------------------------------------------------------------------------------- .. .. .||. ||.. ... || || || ||.|| `|.. || || `|.. ..|'''.| '|| || '|| '|' ' .... . .... ..||.. ... ..., || .... || '' .|| || || || || .| ' || .|...|| '|. | .|' || || || || || || || || ''|...'| '|..'|' ||. ||. '|..' .||. '|..| ||. '|...' ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Volume 13.0 10 Harvestmonth, 566 1 Coin --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Welcome, good readers, to a new issue of the Canticle. My vacation in 'Studyland' went on for even slightly longer than I expected, but then again these kinds of things hardly surprise our patient readers anymore. Much has been going on during these two years, and your wait is rewarded by another thick issue. I would like to thank Meg, Bytre, Florin, Maninthebox, Sparkles, Eubulides, Arfbarky, Zafar, Nei, Dubanka, Shy, Heidi, Serin, Kayte, King Drin, the Senate and 'fortune' for their help with providing material to this issue. --------------------------------------------------------------------------- <*> CANTICLE INDEX <*> -------------------------------------+------------------------------------- News From Nepeth...................2 Tantallon Library Explodes........15 News In Brief......................3 Some Statistics From 2002.........16 Interview With Bytre...............4 Farewell To A MUDwife.............16 New Eldar GM a Dwarf...............6 From Poets On Various Boards......17 Interview With Florin..............7 Mortal Council News...............18 Interview With Maninthebox........12 Classifieds.......................21 --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Volume 13.0 10 Harvestmonth, 566 Page 2 --------------------------------------------------------------------------- N E W S F R O M N E P E T H * Nepeth Shop Changes Owner * A new family has moved into Nepeth and renovated the Nepeth shop. The Canticle talked to Galtarius the shopkeeper, who said he was appointed to help Argul around the shop but was not willing to comment further on the change of owners. * Guards More Trained, Less Friendly? * The guards of Nepeth have returned from a training camp, meant to sharpen their wits and to help keep the residents and workers in Nepeth castle protected. In an announcement from King Drin, the recent destruction of the Tantallon library was mentioned as an important reason why stricter policy was deemed necessary to keep potential troublemakers outside the castle. Scythe representatives have voiced their worry over Scythe youngsters possibly having a harder time making a living with a honest job at the Commodities Exchange, as well as poisoned Scythe members being stopped from buying treatment for their condition from Shanni the crone. Others have reported that some guards have allowed young Scythers on a valid errand to go past them, but the head of the guard was not available to comment on this, or the situation with older Scythe youngsters. Representatives from the Courts of Chaos do not seem to consider that the trained guards pose a threat to their lifestyle. One member commented that Misha and Shanni may find their sales dropping considerably as Scythe members are forced to find their rations and healing elsewhere, however. * Proclamation From The King * King Drin has made a proclamation denying the rumour of the existence of a book, supposedly named "Fall of the Truehearts". It is noted that the possession of this non-existent book is a crime punishable by death. *************************************************************************** * PERSONALS: Happy Anniversary SeXXXy! xoxo your Sneaky Pete. * *************************************************************************** --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Volume 13.0 10 Harvestmonth, 566 Page 3 --------------------------------------------------------------------------- NEWS IN BRIEF _________________________________________________________________________ | All apprentices, formerly level 20, | A number of new libraries have been are now level 400. | opened around the realm. Research ____________________________________| indicates that literacy is at an | all-time high. Pris has been awarded Senior Creator|____________________________________ status. She has two areas in the | game and is responsible for the re- | A frost-giant temple has been dis- coding of the orc valley. There is | covered in the far northern reaches more to come. She has also worked | of the realm. over a year as a World assistant, |____________________________________ and helped out with bug fixes and | the like during her 7-year wizard | The home of Gaius has been located career. Congratulations! | in the north. The housekeeper ____________________________________| admits to being slightly worried | about potential vandalism committed Some very mysterious flora have | by frustrated adventurers. been discovered in the Elven forest.| Gaius has also seen Shanni about it is considered potentially | his mild amnesia, and now reports dangerous. | that he can remember names much ____________________________________| better. |____________________________________ Report from the wild: Shy has cream-| pied Ariola, the Virgision Queen, | Something odd has been found in a and escaped with his life. | dead part of the Elven forest. Ad- ____________________________________| venturers report seeing an unexpect- | ed glint of metal under thick mud, Fighters can now disarm with their | but party members who stayed behind bare hands. Local clerics are | to study the find more closely stocking up on bandages. | have not been heard of since. ____________________________________|____________________________________ ----------------------------------------------------------- | __,,--``\\ Maigyn's Magic Shop | | _,,-''`` \\ , | | '----------_.