Well, I re-read my original introduction and found it sadly lacking...so, here goes a better effort!
I have been playing UO since the beginning. Well, perhaps not *the* beginning, as I was not part of Alpha or Beta, but certainly since retail. Ah, the halcyon days or yore...stolen house keys, day-long reverts, the works. As many times as I died to a goat, there was still nothing more terrifying to me than another player. My very first character, Rhymes with Orange, was mercilessly hounded by mysterious, evil monsters who repeatedly shouted 'Corp Por' in my direction. I found the best way to defend myself was to hide in the bushes and leap from ambush to the defense of other players. I actually grew rather proficient at this.
Then, some scoundrel put a price on my head.
From that point on, there was no point in venturing out of town. Great Lakes, it seemed, was out to get me. I retired in disgust, banking my 200,000 gold fortune and my black dye tub.
Fast forward to Age of Shadows. I stumbled upon a website that discussed plant growing in UO, and I was intrigued. Horticulture? What sort of game had UO become? Were players now content to pursue more peaceful paths? Could I wander Sosaria in freedom again? And what was this hyped dungeon they were about to release, called DOOM?
To my delight, I was easily able to secure a house on a new account. I found myself so enamored of a lands where I could not be attacked without warning that I rooted around in my brain to remember my first account, and the password. Eventually, I was able to recall both - and I also found that, while Rhymes with Orange and his 'fortune' were long gone, my veteran points had been accumulating the whole time.
I joined a guild or two and learned to spawn Champions and, later, Peerless - though I was never much use defending against those Corp Por creatures. Time passed and my guild and spawn mates passed into history, leaving me to soldier on alone. The only thing I had to remember them by was a Crimson Cincture.
Eventually, I hooked up with Ultima and introduced him to the wonders of Peerless hunting. He, in turn, indoctrinated me into the ways of multi-account hunting. Together, we expanded our knowledge of scripting - although he will tell you that I'm generally a bit better at making things work, and I'll insist that without him for inspiration, I'd never have made half the progress I did.
Now, Ultima too has left our ranks - leaving me again bereft of hunting companions. Balhae and Sonoma echo for me, hollow without his shouting defiance and empty of our boisterous triumphs. The Abyss is dark for me in ways it is not for other players.
I am Sampire. I am Tamer.
I am alone.
I am NObama.
