| | _______ (===|====================- -====================|===) \ __ \ | | | |__| | __ _ _ __ _ __ ___ _ ___ | ___ \ / __ \| | | |/ ___\ | |/ ___\ / ___ \ | |/ __ \ | | | | | | \ | | / | / | _____| | / | | | |___| | | |__ / | | | | | | |_____ | | | | /________/ \____/|_| |_| |_| \_____/ |_| |_| _______ _ \ __ \ | | | |__| | ___ __ _ | | _ __________ ____ | ___ \ / ___ \ / __ \| | | | | |/ __ ____ \ / ____\ | | | | | _____| | | \ | | | | / | | | | | |__ | | | | | |_____ | |__ / | | | | | | | | | \___ \ /__| |__| \_____/ \____/|_| |_| |_| |_| |_| \ \ ___________________________________________________________ / / <____________________________________________________________/ -Govinda Amystery: when people void out, have them be removed from the who list. keep people from teleporting to the void as often. also cut down on confusion Omnipotus: make trip actually make mobs unable to cast spells Orgyl: how bout an auction history command so that you can see what has been said about the item Flip: if someone wakes you, you can see who it is, and you should be able to have the option of allowing people to wake you up on or off. Stile: Have some small spells past level 30 to gain or learn. Quiver: How about things you can push or pull? Such as "you push a button and a trapdoor swings open, plunging you into darkness" Quiver: modify throw to have a chance of hitting another mob if you miss the one you were aiming at Kalar: make infravision allow you to see exits instead of just "Too dark to tell" Kalar: either prevent carried people from being blown by the wind or take away the carried flag once they're separated from the carrier Justme: Why not make ppl that are linkdead disappear into the void straight away. I know that the void takes them after 5 mins but lots of ppl die before then and lose all eq Tom: Instead of all races Having Mana...Maybe have it called something else for certain Races Example Avians /(*) | / | |\--------------------------------------------\ (@)(((((((( | >-----------Article------------------------- > | |/--------------------------------------------/ | \ \(*) Roshi's Article: I am writing this article to remind people of quest etiquette. We all enjoy quest's whether holding one or participating in one and the people who run the quest usually put alot of thought into them. The least you could do is thank the person who held the quest whether you got a prize you wanted or not. Quest's are held because the person or people running them are trying to have fun and let other people have fun at the same time. Quest's are only done by the choice of the person and they are not a privelage you should expect. So from now on be sure to thank the quest runner. It always helps and can't really hurt. So from now on if you are in a quest, thank the quest runner. /(*) | / | |\--------------------------------------------\ (@)(((((((( | >-----------------Response------------------ > | |/--------------------------------------------/ | \ \(*) responses by Baltar: > Vedder: A piece of armor held by a real tough guy that gives permanent > Sanctuary. Ooooooh...Remember back when there used to be sanctuary pills? Seriously, have to be real careful to keep this balanced. How tough is "real tough" (e.g., what level, especially considering how it generally gets much easier to get sanct items past a particular level...)? Would it come with some major fighting penalties, like the Shield of Defense (such as a major -damroll or something to make it potentially unattractive)? On the other hand, there sure are plenty of mobs with permanent sanctuary... > Akron: break command to stop fighting something in middle of fight, to > give a better chance of fleeing Would this be accompanied by a tremendous loss in AC until you succeeded in fleeing? (Much the way anyone, mob or player, finds it much easier to clobber an opponent who is engaged with someone else, i.e. not concentrating on defending against the attacker's blows...) Could be dangerous..Hey, how much trouble do you have fleeing, anyway? Baltar -- /(*) | / | |\--------------------------------------------\ (@)(((((((( | >---------------Bios------------------------- > | |/--------------------------------------------/ | \ \(*) Sereneth's bio: My name is Elisabeth and I am a 19-year-old College student in Virginia. I live with Raze, practically live with Sylvid, and am friends with a bunch of other Realmers. Evil Raze got me hooked last year before we even had Internet connection in our rooms, so blame her if you think I am an addict. Besides my computer, I also enjoy reading, cooking, and I love to read the Washington Post. I belong to a co-ed service fraternity and also am an assistant editor on the student newspaper. I plan to take over the world by insinuating myself into the power structure in Washington. So if you ever hear of a tall woman with brown hair and eyes becoming President--it's me. /(*) | / | |\--------------------------------------------\ (@)(((((((( | >----------------Spotlight------------------ > | |/--------------------------------------------/ | \ \(*) Greetings Realmers, and welcome once again to Aura's Spotlight, an edition of cultural spice and intellectual gourmet. Today, gourmet is taken to a literal level as cookers from our Barren Realms converge to share some of their more intimate delights in the delicacy world. Feast your imaginative faculties on the recipes of out times. >From Comatose, only he could send something as strange as this :) Do read as this is an interesting story... This is a true story. Please forward it to everyone that you can.You will have to read it to believe it. My daughter and I had just finished a salad at Neiman-Marcus Cafe in Dallas & decided to have a small dessert. Because both of us are such cookie lovers, we decided to try the "Neiman-Marcus Cookie". It was so excellent that I asked if they would give me the recipe and the waitress said with a small frown "I'm afraid not." "Well" I said, "would you let me buy the recipe?" With a cute smile, she said "YES". I asked how much and she responded, "Only two fifty, it's a great deal!" I said with approval, "just add it to my tab". Thirty days later, I received my VISA statement from Neiman-Marcus and it was $285.00. I looked again and remembered I had only spent $9.95 for two salads and about $20.00 for a scarf. As I glanced at the bottom of the statement, it said, "Cookie Recipe - $250.00". That's outrageous!!! I called Neiman's Accounting Dept. and told them that the waitress said it was "two-fifty," which clearly does not mean "two hundred and fifty dollars" by any POSSIBLE interpretation of the phrase. Neiman-Marcus refused to budge. They would not refund my money, because according to them, "What the waitress told you is not our problem. You have already seen the recipe - we absolutely will not refund your money at this point." I explained to her the criminal statutes which govern fraud in Texas. I threatened to refer them to the Better Business Bureau and the State's Attorney General for engaging in fraud. I was basically told, "Do what you want, we dont give a crap, and we're not refunding your money." I waited a moment, thinking of how I could get even, or even tryworth of fun." I told her that I was going to see to it that every cookie lover in the United States with an e-mail account has a $250.00 cookie recipe from Neiman-Marcus. for free. She replied, "I wish you wouldn't do this" I said, "Well you should have thought of that before you ripped me off", and slammed down the phone on her. So, here it is!!! Please, please, please pass it on to everyone you can possibly think of. I paid $250.00 dollars for this. I don't want Neiman-Marcus to ever get another penny off of this recipe. (Recipe may be halved): 2 cups butter 4 cups flour 2 tsp. baking soda 2 cups granulated sugar 2 cups brown sugar 5 cups blended oatmeal (measure oatmeal and blend in blender to a fine powder) 24 oz. chocolate chips 1 tsp. salt 1 8 oz. Hershey bar (grated) 4 eggs 2 tsp. baking powder 3 cups chopped nuts (your choice) 2 tsp. vanilla Cream the butter and both sugars. Add eggs and vanilla; mix together with flour, oatmeal, salt, baking powder, and soda. Add chocolate chips, Hershey bar and nuts. Roll into balls and place two inches apart on a cookie sheet. Bake for 10 minutes at 375 degrees. Makes 112 cookies. Have Fun!!! This is not a joke - this is a true story. Ride free citizens!!!!>> >From Catherine Ingredients : a leg of a beastly fido, two handfuls of smurfberries, a pot pie, twelve vials of moonlight, two Kiri's mochas, a mango, a jello shot, seven brass lanterns, two emerald rings for good luck, seventeen gold coins for good measure, and a nipple ring for karma. To those confused, Catherine is Clemente, and so no harm is done by this recipe being well known. To those who are doubly confused, Clemente truely resents Catherine for this, and all the other forms of abuse that he tolerates simply because she's bigger. :) Directions : Throw all these things into an ogrek's backpack. Use the hammer named "magemasher" to beat this backpack senseless. WARNING : If not done properly, you may end up with an avian obsessed with trout, known as an "Ecarisuli." (Yeah, Ecari truly resents this as well.) :) >>>GRAND PRIZE WINNER<<< >From Kudzu, The infamous recipe for... Devils Food Cake? :) Ingredients: Corpse of a flaming beast of hell Corpse of an ice devil Corpse of a fire devil 2 newt eggs Flour A set of King Kandy's equipment Directions: Chop up the corpse of the flaming lag beast of hell and add two newt eggs and a sack of flour. Place the set of King Kandy's equipment under the snout of the gold dragon and when the sugar is thoroughly melted, add it to the other things. Add enough water to fill a buffalo water skin and mix the dough you have made. Place in a pot and cap the lid. Put the pot under Haan, the Platinum Dragon, while he is sleeping. In two hours, take the cake out of the pot. While waiting for the cake to cook, you cream the corpse of the ice devil until it is creamy. Then spread it on the cake. Finally use the corpse of the fire devil to decorate the cake. >From Solo, Ingredients: 1/2 cup of sliced, diced dwarfs muscle 2/3 cup kender back 14 cups of avian guts (I prefer 15) 9 ounces of blood of an elf and a dash of Kiri for spice Directions: Mix all ingredients well, so as to deter lumps. Bake in a microwave for 5 minutes, until blood boils, then heat in an oven at 472.01938 degrees, no preheat. When all is done serve cold to people you don't like. This is called... Youdon'twannatryme enjoy :) Naturally, these recipes are... interesting. Let us pray our cookers do take up cooking as a profession considering people may suddenly fear becoming an ingredient :) Thanks to those who participated and look for another contest of sorts in a week or so, here where a single beam of culture calls itself the Spotlight. COMING UP NEXT: How many philosophers do we have out there? Do we have thinkers on Barren Realms? Find out next time on some responses to some of the most challenging questions facing our world in our age. /(*) | / | |\--------------------------------------------\ (@)(((((((( | >------------------Silly--------------------- > | |/--------------------------------------------/ | \ \(*) YOU!!! OUT OF THE GENE POOL!!! LICENSE TO STEAL Two Kentucky men tried to pull the front off a cash machine by running a chain from the machine to the bumper of their pickup truck. Instead of pulling the front panel off the machine, though, they pulled the bumper off the truck. They panicked and fled, leaving the chain still attached to the machine, their bumper still attached to the chain, and their license plate still attached to the bumper. IN THE BAG A "tourist," supposedly on a golf holiday, stood in line at the customs counter. While making idle chatter, the customs official thought it odd that the golfer didn't know what a handicap was. The officer then asked the tourist to demonstrate