------'-.___|\__ Your source for that little | | _.--''`` `)__ )__ @\__ touch of magic. | | ( .. ''---/___,,E/__,E'------` | | `-''`'' | ----------------------------------------------------------- --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Volume 13.0 10 Harvestmonth, 566 Page 4 --------------------------------------------------------------------------- An interview with Bytre, the bill-payer and to whom donations for the mud are sent, as well as the retired Arch of QC. --------------------------------------------------------------------------- MeG: When did you first start playing AA, and how did you initially hear of it? Bytre: I had played muds briefly in the late 80's, but didn't get hooked. I came across them again in an article in a magazine called Boardwatch, and tried a number over the course of about a month. I came to Ancient Anguish in October of 1993. MeG: How long were you a mortal before deciding that you wanted to wiz? Bytre: I honestly don't recall. It took me about three months. Wizzing was delayed by a few days for me when a new quest (Help the King) was added as I was trying to get to a million xp. I did most of the work in late December, 1993, when very few players were online. At the time, we still had big shifts in player levels when students went home for holidays, as such a large percentage of our users only had access at universities. We would drop from 35 or 40 players down to 10 to 15 during those weeks. MeG: After wizzing, how long was it until you became Arch of QC? Bytre: I think that happened in October or November of '94, after I'd been a wizard for 10 months. MeG: How would you describe your position as Arch of Balance then? Was it something you enjoyed doing? Bytre: I didn't care for Balance, but I really enjoyed Qc. It allowed me to really help new wizards create code and environments that were engaging, challenging, and immersive for the players. MeG: You must be very trusted for being one of the people that players send their donations to. How was that decided? Is it a huge responsibility? Bytre: The initial fund raiser was done in 1993, and it was a fund raiser for survival. We were being kicked off dancer (a Sparc at a university in Switzerland - get the actual name off "help machine"), and had to aggressively raise about $7k to save the mud and get it a new home. We succeeded. My involvement in that fund raiser was limited to sending in $15. I think I started up the fund raisers again after I had become the Arch of Qc, and we were starting to need money for a machine relocation. I became the central collection point and opened a bank account for all AA funds, and became the de facto treasurer. Interview with Bytre continued on page 5 ... --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Volume 13.0 10 Harvestmonth, 566 Page 5 --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Interview with Bytre, continued from page 4 ... Bytre: The responsibility isn't that bad, as it only takes a couple hours a month to administer it effectively (and depending on my schedule, I sometimes don't administer it that well because I'm too busy at work or with kids being born). The bigger responsibility is ensuring that our bills (about $3600 a year) get paid on time, and that all the donations get properly accounted for. MeG: Did you become a member of the Senate because you were Arch of Balance? What are your general thoughts about the Senate and how it's run? Bytre: Arches are considered members of the Extended Senate, but that is largely an artificial distinction. I thus joined the Sena te when I became an Arch Wizard. When I retired from running the Qc department when my son was born (in January of 2000), the Senate voted me in as a Senator - a senate member without administrative responsibilities. I have mixed feelings about the Senate. I think when it is running well, it is an extremely powerful and capable governing body. At other times, it is not so effective and policy decisions can drag out for a long time. Ancient Anguish could not survive without a multi-member governing body. Our founder Zor realized this when he set up the Senate and abdicated his power to it in 1994. Ancient Anguish is too large for anyone to govern alone, and too diverse to be effectively governed by a single individual. The multiple experiences, perspectives, and philosophies of the different senators makes for some spectacular arguments, but produces good decisions and stable governance. The downside to the senate is that it is made of individuals, and their interest and time available to spend on the game waxes and wanes over the course of time. I've seen senates with 10 very engaged and active members, and senates with only a couple stalwarts keeping things running. When there aren't enough people actively engaged, decisions can move at a snail's pace. Interview with Bytre continued on page 6 ... --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Volume 13.0 10 Harvestmonth, 566 Page 6 --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Interview with Bytre, continued from page 5 ... MeG: If you play a mortal, disregard this question. If you don't, do you think that the Senate members should be required to have at least one active mortal in order for them to remain in touch with the current player issues? How do you think that the decisions the Senate makes that have to do with player issues can be justified if the people who compose the Senate do not play? Bytre: Most Senate decisions actually do not have much to do with player issues, and so I really do not think a senator needs to play a mortal to be an effective senator. I personally do have a mortal, but haven't played him in years. I try to keep in touch with mortal issues through individual discussions (in mail and interactive) with mortals, hosting "meet the senate" sessions, reading boards, and listening to lines. I also defer to the experience and arguments of those senators who do play mortals extensively. MeG: What are the best changes that you've seen take place on AA, as well as the ones you consider to be the worst? Bytre: I think one of the best changes is its independence. Owning its own hardware and having the resources to pay for a stable, dedicated, very high speed connection has made the mud very stable with great uptime. When we were housed at the university, Pacific Rim, or Chaco, we didn't have as much control as we have now. As for the worst changes, that is hard to say. I'll decline on answering that one. --------------------------------------------------------------------------- New Eldar GM A Dwarf Ricochet has stepped down as Guildmaster of the Eldar, and Dubanka has taken his place. The new Guildmaster has announced that there are no great changes in the works as far as he is concerned. The new Guildmaster's race has caused some confusion among the guild, which usually does not accept anyone without blood ties to the founding, elvish members. "My mother's uncle's second cousin twice removed in law was probably elvish, I think," Dubanka comments. --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Volume 13.0 10 Harvestmonth, 566 Page 7 --------------------------------------------------------------------------- This interview is with Florin, creator of the Farmyard Quest, the Scythe guild, and also the one responsible for including the Webster database. --------------------------------------------------------------------------- MeG: I'm interviewing Florin, a member of the Senate, and a Scythe GM. Hi Florin. Let me start out by asking how long you've been coming to AA. Florin: I came to AA in February of 1992. I had been active as a player on a couple of other LPMuds before that, and had made a wizard on one of them not long before that. I learned to code LPC on a MUD called Igor, which was a copy of the original Genesis MUD, which was running at the same machine on a different port. MeG: When you started here, how many areas were there? Florin: When I came here, the MUD wasn't really open yet. There were 2 or 3 areas, notably a bit of Drin's castle, Asyvan's dungeon (Do I get that name right?) and Fub was adding his castle with that demonic harness thing. But I was immediately impressed by the potential of the map system. Other muds I had seen were basically long chains of areas hanging off the same central village that we had here as well. This one seemed to have a lot more design to it than any other attempts I had visited. MeG: You must have started out as a wiz/admin then? Florin: No, I actually played in those few areas there were, together with such people as Trixx and Menta, who also eventually became wizards/arches. There were two miniquests as well which were removed when proper quests were installed, I recall. So there were some things to do, but basically it was a contest with the other players to get the rights to those three main areas - get there first, kill guard, stake your claim, walk out with lots of loot. MeG: How did you hear of the place? Florin: Dale, who was known as Bardoz at the time, had a fairly popular area going at Igor MUD. I heard that he came over here to help Zor and Biko add some content to the raw framework of AA. A guy who was at my university, Fub, also migrated from Igor to AA at that time. So Gloin, also from the same site, and I did the same. MeG: So how large was the player base then? Florin: I guess there must've been around 40 or 50 actual players. You got to know most people by name pretty rapidly anyhow. Interview with Florin continued on page 8 ... --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Volume 13.0 10 Harvestmonth, 566 Page 8 --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Interview with Florin, continued from page 7 ... MeG: How many were usually logged on at a time, on average? Florin: There'd be something like 15-20 people on at any one time, which wasn't a bad showing compared to a lot of other efforts, especially considering we had so few areas to go to. There were lots of other LPMuds then and now, but AA stood out for me as a player and as an aspiring wizard. MeG: Was the Law Dept. active then? Florin: No there was no Law, Biko, Zor and Midian sort of oversaw player happenings. MeG: So if a player had a beef, they'd send one of those guys a tell? Florin: Yeah, tho I don't really remember any real arguments at the time. There was a sort of feeling like we were beta testers, cooperating on this new project. So I wizzed as soon as I could, eventually becoming the first orc ever to wiz. Wait a sec... Ok it took me something like a month to wiz. The logs say March 6, no that'd be a month and a half. Keep in mind that the game was really quite simple back then. There was one class, fighters. MeG: Did you have ideas of what you wanted to do after wizzing? Florin: Well, I wanted to code something obviously, and the first thing that seemed necessary was quests. Not that I particularly enjoyed them from a player perspective, but all the other MUDs at the time had some elements other than plain bashing to offer the player before wizhood. MeG: So quests were one way to diversify things? Florin: Yep. A checklist item for any self-respecting MUD, really. So Trixx and I set about to create quests, we had a little competition to get our project done first. His walking lame thing got approved a few days before the farmyard was finished. I looked at it recently, the farmyard, and it seems there are a lot of things wrong with it now. Newer additions to the game have caused bugs at some points, new classes with new skills that I hadn't foreseen. It's not as good as some of the more recent quests but people