Looking for EverQuest stories for my book...
Robert B. Marks
Please forgive the intrusion, but I'm writing a book about EverQuest for
McGraw-Hill, and I was rather hoping to get some amusing anicdotes about
the gameplay.
The book itself is not a strategy guide...it's more of a history of the
game, and a look at the issues and community around it. I'll have
material on various guilds, how they were formed, and what they do, I'll
cover some of the social issues such as EverQuest addiction, and even
take a guess at what is to come (and yes, I'll have interviews with the
developers).
Essentially, I want to have each chapter contain a sidebar with an
EverQuest story. Something along the lines of "I logged on one day and
x happened." So, I was wondering if anybody had some good stories to
share...funny, insightful, I'm interested in them all. And, the best
ones will appear in the book when its published in May.
Best regards to all,
Robert Marks
PS: For those who are interested, I've most recently been a columnist on
Diabloii.net; my column is titled "Garwulf's Corner", and can be found
at www.diabloii.net/garwulfs.
--
"There are more things in Heaven and Hell than any mortal man
could dream."
- From Demonsbane
Current: Demonsbane; Pocket Books
Forthcoming: Durendal, the sword of Roland; Last Legend,
October/November 2002
The EverQuest Companion; Osborne McGraw-Hill, May 2003
http://home.istar.ca/~delric/home.html
Richard Lawson
> Something along the lines of "I logged on one day and
> x happened."
Dunno if this is what you're looking for, but this happened to me:
I had just bought the game. I had created a Dark Elf wizard and spent two
solid days trying to get my graphical issues resolved. I finally got the
game running, and spent another day running around Neriak trying to figure
out how to leave the place.
Distraught, I left my DE wizard behind and created a halfling druid. I
started off in Rivervale and was just as confused by that place as I had
been by Neriak. I knew nothing about the mechanics of the game, and nothing
about what I was even supposed to do.
A high-level druid saw me. Of her own volition she stopped to say hello and
ask what I was doing. I told her I was new to the game and trying to figure
out what to do. She immediately stopped what she was doing and began
showing me around Rivervale. She took me to the center of town and pointed
out the important merchants. She pointed out the Priest of Discord to me
and said that I should avoid him at all costs. She showed me where the
druid guild was and walked me through turning in my beginning note and
getting my first-level spells - even giving me some gold so I could buy them
all. She talked me through scribing my spells and showed me how to cast
them. Then she explained the concept of macros and patiently walked me
through setting some up so I could do a quest. Then she told me how to do
the quest - a simple courier quest that rewarded me with gold and
experience, enough to get me quickly to fifth level. All the time she was
patient and friendly and encouraging. I asked her tons of questions and she
helped me out a lot.
At one point she said into the group we'd formed together, "Just sitting
here in Rivervale showing the ropes to a newbie." Clearly an accidental
message, meant for her guild. She apologized for calling me a newbie, but I
wasn't the least bit offended, and actually wielded my "newbie" label like a
badge of honor - it was very exciting for me to be a stranger in a strange
land.
Once she had me comfortably settled in, she went off on her own quests. I
played around with my druid for a bit, then went back to my wizard and
applied the lessons she had taught me to that character. I got him up to
about level fifteen, then used what I learned from that to make a human
cleric. The cleric became my main and is now level 60 and still active on
the Drinal server.
To my shame I don't remember the name of the druid that took a couple of
hours out of her game-playing time to help out someone who was new to the
game. But her example of generosity lingers with me still. At the very
beginning of my EQ experience I had the best kind of encounter with another
player, one that convinced me early on how good this game could be. I've
tried to emulate that behavior and tried to be encouraging to new players -
because we were all new once, and being kind to a newbie can lead to a great
gaming experience for everyone.
--
-Richard
Monual Lifegiver
High Priest of Rodcet Nife
Drinal server
mitts
of my life. On top of that, the servers were populated with nerds; I
was horrified. That day I cancelled my EQ account.
Rastus
> One day I logged into EQ and realized that I'd wasted the last 6 months
> of my life. On top of that, the servers were populated with nerds; I
> was horrified. That day I cancelled my EQ account.
You left out the ending: "There was much rejoicing".
Remington Stone
CIHYS?
