------------------------------------------------------------------------------- .. .. .||. ||.. ... || || || ||.|| `|.. || || `|.. ..|'''.| '|| || '|| '|' ' .... . .... ..||.. ... ..., || .... || '' .|| || || || || .| ' || .|...|| '|. | .|' || || || || || || || || ''|...'| '|..'|' ||. ||. '|..' .||. '|..| ||. '|...' ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Volume 12.0 25 Stormmonth, 565 1 Coin --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Welcome, our good readers, to a new issue of the Canticle. I will be off for an undefined-length vacation in the famous holiday centre 'Studyland', and there may be a somewhat longer than usual delay before the next paper comes out. I would like to thank Meg, Claire, Gilla, Methos, Oakram, Flint, Sylwen, Ru and Raymond for their help with getting material for this issue. -- Fir Assistant Editor The Canticle --------------------------------------------------------------------------- <*> CANTICLE INDEX <*> -------------------------------------+------------------------------------- How Did You Die Today?.............2 This Just Flew In.................15 Interview with Methos..............3 Ranger's Best Friend..............16 Interview with Flint...............6 Mortal Council News...............17 Haiku Time.........................9 Kitty.............................19 Interview with Oakram.............10 Claire's Puzzle Page..............20 --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Volume 12.0 25 Stormmonth, 565 Page 2 --------------------------------------------------------------------------- How Did You Die Today? I ran into a study by Ttt on ways people go to greet Lars. He had gathered Mortus' recent deaths information for a year (2001-2002) and published a collection of statistics. Only deaths of people between level 15 and 19 are taken into account, and SK and failed bounty hunting attempts were removed. So, what kills us? 1. Poison (21 visits to Lars) 2. A dwarven paladin (20) 3. Razar the Greater Demon (19) 4. King Philip, the brave (17) Alton the master mage (17) 6. An unknown cause (16) 7. Prince Gilbert Trueheart the Pompous (14) 8. An old wise sage (13) A trap (13) 10. An apprentice mage (12) A frost giant housecarl (12) The top seems quite even, and both nasty and goodly players seem to find someone to lose fights to. Poison seems to be more effective than one might think - maybe there would be use for a clerical emergency guard? Other effective player-slayers have been Glock the massacrator and an archpriest (11), the Chaos Warrior, Illarin, Blor, and a restful-looking guard (10). Ogres of different sizes seem to be as effective - both ogres and giant ogres have killed 10 players each, while hill giants only managed 5. Winter, red and Harrke wolves as well as hell hounds killed 6 players each, and mean-looking baby dragons managed to catch 6 players by surprise. ----------------------------------------------------------- | __,,--``\\ Maigyn's Magic Shop | | _,,-''`` \\ , | | '----------_.------'-.___|\__ Your source for that little | | _.--''`` `)__ )__ @\__ touch of magic. | | ( .. ''---/___,,E/__,E'------` | | `-''`'' | ----------------------------------------------------------- --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Volume 12.0 25 Stormmonth, 565 Page 3 --------------------------------------------------------------------------- This interview is with MethoS, a dwarven ranger who is a member of the Bear Guild. MethoS is well-known on AA for his outspoken posts, and his matter-of-fact opinions, and is very much a "take it or leave it" kind of guy. In this interview I try to find out more about this blunt-spoken person. --------------------------------------------------------------------------- MeG: Hi Methos. Thanks for taking the time to do this interview. To start with, how long have you been playing AA? MethoS: I've been playing since Feb of 1996. MeG: Have you played all the classes/races? MethoS: I've played most of them.. but there are still a few which I haven't had the desire to try. :) MeG: How about guilds? Have you been in each guild? MethoS: Yes, I've spent some time in every guild :) MeG: And you have a preference, I take it? MethoS: On the races/class, I've played all races, and all classes, but not all combinations of each.. ;) Preference to guilds? Currently, it's Bears.. MeG: You were around when that guild came into being, weren't you? MethoS: I was playing when it was founded, very late December of 1996.. I didn't join until around mid Jan 1997. MeG: Has the guild changed much since then? Methos: *grin* Yes, it's changed quite a bit, but only because AA has.. the guild has become full of whiny newbies.. just like the rest of AA.. ;) MeG: What are the biggest changes you've seen occur on AA? MethoS: Heh.. well, the biggest change is the playerbase of AA.. it has gone from being mostly college students and former college students, to being mostly high school students.. which makes the players here more childish.. MeG: What about the gameplay itself? How has that changed? MethoS: The gameplay has improved considerably.. the addition of the skill-based combat system and the rivers really added a lot to the game itself, in terms of "realism".. I never did like being able to run from north to south on