July 2001

Hi everyone,

We are glad to announce another UO House of Commons Chat here at Stratics IRC.

It will happen on Thursday, August 2nd 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 those 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!

Regards

Daniel - Stonegate - Fischer
Stratics Lead Event Coordinator

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The Arirang and Balhae shards will be moved to new hardware during their normal maintenance window on Wednesday, August 1st (KST). Due to this upgrade, we estimate that Arirang and Balhae may experience up to two hours of extended downtime during their normal maintenance period. We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause.

The Arirang and Balhae shards will undergo an additional hardware upgrade, to occur during their normal maintenance window on Thursday, August 2nd (KST). We estimate that Arirang and Balhae may experience up to one hour of extended downtime during their normal maintenance period. We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause.

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Last Saturday, the much anticipated expedition to Khaldun took place with an august body of participants. I was fortunate enough to be able to attend and felt somewhat bewildered in the company of such a famed group of explorers. I had the opportunity to renew some old acquaintances and see many familiar and trusted friends. Today, I received the official account of the expedition from Lord Martin. It's quite a story. Read on.

Greetings, all...

I am weary from this day's expedition... Or massacre... Therefore, I'll begin with a list of the explorers who attended this expedition.

The participants in our expedition party included:

Cynder DeMire (Sgt. Of The Watch, AVG)
Lady Kirsten (Duchess Of Jhelom)
Shondra (Goddess Of Night, WML)
Lord KingDane (King, GA)
Nayawenne (Flame Of Justice, OoV)
Lilith Pearl (Guildmistress, WML)
Wolphe (Crime Boss, TTF)
Lord Cyn (Fires Of The North, A^A)
Aubrey Gawen (King Of Serpent's Hold)
Lord Tom Bombadil (Drunken Citizen Of Avernia)
Kathe (Knight, KOV)
Lord Ambrose (Flame Of Humility, OoV)
Alex (Mercenary Archer, )
Revrend Bishop (Warrior)
Dreythos (Blade Of Justice, OoV)
Lord Symma Dhowna (Waters Of The West, A^A)

And...

Angel (Blade Of Truth, OoV)
Myself (Ruler Of Nujel'm, HoW)

I believe that is the complete list. Mine greatest apologies to those who I hath forgotten to mention.

The adventure began with a mysterious "Follower" arriving in mine palace. Cloaked in blood red robes and displaying brilliant white skin, this man spoke of a "Master" and referred to us as "Mortals"... According to Dreythos, his last words were: "The only way to conquer death... Is to die..." He then committed suicide by swallowing several vials of deadly poison. Duchess Sondergaard searched his corpse and discovered four vials of deadly poison, a journal, and a sack of severed body parts.

An Exact Copy Of The Journal: "I never thought I would see Him again... Alive. Oh, how foolish I was to not believe so... To not believe the inevitable... He punishes me, He tells me that I must suffer for mine disloyalty... He hast achieved His goal... He shall rise again."

Unlike most of my fellow colleagues, I believe this encounter is nothing... He was a madman, a lunatic, nothing more. Some of them even spoke of him being sent by Khal Ankhur himself!

Worried and with tensions high, we set off towards mine great city's marketplace and the public moongate. We stepped out of the moongate into Jhelom in the lands of Minax. I then opened a magical gate to the entrance of Khaldun. Debris from former excavations greeted us as we emerged from the portal.

I need not describe all of the treacherous details that occurred inside this damned place... Our bad luck began with Shondra falling into a pit... Angel of Serpent's Hold and others also fell through the pit, in hopes of helping Shondra escape the dark fate that awaited her. With our group divided, I ordered everyone to proceed into the very chamber that contained Khal Ankhur's sarcophagus. This was where Frazur Evid'ous slit his own throat, ending his life, and enchanting the blade.

Three beastly animal tamers were there, commanding dragons. Chaos quickly ensued... Angel told me through our telepathic link that they had escaped from the pit. I immediately rode off on mine steed to guide them towards the others. When I returned... I saw the corpses of the party littering the ground... Two members of the Last Ancient Warriors (LAW), obviously controlled by the dark spirits that haunt Khaldun, attacked the expedition! Our group fought back bravely, but our enemie's dragons were powerful. Wolphe of Nujel'm slayed one of the evil tamers. Lord Cyn led the other dragons away, then returned where he assisted Shondra, Lord KingDane, and others in slaying the other tamer. As the final tamer's limp body fell off of his Nightmare onto the cold floor of the tomb, Bastard British proclaimed Shondra to be a murderer! What madness is this!?!

Angel told me of this awful news as Symma, Kathe, and I were slaying a deadly beast known as "The Tentacles Of The Harrower"... I cannot write further...

Lord Martin Westmark
Sultan of Nujel'm

Cyn

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One of the foremost elements of our UO world is guild life. A strong, supportive guild, or faction can make a tremendous difference in one's shard experience. There are many fine guild's in the Land of Legends and one such example is Soldiers of Fortune. Last night I received a report of a recent dungeon adventure from Citan of SOF and thought I'd share the account with you.

Citan: In a moment of inspiration our Guildmaster, Lord Ivan, decided that we should venture into the depths of Ice Dungeon. We hastily prepared our weapons, armor and other supplies and set forth with about a dozen of our brothers.

Along the way, Ivan devised a plan of attack. We would divide our forces as not to be trapped within the narrow confines of the dungeon. I would take 7 of our number with me while Lord Ivan would take the others with him. Our purpose was to assist our newer members with gaining skills and practice our teamwork inside one of the most dangerous dungeons on the Trammel facet.

My team made straightway for the center of the dungeon. The evil denizens within wasted little time in attacking and suddenly I found myself set upon by four Frost Trolls and two of the deadly serpents. The battle was intense but we managed to prevail without a single casualty.

Meanwhile, Lord Ivan took his small group and made way for the fort. There, the rats demonstrated uncanny intelligence, and attacked en masse. Unfortunately, one of more of our brothers fell. At one point, the battle reached such a fevered pitch that Ivan took a well calculated risk by jumping from his mount. The rats instantly assaulted the mount, leaving Ivan ample time to resurrect our fallen brethren. Then, once more at full strength, his team renewed the assault and the battle was quickly won.

Citan concluded the report by saying, "Our newest members gained invaluable skills during this adventure and we plan to have several more in the near future."

Cyn

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Dragon Family [DF] will sponsor a PvP Tournament this Saturday, August 4th, at 10:00 PST. The tourney will be held at the entrance of Dungeon Wrong in Felucca. The winner is expected to receive over 1 million gold pieces as prize. We welcome everyone who would like to see some actions and the display of the finest PvPers on the Pacific Shard. Admission is free!

Sincerely,

Jen Lightbringer [DF]

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G*B Mall Presents 1st Annual Pet Sale & Show, with the "Master Key" Raffle.

The G*B Mall (Trammel) will be holding its 1st Annual Pet Sale and Show on Sunday, August 12th from 3 - 7 PM Pacific time. Pets of all kinds will be available for you to purchase, and a mock pet show will be held during the afternoon. Only tamers with the ability to control the animals will be sold these pets, as we do not wish to see any animals with unqualified masters.

During the course of the afternoon, the mall will be a spam-free zone, as shouting frightens the animals.

Tamers who wish to participate in the sale or show can ICQ Diana at 112760313 to book a slot and ask for details. Space is limited and slots for both the sale and show will be distributed on a first come, first served basis.

In addition, the G*B Mall will be featuring a "Master Key" raffle during the evening, featuring a blessed Nightmare Cloth Robe as its grand prize! We've locked a box holding the blessed robe and matching sandals, and it's your job to find the key to open it! Keys cost 5k a piece and 300 keys will be made, one of which will open the box! The box will be held in Castle ScOrPs, and one person at a time will enter to try and unlock the box with their keys. If your key works and opens the box, you've won the robe! A second box containing 100,000 gold pieces will have its own winning key in the group of 300. However, if you don't win the robe or the cash, you'll be eligible for door prizes that will be given away throughout the search for the master keys. A map to the Mall and Castle can be found at http://www.totalactionuniverse.com/GB/. Full rules for the raffle can be found in a book on the first floor of the mall. Good luck to all!

-G*B Mall

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Come one, come all! 

Come and crush a cup of wine in celebrating and welcoming all the Felucca homeowners to the Homes of the Exotic & Illustrious Tour!

Why: August is the first month that Felucca homeowners could submit their homes to the Homes of the Exotic & Illustrious Tour line up. 

Where: The Silver Bow Tavern in Nujhelm Felucca! (The tavern just North of the Nujhelm Palace!) 

When: Tuesday, July 31st at 9pm CST 

Ever wanted to meet the creative homeowners behind the houses? Well here is your chance! There will be free food and drink for everyone and lots of fun and interesting people! There will be door prizes given away and riddles to be answered for a chance at more freebies! So Don't Miss Out! 

Kyra, Tour Coordinator 

PS. The party is being catered by the Fledgling Knights of the Golden Lotus.

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As some of you may know, I recently encountered a "source" who provided me with information regarding acts that most would describe as treachery most foul. The incident involved an individual named Volo, a former ward of Empath Abby. The tale apparently revolves around an artifact known only as the Ring of the Heavens.

Tonight, I've received another message, this one from the mysterious Volo, himself. Read on.

Greetings, Cyn.

I, Volo os Volocamp, do cordially invite you to attend the ceremony of the Corruption of the Heavens. My brothers and I shall postpone the cermony until we hear word from you as to whether or not you will attend the cermony. We do hope you will attend and bear witness of the power of the Heavens, turned dark.

May the darkness guide you.
Prelate, Volo os Volocamp

Should things proceed as I expect they might, I would appreciate a nice memorial service in the Cats Lair Tavern. Should I survive this "ceremony," I'll submit a report as soon as I return.

Cyn the Cynical

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Two weeks ago I received a lamentation from an individual regarding the lack of honor and respect demonstrated by some few people toward their fellow citizens. In response to that missive, I sent out a request for tales of honor and respect.

I promised that I would post any responses in a feature entitled, "Honor Among Us." Tonight, I post the first such letter. For the record, I hesitate to post this particular submission, for no other reason than it mentions my own meager contributions to the Land of Legends.

I say to you here and now that any acts of honor attributed to myself pale in comparison to the grand actions of many, many others in this land. I am as guilty as some, and more than most, in my laxity, regarding demonstrations of respect for my fellow citizens. The following letter has been a helpful reminder that even the simplest act of respect and kindness carries with it immeasurable benefits, not only to the receiver but to the giver, as well. Read on.

Greetings Old Friend,

I noticed that you were requesting tales of honor and respect. I wanted to share my own tale of great honor and respect. As you know, I was born into this world many generations ago. 'Twas back when one could still see the dew settling on untreaded paths. 'Twas back when today's Legends were mere children just learning their trades and traversing this land for the first time. I, too, was a child with little other than a few scrolls, an empty spell book, and a strong will to succeed. 'Twas then that I happened upon another gentleman...an apprentice of his trade. We began to speak to each...telling tales of intrigue and sharing in our new experiences in this vast new world. From this simple conversation, we have remained close friends...assisting each other from time to time, sharing our tales of triumphs and an occasional failure here and there.

Tis many moons following this chance encounter that brings me to my tale of honor and respect. I was much older now and had learned a great many lessons. I was a grandmaster of the arcane arts now and resided in a beautiful home. 'Twas a large tower, the only respectable home for a mage of my calibre, that rested on the coastline of the City of White Stone. One morn, I returned to my prestigious home after a long crusade only to find it had vanished! What? How could this be? My only home...gone without a trace! My belongings and countless rare items I had collected over the years...gone! I was devastated! I had spent my entire life serving the good of the world. I was a Glorious Lord who had been betrayed by the very Gods I served!

Once this discovery had settled in to my thoughts, I contemplated leaving this world unjust world forever! Whilst I was at the bank in Britain offering away my remaining possessions, I happened upon my old friend. I was glad, for I had wanted to say my "farewell." However, he would not accept this. Rather, he and a few other citizens of Sosaria pleaded with me to remain in the world I helped to mold from the beginning of time. They offered any assistance I would need to begin my recovery. Some of the notable citizens that offered their helping hands were: Oran of Wood, one of my old friends and former neighbor in the City of Whitestone, who provided me with much needed encouragement and a new blue leather suit; Audrina, an onlooker who befriended me when she overheard of my betrayal and is now one of my closest friends, who provided me with her company along with a place to stay for awhile, and the last was you, Cyn...my oldest and dearest friend. You have provided me with countless advice and encouragement since that first conversation but I was dumbfounded when you GAVE me a new house in which to rest my head! You had said that you would assist me, yet I never expected such an act of generosity and kindness.

Just when my thoughts of life in this land were rapidly fading, my spirit was revived by these displays of compassion...not to mention, the knowledge that I would be leaving a world where such camaraderie reigns. And although the path I have taken since my great betrayal is a much darker one, my existence in this world remains with new found determination and desire. A few days ago, I finally reached my goal. I purchased a new tower that rests on a beautiful coastline west of Minoc. And I could NOT have achieved this had it not been for the Honor and Respect bestowed upon me by Oran of Wood, my close friend..Audrina, my only true love..and you, Cyn, my oldest friend and brother. I feel my future gestures will never repay what has been granted to me...but, perhaps, sharing this remarkable tale of Honor and Respect with the world is a start. My deepest gratitude to all of you!

Sincerely,
Dark Lord Malvader

Cyn

Do I or someone have to have the 2nd tier title in order to summon the Champion?

No. There is no tier requirement to summon the Champion.


Do we have to have X number of players to summon the champion?

No. Any number of players can summon the champion.


Do you have to do a certain amount of damage to the champion to get the third tier?

It uses the same system as looting rights. If you did enough damage to the Champion so that you can loot it initially, then you will be eligible for the third tier.


I've noticed there are always dragons or creatures around. Are they a part of the title spawn?

No. Any creature that is always in the area is just native to that area. The only creatures that count for the titles are the ones that dynamically change.


Can you give us any other hints??? I've tried everything and can't get a Champion to spawn. :(

Spawn size and strength can be affected by you.
If you kill enough creatures you can cause the spawn to shrink.
If you leave the area alone the spawn will grow.
The spawn size is directly related to the difficulty of the creatures that it creates.
Champions tend to get "upset" when you shrink their nice big evil area's...

All? I can't promise that all crafting skills with get new craftables in the scenarios, but we'll hit as many as we can.

Rather than just give the ability to lich lords, I prefer to keep the idea of group tactics for monsters. Future monsters in the scenarios will work together like the shamans as well.

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Publish 12 Update

We've been getting requests from players as to the status of the "Publish 12" update. Publish 12 was published to all shards on July 23rd, becoming active on most Shards early July 24th. Just as a note, while Vet Rewards are a big part of Publish 12, it also includes all those features & changes listed under the date "July 24th" in the Latest Update page at http://update.uo.com/latest.html. Included are changes to Vendors, Skill Modifications, a new GM rating tool, and a whole slew of necessary tweaks & adjustments to various in-game systems. These are all active, and have been since the 24th. And, of course, there's also Vet Rewards.

Vet Rewards--which are not active yet, by the way--is a very special situation, in that we're anticipating a huge response once they go live, and we're taking the time necessary to see that the hardware can withstand the deluge of players who want to try out the system on the first day. Once we're sure everything is ready, we'll activate Vet Rewards--although to make sure everything goes smoothly, we'll start with one Shard at a time. (In case you were wondering: we'll post updates when Vet Rewards will be activated.)

Thanks for your patience.

Sannio

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IMPY'S ARTIC FAIRE…
Weekly auction will be held Wednesday and Thursday evenings at 9pm by the Eastern Sky. 

It is "Christmas in August" this week at Impy's. Offering TWO auctions this week, our normal night of Wednesday and a mid-year Christmas gift to our customers a bonus auction on Thursday. Come for both nights, so you don't miss out on any of the great items we have this week.

Keeping with the Christmas theme this week at Impy's, we have Piles of Snow, Christmas Tree Deeds, a few Coal Ingots (made from a lump of coal), several holiday bells and even Fruit Cake. Rounding out the rares for the week include a Llama Statuette, a Green Tent Deed (very very rare) and a Gold Metal Box. We also have an excellent assortment of silver and vanquish weapons as well as a nice collection of high level armor. This is not a week to miss Impy's!

For directions and a complete list of the items up for auction please take a peek at www.impys.net. As always, Runes to Riches and the Mystery Chest games will also be played this week following the auction, so please stick around and take a chance with lady luck. Impy has asked that you please stable your pets before the auction as he is allergic to wet fur.

If you need a rune visit one of our rune vendors located through out the lands. (Vendors can be found at: Star's Shoppe (out side Vesper in Trammel), next door to the RD Stables (in Felucca, on the porch of the Sandlewood Box Inn (in Felucca), the Mystic Rose (in the wooded glen in Trammel), or at Krista's Ranger Station (in Felucca).

~Impy's Staff

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The Basics:
Please be a part of Adam Ant's new adventure:

• Prize: 1,000,000 in gold and other valuables.
  
• When: Saturday, August 4th, 2001 at 9:00 PM Pacific time.
  
• Where: In the Yew forest, under the shining Felucca moon, providence of Napa valley. 47o 17`N. x 34o 56`W.
  
• For more information, please visit game-master.net

My beloved Guardians, I send you this most urgent message, as we have much to do.

In the days before the eve-of-blood, the Mystic Council was the well-known and respected council to Lord British.
This council saw to all things magical and helped to bring prosperity to our great land.

Lord British was a kind and generous ruler, and bestowed great wealth upon his most loved and trusted advisers, one of which was my father, Kahn Anthias.

The village of Oc'Nivelle was presented to the Council Elders as a gift when the last of the dragons had been banished and peace once again rained in Sosaria.

North West of Britain, in a land called Yew, Oc'Nivelle awaits us.
A place that we might train ourselves.
A place for feasting and merry making.
A place to call home.

But know this my friends; the nearby town's drunkards, smiths, warriors and fools, have all been seen in Oc'Nivelle, scavenging and pillaging, and destroying what is rightfully ours!

We must take back our home dear friends, least they find the great wealth hidden within.

I have heard; there are 1,000,000 pieces of gold and the land's most valuable jewelry; golden rings and necklaces fit for a queen.

When we return to Oc'Nivelle, the interlopers will merely think we have come to take back our land. We must not tip our hand and let on that there are far greater prizes held within.

Ah! I have seen it friends, it is all there, a mountain of gold, a glittering beauty, a truly wondrous sight to behold!

So come now fellow Guardians, stand beside me and defend our blood-right.
For it was father's final wish that we Guardians take care of Oc'Nivelle until the Mystic Council can once again walk among the living.

--Adamodious Anthias,
Son of Kahn Anthias

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

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

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

As with all Adam Ant quests, you need only defeat the Guardians, kill Adam Ant, and claim the loot.
(Easy huh?)

As always:

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

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

• We Guardians don't often leave our riches lying about on the ground, so taking along the highly skilled lock-picker may prove valuable.
  
• When the Guardians have been defeated, beware of those you think to be your friend, for 1,000,000 gold can turn the head of even the most loyal of comrades!
  
• The Guardians of Undead Lords will protect their home and riches until the death. You have been warned.
  
• While the warrior may lie the Guardian low, 'tis the cleaver that shall prevail.
  
• There will be a live cast on the game-master WebCam
  to help you locate the treasure.

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

Adam Ant - 300,000 gold and other valuable goodies
Reflex - 500,000 gold
Isabella - 100,000 gold
Aydin Xie - 100,000 gold

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

Lord Guardian,
Adam Ant

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*Lil ust melee-magthere tournament*

As night closed in, the greatest warriors from the darkest and most evil clans gathered in the dark city of Naeloth. This was the first melee-magthere tournament, held in Naeloth and sponsored by the Ilythiiri Dobluth Empire (IDA).

The clash of steel rang for nearly an hour as warriors from all over Naeloth met in mortal combat for the top prize of 50,000 gold pieces. Eventually the last warrior fell and a champion was crowned.

1st. Dogal (representing the Naeloth Den of Debauchery and Sin) 50,000 gold
2nd. Nulir V'aeh (From the Brotherhood of the Dark Path) 30,000 gold
3rd. Arin Za'Thaen (From the Brotherhood of the Dark Path) 20,000 gold

As the prizes were handed out, Menel Ithilkir - the acting lord of the Ilythiiri Dobluth Empire proclaimed that next month would see "Lil ust sorcere tournament", the first academy of wizardry tournament.

Thanks

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In regards to ImaNewbie.com -

Currently ImaNewbie.com is having some DNS issues. I spoke with ImaNewbie earlier this week and he said that it should be fixed in a few days. As most of you know, DNS problems are unpredictable depending on who is doing the fixing. Hopefully ImaNewbie.com will be back up soon.

To quell the rumors, ImaNewbie and the L.O.S.E.R.S are still very much alive and kicking!

ImaNnoying,
Pain in the Arse, L.O.S.E.R.S
www.imanewbie.com

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Lord Ulysses Royal Arms and Armour is proud to announce that our Felluca branch will officially open on Saturday the 4th of August, 12:00 CET. The shop is located 35o 4's  30o 56'W which is west of the X-road, right next to the water. The shop is being run by Frodo the Scribe, who is part of the 'Royal Arms and Armour Team'

The first person to show up in the shop on the 4th of August at 12:00 CET and say 'Royal Arms and Armour' will recieve a FULL Valorite PLATE set.

We currently stock:

Weapons
Armour
Leather Armour
Various Tailored Goods dyed with a 'Special Dye Tub'
Scrolls
Spellbooks
Runebooks
Potions
Deadly Poisoned Weapons
Bows
Arrows
Tinkered goods
Carpentry Items (colored or uncolored)

We also have a 'PUBLIC BLACK dye tub'

The shop is neutral ground which means NO FIGHTING, anyone seen fighting in the shop will be banned permantly and without any mercy - This goes for REDS too. We want the shop to be a place everyone can use; Red, Grey, Blue, Green or Orange! So please respect this.

We hope to see all our friends, and hopefully some new ones aswell for this Grand Event.

We are looking forward to serve you!

On behalf of the team,
TobyOne

Thanks, hope it becomes a new centre of commerce.

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Mishca sat in the tavern holding the strange note that had been hurriedly thrust at her by Tinnile. It was addressed to Yosh, who everyone in the village knew was long dead. She still didn't understand why Tinnile had given it to her. As far as Mishca knew, Tinnile was on Zaio's side now.

None-the-less, this seemed to be information that might finally bring the fall of the evil Zaio, if they could decipher it. She decided to read it out loud to people in the tavern - friends who might be able to make something of it, do something about it.

"Yosh my Love,

It turns out that my immortality is a failure. My mind is consumed of every thought I once had. Oh Yosh, please return to me from where you are hiding. I know you are alive and waiting for the day you will return. Your blood is mine and a simple knife will not kill you. Please Yosh, return to me.

I shall give you the secrets of my death that you might destroy me and recreate me as I have you. You must gather the wood of a great Yew tree and from it cast a bow and arrow. The poison of which seems to harm that of the changling is applied to the tip. Go to the caves where my lab still remains. At the blue stones, call out the words to enter my lab. From there, go to the back room and find the book hidden in the chest. Call the word "sotanar" to the book within and it shall aid you further.

Hurry my love, for my mind fades quickly!

I have managed to place myself within a world between worlds. Here I can act as a god and see the events of the world through the eyes of the trees. Here no harm shall come to me. In the event something should go wrong, speak the words "Zaio return" backwards and I shall be teleported back to my lab. From there, I shall be immune to the secrets of breaking the barrier of my immortality which will take me to my death.

Zaio"

She folded the note back up when she was finished and placed it in one of the supply chests in case it was needed later. Loric and several others seemed to be making plans to investigate the lab they believed to be Zaio's lair - possibly the same lair once used by Benedict.

Mishca decided she had done all she could do for now and after some friendly chatter with some of the regular patrons, she headed home for some rest.

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We all know how expensive houses are these days, and how nigh-on impossible it is for a new character to find a safe spot to practice their skills.

With this in mind, the Wayists of Yew are pleased to announce that they will be donating a small, peaceful house on the outskirts of Yew as a base of operations for the first 10 players sporting a (young) flag that contact us via ICQ and request it.

Contact information follows. :)

Dale Armstrong,
Wayists of Yew,
Chesapeake,
ICQ #2905538

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Sunday marked the final day of the Dragons Watch Summer Faire. After three days of fun and competition, the final day ended on a somewhat funnier note. The chicken fights were attended by many people and many chickens. At the end of the fight, ALL competitors were declared the winners. A mass chicken tie.

Pax Lair sponsored a scavenger hunt earlier in the day and many people participated. D'jinn won the competition with 44 items found. Many hunters found 43 but D'jinn won by a nose.

The council at Dragons Watch would like to thank everyone who participated in the Faire and would be delighted to see each one of you again anytime at Dragons Watch.

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It is a wonderful time for the Shadow Lords! We have successfully captured all eight of the cities from Minax. It was a great, long-enduring battle and in celebration of the great event I, the Finance Minister of Skara Brae, have marked all prices down 300%. You will discover great prices on Reagents, Ingots and boards as well as other NPC and vendor priced goods. Please feel free to make your way over to Skara Brae in Felucca to take advantage of these great prices.

Act now and hurry! These prices cannot be maintained for too long. I estimate a three-day window to take advantage of these great prices!

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After two very fun days, the Moongate Faire ended at the Skara Brae Banquet Hall to a wonderful feast and the return of the Spoon of Skara Brae, more on that later.

On Friday evening, we had the Drunken Pack Race, sponsored by the SKT, and the Chair Taming Contest, sponsored by Skara Hollow.

But on Saturday eve, we filled the town and mainland with activities, with the Summoning Contest, and the Archery contest.

The Summoning Contest was held at Joh's Creb Sheck, just on the mainland and opened to a huge crowd. The object was to summon a Horse, and advance to the next round. The winners were:

1st Place - Jyrra
2nd Place - Lord Kyle
3rd Place - Jyeryen

Ahh, the Archery Contest, sponsored by the Rangers of Skara Brae, again upheld its long tradition, with a fast and tight contest, the winners were:

1st Place - Azryk
2nd Place - Matthew
3rd Place - Seraka of Minax

Prizes for the archery contest were provided by Scrolls and Swords Inc, and FitZ and Tymora Toymaker.

And Finally the Moongate Race, what was to be a quick run about the lands through the moongates took on a different touch this year, with clues handed out to find the stolen Spoon of Skara Brae. With the searchers following the clues and traveling about Felucca, and Trammel, Christopher brought the long lost Spoon back to Skara Brae.

The evening ended in Grand Style, The Moongate Banquet, catered by the Green Gyrphon of Britain. The Banquet hosted nearly fifty people and was a grand affair. Our thanks to Eric Strongbow, and Ayla, Conrad, Masara, Geryn and Erny.

I hope the hundred or so people that visited the Faire enjoyed themselves and I would like to thank Engval, Steward of Skara Brae, Lady Stella, Editor of the Chimera, Zed, Calis, and the many others that helped to plan and run the Moongate Faire.

The only problem encounted during the two days of the Moongate Faire was the cancellation of the 'Iron Chef' contest, the contest was postponed from Friday eve to Saturday, and was just starting to get rolling with cooks, when thives began disrupting the affair, by stealing the tables and ingredents. This contest attracted alot of viewing interest, and we had to hijack the cooks but, we need to do it again in a place where such problems can be handled. I would like to thank Karug, Egan, and Erny for volunteering to Cook, and I'm sorry it didn't come off as planned.

Additional information on the results of the Contests can be found on the pages of the Chimera.

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Hail all I bear the latest news about the prophecy! It seems the followers of Hextor have recruited or at least allied with The Hands. The Hands were seen asking around about Hextor and the prophecy... Most notably they were sighted making inquiries at the Byzantine Empire. Mayhaps they know something we do not? I am uncertain as to what course I must take but we need many of the forces of light to combat this evil... Also some savages have been seen attacking the Byzantines... If these attacks are related to the prophecy or not I do not know, but I will keep you updated and feel free to research on your own!

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As I sit here writing, its hard gather my thoughts. There is so much to say, and probably so little time. I will write this account of the events leading up to my capture, and pray that some noble citizen will find it and deliver it to the castle.

I am starved, thirsty, and afraid to sleep because I fear I may not wake up again- ever. Its been two days since my capture. I was gathering blood moss near the swamps for my experiments. The frogs stopped calling, my heart began pounding, and I knew with every instinct in me that I was being watched. And then the attack. Darkness.

Pain woke me up and it took my fuzzy brain time to realize that I was bound in rawhide. When my eyes adjusted to the darkness that still imprisons me, I could tell I was in a bamboo hut. Movement could be seen between the bamboo. My captors bore white body paint with peculiar markings in thick, greasy designs. Their faces, I have never seen. Grotesque masks cover them at all times.

I suspect they caught me as an afterthought. They appear to be on the move. I believe them to be moving into our lands, hunting as they go, and I was a poor sot they chanced upon. They have not demonstrated their designs for me, but I expect the worst. There is a fear creaping into the back of my throat that tells me that they may be keeping me as a food source. Dear Gods! Would my spirit ever be at peace should that unthinkable happen?

Tonight they had a battle. There were strange war cries of "hahai" and chanting, praying, and many fires. I was unsure with whom the battle ensued, until a bloodied orc head landed near my peephole in the bamboo, the lifeless eye staring in shock, still uncomprehending this new threat.

Eventually the screams subsided and the stench of dead orcs was heavy in the air. There was much eating and drinking, with drums beating in a fierce rhythm. Their leader, whom they call "Ratu" as near as I can tell, made a long, incomprehensible speech, followed by much revelry. They threw me food much later and one ghostly white apparition said to me, 'we tooked deir fo't." This tribal tongue is difficult to understand, but no harder than orcish, I suppose- if there are any left. I took his meaning to be that they have taken the Orc Fort, but are uninterested in it. They are not interested in habitations. They want food and supplies. They are like a swarm of invading army ants. Silently moving thru the jungle, devouring everything. When will they stop? I do not know. I know nothing of their goals. They seem to be willing to barter for what they need. If they encounter someone unwilling to barter... who can tell?

This unknown fate is more than I can bare. God, save us!

The Savages have come.

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A few days ago, I received a most unusual story. The source, who must remain anonymous (for his/her own safety) told me the tale while keeping a watchful eye upon the rooftops and ran-soaked streets of Vesper. It was clear from his/her demeanor that my "source" felt fearful of life and limb.

While the tale is yet incomplete, it did give me some insight into certain dark aspects of the Priesthood and a bloody conspiracy within Empath Abby. While I have yet to substantiate this story, I can say that my "source" spoke with veracity and conviction. Read on and judge this tale for yourself.

It was a cold, dark and dreary day, the halls of the great Abby were silent. The sound of petitioners at the door nor the cries of hungry peasants was to be heard that day. It was a day that Volo would remember for the rest of his life.

"It is your Drow blood that makes you do wrong, Volo." It was a phrase Volo had heard ever since he was a was old enough to remember. The monks at the Abby always thought of Volo as their little brother and scolded him as such. He hated it. He was a man now, and except for the most ancient of monks he was their elder. Volo had been at the Abby ever since he was left orphaned at their doorsteps more than a hundred years ago. He was lucky. Very lucky. Not many people in Sosaria would take in an orphaned half-Drow infant.

As childhood memories flashed across his eyes, a smirk and an evil thought came to his mind. That twisted, deranged place that only the most feared of imaginations dwelled in. "They should have left me on the steps that day. It would have been easier, then."

The coup had been quick yet bloody. Bodies littered the floors and great halls of the Abby. In the end, the only survivors were Volo and his trusted "brothers." Long ago, volo had turned some of the monks, and persuaded them to become Brothers of the Ebon Hand. it appeared his efforts were now paying off.

As he surveyed the carnage that was once the great Abby, Volo heard Dirth, one of his Brothers snicker in the background. Hehe ..."Hey, boss? Who's gonna scold ya' now?" Dirth chuckled again. Then it was that Volo spied the object he had craved for so long. The Ring of the Heavens was wrapped securely around the chubby finger of the disposed Prelate of the Abby. Black lightning raced from volo fingertips and in a sizzle of flesh and ozone, the finger had vanished. " Come quickly my Brothers. The Ring must be corrupted..."

Until next we meet, safe journeys to you all.

Cyn
Ace Reporter, Political Columnist and Chief Wine Taster for Lord Blackthorne

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Ladies, gents, and folk of all kinds! Come to the Casino this coming Sunday!

Once again the Asylum of Perdition opens its doors to the masses at the usual date of Sunday at 9:30 pm EST. The Casino can be found within the snowy streets of Caina, a city on the North West tip of Ice Isle. Take part in a bit of drink, take thy chances with thine coin in a game of luck, or perhaps while away the hours watching our gladiators fight on for thine pleasure! The usual games apply again for this eve, though if you do not know them, er’ they are now!

• Dare Devil dice
• Regular dice
• One, Two, Three
• Darts
• Order vs. Chaos

Bets have only recently been increased for these games, and now for thine pleasure, the amount one can bet on for the Gladiator bout also tis increased to 500 crowns! More then double the original amount to ensure a good bit of coin in thine pocket come the end of the eve to be sure!

The gladiator event tis open to any that dare enter, but is restricted to those using the three major weapon classes. Entr�e fee amounts to 2,000 gold crowns, the winner taking home half of the total entry fees. What do you have to loose ifin ye are the best, eh? No armor, potions, magic spells, or healing of any kind is allowed. The combatants shall be given their choice of weapons, which will be selected by the Casino.

A note by the local militia: Kindly to keep ones horse or ostard stabled before attending, we will not look out for the safety of thine steed.

Information regarding Casino games can be found at www.ebonskull.org/caina

The Asylum of Perdition is a subsidiary of the Tal’mahe’Ra

Shardak Mardas
Kindred Liche
Order of the Ebon Skull

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A fair amount of faction battles occured today, typical items like gate camping and hiding behind faction guards both noto blue looters and faction warriors. But a few things rose above the blood and ashes of yet another long grueling day fighting the good fight. Its these things and people id like to draw attention to.

First the CoM member SAMSON beat off an attack of several Shadowlords leaving there corpses strewn around Magincia with only his companion white wyrm amusingly named "all". The rest of CoM left the sigils unguarded for a chance at some blood kills in the streets of britain. Congrats Samson. Second, the devouis Roof Top Sniper, who not only put this reporter on the floor with blazing combo's and incredible speed, he along with the stealther Selena, flew into the CoM stronghold and liberated a sigil before anyone could react..like a shadow on glass...there and gone.

Last and certainly least...those faction warriors who like to stand outside the britain or other healers and im not naming any names or any particular faction and insist on yelling blood curdling cries of "OWNED" after killing a newly rez'd person. Rez killing is part of the game folks, but lets see if we cant save the "OWNED" part when we actually kill someone not in stat loss.

Amalacon
CoM
Death Jester$

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LdyHawke assures me that she was not inspired by Jennifer Lopez. She says, "J. Lo had nothing to do with it. A fan of the house came to me and asked if he could have his wedding there. I said that was not a problem and asked him a few questions about it. As it turned out, he needed some help planning it...One thing led to another, and I became a full fledged wedding planner."

Those interested in this field should be warned that planning a wedding involves a lot of work. LdyHawke spent hours redecorating the entire roof of her tower into a wedding chapel with a lovely flowered bower. She planned seating and food, made the rings and then talked to the bride and groom about their outfits. They wanted to wear red and gold, and LdyHawke helped design and then created their ensembles. Then she performed the ceremony and made sure everyone signed the guestbook.

The groom also asked for a reception that would be fun for the guests, and Ldyhawke came up with a fun post-wedding game and even donated prizes to make the game more interesting.

I had the pleasure of attending the wedding of Cristina and Pyro Blast, and I have to say the entire event came off beautifully. The ceremony was short and incredibly sweet, and good fun was had by all at the post-wedding party.

Afterwards I sat down for a few minutes with the exhausted but pleased LdyHawke. Will she be planning more weddings in the future? Not any time soon-there is a LOT of work involved. LdyHawke says, "It is not something I would want to do every week, but it was a real blast. I had not met the couple before they asked me to do it, and now I have two new friends on the shard."

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After many long years of searching for the right barmaid to run The Barking Trout, we've finally found one!

Food and drinks will be served at The Barking Trout on Sundays from 7PM till past 8. The Barking Trout is a large two story establishment located just across the road from the southernmost farm on the mainland of Skara Brae (F). Food and drink will be served free of charge during tonight's grand opening, and complimentary armor and weapon repair to our customers whenever Fred is around!

Just take the road east from the docks, turn south at the creb shack, and follow that road all the way to The Barking Trout at the end!

Jonny-Boy, TBN

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I've heard from countless players about how purple spell books and sandles have something illegal about them.

I would like to hear from a someone who has some authority about what the real deal is?

Is it illegal to buy/sell such items?
Is it illegal to own such items?
is it illegal to wear/hold such items?

Thank you for your response.

Actually, there will most likely be a strengthened stance on these items very soon - meaning that they WILL be considered illegal to own, and players will be punished for having purple sigil-hued items in their possession.

If this does become the casse, however, we will announce it on the site, and put it in the patch message as well, so no one will be caught completely by surprise. We want to rid the game of items created through an exploit, but we certainly don't want to catch people unaware for something they may not have realized would get them in trouble.

The best advice for you right now is to make sure to check the patch message whenever you log in to see if something has been posted about this matter. :)

On the second day of the Dragons Watch Summer Faire, the guild of the Iron Brigade showed themselves as great competitors and a guild of great sportsmanship. The only event that an Iron Brigade member didn't win, was the event that the guild of the Iron Brigade ran.

