one.

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

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Hail one and all!

I'm pleased to announce that the Eternal Warriors will be hosting a Christmas party next Friday evening, at 9PM EST. There will be food and wine for all! An exchange of gifts will be had and many other fun things! There may even be an apearance by Ol' Saint Nick himself!

Those who are interested can head to the West Britain Counselors Hall in Trammel! Our representatives will be waiting there to gate you to our Guild Hall.

Come in great numbers! We guarantee a good time!

Sevev,
Eternal Warriors War Reporter.

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The United Blacksmiths of Britannia will be holding a Winter Harvest Festival this coming Thursday & Friday the 20th-21st. We have 6 events that we will be holding to provide entertainment to any who seek it. The schedule for the events is as follows:

Thursday, December 20th
8:15pm EST - "Rat Race" around Britannia
9:00pm EST - Greatest Smith Competition
10:00pm EST - "Leap Frog"

Friday, December 21th
7:00pm EST - Gladiators Violent
8:30pm EST - Net Toss
10:00pm EST - Best Dressed Craftsman

The full details on each event can be viewed at the UBB website located at www.ubb.org. Several of the events have a limited number of entries available, so please see full info on our website to enter. There will be prizes and gifts given to contestants as well as door prizes, so come on by and enjoy two nights of friendly gaming events.

Lord McBain
GuildMaster,
United Blacksmiths of Britannia.

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Greetings Everyone! Just a reminder, Mythndale's Yule Party will take place this coming Saturday, December 22nd at 7pm.

And now the list of Events!!!!!

We will be starting this eve off with a flea market. This event is open to any and all. Bring those magic weapons you fished out of the belly of a daemon. Bring your servants, slaves, your mules what ever! Set-up will begin at 6:15, which should give us plenty of time to be ready for those last minute shoppers. This Event will run from 7pm to 8:30pm. There will also be special deals on the vendors inside.

Then on to the party, hosted by the Mythndale Staff! There will be free food and drinks available to all who attend.

We will be having a Snow Man building contest!

A secret Santa exchange!

By popular demand, a Snowball Fight!! So make sure to bring your snow when you journey to Mythndale this night!

We will also be introducing a little game we call Santa's Revenge. Unfortunately, due to the rules of the facet, this will be open to the War Guilds of Mythndale only. What this is, is a chicken fight.

Those participating will be split into two groups, Red for Santa and Green for the Elves. Jingle hats will be a MUST!! *grins* Each participant will battle their chicken against the opposing team, and the team with the most chickens left in the end, will be declared Mythndale's Grand Chicken Champions! Prizes of course will be awarded.

And finally, I have heard a little rumor that Santa Claus himself will be stopping by to hand out goodies to all the good girls and boys of all ages. So he is making his list, he is checking it twice.. Have you been naughty? Have you been nice?

Anyone wishing to volunteer to assist on Saturday will be welcomed. Any other ideas for events, feel free to let me know!

Come one, come all and enjoy Mythndale's Flea Market and Yule Party.

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Hail Archers of the Lands. The Society of Archers (S|A) Baja Chapter is pleased to announce that it will hold the long awaited December's "Best Shot in the Realms" Archery Contest this Sunday (12/23). For those of you unfamiliar with the event, The S|A Baja Chapter sponsors this free event for all Archers, and puts up a monthly purse of over 100,000gp!

As always, the event will be held at the Skara Brae Fairegrounds in Trammel. Signups for the contest will begin promptly Sunday at 5:00pm PST-SHARD TIME (8:00pm EST), with the event to begin immediately thereafter. It is not a very long event, lasting about 1-2 hours, and has proven to be an absolute blast and very suspenseful each and every time. We are expecting a very large turnout this month, so please try to be at the Fairegrounds at the start of signup times to avoid delays.

A brief break down of rules and new changes. The S|A Baja Chapter will enter two contestants into the event, determined by a preliminary round, who will be competing for the title only, not the prize. We are pleased to announce that Starr, October's Champion, as well as Sniper Wolf, a two time defending champ, have both joined the ranks of S|A, leaving the field quite open this month. All man-made, non-magical, bows and crossbows are allowed. We would like to hold an amateur round with a seperate prize, and encourage all young Archers of the Lands to come as well.

Lastly, each monthly winner will be given a spot in the yearly Championship Round, to be held sometime this coming summer with a purse never before seen in such an event. So come one come all Archers, and let fly your arrows against the best of Britannia to see if you truly are the "Best Shot in the Realms".

Theoran
Head of Baja Chapter
Society of Archers S|A

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When discussing her hairstyle:

Personally, I really like her hair. It's not actually dreadlocks - it's just meant to be mussed. After all, she is a warrior, and it would make sense she wouldn't have perfect hair. :)

And remember, this is Dawn, a feature character. This is Dawn's look. She's not meant to show exactly what all female avatars will look like....you'll still have tons of character customization choices, including hair.

-Cynthe
Community Manager
ORIGIN Systems

and….

Remember, the existing hair styles are also being redone, so hopefully you'll like the new hair for the style you have now better.

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

She is a major character in the comic (along with Blackthorn, Dupre and others) and will be an ongoing character in UO. Not saying anything beyond that. :)

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

Well, we (Gromm, Augur, and myself) wrote it [comic]. :)

I'm not usually one to talk up something, but I can honestly say I think the comic is absolutely awesome. As I said in a previous post, we got to see the proofs from the McFarlane folks and the only thing we changed was Dupre's hairstyle and Clainin's hat. Everything else they nailed perfectly on the first shot.

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

when asked if the comic ongoing:

The comic is included in the box. It's not ongoing...yet.

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

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To see that holiday gifts are given to active players and characters, a character must not only be at least 30 days old to receive a holiday gift ticket, but must also have been logged into the game at some point since the deactivation of last year’s holiday tickets. In other words, if a character received a holiday gift ticket last year, and has not been logged into the game since then, that character will not be eligible to receive a holiday ticket this year. However, any character older than 30 days that did not receive a gift ticket last year will receive one this year. It is also important to note that any unused holiday tickets claimed in the past will still be redeemable this year.

Please note that holiday gifts are only active on the Atlantic shard at this time. We will post another update once we determine a release schedule for the rest of the shards.

You can find complete information on holiday gifts here.

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The rules below, written by Bacci, are also posted to the DP website:

The rules fer the DP street brawl---Be ready:

1. Fighting will start when the judges say.
2. There will be no gating or recalling during a match. If a person does recall/gate then they will automatically forfeit.
3. No bugs or exploits will be allowed. If you are caught using these you will be disqualified (and a GM may or may not be called on you.)
4. If a fight goes longer than 15 minutes, the judges may decide whether or not the fight is going anywhere and may choose a victor based upon the skills displayed.
5. The winner may loot the loser of any/all items on the corpse. Once the winner is finished the loser will be allowed to collect any remaining items and will be gated to town.

A Maximum of 24 people will be allowed to compete. You must be signed up at least 2 days in advance. The first 24 people to sign up will be allowed in. In order to sign up you must PM me (Bacci) stating that you wish to fight in the competition, your character's name, and what type of character you will be bringing (tamer, mage, warrior). You must also state if the character is Red or Blue. This is so they can be brought to the correct holding area. You may not switch which character you bring after you sign them up. Once all characters have been registered, additional instructions will be given to competitors via PMs through the DP message board.

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15/12/2001 - *** NEW UDPATE at http://www.iamacat.org(europe) ***

OYE! OYE!

Zog is back (and all the team too:)

Sorry for the long downtime.
Will we do worse next time :)

News Episodes, New Reporters, new everything.....But dont worry the old stuff is still here :)

I hope for new update before Xmas, then if not, Merry Christmass to all.

Enjoy :)

Iamacat ([email protected])

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Hi, the first 'christmassy' episode of 'Tyrion does UO' is up.

Tyrion.

http://www.galileo.spaceports.com/~uotyrion

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Want to get out from behind your monitor and meet other UO players and the UO dev team in person? You’ll get your chance on Thursday, December 20th! To kick in the holiday season, Origin Systems and Guinness will be sponsoring a Holiday Happy Hour on Thursday, Dec. 20th, from 7:00-9:00 pm at Tangerines, located next to the Renaissance Hotel in Northwest Austin. We’re inviting all our players 21 and older in the Austin area to come share appetizers and drinks with the UO dev team and Origin staff. And you never know… you just might get a glimpse of what’s coming up at the UO FanFest 2002! No RSVP is needed – just show up at Tangerines at 7:00 pm on Thursday, December 20th.

Do I need to bring anything?
Nope! Just bring yourself, and your government-issued ID showing you're 21!

Can I get in if I’m not 21?
We are sorry, but this party is for 21 and over only.

*Note - when first posted, we wrote that under 21 would be allowed in, but would not be able to drink. We discovered that this is not the case due to the happy hour arrangements, and we have changed this notice to reflect the fact that only 21 and up will be allowed to attend. We are very sorry for any inconvenience.

Will there be non-alcoholic drinks?
Absolutely! Someone’s got to drive, right?

Will there be a Question and Answer session?
Sorry, there won’t be a formal Q&A at this event. After all, it’s a party for us too!

Do I have to pay to get in?
No charge for you. This is our treat!

Do I need to register for anything ahead of time?
No, just show up on Thursday.

Is there parking nearby?
Yes! Since the club is right next to the Austin Renaissance Hotel, there’s plenty of parking in the large lot in front.

How do I get there?
Tangerines is located next to the Renaissance Austin Hotel at 9721 Arboretum Blvd, Austin, TX. You can find a map and driving directions here.

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Actually, nothing has changed in our treatments of hacking. …it's not a scam, but computer fraud, and isn't something that we can go after ourselves anyway (you need to bring in the authorities, since it's your system and account information that has been compromised, not our servers). For a good description of our stance on hacking, and what we can do to help, see:

Actually, we have been educating for a good long time, and we are, in fact, at the point where the calls are much, much lower that they were in the past. Our policy is actually not changing quite as much as it sounds like, since we have had so many fewer calls... but it's more a matter of making the expectations clear to people that they really do need to take the time to make sure they play smart.

In the past, we would find ourselves spending very long amounts of time tracking down things that could have been easily avoided if someone had just used the item ID skill, or moved their cursor over the back dye tub to see what it said. Or not followed someone through an unknown gate while loaded down with ever rare they owned.

These are the things that people need to know, and that's why we've been pushing the new scam prevention document at every chance as well. The best tool against scammers is not necessarily a big police force - it's players that are too smart to fall for the same old tricks.

Cynthe
Community Manager
Origin Systems

If you haven’t already, you should read the new scamming policy here.

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It's not concept art. :)

then added:

It's an actual model that would be used in-game. It still may get tweaked some though of course. Also, remember, that model is not a the new female avatar (it's a specific NPC) although it is very indicative of what can be done. You'll be seeing that later.

and when asked if the female avatars are going to be improved when UO:LBR goes live:

They're going to look better of course. But really, better/worse is in the eye of the beholder, so rather than me gush over them (although I do think what I have seen is fantastic) we'd rather let you all see them and let you make your own decisions.

The reason I state that this character is not a player model is so you know that she is a specific, unique, feature character. :)

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

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Apart from Lord Ulysses what other characters do you have and regularly play?

Lord Ulysses takes up about 99% of my online time so I don't really get a chance to play any other characters on a regular basis.

I do have a few other characters that I play when I have a bit of time but their names I will keep to myself *smiles*


Where did the name for your character come from?

As I am Greek, the subject of Greek mythology has always fascinated me so I do alot of reading on the subject so all of my character names are from Greek Mythology.


What would be your typical UO day?

My typical UO day would involve running around like a lunatic trying to help as many people as I can. Filling out orders for friends and customers for anything and everything you can imagine from 10 plate sets to buying and selling houses for people.
Making sure the guild and the guild shops are running smoothly.
Taking care of any problems that arise.
Wheeling and dealing in general.
Restocking vendors.
And finally spending as much time as I can at the Hammer and Anvil in Britain.


How long have you been playing Ultima Online? And have you been on Europa all this time?

I have been playing Ultima Online for about 3 years now,and yes I have been on Europa all this time. I have never played any other shard.


What would you say your main play style is and have you tried other styles? (Roleplay, PvP, Crafting etc)

Smith without a doubt,that is what I love to do plain and simple,and also being a merchant in general. As for other play styles in about 3 years of playing UO I have tried just about most things from pvp (with the exception of pkilling)to roleplay etc etc,but nothing even comes close to being a smith *smiles*.


What is your favorite memory of your time on Europa?

All the great people I have met becuase of UO and become very good friends with. Ultima Online is so much more than just a game it is a community. I have known people for 3 years in UO who I consider friends outside of UO and I have even met a few of them in real life.

And also all the people in my guild RAA (Royal Arms and Armour),I consider them as my little family because you couldn't hope to find a better group of people. And I am honoured to know them and call them my friends.


And your worst memory?

That would have to be when someone who was very close to me had to quit UO quite recently. I miss her so much and if she is reading this I would just like to say to her missing you always.


What is your proudest achievement in UO?

That would have to be when after 4 months of hard work and effort some 3 years ago I finally achieved the honour of becoming a Grandmaster Smith. I can't even begin to describe how proud and honoured I felt to finally become a Grandmaster Smith. And I will never forget that moment or the achievement of becoming a Grandmaster Smith.


Who do you respect or look upto on Europa the most?

That would have to be all the old timer UBB Smiths most of who are now sadly gone,just to name a few and I apologise to anyone that I have left out. In no particular order Minfor,Blanhe,Totom,LC,Jessica Grimhilt,Mr Schmoo and John Squires(Non-UBB). The reason that they gained my respect and admiration was for the way they would treat people at the Hammer and Anvil in Britain each day,always with respect,kindness and honesty and I admired that a great deal. And I do my best to treat people exactly in that way.


And finally, if you could change one thing in UO, what would it be?

Peoples attitudes to others.

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Smiths of all Shards - be prepared to wave your aprons in the air like you just don't care - Bulk Order Deed trading just got a whole lot easier!

You see: The staff at Avatarian Wares puffing out their collective chests as they proudly announce the birth of UOBID.COM - the most comprehensive Bulk Order Deed tracking/trading site you could ever hope to come across!

Not only does UOBID.COM offer the chance to buy, sell or trade more BODs that you could comfortably shake a stick at but it also offers a completely new concept - online personal BOD tracking! Yes, 'tis true - gone are the dark days of having to remember exactly which Small Orders you still need to find to complete that irksome Large Order that's been sitting in your bankbox since Publish 14. Nevermore will you have to spend twelvety hours trawling through all those many many auctions in the vain hope that you just might come across that particular deed you need.

Now, thankfully these noisome tasks are naught but a distant and unpleasant memory as UOBID.COM tirelessly performs them all for you by virtue of it's shiny new dynamic tracking system! Simply register, enter all of your BODs (be they for sale, trade or even kept) and UOBID.COM will instantly and effortlessly scan its database attempting to find you potential buyers or traders for your unwanted BODs and, most importantly, put you in contact with the very traders that can supply you with the deeds you desperately crave!

Tarry no longer - wing your virtual way to UOBID.COM right now and experience it for yourself. The sooner you register and enter your BODs the sooner you may get that Runic Smithy Hammer you so richly deserve!

