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== The Stranger's Challenge Cheese Recipe ==
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{| class="{{{class|mmw-policy}}}" style="border: 1px solid #a2a9b1; background-color: #f8f9fa; font-size: 90%; margin-bottom: 1em; padding: 0.25em; {{{style|}}}"
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|-
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| [[File:suggestion.png|32px]]
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| style="padding: 0 0.5em;" |
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<center>'''Got a suggestion for events and prizes?'''<BR>Go to [[Events_Questions | Events Questions]]</center>
 +
|}
  
An on-going event: [[ The Stranger's Challenge Cheese Recipe]] Players may attempt the challenge at any time.
+
= EVENTS DESCRIPTIONS =
 +
For Controller Run Events see this page, [[Events]]
  
Earn one rare [[cheese]] recipe by successfully completing the challenge via a conflict arena.
+
== Christmas Sculpture Event - Dec 2020 ==
  
  Send your spirit to The Stranger's Construction Challenge
+
[[File:2020_Christmas.png|1000px|Christmas 2020 Sculpture Garden]]
  
Requires a 1 [[Malardium]] fee to enter the conflict arena and begin (or retry) the challenge.
+
[[Christmas Sculpture Event]]
  
==Kuupid Memorial Vigil==
+
[[Christmas Sculpture Event Calendar Notifications]]
  
To honor the life of Kuupid, a vigil was held on September 29, 2018 and a memorial placed in her memory.
+
[[ Christmas Sculpture Event: List of Winners]]
  
Twenty-four hours before, a mysterious Pig Barn appeared near the Meroe chariot stop. Those who could tempt one of the three special pigs to their camp were rewarded with a prize at the end of the Kuupid Memorial event.
+
== Winter Wonderland ==
 +
[[File:Xmas_Avaris_Deco.jpg|1000px|Center]]
  
==Time to Weed and Pick the Flowers==
+
[[Winter Wonderland]]
Started September 16, 2018, duration 4 days
 
  
 +
== Halloween Sculpture Event ==
  
In this event, PrincessAlara will call out for people to find an Weed and report it in Events channel. Someone from the Events Team will come to you and pick the weed. Depending on the (random) result, you will receive a prize.
+
[[File:Halloween_Deco_Avaris.jpg|1000px|Center]]
  
More information on the Event page: [[Time to Weed and Pick the Flowers]]
+
[[Halloween Sculpture Event]]
  
==Mystery Fish and Prizes==
+
== A Tempest Takes Its Toll - Chapter 2 ==
Started August 18th at 6PM, last 24hrs
+
[[Chapter_2_-_A_Tempest_Takes_Its_Toll|Chapter 2 - A Tempest Takes Its Toll]] <br>
 +
Page which lists the camps : [[Chapter 2 - A Tempest Takes Its Toll/List camps/|'''List of Camps - Chapter 2]]<br>
 +
Page which lists only the starting points of each story : [[Chapter 2 - A Tempest Takes Its Toll/List camps - No Spoiler|'''No Spoiler page : List of starting point of each story - Chapter 2]]
  
[[Mystery Fish and Prizes | Mystery Fish and Prizes]]
+
PORTS:[[File:CaptainBelzoniKushDock.png|thumb]]
 +
* Meshwesh port at 765, 7191
 +
* Hyksos port at 760, -2298
 +
* Kush port at 840, -4349
  
==Greatness of the Past==
+
== Foraging Event 9-29-19 ==
  
[[Greatness of the Past | Greatness of the Past]]  
+
Accompanying story...
 +
[[Chapter_1_-_For_Better_or_For_Worse_In_Sickness_and_In_Health|Chapter 1 - For Better or For Worse, In Sickness and In Health]] <br>
  
==A Date for Gambling==
+
* [[Round 1 - Calendar Posting]]
 +
* [[Round 1 - Halfway Point Leaderboard]]
 +
* [[Round 1 - Final Tally]]
 +
* [[Round 2 - Calendar Posting]]
 +
* [[Round 2 - Halfway Point Leaderboard]]
 +
* [[Round 2 - Final Tally]]
 +
* [[Round 3 - Calendar Posting]]
 +
* [[Round 3 - Halfway Point Leaderboard]]
 +
* [[Round 3 - Final Tally]]
  
[[A_Date_For_Gambling| A Date For Gambling]]
+
== All Hallows 30-31 October 2020 ==
  