AA through the rivers and lakes, mysteriously, yet the sea wasn't even swimmable, let alone walkable. MeG: Yet you were able to walk on the sea somehow to make that fantastic map, weren't you? Interview with Methos continued on page 4 ... --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Volume 12.0 25 Stormmonth, 565 Page 4 --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Interview with Methos, continued from page 3 ... MethoS: Well, yes and no.. most of the map I was able to do by rowing around in a rowboat (including when we were able to row to Greyson's island).. however, that left a pretty big gap in the upper northeast of the map, which I had to wait and finish when some divine intervention (bug) allowed me to walk on the ocean to finish mapping that section. ;) MeG: So you just waited for the bug to happen or did you EXPLOIT it? :) MethoS: Does AA have a 5th Amendment? if so, I plead that. ;) MeG: Anyway! Are there any other changes that you think were monumental? MethoS: I don't recall much about the south, but the expansion toward the north really opened up alot on AA.. I still remember when the Ranger camp was 1 room away from being at the northern mists.. MeG: What about the change of admins here? You've been through quite a few, haven't you? MethoS: Yeah, there have been a few changes in the members of the admin, but I really haven't noticed all that many differences, personally.. about the only real difference, is that the rules are a bit more strict now, because people took too much advantage of the more lax rules which were enforced before.. (it used to be possible to kill annoying newbies without Law finding out, but people exploited that to pk people who didn't deserve it).. MeG: So you'd say you're in favour of clearly defined rules or not? MethoS: Well, with the current age-group of AA, the more defined rules of AA are necessary.. it's sad, but most of these kids need to be babysat.. MeG: When you were brand new, can you remember what impressed you or overwhelmed you the most about this mud? MethoS: I was introduced to AA by my college roommates, all 3 of them played AA at the time.. I'd never played D&D or any other MUDs, and really, the internet itself was still very new to me, so it all amazed me.. I remember feeling that this was a place where I could get away from the real world for a little while at a time (although, it was never for a little while, and my grades reflected that.. damn those roommates).. MeG: So you mudded your way through college? MethoS: Yeah.. I played quite a bit the first 3 years or so, but I lost interest in actually killing stuff after that.. I guess I've been idling for the last 3 years. ;) MeG: (laughs) Weren't you voted one of the three best idlers? :) Interview with Methos continued on page 5 ... --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Volume 12.0 25 Stormmonth, 565 Page 5 --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Interview with Methos, continued from page 4 ... MethoS: Well, Levek just handed me the new edition of the Canticle before your tell, so I haven't read it all the way through, but I did manage to get to that page.. ;) I'm suprised that Levek didn't make that list. MeG: What keeps you coming back to a place where all you do is idle? MethoS: I'm not really sure.. I do have some close friends here, but that's probably the only thing.. well, that, and nothing better to do in the real world to occupy my time.. (not that I've spent any effort looking for something better).. MeG: Would it be fair to say that even though this mud offers a lot in terms of playing, killing, side games, etc., it's the interaction with the players themselves that keeps you logging in? MethoS: Definitely. MeG: So even though the player base has changed, there are still qualities that the people here have that interest you? MethoS: It's not all of the players that keep me coming back, it's the friends I have here which have been here pretty much since I've started.. MeG: Have you made new friends, too? MethoS: I've made new acquaintances, but not friends. MeG: Ok, well, do you have anything to add that might be helpful to brand new players? Any words of wisdom to remember based on your experience? MethoS: To new players: RTFM (reporter's note: RTFM = Read the F'in Manual -- in other words, the help files.) Words of wisdom: remember that this is just a game, and don't take it too seriously, but that doesn't mean that what you do here doesn't matter.. MeG: Anything else you'd like to add? MethoS: Well, in addition to the other that this is a game, players should remember that wizards are volunteers here, and that the administration are volunteers, and they do have lives outside of AA, and certainly don't get paid to go through the hassles which they go through to keep AA together and running smoothly. MeG: Well said! Thanks for answering my questions, Methos. --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Volume 12.0 25 Stormmonth, 565 Page 6 --------------------------------------------------------------------------- This interview is with Flint, legendary retired Arch of Law. I wanted to find out what laws were like when the mud was smaller, and what might have caused the changes. The interview proved to be very