------------------------------------------------------------------------------- .. .. .||. ||.. ... || || || ||.|| `|.. || || `|.. ..|'''.| '|| || '|| '|' ' .... . .... ..||.. ... ..., || .... || '' .|| || || || || .| ' || .|...|| '|. | .|' || || || || || || || || ''|...'| '|..'|' ||. ||. '|..' .||. '|..| ||. '|...' ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Volume 18.0 10 Moonset, 572 1 Coin --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Welcome, good readers, to a new edition of The Canticle. Dreamweaver has promised to do some interviews for us, starting with Thebeast's in this paper. We also have gotten numerous submissions from our brave readers on what peculiar way they have managed to get themselves killed. I would like to thank Tiyowan, Scarecrazy, Dreamweaver, Jerusulum, Wispy, Thebeast, Zafar, Tanus, Newt, Serin, Lunger, Dionne, Lejana and The Church of Coniferia for their help with getting material for this paper. Fir Acting Editor The Canticle --------------------------------------------------------------------------- <*> CANTICLE INDEX <*> -------------------------------------+------------------------------------- News in brief......................2 Fun Stuff To Do This Year.........11 The Knights of King Drin...........3 Lars Is Your Friend...............12 The Lesser Known Dangers of AA.....5 Mortal Council News...............15 From The Poet Board................6 Tree-hugging At All Time High.....20 Interview with TheBeasT............7 --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Volume 18.0 10 Moonset, 572 Page 2 --------------------------------------------------------------------------- NEWS IN BRIEF ___________________________________________________________________________ | The new inn in Norton, the Gold | Flaw has settled down in Hobbitat. Cat, advertises the finest dining | Adventurers are warned that she north of the Natirar. | has not lost her adventurer's _____________________________________| spirit, however. |______________________________________ Marika has a new item for sale for | rangers who want to keep their | Studious mages have made a break- companions pretty. | through: with the help of Warra of _____________________________________| the North, they have found a number | of new, cold-based spells to teach There have been attempts to hack | to the willing students. both mortal and immortal players' |______________________________________ accounts. Make your password hard | to guess! See 'help password'. Also, | Word has it that it is more wizards should not reuse their | difficult to find people climbing passwords on their mortals, and use | ropes inventively these days. of the 'site' command is encouraged. | Citizens demand more troupes. _____________________________________|_____________________________________ Shapeshifter Consultant for Hire The Canticle is looking for a shapeshifter or one who knows the clans to conduct interviews of the locals at the Shapeshifter Enclave and produce an article about the background of this still mysterious class. ___________________________________________________________________________ \\//\\//\\//\\//\\//\\//\\//\\//\\//\\//\\//\\//\\//\\//\\//\\// //\\ //\\ \\// LOOKING FOR GOLD UP NORTH? \\// //\\ //\\ \\// I have the equipment you need! The best gold \\// //\\ pans available anywhere, sturdy backpacks - //\\ \\// I even have magical potions for sale! \\// //\\ //\\ \\// Visit Dubo's trading post in the Norton village. \\// //\\ //\\ \\//\\//\\//\\//\\//\\//\\//\\//\\//\\//\\//\\//\\//\\//\\//\\// --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Volume 18.0 10 Moonset, 572 Page 3 --------------------------------------------------------------------------- The Knights Of King Drin ______ Greetings, adventurers. Imprimis, I would like to thank my lady | \ / | Fir for allowing myself to write this article. The purpose of |\ \/ /| this is to inform you, our readers, about my guild, the noble | \ / | Order of the knights of King Drin, and to invite you to consider | / \ | joining our ranks. |/ /\ \| \/ \/ Our Order was founded in 487 H.E. to celebrate and honor King \ / Drin's victory in the War Of Faith. It firmly established a \/ knightly tradition that had informally existed since the time of Arutha Trueheart the Mighty. _______ Our Order is based on a code of chivalry that every knight is |...