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Grabbing Nelkum, hoisting him .. Tokai escapes east; Genge: Barbarians

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|   Editor's Note                                                             |  
|                                                                             |  
|   Roleplay, Stories and Poetry    - Sub-Editor: Aragon                      |  
|     Nations' News:                                                          |  
|       Khzad                           - by Romani                           |  
|       Pixie                           - by Romani                           |  
|       Quendi                          - by Romani                           |  
|       Uruk'hai                        - by Romani                           |  
|       Hobbit                          - by Romani                           |  
|       Ilythiiri                       - by Romani                           |  
|       Il'Kahn                         - by Mari                             |  
|       Gralthai                        - by Mari                             |  
|     Stories:                                                                |  
|       Nameless Story                  - Anonymous                           |  
|       Story of the Drow               - Tokai                               |  
|     Poetry:                                                                 |  
|       Would it Matter?                - Aragon                              |  
|                                                                             |  
|   News From Around The Realms     - Sub-Editor: Aslan                       |
|     Reunion Memories                - Aslan                                 |  
|                                                                             |
|   Quests, Games And Humour        - Sub-Editor: Babui                       |
|     What Is This?                   - by Babui                              |
|     Titles!                         - by Babui                              |
|     Humor Submissions               - by Babui                              |
|     Wedding Congratulations         - by Babui                              |
|     Cry of Despair Quest            - by Alysira                             |
|                                                                             |
|   RoD Knowledge And Information   - Sub-Editor: Genge                       |
|     A Guide To Barbarians           - by Genge                              |
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| Editor's Note                                                     By: Genge |
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Hello,
  I chose a rather colourful border for this month - in my defense, it's August
and you're expected to make things shiny and colourful. That's not what this
note is about.
  Some people submit articles without names or titles on them. It's great that
you want to contribute, but if you don't include your name and the title of the
article in your mudmail, we cannot promise that either will be in the Cry.
                                                                   - The Editor

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| Roleplay -> News                                                 By: Romani |
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To the Dwarves of these Realms,
 
   Time, the ravager of kings and kingdoms, has struck the Reach. The dwarven
community has begun taking the steps towards rebuilding the Reach, reopening
the mines and rekindling the fires.
   The Bastonville has reopened, and Nvuz has been serving drinks again. He
was quite surprised to see many old dwarves at the table, drinking merrily. We
ordered so many Stoneheft Stouts that the poor barkeep had to water it down
just to serve us all.
   Also, there's a new Thane.
   And finally, this is a call to all dwarves who wish to join the Nation, and
to those who may have left us before. Your faces would be a welcome sight in
the Reach.

----------

This is PNN, your source for Pixie News
 
The ship PNS Taffy has been released from quarantine.
 
The Taffy was on a cargo run from Ocean Keep to Irae. It stopped in Irae
It was stuck in Irae when it was learned that the plague in the city had
been spread to the ship.  One of the crew, a flight lieutenant  Pollybell 
'Pippy' Weedle, was struck with the Illness. Fortunately, Cleric Meedah
Rabbling was able to find a cure for the illness.
 
The Taffy has returned to Ocean Keep. Air Commodore Eashavir Ruk'Thop, the
Captain of the Taffy was unavailable for comment. He is rumored to be the
next Captain of the PNS Tiramisu, the new Pixie schooner
 
In other news, Faradhi has been appointed the new Pixie Divine.
Farahdi, a cleric of Sh'vath will be donning the feathered hat and robes
of the high office. He will be responsible for the health and protection of
the pixie spirit.

----------

A new Elven High Council was appointed on May 26, 2005 by our own Aran Gildeth
Calon Dracos and the seats are as follows:
 
Aran (King) - Gildeth Calon Dracos
Taren (Prince) - Shareed Marius Dracos
Aran en Turnar (King's Councilor) - Bodileir Caliver
Cala'Amandil (High Priest) - Cleryst Waterlord
Megiltura (Sword Master) - Sotei
Val'istar (Archmage) - Talisha Dracos
Kiirar en' Mainka (Chronicler of Trade) - Annale Firestorm
 
The Faradome Festival (A celebration of Summer.) - was held on Thursday, June
30th.  Thanks goes out to Annale Firestorm, Sotei and Aran Gildeth for all of
their hard work in preparing for the festival.  A wonderful time was had by
all who attended.  There was a great deal of food and games along with prizes.
A bard competition was held as well, the winner being our own Aran en
Turnar, Bodileir Caliver for best performance! Congratulations Bodileir!   

