Please take a moment to meet the first of Tinkz captors... the story continues at the end of the interview.

Focus on Factions: Anthius Disius of Great Lakes           

What is your UO name?
            Anthius Disius

How long have you played UO?
            Since 1998. :)

What do you consider your home shard?
            That’s a very hard question. I would have to say Chessy. I played Chessy for about 6 years mainly but I also played on Atlantic, Great Lakes, Lake Superior and Catskills,

What keeps you playing UO?
            To be honest I don't know. I think the game play is second to none. The movement, the casting, and fighting. I just like the view and ability to see whats going on around you. I've played all the other MMO's but I always come back to UO because in the end it's just more fun to me. I'd also have to say my friends. I've been lucky enough to fall into a great group of friends who keep me into the game and keep the factions going.

What do you think of the new templates, soul stones, insurance, etc.?
            Ugh. Templates are what makes UO really unique, so I can't say it’s the new templates that bother me. It's the over powered skills or items that go with the skills (smoke bombs, super dragons, ridiculous bows, etc..) that bother me. I think UO was a lot more fun with out the insurance, back when armor was a dime a dozen but now that there are artifacts and such its kind of necessary. Soul stones, to me, is something that really ruins the game. It makes it way to easy to change templates.

Have they helped or hurt?
            Templates help the game, insurance and soul stones hurt it.

What is your favorite type of character?
            Mage. I've played one since day one and loved every template I used off of it. From tank and healer mage back in the day to a necro mage. They are the most versitille and hardest to play.

How did you start playing Factions?
            I started playing the factions on day one when my guild joined Minax out side of Papua. It was the most fun I ever had in any MMO, or even any game. I never slept on the weekends and remember SO MANY good battles we had at all 4 of the bases. It was really a site to see with all those people in the towns chasing each other and scrambling around the bases. After a day in the factions I was sold. I always had at least one character in the factions and played them on multiple shards so I always had a raid or defennse going.

What faction do you belong to and why?
            Shadowlords at the moment but I will forever be Minax. I wouldn't be surprised if my guild returned to Minax sometime in the future. It was the first faction was in, the base I defended the most, I love the red horses, and I have a house right infront of the base on several shards. lol. I'm in Shadowlords atm because it was the only faction that didn't have a guild in it when I came back to Great Lakes.

What do you think caused factions to “slow down”?
            Aww man. Thats a loaded question. I think there was a lot of reasons the factions slowed down. At the top of the list I think the fact that the factions are in feluccia and new and old gamers aren't introduced or exposed to them. Back when factions came out, people saw the faction fights at the banks and around town. Now you could go years with out seeing a faction fight if you are not a pvper. I also think the factions lack depth and purpose. The factions are not very complex nor rewarding. You can get the vendors if you own the towns, but the vendors don't offer that much of a reward. I think if there was more of a purpose to the factions more people would participate.

What do you think we can do to revive factions on your shard?
            Well the first thing that has to be done on every shard is the factions need to be fine tuned. The factions have really not been touched for years and now they are bringing more people to the factions with the recent events, but the fact of the matter is, the small bugs and exploits from year 1 are still around and need to be fixed. As for me, the only thing I can do the keep the factions going is to keep participating. That is one thing this shard has done a great job of over the years, especially the guys in TB that have been around a very long time.

What would you change or add to factions? (and why?)
            I would do a lot. Like I said before I would fine tune the exploits and bugs first. I would add more faction PVM and more of a purpose for it. I would make it so you cannot log out in opposing faction bases and make it so you could exercise ghosts out of the bases, like you can do at champion spawns. I would make it so you cannot place explosion traps on adjacent tiles and I would make it possible for the faction Commanding Lord to have a list of where all of his or her factions traps are placed (to prevent other faction spies from hiding their faction traps). I would give faction bonuses for crafting, and players that are in towns. I would give ALL faction players 10 HP inc (adds to 25 HP inc cap). I would make armor for horses that are the exact opposite of dragon bard deeds. They would only absorb dmg from pvp. I would have EA have additional stats on their webpage. Things like keeping track of kills, deaths, sigils stolen, traps removed and faction monster kills, silver earned, etc. I'd make faction only artifacts, obtainable in a faction only dungeon, and a I would make faction only crafted weapons ( like leaf blade of ease, twinkling scimitar, etc). I would make a remedy crafted by alchemists that would lessen stat loss effects from 33.3% to 15%. Of course this remedy would be fairly difficult to make, requiring a A LOT of random ingrediants (peerless mats and stuff). I'd make it so faction pets went into stat when they or their owner is killed. Aww man, I could go on for hours. I'll save you guys the time. :)

There is always talk of inequities in the bases, guard zones, trap and guard useages, etc., what are your thoughts?
            The bases all have their advantage and disadvantages. Everyone is going to complain that minax has the long path, SL is a bunch of choke points, and TB and COM can have guards. I've raided all of these bases and defended all of them. The small differences are what make the bases really cool. This allows different guilds with different types of players to utilize their bases to fight their enemies. The one base that I think is way over powered is TB. My thoughts on that? Just remove the ability to place explosion traps on the bridge and remove the gate. That’s all. Then all the bases will be relatively even in their own ways, with just as much upside as downside.

What do you think of the recent changes? Reduced length of time to resign? Multiple characters per account? Etc.
            The multiple characters per account thing is GREAT. It was a really good addition for the hard core factioneers. I'm not so sure about the reduced length of time to resign. It hasn't bothered me yet, so we'll see. :)

What is your favorite part of factions? Ie, stealing, defending, etc?
            Raiding and Defending are my specialties. I've been doing factions for along time and the experience raiding all of the bases really pays off when I'm defending my own. I'm fortunate enough to have great theifs on my side like Zara, Grace and Hawkley so I don't have to embarress myself on my theif.

Have you had any really funny moments playing factions?
            Oh god yes. Over the years I've been guilded with some of the most entertaining people. I really can't single out a particular occasion but guarding over night is always fun.

What do you talk about during a boring defense?
            UO trivia. New templates, armor, ways we can defend, we have a music channel. I don't know, 10 hours is a long time and we talk about different things each time. :)

Do you see a difference in play style between men and woman?
            Through my experiences it seems that woman play more to the point of the factions, Get the sigs, reset sig, set up to defend, prepare for next raid/defense. Where as most of the guys I have been guilded with are always there for the fight. I have also met plenty of woman who love to pvp. The best faction guildee I have ever had was a woman named Therella. She was a support mage pvper (healing, invis, dispel) and she was a theif mage, a very good one. She also always had her house prepared to defend. Pots, Petals, aids, scrolls, boxes, candles, food, barrels, etc. It was always ready to go and it made everyones life so much easier knowing, we just had to get the sigs to the base safely, and she could put us into position for a solid defense. She was our MVP on every defense.

Do you think women are treated differently (better or worse) than male players (by other players).
            I can only really answer that question on my behalf and they aren't treated differently by me. As a guild leader and a long time faction participant I recognize that not everyone that is involved with the factions is a pvper, or a good pvper. Everyone in my guild does something particularly well and benefits the rest of the guild. I treat each person in the guild the same because they are equally important and they are all my friends regardless of gender. I guess this question would be more accurately answered by the woman in my guild. :)

Have you seen any notable strength a woman player brings to factions or UO?
            The women I play with, both currently and in the past, were always very dedicated to the guild and faction. I mentioned Therella but other woman I still played with like Tiki, Zara, Arabella, Sinderella (who will be coming to a shard near you) were always willing to do what ever had to be done. I couldn't count the amount of times Zara made or changed her template to help our guild out, or how many times Tiki, Arabella or Sinderella had to wake up early or stay up late to sneak in and steal and reset the sigs. Dedication without a doubt.

Is there any particular player or group that inspired or helped you become the player you are today?
            Way back when I started UO I was 14 years old. I started pvping with a guild at Brit Graveyard. My nemisis, Chuckie, killed me more times than I would like to remember and I loved fighting him despite always talking a lot of smack back and forth. Chuckie was the reason I made my first mage character. Several years later when factions came out he fielded one the most dominating faction guilds on any shard, the Sigil Stealers (S-S). I fought people like Chuckie, Therella, Raven Stormwind, and Kestral for years only taking the sigils from them 1 or 2 times. They were so good in all aspects of factions I didn't care how bad I got owned it was cool just fighting them. Several years later the factions died down, and I moved off shard and low and behold I ended up in the same faction as Chuckie, Therella, Raven and Kes. They are now some of my best friends and I talk to all of them pretty regularly. They are pretty much the reason I stuck with factions for so long and they taught me pretty much everything I know about the factions.

What is the biggest challenge of running a faction as Commanding Lord?
            The biggest challenge of running a faction is making sure everyone is high in spirit and never too mentally beat up. You put a lot into factions and when you do not come out ontop its not always the easiest thing to brush off. We have had a great deal of success but it’s the times we lose a battle/raid/defense where I have to make sure everyone cools off. That and make sure everyone is treated fairly. For us its pretty simple. If you want a town title, you have to be there for the defense.

Do you recommend faction play?
            Absolutely. It requires a lot of dedication but the first time your guild defends for 10 hours successfully against a guild that raids non stop you will understand. It's really one of the coolest feelings I got from a video game.

Thanks for taking time to meet Anthius Disius... now the story continues....

And in moments Tinkz odyssey begins. Soon they arrived in a very cold, abandoned old fortress like structure ... no... more of a prison.

Tinkz tries to look unphased by the happenings, but her heart races as the Shadowlord followers begin to talk, asking her questions. She makes a useless attempt to escape, changing to wolf form and trying to push through the door...but it fails. Soon her worst fears are realized.

Tinkz tries to act brave as she is pushed into the cell. The only comfort is that it is Hawksley, a fellow thief who has shown her occassional consideration, that is her escort. She reluctantly enters the cell and attempts to maintain her composure ...but it soon crumbles as she finds herself utterly alone.

Will the Shadowlord followers carry out their threat to kill Tinkz? Will the Minocian Partisan Resistance and the True Britannians learn of her fate and find her in time ... check back often to find out...

Special thanks to all the wonderful people making this story line and the interviews SOOOOO much fun!!!!

The Guild of Friends would rather run an auction house than fight. For weeks DC* The Dragon Clan Guild has been trying to go to war with GOF and they are having nothing to do with.

Tonight I stopped by the auction to see how things were running and they were running great with many patrons in the house including, Hannah, Sky, Craft, Tangina, Anesthesia, Champagne, X-Caliber, Steel, Ulminister, Fury, Mommy Kitty, Lord William, Auron, Alron, Rennie Underfoot, Lady Crimson, Jack, Sassy Pants, Richard III, FiFi LaForge, Morpheus, Lord Aldrick, Shady, Mistress, Arsenik Drakken, and Tranquil Dragon to name a few.



Hunter accented in green was the auctioneer for the evening assisted by SirRehpotsirhc and Merlina.
Merlina did a great job as cashier but take a look at those feet! Talk about "bad foot fashion"!





It was great to see the auction house busy, up and running. This green and gray decorated auction house has a great feature. That feature is a book for all to read of what is being auctioned off that evening and in the auction order. Very nice for those that have limited time and may be only interested in one or two items that night.



Though gates were not provided in Luna this evening they were in Brit by the bank and going non stop. Always an added plus to catch last minute shoppers.

On the subject of the Brit Bank I would like to share two different creations at the Brit Bank players have created the past few weeks.
The fort that Alice made the other day was great fun to go into/under.

Posted to uoherald.com:

Captain of the Guard Reports Progess in Council Murder
Jeremy Dalberg
29 Jul 2008 15:20:26

The Royal Guard is pleased to report that, with the help of numerous volunteers, much progress has been made in the investigation of the heinous murders of the Royal Council. At this rate, the case is expected to be considered closed as early as this coming Friday, August 1st.

