Volume Five Issue Twenty-One

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  .../________________/       running on         mud.sig.net 9999
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http://mud.sig.net/                                  ftp://mud.sig.net/pub
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VOLUME FIVE, ISSUE TWENTY-ONE                               July 21st, 1998
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                             TABLE OF CONTENTS

             -               The Editor's Note               -
             -          Upcoming Calendar of Events          -

                                ARTICLES
             -                Did You Know?                  - 
             *      The Difference Between IC and OOC        *              
             -               Main article                    -
             -           An Interview With...                -
                             Ronnie & Aginor
                             Stick
                             Amethyst
                             Yvonne  
             -         A Report on the Kenny Game            -
             -          New Policy on OOC and PK             -
             -                   Trivia                      -
             -      An Explanation of Weighted Scoring       -

                                LEGENDITES
             -     Agents of the Dark Lord Claim Romania!    -
             -                Frodo's New Toy                -
             -      The Quarrels Over Navarro Continue       -
             -                 Aginor's Vision               -
             -          A Blind-Looking Beggar Speaks        - 
             -       The Tale of a Blood-Thirsty Bunny!      -
             -    WHO? -- CLeo interviews Ronnie Valthalas   -

                           CORRECTIONS & COMMENTS              
 

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/__|                         EDITOR'S NOTE                            |__\
'------------------------------------------------------------------'

Hello everyone!

I couldn't think of a good issue to discuss in this week's note, but
instead I thought I'd toss in a few news items, and make a few
announcements of congratulations regarding several members of the
immortal staff.

First off, we'll be seeing a new area very soon -- Croaker's
Peloponesian Isles, based on the travels of Odysseus, as well as
Croaker's update to Roman Britain! Look for this new area soon. 

The imm staff has finished discussing and voting on all the new
immortals, and I hope to be able to announce the chosen immortals in
the next issue.

In addition, there have been several exciting changes within the
immortal staff. Rufus is returning to the position of Head Builder.
I'd also like to announce the return of Satsu and Joule (a belated
announcement, in Joule's case) to active immortal status in the PR
department. I hope you'll welcome them back to their immortal staff
duties!


                                       Love to all,
                                       LadyAce

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\  |------------------------------------------------------------------|  /
/__|                    UPCOMING CALENDAR OF EVENTS                   |__\
'------------------------------------------------------------------'

          <-><-> <-><-> <-><-> <->July<-> <-><-> <-><-> <-><->

Friday,    July 24,  7:00 pm   - Trivia (5 of 12 in the cycle)
Saturday,  July 25,  3:00 pm   - Viceroy of Lima TinyPlot
Monday,    July 27,  7:00 pm   - Q & A Session
                                   Subject: Meet the New Imms!
                    11:30 pm   - Trivia by Skateboarder

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/__|                             ARTICLES                             |__\
   '------------------------------------------------------------------'



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           DID YOU KNOW: Tips and tricks and little-used features
   _____ 
  /  _  \  When using a program to connect onto a MUD, it is better to use
 /__/ \  \ a font that has a simple look.  Using "Courier New" or even 
      /  / "Times" can help you view/read the text more easily and
     /  /  believe me... Your eyes will feel much better than if you set
    /__/   the font to a script-like or fantasy-like font.
    __   
   /  \    Using "Courier New" will not only help you out in the MUD, it
   \__/    will also help you if you put it as the default font on your  
           email program. That way you will able to see any ASCII Art
   _____   drawings properly, instead of just seeing a bunch of bars,
  /  _  \  dots, and letters scrambled across the screen.
 /__/ \  \ 
      /  / Not only will this let you see the art in people's look
     /  /  descriptions more clearly, it will let you read the LT 
    /__/   with less confusion! 
    __   
   /  \    -- Submitted by CLeo 
   \__/  
           DID YOU KNOW: Tips and tricks and little-used features

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

                                *   *   *

		      THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN OOC AND IC
                      By StoneCold

I would like to talk a bit about the difference between ooc and ic
talk, actions, and roleplaying. First off, let's define OOC and IC.

OOC stands for out-of-character meaning that when you do things that
involve you not being your character or outside the mud fantasy you are
considered OOC.

IC stands for in-character meaning you are doing things as your
character would and based on your RP of that character.

RP stands for role-playing which means you are acting out a certain
fantasy that your character is taking on.

Some examples if i may are like Broeknspring, he RP's a intellegent dog
surgeon.  Then there is the famous McDougan, he RP's a drunken Scottish
person and talks drunk etc. There is a place on the mud that is called
ooc for a reason and that is to escape your character you are playing
and be the person you are behind the computer. Now I know somethings on
our public channels are very OOC because who knows about the outside
world if we are from towns on this mud that know nothing of sports,
happenings on tv, etc. Sometimes it is a bit difficult to see the
difference between the two but if you are not sure the immortal staff
are more than happy to tell you if you are being OOC or IC.

The one thing that is a big example of the difference between the two
is harassment and certain pkilling situations. Now IC can turn into OOC
once you step back away from your character and start talking, and
acting like the person that you are behind the words you type.

