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(Player Event) The Peerage of Siege Perilous: [SPHS] Interviews Blug’Tar, Chief Scout of the Nightmare Clan of Orcs

Silent Singer

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Today's Peer of Siege Perilous is a sharp-toothed, steely-eyed Orc who is so dedicated to his playstyle I can smell him through the screen! Respecting a long tradition of RP on Siege (one largely absent in the past few years) Blug'Tar and his clan of Nightmare Orcs have made a rapid and notable addition to Siege Perilous. As you can see from Fogsbane's map of the Orc township, other races of Siege may soon have to band together to contain this fearsome horde! After hours of head-splitting translation, I've transcribed his Orcish into the common tongue. Read on!

[SPHS]: What was your first experience with Ultima Online?

[Blug'Tar]:
I was thirteen or fourteen years old, and at a friend’s house. He had a computer that was connected to the Internet, which in and of itself was a pretty cool thing. On top of that, he was playing this interesting game called Ultima Online. He was running around with a group of other players on the Chesapeake shard and I started asking him questions about what the point of the game was. He started showing me all the stuff that you could do, and started logging into some of his other characters, one of which was a Catskills Orc named Clud’Dug. Then he let me make a character, and the rest was just history. I took many breaks throughout the duration of my time in Ultima Online as service often took me far and away. A majority of my time in UO was spent playing on Chesapeake, and Great Lakes when I was younger, followed by a short stint on Atlantic for a while before I transferred to Chessy again and then just most recently over the past few months invested heavily into Siege Perilous and what is now the Nightmare Clan of Orcs.

[SPHS]: What brought you to Siege? How long have you played here, and how frequently do you play now?

[Blug'Tar]: Orcs brought me to Siege Perilous. The time I spent playing as an Orc on Catskills in my younger years, while it was short, was probably some of the greatest time I had gaming in my entire life. The community, roleplay, and ferocity of the organization known as Shadowclan was a huge draw to me and when I came to Siege Perilous this year I was hoping to find a small group of Orcs that were still active. In that first month back, I found that there were no Orcs, so I joined NEW. Over the course of that month I laid in my plans to resurrect an Orc movement and made sure my character was as strong as he could be. I also soaked in as much information, knowledge, and situational awareness as humanly possible. I would say that I play roughly 3-4 hours every day at the minimum, with some days being longer benders as required.

[SPHS]: What is your in-game character name?

[Blug'Tar]: I currently run three accounts. Zugt’Hagz is my mak-r (crafter) and he is an Emmisary of NEW, and the handler for fresh Gruntees using the NEW process to get back into the swing of Ultima Online. Pushdug Ruglug is my Sampire/PvM character, and is a member of our PvM guild the Orcish Hunters Union. She is a vampire. All characters in this guild are seen as Nightmare Clan underlings that are either not Orcs or are Orcs that are too weak to survive the burning process. My main character, and the one you all know me as the most is Blug’Tar, Chief Scout of the Nightmare Clan.

Orc Paperdoll.jpg

[SPHS]: In the last month, what did you spend the majority of your game time doing?

[Blug'Tar]: Recruiting new Orcs. Waking up old Orcs. Training both and catching them up to speed on how Ultima Online works in the modern era. I have Max Blackoak and Bo to thank for a lot of the questions I have had. Building something of this size and capacity takes up a lot of time, but one of the first things I was told when I brought this all up to our current EM was, “Siege needs Orcs. Siege has always needed Orcs.” So it has been an honor and a privilege to be able to spend my time reviving something that was started when I was just a teenager, right here on Siege Perilous, where the Orcs were at their peak.

Xigig Leading Healers from an IDOC.jpg

[SPHS]: To date, what has been your best day on Siege?

[Blug'Tar]: I can’t really say that any day has been my best day on Siege so far. Those days are yet to come. I can say that every day here has been an insanely fulfilling day of gaming surrounded by one of the greatest communities on the internet. Every day I get to play on Siege Perilous is a good day, even the days where I lose.

[SPHS]: Which players do you interact with the most?

[Blug'Tar]: On a day to day basis, I interact with the Nightmare Clan members the most. We are in our own private discord server that is extremely active. We are constantly planning and scheming, improving our roleplay, and working towards becoming better combatants for the players of Siege Perilous. Sadug, Xigig, Zog, Gu’Jek, Nub’Gruk, Gan’Uu, Zug Zug, Rosk’Rish, Ghazz’Gul, and Half-Life are the players I interact with the most on a day to day basis. Outside of Nightmare Clan I often interact with Shalimar and Magical from NEW, because I am a reservist Emmisary on roster at NEW as well as Magichands, Tanager, Max Blackoak, and Bo.

[SPHS]: Are you in a guild, and if so, how many other players are in it? What guilds were you in before this one?

[Blug'Tar]: My only other real dedicated guild in Ultima Online before Nightmare Clan was Shadowclan. Outside of that, I haven’t had the best guild experiences. For a moment in time I was in the process of joining LLTS on Atlantic. That turned out to be so much like an extended job interview without pay that I ended up taking a break from Ultima Online all together. One of my days was spent opening and closing a castle door while spamming a macro that said “Welcome to LLTS crafters day!” Skah!! Wasn’t very fun.

