KORTHOS, Shargon’s Teeth – If the villagers of Korthos didn’t already have enough to worry about – with their tropical island transformed into a wintry wasteland under the curse of a white dragon – a recent rash of nocturnal kidnappings points to escalating aggressions from the Cult of the Devourer.
The already small population of the remote fishing village continues to dwindle. And for every villager that goes missing, the cult devoted to worship of the Sovereign of Wave and Whelm grows in strength. Kidnap victims that are not sacrificed to this dark deity are instead indoctrinated, their will subverted to serve the whims of their sahuagin masters.
“These sahaugin, these fish people – they weren’t so aggressive before,” said Gunhild Myrheim, a fisher by trade. ”I can’t even come close to the shore, let alone fish.”
Gunhild Myrheim
The concentrated efforts of the cult, comprised of both the indigenous aquatic sahaugin and their human subjects, has so far prevented the locals – as well as those stranded here by dragon attacks – from leaving the island. In fact, the gate leading from the village to the island interior has been under lock and key for months. Efforts to overcome the cult’s incursions are coordinated by Sigmund Bauerson, proprietor of the Wavecrest Tavern, and his numerous children.
One of his children, Kaja Bauerdatter, keeps vigil at the village’s crypt. She believes that clues to the cult’s activities can be found within, and urges adventuresome passersby to investigate. The crypt serves as a sort of family tomb for the Heyton family. Founded by Bjorn Heyton, the clan has a long and storied history on Korthos Island. For generations, the Heytons fought against the sahaugin to keep Korthos safe, and their line of descendants can be traced all the way down to her.
Another of those descendants – Lars Heyton – was seen entering the crypts, and it is Bauerdatter’s belief that he may have encountered trouble down there. As an adventurer himself, Lars Heyton may play a crucial role in liberating the island and, according to Bauerdatter, she will reward anyone brave enough to enter the crypts and search for him.
Many villagers believe that the sahuagin enter the village via some secret means. It is believed that Lars Heyton entered the crypt in an attempt to locate that means. Whether or not he was successful, and his fate, are unknown at this time.
“The sahuagin are sneaking into the village at night,” said Jon, a local man. ”Taking people. Wavecrest’s the only safe place now.”
As many of you know, despite being a long-time DDO player with just under seven years under my Belt of Thoughtful Rememberance, it wasn’t until the last year or so that i was able to reach the upper echelons of adventuring. This was mostly due to serious alt-itis and a penchant for playing exclusively solo (or with a single RL friend or two). Two things occurred that changed the game for me. The first was the introduction of the Artificer, which i completely fell in love with immediately. The second was recruitment into Sacred Flame Guardians, a veteran guild on what is now the Sarlona server. Just prior to hooking up with SFG, my own guild-of-one – Adventurer of Adventure – relocated its headquarters to a teeny airship devoid of any accoutrements. So i was a tad reticent to abandon ship and join another guild, especially with the crippling case of an i’m-not-good-enough-to-group complex. However, when my RL and gaming pal Wrongside joined and sent me a ship invite, and then i saw what there was to see on the decked-out deck of their Stormglory Tempest, i was like “Adeventurer of Adventure who?“
Before switching allegiances though, i had to prove me mettle, or so Wrongside explained. Would i have to lead a raid? Perform Herculean tasks? Fork over some astral shards? Who were these Sacred Flame Guardians, and would i really want to associate with a guild whose name is reminiscent of the Silver Flame that i detest so much?
As it turns out, none of the above. For this all-adult guild, the requirements to join are pretty simple – run some quests with a few officers and see if we all get along. As Wrongside put it, they’re a bunch of dudes who like to have a good time, joke around, and run quests together. In this situation, bringing my A-game meant bringing a fun attitude. And i imagine that contributing in a meaningful way wouldn’t hurt my chances either.
So it was that i first met Wolfie, the erstwhile leader of SFG. i couldn’t tell you which iteration of Wolfie it was though. There are at least 10 Wolfie’s out there, designated by roman numerals, but they all have one thing in common. The man behind the toon. i’ve been running around Eberron with him and the SFG crew for about a year now. Recently, i had the opportunity to speak with Wolfie outside of the game and learn a bit more about the guy who helped me expand my enjoyment of the game we all love.
Wolfie, 45, will be the first to tell you that he has no creativity when it comes to naming his DDO toons. In fact, somewhere on the interwebs is a video wherein he is described as having the “most unimaginative name in DDO.” Research opportunity – if you can find it let me know! But lest you think the man has an unhealthy obsession with canis lupus, the moniker dates back much farther than DDO. All the way back to Wolfie’s college days, when he was bestowed the nickname in real life.
“I had a buddy that was drunk out of his mind,” Wolfie said. ”Couldn’t say my last name. He kept calling me Wolfmiller. One night in a drunken tirade he’s like ‘screw it – your name is now Wolfie, and that’s it!’ It became my call sign in the army, in Iraq and other places I’ve been to. It’s been a nickname forever, so it’s always been a name I’ve had through different games. I tried different names, but I just game up and said ‘Wolfiei,’ ‘Wolfeii,’ and it just went from there.
“I do have Choppsuey. That’s my one toon in DDO that’s named something different. But everyone still says ‘hey Wolfie!’ So it just became my name.”
It’s interesting to note a phenomena of gaming that i’ve noticed myself, and that’s referring to players most often by their main toon’s name at all times. Even in SFG’s Steam group chat, we often call each other by our DDO main toon names. i will admit that this can be a tad unusual for me, since my main toon Schir Gold is a female sorcerer. There are times i cringe when my mates will greet me with a hearty “hey Schir!” It’s like, hey guys – my name is Doug! But if they insist on referring to me by a name derived from Phantasy Star II character, then so be it. Okay fine, I’m Schir. At least Wolfie can say that’s his RL nickname too.
O.G. Shir Gold
Wolfie’s introduction to video games came through the oft-nostalgically remembered Intellivision home console system. Dating myself, i can attest to the fun times provided by Mattel’s entry in the console market. My neighbor across the street growing up had one and we’d regular go from his house to ours, where we had the Atari 2600.
Gaming as a hobby stretches back over 16 years for Wolfie, who got into online gaming through the beginnings of Diablo, and Black Hawk Down – one of the earliest FPS games. In fact, the guild SFG can trace it’s origins back to that same era, when Wolfie co-founded Special Forces Group Allied with a core group of fellow soldiers and gamers. By the time DDO came about, SFG was a cross-game guild. When they expanded into DDO, they wanted to keep the spirit of SFG alive, and at the same time adapt their guild to this new venture with a thematic name. And so the Sacred Flame Guardians were born on the Aerenal server. Just think – if i’d known then what i know now and chosen the Xoriat server, i’d be running around Thelanis now and probably never met the SFG guys. Sliding doors, i tell ya…
SFG has been around pretty much since beta. And even though these days it’s confined to what i understand is considered both the “friendly server” and the “role-playing server” – Sarlona – that wasn’t always the case.
“I branched out to the other servers for a little bit,” Wolfie said. ”And Jerry <Snook> did as well. But when Jerry took the position at Turbine, he obviously had to shut down his affiliation with the common gamers, and I believe our guild. So he shut down the Sacred Flame Guardians on the other servers, and I haven’t made them active again. So it’s strictly just Sarlona.
The core group of SFG, when I was in Iraq they would send me gifts and stuff, and care packages,” Wolfie said. ”It’s been 15 years now, they’ve just been around. Some of the guys I was in the army with. We were in combat zones but different theatres at the same time. We never ran into each other. Now, I’ve hung out with some of them. Cody, and Charlene, and Leadsides – Glenn – I’ve hung out with them outside. I’ve gone out to dinner with them or just met up with them.”
Wolfie’s interest in Dungeons & Dragonsextends beyond the virtual MMO world as well. Like it is for so many of us DDOer’s, his indoctrination into the world of swords and sorcery began with its progenitor – the classic tabletop game of thrown dice and depths delved. That’s right – Wolfie was a bonafide pencil-and-paper gamer too.
“I grew up in the 70′s and 80′s,” Wolfie said. ”So I was in way back with the original set. The Player’s Handbook, and the DM’s Guide, and the couple of dice that came with it. Not a whole lot of options. I was an elf ranger. In fact, in moving, I was digging through some old boxes and I found all my old books. It was like finding a treasure trove. I was like ‘oh my god – it’s the original Player’s Handbook!’ It was pretty cool. I found my folder that had Ander Foracker – it was my ranger.”
Before all the splatbooks, there was just these two bad boys.