interesting! --------------------------------------------------------------------------- MeG: When did you begin playing on AA, and how did you initially hear of it? Flint: I was looking for a new mud to play and went through the mudlists from rec.games.mud.lp. The first time I popped onto AA no one was around. It was a very new mud, this was its first week of existence. After going through other muds on the list and being disappointed I came back to AA. Sometimes when I would be online there would be no one else around for hours. However, other players always left equipment and gold laying around for other players to use. One of the first people I talked to on AA was Jewel. Or rather her alter-ego/test-wiz Jasmin. A friend of mine from my old mud, Jasmina, was starting AA and I thought it might be her. Bardoz was the second person I talked to. As the mud became more popular, more people showed up. There was a core group of friends I used to party with as the Funnie Bunnies. Fork, Gizmo, Viper, etc. MeG: How long was it before you first wizzed? Flint: Well, I was ready to wiz but got demoted to 1st level. :) It took me about 3 weeks or so to be ready to wiz again, but I didn't want to wiz quickly. (Back then if you were really keen you could wiz in 3 days.) I just wanted to kick back, talk, andventure and have fun. I wasn't sure I wanted to be a wiz. One day Biko asked me why I hadn't wizzed yet and sponsored me. MeG: How long after wizzing was it until you became Arch of Law? Flint: Quite a while. :) I became a Senior wizard in November or December of 1992. Then I became Arch of Balance around January or February. I think the position of Law Arch was created 3-4 months after that, and I was the 1st Arch of Law. Paldin, one of my oldest and best net-rl friends took over Balance. MeG: What were the laws when you first took over Law? Flint: Oh jeeze. There were only about 6 laws. One was a joke about no Beavis and Butthead jokes. There weren't as many players back then, so you didn't need to have everything codified. Most of the players were European, with a smattering of Canadians and Americans thrown in. People seemed to use more common sense back then. As AA grew, problems grew. The greater the number of people in a group, the greater the number of a--holes. Interview with Flint continued on page 7 ... --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Volume 12.0 25 Stormmonth, 565 Page 7 --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Interview with Flint, continued from page 6 ... MeG: How did the department of law change under your supervision? Flint: Ummm... it went from non-existent to existing. :) Seriously, as the mud grew I brought in helpers, law team members, to help with the day to day BS. With a couple of exceptions I was lucky to get some great people helping me. We had fun, and managed to do our jobs. As the mud grew I revamped the rules. As much as I hate it, you have to codify everything for some people. If it isn't in black and white they think the rule doesn't exist, or rather they don't think they have to use common sense, or courtesy. MeG: Were there any changes in the law or in the implementation of the law that you're responsible for? Flint: See early copies of help law if they exist. :) I can't remember all of the changes that came about while I was Arch. I was there for a long time. Too long in some ways. The bounty system was implemented while I was Arch. As was Dibbs. A lot of the credit for work on Law tools goes out to some of my assistants, and to people who were friends at the time. Paldin, Mantis, Hatamoto, Etu-Saerdan, and I am probably missing a couple of other names here. MeG: When did you first decide to conduct law storms? Flint: It is hard to remember exactly when. Probably in 1995. When was OJ? I got tired of people asking why someone got punished. So, I figured I would try and come up with an entertaining way of letting everyone know. It was also a kind of catharsis. When you deal with the dregs of society, whether it is RL or VR, it can get to you. The law storms were also a way of relieving some of the stress. It started off just using Arah and the Wild Pack. Eventually it included Chojin, after I watched Urotsukidoji, and for comic relief, Herbie the Chicken. MeG: When I was brand new, those law storms were the -coolest- thing I had ever seen online. Were you aware of how totally awesome they were? :) Flint: Thanks. :) I always got a kick out of listening to people on the guild lines while the storms took place. Interview with Flint continued on page 8 ... --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Volume 12.0 25 Stormmonth, 565 Page 8 --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Interview with Flint, continued from page 7 ... MeG: Ok, on to another subject. How big was AA when you first started playing? Flint: TINY. You could be the only person, player or wizard, logged on for hours. At times it was lonely, but it could also be fun. Personally, I preferred the smaller AA. Not as tiny as when I first came, but back in the old 30-50 player days. You were able to get to know just about everyone who played. While it was great to see AA expand, and the numbers of players on at one time grow, it also changed the atmosphere of the game. MeG: What types of changes did