Intrigue

its because we are free here:)
well, "free"
you can be mushroom, tree, warrior, or whatever, and be accepted:)
we can be here that what we want irl, and not only that
we "are" here all those things:)
however, it is this "power" of MD that makes it very dangerous
and its influence should not underestimated, real life is "real"
and while MD help us to be what want, we should not forget what we are in first place:)

What brings/brought you to MD? What keeps you here?
 
We all came to this "Game" for a reason. I know some of you folks gripe about a lot of things, but you are still here. Why? It's time for some self analysing and looking in. : D My favorite past time. Please, be honest with your answers, and don't snipe at others. Only you are liable for *your* actions. So let's keep it to that, mmkay?
 
I was looking for a game to play when I was graduating school. I found MD, and I became hooked. Albeit, I was confused, and had a hard time understanding some of the concepts, it drew me in. The artwork, the personal philosophies, the people. I found it was an extra curricular activity for me, and it wasn't just a game any more. It was a community, and there were people who I cared for a lot.
 
To me, this game is much more than the mechanics and the "power". It's about building relationships and insights. Don't tell me you have gone to MD and haven't learned anything, because I bet you have. About cultures, about people.
 
I stay because of this tether I have when I build sustaining relationships that are positive, and because I believe that MD is a part of my history. I miss some of the people who have gone and never come back. And I miss immensely, interacting with them on a platform that stretches the imagination.
 
It is also because my life is just plain boring without something to do that is bettering something in some way. I live in a spot that makes it really hard for me to get to anywhere and make a difference. So MD is where I get to get rid of some of that frustration.

omg kyph, if the application is so long, i am afraid how our conversations might be as a leader, lol. I need to finish reading it tomorow, i really have a serious concentration issue with long text you know..

What this quest is going to need:
 
Anyone can do these parts and submit them later, you don't have to fit into a category to play the part.
 
Explorers: Keep an eye out for scenes that have some sort of meaning to you (unfortunately they must be accessible to everyone, although using the pillars is acceptable). In these scenes find some detail that isn't readily apparent at first glance, that would require someone to really look at the scene to notice.
 
Writers: Eventually there will need to be a meeting/forum between everyone interested. I'm not sure when this will happen. For now you could work on developing a character, I'm pretty sure this quest will use "NPCs", or some kind of conflict that may arise between different factions of these NPCs.
 
Puzzle creators: If you have an idea for an interesting puzzle I'm sure it can be incorporated.
 
Dedicated Role-players: Further define your characters. Ponder how they would react in difficult situations, what they care about, what they're willing to sacrifice, etc.
 
This quest has so many pieces involved that even the people working on it can participate, since nobody will know the whole.
 
If anyone has any more ideas, feel free to share them.
 
I also desperately need people willing to help bring this all together. I'm terrible at management.

[SIGSEGV]

Due to Mur's announcement about the most creative forum topic, i browsed my folder of fun stuff and found this one...

Regardless of any prices, i've kept this from your eyes far too long already!

This is the story of how i got my 2nd Pimped Grasan ever, Murry, ID:523743.

Prequel: I've been sitting around at Bob with Zlei (whom i, retrospectively, strongly suspect of having his godly hands in all of this <.<) when somebody ruined my suit, for some reason or other. I took on the clothing of my then only pimped grasan, and he was left there, hiding naked behind bob, while i went to wash my suit.
Somebody, i can't quite remember whom, has then thrown my poor grasan over the wall into Necrovion, and i followed his trace over the wall, down the road to the house of tainted times, through said house into the archives, and finally found my pimped grasan at the fountain of the lost path.

Anyways, this is what happened next...

