Archived News

13-Aug-2021 : Shipwrecks

Bad weather and sea monsters have been causing some havoc on the shipping lanes, causing some ships to become wrecked along the coast.

12-Mar-2021 : Thom's Tavern is now open!

Explorers in the southwestern savanna have stumbled across a small fishing camp. Within the camp they find a small tavern, as well as a young girl desperately desiring a pet of her own.

25-Dec-2020 : AA Discord

AA now has a discord channel that is partially linked to the game!

01-Dec-2020 : Party Level Changes

All levels can now party together! See 'help party' for details!

05-May-2020 : New 'chill' command.

Players can 'chill' at the Mage of Freezing. See 'help rules' for details.

03-Apr-2020 : Donator's Lounge opens.

A donator's lounge has been created in the Adventurers' Hall as a gift to those who have helped to keep Oerthe alive through their generous donations.

26-Dec-2019 : Glod opens lockers.

Glod has taken up residency with Decker, and is offering to rent locker space to store items beyond reboots.

16-Dec-2019 : Esjay settles in the north.

Explorers have reported chimney smoke coming from a cabin near the northern mist.

31-Aug-2018 : Exploration Event!

Maker's Extravagant Exploration Event runs all reboot long. Claim areas, earn tickets, and choose from many prizes! Check out the event box at the crossroads in Tantallon to play!

02-Jun-2018 : Painter opens house!

An old gentleman, long a citizen of Gemynd, has opened his house for social visitors. Tread a bit lightly around his dog, who is a bit grumpy and old, but feel free to strike up a conversation about Anguish and hear some new stories of days gone by!

01-May-2018 : May Day Flaghunting!

Maker's much-requested Flaghunt Event from the 25th AAnniversary is back for the May 1st reboot! Visit the crossroads in Tantallon and check out the glowing box.

23-Dec-2017 : Western mists fall!

The western mists have fallen! That impenetrable magical barrier protected us for many, many years from the wild westlands and its fearsome inhabitants! What is out there, and what will happen next?? Are you brave enough to venture west and investigate?

25-Nov-2017 : Player-owned shops!

Ever wanted to try your hand at commerce on Ancient Anguish? Player owned shops can now be purchased from Andy. Visit him in the Eastroad Inn to place a bid and see 'help playershops' to learn more about running a shop.

24-Nov-2017 : Fishing contests!

There will be two 2-hour blocks of fishing competitions held the 25th of November! See Announcement Board for the timeslots and more information.

25-Oct-2017 : Flaghunt event!

Maker's Magnificent AAnniversary flaghunting (with fabulous prize) is available to play at your own pace all reboot long! Visit the crossroads in Tantallon and check out the glowing box.

25-Sep-2017 : A ship of your own!

The shipyard northeast of Tantallon is taking orders from those who would like a ship of their own. Many types and sizes are available! Talk to Deidre and see 'help ships' to learn more.

25-Aug-2017 : Rare Item Auctions!

Unapproved items are being sold during four special auctions today celebrate AA's 25 years. See Announcement Board for auction times.

25-Jul-2017 : Eat & drink contest!

Competition begins immediately after reboot on July 25th and lasts until Armageddon ends the world again two days later. Maker has cooked up some excellent prizes for the winners!

25-Jul-2017 : New cleric prayers!

Clerics can now call a painful hunger or taxing thirst on themselves, becoming insatiable for a time, though overuse can have lasting effects.

25-May-2017 : A new class!

There are rumours of a new way to master your mind and body in the far northern reaches of Infidian.

25-Apr-2017 : Anarchy!

There is total Anarchy from the 25th till the 1st of May! Dont miss out!

25-Mar-2017 : Bucca in Dymwood

A human living on Infidian claims he has found the fabled race of creatures called bucca living in Dymwood Dell.

25-Mar-2017 : Keepink collections

Keepink has expanded her museum and is now showing great interest in gems and minerals.

25-Feb-2017 : Paper mill

A family forced out of Gemynd has returned to its creative roots, reopening an old mill on the Dunadan river to revive an ancient tradition. Visit them and help them with their craft, the rewards for a hard days work are truly prized and unusual

24-Feb-2017 : Puppies

Rangers with patience to tackle the challenge can now breed their pets to enhance certain qualities.

04-Feb-2017 : AA is 25 years old!

Ancient Anguish is celebrating its silver anniversary all year long! Keep an eye on 'help events' for upcoming fun.

17-Jul-2016 : Inventory options

Several options have been added to the inventory command to help you organize and view your items. 'Help inventory' for more information.

19-Apr-2016 : Nepeth Castle

Extra foot traffic through the throneroom in Nepeth and a few extra guards suggest a new part of the castle has opened to the public.

28-Aug-2015 : Keepink

An entrepeneurial opossum is establishing a museum in the far east. She is looking for donations of extraordinary items. For those with a competitive streak, she has established some top lists of contributors.

09-Jul-2015 : Prompt enhancements

The player prompt has been enhanced and is now highly customizable. 'Help prompt' for details.

25-Jan-2015 : Virgision village

The influence of the goddess Virgis is growing in the southeast. A group of Virgision warriors have moved out of the castle and built a small village in the nearby forest.

30-Aug-2014 : Goal tracker

Maigyn has been having unusual visitors lately. Recently she was heard claiming she has found something to sell to people who advance unique goals in their life.

12-Jul-2014 : Snowfolk update

Industrious Frosty has been polishing up the igloo, reports Snowfolk GM Maker.

28-May-2014 : Rogue tweaks

A reasonably large set of updates has been made to the (CENSORED) class, bringing them at last to level 50 standards and fixing various bugs. The package was compiled after several discussions with players of the class, and hopefully will be rewarding for all parties. Details can be found at the announcement and (CENSORED) boards. (Editorial note: the latter obviously does not exist, as there still are no rogues on AA.)

23-Mar-2014 : Dymwood gnomes

Travellers on Infidian report taking shelter with some friendly young gnomes in Dymwood Dell: "The food was questionable and the shelter cramped, but we didn't get eaten by lindwyrms. Highly recommended."

22-Mar-2014 : Ranger canines

Rangers are now able to tame other various new animals related to wolves and dogs. The canine companions' colouring has also undergone expansion, which has led to a rush to experimentally find the finest fancy furcoat as a finishing famed feature for one's fabulously fawnable female fox. Furtastic!

19-Jan-2014 : Senate update

The administration structure has been updated and new senate members promoted, see Thaddeus's blog post or the announcement board for details. The senate now consists of Malire (Law), Bytre (Balance, Mudlib, Infrastructure, Treasurer), Buxley (World, Map), Fir (QC) and Paldin (Web, Machine). For more information, see announcement board.

17-Aug-2013 : Travel Advisory

Rumours have recently surfaced regarding the disappearance of several adventurers in the Kazari Desert far to the south of Tantallon. We wish to reassure our citizens at this time that these rumours are completely false. In fact, it is known that small desert caves are excellent places for tired travelers to beat the heat.

17-Sep-2012 : Eldar Housing

Players are now free to explore the residential area of Duender, the elven town situated on the western-most edge of the known world. Those brave enough to flex their tree-hugging muscles will find much to explore and might even get to own a place worthy of storing their hard-won loot.

30-Jun-2012 : Shifter Additions

Rumours of Bolders relatives have been heard coming out of Infidian. What they teach, and what they can do is still a mystery.

18-Feb-2012 : Online Reunion Feb 23 - 26

Join us from February 23rd to February 26th for a scheduled online reunion! Log in to say hello to those people you played with at work or in school, (or when skipping classes and ignoring your boss). See what's changed since you last stopped by.

04-Feb-2012 : Sweeping Website Additions

A large number of changes have been made to the website, including the ability to chat from the web. Please thank Paldin for a great effort!

03-Feb-2012 : Bugs and Turkeys Chess Board

To commemorate the year-long corruption of chess scores that has at last been fixed, we set up a Bugs and Turkeys chess board and hid it somewhere on Anguish. Because we couldn\\'t come up with very many species of turkey, we decided it would be best to allow the players to cry fowl when choosing sides on the chess board. To find the board, seek out the place with the most ferocious bugs. Thanks to Fir, with help from Wong, ScarecraZy, and Paldin!

02-Feb-2012 : Achrya

Achrya's enchanters have reinforced the energies in her medallions. Adventurers may notice an improved protective effect.

21-Jan-2012 : AAnniversary - AA Celebrates 20 Years

Please visit the Adventurers', Announcements, or Senate boards for information on the AAnniversary gathering in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, from the 22nd to 24th of June!

