Sat Jan 3 13:45:27 2009

At 8 o'clock PM, Day of Deception, 2nd of the Month of the Dark Shades
on the Theran calendar Fidelpha perished, never to return.

Race:	human
Class:	transmuter
Level:	51
Alignment:	Neutral
Ethos:	Neutral
Cabal:	None, None
Age:	30
Hours:	92

Here it is, Fidelpha was more of a project of self promise than someone I wished to see to age death. I have played serveral characters were I put a lot of output into them and around rank 47 through 48 I deleted. At my age it is hard to hold onto a character and excel at the best of the games when they are people about old enough to be your parents and grandparents whippin characters butts at what they do. But unlike whining or subjecting to the Imms who tell you this i no game for someone around fourteen years old I kept going and now at sixteen have seen a difference from the beginning to where I am now. I can honestly say when I started I understood nothing of the game I would roll a char, speak with an ic/ ooc undertone do a bit of ranking and log off and come back and start all over again. Not knowing quite anything, not even that I had spells or skills or even that I had equipment. Yet there was something within the game that kept drawing back and in. So I searched it out and the more newbie friendly people I met the more Cf's world opened to me till now where when I log On I leave all other things behind to engage soley in my character of play and it's world about it. Call me wierd but each character has a way of growing on me and when I pushed for deletion I had to negate it a few times as sorrow overwhelmed me. All I wish to say is that cf has played a big role in my life in my Real life. I find myself speaking with higher intelligence and wisdom that exceeds my young age. As well as I have found a niche in writing that I cannot let go. I don't wish to go further in before this page becomes a part of my life story but I just wish to say to the imm's thanks and the newbie friendly vets thank you for not giving up even with when I began and I had such a slightly ooc dialect filled with modern day slang and the likings. It helped and here I am now on to the goodbyes...

There were many characters throughout my lifetime some I will utterly forget and some that I won't here goes.

Padwei- You come first to mind when I think of fidelpha in her eyes you were a comforting imm with a rayihn touch that I liked. I constantly viewed you as a god and me as an Empoweri learning all I could about the world around me and the map I wished to take with Fidelpha, till the point were I considered more of her flaws to expand than surface values such as being a herald transmuter with a friendship problem. Thank you and your very char made me think of rolling up a knight in the fortress. Keep rocking hard and see you in the fields.

Ralmer- Ralmer...ralmer I am suprised that we got to spend some hero time together as I was about rank 25 26 when I met you, and propelled to rank 51 in about four days. We had fun together less rp and more heraldic can I get a drink to ranking in the mounts to a few fights in the arena. Although I didn't get to know much of the character themself I enjoyed the person behind it keep on rocking.

Iktul- you were an odd one that made my experience more fun, when I logged on I automatically faerie fogged to make sure you weren't there to get meh. We had some fun interactions and at the end when I seen you as King pin made me happy, you definatly diserved that role.

Unalethkai you were plan fun to be around you were tough, and always made me wish to step up my rp when I was around you. After all I was a stormrider...keep rocking.

Rashar- Towards the end is when I began appreciating you, I have rolled up dozens of nexites and always thought when would the power of the island shift to the frontlins rather than be conceived as a petty excuse for a cabal. And you as well as cyrn added this very affect and I am happy with that. I just seen my screw up later on as I should have been a nexite in the first place not a herald. It was my wish to go to heralds to help bring it up but I seen that fade away when I finally met Iunna.

Celenai- You were a dazzling elf and I was happy you were HH because you were the final knot that kept the inn together. And I was happy to follow the path you layed out sending missives and gathering together friends of the inn. You were like that odd frail grandmother with exciting stories and a fluttery pass. Keep on doing as you do.

Oulo- Heh oulo we had fun towards the end as you were the only other herald I seen much of. Our time together and rp was fun I knew the birdie had an eye for fidelpha. I will write more when you die but for now keep moving strong and please you or padwei or Unalethkai log the wedding fer meh!

