------------------------------------------------------------------------------- .. .. .||. ||.. ... || || || ||.|| `|.. || || `|.. ..|'''.| '|| || '|| '|' ' .... . .... ..||.. ... ..., || .... || '' .|| || || || || .| ' || .|...|| '|. | .|' || || || || || || || || ''|...'| '|..'|' ||. ||. '|..' .||. '|..| ||. '|...' ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Volume 6.0 5 Okdyetenn, 555 1 Coin --------------------------------------------------------------------------- We have recovered rather well from the sabotage with the last paper, and I am happy to welcome you to a new edition of the Canticle. Erin has returned from her vacation at a lovely manor which had soft walls and extraordinary round rooms, and has been very efficient in taking in the new material. Many thanks to Lockecole, Rhaven, "MidnightFalcon", Boon and Yme for providing material; Eivind and a pile of 'feel free to use these for nonprofit purposes' ASCII art sites he was hunting in for a mighty decorations collection and everyone who sent in helpful comments, hints and/or suggestions. We welcome suggestions and submissions, so you are invited to mail any of the staff (Fir, Llandra and Scarecrazy), or myself, if you have any questions, suggestions, or comments. You can also post notes on the submission board in our office, by the humpback bridge. By the way, we have a reporter's place open after a certain unfortunate happening concerning colourful mushrooms and pet rocks. Anyone interested should post their resume on the submissions board. -- Thaddeus Editor-in-Chief The Canticle *-------------------------------------------------------------------------* <*> CANTICLE INDEX <*> -------------------------------------+------------------------------------- Letters to the Editor..............2 The Saga Section: MidnightFalcon...7 Piper retires......................4 Local News: Hobbitat..............10 Law change.........................5 Library: Dwarven Religion.........11 Royal Birthday.....................5 Mortal Council News...............14 News in Brief......................6 From The Poet Board...............18 -------------------------------------+------------------------------------- DISCLAIMER: Opinions expressed in The Canticle are not necessarily those of the editor, Law, the AA Senate, or Mothers Against Rich Greysons. Any person regarding this material too seriously may be enthusiastically mocked. --------------------------------------------------------------------------- --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Volume 6.0 5 Okdyetenn, 555 Page 2 --------------------------------------------------------------------------- ************************* * Letters To The Editor * Attitude ************************* I recently began playing Anguish again after a long absence, and for the most part, I am pleased. However, there is one thing that I have noticed which has grown worse. The poor attitude of some players. Most players on AA are very well-humored, and always ready to laugh (barring a recent death) at even a self-depricating joke. However, some people on here are unable to realize that, at the end of the day, this is nothing more than a game! Some people threaten to tell Law for things that aren't illegal, or even questionable, because it doesn't revolve around what they wanted to do. Some people on here haven't even read the rules! Now, when you're level 1 or 2, that's understandable. After all, there are a lot of files to read. But when you've attained level 6 and STILL don't know the rules on when you can take an item on the floor, that's simply negligent. Also, the undue cursing that has come about. Personally, I believe that "inappropriate language" is non-existant. However, most other people and I realize that others DO find it offensive, and therefor try to refrain from using it unduly. When people shout, "F--- you all...and maybe suck my d---" as they are exiting, however, that shows not only a complete absence of class, but also a lack of simple etiquette. I strongly believe that if we begin treating each other like actual people, as opposed to nameless faces and faceless names, then interplayer relations will improve greatly, and we can go from having bounties almost daily from having them maybe once a week, or even less, because people will be considering how their actions affect Ancient Anguish as a whole. Locke Cole ... Letters To The Editor continued on page 3 --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Volume 6.0 5 Okdyetenn, 555 Page 3 --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Letters To The Editor, continued from page 2 ... Etu's coach line needs a price cut! Have you ever taken a coach to Nepeth, Duendar or Hobbitat? Not? What might