I started thinking about, well, what do I spend the money on? I mean, she doesn’t need armor, she doesn’t need spells – she barely uses food and drink. So in the end I started buying up missing bits from collections. I only bought items from collections she had already started and I stayed within her tier range. It seems silly to complete a level 50 collection on a level 30 toon. Also I strongly suspect I’ll be really hurting for ways to get experience at higher levels and then all the lovely collections that I could have used will be gone. But Paxmar had a fair share of low level collections that she wanted to complete and that was a pretty straight forward decision.

Meanwhile, Paxmar decided it was high time she found religion. It’s surprisingly difficult to find a set of Deity quests that do not involve killing! Here are her experiences so far.

Losing My Religion

When I was in Baubbleshire for Frostfell, my aunts made a fuss because I hadn’t committed myself to a god yet. “You aren’t getting any younger, you know,” they nagged. “Nice gods get snapped up fast, you really should stop putting it off.”

It started innocently enough but conversations about religion always seem to go wrong. At the family picnic at the Forest Ruins, Fidget asked me if I had any idea which god I might like to follow and a heated discussion broke out as to which god would be the best match for me. Auntie Mabel said as a pacifist I should obviously follow Quellious and Gertrude said as a druid I could only even consider Tunare and then Auntie Mabel referred to Tunare as “that witch” and Gertrude threw herself at Auntie Mabel and we managed to pull them apart but not before Auntie Mabel lost a big chunk of her hair. Now none of the Coggleheimer side of the family are speaking to the Gizmobottoms and we’ve been banned from entering the Forest Ruins in groups of larger than three.

This is why I’ve always felt a little bit leery about following a god as so many of them seem to wish to rain grief and destruction on Norrath. But once I stopped to think about it, I wondered if it was really the gods that were so violent? Or was it just my aunts? Clearly I should not rely on third-party information to make my decisions.

Having recently learned the secrets of the stone rings, travel was very much on my mind. I decided to go out and visit the prophets myself.

Quellious

Auntie Mabel did have a good point about Quellious and I was hopeful that I could speak to her prophet and sort out the entire question of religion quickly and easily. I found Pacificator Merrek sitting at the cliffs over Butcherblock Bay and asked him about Quellious and he offered to teach me the ways of the goddess of tranquility.

I can’t tell you quite what made me nervous – the conversation about peace of the body (which sounded to me a lot like always being prepared to fight) or the vehemence with which I saw Sister Sam sparring in the Steamfont mountains. I enjoyed the meditating but it was disconcerting to be told to focus my mind against my enemies. Perhaps this isn’t about Quellious so much as what her followers have become but I don’t think I wish to join their ranks.

Mithaniel Marr

Mithaniel Marr, the Truthbringer, seemed another obvious choice. I traveled to Kelethin where I spoke to Sir Bayden Cauldthorn, Lordknight of Valor. Paladins can be a bit fanatical about their religion but I liked the idea of a god focused on valor and love. However, Bayden (as he told me to call him) said he was unhappy with his role – better suited to a priest – and that he’d rather be on a battlefield. That did not sit well with me.

I asked him to teach me more despite my concerns – and to start he said I should make an altar. I saw no harm in that and began collecting Imbued Stones as per his instructions.

As a part of this, I went to the Statue of the Mourned and a huge blond-haired paladin was standing there. He was bigger than the mage tower, I swear it. I carefully walked up close and it became clear it was a Planar Manifestation. He blessed me but said nothing. It was all a bit creepy. I think I prefer my gods more subdued.

I dug in the area behind him and found the Valor Imbued Stones but the whole thing left me a bit shaken. When I returned to Bayden, he was still very focused on showing his merit as a warrior. I decided that I would prefer a god with less violent followers and moved on.

Bristlebane

The experience with Mithaniel Marr led me to consider the Trickster – his followers are at least not trying to prove their battle prowess! I found a halfling, Tobel Patadash, on the docks of Enchanted Lands. He said he wanted to play a prank on a goblin (calling himself a profit of Bristlebane) and wanted my help! It was all a bit silly – Tobel wanted me to help make a diabolical pumpkin pie with which to fool Garby Ginger Gigglegibber (a perfectly friendly goblin, even if he can’t spell).

