View source for Volume Nine Issue Forty-Seven

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VOLUME NINE, NUMBER FORTY-SEVEN                           November 30, 2002
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                           TABLE OF CONTENTS
                           The Editor's Note

                         NEWS, REPORTS, UPDATES
                           Calendar of Events
                     Thanksgiving Leftovers Results
                             Recent Updates

                              LEGENDITES

                              Clan News
                        
                             The PK Front

                          Through The Portal
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\  |-----------------------------------------------------------------|  /
/__|                      The Editor's Note                          |__\
   '-----------------------------------------------------------------'

I hope everyone has had a good week and those of you who are on vacation
this weekend are having a great one! it's been kinda quiet around here,
mostly catching up on some movies we missed in the theater. Definitely NO
shopping at all yesterday. No thanks. =)

Anyway, the things that have been bouncing around in my head since the
last issue are some ways that will help get your LT articles into print
and help the immortals address the problems/ideas you have.

Articles for the LT should be around 500 words (this article is about 575
words) and checked by the author for grammar, spelling, and punctuation.
Also, you should make sure you're only using plain quotes and if possible,
only single quotes. No curly quotes, please, because if I miss one,
they're not very obvious and it could wipe out sections of your article by
mistake. The article today, 'Through the Portal' is a follow-up to one
that had such problems. If you missed out on the first installment because
it was garbled in the email-version, you can find the corrected, full
version of 'The Beginning of the End' in LTv9n43.

Another thing to be sure to include with your article is your title for
it. I'm really bad at titles and the one I pick may not reflect the tone
you were going for with your piece and might even change the point of it.
So... make sure you get your title in there!

The deadline is set at midnight on Friday nights, so you have a whole week
to get your articles in for the next issue. What this means in practice --
anything that's in the LT mailbox when I get up on Saturday morning is
what is going in that week's issue. So if you get it in by midnight system
time on Friday night, you're pretty safe!

Ok.. so other than reminding everyone about the LT submission page at
http://www.legendmud.org/Community/ltsubmission.php that covers the
helpful tips on LT submissions...

Now, as far as helping the immortals address any problems, ideas, concerns
you may have... I'd like to remind everyone of the welcome board post,
'Helping Us Help You' -- I think it's currently post #10. It covers
several of these type topics, but I want to point out two specific ones
today.

If you send a log to an immort to show them a problem, don't assume what's
obvious to you is equally obvious to them. EXPLAIN why you're sending the
log and what you'd like to see done about it because they may see some
other problem entirely and it might not be something you intended. Also,
when you're making bug reports, be as specific as you can. It helps track
down the problem more quickly and easily.

Also, if you need to talk to a certain immortal, but you don't see them
online, you should drop them mudmail or email (immort_name@legendmud.org)
instead of asking if they're around on channels or via the pray channel.
If they're around, they'll get back to you, and if you include what you
need them for in the note, they'll be better prepared to handle it. As far
as the argument of 'but you can't get feedback or clarify things in
mudmail' -- sure you can! It may take longer, but you can still do it.

Anyway... Enjoy the rest of the weekend and have a great week.

-Kaige

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/__|                   LegendMUD Calendar of Events                  |__\
   '-----------------------------------------------------------------'
          [All times are system time unless otherwise specified]

                               DECEMBER
                         Su Mo Tu We Th Fr Sa
                          1  2  3  4  5  6  7
                          8  9 10 11 12 13 14
                         15 16 17 18 19 20 21
                         22 23 24 25 26 27 28
                         29 30 31

Thursday,  December   5th    7:00 pm          Q & A in the OOC Auditorium
Thursday,  December  12th    7:00 pm          Q & A in the OOC Auditorium
Thursday,  December  19th    7:00 pm          Q & A in the OOC Auditorium
Wednesday, December  25th                     Christmas Day
Tuesday,   December  31st                     New Year's Eve

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/__|                 Thanksgiving Leftovers Results                   |__\
   '------------------------------------------------------------------'

Thanks to everyone that played the Thanksgiving Leftovers game! It was a
cross between a forage game and food-based scavenger hunt. Foraging was
highly encouraged, with 2 points awarded for each foraged item, and only 1
point awarded for non-foraged items. All who participated seemed to enjoy
themselves and came up with some creative dishes. Some people got so
caught up in the fun of it, they got more items than they needed - one
person had over 20 side dishes (when most had between 1 and 4).

