If someone tells you that you are not roleplaying correctly, you tell them to shove it. Over the last 10 years of online gaming I have learned that even logging into a game is an exercise in roleplay. They are not called “mmoRPG’s” for nothing.

But, as someone that has made rules for himself, (called my Immersion project , now called my Station Project to represent the Station Access games) I can tell you that rules are handy, but never something to obey no matter what. I made my rules to help me feel more connected to my character, not to give me less options. They were made to make my real life feel something like my characters life, and vice-versa, and the rules have nothing to do with other people.

I have been asked a lot of questions about my Immersion Project , but the one thing I want to drive home is that it is less a role play project than a simple art project: how can I feel almost what my character might be feeling? How do I close the gap between him/her and myself? This is not an attempt to free myself from this horrible reality we call life, and to escape into a wonderland of dragons and swords, this is simply a look into how I feel about that little batch of pixels on the screen, and why I feel connected to it, and what they might feel if I were them.

Granted, we all like to escape sometimes. We all fear the same thing: to live a boring life. But some roleplayers fill their life up with details about their characters; a back story 48 pages long, drawings or writings, the meaning of their name…but I feel like more can be accomplished with less, simply by allowing ourselves to be part of the equation, and to stop concentrating so much on the limitless power of the character on the screen, and concentrating more on our own good and bad sides.

I am not saying there is anything at all “wrong” with roleplaying a 1000 year old elf that kills dragons on a regular basis. There isn’t, as there are no rights or wrongs in roleplaying. But I have met so many roleplayers in the last decade that simply want to concentrate on something else without recognizing themselves in the equation. Think about it: what WOULD you do if you really were transported to that world? How would someone like you talk or move or act when they saw a giant stomping at them, club drawn back? In my real life I am an average guy with above average intelligence (not that it does me any good) and with a simple face. But people always remember me, it seems. I have, literally, at least 100 friends. And I mean people that I can meet, stay at their house, have dinner with and talk about a few memories. The only reason I have found for this is that no matter what, even if it leads to an embarrassing situation, I always try to be ME. I can’t help it..I just am.

And so are my characters. My characters are not something alien to me, they ARE me. They act as I do, and while I admire players that put their heart and soul into dreaming up this character that they would LIKE to be, I have no issues dreaming about the character I am, if I lived in that world.

Back to the rules: if you want to make some rules dictating how your character talks or how to react to certain situations, then do it. But rule number one should always be: if it isn’t fun, then don’t do it anymore. For example, I tried out perma-death for a while, but once my character died, I couldn’t stand it. Also, the game had no mechanics for passing down traits to offspring, or for even leaving behind items that were on the body upon death. I scrapped that rule. I can adjust and tweak to my hearts content because, again, there are no rules. So when we make up our own, we have to fit them to what we think is important. Sometimes that takes time.

I understand that some roleplaying guilds do not want to allow for a player to just say “I’m Immortal, AND your father.” for fear of players simply putting on a God hat. That is not the type of rule that I am talking about. That is a rule made for a group of individuals. I am talking about those rules we make for ourselves, even if we don’t write them down. We all know those rules: the ones that we seem to rebel against, like walking instead of running, when deep down we just want to get to that Inn in a HURRY. So, just run to the inn, you are allowed some moments of yourself in your character. My goal, after all, is to make every moment of my character representative of myself.

“So you have seen him, or not?” I asked.

“Of course I have, which is a more expensive matter.” he said.

I sighed. I reached into my pocket, pulled out a few gold. His hand shot out, palm up, fingers motioning. I dropped the gold into his calloused filthy hand. “He was here buying supplies. Seemed to be in a hurry. When I asked him where he was going, he told me he needed to get to Tawar Galan  and wanted to know if I knew any ships to gain passage on.” “And what’d you tell him?” I asked. “I told him no, and he went off to the docks. Later Meliard told me he gave him a lift to Tawar. From there, I haven’t heard anything else.”

Satisfied, I flipped my hand at him and left.

