Post by Judas D'arc on May 9, 2019 15:39:58 GMT -5
ULTIMA ONLINE - CATSKILLS RP PRIMER
So you’ve made the decision to return to UO and Catskills after some years away? Here’s some things you should know about what’s happened in the meantime:
THE WORLD:
The shard-worlds of Sosaria now have multiple facets and expansions, as follows:
Felucca: The original UO landmass and mechanics, Britannia. These days, it’s mostly a lawless battleground where the forces of Virtue or Vice battle over mostly dead cities.
The Lost Lands: A hidden land mass where the cities of Delucia and Papua are located. Both the Felucca and Trammel Facets have versions of it.
This area was introduced in 1998’s The Second Age expansion.
Trammel: The version of Britannia ruled by a King and aided by his governor council. Since the departure of Lord British, Britannia has had three other monarchs: King Casca, a corrupt elf who was overthrown; Queen Dawn, a plucky Yew farm girl turned hero who was murdered; and the current ruler, King Blackthorn, Lord British’s former friend and political rival. (The version of Blackthorn introduced in 2002’s Lord Blackthorn’s Revenge expansion, who became a cyborg and invaded Britannia at the behest of Exodus, was retconned in 2012 to be an imposter).
The Trammel version of Britannia was introduced 2000’s Renaissance expansion.
Ilshenar: Rumored at times to be the lost continent of the Lands of Danger and Despair, this facet is largely uncivilized, and populated by Jukans, Meer, and gypsy camps, and filled with various dungeons, shrines and moongates dedicated to the virtues, and lots of monsters.
This facet was introduced in 2001’s Third Dawn expansion.
Malas: Allegedly the lost continent of the Lands of Dark Unknown, this broken mass of lands is surrounded by the starry void. There are two main population centers, Luna, city of commerce and paladins, and Umbra, the city of necromancers. It’s also the location of Dungeon Doom.
This facet was introduced in 2003’s Age of Shadows expansion.
Tokuno: Purported to be the lost continent of the Lands of the Feudal Lords, this Asian-themed facet has three different islands ruled by an Empress from Zento, its central city. Samurai and ninja roam the lands, along with many strange monsters.
This facet was introduced in 2004’s Samurai Empire expansion.
Heartwood: Home of the elves (now a playable race), it exists within a gate at the center of Yew.
This area was introduced in 2005’s Mondain’s Legacy expansion.
Ter Mur: The home facet of the gargoyles (now a playable race), a demonic-looking yet peaceful race that follow their own philosophical system. They are ruled by Queen Zhah. The Stygian Abyss dungeon also serves to connect Ter Mur with Britannia.
This facet was introduced in 2009’s Stygian Abyss expansion.
Eodon: A strange valley populated by savages, dinosaurs, and ant-like myrmidex was linked to Sosaria through the actions of the Time Lord. It is also the current location of the dark sorceress Minax, whose fortress Shadowguard was trapped there in an effort to stop her plans.
This facet was introduced in 2015’s Time of Legends expansion.
The High Seas booster pack, originally released in 2010, introduced additional content, such as a new classes of ships, cannons, sea battles, and dangerous ocean encounters.
NEW SKILLS ADDITIONS:
Age of Shadows:
- Chivalry: The holy magic of paladins, potency is dependent upon the caster’s karma and its spells use tithing points in lieu of reagents.
- Necromancy: The reagent-based, dark magic of necromancers, the damage and duration of these spells is affected by the caster’s Spirit Speak skill.
- Focus: Mana and Stamina Regeneration for warriors.
Samurai Empire:
- Bushido: The primarily defensive, combat talents of a samurai.
- Ninjitsu: The primarily offensive and/or stealth-based combat talents of a ninja.
Mondain’s Legacy:
- Spellweaving: A reagent-less school of elven magic, these spells are further empowered by cooperation with other players.
Stygian Abyss:
- Imbuing: The ability to imbue crafted items with certain magical properties.
- Mysticism: A reagent-based, gargoyle school of magic, their potency is affected by the caster’s Focus or Imbuing skills.