Ahtilei I know I am spelling it wrong but I dont care. You were nice forget what others think you add a refreshing layer to the empire. Something to look foward to in the raids rather than retrieving knowing you can do it with one or two people but rather than get an army together like cabalWARS should be. Your rp is left tightly round and I like it. To me you were there and there was no whining that could be done to fix it. You make people think out of the box when it comes to raiding the empire and thats good. It makes us not look at our char for face value a giant warrior BASH BASH BASh but make you align your cabal in such a way it's possible. NEXITEA NEXITEB take frontline striking the vanquisher while NEXITEC NEXITED comes in for the stealthy finisher. Keep going strong and if I see you delete anytime soon Ill be rather pissed.

ZOUNDS! I mean Zizzle. Your next char needs to go for a cabal and further more become a cabal leader you are one of the select rp orientated chars that think out of the box make us want to think out of the box and bring a refreshing step forward for cf. Keep going strong and let me know what my reward was to be. c 'duo And I dissappear into the second dimension.

If I am forgeting someone sorry I have come across many and had fun with the all including some of those chars who full loot you make it just as fun to eq up and come back. Everyone jackass or not has a part in the game keep in moving strong and well be fine. Cf is not dying it is being reborn into a stronger era yes it's not newbie friendly or you find the sight click play and really understand what your doing but the non-lazy ones out there and those who have a spark for the games rich history will be choosen from the select few who start on a daily basis. Keep it up imms and if you may think of something new to add not a new area or imm but a new cabal class or race just to shake things up for those who have been playing longer than I've been born. Keep up the game and I at my sixteen year of age will keep playing and finding friends to play as long as I can.
Wish me good luck with my next and see you in the fields!

Well shes done but the discussion has ju8st begun. She was not made to be cabal leader or pk'ing fiend she was a learning char. Which means its time to learn. Imm's lay down the ctritiques thick and players who knew her lay it down thicker. I was to know my strengths and flaws. I was of course no pk'er but how was my rp? What can I work on? Neotulda I'd like to learn more of your religion of storms etc. I am here to learn taking all critiques to heart not to stomach where I regurgitate it with stupid remarks. So lets begin what you say here will have a big effect on what I make next....TCHAO!

Since you specifically asked about storms and my religion, think of storms as a source of inspiration or the driving force behind it. Inspiration can mean a lot of things, and the religion is pretty open to interpretation. That being said, I hope you understand why I was harsh on you. I do keep tabs on my followers, and I watch the pray logs. You were praying for me, so I thought I'd throw you some echoes to let you know I was around. Rather than interpret these echoes (which I think I make the symbols in them pretty clear) as a calling from your goddess, you cowered. That's simply not something that's going to make Neltouda happy (maybe if you had something in your role about fear of the divine I'd let it fly *maybe*). I get plenty of responses like, people wondering what the heck is going on because there's some creepy echo, and I usually just ignore those people and hope to catch them when they're praying. Yet, to respond to such a thing poorly just isn't acceptable.

I'll also briefly mention your Herald experience. You had previously been in trouble with herald things, plus you hadn't been displaying any quality that would show you were even trying to be an exceptional herald (events readily come to mind). Then you refrenced it as being a job (that's a big no no). If you can find some understanding as to why being a Herald is not a job, and why the mix skill isn't being a barmaid, then maybe when you try herald again you'll do a lot better with it.

Both my religion and the cabal are rp oriented, so if you're wanting to focus more on that then both are for you. You just came up short this time around.

Good luck.

Thanks for the advice I take it to heart rather than think of ways to get mad. I practically kicked myself when I realized it was your echoes. Just moments before them me and Iunna got into a little...disagreement and I thought they were here echoes of anger. I mean she is a felar. So I thought instead of acting big and bad and loosing something I'd later regret I became submissve. Than looking back at the key signs of a storm I began to curse because I had been waiting for our interaction for a long time now. Already having speaking to your Knight of the maiden as well as Jolinader and Boldinrock I was quite mad. After that everything went downhill you don't get many chances to impress someone. So I just dropped it I came into the herald so enthusiastic doing all times of things even getting a missive penned and more people to stop by even if it was for a chat. I seeked to be a maiden of hospitatlity but after realizing that there was only five of us, and for around 40 of my chars hours I had only met Celenai I felt it go downhill and intrest burn away. I thought maybe after talking to Iunna I could get some words of wisdom to push on. But I seen that fade away after realizing she had nothing to say it was like speaking with a brick wall.
But I choose you as my deity after realizing that you were an rp based goddess. I'm not much of a pk'ing fiend and this made me very happy but I felt storms was so broad it was hard to hone in. But I promise my next follower will be ready...you'll be the judge of that.