You can argue and fight IC easily as long as you stay that way and
make sure that your character not you in general is the one that is
arguing and/or fighting. Once you start to leave the fantasy world of
the mud and talk on things that do not go hand in hand with your
character, thats when things become OOC. 

A good example of this is say you were arguing with another player
bout your characters perception of the world we all live in (mud). But
things start to get personal and it turns into a discussion, not bout
your character, but about you.. the one behind the words. You become so
defensive that you realize what you are now saying to the other has
nothing to do with what your character would say or do. That can lead
to some very big problems with you and with the mud itself.

When you see yourself or find yourself slipping away from your
character you can become a perpetrator of harassment on a ooc scale.
The best thing to do is to always be sure that you as your character is
acting talking etc or RPing what your character would.. not what you
yourself would. Another thing is to make sure you do not lose your cool
and end up getting so mad that you could just go and kill someone over
something you yourself or in other words for an ooc reason.

Your only chance at that is to step away from the mud or the fantasy
world that is created and say to yourself, "hey, i need to relax a
bit...  after all this is a game and we are here to have fun not to
want to get so upset and leave or make others leave". Sometimes it is
best to just let things go and make sure that you do onto others as you
would want done onto yourself. So be nice ooc and have fun, don't get
too involved into things because again this is just a game but not just
ANY game but one with other people like you and I that are playing.

Now for a few interviews attached to this to get some other opinions
on this hot topic.
                                *   *   *

                     An Interview with Aginor & Ronnie

'Just to let me know on how much experience you have had here how long
have you both played here on Legend?'

The Dark Messiah says, with an evil tone, 'I've been here since about
early 96 or so, i guess thats two and a half years.'

'Me?' a mind-wrecked Enforcer says. 'A few years, break in between.'

StoneCold nods solemnly.

'2, not counting time gone,' a mind-wrecked Enforcer says.

The Dark Messiah says evilly, 'Of course, my time here isn't
representative of my experience :P.'

'Have either of you encountered a time where you had to sit back and
think about something in pkill or a chat if it is OOC or IC?'

A mind-wrecked Enforcer says, 'Quite a few times.'

'More than i like to think about, myself,' The Dark Messiah says, with
an evil tone.

StoneCold says to a mind-wrecked Enforcer, 'Explain one please and no
names :).'

'Well, I was playing with a pkiller alt, and had miffed a friend of
mine in some way,' a mind-wrecked Enforcer says to StoneCold. 'This
'friend' then related my alts to a enemy of mine, resulting in said
enemy immediately harassing my alt.'

StoneCold nods solemnly.

StoneCold says to a mind-wrecked Enforcer, 'And did you say anything
about it?'

'No,' a mind-wrecked Enforcer says to StoneCold. 'I perma'd the alt a
few minutes later and took time from the game.'

'Taking time is a good way to deal with things instead of getting very
upset OOC,' StoneCold says to a mind-wrecked Enforcer.

'Explain one please and no names :),' StoneCold says to The Dark
Messiah.

'Well, I have difficulty with isolated incidents, my memory just isn't
wired that way....' The Dark Messiah says, with an evil tone.

'Hmm,' StoneCold says.

The Dark Messiah says, grinning evilly, 'However, a certain clanned alt
of mine once had problems in general with a given clan, still does in
fact :P.'

The Dark Messiah says, grinning evilly, '*notes that this is said
clanned alt somewhat grudgingly*.'

'And what kind of problem is that?' StoneCold says to The Dark Messiah.

The Dark Messiah says, with an evil tone, 'The main difficulty is that
a few members of this clan, most of whom now i gladly say are no longer
in the clan, had simply no grasp of the concept of IC and OOC...they
were complete jerks, they just loved to be a pain in the ass.'

StoneCold says to The Dark Messiah, 'Give us a example of their no
grasp on the difference between OOC and IC.'

'They definitely werent belonging in the clan, doing things that didn't
fit the RP of the clan they were in, and definitely not being
particularly friendly,' The Dark Messiah says, with an evil tone. 'I
have no real crossplay anecdotes though, cause I have no alts :P.'

StoneCold nods solemnly.

The Dark Messiah says, grinning evilly, 'Usually I don't have any
problems with other people doing the same either.'

'Usually some people who just play ooc tick me off but i just ignore 
them, its easier that way,' The Dark Messiah says, with an evil tone.

StoneCold says, 'So your saying that these players that did not RP with
their clan were just doing what the felt like or doing OOC things..'

The Dark Messiah says evilly, 'Essentially yes.'

'And you ignore a player if he/she is speaking and acting OOC, good way
to handle it -- but what if they are very persistent,' StoneCold says
to The Dark Messiah.

'Generally, i ignore them,' The Dark Messiah says, grinning evilly. 'If
they get that persistent, I usually just go pkill em...but they rarely
do.'

The Dark Messiah says, with an evil tone, 'Unclanned peoples don't
usually bug me in an OOC manner.'

StoneCold says, 'What sign is given to tell you when it becomes OOC
basically...' 'Or how can you tell when something turns into OOC.'