----------

A note from Megiltura Sotei:  If you are interested in joining the elven
military, you will be welcome among us. We currently need warriors of all
kinds to defend these lands. I ask all elves to contribute to this cause in
one way or another. Let us keep the peace and drive away any threats that may
haunt this land. (For more information, contact Sotei or see the board in
Arborlon's Archive Hall)
 
The Elven Nation is calling for all elvish families to submit their family
history or to donate books that would be of interest to the nation and its
citizens.  Scribes will be available to copy those books or pages which you
wish to keep in your family's possession but desire the nation to have a
copy of. (If you have any questions, contact Talisha or visit the board in
Arborlon.)
 
Applications to the Istimamen' en Selu (Academy of Magical Arts) are now being
accepted.  Anyone wishing to enroll at the academy, either as a student or a
teacher, should send their application to Talisha Dracos.  All applicants will
be contacted for an interview prior to enrollment.

There are many new activities sprouting up in Arborlon and so many more that
could be started.  Please bring your Elvish Character to the hometown and see
what's new! Don't have an elf? What are you waiting for?!  New members and old
alike are welcome.  If you have questions about what there is to do and see in
Arborlon, please contact Aran Gildeth or any of the council members for more
details.

----------

From the Opallinoc News Bureau:
 
Dateline the Great Bonfire in Opallinoc -
The Summer Solstice celebration was over and Klaatu surveyed the remnants.
Muttering about cost overruns and insurance for the Uruk'hai exuberance, Klaatu
had a plan. Scanning the area, he spied Raj, the Uruk'hai Battlemaster, and
Lanthaos, who had aspirations of being Trade Minister, lounging about.
He strode toward them, keeping as straight a path as possible given the effects
of Meeka's swill. Klaatu said, "How about a little adventure eh?" Lanthaos
raised his head, looking curious. Raj just groaned, he knew. Klaatu further
explained his money making idea - Mithril hall for plunder and gold!
 
Dateline Mithril Hall -
With Raj and Lanthaos in tow, Klaatu arrived at Mithril Hall. Finding a lack
of gold on the dWARven denizens residing there, a midasing mage was engaged.
The semi-sober trio raced up and down the hallways, slashing and hacking
anything that they came upon. Looting corpses and actually dumping piles of
loot at the mercenary mage's feet. The volume of items overwhelmed the Midas
mage, causing a side trip to DarkHaven for mana potions. Again the trio, now
more sober and getting a lust for combat, charged at anything that moved
Drizzt, Cattie, Artemis, Pwent and his battleragers - all were no match.
Finally the gold was totaled, the mage paid, shares distributed and funding
for the Autumnal Equinox Gala provided.

----------

          Greetings all Hobbits in the land. In the spring we had a joyous
celebration to welcome all the new baby Hobbits into the Burrows. I am
sorry but those babies are not returnable. Lately our police have been
receiving many calls late at night. I must remind you that your neighbors
necks are not proper feeding grounds for your young vampires. A large
fine will be issued for each attack and pint of blood lost, you must teach
your baby proper vampire etiquette.
          My sympathy go out to the many parents of thieves who thought
that their children might support their families by bringing home large
sums of lunch money. In time I am sure your childrens' bruises will heal
or they may find broken noses quite attractive. Please parents of thieves
remember that warrior babies can be quite deadly. As for those of you
who sent your ranger babies on an exploration, they have been found,
I am sorry.
         Now that school has begun and all of you are storing away your
herbs, vegetables and tobacco please feel free to pick the leaves
from our blackberry bushes and add them to your collection.
though we try to have peace with every nation, here are a few sample
recipes you might enjoy.