seemed to like it back in the days. I should revise and modernise it at some point I guess. My LPC is a bit rusty though and I'm balking at the effort. Interview with Florin continued on page 9 ... --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Volume 13.0 10 Harvestmonth, 566 Page 9 --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Interview with Florin, continued from page 8 ... MeG: How did you manage to get involved with the Scythe guild? Florin: Ok after that I guess the Scythe guild project came about. Similar to quests, most MUDs had guilds that you could join. The companionship and the "us-against-the world" feeling of such guilds on Igor were one of things I enjoyed most of MUDs. I was a proud member of the Scorpion guild there (which was removed later, unfortunately, but oh well). AA didn't have any guilds at the time, and I think the Scythe was the first - either the Scythe was the first guild [1], or the farmyard was the first quest. I know I accomplished one of those earlier, I'm just misty on which is which. (The Scythe was a race against Menta, who was making the monk guild.) MeG: I've always wanted to know where the idea came from, and how you decided on the name. Florin: I thought about the name for a while. If I had stopped thinking earlier, the guild would've ended up being called 'The Morning Star.' I suppose we can all be glad it didn't. There wasn't really a huge conceptual thing behind it. I just wanted something that sounded like a decisive uppercut. Blunt, and to the point. The monks was all about hugging trees and such merry stuff, I wanted a guild that I'd want to be a member of. MeG: What kind of thought process was involved in the NPC's in the Scythe? Florin: There were really only two NPCs when we started out, Boki and Furdz... Boki is somewhat of a joke on Biko - Biko is a bit of a crass individual, with a hmm... lewd sense of humour. Boki the not so highly intellectual ogre reflects that. MeG: Was the Scythe guild a solo project or team effort? Florin: At first the Scythe was almost completely a solo project - Gloin came up with a couple of the titles. MeG: Yeah, those titles are pretty interesting too. Florin: (gazes at the blue sky above) Aren't they. It was always supposed to be blunt but with the tongue planted firmly in cheek. We had a lot of fun coming up with slightly offbeat titles. I got some flak in later years for not coming up with a set of female titles as well. I figure we're just the first equal opportunies emancipated guild. [1] Editor's note: Monks were first, barely, then came Scythe, Knights, Chaos, Eldar, some nameless guild and Bears. Thanks to timing-helpers! Interview with Florin continued on page 10 ... --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Volume 13.0 10 Harvestmonth, 566 Page 10 --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Interview with Florin, continued from page 9 ... MeG: The best thing about that guild, to me, is that you aren't announced when you log in and you aren't announced when you log off or die or gain a level. Florin: (nods solemnly) Yes, I got asked for that a lot actually. But I always wanted to leave that up to the discretion of the players themselves to announce. The Scythe allows for people to be anonymous, if they want to be. They can solo, rely on themselves, be a shadow. Of course, I'm glad that it still grew into a sort of community after all - that people do take pride in being in the Scythe, but I never wanted to force the issue. MeG: So what do you think set the tone for the Scythe and their badass attitude? Florin: The tone was intended. I'd seen far too many guilds of tree huggers, deity worshippers, brave valiant knights and what have you more. I figured when I came online, I wanted to roleplay something else. Be allowed to be a nuisance, within reason of course. I much enjoyed seeing the guild members pester people, be really arrogant to newbies, and fierce about their territory later with the room counting thing. I figured AA with its friendly atmosphere could afford a few not so happy-go-lucky people around. There is a difference between playing a smartass and being a pain in the ass, I think obviously there are certain common courtesy lines that you shouldn't cross. It should all be in good sport, as far as I'm concerned. I think it stops when people start to become really mean. It's good that there is competition between guilds. It's funny if someone is mocked for playing together with elves. It's not so nice if people start to follow someone around, or steal kills repeatedly, stuff like that. MeG: So would you say that the Scythe have an ethics system of their own that they should follow? Florin: (thinks carefully) Well, everything within reason. I'm not saying you should NEVER do such things. Obviously the rules stop you from being really evil (or at least they're intended to). At some point you're going to be talked to by Law about harassment, and that is good. Some people don't know when to stop, unfortunately. Interview with Florin continued on page 11 ... --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Volume 13.0 10 Harvestmonth, 566 Page 11 --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Interview with Florin, continued from page 10 ... MeG: Have you ever thought about coding something into the Scythe guild that would allow kicking members out? Florin: I used to pay attention to the guild members more closely; I only ever kicked one person out. He was called Grout, he was a playerkiller and all the members complained to me about him. I got tired of it and showed him the door. I'm sure there are lots of people with comparable crimes that my members have had to live with however. MeG: They pretty much police themselves, I think and quite effectively too. Florin: That is good. I think they should. I've