Oh and go tell all your pals - the more users we have the higher your chance of finding that deed ;)

Vialli & Markus Angelus
Avatarian Wares

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On Dec 23, 2001, @ 5pm pst, the Solitary Souls of Pacific will be hosting a scavenger hunt for the twelve days of christmas. This hunt will originate at the Solitary Souls tower in Trammel coordinates - 104 deg 45 min south by 8 deg 17 min west, in the swamp south of Destard. Shttp://www.peak.org/~andreas/ss/

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We are searching for talented and experienced Server Programmers to join the ORIGIN team! Primary responsibilities include coding and implementing new game content as well as maintaining current server code. They will also work with the team to determine architecture for new systems, and evaluate current systems for optimization and bug fixes.
The ideal candidate will be able to demonstrate the following:

• Extremely competent and experienced working in a UNIX environment, specifically Linux and Solaris
• 3+ years programming experience using C++ / object-oriented programming
• Significant network programming experience with TCP/IP
• Significant distributed programming experience, including ability to build distributed and client/server systems
• Knowledge of scripting languages such as Perl, Unix shell scripting languages (sh, bash, and/or tcsh), Java and Python
• Familiarity with RPC programming and shared object / DLL programming
• Experience profiling executables with grof or other profiling tool
• Experience using memory debugging tools
• Ability to discern appropriate code and timing for optimization
• Disciplined and experienced using CVS or similar versioning control system
• Highly documentation-oriented, engineering approach to problem-solving
• Desire/ability to work in a team environment

Pluses Include:

• Win32 development experience
• Familiarity with threaded programming (POSIX threads) and other internal systems issues
• Familiarity with programming DB applications and using SQL commands
• Experience with the Berkeley DB system
• Experience implementing movement prediction and latency tolerant movement systems
• Familiarity with massively multiplayer games

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Enjoy!

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Laura Campbell, also known as Shadow of Light Dragon, author of several works of Ultima fiction, has joined the team as a dialogue writer.

11 new members join our crew; FireTalon, Dr. Xavier, Orione, Everon, Midnight Nova, Canto, SoL, Random, Beaumains, Sir Vincealot and Xiag. Welcome aboard new members.

During the Beta phase, no new features will be added to Exult (if we can help it :-), and we will work exclusively on stabilization and documentation. Once we are satisfied with stability on all platforms, we will release Exult 1.0. At this point development will branch in two: a stable branch, to which only bugfixes will be applied, and from which subsequent 1.0.x releases will be made, and a development branch which will focus on new features and especially on getting ExultStudio and the other tools working.

There is an Amiga port of Exult, which hopefully will be integrated in the mainstream code. Get it here

Patrick's UCXT (usecode decompiler/disassembler) now works and will be included in future "Tools" releases

Jeff has upgraded UCC (usecode compiler) to work with the new conversation calls, and has released a new "patch" to BG. Grab it from here

Exult's data files (exult*.flx) have a CRC so that Exult refuses to run with non-matching data files

We fixed a few crashers and other bugs.

Q\ Romantic Possibilities: Will they be new romantic interests or possibilities with older ones?
A\ There will be a choice for the player, if indeed he/she decides on *any* romance at all, between new characters or resuming an older one.

Q\ Please tell me there will be answer on HOW the Companions got back fom the Serpent Isle!
A\ All the companions are dead and/or turned into Wyrmguard. JUST KIDDING :) Seriously, there will be an explanation on how they returned from Serpent Isle.

Q\ Will you still have the whole plotline with the teleportation storms that also ravaged Britannia as well as the Serpent Isle?
A\ This is one of my personal favourites. All those references regarding the damage and changes you heard about when playing Serpent Isle will be visually seen in Redemption as part of the world, and spoken about by NPC's

Q\ Will you still have continuity with the Gargoyles from Draxinusom and so forth?
A\ Yes, %100 consistency from Ultima VII as well as the Draxinusom reference in UU2. And we won't stop just there, we'll explain the lore discrepencies between mute Wingless Gargs in U6 and U7.

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• The Tailoring Skill page now accepts your tailoring skill so you can see what you can make at your current skill level and what the chances are of making clothing of normal and exceptional quality.
• The Blacksmithing Skill page has been updated with the proper formula when it comes to making items with a blacksmithing bonus, such as the one you get when you equip an ancient smithy hammer.

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Lecture at the University of Spiritwood on Tuesday 18th December

In the ongoing project of the University of Spiritwood, promoting understanding between the races inhabiting Sosaria, and giving representatives from each race the possibility to present themselves and their way of living, we have now come to the second lecture. Again, I ask everyone interested in listening, to come with an open mind and without prejudices.

This time, the drow Shaex D'Thargaz, Diplomat from Naeloth and the Ilythiiri Dobluth Empire will presentthe drow as a race, as well as telling about the drow's view of events past and present.

Time: 7 UK/20 CET
Date: Tuesday 18th December
Place: University of Spiritwood, Trammel Campus

To find the Trammel Campus (and the Felucca Campus in the same place on the opposite facet), head east along the mainland road from the Skara Brae docks. When you come to the second road on the right, at the crossroads a short way inland, go south. Keep going south then east past the farms and homes, and soon you will arrive in Spiritwood. The University is on the far eastern side of the town, in the end of the clearing closest to the south-western corner of the Sosarian Hedge Maze.

For the Virtues,

-Ceinwyn
Chancellor, Spiritwood University

Thanks I hope many enjoyed the quest

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Quest of the Border Line Part IV Hidden in the Shadows

Advisor Caine had sent out a call to all adventurers loyal to Lord British to help seek out a spy, who had stolen some valuable informations revealing a planned attack on the Ravenmoor town by Lord British Loyalists. A few swarthy warriors arrived to help but it seemed that it would be a hard task since the spy was reported to be hidden in Buccaneer's Den. This place is known to be a hot bed of pirates, brigands and cut-throats, but even though their numbers were few, the adventurers were willing to take up the challenge.

However just as they planned their scheme, to buy ale and get the pirates talking more with free drinks...a large force of Britannia Guards arrived, led by the reknowned Miss Nacho. It suddenly seemed possible to take on Buccaneer's Den and find the spy and save their planned attacks...

However, as is often the case in the lawless town of Bucc's Den, things did not quite go to plan...
Miss Nacho and her troops followed clues and after bribing a few evil souls, they ended up at the Tavern, the Pirate's Plunder, where they found a group of Brigands drinking. They cleverly fed the Brigands more ale and it seemed that the location of the spy would be told to them for a small price...Sadly, whilst Miss Nacho was carrying out the difficult negotiations, her men, not used to the strong liquor and ale that the pirates drink, were getting badly drunk. As night fell, the negotiations seemed won, but a couple of Woodfolk from Vesper agreed to help the Brigands since they had no good will to any of Lord Britain's guards. They crept into the back room of the inn and as the Brigand Captain, Michael Delving, barred the door to the Guards, one of the Vesper folk changed clothes with the Spy and he crept out hiding amongst the Brigands and
woodfolk.

The Woodsman Beldor and Nicole rushed on horseback to the docks and prepared the spy's ship, whilst the Brigands tried to confuse the Guards and their leader. The Guards were drunk
but their leader saw through the the Brigands ploy and shouted for their arrest. Despite a short fight, the Brigands were easily captured by Miss Nacho's men despite their drunken state and were chained and taken to the Trinsic Jail. A small group of adventurers, who had learned from a thief the description of the spy, tried to follow him, but they weren't enough to try and stop him. And they had to let him go.. without being able to do anything. So the spy boarded his ship and was fleeing across the sea...

Despite some cruel torture of Uwanna and Michael Delving by the Guards, they revealed nothing, because they knew nothing...and so the Guards and the valiant adventurers accompanying them returned to Advisor Caine in Lord British's Throne Room. There was great concern that the spy would pass on the plans and that a terrible battle would soon ensue between Ravenmoor and
its allies and the Loyalists.

This concludes the Border Line Quest. We hope that you enjoyed it, if you were part of it. If you hadn't the opportunity to join us, don't be sad, many more quests are coming.

Involved Communities :
Ravenmoor : http://ravenmoor.ng22.com/
Twinkle Town : http://151.17.243.162/twinkletown/
Spawn Canyon Brigands :
http://www.geocities.com/skippy50uk/
Vesper Woodfolk :
http://www.alienspeek.demon.co.uk/vesperwoodfolk/

Story reported by Uwanna.

Tyrghen [UT] of Ravenmoor

Thanks I hope many enjoyed the quest

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Thodin UO Ideas Den moderator here again!
*smiles*

Once more it is time to announce the ideas den topic of the week, but this time with a difference - we have two!
Last week, Calandryll put out this request:

As many of you know, their are new mounts in UO:LBR. One of the things that has always bothered me about mounts in UO is that of the ones that anyone can ride (meaning you don't need taming to ride them) there is no real difference between a horse, ostard, ridgeback, or llama. Aside from the obvious things like stamina, hit points, look, etc, what other things do you think could be used to differnciate a mount. Don't worry too much about what type of creature it is, think more in general terms. I'd really like to hear some ideas...even if they seem a bitt off-the-wall. :)

So, what better as a topic than mount ideas? Please remember that Calandryll is looking for methods to make mounts feel different, not suggestions about new mounts (for they already have these done).

Now, as I'm sure you may be thinking, coming up with good mount ideas could be hard. That's why there is a second topic this week. With UO:LBR in development, we'd like to hear what you want to see added or changed to the UO clients. Already OSI have revealed that the 2D client is getting the 3D models (in sprite form), and both clients are recieving enhanced music (based upon MP3s).

As normal, at the end of the week, any ideas posted relating to the week's topic will be compiled and sent to Calandryll (for mount ideas) and Alai (client improvements) to assist them and the rest of the development team.

So, if you'd like to help differenciate the way mounts act, or suggest a useful addition or change to the UO clients, 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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Here is some general information about the election, translated into English from the site:

~"Mayor Finnigan had announced the construction of the Western Guard in response to the danger of a famine in Britain. This seemingly good deed, however, was just a front, a mask for what his intentions really were about. It turns out that the Britain Food Drive was not, in fact, a food drive at all, but rather some kind of worship ritual geared towards Finnigan's Muffin Faith.
The people were understandably displeased to find out that they had been used as a tool for Mayor Finnigan's faith, and under the strong voices of the people, the Mayor reluctantly decided to resign from his position. Now, the election of a new mayor has begun."~

This does not seem to be a GM-supported event (as of yet, at least) but it sure does seem interesting.

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• BODs Trade Boards
• A unique "UO Shops Village"
• Announcements Board
• Trade Boards (Updated)
• And more....

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Thank you to everybody who showed up for the first night of the Festival of Bells! It was a ton of fun! A special thanks to the folks at Impy's Auction for generously donating some of the great prizes being given out this festival weekend! I just wanted to remind everybody that there is still 2 days left!

Tomorrow we are doing more riddles/item hunts at 8pm. As well, Kishan's Casino is keeping the crate lotto running throughout this weekend. This Sunday we also have a Christmas Poetry Contest at 9pm by the eastern sky.

The race is getting close for the 500th visitor to the mall. For those of you that haven't heard we are giving away 500k to the 500th new visitor to Garden City Mall!

Garden City is located just north of Cove in the Trammel Facet 41o44'N 68o3'E.
For more information about Garden City and a map to our location please visit www.uogc.net
For information on Impy's Artic Faire please visit www.impys.net

Cya all tomorrow night!,
Mayor Nemonis

p.s. what ever will I do with 100's of holiday bells if they arn't won!

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From the Chronicles of Elder Raticker:

Moving slowly in a hypnotic daze, Raticker opened a green moongate to the catacombs of Blackthorn's Castle. Deep within the ancient structure, the main chamber was void of all life. Burning a small fire, the illumination did not reach the walls. Two large pillars held crumbling gargoyles of an age long past. Raticker began to mutter a spell he never new and summoned the Vessel of Farbanti to his side. He pulled Farbanti's soul and ripped the fabric of time in this dimension, slowly he appeared before Raticker screaming in agony.

"Vessel Farbanti you are summoned." stated Rat.

"What is thy bidding mighty one?" questioned Farbanti.

"You are to prepare the way for the rest of our brother's to enter this place. Eight more are needed to complete the necessary elements in opening a door to this hostile land. The gateway shall allow The Master to cross over and claim it for his own, each of us will then be able to completely take over these bodies and help rule all of Sosaria." stated Raticker in a hallowed voice.

Moving around the fire like two tribal peasants, the servents of the unknown evil danced. Casting strange spells and increasing the powerful hold they had over their receptacles, the aliens laughed into the darkness, into the night, and into the nightmares of the citizens of Sosaria.....

In the far off land of Trammel unnatural electrical storms scattered through the sky sending animals into a frenzy.....

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Several Events Occurring in Lightning Speed:

Silvanus Fellows had been away from the Monastery for a fairly long time and began to question the Barkeep and Prophet. Based on their insights he traveled to other locations to coordinate the information. The following is a summary of what he has discovered from talking to them, and other citizens.

**An Old Man, a strange encounter**

The shadows of the night hung on the Monastery like great black drapes. It was almost like the world outside was in morning. Most of the day Tym and Kemp Owyne were sifting through books and tomes in the Monastery library. Their search was for anything that could explain Gwyneth's nightmare.

Gwyneth was putting away the dishes for the evening meal. It was delicious as all her meals. The Crusader's had split for the night and only Tym, Kemp, Gwyneth, Gilhoa and Alaric were in the Monastery when the knock was heard at the door.

Alaric rose from the entry sitting room and opened the door. An old man with white eyes looked back. "Good evening father, welcome to the Monastery of Rose. Please come in. Gwyneth," Alaric's voice rose so she could hear him in the next room, "Please prepare some stew for a guest." The two sat at a table and Gwyneth quickly entered with stew, bread and wine. Alaric attempted small talk but the old man only ate. When he finished, the old man rose from the table and left. Alaric was fairly stunned. Not even a "thank you" came from the old mans lips. Gwyneth walked back into the room. "Where did he go?" Alaric sat smiling, "I guess he didn't't care for your cooking. The old man has no taste buds left apparently." Gwyneth picked up a roll and threw it at Alaric's head. He lifted a hand from the table and caught it. "It is late, husband, an old man should not be wandering the woods this time of night. Bring him back to at least stay the night." Being an obedient husband, and one who knew his wife's ill was not to be put off without having a dozen rolls thrown about the Monastery, Alaric rose to leave. Opening the door he nearly tripped over a knapsack. "What is this?" Alaric hesitated his pursuit to pick up the bag and peer at the contents: a few tattered maps, looking very old, a strange looking artifact and a letter. Alaric read the letter and became faint. Slowly he sank to the floor and Gwyneth ran over to him. "What is it?" she spoke in a worried tone. Alaric passed her the note. When she finished reading it fell from her fingers and she placed her hands on her husbands shoulders.

**The Letter**

It was Sunday and the several of the Crusaders were returning from theShrine of Spirituality. Others already returned from the Empath Abbey in Felucca and Trammel.

The meeting was already underway when Leones Homus arrived. "Well brothers and sisters. We may begin. Thank you for coming Leones, I know it is difficult to be here under the time constraints of your quest. Last night I received a letter from a strange man and an artifact and tattered maps in a knapsack. Leones, speak with Maiden Gilhoa about the artifact and maps. When I finish reading the letter you may leave, but please keep the letter in mind always.

"To all whom hold true to Virtue:

An evil is coming upon the land, it is an ancient evil and it is an evil that will put asunder alliances and bring death to thousands. Inside this knapsack you will find three maps. Buried at these sites are ancient treasures of past Templars, Crusaders and heroes. Most importantly is the Tome of Breaking. You must reach the book before your enemies, for if they find it Armageddon shall surly come."

The letter finished, Alaric took his seat and the order and guests were dismissed.

**Marious Goubert**

He slinked threw the crowd and made his way to the meeting place. Trinsic was such a wonderful choice. He entered the storeroom of the inn, vacant. A portal rippled and the presence of darkness entered the room. "I am Oblivion, thou hast sworn thyself to me. With power comes sacrifice. Sacrifice thy soul." Marious kneeled before the shadow, which passed over him in a circle and returned threw the portal. As the portal closed Marious leaned forward with vomits and foaming. He lifted himself up, stripped himself of his clothing in a mad rage, ran from the inn and darted into the woods threw the southern gate. His mind was now one with Oblivion and he knew where he was to go. Only first he had to feed his carnivorous cravings.

**Theft**

The Monastery of Rose stood silent. No one seemed to be at home. Marious entered the tower and sniffed the many chests and crates. Finding the one he wanted he spoke some unworldly words and the lock opened. The demonic man removed the contents and carefully made his way out, not seeing the barkeep hiding in the corner.