(In plain terms, the current event is planned to be turned off on Friday, so if you haven't yet participated, hurry and do so!).

Partisans: Part 3                      

            “To arms! To arms!” the Death Knight shouted at the top of his lungs before he was quieted from a crossbow bolt to the larynx. Nonel Topd cast a glance over his shoulder at the marksmen who reacted just shy of stopping the alert from being sounded, Michel.

            It was at that moment he began to doubt himself. Nonel planned this raid with the rest of his crew last night. An outpost off the southerly road heading out of Minoc was supposedly where the finance minister of the town, placed by the Shadowlords, was stockpiling the extra silver reserves that the mayor had been unable to tap into. They had waited until most of the guards had left the outpost, and did not expect to still find so much resistance inside.

            Several henchmen stumbled down the stairs into the hallway the thieves now occupied. Any thought of failure had to be pushed to the side, for now. Nonel stepped forward with a large tower shield to temporarily halt the defenders. A spear went astray of the shield, and Nonel was able to trap it in the crook of his free arm. With a hard twist he disarmed it from his opponent, and sent the spear clattering behind him. Llama quickly picked up the spear and send it back the way it came. Nonel let out a gasp as the weapon narrowly avoided his head, and nevertheless was relieved when it found it’s mark in the chest of a second henchmen.

            There were still three men, only two of which were armed, pushing against Nonel. They jabbed, prodded, punched, and kicked; there just seemed to be no way past the shield in such a confined area.

            “Down!” Pepe yelled. Nonel did not hesitate, and crouched himself low. A knife, cleaver, and a bolt all flew by overhead. Nonel was astonished to see all three men drop, even the cleaver had found it’s target.

            “Who threw a cleaver?” Nonel nearly screeched, unable to believe what he saw.

            Lil’ Snapper stumbled past him towards the downed henchmen and grasped the ungainly blade, “Sorry, boss. Thought it was my throwin’ knife.”

            Nonel just grinned in a pathetic attempt to stay calm, his wide eyes betraying the adrenaline still coursing through his heart, “Whatever works.” With that he gingerly stepped over the corpses and quietly headed up the staircase. He scanned the area before fully ascending to the second floor. Once he was satisfied there was nobody up there, he continued.

            He crept into the hallway, finding four closed doors. Quietly he motioned for Michel to come over to him. He pointed to each of the doors, made a motion as if opening one, then pointed at the crossbow cradled in Michel’s arms while making a shooting motion. The other thief nodded in understanding, and crouched in position at the first door. Nonel quickly but quietly opened it.

            Michel turned side-to-side a couple times, scanning the room, before looking at Nonel and shaking his head. They quickly did this at each door in turn, before coming to the final one. Again Nonel opened the door, and Michel took aim. But again there was nobody. Michel nodded towards the open room and entered. Nonel motioned for Llama and Pepe to stand watch outside while the rest followed Michel into the room.

            Tink’r Toiz identified a chest in the corner of the room, and started for it. It was made of a dark metal, and was about half the length of a human male. Lil’ Snapper brushed past her, and went to open it.

            “Don’t!” Michel and Nonel both yelled simultaneously. Lil’ Snapper stopped short of the latch, and took a step back, “Traps,” Michel explained.

            Nonel slowly picked up the chest from one end, and smiled as he heard the sound of coins bouncing off one another. “This is what we came for, rogues. Let’s get on with it, then.” At that, Lil’ Snapper stepped forward and grabbed the other end of the chest. Together they carried it out of the room.

            Llama and Pepe began for the staircase, with the two chest keepers close behind, Tinkz and Michel covering the rear. They managed to make it outside of the outpost without incident, and were now standing in the woods over a hour away from Minoc with an increasingly heavy chest.

            Llama motioned towards a barely visible game trail in the thick brush, “Best we avoid the road. The rest of the Shadowlord Death Knights and their henchmen will be back soon.”

            “Agreed.” Tink’r Toiz responded. Nonel and Lil’ Snapper both hefted the chest and got on their way down the trail. Both of them would soon wish they hadn’t been the ones springing to carry the loot.

            “There’s a small shanty,” Nonel panted, trying to speak while carrying the heavy chest. “just east of Mt. Kendall. We’ll take this there.”

            “That’s your house,” Pepe laughed.

            “Go,” he paused to gasp some air, “climb a tree.”

            It took them longer than they expected. Near the Healing Hand they took a boat to cross the waterway running through Minoc. They snuck there way through the mining camp, and skirted around the edges of Mt. Kendall. Then came the long bridge heading easterly out of Minoc towards Vesper. Llama and Pepe crossed the bridge first, securing the other side against any possible sneak attacks. Nonel and Lil’ Snapper made their way across, both sweating and finding it hard to breathe from carrying the large chest. They made their way into the woods, and found the shanty Nonel mentioned.

            Shanty would have been a nice way to say it. It looked as if it were incapable of holding even a light rain out. But, it was hidden and far from town, so he was sure they’d be safe working on the chest here.

            It was Tink’r Toiz who finally asked the question Nonel had been expecting, “So, how do we get into this thing, now?”

            “I know just the man for the job,” Nonel replied. “He lives in Freemen Camp. I’ll make my way over there to see him.”

            A light knock sounded at the door. Out of reaction the thieves all found themselves looking for cover. Nonel peeked out a hole he’d opened near the door to see who it was.

            “It’s okay, fellas! It’s just me!” Nonel smiled when he heard the voice and saw the man. Dusk Twilight, an old thief who more recently has been an aspiring mage. Nonel always knew the man had too strong a mind to be a lowly thug like the rest of them, and was overjoyed to hear the man had pursued his dream.

            Nonel opened the door quickly, and embraced Dusk in a big hug. “Dusk! When did you get back?”

            “Last night. Heard there were some crazies up in Minoc trying to start a movement. Had a feeling I knew who they were.” Dusk smiled.

            “Yeah? Who’d you hear that from?” Pepe asked.

            “Some group of Shadowlord followers hanging around Moonglow. Word spreads fast. They were having a good laugh over the thought of Minoc trying to resist the might of their faction.” Dusk grinned, knowing he had just struck a cord with every person in that room.

            Nonel just smiled. “What’re you doing here, Dusk? Nobody noticed you?”

            “Nobody followed me,“ He assured Nonel, “I saw you all trying to sneak around with a chest nearly as big as me. Figured this must be too good to miss. That, and I have news.” Dusk’s face turned solemn.

            “Bad news.” Michel more stated than asked.

            Dusk only nodded, “It’s the Mayor.”

            “Mayor Barry?” Came Pepe.

            Dusk held Nonel’s gaze. “He’s dead.”

*MELISSA LOOKS AROUND FOR HER NEXT VICTIM*

With so many people seeing grey at the hands of Melissa the past few weeks I present you with this special Melissa edition of the Obits.



Charlie Brown











Eve Skyler




hodgie




It


Izabo


Japer


John Nolan




Kold


Lozorik


Luna Sea


Nuetral Karma




Pagan Moon


Polyphemus Forte




Tessie

Again they have my sigils! Blast, I bet it was Grace that removed them from the Castle, Tinkz grumbled as she stealthed up to the front of the Shadowlord's base. This must be four times today I have had to retrieve what rightfully belongs to the True Britannians. So engrossed in her whining is she, she almost runs right into Grace O'Malley. Tinkz is a bit shocked by what Grace has to say.

      

But of course Tinkz will not listen and enters the Shadowlord base ... What happens next only time will tell. A bit of a preview ... Tinkz very existance depends on the bravery and camaraderie of the True Britannians...Will they be up to the challenge? Now please meet my very good friend, great faction thief/tamer/warrior and truly wonderful person, Grace O'Mally

Focus on Factions: Grace of Great Lakes            

What is your UO name?
            Arabella, Grace or Dream, depending on whom I am around

How long have you played UO?
            Soon to be 7 years

What do you consider your home shard?
            Great Lakes

What keeps you playing UO?
            The Friends I have made over the years and the game itself is amazing, how can anyone get bored with so many things to do!

What do you think of the new templates, soul stones, insurance, etc.?
            I preferred the old UO with out insurance and all the items to enhance your character.

Have they helped or hurt?
           I think it helps keep people involved in the game

What is your favorite type of character?
            I dont really have just one, I love my Tamer, Archer and Thief.

How did you start playing Factions?
           My son got me involved.

What faction do you belong to and why?
            I used to watch factions when i first started the game, the player I remember the most was Onslaught. My daughter and I would Scout for SL with our 60 magery jumping through gates looking to where opposing factions where grouping up.
           Then a couple of years ago, my other daughter and her husband were on seige, they did alot of factions there and were SL....so it was just natural for me to follow along with my kids.

What do you think caused factions to “slow down”?
            Boredom

What do you think we can do to revive factions on your shard?
           Do something to get ppl excited about being in factions, the event really didnt do that.

What would you change or add to factions? (and why?)
           I dont really know

There is always talk of inequities in the bases, guard zones, trap and guard useages, etc., what are your thoughts?
           I think all bases should be out of guards zone and be equal as far as what type of traps you can use within your base and placing of guards. Magincia, is such a lousy base, it is in town but no bank or guards, so that allows non faction reds to grieve blues with out any penalty.

What do you think of the recent changes? Reduced length of time to resign? Multiple characters per account? Etc.
            I was disappointed, they didnt bring the people into factions like I thought it might.

What is your favorite part of factions? Ie, stealing, defending, etc?
           Stealing is the most fun I think of factions, the thrill of stealing a sigil out from under the defenders, and making the mad dash for safety.

Have you had any really funny moments playing factions?
            When Tinkz, I and Drugist pulled the sigils out of minax base when SO? was defending

What do you talk about during a boring defense?
            Anything and everything and listening to music when Death's Angel DJing!

Do you see a difference in play style between men and woman?
            I dont think women are as aggressive as men

Do you think you are treated differently (better or worse) when they know you are a RL woman?
           No, I am treated like anyone else

Have you seen any notable strength a woman player brings to factions or UO?
            Women bring the calmer side of factions I think, not as hotheaded as some can be.

Is there any particular player or group that inspired or helped you become the player you are today?
            There have been alot of people that have influenced my gameplay with factions, so many I cant even name them.

Do you recommend faction play?
            Heck Yea!

Special thank you to the Shadowlord's for taking time out during a defense to help with these interviews, story set-up and screen shots. You make factions great!

If anyone would like to participate in these faction interviews, please email me at [email protected] ... come on you other shards! Let's hear your Faction stories!!!!

Partisans: Part 2                           

          It was getting late at The Barnacle. Most of the wenches and cooks had left. What patrons hadn’t stumbled out the door by now were passed out in pools of their own saliva. The place was acrid from the stench of spilt and molding ale combined with a fireplace kept fueled by offerings from the local cattle.

.           Pepe recognized most everyone seated at their table in the far corner of the tavern. Barry the Mayor was here, ever portly and boisterous. Jean the rugged yet beautiful guild mistress of Minoc’s local warrior guild. Michel had walked in moments before, unarmored and with a limp. Pepe avoided eye-contact with him. Andros the blacksmith was seated across from Pepe. He was a tough old man. Ever useful as he’s easily the most skilled smith in a town born on iron. His brother, Nonel Topd, was standing away from the table talking to a warrior in bronze. No doubt a member of his True Britannians. He suspected this is what the meeting was about, afterall. To start a movement in this town.

          A thief whom Nonel had recently introduced to Pepe was here, swigging out of his mug much quicker than any sane man should, especially when the proof of his drink was taken into consideration. He had people call him ‘Lil Snapper‘, for reasons everyone is too afraid to ask.