[56 Beguiler] Zinphandel Chianti <Ethereal Requiem> (Gnome) Ayonae Ro
John M Clancy
> One day I logged into EQ and realized that I'd wasted the last 6 months
> of my life. On top of that, the servers were populated with nerds; I
> was horrified. That day I cancelled my EQ account.
ROTFLMAO!
Hmmm and you are still reading EQ newgroups.
Actually maybe this is a good idea. This game is crowded
enough.
EQ SUCKS! DON'T BUY IT!
--
Go here and click every day:
http://www.thehungersite.com
mitts
mitts
10/mo and no huge amounts of time are required :)
mitts
Just Me
over again in the game.
I had the help of a friend who got me into the game (and now doesn't play
anymore - lol). He was also something of a newb, but had many of the basics
plus some experience in the buying and selling of stuff. After that,
however, I really depended on the people I met. I occasionally got teased,
but that was fine when done in proper spirit (which I did most of the time).
I have since made quite an effort to help newbs. My alltime record for
newbiedom was when I was playing my then level 5 mage. I logged in for was
was to be just a few minutes outside Felwithe where I had camped after a
trainer/spell purchase, and suddenly found a invite request with no "wanna
group" or anything like that. I figured what the heck, and took it to find a
7 mage on the other side of things. She proceeds to just start wacking wasps
and bats plus the occasional Orc Pawn - all greens all the time. I mentioned
something about perhaps going up to Orc hill or at least closer to Kelethin,
and got a "Where's that?".
The long and the short of it was that she had somehow gotten to level 7 by
hunting within several hundred units of the Felwithe entrance. I have no
idea how she made it as high as 7 there. Despite the fact that needed to go
to bed, I spent the next hour explaining the concept of xp and mob
difficulty to here, running her to Kelethin, getting her bound, killing a
few things, and eventually finding her a lvl 10 to go to Orc Hill with. I
then had a brief conversation with the 10 about taking care of the newb.
I only hope she did well after that.....
"Richard Lawson" <no...@msn.com> wrote in message
news:ansjf...@enews3.newsguy.com...
Rastus
> 10/mo and no huge amounts of time are required :)
Hmmn - I can't figure out the "OMG - $10 dollars a month!" crowd out. Here
in Australia wages are low, tax is very high and our dollar has made like a
peso and bred to no noticable effect.
So - I earn 40K a year which is average for a working class schmoe at 30.
That makes about 20K US give or take an airfare. Thats before income tax of
over 30% and all the other levels of tax which starts off at a minumum of
10% gst but more often get's to around 30% and higher for the sorts of
things I get into: beer and computer games and going out getting drunk.
Now....
*runs figurea through Acountatron5000*
...that leaves me with exactly fuck all. But you know what? 10 bucks US (20
AUD) a month is still chicken feed to me...
*shrugs*
Remington Stone
}...that leaves me with exactly fuck all. But you know what? 10 bucks US (20
}AUD) a month is still chicken feed to me...
}*shrugs*
See, you're an adult. Given the apparent age of the "OMFG! $10/mo!"
crowd, it might be their entire allowance for a week. Why, I remember
when my allowance was a mere $5 a week, and that seemed like quite a bit.
Certainly more than my friends were getting. Granted, that was the late
70's, and you could buy as many as 20 new comic books for that...
DLM
"Remington Stone" <ez06...@runner.ucdavis.edu> wrote in message
news:ant1im$r9$1...@woodrow.ucdavis.edu...
Good point.
So something the "younger" players can relate to:
$12/mo = 40cents a day = $2.80/week
....so dont eat fastfood once per week and it more than pays for
itself.
Jennaii
>things I get into: beer and computer games and going out getting drunk.
>
Wow! You sound like my kind of man. Wish you were in Kansas. :)
"This time: gonna do it RIGHT!" -- Bob Seger
Jennaii
Jennaii
>}One day I logged into EQ and realized that I'd wasted the last 6 months
>}of my life. On top of that, the servers were populated with nerds; I
>}was horrified. That day I cancelled my EQ account.
>
>CIHYS?
Sometims yall just crack me up....
I laughed myself silly over this....
Annie M. Benson-Lennaman
> To my shame I don't remember the name of the druid that took a couple of
> hours out of her game-playing time to help out someone who was new to the
> game. But her example of generosity lingers with me still. At the very
> beginning of my EQ experience I had the best kind of encounter with another
> player, one that convinced me early on how good this game could be. I've
> tried to emulate that behavior and tried to be encouraging to new players -
> because we were all new once, and being kind to a newbie can lead to a great
> gaming experience for everyone.