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Turning around to leave the dungeon, Raticker could hear the dragons stirring. Unable to travel from within the confines of the magical city the only way to get past the dragons and return to The Temple of Mondain was to create a diversion. Placing the green stone directly in front of his feet, Raticker began to summon like he had never summoned before. Horses, slime, demons, and elementals. "Sorry my friends, but there is a greater cause which needs your sacrifice." stated Rat as he sent his summoned creates up the corridor and into their deaths. While the dragons battled the creatures, he used his boots of agility to run quickly past the Dragon Chamber to an outer corridor and up through to the exit of Wind.

Returning to The Temple, Rat quickly ran to his private chamber and peered into his mirror. "So it is as I have suspected." he spoke quietly to himself. The reflection showed the cost of his insolence to powers which he did not understand. Every aspect of his physical person was a reflection of the Emerald Throne. Setting the stone down, he immediately went blind. "Damn!" he cried. Searching through a chest, and finding a cheap necklace, he mounted the thing to a chain and placed it around his neck. "At least I can see."

Night enveloped The Temple like a lover returning from sea. Looking out his window, and trying to blink away the sick green hue which now was a part of his vision, Rat began to cry. Slowly the walls began to breath, the floor became irridescent and his mind began to float into a dream state. Clutching the green stone upon his necklace and reciting a prayer he did not know, a silvergreen field of magic encircled him. Shimmering around Raticker was a field he had never encountered before and slowly it began to float through the walls and into the air.

Unable to cry out, the enchanted field carried Raticker to the Temple of the Cult of the Black One. Cascading down before the mighty temple, Rat entered the domain of the Cult. Several members were present and began to cast mighty spells of fire and energy, none of which penetrated the globe. Moving closer to Farbanti of B-D, the field encircled him. Farbanti screamed in horrer as the magic entered his being and claimed it for itself.

The Cult was in shock, nothing could penetrate the globe and Raticker could not be harmed. Turning towards the crowd, the mouth of Raticker boomed the following:

"Listen, little mortals of this world. I claim this soul as my servent and should you wish his soul fully returned you will not interfere with his actions. The Fellowship of my minions wishes to enter this world and nothing will stop them or me. Be wary fools as one week from this moon I will enter this world to claim what is mine and none will stop me."

Looking up to Eowen's eyes, Raticker looked deeply and regained control for a brief moment, pleading for help as the sinister globe glided upward out of the Cult's domain which it had invaded.

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Deedfinder, largest database of Bulk Order deeds, now automatically matches your deed list with a growing list of over 8,000 deeds!

Quickly and effortlessly find the elusive deeds you need to complete that Large Bulk Order.

Other features we have added recently include, rapid deed posting, and your own unique URL you can give to all of your friends so they can see what you have in stock ...in real time!

3,000+ blacksmiths cant be wrong! Deedfinder, the largest BOD database!

- Celtain

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Check out the downloads for UO:LBR here.

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We are targeting to publish the holiday gifts to the Atlantic shard, to be active after their Monday morning maintenance period on December 17th. We will closely monitor the shard for any unexpected issues and will announce a release schedule for the remaining shards as it is determined.

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Though many elements of UO are changing, I am still fascinated by and interested in UO, its many facets, and particularly by the player-community. My role and interpretation of Stratics (Strategies and Statistics) has made possible a great many things in the UO world. Uttering those fateful words, "I resign from my guild", I look back on a fantasy, one of a time and a presence in a virtual world that I know and love. Looking above my bare crown, I can't help but wonder--perhaps I'll be the last GL Reporter you'll see who lives in Felucca? Perhaps it is no matter.

All good things meet their end, and I will at some point bid my UO days goodbye completely, but not anytime soon! To all those who may follow in my position, I wish you good luck.

~ Amidala

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The rune collection is quite large, and would be made even better by a broad collection of Fel vendors and establishments. This is a great chance to publicize, and I will be rearranging soon to facilitate use of the new runes I gather. Drop me an email to [email protected] or post to the GL forum, by following the "comment" link below.

Thanks!
~ Amidala

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Characters that are older then 30 days (real days, not UO days) will be given a holiday ticket in their backpacks upon logging into UO. This holiday ticket will only work for the character who received it originally.

Double-clicking this holiday gift ticket will bring up a menu that will allow players to choose one item per character. The chosen item will then be placed in the character’s backpack once the selection is made. All items are “blessed” (no loot/no steal), which means they cannot be looted or stolen, for a long as they remain in the top level of your backpack (and not in any sub-pack).

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We will be upgrading our Game Wizard knowledge base software beginning Saturday morning around 1:00am CST. During the upgrade process, our Game Wizard Answers will still be available to you, but the "Ask a Question" feature will be disabled. Email sent to us will be queued up and responded to, in the order in which it was received, after the upgrade completes. We expect this upgrade to take approximately 10 hours.

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Here are some screenshots to give you a small idea of what you can expect from the BIG1. (photos are of the castle in Trammel)

The beautifully landscaped exterior:

The thoughtfully decorated interior:

Drop by for a visit sometime.. and remember to bring your gold!

Due to a company event, in-game support will be unavailable from 1:00 pm - 5:30 pm CST, December 14th. This will include all US Shards including Oceania. For general game play questions players can search our game wizard located at support.uo.com.

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Telephone support for the Account Support Department will be limited to the hours of 9am -12:30pm on Friday, December 14th. Normal hours of telephone support are 9am - 9pm CST Monday - Friday and 10am - 5pm on weekends. Players may email [email protected] or utilize our Knowledge Base located at http://eamembers.custhelp.com.

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The Korean shards (Arirang, Balhae, and Baekdu) and the Mugen shard will be undergoing unscheduled maintenance today at 11:00pm CST (1:00am local server time). We expect the shards will be down for approximately one hour. We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause.

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As many of you know, their are new mounts in UO:LBR. One of the things that has always bothered me about mounts in UO is that of the ones that anyone can ride (meaning you don't need taming to ride them) there is no real difference between a horse, ostard, ridgeback, or llama. Aside from the obvious things like stamina, hit points, look, etc, what other things do you think could be used to differnciate a mount. Don't worry too much about what type of creature it is, think more in general terms.

I'd really like to hear some ideas...even if they seem a bitt off-the-wall. :)

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

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In an attempt to spread Christmas cheer through the Sonoma shard, I, The one and only true Saint Nicholas will be giving out gifts to the citizens of Brittania. These gifts will range from cheesy newbie items, to Vanq weapons and everywhere in between. Although I would like to take all the credit for the gifts, I must also give credit to a few of Santa's helpers that include Jade, and many members of the Sonoma Alliance of Merchants. There were also others that have helped out.

In order to keep one person from hogging all the gifts I will spread the gift giving out over several days and hop from location to location. I will even be leaving some special gifts in the dark reaches of the local dungeons for those intrepid adventurers to find.

So, member of the Sonoma shard, I hope to be seeing you soon! Even the naughty may receive a gift this year.

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…However, if they [ancient smithy hammer] didn't wear out at all, wouldn't you be concerned that over time they'd become a common item? It may simply be the case that they wear out far too quickly. Is there some number of "charges" that you guys/gals would find satisfactory considering the amount of work that goes into getting an ASH? 100? 1,000? 10,000? If so, let me know what you feel it should be, and why you like that number. If you don't agree with the charges concept at all, I'd like to hear your reasoning on that too. =]

--------------------------------------------
Tom "Evocare" Chilton
Lead Designer - Ultima Online

Publish 15 is currently feature locked. We're only making bug fixes in the publish in response to QA testing. Of course, nothing's set in stone, but it looks like publish 15 would not get a change of that nature (we'd never finish a publish if we were to take every suggestion and keep adding on to it.. :).

The ancient hammers are more durable than runic hammers. That was part of their original design. It's just that without getting one you cannot experiment with their duration length. :)

-Hanse
UO Live Designer

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Ahhh, British. If only ya still lived in Felucca, you'd have something ter do this Saturday! 'Tis true, swabs, that a glorious competition awaits yerselves in Paxlair this coming Saturday evening. There's something for everyone, I says. Lemme see... ah, here is the gist o' it!

'Animalius Manifestust Combaticus' at the evening hour of 6 o'clock. Let the chaos reign as Mages summoned animals claw, bite, and bludgeon each other to death. Dinner will be served shortly thereafter. *smiles* This contest will be a 'two out o' three' struggle, if I understood it correctly!

Somewhat simultaneously, those who seek the key to Davie Jones locker can find it often enough in the Warrior Arena. The bravest throughout the lands can enter into Mortal Combat and strive for victory, and the prize! (I don't think it will be immortality, but probably something just as useful *smiles* ) So come one, come all - bring out yer dead and enter the warriors combat!

The ozone will be a-cracklin' at the 7th hour of the evening, when those Masters of the Arcane enter into mortal competition, burning reagents and mana by the bushel! Interested Mages of all levels of ability are urged to compete for several gifts granted the top three victors. Rum will be made available for those singed beyond recognition, or those turned green from nightshade.

Also at this hour, the possibility of twanging bowstrings, and the thud and thwwwppt of shafts and bolts may fill the air with their cacophony! Interested Archers may show the Mercs some REAL skill!

As time flies, so does a Quest, to begin roughly at 7:30 - the Quest of Time, that is, brought to you from that wailing spirit from the abyss, the Gatekeeper. The Ghost and the High Elf himself present this challenge for your amusement! Will the virtues carry you through? Or is it Elysium fer you?

And last, but not hardly least: After the Quest of Time, why don't we worry about the past and the future? That's right - because of the presents! Santa will be paying a visit and handing out gifts to all the good little Lords and Ladies (and maybe the elven vixens will make the rest of us happy!). So see Santa in his workshop, and remember - a special prize will be made available to the best Elven Vixen who, erm.. 'brings Santa the most happiness'!

So come about, Lads and Lasses, to Paxlair, this Saturday Evening, for a night of companionship, adventure, and entertainment!

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Welcome to the GUL pit fights, hosted at Oc'Nivelle (Yew Forest 47o 17`N. x 34o 56`W). Designed to be a place for fighters of all play styles to come together to battle it out, the GUL Pit fights will be held every Saturday. Registration will begin at 8 pm pst, fighting will begin at 9 pm (11 pm central, midnight eastern). Players wishing to register must do so by 8:50, no late entries will be accepted.

This weeks pit fight (Saturday, December 15th)will be a 2v2 single elimination.
The Prizes:
1st place - 200k
2nd place - 100k
3rd place - 50k

Guardians of the Undead Lords Pit Fighting rules

• No magic weapons, no magic armor, no charged magic items.
  
• Pre-poisoned weapons are not allowed. Fighters with the poisoning skill may poison their blades once the fight has started.
  
• No casting of field spells, or summoning.
  
• No pets, this includes spectators. Please stable your pets before arriving at the tower.
  
• No looting.
  
• No stealing.
  
• Loss of connection during a fight will result in that fighter losing the match.
  
• Tournaments are single elimination (the exception being fighters who lose in the semi-finals will be asked to stay and fight for 3rd place)
  
• All fighters are subject to snooping by the Oc'Nivelle staff.
  
• Any spectator interference will result in the spectator being banned and the fight starting over.
  
• No one is permitted inside the fighting area except the fighters for that match and the ref.
  
• Fighters may not hide or cast invisible during their fight.
  
• To reduce lag anyone not fighting will be asked to hide during the fight. Players who consistently do not hide will be removed from the tower.
  
• No smack talking. The point is to prove what you can do... If you just "owned" someone we all will have seen it, no need to spout off about it.
  
• The ref will have final say over any match, issues or complaints with the rules of GUL's Pit Fight will not be discussed until after the tournament has ended.

For questions please Icq Jade @ 51610361

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ME POST MORE ADVENTURE SO GO HERE AND SEE!

http://n00bied00d.cjb.net

ALSO ME GONNA HAVE NOOBIEDOOD EVENT

RULE #1 OF NOOBIEDOOD GUILD IS NO ONE TALKS ABOUT NOOBIEDOOD GUILD

HEHE ME MAKE FUNNY!

ANYWAY, IF YOU WANT HAVE FUN THAN NOOBIEDOOD GUILD IS PLACE TO BE! WE HAVE MANY ADVENTURES TOGETHER AND MAKE FUN COMMUNITY OF NOOBIES!

EVERYONE INVITED TO COME, EVEN IF YOU NO PLAY BAJA! MAKE NEW CHARACTER ON BAJA AND COME PARTICIPATE! HERE SOME THINGS YOU NEED KNOW.

1. PLACE: BAJA SHARD, BRITAIN TRAM HEALER. MEET AT 4 PM PACIFIC TIME ON SATURDAY DECEMBER 15TH. TRY SHOW UP 15 MINUTES EARLY

2. WHAT TO WEAR: WEAR A ORANGE SHIRT, BLUE PANTS, AND CAPE. IF YOU MAKE NEW CHARACTER GIVE CHARACTER TOPKNOT HAIR PLEASE. (NOOBIE CLOTHES ARE PLUS!)

3. WE WILL THEN PARTAKE IN A FEW SHORT ADVENTURES OF MY CHOICE. MAYBE WE'LL INVADE BRITAIN BANK SITTERS OR MAYBE WE GO OWN BUCS DEN. MAYBE EVEN TAKE OVER DUNGEON! MUCH FUN TO BE HAD!

4. AFTER ADVENTURE WE WILL WALK TO NOOBIEDOOD HOUSE AND EVERYONE WILL GET JOIN TO NOOBIEDOOD GUILD! WE HAVE MANY MORE ADVENTURES LATER ON!

ESTIMATED TIME OF NOOBIEDOOD EVENT WILL BE ONE HOUR, MAYBE MORE IF WE HAVE FUN! =)

SEE YOU THERE! EMAIL ME OR POST ON FORUM IF YOU HAVE QUESTION.

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I would like to apologize on behalf of everyone here at Stratics about this ridiculous amount of downtime we have been experiencing as of late. Our host has been promising us that they will be correcting this problem since Monday morning. As of this writing the situation has not improved and yet they continue to assure us that something will be done. I have no higher priority than to get this fiasco corrected and behind us.

We're doing everything in our power to see that happen. I hope you can remain patient. If not, that's understandable because I'm losing patience myself. But this is the first time we've had this type of situation hit since Stratics was started back in 1997. It is a temporary situation that will most assuredly be resolved and once it is, we'll be back to business as usual.

Regards,

Jhariden
Community Development

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

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Ever wonder what goes through the mind of comic book genius Todd McFarlane, mastermind behind the Spawn(tm) series? Well, now you can find out! Come meet Todd McFarlane in person on January 12th, 2002 at the Ultima Online Fan Event, the Online Worlds FanFest in Austin, TX at the Austin Renaissance Hotel. The event is being held at the Austin Renaissance Hotel on Friday and Saturday January 11 - 12, 2002 from 10:30AM until 8:30PM both days, and one day passes are only $69! Todd will be participating as a special guest speaker on Saturday January 12th and signing autographs along with the likes of Will Wright, creator of The Sims(tm) series of PC games and Brett Sperry, founder of Westwood Studios, home of the popular Command and Conquer series of PC games.

See hot new game demos and receive a special collector's edition advance copy of the Origin's new title, Ultima Online: Lord Blackthorns Revenge!

Don't delay, sign up today at www.onlineworldsfanfest.com!

Introducing the BRITANNIA BAZAAR!

Do you have collectible games, comics, toys, or fantasy- related items that you would like to buy, sell, trade or just show off? This is your chance! Come browse the Britannia Bazaar to find that missing piece for your collection, or you can reserve your own table right on the exhibit floor for $100 (with paid registration to the FanFest) to sell your own collectibles or promote your cause. For more information on the Britannia Bazaar, head on over to www.onlineworldsfanfest.com.

Also, if you are interested in pursuing a career in the interactive entertainment industry with the Electronic Arts family, representatives from EA Human Resources will be available at the Online Worlds FanFest to meet with you.

In addition to debuting the new Ultima Online: Lord Blackthorn's Revenge, we will also have displays featuring Motor City Online(tm), Earth and Beyond(tm), and The Sims Online(tm)!

Don't miss out on one of the most exciting events taking place in Austin this year! Register NOW at www.onlineworldsfanfest.com!

See you there!

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We are continuing to address database issues with the official UO boards, and will be taking them down for another maintenance period today at approximately 12:20 PM CST. We will work to make this downtime as short as possible, and we anticipate it will last no more than 2 hours.