I did it. But really, isn’t it a bit unbecoming? I felt sorry for the goblin and I couldn’t help but wonder: who is the real follower – the halfling or the goblin? I don’t think goblins are unable to follow a god, in which case the halflings are simply being horrid.

The whole thing just left a sour taste in my mouth and I decided that Bristlebane was not for me.

Solusek Ro

After my experiences with the halflings and goblins, I decided to return to Butcherblock, where I found Civean Il’Pernod claiming that the Flame of Ro burns as a beacon to those who have the desire to shape their world and remake it in their own image. This sounded much more godly to me! He asked me if I had the courage and conviction and I told him yes, with all my heart.

He gave me a torch and asked me to light torches at each of the shrines. I felt honored to be given such an important task. But then Civean recommended that I learn the stories of Solusek Ro and sent me around the world to piece together the story of the god.

Did he realise that I was being naive? I don’t know but when I read the History of Ro, I was shocked! Fire, nukes, burning, destruction – this isn’t what I had in mind when I was lighting torches! I thought I was bringing light to the world but not fire and destruction!

I went back to Civean who told me that Solusek Ro’s brilliant visage would serve as a beacon in my travels. He told me that I should find a way to spread the truth of flame to those who have chosen other deities. I think he meant for me to incinerate them. I made my excuses and got away from him, quickly.

Brell Serilis

I have to admit, I was feeling somewhat depressed by now. Although I had been avoiding the whole religion question, I had believed that the gods, well, most gods, were good and honorable. Now, meeting the prophets, I was finding that they were violent and selfish and closed-minded. They made Aunt Mabel look like a pacifist!

I ended up at West Irontoe Fort where I met Bronlor Stormhammer, Conservator of the Underfoot. He told me the most remarkable story about how he was saved by Brell when a mine crashed in on him. I didn’t actually say that I was looking for religion but he asked me if I’d ever considered following Brell. He told me that he could see that I was drifting and that the Underfoot could serve as the foundation in my life.

What really impressed me was that Bronlor told me that Brell was also the god of the gnolls. Bronlor expressed sadness at the abuse gnolls have suffered from the invading armies – it’s not just me who hates the battles! He is the first prophet I have ever met who was open to his god serving other races! So I agreed to accept Brell Serilis as my deity.

Bronlor told me to first build my foundation of faith – to travel to caves around Norrath and mine sacred stones. I’m a little bit worried about this – I can get quite claustrophobic in enclosed spaces. Perhaps that is part of the test?

Previous installments:

1. The Furious Pacifist – Introduction
2. The Isle of Refuge
3. Paxmar Smells a Rat
4. It’s a Wide World
5. Paxmar Goes Abroad
6. Tempest Chaser
7. Sinking Sands and Frostfell
8. Tunare’s Blessing

Posted by Taymar on http://mmorpg-info.org.

She had a wonderful time but it wasn’t long before her yearning for new sights began to get the better of her again.

Qeynos Harbor is not very far from Baubbleshire, just the other side of Elddar Grove but if you want to really see the place in action, you need to be there at night. That’s why I took a room at Fish’s Alehouse, even though Dad would have tutted if he were alive today. I wasn’t really sure what I wanted to do but it was nice to be surrounded by the hustle and bustle of the city again.

However, it is easy to forget that there is rather an unsavory element to the place. I was sitting at the docks, watching the ships drift in and out of the safe harbor, when a group of rather loud dwarfish youths decided to ask what a nice gnomish girl like me was doing in a place like this all on my own. I made haste to retreat into the Mermaid’s Lure to avoid them. I sat down and started a conversation with the bartender, so as not to appear alone. He was friendly enough, said his name was Erwin Rohand and that he’d worked in the Tavern for years. I told him that I was a bit nervous about the rowdy dwarfs and he sighed.

“Used to be, we could take care of them. I used to make them special drinks,” Erwin told me, polishing the glass.

