It is a long story, going all the way back into the dark ages of role playing games. Dungeons and Dragons was still a "new thing" for the general population and slowly made its way to Hawaii where this Player was born and raised. By 1980 there were only a few comic shops carrying the game system, mainly catering to the rotating military presence on Oahu. However, a rather geeky teacher at a middle school in Wahiawa bought the basic set with dice and brought it to the school. She showed the items to some of the students in her class, and the first Wahiawa Intermediate D&D club was formed. Five boys, and one girl. Guess who that girl was? A 12 year old geeky girl who kept beating the boys at chess and read all of the comics in the library - twice. That would be this writer.
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| From WikiCommons, ©Wizards of the Coast |
The first character I rolled up was a fighter class female. It was my birthday, and I insisted on being a girl. The guys wanted the character to be a sorceress, but I would have nothing of it. She would carry a sword, a round wooden shield, and sport flaming red hair down to her knees (which she regularly wore up in a topknot). She wore heavy, studded leather and black moccasin boots with a black cloak lined with wolf fur. Her pack was worn, but still carried her rations and loot. She had no name, and she died quickly. I got very upset in that first campaign, and insisted on bringing her back to life. I "forced" the guys to carry her body all over the place until the DM (that same teacher) got tired of it and granted the party a boon. The girl could come back to life, only if they gave her a name. So rightly, I cannot claim to be the one who dreamed up this character's name - but I did have input ("Bambi" wasn't going to cut it, Terry!).
Kirthag is Born
For two years, I secretly participated in the clandestine D&D club (for it wasn't sanctioned by the school - we were such anarchists!) as Kirthag. In that time, I gave her a bit of a personality - but always at the core was the need to kill orcs. Always. She specialized in it. Would almost ignore the party's needs to go after a band of orcs. Sorry guys - a girl's gotta have a purpose.
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| Kirthag Y2k |
Online Ventures
The early 90's introduced me to computers, graphics, and AOL. Kirthag ran amok in Rhy-din as a wild and crazy lass, but with a seriousness to her adventures - she was Justice. People came to her to settle disagreements, proctor fights, and judge infractions. It had gotten to be so much that for a time Kirthag was also a "spy" for the "gods" - we won't discuss that though. She ventured into MUDs, darker portions of internet-chat-play, and still roamed around in AD&D.The internet was young, and all this RP-ing also lead to a switch in my career. I went from print design to web design. By 1999, I was already coding websites (strict HTML) and Kirthag had found her way into a new medium, Massively Multi-player Online Role Playing Gaming (MMORPG).
In the 'Verses
Kirthag found a pixel-body! Kirthag found an entire world of OTHERS with common cause. And the orcs needed slaying! And there were players actually role-playing... Orcs!!! My real-life sister introduced me to the world of Sosaria, and Kirthag found a home in Yew. Her adventures are told here on this website, so I'll let you, reader, explore on your own.Kirthag Occupied the Pacific Shard of Sosaria (Ultima Online) after leaving her home shard of Napa, in her much loved castle which was spitting distance from the Yew Moongate in Trammel. This castle was her main home, and dedicated to other players as the Yew Community Center on Pacific (YCC). She is also a caretaker for another museum/castle given to her on Dagger Isle near the Honesty Shrine of Trammel. She would run around Felucca, mostly helping out miners who seek her fighting ability to protect them in the wilds.
After some time, Kirthag and her tribe moved to the Catskills shard, and there set up residence in the Felluca facet. She set up the Bringers of Light [aka BoL /+\ ] to serve the community and protect lost adventurers, settling into a docile, more like retirement, routine with a foray every now and again into the wilds for some hunting. However, like most legends, Kirthag and her following fade... and now her Sosarian life is part of the story whispered in taverns over mugs of ale.
Other Worlds
Sosaria, although her favorite place, is not the only world Kirthag exists. She is also known to appear in Azeroth in full paladin glory. She ventures into Sanctuary and unleashes her barbaric temper on the hordes of demons and undead (with the occasional unicorn and pink teddy bears). She dons rabbit-ears in Midgard, and seeks balance in Tamriel. There are also times she will explore New Britannia, and she is always up for a game of cards at the Hearthstone. And to Tyria, where fulfilling her dream of dragon-riding became reality.Kirthag has matured, changed, and served so many faceted purposes through the years - but always at the core is her fighting, her red hair, and her sense of justice. She gazes deeply into The Void which is vast, and full of adventure. This site is her chronicle. She is not lost, nor gone. She and her 'sisters' are just denizens of the 'Verses that make up the World Wide Web.
About this site's writings.
Almost all of the entries are made in-character by Kirthag, but there may be periods where one of the other characters I play post something, or I will do something a bit more direct. These will always be notated in some way to avert any confusion.There is a 'primary world' wherein Kirth's adventures are centered and customized to. For more than a decade, this was the world of Ultima Online. However broken this creator's heart is over the loss of pixels there, it was never the 'final place' for Kirthag and her adventures. They continue on... and this blog is that chronicle.