The Dark Messiah says evilly, 'For me, its pretty easy to tell when 
someone stops acting in character, usually cause since everyone hates
me cause I'm evil, they start hating me for other things entirely....'

StoneCold says to The Dark Messiah, 'Hate outside your RP?'

'Thats one,' The Dark Messiah says, grinning evilly.

StoneCold nods solemnly.

StoneCold says to a mind-wrecked Enforcer, 'And you?'

'Another is when it simply degenerates into base insults....' The Dark
Messiah says evilly.

StoneCold nods solemnly.

'Yea I can see that becomes very obvious when that happens,' you say to
The Dark Messiah.

A mind-wrecked Enforcer says to StoneCold, 'I would say when I start
getting insulted on things such as my supposed age, my intelligence, or
what things I do in RL.'

StoneCold nods solemnly.

The Dark Messiah nods his agreement with a mind-wrecked Enforcer.

StoneCold says, 'Anything you would like to say on how to make sure a
player stays in their RP and In-Character.'

'I would suggest taking things in stride,' a mind-wrecked Enforcer
says.  'Get jumped, say something related to RP about it, or if you
want to threaten someone, try and add words that suit whatever your
doing.'

'Usually i just try to avoid thinking that im a player...i do what i
can to actually sorta get into the character, so that in a way i AM the
character...of course, that may be a bit too much detachment for
some,' The Dark Messiah says evilly.

StoneCold says, 'Thanks that was exactly what i was looking for :).'

The Dark Messiah says evilly, 'I usually just ignore most of what i
know in reality and take what i know as the character....'

StoneCold nods solemnly.

'Thanks for your time.' StoneCold says.

                                *   *   *

                          An Interview with Stick

Stick gulps nervously, hoping you won't hurt him.

'Just to have a idea on how much you have experienced, how long have
you played on Legend?' StoneCold says.

Stick says, 'About 18 months straight now...orinigally started in feb
96, but only played a month then.'

Stick says, 'I'm a mudaholic, so I either play a lot or not at all..'

StoneCold nods solemnly.

StoneCold says, 'Can you tell me your meaning of something that is OOC?'

Stick says, 'Hmm.'

'I sort of perceive a few different levels of ic/ooc..' Stick says.

StoneCold says, 'Or where you can see obviously where the line is drawn
between IC and OOC.'

'In its most obvious form, I would say when game details are discussed
on boards, for instance,' Stick says.

StoneCold says, 'Game details?'

'But telling people your stats can, in a manner of speaking, be ic,
since you're basically just telling then "I'm really
strong/hardy/agile/etc" with numbers,' Stick says.

Stick says to StoneCold, 'Like the xp scale post on the discussion 
board.'

Stick says, 'But I suspect you mean more personal player interaction?'

StoneCold nods solemnly.

'Where do you draw that nice line between ooc and ic,' you say.

Stick says, 'You don't.'

'Very very few people really do,' Stick says.

Stick says, 'The only ones, as I see it, are the people who RP all the
time, with brief and clearly defined ooc breaks.'

'The rest of us exist in a grey area,' Stick says.

Stick says, 'Take me, for instance, and my characters.'

Stick says, 'I usually play them slightly differently, but it's still
not really a definite RP.'

'I'm mostly "ooc" at all times, but I have ic mannerisms I cling to,'
Stick says.

'Like this,' Stick says.

A blind-looking beggar coughs and wheezes softly.

'Heh,' StoneCold says.

Stick says, 'I'm a frail leper, but I don't really play a beggar
much...'

Stick says, 'Let's see if I can be eloquent and clear...'

StoneCold says, 'Give me your meaning of OOC.'

'My meaning of ooc is when you step back from the game and address the
people behind the characters directly,' Stick says.

StoneCold nods solemnly.

Stick says, 'That's the obvious definition, I think, but you have to
find the line of ic/ooc in every player-player interaction...it's
different between every two people.'

'Can you comment on what a player should do to try play there character
out IC and not becoming to much involved in OOC,' StoneCold says.

'The first thing is don't tell your friends,' Stick says.

'It sounds boring, but to me it's the only way to stay ic,' Stick
says.

Stick says, 'You make new friends with each character, or try to find
an ic reason to hang out with your old ones.'

StoneCold says, 'True.'

'If you do that, however, it's important you find an ic personality
your comfortable with and sure of, so you can go mingle freely from the
start,' Stick says.

Stick says, 'Otherwise one gets really lonely.'

'And that's when you send your old friends tells saying who you are,'
Stick says.

StoneCold nods solemnly.

'And I suppose that's the hard part,' Stick says. 'Coming up with that
new RP personality.'

Stick says, 'Recently I started a new character who I intend not to
tell anyone of, and his RP is reliably odd to be taken notice of, I
think.'

StoneCold says, 'That is a great example.'

'RP is very key to making sure your character is your character and not
yourself correct?' StoneCold says.

Stick says to StoneCold, 'In a way.'

'As in making sure you keep your character here in situations needed and
not yourself,' StoneCold says.

Stick says, 'But most people aren't good enough actors to play
personalities that differ too far from their RL ones.'

StoneCold nods solemnly.

