I ran a yahoo search for 'games forgotten realms mud' and here I came. After reading over the web page, I quickly opened a telnet window.
My first character was a human mercenary, who died a painful death at level 14 to the Crimson Death. I decided that it was time to peruse other career options. A human conjurer this time. I played off and on, but I remember the exact moment I was hooked to Sojourn. When I found an unlooted tiny silver ring.
Never before had I come across a magical item before, I had some leather from split shield and a few other items . . . but this . . a tiny silver ring! I was sure it must be great, but I didn't quite know what it was. I stared at it, examined it, in the end - I simply put it on. From that day on, the magic of discovery enthralled me. Slowly levels came to me, and one day - I had my own elementals. I was a god, unkillable and all-mighty.
After the navy seamen put me back in my place, it took about a week to get my elementals back. I was more cautious now, a veteran of the game. I didn't have many friends, Tyaak . . Chandigar . . Grenan . . Kyse . . a couple of other people. Despite Tyaak's frequent scoldings about not being a dwarf conjurer, or even a barbarian . . I continued being a newbie.
A year later, I am in my mid 30's . . I have fun, as a conjurer my pets do wonders to help me explore, and my spells are nice. I am a veteran of Ice Crag and Havenport, as were all conjurers of the time. I led experience often, and many the new player spent time under my wing at some point. I was rarely too busy for anyone, and I gave what trinkets I had to those who could make use of them. After time, my group people st arted coming to me often . . My experience groups were fast, efficient, and fun. No one was turned away, and despite being overly large, we managed to make running around Waterdeep an adventure.
I didn't have much equipment, but I was getting excited . . dwarf scale armor, a pair of electrum rings that I had saved up for. A githyanki longsword that someone had given me . . . man, that thing was sweet!
The rest was lowbie stuff, but at level 35 - I was clueless, and happy. I was meeting more people . . Grimlak, Nuna, Soljei, Bratlii I remember most . . I was not of their caliber as a player, but all of them took time to be nice to me, answer questions, and take me with them on quest fights or just random things. I remember hanging out with the Pride of old, and helping them quest in greycloak. Everything was about fun, we didn't care about splits . . . the roleplaying came easily and naturally . . there was no such thing as 'not having time' for anyone.
At this time, I died tragically in Undermountain . . . to this day I have a fear of that zone . . I never did recover my corpse, and it hurt me to lose it all.
Some time later now, I am doing wall elites and lighthouse for experience now . . sometimes BG . . I feel confident in myself now, I know what I am doing. I don't feel that I am a newbie, and I want to go to the next level. I had seen Sok in Waterdeep once or twice, not often though, but that is ok.
You don't understand. Sok is not just Sok, he is the Platinum Dragon . . the best. You don't become a Platinum Dragon if you are not the best, so I am in awe of him a bit. I realize he is in the Order of the Wyrm.
One day, I will be in the Order, too. I don't care what it takes! I start making friends in the guild. Kobei is the person I talked to who got me started in the process. Myself and a druid named Gesbin . . wait, I forgot to tell you about Gesbin! Gesbin was this kick ass druid, me and him were both in our 40's . . no one much needed us, a conjy and a druid without well . . . but we hung out together. I was notorious for XP, so I made sure Gesbin always had a spot in an Xp group, and Gesbin - knowing quests and things, brought me along to help him do his druid quests.
So, where was I? Oh yeah, the Wyrm. Me and Gesbin were both initiates . . the Wyrm was considering us for membership. Diac was taking me on zones, too. CC, Labby, other fun stuff. Then, I got a jot invite at level 43. OMG. I call my friends up - tough shit, I'm bailing on the party tonight. Deal with it. We died horribly, due to some rares I ended up with 13 deaths. There was a nasty crash afterwards - and I lost all my corpses, too. It was a bad one, all pcorpses went *poof* Stupid bugs.
But who cares, I had gotten my taste of a real zone. Then, Ebgar - another friend at the time, sent me a log from his first Tiamat run, where he was a sitter. I think the log was actually Dizahk, but I'm not sure. I was in awe. These people were legends. I have read that log a thousand times over, envisioning what Tiamat must be like. I had a new goal in life. I had been accepted with open arms into the Wyrm, and it was time for a new goal.
That goal was Tiamat. I did XP, I busted my butt, in the end . . I talked to Diac. I found that he would be leading a Tiamat run in a few weeks. He told me that I would have a spot in the group. I was ecstatic.
