Volume Six Issue Ten
Jump to navigation
Jump to search
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
.............._______
............./ / THE LEGENDARY TIMES
............/ /
.........../ /.....______.._____.....______.._____.......____
........../ /...../ /./ \.../ /./ \...../ \
........./ /...../ ___/./ ____/../ ___/./ __. \.../ /\ \
......../ /...../ /_.../ /....../ /_.../ /..\ >./ /./ /
......./ /...../ __/../ /____../ __/../ /.../ /./ /./ /
....../ /_____/__/__../ \_\ /./ /__../ /.../ /./ /_/ /
...../ / /./ /./ /./ /.../ /./ /
..../ /_/..\______/./_____/./__/.../__/./_______/ MUD
.../________________/ running on mud.sig.net 9999
199.1.78.16 9999
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
http://mud.sig.net/ ftp://mud.sig.net/pub
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
VOLUME SIX, ISSUE TEN February 26th, 1999
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
TABLE OF CONTENTS
- The Editor's Note -
- Upcoming Calendar of Events -
ARTICLES
- The Immortal Report -
- February Usage Analysis -
- Spring Feast Tinyplot -
- Prize Machine Contest! -
LEGENDITES
- Announcements -
- A Berserker is Born -
- A Summons to Arms -
- Ganymede Finds an Answer -
- Tiphareth -
___ ___
\ |------------------------------------------------------------------| /
/__| EDITOR'S NOTE |__\
'------------------------------------------------------------------'
RP Interference
Hello All,
For some reason I'm sticking to theming my titles after pkill-related
vocabulary, just seems to work :) Hopefully no one will take the
analogy too much deeper! At any rate, RP Interference. This is part of
my series on RP ettiquette, as I see it. For the purpose of this
article, I'm defining RP Interference as: attempting to make dramatic
and unwelcome changes in someone else's rp without talking to the
person before hand. Other variations include: taking an existing
plotline and trying to change it for OOC purposes, or attempting to
undermine the RP altogether out of spite.
I've seen many cases of RP Interference in my time, sometimes with
someone trying to join a scenario but doing so in a way which is
inconsistent with the current participants, or claiming that someone
else is lying/stupid/spammy, or (because of some OOC conflict)
deciding to screw the other person over. And thus the perpetrators of
RP interference can range from the well-intentioned but ignorant, to
the downright malicious.
It's important to acknowledge that RP, unlike real life, requires the
consent of all of those involved. It's bad style for people to, say,
argue on chat over and over and over "There, you're dead!" "No, I'm
not." "I did this." "No you didn't." "I am this." "No you're not." --
one person directing the mutual RP one way, and the other person
refusing to follow. As much as you might want to be someone's progeny,
if they aren't interested in taking their RP in that direction, or if
their RP nature is counter to what you claim it to be, you can't force
the issue, and it starts to look silly, and can even become downright
uncomfortable and unfun for others when you try.
RP interactions hinge upon the ability for one person to claim some
thing is so, and for those around to behave as if it is so -- you
behave as a wizard, you are a wizard, you say your hair is blond, and
it is blond -- unless one is RP'ing a sceptic, or disbelief itself is
otherwise in character. It's important to play off of what the other
person gives you, and to give in return; to ask questions and examine
limits, but to treat them with respect.
There is a delicate balance to be struck, between keeping RP scenarios
open, spontaneous, and flexible (an RP that forces the world to adjust
to you, or which demands that other people break character, is not
likely to be very successful!) -- and keeping each character
consistent and "true" to their nature. Don't let fear of "interfering"
keep you from being involved, but do let the possibility of
accidentally interfering change your actions. Examine the situation.
Make inquiries. Enter slowly.
Situations where the interference is unintentional can be frustrating,
but are manageable. Sending an ooc-styled tell to the person who is
struggling to enter an RP scenario, suggesting how else they might
enter, is one very helpful approach. Addressing the "interferer"
directly in an IC manner might encourage them to take a closer look at
what you are trying to do. If worse comes to worse, you can ignore the
person, but there's always the chance that you'll be "turning off" a
valuable roleplayer, or future roleplayer, and making them feel shut
out or unwelcome. Try to avoid making situations which are entirely
pre-scripted, also public at the same time (except ceremonies or short
events), unless you are prepared to frustrate other interested
roleplayers. After all, while watching a play is enjoyable, the point
is to become one of the players :)
Recovering from malicious types of interference can be more
difficult. As with other OOC-natured problems, you can try to work
around the situation, coming up with excuses -- after all, no one can
change your RP without your permission. You also have recourse to
immortal intervention -- for arbitration if you choose, or protection
from harassment if the situation is severe. In general, the imm staff
is lenient with channels being used for RP purposes, in fact we love
it :) -- so don't let anyone drive you off of channels, and if you're
getting flak from others about it, don't be afraid to stick up for
yourself, and call on immortal help if you need it. We don't always
see everything, but we always do our best to respond to requests for
help.
