10K PP Giveaway Contest #4 - Exploration and Journeys

[Hagglebaron]

As requested, this next contest will involve something that is accessible to pretty much everyone. Classic EQ was definitely a journey, it could take hours just to cross a continent. Whether it's stumbling your way through the dark passages of Everfrost into Blackburrow for the first time, an epic journey into the heart of Kunark or hitting the frontiers of Velious, go nuts. As usual i'll leave this up for a week, then select three stories for the community to vote on. The most votes takes the plat.

Congrats once again to Khanable for winning the last contest.

Cheers all

[Eldaran]

you rock dude

[Servellious]

Sweet. Writing my najena journey soon

[falkun]

A Noob and an Ocean:
I started playing the game in 2000, after Kunark release but prior to Velious. I eventually decided on a wood elf warrior, and was making my way through the teens in Crushbone. As Throne Room groups died down, I had heard from other players that the place to go was Antonica, to High Pass Hold in the mountains.

My first big obstacle in this adventure would be the Ocean of Tears. After asking a kind druid for a SoW, I made my way through the Faydark, then the Butcherblock Mountains (following the path mind you, I did not know how to navigate the valleys of Butcherblock). Upon finally arriving at the docks, having passed the mighty entrance to Kaladim, I waited for the Boat.

And I waited, and then when I was tired of waiting I waited some more. Finally, after an arduous run, the Boat arrived and I booked passage to Freeport. Upon arriving in the Ocean of Tears, I set to exploring the ship and the view from her bow. Well, my warrior slipped and fell into the Ocean.

"How do I get on the boat if I've fallen off?" A kind gnome quickly responded, "Swim to the back and get on the rudder." Phew, I could still make it! Except, I had no swimming skill. So my nearly overburdened wood elf warrior futilely attempted to swim to the rear of the Boat, when it took off towards the horizon, leaving me stranded in the middle of the Ocean, with no idea of which direction to head and the obvious conclusion that whichever direction it was, it was going to take me a long time to get there without knowing how to swim.

"I missed the Boat, where do I go now?" The same gnome told me to head East towards Sister Island. Ok!...but..."Which way is East?" Then the kind gnome explained how I could practice my Sense Heading. This whole time, I'm swimming, slowly, in some random direction.

I finally, after many futile attempts, determine I'm heading Southeast. A quick adjustment to my course and I'm heading East. Great! But now my little yellow bar is depleting! I'm running out of stamina to swim! I cannot continue to swim without stamina! What will I do? So I begin taking breaks swimming. I swim while I have stamina, then stop (and slowly drown) while the bar replenishes a bit. I quickly determine I'm not going to make it. The bar is refilling much slower than I'm depleting it by swimming! You cannot swim without stamina, and I do not have any! So, in my naivety, I let myself drown. I watch agonizing on the other side of the screen as my warrior sinks to the bottom of the Ocean.

Upon respawning, back in Greater Faydark, I humbly ask for a SoW for a CR. I repeat the same arduous journey I had just made, still not knowing how to cut through the Butcherblock Mountains or the quick route through the Faydark, finally arriving back in the Ocean of Tears on the Boat. This time, I've learned my lesson, my warrior never moves on the Boat, waiting at the spawn spot in the middle of the Boat. Finally, at a dock, I disembark, knowing I'm in the zone of my body and that the Boat will have to stop by here again eventually.

"I died in the water, can anyone help me find my body?" The gnome informs me to ask a GM for his services via /petition. So I dutifully explain in a petition that I died because I ran out of stamina trying to swim in the Ocean of Tears because I fell off the boat.

A short while later (probably an agonizing hour or more at the time it happened), a GM shows up to take pity on this novice to Norrath. He summons my body and provides a GM rez and then explains that stamina is not important for swimming. I then wait for the boat, again a long time, before finally catching it and ultimately ending up in Freeport for the first time.

After about 5 hours, I have made it 4 zones and not earned an ounce of EXP (thankfully I didn't lose exp nor my body though!). But I did learn many valuable EQ noobie lessons in 1 night:
1) Max Sense Heading ASAP (and how to bind it).
2) Max swimming ASAP.
3) Stay on the Boat.
4) How to petition.
5) Stamina doesn't matter for swimming, only jumping and combat.

Lessons learned the next time I logged on and continued my trek to High Pass:
1) Rebind...
2) Gryphons.
3) Kithicor.

[SirAlvarex]

Not an exploration story, but I think it was an adventure!

The Party in Qeynos Hills:
Myself (Kaleran) and a friend I had met online (Fatbastard...later asked by a GM to be renamed to Grunga. We'll just call him Grunga) decided that Qeynos hills wasn't a lively place. See, I was a wood elf druid and he a human warrior who had many adventures in the surrounding areas. After killing Wisps for hours on end on Wisp Island (Erud's Crossing) with Grunga's excellent new weapon Axe of the Iron Back, we decided to use our new gains to throw a party for the fine residents of Qeynos!

At this time Qeynos Hill was a bustling joint. Young adventurers passing to and fro trying to gain experience while slaughtering the evils that lived outside the gates of Qeynos. Here is where we decided to set up refreshments to quench the thirst of those drenched in blood and sweat. "Come to the party near the first road marker to Qeynos!" I shouted. Men and women showed up in droves to divulge in our salty sweets. "More beer!" one man shouted, "Ahj uha lowhh!" exclaimed another really drunk patron. Grunga and I did our best to be gracious hosts, and handed each patron even more Blackburrow Stout than even we knew they could handle.

Then...she came. See, as a wood elf here in the human lands of Qeynos, I had grown weary of being alone. Sure there are half-elves, but they just don't have the majestic beauty you find in the Faydwyer. But here she was, a gorgeous High Elf cleric wearing a stunning leather suit. I walked up to her and offered a stout "I think this one is the freshest from the batch." She eyed me carefully, and took the drink and pounded it down quicker than any barbarian could hope for. A lady AND a hero!

There was idle chatter, which soon became idle "ahuwih aeowbu baow" as we drank more and more. As she left the party, I began to sober up. I turned to Grunga and he asked me about the fine lady. In my still drunken stupor, I told him simply "If only I could have seen what she looked like under that leather armor...". I heard no response from my friend. I looked at him idly, then a shiver ran down my back. As I turned around, there was the high elf beauty looking at me. Apparently she came back for more! As I stumbled for words "I..err..uhm..." she smiled, planted a kiss on my cheek, and ran back to the city of Qeynos.

Grunga, who was on the floor at this point boiled over in laughter, finally came to his senses and gave me a pat on the back. "I think you should stick to what you're best at. Killing Wisps!"

The party continued on. More and more patrons showed up, but all of them humans. We emptied our stock of Blackburrow stout and made our way back into the city of Qeynos.

I never saw the high elf again. I wonder sometimes what could have been at the party in Qeynos Hills.

(The story is true...just a little embellishment on the dialogue!)

[khanable]

Haggle for president 2012

[CBG]

Back on live, I had a pretty fantastic night on Luclin's release.

Some friends and I decided that since Luclin had just come out, we would go exploring. After running around for a few hours, we found ourselves inside the Fungal Grove. We were the only 6 people in zone, and as far as we knew, the first ones to be there.

After a short while messing around with the front trash, I decided to go exploring in the many nooks and crannies of the caves. After many feigns and quite a few near death scares, I found an open spot in the back left corner, a sort of cove area with spawn spread around in front of it, and a bit of a ledge. The group invised, and moved to me. The night was spent slaughtering bugs and the big red cavemen (whose names elude me), for pretty great exp. About half an hour in, our casters (mage/enchanter) began noticing that their new Velious spells were dropping quite often: so often, in fact, that they had looted all of them within the first hour. A short while later I noticed that the little path leading up to the ledge had pathing script that would cause the mobs to actually run to the group, rather than stand below it in some anti-gravity melee abyss. After the warrior left, we recruited another caster friend, and I was instructed to pull as many mobs as I could, without causing death, and I did so.

