[NEWS] Underestimating: Herding in RP

[Bryelle Vaughn]

Underestimating: Herding in RP​

“Attack of the understated,” is a line from a movie I happen to love called Hello Again. Nowhere is this sentence more true than in UO when you are facing down a shepherdess with a gm herding skill. For the most part those who play the game disregard Herding as useless. They would much rather go with a muscle skill like mysticism or Swordsmanship. Truth be told sometimes it is the skills that support your main in which the most difference can be made.

The first time I ever saw this skill used was in the Champ Spawn of Oaks. A member of The Twilight Fellowship came riding through the fray of shadow wisps and centaur looking critters with a horde of Ki-rin behind her. It was a slaughter and in no time, Oaks himself was out and doing battle. If a horde of red and orange cutting through monsters you can barely touch on your own doesn't attract your attention, I don't know what will. As a manner of both fighting and role playing, no one uses this skill better than Sablestorm of Pacific. And it is just this person whose character I mentioned above.

Meticulously Sablestorm plans the backgrounds of each of his many shepherds and Shepherdess'. From the Deer tamer to the Slith tamer they are both unique and engaging. He leaves no stone unturned when including the applications of this skill and in his own right, has created an entire section of UO Lore.

From the stealth herder in the underworld and their following of wolf spiders to the Evil Druidess with her swarm of raptors killing refugees, the stories are expansive and creatively brilliant.

In order to connect it wholly to the character, Sablestorm interweaves druidic lore and the powers of nature associated with it. I would be lying if I said this was the only time this fantastic writer and role player did this. The truth is he has an uncanny way of getting to the most basic of the mystical. “Taping into the magic of nature we establish a bond with the animals.” He said.

When I inquired exactly how high the skill had to be to be truly useful he replied that a character of 50 taming and 50 herding can lead an army of Boura into battle. And again, I add that I have seen Boura in full on fighting mode against a horde of green Balron's that EM Kaz had unleashed on us.

Herding is one of those pieces of rp that is easy to forget about but can pack one heck of a punch when used correctly. Additionally, for a tamer template herding is relatively easy to work in. Characteristics wise you don't have to look a certain way or play a certain race to include this skill so it is extremely versatile. All it requires is ingenuity and imagination.

 

[WarderDragon]

I am intrigued.

Tell me the background of these aforementioned herdsmen.

 

[Lindae]

Let me tell you now, girl - one can either have a close relationship with a herdsman, or a nice garden. The two are mutually exclusive. Herders make lovely pets and it is worth adding one to your household, but only if you have no real interest in landscaping and a high tolerance for the smell of animal manure.

*goes back to lamenting what the goats have done to the rosebushes, the grapevines, the apple tree, the laundry, the outdoor staircase, the elf, and everything else that isn't safely under lock and key*

 

[WarderDragon]

Mm. Is that what happened?

 

[Lindae]

Mm. Is that what happened?

I told him that if he slept in the garden that the goats would eat his hair - but, no, he wouldn't listen, would he? Now he looks like a porcupine and he refuses to wear a hood like any normal humanoid would do in the same situation. Wretched creature. Wretched.

Incidentally, we have thinned out the wild goats around your homestead. I do hope you don't mind. Hyperboreal goatflesh is gamier than the insipid Windermere stock, and the wool is of finer quality, and nobody seems to own the creatures. If they are yours, we can arrange a trade. You may have the elf - although his wool is regrettably not as fine, nor his meat as flavoursome.

 

[WarderDragon]

Shave him.

Baja could use an Orlok.

 

[Lindae]

Shave him.
Baja could use an Orlok.

I have tried. He resists vigorously, and I am not cruel enough to use surreptitious means. I am currently trying to convince him that he would look stunning in a long wig or possibly a bridal veil, but he is skeptical.

To tangentially re-orient the conversation toward herding: I am having recurring dreams about running, naked save for a strategically placed peacock feather, through a milling herd of deer on the Ilshenarian Steppes while a twelve-strong band of orcs chases after me with malicious intent. Can you assist me? It is based on fact, if that helps.

 

[Bryelle Vaughn]

To tangentially re-orient the conversation toward herding: I am having recurring dreams about running, naked save for a strategically placed peacock feather, through a milling herd of deer on the Ilshenarian Steppes while a twelve-strong band of orcs chases after me with malicious intent. Can you assist me? It is based on fact, if that helps.

The afore mentioned raptors would be of great assistance in that case. Although, they have a nasty habit of ignoring friend over foe and thus both become a nightly delicacy.

Warder: To answer your question, He uses a variety of Shaman and druidic backgrounds for the various characters. There is almost always a earthly spiritual/magical connection that is inherent of those beliefs with the herdspeople. I will however send him your way as I am sure he would enjoy that discussion!

 

[sablestorm]

I am intrigued.

Tell me the background of these aforementioned herdsmen.

It depends on the herder you speak of. There is Urenya the Vermin Queen, a savage shaman-druid who accompanied the savages force that was sent to attack Minoc. After the battle, some of the savages broke free of Blackthorn's slavery and settled in the wild, later to be discovered by the Society of Ancestral Guardian Elders. A truce and alliance was formed and the savage tribe would henceforth be known as the Savages of Sagewind. Urenya, however, was so enamored with slaughter and necromancy that she was cast out of the tribe. As an outcast, she vowed vengeance and allied herself with the Shadowlords. She would lead armies of scorpions gathered from Compassion Desert against the Sagewind Protectorate or would gather slimes and alligators from the great swamps to plague the southern portion of the Protectorate.

She often returns to Ilshenar, her original homeland, and can be found leading the armies of Champions there, often bringing them to bear against the Meer of Lakeshire.