My Background as a Player

As I mentioned in the intro page, I am just one person playing several characters in an online game called EverQuest. This is, as best I can recall, my history as it relates to the game. If you have no idea what this is all about, I would hope this narrative would help shed some light. If it does not, just ask me. I appreciate Email.

About EverQuest

EverQuest is a massively multiplayer online roleplaying game (MMORPG) which was released to the public after a successful beta back in 1999. It was groundbreaking for its time and captured the imaginations of a great many people... myself included. After a rocky start (which was echoed by Funcom's Anarchy Online and put to shame by the beauty of Dark Age of Camelot's release) the world of Norrath just grew and grew! Now it is still (arguably) the most popular of the MMORPGs on the market despite its age. To be brutally honest, it is nothing more than a graphical MUD on a larger scale (and with mass market appeal) but it's a great way to keep in touch with my RL friends who live far away.

The EverQuest and I

I bought it the week of its retail release at a mall in Orlando, FL while on vacation (alongside the friend who told me about it). We signed up, plugged in, and were amazed. I made a High Elf Enchanter named Phegrain (named after an old MUD alias of mine) and he made an Ogre Shaman named Musack (with aspirations of being the first ogre bard - heh). Amazingly we both chose E'Ci - it was an unplanned choice - and proceeded to explore this wild new world.

Time passed and we learned all about it. Other hobbies and friendships withered (sorry Berix!) and we realized that we would never become uber on E'Ci (those darn beta testers were leaping forward faster than we could catch up!). We almost hopped onto the first expansion server (Prexus) but opted to wait for the next one when some 4000 players hopped onto it on day one. Those were the days of adventure! Cheat sites were in their infancy and people wielded Minotaur Battle Axes and wore Banded with pride.

When the Nameless opened, we jumped ship. We were joined by another friend at this point and were certain that, this time, we'd be powerful! I was Phegrain, Musack became the Ranger Kestrale, and our new companion was Runningdeer the Druid. Now THOSE were heady days of adventure! It peaked at a low-20's visit to Upper Guk before the wanderlust hit us again (partially inspired by the volatility the Nameless server was experiencing... I'd lost an entire day of faction working and xp to a server hiccup!).

The newest thing were the PvP Teams servers. Tallon and Vallon Zek were massively popular at their debut and we were there. We were on team evil. The lineup shifted, (except for me, I really am an Enchanter at heart) with Kestrale becoming Benthos the Dark Elven Wizard and Runningdeer becoming Grouter the Troll Warrior. Invasions from Freeport... powerful Halfling Druids ravaging the Commonlands... reinforcements from Qeynos and Erudin. Those early days were filled with danger and excitement. However, it didn't take long for things to quiet down and we found the first big round of revisions distasteful so we returned to the Nameless after about a month.

Now, about this time Kestrale stopped playing and Runningdeer started playing on Prexus with a group called Falcon's Fury. After playing the game for about two years, I too began to drift away to seek newer horizons. For months I was content (aside from trying very hard to get my wife into the game - a venture doomed to failure thanks to new seasons of X-Files, ER, and Ally McBeal) to visit occasionally and do other things. That was, of course, until the fire was rekindled.

Of Berix and Falcon's Fury

I'm a Web developer by trade... and through the grapevine I heard that my old friend Berix's (yes, Mr. Berix got sucked into the game by some old friends of his own) guild on Prexus was working on their site. I had already made a little character to play once a week on Prexus. I was there when they counted (barely) 10 heads to create the Guild. So, I thought, why not help their Webmaster with the project?

It was intoxicating. Having never been in a guild of any kind, I enjoyed that feeling of belonging. Eventually, I completely took over the ordering of the guild Web site and got more interested in the game than ever before. I propelled myself to heights of power I'd never reached before (ok, so it's only 40th level I reached but that was BIG to me!). Most of that was solo (despite being guilded) but it was cool to be around Kestrale (now Boggie the Troll Shadow Knight), Runningdeer (now Daggerclaw the Iksar Warrior), Berix (who I had pretty much ignored because of my earlier obsession with the game) the Gnome Enchanter, and the rest of Falcon's Fury (when I could find them).

I have to say, being in Falcon's Fury was the best (and worst) thing that could have happened to me in the game. It was terribly nice to be recognized by people... to have people to help and chat with on a regular basis (in-game). It transformed EverQuest from a game into something far deeper and more meaningful. And that is the worst part. When Falcon's Fury dissolved, I took an extended break from the game (again). I tried to play other games but they were all found sorely lacking in... something. That something, I've found, is Persistence and Friends.

And Now...

Now I am back in Norrath... remaining on Prexus. With my return I have a new outlook on the game. I'm not trying to be powerful. I don't need to be the best (although I will still try my best). I'm just going to have fun.

Roleplaying is fun. Writing is fun. Making Web sites is fun. Wait, I have an idea! I'll play my favorite characters and keep journals online. What a great idea! I meld my hobbies and my skills into something I can enjoy. So, you'll find me online as one of my personas. You can read about my adventures on this Web site. Hey, maybe you'll even enjoy this new direction as well as I am.

Thanks for reading... and I guess for a little while - You're in Our World Now!