==Hunt for Herbs Again!==
+
=== Player Tales and Recollections of Times Past ===
  
Read the rules and information at [[Hunt_for_Herbs_Again!| Hunt for Herbs Again!]].
+
====Tales 1-2====
  
== Father's Fishing Derby ==
+
''Note on the Notice Sign, First Rest Point Mark 122, 477''
  
Many fathers enjoy some peace and quiet once in a while. Some meditate, others take to beer brewing, but many like to go fish. Let's give them this opportunity for this year's Father's Day.
+
'''The Road to Now: Part 1: In the Beginning'''
  
Of course anyone can join in as well, but please be quiet so you don't scare the fish away!
+
All cultures have their origin myths that are recalled around the campfires to remind ourselves of who we are and what is important.  Our earliest beginnings are shrouded by time, imperfectly recorded and memories waver. Much remains unclear.
  
 +
Who amongst us now weave stories of the first Telling, where Khephry brought technologies that caused pollution and depleted resources, forcing us to take greater care of our environment and pursuing personal agendas to the detriment of others?  Once bitten, twice shy! 
  
Duration: '''45 hours'''.
+
Around desert campfires, who still remembers the Persian thief Malaki of the second telling, who traded worthless junk for valuables and sought to defame virtue?  Beware the thief in the night!
  
Start: Friday, June 15, 7pm GMT (8pm BST, 9pm CET, 3pm EST, noon PST).
+
And what about the story of those mysterious chests that washed up along the Nile in the third Telling that brought Lung Spore Disease to our shores, crippling our health while we frantically searched for a cure. Grimly prophetic, that one, in hindsight. Have we learnt anything at all, I wonder?
 +
And Geodude, at war with the world with a Woodplane and words of terror and derision. What more can I say? A story to recount to wide eyed children on the night when forgotten things emerge from the darkness to haunt us. Begone! And against all these things we have prevailed and prospered, after a fashion.  
  
End: Sunday, June 17, 4pm GMT (5pm BST, 6pm CET, noon EST, 9am PST).
+
Lest we forget.  
  
 +
Please add your recollections here!
  
More information can be found here: [[Father%27s_Fishing_Derby | Father's Fishing Derby]].
+
* Tale 1 - I think Khephry was only *secretly* the Stranger, and the Magnesium Mines (massive ecological impact, where we discovered 500+ players in one spot and live worldbuilding didn't play well together as it took the server down) and University of Progress techs were meant to be only loosely connected. Probably worth noting that we legislated our way out of the harms of most of the UProgress techs (Clearcutting, Ritual of Plant Growth) while allowing most of the benefits. While we don't have the legal system anymore, I thought that was a pretty fine accomplishment. Tale 2 - We invented chariots! You could go places without having been there before! Also we locked all our buildings up in boxes instead of letting them roam carefree in the wilderness. Herbs sprouted in the world!  Some good, some bad. - Somebob
 +
* https://web.archive.org/web/20100718181916/http://wiki.atitd.net/tale1/The_History_Of_Egypt
 +
*
  
 +
====Tales 3-4====
 +
''Note on the Notice Sign, Halfway Mark 122, 522''
  
== Whip It, Don't Tip It! ==
+
'''The Road to Now: Part II Choices and Consequences'''
  
Whip a bull from start to finish line as fast as you can! Make sure to bring your Stockwhip.
+
The fourth Tale opened with the death of the Pharaoh. His two sons, Sami (eldest) and Wahim (the younger) were required by custom to agree who would ascend to the Throne of Egypt.  Neither son was prepared to trust Egypt to the other.
  
Race Dates:
+
Sami wanted to share his father's wealth with the people, and sought to win their support with gifts, contests and events with exotic goods awarded to the champions and to all participants in the revelry.  Wahim refused to buy favour, but wanted to improve the people's enjoyment of everyday life. So, while Sami lavished the people with things, Wahim stirred trouble by introducing new ideas and challenging different ways of thinking. Wahim's challenges or 'tests' often encouraged crafting and introduced new capabilities and technology.
: Part 1: Saturday June 2nd 2018 at 7 pm GMT
 
: Part 2: Sunday June 3rd 2018 at 3 pm GMT
 
  
Details and Registration Page [[Whip_It,_Don%27t_Tip_It! | Whip It, Don't Tip It!]]
+
Eventually, the brothers agreed to hold a vote to determine who would ascend as Pharaoh. Sami promised that if he won, then he would require his scientists to research new skills and technologies, but all monuments completed in honour of the seven worthy test disciplines introduced by Wahim would not be passed on to the next generation.  Should Wahim ascend, then the Monument Tests would become part of the next tale, but the technologies and skills created by the players will be forgotten and will need to be researched in each subsequent generation. The people of Egypt decided to support Sami as Pharaoh, and we bear the legacy to this day. 
: '''Note: You must register on this page to participate'''
 
  
== A Fishy Census ==
+
Please add your recollections here!
  
