Publish 18 – Age of Shadows Launch Gift

UO Team 09 Jun 2003 00:00:00 EST

The Ultima Online team would like to offer an in-game gift as a way of showing our appreciation for all those players who’ve made the Age of Shadows launch one of the busiest times in UO’s history, as well as a way of offering something out of consideration for anyone who’s gone through a revert or other problem caused by the high traffic during the Age of Shadows launch.

The gift consists of two parts, and is being distributed per character, not per account. This means each character will receive Item #1 and Item #2 (see below).

These gifts will begin being distributed with the introduction of Publish 18, and will continue to be distributed to all characters aged 30 days or more until Publish 19 (currently scheduled for release in early July 2003). Characters that log in during this time frame will be greeted with a Launch Gift “wizard menu.” Players will use the gift wizard to select both Item #1 and Item #2. Both items will not need to be selected within the same session.

Item #1

For the first item, players can choose one of the following things:

• tunic
• surcoat
• jester suit
• sash
• robe
• plain dress
• fancy dress
• kilt
• skirt
• half apron
• full apron
• sandals
• shoes
• boots
• thigh boots
• cloak
• rose (for those who would prefer not to choose a wearable)
• doublet (added after examination of player feedback)

Next, the player will be able to choose from a selection of inscriptions to engrave on the item, which will include the character’s name. The personalized inscription selections are listed below.

• To [charactername], on behalf of your Age of Shadows team
• Thank you [charactername], for supporting Ultima Online!
• To [charactername], in recognition of the AoS launch
• To [charactername], for helping to usher in the Age of Shadows
• [charactername] was there for the Age of Shadows launch!
• [charactername], Age of Shadows Early Settler
• [charactername] roxors Age of Shadows
• Noble Paladin [charactername]
• Grim Necromancer [charactername]

In addition to the personalized inscription, the player may also choose to have an additional message attached to their item. Players may choose from one of the following:

• I survived the Age of Shadows
• I survived the birth of Malas
• I helped usher in the Age of Shadows
• I helped bring forth the Age of Shadows
• I was an Early Settler in the Age of Shadows
• [No additional message]

Lastly, the player will be able to either immediately select an unusual hue for the item or may choose to dye the item themselves later on. Of the unusual hues, there are 24 total hues available—four color-sets (gold, blue, green, and purple) with six brightness levels each. Should one of these hues be chosen, the item cannot be re-dyed later on. If the player opts to manually dye the item later on, the items can then be dyed and re-dyed with normal dye tubs.

This item (Item #1) will be blessed, and will be transferable between characters. The clothing will be indestructible.

Item #2

In addition to whatever they choose for Item #1, each character will be able to choose from the following:

• A +5 bonus to any skill of the player’s choice.
  • This will act as an immediate 5 point skill gain in any skill.
  • This will not raise a skill over its current skill cap.
  • The following skill choices will be available:
    • Alchemy
    • Anatomy
    • Animal Lore
    • Parrying
    • Blacksmithy
    • Bowcraft/Fletching
    • Peacemaking
    • Carpentry
    • Cartography
    • Detecting Hidden
    • Discordance
    • Evaluate Intelligence
    • Healing
    • Fishing
    • Forensic Evaluation
    • Hiding
    • Provocation
    • Inscription
    • Lock Picking
    • Magery
    • Magic Resistance
    • Wrestling
    • Snooping
    • Musicianship
    • Poisoning
    • Archery
    • Spirit Speak
    • Stealing
    • Tailoring
    • Animal Taming
    • Tinkering
    • Tracking
    • Veterinary
    • Swordsmanship
    • Mace Fighting
    • Fencing
    • Wrestling
    • Lumberjacking
    • Mining
    • Meditation
    • Stealth
    • Disarming
    • Necromancy
    • Focus
    • Chivalry
• A +5 bonus to their Stat cap.
  • Note: Unlike the Stat Scrolls of Power from champion spawns, the +5 Stat cap gift literally will add 5 points to your character’s current Stat cap, regardless of wherever that cap currently is. In fact, the +5 Stat cap bonus from the Launch Gift is cumulative with any Stat Scrolls of Power you have already used or will ever use in the future. Therefore, players could use this new +5 Stat cap increase before or after using a champion spawn’s +25 Stat Scroll of Power to achieve a new cap of 255.

These items will be usable only once, and the effects will be permanent. These bonuses will be non-transferable, meaning only the original character who claimed it will gain the bonus effect.

Remember, each character will get two gifts (one from the Item #1 list and one from the Item #2 list)! Item #1 can be traded, but Item #2 will only work for the claiming character.