SOLCLAIM'S MOST INFLUENTIAL FIGURES
PART 4

Produced by Yaotl Falcon of Solclaim.

I'd like to welcome you all to the fourth edition of a set of interviews focusing on the identities that have had a major impact on the Solclaim server. It is hoped that these interviews will provide an insight into who made Solclaim 'tick', long after the server is shut down.

Rage of Mages is the fourth interviewee to be included in the series. RoM has been a major figure in the PK community both on SC and Darktide.

Background

Yaotl Falcon: Thank you very much for participating in this series of interviews focusing on Solclaim's most influential people. I'd like to introduce our fourth interviewee, Rage of Mages!

Yaotl Falcon: Firstly, Rage, tell me about yourself!

Rage of Mages: My name is Rage of Mages and I have been an AC addict for 3 years. I first learned about MMORPGs from the Ultima series. Oddly enough, from playing UO, I learned about EQ, from EQ, I learned about AC. Some folks were making fun of the game because it didn't have a banking system. I inquired further as to where they heard of this game, and they introduced me to some websites. Ever since then I have been hooked. Ironic eh?

As far as personal information is concerned, like Faile, I live in the Chicago area, 30 levels, err years of age, married, and have 2 dogs.

Gaming Background

Yaotl Falcon: What was your gaming background prior to AC?

Rage of Mages: I have always been a fan of roleplaying games, beginning with the Ultima series, Bards Tale and SSI AD&D games for the Commodore 64.

Goals

Yaotl Falcon: What goals did you have upon entering Dereth? Why were you attracted to AC?

Rage of Mages: I didn't really have any goals when entering Dereth. This was my third MMORPG behind UO/EQ. I was looking for a stable gaming environment. I was attracted to AC because it seemed fluid (no zones) and was up full time (no back ups like UO).

Newbie Period

Yaotl Falcon: Did you enjoy the newbie period of the game?

Rage of Mages: I did very much. This is when the addiction began. My first ever character was Sir William. He was a bladesmaster template. Sir William hit lvl 18 and attempted to pass through the crater pathway dungeon. Needless to say the Zefirs crushed me, and Sir William was no more .

Yaotl Falcon: Where did you hunt as a newbie and what scared you the most?

Rage of Mages: My true newbie phase of this game was on DT. I didn't understand what it meant to be a mage. I saw all these life mages draining from behind the walls, using stamina to health, health to mana spells and was like "WTH is that??"

Home Bases

Yaotl Falcon: Which town did you base yourself in?

Rage of Mages: On DT as Shendra Zou-Kain it was Ft. Tethena. When I rerolled on SC, becoming Rage of Mages, it was Kara.

Characters

Yaotl Falcon: What type of character(s) did you play?

Rage of Mages: Shendra Zou-Kain hit lvl 57 and was the common Shollos template (arcane lore, mana c, run specialized) Rage of Mages is level 126 and specialized war/magic defense. Other characters my friends new me on were Shin Quan Lei, Shendra. Currently, I play Ragus Magus on DT who is a lvl 102 OgBM. My final template has not been decided upon.

"Rage of Mages"

Balance

Yaotl Falcon: Your views on the evolution of character and content ‘balance’?

Rage of Mages: The rebalancing aspect of this game renewed my love for it. I think it is a fabulous thing.

Achievements

Yaotl Falcon: What do you consider to be your proudest/most significant achievements in game?

Rage of Mages: I have done a lot in game, primarily on the Solclaim server. Some of the highlights of my career would have to be when I was the Player Killer General for the Paladins of Asheron.

Yaotl Falcon: Your allegiance had a strong PK presence!

Rage of Mages: Solclaim used to have a rich player killer presence. We did a great job creating wars, tournaments and fight nights. Being a part of the POA/IC war was an honour to say the least. I don't recall a monarchy ever coming together like ours did at this time. Non player killers were supplying the pks with death items, potions, gems of stillness etc so we could defend our home town. We had NPKs at most major areas scouting the enemy for us, all under the leadership of Ja'afar al-Saladin. I haven't met an individual in game yet like him. He is truly missed.

Yaotl Falcon: Fight Nights - what were these all about?

Rage of Mages: Once this war was over, player killing took a small dive. However, some pks introduced what became known as Fight Club. Every Thursday, PKs from all monarchies would fight in various settings, 1v1, 2v2, 2v1, and FFA's. I believe Automatik made this popular, however when he left KMFDM and I picked up hosting of these events. Some of the best fights SC had ever seen occurred during these events.

Questing

Yaotl Falcon: Have you managed to ‘solve’ any quests?

Rage of Mages: Never solved any quests alone. Usually they are solved by the time I get home from work.

Rage of Mages: Aerlinthe comes to mind. I didn't lead many quests. I spent my time in game Player Killing. If it was a necessary quest, I went on it with others.

Allegiances

Yaotl Falcon: What allegiances were you a part of? Were you a monarch?

Rage of Mages: On DT as Shendra Zou-Kain, I was a monarch for a brief period prior to joining Red Devil. Starting out on SC, I was a part of Masc Caeladn's (sp) who later joined the Paladin's of Asheron.

Yaotl Falcon:You led the Paladins of Asheron as PK general after Radiant Soul stepped down, correct?