Richard is one of the best story tellers on this newsgroup. Maybe he
could right a book and we could add our comments "Great job, Monuel!"
"Awesome story!" "Wonderful writing".
Annie <--- Hopes Richard will at least think about it.
--
The Council of Mithril Dreams on Firiona Vie
Teapray Oogrog
An Elven Cleric in the Service of Tunare for 34 seasons
Wife to Lenny the Traveling Ogre
Also on FV
Lentea
An Iksar Shaman level 18, may be played by either Lenny or I.
------
My email has been sabotaged. If you
can't figure out the fake part,
you're not supposed to write me.
DLM
"Robert B. Marks" <del...@SPAMBLOCKER.istar.NOSPAM.ca> wrote in message
news:3DA1C374...@SPAMBLOCKER.istar.NOSPAM.ca...
> Hi all!
>
> Please forgive the intrusion, but I'm writing a book about EverQuest for
> McGraw-Hill, and I was rather hoping to get some amusing anicdotes about
> the gameplay.
>
> The book itself is not a strategy guide...it's more of a history of the
> game, and a look at the issues and community around it. I'll have
> material on various guilds, how they were formed, and what they do, I'll
> cover some of the social issues such as EverQuest addiction, and even
> take a guess at what is to come (and yes, I'll have interviews with the
> developers).
>
> Essentially, I want to have each chapter contain a sidebar with an
> EverQuest story. Something along the lines of "I logged on one day and
> x happened." So, I was wondering if anybody had some good stories to
> share...funny, insightful, I'm interested in them all. And, the best
> ones will appear in the book when its published in May.
>
> Best regards to all,
>
> Robert Marks
>
This one time at orc camp...
ryouseika
wrote:
>"Robert B. Marks" wrote:
>> Something along the lines of "I logged on one day and
>> x happened."
>
>Dunno if this is what you're looking for, but this happened to me:
>
>I had just bought the game.
Ah, memories *g* Strangely, I cannot remember how I 'learned' the
game. My first character was an erudite enchanter, WAY the heck back.
Needless to say, she never even got her tunic. Why? Because I fell
into a pool of water somewhere in a dark room where I couldn't see,
and hey, my note, spells and candle were still on her body - yay for
THAT change, I tells ya...
Really, just use google to read the newsgroup. I think we all share
the stuff worth sharing (and not :D) in here, and since most of us
don't ever leave except to play EQ, it's a simple matter of getting
hold of the author for permission to use said story.
Ryou
ryouseika
wrote:
Ditto the Canadian dollar, and heck, I'm pondering a second account
*g* But then, $20 is just a night's tips for me...
Ryou
ryouseika
You rich, slimy bastard! I grew up in the 80s and we got *2* dollars
a week. Yeesh.
Ryou
Rastus
Dont' forget the positive side of EQ addiction--> no time for turning tricks
to afford smack.... : O
ryouseika
> I
>then had a brief conversation with the 10 about taking care of the newb.
>
>I only hope she did well after that.....
As long as it wasn't me you left the newb with *eg*
"Now first, you walk up to Emperor Crush and you emote a /rude - this
gets you to level 60 the easy way."
Ryou
(should probably stop playing the necro so often...)
Rastus
>
> Ryou
Hmmn, I may have tyo change my travel plans, that's even cheaper than
Thailand...
*whistles innocently*
Rastus
> >crowd, it might be their entire allowance for a week. Why, I remember
> >when my allowance was a mere $5 a week, and that seemed like quite a bit.
> >Certainly more than my friends were getting. Granted, that was the late
> >70's, and you could buy as many as 20 new comic books for that...
>
> a week. Yeesh.
>
> Ryou
Bah - we got zilch from the old folks but used to do jobs like weeding and
lawn mowing for the neighbours for whatever they thought fair. There was a
ginger farm down the road and I used to clean up in ginger picking season as
it was 80c a bucket* whether you were 13 like me at the time or 30 like some
of the others.
My parents went overseas (skipping bankrupt proceedings) when I was 15 so I
left school and became a formwork labourer, which again had no junior wage
but you had to work like a dog of course. Lotsa money for the age: 350 AUD
per week in the mid eighties.
