Contest Entry

Here's the story I submitted for the contest I posted about in my last entry.


Defending The Flame

Hartin had felt proud when he was chosen to be one of the Flamekeepers for Darkshire, though at the moment he was feeling miserable. Sweat was running down his back from the heat of the bonfire built in the middle of town. He and his men stayed close so that no one could steal, or even worst, dowse the town's flame. If either of these things occurred, the town would be disgraced and he (even worse) would be demoted.

Larona had been looking for the orangish-yellow fire blossom that was native to Stanglethorn Vale for the goblins (they exported the flower to all the kingdoms this time of year) when she came upon the small clutch of huts. She had decided it best to skirt the little village when both her arms where grasp by two bluish-green trolls.

Sul'abar was deep in thought on how he could use this time of frivolity by the humans to the north to his advantage. The beads that hung from the entrance to his hut parted and his shaman Shakti'la entered. "The one that not be a-livin' could be helpin' us to take dat town's flame you beena wantin' so bad" Shakti'la informed him. "You go an git her mojo and bring it ta me. We see how good a sneaker she be." he said as a plan began to form.

Did the Forsaken have mojo? Larona didn't know. What she did know was when that big troll pushed that pin into the little doll's stomach her midsection burned like the fires that were being kept stoked all over Azeroth. What they were asking didn't seem too hard. Distract the guards long enough for the trolls to walk into the town square and dowse the flame. No problem.

"More wood!" Hartin yelled. They had done more wood cutting than flame guarding these last four days. "Would you and your men like a fire blossom?" an old lady asked. Hartin didn't recognize the old lady. She was pale and her eyes were sunk back into her head under her cloak. "Thank you." Hartin said. He and his men took a flower each and put them in the joint between their shoulder pads and chest plate. The old lady smiled a toothy grin and continued to roam the town.

"What she be a doin' handin' out flors to da idot's?" Sul'abar hissed over his shoulder. "Just be quite ya sack o bones an watch." Shakti'la whispered back.

"She's not going to eat anyone." Talifalana assured the innkeeper. Smitts had given the the night elf a wary look when he entered the common room but he became downright distraught when the bear came in behind him. The night elf had assured him that she wouldn't be any trouble and also persuaded him with a few pieces of gold. Tali ordered some stew and ale for himself and three steaks (raw of course) for Mauly, his closest friend since he had left Auberdine.

Larona wandered around town handing out fire blossoms to all the people she saw. It would take close to an hour for the dust she had sprinkled on the flowers to fully take effect. When that hour was up, everyone she had given a flower to would be asleep and the trolls could come in and desecrate the flame. Then, if they were good to their word, they would give her mojo back so that she could be on her way.

As the people of Darkshire started to slump down and fall asleep where they fell, Sul'abar couldn't help but laugh out loud. "Maybe I be keepin' that dead ting 'round. She turn out to be real fine sneaker." The troll stroked the small doll around his neck as he motioned the band of trolls to follow him into Darkshire and toward the flame that was now unguarded.

Tali decided to stretch his legs after his meal and get a bit of fresh air. Mauly snorted at the idea and curled up for a nap (as much as a large brown bear can curl up). Tali had been through Darkshire before and knew only the guards would be out at this hour so you can imagine his surprise when he emerged from the inn to see a group of trolls strolling toward him and all the guards laying on the ground like sacks of corn.

"Crap" thought Larona as she shrugged off the old lady disguise. "This night elf looks like the kind who can handle himself."

"Ha ha ha. We be cookin' up some not-elf tonite!" Sul'abar cackled as he motioned for his group to attack.

"MAULY" Tali yelled as he drew his shotgun from the holster strapped to his back. He was worried by something he saw out of the corner of his eye. If the trolls had a rogue among their numbers, he had to get his back against a wall. The combination of several rounds from the shotgun and an angry brown bear storming out of the inn brought the trolls to an abrupt halt.

The troll who had led the charge had dropped to the ground when the shotgun was aimed at him. This left the poor troll behind Sul'abar to take the first shell in the chest and crumple to the ground. The second and third shots proved to be just as deadly as the first. Then Mauly hit them head on. Two more trolls fell under Mauly's huge claws and the rest where routed.

Tali and Mauly chased the remainder of the trolls back into the woods then turned to come back to Darkshire. When they came around the corner to the square, Tali saw a petite, very pale woman straddling the troll who had dove for cover. She apparently had settled some grudge with the troll since her dagger was covered with his blood. In her other hand she appeared to be holding a small doll.

Larona wasn't sure what to do. She had no doubt this night elf and his bear could pick her off with ease. She was surprised when the night elf bowed his head to her and went back into the inn followed by the bear. The bear stopped at the door to the inn, looked back at her, and snorted. Larona took this opportunity to move quickly in the opposite direction not stopping to question her good fortune.

