Open the Vaults

On Role-Playing. . .

I have been role-playing off and on for the past twelve years of my life. That's roughly 45% of the time I've been in existence here on earth. I've had many different personae, but I wish to just recount and reminisce about a few of my personal favorites.

Part I

Talisen Armatugé: This gentleman had three incarnations. His first was as a purely textual being in the word of American Online Role-Playing/Fantasy chatrooms. We rolled virtual dice and had a gay old time. I remember posting a grand escape of his as a way to withdraw from the "guild" that he was currently in. With that, he and I vanished from the AOL community in general both character and Mun for a while.

Talisen's next version was as a silver-haired sorcerer in my first Dungeons and Dragons campaign run by a friend of mine in High School. He eventually went into Dragon Disciple but sadly the campaign was short lived.

The third and final form happened after this. We were all kind of bored playing a low-level campain, so our DM (same from above) had us roll level 20 characters. It was all great fun, Talisen became a level 20 Lawful Evil Half-Fiend sorcerer. It was great fun, except for the moronic, metal-loving dwarven druid (don't get me started). The campaign however, turned into a game of SimCity, but we concluded that all of our characters became gods.

Quilliant Armatugé: One of the most prolific of my characters I've ever played. He has had many different versions and existed on many different planes and games.

Quilliant first came about as an idea between me and a fellow camp attendee at the "Midsummer Theatre Camp" in Bloomington, IN in 2001. She was a hobby artist and was making a little comic strip about her socially shy wizard. She lamented that she didn't have a foil for her wizard to really get out and adventure and I suggested that perhaps she should have Izzy (not the real name) get an out-going companion. Thus Quilliant was born.

Quilliant that year became a new RP character for me when I went back to the AOL community, which had changed somewhat. It was all well and good, but I hardly remember any of it. Very general, mundane RP.

Then along came Neverwinter Nights. Truthfully, I never beat the actual campaign in that game, I just joined for the online aspect. There I found a server called "Dragon Coast" (not to be confused with Forgotten Realms' Dragon Coat, which I later found out). The community was amazing. And they embraced me as one of their own right from the get-go. Quilliant in this world was characteristic, intriguing, funny, bardic, and just fun. He also had blue hair, bestowed from some magical curse or hex.

Quilliant was my only character on there for close to a year. In that time he "died" four times. Each time (except for the last) coming back when I was ready to rejoin after a short break. The last time was fun as he had been turned into an evil undead minion for a demon. He ended up being destroyed by the epic level paladin Fenia (a drow at that). Anyway, I wrote that his good soul soared into the heavens, free from the earth at last; his evil soul was thrown into the void. So I ended my time there at the Dragon Coast. I still miss them terribly, but they have come and gone and I believe are now on the NWNII system with a different world.

The next incarnation hardly used Quilliant's name at all. Instead he went by "The Skald" a superhero that appeared under the atlas statue to help defend Paragon City. This was of course my main hero in "City of Heroes". I made so many friend's through that game, as I have said before, and they are all wonderful. Then "City of Villains" came out, a perfect time to incorporate a storyline from The Dragon Coast, "The Enchanter" appeared this was of course Quilliant's bad soul come back to terrorize the world once more.

It was all very fun, then about a year ago I thought I was leaving CoH/V for good, so I deleted Skald and Enchanter, thus freeing up their names for someone else to take. I came back, of course (as is my habit), but the names were no longer free. Oh well, all good things must come to an end.

Quilliant's last incarnation came as a bard who used two whips as weapons. He was alot of fun to play and the DM was pretty creative as well. However, when Quilliant burst into a magical fire and consummed the evil dragon army (its always dragons) and himself, I officially retired the name. The only place that I use it now is on my AIM name and my G-mail, though I am considering changing both.


I think that is enough for now, I have a few more but they're a bit shorter than all of this. Anyway, I hope you three enjoy reading.

Trusty Machete

Ever since I can remember, I've played video games, from Super Mario World to Left 4 Dead. They have been a friend and foe throughout my gaming career. I've come to realize that I have an addictive personality, and have been trying to cut back.

My favorite game that I've ever played is City of Heroes. The community alone and the friends I made were worth the 15 dollars a month. It allowed me to be creative and to be a hero that I'd always imagined being, even more so that Dungeons and Dragons allowed me to do. I got to see my hero fly around, wear a cape, and smack baddies with energy rays, vine tendrils, fists, or a scream. Better yet I was able to do it with other people who were fun, funny and helpful.

However, it was my obsession with City of Heroes that caused my failure at college. I have no ill will towards Crypic/Paragon Studios for making a great game, none. I should have quit while I was ahead. I spent hours a day, avoided class, classmates, and experiences. This was all five years ago. Yet after five years, finally do I admit this on an open forum. After a year or so of CoH, I went on to World of Warcraft, and then back to CoH, then to WoW, and then back to CoH. A vicious circle for me. Both fun games, who deserve no blame towards people changing their lives over. People change their own lives.

I have slowly begun to regulate my game playing. I haven't been subscribed to City of Heroes for months. They're having a new expansion coming out, and yes I'll support them, buy it and reup for another month to play and see Paragon Studios work. I praise them. I'll see my friends in game again, and I'll have fun. However, I know I have alot of work to do. So, before I even think of subscribing again, I am going to make sure I fullfill those goals that I set forth a few days ago.

Steam, a gaming program, allows you to track the amount of time you play games through it. The past two weeks I've played 13 hours of Left 4 Dead 2, so roughly under an hour a day on average, which isn't too bad I don't think. It is, in my mind, a big cut back from what I used to do (three or four a day). Small steps.... small, teensy steps.

Now then, to cut the M:tG problem, after which this blog takes its theme...

Also hungry ::sigh::