The day started out with Iron Brigade running an archery challenge. Each competitor got 3 shots and whoever did the most damage was named the winner. On this day an archer named Moon scored a victory with a 42 hit.

The next event was a double elimination warrior challenge. No magic or magic items were allowed in this event and only 10 potions per fight. The fighting was fierce and the competition was nearly even. Finally a champion fought his way to the top and this champion was Ice of the Iron Brigade. He won with honor and sportsmanship, and fun was had by all.

Later in the evening, the Iron Brigade proved that they had beauty as well as muscle. At the Summer Faire's fashion show, Lilith of the Iron Brigade startled the crowd and dazzled the judges, walking away with the award for best dressed. She was very gracious and when asked why she should win she said honestly, "I have a very pretty dress".

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After careful consideration, the cities of Caina and Wintermoor have entered into alliance with each other to insure their mutual protection from the outside forces that wish to colonize or further endanger the lifestyles partaken of in our lands. It is the sacred right of a common people not to have their way of life interfered with by outside entities thusly the two cities now see a great peril to those rights which has caused us to band together under this joint agreement.

Treadeau Du’rome

As the voices within the Great Hall fell silent, all eyes were directed to the men sitting at the head of the long oaken table. The leaders of Wintermoor, and it's northern neighbor, Caina, had ceased their debate, ending what seemed like hours of deliberation and maneuvering.

"Then, we are decided?" asked a member of the Cainan Tribunal.

"Then we are decided." Answered a Wintermoor official.

With that confirmation, both sides applied their official seal to the long parchment which lay before them, leaving two wax imprints, which heralded the dawning of a new era…

Terms of Alliance for the Nation of Stygia

PREFACE

The Cities of Wintermoor and Caina ?including all holdings, and environs therein ?shall officially recognise each other as allied city-states, forming the Nation of Stygia, from this day forth. This alliance shall consist of, yet not be limited to, Defensive co-operation, Trade and Commerce relations and Intelligence Networking.

Upon agreement to this alliance, the highest-ranking members from the Council of Wintermoor and the Cainan Tribunal of Entropy shall form a High Council. This body shall be known as the Stygian Council, and shall consist solely of the highest-ranking members, or appointed representatives of each side.

Both party’s are reserved the right to enter into hostile relations, for whatever end they deem worthy, without it being necessary to inform or involve the Stygian Council.

ARTICLE 1 ?MUTUAL DEFENSIVE ASSURANCE

1.1 ?Within the environs of the Caina / Wintermoor Alliance [hereafter to be known as Stygia] both the Cainan Tribunal of Entropy and the Wintermoor Council agree to aid and co-operate in the event of security threats.

1.2 ?“Security Threats” are to be defined as any act from external parties and/or individuals which attempt or aid acts that will prove detrimental and/or malicious to the immediate and long-term prosperity of Caina and/or Wintermoor.

1.3 ?In the event that either the Cainan Tribunal of Entropy or the Wintermoor Council are forced to enter into military operations that are of an internal or one-sided interest; then aid can be refused, without the breaking of the MDA Agreement.

1.4 ?Citizens and Troops of each city are bound by the terms of this agreement to abide by the laws of the city, when within the confines of either Wintermoor or Caina. This includes the laws, which directly contravene the laws of the individual’s home city.

1.5 ?Disregarding or intentionally breaking article 1.4 will be punishable under the law of the city in which the offence was committed. Punishments are left to the decision of the said cities ruling body, and are permitted (though not limited) to any course of action.

ARTICLE 2 ?TRADE AND MERCHANTILE RELATIONS

2.1 - Upon agreeing to the Caina/Wintermoor Alliance, the ruling body of each City shall endeavour to create, and maintain, effective trade relations with the other members of the Stygian Nation.

2.2 ?Trade relations between Caina and Wintermoor will be formed, maintained and encouraged at each and every opportunity.

2.3 ?Trading of all materials is permitted, regardless of the legality of such materials upon mainland Sosaria. The responsibility of declaring any material(s) to be contraband rests with the Stygian Council.

2.4 ?Those found to be actively or covertly affecting Trade between Caina and Wintermoor will be subject to the full force of the law of the City in which they are apprehended, or taken into custody within.

ARTICLE 3 ?INTELLIGENCE ACTIVITIES

3.1 ?Under the terms of the Caina/Wintermoor Alliance, all intelligence that may have bearing upon the security, economic welfare and/or future welfare of the neighbouring city, regardless of origin or means of collection, shall be shared in full.

3.2 ?Intelligence consists of, but is not limited to, enemy troop movements, activities of ranking members of enemy forces, information regarding any attempt to de-stabilise or covertly affect with ill-intent holdings, allies or other of the neighbouring City.

3.3 ?Proven withholding of Intelligence Information will violate the Stygian Alliance, and severe penalties will be imposed upon the offending City Council.

ARTICLE 4 ?FURTHER TERMS OF THE STYGIAN ALLIANCE

4.1 ?The two leading members of the Stygian Nation (those being the Cainan Tribunal of Entropy and the Wintermoor Council) will meet at regular intervals to review and uphold the terms of the Stygian Alliance.

4.2 ?Appointed representatives of either party are permitted to attend the meetings [4.1] though notification of such an appointment must be made to the other party.

4.3 ?Aiding and or collaborating with those known to be opposed to the Stygian Alliance shall be viewed as an act of treachery, and punished accordingly.

4.4 ?The Cainan Militia and the Wintermoor Militia shall remain separate entities, with their own command structure, recruits and objectives. Both militias will be allied and aid and assist the other as and when the opportunity arises.

4.5 - Whilst both the Cainan Tribunal and the Wintermoor Council are free to make alliances, as and when they see fit, in order for another party to be admitted to the Stygian Alliance, both parties must be in agreement.

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There was a great turn out on Friday night's Grimoire Gladiator Bar Fight sponsored by Elwind Thorne! What made it even sweeter, was that Arch-Bishop donated an extra 50K gps to the prize pot for the event. The last man left standing and the winner of the fight was Pepsi!

Huge thanks to the wonderful Grimoire staff!! Thank you LeeLu, Madness, Josh, Lost, Arch Bishop Horshack, Jade, and Tyrany! Many thanks to Lucan for covering the event on the Adam Cam and to Madness for providing the screenshots for the results post on the Grimoire Website! All your hard work made the event run very smoothly.

Have a great weekend and cya next week!
Baby-Grimoire staff

Your humble servant,
Raeven Aurora

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"Britannia needs some excitement," Commodore Flagg announced to the Fishing Council of Britannia crew, "It's time to pull those fishing nets you be saving in your holds, we're going to treat the citizenry to some real nautical fun. We'll be aholdin' a sea serpent slaughter this Sunday at 3 p.m. EST (2 p.m. CST). The new recruits raised their hands, "Please, sir. What's a Sea Serpent Slaughter?"

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

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

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From the websites that brought you The Ugliest Home on Sonoma Contest, Plush by Pluffy http://people.atl.mediaone.net/pluffy/ and UO Realtor , comes a new home decor contest -- Innovations. If you have invented a new type of furniture or puppet or decoration, or come up with a new way to make an old favorite like a fireplace or fountain, then this contest is for you.

The contest is open to players on four West Coast Shards -- Baja, Napa, Pacific and Sonoma. Two winners from each of the four eligible shards will receive 50K each, and ONE Grand Prize winner, chosen from the eight finalists, will walk away with a cool 500K.

Rules and instructions on how to enter can be found at http://people.atl.mediaone.net/pluffy/innovations.htm

Thanks Guys,
Pluffy

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This reminder of the Wintermoor Festival just in from the Wintermoor Town Cryer.

Hear ye, Hear ye!

Come one, come all to the Wintermoor Festival on Sunday, July 29th. The Festivities shall start at 7 pm EST and end approximately at 11 pm. The Festivities shall be held on the Felucca Facet on the Southern Tip of Ice Isle beginning at the Frosty Hook Tavern. Over 2 million in gold prizes, rares, and miscellaneous items shall be given away as prizes.

Gates from Felucca Moonglow Bank, Britain Bank shall be provided for yer safe travels at 7:00 pm EST and 9:00 pm EST. There shall also be travels provided for those in Trammel at 7:00 pm EST from Trammel Moonglow.

At 7:00 pm EST, it will be worth your while to visit the Frosty Hook where Salvadore the artist will be selling a most fastastic and mysterious painting. "Mystic Dreams" is rumored to have magical properties. Bids shall surely go high on this work of art, and may in fact be something many would kill for?

Next, we shall be launching a Boat Race around Dagger Island starting at 8 pm held by Bane Blackhart. Bring your boat! No entrance fee is required. The prizes shall be 50k, 25k and 10k.

Lady Fantasy shall be sponsoring a Bola Picnic Giveaway. There will be free food and Bola's for all! This event shall take place at 8:30 pm EST at the RSR Embassy in Wintermoor.

All night long, Ronde De Guileri shall be hosting the crafting of free GM leather armor for those who would bring their own leather,as well as free leather dying at the Silver Thread Clothiers in Wintermoor.(There will be a Leather Dyetub locked down there for those that are over 2 years old and wish to Dye their own leather)

The Wintermoor Town Guard shall be hosting a mini pvp tournament at 8:45 pm in which there shall be multiple prizes given at the Wintermoor Guard and Jail Building.

Several notable citizens of Wintermoor shall also be auctioned off to the highest bidder - in the hopes that a match made in heaven may result. Eligible bachelors including our very own Gromph are expected to be shamelessly sold to the one with the most gold in their pocket.

In addtion, there shall be other surprise events, lotteries, masquerades, and giveaway of multiple treasures. A vendor shall be located at Wintermoor Palace and selling runes to specific locations around Ice Isle. The winning rune shall win 200,000 gp.

Welcome to the town of Wintermoor, our friendly citizens all hope to see you there.

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The West Coast Innovations Contest --- Got Style?

From the websites that brought you The Ugliest Home on Sonoma Contest, Plush by Pluffy and UO Realtor, comes a new home decor contest -- Innovations. If you have invented a new type of furniture or puppet or decoration, or come up with a new way to make an old favorite, like a fireplace or fountain, then this contest is for you.

The contest is open to players on four West Coast Shards -- Baja, Napa, Pacific and Sonoma. Two winners from each of the four eligible shards will receive 50K each, and ONE Grand Prize winner, chosen from the eight finalists, will walk away with a cool 500K. Rules and instructions on how to enter can be found at http://people.atl.mediaone.net/pluffy/innovations.htm.
--Pluffy

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From the websites that brought you The Ugliest Home on Sonoma Contest, Plush by Pluffy and UO Realtor, comes a new home decor contest -- Innovations.

If you have invented a new type of furniture or puppet or decoration, or come up with a new way to make an old favorite like a fireplace or fountain, then this contest is for you.

The contest is open to players on four West Coast Shards -- Baja, Napa, Pacific and Sonoma. Two winners from each of the four eligible shards will receive 50K each, and ONE Grand Prize winner, chosen from the eight finalists, will walk away with a cool 500K. Rules and instructions on how to enter can be found at http://people.atl.mediaone.net/pluffy/innovations.htm

Thanks Guys--
Pluffy

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Attention citizens of Britannia, The Lost Soldiers of Darkness will be holding a tournament Thursday, August 9th.

This tournament will be the return of LSD to the tournament hosting circuit. The last tournament was a huge success and LSD seeks to return with a bang!!

On that night, Retribution will host two tournaments back to back. The first tournament, Tower of Death, will start at 9pm EST. For Instructions of this tournament, please check the LSD PvP website.

The second tournament will be an all out brawl. A tournament style that has been aptly named, The Royal Rumble, will be conducted to determine the first champion of that tournament.

I'd like to send a special invitation to all those that came to the last LSD tournament. Especially our champion, Hollywood. Register now for the LSD tournament Circuit and increase your fame as one among Napa's most feared pvp'rs.

Lost Soldiers of Darkness Website.

Your humble servant,
Raeven Aurora

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Alas, the "war" between the Guardians of Truth and the Knights of Chaos seems to be at an end. Representatives from G*T have graciosuly provided the following account of the war's climax. Read on.

To all Members, Friends, and Citizens of Legends:

As most of you know, War was declared upon the guild of KoC. The other night, this war was settled by a duel. The Combatants were Malagant and KoC Guildmaster Kail. The rules were set by Kail, as single combat with no outside help, on Kails territory in Ice. The battle started with Malagant's weapon of choice, a Eminently Accurate Durable Light Crossbow of Power and Ghouls Touch. Kail chose to start with a war axe.

Upon initiation of combat, Kail was struck from afar, paralyzed, and another bolt followed. Malagant then closed the distance on Kail, switching to a DP Kryss and heater shield. Kail's barrage weakened the shield, in time breaking it. Just at that moment Kail was poisoned. He attempted to run and heal, but Malagant quickly switched back to his bow, ending the battle swiftly. Afterwards Alissa, at the time a guildmember of KoC, rezzed Kail, afterwhich Malagant approached and commended Kail on his effort. Malagant offered peace and advice, Kail offered his hand and they shook, thus ending the so called War.

The High Counsel
Guardians of Truth (GoT)

Cyn

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The West Coast Innovations Contest --- Got Style?

From the websites that brought you The Ugliest Home on Sonoma Contest, Plush by Pluffy and UO Realtor , comes a new home decor contest -- Innovations. If you have invented a new type of furniture or puppet or decoration, or come up with a new way to make an old favorite like a fireplace or fountain, then this contest is for you.

The contest is open to players on four West Coast Shards -- Baja, Napa, Pacific and Sonoma. Two winners from each of the four eligible shards will receive 50K each, and ONE Grand Prize winner, chosen from the eight finalists, will walk away with a cool 500K. Rules and instructions on how to enter can be found HERE

Pluffy

So put on those thinking caps and showem just what Napavalley can do!

Your humble servant,
Raeven Aurora

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Over the next few days we will be announcing the guest speakers for the evening, the room assignments at Lord British's Castle and several other special events we are planning. We here at UOS are looking forward to seeing everyone at the Symposium.

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In what started out as a very quiet beginning, quickly turned into a very fast evening with many of the land either participating or watching the contests.

Results for day one.

Literary Contest

First place, Lady Mythra, with 'The Crossing'
Second place, Lady Ash Kaitlyn, with 'Tessa'
Third place, Romekal, with 'From the diary of Nadir Entreri'

These winning scrolls can be found on the Chimera.

Ahh, and for the events this past eve:

The Drunken Pack horse race was hottly contested, with seven entrants.

First place was won by The Rat and his pack llama
Second place by Felicity

The Chair Taming turned out to be a major event with four teams, ranging from two teams of four and a team of two and a single citizen. The results ...

First place -- Lord Sephyn, Pirotess, Katerina, and Abhor
Second place -- Charlie
Third place -- Elon Swan, and Gavin Horn

The Iron Chef contest was postponed til 9 pm Sat eve. This contest to pit the five or six best cooks of the land will be conducted in the counselors hall. Registration for this special event will be held between 8 and 9 pm at the Skara Brae Market (west of the Bank)

And also scheduled for Sat evening are ...

8pm, Summoning Contest at Ailynee's Grove (west of the Bank).
9pm, Archery Contest at the RSB Rangers hall on the Mainland
9pm, The IRON CHEF at the Counselors Hall
10pm, the Moongate Race, starting at Counselors Hall.

and

at 11pm, the Moongate Faire Banquet. Held at the Skara Brae Counselors Hall, catered by the Green Gryphon Traven. All the winners will be announced and all citizens are welcome to attend.

If you would like to participate, or just watch the goings on, please drop by Skara Brae (f).

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One of the only ULTIMA novels ever written is finally available, based on the fiction surrounding Ultima, and specifically around the recently-cancelled Ultima Online 2. Austen Andrews, the same author that wrote the Prequel Fiction for UO2, spins a 344 page tale that takes us on a journey into The Technocrat War just after the Cataclysm caused by Lord British.

To give you an idea of what you can expect from the book, here is the description from the back:

A WORLD REFORGED

A sorcerous cataclysm has remade the ancient and magical world of Sosaria, where a misguided plan to bring ultimate order to the land has altered its destiny forever. Now past, present, and future are one...a unity that sets in motion an astonishing age of discovery and conflict for this strange new world.

Once separated by time and space, the warlike Juka, the calculating Technocrats, the matriarchs of the Meer, and the Virtuous knights of New Britannia are now on a collission course. Fragile alliances threaten to unravel as treachery and deceit pit kingdom against kingdom. Unless bitter enemies can put aside their vengeful differences long enough to uncover the truth, all Sosaria will be ripped asunder.

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Summer Faire Day 1 of 3

Dragons Watch Summer Faire opened to a nice size crowd last night with a mages' challenge kicking off the events. Many fine mages participated in this one! Unlike most combat challenges, this was a little different. Mages were required to sit in facing chairs, without moving, while casting. No potions were allowed and no magic reflect. While the competition was tough, Syrus came out on top winning against Zturk. After the mages' challenge, Real Life Tarrot readings were performed by Verra in the Mystics' house. This was a well attended event. Tarrot readings will be done again on Sunday. To end the evening, the Iron Brigade sponsored a Bards' competition at the Black Frost Inn. Many a fine song and poem were recited with the Elf Nimue Agarwaen entrancing the public and the judges with her wonderful voice and song.

The fun is just starting. Saturday and Sunday will be just as much fun, if not more. With exciting events planned for everyone, please come to our Summer Faire!

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while we're on the subject of animal lore - just a quick aside...

what are your thoughts on the current output, i.e. the information and presentation thereof, of the animal lore skill as it stands currently? How useful is this information for you and in what ways is it or isn't it useful to you? Just looking for some general feedback. :

great feedback everyone. i appreciate it. there are some really good ideas here, i think.

and yes, i'm taking a look at animal lore whilst i localize it, and i assure you i'll do my best to keep it from becoming "stilted" . :)

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The Player run town of Harmony will be hosting its second Merchants Day
on Friday, July 27 beginning at 7pm CST.
Harmony merchants will be selling their wares at reduced prices for this
event only.Merchants will be set up by the road in front of the Boar's
Head Tavern. Harmony is east of Britain starting as you enter the gates
at the guard post and continuing to the swamp. Map of Harmony can be
found at www.cityontheweb.harmony.com
Marie Laveaux
Harmony Trade Alliance

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The following information concerning Lake Superior was posted to our FYI page:

"We have brought down the Lake Superior shard to address a crash issue. We are working on the solution currently, and hope to have the shard back up within an hour. We will be monitoring the Lake Superior shard closely, and we apologize for any inconvenience."

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

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Wrath of Satan, a Great Lakes forum participant, recently posted this announcement:

Sig Contest! Win 50k! Ends July 29th

Well, I just went to the tamers' forum and was amazed. It wasn't the flames and cries of newbies, but of their sigs. I liked looking at their sigs so much that I've decided to make a little contest on this forum for this shard. Put up your best sig or best sigs (no limit) and after 2 weeks whoever has the best sig gets a 50k check on the GL shard. The judge of the contest will be myself and Noel LeFevre if she would help me. I promise to have the check available to the winner of this contest the day after winner is announced which should be a day or two after submissions are over. Thanks for your submissions before hand and good luck.

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This water stained scroll came in from the Pirates of Scoundrel's Cove.

S'pug looked up from his charts...

"Lost? again? but cap'n... how can McPirate be lost? we gave him our best map, and even told the tillerman the way back personally..."

"Yes, the tillerman turned up five minutes ago, McPirate wasn't on board" chuckled Green Beard, "Apparently McPirate found some booty, and stopped at an island to hide it... he didn't want the tillerman to see the booty, he send him home. Now we've had a message to say he's still there, and can't get back."

"Damn him. this is the fifth time he's had us out searching for him, this time he's going to regret it."

S'Pug called over to Jazon, "Jazon, call together the rest of the crew, we're gonna give McPirate a little surprise. Tell each man to man his ship. I've some
co-ordinates to give them. tell them theres booty involved... all they have to do is find and kill McPirate"

Jazon grinned insanely...

"oh, and to make it fair, we'll give them all the location at the same time,
lets see if McPirate gets lost again after this" S'Pug folded up his charts and
headed for the town square.

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

This event will take place at 11 am EST on saturday the 28th of July which equates to 4 pm British Standard time for those of us in the UK. the prize will be 50k and a variety of weapons and items. meet at scoundrels cove, which for those not in the know is on the northern tip of magincia in Felucca. this event will take place in felucca so be prepared for fun and adventure... there are no "no-killing or looting" rules for this event, so should someone make it to McPirate first... feel free to kill them too. the first person to bring the iou note back to scoundrels cove, and present it to us will receive the Cheque, the rest of the items will be on McPirate.

 

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Allow me to introduce myself as the newest addition to your Great Lakes News Team. *cue 2001 theme?* Smiling, but without further adieu, I'll bring you up to date on Amidala.

I set foot on this land nearly a year ago. The lush pine dripped its heavy scent into the breeze, and I lingered a moment before journeying on to the barren land I would call home. I had my start long before, in a land distant and unfamiliar to most--Lake Superior. I made my pilgrimage to seek new challenges, and in hopes of making new friends.

A compadre from my previous "life" extended me the kindness of his home as I settled, but before long I had set out in search of my own tract of land. I found a place to my liking in the heart of Yew, and the woods stayed quiet and peaceful throughout most of the day. Nights brought a flurry of violence, but I was safe and busy within my home.

I soon had a small shop running, and customers of all dispositions looking to me for their supplies. I found many honorable and lasting friends among the Lords, Ladies, murderers, thieves, and other folk who came knocking at my door. Never a dull moment in my shop, and the opening of Public Moongates and Factions worked well to my advantage.

I met a steady supply of new players, and began to devote a large portion of time to helping them get a start in life. If you've ever undertaken a similar project, you know that the reward is well worth the sacrifice. The continuing success and accomplishments of those I've helped out never ceases to bring a twinkle to my eye and smile to my face. They know me as Ami, French for "friend".

By trade I am an Archer, but my "alter egos" pursue a very broad variety of interests and activities. Ce'Nedra Willow recruited me to moderate the UO Archer Board earlier this year, and later I wrote the Professions Essay: the Archer. I greatly enjoy being part of the Stratics team, and was very pleased to find that a UOS guild existed on Great Lakes.

In "real life" I enjoy web-oriented programming and design. I am also a classicly trained musician, and appreciate nearly everything that reaks of artsy, from paintings to films, and from hip-hop to not hip at all.

It is very exciting to be working as part of your News Team--if you see me in-game, don't hesitate to stop me and say "hello"!

To contact me or any of your GL News Team, post an email to [email protected]

Fair Winds, and following seas,

~ Amidala
Great Lakes Reporter
Archer Forum Moderator

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Dawn's successful raid on Occlo culminated with the capture of the savages' principal leader, the savage general. As of yet, he awaits trial for "crimes against humanity" in the Kingdom of Dawn's Prison.

Since the motives of the savages and their reasons for holding Occlo are still uncertain, the citizens of Brittania will have the opportunity to observe and participate in the interogation of the general. The general will be relocated to Lord British's castle, where the trial and interogation will commence.

The savage general will be interogated this Sunday (7/29) at 8pm PST in Lord British's castle (Trammel). If found guilty for "crimes against humanity" by the citizens of Brittania, the general will receive a sentence of death and public execution in Brittain's square.

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A new comic is up and on the site. This one's called "Thud."

There was a little confusion about what exactly today's comic was referring to. I don't want to spoil it, but I will say its not about Client Crashes, it's about the new(ish) emote-commands in the 3D client. Although the joke works ok with crashes.

Well thats all, Enjoy!

www.outofcharacter.com

-Arakasi

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This tourny comes in three parts.

There will be the 1 on 1 part with an admission fee (2,000 gold).

A team section with 4 teams (black, purple, yellow, and red - each with a robe with its team color) this part has no admission fee and you have more people to help you survive. :}

Then last but not least will be the fun part, a free for all with also no admission fee that comes after the tourny. In this section it is just a big group of people anyone is welcome to this part! :} this will go on for about five through ten minutes.

Rules

• You may only have ONE pile of snow during 1 on 1 competition, thats it!
  
  
• You must remain in the ring at all times during the one on one section of the tourny, if you don't you automatically lose and are out of the tournament
  
  
• During the team sections you must do the same as rule two
  
  
• During the free for all you will have only one boundry the SIDE OF THE ROOF!
  
  
• No hiding whatsoever if you do, it is instant DQ
  
  
• NO FIGHTING!! This is for snowballs only, not bloodshed, any fighting will result in immediate DQ.

Time

Saturday July 28th @ 5:00 pm pacific

the prizes are as follows

1 on 1 prizes are:

• 10,000 gold
  
• second.5,000 gold
  
• third..2,000 gold

These prizes are not guarenteed, if the tourny does not make enough the amount of money won will be changed :{

This tournament is being held by the infamous jeff and hermes. The location is on top of Lord Blackthorn's castle.

Rules are subject to change at anytime by Jeff or Hermes.

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I found Lord Vecna meditating, wearing the virulent purple bone armor that bears his name. He was seated on a throne piled high with the bleached bones of unfortunates who have crossed =G= in the past. I can only assume his spy network had alerted him to my approach, or perhaps he sensed it in some nefarious way. At any rate, he seemed utterly unsurprised to see me and nodded me to a seat on a bench, his single eye appraising me from the shadows of his bone helm. The other socket was disquietingly empty.

Pluffy: Vecna, for a long time Golgotha was ruled by the Lich King, Soulstealer. Where is he?
Vecna: Soulstealer? His usefulness ended and he was awarded what he deserved. He will never have need to cross into this realm again. His powers go beyond the minds of mere mortals and immortals.
Pluffy: Golgotha has always been associated with evil, but at least under Soulstealer it was a controlled evil. It was structured and had a working government. How will Golgotha continue to function without its king?
Vecna: I am the new "King" of Golgotha, if you will. Although no mere king has the powers I do. Golgothans have always seen me as their maker…think of this a visit from their creator. Government in Golgotha will function as it has in the past. My Conclave of Liches have and do see to the everyday running of the kingdom. (He appears to grow impatient) Any further questions?
Pluffy: Just a few. I have noticed more and more temples in your name appearing on both sides of the moongate. Is this part of your new - well - theocracy I suppose is the proper name.
Vecna: Yes...my priests have set about to convert as many to my beliefs as possible. These beliefs are not that far from your own "virtues" that have been worshipped in this land. However, the Priests of Vecna do have a visible symbol in me. The churches have little effect on the government. They are gathering places for those who with to better their lives…or unlives.
Pluffy: What sort of "Virtue" captures the minds and hearts of Golgothans? Can you give me an example.
Vecna: The weak can be made strong. The blood of your enemies will wash away all impurities. Blood of others will purge any weakness. Power is given only when one's heart has been focused through pain. These are the words of Vecna.
Pluffy: That does not sound to me like anything Lord British would say!
Vecna: Lord British? Your absent ruler who cares nothing for his people? He has made no attempts to fulfill the happiness of his people's lives.
Pluffy: One final question, although I do not know if you will answer it…
Vecna: Ask your question.
Pluffy: Golgotha has always been strongly associated with Felucca, and yet I see more and more of these temples in Trammel. Is it your intention to cover all of Sosaria with Temples dedicated to you and your so-called "Virtues?"
Vecna: A higher population resides in Trammel than Felucca. It would be only clear thinking to place temples where the people are. Any and all are welcome to learn the ways of the followers.
Pluffy: I find that answer to be less than reassuring.

Anyone interested in starting a Temple of Vecna or becoming a Follower should contact Vecna at ICQ #78245748.

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Madam Sherifa will hold Tarrot readings on the opening night of Dragons Watch's Summer Faire. These are real life true Tarrot readings, or as close as we can get to it. So come on out and participate in the Faire and get your most important questions answered by Madam Sherifa. No need to open your wallets for this one! Save your gold for the Faire and have fun!

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Thou may be a citizen of Bree and not even know it!

 

Hail to thee,

I am Morgus elder of Bree-land. Many houses have been bought and sold in Bree and the new owners may not know the privileges they have as a Breelander. If you have a house south of Brittain in Trammel, between the road and the mountains or river, near the moon gate, you are in Bree.

Privileges include; Guard protection by the Bree Village Guards,

    *Your shop will be posted on the Bree web-site

    *You will be included in on adventures (hunts, quests, tournaments)

 

We would like to expand to the other side of the road, even to the beach south of Brittain. If you live in Bree-land and wish to take advantage of free advertisement for your shop or help fight the evil chaos that threatens Bree. You can contact me at ([email protected]) tell me your house name and location in Bree, any information you want posted and if you want to help with events. We still need more guards. (to be a guard and for most events thoust must be a role-player)

Bree web site address is (http://people.mn.mediaone.net/rem2/breeland.html)

 I Thank thee and fare well

Morgus, elder of Bree (TSC)

Sounds really good, glad we have a new town that is being established.

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A chicken will be told to follow each contestant. They will then be sent into a dungeon in timed intervals. Winner is the fastest to make it through the dungeon with the chicken still alive. Healing the chicken is allowed. Gating is NOT allowed!

Grand prize: A SILVER KATANA OF VANQUISHING!
2nd through 10th place: 50k to 10k gold!

Other games (treasure hunt and trivia contests) to run at the same time!

If you are late arriving use the Rune locked down on the tower floor labeled "Chicken Races". Races will continue until everyone has had at least one chance and we have ten winners. Please bring chickens!

Time: Saturday, 28th July, at Noon Central Time
Shard: Great Lakes
Facet: Trammel
Location: (73o39'N, 54o12'E) The TLC Guild Tower is the first large tower on the road east of the Britain/Yew/Minoc Crossroads. (Look for 6 Green and White Vendors).

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Monday 23rd July saw the latest weekly meeting of the Trinsic Council Of Honour (TCH).

The council met in the Counsellors Hall in Trinsic at 8pm (GMT). The following were in attendance:

Attendees: Drakys TCH, Teebo EW, David II EW, Kaine TCH, Drizzt Do'Urden JII, Crowley DOT, Ikus DOT, Lady Clarice TPH, Mentazm TCH, Jalapeno Sunrise TPH, Lady Jaina D'Areck SL, Lord Yoldran CMg, Maria delSythia TCH, Drellian DHR.

Apologies : Ewan Blackmane, Gladiator.

The mainpoints discussed were: -

1) Mentazm suggested having 3 heats of 5 or more entrants for the Great Trinsic Horse Race, which will be held next week.  These heats will consist of 2 laps each.  Full details will be made available nearer the time. There may be more heats depending on how many people enter between now and Tuesday. Send entry applications to [email protected]. See the Council tome (stop.at/trinsic/) for details of the race and a map of the course.

Mentazm also suggested the council 'walk the course' to confirm there are no shortcuts and also where to position council members to direct entrants.

A map was drawn up to show where the weak points are. A member of the council will stand at each point while 'spamming' which way the racers are too turn.

2) The council are in talks with the Duchy of Trinsic and the Trinsic Paladins of Honour regarding a Trinsic Treaty, and an 'official' council to work within the ERPA guidelines. A proposal was put forward to the type of positions such a council would need and the 3 councils will be meeting privately at regular times to discuss the proposal, and also start organising role playing scenarious to do with Trinsic for all involved in the ERPA scheme.

3) Mentazm, Kaine and Drakys met at Mentazm's house after the meeting to discuss some more detail regarding both the horse race and the upcoming 'pirate' quest.

These were of a sensitive nature (ie. plot details, potential exploits) hence the need for a meeting of private nature.

Details of the pirate quest will be released very soon, and if all goes according to plan, should be a very good roley-playing quest indeed.

4) David II raised some concerns regarding the citizens of Trinsic not getting a say in the matters discussed this evening.  Mentazm directed David's attention to what our tome (http://stop.at/trinsic) states what we have achieved and what we are aiming to do. It was also pointed out that at the end of our meetings the last agenda point is always 'any other business' where anyone (from guilds, councils, or citizens) is more than welcome to bring forward any issues or event ideas that they have on their mind and the Council will do all in it's power to help.

In future the agenda for Monday's public meetings will be placed on our tome so the citizens of Trinsic can decide if they would like to attend to hear what is being discussed, or would like to come at the end to discuss any other issues.

If you would like to attend future meetings to discuss these matters, build some community spirit, and make some new friends then the next meeting will be held in the Trinsic Counsellors Hall in Trammel on Monday 30th of July at 20:00 GMT.  Before attending, though, please see our tome
(http://stop.at/trinsic) so you can get acquainted with what the council are aiming to do and what we have achieved so far.  There you will also find some basic rules to make our meetings constructive and orderly.

Drakys,
Scribe TCH.

Thanks

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Moongate Faire - Friday and Saturday

Today and Tomorrow (27th and 28th), the Shards longest running event. A celebration of the Moongates and the community of Skara Brae. Come by and join in the activities. Contests for all sorts over the two days plus a Banquet Sat evening (11pm) in the counselors hall in Skara Brae.

Moongate Faire Schedule

27 July 01

8pm Drunk Pack Race
Lead a pack horse through town after you have had a few ales.
9pm Chair Taming
Ah, you have the Carpentry skills, and maybe the tinkering Skills but do you have the final skill to win the contest.
10pm Iron Chef
You are a Master Chef, and a pretty good cook, but can you work with the ingredents provided and present a meal for a king, and describe it for the judges to be the IRON CHEF.

28 July 01

8pm Summoning Contest
Oh, you are a Grand Master Mage, but can you summon what creature you need. Can you summon the desired creature, find out in the Summoning Contest.
9pm Archery Contest
This the one contest for Archers of the Land, Prove your skills, against the best of the land.
10pm Moongate Race
Test your skills, a race, a simple race, over all the lands, to see if you can manage to be the quickest, but also the smartest. Do you know History, the lore of the land, try it out. See if you can win the Moongate Race.
11pm Banquet
And finally, a Banquet, catered by the fine folks of the Green Gryphon, and serving the finest in food of the land. At the Banquet we will announce the winnners and have dancing and food for all that attend.

Town Cryers will be available both evenings at the Skara Brae (F) Market, west of the Bank to direct visitors to events. Registration will be at each event location in and around Skara Brae

(Note as a reminder to all, Skara Brae (Fellucca) is a Faction City, appropriate care should be taken.)

If you need additional information you may contact Sam

The Skara Brae Chimera, will have the lastest reports from the Moongate Faire as well as lists of the winners of each contest.

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A common topic here on these boards lately has been the debate between players who prefer the Trammel facet and those who prefer Felucca. While it's perfectly understandable that players want to defend their preferred style of play, and their preferred facet, almost every one of those threads degenerates into a shouting match, replete with name-calling and personal attacks. These threads bring down the atmosphere of the boards, taking focus away from players who actually want to communicate their ideas and questions about Ultima Online.

Even phrases such as "carebear", "newbies" or "griefers" - if they're used to represent an entire facet of players - are insults. As a rule, don't generalize. There are veteran players who prefer Trammel, and there are honorable people who prefer Felucca. It all comes down to a matter of taste, and that's why there are choices. If you can't stand the play style of one facet, don't play there. If you dislike an idea that someone has suggested about either facet, debate it if you wish... but if any of the posters in the thread resort to name-calling and insults, the thread will be locked, and the poster will be warned.

This certainly doesn't mean that people aren't allowed to speak their minds. Discuss the issues, but let your facts speak for you. Be civil and reasonable. Prove your point by having a stronger argument, and by taking the time to explain your reasonings. Don't resort to the "I'm right because you're stupid" defense. Also important is the fact that insults are never appropriate - even if they're made in response to another flame. "But he flamed me first!" is not an acceptable reason to feed flames on these boards.

And, probably most important, you will not change some peoples' minds. If you are a die-hard PVPer, you will not change the mind of someone who can't stand PVP. And vice versa. In the end, you simply have to agree to disagree. Otherwise, the fight goes on forever, and accomplishes nothing.

In order to be able to deal with these threads more efficiently and quickly, I'm going to leave this post locked here for a while, and simply refer to this when/if I lock Trammel vs. Felucca threads.

Thanks for understanding, and with the arrival of our new Community Coordinator Sannio and a renewed dedication to clearing up the fights on the boards, I hope to see the UO community become a more helpful and friendly place for all involved!

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Everyone's invited to celebrate Christmas in July with the BSC on Tuesday, July 31st complete with a visit from Santa. The event will be held at the Good Eats bakery in Britain on the Trammel fact at 8:00pm EST. Tired of fishsteaks and ribs? Come sample the culinary delights of Britain's finest chefs. Bring your tribal berries and let us transform them into paint! At 9:00 EST, all of our guests will recieve tickets to match for great prizes.

Need more information? Head on over to the UOSS Chef Forum. See you there and Happy Holidays!

Clotho [Grandmaster Chef, BSC]

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Hail Adventures of Britannia!

The Trinsic Council of Honor is pleased to announce yet another fabulous Bazaar coming up! This bazaar will be held in the usual location, just north of the Trinsic Royal Bank, right in front of the Shining Path Armory. Any merchants are encouraged to come and sell their wares, as the booths are free for their use. Also, members of the Trinsic Honor Guard will be present, interviewing recruits for the Honor Guard's ranks. Ale, food, good humor, and a chance to find that one of kind item you ve been looking for, will all be available at the bazaar. There may even be a fortune teller present! So stop by, enjoy some ale, purchase or sell goods, all on Saturday, July 28, starting at 7:00 pm EST.

Also, the Trinsic Council is searching for Counselors and Citizens for the City of Trinsic. To be a Citizen you must simply meet the following requirements:

1. You must meet one of the following criteria:
   • Was born in Trinsic
   • Own housing in the greater Trinsic area
   • Is a member of a Trinsic-based guild
   • Consider yourself loyal to the city of Trinsic
2. You must have a valid email address.
3. You must not already be registered as a citizen of another City.