16-Sep-2011 : World/Map Arch Changes

Kasmune has retired from the World/Map Arch position due to real life commitments. Please congratulate Eivu on his promotion to Arch of World/Map!!

27-Jun-2011 : New Player Awareness Increases

Thanks to Siawn and Theryn, it is now easier to notice if tragedy strikes our new players! Our newbie line has been updated to support newbie death notifications, sending experienced players to the rescue. Death's comment upon hearing the news: "Always look on the bright side."

05-Jun-2011 : Weather Forecast Improves!

While Oterim the Sage complains that gimpy leg still knows when the rain is coming, our weather system seems to have improved significantly. Thanks Wong!

05-Jun-2011 : More to the Alias System

Thanks to Mordecai, there is now a bit --More-- to the alias system!

05-Jun-2011 : Citizens Appear to be Slumming

There seems to be increased activity in Dalair's slums.

02-Jun-2011 : New QC Members

Adinos has rejoined the Final QC Team! Dubanka has joined the QC Team at Final! Newt has been added to the Bravo QC Team!

29-May-2011 : New House Items

Some new house items are available, including a portrait, a charcoal picture, and a tapestry!

08-Feb-2011 : New QC Members

Exe has been added to the Alpha QC Team! Dar has rejoined Alpha QC! Mordecai has been added to the Bravo QC Team!

18-Oct-2010 : Snowbominable Affairs

We are happy to introduce the new snowman of the igloo, Maker. Please help your Prime MinICEter to continue to make the Snowfolk a wonderful guild that the members enjoy.

23-Sep-2010 : New Senate Member

Please welcome Dracul as our newest addition to the Senate. He has worked long and hard for many years to help improve AA, and we are happy to have him join the Senate team.

07-Aug-2010 : New Area

I recently traveled to Neville and heard Constable Picckard complaining about a new ring of thieving bandits who falsely claim help the poor and needy. Picckard welcomes explorers to help him discover their hiding place and bring their thieving ways to justice. Good luck! - Dar

20-May-2010 : Eldar Addition

In a small addition to the guild, members of the Eldar now have the ability to help keep the realm free of garbage.

04-Mar-2010 : New Guildmasters

Please congratulate Bunbun and Siawn on their promotion to Guildmasters of the Raven Guild. They take over from Lorien, who has served as Guildmaster since January 2007.

16-Feb-2010 : Valentine's Results

Please congratulate the winners: Dasha (1st), Philologist (2nd) and Spiff (3rd).

12-Jan-2010 : Valentine's Contest

We're kicking off the new year with a Valentine's Day Contest! See the adventurer's board for details. Entries are due by February 16th.

13-Dec-2009 : Aalympic Results

Scythe Guild came out on top with a total of 83 points, Bear Guild came second with 71 points and Knights Guild came third with 55 points. The MVP award goes to Bazhi!

28-Aug-2009 : Aalympic Games

The AAlympic Games are coming again! Keep your eyes peeled for the dates and don't forget to organise your guild captain!

10-Jun-2009 : New Creators

Please congratulate Dracul, Eivu, Ronin and Soshi on their recent promotion to Creator! The Senate recently amended the 'help creator' criteria to include administrative work for creator promotion and these four wizards were promoted under this new ruling.

08-Feb-2009 : Aalympic Results

Snowfolk Guild came out on top with a total of 142 points, Scythe Guild came second with 139 points and Bear Guild came third with 112 points. The MVP award goes to Crag!

03-Jan-2009 : New Arch of World and Map

Kasmune has been appointed as the new arch of World and Map, replacing Pris, who has retired from the position. We extend our sincere appreciation to Pris for all her hard work, and our best wishes go to Kasmune for this new challenge.

05-Nov-2008 : AA Games

The Ancient Anguish Games are coming! Keep your eyes peeled for a schedule of events, and get your guild mates organized!

31-Oct-2008 : Trick or Treat!

As undead stalked the forests and wild lands of Ancient Anguish, civilized players accosted anyone they met in a different way - demanding treats. The top ten players who collected the most include: 325 pitfall 318 mokele 264 calandryll 262 kivrin 177 dasha 146 curunir 139 artanis 125 nailia 120 noyo 108 myrtle Decker, shopkeeper in Tantallon, grumbled that he gave out so much candy, that his shop lost money last month.

14-Aug-2008 : Flash Client

FMud, a Flash-based client, has been installed on the website at Ancient Anguish. Although FMud is not a replacement for a dedicated mud client for an active player, it is an alternative to the basic telnet application or Java client that people may use when not at their normal home computer or trying Ancient Anguish for the first time.

09-Aug-2008 : Move Complete!

Ancient Anguish has completed the move to a new high powered server and new host. A big thank you to everyone involved in the move research, implementation, and testing!

08-Aug-2008 : Ancient Anguish is Moving!

We are preparing to move to a new server at a new host. We will be operating in Anarchy mode starting Saturday morning during the transition, and hope to be online by Saturday evening. Use the following addresses during the DNS transition: legacy.anguish.org, legacy.bytre.org: Old machine, mud will go down Saturday morning. aa.anguish.org, ancient.bytre.org: New machine, anarchy will come up there Saturday morning at 8 am PDT.

30-Jun-2008 : Monks Update

The Monks of Antana guildhall has been extended with a little kitchen, which features a convenient pantry for storing items that should not be cluttering the floors. Inspired by the addition, Monks report having more vivid and varying meditations after their confessionals.

31-May-2008 : New Game

A challenging new game has surfaced in Drakhiya.

25-Mar-2008 : "list" command

Hello.

At the town meeting, Sixclaw mentioned that the "list" command in the various class halls was not reflecting the new lowered required percentage for quests in order to wiz. It does now. Now you can choose to wiz focusing more on questing or exploration, but will not be forced to do most of the quests in the Realm in order to wiz.

*bow*
Malire

14-Mar-2008 : Town Meeting

I am pleased to announce that tomorrow, Saturday March 15th, at 10am EDT (7am Pacific), there will be an Ancient Anguish town meeting with members of the Senate. We expect 4 or 5 senators to be present. It will last for an hour and a half.

The town meeting will be a question and answer format, as previous meetings have been. The question queue tends to fill up quickly.

We hope to see many players there!

Bytre

27-Dec-2007 : Death Sequence Competition

Dear Mortals and Wizards

Due to recent requests for a new death scene, we are holding a 'New Death Sequence' competition that will run until February 1. The best entries will be in-theme, original, easy to code, be of appropriate length, and of high quality. We'll announce 3-2-1 rankings of the entries, but all entries deemed sufficiently good will be added into the pool of death sequences possible upon death.

To enter, just mail me your sequence by February 1. Jerusulum will do the coding when competition closes. Upon entry, you effectively donate your work to AA and it will be subject to change as World, QC and other approval departments require.

So, let the ink flow and let's see the Death experience spiced up a bit!

Dafeon

23-Dec-2007 : A little magical update

Hi, all,

I went to the mage tower the other day, and was appalled! One'd think that the magicking business would allow mages to buy *proper* mirrors in their class hall, but no, they get old and dirty ones! I honestly do not understand these people.

(Thanks to the Mortal Council member who wished for this project years ago; I'd forgotten to submit it and rediscovered it one day when cleaning up my files. Uh. So, we listen, but get forgetful? :))

--Fir

17-Dec-2007 : AAlympics Results

The inaugural AAlympic Games concluded yesterday, with the Scythe winning from the Knights by 1 point, who were comfortably ahead of the third-placed Bears. The final scoreboard can be found on the Adventurer's board.

The top 3 performing guilds' Guildmasters will be presented with a pennant commemorating their achievements, to be hung in their Guild hall. The Knights also receive one month's supply of free fine ale from the Brewmaster of Arcadia. The Scythe will have the keeping of the AAlympics trophy until the next AAlympics, and for one month, the trophy will be filled with healing liquids.

The winner of the MVP award was Druenarrii, and he has been presented with a gold rose and heart medallion. You may see him wandering around, bragging about his achievements.

Dafeon

24-Nov-2007 : AA Games: GeoClaiming

All guilds participated in the event! As announced at the start, claiming counts as participating; controlling is not compulsory. Just before boot, there was a little orgnization going on on the guild lines, with the legendary Burnham tunnels getting the most thought. After Armageddon had shouted this last 1 minute mark, the last words to be heard were a confused \\"It\\'s not booting\\" - but boot it did, and after a minute that must have lasted an eternity, the contestants were let back in. The first captures went to Knights, from Snowfolk.