Stick says, 'I know I'm not.'

StoneCold says, 'I agree.'

'I have always played very good characters til now,' StoneCold says.

Stick says, 'Well, I shouldn't say RL personality, but rather
"internet" personality.'

StoneCold says, 'And now it has gotten the best of me and I did some
things that I normally wouldn't do.'

'Would you like to add anything about RP, IC, or OOC harassment?' you
say.

Stick shudders.  Stick looks up into the sky and ponders.  Stick nods
solemnly.

Stick says, 'Well, the RP/IC/OOC issue is somewhat different in pkill,
somehow.'

'Basically cause you're pitching yourself against players instead of
mobs,' Stick says.

StoneCold says, 'I have talked to pkillers and non-pkillers but if you
like you can talk either way.'

'I consider this to be an interview with me as a player, not the
character, so I can comment both ways..' Stick says.

StoneCold nods solemnly.

'The basic mistake people make, both in and out of pkill (but more
pronounced in pkill) is that they hide behind the label of Legend being
a game,' Stick says.

'And how is that?' StoneCold says.

Stick says, 'Legend is _not_ just a game.'

'Well, you're dealing with other _real_ people, and your actions will
have impact on those players, no matter what your intent is,' Stick
says.

'Different people care to varying degrees, of course, but we all still
care about our characters in one way or another,' Stick says.

'And since the line between ic and ooc is fuzzy at best we can't usually
be completely sure how a comment is directed, so we respond with RL
emotions,' Stick says.

'Boy i know how that is....' StoneCold says.

StoneCold nods solemnly.

Stick says, 'This is most obvious in pkill of course.'

Stick says, 'If you kill me for no reason in the game, I can't but feel
you're after me personally.'

'And if you say it's just a game to you, then I label you, as an RL
person, not the character,' Stick says.

'So the ic/ooc line is abridged,' Stick says

StoneCold says, 'What would you suggest on trying to take this as not 
just a game?'

'That's the tricky part,' Stick says. 'There are no repercussions here
for just being mean.'

'If people bevahed the way they do here and it was a board game, with 
people they don't know, they'd get smacked and beat up,' Stick says.

StoneCold giggles.

Stick says, 'Here they need have no such fears.'

'What can you suggest to the victims then since they are the ones that
are usually put into these situations?' StoneCold says.

'Well, if the aggressor is just "gaming", try to do the same yourself,'
Stick says. 'Shrug it off and try to avoid that person if you don't
share their views.'

'You can't really change their views for them, in most cases,' Stick
says.

'But in general, I wish people would consider what impact an action 
would have on the player as well as the character before they act,'
Stick says.

StoneCold says, 'So basically shrug it off and make sure the other
player knows when your being very serious and you would rather be
avoided so things don't happen that could hold grave consequences.'

'If you're upset RL, tell them so,' Stick says. 'Hopefully they'll =
apologize in
some way.'

StoneCold nods solemnly.

Stick says, 'Most people here aren't really that callous.'

'Well if thats all then thanks for yout time and views on this hot
topic :),' StoneCold says to Stick.

Stick giggles.

Stick looks up into the sky and ponders.

Stick says, 'Oh...one more wish.'

Stick says, 'Regarding crossplay.'

StoneCold says, 'Ok.'

Stick says, 'There are a lot of people who actively keep records of 
people's new characters.'

'They should all just stop, cause they ain't helping the crossplay/ooc
situation any,' Stick says.

Stick says, clueless as usual, 'And that's all I have to say 'bout 
that.'

Stick says, unsure of the topic, 'Life is like a box of chocolates, you
never know what you're gonna get.'

StoneCold chuckles politely.

StoneCold says to Stick, 'Thanks again :).'

                                *   *   *

                        An Interview with Amethyst

'First off just to let us all know, how long have you played on Legend?'

Amethyst says, 'It will be 3 years in September or October..'

'Same here :),'

'In your experience here, how do you tell when something is IC or OOC.'

'Sometimes that line is hard to tell,' Amethyst says. 'If I am with my
friends, then I can usually tell though. Most anything is IC unless
through tells or grouptells. And even then, tells to/from characters I
do not know prompt IC responses.'

'So it is safe to say its very easy for you to get mixed up?'

'Not necessarilly,' Amethyst says. 'With my friends it is easy to slip
from IC to OOC without realizing it, but when dealing with characters I
don't know, I try very hard to stick to IC. But it's hard when RL
things make you upset and you bring that IC.'

'What do you do to try to keep something IC and not turn it into a OOC
thing?'

'Something as in fights/Arguments/disagreements? Or ?' Amethyst says.

Amethyst says, 'I try and make sure that if there is an IC
disagreement/fight or argument, I let the person know that it is RP and
that I am not really mad at them.'

'If it proceeds into an OOC argument, then i try and explain that it
was an IC thing,' Amethyst says. 'If the other person doesn't
understand and continues with OOC insults or fighting, I take it
personally.'

'How do you know when they insult you OOC?'

'Usually it isn't too hard,' Amethyst says. 'OOC insults that I have
received as other characters, are made clear that they are OOC.  Things
like being told to leave Legend because the players  would be glad I
was gone..'