Many shared their personal family traditions and experiences, from simple
fare such as jelly sandwiches to full turkey and duck dinners with fruit
salad and other varied sides.

Those who played created a wide variety of dishes... It's surprising to
see what you can create with what sometimes feels like a small variety of
food items available in the game. To share with the rest what leftovers
people were eating, here are some samples:

apple-berry cheesecake
fish sandwich with crowberry-mushroom sauce
chicken liver pate
13-meat seafood paella
homemade ypocras wine
New York sub, complete with dill pickle on the side
a traditional turkey sandwich
mixed berry pie
fresh salad with cashews
a fruit plate garnished with mint leaves
a 'jungle sandwich', worms and beetles sandwiched between leaves
wild green salad with herbs and bleu cheese

It's always more fun than you think to play a hunt like this, even on the
harried collection side like I was. Overall, 17 people received prizes
ranging from half-string coupons to single-color coupons. Thanks again!

Cheyla

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/__|                          Recent Updates                         |__\
   '-----------------------------------------------------------------'

    /\                         CODE UPDATES
   /  \     
  /    \    MISC CHANGES
 /_    _\     o follow without specifying who will now tell you who you
   |  |         are following
   |  |       o you can no longer hide while fighting
   |  |       
   |__|       
    /\      BUG FIXES
   /  \       o nightvision should work again
  /    \      o dispel magic no longer echos twice with magic sink
 /_    _\     o message when you try to fade an innkeeper is more
   |  |         grammatically correct
   |  |     
   |  |     
   |__|                      HELP FILE UPDATES
    /\      
   /  \     General Topics:
  /    \    
 /_    _\        EXPERIENCE, LEVEL, JARGON, XPGAME
   |  |     
   |  |     Thanks to all the immorts and players who made this possible.
   |  |     
   |__|     
    /\                          AREA UPDATES
   /  \     
  /    \    If you want to suggest specific improvements or new additions
 /_    _\   to existing areas please don't hesitate to submit them with
   |  |     the idea/bug/typo commands or drop mudmail to the builder
   |  |     currently responsible for the area (use AREAINFO to find out!)
   |  |     
   |__|     1802 ALASKA
    /\           Improves animal teaching acts a little, fixed one place
   /  \          where wrong animal was teaching the skill -- moved to
  /    \         correct one.
 /_    _\   
   |  |     BEOWULF
   |  |          Hrothgar shouldn't be giving double speeches to people
   |  |          who are announced by Wulfgar.
   |__|     
    /\      CELTIC IRELAND
   /  \         NPCs who should have free access to the dun, should have
  /    \        it now. Donnegal's teaching acts are a bit more
 /_    _\       informative and clarified tanner's teaching acts some.
   |  |     
   |  |     ROMAN BRITAIN/PICTISH COUNTRY
   |  |         Be very careful with Morgawr. Some changes to how the
   |__|         stuns work. It may hit harder/more often than you're used
    /\          to and may change targets.
   /  \     
  /    \    SEONI JUNGLE AND SHERWOOD
 /_    _\        Various typos fixed.
   |  |     
   |  |     
   |  |                    In Progress Area Updates
   |__|     
    /\      This section is intended to share what builders are working
   /  \     on behind the scenes. It is not a perfect record of progress
  /    \    as all builders do not commit updates every week. Badgering
 /_    _\   builders about their progress will get you flogged. 
   |  |     
   |  |             Kaige/Ptah    1950s Americana
   |  |             Kheldar       Medieval Sea Trade
   |__|     

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/__|      LEGENDITES: Information Regarding the People of Our World   |__\
   '------------------------------------------------------------------'
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     /__|                      Clan News                         |__\
        '--------------------------------------------------------'

There are currently 13 RP clans and 9 PK clans. This leaves open slots for
ten (10) more clans to form. For more information, read HELP CLAN and see
the clan information list via the CLANS command while logged into the
game. For a basic handbook and reference guide for players interested in
starting and running a clan, we recommend that before you even type FORM,
you visit: http://www.legendmud.org/Reference/gm.html.
     ___                                                          ___
     \  |--------------------------------------------------------|  /
     /__|                    The PK Front                        |__\
        '--------------------------------------------------------'

Half the Infernals were out and involved with pkill this past week.
And mid-term exams seem to be underway at the School of Hard Knocks.
The Syndicate, IRA, Grendels, and Knights of Legend all had at least
two members out in the action this week and the Grand Coven had one
member standing up for the ways of the Goddess. The Secretives and
Hermetic Order were not seen in action at all this past week.

