Rabbit Invasion Response

The world was invaded by thousands of rabbits this past weekend; 38 players and 5 NPCs responded to the call to help stave off the fluffy horde. In spite of the many rabbits slain during those long 49 hours, 191 were still on the loose when Armageddon cleaned up the world.

And sadly, the vile creatures managed to murder two of our own during the last day of the hunt. Chreadus the novice magician was the first victim of the vicious lepus. He was followed hours later by Stome, who apparently did not learn his lesson from last year (when he was the sole rabbit-induced fatality).

Final ranking and kill counts:

1 – Levek, 2016
2 – Calvin, 1011
3 – Juanka, 350
4 – Dudemeister, 326
5 – Groot, 308
6 – Zorb, 155
7 – Shadap, 153
8 – Spoo, 117
9 – Neff, 114
10 – Flowerchild, 93
11 – Qz, 67
12 – Otter, 56
13 – Fact, 24
14 – Rangerman, 12
15 – Tanner, 10
16 – Druenarrii, 7
17 – Treesmall, 4
Owitzer, 4
18 – Atomik, 3
Dringol, 3
Geko, 3
Karlson, 3
Sammaal, 3
Variant, 3
19 – Narbondel, 2
Punk, 2
Raederle, 2
Tamnar, 2
Zirien, 2
20 – Aladar, 1
Guffaw, 1
Jeauxpaux, 1
Krynna, 1
Meiltan, 1
Sixclaw, 1
Spelly, 1
Vloki, 1
Wern, 1

NPCs
1 – Student, 5 (down from an impressive 66 last year)
2 – Lizard mage, 2
Lizard sergeant, 2
3- Lizard guard, 1
Snow wolf, 1

Thanks to all who participated and those who cheered them on, and congratulations to Levek, this year’s winner!

Tasty Turkey Totals

Whew! So many turkeys flapping around! Thanks to 50 brave players, who together killed 1026 wild turkeys, the world is once again safe-ish.

The standings before the final big invasion:
1) Dudemeister, 105 turkeys killed
2) Wern, 89
3) Otlotl, 86
4) Reality, 37
5) Oark, 23
– tied with –
5) Winter, 23
6) Flea, 17
– tied with –
6) Rng, 17
7) Whitehand, 15
8) Razumihin, 12
9) Balthamal, 10
– tied with –
9) Ygritte, 10
10) Cal, 9

And after all the feathers settled from the final hour of madness:

1) Otlotl, 397
2) Dudemeister, 105
3) Razumihin, 96
4) Wern, 89
5) Reality, 84
6) Oark, 23
– tied with –
6) Winter, 23
7) Neff, 18
8) Flea, 17
– tied with –
8) Rng, 17
9) Whitehand, 15
10) Balthamal, 10

Congratulations to the hunters! Thanks for helping keep Oerthe safe from bothersome birds!

Gobble Gobble! Wild Turkey Hunt

The sky is falling! No, wait. That’s not a piece of sky. It’s a delicious wild turkey!

Yes, the feathered menace is upon us again[1] and now is your chance to prove yourself the greatest turkey hunter on Oerthe!

Last year the 2-day invasion resulted in 443 turkey carcasses before the turkeys made their final large-scale assault, during which hundreds more flew in. There was so much confusion that at some point one of the birds turned on the rest of the flock and racked up some kills itself.

The top hunters last year were Levek (137), Winter (99), and Everything (49) before the birdnado descended towards the end of the reboot. The top hunters including birds slain during the final furious flock’s foray were Eco (377), Levek (293), and Arrikhan (209).

Who will take the lead this year? Will the birds claim any kills for their side? Can anyone actually eat that much turkey meat?

The next 49ish hours will decide!

[1] as of next reboot, in about 2 hours from this posting

It’s Over! NostAAlgia Winners

It’s over! 131 characters registered for the event. Although not all were there to try for a Hall of Heroes experience run, much fun was also had poking around in a smaller, more buggy universe.