be the reason? Let me venture one guess: The time you have use for it, you can't afford it. Recently arrived newcomers are as good as broke, barely making a living by running errands or risking the dangers in the woods to gather discarded equipment for selling. They are in no state to pay 150 coins for a three-trip ticket, even less so for the two-hour ticket, costing as much as 1000 coins! On the other hand, by the time you're wealthy enough that a cost of a ticket here or there doesn't even get a second thought, you prefer to travel by yourself - you know where you're going, and running into adventures on the way isn't spooky, but sometimes even preferrable. Besides, you can probably outrun the moderate-speed coaches on a shortish distance anyway. Most of the time the coaches run empty. The drivers need to get paid, presumably, so the prices end up going up instead of down, resulting in even fewer customers. My suggestion is that the Ancient Anguish Tourism Council should cooperate with the coach line management on this. If it is necessary, I'm sure there's some wealthy residents more than willing to financially support the enterprise. Coachline prizes should go down, and go down properly, to newcomer-friendly levels. The coach drivers could sell tickets on-coach, so you wouldn't need to plan your trip so much ahead - you can't get /back/ to Tantallon with a coach, for instance, because you need the ticket from Tantallon first! It wouldn't be so bad to add some new routes either... A sightseeing tour, for instance, with actual informative guides (no offense, but I haven't been able to get a croak out of the drivers I've travelled with) would be almost certain to up the usage rate. I'm sure the coachline and the Tourism Council can figure out plenty of worthy targets, but should they need help brainstorming, I'm certainly ready to help. Fir, of the House of Amros --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Volume 6.0 5 Okdyetenn, 555 Page 4 --------------------------------------------------------------------------- ---=> Senator Of Pissed Off Mortals Retires <=--- On the first days of Tuulneas, 555 (June 25th 2001 for those of you who understand the foreign calendar), a message of goodbye materialized on the main cat board of the Adventurers' hall. It was somewhat unusual, being left there by one of the Senators of the realm; Piper retired. The Canticle Staff wishes him good luck on his travels in the mystical realm of "RL". Alton, the master mage, has been heard lamenting Piper's departure: "He promised to teach me how to dispel those pesky Tiny Huts! Now I may never get the chance!" One of our reporters wrote the following while sleeping off a headache caused by colourful mushrooms and urged us to print it (which we agreed to, since the same reporter was holding the chief editor's pet rock hostage in a berserk fit caused by the aforementioned food objects): Piper has spent 8 to 8,5 years on Anguish, and has been a full wizard for most of it - since start of 1993. Besides coding much more than the quest number 1 where you can actually see his name, he has worked for the MUD as an Arch of QC (Quality Control), webmaster of the Anguish site (after Ledecius resigned in 1998) and a long-time Senator. As the latter, you may have seen him wearing the mantle of Senator of pissed off mortals, which he adopted after the more fuzzy Senator of cookies. The post mentioned a few reasons for the decision to leave, which mostly involved real life changes and partially people changing on AA and old friends moving on. As spooky as it may sound, Piper seems to have gotten himself a Life (TM) on the Other Side. The Senator of pissed off mortals, whose "Go away" tell refuse line and some posts made him easy to ----------------------------------------- mark off as a grumpy ole' guy, | From the Poet Board: might have felt disappointed at | There once was a man from Nepeth the lack of cheering "finally!" | Who liked to write poems about death. response. Most of the posts | He came to this board. were actually of the wishing | And whipped out his sword. him luck and "thanks for your | And lightheartedly sighed a kind breath. work" type. | --Rhaven ----------------------------------------- --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Volume 6.0 5 Okdyetenn, 555 Page 5 --------------------------------------------------------------------------- ******************************************** * LAW CHANGE ON KILL STEALING AND LOOTING * ******************************************** Malire, the Arch of Law, posted a notice about a Law change on the Adventurer Board as well as the Senate Board. You should read the announcement yourself, but basically, Law's ability to enforce the kill-stealing rules has improved significantly (the actual rules have not changed), and a player's claim to a corpse is handled differently in a change to corpse-looting rules. You might also want to see Adinos' clarifying post on the Adventurer board (Jul 12), followed by a confirmatory note by Malire. In other news, an NPC activist group, "NPCs Are People Too", has expressed its hopes that some time in the future, players will not be able to kill NPCs unpunished at all. They also wish to point out that referring to intelligent NPCs as "monsters" is old-fashioned and repressive. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - ~*~*~*~ Royal Birthday Surrounded By Questions About The Future ~*~*~*~ Royal heir apparent to the throne, Prince Gilbert Trueheart, turned 55 recently. The birthday party, although glamorous and all in all very impressive, was slightly shadowed by the increasing worry over the King's health. King Drin isn't quite as young as he used to be, and it is uncertain how many more birthdays he will be celebrating. Already his longevity has awoken evil tongues to come up with not-too-flattering explanations. Rumours of Zarkan having trained with some dark-robed Dalair residents as a follow-up to Alton's courses compete with talk of Shanni making special potions for the king. Some have even dared to suggest that there might have been some adjustment of birthdates, for whatever reason. While Prince Gilbert will obviously make a fine ruler once the time comes, some have expressed their worry that the change in power might upset the delicate balance between different factions in the kindom. The crown prince may have to begin his rule with a very difficult diplomatic challenge. --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Volume 6.0 5 Okdyetenn, 555 Page 6 --------------------------------------------------------------------------- -=[ News in Brief ]=- --------------------------------------+------------------------------------ Ruell Brakken has reported a horrible | Ironman has been taking time off plight of bees, mosquitoes and horse | from helping newbies and has been flies harassing the horses of the | seen in the Golden Ducat drinking Paladin Estates. He suspects a | beer and reading the Canticle twisted mind at work and pleads for | instead. What is going on? It turns help from brave adventurers. | out he has taken an apprentice: | Willim, Ironman's nephew, is now --------------------------------------+ looking after the smithy while his Alataciria is a lovely island off the | uncle has his first vacation in coast of Anguish where you can enjoy | decades. a nice bath in a hot spring or fish | to your heart's content. Now +------------------------------------ travellers from the island have | Donators have gotten a new toy, arrived to Tantallon in search of aid | a folding chair. Instead of - some sort of disaster has happened, | rushing to the beaches with it, and the isle population needs outside | however, most have been seen assistance for dealing with the | smacking each others with it. problem. | Maybe the manual wasn't included? | --------------------------------------+------------------------------------ ------------------------------------------------------- | ---<---<@ ~ The Flower Shop ~ --->--->@ | | | | We have a wide assortment of beautiful, fragrant | | flowers, a nice present for that special someone. | | A card comes with each flower, to convey the | | message that will mean so much. | | | | Come and see for yourself. The prices are very | | reasonable. We are located just opposite south | | of Ancient Bliss Inn in Nepeth. | | | | *->- The flower girls | ------------------------------------------------------- --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Volume 6.0 5 Okdyetenn, 555 Page 7 --------------------------------------------------------------------------- The Canticle ___/ _ / ___/ _ / / / / / / / ___ / _ / /_ _/ _ / / / / / / / / ____/ _/ _/ _____/ _/ _/ Section I was born into a life of slavery, half elf, half drowgar. My elf mother, only fifteen when she had me, was also born a slave. She would protect me the best she could from any lashing or torture our evil drowgar capturers would dish out - until the day she didn't recover from the beating. I will never forget the slow and agonizing death my mother suffered as she bled to death over several days, cut to shreds by the drowgar's whips. "I love you, son, you will be free one day, I know you will", were her last words before she passed on. I swore to avenge my mother's death. That oath kept me going through the hard years of growing through adolescence in slavery. But first, I'd have to escape from the drowgar. This proved to be a difficult task, considering