MUDDLED TIMES
ISSUE 2
Hi,
Well I don't think I'll waffle on too much this time, especially as so many of you have sent in tons of wonderful articles. The new version of MUD is now up and running and has brought with it many new mobiles and a whole new area to explore. The bashes are now a little bit more challenging but I'm sure it won't be long before your all happily wiping out every mobile in the land and earning that all important 3k with plenty of time to spare again. Karya earned the title of witch this month, fighting for her life every step of the way, well done <G>. Well, Christmas is nearly here. There's a sorcerer war on the 17th of December starting at 9pm. There will be prizes but these have yet to be decided on. When we have decided on the prizes they will be posted on the BB so keep an eye out. Well that's it from me, have a good christmas and a happy new year.
Suzy the witch.
Christmas Prize
Sorcerer War......9pm.
Just turn up at 9pm with a new persona name (with no points) and
you will be magically transformed into a Sorcerised Sorcerer. All
players taking part will be set free into the land to attempt to
get as many kills to their name as possible. All Sorcerised
persona will be resurrected should they die, so they can return
to the land to do some more killing, however, the winner will be
the player with the most persona kills on their obit at the end
of the reset. Prizes will be posted on the BB nearer the time.
Mobile
Bash......9pm.
Work as a team, roaming the land slaying every mobile you can
spot. Rid the land of all evil and earn yourself a massive 3000
points ! Ooooooooooooh ! It's Christmas eve too......yipeeeeeeee
:)
Mobile
Bash......9pm.
Work as a team, roaming the land slaying every mobile you can
spot. Rid the land of all evil and earn yourself a massive 3000
points ! New years eve.........oooooooooooooooooooh!!!!!!!!!!!
PARTY TIME :)
Mobile
Bash......9pm.
Work as a team, roaming the land slaying every mobile you can
spot. Rid the land of all evil and earn yourself a massive 3000
points !
Here are the top ten players as at, 3rd December 1998.
1.
Ged
2. Drackion
3. Determined
4. Dunbad
5. Supersonic
6. Sun
7. Madouc
8. Jungleboy
9. Tom
10. Saffron
The time for war had come again, Merciless killing would overcome us all. The sorcerer war was upon us. The sorcerer war kicked off at 9pm but I missed the start due to some bad traffic on the way home. By the time I had logged on and been sorcerised, there had already been a fair bit of killing, although it seemed one player, Tupac was being killed over and over again.
Once in the land, I discovered that my late entry meant that all the items that would aid me in slaying as many people as I could, were gone. After finding myself a suitable weapon I set about getting my first kill. As I ran about the land I saw several players that had come out worse for wears after fighting And decided that one of these players would be easiest to kill. After a little bit of chasing I caught up with one of them and attacked them. After a short fight he passed on and I had got my first kill. Once I had slept of my injuries I noticed Tupac was still wandering around and decided to add him to my obit. I found him in the ogre's lair and attacked him, the fight lasted a little while, but with no attempt to flee, Tupac was doomed.
By now some players already had quite a few kills and were getting close going up a level. One of these players, who had a name composed of random numbers and letters, was fighting someone and it was just too good and opportunity to miss so I attacked him. Needless to say he fled and he went under the well to sleep, he was still badly injured and asleep when I found him. Once I had attacked him it only took one hit and he died, banking me a cool 4.8k and another kill to my obit taking me to 4.
Supercake was another such player who had killed a few people, and so I decided he would be my next target. Having found him already fighting someone else I joined in too and he fled pretty quickly. He gone to get some sleep in the blizzard and so I followed him up there, once I found him he seem most annoyed, and to quote him he said "Damn you all, but you especially" and then promptly fell asleep giving me an easy kill.
By now the obit was getting too long to read as player's kills were dropping like flies. The leader at this time was Sniffler who had a impressive 8 kills. My 5 kills meant that I was in third place. I got another couple of kills and it was then that my problems started. I was now a necromancer and had over 30,000 points, having only just won my last fight I was in desperate need of some sleep, after a few minutes, I was awoken by Sniffler attacking me. I was in no shape to fight and decided to cut my loses and flee and try to get some sleep, needless to say Sniffler caught up with me again at attacked me, this happened 5 times and knocked me back down to sorcerer. I finally managed to find the only spare boat and get some sleep on the ship. Once I was fully recovered I went back to the mainland to get a few more kills. I attacked Xenophobe who fled and went to sleep on the ship, so I followed him there and once again he fled and resited but not before he had taken my boat as well. Then he unsited me so I was stuck on the ship with no one to kill after siting there for about 5 minutes the game crashed and the winners were announced.