I couldn’t get this one out of my head: a young Thestran male gets out of town without telling anyone why. Seemed the father and him had a bit of a row, but other than that, no reason. The mother got a hold of me through the bar. Seems I hang out there too much. So, over the last week I had been searching for this boy, asking around, and getting lead here to the docks of New Taragnor.

Personally, New Targ was my kind of place: bustling, loud, dirty. But for a human male of his age this had to be a very rough place to float into. There are people here that would skin you alive given the first chance, and they can spot an easy mark within a mile. Getting any of these ship dogs to talk is near impossible, even with the gold. Getting them to be friendly is impossible.

This case was costing me. I had already sailed to three cities, and even with some of the cargo I chartered, barely cleared a copper after meals and boarding. When and if I find this kid I am going to have to ask for some repayment. In skin. Until then, I turned and walked into the docks to see if anyone needed something heavy moved from one ugly grey dock to a much prettier one.

Sailing had always been my passion, and this new form of employment had made it worth even more. Now I could have my cargo, move it from one place to another while looking for missing citizens. And by my ears, could they disappear out here. Even with our fancy mail system and the new roads being put in, a citizen could simply vanish; gone so fast you would have thought they had just been a dream. Granted, most of the dangerous folk stayed with other dangerous folk, and almost every major city had managed to keep their borders clean and free of guts. But there were still those great expanses of wilderness out there..the roads ran through it but you never bothered to go. If you did, you didn’t travel alone and you definitely didn’t do it as a human male, age 17.

So what made me think this boy didn’t just wander off in a fit and got mauled by any number of big hairy things? Actually, I did think that. But as long as the gold kept coming, so would my false hope.

Once I reached Tawar I felt a little better. If he did get this far, these lands were much safer than most. The elves didn’t let evil just creep up and snatch people, or at least not nearly as much as elsewhere. And being that my people, the Raki, were from this area, I would have a base of operations to go to when I needed to. Favors could be pulled out here.

My first stop was to hit the tavern. After all, a stomach full of mead is but a side benefit to what the ears might pick up in the local chatter. And sure enough, within three cups I heard someone mention that new citizen: the one we all hear about once in a while. He shows up, starts speaking of dark things and generally causes peoples hairs to stand on end, but does nothing more that scare locals. But those types usually can be more attractive to a runaway boy than scavengers to carrion: the young need someone to tell them they have a place and they will try to believe it even if they don’t deep down. Found out the guys name was Amerk, and currently lived “somewhere north in the hills” and would come down to town for some supplies and probably a fresh collection of cult members.

Outside I prepped my horse Royal for the journey. He was grand, alright, not in size but in disposition. Nothing spooked him. And I knew that somewhere in the shadows lurked my dark watcher: my cat Bete. She was a gift from the Wood Elves here, and most of the time no one saw her, she was that stealthy. I say it’s magic, and I think I’m right.

The hills proved to be an easy enough climb, nothing more than baby mountains and trails clearly marked where people had been traveling. Eventually I came to a flat area, a sharp drop off making up three quarters of the camp. A few tents had been there for a while, fire pits had blackened the ground and I could see some movement indicating someone was there, just waking up.

I crouched down, but they had heard me. Out of one of the tents popped the boy’s head, young and handsome, no hair on his face. (A Humans lack of hair still made me laugh. They looked like babies.)

“Hullo.” he said. He seemed shaky, but was trying to put on a good front.

“Hullo.” I responded. Royal stayed where he was, but I knew Bete was fully aware of the boy. She could be on him within three leaps. “Are you Heru?” I asked. His mouth closed, got real serious. “Yes.” he finally stammered. He stepped out of the tent. He was wearing a black and red robe, marked with runes I had never seen. “You should probably leave, unless you want trouble.” The boy warned. “He’ll be back soon, and he doesn’t need people asking me things.” I stayed put, opened my palms in a calming fashion. In this world you realize that some things might be other things, even though they look harmless enough. “Who is he?” I asked. “He is my leader, but he needs to help me become stronger, better. He is helping me. He said my father didn’t need to see me again until I could return as a man.” “Listen, Heru, that man is lying.” I responded, trying to sound calm. “I know his type. He is using you for something. He is lying to make sure you stick around.” Heru shifted uncomfortably. His eyes began to water. He had something up under his skin he wanted to let me see, but he was afraid. He had guilt all over his hairless face. He slowly began to back up, getting closer to the cliff.