'And to take a long walk off a short pier..' Amethyst says. 'Usually
insults sent through tells are OOC and are not made in fun. They are
made to hurt the person behind the character unless otherwise stated
that it is RP.'

'Do you have anything to tell the players out there as to how to deal
with a OOC problem they may run into?'

'Don't try and handle it yourself if it is bad,' Amethyst says. 'If you
know for a fact that it is an OOC problem with other players, and it is
harassment, tell an Admin Immortal. No one deserves to be harassed, OOC
or IC. And if it is OOC, it can hurt.'

Amethyst says, 'It can hurt the way you look at the game, at the other
people in the game, and yourself.'

StoneCold nods solemnly.

StoneCold says to Amethyst, 'Thanks for letting me ask you these
questions that can bring back some hurtful memories.'

                              *   *   *

                       An Interview with Yvonne

StoneCold says, 'Can you tell us how long you have played on Legend?'

Lady Yvonne Alexander says loftily, 'Since March of this year.'

StoneCold says to Lady Yvonne Alexander, 'So your pretty new then :).'

Lady Yvonne Alexander says, 'Yup.'

Lady Yvonne Alexander says, 'I still consider myself a newbie, more or
less.'

StoneCold says to Lady Yvonne Alexander, 'So you know the rules pretty
good by now then?'

'The rules, yes,' Lady Yvonne Alexander says to StoneCold. 'I'm not so
hot on actual game mechanics, etc.'

StoneCold says, 'So you know the difference between what is IC and OOC?'

Lady Yvonne Alexander ponders her own existence - better keep an eye on
her.

'I'd say so, yes,' Lady Yvonne Alexander says to StoneCold.

StoneCold says, 'Can you tell me what is OOC and IC in your words then
please.'

'IC is where the role-playing aspect of the game takes place,' Lady =
Yvonne Alexander says. 'IC, I try, as much as possible, to be someone
I'm not RL. OOC is the opposite- a place where you can be yourself,
discuss game mechanics, sit around, basically all the other a.'

'Basically, all the other aspects of playing a mud other than
role-playing,' Lady Yvonne Alexander says.

Lady Yvonne Alexander says, 'I don't roleplay OOC.'

'Have you ever had a situation where you have seen or been in something
OOC for a example, both in pkill and not...' StoneCold says.

'I've been harassed over chat,' Lady Yvonne Alexander says. 'The other
player was warned by the imms, end of story.'

StoneCold nods solemnly.

'Harassed OOC i take it?' StoneCold says. 'As in Real Life insults?'

Lady Yvonne Alexander nods her agreement with StoneCold.

'Yup,' Lady Yvonne Alexander says.

'What things can you tell everyone is the best way to deal with a OOC 
problem,' StoneCold says.

'I'm not the best person to talk to about dealing with OOC problems,'
Lady Yvonne Alexander says, looking amused.

Lady Yvonne Alexander chuckles politely.

Lady Yvonne Alexander says, 'I tend to take them too personally.'

Lady Yvonne Alexander shrugs helplessly.

Lady Yvonne Alexander says, 'In hindsight, I'd suggest just ignoring
the person, gagging them if they keep it up, and saying something to an
imm if they still persist.'

'And what things do you do to make sure you stay IC and not start to 
talk, act, etc, OOC?'

'Differently depending on my mood,' Lady Yvonne Alexander says. 'Some
days, I really don't feel much like roleplaying. So I don't. Most of
the time, however, it comes pretty naturally.'

'So you try your best to stay your character but it can be hard at 
times?'

Lady Yvonne Alexander says, 'No, when I'm IC, I don't tend to break
character, unless it's over tells, or I'm with friends with whom I know
I can talk OOC.'

Lady Yvonne Alexander says, 'Some days I just don't feel like
roleplaying, but I don't talk about RL, or anything, I usually just sit
around and animate things.'

'Which is what I'll probably get back to doing after this interview,' 
Lady Yvonne Alexander says.

StoneCold giggles.

StoneCold says to Lady Yvonne Alexander, 'Anything you would like to 
inform others about staying In-Character?'

Lady Yvonne Alexander looks up into the sky and ponders.

Lady Yvonne Alexander says, 'Personally, I could care less if someone
doesn't like my character, in fact, I welcome the attention.'

Lady Yvonne Alexander says, 'But I take OOC insults as...well, OOC, and
I take them pretty seriously.'

'Basically, I'll say what I've said before, that there are people
behind the characters, and everyone reacts differently,' Lady Yvonne
Alexander says.  'Something that you might think is perfectly harmless
might bother them.'

StoneCold nods solemnly.

StoneCold says to Lady Yvonne Alexander, 'Thanks for your views on this
topic :).'


                              *   *   *

                      A Report on the Kenny Game

The Kenny Game is now in its third week. There has been a lot of
participation and everyone seems to be enjoying it. I would like to
take this opportunity to explain the game once more and to tell you of
a new prize category. 

The game itself is simple. Watch info and when you see Kenny die, write
it down on a list and at the end of the week send it to me with the
time/date and the mob who killed him (all times are system times). 

