The vast fuzzy middle?

Site Admin Joined: Jun 20, 2002 Posts: 1344

Ok, I'll say it this way then... the Ivory League is still more talked about than the Dark Circle. There is no doubt that the Dark Circle had more tourney success... but I don't think they are as remembered due to the fact that so many people had bad reactions to the IL.

Posted: Thu Oct 02, 2003 5:35 pm

Ghoti wrote:

I am unfamiliar with the DOA.. is that history as well or is it still in existance?

BWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!! Dwayne just had a seizure...

Posted: Thu Oct 02, 2003 5:39 pm

This was a good thread and I enjoyed hearing people's take on this. I saw some very good descriptions of what I believe it is to be Free Blades. I started my career in Free Blades, before playing and absorbing a lot of the Andorian way during the Kathy hayday, but I am undoubtedly a Free Blade at heart and in how I look at the game.

Guest

I think all of you people who are looking for a regional values in the Free Cities are missing the point of what it means to be Free Blades. There isn't one. You do whatever the hell you want. Notice that in the tourney newsletters they are listed as "independent". That's essentially what you are. From a role-playing perspective the Free Cities only came together to because they had to, not because there were any similarities in their ideals. You can look at being a Free Blader as the "middle" if you want, but it doesn't necessarily have to be that way.

As for Free Blade alliances, I'd say there are several.

The top Free Blades alliance is probably the Guardian-led CDC. They do have Delarquan managers though and traditionally lean Delarquan when push comes to shove.

The other would the Brotherhood of the Blade. They've let a couple of Lirith Kai members in, but it's still majority Free Blade. While they don't resemble anything Andorian, they have traditionally had anti-Delarquan leanings.

Oh Ghoti. http://www.d-o-a.com After you quit the game in TOGS 1, your ex-partner went on to become a big time mega-manager. (for awhil anyway) Maybe that could have been you!

Posted: Thu Oct 02, 2003 11:47 pm

Ah, you see? This stuff is what led me to start the thread. I do think there is an element of anything goes in the idea of the Free Blades. A true FB will have tendencies toward one end or the other but can probably happily align with any sort of manager. They absolutely wouldn't rule out the behavior that is considered typically 'larq but are unlikely to use it as their "standard" tactic. Kind of an "anything goes so long as it isn't going all the time" shrug.

There is an interesting but subtle difference. Like targetting the head (because you suspect you will get few hits and they will protect arms) while perhaps using 7 KD hoping for max decise. You know that your tactics could result in a kill. You vary them in part because you're not by nature a headhunter. But you don't choose them trying to kill (unless in retaliation) and aren't disappointed when your opponent survives, especially if you get the win without it. You'll happily target an arm (or leg) the next time you challenge the same opponent, especially if you suspect the loss on a head hit might change what they protect... (and can easily react with a bit of glee, or even guilt depending on what you think of the other manager, if a kill does result)

As I read the thread, I was thinking something similar to what Manager provided in fact. I thought that you could easily have trouble recognizing a Free Blade alliance because their outlook would provide for welcoming managers of other affiliations at least occasionally and they would be bound to have members that played very near to one or both of the other philosophies. Why would they be banding together to uphold the way they play? On a given turn they are playing exactly like members of other regional alliances!

Posted: Wed Oct 08, 2003 9:50 am

It is interesting for me to read these ideas of freeblade affiliation and eplanations of the different groups.
I guess I do not know much about the delarquans the andorians or the free blades other than the feel their names give me when I read them in print. Ironically enough the names do seem to feel like they have been explained thus far eh?
I wonder at hgow the history iss developed and where one can go to learn more about it other than to newsletters from ten years ago. We make the future and history ? His story has been told and retold for centuries, changing and evolving with the community that lives it.
Andorians, my respect goes out to you, closed fist in open handframing watchfull eyes.
Delarquans, my respect goes out to you in the form of crossed blades at your throat framing a stern smile.

Myrrdin

Posted: Wed Oct 08, 2003 10:17 am

If you are honestly looking for history .. or how the lay of the land is in fantasy terms, look it up in the encyclopedia in the Navigate links in the upper left corner of this web page.

