Section I: Guild News

Section II: Council Update

Section III: GoR-geous Spotlight

Section IV: Gotta case of the “Runs”?

Section V: GoR’s got Talent!

Section VI: Guild Poll

Section VII: Talk from around the Tree

Section VIII: Credits

Each issue, we will fill you in on what’s been going on in the guild. Not around a lot to catch the latest, this is the section for you. Questions that will be answered here are: Who’s the new guy, Who dropped all this crap in front of the tree, and Where do babies come from?

First off, we should all give a big shout out to a handful rough and scruff rangers questing to join our guild. Soryn, Gelagardo, and Barusket are trying to see if they have the ‘right stuff’ to make it among us. Kendal (who’s earliest time of review is July 5th) and Jaxxon (who gets to try his luck June 30th) remain our loyal and trusted pledges as of ‘print time’. Everyone should also give an extra big hug to Cunegonde and Kasmyr for joining the top tier of Ranger-hood as full members into the guild.

Cunegonde has also went a step beyond the ‘call of duty’ by signing on as an Apprentice RQC member. As head of RQC, Gwydion has taken her under his wing. Cunegonde had this to say, “I applied because I really love quests, making them up for myself, doing them, finding cool items, strange foods, pops that you have to search for, etc.” As of publication, she has already passed the first part of her apprenticeship by making up quests for levels 20, 35, and Avatar characters. Next up for her is to attend an interview done by a RQC member and then conduct a supervised interview herself. She’ll have to write a quest that’s checked over before it’s given to the lucky ranger. Good luck Cune!

Giftara has recently departed our lovely fellowship. Recent duties elsewhere as Guild Mistress of the Guild of Fathomers has uprooted her from our collective tree. Just the same, we wish her luck and success in her future endeavors!

On June 15^th, there was a trivia that took place among us noble rangers. The big winner was … …(drum roll)… …Cunegonde!(she sure does get around, doesn‘t she?) She won a 15,000,000 coin purse, along with bragging rights. Threndil reports, “Just goes to show that sometimes activities such as this one can happen if there's enough people online. There's plenty of other things we can do if enough people log in the same time period... such as runs/quests/random things, so keep an eye open! You never know!” (I don’t care what Threndil says, I still think George Bush wrote that book!)

Every issue, we will provide the latest updates from our trusted councils. What’s been going on and what’s in the horizon?

CoL: Anomandaris: “not much changes per say on our council (no new members etc) ... running is going smoothly... getting new eq for new players/pledges by running stock mobs as well as hitting Corst & Danny' from the CoL end that I've seen it's been an active month in terms of new members of the guild”

RQC: Gwydion: “'RQC's member is slowing picking up, but could use more. Other than that, all goes well so long as we get benefit from continue support of the leaders and guild in general.”

Mentors: Rolgar: Sad to say, but no news from the mentors this issue. But we do have this!

Are you a Ranger? Then naturally you like to help. Why not earn RQP points for having fun and doing what comes naturally?

Can you suggest leveling areas and equipment? Of course you can, you just leveled a ranger and found your way around the tree. Mentors is the place for you! Join now and start earning POINTS right away! There is no easier way to contribute to the well-being of the guild. (Whelp, there you have it guild rats. Want to lend a hand, just give Rolgar a mud mail or shout if he’s on and in the responsive mood)

Every edition, there will be a new interview with a member of our guild; so you can get to know your ‘guild-mates’ a little better. If you would like to be featured in the next edition of the Spotlight, feel free to mud mail me with said request.

This edition brings us a closer look at Jaxxon, a newish pledge to our group (even though by the time you read this, he‘ll probably have already have passed his review). A special thanks goes out to the Jax-man for agreeing to ‘submit’ to this torture.

Kasmyr: Okay, let's start out with some simple questions. How long have you been on Realms of Despair?

Jaxxon: I started back up in Jan '08' Before then I used to play back in 97 through 01.

Kasmyr: You seem to know an awful lot about the realms, any specific reasons?

Jaxxon: Alot of stuff has changed on me, but alot has also stayed the same. When I came back, I didn't know how to get around anymore. So I did some googling and found Tokai, RoDpedia, and a couple other sites. Also back in my time we had the RoD EQ Database, and I found it with updated items. Something I've learned in my Job, its not what you can memorize, but how to use your resources.

Kasmyr: What do you do for a living?

Jaxxon: I fix/repair copiers.

Kasmyr: Any notable prior characters other's may recognize/remember?

Jaxxon: My main character beforehand, and the First Char I re-av'd was Ayesh.

Kasmyr: Why do you play RoD? What interests you about it?

Jaxxon: I like playing the game. While killing things is fun, I enjoy meeting people from around the world and teaming up for a mutual cause. I'm also play Pencil and Paper D&D, and during a dry spell of gaming due to schedules, I thought I'd log back into RoD and poke around, and I got re-addicted.

Kasmyr: What are a couple of your favorite things to do, here and in real life?

Jaxxon: In here I like participating in quests, and helping others, either with weapons or advice. (In real life) I like Camping, something I haven't done in awhile, Also have a river here that’s fun to float down on rafts. Computers are something else that occupy my time, I like building and setting them up.

Kasmyr: What's so special about Rangers anyways, aren't they just a poor man's Warrior?

Jaxxon: Warriors are a poor man's Ranger! We can feed ourselves, create our own drinks! Cure our own Blindness and Poison!

Kasmyr: What's the best thing about being in GoR, that you've experienced or noticed so far?