The prizes go to the top three entrants. A single color coupon for
first, a non-color coupon for second and 2 tokens for third (note the
change to third place). All other entrants who have at least 3 correct
answers will be 'put into a hat' and a single name drawn to receive a
token as well. 

At the end of the game there will be some rp strings available for all
participants. I hope everyone is having as much fun with this as I am.
Look for another new twist to the game next week!

Ya'll are the greatest!
Joule

                                *   *   *

                          Changes to OOC and PK

With the next code update, there will be a change to the OOC that will
deny access to pkenabled characters for 10 ticks after pkill combat.
This means that one may not flee from pkill, run to the OOC, and taunt
their opponents. If you wish to flee from combat, you may use IC areas,
clan halls, or rent your pkiller out of the game.

The addition to the HELP OOC file is as follows:

Due to abuse of the OOC by some of the pkill community, pkillers will
not be able to access the OOC lounge for 10 ticks after pkill contact
(One round must go by). This timer saves over renting, crashes and
reboots, and will not be removed for any reason. Using the OOC lounge
as an extension of IC is not permitted.

-Sandra

                                *   *   *

                                 Trivia    

The most recent game's scores were:

Something 8
Mugwump 6.5
Mitra 5.5
Bert 5
Ishtar Myrella Fairfax 3
Aginor 2
Galuf Lilit Stick 1
Viagra .5

With weighted scoring, after 4 rounds of play, the cumulative totals are:

Ishtar: 35 -- Stick: 20 -- Bert, Mugwump: 19 -- Something: 17 -- Danar: 16
Itchy: 14 -- Lilit: 13 -- Aginor: 11 -- Fatale: 10 -- Mitra: 8 -- Quixotic: 7
Quimby: 6 -- Poison, Myrella, Fairfax, Aeolus: 6 -- Juggernaut: 5
Rictor, Khan, Quimby, Kel'Thoran, Coug, Aardwolf, Hephaestus: 4 -- Galuf: 3
Drax, Skar, StoneCold, Malagig, Deqitosv: 2

                                *   *   *

               An Explanation of Trivia's Weighted Scoring

Here's how it works. Point values are given in order from 10 to 1
according to placement at the end of the day's game. First place gets
10 points, 10th place gets 1 point. The system is usually more complex
due to ties, because each member of a tie 'uses up' a point value,
while still earning the same point value as other members of that tie.
That's not the clearest explanation, but maybe an example will
clarify.

A trivia game ends with the following scores (one point per question):

PlayerA, PlayerB: 8
PlayerC: 7
PlayerD: 5
PlayerE, PlayerF, PlayerG: 3
PlayerH: 1

Weighted scoring leads to the following totals:

A & B: 10
C: 8
D: 7
E & F & G: 6
H: 3


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        o O | Wonder what folks are   |
  `\|||/    | doing over at LegendMUD?|
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/__|    LEGENDITES: Information Regarding the People of Our World     |__\
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                                *   *   *


                   Agents of the Dark Lord Claim Romania!   

Details on this late-breaking story are still difficult to pin down. But an
eyewitness recounted for this journal the following incident:

A spastic figure made his way into the Romania land claims office, and
jumped onto the chief's desk. Sure that he had everyone's attention
(including the rapidly approaching security officers) he declared
loudly:

"My homelands have been claimed in the name of the Dark Lord!" 

While the figure screamed, the chief scrambled for the door. "Romania
is hereby a sanctuary of Evil, and is to be avoided by the light
blinders on pain of death!" he continued.

Climbing off the desk, he dropped a small white card in the
eyewitness's pocket and abruptly jumped out a window. The card reads
along the lines of "Ronnie Valthalas, Dark Enforcer Grand Master, Dept.
of Truth Enhancement"

                               *   *   *

                            Frodo's New Toy   

Recently, Frodo was seen madly searching the globe for the north pole,
apparently questing for the disappeared Santa Claus. After disappearing
himself for a few weeks, Frodo reappeared, riding on a brand-new,
forest green, child-sized jeep!

                               *   *   *

                    The Quarrels Over Navarro Continue

The following statement was scrawled on a napkin and left in our
offices:

I wad lik it tae be knoown throughoot that I hev adopted Navarro.
Sae eef that Marcel triesh anything, I weel hev  a way tae prootect heem
Ayye, Marcel be hish "fatheer" alshoo, boot, atch leasht thish way I cnn
prootecht th' lad.

Feer Noot!  The Shcottish are heer! (rrr eef ye English, fear a lot!)

-McDougan

And so it seems that the dueling claims over guardianship of the boy
are not yet over...

                               *   *   *

                             Aginor's Vision    

Recently, the Dark Lord spoke to me in my dreams. He mentioned not only
that Ronnie Valthalas should keep the position of Grand Master of the
Dark Enforcers, but also spoke to me of a divine foretelling. This is
what he said that I am willing to divulge:

"Aginor, my Messiah, the winds of time are changing direction. My
followers, those you know and those you don't, are gathering, growing.
The Last Day draws nigh. Three people are vital to the Shadow's
victory; one already is in my grasp, and another is being converted,
despite his struggling. The third yet holds out, but on the Last Day,
all three will be mine, and the world with them."