I was restrained in shackles all the time not spent working. I had seen desperate attempts at escape many times before, but they usually ended with bloody slaughters and often prompted executions of innocent prisoners as well. It was when the Leader of the Guards demanded new rugs to be weaved for decoration of his new, slave-built chambers that I began to engineer my escape. Some of the elderly female prisoners were chosen for the task, and when they returned their needles and embroidery kits to the guards after finishing their work for the day, I managed to pick a guard's pockets - with the nimbleness and ease even a trained pickpocket would appreciate - and get away with a needle. It made a crude lockpick, and my unskilled attempts at lock manipulation took days to free me from my shackles. The more complex lock on my cell door took even longer, but I managed eventually. ... The Canticle Saga Section continued on page 8 ----------------------------------------------------------- | __,,--``\\ Maigyns Magic Shop | | _,,-''`` \\ , | | '----------_.------'-.___|\__ Your source for that little | | _.--''`` `)__ )__ @\__ touch of magic. | | ( .. ''---/___,,E/__,E'------` | | `-''`'' | ----------------------------------------------------------- --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Volume 6.0 5 Okdyetenn, 555 Page 8 --------------------------------------------------------------------------- The Canticle Saga Section continued from page 7 ... My chance came one night, when the guards had been drinking. I crept down the halls, quite capable of seeing my way in the dark after having spent all my life in these caves. I realized I hasn't thought my plan through very well when I approached the first guard post: I had no idea how to get past them. The noise from a stone I hurled hard into the adjanced halls quickly alerted the drunken guards, who hurried over to see what the noise was, and I seized the opportunity to slip past the post. "All too easy", I thought to myself. Well, it turned out the guards noticed my footprints in the dirt, and alerted the guards at the next post. I saw them running towards me before they had spotted me. I leaped up and pulled myself above the rafter supporting the corridor, just in time to be missed by the guards who instead just raced past. I leaped down on the last guard and snapped his neck with a swift twist. The other guards continued down the corridor and failed to notice what happened to their comrade. I grabbed the guard's dark blade and sheath from his corpse and took off down a corridor I was completely unfamiliar with. I almost overlooked the stairs cut of stone leading upwards at first. I scaled the stairwell without hesitation, even though I had no idea what the realm above had in store for me. The scarce light of the outside world was still enough to blind me, not to mention the astonishment I felt seeing trees or grass for the first time. I snapped out of it as I heard the angry yells and grunts of the drowgar guards coming up the stairway. Rubbing my sore eyes, I took off in a direction which turned out to be north, and soon found myself on the shore of the Lullingstone river. I followed it upstream until I came across a very strong-looking man with a strange animal beside him. I approached the man nervously and attempted to ask him for help. While the human was not an intellect as such, he had a fair understanding of elvish. I learned that the man's name was Norich, that he ran a ferry service and that he called the strange animal a 'dog'. I requested that he take me to the other side of the river. I had no money to pay the ferryman with, but I offered him my longsword and he quickly accepted. Upon arriving on the northern bank, Norich kindly offered to lead me to the realm's main town, Tantallon, as he made regular treks back and forth anyway. ... The Canticle Saga Section continued on page 9 --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Volume 6.0 5 Okdyetenn, 555 Page 9 --------------------------------------------------------------------------- The Canticle Saga Section continued from page 8 ... During the trip to the town I told Norich of the hardships of my life so far. By the time we made it to Tantallon, he offered me my longsword back and told me that the local weapon salesman, Elmor, would give me a good price of it. The money would give me a start on my mission to avenge my mother's death. I was very thankful to my new friend, who even shouted me a drink at the local pub. Beer was a new experience to me as well. Norich informed me of many of the kind and friendly people who worked in Tantallon, of the smith Ironman, Drudge the bartender and even Decker, a friendly shopkeeper. But alas, eventually