always wanted a minimum of involvement from the other side, wizhood, which is also why wizards are listed separately on the guild line, and why their level and such aren't provided. It shouldn't matter to players. MeG: So why did you eventually stop coming around? Florin: (thinks carefully) Life got in the way, as it tends to do. People minimise their involvement at some point, or drop out altogether - like Drake. I have a busy job and a nice lady friend, other things seem to take priority. MeG: Do you have any advice for new players? Florin: (thinks carefully) I'm trying to think of something meaningful here... I'd say don't waste your time in meetings trying to think out every possible outcome of a decision. Instead get something working and see how it works out, then adjust, or possibly scratch it all together. I don't care for bureaucracy, particularly in a game like this. MeG: That's funny, since you ARE a member of the Senate. Florin: (shrugs helplessly) I've always tried to inject a practical point of view into things. Like yes we could start a separate commission for this and that and level a few people to make them feel important about what they're doing. And then... I'm not sure what the alternatives are. It seems to eventually boil down to some sort of commitee and compromises anyhow. (snickers) MeG: (grins evilly) Florin: Anyway, get coding and be excellent to one another, and don't worry about position. Eventually you'll be rewarded. MeG: Well, thanks very much for taking the time to let me interview you, Florin. It's been fun! --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Volume 13.0 10 Harvestmonth, 566 Page 12 --------------------------------------------------------------------------- In this interview I talk to Maninthebox, a well-known player and bounty hunter. --------------------------------------------------------------------------- MeG: How long have you been playing AA, and how did you initially hear of it? MitB: My first character was a half-elf mage (who eventually made it to the Playerlist at one point, unintentionally). I believe he was created somewhere around November of 1995, give or take a few months. He, along with all the rest of my characters, have been wiped at least once, so it's hard to say exactly. MeG: How many characters/classes have you played and do you have a favorite class? If so, why? MitB: I have no idea how many characters I've had... there have been WAY too many. I've had characters of every class except the Shapeshifters, but I would have to say that my favorite, by far, is the Rogue class... Elf Rogue, to be exact. Being able to move around the mud undetected (for the most part) affords a rogue an almost unlimited number of options in terms of how you choose to occupy your time. Combine that "sneakiness" with a vast knowledge of the world and items available, as well as a good imagination, and the recreational possibilities are almost unlimited. Well, at least they used to be, until law stepped in and classified many of them as "ruining the game for others" and "harassment," *smiles innocently* but there are still quite a few pretty amusing things to do to occupy your time, other than just killing stuff. MeG: Why did you decide to become a bounty hunter (are you in SK too? I can't remember)? MitB: Yes, I was in SK. I always had been curious about SK and how I would do as an elf rogue. At that time, elf rogues were pretty much laughed at in SK. I think Rabjohns was the one who said something to the effect of "The only thing elf rogues are good for in SK is for giving buzz-cuts with my lightning spell." In fact, at the time I joined, there werent many (any?) elf rogues in SK, and only one other active rogue I can think of, and he wasn't very active until later. The reason I decided to join was because I had been bountied for about 3-4 months, playing at least 5 hours a day, and no one had even attempted to pursue me for weeks. Even the ones who occasionally geared-up to come after me chose not to attack me when they had the chance, for some reason. The hunters who had pursued me early-on apparently weren't expecting a bounty to actually fight back, and when I did, it seemed to discourage them from coming after me again. Interview with Maninthebox continued on page 13 ... --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Volume 13.0 10 Harvestmonth, 566 Page 13 --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Interview with Maninthebox, continued from page 12 ... MitB: So basically, I got bored and wanted to be able to initiate the combat, so I went SK. Incidentally, someone did eventually catch up to me and kill me for the bounty. It was a female ranger, if I remember correctly, but I've forgotten the character's name. (Selena or Serena or something like that... I'll try to remember.) That death was the only death I took with my rogue while I was in SK, and showed-up on the SK chart for some reason, which always irked me. Not very long afterward SK became pretty much lifeless. Well, SK never had TONS of people on at one time, but it got to the point where I would go days-on-end without seeing anyone log-in for more than about 10 seconds. People would log-in and almost immediately log back out instead of coming out to play. *chuckle* So I got bored and had to quench my newfound thirst for blood by chasing bountied players, since they were the only ones I could legally attack. Eventually I wizzed-out of SK and remade the character. He's now an orc, but I wish I'd made him an elf again. *sniff* MeG: What do you think makes for a successful bounty hunter? MitB: This isn't such an easy question to answer. It depends a lot on who the bounty is, and who the hunter is. Understanding the bountied person is key to being able to stay one step ahead of them. However, with experience you