you see while you were playing here? Flint: How much time do you have? :) The biggest change was the number of people playing at one time. I wonder how many people remember the time we had a player limit of 30? :) MeG: What do you think were the best changes? Flint: Expanding the map size of AA. Several people, arches, assistants, wizards, put a lot of time and energy into that project. The growth in the number of guilds and classes. When I started there were no guilds and the only class was adventurer followed by fighter. While it can be a pain in the derriere to make sure things are all balanced, AA has a good mix of classes and guilds. Free newbie gear was a good addition, too. MeG: What do you think were the worst changes? Flint: The Senate system. While it has had some good people on it, it also tended to slow things down at times. Quests. I hate quests, even though some of them are fun and very well done. :) Zor stepping down as god. He and I didn't see head to head on everything, and we butted heads several times. However, he is one of the nicest people I met on the net. While "Gods" on other muds let the title go to their head, he never did. Whether you were a player, a wizard, or an admin he always tried to make time to talk to you. He also had a good sense of humour. While it is nice to have a council of advisors, I think you need to have one ultimate authority. Zor was good at that job. Interview with Flint continued on page 9 ... --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Volume 12.0 25 Stormmonth, 565 Page 9 --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Interview with Flint, continued from page 8 ... MeG: What do you think is the best thing AA has to offer people, or what do you think is the reason it's still around after 10 years? Flint: The quality of the mud and of most people on it. I have seen some muds with craptastic quality. 1 sentence rooms and objects. It looks shoddy. The quality of the descriptions and coding on AA is very good. It lends more of an air of realism to a text game, and most people notice and like that extra effort. The quality of people also helps. I have made some fantastic friends on AA. Some were just net friends, some were friends in RL. Some have moved on in life, or drifted in different directions, while others remain very good friends. Players on AA tended to be the friendliest towards newbies that I have seen. I have experienced muds where newbies were ignored, or abused. That doesn't make people feel good about a place, or make them want to return. MeG: If you could change anything about the mud, what would it be? Flint: Hard question to answer. I haven't been around much since I retired a few years ago. So, I am more than a bit out of touch with recent changes. In the past? I wouldn't have had a Senate. Zor would not have been allowed to retire. He would have to have devoted his life to VR and AA instead of having a real life. If he did, Greyson would have replaced him. ;) MeG: Do you have any advice for someone who might be brand new to playing AA? Flint: Try not to take Virtual Reality too seriously, or too lightly. While it isn't reality, there are real people behind every keyboard. Sometimes it is hard, but if we take things too seriously it creates more problems. Conversely, if we treat everything as a joke it causes problems. Use common sense, and common courtesy, and have fun. MeG: Well, thanks very much for the interview, Flint! It's been really interesting. :) ****************************H*A*I*K*U***T*I*M*E***************************** * Spear Frustration Haiku, by Ru * Haiku, by Raymond * A lot of spell points * I should get out more For a great two-handed staff * and see the outside world. And it just burns up. * Instead, I kill orcs. * **************************************************************************** --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Volume 12.0 25 Stormmonth, 565 Page 10 --------------------------------------------------------------------------- I interview Oakram, the Arch of Education, hoping to get a clearer understanding of what Education, the first part of the process that an Apprentice wizard is exposed to, is all about. --------------------------------------------------------------------------- MeG: Hi, Oakram. Thanks for doing this interview. How long have you been logging on to AA? Oakram: I first started this character in May of 1997. MeG: Where did you hear of this mud? Oakram: I actually got started on AA because of work. I was the fourth person at a small startup developing virtual environments for businesses. We wanted to know what attributes of such places make them compelling to users. The topic of MUDs came up during a brainstorming session, so I went to the MUD Connector and started with the A's. MeG: What were you initially looking for? Were you looking for the thing that made places like this a community? Oakram: I wanted to find a relatively large, relatively old MUD and try to determine some reasons for its popularity and longevity. MeG: Did you determine what the reasons are? Oakram: A major factor seems to be the availability of a range of rewards for participation. In AA, for example, levels are an obvious reward, but there are also stats, skills, abilities, spells, prayers, rituals, and