One thing I discovered early is if your willing to work hard then money is
never hard to come by, well, at least not in Australia. By the age of 17
though I also figured out getting paid for brawn instead of brains is not a
very good idea so then forged my parents signature to join the Airforce
before my 18th birthday.
It was a good move.
*they were damn huge m-fu*king buckets I can tell you... : /
James Grahame
"Robert B. Marks" <del...@SPAMBLOCKER.istar.NOSPAM.ca> wrote in message
news:3DA1C374...@SPAMBLOCKER.istar.NOSPAM.ca...
>
> EverQuest story. Something along the lines of "I logged on one day and
> x happened." So, I was wondering if anybody had some good stories to
> share...funny, insightful, I'm interested in them all. And, the best
> ones will appear in the book when its published in May.
When I was a young cleric, I once saved up enough money (I hoped) to buy
a new weapon - a Fine Steel Morning Star. So I auctioned to buy one, and as
luck would have it another dwarf sent me a tell saying he had one to sell!
But when I asked how much, it was more than I had and I told him so. He
asked me to come to where he was anyways. When I got there, he put the FSMS
in the trade window and told me, "You can take it. Just hold still for a
while." He seemed like such a nice person, and he wanted to get a screenshot
of me with it obviously! Beeming with pride, I equipped my new weapon and
mentally said "cheese".
I stood. And stood. He wasn't saying anything, and he wasn't moving
around to get a better angle. He just stood there, and every so often his
character twitched like he'd hit the movement keys by accident. A high-level
character ran past us, and as I turned to get a better look at him the dwarf
said, "dont move". After about two more minutes, he said "Thx" and ran away.
After a short while, I realized why he'd asked my bearded female dwarf
character in the flimsy chainmail tunic to "dont move" - and had to go
shower to get rid of the dirty feeling.
Feel free to stick that in the book!!
James
ryouseika
wrote:
I *knew* I should have started a pool on who'd make the first lewd
comment ;p
Ryou
(doesn't leave enough money in your wallet to tip *with*, on those
shifts...)
Dan Day
Hell, I can't think of *ANY* other entertainment activity
I could indulge in which wouldn't cost a hell of a lot more
per month.
Even sex costs more than that in "incidentals" if you do it well
(e.g. massage oils, bottles of bubble bath, candles, batteries...)
georg
news:gbpo9.494$Bd.16...@news2.randori.com...
>
>
> This one time at orc camp...
giggle
Your first character is always your hardest. But after I leveled one
character to 55, I started on my current favorite, a dark elf necro. I
remembered taking an untwinked character to the Orc camps in EC and having
my butt handed to me (13 wood elf warrior), but when a guildie (Klowdee, 10
troll shaman) asked me to come to Orc 2 and help her break the camp, I took
my level 10 self over. As an INT caster, I usually have the armor class of
goat cheese, and most level 10 casters are still wearing raw silk armor. I
had twinked myself with an Oracle Robe, various loam pieces from drops in
the Hole, and a couple of other nice things. Klowdee was her second troll
too. So we didn't ask a higher level person to come break the camp for us,
or shout for others to join in... we just zergling rushed the place. I ended
up being the tank while my pet took one orc at a time and Klowdee took
another. It was a great feeling of power to withstand all those blows.
-Tarre Solskin
Jennaii
>never hard to come by, well, at least not in Australia.
Agreed. The key words are "willing to work hard".
Just Jekke
wrote:
>Your first character is always your hardest.
Brikk on Bertoxx - Level 27 in 18 months with 30 days /played
Qiin on Torv - Level 55 in 12 months with 62 days /played
Moulin on Torv - Level 60 in 9 months with 42 days /played
Sheava on Torv - Level 54 in 5 months with 28 days /played
Brikk on Torv - Level 35 in 2 months with 3 days /played
Sometimes, I can't believe how exponentially the learning curve drops
off as time goes by.
--Jekke
=====================
Playing on Torvonilous
Proud Member, Fighting Chefs of Norrath
Baroness Moulin Khmer (Dark Elf Rogue, 60)
http://www.magelo.com/eq_view_profile.html?num=87681
Sheava Ebonrezzor (Dark Elf Cleric, 54)
http://www.magelo.com/eq_view_profile.html?num=392441
Brikk Hauss (Ogre Warrior, 35)
http://www.magelo.com/eq_view_profile.html?num=399065
Kenny Boles
news:9mqo9.51189$qB3.2...@news0.telusplanet.net...