As Talifalana got ready for bed, he pulled a small doll from his backpack. It had been made from sticks, leaves, string, pebbles, and small animal bones. His brow furrowed as he remembered the troll he had had to kill to get his mojo back.


This was my first attempt at any fiction so let me know what you think.

Story Contest

I received a tweet from Stompalina of Rawrcast (http://rawrbitchrawr.blogspot.com/) about this contest. Check it out and submit a story! (http://toomanyannas.com/feature/a-midsummer-nights-rp-writing-contest/)

MMORPG Documentary

My RSS Feeder served up this article from Solo MMO Player that links to the WeFlySpitfires Blog (http://blog.weflyspitfires.com). It's a British documentary about MMORPGs. Check it out (it's an hour long): http://blog.weflyspitfires.com/2009/06/25/another-perfect-world-watch-it-here/

Still Hanging In There

My last post was about why I started playing World Of Warcraft and now I'd like to talk about why I still play the game.

For me, there are mainly three reasons I continue to play World Of Warcraft. I enjoy the community (both in and out of the game), I've got time and effort invested in the game that I don't want to abandon, and I don't know of any other individual pasttime that I can do for $15 a month that I would enjoy as much.

The moment you start playing your first character you become a member of the WoW community. This first emersion takes the form of another toon killing that boar before you could get to it. Not the best way to foster community spirit. Then a funny thing happens. That toon that just killed YOUR boar asks you if you'd like to help her kill some more boars. Sure. Why not? Suddenly you find yourself a member of your first group. You and your new best friend go about killing boars, kobolds, panthers, striders, and who knows what else to help these poor helpless quest givers who sometimes can't even turn around and talk to the guy right next to them so they pay you to do it.

This sense of community is stengthened as you progress through the game. You group with others to finish off particulary pesky beasts that you can't kill yourself. You join a guild and get that warm feeling when everyone says "Welcome to the guild!". Everytime you log on your guildies welcome you back to your virtual home. This sense of community is probably, in my opinion, the biggest reason people continue to play. This world that Blizzard has created is full of our friends (and enemies) and gives us a feeling of comfort anytime we play.

Then there's the community outside the game. I wouldn't even want to hazard a guess at how many sites are dedicated entirely to World Of Warcraft. We all have our favorites that we read every day and comment on their articles. There are also podcasts and videocasts about the game. Many of us eagerly await our favorite podcast to be downloaded each week by ITunes. Sometimes we even get online when it's being recorded to be a part of the virtual audience and interact with the podcasters directly.

The game is a colorful game as well. Green. Blue. Purple. Orange. No, it's not a bruise or infection. It's gear. As we level throught the game, we collect all this stuff. It takes us a long time to get all the stuff we want. We'll grind, quest, fight, gather, and craft till we've got all the stuff that makes us the best player we can be. It takes a concerted effort to spend all this time in-game to accomplish the things we want. We worked hard for it. We can't just leave it here or worse yet delete it.

Many players have months of play time invested in their characters. It's really hard to walk away from it. Still others have a sense of connection to their characters. That toon that you look at all the time has his own history. His own stories that he tells. He's got a personality just as unique as your own. It's hard to walk away from this "person" that we have grown to know so well.

Besides, what else are we gonna do that costs so little. You've seen all the analogies before. The cost of a dinner and a movie. The cost of a college or professional ball game. Shopping. In today's world where everything costs so much, $15 is a small price to pay for hours of enjoyment. Now I'm single, no children, and not seeing anyone (hey....I heard those snickers out there...I'm watching you) so when I'm not with family or freinds I'm not out spending a lot of money. I'm on a fixed income so I have to get the biggest bang for my buck that I can. World Of Warcraft has gotten me through some tough times and has entertained me countless hours when there's not anyone around.

So now you know why I continue to play World Of Warcraft. How about you? Why do you still play? Do you see yourself moving on to some other game or quiting altogether? Post a comment and let me know.

Check It Out

Bell has an article about the proposed emblems change in patch 3.2 of WoW. Check it out: http://4haelz.blogspot.com/2009/06/emblems-time-and-frustration.html

Why I Started Playing World Of Warcraft

I used to be a volleyball player. I used to play a lot. During the summer months I usually played four nights a week in different leagues and pick-up matches on the weekend. I would estimate that I spent sixteen to twenty hours a week playing volleyball. Does this amount of time spent on an activity sound familiar to some of you ?

Then I started getting sick. If you've read my profile, you'll know that I have Cystic Fibrosis. It's a genetic disease that primarily affects the lungs and digestive system. I had been really fortunate and not had any real problems due to CF until my early 30s. It eventually got to where I was unable to play volleyball. Suddenly I had a lot of free time on my hands.