|+++| expected to adhere to. In essence, the virtues that are expected | * |+++| of a truly honorable knight are: courtesy, faith, largesse, | I |+++| loyalty, prowess, valor and righteousness. Knights of our Order | I |+++| help out their fellow knights when they are in need of |-------| assistance. All knights are encouraged to donate any equipment \^ ^ ^/ that they do not need to the Order's racks, where they can be \^ ^/ taken and used by other knights. Indeed, the renowned knight, \_/ Suze, is famous for donating to the racks for the benefit of her fellow knights. All knights have a duty to stock the racks, because this further strengthens the spirit of comradeship that exists in our Order. We also have an exclusive Knights Shoppe where our brethren can purchase the famous knight's packs, as well as other fundamental equipment. Our dear readers must note that the foul orcs are our sworn enemies, and the King will grant a knight a rank of nobility if they slay a significant number of orcs. A high rank of nobility will enable you to get discounts from the Knights Shoppe. Knights who strive to slay as many orcs as quickly as possible will also get their names inscribed on the list of legendary trophy hunters. Earning a spot on this list is considered to be a great test of perseverance and if you make on it the list, you will gain tremendous respect from your fellow knights. Dragons also have been the enemies of our Order, ever since King Arutha Trueheart the Mighty perished from wounds that he sustained while fighting the dragon Horg. The Knights of King Drin continued on page 4 ... --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Volume 18.0 10 Moonset, 572 Page 4 --------------------------------------------------------------------------- The Knights of King Drin, continued from page 3 ... Over the years, our Order has produced knights with such exceptional martial abilities that they have become legends throughout the realm. Notable among these is the renowned elf-knight Sigil, a highly skilled fighter who earned more than 34 million experience points and is also on the list of legendary trophy hunters. If you feel that you will be able to live up to the requirements of a knight, you are very welcome to come to our Hall and join our Order. (Directions from x-roads: 13n, 6w, 10n.) Our ranks are open to dwarves, elves, half-elves and humans. Adventurers, clerics, fighters, paladins and rangers are welcome to join us. I hope that this has heightened your interest in the knights of King Drin. I wish you the best of luck, should you choose to join us. Remember, we are all willing to help you, provided that you inquire in a courteous manner and have some patience. Become a knight. Raise your sword and shout at the top of your lungs: "PENDRAGON!!!" - A Humble Knight of Drin. --------------------------------------------------------------------------- ---===> Do you consider yourself brave &aml; chivalrous? <===--- ______ _______ |______| If the answer is yes you will be pleased to hear that |_______| | | King Drin will be recruiting Knights for his army in the | | | | near future. Humans, elves and half-elves of respectable | | | | professions are accepted. Being a Knight means upholding | | | | law and order as well as being a part of a splendid group | | | | of people. King Drin has even proclaimed to be willing | | |____| to hand out noble titles to those Knights who, through |_____| /______\ deed and manner, deserve such a reward. /_______\ --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Volume 18.0 10 Moonset, 572 Page 5 --------------------------------------------------------------------------- The lesser known dangers of Ancient Anguish research by Scarecrazy The Cleaver and Frying Pan tag-team Surely the first lesson in adventuring that the inexperienced learn is the danger of wimpying from the Frying Pan in the pantry of the Djuvindar manor. Cleaver, which cleverly hides itself in the kitchen until the adventurer is near death, emerges suddenly from the spooky shadows to chop the last thread of an adventurer's lifeline. It is believed that this is part of an ongoing deal between the Frying Pan and the fire - I mean, Cleaver, to roast adventurers. Neither the Frying Pan nor the Cleaver could be reached for comment. Mosquitoes While a single case of death from a mosquito bite has yet to be recorded, it is rumoured that a large number of adventurers have died of boredom while trying to kill one. Press releases from the The Ancient Anguish Tourism Council earnestly stress that mosquitoes are not dangerous, and can safely be killed by newbies. Conspiracy theorists agree that the Council's vehemence gives credence to the rumour. Guest Contrary to expectation, Guest, and his brothers and sisters, Visitor, Tramper, Explorer and Wanderer, pose one of the most dangerous threats on Anguish. Reports pouring in from the vicinity of Hobbitat explain how many a wounded adventurer, lying near-death in a room of healing, have been assassinated by Guest and his brethren. The authorities are baffled by the phenomenon, and have promised to let no stone unturned in their quest to find the perpetrators. The lesser known dangers continued on page 6 ... --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Volume 18.0 10 Moonset, 572 Page 6 --------------------------------------------------------------------------- The lesser known dangers, continued from page 5 ... Giant Grasshopper A cousin of the more modern day Large Grasshopper, the Giant Grasshopper is rumoured to have roamed the forests and grasslands north of Tantallon and west of Neville. It was a truly enormous specimen, often six feet in length, and was extremely territorial and aggressive. Some oral