[SPHS]: What was your initial link to the Shadowclan Orcs?

[Blug'Tar]: I initially joined the Catskills arm of Shadowclan somewhere between 2000 and 2002. I had an Orc that never even finished boot camp because I didn’t have enough time to play the game and train, as well as my play schedule never lined up with any of the bubhosh Grunts who came through the bootcamp. Even still, I remember having some pretty great times with those people, like being shot with a bow inside of the Yew bone yard every time I failed to complete a hide check, or getting the authorization axe every single time I forgot that I was roleplaying an Orc and typed out a complete sentence in Human blah.

[SPHS]: What is the best part of playing an Orc?

[Blug'Tar]: I guess honestly, it’s what isn’t the best part of playing an Orc? Ultima Online is the definitive sand-box game of the MMORPG genre. Most people come to Ultima Online to be the hero, or the anti-hero. Very few people come to Ultima Online to play the monster. We stay very tight on our roleplay and ensure that everyone is having a great time doing it. We get to prove that even the strongest heroes in Sosaria can fall to something as simple as a squad of Orcs running through the wild. We PvP, we RP, we even make running fifty screens to the graveyard on foot a fun experience. While most players are holed up with their hoards inside of a castle somewhere, we come together as a tribe of people who share supplies, equipment, knowledge, history, skills, and a common objective.

Orc Blahhing at Shardy.jpg

[SPHS]: What has been the biggest challenge to recruiting players to a heavy RP playstyle?

[Blug'Tar]: Finding players who are willing and able to learn the fundamental Orcisms has been incredibly difficult. Some players assume that since we are all talking in a similar fashion that they will need to learn some complex language to play with us, and that just isn’t the case. With Gruntees, (new Orcs) we have an entire process that is set up to help them learn the language and the history of the Orcs. Generally, once we have someone interested and past this initial fear of learning Orc Blah however, they see how we operate and are instantaneously smitten with the community we foster, the roleplay that we conduct in our everyday UO activities, and the way that we handle PvP/PKing.

[SPHS]: What kind of role can a new Orc play in the group? How do you handle equipping and skill raising young Gruntees?

[Blug'Tar]: We aren’t as limiting on our templates as the Shadowclan of old was. That said, at the moment we really need melee dexxers and another dedicated crafter to assist Rosk’Rish. The only things that we require of combatants at the moment is a template that jives well with having 100 hide and a minimum of 75.0 stealth. Gruntees that join us fresh are generally geared out by the Clan in what we refer to as Gratch (Garbage Loot) and told to train in that until they are prepared, the clan supplies them with some basic suits that will make training a bit less difficult. Their day to day duties include getting stronger, learning Orc Blah (language) and history, and assisting the Grunts and Chiefs in tasks that supply the Clan. If you see an Orc in a plain white helmet or regular Orc Mask, then they are a Gruntee. All of our ranking (Burnt Grunts) wear red head gear. It is seen as a grave offense to the Clans for humans to wear red Orcish head gear, and will generally result in an attack.

[Blug'Tar]: The way we handle Gruntee Equipment is very much the way we handle all of our players' equipment. Grunts/Gruntees provide the Mak’rs with materials to make equipment in as large of quantities as possible, and the Mak’rs keep everyone supplied in suits. We have communal chests that trusted members are allowed to access, and we work together as a team to keep our supplies well stocked. It is a matter of Duhkta (Orcish Principle) that no singular Orc puts his own needs before the needs of the Clan. This also leads into our looting rights which state that Orcs who make the kill are the first to loot, and Gruntees in need are the top priority for being supplied.

[SPHS]: Where are the significant Orc locations on Siege? How do visitors find them?

[Blug'Tar]: The Yew Orc Fort and Kursed Keep/Necropolis area to the north of it are seen as “Sacred Ground” to Orcs. The land holds many memories of old dreams from our previous lives with the Shadowclan Orcs. We treat that area as Orcish Territory and will generally attack on-sight in the region unless very good (bubhosh) tribute is provided, in which case select humans may receive a tour and history lesson.

Orc House.jpg

[Blug'Tar]: The Malas Orc fort is the home of the Nightmare Clan, who appeared out of the shadows seeking a new land (Uzg) for the Orcs. As of right now, the area is off limits to humans unless they are invited. The exception to this is “Orc’s Wulf Bazaar” where humans are safe to purchase our Orcish Wares. You can get to this location by hitting the top right tele-tile on the first floor of the Britain Moongate Hub (annotated by the Orc Statue) if you would like to visit the Orc Fort safely to have a look, send a pidjun (message) to any Orc using General Chat, and ensure that you bring proper tribuut. Players jumping out of random mojoholes (Gates) are often attacked the second they appear, (including the Mojoka Orcs who forget to announce it)!