Love to All,
LadyAce
___ ___
\ |------------------------------------------------------------------| /
/__| CALENDAR OF EVENTS |__\
'------------------------------------------------------------------'
[All times are system time unless otherwise specified]
<-> <-> <-> <-> <-> <-> March <-> <-> <-> <-> <-> <->
Saturday, March 6, 3:00 pm - TinyPlot: A Spring Feast
Gisborne Castle, Nottingham
Thursday, March 11, 7:00 pm - Q & A in the OOC Auditorium
Sunday, March 14, 3:00 pm - Trivia! by LadyAce, Round 12 of 12
Wednesday, March 17 Happy St. Patrick's Day!
6:00 pm - Irish Casino Game
Sunday, March 21, midnight - Headworn Prize Item Contest Deadline
___ ___
\ |------------------------------------------------------------------| /
/__| NEWS AND REPORTS |__\
'------------------------------------------------------------------'
The Immortal Report
Kaige sorted bugs and typos, and did the usage analysis for February.
ADMIN:
Sandra did mostly online stuff this week - answering questions,
pkenabling a few people, a few warnings and such.
Chocorua checked a password for someone, dealt with player
complaints, and participated in various immort discussion. Flagg
did normal PR/Admin stuff. Wraith went through boards. Zandy
changed a description, directed a player to our website to get
back issues of the LT, talked to players about housing and proper
use of channels, and caught up on boards.
BUILDING:
Rufus wrote some builder-related code, and clarified some
documentation issues.
Charity has been coming up with some feedback for LadyAce about
Crusades. Cheyla added in a whole ton of acts. Got a couple more
teaching acts out of the way and fixed a couple of typos. Croaker
worked more on Greece, adding about 30 more rooms, and more mobs.
He also made a few more minor tweaks to PIsles. He hopes it to be
ready for playtesting in about 4 weeks. Flagg has two new HOL
mobs coded and in testing, and is working on a third. Kae fought
with her testmud and read through a few of other people's area
files to pick up tricks. Kheldar worked on his area and answered
questions online. Sabella added what she's been working on into
the general imm archive so she could get to it from work, and is
still working on her area. She's also been helping with players in
the early morning when fewer imms are on.
Rusalka had a busy week in real life, but she did continue to test
Ladyace's area. Wraith fixed some bugs in his area. LadyAce made
more fixes to Crusades. She also restarted work on Klein,
starting out with a personal todo list, and playing with the map.
Sandra is finishing up Pittsburgh. She added lots more acts, and
is rapidly approaching imm testing. Kaige clarified
documentation, added to housing in london, made various small bug
fixes and housing bug fixes.
CODING:
Ea! implemented mesmerize as an imm-only skill, and did some
ground-level work for trees. He made it so charmies couldn't be
used for tell harassment, or be ordered to write or mail stuff. He
also made clan membership time out after 5 days rather than 3
reboots, implemented the ownership timer to time out ownership
after 2 RL days. He made items in furniture charge rent, made the
ownership update work, He made it so that str doesn't remove the
bind affect if you break through it (though it still moves you to
the next room), made prompt show in the same order as group does,
made fixes to imm-only commands, and made expel/aquire available
to members of the clan. He also worked on fixing a few memory
leaks. (Thanks, Sadist! who located and fixed a slew of them!)
Chocorua updated his code and worked on making his home machine
more usable. Snapper did several strings and restrings. He says
that Currency is not totally finished but it works. Rufus fixed a
bug in housing where people were getting charged for items they
did not own. He also fixed the 'at 0 hps and stunned but never
wake up' bug (hopefully). Sandra committed the step and swing
socials so that they could be put in the testmuds. Kaige fixed
Clan Channel Colors, made clan keywords follow the same rules for
player names now, including not allowing existing ones from the
playerbase. She also added commands for builders. She took mobs
without long descs out of scan and census and made lots of general
improvements regarding info now announced on clan channels and
forming/disbanding announced on system. Begging now takes half of
your prestige.