1. Sniffler
2. Fodder
3. Brutal
Brutal.
(part 2)
There's no way of getting an accurate, in-game report of how dangerous mobiles are, not that I know of any way, so any rating system has to be subjective. For this reason, I use a scale of stars, with 1 star being low and 5 stars being high:
* |
Very low. Almost inconsequential. |
** |
Low. Not much of a challenge. |
*** |
Average. Lots are like this. |
**** |
High. Something of a challenge. |
***** |
Very high. Attention-grabbing. |
There's one additional possibility: n/a The rating system is not applicable for this particular case.
On with the show!
*** THE BOAR
The boar normally wanders about in the area north of the keep. It is essentially a machine or generating sticks and truffles from trees. It usually eats the truffles itself, but sometimes it leaves them behind (maybe it gets full?). It isn't especially aggressive UNLESS you touch one of its truffles - then it gets seriously bad-tempered with you. It doesn't even have to be there when you do it; I guess it must be able to smell it on your breath or something. It's not as if the truffles are worth eating anyway, they're only a few points. What isn't fair is that if you feed a truffle to the stag, the boar won't attack it. It ought to, I think.
* THE BUTTERFLY
OK, so sometimes the butterfly can be quite annoying in the way it's not easy to hit, but once you DO hit it, whammo, it's going to be dead. And if it hits you, you probably won't even notice! It's normally found fluttering around the environs of the inn. Interestingly, you can catch it with the net, not that there's a great deal you can do with it once you have it. Take it to the dragon's island, I suppose.
* THE CANARY
This is another one of those tiresome creatures which are easy to kill IF you can hit them. It flees very readily, so if you do want to bash its brains in you might consider a cripple spell first. Alternatively, you can just take it somewhere where there's gas, like the swamp, and it will die immediately (but then you don't get its points - if it has any left after fleeing you 20 times). It starts off in the mine, at one of the faces, and will follow anyone who it comes across. It's therefore not as hard getting it to some gas as you might think, because there's a pocket only a short walk away which is nicely convenient. The canary is so easy and so out of the way that it's quite often forgotten in mobile bashes, so if you arrive late and need a kill you can sometimes find it there waiting for you.
* THE CARP
The only problem with the carp is actually getting to it, which is easy if you know how but very hard if you don't! It's situated in a tinkling pool in a courtyard off of the temple grounds, but to get there you have to find one of the statues of Buddha and hit it. When you reappear before the "great Buddha" you're in the courtyard. From there, go to the north part or south part of the courtyard and then use IN to get into the pool. Beating the carp to death is then a cinch!
** THE COOT
Another resident of the area around the keep, the coot is one of those mobiles that if you see it, you kill it, but there's not really much of an incentive to go after it under normal circumstances. The Fox usually gets it anyway.
That's all for this time. Next time it's the crows, the dove and .... well lets just say it's gonna be hot stuff !
Lexley
You finally emerge from your troubled meditations and at once stumble under the oppressively heavy atmosphere of ancient mystic. You peer through the darkness, acutely aware that something is amiss and it probably going to be one of those resets, again. In the inner sanctum you see a darkly clad woman swathed in mist. As you edge forward, you realise it is Black Rose, deep in trance before the Keg. "Hi Black Rose" you chirp "What shakes? .... Have you seen the icons???". Black Rose draws breath and the tendrils of unearthly mist, writhe and shimmer with eerie witchfire. Black Rose begins a whispered song of ancient words of power. .... The song seems to form more of a presence than words. Black Rose then peers into to the glowing contents of the Mystic Keg. Breaths deeply then coughs and splutters. Through watering eyes she begins to chant...
The sudden realisation that you know exactly what to do next should make you feel far more confident and relaxed. Now is the time to leave the Tearoom, do the crown and avoid indulging in too many wafers and lotus plants.
