The Jigsaw of Lord British – What lies beyond the gate?

The timer over at “Lord British Presents” continues to tick down (causing me no end of excitement), but our noble leader has not been idle.

We now know that the announcement relates to his “Ultimate RPG”. I suspect that’s intended as a name as close to “Ultima” as possible, rather that a claim that it will be the last RPG ever made. Let’s hope so, at any rate.

The Ultimate RPG facebook page has been releasing pieces of a map, but a map of what? At first sight, it looks like a fairly generic RPG sort of map. Hardly something that would excite us in itself. The importance of it then must lie in the details of what it shows. Is there something there that a Britannian might recognise?

Sosaria, later named Britannia, has morphed and shifted many times over the years, so looking for any exact matches is probably going to be an exercise in futility.

Ultimate RPG Jigsaw

The third piece is the most instantly recognisable to me. On the northern edge of the map is a settlement that looks an awful lot like Skara Brae, seat of Spirituality, the island town which sat off Britannia’s western coast. On the coast itself was a smaller settlement from whence the ferry would scurry back and forth. With it being on the edge of the map, there is no way to tell if it is truly an island or not.

The first piece is trickier, but the small settlement in a lake makes me think of Castle British, which would make the hint of further buildings to the South-East the tip of the City of Compassion, Britain. The Serpent Spine mountains are a little closer than usual, but within wiggley topography parameters. It looks like there is a dungeon entrance in the SW corner. If it is one of the original eight, then I would suspect it of being Despise, though further South than it used to be.

Regarding the 2nd jigsaw piece, I have nothing. There is a tower, and an awful lot of lava. It’s the sort of tower that might make a fine home for Mondain or one cut from the same cloth, but it does not remind me of any particular place.

The thing is, I’m not sure whether Ultimate RPG could even use a map based on Britannia, given that Electronic Arts has control of the original Ultima games. My guesses above could very well be similar to watching clouds on a lazy afternoon, seeing all manner of dragons and giants within their ever-changing forms.

Still, it’s fun to guess! You can share your thoughts in the comments below, if you’ve got any ideas!

In which my liege doth call, and I do not tarry to answer.

There is but one man which Arkenor of Britain calleth “Liege”. He who called out across Britannia for virtue to be sought above all else, and ushered in an age of peace and learning. There were those who sought to bring us low. The Shadowlords. Blackthorne the usurper. The Guardian in all his guile. But none proved equal to the good people of Britannia, strengthened by our dedication to the Virtues, lead by our wise monarch, Lord British.

Now our Lord calls out once more. I know not to what ends, but it is a call I have never refused. I shall wend my way to that special spot, down the lane beneath my house, where the Moongate shall be waiting. Whither shall it take me? It matters not, for adventure and injustice may be found throughout creation, and I go willingly where I am needed.

But not yet. The time is not *quite* right. When our lonely moon is in just the right place, then, and only then, shall the Moongate open.

LordBritishTimer

There is but one clue. This picture:

A Moongate?

By mine eyes it is a stone circle of kind betwixt I hath stepped so many times, but eyes may deceive. I shall prepare for all eventualities. Runestones must be polished and recharged, and my sword sharpened. I had best also reconfigure my old power armour and plasma-rifle, for the paradigm of our destination is unknown.

The Raven see. The Raven saw. And in the corn he sayeth “Cah!”.
We ,too, shall watch, and see. Here.

Two by Two – The Rat

This is a rather ancient post I made on my original website, long before the days of such useful things as blogs or WordPress. I’ve cleared out most of the posts from that time, and am in the process of tidying the rest away, but I thought this might provide a small amount of entertainment. It was the year 2000, and a pattern had already begun to emerge. Some monsters were ubiquitous. Today you might poke fun at the boars, but back then the little chap that was everywhere was the rat.

1. The Rat

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The Curious Case of the Rotten Apple

I continue to move stuff from my old site to this one! This is probably only going to be of interest to those who were involved, many years ago, and those interested to see how sometimes, having multiple characters can lead to unexpected results! It’s mostly just my log file of the event, with a bit of explanation.

The Curious Case of
The Rotten Apple.

A consise and accurate retelling of events by Dulcien; Scribe, Smith, and Bowyer to the Green Lodge.

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The Battle of Trinsic

This is an old old thing I wrote in the early days of UO. It’s a write-up of an ingame event I was lucky enough to be in the right place at the right time for!

Battle

A rambling (and true!) account by Arkenor of Britain.

I had awakened early that morn. My arcane studies had been halted by the lack of reagents in the shops I frequent. This no doubt due to the bacon-fed coves who purchase in bulk only to sell at marked up prices from their stalls. It had occurred to me, while falling into Morpheus’ grasp the night before, that the old mage who lived in the secret valley nearby might be able to provide what I needed.

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