Then, as it drew close to the day . . . the dreaded wipe. Sojourn was gone. Sigh
It reemerged as Toril I believe, but I dealt with it. Tiamat was still my driving goal. So, I leved up as a barbarian warrior, and joined the Pride, my brothers of old. We had fun, but again . . my progress was stopped by a wipe. This time, I was told there would be no coming back. With tears in my eyes, I go to duris. I play, wipe after wipe, learning my way around as I had known Sojourn. At one point, my old friend Kajib's girlfriend wants her own guild. She comes to me, since I am a level 50 char who leads things occasionaly. She asks for a guild, and being a friend - I give in. Genesis is formed. We play, but Duris doesn't capture me the way that Sojourn did, and I wander off.
Then, a friend ICQ's me, and tells me of the SOS2. I join, and am excited - if I can't play with my friends, I can talk to them. Then, word comes . . . sojourn will be back . . . better than ever.
Holy shit! What to do! Months go by, real life draws me away, and when it opens . . . I don't get to play all I want. At level 35, I take a break. This sabbatical leaves me away for almost a year. When I come back, I relearn what I enjoy doing . . . I XP like a fiend. I run around, but its not as fun. Everyone is an alt, and - lets face it, i'm just a warrior with no alts, who isn't much good for things. (well, unless said alts are low level, in which case I seem to be everyone's old chum).
Present day. I no longer like what things have become on the goodrace side. I never made a name for myself. In another post, Thanuk mentions how he thinks he will be thought of as a 'legend' . . . perhaps, I don't really know. I never grouped with you as Thanuk that I recall . . different circles I guess. What I do know now, is that the things that are important to me are not important to the majority of the people on the goodrace side any longer. I would, and have, given away my own equipment to help others, and there are some who can attest to it. I don't care. Those little colored bits of text, as someone so eloquently described them, are not important to me.
But people's attitudes are. I don't like to ask for things, as a player who has played for so long, I feel that it is my own shortcoming for never having bugged other people to learn quests. I didn't really pay much attention as a mage, and as a warrior . . . well, warrior's without nice sets don't solo much :P Lately, I find myself on the goodrace giving a hell of a lot, but getting the cold shoulder when I swallow my pride and asked for something.
A quick list of things that made me stop playing goodrace.
1. After a year of helping people with quests, no one had time to help me get the last item I needed for ice bear boots quest. I asked people for about 5 months before giving up. (last item was UF robe).
2. Being told repeatedly that warriors are not needed in groups. Then, these same people have the gall to turn around, smile at me 50 hours into a boot, and hop along with me to xp their alt.
3. Frustration.
Reasons why I became an evil.
1. Community. There are assholes on the evil side, I won't lie to you, but there are also nice people, just like on the good side. What makes a difference is that over here, there are things more important than making the perfect group, and this exists outside of a closed circle of friends. While I know that on the good side people make exceptions for their friends, on the evil . . they make exceptions for strangers.
2. Experience. No, not how many notches from level . . I get to explore an entire new side of Sojourn. I have spent years on the surface, and can pretty much walk from anywhere to anywhere else with relative ease . . now, I am discovering a whole new world, and there are always people welcoming me as a player, and bringing me along for the fun.
There are a million things I could say, I was turned off initially by bad things that happened to me as a new evil, but you know what? Those things have been overshadowed by the good. Every night I log on, and since troll warriors don't suck nearly as much as other warriors, I can explore. Or zone if people ask me. I can lead if I am up to it. Or, I can help other young players again, answering questions, giving them equipment, and leveling them. Maybe one day, Tiamat will come back, and I will get to fulfill my goal of being in a group that does her. I can wait, I don't know how the evils do it, or what they need. It's not that important to me, really.
Thanuk once looked at my barbarian warrior's equipment, and mocked me. You told me how I would never have equipment as good as yours. I think this comment more than anything else prompted me to stop wanting to play on the goodrace.
But your probably right, Thanuk. You are elite, and you have elite friends, and you do elite things. My friends are newbies, we do newbie things.
And I am a newbie, now.
One day, though - I will log on, and people will ask me, 'What are we doing today?' I don't know when that will be, but when it happens . . . I know damn well that I will be playing as a troll warrior when it happens.
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The wardens of the cage disallow all commands except say, petition, project and help
