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_______________________________________ 17 July, 1999 ___
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Table of Contents
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1. Editorial by Dizzy
2. The How-To Guide to Surviving being a Low-Mort By Cor
3. Tales of a Warrior Lord", part 1/3
4. Avatar II: The Journey Foward By David Zhou
5. Movie Reviews submitted by Darii
________________________________
1. Editorial by Dizzy
________________________________
I once told a warrior that I no longer chose to speak with low mortals. He
responded by telling me this. The choice of whether I helped other players
or not was why he challenged evil, carried a sword, and fought battles. It
wasn't long afterward that I began to once again help those in need.
I once told a cleric a lie. He responded by telling me this. All of the
decisions that he made were based upon the words that I spoke. I have long
since told the truth.
I once became upset over a gift I received, because it wasn't what I
wanted. The giver saw the disappointment in my eyes and told me this. He
chose the most valuable gift he could find, because he felt I should have
it. I am since very joyful over each gift that I receive.
A Psionist once told me a secret which I quietly whispered in another
friend's ear. The psionist told me this, after hearing his own secret
repeated. The reason he told me the secret was because he trusted me, not
my friend. I no longer take trust so lightly.
I once gave a gift to a friend and she cried. I told her it was just a
small gift I had found. Her response was that it was not the gift, it was
that I had thought of her. I now give gifts often.
The shiny coin was not to be mine, and I knew it. But on my way out the
door, it found it's way in my hand. When it was discovered that I had
stolen the coin, I was quietly taken aside by a great mage. The mage told
me this: Integrity is given with a choice. I have since chosen to stand
with integrity.
Once I told a rogue of all of my dreams. He smiled warmly and even
chuckled then asked if I ever planned on living any of them. I now choose
the spending of my days very differently.
Author unknown, adapted to Avatar by Diz
________________________________
2. The How-To Guide to Surviving being a Low-Mort By Cor
________________________________
The number 1 rule to surviving being a low-mort is to have a good race and
character combination. You're not going to want to do something like,
make.. say.. a Giant Mage. Although these do end up ok in the long-run
(mid-hero) it'll be tough for your low- mort levels.
Here are 3 races for each class that, in my humble opinion, make the best
combinations.
Warrior: #
1, Dragon. The TNL isn't pretty, but you'll have the best
warrior stats, which is a definite plus. Besides, everyone loves grouping
with dragons because they get several levels while you get one.
#2, Kzinti. Noflee is annoying, but if you're good enough as a warrior,
you won't be fleeing anyways. The stats are good, they make great warriors
with their racial frenzy. "Rar"
#3, Human. Believe it or not, yeah Human. Good TNL, decent all-around
stats, quick leveling. And, that haggle comes in handy, y'know.
Rogue:
#1, Dragon. Once again, Dragon. Rogues make great tanks, and the
one thing great tanks need is, monstrous HP. Which is 1 think dragons get
(24 con with gear) and lovely Dex.
#2, Kzinti. Same, basically, for warrior. Except swap your higher strength
for a higher dex.
#3, Centaur. Centaurs have great stats. You'll have a nice, high dex,
great wisdom, and a well-rounded character all-together. The TNL is
somewhat high, but it's manageable.
Cleric:
#1, Deep-Gnome. Not only the best, but the most popular. It
seems. The only downside to being a Deep-Gnome is, nosun. Once you're in
the sun, you're barbequed. But the stats are great, and it's an enjoyable
combo.
#2, Dragon. Dragon clerics have some of the highest low-mort stats
possible. My dragon cleric, at low-mort, has these stats. 25 strength, 24
intellect, 23 wisdom, 23 dexterity, 24 constitution. 7 practices a level
is low for a cleric, but high for a drago n. Nice trade-off.
#3, Centaur. Centaurs will give your cleric the highest wisdom possible at
low-mort. 27. This means, 10 practices a level, and that's nice. Stats get
maxed quickly, your spells get learned faster, and you'll have nice
hitpoints and can tank after you get invincibility.
Psionicist:
#1, Sprite, Sprites make excellent psi's. 28 max int is good, but the
hitpoints you'll get will be lacking. Still, who needs hitpoints if you
never get hit?