I was intrigued and told him so, although now I rather wish I hadn’t. He leaned in close and dropped his voice to a whisper. “I had a barrel in the back – just a small one, doesn’t take much. We kept it filled with canine saliva. You know the gnolls, down Blackburrow way? Well, there’s always adventurers heading there looking to fight their way down to the treasure that is supposed to be hidden in their caves. Most of them come back with nothing but a repair bill, but I put the word out that I was buying the saliva. Even gave them the vials to collect it in, for free.”

My stomach churned but somehow I found myself still leaning in to hear his rough whisper.

His lips parted in a yellow-toothed smile. “Used to be, for mixed drinks, the bartender’s guide simply said “liquid” and the drool from those gnolls, well, it certainly was that. Anyone come in here causing me trouble, well, they’d get an extra special cocktail on the house. Made with my very own secret ingredients, I’d tell them. And they’d slurp it up like it was ambrosia – every time!”

I felt myself turning green.

“Nowadays, you can’t get away with that,” he told me with a shake of his head. “Health and safety regulations are so strict now, they said they’d shut us down if they even found so much as a vial on the premises. Taking all the joy out of my job, they are.”

I whispered something vaguely sympathetic and then, with a queasy wave, told him I had an appointment and needed to go. I left my cup of tea on the bar, untouched.

I desperately felt in need of a cleansing experience and after a moment spent breathing the fresh sea air to clear my head, I decided to head north to visit the Temple of Life and see what changes had happened in the time since I had been away at the desert.

I’m glad I went. I spoke to Delilah Meadowglow, who told me that “the elder druids have been focusing the power of Growth in the hope of once again unlocking the secrets of the rings.” She asked if I would travel around Norrath and visit each of the ancient rings to see if I could find evidence of Tunare’s Blessing. The elder druids believe they are on the verge of discovering the secret to these rings as transportation devices.

Well, I went straight to Antonica where I knew there was a set of rings and – woah! There was a Blessed Shrubbery that had clearly been touched by Tunare. I took a leaf to bring back to Delilah.

The mysterious leaf was the final component the elder druids had been seeking to unlock the powers of the Circle of Antonica. She told me to return to the ring to learn to use the power of the circle myself.

I did so and then set myself to exploring other stone rings like this, all over Norrath. Not all of the ancient locations had the Blessed Shrubbery but in the end I found nine druid rings which had the lush plant somewhere in the center, including Antonica. Working with Delilah, I am now able to travel to the stones at will, through the blessing of Tunare. This is wonderful for someone like me who has such wanderlust and yet gets seasick on the Qeynos boats.

While I was wandering, I picked up some other leaves and grubs, remembering how thrilled Mervos Stadrin always is to get trinkets from far away places. He seems uncommonly thrilled when I bring him a full set from someplace new. I’m very much looking forward to traveling further abroad and finding more exotic things for him to see!

Probably my biggest problem with Paxmar is trying to stay organized – remembering where she has been and which quests she has done. Most characters, I’m happy to log in for half an hour and see what the current quests are and jump right in, but with Paxmar I have to spend time working out what she can do first. The druid ring quests are nice because for once she had a clear set of goals that lasted for more than one session. I was able to get to most of the druid ring locations fairly safely using bells and boats. Only Kunzar Jungle posed serious difficulties but eventually I died close enough to the druid ring that I landed there upon reviving and was able to harvest the bush.

Previous installments:

1. The Furious Pacifist – Introduction
2. The Isle of Refuge
3. Paxmar Smells a Rat
4. It’s a Wide World
5. Paxmar Goes Abroad
6. Tempest Chaser
7. Sinking Sands and Frostfell

Posted by Taymar on http://mmorpg-info.org.

Previous installments:

1. The Furious Pacifist – Introduction
2. The Isle of Refuge
3. Paxmar Smells a Rat
4. It’s a Wide World
5. Paxmar Goes Abroad
6. Tempest Chaser

I haven’t written much recently but in dark times I find it difficult to commit words to paper and I’ve seen some very dark times recently. I suppose I should just write it out and get it over with. The Seeress, my good friend Ealaynya, was murdered. When I heard the news, I rushed straight to the Temple of Life, hoping against hope that it wasn’t true. Her body had been left lying where it fell. The sight of her mortal shell rotting shocked me to the core and the scent will haunt me forever… I feel as if I shall never inhale clean air again. I left the Temple and resolved to leave Qeynos, in hopes of ridding myself of the memories haunting every corner of the city.

