May 2008

It Still Makes Me Giggle

It doesn’t matter how long you’ve been blogging, or why you do it. When you see something posted about yourself some place else with a link back to your site – you get a little excited. It’s no different with me, either. I may not be one of the best writers out there (I know I’m not, that should read) and I know I’m not as popular as a lot of them, either. I don’t have any visions of grandeur nor do I have articles that spawn comments as often as those I read, but when I come across something posted like this on the VGplayer site, I still get excited.

Of course, it was written a little bit ago, and I didn’t notice it until now since I’m a little lax in checking for links back to my site.

Speaking of which – I’ve added a whole lot more links down the mmo blog section. Anyone I link there is someone I actually read on a daily basis (and some times more then once) and a good portion are people I know in game (typically by me stalking them). I love the friendships I’ve made, and I’ve had a lot of fun discovering other people who write about the games that I enjoy so much.

So keep up the good work, everyone.

Me Ogre. You Tasty.

It was fairly easy to get the rogue to 35 yesterday, and shortly after noon she was set for Friday. Minus the skills I still need to work up (lock picking, disarm trap, sneak and hide just to name the basics). I also decided on a role play story for the little gnome. She thinks she’s an ogre. Which means my first line of business is of course to teach her ogre, I’ll do that later today. I imagine that it will be difficult to play in my Nostalgia groups only speaking ogre but ideally that’s what I plan on doing. There’s always vent for other things I need to say. I took her to Stonehive for the last five levels and not only did her melee cloak drop (same one Urtog and Tipa had gotten a few nights back) but a caster cloak also dropped (seems to be rare) for Lackey. An augment also dropped that I quickly added to the cloak. We stayed at the entrance and pulled just the main floor of the hive itself, but it was still fun. No bum imprints in the honey this time around.

I started working on her cultural armor a bit last night, and managed to get her ancient book which lets me make backpacks of patterns. Next step is to work her tinkering to around 100-150 or so in order to make the level 35-40 gear. Or I could just make the level 15-20 gear since it’s just fine for now. Gnomes have one small advantage (if you could call it that, it’s more like a difference) in that they can either craft their gear through blacksmithing – or tinkering.

Since the ‘main’ skill I’d like to work up (aside from poison crafting) is tinkering, I’ll be sticking with that. I do need to find a better site though for tinkering information. EQtraders is alright, but they’re lacking any real section on the skill, and instead just have a host of recipes with trivial listed. Tipa also suggested a site for the rogue that has slipped my mind and I’ll have to nudge her about that again (I want to say.. safe house?). All in all, I’m excited to be playing the rogue and haven’t even poked into Eq2 for some time. It’s nice to find something that I can focus my attention on and not feel swayed by other games (yet).

EQ1 is down for 8 hours today for maintenance which seems to be the same no matter what game I play. Last night in game was quiet with Urtog testing out his spanking rod (on mobs, lets not get any ideas here), and Gozad working up his feign death. It shouldn’t be too much longer now before I stop moving like a herd of elephants, and more like a cat stalking its prey.

Dainty – The Rogue

As most know, in EQ1 I have a plethora of alts. Always have. I originally signed up for Nostalgia the Guild with my cleric, however we honestly had enough healers – and so I switched to my necromancer who happened to be the right level when we were lacking dps. Upon further contemplation though, I’ve decided to level up a rogue to play with our Friday night groups. The big thing for me was to play something that actually relied on having a group, since that’s exactly what I’d have. The necromancer is fun, and a lot of dps – but she can solo just as easily as she groups. Not exactly what I was looking for there.

Along comes Dainty.

She’s a gnome rogue, sporting hot pink and black armor, with an affinity for shinies (which can be said for all rogues I’m fairly certain) and a fear of blood. I plan on working out some sort of role play story for her that I haven’t concocted quite yet. I love making up background histories and what not for my characters.

Last night thanks to temperance from one Brita, and buffs continuously from one very kind druid, I managed to make my way from 1-24 with relative ease. The goal is to be 30-35 by this Friday, and geared – with my skills worked up. Maybe not disarm trap as I’d have to actually go find, you know, traps. If there are lower levels where I can do this, please someone let me know. I’m already planning on a Befallen trip to work the lock picking (thanks Tipa for reminding me what that zones name was).