his swing. He did - backwards. A substantial amount of narcotics was found in the golf bag. MADE FOR TV Guns For Hire, an Arizona company specializing in staged gunfights for Western movies, got a call from a 47-year-old woman who wanted to have her husband shot. She was sentenced to four years in jail. DO YOU ACCEPT CREDIT CARDS? A Texan convicted of robbery worked out a deal to pay $9600 in damages rather than serve a two-year prison sentence. For payment, he provided the court a forged check. He got his prison term back, plus eight more years. YOU MEAN ME? A pair of Michigan robbers entered a record shop nervously waving revolvers. The first one shouted, "Nobody move!" When his partner moved, the startled first bandit shot him. DEADHEADS A man in Orange County Municipal Court had been ticketed for driving alone in the carpool lane. He claimed that the four frozen cadavers in the mortuary van he was driving should be counted. The judged ruled that passengers must be alive to qualify. THIS WOULD BE ME The judge called the case of People vs. Steven Lewon Crook. The bailiff opened the door to the holding cell and called, "Crook, come forward." Five of the prisoners entered the courtroom. LEARN YOUR LESSON When asked for her occupation, a woman charged with a traffic violation said she was a schoolteacher. The judge rose from the bench. "Madam, I have waited years for a schoolteacher to appear before this court," he smiled with delight. "Now sit down at that table and write 'I will not pass through a red light' five hundred times." AHH, THAT'S BETTER! A judge in Louisville decided a jury went "a little bit too far" in recommending a sentence of 5,005 years for a man who was convicted of five robberies and a kidnapping. The judge reduced the sentence to 1,001 years. OOPS! I BLEW THAT ONE! A lawyer defending a man accused of burglary tried this creative defense: "My client merely inserted his arm into the window and removed a few trifling articles. His arm is not himself, and I fail to see how you can punish the whole individual for an offense committed by his limb." "Well put," the judge replied. "Using your logic, I sentence the defendant's arm to one year's imprisonment. He can accompany it or not, as he chooses." The defendant smiled. With his lawyer's assistance he detached his artificial limb, laid it on the bench, and walked out. ---------------------- -Govinda Quiver: withdrawal symptoms if you're used to drinking a lot... kiri- I don't know how I feel about this. As a druid, I think the drunkenness itself is enough of a penalty. Flip: Clericus should add 'pass door' to his spell list. Flip: A command or spell or skill to make your corpse decay. Quiver: Weather - snow that actually coats the ground. Smeagain: Why not change aod so he sells something else. no point selling tickets to an area that has been deleted Omnipotus: equipment that gives extra attacks AMystery: we need a whine channel. one whose default is off but on which everyone can whine about how miserable everything in their lives are RingMasta: A great new shop would be a hash bar. set different weed for different spells, like anything else. but, not drunk but HIGH. :) kiri- I don't think I really want BR to advocate drug use ;P /(*) | / | |\--------------------------------------------\ (@)(((((((( | >----------------Article-------------------- > | |/--------------------------------------------/ | \ \(*) Rulers Of CandyLand By Baal As King Kandy made candyland he made different sections. Some sections a bit easier than others to make your way through Each of these areas of kandyland would have a ruler to rule their area, but in command of the King. King Kandy's first place was the Plumpatroll Tree, lead my their ruler Plumpy. King Kandy made the citizens of plumpatroll, mostly kids. The next area King Kandy made was the Peppermint Forest who's ruler was Mr. Mint. This area was inhabited by peppermint bushes and trees. The next area King Kandy made was the Gumdrop Mountains which was lead by the Jolly Gumdrop. his next area was lead by Lolly of the lollipop forest. then lord licorice, then grandma nut, then queen frostine, then second in command, Gloppy. After working very hard King Kandy forgot to make himself an area..he thought to himself "what will roam my palace..what should i name them?" as King Kandy thought this over for days, making himself sugar equipment to clear his mind, he came up with it. King Kandy went to each of his area rulers and made an even better copy of each one of them. King Kandy constructed his Kastle with eight doors which needed a key to open. these doors were each guarded my one of the copied rulers. King Kandy still lives at the end of his castle silently waiting for his next victim to arrive /(*) | / | |\--------------------------------------------\ (@)(((((((( | >---------------New Ideas------------------- > | |/--------------------------------------------/ | \ \(*) Currently the carry skill for AVI's only works if the person you want to carry is following you. How about letting it work for anyone in the group? That way an AVI not leading the group could carry a group member if they run out of movement points or cannot fly. Krago Sirfuzzy: My contribution of Ideas to the newsletter may be slim but here goes >Can we get such a thing as a keyring. I have the one from Alandra but I was looking particularly for something that would do the following. 1. Store your keys that you have collected on it 2. When faced with a door to unlock, it will scan your keys to see if you have the proper key. I've just noticed that there are a lot of keys, and it can be a pain to go through a ring of holding or a pack to get the right one. >Is there such a thing as a skeleton key. Something which might be just one shot, that will allow you to unlock any door you come upon. sorry about the key thing, doors annoy me :) >Is there something we can do with practice sessions, Please. I'll be your best friend :). Perhaps auctioning them off to other players or picking up skills not allowed normally at exhorbant rates. I know a lot of avians who would love to get a sanctuary, I would at least :) >Yes I know guilds are frowned on, I agree. Perhaps you could complete quests that would allow you to get a few skills that you couldn't normally get, as in a simple way of saying your something other than an avian. Such as [38 Tracker M] SirFuzzy hunter of nasties. It would be fun to say something like that. >And I commit the greatest sin here, I was bored one night and the Realms weren't letting me on but I tried another MUD *gasp*. It was kitty litter but it did have a chem function. This allowed you to emote in a chat way, similar to everyone seeing the following Sirfuzzy hugs everybody. It allowed for emotion on a broad scale, of course the *hugs everybody* works too.. Oh well just a thought. >Since I was on the subject of Avian, here are a few things to plop in your lap. I like to know stuff about the area around me so here are my attempts at info seeking skills Peer: Allows you to perhaps, get the base stats on an item, such as damage or armor class. If your really generous would work as an identify. Or how about in the case of keys it would tell you which door they unlocked, grrrr... stupid keys. Ponder: Like a reverse report, get some stat's on that bad boy your unsure about, might scare you away more than likely. Did you know that Ra has something like 1400 hps, Sheesh. That's about all I have as far as information derived skills, as of yet. I'll try to think of more but at a later date. I know the names suck but I'm dry mentally due to exams, forgive the transgressions. Well that's about it, until next I get an idea :) SirFuzzyElf happy go lucky and otherwise friendly being; Ruler of a small dimension known as the great beyond; religous advisor to the chickens for world domination and semipowerful deity. You can call me Joe. /(*) | / | |\--------------------------------------------\ (@)(((((((( | >------------------Bios---------------------- > | |/--------------------------------------------/ | \ \(*) Alodar: let me tell you a little bit about myself, i live in Virginia Beach, and i am a full time student at a local commnuity college. i am working as an intern for the city as a computer programmer (telecomunications division). i have a younger brother, who's a cheerleader, and a younger sister, who works with physically and mentally handicapped children. my father is retired navy, and being such we had to move around a lot when i was younger. my mother works at a navy hospital in the civil service. she's one of those people who always lose your medical records :-) since we had to move around a lot, i had to say good-bye to a lot of good friends; however, i did learn to be affable and friendly. the hardest place for me to leave was Great Lakes, IL because that is where i basically grew up. i lost touch with a lot of my good friends, there. i usually use the computer for the internet and writing papers for school. and *surprise* i spend most of my time on the internet playing MUDs... lately, however, i've been trying to find some of my old friends, and believe me, you'll be surprised to see how many people with the same name are out there :-) in case you haven't already guessed, i am studying to become a computer programer (or engineer) in school... i am taking 7 credit hours of computer classes (out of 13 total) the other 6 hours i am taking public speaking, and math (both required for my major) in conclusion i am just a regular guy who really likes the idea of magic (which is why i always play magic users) i don't like the big lumbering ox fighters :-) nor those mutant psychics. the metaphysical is the only way to go! sincerely adam A.K.A. Alodar <----- taken from the main character of Lyndon Hardy's novel "The Master of the Five Magics" /(*) | / | |\--------------------------------------------\ (@)(((((((( | >---------------Spotlight------------------- > | |/--------------------------------------------/ | \ \(*) Greetings, my countrymen of the infamous Barren Realms, and welcome to another ravishing session of the gossipiest center in all Calathar, Aura's Spotlight, where the talk is hot and the rumor is.... spicy? This week in Spotlight is well-informing as always, as I went around and collected some interesting current events that happened--mostly behind the scenes. So get snug, get comfy, and enjoy the tales of our lands. A fire broke out on the Day of Fury in Calathar's bank that has led investigators to a trail in the Thieves Forest. Apparently, the fire was not an accident but rather evidence suggests that fire newts were thrown into a nearby haystack. The blaze seemed to have been set as a diversion but several avians were flying low patterns that day and spotted several people converging on the bank. The resulting warning shrieks allowed the bank sufficient time to barricade its doors. The fire was put out soon after. The town of Calathar was abuzz not too long ago concerning the recent construction of the Clock Tower owned by the mysterious Guardian of Time. Construction was completed rather quickly but inspectors have found numerous errors in the blueprints and have threatened to close the streets to the tower if the Guardian does not make amends. Apparently, efforts are underway to finalize the immensity of the high-rising tower and the Guardian merely wishes to warn the public that several rooms still are very dangerous, including some that trap explorers forever and even some purported to contain evil magic released by the Guardian himself. The Guardian has made no comment on the accusation. Malathar recently was honored with a visit from a representative of Krynn when the legendary Raistlin Majere appeared in the throne room to hold audience. He was received warmly after the surprise yet the topics of the discussion have yet to be released. Smurfs today celebrated Strawberry Day in full bloom and hosted a parade