>I seeked to be a maiden of hospitatlity
>but after realizing that there was only five of us, and for
>around 40 of my chars hours I had only met Celenai I felt it
>go downhill and intrest burn away. I thought maybe after
>talking to Iunna I could get some words of wisdom to push on.
>But I seen that fade away after realizing she had nothing to
>say it was like speaking with a brick wall.

A couple things I'd like to address here, and if you want anything
further, feel free to email me at Iunna@carrionfields.com.

I'm of two minds about this character because it did seem like you
were genuinely trying...but you also seemed like you were AFW or
distracted whenever you were online. That time I tried to talk to you
about helping raid Nexus, for example. I was snooping you, it wasn't
like you were getting spammed with a lot of miscellaneous other info.
You just completely ignored it. I hoped you got what I was telling you
when you finally did listen.

As far as you asking for "words of wisdom", you asked me what I looked
for in a "top herald" and then made what I perceived as a backhanded
compliment about Celenai obviously having what it took and you must've
seen it, but didn't know what to look for. I gave you the best answer I
could at the time, because truthfully I'm not an easy inductor, and it's
hard to define exactly what you look for in any Herald. When you've
been doing this as long as I have, you just know.

I do think the system failed you somewhere, and I'll go ahead and take
blame for that. Someone should've beat the whole "job" concept out of
you somewhere along the line. That really does piss us off more than
anything.

Good luck with your next.

Thanks for the advice and remind me to turn of the newbie channel next time. Being in the middle of three fights having the newbie channel blazing and cabal channel going I got confused. It was later when I scrolled up to see what the chat was about after getting to a safe place that I realized you talked to me and thats when I made sure to listen. I always had doubts about us pk'ing for absolutely no real reason or joining in the various wars but you made that clear. ANd I thank you for that. As for the job thing I am utterly sorry that I said that looking back on it I made it seem like I was forced when truthfully being a herald was a way of being something conjoined by heart. And by preaching so elsewhere than saying job to you guys it contradicted all I argued about. Thanks Iunna and I really mean that I take all the words you guys have to heart and will try harder again. I made fidelpha to try and bring life back to the inn it was a beautiful rp'd place and I liked it just started slacking to the inn. But these are all mistakes I can dodge with my next.

Keep the critcism comminng.

> I gave you the best answer I
could at the time, because truthfully I'm not an easy inductor,

I'll vouch for that. Yowza! x(

that had a decent (imo) interview with the then-High Herald. Afterward, things went... nowhere. He was a svirf chef, and I was a mage that thought maintaining and expanding the Lyceum was very important. I probably didn't inn-sit long enough, I suppose.

What I'm Wondering Is:

If somebody is actually rolling up a char, ranking it, and taking the time to try to get into Herald and they're not a complete rp doofus... why not give them a shot? It's my experience that being around and interacting with other (better?) rp'ers (whether you like their style or character or not) can dramatically improve a less-skilled player's rp.

Unless I'm mistaken and the idea is not to dilute the quality of the nearly-empty inn.

I couldn't help but think the same thing back when i first starting playing this game. I came from an RPI game so roleplaying wasn't that hard for me, not to mention i had already been a tribunal and gotten a ton of imm xp with one of my very first characters. I got to see a good level of RP from the Provost at the time.

I remember thinking how difficult it was trying to get in, then again the only herald Imm at the time was not very active and the only herald was a recently inducted elf who just age died. :) When i finally got some attention and put in some effort it basically felt like i wasn't good enough to be inducted to a one member cabal.

Considering the Pk aspects of the game i've always felt heralds are players who wish to improve the quality of their RP and that which the game has to offer others. In order to do this they sacrifice cool powers by not joining other RP heavy cabals like scion or have personalities that give them more Pk benifits(ex. being evil or devious or hating X). Again considering you can find great RP in just about any cabal and still hang out at the Inn, i'm not sure why'd anyone might think its a great idea to make Herald induction so difficult to anyone putting at some minimal effort.

1) I'm not inducting except specific cases, so this isn't really an issue.
2) My reasons for being tough were to keep out the crazy mud sexxors,
"massage parlor"/"exotic dancer" types and other people who wanted to
DO nothing except everyone. If I thought people had a reasonable chance
of making a difference in the cabal, sure, I'd give them a chance.

