Years ago, as a mere Student, Rahamex accompanied the small contingent of
the Prophets of Profit led by Sungam, Amare, and the House of Yultra. What
happened to the House of Yultra is lost to the mists of time Sungam and
Amare forged their own paths. Legion ruled the land with Ygin as the
Forsaken. The law stood firm with Dhua as the head Justice.
Rahamex left Serin and returned home to the small avian enclave in a far off
land. He continued his training and rose within the ranks of the Prophets
of Profit. He was known for his quick wit, even temper, and neutral stance
on the politics that went on between the Prophets. At the heart of his
effort was a willingness to learn. He carefully straddled the precarious
gray line between good and evil in order to learn more about the inner
workings of the Prophets of Prophet. From elves who walked the path of
light to the dark drows, Rahamex worked with all who would accept him. And
as he toiled and learned, the knowledge of fire would light his path.
Return to Serin, Tasked to Investigate
The messenger quickly landed at my front gate and called to me
breathlessly, "Master Prophet! I have a letter for you!"
I walked calmly across the grass and muttered, "Who do I owe money to this
time?"
The messenger replied "It's not a debt collection, Master Prophet, it is
from the Council of Prophets."
I took the letter, thanked the messenger and sat on my old leather couch on
the porch. I tore into the letter. It read:
The Council of Prophets is sending you to Serin for a top secret and
specific Task. I know that you went long ago. It is a different world.
The Prophets have business interests in Serin with jewelry and goods from a
town called Liberty. The town is filled with avians, so you must blend in
when visiting. You task is to find proof that the King and his guards are
are skimming money and ordering the merchants to send less jewelry and
product than what the Prophets are owed. The lost money and income has
already created factions in the Prophets. You are authorized to use any
means necessary, even taking life. Burn this message and see me before you
go. -S.
I channeled the energy through my hands and set the scroll on fire. I
watched the ashes gather in my hands and slowly fall through my fingers.
I needed to learn the politics of Serin and Liberty very quickly it seemed.
I also wondered why this shit always fell to me. Mediator. Problem solver.
What about the things I wanted? Always put aside for the Prophets.
Description:
Black, shaggy hair awkwardly hangs over a full, gloomy face. Bloodshot
eyes watch cooly over everything. His hands glow differing colors,
illustrating his mastery of the elements. He looks tired but his eyes are
watchful and notice everything. His clothes are simple but are of excellent
quality. A closer looks shows expensive jewels as accessories. Truly a man
who cares about quality and expensive tastes. He has come to to seek his
fortune and spread a message of profit. A message from the Prophets of
Profit. But in his stance and gait, there seems to be
a bit more he seeks.
Hey everyone. Unsure if anyone will care, but this was me. First ever character to 50 which I was quite proud of. Admittedly, I was/am terrible at PK and terrible to mediocre at RP, so whoever interacted with me and came away with a positive outcome other than enchantments, I hope it was fun. I think I had the most fun negotiating enchantments and trying to ally/befriend everyone. I remember an interesting interaction with a vampire out there which included enchantments between philosophical discussions.
I was trying to carve out my own story regarding some old characters from yesteryear with a couple of friends but life gets in the way.
I had signed on to save this character again and then got attacked. I tried to run, but was forced to fight due to being silenced. I got killed, then the MUD crashed and I lost my gear. It wasn’t anything super rare or even difficult to get. I can’t even remember the name of the person who killed me, but I snapped and went a bit out of character due to frustration. To her, sorry for that. She even offered to help me re-gear. When I realized I didn’t even care to do it, I figured I was done. I gave it a day or so to contemplate the delete, but I figured I wasn’t gonna do anything to the character, much less play again so here we are.
I’d also like to say something about new playerbase, at last from my perspective. You guys have built a great community and almost a family here. The Discord and the forums are welcoming. Disagreements on the forums tend to (from my perspective) be a bit harsh, but I guess that’s what happens when you guys have been playing together for so long. I think that’s what makes this game really difficult. I just can’t compete with the knowledge everyone has. And I know. Get good. Learn the game. I’ve tried and I still feel like I don’t know much; there just isn’t enough time to catch up. I read technical discussions about what folks should have done in certain fights and it’s still foreign to me. The discussions assume a certain amount of technical competency within the game that new players don’t have. I still have no idea where to find the best equipment and gear. PK is quick and tough to learn. It’s no fun being a punching bag all the time.
But overall I did have fun and I think that’s the most important thing. Perhaps one day, I’ll come back have more time and motivation to give it a better run.