Isn’t it curious how so many of us look back at our PnP days and fondly remember that ranger character we played? What is it about these reclusive woodsmen that so entranced us? Perhaps it conjured images of Strider in our imaginations. Maybe it was the notion of a noble savage that stirred guided our choice to play the woodland warriors. It could have simply been the wide variety of options available to the subclass of fighters. Whatever it was, i’d be willing to bet that most dice-throwers have at least one former ranger in their menagerie of PCs. And yet, it’s an oft-maligned class in DDO, if the forums are to be believed. Nevertheless, not a login goes by that i don’t come across at least one ranger worthy of a place in any party. And more often than not when things go south, you’ll find the ranger is the ultimo hombre - the last man standing. Ramble on, rangers. Ramble on.
Bow? Check. Two swords? Check. Pointy ears? Check.
With a firm foundation in DDO and a history that spreads beyond that singular MMO, it certainly takes something special for a guild like SFG to have the kind of staying power it’s enjoyed. i can tell you from my own experience that, compared to gaming groups both online and in real life that i’ve been a part of, SFG certainly has something unique about it. It’s not about raiding. It’s not about power-gaming. It’s not about filling it’s ranks with the best of the best most elite players. Instead, at least to me, it’s about the fast friendships that are formed. This is a group of people who genuinely get along. And i might add, chatting through Steam certainly adds a fun new dimension as well. But online games are no strangers to drama. By their very nature, online games offer the same anonymity that affords people an avenue to express thoughts and feelings they might never do in real life. So what carries SFG through the years, when so many other guilds disband or fade away over time?
“It’s interesting, because I’ve seen that too,” Wolfie said. ”And you see some of the core names, but I think back to when the big names were around – you had Diligence and a few other big name guilds. The only other guild I can think of that can really date back to the origins of DDO, or Stormreach, is probably Gravis. Those were a couple of guys who wanted to do just high end raiding, and that was it. We have a more “building toons” and what have you, so they broke off from SFG. And we played with them a lot, so there’s no bad blood or anything. But you look at some of the old guilds that aren’t around and the players are still there.
But SFG, we have our peaks and valleys just like any other guild. There’s times when there’s one person on for a week, and then another time there’s 20 people playing. But it just doesn’t go away. Also because it’s an all-adult guild. We understand there’s lives, and it’s about a game. You know, I have four kids, and a wife, and a house. And I just moved into the house. And we’re doing construction. I’ve got real life that hits me, and if I’m not playing for four days, it’s okay. No one gives me a hard time about it.”
With all the gaming going on in Wolfie’s life, and the composite family he’s formed with his own kids and those of his wife, you’d think they were a veritable clan of gamers, right?
“My son played for a little bit,” Wolfie said. ”He’s 12 now, and he discovered soccer probably two years ago. And my love of soccer – I grew up as a goalie and my brother was a semi-pro goalie – and goalie is just in our blood. My son is at a tryout for a club team. And he’s being looked at by the L.A. Galaxy Academy. Which is huge. At 12-years-old he’s that good of a goalie. Just amazing. So when he discovered that, gaming just took second. He’s up at 5 o’clock on Saturday morning to watch all the games in England and Spain. I’ll catch him watching the Mexican channel – can’t understand a damn thing they’re saying but he’ll sit there and watch for hours just to watch soccer play. My stepson plays once in a while too, but he’s more Batman and superhero-type gaming. Other than that it’s just me.
“My wife loves video games if it’s like Pac-Man. If it has a joystick and a single button, she’s happy as a clam. But other than that, no. No wish whatsoever. I tried to show her DDO, and she saw my fingers flying all over the keyboard and mouse, and my head never stops moving, and she looked at that and she’s like ‘forget it, I don’t even want to try it.”
Old school.
During an interview back in 2007, and again during my talk with Wolfie, he mentioned the care packages he received from fellow gamers while deployed as a soldier in the U.S. Army. Intrigued by the way the gamer community shows their support to our troops, i wondered if Wolfie had any involvement with that practice now that he is home in Southern California following a military career that spanned nearly half his life – 22-1/2 years as a soldier. Spent mostly in reserves, he did have three deployments and was injured a couple of times, but is quick to point out that the how’s and why’s aren’t important because that is not what defines him.
“It was the best time I’d ever hand in my life, and also the worst,” Wolfie said. ”But I don’t send care packages now, only because when I was over there, it got to the point where people would send cookies and candies and stuff like that. The pantries are so well stocked that I could go get anything I wanted, really. So what I did was I used to take a lot of these things, and I did coalition support. So I trained special operations units from other countries. In a lot of those countries, their soldiers are so dirt poor, they couldn’t afford anything. A deodorant was an extravagance. I used to take the stuff that was sent over and I’d give it to those guys, as well as other Americans that were detached from the bases way out in the sticks.”
Instead, Wolfie remains involved with the military in a different way here at home, by helping soldiers who return from active duty with injuries.
“I do a lot of advising and helping people through the VA system, and soldiers with PTSD,” Wolfie said. ”Trying to get them to take that first step and getting them to the VA. Getting help. I commanded a company of 313 soldiers and within a year-and-a-half I had nine of them commit suicide after deployments. I was trying to push my finger in a hole in a dam that was ten feet wide and trying to stop the flow. I got chaplains. I wolud go to the local colleges and find students studying forensic psychology and bring them in to just talk to the guys. To just come down on a weekend and hang out.
“I just kept pushing it, and have since taken a step beyond that by finding soldiers that are getting hosed by the military, or not taken care of, and help them through that. So that’s what I do. It’s not so much care packages. I’m helping the guys that come back.
“When a kid comes to me and says ‘my leg’s blown off, I’m getting no help from the military, and I don’t know how to file for assistance,’ I walk them through that. Because I had to figure it out on my own. I spent basically two years in a hospital after my deployment getting put back together. I had a major that was in charge of my case, and he could care less. He was like ‘you’re a captain, figure it out.’ So I did. And invariably, what he did was he started sending soldiers from Southern California to me because I was a senior-ranking officer down here. So he would send me all these broken soldiers that just got back from different warzones and say ‘can you help them?’ I had my own mini-command of broken soldiers that I helped to figure out their medical, get their doctor’s appointments taken care of, and stuff like that.”
For the final segment of my interview with Wolfie, i’d planned to fire off a series of rapid questions to him about DDO specifically. What i got instead were insightful perspectives on various aspects of the game.
What is your favorite thing about DDO?
“Hanging out with the guys. Being a father, I can sit down for an hour or two and play and hang out with my buddies. Have some fun in the game and detox from my civilian job, just kinda separate for a little bit and then come back. If I’ve had a bad day, I can hang out and play a game that I really enjoy – that’s probably the biggest thing. Another things it’s provided me though is, when I got back from Iraq, it was one of the things – and the military’s actually using that now as a support system for PTSD – it really helped me to funnel and focus the PTSD that I had. It gave me an avenue, and I really disappeared into it between all the surgeries. I’ve had my back rebuilt with titanium and all that, and between all those surgeries it gave me that avenue. And now it’s something that just became my hobby. I enjoy it.”
What is your favorite quest?
“VON 5 and 6. Hands down. When I first saw that dragon, and I stepped on that platform. She’s flying in the air and you see the world all around. You look down, and Stormreach is down there. I remember I was like…I had my girlfriend at the time over and I’m like ‘come here and look at this!’ That was the coolest thing. At the time, level 10 was the max. I remember the first time I did VON 3, we were all level 10 and it took us six-and-a-half hours. By the end I was sweating so bad, I was starving. Six-and-a-half hours of straight fighting to get through VON 3. Now we do it in 14 minutes.
You know what’s really exciting for me? I’ve been playing for seven years, and I still get excited when, you know like you guys when you stepped out and you’re like ‘look at all this, wow!’ And I’m sitting there thinking ‘I remember that feeling, too.’ That was cool. When I hear guys for the first time in a quest, I try to back off and not direct. I’ll give advice, but I want you to kind of figure it out, and look at it, and get excited about finding that trap for the first time or whatever. We all know it’s there, but sometimes it’s fun to say ‘oops! sorry, look what we found.’
What is your favorite class or build to play?
“That has varied through the years. I love my monk. But right now I am really digging the Juggy build. I also took my barbarian through three lives, and three lives of fighter, and I’m on the seventh life – as a barbarian. I enjoy that one because I hit like a you-know-what brickhouse. It’s fun to see that. But the Juggy build is just a lot of fun. And I love my ranger. Hands down, that is one of my favorites of all time. I have a lot of fun with that build.”
What is your favorite race?
“I like the half-elf especially, because of the dilletante system and some of the feat bonuses. Those are nice. I have a half-elf as my ranger. I’m really liking that. The human is just…it’s one of the classics because you get all of the feat bonuses, and it’s the utility race. You can do anything with it. I really like the half-orc. Both my barbarian and my monk are half-orcs. They’re both just straight strength, beat-your-way-through-stuff builds and those are fun. Favorite of all time though would be the half-elf.”