through distant Perelandra for pomp and flare. Not only was the holiday a source of glee for the little blue people but the recent announcement of Smurfette's upcoming marriage to Handy Smurf has brought a tide of blue and joy into many corners of the Realms. The couple plan on spending their honeymoon on the shores of Freeport. Sword R' Us announced a new innovation a few days ago as they presented their newest creation to the Annual Weapons Convention in Solace. The Frostbite 2.1 Series boasts an automatic drainage unit to clean the blade of fluid during fights, not to mention a laser guided uranium tip for precision slicing and hacking. The sword won approval of many and is destined to surpass its predecessors. We can only wait for word on the 900 Xcalibur Series, expected to arrive in the Month of Sugarbabies. Of smaller note, the gnomes east of Calathar invented a small, apparently harmless, device they call a "Gun." They claim it will outdo any sword in the future, but such a statement only met skepticism. Finally, the Empress was seen grumbling and walking about Calathar while exterminators rid her palace of thousands of grasshoppers apparently planted by a mischievous Hero. Accusation has not been made yet as sufficient evidence is lacking, but authorities did find an hourglass lying on the floor. When the citizens were asked who they thought the criminal was, there was little doubt in their voice, "It was that rodent of an elf, Aura!" said a peasant woman. Regardless, the Empress used her time to decorate the city for the upcoming holiday. In sports, the Calathar Vagabonds swept the Perelandra Lag Beasts in a 21 - 3 victory to clinch the Eastern League for the BRL Bowl. They will play the Solace Jello Shots. And there you are, folks, the news of the Realms in the last few weeks :) If anyone of you ever want to be a reporter for me and contrive a news report like the one above, do let me know and you can tell the Realms who will marry who and who did what, when, where and why! To wrap up this week's edition, Kiri hosted a strange, but successful quest last night which involved as a theme none other than the infamous Spice Girls. Players had to change their titles to a particular "Spice" of their choice and then collect equipment to represent that. The players were rated by Kiri and myself and awards were given in several categories. Well, people were given a chance to tell me why they chose the Spice that they did and I have given a slot of this edition to begin the storytelling. I have three responses from the questors and next week I will show the rest of them. Morrigu "Trampy DrUnKeN Hair-burner Spice" I chose that spice because I do cut hair part time... to make my spending money at school last longer. That is where the Hair-burner came in. But, you see, I have this wild imagination and things just pop into my head it seems. I love being creative but I also have an uncontrollable urge to make people laugh, And I think I have some kind of humor imp (hehehe) that whispers in my ear and gives me ideas. (no she is not a psycho who hears things... most of the time anyways...giggle) So, why did I choose that spice? Because it suddenly came into my head and made me "Laugh Out Loud" and I thought it would give everyone else a giggle too. Even if I won NOTHING, I still would have enjoyed it because everyone in the Quest Headquarters laughed. I guess that's it....I'll be wandering around the Realms drunk on ale, killing things, and as usual Miriya will tp to me and Card me on the way to King Kandy...LOL! Thanks to Kiri and you Aura for the great bracelet won't have to carry those elixirs around with me anymore!!! *HIC*! Miriya "Lag Spice" Why did I decide to be Lag Spice? Well, my choice of outfit was definitely appropriate. Like any of the other Spice Girls, Lag is hated and despised by all that sees her. Like the songs of the Spices, she comes in fits and stops, and can ruin any moment with her arrival. The lack of lag equipment which actually covered the body put me right in line with the other Spices, who hark back to their days in the sex-industry by wearing very little clothing. I was prepared to take on the world with only my lag lances and a -84 ac! Wait, or was the combined IQ of the group? Who knows. Lag can definitely spice up one's life by putting it in danger during combat, making it the spiciest of all spices! LadyJude "Nerdy School Spice" Well...being soooo popular in school, I thought it would be nice to be the opposite. Just Kidding. Actually, I have been out of school for so long that I thought I would relive the old days through the Quest. Even though I wasn't a nerd, at least I don't think I was...LOL, in school, that the advantage was there to bring out the school girl again in me :) Thank you for your time, my fellow peoples, and look for me online to chat about the world! COMING UP NEXT: Prepare yourselves for a hot edition next week as Spotlight proclaims the best love matches the Realms will ever see! Stay tuned for how to enter this radically new match-making service in your notes in the nest few days! And even better, I will merely be assisting Jasserande, who will be running the show! Until next! "To be great is to be misunderstood..." --Emerson /(*) | / | |\--------------------------------------------\ (@)(((((((( | >-------------------NEW! Stories------------ > | |/--------------------------------------------/ | \ \(*) [This section is written by Raze.. next week will be Sylvid's side. As time goes by, things will be changing here and more players will be involved. Sort of a running soap opera, or so I'm told ;). Enjoy!] Sighing, she put down the long knife she'd been polishing. "Felar! Where the hell's my ale? I ordered fifteen bloody minutes ago!" At the sound of her voice, a small rotund man looked up from the customers at the bar and hurriedly filled a clay mug with dark ale. Trotting to her table, he said, "Sorry Raze. It looks like Mara's run off with a customer again. I'll turn her over to you for a hiding when I find her." "Hecate's ass. Can't the girls keep her hands off a man for even a quarter of an hour?" With a snort she turned away from Felar and continued her inspection of the blade, which now gleamed in the dim light of the Fortune Tavern's fire. The bartender looked at the double edged knife with a shudder and hurried back behind the long wooden bar. Raze looked around at the other patrons of the tavern, frustrated. It was all the regulars, none of who were rich enough or had any need to hire her. Most were sturdy looking townsmen who could generally hold their own in a fight, and none had nasty enough enemies to need a bodyguard. Once again, here she was, stuck in Calathar with barely enough money to scrape by, and not a merchant in sight. Good thing Felgar liked having her around for a bouncer or she'd be out on the streets by now. She could go down to the knife pits and beat up a few hotheads for coin, but she wasn't yet desperate enough to go showman. What she needed was a break, and someone to hire her and get her out of this town for the winter. A draft of cold air hit her ankles as someone else walked in the door. Muttering to herself, she took another draught of her ale and turned slightly to watch the newcomer out of the corner of her eye. He was tall and delicately built; probably an elf. Shaking off raindrops, he threw back his hood to reveal a shock of silver hair that cascaded down his back. He looked around, frowned slightly, and walked to the bar to ask Felar a question. Felar looked surprised at the stranger's question, then turned and gestured towards Raze. "She's the only one who might be able to guide you through," he said. Looking at her skeptically, the elf walked over to Raze's table. "I never thought kenders were trustworthy enough to be decent guides, but the innkeep said you could get me to the Dark Tower." Angry at the concescension in the elf's voice, Raze replied, "Yes, I can, if I think the pay's worth it. The route to the Tower's no picnic, you realize. I am the best you'll find, and if you won't pay what I'm worth and give me a bit of respect, you're not going to get to the tower. Who are you, anyway?" "My name is Sylvid, servant of the LadyMoon, and a mage of the Silver Circle, which you've probably never heard of, little woman. I must travel to the Dark Tower to find the Portal to the Lost Cities, and attempt to unlock its secrets." Surprised, Raze studied the elf Sylvid a bit more carefully. Mage of the Silver Circle, hmm? Well, that was impressive. What did they want with the Portal of the Lost Cities? There really wasn't much in any of them after all, they were just dead cities. No living inhabitants, crumbling buildings, dust and ghosts of times long past. Still, there must be something there she hadn't found in her ramblings through their echoing halls and dusty streets, or the Circle wouldn't be interested. Rousing from her musings, she replied, "I'll guide you for fifty thousand plus expenses that means I do the supply shopping for gear, not you. I know what we need. When did you want to leave? I need at least a day to get everything together." Frowning Sylvid said, "Fifty thousand sounds like a bit much, but I haven't got time to squabble over petty things such as money. Do your shopping, and meet me here as by sundown tomorrow. I want to leave the following dawn. Oh, and don't forget horses. . . I will not walk." With a glare he rose from the table and swept out the door, cloak swirling in the firelight. "Haughty, isn't he?" thought Raze. She rose and stretched, and tossing a copper on the table, left to gather supplies for the journey. /(*) | / | |\--------------------------------------------\ (@)(((((((( | >--------------Silly------------------------- > | |/--------------------------------------------/ | \ \(*) The truth about the Goodtimes Virus.... Goodtimes will re-write your hard drive. Not only that, but it will scramble any disks that are even close to your computer. It will recalibrate your refrigerator's coolness setting so all your ice cream goes melty. It will demagnetize the strips on all your credit cards. It will screw up the tracking on your television and use subspace field harmonics to scratch any CD's you try to play. It will give your ex-girlfriend your new phone number. It will mix Kool-aid into your fishtank. It will drink all your beer and leave it's socks out on the coffee table when there's company coming over. It will put a dead kitten in the back pocket of your good suit pants and hide your car keys when you are late for work. Goodtimes will make you fall in love with a penguin. It will give you nightmares about circus midgets. It will pour sugar in your gas tank and shave off both your eyebrows while dating your girlfriend behind your back and billing the dinner and hotel room to your Discover card. It will seduce your grandmother. It does not matter if she is dead, such is the power of Goodtimes, it reaches out beyond the grave to sully those things we hold most dear. It moves your car randomly around parking lots so you can't find it. It will kick your dog. It will leave libidinous messages on your boss's voice mail in your voice! It is insidious and subtle. It is dangerous and terrifying to behold. It is also a rather interesting shade of mauve. Goodtimes will give you Dutch Elm disease. It will leave the toilet seat up. It will make a batch of Methanphedime in your bathtub and then leave bacon cooking on the stove while it goes out to chase gradeschoolers with your new snowblower. Listen to me. Goodtimes does not exist. It cannot do anything to you. But I can. I am sending this message to everyone in the world, tell your friends, tell your family. If anyone else sends me another E-mail about this fake Goodtimes Virus I will turn hating them into a religion, I will do things to them that would make a horsehead in your bed look like Easter Sunday brunch. Thank you for your time, Pat