Thank you for your patience!

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Hail Citizens of Britania

This Sunday at 6.00 PM (GMT) the Dragon Clan will organize an exchange market for the very popular Bulk Order Deeds. This will occur on the roof of the “Dragon Tavern” in Trammel. Yes, you read right – the Dragon Tavern also exists now in Trammel too, however it hasn’t been officially “opened” yet. The locations is the same as in Fel. Two screens northeast the the Yew Moongate. Next to it is Zarzal’s Vendor-/Auction-tower which should be known to those who attented the last Online Auction here. (Btw, there are still places free for vendors, so if someone is looking for a spot, give us a note.)
The exhange will be held in this manner: On the tower roof we will place locked boxes for a sorted display of the wares. If somebody want’s to offer a BOD, he should write a book about it and place this in on of the boxes. These books should look the following way:

Title: Name of the character who is at the exchange market. This way someone interested can respond quicker to the owner.
In the book itself: Description of the BOD, for example: : [15,agapite,exept,Plategloves] or [20,iron,normal,Rinmailtunic]. Also this point should be almost unnecessary, because the BOD’s will be placed in boxes that describe the BOD too. Please do this anyway, since it will be easier then to exchange the BOD’s, and the “overseers” can correct the placing if something went wrong.

Just to mention it: The exchange is ONLY for Armor-BOD’s and LBOD.
If you have any questions, feel free to contact me or ask about the exchange in our forum.

See you on Sunday!

Mitrandir
[email protected]
Dragon Clan Homepage

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Hail and Well Met.

We at OTE invite you to join our Xmas celebration and New Player Faire. We will be donating packages to newer players to help them out on their journies. Apart from helping new players, we will also be holding events and raffles for valuable weapons and rares. The events will be as follows;

1)A drinking competition.
2)A dart competiton.
3)A jousting display put on by our Paladin and Black Horse Order. Bets may be taken.

As always anyone is invited to attend and take part. Everything will be free. If you wish to help out, show up in Tendai town a half hour early to the event.

Time: 9pm EST 6pm PST
Date: Sunday, December 23rd
Location: Tendai town (34 48N 48 18E).

Gates will also be provided throughout the evening from various towns. For more information check out the message forum or contact me directly on ICQ at 77626286.

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Hail and Well Met.
We at OTE invite you to join our Christmas celebration and New Player Faire. We will be donating packages to newer players to help them out on their journies. As well as helping new players, we will be holding events and raffles for valuable weapons and rares. The events will be as follows;

1)A drinking competition.
2)A dart competiton.
3)A jousting display put on by our Paladin and Black Horse Order. Bets may be taken.

As always anyone is invited to attend and take part. Everything will be free. If you wish to help out show up in Tendai town a half hour early to the event.

Time: 9pm EST 6pm PST
Date: Sunday december 23rd
Location: Tendai town (34 48N 48 18E).

Gates will also be provided throughout the evening from various towns. For more information check out The message forum or contact me directly on icq at 77626286

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I know a lot of people are incredibly interested in the Bulk Order Deed system, and are taking a great deal of enjoyment from thoroughly exploring all that this new system has to offer, but it would be wonderful if posters would share what they enjoyed about the BOD system or politely suggest ideas for improvement rather than seek to rip into the system in an attempt to reveal what they perceive to be catastrophic flaws.

In a recent post on our Frequently Asked Questions forum, I stated:

“Some players have been speculating about there being some “sweet spot” or “magic skill number” that will help promote the acquisition of certain types of Bulk Order Deeds (BODs). We are aware of these concerns and are investigating addressing these in the next major, scheduled publish. Until then, as with any other bugs that could possibly be exploited, we ask that players not share specific details on how to get around this (or any other) system. “

I understand that so very many of you are passionate about your virtual professions, and wish to see good things some from your well-researched critiques, but it does little good to attempt to trash an aspect of our game with the goal of exposing what you believe to be exploits. As I had stated, we are certainly aware of everyone’s concerns, and I ask that everyone be patient while we address this particular issue (in the next scheduled publish), and refrain from posting more heated statements of what is perceived to be an exploit in the system. It is likely that posts/thread of this nature may be locked or removed without notice or explanation beyond this announcement.

Thanks for everyone’s assistance in this regard.

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

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We plan on having these completed and integrated by the time LBR hits the shelves.

and….

The MIP-Mapping will help reduce the "sparkling" effect of the mobile graphics, while also saving texture memory and improving performance.

-Tajima

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Ah, it's that time of year, again. The Yule Tide Season is upon us and soon, all good little boys and girls will awake to find loot...ermmm...I mean, "presents" beneath a glimmering evergreen. And what of bad little boys and girls, you ask? I submit that there is no such thing! They are merely "misunderstood." *grins*

The giving of gifts during the Yule season is an ancient practice and it's popularity is only exceeded by that of RECIEVING gifts. Thus, I ask the probing question, "What's Hot..and What's Not?"

What do you give the "lady friend" who already owns everything, including True Mares, Unicorns and castle condos? And what of the Lord whose Keep resembles both Fort Knox and the U.S. Mint? Or the pauper who needs so muuch? Or the Druid who only desires a season pass to the Yew winery? *hint, hint*

What's the Ultimate UO gift? What's the single most coveted item in all of Sosaria? And if you could create any one "rare" as a UO gift, what would that rare be? (Be original and creative!) If you could recieve the UO object of your hearts dsire this Christmas, what would it be?

Conversely, what UO gift do you consider the real world equivalent of month-old fruit cake, socks and jockey underwear? What do you NOT need more of...or ANY of? In this category, you may include both, items given to players by Origin in the past as well as gifts receieved from other players.

Inquiring minds want to know! Send your answers in today! And have a safe and happy Holiday Season.

Cyn

Recently, I was approached by Solaira Evertru, resident and asked to sent out the following message. It concerns the village Everwood and Solaira's efforts to revitalize the community. The following is an excerpt of a recent Legends Forum submission and an ivitation. Read on.

Today, I walk the streets of Everwood, and not a soul stirs. The town has grown a little, me thinks, but a house built here, and a tower built there, do not a-town-make!

I do not believe the new residents of Everwood, even know the name of the town they live in! Everwood lies a long distance slightly to the south and East of the Yew Moongate. We surround the Cove south and west of the Shrine of Justice, as well as a Bay North and west of the Shrine of Justice. The Paladins used to live in Northern Everwood, but I have not seen them in quite some time.

I wish you well in this endeavor, Solaira. Please keep us posted on future developments in Everwood. Until next we meet, safe journeys to you, one and all.

Santa Cyn

Yes in theory it would be possible for someone to solo the "Evil in a Can" spawn but it would be extremely difficult. I'll go into a bit more detail of how the spawn areas shrink and grow to show you why it would be very very hard to do it by yourself.

I've already mentioned the basic rules of you have to kill enough creatures to make the area shrink and also if not enough creatures get killed the area will grow. Of course it isn't quite that simple because the number of creatures that have to be killed and the delay of time between the checks to see if it should grow and shrink also change while it is running.

The size of the region determines the delay between the check to see if it should grow or shrink. So if it is really small it may take only like 10-15 minutes before it will see if enough things have been killed. The flip side of that is if the region is huge it could take 30-40 minutes before it would check. The reason for this is because when the region gets larger you have to kill more creatures so we give you a bit more time to do it in. Speaking of that, the number of creatures you have to kill also scales depending on the size of the spawn area. While it is small you may only have to kill 5-10 things in that 10-15 minutes to get it to shrink, but when it is huge you may have to kill like 150-250 creatures in 30-40 minutes.

And for those who haven't figured it out the darkness in the area is directly related to the spawn area. If it is just a little dark then it is small. If it is it's maximum size it is dungeon level lighting. And if the spawn size changes while you are in the area you should notice the light level change dynamically at the same time.

So say you want to solo the "Evil in a Can" spot and you get there and it is maxed out. And let's say the random numbers are in your favor today and you only have to push the spawn area back just a little bit, say 4 times. Well if you do the math (and no, it's not exact because there are random factors involved) you could get a scenario of something like:

Spawn Area is Huge: Kill 150 Creatures in 35 minutes.
One size smaller: 130ish Creatures in 33 minutes.
One size smaller: 110 Creatures in 31 minutes.
One size smaller: 90 Creatures in 29 minutes.
One size smaller: 70 Creatures in 27 minutes.

That's 400 creatures in 120 minutes. (2 Hours) And you would have to kill the appropriate amount in the given amount of time.

Plus on top of that when you get that push to the point where you *could* get a boss monster there is only a 1 in 4 chance it will show up.

Ahh, random numbers... :) Keep in mind that this level of difficulty is intentional to give players a challenge and to be all honest it wouldn't surprise be if it took a group of people 4-6 hours or more to get a boss to show up.

And remember all the numbers in here are not exact... But if you kill a lot of critters and you notice that it is getting lighter in the area then you are on the right track. :)

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Vesper Citizens Chicken Summoning Event

When:
Saturday 15 Dec.
21 Cet.

Where:
Tayrnagh Tavern also known as Flaming Cow Tavern. Located at Vesper Inn at the south bridge Trammel side. Gates will be provided from Vesper Bank with start at 20:30 Cet.

Rules:
Summon Chicken the most times in 10 tries.

Open for all and everyone that pays the 1000 gold to enter the contest and therefor are able to compete for the prize of 100.000 Gold Pieces.

See more information at
www.Vespercity.cjb.net 
Look under Events.

Olof Twothumb Spokesperson of Vesper

Thanks, hope it is the first of many events!

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One of the nightmares of Gwyneth Torquil

She entered the masses. "No one knows", the thoughts produced ecstasy. "I am here, amongst them and they do not know. Foolish mortals." She touched a child's cloak as she walked by. The boy, ten, fell to the ground dead. A twisted smile spread across her face as the mother screamed. The guards were called, but they simply stood and stared. "The power I have been given is quite fantastic. Surly my master will love my devotion." Men watched her curves as she glided down the street; a pleased look upon their faces told her that the town would be easy prey. "How many children of the Fallen am I to bare?" Thoughts of her purpose and promises filled her with pride.

Gwyneth Torquil awoke next to Alaric screaming and shaking with violent shudders. Alaric himself so surprised let out a shriek of his own. "Wife! You're okay, you're okay, I'm here!" Alaric wrapped his arms around the woman he loved and pulled her close. She wept into his blacksmiths arms. "Oh God, Alaric!" It was terrifying and so real. Alaric held his wife in his arms until she was again asleep. All the while Alaric sat pondering his wife's nightmare, Zandaron's foretelling and the demon possessed man.

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*Winter Gala Festival*

Saturday, December 15

2pm - 11pm Eastern

Britain Fair Grounds, Trammel

Events:

2pm-5pm: Fortune Tellers - 25 gold fee

2-4pm: Free Armor/Weapon Repairs for all & Free Armor/Weapons made of "Young" Status Players

3pm: Lost Knight Event - 1st Place 15k plus entry fees - entry fee 500 gold

5pm: Scavenger Hunt: 1st Place 25k - entry fee 2k

6pm: Chicken Fights: 1st Place 25k - entry fee 1k

7-8pm: Free Armor/Weapon Repairs for all & Free Armor/Weapons made if ingots supplied

8pm: Archery Contest -1st Place 25K, 2nd Place 10k, 3rd Place Bow of Power - entry fee 1k

And All Day Long:

Free Food and Drinks

Free Gift Sacks to "Young" Status Players (recall scrolls, repair deeds & more)

Sponsored by the Kingdom of Stormhaven

Standing at his window Mordain looked out upon the desert, the desert he has called home for so many years. As he watched he could hear footsteps drawing closer to his chamber when they stopped the great doors of the prophets chamber swung open. Knowing that Blox Xas a high priest and well trained warrior had completed his task Mordain turned and sat at his desk. "What news?" Blox smiled with a great sense of accomplishment. "Milord, we now know where to begin our mighty quest for the ancient manuscript. After many days we met a fellow who knew where to begin, we enticed him to speak and we must now seek a man named budest." Mordain looked at Blox directly in the eyes with a rather serious look, knowing that this was the beginning of what could spell the initial freedom and liberation of those who worship Mondain and follow his teachings, "Do we know where to locate him?" Blox smiled again, "Aye Milord, he is said to frequent the city of Vesper."

Mordain stood up from his seat, "Then we should waste no time. This Wednesday we shall leave from the Temple at 8PM by the eastern sky. Make it known that we will invite all those who wish to attend this including allies and foes alike. Let all see what we try to accomplish, but also make it known that no arms shall be drawn in this quest! Any who draw up arms shall be dealt with swiftly." As Blox left the room Mordain again went to his window and stared out upon the sands of the great desert, "Soon, very soon." He muttered with a small grin upon his face.

Mordain
Prophet of Mondain

The pentagram we perfect. Raticker completed the necessary configuration of candles and blood. Though the items themselves had nothing to do with the summoning, the demons seemed to like the atmosphere they created. Closing the door to the catacombs beneath the Temple of Mondain, Raticker began to draw in the mana necessary to summon a Lesser Demon to ask a question.

"Yes human, what is your request?" stated Wormius in a lulled and lazy tone. The spell was strong and the link to the Underworld was well established to Raticker's brain.

"Mighty Wormius, I seek to understand the time distortions in my dimension, the Temple of Mondain has detected many shifts. In your infinite knowelege, who can show me the dangers which threaten this world? Who can enlighten me to the prophecy which many are tapping into at this time?"

"Humans always seek which they cannot understand, and only understand which they no longer seek. Take your search to the High Reaches of Wind and inquire of a nameless prophet who no one listens. From his mouth you will understand the wishes of the Time Lords, and learn the malignant tentacles reaching for your world as we speak...." the spell was fading. Raticker did not wish to lose control of the demon so let the link expire.

"So all this prophecy was linked. Further research is required." Raticker decided not to involve The Prophet until he could learn more of the words from the nameless one. A trip to Wind was in order. Raticker began to pack his bags.

Welcome to the holiday season. Just like any other "store" around, Impy's is HOPPING!! Our full time vendors are busier than ever. We have great gifts for everyone on your holiday shopping list!

This week we will be hosting auctions on:
Wednesday, December 12th at 9pm EST
Thursday, December 13th at 9pm EST

Just to forwarn our faithful bidders: We will be taking the day after Christmas off here at Impy's. But we will be hosting a special Christmas Party/Auction on the 27th.

This week on the tables:
Several Statues
All Kinds of Holiday Items (eggs, glasses, cards and more)
an Eye of Newt
a Gold Metal Box
some Rocks
a few Treasure Hunter Kits
a chest of "Fishing Junk"
a Mondain's Commemorative Plate
Quality Weapons and Armor (including some Coal Plate!)

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

December's "Best Shot in the Realms" Archery Tournament, sponsored by
the Society of Archers (S|A) Baja Chapter, has been pushed back for a
later date this month. Unfortunately, with the upcoming Holidays it is
going to be a little tough to get this one together, but we are
determined to do so. We have been contacted by Archers across the Lands asking
when the next would be, and wanted to let you all know it IS coming in
December, but has been delayed.

In retrospect, I wish we would have organized it for one of these first
weekends of December, for it will only get more hectic as the month
goes on. I personally am unsure I will have the time to so so with my
travels coming, so it might possibly be hosted by a different member of the
S|A Baja Chapter this month.

I will post notices at least a week in advance so that people don't
miss the Event. If you would like a personal invitation please email us HERE
and we will send you notice.

Thanks for your patience Archers, and we apologize for the delay.

Theoran
Head of Baja Chapter
Society of Archers S|A

The chances are the same to get large bulk order deeds if you're 70 skill and up.

The chance to get armor is slightly less than weapons (by 1, there are 24 pieces of armor and 25 weapons). That's a slightly greater chance of 2% for getting a weapon deed. Although, the chance to get a large bulk order deed for armor would need to be weighed in.

If you're having a streak of bulk order deeds, then it's luck and has nothing to do with the specific character's skill (70 skill and up).

