shadowbane history part 1

LORDS OF DEATH
SB CHRONICLES
part one of three.
written by: Eternam ([email protected])
CONTENTS
01. THE LORDS OF DEATH
02. BETA
03. GONE GOLD
04. THE ANTI-LOD PROPAGANDA AND ALERT THE CLUTCH!
05. THE FIRST BANE OF DEATH SERVER
06. THE WAR FOR DECIET
07. THE FALL OF THE DWARVES
08. AFTERMATH OF THE WAR OF DECIET
09. UNHOLY ALLIANCES
10. THE WAR WITH DEATH HEAD LEGION
11. THE LOD WARMACHINE
12. THE WAR FOR PIRATE ISLAND
13. BLOOD FUEDS
14. MAINLAND SCORCHED & MPS ERA
15. THE LAST GREAT BATTLE
16. THE DEATH OF DEATH
SHOUTOUTS
Murdock aka “Sam”
the first shout out has to go to my long-time buddy and
partner in online-crime and mayhem, Murdock. From
massacring initiates on the steps of LoD Keep to MagX to
ATC superstardom, Murdock is the Shady Records to my
Murdah INC.
Khell aka “Andre”
Godddammmmit Khell. I have nothing but good things to
say about this former M&D house sitter turned LoD
hardcore pk’er.
Isobel aka “Belle”
Besides being the toughest female I’ve ever met in the
online gaming scene (who is crazy enough to hang
around LoD), Isobell is hella fun to be around because
she’s always busting up the jokes. She also helped me
edit this document.
Balinor aka “Orc Pimp”
The original PKPKPK. Nuff said.
Chichi aka “Chichi”
Hella funny guy on ventrillo; stupid mother-fucker
online.
Bizzle Ma’Nizzle aka “Biz”
Hilarious guy on ventrillo and acted with a LoD-4-Life
attitude from start to finish.
Dracula aka “Drac”
Known Drac since the days of #lotd and still one of the
coolest guys on the interweb.
Obidiah Khan aka “Obi”
Nobody demonstrates LoD-4-Life better than Mr.
Obidiah Khan. Besides being a consistant and respected
leader in LoD, Obi also beat me in the legendary LoD
d00ls and never let me live it down.
Ail aka “Chicken Scout”
The single coolest geek I know. Helped me out in whenever I needed it, not to mention major props for playing
a scout for so long.
Luke aka “Luke the First”
Another cool Canadian who I want to kill IRL.
Quidge aka “Chris”
For buying me alcohol in Calgary woot!
And lastly to all of my LoD bros, who spent countless
hours and sleepless nights helping out the guild,
whether it’s attending banes or playing their individual
role... we’ll all drink to the good times one day.
COLOR CODING
QUOTES
Blue = LoD Member Quote
Green = Non-LoD Member Quote
POSTINGS
LoD Member Posting
Non-LoD Member Posting
Non-LoD Member Posting (GM or Spokesman)
ATC Posting
01: The Lords of Death
“Shadowbane could very well be
the game that brings LoD back
together...”
- Balinor, Lords of Death
Years have passed since the glory days of Ultima
Online and the Lords of Death's infamous presence on
the Baja server. During that time, LoD as a guildflourished in various online games. LoD played Asherons
Call PVP Darktide server and a migration to CounterStrike, where LoD squads led by Carnage and Macros
quickly became one of the top CS teams in the league.
After Counter-Strike, LoD went back to where people
spoke 'ye olde english' and made its presence felt in
Dark Age of Camelot. While we remained active, the
guild's combined organization and teamwork of combat
veterans soon claimed top-of-the-food chain bragging rights in having the number one point holder on
the Merlin server. LoD also revisited Asherons Call 2
where we peaked as the largest and most active RPK
guild on the Darktide PVP server.
Even throughout all the successes in various online
games, LoD members still did not have the “big game”
that gave the same sense of unity as UO had... that is,
until word of Shadowbane was finally going to go into
beta development. Expectations were definitely high
for Shadowbane and the Lords of Death.
02: Beta
It was late winter 2002 that news of Shadowbane beta was announced and fellow LoD Lord, Gaiden, managed to obtain about
30 accounts to play with. 30 accounts was not nearly enough compared to the number of players who had specified interest
and most accounts were eventually shared between two players just to keep up with the demands.
There was an interesting and dramatic incident involving another LoD member, Hank, selling his beta account on Ebay,
which resulted in his banishment from the guild. The incident later became a message to all LoD factions that we were
serious about Shadowbane and that all guild members mentality should always be “guild before self”.
In LoD tradition and fashion, we jumped into Shadowbane beta with guns blazing, big egos, and “fuck em all” mentality.
How could we not? Old names and familiar faces had returned and reunited under the LoD banner once again - Balinor,
Couladin, Stretch, Murdock, Carnage, Spellweaver, Gorechild, Galen, Solstice, Hew, Asparouh, Eternam, Lucenthawk, Venger,
Blackbird and many others had all either come out of their “virtual retirement” or other online games.
Beta
The official announcement and rally of the troops was made by Balinor at the start of the 2003 year:
Shadowbane : Official Announcement
LoD Lords Forum, 01/12/03
--Hopefully this will answer some of your guy's questions regarding the game. I called a meeting Thursday with the Kotex Members and SB Beta
testers. Basically, I wanted to get the ball rolling for a mass move to SB. This does not mean people have to give up whatever game turns them
on, but it does mean that those that plan to play SB will go in with intricate details of the game.
First off, Macros has resigned as SB master. He does not have the time to do it. Solstice and Galen have been chosen to replace him. They are
both longstanding Lords, are the most familiar with the game through Beta, have Leadership skills and are willing to do the job. All current
questions regarding SB, should be directed towards them.
Secondly, if you haven't already noticed, our Beta testers have been flooding our SB private boards with information on about the game. That
was the primary focus of our meeting, to get the guild ready for the game the day it comes out. Please read their posts. Keep in mind SB is
still a Beta, so some of the information may change, but we will try to keep it as up to date as possible.
At this meeting we also discussed strategy. I don't want to get into it too much, because this is really Sol's and Galen's area, but we all agreed
that we will need to level in SB first. We have plans for power-leveling based on what we learned in the Beta, but it will be very important not
to make enemies during that initial leveling phase... That’s about all I will say on that for the moment.
Lastly, SB could very well be the game that brings LoD back together... From my experience, it is definitely the next game I will be buying. It
has been a long road for them, but it will be worth the wait.
- Balinor, Lords of Death
Even with all the hype and excitement surrounding Shadowbane,
LoD's road in beta was a hard one. Enemies were abundant and
allies were non-existent. LoD beta members fought with PRX,
Mithral Warhammers, Council of Swords, Lok-ri, DHL, Lords of the
Dead (LotD), and the mammoth guild that would eventually sack our
first city in beta, the Rolling 30's. The events leading up to Rolling
30's ninja raiding LoD's first city and its consequential destruction
is interesting in regards that the specific incident that ignited the
chain of events was an LoD raid of an outpost in Khar owned by a
character named Sinbad. We would later come to know Sinbad really
well in our Shadowbane story.
“There is a real lack of strategy in this guild and now that SB is right
around the corner you have born witness to increased hype/drama
over our many policies. I've been saying it, and ill say it again...
we're in for a rude goddamn awakening. We really need to stow our
pride until we do something worthy of mention again. Clawing and
scratching is only 1 way to get to the top.”
- Murdock, Lords of Death
Shadowbane beta was a real eye opener to most LoD members who
had grown too used to dominating games through a small tight knit
group. The small fire teams that had been part of our gaming culture
had to be re-worked for Shadowbane with the realization that no
matter how skilled individually we were, our groups would be
beaten into submission purely by numbers. It had also become apparent that we needed some sort of unified overall strategy for the game
as well as how we would structure our guild.
