Saturday, February 27, 2010
My Entry In The UO Writing Contest
The subject of the story has to be Mesanna's childhood. This was my entry I wrote this morning at 3 am (insomnia sux)! I hope you enjoy, it's just a short story!
A Story Of Young Greatness
By Slickjack of Cats
Our story begins, as most do, in a far off land, deep in Sosaria. One of the forgotten places of this world, yet one many will recognize: the notorious swamp Fens of the Dead…..
So many Lords and Ladies have graced our fair land with their fine and just rule, but many of us come from humble beginnings. These simple starts that I knew as a lad were shared by our heroine, Mesanna. She was born right near my family’s home in this dread swamp and our paths would be forever linked by this common beginning.
She was a gifted baby, which was evident right from the start. The night of her arrival even the usually hostile Lizardmen laid calm and no harassment or murders were committed. Little did we know why there was such peace. As Mesanna grew older, her abilities would grow as well. Our parents couldn’t send us to the private magic academies. We would learn our craft and hone our skills among our elders and spend our spare time dueling in the Fens….
I certainly didn’t know that Mesanna found something that would alter the rest of her life near those swamps.
There are many ruins around our land that are said to be magical places. One in particular, that we were warned against visiting, was just west of our homeland. This wicked place supposedly was home to an evil Seer, outcast for his practicing dark arts and necromancy. Being the ever inquisitive child, Mesanna couldn’t leave it be. One evening, at dusk, she struck out alone to find this old mage and find him she did….
As she drew near to the broken headstones and sunken graves, an eerie feeling crept over her. As she walk between the granite and marble blocks, the vines and grasses grew up quickly and bound her! A shadowy figure drifted out of the edge of the trees toward her but she did not fear it. As it grew close, a bright light shone around the young girl, propelling the dark mage away….. he yelled, “the prophecy is true, you have come to me, you have found me……” . The vines retracted to free the enslaved girl and with astonishment asked, “but I don’t know who you are”……
The Seer would simply reply “I am you teacher”…..
Over the coming hours, Mesanna would learn of the prophecy that the old man spoke of. He told her that SHE was the chosen one. That she would alone have great and terrible powers one day, but must learn to use and control them. He also spoke of an old and ancient society of Seers that once roamed the lands and were friends to many. She would resurrect these wizards and command them …..
She awoke from her dreams, back in her warm cottage, back in the Fens….. wondering if she could believe anything that lingered in her mind from her meeting with this old man at the ruins. Was it real, had she been transported home by the mage? Or was it merely an illusion of her imagination……. As she rose from her bed, something fell to the floor which was hardly noticeably in the dark room. Drawing nearer she realized, this was no dream! As she reached out to grasp the jet black shroud that the dark Seer had given her the night before, she knew she was the chosen one as written in the prophecy!
In time, she would have the power to wear this shroud and with it, control the army of powerful Seers to see the people of Sosaria back to a time of greatness!
So many Lords and Ladies have graced our fair land with their fine and just rule, but many of us come from humble beginnings. These simple starts that I knew as a lad were shared by our heroine, Mesanna. She was born right near my family’s home in this dread swamp and our paths would be forever linked by this common beginning.
She was a gifted baby, which was evident right from the start. The night of her arrival even the usually hostile Lizardmen laid calm and no harassment or murders were committed. Little did we know why there was such peace. As Mesanna grew older, her abilities would grow as well. Our parents couldn’t send us to the private magic academies. We would learn our craft and hone our skills among our elders and spend our spare time dueling in the Fens….
I certainly didn’t know that Mesanna found something that would alter the rest of her life near those swamps.
There are many ruins around our land that are said to be magical places. One in particular, that we were warned against visiting, was just west of our homeland. This wicked place supposedly was home to an evil Seer, outcast for his practicing dark arts and necromancy. Being the ever inquisitive child, Mesanna couldn’t leave it be. One evening, at dusk, she struck out alone to find this old mage and find him she did….
As she drew near to the broken headstones and sunken graves, an eerie feeling crept over her. As she walk between the granite and marble blocks, the vines and grasses grew up quickly and bound her! A shadowy figure drifted out of the edge of the trees toward her but she did not fear it. As it grew close, a bright light shone around the young girl, propelling the dark mage away….. he yelled, “the prophecy is true, you have come to me, you have found me……” . The vines retracted to free the enslaved girl and with astonishment asked, “but I don’t know who you are”……
The Seer would simply reply “I am you teacher”…..
Over the coming hours, Mesanna would learn of the prophecy that the old man spoke of. He told her that SHE was the chosen one. That she would alone have great and terrible powers one day, but must learn to use and control them. He also spoke of an old and ancient society of Seers that once roamed the lands and were friends to many. She would resurrect these wizards and command them …..
She awoke from her dreams, back in her warm cottage, back in the Fens….. wondering if she could believe anything that lingered in her mind from her meeting with this old man at the ruins. Was it real, had she been transported home by the mage? Or was it merely an illusion of her imagination……. As she rose from her bed, something fell to the floor which was hardly noticeably in the dark room. Drawing nearer she realized, this was no dream! As she reached out to grasp the jet black shroud that the dark Seer had given her the night before, she knew she was the chosen one as written in the prophecy!
In time, she would have the power to wear this shroud and with it, control the army of powerful Seers to see the people of Sosaria back to a time of greatness!