----------

         Beat 8 lizard eggs till you feel better, then scramble them and put
them in the bottom of a pan. Mix together equal parts of milk and ground
troll meal, add two cups of blackberries and put them all together in a pan.
Now add a bit of sugar to sprinkle on top and then cover the pan with plenty
of pixie wings, with or without pixies attached.  Bake in the coals of the 
fire until knife dipped in troll meal doesn't scream. Serve with wine and
cheese if you like. 
                       Footprint pie
Empty the mud from a half-ogre footprint and carefully allow it
to dry. Add one broken heart, Sprinkle with plenty of cinnamon and
sugar to get rid of any bitter flavor. Add the meat from 4 crabs
one noisy chipmunk, and cover well with the fat of a flatterer
with a lying tongue. Top with plenty half-elf promises and cover
with cheddar cheese. This tasty dinner seems to be able to cook
itself, perhaps because it's so close to the fires of hell.
                  sincerely Zasperlyn
                  Thain of the Hobbit People

----------

After a slight break, I have come to terms with exactly what I have planned
for the lovely Drow Nation. Although I am not giving up any details just yet,
I will be launching a large plot for all Drow Role-players (old and new) to
take part in.
 
This plot will mark the return of role-play to the DN, and is nearly ready for
launch! So everyone keep your bloody eyes peeled... or we'll rip them right
out of your faces.

If you wish to take part of this action, please check the Drow Nation Board in
the City of Iniquity.

Phalar

----------

            ATTENTION ORCS AND HALF-ORCS OF THE REALMS OF DESPAIR!!!
 
  The grand Lesser Chieftain has summoned all orcs to the caves of Mount
Krozloy, as once more we will be opening the military facilities! For
too long has our proud mountain's only defense been the uncivilized
militia.
  Any who are interested in the highest form of service to the throne
of Krozloy should come armed and prepared to fight!

----------

                                [-]
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                         ---     '-'
                         -  ____|_____
                      ____|__/    |    /
                     /    | /     |   /
                    /     |(      |  (
                   (      | \     |   \
                    \     |  \____|____\   /|
                    /\____|___`---.----` .' |
                .-'/      |  \    |__.--'    \
              .'/ (       |   \   |.          \
           _ /_/   \      |    \  | `.         \
            `-.'    \.--._|.---`  |   `-._______\
               ``-.-------'-------'------------/
                   `'._______________________.'   
The Ships are at sea as the Gith buy and trade with the wealthy
of the lands. Any wishing to participate may do so by contacting
one of the following. Aslan, Captain (Gralthai Pirates) 
Mari, Queen (Githyanki) Heathir, Queen (Githzerai)

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| Roleplay -> Stories - > Nameless Story                        By: Anonymous |
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A small girl, her two braids bouncing as she skipped over the cobblestones 
that made up Kestame Road, entered the Green Thumb with a bright smile. 

"Morning, Olbion!" She greeted the elderly shopkeeper brightly, her flushed
cheeks giving away her activity outside. 
 
Olbion greeted Sefy with a slight nod and a grudging smile as he held out a 
hand for the package she carried. Wrapped in brown paper with a white string
securing the folds, it was obvious something delicate was kept inside. A single
white petal peeked from the opening at the top revealing that the last of 
lilies had finally bloomed for Olbion to tend to. The source behind the healthy
glow now lingering upon each Elohai.
 
"Tilea says to be really nice to it!" She giggles as she retrieves several
candies from the man and disappears once again into the street.

From the open doorway, it was evident that life had once again begun within
Eldestra and people were returning to their normal routines. The sound of 
Antaar, now permanently appointed Captain of the Guard, could often be heard 
giving instruction to his men. Tension had also been released with the 
immediate dismissal of Caltrinia, now a former member of the Elohai Council. 
With her angry departure new plans were made to strengthen inside the City 
without the corruption that was coming from within. Even Andraxus, who was 
her mentor, no longer had a voice without his sole supporter to feed his ideas
to the others.
 
The sound of Sefy's voice once more carried through the open shop as she 
greeted people tending their chores. As she always had, Sefy began handing out
wreaths of jasmine to wear upon their heads in remembrance of their history. 
Whispers of an upcoming celebration quickly traveled from home to home. A 
celebration of the lives restored and to pay tribute to those who had recently
passed.
 
After a seemingly endless wait, the gates of Eldestra were finally opened one
more.