I made my way to Qeynos Harbor where a gnome was recruiting workers for the Dedicated Individuals Recovering Technology of Yesteryear. To be honest, I didn’t much care where I went as long as it was far away, so I agreed and found myself en route to the Desert of Flames via a magic carpet! That shocked me out of mourning, as you can imagine. I realized that Ealaynya would be disappointed in my moping around doing nothing and I resolved to work hard for my new employers.

And there certainly was plenty to do. D.I.R.T.Y. had a large excavation site on the cliffs of the Sinking Sands. Once there, there was no end of tasks for me: shoo away the monkeys flinging their dung at the workers, dash to Qeynos to pick up a cure for a bitten excavation worker, shift sand from the main pit and sift through the results looking for relics. I was kept very busy although somewhat disappointing is that they insisting on paying me in D.I.R.T.Y. money which are quite interesting looking coins but have no real value. Someone said that Jimbo McDaniel would exchange them for interesting items but when I spoke to him, he was fretting about the infections that some of the workers were getting and was unwilling to discuss any sort of trade. I kept them in case one day they turn into collector’s items.

Then one evening Digmaster Hidswinn told me that the excavation had concluded and they were building a launch dock and new airship! It turns out they found an ancient flying ship buried under the Sands of Ro and were building a new airship based on their discovery. All very exciting but there was nothing I could do to help. Building airships is best left to the experts!

Seeing the astounding constructions made me appreciate how important it is to be able to work with your hands. I returned to the Deductive Directory in search of work and was pleased to see that they had plenty for a burgeoning carpenter to help out with. As Frostfell was approaching, I was more than happy with indoor work and of course my family were thrilled to have me back safe in Baubbleshire. I have spent a few quiet weeks with them, taking my young cousins skating at Frostfell village and eating enough to put a halfling to shame.

It’s been very nice and I really have enjoyed the time with family but I am more sure than ever that I could never be content living out my life in this small village. This morning I awoke at dawn and felt in my bones that it was time to leave. I need to finish up a contract at the Deductive Directory but once that is done, I’m free to go. I’ve booked a room at Fish’s Alehouse for the weekend – Qeynos Harbor is the best place to go for news of Norrath and I’ve found work there before that’s taken me all over Norrath.

I feel confident that 3810 is going to be a good year for me.

Hmm, any ETA on getting the signature files to work with paper dolls again?

OOC: World Events are always exciting and I was thrilled that quite a few of the quests were available to Paxmar, although unfortunately she couldn’t complete the sequence to allow her to exchange her tokens for rewards. Anyone interested in some D.I.R.T.Y. money, cheap?

The big shock for me was the experience change which have made a tremendous difference to her leveling speed. I’m so used to bonus weekends and potions having no effect on Paxmar (as they give bonus to kill experience, not quest experience) that it hadn’t really sunk in that she would benefit from this. She was able to gain a good amount of experience by shifting sand at the Sinking Sands excavation site, even though my playtime was limited.

I really thought I would struggle to keep finding quests that she could complete but on the contrary, she’s finding plenty to do. Now that she’s level 25, it’s time to find religion – this should keep her occupied for a while.

Next: Tunare’s Blessing

Posted by Taymar on http://mmorpg-info.org.

I was about 82% into the level when I had a dream about a gnome with crazy hair and reflective glasses informing me that she was going to delete her character off of my account if I didn’t find her something else to do soon.

I took some time out to do the Grandmaster quest and picked up a bit of exploration experience to bump her level up a bit. From there, it was only a few more Void Tempests to get her to 18. It was time for a break.

I’d been waiting to be able to start going through the racial book quests, which I love. I started going through all the History Of… books available from the Mage tower. I managed Book 1 and 2 of most of the good side races, although there are a few locations in Thundering Steppes and Nektulous that I can’t reach.

Previous instalments:

1. The Furious Pacifist – Introduction
2. The Isle of Refuge
3. Paxmar Smells a Rat
4. It’s a Wide World
5. Paxmar Goes Abroad

Paxmar’s version:

Well, the last thing I wrote about was these odd storms popping up all over Norrath. Since then it’s become a lot more frightening! The storms seem to be multiplying and it seems that they are trying to attack Norrath!