Norich had to return to his ferry business. I thanked him profusely and told him his kindness would not be soon forgotten. I was alone again, but I was free. My mother's prophecy had come true. Now all that remained was to become powerful enough to seek my revenge. MidnightFalcon ---------------------------------------------------------------- | ___ __ __ | | / __|\ \/ / 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 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 6.0 5 Okdyetenn, 555 Page 10 --------------------------------------------------------------------------- /( ___________ _a'{ /_( _____) `/\\/ _( (_____|___________________________________________ )\ (/ _( | )_\ }`a_ <____( _____| LOCAL NEWS: )_ \//\' | H O B B I T A T )_ \) |_________________________________________________ )____> The merry town of Hobbitat, north of Tantallon, is a sanctuary of trade and sustenance in the northern section of the realm. The Canticle received a subtle hint that the town shouldn't be ignored just because most of our sales take place in Tantallon. After all, it is the biggest town in the northern part of our realm. So I, a Canticle reporter decided to (after recieving a subtle hint from the editor-in-chief) to pack my writing equipment and travel north. The town was shaken up by the recent murder of Sharrow, the shopkeeper of Hobbitat's biggest shop. Sharrow's sister, Dajeil, is running the shop for now, but she finds it hard to stick with the business. "This store holds too many terrible memories," she moans. She feels like she's experiencing her sister's death over and over again when standing behind the counter. When the old shopkeeper retired, Sharrow and Dajeil bought the store. Sharrow had moved back to Hobbitat after Dajeil's husband was killed, to help raise the children. Now Dajeil is pondering selling the shop to Decker. The locals hope that the shop doesn't get sold. "It's always been owned by locals. We don't want to get any major big-city strangers running our main store. Was bad enough when outsiders tried to get hold of our bank." What, who, where? The locals are eager to answer. "Aye, some rich 'n' snobby human offered to buy the business, when the bank was doin' poorly for a while. Ol' Bank Hobbit wouldn't sell, tho'." The hobbits are slightly touchy about keeping their businesses in local ownership. "This is a hobbitat town. How do we know if outside people would also keep hobbitat interests in mind?" Fear of increase in crime and worries about local economy set aside, the hobbits are a cheerful and hospitable folk. To put a little piece of advertisement here: Hobbitat is well worth a visit! --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Volume 6.0 5 Okdyetenn, 555 Page 11 --------------------------------------------------------------------------- _.-"\ _.-" \ From the Library: Dwarven Religion ,-" \ ( \ \ by Fir, cleric of the House of Amros \ \ \ \ \ \ This article takes a look into dwarven religion \ \ _.-; and their traditional gods. My almost sole source \ \ _.-" : of information has been the book Dwarven Religion \ \,-" _.-" by Trazan Rustbeard, which can be found in the \( _.-" Tantallon library. `--" The dwarves have five gods, each of whom have a well-defined role. There are no regional gods or "clan gods". However, some dwarves have turned to worshipping non-dwarven gods, like Antana and even evil ones. Besides worshipping their gods, dwarves may also seek help and guidance from their ancestors. They are not worshipped, however, at least not in the traditional sense. Rukan, the creator (or maybe more like 'constructor'). He constructed the world from elements he had separated from the Chaos that was first. (Thus, not out of 'nothing'. Creation out of nothing is an unknown concept to dwarven language and culture.) Rukan is then the primary god of dwarven artists, smiths, stonemasons and others who create or build non-living things. There are no temples dedicated to Rukan, and there are hardly any formal ceremonies in his name. The explanation to this is that the entire world is considered to be Rukan's temple - no building could compete with that - and every object created by dwarven hands is in itself a ceremony dedicated to the god of creation. ... From the Library: Dwarven Religion continued on page 12 ________________________________________________________ |\'-._( / | | \ .'-._\ Unhappy about your looks ? , ,| |-.\' .-; All those scars detracting from '\`-' | | \ .' ( your attractiveness ? _.' \ | |.--.