Maintaining a newbie friendly, RP oriented cabal that doesn't annoy
people with unwanted handjobs and by being too "huggy" and "giggly"
isn't as easy as it sounds.

As a side note, contrary to popular belief, Inn-sitting does not a good
Herald make.

Hahahahah! That made me spit out my mouth wash :( hahaha! the person who played them is a dude, i believe. if it is a female then she is seriously letting off some dude vibes. man... thats like a nasty surprise when you see the cute thai girl

Meant Fidelpha

>
>Maintaining a newbie friendly, RP oriented cabal that doesn't
>annoy
>people with unwanted handjobs

Wait, is there such a thing? ;)

Well.. assuming I'm sober.

Sorry dude but this is a game you can't say you never played a chick. As someone who likes to write and always imagining characters it is nice to see how they would act because with a male or even with a female there are certain rp styles or roles that won't come across the same. So yes I am a dude. Not a shemale or any of the liking a man who likes to do what we are known best for....which I won't write a whole essay on. You think about it fidelpha was able to pull more people in with her alluring desc and mannerisms than if I was a male. More men dwarves giants at that come to the Inn than females.

Can we get some 'good' herald names then? Everyone seems to have contrary views and beliefs on what/who a good herald is.

Indeed if there are questions that you need answering to, or ways to resolve this empty herald issue than speak up nor our foreever hold it.

..than full of crap. I'm not Iunna, but I still remember being new to the game and the things that drew me into the cabal (even if it took years). Herald used to be a very role-play intensive cabal, you'd get players like Astillian, Gradar, Cerleis, Pasha, Minya, Lynnette, Gadinias..I can think of several events that I still remember to this day from nine years ago. Herald (to me) is a place you can go, play your character, and forget you're sitting at your computer, forget about pking, gear gathering, ranking, just go and hang out and kill time with people, role-playing your ass off and having a good time. Good Heralds draw a crowd just by showing up and being ready to entertain. They've got funny stories, witty remarks about current events, and they use the skills given to them via cabal powers to good use. Heralds are the people that you still remember for role-play after nine years for an event they put on. You get a good Herald crew together, and whether the inn is empty or not, you're going to have a great time and guaranteed great interaction. I've only played a couple Heralds, and usually when the cabal is empty, but it can be very rewarding, and once you get the role-play thing down, you can really draw a crowd. You just need a lot of charisma (not the stat, the personality trait), and you have to know how to make people have a good time. Movers, shakers, that's good stuff.

It has been a long, long time since Herald drew the best RPers in the game to it.

When RP was not particularly well enforced, the people who wanted to rp heavily (with some notable exceptions) were drawn to Herald.

Now, with RP being ubiquitous, Herald doesn't draw those same players. A guy like Balrahd, one of the best RPers in the game right now, probably isn't going to play a Herald. Kastellyn, also one of the finest RPers in the game currently, probably isn't going to play a Herald. Once Astillian learned to PK, he stopped playing heralds. The people who can do both are generally going to be better all around characters than ones who can only RP. I'm not one of the best RPers in the game, but I think I am in the upper ~20%, and I've tried a couple Heralds. The quality of RP that I get in that Cabal simply isn't as good as the quality of RP I get from the *well RPed* members of a Cabal involved in the Cabal wars. I won't get a Jinroh in Herald. I won't get a Tjok in Herald. I won't get a Ulothyre in Herald. I won't get a Kharglhurn or a Hunsobo in Herald. I certainly won't get a Zorszaul in Herald. I'll get a player/character interested in riskless RP, and for most players that isn't all that interesting.

RP within the context of violence is simply more compelling for many people than RP within the context of the Inn, and I've never seen anything done with Herald that will really change that. At it's best, it merely equals the best RP opportunities in other cabals. At it's worst it makes you want to tear your eyeballs out. At least in Battle or Outlander or whatever, when the RP quality is low/slipping, I can go out and raid or kill someone or whatever. In Herald, I basically have to sit there and endure it. I WANT to like the cabal, but it seems like it just takes lots more effort to get the same RP enjoyment out of Herald than I can out of basically any other Cabal.

Here's how I look at it.

