Hey, everyone.
I want to say a few words to our community as a whole. After today's event, my main character, Zomactelonyvarix, is no more. At least, not as a player character. And that also marks the end of the Wyrd Cabal / Freeport of Tilverton as a guild. It was a long journey, a lot of effort and dedication, that I couldn't simply let it go without a proper farewell and a big thank you to everyone who was part of it, directly or indirectly. This post is about that. RP, creating stories together - this weird hobby of ours is born out of passion, emotion, tears and laughter. I think everyone in here understands this feeling. With that...
I want to first and foremost thank my guildmates, past and present. From the founders to the last members. A lot of people passed through Wyrd Cabal and I'm grateful for all of you. Many of you knew, from the beginning, how I view playing villains: that there would be trouble and conflict, that there would be tense moments, but also that I planned to lose with grace. I have a huge respect for our setting and being a storyteller myself, I understand the importance of respecting the nature of that setting. In a high fantasy world, I knew from day 1 villains would lose in the end, a point of view I made sure to share in the guild, and I'm grateful for those who stuck around despite knowing that plan. I had a ton of fun playing with you guys, creating this story together, fleshing out the Wyrd Cabal and The Stranger, in our little dark corner of the world. Thanks for sticking around, thanks for playing along, thanks for believing in this story. I feel accomplished and I could never have done it on my own.
I also want to thank the community at large, for playing along and giving us a chance to do this thing. I know very well that, from a lore / RP perspective, it would make sense for certain chars or groups to want a necromatic cult destroyed asap. And I know many of you made concessions to give us a chance to run this story. Don't think I'm not aware, I am fully aware and I'm very grateful for it too. It shows that, despite being enemies ig, it doesn't mean we need to be enemies oocly. And I respect that a lot. It's due to this respect that I understood from early on that we, as an evil group, couldn't exist forever, because I didn't want to stretch or abuse the courtesy the community extended to us. I wanted to compensate that and I feel like the best way of doing it, was giving the story a conclusion and a fitting reward for the heroes. So, thanks, guys, for giving us the chance to live this dark fantasy and for being a part of it.
I want to thank those who opposed us directly as well. This was equally important to establish Wyrd Cabal as villains. I have a strong belief that every setting needs villains, but also that no villain can exist without the heroes. And not all heroes wear capes. They came in many shapes and forms, and I'm grateful for all of them. From the beginning to the very end, from direct confrontation to the political intrigue, all of it was epic to see unfolding and I couldn't be happier with the end-result. And, again, not something we could have done on our own. Many hands wrote this story collectively and while those outside the guild may not know, your actions have impacted our RP a lot, resulting in many guild meetings, schemes, plans, decisions, that helped shape our group's tale. In short, your contributions were, in many ways, the air we breathed, the steam that kept us moving. And I thank you for it.
Last, but not least, I want to thank the staff. All of you were tremendously helpful always. I actually can't help but feel guilty ending Tilv's story, after all you did for us there. I have to say, the events that unfolded in Tilverton and the progression of the Wyrd Cabal's story will always be a dear memory to me, it has a special place in my heart. But that's not all. You've been present throughout, giving us advice about the guild's tone and actions, suggesting routes and outcomes so we'd get an evil deed carried out in a satisfactory manner for all parties involved, assisting with making Tilverton more lively and practical so we could live there, etc etc, the list goes on and on. Know everything was noticed and appreciated, from us as a group and from me as its humble leader. None of it would have been possible without your support, your ideas, your guidance and your passion for this game. I thank you all for it. Having seen firsthand the amount of work and effort you dedicate to the game and its players only increased the respect I have for you.
I also recognize that the Wyrd Cabal caused some earthquakes in its wake and I know not all of them were well-received, which is understandable. The burden of playing villain chars is just that: having to upset the calm and cause storms here and there. I want to take this chance to stress that, despite Zoma's actions, they do not reflect my personal view about any member of this community. This is a mindset I've always tried to pass on to my guildmates. There was no ooc interest in causing grievances or discomfort ig, from any of us. I see these as byproducts of playing villain chars, but I tried to keep it all in-character - this was a main concern of mine. That said, as someone who's very passionate about this game, I know very well how emotional and attached we can get, because I feel it too. And considering this, I also want to take this chance to publicly apologize for any offense we may have caused in our journey of evil. Know that none of it was targeted at anynone in particular, just actions and reactions to the living organism that is Regisfall. Like I said above, I strongly believe every setting needs a villain - a dark lord, a corrupt politician, a charming thief, a greedy merchant, etc etc. And in their paths of darkness sometimes they walk on eggshells.
Speaking from my side, the sum of the parts was positive for me. I had a blast playing Zoma with you all, enemies and allies alike. The tragic tale of a rise to power, followed by a descent into darkness. This char will remain in my memory forever and I feel very happy that he received a memorable end (thank you for that too, staff). I hope he will linger in your memories as well. How Wyrd Cabal and Tilverton's legacy will continue is up to the community now. The Restoration of the Bay quest isn't over yet, however, we have one more event ahead of us. After all, no quest can end without an intense boss fight at the end, am I right? To all those who felt like stabbing that cynical necromancer every time I emoted *the golden skull mask almost seems to be grinning*, this is your chance. Even I felt like stabbing him sometimes, lol. So I will be there too, by your side, on a different char, with a silly smile on my face.
Eventually, I'm sure I'll cook up some new villain to cause more waves in the world. I learned so much playing Zoma and I feel like, next time, the experience earned will have a positive impact on my conduct and the story created. But, for now, the wicked rests. Time to try some new things. Thank you all and thanks again for reading this text. Let's continue doing this weird hobby, creating stories together and keeping the RP flame lit.
Your friend and local villain,
- Drowking.