Orc Forts in Malas.jpg

[SPHS]: Do you think with the announcement that Broadsword will soon have an item that lets players use costumes separate from gear there will be other 'races' so to speak? Could the Orcs potentially face a tribe of Ogres or Cyclops?

[Blug'Tar]: I hope so, the Ogres, Titans, Cyclops, and Mongbats be owing us some tribuut. Our keeper of history did just recently come across a Lizardman who was looking for the Orcs. We think he may be scared of humans killing him to make a pair of boots. It would be good to see other creatures and monsters in Sosaria becoming sentient and having a voice. Once you get over your own ego and allow yourself to have fun with the roleplaying aspect of Ultima, it really is a blast that builds communities like no other experience in gaming.

[SPHS]: Are there ways you'd like to see the Orcs integrated into events? EM Kincaid ran a months long Orc arc recently, did you participate in that storyline?

[Blug'Tar]: I’ve already told Kincaid to use us as he sees fit. We are ready and willing to do whatever it is that the Siege needs us to do. The entire purpose of an Orc Clan is to be the players that everyone loves to hate. We did not actually manage to form the Nightmare Clan until the month after that long story arc. (Hint Hint: We be needing them Dying Orcish General Boots as Tribuut!)

[SPHS]: You have planned an upcoming 'Defend the Orc Fort' event. Any other events planned for the near future?

[Blug'Tar]: We are planning to host as many PvP oriented events as Orcishly possible. In the works is a bi-weekly VvV night with a strict no-looting policy, and we are hoping to run Fort Defenses on a monthly basis. Orc Clan members are also working on lining up our schedules to have a weekly raiding party where we make our presence known by going out and exacting blood from humans for the Bluud God as tribuut.

[Blug'Tar]: We also do our best to attend other player run events and EM events in force.

[Blug'Tar]: We’re an RP/PK Guild, so one of our primary objectives is to ensure that the entire shard is having fun with us, and because of our presence. If you ever find yourself on the Ghost end of several Orcs, there is a good chance we will leave your gear alone (say goodbye to those shinies and consumables though!) If we do take your gear, and you ask for certain key pieces back, there’s also a good chance that you will receive them.

[SPHS]: If you could pick one player who is no longer on the shard that you could return, who would it be and why?

[Blug'Tar]: I would take any single Shadowclan player that wished to come back, even if on Endless Journey. So far three of them have come back, and each of them has been an absolutely amazing asset to the Nightmare Clan. I’m not done rattling their cages yet however, so keep your fingers crossed. Sleeping Orcs are very hard to wake up.

[SPHS]: If you could permanently REMOVE one anything (activity / item / player / encounter / mechanic) from the shard, what would it be and why?

[Blug'Tar]: I would honestly just remove some of the toxic attitudes that come from Player vs Player combat. I like to think that on Siege Perilous we don’t have a huge problem with this, but some players continuously bring it on themselves. Instead of seeking help and improvement, they just act out in General Chat after losing a fight. Other times, when players are winning a fight they decide they need to take that opportunity to be disrespectful, and I don’t honestly see how anyone wins in that scenario. So yeah, remove the toxic behavior of some fellow Siegians, and I would love to remind everyone on Siege Perilous that players create content, they themselves are not content. If you treat someone like a piece of content, they will eventually leave.

[SPHS]: If you could permanently ADD one anything (activity / item / player / encounter / mechanic) from the shard, what would it be and why?

[Blug'Tar]: A second Siege Bless would go a long way towards allowing us as a shard to continue our own progression. If this were possible without it becoming a slippery slope precedent that resulted in us having Siege Bless Insurance, that would be best. Even allowing CBDs to be used on items with stats would be pretty great, then we wouldn’t need to spend so much time farming extras of things that have an abysmally low drop rate.

[SPHS]: Who is your nemesis, and why is it Malloc?

[Blug'Tar]: Malloc gave me some of the Dark Lady’s Cream Pie. He’s not my Nemesis! I would honestly say that so far, my greatest Nemesis has been Ghaz’Gul. He hasn’t bested me in single combat yet, but every fight with him has been a fun one, and he’s always been up for round two, three, and four.

[SPHS]: You are dropped into an IDOC brawl and have time to grab one item. What item would you wish to grab above anything else?

[Blug'Tar]: The closest throat that is preventing the rest of the Nightmare Clan from gathering as many supplies as they possibly can.

[SPHS]: What do you use your Siege bless on the most?

[Blug'Tar]: I have a bow (o-lig) that I have permanently Siege Blessed. It is always on me, even if I am currently using a slayer weapon to farm something. It was crafted in the Yew Orc Fort and is titled “Duh Tribuut Stikk”

[SPHS]: If you could give one piece of advice to new or returning players to Siege, what would it be?

[Blug'Tar]: Don’t allow Siege Perilous as a shard to overwhelm you. If you don’t know what to do, join NEW immediately. If that’s not your speed, go it alone and be prepared to die multiple times. Be respectful in every player encounter, and I guarantee you will not have many problems here.
 
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