“Wait!” I yelled. “Your mother told me she wants you to come home. She misses you..” and with that the boy took several more steps towards the cliff. What had this man done to this boy? The boys face became pale, he concentrated on something off on the horizon. “Heru..wait…come with me. I won’t tell your father..you can join my company. You can help..” and with that the boy just fell back, out of view. Within seconds Bete was reaching for him, swatting at open air. I ran towards the cliff in time to see the boys face, silent, eyes open. And then he hit the rocks and spun into the forest below, then silence.

I dropped to my knees. That was it. Bete was already making her way down the cliffside in only the way she could, rushing to the boy. I knew she would come to the body and wait for me to get there. Royal had even rushed to the cliffside, and he puffed at the dirt, a loud horse sigh.

I sat and stared at the forest, for how long I wasn’t sure. I looked up as small rain drops pecked at my skin. I could hear a horse coming up the trail, so I ducked into cover. Royal turned around where he was, waiting to see who was coming. Good thing, a strange horse in your camp makes for a good distraction.

As the man came up he gasped, wondering what fortune had landed him. He slid off his old dusty mount and walked to Royal, arms out cautiously. Royal stood, head low and staring. The man had on mostly normal clothes, an overcoat and pants, but the pants were puffy and stretched tight: another layer of cloth underneath. From the waistline I could see a few streams of red and black cloth, his cloak must’ve been hidden under his normal clothes. He was inches away from Royal.

My arrow flew so hard and fast it simply went through his leg. He looked down and winced, then the blood started. I cursed. I shouldn’t have put so much energy into that shot. As the man looked up he must have seen a small man running towards him, then leaping through the air. He didn’t stay awake long after my foot crashed onto his ear.

It was hard enough breaking the news to the boys mother, but the father was worse.  He didn’t say much, but you could feel the heat radiating off his body. I imagine he hated himself more at that moment than the man that messed up his boys mind. They tried to get me to take payment anyway, but I refused and lead them outside instead.

Tied to a stake was a man in a battered red and black cloak, face bruised and red from the burning sun of the sea. His lips were dry and flaking, and his hair matted with blood. He was too weak to say anything. I untied the rope from the stake and pulled it over to the father. I handed him the rope, shook his hand and walked towards the docks.

In Telon, sometimes it’s better to let the people decide the fate of a murderer.

Rikoo Rakoo

1) I am sick of seeing the word “immersion.” Like I said the latest podcast, I know I didn’t popularize the word, and I certainly didn’t INVENT it, but it’s similar to when you get a new car: you start to see your car everywhere.

2) I am opening the project to other games on the Station Pass…which include a lot of games. The rules will be tweaked for each game, but over all the call is for all the games to be united under one “alternate realities” type of banner.

The closes I have come to a religion is a belief (semi belief) that there exists alongside our reality, an infinite number of alternate realities. At least, that’s what some smart people believe, of theorize. And if you use the word “infinite”, you allow for every possible scenario: ones that include the reality of our games.

In other words, out there, somewhere, in the infinite possibilities of alternate realities, the world of Telon exists as real as ours. And even within those parameters exists an infinite variety of THAT world. There is even a real world in which I am writing about that made-up world without knowing that it truly exists.

Now, I don’t think of this to the point that it IS a religion, or anything more than a fascination..the universe is made up of particles that all these realities share, as they pop in and out of our lives faster than anything we could ever think of.

So, that Station Project is a fun science project: what if these realities were connected, and what if some race of beings had the ability to be aware of them, and to travel within them all?

A character named Grin has that ability. I made her up years ago in one of my comic books, and based her on my mother: a wonderful woman, but being that she is a mother, she has that eternal slight sadness that stems from worry about your children. Mother Grin was tall, extremely thin, and had a tiny pair of wings on her back. She educated my lead character, Check, about his family history and about the fact that he was partially a Grin.

