Lotc Newsletter - August [3]

[Danny 2232]

THE LOTC NEWSLETTER WILL NOW BE AVAILABLE ONCE PER MONTH, NOT BI-MONTHLY AS ORIGINALLY PLANNED.

Once again - welcome to the Lord of the Craft Monthly Newsletter. This edition is brought to you to highlight multiple things, as usual.

Most Noted Player

Once again, the Newsletter is pleased to reveal this months Most Noted Player.

This month we have chosen a player who is a wonderful asset to the community, and is very well known. He spends a large amount of time writing lore and playing in-game, and is known to be a helpful player.

Therefore, I am greatly pleased to announce, that this months Most Noted Player is:

Blawharag

Dusk, Respiren, Seventh and Mogroka encased him in a bedrock chamber and interrogated him.

"Dusk": When is it you first joined Lord of the craft?

"Blawharag": I joined back in August of last year. After the Undead had been established, and while Krugmar was still undergoing renovations.

"Dusk": Do you remember in the haze of it all your very first impressions of the server?

"Blawharag": Actually I remember very clearly my first impression, because I was baffled that the Orcs understood/used a very limited amount of the Blah. I expected to be the only person saying Ug, but apparently that was in common use. No where near as intense as it is used today, but still it was pretty awesome to see.

"Dusk": and how about now, do you think the server is still as shiny as it originally was?

"Respiren": I hear that Aegis place was perfect ^.^

"Seventh": :P

"Blawharag": Well, it did have a giant cactus in the middle of the Orc lands. Hard to beat that. But I still run into some fun RP just wandering about. The other day I found a human that wanted to take down a renatian house through subtly and poison. I convinced him the Orcish way was much better and that he should just openly engage them in combat and single handedly slay them all. Not sure how that went for him, but I imagine he was happy to have his honor in tact.

"Dusk": Splendid to hear! I do fondly recall the giant cactus of Krug ^^

"Respiren": And 'accidentally' knocking it down. ^.^

"Seventh": With a Dragon.

"Seventh": And fire.

"Blawharag": Oh good, because we are going to grow a better, more difficult to climb one. We will have the goblins install some form of anti-dragon defense

"Respiren": Sounds like black magic

"Respiren": Witchcraft perhaps

"Dusk": My next question might give you some though: Do you like the way the LOTC has progressed since Asulon?

"Blawharag": I think it would be impossible to sum up the entirety of our progression with one opinion. There have been things I support, and things I am against/believe should have happened differently. I still have fun though and love to work with the community, so I think overall I am happy with the server.

"Dusk": Blaw, you're quite the known name about the server, but I'd like to ask about the life and juicy details about your character.

"Blawharag": Well, when Gragarn (My character's brother) and I first joined the server, we pulled up the server map, found a desert far away from Krugmar, and decided that was our ancestral homeland. One long origin story later, we made it to Krugmar and donated more sandstone to the renovations than was reasonably possible. Blawharag then accompanied Mogroka on some random trip along the kingsroad (At the time I had no idea what it was, this was like 3 days into my play on the server) where we nearly started a war with the dwarves and then I defeated somebody in a duel. After that, Mogroka named me one of his elite guard. Sometime later, Blaw grew more into his role as a Shaman and grew a giant cactus in the middle of Krugmar. Probably the pinnacle of anything I have ever done on the server (and proud of it).

"Dusk": Ah it's always good to see a character that has really taken root and evolved. I'm sure as you know, it can be difficult to keep them going you know? But it's wonderful to see such dedication to your Orc!

So tell me, what do you think of the LOTC community as a whole?

"Blawharag": Very interesting. Working with people on this server is always an event. Whether it be an IC standoff about who owns the Whispering Isles, or an OOC debate about armor, there is always something interesting to pit yourself in. And while I have had my disagreements with others, I have found that I can always work it out with them individually, and that is important because I dislike having festering relationships and bitter rivalries with people. OOCly at least. ICly, I hate halflings, Dwarves, Elves, most Humans and halflings. Stupid oomies, all of them.

"Dusk": D'awh but you can't surely hate the halflings, being an orc you should find them absolutely delicious ;D

In all the time you've been on the server -- out of all of your roleplay stories, what do you think is the most interesting RP experience you have had?

"Blawharag": That’s a tough one, because there have been a lot of events, both massive public ones and smaller private ones, that I have really enjoyed. But the one that had me feeling the widest and strongest spectrum of emotions at one time would have to have been during a war between Oren and the Orcs. Oren took Kramaroe from the Orcs, so I and Craotor gathered some Orcs to take it back. We ended up besieging Ahkazar, getting help from the dwarves, storming the castle and forcing the humans to admit that Kramaroe belonged to the Orcs (and pay the dwarves a lot of diamonds). It was quite the event, and the Orcs pretty much BS’d their way through it but somehow succeeded.