From the start, Scythe took the lead; barely at first, but steadily increasing, and topping out at a commanding 2227 (peak and final).

At best, Knights managed to catch up by about 200 rooms in the latter half, during a coup to overturn Burnham tunnels, but the difference was still too big to catch and grew back to around 1000 rooms. The Knights finished in second with 1222 rooms (peak and final).

Snowfolk, who kept a steady 100 room difference to Bears for the first half of the event, suddenly lost the majority of their control to Knights and Scythe alike, falling below Bears suddenly at the 2 hour mark. Snowfolk ended up 4th with 215 rooms, after peaking at 570.

The Bears, on the other hand, were steadily eating away at Monk territory on the last hour, which had the judging Monk GM biting her fingernails. The Bears finished third with 484 locations, slightly off their 502 room peak. The monks collapsed to 5th place, finishing with 62 rooms, well off their peak of 239.

Chaos, which gained control of its first room only halfway into the event, carved its way past Ravens in the last half hour and finished 6th with 34 rooms.

The Ravens lost ground in worrisome amounts towards the end of the second hour, down to 28 rooms from their peak of 161 and finished 7th.

The Eldar participated with 4 claims, but lost them all by the end of the event, but enough to finish 8th and get the guild on the scoreboard.

4000 rooms were controlled already at halfway through the event; the increase was slow from there, finally totalling at 4272 rooms. (Dune rooms were calculated twice in this number.)

Over half the players online were participating in the competition. After the first hour, 60 players were online, and 40 had claimed - not quite all of them online at the moment, however. During the event, the Geographic society gained five new members.

Overall, 54 people claimed. The top claimants were Capet of Scythe (2705), Druenarrii (2063) and Buckingham (1824) of Knights. The top discoverers were Shinrikyo (546) and Capet of Scythe(433), and Futhark of Snowfolk (353).

The event was definitely a power of numbers. Scythe had 19 claimants, Knights 13, Bears 9, Snowfolk 6 and Monks 3. Chaos had 2 claimants, while Ravens and Eldar had only 1. Size and average efficiency did not correlate directly, however: in average peak efficiency per claimant, Ravens were the busiest guild at 161 rooms controlled, followed by Scythe (117), Snowfolk (95), Knights (94), Monks (79), Bears (55) and Chaos (17).

Supervising the event was thoroughly fascinating as well, although some did note that a claiming marathon in 3 hours straight was quite an ordeal.

The final scores awarded:
8 points: The Scythe Clan
7 points: The Knights of Drin
6 points: The Realm of the Black Bear
5 points: The Snowfolk
4 points: The Monks of Antana
3 points: The Courts of Chaos
2 points: Society of the Raven
1 point: The Eldar

Thanks to Fir for preparing the report (mangled by bytre)

18-Nov-2007 : AA Games: Boggle

With 14 representatives participating, the first AA Boggle Tournament was always going to be hotly contested. The players were split up into three groups of 5 (with Wok and Munch graciously playing as non-scoring participants to make the numbers even.

The contestants were a mix of seasoned, competitive closet-Scrabble champions and casuals who have only learnt the game in the past week. Understandably, the 5 elimination rounds saw the seasoned players on each table leave the novices in their wakes.

The contestant rankings were as follows for the finalists (scores split between the elimination round scores and the score on the final table):
Shinrikyo [Scythe] scored 75 / 39
Druenarii [Knights] scored 70 / 24
Burble [Eldar] scored 71 / 15
Newt [Bear] scored 69 / 11
(Abby) [Knights] scored 60 / 11
Bed [Snowfolk] scored 54 / 7

These additional contestants did not make it to the finals, and scored as follows:
Chikinbrad [Raven] scored 56 in elimination
(Ncmo) [Raven] scored 40 in elimination
(Owitzer) [Scythe] scored 38 in elimination
Rosewarrior [Chaos] scored 20 in elimination
Cosm [Monks] scored 19 in elimination
(Fice) [Monks] scored 12 in elimination
(Valkyr) [Snowfolk] scored 8 in elimination
(Foojinn) [Chaos] scored 6 in elimination
(Wok/Munch) [no guild] each scored 11 in elimination

(Names in parentheses were players whose scores did not count because the other person from their guild scored higher)

Final scores awarded to the guilds are as follows:
8 points: The Scythe Clan
7 points: The Knights of Drin
6 points: The Eldar
5 points: The Realm of the Black Bear
4 points: The Snowfolk
3 points: Society of the Raven
2 points: The Courts of Chaos
1 point: The Monks of Antana

Thanks to Newt and Dafeon for the report.

18-Nov-2007 : AA Games: Unique Hunt

The Ancient Anguish Games \\"Unique Hunt\\" was an exciting and engaging event.

The Knights of Drin put on a hell of a show collecting some big heavy armours from classic areas right away and continuing to snag newbie uniques and other rare finds throughout the event. The Knights ended up with 24 uniques.

Scythe got on their horse after reinforcements arrived, keeping a good pace, with 19 uniques.

Bears and Eldar tied, both getting some niche uniques early. Bear and Eldar both found 14 uniques

Monks and Snowfolk tied with 2 each after an upsetting reset for Snowfolk that ended up with Knights. Mbebe delved deep into quest areas to get some hard to find uniques for the Monks.

Chaos and Raven tied at last with no entrants arriving for scoring.

Three notable deaths occurred during the event: Velox got KwaT, an adorable puffin turned on Marrud, and Cletus\\' revenge ring killed the Bear Halbarad.

The final scores awarded to the guilds are as follows:
8 points: The Knights of Drin
7 points: The Scythe Clan
6 points: The Eldar, The Realm of the Black Bear
4 points: The Snowfolk, The Monks of Antana
0 points: The Courts of Chaos, Society of the Raven

Thanks to Newt for the report.

15-Nov-2007 : Dalairi Housing District

I was wandering the streets of Dalair the other day looking for a rather rich individual to relieve of both his life and belongings. I began to follow someone that had a particularly large money pouch hanging from his hip.

I followed him west from the plaza, and to my surprise he did not continue into the Temple or out of the village to the southwest as most did. He took a street to the northwest that I had never noticed before.

When I turned to the northwest to follow him, I saw large towering buildings which almost seemed out of place in Dalair. Then I noticed a shady character wandering around with a large gold chain around his neck counting on his ring covered fingers, and mumbling about the riches he would gain from selling these new immaculate homes. He was even talking about how he had a Mausoleum remodeled and turned into one of the homes he would now sell.

I asked Andy about his thoughts on the prices, and quickly turned to find more money as I knew my puny bank account would never land me such a building.

Sys

11-Nov-2007 : AA Games: Non-AA Stars

In the second event in which all guilds were represented, the Non-AA Stars event, the final standings were thus: In first, The Knights of Drin, with 1875 points by the team of Britomart and Abby. Following closely behind the Knights were the Black Bear, with a total of 1856 points by Levek and Berghal. In third, after some controversy, was the Scythe Clan, with 1763 points gained by Aralik and Telurion. Coming in fourth, Wakko and Marianne scored 1653 points for The Courts of Chaos. The Snowfolk took home 5th for this event, with Valkyr and Calandryll scoring 1378 points. Monks of Antana came sixth, scoring 1223 points by Azaphael and Cosm. Almost beating the Monks were Elfaeril and Aart of the Eldar, with 1217 points. Rounding out the list, in eighth, were the Society of the Raven, with Bunbun and Chikcinbrad scoring 866 points between them.

10-Nov-2007 : AA Games: Solo Experience Event

Much like the three-man party event, the solo event was a 2-hour run to see which guild could garner the most experience by a single player. In first place: The Knights of Drin, with their champion, Castro: 2,118,200. Just barely edged out by Castro, in second: The Scythe Clan, and their efficient one-man party of seven, led by Calvin: 2,046,318. Solidly in third: The Black Bear, represented by Burns: 1,732,630. In fourth, having maintained that position for the duration of the event, and with the only female competitor: The Snowfolk, represented by Beldaran: 507,526. In fifth, leading the rest of the pack in a fairly well-contested run: The courts of Chaos and their competitor, Hektor: 399,832. Following closely behind Hektor and Chaos, in sixth: The Monks of Antana, led by Fice: 370,316. Not far behind the Monks, in seventh: The Eldar, represented by Aart: 307,857. In eighth: a representative with no guild, Eru: 112,219. And finally, in ninth, the first event in which his guld was represented, and giving up 8 levels to the nearest-level competitor: The Society of the Raven, represented by Chikcinbrad: 81,875. As there is no mechanism for scoring for those of no guild, Ravens will actually score as eighth place for this event. Total experience earned by all competitors in the 2-hour period: 7,676,773.