traditions maintain that it had the magical ability to teleport to severely injured adventurers, but it is the opinion of this reporter that it merely had a highly developed sense of smell, and was attracted to the scent of blood. Be that as it may, the Giant Grasshopper was without a doubt the number 1 killer of young adventurers in the forests of Anguish. --------------------------------------------------------------------------- ~o~o~o~o~o~o~ FROM THE POET BOARD ~o~o~o~o~o~o~ Lover of Freedom by Wispy The sound of your wings cutting through time Calls to every will, and mine Responds with promise of freedom For one flies high who breathes in that kingdom. My hands pressed to the window pane, I watch you soar, I seek refrain. My cry explodes a silent white, May it never reach your inspiring height, For if you heard my desirous voice, You'd be enslaved to make a choice. I know change can't fade away. Lover of Freedom, fly on and away. ~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~ --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Volume 18.0 10 Moonset, 572 Page 7 --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Interview with TheBeasT "My purpose on AA is to make people giggle, that's all I'm here for." Dreamweaver: Okay, lemme start off by saying, anything said in this interview, can and will be used against you. Dreamweaver gazes at TheBeasT with wide, innocent eyes. TheBeasT cowers in the corner. Dreamweaver: And if you think a question is stupid answer it anyway and make me feel better. TheBeasT: Yes'm. Dreamweaver: So when did you start mudding? How did you hear about AA? TheBeasT: I started in 1995, as a way to talk to one of my best buds who just moved from South Carolina to New York. He used to play here as Sceptre, Xxapol, and a few others. I was totally clueless about mudding, but was hooked pretty quickly. Dreamweaver: Who was your first alt? TheBeasT: You're lookin' at him. ;) TheBeasT: I was originally a half-elf ranger, but through a few suicides (failed attempts to ESCAPE!) I've now become a human ranger. I guess I lost my elven heritage somewhere. Poor me! Dreamweaver: Okay, why Thebeast? TheBeasT: Hmmm. Well, I was big into comic books when I started playing, and The Beast was always my favorite of the X-men. Goofy looking, but smart as hell. That pretty much describes me, except for the smart part. Dreamweaver: At present, how many alts do you have? You can estimate to the nearest thousand if need be... and why so many Beast alts? TheBeasT: Somewhere between the number of American presidents and vice- presidents and the number of stars in the milky way. There are actually only about 4 or 5 players on AA: you, the reader, one or two of their friends and my alts. TheBeasT peers at the sky. TheBeasT: The Beast alts come from a total lack of creativity or desire to branch out into unknown territory. Dreamweaver falls on the ground, rolling and laughing for several minutes. Dreamweaver: What keeps you coming back? Anything in particular? TheBeasT: Well, AA is not unlike heroin or nicotine in its addictive qualities. Dreamweaver agrees with TheBeasT wholeheartedly. Interview with TheBeasT continued on page 8 ... --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Volume 18.0 10 Moonset, 572 Page 8 --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Interview with TheBeast, continued from page 7 ... TheBeasT: My wife and I have suicided all our alts on 3 occasions, and we're still here. We gave up suiciding all our alts about 4 years ago, because it was rather detrimental to skill collection. Dreamweaver: What do you think of the people here now as compared to the people that were here when you first started mudding? TheBeasT: For the most part, they make me feel like an old fart. The new people here are running around on skateboards and scooters and such, bugging me as I try to gimp around in my wheelchair (see description). TheBeasT is a male human. TheBeasT is towering and athletic, with golden skin, crimson eyes and shoulder-length, disheveled scarlet hair. TheBeasT looks old. He wheels around in a wolf-drawn wheelchair. Thebeast is wearing a wedding ring on one of his fingers. He is in good shape. Dreamweaver: Tell the readers about your wife. I'll definitely be hunting her down... er asking for an interview from her as well. TheBeasT: My wife is Kaya, also known as Cheri, Sienna, etc. and so on. We met here on AA in 1995, got to know each other here, and after hundreds of hours and days talking here, on the phone, sending letters, etc., she moved out here in 1997. TheBeasT: We got married that year, and she's been so kind as to stay with me since then, despite the memory lapses and that chronic drooling problem. Dreamweaver: An AA romance, some people say they never work out. TheBeasT: Well, some do and some don't, of course. We've been married almost 7 years now (my GOD, I'm old), and we're still going strong! TheBeasT: The internet romance isn't such a weird thing now, but back in 1997, it really was. People looked at me like I'd lost my