The story goes that my characters in all these games are partially Grin. They are not aware of it in most cases, and cannot travel like a real Grin could, but they are connected; different versions of each other that have no idea the other exists.

So over the next few weeks or months I want to talk more about this and write some stories, and hopefully connect my ideas from when I was younger to now.

Beau

Can’t say I know what to write. I am simply a Raki with a ship, and I like to sail.

So many people just sit in stink inside shaded rooms, waiting for the mean sun to go down. I don’t do that, I go after life harder than that. My paws do better when being active, not sat on. But I’m not stupid in my pursuits.

I came from Elf lands, but they are a little too pretty for me. I spend most of my time in Thestra, hunting after shiny bits of adventure and running clear of danger. Sometimes, it’s not that easy. Luckily, I have a cat named Bete and a horse named Royal, and they can think clearer than me most of the time.

I lost my family to the Shadows years ago, save for a small whip of a cousin. My family had a servant, and he’s out there somewhere, asking for me. Occasionally I send him some gold.

There’s not much to me. I don’t have many ambitions, and don’t see the point in working so hard just to wind up chest down on a freshly trampled lawn, with a magical hum vibrating your teeth. There’s too much to see and do without risking ear and fur.

Now, pass me a drink. I’ll wait here for the weather to clear up a bit before I go.

Rikoo Rakoo.

______________________________
Walking over to Dellorn’s table from the darkest corner in the Tooth and Nail, Luper’s hooded figure winks at Dellorn. She grins and her large red eyes sparkle in the candle light as she says, “For a drink with you my fury friend, I will gladly scribble down a story or two.”

Taking a seat next to Dellorn, Luper fidgets with her bags, which each look very unique in size, shape, and color. “Where did I put that darned thing?” She says to herself aloud, while continuing to rummage through a large bag that looks to be made out of some kind of foreign skin. It resembles a large eye, which is a bit creepy, but you are distracted when she pulls out an enchanted quill! It glows purple and has a giant ruby at the end of it in the shape of a spider. “Ah, there it is,” she says. “I’d hate to use your ink dear Dellorn for my stories may be a bit long.”

Luper settles into her chair and takes off her hood, revealing her silky long red hair. You can see the scars on her face, but they don’t take away from her attractive Elvin features. They blend in with her complexion, bringing character to her face. She grins as she begins to write and her large pointy ears move subtly.

Luper sworn ally to the Brotherhood of the Spider: Tournament Champion and Dragonslayer

I am Luper. 50 seasons, I have lived in this world of Telon. I have traveled the world and ventured into the dangerous darkness and some of the most beautiful places. Although I have left my homeland many times, I carry the banner of Hathor Zhi proudly. I yearn for knowledge and friendship. Oh, and I have a thing with blood.

My story begins in Hathor Zhi. As a young Dark Elf, I found my love for the magic’s quickly. I would write my name in the sand from the blood of mosquitoes that lived near my camp as cruel as that sounds. I loved the adrenaline rush I got from the blood. Ah, the blood. It became an addiction for me. I craved it. The energy from life is so powerful. I fear that many Telonians have forgotten this.

The other children in our village found me demented. I didn’t care though. I was happy by myself anyways. Not really, but I played it off that way. One day, super duper Luper wouldn’t be alone! That day was not far off.

Looking up, Luper smiled and licked her blood red lips.

One day, I had managed to get outside of the gates and venture to the hill near the Tiberian Firebirds. I liked to just sit up there and watch the lake. It was quite calming. Usually, the area was clear of unfamiliar creatures, but on this day, I found a character that didn’t quite fit at all. She was a tiny little thing, and she kept putting her feet in the water and taking them out. Every few seconds, I’d hear her giggle. It intrigued me how something so simple could be so funny.

