E'ci: from socialist 'paradise' to capitalist lockdown
While not the story of an individual raid, I think this story about raiding is interesting. (And fellow E'ci players feel free to correct me on the details, but I think I got it all).
We start our tale in 1999, on the E'ci server. This server would soon become known to some as a 'commie' server. Unlike many other servers in classic EQ, E'ci did not have a strong guildbase for raiding from the beginning.
At the very core of E'ci raiding was the public raid. Yes, the public raid: that unwieldy beast which ends up being a mixture of luck, wipes, trains and morons. The main proponent of public raiding on E'ci back in these days was Hottoq, a squat loud-mouthed dwarven paladin who was regularly at the centre of VNBoards shouting matches.
While public raiding suited some, more 'sinister' forces were at play (depending on your outlook) who wanted to rise above the chaos of public raiding and carve out an elite force of raiders. Souls of the Shadow was born.
What followed was an epic struggle between the lithe Souls of the Shadow raiders and a motley crew of public raiders, known as Hottoq's Red Army. Chaos, infighting, and failure hounded the Red Army at each step of the way, with Souls of the Shadow taking more and more Vox and Nagafen pelts every week.
The fighting reached fever pitch, with frenzied races to get to the dragons first, generally ending up with the crack team in Souls getting the kill. Finally the Red Army and Souls attracted the attention of the gods who, in their wisdom, had deigned to stay out of things as much as possible.
The GMs stepped in and 'sorted it all out' (Yea, right!). Souls of the Shadow was inexplicably renamed Night's Watch, and it was said that Mr Smedley himself got involved in this war of ideology. Unfortunately, the days of Hottoq's Red Army were numbered.
Soon the resolve of the public raiders began to flag. An attitude of 'if you can't beat them, join them' arose. Some defected to the enemy in search of results and treasure. Some perservered.
In the end the chaos and fighting continued, and an agreement was struck where Night's Watch would be transferred to Zebuxuruk. Night's Watch would go on to be Dark Horizon and dominate Zeb's raiding scene. This left a void that many hoped public raiding could fill entirely.
This was not to be. In the space previously occupied by Souls, two new contenders sprang up. In the blue corner, we have Reconstructed. In the red corner, we have Militia (formed from a number of guilds joining forces, including Hottoq). These two guilds would war over the very treasure most of them had banded together to acquire only months before. Friendships ended, battle lines were drawn.
And true public raiding would never be the same on E'ci again.
- previously Garamor (Reconstructed)
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