Either you must settle for whats on offer or hold out hoping to convince others you you deserve more. Your instincts have never let you down in the past. Time to practice the judgement skill of wether to re-attack or flee, use the force and may the RNG be with you.
You have tried to please all the people most of the time and found it doesn't work. Now you most make a decisive move. Go on be a devil and swamp the coal, hide the chart and don't forget to swamp those gargolyes, then spend half a reset playing the drum. After which you should spend the next two days in the safety of the Tea room.
Due to the Sun in a sensitive area of your chart, someone seems keen for you to go to war over the next four weeks or so. Beware of a past PK lurking at sea.
Your only concern might revolve around the shortage of time. Don't take on more than you can comfortably handle. Take up a typing course and try to use a larger container, if you can find one.
Now you are feeling more secure about your image to the outside world. Never settle for second best or second billing. Now is the time for the big Wiz run. Go. Go.
If you need proof that one particular journey is coming to an end, you may have to look around and see how your companions are behaving. Make sure this time you are suitably equipped for what promises to be a unique experience. The message "You don't have the coal to do that with" may lead to a rather warming but unpleasant and more common experience.
Even though you seem sure of the best way to handle a property issue, a partner may want to do a U-turn or let things grind to a halt. When on the fourth floor of the Keep. After allowing your comrade first pick, you type "Value Treasure" and get the message "Long sword is worth 25 points" and on "Where Trusty the Companion", "at the swamp with a big grin". Expect your next dream word to be "gullible".
Refuse to believe that recent disruptions have seriously damaged a dear and close friendship. When you are about to take that 195k Mage out for a final spin, first check your hardware connections. The message "COMMS ERROR" as the Vampire and Wraith glide towards you may lead to a long and expensive period of counselling.
Strong and able you may be. But there is a limit to how much you can do on your own. Try to avoid doing the dwarves alone at four o'clock in the morning. Strange things can and do happen at that time and you may end up going to work with a keyboard impression on your forehead.
You may have a tendency to feel inhibited by the thought of stepping into a new environment. But you have needed a change of scene for a while and should not reject the unusual. Expect a sudden influx of aquarian ex-Quake newbies this Saturday. Have fun by letting them in on the secret that the Touchstone is the MUD equivalent of the rocket launcher.
After coping with a number of crises on the home front, you must see that short-term solutions can only add to your long-term worries and woes. Cosmic forces are reminding you its not to late to scrap one idea in favour of another. It may be wiser to forgo that second "just one last reset", call the bank manager and write that cheque out to BT.
The chanting subsides and the mists dissipate, leaving you bewildered and checking the number of lotus plants you have. Black Rose then gently but firmly guides you over to the portal before which stand a massive and impassive stone golem. Around its neck hangs a box with reads "Admission is free, however a donation would be gratefully recieved". As you fumble around your person saying "...err...mmm...", out of the corner of your eye you could have sworn you saw the golem begin to smile. With a stroke of inspiration you say "Do you accept BT charge cards?". Black Rose smiles sweetly and swishes aside a dark velvet drape to reveal and gleaming latest-design all card-accepting cash machine "no problem" she purrs. As you tumble back through the ether, Black Rose deftly relieves you of your card and you regain consciousness feeling much the wiser but also very much the poorer. Off to the paddock you truddle when you realise like a lightning strike, no icons. Your last thoughts are "They are never gonna believe this.....Not Updating Persona" as a rain of blows descends upon you from your fellow meditator'.
Blackrose.
