Massively

This week I have created the DDO character that we'll be spending the next two months with, so an introduction is in order. According to the end result of the votes (which were very close in some parts), I have created a male human Ranger on the Khyber server. I will play this character completely free, which will definitely prove to be a challenge in some parts. But I feel that it's a great way to show people what there is available on the free side, and I'm glad it was chosen as it was.

So I present to you: Fahryn Brygo. His name is derived from an NPC in one of my all-time favorite games: Wasteland. That original NPC (actually named Faran Brygo, but that name was taken!) was an alteration of Brian Fargo, one of the original creators of Wasteland, and the founder of Interplay.

I chose the Arcane Archer path for this Ranger because I want to focus on ranged attacks. I'm actually really pleased at the choice of Ranger, as I'm more of a back-line player anyway. But don't take my word for it. Let's hear what Fahryn has to say about his new life in Eberron.


I remember it quite vividly, if not for the constant reminder of sand in every fold of my clothing and skin. I woke up this morning on a beach, apparently shipwrecked on a strange island. My clothing was tattered and torn and I had not a stick to my name.

A strange little man shouted at me repeatedly, asking if I could talk or move. I sat up, against the will of my throbbing head, but I could see that the small man was very close to me. His size was not threatening to me, but I was still cautious of his ability to cut my throat in an instant.

He introduced himself as Jeets Shimis, and surprisingly was quite open about his desire to plunder my marooned ship for all its worth. I don't remember having any real emotional connection to the ship -- or anything else, for that matter -- so I let him do his thing.

He told me to travel up a hill to find a Cleric woman named Cellimas, hiding within a cave. She seemed a bit more approachable than her rogue friend, so I followed her through the cave, hoping for a way out, and an explanation of where I was and why I couldn't remember anything.

The voyage through the caves proved to be more difficult than I imagined. A reptilian creature named the Sahuagin inhabited the maze of underground tunnels, but I quickly realized that I knew a thing or two about wielding a rapier, thanks to Jeets.

After making quick work of the lizardmen, I was given the task of swimming to the bottom of a large well and retrieving a key for the door that would get us out of the caves. I've noticed several levers, traps and secret doors down there, which intrigued me.

Once I was back out into the open air, I happened upon a traveler named Randall who introduced me to Korthos Village. He warned me that the village is going through some hard times, but I could look for the local tavernkeep to give me a task or two for extra money. That would earn me some real clothing and perhaps a real weapon.

So here I sit, later in the day, at that very tavern. The weathered barkeep explained what he wanted from me, and gave me a bit of advice on the evils of Misery's Peak. While he had no interest in sending me to my death just yet, considering my condition, he did grant me the task of checking on a strange noise that his daughter heard in the Heyton Family Crypt. So it's off to chase down the imaginary fears of a small child, I guess. I'll do what I can to get in good with these townspeople though, as it seems I may be here awhile.


So here I am, ready to venture into a relatively new game world to me, and I'm excited to see how this plays out. I imagine my adventures will be helpful for those newer players, as I will be reporting on my own experiences as I discover them, as well as my impressions of how everything works. As I mentioned before, we'll at least try this first vote completely from comments. If you're a veteran DDO player, let me know what I should do to begin my adventure in Korthos Village. Should I just start picking up quests and leveling as much as I can? Is there a particular quest line I should focus on? You decide!

If you currently play on the Khyber server, or would be interested in starting a new character to play along with me, let me know. It was mentioned before that starting a guild on the free side is difficult, so any advice there would be helpful, as well. I'd like to get a guild of readers together for this, so we can play together regularly throughout the 2 months in DDO.

As for playing times, I will shoot for 9pm EDT tomorrow night (Thursday, October 15th) for a first meet-up of players. Then again on Friday night, 9pm EDT, we'll do it again. These will be preliminary, casual get-togethers before we start getting into the content that is voted upon by you.

I look forward to my time in DDO and with the Massively readers!