mind! TheBeasT snickers. Dreamweaver agrees knowingly. TheBeasT: Basically, I look at it this way: We talked for hours and hours before we met face to face. If that isn't as good a start or better than meeting someone in a bar or something, I don't know what is. Interview with TheBeasT continued on page 9 ... --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Volume 18.0 10 Moonset, 572 Page 9 --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Interview with TheBeast, continued from page 8 ... Dreamweaver: Yer both sweet, that much I know for a fact. TheBeasT: Awwww! You're so sweet! Dreamweaver snickers sweetly. Dreamweaver: Any one area in particular that is your favorite? Same with class, and race, and guild. TheBeasT: Anasazi is by far my favorite area. Not for the area itself (I've always wanted to wiz and revamp the hell out of it), but it has sentimental value. I attended, participated in and administered countless marriages under the watchful eye of the giant beaver. TheBeasT: HOW ROMANTIC! TheBeasT sighs reminiscently. Dreamweaver falls on the ground, rolling and laughing for several minutes. Dreamweaver: All must honour the giant beaver accordingly. TheBeasT: Ranger is and always has been my favorite class, period. I've got big alts in every race/class combo, but I can't get past the love for rangers. As for race and guild, I love all the guilds and races because they each offer a different tweak on the game, but if I had to choose, I'd say Knights and Eldar and half-elves. Dreamweaver: What about the recent changes with Rangers, what do you think of those? Make the class easier or harder to play? TheBeasT: I LOVE the new ranger changes. I can't really say they make it easier or harder to play, it's just enhanced. It's like the concept is the same, but the articulation is different: like driving a Volkswagen vs. driving a Porsche. I like the fact that you can still choose to play the old way with "disposable" wolves (wait 'til PETA hears that!), or you can build the bond with a wolf and watch it grow with you. Dreamweaver guffaws madly. Dreamweaver: Do you get attached to your wolves? TheBeasT: Hell yeah. I name them after my cats, or my old passed-on dog, Sandy. Speak, Sandy! A large golden trained wolf howls loudly! TheBeasT grins mischievously. Dreamweaver giggles merrily. Dreamweaver: Any advice to a new player? Especially someone new to rangers? TheBeasT: Yeah, I have to advise something I NEVER had: Patience. Dreamweaver giggles amusedly. Interview with TheBeasT continued on page 10 ... --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Volume 18.0 10 Moonset, 572 Page 10 --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Interview with TheBeast, continued from page 9 ... TheBeasT: Who knows, I might actually take my own advice and finish working up one of my shifters. TheBeasT cowers in the corner. Dreamweaver guffaws madly. Dreamweaver: Yeah right. Oh, and while I'm thinking of it, wanna explain the bloodties on AA? Especially your family tree here. TheBeasT: Oh god, it's so convoluted it's more like a briar patch than a family tree. Dreamweaver giggles amusedly. Dreamweaver: You don't see that so much anymore, the family trees of AA. TheBeasT: I have several sisters (present company happily included), a few mothers, and god knows how many nieces, nephews and such. Dreamweaver snickers amusedly. TheBeasT: No, the family aspect is a little less stressed here now, it's more action-based now. It isn't dead by any means, but it's not as pronounced as before. I think a lot of the old generation has grown up and gotten real jobs (*shudder*) and such, and doesn't have the time it used to have here. Dreamweaver nods sadly. TheBeasT: I know I'd be here a bit more if I didn't have that confounded reality *** to deal with. TheBeasT mumbles under his breath. TheBeasT grins mischievously. Dreamweaver agrees with TheBeasT wholeheartedly. Dreamweaver: Yes, it certainly gets in the way, doesn't it. Dreamweaver grins evilly. TheBeasT nods vigorously at Dreamweaver. Dreamweaver: Okay, I think I've pretty much exhausted my bloodflow to my brain, so anything in closing you'd like to say to our readers? TheBeasT: I've got to say one thing about AA itself from my few years here. Dreamweaver nods solemnly. TheBeasT: AA has grown just like all of us, and morphed from a little newbie-ish mud to a really high-quality place to be now. TheBeasT: I remember years ago running around on the testmud and flopping into a river. I thought to myself, "What the %$@&?!?" and got all confused and Chicken-Little-End-Of-the-World-ish then, but that worked out. Interview with TheBeasT continued on page 11 ... --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Volume 18.0 10 Moonset, 572 Page 11 --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Interview with TheBeast, continued from page 10 ... TheBeasT: I remember sitting on the testmud with this new thing called "weapon skills". TheBeasT: Those concepts were totally foreign to me and everyone else, but they've become just parts of a