The Seeress Ealaynya is struggling to fight against them and gave me a magic potion she called Aab’l Hayat to reverse the effects of those poor creatures trapped within the storms. There were horrible creatures escaping from the storms as well, void beasts with evil intent. They disappeared quickly enough but I’ve never seen anything so frightening. But I kept at it until I was ready to fall over with exhaustion.

The mages of the Concordium gave me a new title of Tempest Chaser and showered me with gifts as a thank you, including a rather experimental icon that makes me fizzle and zap almost as if I am a storm myself! But in the end the darkness grew stronger and the storms began to emit more dark beings. The Seeress said that she no longer felt it was safe for me to try to save the creatures trapped in the storm.

The Concordium have decided to do battle against the beasts that are coming through the storms, which they feel are amassing to create an army. I do not know if that is true but I fear for our future.

In these dark times I turn to my books. I have been reading the histories of the races that I found at the mage tower and revisiting some of the locations they write about. This travel is important to me as I can’t help but fear that Norrath may be about to change forever, and not for the better.

I hope the Seeress can learn more about these Void Tempests and help us to understand what they mean and how we can stop them from breaking through.

Someone mentioned that I can get the evil side History Of … books in Kelethin or Gorowyn. I need to go take a look and do them before I get too much higher. Book 1 is already gray.

A big thanks to Rowenash for pointing out that I can get around the broken EQ2players by using Paxmar’s sig file. This is an image of the information, so that it won’t update.

Next: Sinking Sands and Frostfell

Posted by Taymar on http://mmorpg-info.org.

If you are new to the adventures of Paxmar, you may wish to catch up before reading the latest instalment:

1. The Furious Pacifist – Introduction
2. The Isle of Refuge
3. Paxmar Smells a Rat
4. It’s a Wide World

Once I left Qeynos it was as if I was consumed by a travel bug – I suddenly found it almost impossible to stay still. Although I enjoyed Kelethin and met some wonderful people, I didn’t stay long. I spent some time near the Combine Spires collecting local beetles and grubs for Mervos Stadrin in North Qeynos – I’m sure he’ll be quite excited to see such exotic specimens. Meanwhile, I found out there was an Aviak station on on the coast of Butcherblock which would take me to Timorous Deep. This seemed too good a chance to pass up so I went to the land of the Sarnaks. I made some friends there and saw some astounding sights but the frontier lands turned out to be rather dangerous. I took a wrong step and found myself under attack by the most ferocious looking Aviak who appeared out of nowhere. I ran faster than I ever have in my life. I made it to the front line of soldiers who slaughtered the bird that had the bad luck to follow me.

I was shaking and crying once I realised I was safe, sick from the sight of the bloodshed that I’d just witnessed but also relieved just to be alive. I couldn’t help but feel that the entire incident was my fault for wandering into the battle zone – who could blame the Aviak for defending his territory, it was I who was in the wrong.

I retreated to the outer island and thought about what had happened. Once again, I got myself in trouble by not paying enough attention. There are these silt storms raging around the area and I wasn’t watching my way and somehow I ended up in the heart of the storm! I was pulled up into the funnel and deposited, surprisingly lightly, on the grass of a hill that had been high above me. I was so lucky! I was rather shaken up, as you can imagine, and decided to stay up there for a while, which was serendipitous because I found a beautiful romantic spot with a bench. I wonder who put it here and what their story was.

This beautiful spot helped me to get grounded again. I went back to the Sarnak and offered my help away from the battle zones. I collected moths and helped tranquilize and tag the chokidai and generally explored the area. It was nice but soon I started to think about home again and I decided to break off my travels. It wasn’t that I didn’t enjoy seeing new places … but I had run out of clean underwear.

I arrived to find out there was a bit of a kerfuffle about mysterious dark storms all over Norrath. I immediately agreed to help investigate them. It’s become clear that the poor creatures that run into these storms are affected in some way and so I am now focused on curing them but I have to admit, it seems an endless task. I hope the Seeress learns more about these storms and the void beasts that they spawn so we can stop the destruction!