I found myself walking to the edge of the pond. As I got closer, I could see what she was doing. She had red scales that glistened and reflected in the water. Her feet kept turning red and then blue as she put them in the water. I had a feeling she had some kind of magical power. I knew I had to speak with my trainer Litrak Drathil shortly, so I pulled out a controlling symbiote and attached it to the tiny dragon. As I walked to my trainer, I learned the creature’s name, which was Ruby. I decided to let Ruby go after I convinced her that I would not harm her. She then proceeded to follow me everywhere I went. After awhile, she became a good friend to me.

This is the story of my dear friend Ruby and how we met. I’m sure there will be many a story to add to this book, but I have not the time to write another at this moment. My quill and I shall return another day.

Farewell,

~Luper

As Luper wrote the final words for her first entry, she grinned and placed her quill into one of her bags. She stood up from her chair, and handed Dellorn the book. “Sorry, I cannot write you another story, my friend. I must be on my way. My allies await me at the gates of Ancient Port Warehouse. Perhaps, I will bring you a story for your book, if I should return.”

I walked in, sat on a stool. The place already held more citizens than I liked, and I hardly made eye contact with the barkeep to order. He set down a large cup of wine. I sipped it quickly, to build up courage.
Then she came down the stairs, the same time as always. She took her seat at the end of the bar, and folded her hands in her lap. The barkeep smiled at her while I watched and sat her drink down in front of her. I got up and walked over.

“Hello again.” I said, nervous. She smiled and reached out her hand. I let it sit on my arm and she squeezed it mildly. She was beautiful, and blind. “Dropping off goods?” she asked. “As always. I brought you some nice things. At least, they seemed nice.” She smiled. “Why?” she asked me.

At that moment, when you are sitting next to a beautiful blind Raki girl, and you need to think of something to say that sounds spontaneous, the first thing to do is to take a drink. That will give you time.

“Well,” I started “I uhm, thought you might like them, they are just, well…”

She took a drink and smiled out of the side of her mouth, she was enjoying this. We have been flirting like this for months now. She had no idea that I wanted to grab her every time I saw her.

Just then a dwarf backed into me, laughing. My hand pushed into my drink and, as my luck would have it, spilled all over the lovely blind Raki to my left. She gasped and raised her arms to the side like you do when something cold and wet spills on you.

I immediately turned to the dwarf and pushed him back. He laughed at me, and grunted something. Satisfied, I turned back to her. She had already recieved a cloth to wipe her lap with. A pretty young Raki doesn’t wait long for assistance. “Sorry, uhm, about that…” I stammered. My face burnt. “It’s all right. I didn’t really like that wine anyway!” She was smiling. She was incredible.

Suddenly I felt hot breath on the back of my neck. I knew it was the dwarf, and I could feel a small point in the small of my back. He had pulled out his dagger and some courage. He mumbled something else. It sounded rude. “I don’t need a fight tonight, you. Go sit down, let’s forget this.” And I meant it. I came for a drink next to her, not a hole in the back. I could smell him, and he smelt like fear, mixed with anger. I have learned to use my nose as my intuition. He meant harm, for sure. This would hurt. I turned to look at him, hoping again to talk it out.

Suddenly a huge paw enveloped the top of his head, and claws unsheathed and dug into his cheeks. One claw went directly into his eye. It was strange, it went in clean and with no blood. His face became ashen, and started to lean back. I turned away as I felt the point of the dagger come away from my back, and heard him being dragged to the ground, felt his foot hit my stool legs and kick.

She sat there, a look of fear and wonder on her face. I doubt she had heard such sounds before. I heard the dwarfs muffled Yelp, and then a slight crunch, and his foot stopped kicking.

I reached into my pocket and pulled out a gold coin. I hooked it into my finger and threw it at the barkeep as hard as I could. It smacked his face with a small THIP and he leaned back into some glasses, and they broke on the floor. “Your HEALER! Now!” He held onto his cheek, and then blnked at me. He waved at a female around the corner, and she ran out to get help.

I looked at the girl. She had covered her ears. I leaned over and pulled one away from her ear. I whispered into it: “I think I’m in love with you.” and placed the hand back over her ear. I hopped down off the stool and walked out.

As I untied my boat, my horse puffed at me. He could sense the tension. From the dark slunk a large black cat, and it slithered onto my boat and hid in the shadows of the crates I was shipping. I didn’t ask any questions.