          But here was a man who was new to him. With no hair except a top-knot, he glanced around the room with what seemed to Pepe like a permanent look of disgust. “Haven’t seen you around this town before, cue.”

          The man’s eyes snapped onto Pepe. He stared him deadpan for a few moments, but said nothing. Pepe decided to persist, “What’s your name?”

          The man spat before speaking. “Llama.”

          “That’s no name. Who are you?”

          “That’s all you’ll know me as, thief scum.” Pepe was taken aback by this. The man could practically smell a pickpocket.

          The group became silent as Nonel and the bronze warrior took their seats at the table. Pepe expected his brother to speak, and was surprised when the warrior chose to instead, “Thank you all for coming,” he glanced at Nonel, “I’ve been assured you’re all the people I need to be speaking to,” he nodded at Mayor Barry, “Thank you sir Mayor for coming.

          “You all understand the risks of meeting here. The Shadowlords’ faction of followers do control this region, and will consider anyone talking with Nonel or myself treasonous and worthy of painful execution. That said, leave if you don’t wish to be here.” He waited a moment, and smiled when not a person budged.

          Pepe was becoming real suspicious of the tavern waitress that had stayed back to serve the guests at the meeting. Money was money, but the woman hovered all too close to the table; she was gazing around the room occasionally, as if sizing everyone up. He became alarmed when he saw Llama throwing her the same disgusted thief glance.

          Pepe‘s attention returned to the True Britannian warrior as he began to speak once more, “Many towns like this have fallen to the Shadowlords’ faction. They’ve prospered under their new necromancer General, and unfortunately we have failed to protect you from their surge in power. While the Shadowlords themselves command powerful forces, their domination of Britannia relies on the success of their followers that make up their faction. Ordinary beings like you and I. Not like the monsters I’ve seen befall many other shores as of late.” The warrior seemed content with himself, and turned to Nonel Topd.

          Upon standing, Nonel got right into what he was on his mind, “The True Britannians are floundering. As a central soldiery we have failed. The militias and warriors of the cities have mostly died or gone into hiding,” he took a moment to cast a glance towards Michel and Jean, “and the ones that are left are exhausted.”

          Pepe already knew where his brother was going with this. They had spoken about it many times since the siege on their town a month back, when all the fighting picked back up. He was surprised, however. Pepe had supported a clandestine citizen resistance, but his brother had always been opposed.

          The warrior now stood, “We are reaching out to the towns, now. The situation as spiraled out of control on a tactical level, and soon all of Britannia will be dark. It’s time for the people to rise up in resistance. To join us on the battlefield and combat this evil.”

          “That resistance starts here.” Pepe summed it up for them.

          “Here!?” Mayor Barry scoffed. “Why wou-” he was suddenly cutoff by Jean.

          “My warriors will have nothing to do with your resistance. We submitted ourselves to the command of the True Britannians at the start, and look where it led us. More than three-quarters of the New World Order is dead!”

          “We wouldn’t force any lot into this, anyway. Your warriors can choose what they’ll do on their own.” Nonel grinned.

          “We’ll see.” She stood to leave, took a few steps, and stopped short. Michel hadn’t budged. A few moments passed before his eyes met hers.

          “I’m staying. I’m going to join their fight.”

          To Pepe, and everyone else’s, surprise Jean didn’t turn enraged. Her face seemed to soften a bit, even. After a moment she managed to work her mouth open, “Fight proud, Michel.”

          “Die well, Jean.” And with that, she turned and walked out.

          The room remained silent for a full minute before Pepe spoke up. “So four thieves and a bald guy?” Llama, shot Pepe a nasty look, “You still are a good ol’ scoundrel, right, Michel?”

          “Absolutely.” He was being awfully short with Pepe. Maybe he figured last night out.

          “Five thieves,” Came a feminine voice. Now Pepe understood. She shot a wink at Llama, and turned to the warrior in bronze, “You have nothing against a woman saving your hide, right?”

          Nonel spoke up quickly to clear any confusion, “This is Tink’r Toiz-”

          “You can all call me Tinkz.”

          Nonel chuckled, “Right. I almost caught her stealing from me. Realized she was a good thief, and that I needed to bring her in. Was some job tracking her down.”

          “So five thieves and a bald man?” This time it was Lil’ Snapper’s turn to take a crack at Llama. “That’s a start.” He sounded sarcastic and overly inebriated.

          “It’s a good enough start. The Shadowlords’ faction has placed a finance minister to watch the silver reserves, but I have no doubt I can sneak funds to support to the formation of your partisan resistance.” Mayor Barry seemed gleeful.

          “Partisan resistance.” Pepe repeated. “I like that.”

          “A Minocian partisan resistance.” Scoffed Andros the Blacksmith. “I‘ll do what I can to help equip you, but know that I won‘t overtly oppose the Shadowlords. It‘s bad for my health.” Nonel nodded at Sean in understanding.

          Nonel decided to start wrapping this up, “That is it, gentlemen. From here on out it’s the liberation of Minoc or death,” He actually grinned at this, “Go home. Sleep. Tomorrow the festivities begin.” A full toothy grin.

          “Great,” it was the warrior in bronze that spoke. So that was his name, Pepe thought. “You have the full backing of the Order,” he nodded to each man at the table in turn. “Gentlemen,” then to Tinkz, “and Lady.” He turned on a heel to walk out, and Nonel followed him. Pepe decided he’d sneak on out and try to garner a little hearsay.

          “It’s not much.” That was his brother.

          “It’s a start. This town has bred some impressively resilient thieves.” Replied the warrior he now knew as Lore Denin.

          Nonel nodded. “Where are you off to next?”

          “Trinsic has been holding it’s own fairly well. The warriors there are a tough breed. I think I’ll go speak to some of them,” Lore smiled, “Get some rest yourself. You have a lot to do tomorrow.”

          “I have more to do tonight.” Nonel’s head cocked in Pepe’s general direction. He was onto his eavesdropper. “There are a lot of logistics to all this to be worked.”

          “Always trying to work things out. Just do what you and your brother grew up doing here. Steal, plunder, and loot.” Lore clasped Nonel’s shoulder, “I’ll see you in a few days.” Lore closed his eyes for a few moments and uttered a barely audible mantra. His body started to show a certain transparency to it, before suddenly vanishing all-together.

          “Those paladins always did spook me with their magic tricks.” Nonel laughed.

          Pepe came out of his shadowy hiding spot, “How do you know that guy, anyway?”

          Nonel motioned back towards the tavern, “I’ll tell you over an ale. We have a few things to iron out with this group, anyway,” he had a glint in his eye, “You’re buying.”

Dramatis Personae:

• Andros - Blacksmith. Supporter of the resistance. Lives and works at “Warriors’ Battle Gear.”
• Jean - Guildmistress of Minoc’s local warrior guild, New World Order.
• Lil’ Snapper - Thief with the resistance.
• Llama - Unknown invitee to the resistance.
• Lore Denin - Guildmaster of the Order of One and a True Britannian patriot.
• Michel - Ex-member of the New World Order. Thief with the resistance.
• Nonel Topd - Guildmaster of the resistance. Thief. Younger brother of Pepe.
• Pepe - Thief with the resistance. Elder brother to Nonel Topd.
• Tink’r Toiz - Thief with the resistance.

Posted to uoherald.com:

Character Transfers Are Back Up
Jeremy Dalberg
23 Jul 2008 09:52:19

The Character Transfer service is once again available. Thanks for your patience!

During the month of August 2008, the Chesapeake Stratics News Team will be hosting the Chesapeake Olympics, a series of events that aim to show excellence in skill in Britannia.

> Questions & Answers

Q.  Who can participate?
A.  Anyone!  Even though this event is on Chesapeake, there is nothing stopping you from transferring over from another shard to compete!

Q.  Are there prizes?
A.  You bet!  There are millions of gold in prizes to be won, plus the recognition as a Britanian Olympian.

Q.  Will the events be similar in any way to the events from the Chesapeake 2006 Olympics?
A.  Absolutely!  Most of the events are identical to those from 2006, with a few small changes.  Returning competitors will even have the chance to reclaim their titles for another two years.

Q.  When will medals and prizes be awarded?  After each event?
A.  Actually, medals and prizes will be given out at the Closing Ceremony at the end of August.

Q.  What's this all about teams?  I hear that there are 5 teams based on the facets?
A.  Yes, there are 5 teams based on each of the facets:  Felucca (red), Trammel (pale gold), Ilshenar (purple), Malas (gray) and Tokuno (light blue).  For each event, competitors have the option of "declaring" themselves on a team.  This will help us in the end to determine which "Team" won the most medals in the Olympics.

Q.  Where can I find more information about events?
A.  Visit UO Stratics' Chesapeake News often, as information will be posted soon!  The Olympics are anticipated to start in mid-August, and will last 2-3 weeks.

Focus on Factions: The Women of Factions, Fluffy of Great Lakes             

Thank you for joining us for the next "Women in Factions" interview. We are very fortunate to have had three excellent women UO players, all from Great Lakes, agree to be interviewed. Now we present the first of these three interviews:

Tink'r Toiz walks through a desolate Magincia. The most recent battle with the Shadowlords has left her drained and discouraged. She kicks a piece of rubble and swears as a pain shoots through her foot. As her awareness returns, she realizes the reason she has been drawn to Magincia. Her friend and now rival faction member, Fluffy, defends this ruin of a town. Tinkz stealths slowly into the base. Suddenly a defender comes forward to challenge the "intruder", somehow sensing the rival thief in her base.

Fluffy quickly realizes that it is Tinkz and the two friends call a short cease fire.

Please take a moment to meet: Fluffy of Great Lakes (CoM)        

What is your UO name?
            Fluffy

How long have you played UO?
            2 Years

What do you consider your home shard?
            Great Lakes

What keeps you playing UO?
            The wonderful people that I meet everywhere and have so much fun with

What do you think of the new templates, soul stones, insurance, etc.?
            I played a little bit before insurance and all that, and I enjoyed it. The majority of my playing on my own account has been with insurance, new templates, etc. I think that some templates are more challenging, but I guess you gotta roll with the punches :)

Have they helped or hurt?
            I think both. It may have helped spark interest in UO among newer players, but I'm sure people that have been around for years miss the old ways of doing things.

What is your favorite type of character?
            My best character is my archer currently. My favorite character though is my mage, even though I'm terrible on her, hehe Ahh well, I'll just keep practicing. Thief is a close close second, I LOVE my thief.

How did you start playing Factions?
            I started through an old friend about 9 months ago that I had been in the guild MPS with for awhile. I was such a trammy, but now I wouldn't trade factions and pvp for anything else in game.

What faction do you belong to and why?
            I started originally with True Brits because of the people I knew. I loved playing in that faction, but recently I've joined CoM. I can't wait to get more acquainted with that base :)

What do you think caused factions to “slow down”?
            I think factions slowed down because UO has slowed down in general. Also, I've heard that there's been lots of bugs and glitches in different factions areas that might have prevented people from playing. Hopefully the new updates spark a renewed interest in factions because it really is so fun, and your pvp base is much larger, rather than fighting the same old people at Yew gate over and over.

What do you think we can do to revive factions on your shard?
            Spread the word. Everyone has friends that do not play factions. Get them interested, tell them how much fun it is. This is coming from one of the biggest trammies out there that now has a passion for factions. Anyone can learn to pvp, and anyone can enjoy it, they just have to get started.

What would you change or add to factions? (and why?)
            Off the top of my head, I can't think of much that I'd change or add, but I will say that I enjoy the updates, and I'm so happy that they finally fixed that bug in SL base where you got stuck inside if you died in there. Now you can walk up the steps to the exit. I think that one thing I'd like to see is traps putting you in stat loss just like the guards do. I've seen a lot of people use them to avoid losing a point and stat loss, and I think that would curb that situation.

