So, Who Were Your Mentors?

[Boogerbear]

When you were a newb, what players and staff had the biggest, positive impact on you?

I'm going to limit myself to four:

1. Kroz/the player of.  Hired my ass naked after getting jailed and put me in the Byn.  Helped me and answered all my dumb OOC questions for years.

2. Berlain and his player, Xanous.  Contemporary Byn Sarge to Kroz right after Krrx revamped the Byn.  Like with Kroz's player, I talked to him for years  OOCly and, even though he hasn't logged into the GDB for years, I still regularly think about him.

3.  Karianna.  As an imm, she absolutely blew my mind as a new player.  She just went out of her way as a staff member to involve my clueless newbie burglar self in awesome stuff that I was totally undeserving of.  As a player I was almost totally new and a nobody, but that didn't prevent her from letting me know how fucking interesting it could be to play this game sometimes.

4.  LoD.  Both ICly and OOCly, his early guidance was just exemplary of what it is to be a good leader and a good player.  I'm sure plenty of others feel me on this one.


So, who were some of the players, characters, or staff that were mentors to you or otherwise really left a strong impact on you when you were a clueless newb?  What set them apart from the rest?

[Armaddict]

Aware of some the reactions this'll get, but alright.

1.  Delerak/Kronibas/Eatten_Back_To_Life/other IRC entities.
  Unpopular names for some of you, but I'd been mudding for three or four years by the time I came to Arm, and the code was -insane- to me, and I really had no true idea what roleplaying was.  I was invited to the IRC channel somehow, I don't recall how, and these guys helped me figure out code and, without being mean-spirited, made fun of me for my reactions to things and why they didn't fit in.  While we diverged on ideas a great deal over time, they separated IC from OOC for me (it was -fine- for our characters to be enemies and try to kill each other), and helped me through what would have been a process of learning that would have scared me off if I didn't have people to talk about badassity, wonkiness, and other such things with.

2.  Moontug/CodeMaster
This guy's still around, ya'll, I don't know how scarce he is though.  He hung with the same crowd, but had a closer grasp to what my idea of RP became.  He's the elf in the 'It's in my belt' log, interacting with my soldier.  He breathed life into scenes around him, so that in that fledgling state, I genuinely wanted to make things seem as cool and real as they could be.  I wanted his approval in my actions, and we talked about a great deal of things 'surrounding' IC without giving IC info...appropriate responses, explorations of cultures, etc.

3.  Zagren
I was suspended for a bit early on, for multiplaying.  Rather than ban me, the staff put me in a tavern with no exits so that I could still read helpfiles and such.  Zagren used to stop in on me, talk with me, discuss the game, and eventually ended up getting me to play city elves for him later, in the Haruch Kemad.  He wasn't against PvP, but talked in the mentality of elves; sometimes, you really shouldn't miss an opportunity to give more than a death.  Make it a death worth remembering.  Paraphrasing one of his things to me, 'There is no greater delight for an elf than to see the look on someone's face as they realize for the first time that -you- were responsible for their undoing, just before they die.'  He made the sidestep into a new mentality in the context of the game, i.e. the elven mindset, real for the first time.  I thought I understood with my dwarves before, but this was next level.  It was a character of mine in his clan where you can visibly see a change in my playstyle.

4.  Sanvean/Eniriah
While not exactly mentoring me on the game itself, these were the two most patient staffers who could maintain a dialogue with me.  Eniriah went out on a limb for me.  Sanvean remained impartial in cases where reviews were happening, not necessarily agreeing with all my actions, but often saying 'But I see how this could make sense in a different interpretation.'  While there were lapses afterwards, they improved my communication with those above.  Eniriah remains one of my favorite staffers, though I think her time was relatively brief.

5.  Kind of an honorable mention, Dar/Silver/Lec, the Guild Crew of the Detritus Den before the earthquake forever changed the labyrinth.  They taught me stealth things, they played fantastic powerhouses that could be both allies and antagonists, and they brought me along for many-a-ride even knowing that I was a helpless noob with only limited understanding.


There have been -many- influences on me during the game.  Many positive, and many negative, but I'd say that the above counted as 'mentors', rather than influences, even if they were not purposely taking me under their wing.

[mansa]

Mine was real life players from Highschool.   Our computer teacher taught us coding, showed us his own mud he was building and got us to help build, and introduced us to #ArmageddonMUD   (Gauss, also known as Olafson)

I read a lot.  I read the old Hyperthread discussion board.  I read all the ISCA threads.  I read HunterKiller's website, and other websites.   This was the early days of html, so everybody had a geocities website.  All those articles and discussions that people had, the arguments.   I read stories on the website.  I read it all.

