Wed Aug 26 18:57:53 2009

At 6 o'clock PM, Day of Freedom, 32nd of the Month of the Dragon
on the Theran calendar Merothmos perished, never to return.

Thanks for all the help in the crypts. It was fun destroying skeletons with you. I noticed I hadn't seen you in awhile, but I quit hanging out in the crypts when the weapon specs were added so figured that was why. I did everything you said for that quest, a couple dozen times in fact, don't know why it wouldn't start for me.

Not to sound like Ike, but sad to see ya go and good luck on your next when you return to CF, you know you will eventually.

Seriously, I can't believe you deleted. This was actually one of the first characters I actually got into enough to roleplay any kind of romance. well...You've got to make another...I hope you do.

I'm sorry that I just sort of abandoned you like that, you were really nice and I liked showing you around some of the stuff I knew. I still wanted to take you exploring to a few other places, but that would have been when you hit the mid-thirties and we could group together. Keep on trucking and I hope you don't get too upset!

I'll probably not quit, I really don't know what I'd do without CF since I absolutely can't stand WoW and I need some sort of escape from the daily grind.

Lol, yea, I would've been around more, but these next few works I've got 12 hour days to work . That was actually a note I was writing to you when I figured it out. Well, I wish you luck on the next then.

Sorry to see ya go, thought you where actually gonna rank up there for a bit, guess you got bored. I'm surprised to see you had so few hours, you seemed to play quite a bit while I was around, must just be same play time I suppose.

Good luck with the next.

I was purposely avoiding ranking for a long time, I would just rank whenever I could manage it on my own through training, or if the Fortress asked, I would probably rank with them. Then I decided to power up to 35 to get assassinate, and I really wish I hadn't. I like the 20s a lot more.

As for Pasiphae, you were really cool and I can't thank you enough for spelling me up for retrievals and whatnot all the time.

Thanks for the advice Nep, sticking to the low ranks and taking my time leveling up helped. So did the set that I built up with my PKs. #### the haters who said the Fort decked me when I was in my 20s.

Padwei: I thought I did alright when I was RPing with you in the shrine, but aside from that I wasn't really preachy outside of it, its hard when you're trying to stay hidden following around enemies trying to rack up enough kills to make Maran. Its unfortunate that you have to follow Baer to get Maran, but I wouldn't really expect it with my first Squire anyways.

Frorania: Thank you so much for the gear here and there that you'd pass me once I lost my sweet set to Xagu and Gribblet. And sorry you had to talk me out of deleting that night, I wish you didn't so this could have happened sooner.

Arrna/Liethkim: Leaders of the Fort, maybe I just never played your times, but you both seemed scarce, guess that's the way it goes when you've been around as long as you two have.

Dupmasione: You made me laugh every single time you opened your mouth, just about. It's people like you who make this game enjoyable.


Enemies
-------

Gribblet: I liked that you roleplayed (and pretty well, I might add)... I hated that you were a complete ####in tool. Yes, what you just did was the straw that broke the camel's back, though to be honest, I've wanted to delete for a few days. Die in a fire.

Xagu: I hope you get cancer and die. Quit banning me from #dangeroom, faggot.


Anyone else, say something and I'll reply.

Probably done with CF since I don't really want to roll another Herald.

Lates.

Alietrius/Cadothu

Tough Char.

I enjoyed fighting you away from the fortress where the fights went pretty even. But fighting you at the fortress with the healers and paladins and bards around was just plain pointless.

Good job

You were tough as nails yourself man. Maces ripped through me like a hot knife through butter.

Keep on doing your thing, you and Aalim are good for the Empire, I'd say.

hahaha

seriously

hahahaha

Sorry for talking you out of it. Just so you know, I only got maran after 210hrs I think, I was quite low on cons already by then. Regarding to leadership, I noticed that Arrna is around quite alot, probably the hours didn't mesh. By the way, most of the items I passed to you, they are all in the Fortress chest.

Don't be sorry! I think it was a combination that I wish I hadn't leveled out of the 20s and that I wish I hadn't done assassin again. I like a lot of things about the class, but I also wouldn't mind a storm warrior with swords and bash/flurry at this point to take care of all the people who managed to run away before I could finish them off.