To be a Counselor, you must meet the following requirements:

1. Complete the Volunteer form on the website
2. Attend the TCoH public meetings (You must attend 3 meetings consecutively after submitting the application.)
3. You must have a valid email address.
4. You must not already be registered as a citizen of another City.
5. You must meet one of the following criteria:
   • Was born in Trinsic
   • Own housing in the greater Trinsic area
   • Is a member of a Trinsic-based guild
   • Consider yourself loyal to the city of Trinsic.

The Councils Web address is http://tcoh.hypermart.net/

Finally, the Council would like to announce its draft plans for an Academy for those in search of training in the skill of there choice. This is currently only on the drawing board, but if anyone has a keen interest in teaching, or simply a idea for creating this Academy, you are more than welcome to Pigeon me at 79540250 or post on our forum at http://pub19.ezboard.com/btrinsiccouncilofhonor.

See you in Trinsic!

Martin Willow
Mayor of Trinsic

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Mercenary Inn is having its grand reopening Aug. 10th. There will be events throughout the entire day starting at 12 noon EST and ending around 3 am EST (9am to 12 pm PST) head over to the web site for times and event descriptions: www.mercinn.f2s.com

Also I am looking for storytelling bards to entertain that day for any amount of time that they can...you will be compensated with gold food reagents...what ever your needs may be...as well as tips from the patrons. Please e-mail me if you are interested at [email protected] hope to see you there!
--TorAnn

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I am proud to announce that the first meeting to discuss the new government will be on Sunday June 28th July 29th at 7pm pst. We will meet in Castle British in Britain Felucca Trammel at 7 and begin the meeting shortly after.

I would like to say that I am very pleased with the responce I recived from many who wish to participate in this exciting endevour. 22 guilds have shown interest and I know that there are many out there who probably still do. If you have not yet contacted me, my ICQ is 74627548 or you can come to the meeting and meet us there.

This meeting will be strictly OOC (Out of Character).

Thanks.
--Lich Soulstealer

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Comments from Cynthe

Well, after 2 weeks of soliciting and accepting resumes, 1 week of evaluating those resumes, two weeks of interviews, and then two weeks while the people I chose got settled here (one was already working in our office as a Game Master, and the other underwent an arduous 26 hour trek down to Austin), I am no longer alone in the Ultima Online Community Relations department!

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. Oh, and a big thanks to everyone who's been patient with me as we've worked to find the right people. :)

As we get ramped up, this site should see its updates pick back up again - namely the Comments from the Team, Spotlights, board posts, etc. Of course, keep in mind that everyone needs a training period, but we're all here now, and we're focused on improving communication.

So enough from me, and on with the introductions!

Cynthe
Community Manager
Origin Systems

Hi, everyone. I’m your new Online Community Coordinator, or “OCC,” and you can call me Sannio. Some of you may recall that name from my time as Seer Sannio on Chesapeake. I played for well over a year as Wixim the Mad, Lord Hughert, Korryn, Joye (Minax’ patsy in the Trinsic invasion), and even Dupre, plus a bunch of other characters and monsters and such. Before that, for a short time, I served Napa Valley for a few months as Counselor PapaMan.

Players from Baja may know me as Nobody, Brother Huberty, or Nathan Harper, among others. In some way or another, I’ve been involved with a lot of groups & communities there, such as Britannia Search & Rescue, the Freeborn Press, Avalon, Lumaria, Golden, the Golden Players, the Baja Mage Tower, the Scorpions, the Kingdom of Dawn, and even UO Stratics’ Baja section, plus a whole bunch more. (And I’m also sure that everyone who knows me from Baja also appreciates the brevity of these comments, as opposed to my usual lengthy ramblings!)

Before joining Origin Systems, I’ve done Web design, desktop publishing, illustrating, comic books, trading cards, and other creative things like that. Now that I’m Ultima Online’s OCC, I’ll be a kind of “communications middle-man” between all of the players and all the teams here at Origin working on UO. The Online Community Relations team and I will try to help keep you informed on all the latest updates & changes in the game—but don’t expect me to give away any event scenario secrets! :] I’ll also be trying to be your voice here at Origin, keeping everyone here informed in all the things that you care about or ways in which you’d like the game to advance & grow. You’ll probably see me most often posting on the UO.com message boards, and I’ll look forward to posting back and forth with everyone there.

Sannio
Online Community Coordinator
Ultima Online
Origin Systems

It’s been three years since I first stepped into the world of Sosaria. I’ve gone through three years of building skills, changing character templates, meeting new people, adventuring and, of course, dying. Now, I’m here, sitting in Cynthe’s old office, and introducing myself to a community that has influenced me on so many different levels.

For those that have lost their powers of omniscience, I’m Kerowyn. I’ll be taking on the role of UO.com Content Editor/Writer. There are no words to properly express how excited I am about the position and the fact that I’ll be working with people I have admired since I started playing Ultima Online. I suppose I should start off with some background information.

I was never what you would call a hardcore gamer. Most of my experience came from MUDs and other text-based roleplaying games. It was much later when I decided to give computer games a shot. I went through several different titles in a relatively short amount of time and actually enjoyed most of what I played. However, when I was introduced to Ultima Online, I knew I had found something special. I had always enjoyed the community aspect of online, text-based games, and with UO that was taken to a whole other level. For one, it was graphical. And two, it was graphical. I was blown away by the fact that I could talk and interact with other avatars in the game.

After a couple of years of devoting countless hours to UO, I moved to Austin and found out that I could work for the company that was responsible for my obsession. I was hired on as a Game Master in November of 2000 and truly enjoyed the time I spent helping other players. I met some fascinating characters in game and had the honor of working beside, and being mentored by, a wonderful group of GMs. I wish you could know them as I did.

My position now is mostly behind the scenes. I will be taking one of the three hats Cynthe has been balancing for the last several weeks and, hopefully, wearing it with as much grace and style as she has in the past. I’ll be responsible for keeping the website content up-to-date, soliciting and editing submissions for our Spotlight selection, publishing important notices to the website to keep the community informed of current news, and much more.

I’m still easing into my new responsibilities. After all, at the time of this writing, I haven’t even been on the job a week yet. However, I’m looking forward to digging right in and getting to know more of the community. If you’ve made it this far without falling asleep - congratulations and thank you. :-)

Until next time,

Kerowyn
UO.com Content Editor/Writer
Origin Systems

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I spotted this in our Great Lakes Forum and thought I'd post it here so that Alane may have better luck locating this individual.

Hail:

I am looking for a character by the name of Fire Man (mage). I was on a Treasure Hunt with him last nite (7/25) and its EXTREMELY important I find him. He left me with 4 of his undecoded maps, and I want to return them. He was playing with a friend who goes by REAPER (all caps). If anyone has any idea who these two are, or sees them in game, they play Trammel Side.. Please Tell Them to Come to This Board to Get My ICQ Number, or to contact me.

I do not want Fire Man to think i made off with his maps.

Ok - Well Thanx for your Help!

Alane
GL - Master Treasure Guide (THB)

You can follow the link above or the Comment link below to contact Alane. In these times of ruffians and scammers, it is nice to see someone so determined to do the right thing. Thanks, Alane. You're helping to restore our faith in humanity.

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From the desk of Caprial of the Jhelom Town Council:

How well do you know Britannia? The Jhelom Town Council challenges you to find out as they sponsor a Riddle Race throughout the lands.

There will be 10 riddles in all. The solution for each one will be a place or landmark somewhere in Trammel. The first riddle will be handed out at 2:00 p.m. Central at the Morning Star Inn in Jhelom, Trammel. Solve the riddle and go to the destination where you will receive the next riddle. The first person to solve all the riddles and make it to the final destination is the winner. Come on out and join the fun!

Date: Sunday July 22nd

Time: 2:00 p.m. Central

Place: Jhelom, Morning Star Inn, Trammel

Entry fee: none, this is a free event

Prizes: 1st, 100k; 2nd, 60k; 3rd, 40k

Load up those runebooks and reagents, folks. This sounds like a doozy.

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As I entered the room, Jheli stopped sharpening the blade on his cutlass long enough to toss a scroll case at me. "Heads up, lass," he said flatly. "There's dirty work afoot."

I unrolled the parchment and read:

After some days plying my trade as a mercenary along the Britannia coast I found myself at fair Britain once again. Downing ale after ale, regaling tales of my daring I was once again approached by that same nefarious stranger. Dressed in red and carrying no weapon, he parted the crowd as the scythe goes through wheat on harvesting day.

Choking on my brew, he approached me with a cynical smile on his face. As my hand neared my well used mace he opened his hands in a gesture that proved he was unarmed. Keeping my eyes upon this stranger he joined me at my table.

Sliding a rolled up scroll he said very few words. "The time has come", he said to me. "Tell others if you wish, or do not, it makes of little difference".

He rose, again I reached for my weapon. He sneered at me, as if my overt movement would have meant my death. Without another word, he turned his back to me and walked out the tavern door.

Taking a long, nervous pull on my mug and setting it down, I snapped the scroll open with shaking hands. These were the words printed on the scroll...

Warn all who work the seas ...

Thalios
Mercenary and Harper
Britain

I glanced over the pages Thalios had sent. From the look of it, the pirates had been busy. I studied Jheli's face for signs of alarm and saw only determination there. He'd done his time in high seas battles, but those days were long past. "You're not going after them, are you?" I asked as he tested the blade's edge.

"I'll not go lookin' for a fight, but never let it be said that I ran from one, neither." Satisfied his task was done, he sheathed the cutlass. "Pirates is bad news, missy. Once they get a toehold on a stretch of water, you'll need Davy Jones himself to purge 'em out."

Sail at your own risk, gentle reader.

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Desdemona requests the honour of your presence at this upcoming celebration:

Krista's Ranger Station shall be holding a festival to celebrate Lammas, the first of the three harvest festivals. The festival will run from 7pm to 10pm CST on August 1st.

Breads, baked goods and fruits will be the feast of the evening. Some fruit and grain has, of course, been set aside for the ciders and ales. There will be a short blessing held towards the beginning of the event and cookbooks will be available for whomever wishes to do some festival cooking of their own (the cookbooks have recipes that can be used in real life).

Most importantly, there will be a gathering of friends old and new for the joyous celebration. New friends may find the Ranger Station by traveling southeast from the "bank" side of Yew Abbey in Felucca. The building is in the next clearing southeast from the farm building at the end of the road. Runes to Krista's are also available at many of the prominent establishments of the lands.

Desdemona (and Krista) can be contacted for more information about this and the other 7 festivals of the year at icq 24124261.

You may also contact Desdemona through the Stratics IRC channel #glrpc. As always, bear in mind that the festivals can sometimes be interrupted by upstart thugs so dress and prepare accordingly.

Desdemona requests the honour of your presence at this upcoming celebration:

Krista's Ranger Station shall be holding a festival to celebrate Lammas, the first of the three harvest festivals. The festival will run from 7pm to 10pm CST on August 1st.

Breads, baked goods and fruits will be the feast of the evening. Some fruit and grain has, of course, been set aside for the ciders and ales. There will be a short blessing held towards the beginning of the event and cookbooks will be available for whomever wishes to do some festival cooking of their own (the cookbooks have recipes that can be used in real life).

Most importantly, there will be a gathering of friends old and new for the joyous celebration. New friends may find the Ranger Station by traveling southeast from the "bank" side of Yew Abbey in Felucca. The building is in the next clearing southeast from the farm building at the end of the road. Runes to Krista's are also available at many of the prominent establishments of the lands.

Desdemona (and Krista) can be contacted for more information about this and the other 7 festivals of the year at icq 24124261.

You may also contact Desdemona through the Stratics IRC channel #glrpc. As always, bear in mind that the festivals can sometimes be interrupted by upstart thugs so dress and prepare accordingly.

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Alas! Even the best made plans sometimes fall prey to real life.... the Pacific Community Center regretfully must cancel the auction scheduled for Saturday the 28th of July. The Moongate Fair in Skara Brae must take precendence! Hope to see everyone there!

Reichsha, Assistant to the Honcho (PCC)

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Grimoire Gladiator Fight

This weeks fight is a Gladiator Fight, Sponsored by Elwind Thorne

Friday, July 27, 2001 at (9 PM PST, 10 PM MST, 11 PM Central, Midnight EST)

Registration will start at 8:30 PM PST, and end at 9:00 PM PST. No late entries. Tournament will start at 9:10 PM PST.

20K gold pieces goes to the last fighter standing, thanks to Elwind Thorne this tourney has NO ENTRY FEE.

Rules:

• Contestants are not allowed to bring anything to this tourney other than a way home. (recall scroll, spell book, one or two sets of reagents, or a rune book with charges)
• The Grimoire staff will scatter weapons, armor, potions, and bandages on the arena floor. Contestants will start the battle naked and will arm themselves with what they can pick up.
• You are not allowed to use any of your items in this event, Grimoire will furnish all your supplies, so please come naked and leave your valuables at home or in the bank. Grimoire staff will not hold items for contestants so PLEASE leave your items at home or in the bank.
• Gates will be provided to town when the event is over.
• No Stealing.
• No Hiding.

Disclaimers:

• All contestants are subject to snooping by Grimoire Staff to ensure everyone is participating fairly.
• The Event Coordinator's decision on all matches is final and will not be disputed during the event.
• Anyone that disrupts the flow of the event for any reason will be banned until after the event.
• Grimoire staff reserves the right to cancel an event for any reason at any time during the course of the event.
• Contestants who are perma-banned for any reason will forfeit their chance to fight.
• If a contestant loses connection during the event, he/she will forfeit.
• The Event Coordinator reserves the right to adjust these rules at any time without notice.

This event takes place in the Grande Grimoire Battle Arena. Once you have entered the Grande Grimoire Battle Arena, all Contestants are bound by the Rules of the Battle Arena. Failure to follow these rules may result in your death or banishment from the Arena. Contestant Battle Arena Rules

Contestants and Spectators must observe and obey all the Village Laws. Failure to do so can end in your death or banishment from the village. Spectator Rules

For calendar of events, rules, maps and community message board, please visit Grimoire

Hope to see you there!
LeeLu-Grimoire Staff

Your humble servant,
Raeven Aurora

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The Goblins were first sighted on Friday, July 6th as they entered the town of Skara Brae. They were met with little or no resistance as they terrorized the villagers there and burned their buildings in the night.

In the morning a haphazard toll collection center was erected of barrels, crates & grass by the goblins who then proceeded to threaten any passersby for their gold to pass into what was now considered 'Goblin Island' a.k.a. Skara Brae.

Those who didn't pay were murdered in a most foul fashion. Their rotting corpses littering the bridge from Skara B. to the mainland. It seemed for some time that the goblins really did have a strangle hold on the fair island.

But then, upon hearing this wealth inducing scheme the Bloodrock Orcs figured they could get in on the action. A posse of these ferocious beasts rode from deep under the new orc city near Yew and engaged the goblins in the city streets.

Skara became a ghost town. The citizens who were left had locked themselves inside with nary a peep.

A call to arms was sent out and the first group of humans, The Council of Honor, met this challenge head on. They engaged the dark creatures in a house to house battle that lasted days.

With help from Stormhaven, the Council of Honor burned the collection center and attempted to re-route the goblins. Progress was made, but these resilient creatures kept coming back for more punishment.

The orcs, extrememly powerful, set up a camp of their own. In the remains of prior place of exodus for them during the brutal clash with the savages they consolidated their members and dove headfirst in kamikaze-like raids on anything that stood in their way.

Hazy smoke fills the air with the whiff of destruction like a tarnished halo over the crown of Skara Brae. While troops from Britannia have been promised nothing has materialized as of yet.

A report from Lord British's castle warns all citizens to keep away from Skara Brae until this new menace can be taken care of. It is not known if that has anything to do with the 'savages' that have recently populated our fair lands.

The organization 'Hope & Charity of Vesper' has been doing what they can for those humans fortunate enough to have escaped Skara Brae in the dead of the night by swimming to the mainland. The challenge to bring loved ones together is always difficult indeed.

All donations to help those now homeless can be made to the Stratics Event Center located just south of Trinsic. If you have family or friends located in the Skara Brae area inquires can be also made at the Center.

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Hail citizens of Britannia.

The Merchants on Tour are proud to invite you to an event on Drachenfels. It will start on Saturday the 28th July at 8pm CET (7pm BST, 2pm EDT) from our Trinsic shop on Trammel (first house on the south side of the main gate). A moongate will appear (or a mage may cast one for you) and lead to a secret place aboard a ship in the middle of nowhere.
Other ships will be waiting nearby, on which our Fall fashion designs will be presented. Gorgeous models are going to show you our creations for the next months.

All will not be over after reaching the end of this presentation. We will give you some time to leave - if you want to - , and after a few minutes, fishing nets will be dropped into the water, and hopefully provide excitement for our guests. Raknar
Merchants on Tour

The energy vortex and blade spirit AI was rewritten to remove alot of inefficiency in their cycle counts. This has resulted in substantial reduction in dungeon server cpu cycles used by these programs.

As a result they now attack targets with better prediction and spend less time "thinking" and more time fighting their target. The z exploits have been removed so that they can be dispelled correctly. Using a blade spirit or Energy Vortex on creatures that have the ability to dispel them is not going to be effective unless those creatures are mana drained.
Ive done some checking and they appear to be working (they do damage, they are dispelled correctly, they attack).


Balrons are one of the most challenging monsters in the game - it may indeed take more of them to kill the more challenging monsters but for the (upper mid) level creatures they should be functioning the same.

- Adrick

Im taking the feedback here seriously and I just concluded a test on the Lake Superior shard. I created a normal lich, I set its mana to 0. I then at 100 magery cast 1 energy vortex and it imeddiately attacked the lich - I timed it in 29 seconds the lich was dead and the energy vortex was the slightest sliver harmed.

Yes there were changes to the energy vortex spell as I detailed in several posts.

1] They now actually fight an enemy in that they can hit or miss.
2] They no longer spend extra cycles evaluating targets - they chose a target and fight it thus reducing lag mostly on the dungeon servers where these spells are common.
3] They no longer poison.

A lich is a mid level creature so my information about the relative strength of EV vs mid to high mid creatures was correct.

- Adrick

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Mythndale village is hosting a large craft fair this Saturday night, lots of bargains, items made to order on site, free furniture and leather dying, free food and drink, and lots of good fun and company. Come to browse or come to shop, or just come to have a good fun!

NOTE: All Crafters and merchants are welcome to set up early, (7:30 p.m. est). Please let us know ahead of time if you will be setting up outside or inside, if you need special equipment (such as a forge or anvil), and what type of wares you will be selling so we can be sure to have a spot for you and let folks know what type of wares to look forward to. Also feel free to give out runes to your regular vendor location or player-run establishments. To contact us visit our tavern and leave a message with one of the staff members or email Crystal Rose. A packhorse is recommended if you plan to carry a lot of rawmaterials and\or items.

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Bjorn had just finished tying down the last rope to his small dragon ship at the Britain Docks. He was approaching the harbor master in front of The Oaken Oar when Azilea and Neale the fisher burst from the door. They were hurrying towards The Cat's Lair tavern with other fishers close in trail.

"Well Neale, what's happen'n here in yer harbor to stir such an excitement?"

"Ar, have ye not yet heard Bjorn? A grand day dis is fer fishers of Chesapeake."

"An why is this?"

"Arr matey. The Chesapeake Fleet of the Fishing Council of Britannia [FCB] is unfurling its sails to roam the seas again! And all fishers of the shard are welcome to join!"

"Grand news indeed Neale....grand news indeed!"

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A mages challenge will be the first event of the Dragons Watch Summer
Faire. This is UNLIKE any mages challenge you have ever participated in. Instead of an all out battle this challenge will be two mages, two chairs, no one is allowed to move. Much like in the old Vincent Price movie "The Raven"

So come and be part of the summer excitment at Dragons Watch
Dragons Watch Events List

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Wednesday night, July 25th at 7pm PST will be week 7 of the Horse Racing Championship Series. Come on out and put your riding skill to the test! The weekly winner may claim a prize of 75,000 gold, plus a silver cutlass of vanquishing! There's no fee to enter, and anyone who hasn't won a previous weekly event may compete. A good time will be had by all, so even if you don't come to race, come to cheer on your favorite contestant.

For more information, including a map to the track, check out http://www.sonomaraces.homestead.com. Also, immediately following the races, the Quest for the Blade of Legend will resume. A dangerous mission, this time, so come well prepared for anything, and bring your friends. See you tomorrow night.

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IMPY'S ARTIC FAIRE…
Weekly auction will be held Wednesday evening at 9pm by the Eastern Sky. 

This week at Impy's we have quite an assortment of goods for auction. Everything from ropes and furs to candles and fruit baskets. We have several nice sets of Vanquishing weapons and quite a bit of Invulnerable armor. This week should prove to be quite a fine auction with tons of items moving across the marble table. Stop by and enjoy an evening of spending gold.

For directions and a complete list of the items up for auction please take a peek at www.impys.net. As always, Runes to Riches and the Mystery Chest games will also be played this week following the auction, so please stick around and take a chance with lady luck. Impy has asked that you please stable your pets before the auction as he is allergic to wet fur.

If you need a rune visit one of our rune vendors located through out the lands. (Vendors can be found at: Star's Shoppe (out side Vesper in Trammel), next door to the RD Stables (in Felucca, on the porch of the Sandlewood Box Inn (in Felucca), the Mystic Rose (in the wooded glen in Trammel), or at Krista's Ranger Station (in Felucca).

~Impy's Staff

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Miscellaneous Updates and Bug Fixes

Changes to the Third Dawn Zoom-in Feature

The Third Dawn zoom-in feature will receive the following changes:

• Update range will automatically be changed in relation to the screen size and zoom factor. For example, if you zoom in really close to your character, your update range will be reduced to a small amount around your character since the other areas are no longer visible.
• Objects that are out of range will appear as "greyed out" in color. This will assist players with being able to better drop and pick up objects at the various zoom-in degrees.

Murder Count Display Added

The ability for players to check their own short and long term murder counts has been added to the game. By saying, "I must consider my sins", you will get a text response in the lower left corner of your screen that will show your Short Term Murders, Long Term Murders, and Ping Pongs (the number of times your character has gone from blue to red, based on your short term murder counts).

Spell Changes

The lightning spell effect in Third Dawn will now appear during each use.

Bladespirits and Energy Vortex spells have been adjusted to be less processor intensive. This gives a server-side performance increase.

Bladespirits no longer display a paperdoll when double-clicked.

Speech Localization

Text information for Anatomy, Arms Lore, and Evaluate Intelligence have been processed for localization.

Ship Tillermen will now understand their voice commands in all supported languages.

Various Bug Fixes

A bug with house owners being unable to remove co-owners from the house access has been fixed. Previously only the co-owner at the top of the list could be removed.

Players with “Young” status will now properly receive their invitation to Haven.

A sound effect problem with ghosts, specters, and wraiths has been fixed.

Problems with the statue enable/disable buttons have been fixed.

A problem with the guildmaster title grant option has been fixed. Guildmasters will no longer appear in the list for granting titles to other members.

Players who are not poisoned will no longer get the “cure” animation and sound effect when trying to drink a cure potion.

Problems with the Magic Answer Ball have been fixed.

Ilshenar creatures of “good” alignment will properly highlight to positive karma players in the same manner other “good” creatures do, with the blue highlight. Players with negative karma will still attract the creature’s aggression, which will then cause the good creature to become grey and attackable to the negative karma player.

Vendor Fee/Rent

Vendors will now need to be paid every 8 hours (real time).

The vendor fee will be calculated as: (combined value of all objects on vendor (either their true value or the value set by the player, whichever is higher)/500) + 20

If the vendor's owner is a murderer, the rent will be calculated as: rent = rent * number of owner's murder counts

If a vendor is on Siege Perilous, the rent is multiplied by three (this is cumulative with the above values).

Thus, if you have no murder counts, are not playing on Siege Perilous, and you have 0 items on the vendor, your rent is 20 gp per 8 hours of real time.

If your vendor holds items valued at 1000 gold, the fee is (1000/500)+20, which equals 22 gold per 8 hours of real time.

If a player has not paid the vendor fee, or rent, the vendor will take the rent fee out of the money it has earned from sales. If the rent has not been paid and there is no money left from sales, the vendor will destroy itself, along with any goods on the vendor at that time.

Vendor Restocking Changes

Reagent shopkeepers will no longer disconnect players when they restock.

All NPC shopkeepers will restock their inventory randomly, although the average number of times a vendor restocks over a certain period of time has not changed. This has the side effect of making it no longer possible to predict when a shopkeeper will restock, and shopkeepers in the same area will no longer restock at the same time.

The rate at which vendors increase and decrease their inventories has been modified to increase their inventory faster and decrease their inventory slower.

Gump Changes

Vendor Buy/Sell menus have been localized and changed from a simple speech trigger to a larger gump that gives more information and causes the information to not scroll off the screen as it did previously.

Information included will now be:

• Amount of days (in UO time) that the vendor will work for current gold on hand.
  • This includes the vendor’s account and gold held for the player.
  • This message is not displayed if there is not sufficient gold in either of the vendor's accounts. In these cases, an alternate message is displayed: “Gold needed for one more day: XX(amount needed)”
• Gold held for the player is displayed.
• Gold held in the vendor’s account is displayed.
• Vendor fee is displayed.

Skill modification has been corrected. An example before the correction:

• Player A had 50.0 “real” archery before any stat modification.
• Stat modification on a skill of 50 adjusted the skill to be 50.9, which could be viewed by the player in their skill window (without “show real” checked).
• Player A then equipped a magical bow granting +20 to archery. The +20 was calculated as being added to the 50.0 (the real skill number) for a total of 70.
• Stat modifiers were then applied and calculated on the modified number of 70, instead of the original 50, for a result of 70.5 (as a skill becomes higher, stat modification has less of an effect).
• Thus, instead of 70.9 it showed as 70.5.

This change causes the applied bonus from the weapon or armor to be added after all modifications are calculated, thus enabling the player to see 50.9 + 20 (from the magic bow) as 70.9 and not 70.5 as before the change. Note that the above numbers are just an example of how the change will function for all items that have skill modifiers.

Once every 10 days, players will be given the option to rate the service they receive from a Game Master. The rating choices that will be available are: "Excellent", "Good", "Average", "Poor", and "Bad". There will also be options to cancel the rating or to report that there was no response received from a Game Master.

The responses will be kept in a database and tallied weekly, monthly, and quarterly, allowing us to effectively monitor our staff and the service that our players are receiving.

The Ultima Online Rewards program is designed to reward our long-term players for loyalty to the UO community. It is our way of thanking you and showing our appreciation for your long-term support of UO, and for your contribution to making UO the most popular virtual world in existence today. Screenshots for most of the rewards can be found at the end of this update.

Determining Account Age
The age of an account will be determined in the following manner:

• Any account created before November 30, 1999 will automatically be credited for all of the time from the date it was created until November 30, 1999. In other words, if you created your account on October 30, 1998, your account would be credited for 13 months of time, regardless of whether your account was inactive during part of that time.
• Following November 30, 1999, only the months in which you had an active account will contribute to the total count of months qualifying you for rewards.
• You can check your account age by logging a character into the game. (Note: Until the Rewards Program has been released, this method may not work, or may return an error message.) To check your account age:
  • Double click your profile scroll.
  • Scroll to the bottom of the scroll window.
  • A horizontal bar will be at the bottom of the profile text. Your account age in years and days will be displayed under that line. The account age will display the same value for all characters on the same account.
• Updates to your account (such as reactivations) are updated every Sunday, but may not be displayed for several days.

Reward eligibility is determined on a per-account basis. Multiple accounts may not be "combined" to increase eligibility.

Rewards
There are three categories of player reward levels currently identified as part of the program: players who have been in the game for 12 to 23 months, players who have been in the game for 24 to 35 months, and those who have played for 36 months or more. Each of the three designated categories of long-term players will be offered a different selection of in-game rewards. All reward options are ‘no loot’ and ‘no steal’, and clothing items will never wear out.

12 - 23 Month Players may choose two of the following rewards:

• Black dye tub
• Bronze cloak
• Bronze +2 AR robe
• Copper cloak
• Copper +2 AR robe
• Furniture dye tub
• Choice of one of 14 mini-monster statues:
  • Dragon
  • Skeleton
  • Troll
  • Orc
  • Deamon
  • Ettin
  • Earth Elemental
  • Gargoyle
  • Gorilla
  • Crocodile
  • Lich
  • Lizard Man
  • Ogre
  • Ratman
• Special Dye-tub
  • Using normal dyes on this tub (double-clicking the dyes then targeting the special dye-tub) will bring up a menu listing special colors not available through a normal dye-tub.
  • After selecting a color, the dye-tub will then have that hue.
  • Double-clicking the dye tub and targeting an article of clothing will dye that clothing the special color.

24 - 35 Month Players may choose three reward options (two for being a one year player plus one more for being a two year player) from the list of one-year rewards above and the additional two-year rewards listed below:

• Agapite cloak
• Agapite +2 AR robe
• Golden cloak
• Golden +2 AR robe
• Banners
  • Banners can be placed in houses and have areas that can be dyed using a dye-tub.
  • When selecting a banner as your reward, you will receive a banner deed.
  • To place the banner, double-click the deed. A targeting cursor will appear.
  • Targeting a wall inside a house will place the banner on that wall. The banner cannot be picked up once placed.
  • To remove the banner, the owner or co-owner of the house can double-click the banner. After clicking the confirmation window, the banner will be removed and a banner deed will be placed in the character’s backpack.
  • Using a dye-tub on a banner will dye portions of the banner. Each banner has a different area that can be dyed.
• Flaming Skull
  • The flaming skull is a house decoration that can be placed on the walls of a house.
  • When selecting a flaming skull as a reward, you will receive a skull deed.
  • To place the skull, double-click the deed. A targeting cursor will appear.
    • Targeting a wall inside a house will place the skull on that wall. The skull must be placed on a south-facing wall. The skull cannot be picked up once placed.
    • To remove the skull, the owner or co-owner of the house can double-click the skull. After clicking the confirmation window, the skull will be removed and a skull deed will be placed in the character’s backpack.
  • After the skull is locked down, when a character walks near the skull, it will begin spewing flames. The flames do not cause any damage.
• Leather Dye-tub
  • The leather dye-tub can be used to dye leather or studded leather armor.
  • Using normal dyes on this tub (double-clicking the dyes then targeting the special dye-tub) will bring up a menu listing the colors available to use on leather armor. The colors are similar to the colors currently available for metal armor (copper, shadow, etc.) with the addition of some other hues such reds, blues, greens, etc.
  • After selecting a color, the dye-tub will then have that hue.
  • Double-clicking the dye tub and targeting a piece of leather or studded leather armor will dye that clothing the color.
  • Hides unravelled from dyed leather armor retain the dyed color. However these hides will not become dyed leather armor if crafted.

Any of the 12 - 23 month reward listed above. 36+ Month Players may choose four reward options (two for being a one year player another one for their two year reward, plus one more for the third year) from among the one and two-year reward choices as well as those additional rewards listed below:

• Ethereal mount (horse, ostard, or llama; one per reward choice)
  • Transparent hue.
  • Appears as a statue in your backpack.
    • Double clicking the statue will cause the statue to disappear and create the mount and your will automatically mount it.
    • Once on the mount, double clicking yourself will dismount you and automatically transform the mount back into the statue which will reappear in your backpack immediately.
  • Ethereal mounts never lose loyalty and can't be transferred.
  • The mount can never appear without being mounted, therefore it cannot attack or be attacked.
• Verite cloak
• Verite +2 AR robe
• Valorite cloak
• Valorite +2AR robe
• Choice of one of three mini-monster statues
  • Zombie
  • Cow
  • Llama
• Any of the 12 - 23 or 23 - 35 month rewards listed above.

It is important to note that characters on an account with less than the appropriate amount of time will not be able to use some of these items. For instance, if another player gave you a golden cloak, but your account is 20 months old, you would not be able to wear it until your account reached 24 months. This applies to all of the clothing items, the dye-tubs, and the ethereal mounts. Other items such as flaming skulls and monster statues will be usable by any character.

Players who fit into one or more of these categories will have the option to receive their rewards when they log into the game after attaining a reward level. Rewards are given on a "per account" basis, but may be divided among characters on an account. It is very important to make sure you have the correct character logged on before choosing a reward. Game Masters and other OSI personnel will not be able to transfer rewards from one character to another. For example, a player who has a 24 month old account may choose to accept two rewards with a character on one shard, and may choose the remaining reward with a different character. The option to collect rewards will appear each time you log in to the game until you have chosen the total awards for which you are eligible. You will be given the option to collect any rewards for which your account is eligible upon release of the program, regardless of account anniversary date. Thus, for example, if your account is 23 months old, you will be eligible for the 12-month rewards on the day the program is released, and will be eligible for your 24-month rewards as soon as your account reaches 24-months.

If you make a rewards program selection during a final backup or before a server crash, the system may not have adequate time to save your choice. When the shard returns to service, it may take a few minutes for the server to recognize that you have not gotten your reward. The system will account for this however, and after a few minutes you will be able to select a reward.

Screenshots
Special Dye-tub colors
Leather Dye-tub colors
Flaming Skull
Ethereal Mounts
Cloaks and +2 AR Robes
Banners (note that the top banners are un-dyed, while the bottom ones have been dyed. This will allow you to see which parts of the banner are dyeable.)

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Can a red comment on this. It use to be that their was 12 UO days in one real Day. Since publish 12 vendors are saying theirs 3 uo days per Real day. Was this intended or a issue? One reason i ask is that if its just the display wrong and its still 12 uo days then this needs to be fixed quickly or alot of people will lose vendors.

The player vendors were not charging 12 times per realtime day. They charge 3 times per realtime day. The old report was wrong. It was misleading information. The new gump has the correct information.

So, the vendors charge you (if you're not a murderer and not on Siege Perilous) (highest value of goods divided by 500) plus 20 gold per 8 hours. This time is online hours and does not include downtime for the server. So, your vendor will charge you every 8 hours of uptime of the server.

...and folks wondered why those vendors in the woods stuck around so long...

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A Bob's take on the origins of the Brotherhood. Most likely the pompous Archer Bob.

Lo, in the time between Sosaria and Britainnia, when the sweet innocence of Homoerotic Elves and actual intercourse came to an end, there was a rock. A Black Rock. Many proclaimed it a sign of the end. Others saw it as a Asteroid. It was neither, for traveling through the Eternal Cosmos there came...an egg.

An egg of Holy Divination. An egg of long foretelling. An egg Lord British feared. For inside that egg lied the Perfect Being. Inside was the One Bob, the First Bob. A man whose body was not contaminated by hair, a sign of primative beasts. A man whose sense of fashion demasculated any and all who beheld them, as well as instilling fearful feelings of lust. Bob had come to Britainnia.

The egg came down, rendered the land anew, and was promptly forgotten. Woe be it for the world to forget such as he, for his decendants would make the world pay.

The first to feel his wraith was a denizen by the name of Fred. Fred was a strange fellow, the most hairy of hairies, yet also failed miserably at cross-dressing. Fred was a lowly and miserable thing to behold. And when the One Bob beheld him, He smited him out of mercy. Death was no longer permanent in Britainnia, true, but a point was made. A point Fred forgot, as a most evil of evils he would do to exact revenge.

Bob continued on, and came upon a fortified city. The city? Trinsic of course. A grand, albeit ignored, city. Bob wandered the place, taking in all he could. As He minded His own, lost in the wonder of a city, several an evil came upon him. Glowing bright red and dyslexic as [censored], they vocalized the strange, forbidden yearnings of wanting to be Bob's [censored], by calling him [censored] and attacked. And my Brothers, as perfect as Bob was, He failed to defend against the cheating PKs. And Bob fell. But this is not the end, especially for Bob. Not only did He not stay dead, He resurrected where He stood with zero implications. And so He did, and in a robe of beautiful Lavendar, a color merging both the Holy Pink and Holy Purple, and the Evils once more had to face the urge to be used and abused by a man. So they turned and killed Him. But come back He did, and die again did He, over and over until the Evil had been slain, drained of reagents and beaten their weapons to nothing.

Bob continued on, and soon laid an egg. His only Child, when hatched he named His child Angry Bob, the OverBob, The Bob of Arches. And with tutilage He taught the Bob of Anger all He needed to know. The knowledge of Mob Tactics, the power of the Pink, of the Purple, and of the most sacred of powers; Instant Ressurection. When Angry learned all he could, Bob pointed him to Britain, and told him the Ancient Enemy lied there. overBob left, and Bob disappeared, doing as he needed to do.

Britain had been infested by a great evil. The First Victim, Fred, resurrected there long ago when he had been smited verily. Coincidently, the Lord British, a Tyrant and madman, patrolled his Pseudo-Kingdom. Fred, wandering in confusion, bumped into the Mad Lord, and the Lord looked down upon Fred, and an unnatural love was forged between them. They only saw each other a second, for the Guards, quite murder-happy, snuffed the Fred on sight, rendering him to the world of the dead.

Fred eventually returned, and the Mad Lord led Fred to his castle. And there, a most unholy of Unions formed. For the Mad Lord had a Fetish, a Fetish for bearded women. He indulged greatly in beasts of the land, dressing them up in gowns and lady-things before consummating with them. But, they were not Fred. And night after night they rutted and merged, until the Evil took hold enough in Fred to plant a daemonic child in his belly, though he was man by creation. And King Fred was born.

The Freds and Lord British inbred and inbred, creating an army of Beast-men women. And terror filled the lands. From the line of Fred flowed the Freds, and from the line of OverBob flowed the Bobs, forever entangled in eternal battle, the Blood War.