For obvious reasons, the names of these three are held to myself and my
Enforcers, but if you are one of these three, then you should be
careful; we will stop at nothing to turn you to the Shadow, and if you
will not be turned, you will be killed.

                               *   *   *

                          Vision Without Sight

A blind-looking beggar sat down in his birch bark canoe, annoyed.  'Oh
bugger it', he exclaimed.  Perhaps it hadn't been such a good idea to
travel to Macao on his own.  Being able to see where you were going had
its advantages, especially when traveling by sea. He tilted his head
back to feel the sun, and tried to estimate where he was. He'd heard
the waves crashing on the reef, and guided by wind as well as the sun,
he had been fairly sure he'd reach the Portuguese colony.  He wasn't so
sure now, though.  

Fumbling through his deerskin bag, he found a small plant and started
nibbling on it. Well, thank the lord for small blessings, Stick
thought, these fennel plants should last me a while.  Taking a quick
sip from a small black mug which he then stowed away, he strained to
hear any sound of land, or seagulls, who never strayed too far from
shore.  The hours passed, and as the warmth of the sun receded Stick
decided to just go to sleep and hope everything would be well in the
morning.  'My Karma's even better than Morphine's!', he said, sounding
unsure of himself, ' I'm bound to hit shore eventually.' Confident that
if nothing else, someone would find him, Stick went to sleep in his
canoe, looking like some thrown-away rags, waiting to be torched.

He awoke to the sound of waves caressing a beach and sat up.
'Nifty!', he said happily, as the scent of rotting seaweed reached his
nostrils, but then he stiffened, suddenly on guard. Something was wrong
- well not wrong, so much as odd. The waves lapped peacefully, and up
in the sky, a vague form screeching must be a seagull. So nothing to
worry about, right?

'Hey, wait a minute, I can see!'

Stick jumped up and down in his canoe, unmindful of the pained creaks
his burst of activity caused in the old wood.  Craning his head, he
could make out shapes and shades of light, something that was utterly
impossible since the day the Inquisitor in Lima poked his eyes out with
that red-hot iron poker.

'Really odd, this,' he said, thoughtfully.

'Why that be odd?', came a soft voice from his left, on the beach.
Hastily turning, Stick fell on his backside, tipping his canoe over and
ending up in the water.

'Ha ha ha - smelly man all wet', the voice cackled, no longer soft.

Stick grumbled as he stood up, shaking his head to clear the water from
his ears. Reaching out for his canoe, he found it and dragged it up on
the shore with him, then turned to the figure sitting in the sand.

'Who're you?', Stick inquired, nonchalantly fingering his quarterstaff,
trying his best to look as if he'd jumped into the water voluntarily.

'I be me!', the man exclaimed happily, 'And you be Stick, smelly man.'

Stick pondered the man's existence before replying, 'Well, it seems you
have the advantage of me then, since you know who I am. Where am I,
anyway?' If the man didn't want to tell him who he was, fine. Stick
peered about, still trying to figure out what his newly acquired gift
of vision was all about. The old cackled briefly, then stood up and
walked over to Stick, where he pressed a bony finger to his chest.

Stick was about to step back when he realized he was wearing a
medallion of some kind he knew he hadn't been before, and that's what
the old man was pointing at.  'Hmm...what's this? You gave me this?'
Stick fingered the medallion, trying to make out what it was. It felt
like an eye had been engraved on a small wooden disk.

'Old Fourfinger Wu give you eye!', the old man said, obviously pleased
with himself. 'Now smelly man see where he going, so he not get lost at
sea again.'

'Uh, thanks,' Stick said, 'This is what's making me see again?' Stick
looked at Fourfinger, boggled.

'Eye make smelly man see, heya?', Fourfinger said, smug.  Stick nodded
solemnly.

'It's not that I'm not thankful, but umm..why?' he said, looking
dubious.

'That be Fourfinger secret', the old man said.  He reached into a
pocket and pulled out another length of leather with a charm dangling
from it.  'Fourfinger have reason, but not for smelly man to know. And
smelly man must also wear this if he keep eye.'

Stick, enjoying his new-found sight, just nodded again. 'Sure..' He
accepted the new leather thong and wore it around his neck, before
running his fingers over it to see what it was. A faint line snaked
across the round, coin-like medallion with two dots marking the halves,
one on each. 'A yin and yang symbol?', he asked.

'Yes, must wear if smelly man want to keep eye. If smelly man remove,
bad thing happen. Must serve as guide.' Stick, about to protest,
suddenly slumped to the ground as the old man muttered something under
his breath.

Coming to, Stick sat up in his canoe and froze, trying by smell, scent
and warmth to make out where he was, before suddenly becoming aware of
motion and shades of light again. Quickly feeling his neck, his fingers
found the two leather thongs, and following them down to his chest, the
two medallions he'd been given.