Wednesday, February 24, 2010
Tuesday, February 23, 2010
My Wammy Ideas
First off, I wanted to post the exact details of what Wraith Form's benefits are:
WRAITH FORM
Transforms the Necromancer into the form of a wraith, well-suited for resisting physical damage, but weak against magic. No duration. Casting this spell again or casting another transformation spell dispels it. Once in wraith-form, Necromancers can use the "Recall" spell, as long as the spell is in their spellbook and they have the appropriate reagents. This is true even if their Magery skill is at 0. While under the influence of the this spell, the caster receives:
+25% damage from undead weapons
+15% physical resist
-5% fire resist
-5% energy resist
the ability to walk through creatures and players in Felucca.
the ability to leech mana from the targets mana pool. (If the targets mana pool is empty then you leech nothing.) The amount leeched is based upon your Spirit Speak skill and the damage you do to the target. It works with Magery and Weapon damage. Formula - Spirit Speak / 5
At Gm (100 Spirit Speak) it leeches 20% of the damage you do to the target, and legendary (120 Spirit Speak) is 24% leeched.
Now, there are a few different templates I've been looking to build.
The first is based on close quarters combat, like facing the Dark Father.
120 swords
120 bushido
120 resisting spells
120 tactics
100 spirit speak
60 chivalry
50 anatomy
30 necro
(depending on what you are fighting, you may substitute 120 Parry for the Resist)
There is also a VERY popular alternative to the Disco Archer for making a Champ Killer.
120 Archery
120 Bushido
120 Spirit Speak
105 Necro
90 Tactics
65 Chivalry
100 Anatomy or Resist
or
120 Archery
120 Bushido
100 Spirit Speak
100 Tactics
100 Anatomy
75 Chivalry
50 Necro
I think I will try the last on for my archer wammy because 50 necro will allow you to cast Curse Weapon and Corpse Skin 100% of the time and should give more damage output than first template. Both are viable and tested though.
Curse Weapon is your friend!
Duration:
Caster's Spirit Speak x 10 ÷ 34 + 1 in seconds
Description:
Briefly enchant your weapon to gain the power of life drain. While enchanted, the weapon will heal its wielder with 50% of the damage it deals out.
So, I forsee a few must have macros using a one-handed sword or balanced slayer bow for chugging pots.
Macros:
Honor Target
Heal pot
Cure pot
Spirit Speak (if you choose template with high s/s)
Evasion
Confidence
Consecrate Weapon
Enemy Of One
Curse Weapon
Corpse Skin/Last Target
and of course a healthy mix of weapon specials!
In the Abyssal Blade category, it's specials are Armor Ignore and Paralyzing Blow. So, I invision my Wammy honoring the target (hopefully), getting all the buffs up (chivarly on you, necro on target) and spamming Armor Ignore til your hearts content...... because the whole point of the template is: YOU NEVER RUN OUT OF MANA!
WRAITH FORM
Transforms the Necromancer into the form of a wraith, well-suited for resisting physical damage, but weak against magic. No duration. Casting this spell again or casting another transformation spell dispels it. Once in wraith-form, Necromancers can use the "Recall" spell, as long as the spell is in their spellbook and they have the appropriate reagents. This is true even if their Magery skill is at 0. While under the influence of the this spell, the caster receives:
+25% damage from undead weapons
+15% physical resist
-5% fire resist
-5% energy resist
the ability to walk through creatures and players in Felucca.
the ability to leech mana from the targets mana pool. (If the targets mana pool is empty then you leech nothing.) The amount leeched is based upon your Spirit Speak skill and the damage you do to the target. It works with Magery and Weapon damage. Formula - Spirit Speak / 5
At Gm (100 Spirit Speak) it leeches 20% of the damage you do to the target, and legendary (120 Spirit Speak) is 24% leeched.
Now, there are a few different templates I've been looking to build.
The first is based on close quarters combat, like facing the Dark Father.
120 swords
120 bushido
120 resisting spells
120 tactics
100 spirit speak
60 chivalry
50 anatomy
30 necro
(depending on what you are fighting, you may substitute 120 Parry for the Resist)
There is also a VERY popular alternative to the Disco Archer for making a Champ Killer.
120 Archery
120 Bushido
120 Spirit Speak
105 Necro
90 Tactics
65 Chivalry
100 Anatomy or Resist
or
120 Archery
120 Bushido
100 Spirit Speak
100 Tactics
100 Anatomy
75 Chivalry
50 Necro
I think I will try the last on for my archer wammy because 50 necro will allow you to cast Curse Weapon and Corpse Skin 100% of the time and should give more damage output than first template. Both are viable and tested though.
Curse Weapon is your friend!
Duration:
Caster's Spirit Speak x 10 ÷ 34 + 1 in seconds
Description:
Briefly enchant your weapon to gain the power of life drain. While enchanted, the weapon will heal its wielder with 50% of the damage it deals out.
So, I forsee a few must have macros using a one-handed sword or balanced slayer bow for chugging pots.
Macros:
Honor Target
Heal pot
Cure pot
Spirit Speak (if you choose template with high s/s)
Evasion
Confidence
Consecrate Weapon
Enemy Of One
Curse Weapon
Corpse Skin/Last Target
and of course a healthy mix of weapon specials!
In the Abyssal Blade category, it's specials are Armor Ignore and Paralyzing Blow. So, I invision my Wammy honoring the target (hopefully), getting all the buffs up (chivarly on you, necro on target) and spamming Armor Ignore til your hearts content...... because the whole point of the template is: YOU NEVER RUN OUT OF MANA!
Wednesday, February 17, 2010
Monday, February 15, 2010
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