Four fishing contests starting on May 12.
+
* Tale 3: The Valley of Kings was locked away behind a completely impassable wall, from the beginning of the time. Before this time, it had been a very popular - some say *too* popular - region for players to settle in. Mysterious altars and strange rock formations were found around the perimeter of the VoK wall, and once or twice, players were granted mysterious visions, somehow connected with unlocking our access to the region once more. Many things were tried, all to no avail. Many months later, after Swimming proved a lovely way to glitch oneself into the region and take a sight-seeing tour of the vastly, entire changed region (but take and leave no trace, for shame those who put cicadas there!) it was revealed that oops, the unlock event was, in fact, bugged and could not be completed. Someone else will have to fill in what happened next - something to do with players being allowed in, but never to build, on pain of everyone in the region being teleported out? - Somebob
 +
*
 +
*
  
=== Part 1: Abdju and Tilapia (May 12 from 2 p.m. to 3 p.m. EDT) ===
+
====Tales 5-6====
The scholars of the Great Universities of Art and Music want to gather details about the population of fish in our rivers and seas while you prepare to stuff and mount your biggest catches as trophies. 
 
  
Please focus on Abdju and Tilapia while the census is running.  Catch as much as you can and as big as you can. 
+
''Note on the Notice Sign, Three Quarter Mark 79, 522''
  
Rewards for your help will be: 
+
'''The road to Now, Part III New Skills, New Horizons'''
  
For '''biggest''' Abdju (and same for biggest Tilapia):
+
Sami won the majority of citizens' votes, and ascended as Pharaoh in Tale 5.  He kept his promise, and asked the scientists to create many new player designed technologies, including Foraging (memorize foraging techniques; Preservation (portable meals); Silkworm Farming (enriched  silkworm food); Aquaculture (growing papyrus hydroponically); Herbology (cultivation of herb seeds); Fertilization (fertilizing flowering bulbs); and Molecular Balance (comparing two plant genomes).  Mining and fishing were also significantly overhauled. 
*1 Beachcomber's Fly Rod to the winner
 
*5 Barrels to the top 8
 
*100 Carrots to top 50 
 
  
For '''most''' Abdju (and same for biggest Tilapia):
+
Despite Sami's intention to invalidate the monuments and their embedded test proposals, the people, with some heckling from The Stranger, managed to complete four new Monuments and four new Tests were proposed by Egypt's Oracles. Although some took several tales to be implemented, they are now part of our rich tradition. The Test of Isis's Bounty enables exploration of Egypt's seas and waterways in sea-going ships. The Throne of the Pharaoh challenge requires teams to work together to produce elaborately decorated thrones, showing off Egypt's craftsmanship.
*1 Beachcomber's Fly Rod to the winner 
 
*5 Baskets to the top 8 
 
*100 Cabbage to top 50 
 
  
Participation (you need to catch at least 1 of these fish):
+
Others proved less pleasing to the populace over time, and have been left discarded in the sands. What happened to Wahim?  A strategic retreat to the deep desert was his fate. Do we now know him as The Stranger?
*10 Salt
 
*8 Whisperer's Fly Rod by Lottery  
 
*8 Topaz Light Boxes by Lottery
 
*1 Token of Ra by Lottery
 
*1 Microphone Part by Lottery
 
  
Clarification on TIES:
+
Please add your recollections here!
* Top prize will be handed out by lottery among the tied for best.
 
* Suppose top scores for biggest fish are 9, 8, 7, 7, 7.  Top 3 prizes will ONLY go to scores 9 and 8.
 