Davairus
0 , 0 , 0 .
I understand the frustration of learning and re-learning but ultimately its part of the game and its part of life. Some parts of the game that cause grief (e.g. word of recall) evolves with the times, while the nostalgia-serving basics (directions to red dragon, purples, fiery daggers etc) have and will always stay the same. I think you are putting others on a pedestal, not everybody knows everything about AR. in discord today I was asking how tattoos work. Fuck if I know. There's a lot I knew and forgot, but I can remember to use water on a dwarf, quaff purples and that bash stuns my opponent. That means if I wanted, I can play a fire giant warrior almost as good as Kryton does. It sounds the game lost its magic for you.
Davairus
0 , 0 , 0 .
Also you know what I didnt even think about saying it in the moment. but flight_control you should watch kalists youtube pk'ing stream. he has a bunch of them up on the website in the help section. you are a smart guy, and you would easily pick up decent tips for pk'ing at higher rate of retention. but more importantly than that, it'd help you to see that we are actually decent humans and in your corner. otherwise we would keep the video private and troll newbs.. . it is the opposite of that. the exact opposite.
I think everyone appreciates a fresh perspective. Congrats on getting level 50 because it can be struggle for everyone.
Pk is a painful. I wasn't great at it before I started playing on my phone and I get feeling like a punching bag. The toxic traits of full loot are barely seen and if someone kills you, they usually don't keep doing it, but yes, frustrating.
Hi Dav: I appreciate the replies. That's a unique perspective; the game lost its magic for me. I think I agree with that sentiment. I will look at the pk stuff from kalist's youtube.
The player base has mostly been welcoming and the game isn't completely new coming from other MUDs. Your comment sort of hits my point. TBH, I didn't know to use water on a dwarf. It may be obvious to most players, but not to me. Perhaps I should be more knowledgeable? But all I know is an avian invoker and I still don't know that every well. I geared myself toward mostly HP since I had/have no idea how else to set up my character.
Alot of folks have probably rolled multiple permutations of races and classes and know the strengths of weaknesses of each. I have not and there's no way to equalize that knowledge that more veteran players have. Perhaps I needed to devote more time to the game itself, but that time isn't there. Some can take a character to level 50 in a few days. For newer players...well it's a few weeks. To be fair, however, it is easier now to get to 50 then it was years ago.
I'll pop back on the Discord hopefully to discuss more.
Davairus
0 , 0 , 0 .
It is in the helpfiles for each race. e.g. if you read help dwarf.
STR: 21, INT: 17, WIS: 21, DEX: 18, CON: 25
Ethos: any
Align: good or neutral
Resists: afflictive, magical damage
Vulns: drowning <-------------------------- this is what boosts the water damage
I did not understand that when I was a newbie, I learned it reading the forums because there was a bunch of complaining about duergar shamans and the water cube was pointed out.
the vulns are very important factors and it would go a long way just to understand those. So that seems like need some kind of game quest or something. I used to have duergar mobs to level on to help teach this but somebody changed them .
Xenyar
0 , 0 , 0 .
Create or change an area where the deurgar overlord or quest mob is immune to everything except water attacks. Have the quest lead to the water cube, or the overlord say "Good, you don't have a water cube from riverwood" or "Great, you have a damn water cube".. If you can make a mob be able to sense if you have it or not.
Or make a quest that leads you to read a scroll on each race of serin.
Davairus
1 , 0 , 0 .
Let me get the patch out and then we'll get the combat school / foundry area moving. That area would've definitely filled the need here and is already two years past its intended due date. Apologies flight_control, obviously I've focused on the wrong area here. It'll be the top priority once we finish the testing on the wishlist patch.
Flight, for the basic of basics, things like racial vulnerabilities and what not, look at the lists of classes and races on the website. It does a great job of covering those things like racial advantages and vulnerabilities. And don't feel too bad about being a PK punching bag. I've got the distinction of being one of the recent guys who con died (died enough times I couldn't be reborn) but I excelled in other areas.
Perserverance is a hard earned skill in itself. Don't be afraid to ask questions, I can't tell you how often I've asked questions and listened to input on how to do better. Of course the next hardest part is applying that knowledge in game. Practice does help.
And to be fair, Pking is and probably always will be nerve wracking for me....the fear of losing what you've likely worked hours and sometimes days for always gives me a jolt of adrenaline. The possibility of losing everything. Eve Online is the only other game I've played where I've found something similar. And I keep coming back to this game over and over and over. :)
Take a break, find your inspiration and come back with your next toon! Look forward to it!
