Mark Greyson's Application

[Oldman 0]

Out-Of-Character:

Minecraft Account Name:

Katkac13

Did you attend minecon and sign up at the LOTC booth?:

No.

How old are you?:

28

Time-Zone/Country of Residence:

Central/USA

Do you have a good grip on the English language/good grammar?:

While my grasp of reality is fading I still hold onto my ability to communicate in my native language.

Small 2-3 Sentence Description of yourself:

I've GM'ed and played on UO freeshard role-play servers since 2001. I'm married. I'm a professional writer.

How much time could you be on the server weekly?:

0-10 hours, depending on how busy I am. Furthermore, if I'm against a deadline I might not log in for a month or more. I will not pursue leadership or any other positions because of this fact.

What do you know about Roleplaying? Give a definition of what it means to you.:

I've been roleplaying for around ten years now, on the GM side of the fence and as a player. I know a lot of what not to do, but I won't bore you with a list. Suffice to say that I view role-playing as interactive story writing, and that I have devoted my professional and private life to the telling of tales.

This is what role-play does to children:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VBEka-RIy1Y&feature=related

In your own Words, describe what Metagaming and Powergaming are.

An unforgivable lack of imagination and life, respectively.

What do you expect this server will be like?:

I have no expectations. Expectations, along with feelings of entitlement, are the most direct pathways to stressful living and disappointment.

What other server(s) have you played on and why did you leave them?:

This will be my first time playing multiplayer minecraft.

Have you read, understood, and agreed to the rules?:

Yes.

How did you hear about us?:

Google.

Have you voted for the Lord of the Craft on Minestatus? Which vote number were you?

I tend to find it bad form to vote for someone whom I do not know, and I do not know you (yet).

What is your The Lord Of Craft forum account name?:

Oldman.

In-Character:

You asked Mark what his name was:

"Hello there, I'm Mark Grayson - explorer and scavenger extrodinaire."

You asked Mark what race he was from:

"You..." Mark looked at you confused, "you're really serious about that question, aren't you? Well, the last time I checked I didn't have pointy ears, a beard, or green skin. So, if that's any indication I'd say I'm human," he said with a shrug. "But, you never know, I could be wrong. Perhaps I'm some race of super being heretofore unknown to the world and I just haven't discovered my powers yet. Hmmm... that would be nice."

You asked Mark for his biography.

"Biography, you want my biography? Hell's bells, I feel famous. Well, I never told it before; but, I guess I'll make an exception this once - just don't blame me if you get more than you asked for." Mark looked around the busy street. "Let's go to that ale house over there while we talk. If I'm going to tell you this story you're going to need to buy me a beer."

The inside of the alehouse was dimly lit through it's narrow windows. The musky smell of hops filled the air.

Mark strolled to the bar confidently. He was a lithe and well-made youth with a lanky build and a good stride. "Hey there barkeep," he said, "I'll have two of your finest pale ales, deep amber mind you, not from the dregs - and if you skim off the head you won't get any tip. My friend here is paying." Mark hooked a thumb at you over his shoulder while flashing you a wide grin and winking one of is sky blue eyes. You sat next to Mark on an old stool so polished by the many butts that had seen it over the years that you wouldn't have been surprised to see your own reflection. Begrudgingly you took out your coinpurse and paid.

Mark eagerly took a deep pull from the ale after it was sat down, his shoulders gave an involuntary shiver, "Oh, ha-ha, ya... liquid ambrosia," he said. For a long while after that he just stared at the wall. His eyes glazed over. You began to wonder if his mind was in the bar, or someplace else. Then he began his tale, "I'd say the earliest memory I have is selling candy on the street," he said, his voice distant. "I have no idea how old I was, but the world seemed a lot bigger back then that's for sure.

"I was one of three kids. We all went out and sold candies and other small things we could get our hands on. When it got dark we would head back to Johon. He was our boss, see. He was an old guy and he took care of us in his own way. I wouldn't call him anything other than a boss though. He got us food and shelter. That was it. He didn't give us anything more than he had to in order to keep us alive. There was no love there. It was strictly a business relationship. Every day we would go out and sell, beg, and bring back money; and, every day he got us more supplies and clean food and water." Mark took another drink before continuing.

"I'm guessing I was about twelve when he gave me my first pick-ax and dagger. Told me to go a dwarven ruin and see what I could find by way of gold or treasure. Scavenging he called it. Gods, I barely got out alive. There was a good reason the dwarves had left that place. I managed to find an old book though. I thought Johon would be mad at me, but the book had some fancy borders and gold filigree so I figured we might be able to sell it for something. But he wasn't mad, not even in the slightest. The old man was insane with happiness. Now you have to understand that at that point I had known him for around seven years and he had never so much as smiled. And here he was dancing . . . dancing and giggling like a madman. That should have been my first clue.