Rage of Mages: Yes.

Yaotl Falcon: Tell me about the Ordeal program for the Paladins of Asheron. Did you have a part in this?

Rage of Mages: For three days, the would be PK would get attacked by his fellow POA members and looted repeatedly. They could not recall, run, hide etc. They had to stay in Zaikhal for those three days. If they did not complain, cry, whine etc. If they fought valiantly as a PK then they passed. POA had a strict no grief policy, and no loot policy. Therefore, being a pk in POA was tough. If you were looted you could not loot back. The only time you could do so is if Kara was being attacked, and you were in Kara. This was to protect our home town, and to discourage other PKs from attacking us there.

Services

Yaotl Falcon: What, if any, services have you provided to other players?

Rage of Mages: Player Killer advice, primarily during the slide cast days. Crafting assistance, dye services etc.

Influences

Yaotl Falcon: Who had the greatest influence on you in game?

Rage of Mages: There are 3 people who truly influenced how I played the game. The first person came from my Darktide days as Shendra Zou-Kain. Tai Lo Quan/Extra Crispy first introduced me to slide casting and slide healing. Learning how to slide cast was a big thing in those days, until it got nerfed. The second was Ja'afar al-Saladin. His ability to manage situations was amazing. I don't know how he did it, for as long as he did it, but it certainly helped me later in my gaming life. Last of all KMFDM. This guy was the epitome of a PK. Folks on other servers know about him because of how he played the game. He is a legend on SC, and I am grateful to have played against him and with him. He certainly fuelled the fire for a long time on SC and will also be missed..

"Rage of Mages"

Trading

Yaotl Falcon: Were you a big trader?

Rage of Mages: I never was big into trading, or questing. I was mostly into the politics of the server. I think I spent more time arguing on the boards then worrying about getting ahead with items etc.

XP Chains and Macroing

Yaotl Falcon: XP chains & macros. Thoughts?

Rage of Mages:  Xpchains, macros, third party applications are all sore subjects, and I would rather not discuss them. This is a topic in of itself, and I could go on for days about it.

PK

Yaotl Falcon: Your general thoughts on PK? Comments? Anecdotes?

Rage of Mages: PK used to be heavily balanced in the favor of mages. Now that is not the case, which is a great thing. It used to be cool to kill folks with ring spells. Prior to the slide cast nerf, it was possible to catch melees and mages with ring spells.

Some of my more memorable kills came as a result of a ring spell finishing someone off.

Team battles were always a blast. During the KOS days, we could come into AB with a group of 10 and end up fighting for an hour against 20-30 server side player killers. Sometimes these battles would rage all night.

Player killing has changed so much, it just isn't the same anymore. No matter what server you are on, someone has near maxed stats, wards, aegis shield etc.

Some of these changes are for the better. Balance between melee/mage/archer seems to be the best in the history of AC.

Yaotl Falcon: Most influential PK’s?

Rage of Mages: Tai lo Quan DT, Masc Caelad'n SC, Automatik SC, KMFDM SC, Radiant Soul SC.

Yaotl Falcon: Most highly skilled PK?

Rage of Mages: Currently, I have faced some amazing combatants on DT. A couple names come to mind who bring the adrenaline rush back to player killing. Genos, Seventh Son, Lotus Rising, and the entire Feeble bunch. Don't get me wrong SC had some great pvpers. I have learned alot from everyone I have faced. But these guys mentioned have the ability to dodge war spells like I have never seen before. On Solclaim the original Synthetick, Rendar', Radiant Soul, Sorak of Koryo all had an ability unlike many others. Umm... I can't forget KMFDM. How could I forget him *grins*.

Yaotl Falcon: Most infamous PK?

Rage of Mages: KMFDM by far, he is known on other servers.

Rage of Mages: There is no true PK allegiance on SC. There have been either monarchies with pks, or chains with pks. The closest thing to a pk monarchy was the brief period that KOS existed. Some clans did influence the pk scene on SC. For example, Psycho Killers, POA, Incarnation, and Ruthless.

KOS

Yaotl Falcon: You created the first (that I know of) true KOS+L clan on Solclaim. How did it go? Did you succeed in what you set out to achieve with the allegiance?

Rage of Mages: One of the latest revolutions in SC player killing began when I created the Monarchy KOS. Phantasma, Wizz of Wizards, Jock Ewing and myself created a clan set on doing one thing, shaking up the PK scene. Our goals were to remain a tight nit group, no friends, and loot everyone. The monarchy thrived and pking on SC was fun once again. No more sitting at the AB lifestone asking for duels Real life obligations cut my play time considerably and I had to leave the KOS monarchy behind.

Bou Te's Question of the Day

Bou Te: RoM You come off really tough and (oooooooo) skeery in the game. Do people know that you're a big softy in real life or are we keeping that a secret?

Rage of Mages: You should see me in RL. I am 6'5", with hair all over. I look like sasquatch! This is probably why you haven't seen pictures of me posted. I didn't want to skeer you anymore then some already are.

Yaotl Falcon: Time for you to head back to the battlefield eh? Thanks go out to Rage of Mages for spending the time to answer these questions!

Rage of Mages: I thank you for this interview and for your time. AC is going strong and hopefully continues to do so.

Yaotl Falcon.