07-Nov-2007 : New fighter technique?

I was idling in the fighter hall the other day, when I noticed a veteran fighter instructing a group of young recruits in methods of fighting multiple foes at once. Rather than outflanking them, however, he deftly wove between all of his attackers, striking each as he passed by. Intrigued, I discussed this tactic with him. He said it had been long in the devising, and as he was now nearing retirement, he wished to pass on the knowledge.

He called the technique 'whirl', and suggested that even old hands at being a fighter might want to give it a try, not only those new to the class.

Sylwen

05-Nov-2007 : I found ...

I was wandering Infidian the other day, and found this peaceful, oddly beautiful old shrine!

It seems that its inhabitants are not the original owners, and they have repurposed it! What a lovely idea!

Abby.

04-Nov-2007 : AA Games: AA Trivia Results

Coming in clear last place, Raven, with zero competitors. Barely beating them, the Eldars Joke and Aart scored a combined total of 120 over the 3 games. Singlehandedly defeating the Eldar team and claiming 6th for the Monks was Fice, with a combined score of 357.7. More than doubling their score was the Snowfolk team of Valkyr and Violet, scoring 756.2 ...who were pipped to 4th place by the Chaos team of Wakko and Callandor, scoring 843.7 The top 3 were on another level altogether, smashing the 1000 mark, with the Knights coming out third with the score of 1340.2 between Michael and Twiddle. In second were the Scythe, who simply had no chance of catching up to Marl on his 200 point Kequa question. Aralik and Shinrikyo scored a combined total of 1650. Of course that leaves Bear the winners of the AAlympics AA Trivia Event, with the team of Marl and Moot scoring the combined total of 1740.97, almost higher than the bottom 5 teams combined!

03-Nov-2007 : AA Games: 3 Player Party Results

Each guild assembled a party of up to three members. They competed for two hours, earning as much experience as possible. Here are the results:

#1. Scythe Clan
Members of the party 4@#$@#$@#:
ShinRiKyo the veteran berserker of the Scythe (good) 553556
Chun the legendary predator of the Scythe (good) 724005
Stretch the great cutthroat of the Scythe (good) 638994

1,917,898

#2. Black Bear
Members of the party h:
Pooh-Bah JuanKa the Unyielding Warrior of the Black Bear (good) 552804
Maker the Savage Warrior of the Black Bear (good) 423738
Burns the Avenging Warrior of the Black Bear (good) 479030

1,456,925

#3. The Knights of Drin
Members of the party KNIGHTS!:
Prince Whiteknight the Valiant Knight and Guardian of the Rose (good) 397671
Prince Regalia the Supreme Knight and Protector of the Rose (good) 368173
Prince Duckman the Noble Knight and Protector of the Rose (good) 383002

1,138,135

#4. The Eldar
Members of the party eldar:
Elfaeril the Epic Battlemaster of the House of Sethic (neutral) 18042
Aart the mystical drakon (neutral) 21680
Joke the Master Campaigner of the House of Sethic (nice) 20774

60,633, 733,443 coins!

#5. Frosty Guild
Members of the party PRESENT:
OmeiKA the frostbitten apprent-ice (good) 14282
Topaz the grand master transmuter (good) 15709
Morask the frostbitten apprent-ice (evil) 14284

44,436


The Courts of Chaos, Monks of Antana, and Society of the Raven did not field teams for this competition.

31-Oct-2007 : Trick or Treat!

Players are running around Ancient Anguish calling out "Trick or Treat!", and getting rewarded for their scary costumes!

31-Oct-2007 : Trick or Treat Results

The top trick or treating player was Mbebe, who trick or treated with 471 unique monsters. Top five: 471 Mbebe 460 Mynx 416 Arkham 382 Fantine 336 Valkyr In all, 841 unique monsters and non player characters of a variety of races handed out treats. The young paperboy gave treats to the most people - 53. Over 100 players participated in the event, and it was a great day long event!

25-Oct-2007 : Drin Proclaims Bounty on Dragons

An office has been set up in Nepeth to facilitate the slaying of dragons throughout the realm. King Drin himself has seen fit to place in this office his agent Bartholomew, who is in charge of maintaining the Top Dragon Slayers list. Adventurers can acquire a tool to slice the scales from a dragon's corpse from Bartholomew. However, it is said that the Knights of Drin can slice scales using any bladed weapon.

18-Oct-2007 : the Ancient Anguish Games

The inaugural Ancient Anguish Games will be held over November and December. Games will involve Trivia, Stars, Geographic Society Claiming, Party experience gaining, Chess, and much much more. Help your Guild bag the all-important bragging rights! See the Announcements Board for details!

06-Oct-2007 : Gruesome Laboratory

The ruins of what appears to be a powerful magician's house have been discovered, complete with a gruesome laboratory underneath. Adventurers whisper of horrors best left buried.

13-Sep-2007 : Undead Infestation

Paladins report sensing a palpable evil emanating from newly-discovered cave in the far north. Scouts report an acute case of undead infestation.

11-Sep-2007 : MudConnector Milestone

Ancient Anguish has gained a new milestone on the MudConnector top muds list, reaching 30th (out of 2000+ muds). Thanks to the regular voting of our dedicated players, we have moved up quite rapidly. Please check out the Voting Tips for more voting information.

07-Sep-2007 : Earl of Morin

The Earl of Morin has finally recovered sufficiently from the grief of losing his Lady Elowyna to allow visitors to his estates. Unfortunately for him, this has attracted some unwelcome visitors.

28-Aug-2007 : Player owned houses

Affluent adventurers in Ancient Anguish have recently been plunking down large amounts of cash on a most stable investment - real estate. From a crude hovel to a splendid mansion, Adventurers of means can now bid on their very own permanent houses, when they come on the market. These houses are customizable, and have been seen in Tantallon, Thranarack, Neville, and Norton thus far.

Recent Sales:
Erekose led the way by purchasing Greyhound Place.

VaLKYR purchased Unicorn Tower.

JuanKa gained the deed to Bloodstone Mansion.

SmYtHiE snapped up Willow Cottage at a bargain price.

QUItA is the proud owner of Jade House.

CaLLaNDoR thinks Oakridge Mansion is very awesome.

Caitlin happily inhabits Wavecrest Manor after paying a record price.

Arcarius recently purchased Stonecrest Manor.

Each house is distinctive, and is influenced by its local neighborhood and its owner.

08-Aug-2007 : MudConnector Milestone!

On August 8th, Ancient Anguish achieved 50th place on The Mud Connector's top mud list. AA has risen from 700+th place in just over two months, surpassing other muds which have had voting campaigns in place much much longer. As we rise higher on the list, we get more visibility and more new players from this source, so please vote whenever possible. See Voting Tips for voting tools.

26-Jul-2007 : Anarchy!

Ancient Anguish has an Anarchy game running simultaneously with the main mud. See Anarchy Details.

12-Jul-2007 : Traits

Adventurers! Ever wanted to be a crazy axe-wielding necromancer, a master miner or the best dragon slayer the realms have seen? Ever felt that you could be so much more? The day has arrived! Today's the day you get to use your trait points! Type 'thelp' to get started, and have fun!

01-Jun-2007 : Treasure Hunts!

Everyone's old friend, the dark stranger, now has something special for the daring adventurer. Be warned, though - his 'special' offerings may lead to the fight of your life!

26-Apr-2007 : Top Ranked Mud

For the last week, Ancient Anguish has enjoyed a top spot (1st for many days, although 2nd or 3rd for the last 3) on TopMudSite's rank list! The enthusiasm of our players has been great, and they have really come together to show their pride. If Ancient Anguish is your favorite mud, please vote via the "Vote" button on the main website. You can vote every 12 hours.

12-Apr-2007 : Eagle Clan

In an ancient city near Illakkos Wash on Infidian, three spirits need your help to defeat a great evil and redeem their once-great clan.

11-Apr-2007 : Traits...

A mysterious new attribute called 'Traits' has begun to make an appearance. What is it? Does anyone know? Will we ever find out? Stay tuned!

10-Apr-2007 : Advertising

Ancient Anguish is looking for advertising ideas. See the Announcement Board in-game for details. Also, see 'help set' to opt into the upcoming newsletter.

