Glaebor's Guild Recollections

fter I joined the guild nothing happened. I hadn't been recruited, 0 guild experience, guild level 1; fairie fire and curelight wounds. I started reading through the guild help files and by the time I figured out how to use the chant line and to list guild members, I came to realize I was the only cleric on and any guild talk would be me talking to myself. This may historically be the point at which the guild became `flappy'.

can't claim to have been with the guild from its start. By the time I joined Keeble and Nightshade were High Mortals, Yavele was now the mysterious retired cleric who I knew absolutely nothing about but who people constantly asked me about, Fellow had gone PK and wiped, and Mosiah, Steel and Wish were the only other active clerics, all striving for level 30 and some respect. And Timescape had the reigns of the guild while he juggled the Knights as well. And in many ways the two guilds shared a number of themes and interesting features. Light and Dark paths, remote heals, following bags (servants and horses), the list goes on. And at the time I was told the guild layout was even a mirror image. But what was fun and interesting for one group of players was fun for the other, and I think Timescape realized this.

he first 6 months in the Clerics (spring through summer 1993) were rather consistent. No more than 3 clerics on at any one time, morale 0 or 1 on a very seldom occasion, and a lot of help files and strategy tweaking. No guild donation box, no sanctuary, no maname, no junk board, and guild masters were just something to let Nightshade and Keeble tell the other mud badasses to shut up, they were in charge in their guilds too. But at the same time wall of fire and protection spells coupled with spell of life and full spell point heals made the clerics unbelievable tanks. Throw water of life portable mana, spell point, hit point heals for 5000 coins, and anyone with cash was unstoppable. Add to this multi-attacking call lightning and the infamously crushing earthquake, and a pre-damage capped soul shatter, and Keeble, Nightshade, and Zeus were laughing all the way to the PK bank. The tandem of Nightshade and Keeble became feared and the envy of a number of players in every guild. They were insane. They killed everything, they killed each other, and they had way too much fun. They were unstoppable and I couldn't think of ever getting to High Mortal and walking in those big footprints.

few new faces started to show up now and again around the guild. Jareth and Roquelaura come to mind, with Sven, Boner, Mickey, Seartoo, Xyloxyl to name a few of the prominent clerics of that time starting to make their presence known. By this time I had gotten my level into the twenties after only 4 or 5 months. I had chosen the dark path and was working my way up to guild level 15, avatar, and those three spells everyone had their eyes on: spell of life, soul shatter, and protection. It would be impossible to compare the guild hierarchy of that time with todays. I think one player, Fellow, had ever gotten to guild level 25 and become a Demi-god. It was unheard of. And not only did he do it once but twice when he reincarnated after his short-lived brush with player killing. To reach avatar was a definite status symbol. Perhaps 4 or 5 clerics had ever put enough time and effort to reach guild level 16. Incomprehensible in comparison with the current guild. And all this was prior to the drastic increase in guild experience requirements to come later.

nd the guild marched merrily along under the guidance of Timescape. Keeble left the guild shortly thereafter to crush players heads as an Animal with Beast providing him with damage capabilities never to be seen again in the Three Kingdoms. Where he was once feared gunning along with Nightshade in the PK trenches, now he was simply to be avoided at all costs, or face death and the massive thrall of snorts and slobbers that always accompanied him. Then Nightshade became a wizard, with Timescape opting to hand the leadership and direction of the Cleric's guild over to one of his GM pupils in order to devote himself strictly to the Knights guild and his increasing level-headed administrator duties. All hell was about to break lose, and the guild was soon to take on a character that can only be attributed to craziness that is Nightshade.

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Inscribed by: Glaebor -- October 02, 1995