Rothfuss Date: Wed, 17 Dec 1997 02:46:34 -0500 (EST) <____________________________________________________________/ -Govinda Sandra: spell to translate drunk speach Akron: have a contest to make up new smurf names, :) Lunatic: what about if you keep on drinking the same drink, you get addicted to that drink Lunatic: why can't I add water to my whiskey to make the drink a bit lighter? Thorkill: Have an enchanted flag appear on enchanted weapons when you identify them Avon: more good anti-good and maybe anti-neutral too equipment, to encourage a few people to be evil. almost everyone lvl 40+ has the exact same eq and they're all good aligned Akron: critical hit skill, increases chances of a Kender doing a Higher dmg hit, opposite from Enhanced dmg, FireWalker: what about a message when someone dead appears at recall -> A big hand dumps a dead in the room. Logo: How about a login watcher? It could tell you who logs in and the number of players already connected? Pragma: Note in the 'LOSE' help that pets will no longer obey their owners... :) Flip: new command; write: allows you to take a blank piece of paper or scroll and write stuff on it...can be burned by fire breath and such...good for keeping personal memos or giving dirs to someone ******* ************** *** *** ************** **** ***Barren Realms*** **** *** *** *** *** *** ******* *** *********** ** ** *********** ***************** Article by Derrydale: Before the great city of Calathar came into existance, there was the beautiful city of Midgaard. Although it is usually the home town of the merc muds, in Barren Realms a terrible disaster occured, rendering it unlivable, and totally useless to the Realms. The realms were bleak for awhile, while the remaining inhabitants of Midgaard started work on a new and better city, pouring their blood, hearts, and souls into making the greatest home city any adventurer a realmer could hope for. This new city was not easy to build, nor accomplished in little time. This new city, that the people of the time decided they would name Calathar, was not at all problem free. Population grouth was very slow, and the town was even invaded by the filthy mongrels, though less of a menace then beastly fidos, but still a menace none the less. This new city was not problem free, either. In the late stages of building, the city had a fire, which destroyed part of the temple, which they never rebuilt. Also, the executioner was not well liked, and was replaced, along with the City Guard commander, which was not liked by the imms, and was mysteriously struck by a tornado. Now barren of life, Midgaard still lies somewhere inside the realms, only to be found by the most brave warriors in the realms, deep, deep inside the least explored areas, right where it belongs. -Just a little bit of history on your realms. -Derrydale /(*) | / | |\--------------------------------------------\ (@)(((((((( | >-------------Spotlight---------------------- > | |/--------------------------------------------/ | \ \(*) ******************************************************** Greetings once again, Realmers, to my humble abode of information and seat yourselves for an amusing few moments as you discover the magic of love and how some Realmers may have more than a friendship in store for them! This week, I and Jasserande collected some answers to ten questions from numerous Realmers. They all answered with their own strange concoctions and crossed their fingers for a good match at the end of the week. Well, not surprisingly, more males entered than did females and so we ended up having 22 males and 10 females. Naturally, mixed-gender matches would not be possible for everyone, and so there were matches between males. Of course, the matches do not imply anything, but merely represent a similarity of interest. Indeed, many will be surprised, I think, on how they fared. Here are the matches discerned by Jasserande and myself, in order of most similar to least similar: [scale was on a 1 -10] Slart & Sirfuzzy Spring & Phantasm Prodigy & Dracko Everybody & Baal Miriya & Slinky Lunatic & Derrydale Kudzu & Solo Teun & Reykjavik Gonzo & Cutlass Kiri & Comatose Kim & Uthar Eilonwy & Severian Lorelle & Inspiration Latie & Silhouette Tabellia & Scavenger Tom & Jill Jett & Silvy And the couple deemed worthy enough to be wedded was Sereneth and Silverstone! Yes, Spotlight will hold an actual wedding for these two lovebirds later this week. The event will be public and free of charge, and quite dazzling, so be sure to await further information in your notes as plans come together for the ceremonial denounment of our love game! Maybe we can have the broom kiss the bride? Who can say as we await the fruitiest union ever! (This wedding is not official and Spotlight, in compliance with Barren Realms statute, is not promoting or endorsing the institution of mud-marriages.) COMING UP NEXT WEEK: The last Spotlight for 1997! On top of highlighting some of Spotlight's interesting topics since its birth some months ago, I will have one last round of Realming fun in the Topic of '97, to be announced after the wedding in your notes. Stay tuned! ********************************************************* /(*) | / | |\--------------------------------------------\ (@)(((((((( | >---------------more ideas------------------ > | |/--------------------------------------------/ | \ \(*) ---an Article by Shadowfire--- New Race/Profession...The Bard. I don't know if this has come up in the past, but I think it would be pretty cool, as well as popular. For those who aren't familiar enough with RPGs, Bards are musicians, minstrels, and storytellers...who specialize in Lore. As far as their race is concerned, they are humans, elves...or whatever, we would have to be pretty loose as far as fitting a race for them in BR. Some stuff Bards would be able to do: Sing- Singing is a key component of a bard, their skills would mostly comprise of different songs, which have different effects. With Bards, everyone in their GROUP would be effected by whatever they sing. A song to boost morale, for example, would give some bonuses to armor class, as well as hit/dam. Bards must be singing their songs for them to be effective...and if a bard is hit in combat, the song would be broken, and thus, the affects of the song. Everyone would love to group with a bard! Identify- Due to keen knoledge of lore and items, Bards would be able to identify objects at an early level/age. Their identification skills would exceed those of Thesius or spellcasters...you could learn much more about items of a magical nature, being a bard...such as, what mob it originally came from, etc... Fight- Bards are reasonably competent warriors. Armed with a short sword, a Bard can be a tough adversary. Of course, they would have a significantly worsened armor class while singing, and wouldn't be able to have any song effects if they were to be fighting one on one. Of course, normal magic applies to Bards in the same way it would any other class. Due to their knoledge of the world and it's creatures, they would train in a skill something like: Creature Lore, which would give them the ability to find a known critical point in a mob, and inflict major damage. This would only apply to creatures of level +2 the bards level and lower. Play- A bard would, at a certain level, be able to fashion a musical instrument for themselves. When held in the offhand, their lute/mandolin/whatever would have several uses. Charming foes would be possible, with enchanting tones to lull the mob into a trusting little stupor. High pitched, annoying melodies to distract and damage mobs, etc...the bard would need his/her instrument in order to sing high level songs, as well. Music wielding lore masters, in short. Bards would be quite a cool addition to Barren Realms. Tell me what ya think. -Shadowfire Suggestions for the newsletter by Tabellia : An Illithid skill; Petrify. The illithid stares at a mob or player, and turns them into stone for a small period of time. The mob or player gets a flag (Stone), and cannot move, talk, or anything. Instead, they get a message such as, 'You cannot do that, you are stone.' However, they would get an incredible AC, due to the fact that... well, have you ever tried to beat up a boulder? Who won? An interesting effect to this (Kiri, help me, is this part possible to do?) is that, although their weight would be considerably increased, a group member could lift this "statue" and chuck it at a mob, or simply carried around for safekeeping. Mobs that have this skill would be interesting to fight, such as basilisks, cockatrices, or Medusas. 'The cockatrice stares at you intently, turning you to stone.' I'm not a Mud programmer, so I'm not sure if it's possible to turn player into item. Would be cool, but if not, just the fact that you have incredible AC but cannot move... would be useful to groups that the tank is a statue. Of course, the mob might get a roll or something to realize, "Hey, this is a rock." And pelt the next assailant. To avoid Illithid's going on rampant stone-spelling romps, the target must be in a group with the Ill. You guys work out the details. ;) An Illithid's counterspell to the petrify effect; Reanimate. Well, you read the effects of my proposed Petrify skill. Well, this is the opposite. /(*) | / | |\--------------------------------------------\ (@)(((((((( | >------------------Bios---------------------- > | |/--------------------------------------------/ | \ \(*) My bio Hi everyone. My name is Vercertorix and I am a MUD addict. I've been playing Barren Realms for over two years now, and have many great memories with many friends I made along the road to herodom. But for those of you who do not know me, or only know me in passing, I thought I would tell you a little about myself in real life. I am 18, Male, and a student at the Southern Alberta Institute of Technology (also known as SAIT) in Calgary, Alberta. I like reading, BR, music (I'll listen to pretty much everything, from Blisterene (A local hard rock band) to Bach and everything in between) and computers (all things computers). At the moment, I am taking Engineering Design and Drafting Technology at SAIT, though I am changing to Computer Engineering Technology next year. It sounds more impressive than it is (ain't that always the way?) Ahh well. Much of my free time is taken up by my hobbies, and what is left is taken up maintaining my web pages and doing some freelance web page design. Anyway, thanx for listening to this random babbling. We now return you to your regularly scheduled newsletter, already in progress. _________________________________________________________ /(*) | / | |\--------------------------------------------\ (@)(((((((( | >--------------Story------------------------ > | |/--------------------------------------------/ | \ \(*) Raze can't seem to quite get the story right here, so I have decided to take over for this week's edition. What really happened was that Raze came to me (me, mind you, a busy elf) for an enchant on that little toy she called a weapon. Having no money and after having drunk too much in the tavern, the only payment she could offer was that of a guide to the Dark Tower, and the portal of the Lost Cities. In any case, I found that I had no other choice (no one was crazy or stupid enough to go into the Dark Tower), and the Silver Circle needed information quickly; so I decided to take her along. . . Give a kender cash, and they'll disappear faster than link in lag central, so I knew that this little shopping trip would have to be supervised if I didn't want my "guide" to be either arrested by the local authorities, or to disappear altogether. "We need some torches," Raze whined exasperated. I hadn't let her buy any of the "essential" items: beer, pot pies, local purses. "We need no such thing," I explained slowly with a sigh. Twiddling my thumbs and murmuring a word, I conjured a small glowing ball to appear over