My first character was declined 6 times.   Sanvean reached out and helped me write a main description and a background.   I was in, and died within a day.

I chatted with some people from ISCA.  I made more characters.  I made a pickpocket named Mansa and Lord Marius Tor and Jolanda picked me up, made me an aide, and taught me about politics and social structures, and how to bow to templars and nobles.

Eventually, I had a character who was in a merchant house, and that was when I got it.  It had to do with the players around me (Berlian, Captain Radoon, Merchant Adia) and having to live a longer life.   When I hit about 8 days playing time, I really got into the skin of my character and the world around them, and the power/political structures around them.

[Feco]

Man, I feel weird, because I feel like I don't have any mentors.

I didn't meet my first Armer until several years after playing, and I met them IRL basically immediately.  Other than that, I've stayed cut off OOC from other players.

Even IC, I'm not sure I had any really strong "take me under your wing" situations.

[MeTekillot]

Netflix/Rakas and Alain/the small, scarred man. Netflix got force-stored for a reason I still don't know and quit the game because of it. Alain I think just stopped playing.

[deskoft]

Player of Tallis was absolutely essential to me sticking to the game for sure. She brought so many plots my way, and made my first character, Flaire, be amazing. I would not be here without her - nor do I think my mindset when I enter a character would be the same. My time playing with them is definitely my 'north' into how awesome Armageddon can be.

Lucith Borsail engaged with my 'character 0' (the 1-week-long character I had before Flaire) and also hooked me really well, and their kudos to me after one scene we had also was very, very inspiring, I still remember that.

Definitely Xalle and her animations for Flaire really did it for me though. They motivated me so much into the role and showed me a lot of things about the game world of Armageddon that I didn't know, hadn't even imagined. She inspired me into a lot of things thanks to one or two scenes she had with my first character.

I would say these three were really good for me. Big props to the Tuluki players back then.

[Strongheart]

Sergeant Jin of the T'Zai Byn was my first official mentor once I finally started grasping the game (Arm is my first MUD). She was patient and understanding on an OOC level and on an IC level she also happened to be a compelling character that wasn't solely focused on combat. Thank you SO much, Insigne! You made the Byn life for me.

I did have mentors after this though, including a newly created noble named Teskelden Borsail. I am not certain if the character is still around or not but I want to thank them regardless for their patience with my aide character as I further cemented myself into the game.

Along with a multitude of mentors, I would like to name a few influential characters in my time of play: Lirael / Lira / Lii (knew the character since they were a Runner and got to see them grow, it was an interesting experience! So thank you, MatisseOrOtherwise) Okay the Giant (was there with my first character! Thanks for that Malifaxis) and gosh...

I remember this group I rode with on my dwarf who was named Stronhart (he very much liked giving hugs as it was a part of his focus though OOCly I also did it for the odd interactions lol). They were known as the "something Riders" I cannot remember the name but if anyone recalls this small group of characters with a volcano-necked woman (this was the most memorable sdesc as I was playing on the website's client at the time) let me know!

[boog]

Socko, but he brought me over from another game. He was the only person who actually RPed with me in that other game and I somehow found out how to contact him and he told me to come to Armageddon.

In game, I'd say Thunkkin's portrayal of Arkesh Kadius and a certain, wonderful couple's in game Tenneshis are what kept me around and really exemplified to me what Armageddon was all about.

[PriestlySiren]

I'd say... BadSkeelz was my big one, actually.

[Derain]

Amandagreathouse taught me most everything and took the time to take me under her wing.. She's banned now I believe.

[LauraMars]

Marko (Holten Irofel) and Travis (Methyas Groot) - probably a couple of the first players I encountered in the game, they were both very helpful.

Adhira for helping my first character go out with a bang and get me hooked on permadeath FOREVER

The guy who would become my husband whose username I don't even remember* because we have been married for seven years and that is no longer important. He got banned a lot (A LOT) but I definitely would not have kept playing armageddon without him. 

Alesix

Jpritch - still my good buddy to this day and I've known him for like 10 years and never even met him in person

brytta.leofa - see above

The guy who played Chosen Lord Cammul - WHERE ARE YOU
Bloodfromstone - WHERE ARE YOU

Malifaxis for being nuts

Path, the sweetest and the bestest with the best descriptions
Rairen, likewise

More recently:

The player of Alisima Oash - everything she did was so excellent
LargeHero for just being all around creative and willing to roll with every punch

*Ivory Angel in irc (watching him get kicked out of the channel 99999999999 times by Dig definitely made me realize he was just the man for me (not)(but it was funny))

[Brytta Léofa]

Gimfalisette (sergeant emeritus, sir)
alesix (templar emeritus)
LauraMars (you can go eat buttons or something)
Desertman (first Byn sarge)
Seeker (most interesting man in Vrun Driath)

These folks showed me how amazing the game could be, each in his or her very distinctive way.