Herald is kind of a gateway drug to roleplay. Many newbies get their first in-depth roleplay experiences in the Inn. That's what the Inn is for, to allow people to exercise their roleplay in a low-risk environment, either as Heralds or as event attendees. However, in order for this to work, there needs to be at least two or three quality, experienced players playing Herald. Your goal with Herald and the Inn is to have several good, experienced players to play archetypical roles that encourage interaction amongst other players, newbies and veterans alike, in such a way that both parties benefit. They get to exercise their role, they get to practice new ways to express themselves, to see how their characters would react to various stimuli, without having to also worry about the big bad mother-####er who's going to run in and murder your ass.

The problem with the cabal right now is that it relies upon those characters to create this environment, and in a declining playerbase, there are fewer and fewer players willing to devote themselves to what is essentially a thankless and selfless cause: promoting roleplay and interaction amongst newbies and the playerbase. There is no part of the structure of the cabal that rewards members and creates incentives to continue playing. Granted you get a fair amount of Immteraction and Imm XP, but it's nothing that an experienced player couldn't find in any other cabal.

What the Immortals in charge of a hypothetical Herald revamp need to look into is how to provide gameplay incentives for performing well. Whether this is in the form of a number of Herald-only edges, new skills geared towards exploring made available in the upper ranks, or anything else is anyone's pick.

WOW you hit it on the nail! I have not been playing that long but have had fun with this cabal from being the outsider looking in and I am taking all what iunna and neotulda said to come back for more. Which is why I am being so picky I need to know as much as possible to get ready. I am not other chars who wil whine and shove at everything else about the game ex. There is not enough cabals or cf is dying. But I perfer to examine myself learn from mistakes and come back with another. I never meant this thread to say there is not enough people coming to the inn for our playerbase there was enough young and new coming. Most of them for the simon questie when they have to deliver a package, which is when I'd try and attract them the most. But this was meant to speak on the fact that there is not enough herald cabal members. I mean you can have entertain a crowd yes with just the cabal powers but it is hard to have fun after awhile being by yourself doing the entertaining. When others came on after not being on for so long(The other heralds I maen) they were so busy catching up on cabalwars politics and old friends but we had no time to plan something which is where I really would enjoy MYSELF for a change rather than enteraining others don't get me wrong I am a herald to entertain it just feels better and makes you push harder in rp when there is another there. People can back me up when it was me and celenai we acted so well in unison at times it was scary. Anyways Ill be back so my next question to you Iunna and other gods is tell me any other heralds who did well at there work Ill than take those name read there pbfs do log research etc to learn from them. Thanks if you will.

I also feel with the declining playerbase what draws people really in is when gods or the herald deity Iunna participates more in just little things cant think of one now but for an example animate an npc when you see a big group there don't let them fun away after buying food do a little something. SOrry if you don't agree but for heralds and other players alike it becomes very fun. To see.

> Keep going strong and let me know what my reward was to be. c 'duo And I dissappear into the second dimension.

It was either going to be

A: an offer to partner up and create Zizzle Ziff & Fidelpha Research Indus. Ltd., Inc.; or

B: A brutal murder for asking me for a reward one too many times.

I hadn't decided yet. }(

Congrats on your first Hero! Its nice to hear some young players speaking so enthusiastically about CF rather then the jaded bitching that older players (myself included) do more regularly. This game has always been what you make of it, so keep rolling characters and make something of CF.

Thank you and you added a lot more fun to what was the final hours of my char. Thanks and you and anyone else who seeks to chat can reach me here.

Stlucian2debone-IM

I wasn't playing during the lifespan of this character, and did not interact with you. With that out of the way...

Something about the first paragraph of your goodbye struck me. I think I was near your RL age at the beginning of the 2nd age, when I started playing. The game was fundamentally the same then, with a few differences:

1. Less pros, more cliques.
2. Less "tight" cliques. The anti-RL friend rule exterminated some (including mine) and pushed some into the shadows.
3. Smaller world, fewer classes, less complexity (pre warrior specialization. Healer/Shaman/Druid = Cleric. Necros could cast acid blast. Transmuters could gate, charm, order you to rem all/drop all/c teleport)
4. PK range started at level 5, giants got bash at 100% at level 1, and hit for MUTILATES... usually mortally wounding most characters before the fight started.
5. The Christmas Tree suit ruled. It was even viable at hero.