  
=== Part 2: Catfish and Phagrus (May 12 from 11 pm - midnight EDT) ===
+
* Tale 5: Second-hand recollections but: Late tale, I believe a few people's buildings got blown up, fairly deliberately. Possibly by my T5 guildmate Skyfeather, but I'm less clear on this part. Anyone recall this better? - Somebob
 +
*
 +
*
  
Please focus on Catfish and Phagrus while the census is running.  Catch as much as you can and as big as you can.   
+
====Tales 7====
 +
''Note on the Notice Sign, Final Marker 79, 477''
  
Rewards for your help will be:  
+
'''The road to Now: Part IV Almost there'''
  
For '''biggest''' Catfish (and same for biggest Phagrus): 
+
In Tale 7 The Stranger returned as an agent of chaos, seeking to incite civil unrest and destabilise loyality to Pharoah. The ledgers of the scribes recorded this exchange, carefully restored from ancient scrolls:
*1 Beachcomber's Fly Rod to the winner  
 
*5 Barrels to the top 8 
 
*100 Onions to top 50   
 
  
For '''most''' Catfish (and same for biggest Phagrus):
+
"I see the Pharaoh has begun his unreasonable demands of you. Are you blind to his hypocrisy? Do you not see how his Universities exist only to fill his pockets with the fruits of your labour? Fools! He extorts the very sweat from your brow. Your ancestors knew me as The Stranger. You thought me dead. You should have known better, I am as immortal as Pharaoh himself."
*1 Beachcomber's Fly Rod to the winner 
 
*5 Baskets to the top 8 
 
*100 Leeks to top 50   
 
  
Participation (you need to catch at least 1 of these fish): 
+
'In the time of the ancestors, Pharaoh asked me to set 49 challenges to improve your vigour and skill and to prove your worth and loyalty. In this age I come without permission or request. As I gaze upon your feeble efforts I can see you are not worthy of my tests. Prove to me that your society is WORTHY to be tested!'
*10 Glass Jars
 
*8 Whisperer's Fly Rod by Lottery 
 
*8 Sapphire Light Boxes by Lottery
 
  
Clarification on TIES:
+
"First, a proof of my power. <The Stranger snaps his finger and all Egypt's Chariot Stops crumble into dust>  "
* Top prize will be handed out by lottery among the tied for best.
 
* Suppose top scores for biggest fish are 9, 8, 7, 7, 7.   Top 3 prizes will ONLY go to scores 9 and 8.
 
  
=== Part 3: Carp and Perch (May 13 7-8 a.m. EDT) ===
+
"Are you truly a society with potential for greatness?  Show me now!  Gather 1777 cuttable stones, drawn from the lands that you claim to respect. Your time is short. Give your contributions to my representatives at the broken chariot stops before 3 hours is up.  Fail me, and you have failed yourselves and all posterity.
  
Please focus on Carp and Perch while the census is running.  Catch as much as you can and as big as you can.     
+
How far we have come!
  
Rewards for your help will be:     
+
Please add your recollections here!
  
For '''biggest''' Carp (and same for biggest Perch):  
+
* Tale 7: Most notable thing was the return of *every* Test Pluribus could get working again - far in excess of just 7 per discipline. This was some pretty great coding wizardry to resurrect stuff so old, and buggy, and getting it to work in the current ATITD codebase, and I think was a great idea to give people more choice in just how they wanted to engage in the game. I realized I never had to do Acro again, since Bedouin now provided Dexterity. And many other people could probably avoid tests they, too, didn't care for! Additionally, test unlocks were finally moved to be almost completely player-driven. As soon as we could meet the demo requirements, and had the levels, we could unlock a test, instead of waiting for the dev in charge to decide we're ready for the test, which was the cast for many other tales. As example, Safari was thus unlocked far in advance of when it was most other tales, and yeah, the carrot staring sucked enough, and the test was fun enough, I'm gonna keep on bragging about it :p Oh, right. Also the long-promised (like, promised back when the level system was first introduced and I first started complaining about it) way to bypass the cursed Level system was introduced: Beer Tokens one could use to skip an initiation, or gain a level instantly. Given for each month subscribed/paid or something I think, so full-tale prepays could level up massively instantly. - Somebob
*1 Beachcomber's Fly Rod to the winner 
+
*
*5 Barrels to the top 8 
+
*
*100 Carrots to top 50     
 