[log='Talking to yourself...'][19/07/09 20:46] Burns:GRASAN!! i'm here... but...what the...
[19/07/09 20:47] :Burns looks at his naked Grasan, fighting with another Pimped Grasan
[19/07/09 20:47] Burns:NOO, stop it, Pimped!
[19/07/09 20:47] Burns:don't hurt the poor fellow, it can't hit you anyway!
[19/07/09 20:49] Burns: (Burns' Grasan looks at him, dimwitted, while the other Pimped Grasan desperately tries to hurt Burns' full grown Grasan)
[19/07/09 20:50] Burns:what's going on here? why are you fighting at all? and how did you get here?
[19/07/09 20:51] Burns: (the small Grasan suddenly sees Burns standing in the water and stops to swing his fists at Pimped)
[19/07/09 20:51] Burns: (he advances towards Burns, trying to hit him instead)
[19/07/09 20:52] Burns:NO, stop it....
[19/07/09 20:52] Burns: *ducks as the Grasan swings his fist at him, yelling* Stop that, right now!
[19/07/09 20:54] :Burns loses his balance and falls backwards into the water
[19/07/09 20:55] :Burns bumps his head on an old, small dagger, which he grabs to defnds himself, not even stopping to wonder who put it there
[19/07/09 20:56] Burns:(the Grasan advances on Burns again, lifting his fist to hit him as he's lying sprawled in the water*
[19/07/09 20:56] Burns:the Grasan advances on Burns again, lifting his fist to hit him as he's lying sprawled in the water)
[19/07/09 20:57] Burns: (nvm...)
[19/07/09 20:58] Burns: (the two inequal fighters look at each other, while Pimped stands offsides, not understanding what's going on)
[19/07/09 20:59] Burns:*gets to his feet, never losing eye-contact with his opponent, clutching the rusty Hunting Knife tightly in his hand)
[19/07/09 20:59] :Burns gets to his feet, never losing eye-contact with his opponent, clutching the rusty Hunting Knife tightly in his hand
[19/07/09 21:00] Burns:Stop it right now, Grasan, or i'll have to hurt you...
[19/07/09 21:00] :Burns his eyes seem to sparkle as he releases some heat, preparing for an fierce battle
[19/07/09 21:01] Burns: (the Grasan, overwhelmed by the magical aura of Burns, gets scared and lowers his fists a little, as if taking a defence-position)
[19/07/09 21:02] Burns:I don't want to hurt you, Grasan... we don't need to fight this battle...
[19/07/09 21:02] Burns:just tell me what happend...
[19/07/09 21:03] Burns: (the Grasan, naturally a vicious being, seems to understand that Burns doesn't want to hurt him)
[19/07/09 21:04] :Burns lowers his knife as he sees a flash of understanding in the Grasans eyes and advances to the creature
[19/07/09 21:04] Burns:Poor boy... you seem hurt...
[19/07/09 21:05] Burns:Pimped, did you do that? Shame on you...
[19/07/09 21:06] :Burns grabs the grasans fist, which twitches under his hands, but doesn't draw back
[19/07/09 21:06] Burns:oh boy... you were lucky, that doesn't seem to deep...
[19/07/09 21:06] Burns:you are still as strong as a normal grasan
[19/07/09 21:07] Burns:but... don't you usually have a poodle with you?
[19/07/09 21:08] Burns: (the Grasan roars in agony, showing Burns the chain where the poodle is normally tied to)
[19/07/09 21:08] Burns:what happend to your puppy, pal?
[19/07/09 21:09] Burns: (the Grasan points to Pimped, who hides his lolly behind his back)
[19/07/09 21:10] Burns:PIMPED! you didn't steal your fellows poodle, did you?
[19/07/09 21:10] :Burns walks towards his Grasan and looks behind his back, where the poodle is glued to the wet lolly
[19/07/09 21:11] Burns: *punches his Grasan playfully* thou shalt not steal, pal... don't you ever do that again, and now hand me the lolly...
[19/07/09 21:12] :Burns takes the lolly with the poodle on it to the Fountain, panting heavily under the weight
[19/07/09 21:12] Burns:i could do with some help, you two...
[19/07/09 21:13] :Burns heaves the lolly into the water together the Grasans, watching that the poodles head stays over water
[19/07/09 21:14] Burns:now hold him like that, boys... and don't let it fall, else the poor puppy will drown...
[19/07/09 21:14] :Burns jumps into the water and starts picking its hair out of the sticky surface of the lolly
[19/07/09 21:16] Burns: *frees the poodle and washes the sugar out of its fur in the fountain* there you go, boy...
[19/07/09 21:16] :Burns hands the puppy back to the Grasan and turns to leave as the Grasan roars again
[19/07/09 21:16] Burns:what now?
[19/07/09 21:17] Burns: (the Grasan points toward the poodle and his chain)
[19/07/09 21:17] Burns:oh right... clumsy creature *chuckles*
[19/07/09 21:18] Burns: *ties the chain to the puppys necklace, showing the knot to the Grasan* now off with you, my friend... enjoy your freedom while it lasts
[19/07/09 21:19] Burns: *goes around the fountain, talking to his Grasan* you'll get your clothes back really soon, pal... i promise...
[19/07/09 21:19] Burns:i'll even clean them for you
[19/07/09 21:19] Burns: (hears another Grasan's roar, right behind his back)
[19/07/09 21:20] :Burns jumps and turns to see the strange grasan right behind him, sticking out its tongue and bednign down to lick his face
[19/07/09 21:21] Burns:oh boy...
[19/07/09 21:21] Burns:you want to come with me?
[19/07/09 21:21] Burns: (the Grasan roars in approval)
[19/07/09 21:22] Burns:oh well.... i guess i could take you with me if you want to...
[19/07/09 21:22] Burns:but you have to promise to only fight when i tell you to, got that?
[19/07/09 21:23] Burns: (the Grasan roars again and licks Burns face)
[19/07/09 21:24] Burns:okay, okay... then we'll ahve to heal your wounds to start with... lots of people like to attack me, and you might get hurt.... we don't want that, do we?
[19/07/09 21:24] :Burns uses his natural creature-healing-powers to give some of his own VE to the little Pimped Grasan
[19/07/09 21:26] Burns: (the Grasan enjoys the flow of energy through his body and... he smiles? Grasans smile?)
[19/07/09 21:26] Burns:that's how i'm learning something new every day, right?... *washes his face in the fountain*
[19/07/09 21:27] Burns:please don't lick my face again, will you?
[19/07/09 21:27] Burns: (as sign of understanding, the Grasan licks Burns belly instead)
[19/07/09 21:28] :Burns chuckles that tickles, big baby... hugs his new Grasan
[19/07/09 21:29] Burns:just stick with your good friend, poodle-catcher-Pimped, he'll teach you a lot of things you will need to survive when you come along with me...
[19/07/09 21:30] Burns:my life is dangerous *smiles viciously, and leaves for ye ole hidden shop to replace his burninated clothes*
[19/07/09 21:30] Burns:you'll get your back, Pimped... i promise =D
[19/07/09 21:31] Burns: (in case you are still here, thanks for your attention and i hope you enjoyed frightening me to death with tossing me into Necro... you know what i mean )
[19/07/09 22:03] .Ailith.:Sea
[19/07/09 22:03] Burns:thanks a lot ^^
[19/07/09 22:04] :[Spell] Sea[/log]