The game was meandering towards the RP standards we have today. PK ranges had 20 people in them. And the world was small enough the people looking to pile-on-the-newbie could always find you.

I have mostly quit. I played a few months last year, and not for two years before that. A few months then, and not for a year before that. I suppose by this point I could almost be your father's age. If he started early. I've been playing the game (off and on) for 2/3s of your life. And yes, if one of your characters opposed one of my characters, I probably gave you a world-class whipdown.

But your comment made me think back to when I was new.... and receiving those world-class whipdowns. My PK ratios for my first three years were something like:

Year 1
0:20
3:15
5:20

Year 2
100:100 (5 deaths to a con back then)

Year 3
300:60
20:2
80:4

On the non-PK side of the game, within 6 months every character was caballed. Within 1.5 years most had tattoos, and by the end of the third year I had my first (of several) cabal leaders.

I think the learning curve is somewhat steeper now. I also think the pressure is lower: fewer players, bigger world, less rampantly rediculous slaughter. It used to be that you were GUARANTEED someone would try to kill your group, wherever you were levelling. Running into Galadon to practice you had better-than-even odds of one of three (logged on at any given time) level 28 APs summoning you to the Inn and fireballing you down. Someone was liable, at any point, to gate to you and charm-grief. You HAD to be on your toes... all the time.

If you combine less pressure with a steeper curve, the natural result is a more gradual climb. And now we get back to you...


"At my age it is hard to hold onto a character and excel at the best of the games when they are people about old enough to be your parents and grandparents whippin characters butts at what they do"

That's not a viable excuse. Don't use it as one. The people whipping your butt WERE whipped, for the entirety of their first two years of play. Some of them are still getting whipped. But the ones now doing the whipping didn't make excuses. And frankly, you've got tremendous advantage we (used loosely) don't at this point: time. Many of "us" are past 30, and either have substantially stressful and time consuming careers, wives/children... or both.

The rest of your post was about how you liked the character, and people she interacted with. That's wonderful, and how it's supposed to be.

On the butt-whipping... learn from your mistakes. If you can't figure out how to beat something... play that something, repeat the tactics you saw, and study both your wins and your losses. You have the time to experiment, the time to explore, and the flexibility to learn. Use what you've been given.

... when I come back again in another few years odds are very good that you'll be the one killing me.

Cheers,

-O.S.A.B

(Damn the 15 character name limit)

Oh, yeah. 91 hours to hero a muter?!

Wtf?

I know it can be done. The record is under half that. But that's not the point...

The point is if you're trying to learn.... learn. Stop and smell the roses. Explore. Hunt.

In the old days an XP hole would've stopped you. You'd be lucky (as a 1-2 year player) to get out of the 20s with a trannie in 100 hours.

When you're a pro you can delete 100 hour characters. "I want to play with duo".. "I want to see what beats a necro spamming flee/sleep" .. "I want to try to assassinate some folks so I'll stop getting assassinated".

Until then... that was 100 hours you just wasted. I suspect you did less than 20 useful hours of exploration or pk... and >80 grinding out 51 levels... in places you've already been.

The good old days of 100,000 exp to level. The game really has changed since then.

It was a joke although you were very correct. Age is but a number and a factor I like. The age was not an excuse hell ,I am at the advantage it was just to show how much the playerbase has opened up. It is less likely for someone my age to find a game like this. Unless your searchin really hard or have that lucky friend who introduces you. I am greatful that I started young so that all these chars lead up to something. Just today I met someone who was there for my very first chars. And I can say those chars sucked hard. After I deleted they laughed secretly with others who knew me for being one of the worst chars. Yet I remeet them again and find out they bought my pbf. After talking to them I realize how far I have come in a short period of time. The thing is they had liked interactions so much with fidelpha they were curious of my pbf. Sitting back we reminisced and like I said earlier we were blown back at how far we I come. So yah it was meant as a joke being younger I have the advantage of being a total beast at my older days. Anyways thanks for the advice and thanks for showing how far CF has come. I mean from what you said Cf seemed like POS with some perks.

well here it is guys ill miss you all.

Buyed bought baught wat

>Buyed bought baught wat
thanks...who r u again. Note to all dont expect anything more than ordinary war wut it was my first hero.