09-Apr-2007 : Ranor's Pride

A new inn has opened near Gemynd, under the management of a former fighter named Illit. Illit has some odd ideas on fighting methods for fighters...

02-Apr-2007 : Statue Time

Players who go idle will remain as a stone statue in the game for a longer period of time, depending on their level. This will permit players to remain logged in longer for convenience.

13-Mar-2007 : Storm Dragons

A family of storm dragons has been discovered living in southeastern Infidian. Watch out, as even the youngsters are immense.

10-Mar-2007 : Mining

You can now mine in some areas of the game. Type 'help min' in-game for details.

05-Mar-2007 : Tag!

Maigyn's gaming slate now has a new game to play!

02-Mar-2007 : Parties

How many people can you now fit in a party? Check the Announcement Board for details...

28-Feb-2007 : Anakim

So up I was sacking those filthy shorties in Thranarack when I heard a horrible feminine wailing. Quickly I rushed to its source, hoping to find a beautiful woman in distress to rescue and be rewarded by. To my great disappointment I found only a pitiful creature, a half-duck, nursing its wounds. It had, apparently, found a hole in the ground and gone exploring, but was deemed offensive by the native inhabitants and was unceremoniously tossed from their presence. The ugly little creature told me they were giants who seemed friendly, but were right vicious when provoked.

Well, being something of a fence-walker myself I decided to avoid this place altogether. I plucked a few of the half-duck's feathers as a trophy and bounded off. Still, I encourage you all to go exploring and find this new place, as anything that can so easily dispose of the half-duck might have some fairly decent treasure... and I'll be waiting to loot your corpses...

-Argon

13-Feb-2007 : Dwarven tunnels

A series of dwarf-made tunnels have been uncovered in the far north. Explorers report that not all the inhabitants are terribly friendly...

12-Feb-2007 : Mystic Fair

A strange fair has been spotted on the plains of Infidian. Explorers say that it moves from place to place without a trace of how...

05-Feb-2007 : Top Player Statue

At the northern end of Glory Walk, in the town of Tantallon, citizens will encounter the newly commissioned statue of the player with the greatest achievement in the world. The statue also features a list of the full top 20 heroes in the land. "Citizens have had to take a dangerous trip over rough waters to celebrate the glory of the top heroes of the land", said the mayor of Tantallon, "now we're bringing this to where the people are!"

08-Jan-2007 : Training Camp

Two former Knights have set up a weapons training camp north of Neville for aspiring warriors.

11-Dec-2006 : Blueprints?

Explorers may find certain design documents for new and improved arms lying around the place...

03-Dec-2006 : Thar Be Drakons!

Explorers report rumours of an ancient source of power within a settlement of drakons on Infidian.

See the Announcement Board for more details.

02-Dec-2006 : Reboots

Dear Mortals:

Through the recently completed player survey, I have gotten the clear message that a large proportion of you do not like reboot and especially do not playing right after a reboot. Many of you stated that you would be more likely to play after reboot if there were more equipment in the shops.

Your wish has been granted.

Regards, Dafeon.

24-Nov-2006 : Anarchy Port

The Anarchy Port is open for one full 49 hour reboot!

Login to anguish.org port 6666 (i.e. not 2222).

The Port is open to players of level 1-50 (not wizard testcharacters) and 900+. For more details, login to the port!

P.S. Don't get the ports mixed up...

22-Nov-2006 : Discovery on Infidian

Gaius has returned from yet another foray across the sea. This time he found a recluse hiding on the shore. Gaius says Gwot will sell you smoked fish and seaweed of a decent caliber, but not to smell the loincloth. Gaius took the opportunity to buff up on his weaving and fishing, and hints that shapeshifters may find something more.

30-Oct-2006 : Survey Open

Dear Mortals and Wizards:

I am conducting a survey of all of you at the announcements board.

It will be up for the entirety of the month of November. I would love to hear from each and every one of you, so please spare me a few minutes if you don't mind!

Regards,
Dafeon

25-Oct-2006 : Mayhem

My buddy Donal is thinking of opening a Halloween costume shop. The biggest problem is finding a decent storefont. When I mentioned this creepy old hut down in the Tantallon marketplace, he hugged me so tightly I almost couldn't breathe.
So I stabbed him.
Hey, he hugged me in public, I had to. He says he's going to do two things when he gets out of the Dalair sickhouse.
The first is to open that costume shop.
He won't tell me what the second thing is, but yesterday the undertaker asked me how tall I was. Weird.

- Wakko of Chaos

23-Oct-2006 : Thraxi Hyf Discovered!

Adventurers!

I was exploring the new continent, Infidian, the other day. After happily enjoying the local fauna and flora by butchering it all with my big shiny sword all day long, my bloodlust was almost sated.

Before I knew it, my trail of blood and mayhem had extended to the southeast deserts of the continent. That's when a thraxi like none I had seen before leapt out of the sand dunes and spread its wings, slashing right at me with its giant, sharp, scything arms!

So little resistance had everything I butchered that day provided that I did not expect this vicious ambush. Soon, another 2 thraxi just like it leaped out of a hole I had not previously noticed in the desert. Wisely, I flapped and ran myself out of there.

Watch out!

Dafeon.

22-Oct-2006 : New Arch of QC

The Senate has appointed Dafeon as the new Arch Wizard of Quality Assurance. Dafeon and his staff will work hard to help deliver many new areas and projects with the highest of quality.

21-Oct-2006 : New Arch of Mudlib

Adinos, former senator and Arch of QC, has graciously assumed the mantle of the Arch of Mudlib from Paldin.

02-Oct-2006 : City of Gemynd open!

Arica, the Mayor of Gemynd, has bowed to pressure from various interest groups within the city. Gemynd is now open to Anguishers.

26-Sep-2006 : Retirees

An adventuring couple have settled down just north of Neville. They welcome all young adventurers to go learn the basics from them.

09-Sep-2006 : Caeculus

A wandering scholar by the name of Caeculus has been spotted in a number of libraries, searching for formulae.

02-Sep-2006 : Lostclan II

Adventurers!

My dwarven friend told me thathe had visited his bloodthirsty cousins from the north recently. Apparently their Clan has just had a few of their scouts return from missions and are bolstering the Clan's forces. This makes it even riskier to travel near the area.

So be warned, and stay clear, lest you have dwarven blood or a small emerald!

Looking after you,

Dafeon.

31-Aug-2006 : The People of the Snow

I do not know why I am wasting my time adding this note, but fortunately not all people have been as corrupted by fiery "comfort" as you.

Up north, far away from you consider "civilisation", a group of true people have found home in a great igloo.

Visit them if you wish to see how people are supposed to live in harmony with the icy north.

Warra of the North.

16-Aug-2006 : Bundles!

After a long conversation with Fir, the auctioneer has agreed to accept bundles of similar items.

29-Jul-2006 : Minor Website Update

Thanks to Wakko, we have a new profile and calendar girl!

28-Jun-2006 : The Path of Good Syntax

8 major shopkeepers now respond to 'buy x item' and 'buy max item'. See the Announcement Board for more details.

27-Jun-2006 : ARTIFICERS!

The Artificer class has announced that it is now accepting students.

Seek them out in Drakhiya!

23-Jun-2006 : BE HERE

Be here next Tuesday (27th June) evening (U.S. time), Wednesday (28th June) morning (Australian time), or the equivalent in your timezone.

No, noone will tell you what's happening. ;)

23-Jun-2006 : Varys the numerologist

I was having a reading done by Varys yesterday, and at one point when she was consulting one of her books, I noticed my name and some familiar numbers on a scrap of paper on her desk. After she had finished the reading, and wasn't paying quite as much attention to things, I managed a closer look. Indeed, she somehow knew my birthday, even though I'm positive I've never mentioned it in her presence.

Sylwen

22-Jun-2006 : Dimension Door

The Dimension Door spell has been updated, providing mages with the ability to have some control over who may use their portals and who may not.

Bytre

20-Jun-2006 : Ginseng

Thanks to a suggestion from Chun, ginseng can now be distilled into a poison antidote.

Theryn. :)

14-Jun-2006 : Scythe has a new GuildMaster!

ScytheWizard Dafeon has been appointed by the Ancient Anguish Senate as the new GuildMaster for the Scythe Clan.
"Dafeon bone crunch big time, Dafeon do good for Scythe", grunted Boki, when he heard the news.
When asked for comment, Worlph wrinkled his nose and belched.

09-Jun-2006 : Anarchy Poll

Our Anarchy Port is nearly ready, so it is time to start mudmailing me your ideas for Anarchy!