Deaths and Flees
Deaths and Flees
Hide your head between your knees
Points and blood
Are going fast
The tearoom posse
skulk above
Too scared to play
Too addicted to leave
Afraid to live
Doomed to grieve
There's a mage out
there
With a mad straight stare
A dagger in hand
And a taste for flair
While hunting
warlocks run around
Stepping invisibly
Without a sound
Lusting for blood
And the thrill of the dare
Chasing their victims
Into the ground
Watching above
Applauding the pain
The wizards chatter
Enjoying the game
The lowlives wander
Stumbling to learn
Around and about them
The highlives burn
Four warlocks there
were
Playing that game
One left through fear
One left through pain
Two kept coming back
Again and again
One fled a goblin
Two fled a shark
One drowned at sea
One fell in the dark
Acting together
Or acting alone
The mage out there
Sends the warlocks home
Four battles are won
Two Icons are claimed
Two tasks completed
The lowlives remained
While they were
dreaming
The Sun was beaming
Mystical and Scud
Topcat and Cobweb
Were leaving
Axis is coming
To give you a drubbing
Deaths and Flees
Deaths and Flees
Hide your head between your knees
Points and blood
Are going fast
Only the mage
Is there at the last
The articles in this section are written by you, the players. The size of this section will vary depending on what gets sent in. If you would like to submit a tale, then please MUD-MAIL it to AZZURI. On a lighter note, isn't it funny that, for the vast majority of submissions for this section the authors wanted to remain anonymous. Perhaps it has something to do with the fact that some of the articles are so embarrassing for the player concerned, that they would never live it down in the land.
It was a glum rainy day in mud; I was, quite naturally, kitted to the teeth. As usual, and as normal I thought I'd do the dragon, because everyone knows that the Dragon is worth loads.... So after painstakingly getting the necessary artefacts I left the mainland to the dragons isle, via the deadly seas. Eventually I got there and did my job well, I quickly returned to the mainland for fear of my life. Then suddenly the weather changed and luckily I arrived back on the mainland just in time. After getting even more kit, the rain eventually stopped, so I thought " druids next!". I set sail to visit the island once more and I got all the stuff I needed to do the druids. On my way to the top of the island I met an Unhappy friend, the DRAGON! After a few rounds of fighting I was gone, nothing was left but a cinder!
The moral of this story children of mud2, never EVER fall into the auto pilot trap its a very bad thing!
Droo
Hi all!
I was supposed to do an article for last issue but I got held up at fishmonger so what are you gonna do? Anyway my article will be about what do the average mud2 addict does in his day so here I go <quickly gets up to throw dart at the vampire on his dartboard> ahh.better!
7:30 - Gets up and
has a 20 second wash.
7:32 - Goes on mud2 till 8:00 because we must work to pay the
phone bill...<sigh>.
9:00 - Sneak on works computer and go on for 10 minutes.
12:00 - Lunch! Some people eat. We go kill the dragon!
5:00 - Get home and go on mud2 till 9pm!
Follow this daily plan and you will end up like Wdi before you know it....he's watching us you know.....right now.........you can run....and scream....but he will find you................!
I've been playing mud for quite some time now, and long before you little nymphs were playing there was a little rule that told the game a 'FOD' with no parameters causes the spell to work on none other but yourself , I remember the day vividly , I stepped into the land with my first ever sorcerer , after getting my 1000 pt quota (which was good at the time of course !) I decided to play with my wondrous new list of spells ! I did many a wondrous thing, I was able to make myself not speak a word , nor to be able to hear the words of my fellow players . . . and of course undo them afterward ! For a while I played with these magical words . . Looking up and down the list and trying each one over and over . . . I was able to turn myself into a majestic griffin , or a flame breathing dragon. Then I saw that there was a command that told you that you can successfully try spells on your list, but you could also try spells what weren't on your list . . After consulting a player (which later turned out to be a nasty guy) told me a few of these special spells, spells I didn't know of . . which involved invis, and fit , and lastly fod . I tried invis and it worked, to my delight, I walked around the land masked from sight , and then I tried fit, which, sadly didn't have the desired effect , and lastly fod, what was this weird spell, what did fod mean ? Who knows , lets give it a try . . .slowly , and now sadly I remember typing those immortal letters , and pressed enter . . .from there on all I can remember is "NOT UPDATING PERSONA"
*sigh
OK, Assin the protector sighs.
Luckly for those new sorcs these days the closed fod does nothing but tell you what the spell means . . Lucky for them , they didn't have to learn the hard way ! Strangely I can't have learned my lesson because not a week ago I caught myself doing it again . . This time with a MAGE , oh dear it still didn't work for me.
long live the FOD,
Droo the hoodwinked sorcerer.