really intricate puzzle that this mud has become. I don't think AA will go away ever because of the ingenuity and creativity of the people here, wizards and mortals alike. That's what keeps me coming back here, to my cybernetic home. --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Fun Stuff To Do This Year, by Jerusulum Get trapped inside a harem. | Ride in 3 different kinds of boats. Take a steam bath. | Swim in hot springs. Play poker. | Sleep in 4 different Inns. Play chess. | Hear a story by a ghost of an elven mage. Play darts. | Dive for pearls. Drink Hobbitat Firebreather. | Learn to identify the best quality whiteleaf. Hear a story in Cat's inn. | Roll your own cigars. Read a monolith. | Weave a cloak. Fish with a net and pole. | Carve in a tree. Canoe. | Plant and grow nightshade to maturity. -----------------------------+--------------------------------------------- ____, COME WITH ME, MORTAL ONE. /.---| ` | ___ Death happens to us all. It is a natural thing (=\. /-. \ and nothing to be confused about. |\/\_|"| | I collect deaths, and help is appreciated. |_\ |;-| ; If you haven't had the chance to experience | / \| |_/ \ Death's pleasantly grinning face and his world- | )/\/ \ famous duet with Lars, you should rectify the | ( '| \ | situation as soon as possible! With Rey and | \_ / \ Tindrick, two of the best, gone for good, I | / \_.--\ need fresh blood to continue their work. \ | (|\` In the meanwhile, feel free to drop me a | | \ tell to see a specimen of my collection. | | '. You haven't lived until you've died 30 times! | / \ --Mortus jgs\ \.__.__.-._) --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Volume 18.0 10 Moonset, 572 Page 12 --------------------------------------------------------------------------- L A R S I S Y O U R F R I E N D Lars is not a bad chap, really. I should know, my grandmother tells me she had been seeing him so much in her time that it is even probable that he sired my father. I have not paid him a visit in a long time since I went and pulled in a few favours with Gaius, but I have been thinking about at least sending him a letter. Maybe you could drop in a note for me? This will be a new - short or long, depending on submissions - series for describing the multitude of ways one can get to visit Lars. Now off you go, exploring the new and exotic ways of getting that black badge with a cross! Busy Zafar explores in haste If there are no sayings about saving your exploration to your older age, once you have at least 2 million points of experience, Zafar seeks to inspire at least one. His curiosity brought him to the dwarven mines, where he found a shaft. After dropping a stone and not hearing it hit anything, our prominent explorer decided that that the shaft must be so shallow that the stone's speed at the bottom would not be sufficient to make a sound. In any case, he was in a hurry to see what was on the bottom, so he dived Far to the northeast, Zarwal shouts: alt of belkram send a tell please down... and got such a nice, close look at the bottom that by the time he had located his eyeballs again, Death had happily guided him away from the gory site. Tanus exclaims: Those accursed tourists! See Tanus, at the top of his career, with 60 million of experience, partying against the friends of Linnhe. The Lich of Linnhe, controlled by a fellow party member, is kindly providing assistance. See the look on Tanus's and the other party members' faces when it turns out the old lady has some kick in her yet! When she notices the party cutting down some old friends of hers, she promptly switches sides and turns to attack Tanus. Tanus, beaten down to 6 hit points, flees to Tantallon, where he is promptly cut down by an elf who had gotten utterly lost trying to find the Scythe camp to wreak havoc on. Well, the poor elf at least managed to find *a* Scyther. Lars Is Your Friend continued on page 13 ... --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Volume 18.0 10 Moonset, 572 Page 13 --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Lars Is Your Friend, continued from page 12 ... Snicker-snack - hey, Lars, Newt's back! I was adventuring in my younger and more vulnerable years, trying to earn study hours so I could finally stick it to some big baddies with an acid arrow spell, when I came across what looked to be a hidden shrine in the wilderness near town. I ventured inside, ensuring to prepare my equipment and light source, and discovered several nuns who seemed somewhat heavily armed in my humble mage opinion. Their glittering flails and rapiers entranced me, and they guarded me from entering a room to the northwest; I had to have their treasures! I lit my pipe and bound my wounds, readying my spells and healing items before launching my attack. WHACK! BLAM! Blows were exchanged and fireballs exploded, one of the nuns fell to my staff, but not before she could call for help! I found myself battling four well-armed nuns and noticed my life quickly fading away, so I quaffed potions and gobbled down foods like mad, sure that I