- Throwing: A gargoyle-only ability to make long distance weapon attacks.
Time of Legends:
- Skill Masteries: While not a separate skills, these masteries enable those with 90 or above in certain skills to execute additional special moves related to those skills. Prior to this expansion, masteries were only available for bard skills.
ITEM-BASED GAME PLAY:
As part of the Age of Shadows expansion, UO’s item system received a drastic overhaul, which added numerous item properties to weapons, armor, jewelry, and other equipment. Since 2003, they have additional item properties, and they can be found on random loot, named artifacts, or imbued (or reforged, a higher risk/higher reward version of imbuing) onto crafted items.
While a complete understanding of this system requires time and patience, the general concept is that a character’s effectiveness is now dependent upon their equipment as much as their skills.
More information about item properties can be found here:
uo.com/wiki/ultima-online-wiki/items/magic-item-properties/
THE EM SYSTEM:
Each UO shard has (or should have) a dedicated Event Moderator (EM), similar to the Seers of years past, and their responsibility is to provide “live” story content to a shard’s players. While it could be argued that not all EMs are created equal, Catskills has been fortunate because our EMs have a tradition of being RP-oriented and/or supportive of the RP community.
EM Events:
Each month, the EM hosts a number of scheduled events, usually related to an ongoing story arc, though they can also be stand-alone or seasonal in nature. While these events involve interaction and a story, attendance is not exclusive to role-players. Once per month, each EM hosts a “drop” event, which gives players the chance to obtain a “rare” item worth a sizeable amount of gold. These “drop” events are often overcrowded to the point of affecting enjoyment. Consequently, non-drop events usually attract a smaller crowd and allow for greater flexibility of interaction.
The Governor System:
Following the coronation of King Blackthorn, a governor system was implemented in UO. Under this, player characters can be elected governor of one of the Britannian cities: Britain, Jhelom, Minoc, Moonglow, New Magincia, Skara Brae, Trinsic, Vesper, and Yew, for a term of six months, with no limitations on the number of terms a governor can run.
As governor, a player character is recognized in-character and RP-wise as the leader of that city, and possesses certain powers and responsibilities, including:
- A seat at the once-per-month “live” governor’s meeting, presided over by the EM playing the role of King Blackthorn and publicly open to all citizens of Sosaria, and being allotted time to address the King regarding the state of the governor’s city.
- The power to grant special city titles to any citizens of the governor’s city.
- The ability to set the city’s trade deal, which grants a bonus buff to its citizens, dependent on the trade deal selected by the governor.
- The submission of requests to the King (EM) on behalf of the city, usually in the form of physical additions, such as a dock, stable master or trash can, dependent upon feasibility and approval from the developers.
- Use of the governor’s office that was added to each city.
- Create entries to the town crier system.
- Expand upon the role for various RP purposes, imagination not included with election.
The Royal Britannian Guard:
The Royal Britannian Guard (“RBG”) is the military organization of the Kingdom of Britannia, loyal to King Blackthorn and responsible for the protection of the realm. Led by an EM-played Commander character, the RBG’s membership consists of both NPCs and players, with the ranks of the latter determined by their attendance and participation in EM events. The higher-ranking members are sometimes given additional responsibilities or roles within (and sometimes outside of) the EM events and storylines. The RBG is open to any interested player.
Note: The current Catskills EM is in the process of revamping this system.
IMPORTANT HISTORICAL EVENTS:
There have been many important historical events that have occurred during the past 20+ years, both globally and on Catskills, far more than are possible to summarize for the purposes of this primer. However, here is an overview of some global events of importance:
- In 2000, Minax’s invasion of Sosaria led to the magical creation of the Trammel facet by Nystul, Lord British’s court mage, and the flight of many citizens to this new facet.
- In 2002: Lord Blackthorn was transformed into a half-human/half-machine creature by Exodus, the machine spawn of Mondain and Minax, and invaded Britannia.
- In 2003, Lord Blackthorn was slain by a Yew farm girl named Dawn. Later, Lord British returned briefly from his long absence to bury his friend, before departing again.
