___The Official AVATAR___________________________________
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     _______________________________________ 26 June, 1999 ___

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     __________________________________________________________
     Table of Contents
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          1. Editorial by Dizzy 
          2. Role Playing by Lord Elasser 
          3. Rotten Fishes - Useful?  By Dekon 
          4. Helping Newbies Grow by Confetti 
          5. Sprite-Eye Salad by Freya 
     ________________________________
     1. Editorial by Dizzy 
     ________________________________

She'd waited by the Gateposts while the sun and moon traded places six
times. Since my shop is located just inside the city, I've been watching
her patient vigil since she took up position there. You see, a cleric's
days are filled with very little other than spiritual contemplation, and
casual observation....unless, or course, there is healing to be done. 
There is ALWAYS healing to be done. 

I took notice on the first day of her watching as I passed through the
gate on my way to open the shop. It is my habit to pray as I walk, and
while comuning with my Diety, to bless those I meet along the way. As I
approached the city gate six days ago, on e of the city guards was
enduring the most severe taunting I'd ever witnessed by a notious local
bully who is a self styled Highly Trained, and Skilled Killer and is well
known for his brutal tauntings.  I did what comes naturally to me, I
blessed the gua rd, and would even have imparted the blessings of the gods
on this unworthy chap as well, but I wasn't nearly fast enough. 

As the guard began to glow with the blessing of the gods, our taunting
bravo instantly drew an unusual, and, judging by its aura, magically
powerful backsword.  The good guard's face was just forming that
expression of surprise and sorrow that is so preve lent on those who too
late realize that they aren't possibly fast enough to either fight OR run.
With speed born of desperation, I entangled his backsword with my priest's
cloak just as he swung it over his shoulder to aim a chopping blow at the
guard's n eck. 

The watcher casually raised her iron shod quarterstaff, and gripping it at
the balance, tapped the enraged bully at the center of his forehead. It
was so quick and effortless, that for an instant I thought the loud
"THOCK" couldn't possibly have done much to halt the charge of this
madman. I thought wrong.  With a wet sucking noise, she withdrew her
quarterstaff, and his corpse rattled bonelessly to the pavement. As only a
cleric can, I watched in horror as demons devoured his shrunken soul.

In the moments that it took for this scene to play itself out, the crowd
hardly noticed until the guard began the watchman's chant, "Move along.
Nothing to see here. Move along...".  I recovered my robe (which had seen
harder use than this over the years)  , and turned to thank the remarkable
woman who was examining the crimson endcap of her quarterstaff. "Gods
bless thee...." I began, when her eyes met mine, and I was suddenly unable
to repeat the words that are the work of my life. 

Do you think me a fool to believe that this plane of existance is only one
of many? In that moment, the crowds, smells, and noise faded from my
consciousness. In all the realm there was only this woman and a humble
cleric (myself). She never spoke, though in my dreams since then, her
voice rings melodiously, and I ache to hear her speak my name. Though she
didn't speak, her meaning burned clearly from those remarkable eyes, "The
worm is turning. You are a competent and good cleric, and I am the
shepherd. Together, we watch. Together, we guard those entrusted to our
care. Together, we face the turning of the worm. Since we are together,
shall we also be friends?" 

Ah! Look at the time...tsk, tsk. I must close my shop and hurry for soon
the gates close. Before then, I will share my dinner with my friend and
ally, and for her part, she will continue to tutor me in the shaping of a
shepherds staff. In my bones I'm con vinced that this is the most
important lesson I've ever undertaken. A simple shepherd's staff. I must
hurry.... 

     ________________________________
     2. Role Playing by Lord Elasser 
     ________________________________

Have you ever wanted to roleplay? I've seen numerous morts use pieces of
gear just cause of its name, or form clans to roleplay. Well, if you are
interested in roleplaying here are a few things you can do. 

1. Form a clan. Just because they aren't officially supported doesn't mean
you can't form one. Just make sure it doesn't cause trouble. 