What is your favorite piece of loot?
“I’ll go with my alchemical longbow. Right now I have earth-earth on it, and I’m debating what I want to do on Tier 3. But it just looks wicked. It’s got the spikes, and the acid look. The way it oozes, the graphics on it just look pretty wicked. And when I shoot something with my ranger it’s just amazing the damage you do. Especially if you’re in your normal Epic Destiny. If you go Shiradi it’s insane the damage you get with an arrow.”
What are your thoughts on cosmetics? The expansion pack will introduce cosmetic slots…
“That is very cool. I’ve spent a minor fortune on cosmetics, and I swore I’d never do that. I’d say ‘I’m an old man – I don’t care about that stuff.’ But you get suckered in because you look at your toon, and you’ve got the baby blue IQ stuff on your warforged docent and it just looks…you look at that and go ‘I’m gonna go get a cosmetic for that.’ They really need to work on those.”
Why a level 18 adventurer still carries a rope is beyond me.
What is your favorite monster?
Suggestion to Turbine: random spawn mimics. You know you want it.
I dug the mimic. I thought the mimic was one of the cool ones and when they finally brought that into the game I was like ‘thank you!’ That was fun. But my favorite one – and this goes back to the pencil-and-paper days – is the minotaur. I see a minotaur and it’s just wicked looking. It’s bad ass looking. It’s a cool graphic. They’re cool to fight. There’s no magic to it – you’re just beating the heck out of each other. But they’re cool looking.”
My guess? Wolfie does ALL the optionals in Frame Work.
If you could change one thing about DDO, what would it be?
“The ladder bug! I said it seven years ago, and I’ll say it again. My name is Wolfie and I approve this message. Get. Rid. Of. The. Ladder. Bug. For god’s sakes – don’t do Neverwinter Nights, don’t come out with anything else, I don’t want to see an update. Fix the ladder bug. I beg of you.”
Do you have any words of wisdom for new players?
“Don’t take it so seriously. Someone will say ‘the sky is purple,’ and all of a sudden 20 people are yelling at them in chat saying ‘oh my god, not it’s not, it’s mauve.’ Dude, really? It’s a game. Who cares? It’s not a forum for politics. I’ve been in groups where we’ve gone down the road of heavy conversation about Iraq. And it’s four military guys, and we’re sitting talking military stuff, and the other two guys are like ‘shut up.’ We’ll sidetrack once in a while, because you just get there, and a couple of drinks in you go there. But really, like if you die – it’s okay. It’s still just a game. Just respawn, and it’s not that big of a deal to go get your buffs again. Sure, it sucks, and I’ve been there a million times. But if it happens, don’t turn around and dress down the guy. And I’ve dressed down a couple of players so I’m talking about myself in this as well. I’ve had to learn over the years to just back off and enjoy the game. I’ve been a jerk to people in the past, and I’ve gone back and said ‘hey, I’m sorry I came at you like that. I’m sorry I was a jerk.’ But really, the bottom line: just remember it’s a game. That’s it.”
Do you have any words of wisdom for jaded players?
“I can be one of those jaded players. When I get in a group, and you’re doing a raid, and you want to finish the raid. You’ve spent an hour putting the group together, and there’s that one person. Last week, we did Caught in the Web. And there was that one individual that kept running off to the side. And dragging all the aggro. We’re all sitting there, and people are bolding it saying PLEASE STOP GRABBING AGGRO. Only because I just spent two hours of my life getting to this point. I really don’t want to repeat it. So if someone gives you a piece of advice, and tells you in-game ‘don’t do something,’ try not to do it. I can understand the jaded players, because you’ll have that one guy that does it again. And again. And again. And you’re sitting there going ‘for the love of god, stop!’ And they turn around and do it again.
Still no Sireth or Twilight. Sad Schir.
“But in the same sense, if you get someone new in the game, I can’t tell you how many thousands of plat I’ve given away to people who tell me ‘I just got this game a week ago and thought I’d give it a try but it’s hard to get a start.’ It’s not like they beg for it. You just talk to them, and play a couple of missions with them, and he or she is a cool person, and you give them 10,000 play and tell them to go buy some heal pots, or whatever. Just have fun with it. I think this would be it. If I were to meet someone, like myself or another jaded player that can be a little callous, just stop and think of when you first started. You didn’t know where House D was. You didn’t know what House D was. Someone tells you to go to House D to buy arrows and you’re like ‘huh?’ Just stop and ask them ‘do you know where it is?’ Just help out players.”
What are your thoughts on the upcoming expansion pack?
“I’m looking forward to it. Every time there’s an expansion or an update, I jump on and dive into it. I grind like the best of them, and I turn around and respec my dudes just like everyone else does. You plan your toon for +3 tomes, because oh my god that’s the new latest and greatest and you’ll never see one but just wait for it. Now we’re all sitting around saying ‘well I’ve got +4 tomes – now what?’ You’re always respeccing, and I kind of dig that. I’m looking forward to the new loot, and new quests, and I’ll jump right on board with everyone else.”
What are your thoughts on the Iconic Heroes, like the Bladeforged Paladin?
“I haven’t looked too much into it, but I’m looking forward to that. The paladin is up and down. When the paladin was great, we had Zeal. Then they turn around and nerf Zeal. I’ve got a level 25 paladin that was a beast. I think with the new enhancement system, it will make that toon a little more worthwhile. I’ve got the Chimera set on him, and I understand that’s going to get a revamp. So all of a sudden, my paladin will be an awesome fighter again. It’s like I said – peaks and valleys.”
The character model the Bladeforged Paladin is different, have you seen it?
Please tell me our character models will all be amped up like this.
“Yeah! That will be cool. With the armors, there was a period there where I really had to question who they were hiring for design. I don’t know what they were thinking. When the IQ came out, it was great. There was great stuff, but really? Look at that one set of armor. You put it on and you’re like…I’m not going to make the stupid comments, but you can imagine, we all saw that for the first time and thought ‘this is sweet armor, but there’s no way in hell I’m going to wear this.’ I had a dwarf at the time, and on a dwarf there’s nothing you can do to make that look cool.
“I’m looking forward to something that’s a little more…you know, you’re a fighter. You’re a paladin. You’re supposed to be bad ass looking. You’re a warrior out on the battlefield. And you get out there and you’ve got this flamboyantly colored, slim cut, French runway model looking armor and you’re like, really? This isn’t bad ass. This is ‘I’m going to get my ass kicked in high school.’ If you could change the character model, that would be a tremendous boost to their client list and the amount of players in the game if they’d just improve the looks of the toons. It’s still one of the best out there, but still, it needs a huge revamp. Give me sliders so I can make them taller, or make their head squashed or beat up, give them more scars, cool looking mohawks, whatever.
“It’s a game about going into war, going into battle. They definitely don’t look like they’re doing that.”
* * * * *
So concluded my interview with Wolfie, leader of Sacred Flame Guardians on Sarlona server. Wolfie – both in and out of game – brings a real appreciation for the camaraderie of MMO gaming to his guild that i’ve been proud to be a member of for over a year now. It was really an honor to get to talk to him and learn more about his life outside of DDO as well, and i’ve certainly grateful for the opportunity. i hope that players both new and old can discover how much fun DDO is, and knowing people like Wolfie are out there shows me that all the cries of dooooooooom over the years basically amount to naught. You don’t have to be a hardcore zerger or grinder to find the fun in DDO. Just remember that it’s just a game, and there are real people on the other side of those colorful characters who have lives and experiences in game and out. But we all gather on our servers for the same purpose at the end of the day – to enjoy a game we love, with friends who make our adventures worth having.
Thanks to Wolfie for his time, and thanks for visiting!