each of our shoulders. "This won't go out, like torches, and they're much cheaper. Now let me see that little pocket knife of yours." "It happens to be a dagger!" Raze growled. "Whatever, just let me see it; it needs to be 'adjusted' for where we're going. Anyway, it's what you asked me to do in the first place." Grudgingly, Raze handed the dagger over, at which point I held it in both hands, and spelled it. The blade caught the light with a blue fire. As I handed it back to Raze, there was a small zapping sound, and the smell of burnt kender filled the air. Raze dropped the blade cursing. "Been naughty lately, have you?" I chuckled. "Well, it looks like we'll have to work on that as we go. Come along." Picking up the dagger for her, I slipped it into her pack and headed for the door. Raze was still glowering as we headed out the east gate, me on horseback and her on an obnoxious mountain pony. The path we were taking wound through the thick Eastern Forest, and then on past several villages. After an uneventful ride (except for a few curses at the pony), we arrived in the Gnome Village within a few hours. "Not much here, is there?" I commented. "And I thought kenders were small." "There is something here," Raze snorted. "See that castle over on the hill? It's rumored that the Queen of the Undead lives underneath, in the dungeons." "You mean those old legends about Ciquala? Stories to frighten children, girl, nothing more." I had no time for foolish games and skeletons in the dungeon; I had a job to do. Raze simply rolled her eyes, and began fighting with her pony again. As we left the village, the road turned into a steep downhill grade, and the ground became rockier, making the way more difficult. The foliage became so think that soon most of the daylight was shut out. Strange sounds echoed through the woods, and the horses became skittish. Coming around a bend, there seemed to be two trees blocking our path. "I thought this road was clear," Raze said, looking up at the trees. Only to find that they weren't trees. "It is clear," I told her, removing my gauntlets and dismounting. "We seem to have run into a three headed giant. I'll take care of it," I added nonchalantly. Looking up at the giant, who hadn't noticed us yet, Raze's eyes grew very large. "Run away!!" she shrieked (in a strangely British accent) and attempted to turn around her pony, who was panicking. "Run away!! Retreat!" Grabbing her reins, I said "Way to not attract his attention. Now he knows we're here. And I thought kenders were sneaky!" Raze's shriek had finally worked its way through the giant's heads and found a receptive brain cell, and with a grin of triumph he (They?) boomed "Dinner!!" Grabbing his bat (giants play cricket??), he turned towards us. . . -Sylvid /(*) | / | |\--------------------------------------------\ (@)(((((((( | >-----------------Silly---------------------- > | |/--------------------------------------------/ | \ \(*) THE TEN CORE EMPOWERING BELIEVES OF HEROES 1. They have a sense of mission, a calling that draws them like the river to the sea. They are in focus and they are in flow. 2. They are in charge of their own destiny. They have the power to change the world around them. They know that it is not what happens to them that is important; it is what they do about it. 3. People are inherently good and worthy of their trust. Every person is unique and every person is a miracle. 4. Even though they may not be religious, they are all spiritual. They use their higher power to guide them. They have learnt to trust themselves. 5. They have been put here to make a difference to the people around them. They are inter- dependent; they take care of themselves by taking care of others. 6. There is no failure, only feedback. Everything that happens to them serves them. There is no such thing as a good or bad experience - only the learning they take from life. 7. The person with the most flexibility in thinking and behaviour has the most chance of succeeding. They let go of what does not serve them anymore and wholeheartedly adopt what does. They know that only the coward never backs down. 8. Life is a neverending adventure into the future. Every day brings with it something new to get excited about. 9. They put themselves on the line every day. They make themselves vulnerable. There is no such thing as an excuse; they take personal responsibility. They control their own emotions. 10. They like who they are and what they are becoming. They trust their intuition. On the surface it may sometimes appear as arrogance but is really a deeply ingrained confidence. [This isn't quite silly, or is it only for BR heroes. Hope it gives you all a little insight and a moment of thought. Thanks Lunatic for sending it- Kiri] Date: Wed, 24 Dec 1997 00:13:13 -0500 (EST) Happy holidays to you all :) ******* ************** *** *** ************** **** ***Barren Realms*** **** *** *** *** *** *** ******* *** *********** ** ** *********** ***************** Lunatic: why can't I add water to my whiskey to make the drink a bit lighter? Thorkill: Have an enchanted flag appear on enchanted weapons when you identify them FireWalker: what about a message when someone dead appears at recall -> A big hand dumps a dead in the room. Logo: New spell for Illithids, 'animate corpose' allows the caster to animate a NPC corpse in the room and it acts like a pet of some sort. Tom: when you sacrifice things....animate it more like You watch a Bag explode into flames...Kiri gives you *** for your sacrfice maybe make it programmable differnt for each Imm Jett: Ok, here is what I think...No charmed mobs in city's. End of story...there are simply too many mistakes with what is aggro and what isnt..... But I think pets should not be included in this...specifically pets you can buy Peleg: That you will get full health, mana and mov if you are disconnected for mor then 3 hours real time //peleg Valanar: can we, maybe, you know, use professions? Butterball: New universal skill Meditation, increases healing & mana instead of having to drink alcohol, could be level 15 or so Amystery: there needs to be a way to see what percentage a single skill is at instead of looking through all of the prac list. how about when out of a guild. prac skillname and it will say what % it is at? WAsaBe: I often wonder how fighting the same thing more than once would give me =< exp...I wondered if the exp we got from a mob would be halved...each time thereforth we kill the mob...well just an idea Quiver: Remove messages...maybe allow the area builder to specify? (You loosen the strings on the bow and drop it into your inventory). Thorkill: Make furniture usable: actually be able to sit on the sofa you bought. Slart: how about a $undo for C4, that has to be confirmed by your opponent? LMercury: The consider command could say when a creature is to low to give experience that it looks wealthy, and have a possibility of being incorrect Akron: Kender should get Enhanced Hit, sort of how dwarves have enhanced dmg and do more dmg, kender are fast thus more accurate, learning how to become accurate, so why not? WAsaBe: I have an idea, it would be a spell for Illithids, to find body parts head,arm,leg, and be able to reanimate them as a pet...:) Byrn: to spruce up the help dodge, add a quote that goes something like this: "The best way to block a blow is to not be where it lands." WAsaBe: ok you know how we can't see drunken talk, when your drunk can you understand whats going on? hehe it would be cool to be drunk and not understand others...:) /(*) | / | |\--------------------------------------------\ (@)(((((((( | >---------------Article--------------------- > | |/--------------------------------------------/ | \ \(*) Jenny - By Baal One day, a girl named jenny was going to ehr college from which she just graduated. As she hopped on the bus, she took a seat and sat there like she always did. As the ride progressed, the bus started swaying back and fourth. The bus went further and further out of control and the bus uncontrolably went speeding into the woods. The other passangers on the bus started dissapearing one by one. After all the passangers on the bus dissapeared and the driver vanished, the bus carrying jenny went tearing through the woods until the ride seemed to stop. Jenny, uncurling herself from the ball she made herself into looked around and thought she was dreaming for she seemed to be in an undescribable void. Then all the sudden..the bus plunged into a town known as Calathar in the Barren Realms. There to greet Jenny as he was waiting for her was the town Healer named Clericus. Clericus answeres all the questiones that came from jenny's iquisitive mind. Clericus tought jenny to help people new to the realms as he did for her and as he does to other people new to barren realms by giving them free spells. Jenny then took a job as giving tours to new people who wish to see where things are close to town /(*) | / | |\--------------------------------------------\ (@)(((((((( | >--------------Bios------------------------- > | |/--------------------------------------------/ | \ \(*) The following is the bio for Catherine/Clemente. Hello. My name is Jay Cadarette, but you probably know me better as other names. Catherine, Clemente, Tabellia... yes, even our trout-loving friend Ecarisuli (It's Snicky-Snack Time! Here's a trout! <0{{{>< ) Anyways, yes. That's me. I am 18 years old, born March 7th. I live in Northbridge, Massachusetts. I am a Customer Service Associate for Cumberland Farms (the nice and polite way to say underpaid clerk), and will be attending Quinsigamond Community College in the autumn of 1998. I intend to become an established author, because I write a lot. Too much. I am entangled in nine novels and am trying to start one of them, but as soon as I begin with one, the others seem a lot more interesting. I also compose songs. I have a small, one-man band called "Cat's Paw," which has over thirty songs, all of them pretty much well liked by the very few who have heard them. I hope to release a demo tape soon, trying to get a label to go with "Hurts To Purr," the first album I've pieced together. To see some lyrics, click on the link on the homepage entitled "Magazine," under "Clemente." My picture is also on the homepage. I am 5 feet 7 inches, curly shoulder-length brown hair, and eyes that change color on their own free will. They change from brown to hazel to green, and on very rare occasions, gold. Despite my pleasantly odd eyecolor situation, I'm not very attractive. But I make up for that by being a sincere listener, and try to keep a sense of humor about me to keep people (including myself) in good spirits. I have one brother, Jim, who plays Jaspar. Recently, he has been banned from Barren Realms for his own hot temper. He's a Leo, need I say more? :) Lucky for me, I don't share the same shortfuse-syndrome. However, when something does get through my defenses, I often harness my silent rage into a poem or story, honing bad emotion into something potentially useful. If only my brother could do the same, he would be such an artist. As for Mud, I've been Mudding for about five years now. I've had three Immortals in the past on a local Mud, where it was given by level and not bestowed by Implementors. But it was no easy task. Immortality was level 31, but level 20 to 30 were about three million exp a piece, and level 31 was about 13 million. Shadow BlueFlame was my first, and he was mostly in charge of weddings. It was a roleplaying Mud, so characters could wed. Did you ever notice how well Catherine could emote when she was a mute? Comes from experience. Through a command called "echo" (like emote, except that your name is not present), Shadow would interact the charmed mobs to perform a small ceremony. Of course, the sleepy badger (best man) snored through the entire thing, the deer (flower girl) continously cried, while the priest (The White Bishop from the Chessboard) would