PLAYER RELATIONS:
LadyAce ran trivia, a Q & A, and put out an LT. She also did
normal strings, lots of housing zips, etc.
Flagg ran a scavenger hunt with a dozen easy to get items.
Natalia archived some characters, ran a game of no rules tag,
doing strings/restring/storage strings, and did lots of talking
with people. Spencer hasn't spent as much time on-line as he
would have liked, but did a few strings and re-strings. Tad did
the usual online mass of strings and restrings and zip strings,
and a few desc registrations. He ran a monty-python themed
scavenger hunt and helped out with the Expies Ceremony. Offline,
he added some acts to paul, so that folks can buy drinks for other
people in the ooc lounge!
<*><-><*><-><*><-><*><-><*><-><*><->
LegendMUD Connection Analysis
February 1 1999 - February 28 1999
February Peak Mortal Players 77
February Peak PK Enabled Players 25
Pkenabled Characters represent approximately
24-26% of active characters.
The table below shows the Average Mortal Players and Average PK Enabled
Players connected to Legend by hour of the day polled approximately on the
hour system time during the period noted above. The last table shows the
same averages as calculated by the day of the week.
hour 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11
------------------------------------------
avg 41 35 33 31 28 25 24 23 26 27 34 35
pke 10 10 8 7 6 4 4 4 4 4 6 6
hour 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23
------------------------------------------
avg 36 39 39 41 43 45 46 47 48 51 51 48
pke 6 8 8 9 11 12 13 14 15 14 14 13
day MON TUE WED THU FRI SAT SUN
------------------------------------------
avg 39 39 36 35 37 40 39
pke 9 9 9 7 8 10 9
<*><-><*><-><*><-><*><-><*><-><*><->
Spring Feast Tinyplot
The Spring Feast Tinyplot will commence at 3pm on Saturday, March 6th.
It will involve traditional elements from the medieval feast, including
a fascinating variety of food and entertainment!
While many tinyplots build off a particular chain of events, this one
will build off of a single event -- that of a gathering and celebration
-- and then develop from there, according to the interests of the
participants.
There are a ton of ways that you might participate. The poets,
musicians, and bards among us might choose to entertain with a verse or
song. Dancers might perform a jig. Jesters might tell a few jokes or
play a few pranks. Ladies and gentlemen, young and old, might find this
a delightful time for a bit of carefree flirtation, easily blamed upon
the wine and gaity. Come, meet new people, socialize, be entertained,
and be merry! You might even find a little prize in your pudding.
If you are interested in participating, you might choose to speak with
a PR immortal about how your character's RP might be involved with this
celebration.
All are welcome, but in order to provide food for all, please try to
let LadyAce know that you are coming.
<*><-><*><-><*><-><*><-><*><-><*><->
Prize Machine Contest!
I'm running another contest for the prize machine -- this time the item
is headwear rather than shirts, but the idea is the same.
You think up the best, most clever, attractive, or hilarious headworn
item you can, and I'll pick my favorites for inclusion in the prize
machine. As an added bonus, winners will get their design strung to
their headworn item, or a prize token to try their luck with other
people's ideas.
All entries are due by system midnight, March 21.
Send in your ideas via mudmail to....
LadyAce
________________________
/ \
o O | Wonder what folks are |
`\|||/ | doing over at LegendMUD?|
(o o) \________________________/
ooO_(_)_Ooo________________________________________________________________
_____|_____|_____|_____|_____|_____|_____|_____|_____|_____|_____|_____|___
__|_____|_____|_____|_____|_____|_____|_____|_____|_____|_____|_____|_____|
___ ___
\ |------------------------------------------------------------------| /
/__| LEGENDITES: Information Regarding the People of Our World |__\
'------------------------------------------------------------------'
Announcements!
============
People:
============
Alejandro and BrookLynn are now engaged, and will be married on March
19th, on the London Bridge.
===============
Advertisements:
===============
Are you a lvl 50 that is tired of doing nothing all the time? Well,
then join Clan Lazy! We always have someone on who would like to do
something that involves being Lazy.
Currently located at the Tudor Broadwalk.
Give a tell to Ulric for more information!