  
For '''most''' Carp (and same for biggest Perch):
+
*Tale 8
*1 Beachcomber's Fly Rod to the winner   
+
* Factions exist - we all know this, but that's the big change. It also leads to much of the drama throughout the tale, so even an RP-centric explanation probably has to address this. Test unlocks are now fully player-driven, with the Stranger's University of Progress making a return, and gating how many tests we could open in a given period of time - all the T7 tests, which had sometimes been implemented over the course of the tale, made a return right at the start. Demonstration requirements still had to be met, with some notably pleasing bugged exceptions. Mega Lag early tale. Maybe someone can invent a good story explanation for this, but it was a very notable event. Game of Thorns - Tribute/territory control wars. I don't think there is an uncontroversial version of this story, and Lukeera tells it a lot better than I do, but that was a defining event of T8 for me and probably a bunch of people. - Somebob
*5 Baskets to the top 8   
 
*100 Cabbage to top 50     
 
  
Participation (you need to catch at least 1 of these fish): 
 
*10 Salt 
 
*8 Whisperer's Fly Rod by Lottery   
 
*8 Ruby Light Boxes by Lottery     
 
  
Clarification on TIES:
+
*Tale 9
* Top prize will be handed out by lottery among the tied for best.
+
  * Levels go away, replaced by the Skills/XP and Tasks system. This is a fantastic idea, repeatedly marred by implementation quirks and bugs throughout the tale. The Tribute (territory control) minigame was refined, to be less grind-heavy and in theory more fun, but an all-faction regional control treaty was created in beta which was largely held to, with some notable violations and misunderstandings, leading to region capturing being a far smaller source of drama this tale, for good and ill. -Somebob
* Suppose top scores for biggest fish are 9, 8, 7, 7, 7.  Top 3 prizes will ONLY go to scores 9 and 8. 
 
 
 
=== Chromis and Oxyrynchus (May 13 from 3-4 p.m. EDT) ===
 
 
 
The scholars of the Great Universities of Art and Music want to gather details about the population of fish in our rivers and seas while you prepare to stuff and mount your biggest catches as trophies.     
 
 
 
Please focus on Chromis and Oxyrynchus while the census is running. Catch as much as you can and as big as you can.     
 
 
 
Rewards for your help will be:     
 
 
 
For '''biggest''' Chromis (and same for biggest Oxyrynchus): 
 
*1 Beachcomber's Fly Rod to the winner 
 
*5 Barrels to the top 8 
 
*100 Onions to top 50     
 
 
 
For '''most''' Chromis (and same for biggest Oxyrynchus):
 
*1 Beachcomber's Fly Rod to the winner   
 
*5 Baskets to the top 8   
 
*100 Leeks to top 50     
 
 
 
Participation (you need to catch at least 1 of these fish): 
 
*10 Glass Jars 
 
*8 Whisperer's Fly Rod by Lottery   
 
*8 Amethyst Light Boxes by Lottery     
 
 
 
Clarification on TIES:
 
* Top prize will be handed out by lottery among the tied for best.
 
* Suppose top scores for biggest fish are 9, 8, 7, 7, 7.  Top 3 prizes will ONLY go to scores 9 and 8.
 
 
 
== Give Us Your Best BS! ==
 
 
 
Blacksmithing contest open to anyone with a hammer and an anvil and some metal. The recommended amount is 20 debens (of any metal) as this will allow you to craft any tool that maybe requested.
 
 
 
Full details about the contest and prizes here: [[Give_Us_Your_Best_BS!]]
 
 
 
Summary:
 
: At the start of each event window an announcement will be made about which item to craft on your anvil.  Please read the full details about how the event will run and how to report your best effort.
 
 
 
There are 4 (four)events each lasting one hour with first prizes of 9kQ tools along with other great items.
 
 
 
== A Hippity Hoppin Easter Egg Hunt! ==
 
 
 
From the event calendar March 30, 2018:
 
 
 
<pre>
 
Get ready for the Easter Egg Hunt.  Search high and low from one end of Egypt to the other for the brightly colored eggs.  March 30th until April 2nd.
 
</pre>
 
 
 
[[File:Easter_Egg.jpeg|right|250px|T8 Easter Egg Hunt]]
 
 
 
Easter Eggs are scattered around Egypt.  After the event opened a new set of instructions appeared.
 
 
 
# Players could donate their Easter Eggs to their Faction for a Faction based buff or improvement.
 
#* Meshwesh Faction could earn an increase in the number of chariots in their region.
 
#* Hyksos Faction could earn a decreased cost of Hyksos Faction Buildings
 
#* Kush Faction could earn a speed buff on Kush controlled roadways
 
# Players could donate their Easter Eggs to the University of Architecture to learn how to create stable bonfires (for all factions).
 