other increases in power that come more frequently. It's possible to work towards at least one goal in every playing session. MeG: So, it's the gameplay itself? Oakram: Well, the other major factor is communication. The sense of community on AA is strongly related to the availability of chat lines and boards. Neither factor explains the deeper allure of AA, at least not completely. Ultimately, defining the attributes of successful virtual communities is not equivalent to explaining how to create them. MeG: In your investigations, what did you find personally attractive about this environment? Oakram: Now that's the tough question. I started out by trying a few MUDs during work, expecting to spend a couple of days to get the answers I was looking for. After spending only an hour or so on AA, I had encountered several very helpful people, including a couple of Eldar who, upon my asking about their headbands, had me in the guild and fully equipped in five minutes. Interview with Oakram continued on page 11 ... --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Volume 12.0 25 Stormmonth, 565 Page 11 --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Interview with Oakram, continued from page 10 ... MeG: And that impressed you? Intriqued you? Oakram: AA was the most interesting, full-featured, and friendly of the MUDs I tried and was the only one I logged on to from home that night. MeG: What compelled you to log on to AA from home, if you weren't still investigating it for work? Oakram: The easy answer is that there are ways to improve your character in nearly every playing session. Experience, quests, abilities, stats, karma, coins, etc. all encourage players to return. The feedback is very important. That's not a complete answer, though. MeG: What's the not-so-easy answer? Oakram: What makes AA compelling for me is the high quality gameplay coupled with the social aspects. The QC and Balance teams do a remarkable job at making the game enjoyable and the players themselves, with some notable exceptions, provide a reason to return even if you don't happen to feel like exploring. The first thing I noticed when comparing AA to a few other MUDs is the incredible level of detail. This is a "describe all" MUD, in contrast to many others where the players' suspension of disbelief is frequently violated by incomplete descriptions and limited actions. MeG: Would you consider yourself to be a powerplayer or an explorer? Oakram: I'm definitely not a powerplayer. You should interview Defarge for that perspective. I fall more into the explorer camp. MeG: Well, I'll tell you why I ask that. Today I was talking with someone who IS a powerplayer, and his belief is that this mud has ignored that type of player, that areas coded now frequently fall more into the exploring category. Would you agree? Oakram: Hmm. I've worked on the Balance team for some time and I can say that there is no deliberate attempt to eliminate powerplayers. On the other hand, good gameplayability (yes, I made up that word) does require that more difficult NPCs be more difficult to reach. That could make powerplaying more challenging. On the third hand, I've seen some amazing experience point runs that make it clear that powerplaying is alive and well on AA. MeG: How long after you started playing here did it take you to wiz? Oakram: About fifteen months. I told you I wasn't a powerplayer. Interview with Oakram continued on page 12 ... --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Volume 12.0 25 Stormmonth, 565 Page 12 --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Interview with Oakram, continued from page 11 ... MeG: What made you decide to wiz at all? Oakram: Two things: First, in RL I'm a software developer and I wanted to learn how the MUD works. Second, my RL wife started playing and between us we came up with a lot of ideas for additions to AA. MeG: Have any of those ideas been implemented so far? Oakram: Graddam is my area; my wife gave me a lot of input on that. I've also added a couple of spells to the Mages and have a handful of other small projects approved. More is in the pipeline. MeG: Didn't you also code the recent rogue changes? Oakram: Yes, those are mine. Everyone can stop sending hate mail to Paldin now -- he toned down the original concept quite a bit. I actually think the changes have worked well so far. MeG: Have you gotten or seen many complaints? Oakram: Certainly. I've also gotten a few complimentary MUDmails as well. I find it interesting that the compliments as a rule have much better spelling and grammar than the flames. MeG: How long after you wizzed did it take for you to become Arch of Education? Oakram: About four years. Jerusulum did a great job -- I was surprised when she retired. MeG: As an arch, do you find it to be more work and responsibility or is it still fun? :) Oakram: It's a lot of fun, still. This is a hobby, of course, so I wouldn't do it if I didn't enjoy it. Working with committed, intelligent, creative people to add to AA is a real pleasure, especially on those days when I've been dealing with recalcitrant developers in real life. That's not to say that there aren't some less-than- pleasant aspects. MeG: What about being on the Senate? What's that like? Oakram: Contrary to