\' _) ;-; \._| | ` _\(_)/_ Visit The Body Shop ! \ `'-,_,-'\ | |______ /(O)\ _______________________________/____)_`-._\| --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Volume 6.0 5 Okdyetenn, 555 Page 12 --------------------------------------------------------------------------- From the Library: Dwarven Religion continued from page 11 ... Tarran, the defender Tarran is the god of battle and war, although primarily a god of protection and defense. His temple, located in the underground city of Rachadum ("Down Below"), was lost during the War of Bloodletting. Now all known routes to the city have been blocked, and there seems to be no hope of recovering the city and the temple. Tarran is primarily the god of dwarven fighters, but also the protector of dwarven homes. Drelin, the grower Drelin is the goddess of childbirth and growth. One can find her shrines in most dwarven towns, although they are a bit more rare in the underground cities than surface ones. Feasts around harvest time are a common form of ceremony to this female representative of the dwarven deities. All known clerics of Drelin are female, and they consider a male cleric of Drelin an impossibility. It is not known if this is a requirement of Drelin or just a tradition. Besides her numerous female worshippers, dwarven farmers wish the grower goddess's goodwill for good crops. Blawnostron, the prankster This atypical god is also known as "The Beardless One". As the just about unthinkable act of shaving one's beard is usually used as a punishment of the worst criminals and traitors, the few clerics, also beardless, as well as the worshippers who follow this god of luck, pranks and alcohol, are often met with scorn or even hostility. This hasn't stopped his worship, which especially among the young majority of his followers may have begun as an act of rebellion against society. There are no known temples devoted to Blawnostron, and his clerics are wanderers, not much wanted in any dwarven settlement due to their prankster nature. Dwarven miners, gamblers and others who rely on luck may secretly yank one hair out of their beard and mutter a short phrase to pay their respects to the god every now and then. From the Library: Dwarven Religion continued on page 13 ... --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Volume 6.0 5 Okdyetenn, 555 Page 13 --------------------------------------------------------------------------- From the Library: Dwarven Religion continued from page 12 ... The Dark One The god of fratricide (murder of one's brother) is also known as "He whose name is not said". In fact, the only occasion you may hear someone utter this name is when a dwarf publically declares a blood feud, where the traditional phrase used includes the Dark One's name. It is not even ever written down in full. My source book used a common way of getting around this: "His name ends in -azran, and the first letter is Z". Since it is said that some dwarves declaring blood feud too lightly have suffered an instant death, I see it best to honour this tradition and not write it down properly in here either, lest the remnaints of the Canticle offices end up in the bottom of Snag Creek after being burned to ground, or something similar. _ . , . . * / \_ * / \_ _ * * /\'__ * / \ / \, (( . _/ / \ *'. . /\/\ /\/ :' __ \_ ` _^/ ^/ `--. / \/ \ _/ \-'\ * /.' ^_ \_ .'\ * /\ .- `. \/ \ /==~=-=~=-=-;. _/ \ -. `_/ \ / `-.__ ^ / .-'.--\ =-=~_=-=~=^/ _ `--./ .-' `- /jgs `. / / `.~-^=-=~=^=.-' '-._ `._ ____, 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 6.0 5 Okdyetenn, 555 Page 14 --------------------------------------------------------------------------- M O R T A L C O U N C I L n e w s: The voting results came in the end of Waterhaze 555, and the new Mortal Council members are: Mage : Sianan, Wynlan, Kedesh Rogue : Statusquo, Tarott, Martel Necromancer : Amroth, Blain, Tasha Fighter : Tyrael, Tetsuya, Joho Cleric : Sundae, Wowies, Bengal Paladin : Galladorn, Bartleby, Pwent Ranger : Ebot, Orestes, Kaylar Shapeshifter : Tygris, Dioxide, Changer The Canticle thanks the active members of the previous Council and tsks at the inactive ones. (See Nominations board, posts 235 and 236 for activity charts.) Good luck to the new Council - let's make an activity record this term, shall we? Mortal Council Meeting of Stormmonth 555 The previous Mortal Council held a meeting in Stormmonth. A log of the meeting as well as an unofficial digest by Fir have been posted on the Nominations board, upstairs of the Tantallon Town Hall. Here is a really tight wrap-up of the projects discussed. Mickie had been working on a few mage and cleric spells before leaving and Wynlan, Sianan and Meg were asking about their status. They had been picked up according to Paldin, and both types were rather close to getting into the game. Private boards for rangers and mages were suggested by Harp and Sianan respectively, with Annihilator noting that all classes should get