Now I had always been a PC gamer. I mainly played RTS (Real Time Stategy) games and turn based stategy games. My main games where The Sims, the Civilization games, the Age Of Empires games, Diablo, Starcraft, and Warcraft. The only thing that prevented me from playing World Of Warcraft was my lack of a fast internet connection.

So like I said, I got sick. Then I got sicker. Then things got really bad. I'll spare you the details and just say that I didn't have enough energy or strength to walk on my own. Long story made short, I was put on the lung transplant list and two-and-a-half months later I had a double lung transplant. A month after the transplant I came home, just in time for Christmas. Guess what I asked for? Since I would be staying with family, I would have access to a high speed internet connection and would be able to start playing World of Warcraft.

By doctors orders, I couldn't go out in public for three months except to come to the transplant clinic. WoW was my main interaction with people during those three months. So I started playing WoW as a way to pass the time and be around people during my recover from surgery.

Why did you start playing Wow? Please respond and leave a comment.

If _____, I would _____

This is in response to Bell's post this moringing on 4 Haelz
(4haelz.blogspot.com/2009/06/if-you-would.html).



Bell asks three questions about guilds and different situations that might arise in a guild. Please check out the page and post a reply yourself.

Question #1: You've just started a guild. You're guild leader, and you have a decent sized pool of regular players. It's time to create officer positions. You can have six officers. What jobs would you give them, and what character traits would you find most desirable for those officers? Keep in mind, you can have less than six officers, that is just the problem's max range.

Answer #1: If I were a guild leader, it would be a casual raiding guild. I know there are a million different definitions for "casual raider", but lets just say twice a week for 3 hours. I would have a raid leader officer (of course), a new members officer (responsible for orientating new members), a bank officer, and an events officer. This would give me 5 officers which would allow us to vote on issues if need be.

As for what type of player would occupy these positions ? The main tank would be raid leader since most fights begin with the main tank running in and gathering aggro on the mobs. A healer would be the new members officer since healers typically want to take care of everyone. An altoholic as banker since they are use to juggling several character's personal banks to keep everything their alts need. Finally, someone familiar with lore for my events officer so people could learn a little about the world while interacting with their guildmates.

Question #2: You're in a raiding guild. You're not a "new" member (you've been around a few months) but you're definitely not one of the senior ranking members. However, you notice that there is a job that could be filled. None of the officers are taking it on, but the GM has stated that he does not want to promote any more. Would you offer to do the job without the officer title? If yes, how would you discuss it with your GM? Would you be hoping for eventual promotion or would you be fine without the title and promotion? If the GM decided to simply pass off the job to an officer and not you, would you be okay with this?

Answer #2: I would ask the GM if it was ok if I took a shot at handling the situation, especially if I thought it would benefit the guild as a whole. I wouldn't expect a promotion for doing this, but I would hope the GM and officers would support me in my endeavour. If the GM decided to give the resposiblity to an officer I would offer my help if needed. Would this be possible in-game with all the personalities that might be involved? Mmmmmm

Question #3: You are the GM of a relatively successful progression raiding guild. Within your guild, you have a large amount of couples. One of your tanks and one of your dps are a couple. They will not raid without each other; however one of them is exceptional at their job, and the other learns slowly and does poorly. This situation is slowing your guild down and a lot of adjustment needs to be made for the one who does not do as well. Though you have other people who can fill the job of the person falling behind and their partner, they are inconsistent in showing and for the moment, you need them. What do you do?

Answer #3: This would depend on your goals as a guild. I read on a blog somewhere (I'm sorry I can't give proper credit, I just can't remember where I read it) that the first thing a guild should do is create a charter outlining their goals. If your goal is progression then it's time to find a new tank (I'm guessing the dps is the one that's holding things back. A guild could not be a fairly successful progression guild with a tank that wasn't performing up to par.). Might be harsh, but progession depends on every member of the raid pulling his or her weight. If your guild members are either raiding or prepairing to raid whenever they are online, you own it to those members to field the best possible raid team you can.

At this point we are stepping into hardcore raiding territory. If the guild has a high percentage of couples and you are not part of those couples, you will probably create a great deal of resentment among them in your guild. As the GM of a progression guild it is your responsibility to make these hard decisions. You should definately speak with the couple in question and see if these is anything the guild could do to help the player that is lagging behind. Maybe some 5-man instances could be scheduled to help that player learn at a quicker pace and improve his or her confidence and skill. Have the class leader make some suggestions on talents, glyphs, shot rotations, etc. to help the player improve there performance

Thanks Bell for these interesting questions and the opportunity to express my opinions on them. (Don't forget to check out 4 Haelz at 4haelz.blogspot.com).