There is always talk of inequities in the bases, guard zones, trap and guard useages, etc., what are your thoughts?
            I think that each base has advantages and disadvantages, and I think that in the end they do even each other out, although some things that might seem like an advantage at first really aren't. TB base is nice because it is near a guard zone, but also it's awful for that same reason if you're guarding. You can't heal your red faction members cause you'll get guardwhacked, you can't use area effect spells or anything like that. Also, the base is LARGE, so it's very easy for a thief to stealth in and hide somewhere without being detected. Shadowlords is a nice base because it is basically one long choke point, so it's easy to target and kill raiders. However, it's also a huge choke point, so it's easy to get yourself stuck in there guarding and have no where to run if you're about to die. Also, you can't place explode traps at SL base so that can be a weakness as well. Right now in CoM base, I've noticed a lot of things. First being, there's no guard zone which is nice. But all the rubble and stuff makes it so hard to run around when you're fighting and it's easy to get stuck on things. The base is small, so that is an advantage though, it would be easy to track a thief. Also, I miss having a healer nearby. We don't even have wandering healers there like there is around SL base and Minax. Minax is a pretty nice base too, fairly small, inside a mountain outside of guard zone, people can place houses right outside of it, which is nice if you have a house where guarders can meet or even a raid house for the same purpose.

What do you think of the recent changes? Reduced length of time to resign? Multiple characters per account? Etc.
            I love that I can put more than one character in factions. It allows me to have more variety in what I want to play that day, and offer different strengths for my guild depending on what is needed that day. I like being able to take my thief out and steal sigils, or field on a mage, or bring out my dexxer or archer if I want to do that as well.

What is your favorite part of factions? Ie, stealing, defending, etc?
            My favorite part of factions would first be coming up with creative ways to try to enter a protected base and steal sigils. It's deadly but oh so fun, and I like to leave treats for my opposing factions that are guarding, such as cakes. They must get hungry sitting there all that time ;) I think my next favorite thing would be guarding. It is so fun to hold sigils and have fun in ventrilo with my friends, talking about anything and everything, having a blast in between raids.

Have you had any really funny moments playing factions?
            Lots of funny thief moments, especially when I do something stupid to get myself killed, but it's all in fun :) Also, I've had more fun nights than I can count guarding and having a blast with my guildmates, decorating bases with bagballs, talking about everything, even Jimmy Dean sausages, hardware, etc. lol Some people who read this will know what I'm talking about, hehehe

What do you talk about during a boring defense?
             I'll tell ya, I've heard some crazy things, lol Too much to even get into in depth!

Do you see a difference in play style between men and woman?
            I think play style is based on the individual and experience. Everyone has their own style, not just a difference between men and women. I tend to just go out there and usually get myself killed but I always have a good time. I could use a bit of education on game mechanics, methinks. hehe

Do you think you are treated differently (better or worse) when they know you are a RL woman?
            Well one thing I can say for sure is that since mostly men play UO, I do get a lot of flirty comments! But I've never felt really disrespected or anything like that. As a matter of fact, I think I bring a unique point of view at times that is appreciated by guild mates.

Have you seen any notable strength a woman player brings to factions or UO?
            I think women are many times naturally diplomatic, with some exceptions of course....there's bad apples in every bushel. We tend to nurture, and I find myself doing a lot of things such as silver farming, stocking supplies for the guild, etc just because I enjoy doing things like that, and also I like to try to help organize things when they seem haywire.

Is there any particular player or group that inspired or helped you become the player you are today?
            Merlin/Hatesphere from Great Lakes. He's an awesome guy and has taught me so much about pvp, magery, etc. and I don't know that I would have lasted in factions without him. I also love my fellow guildmates, old and new, that have been such great friends to me through everything. I'd also love to give Tinkz a HUGE thank you for showing me how fun a thief can really be, and for being such a wonderful woman to play with, talk with, and spend time with.

Do you recommend faction play?
            ABSOLUTELY!

Please check back soon as Tinkz risks life and limb (or at least insurance money)to interview two women of the Shadowlord faction ... anything could happen!!

Partisans                  

     It was a cold and wet night. A wind continuously ran through; one that could rattle even the most virile of men. They say you never know what you’ll do until you are starving. The hooded man dashing down the wet cobblestone road, a trail of water flying up in his wake, could now understand what they were talking about.
     His feet were moving like they had never moved before. Adrenaline was flowing through his heart like a torrent of fire. His roadway was soon coming to an end, so he made a quick turn and bolted for the trees. Maybe here he could catch his breath and gather a thought in the shadows of the thick trunks.
     What was he thinking? He had spent his whole life as a pickpocket; liberating trinkets and the occasional bit of gold off travelers and wanderers. But never had he turned to stealing from his own townsfolk. A local shopkeeper he had known his whole life was the victim of the night. The man was sickened with himself, but there was little time to dwell on it, anymore.
     A loud grizzled voice boomed, “I think he’s this way!” The thief’s heart began to pound. Each slosh of a foot hitting the peculiar mix of wet red mud and grass made his pulse quicken more and more. Now he had to think. This was the sort of moment his old mentor had been training him for. The time he’d have to turn and defend himself.
     THUMP, THUMP, THUMP. The town guard was close now. The thief couldn’t outrun him much longer with the weight of his stolen goods. This would not be in vain. He sunk low behind his tree. Odd, he couldn’t hear footsteps anymore. The thief cocked his head sideways, trying to hear some sort of clue that the guard was still stalking him. Nothing.
     He heard a faint unmistakable whistle. Had he ducked his head even half a second later it would be gone. Quickly the thief sprang to his feet and turned, eyes wide as he recognized the guard. Michel. While Michel was focused on pulling his sword from the bark of the oak, the thief acted.
     “YOWWW!” The guard screamed as a solid punch met his armpit, where the armor afforded no protection. He swung his gauntleted fist, but the thief was already under it and coming up with a second shot to the armpit. The pain only seemed to strengthen the guard, as he ripped his sword free of the tree.
     Without hesitating to look the criminal in the face, he swung. The cloaked man again ducked under his attack, and came up hooking Michel’s sword-arm in a lock. He used his other arm to elbow the helmeted guard in the face, if only to disorient him momentarily. It worked. With a deft twist the thief pulled the sword away from the guards grasp, and jumped back with it drawn towards Michel’s throat.
     To his credit, Michel showed no fear, and did not resign. He reached for a crossbow slung on his side. A weapon at which he was most adept, the thief knew. He reacted, and swung for the crossbow, smashing it rather clumsily but nonetheless hard enough to sever its drawstring.
     The guard let out another yowl, and the thief cringed as he saw blood drain down Michel’s leg.
     He did not want to hurt him. Michel used to run with his gang, befriending travelers coming through the moongates and expeditiously looting them of all their goods the moment the opportunity presented itself. Once Michel was just a fellow thief. That was before followers of the Shadowlords once again became many, and the True Britannian guard found themselves overwhelmed. Minoc’s New World Order warriors guild, of which Michel was now a full member, and the local guard were no match. Apparently they couldn’t even stop the pickpockets from thriving.
     Brought down to a kneel, the guard was still showing fire in his eyes. He had no intentions on giving up. He was surprised, however, when the criminal whom he was now at the mercy of tucked the sword into the sash under his robe. He gave the guard a sloppy salute, turned, and disappeared into the rainy darkness.
     The injured man never did see the face of the brigand he was chasing. Nor did anyone else.
     Not thirty yards away, standing in a tent entranceway ensconced in darkness, two men knew precisely whom the cloaked figure was. One a formidable looking warrior with a short cut and a disciplined demeanor. The second man with long red hair and a long beard of identical shade.
     The former turned to look at the bearded man; who was barely visible beneath his thick layers of armor and clothing, ever in his easily distinguishable green cloak and robe. He never did see it fit to hide who he was. “Nonel, your brother-” He was cutoff by a thinly gloved hand in the air.
     “I don’t want to hear it.”
     The warrior’s bronze robes shook and he found himself readjusting the dark glasses that hid his eyes. When he finally finished laughing, he restarted. “He’s a great thief. You saw the those moves. Bring him in and I’m sure he’ll do us good.”
     Nonel Topd set his jaw. “Denin,” he started, but closed his mouth again. He turned and retreated into the tent.

• Position requires dependable and relevant inputs to current state of the game, as well as contributing to future development of the game experience

While participating in murder quests and exchanging your cleansweep tickets WRR invites you to tune in and enjoy a few more exciting activities including ....

~~~~~~~~~

Friday - July 18th - Join TorAnn, Dr. Lil and PantherBabe for UO Shard Chatter at 7pm PST, 10pm EST on WRR. Hear UO players chat about this weeks fascinating topics and voice your opinions about what's happening in UO! The weekly show finishes with a "you know you have been playing UO to long when..." segment where very comical endings are presented by UO listeners. Feel free to send yours in. (ICQ numbers can be found on the www.wrrad.com website)

~~~~~~~~~

Saturday - July 19th - Once again its time for the Brush LimpPaw show. Tune in at 2pm PST, 5pm EST as Brush (Norman Bates/Groucho) brings you the NEWS as only he could deliver it.

~~~~~~~~~

Sunday - July 20th - The Pacific Auction House (located just East of the Luna Moongate) continues after 4 fantastic years to bring you more great deals. Get there early for best seating. Auction starts at 12pm PST, 3pm EST and is broadcasted live on WRR.

~~~~~~~~~

Sunday - July 20th - The weekly "Tazz & Keg's Underground" radio show on WRR is broadcasted live at 7pm PST - 10pm EST. Entering their underground world leads you to places you may have never gone before. Are you bold enough?

~~~~~~~~~~

*Deal or No Deal ~ 'UO Style' is on vacation for the next two weekends as staff members are preparing for the San Diego UO Town Hall Meeting, on Saturday, July 26th. Several Whispering Rose Radio staff members will be on hand in San Diego and will once more broadcast the town hall meeting live while other WRR staffers will host a special gathering at Dave & Busters on Lake Superior (map).

Have a great weekend playing Ultima Online and listening to the sounds of WRR ~ see you all on the flip side.

~~~~~~~~~

--

UO Stratics Forum Menu Rebuilt

The new UO Stratics Forum menu in the UO Toolbar is complete now. UO Stratics is still restoring parts of their forums... and as those forums come available online, those will be added to the newly rebuilt menu too.

Have a look around and give the new menu a test drive. If you find broken links or mistakes, please post them to the UO Toolbar board on the GameXbar Support Forum.

--

UO Toolbar Search Updates

UO Toolbar's Google-powered search box has been rebuilt and revamped. Now your searches will be more accurate and powerful than before! Now you can search specific community sites right from the pull down menu... like UO.com/UOHerald.com, EA's UO Knowledge Base, Ultimate Online Forums, UO Craft, UO Guide, UO Stratics, UO Stratics Forums, and UO Toolbar.

With your help posting URL suggestions on GameXbar's UO Toolbar support board, we would also like to add category searches across the community. If you want to search crafting, it would search only the submitted crafting links... making it extremely accurate and relevant to crafting. Same for taming, armor, skills, etc.

Give it a try, suggestions and posts are welcome!

--

UOF Menu In The Works

There is another Community|Forum menu in the works, this one for Ultima Online Forums. It is not finished yet, but when complete... it will give UO Toolbar users direct and fast access to their favorites boards on Ultima Online Forums.

Refresh your toolbar once in a while to see the work in progress.

--

- Jeremy

For those that were not around in 1999 for the Clean Up Britannia event they have been experiencing the Spring Clean Up of 2008. This event was created to free up storage space for plot owners but has gone even further. So far even one of the drops from Melissa is a reward ticket.

