I think this is how you're supposed to do it:
Code:
oOOOoOOOoOOOoOOOoOOOoOOOoOOOoOOOoOOOoOOOoOOOoOOOoOOOoOOOoOOOoOOOoOOOoOOOoOOOo
o [Attributes] Zerel the Cruel, Dark Lord of the North o
o===-===-===-===-===-===-===-===-===-===-===-===-===-===-===-===-===-===-===o
o Status: Grand Master(1) Race: Deep-elf Class: Necromancer o
o Age: 114 Sex: Male Size: Medium o
o Alignment: Diabolic Handiness: Left handed Religion: Pantheist o
o===-===-===-===-===-===-===-===-===-===-===-===-===-===-===-===-===-===-===o
o STR: Weak INT: Omniscient WIS: Wise o
o DEX: Awkward CON: Healthy CHA: Influential o
o===-===-===-===-===-===-===-===-===-===-===-===-===-===-===-===-===-===-===o
o Carrying capacity: 9 items with a maximum weight of 175.0 pounds. o
oOOOoOOOoOOOoOOOoOOOoOOOoOOOoOOOoOOOoOOOoOOOoOOOoOOOoOOOoOOOoOOOoOOOoOOOoOOOo
o [Attributes] Zerel the Cruel, Dark Lord of the North o
o===-===-===-===-===-===-===-===-===-===-===-===-===-===-===-===-===-===-===o
o Status: Grand Master(1) Race: Deep-elf Class: Necromancer o
o Age: 114 Sex: Male Size: Medium o
o Alignment: Diabolic Handiness: Left handed Religion: Pantheist o
o===-===-===-===-===-===-===-===-===-===-===-===-===-===-===-===-===-===-===o
o STR: Weak INT: Omniscient WIS: Wise o
o DEX: Awkward CON: Healthy CHA: Influential o
o===-===-===-===-===-===-===-===-===-===-===-===-===-===-===-===-===-===-===o
o Carrying capacity: 9 items with a maximum weight of 175.0 pounds. o
oOOOoOOOoOOOoOOOoOOOoOOOoOOOoOOOoOOOoOOOoOOOoOOOoOOOoOOOoOOOoOOOoOOOoOOOoOOOo
Code:
oOOOoOOOoOOOoOOOoOOOoOOOoOOOoOOOoOOOoOOOoOOOoOOOoOOOoOOOoOOOoOOOoOOOoOOOoOOOo
o [Scores] Zerel, the Cruel, Dark Lord of the North o
o===-===-===-===-===-===-===-===-===-===-===-===-===-===-===-===-===-===-===o
o Status: Grand Master(1) Race: Deep-elf Class: Necromancer o
o Kingdom: Wastes Cabal: The Black Hand (Leader) o
o===-===-===-===-===-===-===-===-===-===-===-===-===-===-===-===-===-===-===o
o Coins: zero o
o Carrying: 2/9 items Load: 2.0/175.0 pounds o
o===-===-===-===-===-===-===-===-===-===-===-===-===-===-===-===-===-===-===o
o Health: Excellent Mental: Pulsating Physical: Fresh o
o Attribute points: 0 Wimpy: 0 percent Mode: Kill/neutral o
o===-===-===-===-===-===-===-===-===-===-===-===-===-===-===-===-===-===-===o
o You are sitting. o
o You still have a long way to go before the next level. o
o You have played 242 hour(s) so far. o
o You have 0 of 12 loyalty tokens available to spend. o
oOOOoOOOoOOOoOOOoOOOoOOOoOOOoOOOoOOOoOOOoOOOoOOOoOOOoOOOoOOOoOOOoOOOoOOOoOOOo
o [Scores] Zerel, the Cruel, Dark Lord of the North o
o===-===-===-===-===-===-===-===-===-===-===-===-===-===-===-===-===-===-===o
o Status: Grand Master(1) Race: Deep-elf Class: Necromancer o
o Kingdom: Wastes Cabal: The Black Hand (Leader) o
o===-===-===-===-===-===-===-===-===-===-===-===-===-===-===-===-===-===-===o
o Coins: zero o
o Carrying: 2/9 items Load: 2.0/175.0 pounds o
o===-===-===-===-===-===-===-===-===-===-===-===-===-===-===-===-===-===-===o
o Health: Excellent Mental: Pulsating Physical: Fresh o
o Attribute points: 0 Wimpy: 0 percent Mode: Kill/neutral o
o===-===-===-===-===-===-===-===-===-===-===-===-===-===-===-===-===-===-===o
o You are sitting. o
o You still have a long way to go before the next level. o
o You have played 242 hour(s) so far. o