Welcome to a new segment of The Long Shot: Free Agent Reporting! In this series, i’ll be reporting on news in and around Stormreach through the eyes of Longshotist, a newly-minted Bard on the Sarlona server. The character is specced without any of the usual considerations like combat, acceptable CON, the Toughness feat, etc. Instead, the character is imagined as an objective reporter. So naturally, skills like Listen, Search, and Spot were given heavy investment. Additionally, one of the rules i’ve set for myself is “no fighting.” So he won’t be swinging a weapon and slaying evil-doers willy nilly. Instead, if investigative reporting carries him into a quest, i’ll be obtaining hireling contracts to do all the dirty work. That being said, to avoid 100% piking, i’ve a mind to build him into a Spellsinger. So take note, Sarlonians: if you invite Longshotist to your party, you can expect to receive buffs and whatever healing support he can muster – but that’s about it. On the other hand, you will have a chance at fame via the character’s reports here at The Long Shot. The format for these reports, categorized under “DDO” and “Free Agent Reporting” are thus: the Volume tells you Longshotist’s level at the time, and the Issue refers to the sequence of reports throughout that level. Now, without further ado, is Longshotist’s first field report…
From the bow of the airship “Heart of Wind”
My editor at the Khorvaire Chronicle set me up for a long-term assignment on the mysterious continent of Xen’drik, far south of my home in Aundair. The contract for the job includes a nice stipend and all expenses paid, as well as an exclusive Lightning Post account with which to submit my reports. In addition, I’ve been secured passage on an airship christened Heart of Wind with a luxury cabin to whisk me away to jungle continent’s port-of-call, Stormreach – a frontier city on the Skyfall Peninsula. Once there, I’m to meet with Tessa Aster, a fellow Free Agent and editor-in-chief of the Stormreach Chronicle, a sister publication. From what I understand, she’s got her finger on the pulse of the so-called “City of Dungeons” and will be an invaluable resource in my reporting and research.
It was while relaxing in my cabin that I was summoned to the deck at the request of Thealeh Auryath, a crew mate that wished to speak with me. And that’s when everything went sideways.
No sooner did I emerge from the lower decks did I witness a sight terrible to behold – a large white dragon swooping about the airship! The fearsome beast appeared to be stalking the ship. One of the crew, a minotaur whose name I never learned, boisterously proclaimed he could handle any dragon attack if the wyrm chose to engage. From the upper deck, I heard the erstwhile Captain Korvyn d’Lyrandar shouting orders to his navigator (and relative?) Eylu. Something about “hard to port” and so forth – nautical terminology has always escaped me.
And then the air grew suddenly frigid, as the fell dragon dove at our small vessel from the skies above…
Heart of Wind - what was left of it anyway.
I awoke, who knows how long later, on a beach littered with the remains of devastated ships, both the air- and sea-faring varieties. As I came to, the shrill voice of a halfling beckoned me closer. Identifying himself as Jeets Shimis, age unknown, the bespectacled fellow explained that I was the only survivor of the Heart of Wind. Sparing no sympathy, he offered me a weapon with which to defend myself against the dangers of the island I’d landed upon. He called the place Korthos, but I had my doubts as to the veracity of his statement. I had read about the isolated fishing village located in Shargon’s Teeth of course, and it’s position as a point of trade between Stormreach and the local sahuagin tribes, but wherever I was, this was not the tropical island of Korthos. Snow drifted continuously from the sky and the waters were choked with jagged blocks of ice. And let me tell you – clad only in the ragged remains of my formerly high-fashion Khorvarian attire I could certainly feel the chill! Nevertheless, I accepted my fate, as well as a moldy staff proffered by Shimis. What use had I for swords and axes? A sturdy walking stick would prove much more practical to this reporter.
The staff given, Shimis dashed off from the shore, calling for me to follow to his camp. Before leaving the beach, I reflected a moment on the tragic events that had brought me here. It was then that I noticed a small parcel at the water’s edge. Given to me by a very important person as a parting gift, I was instructed to open it when I made landfall. Retrieving it, I thought wryly that this wasn’t exactly what they’d had in mind. However, at this point I could use a bit of good cheer. Inside was a curious mask, a small figurine in the shape of a panther made of onyx, a vial of some shimmery liquid, and a book. No explanation was given as to the purpose of these items. Donning the mask, I felt an immediate sense of…something. As if I were better equipped to tackle whatever challenges came my way. Thumbing through the book, I saw that it was a guide to tips and tricks for an adventuresome life, an odd gift choice for one such as I, who disdained the often violent life led by “adventurers” – whatever that means. The remaining items’ purpose was beyond my ken, but I resolved to discover their uses in time. For the nonce, I had only a single path to follow – I would have to trust this Shimis fellow.
Jeets Shimis. Something tells me this fellow is a rogue.
At the makeshift camp, Shimis waited for me with a friend of his, a warforged named Talbron Tewn who stood silently on the path leading further into the island’s interior. Shimis explained that I ought to give the staff a few swings to test it’s mettle. Against my better judgement, I did as he suggested and smashed a few of the barrels and crates scattered about. Coins spilled out from more than a few of them, and Shimis either did not notice or care when I pocketed them. I did not know how long it would be until I could contact the Chronicle offices again, and if I was going to survive for long, surely I would need some of the local currency. And I must admit – it did help relieve some of my stresses to smash those containers. Is this what a life of adventure entails – destroying mundane receptacles on the off-chance they contain coin of the realm? If so, my guess is the true wealth in this world belongs to the coopers.
And then the truth came out. This Shimis character had an ulterior motive for assisting me – he wanted my help.
“Head on up to the Grotto,” Shimis said. ”My friend Cellimas is waiting there. I need you to relay a message for me – tell her I’ll be on my way just as soon as I finish this salvage job.”
So I’m to be a messenger now. They weren’t kidding when they told me I’d find Xen’drik a primitive place – haven’t they heard of a lighning post here? Looking about, it becomes clear to me that the containers that lay strewn all about are the cargo from the various ships that lay destroyed here. It appears to be Shimis’ intention to loot them for whatever his diminutive hands can carry. Salvage, indeed.
If he’s a sorcerer, why is he reading a spellbook? The mystery deepens…
Tewn offers to show me the way to the Grotto where this Cellimas person waits. I find myself wondering why he does not relay the message himself. But that is the least of my concerns at the moment. Reaching whatever passes for civilization in these parts is paramount in my mind, and for now this appears to be the only way forward. Along the path, Tewn suggests I smash a few more barrels in case there is anything useful inside. I acquiesce, and manage to procure a few bottles of a red liquid that he explains are healing potions. While I don’t intend to sustain grievous injuries, I reason that it’s better to have them and not need them than the other way around.
Arriving at the entrance to what Tewn explains is the Grotto (little more than a cave), he gestures for me to enter, saying that he will remain outside to wait for Shimis. Tentatively, I step inside the darkened space and just ahead stands a sealed door. Next to it, a heavily armored woman whose shield bears the symbol of the Silver Flame. I have no love for the zealots of that faith, but resolve to keep my opinions to myself and remain professional. I surmise this is the Cellimas I’m to relay Shimis’ message to.
Clerics – can’t live with ‘em, can’t get resurrected without ‘em.
Cellimas Villuhne immediately confirms my notion regarding her sect’s temperment with her violent talk of smiting sahuagin and bloodying my “weapon.” Before giving her Shimis’ message, a little investigation reveals that she is a mercenary employed to wipe out the sahuagin plaguing Korthos. She will not reveal her employer, who wishes to remain secret, but assures me she is working “on the side of good.” She is also quick to add her love of gold, and the rewards she was promised for the bloody task at hand. (Editor’s note: see what I mean? Something about these “clerics” just doesn’t seem right).
With her thirst for violence unable to be contained any longer, Villuhne decides to proceed further into the Grotto on her own…with me in tow. Before heading through the door she casts a spell on me that she assures me will protect me from death. I start to explain that I have no desire to do any fighting or killing – or dying – and that she ought to wait for her companions. But she’s already thrown the lever to open the door and rushed through to the other side.
The room beyond is flooded with the chill waters of a dank cave up to my knees. I take a moment to splash my face and wipe the grime away, while Villuhne examines a barred gate blocking the path deeper inside. She instructs me to climb the nearby ladder and search for a way to open the gate. Hurriedly I dash off, mostly to be away from her angry temperament but also to take some active role in my own escape from this creepy place.
At the top of the ladder is a platform, but there is no visible means of opening the gate from there. Villuhne suggests I travel further ahead, and thankfully I remember enough of the acrobatics training I received as a child to make take the jump down the other side without injury since there is no ladder. Why she could not do the same is beyond me – perhaps her heavy armor makes such athletic endeavors impossible.
Mustering whatever powers of stealth I can manage, I slowly make my way forward. Ahead, in the light of the luminescent crystals scattered about, I spy an aged sahaugin standing next to a lever that I hope controls the barred gate. The creature looks tired. Perhaps his kin assigned him this guard duty as a courtesy so that he felt useful to the tribe. Left alone in the corridor, he looked unfit for any sort of combat. To put him at ease, I began to sing an old sea shanty that I recalled from my bardic education. The notes of it seemed to fascinate the aquatic creature, and he was quite oblivious when I approached and threw the lever. Bloody my weapon, Villuhne had said. To that I say why bring about unnecessary bloodshed, when music clearly soothes the savage beast? I smile to myself…
…And that’s when the three adventurers – Shimis, Tewn, and Villuhne – charge down the tunnel with a shout and proceed to slaughter the poor creature. My first instinct is to protest, to admonish their violent nature. But, in the interest of objective reporting (and to avoid them turning on me) I keep my mouth shut.