I jumped Paxmar up a level by doing the easy Maj’Dul page collections before the experience on them was reduced (this has since happened). Having left Qeynos, it made sense to keep wandering around.

The list of over a thousand exploration experience locations has been a huge help and made a real difference to me. I was a bit surprised to find newbie areas that I’d never been to before, including Lover’s Look in Gorowyn. You don’t have to ride a silt storm to get there but it definitely adds to the experience.

She’s had her share of deaths, her armor is all broken and I’m not sure whether to repair it or not. I should really, if only to increase her ability to sprint. Well, that and because the message on the bottom of my screen is annoying me.

She’s made a huge amount of money selling harvests and collection pieces – I usually bank things like that but, as she’s not getting anything from my alts, I don’t see why she should donate items to the shared bank. So she’s been putting everything left over onto the broker and making gold hand over fist. I must remember this next time I’m saving up for a horse.

She actually went to Commonlands as well but died repeatedly trying to pick up the quests at the Crossroads until I finally gave up and gated home. She managed to get level 17 from the exploration experience though and now she’s repeating the void storm quests until she gets level 18.

Next: Tempest Chaser

Posted by Taymar on http://mmorpg-info.org.

My biggest problem is dealing with other people in-game without coming across like an idiot. Blind group invites have always annoyed me but now, suddenly, they are a relief. I can just decline and carry on my way. When someone sends me a tell asking me if I’d like to group, well, that’s more complicated. Do I lie? That doesn’t seem very pacifist, really. Do I preach? Ugh. Do I say “I won’t be involved with the shedding of blood” and hope that the person has a sense of humor? I don’t know.

Previous installments:

• Introduction
• Isle of Refuge
• Paxmar Smells Rat

It seems the people of Qeynos are specifically looking for murderers to do their dirty work for them . I spent all morning trekking around the city, offering to help out with deliveries or cleaning up and the like and I get asked to rip the wings off of faeries, as if that’s somehow non-violent behavior. When I try to explain, they shrug and ignore me. Perhaps I need to dare the wilder lands, where a cultured gnome is a rarity instead of a dime a dozen. I was feeling rather disheartened when I went back to the Deductive Directory in Baubbleshire to see if I could be of any help there.

I was so excited to find out that some of the things I had harvested have sold to other tradeskillers, just as Talwith had told me they might. I had three gold to my name – thrilling news! I had been speaking to the Sage Indis Surion at the Mages Compendium regarding work and he’d said that they’d be glad to have my help but that the mages were not particularly flush with cash: I’d have to buy my own materials. Now I finally had the money to do so!

I rushed to South Qeynos and went through the books needing completion but most of them involved travel to places dark and distant – I think the mages need help from more dedicated adventurers than I. I was about to give up when I noticed that there was a simpler task to travel around Qeynos outlying areas and catalog the creatures for research data. That sounded like much more my type of work … and I could look for interesting items for that poor lonely Mr Stadrin at the same time.

The fact that I only bought a few books meant that I still had money left over from my burgeoning little business selling resources. What to do with my new found fortune?

I decided that before going straight to work,I would take this chance to learn more around the world. I bought a ticket for the boat to Butcherblock with a view to hiking to Kelethin, which everyone has told me is a wonderful city for a weekend break.The Storm Breaker offers a regular service from the Thundering Steppes so I was able to go the same day.

The journey at sea was uneventful but I couldn’t believe how dangerous the roads of Butcherblock were! I was gasping with fright as I sprinted down the road hoping desperately that I wouldn’t miss a turn and get lost in these wild and dangerous parts. I was so relieved to see a dwarf keeping the roads clear he just laughed when I ran at him and congratulated me on making it through. “Aye, I remember my first time, sure gets the heart pumpin’” he told me. I felt aggrieved but he introduced himself as Trapper Coalbear and asked what I was doing so far from home. He really was quite sweet and when I told him it was my first time going to Greater Faydark, he gave me some contacts – including Thekela Gillywump who the trapper said was always looking for help gathering for her kitchen stocks and a fae called Venla Vaara up in Kelethin who, he told me, collects odd items from all around, both local and foreign. I should have brought her some of my feathers from Oakmyst Forest.