And the rest of the beautiful endtimes AoD crew of 2009 or so: Bogre, Cutthroat, Gunnerblaster, Is Friday, Paryl, Rogue Gunslinger, Tisiphone, ...?

I'm still a fairly shitty player.

[Delirium]

Seeker, EvilRoeSlade, Samoa and whoever played Durg and whoever played Samar Kurac.

Their PCs had a big impact on my characters and on bringing the game to life for me as a newbie.

[QuillDipper]

I don't play really anymore, but shout out to most of the people who were in the AoD with my character Crete for helping me figure out pretty much everything. I was very out of my depth, especially in a clan like that, and everyone I played with was very tolerant and set a good example for me on how to treat other people who were still learning the world and code.

[RogueGunslinger]

Murk- the peg-legged Mul. God I think his name was Murk, my memory is such shit. He held my hand when I was a newbie and I joined his clan. I died fast, but he showed me the ropes and was very patient. He also played the role like a total badass. Really showed me the depths of roleplay possible when I saw how he interacted as a Slave for the clan. Later on I had a different character who ended up on the wrong side of Murk's clan and Murk beheaded him.

Samos- Having a hard time remembering who played Samos, was it Ale_Six? Anyways they were major leaders at the time. Samos was one of the first major character interactions I remember vividly. He burned my character with a fireball and stole his sight. It was really fucking cool at the time because I'd seen nothing like that in the game. Samos lived for a long time and I had many, many interactions over different characters of mine.

Gimfalisette- Was an exemplary leader, both in-game and out of game. She really excelled at making anything fun and I basically tried to mimic her whenever I had a leadership position. There's a ton I could go on about but I'll just say this: it set a high bar that I'm not really sure was ever met again when it comes to clan leadership.

Desertman- For inspiration and how to enjoy oneself. He made me unafraid to play a caricature as much as a character. To really ham it up when I wanted.

[LauraMars]

He burned my character with a fireball and stole his sight.

I remember this scene so well. You were running around aimlessly and eventually Samos was just laughing and said something like, "Where do you think you're going? You're blind and I can fly."

[RogueGunslinger]

It's funny, because at the time I was mad OOCly because I felt like I was being made into a punching bag. But as things progressed I realized I was given SO much leeway to role-play and interact. It wasn't until running into Midge, who had a few choice words for my character, that I realized this. Samos basically gave that character an immense backstory that was fleshed out ICly. Sadly I wasted it by dying soon after.

Fathi could easily be on my list of mentors as well.

[gotdamnmiracle]

(Edited to remove reference to currently living PC, per the rules)

[Marauder Moe]

I think Akasha and Aliera Oash shepherded my transition from hack'n'slash player with a veneer of roleplaying to truly playing a character.  I saw roleplaying not just as a means to justify skill grinding or collecting loot/money, but as the actual reason for playing this game.

I'll also give a shout-out to Samos.  Being hunted and captured by him was one of the best things that happened to that one character of mine.

[perfecto]

Mine was real life players from Highschool.   Our computer teacher taught us coding, showed us his own mud he was building and got us to help build, and introduced us to #ArmageddonMUD   (Gauss, also known as Olafson)

Those Blue-Eyed Bastards for sure 

Also ZalanthasNomad although we poked a literal shit ton of holes in the early code of this game I like to think we helped make it better eventually hahaha after all the Imms were done screaming at us.

Sanvean sparked my early creativity and let me run wild with some crazy ideas, and Ness's constant anger gave me more to strive for.

Playerwise I'd say the owner of Meso the Red for showing me how a powerhouse character can also be a powerhouse of a roleplayer. Little_Cacophony whose character I can't even remember the name of (though I know it started with an L) He was a sunrunner and his signature says it all.  "cinnamon, sugar, and softly spoken lies"

[Suhuy]

This was all a really long time ago now, but I remember shadowing Basya of House Kurac while she stood a couple rooms outside the Scaien Gates. I was a newbie just playing around with sneak and hide with no serious designs on RPing beyond what was required.

Alone (or so she thought), she withdrew a Kruth card with a sun or sun king on it and stabbed a dagger through the card, then said something out loud about her denouncing the Sun King. It was the first time I was ever witness to so called "solo RP". And it was pretty compelling RP too. It was clear this was part of some sort of character development, rather than just casual emotes about day to day actions. And this was the late 90's, which is sort of looked back upon as the No RP, Hack and Slash era of the MUD. I felt like there was something deep and meaningful behind whatever (and why ever) this character was denouncing the Northern king of Tuluk. It gave depth to the story of the game world and somehow that small little encounter stuck with me ever since.