> I stood. And stood. He wasn't saying anything, and he wasn't moving
> around to get a better angle. He just stood there, and every so often his
> character twitched like he'd hit the movement keys by accident. A
high-level
> character ran past us, and as I turned to get a better look at him the
dwarf
> said, "dont move". After about two more minutes, he said "Thx" and ran
away.
> After a short while, I realized why he'd asked my bearded female dwarf
> character in the flimsy chainmail tunic to "dont move" - and had to go
> shower to get rid of the dirty feeling.
...What man hasn't masturbated to a bearded female Dwarf, a one eyed female
Troll, or an Ogre with mysterious green spots on her body?
Surely I'm not alone on this. <cough> Maybe not...
--
Professional Lurker, Amateur Philosopher
"Dont assulte my intellgance."
-Bealved Countersoul
Quindell/Sekani
wrote:
>>> I'll cover some of the social issues such as EverQuest addiction,
>
>Dont' forget the positive side of EQ addiction--> no time for turning tricks
>to afford smack.... : O
>
Awww Rastus, Im sure your making enough time for both your EQ
addiction and your Smack.... not to mention your addiction to turning
tricks.
Ogre Warrior
lady's lawn that took 5 hours to mow! $200/month for a 6th grader was like
being... yeah....rich! But that was umm.... late 80s.
Seventy
I was invisible and running through the Karanas one day when I noticed a
young gnome near the gypsy camp. He was fighting a lion and though it looked
like he would win the battle, being a fellow gnome, I decided to help the
guy out.
I targeted the lion, clicked on my mesmerize spell, then *started* to type:
"I'm mesmerizing the lion for you." I got as far as: "I'm " when I
remembered that I had replaced my mesmerize spell with an Area of Effect
mesmerize spell... and that I was standing next to an NPC enchantress. Gulp.
My movement keys are mapped to "w a s d" so I frantically stabbed at my
keyboard, trying to MOVE and interrupt the spell.
I forgot that I was in typing mode.
The gypsy enchantress didn't like my attempt to mezz her so she promptly
charmed me and made me go after the gnome I had been trying to *save*. I
watched in horror as my peace-loving character, knife flailing like a crazed
sushi chef, chased the little guy down and stabbed him to death.
I found my victim later and apologized profusely... I even gave him a nice
weapon and a piece of armor. He was great about it, and laughed when I told
him what happened.
He said he didn't know WHAT was going on. One minute he was fighting a lion,
the next minute a strange gnome appeared out of NOWHERE, announced: "I'm
wwwaaaddd", then sliced him up like Freddy Krueger.
Rumbledor
Lol! That is hilarious! Not that I will ever understand why people
play opposite sex characters, but funny nonetheless.
Rumble
Richard Lawson
> I took this from one of the boards a few months back.....good story.
<snip>
Of all the EQ stories I've heard - "Burned Woods", Skater Gnome's
adventures, the VP raid - "wwwaaaddd" is the one I found the funniest. I
don't know if it's true, but it sounds true enough to have made me laugh and
laugh the first time I read it, to the point of nearly being in tears over
it. =)
I've told other EQ friends about it and they all have looked at me blankly,
so it must be a personal thing. =)
I often amused my guild with wry observations about my own failings. Once I
offered the following "Quiz", back in my mid-30's:
/gu You zone into Great Divide, and you see a Frost Giant running towards
you at warp speed. Do you:
/gu A) Root, nuke, and fight?
/gu B) Turn and zone back out?
/gu C) Stand there watching slack-jawed until he begins beating you to a
bloody pulp, by which time it's far too late to choose either of the other
options?
/gu If you chose C), you name is Monual.
One of my guildmates later mentioned that he'd been so captivated by the
Quiz that he'd fallen down the hole in Crystal Caverns and nearly killed
himself. :)
Just two days ago I was with my new guild in Ssra, and we were camping
insignia drops for Emp keys. This involved about forty of us beating up on
mobs with insane numbers of hitpoints. Since my group was at full health
after I'd cast a few touch-up heals, I did my usual technique of targeting
the mob, then using /assist to see who they were targeting so I could add
some backup healing, if needed. That led to the following observation I
made in the raid channel:
"When you /assist the mob to see who needs healing and you end up targeting
yourself, you know you're about to get hurt *real* *bad*."