"Dusk": I love stories :P especially the rambling sorts

"Dusk": But onto the matter at hand, did you ever think you'd be given the Most Noted Player?

"Blawharag": Hahahaha no.

"Dusk": You glad you did though?

"Blawharag": I am, but I guess the thought never occurred to me. To be honest, whenever I hear most noted player, I just think of Gaius as the standard, and not a lot of people can compare to how much he has done, much less me.

"Sultan_Mogroka": One More question ''Huw mush latz luv latz popo?''

"Seventh": Popoluv. <3

"Dusk": *twaps Mog* :I This be my interview bub.

"Blawharag": Me luv lat popo!

"Seventh": >:3 Yeah, 'Bub'

"Sultan_Mogroka": ME LUV LATZ TU *Tears

"Seventh": D'awww.

"Seventh": Heartfelt.

"Blawharag": *Gives Mogroka a fierce headbutt

"Dusk": I feel another story coming along, I hope you make this a good'en Blaw.

what do you think is your biggest achievement? this can be from both in game or on the forums.

"Blawharag": Other than the World Cactus? I might have to say the Shurr'Dru lore as a whole, just because I don't think I have ever sat down and wrote so much for lore ever. Back when we were still forging Asulon I wrote up lore for giant sand monsters that swam through land and ate an entire civilization of Orcs. It was just crazy enough for Native to accept it and I began writing lore for them. Since then, we have been using the Shurr'Dru to explain or create entire events (which unfortunately thus far have only been relevant to the Orcs). I wrote a 10-page story on trying to kill just one of them, and am 13 pages into the second story about them (out of 4 stories total). We have used them to explain why Strigzgoi needs remodeling, why Urara is dead, why Blawharag is missing his iconic sword, why there were ruins of Orcish buildings upon our arrival to Asulon, and in the future we will be using them to create some very... unique roleplay with Gragarn that I am sure everyone will enjoy.

"Blawharag": Fans of Oscar Pistorius will really like what we have planned for Gragarn come to think of it.

"Dusk": Goodness, I remember reading the many posts of lore and being rather captivated by the detail :)

I feel that our lovely interview is coming to its close, is there anything you'd like to add before we wrap up? Perhaps a thank you to popo and momo ;P

"Blawharag": Popo am da unlee popo me hav evur gruk'd. Su me tink dat mayk him me momo tuu. Me luv lat popo agh momo Mogroka. Agh me luv lat bruddur Gragarn. Wifowt latz dub, me wuld be snaga sum mal. Agh lat tuu Kaktuz-mayt. Me luv lat... lat am bubhosh agh me REELI luv lat...

"Dusk": Heh Thank you very much Blaw for having a chat with me, and congratulations for being our most noted player!

"Blawharag": Rulg lat.

Featured Location

Much thanks to Freya for the image and the paragraph about this.

I mentioned in the previous edition I would be including a "featured location", and this time it has happened!

Featured location is something we are going to grant to the most original, beautiful and pretty location on the server of that month. This months featured location is:

Ironrock Keep, the majestic bastion of the Hammerites

Ironrock is both their greatest defence and greatest work of art. The Hammerites believe that death is final, and that the only way to make their mark upon the world is to leave beautiful works of architecture for others to enjoy; whether it is a humble home or a monolithic keep. Ironrock is a testament to their belief - a castle beyond the wildest dreams of even the most gifted and wealthy of Nobles. Some choose to change the world upon the tip of a sword - the Hammerites do it every day, stone by stone.

This fortress is a beautiful piece of work, and has clearly had a lot of devotion and hard-labour put into it. The materials were all collected legitly, and the building done by hand - a task that must have taken many, many hours of work. It is truly a fantastic building and one that is beautiful to look at, and one that would also be very hard to attack! I do believe a hearty congratulations and applause is due to the builders of such a magnificent structure~

New Staff

Two new GMs were accepted this month, Schwaan (Brofessionals) and also Shadowninji! Both have done a great job so far, and have settled in nicely to their new roles. #swag

Broski was appointed the rank of FM also, whom I extend my heartiest congratulations to.

Everblue2er101, Ben, Draeren and Capt0z were all accepted onto the Application Team and have done a wonderful job so far at working on Applications. They are all dedicated and very good at their jobs.

Rom, Kettlekorn, K’unng, Lykos, ShadowoKing and JoeqMafia were all accepted onto the Event Team this month also. Congratulations!