The design for ancient hammers is they were meant to be breakable. The fix is that if you're wielding an ancient hammer, you must use it to craft (and cannot use blacksmithy tools in your backpack). The bonus to your skill is only applied if you wield the hammer (no bonus for using it from your backpack).

Plate chest BOD's are fixed in publish 15.

I believe Vex has a fix for filling kegs with potions.

Tools crafters use should break. Tools are part of the tinkering economy.

Along with this, there are many other fixes in publish 15. The list will be on our website when it's ready to be posted.

In the days when the light of the city of Dawn shown about Sosaria, there
was a festival created that threw back evil and despair in times of
darkness. The festival was filled with bright lights and joyful people. It
was a celebration against dark times that was founded in the early history
of Dawn and has always been celebrated. I am now pleased to now announce
the Illumination of the Night Festival.

The Illumination of the Night festival spans five nights filled with
goodwill, celebration, and friendship. Each night will begin with a
meeting and greeting session with members of the Guild as well as any
other groups or individuals that participate.
Following this will be an event such that any may participate in.
And finally at the end of the evening will be refreshments and dinner at a
prominent location within the Keepers of Dawn.

Idun's Note: My apologies if this was not posted on time!

First Night Monday December 10th 8:00pm EST: The Night of Elegance

Event: Bazaar of Lights - The craftsmen of the Keepers of Dawn and any
other craftsmen who wish to show their trade can bring their wares for show
along the illuminated road of South Moonglow. Everything from armor to
house decorating, and the newest goods to be discovered in Britannia will
be available. Enjoy the sights and sounds as the First night of the
Festival shows you our main attraction!

After Party: Duchess of Dawn Tonya's House of Dawn

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

Second Night Tuesday December 11th 9:00pm EST: The Night of Unity

Event: Torch Lit dungeon Crawl -- The Keepers of Dawn warriors go to the
bottom of a select dungeon with nothing but torches for light, and each
other for survival. Torches or candles will be provided. No potions, no
sorcerers spell, no maps (this is on the honor system). Parties will be
formed of the participants, and prizes awarded at the after party.

After Party: Finis Terre's villa at Cove Barbeque

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

Third Night Wednesday December 12th 9:00pm EST: The Night of Freedom

Event: The Moonglow International Derby! Participants will line up for a
horse race around the Island City of Moonglow. Racers display their
awesome skill and enviable speed in this breakneck race around the island.
The course will be displayed on the day of the race on the Keepers of Dawn
sky page. Prizes will be awarded at the after party.

After Party: A dinner party at the Lady Echo's Trinsic marble palace.

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

Fourth Night Thursday December 13th 9:00pm: The Night of Splendor

Event: Keepers of Dawn Boat Regatta! Competitors will enter their own
boat upon the lists and have the chance to win prizes and glory. The fun
will start at the Lady Ailis' log cabin home on Ice Isle. After three laps
in some of the toughest waters in Britannia our winner will be crowned.

After Party: There will be a costume ball at the Duchess Krystal's fine
Tower with prizes awarded to the Regatta winners as well as best costume.

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

Fifth Night Friday December 14th 9:00pm: The Night of Majesty

Event: The Keepers of Dawn Tour of Lights! At regular intervals
throughout the evening groups of visitors will be taken by a KPD member
upon a Tour of the homes that are created and lived in by our members.
When the tour is over, the groups will be transported for the magical
closing ceremony.

After Party: The Closing Ceremony of the Illumination of the Night
festival at The Tower of Dawn.

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

General Information:
Each night, participants will meet at the House of Dawn on Moonglow and
will be provided with transportation to the site of the celebration that
evening.
Prizes and event information will be available the day of the event upon the Keepers of Dawn sky page.

We welcome any and all participants, guilds and individuals.

The Keepers of Dawn are looking forward to this glamorous time of goodwill
and celebration. We hope to see many old friends as well as welcome new
ones.

Thank you,%0

How do you felt that it went this time around?

--I felt that it went a lot better than the first one and was very happy with the overall scenario. I would have liked a few less bugs, but in truth, the number of bugs compared to the amount of content was very good.

In this scenario, we added nine new monsters and over thirty new items, including a craftable pet and new 3D wearables and there were no show-stopping bugs or reverts despite six publishes, some of which had some major changes. The craftable golems alone were a huge addition and were an incredible achievement by our QA team. We used some new tools internally between QA and Dev for this scenario and I think they paid off greatly.

--We also added a lot of stuff to this scenario that was not in the previous scenario that players asked for. For instance: the finale took place over the course of 3 days and started at prime time, new craftables that had resources that did not require monster-bashing, in-game books, and monsters that required teamwork to fight.

--A ton. We expected a lot, but the number of people in the scenario (especially the finale) was astounding. We tracked various things during this scenario and all indications showed that the player participation was well worth the effort of designing and

--More stuff for 2d users. Although this won't be an issue after UO:LBR ships and we didn't want some things (like the overseers and minions) in Britannia or T2A. I think we did a good job overall of giving enough stuff for 2d users to do and 2/3 of the finale was in 2d areas...but more is always better.

--Less content. That may sound weird to say, but in truth, we added so much that it causes a huge delay and is still affecting the delay between the gargoyle scenario and the upcoming one. We're still trying to find the balance between timing and content although I do think that a six week scenario will wind up being ideal.

--More in-game fiction. While I do think the three books were good, having at least one book that players could actually get would have made it better.

What was the single best thing to come out of this last event?
--I'd have to pick three. The new craftables, the new AI for the monsters and most importantly, the fiction and villain (Exodus) that sets up the UO:LBR expansion and the upcoming fiction.

I'm actually far more interested in hearing how all of you would answer these questions though. So what do you all think?

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

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In a ring of brassy candlelight, the Meer and the Juka charged one another with howls of animal rage. The dense gloom of a forgotten cavern echoed the furious sounds.

In the style of the Meer, Dasha faced Kabur unarmed. She struck him like a hailstorm, pounding the warlord with a stream of relentless blows. The impacts resounded through the blackness of the cave. With every potent kick she landed, the anger in her belly roared hotter. With every punch she felt an inferno like the forest Kabur had destroyed. She whiffed the tang of Jukan blood, tasted the sting of adrenaline. The percussion of combat rebounded through her body, a primal, seductive sensation that fueled her hunger for revenge.

Somewhere inside she prayed, Ancestors, forgive my weakness of discipline!

Yet the warlord's heavy armor resisted her attacks as if designed for a Meer's unique tactics. She could not crush its weak points as she had done against his soldiers. His massive body absorbed her blows with terrible ease. In response he wheeled his halberd in a swift, skillful display. She ducked the polearm like a mongoose evades a cobra, always inches from its lethal touch. The constant motion challenged her agility. A single mistake would end the battle.

A chill tore through her when she sensed a misstep.

The spike of the halberd rushed at her back. She sprang above its arc but the weapon slashed her hip. She kicked one foot into Kabur's face, pushing into a somersault that carried her away from the Jukan warrior. She tumbled over the rocky ground, rolled into a crouch. Her right side burned with pain.

Kabur spat blood, caught his breath and barked, "Where is the mouth of this cave?"

Dasha squinted. "You're withdrawing from the duel?"

"Another blow finishes you. I would rather not waste time searching in the dark."

She grunted and rose to her feet. The soft light of a spell drove the ache from her wound. The familiar tingle of healing magic streamed through her body. For a brief moment the spirits of the ancestors quelled her rage to a simmer. In that rush of calm she examined Warlord Kabur anew. Streaked with sweat and blood, he was a wild apparition in the golden flutter of candlelight, huge and fearsome and stubbornly arrogant. Despite the crimes he had committed, Dasha admired his warrior's ego. The Juka were brutal creatures but their nature was proud and honorable. It had allowed them to transcend their primitive origins and develop advanced arts and industry. They were no equals of the Meer, of course, but some, like Dasha, appreciated their sophistication. The Juka formed the only true civilization with whom the Meer shared this world.

Yet the ancient balance between the races was quickly falling apart. Something wicked was dragging the Juka back to an honorless condition. Master Adranath, the Meer Lore Master, claimed that the mysterious sorcerer Exodus had corrupted them over the last decade. Dasha agreed that only sorcery could account for the startling change. She had come here to learn from Warlord Kabur how the transformation had occurred, so that she could plan a response to the Jukas' devastating attack on her people.

She swallowed her anger and steadied her breathing. "Tell me, Kabur, how did Exodus murder the Jukan Way?"

He glowered past the blade of his halberd. "It is not the concern of a Meer."

"Has your new lord cast a spell to enslave your minds? Nothing less could separate a Juka from his honor."

"The honor of the Juka is intact, woman! Though it has changed since Exodus came to us." His eyes narrowed with contempt. "But your kind has no knowledge of evolution, do they? You pretend that time has no teeth."

She chuckled without humor. "Your honor is suspect if you use the Black Duel as a ruse to ambush me."

"Just as you used it to lure me into a private conversation. The Black Duel is obsolete, a relic of a primitive age. The Way you know is dead. The Meer shall soon die with it."

She shook her head. "Exodus has ensnared you. But perhaps the corruption can be undone."

"I shall not discuss it further," rumbled the Juka. "Take your delusions to the grave!"

He hoisted the polearm for another blow. Dasha lowered herself into a defensive stance. In the next instant the dark cave shook with a thunderous growl. Both combatants froze. Something large and bestial was passing through a nearby corridor. With a grimace she thought, It seems that humans are not the only beasts lurking in these mountains.

Kabur's halberd swept upon her. Too late she threw herself backward. The blade tore across her chest armor, parting the flesh underneath. Blood glistened as it flew through the candlelight. She cried out and attempted a handspring but her injury rendered one arm useless. She crumpled into the dust. The Juka's next stroke hit like a landslide on her shoulder, smashing her against the hard ground. Agony seized her body. Her limbs turned icy and refused to move.

Fury rampaged inside her gut but the injury had paralyzed her body. She cursed her flesh for disobedience as blood tumbled out into the cave. Silently she screamed You have failed me, ancestors! though she knew the reverse was true. Above her loomed Warlord Kabur, his weapon poised for the final cut. Though she could barely lift her head, she sneered up at the emerald-skinned giant, "You defile everything the Juka have achieved!"

The general's eyes lit with anger. "I am defending the future! But the Meer are too self-absorbed to see the coming danger. What you call a 'balance between two races' is nothing more than useless stagnation. We have squandered generations on unresolved conflict. In the meantime the gargoyles and the humans have grown smarter and more numerous. Soon they shall threaten us. The world is changing, Dasha. The Juka must adapt or we shall perish. That is why we have discarded the Way and resolved to crush the Meer. To survive, we must dominate. This is the wisdom Exodus brought to us."

"Dishonor wears noble plumage," she rasped, "but the wise man is not dazzled."

Kabur snorted. In a quick action he raised his halberd above her neck. Then he paused. His pointed ears twitched. A heavy sound plodded in the darkness. The beast in the cave was lumbering nearer.

"Judge me how you will," grumbled the warlord. "Delusions will not save you."

Then he vanished into the shadows. She sensed his footfalls receding as something much larger approached. The creature's breath snuffled in the thickness of the gloom. Its claws brushed the stone with a sharp, repeating sound.

She could not muster the strength for a healing spell, much less for defense. At best she might crawl to the center of the ring of candles, to keep the monster at bay for a few seconds more. But the effort would be moot. Her mission here had failed. Exodus had a powerful hold on the Juka. Kabur was so corrupt that he had even denied her a quick death, leaving her instead to be devoured by a predator.

Reincarnation awaited her, of course, though in what form she could not guess. Perhaps not as another Meer, if Kabur's genocide succeeded. Master Adranath seemed convinced that it would. Dasha was not so pessimistic. The answer was moments away. As firelight twinkled on the scales of the reptilian creature, she closed her dark eyes and looked ahead, a sigh of frustration spilling from her lips.

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It is highly connected to in-game. In fact, it's really more of a set-up for scenarios (especially scenario 3) as well as LBR as a whole.

Remember, one thing that makes UO:LBR unique from other expansions is that the fiction is driving the expansion, not the other way around (which is usually the case in MMOGs).

,

It takes place in the past. It is prequel fiction that will give you information on where the Juka/Meer came from and how they fit into UO.

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

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Not to let too large a cat out of the bag, there are better ancient hammers than +10. Some are even considered "high-end", as 10+ is almost a medium reward. :)

The original design is for them [ancient hammers] to wear out. We have a fix for the ancient hammers in the next publish. So, currently, they do not wear out.

As of a little while ago...

Evocare walked in and I gave him an update on where some of the shards stand with rewards through the system. After he left, I decided to check on all the shards. :)

Asuka has one high-end reward.

Asuka, Pacific, Atlantic, Lake Superior, and Great Lakes all have at least one medium reward on them now.

The rest do not have medium or high-end rewards.

-Hanse
UO Live Designer

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Ægis, as well as some of the prison / cage structures seen around the world are part of the Directed Experience for Young players. The teleporter is also a part of it. :-)

1) Enable creation of bola balls by tinkers from iron ingots.
--I'm not against this at all. What skill level and how many ingots do you all think this should take? Keeping in mind that it requires at least 70 tinkering and 4 balls to make a full bola.

2) Change bola so you can use it while mounted yourself
--That would imbalance them. The idea is you choose between riding a horse OR using a bola.

3) Change bola so it places ethereal mount statue to bank box instead of backpack on successful use
--Actually, there are still issues with making them affect ethereals. It's something we are still checking into.

4) Change bola so it makes archery check – someone with GM archery should dismount 95% of the times, someone without archery skill should dismount only about 33%.
--It uses tactics, that way any warrior character can use them.

5) Change bola so it can be parried
--Interesting idea, but not sure if that would affect balance.

According to the plan that is In Concept, ownerless houses will become Condemned and be compelled to decay, but any house that currently has a "prime owner" (the owning character which is the controller of the house) is not ownerless, as long as that prime owner's UO account is currently active.

If an ownerless house has any co-owners, then the oldest co-owner--we'll call him "co-owner #1"--will be given the option to claim the house and become prime owner before it disappears. If he accepts, then that house is no longer ownerless, and therefore won't be forced to decay anymore (although any other house on co-owner #1's account on that shard will become Condemned and decay, since only your newest house on that shard will remain uncondemned).

If co-owner #1 doesn't want the house, he can simply no accept, and then co-owner #2 has the same chance to claim that house as prime-owner. If co-owner #2 passes, then co-owner #3 has the option to claim it, etc.

If no co-owners accept the prime owner slot for an "ownerless" house, then that ownerless house will become Condemned and decay. While it is possible that only Condemned houses may be decaying when/if this system is implemented, please keep in mind that this concept is still subject to change, and may not go into the game exactly as described, if at all.

After speaking with Tajima, we've decided to not start the Scenario before the holiday break. While the code may be ready (tested) in time, pushing towards a late December start date is dangerous if we have problems while people are away on holiday. Also, we'd have to have a 2 week delay in the middle of a scenario. Niether of those situations is good.

We'll continue to post the prequel fiction though of course and plan to start the scenario sometime in early January.

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As another year draws to an end, it’s once again time to reflect on the merriment and good cheer of the holiday season. What better way to get into the spirit of the season than to deck the halls of your humble abode with festive holiday décor? Break out the bales of cotton, piles of wool, and the ever-important stack of bandages – it’s time for the third annual Britannian Holiday Artwork showcase!

Send us a screenshot of your holiday creation and it may one of the lucky submissions displayed on the front page of the UO.com website!

Guidelines
We’ve kept the guidelines to a minimum to give you plenty of room for creativity:

*oliday Theme – Your submission must have a holiday theme. As we are aware that not everyone celebrates the same holidays, all we ask is that your submitted art focus on a holiday celebrated at this time of year (as opposed to Halloween or Labor Day). Be it Boxing Day, Christmas, Hanukkah, or Kwanzaa, the choice is up to you.
*You must be a current UO subscriber and include your account name with your submission.
*Artwork must be submitted in .bmp form at a minimum of 640 x 480 resolution, 24-bit color. You may send us .zip files, but please, no zip executable files. Any .exe files will be deleted.
*Artwork must be submitted as an original screenshot created with items found in Ultima Online. Doctored images will be disqualified.