Please put 'Anarchy' as the subject and keep your mails as concise as possible for my sake (I'll ask if I need more detail). Apart from that, fire away!

Theryn.

08-Jun-2006 : 1000 Logins in a day!

For the first time in 11 months, there were over 1000 logins in a single day. "There's just so many people coming and going", complained Turert, head guest services at the Ancient Inn in Tantallon. "As soon as we get a room prepared, someone takes it. Things have been getting busier and busier for the last few months." Long tracked as an activity metric, the number of logins per day, as well as new users and unique character logins per day, have been steadily climbing in the last three months. Many characters, mortals and wizards alike, who have been absent for some time have also been seen in the streets recently.

04-Jun-2006 : Dafeon achieves Creator

Wizard Dafeon has been promoted, he is now a full fledged Creator. The Wizard and Mortal communities are looking forward to his future contributions.

03-Jun-2006 : The Lost Clan

Adventurers!

I was adventuring to the north recently, doing research for a higher cause when I wandered into a mountain valley. But this was no ordinary valley, for there were footprints all over the ground and a weathered wooden door was in the side of the mountain. Judging by the size and depth of the prints, they were made by dwarves.

When I wandered into the dark room beyond the doorway, I was immediately shot by an arrow! Though it was but a flesh wound, it is obvious that the inhabitants of this mountain are intelligent and hostile towards outsiders.

So heed my warning, adventurers, and keep away from the northern valleys, unless you are well prepared!

Looking after you,
Dafeon.

03-Jun-2006 : Alchemist Upgrade

Necros!

The tides of change are upon us. The shops of Anguish are undergoing a bloody revolution. A revolution against spam. A revolution that begins here. I have convinced the alchemist that everybody would be happier if they were able to buy several items at once.

So, from now on, you can 'buy x salve', for example.

So remember this day, necromancers, for from this day forth, the revolution will sweep the land of Anguish. And remember, this bloody revolution began here.

Viva la revolution!!

Dafeon.

03-Jun-2006 : Poisoned Arrows

Arrows can now be poisoned by those trained in poisoning.

~ Newt

21-May-2006 : Adventures in Horticulture

Good news everyone!

A recent rearranging of the plants in Andeli has vastly improved the accoustics of the castle such that the guards inside can now hear you, even if the guard outside has mysteriously vanished.

Dubanka

16-May-2006 : Crafts and Trades Board

Adventurers! I was enjoying a fine firebreather with Drudge when I noticed that there was a new looking board up against one wall near the bar. I asked him what that was all about, and he replied that he was cashing in on all the extra trade that has suddenly come into Tantallon after the secret trade agreements signed by the Tantallon shopkeepers.

He says that the board is for adventurers to announce to the world the services they are willing to provide for others. He hopes that this will not only result in more trade in his bar, but also reduce the noisy shouts of 'looking for purges' or 'anyone want perms?'.

He also mumbled something about dealing with people who graffiti on the board harshly.

Dafeon.

13-May-2006 : The Nehmar Farm

Wow, exploring this new continent will take me quite a while!

But what do I hear? Do the folk of Infidian consider us somehow barbaric? Fortunately, not far from Gemynd, I ran into a little farm of the Nehmar family, from the frog clan, who seemed to disagree with the prejudice. Since they were so nice and understanding after my unfortunate encounter with the guards at Gemynd's gates, I decided to stick around a bit and help them around with the work. The son, Namael, even taught me a new game.

Don't think all Infidians consider us barbarians! The nicest people are, as usual, found a bit further away from the crowded cities. I hope the city folk will learn from these more relaxed people in time too. (And I hope we're not like that when the Infidian folk come over! I better talk with the Tantallon Tourism Council!)

--Fir

11-May-2006 : Chinchilla!

I was wandering around Infidian, searching for the exotic animals everybody has been talking about, when I found these odd little creatures called 'chinchillas'. Turns out they're raised for their fur. Cute little buggers are rounded up and slaughtered for their soft, luxurious, regal fur. Talked to the farmer, and it turns out his brother sells the cloaks in the city.

Bought myself two cloaks as soon as I could.

What can I say? I like saying 'chinchilla', and any excuse to say chinchilla will do.

-BunBun

10-May-2006 : Shop Upgrade

Scrambling to keep customers in light of the secret trade agreement of Decker, Elmor and Myrtae, the Andeli Castle Shoppe and Gramshiz Shop have upgraded their storage facilities.

Theryn
Freelance Canticle Reporter

10-May-2006 : Infidian Rediscovered!

EXTRA! EXTRA! EXTRA! EXTRA! EXTRA! EXTRA! EXTRA!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I have just met up with Gaius, who has given me the most exciting news I've heard in many a year - the sea route to Infidian has been rediscovered!

An intrepid seafarer, Diggan by name, has managed to chart a reliable route through the dangers of the storm-lashed ocean, leading in a new era in our history. Of course there has been tales for many years of explorers reaching Infidian, but so few have ever returned to tell the tale that the many skeptics were well-justified in disbelieving the rumours.

Gaius filled my ears with tales of strange people, fantastical creatures and fire-spewing mountains, and I simply had to rush back to the Canticle offices to arrange for a special edition.

I have not heard anything from my reporter in Nepeth, but it is expected that King Drin will shortly issue a statement. The Canticle will, as always, be the first to bring you the latest news, as it happens.

Thaddeus,
The Chronicler
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
EXTRA! EXTRA! EXTRA! EXTRA! EXTRA! EXTRA! EXTRA!

09-May-2006 : Scandal!

Late one night in the Golden Ducat, I overheard a whispered conversation.

It appears that Decker, Elmor and Myrtae have increased their level of business since last we heard of their exploits, and have become a little greedy! They have signed a secret trade agreement with various sellers throughout the realm to have extra goods sold through Tantallon, in order to attract more customers to their stores!

Is there no end to the greed of these three?

Theryn
Freelance Canticle reporter

07-May-2006 : Reboot

After receiving an overwhelmingly positive response to the idea of a longer reboot cycle, previously set at 49 hours for a pilot phase, the Senate has voted that reboots will immediately be set permanently to a 49 hour cycle.

07-May-2006 : Newbie Changes

It's a good day for newbies!

Newly-created characters who state that they are new to Ancient Anguish will now start with a simple reference card which has a collection of the most basic commands needed to play the game.

Also, Lorius has recently decided that newer players should be given better guidance to areas suited to them. Low level players can now ask him to 'suggest' an area to explore. The oak carving will also facilitate such requests.

Have fun and good luck!

Dafeon.

07-May-2006 : Attention all sinew lovers!

Just the other day I met the wise old scout in the woods. We started chatting about how being a ranger was these days. He expressed his astonishment at the multitude of inexperienced rangers. He told me that he has seen rangers asking for some sinew from each other and the rangers handing over all of their lengths of sinew. Leaving the recipient scratching their head and saying 'Well I only needed 50 lengths..." The same phenomenon was occurring when they sell their sinew. "Is it laziness?" he asked me, "Why don't they just 'separate' or 'combine' their sinew into separate lengths?". I told him I did not know but I would be sure to pass the word around.

And here I am :)

-Mendebar.

12-Apr-2006 : Andellen

I was on business in Hobbitat recently, and while I was there, I saw quite the strange sight, indeed. A single elf came out of the forest near village, and began drawing a crowd. He was shouting for all "true" elves to come with him and join someone called "Andellen" in a fight for freedom for elves everywhere. As though we aren't free, somehow.

The Hobbits just looked confused, but a few elves and a half-elf joined throng to listen to what he was saying. I must admit, I too was drawn to his speech, if only to try and determine what kind of lunatic he was.

He flatly ignored the half-elf, as if he didn't exist. As he turned to address himself to us elves, I saw a zealous fire in his eyes. He began to speak again, but as his eye fell on the circlet of the Eldar on my brow, his features contorted in rage, and he lept towards me, drawing his sword and scattering Hobbits left and right. I wasn't prepared for a fight, so I did what anyone in their right mind would do. I ran. I managed to lose him, eventually.

I'm not sure what's going on, but it's plain something is afoot in those woods. And from what I saw, I doubt it's to any good.

10-Apr-2006 : Anarchy Decision

During the Senate meeting, the Senate decided that Anarchy Mode will become a regular event.

However, we need to hammer out the details of how regular (i.e. every 1/3/6 months). So far, it will most likely be run on another port simultaneously with the real mud, so those who wish to play/code/review instead can do so.