be totally blitzed and would stumble through the ceremony, rattling off the football score now and then, and eventually, at the end, frenching the bride, saying, "Damn, it's good to be the bishop." Everyone always had fun. Celestia BlueFlame, Shadow's daughter, was a ditzy Cleric who would hike to the High Tower of Sorcery to rescue the kitten. Over and over and over... But she was well-liked, a sweetheart who meant well. When that Mud was deleted and replaced by another CircleMud, I made Julia Juliani. She was a ruthless one, who, should a player say the wrong thing in her presence, would find an ebony kris being removed from their corpse's back. She was silent and deadly, and kept MANY players on their toes. In all fairness, she would not slay unless someone tried to a) kill a newbie, b) steal from a newbie or a sleeping person, or c) intentionally tangle with her. It was a Mud without killer flags, so Imms had to watch sneaky cheaters closely. Not that Julia was a hero to the innocent; she rather was cynical in her ways and would avoid everyone, ruling Thalos, hoping to rid the lamias and build herself an empire. But that Mud, too, was deleted, and an Envy Mud was implemented on the BBS. I eventually strayed, and came across Barren Realms. I was amazed at how friendly it was. Quiver was my first Hero-friend, I was playing as Celestia. Slowly, I met more and more people, and loved the atmosphere. I informed the BBS of this Mud, and they set up a link to it. For all those who love Amie, thank ME, because she would never have found BR if she didn't have that link! :) Yes, Amie used that BBS, and through that link she started playing. For those who don't know, Amie is my ex-girlfriend's mother, and we are real close friends. She always was a positive influence ever since I met her, and I consider myself very lucky. Before I wrap this up, I would like to publically thank Kiri and Oakley. The two of them have spent a LOT of time and efforts to make this fantasyworld into an almost reality for us all. When newbies come in and insult the Mud, I get angry, because our Implementors gave and still give so much to the Mud. Thank you to all who made the Mud work, and to those who contribute in either zones or the atmosphere. I've met some souls here that I will hold dear always, especially Falwyn. But alas, this Bio is much too long already. To conclude, I can be reached at meow@tiac.net, feel free to drop me a line, I would appreciate any feedback that you have on my poems on the homepage. Nice to meet you, Jay (Catherine/Clemente/Tabellia, several facets of the same stone) /(*) | / | |\--------------------------------------------\ (@)(((((((( | >----------------Story---------------------- > | |/--------------------------------------------/ | \ \(*) Elves! They have no sense of reality. Oh well . . . if Sylvid really feels he has to call me a drunken sot, so be it. At any rate, to continue with the story . . . At Sylvid's scream of terror, the giant spun around, cricket bat in hand. "Dinner!" he boomed menacingly. With a sigh, Raze turned to Sylvid. "Did you absolutely have to scream? We might have gotten past unnoticed if you hadn't opened your mouth." Advancing, the giant swung his bat with purpose. It unfortunately appeared as though his aim was pretty good. Suddenly, another deep shout sounded. "Garzag! Leave the morsels alone. We haven't finished the game yet." Peering around the tree-trunk legs of Garzag, Raze and Sylvid saw several more pairs of things that looked like tree trunks but weren't. All the giants were carrying the various items used to play cricket. Garzag bellowed back to his fellows, "But I'm hungry. We've been at this stupid game for eight days already. Isn't it time to stop for a snack yet? Besides, my team's winning anyway. Why should I care about stopping for a bit. Another giant seemed to get a bit angry as Garzag's statement penetrated his thick head. "No," he rumbled. "OUR team's winning, not yours. We're ahead of you by ten. You've no chance to catch up before the end." Garzag and his teammates stared at each other incredulously. "We're ahead of you by twenty actually. How could you be so stupid as to think you were ahead, you dumb son of a rock?" "No, we're ahead, not you," the second giant persisted. "If I have to I'll beat the score into your ugly moronic head so that you get it right. Do you believe me or do I have to hit you a few times to make it stick?" As the giants came closer together, still shouting insults and swinging bats and balls in a rather nasty fashion, Raze tugged on Sylvid's cloak hem. "Come on. Now's our chance to escape, while they're distracted." Sylvid was still frozen, staring in terror at the angry, shouting giants. Comments about "Yo mamma"(whoever Yo was) were being thrown back and forth, and the giants were becoming more and more agitated. Afraid that they'd soon begin to throw the tree pieces they fancied bats, Raze growled under her breath, and taking Sylvid's reins, began to steer the frightened horses around the group of gesticulating giants, praying that they wouldn't turn around and see the escaping snacks. Luck was not with the elf and kender. Garzag turned and noticed the pair trying to sneak off. "No! There go my tidbits!" Freeing himself from the knot of his fellows, the hungry giant gave chase. Sylvid finally snapped out of his terror stricken reverie and turned to look at Raze. "I knew you'd get us in trouble!" he snapped. "Follow me!" And then he turned his horse off the path and into the dense undergrowth of the forest. Curseing and hoping Sylvid knew where he was going, Raze turned her pony after the fleeing elf. Watching Sylvid try to dodge the thick vegetation hanging off the branches, Raze was glad of the small size of herself and her pony. The giant crashed through the trees behind them flailing his way towards his escaping meal. Finally the elf broke through the edge of the forest and out onto the rolling Eastern Plains. Reining his horse in, he looked back through the forest, where the giant could still be heard thrashing about in frustration. Raze looked to the east and was happy to see the towers of Malacandra visible in the distance. "Malacandra is just a few leagues away. We should be able to get there by nightfall and sleep overnight in an decent inn. I can replenish some of my supplies too. The kender Guildmaster in Malacandra has some interesting wares for sale." Just before sunset, Raze and Sylvid walked their weary horses through the western gate of Malacandra. Thoughtfully, Raze said, "Now for an inn . . ." /(*) | / | |\--------------------------------------------\ (@)(((((((( | >----------Spotlight----------------------- > | |/--------------------------------------------/ | \ \(*) Greetings, O'Realms, and welcome to the final edition of Spotlight for 1997! Today, the Annals of Time, under my bed (smile), are filled with more lore of our beloved Realms as players come forth to share memories of the past with us. Just as well, what follows is a list of the Spotlight topics which have been ventured into since the birth of Spotlight a few months ago. So take my arm, or follow close beside, and allow me to take you on a trip through Time. my turf. (Aura waves his hands in fluid circles and Time shimmers.) August 20, 1997 Spotlight opens with the execution of the Mean Lag. August 28, 1997 Spotlight discusses the best strategies in combat for each race. September 4, 1997 Spotlight showcases the best weapons of our dreams. September 11, 1997 Spotlight searches for the best race in a single sentence! September 19, 1997 Spotlight displays the best strategies for conquering Lag Central. September 26, 1997 Spotlight portrays the best decorated room for Father Time's visit. October 3,1997 Spotlight gets the best idea for a new race. October 10,1997 Spotlight gives the first ever news report! October 17,1997 Spotlight wonders how Calathar could be remodeled. October 24,1997 Spotlight. Heart and Friends. November 4, 1997 Spotlight is honored by a report from its first reporter, Sgetsuo. November 11,1997 Spotlight predicts the future in fortunes. November 18, 1997 (Spotlight took a vacation!) November 25, 1997 Spotlight names the Cooker of the Realms. December 3, 1997 The third news report. December 17, 1997 Spotlight has a love match! December 23,1997 Spotlight shares memories of the past. And now, for some memories more personal to all of us. These memories will be put into the Barren Realms Scrapbook, so for those who entered, congratulations, you are now a part of Barren Realms History! >From Leviathen. ( Boy, was I the clueless newbie myself.) Ok here is my story of eventfull things that happened to me on Barren Realms. Well first i was a clueless newbie wandering from mud to mud. I found out how to talk eventually and started talking to mobs on one mud not knowing what they were and getting angry that they didnt respond. Ok not that bad but i was clueless. Finally I found Barren Realms and Jett tought me how to mud (:thanks Jett:). I remember an elf loosing his corpse when I was around level 30. I felt bad so I challenged Totmacher (sp?) to match the gold I had on me for him to buy stuff. Course I had to run to the bank and get some cash be we ended up giving him about 300k I think. After I heroed I wandered a bit and thought of a quest (im still planning on doing it eventually). One day I got in an arena fight and a trigger that casts plague got set off. And guess what, I started a plague :( Well the next day I found myself sitebanned (I later found out that it was because of somebody that has my ip that did something) it was really a pain trying to find an address to ask how I could get back on. Finally I got back on and here I am still. By the way, I turn 150 today J >From Flip. (These are the kind of memories which are recorded in the Annals of Time themselves, for this is a piece of history) My memory of Barren Realms is coming back as a newbie...I think I first logged into Barren Realms about 2 and a half years ago and the old mud school was still up. I was new to the net and didn't know much so I spent about 5 days trying to mud without success. So I stopped, and I decided to come back a year later. Bear in mind here, I don't know the exact date this was, but the new mud school was just put in. This isn't the funniest thing or craziest thing but the door leading to the academy master wasn't working :) So a fellow newbie told me to ask a hero to summon me. And I did, but can't remember the hero, sadly... This may not be the most exciting thing, but it's something I've remembered :) >From Inspiration. (Muahahahaha! My minions are well-trained (grins evilly)) Don't kill english books. One day I was minding my own buisness in your clocktower, killing the history, math and physics books like I always do, when lo and behold, I come across an english book. I said to myself, "No problem this looks like a fun thing to kill." So i killed it and said "That WAS easy." Then I tried to recall, and couldn't--I was CURSED. And then I realized there was no way for me to get out of the tower, so I was suck in the clock tower for about 52 hours. NEVER kill english books. >From Raze. (By far one of the most hilarious anecdotes I have ever read. How Raze gets into such situations absolutely amazes me, hehe, and I am very glad she chooses to share it with us.) Okay.....you asked for it. Once when I was a tiny baby kender, I got myself killed by the subliminal in Cage and Aquarium. It was really rather ridiculous how I died. I knew the subliminal wandered hidden around the area, so I purchased a tent in which to sleep. Feeling quite happy with my intelligence in this matter, I climbed into my snug little tent, closed it, and went to sleep. Suddenly, I was being attacked. The subliminal had followed me into my tent and waited for me to go to sleep....who says mobs aren't intelligent. *sigh* I died, because I couldn't get out of the tent as I