A three hour AoE session began, whose resulting xp pushed me almost the whole way through 52. The newly acquired wizard got his spells as well, and the rest of the non casters, myself included, walked away with 3-4 newly minted spells, from which I personally made a cool 7K. The next day I logged into patch notes, saying that not only had the Fungal mobs had their exp and loots adjusted, but also that they now had 'proper' AC & HPs. The bugs now hit like trucks, and the cavemen were worse, not to mention terrible, terrible xp. Fungus Grove never really took off on my server after that, but we few sure had a fun, profitable night - one that's stayed in my memory for well over ten years.

[falkun]

Fungal Caverns

Not to be a downer, but which zone was this really? This is a cool story, but Fungal Caverns DNE. If this was indeed Velious, was it Velk's Lab? or Crystal Caverns(seems a bit low for the low-50s crowd)? Or maybe its Fungus Grove from Luclin?

[CBG]

Hah, you're right. It was Luclin, and it was Fungus Grove. I'll edit accordingly. I remember the night, the details are fuzzy. Forgive me, college happened between then and now :)

[falkun]

NP, I just didn't know that about FG. Thanks for enlightening me to another gem about this game!

[Kuron]

There I was on P99 at 7am, against all better judgment I had to just go back to sleep! I had the urge to play and get an early start, but it wasn't until I had fully logged in and entered the world that I realized I had absolutely no goal in being on so early.

I was in the Qeynos area, and so I figured “why the hell not” and headed over to Hadden. If nothing else I'd figure out something to do while I waited. I took a peek over the final hill and noticed someone sitting at the camp already. “Oh well.” I said. But now what was I going to do? I stood there for a minute and considered my options. Somehow I decided that I should at least get a timer on Hadden before I leave or log off. I sent the wizard camping him a tell.

“Been at it long?” I asked, and got no reply. Obviously AFK, and with such a long spawn time who on this or any other planet can blame him?! I started to leave, but that’s when I saw it. No, not Hadden - A rowboat! My sleep-deprived brain saw this simple, nostalgic object as a beacon of everything I should be doing at this early hour. I jumped in, took the helm, and began tooling around the river in front of Axe-man’s hut. I figured “Surely my antics will cause the Wizard to come back and have a good chuckle!” (please remember I was still not even half awake).

Unfortunately, my Tony Hawk’s Pro Boater display was not enough to bring the man at his keyboard back from the dead. I gave up and decided to put a few items in the bank while I waited. Just before I abandoned my boat I had another “fun” idea. Mr. Wizard was sitting very close to the water’s edge, and so of course it only made perfect comedic sense to me that I should park the boat directly on top of him. A vicious giggle and a quick screenshot later I was heading for Qeynos bank, hoping to get an amused tell from him en route.

Nothing. No tells. This guy was hardcore asleep, or so I thought. I returned from the bank wanting to see my mischief one last time before I logged out only to discover that something was different at the scene of the crime. The man had come back from being AFK at least once, and was now sitting IN the boat I had parked on top of him. I sent him another tell, but got no reply. Tired and bored, I supposed this would be the end of my antics for the day and proceeded to log out. But then at 5 seconds left my brain gurgled forth a heinously good prank.

I canceled the camp-out and engaged hide/sneak. At this point, I was acting purely on divine pranker’s instinct. I walked my invisible self quietly over to the boat with the unsuspecting Wizard sitting inside and took the helm. Oh wouldn’t this be a riot!? The wizard would come back to his keyboard only to see he was now many miles upriver! He would return to find me sitting at his camp at which point I would “pretend” to be stealing it from him, but would in actuality reveal the genius of my scheme, return it to him promptly and together we’d have a great laugh! Oh if I’d only known what was about to truly happen.

The unlikely boat with my unknowing passenger skimmed swiftly along the water’s surface. My god this plan was brilliant! I could barely contain my wild chortles. I hit F9 a few times and zoomed out to get a really good screenshot. A prank this good NEEDED to be documented. Unfortunately, to get the right angle for a shot I needed to neglect my steady control of the proud vessel. As my camera shutters clicked and the snickering got louder.... the boat undesirably swerved and touched the shore on the opposite side. This was when the laughing stopped.

See, there’s this caster that stands over there next to a fire. I didn’t know this ahead of time, but this caster really really hates my unwitting Wizard passenger. Maybe he lost a lot of money to him in poker, maybe he slept with his wife. I don’t know, I’m not a psychologist. All I know is he can nuke any wizard he hates REALLY hard. The laughing was long gone by now. I watched helplessly as the Wizard’s health dropped well below 35%. I mashed buttons wildly, as if in desperation that I’d come across some magical “stop the horror” key combination by chance. No such chance. The last thing I saw was the wizard hit around 12% and then go linkdead.

My mind sank in dread. I had just practically murdered someone AND stolen their camp without even a fraction of intent to do either! I assumed he had LD’d out to avoid being killed, but I had no idea exactly how that worked or if he had succeeded. I couldn’t figure out what to do at all. Do I leave? Do I pretend it hadn’t happened? I was still invis, had he seen what occurred? My panic was akin to that of a heaving pervert watching Chris Hansen slowly emerge from behind a curtain. Helpless, hopeless and inescapably caught in a horrible crime!

I decided to do the right thing, of course. I immediately began contacting every Cleric and Druid I could find offering high prices to get him a port back and a 90% rez. I also ran over and sat down at his camp to keep others from stealing it. I had to make things up to this guy somehow because I felt horrible. He was gone a while, almost ten minutes, though it seemed an eternity to me at the time. Eventually, the wizard came walking over the hill towards me, still around 12%. He approached and said “That was neat.”

Oh shit. This was the end. He knew! Now he’s going to chew me out, report me, blacklist me to everyone he knows! In desperate hope, I explained my whole case to him. I apologized and told him I was only holding his camp, that I had rezzers on the way just in case but was so happy that he hadn’t died. He listened, and didn’t say much of anything. One word answers. “Okay.” and “Yea.” and so on. Judging by the way he was typing, I guessed this guy was PISSED. He didn't need a rez or a port, so I just walked off and returned his camp.

I felt so bad as I trekked over the Karanas back to the Druid Ring. About 15 minutes goes by as I stood in silence waiting for a druid to show up at the ring. Suddenly I receive a tell from the wizard. Was it my comeuppance? Was he beginning his hate rant of ultimate revenge? No. It was a question from the Wizard: “I'm confused. What exactly did you do to me anyway?”. I sighed and typed out the whole story (pretty much what I’ve told you here) making sure to explain the harmless nature of my attempted prank and to remind him that I'd had rezzers and porters lined up if needed. A long pause came after that. I braced for impact, but his response was unexpected.

“Woah. You can control the boats? That’s totally cool!”

-_-

He'd had no idea I was even there! He hadn't seen me and assumed the boat had just “drifted” on it's own. When he proclaimed “That was neat.” there was no sarcasm, he had been referring to the boat “drifting”. His relative silence was borne of confusion for the situation as he had no idea I was even involved!

I expressed again how happy I was that he had forcibly LD’d in time and hadn’t died and he told me something surprising - he hadn’t LD’d at all. The angry caster across the river was an Enchanter and had charmed him right before death. My panicked button mashing had apparently moved the boat JUST far away enough that when charm broke he somehow did not re-aggro. We talked and laughed a little more about it, and eventually I logged off and went back to bed.

I clearly needed more sleep.

[Varrin]

It was a cool, brisk evening and my fellow adventurers and I had just finished exploring and killing within the Estate of Unrest. As we made our way out into Dagnor's Cauldron, I posed a question to my friends about the best way to earn some cash near the area, to which they replied there was a camp of sisters eager to give up their goods to anyone who could over power them in the Lesser Faydark area. I thanked them for the information and began to make my way to the area.