o You have 0 of 12 loyalty tokens available to spend. o
oOOOoOOOoOOOoOOOoOOOoOOOoOOOoOOOoOOOoOOOoOOOoOOOoOOOoOOOoOOOoOOOoOOOoOOOoOOOo
Code:
Innate - sneak (mastered)
Amateur - dagger (very good) siegecraft (not learned)
sling (not learned) staff (not learned)
scrolls (superb) staves (superb)
swim (very good) wands (superb)
taslamaran tongue (superb) uxmaln tongue (superb)
zhensh tongue (superb) empire tongue (superb)
aghelian tongue (mastered) firmyrn tongue (superb)
deep tongue (mastered) taslamaran writing (fair)
uxmaln writing (superb) zhensh writing (fair)
empire writing (good) aghelian writing (mastered)
deep writing (very good)
Novice - meditation (mastered)
Initiate - dodge (superb)
Apprentice- self defense (not learned)
Journeyman- trance (mastered)
Expert - leadership (superb) scribe (mastered)
Amateur - dagger (very good) siegecraft (not learned)
sling (not learned) staff (not learned)
scrolls (superb) staves (superb)
swim (very good) wands (superb)
taslamaran tongue (superb) uxmaln tongue (superb)
zhensh tongue (superb) empire tongue (superb)
aghelian tongue (mastered) firmyrn tongue (superb)
deep tongue (mastered) taslamaran writing (fair)
uxmaln writing (superb) zhensh writing (fair)
empire writing (good) aghelian writing (mastered)
deep writing (very good)
Novice - meditation (mastered)
Initiate - dodge (superb)
Apprentice- self defense (not learned)
Journeyman- trance (mastered)
Expert - leadership (superb) scribe (mastered)
Code:
Innate - detect magic (mastered) faerie fire (mastered)
Amateur - armor (superb) cause light (mastered)
death shroud (superb)
Novice - blindness (mastered) chill touch (superb)
continual light (not learned) deafness (superb)
detect hidden (very good) detect invis (very good)
Initiate - animate dead (mastered) cause serious (fair)
fly (superb) identify (superb)
sleep (mastered) weaken (mastered)
Apprentice- curse (mastered) infravision (very good)
poison (very good) shield (superb)
slow (mastered) teleport (superb)
Journeyman- cause critical (very good) dispel magic (mastered)
feeblemind (mastered) plague (superb)
Veteran - fear (superb) locate object (mastered)
summon (superb) vampiric touch (superb)
Expert - control undead (superb) detect aura (superb)
recharge (superb) rift (superb)
Mentor - energy drain (mastered) spell ward (very good)
Amateur - armor (superb) cause light (mastered)
death shroud (superb)
Novice - blindness (mastered) chill touch (superb)
continual light (not learned) deafness (superb)
detect hidden (very good) detect invis (very good)
Initiate - animate dead (mastered) cause serious (fair)
fly (superb) identify (superb)
sleep (mastered) weaken (mastered)
Apprentice- curse (mastered) infravision (very good)
poison (very good) shield (superb)
slow (mastered) teleport (superb)
Journeyman- cause critical (very good) dispel magic (mastered)
feeblemind (mastered) plague (superb)
Veteran - fear (superb) locate object (mastered)
summon (superb) vampiric touch (superb)
Expert - control undead (superb) detect aura (superb)
recharge (superb) rift (superb)
Mentor - energy drain (mastered) spell ward (very good)
Between becoming increasingly busier with work and more and more disinterested in SK, I just decide it'd be better to stop stringing it along.