Anyways. Not recent, and probably you don't even find it funny, but i don't want to keep it in my secret stash any longer... That's how i care for creatures! Yeah, that's right! I heal the wounded, and give the drag-queens their poodles back!

Feel free to make fun of my and/or my grasans when you meet me. We're both loonies.

Update for the style of the Quest:
 
This is simply a rough draft as of a yet, ideas evolve. If anyone decides to put in enough time and effort into this quest to deserve a reward, I am speaking with Pip as to the feasibility of this.
 
With the help of the writers, I hope to craft a tale that solving the quest would be worth learning and deciding the end result on its own, with no other reward necessary. I'm negotiating with the Treasure Keepers as to what the actual rewards will be, and there will be sponsorships too I hope.
 
First Section: This is the tricky bit, for which I will need dedicated role-players. It will involve acting. Characters who have clearly defined themselves in MD will start behaving differently than usual, and this will be the hints you need to find the second stage. Although this is the first section, it will continue and evolve as the quest does.
 
Second Section: deals with puzzle solving, clickies and choices. The choices you make will determine where you end up at the final stage (but NO choices will exclude you from participating, they will simply decide which options are available to you at the end)
The puzzles will reference things that have happened in MD, the AL, Lore, and the scenes themselves. One question that stuck in my memory was when someone asked "which scene can you see Kelle'tha from outside of GG?" Things of that nature. That is where the explorers come in, for help coming up with interesting questions that involve delving deeper into MagicDuel as a whole. The scene poems will also have a part to play.
 
Final Section: This will be Role-playing based. The people acting differently than their normal selves will come fully into play in this section. The choices that you make will have an effect their characters (or, if they are not willing to do that, then it will at least change mine). If this quest does well I hope to create a second quest that will continue where the first left off.
 