Ghoti

Expert Poster Joined: Jul 18, 2002 Posts: 58 Location: TN

I don't know of any "Freeblade" alliences personally. I played from 84 to about 92. Alliances used to be really big in the arenas but not in AD. Before RSI created the regional arenas AD was one giant scrum. If you were at the top you could stay up there pretty well. If you were in the massive pack it was hell to get out. It was very tough since everyone was still learning skills and didn't have more that 20. Other than the Frothingslosher, I don't think there were many alliances at all. Maybe someone can correct me but I think many of the smaller or non TC'ing alliances may fit the "Freeblades" alliance bill.

Personally, I run with high KD 8 -10 with most of my warriors, 5-7 with my defensives. I'll down challange if I'm in the top 10 and can't defeat any that are above me. I don't usually make it a habbit though. I like the high KD since that helps keep the number of godling warriors down a bit. Back when sz 3 warriors were the must have guys it was easier to target godlings. When I played in arena 9 at that time I would try to kill every little warrior I could find. Sorry I couldn't kill Vengeance for everyone, it tried and even enlisted help. Now I guess I should target all size 14-21 AB's.

The only time intentionally lower my KD is if I'm fighting someone that is new to the arena. I don't think its sporting to kill off newbies to the game.
I have been trying to kill off warriors on big name manager teams but have had no success.

Posted: Fri Nov 07, 2003 1:06 pm

what an excellent topic! I love a good bit of anthropological delving...

My friends and I had what might be considered an alliance which developed from about late 84 until about 88 or 89, as there were probably 8 or 9 of us that played actively. We never tried to create any group identity, and didn't really 'go to each other's aid', though we tended to fight in the same arenas much of the time. We we informally known as the 'Longmont Varsity Dueling Team'.

We all lived in or near Boulder/Longmont, Colorado, went to either CU or CSU for college after high school, and stayed pretty close over time. We got to know the Frothingsloshers early on (84-85), and then Sharky and Mob Boss/Scrag whom we met at the Cactuscon F2F IV, and then eventually Neon and the other managers who later formed the Dark Circle. Personally, I see the Dark Circle alliance as much more a force which was formed to combat the Ruling Council and their proclaimations of dueling ettiquette. The Ruling Council was primarily made up of the most actively playing RSI employees (Phido, etc.) and some of their longer playing customer minions. At the time, they were taking on what we thought was a much too aggressive stance towards the normal players and were also taking over in terms of having a more organized approach to the game and tournaments - which were starting to take on a more 'modern' feeling, with TC prizes gaining more importance and the classification system evolving. The Ivory League and all the conflict between Sharkey/Rhialto/Scrag/others and Towering Tex, whom they kept taunting to show 'himself' at a F2F since the identity of Tex was as yet not clear, was much less important as a game molding series of events. It was more role-playing based and moralistic, whereas the DC vs. RC conflict had actual, meaningful fallout, it was the genesis of the movement to create more alliances and with them arena contests, and also a higher level of tournament competition. That the Ivory League would have a more well-known legacy is simply the result of disdain by most other players. The modern Andorian alliances are much more focused and grounded in a true ideology than the IL, which I respect.

Since in those early days of DM the whole top team, the DM and the popularity leader all fought for free (pre-award system), we tended to have a home arena where we had a team that was firmly in the top team (such as my Helpless Animals team in Willaf which literally played for free for 3-5 years, including a couple of years free even after the awards were introduced) and then other members of the group would have teams in someone's home arena. We held or vied for top team in a lot of arenas, and also had small rivalry 'conflicts' break out between each other, as is reputed to happen in the modern alliances. Since the regions were not yet a reality, we didn't really have any sort of official 'dogma', but we did like to be confrontational and aggressive, killing as much as possible and puffing up rivalries when we could, but that was more how things seemed to have been the first few years of the game, when diplos and infrequent phonecalls were the best communication. It wasn't such a 'social' community, it was more competitive and impersonal, and the arena play was more dominant, so people engaged each other more in the personal ads and got enflamed about arena goings-on. So I'd say that we encompassed values which straddle the Delarq and the Free Blades regional attitudes of today.