Over all, it was fairly fun. Playing a necromancer isn't what it is cracked up to be, but it's also interesting. What mainly makes this game an utter chore to play is seeing the same people in every character they roll and the sheer amount of spam reroll. The playerbase is no longer large enough to support multiple factions and people are obsessed with bandwagons to the point I've witnessed some people reroll 4-5 times in the short 3-4 month span I've had Zerel. This really doesn't allow for any sort of congruence to be played out. I suppose this is a reflection of the changes I've gone through in the last 10+ years I've played SK as my primary purpose is no longer play this game to faceroll individuals (it's just not what I strive to do on a free game that doesn't have a lot of skill involved -- especially where we all run around pretending to be elves and dwarves with magical spells) and am looking more for a story to be told.
Overall, the lack of creativity and longevity just makes the game boring, drab, and without any sort of depth. To me, this is just another hack n' slash game that doesn't offer more in terms of atmosphere and depth than an MMO that has folks running around with names like Gaydalf the [REDACTED], Willferal, and EliteXXDeathXX etc. While I grasp that deleting myself doesn't help this in anyway, I just lack the time and energy to sink into helping the situation which is unfortunate. That's when you know you're officially old.
That being said, there are individuals of whom this is not true, but the ratio just isn't there or I just simply didn't come across them in my short time. Perhaps I will reroll again in a year or two when I succumb to sk-amnesia and forget everyone, therefore enjoying the game before I lose the 'newbie' eyes once more.
Anyways, enough of the depressing zomgwhyIquitfuuuuuu stuff and a little back story on how he came to be:
Mitch poked me on yim one day about rolling a character since I'd not played since Vaalim, muchless actually enjoyed one on any real level since Vorak. So I rolled a Hammer barb with him and then he deleted. Then he wanted to go Hand as his sorcerer, so because I had spent only all over 30 hours on that last character, I agreed again. I wanted to relive the days of Malias (if anyone is even bittervet enough to remember him). I spent a thousand hours on that character and loved playing it immensely. Naturally, he deleted as it seems to be the trendy thing, but I decided to actually stick it out.
So I modeled Zerel after Malias, perhaps a delusion spawned by being driven mad by the glory days syndrome of my wasted youth. So thus I sought to bring back a necromancer whom I could realistically see as a deep, fleshed out character - both in his absolute batshit insanity and his wild, whimsical gesture of both kindness and utter brutality/betrayal. Essentially, a true diabolic that I feel has always been under represented. Many likely saw his extreme niceness, always helping them while others saw him act like you'd expect someone who is pure evil to.The one thing I did change was removing the sense of drow nobility of Malias and instead giving Zerel a completely sociopathetic mantra -- say whatever to anyone to get what you want out of them.
As for his actual backstory, I purposefully decided to leave it undecided. Throughout his life he told a number of stories, being of a deep-elven house, being a surface deep-elf, being a former slave, being a victim of a former necromancer's creations, etc. And truthfully, I like to think he's so convoluted upstairs that even he doesn't know the real truth.
Truthfully, I would have loved to continue him on and I do like the presence he maintained, but over the last few weeks I felt the desire to play him absolutely vanish. I tried a few last hurrahs, but ultimately still found myself alt-tabbed out of the game far more than I was in it.
To Veloras (whom I felt bad about suddenly screwed over and then leaving like I am without giving him a real chance of closure) I hope letting his character get his revenge added to his story. I'm sure you're still wondering wtf [REDACTED] nonsense I came up with on the spot to justify that action ICly, but I'd rather have that mini-chapter end then drift off into nothingless like so many other things will.
As for what happened to him, who knows. It's an unfinished story, after all. Anywho, thanks for all the fish and I must say I am impressed with as far as the game has come programmatically and world-wise. The code is vastly superior to what it was, both in feature set and ease of play - not to mention the areas are just off the charts awesome in nearly every area built in the last few years.
