While last year's character challenge had a lot of problems and things weren't managed perfectly, the general consensus seems to be that it was enjoyed and that the fun outweighed the problems. So I'm running another one!

This year's Character Challenge will remain experimental, but with some changes to at least avoid some of the pitfalls I fell into last year.

The biggest change is that this year's Character Challenge is *Herald Only*.

I can already hear the sigh of disappointment from some of you. I am aware that this will not appeal to the entire playerbase, and I'm at peace with that. Hopefully even if you don't participate, the presence of a small, integrated crop of Heralds will enhance the RP experience for the MUD overall, even if temporarily. I can assure you that while the characters will all be Herald-types, the storylines they play out will not be confined to the walls of the Eternal Star.

While this Challenge is limited those players *willing* and *interested* in playing Heralds, it is *not* limited to passive storytellers. There will be room for PK-active roles, and I heavily encourage some strong explorers to participate as well.

Without further adieu, the Character Challenge questionnaire is below. Please complete and mail to amaranthe@carrionfields.com by July 1st.

Real Name:

E-mail address:

Typical play availability (# of weekly hours and likely days/times):

On a scale of 1 (piss-poor) - 10 (awesome), please rate your RP abillity:

On a scale of 1 (piss-poor) - 10 (awesome), please rate your PK abillity:

On a scale of 1 (piss-poor) - 10 (awesome), please rate your area/explore knoweldge:

List any character attributes (class/race/align/gender) you prefer:

List any character attributes (class/race/align/gender) you find intolerable:

Are you willing to play with a severe flaw?

Are you willing to play in storylines that involve romance or sex?

How do you feel about playing a character that may at some point end up uncaballed or in another cabal? (Note: this is a Herald Character Challenge and you should not rely on this. All participants should be interested in playing a Herald. Most, if not all, participants will remain Heralds for the duration of the character's life.)

I need one, possibly two, replacements for characters that are unable to be played by original applicants to the challenge.


Character 1 - confirmed understudy need. At least adequate roleplayer or above, female, interested/willing in playing romance and fade-to-black sex scenes (nothing explicit). Little to no PK. Ranger.

Character 2 - unconfirmed but probable understudy need. EXCEPTIONAL roleplayer needed, female. Romance negotiable, though probable flirting. PK use possible but not required. Bard.

Unfortunately, fluency in English is required for both of these characters. For the original applicants, I accommodated everyone, and not all characters required English fluency, but these two characters happened to be designed for English-fluent players require fluency.

E-mail amaranthe@carrionfields.com if you are interested in playing either of these characters and you are *sure* you have time to play them!

The whimsical sound of a calliope's notes drift in from the distant north, sounding a haunting melody.

Rumors whisper about the cities of the sighting of a great caravan of colorful wagons traveling through the mountains.

Lightning strikes as the wagons descend down the windy mountain pass.

Between the calliope's notes, the sound of beasts fierce and unfamiliar bellow in the breeze.

The wagons level off into the plains, rolling slowly as the music becomes audible to more and more people.

Some wagons are green with yellow stripes.

Some are blue with yellow suns, moons, and stars.

Some are plain wood, with iron bars to keep whatever dangerous beasts reside within restrained.

A motley crew of vagabonds roam near the wagons, the few who do not ride within.

When suddenly, there is a blood-curdling scream.

A magician dressed in stage attire bursts from one of the wagons, his head clasped in his hands.

From another wagon, an elf emerges, a flurry of tarot cards scattering in her wake as she flees.

The magician screams and falls to his knees, losing consciousness on the ground.

And then, suddenly, with a massive vibration that is like thunder without sound...

The wagons of the Menagerie vanish in a small wisp of violet smoke.

Left behind are only the wagon tracks in the mud and small bits of debris, rolling through the sodden earth.

The scattered vagamonds that remain stand a moment, eyes wide in disbelief.

With nothing else to do, they scatter in separate directions, leaving their former lives behind.


So here we have it. Over the next days, you should see the emergence of approximately 20 characters affiliated with this challenge, all of whom have interesting stories to tell. Reviewing all the assigned material for this challenge, I have written nearly 90 manuscript-length pages of story and character development content associated with this challenge.

And while it probably won't last forever, for a few months at least, Herald will have its time in the sun. If you weren't able to participate in the challenge, playing a character that is either a Herald or has reason to associate with the Heralds may prove quite fun in the coming months.

Unless you are Sphere Murder, in which case you may ignore this post and return to your regularly scheduled bash.

...that just reaches into me, wrenches my guts into a figure-8, and forces me to believe that the world is still just a little bit awesome. It's easy to lose faith living in a cesspool of inbred bigots (Southern United States, how did you guess?), and these reminders that awesome people still exist help me through my day, to say nothing of the further excitement it creates as a veteran player.

Cheers on top of cheers on top of teebles, looking forward to it!

I live in Alabama!

A bubble of Southern awesomeness, mind you, but Alabama nonetheless.

Thanks for the kind words.

Super excited to play a part in this and see this unfold.