As we floated off, I looked down and realized that I had forgotten her little treasures. At least now I had another reason to visit her.

I hope she forgives me and realizes that I’m not violent. But my friends are.

Rikoo Rakoo

JUST TO BE SAFE I am playing on balanced with a few things turned up. But it’s playing great, 40-50 FPS.

Anyway, I’ve been doing quests for the Ancients at the Shrine of the Ancients. They are this strange race, and look like a cross between the good and evil creatures from the Dark Crystal. I am loving the quests and the lore they have given, and have ran into some group quests, so I need to get a group together to do ‘em.

Anyway, one of them gave me this bow:

I know, I know. It does some decent damage but doesn’t have any effects. But man, I got it and it looks awesome, and it’s MINE. I was more excited for this bow than I have been better pieces. And they gave it to ME, and no one else.

Well, except the other players that did the quest! lol

But I love it, it looks beautiful and is MINE. I need a good name for it.

Beau

Also, visit THIS POST to see some more talk about the area!

So after leaving behind the perma-death part of my experiment, I have been rejuvinated with adventuring spirit! It has been so fun to get back out into the world, run some quests and to do some more skinning and reaping, and doing all of it backed up by rules that are so ingrained in me now that I can’t play anyway else!

I use my handy map, and it is slowly getting filled in. But I use it less and less. Just like you don’t need a map around your city, I am starting to memorize all the areas I frequent, and can usually know which in which direction they should be.

And taking time to read the quests and to get to know the stories of the NPC’s involved has made the game feel more alive. While some complain that the NPC’s need more movement, and I tend to agree, I don’t notice at all between the movement that IS there and the fact that the stories are so diverse and sometimes emotional.

Firstly, let me say that my original intention was to go down to the Wardship of the Sleeping Moon, being that I have heard there are great quests and great armor to be had! I am familiar with the area and headed out on boat and finally arrived at the Southern tip of the swamp. Within a few quests, however, I was asked to travel North to visit a half giant. This entire snowy, hilly area is a hotbed for incredible sightseeing and quests! One of the first things I was asked to do is to go into the fortress type valley and to read the runes inscribed on the “Monolith’s of Torshiem” (Bear in mind that I do not keep notes during my play sessions, thanks to Immersion Rules I pretty much keep everything I can in memory.)

The awe-inspiring views of GIANT LAND!

Being a Ranger, I was able to stealth my way down to the area where the first Monoliths are. I was blown away by their size! Luckily, the mobs around the area were just perfect for a level 30 solo Ranger, so I ticked some of them off my list as well. As I would approach a different Monolith, my quest would update because I had read the runes. Snow began to fall, and it was actually one of the most beautiful sites I have seen in Vanguard.

The Giant that is a Crybaby

I HAD to look around as I did quests. The same NPC told me to go deeper into the valley to check up on some other Monoliths. I had some more of those actually scary moments as I climbed further down into the area, scaling on the tops of walls and falling almost to my death. There is a sense of scale there that I have rarely felt, even in Vanguard! As I completed the quests I snuck around while talking to Luper in tells. (Me and her can talk in tells since she’s my co-host! hehe) She told me there was a giant in the area, somewhere. It wasn’t long before I found him! On his wrist he wore a bracelet made out of the head of a giant Elk!

If he’s blind, why is he staring daggers at me?

I was sent eventually to Mimgrar the Blind, a hermit living on the opposite side of the valley. It was awesome to find someone living within all this danger, and living pretty well. I actually felt intimidated by this guy. I mean, I’m a Raki, so everything is larger than me…but this guy made me as a Ranger look like a baby. And to think I thought I was tough, scraping arrows out of branches and making pecan pies out of bark! I am currently trying to accomplish one of the Blin Man’s tasks, but the mobs are not only hard to get to, but they kick my ass too.

Who doesn’t want new STUFF??

At the end of one of the quests, you get a very cool weapon. Being that they had just patched in some new BOP rules, this quest item was tradeable! WOO HOO! Did I sell it, though, HELL NAH. It was a pretty weapon, too, and deadlier at that!