And now Brothers? The world has changed. The weak in great troves fled the Old Lands to the Carebear Lands. The dividing, or course, coming from the Bobs vanquishing Lord British himself, the Father of all Freds. But with the death of the Mad Lord he plucked the heart of all Bobs: Instant Resurrection. But without the Lord to plant his wicked seed, the Freds were doomed. Bobs had won, for now. And the Bob of Anger looked on the newer pastured, to do as Bob had done for Britainnia. And after placing Sir Bob of the Wobbled Head in his place, he departed, only to come again when the Great Evil rises once more.

So ends a brief history on the origins of Bob.

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Hail All! Wondering what the depths of the new orc dungeon are like? Itching to go toe to toe with an orc brute but want someone to watch your back? Well, here’s your chance!

The LS Moonglow Council of Honesty will be staging a raid on the new Orc Dungeon Saturday, July 28th 2 PM CDT. Meeting place for the raid will be the Lycaeum in Moonglow (Trammel), and gates will be provided to the dungeon entrance. All citizens of the realm are welcome to attend the event, and Council members will be on hand in the various dungeon levels to provide resurrection and assistance for those that require it until at least 3pm CDT.

So come on out and join us in exploring the newest underground wonder of the realm with Moonglow’s Finest! Hope to see you all there!

Council of Honesty (LS)

Check out our new website, courtesy of Webmistress Maggie Stweart, at the this link

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Housing decay has now been reinstated on all shards, to become active following their next downtime. The schedule for these maintenance periods is as follows:

East Coast shards, with the exception of Chesapeake, experienced an unscheduled downtime at 5:00 pm CDT, July 24th, and the housing decay became active at this time.

All West Coast shards will be taken down for their normal maintenance period at 5:00 am PDT, July 25th.

Japanese and Korean Shards will be taken down for their normal maintenance period at 8:00 am local time, July 25th (JST).

European Shards will be taken down for their normal maintenance period at 5:00 am local time, July 25th (GMT).

Siege Perilous will be taken down for its normal maintenance period at 5:00 am, July 25th (CDT).

Formosa will be taken down for its normal maintenance period at 8:00 am local Taiwan time, July 25th.

Oceania will be taken down for its normal maintenance period at 5:00 am local Sydney time, July 25th.

AOL Legends will be taken down for its normal maintenance period at 5:00 am EDT, July 25th.

For more information on housing decay and refreshing, see Home Maintenance.

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The town cryers have been active of late. This in from Wintermoor.

Closed door meetings, bound parchments changing hands, what does it all mean in the City of Wintermoor. Loud talking has turned to whispers in the Tavern, and strange men (are they even men?) wander throughout the streets. Members of the community seek refuge from the storm, and seem to speak now almost with a political voice.

Greypawn, The Mayor of Moonglow is there - speaking his mind about the Evil City of Caina on the northern ice isle. Shadows climb the walls as he speaks. "Down with Caina, Down with Evil, Something is Wrong, Something is Amiss?."

Some of the Wintermoor patrons applaud, some simply stare, while others slowly move there claws and hands to their weapons. Just what exactly is going on in the City of Wintermoor?

The Wintermoor Town Cryer

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As a reminder, no EA employee will ever ask for your UO password. If you are contacted in game or via email, IRC, or any other Internet messaging program by someone claiming to be an EA employee, do not give out your password. Furthermore, do not attempt to access or edit your account information through any third-party programs that may take you to a false representation of the Ultima Online website. The only valid URL for the Ultima Online account management website is http://www.ultima-registration.com

For additional information on computer security and safety, please visit http://support.uo.com/faq_1.html

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Come have a bit of fun with us on Saturday night!
Eat, Shop, Participate in the Hunt, Get free stuff and Meet New People!

Host & Hostess: Lord Revelation and Lady Starla

When: Saturday, August 4th 2001 starting at 8pm to 10pm EST.

Where: Wayside - Trammel
To reach Wayside , head through the nearest moongate to Yew. Stroll due west for a few seconds amidst a peaceful forest until you come upon a villa bearing a red and white sign that reads "Wayside"
Coordinates: 74° 31'N 40° 59'W

Scavenger hunt contains 15 items and runs from 8:15pm EST until 9pm EST. First Prize is 50k. Second Prize is 25k and 3rd Prize is 10k. Single persons and Teams of 2 only please. (Teams will split a prize if they win)
Plenty of ale & good food before and after the Hunt!
Free Armor Repair & Furniture dying by Mr. Dale Armstrong AFTER Scavenger Hunt Prizes are distributed.

Mystery goody bags will be handed out at the end of the night to those in attendance (while supplies last).

We have many vendors that are stocked daily at Waystation: Lottery Vendor, Grandmaster & Deadly Poisoned Weapons, Reagents, Magic Weapons/Armor and a GM Alchemist with Kegs & Potions.

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Hail and well met fellow Britannians.

I have begun coordinating the second Bardic Performance with the help of the
new Skara Brae Adjutant, ArchBishop Lazar. In preparation, we are seeking
all those interested in sharing their songs/poems or other artistic talents. It is hoped
that the performance will take place within the next fortnight. The exact location
and time TBA.

All are welcome (you need not be a Bard) to participate and are encouraged to contact either
myself at: [email protected] or the ArchBishop Lazar at: [email protected].
Please reference "Bardic Performance" in your correspondence.

I'm afraid all the funds for this performance will be applied towards prizes again
and we will therefore ask that any performers volunteer their talents in the name of
art. I will attempt to include all those that apply with those first applicants given
priority. I would like to have all interested make contact by August 1 so that the event
can be announced at the next Council meeting (August 6). Thank you all for your assistance.

Yours,

-Clara Mon
High Council Representative of Skara Brae and Spirituality.
Minister of Realm Relations.

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Vendor restocking was changed as part of a publish 12 and 13 bug fixing effort. Since the release of UO, vendor restocking has never worked the way it was designed to. I discovered this while fixing the problem with mage vendors disconnecting players when they restock.

Vendor restocking has been changed in these ways:

1) Reagent shopkeepers will no longer disconnect players when they restock. This problem was caused by the shopkeepers restocking one item at a time for each shopkeepers in the area. Each time this happened, a packet was sent to every player near the vendor. Not only did this disconnect players but it lagged the servers. This was an obvious bug, but has been in there since the game shipped. It wasn’t noticeable until shopkeeper max stock targets were raised to 999. All shopkeepers now restock their inventories in bulk.
2) All NPC shopkeepers will restock their inventory randomly, although the average number of times a vendor restocks over a certain period of time has not changed. This was implemented mainly to help reduce lag spikes caused by restocking. It has the obvious side effect that it is no longer possible to predict when a shopkeeper will restock, and shopkeepers in the same area will no longer restock at the same time.
3) The rate at which vendors increase and decrease their inventories has been modified. They increase their inventory faster and decrease their inventory slower. The amount that their inventory is increased or decreased is a function of their stock target and current inventory at the time they restock. This may be a more controversial change, but “4 out of 5 players prefer more regs!”

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Particular artifacts have been taken from our fair city that we want returned immediately! They are pictured below:



We do not know why we have been targeted by you mutts that live above ground, but we are not happy! If you can bring us the thief (Dead or alive), Shemyazza, and the stolen items we will in return hand over a 1 million uo gold check. Our website can be found here.

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Over the next few weeks as we prepare for the upcoming guild symposium, we will be providing glimpses into these different guild types and offering advice and recommendations on how to build or locate a guild that suits your playstyle.

As you shop around for a guild, here are some things to consider.

All for one or one for all?

Some guilds may require that you do not affiliate yourself with any other guild. They feel that if you have one character on their stone, to put another character on a different stone is a kind of treason. To some, this may not present any problems. You love your guildmates, you have no desire to pal around with anyone else and life is good living exclusively for that guild. To others who are more sociable or enjoy a variety of interests, it will not work. Be sure to question prospective guild masters about this and consider if it is a stipulation you can abide by.

Size does count

Some folks are social butterflies. They can never have too many friends and enjoy traveling in large groups. Others prefer a more intimate relationship with guild members. Someone who is a bit of a loner, but occasionally yearns for a bit of companionship may want to stay with guilds that have a smaller membership base.

Large guilds have lots of benefits. If you get into a jam, there is usually someone available who can rescue you in no time. Chances are, too, that there is every type of craftsman associated with the guild who can help you equip and supply your character. Along with the sweet comes the sour, however. You can be sure that at any given time of the day or night, you will be receiving desperate “Help me!” messages or requests for goods and services, and you may fall through the cracks of getting your fair share of attention or recognition for great deeds. The larger the guild, the more you can expect this.

Investigate the size of a prospective guild before you join the roster. Determine if you feel more comfortable with a smaller group rather than a large one.

$CaChing!$

Occasionally, guilds will require that you pay a weekly fee, either in resources or gold. For more established players, these dues may seem like peanuts and will hardly be missed. For a newer player, it can mean extending the anguish of building a nest egg and developing skills. Other guilds have a fund and resources set aside specifically for newer members. Inquire about the guild’s financial status, if you will be expected to contribute to their coffers, what they might be saving up to purchase or accomplish. Are these goals you are willing to work toward yourself? Who’s in charge of the money? How reliable is this person? These are details you should know. If your questions are met with hedgy answers, this should sound an alarm that this may not be the best guild for you.

Sup, um, thou?

Are you a roleplayer or do roleplayers irritate you more than nails on a chalkboard? Does your prospective guild claim to be a group of roleplayers, but have no concept of the concept? If you are running about using your most proper Olde English amid a bunch of naked fellows screaming, “u suxxors,” this guild may not be the best choice for you. Someone who freezes up in pvp like Bambi staring down a Peterbilt on the highway may not fit in well with the local gank squad. Birds of a feather flock together, as they say. Flock with your own kind. You’ll enjoy it much more.

The best way to know if you will benefit from a particular guild, and if they will embrace you as a member, is to travel with them a bit. Go hunting with them. Observe their style, their teamwork abilities, how they interact with others outside the guild. With the large variety of guild types available, you’re sure to find one that’s right for you.

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Along with a new look for UO-Europe, we`re also added some much-requested new areas of content.

We`ve added some more interviews with the people behind the scenes of UO in Europe; revisited some of the fansites we featured last year, and added some ideas for those who are new to Britannia in our Adventurers` Guide.

Finally, starting soon in our events section will be a series of quests and adventures for players on Drachenfels and Europa to be a part of, with extra help and tips available through this site.

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A registration link has been added to the Dragons Watch Summer Faire events list. If you would like to participate in any of these exciting events please go to our Events page and register. The Faire will be held this weekend, July 27th, 28th and 29th.

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Who said it was supposed to be 10 minutes? Vendors now restock their inventory randomly.

In reply to:

How is randomly faster or better?

Who said it was faster or better?

No. People are making incorrect assumptions about what the vendor change is and why it was made, and for some reason have an expectation that any change will be justified in complete detail. I think it's important to understand that not everything is done for an obvious reason or for a reason that may or may not be perceived as acceptable by the players.

There are minimum and maximum time caps on the restock rates, so that this will not happen.

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This finely penned missive arrived, bearing the official seal of the Britannian Affairs Committee:

Hail to you Britannia!

The Britannian Affairs Committee and the Trinsic Senate would like to invite you to join us at the Trinsic Merchants Fair. The Fair wil be held on Wednesday, August 1, and will begin at 7 PM Central time. It will be throughout the city on the Trammel facet.

But we need your help!

In order for the fair to work, we need vendors. The goal is to turn Trinsic's sandstone streets into a bustling bazaar.. and you can't have a bazaar without merchants! So, come along blacksmiths, tailors, tinkers and carpenters! Even those of you in factions, come attend! Feluccans are most definately welcome!

Among other things, the fair will provide:

Free armor repair

Free leather dying (you provide the leather)

Free craftables when you provide the materials

We also hope to include:

Faction craftables

Various rares for sale

Specially dyed cloth and clothing

Jousting exhibitions

Crafting related competitions

If you are willing to help us with this project, please contact me immediately. We can use all the help we can get. The Fishing Council of Britannia has also expressed some interest in helping out!

So, come one come all to the Trinsic Merchants Fair!

Marquis Alazraham
Speaker, Britannian Affairs Committee

Thank you, Marquis, for the announcement. Best of luck in organizing this event.

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Hail and well met!

I am the Arch Senior Teacher of the Great Lakes shard for NPT. I am in charge of the shard, and I am here to give all you Great Lakes vets a chance to join in on the fun and help some young!

On Friday, July 27th, at 3:00 PM Central, I will be holding an information meeting for everyone that wants to join NPT. The meeting will be held at the Jhelom Theatre in Trammel. Please try to show up 10 minutes early or be as prompt as you can. Hope to see lots of people show up!

LordX

For more information, see the UO New Player website. Please note, as previously mentioned, that this is a group comprised entirely of player volunteers and is in no way affiliated with EA/Origin.

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As a reminder, we will be monitoring all public shards once they have received Publish 12 to see that the publish is running optimally before we will activate veteran rewards. Please note that this means players will not be able to choose rewards immediately once the publish is received. The rewards system will be activated systematically on pre-determined shards, and we will post a schedule once it is determined. We are working to see that this delay will be as short as possible, and we appreciate your patience.

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The competition was rough, despite the absence of two of Fight Night's notable regulars, Monk and Demon. Several proven, brilliant PvPers were knocked out early by fierce and determined newcomers. This week Cillyz took home the third place title and 10K. Celephias won second place and 30K. The first place winner, DD (shown above taking Celephias' Snowball in the face just after their bravura performance in the finals) took home 60K.

DD joins former winners KMSEMPERFI (with 2 victories under his belt) and Ke'aldren on the winners list. All first place winners are automatically entered into the Final Fight-Off, scheduled to take place on October 28. The winner of the final Fight Off will walk away with check for 1 Million GP. Only 13 weeks remain in the season, so PvP gods should be sure to head to Oasis next Sunday at 4PM PST. No pre-registration is needed, and the rules are reposted on the Stratics Sonoma Forum every Sunday before the fights.

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You can read her review of this establishment by clicking on the Halls of Havoc link under the Establishments section of the left side menu.

Hail, I have sent this to announce an expedition that went into the Orc Cave to find out the truth. This is what was brought back to us!!


To the Master Scribe, Britannia Library:

The last thing that I would have thought we would have gotten with these last days are new places in the world to explore but one of my compatriots went into the bowels of the beast and here are some of his findings.

These findings do not bode well for the residents of Britannia and I therefore must pass these things along to the scribes of the Lord of the land so that they may see the evil that we face, an army that has been defeated yet grows stronger day by day and an unknown foe that defeated this longtime enemy of our lands. How strong must they be to effect the defeat of the Orcs, and what can we do against this unknown threat I have no idea.

However, after reading these journals I must say that these writings are important for all who live in our sweet land. Take head, an evil brews that is mightier than we might expect!

Signed,
Your humble Servant

Greybeard of Pacific
Guildmaster of the Rangers of the Apocolyptic Dawn.


The Journal can be found here:
http://dragonswamptavern.50megs.com

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The Fourth Annual Skara Brae Moongate Faire

Upholding the longest traditional gathering on Pacific, the Community of Skara Brae is pleased to announce the Fourth Annual Moongate Faire. This two day event, to be held the 27th and 28th July will offer a chance for all of the Realm to visit Skara Brae (Felucca) and few to try out those long trained skills in contests of all types.

Contests will be held both Friday and Saturday evenings, with the
Moongate Banquet held on Saturday evening.

The Schedule of events:

Friday, 27 July 01

Time - Contest - Sponsor - Location
8pm Drunk Pack Race - Soasian Knights - Skara Brae
9pm Chair Taming - Skara Hollow - Allenyns Glade
10pm Iron Chef - PCC - Counselors Hall

Saturday, 28 July 01

8pm Summoning Contest - Skara Brae - Allenyns Glade
9pm Archery Contest - RSB - Ranger Hall Mainland
10pm Moongate Race - Skara Brae - Skara Brae
11pm Banquet - Green Gryphon - Counselors Hall

As always the idea is to come and visit Skara Brae, and to meeting old friends and make new friends.

The Moongate Faire has a very long tradition, and a tale of old to remind us that working together and working with friends is a goal to be sought. The "Tale of the Spoon" and additional information can be found on the Skara Brae Chimera as we approach the date of the Faire.

As always we can use volunteers and donations for the contests, if you wish to help out you may contact me at the link provided below.

Best Regards and Hope to see as many of you as possible at the Moongate Faire.

Lady Sam

(a note, Skara Brae (Felucca) is a Faction controlled city, the
community can not control the factions so, ye may want to bring your
non-faction brother or sister to the contests)

Links:

The Chimera
The tale of the Spoon
Lady Sam's email.

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Samelthe's Day of Treasure

On Sunday July 29th The Keepers of Maddox will host a day of Treasure Hunting and Message in a Bottle recovery for all residents of Sosaria. The Meeting Place will be at Maddox's Mountain View Tavern in the Forest of Samelthe.

We will have master cartographers on hand to decode and dig up maps, and fishermen to fish up heavy chests. Please note that it will be up to participants to deal with any monsters that may be guarding chests. Once the chest is above ground and the lock is open it's all yours. So collect those dusty maps and break open those SOS's and head to the Forest of Samelthe. Free drink and food will be served at the Tavern for those waiting for service.

Please visit Maddox's Mountain View Tavern for more details.

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This week Ravenshire is happy to announce that we will host the story telling night with Meredith the Bard. Come tell your tale of bravery, tragedy, or any other story that strikes your fancy!

You can even test your improvisational skills with Goldens famous Story roulette, wherein you get three words fromt he audience and make up a story with those three words in it. There will be an open bar as well as a BBQ. This event will take place Wed. the 25th 6:30 pm pst.

Come and share a tale!!!

Cantharis

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It had been preordained. The Rangers of the Realm (RoR) would be led by a council of Mentors chosen in a free election from the members.

Not long after the Stone of RoR had been re-established, the Stone Keeper sent out the word. "All Rangers of RoR should ponder with care then vote for the most suitable names to form the first Council of RoR."

The voting process which had been thought to finish soon, lasted a full week as more and more people flocked to the Stone joining the renewed ranger clan (nearly 100 in the first week).

At week's end the votes were counted and the clan gathered in a forest clearing. They came from far and wide, as many as were able to attend. Some came at great difficulty and others were not able to be there due to the distances and time zones involved.

They came to be part of the swearing in ceremony for the first RoR Council and to give witness to the oaths that were made. The Council would be comprised of people with phenomenal talent, energy and compassion. The mind of Petrovo, the determination of Adian O'Rourke and the heart of Seraphim were chosen by the members to form the first Council of RoR.

In the end - all gave up a great round of cheer in true RoR fashion. "RAWRR"

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This evening, Magincia mourns the death of Lord Emerson Crowley, a nobleman of the city who has served in its Parliament for the last five months. Lord Crowley did perish in a battle in Yew this evening against a group of mercenaries known as the Black Rose Society. Also falling in the battle alongside Lord Crowley was Jack Bartgen, a member of a recently disbanded Jhelom based fighter's guild called the Library of Scars. Jack Bartgen did recently travel to Magincia with his fellow guild member, Lord Crowley, and had settled there with him. Magincia will greatly miss Lord Crowley and no announcements have been made of his replacement as of yet.

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Hear ye hear ye!

The Sonoma Trade Consortium will be having its first caravan run this Saturday at 6pm pst. The caravan will start at the Caendryl Caravan Depot and end at the Rosted Boar tavern in Ironwood.

The consortium will be signing up 10 persons to guard the caravan as it makes it's perilous journey through the southern forest. Guards will be paid 2k in gold upfront with an additional 5k once they reach Ironwood. This is paid whether or not the caravan is raided or makes it intact.

Persons are encouraged to sign up once they get to the consortium's office. A drawing will be held to find out who will be the lucky 10 guards.

Applicants should gather at the West Bank in Britain, FELUCCA so that they can be gated to the Consortium offices.

Thanks!
--Lich Soulstealer

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This in from the Mayor of Wintermoor.

Hail to all!

The City of Wintermoor will host a few Ice Festivities this weekend, Sunday, July 29th, 2001. We welcome everyone to these events which are run by various town members and organizations within our community.

The Time of the festivities: 7pm - 11pm EST.

Some of our events include the following: A Boat race by Bane Blackhart with a 1st prize of 50k, 2nd prize of 25k, and third prize of 10k. (8pm event)

Lady Fantasy will be sponsoring a great Bola Picnic Giveaway. Free food and Bola's for all! This will begin at 8:30pm at the RSR Embassy in Wintermoor.

Benin Tarek our Barkeep will be hosting a riddle contest at 10:00pm with prizes for all who succeed in answering our riddles!

At 7pm EST, it will be worthwhile to step by Frosty Hook. Here will be held an auction by Salvadore the artist, who will be selling one of his most expensive and fantastic painting. His painting "Mystic Dreams" is rumored to have magical properties. Bids will surely go high on this object of art. Surely a thing many would kill for....

Ronde De Guileri will hosting free Leather Dying all night long and will create as many GM leather suits or pieces as desired for those wanting to bring leather?

Joost will be hosting a mini-pvp tourney, so bring your best weapon and show up at 8:45pm at the Jail just west of the Frosty Hook Tavern.

A Lottery, a Masquerade, and much more await you in the City of Wintermoor on the facet of Felucca.

Come get to know us in the City of Wintermoor as we welcome everyone to our Isle of Ice. To visit our web tome, visit http://www.Wintermoor.org and look for our upcoming Annual Museum Anniversary and Quest.

Xanthar of the Museum
Mayor of Wintermoor

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Grand news of this most foul event has recently came in from the Infernal Cult of Necromancy.

Cultists swept through the Ice Dungeon in search of the last missing runes for the ritual.

Finally the runes were spotted. Carved into the hide of a white wyrm. Though it fought fiercly, it eventually had to give up its secrets.

A few hours laters the Cult of the Pendragon and the Cult of Infernal Necromancy gathered at the Shrine of Sacrifice.

Lord Smogg raised his arms.

"The Shrine of the Shadowlords is a beacon of darkness for fiends that walk the night; the demonic adversaries that assail most mankind. Whoever create and power this Shrine shall enjoy the protection of the legions of darkness, now the dark moon is in her increase and Orion ascends in the East"

He then carefully engraved the image of the serpent-bat into the shrine.

"From the serpent mouth shall issue the tripart Word of Power that none shall speak or know. On this night when the stars burn in the heavens and the Sun is in the Sign of the Sea-Goat. Hear my voise."

Lord Smogg turned to the East.

"Great Faulinei of the Shadowlords. I call you forth! Behold this Executioners Axe, by the Hand of Evil."

Smiling evily he handed the axe to Deicide, his Infernal Knight.

"Behold as it will draw blood in your name. Open thy gate of your Abode and give darkness to this Shrine facioned by my art. See the name that may not be spoken, issue from the jaws of your servant - See the form of your secret place amongst the shadows! I hail you Faulinei! I hail you as Blood flow in your name"

As he gestures for the axe to draw blood and a true carnage of blood and death began as human sacrifices fell by the vicious axe and spells by the cultists.

"Stretch out your Hand and lend Power to my work so that the Shadowlords may assist me in this hour of power. In these names I call upon your Power: Astaroth! Nosfentor! Faulinei!"

The Necromancer then made the secret elder sign in the air and bowed to all corners of the realm.

"This shrine of Faulinei has a name.
This shall be called.. THE SHRINE OF SHADOWS!"

Lord Smogg Azalin
Cult Leader, Ncr

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"Lost in UO" is running again.

Hi y'all. I've finally got fed up with URL hopping and got my own domain. Lost in UO can be found at http://lostinuo.xrealms.com/. Most of the site is working again. I'm missing a few comics that were damaged in my backup files, but hopefully I'll be getting them restored soon enough.

Thanks for your support,

Arcane

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Yesterday, while walking the streets of Britain in Felucca, I had a chance meeting with Rockem Sockem. As most of you know, Rockem is the longtime leader of the True Britannians faction. We spoke of many things including strategies, the current State of Factions on Felucca and the TB "community." I asked him for a "direct quote" and Rockem replied, "The training time that we put into the newer TBs has paid off, resulting in wonderful people in our community."

It's clear to this reporter that a sense of "community" is very important to Rockem and the rest of the TBs. It's long been said by many observers that TB does not have the overall "warrior talent" of Minax, the Shadow Lords or CoM, but they have "heart." It remains to be seen if "having heart" is enough to prevail in the long run. Concluding our visit, Rockem vowed to send me a "press release" regarding an upcoming event. I received the release a moment ago. Read on.

Hail, Lord Cyn.

For two months now and counting the True Britainian Faction has controlled the eight cities in the faction spectrum. This has frustrated our enemies, and pleased our supporters. This is an unmatched task so far in our world. Our success is the bi-product of months of planning and trying. We all fight together, and occasionally die together. What separates our faction from the other 3 is pretty simple. We care more about keeping our cities than we do about showscore.

As a group we are trying to bridge the gap between faction players and non faction players. In a sense Factions is a roleplaying situation. We stay closer to the RP style of faction. Factions are not for the faint of heart, you will die in factions, you will get ganked in factions, you will get rezz killed in factions. I have been in factions since it;s inception on this shard, I have seen many people come and go. This style of playing is not for everyone. It requires skill in PvP and real life tactics. By tactics I mean strategy, not the skill that anyone can GM in 5 game hours. It requires teamwork, and if you stay in factions you will find it consumes the majority of your time in game. There are great people in all 4 factions, and you will fins yourself making friendships that last a long time if you earn your friends respect.

I cannot speak for the other 3 factions, but I can speak for TB. While most of you are out hunting daemons and evil monsters all over our world there is a small group of dedicated warriors and mages working hard twenty-four hours a day to ensure that our world is not overrun by the vagrants who destroyed this land many moons ago. We represent the spirit of our Lord British and all that is good in this evil world. How could we just let the followers of Mondain and those evil Council of Mages who committed crimes most foul against Lord British and his court so many moons ago? The title over my head reads "Commanding Lord of the True Britainians," but it is just a title. I am no better than any "defender" we all are in the same boat. I send all my praise and salutes to the fighters and mages of True Brits. Without you, this letter would have never been sent.

There are may tales of victory and defeat that show honor and bravery above and beyond the call of duty. I have shared a few with you all on the message boards, and I will again share a most recent tale of bravery and self sacrifice for the greater good. This story happened today:

"Sir, we are under heavy attack and five towns have been purified. We need to get them to safety" this was the message I received upon waking from my sleep. I recalled to our stronghold and was right in thick of a heavy battle. A combined force of CoM, Minax and a lone Shadowlords were attempting to breech our bases defenses. This fight was not going to be won by us. So I gave the order to hold strong and fight until impossible to continue, and as they fought I attempted to place these town sigils safely in there respected towns. My men and I knew death awaited us but this had to be done for the greater good.

I kept receiving messages of my brothers being slain constantly and most dishonorably by the evil aggressors (rezz kills a lot) . I stayed focus and continued to place the towns. Upon reaching the town of Trinsic I received word that our defense was crushed and our base was overrun. But those brave True Brits who fought against impossible odds and died many times were not in the least bit angry. Quite the contrary actually. They were elated that we secured 3 of the towns for another 3 days. So long as we do that we shall remain in power. About one hour ago we reclaimed the stolen sigils and brought them home to Lord British's castle with 5 towns now locked down we had accomplished our mission, and secured our power for at least another 3 days.

That is just one of many tales of our rich and illustrious faction. More of these stories are made every night. Maybe someday you too can become one of us.

In the near future the True Brits will be holding a fair and a feast for all to enjoy and meet some of us and we meet some of you. Hopefully we can help you understand us, and you can learn more about our way of life. The date will be announced in my next letter to you Cyn, but the location shall be Lord British's castle in trammel Britain.

The fair will be fully catered and will also feature a magic weapons and rares auction, followed by a good old swap meet. Every sheriff and key member of True Brit shall be in attendance answering faction related questions and PvP tips, for those not accustomed to PvP. I think it will most definetly be an enjoyable experince for the entire shard. Until then citizens of Sosaria, you may sleep peacefully knowing that we will continue to fight for honor and all of you to keep the spirit of Lord British alive.

Most Respectfully,
Rockem Sockem, Commanding Lord of the True Britainians

I appreciate Rockem taking the time to speak with me and look forward to visiting with him again. In the meantime, I humbly request an update from the other factions Leaders. Are you all at full strength? Is your faction recruiting? Are you planning any events? Inquiring minds want to know. *grins*

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

Cyn

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As most know, guild wars come and go, and as a rule, most aren't exactly "news worthy" events. Yet, I received this impassioned message from an unnamed member of the Knights of Chaos and thought perhaps it might be a bit different from most guild skirmishes. After all, it's not often that one hears of a dragon being loosed inside a guild house, anymore. In fact, I just can't remember the last time we had a good, old fashioned "guild war" on Legends. Read on for more details.

Greetings, Cyn.

I would like for you to spread word of this conflict, far and wide.

It all started a day ago when I returned home to find a dragon had been released in my home. The dragons name was KoCTrap. A single mage stood in front of my home and declared war on us.

A single fight was all he wanted and that was it. My best guildmember, Legion, had just quit the guild because he didn't know what was going on. So, I decided to accept the challenge of War for the one fight. As soon as I accepted the invitation, the entire enemy guild came from out of the shadows and killed me and Legion. After getting resurrected, we walked to the Guardians Of Truth guild tower. Words were exchanged, that led us into more fighting.

I Challenged the guild leader Malignant to a duel and he accepted. The fight went on for hours until he pulled out a deadly poisoned kryss. He poisoned me and I quickly ran home and fetched my Halberd. But I was declared the loser by witnesses because I ran. I didn't feel that way as I wanted him dead and my halberd was the quickest way for me to achieve my desires.

So I entered the tower and started to fight him once more. He quickly banned me from his home. Then all of a sudden the entire guild was at it again and I was again killed. Later that night I met Wolfsbane, a former member of their guild ( he left due to the fact he thought it was wrong what they did ) and we went to his house and he apologizes to me about what he had done.

Be warned! The Knights Of Chaos are now ready for all-out war with the Guardians of Truth. And we grow stronger, rapidly.

Cyn
Patron Saint of Sosarian Taverns

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Greetings friends and enemies of Grimoire! Here are the 1 vs. 1 results from this week's Friday Fight Night event sponsored by Malkin:

• First place: Don King
• Second place: Arch-Bishop
• Third place: Kale

Props go out to all the fighters who participated! The competition was very stiff and you all did very well.

Many thanks go out to the wonderful Grimoire staff. Thank you Lost, Lord Sog, Black Shadow, Samba, Arch Bishop Horshack, Josh, and LeeLu! Also thanks to Liberation for helping out.

It was great fun and we hope to see you next week.
Baby-Grimoire Staff

Your humble servant,
Raeven Aurora

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You've almost got it. Killing more and more monsters will not get you the third tier of titles. Getting to the third tier will involve fighting the "Champions of Evil" I have mentioned before. In order to see these champions though you do have to fight back the spawn quite a bit. So while killing tons and tons of creatures will not get you the third tier, it is required to get the Champion to appear... And then you can fight the champion to try and get the third tier... :)

Oh, and I highly recommend you try to fight the champions in groups...

-FierY iCe
Programmer: Ultima Online

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2001/07/21 -

*** NEW UDPATE at www.imacat.t2u.com (europe) and www.imacat.net (usa) ***

OYE! OYE!

A new episode of the Adventure of Zog the Helper is available on the site. EP17 - A Matter of Perspectives.

I am testing a new format, and I will be very happy to have your opinion/flame/comments on this new presentation. GIF Animated format, this way you can watch your episode in a form of a movie (ok that's not MTV yet :)

Of course, this is my first try using this new PSP7 as you will surely see :P I hope you will like it.

Best view at 1024x768 32C on a 17" or any other resolution with a good magnifing glass :)

Enjoy :)

Ps: the 2 formats will be available soon for all the episodes (plan or animated) for those who prefers the old version.

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Just a quick reminder to everyone...

This Saturday see's the first of hopefully many Scottish meet-up's for UO players on the Europa shard.

We're looking at meeting on 28th July, in 'Espionage' on Victoria Street (just off George IV bridge) in Edinburgh, at 3pm. If people don't know Edinburgh I shall be waiting at the left hand side of the WH Smith entrance in Waverley Train Station at 2:30pm - I shall be leaving to head to 'Espionage' at 3pm. The reason for Espionage is that it has large booths with large comfy leather seats that can easily accomodate 10 people each. 'Espionage' is a 6 floor labyrnth of rooms, corridors and bars - so it can be quite easy to get lost if you don't arrive early. The place where we will (hopefully) be sitting is on the ground floor to the right after you walk along the corridor at the entrance. If you are still having problems, contact me - [email protected] - and I shall give you my mobile number. We will also all have name badges, so it shouldn't be too hard to spot us.

There's talk of moving on to a club later at night, but I'll leave that to the day to arrange, coz not everyone's keen on it.

Could you please leave a note here if you wish to attend with your RL name, main character name, guild (if any), and pigeon/mail number. If your too shy to leave your RL name here send me a pigeon on 9921764 or email - [email protected] - with your details...

The Specifics:
Where: Espionage Bar, Victoria Street, Edinburgh, Scotland
Date: Saturday, 28th July, 2001
Time: 3 pm

Contacts:
Coordinator: Mentazm
[email protected]
ICQ 9921764

Hope it goes well.

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Greetings to all fellow citizens of Europa!

Our Guild, the Eternal Warriors are planning a weekend of Special Events and Activities the weekend commencing Friday 27th July through to Sunday 29th July to celebrate the 1st year of our Guild's home, Eternal Village in the jungles southwest of Trinsic on the Trammel facet of Europa.

The Friday and Sunday will be dedicated to activites for Guild members only and will include a Horse Race, Scavenger Hunt, Endurance Hunt, PvP Tournament, and a feast amongst other things.

However, the Saturday has been declared as open day for our Guild and Village, and all citizens of Europa are invited to take part in the events and activities planned for this day, which include a pub quiz at the launch of our new Bar & Grille, a fancy dress competition, the relaunch of our Guild superstore, and the opening of our much anticipated Den of Vice amongst other things. 

The full list of events and more about our Village and Guild can be found by visiting http://www.eternalwarriors.org/uo/ev/ev-news.htm

Our recruitment officers will also be out in force throughout the day in the major towns and cities of Britain handing out runes to unguilded persons to our HQ in Eternal Village.  Many giveaways, including 100 adventurers packs containing GM-Crafted armour sets, along with many other gifts will take place throughout the day. 

For further information please be sure to visit our notice board here http://www.eternalwarriors.org/uo/ev/ev-news.htm

 

We hope to see you soon!

 

King Xebec
EW Guildmaster & Webmaster

Thanks!

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Publish 12 will be published to all remaining shards today, to be active following their next maintenance period. The schedule for these maintenance periods is as follows:

• All East Coast and Central shards (with the exception of Chesapeake) will be taken down for an unscheduled maintenance at 2:00 pm CDT, July 23rd.
• Japanese and Korean Shards will be taken down for their normal maintenance period on at 8:00 AM local time, July 24th (JST).
• European Shards will be taken down for their normal maintenance period at 5:00 am local time, July 24th (GMT).
• Siege Perilous will be taken down for its normal maintenance period at 5:00 am, July 24th (CDT).
• Formosa will be taken down for its normal maintenance period at 8:00 am local Taiwan time, July 24th.
• Oceania will be taken down for its normal maintenance period at 5:00 am local Sydney time, July 24th.
• AOL Legends will be taken down for its normal maintenance period at 5:00 am EDT, July 24th.

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

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Tomorrow afternoon (July 24th) at 11:00 pm CDT, we will be reactivating house decay on all shards. Houses currently marked as condemned will be uncondemned before the decay is turned back on, and will not collapse when the system is reactivated. Please note that once the decay rate is turned back on, all players will need to refresh their homes as they normally would.

For information on housing decay rates, see http://guide.uo.com/house_6.html.

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Just a quick reminder to everyone...

This Saturday see's the first of hopefully many Scottish meet-up's for UO players on the Europa shard.

We're looking at meeting on 28th July, in 'Espionage' on Victoria Street (just off George IV bridge) in Edinburgh, at 3pm. If people don't know Edinburgh I shall be waiting at the left hand side of the WH Smith entrance in Waverley Train Station at 2:30pm - I shall be leaving to head to 'Espionage' at 3pm. The reason for Espionage is that it has large booths with large comfy leather seats that can easily accomodate 10 people each. 'Espionage' is a 6 floor labyrnth of rooms, corridors and bars - so it can be quite easy to get lost if you don't arrive early. The place where we will (hopefully) be sitting is on the ground floor to the right after you walk along the corridor at the entrance. If you are still having problems, contact me - [email protected] - and I shall give you my mobile number. We will also all have name badges, so it shouldn't be too hard to spot us.

There's talk of moving on to a club later at night, but I'll leave that to the day to arrange, coz not everyone's keen on it.

Could you please leave a note here if you wish to attend with your RL name, main character name, guild (if any), and pigeon/mail number. If your too shy to leave your RL name here send me a pigeon on 9921764 or email - [email protected] - with your details...

