News from UO Hearald


BNN: A Minor Inconvenience
Jeremy Dalberg
30 Oct 2007 16:24:26

“Milord!”

• The veils and drapes were ripped aside, pouring daylight into the canopy bed upon which a much disheveled, and suddenly very displeased, mayor had been sleeping. The blinding light lessened, obstructed by a rough shadow, and the voice yelled again.

“Milord, please! Wake thyself, ‘tis urgent!”

The Mayor threw aside his blankets and wools, and grasped at the drapes, pulling himself aright. There had been the party, the long dancing into the night, the wine, the women, “Ah”, he thought, “the…”

“Daemons, milord, in the forest!” the plaintative voice continued, failing to heed the state of the lord of the house. The mayor’s eyes focused, the headache was horrendous, but he composed himself and looked up.

“Daemons? In the forest. Near the moongate?”

“Yes, milord!”

He nodded, looked down at his hands, they seemed very far away from his arms for some reason. The mayor looked up, his knuckles white as his hands clenched into fists on his knees.

“You woke me up, for… daemons?”

Read the rest of this story here!


Halloween 2007

Overview
The many worlds, called shards, of Ultima Online were once one single world before the shattering of the Gem of Immortality. Even when it lay broken and was thought destroyed, it still bound the very fabric of Britannia's existence to its many pieces. Thus, as the original Britannia moved on in the sea of history, so went the shards in their own currents.

It should then be unsurprising that the history of one world differs so greatly from another's, such as in the case of the great city of Magincia:

"Somewhere, out beyond civilization, is also reputed to lie the ruins of the legendary town of Magincia, which the gods destroyed for the insufferable pride of those that dwelt there. All of the magnificent marble palaces and gardens were devastated, and the rich, haughty inhabitants reduced to haunting spirits."

- The History of Britannia, as told by Kyle the Younger (Ultima IV)

• It is true that all the shards are unique, with their own peoples and customs, wars and explorations, rulers and heroes. It is also true that many of the shards have strayed from the original Britannia, avoiding some disasters, while facing new ones.

Yet... history cannot be denied. It may be diverted, delayed - even altered to a degree - but never denied. Shadows have begun moving in an undercurrent as vast as the ethereal void itself, a darkness that once set upon a Britannia many of us have never known.


And so, the weight of time is about to come crashing down upon this blissfully unaware city. They will be see the threat, surely, and be confident it is minor. They will most certainly deny any offers of help, at first, and throw themselves into the fray. As the hordes advance and help lingers, history will attempt to reassert itself.

Yes, Magincia will burn.

Will you try to stop it?

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Magincia Invasion
Prelude

• The Magincia moong
  • ate will become corrupted, making travel to the island impossible by magical means
  • Ships will become the standard method of travel, with a ferry available between Trinsic and Magincia at the docks
  • Inu the Crone warns the city of the coming invasion, but goes unheeded
  The Invasion
  • A structured invasion will begin at the moongate, ending at the docks, covering the entire city in daemons.
    • This will be a wave-based invasion like the Ophidians and Despise invasions, where certain areas will spawn for a certain time. If all the monsters are defeated, the spawn can be pushed back. If left unchecked, they will advance forward over time.
  • New monsters, comprised of daemons with extraordinary powers, will lead the invasion alongside with other high-level monsters such as Dark Fathers.
    • Light Daemon: A glowing daemon that moves extremely slowly, but attacks with blazes of fire and light. An
    y object in the location where it steps is instantly destroyed.
  • Void Daemon: A dark monster that has several special moves, including the ability to pull players and animals into a blackhole, which does extreme damage and teleports them to a random location in the world.
  • Daemon Berserker: The same twisted magic that created Ophidian Berserkers has created these unthinking hulks. They attack anything but other Daemon Berserkers, viciously destroying their own allies and players alike.
• New rewards will also be found amongst the other rarities and artifacts strewn throughout the invasion forces.
  • Staff of Pyros: A rare chance of laying down a line of fire in the direction the wielder is facing, while attacking something.
  • Vorpal Blade:
    • A rare chance of instantly killing an NPC mobile
    • An extremely rare chance of duplicating the blackhole attack of the Void Daemons, affecting NPC mobiles
  • Berserker's Scythe: A determined chance of blackrock infecting the wielder's target
• For the first time in UO's history, the entire island, save for a few exceptions, is converted into fully destructible objects. The forest can burn, and the buildings can be destroyed by both the Light Daemons and cannon-fire.
  • Players will have a chance to use cannons to defend the island
  • Parts of the buildings and destroyed objects will randomly become "Rubble" and can be carried away by players.

The Aftermath

• Some shards will successfully defend Magincia, saving it, while others will be left with a burnt out pile of rubble that was once a glorious city.

Other Halloween Content
Pumpkins and Jack o' Lanterns

• Spawn in pumpkin patches throughout the world
• Once picked up they become "PlayerName's Pumpkin"
  • 1:2 chance of becoming an exploding Jack o' Lantern
  • Very rare chance of becoming a powerful Jack o' Lantern that lays down flames everywhere

Trick or Treating

• Players can say "Trick or Treat" and will then be able to target an NPC to beg from.
  • Tr[code]eats:
    • Candy red apple
    • Brightly colored rock candies
    • Black licorice
    • A plate of Mr. Plain's Cookies
    • Pumpkin Pizza
    • Creepy Cake
    • Harvest Wine
    • Murky Milk
  • Tricks:

• • • Bloody Mess
    • Splatter
    • Evil Twin
    • Random polymorph
    • Cacophony
  Pictures
  Click here to see pics of monsters, items, and destruction!
  
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