10K PP Giveaway Contest #4 - Exploration and Journeys

[Safon]

Mendawen confirmed scumbag

[waldo]

As a low level halfling rogue i got a teleport to qeynos area. I loved it there at first seeing the gnolls and blackburrow were just much cooler than runnyeye and goblins. Only downfall was that i was on the vallon zek server therefore it was pvp server. And one thing i learned very quick in the qeynos area was that you don't want to be a halfling. Everybody picked on me and attacked me on mobs whenever they had the chance. I finally got sick of this and decided to head off back home. I had never made the trek before so I went to vendors bought all the food and the bandages that i could and was ready. I started off going into wk and was almost immediately killed by a lion. Well that sucked. I got my corpse and then got a little bit further before i died to another lion. If only i could have sow, but alas nobody in that area wanted to give a halfling sow. So i got this next corpse and decided i would have to sneak/hide all the way to rivervale. So i snuck and hid through the first karana. This took about 45 minutes. Then i nk i snuck and hid through it. Woot this only took about 30 minutes. Finally i got to ek. I snuck and hid and got to the ramp that leads to highpass hold. I kid you not when i say that it took me 30 minutes to get up that ramp while sneaking and hiding. I zoned over to highpass hold and was very greatful. I saw guards there and knew that i was finally safe. Being impatient and sick of hiding and sneaking i took it off. I trekked though the zone some and then ran smack dab into an orc. Shit i was lost, no sow, no invis, and these asshole orcs hit hard. I died within a minute. Loading please wait..... You have entered north qeynos..... NOOOOOO!!! I tried multiple times to get there and get my corpse back, one time i even made it all the way to my corpse, only to die while looting it. I finally gave up on it and stayed in the blackburrow qeynos area. It wasn't so bad i guess, at least barbarian women were better to look at then halfling ones. And i actually found a nice barbarian who gave me some giant snake fangs and leather. I was extremely happy, and decided to explore everfrost. I was running along a frozen river when all of the sudden i fell in a hole. Thats how i lost my second corpse [You must be logged in to view images. Log in or Register.]

[Broot]

I had purchased EQ shortly after the release of Kunark. After some cajoling, I managed to get my friend to also pick up the game. He began his level 1 High Elf Wizard - and being the good friend I was - I decided to pack my bags as a level 9 Human Paladin and meet him on Faydwer to show him the ropes.

I recall that I had just hit level 9 and was feeling good with my Minor Healing. I was a big man who could swing a sword AND cast a spell. How cool is that?!? I was a rare Human daring to play something non-fantasy in a fantasy world. I was confident in my vast wisdom in hours spent of slaying rats and orcs. I could show him how it was done.

By the end of the long, arduous journey, I arrived at Greater Faydark and my friend had hit level 5. He was smoothly icing the various pests of the forest to death and feeling pretty smug. Mr. Wizard relayed to me that, sadly, small vermin were no longer yielding him experience.

I thought to myself, "Hell- with our powers combined, we can get things done. We're ready for the big leagues!" I busted out the physical map that came with the game and did some pondering. After a short glance I realized quickly where we needed to be. Lesser Faydark. Surely the next zone over would provide some real challenge to 2 seasoned warriors such as ourselves. We went there straight away.

Upon entering the Lesser Faydark, a wave of uncertainty and anxiety passes over me. It's dark - oh so dark! My human eyes cam see nothing in these woods, but I did not want to back down or show weakness.

"Follow me," I said, as I blindly run face first into trees and get stuck on logs.

After some minutes, both of us were feeling rather disappointed. We had not encountered a single creature to award us those alluring experience points. In hindsight, however, what luck we had not encountered any denizens of the Lesser Faydark!

As my heart was sinking lower and lower as I was failing to provide my friend true adventuring, I suddenly began to make out a white shape in the distance. What's that? "A pained unicorn"?!

He spotted it, too. "What do you think, should we kill it?", my wizard friend asked.

"Well- he's pained. He must be injured already. I'm sure he'll go down easy." I replied.

"Ok."