It is the most frustrating thing in the world when you've got someone down to convulsing and they get away due to them getting flee off before the trip/throw, or when you fail the skill and they get away, or worse yet, you get them convulsing/incapacitated and one of their servitors/follower-NPCs takes the last shot.

As for handing me stuff, even if they're in the Fort chest, I still don't know what half the stuff in this game does, as far as gear goes. So the fact that you handed me something and I wore it to find out the stats was helpful enough.

I'll miss playing with ya, and lighten up with the war #### and take more time for yourself, like the rest of the Acolytes said!

> Its unfortunate that you have to follow Baer to
>get Maran, but I wouldn't really expect it with my first
>Squire anyways.

That's a little silly. Unless you really weren't paying attention or roleplaying with your cabalmates you would know there are plenty of Maran that don't follow Baer.

For your part, you were doing well and were probably close to being made Maran. The fact of the matter is that you just didn't have the hours, evil pks, or presence yet to merit being made one in my opinion.

I'd say have fun with your next, but it appears you're done. Good luck!

I can't deny it's *easier* for me to make you a Maran if you follow me. It's because that means you've taken the time to RP with me and give me a real feel for your character. I've had a chance to feel you out for it. Still, I try and keep an eye on all of the Fortress and Maran appropriately.

There are 10 Maran currently. 4 of them follow Baer. That isn't even half, fyi. I think when this guy posts goodbyes he doesn't really know how offensive he sounds. I actually had reached the point with this guy where I'd said "next time I see him do something cool, pk an evil, etc, I'm Maraning". But I hadn't seen anything and it always feels a little silly/superflous to just drop a Maran on someone from an empty blue sky. Maybe that's not the right way to handle it.

I've typically gotten Maran earlier with people that DIDN'T follow Baer. But maybe I'm just lucky like that.

On the other hand, my two Maran that followed her both eventually made Captain. So.. yeah.

>There are 10 Maran currently. 4 of them follow Baer. That
>isn't even half, fyi.

That's because they're all mine.

>I think when this guy posts goodbyes he
>doesn't really know how offensive he sounds. I actually had
>reached the point with this guy where I'd said "next time I
>see him do something cool, pk an evil, etc, I'm Maraning".

I think you're right. Since I've been trying out more PK-focused characters, my rage-delete urges have sorta come back, when I was playing Heralds I played for RP and could care less when I died for the most part. I'm sorry if it came off like an attack in my post, I really didn't mean anything by it other than what you'd stated how its "easier" to become a Maran if I'm following you.

With Merothmos, I don't think I ever once spoke with you except a "Greetings to you, Baerinika" that probably got lost in the various other greetings, heh. As much as I'd like to say it would have helped, I don't think making Maran would have kept me from deleting though. I'd been on a little bit of a decline since last week as far as fun factor goes though. I only really seemed to enjoy myself when I was roleplaying with Padwei or my cabalmates, the PK-bit got sort of stale.

Maybe its time for another Herald.

>Maybe its time for another Herald.

You could compromise by rolling a murder Herald!

DO IT.

What's it take to be Maran'ed?

Role-play. Hours played after induction. Evil PKs.

You need a "presence" in the Fort. That means, most people in the Fort need to know who you are, and in general have some level of respect for you.

If you're quiet and entirely anonymous, even if you're getting dozens of kills, nobody is going to know it or care. At least that's been my experience.

*I still think you need to have passed a certain threshold of PKs. You don't have to be a monster, just proven that you aren't completely worthless in that regard. If you never get above 10 kills, you'll probably never get Maranated.

Considering I don't think I've ever had more than 1-2 kills with a single character of mine before, this character was a great success for me, even if i didn't make Maran. Not that the Imms knew that or like it would matter, just a personal victory! I honestly didn't expect Maranation, but I can't say that I didn't want it either, who wouldn't?

I was a little jealous of Ilrek, but I'm sure he got a lot more kills than me. Warriors are a bit more straightforward than assassins in that regard, and I'm sure he's a much better PKer than I.

I just have to say that 'Maranated' is now my new favorite term for this process.* I now have this picture of Baer covering people in Righteous BBQ Sauce and sending them out into the world to fight evil, and I really have to thank you for that because I'll laugh all day now at inappropriate times during meetings.