As a guild, the beta period was a period of self evaluation of current
structure and old gaming policies. This was a hard pill to swallow as a
guild because we have always held “tradition” in high regards and in
general, were not too open to change. But we knew the world of
Shadowbane would require a different guild structure and flexible
policies if we are to compete.
Solstice and Galen, both long standing
Lords within LoD, were appointed into
the Guild Master position for Shadowbane.
With release just around the corner,
they had the leadership qualities and
beta experience to bring forth a game
plan (or so we hoped at the time).
Beta
SB masters policies and ideas for SB.
LoD Lords Forum
--Well I guess it’s my duties to make some sort of address about SB with release coming near.
No whiner policy - People complaining and bitching should be pked and ignored. Solstice and I will be giving you the tools to succeed. Its up
to you to use them. We will not be holding hands.
I can’t help the siege I am only rank 1! - On nights we are seiging or defending, no one should be out leveling. I do not care if your only level
5, you can act as cannon fodder.
LoD general rules? - Solstice and I plan to stick with the old guild rules 100%.
Allies? - At this time we have none. We have some possible candidates. I do not want us to have the current beta problem. We joined a guild
called DeathHead Legion. They have 5 allies and 2 enemies. But believe it or not thats the most out of all beta pretty much. Finding enemy
targets to pk or just general pvp is a task.
Pking out of the gate? - While LoD is a pk guild. We need to try and stay neutral as possible until we can defend ourselves. While I will not tell
you can not pk, just tone it down. This is a different game then the Uo dread days. Once we get a city secured and some levels under our
collective belt. I better hear about pking groups. I just do not want to piss off those one thousand allies groups at the start.
- Galen, Lords of Death
A “Baja Coalition” was created with the goal of recruiting gamers who had played UO against us/with us. We held an open invitation on our
website to those players who have played with us in the past and had interest in playing Shadowbane. This was the first time that the Lords of
Death ever held open recruitment. This “Baja Coalition” became the “SB LoD Empire”, and everyone who signed up had the possibility of
getting into the guild proper through valid sponsorship.
Lucid Vision, a pvp and pking guild from Everquest, heard of LoD's exploits and was one of the first guilds to sign on board. A rival guild on
DAOC – KOC/TDA, who would later be known as NWA, was also one of the first guilds to join up with us.
With the expanding player base set in motion for release, the leaders also devised a plan that was so intricate and complex (at least at that
time) that most Lords were convinced that it would work.
Of course, nothing ever goes one-hundred percent according to plan. News spread like fire throughout the Shadowbane community that Lords
of Death’s server of choice was the Death server, which included nations LoD fought against in beta: House Lok-ri (elves) and Mithral Warhammers (dwarves). Like Mourning, Death had been dubbed the “other unofficial role-playing server” and even before beta was over, there was
pretty much an unwritten friendship between those roleplaying guilds.
Though we were most likely going to go to Death outnumbered and with every major faction against us, optimism was high and as a guild, we
were ready to rock.
“I am fully confident that we can go into SB as prepared as we are with the server against us from day 1. It’s like USA vs. Iraq. But, there is no
need to give them advance warning, because really I don't know what they are capable of. All I know is that there are like 12 RP guilds and
Lok-Ri going to Death server, and now they all know we are coming.”
- Balinor, Lords of Death
“We still have our strengths which no one else in SB has. Dedication, trust, and an unbelievable ability to work together in PvP and win fights
we shouldn't. That’s why we get the rush.”
- Obidiah, Lords of Death
Beta
***For Lords Eyes Only***
LoD Lords Forum
--This information, as Bal said, is to stay with Lords only for reasons ill explain. This only needs to keep quiet for a week or two, by then it'll
probably be out in the open anyway but even then its a good idea not advertise it.
We are planning to make 2 cities on release in the time it takes any other guild to make 1. It’s a lofty goal but something we should do easily
with our beta experience and vastly improved man power.
First city: Will be a town that is COMPLETELY unaffiliated with LoD whatsoever. It will be located in the desert near Khar and named Apu's
Quickee Mart. And the GM's will have access to its founder, Apu, by way of a shared account.
LoD is to use to this city for all training and selling of items indefinitely unless circumstances come up where we have to relocate it. By
making it the first city on the map and keeping it OPEN to the public, it
will have an enormous population of Noobs from Khar and of course all
their Noob money will trickle in by the millions. This money will fund our
next town(towns).
Town 2: LoD Keep. It will be a fortress with NO trainers whatsoever. It will
have minimal shops for selling PK loot, bank, runemaster, war tent, and
FILLED with barracks for max defense. The design will be something like
this But possible with another outer wall for even more defense:
This town will be a fortress for anyone that gets the bright idea to attack
LoD. Full to the brim with guards, tower archers, and little fighting space
full of choke points. Its not final but our fortress will be something very
close to this.
Its essential that it doesn't get out for at least a few weeks that LoD owns
Apu's. Just to avoid ppl coming to the noob town and killing ppl and
buildings thus making us lose money. If we keep a lid on this and make
this town feel liek a home for Noobs, they will actually help us defend us
if someone attacks. And belive we'll be sticking the noobs on the frontline to absorb hits.
Of course, we'll have a STRICT NO-PK zone in this city. Or anywhere near this city. You would be killing our customers. Course if ppl put up
their own shops around Khar those would be competition and we can kill those assholes. :)
- Obidiah, Lords of Death
03: Gone Gold
Shadowbane finally went gold and the race was on to level and
accumulate as much gold as possible. We placed our trade city and
called it Castle Amber instead of Apu's and it quickly became the
number one money maker city on the server. It was situated right
near Khar and all the newbies were pledging to it and using it to
junk their items. Silent took up the position as the lead propagandist for Castle Amber by playing “SteelAmber” and kept the act up
by posting on the appropriate forums every now and then.
Other sub-guilds joined our ranks including Flea and Battalion’s
crew, Blood Pact, as well as the infamous DOM stealther ladies. The
DOM group was the classiest and most skilled group during their
prime on the server and had defected from a guild called HIV
because of game ideal differences (DOM wanted to pk and HIV
wanted to sit at home).
LoD Keep was placed shortly afterwards on ice island, which we
promptly renamed to Deceit. After a blunder with constructing the
walls (they had been placed without anyone's knowledge which led
to them being crushed), the keep was fully built with its now
infamous wall design. Mithral Warhammers planted on Deceit near
the runegate - meaning that the conflict between LoD and the
dwarves was only a matter of time.. Additionally, Free Corps had a
small city just north of the LoD Keep at one point but chose to
abandon it for greener pastures on the mainland.
Unfortunately, the original plan of keeping a low profile was an utter
disaster! We had people from all facets of the nation – from subguilds to empire to members to lords – starting shit with everyone.
One particular sub-guild, the KOC/TDA/NWA was one of our biggest
headaches as they constantly slaughtered newbies around Khar
(supposedly in our name), harassed Lok-ri in their IRC channel, and
generally instigated internal nation conflict. Their famous threat was
“you are KOS to us now!,” if things did not go their way. More often
than not the line was used towards our own nation members than our
enemies. NWA did not last too long in LoD and more specifically
Death server and moved over to Mourning. The last we heard of them
was that they had been crushed by roleplayers and quit the game.
It was pretty safe to say that even after just a week of Shadowbane
going gold, the general feeling of the populace towards LoD was not
favorable.
Somewhere around this time Galen had stepped down as the GM in
Shadowbane and was replaced by Couladin and Obidiah, bringing the
total of official in-game leadership to three (with Solstice).