Aside from leveling up the rogue, I had the opportunity to tag along with Urtog while he worked on a weapon quest for a giant ancient road sign. Or at least that’s what the end result looks like. It’s either that or a primitive spanking rod, or perhaps a fly swatter. I’m not quite sure. Either way, congratulations to him for finishing that off.

It was also the Tuesday night Nostalgia run, they headed to Unrest and you can find Tipa’s amazing write up of the event. There’s still some time to join both the Friday and the Tuesday groups – and we’re also starting up a UK group (though there’s no set day yet that they’ll be meeting, there will be shortly). The level cap for the Tuesday group is (I believe) 25, the Friday group is 35, and anyone is more then welcome to come. Friday is looking for an enchanter, but as always we want people to play whatever they enjoy. What’s the point of paying $15 a month if you’re not playing something you have fun with.

As I leveled up the rogue I read over SOE’s emails to me (each ding) suggesting places to get experience. One place was Stonebrunt Mountains, a place I hadn’t been to in ages. I couldn’t even remember any camps for this zone. It was of course, empty. I also headed over to the Overthere, which was also – you guessed it. Empty. In fact the only places that weren’t empty, were Crescent Reach, and Blightfire Moors. Not that it bothered me too much since I was just trying to catch the rogue up for Friday.

Today I’m fairly confident I can get the rogue the rest of the way to 30-35, and get her skills worked on. I am also eager to not only begin poison crafting, but tinkering. The one tradeskill I’ve rarely (if ever) delved in. I’m looking forward to it!

Not our Corpse – Stonehive Fun

“I’m sorry, but this isn’t my corpse.”

“What do you mean it isn’t your corpse, you know the people here are professionals, right? We don’t make mistakes.

“But it’s not my corpse, it’s all wrong!”

“We. Don’t. Make. Mistakes.”

“Look. If I was some two foot dwarf with NO hair, don’t you think I’d have known that before hand?”

“Perhaps you shaved, Sir. It’s not our concern to check the patrons before hand for their body hair.”

*Waving a beard around* “DOES IT LOOK LIKE I SHAVED?”

*A few feet away another discussion is going on*

“This is not my body.”

“Miss, we don’t make mistakes.”

“But look, the scales are a completely different colour, her hair isn’t even cut the same, and she’s at LEAST four times smaller then me!”

“Can you take another look? Our staff are certain this is indeed you.”

*Insert screams of frustration here*

It was late, but it was fun. Last night Tipa, Urtog, Lackey, and myself (on the cleric, not the necromancer) headed to Stonehive, a zone just off of Blightfire Moors. None of us had been there before, but Lackey had a few quests requiring the area. The mobs at the beginning were white and yellow to us. The further in we moved, the more red they became.

We died a whole lot at the start (well, everyone else did. Me, I ran in true cleric form) until Tipa joined up and we dropped one very disagreeable necromancer who felt the need to tell me for half an hour how it was our fault he had died (he had unscribbed feign death for the better of the group before hand) and how it would take him hours to get all those buffs he had again. That’s part of the game, was all I could tell him. Once Tipa joined we only died once – at the very end. By that point we were knee deep in bixie parts and having a lot of fun with it. Or at least I assume everyone was, it was late and I could have been hallucinating.

The best part, is I got to play my cleric in a group. I’ve gone on about how I loved to heal and not only how I loved to but how I was GOOD at it too (wow who’d have guessed!) for some time with nothing to back it up because I’m never healing. Last night everyone brought their A game though, and we did fantastic. Especially for four of us, in a zone filled with red.

Many levels were earned. Not sure about everyone else but I went from level 30-34 (almost, I’m 10% shy which is one kill in Blightfire). Tipa hit level 36, Urtog 35, and Lackey 34. A lot of quest items dropped which made me think I should have almost grabbed them first (the quests, that is) and a new cloak for Tipa and Urtog also dropped.

Before hand I got my monk to level 20, which was nice. Duo’ing with another monk when we both have feign death is also a good thing – though it’s too low on either of us to be exceptionally effective. I’ve been having a lot of fun in EQ1, and perhaps neglecting EQ2 some what – though I did manage to quest yesterday and finish off my Jarsath Waste gate hammer (finally). When I’m having so much fun in one game (for now at least) there’s no real desire to switch back and forth.

Thanks again Nostalgia The Guild for a fantastic night!

Shepherd of the Celestial Watch

Seeress Ealaynya Ithis’s Holy Calling

Back when the gods had been silent for ages and the suffering of people of Norrath huddled together for refuge, faith seemed destined to die.