My top tip for newbies looking to improve at PK:
No matter what class you are, duel warlords to the stun and demand to select the arena. They'll agree. Duels are what they want. Start with market square, then slowly progress to bigger arenas.
I've found this to be the single easiest way to pragmatically learn hands on. No stakes other than being a chump on their record sheet. It completely removes all of the flee, murder, tracking, chasing elements from fighting which is largely where super vets smack you down. And if you're logging your fights (log your fights!) It keeps the whole fight in your log. It's by far the easiest way to learn your own class inside out. It also helps learn the 4 fighter classes and their races. Overall, Durling in market square really cuts down the variables and gives you a more approachable starting point. It's practically a 1998 simulator back when men were men, consumables were ignored, and fights were considered over when somebody fled the first time.
Ashlyn
1 , 0 , 0 .
Men were men. Level 20 berserkers slaughtered people in the streets for their red dragon only to be vultured by perma level 15’s Groups battled for supremacy over Emerald Forest. No one was safe unless your beacon was in Escismir by the pond water.
In all seriousness I enjoyed our interactions Flight control. I was the monk that death duelled you in the arena. The PK learning curve is steep. I’ve been trying for decades and I’m still only what I called low middle tier. I still struggle and get dunked by the titans of the mud. My first recommendation is to learn the world and learn to run like Forrest Gump. Then follow the advice above to learn the mechanics of different classes. You have to know your class and the class of your opponent. Plenty of people out there willing to do arena duels. Not just Warlords and strife but others. Rank a few toons to 50 and try out classes until you find something you jive with. For me I started out with healers and paladins and branched out into monks and now have about five solid classes under my belt I can put up a decent fight with. It’s all about having fun. If you’re not having fun, try something different.
I was trying to carve out my own story regarding some old characters from yesteryear with a couple of friends but life gets in the way.
I had signed on to save this character again and then got attacked. I tried to run, but was forced to fight due to being silenced. I got killed, then the MUD crashed and I lost my gear. It wasn’t anything super rare or even difficult to get. I can’t even remember the name of the person who killed me, but I snapped and went a bit out of character due to frustration. To her, sorry for that. She even offered to help me re-gear. When I realized I didn’t even care to do it, I figured I was done. I gave it a day or so to contemplate the delete, but I figured I wasn’t gonna do anything to the character, much less play again so here we are.
I’d also like to say something about new playerbase, at last from my perspective. You guys have built a great community and almost a family here. The Discord and the forums are welcoming. Disagreements on the forums tend to (from my perspective) be a bit harsh, but I guess that’s what happens when you guys have been playing together for so long. I think that’s what makes this game really difficult. I just can’t compete with the knowledge everyone has. And I know. Get good. Learn the game. I’ve tried and I still feel like I don’t know much; there just isn’t enough time to catch up. I read technical discussions about what folks should have done in certain fights and it’s still foreign to me. The discussions assume a certain amount of technical competency within the game that new players don’t have. I still have no idea where to find the best equipment and gear. PK is quick and tough to learn. It’s no fun being a punching bag all the time.
But overall I did have fun and I think that’s the most important thing. Perhaps one day, I’ll come back have more time and motivation to give it a better run.
Davairus 0 , 0 , 0 . I understand the frustration of learning and re-learning but ultimately its part of the game and its part of life. Some parts of the game that cause grief (e.g. word of recall) evolves with the times, while the nostalgia-serving basics (directions to red dragon, purples, fiery daggers etc) have and will always stay the same. I think you are putting others on a pedestal, not everybody knows everything about AR. in discord today I was asking how tattoos work. Fuck if I know. There's a lot I knew and forgot, but I can remember to use water on a dwarf, quaff purples and that bash stuns my opponent. That means if I wanted, I can play a fire giant warrior almost as good as Kryton does. It sounds the game lost its magic for you. Davairus 0 , 0 , 0 . Also you know what I didnt even think about saying it in the moment. but flight_control you should watch kalists youtube pk'ing stream. he has a bunch of them up on the website in the help section. you are a smart guy, and you would easily pick up decent tips for pk'ing at higher rate of retention. but more importantly than that, it'd help you to see that we are actually decent humans and in your corner. otherwise we would keep the video private and troll newbs.. . it is the opposite of that. the exact opposite.
[reply to Flight_Control]Pk is a painful. I wasn't great at it before I started playing on my phone and I get feeling like a punching bag. The toxic traits of full loot are barely seen and if someone kills you, they usually don't keep doing it, but yes, frustrating.