To your point though, I've read enough 'Not a good pk'er but getting Maran because he tries really hard' pbf's, and seen enough people now to pretty much be of the mind you just have to try. If you're a killing machine who calls attention to yourself (in a good way) you'll get it much, much faster. As long as you're not a huge ass (and Mero was not that I saw) you'll get it eventually.

There was no doubt in my mind Mero would be a Maran soon. He was a great presence when he tried to be. Sorry to see him go.

GLWYN Mero.


*Yes, I know it's really spelled Marinated.

I liked Balten, and even though we didn't talk as much as I did with most of the other Acolytes and such, you were still really cool. Maranated is definitely and awesome word and I've been using it for the past couple weeks.

By the way, you gotta tell me how you pulled that off, that's an amazing accomplishment and I'm impressed, well done.

nt

Earliest I can find on this site when searching for "maranated" "marinated" and "maraninated" is a post by "Mehkoa" on Coronado's battlefield thread, posted August 4, 2003.

Earliest I can find on Dio's is a post by Jiijustan from August 21, 2004 on Yethieliel's goodbye thread.

When did the squire/maran system first go in?

Shokai coined it, many years before.

Maybe. My last two seemed to be pretty under-the-radar though, as far as "presence in the cabal" goes. Mostly all I did is run around alone trying to kill evils.

I would add, though, that fort imms (and others) do listen to the cabal channel, and saying stupid or douchey things will cost you cool points, while saying "wise" things can earn you some.

I remember multiple times where someone was calling a fort enemy a "coward" on CB for doing something that, to my mind, was simply reasonable. Like not coming to retrieve when there were 5 of us online, or something like that. So I spoke up in that person's defense, despite him/her being an enemy, just because I felt the maran making the comments was being stupid. No idea if those incidents were noticed, but if I were an imm then that's the sort of thing I'd look/listen for when it comes to choosing leaders.

Do I want the blowhard who's constantly going on about how everybody except the Fortress is a big coward, or do I want the guy who can accurately assess when his enemies are just being prudent?

Reason I ask is:

I have a role idea.

I think to myself... if I play this role, it will handicap me in the cabal relative to a role where I follow the cabal imm. Even if I can play this role better.

Then I make a choice between a power play (follow the cabal imm) and the true rp play (follow the role that's more interesting).

So in -theory- I feel that it would be better if it did not impact. Clearly I can see in practice why it is likely to, in that you have increased awareness of your followers, but... is this the best way to run a cabal?

I'm not saying it isn't. But I feel like it probably isn't. Just something to chew over, as I really feel uncomfortable rolling a character and making them follow a particular imm because I know it will get me ic rewards that I otherwise would not see.

I'm fine with it, actually. As I said in my message only 4 of the currently 10 Maran follow me. Currently there are 33 Fort members and 7 and a half of them follow Baer. (one sort of expressed some interest but is out of sphere and hasn't talked to me since). This one accusation aside, I haven't heard a lot of complaints lately that Fort is suffering due to the simple fact that because I also run a religion that is closely aligned with the cabal that I run I know my followers better.

In the end, play what's fun for you.

As long as you are aware of the issue, that's fine with me.

Although I wasn't saying so much that cabals suffer for it. More that it shoe-horns individuals into playing followers of a particular imm if they want to maximise return for their efforts. That in turn will probably damp down on variety of characters over time.

>For your part, you were doing well and were probably close to
>being made Maran. The fact of the matter is that you just
>didn't have the hours, evil pks, or presence yet to merit
>being made one in my opinion.

How many pks is that? Considering how many Maran leaders have had 20-30pks total . . . .

nt

I don't think any of the cabal imms have a set number of evil pks they want to see before considering anyone for Maran or leader. As it is, I only get a rough idea through the members command unless I ask a higher-level imm to check. He just didn't have enough that made me think--damn, someone better think about making this guy a Maran, he's going crazy with the killings.

Also, personally, I take the class combo into consideration. Mid-30s assassin with, say, 15 evil pks? Not super duper impressive. Mid-30s elf shifter with 15? A little more impressive.

Still, there's more important factors than the sheer number of evil pks. RP and dedication are more important to consider, and if I were to recommend someone to be a leader, it would be based nearly entirely on their ability to lead without being one of the flashy good-aligned jerks that pop up from time to time.

From what I saw from the members command, it seemed like everyone that was still "Blooded" or whatever (meaning they had more than 1, but less than.. something) would only be a Squire. But everyone that was on that next tier (Veteran.. or something?) was a Maran.