# Players could donate their Easter Eggs to the U Progress to open up 3 additional tests.
 
 
 
A latter clarification by Malard, only one of the above would win the bonus.
 
 
 
Players could choose to keep their Easter Eggs for themselves.
 
Opening up the Easter Eggs players got:
 
* 3 male and 3 female rabbits
 
 
 
Event Winner:  Structural Reinforcement of Bonfires
 
 
 
== Quarry Your Hearts Out! ==
 
 
 
Full details of the event and prizes awarded: [[Quarry Your Hearts Out!]]
 
 
 
== Day of the Duck! ==
 
From the event calendar March 21, 2018:
 
 
 
<pre>
 
Every year the Citizens of Egypt join together to celebrate the day of the Duck. Praise the Malards to be found all across Egypt for a small gift of celebration.
 
 
 
Only one Duckie prize per avatar.  Each hour the ducks are repopulated. 
 
 
 
Please do feed the ducks!
 
</pre>
 
 
 
Throughout the countryside ducks and birds/pigeons appeared.  Clicking on them gives an option to: Feed the Bird.  The bird flies away with the message
 
 
 
<pre>
 
You find a small seed amongst the scraps you're feeding the bird
 
</pre>
 
 
 
Watermelon seeds:
 
:: Geb's Produce
 
:: Isis' Bounty
 
 
 
The event lasted 1 day.
 
 
 
== Cheese Please! ==
 
From the event calendar:
 
 
 
The Scientists at the University of Worship have further instructions from the Stranger's Assistant to tease us with cheeses. 
 
 
 
Count to ten and it's time to search.  How many of the new moo product will you find?
 
 
 
Items found include:
 
*Odd Barrel of Cheese
 
*Odd Bundle of Cheese
 
*Odd Chest of Cheese
 
*Odd Crate of Cheese
 
 
 
These items could be opened using crowbars found while fishing. After dropping the Odd item, while holding the crowbar and option is available to Break Open. Doing so snaps the crowbar, but the contents of the container appear in your inventory.
 
 
 
Items have been reported ranging in potency from 1 to 4. Paull discovered that Istanboly (Potency 2) gave him: -3 dex, 5 speed, 2 con, 5 focus, 2 per.
 
 
 
Known cheese varieties
 
*Halumi
 
*Istanboly
 
*Mish
 
*Rumi
 
 
 
The event ran 3 times with 2 hour duration and an additional extra long fourth run of 6 hours.
 
 
 
== Tale 8 Milestones ==
 
 
 
* Beta 8 will end at 9 AM GMT March 1
 
* Tale 8 will begin on 2nd March 2018
 

Latest revision as of 09:47, 22 December 2020

Suggestion.png
Got a suggestion for events and prizes?
Go to Events Questions

EVENTS DESCRIPTIONS

For Controller Run Events see this page, Events

Christmas Sculpture Event - Dec 2020

Christmas 2020 Sculpture Garden

Christmas Sculpture Event

Christmas Sculpture Event Calendar Notifications

Christmas Sculpture Event: List of Winners

Winter Wonderland

Center

Winter Wonderland

Halloween Sculpture Event

Center

Halloween Sculpture Event

A Tempest Takes Its Toll - Chapter 2

Chapter 2 - A Tempest Takes Its Toll
Page which lists the camps : List of Camps - Chapter 2
Page which lists only the starting points of each story : No Spoiler page : List of starting point of each story - Chapter 2

PORTS:

CaptainBelzoniKushDock.png
  • Meshwesh port at 765, 7191
  • Hyksos port at 760, -2298
  • Kush port at 840, -4349

Foraging Event 9-29-19

Accompanying story... Chapter 1 - For Better or For Worse, In Sickness and In Health

All Hallows 30-31 October 2020

Player Tales and Recollections of Times Past

Tales 1-2

Note on the Notice Sign, First Rest Point Mark 122, 477

The Road to Now: Part 1: In the Beginning

All cultures have their origin myths that are recalled around the campfires to remind ourselves of who we are and what is important. Our earliest beginnings are shrouded by time, imperfectly recorded and memories waver. Much remains unclear.

Who amongst us now weave stories of the first Telling, where Khephry brought technologies that caused pollution and depleted resources, forcing us to take greater care of our environment and pursuing personal agendas to the detriment of others? Once bitten, twice shy!