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This past week there were 66 pkill-related deaths involving 41 different
characters. Of those 41 characters, 15 of them were accept all at the
time. So come on, let's get YOUR name up in lights! We can't report on it
if you don't tell us about it!

If you have you witnessed or committed any glorious or nefarious deeds,
send a short report to us at the LT. If you are looking for a fight,
recruiting, or anything else related to PK (not necessarily PK Clan
related), send it in! It's free AND you'll get a prize token! Be a
celebrity, the envy of all your friends! Tick off your enemies or just
tell your side of the story! The possibilities are endless -- act today!!
 
              _______________________
             /                       \
        o O | Wonder what folks are   |
  `\|||/    | doing over at LegendMUD?|
   (o o)     \_______________________/
ooO_(_)_Ooo________________________________________________________________
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                           Through The Portal

Slowly but steadily the cyborg walks up and through the portal, into the
unknown beyond...

A few switched flicked. Some lights flashed dimly. The cyborg awoke. His
bionic eye zoomed in and out as he regarded his surroundings. Running a
systems diagnostic he heard a voice in his head. 'All systems nominal.'
Searching his data the cyborg realised where he was, and where he had to
go. Slowly he took in his surroundings. This world was vastly different
from his own. A world of green and blue, not grey, and littered with weak
organics.

He set about his task. Slowly walking, leaving heavy footprints in the
mud. He approached the nearest town, only a few kilometres walk from his
current position. The looks he received from this town were unsurprising.
Slowly he trudged through the knee deep mud, that did not even cover the
toes of the local population, such was his weight. A map filled his cyborg
eye, quickly he determined the fastest route to his destination was not a
direct one, but rather one following the paths.

An arm twitched. It was his own. Although he is not able to feel, it was
obvious that this arm constantly twitching on him was starting to
frustrate him. At one point his arm knocked over a fully grown tree.
Trying all the diagnostics he could, he still could not find a way to stop
his chip from miss-firing and twitching his arm. After a few days of
constant walking and observing, the cyborg found his destination. A small
dark cave cut into the side of a mountain.

The walls were damp. Water trickled off the roof hitting him on the head.
His footsteps echoed throughout the cave. Squeezing in-between a small gap
he entered a section of the cave the locals did not know about. Descending
down a flight of stairs further into the mountain he went. At the bottom
he met his instructor, the warlord of Zanar. Many had heard of Zegron's
conquests, but few had met him. The cyborg opened the case on his arm.
Pulling out his parcel he gave it to the warlord. Looking at the parcel
the warlord knew exactly what to do. Returning the parcel, he directed the
cyborg to the armoury. Hacking open the mechanical arm, the group of
scientists and weapons engineers inspected the mechanics. Selecting an
item, specially made for this purpose, they installed a set of wolverine
claws. After making sure they extended and retracted correctly, Zegron
duelled with the cyborg, insuring that they were a viable addition.

Another item was selected by the scientists, a large syringe. Offering his
arm, the cyborg felt the substance run through his veins. Cutting a hole
in the back of his hand, the scientists inserted a needle, to aid in the
transmission of poisons to his victims. Zegron then added a patch to the
chip, allowing the cyborg to change between poisons easier. Again they
made sure each poison came out on demand, and that each poison did what it
was designed to do.

After a duration of a few days, Warlord Zegron, decided that it was time
for some field testing. He directed the cyborg up the stairs and out into
the world beyond...

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The Legendary Times is published by the immortals of LegendMUD. Please send
replies, additions, or corrections to our address at lt@legendmud.org for
inclusion in the next edition. All subscription options are now handled
at this url: http://www.legendmud.org/lists/listinfo/legendarytimes 
For RP submissions, copyright ownership remains with the author. We do
reserve the right to moderate the forum and edit or reject any submission.
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