"Well, you have the ranged spells, how about you attack it and I will engage after he comes!" I announce, smiling smugly at my brilliant tactics.

"Ok, here goes!", he says.

I see orbs of ice encase my green robed High Elf friend. Short seconds after, WHAM, the ice hits the pained unicorn. Yet...something isn't right! The unicorn is still at 100% health. My heart flutters and I realize - I've made a huge mistake.

The pained unicorn moves deftly and quickly for being in such an agonized state. I too begin to close the distance. The unicorn reaches my High Elf brother and - in one swoop motion - gores my friend upon his brilliant horn. The wizard's body crumples, leaving a sad, frail, lampshade-green corpse where my mighty friend had once been.

The unicorn promptly walks away, unfazed. I turn, watch him go, and sheathe my sword, hands shaking. And then the laughter starts. It starts as a slight chuckle, but eventually the explosion of laughter can not be contained and I am slapping my knee thinking about the unfortunate turn of events. I felt guilty, but it was just too funny!

The humor was short-lived though. I realize immediately how lucky it was that I didn't make it in time to engage, and that I was bound very, very far away. My mood turns somber within milliseconds, and I quickly scrape my way blindly back to the Greater Faydark, defeated both in body and spirit.

My friend failed to recover his body 4 or 5 times and I was too scared to go back in for fear of returning to Antonica naked. He ends up quitting his wizard that night, and starting a cleric. He was much happier in the long run.

Shortly after, I had a bomb of knowledge dropped an me as I learned about the "Consideration" function and how I could prevent having angry unicorns mow down my party. My teeth were shattered as I was punched in the face by the mighty fist of humility. I realized then, that level 9 was very small, and that I knew nothing about this new world.

This story stills makes me and my friend laugh when we remember it. It is the most vivid early experience I have with EQ and takes me back to a nostalgic feeling of true exploration into a scary world I knew nothing about.

[Blackmartin]

bump, contest end today?

[west42074]

He said a week, I thought it would end today.

[Blackmartin]

Lol I wonder if he forgot he was doing this?

[aegeryen]

It all began on that fateful back in 1999 .....

I stopped by my freind rob's house . Rob had just gotten a new computer. ANd was playing a new game : Everquest .

After watching him play for a few minutes , I knew one thing : I had to buy a computer and I had to play this game .

With a childlike glee , and more money than sence , I rushed off to the local computer store , to buy the most expensive machine available and copy of the fabled game that had so stimulated my cerebral cortex even through the purple haze I kept it encased in during my mid-twentys .

After a few hours of confuse , frustration and heated phone conversations with my friend Rob , My new computer was up and running everquest installed .

With the joy of 5 year old on christmas morning , I attentively navagated the character generation screen , looking hrough the endless options , carefully reading each race and class discription .

After about an hour looking and trying various names of my favorite fantasy characters to find all were unavailable . I decide to let my pervy side win out and created a female dark elf SK .

Then I entered Norath for the first time .

After spend the better part of an hour try to figure out how to get out of neriak , I entered the noobie area , my senses were alight with the new found land and I quickly set about to kill the various monsters totally emmersed in Nektulos forest .

Then the phone rang . It was mt friend Rob . After exchanging character names , and Rob explain a few things like how chat worked and how to equip items , my friend told me he has some stuff for me : a minotaur ribcage and fine steel 2 handed sword . I only had to meet him in steamfont to get the treasures .He told me of a website that had maps so I could just plot a course and run there .

With visions of a blue stripper dressed in bone teddy , I ran down the road leading out of Nektulos into brand new world , as dangerous as it was breathtaking .

I ran through the east commonlands with out any hitch . The auctions of treasures , followed by things that ment little or nothing to me like , 5ac , 3 wis ,3str , and procs at 10 , filled my chat window as I rushed forward my mind ever on my quest .

I soon entered West Freeport , only to discover the guards hated me ...

After a couple more stupid deaths trying to sneak around the guards ( not using the skill I had no idea what that was ) . I cryed out in the newly discovered ooc channel for help . A helpful troll ( take that however you want ) said he would show me a way to get on the boat .