After a short run through several areas I arrived at the Lesser Faydark zone, staring out into the great unknown as I was advised to be careful of the denizens of Lesser Fay. I felt safe running at speeds faster than any normal creature, and followed along the wall, dodging camps of orcs, dark elves, and men that were made of swirling shadows just drifting through the air. After some careful maneuvering, I managed to find the area my friends spoke of, and found myself staring down four women, all grasping weapons of bronze shimmer, looking at me as I approached.

Using skills of my profession, I managed to lull them with songs of better times past, before luring each of them one by one to their doom. This went on for hours until my body ached for rest, and another fellow traveler wished to have a go. I wished them well and asked for direction to a friendly vendor who would exchange my treasures for coin.
"The Wood Elves back along the wall a bit will buy them." he replied, and I set off to cash in on my hard work.

Once my negotiations were over, I set out to Kelethin to bank this cash and rest my eyes. I found a path and wandered down it, thinking it was going to lead me to Greater Fay, but sensed something was amiss when I heard voices in the trees. I marched on until I stepped over a hill and was met by the angriest looking creature I had ever seen. He was small and brown, his teeth snarling at me as he began to make his way towards me. I quickly turned around and grabbed by drums, playing them with all of my might, running even faster than before. After a few moments I looked over my shoulder to see it gaining on me, getting closer and closer, this was a being of supernatural speed, and eventually it caught me and left me lying on the ground dead.

Luckily for me, I was bound close by and used a song to locate my corpse, watching every movement around me as I crept up on my corpse and gathered my belongings. I made haste out of the Lesser Faydark, learning a lesson on the dangers of the area, and making a vow to avenge myself against that creature.

I will meet him again.

Thanks for reading!

[Hagglebaron]

Nice stories guys :p

[nichomachean]

I will throw in my two cents and tell the story of my adventure as a level 6 barbarian rogue attempting to get a Mask of Deception.

My very first character in December 2000 was a barbarian rogue by the name of Kreshaer. I had settled on this character after a number of real-life friends of mine playing on the server (The Seventh Hammer) convinced me of the barbarian rogues virtues, namely his awesome strength (neglecting some other key areas, such as night-vision). Having spent my first six levels stumbling around Everfrost and dying endlessly to orc troopers and marauding vengeful lyricists, my friend Khorinn, who at the time was level 40, and a dwarf paladin, convinced me I needed a Mask of Deception to help with my constant night-blindness issue.

He arranged a druid port for me to Western Commonlands, and met me at the Halas tunnel entrance with said druid to go. Being a total Everquest noob at the time, he implored I wait at the rings when we landed, and so I did. Eventually, after a number of perilous encounters with rampaging sand giants and orcs crossing the Deserts of Ro and the Oasis, we landed in Innothule and followed the wall south to Guk. I managed to get lost no less than 10 times in the labyrinth of Upper Guk (Khorinn wasn't satisfied waiting on me) and I'd estimate the total journey from EF to the Lguk zoneline was near 2 hours. Anyway, here we were in Lguk.

Khorinn waited until I managed to pull off a successful hide/sneak combo then proceeded to massacre everything on the way to the assassin camp, which was mercifully open (I would not have known otherwise). Again I managed to get lost close to a dozen times.. Anywho, we manage to get to the ghoul assassin camp, who of course isn't up, and Khorinn slaughters the area. After camping for about 3 hours, the assassin had still not popped, and Khorinn went linkdead. I patiently waited, hoping he would return, knowing I would barbarian paste if he didn't, when I received a phone call saying his internet was out. Oh shit.

I'll speed up the story from here. Essentially, not 3 seconds after I hung up the phone, the ghoul assassin spawned and turned me into aforementioned barbarian paste. I respawned in West Freeport, logged for the night (knowing I'd never make it back there alone). And here is where the nightmare got fun.

Neither Khorinn or I knew about /consent at this point, and so he and I spent the next 8-10 hours of game time performing an infinite corpse run. He ran me back from WFP the first time, and hide/sneak having failed, I promptly died again. Which of course meant he had to run back and fetch me. No fewer than 10 times did this occur, before we successfully retrieved all my corpses (thank God he knew about the /corpse command and I could drag them to zone line). All in all, about 30 hours of game time wasted, and no mask to be found.

I still to this day do not let him live down our "adventure" together. And my rogue got his mask more appropriately around level 32, when I had learned much more about the game and had brought backup.

C'est la vie!

[Neach]

Nice another give away, however why does it have to be another story time. . .why not a contest? Like a hide and seek with riddles or a level 1 run across antonica or a level 1 best of the best! SOMETHING other then fabricated stories or half truths.

Whatever though, its your time and plat.

[Hagglebaron]

I do trivia and scavenger hunts now and then in EC Tunnel

I've considered level 1 races and such, but figured cheating would be rampant. With stories, at least everyone has a fair shot. Plus the community gets to read about people's experiences, even if some of them are fabricated.

[Blackmartin]

The Dwarf and the Hare

It was a long and fateful night in rathe mountains, a land plagued by giants, skeletons, and creatures alike, where I first stumbled upon Hasten Bootstrutter. He moved with such swiftness that I had to converse with him. "Good sir, how is it you strutt with such haste?" I asked. Hasten replied "Give me your cash, weapon, and a nice ring and I'll give you my secrets." This began what would be the longest journey of my life as a paladin.

As bards have always ran circles around me, laughing and pointing at how slow my stubby dwarf legs move, I began my journey for a chance at hasten's secret. Having recalled an old tale of a one eyed monster who carried a rare ring, I thought this might impress Hasten. I ran for what seemed like days, out of the mountains and through the swamps. With mud still on my boots I set foot into the desert, almost losing my life to a gang of rabid crocodiles. When I finally set foot in Freeport I was greeted with hostility (I had just killed thei captain a week before you see). I drank a special potion to cloud me from sight and it held just long enough for my feet to meet the hard wood of the docks. It was a forte night before the boats finally picked me up. Thank brell for giving me enough iron rations to last me through the night. As I set foot upon that vessel I knew the dangers that awaited.

The salty air felt good on my nostrils. It had been years since my last voyage and i was not accustomed to the oceans sway. I poked my head over the side of the ship, held my beard back, and retasted some of the Dwarven ale I had consumed on the docks. By the time we arrived on sister island my nerves were shaken. The sickly sound of specters wailing carrying on the cool ocean breeze, the dark figures in the water, and the goblins all ran through my mind.

The water was cold. It soaked every crack of my armor by the time I reached the next island. Jumping out of the water, exhausted, I proceeded to fight every pirate and cyclops that I met without recourse. The warm blood splashing in my face drew me into a fervor. Excited from the ensuing battles, I had but one foe left to conquer. At last! An ancient cyclops! It was a monster of legend, one I had only heard about in stories passed on by generations of dwarfs. After a long skirmish I took the ring from his lifeless hands and made my journey back to rathe mountains.

When I finally arrived Hasten greeted me with a hearty hello. It was then I handed him the ring, my prized rapier, and a mountain of cash. To this day my footprints can still be seen all across faydar. All you need do is look for the blur with a beard and you shall see me, Blackmartin... Proud to be the fastest dwarf in my home town.

[azeth]

A Late Night Snack

There I was, asleep next to a blonde. Suddenly, the bat phone rings "BAT BAT BAT." I flip it open and see "WAKE TEH FKCU UP WAKE THE FCUK UP INNY INNY INNY NOW NOW NOW."

Then I showed up and watched Transcendence scoop my loot.

The end.

[Slave]

Dead to me, Haggle!

[Hagglebaron]

Forgive me sir!