“We are hugely outnumbered by the RPers again!
It’s fucking amazing.SB a PvP game still dominated
with people who name their guild ‘Mithral Hammers’ or have the guild description ‘As the Sea’. And
they are already banding together to take us on...
and again, our allies are all but non-existant.”
- Balinor, Lords of Death
04: The Anti LoD Propaganda
It did not take too long before LoD was painted as the
“evil guild” of the server and become public enemy
number one. It was an eventuality, considering that as
a guild, LoD likes to PK and PK often. This of course
created a huge backlash of anti-LoD propaganda from
the forums and in game.
There would be enemy players stationed in Khar,
newbie island and city safe holds who did nothing but
spam how “Lords of Death are bad, bad men” while
mass recruiting for their own nation in order to “fight
the plague of the server”. New players on death were
instantly bombarded with anti-LoD propaganda and for
the most part, they all bought into it.
You couldn't read one thread on the VNBoards or UBI
Death Political forums without some sort of “I hate LoD”
type message.
To top it off LoD Keep mysteriously blew up within two
weeks of placement due to a bug, which of course sent
the board-warriors into frenzy. We were called “exploiters” and “cheaters”, even though it was our city that blew
up. The place to be for board-warrioring was definitely
the VN Death server forums at the time.
Predictions were already being made about how LoD
would be the first guild to fall and how the rest of the
guilds of Death would divide the spoils.
“Now is a time for prosperity and trade. The stronger
the mainland is, the quicker the Lords of Death fall.”
- Avandias, The Corvus
and Alert the Clutch!
“I have almost no doubts that LoD will be the first guild burned to the ground. First the other guilds will band together to
help the Virak to burn down Ambers, cutting off your cash supply. Then we will rid you of Smaller cities near Vor, then we
will take out your main town. In case you haven't noticed, guilds that normally would not get along have put aside their
differences just to attack you. You guys chose to be the uber reets of the server, You did a good job, everyone hates you
now. Soon you will find yourself playing on a new server cause you simply can't go anywhere without people stopping
their fights with each other to pk you then go back to killing each other. I've already seen this happen. There were a few
R4 thieves fighting with a Salvation group the other day, Duracell was spotted on track and they all STOPPED fighting
each other and immediately started running to where he was.”
- from the VNBoards
“Just treat [LoD] and DOM and the rest of their "Empire" =P the same way everyone else does. Just another mob with
better loot and much more "entertaining" whining than your average Hillmen.”
- p0rq
The Anti Lod Propaganda and Alert the Clutch
There was one particular board-warrior who just absolutely hated us with a passion,
Lothorian from House Lok-ri. At every turn, there was a Lothorian post that, surprise, was
about some anti-LoD rhetoric and foreseeing the soon-to-be demise and destruction of
LoD on the Death server. He was your textbook board-warrior - loud on the forums,
non-existant in game. Lothorian was only seen a total of two times in battle on the server
but that did not stop him from continually posting propaganda against LoD.
“I can't wait to watch the entire server rip out all of LoD's trees... and then make sure that
we rip out every new tree they try and plant as soon as they try and plant it... On the
other hand, a guild like LoD that botched its political relations with every guild and
managed to get a rise out of the entire server… Once we take them down, they wont have
an ally to help them rebuild. Anywhere they built, there is at least ONE guild with a tree in
place ready to call in the rest of the server to take out LoD’s new starting town... All I can
say is, you made your bed, now lie in it. ”
- Lothorian, Lok-ri
Lords of Death had become, in Death server's very short history, instant celebrities. No
one could stop talking about the Lords of Death. Lords of Death was the guild everyone
loved to hate. A number of LoD members reveled in the increased notoriety but it was
evident that sooner or later it was going to be “The Server vs. Lords of Death”. A lot of
guilds had genuine reason to band together against LoD, but a lot more were dazzled by
what appeared to be guaranteed victory against the “forces of evil”. “How can LoD NOT
lose?,” was the general sentiment from the majority of players on the server.
“Okay, a lot of people are complaining that the server balance is toast because of the
‘alliance’ against LoD. I would like to dispute this. I feel that what we are seeing right now
is a "World War". Almost everyone chose a side, those that joined with LoD did so as
members and subs. Others grouped up as "The Allied Forces" and launched an attack
against the LoD. In the great world wars of our own history, just because allies joined
together, did not mean they were subservient to the largest allied army (in this case ST).
Once the world war is ended, there will be many smaller wars on this server. People will
build power, it will make others nervous, for fear of losing their own power, and wars will
start. Every so often, someone will gather allies to their cause, and the enemy will be so
unliked that no one will aid them, and they will be wiped out. Other times, both sides will
gather allies as huge alliances form. When the war starts only rubble and death will
remain. Then people will scramble to pick up the shattered power of the vanquished. Land
and cities will be given to allies, who in turn will grow strong, threatening power centers
again.”
- Garren Fireshorne, Empire of the Burning Moon
(Lothorian gets pizza-hut pizz0ned by Murdock)
The Anti Lod Propaganda and Alert the Clutch
LoD and their role on the Death server
VN Boards Death, 04/15/03
--I’ve seen countless examples of LoD saying they relish the role of being the “hated” guild on the server. But I also see many
examples of the “Woe is me” posts saying it’s stupid that everyone is going to gang up on them. The way I see it, you can’t have
one without the other. Too many of you are used to the fact that you can act any way you want to, and no one will be able to exact
any kind of vengeance. You have taken for granted that you can “grief” with immunity. But those days are over…..
People like LoD ruined UO for me. (and tons of other people) It was my first experience with a PvP game and it was only a horrible
experience because there was NO accountability. You could kill people at will, and recall to safety. There was nothing you could do
and for many, including myself, it was beyond frustrating and far from enjoyable. Many will call me a “carebear” for my opinion,
and that’s ok. I can live with that label. I don’t consider myself as such, as I just want a way to get back at someone who has
wronged me. (too many people lump anyone who isn’t an anti-social, immature, ganker as a carebear anyway.)
“People like LoD ruined UO for me... It was my first experience with a PvP game and it was only a horrible
experience because there was NO accountability. You could kill people at will, and recall to safety.”
All this leads to our beloved LoD. They repeatedly say they like being “enemy #1” and often brag about that title. Please
understand that with that title comes consequences. Unlike other games in the past, you WILL be held responsible for your
actions here. And those actions are coming….
At first, I despised LoD. They embodied everything I had come to hate about games like this. I could not wait to get revenge.
Eventually word spread that everyone was forming the same opinion. It became abundantly clear that LoD was in for a very
rough road ahead. I’ll admit I even began to feel sorry for them. I recently had an in-game conversation with an LoD member
and even told him this. (I’ll withhold his name as he actually appeared to be mature, sane, and respectable and I’d hate to hurt
his reputation amongst you other LoD’ers) I was questioning whether LoD really deserved everything coming to them. I began
to suffer from the “underdog syndrome”.
I have come full circle and come to my senses.
LoD’s role on this server is NOT to be enemy number one. Their role isn’t to provide us with people to fight. We are quite capable
of supplying our own wars and fights without such people. Their role is to show people who think it’s fun to cause as much pain
and misery as possible that what they do has consequences. Their role is to serve as the example of what happens to people who
play in the fashion they do.
I can’t control the number of enemies LoD has made in this games short existence. They have made their proverbial bed, and
bedtime is drawing near. I’m sure when the time is at hand and buildings are burning and people are being killed, I might feel a
bit sorry for them again. Not sorry for what is happening, but sorry that they have brought this upon themselves.