could slay them easily since they had such weak defenses. CRACK! My staff felled another of these evil nuns, who renewed their attack with frenzied rage. Then I heard the sound that would be my downfall: The nun's staff goes: Snicker-snack! Still I continued on, not realizing I had consumed the last of my heals. SIZZLE! Another roasted nun, but I was dangerously close to death! I scrambled for potions, meat, anything, but my sack was empty, no help came for me there, no wimpy for heroes. As the (I was now sure) demonic nuns beat me down, I noticed I could see my body as I floated above it. I heard a cold and bone-chilling voice call out, "COME WITH ME, MORTAL ONE." but strangely I could feel nothing. A few seconds after that I realized that not only had I been slain, but the nuns had succeeded in protecting their treasure! Lars Is Your Friend continued on page 14 ... --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Volume 18.0 10 Moonset, 572 Page 14 --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Lars Is Your Friend, continued from page 13 ... Serin finds treasure hunting an extreme sport I have always had a penchant for treasure hunting, and at one time, I was convinced that any class could do just as well as another. I had to find out the hard way that this is not always so. After a particularly involved battle with a naga in which I had to gather all my will to survive, I was just about to sit down and enjoy the treasure when I realized something: I was EXTREMELY poisoned. Not only that, but my will was still active... and set to wear off at any moment. What followed was a mad dash to Nepeth looking for Shanni. I seem to recall a lot of screaming and running into walls. Finally, in my last desperate attempt to save my life, I sprinted to Misha to consume something to stave off death. The last thing I saw before I died was "This is much too rich for you right now! Perhaps something lighter?" The fetch of Illarin intones: LUNGER, I'M TAKING YOU WITH ME! In my adventuring infancy, I heard of this tough ol' elf chick named Illarin. She was good at heart, and being the evil snot that I am, I rose early on Okdyetenn 3, 555 to rot her face away. First, I gathered lots of heals, and laid waste to her guards and lieutenants. We traded blows for a while, my rot rituals answering her acid arrows. Finally, I proved to be the superior and she fell to the ground, dead. I intended to raise her corpse to be my servant, to let every denizen of the realm know that I was one mean necromancer, and not to be trifled with. But alas! I had run out of mental potions needed to restore my mental awareness. I used a devilish necromancer trick, empower, to trade my physical health for more mental clarity, leaving me on the brink of death. I raised my servant, and commanded it to take everything in the room. Somehow, I found myself talking with this Death fellow. Illarin must've left a trap! --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Volume 18.0 10 Moonset, 572 Page 15 --------------------------------------------------------------------------- M O R T A L C O U N C I L N E W S Your Vote Shows The current "ultimate spellbook" description has been found wanting in MC meetings. Mages are requested to head to the Canticle Offices' voting room and vote for what kind of a wording they would like to see on their better-than-ancient spellbooks. Go vote now! Mortal Council Election A new Mortal Council was elected on Okdyetenn 571. Your current Mortal Council members are: Mage: Riko Rogue: Bigcalm, Eveon Necromancer: Van Shapeshifter: Gyn, Olaf, Scale Fighter: Tinfang, Elvie, Tanus Cleric: Ivanhood, Naz, Turpitude Paladin: Pajamas Ranger: Thorn, Levek Mortal Council News continued on page 16 ... --------------------------------------------------------------------------- *Decker's Used Goods* We buy and sell! *Decker's Used Goods* Have you just finished off some vile monster and find that you have a lot of equipment that you don't need? Just entered the realm and find that you need stuff to keep you alive? We've got the solution! Come now: RUN! Do not walk! To Decker's Used Goods! We have swords, knives, shields, armor, yes, folks, we have ANYTHING you need! If we don't have it, you don't need it! And we are SLASHING prices on all our stock! You can find us just north of the Adventurers Guild... but you'd better hurry or that special item you are looking for may be sold! Come in today! *Decker's Used Goods* *Decker's Used Goods* *Decker's Used Goods* --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Volume 18.0 10 Moonset, 572 Page 16 --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Mortal Council News, continued from page 15 ... The Mortal Council held a quite productive meeting in Icemonth 570, with Theryn as chair and Paldin (Balance), Adinos (QC) and Scarecrazy (World) available for comments. Here is a wrap-up by Fir of the things discussed: Rangers (Levek, Quita): Oliver had signed up for a project to look at ranger-made containers that could be larger than the current ones, and