I shared a meal of grilled turnips with the trapper (who muttered something about having a second dinner later) and then hitched my backpack back onto my shoulders and made my way into Greater Faydark.

Next: Paxmar Goes Abroad

Posted by Taymar on http://mmorpg-info.org.

Paxmar wrote:

It was wonderful to arrive back in Baubbleshire after my time away. Neezer Grund greeted me before I’d properly made it off the boat and just about talked my ear off! I promised I’d come back to him and went straight over to the Deductive Directory to see if they had any work. There were plenty of jobs but nothing that I was qualified to do. I was beginning to despair again.

That’s when I made a wonderful new friend, Talwith Darkcloud was his name. He saw that I was at a loss and offered to help me out. I told him I wasn’t afraid of hard work but I didn’t know how to get started. He said they were in serious need of more skilled labor in Baubbleshire and that if I was willing to learn a trade, he’s happily teach me. He gave me some basic tools and a bag to put them in and immediately put me to work making simple things.

What a relief to be back in a sensible place rather than surrounded by talk of subterfuge and Freeport all the time!

Talwith is a great teacher and in no time at all I was getting my own wood and pelts from Forest Ruins and making myself backpacks and boxes so that I could store all the bits and pieces that real tradeskillers have to have on hand. Things were going so well, I thought I could do anything!

I then collected the scrap metal for Neezer Grund, taking care not to get grease on my new bags. He was very grateful and gave me an almost undamaged cog as a souvenir. Then he asked me if I could help collect some Nogginspark Reactors.

I hated going back to him empty-handed but I had to tell him that I just couldn’t do it. He made it sound so simple, just “knock those false-rats senseless and remove the reactors” … but then when I caught one of the rats, I remembered what my father said about clockworks being real. Taking out their batteries felt like I was ripping out their heart. He didn’t seem interested in hearing my explanations – it looks like I’ve lost a mentor. This isn’t going to be so easy after all.

I had heard there was a bit of a party happening near the North Qeynos gates but when I went over there all I found was litter and a hungover dwarf who said I was too late and everyone else had gone home. Some days, I wonder why I get out of bed.

I was pleased to have gained level five at the Isle of Refuge, which was more than I expected. I went to Baubbleshire and was doing various quests, including the Neezer Grund gnome mentor quest. Big mistake.

When he said to “knock those false-rats senseless and remove the reactors” I didn’t really think it through. They weren’t alive and I wasn’t killing them, I was just knocking them out. It wasn’t until I thwacked the second one that I realised I was being silly. I waited a week to check on eq2players but sure enough – two kills to my name. No way was I starting off with that trivial of a mistake. I restarted the character on the spot – she was only level 7.

The second time around went a lot faster. I didn’t waste time looking for quests on the Isle of Refuge and so it was pretty painless to get back to level five. It’s a bit annoying though as I lost the Errolisi day quests and missed the Brell’s day quests. On the other hand, there’s an argument that I should save those for a higher level anyway, as they level up with you.

This time, I’ve focused on getting tradeskills up to 9 and some basic equipment for myself. I am a bit stuck though. Clearly she should do a tradeskill, if only for the run speed from the epic! But I’m not sure which tradeskill to learn. I have three provisioners so she’s not doing that! I’d prefer to avoid tailor too as I have a t8 one already. I pondered the scholar classes but she can’t make spells used to do harm and she can’t make poisons, so that’s a bit rough. Weaponsmith is obviously a non-option. Carpentry seems a no-brainer but it’d be nice if she could make things that would help her along. I’ll have to decide soon as she’s capped.

Next: It’s a Wide World

Posted by Taymar on http://mmorpg-info.org.

Paxmar wrote:

I decided that I am going to the Queen’s Colony as my father had told me he wished me to do when I came of age. He died in a bloody battle against the clockwork on Faydwer, trying to repossess what he originally believed was ours by birthright. All I have from him are letters that he wrote to me, care of my mother, while she stayed safe in Baubbleshire. The first letters were all about justice and honor and victory. Later letters speak of blood and lost friends and hardship and dying dreams. In the end, he wrote of doubts and dismay. He stopped speaking of the clockworks as scrap metal with bad electrics and started describing them as real beings, with thoughts and feelings of their own.