Congratulations to Druenarrii, who held #1 for most of the event, and retook it after Gwydion and his unnatural relationship with the dead tried to wrest it away. Druenarrii was in 1st place at the end of the event, so the fate of Trofy Sjakk is his to decide!

Congratulations also to our top runners in each class: Reality, Epictetus, Calvin, Raederle, Gwydion, Druenarrii, Jeanie, Piggy, and ‘Kensai of the Moon’. Hall of Heroes VIP passes will be awarded to each of you. They are good for one year from today.

Now relax and enjoy not falling into rivers in 2015 while your wrists and fingers recover from mashing at the keyboard 🙂

(But don’t relax too much… I hear a faint but ominous gobbling sound in the distance. The turkey horde is almost upon us!)

Final NostAAlgia Hall of Heroes Standings

May 2003 Hall of Heroes Standings

NostAAlgia Registration Now Open

Registration for NostAAlgia is now available in the Town Hall in Tantallon!

NostAAlgia is a 2003-era version of Ancient Anguish… A world before Infidian, Traits, Artificers, Fluons, 49-hour reboots, levels past 19, and much more. Come relive the memories or marvel at how those oldtimers used to play; stick around and try your hand at an old-school Hall of Heroes experience run for a shot at a fabulous prize!

Remember that you are STRONGLY advised to choose the class you wish to play as BEFORE registering. (i.e., if you make a new alt, don’t register as an adventurer unless you really want to play NostAAlgia as an adventurer…)

NostAAlgia itself will be available for play beginning November 7 and ending November 22. Registration will be available during that time as well.

The main mud will still be available for normal play; NostAAlgia will run on the Anarchy port (6666) though it is not an Anarchy event (normal rules apply!)

Please see my previous posts on the Adventurer’s Board for more information, and do ask if you have any additional questions!

If you are unable to register for any reason, contact a Senator.

Previous notes:
anguish.org/tools/showcurrentnote.php?id=1&datetime=1445192950
also at tinyurl.com/olb37y6

anguish.org/tools/showcurrentnote.php?id=1&datetime=1445473470
also at tinyurl.com/nkjxnkx

anguish.org/tools/showcurrentnote.php?id=1&datetime=1446230357
also at tinyurl.com/nr5ua9y

Halloween Hunt and Treat Results

530 different NPCs were sweet-talked into giving out treats this year. A total of ten players made the rounds collecting candies. Competition was somewhat less fierce than last year, when 816 different NPCs handed out treats, and the top three trick-or-treaters collected more than 400 treats each.

This year’s top three sweet-gatherers:

Otter 405
Desiree 211
Syros 156

Honourable mention goes to Sugarcookie, Cateri, and Lavalamp, who each collected over 100, and Dudemeister, who collected 28 while also running ragged across the realm to wipe out the shambling horde.

In all, 26 players joined the fray against said horde. Combined, they rid the world of 411 creepy creatures! Last year the total kill count was 290. The battle for first place seemed predetermined, with Dudemeister holding the lead for much of the hunt. In the last days he was overtaken by the determined Balthamal, who refused to give way and finished in first place.

The top three slayers:

Balthamal 167
Dudemeister 147
Lavalamp 21

Happy Halloween!

Gems and Minerals Scavenge Hunt Commentary

The top part of the list was very turbulent throughout the game: Levek
made the first submission, then Krynna and Chthonic got started, and
soon Krynna started to dominate the contest past the 50-submission
mark, Dudemeister second.

At this point we also implemented an alternative score counting method
because artificers were seen to have a benefit, and excluded ficer
gatherables from it: on his first coffee break, Calvin took over first
position on that list for a moment, then Chthonic took over
that one again.

After the first 15 hours or so, as the contest was nearing 200
submissions total, Druenarrii had taken over first place on both
lists, after which the artificer class benefit was mostly only
trailing in the total scores’ Bear guild lead. Lavalamp brought
Snowfolk to the lead without ficer scores, and a few hours later had
wrestled the first place in total scores from Druenarrii. Levek had
risen second, to overtake Lavalamp a couple hours later. At this
point, Ravens and Eldar had joined the fray as well.