Around desert campfires, who still remembers the Persian thief Malaki of the second telling, who traded worthless junk for valuables and sought to defame virtue? Beware the thief in the night!

And what about the story of those mysterious chests that washed up along the Nile in the third Telling that brought Lung Spore Disease to our shores, crippling our health while we frantically searched for a cure. Grimly prophetic, that one, in hindsight. Have we learnt anything at all, I wonder? And Geodude, at war with the world with a Woodplane and words of terror and derision. What more can I say? A story to recount to wide eyed children on the night when forgotten things emerge from the darkness to haunt us. Begone! And against all these things we have prevailed and prospered, after a fashion.

Lest we forget.

Please add your recollections here!

* Tale 1 - I think Khephry was only *secretly* the Stranger, and the Magnesium Mines (massive ecological impact, where we discovered 500+ players in one spot and live worldbuilding didn't play well together as it took the server down) and University of Progress techs were meant to be only loosely connected. Probably worth noting that we legislated our way out of the harms of most of the UProgress techs (Clearcutting, Ritual of Plant Growth) while allowing most of the benefits. While we don't have the legal system anymore, I thought that was a pretty fine accomplishment. Tale 2 - We invented chariots! You could go places without having been there before! Also we locked all our buildings up in boxes instead of letting them roam carefree in the wilderness. Herbs sprouted in the world!  Some good, some bad. - Somebob
* https://web.archive.org/web/20100718181916/http://wiki.atitd.net/tale1/The_History_Of_Egypt
*

Tales 3-4

Note on the Notice Sign, Halfway Mark 122, 522

The Road to Now: Part II Choices and Consequences

The fourth Tale opened with the death of the Pharaoh. His two sons, Sami (eldest) and Wahim (the younger) were required by custom to agree who would ascend to the Throne of Egypt. Neither son was prepared to trust Egypt to the other.

Sami wanted to share his father's wealth with the people, and sought to win their support with gifts, contests and events with exotic goods awarded to the champions and to all participants in the revelry. Wahim refused to buy favour, but wanted to improve the people's enjoyment of everyday life. So, while Sami lavished the people with things, Wahim stirred trouble by introducing new ideas and challenging different ways of thinking. Wahim's challenges or 'tests' often encouraged crafting and introduced new capabilities and technology.

Eventually, the brothers agreed to hold a vote to determine who would ascend as Pharaoh. Sami promised that if he won, then he would require his scientists to research new skills and technologies, but all monuments completed in honour of the seven worthy test disciplines introduced by Wahim would not be passed on to the next generation. Should Wahim ascend, then the Monument Tests would become part of the next tale, but the technologies and skills created by the players will be forgotten and will need to be researched in each subsequent generation. The people of Egypt decided to support Sami as Pharaoh, and we bear the legacy to this day.

Please add your recollections here!

* Tale 3: The Valley of Kings was locked away behind a completely impassable wall, from the beginning of the time. Before this time, it had been a very popular - some say *too* popular - region for players to settle in. Mysterious altars and strange rock formations were found around the perimeter of the VoK wall, and once or twice, players were granted mysterious visions, somehow connected with unlocking our access to the region once more. Many things were tried, all to no avail. Many months later, after Swimming proved a lovely way to glitch oneself into the region and take a sight-seeing tour of the vastly, entire changed region (but take and leave no trace, for shame those who put cicadas there!) it was revealed that oops, the unlock event was, in fact, bugged and could not be completed. Someone else will have to fill in what happened next - something to do with players being allowed in, but never to build, on pain of everyone in the region being teleported out? - Somebob
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Tales 5-6

Note on the Notice Sign, Three Quarter Mark 79, 522

The road to Now, Part III New Skills, New Horizons

Sami won the majority of citizens' votes, and ascended as Pharaoh in Tale 5. He kept his promise, and asked the scientists to create many new player designed technologies, including Foraging (memorize foraging techniques; Preservation (portable meals); Silkworm Farming (enriched silkworm food); Aquaculture (growing papyrus hydroponically); Herbology (cultivation of herb seeds); Fertilization (fertilizing flowering bulbs); and Molecular Balance (comparing two plant genomes). Mining and fishing were also significantly overhauled.

