Shattered Kingdoms

Gleaming from head to hooves in a midnight-black sheen, this half-man,
half-horse seems dark enough to actually camouflage with the night. He is
larger than the average centaur, and his meaty forearms are crisscrossed
with cuts and scars. Fully garbed in metal armor and covered in jewels and
charms, this hybrid creature exudes battle-readiness.

oOOOoOOOoOOOoOOOoOOOoOOOoOOOoOOOoOOOoOOOoOOOoOOOoOOOoOOOoOOOoOOOoOOOoOOOoOOOo
o [Attributes] Emet - Cleric of the Blade. o
o===-===-===-===-===-===-===-===-===-===-===-===-===-===-===-===-===-===-===o
o Status: Grand Master(1) Race: Centaur Class: Priest o
o Age: 31 Sex: Male Size: Large o
o Alignment: Principled Handiness: Left handed Religion: Dulrik o
o===-===-===-===-===-===-===-===-===-===-===-===-===-===-===-===-===-===-===o
o STR: Strong INT: Brilliant WIS: Sagacious o
o DEX: Clumsy CON: Hardened CHA: Influential o
o===-===-===-===-===-===-===-===-===-===-===-===-===-===-===-===-===-===-===o
o Carrying capacity: 5 items with a maximum weight of 245.0 pounds. o
oOOOoOOOoOOOoOOOoOOOoOOOoOOOoOOOoOOOoOOOoOOOoOOOoOOOoOOOoOOOoOOOoOOOoOOOoOOOo

Cabal: Talon of the Feathered Dragon (Leader)
Info: Centaur Priest TalonLeader
You have played 446 hour(s) so far.

After Dulrik's latest bug fixes/code changes, I can finally put Emet to rest knowing that his original intent - catalyzing many needed changes to the law code - has finally succeeded. Order tribunal NPCs to kill is now a crime. Looting from a corpse is now a crime. Reciting offensive scrolls is now a crime. Every class with scrolls has been wimped noticeably. My code-related goal as Emet has been completed.

I have really enjoyed played as Emet. When faced with the decision of which of my three characters to play (Zerel, Daedelamon, and Emet) -> I easily decided upon Emet. Not only did I have access to the most cheater item in the entire game (Runed Cloak of the Mists)...I also genuinely enjoyed the roleplay on Emet. I have always advocated for hard-ass lighties who aren't easily deceived or easily tricked. I have longed for the old days of players like Summ/Halcidan/Thalis within the Hammer, days that are looked back fondly by the rest of the mud but were derided at the time as 'the worst Hammer roleplay in history', and 'disgusting and more like adept roleplay than hammer roleplay'. I was considered a newbie at the time of the huge controversy taking place over the extremely aggressive lighties in the Hammer, and I hated how they would pk me shortly after deducing that I was their enemy...but I appreciated that they weren't playing empty, idiotic light auras that one always sees.

My cheesiness in picking the name Emet (hebrew for 'Truth') and for making a character that was jet-black and originally quoted Obama nearly every sentence was...lame, yeah. When I started out as Obama-Emet, though, I was astounded by how rude Lighties treated each other. I transformed Emet over time from a young, excited, and friendly character to one that - although he would help any Lighty and would legitimately help them level or learn - would be excessively strict, rude, and harsh. A lot of players think that my attitude itself was too mean or unfair to qualify me as a light aura character, let alone the principled character that Emet was -> but I completely disagree. I loved roleplaying a hard-ass so soon after Olian and Hadaro.

I didn't do much exploring or tactical learning as Emet, mostly because as Olian I had been able to explore nearly the entire mud. Leading groups into Radi Kenga, the ToM, the wastelands, etc. was a fun experience though. I had never really done any of that beyond when I had been solo before, so interacting with other players was a blast.

The hero tournament as Emet was probably the most fulfilling part of the character for me. I was yelled at by my suitemates at college for being a loser all weekend and only smoking with my laptop on my lap and refusing to drink while I got that hero amulet for myself, but I had an absolute blast. Working against an entire mud that "hated" me IC and OOC really made me work to win. Although many players have OOCly joked to me that the number of player who hated me IC and OOC was outrageous at the start of Emet, there seems to have been a transformation after I stuck with the character, where I get contacted and defended a lot more now.

Emet had two close friendships, both to players that OOCly I did not know the identity of -> Aldric and Methias. After hours upon hours of roleplay with these two, I eventually asked for their im/ym and discovered that Aldric was someone I actually knew IRL (Dylan's younger brother Paul, for all those from Newton MA), and Methias was played by Zavier, a character who I had an amazingly fulfilling interaction with as my character Dendrum, who led the 'Combined Guilds of Teron' alongside him. Forming in-game, extremely close friendships with other characters is one of my favorite parts of SK. The interactions with these two characters really helped to transform Emet from the fun-loving, young priest he was originally into the hardass tool that he ended up being in the end.

A number of players believe that I took it too far with my crusade upon the Crucible, but my main defense is that it is extremely difficult for a veteran player of SK who really enjoys the tactical side of the game to...have any fun at all when there is no competition. I brought out the Crucible from obscurity because I desperately wanted to have someone to spice up the game. They can feel free to blame me for ruining their introduction to the mud if they wish, but I don't have many regrets regarding this. It would take me another page to argue about claims that I was somehow OOC in my approach towards the Crucible, but I stand by my views that ICly it was perfectly reasonable to act as I did.

I have deleted Emet and Zerel now, and I am considering doing the same with Daedelamon, although I enjoy having a character to go back to in need. I likely won't stay away for that long, and my most likely characters include
1) hammer human barb (daedelamon)
2) darkie sprite rogue
3) deep-elf necro

I think that no matter what I pick, I will be going a route that takes me out of the pvp circle for some time to come. Emet had only one death in pvp in hundreds of pks, and I think he was successful overall as a pvp character. I had to form his history along the way, and I think on future characters I will put in the few hours of extra work at the beginning to fully form my character before I start playing.

A number of players believe that I took it too far with my crusade upon the Crucible, but my main defense is that it is extremely difficult for a veteran player of SK who really enjoys the tactical side of the game to...have any fun at all when there is no competition. I brought out the Crucible from obscurity because I desperately wanted to have someone to spice up the game. They can feel free to blame me for ruining their introduction to the mud if they wish, but I don't have many regrets regarding this. It would take me another page to argue about claims that I was somehow OOC in my approach towards the Crucible, but I stand by my views that ICly it was perfectly reasonable to act as I did.