[mreynert]

Back in the days when dark was dark and lanterns were a small island of security in the darkness that was Norrathian Night, I found myself staring out into the ever darkening gloom of the Greater Faydark as night began to set in. Being that I was only level two at this point and had been playing the game for just a day or two, the great unknown and expansive forest stretched out ahead of me like a dangerous beast. Apprehensive to what fate I may find out there, including death and loss of all I had worked so hard for (rusty bastard sword & cloth belt), I readied myself to step into the wilderness, trying to find decaying skeletons and other such monsters to slay and build enough wealth to afford more vital gear and the next level's song.

As I walked out, I found myself dancing with orc pawns, dodging the one centurion that seemed to be pathing nearby, and smashing many a wasp. After much tiring work, and many bruises, I stood victorious over one final orc pawn. "DING 3!" I shouted, and the very trees themselves seemed to congratulate me on reaching a new hurdle in life.

My announcement to the forest garnered another type of attention as well, now that I had proven my strength. A high elf paladin had been combating the creatures in my vicinity as well, and she as well, had just reached her 3rd level. I first noticed her approach by the small aura of light around her radiating from the small lantern she held in her hand. As it was now fully getting into night, the light stood out starkly from the contrasting shadow world around.

"Hey, you want to group up? I heard about a place up north of the city called orc hill where the rewards are much greater," she asked me. I was all too eager to join up and find this new place that neither of us had been to. We figured we could handle centurions now with our levels, and that the bounty we'd reap from it would be substantial. So off we embarked, heading back towards the PoD lift for a point of reference before heading to orc lift. From here however, our journey did not take us where we had intended.

Neither of us knowing a thing about sense heading or how to use loc, we embarked out in a path that we "thought" was north. We were horribly wrong. In my experience since I have now learned the direction that we headed was more north-west, off into the wilderness of the faydark, but still inhabited by centurions, oracles, and other nasty things.

We realized our mistake rather quickly and began frantically running around trying to find our way back, but we had gotten completely turned around. I found myself completely blind and hugging near her very closely, her lantern was our only lifeline. We found out centurions were nastier than we had hoped when we encountered them, every one a bloody red con. The orc oracle we found scared us even more.

After about 20 minutes of narrowly escaping death, cowering in the soft glow of the paladin's lantern. We stumbled upon another lost soul who had gotten completely turned around seeking the same location we had, he had seen the lantern and run towards it. He was a wood elf ranger, and we figured our odds of survival our here would go up if we brought him in, and he huddled in close to the light as well.

Minutes went on, and they turned into what felt like hours continuing to dodge death, when we came over a hill and there, staring directly at us, was an orc centurion. Blood red to all, and it too had noticed our lantern. It dove at the ranger with a bloodlust too terrible to fathom. Our confidence in our abilities now that we were lvl 3 evaporated instantly as it trucked the ranger for a quarter of his health and stunned him.

Panic set in and we all jumped on the centurion, trying to bring it down before it killed us all in the gloomy unknown. We had no idea where we had died, and had no idea if we'd ever find our bodies. The ranger was taking a beating, but thankfully he had managed to make some patchwork armor for himself before he had come up here, and it held off death longer than either the paladin or myself could, but it seemed not to be enough. His health dipped low, and he fell over, his health bar purple.

My heart sank, the orc was still around half health, and would surely destroy both of us shortly after. But it was at that moment hope was restored, because before my eyes I saw the ranger's form rise back up off the ground, bathed in a blue light, instantly restored to his full strength. After a short while longer, we managed to bring the beast down. We were bloodied, but we had survived and all was quiet once more.

After a short period of recovery, we decided that we ought to continue on, and we picked an arbitrary direction into the dark. The paladin leading the way, we followed in her wake, hoping that this direction would yield something we recognized. After a few minutes and many more dodged orcs, we at last found something promising. A path marked on the ground, worn through heavy footsteps. We figured this had to be a good sign and decided to follow it in a direction. As we crested the hill, we saw before us the soft glow of the lanterns of Kelethin, and Guard Orcflayer standing ready to welcome us back to the city.

After returning home, we all ended up going our separate ways, but not before we all agreed we'd wait at least another level before venturing out into the unknown looking for trouble again. The ranger rode up the lift into the great city, the paladin made her camp and retired from the world, and the soft light of dawn started breaking through the treetops to light my way back towards my old wasp friends. We had survived the darkest, longest night of our EQ lives...a paladin and her lantern lit the way.

(This is my oldest vivid, fond memory from EQ back in 1999 just after I started. I thought I'd share it here, as it seemed appropriate.)

[Excellio]

A Rogue makes an Offer you can't refuse.

On Christmas Day, 1999, my parents gave a gift to my brother, as is tradition, and it was a PC game. I had never been a fan of PC games. I was more interested in Final Fantasy games on consoles like the Super Nintendo and Playstation.

But after watching a few minutes of this game, I knew I had to see what it was all about. My brother was playing what he called a "Wood Elf", and he was walking around a city in the trees that reminded me of the level "Tree Top Town" from Donkey Kong Country. I was intrigued.

It was several days before my brother stopped playing EverQuest and let me give it a go. I was met by the character creation screen, and I had no clue what race/class I should be. My brother was new to the game too, so he said to just pick a human, since they're fairly easy to play and well liked throughout most of the world. I decided to play as a Rogue because I had no idea what one of those was (though truthfully, I knew nothing of any of these classes at the time).

When faced with allocating points to stats, I didn't know which were best for me. My brother told me that I should put all of my points into Charisma, because it increased the amount vendors would pay me for stuff I sold to them.

How could I possibly put the points into anything else after learning this?

After putting all of my points for my Human Rogue into Charisma, I chose to start in Freeport and I was immersed in a fantasy world unlike anything I had experienced. I was in a region called East Freeport. I wandered around for a bit, and eventually found the gates to the city, and when I left the city, I saw hoards of monsters crawling about. As I ventured further from the gate, I suddenly was attacked by "a wolf", and my brother told me to run back to the gate for help from the guards.

I ran the wrong way and the game seemed to freeze for a moment as the words "Entering North Ro" appeared on the screen. I really did believe the game had frozen. When you play EverQuest on 56k dial-up internet, you tend to suspect the game has frozen anytime you zone.

After microwaving a burrito and grabbing a soda, I returned to the computer to wait about 1-2 more minutes before emerging in North Ro. I could see Skeletons off in the distance, but my brother had told me to target them and push "C" to determine if they would attack me. When I saw that these skeletons were scowling at me, ready to attack, I decided I had better steer clear of them. I passed through a lightly wooded plain with a small hut. I entered the hut and attempted to sell the Dagger I had started with.

Imagine my dismay when the vendor emphatically stated he would give me absolutely nothing for my dagger! I wanted to ask my brother why I had put these points into charisma to increase payouts from vendors, and now a vendor was refusing to purchase from at all!

I pressed on and eventually left the calming scenery by the hut to find a few small grass huts near the edge of a large body of water. I saw a large guy standing in the water, named "Puntar Sandfisher". I presumed this was another player, and I wanted to say hello and ask for some tips as to what I should be doing, rather than wandering about like this.

Rather than pressing "H" to hail him, I accidentally began attacking him. Puntar Sandfisher immediately retaliated, killing me rather quickly.

After waiting several minutes to reappear in East Freeport, I wanted to contact this player and apologize for inadvertantly attacking him (at the time, I didn't know that you couldn't attack other players). My brother had earlier told me that to send a message directly to another player, simply use "/tell name message".

I typed "/tell Puntar Sandfisher Hey man, sorry I attacked you. I'm new to this game and still figuring it out. I hope there's no hard feelings.", and pushed enter. But he never saw my message. For you see:

Puntar was not online at that time.

[Rist]

My first character was a Dwarf Cleric named Kalalek. I had ventured through Butcherblock Mountains and into Unrest. I eventually got to level 14 before I decided that I would travel to Freeport for the first time.

When I had finished my trek to the docks, I saw my very first Erudite who happened to be killing guards and such. I was so amazed at power of the Magician class that I immediately logged out and created my very own Erudite Magician.
I spent the next few hours in Toxx forest, completely dark, and getting lost at every turn. I grouped with a Wizard who had just started and we watched the experience slowly tick by until we had finally reached the magical level of 4!