No it didn't work with your Mage either Droo, nevermind........lets have a replay anyway :)
*sc
*zzz
name: Droo
sex: male
strength: 100 effective strength: 83
dexterity: 100 effective dexterity: 99
stamina: 110 max: 110
magic: 110
score: 104,398pts this game: 13pts value: 20,954pts
level: 10 mage
weight carried: 22kg 67g max: 100kg
objects carried: 6 max: 12
games played: 201
glowing
current site: the place known as "dense forest".
No. of Tasks completed: 7 - #0 #1 #3 #4 #5 #6 #7
Time left until survival bonus: 9m 10s
*you wake up !
*someone hits you (94/110)
you miss someone
*someone hits you (74/110)
you miss someone
*someone hits you (67/110)
you miss someone
*someone hits you (54/110)
you miss someone
you his someone (1-5)
someone hits you (34/110)
you hear a thud as reegesk hits someone a powerful blow ,
someone misses reegesk
*dumb
your spell worked !
you have suddenly and magically become dumb
*someone hits you (27/110)
you miss someone
*ffrpce opp to "*CENSORED (due to I still wanna try it )
I dont know the word ffrpce ?
*you hit someone (1-10)
someone hits you (14/110)
you hear a thud as reegesk misses someone ,
you hear a thud as someone hits reegesk a jarred blow to the head
*fo
i dont know the word 'fo'
*fd o
i dont know the word 'fd' reegesk has fled by going out
a pot has been dropped here , a longsword glints in the light.
*FOD OPP
your spell failed ,
it worked on you instead !
you are violently fodded by your failed attempt to fod someone
'Oh well , who lives by the fod , dies by the fod !'
"NOT UPDATING PERSONA"
Droo the hoodwinked mage violently disintegrated by a failed attempt to FOD Someone
To Wizdom . . .
Droo the hoodwinked Protector !
Who are the wizzes, some of you newbies may be thinking. Why are they wizzes, why have they so much power, why do they have tombstones when so many other people die ? Well there is a great debate, were the wizzes all PK's, people so feared they paved their way to wiz, others say they where plodders, just showing up at 4am, and playing from then when no ones on ( but you'd be surprised, I've been on at 3am and there's been 6 people on, inc. 1 wiz ! ). But the point is, the wizzes have won the game!!, all of them, well except Richard maybe, but that doesn't count, cause he made the thing! (and we thank you !) . But be they a super plodder, or an evil killer, the one thing they have got in common is that they were able to stay alive . . . .(DAM DAM DAM that dragon, but I'm not bitter, NO NO not at all - DROO). . . . . , stay alive ! and respect is due ! to the wizzes, however evil, how ever plodding, they deserve our respect, because who wants to live forever ?
Droo the 'chant ' I wanna be a wiz , I wanna be a wiz' HW* Sorcerer.
*HW - hoodwinked, thanks mathilda , your still as funny as you were alive :]
{ spin valve }:
prop(first) <0>>
enabled(spin%valve, first) ->>
!! "The valve is held tight as if by water pressure, and*
you can't seem to turn it...*N",
handlehelp(77, "you turn the valve",
"you are unable to overcome the stiffness of the valve",
valve) &
$( hears(me, "You hear a near-deafening crash, as if* millions of
gallons of water have been released from somewhere
lose by -* about fifteen seconds away...")
!! "*N"
lfx( "a near-deafening crash, as if millions of*
gallons of water have been released from somewhere close by",
[[the%, me], " turns the valve on the wall."], [me], \\, \\)
zone(!flood) 'z' >.<'r', inside(r)>.
<'i', i | mobile & $( wake%(i, //) i | dwarf &
(plan(i):="[o,o,o,o,o,o,o,o,o,o,o,o,o,o])" $) .="player">
.<'h', (outside(h) 'o') ^ z>>
hears(h, "There is a loud crash close*
by, as if millions of gallons of water have been released
and are heading your* way...*N"),
o = mvalvrm |
hears(h, "You hear a rushing sound in*
the distance, as if a huge torrent of water has just started to
flood* somewhere.*N")
newtime(15 * SECTOTICK_ , spin%valve, first)
$),
$( !! "With some effort, you turn the valve... " hears(me,
"There is a grinding noise, then a barely-audible* flushing sound
s if a large body of water was seeping away.")
