A New Adventure - Who are you?

I have by no means a completed ANYTHING in UO. After 15 years, playing off and on, I can't say that I have one completed character, vast amounts of wealth, or even seen 70% of the UO content. That's on Catskills, a standard shard. Sure, I have a few characters with a bunch of GM skills, and the only skill I have on any character at 120 is Blacksmithing (Hmmm.. Though if they'd hurry up and implement a Mining or Lumberjacking skill scroll so it can increase your chances of getting a higher resource bump, I'd have those by hook or by crook.. Noted for future ranting). Maybe a few odds and ends that might be considered rare from stuff like heritage tokens, vet rewards and the like.. But aside from that? I got bupkis. Hell, I think my primary warrior character only has a +5 stat scroll, and maybe 110 Swordsmanship. And that's it! And that character was created in the first 3 months of the game (Coldren). My first character was actually, SURPRISE, a miner/smith. And I've been in the same guild, and no other, ever since.

Not that I'm complaining, mind you. I'm not really a competitive-in-anything player, a PvPer, a completionist, nor a collector. I'm just not compelled to have a big house, kill others, make a ton of money, or obtain items that I'll never look at again. I'm a utilitarian at heart. There's plenty I could do there, and one day might still. It's not like they're going anywhere - Even when I played them they really didn't.

But I'm leaving it all behind for the moment, likely permanently, for Siege. Not as an option of "last resort" as is a common sentiment shared by others on the forum when someone does go to Siege - I would have kept playing where I was anyway. I'm moving here for a basic reason: Community.

Now you have to understand I tried Siege, even if for an hour or two, in the past. Every time I'd make a character, I'd end up deleting it and then hiding his stuff somewhere on the ground for my new character to come grab it. I'd get ganked, or get looted by a skeleton, my gains would be slow, and I'd get frustrated, perhaps a little to easily. Siege isn't that shard anymore as far as I can tell. All of this happened before 2 major changes - The RoT mechanic changes, and the addition of global chat.

This time, just because of those two things, it seemed different. The first thing I did was switch to general chat (You start out in help, be sure to leave this channel if you ever go to Siege). I signed in, "Hello, Siege!".. What happened next shocked the beejebus out of me. No less than 15 people responded. Not only did they respond, but they struck up a conversation. I asked about a NEW2 emissary, "Sorry, there isn't one on.. Do you need something?" And they used complete sentences!

When I finally did get to meet up with LadyRaja (who was IMPECCABLY dressed) to join NEW2 at one of their houses, we were greeted by a lovely fellow named Chumlee. He was very cordial and polite, also using complete sentences. Asked a few questions, struck up some conversation. He then turns to Raja and the following exchange occurs (Paraphrasing - I think I have the chat log, but I'll have to check when I get home):

Chumlee: So Raja, are you a good mage?
Raja: Yes...
Chumlee: Can you rez?
Raja: .. Yes..
Chumlee: Good! Welcome to Siege! *Shoots me with an arrow, kills me in one shot*
Chumlee: ... I told him I'd welcome him..

Nice one, Chumlee. Such a delightful red.

Then Raja showed me around the NEW2 house, invited me to the guild, and Freja showed up. They showed me around their place in New Magincia, and when Raja left, Freja and I had a delightful conversation about UO, how times had changed, when Siege opened, etc.. I then set off to make my way in the world.

I've spent maybe 10 or so hours playing over the last few days, and only so little because I just don't have the time. My gains have been just fine, and even when I hit 70 when RoT kicks in, it's not that bad, and will actually turn out to be an advantage as a crafter. For those of you who don't know, RoT means you will only gain a point after so much time. So it's conceivable that as a cafter, I can make a few items, make something to gain my .1, then do something else where gains don't matter. This can save a LOT on resources working up a trade. And that's fine, because most of my time is spent mining and lumberjacking. I think of the 7 skills I chose to start with, all but 1 are above 50, with 2 above 70.

I had a bit of a hard time finding some things on player vendors, but a simple inquiry in general chat and someone would always give you a polite answer (And yes, sometimes there is a smartass remark too). Everyone just seems so helpful. Sure, there are some smack talkers (I'm looking at you, Bo), but even then, they can be quite entertaining. Bo, for example, likes to speak in the third-person. But there's always a conversation.

I even went through my collection of items from characters I kept recreating on the shard, and found 2 heritage tokens. I asked what the going rate was (1.4 million) and said I'll take any offer. Someone offered me 700k to buy it on the spot, and I was happy to do so. I didn't need the item, and I don't really need a million, but starting money is always helpful. And besides, whether SirAJ keeps it or not is up to him, but I'm sure he's more pleased having it than I was holding on to it for no reason. He was even kind enough to throw in a full spellbook because I was having trouble finding one.

And Petra, THANK YOU FOR YOUR SHOP! So much useful stuff at a good price for new players. I'll be happy to help contribute resources and gold towards it. If I hadn't sold my heritage token, it wouldn't have taken me long to get the things I needed at the prices you were asking. It's a really great thing you do for the community, and I hope to return the favor one day. Thank you, thank you, thank you.

Tina Small, Freja, LadyRaja, thank you for all your help and advice. I'm a proud man, and it was never my intent to ask for a handout, but you all offered in spades, and I can't thank you enough. It will be remembered, and if there's ever anything I have that you guys need (Ingots, Lumberjacking resources, and whatever else I harvest), it's yours, no questions or money asked.

You notice all the NAMES? I remember names. I see the same names over and over. I see the same types of conversation, I know what to expect based on who's talking, and there is almost always someone talking. This.. This is what I really missed the most about UO, and why I still play, and why I'm staying with Siege. Sure, there will be friction. I'm sure I'll be killed more often than not once my one month in NEW2 is up (Unless I'm allowed to stay on as a supplier/adviser of sorts). Sure I'll hit the RoT wall from time to time and bang my head off the wall. Sure, I might be out farming and lose my LRC suit, causing me to run right back to Petra, gold in hand. But that isn't what's important to me.

I don't go to in game events, usually because of time. I don't do raids or champ runs or major group activities on any game, again, mostly because of time. I don't have a need for items. I don't want the best PvE or PvP template and gear. I don't even want gold for what I do, or really need to see everything there is in the game. But on Siege, even I have a place. People know for the most part what I want to do on the shard - I want to harvest, I want to craft and sell or practically give away what I make, and I want to occasionally jump into a conversation. I want to be part of a community again, to fill some small role and actually help make the community a better place. Where people like me, who are just arriving, will appreciate what I do, even if there are many others with more time who can do more. And I think I found where I can do just that.

Thank you, Siege.

And thanks for reading.