And on to new AREAS!

I ventured down a bit to finally find Southwatch, a killer area made perfectly for a level 30. Someone told me to try the “missives”, which are basic assignments tacked onto a public “bulletin board” type thing in the middle of town. One thing I realized while in Southwatch is how hilly and ever-changing the landscape of Telon is, especially compared to other MMO’s. Southwatch itself is made up of hills, and you can look down and see players 3 yards lower that you going about their business.

The missives were quick fun, and led me into new areas and new quests that I will talk about later. I found an incredible looking light house, and lady that raises Griffons. Also, I did a heartbreakin quest that led me into level 35 plus areas.

With the missives I have heard that as you accomplish them you gain little awards that you can trade in for gear and items. I have been told to save up as many as possible, at least 10, being turning them in, so that I get better gear. I am doing just that. The missives are really just good lil quick quests, with some harder, more involved ones sprinkled in. I am so caught up right now that I need to remember to get back to the snowy land of giants to finish up my business there.

be sure to head to the NW area of Thestra. Check out the snow and the sounds..overall it is one of the scariest and thrilling areas I have ever witnessed. I am going to try to do all the content in the area, as long as it takes!

Rikoo Rakoo

Beau Turkey

But I did. I found it. I sailed for a few days and asked around, and there it was.

I was sent by some Elf to the cold North, not too far away, but high enough to make me nervous and to make me cold.

There was some good harvesting along the way, though. Firegrass prices were still stable, and I needed a break from making arrows all day. I might even get into crafting bags out of firegrass. If not, I have friends that could use the materials.

I could see the tower she described to me, but above it flew a massive bird. I wasn’t sure about this anymore, and after my drowning I wanted to be so careful in life anymore that I wanted to turn back right then. The elf had told me that she, and others, could now help bring me back from the brink of death if I needed. Also, she “attuned” me to the local magic, so that if I were to fall in battle, I would wake up later unharmed, for the most part.

It would still hurt, though.

And there were the gates. The inside of my armor was fogged and snow began to fall. Likely place to find half-giants.

I began to do a few errands for some local folk, but was taken aback by the sheer size of the place. I felt my stomach turning at the great heights, but pressed on. I was curious about some of the Monoliths from the area, and sneaking around dim-witted half giants proved to be relatively easy. Not falling off a cliff would be a different story.

I am still trying to read them all. I tussled with a few giants, and barely survived. I stayed stealthy, and tried to hug the shadows. Frankly, I am so scared of that blackness I had felt after my drowning, that I almost couldn’t move. But at night, the breeze died down, and it was so quiet that I would have sworn that I could hear the snow falling. Each flake fell so slow that it almost froze there, in the air.
Even the half giants seemed mezmerized by it. All we could do was watch as the cold stone became softened by a blue-white layer of snow. I knew then that I had to go on in this world, that I could not go on scared of death. This world was too big, too fantastic. I wanted to see it all.

I will continue in thisarea for as long as I can. I want to understand the giant’s culture more. There are some humans back in town that seem to know much much more than me, so I will try to bring everything I learn back to them.

And I can only hope for more night in the land of the Giants.

Rikoo

Essentially I was on the Ustream (see home page..the little live button) showing off for players. One of them asked me to try out a flying mount, and being that it might be a new player I decided to.

I flew off, and the mount fell out from under me. Luckily, I landed in water. Then, phone call time. I made sure Rikoo’s head was out of the water before I walked off to talk on the phone, but when I came back a few minutes later, he was but a corpse.

The people in the chat room didn’t give too many details, but some were saying it was a bug that did it, and that it shouldn’t count. I tend to agree, but dammit if quite a few people saw the death, which would solidify it as qualifying. I immediately logged out, without rezzing at the stone or anything.

So, he is dead. According to all rules, for at least 2 months. Now I can see that is wayyyyyy too long. I couldn’t stand not playing Rikoo for 2 months. He’s got too many things to do. So I have discussed it with Luper, my wife, and other players. The cool thing about this “Immersion Project” is that it IS a project, not a DIE-HARD set of rules. I mean, there ARE rules of course, but this thing has always been an experiment, or better yet, an art project first and foremost. If it is NOT fun, there is no point.