#2, Dragon. Dragons get the same int as sprites. 28. And, they'll have
about 7 times the hitpoints as a sprite will. But, 10 times the exp
needed. Worth it? Yes.
#3, Drow. Drow, despite the no-sun racial, make good psi's. Their stats
are nice, moderate con and strength, ok wisdom, and great intellect and
dex.
Monk: I'll just say this. Any race makes a great monk, the only thing you
need to worry about is your hitroll. Any race with 18+ intellect and 22+
dex would work beautifully.
Martial Artist: Martial artists aren't available for new characters any
more, so you don't need to worry about it. Didn't want to leave those nice
ol' Mars out, though.
Ranger:
#1, Dragon. The 1 thing that makes a ranger good is, hitpoints.
Hitpoints come from Con, and dragons get 28 con. Need I say more?
#2, Elf. Elves have always made good rangers, they'll have decent con, and
good hunting stats.
#3, Gargoyles. Believe it or not, yes. Gargoyles get impressive hitpoints,
and a gargoyle ranger will get even more. Only downfall is, lousy
remaining stats besides strength.
Mage:
#1, Sprite. Sprites don't get much by way of hp, but their 28 intellect
will make for nice enchanting and good spellcasting. A sprite mage will
fail their spells at MOST 4-5% of the time. And the racial dodge helps
when something aggies or assists on you (but not much)
#2, Dragon. Dragons get excellent intellect, and wonderful hp. If there's
anything a mage needs when they're in a pinch, is hp. They can also solo
quite nicely.
#3, Drow. Drow have high intellect, good dex, and ok remaining stats. As
long as you always level in your level gear, you should be fine.
These are just a few examples. Any race can perform in any class, it just
takes a lot of work. (There's a reason why the highest gargoyle mage is
level 3.)
---
Equipment. This is just about the most difficult thing to
deal with in the game. Which equipment is good? What should I use? Where
can I get it? Are a lot of questions asked by low-morts about gear. Most
players have a few sets of gear on them. Hit gear, which is ba sically
equipment that increases your hit/damage rolls. Tank gear, which drops
your AC to insane heights. And Mana gear, which is your equipment that
raises your total mana points.
The most important thing that I've seen as a low-mort, is to have a
combination of equipment until about level 25. I usually combine hit and
tank gear, so I can take a beating and dish one out, too.
Good equipment to look for at level 6, is studded leather equipment. It
raises your stats, by usually +1 each item. Good for leveling, good for
tanking in, and good for hitting in. If you can find a mage, cleric, or
someone else to enchant a weapon for yo u, you'll be good to go until
about level 15.
Beyond 15, it's good to get some of the Underdark equipment. Thieves
patches, black drow chainmail, bracers of strength, and various other
items all raise your dex or strength. In fact, most of the equipment in
Underdark raises your stats, and if you can get them enchanted they're
good for a while.
At around 20, search around for red dragon and silvery equipment. Here's
why: Red dragon equipment is all +hit/+dam gear, and the silvery is all
tank +stat gear. So wear it for level.
Beyond 30, most of the equipment you'll find will be with you for a while.
Mages and Clerics can start getting into their hero mana gear around
37-40. And warriors and rogues can get their hit and tank gear from Hero
around then, too. All players can wear all base Hero gear at level 48.
Most hero gear starts at level 51, and it's wearable 3 levels before. Hero
is just a few steps away!
The most important thing to remember is, don't get discouraged! If you
can't find a group to help you level, go out and try and find new items.
Or explore new areas. If, by ill fate, you do die, there are many people
who will assist you if you do die.
Another important thing to remember, is don't hassle Heroes and Lords for
help. There are heroes and lords who will help you, if you need it, or in
an emergency, but they get asked 15 thousand times a day for help. I've
found, the best way to get a Lord t o be nice to you, is to start a
conversation with them. It's worked out for me, and it'll work out for
you.
A good way to survive your low-mort levels, is never be afraid to group!
Try grouping with new people, you might like the Variety.
But, don't get mad when you can't find a group. Patience is bliss, and it
does pay off. Enjoy your low-mort levels! :) AVATAR is a BLAST to play on.
So many friendly people, oodles upon OOOOODLES of help menus and screens,
and a great staff! Cor, Sprite Mage Hero.