I was going to get to see my pet for the very first time. It was such a cool feeling when I began to cast my conjuration spell in Erudin Palace, 3..2..1..Missing ingredient. I was so confused. I had no idea what a Malachite was or where to get one. After sending a few random tells to other Magicians one was finally kind enough to tell me what it was, and that I would find them at the Jeweler.

I found the jeweler. Got my Malachite. Started summoning Goner again. Such a fantastic sight it was. I was so excited to go back to Toxx and lay waste to the terrors that were there. I ran out of the Palace, and zoned back to Erudin. Goner was gone. Confused again, I tried everything I could. Eventually settling on summoning another. No Malachite. I didn't realize that each summon would consume my gem.
I later learned, after asking other Magicians, that you lost your pet on zoning.

I would play my Magician as my main for many years, never really losing interest in playing him. My Cleric is still sitting at the docks in Butcherblock. He never did make it to Freeport.

[west42074]

"Why would you make up a human?" he asked me questioningly. "I know how much you like elves and Lord of the Rings and all of that mess, but here is this awesome new game and you want to make up a regular human in the most regular setting possible..."

By this time I had tuned him out. It was 1999 and my friend Jake was responsible for inspiring me to buy Everquest. Of course I had to buy a new computer first because the graphics were absolutely top of the line and my old desktop just couldn't handle all the graphics. The first time that I saw Jake play the game and watched his wood elf character running through the dark and hoary wood of Greater Fay I knew I had to get it; even if it meant the misappropriation of scholarship funds (well, I did use the computer for some school stuff so I sufficiently justified it). I set up the computer and agonized through the installation and finally made up my character: Vidden, human agnostic wizard from Qeynos.

Of course I had manufactured a whole background for Vidden. Nothing spectacular, the son of a Karana fisherman who was born with some magical talent and was sent to apprentice under Nohstala Westfend. When I explained my narrative to Jake he didn't seem to understand that either; it was simple and plain compared to the lustrous backdrop of Norrath.

"See, that's just so plain" he continued. "I'm going to go logon and I'll see you there"

I just nodded and logged in...

Much like the Shire for Frodo, Qeynos created a simple and quaint backdrop for my character Vidden. With time and more adventure he slowly radiated out from his rustic home and humble start. One of the voyages I made was to Erudin. A tall, swarthy wizard who curiously carried around an ornate stein was kind enough to give me a few pointers. He told me about a great library in the city of Erudin, filled with most of the lore I would need to become ever more powerful. I waited forever on the boat and when it finally came I climbed aboard and found a quiet place to sit down. There were several Erudites on the boat as well; they quietly kept to themselves. I'd heard that they were a bit aloof around humans, and certainly didn't see us as equals in the practice of magic.

To my surprise we made a stop at a very small island stranded amidst Erud's Crossing. I walked to the edge of the boat, curious about where we stopped and what strange island this could be; standing on the dock and staring back at me was a strange creature - a kerran - who mewed pawed at the air and glowered dubiously at me. I decided it was best to not venture onto the island. Suddenly a scream resounded in ALL CAPS and I bounded away from the edge of the boat. Running like mad across the dock was another human in robes and following close behind him were three buzzing spheres of light. I had seen them in Qeynos Hills and the Karanas but they were always so peaceful. I couldn't imagine why they were attacking him. The will-o'wisps flit against him continuously; his steps faltered and finally he collapsed at the edge of the dock, just short of the boat. He was dead. The wisps hovered ominously over his corpse then slowly drifted back toward the dusk illuminated isle as the boat lurched forward again. My stared at the corpse until the island faded from view. The Erudites whispered among themselves and cast a few chastising glances over their shoulders.

Erudin was ominous. From the magical skiff that carried me from the boat through shark infested waters to the teleportation gems that moved me through the marble halls and libraries. I decided to stay there for some time and earn the respect of the Erudites there. Toxxulia was a brutal land for a young adventurer to make a name for himself but I found close camaraderie with the folk of Erudin and joined them on many adventures against the Kerrans and Kobolds. I eventually gained the respect of the Craftkeepers, and even undertook several quests for the masters of Wizardry there. The famed city was one of my first sources of wonder in this world.

To continue my adventures I would have to cross the Karanas. I wanted to travel to Freeport. I'd heard that it was the Jewel of the East, a cosmopolitan city where elves and humans, and even dark elves and ogres could be seen walking down the same streets together. I had never met an ogre and the prospect was exhilarating. I had found a bard, I think his name was Laay who was going to group a bunch of us together and run us across the continent. There were people who could teleport us but they were very rare - the bard was the best chance we had. We all gathered and paid our donations and the bard set off across the Karanas. The trip itself was exciting but things began get worrisome when we came to a huge gorge. We climbed a mountain pass that moved higher and higher; I clung to the walls like lichen afraid get too close to the sides. We were moving so fast as the bard continually beat his drum, setting a mad rhythm for feet that moved faster than they ever had before. Suddenly there was a scream, another ALL CAPS cry. One of the group had fallen into the chasm; I think she must have clung to the side as she fell. She was a barbarian woman named Freja I think, and I wasn't surprised she lived; she was really hurt however. Laay set us off in the opposite direction, determined to go back to the beginning of the gorge and meet the poor woman. He was determined not to abandon her.

Another ALL CAPS cry "CLEAR THE WAY, RUN!!" (I've learned to tremble at the "sound"). Barreling down the gorge floor was a small party of adventurers - I even noticed the swarthy wizard with the odd mug from ages ago among them - barreling down behind them, shaking the ground with the weight of his thunderous green legs. A cyclops. A cyclops! He charged down the chasm and before him, the fleeing party met lethal ends. We watched from the safety of our perch as one by one the party was slain. Freja ran for her life but to no avail. A single swat of his mammoth fist and Freja crumpled beneath the weight of his blow. We all stood there on the cliff edge, stunned. I was sorry that it happened but Laay said that we couldn't go all the way back now. We continued on the way, but the rest of the trip was fairly silent.

Freeport was everything that I had heard. It was huge in comparison to Qeynos. Freeport teemed with people of every type. Dark elves, ogres, trolls, elves! And the bazaar was incredible! The tunnel to the Commonlands held every type of person with every kind of magic, weapon, and spell for hire! I wide-eyed stared at ogre shamans who walked on air and dark elven enchantresses who hocked elaborate magical jewelry. I had no idea that there were that many people in the world of Everquest, and the thought that they would all convene in one place like this was mind-blowing. Freeport was the metropolis of Norrath and every wonder imaginable seemed to be available there. I spent quite some time in and around Freeport; exploring the Deserts of Ro, running the Commonlands, and even diving into the dark depths of Neriak. As a wizard with no particular religious conviction I thrilled at walking into the alien land of the Tier'Dal and laying eyes on sites that no human rarely ever saw.

After all of this though, there was still the land of the elves. The Faydark - the mystic isle where high magic reigned and immortal royalty still held court among the Fay. Once again I found myself on another boat and traveled far again and was not disappointed. Kaladim was the first. The great dwarven statue was a testament to the building power of the dwarves and their immortal home. But it was Felwithe, so perfectly blended into the forest and Kelethin raised high and hidden among the trees that won my heart. With Felwithe as my new base of operations I helped bring down the orc chieftain and his cohorts, I travelled the darkened halls of Unrest and battled the horrors in the depths, I scorched the flesh from the bones of Castle Mistmoor's dread residents . I explored the lands with wide-eyed wonder and every new sight was more wondrous than the last.