I think some of them may actually learn a lesson from all of this. That you can’t treat people any way you want and expect to
“get away with it”. It’s a valuable lesson to learn and I hope I can help you learn it.
So, my fellow Death brethren. Don’t be fooled by any “woe is me” posts. Don’t waiver in what needs to be done. If you must feel
pity, as I will myself, look upon them as a rabid animal that must be done away with. LoD is the Old Yeller of the Death server. I
am but one of hundreds of "Timmies" waiting to act out the final scene. Sorry that it has come to this, but knowing there is only
one way it can end ...... BAM!
- Vogar-of-BT
The Anti Lod Propaganda and Alert the Clutch
Beyond the world of LoD, the political scene of Death server was flourishing. After only three weeks of Shadowbane
being released, there was already mutiple large guilds/nations making their presense know
“Now is a time for prosperity and trade. The stronger the mainland is, the quicker the Lords of Death fall.”
- Avandias, The Corvus
Silent Tribe – the biggest man-power nation on the server. They controlled undead island and their guild leader was
none other than our old beta friend Sinbad. Early on in the game Silent Tribe mass recruited out of Khar and had
already several large cities built up. They had alliances with Free Corps, Salvation, and Mithral Warhammers and
had Non-Aggression Pact with House Lok-ri and the COD. Silent Tribe hated LoD with a passion.
House Lok-ri and the COD – the second biggest nation on the server based on population. Their cities were spread
throughout the northern part of the mainland and were more famous for their posting abilities than in-game skills.
They had an alliance with Free Corps and Mithral Warhammers, Non-Aggression Pacts and Mutual Defense Pacts
with Salvation and Silent Tribe. They occasionally fought with the Irekeis in the desert but they were mere than
small skirmishes rather than all out war They also hated LoD with a passion.
Salvation/Steel – a temple-role-playing guild that never role-played. Salvation had an alliance with Free Corps and
NAPs with everyone else. Like the previous guilds, they hated LoD with a passion.
Free Corps – the gold-farming nation of the server. They were allied with pretty much everyone on the server. In
terms of population, even Free Corps was larger than the Lords of Death but they poor no leadership, relying more
on mob mentality. Free Corps hated LoD with a passion… see a pattern here?
Mithral Warhammers – dwarven warriors that occupied the middle part of Ice Island and continually fought against
Lords of Death. The dwarves were on friendly terms with everyone on the server but Lords of Death.
Virakar Arakat – irekei role-playing guild which, unlike the rest of the server, actively engaged in warfare with
other nations. They were out policing the areas around Khar and occasionally fought with House Lok-ri. The desert
guild disliked LoD for basing their initial pking runs around Khar.
House In'Visus – a guild out in the bum-fuck middle of nowhere; tolerated LoD but were as shady as fuck.
Nation of SOL – this nation shared borders with House Lok-ri and the COD and was being slowly ousted by the
behemoth that was House Lok-ri; tolerated LoD.
Lords of Death – controlled the southern part of Deceit and had outposts in the northern part as well.
The Anti Lod Propaganda and Alert the Clutch
“From all the LoD hate spawned what was to be the single strangest and most popular phenomenon this game has ever seen... ATC – Alert the Clutch!“ Alert the clutch ... from here, in SB and
on LoD boards its alllll over and yet the meaning evades me.”
- from the VNBoards
Murdock and Eternam reunited once again to wreck havoc on a gaming world scene. After tearing it up in
Asheron's Call 2 as the two most hated players on Darktide, the Murd and Et duo was quick to strike on Death
server.
In one event that would become a Death server legend, Murdock stole a million gold off of SOL's GM within the
first days of Shadowbane, in his own city and used their own bank to save it! They would often be pking with Lucid
Vision's Ghecko and Mangar, whom Murd and Et found had just as much blood lust with the accompanying personality and knack for having fun. Lucid Vision, who joined with LoD previous to Shadowbane hitting the shelves,
were crazy mother fuckers who took pleasure from grieving others and doing hilarious updates on their site
(http://www.lucid-vision.org). They would eventually stick with the LoD nation until the very end of Death
server.
Amidst all the political twisting and bashing on the forums, an obscure site known as ATC popped up. It was a site
that did not even have a domain name, had no layout (majority of it was text-based), and consisted mostly of
Murd and Et just bashing people. The site's catch phrase was “Alert the Clutch!” a little something that Murd and
Et took with them from AC2. The catch phrase would take a life of its own as both friendlies and hostiles began
using it and then imitating it. Just some of the imitations included: Alert the Crotch, Pop a Clutch, Alert the
Dragon, Alert the Hoe, Alert the Dutch.
The ATC site would become the most popular Death SB fan site ever, which was kind of interesting since it
featured LoD only news and adventures. To some the site was merely LoD propaganda, while to others it was a
symbol of what LoD as a guild symbolized – having fun and killing shit. What the ATC site unintentionally accomplished was an increased interest in the LoD Empire, which would later prove to be beneficial as players from
other nations began to question why they were playing Shadowbane in the first place.
Somewhere along this line, ventrillo was introduced to LoD as we made the long overdue move from IRC to
voice-com. Ventrillo brought to LoD a renewed sense of comradeship and gave us (among other things valuable
in-game) Venger's non-stop drunkenness, Gobbles “advanced humor”, Isobel's notorious anger, Judas aka
StoneColdSteveAustin, Sanglant the Hawaii-xican, Eternam the Canadian, Bizzle Ma'Nizzle laugh, Alphonzo's
infamous singing, Snarfy grieving us with his dialup speech stutter, Couladin and Warmonger's shouting, the
voice twins Kurupt and Psylon, “droppp it while it's hot”, Skunkbush's and other Legionarious' attempts on
ventrillo cybering Ardente, Yahoo Pool and Yahoo Chess, Chichi aka “the stupid motherfucker” who later turned
out to be “one cool mother fucker”, and later on Secrets from WN, quite possibly the most annoying bitch in
history of mankind.
05: The First Bane
The first bane placed on Death server was by House Lok-ri on the nation
and city of SOL. At the time the bane was placed House Lok-ri and the
COD out-numbered SOL by at least three-to-one. House Lok-ri had been
camping the city and had knocked down a wall. SOL did not stand a
chance in hell at defeating the elves. No one at that time had as many
high level characters as House Lok-ri, and no other nation wished to
stand against them. SOL's GM at that time contacted LoD with the
possibility of mutual benefit. small city just north of the LoD Keep at one
point but chose to abandon it for greener pastures on the mainland.
Now the best news since we started this fucking RP server..........
LoD Lords Forum, 04/08/03
--Lok-ri decided that SoL(190man 3 town nation) was on "ancient elven
grounds" and attacked them Yesterday. SoL is livid about this bullshit
and willing to (and in no choice but to) ally with us to destroy Lok-ri off
the map. The other guild that hates Lok-Ri called In'Vixus will help too.
We haven’t officially called it an alliance yet, just agreed personally with
Magnus the GM, that we would keep a Non-Aggression Pact with them
for now. He wants to keep it low key for now so the whole server doesn't
go after him for allying with LoD. This is a great opportunity for us to USE
this guild and destroy some big names, and even Defend Amber if
Silent's propaganda campaign fails.
- Obidiah, Lords of Death
The bane on SOL was set to go off after server reset. Over two dozen LoD
showed up with about a group of SOL and half a group of Irekeis. The
elves quickly gathered around the bane and tried to disrupt our
summoning just south of the city but were beaten back. The force led by
LoD then slaughtered the elves at the bane and quickly took down the
bane. And that was that. The first offensive bane on the server was
placed by Lok-ri and the first city baned was saved by LoD. The battle
itself lasted only about five minutes. It was clear early on that the elves,
while having the benefit of being higher level than most of LoD, did not
have the battle experience of group combat.
on Death Server
(Nation of SOL and Lords of Death gather up to fight House Lok-ri)
The First Bane on Death Server
As expected, the proposed “mutual benefit” deals with SOL and HIV did not work out.