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| Roleplay -> Stories - > Story of the Drow                         By: Tokai |
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As the sun hits the streets again, Tokai is up and ready. Silk bathrobe on,
tied with a belt at the waist, wooden knife, compact and mirror inside his
bundle of clothes he's carrying, just like a normal citizen. "I look just like
them now, with my oh so fair and white skin." 
 
As the day went on, Tokai's confidence drained. For some reason, citizens
continued to give him curious glances, despite his skin colour. Children stood
and point while mothers hurriedly pulled their children along, whispering to
them. What is wrongggggg, he wails silently, as he glances nervously around
him.
 
A gust of wind blew past, causing Tokai's bathrobe to flap in the wind behind
him. Mothers screams, covering their young children's eyes; fathers stares in
amazement...for whatever reason; girls giggled to each other while guys ogled
Tokai.
 
Turning ten shades of red, Tokai speed walked away. "Maybe this isn't the best
thing to wear...."
 
Looking for a place to get changed and away from all these staring eyes, he
briskly walked out of the east gate when he bumped into a bunch of children
surrounding a statue, knocking him to the ground.

Child A "pretty please fly"
Nelkum utters the words, 'yrl'.

Child B "pretty please ice"
Nelkum utters the words, 'uqzgpuzre'.

His anger quickly turned into joy as he recognized Nelkum's voice. Looking up
in the direction of the voice, he was surprised the statue was..not a statue,
but the friend he has been searching for so long! Nelkum!

"Nelkum my buddy! Where have you been?! Do you remember me?! I'm Tokai!!" he
joyfully blurted! Grabbing Nelkum in a tight embrace, "my buddyy!!!".

This bonding moment was interrupted by Child C as he poked Tokai and said...
"excuse me, it's my turn". Bewildered, Tokai asks "what your turn?" "My turn
at Nelkum...would you let go of him please?".

Child C "pretty please..."

Tokai interrupts "What your turn? Nelkum is MINE! MINE MINE MINE!" Brandishing
his wooden knife, all protests quiet down...

Grabbing Nelkum and hoisting him on his back, Tokai escapes east, running from
the protesting and whining voices. "Oi...come back with Nelkum...!" "Hey!
Where do you think you're going?!" "Mummmyyyyyy....help meee...there's a big
big bad man in a bathrobe stealing Nelkum".
 
Running hard, with Nelkum heavy on his back, Tokai didn't notice a white
puddle of liquid on the ground. Slipping and falling flat on his face, causing
Nelkum to in turn, fall off his back, and land head first onto the ground in
front of him...Oh, the tragedy.
 
His face feels numb, but Tokai pushed himself up with his hands and looks
around with a dazed expression. A small puddle of blood has pooled by Nelkum's
head. "NelkuMMmmmmm!!!" Tokai screamed helplessly. Rushing to his side, he
cradled Nelkum in his arms, furiously trying to soak up the blood coming from
his head with his dirty bundle of clothes.
 
Out of no where, a druid by the name Mauzait ran out from the trees. Shocked,
he said "OMG! What did you do to Nelkum you elf!". Like an expert, Mauzait
grabbed some nearby leaves and made a balm in which he spread over Nelkum's
wounds. Satisfied that Nelkum is in good hands, Tokai handed Nelkum to Mauzait
, peering intently at Nelkum's condition.

Tokai lets out a long breath of relief...Nelkum is found, Nelkum is going to
be ok, and we can all go home now...He closes his eyes momentarily. When he
opened them, the druid was gone. But most importantly, Nelkum was gone too!
 
Tokai let out a bloodcurdling scream..."NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!"
As he gathered his thoughts as to where they might be...he recalled a strange
thing...the druid called him an elf. Drow, I'm a drow dammit. He brushed his
hands together, trying to get rid of the foundation on his hand. "mMm..they
won't come off". He turned his white hands. Grabbing the mirror, he checked
out his face. The puddle of white liquid has somehow..bleached his face white.
..."White-out, lovely.." he muttered.
 
Unable to bring Nelkum home, unable to enter the dark undergrounds of the drow
again, Tokai is destined to roam and explore the realms.... At least he can do
so without being stared at.
 
So, I guess everyone lived happily ever after. I guess.
 