Levek was wondering how that one was faring. Orla would ask Oliver, who was not in the meeting, and let him know. Gyn suggested that shapeshifter corpses should be peltable. However, once a shifter dies, they lose the concentration keeping them in form, and they end up back in their "real" form. Hence they would not have a pelt to take, unless you count dwarves' beards. A water bowl for making wolves drink and help them heal was suggested. Water could on the other hand give minor healing, and to balance it off, long water-deprivation could make the wolf grow weaker. Paldin put water bowls on his to-do list, to be looked at once he is finished with his current shifter project. Shapeshifters (Gyn): Gyn reported many suggestions for new clans for shifters, from insects to avians and horned animals, the general consensus being "more forms!". Paldin, currently the main coder for adding things to shapeshifters, is working on some new things for the class, although he has been side-tracked by another project. Theryn would talk to Dubanka about making the MC Herald acknowledge shapeshifters. A trashcan equivalent was suggested for the shifter "class hall". As the surroundings do not quite support regular trashcans, Fir would invent some naturalistic means for shifters to get rid of their trash in the area. Mortal Council News continued on page 17 ... --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Volume 18.0 10 Moonset, 572 Page 17 --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Mortal Council News, continued from page 16 ... The shifter "body shop", enabling shapeshifters to make small changes to their animalistic looks, is being worked on. It waits for some other areas to get into the game, however. Gyn and Fari brought up the Shifter Games again: an area where shapeshifters could compete in things natural to them, like fly-catching for frogs and some sort of bowling for rocks. Fir looked into helping shifters idle with a board game fair, but that idea collided with World. Fir would now talk with World about this sort of Shifter Games area, with Theryn promising to do the actual coding. Quita suggested a diamond or platinum pendant for shifters having learned all forms. Paldin finds such problematic before he is finished with adding new clans, however. Mages (Tiyowan, Riko): Ronin had suggested that mage components could be clumped up when sold at the auction. There was some discussion about how this maybe should be done. Fir volunteered to look at enabling players to offer clumps of items for the auction, although if it looks very difficult, she does not actually volunteer to code it. Nitro would fix 'help school' to show the existence of the new, fourth school of Drowgar magic. Adinos reported that he was just about to send Paldin a detailed description of all the mandrake spells; there is some code, but he warned against expecting to see the spells for a few months, as there are other large projects keeping him busy as well. As a new spell, Blind, was suggested, Adinos reported that one was being coded already, but was waiting on a mudlib change. A suggested change to make Knock work on treasure hunt chests was picked up by Yuengling. Mortal Council News continued on page 18 ... --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Volume 18.0 10 Moonset, 572 Page 18 --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Mortal Council News, continued from page 17 ... Power Word: Heal caused much discussion. The original suggestion was to turn it into a slower, regenerative spell and make it respond to Enhance Magic. But while it is relatively simple to come up with new spells for mages, new ideas for healing spells are more clerical domain. Tiyowan pointed out that if healing is taken from mages, sacrificing PW: Heal would be preferrable to losing Hero's Feast. Adinos will look into healing spells. Paldin points out that mage spells ought to go through some name- changing at some point to get rid of the Dungeons&Dragons(TM) spell names. General fun spells were suggested. The Echo spell, giving everyone in the room an echo, was rejected as being a) too spammy and b) more fitting to an area than a spell. A spell for conjuring up game projectiles (pillows, pies, balls of manure etc.) for throwing them at people was suggested. That one was considered more like a guild/donator ability, as it is mostly humorous (which we all know mages are not...) and as such nicely non- combat-related, which is preferrable for guild and donator abilities. Distant Touch, a spell that emulates Drute's bauble's remote emotes, was rejected, as there is an object in the game doing it already and as it is one of those abusable abilities. A boost to 'who class' for mages was suggested that would show what mage school the online mages are. This would require a mudlib change and be a heavy-duty change, but if it were to only work in the class hall, it could stay in regular-code-space. Fir is working on that. Warning messages were requested for before spells wear off or components run out. Necromancers