Problems that need working on: Getting everyone together at the same time for the final scene. Perhaps multiple scenes will be possible, in different time zones.
 
 
 
I came up with the idea of this type of quest as a new form of role-playing, playing within MD. This quest will not always be nice. If the stories are written well, and from what I've seen of the writers in MD they will be, they may force you to make tough decisions. Decisions between land and friends, taking a life to save another, tests of your character's mettle.
 
In this way, role-playing would be fully integrated into MagicDuel.
 
Real stories have conflict. I propose we create some ourselves.

I will have to check on the clickie tomorrow (work/life today will keep me offline) but I've heard one other report of odd browser behavior happening, yet the submission stayed valid and saved.    
 
Thanks for the report on potential issues though.  
I'll confirm current entries ASAP!

I wrote something in the text field, but when I clicked the "submit entry" button the page jumped or "scrolled" back in the beginning. There was no "we've received your entry" or any confirmation telling me that my entry was submitted. When I closed the pop up and opened it again, my text was still in the box.
 
Did you receive my entry? 

This Quest is trying to be what a Quest could be, with the entire community working on and enjoying it. It will have a puzzle, role-playing, and most importantly, a story. A story that continues after the first quest is over. A story that changes based on the decisions made by the questees.
 
People Needed:
Organizers: Eara
Writers: Maebius
Coders: samon
Puzzle creators: Vertu?
Explorers: Syrian
Treasure Keepers: Pipstickz?
Misc: Ackshan
 
This will be my final attempt to do something worthwhile in MD, but its not about me. I just happen to be the one to get it started, since nobody else was going to. If it succeeds it could mean reasons for new players to stay with this amazing game instead of seeing empty lands where people battle for no apparent purpose, occasional chatting and nothing more.
 
I think this is all very possible for the people of MD to do AS A COMMUNITY but I'll need your help.
 
If you're willing to assist, mention so in the comments section, what your favorite part of MD is (exploring, questing, combat, research, writing, etc), and what you can contribute. Its possible that you can contribute without even knowing it, hence the question about your favorite part of MD.
 
Please, not for me, but for the Community of MD as a whole, give this a shot.

[font="Comic Sans MS"]Bob fanfiction, made without having a scanner or a tablet... no trees were hurt during the creation of these comics.
[right]

[img]http://img411.imageshack.us/img411/9704/utob001itsamystery.png[/img]
It's a mystery

[img]http://img34.imageshack.us/img34/9850/utob002hesprobablyangry.png[/img]
He's probably angry because you woke him

[img]http://img535.imageshack.us/img535/1286/utob003notaseasyasitloo.png[/img]
Not as easy as it looks

[img]http://img294.imageshack.us/img294/2451/utob004weneversawjesuis.png[/img]
We never saw Je suis Oeufs fous again

[img]http://img411.imageshack.us/img411/2071/utob005orsmallercupsofc.png[/img]
Or smaller cups...

[img]http://img535.imageshack.us/img535/1511/utob006lawofdrinkinggam.png[/img]
Law of drinking games: they will spiral out of proportions

[img]http://img34.imageshack.us/img34/7089/utob007whodidyouthinkwa.png[/img]
What, who did you think was placing those mass orders, Mur?

[/right][/font]

I guess I could make a start.
 
I think Intrigue could be granted the title of 'Vigilant Guardian'. Her activity is always around Bob/Tree, her roleplaying in connected to it. And she has been basically there for him for as long as I can remember. A friend, a guardian, a protector. Recently she presented a Tree related quest for her spell doc as well, a very fitting one.

no barcodes or qr codes. totally not. This needs to look like a mixture of modern high-tech security with a medieval touch. The keywords for this would be "nobility,  authority, award".
The purpose of the security pattern is to make them very difficult to edit and print altered or to make modifications to whatever will be written on it.
 