!! "*N"
lfx("a grinding noise followed by a barely-audible flushing*
sound",
[[the%, me], " turns the valve on the wall."], [me], \\, \\)
prop(first) |
$( zone(!flood) 'z' >.<'r', inside(r) / :="flood" .="player">.
<'h', outside(h) ^ z & sees(h, "The flood waters seep away!*N") $)
disenable(refill%valve, first) newtime(300, refill%valve, first)
prop(first):="1" $)
[Letter begins]
In the beginning the Land was wealthy and at peace. Control of the trade between the southern ships and the dwarven mines gave the local lord the power to build the glories that can still be seen; the formal gardens, the great keep and the lavish house surrounded by olive groves. His wealth funded the monastery and the many traders who passed through the area demanded the highest levels of comfort from the 'Admiral Bombow'.
It was not to last.
Golden ages never do.
Wizards and Witches, feigning friendship, gained access to the Land. At first no-one suspected their dark designs, but over time their diabolical influence was felt everywhere. The woods to the south became a place of dread. It was said vampires nested in the trees. The graveyard, once a place of burial, became the haunt of a ghoul which fed on the rotting corpses of the newly dead. Finally aroused from his blindness to what was happening, the Lord of the Land confronted the Wizards and threatened them with the armies of the south. That very night, the Wizards and Witches called up a host of vile and fabulous creatures. Among them monsters of the underworld, goblins, wolves, ghasts, golems and zombies, spectres, ogres, faeries and orcs. Those inhabitants who did not flee were killed, or became the slaves, or worse the food of the dread army. Great storms lashed the sea and sky. Ships were wrecked, destroying entirely the trade on which the Land depended. Blizzards froze many who survived the intial assaults. Now the Land is at the mercy of these Wizards. They flit from place to place at whim. They slay, or give mercy as it amuses them. Everywhere the buildings of the Land fall into ruin. Their loves are blood and slaughter. Only the dwarves had the strength to resist these foul powers, and they retreated deep within their underground stronghold, shunning all contact with mankind. Their deep fury leads them to slay any who try to gain entry, for fear that they may be Witches in disguise. I said that only the dwarves had the power to resist the Wizards. Yet there are humans in the Land who are not the puppets of the magical overlords. These free humans have constructed hidden caves beneath the middle mountain, and to the south of the pine forests. They have other outposts scattered throughout the region. These bold men and women work tirelessly to thwart the powers, and to bring back civilisation. These are the Rebels. Yes, these are the Rebels! These are the Rebel 'Scum' as the Wizards call them. These are the bravest and the best whom the Wizards are so desperate to seek out and destroy! You can help our cause. Give no aid or comfort to the Wizards and Witches! You can pass food and information between our rebel strongholds. If we work together the evil ones can be CRUSHED!
[Letter ends]
The rebel carrying this message was apprehended crossing the rough heath to the west of the belfry. On sighting the approaching Wizard and entourage he took cyanide. The acting Wizard was unable to reverse the process in time to extract any useful information from the subject. (Note, currently assigned to the western zombie guard). I recommend immediate excavation work begins around the site of the beacon atop the middle mountain, and that the patrols throughout the pines region be strengthened considerable. The rebels must be running short of supplies since we cut of their eastern route in May. If only we can find their centre of operations we can finish their effective presence for good. Further, I recommend that a Wizard be assigned to the purpose of directly combating the rebel propaganda with the real truth of events.
Cat the wizard's site
Wireplays official mud2
web site.
Richard's site
Tons of good stuff here.
Muddy
A mortal Wireplay Mud2 site.
Mud2
Steve's mortal Wireplay
Mud2 site.
Starquest's Site
Many photographs of players here.
Viktor's Site
Large site run by the
Archwizard of mud2.com
Zedd's Site
A wealth of ingame knowledge available to easily search.
Coming soon......
A little section specially for MUD in the Wireplay club bit. Here
you will find general help on MUD2, a few rules and of course,
this wonderful newsletter.
Thanks to everyone who has helped put this newsletter together. Muddled Times can also be found on Cat the wizard's website and Muddy. See the links above. If you have any articles you would like to have published in the next issue, or even a section all of your own please MUD-MAIL Suzy the witch or send an email to suzy@ellisweb.com.
Issue 2.
December 12th 1998.