I thought of having a ceremony with as many players that would like to show up. At the ceremony they would chant for a few minutes or repeat after what my alt says. I have an alt parked there now. Then, I would simply log Rikoo in. While that sounds fun and a great role-play event opportunity, it might be hard to get going being that I play mostly during the day. Of course, I could film it and other could view it live on the Ustream site.
Either way, I need to get him back to action. I might just convince a powerful healer to go to the altar at QA and to perform a spell, rezzing Rikoo.

I have to get comfortable with the fact that death IS a part of the magic in Telon. The main reason there are heroes is because of this healing/rezzing ability some other heroes have.

Let’s say I learned my lesson. Perma-death feels great, but I can’t stand it. I’m only Raki, after all.

Recently, I decided to ditch my in-game map (easier than it seems) and would only allow myself to find my way around using a physical, real life printed map with no markers (harder than you would think.) Right away I realized how much I relied on the in-game map and how little of the landscape and landmarks I truly remembered.
I have been getting used to it, and it has been a blast, if not confusing. I am following the other Immersion Rules pretty closely, and mostly using role-play type speech. I have been receiving a ton of emails and in-game letters of support, and my character seems to be growing in my mind as a real person.
I have to say that it is getting hard to play other games non-immersive style. In game maps, tool-tips and markers for quests are getting pretty cumbersome. Everything in other games seems to be flashing by, and seems to be ignored by many players.
Don’t get me wrong, what makes a good many MMO’s great would be their ability to suck you and your friends in and knock you around for a bit, like a thrill ride. And I have characters and games I still play that way in, and still have a blast in.
But I am definitely enjoying my little Raki adventurer the most.

And that’s why he needs to die.

First let me tell you that Vanguard has a wonderful spell that your character can cast on his/herself that will essentially make all XP count for nothing! In other words, with the spell you can stop leveling. Many players could use it so that they can continue to play in a certain area of quest line while their friend is away, and when they return they will have remained the same level. Or it is useful for people that want to get a quest line done without out-leveling it.
I am going to use it to stop my characters growth, period. He is currently level 28. At level 30 he would gain access to another tier of spells, mounts, and abilities. My first thought was to get him to 30 THEN to start this segment of the project. But then I realized that although this experiment is not “anti-level”, the idea is to leave my character as is, like we would be in real life. We all cap out at some point, and there are some “mobs” in real life we just can’t beat, like a dragon. Or a crappy boss.
So leaving him at 28, an odd level, is perfect. No new mounts for me when GU5 comes out. No new abilities. All I can do now is learn my abilities and weapons like the back of my paw, and learn what areas of the world are far to dangerous for me.
Because if this character dies, just once, accidentally or through a bug, then that is it. He is dead, and retired. Now, I am using all these dramatic pauses and extra sentence breaks for my own benefit. Perhaps as I type it I will gain some sense.
I am not worried that I could not go through with it. I have already avoided using the in game map at all. I can avoid “rezzing” my character.
So I am going to start out slow. I am in a major city right now, Khal, and will start branching out from there. I am going to learn basic crafting, so that I can reap and skin the raw materials to make beginner bags. I will make my money that way until I can get a boat. In the meanwhile I will catch rides when I can.
I will have to plan out my route very carefully, and will try to mark my map with warnings and notes on what to avoid.

I don’t want to kill my Raki! I really have grown fond of him. But my ideal MMO has some form of perma-death, as well as different leveling systems, so this is an attempt to test out some of my theories. And it’s fun as hell, too. And Vanguard just happens to be one of the BEST games for this type of thing. It’s large, but can be walked across. It is beautiful, and feels real.

This means that I will be ignoring my mothers map, which, along with the note left behind, asked me to travel to the great volcano area in Qalia. I have heard now that the area is about as deadly as it gets, so I will avoid it.

Wish me luck! If Rikoo dies, I will be a sad sad nerd!