Indeed, I had lost about a third of my hitpoints before the MT took aggro
back. This observation got some mild chuckles from the raid.
It's those stories - real events that perhaps don't have a powerful punch
line but show us laughing at ourselves - that I most enjoy reading and
telling.
--
-Richard
Monual Lifegiver
High Priest of Rodcet Nife
Drinal server
Rastus
tricks
> >to afford smack.... : O
> Awww Rastus, Im sure your making enough time for both your EQ
> addiction and your Smack.... not to mention your addiction to turning
> tricks.
Ok, you got me, but only since the introduction of the bazaar.... ; )
Annie M. Benson-Lennaman
> Dont' forget the positive side of EQ addiction--> no time for turning tricks
> to afford smack.... : O
Does auctioning to cyber for plat so you can afford clarity count?
Annie <--- Just asking.
Annie M. Benson-Lennaman
> Even sex costs more than that in "incidentals" if you do it well
> (e.g. massage oils, bottles of bubble bath, candles, batteries...)
Really? I didn't know that. But then, there is ALOT I don't know
about sex. Like, why does a man have an orgasm in 30 seconds, while a
woman never does? I guess some mysteries are best left unanswered.
Annie <--- Has a battery... now what?
Rastus
> about sex. Like, why does a man have an orgasm in 30 seconds, while a
> woman never does? I guess some mysteries are best left unanswered.
Well the man's 30 second limit is a Union imposed measure set to ensure
women don't have to work too hard to get their own way. The woman's "never"
on the other hand is an Occupational Health and Safety consideration to
ensure women don't get too distracted mid task and start using teeth or put
their eye or what-have-you....
*ducks*
> Annie <--- Has a battery... now what?
One battery? I think I see the problem...
Blew
> Lol! That is hilarious! Not that I will ever understand why people
> play opposite sex characters, but funny nonetheless.
>
> Rumble
I've come to the conclusion its because of the 3rd person camera view...
Dan Day
<annie...@yahoo.com> wrote:
>
> Really? I didn't know that. But then, there is ALOT I don't know
>about sex. Like, why does a man have an orgasm in 30 seconds,
Because he can.
>while a woman never does?
Strange, all the women I know are multi-orgasmic. *cough*
>Annie <--- Has a battery... now what?
I thought this one would be obvious. You show it to your
lover, then say, "if you don't go down on me for the next
thirty minutes, I'm going to beat you senseless with this
battery."
This works best with the big blocky 6-volt batteries -- you'll
only get laughed at if you whip out a AAA; proving yet
again that size really does matter.
ryouseika
<annie...@yahoo.com> wrote:
>Dan Day wrote:
>
>> Even sex costs more than that in "incidentals" if you do it well
>> (e.g. massage oils, bottles of bubble bath, candles, batteries...)
>
> Really? I didn't know that. But then, there is ALOT I don't know
>about sex. Like, why does a man have an orgasm in 30 seconds, while a
>woman never does? I guess some mysteries are best left unanswered.
>
>Annie <--- Has a battery... now what?
My GOD you're posting some racy posts tonight. You aren't pregnant or
anything, are you? :D
Ryou
jaZZmanian Devil
> I thought this one would be obvious. You show it to your
> lover, then say, "if you don't go down on me for the next
> thirty minutes, I'm going to beat you senseless with this
> battery."
>
> This works best with the big blocky 6-volt batteries -- you'll
> only get laughed at if you whip out a AAA; proving yet
> again that size really does matter.
So then you get arrested for "assault with a battery"?
I'll just get my hat.
--
"Would you care for a sammich?"
Dan Harmon
"mitts" <nom...@ihatespam.com> wrote in message
news:3da1e0b7$1...@news.nucleus.com...
> On top of that, the servers were populated with nerds; I
> was horrified. That day I cancelled my EQ account.
You say "nerds" like it's a bad thing.
Is being a dweeb better? Dweeb being, of course, someone who cancels
service on something and yet can't stay away from its newsgroup.
Rumbledor
Ha! Good one. Sic 'im, Dano.
Rumble