 
--The End--
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| Roleplay -> Poetry -> Would It Matter?                           By: Aragon |
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By Aragon D'Elear-Damsana
 
If I died alone today,
Would it make a difference what I say?
 
If I fell asleep, never to awake,
Did I pray the lord my soul to take?
 
If I left and was never seen again
Would you look back and call me a friend?
 
If I lived my life, Just for me
Just to see how selfish I could be,
 
Would my friends turn their backs in the end,
And never acknowledge I was their friend?
 
Would I be missed by the people that mean the most,
Or simply fade away just like a ghost?

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| News -> Misc. -> Reunion Memories                                 By: Aslan |
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Dear all,
For those who went to the reunion I'd like you all to mudmail
me what you feel were the highlights for you and what you
would like to have seen or done. Submissions close on the
25th August 2005, only one submission per person (not including
alts). The top three submissions will also be showcased in the
CoD 100th Issue, so get writing and good luck.

Aslan de Rotheschilde

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+----------------------------------------------------------------------------
| Entertainment -> Humor -> What's This?                            By: Babui |
+----------------------------------------------------------------------------

Can you guess what this is?!...
 
244$$$$5$%1++*=-=*==+4$7.   =P112243$$$$$$$$$7    
333$3$$$3$$$44$RR+*124++1+++77$$$$$$$333$335+     
$33333333333$5PP$44$33$333$$33$3$33$3$$$$3P43P2-  
733333333$333333333333$333$3333333333$$3$3$.43-*  
74$33333$$3333$$333333333333333333$3$$2%43.30$72  
5%333333333333333333333333333333333333$$71==7**+  
43433333333333333333333333333333333333$3$$7477$7  
44333333333333333333333$33333$$33$3471117$3744%4  
422553333333$33333$3$3333333$$$3$*72      =37$$4  
44+733$$$$41*-.-3%+%$$3$3$$3$$$$. '1-      -3741  
*  +$$$34.     -4-  .13$$$$$$33-   +3       $237  
   *$$$1       =R-    =$$$$3$$3    '3      =32$2  
   -$$4'       .5=     =3$$3$$3-    =   '=7$$421  
    2$34=       77   '*$$$$$33$334%777%$3$3$31*+  
    .$$$$3471*=--=+743$33333333333$$$$3$$$$$- ''  
   '''13$$3$$33333$333333333333333$33$$$$7-       
    '''-%$333$$$333333333333$333$3$$$4+-          
    '--*. '%4P55533333333335553$443$2211++=-'     
   -- '=   .3555PPP555553$$351=-   =1*-=1717*     
  ..   '    -224427777%7*+27%*-......*7-  .-      
  
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| Entertainment -> Humor -> Titles!                                 By: Babui |
+----------------------------------------------------------------------------

Tical Umbramnia: RSVP Today@http://www.realmsreunion.com is hovering here.
Fanalax:  ______                     __               is sitting here.
Belanna: |   __ \.-----.--.--.-----.|__|.-----.-----. is sitting here.
Nehpets: |      <|  -__|  |  |     ||  ||  _  |     | is sitting here.
Elijah:  |___|__||_____|_____|__|__||__||_____|__|__| is sitting here.
Corel:       Visit http://www.realmsreunion.com/      is sitting here.

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+----------------------------------------------------------------------------
| Entertainment -> Humor -> Submissions!                            By: Babui |
+----------------------------------------------------------------------------

Is there some log, bio, title, events, random personal thoughts...or even
astrological or food stuff things you would like to share!? ANYTHING really...
 
Why not share your logs/thoughts/anything with the entire mud community?! Have
your logs and articles published on the CRY, so we all can know more new
random stuff or laugh at cute little silly peoples and events =P HAR...I mean.
...We can all be entertained in a nice polite fashion... *nod self*...
 
Oh oh! Or some ascii drawing you did you might want to share! ANYTHING!
Send me your article/log/note/whatever via mudmail! Yay! Send your mudmails to
Babui now! =D
 
         .-. .-.       .-. .-.
        (   Y   )     (   Y   )
         `|   |`       `|   |`
          | 00|_       _|00 |
          |  ,__)     (__,  |
          |,_|           L_,|
          ||               ||
          | \_,         ,_/ |
          |   |         |   |
          |   |         |   |
        (`  A  `)     (`  A  `)
         '-' '-'       '-' '-'

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+----------------------------------------------------------------------------
| Entertainment -> Weddings -> Congratulations                      By: Babui |
+----------------------------------------------------------------------------

A friend just got married? Want to congratulate them along with the whole of
realms?
 