To my friend Jake. Why do I make up a human? I made up a human because I wanted to vicariously live through actions and explorations of my character. I wanted to thrill at viewing an elf, an ogre, or even a dragon for the first time with the all the astonishment and excitement of so many other heroes before me that started in the quaint and humble beginnings of their homelands and ranged far and wide in the course of their adventures. Like Frodo in the court of Galadriel or Tanis in Qualinost, I truly experienced a heroic journey. Everquest in 1999 was an incredible gaming experience for me, one that no other MMO has been able to match regardless of where I looked or what games I tried.

Anyway, last month Jake called me up and said "Hey, you've got to go to this website. Project1999.org ."

Thank you, Jake. I'm going to make up a human in Qeynos...

[sedrie.bellamie]

When the Plane of Fear came out on live there was no level restriction. So a buddy and I made up Ogre Warriors, and I remembering putting all my points in STA. There were plenty of people camping Specters in the Feerrott so we bummed a few buffs and sow.

Now there had not even been a fear clear yet and we did not get far. We would die and run back and just zone in get feared or meleed to death. Eventually we got the idea to try a variety of invs's and having one person train a little bit.

During of these I was able to run right up on the Dracoliche and get merked.

We did this for a while that it attracted the attention of some others and then there was a small stream of ogres rushing the portal.

It was quite a bit of fun. Get a sow, zone in, run around, die. The monsters were like nothing we had seen before. The sky raid blood. It was really impressive for the first time.

[revkaine]

"Why would you make up a human?" he asked me questioningly. "I know how much you like elves and Lord of the Rings and all of that mess, but here is this awesome new game and you want to make up a regular human in the most regular setting possible..."

By this time I had tuned him out. It was 1999 and my friend Jake was responsible for inspiring me to buy Everquest. Of course I had to buy a new computer first because the graphics were absolutely top of the line and my old desktop just couldn't handle all the graphics. The first time that I saw Jake play the game and watched his wood elf character running through the dark and hoary wood of Greater Fay I knew I had to get it; even if it meant the misappropriation of scholarship funds (well, I did use the computer for some school stuff so I sufficiently justified it). I set up the computer and agonized through the installation and finally made up my character: Vidden, human agnostic wizard from Qeynos.

Of course I had manufactured a whole background for Vidden. Nothing spectacular, the son of a Karana fisherman who was born with some magical talent and was sent to apprentice under Nohstala Westfend. When I explained my narrative to Jake he didn't seem to understand that either; it was simple and plain compared to the lustrous backdrop of Norrath.

"See, that's just so plain" he continued. "I'm going to go logon and I'll see you there"

I just nodded and logged in...

Much like the Shire for Frodo, Qeynos created a simple and quaint backdrop for my character Vidden. With time and more adventure he slowly radiated out from his rustic home and humble start. One of the voyages I made was to Erudin. A tall, swarthy wizard who curiously carried around an ornate stein was kind enough to give me a few pointers. He told me about a great library in the city of Erudin, filled with most of the lore I would need to become ever more powerful. I waited forever on the boat and when it finally came I climbed aboard and found a quiet place to sit down. There were several Erudites on the boat as well; they quietly kept to themselves. I'd heard that they were a bit aloof around humans, and certainly didn't see us as equals in the practice of magic.

To my surprise we made a stop at a very small island stranded amidst Erud's Crossing. I walked to the edge of the boat, curious about where we stopped and what strange island this could be; standing on the dock and staring back at me was a strange creature - a kerran - who mewed pawed at the air and glowered dubiously at me. I decided it was best to not venture onto the island. Suddenly a scream resounded in ALL CAPS and I bounded away from the edge of the boat. Running like mad across the dock was another human in robes and following close behind him were three buzzing spheres of light. I had seen them in Qeynos Hills and the Karanas but they were always so peaceful. I couldn't imagine why they were attacking him. The will-o'wisps flit against him continuously; his steps faltered and finally he collapsed at the edge of the dock, just short of the boat. He was dead. The wisps hovered ominously over his corpse then slowly drifted back toward the dusk illuminated isle as the boat lurched forward again. My stared at the corpse until the island faded from view. The Erudites whispered among themselves and cast a few chastising glances over their shoulders.

Erudin was ominous. From the magical skiff that carried me from the boat through shark infested waters to the teleportation gems that moved me through the marble halls and libraries. I decided to stay there for some time and earn the respect of the Erudites there. Toxxulia was a brutal land for a young adventurer to make a name for himself but I found close camaraderie with the folk of Erudin and joined them on many adventures against the Kerrans and Kobolds. I eventually gained the respect of the Craftkeepers, and even undertook several quests for the masters of Wizardry there. The famed city was one of my first sources of wonder in this world.

To continue my adventures I would have to cross the Karanas. I wanted to travel to Freeport. I'd heard that it was the Jewel of the East, a cosmopolitan city where elves and humans, and even dark elves and ogres could be seen walking down the same streets together. I had never met an ogre and the prospect was exhilarating. I had found a bard, I think his name was Laay who was going to group a bunch of us together and run us across the continent. There were people who could teleport us but they were very rare - the bard was the best chance we had. We all gathered and paid our donations and the bard set off across the Karanas. The trip itself was exciting but things began get worrisome when we came to a huge gorge. We climbed a mountain pass that moved higher and higher; I clung to the walls like lichen afraid get too close to the sides. We were moving so fast as the bard continually beat his drum, setting a mad rhythm for feet that moved faster than they ever had before. Suddenly there was a scream, another ALL CAPS cry. One of the group had fallen into the chasm; I think she must have clung to the side as she fell. She was a barbarian woman named Freja I think, and I wasn't surprised she lived; she was really hurt however. Laay set us off in the opposite direction, determined to go back to the beginning of the gorge and meet the poor woman. He was determined not to abandon her.

Another ALL CAPS cry "CLEAR THE WAY, RUN!!" (I've learned to tremble at the "sound"). Barreling down the gorge floor was a small party of adventurers - I even noticed the swarthy wizard with the odd mug from ages ago among them - barreling down behind them, shaking the ground with the weight of his thunderous green legs. A cyclops. A cyclops! He charged down the chasm and before him, the fleeing party met lethal ends. We watched from the safety of our perch as one by one the party was slain. Freja ran for her life but to no avail. A single swat of his mammoth fist and Freja crumpled beneath the weight of his blow. We all stood there on the cliff edge, stunned. I was sorry that it happened but Laay said that we couldn't go all the way back now. We continued on the way, but the rest of the trip was fairly silent.

Freeport was everything that I had heard. It was huge in comparison to Qeynos. Freeport teemed with people of every type. Dark elves, ogres, trolls, elves! And the bazaar was incredible! The tunnel to the Commonlands held every type of person with every kind of magic, weapon, and spell for hire! I wide-eyed stared at ogre shamans who walked on air and dark elven enchantresses who hocked elaborate magical jewelry. I had no idea that there were that many people in the world of Everquest, and the thought that they would all convene in one place like this was mind-blowing. Freeport was the metropolis of Norrath and every wonder imaginable seemed to be available there. I spent quite some time in and around Freeport; exploring the Deserts of Ro, running the Commonlands, and even diving into the dark depths of Neriak. As a wizard with no particular religious conviction I thrilled at walking into the alien land of the Tier'Dal and laying eyes on sites that no human rarely ever saw.

After all of this though, there was still the land of the elves. The Faydark - the mystic isle where high magic reigned and immortal royalty still held court among the Fay. Once again I found myself on another boat and traveled far again and was not disappointed. Kaladim was the first. The great dwarven statue was a testament to the building power of the dwarves and their immortal home. But it was Felwithe, so perfectly blended into the forest and Kelethin raised high and hidden among the trees that won my heart. With Felwithe as my new base of operations I helped bring down the orc chieftain and his cohorts, I travelled the darkened halls of Unrest and battled the horrors in the depths, I scorched the flesh from the bones of Castle Mistmoor's dread residents . I explored the lands with wide-eyed wonder and every new sight was more wondrous than the last.