One of the best wars we ever had was in Transel in about 1990, the 'Pattern/Hecatomb War', when Scrag and I squared off against Sharky and Rhialto. Sharkey was going as 'The Blue Adept' but centering their role-playing around the 'Knights of Amber' series, and so turned it into a battle of the true pattern vs. our 'shadow warriors'. The arena got very involved and grew to a very large size, and a couple dozen teams ended up taking sides. That was some of our earlier interaction with Doc Steele and The Dealer and Neon, The Druid, Moriarty, etc. Scrag and I ended up defeating Sharky and Rhialto, and it was one of the most enjoyable periods of DM that we played. Soon after, I retired for about 5 years while I was a starving college student, then came back in maybe late 1996.

Now, the most active of our high school group and a few other managers we befriended long ago - Mr. Animal/Manray (myself), Sandman (the original)/Chazz, Rhialto/Gergin, Mob Boss/Scrag/Alfredo, Isawa Kage/Ichabod - are members of the reconstituted Frothingslosh Syndicate along with a few of the original members of that fabled alliance. Others of our old group have played off and on the last few years, but frankly found the game too frustrating now in comparison to how they felt 10-15 years ago, when we would wait longingly next to the mailbox most days of the week, hoping for the tell-tale envelopes...

Posted: Tue Nov 11, 2003 2:10 am

Excellent! Thanks for sharing the look back.

Posted: Wed Jan 21, 2004 2:49 am

LHI wrote:

The DOA folded a long time ago.

Yeah they were a pretty sad alliance Cool

Hopefully they all retired Cool

Posted: Wed Jan 21, 2004 2:57 am

secretagent wrote:

LHI wrote:

Yeah, that was 12 years ago right? If I remeber correctly they were only around for a year or so. Its odd that such a short lived group has the greatest legacy in the game.

hmm I'd say the Dark Circle has the greatest legacy, but I guess it depends who you listen to. Considering Jiles, who was in the Ivory gang is commenting its not suprising to hear this. but my real question is what Freeblade alliances have there been? I've heard of plenty of delarq and andorian groups but I thats about it..

s. a.

I think most of the managers in the "Brotherhood of the Blade" (BOB) are Freebladers. The current roster is The Darkone, Mad Max, Rillion, The Greek Guy, Zalgor Prig, Tig Toad, Rascally Rabbit, and The Sandman (even though he tries to deny it).

Unchartered Poster Joined: Mar 23, 2004 Posts: 46

LHI wrote:

Kathy was an employee of RSI at the time. The Ivory League was her project. James (Father) and I were members when the idea for the DOA was hatched. James left first to get the new group going and I left a short while later so that it would not look like a mass exodus. Love the history Smile

I was in the Ivory League, and proud of it...

Until Kathy admitted that she cheated, (looked up favorites, etc...)

We had some fun writing, in Jade Mountain, for a time...

Kurd the Vivisectionist
Free Blade

Unchartered Poster Joined: Mar 23, 2004 Posts: 46

I also remember a time when we only forged alliances via diplo note, like sending styles and possible strats to some new managers.

Free Blades is the best because the rivalry between "honorable" managers and "downchallenging scum" was, and probably still is, another additive to the thrill of opening the turn envelope.

Mazzi, a manager in Willaf like 88-93, bought himself a gold plated letter opener, and had a sacred piece of paper that he used to uncover the fights, line by line. Dude would have a cow if I touched it. geez, like it brought him luck...

Okay, thanks for listening

Kurd the "downchallenging scum" killer!

Posted: Mon Jan 10, 2005 12:41 pm

This has, indeed, been one of the most enjoyable to read threads on this site. We particularly appreciated Manray's words.

As a crew that has been around DM for umpteen million years (20), and who have participated, one way or another, in all the above, we have a few comments to add.

Most noted/hated alliances:

Dark Circle - for what they did initially - good for the game, and then what they were perceived to have become - unkind to newcomers to the game and placing "hits" on certain, usually lesser managers, across the arenas, who crossed the leadership.

Ivory League - for what they were perceived to be earlier, the "goodness" of Alastari - and for what they were perceived to later be, "cheaters" because of Tex alone, and stubborn, unwaivering, loud-mouthed overstaters of "all that is good".

Freelades - free to chose with the whim, and unfettered by the normal desires to usually be the "same". Many, many independents fall in this category. Often those independents, and we tend to think of someone like "Crip" (Garth Werner) as the ultimate high volume many-teamed independent, fall into the real Freeblade category. These types may even be the folk who are most "different" when playing the alleged Andorian role or the alleged Darkholm role.

It's a great land we live and play in.