The Specifics:
Where: Espionage Bar, Victoria Street, Edinburgh, Scotland
Date: Saturday, 28th July, 2001
Time: 3 pm

Contacts:
Coordinator: Mentazm
[email protected]
ICQ 9921764

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A statement of intent:

When first I took the title Grand Marshal, it was as the head of the Honor Guard, ceremonial defenders of the High Council and the King. After a time, the Guard chose to expand its role, and as such took upon itself the task of resurrecting the organization once known as the Order of the Silver Serpent.
The Order had been the guardians of Serpent's Hold, and, owing to the Hold's strategic importance, of all Britannia. The Serpents had served the King with a devotion rarely equaled, and combated man and beast alike in his name. Once peace had finally been achieved, the Order was no longer required, and attrition eventually led to its dissolution.
Following the rebellion in Trinsic, the next major threat to the land came in the form of the Gelidum. Hailing from Glacia, the northern, frozen wastes of the recently discovered land at the center of Sosaria, the Gelidum were a cunning lot, ostensibly seeking revenge for adventurous incursions into their underground territory; they initiated many devastating attacks against the cities, and later shrines, of Britannia.
Following the resolution of the Glacian conflict, and in response to the increasing threats to the Kingdom from within and without, it was decided that the Guard should be re-christened after the legendary Order, and that it should, as a result, take custodianship of Serpent's Hold, as the original Order had done. The new Order of the Silver Serpent would take on the same duties the original Order had, expanding their role to include investigation of crimes, arrest of criminals, patrolling the cities of the Realm, and serving as the King's elite troops.
The formation of the new Order was fortuitous, for shortly afterward, another powerful, organized enemy would beset the Kingdom. The witch queen Minax, one time mistress to Mondain, launched an all out assault on Britannia, attacking from what now is believed to be another facet of the Gem of Immortality. The new OSS saw much battle in the King's service in combating her forces, but in the end, Lord British decided that it was best to abandon the besieged facet of the Gem for another, more protected facet. The gates from the first facet, Felucca, to the second, Trammel, were opened by a powerful spell wrought by the court mage Nystul, and Lord British, the court, and much of the population fled through to their new sanctuary.
The Order, along with the High Council, joined the King in Trammel. Although they did not wish to abandon the land that was their home, their duty to their Liege required that they respect his choice.
In the time since the Sundering, the Order has continued in their service to the Realm, but a number of truths have become increasingly apparent. Firstly, the increased control over violent and anti-social behaviour that this facet allows Lord British means that threats are rarely from large, organized forces. Further, what threats there are likely to either be monstrous forces far afield, or small units near large population centers. Crime is usually less violent and more subtle; treason is more common than murder and theft. Lastly, Serpent's Hold itself no longer holds any strategic importance - as yet, it has never been threatened.
In light of this, I believe it prudent that we withdraw from the Hold, and put its administration in the hands of the High Council until such a need again arises. As the Hold is integral to the history of the Order of the Silver Serpent, the Honor Guard shall be re-formed, with the Order's current members either joining the Guard, or returning to their respective guilds and organizations to spread the ideal of dedicated service to the King.
The Honor Guard will take on its original role, serving as the ceremonial guard to the Council and the King, and as Bailiffs to the High Court. We consider this to be our sacred duty. Further, the Guard shall endeavor whenever possible to further the cause of Realm and Regent, including undertaking investigations and missions on behalf of the High Council. The Honor Guard will operate with one guiding principle: service to the King is not a duty, it is a privilege.
The membership of the Honor Guard, as it once did, will be comprised of members of guilds and organizations, and of individuals who believe in this mantra. If your feel you are such a person, I encourage you to contact me to discuss becoming a member.

Honor is its own reward,
Lord Grey Wolfe
Grand Marshall of the Honor Guard

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I found a very interesting prophecy while searching through the ancient libraries of the land. It does not bode well with me for what it may mean if this comes true so I give you all the prophecy as a warning...

When the King of the North East falls to one of his own by the blood of a dragon then darkness shall consume the land and hextor will make himself known...

On a side note, a monk of Hextor was seen speaking with some undead after a raid on the Yew abbey. When re enforcments arrived the monk had dissapeared... Friends this does not sit well and I feel the tides of darkness are coming to the fore! Prepare yourselves... for who knows which King this may mean and what impact it may have with all the evil creatures boiling from the depths as of late!

Ashen-Shugar
Scholar and Magi of Wind

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The many glacial staves, while impressive, could not compare with the true treasures of this building, the artwork. The four vendors in the building are not used to sell goods, but instead display magical pieces of art. Displayed below, these scenes are very detailed and realsitic. This unique addition is sure to leave a lasting impression on the many visitors.

Overall, the sheer number of glacial staves was a bit overwhelming. I am sure that collecting these took a lot of time and energy, and they surely make this a unique building. However, it is the finely crafted pieces of art that make this building truly special. I invite you all to visit and give compliment to Jade's amazing achievement.

Note: Special Thanks to Maelwyn for his post on the Stratics Sonoma Board for providing the pictures of the amazing artwork.
Note: Thanks to Lyfer for directing me to this building.
--Sage Arthur

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Dupe bugs are a tricky subject for us. On one hand, we do want it to be known that we DO investigate and address any dupe bugs that we find. Players who are proven to have used duping exploits are most definitely punished.

But when we're investigating a dupe bug, we can't really say anything about it. For one thing, by explaining what is is we're investigating, we encourage other people to go out and try it. If we say that we're fixing it, then all the players who know abot it will go out and use it as much as they can, thinking that they'd better take advantage of it before it's fixed.

Aside from a few notifications of mass bannings for use of a widespread exploit, we do not notify players when someone is banned for duping. Doing so would violate the privacy policy we have, where we do not disclose information about players' accounts.

People who have any knowledge about duping bugs should send that to [email protected], where our QA department can investigate.

As for these boards, we don't allow the spreading of unverifed rumors of exploits - and if it the exploit is verified, then you should send your information to [email protected] so that we can address the problem.

Thanks

Some players have reported that the disabling of house decay has inadvertantly condemned their houses. My review of the changes that were made to disable house decay show that it is extremely unlikely that this change specifically would cause houses to become condemned. However, I would like to point out that if it is the case that houses have been condemned that should not be, it is probably a different issue entirely, it was not intentional, and regardless of the actual cause we will be looking at the situation before we turn house decay back on.

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To whom it may concern.

I Cherokee Rose Vice Mayor of the fair town of Mythndale, would like to share my objections of the unfair act that has befallen not just our fair Lady Crystal Rose, but our entire village. The large statue that stood proudly overlooking our town, protecting it and standing as a symbol of honor, has been taken by OSI saying that it perhaps is illegal but the person in charge of this decision is away on vacation. This was purchased in good faith and is one of the 3 legal statues on this shard. There were plans for it to be involved in a shard wide quest for all. This is not an item that is owned by one person. But was brought for all to enjoy and help continue to keep UO the best Online community around. It is now that not only I but all of us request to be treated fairly in this matter. We do not ask much. We only try to provide a place for all to enjoy. In an effort of unity by all, we are holding a candle light vigil as we await what will be done to us, to our beloved stature, and to our beloved town of Mythndale.

Sincerely and with the utmost respect
Lady Cherokee Rose

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Last Eve many gathered together to witness the wedding of Lady Cherokee Rose and Lord Odin. It was a stunning evening. But the horrors of what happened when we return.

Sometime ago The Lady Crystal Rose had acquire a statue a piece from the invasion of Trinsic. An unknow Paladin red in color was the crowning jewel in our fair villages heart.

This statue has been taken from us, The gods saw fit to question it. Was it truly ours to be had.

Many a shocked unlooked sat about last eve, as tears and anger coursed the pathways of the village.

This eve and every eve till our beloved statue is returned, we will be holding a peaceful vigil in memory of this beautiful piece of Art work from the Sosarian realm.

This Paladin who was she? For now we may never know. But her memory deserves to be displayed where all those who wish can see her, and know that she is a piece of the past.

Please join all the citizens of Mythndale, in this time of sorrow. Help us to support the Lady Rose, and bring home our beloved treasure.

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On behalf of the Council of Trinsic, the Council of Yew and the United Blacksmiths of Britannia, it is hereby my pleasure to inform all that lives in our fair land about some of the ongoing markets on the Drachenfels Shard.

• Trinsic (Trammel) - each Thusday from 8pm to 10pm CET (starting at 2pm EDT, 7pm BST)
  Trinsic Meeting Hall - next to the Royal Bank of Trinsic. Buying, selling or trading whatever your heart desires.
  There will in most cases be some sort of entertainment.
  
• Yew (Trammel) - at Empath Abbey on Sundays from 8pm CET to 10pm CET.
  First week of the month : Raw Materials market.
  Second week of the month : Crafters Market - especially blacksmithing - hosted by UBB.
  Third week of the month : Magic market - Trading all sort of magic items, as well as crafts.
  Fourth week of the month : Raw Materials market.

Such markets will be ongoing events, and we hope to expand them in the near future. It is the occasion for everybody to meet or join some of our shard's roleplaying guilds.

Best reards
Sara Blackhand
Shardmaster for Drachenfels
United Blacksmiths of Britannia

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Be amongst many to enjoy the merry commodities the Asylum of Perdition has to offer thee and thine! Have a fine distilled Ale shipped directly from the finest taverns in Jhelom, or savor some of the best wine straight from Yew! Partake in a game or two and see to thine luck in making a bit of extra coin in thine pursuit for the eve. Such games for the Casino includ...

• Darts
• Dare Devil Dice
• One, Two, Three
• Regular Dice
• Order vs. Chaos

And the brand new Cainan Roulette, to take place in the dark tower of Morn Cirith. Gates will be provided from the Casino.

Information regarding the Casino open night can be found in www.ebonskull.org/caina or a query sent to [email protected] in regards to it. Additional information can also be found by sending a missive to 36628955. The Casino will be opened topday, Sunday, at 9:30 pm EST.

Be it known as well that all bets are now being raised to the amount of 3,000 crowns... so all those high rollers out there, do stop by! Another note... gladiator fights will be postponed for this Casino gambling event, look for them though in future Cainan events!

The Asylum of Perdition is a subsidiary of the Tal’mahe’Ra

Shardak Mardas
Cabalist
Order of the Ebon Skull

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Today, I received a carrier pigeon into my humble dwellings. Carefully, I extracted the message and with weary eyes, read the exquisite penmanship. The message was simple though thought-provoking, in the extreme. Another lamentation for "days of olde," when citizens of all philosophies and creeds treated others with a measure of respect. Read on.

My good Lord Cyn,

I write to you today in sadness.

It has come to be that there is no honor left in the citizens of Legends. My pardons, in the vast community of the "player fighters" that is.

As I spent a few minutes at the Brit Bank this Sat Eve, I had the most playful jousting of words from various citizens about mine and their ages. I was aghast to find I was the "elder" there. As we joked and poked fun at each other, there were some of the various "fighters" if that they be called, that were there. My good Cyn, I am understanding of the need to "provoke" citizens to go and fight at Fel Banks or where ever, but for the citizens that enjoy a "non-murderous" way of life, I am appalled at the utter lack of respect that is given.

I was continuously taunted with remarks about mine mother, "the Sosarian gods smile upon her grave." I am but a mage and a bard, good Cyn, but, there is little in this great land that I have not seen. As many of these "fighters" were but children in times of the taming of this land. I feel that there is a great sadness that sweeps our lands, the sense of nobility and good has come to an all time low.

It is a great misfortune that this land has come to taunting and name calling. In our early days, we had respect for all peoples.

Again I am sorry that I must speak out, but, 'tis a needed word.

Humbly,
Xantavier Master Composer of KoV

Like the cosmic principles of Yin/Yang, which by the way can be argued as the catalyst for the appearance of the Stranger, Honor is an intrinsic part of our world. Without Honor, there could be no "dishonor," just as there can be no light without darkness or "good" without "evil."

Every day, I hear tales of heroic and dastardly deeds. Such manifestations of those attributes seem to comprise the very foundation of our world. Yet, I seldom hear tales of Honor and Respect. In the ancient discipline of Bushido, or "Way of the Warrior," respect is considered as intrical to the Way as any "warrior skill." Mental attitude sets apart the "would-be great warrior" from the truly magnificent warrior. The old adage is as true today as it was all those centuries ago, "Without Respect, there IS no Warrior Way."

Thus, to support my claim that Virtue is indeed "alive and well" in the Lands of Legends, I humbly solicit tales of Honor and Respect. Have you met a citizen that embodies the attributes of either? If so, share your stories with us. I will present these submissions in an upcoming feature article entitled, "Honor Among Us."

For now, I bid you all a safe journey along Life's path.

Cyn

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...We're back, we're bad, and we've got a bucket of cement and some gum.

Yeh I know, you're all asking "Ugh, why did I eat that last night?", and you don't really care that we've havn't updated in like 6 months or so, but, too bad, cause now we did. Anyway, this update is HUGE to make up for our absence, and it's still the same quality absurd action figure comics you've come to expet. So what are they? -

New Monsters at the Gates - Ever wonder how it's decided how a new mosnter gets put into the game? Well, now's your chance as we go behind the scenes to take peek at just how this is done.

The Ulitma Online Third Dawn commerical - What do you mean "What commercial?!". Yup, there was one planned, but none of the networks wanted to air it. So the UO2Pid staff sent in a crack team of French ninja's to get this for you, which they did, but there were losses. PEOPLE DIED TO GET HIS TO YOU! Well, ok, maybe not people, it was more like a red snapper, and it was dead already, but it fell of the wall it was hanging on! So, um, DEAD FISH GOT HURT TO GET THIS TO YOU! The least you can do is READ IT!

Chefs are people too! - Bleh, our lousy attempt at a parody of those old snack cake ads from 70's comic books, that we won't mention the brand of here for legal reasons. Or because I forget how to spell it, I forget. The first in a possible series of them. Aren't you lucky?

We've also provided links to two of our comics that we did for a contest, one whcih actually WON some how, and theres a new single panel, and a kinda old comic that we've listed as new since it was small and I didn't bother making a big deal over it.

So, anyway, you know the drill, click the link, evreything new is marked where you can find it. SO go there now and make some pudding filled paper clips happy.

PLus, we actually got a new title graphic, which is credited on the site and all, which is probably the best thing on the site even, so you can go there and stare it for 5 hours. Better than a root canal, wheee!

http://thexyg.home.att.net/uo2pid.htm

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Glunk: Nuw reed wut ee juzt sai, Pulga! en trenzlate fur dem umies!

Pulga: Humans and other races of Britiannia,

This is just yet another warning from the Bloodrock Clan. Not only have we gotten more established and a lot more rich. We have a new home and the original inhabitants of this place have happily become part of the Bloodrock Clan. I went to the Orcish Dungeon last night and fought them into submission. They are now Bloodrock Orcs."

Glunk grunts and takes a sip of the finest orcish grog

So let it be known, to kill the orcs of the tunnels is to kill one of us. And well we don't like that. Come down and get rid of us if you dare.

-Glunk, Cheiftain of Bloodrock Clan

Glunk grabs the peice of goblin skin that the warning was writen apon, gets a nail and a blunt object, and hands it to the Pulga.

Glunk: Nuw gu breng dis tu tuwn. Iv uu git cot den fite til da biddur end!

The pulga takes the letter, and begins his long hike to town

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News of the recent Savage advances and a brief encounter with the Savage General have prompted the great Kingdom of Dawn to raid Occlo and dispatch its captors. With hope, the savage general will present himself and brought to justice!

Our first attack will commence at 7pm PST on July 22... Any support is welcome, but the general must be taken alive if there is to be any chance of revealing the source of the savage campaigns.

Safe Travels,
Lord Will Avengem

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Again CoM took the balance of the towns under direct control, applying thier force of will and taxing the citizens as the see fit. Britain and Minoc remain under Shadow Lord Control.

Several of my Council brothers complained at the lack of intrest in raiding the still unrepaired CoM stronghold. It was an uneventful guarding period for the most part unlike the hey-day battles of the past that left the streets of Magi, the castles of Britain and the forests of Yew littered with bodies. KoRn Leading the Newly Revamped CoJ had the strongest presence as well as the Long time CoM's UMA. Ariak even deigned to come by for some guard duty.

Amalacon
Council of Mages
Death Jester$

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The Village of Kurja: Grand Opening & Costume Contest!

Hear Ye! Hear Ye! Tales are floating once again, about a new player establishment!


You see a scroll, and written neatly inside:


Hail all,

It is true, the Village of Kurja is prepared to host its first, and opening event! As a special treat, the village will be hosting a costume contest! We will also be distributing free crafted items such as armor, and house add-ons to those come to participate.

This event was planned to celebrate the beginning of a new establishment that is available to be enjoyed by all. In the future, we plan on widely encouraging more player ran events within the Lake Superior community. With events such the one I announce today, we are only a few steps away from achieving this goal.

We welcome you to come and celebrate the beginning of this marvellous establishment.

Respectfully yours,

Kurzon (Founder, the Village of Kurja)



Event Details:

DISCLAIMER: There will be exciting be prizes for the top 5 costumes, the winner of the costume contest will receive the grand prize of a MILLION gold (in check form).

Event: Grand Opening & Costume Contest

Date: Saturday, August 4

Time: 6:00PM-9:00PM CST

Location: The Village of Kurja - located at the entrance of Dungeon Despise in Felucca.

Transportation: Transportation via moongates will be provided to the village from 5:30-6:30PM CST from the following locations (in Felucca):

1. The Empath Abbey, Yew

2. The Mint of Vesper, Vesper

3. The First Bank of Moonglow, Moonglow

4. The First Bank of Britain, West Britain



Rules:

Any metal armor that is of the craftable nature (platemail, ringmail, chainmail, etc.) is disallowed in the costume contest. If you are participating in the event and are wearing armor of these sorts, your costume will not be judged.

Although we will be distributing free crafted armor to those who participate, we ask that this armor is kept unequipped until the end of the event.

The costume contest is an "individual" only event, therefore guilds and/or groups will not be judged as one.



Useful Information:

Because the village is based in Felucca, there is always the possibility of murderers and/or thieves. We ask that all who attend are well aware of any consequence(s) that may arise. In the event of something such as this occurring, the Village of Kurja will be in no way responsible for any lost or stolen items.

We will be giving out thousands of materials worth of crafted items such as weapons, armor, and house add-ons. We ask players do not 'ask' for these items, as they will be given out volunteeringly to people who come to participate in this event.


We cannot make specific restrictions, though it would be greatly appreciated it if faction fighting, guild, and order/chaos wars are kept to a minimum.

If you are currently banned from the village, or cause unnecessary disruptions, you will be unable to participate in this event.



Prizes:


Prizes will be given out to the top five (judged) costumes at approximately 8:30PM CST, you must be present at that time in order to claim your prize. To assure that your costumes are judged as fairly as possible, we will be bringing in guests (from the Europa shard) to judge your costumes.

First Place- a check of a million gold (1,000,000)

Second Place- a check of one hundred thousand gold (100,000) & a special rares bag

Third Place- a whispering rose (from Kurzon) & a pixie statuette

Fourth Place - a pixie statuette

Fifth Place - a bag of 30 scenario items



Crafted Items

We will be distributing thousands of materials worth of free crafted items to those who participate. As stated above, players who "ask" for these items will most likely receive nothing. If you receive something that you do not want, we ask that you exchange it with another player.


This is our way of giving out, we are honoured that we can bring these sorts of events to Lake Superior.



Conclusion:

The Village of Kurja would like to thank everyone who has contributed to this event. It would not have been made possible without the support of many of these people.

If you have any comments, questions or feedback, you may contact us directly via our forum. It is located at http://pub44.ezboard.com/fuolakesuperiorfrm74
We look forward to your costumes. Good luck, and enjoy!

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UO Movie Contest!!

I would like to announce Glitter Movies' first Flash movie contest! The topic of this contest will be Ultima Online. Here are the contest details:

• Prize
  
  • There will be one first place prize winner that will receive their choice of a Vet Reward for any shard (except AOL shard), this can be from any of the rewards listed.
• Rules
  • Any topic can be submitted as long as the main theme is involving Ultima Online.
  • Topics of mature subject matter and/or language may also be submitted as long as they are in good taste. This will be delt with on a movie to movie basis and be decided on according to length of movie and creativity involved.
• Judging
  • Movies will be judged on a number of factors, this includes creativity, work put into the movie, overall quality, and story.
  • Movies will be judged by me personally but I will take into consideration any comments or votes given for the movies. So even if you can't make a movie yourself feel free to visit just to vote and comment on your favorite! You will be personally helping me chose a winner!
• How to Submit a Movie
  • First make sure your movie is a SWF or an HTML link (no EXE links will be accepted).
  • Go to www.glittermovies.com and submit your movie to the section named Current Contest. Note that only movies included in this movie section will be considered for the contest.
  • Make sure submit your movie with a valid email address so I may contact you if your movie is the winner.
  • Please do not email me personally any Flash Files. Hosting of your movie is up to you. If you have any questions feel free to contact me at [email protected]. Please also be aware that all movies submitted will be added to the appropriate category once the contest is finished. The Winning movie will be added to the award winning section and will be given rights to display an award on their own personal website/guildsite. If you do not wish for your movie to be added to the database after the contest has ended, please email me and tell me of your wishes.
• This contest will run till one week after vet rewards are published (and remain) on every shard.

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InsideUO should now support the Third Dawn map. Just right click on the map and it is the selection at the bottom. If you have any problems with it, let me know. InsideUO also now displays the contents of Skills.mul, allows you to create phrases with the fonts, and is sporting a new art viewer window that should make life a little easier.

I'd also like to get names in for the Gumps, so if anyone is feeling bored and knows all of the names, please e-mail me a list of the number and the name of each gump.

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Come one come all to the Fairhaven Scavenger hunt on Saturday July 28 at 7:00 p.m. PST. Do ye think ye know the history of the lands better then anyone else if ye do grab 2 friends and come try and become the winner of the 500K in gold prize for being the first to complete the clues to each location.

Rules

• There will be 3 and only 3 people per team.
• Each team most register by Friday July 27 at 9 p.m. PST.
• Each team can use any rune at the fairhaven rune library to get to the places they need to find; IT IS HIGHLY RECOMMENDED YOU USE THE LIBRARY.
• The first team to find the 10 different locations from the clues and return back to Fairhaven wins 500K.
• A good knowledge of the Britannia history is recommended.
• Some locations are extremely hazardous so be prepared to defend your life against whatever may lurk in the dark.

Drinks and socializing will be done during and after the event so come one come all and enjoy a night in the Fairhaven Village. We highly encourage other player run cities to have teams to add to the excitement, we will see you there.

For questions and answers please contact us at ICQ 60726000 or email at [email protected] or visit our website at http://www.FHvillage.com

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Hello all,

I have an interesting tool for the Guild Webmasters. CGM (written in perl) is a free and completely webbased Guild Management Tool which offers news (and groups), members, characters (and groups), ranks, background story, templates, user administration and more. It's webbased and multiuserable, combined with the usera dminstration users can be restricted to just one newsgroup, charactergroup, etc... You can download the tool for free at http://www.toolz.at.

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Last night the warriors of Fairhaven set out on a quest to find an artifact that would let them destroy the evil Lich that had been terrorizing the countryside. First, the party, led as always by Fizban, set off to the star room to meet a fabled oracle who was believe to have knowledge that could help them.



Although the creature spoke in disjointed riddles when found, the canny villagers were able to deduce that they needed three things: a quantity of shadow ore, a tome with incantations related to Necromancy in it, and the special skill of a certain smith in Jhelom named Mordoc.



These crucial ingredients could supposedly be used to forge a sword of sufficient magical strength and nature to defeat the Lich. The villagers acquired the ore easily enough, and managed to find the tome within the abandoned lab in the center of the hedge maze.

They then brought these two items to Mordoc, the smith in Jhelom, who agreed to forge for them a custom sword of superior strength. After preparing the materials and selecting the right incantation from the book, Mordoc moved about his business quickly and finally produced a katana of amazing power. Hopefully, this weapon will let us defeat this menace once and for all!

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The auto refresh that was implemented on all shards has affected the ability for current house owners to place or have new houses transferred to them. The development team has been notified and is working to resolve this. We apologize for the inconvenience and hope to resolve this as quickly as possible

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We would like to assure all players whose homes are currently marked as improperly condemned that they will not lose their homes at this time. The housing decay is not active currently, and the problem causing homes to appear as improperly condemned will be addressed as soon as possible.

We will update further once this has been fixed.

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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.

It's just been announced on FYI - housing decay on all shards running Publish 11 (that's all shards except Chessie, Baja, Napa, Sonoma, and Pacific) have had their house decay turned off temporarily to make sure that we don't lose buildings we shouldn't while we fix the problem that caused us to refresh all houses on Chessie and the West Coast shards last night.

It's possible this could last only through the weekend, but I won't know for a couple days - I'll give people as much notice as I can in order to make sure everyone knows it's coming back on!

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How well do you know Britannia? The Jhelom Town Council challenges you to find out as they sponsor a Riddle Race throughout the lands.

There will be 10 riddles in all, the solution for each one will be a place or landmark somewhere in Trammel. The first riddle will be handed out at 2:00 p.m. central at the Morning Star Inn in Jhelom, Trammel. Solve the riddle and go to the destination where you will receive the next riddle. The first person to solve all the riddles and make it to the final destination is the winner. Come on out and join the fun!

Date: Sunday July 22nd
Time: 2:00 p.m. Central
Place: Jhelom, Morning Star Inn, Trammel
Entry fee: none, this is a free event
Prizes: 1st 100k 2nd 60k 3rd 40k

hope to see you all there and good luck

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When they shook me awake they were all smiles. Each with a row of sharp teeth that made them look feral.

I recognized Scotia, Vasata and Angalina, but there were more...many more.

And now...I was one of them.

“Oh my god!” I screamed. “What have you done to me?”

Scotia cocked his head. “God?” The smattering of laughter blew into a full force gale of guffaws.

The sound of it thumped against my head like a menagerie of war hammers. BOOM BOOM BOOM.

I reeled back, my stomach in knots & throat dry. A powerful thirst built up inside me all of the sudden. There was something I needed, craved...had to have, but I wasn’t sure what. It was as if I was one of those opium addicts in Vesper lying on the streets.

The laughter had ceased and I could feel the evil creatures looking at me. When I gazed back I could see something akin to lust in their eyes. Lust tainted by death.

“You must have a powerful need to feed, my son.” I involuntarily nodded and Scotia motioned over to one of the others.

“A very powerful need.” He came closer and gripped the back of my head tight in his palm.
“Is that not so?”

I didn’t have to say anything. He was right and he knew it. A cell door opened and someone else was brought into the room.

“So feed, my son.” Scotia grinned, his fangs sharp and white in the dark. “Feed.”

I stumbled forward not quite of my own free will. The other person was being propped up by two of the creatures. He was weeping and covered in filth and blood. It suddenly dawned on me that this was my friend, Kral.

I must have looked back at Scotia with utter horror upon my face. He laughed even harder.

“Feast, my son. You are one of us now.”

Every fiber in my being screamed out for my legs to stop...just cease working, but my thirst was strong...too strong.

“Fang, help me!” Kral moaned while trying to struggle free of his captors.

I came closer.

“Fang! Please help me!”

Even closer. He saw my marble white skin and bloodshot eyes. His screams were loud and long.

I hated myself as I tore into his neck and drained him of his life essence as the other foul creatures cheered me on. The tears I cried were recycled blood of my dead friend.

When it was over Scotia bid them to find the other ‘intruder’. I thought that I might go mad if I were to be responsible for the death of Shemyazza as well. I sunk to the concrete. Unable to comprehend just what I had done and who I had become.

There was a hand placed on my shoulder. It was Vasata. She said nothing, but I could feel the empathy.

A cry rang out. It seemed Shemyazza’s cell was empty. Soon all the undead creatures were running around. Not only had he escaped, but he took some of their priceless artifacts with him.

Scotia hauled me up my the front of my shirt. “You had better hope we recover those items or you’re an un-dead man.”

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This has been an ongoing issue now for about 36 hours and I just wanted to send out a reminder for you all to be very careful of any emails that have attachments and have the following body of text:

Hi! How are you?
I send you this file in order to have your advice
See you later. Thanks

This is an email that contains a HIGH RISK virus.

McAfee's description:

DESCRIPTION - What virus is this?

This is a HIGH RISK virus for consumers that is spread to email recipients found in the Windows Address Book and addresses found in cached files. The infected email can come from addresses that you recognize. Attached is a file with two different extensions. The file name itself varies.
The email message can appear as follows:
Subject: [filename (random)]
Body: Hi! How are you?
I send you this file in order to have your advice
or I hope you can help me with this file that I send
or I hope you like the file that I sendo you
or This is the file with the information that you ask for
See you later. Thanks
--- the same message may be received in Spanish ---

Hola como estas ?
Te mando este archivo para que me des tu punto de vista
or Espero me puedas ayudar con el archivo que te mando
or Espero te guste este archivo que te mando
or Este es el archivo con la informaci�n que me pediste
Nos vemos pronto, gracias.

Please visit this link if you feel you have been infected:

http://www.mcafee.com/anti-virus/viruses/sircam/default.asp?cid=2371

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"My main problem with them is that they tell the story before the action (ex ante facto) instead of after the action (ex post facto) as regular 'news' does."

The BNN stories are more meant to be for you, the player at the keyboard, than for your character in game. If you want to play your character as if he knows this info feel free, but the intent is to be more of a preview for you like a movie trailer. Also for those that don't want to participate in the scenario it gives a bit of a warning of what is coming next to the world.

"Another problem is that they were the only vehicle actually driving the story. In my mind, they should be 'superfluous'; that is, one can take them out and the story would still be there, to be discovered in the game itself.

In a way, they are superfluous. The story in game this go wasn't very complicated. Savages attack the orcs, the orcs retreat, and so on. The story itself was really about these events that took place and not about specific people involved. It was on a global scale so we didn't feel the need to explain it on a personal level in game. Everything that you saw in game was the story. Will things become more complex in the future story wise? You bet.

"Above all, avoid things like what appeared in the next to last article. The savages are working for a dark master? Is the dark master Exodus? These things shouldn't have appeared yet. "

And in game, they haven't. We only put clues to a darker power in the story on BNN so people would know that this is going to get more complex in game at some point. The story is going to get far more complcated than a battle between two tribes that spilled out into the rest of the civilized world..

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The Order of Tendai's New Player Help Night

Sponsor: Atalanta
Location: Larger Banks in Trammel (Moonglow, Vesper and Britain)
Start Date: Jul 28 2001 8:00PM EST (5:00PM PST)
End Date: Jul 28 2001 11:00PM EST (8:00PM PST)
Recurrance: 1 Time Only
Description: We will be donating items to players new to the game and be leading them on a hunt to Despise to familiarize them with the game.

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Hail to thee!

A major update on my site with two new episodes after another two month break. Hope you enjoy 'em.

- Zeromus

http://zeromus.uoboard.net

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The Order of Leonine, One of the Oldest guilds on the Baja Shard would like to invite everyone to a wedding between Lady Nightmare and Lord Merlinist, Festivities and food will be present. Come See this glorious event and witness two long time players take their vows!

Join us on August 19th at 9:00 PM EST, Lord Merlinist (Formerly Known As Woody from The Order of Leonine) And Lady Nightmare from The Order of Leonine shall be wed. The wedding shall be held at a place near Yew, Moongates will be opened 15 Minutes before the wedding is to commence, from Moonglow In Trammel Facet.

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Due to an issue causing permanent buildings to decay, and in order to prevent players on the Chesapeake and West Coast shards from losing homes due to this issue, all houses on these shards have been automatically refreshed today (July 19th CDT). We appreciate your understanding, and apologize for any inconvenience.

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The Events schedual for the Dragons Watch Summer Faire is filling up fast. The Faire is to be held july 27th, 28th, and 29th at the Town of Dragons Watch. http://dragonswatch.chessienet.com/dragonswatch/

The schedual is being added to hourly so please check often. There will also be preregistration form soon for any events you would like to participate in. Lets make this a great summer faire and have lots of fun.

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Since the creation of Sonoma, we have gone rather leaderless by means of a figurehead "king" if you will. The same is true on all shards. I think we can change that and give sonoma an actual RP "dark age" where everyone from the newest newbie to the most vetran player can have an affect on what is happening in the realm at any given time. Some of you may have noticed my earlier post on the creation of Churches of Vecna in Fel and Tram....well the responce was good enough to get over 10 with 5 more on the way in fel and tram. The churches are the foundation of this grand undertaking. Once order and chaos have been replaced with a new form of "idealistic concept" then LB and Blackthorn. What is needed is an allience of guilds on both facets so that together we can actually rule our shard under one banner...

"I am not an evil RPer." you may say. That is excellent :) Good alligned characters are going to be needed to aid in rebellions and fight against the new theocracy once it takes power.

"I am not a PvPer" You dont have to be to participate in an event that affects the world around you. You could be a governmental/rebellion spy, the lone hermit who lives in the Yew woods and acts for/against the theocratic rule. The tamer who slays undead/savages/orcs in an attempt to diminish the forces of evil in the land. This requires no character modifications or playstyle modifications what so ever.

"I am not an rper" Again, you dont have to be to participate in a world affecting event. Quests and events will be provided for those who wish to participate in a non/rp style. Even L337 D3WD5 can earn gold guarding a caravan of goods from one town to another.

"What will this need to succeed?" This will need the cooperation of many people/guilds to work. This is a cross-facet endevour so many guilds on both sides will have to come together to make this work. The very first thing that will need to happen is that all guildmasters interested in this will need to ICQ me at 78245748. Even if your a NON RP or a NON PVP guild, I still want you to make your presence known (Even you 1-2 man guilds). Once I know exactly how many guilds will be particating, we can start getting things rolling and begin ruling our own shard in something that hasnt been done on Sonoma before.

"Will the event scenarios affect this?" Yes. It will most definately have an impact on the towns and those chosen to govern them. Scenarios will be the basis for excellent RP and PvM during his "Dark Age" of theocratic rule.

I will need to hear from as many guilds on sonoma as possiable, for this to become a reality. Other guilds will jump online once this plan is up and running.

One thing I would like to make a comment about is Factions and towns associated with them. Since this is going to completely do away with LB and Blackthorn's influence on Sonoma, Faction town rule will not be recognized by the theocracy. Factions will continue to be just that...Factions. Factions may play a role in the theocracy at a later date, but that will be a decisision made by the guilds in the theocracy.

Again, my ICQ is 78245748 and I can also be reached at [email protected] or [email protected].

I will be waiting to hear from you all :)

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Many names of note started showing up at the Britainian Race Tracks early last night. There were over 20 people that showed up that had some interest in one result or the other or our planned endeavor (I know this because I tried to hand a rune to QLOS (Questor's Library of Sonoma) to everyone that showed up). Shaddow Knight finally arrived, and quickly ran out of copies of the book that he had recovered that gave us clues as to where to look next.

From the words of a lich that had wielded the blade for a time, we deduced that we might be able to figure out where the fiend's human body was interned if we ventured into dread Khaldun, home of the ancient liches. Things seemed relatively quite as we first stepped into the darkened depths. One of us realized that torches might be needed, so it was a number of individuals that held high some flame to burn back the darkness. However, it wasn't long that the forces of the undead started to mass to prevent our plumbing the depths of this most ancient of tombs. I know not what anyone else thought, but the one undead that gave us the most pause was those from the ranks for the spectral armor. Having nothing to direct my mystical energies at other than the flashes given off from the death dealing sword, I was reduced to helping to keep those alive that I saw being assaulted by these blades. Several of us went down under the swirling edges of death, but not all of us, so the forces of the undead were not able to stem our own advances, even though we paid for every foot with our blood, and we started to leave a corpse of our own at every turn. Unfortunately, due to the nature of the environment that we found ourselves, we were not able to resuscitate those of us that fell. (at this point, I want to mention to Gwydion that I believe I have his boat. at least there was one next to his body that I picked up as soon as I noticed it.)

Finally, we started to arrive at our objective. Some through subterfuge, some through speed, and others through strength of arms. By whatever method, those that arrived at the lowest portions of this denizen of death should congratulate yourselves. Since there was no planned advance, those that did make it arrived on their own. As I waited for others to arrive, I started investigating the odd chests that I saw towards the back wall, and discovered to my surprise that they were puzzleboxes (3 in all), and having read some material on this subject, I opened one that gave me a treasure map and a bag of reagents.

Once there were enough of us at the tomb of the ancient liches, we set to attempting to solve the clues. The first was the "name" of the location where the aforementioned fiend's human body was. Denao Lepte. Some thought it was a name, or that it was the mantra itself, however, despite repeated attempts to shout this phrase out at each sarcophagus, there was nothing that occurred. Then someone started translating the runic letters that were at the feet of the different sarcophagi, as well as noting that one was different from the others. The center sarcophagus was for that of a male, while the other four were females, and knowing that the writings that we followed refered to our lich in question as being male, we examined that runic letter closer, and translated it simply to the letter "M". Saying the letter on its own lead to nothing else, but as some of us were saying the words "Denao Lepte" and the letter "M", they started to wonder if maybe we were looking at things wrong, especially considering that fact that liches can not help by hide information. Once one of us came up with a translation for the first word by adding the letter "M" and rearranging the letters, it wasn't long before we had a full translation for Denao Lepte to actually be "Daemon Temple". Knowing now that "Denao Lepte" was were the body was, it was obvious that was the location, but not the mantra, and with the forces of the undead approaching closer, and getting stronger, having solved the riddle this far, and writting the rest of the letters down, we left the depths of Khaldun for less distracting surroundings. Some went to the Y.M.C.A, and some went to QLOS. Other appointments and commitments drew my attention away at this time, so I am unaware of what may of transpired after this time, but when I left, we were faced with these suppositions and clues.

The location of the liches human corpse is at Denao Lepte, this unscrambled and adding the letter "M", gives us Deamon Temple that we assume is on Fire Isle.

The runic letters, which we are assuming will give us the mantra, translate as: HCMOW.

So free your minds, and see what is not seen, for I am certain that these letters, straight forward, will not be the mantra. I am quite sure that the next mission will be approximately next Wed at 8pm.

Also, as we know, there can be any amount of wealth and artifacts laid to rest in the location that treasure maps lead to. To share my good fortune, I am going to have my associate Jago, or her understudy Tiny Brown, translate the discovered map, and lead an expedition to recover any artifacts that may be found. So, to this end, on Sunday at 12noon PST, I hope for this treasure map to be resolved. Mayhap, something may be found that will aid our endeavors to discover the Blade of Legend.