one. (Currently, only clerics have a private and a public board.) Sylwen was appointed to look into ranger boards, otherwise the case was left open, with a note that private boards probably would not eliminate spam. ... Mortal Council meeting continued on page 15 --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Volume 6.0 5 Okdyetenn, 555 Page 15 --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Mortal Council meeting continued from page 14 ... Rangers: An NPC who could pull out arrows from rangers' pets was suggested by Harp, and Paldin replied that there might be a similar project coming up. Rangers being able to build boats was also discussed - Percy had been working on them - and Venture stated he'd ask someone who might be interested in picking the project up. Mages: Sianan had already earlier suggested mage spellpower to change default from medium to high, which was shuffled to Sylwen, and an automatical rewield for two-handed staves after spellcasting, which was noted unlikely to happen. Wynlan suggested a possibility to customize the looks of spellbooks (picked up from the Suggestion Board), which has been picked up, and mages getting a special title for learning all the spells, which Paldin suspected would be hard to get approved. Fighters: Annihilator suggested a (penalized) possibility for fighters to disarm while fighting unarmed. Sylwen expressed interest in looking into the project. Modifications to dual wielding were also mentioned, some work is presumably underway. His other suggestion was to make fighters able to evaluate how suitable a weapon is for dual wielding, but Paldin noted that the dual wielding code was being currently worked on and the system was about to change. Necromancers: The two suggestions on necromancers from Tirek were a 'Pain' ritual (from Grau) which would cause the target dizzyness and make them drop their weapon, but this idea would need some more honing before being accepted; and that necromancers over 1M experience could get a pouch for spell components which would have limited capacity and store over reboot. The project has been picked up, but has been noted to be hard to do. Annihilator also hoped for a ritual for reclaiming control of a feral undead, however penalty-balanced. No one picked the project up yet. ... Mortal Council meeting continued on page 16 --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Volume 6.0 5 Okdyetenn, 555 Page 16 --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Mortal Council meeting continued from page 15 ... Clerics: Meg suggested an uglify/warts type prayers for clerics too. Paldin was not very convinced and wished for clerics to find other ways to 'get back to' the other types of magic users. That Nonexisting Class: Bunbun suggested for Llanfear that secondaries could be made unstealable. The suggestion was left in the air after some discussion on the basic nature of rog-, um, locksmith secondary weapons. Annihilator suggested that ... bards could detect pocket worms with their 'judge' command. Paldin noted that he is already working on the little critters, and suggested that they wait until he can decide how much they are going to be adjusted otherwise. Wynlan suggested that the profession tending to sometimes leave 'calling cards' should be able to toggle the carding to be automatic. No one was appointed to the task. General: There was no news on an earlier Sianan suggestion to expand treasure hunts, but it was confirmed that the project was under work, there were no news on timelines. Sianan also noted a gallery suggestion to get a 'fixtitle' command for those who leave guilds and remain guildless. Venture and Sylwen would look into this, but it would still not be possible to remove the 'traitor' title immediately, only after some time. Takiturn suggested the 'sc' command to get ANSI colours. Venture fixed it, and the change is now in the game. He also suggested reducing the information shown by 'view <opponent>' to reduce lag, but Paldin noted that due to a low percentage of the population fighting around the mud, this would have little effect. Harp suggested a command for players to fix their weight themselves, to recover from bugs. Dubanka was assigned the task of coding one. Wynlan suggested a possibility to stack buys, for example "buy 12 arrows". Paldin noted it would be easier to change specific sellers than make a general fix, so the coders would have to be contacted for each seller to be changed. ... Mortal Council meeting continued on page 17 --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Volume 6.0 5 Okdyetenn, 555 Page 17 --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Mortal Council meeting continued from page 16 ... Drynwyn threw in a suggestion from the gallery that the weapons seller be made less attractive to kill or more dangerous. He also mentioned two boomerang bugs not getting fixed. Paldin promised to look into both. Mostly towards the end of the meeting, there was discussion on how the Mortal Council should work. Inactive testers, some people running for MC only to find out nifty things before others and some not being open to suggestions and voters not knowing what their electees are doing for the MUD during the season have been the most common problems to mention, and there was some feedback both ways as well. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - . . The Golden Ducat . |__._.| Eat, drink and be merry, fellow travellers! |. .|\ | . . | | We cater to the thirsty adventurer. Just finished |. . | | a hard battle? Need to kick back and relax with a | .. .|/ mug of your favourite beverage? Come to the Golden \___/ Ducat pub and satisfy your liquid desire! Good drinks and good friends are sure to be found at the Ducat. And how about a game of Draughts between drinks? Come on down and give us a look! You'll find us in the north end of Scholar's Way. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - MEN! Tired of getting sand kicked in your face at Wide, sandy beach (s,w)? WOMEN! Tired of being sexually harassed by those male orc Scyther pigs (or losing harassers to those non-orc non-Scyther tramps)? NEUTERS! Tired of listening to taunts for not having a definitive gender? .-_-_-_-. Two weeks at Trough's Training Academy and you never need feel | | inferior again! From the moment you enter after reboot, to the | | | | |\ instant you leave before going to sleep, you will take comfort |_|_|_|_|/ in the fact that you are prepared to enter combat at a moment's \/ notice! Inquire at the Academy at the east side of Glory Walk. --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Volume 6.0 5 Okdyetenn, 555 Page 18 --------------------------------------------------------------------------- @ _ @ _ @ _ @ _ @ ) ( @ _ @ _ @ _ @ _ @ `/ `<_,< `<_,< `<_,< `<_,<(((()))>._>' >._>' >._>' >._>' \' ( @ @ @ @ ) ( @ @ @ @ ) \' `/ @ ) From The Poet Board: ( @ `/ \' ( @ I'd like to be the sort of friend @ ) \' that you have been to me; `/ @ ) ( @ `/ I'd like to take your scalp and make 1k \' ( @ or maybe three; @ ) \' `/ @ ) You have said many times ( @ `/ that you hate my soul; \' ( @ @ ) \' But I warned you then as I warn you now, `/ @ ) My soul is made of coal; ( @ `/ \' ( @ It burns with heated flame that @ ) \' seeks and wreaks revenge; `/ @ ) ( @ `/ It coils and slithers like a snake. \' ( @ The crimes it will avenge; @ ) \' `/ @ ) So I warn you one last time before ( @ `/ I leave and say goodbye; \' ( @ @ ) \' I'd like to be the sort of friend, `/ @ ) that likes to watch you die. ( @ `/ \' ( @ @ ) \' --Boon the Betrayer `/ @ ) ( @ `/ \' ( @ _ @ _ @ _ @ _ ) ( _ @ _ @ _ @ _ @ ) \_,< `<_,< `<_,< `<_,< `<((())))>' >._>' >._>' >._>' >._/ @ @ @ @ ) ( @ @ @ @ --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Volume 6.0 5 Okdyetenn, 555 Page 19 --------------------------------------------------------------------------- _,. , , .,_ ,-` _ \ _,-` \ _,...,_ / `-._ / _ `-. ,-`_,-` \ ,' _,-\ :-`_,,.,,_`-: /-._ `, / `-._`-. ,-`_,' ,` ,' ,` ,':., ,.:`, `, `. `. `._`-. ,` ,' / ,`.'-./ ,``-.,_`_,.-``, \.-'.`. \ `. `. ,` `````````` / '-.,/ ` \,.-' \ `````````` `. ```````````````` ```````````````` Have you been out getting fresh air today? Visit the Puffin Beach while you still can: lovely views, cute puffins and nice fishing! You don't even necessarily need to remember to bring your own fishing gear; Rae the cleric will be more than happy to help with that. For getting there, if you haven't grown too old, you'll probably prefer a safer route than running through the forest. (If not, there are directions in 'help newbie2'.) To add another joyful experience to your bundle of fun for the day, you can take a ship there! Just head for the harbour (in the eastmost corner of Tantallon) and go down to the wharf. If you wait a bit, the sailing ship Lizette will appear for you to board. The Tantallon Chamber of Commerce has decided to offer the ferrying services of Lizette and Atlantis, which goes to another location, for free, so you don't even need to work your hindside off with questionable employers (who never are satisfied anyway) to allow yourself this glamorous journey! Remember to dress warmly against the cool sea wind. Tourism Council, advertisement department ................ ................ `. .......... \ ,-'`\ _._ /`'-, / .......... .' `. `._ \ `.',-'\ `..-'` `'-..` /'-,'.' / _.' .' `-. `._ `. `._ `. `.;'```';.` .` _.' .' _.' .-' `-. `-._/ `._ `-/ :-._``'``_.-: \-' _.` \_.-' .-' `-._ / `-, / `'''` \ ,-' \ _.-'