Looking around, he was once again at sea, but not too far to the west
he could make out the shapes of buildings. Grabbing the paddle, he set
off, and soon the Portuguese voices yelling across the harbor reached
his sensitive ears. He'd get back to his medallions later, he thought,
as he tied his pants tighter around his waist with a length of rope and
hauled his canoe out of the water and headed off into town.


                               *   *   *

                    The Tale of a Blood-Thirsty Bunny!     


Fuzzey has been denying all accusations, and shows no remorse for what he
has done.  I feel everyone should know exactly what kind of bunny Fuzzey
really is.

Mertjai and I were taking her baby daughter for a stroll one day, when a
savage rabbit sprang from the bushes and grabbed the child!  We were
stunned and had no idea what a rabbit would want with a human baby.  We
quickly gave chase to the bunny, who made straight for the druids circle
near the Royal Stag Inn.  

When we reached the circle, we saw that the bunny was Fuzzey!  He had
the tiny girl on the ground and was doing something strange.  We tried
to stop him, but he completed the sacrifice of Mertjai's daughter to
the dark lord, before we had a chance.  There was blood everywhere.

As I watched not knowing what to do, Mertjai ran to her daughter's
side, and hugged the slowly cooling body to hers, not caring about the
dagger protruding from it, nor that Fuzzey may attack her next. The
corpse slowly disappeared, as if by magic.

As we walked from there in tears, we heard Fuzzey cry out "Dark Lord
why have you not returned Fazi, I have given you a soul in return" and
we wept more, not only for Mertjai's daughter, but for the poor rabbits
lost mind. I will never forget the horror of those last few moments we
spent with our favorite little girl.

In remembrance of an innocent,
Cornflake


                           *   *   *

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           \ \  /  \  / /  | |___| | | |   | |  \_\ \ |
            \ \/ /\ \/ /   |  ___  | | |   | |      / /
             \  /  \  /    | |   | | | |___| |     /_/ 
              \/    \/     |_|   |_| |_______|     __
                                                  /_/
               by CLeo of the Circle of Angels      


Hello everyone!  For this week's interview, I got Ronnie to be victim to 
my curiosity.  I hope you will like what he has to say about it all...


Name:  Ronnie Valthalas
Occupation:  Dept of Truth Enhancement, {S} Goon, and Malkavian Lord.


Q - What do you think of life?
A - Life is kinda neat, if your on the taking end...  Its amazing how 
fragile a lot of lives are when you have a hand at someone's throat. But 
overall, life is a chaotic mess, which makes it so fun to begin with.

Q - What kind of domain would you build if you could afford it?
A - A really large pond, with this mud and stick house next to it. Kind 
of like an amphibious bird, forget the name though.

Q - To what kind of animal, or plant, do you relate your personality to?
A - Ducks.  (CLeo:  I wonder why...)

Q - If you were a kitchen utensil, what would it be?
A - A spork, or a foon.  (CLeo:  Uh...  Hmm... Mixed up in there?)

Q - What is your favorite meal?
A - Mexican food, plain and simple.

Q - If I could grant you a wish, what would it be?'
A - I would probably wish for...  A new head.  I think my old one is too 
purple, and sometimes gets stuck on my neck and wont come off when I 
want it to.  Or was that my old head? *ponders*

Q - What do you think of Will O' Green asking people money for passage?
A - I think he should start accepting credit, barters, or internal
organs.  (CLeo: I... think I'll skip dinner...)

Q - What is one of the most embarrassing moments you had?
A - Trying to feed on a mannequin.'

Q - Tell us a bit about yourself and your life.
A - Well, I was embraced around 134000 or so BC.  I have seen a lot of
weird things, and a lot of my close friends die or shun me. I can only 
take so much, so I decided to go insane.  You know, save my sanity for 
when I needed it. It's not easy being a blood thirsty night dweller 
sometimes.

Q - A few last words to tell to our audience?
A - Yes, actually... Cucumber, the planet Venus, ju-ju bees, and 
platypus!

                          -\|/-*-\|/-*-\|/-                           

That concludes another edition of "WHO?".  I would like to remind you 
that most of the people interviewed were picked randomly.  

I am open to interviewing people on requests as long as there is a good 
reason (example: the person is a known, long time, old legend player...  
the person achieved something really awesome/great... or any other good 
valuable reason).  I do give myself the right to decline requests if be 
needed.  But I doubt I will decline any. 

Do not forget that you may send in some questions that you would like me 
to ask my victims.

Until next time...  May luck be on your path for ever everyone!

-\|/-*-\|/-*-\|/-*-\|/-*-\|/-*-\|/-\|/-*-\|/-*-\|/-*-\|/-*-\|/-*-\|/-


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/__|                       CORRECTIONS & COMMENTS                     |__\
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YE hev slighted Thor! Ye gave  Odin creditfor when THOR hanged himshelf
from Yggrashil tae get mashtery o' Runesh.

Thatch alsho why Thor'sh god o' the coondemneed.

-McDougan


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Legendary Times is published by the immortals of LegendMUD. Please send all
replies, additions, or corrections to our address at [email protected] for
inclusion in the next edition. We, however, reserve the right to moderate
this discussion, and may object to some submissions.
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