Further into the cave, we reach a small alcove that Villuhne explains will be safe for us to rest a moment before pressing on. Impressed with my musical success, I take the time to recall some other tunes that may prove useful, and regale the others with my rendition. Emboldened by the score, the three of them rush ahead into another large chamber. It was Tewn who made the assessment that it appeared to be a terrific place for an ambush. And that’s when the attack came.
Sahaugin lept down from the ledges above, where they’d lain in wait. How they knew to expect any trouble, I’ll never know. Perhaps someone had tipped them off to Villuhne’s secret employer and the plan to exterminate them. For my part, I kept to the shadows while spells and daggers flashed in the center of the chamber. It was over in a matter of moments, the party of three victorious.
A sealed door prevented us from moving forward, until Tewn discovered a hidden switch that opened a gate in the floor. Beneath it was an underwater passageway that led to the sea. This must be how the sahuagin came and went. At the bottom of the watery passage, something glittered and, once again, none of the three intrepid adventurers was willing to investigate. Again proving myself useful, I dove into the icy water and retrieved the shiny object, which turned out to be a key that opened the very door leading forward. Convenient, no?
We traveled ahead cautiously, ready for another attack that never came. Instead, we were met with an obstacle that allowed Shimis to display his special skills. A clever mechanism built into the rocky walls released a spring-loaded trap – jagged metal plates that would surely end the life of this reporter. Thankfully, Shimis was able to disarm the thing, and we reached the doorway that lead to the object of Villuhne’s mission. It seems her ultimate goal was the slaying of a sahuagin High Priestess. If her intelligence was correct, the figurehead and her minions lay in wait beyond in this final chamber.
Villuhne’s quarry – a worshiper of the Devourer
Without delay, Tewn threw the switch that would lead to their party success or demise (and mine!).
“Charge!” Shouted Villuhne, and the three of them bolted into the priestess’ chamber. She was not alone, and the two elite guards with her put up quite a fight against the small group. Encouraged by my earlier music however, they made quick work of the sahuagin. If I’m honest, the whole thing came as a bit of a shock. Where was the parley? The banter? These adventurers did not even give the sahuagin a chance to explain. It was all very disquieting. In the aftermath, I spoke with Tewn privately to get his perspective on the situation since he seemed the most sensible of the bunch.
“It’s the cursor, you see,” Tewn said. ”It’s part of the adventurer’s code. ‘If it’s red, they’re dead.’”
Meanwhile, Shimis was occupied with what he considers the primary goal of any adventure – the treasure – and this excursion was no different. He had already opened the priestess’ chest and taken what was his wont, leaving what he thought was best for me: a Ring of Waterbreathing, a worn shirt of chainmail, and a shortbow enchanted with the element of fire. Obviously, these three had learned nothing of my character during this adventure. Nevertheless, I took the items with gratitude. If I was to be stuck on an island for any length of time, I suppose a magical ring that allowed me to breath underwater would prove useful. As for the armor…it was better than wearing rags. And who knows, maybe I’d find a use for the bow that didn’t involve planted clothyard shafts in anything.
It was then that I noticed there were no doors leading away from this room. As I turned to retrace my steps back to the beach, Shimis called to me from the far end of the chamber.
“Something seems off about this wall,” Shimis said. ”Why don’t you take a look?”
Perhaps he thought my half-elven eyes would see something that he could not. I was pretty observant, afterall. Shimis’ faith in me paid off when I detected faint outlines in the worked stone that turned out to be a secret door. Traveling through it, we found ourselves in what appeared to be the basement of a human dwelling. This confirmed the party’s suspicions that the sahuagin had some secret means of entering the village undetected. With congratulations all around for a job well done, the three of them dashed off for what Shimis declared his other great loves: a pint of ale, and a tidy lass.
For my part, I remained in the chamber alone for a moment of reflection. What was to become of my assignment? I had not yet even reached my destination and had already been waylaid by a dragon that destroyed an airship and killed everyone aboard but me. Stranded now on an island cursed with unnatural cold, fate had thrown my lot in with a small group of adventurers who seemed more concerned with bloody execution and loot than anything else.
I resolved that I would make my way to Stormreach, somehow, and attempt to make contact with the Free Agents there. Perhaps they could aid me in establishing myself and getting in communication with my editors back in Khorvaire. With little else to go on, that became my plan. Now, to see what this Korthos Village could offer in the way of respite, for this bardic reporter was surely the worse for wear.
Emerging from the basement, I was met immediately by a man identifying himself as Randall the Traveler, who advised me to visit the Wavecrest Tavern there in town and speak with the Spirit Binder there. Somewhat shaken by the events of the day, I wearily stumbled off in the direction he indicated. Along the way, my mind whirled with more questions. The Traveler, just like the Devourer, is one of the Dark Six – gods cast out of the Sovereign Host who represent the insidious forces of both civilization and nature. Was this “Randall” of their followers, or was that simply a descriptive moniker? A mystery worth investigation.
With more questions than answers, I felt that my assignment on Xen’drik would prove much more exciting – and dangerous – than I could have imagined.
And I’d definitely renegotiate my contract to include hazard pay.
A few days away from Eberron can sure feel like an eternity, after the serious hours i’ve put in lately running Epic stuff with the guild. This was moving week, and while i’ve experienced some of the more restful nights of sleep lately, the evening leading up to slumber has been pretty darn boring without any Internet access. So just in case no one understood how much of a geek i am, there’s a bit of proof for you. Someday i’ll regale you with my intramural basketball story and then you’ll really know for sure.
Anyway, here i am siphoning some free wifi at my favorite cafe. It’s a terrific location even if their product leaves a lot to be desired. Or, as a recent facebook interaction went down, wherein they urged fans to vote for the establishment as the “best coffee shop in Willoughby, and the best coffee,” i asked for clarifcation – are those two different categories? Because it’s definitely my favorite coffee shop.
But i digress. This is tagged in the DDO category afterall. But without much playtime or nifty screenshots to share, instead i have only a single night’s adventures to recall and a new Long Shot project to tease.
Monday night is raid night for Sacred Flame Guardians on Sarlona. And since my air savant Schir Gold is crackling with Epic power these days, as you know from previous posts i’ve been running lots of Epic Hard content including raids the likes of which i’d not experienced in the tenure of my DDO career (that spans about 7 years now). So…yeah. It’s been an exciting time of new content, new loot, and new friends.
Unfortunately, i made the noob (newb?) mistake of not turning in my completion of VON last week after my second-ever run (wherein i received a whole fat lotta nothin’ in the epic chest; still had fun though). Snagging screenies from orbit led to a re-entry freefall, a trip to the Fatespinner, and a falling-asleep-at-the-wheel late night logout. It wasn’t until about mid-day Monday when i realized i never ran back to Barrow to let her know the Plane of Night was liberated from the great wyrm Velah. Sorry to leave you hanging, House K.
Thankfully my guildmates were all cool about my amateur mistake. When i jumped on to get raid ready on Monday, they were just about to do some dragon-hunting in the Tor and invited me along for some fun and loot (and the extra chance for gear pulls i imagine). Shot a quick text to Wrongside in case he wanted to join, and i was off.
First we tackled the black dragon. We had to beat it down twice, because my DOT killed the poor beast before his giantish companion fell. But it was no biggie and we defeated the pair of them. Nothing of note in the chest.
Next up, the white dragon. Snickety-snack and we’re rummaging through his hoard in about 2 minutes flat. No Intricate Field Optics for anyone. *sigh*
Finally, the blue dragon and his punishing trapped treasure room. This battle went surprisingly smooth and we raced down the hall to check those chests…and success! Reikenn managed to pull that Blue Dragon Helm he’s been searching for.
And, of course, we all got scales aplenty. i’m really thinking warforged might be the way to go for me on subsequent TR’s, if only because docents make it so much simpler. i don’t know though…still on the fence about those living constructs. Convince me, non-fleshies!
Following our time in the Tor, we went through the typical “what do you guys want to do next?” situation.
“Chronoscope?”
“How about Caught in the Web?”
You could tell by the lack of enthusiastic – or any – response that these were not top priority choices for any one at the time.
“High Road?”