Creative players tried to stuff their fluon selves into the box, and
pondered hijacking Sandruby, but he declared he would not submit! At
the 400 submitted items mark, Calvin had taken second place. At the
500 point, he still was second, but the leader had changed to Chthonic
who stayed there for several hours before being wrestled off his place
in the sun by Levek, only 1,5 hours before reboot, at 600 total items
submitted and 23 total participants. At this point the Monks and Chaos
had entered the contest as well.

The highest two submitters passed the 100-submission mark, as did
their guilds.

The Bears dominated the scores for a long time, but eventually the
Snowfolk passed them and achieved victory! Scythe followed after in
its own class, with Knights fourth. Of the smaller guilds, The Monks
made the most submissions, followed closely by The Eldar, with Ravens
and Chaos tied for last place.

Knights and Scythe were not particularly well distributed: both had
their top submitter cover all but 4 of the guild’s submissions,
whereas both the Snowfolk and Black Bear had a more even contribution
towards the total score despite having very high performers. Bears
were collaborative on the event in general, and also used the guild
chutes effectively to collaborate on duplicated finds.

The Courts of Chaos entered the contest almost when it was over,
likely reasoning that in chaotic terms, the activity was only just
starting. Very fittingly, their sole submission was a lump of clay,
which the submission box confusedly accepted.

Gems and Minerals Scavenge Hunt Results

The gem hunt is over! The top 5 gem/mineral scavenge hunters are
Levek, Chthonic, Calvin, Druenarrii and Lavalamp!

Final scores:
Player scores sorted:
1) Levek: 113
2) Chthonic: 108
3) Calvin: 80
4) Druenarrii: 64
5) Lavalamp: 53
6) Dudemeister: 35
7) Wiolant: 34
8) Krynna: 34
9) Pandora: 30
10) Keldorn: 17
11) Wern: 17
12) Winter: 11
13) Raederle: 9
14) Zirien: 9
15) Suq: 7
16) Dahlia: 6
17) Balthamal: 5
18) Valygar: 4
19) Puma: 2
20) Villara: 2
21) Solice: 1
22) Valor: 1
23) Kylie: 1
24) Razumihin: 1
Total: 644

Guild scores sorted:
1) The Snowfolk: 135
2) The Black Bear: 126
3) The Scythe: 84
4) The Knights of Drin: 68
5) The Monks of Antana: 17
6) The Eldar: 9
7) Society of the Raven: 2
8) The Courts of Chaos: 1

Final scores in the alternative calculation without Artificer collectibles:

Player scores without ficer gems sorted:
1) Chthonic: 108
2) Levek: 94
3) Calvin: 58
4) Druenarrii: 54
5) Lavalamp: 53
6) Pandora: 26
7) Keldorn: 17
8) Wiolant: 16
9) Dudemeister: 13
10) Krynna: 12
11) Winter: 11
12) Raederle: 9
13) Zirien: 9
14) Suq: 7
15) Dahlia: 6
16) Balthamal: 5
17) Puma: 2
18) Villara: 2
19) Solice: 1
20) Valor: 1
21) Razumihin: 1
22) Kylie: 0
23) Valygar: 0
24) Wern: 0
Total: 505

Guild scores without ficer gems sorted:
1) The Snowfolk: 131
2) The Black Bear: 104
3) The Scythe: 62
4) The Knights of Drin: 56
5) The Eldar: 9
6) Society of the Raven: 2
7) The Courts of Chaos: 0
8) The Monks of Antana: 0

Additional mention for creativity:

The machinery was (as expected) unable to detect a few distinctly
gemlike items as gems, and the event was a big help in improving our
knowledge of what kinds of gems and minerals exist in the
game. Druenarrii found the most exotic suggestions for items (ballpark
of 50); also Calvin, Levek and Lavalamp got quite creative. Thanks
also to Krynna, Dahlia, Wern, Keldorn, Chthonic, Zirien, Dudemeister,
Solice, Valor, Raederle, Wiolant and Cateri for their suggestions, and
Pandora for voting on 4 ores to be included! Calvin and Lavalamp also
both found a bug in duplicate handling.