/*\*/*\*/*\*/*\*/*\*/*\*/*\*/*\
A Berserker is Born
It was a cold night a few weeks after the celebration of the return of
the sun. It was silent. Sigrid was lying in her bed listening
carefully, hoping to hear footsteps. Her elder brother Njall was out
this night, out for revenge. Two days ago they had found the cold
bodies of their father and uncle....stabbed by spears through their
heart. The spears were marked with Hungeir's symbol. Njall did not
hesitate a second. When he pulled the spears out of the corpses he
swore to take the proper revenge. Hungeir Bjarkeson had to die.
Was that the door? Yes, there were footsteps. Her heart started beating
faster. If just it was he. A dark figure entered the room. It was he.
Njall had returned. He quickly crawled under the furs with a silent nod
to Sigrid. He had succeeded.
It was late before Sigrid managed to collect the sheep and get them
back to the stable. She hesitated a few second on the top of the cliff,
and looked at the moon, enjoying the cold wind. This was the place
where she and Bjarke used to meet, almost every night for the last 6
month. She loved him. But not any more. Now they were at War.
After a few minutes she returned to the reality. The sheep had returned
to the farm on their own, and she ran downhill after them. She checked
to be sure that everything was as it was supposed to be and returned to
the main building.
Njall was lying on the floor covered in blood. His own blood. He tried
to say something. She ran to his side and took his hand crying that he
wasn't going to die. Njall knew better. "It was Bjarke," he whispered,
"He came for revenge. It is over now. Our family is dead. Nobody is
left." Sigrid saw the bloody dagger in his hand. Yes, it was Bjarke's
dagger...how many times had she seen him use it when they had been
together. They were all dead now, because of this War. All of her
family was gone, and only she was left.
She reached for the dagger. It called for revenge. Bjarke had to die.
Njall tried to move the hand with the dagger away from her, whispering
that there was no point in more deaths. But she knew better and the
moment she grabbed the dagger her eyes met Njall's. He was relieved,
she would give him a path to Valhal.
Her only love was the first man she killed.
/*\*/*\*/*\*/*\*/*\*/*\*/*\*/*\
A Summons to Arms
We live in a world full of sorcery and anarchy. Murderers and thieves go
unpunished, and in some sad occasions even celebrated. Obscure sects and
cults are allowed to establish themselves as if were they respected and
contributing factions of the community. British pop music has become as
reasonable a case to rally about as was once the true faith.
Amidst all this lawlessness, egocentrism and workings of the Devil stand
we, the Knights Templar, ever attempting to defend the true light with all
means available to us. Some are warriors, defending the word of God with
steel and plate. Some are healers, helping the warriors return to their
battles, and aiding travelers and others as they can best in this
struggle. Some are traders, ever attempting to vent funds from the material
pleasures and other misuses of this war-torn world into a nobler and truer
purpose.
It seems that even in the most peaceful of times, those who fight for the
good of man and for Christ are outnumbered by those selfish ones who will
use any means to further their own purpose or the purpose of some
netherwordly prince who wishes ill on all of mankind. 'Tis no secret that
our ranks are not as swelling as we and our Lord would wish.
Therefore, 'tis my wish to encourage you, the true-hearted man or woman
with a desire to battle evil in all its forms, to grace our website a
visit, and there peruse through the introductory files. Perchance you will
find a new home and purpose in the Knighthood of the Temple. Perchance you
will finally find that peace and nobility of heart that every man of woman
must strive for.
Please find the website address online by typing 'websites'.
Yours in God,
Tancred de Gisborne
Master of the Temple
/*\*/*\*/*\*/*\*/*\*/*\*/*\*/*\
Ganymede Finds An Answer
'Here it is,' said the young Knight, as he carefully opened the small
wooden chest. From inside of it, he produced a small, very dusty
leather-bound book, its edges slightly bent and its pages yellowed and
wrinkled with age.
Lady Flower O'Brien, the pretty blue-tressed girl clad in an odd
mixture of stately armaments and garish futuristic streetclothes,
knelt down next to him and gazed at the book, her eyes full of
wonder. 'What is it?'
''Tis a journal, written and kept years ago, which was lost amid the
old things stored in the Knights hall which I sorted through before
we moved,' Ganymede Alderon explained, still regarding the book
intently, and turning it over in his hands a few times. 'Twas my
father's.'
Flower's eyes grew wide and she exclaimed, 'You're kidding! What does
it say?'
Ganymede blew some dust off of the cover and opened the little book
with a creaking sound, the dry pages crackling softly in protest of
being disturbed after so long a rest. 'It appears to be a journal
he kept long, long ago, starting from before he became a Knight.