[reply to Grayden]
The player base has mostly been welcoming and the game isn't completely new coming from other MUDs. Your comment sort of hits my point. TBH, I didn't know to use water on a dwarf. It may be obvious to most players, but not to me. Perhaps I should be more knowledgeable? But all I know is an avian invoker and I still don't know that every well. I geared myself toward mostly HP since I had/have no idea how else to set up my character.
Alot of folks have probably rolled multiple permutations of races and classes and know the strengths of weaknesses of each. I have not and there's no way to equalize that knowledge that more veteran players have. Perhaps I needed to devote more time to the game itself, but that time isn't there. Some can take a character to level 50 in a few days. For newer players...well it's a few weeks. To be fair, however, it is easier now to get to 50 then it was years ago.
I'll pop back on the Discord hopefully to discuss more.
Davairus 0 , 0 , 0 . It is in the helpfiles for each race. e.g. if you read help dwarf.
Xenyar 
0 , 0 , 0 . Create or change an area where the deurgar overlord or quest mob is immune to everything except water attacks. Have the quest lead to the water cube, or the overlord say "Good, you don't have a water cube from riverwood" or "Great, you have a damn water cube".. If you can make a mob be able to sense if you have it or not.
Davairus 1 , 0 , 0 . Let me get the patch out and then we'll get the combat school / foundry area moving. That area would've definitely filled the need here and is already two years past its intended due date. Apologies flight_control, obviously I've focused on the wrong area here. It'll be the top priority once we finish the testing on the wishlist patch.
[reply to Flight_Control]STR: 21, INT: 17, WIS: 21, DEX: 18, CON: 25
Ethos: any
Align: good or neutral
Resists: afflictive, magical damage
Vulns: drowning <-------------------------- this is what boosts the water damage
I did not understand that when I was a newbie, I learned it reading the forums because there was a bunch of complaining about duergar shamans and the water cube was pointed out.
the vulns are very important factors and it would go a long way just to understand those. So that seems like need some kind of game quest or something. I used to have duergar mobs to level on to help teach this but somebody changed them .
Or make a quest that leads you to read a scroll on each race of serin.
Perserverance is a hard earned skill in itself. Don't be afraid to ask questions, I can't tell you how often I've asked questions and listened to input on how to do better. Of course the next hardest part is applying that knowledge in game. Practice does help.
And to be fair, Pking is and probably always will be nerve wracking for me....the fear of losing what you've likely worked hours and sometimes days for always gives me a jolt of adrenaline. The possibility of losing everything. Eve Online is the only other game I've played where I've found something similar. And I keep coming back to this game over and over and over. :)
Take a break, find your inspiration and come back with your next toon! Look forward to it!
[reply to Dalero]
No matter what class you are, duel warlords to the stun and demand to select the arena. They'll agree. Duels are what they want. Start with market square, then slowly progress to bigger arenas.
I've found this to be the single easiest way to pragmatically learn hands on. No stakes other than being a chump on their record sheet. It completely removes all of the flee, murder, tracking, chasing elements from fighting which is largely where super vets smack you down. And if you're logging your fights (log your fights!) It keeps the whole fight in your log. It's by far the easiest way to learn your own class inside out. It also helps learn the 4 fighter classes and their races. Overall, Durling in market square really cuts down the variables and gives you a more approachable starting point. It's practically a 1998 simulator back when men were men, consumables were ignored, and fights were considered over when somebody fled the first time.
Ashlyn 
1 , 0 , 0 . Men were men. Level 20 berserkers slaughtered people in the streets for their red dragon only to be vultured by perma level 15’s Groups battled for supremacy over Emerald Forest. No one was safe unless your beacon was in Escismir by the pond water.
[reply to Scrynor]In all seriousness I enjoyed our interactions Flight control. I was the monk that death duelled you in the arena. The PK learning curve is steep. I’ve been trying for decades and I’m still only what I called low middle tier. I still struggle and get dunked by the titans of the mud. My first recommendation is to learn the world and learn to run like Forrest Gump. Then follow the advice above to learn the mechanics of different classes. You have to know your class and the class of your opponent. Plenty of people out there willing to do arena duels. Not just Warlords and strife but others. Rank a few toons to 50 and try out classes until you find something you jive with. For me I started out with healers and paladins and branched out into monks and now have about five solid classes under my belt I can put up a decent fight with. It’s all about having fun. If you’re not having fun, try something different.