find that most bountied people do the same things and go to similar places. It almost becomes predictable to a certain extent... in a general way, if that makes sense. Being quick is also key. You have to be able to move from one end of the mud to the other very quickly, and you also have to be able to hit them hard and fast before they realize what's going on. A vast knowledge of all areas of the mud certainly helps you understand which places bounties are likely to be hiding in, and many times that will give you the element of surprise, which was my bread and butter. The willingness to be patient and "go that extra mile" when you need to is priceless when it comes to hunting. If some bounty decides he's going to head down into some part of the Burnham tunnels which is "off the beaten path" from the route to the stronghold because he thinks no one's crazy enough to come down there, you're going to have to be willing to put in the time and search every room down there, but eventually you'll find him and surprise the h--- out of him. *tickle Bleys* I'm sure there are many more people nowadays who are very familiar with the Burnham tunnels, but I only use them as an example. Interview with Maninthebox continued on page 14 ... --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Volume 13.0 10 Harvestmonth, 566 Page 14 --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Interview with Maninthebox, continued from page 13 ... MitB: There are still some areas which not many people know inside and out. Those are the places you have to know and be willing to go if you have to. Of course, most bounties don't even know those areas so they just run around with one finger on their "quit" alias and hit it at the first sign of damage. For those people you have to be lucky and catch them off-guard, and be able to do a lot of damage very quickly, otherwise they're just going to logout. Of course, that's just my personal opinion. Every hunter has a different style, and many of them do very well. MeG: Is it true that there are no good bounty hunters anymore? MitB: Naw, I'm sure there are plenty of skilled people out there, but I haven't been back for very long, and haven't seen many bounties log in since I've been back, so it's hard to say. I do still see names around that I recognize as people who know what they're doing. MeG: What is your favorite thing about AA - the thing that keeps bringing you back? MitB: The depth and detail of (most of) the areas. Nothing irks me more than to be in a room that has something listed in its room description, but when you try and examine it you're told it's not there. It used to be that there were alot of places like that, but as time goes on, it seems that there's even more detail being added to everything. (Smells, touching, etc.) I also always liked the subtle (and not-so-subtle) humour you'll find in many of the areas, and enjoying the company of the people I know, even if I don't party with them a lot. The people here have been, for the most part, incredibly helpful and nice, and there are a lot of people who have a good understanding of the game and how to play it. High-caliber players are something that this place has always had, and I'm sure it always will. To me, that's priceless. MeG: What was AA like when you began playing? MitB: To me, it was this intimidatingly huge world where I was afraid to venture very far from town because I had no idea what was out there. Of course, I later found out that it wasn't THAT big and intimidating. It was also much smaller in terms of both population and areas. Most of the things that are in the mud now weren't here when I began. Interview with Maninthebox continued on page 15 ... --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Volume 13.0 10 Harvestmonth, 566 Page 15 --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Interview with Maninthebox, continued from page 14 ... MeG: Do you have any early experiences that stand out in your mind that you want to tell us about? MitB: Remember the mage I mentioned earlier? The one who inadvertently made it to the Playerlist (Rabjohns)? Don't tell anyone, but he had about 2 million experience before one of my friends mentioned something about "spellpower" and "spellaim," and I was like "Huh? What the h--- is that?" Believe it or not, I didn't even know those commands existed until then. I'll NEVER forget about that. Talk about a noob, eh? MeG: Do you have any words of advice for a fledgling bounty hunter, one who is just up and coming? MitB: See the long-winded answer to the bounty hunter question for the answer to this one. But I do have some advice for fledgling rogues: STAB HARD! MeG: How about any words of wisdom for new players in general? MitB: Explore your world. Know what areas are where, know what items you have at your disposal and don't be afraid to use them. Be willing to do things the way you want to do them, if you think it will work... or even if you think it won't. Don't listen to all the people who tell you that you can't do something because it won't work as well as something else. Try it out and see for yourself. Experiment and develop a style that works best for you. Don't take it all too seriously, or personally. And for God's sake, have fun. MeG: Thanks for the interview, Maninthebox! It was very informative :) --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Tantallon Library Explodes - King Supports Rebuilding The Tantallon library suffered massive damage in a mysterious explosion. There have been rumours about Scythe influence behind the accident, but a proclamation from King Drin denies any such possibility. According to the proclamation, a magical accident is a much more likely cause. The King made a generous donation to help with rebuilding the library, in celebration of the 80-year wedding anniversary of the royal couple. The library has been rebuilt and reopened. The Librarian was last seen looking quite distraught around the time of the explosion, acting somewhat violent towards anyone he ran into. What happened to the orangutan library keeper afterwards remains a mystery. --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Volume 13.0 10 Harvestmonth, 566 Page 16 --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Some Statistics From 2002 [1] 23 projects and 44 fixes and updates were approved and installed during the year.