- In 2004, a new facet of Sosaria was discovered. This land was Tokuno, a feudal kingdom ruled by an Empress, and populated by by samurai and ninjas. It was claimed that this Tokuno was actually the Lands of Feudal Lords, one of the three original continents of Sosaria which vanished after Mondain’s defeat, despite obvious continuity issues.
- In 2005, the majority of the long-hidden elven race reappeared, restoring the city of Yew after it had been transformed by the Meer into a swamp during Blackthorn’s invasion. A portal to Heartwood, the elven city, also appeared in the center of Yew.
- From 2006 to 2009, the Warriors of Destiny event cycle occurred. This rather lengthy storyline featured the City of Magincia’s destruction by demons, the rising threat of the Shadowlords, and the reign of the tyrant Casca, a corrupt elf and Shadowlord agent, who briefly occupied the throne of Britannia. In the end, the Shadowlords were defeated and Casca was slain by Dawn, who was then crowned as Britannia’s first queen.
For more information: www.uoguide.com/Warriors_of_Destiny
- From 2009 and 2010, the ‘In the Shadows of Virtue’ event cycle occurred. This storyline followed the discovery of Ter Mur and the Stygian Abyss, and featured the establishment of relations between Britannia and the gargoyle kingdom, the exploration of the Stygian Abyss dungeon, the threat of the demon Virtuebane and his Bane Chosen, and the murder of Queen Dawn by her husband Ors, who was under the demon’s influence. In the end, the Virtuebane was defeated, Magincia was cleansed but transformed into the far less impressive New Magincia, and Britannia was left without a true monarch.
For more information: www.uoguide.com/In_the_Shadow_of_Virtue
- In 2012, the Awakening event cycle occurred. This storyline featured rioting and looting by the dissatisfied, monarch-less people of Britannia, the return of the monstrous Exodus and his subsequent defeat, the appearance of a deadly plague that infected the gargoyles if Ter Mur, and the return of Lord Blackthorn, who had been (retconned) as the prisoner of Exodus since 2002, his half-machine counterpart revealed to have been an Exodus created imposter. In the end, Blackthorn restored the Honor moongate of Ilshenar, cured the gargoyle plague, and was crowned as the newest king of Britannia, establishing the current governor system to aid in his rule.
For more information: www.uoguide.com/The_Awakening
- In 2015, the Time of Legends event cycle occurred. This storyline featured the efforts of the Time Lord to thwart the enchantress Minax by gathering four magical gems, one from a different facet. During this event, Ilshenar and Malas were revealed to be the two other missing continents of old Sosaria, the Lands of Danger and Despair and the Lands of Dark Unknown, though the reasoning behind this claim was somewhat spurious. In the end, the Time Lord’s ritual trapped Minax and her fortress, Shadowguard, in Eodon, a newly discovered facet populated by savages, giant reptiles, and the dangerous ant-like Myrmidex.
For more information, see the Time of Legends background Fiction:
Part One: uo.com/2015/05/21/the-silver-gate/
Part Two: uo.com/2015/06/18/the-lost-king/
Part Three: uo.com/2015/07/17/isamus-legacy/
Part Four: uo.com/2015/08/20/danger-and-despair/
Part Five: uo.com/2015/09/21/trading-pieces/
Part Six: uo.com/2015/10/08/voices/
In 2017: The Shattered Obelisk event cycle occurred. This storyline featured an invasion (for the second time on Catskills) by the four elemental Titans of Pagan and their forces. Sherry the Mouse became relevant once again, the cities of Britannia suffered constant attacks, and Lord Blackthorn fell from the sky. In the end, the four Titans were defeated and Britannia celebrated by holding a many months’ long parade.
In 2019, the Rising Tide event cycle began. As of this writing, this storyline is currently unfolding, but has so far featured increased pirate activity, the ascension of the villainous Hook to the head of the Thieves Guild, and a threat to the Shrines and Runes of Virtue,
For more information about Ultima Online background lore:
uo.com/category/fiction/
stratics.com/w/index.php?title=UO:Official_Fiction