have warnings as well, although not for all their rituals. The idea needs some more work, but there is hope. The main problem is that a warning message saying that "your magical effect x is wearing thin" is not quite truthful unless the spells are actually made to weaken over time instead of just stopping, and other kinds of warning messages are somewhat more difficult to come up with. If mages and Approval accept warnings that are not exactly truthful, it ought to be suggested again in the next meeting, only a bit more specifically. Mortal Council News continued on page 19 ... --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Volume 18.0 10 Moonset, 572 Page 19 --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Mortal Council News, continued from page 18 ... A Focus spell was suggested to rid mages of their excess study hours. It would boost an offensive spell and cost study hours besides spell points. It was commented that Adinos' mandrake spells probably help quite a bit with getting rid of excess study hours, so this could be re-suggested if the situation does not improve once those are in. Fighters (no representatives): Gyn relayed a suggestion that fighters should be able to evaluate a weapon in relation to the new two-handed skills as well. It was left unclear how this particular suggestion sat with Balance, but at least Zhou will not be able to train two-handed weapon skills for a while now. Other: Adinos reported that player houses have just been installed for testing on the testmud. Non-paladins should be able to donate to the room south of Willim as well. If Balance is willing, Scarecrazy would fix that. Meg brought up that dwarves are being discriminated both for getting into guilds and for not having any sworn enemies (that would attack them on sight), like most other races have. Newt suggested dwarves to have two differring factions at war with eachother. Nitro asked whether anything was being done on introducing new races. Theryn recalled someone was interested about such, and would ask them about it. Tiyowan asked if anyone was working on a druid class, as one would effectively make nature-related spells not fitting for mages. There is a project for one, but it is currently inactive. Tiyowan suggested that NPCs are made to work properly with resistances and Magic Shield. The ones that really use spells or do elemental damage actually work correctly with those already, and the remaining problem are NPCs that only "fake" their elemental or mage spell effects. These could be reported as bugs. Making squelch work in a room was suggested. As earlier, it is turned down because checking for all emotes, says and noisy objects would require quite a bit of CPU time. Mortal Council News continued on page 20 ... --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Volume 18.0 10 Moonset, 572 Page 20 --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Mortal Council News, continued from page 19 ... There had been numerous newbie suggestions on for example the Senate board. Among the suggested were a Newbie FAQ collected from questions asked on the Newbie line, some more visible pointers to help files upon first login and a newbie school are among the things I remember seeing suggested. Several of the ideas were stated to be under work, although the newbie school idea as seen in many other muds was making World uneasy. Scarecrazy said that there was an inactive project by Dawg which was intended as a newbie school of sorts but which would take a more World-compatible form, and that she had permission from Dawg to get it finished. Fir has joined the fun. The project is of a Dawgish size, however, so it will take a moment. --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Tree-hugging At All Time High Tree-hugging statistics have gone at an all time high, report the clerics at the Common Church of Tantallon. In fact, some have gone far enough that they have come to suggest an altar be raised to decorated fir trees -- or something in that direction. A self-proclaimed Priestess of a shot at a new religious establishment, The Church of Coniferia, Sister Azaphael of the Monks of Antana commented that Her Ultimate Kindness is really also an image of the Splendid Tree of Heavens, as are all gods. Hence she does not consider it heresy to be worshipping both at the same time. Deity researchers, on the other hand, point out that this is nothing but a minor cult based on a few occasions where a tree has been reported to speak. They suspect it is all just a confusion with the new and quite popular profession of shapeshifting. Greenthum of the Shapeshifter's Conclave would seem to report that some shapeshifters are also capable of changing their form into that of a fir tree, but our reporters are not completely certain that they are interpreting Greenthum's words correctly. _______________________________________________________ | | | /\ CHURCH OF CONIFERIA /\ | | / \ / \ | | /____\ Hug a tree today! /____\ | | || || | |__________________________________(ADVERTISEMENT)______|