House Invisus was being pressured from House Lok-ri and Silent Tribe to publicly
denounce Lords of Death and the Non-Aggression Pact LoD and HiV had. Everyone in
LoD leadership knew that HiV was planning on breaking its NAP with us and it was
evident that Mael, the biggest misfit of the Death server, was looking for a way to get
out of the deal smelling like roses – pinning the blame on LoD for the failed diplomacy. Sure enough, Mael posted his decree on the political forums condemning LoD
for breaking the NAP by “having a stealther in their city” and that HiV would rather be
against LoD (along with the rest of the server) than be on friendly terms. The name of
the mysterious LoD stealther was never given, since everyone knew it was a bullshit
story.
The incident with HiV was one of a string of events that would remind us how much
political swaggering guilds on Death would go to avoid confrontation with the larger
mainland guilds. As for SOL, after having their cities burnt down by Lok-ri, they
relocated to the very eastern part of the mainland and pretty much disappeared off of
the Death server scene until they reformed as the nation of Elba. They would later be
forced by the mainland guilds to join the war against Lords of Death but that would be
months down the road.
During this time the Irekeis of the desert were attacking the city of Ambers daily and
eventually baned it on April 23rd. The decision was made to pull out of Ambers and
delete all of its assets along with the TOL.
LoD breaks Non-Aggression with HIV.
UBI Death Political Forums, 04/24/03
--Earlier today, a stealther was caught in our city. He was discovered and quickly
dispatched. It's obviously no secret that tensions were tough to begin with, with us
being friendly with Lok-ri now, and Sol and LoD spiraling down together. I'm an
honest guy, we knew something like this was going to happen, and we'd be against
LoD rather than Non aggressive. It's just meant to be. We're not on good terms with
DOM, a sub guild of theirs who recently decided to use RL insults against me, and now
right after that happens, this happens.
I don't believe in coincidences. Good luck in the game Lords of Death, you have a
tough road ahead of you. If anyone has any questions, feel free, I will answer them. If
people from LoD or people affiliated with LoD have professional, adult questions or
statements, I will address them. Otherwise, I'm going to ignore them.
- Mael, House Invisus
06: The War for Deciet
The war for Deceit would mark a legendary struggle between the Dwarves of Mithral Warhammers and the Lords of
Death for dominance of Deceit. The Dwarves virtually claimed the island “as ancient dwarven and rightful land” (and
so on and so forth). Ice island was the only logical location for us to plant, ancient dwarven land or not. If we were to
plant on the mainland, we would definitely be wiped out by all the guilds and Silent Tribe was less than eager to
start ‘talks’ with us. The bad blood between Mithral Warhammers and LoD (stemming as early as Beta) was irreconcilable and there was only one way this conflict would end – either we wipe out the Dwarves or we get wiped out.
Through politics and Death server’s common hatred and fear of the Lords of Death, Mithral Warhammers secured
alliances with the rest of the server and were able to call upon their allies during times of war, while yet again the
only sure friend LoD had were those with the blue and white skull crest.
The War for Deciet
Dwarves at boat spawn! Meet at west gates!
Everyday was a constant battle for the spawns – the boat spawn, the lake spawn, trolls/volgrims. We would roll their groups; they
in turn would form up in their city then roll ours. Comprising mostly of dwarven warriors, Mithral Warhammers groups were tough
to crack with their high hit points but they did have one fatal flaw, they did not have the ability to detect hidden (edit: they did
have one by the name of Gavin but he wasn’t nearly as good as LoD scouts). Murdock (thief), Balinor (flying bow scout), Argen
(flying bow scout), UnkKnown (bow scout), Bones (bow scout), EternamEh (bow scout), Solidus (thief), Lagman (dagger scout),
Decoy DEA (thief), Inessence (stealthing channeller), Xandria (dagger scout), and the rest of the original “stealthing-pwnage”
DOM chicks would harass the Dwarves to no end, catching lone dwarves in ambushes one by one off of their groups until the LoD
backup arrived to mop up the rest.
As more and more dwarves filled the ranks of Karrok Dok, the dwarven frozen capital, it became apparent that these “skirmishes
for spawn zones” were delaying the leveling of our members as well as impeding our expansion of the island. A plan was formulated to eliminate the dwarves from Deceit once and for all. This plan called for a war of attrition against the Dwarves - to break
their spirits and wear them down.
WAR!!!!! everyone read
LoD Lords Forum, 04/01/03
--Ok I’m pisst off now. I want to have everyone in both LoD and empire to bind to our tree and stay on ice island for the next 2-3
days to pk non stop. We don't really need to level now as much because it does us no good till we can actually train with ranked
trainers. Meanwhile we are getting fucked by these MH fags because we let them roam around our territory unimpeded. THIS
STOPS NOW. I want a perma pk team up and running all the time for the next couple days making these fags on our island miserable. The pk team will be 2 full groups, thats 20 peeps that stick together the whole time. Go to their town and kill em. check the
spawn s spots kill em. keep killing em. Don't let them level or earn money. In the mean time the money we collect from our other
business ventures will make us a siege tent and trainers. I want to be able to put banes down within 4 days. Lets get our shit
together.
- Spellweaver, Lords of Death
Everyone was excited about the plan. We were itching for a decisive fight, especially a lot of our new recruits who wanted to prove
themselves. The general sentiment among LoD members was that the Dwarves simply could not hold out long enough to win this
war. And true enough, as soon as the campaign started and we were slaughtering dwarves all across the island, from spawn zones
to rune drops to even their own capital, the number of black and white hammer crests seen in Deciet had dramatically been
reduced.
Somewhere around this time, a sub-guild of Silent Tribe’s by the name of House of Mercenaries decided not to be puppets of
Sinbad’s ever growing monopoly of players and joined the LoD Empire to fight the zerg. Naturally, Lords of Death members were a
bit weary about sharing the island with former enemies at first, but having thirty to forty less players to worry about pounding on
our walls was too good of a deal to pass up.The guild House of Mercenaries was quickly nicknamed the “spider babies” because of
the spider crest that they had over their heads as well as being hard as fuck to understand. The guild’s leader was a player who
went by the name of Shoon Starym and for the most part was down to earth and laid back. We all just assumed he was Mexican.
Things were looking on the up and up for LoD. We were winning the war against the Dwarves and had an influx of about twenty to
thirty additional members with House of Mercenaries. It seemed like all our hard work and dedication was finally paying off.
Then two of our cities were baned and sacked.
The War for Deciet
RE: How I feel about LOD
VN Boards Death, 04/3/03
---
(A fight for the boat spawn on Deciet)
(LoD stealthers take down a MWH barbarian)
Oh I don't know, I think LoD is being
successful at what they want, more so then
any other guild on the server. They want
enemies, and they do a good job at it. If you
think about it, it's actually the smart way to
go, and here's why: Any guild that is static
in the game will fail. ST, for example, has
the potential dominate the server. Will
they? Not if they keep doing what they're
currently doing. Eventually, I suspect that
any guild that is happy sitting within it's
boarders will ultimately fail because of the
tedium this games offer should you choose
to play that way.
