Hello! I am 20 years old and have played UO off and on since 1999. Back then, my parents played together when a tiny log cabin was considered a "rich man's house". As my mom explains it, you had a house key. If you were killed or your key was stolen, you lost your house and everything in it.
I will tell a story that is perhaps one of my most vivid childhood memories. And by vivid, I mean traumatizing.
Back then, I dont even remember my character's name. I played on Mom's account and she always told me "STAY IN TOWN." I wanted a horse to ride so badly; Horses are my favorite animal. I would kill birds in town and around the edges and sell the meat and feathers to the butcher for chump change. Then the day came that I finally had gathered enough gold for a horse. I was given a Dun (The tan and black ones) horse and I named her. I had never been more elated as a child and as a player than I was that day.
Happily, I rode my horse all around Moonglow. I bought it apples and carrots, pears and hay, spoiled that thing rotten. I wanted to ride out into the forest, and what did I find? a bunch of players in a gang. A player who was dressed all in Red froze me and killed me in what must have been one hit. I didnt have any armor, no fighting skills (and not to mention, I was like, 8 years old.) He killed me, and killed my horse.
He killed what I had worked so hard for. Almost immediately, I becan crying. Not just crying, but SCREAMING and crying. My dad, alarmed, rushed to my screen. I sat there crying and crying and not stopping. My mom scolded me for leaving town, but tried to comfort me over my dead pixel horse.
My dad took over the computer and got me rezzed, left me in town. He was already playing himself, so he rushed to my side and tried to reason with the murderer. He got my stuff back, but I couldnt afford a new horse and it would take weeks of killing chickens and plovers to earn another. So I scooped up my apples and tried to piece back together my pride, and had to start all over.
That's the end of my story. I have probably quit and come back to the game 5-6 times since then. Once Felucca and Trammel split, I felt much safer. I stick to Carebear-land, leaving Felucca to the big boys. I currently play one character on the Atlantic Shard, a Tamer primarily. I have an entire stable full of different animals and love to tame Unicorns to work on my skill. I am reasonably quiet as a player. I have one or two friends that I see from time to time, but mostly keep to myself decorating my house and hunting monsters. I recently came back once again and feel hooked all over again