To my friend Jake. Why do I make up a human? I made up a human because I wanted to vicariously live through actions and explorations of my character. I wanted to thrill at viewing an elf, an ogre, or even a dragon for the first time with the all the astonishment and excitement of so many other heroes before me that started in the quaint and humble beginnings of their homelands and ranged far and wide in the course of their adventures. Like Frodo in the court of Galadriel or Tanis in Qualinost, I truly experienced a heroic journey. Everquest in 1999 was an incredible gaming experience for me, one that no other MMO has been able to match regardless of where I looked or what games I tried.

Anyway, last month Jake called me up and said "Hey, you've got to go to this website. Project1999.org ."

Thank you, Jake. I'm going to make up a human in Qeynos...
Nicely done..

[Labyrrinth]

I love every single one of these stories!!! <3 You guys rock!

[CBG]

^ Oldest EQ story, ever. Can't write something original to win pp?

[teekanc]

So, there's this clueless guy who has a 50+ monk in our guild. He's a cool guy, but.. tends to nom on shrooms and swallow acid. Zoned into Rivervale one day, and hes gettin' his ass beat, running around being chased by guards. Instead of feign death, hes running around saying "get off me *****, get off me"...


Not entering this, just sharing.

[kazroth]

Nicely done..

Excellent read, wow... gratz on ur 10k! :)

[Safon]

Mendawen confirmed scumbag

[waldo]

As a low level halfling rogue i got a teleport to qeynos area. I loved it there at first seeing the gnolls and blackburrow were just much cooler than runnyeye and goblins. Only downfall was that i was on the vallon zek server therefore it was pvp server. And one thing i learned very quick in the qeynos area was that you don't want to be a halfling. Everybody picked on me and attacked me on mobs whenever they had the chance. I finally got sick of this and decided to head off back home. I had never made the trek before so I went to vendors bought all the food and the bandages that i could and was ready. I started off going into wk and was almost immediately killed by a lion. Well that sucked. I got my corpse and then got a little bit further before i died to another lion. If only i could have sow, but alas nobody in that area wanted to give a halfling sow. So i got this next corpse and decided i would have to sneak/hide all the way to rivervale. So i snuck and hid through the first karana. This took about 45 minutes. Then i nk i snuck and hid through it. Woot this only took about 30 minutes. Finally i got to ek. I snuck and hid and got to the ramp that leads to highpass hold. I kid you not when i say that it took me 30 minutes to get up that ramp while sneaking and hiding. I zoned over to highpass hold and was very greatful. I saw guards there and knew that i was finally safe. Being impatient and sick of hiding and sneaking i took it off. I trekked though the zone some and then ran smack dab into an orc. Shit i was lost, no sow, no invis, and these asshole orcs hit hard. I died within a minute. Loading please wait..... You have entered north qeynos..... NOOOOOO!!! I tried multiple times to get there and get my corpse back, one time i even made it all the way to my corpse, only to die while looting it. I finally gave up on it and stayed in the blackburrow qeynos area. It wasn't so bad i guess, at least barbarian women were better to look at then halfling ones. And i actually found a nice barbarian who gave me some giant snake fangs and leather. I was extremely happy, and decided to explore everfrost. I was running along a frozen river when all of the sudden i fell in a hole. Thats how i lost my second corpse :)

[Broot]

I had purchased EQ shortly after the release of Kunark. After some cajoling, I managed to get my friend to also pick up the game. He began his level 1 High Elf Wizard - and being the good friend I was - I decided to pack my bags as a level 9 Human Paladin and meet him on Faydwer to show him the ropes.

I recall that I had just hit level 9 and was feeling good with my Minor Healing. I was a big man who could swing a sword AND cast a spell. How cool is that?!? I was a rare Human daring to play something non-fantasy in a fantasy world. I was confident in my vast wisdom in hours spent of slaying rats and orcs. I could show him how it was done.

By the end of the long, arduous journey, I arrived at Greater Faydark and my friend had hit level 5. He was smoothly icing the various pests of the forest to death and feeling pretty smug. Mr. Wizard relayed to me that, sadly, small vermin were no longer yielding him experience.

I thought to myself, "Hell- with our powers combined, we can get things done. We're ready for the big leagues!" I busted out the physical map that came with the game and did some pondering. After a short glance I realized quickly where we needed to be. Lesser Faydark. Surely the next zone over would provide some real challenge to 2 seasoned warriors such as ourselves. We went there straight away.

Upon entering the Lesser Faydark, a wave of uncertainty and anxiety passes over me. It's dark - oh so dark! My human eyes cam see nothing in these woods, but I did not want to back down or show weakness.

"Follow me," I said, as I blindly run face first into trees and get stuck on logs.

After some minutes, both of us were feeling rather disappointed. We had not encountered a single creature to award us those alluring experience points. In hindsight, however, what luck we had not encountered any denizens of the Lesser Faydark!

As my heart was sinking lower and lower as I was failing to provide my friend true adventuring, I suddenly began to make out a white shape in the distance. What's that? "A pained unicorn"?!

He spotted it, too. "What do you think, should we kill it?", my wizard friend asked.

"Well- he's pained. He must be injured already. I'm sure he'll go down easy." I replied.

"Ok."

"Well, you have the ranged spells, how about you attack it and I will engage after he comes!" I announce, smiling smugly at my brilliant tactics.

"Ok, here goes!", he says.

I see orbs of ice encase my green robed High Elf friend. Short seconds after, WHAM, the ice hits the pained unicorn. Yet...something isn't right! The unicorn is still at 100% health. My heart flutters and I realize - I've made a huge mistake.

The pained unicorn moves deftly and quickly for being in such an agonized state. I too begin to close the distance. The unicorn reaches my High Elf brother and - in one swoop motion - gores my friend upon his brilliant horn. The wizard's body crumples, leaving a sad, frail, lampshade-green corpse where my mighty friend had once been.

The unicorn promptly walks away, unfazed. I turn, watch him go, and sheathe my sword, hands shaking. And then the laughter starts. It starts as a slight chuckle, but eventually the explosion of laughter can not be contained and I am slapping my knee thinking about the unfortunate turn of events. I felt guilty, but it was just too funny!

The humor was short-lived though. I realize immediately how lucky it was that I didn't make it in time to engage, and that I was bound very, very far away. My mood turns somber within milliseconds, and I quickly scrape my way blindly back to the Greater Faydark, defeated both in body and spirit.

My friend failed to recover his body 4 or 5 times and I was too scared to go back in for fear of returning to Antonica naked. He ends up quitting his wizard that night, and starting a cleric. He was much happier in the long run.

Shortly after, I had a bomb of knowledge dropped an me as I learned about the "Consideration" function and how I could prevent having angry unicorns mow down my party. My teeth were shattered as I was punched in the face by the mighty fist of humility. I realized then, that level 9 was very small, and that I knew nothing about this new world.

This story stills makes me and my friend laugh when we remember it. It is the most vivid early experience I have with EQ and takes me back to a nostalgic feeling of true exploration into a scary world I knew nothing about.

[Blackmartin]

bump, contest end today?

[west42074]

He said a week, I thought it would end today.

[Blackmartin]

Lol I wonder if he forgot he was doing this?

[aegeryen]

It all began on that fateful back in 1999 .....

I stopped by my freind rob's house . Rob had just gotten a new computer. ANd was playing a new game : Everquest .

After watching him play for a few minutes , I knew one thing : I had to buy a computer and I had to play this game .

With a childlike glee , and more money than sence , I rushed off to the local computer store , to buy the most expensive machine available and copy of the fabled game that had so stimulated my cerebral cortex even through the purple haze I kept it encased in during my mid-twentys .

After a few hours of confuse , frustration and heated phone conversations with my friend Rob , My new computer was up and running everquest installed .

With the joy of 5 year old on christmas morning , I attentively navagated the character generation screen , looking hrough the endless options , carefully reading each race and class discription .