________________________________
3. Tales of a Warrior Lord", part 1/3
________________________________
Chuft earnt a partial Name and hero status at a young age as a slayer of
dragons menacing the realms of Midgaardia. Together with his
blood-brothers, the Human mage Garion and the gnome martial artist known
as "Chop", a pestilence of wryms was dealt with. The three grew in their
power together, and no monster nor slayer of the innocent could stand
before their combined might.
Chuft earnt a full name with Garions honourific to Belgarion, and the
status of lord for both when they slew the Ultimate dragon, fearsome guard
of an ancient and powerful pair of talismans.
Wearing their Girths of the Most Holy, Chuft and Belgarion went on to slay
Tiamat, the fearsome five headed dragon once found defending the magical
gates of Avernous, the second plane of Hell.
Made overconfident by their victories; not realising how their power had
been diluted by Chops' absence in the ranks of the lords, the brothers
went to face the mighty and feared Demon Lord, Anthraxus, alone. They
rather handily destroyed the minions Anthraxus sent against them,
including his much-feared prince. Belgarion had become great in his magic,
never before nor since has a mage of his might and cunning walked the
realm.
Together, the brothers faced Anthraxus, and the wicked Demon did slay
Belgarion. Chuft, driven into a frenzy of rage and grief at this act,
severed the wicked Demon lords head from his shoulders with a mighty swing
of the great sword Fang, entrusted him by the military line of the Kzinti
Patriarchy.
He bore away the treasures of the vanquished Demon lord and the body of
his much beloved brother. He took no joy in the much coveted items, and
could think of nothing but that which he had lost. Belgarion had a great
funeral pyre that day, and Chuft took a fingerbone of his fallen brother
and used his magic to shape it into a ring of great power, in Belgarions
memory.
For six weeks Chuft mourned, and did refuse to shift with his lordly
brethren to defend the plane of Midgaardia from the Fae and Githyanki
alliances. However, at the end of this period the Lady Ashaya convinced
him of his duties to the realm which had given him birth and a Name. He
took his place as a leader among lords, and his continuing exploits have
made him into that hardest of things to become, a living legend...
________________________________
4. Avatar II: The Journey Foward By David Zhou
________________________________
The sun glared unceasingly upon Drenin's back. Sweat dotted his face and
that of his companions. This group of people could be seen heading for
the not too distant city of New Thalos that was visible up ahead. Drenin
mumbled something about the heat and absently swatted a bug from the air.
"This part of the world is simply DISGUSTING!" he growled, "How can the
people here stand this?" Drenin swatted another fly near his face. "That
is IT! Stand back people, I am SICK and TIRED of these stupid bugs!" His
party members, startled by this sudden outbreak hurridly stepped back.
Soon he was alone in the front, still sweating profusely. "Alaria
Portalia Beni!" A crack of light opened in front of Drenin. Expanding
slowly, slight ripples around the edges could be seen. The crack expanded
until a vague circle rippled in the air ahead.
"A portal!" Sarah exclaimed, "But why now?"
"I thought that it would affect the ripples that you're following.
Apparently it does not. It simplifies things a bit. No more trudging
through this unworldly heat. Come on, lets go." With that, Drenin
stepped through the portal. There was a flash of brilliant white light
and he was gone. Looking at each other nervously, Geren and Jinx also
stepped through, followed by Sarah.
At first, Drenin experienced the translocation displacement that his body
always felt, but that soon passed. Looking around, he could see that
buildings were all around him. I don't think this is Thalos, he thought,
but I set the portal target to the Statue of the Beholder. He saw quick
bursts of light near him, which he knew were the others.
"Where are we?" asked Sarah, looking around.
"I think, -I hope- in New Thalos."
"We're not," stated Geren flatly, "this is Underdark."
Doh! Drenin felt quite embarrassed. He had included "Beholder" in his
invocation and obviously (now anyways) it led him to the "Eye's of the
Beholder". Drenin felt quite stupid at the moment.
"Drenin..." sighed Sarah, "want to portal back?"
"Well ok, I guess," said Drenin meekly, "well, stand bac-"
"WATCH OUT!!" cried Geren. He launched himself at a figure that seemed to
have appeared out of the shadows. Struggling fiercely with the unknown
person, the pair rolled everywhere.