--Senechal

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A few weeks ago, based on some requests from players, I promised I'd write a synopsis of the scenario, describe the goals, and write my view of what we accomplished. Ask and ye shall recieve:

The Savage Empire Scenario
Scenario Description
Strange creatures (the savages) are driving the orcs out of their homes, which is causing the orcs to attack the player cities. The savages' reasons for doing so is not revealed...yet. Note, while the scenario title bears the same name as the single player Worlds of Ultima game and was inspired by it, it is not based on that game.


The Savage Empire Scenario had 6 major goals:

1. Introduce players to the concept of scenarios and set the expectations.
a. Since everyone reading this knows what a scenario is by now, I think we achieved this one. :)

2. Update new content into the game within a context (story) on an ongoing and uninterrupted basis (no delays or off-weeks once a scenario starts).
a. With the exception of the Chesapeake shard, there were no delays, off-weeks, or interruptions in the scenario.
b. We did split week 4 into two weeks (the orc bomber was originally supposed to be with the orc chopper and town attacks in week 4) to give QA more time to test, but most players didn't even realize the change to the schedule and it was a good example of fluid design.

3. Make sure new content is fun and useful and try to include as many play-styles as possible.
a. Most feedback from players regarding the new monsters (especially the orc scouts and savages) was very positive. The new AI introduced worked well and players seemed to enjoy the challenged they presented. Good AI, with respects to monsters in a video game, does not mean "make the monster more difficult"...it means "make the monster fun and challenging."
b. The interaction of the bola with savage riders (need to knock them off the ridgeback to tame the ridgeback) helped create some grouping, while not forcing it on those that like to solo.
c. Some players played the scenario because of the story and role-playing. Some played it for the loot. Others enjoyed searching for the orc encampments and exploring the new dungeon. All of that is good.
d. Most of the new monsters were texture changes. The artists did a great job making sure everything looked good as far as the Third Dawn models and most of the 2d replacement art looked good.

4. Introduce as few bugs as possible, fix any bugs by the next update, and don't impact other development.
a. We published the shards nine times. During those nine publishes, we had no reverts and with the exception of the merge issue with publish 12 (which was not a problem caused by scenario code and only occurred on Chessie), we did not impact development at all.
b. There were only two bugs of major concern released as part of the scenario. One was a shard crasher (happened once, was fixed an hour later) and the other was an issue with stealing caused by the orc mask (again, fixed within 12 hours of the first GM report).
c. The majority of other bugs were fixed by the next week's update (what few there were) and overall, considering the amount of content and nine shard publishes in a row, our QA team did a bang-up job catching the bugs during testing before any of you ever saw them.
d. We also had a lot of help from folks such as Prophet, Evocare, Vex, Adrick, and Groover working on things such as the looting rights change, client patches, making savage paint work (you have no idea how many changes we made to code that had not been touched in years to make this happen), and general design ideas. The team pitched in a lot while continuing to work on their systems.

5. Create a dynamic outcome based solely on code and systems
a. While the dynamic outcome got a bad rap, actually, the code worked perfectly, the timing issue is what caused concern. The fact that it ended too quickly was a major disappointment for many players and one we plan to resolve in future scenarios. But, the way in which the code reacted to the players' actions proved that we can code dynamic outcomes without having to manually update or force anything.

6. Take the feedback from players on the first scenario and incorporate them into the next scenario.
a. I'd like to concentrate on the last one. I've been reading the feedback and here is what I believe were the major concepts players wanted more of.
- i. More in-game fiction. Books, scrolls, etc.
- ii. Less camping...have some monsters spawn in random locations.
- iii. More story in general (explanations and reasons). This is more a product of the fact that the Savage Empire scenario was more of a set-up scenario. You'll learn a lot more in future scenarios.
- iv. More craftables and less that require fighting to get the resources. While I believe that having some craftables require fighting (again, encourages community group play - sorta the point of play an MMORPG) not all should.
- v. Make sure the dynamic outcome lasts longer. This one goes without saying. :)
b. While not all of these will make it into the next scenario, the feedback is useful and could influence future scenarios. Did I miss anything?


-Jonathan "Calandryll" Hanna
Designer, Ongoing Content

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I just finished and posted the latest comic. This one's called "Vendor Buy."

http://www.outofcharacter.com/bread.gif

As always you can find this little gem and many others at Out of Character Comics!

http://www.outofcharacter.com

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When- July 21, 2001 Sunday -- July 22, 2001
Where- Moonglow Fel
Time- 7PM Pst

Hail all! Im Sherry, GM of the Underground Thieves Society. This Saturday Night I (being in perma status) will be roaming Moonglow City. First person that Kills me (guards cannot be called when attacking me) Will recieve a 1million gp check! Or if they like, a dragon statue!

Rules-

• Please dont bring tamed animals- I am not that hard to Kill =) Also I ask If After I Die, Dont loot me
• After I have Died, the people involved please cometo Moonglow Bank so I can tell you who won.
• Also, I have decided to award the other prize not taken to the person who seems most involved in trying to Kill me.
• Take Care and have fun.

--Sherry of "Not"

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We have published the changes listed in Taken from Testing for Next Update to the West Coast shards (Baja, Napa Valley, Pacific, and Sonoma) during this morning’s normal maintenance period (July 19th). We will monitor these shards closely, and will be publishing to the remaining shards once we have determined the publish is operating optimally.

We will update further as to the publish schedule for the remaining shards, and the changes will be added to Taken from Latest Game Updates once the publish is active on all shards.

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Hear Ye! Hear Ye!
THE FOUNDING OF STORMHAVEN CELEBRATION
The Queen of Stormhaven has declared Saturday, July 21st a day of great celebration being the 1 year anniversary of the Kingdom's founding.

In honor of this day two great events shall take place:

The Christening of the Shrine of Patience shall be held at 4pm Eastern for all peoples at the Shrine of Patience located in the Kingdom of Stormhaven, Trammel. Come be inspired by this new shrine and a special guest speaker followed by an Awards Ceremony. The Award of Patience shall be given to someone chosen from the citizens of all Britannia by nomination.

If you know someone who has displayed extreme patience in a situation that would leave most of us at wits end, send us their name and your tale of the event with a form of contact. Let us recognize these pillars of virtue that are examples and an inspiration to us all.

Please send your nomination to Father Cyrus the Holy, High Priest of
Stormhaven via carrier pigeon (icq 93299718) or by messenger ([email protected])

The Tournament of Champions shall be held at 8pm Eastern upon the Tournament field behind the Citadel of Stormhaven, Trammel.
A grand prize of $200,000. Crowns shall be given unto the Champion Team.
It shall be open to all peoples and conducted in the fashion of randomly chosen teams of 3 vs. 3.
All contestants are required to join the tournament stone for the event.
No magical weapons, armor or items shall be permitted.
A group of special Enforcers shall be present to aid in enforcing tournament rules.

For a map and location to the events plus rules and more detailed information can be found at The Kingdom of Stormhaven's web-site. Just follow the links for "Stormhaven" and "Tournament of Champions" at http://www.geocities.com/sfirestorm/shskingdom.html

Herald for the Kingdom Stormhaven
Trammel, Atlantic Shard

Anyone who's been on this board for a while has seen the archery protest threads, maintained by archers in UO who want to see changes made to the archery skill.

In reply to:
Anyway keep up the protest and good luck.. Maybe they Might hear us..

Before I start, there’s no way I can promise you all the changes that you want to see. So I know this may not be the answer many of our archers are praying for, but I wanted to try and let you know where we stand.

The question is not whether you are heard. I don't think there's a single person here who has any doubt that there are players who feel archery needs serious work.

The situation is this: Our first priority is to complete things that we have promised. Vet Rewards. Publish 12. Then there are crucial and time-sensitive bug fixes, and those must be moved up or back in the schedule at a moment’s notice, depending on their severity.

Beyond that, we have entire systems that are being looked at, including the new player experience, combat changes, and others. We can't go into a system and change one or two things without running the risk of affecting other parts of the system adversely. With so many people having worked on the same code, it needs to be done carefully. It needs to be examined and addressed from the bottom up, rather than sticking a bandaid in place and hoping it works. Too many bandaids eventually stop holding things together, and that’s the reason that sometimes seemingly innocuous fixes sometimes cause completely unexpected results.

We do plan to look at the skills in UO. Where are the weaknesses? The strengths? Then we'll decide how the skill can be improved. Once we have a good idea what needs to happen, and we’ve decided the best way to do it without disrupting the game balance, then we can start. But we are currently looking at other systems right now, and our schedule is incredibly full. One of the goals I have for my department once I have my new Content Writer and Community Coordinator in place is to create a better system for educating players as to what we’re working on… that way, at any given time, no one needs to feel that we are working on nothing, or making them wait for no reason.

The past "Archery Protest Threads" have not been deleted – they are archived in an archive section of the boards that does not expire. We have all of the information that has been given, and it will be reviewed when we can address archery.

So the protest is not needed for us to know it needs to be addressed. We truly understand. I also understand if players feel they need to continue to speak to be heard, but getting angry at the lack of response to the protest will not enable us to get through our schedule any faster. And unfortunately, until we are that point, any answer we can give will essentially be the same: “We hear you, and we will get to it as soon as we have the time to do it right.”

But as for the archery protest threads, I ask that they not go on the way they have been. It’s stated in the Board Guidelines that bumping threads is against the rules, and the archery protest threads are being bumped repeatedly, every day, to keep them on top. We’ve created a new thread in the Combat Forum that will remain on top of the forum, for suggested changes to archery. It can be found here.

The archery protest thread part 3 has been archived, and I encourage anyone who has further ideas for improving archery that may not have already been detailed in the other threads to post in the new thread in the combat section, which will be saved as well for future use in evaluating the archery skill.

Thanks,

Cynthe
Community Manager
Ultima Online
ORIGIN Systems

LOL - if you're expecting a swift answer after 9:00 pm, Vrin, I hate to say it, but you may not always get it. I do tend to have fairly normal working hours. :)

But as for your question, I really do want to improve communication. There's always going to be some things we won't talk about, like certain exploit or bug fixes (we never want to let people know we're fixing something if that would simply encourage them all to go exploit it as fast as possible before their chance was lost).

And of course, there are some systems that just aren't far enough along to go into much detail about. But as for the way things have been done in the recent past, it's going to improve significantly. The In Development section of the site went almost a year without updating. The General Testing section has been empty until last night. That won't happen again. Of course, I'm still waiting to fill my two community positions - I have two people starting next week, and I very much look forward to introducing them! After a short ramp-up time, I expect things to be running smoothly, and I hope to see the doors of communication more open.

So the answer is yes and no. There will always be a certain level of secrecy, but there's a lot of room for being more open with the players, and I plan to use it. :)

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Event : The Great Trinsic Horse Race

Time/Date : 8pm British Standard Time/Tuesday 31st July 2001

Place : The Plaza outside Trinsic Meeting Hall

Sponsor : Trinsic Council of Honour

All citizens are cordially invited to attend and take place in Trinsic's
first Horse Race. All citizen's are welcome to take part, young and old,
and horses will be supplied for the event, which can be kept as souveniours
afterwards *smile*

The entry fee is 1000 gold pieces, and the prizes are as follows: -

Winner : 20000 Gold Pieces, and 60% of the entry fees.
1st Runner Up : 10000 Gold Pieces, and 30% of the entry fees.
2nd Runner Up : 5000 Gold Pieces, and 10% of the entry fees.

If you would like to enter please send your name, character name, and
contact details in a letter to - [email protected]. All entries must
be received by 30th July 2001, although if there are spare spaces on
the day people are welcome to participate. Once your entry is received
we will send a letter (email) to you will the course route.

Rules and Regulations will be released on the day.

For more information contact me (Mentazm) by letter - [email protected]
- or pigeon on 9921764.

Mentazm,
Trinsic Council of Honour

PS. Please forward this letter on to anyone you think may be interested, and
post
the details on any tomes you know of. Thanks!

PPS. This has been posted to the www.uo.com events board, blame OSI if
it doesn't appear!

Aah, sounds good, glad to have a horse race back.

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Monday 16th July saw the latest weekly meeting of the Trinsic Council Of
Honour (TCH).

The council met in the Counsellors Hall in Trinsic at 8pm (GMT). The
meeting turned out to be our busiest yet, with the ERPA-recongised Duchy of
Trinsic
(DOT) as well as the Trinsic Paladins of Honour (TPH) in attendace.

Attendees: Drakys TCH, Mentazm TCH, Lord Yoldran MCg, Kaine TCH, Gladiator
TCH, Handsome Chris TCH, Crowley TCH, Jalapeno Sunrise TPH, Clarice TPH,
Xavier TPH, Isolde DOT, Ryyppynalle TPH, Ikus DOT, Merlin EA, Bartok EA,
Antares VLE, Alric of Elgin EA, Dark Panther EA, Maria delSythia TCH,
Alric Melnibone TPH, Baramir TPH, Ellery, Bonobo AGT, Sadira Karamoon DOT,
Dr Kirch, wolferin.

Apologies were receied from the town crier Ewan Blackmane, who should be
back with us in a weeks time.

The items covered were.

1) The Trinsic Council of Honour will be organising a horse race through
the streets of Trinsic.  This event will be held on 31st July at 8pm BST
(7pm GMT.)  The council discussed the prize money and entry fees.  This will
allow the winner to receive 20k gold and 60% of the entry fees.  Second
place will receive 10k gold and 30% of the entry fees.  3rd place will
receive 5k gold and 10% of the entry fees.  Thanks to Mentazm, Kaine and
Jalapeno for 'sponsoring' this event.  All horses will be provided for the
race by the council and can be kept by participants thereafter... so this
is and ideal opportunity for young players to come along and have some fun.
This event will be publicised via the various Britannia Tomes and
calendars. A seperate email will be release shortly with the full details of
the race.

2) Kaine gave the council a little more information about his major event
called 'Legend of the Black Scourge' planned for sometime soon.
The council will meeting privately over the next month at various intervals
to organise the finer points to make this event run smoothly.

3) The council voted on and passed a resolution to act 'in-character' and
roleplay as much as possible, as we are likely to soon be involved with the
ERPA scheme and the nobility.

4) The Duchy of Trinsic kindly attended tonight's meeting again to
give us more information on how they can work with the council and the
Trinsic Paladins of Honour (TPH) to ensure an effective government for
Trinsic. All three guilds will be in ongoing discussions via the various
tome forums regarding the drawing up of a Trinsic Treaty, which should be
organic enough to accomodate and new guild who wants to join. The treaty
will involve all guilds in Trinsic who sign up playing by the ERPA rules,
and roleplaying as much as possible.

If you would like to attend future meetings to discuss these matters,
build some community spirit, and make some new friends then the next
meeting will be held in the Trinsic Counsellors Hall in Trammel on Monday
23rd of July at 8pm Greenwich Mean Time. Before attending, though, please
see our tome (http://stop.at/trinsic) so you can get acquainted with what
the council are aiming to do and what we have achieved so far.  There you
will
also find some basic rules to make our meetings constructive and orderly.

Drakys,
TCH Scribe.

Looks Good.

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Last Saturday evening I was summoned by her Royal Highness Queen Morgaine of Shadowcove. When I arrived, I was told that The Gatekeeper had visited the fair kingdom. He said he was very pleased with the prosperity of Shadowcove. He gave his blessing to the kingdom, and its queen, saying, "Your Destiny is going to be remarkable. Rule well. I shall observe."

Winfield, the old mayor of Paxlair was present. He told of how he and the Gatekeeper had travelled together and been companions for several months. They had gone to the underworld and back. He then told the legend of The Maid. The Maid would be known for her actions and would enter the realm as a child. She will seek out a noble. Winfield wondered if the noble mentioned by the legend might perhaps be Morgaine. The legend also said that the child would be taught by a priest or a monk. Winfield wondered if the Kingdom had any priests. Morgaine told him of her High Priestess Cerridwyn, and myself, the high priestess of Lucidia and Sorcell.

The Gatekeeper told us we would need to venture to Yew to find the village of Lontish. Queen Morgaine, Lord Panzram, Maximus, the Queen's guard, Taliesan, who was assisting us in understanding The Gatekeeper, and I went to Yew. In one of the libraries of Empath Abbey we found a book and a map. The book said:

"This map leads to the village of Lontish which is south of Yew.

At the time of this writing, Lontish is under attack. The villagers made statements about moving the village.

I fear the current village of Lontish is now or will soon be a ruin. Where the village would have moved to is unknown to me."

I began my studies as a scribe in Yew and was familiar with the area. For that reason I was given the map, and with the aid of the stars, handmaidens of my goddesses, I was able to lead the party to the runes within the forest of Yew. When we got there, we met up with an adventurer named Claudio, a warrior in training who is endeavoring to become a paladin of Helm. He joined our group and we found a faded text containing the Chronicles of Lontish and a new map which lead to the new village.

The text read as follows:

*crumpled pages*

"Our move is completed to the new village houses on the peninsula. Fishing and farming are good. The livestock is getting fat...

...fire started by the invaders again, driving us to the fortress beyond our old village ruins. Will they not leave us in peace!...talk about the coming of the Maid. When will she arrive? Who is she? Lontish needs her, the people need her. This constant fighting is wearing upon us...

*crumpled pages*

...recovered from the fortress once more and repaired our damaged homes"

*crumpled pages and burnt pages*

Once again I begged assistance from the goddesses. With the aid of the stars and the map, we found the village in good time. In the woods we met a carpenter named Jacque. "The legend of The Maid was more than 100 years old," he said, but he did not believe it to be true. His people were starving, and continued to be attacked, but they had seen no sign of The Maid. We bespoke Jacque to tell us all he knew of the Maid and he produced a book. It was the prophecy of the coming of The Maid.

It said:

"I have a prophecy. Note what I am compelled to tell you and remember it well. Change will occur like the wind. Not from a storm, but from a sealed door opening from within. A girl will step through that door and enter the Realm.

You will not know her for sometime. Then she will be known by her actions and visions. She will be known as the Maid.

She will come to lead those who would follow. She will present the people with a noble of the Realm in the end.

The Gatekeeper"

Let the Gatekeeper be your guide.

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The city of Blackcomb is hosting another tournament Thursday the 19th of July, 2001. Sign ups will start at 7:00 pm pacific, tournament will start at 8:00 pm pacific. [See Soul Reaper to sign up, no late sign ups]. The tournament will be held in the BV tower (Nosteratu Sanguari). Coordinates are 36o 33'N 33o 57'W.

We thank you in advance and hope you all can attend and enjoy!

Rules will be posted on the guilds website. If you have any question you can ask me or any staff before tournament starts or post question's at the: Blackveil Sanctuary

Prizes:

• 1st place 60k
• 2nd place 25k
• 3rd place 15k

Regards,
Kamsheema

Your humble servant,
Raeven Aurora

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Uzell looked up at the clock as he tried to rub the cramp out of his ink stained hand. "Has it taken this long?" he thought to himself wondering if all this work would be in vain. Behind him, he heard the grumbles and murmurs of fifty other scribes busily inking the same letter he had been working on. Though he had it memorized and would never again in his life be able to forget its text, he picked up his two thousandth copy and decided to read it before putting on the seal.

"This is a call to arms for every able bodied person to rally against the armies of the orcish invasion. Our scouts near Yew have discovered that the orcs have put together an army of immense proportions in the mountains and, once ready, will break free of their underground stronghold to attack the armies of the savages. We have seen enough of our families massacred, our children eaten, and our soldiers killed to just stand by idly anymore. It is time for us to join the army of the savages and rally against the onslaught of the orcs. With their help we can drive this orcish menace back to the holes from which they spawned. May God be with us all in these perilous times.

Ambassador Blackfrost
Iron Brigade"

As if on cue, the door to the workshop flew open and Uzell saw the concerned features of his friend. "Are you done yet? Time is of the essence, my friend!"

"Aye, I have finished, Ambassador, and the others will too very shortly," which sparked even more complaints from the army of scribes.

The Ambassador snatched the piece of parchment from Uzell's hand. "Very good then, Here is the plan. Take these to every noble house in the land. Getting their help should be fairly easy though many are siding against the savages, so be careful. After you are done with the nobles, go to Ocllo and seek out the guildmaster of the thieves there. Do what ever you must to get the thieves to participate. Ask them to loot the corpses of any savage killed in the towns. If these orc lovers have no trophies to take home, perhaps they will stop attacking the savages so that they might fight off this invasion better. The savages are gathering an army with shamen and a strange cavalry to drive back the orcs, but by our best estimations it will be too little if we do not gather the support of the populace. Godspeed my friend and my god have mercy on us all."

"It shall be done and I shall see you on the battle field at the Orc Fort at Cove, or at the new Orcish presence near Yew. Where ever we are most needed. May God be with thee as well."

Uzell snatched back the parchment from the Ambassador and put the seal on it. There was much work to do if he was going to help prevent the slaughter of savage tribes. After the tribes are gone, it wasn't hard for him to realize who the orcs' next target would be. Uzell shuttered at the thought.
It was time to get down to business.

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Fight Night Event at Grimoire Arena,
1 vs. 1 Sponsored by Malkin

July 20th, 2001, at (9 PM PST, 10 PM MST, 11 PM Central, Midnight EST)
No Entry Fee

1st place 30K gps, 2nd place 20K gps, 3rd place 15K gps.

Registration
To avoid confusion, registration will start at 8:00 PM PST, and end at 9:00 PM PST. No late entries. Tournament will start at 9:10 PM PST.

We must have a minimum of 4 teams to start this event!

Here are the rules:

• No charged magic items, clothing, or jewelry. No magic armor and weapons allowed.
• No pre-poisoned weapons. They may be poisoned during the battle.
• No use of summoning spells, offensive field spells, blade spirits, energy vortex, recall nor gate.
• No Stealing is allowed during battle.
• The only pre-casting allowed (casting done before the match countdown) is Magic Trap, Reactive Armor, and Magic Reflection.

Disclaimers:

• All contestants are subject to snooping by Grimoire Staff to ensure everyone is participating fairly.
• The Event Coordinator's decision on all matches is final and will not be disputed during the event.
• Anyone who disrupts the flow of the event for any reason will be banned until after the event.
• In the event that a contestant loses connection during the event, the Event Coordinator will make a decision as
• to the possibility of a rematch. That decision stands and may not be disputed. Any disputes will be handled after the event.
• A connection loss during combat events where the roof is sealed off, will result in an automatic forfeit.
• The Event Coordinator reserves the right to adjust these rules at any time without notice.

This event takes place in the Grande Grimoire Battle Arena. Once you have entered the Grande Grimoire Battle Arena, all Contestants are bound by the Rules of the Battle Arena. Failure to follow these rules may result in your death or banishment from the Arena. Contestant Battle Arena Rules

Contestants and Spectators must observe and obey all the Village Laws. Failure to do so can end in your death or banishment from the village. Spectator Rules

For calendar of events, rules, maps and community message board, please visit Grimoire

We hope you can make it,
LeeLu - Grimoire Staff

Your humble servant
Raeven Aurora

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Tonight, I bring you an exciting invitation from Lord Martin, one of the noted scholars of our land. Read on.

Addressed To The Following:

Lord Symma Dhowna
Emperor Joyous Darkness
Squire Cunobelin
Commander Dreythos
Solaira Evertru
Lady Silverleaf
Lord Liam
Duchess Kirsten Sondergaard
Queen Sihiri
Fate Blacklace
Squire Atticus
King Aubrey Gawen
Governess Alissa
Nemo the Bard
Ahab of Silverthorne Dale
Nicolette Renee
Cynder DeMire
Lord Cyn
Dante Murray

Ye hath been carefully chosen to partake in one of the largest archaelogical expeditions in Britannian history. Although many of ye hath falsly accused me of dastardly acts and I hath often referred to many of the listed as being ... virtuous idiots ... I am sure we shall all "set aside" our differences and cooperate together...

Located deep within the barren lands of Minax, lies the burial tomb of Khal Ankhur, also known as Dungeon Khaldun. Decaying corpses and severed limbs of the foolish that dared to attempt to discover Khaldun's mysteries litter the numerous halls and corridors of this accursed place. The demented members of Khal Ankhur's cult - The Keepers of the Seventh Death - willingly commited mass suicide aeons ago, solely for the purpose of joining their nefarious master in death. All but two of the Keepers were entombed alive in the darkest depths of the horrific dungeon...

An excerpt from "The Discovery of the Tomb: Day Seven" :

Surely this is not suprising for a Cult that worshipped death and sacrifice so vehemently as it is said that the Keepers did - and yet, to be in this Tomb, to know that somewhere in its depths hundreds upon hundreds of bodies lay, sealed alive at their own behest... I must confess that the very thought of it troubles my dreams at night. I've asked Lysander if we might reestablish the camp outside the Tomb, setting up night watches and some sort of fortification, but he'll have none of it. I did not press the issue, as I suddenly felt foolish even at my askance.

-Tavara Sewel

Frazur Evid'ous, High Priest and Zealot of the Seventh Death, was one of the two zealots that sealed their dark comrades alive inside that cramped room... His life was also the last that ended in Khaldun on that gruesome day. Upon witnessing his apprentice's death, Frazur abandoned the body of the other zealot and walked into the sacred chamber that contained the massive sarcophagus of Khal Ankhur. Unsheathing an ancient scimitar, covered with intricate markings of ancient symbols that convey the scenes of one's death, Frazur placed the blade to his throat and slit it. 'Tis said that his hellish magicks and energies flowed through the sword as he descended into abyss, enchanting it. The power this weapon is capable of causing is spoke of only in legend...

'Tis essential for the safety of Britannia that this artifact is recovered from Khaldun, where it hast resided since Frazur's demise. I dread to imagine the turmoil that would ensue if this blade was possessed by someone of dark intent... In prevention of this weapon being used, an enormous expedition to Khal Ankhur's tomb hast been painstakingly planned. Angel of Serpent's Hold, the renowned warrior and armswoman, shall check before the journey begins that all participants are adequately supplied with weapons, foodstuffs, and sterile bandages. Epheseus, an animal tamer, shall command majestic and powerful dragons as we venture through this treacherous and deceitful place. And I, Lord Martin Westmark, shall brief everyone on the monstrous denizens of Khaldun.

Please contact me soon by way of pigeon concerning thy decision of acceptence or declination. Farewell and safe journeys.

Lord Martin Westmark
Sultan of Nujel'm

OOC: If anyone non-listed wishes to participate in this, feel free to contact me. You will be gratefully accepted, as long as you meet Angel's and my prerequisites. Unfortunately, we must be careful on who we choose, as this "event" will be taking place in Felucca. (Yes, roleplayers DO travel to Felucca occasionly and many of us live there, despite the common stereotype associated with us.)

Oh, and the date this is occurring will remain "secret", due to the fact that some people have attempted to ruin the past few events... Tough luck. :-)

Cyn

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What was UO's biggest triumph?

I wish I could say it was the game design, but it wasn't. Oh, it put together a bunch of elements into a particular package that caught at the imagination, but it's not like those elements were new, necessarily. Some of them were, but a bunch of others weren't. And the ingredients all had a lot of rough edges. In the commercial massively multiplayer world, it's probably still the most complete fantasy world created, even though it suffers from trying to do too many things. Along comes an Everquest that does fewer things, but does them really, really well, and you have to question how many people were looking for that complete experience, you know?

The first big triumph, I think, was more a credit to the Ultima name than to the game itself. It opened up the market a lot. It made it possible for a lot of other games to succeed at a level that wasn't previously possible. I think it took a big well-respected universe like Ultima to make that possible.

I think that we were successful in making a more dynamic environment than what was the norm. It wasn't anywhere near what we'd hoped for, but it was enough, I think. We got that amazing player economy, we got those player towns, and theater troupes—shout out to the Golden Brew players here—and just this stunning array of guilds and the like. I don't know that the level of community involvement, and of so many microcommunities, has manifested anywhere else.

I was flattered to see that UO made it into a list of the Most Influential Games of All Time. But I am not sure that the full influence of UO on the online gaming world can be appreciated yet. We haven't seen any games out yet that have absorbed all the lessons—the games out now were all in development at the same time as UO. These games take so darn long to make. I think the confluence of in-game player housing, viable extensive trading skills and player economy, all those things that go into making it more than a game about just adventuring—I think those things are going to be ever more important over time.

Lastly, I think that UO will be remembered for a long time as a pivotal stage on which some of the big cultural debates about online worlds were played out. I don't think the gulf between the roleplayers and the powergamers, or the PvPers and the peaceniks, was ever so apparent as it was in UO, precisely because all the different groups found it a viable home.

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The Trade federation is a merchant association that covers both the Trammel and Felluca facets of the Atlantic shard. It has been in existance continuously since 1998. It is one of the oldest and largest merchant associations on the shard. This is because we value our customers.

We have a Trammel Shopping Mall with over 85 vendors covering all trades with all GM merchandise. We have numerous GM Smiths, Tailors, Scribes, and the like scattered about this mall to allow for a greater variety of high quality goods to suit your needs.

Don't find what you are looking for? Just contact us on our website either by posting in our forums or by sending us an email. One of us will respond to your email as we value your opinion and wish to keep your business. Please use this website as your personal shoppers guide and access to the merchants of the Trade Federation.

Interested in joining? All vendor spots are given first come first serve and are free to the merchant. Submit the short application form via our website and we will look over your application and get back with you as we are always looking for quality merchants.

Enjoy shopping and thank you for you business
http://welcome.to/tradefederation

-Artemus of the Atlantic Trade Federation
PR representative and Web Dev team

Greetings, my fellow Britannians,

As you all know, the current orc and savage situation is causing quite a hardship for all of us, as it is for the orcs and the savages, as well. Whilst walking through Britain one good afternoon, I was selling ingots, and so the story began.

It was an average day as many, fairly easy to find customers, but I wasn't doing to well. Out of no where, a man in black and grey came up and asked me how much and when I told him my fee of 15gp per ingot he was quite understanding where as many people don't understand the toil miners go through to get them and in return they blow miners off. He on the other hand asked me to come swiftly to the bank to receive payment. After the payment was made and we did a few other bargains we got into a friendly discussion of the recent events going on in the land. This fellow had been gone from the realms for around a year and was astounded at all the changes. His last adventures took place before Lord British uncovered this mystical land of Trammel.

When I found this out, I assumed that since this was so he would probably be one of the less compassionate and caring people. After a while however I found this was remarkably untrue. I told him of my hardships and he told me of his, and, before I knew it, this good fellow "The Glorious Lord Robin Hood" had asked me, his newfound friend to come into his home, and freely store things there. I was simply astonished that during these hard times people still held true to the values that Lord British so honorably preached to us all. This man, I mean this friend, was what I see as a "True Britannian." He looked past it all to find the good in someone else, and then released the good in himself.

My dear people, we must all strive to be more like him, for kindness and friendship are something that I see disintegrating every day. People are becoming more bitter, and uncaring. I hope this tale has inspired something deep within us all, and maybe someday we will all be so friendly and caring.

Thank you, Sir Balhalaban, for a lovely reminder of what community spirit is all about.

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At the races last Wednesday, Shaddow Knight handed out books containing excerpts from legend and prophecy regarding the Blade. I have posted those excerpts here below for those who missed out. Tonight at 8pm PST we begin the search for the Blade. We'll meet at the Race Track west of Britain, Felucca. For a map to the track, check out http://www.sonomaraces.homestead.com.

Shaddow Knight warned us to come equipped to fight and bring as much help as we could muster; let's not disappoint him and leave the Blade shrouded in mystery by getting wiped out. :) But more than might will be required to solve this puzzle. It should prove interesting. Anyway, your excerpts:

Excerpts from The Legend of the Blade

In age untold, the knights were bold,
The prizes sought were cherished.
'Twas for the right to wield the Blade,
So many fought and perished.

The Holy Grail, the sacred Ark,
No prize alone could rival.
The Blade Itself, from evil hid
Ensuring Hope's survival.

'Twas wielded once by Arthur, and
By Arthur 'twas defended.
And sealed in a cairn at last.
The chain of wars was rended.

While Arthur held the Blade of lore,
Surrounded dark one evening.
The bloody hauters thrust against
His iron chest plate, cleaving.

But Arthur wore the Blade of lore,
Its scabbard flesh protecting.
His breast unpierced by mighty spear,
Or master shaft and fletching.

For mortal man the urge to rule,
The lust for power consuming.
The cities fell, the prophets spoke--
Man's destiny entombing.

The Blade was true, Its thirst for blood
Unable to pervert It.
A sentient thing, a living being
Its conciousness subverted.

But willingly, It hid in dark
That mortal man forget It.
For one day It would breath again,
A King to Blade indebted.

It bade Its wielder hide It deep
In shrouds of mystery veiling.
A day to come, rising again,
And evermore prevailing.

--Empyrean Prophecy as it relates to the Forthcoming Shroud

...And so yet, that Blade of which the legends have spoken, sought by many, wielded by a select few, shall again see the light of day. Behold, it is written in the stars for he who consulteth them and doth realize the ancient ways. It shall come to pass, in centuries hence, that an ancient tomb shall be uncovered after eons of rest. Eternal damnation cometh with this tomb, and hell is its name to many.

And in the time of discovery, when the ancient evil of Khal Ankur shall be again revealed, there shall come a seeker. Bearing the ancient knowledge of sages, the wisdom of the ages, he shall commission a quest, again to seek the Blade as 'Twas sought in ages long past. It is foretold in the heavens that again this evil must persist, hand in hand with the unearthing of damnation. Again, many shall strive and die, and all may yet be lost, that one person might wield Its power.

Though prophecy since time immemorable hath urged the ignorance and shunning of such a Curse, yet shall mankind seek the Blade... and shall find It. And in this matter hath been long debate among the learned... for some say the heavens weep, despairing of the future man shall make, and others say the portend is unclear. And so, also, there are a few who read the stars and believe a new era of peace shall reign, but at what price no-one may know. Verily, is not a deserted city peaceful? Do not the dead rest in peace, and shall not desolation be called silence and rest? Yet lacking solace and consolation. And thus shall this matter be passed, and no further discussed in these scripts, for as destiny has foretold, so shall man find his fate, and behold, preparation is a fallacy.
--Drizzt

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A haggard pigeon just sailed through my window and upset a cold pitcher of mead. Ordinarily, this would be cause for me to fire up the old barbeque and roast the feathered offender, but the poor bird bore a tattered message of no little importance. Thus, the bird is again on his way, feathers intact, and I bring to you it's message.

AOL Legends Patrons Sink to a New Low, GM Blacksmith GONE!

Today we lost a prized grand master smith, Sexy Metal. Now, normally if she had just left due to the fact that she did not wish to perform her trade anymore it would be a bit more acceptable, but this was not the reason. Sexy Metal, a trusting GM smith of our land was fooled by an unscrupulous citizen. Due to this, she has left. One of our most prized smiths, who made one hell of a set of armor, has left.

She left only a note on her house steps:

"I am making this one and only Valorite Set." It contains a full male set, along with a female chest of full plate. It also contains an Exceptional Heater Shield, as well as a Kite and Buckler.

Why only one set? I am NEVER going to make armor for anyone again. I was scammed worse than ever on July 18, 2001 and will never forgive the little jerks that play this game. It isnt the money at all that I'm mad at, its all the little KIDS that get off on screwing people over. Look for some punk named (deleted) trying to sell a large quantity of ingots and see what happens. I'm sorry, but I did my best to help everyone I could, always helping and training people. I will NEVER be found in Britain again tinkering items, cooking items, smithing items, carpentry, or anything else. I'm sorry, but just because one last jerk screwed me over, I am never to be found blacksmithing for anyone again. AOL Legends just lost another GM Blacksmith.

Fare Thee Well

Sexy Metal"

I know most people will say that she should not have left, and even that the fact she stopped making ore made her a fool, but I say otherwise. I am tired of people duping others over. The facts are, she was a trusting person that just wanted to help people, and when one of those citizens gets duped, many people get angry. If you see this person trying to sell their stolen ingots, DO NOT buy them. A good-willed citizen should never leave Brittania. I will not stand around while this happens any longer!

-Dade

Cyn

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As the sun set, the crackling of the ether could be heard as blue gates opened in the courtyard, warriors and mages streaming out and into the castle's great hall. The time for the hunt was near and the assembled hunters grew restless. Warriors sharpened their blades, while the magi checked their supplies one last time. In the corner, a ranger calmed her hellsteed, all awaiting the call to form up.

On the smoke-stained walls hung trophies of the totem animals that each group, or lance, that a hunter was assigned to. From the Polar Bear Lance was usually reserved for the northmen, to Troll Lance led by Serene Heart the Court Bard, they graced the stone walls as silent testimonials to the countless warriors and magi that had stood below them in sharp anticipation of the call to begin the hunt.

None knew at the beginning of the eve what their place would be, but all knew that in the coming moments, their names would be called across the hall, and they would walk to the lance of their totem animal for that eve. But the eyes of many of the hunters wandered to the south of the room, where fresh paint outlined the castle floor, and three new lance totems had been only recently erected.

In the furthest corner stood one of the new totems... an intricately painted cow. Some of the warriors scoffed at the new totem, for it lacked the strength of the brown bear, or the nobility of the stag. And as they wondered who would be the first lance to serve under the cow totem, the trumpet call rang for the hunters to begin forming up.

Soon after, a member of that first cow lance would recount their deeds on that fateful hunt. And now, I would like to share those words with thee.

The complete story may be found here.

Moooooooo!

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I've received some odd and mysterious messages over the years, but few can rival the missive I recently discovered shoved beneath the door of my humble cottage. Read on and judge for yourselves.