Submissions are due by 11:59 PM, December 17th (US CST). Please email your screenshot as an attached file to [email protected]. Include your real name, character name, a description of your submission (including what you used to make it), and a telephone number where we may be able to reach you on or around December 18th.

The winning screenshots will be on display on the Ultima Online website from December 21, 2001 to January 4, 2002

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... The morning awoke with clear blue sky and shining sun. The first snow scrunched under my feet and I happily savoured fresh icy air ... life is so beautiful!

To save time one of our mages initiated a magical gate to Vesper city. A while later we came at the respectable building of the bank and the race could begin.

From Vesper on horseback westwards around Covetous caves, to the left on the crossroad to the first checkpoint. Then south under Compassion desert, through Britain. Then again to the left southwards to the second checkpoint at the bridge over the river. Reaching Trinsic to stable a horse and run on foot north to the next checkpoint neat the mountain pass at Britain crossroads. Heading for Yew to pass the checkpoint at Yew crossroad and finally the last checkpoint at Yew's Prison. From here by ship to the finish at elven tower marked as a pin in the map of final destination. In addition at each checkpoint to pick up a special item proving the racer went through the whole route honestly.

As soon as the last racer passed, we one after other gathered at the finish. Watching the sea from the roof the tower we didn't wait long and spotted a winner, brave lady Felicitas!

Welcome! Congratulations!

After several minutes suddenly there were two ships landing ... who will be quicker? Oh, yes, and here he comes, Lord Lebowski and tightly behind him M.A.G.I.C. Forgi!

Congratulations!

And then, we finally saw Sarasani's ship: obviously having problems to land he followed the coast. But we haven't seen him anymore. After some time of next waiting we decided to begin the celebration. During the stormy applause, wreathed with beautiful geysers of fireworks, racers solemnly received their prizes.

And when the atmosphere was the highest, the golden top of the party was started. The duel of two powerful golems named Number One and Number Two. Part of us yelled Number One! Number One! Gogogogo! The rest screamed Number Two! Number Two! Show him! Get him down! The fight was furious and till the middle it was not clear which one was stronger. But then, Number One seemed more to defend than to attack and it was the breakpoint ... he fell down when Number Two had almost third of his life still and I lost my bet.

Our winter festival came to a close when all bellys were full, and most minds clouded with sweet elven wine. A successfull celebration bidding goodbye to the autumn, and a welcome to the chilly days of winter. Thanks to all who participated, the fierce competitors, and especially the Council of Yew, whose help in keeping all well was immesurable. We hope to see you in the spring, or perhaps sooner ...

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This day will be remembered on DF forever .. who wasn't there missed something great. Why? Just read on and you will see ..

It was scheduled as final party of the MoT-Clan to finish the eventweek in a wonderful gathering. The valley around Despise seemed to be a peaceful and quiet location for our event. We cooked and baked, bought and prepared our last event - and gated ppl from all over Britannia to our place. Only a few like some of Götterdämmerung in Trinsic said - when asked to come - 'Nah, we have here much action ourself' - Too bad, you missed something great guys ..

We announced and celebrated first the winners of our friday-raffle (Jason 150k, Tormentius 80k and Ragnarok 50k).. Additionally the winners of the MoT-internal monthly contest got announced (Mika pottet plant, Skcus snowball, Umbramen snowball). Suddenly a Lizardman followed by some Mongbats stormed out of the dungeon - but they didn't attack us .. they seemed to flee the place. Very strange ..

A short time afterwards a guard with an interesting halberd appeared. He called himself Lord Harn Frass and here is a copy of our protocol:

Please read the whole story .. http://mot.purespace.de/main01_10_36_1.html

---

We would like to thank all players who participated in our events during the last week. You players were the one it was meant for and you made it a wonderful experience enjoying it.

I personally thank all members of MoT who worked hand-in-hand for a whole hard week to make something like this possible.

Additionally we would like to thank OSI, the GM-Staff, the IGMs and our friends in the groups of Counselors, Companions and Seers .. who cared for us, created and shaped this wonderful UO game which became now four years old. We think the many small events are and have always been the key to enjoy and satisfy the community - no matter if organized by OSI or other players.

And at last we would like to thank all UO-News-sites who have been working together to inform players during the whole week about the course of events. Only together we are strong and are able to offer support to the community we are all dedicated to.

We hope that UO will live for many, many more years ..

Raknar Guildmaster Merchants on Tour
[email protected]

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TvG Christmas Bazaar!

Trinsic Virtue Guards, TvG, will be hosting a Christmas Bazaar craft giveaway on Sunday December 16th, from 6-8pm under the Central Skies. It will be held at a large tower just 2 houses NW of the Yew Moongate (79o0'N 41o45'W).

GM crafters will be on site to make weapons, iron and leather armor, scrolls, potions, tools, and more! We'll even have glassblowing, stonecrafting, and arcane items to give away, but raw materials will be limited so you may want to bring your own sand, granite, or gems. There will be food, drinks, and lots of Holiday cheer. Come pick up some presents for your friends or yourself. Be sure to sign in for a chance to win door prizes during the event! Our members can also answer crafting and adventuring questions.

Gates and runes will be available from several city banks throughout the evening, so come on out and join the fun! Visit our website at www.trinsicguards.com to learn more about the event, and about our guild. Happy Holidays!

Trinsic Virtue Guards
"Let the Virtues guide You..."

Garden City: Festival of Bells

We are planning another three days of prizes at Garden City starting this Friday, December 14th, at 8pm est! Why?!?! It's the holidays and time to share! So we are doing what Garden City does best, giving away a ton of goodies!

The highlights:
*500k to 500th new visitor to the Mall

*Random door give aways all weekend worth between 1 - 50k at the Mall (including tons of bells!)

*Christmas Poetry Contest on the roof of City Hall on Sunday evening at 9pm EST, Barth VanDorn from Stratics is judging. Prizes from 10k-50k.

*Scavenger hunts, friday saturday and sunday 8pm with prizes worth 10-20k per round at City Hall!

*Kishan's Casino is setting up crate lotto's for only 1k a chance at riches thoughout the weekend!

*Tons and tons of happy holiday drinking and fun! (liquor!!)

Garden City is located just north of Cove in the Trammel Facet 41o44'N 68o3'E.
For more information about Garden City and a map to our location please visit www.uogc.net

Hope to see you there!,
Mayor Nemonis

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From the Journal of Nemesis Enforcer
Gran'Xac, Year of the Ancient Relic
http://www.alterythem.com/cad

The Enforcer stood upon the west wing of the tower's roof, looking at the make-shift courtroom that had been thrown hastily together in anticipation of the large number of attendants which the halls of the High Court would not themselves contain. Watching as Tre'Lianne, Monitor of Dracona, knelt, scrubbing furiously at stains of blood that caked the stones of the floor and tables. He stood, observing various acolytes move up and down the stairs, scrubbing furiously. Even down in the streets below, he could see the acolytes at work, cleaning the traces of war that had started upon the temple's highest point. Everywhere, blood.

He slowly turned to face Joa'Qyyn, the newly appointed magistrate of the High Court, and let out a low sigh. "How is it that we allow the Empire to enter Dracona with immunity, and they turn then to attack those of Britain and cause great distraction so that Leshyani is freed?"

The blond haired human looked nervous. Perhaps, the Enforcer guessed, because he had never seen an angry Dragothan armed for war. "With all due respect, m'lord, perhaps we should have seen it coming. It was you who led strike into Nujel'm to take Edguardo by force. Surely it crossed your mind they would not let her stand trial."

"The difference is that Leshyani was going to receive fair trial, impartial judgement, and her fate was to be determined by you. No punishment had been decided for crimes that guilt had not yet been established for. Edguardo was afforded a verdict passed down in a mockery of trial, where no chance for defense was given. He was guilty without chance of reprieve in the eyes of the Empire." The Enforcer turned to see part of an arm scooped into a barrel and watched impassively as other minor remains were gathered as well.

"I agree, m'lord, but the Empire didn't." Joa'Qyyn's voice was stronger and the Enforcer smiled beneath his helm. Good. He has overcome his fear of me. He turned to face the magistrate again. "If it means much, Leshyani looked reluctant to step into the gate that led to her freedom. She was described as having an air of confidence prior to the trial. I would believe she thought she would win this trial and be set free. Perhaps she felt that fleeing would seal her fate."

"That would explain the illusion of her sent back to Dracona. It was a good copy of her, but definitely not a construct of hers. Likely it was sent by those who rescued her to set off any search for her." The Enforcer saw two acolytes heading for the stairs, hefting a barrel of remains between them. "Either way, the Empire came to Dracona and defiled our invitation of immunity. We should pay them more mind in the future."

"Indeed we shall."

The Enforcer turned quickly, shocked that someone was standing behind him. There was a smile on Ra'Dian's face, his blue hair tied back into a tail, white meditation robe flowing freely in the slight wind.

"My lord, you have returned."

"Aye, that I hae. Squick sought me this morn with tale o' the trial turned massacre. When next the Empire moves, we shall be there." There was a glint in the elf's eyes that Nemesis had not before seen.

"What then of the witch?"

Ra'Dian walked by, still smiling, heading for the Great Stone of Nexchronosis. "She is nae our concern. We hae much to prepare for. Both the Empire, and another discovery. Nae. We shall let Britain handle her should she be again caught."

He turned from the stone to face the Enforcer. "I doubt she will be so easily again captured."

Nemesis watched as Ra'Dian turned and touched the Great Stone, but found that he was shielding his eyes from a great azure glow that eminated from the monolith. He blinked both in pain and out of disbelief, as the stone had never released such energy before. "M'lord?"

"Nae worry, Valerix," Ra'Dian's voice echoed upon the tower's roof. "This is but the beginning..."

In reply to:
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Ok I know a weapon can get tagged with the exceptional quality label but has anyone from OSI said this actually adds to a magic weapon's, created by a runic hammer, damage? Anyone do any testing? As far as a ruin weapon being as good as a GM made weapon they aren't. I've tested it. A normal GM made weapon does a lot more damage over time then even a supreamly acc ruin weapon does.
----------------------------------------------------------------------

1. Yes, weapons created using the runic hammers do get both the exceptional bonus and whatever magical bonus the hammer assigns to it.

2. Magical and exceptional bonuses work differently from each other, so it isn't always accurate to say exceptional is as good as might, or any other comparison. Exceptional weapons have a 20% damage bonus, whereas Ruin/Might/Force/Power/Vanquishing weapons have a flat +1/3/5/7/9 damage addition (respectively).

----------------------------------------
Tom "Evocare" Chilton
Lead Designer - Ultima Online

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For version control reasons, we released a small patch to change the login encryption for both clients on Saturday evening, December 8th CST. There were no executable changes in this patch.

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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, December 12st, 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 164o41'W

Lord Khel
ICQ: 116819117 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 7 noble and noble souls show up for the event.

Winners
In first place, winning 20K was moo with a stirring story of a little girl and her quest to learn the truth of Santa Claus. Winning the second place prize of 10k was Kahlan with a slf of an unwanted mate.

Your humble servant
Raeven Aurora

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*blinks* Two is company

The first correct was sent by Magdalene of the Drachenfels Templar Order, who earned the prize of 25K sponsored by Spirits of Britannia. This is the second and last week sponsored by our friends, which we thank for the help in making this game possible !

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• Teams may be no larger than 4 members.
• The maps to be used will be cleverly drawn (level 4)
• Teams will need to be able to dig and unlock the chest themselves.
• There will be a timekeeper hidden there who will NOT help except to gate there and back.
• Teams may either have 1 (and no more than 1) person barding OR 1 (and no more than 1) pet but may NOT have both.
• If a pet is used it will count as member of the team, meaning that if you bring a pet your team may consist of no more than 3 players.
• Only one team member may loot the chest.
• Spell casting will not be allowed until the chest has begun to be dug.
• The use of boats will be allowed.
• Spectators will not be allowed.
• It will be the responsibility of the team to provide the map that they will dig. Maps will NOT be provided by the event’s sponsors.

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A run for hints was scheduled and many players joined the competition. The good thing was that this event had no fee and everyone was allowed to join. Uncle Zifnab - our comic-hero - was the speaker of todays event. At first he informed all about the rules and - after Gwenwhyfar gave out the info-books - started the run.

The first location was in the Lost Lands (and not on Felucca like some thought) near Delucia. Gwen waited there and asked the arriving players to bring her a GM-made lantern. Nearly nobody remembered that we have lit the place around MoT#3 with GM-made lanterns and therefore some players had really troubles getting one. Uncle Zifnab himself waited at location #2 in Trinsic and sent all participants to Viviane in Britain. She waited at the wall in front of LBs castle. The next hint lead to Kasim who waited on a ship. And the final hint brought the players in mortal danger. Maestria waited in the Fire Dungeon with the last hint.

Read more .. http://mot.purespace.de/main01_10_35.html

9th December: Big Celebration with honor of winners and house-raffle (DF, Trammel)

This is the end of our EventWeek. We invite everybody, participants, visitors and staff to join the celebration. We will not reveal yet the place where we are going to hold our celebration - it depends on how good we succeed in getting our planned surprise going.

But one thing is sure: we will gate at 21:00 MET (20:00 GMT) from MoT#3 (Trinsic, first house on the left) and Britain west-bank to our party-center. The possible destiny is a secret right now (we used in the last years the palast in Nujelm, the secret caves under BucsDen, .. so be sure that we search something magical for our highlight)

During this party we are going to celebrate the winners of the raffle from friday (don't forget yer books ..) and do a special-raffle where you are able to win a complete house (workshop at fire-island) - a hint: bring 5k-checks with you *G*. Additionally we are working on some surprises and hope that they can be held as we imagine.

This will be the end of our 4year-celebration and hopefully there are many more years of UO to come.

Happy Birthday UO.

Short summary:

Big Celebration with honor of winners and house-raffle (DF, Trammel)
Date: Sunday, 9.Dec.2001
Time: 21:00 MET (20:00 GMT)
Duration: open end
Meeting point: Britain Westbank & MoT Shop #3 (first house outside of Trinsic DF Trammel)
Events: Celebration of raffle-winners, a house-raffle and surprise-events

Raknar Guildmaster Merchants on Tour http://mot.purespace.de

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Success rate depends on your blacksmithing skill and any blacksmithing bonuses that might apply (i.e. by using an ancient smithy hammer). For that reason we've made the page interactive. You can enter your personal skill and bonus values, and the page will show you the success rates of all items your smith can (or cannot) make.

We'd like to hear what you think of such an interactive feature and if we should try to make more pages on the site act that way. If you have comments, then please do so in the thread below.

Thanks.

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The bride was dressed in red, all her clothes made by Synthetic. Making a subtle counterpoint to the glowing bride, Setzer was dressed in black and green, his look also designed by Synthetic. The wedding party included Synthetic himself, as a bestman, and Bendor, performing his duties admirably as an usher. Helping the bride were Damodred, the maid of honor, and Jesscinda, the lovely bridesmaid.

Fret Edrayes officiated the rite, aided by Annie, Sir Wulfstan, Amon Ra and Bear, whose duty it was to invoke the elementals of Fire, Water, Earth and Air (not necessarily in this order). The elementals blessed the union amid much growling and hissing.

As the couple exchanged their vows, gifts were also exchanged. The groom presented the bride with a Shadow Katana, while the bride's gift to the groom was a beautiful Arcane Gem, both symbols of the endurance and strength of their love for each other.

At the end of the ceremony, the bride and groom exchanged a romantic kiss and then were entertained by Barry, who composed a truly impressive poem to commemorate the occasion. Party favors for the guests included Shadow and Valorite jewelry, while the party itself was held on the roof of the Marble Hall.

My best wishes to the newlyweds!

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In order to limit the possibility of non-contestants entering the fray, the location of the battles will not be revealed at this time. Suffice it to say that contestants will not be enclosed in a small area.