"Geren!" shouted Jinx. Almost instantaneously Jinx launched himself at the
attacker. With a speed defying mortals, Jinx whipped his feet and arms
like a whirlwind, striking here and then there.
"GEREN, JINX STOP IT!" boomed Drenin. The effect was amazing. Time
seemed to stand still. Jinx stopped in mid kick and startled, looked at
Drenin. Geren simply stopped. The assailent gasped and tried to run away.
Geren simply held him. Looking at Drenin, he shrugged.
"We want him alive," explained Drenin. Turning towards the now imprisoned
attacker,"You! Why did you attack us?" Staring vilely at Drenin, the
person (who was a man) defiantly looked away. "Why did you attack us?"
asked Drenin again. The man snarled at Drenin and suddenly stiffened.
His face turned livid and purple, his arms and leggs flailing despite the
grasps of Geren and Jinx. Soon, the man was dead, with a ghastly
impression of pain upon his face.
"Poison," growled Geren, "He poisoned himself." Sarah quickly looked
away, turning pale at the horrid sight.
"But who would send an attacker upon us?" asked Geren inquirelingly. No
one knew.
************************************************
Up high upon the heat charred landscape of Lloth's Peak, a man growled
disgustingly. With a look of profound disgust, he turned away towards
another person next to him.
"Scarpa!" he barked.
"Y-yes master?" Scarpa stammered.
"That fool of an assasin is dead! I told you send send in a competent
one."
"I-I w-will send in another one master. A better one, who will not fail."
"He better not," answered the person, leaving the threat open to Scarpa's
imagination. He growled and turned his attention once again towards the
small party that was in the Underdark.
*************************************************
Leaving the body there in the open street was out of the question. While
the Underdark may be short upon humans, there was plenty of non-humans to
notice the corpse. Finally, the party decided to leave it in an out of
the way alley. Hopefully no one will notice it for a while. Hoping that
it would suffice, Drenin once again proceeded to open a portal, this time
maybe to the right place.
"Okay, stand back everyone," said Drenin as he stepped forward. "Alaria
Portalia Beni Statia!". The result was the same. A slit of brilliant
white light appeared in front of Drenin. Expanding more and more quickly
it became a shimmering, multi-hued pool. "Alright people, let's go!"
Drenin stepped through the portal and disappeared in a flash of energy.
"I hope he got it right this time," growled Geren as he followed Drenin in
to the portal.
"Heh, I REALLY don't wish to end up at the bottom of the Great Sea,"
chuckled Jinx as he also stepped in. Sarah didn't say anything as she
followed.
It seemed to be the right place, although Drenin's sight was still blurry
from the translocation displacement. As soon as that cleared up, he could
see that they were indeed in the New Thalos.
"The old man did it," chuckled Geren as he recovered from the
displacement.
"One question," asked Jinx dryly looking around them as he too recovered,
"Why in all the gods names are those guards pointing their pikes at us?"
"What?!?" said Drenin startled. He was soon answered. A person stepped
out from the ring of steel that was indeed surrounding the group.
Arrogantly, he stepped up to them.
"So," he sneered, "the famous Drenin and his circus troupe. How nice to
meet you. I am here to inform you that you are arrested for fraud and
trickery. Everyone knows that there is no such thing as magic!" The
guard looked smug, motioned his men to apprehend the group and sneered,
"Let's see you use your so called magic to protect yourselves against hard
steel!"
"What!" boomed Drenin, "Trickery?!? Then how do you explain our sudden
appearence here?!?"
"Frauds, fakes!" sneered the man, "Any street performer can make it appear
as if he materialized out of thin air! Guards! Arrest these con-artists!"
"Oh dear," said Sarah quietly. Touching Drenin's arm, she whispered
something in his ear. Drenin listening, suddenly grinned.
"Why Sarah! You're a genius!" he proclaimed. Grinning openly, Drenin
uttered a few words, "Massia Invisia" The effect from the guards point of
few must have been quite frightening. To them, it would appear that quite
suddenly Drenin and his entire group just disappeared. Bewildered, they
edged back, looking fearfully around them. The apparent leader of the
guards shouted at them to search for the party but they paid no attention.