Our turn in rewards this time around are rather great and varied appealing to most players in some way. Then there are those that complain no matter what and the Sorceror's Armor seems to be one of those items of discussion, a hot topic for some. Some say it is a waste of points, others say that a better or just as good set of armor can be put together at a lower cost. What do you think ?

The 1999 turn in gave us Phoenix Armor, though maybe good at the time only gives one a fashion choice these days. 2008 brings us Scout's Armor and Knight's Armor in addition to Sorceror's.

Surveys through the years have proven that the color blue is always in the top two as favorite. Sorceror's blue is showing up on more people each day in the realm.

Sorceror's Armor is leather with;
Stats Per Piece: Intelligence Bonus 1, Lower Reagent Cost 10%, 7% each resist
Complete Set: Lower Reagent Cost 100%, Lower Mana Cost 5%, Mana Regeneration 2, Defense Chance Increase 10%, Intelligence Bonus 12, 70 resists in all resistances

Over the weekend I have snapped a few players accenting their Sorceror's Armor in their own way trying to give it a personal touch. Is It fashionable ? What do you think ?

Posted to uoherald.com's Five on Friday:

FoF: Dark Doings
Jeremy Dalberg
18 Jul 2008 17:24:58

Notes on toggles, transfers, and where to send your resume!

"How do I make my resists go back to normal after I cast Protection, Magic Reflection, or Reactive Armor?"

The vets will probably skip past this one, but QA has been getting quite a few bug reports spurred by these spells - it seems like people don't quite understand how they work. Which is fair, because they're the only spells in the game that work the way they do, and it's easy to forget when you have one on.

These three spells are "toggle" spells, meaning that casting them is like flipping a switch - it turns the effect on, or turns it off. The effect lasts through death and even through logging off. If you notice your resists are altered and you can't tell why, check the descriptions of the spells (see the links above) and figure out which spell is in effect. Then cast the spell on yourself again - or use a scroll, or get a friend to do it if you need to. That will turn the spell back off and your resists will go back to normal.

One thing to watch out for is Arch Protection - it's the same as Protection, but it can be cast on all party members in a certain radius, so it's easy to have it cast on you accidentally if you spend time partied with mages. Casting regular Protection should turn it off, though.

--

"When are Character Transfers going to be re-enabled?"

I don't have an ETA yet on this but I wanted to make sure y'all knew we're still actively working on it. Hang in there!

--

Account Age Update:

The issue that was preventing people's accounts from updating properly should have been resolved. If you still seem to be showing the incorrect age (and you've waited about 3-5 days for a given character to sync properly) let me know!

--

Now Hiring!

We're looking for someone to be our new Associate Game Designer. Here's the job description and requirements:

Main responsibilities: contribute significantly to game fiction, manage events, balance gameplay, and develop content using proprietary scripting tools.

Understanding and or knowledge of Ultima Online game mechanics, history, and community interaction a definite plus.
Experience as a Game Master, Counselor, Seer, or Event Moderator for Ultima Online a bonus.
2+ years experience playing Ultima Online

• Position requires dependable and relevant inputs to current state of the game, as well as contributing to future development of the game experience

Gives inputs to other members of the team to enhance gameplay for the current subscriber base

Due to the demanding scripting system surrounding Ultima Online, the designer must have expansive knowledge of scripting languages and have the ability to produce samples of work using similar tools.
Level editing experience and module creation using open source gaming engines (Infinity, Unreal 2.5 or 3, Doom, Source, Aurora Toolset).
Background or exposure to game development processes in the industry
Essential to have experience working in small teams of 4-6 people.
3DS Max experience preferred
2+ years in the game industry and/or gaming school preferred
Can demonstrate understanding of game design concepts to include flow, decision making, engaging storyline, and integration of art and sound

If you're interested in (and qualified for) this position, please send your resume to jdalberg AT ea DOT com and I'll put it in the right hands right away!

--

What's To Come:

If you haven't aided the kingdom in investigating the dastardly doings at the castle, please do so! In other news, we're preparing for the Town Hall next week and working on other, more nefarious plans...

--

Town Hall News:

The San Diego Town Hall is next week! Check out the details here and please do RSVP if you haven't yet so we don't run out of chips and dip! Leurocian and I can't wait to see you all!

--

Fansite News:

Whispering Rose Radio has quite a bit planned, up to and including the Town Hall!

While participating in murder quests and exchanging your cleansweep tickets WRR invites you to tune in and enjoy a few more exciting activities including ....

~~~~~~~~~

Friday - July 18th - Join TorAnn, Dr. Lil and PantherBabe for UO Shard Chatter at 7pm PST, 10pm EST on WRR. Hear UO players chat about this weeks fascinating topics and voice your opinions about what's happening in UO! The weekly show finishes with a "you know you have been playing UO to long when..." segment where very comical endings are presented by UO listeners. Feel free to send yours in. (ICQ numbers can be found on the www.wrrad.com website)

~~~~~~~~~

Saturday - July 19th - Once again its time for the Brush LimpPaw show. Tune in at 2pm PST, 5pm EST as Brush (Norman Bates/Groucho) brings you the NEWS as only he could deliver it.

~~~~~~~~~

Sunday - July 20th - The Pacific Auction House (located just East of the Luna Moongate) continues after 4 fantastic years to bring you more great deals. Get there early for best seating. Auction starts at 12pm PST, 3pm EST and is broadcasted live on WRR.

~~~~~~~~~

Sunday - July 20th - The weekly "Tazz & Keg's Underground" radio show on WRR is broadcasted live at 7pm PST - 10pm EST. Entering their underground world leads you to places you may have never gone before. Are you bold enough?

~~~~~~~~~~

*Deal or No Deal ~ 'UO Style' is on vacation for the next two weekends as staff members are preparing for the San Diego UO Town Hall Meeting, on Saturday, July 26th. Several Whispering Rose Radio staff members will be on hand in San Diego and will once more broadcast the town hall meeting live while other WRR staffers will host a special gathering at Dave & Busters on Lake Superior (map).

Have a great weekend playing Ultima Online and listening to the sounds of WRR ~ see you all on the flip side.

~~~~~~~~~

UO Toolbar has some announcements as well!

--

UO Stratics Forum Menu Rebuilt

The new UO Stratics Forum menu in the UO Toolbar is complete now. UO Stratics is still restoring parts of their forums... and as those forums come available online, those will be added to the newly rebuilt menu too.

Have a look around and give the new menu a test drive. If you find broken links or mistakes, please post them to the UO Toolbar board on the GameXbar Support Forum.

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UO Toolbar Search Updates

UO Toolbar's Google-powered search box has been rebuilt and revamped. Now your searches will be more accurate and powerful than before! Now you can search specific community sites right from the pull down menu... like UO.com/UOHerald.com, EA's UO Knowledge Base, Ultimate Online Forums, UO Craft, UO Guide, UO Stratics, UO Stratics Forums, and UO Toolbar.

With your help posting URL suggestions on GameXbar's UO Toolbar support board, we would also like to add category searches across the community. If you want to search crafting, it would search only the submitted crafting links... making it extremely accurate and relevant to crafting. Same for taming, armor, skills, etc.

Give it a try, suggestions and posts are welcome!

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UOF Menu In The Works

There is another Community|Forum menu in the works, this one for Ultima Online Forums. It is not finished yet, but when complete... it will give UO Toolbar users direct and fast access to their favorites boards on Ultima Online Forums.

Refresh your toolbar once in a while to see the work in progress.

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Next week the FoF will be on Thursday again, because I'll be on my way to San Diego on Friday. Have a great weekend, everyone!

- Jeremy

Dear Europa Community,

I've now been on the Europa news team for almost a year and a half and it has been an interesting journey. I've covered some great events and met some interesting people.

I at one time lead the charge for filling the zoo and thanks to the wonderful community saw that happen, most definitely a wonderful thing to have been involved in.

Sadly my time at stratics has come to its end as I made the decision a while back that I would hang up my shield and fade back into the crowd from which I came.

It also brings to a close my time in UO as well. I'm sure that one day I will return to UO but I don't know when that will be or if indeed UO will still be around when I make it back.
What I do know is I've had a great time and met some wonderful people who I hope will keep in contact with me via ICQ.

Thank you and farewell

Kayne

Comments go here http://vboards.stratics.com/showthread.php?t=90366

It seems there were a lot of people who wanted an interview with the legendary Petra Fyde…

Oh dear, I’m not very interesting! A Boring, middleaged housewife and granny.

First up is the usual start to any player interview. How did you arrive in Sosaria and what was it that caught your attention about the game?

I’d often watched my sons playing console games, when they started playing UO I realised this was a game that I could play too. My younger son let us have a char on his account for a while, and then my husband and I started a shared account in December 2000.

The thing that caught your attention all those years ago, has that gone away now or is it still very much a part of your UO life?

Not gone away, no, changed a little as I’ve become a little less inept and inexperienced, but I still find my ‘life’ in Sosaria fascinating.

Which is your oldest character?

Petra Fyde is the oldest of all our characters, she was the first to have the Fyde name, The characters my husband first had were deleted and Terry Fyde was born. We began to communicate with other players via these characters and so have become known by their names.

Who helped you during your time in UO? Who has been a major influence?

Initially, our sons, though that was a bit ‘blind leading the blind’ Discovering Stratics boards was a major advantage. It was through the board, and more specifically the babble thread, that I met Barian, who has been my friend for many years now.

You own a few vendors at Barian’s Mall, what made you start a vendor? Has it always been at Barian’s or did you start somewhere else? What is the Ethos behind your vendors?

The purpose of our vendors has always been to provide the day-to-day requirements of players. We’re the ‘local department store’ of Sosaria, not the ‘Harrods’ We set up our first vendors at Terry’s. Later Barian invited us to set up vendors at the Mall, and Terry’s moved to Felucca where it became ‘FortyFyde’, however that has since closed..

What was your first home?

Terry and I lived out of our bank boxes for 6 months while we saved up for a small marble shop. It cost us 500k and was near Cove. Some people still remember ‘Terry’s’. Later I took over the Angry Mongbat Tavern in Yewdale. It had been a tavern for the previous 2 owners and we undertook to keep it that way. It’s since been customised, but the bar still remains

What about the first guild you joined?

For a long time both Terry and I refused invitations to join guilds. Terry made a guild called The Hole In The Head Gang [HHG], we put all our characters in that. Then I joined Guardians of Yew [GYE]. When that broke up Barian, Laton and I formed Yewdale Fellowship. I was nominally the GM, but all decisions were actually made by the three of us. Now there’s only Barian and I left but we still hunt regularly together.

What are your thoughts on KR? Which client do you mainly use?

I approached KR with the attitude, ‘it’s the future, I have to learn to adapt’, but to be honest I don’t like it much. I find it hard to see the things I want to see and the targeting system is not only overly complicated, I can’t do with it what I most want to do, ie vet my pets or heal my guildmate at the same time as I’m fighting. I keep trying to use it, I want to be fair, but 2D is so much clearer visually that I spend almost all my time in that.

Where do you think the future of UO lies at the moment?

I wish I knew! I’m hopeful judging by what’s happened in the last month, but also fearful that with KR not getting the reception it could have, had it performed properly, EA may pull the plug.

If you could be an EA dev for UO, what is one thing you would add/take away or change?

Ohh! Difficult, I’d change the collections I think, I’m not quite sure how, but as they stand getting the exhibits needs an effort that comes closer to ‘work’ than ‘play’, which spoils any enjoyment of the task.

What is your favourite thing to do in UO? Are there any particularly memorable moments you’ve had in UO?

I enjoy many things, and am happiest when I have a purpose, whether that’s completing a quest, gathering resources, or fulfilling an ambition. I think I get most pleasure from taming. My most vivid memory though is old, that of jousting my first dragon, as a warrior

What about your worst moment?