2. Find interesting areas to hang out or when you group, make a
roleplaying situation out of it. Like, if you go to hell, pretend you are
there to get the High Priest's staff or something. Always have fun with
it. 

3. Be a race/class combo you can have fun with. Don't be a race/class just
because of its stats, be a race/class because of what they do. I play a
half-elf ranger because I like the idea of being a woodland type person.
But, be something you like. 

4. Contact Revenani and tell her you are interested in roleplay. Last I
checked, she was trying to get a roleplay movement going. She can also
help you with ideas on how to roleplay. 

5. Take advantage of food items and water. Pretend you do need to eat to
survive. 

6. Explore! Find those fun areas with the neat mobs and gear with cool
names. Do something besides hack -n- slash. Sure, there are aggie mobs.
So! That makes it even funner, there will always be someone there to help
you. 

Finally, if you can't seem to find that item you want, you can always ask
a lord mage or psion to rename the item for you. Always be polite, and
don't bother them. Most lords do things for free now. All-in-all,
roleplaying can be fun and can make your mudding more enjoyable. If you
have any questions, feel free to contact me, Elasser. 


     ________________________________
     3. Rotten Fishes - Useful?  By Dekon 
     ________________________________

In one of the new areas of the game, there is a fishmonger who sells a
funny little weapon, called a rotten fish.  It makes it nearly impossible
for you to hit anything(I couldn't even scratch a field mouse in the
meadow when I first tried it out), and i t smells bad ;p.  You might think
that such a weapon would be useless for nothing more than a novelty, maybe
a gift for a friend, or something just to pass the time with (Imagine the
confused stares of newbies watching a hero unable to even damage a meado w
mob ;-).  Well, There actually are a few uses for it that I have
discovered. 

- A good tool for waking up people in the arena.  Did someone get sleeped,
and now can't get up?  No lords on hand to dispel the magic?  Well, just
wield the fish, and attack them.  It won't damage them.  You'll have to
flee, it will cost you a few xp, b ut you did a good deed.  They might not
appreciate waking up stinking of dead fish, though. 

- Want to gague damage from another character?  Well, you couldn't see the
condition of the mob during battle if you aren't groupped, and your
miniscule damage might add up and give an inaccurate result.  But if you
wield a rotten fish, you'll do absolutely no damage (usually, I think),
and keep the amount of damage inflicted per round pure. 

- (This is just a joke, don't anyone try to do this ;-) Do you want to be
a TRUE sponge?  I mean, you have heard of hitters being sponges, but come
on, they are actually doing something useful.  A true sponge would be a
useless member of the party.  So w hat you need to do is buy two rotten
fishes, have one transmuted right, and maybe renamed to keep track.  Now
you will have a VERY low hit/dam value.  You will probably even be healing
the mob, at this rate. ;p

I encourage you to experiment and see what uses the rotten fish (and any
other apparently useless items) have.  It's fun. 

     ________________________________
     4. Helping Newbies Grow by Confetti 
     ________________________________

I have the most fun job in the realm! I get to answer questions on
channels, heal the wounded, water breath the drowning, and, most
importantly, help the most inexperienced of players discover all the
secrets which lay waiting for them around each bend in the road. 

As the player base grows, I have found so many wonderful higher level
mortals and heroes wanting to help the little ones grow. As one who has a
certain amount of expertise in that area, I thought I would share some
tips which can help make the newbies who come to Avatar grow into strong,
self-reliant and confident players. 

It may be real tempting to help a newbie who is asking for studded leather
gear, a mushroom amulet, or pink ice ring on channels by simply summoning
the necessary mob, killing it and then handing the gear to the player. the
player is, of course, overwhelmed with your gift and is amazingly
grateful.  My question, and the question you should ask yourself is, what
did the character learn?