LoD is NOT a static guild. They thrive on
contention and combat so they will probably be around for much longer than their
current contemparies for the simple fact
that they will not become bored with the
game. For example, let me refer to something a ST member recently said: "Silent
Tribe closed things down last week,and we
are still increasing our numbers,mainly due
to boredom of members who roll anywhere
from 1-4 alts to play. " or to be more
specific "mainly due to boredom "
What LoD has going for them is the dynamic
of constant challenge. I Like LoD. I love
most of the guilds on this server, which is
why I make fun of them. I kid because I
lubb! You may not like HOW they accomplish their strategy, but you have to admire
how well it works for them.
(A company of dwarves about to get ambushed)
As a side note: I have yet to hear people say
anything admirable about their enemies. I
think if you got to know a few LoD folks
you'd find out they're amusing, intelligent
people. Even when they do kill you and loot
all your cash.
- LordPellinore
The War for Deciet
“Jester's Court Down and out! As was predicted the free world rose up
and slaughtered the infidel's of LoD. Jesters court was annihilated by a
huge number of people from all walks of life. House Lok-ri, Free Corps,
Salvation, Silent Tribe, The aggressor Mithral Warhammers, and even
Corvus showed up in decent numbers.”
- from the Ubi Political Forums
The War for Deciet
With a combined force of over a hundred and fifty players and representation from every guild on the server that did not have the blue
and white skull, they came to Jester’s Court and Shadowrivven, owned by LoD sub guilds Lucid Vision and DEA, and filled the mini-map
with nothing but blue dots. We were out-manned at least three-to-one and stood no chance in defeating that huge army.
The decision was made to blow up the trees rather than let the enemies have the satisfaction of destroying it. We consolidated our
troops at LoD Keep because we knew that is where that huge mass would be coming for next. Sure enough, after the two cities were
sacked, the alliance of Silent Tribe, MWH, Lok-ri, Free Corps, The Corvus, Salvation, HiV, and numerous other smaller guilds headed for
LoD Keep.
With the towers manned and walls filled with steadfast defenders, the wave of blue dots approached from the north-west. It was quite
a site to see that many players in one area for the first time in Shadowbane. If it was not for the severity of the situation, i’m sure most
of LoD would have found it awe-inspiring.
Like water crashing upon a wall of rock, the first waves of enemies were crushed by LoD mages and archers on the towers who furiously
held control of the north-west tower. Enemies attempted to fly inside the city but were also shot out of the sky. Out two screens to the
north, a stealth group of LoD had gone forth to engage enemies who had either lagged or fallen behind the main group of attackers. We
would later find out that the stealth group would single-handedly knock out two groups of enemy summoners.
After thinning out the enemy ranks with stealth missions behind enemy lines and persistent defense of tower corners, LoD forces
gathered outside of the west gate to meet the foe. Three LoD groups had formed a wedge to protect their flanks and keep open a
retreat. Still outnumbered by a count of two-to-one, LoD groups played smart and drew out the heroes from the enemy forces while
mages bombarded them with long-ranged spells from the ground and the towers.
The battle would rage for half an hour with major losses on both sides but we never gave up and we never gave ground. When our
ground forces would get pushed back, we manned the towers and shot from the top. When it looked evident that a group of enemies
would be flying in, the ground forces would rush and kill them before they could fly up.
Eventually, LoD’s determination outlasted the numerically superior “Alliance” forces.
The first large-scale fight at LoD Keep would showcase the superb defense of LoD Keep’s wall design and the determination LoD
members had even in the face of unfavorable odds. News of our victory [sic] reached the world of Death but the fact still remained that
we had just lost two cities in one night and our nation was at the very verge of destruction. Mithral Warhammers was kind enough to
bane LoD Keep during the battling. We all knew even though we had won this particular battle, it was just the start of more fighting to
come.
The War for Deciet
The War for Deciet
“What sadly occurred to me while we seiged LoD, was that this is a great trial
by fire for them. Here we are the ENTIRE server against one guild. We outnumber them. We have more resources. We are taking to the fight to them... Yet we
cannot beat them. We were butchered yesterday (though I attribute it more to
coincidence that they charged just as we split) but the fact still remains that all
the server is doing is stroking the fire hotter and making the sword of LoD
stronger.”
- WhitePhoenix2 , from the VNBoards
"I think walls still have a point, and I think LoD's use, on Friday, of
smart wall building strategies, and keeping walls in mind when
they PvP, proved this."
- Lothorian, Lok-ri
“Honestly do I think LoD will fall hmm prolly not but they will never
be a major contender off of thier island. They are bound there in
the defensive curl of a rattle snake no where to move and if the
dorfs ever get tossed off no one else to attack. This of course
excludes the souls at khar and kc who will be plauged by bored
r5s.”
- Mulrine
"Do you people realise that the walls that are easily breached have
been walls that were not being used? Look at LoD, almost no one
has gotten past their walls simply because they were manned... A
well coordinated defence of that wall can and will last until LoD runs
out of money. No one is going to storm it without emmense
coordination and numbers. If you need proof that walls arent
useless just go on one of the attacks there."
- Gaventeriel, Lok-ri
“What I'm going to be interested in, is what happens when border
skirmishes between Lok Ri, Salvation, Free Corps, or whoever begin
to take place. What happens when the Great Alliance begins to fall
apart? What happens when the numbers arrayed against LoD
become a little more even, or those that show up to defend the
Dwarves become a little smaller? To those of you shouting, ‘LoD will
burn,’ I think you underestimate your foe and that's a huge mistake.
The day will come when we all have to stand on our own... and LoD
right now has a huge headstart on the entire server.”
- WhitePhoenix2
"Last but not least - i've had the priviledge of fighting alongside LoD for at least a month now. Siege after Siege. Owning
armies of attackers who outnumber us 2,3,even 4 fold. These
aren't PK kiddies you’re dealing with. They're like war
machines, whos only purpose in life is to turn you into a
grave-maker. I'd fight alongside these guys no matter the
odds."
- Ghecko, Lucid Vision
The War for Deciet
The Mithral Warhammers bane on LoD Keep would lead to the event that would forever symbolize LoD’s skill and determination – the
successful three day long defense of LoD’s last remaining city (aside from DOM’s northern outpost) against the combined alliance of
every major guild on the server.
Keeping in mind that it is still the first month of the game and that the first bane was only dropped a week prior on SOL, the amount of
battling LoD had to endure was insane. Silent Tribe and Salvation would attack us in the morning, House Lok-ri during mid-day, Free Corps
and Mithral Warhammers in the afternoon, and then everyone would join in the fun during the evening. We had scouts stationed at the
runegate and every fifteen minutes or so you would hear in /city chat, “x enemies coming, heading to the Keep”. Silent Tribe, House
Lok-ri, Free Corps, Mithral Warhammers, Salvation all tried to breach LoD’s defenses but were denied each and every time. Each victory
against odds that we should have not won fueled us to keep fighting even more. Needless to say, no one had done any leveling throughout those three days and by the third day of the siege, most LoD had no money left to even repair, yet we were still fighting – bucknaked.
Many destroyed bulwarks and siege tents were now littered around LoD Keep. On the day of the bane going live, the Alliance started
gathering its troops about 4pm PST and fighting broke out about an hour afterwards outside LoD Keep. Though exhausted from fighting
all weekend long and dying more times than most people would like to count, LoD forces held out for nine hours with roughly thirty-five
hardcore LoD’ers against the Alliance force that tripled us. As fortune would have it, the server went down just before the bane was about
to go live and when it came back up, what we saw in front of us was a thing of beauty – a field littered with death-sticks and broken siege
equipment and an active bane circle with no blues in sight.
We weren’t done however. Even after a weekend of siege defending and the nine hour long defense, we were out for revenge. Seeing
most of all the Alliance members had logged out for the night, especially our friends the Dwarves of Mithral Warhammers, we did the only
logical thing – we raided Karrok Dok.