popular belief, every member of the Senate that I've had the pleasure of working with is deeply committed to constantly improving AA. They are very bright, interesting people who simply suffer from the same compulsion as the rest of us who have discovered AA. They are to be appreciated and pitied. MeG: I would never want the job, I know that. Oakram: You may also note that there are some strong personalities on the Senate. MeG: (agrees) I'd never want to go head-to-head with Paldin, that's for sure. Interview with Oakram continued on page 13 ... --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Volume 12.0 25 Stormmonth, 565 Page 13 --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Interview with Oakram, continued from page 12 ... Oakram: That is a necessary prerequisite for the job. There is constant pressure from both mortals and wizards for changes to various aspects of the MUD. The Arches, in particular, need to have a clear vision of what is good for AA and the ability to politely but firmly work toward that vision. Paldin is great to work with. He knows the MUD thoroughly and can bury you in facts and figures if your project isn't Balanced. MeG: What is your particular vision of what's good for AA or can you put it into words? Oakram: With so many options for online gaming, it is important for us to maintain our playerbase. Maintaining the standards set by QC and Balance is essential for that. From the Education perspective, I want to encourage any of AA's many creative players to give Wizardhood a try if they are at all interested in adding to the world. MeG: What about the people who think that balance is ruining the game? What's your answer to them? Oakram: Ruining? Balance and QC are the reasons so many people are here! MeG: But you've heard the complaints about balance, I'm sure. Oakram: In great detail. Given the size of AA and the number of new projects constantly in the approval queues, it is simply not possible for all the interactions between the various components to be understood up front. Paldin does an amazing job at identifying potential problems early in the process and the Mortal Council is a huge help, but sometimes changes must be made after an item or class is in the game. These changes are always carefully considered and typically the players get benefits that outweigh the costs. MeG: When a person wizzes, you're the first part of the process they're exposed to, isn't that right? Oakram: Yes, immediately upon becoming an Apprentice, the new immortal is deluged with Education information. In addition to the Education team there are a number of very helpful wizards here. An Apprentice can almost always find someone to answer questions. MeG: Do you think that's overwhelming for people at first? Oakram: It is a little overwhelming at first, certainly. Most people seem to enjoy the sensation, though. MeG: What do you, as Education Arch, have as your primary responsibilities? Interview with Oakram continued on page 14 ... --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Volume 12.0 25 Stormmonth, 565 Page 14 --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Interview with Oakram, continued from page 13 ... Oakram: The goal of Education is to ensure that, by the time an Apprentice is promoted to Wizard, he or she has a basic understanding of how to create rooms, NPCs, and objects, can work within the approval process, and is on track to becoming a Creator. All that is required of the Apprentice is willingness to learn and a strong interest in improving AA. MeG: Do you approve or reject any ideas of any sort? Oakram: The ideas proposed by Apprentices must go through World approval. The Education team usually does a preliminary review so that the person submitting doesn't get an unpleasant surprise. (mumbles something about laser-wielding Care Bears) MeG: (giggles) What's the average stay of an apprentice within Education? Oakram: It depends on the level of coding knowledge they have coming in. Someone with a background in programming (not necessarily at an expert level) might become a full wizard within four weeks. Someone just learning would typically be ready within three to four months of dedicated effort. MeG: (nods) Oakram: To follow up.... The Apprentice period is supposed to be a time to evaluate whether or not you are interested in continuing on as a Wizard. It shouldn't be seen as a hurdle to clear but as an extended interview process. The value is in determining if there is a good match between everyone's expectations before either side invests too much in the relationship. That sounds scarily like dating. MeG: (agrees amusedly) Do most people find that wizardhood is what they thought it would be, in your estimation? Oakram: A lot of people, even experienced programmers, are surprised by the rigor of the process. Apprentices without a background in programming find the volume of material to be daunting at first. Fortunately, it is possible to become productive very quickly and learn as you go. The immortal environment is usually a pleasant surprise -- it can be very social. Interview with Oakram continued on page 15 ... --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Volume 12.0 25 Stormmonth, 565 Page 15 --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Interview