More long term role models for me are:

Sargax Kurac. This guy was proof that you don't need long winded, 3-line long emotes to be a skilled RPer. He used very simple, short language to express his character, but was extremely consistent and full of depth. A very creative player who should be seen as one of the founding RPers of the MUD. And it all rang true not just with Sargax, but every character he played that I encountered.

Hekorz the Hand of Utep. Or really any PC played by this guy. Like Basya, this guy's RP motivated me to search for depth and meaning in my characters, rather than just running around maxing skills. A true storyteller.

Waevar (sp?) Kurac. A lot of Kuracis, I realize, but it's really just a coincidence. I'm pretty sure this guy was behind several well known PCs back in the day, including the (in)famous Lord Vedelerin Borsail. To contrast with Sargax, this player was in fact extremely wordy with his emotes, but he was one of the rare ones who could do it with excellent command of the English language, rather than the usual writing emotes long for the sake of being long. He was a real character to me and you could tell when he did things like express anger, it was the character, not the player, who was angry.

[Synthesis]

Lius, Berlian, Eldor, Ysania, and that whole crew.

[WarriorPoet]

LoD as Sujaal brought me into the Byn and really got me going, though I had been playing badly for awhile before that. I remember him emoting about a hungry child getting ignored and it rrrreally set my wheels spinning.

Brok and Brekkin the Byn dwarves both took the time to help me with code and emoting. Much respect. This was 02 I think.

I had been playing awhile and was comfortable by this point but Serpent (Ghost) in the Guild taught me how to be a cutthroat criminal and a good person.

Oh, and Sanvean!!! She was very kind to me and patient, even when she had reason not to be.

Honorable mention to Tlaloc and Halasturd.

[sleepyhead]

Valeria for playing my fake cousin You really helped me get the hang of things, or at least begin to. You are a big reason I am still around.

I forgot the gdb handle, but the player of Kit the Allanaki gypsy loyalist fme whore/burglar/jeweler. I loved playing with you a bit too much and I was probably a bit clingy but I was just so excited to play out our drama. I loved every moment of it.

LauraMars for being an incredible noble role model. I still think about your incredible emotes and strive to one day live up to that standard.

Taven, who was not only a fantastic RP role model, but a shining example of a contributer to the Arm community. I miss you and I hope that you will one day feel like coming back.

TheLonelyHunter, who to me is still the gold standard of mul RP. One day maybe we'll play together again and I'll figure out how to not die in the dumbest way possible. Thanks for all the memories!

Kismetic, who created an awesome tribe with me. I'm sorry I died to something silly (again). If we ever get another chance to do something similar, I'll try not to be so foolish.

The gypsy crew: Lexie, Aarif, Nicci, and Asha. And their sympathizers, Pearl (not Terash), Kit whom I mentioned earlier, Bixan, and I can't remember who else. I still look back on those days as some of the most fun I have ever had.

Advisor Nell for showing me the potential of hemotes. I'm still lame, but I'm trying.

Validos Fale for being one of the scariest templars I've ever had the simultaneous pleasure and displeasure of interacting with.

...and countless others. Thanks to all of you and I'm sorry to those I've missed. You are all incredible.

[azuriolinist]

It was my first experience in the T'zai Byn that got me hooked into the game and, gradually, learning my way through the code, world, and roleplay of Armageddon. In particular, I'll mention my first Byn Sergeants, Urzen and Grir, both of whom made for an utterly colorful (in the swearing kind of way, too) pair of characters. They truly exemplified the grit of the T'zai Byn for me. Grir had a shamelessly crude and rough personality, and one that still inspires me when I think of the T'zai Byn. Urzen, I vaguely remember, once smiled while whipping one of his unruly subordinates, showing me the often sadistic side of the people of Zalanthas. Honestly, overall, the experiences I had during that time of the Byn shaped a large part of Arm's theme for me as a newbie.

Another character that inspired me was Quen. (Yes, yet another Byn character). The player inspired (and continues to inspire) me to really just let loose when I'm playing Armageddon — to have fun. The experiences I had as a Runner under Quen's leadership were some of the most fun (and hilarious) I had in Arm.

As for staff, Akariel, amongst many others, is particularly notable to me for being extremely supportive in his replies on my first leadership role's reports. It was always a pleasure hearing back from him. The advice he gave me encouraged me, despite the difficulties I had with the role.

There are a number of players and staff I've probably missed or deliberately kept from mentioning, with some being too recent to speak of and others still living. I know I've learned a lot from the numerous discussions and guides on the GDB, too.