We will let you know more details after we've had a chance to discuss it, but we wanted to kill the suspense and tell you that it will happen again.

09-Apr-2006 : Silent Glen

Adventurers have discovered a battlefield in a glen far to the northwest, with a silent tale to tell.

It is a sad story, steeped in history...

Wait, what am I telling you for? It's off in the northwest, go see for yourself!

Theryn.
P.S. Nice work, Velkyn!

08-Apr-2006 : AA Modifications

In the interest of allowing players to have more equipment available as well as to play with more robust interaction, the time until reboot has been changed from 25 hours to 49 hours. This will be active through the end of April, when the Senate will review how this has impacted players and see if people like it or not.

We have also spoken with Gaius about how harsh he's been on granting immortality, so prospective wizards may find things a little easier.

05-Apr-2006 : How rude!

I was messing around with the donator toys, and lo and behold, something I'd never seen before came out!

And, let me tell you, I've never been so insulted in my life!

-BunBun

21-Mar-2006 : Curious about glass?

Ever wonder where all those glass bottles come from? If so, seek out Kezziah in the desert near Drakhiya.

08-Feb-2006 : AA is Moving!!

Ancient Anguish Move 2006!

It has been 8 and a half years since Ancient Anguish changed its location, but that time is upon us now. In early February, 2006, Ancient Anguish will be pulling up its roots and relocating to Michigan, USA, to be hosted by LocalLink.net, an ISP in Benton Harbor. LocalLink is very generous in providing bandwidth for us, which should be more sustainable in the future.

During the upcoming week, you may find connectivity problems to the old Ancient Anguish and the new Ancient Anguish as DNS servers around the world populate with the new addresses and we get the mud running at the new location.

You should be able to continue connecting to the old Ancient Anguish until Feb 10th or 11th at 209.142.3.2 port 2222, and our new site will hopefully be up before the old one goes down. We do not expect to have any downtime where both sites are unavailable before the final switchover.

21-Dec-2005 : Treasure to be found!

Many adventurers have travelled to the Isle of Cyprum for one reason or another, but few have truly found the secrets that the Island contains. Some swear there is treasure, others say it is nothing more then a dead chunk of land.

Seek for yourself and find out!

10-Oct-2005 : Boards Updated!!

Some of the missing boards have been added. These include the Book board and Current Events Board.

18-Jul-2005 : Crossword Winner Announced

Congratulations go to Miroku for the best crossword. Second place goes to Amywll followed closely in 3rd by Venom. Well done all. The 3 crosswords will appear on the site over the next few weeks with solutions posted a week or so after each is released.

Those wishing to send in solutions may do so. Correct solutions and those who have solved it will be archived with the solutions.

18-Jul-2005 : Senate changes

Firstly, it is with a sad heart that I have to announce Florin's retirement. He has served AA long and well, and the only thing I can possibly say is: All Hail The Tusked One!

Angstrom is taking over the duties of the Arch of QC, and we know he'll do an excellent job there.

Adinos has been appointed to the senate, and we're looking forward to seeing many more of his projects coming into the game. And there are a lot of those to come!

It is also my pleasure to announce that Dubanka has been appointed as the new Arch of Map and World. I'm convinced that he will do an excellent job in the position, and I wish him all the best of luck. Poor sod. ;)

28-May-2005 : More updates!!

Updates this week have been:

• Finger page added
• Who page added
• Title for board searching added
• Map added to Geography section (Thanks Levek and Methos)

21-May-2005 : Mortal levels have increased!

Yes additional mortal levels are here! While its taken some 7 years to fix all the code, move the wizards out of the way, fix more code etc, and finally to go through and make all the changes to all the guilds, classes and mudlib it has finally arrived.

Now Im sure it will be good for some people, and some will hate it I will explain a little of what has happened.

Mortal levels now extend up to level 50. This does not give you additional stats, but every class has had modifications to have level impact them somewhere. As to where, most will notice it at some point. The obvious general additions are the bonus hps and sps that come with level > 19 now as well as the additional carry capacity.

Fighters were 'lucky' enough to gain a new ability from it, since it would not have balanced well to give a bonus to Berserk. This new ability is called Fury, and while they can still Berserk if they wish, it will only ever be as good as it was back when they were level 19.

All other classes have had one or more of their abilities/powers/skills increased a little with level.

14-May-2005 : More tools added!

More tools have been added! You can now search the old archives. There are also 2 more ranking options in the playertools.

05-May-2005 : The new website is here!

We have a whole new look! Also, you'll find that several new tools have been added to the site.

07-Apr-2005 : Broken bottles can be used as weapons.

Breaking a bottle can be used for a short while as a weapon.

16-Mar-2005 : Ranger pelt update

Ranger pelts have been updated to reflect what they were made from.

09-Mar-2005 : Knight Retreat Added

His Majesty, King Drin, has seen it fit to reward his faithful knights. Post 182 on Announcement board We proudly announce the opening of a Retreat for the relaxation of Our noble officers in the south of Our realm.

We are also pleased to announce that We have appointed Marquis Jush as Commander of the Retreat. Marquis Jush has an excellent record of service with Our Knights and We have full confidence in his ability.

07-Mar-2005 : Island Commune Added

n a small island off the north coast live the descendants of refugees.

I was sitting by the fire the other day when a ranger arrived into camp and told me an intriguing story. Apparently, she was fighting an ogre to the east of camp and it fled further east.

It crashed through some bushes, revealing a beach.
Then she saw a small island that she had never noticed before.

She told me that she thought it was uninhabited until she saw a column of smoke spiralling into the sky.

Unfortunately she had trouble stepping across the stones that led to the island, and suggested that I tell other adventurers of her tale so that they could explore it further.

Just keep an eye out for ogres on the way!

08-Feb-2005 : Knight Update

Dear fellow Knights,

In the absence of our GM, I would like to direct everyone's attention to both "help newstuff" and the newly expanded "khelp". Many thanks to Galt on behalf of the whole guild for striving to make the knights even better than they already are.

06-Feb-2005 : Newbie equipment update

After discussing the state of affairs with my nephew Willim, we have decided on a few small changes to help our newbies out a bit more:

1) The carving will autoload upon first login for those who claim to be true newbies during the character creation process.

2) True newbies will receive a mapkit upon first login - let us hope that they appreciate the hint.

3) True newbies will receive some default equipment, which will last through logins.

4) Willim will be happy to let you try out other weapons, if you \\'ask\\' him for it.

Remember that you can also \\'give\\' any equipment to Willim to store in the Paladin donation room for any newbies.

Sincerely, Ironman

25-Jan-2005 : lower Girl Hired

P>While talking to Garomia today, she mentioned that she has had to hire some extra help to make all her deliveries on time.

A little elven girl and her dog will help those that just do not have the time to take flowers to their loved ones themselves.

10-Jan-2005 : Ranger meat updated

One night last week, I was sitting and having a yarn with the wise old scout around the campfire. He told me something interesting about the meat that rangers carve from corpses.

He said that it could be cut in half if one had a sharp knife.

Theryn thought you might want to know.

10-Jan-2005 : Body Shop Update

Dear Adventurers,
Pay a visit to the Bodyshop at Tantallon harbour! The management has listened to their public, and have increased the number of adjectives with which you can describe yourself.
Enjoy!

23-January-05 : Website Update

We have a whole new look! Also, you'll find that several new tools have been added to the site.

10-January-05 : Body Shop Update

Dear Adventurers,
Pay a visit to the Bodyshop at Tantallon harbour! The management has listened to their public, and have increased the number of adjectives with which you can describe yourself.
Enjoy!
-Orla

25-December-04 : Song Spoof Contest Winner Chosen!

Congratulations to Serin, the winner of the Song Spoof Contest! His entry, "A Scyther's Life for Me", won by a country mile. Visit here to view all of the entries.
-Angstrom.

11-December-04 : Elven Preserve

Norich informs me he has heard stories of adventurers stumbling onto a small, previously hidden area in the southern forests just south-east of Duender. He thinks it to be some form of preserve, run by a friendly bunch of elves. He has heard though, that it is accessible only to those small in stature, or those with the experience to overcome the problem in finding the entrance. Feel free to wander down there and discover the secrets within.
-Slinks xx

5-September-04 : Town Meeting

There is a town meeting scheduled on Sept. 18th, 2004, 8 P.M. EST (New York time).
-Jerusulum

29-August-04 : Contests Page

Added a page for past and future contests. Contests.
-Jerusulum

26-August-04 : Things To Do

Added a list of Things To Do.
-Jerusulum

4-February-04 : Content Updates

I've taken over the job of Webmistressing with Jerusulum and Levek. We've got some content-updating to do now, so let me know of any outdated things you run into! We'll take a bit of time to figure out how the boards work before we can add them though, patience...
-Fir

29-January-03 : Website Redesign Contest

Think I suck at webpage design? I do! Show us that you can do better. Enter the website redesign contest.
=Bytre

29-January-03 : Story Competition Results!

