GM_Pedant, Dahak, Lord Of All Mongbats... You go by
many different names, but firstly may I ask what was it which originally brought
you to Britannia?
It all began while I was at
college. I'd just got internet access, and I found this game in Game Zone -
Ultima Online Renaissance. I saw the artwork on the back and was instantly
hooked. I've bought enough copies (for my friends and myself, and early on to
replace CDs my laptop ate) to fund the development of some new 2d wearables
single handedly...
Ahh... some people see that as the 'Golden Age' of Ultima
Online. Would you care to share with our readers some of your own memories?
*chuckles*
Well, my very first memory is the new player
quest. back then, you ate a banana, bought a sword (I think) and fought a
mongbat.
Only when I got to the mongbat, it wasn't there.
it was over a month before I first met the furry little scamps.
I do recall my first combat. I, like so many
others before me, died to a sheep.
Once, I walked through a
moongate someone had opened. It led into a dungeon, and I spent the rest of the
day running back to Britain...
Classic Tales Of Britannia indeed, especially the
gating-and-broken-quest parts! But we'll get to the Mongbats soon enough, if you
could just reign in the enthusiasm for a moment please... Do tell us first
though where your various character names come from?
Well, limiting myself to Mongbatica, I have a
handful of characters at present.
Dahak, of course, is my main character. He was
named, long ago, for the evil god from Xena. although he's been used for several
characters, I found I liked the name. I started using it for the good guys,
instead of the bad.
GM's Pedant and Overkill were two characters in
the Alternate UOniverse series which Mongbatica takes its roots from. Pedant
can be expected to be very strict with the rules, and overkill tends to Smite
first, ask questions later.
As for the others... well, some names just seem
to be right. Several of the fiction characters are usually me, under one skin or
another.
That
would be the Alternative UOniverse as seen upon IanStorm, Stratics and the now
defunct UO.com boards, aye?
*nods*
They were an outlet for fiction for about a
year, and it seemed oddly apt to base a shard on them - especially since Dahak
became a God in the last one.
The AUO universe was an exercise in humour; Having played
for a little while on Mongbatica, it is obvious that the humour is still there,
although there is a much stronger 'serious' roleplaying element on your shard
too. Describe the sort of person who Mongbatica would appeal to...
Well, it's aimed at
roleplayers, primarily - but it's really for people who are willing to suspend
disbelief when they get attacked by a mad shepherd throwing exploding wool, for
example, or people who won't bat an eyelid at a temple filled with mongbats...
I won't be able to avoid
asking it, will I? So go on then... what's with the Mongbats?
*chuckles*
Well, I suppose it began with the mongbat that
never arrived on the new player quest. Maybe it came in a part from being ganked
by 10 mongbats near glow, crashing, and coming back much later dead and
decayed...
Whatever it is, for about a year now Dahak has
been the Lord of Mongbats. This goes so far as having them as pets, guards,
priests, warriors, paladins, shamen... there's even a city of mongbats, one of
the dungeons is my temple (filled with mongbats), the Emergency Broadcast System
is a telepathic address system that uses mongbats, and mongbats even give their
own special murder counts.
Don’t forget the players can be Mongbats themselves…
Ah, how could I forget! Yes, of the two player
races currently active, mongbats make up half of them.*grins*
They have different skill caps, can see perfectly in the dark, and won't be attacked by other bats.
They can also take part in Events of course; Events play
a major role on Mongbatica… without giving too much away, tell us what the WPC’s
and NWPC’s (Winged. And Non Winged Player Characters) can look forward to.
*grins*
Well, at the time of this interview, we're
drawing close to the Festival of Harvest on the 21st. This is a roleplay event,
designed to cater to those players who like to meet and mingle. And I hear they
may even be some special guests later.
Next month, big things are afoot! The next stage
of out long running "background" scenario (currently in week 5) will occur, and
I hear tell that Camadris the scholar is looking for an ancient book to help
protect us all...
I’m afraid we are nearly out of time, so please feel free to use this space
to tell our readers anything you’d like to include;
Argh, so many things to chose from!Well, first and foremost, I'd like to encourage crafters. Mongbatican carpenters can build ships, tinkers can make magic jewellery, and people can use three new ores:
Obsidian, Crystal, and Cobalt.
I'd also like to encourage Beggars - the skill has been given several boosts, including the ability to beg powerscrolls from champions.
And thirdly, I'd like to let everyone know that Lord Nicholas will be walking the lands in December, giving out gifts to all and sundry!
On any other shard he’d be a Saint, of course…
Dahak, mad as a bicycle as always, thank you.
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