So I am standing at LoD keep right now
VNBoards, 04/27/03
--and all the forges are fine, trainers are ranking away,
bank over flowing with gold, ToL is looking good (lovely
foilage) and most of all no holes in the walls. When I
look outside I see much destruction, graves everywhere,
a whole mass of Lok-ri graves in paticular in one little
cluster (wtf kinda counter attack was that, never trust an
elf to do a mans job), many bulwarks and siege tents
burned to a crisp. Brings a tear to my eye. But after
seeing all this and being over come with joy, it hits me,
what words could truly express what I am feeling, and
then it hit me...........
Whos your daddy, and what does he do.
ps. Where coming for ya dorfs, you really hurt our
feelings now you die :P
- Crazy-Canuck, Lords of Death
The War for Deciet
LoD goes to bar, gets drunk, tosses midgets
As seen on ATC, 04/25/03
--Lords of Death forces and their allies hit the midgets living next door to them and baned their asses. This was in response to some silly
bane the midgets placed on LoD Keep. The battle for Deceit rages on, but the roleplayers seem to be on the receiving end of one very
large enema. Read on for the as current "hit list" of damage done to the shorties:
Seamstress building and R7 seamstress – destroyed
Banker – destroyed
r5 priest and warrior trainers – destroyed
r5 crusader and prelate trainers – destroyed
1 barrack – destroyed
Fuedal church and war tent – destroyed
Keep – destroyed
Cathedral – destroyed
4 corner wall towers – destroyed
To add insult to injury, 2 sets of windlord medium armor were purchased off the midgets own vendors. Mangar of Lucid Vision, one of our
holy allies, was overhead saying how he was able to withdraw some cash at MW's bank, use thier Prelate trainer to raise his healing skills
a bit, then put the change back in the bank... Right before the bank and Prelate trainers got burned to the damn ground.
A Lords of Death deep cover agent posing as a roleplaying midget overheard a member of the MWH leadership remarking that "This was
so unexpected and at such an inopportune time, that I actually got physically ill and vomited 3 times". Keep up the grief LoD, and
remember DECEIT ISLAND IS OURS SO GO BACK TO AFRICA YOU FUCKING SHETLAND PONIES!
- Ivan, Lords of Death
The raid on Karrok Dok accomplished what
enemy forces could not do – breach the
enemy city’s stronghold and knock its
structures down. The “Alliance” might of Free
Corps, Silent Tribe, Mithral Warhammers,
Salvation, HiV, The Corvus, and various other
smaller guilds had failed to capitalize on LoD
Keep, we were not about to make the same
mistake.
As expected, once the news hit the next day,
reactions of the surprising victory by the evil
LoD sent the board community into frenzy,
coming up with all sorts of excuses and
explanations on how this could have possibly
happened.
The War for Deciet
The War for Deciet
“Well got off work, logged in at midnight pst, and found out we were
starting a siege on LOD KEEP. After the old 1 hour travel time, due to
mass sb.exe errors,we ended up with around 80-100 people at the
north wall. Promptly built bulkwarks,and siege tent,had our siege
weapons going up. As soon as they went up due to the pet warping
onto the center of the siege equipment,its impossible to target and
destroy pets which warp onto siege gear. After a round or 2 of this,we
switched from defending the bulkwarks to attacking the lod members. after a 3 hour battle,the lod people outside the city finally
died. We had just started to mount attacks on the north wall
itself,and had our trebs reloading for a nice fireing solution when the
server went down,was going to be intersting to see what
happened,but due to server down the siege is basically done with .”
- boyd62
“LoD Is Here to Stay! Im not associated with LOD in fact I raided them
this morning and killed a few before I was taken out. The Alliance is a
joke. Just take this morning for example. When the call went out for
help in raiding LOD's Keep there were only 3 LOD spotted by the
scouts in their town. By the time the Alliance had summoned everyone LOD's numbers had jumped to almost 30. Its not hard to see that
there is obviously people in other guilds watching for this sort of
movement in /city /guild chat and alerting their fellow guildmates.
The tactics being shown by the Alliance are very poor. Had they went
in on their own they probably could have taken control of the ToL and
then summoned in for help. But the way they went about it was all
ass backwards. Take a chance, go after the TOL on your own or form a
party with people you trust arent spies. Seems like a better plan than
forming a 100+ group to go after LOD which would no doubt have
already been alerted in the hour or so that it takes to summon that
many people. ”
- from the VNBoards
“Main problem with LoD… The main problem with LoD is that they
have a large european player base. When i make a who at european
play time i see every 5. name as a LoD player. Now this is a big
problem for american guilds because LoD can take out there citys
then. How will you defend your city when you have 3 players online
at max and LoD can send 30 players to attack your town. They fly in
the town and start to kill npcs and buildings and the people which
start to log in. This is a big problem for american guilds. Walls are
total usless against LoD because they can move in at european times
and make holes in your walls and destroy NPC guards. European
players on american servers are a big problem. It is something to
loose something in a fight, but to loose it when you sleep is very
different. ”
- Arbosch Bloodforge
“OMG California is part of Europe!? ”
- Dracula, Lords of Death
“Do you people realise that the walls that are easily breached have
been walls that were not being used? Look at LoD, almost no one
has gotten past their walls simply because they were manned. LoDs
walls are an offensive design, that even without anything but wall
archers is formidable, but when manned with archers and mages it
becomes nearly impregnable. A well coordinated defence of that
wall can and will last until LoD runs out of money. No one is going
to storm it without emmense coordination and numbers. If you
need proof that walls arent useless just go on one of the attacks
there.
Aye, MWH has more people online when LoD is all asleep...just
freaky timezone issues. The reason MWH is losing so badly to LoD
now is because we're all either asleep or too tired to retaliate when
we're attacked, and LoD always has people in the city, and its
design makes it hard to crack...but, even though things don't look
so good right now, we won't lay down and die any time soon ”
- Ga'vin Strife, MWH
“I am a Lok-ri Juggernaut. As such, I've been on the opposite side
of LoD since beta. I've come to respect them as great PvP'ers. I
mean come on, they are fighting an entire server and winning. If
only the smack talk could be lessened, my respect for them would
be a complete 100%. But come on, every one here whining about
"OMG LoD exploits!!" The smack has got the curbed on these
boards, its gotten to the point where every thread is hijacked by
board warriors raging their endless campaign against the "evils" of
LoD. Please...just stop.....one mature player to hopefully all of you
mature players... P.S.....LoD occupys all of my death list...so i plan
to come get some soon. fear the mino! ”
- Janos, Lok-ri Juggernaut
07: The Fall of the Dwarves
With the Dwarves exhausted from their failed offensive against LoD Keep, they stood no chance against the following onslaught from the Lords of Death. Karrok Dok, with its defenses weakened by the LoD raid the night before was
reduced to nearly rubbles by the second raid - its outer and inner walls breached and all structures not protected
leveled to the ground.
The final stand for the Dwarves would happen early morning, one hour after server reset. The Dwarves, attempted to
pull a server-up bane but underestimated our dedication. The grand army of the Alliance, whom just days before
threatened to engulf LoD Keep, was no where to be seen. All that stood in the path of the LoD warmachine was the
Dwarves of Karrak Dok and a handful of elven guards from House Lok-ri.
With a small but dedicate contingent of players, we rushed hard and fast straight for the dwarven capital and
surprised the Dwarves. They had begun bashing on the bane but we quickly ousted them out of their own city. It
wasn’t too long before they were overwhelmed, the city taken, and the TOL dropped.
Karrok Dok had fallen and the War for Deciet was finally over. Ice Island, aka Deciet would be known as LoD lands
from here on in.
The Fall of the Dwarves
Shout Outs...