Old news, but posting it here. The results of the story competition with a $1000 prize are in!
-Bytre

14-February-02 : AA's 10 Year Anniversary

This month we celebrate the 10th anniversary of Ancient Anguish. Please tell old friends who may not be active anymore to stop by, and if you enjoy writing, there is a very exciting creative writing contest going on.
-Bytre

24-June-02 : Piper's Retirement

Yeah, yeah, I'm way overdue for an update. However, most things just aren't going to get done by me at this point. I've retired from the mud. As a parting gift to the web site, I've finally fixed most of the boards on the boards page to link to the current board. The exceptions are ones that were added after I wrote the code that did that stuff. Goodbye.
-Piper

5-November-00 : Updates

The class and guild pages have been updated with the October boards.

10-October-00 : Updates

The finger script has been updated to no longer give the "Nature's Mistake" on a wizard's status. While amusing, it was a bug. It's also been updated to no longer yield the puke green background.

8-October-00 : Updates

Ok, yeah, it's been a long time since the last update I made to the web site. Sorry about that, my summer got pretty hectic, and I'm just starting to getting around to reassembling things. The class and guild archive boards are now updated with the most current archives available, and I'll be trying to do some more changes soon.

2-May-00 : Donator Page

We now have a page on the web site with the information on how to donate to AA. In addition, you can now donate with a credit card! Credit card donations are handled through PayPal, and if you're not currently a member, joining is a great way to earn $5 for you, and $5 for AA! (details on how to use us as a referrer are on the donation page.

1-May-00 : Online and Upgraded

Due to some miscommunications between us and Inreach, and to their restructuring of their colocation facilities we ended up being off the net for about a week. While this was an inconvenience for everyone, it did also give us a chance to do some planned upgrades to our server, and we're now on a much faster machine. Details of the upgrade can be found on Arpeggio's status page for now. Many thanks to the efforts that Arp went through to get us back alive, and many thanks to the support of our donators who enabled us to do this upgrade in the first place!

9-April-00 : Updates

Added the February and March archives to the class and guild pages.

5-November-00 : Updates

The class and guild pages have been updated with the October boards.

9-April-00 : Updates

Added the February and March archives to the class and guild pages.

22-February-00 : Arch of Map and World

Buxley has stepped down from the position of Arch of Map and World due to time constraints. Scarecrazy has replaced him.

6-February-00 : Updated Design

Ok, I've been playing around with some of these things to highlight links that your mouse is over, and I'm curious what people think of the current incarnation (ripped right from the w3 organizations html references). Drop me a note to say what you think of it. If you don't like it, let me know that, and if there are other methods you prefer, or whether you just can't stand any method. Depending on the answers I get, the site may go with one scheme or another.

6-February-00 : Updates

The class and guild archives for January have been linked in.

29-January-00 : Boards Now Viewable

The ability to view the current postings on the boards is now available. I'm still working on getting pages for all of them created, but you can find a complete listing in the boards section of the website.

16-January-00 : Mortal Council Section

After months of sitting on it, we now have a section dedicated to the Mortal Council. Most of the information here was assembled by Dracul, and he's also supplied some other info I'll be adding to this section, so look for future updates to that area.

2-January-00 : Updates

Ok, for once I did this in a timely manner, the archives for December are now linked.

24-December-99 : Updates

After a long delay, the October and November guild and class archives are now linked.

18-October-99 : Updates

Ok, obviously it's been a while since I've updated things, but I'm hoping to do some more updates here in the very near future. Things in store are updating the version on the java telnet client, a section on the mortal council stuff (put together mostly by a former council member, Dracul), and some stuff in the wizards area. Hopefully I'll also make some progress on eliminating some more of those pages with ugly green backgrounds.

18-October-99 : Updates

Added the August and September class and guild archives (finally).

5-August-99 : Updates

Added the July archives to the class and guild pages.

11-July-99 : Updates

Added the June archives to the class and guild pages.

13-June-99 : Updates

Added the May archives to the class and guild pages.

23-May-99 : Updates

Ok, as some of you have probably figured out, I added the last couple of months of archives a couple weeks ago. I've also made some changes to the graphs that show up on class and guild pages so they update more correctly. Jerusulum was apparently overlooked for a long time on the administration page, she's been the Arch of Education now for a while. I'm a ways behind on the email, so just be patient, I'll catch up on them one of these years.

1-March-99 : Updates

The class and guild pages have been updated with links to February's archives.

9-February-99 : Arch of Law

Arpeggio has stepped down as Law arch, and has been replaced by Malire.

3-February-99 : Updates

The class and guild pages have been updated with links to January's archives.

3-February-99 : Updates

Ok, as many of you have pointed out, the year is no longer 1998..

2-February-99 : AA's 7th Anniversary

Today marks the 7th anniversary of Ancient Anguish!

16-January-99 : Administration Changes

We've had a couple of changes of administration lately, and I'm only now catching up. Paldin has returned to his primary duty of Balance, with Arpeggio replacing his duties as Law Arch. Real life pressures have kept Sully away from the game, and she's now been replaced by Buxley.

16-January-99 : Recent Downtime

As many of you noticed, we were down for a couple days. Apparently the problem was that the ethernet cable had gotten disconnected, and our ethernet card decided it didn't want to talk when it got reconnected.

11-January-99 : Board Search Page

Thanks to the work of Blackvelvet, there have been some significant advancements on the Board Search Page. You can now search for posts based on such things as author, date, level of poster, and words in the title. Many thanks to Blackvelvet for the work she did here to implement one of our most requested features!

10-January-99 : Updates

Ok, the November and December archives are finally on their respective pages.

10-November-98 : Updates

I finally added Fir's page, he's certainly been badgering me about it enough (probably because it took so long for me to do it).

5-November-98 : Updates

Ok, I finally got the September and October archives added to the guild and class pages. Some of you might also be wondering why you haven't heard from me about player page submissions. Well, I managed to wipe out my mail spool recently, and so no longer have the notes from people asking me to add them. So, if you haven't heard from me, and your page hasn't shown up, drop me another note, and I'll get right on them.

2-September-98 : Updates

The August archives have been added to the class and guild boards. The Adventurer board archives have also been added to that page, so they are now browseable.

2-September-98 : Arpeggio's Status Page

Arpeggio has a page that will have information about AA's status if we go down for whatever reason. I urge you to bookmark his page in case of future outages. I've also been considering setting up a mailing list for this purpose, although interest in that has been minimal. If you'd like to see that option, please drop me a note, unless I get enough interest I won't do it.

23-August-98 : Recent Downtime

As many of you noticed over the past few days we experianced some problems that caused the machine to be down. The machine tried to reboot for some reason, and ended up in a condition that required some user intervention. Arpeggio drove to the site and remedied this problem, and also performed some hardware upgrades we had been planning.

2-August-98 : World Theme

The World Theme has been updated. Thanks to Kosh for refreshing this.

2-August-98 : Updates

Added the July 1998 guild and class board archives to their respective pages.

13-July-98 : Updates

Added the June 1998 guild and class board archives to their respective pages. Also did some work on updating some of these pages so they don't have the green background. Some of the pages that they link to still do, and they still need some work, but I'm hoping to get to that soon. (I've also got several requests for additions to the player pages, I'm a bit behind on reviewing these to be added.)

7-June-98 : Updates

Added the Player Pages collection.

2-June-98 : Updates

Added the May 1998 guild and class board archives to their respective pages.

30-May-98 : Wizard Tools

We now have a section of the web site with resources for our wizards. Among other things, it offers searchable wizard boards. I encourage our wizards to check it out. To get access you'll have to log in with your wizard name and password.

27-Mar-98 : New Webmaster

Ledecius has resigned for the time being as administrator of the web pages. We'd like to thank him for the work he's done since we first set up web pages for Ancient Anguish. Piper is taking over administrationg of these pages, if you have comments or suggestions, you are encouraged to mail him.

27-Mar-98 : News Page Added

This page will be used to inform people of what's new with the web site or the mud. If the date on the News link on the main page has changed since your last visit, I encourage you to check here to see what's new.