Troll made a small shoe appear on my screen and lead me through North Ro , into the water and around the city and on to the docks telling me to stay clear of the guards .We soon arrived to wait on the boat.

After what seemed like an eternity , the boat arrived . Anxioiusly I boarded . I as I drifted off to unknown adventure all the while evisioning how my newly forged SK would look in that ribcage .

I was astonished how much the boat ride seemed like a real boat ride , and how long it took . But I marvelled at the cyclops as we passed one by . and wondered at how this really was a new world to explore . Mostly I imaged how my sexy my toon would look in that chest piece .

After what seemed like an eternity we arrived in feydwer , more pricisely The Butcherblock Mountains , only to discorver that the dwarfs hate me too .....

The subsequent boat rides were not nearly as wonderous , they were more aggrivating and frustrating . But stil I pressed on . Evenually I learned to circumvent the dwarves , and the goblins and the fairies , I learned how to con a mob to see if it hated you .

Though I endured several more boat rides I learned from each death and eventually navagated the thralls of Butcherblock , Greater Faydark , and Lesser Faydark to arrive at steamfont .Hungry , thirsty , and naked I had made it .

Virtually shaking with excitement , visions a bone cladden blue hussy in my head , I sent my friend a tell only to find he had logged . Undaunted I called him on the phone , Luckily he was still awake and logged on to meet me .

WIth joyous mirth I waited for Robs character Krezon to come oneline . After a few minutes a gnome in a black robe approached , It was Krezon . He loled when he saw me and iquired why I was naked .

After a few minutes of explanation of how to loot your corpse and why you should recover your corpse , and the need for food . A trade window opened with a shiny Fine Steel 2 handed sword , and a minotaur ribcage in it . I had no Idea how to except the trade , and eventually Rob slightly annoyed at this point told me how to make the trade .

I quickly epuipped my precious chest piece , scrolling back to see how it looked , I discovered to my horror that it looked rather plain , in fact, I preferred the red bikini to it , it didnt look like a ribcage at all . With a sigh of disappointment I thanked Krezon . And realising everything on this continent hated me , headed back to nektulos .

I died a few more times on the way back , but I had discovered an amazing new world , and realised this would be the first of many stange adventures I would have there .



Glover 16 cleric
Geezer 14 Warrior
Methidone 65 Cleric ( live )

[Blackmartin]

sigh

[Hagglebaron]

Totally forgot i was doing another one of these, thank you to Blackmartin for reminding me. I'll go through them and select three potential winners soon, then post the finals poll.

[insertname]

Was Velious - Me a late 40's ranger
at 45 I was exploring velious and happened upon a group at a dock. So I chatted them up just taking my time socializing when this GINORMOUS turtle pops up and starts the beat down - they actually made quick work of Lodizal as he was called and the pali I was chatty with told me to loot him. I declined at first not wanting to seem like a mooch but he insisted and told me no one need the note and to take it. I didnt know what it was for so I looted it and continued the chatty cathy bit untill every one took off. I continued on my way happily unaware of what just happened.

Later I ended up with a guildy warrior I happened across trying to solo in EW, and having a hell of a time. We teamed up and I convey what had happened earlier and he clued me in on the eye patch, to this day I cant believe that I was allowed to loot, (much thanks if your reading this buy some chance - Dwarven Pali extraordinaire) anyway we commence to duo'ing and its going well untill we get swarmed. I belive Kodiaks.

We where just killing singles when a group of them poped and seemed to bee line right for us - they where poping faster then we could put them down and as they encircled us we had to choose in a moment: run or fight With a silent understanding we accepted the challenge and fought - we stopped the chatting, only breaking the silence to call targets and actions and fell into a rhythm. Healing his wounds as he taunted the beasts - I rooted the mobs as they encircled us while he was cutting through them in a dual wielding flurry of blood and steel. and those that tried to flee where snared and put to the sword. I assisted as needed and together we won the day - I lost count however the entire mob was put down one by one, and as the last one fell we stood in silence only half realizing the fight was over. No legends told nor songs sung of that day, just a bond forged in battle, an unspoken respect for the abilities of the other and an adventure in Velious.