You just got married? Want to announce to the whole of realms your love for
each other?
 
Well, here's the place!
 
Send me a mudmail with the couples' name, the date of the wedding, and any
comments you would like to make =)
 
Start NOW by showing you care! Start NOW by showing you are truly happy for
them/yourself! Start NOW by announcing to the world!
 
_____________________,88888e 
______________,a888b.9888888i 
______________888888888888888 
______________88888888888888Y
______________'8888888888888
________________"S888888888"
__________________"7888888Y 
_____________________"e88j 
______________________-> HaPpY WeDdInG!


 (\/)/\(\/)/\(\/)/\(\/)/\(\/)/\(\/)/\(\/)/\(\/)/\(\/)/\(\/)/\(\/)/\(\/)/\(\/)
  \/(/\)\/(/\)\/(/\)\/(/\)\/(/\)\/(/\)\/(/\)\/(/\)\/(/\)\/(/\)\/(/\)\/(/\)\/
    
      On 9 July 2005...
      we witnessed the official bonding of two hearts, two bodies.....

     ._.:*-*:._. Congratulations to Zendroax and Yelisa ._.:*-*:._.

   As a personal note...FINALLY! Me and petty has been waiting for this
   day for ages! A year ago, we were gonna do a double wedding or something,
   but that never happened... Then we waited..and waited... Finally! Heh..
   It's so nice seeing two friends, who both deserves the best, to be
   finally together! My best wishes for you both! =)

   Petrograd's message:
   Wow, I can barely believe it finally happened... I mean, Zendroax.. 
   we've known each other for so long, he was one of the two who got me 
   to start playing this game a long time ago! Now he finally got around
   to marrying Yelisa, it's about time. I know they've been "thinking"
   about marrying for a damn long time, over a year. Well, I'm sure they'll 
   be happy together =) Rocks that they finally got married =D

 (\/)/\(\/)/\(\/)/\(\/)/\(\/)/\(\/)/\(\/)/\(\/)/\(\/)/\(\/)/\(\/)/\(\/)/\(\/)
  \/(/\)\/(/\)\/(/\)\/(/\)\/(/\)\/(/\)\/(/\)\/(/\)\/(/\)\/(/\)\/(/\)\/(/\)\/

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| Entertainment -> Cry of Despair Quest -> July's Quest Results   By: Alysira |
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------------+

Last month, your quest was to search through the articles to try and find the
answer to the question, "What did Kaiashi ask Rhadamanthus in his interview?".
The answer was hidden in Artem's "An Interview With Rhadamanthus". I hope
everyone found this interview insightful and answered many questions they
might have had concerning the future of pkill. The answer was:

                        "Kaiashi - ????????????????//////"

and these two people were selected randomly as winners. Congratulations to:
   
                              Mephie and Skaphia!

Please see me for your prizes ASAP! Thanks to everyone else who participated!
Have fun in this month's quest on the next page!




While the previous style of quests seems to be popular, I thought a break was
in order. This month I've prepared a Find-A-Word! Hidden in this Find-A-Word
are the names of eight deities. Find all eight, MUDmail me the list and I'll
select two correct answers at random as winners! Good luck and enjoy!

 S B R L V A J E D S      Also, a note to all who play these quests:
 K A R D I S Z B M L      Please do NOT remove your MUDmails, I take them
 F G R L K T N A C J      down just before the Cry is posted for several
 E F Q A X P L E A B      reasons. If you take your MUDmail down, it won't
 E G L C N K A I W D      be counted, so please leave it up!
 D E V H A E F B Y R
 G H W T C L D U N E      Thank you, good luck and have fun!
 C J M E R T G R U L
 P I F E S A M S Y A      -Alysira
 I K L Z W S S E O K

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| Knowledge -> Classes -> Barbarians -> Note                        By: Genge |
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Last month in this slot, I covered Nephandi - a entirely magical class. This 
month I'll be covering Barbarians, an entirely physical class. As such, the 
format will be slightly different. Last month, the article was split into 
introduction, spell ups, spell downs, combat skills, actual use, strategy, and 
a conclusion. Barbarians, like warriors and thieves, have no spells - only 
skills. As such, the spell ups and spell downs sections have been replaced by a
section called 'abilities', and the article itself has been expanded to give 
advice on making a barbarian. Note that barbarian abilities, unlike some of 
the ones from other classes (vampires, for instance), do not require mana. 
Anyways, now that that's sorted out, here's the article.