I try not to remember worst moments *grins* I did get a bit upset when our connection to the server was broken for 8 hours, but the server was still active. I’d been out with my white wyrm and was sure I’d lost her. I was lucky, I found her wild where I’d left her, though re-taming her while surrounded by rotting corpses, lich lords and lesser undead was a little tricky to say the least.

In your opinion what is it that makes UO special? What is it about UO that’s given it 10 years of life?

The freedom, to do whatever suits your mood, to be whoever you want to be, go wherever you like and to log off in an instant if something comes up RL. The sheer variety of things to do, places to go, things to create. Also the people who play it, they’re a caring community with a helping hand readily extended to anyone who needs it.

Its been said that women tend to like playing male characters to avoid unwanted attention by males, do you agree? Have you ever had a problem with unwanted male attention?

My only male character is one I inherited from Terry. I’m not comfortable playing a male. I can’t say I’ve been bothered by unwanted attention, I either freeze them out or recall away. Most are easily put off by sentences starting with ‘my husband’s char…’ *grins*

What is your favourite template?

That depends entirely on my mood to be honest. I can play my tamer for days, and then leave her untouched while I play my crafter, take my stealth herder creeping round or charge to battle on my warrior.

Posted to uoherald.com:

All Shards to be Published
Jeremy Dalberg
15 Jul 2008 16:52:14

All shards will be published with the following during their next regular maintenance:

• Archery Buttes should now be useable when placed
• Blue players are no longer able to heal faction members in Felucca
• Event Quest items such as Bloodied Parchment, Soggy Parchment and the Note from Casca are now blessed so players can not lose them
• Melissa’s Cloak  can no longer be used as Powder of Fortification
• Corroded boxes will no longer get stuck on the ground when opened outside of a backpack
• Issue was fixed with the Mouseholes so they can be axed to deed form. 
• Guards will not be aggressive to newly tamed pets in town nor will newly tamed pets be ignored by mobs
• Yonns will now accept Mininova Wands, Jaana’s Hangover Cure, Pink Champagne and the 300^th Anniversary Coins
• Yonns will no longer accept House Decoration Tools

Posted to uoherald.com:

Test Center Has Been Updated
Jeremy Dalberg
15 Jul 2008 16:04:04

TC1 has been updated with the following:

• Archery Buttes should now be useable when placed
• Blue players are no longer able to heal faction members in Felucca
• Event Quest items such as Bloodied Parchment, Soggy Parchment and the Note from Casca are now blessed so players can not lose them
• Melissa’s Cloak  can no longer be used as Powder of Fortification
• Corroded boxes will no longer get stuck on the ground when opened outside of a backpack
• Issue was fixed with the Mouseholes so they can be axed to deed form. 
• Guards will not be aggressive to newly tamed pets in town nor will newly tamed pets be ignored by mobs
• Yonns will now accept Mininova Wands, Jaana’s Hangover Cure, Pink Champagne and the 300^th Anniversary Coins
• Yonns will no longer accept House Decoration Tools

Posted to uoherald.com:

A Note On Mouse Holes
Jeremy Dalberg
14 Jul 2008 17:28:59

If you place a mouse hole on top of another mouse hole, the void thus created shatters the stability of the local reality metaframework and the holes will be removed to an orthagonal dimension.

In other words, don't stack two mouse holes on top of one another or they will go poof!

Posted to uoherald.com:

Hope for the Future
Draconi
26 Oct 2007 12:38:43 EST

“My Lords! Ladies! Please,” he implored the assemblage, “we must stand together!”

The Royal Council, representing the nobility from every shore of Britannia, had gathered again in Castle British. Events of late were chaotic, dividing their time and resources away from each other. The militia of a half dozen cities had been sent scurrying across the land, trying vainly to meet each new threat – often only to arrive just as their foes departed.

Even the Elves of Heartwood had been attacked. A single man adorned in dragonscale armor had appeared in their midst, and, for all reports, had done nothing until he had been provoked. “Oh, but what a response,” Francesco inwardly mourned, noting the casualties and devastation wrought high up in their sacred wood.

“Seems perfectly reasonable to me,” a woman spoke, standing to counter him, “It's your fault, after all, is it not?”

After all he had done, tried to do, won and lost, he knew they condemned him. For an experiment gone awry, for rumors of the Shadowlords loosed on their world, and for the ceaseless attacks on their sovereign territories.

“And if it is, I will bear it! But we must act as one!”

The noblewoman leaned forward over the table and hissed, “What good is acting together when we have nothing left to give! Our cities, not yours. Our cities are the ones besieged!”

“Let us hear our lord the treasurer!” called Ambassador Casca.

Voices rose in a torrent of dissent, arguments erupting around the table. Francesco stretched out his hand and, surprisingly, they quieted. Francesco had the answer, they thought. He always seemed to know what to do.

Francesco did know. This was the moment he had been waiting for. He would soon speak, proposing that the larger cities volunteer their own local militias to serve with the kingdom's, creating a military force the likes Britannia hadn't seen since the wars of Lord British's time. They would rush to the defense of the smaller townships and secure the hearts, minds, and, most importantly, the lives of the oft neglected people.

Britannia would be stronger that ever. In a way, their struggles and conflicts had at last offered them a chance to heal into a stronger nation, even without the heroes and legends of the past.

Someone screamed.

Francesco looked down at the shining blade protruding from his chest. It was transparent, with small rivulets of crimson blood streaming down the edges, distorting the image of his feet like glass. Glass... He opened his mouth in silent surprise, the blade shattered, and darkness rushed in from the corners of his vision.

Swords were drawn. The nobles rushed, at first, against the invaders cloaked in their dark robes. Panic set in after the third or fourth man died, impaled on a breaking sword, or sliced apart with ease by the merciless and silent enemy.

The guards were long dead. The doors of the chamber too far away to escape in time, but the survivors tried, desperate for escape, rushing together and falling together. The doors opened! The last noble crawled forward, looking upwards into the horrified face of a guard who had heard the confusion from outside.

The guard turned jumped back and turned.

Later, some would wonder whether the last sentry had cowered and attempted to run, or if he had bravely attempted to warn the castle. The assassins in their cloaks had little care for heroic tales, and simply slaughtered everyone who had seen them.

The Royal Council was no more.

 

Additional Event Notes:

• If you see MegaCliloc Errors, please update your game client
• The developers will communicate on UOForums while Stratics is down for maintenance
• Talking to NPCs: They use a keyword/reponse system, so pay attention to what they say and try to get more information. Some of them also take objects in return for info or rewards
• Hint #1: You need to use Forensics Evaluation (any skill level) on the corpse of Francesco, then double-click the corpse to find a clue. Turn it over to Jasper, the Inspector.

Posted to uoherald.com's Five on Friday:

Not Really the Five on Friday
Robert Mull
11 Jul 2008 15:24:58
Since the wonderful Jeremy is still out enjoying her vacation, I am going to do something different for a Friday.  Because I am being a bit unconventional, I'm putting this under Community News instead.

First a few announcements:

• We have updated the patch notes for Publish 54 and added that the Gauntlets of Valor and Helm of Spirituality can be traded into Yonn.
• There is a known issue with aggressive pets tamed since Publish 54 getting guard killed.  We are currently looking into this.  By "aggressive pets" we mean nightmares, dragons and other such pets.
  

Now, a normal FoF has a number of questions from the Community.  Today, I am fielding questions from myself and about myself, since I have some experience in the subject matter.

"How did you get your start in UO?"

I originally started playing in the beta.  At the time I was going back to college after a stint in the Army  and had a particularly weak computer with a horrible connection, so I suffered greatly and let UO sit neglected for a time.  After graduation and having found a job, I started back up properly with T2A on Baja with a bunch of friends I had met on The Vault.  I'm still friends with the core group of people that started that guild and have played many different subsequent MMOs with them.

"What is your first UO memory?"

I had my brand new first character and was wandering out by the Brit Crossroads (wait for it).  While enjoying the countryside I saw that one of my fellow travellers had died near the road.  Running up to the corpse I realized I could look inside and loot the body of the fine cape there.  No sooner had my character draped his new found cape around his shoulders than a group of foul bandits appeared around me from hiding and laid into me immediately.  I was no match for this band of hooligans and was soon sent to the Land of Gray, "ooOOOooO-ing" all my way back to the healer. I learned my lessons quickly.

"What was the first event you participated in?"

The first event I remember well was part of the Followers of Armageddon and Juo'Nar storyline.  We fought Juo'Nar out in the countryside in an epic battle.  I managed to loot his cloak and hat (what is it with me and cloaks anyway?)  As the event wound down, I realized far too late that the furtive figure running around the battlefield was a thief...and he had stolen all my mandrake root.  Then, his guild brethren arrived, armed and ready for a fight.  Unable to recall or cast many meaningful spells, I died fighting.  Dying like this never bothered me, I had long ago learned not to carry anything I couldn't afford to lose.  This threshold event, however, taught me the importance of setting up my pack to frustrate thieves.

"What was your first character?"

 A classic mage.  I built up that character the old-fashioned way.  No macros or exploits for me by gosh.  Just tons and tons and tons of hours spent casting spells.  To pay for this spell-casting frenzy, my second character was a tailor.  Leather gorgets anyone?

"What is one of your favorite memories about UO?"

One guild night we were playing late, doing a bunch of different dungeons.  We took a brief break at Brit Bank.  A friend of mine had only recently started playing the game.  As a joke, I handed him some explosive potions and asked him to "toss" one to me, which he obligingly did (I honestly didn't expect him to do it).  After the inevitable guard-kill and everyone around the bank insta-looting his corpse, I re-equipped him with new gear....laughing myself senseless all the time.

And finally from Whispering Rose Radio

While doing your share of cleanup for the ongoing Spring Cleaning 2008 campaign, and battling against the Shadowlords, WRR invites you to tune in and enjoy a few more exciting activities including ....

 

 ~~~~~~~~~

 

Friday - July 11th - It's Shard Chatter time with TorAnn, Dr. Lil and PantherBabe on WRR. At 7pm PST, 10pm EST hear our UO player panel chat about this weeks interesting topics and voice your opinions about the goings on in UO! Their weekly show ends with the "you know you have been playing UO to long when..." segment where some hilarious endings are submitted by the listeners. Feel free to send yours in. (ICQ numbers can be found on the www.wrrad.com website)

 

  ~~~~~~~~~

 

Saturday - July 12th - Tune into the Brush LimpPaw show. 2pm PST, 5pm EST. Brush (Norman Bates/Groucho) brings you the NEWS as only he could see it.

 

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Saturday - July 13th - Its Time for Deal or No Deal ~ 'UO Style' on the CATSKILLS shard starting at 3pm PST, 6pm EST. Participants will be playing for 10million this week and of course there will be 5 - 250k door prize drawings *remember, you must be there to win*. For a map of the WRR DoND location on CATSKILLS ...  CLICK HERE.

 

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Sunday - July 14th - After four terrific years, the Pacific Auction House (located just East of the Luna Moongate) continues to bring you more fantastic deals. Get there early for best seating. Auction starts at 12pm PST, 3pm EST and is broadcasted live on WRR.

 

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Sunday - July 15th - The "Tazz & Keg's Underground" radio show on WRR is a must listen. Their weekly show is broadcasted at 7pm PST - 10pm EST. You never know where their cave will lead you.