By handing the equipment to the char, you actually do a disservice. 
Although your action gave you an incredible rush and you may be smiling at
the pleasure you gave the char, think of how much more fulfilled that
individual would be had you guided him through the process of collecting
the gear himself. Showed him the area, taught him how to find groupies,
told her the skills required to kill the mob and then watched as the
newbie gained experience and knowledge because you took the time to help.
That newbie can, one day pass on the knowledge to another and your gift
will live forever. 

Most importantly, an easily acquired gift is soon forgotten and not valued
when the gear is outgrown; however, a higher level char taking the time to
share his/her knowledge and show a newbie how to succeed on his/her own is
a gift that is valued forever and never forgotten. 

Just as it is important to help a newbie learn how to acquire his/her own
gear, it is also important to remember that a CR can be a learning
experience. It can be very tempting to summon the lowbie, cast a few
spells and then return to your own play, but, again, what does the player
learn, how have you truly helped him/her understand what just happened and
how to avoid falling into the same trap in the future? 

When you mercy/teleport to a corpse consider the following. 

* Is the area too high for the char who has died?  
* Can the char safely walk, or be walked, back to his/her corpse?  
* Can recall set be used in the area?  
* Does the char have a group who may be attempting to help the char back
to his/her corpse?  
* Is an angel already involved in the CR? 

After asking these questions, decide what will best benefit the char. If
you are in a hurry, maybe it would be best to allow someone else to help. 
If you take the time to help in a constructive fashion, however, you will
find that, once again, you have had a permanent effect on the char.

Any of the following will benefit both of you. The char will learn
important aspects of the game and you will leave with a sense of
accomplishment and pride in the fact that you did what few others take the
time to do. 

* Walk him/her back to the corpse, explain the dangerous areas or a path
which might be best avoided.
* Explain about recall set and possibly demonstrate how it works. 
* Maybe the char should consider grouping and needs to learn about "who
group" and how to find groupies. 

If an angel is already involved in the CR, then your role in the CR should
be as a helper only. Offer your assistance to the angel. If you want to
walk the char back to his/her corpse, the angel would be thrilled to allow
you the privilege so that he/she can help others. Ask what you can do to
help but, under no circumstances, should you gurney or summon a char to
his/her corpse when an angel is involved. Even if the char is sending you
urgent tells begging for assistance, please defer to the angel and allow
him/her to make any decisions regarding the Corpse Retrieval. 

Most importantly, allow the lowbies the same privilege that you had as a
new char on Avatar. Allow them to explore, discover and enjoy the game at
all level of play. Sometimes helping too much can hinder a player. So
offer guidance, advice and assistance, but allow the player the right to
discover the feeling of success and accomplishment by acquiring his own
gear, walking back to his corpse and learning a bit more each day. A
knowledgeable newbie will make a powerful ally when it comes time to hero. 
 
     ________________________________
     5. Sprite-Eye Salad by Freya 
     ________________________________

ingredients:

water
1/2 c. dried sprite eyes / 1.5 c. fresh
1 c. skinned sprite heads
1/2 c. sprite finger bones
1 c. yellow sprite thighs
1/2 pt. Giant's saliva, frothy

Mmmm ... good have sprites over for dinner. Make good Sprite Salad: 

If fresh sprites not around, use dried sprite eyes (ask Mom to give you
some), and boil them until they regain their original consistency. Careful
-- pretty glow under pot is very, very painful to touch. 

Put cup under chin. 

After eyes are ready, rinse, and put soft eyes in large mixing scull.  Add
all other sprite ingredients and mix. After chin cup has been filled with
the drool from working with so much delicious sprite, pour drool into
hafling bladder, and pound bladder with club, till drool is foamy thick
and full of air.  Add drool to sprite mix. 

Serves 1 Dragon -or- 2 Giants -or- 4 Humans -or- 8 Elves -or- a jillion
cannabal Sprites

(Real recipie is tapioca, grapes, shredded coconut, pineapple, and
whipping cream ... it's a good recipe ... try it!) 


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