Jaxxon: Best thing about GoR is the teamwork of the various members. Everyone seemed to warm up to me and welcomed me in. Lilcal I knew from years back, and invited me into a Guild run where I met alot of Guild members. After that run I decided to Level a Ranger and apply to the guild. Thus Jaxxon was born.

Kasmyr: And on the opposite hand, what are the guild's shortcomings?

Jaxxon: Not everyone is on when I log in! GoR seems to be one of the most active Guilds I've seen, and continues to grow, I haven't seen any shortcomings thusfar.

Kasmyr: With about 4.5 to 5 years of RoD experience under your belt, any chance your going to join Mentors or RQC?

Jaxxon: Right now I'm looking to get mentored and past my own Pledge review. If asked I'd consider it, but I still might be a bit green to the Guild to take on those responsibilities.

(Prior to the interview, I had asked/implied the same question. He referred to himself as the main character in ‘American Beauty’ working at a fast food establishment. He wants the least amount of responsibility.)

Kasmyr: And lastly, what would your advice be to an aspiring member of the guild? Any words of wisdom?

Jaxxon: Don't be in a hurry. Lots of people pour alot of effort into leveling a char, getting a piece of Eq, that it stops being a game, something to do for fun. One of the best things you can do is to explore the realms, discover new things. Some of the things I remember most is Wandering around Blasted Lands after avataring, and killing things and poking about and solving an area quest in Temple of the Moon. Little things that most people would just say how to do, kinda fun to discover on your own.

We’ll try to bring you the tips and tricks, ins and outs, and the general skills from the prestigious run leaders of our guild. This edition we have Lilcal’s Top ten list for running.

10. Be a Boy Scout, BE PREPARED! Have 2-3 tank sets and 200 heals (50+ manas on your ranger) on you for a run, unless you’re told to bring more. ALWAYS carry magic and non-magic weapons.

9. ALWAYS listen to the run leader. Failure to pay attention could mean you’re left below the tree the next time a run starts.

8. If in doubt, STYLE EVASIVE, WIMPY 0 unless told otherwise.

7. If you have to go AFK, TELL SOMEONE, preferably the run leader. Even if it’s only for 2 minutes… and you don’t think it will matter.

6. Ice girths and Dragonhide breastplates make anyone a better tank!

5. In a large group, keep spam and socials to a minimum.. Your spam may cause someone else to miss what’s happening.

4. If you’re tanking.. Quaff ahead.. If you’re only 400 hp down, quaff 6 heals.. If you’re only 300 down quaff 4 heals.. That way you don’t fall behind. You can be sure you’re gonna need it next round when you get hit again anyways! An extra heal here or there won’t hurt you.

3. PAY ATTENTION. On mobs that gaze/stun/gouge/bash watch your tanks hp.. Rescue or style up if they’re in trouble.. Nothing makes a run fail faster than a dead tank!

2. If you don’t understand something, ask questions! All of the guild run leaders want the people running with them to be as good as they can be, and this is how you get there.

1. HAVE FUN. It’s a game, and if you’re not enjoying yourself there isn’t any point to playing it.

Hopefully each issue will also bring to light a talent a member of our guild has outside of the realms. This could be poetry to any sport. If interested in being in the next issue’s Talent section, please send a mud mail my way!

Whelp, to get this started I chose myself for the talent section. I’ve been drawing for about as many years as I can remember, mostly scribbles of Wolverine, Nightcrawler, or Spider-Man (I am a huge comic fan). But it wasn’t until my middle school (6^th - 8^th grade) career that I started to see an opportunity or real talent in it. I continued my studies throughout high school (which was nice because I had the hugest crush on my art teacher) competing in art shows and taking independent studies in the subject. My short stinct in college was to become an art teacher, but I am hoping to be back in school late next year.

On the left we have the initial sketch/phase of “Dragged Down”, which took quite a bit of time actually. I remember I spent at the very least five to six hours just to get the shape and shade right for the arm. On the right you can see the finished product of my labor.

Every edition I’ll try to bring a poll to the ranger table and see what the majority opinion of said question/dilemma is. So hopefully the next issue will have the results of this poll.

Our poll question is this: What’s the best thing about being in the Guild of Rangers?

A) Donation Chests (I love not having to look for that crap myself.)

B) Guild Activities (I just wish there were more!

C) Guild Runs (It‘s just nice to have someone to tank for me!)

D) Guild Members (They really make it an enjoyable experience.)

E) Callaloo’s cigar smoking’ and spanking attitude (What‘s not to love?)

F) Other

Every issue, we’ll get down to the down and dirty gossip around the guild. He said/She said, it’s all gonna be here!

Everyone was led to believe that Lilcal recently took a trip to Scotland, which is full of scotch tape factories to my knowledge (where else does it come from?). But sources at the newsletter has uncovered some travel tickets to a nice getaway at Temple of the Moon. It was there that hidden security footage shows our beloved member getting acquainted with a large chested priestess, who when reached for comment had this to say. “He was very… …nice… and generous. I had no idea he was married!”. She chose to remain unidentified. When confronted with the tape, Lilcal had this to say “I didn‘t do it!”. Days later we gave Mirrelyn a special viewing of the video and she responded with only one sentence, “Off with his head!”. Looks like our run leaders gonna be about a foot shorter.

Everyone is aware of Anomandaris’ love for roaring, but recently we learned that this lead to his loss of voice for a short amount of time. When reached for comment he had this to say… …. ….well he really didn’t have much to say for himself actually, he just tapped on the table he was sitting at. Afterwards we realized he was communicating with morse code and it translated to, “ROAR!”. After a bag full ‘o cough drops and some Vick’s vapor rub, our first was no worse for wear.