had closed it. But then I found the major problem was yet to come. The subliminal had picked up the tent-with my corpse in it-and was carrying it around. I had to ask someone to kill the subliminal, and then get my tent off the corpse because I was still to weak. That was my weirdest death ever. >From Uthar. (Only Uthar could cause such turmoil (smile)) One of the most prominent memories of Barren Realms I can recall would have to be the time I grouped with Forent and Dillo. I was leading them both to the molasses area, and was getting ready to fight. We started killing off molasses after molasses doing the normal good job we did as a team. After the fifth one, both Dillo and myself forgot to mass invis. All I can say is uck uck uck. Being the one who led them into this lovely predicament, and getting attacked right away, there didn't seem much hope, considering I was down to 100 hp, and was tanking. As luck would have it, I was the only survivor. And if you ask either one, they were a bit mad. But hey that's life for ya. :P So I get to bug 'em each time I see them, about me getting away and getting them both killed. And they get to bug me for leading them into the slaughter. Was a fun time to be grouping, with good friends. >From Tornado . (This is not a sappy memory-we all remember that fateful day of Herodom, and for those who have yet to experience level 51-trust us, you'll remember the day) I would have to say my best memory this year would be when I heroed. I had worked steadily for several months, and the last few days my anticipation mounted. No sooner had I killed that last mob then I was swept up in a blur as I met Xor and Leviathan and the Living Wall and a few other mobs that killed me with only one or two blows. Eventually my screen stopped scrolling and I found myself in the hero chapel, surrounded by all my hero friends. Right then I felt the results of lots of hard work and not a little frustration. I know it may be a bit sappy to say when I heroed was my best memory but when I think hard it probably was. So that's mine, what's yours? >From Pagan.. (I really enjoyed this one. Pagan's entry to Barren Realms is much like my own!) Aura!!! My fondest memory of Barren Realms '97.... It was a stormy summer night in August, I believe. I had finished my work for the day and settled in for a night of web surfing. Somehow, I found myself at CNet's section on Role Playing Games. As I read on about these things called MUD's, my mind raced back to the golden days of my youth, recalling a group of zit-faced dweebs sitting around playing Dungeons and Dragons all night. My pulse quickened, and a grin crawled across my face as I quickly did a search for ZMud, so I could gain entrance to this wonderful world. Program loaded...SUCCESS!! Or at least I thought...now to dive into a magical fantasy world! I opened up Zmud's connection wizard, found an interesting looking mud, and hit connect! ..... and nothing happened.... I shrugged it off, and selected a different world, hit connect...and nothing. Undaunted, I repeated this procedure several times, and occasionally even connected to a world, only to find myself alone, and confused...my cries for help ignored, and even laughed at. Frustration had set in, and I started clicking on worlds at random, just hoping to find a place to dwell. Then came my moment of destiny... my mouse clicked on the words Barren Realms, and I hit connect..... I was transported instantly to the world of Barren Realms, and instantly I knew this place was different. Upon my arrival, I was greeted by a warm welcome that rivaled even family reunions, and before me appeared a smiling man named Vor who shook my hand and told me to follow him. Not only did he answer my questions, and show me around, but he made me feel at home. That summer night, I left my keyboard and strapped on a wooden sword and shield and adventured late into the night, 5 hours at least. The next day, when I returned to the Realms, Vor was nowhere to be found...great!! Now what do I do, when I need help?!?! (I was a real clueless newbie) To my surprise, when I chatted that I needed help, I found several people willing to help, and in the next week or so, that trend continued. It seemed that EVERYONE was willing to help me, and certainly everyone was friendly here. I was in love! This was the world I was looking for. I met great people, made new friends, and began my exploring this wonderful new world I had discovered, a world called the Barren Realms. (and my life as a productive member of society .... ended *grin*) Thanks to all of you in the Realms, for making this such a great place!!!! My own memory. Of course I could not ask for memories without including one of my own, right? Well, this is my most vivid memory, a day, a scene which I have never forgotten and have always been able to recall in crystal clear focus. Back when I was a youngen, like level 11, I was busy killing away as a solo elf with a tough sword. I rarely grouped, and did so only when asked 20 times, or when fighting alone was a dumb idea. Anyway, this particular day in my mortaldom, I was in a good mood, and so merrily accepted Muffin's request to group. We met at the fountain, like I always do when forming a group, and she followed me to Lag Central-the old one. She fought like a little beast beside me as I tanked away and we were doing great as a team, which I enjoyed. Eventually, hps were running low and so she suggested I rest. We chose a comfy spot in Kiri Ave and rested. We started chatting about stuff and next thing you know, we were chatting about the Realms and what I thought about them, as well as what she thought of them. You see, at this early stage in my Barren Realms history, my name was not Aura of the Past, but Aura of Rebellion. Believe it or not, but I was very angry with Barren Realms and actually had planned on damaging what I could. As to why I felt this way, I will say merely that I felt I had been wronged and that the ideals and principles of Barren Realms, the very ones that create the structure and stability you mud in so peacefully today, were corrupt, twisted and misunderstood. I felt I knew what Barren Realms needed, and that was a new direction. So I was out to cause a rebellion, until this one day I speak of. Somehow, Muffin spoke in a way that made me see things so much differently. Barren Realms was much bigger than I had originally thought and contained a lot more than I thought possible. Suddenly, I was rethinking what I felt about the place and readjusting my views on the whole matter. With a sweet eloquence and patient, warm tone, Muffin cleared my head of the riotous cobwebs and filled it with a new vision, of a Barren Realms growing not from the statutes and rules already in place and still forming, but from the love, commitment, duty and honor of the people who were placing them, always thinking of the other person over themselves. The mud I was bent on ruining was helping me in ways I never noticed nor cared to discover. Barren Realms accepted me as a friend from the first and I realized how wonderful a gesture that was. I listened to Muffin for about an hour, and though she never knew at the time, I was tearing up at my pc because I felt so ashamed of how selfish I was. From out of the blue, this kender I had not noticed often, grouped with me that day and faced me towards a new horizon. I never saw Muffin again after that, and I wonder if she is still on Barren Realms with us. somehow I know she always is, at least for me, and I will never stray from the direction she guided me in. This is my most vivid memory, for I know every word Muffin said to me that day, and I will never forget so long as I am the Guardian of Time. Thank you Muffin, my sword is yours. Thank you all for a great opening season of Spotlight. This entire article is wholly dependent on all of you and it thrives today because you guys are the coolest Realmers on the internet. You can be sure that as long as there is a Barren Realms, there will always exist a voice for it, and that voice will be called Aura's Spotlight. Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year! --Aura of the Past, Guardian of Time-- /(*) | / | |\--------------------------------------------\ (@)(((((((( | >-----------------Silly--------------------- > | |/--------------------------------------------/ | \ \(*) ways to tell if you are stuck in the 80s. > >1. Your fondest childhood memory is when Skippy got his head stuck in > the banister >2. You relax by putting on your legwarmers and dancing to the > "Footloose" soundtrack >3. You think the Two Coreys are "totally awesome" >4. You're still bitter that Wham! broke up >5. Punky Brewster is your hero >6. You type all of your term papers on a Commodore 64 >7. You still resent your parents for not installing a dumbwaiter in > your house like Webster's >8. The only video games you play are Frogger and Pac Man >9. You're building your own Clockwork Smurf >10. Your summer attire is Jellies and Jams >11. A-Ha's "Take on Me" is still your favorite video >12. You consider yourself truly, truly, truly outrageous, much like >Jem > and the Holograms >13. You wonder why more people don't wear high heels, Jordache >jeans,and > lacy ankle socks >14. You call all motorcycle cops "Ponch" >15. Every time you go to the beach you look for Snorks >16. You're still upset Madonna and Sean broke up >17 You know who Stinky Sullivan is >18. You work out with "Get in Shape Girl" >19. You want to be Molly Ringwald when you grow up >20. You enjoy dancing on the ceiling and wearing your sunglasses at >night >21. You know who Loverboy is >22. You think there should be a Kids Incorporated original cast reunion >23. You think of Janet Jackson as "that girl who used to date Willis" >24. You can sing the theme song to Small Wonder >25. Every time you see a fountain you want to dance around it and > yell,"Fame!" >26. You still have a shoebox full of Garbage Pail Kid cards >27. You write your congressman asking him to introduce a bill to make > "Born in the USA" the national anthem >28. You still use your Snoopy Sno-Cone machine >29. You know it's not "comma, comma, comma" it's karma >30. You stay up nights wondering what Bastian's mother's name was in > "The Neverending Story" >31. You have nightmares about the Peculiar Purple Pieman of Porcupine >Peak >32. You still practice your Care Bear Stare >33. You know that girls just wanna have fuh-un >34. You can name all The Wuzzles >35. You harbor a secret dream of being slimed by Alistair >36. You can do the Safety Dance >37. In your spare time you are writing "The Breakfast Club 2" >38. You like to "connect the dots, la la la la!" >39. Someone metions Jennifer Beals and you don't say "Who?" >40. Your prized possesion is a collection of "Return of the Jedi" >Shrinky > Dinks >41. You know whose number is 867-5309 >42. You get depressed thinking about Anthony Michael Hall's career >43. You're starting a write-in campaign to MTV to bring back Remote >Control >44. You drink Diet Coke because Max Headroom told you to >45. You consider Jo vs. Blair the major philosophical conflict of the > 20th century >46. You have a duck phone and ride around your house on a little train >47. You want to be one of the Solid Gold Dancers >48. You still watch things on Beta >49. You want to change your name to Rio and dance on the sand >50. You know that "Weird Science" was a movie before a tv show >53. Your favorite party game is Hungry Hungry Hippos >54. You saw the New Kids on the Block when they were Tiffany's opening >Act Date: Wed, 31 Dec 1997 16:35:49 -0500 (EST) Sabin: after you eat a Pie make a timer who can eat a Pie in under 5 seconds? Sabin: a Area with lemmings that always changes from them building WAsaBe: I think that if we don't use a skill for a certain amount of time, we should forget it in other words our %'s will go down in the skills we don't use. Sabin: show in group if someone is Linkdead Tom: to be