Barbarians were intended to be independent from the greater RoD society, and we
re given their own societal structure, city, academy, and run mobs to reflect 
this. This notion is, of course, fairly idealistic on a game with a free market
economy, so it is either difficult or confusion for people who would normally 
consider making a character of a new class. In response to this, I present a 
guide to making a barbarian. It is by no means definitive, merely something to 
prevent players from getting too frustrated. If you don't want advice on making
or leveling a barbarian, skip down a few pages in the Cry to get to the 
explanation of the class' uses as avatars.

Barbarians are a Fighter genre class - they wear the same equipment as warriors
, rangers, and paladins for the most part, with one major exception. They 
cannot wear any magical equipment, so ensuring you have a good roll is 
extremely important. Strength is the class' primary stat, constitution is 
secondary, and intelligence is deficient. I'd recommend 18 str, 16+ dex, and 
14+ con, with any luck points on top as icing. Barbarians have a fairly limited
selection of races, so you have two basic paths. Make a half-elf and hope you 
get high strength rolls to go with your enhanced dex, or make a half-orc/ogre/
troll/dwarf and hope to get a good dex roll to go with your enhanced strength. 
Personally, I'd choose a dwarf or orc for devout barbs, an ogre or troll for 
neutral, and an orc for evil. All barbs start off peaceful.

Okay, so now you have to max your 25 str and 22 con. Head n,e,n from where you 
start off. You'll now have blessing of thoric and be on the path to get the 
basic academy equipment. Suit up, then head west two times (it's a loop, you 
finish where you started), go south, buy some tribal runes, north, west, 
northwest twice, north, west, north, north. Remember this intersection, when 
you recall by eating a tribal rune you'll end up _east_ of here. Open flap, 
five west, open flap, and five more west. You'll be in Barren Peaks. You have 
a few options now. If you have an av mage, you can astral/portal to your new 
barb from the Shadow Grove north of DH, and cast lspells on him, or just portal
to him so he can enter and walk south to DH, or if you don't have a mage, you 
can walk all the way to dh and have a bot spell you up. Chances are decent
you're going to need leveling spells on top of blessing in order to max your 
str and con. You can actually level wherever you want, the class is competent 
in low level battling - they get enhanced damage and kick at level three, 
parry at seven, and second attack at nine. However, in order to practice these 
skills, you must either eat a tribal rune to recall and head back to Sigvald in
the Peaks, or find one of the (incredibly few) practice mobs outside of 
Darkhaven, since you cannot enter the Darkhaven Academy. Another obstacle is 
your inability to wear magical equipment, which makes finding equipment for 
some wearlocs somewhat difficult at lower levels (particularly about - no 
Wyvern's tower cloaks or duke's robes). Some of the equipment inside of the
Peaks is actually pretty decent. There are little quests you can do there, 
which I won't spoil, except to say that you'll probably want to make a point

of slaying the Giant Chieftan at some point and bringing back proof to Sigvald.
Do not attempt this before level 15. At level 18 you get three spirit based 
skills. These are good skills which give a boost in stats, but you can only 
have one active at a time. I prefer boar hide, as it not only gives the con 
you need so badly, but also gives a bonus to your parry skill. At level 20 you 
get dual wield, disarm at 22, dodge at 25, third attack at 28, fourth attack at
35, charge at 41, fourth at 45, and stun at 49, so the critical skills are 
distributed pretty evenly throughout the levels. Charge is a great skill that 
returns good experience points, but remember that when you log off you will be 
forced to dismount and your mount will lose any spells you have on it - meaning
you'll have to have fly cast on it again and use hurdle to remount before you 
can enter a battle and charge. The average barbarian level gain is 18+. You 
will get 17s, and you will get 20s. The average gain appears to be about 18.5 
or 18.75. The average base seems to be about 920-930, but mine has 936, so you
might end up with one even higher.