with Oakram, continued from page 14 ... MeG: Do you have any parting words of wisdom you'd like to leave the readers with before this interview is ended? Oakram: If I had wisdom, I'd have shown it off by now! MeG: (falls down laughing) Oh, come on, don't be so modest! Oakram: I would like to encourage anyone interested in becoming a Wizard to feel free to contact me or any of the Education team if he or she has questions. We're always looking for creative people and we can provide the support if you can provide the passion. MeG: Thanks for doing this interview with me, Oakram. It's been fun. :) Oakram: Okay, time for RL work. Thanks -- this was fun. --------------------------------------------------------------------------- This Just Flew In as reported by Gilla According to a researcher at the Nepeth Department of Health, low levels of radiation are released into the air every time a tell is sent. This results in slight hormone changes which cause an increase in violent impulses, lower levels of cognitive reasoning and new Scythe members. In response to this threat, King Drin has commissioned Trent the Petshop owner to train hundreds of messenger doves. The doves have been specially trained to come when called and deliver written messeges to players safely and without any dangerous radiation. --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Hanza's Map Shop - The Best since Drake! __________________ \ooo . |^ ^ ^\ Tired of getting lost in the world? Well, we \ooo . \ ^ ^ \ have the answer for you! Buy one of our fine \ooo_ . _ |_^ ^\ line of maps of the realm. They range in size /ooo . /^ ^ / from our smallest, the pocket map, to our /ooo . / ^ ^/ largest, the sorcerer's map. We guarantee you /.._..x _ /^_ ^^ / will find one to suit your need and budget. \ _ . | ^ ^\ Hanza's can be found south in Trader Lane, in \ |\ . \ ^ ^ \ the western end of the Market place. If you are \ N . | ^ ^\ low on funds you can use our demonstration map \__________|______\ in the shop to plan your expedition. --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Volume 12.0 25 Stormmonth, 565 Page 16 --------------------------------------------------------------------------- | /\ /\ | | | \\_..._// \ R a n g e r ' s | | \ _ _ <' | | ( o} {o ) b e s t | Do you have ideas for rangerly | \ \ \ ! | things you would like to read | \ (^^)/ f r i e n d | about here? Write to Fir! | '.;--; | | '' | *------------------------------------------* Dedicated to all things woodly, this feature has been launched to bring the Canticle closer to You, dear rangers. Let us show any doubters that newspapers are not for town-dwellers only - and if it does not include the things you would like to read about, fix it by letting us know! -- Fir - * - * - * - * - Present tip: Berry brandy Bolas are The Thing these days - but like all fun Liven up your or someone else's day toys, they have a tendency with a bottleful of berry brandy! to end up broken all too Leaves an exquisite aftertaste of soon. But with a little bit wildberries, and mmm, the smell... of warming up your braiding All you need is a handful of berries skills and some sinew, it and distillation gear! will be as good as new! _____________________________________________________________ / \ \ Salty John's Bait and Tackle / / \ \ Going fishing, mate? Get your gear from a professional, / / I've been fishin' since 'fore you were born! I sell \ \ poles and the finest bait, or seines if you prefer / / net-fishing, and do not forget grandpa's lucky fishing \ \ hat... / / \ \ / / My shop is just north of the Tantallon harbour. \ \_____________________________________________________________/ --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Volume 12.0 25 Stormmonth, 565 Page 17 --------------------------------------------------------------------------- M O R T A L C O U N C I L N E W S The mortal council elected in Moonset 565 looks like this: Mage: Riko, Radditz Rogue: Bleys, Silentdeath, Akapokas Fighter: (none) Necromancer: Lunger, Heucuva Cleric: Meg, Slinkee Paladin: Druenarrii Ranger: Thorn, Levek, Quita Shapeshifter: Ashes, Erithywen About a third of the representatives are new compared to the previous term. The fighters had three nominees, but none got the minimum number of votes. The mortal council held a meeting on Virrsmonth 564. Here is an overview of the things discussed there. The end third of the meeting was somewhat hard to follow, with people talking over each others, so some valid suggestions probably have not made it here. Rangers (Levek, Thorn): More available trail mark symbols were suggested, which Sudian would look into, and someone brought up setting a maximum number on markings per room. Separating a number of sinews from a pile was suggested. It would seem to be most useful in the sense of buying only a few feathers/sinews from a shop, which would not be trivial to implement. Adinos and Sudian would look into it in their respective traders, but made no promises yet. Sudian would look into some tropical rooms not giving tropical forageables, with no promises. More ranger-made weapons were suggested, as well as being able to extract bones from corpses. Sudian volunteered to brainstorm a bit with World and Paldin. A project for ranger-made bandages was brought