Now I'm sure it's not a cut and dry system, but that seemed to be a significant factor from watching who did and didn't get Maranated, and when it finally happened.

I can't speak for the other cabal imms on what their preferences are but what I wrote are mine. What you wrote might have been the case when you were a leader, but it hasn't held true while I've been a heroimm. I haven't seen any Blooded Marans that I can recall, but there's been plenty of people one and two steps above it that were still squires.

Since I'm a heroimm and can't snoop, I generally only pipe up about someone if they're either two steps above Blooded and I haven't heard of any reason why they shouldn't be a Maran or they're one step and I get impressed some way.

If there were one number to be concerned about, I'd say time spent as a Squire is probably the most important now that Baer has tried to start making it easier to be Maran. After all, I've seen applicants that are two steps above Blooded.

Might want to work on the criteria for getting MARAN, because it's sketchy at best.

You shouldn't give up! Heck, I barely played goodies and still was able to have a Captain in the Fortress! Just a matter of sticking to your guns and just have fun! The rest will come! I think I never asked for anything when I played Daichyl...compared to my MANY attempts in the Empire when you'd almost beg for a promotion.

If I EVER decide to put some time in, I should do another goodie again.

I didn't give up because I didn't make Maran yet, I gave up because the character just stopped being fun, I hated most of my enemies, who like me, level sat for the most part. A fair amount of them could see hidden (but I guess that's the price you pay for playing a goodie assassin).

The only real enjoyment I got out of the character in the past 10-20 hours of playing was just the roleplay sessions, the hunting wasn't quite as fun anymore. I've kinda found out that I love the assassin class, but I really don't like assassinate.

... Yes, it has decreased. I was extremely active the first 400 hours I played Arrna. But RL has caught up with me somewhat, so I'm not able to spend the whole nights online as I used to. (I'm a EU player so I'm mostly around during the days.)

And hey! I was made Maran quite early (I'd like to think at least) and I'm an Iunna follower as 99% of the MUD knows. ^^

Most of the other Marans/acolytes etc are not followers of Baer either. Either way, since imms tends to keep an extra eye on their followers it is only natural that Baer MIGHT promote someone to Maran earlier since she is much more likely to see them do something cool. (And usually it is when you accomplish something cool you get Maraned.)

Good luck with your next!

Yeah, I noticed it more coming off of seeing you a LOT while playing Keaghiji, and then seeing you once in a blue moon while playing Merothmos. If Liethkim hadn't made Captain, I don't think I would have been inducted into Fortress for a long time.

I had waited for you for a few days and I think I only saw you online once and asked if you had read my note. I figured you were pretty busy, so when you logged without saying anything I just shrugged it off. Liethkim made Captain (I think) two days later and I was inducted.

Thanks for the compliments and words of encouragement when we talked. And when we I mentioned the deal between you and Oethipius in conversation, I still think it's BS, but you're the Marshall and thems the breaks. I don't think it has really stopped anyone from sticking to their role though and still attacking in town.

Stop leaving your polearm at the chest in Fort! Hahaha

I really thought this character would go far. Our times didnt mesh as well as they did when you played Keag, but when I did see you... What I liked most about you was your initiative. You went out there and got things done without needing any prompts of the sort. You'd be scouting/defending/offering assistance right when it was needed.

GLWYN!

Thanks for Amathylar that one day and also for the induct. I hated your guts as Keaghiji, but you grew on me as Merothmos. I also thought that your induct interview (although a little long) was very thorough and thought provoking, both of the cabal and the character.

So thanks for that!

Ohhhh Elghinn feels bad now. I only just got back to my comp recently to look.

Sorry to see you go, you were a really good assassin from what I saw. I had a lot of fun playing tag in the fortress with you and Pasiphae though.

Good luck with your future endeavors, be they in CF, or elsewhere.

If you feel bad for what you told me, don't sweat it. I didn't know until you had, but it didn't really make that much of a difference, I was just roleplaying it up a bit, heh.

I wasn't that great of an assassin, but I tried my best early on. After leveling up a bit, it got a bit repetitive and boring doing the same thing and never sealing any kills. I shoulda spammed up mountain storm kick or something.

Thanks again, and hope you stick it out, I'm sure you'll earn it again.