"After that Johon got really distant. All he would do is shut himself in a back room of the little hovel where we were staying and read. After a few weeks one of the other boys, Dave, went missing. We couldn't find him anywhere and Johon wouldn't talk to us. Hell, Johon barely ate after that, and he would never let us look in his room." Mark took another drink while the bartender polished cups.

"It was a couple of days before I started to notice the smell. I recognized it. It was a rotting smell. Sometimes we came across old bloated rats in the alleys, dead ones, the kind you learn quick not to eat. That's what it smelled like. Humans, rats, pigs, dogs, cats, we all smell the same when we're dead. At some point Johon started screaming about how he had 'done it;' whatever it was. He was ecstatic, but there was something strange in his voice - something terrifying. Joey and I were scared. Real scared. So scared we didn't move, even though the smell made us sick.

"It wasn't long before Johon came for us. We couldn't move, couldn't even scream. Blood encrusted the old man's dagger and he had this wild grin on his face. I knew he'd done Dave then. I knew he'd do me too just as easy. But he didn't. He grabbed Joey instead, told me that it was because I had found 'it' and he was repaying the favor by not choosing me. He told me to leave. I did. God help me I did. I just left Joey there knowing what was going to happen. Joey's face... the fear... his eyes begging me to help him while I turned away. I'll never forget that face. I ran. I ran and I ran. I ran out of the alley. I ran past all the guards. I ran straight out of town." Mark drained the last of the beer and slammed down the mug on the bar with a heavy thump.

"Well, ale's done. Story's over." Mark got up, a distant and pained look on his face as he walked towards the door.

Then the bartender asked loudly, "Still running?"

Mark stopped.

"Ya," he answered darkly, "still running." Then he walked out the door.

Your characters ambitions:

He's still affected by his past. He would probably want to hunt down and kill his old boss if he could, or at least find out about what "it" was that his boss was doing with that book. Of course, I doubt that will happen given that his boss doesn't exist in the game world. However, he still goes looking in old ruins/caves looking for another one of those books. He sells what other stuff he finds to get by.

Out in the Wilds, your character comes across a small cottage. Outside, there appears to be an elf struggling combat with two bandits. What does your character do?

He'd stay at a distance saying that it was none of his business and walk away, quickly. However, if he came upon the injured elf after the bandits had already left he would help him out.

Your character walks up to a shop in a quiet market. "Hello, my good sir!" says the shop owner. "What may I help you with today?" How does your character answer?

"Sorry, I'm not here to buy. I just want to know where the nearest inn is."

A screenshot of your skin:

Other Information:

I love chocolate and pizza - not at the same time.

[Danny 2232]

1. 
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I'm sorry, but your application for Lord of the Craft has been...

Please remember and wait 24 hours before re-applying.

Notes for applicant:

An extremely unique application, I've never seen one like it

• You need to say what metagaming and powergaming actually are!
• You haven't put enough detail into the open response questions, I need to know what your character:- does, thinks, feels, smells?

Please note: Whilst you may be angry or irritated at this denial, you need to understand that as a member of the Application Team it is my job to ensure we only have people who made great applications on the server. After you fix the issues that I've detailed in your application, it will probably be accepted.

Where can I get help to fix these errors?

It really depends on what you need – you are not allowed to have anyone else write part of your application for you. As the Application Team we're here to not only accept and deny your applications, but it's our job to give you help for fixing them. We'll help you as much as we can, but we will never write a bit of your application, no matter how much you ask!

The best way to get help, is to contact the Application Team member who denied you, (in this case, myself; Danny). You can contact me either here on the forums, via a PM – or you can also find me on TeamSpeak most of the time, either in the “Application Team” channel or in one of the private channels. Feel free to poke me, or send me a message for any help, and I'll try my best to help you!

I'd also suggest that you do some reading up, depending on why you were denied, as there's some good help out there, already written for anyone who needs it!

The WikiYou provides almost every scratch of lore that we have, there's people dedicated to expanding on it, and making it as detailed as possible. It's possibly the best place to find lore on the website, although you can also find quite a bit in this forum section.

You should also read the various posts that have been made by GM's and Application Team members to help with your applications, and believe me, there are many. The most useful is the “Application Team's Advice” thread. Which can be found right here.

Can I re-apply?

Of course you can! Often people post as many as 3 applications before they're accepted! Just make sure, that you wait until after 24 hours before you re-apply or your application will be denied. We have the 24 hour wait system to keep the Application Submissions forum tidy, and to ensure that the application team aren't overwhelmed by applicants posting a new application every five minutes.

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[hypercrit 237]

Moved to Denied Forum