Despite Sami's intention to invalidate the monuments and their embedded test proposals, the people, with some heckling from The Stranger, managed to complete four new Monuments and four new Tests were proposed by Egypt's Oracles. Although some took several tales to be implemented, they are now part of our rich tradition. The Test of Isis's Bounty enables exploration of Egypt's seas and waterways in sea-going ships. The Throne of the Pharaoh challenge requires teams to work together to produce elaborately decorated thrones, showing off Egypt's craftsmanship.

Others proved less pleasing to the populace over time, and have been left discarded in the sands. What happened to Wahim? A strategic retreat to the deep desert was his fate. Do we now know him as The Stranger?

Please add your recollections here!

* Tale 5: Second-hand recollections but: Late tale, I believe a few people's buildings got blown up, fairly deliberately. Possibly by my T5 guildmate Skyfeather, but I'm less clear on this part. Anyone recall this better? - Somebob
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Tales 7

Note on the Notice Sign, Final Marker 79, 477

The road to Now: Part IV Almost there

In Tale 7 The Stranger returned as an agent of chaos, seeking to incite civil unrest and destabilise loyality to Pharoah. The ledgers of the scribes recorded this exchange, carefully restored from ancient scrolls:

"I see the Pharaoh has begun his unreasonable demands of you. Are you blind to his hypocrisy? Do you not see how his Universities exist only to fill his pockets with the fruits of your labour? Fools! He extorts the very sweat from your brow. Your ancestors knew me as The Stranger. You thought me dead. You should have known better, I am as immortal as Pharaoh himself."

'In the time of the ancestors, Pharaoh asked me to set 49 challenges to improve your vigour and skill and to prove your worth and loyalty. In this age I come without permission or request. As I gaze upon your feeble efforts I can see you are not worthy of my tests. Prove to me that your society is WORTHY to be tested!'

"First, a proof of my power. <The Stranger snaps his finger and all Egypt's Chariot Stops crumble into dust> "

"Are you truly a society with potential for greatness? Show me now! Gather 1777 cuttable stones, drawn from the lands that you claim to respect. Your time is short. Give your contributions to my representatives at the broken chariot stops before 3 hours is up. Fail me, and you have failed yourselves and all posterity."

How far we have come!

Please add your recollections here!

* Tale 7: Most notable thing was the return of *every* Test Pluribus could get working again - far in excess of just 7 per discipline. This was some pretty great coding wizardry to resurrect stuff so old, and buggy, and getting it to work in the current ATITD codebase, and I think was a great idea to give people more choice in just how they wanted to engage in the game. I realized I never had to do Acro again, since Bedouin now provided Dexterity. And many other people could probably avoid tests they, too, didn't care for! Additionally, test unlocks were finally moved to be almost completely player-driven. As soon as we could meet the demo requirements, and had the levels, we could unlock a test, instead of waiting for the dev in charge to decide we're ready for the test, which was the cast for many other tales. As example, Safari was thus unlocked far in advance of when it was most other tales, and yeah, the carrot staring sucked enough, and the test was fun enough, I'm gonna keep on bragging about it :p Oh, right. Also the long-promised (like, promised back when the level system was first introduced and I first started complaining about it) way to bypass the cursed Level system was introduced: Beer Tokens one could use to skip an initiation, or gain a level instantly. Given for each month subscribed/paid or something I think, so full-tale prepays could level up massively instantly. - Somebob
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*Tale 8
* Factions exist - we all know this, but that's the big change. It also leads to much of the drama throughout the tale, so even an RP-centric explanation probably has to address this. Test unlocks are now fully player-driven, with the Stranger's University of Progress making a return, and gating how many tests we could open in a given period of time - all the T7 tests, which had sometimes been implemented over the course of the tale, made a return right at the start. Demonstration requirements still had to be met, with some notably pleasing bugged exceptions. Mega Lag early tale. Maybe someone can invent a good story explanation for this, but it was a very notable event. Game of Thorns - Tribute/territory control wars. I don't think there is an uncontroversial version of this story, and Lukeera tells it a lot better than I do, but that was a defining event of T8 for me and probably a bunch of people. - Somebob


*Tale 9
* Levels go away, replaced by the Skills/XP and Tasks system. This is a fantastic idea, repeatedly marred by implementation quirks and bugs throughout the tale. The Tribute (territory control) minigame was refined, to be less grind-heavy and in theory more fun, but an all-faction regional control treaty was created in beta which was largely held to, with some notable violations and misunderstandings, leading to region capturing being a far smaller source of drama this tale, for good and ill. -Somebob