I will show you a couple of samples i kind of like as a base to start. Ofc anyone could buy thm later and try to fake such a document, but don't worry i will make modifications to it that will make them insanely difficult to duplicate. (in case you didn't notice i am insisting on this aspect as if i am somehow challenging some of you to try it (later on) :D)
 
So, take a look, try to imagine how that background will look, adapted:
img1:
http://www.shutterstock.com/pic-129875030/stock-vector-certificate-of-completion-template-with-guilloche-pattern-watermarks-and-border-golden.html?src=pp-photo-134462543-4
 
img2:
http://www.dreamstime.com/stock-images-certificate-vector-image1218544
 
img3:
http://www.dreamstime.com/stock-images-guilloche-style-form-diploma-certificate-image14161344
 
img4:
http://www.shutterstock.com/pic-140844307/stock-vector-green-certificate-diploma-of-completion-design-template-sample-background-with-guilloche.html?src=pp-photo-134462543-3
 
 
 
So..now you understand better how it will look an what i man by security pattern? Which one you like? do you like them?
 
..i need some feedback,

The first one to send me the correct answer was Dark Demon (he has chosen the 3sc).
I am (still) waiting for two more answers.

yeah... i'm still stumped. This is a hard one for sure. Good job :)

yeah... i'm still stumped. This is a hard one for sure. Good job :)

Hint nr. 2: Only the last four digits of the code reveal the actual name of the scene. The other ones form the complete answer. The ”algorithm” is the same, though.

the thing with dst, as I have found, is if you don't do anything shady/play fairly/do as you are told by the powers that be and ask clarifying questions when necessary, you don't get grilled.

Simple, no?

chewett....you where md's coder not mb's coder. so it doesn't apply to you, you did what you where supposed to do, not favorise (or how its spelled) a specific land.
 
The security measures are to add up to the quality, look&feel and general value of the document..not that they will be actualy forged. Afterall, these are generated by people you know and know you , they are not meant to be presented to unaware people, like you could say about fake bills for example. I do such things because i love the ideea not because its actally needed..in case you didn't realized that already. And yes they will have invisible ink. metal insertions, all the stuff..and yes serial number too. Just keep in mind they could have been plain toilet paper also, their value is not in how they are built but in who issued them and for what reason. The manufacturing process is just my personal crazyness put in practice.

bump...  still seeking my old avy.    
 
 
 

This is a good idea. See Public/Private Key infrastructure Murry, Look up how X.509 certificates work. I can look into throwing something together if you want.
Public key, everyone can decrypt the code to prove its real, only you can encrypt it and generate the serial number.

For security patterns, all paper currency (at least in the UK and USA) has a serial number associated with it.
As you said in the initial post that these title documents would be virtual, initially. By this, I imagined that these virtual representations would be items or item-like in game and so have an ID associated with it.
Hence as a security pattern, you could print the item ID on the physical item. To check for counterfeit, one could search for the item ID on the physical item and verify that all the details match up.

Hint: I have spent time to make the poem convincing, so convincing that you wouldn't notice it's only a front. Yes, the poem is only  a front meant to distract; in fact, you don't  need to read a single word/line in order to get the name of the scene.

Still working on it too. I'm sure it's something simple that I'm making way harder than it has to be (just because I do that A LOT), lol ;)

so last version to remain is:
 
"This hereby is entrusted and acknowledged by the authority of the Dominion of Mur as part of Lands of the East territory"
 
any objections?
 
attached is a downsized version of the first seal (why so small? because i am paranoid ofc, it also has minor differencies from the actual version)
This will be quite large on the page, enormous, somewhere at the bottom and again on the back maybe in UV ink, or mixed uv ink with custom ink...yeah..for chemical signature so you can't forge it too easy :P. I am working now on these details. I used to ..go the other way arround about un-making documents, now its time to do my best for something original of my own :))
Ofc nobody will need to or will try to actually professionally  forge these documents...but if i do them so nice, lets do them really nice...i am having fun too afterall.
 
There will be an other stamp to come with the signature, i think the third signature of the second authority will be optional (i can't ask everyone to purchase themselves a stamp, thats why it ill be optional and the page will be done in such way that it won't look empty without one..or ..not.. I will provide the design of the personal stamp of the second authority (the one receiving these papers to give out), if requested. An other option would be with wax seal, and instructions on how to build your own. With the right instructions anyone could build his own stamp too with minimum funds, it doesn't have to be proffesionally done...you could do it from a basic eraser and a cutter or some chemicals..i will provide several ways for those that prefer to make it rather than buy it.