It was during this time that a young child by the name of Ealaynya Ithis started to exhibit clairvoyance and experience prophetic dreams. Even the most skeptical villagers were convinced when young Ealaynya led hunters to a crying child, having been lost for nearly a week.

She began to lead the village gatherers to hard found resources. Her retelling of her visions comforted them at the fireside. She had earned the praise of her village and brought a glimmer of faith to their forsaken lives. How could they keep such a child’s gift to their selves? She was like the harbringer of faith within this realm. Qeynos would be her pulpt!

They abandoned their village for the city of Qeynos. There they discovered the once grand Temple of Life, nearly abandoned.

The temple that awaited Ealaynya paled in comparison to the one she had beheld in her visions. Only a few acolytes of the Prime Healer remained andthe temple rested in near ruins. The beauty of the pool of Jahnda that once heald the majestic koalindl, fish from the plane of Tranquility, was now dingy and empty of life. The acolytes would not listen to the villagers’ claims, dismissing them as beggars looking for refuge in their sacred hall.

As the villagers and the acolytes argued, Ealaynya walked silently to that carts that held her few belongings. She rummaged through and reached far into a niche, having to stand on her toes to reach her prize. Her hands slowly emerged from the darkness grasping a glass bowl.

Within the bowl was a small, colorful fish. It had been a year ago that alone; she had found her way to a tiny pond in which a single, colorful fish swam within the clear, warm water. She carried the fish back to the village and fed it a morsel of bread everyday, until this day.

Ealaynya walked to the edge of the murky water of the once grand Pool of Jahnda. She began to pour the contents of the fish bowl slowly into the pool. The stream of water hit the film and broke the plane of algae on the pool’s surface.

Upon hearing this, the acolytes ran toward her screaming for her to cease her blasphemous action. Ealaynya was deaf to their cries. As they neared her the tiny, colorful fish was carried through the stream of water and swam into the blackness of the pool.

The acolytes grabbed the girl’s arms and were about to hand her some retribution for her deed when tehy were distracted by something miraculous!

Looking to the pool all present gazed as the cloudy water began to clear around the fish. This circle of pristine wtaer radiated out from the fish dissolving all that was foul within this sacred pool. The Pool of Jahnda was returned to its glory and a single fish, a koalindl, swam within its life giving water!

Ealaynya rejuvenated the temple and its acolytes. The cleansing of the pool was the beginning of the girl’s life amongst by the acolytes, and the villagers had become their new congregation. Ealaynya began to have new visions and share them with the temple.

Through her visions they came to realize they were to unify the faith of the gods of light. They renamed their order the Celestial Watch.

They began to preach to the people and aid those in need. Small crusades lead them into the wilds to perform benevolent actions as they used to ages before the gods were silenced.

Seasons passed and eventually Ealaynya grew into a beautiful woman and the spiritual leader of the Celestial Watch. She became the Seeress Ealaynya Ithis, a beacon of faith, Shepherd of the Celestial Watch.

But she was destined to become more than simply a shepherd. As gods of old have reappeared Seeress Ealaynya has continued to see her visions and prophecies come true. She reassured those that expressed fear of grief over the Prime Healer’s absence that all is part of a grand plan.

“It is not our place to question the widowm of fate, nor that of the Prime Healer. The darkest of night is when the light is most welcome!”

If there was any question about her faith in a grand plan it was dismissed on the day the Temple of Life disappeared!

In the blink of an eye, all who were within the holy temple, save Seeress Ealaynya, now found themselves outside, watching awestruck as it increased its rotation speed and disappeared. There at the edge of the Pool of Jahnda they camped, in prayer and meditation waiting.

A day later, the Temple of Life reappeared with the same ease with which it had left. When its rotation speed slowed, the portal reappeared to allow entry and exit from the floating temple. But no priest, priestess, nor acolyte would enter. They knew they were witness to something of legend, something truly miraculous! They awaited a sign from their Holy Seeress that they could once again, enter the site.

Seeress Ealaynya Ithis emerged from the temple washed in light! She consoled those distraught, and praised all for their faith, stating that she had touched The Holy, and been within the presence of The Prime Healer!

She was blessed, and now so was all of Norrath, for Rodcet Nife’s Prophet walks amongst us!

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Nomadic Gamer