“I could do that?” “Yeah, sure.” ”I haven’t done that in a while…”
It was settled then – High Road it is. Wrongside and i had just a few days prior made some tentative footsteps into the wilderness area and had a blast. The relatively newer open areas like this, King’s Forest, Underdark, and re-tooled Gianthold are really terrific in my opinion. i love the little pop-up random quests that you stumble onto, and the breadth of the places is wonderful. This environments really speak to the PnP gamer in my, where just getting to the adventure can be an adventure in and of itself. On a side note, ever get so caught up having wilderness area fun that you wind up skipping the quests? Me too. But not this night. i get the feeling that in a way, Wrongside and i helped rekindle some spark of fun for our guildmates that have run this stuff so many times before. They get to see things from our perspective a bit as first-timers and i’m happy it reminds them how much fun it can be.
Running the Netherese Legacy was also cool for me, because there are a few pieces of gear i’ve had my eye on, like the Wizard’s Ward, Shadowmail, Nether Grasps, and Treads of Falling Shadow.
We ran each of the quests on Epic Hard. Now, i don’t know if it was the experience of my mates, a magic combo of class contributions, my naivete regarding my own power, or all of those things and more, but these quests were pretty easy. i mean, we practically steamrolled through all of them without missing a beat. Unfortunately, the loot gods turned a blind eye towards me that night and i didn’t pull anything of note (i.e. named loot – yeah i’m a label whore). At the end of it all i choose the base model Nether Grasps for my reward. Wrongside picked up Forgotten Light, and he is excited to someday dual-wield it alongside the coveted Celestia from CitW. He also pulled a nice Glaciation Wizard’s Ward that he passed to Reikenn.
And that was the last i’ve played. Needless to say, i am champing at the bit for some DDO action! In the meantime, i’ve been theorycrafting a new character and planning for the future of The Long Shot.
Oh! And i was super stoked to check out the DDO Chronicle this week and see the Community Spotlight shining right here on the Long Shot! That was really awesome. Along with that, a mention and terrific compliment on the latest DDOCast episode 280, a gracious comment from Gamer Geoff, and a pending press pass to Gen Con Indy, i am convinced that focusing on DDO here at the site is a major plus. What could be better than playing a game i love, then writing about it and interacting with the awesome DDO community? If my metrics are any indication, DDO seems to be the ticket to punch for whatever audience i’ve got, too.
To that end, i’ve got a special segment planned for The Long Shot that i’ll tell more about in the near future. i’ll give you a hint about it here though: it combines my Journalism studies with DDO.
Also coming up, i’ve got an interview with a firmly established gamer and all around great guy that i can’t wait to share with y’all.
And once i get me some Internet, i’m looking forward to updating this post with some eye candy and links as well. And, of course, some gaming!
Schir Gold has found wyrm blood to be an insatiable taste. Way more than i mentioned before, i feel like the Monster Manual contains a collapsed portable hole where there ought to be dragons. Seriously! The awesome bunch of guys in Sacred Flame Guardians have been running Wrongside and i ragged in the quest for scales/loot/flagging and the trump of them all – fun.
A horde, devoid of it’s draconic guardian courtesy of SFG
In the last week, let’s see…we ran another EH Vault of Night (what was i scared about all these years?), Don’t Drink the Water – first time running with an Epic Monk…yowza, and EH Tor (two? three? i lost count). Plus a jaunt through the Gianthold for another green dragon. So that’s like, what, 9-12 of the great beasts? My head is spinning underneath my Minos Legens (haven’t pulled the Epic Blue Dragon Helm yet).
Earlier tonight, SFG had a hearty laugh at my expense thanks to my rolling-for-loot naivete. Our erstwhile guide to all things high level: Abbigaal/Celleste/Reikenn/Boeregard was dual-boxing and we were all rolling for his alt’s loot. Slow on the uptake as i am wont to be, i see Wrongside win the roll so i pass all my good stuff to him – a couple of Flawless Black Dragon Scales. As it turns out, the proper protocol there is we were rolling to see who got the alt’s chest pulls. What do i know? i didn’t want to be a jerk. All this raiding and Epic what-have-you is new to me so i figured someone would just get really lucky on each chest. On top of that, i know Wrongside is looking to upgrade to a Flawless Black Dragon Docent; if i could help him get there, why not?
That being said, his current PDK docent looks incredibly killer, especially with whatever he does that makes him look thus:
Made out of light?!
i can’t tell you how relieved i was to learn he was supposed to look like that. At first, when i turned around i thought “what the heck is that? some kinda super Animated Armor?” No, it’s Wrongside. Uh-oh – my monitor just went wonky. Turns out it’s some Destiny thingie he has now.
Speaking of which, i got a chance to run Caught in the Web that i’ve been slavering over since laying my eyes on Twilight and Sireth. Boeregard – a fire savant in full-on red dragon gear – led us through that one. Another awesome looking toon. i’m starting to change my tune when it comes to what i’ve decided are aesthetic displeasing Warforged all these years. Once you start slapping some cool looking armor and helms on them, they’re pretty frickin’ sweet looking. Additionally, since i’ve gotten so much more involved with the guild and grouping in general, i’ve come to realize that it’s not so important to me anymore what my character looks like. Don’t get me wrong – i’m vain and i want my virtual adventurer to look perfect. But when you’re running through these crazy quests with friends, it’s more about their real life personalities and the fun we have chatting and stuff, and i don’t really have time to get caught up on staring at my little dude like i did when i was a pretty strict soloist.
Yo Demon Queen! i’m coming for your phat lootz. Consider yourself on notice.
Caught in the Web was insane. It was quite a challenge to keep up, both in terms of DPS and just literally keeping up with the party that rolled through this thing. Boeregard was great, doling out sound advice and tons of fiery hurt. And huge props to Rette, our bard who led Ana through the Demon Web. It was his first time too, and he did terrific.
Success! Nevermind what that ice mephit and Wrongside are up to…
We made it! What a blast. i was so caught up in it (pun intended) that i really didn’t have time to think too critically about it, but talking afterwards i will agree with Onigem in that it’s a bit anticlimactic to battle your way through this tough quest…and then watch from the sidelines while the NPC fights the BBEG. But hey – sometimes being the hero means letting the little guy have a victory too. Besides, she’s like the avatar of Mystra or something, right? If the Sage of Shadowdale can stand there and be content, who am i to argue?
And the chests!! Once the sea of adventurers ebbed a little and i saw them all spread out there, i couldn’t believe it. Never seen that many chests in one place before. Surely, the loot i sought would be contained therein. But alas, no. i was really happy to pull a Pinion though. Not for me, but guildie Onigem, who’d mentioned it several times that night. It was my pleasure to pass it on to him and i’m looking forward to seeing it in action. Other than that, it was a lotta dimp.
Oh! i almost forgot – my pipedream of the air savant melee sorcerer crystallized a little more watching Bo in action with his Draconic Incarnation Destiny. i did not realize all the different things available there. The energy sheath, added energy effects…and wings! Not just any old wings though – it’s actually a flyby attack. So, yeah. Once i get my hands on Sireth, i think it might be time to TR…and maybe even try life as a Warforged. Before i do that though, i’d like to bring another toon up to 20 so i can still run the Epic stuff. And to that end, i rolled a monk the other night. Can you say confusing? Wow, that’s going to be a trip.
i’d like to think i’m a bit of a bard, as it were. Maybe? Just a little? Not the Bard. i’ll settle for the lowercase.
Top Ten Villains: in ranked order from 10th to 1st, my favorite comic book villains. These are the characters whose motivations i most understand, enjoy tales about, or consider just plain cool – in a diabolical way. The list is not limited by publisher. If i’m honest, my comic book habits gravitate mostly around the Big Two. Jumped on the 90′s Image bandwagon (only blurry memories remain, but i did like Union for the Texiera art), and i’ve dipped a toe in other waters from time to time. But for the most part i’m a mainstream comics fan at heart. Since you’ve undoubtedly rushed home from work/school/your busy life to find out who #5-#1 could possibly be, i felt obligated to have this ready – just for you! Yeah, you. The one who was here yesterday thinking “I’ve never ever heard of most of these guys.” And they are all guys, aren’t they? Hmmm…is my view too chauvinistic? Where all the ladies at? Perhaps the fairer sex is simply that and their supercrimes against humanity aren’t quite as heinous. A skim down this list of femme fatales does illicit some “oh yeah…” names for me (looking at you Elektra, White Queen, Cheetah, some others) but, sorry ladies, when it comes to my favorite comic book metacriminals, it’s a man’s world.