Keepink: 500k points reached

The exotic artifact collection craze has spread through the realm!

As of Harvestmonth 7, 648, a total of 502 607 points have been gained
by 16 contributors! Several of them report the system as being
addictive to a degree of interfering with the invention of other
mischief.

When Keepink started her business, she decided that when the magical
threshold of 500 000 granted points was reached, she would hire the
help to make preparations for the next collection display. This point
has now been reached, and enquiries are being made for what the next
collection will focus on. Please send in or post your suggestions!

The current scores are:

Best Artifact Collectors

 1.   Lavalamp         90,604
 2.  Druenarrii        89,868
 3.   Sixclaw          88,869
 4.     Spoo           68,125
 5. Dudemeister        61,076
 6.   Calcium          34,398
 7.  Influenza         20,567
 8. Ashenshugar        16,707
 9.    Zayvin           8,855
10.    Kivrin           6,897

                 Contributors  Total score   Average score
The Courts of Chaos      1       88,869        88,869
The Knights of Drin      3       97,741        32,580
The Monks of Antana      1        4,828         4,828
The Snowfolk             5      133,871        26,774
The Black Bear           1       61,076        61,076
The Scythe               4       48,097        12,024
The guildless            1       68,125        68,125

The Snowfolk have both the highest total contributor count and the
highest total score, while the Courts of Chaos have the highest
average score through one quality contributor!

AA West Coast (US) Meet, est. 2015

It happened! There were adventures! and games! and beer! and art! and nobody got axe-murdered, as far as we’ve been able to tell!

The official meetingplace, as arranged by Everything, was in the hills of Carnation at the beautiful woodland home of our lovely and generous hostess, Basil/Bizarre/Obelina. There was also some premeeting meeting in Seattle itself, at which Kamikaze interacted with art (thanks, Maker’s brother!), Luthien explored the nose of a troll, Maker and Crystallia were surprised by a drum circle, and we all waved at some geese behind a fence.

The first evening (and throughout the weekend, thanks to copious leftovers) we gorged on amazing and apparently endless pizza brought by Maker and Crystallia. They also brought Everything, but after some ethical considerations we decided not to eat him. Games were played, an elephant hat was passed around, scenic views were enjoyed, and although there was talk of camping and stuff, not many actually decided to spend the night outside getting devoured by bears and/or cougars. It was also a bit chilly out there.

The following day, expeditions were launched to explore the nearby Snoqualmie Falls, and after wandering around in the hot sun and splashing a bit in the cold river, we reconvened at the house for Basil’s delicious burgers and mushrooms and more games games games. Ciarrai somehow tracked us down without a wolf. We assume he left it at home so as not to dirty its perfect coat.

During the evening games, Maker and Crystallia presented all attendees with a secret prize they had been labouring over for GeOdie knows how long… Handmade wooden coasters with the Anguish map burned into them symbol by symbol. Some discussion and showing of other map-based crafts followed the unveiling, and then we all fought to the death over who got to keep which part of the map. After a couple minutes of singing with Lars, the games continued.

In the morning we went to visit Basil’s unicorn! And some were even brave enough to ride it. We also saw a piggy there enjoying a nice mud puddle, but are pretty sure it was not The Piggy. The mud puddle may have been a fluon though, those things are everywhere these days.

There were some postmeeting adventures with marmots and a mountain, both of which I highly recommend if you are ever in the region.

http://imgur.com/9tyKF6Z

A small selection of additional photos is available for viewing.

Much thanks to Everything for instigating the weekend and to Basil for opening her home to internet weirdos! It was wonderful to meet everyone and I look forward to the next AAdventure!