When Drenin cast invisibility on one of THEM, they went into hysterics.
To them, it would seem that suddenly a member of their guard had
disintergrated into thin air. The invisible man, not knowing what was
happening as he could see himself quite clearly only made it worse by
pushing and grabbing his fellow guards trying to find out the source of
their fright.
"Enough!" shouted the leader, "Drenin, I know you're there. Show
yourself!" A few moments passed with out Drenin appearing. "That is it.
I am sick and tired of playing games with you." Cursing savagely, he
motioned to one of his men. Immediatly, that guard blew a horn.
Suddenly, a enormous green and black dragon flew above the guards' heads.
The dragon was huge, with large green reptilian eyes in which a sly
intelligence could be seen.
"Find Drenin!" boomed the leader on the verge of curses, "Find Drenin and
KILL HIM!!!" The dragon roared in acknowledgement, spewing out a great
blast of green-tinged flame in the process.
"Oh dear," said Sarah, looking up towards the titanic dragon flying above,
dwarfing everything under it. "Oh dear dear me..."
Thus ends part II of the Avatar Series. We leave Drenin
and his party facing impending doom. Will they survive?
Will they be able to face the invincible foe of the sky?
And what will happen after? Danger is certain, more and
more danger. And thus ends this part of their long and
difficult quest to save the magic of the world....
________________________________
5. Movie Reviews submitted by Darii
________________________________
* * The Kid's Guide to Summer Movies * *
Reviews by the MFS 1/2 group: Angie, Emily H, Anne, Ashley, David, Ben Y,
Carly, Anitka, Audrey, Jessica, Michael, Shalom, Jimmy, Colin, Alex, Ben
S, Tevin
Mouse Hunt ***
Funny , not scary; you will laugh!
Best part: the winter bath in the Jacuzzi
Star Wars Episode One: The Phantom Menace *****
A little scary; exciting; some parts will make you laugh
Best part: The Gungan battle against the Trade Federation's Battle Droids
A Bug's Life *****
Not scary; very funny
Best part: When Heimlich is being lifted by the ants
Rugrats Movie ****
VERY FUNNY! not scary; some sad parts
Best parts: Baby Dill and his diapers; when they almost drive off the road
The Mummy ***
Pretty scary; not funny; exciting
Best part: When the Mummy scared the little boy
Ever After ****
It's a Cinderella story; not scary; funny sometimes; pretty sad,
but it turns out O.K.
Best part: When the bad guys say "You can take anything you can carry."
Antz *
Pretty funny, but it has cuss words; it's about ants; A Bugs Life is much
better
Best part: When the ants make a rope and ball and everything gets destroyed.
Dr. Dolittle *****
VERY FUNNY! A little cussing but you should see it; it's exciting; and a
little sad
Best part: Something the pigeons do; the rats, the guinea pig
Flubber *****
VERY FUNNY! Silly; exciting; not scary
Best Parts: When Flubber shoots out of Robin Williams' pocket
Small Soldiers ****
Some violence; very funny; not sad; exciting
Best part: "I hope we don't hit any icebergs!"
Star Trek Insurrection *****
Exciting; funny; not scary; weird
Best part: When a Son'a and Captain Picard are fighting and he puts in the
self-destruct code
-----------------------------------------------------------------
The Avatar Gazette is what you've just been reading, and it is the
official newsletter of Avatar, it is published weekly by Dizzy, in
conjunction with The Avatar Staff.(Original concept by Asamaro).
The Gazette is written in plain vanilla ASCII text to ensure that
everyone can enjoy it regardless of computer type.
To subscribe to the Gazette, send internet e-mail to
gazette-request@avatar.walrus.com. In the body of your
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Your real name is optional for the Gazette list.
eg subscribe snikt@walrus.com (Snikt)
You can FTP back issues of the gazette from ftp.walrus.com in
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If you have any questions, comments, suggestions, criticisms,
compliments, or (best of all) articles that you've written for the
gazette, please send them to Dizzy via my e-mail address:
dizzy@walrus.com.
You can also view the latest issue of the Gazette while playing
Avatar by typing 'help newgaz' anywhere in the game, or by surfing
our web site!
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