The rules below, written by Bacci, will also be posted to the DP website:

The rules fer the DP street brawl---Be ready:

1. Fighting will start when the judges say.
2. There will be no gating or recalling during a match. If a person does recall/gate then they will automatically forfeit.
3. No bugs or exploits will be allowed. If you are caught using these you will be disqualified (and a GM may or may not be called on you.)
4. If a fight goes longer than 15 minutes, the judges may decide whether or not the fight is going anywhere and may choose a victor based upon the skills displayed.
5. The winner may loot the loser of any/all items on the corpse. Once the winner is finished the loser will be allowed to collect any remaining items and will be gated to town.

A Maximum of 24 people will be allowed to compete. You must be signed up at least 2 days in advance. The first 24 people to sign up will be allowed in. In order to sign up you must PM me (Bacci) stating that you wish to fight in the competition, your character's name, and what type of character you will be bringing (tamer, mage, warrior). You must also state if the character is Red or Blue. This is so they can be brought to the correct holding area. You may not switch which character you bring after you sign them up. Once all characters have been registered, additional instructions will be given to competitors via PMs through the DP message board.

The fight is scheduled for Friday December 21, at 5pm AK time, 6pm PST, 9pm EST

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Hello... I am Chrysana, guildmistress of Shadow Priests. I am contacting you in regards to my upcoming marriage to Connor, also of S*P. The event is planned for Saturday, December 15th at Midnight Eastern/11 pm Central time. The couple is hosting this event in the groom's tower in Felluca (the former factions guild tower for P:M) at coordinates 86o 39'N 47o 44'E. Gates will be provided at the Skara Brae moongate on the Felluca side. All friends of the bride and groom are invited to attend.

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Hello... I am Chrysana, guildmistress of Shadow Priests. I am contacting you in regards to my upcoming marriage to Connor, also of S*P. The event is planned for Saturday, December 15th at Midnight Eastern/11 pm Central time. The couple is hosting this event in the groom's tower in Felluca (the former factions guild tower for P:M) at coordinates 86o 39'N 47o 44'E. Gates will be provided at the Skara Brae moongate on the Felluca side. All friends of the bride and groom are invited to attend.

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*feels alone*

As usual, we want to know some general description of the place and possibly sextant location. First to answer correctly wins, results will be published tomorrow, everyone can partecipate but we won't consider previous winners as eligible for the victory.
The prize is 25K or a Broadsword of Power, sponsored by Spirits of Britannia. Write your answer to [email protected].

The task was clear. Buy a rune - call to the spot - and with a bit of luck you will get a prize. This was so easy that the runes have been sold out 9 minutes after the raffle has been started.

As you can see in the pictures - we've taken - the place around shop#3 was decorated and animated the citizens of Britannia to stay a while. The very disciplined people waited until the vendor was filled. After a 'Lets go' they ran forward and bought and bought and .. and he was sold-out after a short while.

Some minutes later the winners have been found.

1. The famed Jason
2. Tormentius together with Lady Aysling
3. Ragnarog

Read the story ..(http://mot.purespace.de/main01_10_34.html)

8th December: Hint-chase through Britannia (DF, Trammel)

One of the event which is held now and then by different playergroups is a chase for hints. We are now giving you the chance to participate again in such an event.

It will be open for singlepersons and teams with a maximum of 2 chars per team. So whoever is willing to use his/her skills to conquer our several tasks is cordially invited. You will need some reagents, UOAM or something similar, a ship and knowledge of Britannia.

The best news at last: there will be no fee for this contest, but wonderful prizes.

1st prize will be complete equipment for an alchemist room (all glas-blowing items, alchemist-book, several masonry-items)
2nd prize will be a coloured leather-armor (GM-made), a bow set containing a Bow, a Crossbow and a Heavy Crossbow (all GM-made) and some bolts and arrows. (in case of a winning team one set for each of the two teammembers)
3rd prize will be a Level 3-chest with contents delivered directly to you ..

Short summary:

Hint-chase through Britannia (DF, Trammel)
Date: Saturday, 8.Dec.2001
Time: 20:00 MET (19:00 GMT)
Duration: approx. 1,5 hours
Meeting point: MoT Shop #3 (first house outside of Trinsic DF Trammel)
Starting fee:NONE
Participants: Open for single players and 2-char teams
Prizes: magnificent prizes for the first three winners

Raknar
Guildmaster Merchants on Tour
http://mot.purespace.de

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Greetings my Fellow Britannians,

We the RD Auction Staff and RD Guard has decided to take our Auction on a trip over to Trammel. Yes that's right we have moved all the basic supplies, and items needed for our Auction. Our Auction will be on the same Tuesday night the 11th of December, starting at 8:30pm CST/9:30pm EST.

We will accept submissions on the monday before the Auction at the same time. Our temporary Auction Headquarters in Trammel will be the RD/GLV Tower located due South of the Hedgemaze, along and near the mountain, the coordinates to the Tower is as follows; 78o29S 16o35W. Many runes have been marked bearing the info to the Auction on Tuesday night. Our Staff and RD Guard have been passing out many runes in all the cities; runes can also be found in Felucca on vendors located at: The Three Amigos Home due west of Kazolas, Acadian Provisioners due South of Yew, and of course at RD's Tower.

You may be wondering why we are doing this, well, first, many players of Trammel have never heard of us {RD's Auction} second, most of the Trammel players have never been to Felucca, third, we just want to try out our Auction in Trammel.

The Auction will be held on the Roof and the Stage has already been set up, we ask all participants to leave there mounts at a stable, or dismount them on one of the floors below the roof. The Burning Heart / RD Guard will be there in full force to help out for anything that may occur.

Hope to see many new faces and old friends as well.

~ Rattler GLV

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We’re upgrading some of our server hardware for the West Coast shards (Baja, Napa Valley, Pacific, and Sonoma) next week, which will require some additional downtime to complete. This maintenance will occur during the West Coast shards’ regularly scheduled maintenance windows starting Monday, December 10th through Wednesday, December 12th. These shards are expected to remain down each morning for approximately 2-3 hours beyond their normal maintenance periods. We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause.

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As you know, all houses have been auto-refreshed for several weeks. OSI's own Prophet mentioned recently that we are likely to reinstitute a limited form of housing decay, but only for those houses that are listed as Condemned. This would likely occur before any other housing decay resolution (such as the method "ownerless housing" transfer concept described here), and there is a small chance it may occur around the onset of the new year, or perhaps even just barely before that time. The plan is not to turn off auto-refresh for all houses, but to take a small-yet-significant step in returning to a healthier housing situation by allowing Condemned houses to decay over time as was standard in UO until mid-September. Houses that are not Condemned will continue to be auto-refreshed.

When a more comprehensive housing resolution is put forth into the game, well, we don't want anyone to think that we intend to simply flip a switch and destroy several hundred houses at the same time the ball drops in New York City at midnight at the onset of the new year. That is not going to happen. We want a far smoother transition than that, for those houses, or housing locations, that will be changing hands. If/when any changes occur to housing beyond allowing Condemned houses to decay, we will give as much advanced notice and details as possible.

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

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Q: Can I get more BODs of a certain type at certain skill levels?

A: The frequency and types of deeds distributed with the Bulk Order Deed (BOD) system is as follows:

- Once every hour, characters with blacksmithing skill of 50 or less may get requests from NPC blacksmiths for small BODs requiring non-exceptional, non-colored items.

- Once every two hours, characters with blacksmithing skill of less than 70 may get requests from NPC blacksmiths for small BODs requiring non-exceptional, non-colored items.

- Once every six hours, characters with blacksmithing skill of 70 or more may get requests from NPC blacksmiths for small or large BODs requiring exceptional/non-exceptional, colored/non-colored items.

Some players have been speculating about there being some “sweet spot” or “magic skill number” that will help promote the acquisition of certain types of Bulk Order Deeds (BODs). We are aware of these concerns and are investigating addressing these in the next major, scheduled publish. Until then, as with any other bugs that could possibly be exploited, we ask that players not share specific details on how to get around this (or any other) system.

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

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Let me clarify my statement in the UOHoC a bit. First off the auto-refreshing of all houses was first initiated after September 11th for obvious reasons. At the time we told you all that we would be turning housing decay back on in the new year. As far as I know our plans have not changed on this but, as with everything else, they are open to change.

Now for the new housing auto-refresh: We are still hopeful that we will move forward with this. At the moment we are still working out many of the details as to how this would work so we don't have anything firm to tell you at this point.

So yes for a while the old housing decay rules will be active until we figure out what we will be doing with the new housing decay rules. I hope that clarifies things. If it doesn't please let me know and I will endeavor to explain a bit better.

Its going to be sometime in January. It will not be on January first or second. More likely the 2nd or 3rd week of January. It does not need to be tied to a publish so don't think nothing will happen if there is no upcoming publish.

Prophet
Miracle happens here ->

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Q: I know this isn't normal, but I was wondering if you could answer a question that needs dire answering?

A: one sec please

Q: sorry

A: The other side-PMs slowed down. :] What's up?

Q: Question is this, why was tinkering jewelry changed to what it is now? jewelry with 10K+ gems are gone, and why are "caps"-the hat from the tailoring menu gone as well? Just curious cause my gem collection is now useless :(

A: The multi-gem usage toward making jewelry was bugged. It only used one item but re-named the item with the stack name, so that fix was completely intentional.

The inability to use essentially unlimited gems due to the fact that you need to have the crafting good within your pack is a side-effect of the new crafting system.

The in-pack requirement was a crucial element to the new system, and it will help in the further development of the system and various crafting elements in general.

I don't know why caps were removed as craftable items as of yet.

Q: love the new crafting menus sannio, thx for your time :)

A: Vex was the hub of the crafting changes. I like them, too. And you're welcome! :D

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This weeks tournament will be held December 8 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 or Beleth via raven at 35905519 before 8pm Saturday.

**Four Corners Tournament**

Contestants will be divided into groups of four. Fights will begin with one person standing in each corner of the battle arena. Battle will commence with the wall of stone crumbles. Last man standing will be declared winner for that match. This is in tournament form, meaning the winners of the first four rounds will fight and so on. The winner of this tournament shall receive 50000 gold crowns.

Rules:
-No looting.
-No pre-casts except for Reactive Armor, Magic Reflection, Bless and Magic Trap.
-All Potions allowed except Explosion.
-Any stat altering potions are allowed to be used before wall of stone falls.
-No hiding.
-No casting of any field spells, summon spells and mass damage spells (meteor swarm, chain lightning and earth quake)

**OOC Note: Loss of connection during a fight is a disqualification.**


Annoucing the Winners of Last Weeks Fights in Caina!

Many talented teams came from far and wide across the realm to participate in the 3 vs 3 tournament. The Winning Lot of 75,000 Gold Crowns was handed over to Tip, Harry, and Geo Sith of Team PK! They skillfully vanquished the team of William Smit IV, Erty, and Abbadon Majere to claim their victory. Congratulations Team PK!

The Gladiator Tournament, the most popular and most challenging tournament by far t, had many contestants as well. Men and women alike entered the battle arena in nothing more than a loin cloth prepared to equip from the supplies scattered about the battle arena. Once again, Adal N’Thrak proved to be the most skillful of all as he eliminated each of his opponents and claimed the prize of 25,000 Gold! Congratulations on another victorious win in the Gladiator Tournament to Adal N’Thrak!

• 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 here 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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There are no PKs in Felucca...

We invited all guilds on DF to join our march from Felucca-Trinsic to Britain to celebrate the tough fighters of the Defenders of Trinsic during the war against Juo'nar, playerkillers and thiefs two years ago. And many blue players arrived. Many thanks to them. We only missed the Trammel-based Guards of Trinsic who have been invited personally too but .. well ..

Read the whole story .. (http://mot.purespace.de/main01_10_33.html)

Dec. 7th: Raffle at MoT#3 - Win a total of 300.000 gp (DF, Trammel)

The MoT did many raffles throughout their time in UO. It has always been fun. Therefore it is a tradition to use this event-type also during our EventWeek.

Like always our quest-vendor at MoT#3 (Trinsic, first house on the left, at the veranda) is awaiting you to sell you the tickets. This time it will be a bunch of runes which await the buyers. Every rune leads to a special spot in Britannia. Three spots will be guarded by MoT-Members who hold a special book. These books are the tickets to one of the first three prizes. If you arrive at the right spot and give over your rune you will get the book. To claim the prize you have to appear with the book and your char who has won on our sunday-event during which we are going to celebrate the winners.

As always we will hold some kind of party during the ticket-selling right in front of our shop. Come and have fun.

Short summary:

Raffle at MoT#3 (DF, Trammel)
Date: Friday, 7.Dec.2001
Time: 20:00 MET (19:00 GMT) - open end
Location: MoT #3 (first house outside of Trinsic DF Trammel)
Price: 3000 gp a rune
Prizes: 1st wins 150.000gp, 2nd wins 80.000gp, 3rd wins 50.000gp

Raknar
Guildmaster Merchants on Tour
http://mot.purespace.de

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Tis the Season for fun and friends. KFR and GOL would like to invite everyone to participate in the Quest to find Santa and Mrs. Claus. The event is set to kick off December 15th at 7:00pm PST and end at 10:00 pm pst. The starting location will be the Counselors Guild in Britian on the Trammel facet on Pacific Shard.

Come join in on the fun and find Santa and Mrs Claus to recieve your Christmas Gifts!!

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Ever been worried about being scammed out of valuable items? Protect yourself by reading our new scam prevention document at: http://support.uo.com/scam.html

Be sure to check out these tips! As of Monday, December 10th, we will no longer mediate in-game scam issues on a case-by-case basis. Players should always be sure to research their purchases before buying, and the tips in this document will ensure that your gold and your items are kept safe.

At some point in time it's possible that in UO, just as in real life, someone will try to scam you out of your hard-earned possessions. Here are a few tips that might just help prevent that scammer from being successful.

Proceed Cautiously

Leaving a guard zone: If someone opens a gate in order to take you to a house that they are "giving you for free," be cautious. Do not carry any rare items to trade, or valuables other than checks or newbified/blessed items, out of guard protection. For example, if you are trading rares for a house, you and the house owner should agree on a gold amount first, then trade the rares for a check for the agreed upon amount. You can then carry that check to the house.

Unlocking valuables in your house: The Detect Hidden skill (not the spell, but the skill) works 100% of the time in your house, or a house that you are co-owned/friended to, even if you are at 0.0 Detect Hidden skill. If you are unlocking valuable items or stocking vendors, always use detect hidden first to make sure there are no unwelcome guests waiting to snag your item once it's no longer locked down. Tracking is also a good skill to try to use before unlocking precious items, to help you find hidden players, monsters, or animals who may be lurking nearby.

Make a text macro to make unlocking or locking down items a faster process, and use these text macros every time you lock or unlock items in your house. Good habits will prevent nasty surprises!

Restocking your vendor: Be as careful while stocking or restocking your Vendor as you are when moving items around within your house. Make sure no one else is around while adjusting your vendor's goods. Use a secure trade window for player-to-player trades, rather than trying to use your vendor for a quick trade.

Keep blessed items in the top level of your pack: Newbie items and blessed items cannot be looted or stolen. But bags can. If you place your newbie items or blessed items in a bag, someone can just nab the bag through the use of the stealing skill, taking your blessed items with it! Keep these items in the top level of your pack, meaning in the main backpack window, and they'll stay safe.

Be careful to not get overloaded! If you are severely overloaded (meaning trying to carry over 125 items or items weighing over 400 stones in your backpack), you can end up with stuff falling out of your pack at your feet - and this includes blessed items. Gravity isn't picky as to what's blessed and what's not! If you log out while overloaded, you could come back to find that some of your items fell out of your pack and were either picked up by other players or decayed. GMs will not replace items that fell due to being overloaded, so watch how much you try to carry.

Trading Items

Secure trade windows: Take time to check the items in the window to make sure you're getting exactly what you're expecting to get. Use an ID wand, or the Item Identification skill, and examine what you're getting. Use the Arms Lore skill on armor & weapons before buying such items, in order to be sure that the item is in good repair. Most of the time, there is no reason why an item needs to be in a bag. Ask the seller to take the item out of the bag so you can see it in the trade window. Many scams can be avoided by looking at how the item highlights under the cursor.