[2] 5 issues of the Canticle were published, while the competing Dalair paper came out with one new major issue. 24 apprentices made it to full wizardhood. 3 wizards, Mickie, Dubanka and Obasa, were promoted to Creator, and 2 Creators, Idul and Tueblo, were promoted to Senior Creator. 7 wizards joined different committees, and 3 retired from their assistant tasks. Argeld stepped down from his position as World and Map Arch, and Scarecrazy returned to the job. Idul and Jerusulum joined the Senator ranks. [1] Read: "What statistics we managed to dig up after the year had already changed." [2] The numbers are based on the units (and division between updates and projects) used by QC. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Farewell to a MUDwife, by Anonymous I found your textual relations pleasing And your pleasurable orations nicely teasing But I am most afraid, my dear Your temper I've come to fear One only types so much before the hand begs ceasing And though you professed an air of innocence It could not hold to thine fire'y countenance And like an ember, ever burning With the tables, always turning You would sear brutally if given a chance So long, dear MUDwife, I wish you all the best I will admit, a night spent in pleasant rest Is preferred over your heated parley But before I'm off, I'm happy to say No more MUDsex for you! --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Volume 13.0 10 Harvestmonth, 566 Page 17 --------------------------------------------------------------------------- From Poets On Various Boards --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Happiness fell on gilded wings Speaking of marvelous things In robes of velvet and silver rings Happiness sat in a silvery brook trickling There it began to sing. Sadness slammed this heart against a wall Without any warning at all I cried for it to stop with no avail Tears follow my voice as I tell you my sad tale He took a part of me and stole it without a word It cries in a voice unheard now I must move on - Sparkles alone now I'll sing the sad song. --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Bees are very busy souls I can quit any time. They have no time for birth controls Right after I level up. And that is why in times like these Is it morning yet? There are so many Sons of Bees. - Anonymous Fortunate - Eubulides --------------------------------------------------------------------------- I write a haiku * From the Submissions Board * But it is not good enough I remove a note H A I K U T I M E - Arfbarky Arfbarky haiku-d Says that he removed a note Yet it remains here - Zafar Nei goes out camping Returns here a day later Board-reading heaven - Nei --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Volume 13.0 10 Harvestmonth, 566 Page 18 --------------------------------------------------------------------------- M O R T A L C O U N C I L N E W S The mortal council elected in Icemonth 566 looks like this: Mage: Riko, Burble Rogue: Eveon, Sarc Fighter: Machine, Fyrix, Joho Necromancer: (no representatives) Cleric: Slinkee, Meg Paladin: Krim, Daikko Ranger: Mappyr, Elowyn, Levek Shapeshifter: Oceans, Tycho No necromancer nominees got enough votes to go over the limit for entry this time. On the other hand, fighters, who were without representatives last term, now got a full representation. Hopefully the same will happen to necromancers in the next election. The previous mortal council held a meeting half a year before the election. None of the mage, rogue or paladin representatives were present, although Druenarrii (paladin representative) had left his wishlist to process beforehand. Here is the usual digest of what went on: Rangers (Levek and Thorn present): A new container type for rangers in the style of a rucksack was suggested, so that rangers would have something useful to contribute for people coming to them for equipment. They should be hard to create, and in return better than the ones gotten from NPCs. Some balance discussion followed, and Oliver agreed to look into it. Making ranger gear better in general, balanced by a higher spellpoint cost for making them, was suggested. Ranger armour is about as good as it can get[1] without turning metallic, however, so it is best not to hold one's breath about improvements there. Paldin would check the possibility for adding steel heads to spears and get back to Thorn about it. [1] Avoid comparing ranger armour with older, unbalanced "leather" armours about this. Mortal Council news continued on page 19 ... --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Volume 13.0 10 Harvestmonth, 566 Page 19 --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Mortal Council news, continued from page 18 ... Necromancers (Lunger present): Necromancers wish to be able to tell their undead to 'get all x' (like 'all salve') and 'drop all x' (similarly, and 'all unworn' or unwielded). Oliver would look into it. Clerics (Meg present): Oliver reported that his biggest problem with the cleric god project is the required amount of input from arches and other High Immortals for the history (re-)writing. Shapeshifters (Erithwywen present): Ultimate Forms, which would come after the largest forms currently, were hoped for, with some incredible bonuses. Paldin noted that