After about an hour looking and trying various names of my favorite fantasy characters to find all were unavailable . I decide to let my pervy side win out and created a female dark elf SK .

Then I entered Norath for the first time .

After spend the better part of an hour try to figure out how to get out of neriak , I entered the noobie area , my senses were alight with the new found land and I quickly set about to kill the various monsters totally emmersed in Nektulos forest .

Then the phone rang . It was mt friend Rob . After exchanging character names , and Rob explain a few things like how chat worked and how to equip items , my friend told me he has some stuff for me : a minotaur ribcage and fine steel 2 handed sword . I only had to meet him in steamfont to get the treasures .He told me of a website that had maps so I could just plot a course and run there .

With visions of a blue stripper dressed in bone teddy , I ran down the road leading out of Nektulos into brand new world , as dangerous as it was breathtaking .

I ran through the east commonlands with out any hitch . The auctions of treasures , followed by things that ment little or nothing to me like , 5ac , 3 wis ,3str , and procs at 10 , filled my chat window as I rushed forward my mind ever on my quest .

I soon entered West Freeport , only to discover the guards hated me ...

After a couple more stupid deaths trying to sneak around the guards ( not using the skill I had no idea what that was ) . I cryed out in the newly discovered ooc channel for help . A helpful troll ( take that however you want ) said he would show me a way to get on the boat .

Troll made a small shoe appear on my screen and lead me through North Ro , into the water and around the city and on to the docks telling me to stay clear of the guards .We soon arrived to wait on the boat.

After what seemed like an eternity , the boat arrived . Anxioiusly I boarded . I as I drifted off to unknown adventure all the while evisioning how my newly forged SK would look in that ribcage .

I was astonished how much the boat ride seemed like a real boat ride , and how long it took . But I marvelled at the cyclops as we passed one by . and wondered at how this really was a new world to explore . Mostly I imaged how my sexy my toon would look in that chest piece .

After what seemed like an eternity we arrived in feydwer , more pricisely The Butcherblock Mountains , only to discorver that the dwarfs hate me too .....

The subsequent boat rides were not nearly as wonderous , they were more aggrivating and frustrating . But stil I pressed on . Evenually I learned to circumvent the dwarves , and the goblins and the fairies , I learned how to con a mob to see if it hated you .

Though I endured several more boat rides I learned from each death and eventually navagated the thralls of Butcherblock , Greater Faydark , and Lesser Faydark to arrive at steamfont .Hungry , thirsty , and naked I had made it .

Virtually shaking with excitement , visions a bone cladden blue hussy in my head , I sent my friend a tell only to find he had logged . Undaunted I called him on the phone , Luckily he was still awake and logged on to meet me .

WIth joyous mirth I waited for Robs character Krezon to come oneline . After a few minutes a gnome in a black robe approached , It was Krezon . He loled when he saw me and iquired why I was naked .

After a few minutes of explanation of how to loot your corpse and why you should recover your corpse , and the need for food . A trade window opened with a shiny Fine Steel 2 handed sword , and a minotaur ribcage in it . I had no Idea how to except the trade , and eventually Rob slightly annoyed at this point told me how to make the trade .

I quickly epuipped my precious chest piece , scrolling back to see how it looked , I discovered to my horror that it looked rather plain , in fact, I preferred the red bikini to it , it didnt look like a ribcage at all . With a sigh of disappointment I thanked Krezon . And realising everything on this continent hated me , headed back to nektulos .

I died a few more times on the way back , but I had discovered an amazing new world , and realised this would be the first of many stange adventures I would have there .



Glover 16 cleric
Geezer 14 Warrior
Methidone 65 Cleric ( live )

[Blackmartin]

sigh

[Hagglebaron]

Totally forgot i was doing another one of these, thank you to Blackmartin for reminding me. I'll go through them and select three potential winners soon, then post the finals poll.

[insertname]

Was Velious - Me a late 40's ranger
at 45 I was exploring velious and happened upon a group at a dock. So I chatted them up just taking my time socializing when this GINORMOUS turtle pops up and starts the beat down - they actually made quick work of Lodizal as he was called and the pali I was chatty with told me to loot him. I declined at first not wanting to seem like a mooch but he insisted and told me no one need the note and to take it. I didnt know what it was for so I looted it and continued the chatty cathy bit untill every one took off. I continued on my way happily unaware of what just happened.

Later I ended up with a guildy warrior I happened across trying to solo in EW, and having a hell of a time. We teamed up and I convey what had happened earlier and he clued me in on the eye patch, to this day I cant believe that I was allowed to loot, (much thanks if your reading this buy some chance - Dwarven Pali extraordinaire) anyway we commence to duo'ing and its going well untill we get swarmed. I belive Kodiaks.

We where just killing singles when a group of them poped and seemed to bee line right for us - they where poping faster then we could put them down and as they encircled us we had to choose in a moment: run or fight With a silent understanding we accepted the challenge and fought - we stopped the chatting, only breaking the silence to call targets and actions and fell into a rhythm. Healing his wounds as he taunted the beasts - I rooted the mobs as they encircled us while he was cutting through them in a dual wielding flurry of blood and steel. and those that tried to flee where snared and put to the sword. I assisted as needed and together we won the day - I lost count however the entire mob was put down one by one, and as the last one fell we stood in silence only half realizing the fight was over. No legends told nor songs sung of that day, just a bond forged in battle, an unspoken respect for the abilities of the other and an adventure in Velious.

[tekniq]

Dalnir's Paradise

As I walk through the valley to the Klyre Overseer,
I took a look at my mana and realized there's nothing left.
And as I kept blastin his slaves for so long that,
even Jibartik thinks that my mind is gone.
But I ain't ever kill a Klyre that didn't deserve it,
me dying to these mobs, you know that's unheard of.
You better watch where you're standing or where you're roaming,
or you and your homies might just hit the floor.
I really hate the trip, but I had to come.
As I turn the corner, I see myself enveloped his thick blue smoke, fool.
I'm the kinda toon that you never shoulda messed with,
Now you're run with 10% and you're feeling kinda helpless.

been spending most my day, tryna get this necklace of superiority
been spending most my day, tryna get this necklace of superiority
keep spending most my night, tryna get this necklace of superiority
keep spending most my night, tryna get this necklace of superiority

Now I'm in a situation, another Overseer I'm facing,
I can't loot another corpse, cause this thing is a lore.
Now I gotta gate back and go and transfer this,
not a single person in the zone, I gotta be quick.
I'm a broke motherlover with plat on my mind,
I got a levy cloak on my back, and a gleam in my eye.
I just landed in OT, from bangin my worker's hammer,
But now I'm runnin for my life, cause a dragoon I angered, fool.
Death ain't nothin but a heartbeat away,
I'm at 40% health and still runnin, what can I say?
I'm at 20%, but will I live to reach the zone,
the way things are going I don't know...

Chorus:
Tell me why am I, so filled with greed,
I could've passed the camp, but I need pp.
been spending most my day, tryna get this necklace of superiority
been spending most my day, tryna get this necklace of superiority
keep spending most my night, tryna get this necklace of superiority
keep spending most my night, tryna get this necklace of superiority

Zoned into Dalnir, and I see another person,
He asked for a CC, I see that he is lurking,
Now he sees me running, but I ain't even looking.
I'm summoning my pet, it seems he got lost in the dungeon.
Still at low health, but nobody's here to heal me,
But I have to engage, else he's going to kill-steal me.
I resisted the first AOE,
but now I'm dead, I guess my life was out of luck fool.

Now I had to eat a death, cause I wanted another necklace of superiority
Now I had to eat a death, cause I wanted another necklace of superiority
I'm naked in EC, the guy told me he got his necklace of superiority
I'm naked in EC, the guy told me he got a necklace of superiority
Tell me why am I, so filled with greed.
I paid for a rez, that cost 600pp.
Tell me why am I, so filled with greed,
I shouldn't have died, now I'm down 600pp..