Ground/bulk trades: In the past, trades of large numbers of commodities were inconvenient, since the game did not accommodate large numbers of items in the trade window, forcing players to make the trade in several smaller transactions. To save a little time, a player might request that you simply put the items on the ground to make the trade in one transaction. As soon as the trade involves setting something on the ground, you are essentially throwing your items away.

We've added a new system for trading bulk commodities securely - use it! Purchase a "commodity deed" from an NPC banker, and fill it by double-clicking the deed, then targeting the item you wish to trade. Complete details on commodity deeds can be found in the Game Wizard.

Blacksmith repairs: This one is a matter of good judgment in picking a smith. If you are not familiar with a smith, don't assume that the character offering to fix your armor is a smith, no matter what he says or wears. Handing your armor over to the wrong person to repair can leave you naked in no time!

To eliminate the guesswork and possibility of being scammed, players are strongly advised to use "repair service contracts" when soliciting repairs on their armor or weapons. These contracts can be bought from any blacksmith that has a blacksmithing skill of at least 50. Each contract can be used to repair one piece of armor, or a single weapon. You can find more information on repair service contracts in the Game Wizard.

Pet transfers: Ok, so you want to buy a mare. Have the seller rename the mare to a name of your choosing - let's say you ask for the new name to be "Mary." Then, standing in a clear area, right before the trade, have him say, "Mary follow me". This should clarify that the mare you have in sight is the only pet he is transferring to you. Please feed your new pet right away.

House transfers: Your best friend when buying a house is the sextant, which you can buy from an NPC Tinker. When the house deed appears in the trade window (it will look like a blank scroll), click once on it and note the sextant coordinates on it. These coordinates will correspond to the area directly under the house sign. So before you make the trade, stand under the sign and write down these coordinates for comparison. Also be sure to note the type of house, and make sure the information matches the type of house you are purchasing (i.e. a small marble workshop). Both the buyer and seller must be within two paces of the house sign in order to initiate the trade. If the scroll in the trade window does not have sextant coordinates on it, or the coordinates do not appear to be for the house you are buying, do NOT go through with the purchase.

If you're still unsure as to which house you are really buying, you can ask the house owner to change the house sign to a name of your choosing, which will help confirm his status as the house's owner.

Cross-shard trades: We cannot become involved in any way with cross-shard trades, either to assist in the trade or to investigate possible scams after the fact. Ultima Online supports several means for securely trading items within a shard only, and any trades that players seek to accomplish across shards are done at their own risk.

General Advice & Comments

Be cautious about "proof": Don't accept ICQ logs, screenshots, and similar out-of-game evidence as proof of someone's honesty. These things are too easily falsified or inaccurate.

Be extra cautious with valuable trades: If you are making a "big ticket" deal, and about to sink your life savings into a house or rare item, it may be a good idea to "take some notes" before the trade. Look up the character using the MyUO character search option, and bookmark that page. If the deal goes sour, this information may be able to help the GM to research the details.

Note that if the character doesn't appear in a MyUO character search, it may be because it is a new character (it takes a day or two for characters to appear in MyUO), and this should raise a "red flag" of caution when trading. Many scammers create new characters (with extremely common names) for their scams, and delete those characters 7 days after creation in an attempt to make it more difficult to track the perpetrator of the scam.

Buying outside the game: If you buy something Ultima Online-related outside the UO game system, such as on eBay, Tradespot, or some other auction site, and get scammed, this is a legal issue and not an in-game issue. Players shouldn't page or e-mail GMs or other OSI staff with information or complaints about this type of fraud, for this is out of their domain, and we are not responsible for deals made outside the game.

Ultimately, if the other trader is not willing to do simple things to prove the legitimacy of the deal, such as rename the pet, take the item out of the bag in the trade window, or let you in the house to check the coordinates: drop the deal. There are a million houses, items and pets, and this person may be hoping to scam you.

GMs will not return items lost through scams, so we encourage all players to take an active role in protecting themselves against scams. Use the in-game tools provided for secure trades, and investigate before you buy!

In the past, Game Masters have acted as intermediaries in calls where players have misused game systems to take advantage of others. Unfortunately, this has led to increased call times due to the extreme difficulty in determining the truth of these matters. However, since the implementation of secure house trading, commodity deeds and repair service contracts, we have noticed a significant reduction in scam calls to our support department.

With the success of these new systems, we plan to discontinue our policy of dealing with scams on a case-by-case basis as of Monday, December 10th. We will no longer mediate trust issues in-game, and we encourage all players to protect themselves by reading our new document on Scam Prevention found here. Any abuse of game mechanics to scam another player will be treated as an exploit, and we will address these at their source, as we would any development-related exploit. We hope this will ultimately free up the significant amount of time Game Masters have to spend on scam calls, allowing them to focus on addressing more service needs and lowering the overall wait-times that players experience when requesting assistance.

In addition to familiarizing yourself with these recent game system additions (see links below), don’t forget to read our Scam Prevention document, which will help you avoid being caught in a possible scam situation. Game masters will not replace items lost through scams, so be sure to educate yourself on the best ways to keep your gold and your items safe!

Repair Service Contracts
Commodity Deeds
Secure House Trading

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Part of the "desolation" effect works by having the client simply not draw tree canopies. Yes, it would be possible to have the server override this behavior in the client for specific canopies. But, that would take a client patch as well as server code, requiring a lot of resources that could better be utilized elsewhere.

--
Vex
Designer, UO Live,

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This just in from the leaders of Serpent's Isle...

Kindly honor us with your distinguished presence as we celebrate the Ceremonial Christening of Serpents Isle on Sunday, the 9th day of December at 8PM CST!

This momentous occasion will take place in the Town Hall located behind Serpent Isle's Castle Library on Serpent's Isle and to be performed by Mayor Alec Wolfe and the Lady Wysteria. Serpents Island is the isle with the marble building and the entrance to the Lost Lands located upon it.

Upon completion of the day's ceremonies, there will be many entertaining events. These events include a scavenger hunt hosted by the Order of the Sea Serpent, a dance contest, a costume contest and much more! There will be goodie bags for the first 50 people to arrive, which contain an assortment of items that will be useful on your travels. There are a wide variety of prizes including, snow, past Christmas rares, treasure maps, armor, gold, and even mounts such as nightmares, unicorns, and wyrms.

The ball will start promptly after the christening ceremony at approximately 8:30pm CST., and gates will be provided at the Britain West Bank and the Skara Brae Bank from 7:40-8:00. Please come and celebrate with event with us! If you need any further information please contact Wysteria at (ICQ) 5965283!

Sounds like fun. Thanks to Mayor Wolfe and Lady Wysteria for holding such an interesting event!

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We received this announcement from Chancellor Ceinwyn of the Spiritwood University:

The University of Spiritwood is proud to to announce the first lecture in an ambitious new project. To promote understanding between the races that inhabit Sosaria, representatives from each race will have the possibility to present themselves and their way of living in a series of lectures at the University of Spiritwood. We ask everyone interested in listening to come with an open mind and leave prejudices at home.

First out is Iwayhara, Taur'othar of the people of Andune, who will speak for and of his race, the Elves.

Time: 9 UK/22 CET
Date: Saturday 8th December
Place: University of Spiritwood, Trammel Campus

To find the Trammel Campus (and the Felucca Campus in the same place on the opposite facet), head east along the mainland road from the Skara Brae docks. When you come to the second road on the right, at the crossroads a short way inland, go south. Keep going south then east past the farms and homes, and soon you will arrive in Spiritwood. The University is on the far eastern side of the town, in the end of the clearing closest to the south-western corner of the Sosarian Hedge Maze. 

For the Virtues,

Chancellor Ceinwyn
Spiritwood University

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Greetings! I would like to invite everyone to the marriage of Syrina and Dryzzid, on Saturday, December 29th, at 4PM EST. The wedding will be held at a little grove in Felucca surrounded by columns, so gates will be provided from Moonglow Bank, and Britain East Bank by LFE members at 3:30-4. Once the wedding is over, the reception will be held at the Serpent's Cross Tavern. Thank ya!

~Dryzzid Losstarot, OES

Welcome to the GUL pit fights, hosted at Oc'Nivelle (Yew Forest 47o 17`N. x 34o 56`W). Designed to be a place for fighters of all play styles to come together to battle it out, the GUL Pit fights will be held every Saturday. Registration will begin at 8 pm pst, fighting will begin at 9 pm (11 pm central, midnight eastern). Players wishing to register must do so by 8:50, no late entries will be accepted.


This weeks pit fight (Saturday, December 8th)will be a 1v1 single elimination.
The Prizes:
1st place - 200k
2nd place - 100k
3rd place - 50k

Guardians of the Undead Lords Pit Fighting rules

• No magic weapons, no magic armor, no charged magic items.
  
• Pre-poisoned weapons are not allowed. Fighters with the poisoning skill may poison their blades once the fight has started.
  
• No casting of field spells, or summoning.
  
• No pets, this includes spectators. Please stable your pets before arriving at the tower.
  
• No looting.
  
• No stealing
  
• Loss of connection during a fight will result in that fighter losing the match.
  
• Tournaments are single elimination (the exception being fighters who lose in the semi-finals will be asked to stay and fight for 3rd place)
  
• All fighters are subject to snooping by the Oc'Nivelle staff.
  
• Any spectator interference will result in the spectator being banned and the fight starting over.
  
• No one is permitted inside the fighting area except the fighters for that match and the ref.
  
• Fighters may not hide or cast invisble during their fight
  
• To reduce lag anyone not fighting will be asked to hide during the fight. Players who consistently do not hide will be removed from the tower.
  
• No smack talking. The point is to prove what you can do... If you just "owned" someone we all will have seen it, no need to spout off about it.
  
• The ref will have final say over any match, issues or complaints with the rules of GUL's Pit Fight will not be discussed until after the tournament has ended.

For questions please Icq Jade @ 51610361

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I have just remastered a big portion of the Ultima Online soundtrack and would like to inform you about that.

I got the idea because I only have an on-board soundcard, which makes any midi files sound really bad and cheap. So I went over to my studio and remastered the whole stuff, and recorded it to the computer in mp3 format.

I'm sure no one likes downloading 3 megs blindly, and risking to kick what they got right into the recycle bin because it sucks, so I have recorded a small demo song for your convenience, to give users a better impression of what quality they can expect ;)

http://www.elitegamers.de/music/demo.mp3
That's the demo, it is 20 seconds long and of only 300kb file size so I didn't bother to zip it.

My music can be found at http://www.elitegamers.de

Kind Regards,
Casanova

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In reply to:
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The problem with this is that it assumes that UO's random number generator is actually random. As we all know, it's not -- it produces "streaky" results, where you'll fail several times in a row, then succeed a few times in a row.
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Streakiness of random number generation is a fact of life. It happens. Suppose you toss a coin and it comes up tails twice in a row. Superstitioiusly, you might say, "Ok, this thing is due for heads now". But in truth, there's a 50/50 chance that the third toss will be tails as well.

Suppose die rolls didn't streak? Then Yahtzee wouldn't be very much fun. Yahtzee players experience a big thrill when those five six-sided dice all come up the same on the first roll. Think of that is generating the same random integer in the range 1-6, five times in a row. The odds of that are 1 in 1,296 -- but that doesn't mean that if somebody gets a Yahtzee on the first roll that you have to wait close to 1300 die rolls to see it again. It could happen the very next time all five dice or rolled, or you may have to play a hundred more games of Yahtzee before you see it happen again.

Streakiness happens even when the odds are quite a bit lower than 50%. Streaks are as much a part of randomness as non-streaks. It's chaos. Randomness that never had streaks would begin to approach predictability, which is exactly what randomness is not.

All of that said, let me state in no uncertain terms that UO's random number generator is trustworthy. It is a stock library function found in common development environments the world over, widely used in a huge array of modern software, and it hasn't been customized.

In reply to:
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Then we have to assume that some things - notably skill gain, particularly for movement-based skills - that players often think are based on random chance for each attempt, actually depend on other non-random factors beyond our ken.
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Skill gain is partially random, but there are other factors as well -- power hour and anti-macro code are two examples. But, for things like crafting, it is a straight random number. If the crafting menu says you have a 40% chance to make an exceptional something, then that's the chance you have. No other factors modify that chance.

In reply to:
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And no, I haven't seen compiled data on the actual chance of smelting the various ores at various skill levels (or even at GM)
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I won't give away the exact formulas, but I can state that for any colored ore, your chance to smelt that ore at the lowest skill level at which you can mine that ore is 50%, and your chance increases as your skill does. So, for colored ore, it is safe to say that you always have at least a 50% chance to smelt it, if you can mine it.

Although UO may be playable on Windows XP, it is not one of the current, officially supported platforms. We are looking into supporting Windows XP hopefully in the near future, however.

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This day had to be a very traditional one. Some of MoTs Members got the title Nikolaus - a figure of the Christian religion. A good natured man who brings presents to the children of the world. All children who have been good during the year got sweets, candies and other things - the naughty children got coals and the companion of Nikolaus - Krampus, Knecht Ruprecht or however he has been called in the past - has a word in private with the evil ones.

We tried to use this day to get in touch with the people of Britannia. After the first two days of action and fun we tried to get smaller crowds and more roleplaying today.

Read more .. (http://mot.purespace.de/main01_10_32.html)

6th December: March of Faith

One of the most exciting stories in the history of UO was the battle with Juo'nar and his fellows. The Trinsic Defenders formed on nearly every shard and fought for freedom. This was also the time of player-killers and thieves because the law had been removed in the town of Trinsic. We bring back the memory of this weeks and start a march through the southern part of Britannia.

We meet at the entrance of Trinsic (the shop#1 of the Merchants on Tour is the first house on the left) at 22:00 MET (21:00 GMT) and walk north. All blue and red players are invited to join in performing an interesting event .. [:-)]

Don't be shy - keep your vanq-weapons and best armor at home and come for the pure fun. It is now very easy to travel to Felucca - use a moonstone or one of the moongates. If you die - *snickers* - well death happens sometimes in these realms.

The Merchants on Tour are normally only merchants and craftsman but will be arriving in Britain - even if that will be as ghosts. Who will join us for this surely interesting march ..?

Short summary:

March of Faith from Trinsic to Britain (DF, Felucca)
Date: Thursday, 6.Dec.2001
Time:22:00 MET (21:00 GMT)
Meeting point: MoT #1 Shop, (first house outside of Trinsic DFFelucca)
Destiny: Arrival at LBs castle - all survivors and all ghosts *G*
We especially invite all former Defenders of Trinsic and all Guilds of Britannia to join this event.

Raknar Guildmaster Merchants on Tour http://mot.purespace.de

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We are glad to announce another UO House of Commons Chat here at Stratics IRC. It will happen on Thursday, December 6th at 7pm CST (5pm PST, 8pm EST) in #uohoc. You can access our network by using an IRC Client like mIRC (www.mirc.com) and selecting one of these servers:

irc.stratics.dhp.com
stratics.frws.com
grampa.vlan.net
arden.ic-stories.com
riot.tac.net
stratics.truefear.net

The topic for this month will be General Discussion, so make sure to come with a couple of questions to ask the Dev Team. You can also find out more about how this all works at our UOHoC Website. Hope to see you on Thursday! Don´t miss it!

Stonegate
Stratics Lead Event Coordinator
mailto: [email protected]

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After hearing about the new music in UO:LBR, I was pretty excited. Many people, including myself, have turned the music off in Ultima Online and Ultima Online: Third Dawn because it is not very good quality. After all, it is in MIDI format (which means the quality depends on your soundcard). Anyway, I was disappointed when I downloaded the MP3 demos from the UO:LBR site. Don't get me wrong, the sound is terrific but my favorite song was the old Vesper Theme. It sounds like UO:LBR will have "new music" rather then just "newly rendered" music.

Well I do like the old music; the trick is just getting it to sound right. I've never seen anyone take all the old music and record it in MP3 format so I'm going to take a shot at it....

...My first Ultima Online recordings are the Britain Theme (arranged by me), the Vesper Theme (the way I like it), and the theme for the city of Wind (you can almost feel that Lich which greets you). I would really like to hear back from people who download these files. If enough people are interested, I'll record some more.

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