the largest forms already were as ultimate as it would get. Also, as drakon flying was suggested, Paldin noted that there might be an avian clan later and the capability was therefore 'taken'. New clans, like invertebrates, were on the wishlist, but Paldin was not convinced. Drakons will also not be able to trip people with their tails, as it is too close to a rogue class power. Panthers and nelitos want to carry items in their mouth, but the inability to carry things is among other things a way to balance for the Shifters' fighting abilities. Extending the shifter storyline was suggested, to which Paldin commented that there is quite a bit of information in the Shifter NPCs as it is. There would be no books in the Enclave. Dubanka volunteered to help any book-writing volunteer to get a Shifter story into the game, and the Canticle would look into interviewing[2] the Shifter NPCs. Paldin has a list of sfeel additions from Sharn from earlier, and he suggests that Shifters start thinking what new sfeels they want, since once he gets around to updating the class the next time, he will post on the log board asking for additional ideas. [2] There is a position open for doing this interview... Mortal Council news continued on page 20 ... --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Volume 13.0 10 Harvestmonth, 566 Page 20 --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Mortal Council news, continued from page 19 ... Mages: Mickie is reportedly working on his spells project again. Miscellaneous: Paldin reported that the AA website competition entries are still being looked at, and the player houses are on the way. A command for 'squelching a room' was suggested, to enable players to ignore all says, whispers, emotes and feelings in a room. This will probably require rather much processing power, but Oliver would ask Arpeggio about it. An ability to save one's squelch list over reboot was also asked for. The party line had something done to it relatively recently, but there was no knowledge how the party line colour project was progressing. Adding an ability to Mortus to tell players the last 15 or so people killed by a particular monster was suggested. Galt would look into it. Nei would ask Adinos about removing the 'stones' alias from the cairns of the Geographical Society. An ability to 'turn to page x' on books was hoped for. This should actually already be possible. Shops should pay less for items they have many of, it was suggested. Some shops already do this, and others might get around to it eventually. Lowering the value of equipment, or limiting how much money bank accounts and players could hold were suggested to help with inflation, but the ideas did not catch. --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Shapeshifter News Shapeshifters, who are considered to spend more time meditating on their training than mages, have listed their favourite places to idle. The Bear Guild hall and its surroundings seem the most popular, followed by the Shifter log board, but various exotic places were also brought up. Many Shifters would find themselves a quiet place where hardly anyone ever goes to, for the peace and quiet. The Scythe now accepts Shapeshifters as new members, assuming that they pass the admission test required of everyone. --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Volume 13.0 10 Harvestmonth, 566 Page 21 --------------------------------------------------------------------------- __________________________________________________________________________ | ____ ____ ____ ____ ____ ____ ____ ____ ___ ____ | | The Canticle / / // / / / / / / | / | | / / /___//____ /____ / /__ / /__ / //____ | | / / / / / / / / / / / / / | | / / / / / / / / / / / / / | | /___ /___ / / ____/ ____/__/_ / __/_ /___ /____/ ____/ | |__________________________________________________________________________| | | | Have you been in a situation where you are just a mere 40k exp shy of | | advancing and you're just plain tired of killing the same 3 monsters | | over and over again? How about when you finally find a good party and | | trivia or star is about to start? How about when you want to make exp, | | but some hot dude/chick logs into the Tantallon Inn? | | | | If you have a ton of cash, are at least level 15 and want to make your | | money work for you (since as we all know cash on AA is pretty much | | useless), try Sinister's EXP SERVICE! | | | | The service is simple. You will party with my employer Sinister and he | | will go out and make exp for you. For every experience point accumulated | | in this manner you will pay 1 gold coin. (20k in advance for expenses.) | | During this time you can do whatever you want, play trivia or stars, | | talk to your friends, all the while sucking up on the yummy yummy exp. | | | | Disclaimer: - Sinny | | This is in no way related to Lunger's competing but inferior service. | |__________________________________________________________________________| | | | Game time is: 1:12 pm Yep, that's right, it's reboot and there's | | Real time is: 6:12 pm no f-ing eq in the shops, racks, vaults, | | Reboot is in: 24h 30m <---- chutes, or Scythe board. | | Uh oh, better get.... to calling Sinister's EQ Service! What this service| | provides is a simple way for you to get equipment during reboot. Basic- | | ally just drop a tell to my employer Sinister if he's on, and he'll get | | just just about any non-unique item for 3x the sale value at the shop. | | Unique items will be negotiated beforehand. | | | | Disclaimer: Rings/bracelets/amulets and certain other specials are not | | included as part of this service. Sinister has the right to refuse to | | get any equipment for you, unless we're talking about serious cash. | |__________________________________________________________________________|