 

~~~~~~~~~~

 

Preparations are underway for the San Diego UO Town Hall Meeting, Saturday, July 26th. Whispering Rose Radio will be on hand with several staff members and will once more be broadcasting live!!

Weddings are a joyous time. A man and a woman are brought together ( or in California a man & man or a woman & woman ) to wed in holy matrimony hopefully to live forever in bliss.

Weddings are full of good stuff but they are also usually peppered with odd moments and a few intoxicated guests.
The wedding yesterday of Lord Torturer of B*R and Lady Diamond of R*R was full of the good, but also the bad and the ugly!

The location of the ceremony was just lovely with trees and flowers in full bloom. Scented candles were placed in areas so their fragrence blended with those of the flowers which was a good thing as one of the guests sitting right behind me was flatulent and making odorous wind the entire time. I overheard someone say he had been eating a lot of hot spicy mongbat wings earlier in the day and they did not agree with him.





With the bride hidden out of site the maid of honor Bellarrix of AAA and best man Lord DarkKnight of B*R stood on stage as Lord Jesus H. Christ calmed them and the groom down with soothing conversation as the large crowd gathered.

The crowd was large indeed and for some reason dressed mainly in somber colors, black and blues. Many claimed this was an omen others laughed it off, others pointed to a gravestone in eye shot of where the wedding was to take place. See screenshots below.







Dead Ned, Thanatos, Lady Jezebel, Antonio Black, Og, Queen Sameera, Shady, Malik, blanc De blanc, STORMY, Lord Wicked Crazy, Dalamar, Goat Monger, John Nolan, Lord Devin, Deelusion, Ganon II, Jethro, Mirage, Witch, Lord Eleazar, Nightmoon, Serenity Starr, and Lord Crom Ironlord were all there to witness this event. Sir Steven arrived when the ceramony was almost over causing a little of a ruckus.

The bride looked radiant as all brides do in an outfit designed by Seamstress. The white on white design was offset by a 30,000 diamond jewerly set. The groom was dressed by Tommy Hilfiger.

Lord Jesus H. Christ did a grand job with the vows though I heard more than one female guest comment it seemed rather sexist. I thought it was lovely and it even got me weeping a few times.





Under a canopy of fireworks the bride and groom kissed and off to the reception we all went. We arrived at a crystal inspired plot and were ushered to the upper most level. See quests arrive below at Reja's Renegades.



The reception was set up with a rainbow crystal type theme with the bride and groom on crystal thrones. It was their day afterall.

Lord Big Bear as you can see in the image below was one of the first to arrive at the reception and one of the first to start drinking. Rumor has it he was consuming ale before the actual wedding took place. I overheard someone comment "he had another one of his liquid lunches today". It was either the ale or tiny bladder syndrome but Lord Big Bear could not control himself and he urinated in the fountain at the reception ( see below ). That was not bad enough, he then started soiling some of the chairs. Quickly one of the older female guests removed a depends from her purse and handed it to him and all was fine. Since this wet guest is in the same guild as the groom I am sure there will be some type of intervention.
These are the types of things as the years go by the wedded couple can laugh about.






Lord Torturer and Lady Diamond congratulations. We wish you good health, joy and happiness in your union.

P.S. What is UO wedding without a little death ? It appears some DC* members were acting up as usual. ( see below )

Posted to uoherald.com:

Publish 54 Going Live
Robert Mull
09 Jul 2008 17:53:51 Edit: 2:14 PM: Servers are starting to individually come back online now.

Edit: 12:36 PM: We are bringing the servers down at 12:50 PM EST to update to Publish 54.

Publish 54 is going live on Japanese servers at 6:00pm EST today. All other servers will be updated early tomorrow morning. There will be minor updates to the Patch Notes as well tomorrow morning

Posted to uoherald.com:

2D and KR Clients Updated
Robert Mull
09 Jul 2008 15:26:18

At 3:30PM EST, the KR and 2D client patches will be updated (KR version 2.54.0.7, 2D version 6.0.9.2). This patch updates the clilocs.

We will be bringing our forums down Friday, July 11th 2008 to import restored user data initially lost in May. The following was posted in our Forum Announcements:

"On Friday, July 11th our message forums will be taken offline for approximately 48 hours while we restore the data we were able to pull from the old database and merge it with the existing data. The restoration will begin at about noon EST on Friday.

Users whose accounts were recovered from the old database will have those accounts merged with the current existing account, if the username and the email address match. For those of you who created alternate usernames we will be able to merge your restored account with your new account after the restoration has been completed.

If you have any questions or need any assistance with your account please email [email protected] or use the "Contact Us" link at the bottom of the forums."

While we apologize for the inconvenience, we are at the same time very happy this scheduled downtime is occuring as it means we are returning to normality!

Tucked hidden away under the bramble and brush on Fire Island is the entrance to Hythloth.

Hythloth is the home of many a hellish fiend. As Larisa informed us last week in the Community News the Strangers would return and they have indeed. This hellish home was a perfect setting for a Strangers visit. The Imps, Hellhounds and Gargoyles on the first level welcomed this Stranger that throws and creates amazing deadly design with flames.

I witnessed the first Stranger in Luna and featured screenshots earlier this week in the News. There have been many since then and things have changed. Things seem to be getting more ominous as the Strangers create black holes now and shake the ground beneath your feet making you unsteady. This earth shaking tricks makes it hard for you not to fall into one of the black holes.

I found out about these black holes first hand today as I fell through several of them. Several DC members invited me to go with them to attack this Stranger and I took them up on the offer as I have not seen one since the very first one. Twice falling through blacks holes I was transported to different cemeteries, a deadly locale indeed.


I was so busy trying to stay alive there was no time for screenshots however thankfully several were sent to me and they are posted below, showing the black holes and the Stranger.




The Stranger dressed in black and red looking to kill


The Stranger laughs over two deaths she created


Fire is still part of the Strangers strategy


Another example of black hole

There is still time to experience these Strangers. If you have not yet..... be on the lookout.

Dear Great People of Great Lakes,

It is that time of year again. Several times a year I do a " From The Desk of " article. With Stratics recently been down this is a chance to give a few tidbits from the past several months as I see/saw them.

Brit and Luna as the main gathering points for many are good places to start.

Luna has had yet another transformation. That place changes faces more than Joan Rivers! In my interview with Rhen posted several days ago his departure has had the biggest impact. Of The Ring has moved his museum and appears to want to own Luna. Since the birth of Luna many people have tried to control the city by plot ownership and several have made significant attempts from ULTIMA and Purple to Tas and Rhen himself.

Below is a screenshot taken weeks ago of a very odd gorilla setting up a home within the Luna Bank area.



Luna action has not been happening just within the city walls. One of the very first Strangers appeared just outside of the city creating a massacre right infront of Isabeau's Expansion vendor shop.
Below are two screenshots of that Strangers visit and the hell fire created.





On the subject of strangers and bloodshed, Brit has been as busy as ever. Actual blood may not be shed there often but the acid tongue of many a banksitter has cut to the nerve of many. Ahhh....the joys and fun of banksitting.

Some have taken the "sitting" of bank sitting seriously. Below is a screenshot of Hosokawa and Chaotic Barbie discussing current personal and community affairs in a seating arrangement they created. These gals know how to banksit in style.



For those that bank sit many of the usual suspects have been present the past few months. Even Black Betty has been spotted there wearing an apron created by Lord Saint of Killers and double blessed sandals.

More than banksitting has been going on in Brit. Turn In time has been upon us. Note below the locations for those that may have been living under a rock the past few months.



The Turn Ins have been an exciting thing for decoraters and plot owners alike. Below are two screenshots depicting some of the turn in item rewards. The first screenshot is one of my Luna plots featuring the yucca trees, beehive and nest with eggs. The second screenshot is of the home of Lord M-One ( a.k.a. Miller Brewing Company ) featuring the horse barding and dragon head wall mount. This is exciting stuff indeed !





If you have not already start cleaning out your chests and boxes and get those glorious tealish green tickets.



Moonglow has calmed down the past few weeks after the closure of the mysterious moongate which lead to an altered Moonglow. All that remains is sad scarred wounded area ( see below ). It appears to still have evil properties as one cannot cast near there nor mount an Ethereal.



Player run events have been going strong also. FCB had a net toss recently, MOA has been running auctions and scavenger hunts and chickens have been shedding blood at CFC ( see below ).



The GOF auction house is still making attempts which is good news. I popped in for a few this past week and some good items went on the block even though some banned patrons were trying to set the place on fire as you can see in the screenshot below. My new frock was a little damaged but I found a great tailor in Vesper to repair it. My singed red hair is another story.



As the years go by people come and go in our realm and often vet players depart. Their time here has done what it was meant to do for them. For those that have been around as long as I have I wanted to let you know though you may not see her/him Jamba Juice is still around. Yes, the original Jamba and still creating wonderful designs.
She informed me vendor shop ownership is in her past. She is living a quiet life of tailoring and fishing. Needless to say also decor...she is working on a castle right now but below is her recent creation. It is always nice to run into old friends.



As a hunter of decor, good and evil, tasteful and tacky,I would like to leave you with a screenshot of a plot I happened upon last month.
I do not care for the barrel type cactus and for the first time I actually liked them.




All my best.

Fondly, Lady Lava

OBIT RECAP # 1

There is a huge back log of Obit screenshots and I do not want any of them to go waste so I will be posting several columns to catch up.


Aldrick


Aldrick two


Athena




Caldera


Caramon Majere


Creation


Crypt Angel


Daisuke Aramaki


Dalamar






Destiny killed by her own dragon, lol




Draven








Elgee


Fallula


Fallula times 2..lol


Lord Faust and Flame




Flame and Joe


Gabriel


Gabriel again

Posted to uoherald.com's Five on Friday:

FoF: Far, Far Away
Jeremy Dalberg
03 Jul 2008 16:08:04

"My account isn't aging properly! What's wrong?"

I got an update back from our database folks and the process that passes account age to the game servers is, in fact, not working properly. I don't have an ETA yet, but we have people working on it.

Usually, it doesn't take that long to get the process started up again, but once that happens, it may take up to a week for every character to be properly updated - just be aware.

--

"Since you're going to be removing old OSI houses, does that mean there will be a lot of new IDOCs coming?"

No - we're clearing these houses to make room for y'all to place in those spots, but we're not going to run them through the IDOC process. We're also going to be clearing them gradually - and without warning - so what will happen is instead of a huge land rush, you'll just see spaces start to open up over the next few months.

We very much appreciate everyone's help on this, incidentally - we've gotten quite a few emails already and we're confident that with your help, we can open up quite a bit of space for new and bigger houses for our active players.

--

"What are the rules regarding blocking off areas in faction warfare?"

There are a couple of different possible cases - here is the breakdown:

• Faction Vendors: There MUST be a path between or around them. If there is not, the GMs will take action.
• In A Faction City (but not in the stronghold): If there are items placed in such a way that other players can't move them easily (many many candelabras on one tile, for example) the GMs will take action.
• In A Faction Stronghold: Anything goes.

If the GMs are forced to take action in any case, they will delete the items/vendors that are blocking a player's path. The faction signup stone is a good indication of where a faction stronghold begins. Keeping that in mind, any blocking that occurs outside of that area may warrant action

--

"As we approach UO's eleventh anniversary... where are my 10-year vet rewards?"

Ok, so... last September was busy. REALLY busy. But we haven't forgotten, and we have some fascinating things in mind. The anniversary comes every year, after all...

--

REMINDER FROM QA:

Spring Cleaning Phase III is ONLY available on TC1 and Origin right now - please do not send bugs on it from the rest of the shards!

--

What's To Come:

Publish 54 is baking on Origin over the weekend, and, barring disaster, it should hit the live servers next week. The Strangers will continue to appear in various locations, but don't be too distracted - there are several different players in this conflict. Don't forget the Followers of Armageddon, because they have not forgotten us.

--

Town Hall News:

The San Diego Town Hall is fast approaching - check out details here and don't forget to RSVP so we don't run out of chips and dip! I'm looking forward to seeing everyone!

--

Fansite News:

Lots of stuff going on this weekend! First, a new museum opening on Atlantic:

Godra's Please Touch Museum
Grand Opening July 3rd, 2008 6pm EST.
Atlantic Shard. (north/west of Umbra's West gate) 21o14'W, 160o 9'N
Free regs, aids, Rose Petals, fruit, dye tubs, (potion kegs coming soon)
Souvenir Shop and more.
Come take a tour; see and touch the UO history first hand.

Gates from Luna Bank and Brit Bank will start around 6pm. Runes will also be available.

Thank You
Godra

UOForums has an interview up with Mesanna - check it out here!

And Whispering Rose's roundup:

Relax, kick off your shoes, and celebrate the long 'holiday' weekend by fighting members of 'The Six' and participating with Whispering Rose Radio [WRR] in these events...