The entries are short. It appears that he was having a bit of
trouble writing in English when he first arrived, but it gets
clearer later on. There is much in here--mostly internal monologues,
brooding introspectives, and so on. An interesting window into his
mind. But there is one entry in particular which caught my interest.
Here--this page. Read it.'
The lady Knight carefully took the journal from Ganymede's hands
and laid it in her lap, and studied the sprawling, spidery hand that
belonged to Crowe. Here is what she read:
'London, October 17, 1874. I have been studying the circumstances
behind my entry into this Strange Future World. I can remember my old
life in Tara much more clearly now, my life in the Dun, my services
There, and I can remember being murdered There. After that I know
only Emptiness and Void, for what seemed like an Eternity. Perhaps it
WAS an Eternity, but I don't know.
'Then I arrived here, suddenly and strangely, and I believe finally I
understand why I am in this strange City after so long. I did Die, of
that I am certain, but somehow I was revived in this future Time.
When I awoke I found myself in a strange Little Room which smelled of
dry plants and old Books, and Alchemy. I was lying on the floor. My
head ached and I had an overall queer feeling. Being somewhat dazed
and unsure of Who I was or Where, or Why, I left that place and
wandered the streets in confusion for some time.
'However, today I returned to that house in hopes of finding some
clue to how I got Here. Everything was as I left it--there were many
books tossed about, and bottles filled with Odd Chemicals. Surely
someone was here attempting to practice some arcane Magic. Upon the
floor, dropped there with its leaves spread open, was a very large
bound Book. It had been there when I came to several weeks ago as
well. I recognized it immediately--it is a tome of Druidic lore and
a manual of their Arts, wherein they laid out their strange Powers
and which few outside their circle were allowed to see. I remember
Kane showing one to me long ago, when he was my Master.
'I have brought it back to the Inn with me and studied it through,
and a page near the middle of the Book appears to describe in detail
a Process by which one might call upon the souls of the Dead, and
let them alight once again upon the Earth. It seems that the Owner
of this Book probably attempted to practice this Magic, and in that
way brought Me here. Where that man has gone I don't know, but I
shall keep it in mind to find him and discover his intentions, if
I may...'
Flower's eyes flashed up from the book and she looked at Ganymede
excitedly. 'Gany! This means--this means there's a way to bring your
dad back again! The druids knew how to do it! This is great news!'
The young blonde man smiled softly. 'Aye, it appears that way.'
'So all you need is to get a copy of that book from the druids,
and--'
'I'm afraid it is a bit more complicated than that,' Ganymede
sighed. 'I asked them. They said there was only one copy of that
book ever written, and it was lost years ago. They know not what
became of it.'
Flower's face fell. 'Damn! Then I guess--I guess we'll have to get
the original book, won't we? Where is it?'
'I do not know,' said Ganymede, looking at her meaningfully. 'But
if we have to turn this entire realm upside down in the process...
we are going to find it.'
/*\*/*\*/*\*/*\*/*\*/*\*/*\*/*\
Tiphareth
The Six Sephiroth of the Jewish Cabbala of which Tiphareth is the
center, are sometimes called Adam Kadmon, the archetypical human
being. In Tiphareth we find the archetypal ideals brought into focus
and turned into archetypal ideas. This is why one of the names of
Tiphareth is the Child. Here, creation begins. An idea is spawned to
grow into full-fledged existence. The chief virtue of the sephirah is
commitment to a work begun -- and logically enough, its chief flaw is
false pride.
In chosing Tiphareth as our symbol to unite under, we have made a
statement. For all our differences, for who we are and where we hail
from, we are entities in development. We are conceiving of ideas,
committing ourselves to see them take form, and sometimes, alas,
falling prey to false pride in our work.
We are not saints. Many of us are hellspawn in one way or another.
Some in the quite literal meaning of the word. Some because they
perceive themselves as cast out from the light, abandoned by god and
men. We are all seekers. We areall striving to become more than we are.
Our methods differ, but the goal lies along the same path: We are more
than mere beings of the flesh, and we will ascend to our inheritance.
Walking among you in various forms, we are travellers of time, of the
soul, of the roads inside and outside the mind. We are seekers, we are
those who know, we are those who know that they know nothing.
Marcel Alexander, Esquire.
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
Legendary Times is published by the immortals of LegendMUD. Please send all
replies, additions, or corrections to our address at [email protected] for
inclusion in the next edition. We, however, reserve the right to moderate
this discussion, and may object to some submissions.
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=