The Event Team

A brief word from the Event Team Leader, Viper

As of late, the Event Team has been working hard on constructing ancient ruins filled with treasure for the daring adventurer. We have unique underground passages that have a ton of creativity built into them, as well as a few hidden entrances that may lead to riches, or the players death. The depths are not for the faint of heart, however, as horrifying monstrosities dwell within. Keep an eye out in-game for our actors that may lead you on a quest to explore these ruins. Be sure to bring an ally along with you if you plan on treasure hunting!

Recent Updates!

This section contains the updates that have taken place on the server since the last newsletter.

- A bug that caused players to not being able to “Respawn” after death was fixed. Previously they had to relog in order to be able to play again.

- A bug that allowed users to get infinite XP from the crafting system was fixed.

- We faced very heavy DDOS and installed a system that reduces the effect DDOS has on the servers, causing us to manage to maintain services during attacks. Huzzah!

- The winners of the Gran Writers Contest were announced.

- The long-term issue with crops only having a tiny chance of dropping seeds was fixed.

- A local OOC chat system was implemented, recognizing when [, (, <, or { are at the beginning of a line of text and putting it into the L-OOC chat instead of normal RP.

- We hit 30,000 registered members!

- The Forum Rules received a longly-overdue update! See here: http://www.lordofthecraft.net/forum/index.php?/topic/65158-forum-rules/

- With the release of Minecraft 1.3, we have set up a temporary server until the main server has updated. us2.lordofthecraft.net is the IP.

- Soulstone locations and buddy-lists were wiped due to a technical glitch we received. The issue can not be fixed, and we are sorry for any inconvenience.

Villain Lockpicking Changes!

Any existing villains with evil #1 for lockpicking are required to fill out a mini-va that explains how they learnt to lockpick, etc. See “Updated Villain Rules” for further information.

The Grand Writers Contest!

The Grand Writers contest came to a close this month, with the winners being chosen and rewards for their great work. A giant congratulations is given to all those who took part in the competition, however the winners are as follows:

Poems

2nd Place:- The Dire Flame - authored by Boingy.

1st Place:- To my Sister, wherever you may be - authored by Evelyn.

Prose (Stories)

2nd Place:- The Merchant - authored by Haeron

1st Place:- The Tale of the Seer, the Cook, the Huntress, the Doctor and the World Finder - authored by Dash Rogers.

And the grand prize, of the Grant Writers Contest was awarded to:

Dedicant Dalia, for her piece Forgetting Light.

Congratulations to the winners, and all who took part - it truly was a fantastic competition.

Footnote

Any suggestions regarding this Newsletter should be directed to myself via PM.

Thanks for reading.

Danny. Out. ~

[Alan 1815]

Nice write up Danny, I know you worked long and hard on it. ;)

Also, I'd like to give a huge congrats to Dedicant Dalia! This proves that the Druids are the best at everything literature, and I won't let you all forget it! :twisted:

[Kaiser 2347]

I love it :D But it seems to narrow. Add more action/extreme roleplay news, like citys burning or battles and stuff along those lines :P

[MonkeyCoffee 516]

[mmat 7460]

Dat castle.

[Wizard 125]

That must have taken quite a while to write! Great job.

[Cappy 1599]

Wait, I was Most Noted Player last month just after I got accepted to Application Team... and now you're noting I was accepted this month? <_<

Also, why didn't you trap me in a bedrock chamber and interview me last month? That surely would have been more interesting at 4am in the morning. :lol:

[｡◕‿‿◕｡ Hawk Whitestorm 715]

Wonder how many people are actually RPing in that castle.

[Skippy 2466]

Wonder how many people are actually RPing in that castle.

OVER 9,000.

[Brannty 11]

A good amount Hawk (p.s. really enjoying the mod pack, thank you). We are also looking for new members to join our humble builders guild. Lots of plans in the future including a School of Architecture where nations can send their would-be builders to learn design and building techniques. We will also soon begin contracting our services out to surrounding towns and villages if anyone needs something built. Thanks for providing the avenue to bring this up, and thanks to Danny/Freya for the shout out.

[Dilara(lotteje13) 227]

needs a more rp image on the top piece o-o

[Twilight Druid 188]

Awesome work Danny :) Do we get to see what the contest winner pieces are soon?

[Skippy 2466]

Hey, Danny ~, where's the best dwarf award?

[Wizard 125]

Ask Gimli, he might know.

[Neri 3590]

Wonder how many people are actually RPing in that castle.

A ton. When I went there, there was nametags moving all over the place!