~~~~~~~~~

Friday - July 4th - It's Shard Chatter time with TorAnn, Dr. Lil and PantherBabe on WRR. At 7pm PST, 10pm EST tune in to hear our panel chat about this weeks interesting topics and voice your opinions about the goings on in UO! They end their weekly show with "you know you have been playing UO to long when..." There have been some hilarious endings submitted by the listeners so feel free to send yours in. (ICQ numbers can be found on the www.wrrad.com website)

~~~~~~~~~

Saturday - July 5th - Tune into the Brush LimpPaw show. 2pm PST, 5pm EST. Brush (Norman Bates/Groucho) brings you the NEWS as only he could see it.

~~~~~~~~~

Saturday - July 5th - Its Time for Deal or No Deal ~ 'UO Style' on the CHESAPEAKE shard starting at 3pm PST, 6pm EST. Participants will be playing for 10million this week and of course there will be 5 - 250k door prize drawings * must be there to win*. For a map of the WRR DoND location on Chesapeake ... CLICK HERE. Bring your firework wands along and celebrate the July 4th weekend in UO Style!!

~~~~~~~~~

Sunday - July 6th - After four fabulous years, the Pacific Auction House (located just East of the Luna Moongate) continues to bring you more fantastic deals. Get there early for best seating. Auction starts at 12pm PST, 3pm EST and is broadcasted live on WRR.

~~~~~~~~~

Sunday - July 6th - The "Tazz & Keg's Underground" radio show on WRR is a must listen. The weekly show is broadcasted at 7pm PST - 10pm EST and you never know where they will lead you though their cave.

Enjoy playing Ultima Online while listening to WRR ~ Have a happy and safe July 4th weekend... see you all on the flip side.

~~~~~~~~~

--

Next week I'll be on vacation, and Bob is going to be holding down the fort for me. Please send FoF announcements (and the usual issues) to rmull AT ea DOT com, and don't be too hard on the guy! He will be doing a Five on Friday next week, although it will probably be slightly... nonstandard :)

- Jeremy

Posted to uoherald.com:

Origin to be Published
Jeremy Dalberg
02 Jul 2008 14:40:08

At 3:00PM EST today, Origin will be published with Pub 54. To see the full patch notes, click Here

Posted to uoherald.com:

2D and KR Clients Updated
Jeremy Dalberg
02 Jul 2008 11:31:47

UPDATED 5:15PM EST: The missing ethereal horses will be fixed in 2D version 6.0.9.1, which should be out at about 5:30PM

At 12:00PM EST, the KR and 2D client patches will be updated (KR version 2.54.0.6, 2D version 6.0.9.0)

Updated clilocs

Posted to uoherald.com:

OSI Owned Houses
Jeremy Dalberg
01 Jul 2008 16:16:51

We're working on removing the masses of OSI-owned houses that are scattered around the shards. The problem with them - and the reason that they've hung around for so long - is there's no easy way for us to find them, short of wandering around the shards on foot. But y'all have a LOT more feet than we do, so we're asking for your help!

What we need is the following information in an email (posts on forums, etc, will not be tracked!)

Sextant location of the house

Shard/facet

Send to barmstrong AT ea DOT com. Send in as many or as few as you like - and be aware this will be a gradual process and will take some time.

The Dragon Clan Guild (DC*) is the brain child of a player by the name of Shady. Often Shady claims to be an older gal but she has plenty of energy and has worked very hard at turning DC into one of the top guilds on Great Lakes, some say number one. It all depends on how you look at it.


*Shady at a guild meeting several months back*

Shady's recruitment was intense for many months and the guild is still taking applications. As we all know it takes more than a guild leader to make a guild successful and Shady is quick to point out how thankful she is to all that have helped make DC what it is today.

One cannot go any place in the realm, Fel or Tram, without running into the likes of Tika Moondust, Sir George, Aldrick, FREMMEL, Malik, Abel, autumn, Tier, Journey, Henry Zoate, SKULLCLEAVER, Vasco, Alexa and Sarah of Fortune, neptune, Fusion and Janet Jackson to name a few. I remember seeing Janet Jackson many moons ago fishing in the river near the Brit Bank as a newb.

In years past I have hunted as a guest with many guilds including
G-V and BC. I have had the pleasure of hunting with DC* on several occasions and they are a fun group and very diverse. They do Peerless Hunts, Champ Spawn Hunts, PvM game lure events and rumor has it even PvP.

This guild that boasts " Home of The Great Lakes Most Dynamic Guild " has a good website for those interested in joining or just finding out about this guild. That address is www.dragonclan.info

This interview was done some time back and as we all know the face of Luna has changed once again and the departure of this vet player has had a lot to do with it. He has always been supportive of the Great Lakes community. Please feel free to leave your good wishes to Rhen on the boards connected to this article which I will repost there.


Ten years is a long time to put into the realm of UO. Soon I will be approaching the eight year mark myself. In your nine years on the Great Lakes shard please share with us several of your favorite memories.
I remember the first time a buddy took me into Destard and I saw dragons. That was the coolest thing ever. Big, red, growling, fire breathing monsters! My heart was pounding as we took them down. Truly a joy.

The first time I killed a thief trying to get into my little 7x7 shack. Back then you didn't have to lock your stuff down to keep it from decaying so if a thief stealth's into your house he could rob you for all he could carry. I was so proud of myself for defending that which was mine. I really loved that little house right on a quiet beach.

More recently, the first time we did Dreadhorn was an amazing amount of fun. All the peerless bosses ended up being my favorite thing to do. The challenge was back in the game with the addition of those bosses.

There are so many more I could go on for pages. I have very fond memories for everyone of my guildmates, our old auctions, the shops and all my renters, many many people in the game. Look now I am getting melancholy.

When and how did you first hear about UO?
I was playing a MUD called Federation and lots of solo RPGs on computer. A buddy had heard about UO and suggested I look into it. UO was still in beta but I was blown away by the info I was finding. I remember the first day it hit the shelf. I took off work that day and loaded it on my computer to find that my PC wouldn't run it...or so I thought. Every time I tried to run it I would get a black screen, finally I walked away in frustration only to find when I returned the game was there and running. On my old PC it took about 40 seconds to fully load, I though it was just locking up. I freaking loved the opening screen with the squeaky chest and the music. Its the little things you remember.

There are always positives and negatives in real life and in the gaming realms. I try to stay on a positive note but I am sure our readers would like to know why you are leaving the game.
Tough question and one that doesn't have a single answer. The guild that we built in UO is something that I will be proud of for my entire life. Good people, all working to help each other, funny, fun, and yes at times we argued but always like friends. UO, to me, has become too easy. Even the peerless bosses became easy. My own success in a way killed the game for me. I know this will generate some grumbles but it is true. The years of hard work paid off and I wanted for nothing, needed nothing. The only thing I never got that I wanted was a castle. UO was a game for me, for fun, so I was never willing to spend RL cash for anything. I waited too long to get a castle and within the last few years you could only get one with cash.

So it boiled down to there was no more worthy goals, no more challenges. And now EA is killing the game even more by continuing to make it easier. A good example is Doom, it started hard, then got harder, then got super easy. The KR client is another killer for me. We listened to the rumors for years about this super new client. My hopes were so high for KR. I prayed it would bring new players to the game and add that new blood. KR has no hope, sorry but that's my opinion.

In your nine years on Great Lakes you have acquired very pricey properties, many of them and countless items. When you first started this game was that a goal of yours?
To have fun. The goal from the first day to the last was have fun. If it wasn't fun, I didn't do it. That's why I never got into PvP, it wasn't fun to me. I really really enjoyed running the shops. Being a merchant was the thing I had fun doing. I loved when people would tell me "I love your shops, I always find what I need at them". That was a big goal for me, keeping well rounded shops including the low or no profit items like repair deeds and such.

At our height, myself, Gold Matterson, Dante Hicks, and Indiana Jones managed five shops in Luna. It really was a team effort.

You ran a very successful auction house for some time. On several occassions I helped with decor and enjoyed it a lot. How long did the auction house run and what was your favorite thing about that experience?
You are being kind by calling our auction house successful. Running the auction house was the hardest thing I ever did in the game. You cannot fully understand the amount of time and effort that goes into an auction unless you do it. People do not flock to you dropping off tons of good items to auction, you have to go out and get people to submit items. Then you have to make sure every week you have people to work. We started the auction to fill the hole REA made when they left (for those that remember the REA auctions). Our plan was to have fun and give ALL profits back to the attendees in the form of games. From the first to the last auction we never kept a single gold piece from the fees. We stopped because attendance dropped to 20 or fewer, we were auctioning our personal items because submissions were so low and it was just too taxing on us. We decided to leave the auctioning to the professionals at MOA. I think our auction ran for just under a year.

On the subject of auction houses MOA will be selling your UO history. How many items will that be approx. and how long do you think it will take?
I have five packed houses that will be auctioned over time at MOA. I was not a big rares collector but I did like the old potted plants/trees and rare armor but mostly you will see things that are useful. Ethys, tok arties (including tons of dyes), full bod books, etc etc. The only thing I am not selling is Rhen's suit. I want all properties and items sold by mid Sept when my accounts renew. Things will get sold faster if I get off my lazy butt and get them submitted to MOA quicker. I know Pratt, I'm trying, really I am! LOL.

Everyone needs to know and understand that the folks at MOA are some of the best in game. We have been friends for years (I hope they would agree to me saying that). They supported our auction house and never ever looked at it as something to take their business. It all helped the game community and that is what MOA is about. "Good people" is how you describe those at MOA.

I have to ask this question because our readers will want to know. What was the highest number of accounts you had opened at one time and will you still keep one open even though you may not play?
A good friend and I managed, I think, 11 accounts for a while. A more stable number was around 9. Mainly they just held houses. Right at this moment we are at 5. I will keep Rhen's suit and a couple million in gold in case I ever decide to come back but for now all accounts are being shut down.

This interview is kinda like a formal farwell. Can you give myself and our readers any advice and/or is there anything you would like to say?
I quit smoking about 5 years ago. I did it cold turkey. The only way I can quit UO is cold turkey. I am playing another game now but the one thing I have learned in that other game is it does not and can never have the community that UO has. It was extremely rare that I saw a name on GL that I didn't know. I miss that and I am positive I will continue to miss that. I still chuckle when I think about some of GL's infamous / nefarious people. LOL, you all know one or two. Such characters, such a diverse group, it makes me smile.

I know there are some in game that did not like me or REN. I am betting 99% of those people don't even know me. Myself and REN members got what we had through hard work, luck and friends in game. I never tolerated cheating, scamming, or stealing in any form in REN or from shop renters. We had fun and that was why we played.

Advice is like a-holes, so here comes my a-hole. Play your game, have fun playing your game, do not try to force others to play your game. That's good advice for RL or in game. If you can't understand it, you never will.

Thanks UO it was a great 10 years,
Rhen