#5 – Kingpin With his generally recognized arch-nemesis ranking #2 on this album’s A-side, Wilson Fisk was basically an auto-include on this list. The only question was where to place him. Compared to those who came before, he’s severely out-classed in regards to power level. But this list is about my favorites, and there’s no doubt the Kingpin of Crime is one of them. All Sydney Greenstreet inspiration aside, by the time i came across Kingpin during Frank Miller’s legendary run around Issue #170 he was introduced to me as a mammoth of muscle, a brutal crimelord who, while he preferred to run the show from his Manhattan penthouse, had no qualms about getting his hands dirty. A brilliant story arc, of that there is no question. But i wondered, even as a child – who would sign up to be his training partners? i’m pretty sure he killed them all during the session. Classes at the local dojo must have been getting pretty thin. “Hey – did you see that ad in the locker room? Some spice dealer is paying top dollar for sparring partners!” “Let’s go check it out. I hear Murphy signed up last week. Haven’t heard from him though…”
“Surprisingly quick on his feet for a big man.” - every WWF color commentator during a match featuring a large man.
Oh, what an awesome run of comics that was. Brilliant! Looking back, i can’t believe i was reading those when i was in like 3rd grade, but hey – i turned out all right. Those issues featuring a fantastic gritty tale starring Kingpin, DD, Elektra, and Bullseye are likely the culprits responsible for my appreciation of a good crime story to this very day. i never knew Kingpin as the malformed malcontent of his earlier years battling Spider-Man. To me, he’s always been a dark figure, one who inspired chills when revealed as the mastermind behind the nefarious plot. Like the characters he schemed against, the mention of his name instantly let me know that things just got real serious.
One of the best things about Kingpin – no costume!
From what i understand, most of Kingpin’s earlier exploits involved standard comic book fare of the day – oddball heists, gimmicky gadgets, and authentic Stan Lee banter. And it would be blasphemous to discount that earlier body of work. But for my money, Marvel NYC’s Kingpin of Crime will forever be steeped in ninjas, assassins, and psychological torture aimed at his enemies whether they be superpowered or not, or even his own son. The best thing about this character is definitely the realism that makes it just believable enough that you don’t have far to suspend your disbelief.
The other great stand-out Kingpin story, and for my money probably the best comic book story i’ve ever read (sorry, Paul!) is the 50-something issue run by Brian Michael Bendis and Alex Maleev. i should clarify that last statement – it’s not that the erstwhile creator of Longbox Graveyard doesn’t like the story. Far from it. But he does make quite a case against the format of the story, which i totally respect. Actually, in a funny way i agree with him – it is very wordy – but on the other hand look what you’re reading right now. See any posts under 500 words around here? Didn’t think so.
But i digress. By the time you reach the end of this epic DD tale, i believe you will be a fan of the Kingpin too. Like LBG and pretty much anyone else you ask including myself, reading them in collected version is definitely the way to go. i suppose at this point, it’s superfluous to think you’d read each issue individually and wait a month between each…but on the other hand, there is the thrill of the back-issue hunt to consider. If that’s your ken, then don’t let me stop you – pick a random number between 26 and 81 and go from there.
We’re getting serious now. Throw out all those who came before, these last three put the “super” in supervillain.
The first thing i have to say about Lex here is that he is the only character i’ve researched who has his own listing on IMDB. At least the only one that comes up near the top of a Google search. And with a filmography that lists 45 items, that’s pretty impressive.
i’d at least consider voting Lex for President.
At this point, i’d say it’s pointless to try and pinpoint when exactly i became a fan of Luthor. Even people who have never seen, let alone read, a comic book know this character. Superman’s nemesis, a “normal” man of exceptional intellect, scientific and technological genius, and ruthlessness. In fact, he is considered to be the most intelligent human in his comic book universe, and one of the most intelligent beings period. If you ask me, this ought to be considered a super power by itself – the power to surpass Batman in anything a human is capable of. Typical comic book discussions involving Batman result in the Dark Knight being the most/best whatever. It should be noted that, since we’re talking comics here, Luthor’s scientific prowess extends to things like space and extra-dimensional travel, mutations, and the like. If you were to ask the man himself, only Brainiac is his peer intellectually.
Gene Hackman’s superb turn as Superman’s foil.
For a lot of folks, Richard Donner’s 1978 Superman: The Movie served as their introduction to the whole mythos of the Last Son of Krypton, and in that, i believe their image of Luthor is a wonderful starting point. There’s no denying that Gene Hackman is a terrific actor, and i enjoy the heck out of his portrayal. At times maybe it was bordering on campy, but for what it’s worth the seeds of sinister charm and megalomaniacal brilliance certainly shone through.
Luthor’s warsuit. Classic!
Another iconic part of Luthor’s repertoire is the Warsuit, which made it’s debut in Action Comics #544 in 1983 (Post-Crisis version in Man of Steel #5 in 1986). Capable of flight, super strength, force fields, various energy blasts – including several varieties of Kryptonite – and others dependent on writers’ fiat, the Warsuit enables Lex to go mano en Superman (yeah i know that’s all kinds of wrong). There’s more than a few DC villains with a penchant for purple and green, no?
Rockin’ the disco collar. It’s Leisure Suit Lex!
How many people can say this image springs to mind when they think of Lex Luthor? Chances are you’re thinking “yeah, Super Friends was the bomb, yo!” And you’re right – it was. But technically it wasn’t until the third series of programs that the infamous Legion of Doom, lead by Luthor here, made it’s first appearance. i know, right? The original Super Friends from 1973 was the one with Wendy, Marvin, and Wonderdog on the team. You think those two would have lasted two seconds against the LoD? Think again. How about the 1977 All-New Super Friends Hour? Nope, but getting there. Wendy and Marvin got the boot, and in came Zan and Jayna with their space monkey Gleek. But this collection of heroes mostly used super teamwork and ethnic diversity to thwart kooky scientists and weird aliens.
Finally, in 1978 Hanna-Barbera got wise and put together a collection of deadly and, more importantly, recognizable bad guys, gave them a swanky swamp fortress, and pitted the heroes from the Hall of Justice against evil enemies worthy of their powers.
One of the best things about a villain like Lex Luthor is the broad approach to his character that has allowed him to undergo these and many other permutations and still remain essentially the same, even after 73 years of publication history. i particularly enjoy the fact that every so often, even modern day versions of the character will have him sporting his Super Friends garb. And it’s perfectly acceptable because a) it’s a comic and everybody has goofy outfits b) it typically performs some function relative to the plot and c) it’s Lex Luthor – who’s going to tell him he looks silly?
Bald, evil, criminal mastermind…i’m noticing more than one pair on this list with striking similarities.
At the end of the day, one of the most important aspects to a good villain is when you can see that, from a certain perspective, they’re right. Lex Luthor wasn’t always reprehensible (well…) but he certainly went far over the edge since beginning his feud with Superman. That’s at the core of his character. If it weren’t for this alien, then a man like Lex Luthor would had nothing stopping his ambitious pursuits. Take away all the arrogance, condescendence, and mercilessness, and he’s a man who believes that humankind can and should take care of itself without interference from a godlike benefactor from another planet. But, also like the best villains, he’s got to take it too far and believe zealously in his entitled right to rule the roost. Because if he didn’t slip into brutal wickedness…he might be the good guy (looking in your direction, Bruce Wayne).
“What did Doctor Doom really want? He wanted to rule the world. Now, think about this. You could walk across the street against a traffic light and get a summons for jaywalking, but you could walk up to a police officer and say ‘I want to rule the world,’ and there’s nothing he can do about it, that is not a crime. Anybody can want to rule the world. So, even though he was the Fantastic Four’s greatest menace, in my mind, he was never a criminal!” - Stan “The Man” Lee
Say what you will about this Latverian despot, you’ve got to admire his accomplishments. Born a gypsy and persecuted in his homeland, Victor von Doom developed genius intellect and considerable arcane prowess first to protect his people, and eventually to succeed several times at gaining ultimate power. Although his exploits are legendary, probably my favorite occurred during the 1980′s Secret Warsseries (that i touched on in Part 1) – seizing the power of the Beyonder. i came for the cover and stayed for the story. My god, what an issue! Seriously, as a kid reading this one it was cinched for me – Doom is the ultimate bad-ass.
You should see the other guy.
In contrast to Lex Luthor, who appeals to me because of the broad strokes that make me adaptable in so many ways, Doom’s staying power lies in the opposite direction. In a strange dichotomy, he is a character that forever craves power while at the same time brims with the confidence of his already superior status. He is not a man who fights to take over the world – instead he considers all other foolish for not acknowledging his existing right to rule. He is, after all, a king.
What strikes me throughout his comic book history is the outright terror inspired by the merest mention of his name. Thanos comes a knocking, and the Avengers know which troops to rally. Galactus on a trajectory with earth – the heroes can find a way to deal. But with Dr. Doom all bets are off. He has plans within plans within plans and despite all his personal menace, the most frightening part is that when it comes down to it, his machinations often revolve around the fact that defeating him will only make things worse.