When we received the letter from Waynil Garwater saying my father had been “lost”, as if one day they might suddenly find him, it was as if someone turned a light out in my mother’s eyes. She never seemed to care about much after that, not village life nor the household, not even me. She died a few years later – they said it was ‘fluenza that took her out but I still think it was a broken heart.

I got a bit of silver from the Gnomish Orphan’s Fund, along with an apology for the amount but things were tight and there were a lot of orphans. It was enough that I could rent a small room and finish my schooling. I decided very early that I wouldn’t be a part of this constant bloodshed that seems to have inundated our lives. Kill the badgers, slay the goblins, stomp on the spiders, stop the clockworks. It’s not like it’s a question of survival any more. I know I can’t change the world but I can be responsible for following my own moral compass and I think I’ve already seen enough death to last me a lifetime.

However, that isn’t to say that I won’t support my village nor that I’ve turned against Queen Antonia. Which is why I’ll report for duty at the Queen’s Colony and ask them if I can help in my own way, without causing harm to others. I have two good feet and two good hands, I’m quick to learn and I am not afraid of a little hard work. Why, I bet they might even be glad for someone who isn’t looking to be a hero and is happy just to keep things smoothed over.

Wish me luck.

I decided from the start that I was going to have to maximise the number of newbie zones I could get to, so I started Paxmar as a Qeynosian Gnome so that she would get access to the Isle of Refuge. I remembered a few starter quests on the island which I could do without killing things but it turned out that all of them were part of a chain – she was stuck. I did Ebik’s Missing Parts and ran around getting the exploration experience.

That gained me my first few deaths and I realised that I was going to have to be a lot more careful – with limited options for experience, I really couldn’t afford to waste it working off debt. I went ahead and took the boat to Baubbleshire and logged her off for the night at level five.

Paxmar wrote:

I had the best of intentions, really I did. The first thing they asked me to do was to learn the art of combat. I told myself that it would, of course, be important to defend myself but I really wasn’t very comfortable with it.

I swung at my sparring partner, clearly going to miss by a mile, but then he blocked my arm and shoved at me and I swung back instinctively and from there it was frighteningly easy. He stepped back and told me well done. I was shaking.

I ran to the beach in tears. Once I composed myself I went back and said that I was happy to support Qeynos and Antonia but I would not under any circumstances fight or hurt another person. Everyone ignored me. I asked what I could do to help and got shrugs in return. I stumbled away, unwilling to let any of them see me cry again.

As I was walking along, berating myself for being a failure, I met another gnome, Ebik Wobblecog. He was rather self-centered, completely ignoring the state I was in but to be honest, it was a bit of a relief. He was trying to find parts from some doohicky which I offered to help him locate. It gave me a chance to explore the island and in the end, the look on his face when I presented him with the Size 7 Clunker that he thought was lost forever, well, it was worth it.

That was when I made up my mind that there was no reason to stay. I felt bad but surely in Qeynos there would be some way to help that wouldn’t involve hurting other people!

Next: Paxmar Smells a Rat

Posted by Taymar on http://mmorpg-info.org.

She’s also vegetarian but that’s pretty easy to deal with. She does need food and drink for regen when sprinting through aggro areas but she doesn’t have a weapon and she’s not particularly bothered about her armor. It’s oddly liberating not to be even thinking about spell upgrades.

She’s a gnome, because I thought the wild hair and glasses and serious look suited her. She’s a fury, simply so that I could make the pun in the title. Although having someone able to port will be useful, I have to admit.

She’ll be a tradeskiller – I’m not sure which tradeskill yet although obviously she won’t make weapons.

She won’t help other people kill – healing in a group that is killing doesn’t make sense to me, although she would of course heal someone if she saw them hurting and not in the process of hurting someone else. She’s planning on doing a lot of traveling and book quests.

I’ll be posting irregularly about her progress to see how far I can get with a rabid pacifist gnome. I’ll also be doing an in-character version which will be fun … and will give me a chance to explain why she has two kills against her showing on EQ2players. Oops. :/

First installment: The Isle of Refuge

Posted by Taymar on http://mmorpg-info.org.