able to change race/sex/Name when your level 1 without loging out Sabin: Dirty Britches should make you smell :> Akron: make regen faster when there are to many people in a area to make it fare for everyone. Akron: why does one beer get your drunk? in Rl it takes many more than that:) DarkElf: how about a 'sip' command so you drink a fraction of ale so you arent too drunk, makes finding less affective alchohol easier... and who drinks the whole beer in one gulp anyways? Certainly not elves. Sabin: depending on how much you eat deterimine your body weight in terms of fighting ability and have weight room Sabin: Make Heads of certain Mobs posion Forent: how about you have a total heal when you level Baltar: SOCIAL could show you what the social does (messages to you, target, others in room) Scratch: you could give heros rewards for doing quests, not just the people who win the quests... for putting in all that hard work Scratch: you could let mortals do quests Kiri - Um, we don't have any rules against mortals running quests. Amystery: recall should occassionally fail and take you someplace random. like teleport (From Akron) tents need some sort of locking system to prevent people from entering your tent. WAsaBe: make leveling harder...:) Mercury: when the weather says "the blazing sun makes you tired" you go to sleep WAsaBe: Kenders have circle...2 kenders are great with circle, but what do elves, druids, avians, humans, and dwarves, have? We should all have a skill to use with another of the same race. Quiver: Brain fry for illithids...makes the mob go crazy, although doesn't really cause damage. Makes the mob act like it's extremely drunk. (Names for spell are welcome :)) Good for catching up to those fleeing mobs. WAsaBe: How is it that someone drunk can get the eq in his inventory, I wouldn't think he could get what he wanted would you? WAsaBe: If only we could line up our spells...or have a way to sort them out...bye amt of mana needed, and bye %'s (for pra and spell) WAsaBe: ok here it is, when I fight...each mob thereafter gives me less exp, so...when I die I should have less change in exp tnl...I mean the more deaths should give me less exp tnl when I get killed...I obviously am learning...or something WAsaBe: What if THROW, could be used with pies...? Tom: Have armor that uses more then 1 spot..... ******* ************** *** *** ************** **** ***Barren Realms*** **** *** *** *** *** *** ******* *** *********** ** ** *********** ***************** Article by Mallomar: Mallomar's story... Mallomar was born in a cookie factory. From the start, it was different from the other cookies. Mallomar had no desire to be packaged, sold and eaten. Instead it was obsessed with everything around it. After putting up with Malomar's insatiable curiousity for months, the cookie maker gave up. He sent Mallomar into the world to travel and explore. Mallomar met up with a bunch of kenders who sensed in it a kindred soul. It heard their stories of Barren Realms and quickly decided this was where it wanted to go. Mallomar arrived in the Realms and began indulging its curiousity. It learned that no one suspects a cookie of nefarious deeds and it was easy for Mallomar to get anything that caught its eye by picking locks and stealing, tricks it had learned from the kenders. When danger threatened, Mallomar learned how to sneak up on people and deliver them a quick andpainless death with its bacstab. Mallomar was worried that it had exhausted the possibilities of the Realms and was preparing to search for new adventures when it was given the opportunity to stay in the Realms as a Heroit. Mallomar accepted immediately and is looking forward to the new experiences and challenges. Tough cookie! /(*) | / | |\--------------------------------------------\ (@)(((((((( | >-------------response------------------------ > | |/--------------------------------------------/ | \ \(*) Responses by Leviathen: Sandra: spell to translate drunk speach this has been suggessted before i dont really like the idea use emote or chath Akron: have a contest to make up new smurf names, :) smurf village could use a boost of interesting stuff (hey if i made an area (ok a bunch of rooms)to go between smurfette and papa's house could we put it in?) Lunatic: what about if you keep on drinking the same drink, you get addicted to that drink dont like the idea Lunatic: why can't I add water to my whiskey to make the drink a bit lighter? just buy something lighter Thorkill: Have an enchanted flag appear on enchanted weapons when you identify them sounds like a good idea if it isnt too much work Avon: more good anti-good and maybe anti-neutral too equipment, to encourage a few people to be evil. almost everyone lvl 40+ has the exact same eq and they're all good aligned I LIKE this idea i became evil the other day because somebody told me i had on the same eq as every other hero they had ever seen Akron: critical hit skill, increases chances of a Kender doing a Higher dmg hit, opposite from Enhanced dmg, i started a kender charecter the other day i was amazed at how powerfull they were at the begining FireWalker: what about a message when someone dead appears at recall -> A big hand dumps a dead in the room. i think it would be annoying after awhile besides cant you just notice the so and so killed by xyz mob Logo: How about a login watcher? It could tell you who logs in and the number of players already connected? this could be VERY annoying immagine being spammed with hello triggers every time somebody logs in Pragma: Note in the 'LOSE' help that pets will no longer obey their owners... :) i dont understand what they are talking about but uhh.... Flip: new command; write: allows you to take a blank piece of paper or scroll and write stuff on it...can be burned by fire breath and such...good for keeping personal memos or giving dirs to someone cant you just note yourself? when im doing things like that i just carry on a note with myself when im finished i send it and start a new one /(*) | / | |\--------------------------------------------\ (@)(((((((( | >--------------Bio-------------------------- > | |/--------------------------------------------/ | \ \(*) INKILO Name: Paul City: Calgary, Alberta, Canada Age: 17 Eyes: Hazel Hair: Brown Occupation: Student Hobbies: Sports, Mudding, Triathlons Future Plans: Not quite sure yet. Family: 1 older sister Misc.: Speaks English and French. [---The Story will also not be in this week's edition. Look for it next week.---] /(*) | / | |\--------------------------------------------\ (@)(((((((( | >------------Silly-------------------------- > | |/--------------------------------------------/ | \ \(*) >---------- >0;-}-~~~~<((((_ Horror Movie Survival Tips _ > >1. If the house you're living in tells you to "GO AWAY", do so immediately. > >2. Never take a bath or shower with a maniac/spirit/demon/creature in the >house. > >3. When it appears that you have killed the maniac/spirit/demon/creature, >DO NOT check to see if he/she/it is really dead. Keep hacking at it until >it is in pieces small enough not to be a threat to you. If you've shot at >it, shoot it again in the head, and remember, shoot till it stops moving, >and then keep shooting till you're out of ammo. Then reload and shoot it >some more. Then set it on fire and burn it up, this works with everything >except demons and spirits. Then get the heck out of there! > >4. If plumbing fixtures or other structures in your home begin shaking and >spewing body fluids, it's time to leave. > >5. Never read aloud from a book that summons demons. Even as a joke. > >6. Don't look under the bed. > >7. Do not search the basement, especially if the power has just gone out. > >8. If trees, TVs, or other objects try to consume your children, save as >many as you can and then get the heck out of the area. > >9. If relatives or pets come back from the dead, don't approach them and >ask "What did you come back to do?" > >10. If inanimate objects such as dolls, toys, or furniture attack you, be >prudent, leave the area. > >11. If you've hidden from the maniac/spirit/demon/creature and you are not >found, do not peek from or decide it's safe to leave your hiding place. If >you do decide to leave, scan the ground for twigs before you take a step. > >12. Never believe that your companion has truly become "dispossessed." > >13. It is very, very dangerous to back into, or through rooms. > >14. If your children speak to you in Latin or any other language which they >do not know, or if they speak to you using a voice which is other than >their own, shoot them immediately. It will save you a lot of grief in the >long run.(Note: It will probably take several rounds of gunfire to >incapacitate them, so be prepared.) > y>15. When you have the benefit of numbers, never, ever, pair off, or go in >alone. The more people the maniac/spirit/demon/creature is distracted by, >the better "your" chance of escape. > >16. Never get into a car without first checking the back seat for >occupants. > >17. If demons begin possessing your companions, it's a good idea to leave >the area as soon, and as quickly as possible. > >18. If your companions start turning up dead, make yourself scarce before >someone else does it for you. Worry about funerals later. > >19. If you've just finished running over the maniac/spirit/demon/creature >in your car, keep going. Most certainly do not get out of the car under any >circumstances to see if he/she/it is "really" dead. > >20. As a general rule, don't try to solve puzzles that open portals to >Hell. > >21. Don't fall asleep if you have a history of homicidal/suicidal >nightmares. > >22. Never stand in, on, above, below, beside, or near a grave, tomb, crypt, >mausoleum, etc. > >23. Never stand in, on, above, below, beside or near a window, especially >those that appear that they would break easily. > >24. If you find something that appears to be alive that you cannot >identify, don't pick it up or touch it, with anything. > >25. If you're searching for something which caused a noise and find out >that it's just the cat, leave the room immediately or else you will quickly >die. _____________________________________________________________________ | _____ __ ___ ___ ____ ___ ___ ____ __ _ _ _ _____ | | | | |__| |__/ |__/ |_ | | |__/ |_ |__| | | | | | | | |_____\ | | | \ | \ |___ | | | \ |___ | | |___ | | | \_____ | | | | ___ ____ ____ _ ____ _____ _____ ____ ___ | | | ______/ | | |_ | | | \__ | |_ | | |_ |__/ _____/ | | ________| | |___ \_|_/ ___/ |___ |___ | | |___ | \________ | |_____________________________________________________________________| | | | No such thing as a failure who keeps trying...coasting to the bottom| | Is the only disgrace...-Blues Traveller | |_____________________________________________________________________| | | | Be sure to check out the Official Barren Realms Homepage | | http://nightfall.simplenet.com/Kiri | |_____________________________________________________________________| | | | -> Barren Realms: barren.coredcs.com:8000 <- | |_____________________________________________________________________| | | | You can contact me at Kiri@li.net for any of the following: | | | | Ideas for Barren Realms | | | | Questions/Complaints | | | | Your scrapbook memories of BR | | | | Your poetry, stories, questions, comments, and bios for the | | mort/hero/imm bio section of the newsletter and BR Magazine. | | | | Getting on the mail list for: | | | | Players file: How to play the game, helps, and the BR story. | | Great information for ALL players, no matter what | | level. | | | | Builders guide: An all new guide on how to build areas for BR. | | Full of new information on bits, liquids, and a | | step by step instruction on building areas. | | | | Builders forum: A place to ask email questions about the area you | | are building | | | \_____________________________________________________________________/ Ascii by Cutlass-Mark Sherlock-msherlo@ibm.net