LoD Empire Forum, 04/30/03
--First off, Kick ass job to everyone that has been participating in the late night/early morning destruction of Karrak Dok the
past couple days... If thats you, you rock. From tonights final battle battle...
1. Sanglant - A prelate who went to the runegate to be the solo "scout" and LoD's Intel there so that I could go man my siege
engine. Thanks for making the sacrifice to leave the main battle. It definately helped give us advance warning when the
Salvaton/Lok-Ri arrived.
2. Eternam - Et RoX U! Also showed up to scout the rune gate. Been doing an awesome job with the stealthers and, of course,
ATC webpage.
3. Goldmund - Single handedly watched the Bane for a long time after server up. Always there to give a helping hand.
4. Obidiah - Great leadership again. You were the key to our success today.
5. LV and DOM - Can't tell you enough about how much we appreciate all your help. Both guilds have been more than we could
have asked for in allies.
6. LoD Channeler Corps - I almost feel sorry for the rest of the server. You guys nuke people faster than I can target them in
some cases.
7. Balinor - Ohh wait... nm, he sucks.
- Balinor, Lord
Besting the Dwarves could not have been done with certain people stepping up – Skylar (Bizzle), Nig, Rolo, Asp, Bamo, Carnage,
Inessence, Carl from DEA, and an awesome chicken scout by the name of Ail Eron, all took charge in some way or form. We also
picked up some really great recruits including Khell (who would always get fired by Et) and a bunch of guys with the last name
‘Magnes’… Rashanir, Bibbin, and crew, who went above and beyond our Empire expectations. Of course LoD’s major victory over the
Dwarves could not have been possible without our GMs, Obidiah, Couladin, and Solstice, who practically held the guild from falling
apart due to stress through their (seemingly) twenty-four-seven dedication.
The fall of the Dwarves led to a series of events on Death that would work in our favor. With the alliance against LoD in a disarrayed
state, we were able to level up and train our guys through the construction of trainers at the DEA and House of Mercenary city as
well as an upgrade to Queen’s Crown (the DOM city) and LoD Keep. As a nation, we were severely under sourced in terms of
trainers and goods while most nations had rank-seven trainers and shops. We would routinely have to stealth into (and later raid)
Free Corps’ trainer city just to take advantage of what we did not have. It was hilarious to see in the middle of a raid on Free Corps,
groups would take turns de-tagging to buy equipment or spend their unused training points.
The end of the war on Deciet also gave LoD what it desperately needed - a much needed breather from the constant attacks and
bane fighting. It sent a message to all the guilds on Death (and especially those who had pre-maturely predicted that LoD would
be crushed) that Lords of Death is here to stay.
The Fall of the Dwarves
“It’s been some great fights. In the end, you guys have beat us in KD.
No excuses, LoD won, they didnt cheat, or pull lame tactics, they earned
the victory. I will miss the constant fun, that we have had fighting over
the island. Now we rebuild, to see what the future lays before us. I have
much respect for many of your members, despite what has been blasted
over the boards, I know the core of LoD isnt the lamers that talk the
crap, they are the ones that walk it. Much respect guys.”
- Kagetora Naru'Shi, Guild Leader, Company of Sammani (sub to Mithral
Warhammers)
“Aye, much congrats on the destruction of my once beloved city, Karrok
Dok. The constant grind between the Mithril Alliance and the LoD has
had NO match as of yet on this server. This is what its all about fellas.
Doesn't get much better than this. MUCH worth investment even if it
meant the loss of our city. I really feel that I'm on the forefront of the
experience in this game having had to fight over Ice island with LoD.
The time I've spent on the mainland has been full of fresh, blood free
land and air. Its almost a different game there.”
- Snaga the Sender
“From early on it was clear that there were some brains behind the
mostly mob-mentality force known as LOD. This weekend has been an
excruciating experience, and yet one of the best I have had in any
game. Rarely has a game had so much of a "point" as this one does.
Nation vs nation is holding true, at least it was on the Ice Isle. My visits
to the mainland have all been like vacation times, though I hear that
may soon come to an end. I any case, to the leadership of LOD, good
job... and good luck handling that horde of recruits.”
- Vaxxadil, Mithral Warhammers
“I would like to say that fighting along side the Dwarves was an honor. I
am terribly sad to see their esteemed city go to dust. Lok-ri sent
available troops day in and day out to help, but sadly it was not enough.
The persistence of the Chaos Lords overcame them.”
- Aramina, Lok-ri
The Fall of the Dwarves
“Even though some in LoD might claim otherwise, the server is about to see just
how much more powerful they get without the dwarves there on ice island.”
Message to LoD and to the server
VNBoards, 04/30/03
--Moose, always has been fun fighting against you. This is my first post to a VN board in well over a year and am only doing so now in order
to give credit where credit is due.
We lost, you won and I am impressed with your ability to rally your own troops, work in concert, and to be honest, with how you strategically laid out your city in the first place. Anyone who has posted trash talk on these boards from the MWHs should not have been doing
so, since that has never been our style. But some people will do so regardless.
Now, although this may get buried in this thread I want to bring up two other points:
First point. We will rebuild. But we are no longer going to be the shield against LoD expansion. You see, our guildleader has been out of
game for health reasons this last week, and I have constantly been in-game chatting it up with the other guilds in order to ensure that
KD survived.
Some people said that they would be there en masse, others ignored me, and one other guildleader of a very large guild told me he was
"busy" and then never responded to any message I sent him again. This morning, early in the AM, I was again sending messages out to
every single guild that had people online.
What happened? Maybe two non-MWH guild members showed.
Well now ice island is LoDs, and while we may not have been the juggernaut that they are, we damn sure kept the pressure on them and
their growth on that island. Ask any LoD member to look at his or her death list and I am quite sure that the majority of the crests on it
will be MWH.
Karrok Dok fell. That is life in SB and I am not shedding any tears over it because I know the dwarves will rebuild.
But after the stellar support response we had from so many other guilds on this server, we are no longer going to be the shield against
LoD any longer.
Even though some in LoD might claim otherwise, the server is about to see just how much more powerful they get without the dwarves
there on ice island.
I said I had two points, so here is the second.
LoD, no longer do I want to hear your members bitch about the LoS "exploits" in this game. Obidiah and others wanted to chastise me
and threaten me with "recording this so the CSRs will ban you" when I used a grave to target my AE and urged others to do the same.
Well I was just returning the tactic that was done earlier (when KD still had walls). Again this morning, a LoD person (Archoic ...sp? ...
wizard type) used the LoS "exploit" to target me while I was inside a building.
Don't expect someone to not use the same tactics you use.
- Thorsen Ironheart, Lok Trommi of the Mithril Warhammers
The Fall of the Dwarves
The two weeks subsequent the War of Deciet saw many
political moves and happenings. Those that directly affected
LoD included:
* A numer of players from Crimson Dragoons (a sub-guild of
Silent Tribe) decided to defect to LoD under the guild
banner “EBOK”.
* The Silent Tribe cities of Big Wood and Caer Benowyc, each
with over a hundred players bound to it, stages an uprising
against Sinbad and joins LoD in a memorable, albeit not a
hundred percent successful, coup.
* Shining Path, after being beaten around by the mainland,
ups and joins LoD, then gets booted out after lackluster
performances and killing fellow guild members.
* and Virakar Arakat, the desert people who had attempted
to destroy the city of Ambers, forges an unholy alliance with
LoD, shocking the rest of the server.
But before all that the good stuff happens, LoD suffers yet
another set back - LoD Keep gets its runemaster deleted by
a CCR... during an early morning raid by Silent Tribe and a
hundred angry blues knocking on our gatehouses.