These are various skills Barbarians have to give themselves a boost. None of 
them require mana, but some require components to work. Also note that only ONE
of Bear Spirit/Boar Hide/Wolf Cunning may be active at a time.
 
  - Fleetfoot: Float, essentially, except you hit the ground just as hard as 
     you would without it active. Does not evade trip. 500 rounds.
  - Berserker Rage: You can keep fighting even when you run out of hp, until 
     you reach the point where you'd be dead instead of stunned. Then you just 
     drop. 1050 rounds.
  - Sense Magic: Detect magic. Go figure.
  - Eye of the Predator: Detect hidden.
  - Bear Spirit: +2 str, +2 dr. Level*2 duration. (100 rounds)
  - Boar Hide: +2 con, +10 parry. Level*2 duration. (100 rounds)
  - Wolf Cunning: +2 dex, +2 hr. Level*2 duration. (100 rounds)
  - Warsong. +1 dr, +3 hr. Low, int/wis based duration. Learned from Keribwyn.
  - Snake Blessing. Resist poison. Learned from Eloann
  - Spirit Ward. Resist magic, (wis/2 rounded down). 200ish rounds. Learned 
     from the Caekath.

COMABT SKILLS

Here's a breakdown of Barbarian's battle skills:
 - Long blades:   95
 - Bludgeons:     95
 - Talonous arms: 80
 - Enhanced Dam:  95
 - Second attack: 95
 - Third attack:  95
 - Fourth attack: 95
 - Fifth attack:  85
 - Dodge:         80
 - Parry:         85 (95 with boar hide)
 - Disarm:        95
 - Dual wield:    95
 - Two handed:    65
 - Rescue:        80
 - Grip:          95

They are clearly competent melee characters, with the highest offensive 
percentages in the game, so it's entirely possible there could be a nonmagic-
only mob that you want to just try meleeing with dual-wielding barbarians, and 
completely ignore their two alpha attacks. Both alphas are strong, but both 
also have drawbacks. Charge competes handily with circle, but in order to use 
it you must be mounted, be wielding a lance (available from the weaponshop in 
the Village), and be in standard style or lower. Rend does damage relative to 
constitution, but with a layerplate and boar hide, it's not difficult to max 
it out. It's a good attack, with lag similar to cleave or qlippothic shift, but
you cannot wield any weapons while using it - meaning you cannot parry and your
melee hits are all weaker. Unlike charge, however, it can be used in aggressive
- not that 10% more melee damage matters all that much when you lose so much 
damroll and avdam from not having weapons. Ultimately, this means that barbs 
are impractical for many situations - the mounts, while durable, will die from 
repeated room attacks, and take up valuable tunnel space. Rend is impractical 
for any mobs which require you to tank as well as hit. Their melee is great for
mobs that take melee hits, but since they can't wear magic weapons, a warrior 
with a nasr will outdamage them at any mobs that take melee hits that magic 
hits. Still, in the situations they ARE useful, they're rather good.

UTILITIES
Here are some of the other skills barbarians have.
 - Animal Empathy: Charm.
 - Summon Mount: Summons your horse back - or a new one, if it's dead.
 - Doorbash: Same as the warrior skill.
 - Hurdle: Mounts faster than 'mount'.
 - Hunt: Auto-track.
 - Sharpen: Repairs swords.
 - Commune: Trance, for hitpoints.
 - Stomp: Earthquake.
 - Bash/Stun: Same as warrior skills.

CONCLUSION
They're harder to level than warriors, and cannot wear Nasrs, which are two 
major turnoffs for most players. On the other hand, they have good alpha 
attacks and special equipment to help compensate for the lack of magic 
equipment. More importantly, it's a new way to try to play the game. All 
barbarians start off as part of an organization, with their own town, own 
games, and own run mobs. If you wanted to use one as a runner for high-level 
run mobs, you'll likely be disappointed, as you've only really got a few 
options. However, if you wanted to do one because you actually enjoy playing 
RoD, I can honestly say I rather like mine.

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