Baja Roleplaying Community Newsletter: What We're Working On

[WarderDragon]

I want to update the Baja Roleplaying Community on what we've been doing over the past seven months and what our goals are for the immidiate future.

We're Expanding

The Baja Roleplayers Alliance now includes more than 20 Active Roleplaying and Semi-Roleplaying Guilds. There is something for everyone.

The Baja Roleplaying & Event Alliance. The Kingdom of Dawn. The Golden Knights. Queen Shieba's Alliance. The Rangers of the Realm. The Citizens of Avalon. The Town Guards of Britain. The Rebels of Unity. Lumaria. The Purple Llama Society. PaxLair. Gypsys of Sosaria. Tonkaweya Tribe. Chaos Kittens. Squires of Berg. Old Brigands Home. Hand of Avalon. Order of the Crow. The Ministry of Pain.

The guilds are spread across five active player-run communities; the Kingdom of Dawn, the Village of Golden, the Village of Avalon, the County of Berg and Rebel Isle.

The latest estimate suggests that we have about 40 unique players and more than 300 characters distributed amongst the Alliance.

Compare that to two guilds and five founding members as of January 2009. We're growing and becoming recognized alongside shards like Catskills and Atlantic. So be proud of yourselves. We've done this as a community and will continue to work together to create an immersive roleplay experience as we enter into the next decade of Ultima Online.

What We've Done

• Baja has seen the return of several veterans and the revival of numerous historic guilds over the past seven months. (i.e. the Golden Knights and the Citizens of Avalon.) We have had the honor of welcoming them back into the community and into the Baja Roleplayers Alliance.
• We started out as a small group of players in 2009 and have since had a major impact on the Baja Storyline through the War of Shadows and the Anti-Gargish Campaign. As this year progresses I'd like to see more of that and see our roleplayers begin writing and forming the stories rather than merely reacting to what is thrown at us. So lets begin crafting our own storylines and take control of the next chapter of Baja history.
• Together Dawn and Avalon now encompass the entire Hyperborean (Dungeon Wrong) Peninsula; which was my stated goal a year ago when this alliance was announced.
• The Golden Knights have returned and have reopened the Golden Brew Tavern and the Village of Golden. We now have a Trammel RP-PRC to complement our two Feluccian RP-PRCs; and once again have a tavern for roleplayers to meet, socialize and prepare for new adventures.
• The Golden Brew Players recently hosted a revised rendition of 'Neo's Day Out in '97' in the Village of Golden in May. Kita Talith has promised there will be many more plays in the future.
• Baja Roleplayers Proserpina and Kat MacBrodean have taken over the Hosting Duties for the Baja Taming Hour. The event has continued to be a successful weekly event that benefits the shard as a whole.
• Xanthe De Orlig of Avalon and the Purple Llama Society have recently completed construction of the Grateful Rune Library in Northeastern Luna. This is one of the most expansive and accessable libraries on the Baja Shard. Put it to good use.
• Zackarias and I have recently completed the Bordermarch Castle. The building will be used as the Southern Watchtower for both the Kingdom of Dawn and the Village of Avalon. It will also be the neutral focal point of more than one upcoming event.
• Brytt of the Golden Knights started the Golden Raspberry Award and is responsible for the Clean Up of New Britain Bank. Lets not waste this blessing.
• Xanthe De Orlig is working hard to revive and restore the Village of Avalon.

What We're Working On

• While our alliance has done much in the way of events and building a base for our shard and community; I'd like to see a renewed emphasis on our own storylines and events. Thus far most of our interaction occurs exclusively as a reaction to the Event Moderator and Global Storyline. Lets change that.
• Grey Holland of the Rangers of the Realm has announced that she is looking into a Ventrilo or Teamspeak Server for the Baja Roleplayers Alliance. It will be an optional tool that could prove useful during hunts and event planning.
• Proserpina of the Chaos Kittens has suggested that she would like to host a regular Peerless or Gauntlet Hunt for the Roleplayers of Baja. Those who are interested should let her know.

WarderDragons Personal Projects

• I will soon be announcing the date of an IC War Council to discuss the Bane Chosen War and the Anti-Gargish Campaign.

The Theme of Baja

It was mentioned a couple weeks ago that the major themes of Baja can be summarized under the domain of Classical Realism. If I had to define us I would argue that we fall under the domain of 'Heroic Fantasy'; with increasing elements of 'Medievalism' (i.e. County of Berg) and 'Gothic Horror.'

What is the point? All shards with an active roleplaying community embrace a major theme that reverberates throughout their IC interactions. Europa is 'Low Fantasy' with a special emphasis on Warfare and Political Intrigue. Catskills is much more 'High Fantasy' and has a special emphasis on creatures such as Elves and Fairies, Vampires and Dwarves. Chesapeake could be described as 'High Fantasy' with a special emphasis on Eldritch Horror and Political Intrigue. So what is ours?

I have my own vision for our shard. We have a history that tends towards Low and Dark Fantasy. One person mentioned there is an untapped theme of Dark Age Europe and Post-Apocalyptic Fiction. And there is definately a strain of Medievalism like what we've seen on Europa. But I'd like to open up this discussion.

What do you think are the major elements of our storyline? Where do you see things going? Do you prefer Epic and High Fantasy in the vein of Forgotten Realms and Lord of the Rings? Do you prefer Low and Dark Fantasy in the vein of Conan the Barbarian and Warhammer?

Discuss.

Town Recognition System

Seppo has announced the adoption of the Town Recognition System on Baja. Lord Gareth is working on the Dawn Monument and Brytt on the Golden Vineyard.

And with the actual implementation of the Town Recognition System; we need to seriously discuss how we are going to progress forward and expand on our existing towns without having them be overtaken and replaced.

The solution is not to bar new towns from being recognized. The solution is making sure we have the most interesting and interactive PRCs - each with their own theme and story - that people want to join and become citizens of. What makes Dawn and Golden different?

Otherwise our towns run the risk of being rendered obsolete as a new generation of towns and villages emerge.

Cross Shard Relationships

• The Baja Roleplayers Alliance has traditionally had a strong cross shard relationship with the Chesapeake Roleplaying Community. We have recently allied ourselves with the Ethereal Void Imperium on Chesapeake.
• The Golden Brew has also entered into an OOC partnership with the Iron Bandit Inn on Chesapeake. At 6:00PM PST each week a themed tavern night is hosted at one of the taverns; rotating weekly back and fourth between the two.

What We Need From You

• Two Guildmasters in the Baja Roleplayers Alliance (Brytt and I) are active reporters for Baja Stratics News. That means there is enormous potential for the reporting of roleplaying news and events on the Baja Shard. So send us your stories. Send us your events. Tell a tale and make it newsworthy. We can't let the event moderators tell the entire story for us.
• We need to be more proactive about letting our event moderators know what we want as a Roleplaying Community and as a Shard. You hear people mention these great ideas or point out things happening on other shards; but how many of you have visited the Baja EM Forum to make your suggestion known? Do it. The worst thing that can happen is being told no.

Warmest Regards,

WarderDragon

 

[SuperKen]

Excellent post, Warder.

Like many of us who have been on UO for a long time will know, we entered UO and were shocked at the sheer amount of things one could do. A player could become known to others for just about any profession one wanted to be, even something as absurd as a beggar.

I think what the BRPA does is amazing. While the rest of us are simply playing the game, you guys are out there making the game fit to your standards.

The BRPA have taken that idea one step further and do it best on Baja. Thank you all for reminding us that our story on Baja is for us to tell, and we can be more than just participants.