up, but it remained unclear if there was anyone working on it or if it had been accepted. Fighters (Morpheus): Adinos and Pris would look into being able to evaluate weapons in shops, at least to some degree. Mortal Council News continued on page 18 ... --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Volume 12.0 25 Stormmonth, 565 Page 18 --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Mortal Council News, continued from page 17 ... Shapeshifters (Erithywen): Adding more third clan form advancement messages was brought up, as well as enabling nelitos and panther forms to eat hunks of ranger-carved meat off the ground, which Paldin would look into. Shifter looks changing a la body shop was also brought up (Sylwen was looking into it at some point), as was being able to show something for when they have learned all forms. Paldin noted that drakon eye colour effects are intentionally as they are. Trees being able to 'fall' in battle for extra damage was brought up, but it had been considered and dropped already before Shifters got into the game. Mages (Riko): Being able to put things into Deeppockets without picking them up first was suggested, but the idea did not catch. A new stunning spell was suggested, and expectedly rated a balance problem. Necromancers (Lunger): Adinos mentioned as a side note that the combining necro components discussed in an earlier meeting would require a major code change. Oliver is still working on the ritual component pouch. Adinos noted there were some undead changes in final approval. A suggestion for undead to be able to "get/drop all x" was accepted but it is not clear if anyone picked up the project, which was estimated small. Liches and revenants were discussed, as the formers seem to be no proper option for the latters. Clerics (Meg, Slinkee): The clerical major overhaul has turned out to be major enough that Oliver reported it was not getting anywhere at the moment. Godly history and getting it to fit the world seems to consist most of the problem, and Venture noted that the early history of AA is in need of some sorting out once the World team has time to work on it. The good news is that beyond changing the theme of clerics, fixes and suggestions about how to make the class more playable or better are accepted again. Mortal Council news continued on page 19 ... --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Volume 12.0 25 Stormmonth, 565 Page 19 --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Mortal Council news, continued from page 18 ... General: A 'who mc' command to see the MC members currently logged in was suggested. To avoid mudlib, the idea changed into a sort of MC-member black scroll, and Oliver reports it has been coded and submitted. Some blatant ripoffs from other worlds were discussed as well, and some exploration points would be looked at. --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Kitty, by Sylwen |\_/| Mid-afternoon nap |\_/| .-.--(^Y^) Kitty is the first to wake (^Y^)--.-. (__))__w-w Let me lick your face w-w__((__) (ldb) --------------------------------------------------------------------------- ---------------------------------------------------------------- | ___ __ __ | | / __|\ \/ / The | | | <__ > < Commodities W A N T S Y O U ! | | \___|/_/\_\ Exchange | | | | Are you an orphan between the ages 15 and 20 (humans), | | 24 and 30 (half-elves), 75 and 145 (elves), 12 and 18 | | (orcs) or 35 and 50 (dwarves)? Do you crave adventure? | | Excitement? A daily chance of death? | | | | If so, you can be one of our couriers! You can deliver | | packages in your spare time and earn up to 300 gold | | coins an hour! You can have your own choice of Dangerous, | | Hazardous, Deadly, Fatal or **NEW** Definitely Lethal | | delivery routes! | | | | We are located just west of the south harbour in | | Tantallon - ask for Lou, he'll fill you in on all the | | details and give you a copy of our release form... | | | ---------------------------------------------------------------- --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Volume 12.0 25 Stormmonth, 565 Page 20 --------------------------------------------------------------------------- C L A I R E ' S _ _ **** * * ***** ***** * ***** \'\ /'/ * * * * * * * * \ V / **** * * * * * *** /, ,\ * * * * * * * \ Y / * *** ***** ***** ***** ***** / ' \ P A G E _( ( ) )_ (___/^\___) Unscramble the following NPC names and find them hidden in the grid below. Look horizontally, vertically, diagonally, forward and backward to see how many you can find! :) (See the answer key in the index ('read index') to find a list of all the names unscrambled.) KBAE RCEEKD TONAL TRTMEOD QHSAIT SLAAHI NAVAI RLNHAA IALNMR LLEIAY YGIMNA WEAIN Q A T H S I M L O J L P S Q Z Z Y A O I D V F O S I G S I M A L I S H A A P W U O I I B N T P H S J T D N S H E P Z E N E N U C T A A I A B E O O H N N C N Z H N A M R I L T O F T T A E A T N Y N L E E K K J T W I N B I O I I S T G I G P O O T U O L L E K T T H Y R O I T I F I R O N N I O C T A U E L D T A K E B A N T S K N L O Y L O S E A S M E M D F H A B E I M O T G H A L N E O O R M A R E W N R N N E R M R T L A M B U O W O I U E U V A T E R W A I D S T R E K C E D N E B O Y S U O T K A R E T N U W A O N E D N N A W I H L E H Z A E I N A O N A L R A H W I N L