As the solitary figure somberly gazed out of the window of his lonely tower, he remembers how he got to this place in his life. It seems so long ago, yet he knows it has been less than a year. He had been on routine patrol when the stargate opened right on top of him and the Azurai fighter appeared. He knew his scoutship had little chance against the fighter and his only escape was through the gate. The fighter's first shot sent the scoutship spinning into the stargate.

I lost control of my ship and had no way of flying it. I tried to make my way to the escape pod when an explosion knocked me out. I don't know how long I had been out when I awoke I heard water splashing around my ship. when I opened the hatch and looked out there was an old leathered face looking at me he grabs me and pulls me out and says, "Run boy, run!" I look at him and he points out to sea and I see a large serpent headed our way. So I ran as fast as I could to the trees. I stop and look back to see my ship sinking into the sea. When the old man catches up to me he hands me a flask. "Drink this he say's." I take a big swallow and gasp. The old man smiles. "Best whiskey this side of fire island. Got it from The White Whale Inn." He pulls an old ragged book from his backpack. "We go home now." There is a blue flash and a doorway opens. "Go through, boy" he said.

Months later, I have learned to live on this strange planet. I have earned enough gold to buy this tower and a cabin for my uncle Ironfang, a grand blacksmith as ever. Before I left my uncles cabin to be on my own he told me of an old prophecy. It says the true ruler of Sosaria will come from the stars. I not really believe what he had said but there is a blackness over the lands now. The one known as Steelfang opens his hand and looks at the shiny metal two silver stars and a name badge CAPT. JOHN STEEL UNITED PLANETS STAR FLEET. He smiles. SOSARIA is home, now.

My first thought was that perhaps my Druid Brethren were having a bit of fun at my expense. Then, I suspected that the author of this journal had simply indulged in "one pint too many" of that foul orcish swill. I have firsthand knowledge of the powers of Dwarven spirits and Orcish brews and know full well how either can distort a fellow's way of thinking.

But having read the tale a second and third time, it seems to me that the author's convictions are sincere. And since I can offer no empirical evidence to either support or debunk the author's claims, I shall simply keep a wary eye for further news of this man and his claims.

Cyn the Cynical

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I am trying to start a web site with regards to weddings on all shards, We will offer FREE weddings on all shards but we also need people who want to become cleric type people to perform the weddings.

I have placed a web site on http://devoted.to/uowedding. The name is not a permanent URL and I may change it if it has any copyright infringment.

It'll be nice to give people the chance to have a place to book a wedding without running around like a headless ermm headless looking for someone to do their wedding. At the moment it is just me and a few friends on different shards. Most of which were either companions or senior companions. I have been contacted also by ex-counselors who offer their support also.

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We are having our 2nd meeting, after we had a great response from those who attended last July. We have planned another, this time we are celebrating the good work that members of the volunteer groups have done for us. I know a few will be turning up so why not buy a volunteer a drink.

I intend to get some important guests to attend as its now an official annual event, like in the USA. So please make it a special day and come along see some old faces and meet new ones.

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Greetings to all!!

Changes to the new player program are as follows.

Teachers and ranks.

1. ASRL, Arch Senior Reginal Lead.
2. ARL, Arch Reginal Lead, 4 ARL only split between all shards, East, West, Central, Euro.
3. AST, Arch Senior Teacher 1 per shard and is the shard leader.
4. ST, Senior Teacher which interviews and trains new teachers for the new player team program.
5. T, Teacher, Which do the most on shards to help the new player to ultima online learn the basics to get them started.

DBA Docteur is doing the database for the program.
Former RSC Core is now doing the website for our program.

I would like also to once again welcome anyone who wishes to join us to help new players of ultima online get the best start they can to join us in irc channel #New-Player-classes or visit the website at www.uo-new-player.com where you can fill out a application. Thank you all!

Best Regards,

New Player Team

Greetings Everyone!

New Player Classes is looking for great people to come and be part of a program that is quickly gaining popularity and support while continuously growing by the day!

While all shards would appreciate more staff members, I am particularly trying to gain the interest of the East Coast players. The East Coast shards, Catskills in particular, are lacking in teacher help. If you think helping young players sounds like something you would be able to assist with, or you are just curious as to what we are all about, please feel free to come visit us! We can be found at our web site www.uo-new-player.com, or in the irc room #New-Player-Classes.

On behalf of the East Coast team,

Kaia
Lead Teacher Chesapeake

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IMPY'S ARTIC FAIRE…
Weekly auction will be held Wednesday evening at 9pm by the Eastern Sky. 

This past week we held a very successful custom tailoring event. With three tailors on hand, no one had to wait for their orders. Most who attended got their orders dyed even. This week, the vendors at Impy's are planning a carpentry event. Bring your wood, and they will craft any item you wish, for FREE. Games will be available to win dying or free wood.

This week we have…one of the truly most rare items we've ever sold. The Deed to a Clothier's Shop. Yes, that is right, a first generation house deed. This item will start at a mere 3 million gold. Along with that item, we have a bloody bandage, a broken chair that is laying down, and a wig. We also have a pile of furs and a flower shop worth of potted plants for auction. Along with all of that, we have weapons (virtue and vanquishing) and armor of all shapes and sizes.

For directions and a complete list of the items up for auction please take a peek at www.impys.net. As always, Runes to Riches and the Mystery Chest games will also be played this week following the auction, so please stick around and take a chance with lady luck. Impy has asked that you please stable your pets before the auction as he is allergic to wet fur.

If you need a rune visit one of our rune vendors located through out the lands. (Vendors can be found at: Star's Shoppe (out side Vesper in Trammel), next door to the RD Stables (in Felucca, on the porch of the Sandlewood Box Inn (in Felucca), the Mystic Rose (in the wooded glen in Trammel), or at Krista's Ranger Station (in Felucca) and soon at Marcy's (first sandstone south of Moonglow in Felucca).

~Impy's Staff

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Citizens of Chesapeake, after a long abscence I have returned to serve you, the readers. We are in the process of updating the Chesapeake News Section and we need your help!

If you have been involved in any quests over the past 4 years or have unique or quest items, or know the wherabouts of certain items, let us know! We would love to see them!

Also needing some updating is our establishment section. If you want to see your tavern or town featured, send it in!

We need as much information as possible to make this the best news section in all of stratics! We hope to be hearing from you soon!

Reed
Chesapeake Reporter

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Zeromus_ - Is part of the scenarios project to give UO a permenant active fiction to accompany it (say, through the other power indicated in the fiction which went with this scenario) or do you plan to stick to more compact story arcs and self-contained Scenarios?
Calandryll_OSI - Absolutely. The scenarios aren't meant to be a bunch of short stories... many future scenarios will play off the ones before it. Think of the scenarios as
Calandryll_OSI - chapters in a book...a book that you get to play a part in...you're just finished chapter one.

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The citizens of Mythndale gathered last eve to witness the trial of the murderers Elven of R@H and Alistor, a ghoul of the Clan of Vampires.

The air was electric, the crowd restless, as the Lady Cherokee Rose took the seat as judge.

The case was presented. The facts were horrid indeed! Elven, a renegade elf, had recently gone on a killing spree vowing that all humans were vile creatures and should be punished for their ways. He had single handledly been responsible for the deaths of most of the village's healers, as well as several gypsies.

His lawyer was Lady Xan, the half elven sister of Lady Eve, the Mayor of Mythndale. There were murmurings of shock as this well known citizen stepped forth to speak in defense of the Villanious Elven.

The Lawyer for Mythndale, Justin Tyme, was precise and calculating. His words depicted the atrocities committed by Elven for the ears of the Lady Rose and for all those present, and soon a plea of guilty was entered.
In shock, the courtroom cried for death to the elf. However, the Lady Rose called for the prisoner to be placed under evaluation, and a recess in the case was called. The crowd flew into an uproar as angry citizens spoke harshly against the sentence. Several were seen leaving the courtroom in disgust. Lady Rose remained calm and her decision final.

There was a short recess, and the second case was heard. Lady Eve, present for the case, took the judge's seat as the testimony began.

Alistor, a ghoul to Raistlia of the Clan of Vampires, was on trial for slaying a healer in front of the Mayor and several notable citizens. As soon as he rose to state the case, Justin Tyme, again in the seat of the prosecution, moved that the murderer be released to the clan for punishment.

Shockingly, the ghoul chose Lady Zinn, a mortal woman, as his representation. Her case was shaky as several members of the Clan waited in the back of the room for the outcome. Lady Zinn spoke of the ghoul's need for the essence of life to survive. A dark laughter escaped from the back of the already loud courtroom.

Justin called to the stand Lady Talia, from the Clan, as she had also been a witness to the murder a few eves before. The questions were simple. The rules were stated. And soon Lady Talia proved the loophole in Lady Zinn's defense. It was true the ghoul required blood, but only the blood of his Sire.

This heard, Lady Eve quickly moved to release the prisoner to the Clan calling Lady Talia and her Bonded, the Lord Denzil, to take the ghoul to the halls of Gehenna for his punishment.

And punishment he shall receive, for the Clan does not look kindly upon his actions, for not only did the ghoul violate Mythndale laws, he also violated the laws of the Prince that no killing shall be committed in the village.

As Lady Eve was heard to say as he was ushered from the courtroom, she feared for this one's mortal as well as immortal soul.

Court was adjourned, the cases having been tried and sentenced. The citizens returned to the peaceful pathways of the village, but was the peace real? For lurking in the shadows were ones waiting and plotting.
Just awaiting the moment of their revenge.

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--First, great feedback!!!
--I pulled out the major points of each of your points to respond to. If I took something out of context, please correct me.

"If neither outcome is worse, then there is no reason to favor a certain outcome at all -- or even participate at all.
--I don't agree. Perhaps neither outcome is worse, but different players will benefit from different outcomes. For instance, let's say two outcomes in a fight for the city of Skara are: a) Skara becomes a dungeon (meaning monsters spawn there) or b) skara is saved (meaning you can bank there). For some players, the idea of a new dungeon is preferable, while to others, Skara is their home and they want it back the way it was. I'm sure I could think of a better example, given enough time. What I meant by my original statement was that outcomes where the player-base as a whole "loses" are a bad idea.

Perhaps the worst outcome should come from doing nothing??"
--I like that idea a lot. In fact, that is what happens now, if players don't retake the towns, they will be forever under attack. Doing nothing does result in a negative outcome until they do something.

During this scenario I felt a little bit that the new content (which took the form of new items many times) was used as a crutch to help support a story that could not be fully expressed in game.
--Actually, it was more that much of the story was not told on purpose. Again, think of this scenario as the opening chapter of a book. For instance, lets say that book starts out with an invasion of a town by marauding monsters. Do you (or the characters in the book) learn in the first chapter who caused that invasion? Usually not. Usually, you have to read a few more chapters before you can put the pieces together. In-game fiction didn't fit in this scenario...in the next one (the next chapter if you will), it does.

"This scenario needed to be far more dynamic. There were basically three outcomes: orcs, savages, or neither."
--For us to do what you propose in the first scenario would have been the absolute worst thing we could have done for a first pass. What you have listed in your second example is the result of an evolution of what we did in the first one. It is extremely easy to make that diagram, even easy to fill it in, but as you said, infinitely harder and more time consuming to design, code, balance, and test it. The fact that the first, fairly simple dynamic outcome did not go well is proof that trying to do something that complicated would have been disastrous. Too often, in our eagerness to flex our design muscles, we design above our own experience. It’s like trying to run before one has learned how to walk (to quote Tyrant). :)
--Is it a goal to have a scenario like that? Actually, I'm not sure if they ever need to be that complicated...but even if I did, they won't be like that for quite some time until we learn more.


-Jonathan "Calandryll" Hanna
Designer, Ongoing Content

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1] Faction messaging will be re-enabled.
2] Faction messages increase to 4 per hour.
3] Issues with murder reprieves are addressed (some characters were not getting the reprieve)
4] Minax stronghold will become part of the map -this will address the load times and people being stuck there.
5] Faction vendors will not block players.
6] Sigils will remain at the correct elevation at all times.
7] Sigils cannot be stolen unless you are the same z or lower and have clear line of site.
8] I honor your leadership will work for all faction players.
9] Faction skill loss penalty will affect all skills.
10] If you are quitting a faction and hold an office you will be removed from office.
11] Issues with players not getting a faction robe when joining a faction have been resolved.
12] Issues with players not being able to equip the correct number of faction items have been addressed.
13] Issues with characters being stuck in order and chaos guilds and thus not being allowed to join a faction have been resolved.
14] Faction vendors and guards can be dismissed using a targeting cursor.
15] Issues with warhorses not highlighting the correct color have been addressed.
16] Faction warhorses will not respond to orders from anyone not in their faction.
17] Faction warhorses cannot be transferred or friended to anyone not in their faction.
18] Faction warhorses can only be retamed by someone in their faction.
19] Issues surrounding houses above the yew crypts blocking access to the shadowlord base have been addressed.
20] You can no longer heal a faction guard if you aren’t a member of its faction.
21] Faction guards will call guards if they are attacked by non faction enemies (same faction and blues)
22] An issue allowing young players to join a faction temporarily have been addressed.
23] Faction titles will no longer display in trammel.
24] Faction enemies will hue blue in trammel.
25] Faction war horses require rank 2 to ride.
26] Players flagged as aggressors will not be able to use public moongates.
27] Sigils will not be stealable for 1 hour after a server starts.
28] Issues involving the rules of moving around with sigils have been addressed - meaning the rules governing what you can do while carrying a sigil will work in all cases.
29] Faction warhorses will not be as deadly an offensive weapon in combat.
30] Issues with silver for killing enemy monsters and players have been addressed.
31] Issues with faction traps not giving correct silver to trap placer have been addressed.
32] Issues with faction allied mobs not highlighting and giving silver in all cases are addressed.

These are the heart of what is ready to be tested for release in 13 for factions. I realize there are other faction bugs that are a concern to many players and its simply the case that not everything can be addressed at once - there will be ongoing fixes to the faction system as bugs and balance issues arise within the system. Some of what was planned for 13 has been moved out to a future publish. All what I listed here is ready for test for 13. We are comitted to the faction system and for it to continue to be fun and rewarding to the players that participate.

I have no timeline right now on public testing or release dates - Im waiting on Publish 12 to go to all the shards so I can work closely with our QA /testing team to get the faction portion of the publish solid.

- Adrick

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I have a bit of info on those Tribal masks. I saw in your article that Talon Wardruid sent a pic of the Masks and he has 26 of them (26 shades that is) I have found there to be 29 shades. The way I found this out was by dropping them on each other in my pack, many are the same color but those that look the same can be dropped on the others and you will see a definet shade change I was amazed and delighted as you can imagine. I now have all 29 shades as you can see in this Pic, *grins* Please feel free to share this info.

Thanks for your time, and have a good game, (er day) hehe
~Scin

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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.

Publish 12, which includes the veteran rewards system, is our highest priority, and we hope to see it released to all shards soon. We are looking to roll out Publish 12 to all shards by late next week, but please understand that due to testing considerations and time-sensitive problems that may arise, all schedules may be subject to change.

A list of the changes included in this publish can be found in Testing for the Next Update.

Considering the complexities of the rewards system, we will wait until all public shards have received Publish 12 before the veteran rewards system will be activated. Once all shards are running Publish 12, and we are confident that the veteran rewards system is functioning properly, we will begin to activate veteran rewards systematically on pre-determined shards. Please note that this means that players will not be able to choose rewards immediately once the publish is received. We are working to see that this delay will be as short as possible, and we appreciate your patience.

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Today, I recieved a message from my brother-in-arms, Amadeo Disante. When I asked him if I should address the missive to anyone in particular, he smiled and said that I should just address it to "Whom It May Concern." He added that "...and They know who they are." Thus, I present the message from Amadeo, Minister of War for the Blood Eagles.

To Whom It May Concern:

As of late, personal entertainment and a my once thriving love for life have been hard-sought and difficult to find. So I've been doing a lot of traveling, wandering past the gates of my own estates and into the vastness that is Sosaria. I've ventured deep into the jungles, and along the windswept coasts. I've traveled through treacherous deserts and the expansive forests of our homeland. I've surveyed the conditions of our beloved cities, each and every one of them. And what did I find, you may ask? Listen closely and I shall tell you.

In every corner of the land, I found hordes of greedy, yet vastly unprepared adventurers seeking (and hastily may I add) to mark their claim on untamed lands that do not belong to them. Men and women driven by grandiose schemes, misguided notions of self-importance and delusions of competance.

It is to you, the hasty, that I speak. It is easy to claim wild lands without sanction or guard but the difficulty lies in maintaining your conquest. Your armies, may I add, are far greater in number than in strength. Children ridden with ambition but void of morality or substance. Yes, I speak to you today in the subtle, soothing rhetoric of paternal advice with my eyes upon the trembling hands and faithless parchment of governments built upon unscrupulous ideals. Be wary children, of the hands of friends and foe alike. For in your haste you have constructed these fabulous, self-righteous monuments to empty faith and false ideals. Be wary my godless children, for the wrath of our Lady is upon you.

Sincerely,
Amadeo Disante
Avenger of Mondain
Ministry of War, B$E

Cyn

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A full two months have gone by since I last heard the strange sounds that followed me everywhere I went. At first I didn't know what any of it meant. What I did know was that my connection to the spirit world was growing stronger and stronger. Now I seem to be able to understand perfectly what any spirit in the realm has to say. Little did I know, on this night, how that would lead me into what would be the greatest adventure of my life, and perhaps the most dangerous.

As I was walking through the streets of Mythndale, my home away from home, I saw a strange spirit standing at the doorstep of the town's hall. I realized I was the only one that saw it there, because everyone else had not even taken notice of it. The spirit was identified as the Gatekeeper and, from my studies, I knew he was a very powerful spirit indeed. Like the rest before him, I was able to understand with perfect clarity what he said as he spoke directly to me, "Do you wish to know about the Maid?"

I nodded and he told me to take him to the Abbey. Along with Blaise, a faere from Mythndale, we made our way there and followed the Gatekeeper. His spirit was standing next to a box and as I opened it, I saw a book and a map. Quickly grabbing them both, I scanned the book's contents. It read,

"This map leads to the village of Lontish which is south of Yew. At the time of this writing, Lontish is under attack. The villagers made statements about moving the village. I fear the current village of Lontish is now or will soon be a ruin. Where the village would have moved to is unknown to me."

Following the map, we came across the ruins of what was the town of Lontish. A golden box caught my eye. I opened it and found yet another map and another book. Its pages were dirty and torn but I was able to make out most of it,

"Our move is completed to the new village houses on the peninsula. Fishing and farming are good .....The livestock is getting fat .....fire started by the invaders again, driving us to the fortress beyond our old village ruins. Will they not leave us in peace?! ....talk about the coming of the Maid. When will she arrive? Who is she? Lontish needs her, the people need her. This constant fighting is wearing upon us....recovered from the fortress once more and repaired our damaged homes...."

Looking at the second map, Blaise and I located the new location of the town of Lontish and determined it was within running distance. After a quick hike, (*Note to self: I must find a way to grow wings out of my back, so I can fly like that faere*) we arrived in Lontish's new location. After much searching we came up with nothing to show for it. Searching the area, I noticed a man cutting down some trees nearby. He was the friendly sort and told us his name was Jacque, a citizen of Lontish. We had inquired about the myth of who the Maid was, but once again came up short. Jacque told us that the Maid myth was just that, a legend. He did tell us though that perhaps we could find more at the ruins of the old Lontish, that perhaps we had overlooked something in our eagerness to find the map and book.

Blaise and I scurried back to the ruins of Lontish and found the Gatekeeper there once again. As he began to speak, Blaise informed me that he was unable to hear him but I understood him with perfect clarity,

"There is a prophecy, a myth perhaps. More of a legend yet to come true. Change will occur like the wind. Not from a storm but from a sealed door opening from within. A girl will step through that door and enter the Realm. You will not know her for some time. Then she will be known by her action and visions. She will be known as the Maid. She will come to lead those who would follow. She will present the people with a noble of the Realms in the end. Bear in mind a prophecy has many paths to reach its end. And the time to travel such paths is unknown for now. Signs will happen in the days and months ahead. This is all I can tell you of the specific prophecy."

When I asked the Gatekeeper as to where we could go from here he said,

"Seek out the sister city."

PAX LAIR! Travelling to that legendary city would require more powerful magic that I possessed. Luckily for me, my faere friend Blaise did know of such magic that would gate us to Pax. When we got there, we quickly found the tavern and were greeted by a woman of grand beauty and grace, Stormchaser. We informed her of what we knew and she quickly told us she also was in search of The Maid.

She told us about how The Gatekeeper came to her and told her to tame the Red Dragon Mylanth, who appears to be sister of the sinister Black Dragon who has claimed a single human soul. She led us to believe the dragon was seeking two people out and had told of "Her Coming". The two the dragon was referring to were named Azareil and Haden Ventri, who were spotted throughout the town over the past few weeks. Who are these people, and what do they have to do with the current events?

Stormchaser showed me a tome that was left by The Gatekeeper. You can find it at Luigi's pizza place. It contains the very same words he had said to me when I returned to the ruins of Lontish. The good man Winfield, whom it was an honor to meet for the first time, joined us at Luigi's and told us he knew pretty much the same information.

A little bit later, once again the mystic Gatekeeper arrived. Striking out at Winfield but not doing any serious harm, he had this to say,

"The Maid will have golden hair and be a child. You will not know her name. She will need a monk or a priest to teach her the problems of the realms. She will suffer through the death of her only friend. She will receive a calling from the gods. She will lead the people of the realm as a noble worthy of respect and honor."

And just like that, he vanished without a trace not to appear for the rest of the night. There are so many question that need to be answered but the one that comes to my mind with the most urgency is, "Who is The Maid?" I guess it is only a matter of time before we find out. I will not rest until I myself have the answers to the questions that I have!!!!

If anyone can help me in this investigation do please seek me out in Mythndale!!

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It is our privilege to be able to announce the coming wedding of Lady Xena, Dreamweaver of the Guardians of Light, to Lord Ariete`, Unicorn Paladin.

We hereby invite all who wish to attend this most joyous occasion to gather on the roof of LdyHawk Tower July 28th at 7:30 PM Pacific time. A reception will follow at the GoL tavern. (Pacific shard, Trammel)

Gates to this happy event will be opened between 6:30 PM and 7:00 PM at the fountain by the Brit. East bank. We humbly ask that you do not bring pets or mounts.

If you are planning to attend please RSVP on the Guardians of Light public board so we can estimate the number of people who wish to attend. You can find our site at, www.guardiansoflight.net

Gonff & LdyHawk

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Hail friends!

It's me again. I was wandering around Moonglow when I came across some troubling news. A final battle? That could be ruinous for my friends. I figured they would need some cheering on. So I contacted my loyal group of supporters, the NAPA NEWBIES and gave them the low down.



I was so glad to see they were quite enthusiastic about it.



We were so lucky to have Dor from Sonoma show up. An avid U-haller she's also a big time Stratics person. Perhaps her pull would help us in our quest for orc love. We quickly aimed to show her what we were all about.



But she had other plans. It seemed that Dor was quite against pressing of flesh. So, we had to chase her around Moonglow for that hug.



After dog piling her with hugs, we gave up. It was time to go to the orc fort and get to work. But first I had to preview to my posse the new official Ambassador Orkie introduction.



So, anyway I thought it was quite catchy. Perhaps Team Rocket might not be too pleased, but what the heck, right? So, as we stepped into the coolness of the new orc fort we felt quite at home. Immediately we ran around and started doling out hugs to our friendly orcs. Those furry guys were quite surprised, but happy. Soon, everyone was dancing around and swapping stories about their dysfunctional childhoods.

Unfortunately, the bonding session was broken up when the humie alarm sounded. There was an infidel at the front door! We rushed to investigate.

A rude man in his tinsuit accosted us outside.



Of course, he didn't leave so we chased him just inside the entrance.





I had no idea what the hell he was talking about at first. But then it dawned on me that he must have been inconvenienced at some point while going to the bank or something with all those orcs running around.



He wanted no part in rational thought though. He was just out for blood.



Unfortunately, once he started losing hit points he'd run back outside to heal up and then come in and kill a few more of my fuzzy friends. But I finally rallied the troops.



They just needed a morale booster. That's all.



Unfortunately, his pride must have been quite wounded because he called us some rather nasty names. Ones that you could be banned for by the GMs even!!!



His excuse for such behavior (and he was in a major Napa Valley guild as well!) was...questionable to say the least.



If you can't read the journal it says: Listen if you must know i have an anger disorder. and i am currently seeing a shrink.

We all felt really bad and wanted to dog pile him with hugs, but he quickly recalled and left us with our arms wide open. First Dor, and now this guy...didn't anyone want a hug?

Quickly calling for a group hug, we reassured ourselves that it was okay to be yourself.

Then, another gent who was armed to the teeth looked hell bent on taking out some orcs. I stopped him and pleaded for my furry friends lives. This is what he said:



I shall leave thy orc brethren alone if you complete a task for me. Rip off your second face that you are wearing now and give it to me.



Good on his word, the knight left. As you all know I would do anything for my orc friends...even donate the shirt off my back. This was a true win for orc - human relations everywhere! The Napa Newbies and I rejoiced.

I was thinking...maybe I should open a clinic for orcs. I'm sure there's more than a few who have 'anger issues' that stems from global eradication by the humans and their savage friends. Mmmmmkay?
And you thought you had it bad! At least you weren't driven underground!!! BAD MANNER HUMIES!!!

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The day started like most others but something would happen and it would become a day to remember. The finishing touches on the log house had been completed the night before and if all went well this humble abode would become a hub for one of the most dynamic forces in the land.

The day dragged on and anxious folk stopped by to see if any news had been heard ("No nothing yet").

Then as daylight turned to dusk, an elderly man walked slowly out of the forest. His pace was deliberate with his eyes and ears wary for any sign of danger. In spite of his years and the weariness of a long trek, the responsibility he carried kept him alert.

Reaching the cabin he paused briefly to observe the path he had taken from the woods. No one approached. He felt confident his arrival was unobserved.

The fact that no one followed and that his trip was uneventful did not really surprise him. No one would ever suspect him or imagine the value contained in his pack.

The man was the Stone Keeper and he carried a precious vessel which permitted him to transport the Guildstone of Baja's once largest and most powerful clan.

The Rangers of the Realm (RoR) have reunited and returned. RAWRR!

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Castle Battle Royal - Orcs vs. Barbarians!

Silvervale is sponsoring a castle war on Sunday the 29th of July. This should be a fun event for all. You will need to be added to the tones for this event, since it is in Trammel. On Thursday night, the 19th and on Sunday, the 22nd at 9:30 in the evening, you will be able to be added to the stone for the barbarian Oymak tribe. Paracelsus will be acting Qagan (leader) of the tribe.

We will be supplying equipment for all participants, and some special prizes will be given to some of the participants to use as loot. You should have nothing at all on you or with you. Bags will be given to each participant with what you need. Remember that orc masks will explode, and lower your karma. If you wish to bring a new orc or barbarian for this event and train them, that too is encouraged!

The orcs are now residing in the town of Silvervale under the leadership of former Warbozz Gristle, who has returned to us. He will be happy to have new members since he is surrounded by humans right now. He will be running the orc faction for the training and for the event. Gristle hopes that some of the orcs remain with him, to be sure!

No horses or pets will be allowed for this event. This is primarily a combat event and only one mage or Wozza per side will be allowed. If you wish to be put on the stone at another time, contact Paracelsus at ICQ 7139810 for barbarians or Gristle for the orcs.

The Castle Battle Royal will be over when all of one side have been eliminated. Participants must remain within boundaries stated. We will try and keep the sides nearly balanced. (Note: This is a roleplayed battle, so be prepared to learn a bit of orcish or barbarian language. We will refer you to the sites needed. ) Training will be up to and including that day. If you wish to have someone join us who is already in the realm, we will be adding people to the stone during the day on the 29th. The event will begin at 9 EST in the evening.

For further information, contact Araminda who will answer any questions.

Silvervale is located on the road from Vesper to Yew, north of Cove and just before the desert.

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It is my privilege to be able to announce the upcoming nuptials of Lady Joann Witch of the Shadow Wolf Guard to Lord Suikoden of the Shadow Wolf Guard.

I hereby invite all who wish to attend this most joyous occasion to gather at the Jhelom Bank in Trammel, July 28th at 4:30 PM Pacific time.

Gates will be provided to the wedding ceremony. A reception will follow at the PCC Tower on the Tramel Facet.

I humbly ask that you do not bring pets or mounts.

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Hail there!

Tis Aydin Xie here! Sorry no new adventures have been added to the site for a while now.. but, I have been busy protecting the lich and the red mage that roam our fair Britannia. I have joined forces with the Guardians of the Undead Lords in thier attempt to end the mindless slaughter of the once mighty Mystic Counsel. If you do not know of the Mystic Counsel or of GUL and thier purpose... I bid you to take a look at the GUL Library to properly educate yourself.

Now, on to the adventures! Please stop by and read of The Adventures of Sepon & Aydin Xie! Many a new post of Aydin's adventures protecting the undead lords have been added! The links point to the posts which are on the GUL Chronicle of Evil board. If you wish to read of my fellow guardians adventures as well.. go directly there and do so. Many a fine tale of adventure and mayhem for your reading pleasure.

Aydin Xie, Operative of GUL
The Adventures of Sepon & Aydin Xie

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First I want to thank all the staff for your help Hector, Devio, Isabella, Richard, and Kamsheema thx guys. I would like to thank the fighters for not for them we wouldent have had a tournament, and also a thx to the spectators for helping us keep this
event running smoothly.

Now for the results!!

• 1st place goes to Yosha for 100k
  
• 2nd place goes to Shimmergloom for 50k
  
• 3rd place goes to King Pelican for 25k

Thank you all who particapted !!

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"Make ready to set sail at a moment's notice, lads!" The Gristle bearded sailor bellowed, "I want to be ready in case something afoul comes out of this!"

"Aye aye, cap'n!" one Sailor said as he knotted the rope around the rigging. Several other sailors moved about the deck of the ship, the Grey Witch, a bustle of energy as they secured riggings and stored barrels of supplies in the hold. They were a long way away from their home in Moonglow, and were all anxious to set sail once again.

The bearded sailor strode off the gangplank onto the soft earth of the shore, inspecting the area about him. The City of Cove was a cacophony of activity. Warriors and mages moved back and forth the city, weapons drawn, as if preparing for some great battle. Brave merchants stood about selling weapons and provisions, while the less courageous ones packed horses for a large caravan or to look for passage on a ship out of town. Others were packing up whatever they could and run as fast as they could out of town. Guards from Britian stood a cautious watch over the city gates, awaiting some trouble that was brewing on the horizon.

"Captain GreyMalkyn!" A sailor said to the bearded man, "All rigging secured and were prepared to set sail!"

The aged face of the once noble guard of Trinsic turned to the sailor, his features tanned in the sun and his light brown hair bound up under a bright blue skullcap, "Ration a bottle of ale to each man and make ready all hands. Rotate the crew so everyone gets some sleep. I want the ship ready to set sail at the first sign of trouble."

The Sailor saluted with a hooked finger to his forehead, turned, and bolted for the docks. GreyMalkyn's eyes turned to the sea and he breathed a heavy sigh. His thoughts turned to his former life...the life in Trinsic as captain of the guard. He defended the city from all manner of unquestionable sorts and worked diligently. When Trinsic's Government changed, he was forced to resign his commission, and became a sword for hire. Not long after, he was met by a house of nobles who offered him a position as Governor of Delucia. For a while, things started to move, but his heart yearned for something else. The Government fell through as the nobles that had hired them started to lose influence in the provisional government, and he was the first to fall by the wayside. Once again he was a sword for hire, and was hired on not long after to escort a group of merchants to Vesper by boat.

That was when he found his calling. The sea air, the brisk salty fragrance, the way the ship rolled under his feet. It was as if he had regained 20 years of his life. He knew now that he was meant to sail the seas of Britannia. For the next year, he sailed on several more ships, learning the ways of seafaring until he felt he could teach them to others. With the money he had saved from his time in Trinsic and Delucia, he purchased his own large ship. Calling it the "Grey Witch" he and his crew of friends made a name for themselves. He had purchased a large log cabin in Moonglow from a former Trinsic Member, Ku Kullin, who had sought a quiet life of meditation and the life of family with his wife. The house would be changed into a location for sailors as well as a place to gather his crew for the adventures that awaited them.

It wasn't long after that word of orc uprisings in Cove, Minoc, and Skara Brae were reported. Grey and his crew sailed to Cove to offer support, and perhaps offer payment for those seeking to escape the city. The Orcs were brutal, and slain many of his sailors. Those that remained grew hearty and strong in combat, and together, they became a formidable team on and off the deck of the boat.

But now, things got worse. Strange painted savages began to appear, driving the orcs out of the orc fort, causing an all out war between the two, with the citizens of Cove in the middle. Grey knew that such a conflict would soon spill into the city, and it would not be long before the city was either sacked, burned, or taken over by one of the invading armies. Grey and his crew were prepared to escape the first chance they got.
Grey watched the sea for the longest time before he turned back to his ship. He had found his true home, his true people, and the desire to be free. He no longer cared about honor, virtue, or obligation. All he did in those days led to heartache, tragedy and betrayal. He could write his own destiny now, him and his crew of the Grey Witch.

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Okay, the driving example was an attempt to illustrate a point - I have never worked for the transportation department, and I'm not trying to get into the subject of speed limit laws. :)

To bypass any other examples, the in-game point I was trying to make (and unsuccessfully, I might add!) is this: If a person has not been asked to stop, then their actions cannot be deemed "inescapable", which is one part of our definitions of harassment.

Some players may be abrasive, but not necessarily trying to harass someone. Maybe the knowledge that the other person considers it harassment, and that they are planning to page in as such, will do the trick, and the harassing player will stop.

Do you call the police if someone flips you off? Probably not. You probably will either leave the area, or you'll try and figure out why the person flipped you the bird, or you'll tell them to leave you alone. If that doesn't work, then maybe you'll call the police.

That's the way the harassment system should be used. We ask players to take the first step in solving their situation, whether that's by leaving, talking it out, or asking them to leave you alone. If that doesn't work, then we will do whatever we can to help resolve the situation.

The responses here have been good ones - although I didn't anticipate my examples being taken so literally! I'll keep that in mind next time. :)

Harassment is a tough issue, and there's nothing that we could do - no switch we could flip - that would fix it in one fell swoop. But we are working on it, and we do want to make the situation better. Our first step in this was to attempt to try and define more clearly how we handle harassment calls, and make it clear that, despite how harassment calls may have been handled in the past, people will not be punished for attempting to call for help.

As many of you have said, we think it's a good first step, and we'll be watching closely to see how effective it is. :)

___________________
Cynthe
Community Manager
Ultima Online
ORIGIN Systems

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Citizens of Europa, I am in the process of updating the Europa Lore section. And I could use your help! I'm looking for two things, firstly I want to hear from any of you if you know of or have a quest item. You can find the current items in the Europa lore section. You can see we need more! Please submit your information to [email protected] and title your information "For Marshall Drakan"

I am also looking for articles in quest characters that have appeared in game. I am looking for proper characters not just a seer played lich or evil tree. 

Please submit your information to [email protected] and title your information "For Marshall Drakan"

Thanks.

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1. Guild name and "tag"
2. Guild master's name
3. Method of contact for the guild (email, ICQ)
4. Short description of the guild
a. Type of events you sponsor
b. Type of members you have
c. Basic skills you look for
d. Young guild or veteran guild

We have not set a firm date for this event as of yet. But it will be some time in the first week of August, so please keep that in mind when you submit your information.

Hope to hear from lots of guild masters soon!

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The Goblin Knights of the Guardian are born!

Rising from the depths of the abyss comes a race of Goblins that emerge to overwhelm the humans who have ruled over the lands for far too long. Taking advantage of the confusion caused by the recient battles in the Human cities between the Orc's and Savage's, The God known to some as the Guardian and to other as War God has summoned up his minions of The Goblin Horde and sent them forth to take over the human cities one by one and make way for the undoing of their creation!

The first sightings have been in and around Skara Brae. There, numbers grow day by day. A call to arms has been made to all Human kind! These Lawful evil creatures must be stopped or the world as we know it will come to an end!

More info...

We welcome any role players who wish to join us in interaction. We follow a strict set of Rules of Engagement. Rip Talin and Hilbrigger are looking for new members to join the Goblin Knights of the Guardian, and for other roleplaying guilds who wish to engage in war and alied tags with us, more information can be sent if you contact me via e-mail or icq # 26425920.

Many Thanks
Rip Talin "Goblin Duke"

Very special thanks to Hillbrigger "Goblin King"

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The Parade took off on schedule, led by the ladies Minsk and Winmere of Paxlair, and Sabrina Nor of Corwyn. It crossed into the west side of the city over the Northern Bridge, regaling the viewers lining the streets with the sight of the wonderful uniforms worn by the various guilds. In rows as neat as their feisty white horses would allow, the Guild of the Saints marched in a spectacle of glacial staffs and red capes. Leading the Guild of the Night Watch and representing the town of Casandreal, Lord Rhuarc and his black clad friends were much more somber, and yet handsome, in black and grey.
Lady Morgaine, Queen of Shadowcove, marched at the head of the citizens of her town, all wearing resplendent armour. Eve, Mayor of Mythndale, was equally proud as she led her townsfolk through the cheering crowd.
The unmistakeable green capes announced the people from the Knights for Nidaros Guild, and representing the city was Marlene, its Mayor. Marlene is also the driving force behind this evening's events, and she has done a wonderful job in coordinating it and bringing everyone together. Many more guilds were represented in the parade, and I hope they will forgive this reporter for not mentioning them all!