This isn’t to say he’s a good guy though, by any means. What he does have, that many villains lack, is honor. Sure, he’s resorted to tricks and subterfuge plenty of times but at the end of the day, his supreme belief in his own sovereign might is what puts his ahead of the pack. He doesn’t just want to defeat his enemies – he wants them to recognize their inferiority.
Aside from all of that though, underneath the iconic armor, i think Doom is a man who wants to be loved. Yep, i said it. Call me crazy, but the seeds are there. Think about it – he can and has seized cosmic power on more than one occasion, and even managed to “take over the earth” (whatever that means). More than once though, he’s expressed that he wants people to want him to rule. He believes he’s the best man for the job, and he’s devoted his life to that cause. In that way, he’s kinda reminiscent of real life uber-successes. Foregoing all other pursuits like family and friends, instead Doom eternally strives to increase his power and influence. And therein lies one of the conceits of the comic book world, down a path of thinking that has niggled at me for years – when is it enough for these guys? Perhaps that is why, especially in this new century of provocative comic story telling, we so often see characters die or dramatically change. When you have traversed the known and unknown multiverse, tasted ultimate power, bested all your foes, acquired limitless wealth and power…where do you go? The best you can hope for is a quiet time of peace before the end.
But for Dr. Doom, who has seen it all and lived to tell the tale, can you ever really accept that there is and end? Perhaps all your struggles, battles, triumphs, and defeats serve as a crucible. What you face at the end of all things is simply the doom of your time.
”I am Doom… Destroyer of Worlds… What gods dare stand against me?”
What?! Magneto was my #7 favorite Good Guy – no fair! To that, i’ll let Kurtis Blow lay it out for you.
So i’ll cut you a deal. Since you made it this far, through a two-parter no less, i’ll let you off the hook. If you really want to know how i feel about the Master of Magnetism, there’s a handy link up there for you which i fully encourage you to check out. For the nonce, however, i’ll leave you with a cool visual. And hey – you got some sweet old school hip hop for your trouble as well.
i teased this about a week ago, and now i will tell you the tale. For the typical DDO’er this is probably not anything to write home (or online to share with the world) about, but for me it was a HUGE deal. See, for all that i’ve been grinding through lives and levels almost since the very beginning (regrettably just a tad too late) i was never much of a raider (i.e. never ran any except a Tempest Spine six years ago, severely under-level Chronoscopes, and 2 Shroud runs). But thanks to some serious time dedicated to a single character, and inclusion in a really active and vibrant guild, i finally felt like i could carry my weight in a 12-person group battling for epic supremacy. Since then, i’m happy to say i can hang with the big dogs (or Wolfies) on Monday nights. By “hang with” i mean “not be a huge burden” – these skilled vets are rolling along and defeating evil with aplomb.
So there i sat last week, tapping away about the awesome achievement of facing down an EH green dragon and overcoming the challenge. i get a few lines in when my phone starts blowing up.
“Epic VON with the guild!” 10:09pm
“They are already on VON 2 but there is still room” 10:10pm
“On three now…” 10:11pm
By this point i’m like WTF is going on? How are they doing it this quickly?! i thought maybe they were blowing through flagging at the Heroic tier, something i did solo in about 20 minutes the other day so i’d be ready for this moment. What was i to do? Sit there and finish writing about a game or jump in there and do something?!
Well, as you may have surmised by now – both!
If you stayed up extra late to read about our time purging the poisoned well, thank you. This is what caused the delay.
By the time i logged on, my guildmates were standing around waiting to start the boss fight in VON2: The Prisoner…which took about 10 seconds on EH. After that, we blew through VON4: Haywire Foundry, where i was happy to note that when we split up, i could still hold my own and contribute meaningful DPS. At least, it seemed so to me. It’s all relative – i was seeing way bigger numbers than i ever had before. Note to PnP players – “splitting the party” does not equate to “guaranteed TPK” in this game.
So within a couple minutes, everyone is flagged. All of this is old hat to me (not the Epic part, but the quests themselves). Every toon i’ve ever brought to level range has been flagged just in case the opportunity arises, but the stars just never aligned for me. To put it another way, i was too chicken to PUG it not knowing what i was doing. i will admit that Wrongside, myself, and our buddy Daniam once entered the Vault of Night just to see what we could see. Believe it or not, we managed to complete VON5 – the actual vault portion of the raid. IIRC it took about oh…two hours or so fumbling and stumbling through it. We were so jacked after that, ready to fight what at the time was the game’s only red dragon. No problem, right?
We enter the Plane of Night. Oooh. Ahhh. What a sight! A pocket dimension basically in orbit around the planet far below. Far enough below to see the curvature of it. Armed with the knowledge that there are 3 pillars to be destroyed simultaneously, we split up and each head for one.
And then we got annihilated in short order.
“She breathes fire on you before you can fight her? What’s going on? The bridge is burning! Uh-oh, i’m getting hit…”
Ding!
Ding! Ding!
Let’s put all that behind us, shall we? This night was different. Rolling with a guild in a full party rounded out by a pair of PUGgers, i had zero doubt we’d succeed. If there was one downside, it’s that everyone knew the quest so well, i didn’t really have time to absorb any of what was going on while we ran it. i did experience a moment of dread when i greedily clicked to pick up the enticing treasure bag i spotted and realized it was some sort of quest item signet ring. Was i stuck with it? Could it be traded to someone who knew what to do with it? Thankfully, yes. Whew! Off the hook.
Finally, the big fight!
Please ignore the party chat window – that was a technical error for Wolfie i swear!
Honestly, i don’t want to say i was underwhelmed or anything, but this was so much easier than i anticipated. Over the years, i’ve read guides and strategies, tactics, what to expect, and so on and so forth. But when it came right down to it, the great wyrm went down after a few minutes of the tanks whacking at her while the rest of us blasted the living heck out of her. However, we did have to hide behind a rock for a few seconds every so often when someone would yell “Inferno!”
Remind me again why there’s no dragons in the Monster Manual. Seems like a glaring omission, no?
And that was that. Two dragons in two days – i was pretty darn proud of myself. The green one went down through a combination of guile, cunning, and frantically Wind Dancing around the cavern. This red one went down through sheer overwhelming force. And it was awesome. i know it’s just a game, and this particular raid isn’t anything new, but man it felt freakin’ fantastic to run this one!
Pwned. Got a Flawless Red Dragon Scale too. If only you could craft iridescent armor…
Afterwards, me and Wrongside hung around the Plane of Night to get some screenshots. i didn’t realize there was a perfect vantage point underneath the battlefield, but thankfully Wrongside did and got a great one.
You’ve come a long way, Wrongside Redd of Sarlona.
Since last week, Schir has acquired quite a taste for dragon slaying. We ran another Epic VON just last night as a matter of fact, and this time i took advantage of the sweet spot as well.
Master of Reality…getting there anyway.
We also got a guided tour of the Epic Gianthold courtesy of Reikenn, one of our guildmates. He surprised us by plunging us into another pitched battle against a red dragon.
I am Schir, and I am indeed Eberron’s mightiest Sorcerer!
What have i learned from all this dragon hunting? Probably the most profound lesson is that it is good to find a group of cool people to game with. My enjoyment of DDO took a quantum leap forward since getting recruited into the Sacred Flame Guardians, and running with these guys is such a blast. Apologies to their alts (i’m still trying to figure out who’s who) but people like Wolfie, Reikenn, Aunslaut, Abbigaal, Celeste, Scentinel, Kantril, Carvur, Tuducken, Wyrmbud, Vladamirre, and many others have really amped up the fun factor for me.
Thanks for visiting!
* * * * *
Coming up in the near future, i’ve got a great opportunity to interview our guild leader Wolfie right here on The Long Shot. If you’ve been playing any length of time and PUGging any of that time, there’s a good chance you’ve run with him already. He has been involved with gaming for quite a while. He’s a great guy, terrific guild leader, and i don’t think you’ll be surprised to learn he’s pretty damn cool out of game too. So i hope you come back around to learn more about him in the next week or so.
i’m still learning the ropes of this sort of gaming coverage, so my apologies for the awkward structure and whatnot. i definitely want to give a huge shout out and big ups to EvenNote and the entire OurDDO project, and Gamer Geoff for helping keep a great community alive, and for including me in it. Thanks so much!
A dude trying to find find that magic something...i dont' even know what
i'm a dude who likes to write fiction and non-fiction. On my blog i write stuff about topics that pique my interest. i also like to talk to other people engaged in media-related projects of their own and share their stories. Some day, i would like to write professionally in a variety of disciplines like screenwriting, comics, essays, novels, features, and probably more. Thank you for visiting and i hope you come often.
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