There was more to this night, however, than just revelry and pageantry, as exciting as those may be. The last stop on the parade was the Castle of Lord British, whom we thank for allowing its usage. As the revelers piled up in the Throne Room, a momentous event occured: the signing of the Treaty of Peace between the towns of Nidaros, Mythndale, Casandreal, Shadowcove, Paxlair and Corwyn. It stipulates in simple terms that all towns shall be at peace with each other. It also marks the beginning of a new era of cooperation towards a common goal: the promotion of more events like this one! I just love parades.

*smiles happily*

An auction and a party with a bounty of food and drinks followed the signing, and although it is probably still going on as I write, I have been assured that the Castle will be left spotless and neat.

The Treaty will be available for public viewing as soon as copies of it are distributed to the different towns.

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After braving the depths of Hythloth, the warzone of Terrathan Keep, and the freezing cave of Ice, we now set out on another adventure.....

This time to the prison wrong. Home to all manner of ner'do'wells and the dreaded executioners!!! We will stay down long enough to cleanse the prison of the scum that inhabits it!!!! This event will take place at Ravenshire at 9pm Pst, July 14th.

Cantharis

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The impenetrable stillness of the night suffocated his sleep. Stirring, on the brink of consciousness, Gwydion struggled with some unnamed evil; some unnamed terror in the depths of his mind. It was only the slightest breeze that blew through the bedroom window that woke him.

Running a hand through his black hair, he felt the sweat that had accumulated from the nightmare seeping from his pores. He hated summertime. He especially hated summertime on the Isle of Fire, where the humidity was as dense as the jungle that propagated the island's interior. Raising himself from the bed, he looked over at Calista still bathed in peaceful sleep and rubbed his eyes. The door to the balcony was open, and he had no idea why. Warily he crossed the floor and looked outside, but there was no sign of a break in, and no sign that they had a visitor. Carefully shutting the door and latching it without a sound, he treaded softly across the room to the door that would lead him to the stairs. He made one backward glance at Calista, making sure she still slept soundly, before he continued on downstairs. He could see her shoulders rise and fall beneath the sheets, and a peace crept over him that he had not known for some time. 

For a moment, he contemplated slipping back into bed, but his resolve was set, and he shut the door softly behind him. 

To read the full novel swing past the library here.

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Just put up a new comic this one's called Do it and Die:

www.outofcharacter.com

Also, I mentioned this on the site, but I've moved to a regular schedule, I'm going to attempt to post a new comic every Wednesday (evening) and Saturday (afternoon). This is the first comic on that schedule, lets hope many many more follow!

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The faire will be held today starting at 3:00. There will be many contests including a magery contest, a maze race, a play, an archery contest, and much much more. And for those who do not want to participate in the competitions, there will be a bar open, an enchanted item sale, and a midway open throughout the day. I hope to see you there.

The event will be held at the Skara Brae fairgrounds, east of Skara Brae docks on the mainland. Questions about the festival can be answered in the IRC channel #glrpc.

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Cynthe, I'm sure that consolidating the various methods of reporting problems is a step in the right direction and the fact that the GM's have been a part of this move is encouraging. With that said though, I don't think that this addresses what the real problem in UO is (as far as harassment in general goes).

You are absolutely correct that in the past GM responses to harassment calls have often subjected the "caller" to more problems than those doing the harassing. And, as a result, people tend to just try and ignore it, but that only works to an extent. In my opinion, there are two MAJOR problems with OSI's current harassment policy.

One. You have set the standard for determining harassment much too high and those that are the "professional" harassers, can quote to you chapter and verse of your policy. I've seen some that have a macro explaining all the steps that "the innocent party" must take before the harasser can be punished. Your "move away from the harassment" standard allows the harassers to stake out their territory and virtually do whatever they desire to you while you are there (if they don't cross the race line, that is). If you don't like it, you have to leave. Well, that's a victory for the little harassers and it forces the "innocent" to have to depart from an area that they very well might have a reason for being at. Telling people to "turn on the obscenity filter" to avoid repetitive obscene language is unfair to the "innocent" because that filter system causes them to lag. So, once again, the harasser has won and gets away with impacting the "innocent's" play. All supported, btw, because of OSI's enforcement policy. Right along with this is the fact, that under your current policy, the "professional" harassers can harass virtually ad infinitum...they do it, you must leave. They have a problem only if they follow you. If you run into them later, they get another free shot, and you have to leave. Why? Because in neither of the encounters, is that one instance (forget the fact that this happens everyday), in and of itself, sufficient to meet OSI's standard of harassment.

Two, the ignore feature, which would solve many harassment problems, not only causes you to see no speech whatsoever from the individual, it also prevents the chars from showing up in "all names". And while that may seem insignificant to you, it's important to someone that is constantly involved in PvP. And though I have no evidence of this because I don't use it for stated reason, I suspect that the ignore feature also causes lag (just as the obscenity feature does).

So, combining these is important I guess. But, how does it address the real problem?

I do see your point, and it's one that was discussed at length. But in every case of policy, there are two major things to consider.

One - does it do its job well enough? In other words, will this policy solve the problems it is meant to solve, and help innocent people be able to fight back against harassment?

And two - will it cause more problems than it solves? Players can also harass other players by exploiting the harassment feature. Picture a guild that wants to have a specific guy banned from the game. Guild members take turns going up to the guy and mooning him until he finally tells them to *#% off. Then they page harassment for his having said something rude. If we didn't have some kind of standard for seeing that the harasser was intetnionally being rude, and intended to continue doing so, then this kind of thing could happen every day.

In reply to:

Right along with this is the fact, that under your current policy, the "professional" harassers can harass virtually ad infinitum...they do it, you must leave.

This isn't necessarily true - note that in the policy it says that the genuine attempt to get them to stop could also consist of you asking them to stop.

It may seem silly to you to say to someone who is harassing you, "Excuse me, but you are getting no advantage out of killing my horses, and it's making me unable to play. This is getting to the point of harassment - please stop!" But without seeing evidence of some sort of insistence on the harasser's part to continue the harassment, there's often little that can be done.

Picture a driver who gets pulled over for driving 90 in a 55 mph zone. If there were no speed limit sign posted, he might get off the hook, because he could claim that he'd never been told the speed limit was only 55. And this is a good thing, right? Otherwise, law enforcement could simply lower the speed limit wherever they chose, not put up a sign about it, and pull over every car that enters the area for speeding.

In harassment cases, a player could get off the hook if it could be proved that he or she may not have realized they were harassing someone. And in some cases it could be true - some players simply are used to acting a certain way, and don't even realize that their behavior is being seen as harassment. So we ask players to take the first step, whether that be leaving the area or asking the harassing player to stop the harassing actions - either way, we need to be sure that it was made clear to the harassing player that they are harassing someone. That way the player knows, and the GM knows, that if the behavior continued, then the harassing player knew full well that it was being considered harassment.

Our goal is to find the best balance possible between making sure that players can fight harassment, without innocent players having to play in fear of being labeled as harassers when they are not.

___________________
Cynthe
Community Manager
Ultima Online
ORIGIN Systems

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This should be fixed now. :)

FierY iCe
Programmer: Ultima Online

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Ever since I came into the UO community, harassment has been a major issue - especially on this board (remembers the never ending harassment thread). Part of it was the fact that there were so many instances of it, and part of it was the fact that our stance was not as cut-and-dry as it should have been.

The way some harassment calls in the past were handled led some people to feel that they were as likely to be punished for using the harassment tool as the harassers themselves. This led to people who were angry about being harassed, but who were afraid to use the tool to do anything about it.

This was a problem.

So it became a goal to see that the harassment policy was updated, and that we made it more clear just what the tool is for, how it's used, and what happens when it's used. We are also updating the policy internally, and our GMs have been in on the process.

For the most part, the policy is unchanged, with the exception of one thing: grief play. In the past, players have been asked to page in for grief play under "Other" instead of "Harassment", since the grief play does not show up in the logs that are reviewed by the Harassment team. However, to make it easier for the players, all harassment, whether physical or verbal, will now be addressed under the Harassment tool.

The important thing to note is that grief play still does need to be witnessed to be verifiable, so if you are paging about physical harassment (in other words, harassment that does not fall into the verbal category and cannot be verified through a chat log), then it needs to be done right away. The GM's cannot determine grief play if it is no longer occuring once they can get there.

This policy has been discussed by many departments here before making it live on the site today, and I'm interested in getting your feedback.

You can find it here:
http://support.uo.com/gm_9.html

HARASSMENT POLICY AND REPORTING


In Ultima Online, our goal is to build a strong community that offers a comfortable atmosphere for all of our players. This means seeing that players have the ability to combat antisocial behavior.

Some tools created to achieve this purpose include the "Ignore Player" option and the obscenity filter. The "Ignore Player" option permanently blocks all of an offending player's comments, and you can also choose to block certain offensive words through the UO Obscenity Filter. To access these tools, double left-click on your in-game character to bring up your paperdoll, and left click on the 'Options' button.

Should these options not resolve the situation, we also provide a tool to specifically report harassment.

The Harassment Tool

The harassment tool was created to give players an effective way to combat antisocial behavior in-game. It has been perceived by some, however, as a way to circumvent the GM queue, which serves to diminish its effectiveness at eliminating in-game harassment. In order for the harassment tool to be successful, it's important to see that it's only used in cases of actual harassment. This document should answer most questions about the use of the harassment tool.

What is NOT harassment?

First we should point out that anything considered a valid play style in Ultima Online is not considered harassment. In other words, player killing and thievery, including res-killing, is not considered harassment. By valid, we mean that there are game mechanics created around these play styles in Felucca, such as stat loss, the thieving skill, bounty systems, murder counts, the existence of guards, etc. Ultima Online is a role-playing game that encourages various play styles, and players should seek ways of protecting themselves against these play styles through game mechanics rather than calling on customer support staff for help in these cases. Note that this does not include player-killing in Trammel. Trammel was created as a safe land where players cannot harm other players, and violating the intended game mechanics in that area is not considered a valid play style.

What IS considered harassment?

Harassment consists of flagrant misuse and abuse of game mechanics with the intention of distressing and offending other players. So what's a game mechanic? Game mechanics allow players to interact with the world and each other. For example, the ability to block a doorway is a game mechanic. The ability to create macros with large amounts of text is a game mechanic. Use of game mechanics like these is by no means considered harassment in and of itself. The key to determining whether the mechanic is being misused or abused is to determine "intent". What was the person trying to achieve through their actions? Were they purposefully trying to disrupt someone else's game? While an action may cause others distress, it is not considered harassment until it is determined by OSI/EA that it was done to intentionally cause distress or to offend other players.

Also considered as harassment is any behavior that is incessant, inescapable, derogatory and directed specifically at you or your group. This includes the act of intentionally targeting and disrupting player events, which is never considered acceptable. An important point to note regarding this type of harassment is that a genuine attempt to alleviate the situation must have been made. This could be an attempt to leave the area or the offending player, or simply the act of asking them politely to stop. If a sincere attempt has been made to solve the problem and the offending player persists in the harassing behavior, it can be considered harassment, and the harassment tool should be used at this time. For more information, see How do I report harassment below.

Behavior that is always considered harassment includes derogatory and/or hateful comments that are sexual, racist, religious, or related to gender or creed. Origin has a zero tolerance policy towards harassment of this kind, as stated in our Terms of Service, and violation of the above can result in immediate and permanent account suspension on the first offense.

So what happens when the harassment tool is used?

When a player uses the harassment function, GMs are automatically sent an account of the incident through email, providing them with a log detailing the recent text in the area. The player does not need to do anything further, and the GMs will make the determination once they access the sent logs as to whether the case of harassment can be proven as valid. While this also places a call summoning a GM to witness the scene, you may not see any outward sign of a GM appearing or speaking, since the harassment process is kept separate from most service calls, and any information gathered on the scene by the GMs may be used along with the logs in determining the action taken on the harassment call.

To be fair in our judgments, it's necessary that we either witness the harassment in person, or that we can prove intent through the log sent by the harassment tool. Since screenshots and journals can be altered, we cannot accept those as proof of harassment.

As a way for us to keep track of all harassment calls, records are kept on the accounts of all parties involved when the harassment tool is used, detailing the results of our investigation.

What are the possible outcomes of a harassment page?

Valid Harassment
The call is considered valid when, either through the text logs or through the eyewitness account of a GM, it can be proven that the player was harassed. A mark is made on the account of the offending player, and appropriate discipline is decided on a case-by-case basis depending on the severity of the offense and presence or absence of previous marks on the account. See Penalties for harassment below. Since we are not at liberty to discuss players' accounts publicly, players who submit valid harassment logs will not be notified when action is taken against the offending player.

Physical Harassment
Physical harassment, or grief play, is harassment that distresses or aggravates other players, and consists solely of actions, rather than speech or text. Physical harassment must be witnessed by a GM to be judged as valid. If the harassment call is received after the grief play is no longer occurring, we cannot verify the validity of the call.

No Harassment Found
It is determined that the person submitting the call had reason to believe they were being harassed, but upon review, we have determined that the situation either did not qualify as harassment, or the harassment cannot be proven by the included log file. Neither the player submitting the harassment call, nor the player accused of harassment is disciplined in these cases.

Invalid Harassment
Any use of the harassment tool that is not at all related to harassment, or is simply an attempt to get ahead in the GM queue, will be considered Invalid Harassment. We understand that even these calls can be the result of unintentional mistakes, and we will generally allow players a free instance or two without punishment. If the tool is being consistently and blatantly misused, it is possible that the player submitting the logs will receive a warning or temporary suspension.

Mutual Harassment
When evaluating harassment calls, we do look for provocation and instigation. Provoking another player into saying or doing something that violates the Rules of Conduct can result in the call being judged as Mutual Harassment. This includes any instance where both players are determined to be harassing each other, such as retaliation after being murdered, shouting matches, etc. These calls are judged on a case-by-case basis, and depending on the circumstances, either all, one, or none of the participants will be disciplined.

What are the penalties for harassment?

Origin condemns all forms of harassment in Ultima Online, and this type of disruptive behavior will not be tolerated. Harassment is a severe offense in UO and a clear violation of the Rules of Conduct and Terms of Service.

A judgment of valid harassment can result in penalties placed on the harassing party up to and including immediate account closure, based on the severity of harassment and the player's past account history.

How do I report harassment?

To report harassment, double-left click on your in-game character to bring up your character's paperdoll, then left click on the 'Help' button. On the next screen, you will be given a brief description of the harassment logging feature, and a brief description of our harassment policies as they relate to the Terms of Service. If you would like to continue your harassment complaint after validating your situation against these guidelines, check the box that says "Yes - I want to send a harassment log to the GMs". You will then be asked to enter a short description of the problem. Be sure to include the name of the person you are reporting, and the reason for your complaint! This makes it much easier for the GMs or those reviewing the logs to quickly identify the problem. A log of your journal will be sent, and a GM will be summoned to your location to intervene if necessary. The log will then be reviewed by our service department as soon as possible, and appropriate action will be taken.

If you make a mistake and wish to cancel your help request, you have the option to change your help request before your log is sent. Just choose "No - I meant to choose help for another matter", or "Cancel - I need no help at this time".

ORIGIN understands the seriousness of harassment and appreciates players' support of these policies.

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• Only use items that are part of the current Orc/Savage Quest(required in the sculpture) and items that are not visually different from common items (i.e. items that have spawned in an uncommon shade/hue. Glacial staves are an example. So are Faction/Faction-Purple items).
  
• All items used in the sculpture must be able to be picked up and/or looted by a player WITHOUT using a bug or cheat.
  
• House Decorator tools are permitted.
  
• Nothing that takes up more than 16 square tiles please.
  
• When sending the cropped picture, please include with it the title and creator.
  
• Judges of the sculptures will be myself, Pelle Svanslos, and a third party.
  
• Obscene or innapropriate sculptures will not be judged.
  
• No sculptures mailed in after 5 PM CST on Sunday, July 22 will be judged.

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Monday 9th July saw the latest weekly meeting of the Trinsic Council Of
Honour (TCH).

The council met in the Counsellors Hall in Trinsic at 8pm (GMT). The
following were in attendance: -

Attendees: Drakys TCH, Mentazm TCH, Maria delSythia TCH, Gladiator TCH,
Georgia, Crowley TCH, Kaine TCH, Slyder, Handsome Chris TCH, Ikus DOT,
Clarice TPH, Lord Yoldran CMg, Dr Kirch.

Apologies : Ewan Blackmane.

The mainpoints discussed were: -

1) Taking each point of today's agenda in turn, Mentazm brought up the
issue of the elections and whether to continue/scrap them in light of their
being no official recognition to the titles.  The council voted and passed
the resolution to scrap the elections altogether and continue the council as
it stands.

A little more info on this (added by Mentazm): The reason for scrapping the
elections is that we have decided unanimsouly that we should not have
'political'
style titles as we are a community council, as opposed to a goverment.

We will simply continue as we have been doing, and get cracking on with our
pipeline events straight away.

2) Kaine suggested all council members use the title of 'Council Member'
as opposed to our current posts.  This resolution was voted on and passed.
Members of the community council can now be recognised by the words 'Council
Member, TCH' above their heads.

3) The council voted on and passed the resolution relating to
communication with each other outside Sosaria.  Pigeons and the tome will
be used for short messages whilst longer discussions will be carried out via
letter
(email).

4) Ikus from the Duchy of Trinsic kindly attended tonight's meeting to
give us an insight into how the Duchy and the Trinsic Council of Honour
could perhaps work together, sharing a common goal.  The council will
continue
to discuss this major issue in detail at the next meeting.

5)  Kaine has been putting more 'flesh' to his event idea (which sounds
extremely promising) but declined to go into detail with non-council
members present. This will be discussed by the TCH during the week.

If you would like to attend future meetings to discuss these matters,
build some community spirit, and make some new friends then the next
meeting will be held in the Trinsic Counsellors Hall in Trammel on Monday
16th of
July at 20:00 GMT.  Before attending, though, please see our tome
(http://stop.at/trinsic)
so you can get acquanted with what the council are aiming to do and what we
have achieved so far.  There you will also find some basic rules to make our
meetings constructive and orderly.

Drakys, Council Member TCH.

Thanks

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Q: Will the items, monsters, and points-of-interest remain in the game once the scenario is over?
A: Yes. With minor exceptions (such as the frightend orc) all of the items, monsters and POIs will remain in the game after the scenario ends. The idea here is to create lasting content that goes beyond the story.

Q: How do the stories on BNN work?
A: The stories are posted about one week before the scenario publish they relate to. The purpose of the stories is to provide you with the context for the updates and to give you clues as to what to expect next.

Q: How often will you do these and how long does each Scenario last?
A: We expect to continue doing these as long as players enjoy them. Generally each scenario will last between 6 to 8 weeks, with about one month (give or take a week) inbetween each one.

Q: Will the scenarios tie into each other?
A: Many will yes. The idea is to create an over-arching story, not just a bunch of short stories.



-Jonathan "Calandryll" Hanna
Designer, Ongoing Content

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Finally, the U2 Upgrade is complete. Release 1.0 is available on the download page. You can read all about it here. If you don't want all the details, then let me say just this - you can now disable autosave, save on galaxy maps, and save on your vehicle. Oh, and most of the text is lowercase now, too!

Teich,

Good news: Lazarus is not in danger of death. :) The problem was that I found out that our webmaster had “borrowed” some graphics from outside sources and I told him to shut down the site ASAP so that those items could be removed and replaced with all Team-Lazarus-made artwork. We don’t want to borrow any more trouble than necessary, after all, and besides that it’s simply poor ettiquite to use other’s works without permission. Unfortunately, the “We’re Offline” page he posted in the meantime was a bit...overzealous.

That said, I just wanted you to know that we are -not- experiencing any legal problems with EA/OSI/Richard Garriott at this time, and that our site (with some new graphics to replace the old ones) will be back up shortly—hopefully later tonight. :)

Thanks for your time, and fare thee well!
Tiberius Moongazer~
-Ian S. Frazier-

29 June 2001 - Alpha 4 has been released! Highlights include:

• The SI-specific Jawbone and Combat Stats are in
• The keyring from the Silver Seed now works
• The MIDI SFX have been replaced by digital SFX
• The new savegame interface, with unlimited savegames!
• Many, many bugfixes and other improvements

6 July 2001 - (Weekly update)

• The FAQ has been updated for the new Alpha 4 release.
• We have been doing some optimizations: the renderer and the point/interlaced scalers are now a lot faster!
• Exult now compiles in MSVC6. See the 'msvcstuff' directory for the required workspace (.dsw) file

12 July 2001 -(Weekly update)

• Ryan has fixed dungeon rendering in SI!
• The in-game Video Options menu has been implemented
• The Guardian speech is now synchronized in the BG intro!
• several more SI bugfixes (Lucilla, Moonshade-kidnap, ...)
• the FAQ has been updated with a few known issues

Don't we look like in a fine mess ? :p

We aren't actually. Work is being done and we have now 3 additional members in the team (one coder and two other who will also be working on the gameworld). Most of the work now is rewriting small portions of the story (lengthening the game and improving the Ultima-feel
of it), and also redesigning some features of the game to go along the engine switch.
All of this info is compiled into a "design doc" that will serve as a basis to the team for further work, and which will also help the new members to exactly know what is our project and know directions to work on. In the meantime, many dungeons and cities have already been made "on paper". We want the "pre-production" of the game to be mostly completed before Neverwinter Nights come out.

As for the website, our webmaster appears to be gone too and we're currently without one.
We'll be adressing this matter shortly, and work on a new website shall become our first priority once again. A new website and forums shall be online in August. At least, that's what we're aiming for. It will have much more info than the previous info as well as a few
interesting announcements : though we have definitely canceled the idea of having demos or unfinished versions released regularly, we might host multiplayer games or even share modules which will not only depict the events between U7 and Eriadain, but will also serve
us as a test for a few already done maps and features. Nothing certain about that, but it would be very interesting to do that.

Thanks for your interest

Moa Dragon

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Let me take a minute from fighting these savages to tell you about a message we received from Lord Melkor:

Lord Melkor of Freeport And Lady Rose of Freeport request the pleasure of your company at their marriage on Saturday July 22, 2001, At 2 o'clock in the afternoon at the Royal Palace of Nujel'm, followed by a reception at the Nujel'm Palace and Royal Gardens.

Everyone is invited to share this special event with us! There will be a banquet, dancing, games, and prizes at the Reception. The above 2:00 pm time is according to Mountain Time. Pacific Time will be 1:00 pm., Central will be 3:00 pm., and Eastern will be 4:00 pm.

Please do not bring pets.

For more info, please visit us.

Praise Minax!

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Regarding the ridgebacks... Actually, when mounted, the savage riders perform a special stomp attack that damages everyone near them and knocks them down. Once they got knocked off, they can't do the special attack.

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Whilst checking out the docks in Britain, a dark and sinister man approached me and passed me this message:

"Tell your friends that a reckoning is coming," he said. On the piece of paper was written this strange writing.

It appears as if this threat is not quite ready ... but who knows...

Thalios
Mercenary of the Britain Coast

We appreciate the warning, Thalios, and are keeping our eyes to the shores in anticipation of what may come.

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Greetings, my fellow Britannians!

Recently, I'm sure you've all heard of this new orc cave that is within the Orc Valley. It is real I can assure you all of that, and it is also quite dangerous. Last eve, I took my first trip into the cave accompanied by no one as I was unsure of the danger factor, but I did take along a few orcish kin masks to assure that I would be safe from the orcs whom I side with on this scenario.

This new cave was filled with many and interesting things, including those new orc brutes who, as I found out, hit extremely hard. I was on my mage and in one hit I was dropped from 100 hit points to 25 and when I attempted to teach the scoundrel a lesson I was soon to realize it's spell resistance was quite high, for several of my best flamestrike's did but mere damage to him. He even laughed at me. It was quite embarassing.

A few new things I found in the cave were "an orcish drilling device," obviously what these orcs used to dig their new home to stay away from those dreadful savages who won't leave them alone. Also I found some sort of a shrine to what I'm guessing are the orcish gods, there were "orcish idols" about the place and trees tall and short surrounding this sacred place.

For those of you who, like me, side with the orcs, I suggest that upon entrance to this cave you bring supplies because I found dire wolves, corpsers, and I've heard from others that there are earth elementals in the cave as well.

I took the liberty of exploring the shard on both facets and their was not much difference, side the fact that Felluca's was littered with greys and overspawned. I suggest that all who read this immediatly go and see this new marvel of ours. It's quite an interesting thing indeed and I must applaud the orcs on their survival tactics for they have eluded the savages for quite some time.

Now there are several new savages as well. I went to the city of Cove once again on both facets and discovered a new savage shaman. This mighty savage casts up to 7th circle spells and wears a deer mask, it's not quite worth the time of day to kill them in my opinion as they had little more than a bag of minimal regs and around 100gp each. Their are also new savages riding what looked like bright yellow ostards. These are ridgebacks. Quite an interesting creature and the tactics for taming them are interesting, too. I had to use a bola on the savage to dismount him and then I proceeded to tame the ridgeback. It takes about the same level of skill required to tame a frenzied ostard and yet it is available to all to ride regardless of skill levels in animal taming and animal lore. The ridgebacks are quite weak, however, and they're not really worth having unless you want to have this "cool yellow ostard," so to speak.

To end my report, I wish you all good luck on your adventures and I must suggest that everyone explore these new marvels. Who knows what you can find of interest in "The Orc Cave" and perhaps the savage shamans will carry yet another new goodie for all of us to toy with.

Farewell, my fellow Britannians and to all a good day!

-Sir Balhalaban-

I have not ventured to the cave myself, but I did have the wits frightened out of me by Jheli Beene. Somehow, he managed to get his mitts on some of those berries and concocted body paint. I came into the Stratics Centre rather late and he jumped out at me from the patio, shaking a spear. He was lucky I'd left my bow in the bank or he'd have been a goner.

Thank you so much, Sir Balhalaban, for this in-depth report.

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UONewbie.com - you may remember the name from the website that was present on the internet about a year ago. Good news, I've restarted it and it's better than ever!

Featuring one of the most current powergaming sections, I'm sure it's a vital addition to the community for people who require help in many areas of character development, and with more features coming soon I'm confident it will be a success.

• A revised provocation section in the Bard guide.
• A templates section that details all the possible (good) templates.
• New writers

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ATTENTION MMPORG PLAYERS:
Tired of Grouping With Someone Who Sucks?

Badgamers.com (BG) announced a new site for the online gaming community. BG is dedicated to ranking the worst of the MMPORG players in the online community. Register for free and help us rate players in seven different performance categories. Players can be rated by server within each game and ranking lists are dynamically generated so your ratings affect player ranks immediately!

So, How Bad Did You Suck Today?

About Badgamers.com
BG is comprised of a group of serious gamers that have no tolerance for suckage. Our desire is to dedicate a site to ruining the playability of those characters that worked so hard at ruining ours. Want to act like an idiot? Fine, the players you journey with can now rank you here for all to see. Enjoy your fame on BG!

Learn more at www.badgamers.com.

CONTACT:
Badgamers.com
[email protected]
www.badgamers.com

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Join us Monday, July 16th at 7:00PM CDT in #Ultima-Online for another Ultima Online Celebrity Chat. Our guests this week will be Calandryll, Gromm, and Augur from the UO Event Design Team. Stop in and ask them your questions about their current and upcoming scenarios and projects.

Never been on Stratics IRC before? Download an IRC client, such as mIRC and connect to one of the following servers:

• dhp.stratics.com
• compu.stratics.com
• frws.stratics.com
• intworks.stratics.com
• tac.stratics.com

We hope to see you there!

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A Knight's Journey part II

"Yes, I figured that out all by myself. Dublin, someone is hunting down each of the more seasoned members of the guild and killing them. No one lives to see him and forensics is giving us no clues as to who the assailant is." Sirus looked over Dublin's shoulder while lying in the cot. Eowen simply stood just outside the doorway as a vampire would in hopes of being invited in so that she may consume her prey. In truth had Dublin not been a women, one that Eowen had a high and rare respect for, she would have tossed caution to the wind and sought out Sirus's swift destruction.

"I'm running out of options.", continued Sirus. "You need my help.", retorted Dublin. Sirus pointed a finger, his jaw opening to deliver his rebuttal but just as quickly retracted. "Yes, I need your help. I think this is a bit above my area of expertise." Eowen started sipping tea from a crude looking mug as they continued talking. "So your assassin does not take anything from his kills, not an item, or even a body part? He could have a personal vendetta with the entire guild, but he's selective to weed out your more seasoned veterans. Either he is being paid or he on a crusade. In either case he has to be keeping records of where your guild mates live, when they come and go, what skills they use. He's also warning his victims before striking. Such things are a part of his own code of honor. If I were you, I would suggest you keep watch on his next target and where he frequents. If a familiar face is hanging about then that's your man. Finally, i! ! f he is using a KOB guild house then search for anything that may be his personal note."

Sirus already felt better. It was a rare thing that his former student was bright in her wisdom and understanding of things. As Dublin handed Sirus the rest of his belongings he gave Dublin that special look that caused a twinkle in his eye. With a nod Dublin softly spoke, "Go ahead, I won't tell." Sirus softly chanted a low level spell that Dublin was all too familiar with. She closed her eyes and lowered her head pitching her ear long enough to hear the cup next to Eowen give a little nudge from it's place. With that Sirus bid Dublin farewell. "You know, it would be good to see you at Forums." Dublin nodded and noticed Eowen take another sip.

Chanting words of power Sirus found himself transported outside the temple doors. With a touch to his erethal statue, his mount formed beside him. He mounted and rode off toward the direction of Trinsic. Eowen joined Dublin. "You know I was hoping you would let me play with him a bit before letting him go." Eowen swirled the tea in her cup and finished her drink. Dublin purposely avoided eye contact with her and stared out the window. "Oh, I think you'll get your chance soon enough. Word from on high is that we are at the brink of war with KOB. Such is the direction of the Black One." Both of them smiled at the thought, except Eowen's teeth were stained a deep black from the scribes ink Sirus conjured into her cup. Sirus slowed his pace just a bit and laughed to himself as he heard Eowen's scream.

Called to Answer

Standing in the halls of the KOB at its Stone of Loyalty, seeing all the names of those that have lived and died KOB, something began to become clear within the young man’s mind. Two Knights he had already taken, one was left. But what about these others? Though the original three deserved the justice that was to be handed out, what of these others. Hadn’t they too been a part. They might not have actually had a hand in it, but surely they were just as responsible. After all, are they not brothers and sisters in arms as well as deeds?

He continued to read the names, seeing the faces of each betrayer. Three would not be enough he knew. More would have to be sacrificed before justice was done. The complete destruction of the knights was all he could see. For it was the Knights who commanded in KOB, it was the Knights that approved or disapproved of actions. The Knights council in its entirety must be called to justice! "No", he whispered, "three will not bring my honor back. All must be called to answer."

Returning home he sat heavily within his chair, knowing that what must be done was for the good of the Guild. This did not weight lightly upon his shoulders but he saw no way out but to cleanse the entire Council for the evil he saw growing, lurking just underneath.

Elsewhere (at the very same moment)................

Deep within the earth, down hallways long forgot to the age of legends, stands a door. Gradually a thin blue light begins to caress its outline, growing stronger with every passing second. Mice scurry away as if being chased by something unseen. At first the sound is unrecognizable, but as the light grows, so does the sound. Its unmistakable. The laughter is filled with malice, echoing down the hall, knowing soon, it shall be free once again. The Trap is set

Sweat pouring down this tan arms, muscles rippling as he sharpened the blade on the grinding stone, "This will do fine, very fine indeed." The kyrsses blade glimmered in the sun, so sharp and deadly. "Thank you for letting me use your shop." he told the jhelom shopkeeper. It was then that A man walked in the door. "Seems the Knights are gathering at the Tower. Word is you've been spotted about the lands." "So they are coming for me? They know who I am?" the lad replied. "No, they are just going on guard. They know you watch the Tower, so they are laying a trap for you."

Gathering up his new weapons, the young man left his informer to prepare for battle. First he decided, he would stealth about the tower area and see what he could see. Summoning magic to create a doorway to a safe location close to the tower, he approached the Tower. Only one Knight, Hettar did he spy, and he was on foot.

Springing into action, spells flew at the Hettar. He was ready though, the magic the assassin summoned did little to harm him. It was when the blade came out that he could see shock within Hettar’s face. Here was a tactic the Knight was unprepared for nor expecting.

Barring down on Hettar with a combination of sword and sorcery. Hettar stood his ground but was on the defensive, no time for a counter attack. For a short while Hettar was able to withstand the onslaught, but the assassins furry was to fast, to strong to stand against. He died defending the Tower.

Returning to the Tower to once again to view the list of names on the stone. The lad ran into a Knight that he had previously taken a soul from. Knowing that Sir Matthew could not kill him as long as he held his soul, He continued with his task. Surprisingly Sir Matthew attacked. Easily causing the death of this Sir Matthew, the lad was shocked to see a ranger, Beowolf, appear.

Realizing that this must have been the trap laid for him the young man flew into action. Beowolf held up well for a very short time. But had to retreat due to the powers that the assassin weaved upon him. Around the castle he ran, losing the assassin somewhere in the chase.

Returning to the corpse of Sir Matthew to mark his victim, Beowolf again sprang out of nowhere. The assault on the assassin was staggering. Beowolf wielded a bow and warhammer with great proficiency. But not enough to take the lad out of the game. It was then that another KOB Warrior, Malis, showed up. Another archer wielding a heavy crossbow.

This was too much for the assassin. The assault he was enduring, gave no chance for him to get out. It was all or nothing. Beowolf, hurt badly, was about to go down, when a well placed shot from Malis stopped the assassin’s spell in mid cast. This gave Malis the time he needed to heal Beowolf. In the confusion that followed the lad made his escape from the tower. Once again the assassin slipped through the fingers of the brave members of KOB..... Or so he thought.

Stroll into the mist of Evil

As Mystic Rose followed the lad from a distance, her mind whirled with thoughts of her fallen brothers. "This plan has to work" she thought out loud. Sirus has yet to return from what Rose felt was a foolish trip to speak to Dublin. No one had expected the assassin to attack again so soon. As her mind drifted to thoughts of her husband alone at the Temple of the Black Dragon, Rose lost sight of the lad. Digging her heals into the sides of her faithful steed, she picked up her pace. Rose soon found the lad’s trail. He made a brief stop in the City of Trinsic, receiving the aid of a healer. The lad then headed north east of the city. To Rose’s horror she watched as he entered the Temple of the Cult of the Black Dragon. It was all beginning to make more sense now. By killing the knights one by one, only strengthens the Black Ones hold on our lands..

Rose sat for a moment thinking to herself "How does one approach a temple of evil?" The Bold approach, she decides. Rose strides up to the door where she is greeted by 2 murdering cult members. One, Azure, she did not recognize, But standing on the stairs was the familiar face of Kandalor, whom she remembered from her days at the Sandlewood Tavern. "Mystic Rose so nice to see you. What brings you to our doorstep M’lady?" asks Kandalor with a slight chuckle in his voice. Steadying her voice Rose replies " I’ve a matter I need to discuss with you in private." "I hear through Andrew Bishop you’ve settled down and gotten married." Kandalor grins. "There was never a thing that needed to be settled down about me, But yes I was married. Now are you going to continue to be rude or are you going to invite me in to discuss matters?" "After you of course M’lady." Kandalor says as he steps to open the door .Chuckling to himself at the boldness of this poet he remembers fondly from lo! ng ago.

A sense of uneasiness overwhelms Rose as she enters the Temple. " Well Rose I never thought I’d ever see you within these walls." remarks Kandalor "There are alot of things in life we never expect to see." retorted Rose. Chuckling Kandalor asks "So what is this matter that you need to discuss?" Toying with the ring on her finger, trying to steel her nerves. Rose replies " As you’ve heard an assassin has been attempting to kill my brothers and sisters of KOB, he has succeeded 3 times now. He made another attempt today, fortunately we were ready. It is now known he seeks comfort in the arms of your Cult." " And how do you come to believe this?" Kandalor chuckles. "He was followed here, and watched as he freely walked through your doors. I’ve come to ask that you turn him over to KOB, so that we may deal with him." A laugh erupts from Kandalor, as well as the 3 other cultist that entered the room unseen. " And what makes you think if he were here we would just hand him over ! for your form of Justice?" Chuckled Kandalor. Seizing up the situation, Rose replies " I ask one more time Kandalor, turn him over to us or we will be forced to take him." Kandalor grins and says " He’ll never be turned over for your brand of justice." mounting her horse Rose turns and replies as she cast a spell of recall " Then I hope you live through your decision!" The erupting laughter of the cultist echoed in her ears as the spell took her safely back to the KOB tower.

The Pain of Failure

Hurt, weak, and tired, the young lad made his way slowly back to the hidden passage behind the stairs. Down dark hallways, past sounds of things scurrying away from as his feet traveled further on. He began to see the bluish light gleaming from between the cracks of the door. He knew it would not be pleased.

As the door opened to allow him entrance, the wave of light that hit him did not bring the peace of mind as it had always done. "You have failed me" it spoke to him. Pain raked over his already bruised body. Pain so great it dropped him to the cold stone floor. Light seemed to explode within his mind. "You must not fail me again." it said. More pain. "I allowed you to return to me for you are not done. You have yet to bring me all the souls of the Knights. Bring them to me! If you fall to a Knight, it is your soul I shall keep."

After what seemed an eternity the pain stopped. "Y-yes master." he whimpered. The voice no longer talked to him peacefully. It was icy now, cold as the floor he lay on. It told him what he must do and where he must go. Fear gripped him from what it said. He did not wish to go there but knew that to disobey would bring more pain. He knew he would do as he was told.

To be continued....

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