One of the great parts about being in Kingdom as a guild, is that we have done the content so much that we can very often relax and have fun during draft week. It's a nice balance between running with a large force of overwhelming numbers, yet also not constantly being in a situation where we are struggling for resources.

This tale of three drafts is a nice demonstration of our approach to the more relaxed and scheduled week.

During our first draft week, we demonstrated Kingdom quality /randoming and got terrible picks for the Draft. Historically, we ended up with Sky as our final pick - and turned lemons into lemonade as we managed to coordinate 2x a day Sky runs to maximize our Queen Bee kills, DA rings, Sky necks, and chances at Cleric necks. This push shows in our stats with a ton of DKP awarded, but not nearly as much spent. We (for a short time) held a record for the most Sisters killed in one run after this quake, but GG went after that record and destroyed it claiming a 32 sister kill (wow!). We'll see who can overtake them on the next draft, if it's even possible...

In the 2nd Draft we gambled our dice on a player who historically was one of our best guild /randomers. That didn't turn out so great, either, although we did get some nice selections in Statue/AOW and Tunare. We spent a ton more DKP overall than on the first draft, due to getting really nice drops off of our best picks. This draft week was noteworthy as being related to the big changes in how Tunare's call works.

Our most recent draft featured our worst randoming yet. We didn't think it possible, but it was. 7 out of 1000 for the first round? YIKES! We had a ton of fun with our draft targets however, with a balance of practicing some techniques we have recently been flubbing up a bit as well as trying some new adventures. I believe the highlight was probably pulling Jorlleag to the zoneline (sorry to our friend in FOH who ended up spilling their bourbon chicken in surprise...). Unless the highlight was clearing King Tormax's throneroom while not injuring the King himself (KT was a draft target of the Drift) while trying to figure out a cryptic GM server announcement ...

At any rate, enjoy the stats below - and let's hope we find someone who is more capable of big rolls to represent us for the May Draft!

Today, our favorite elf sim turns 24 years old! A bit of interesting history about the original launch of Everquest from PC Gamer Magazine: 

Maybe the real Bristlebane was the friends we made along the way?

The only riddle we figured out was "what Bristlebane and King Tormax possibly could have in common".  Although Morgroth (who was standing in the throne room for a while) did say something about what could Bristlebane be "up to".  

We do acknowledge that Bristlebane is the king of trolling, and thus this event being nothing could just be masterful roleplay..... At any rate, here's how it went down for those who didn't attend.

Highlights:  Godsend pulling KDT, who gated and wiped the server the first time; Castle pulling the faction mobs while Sentinels were respawning and nearly wiping the server the 2nd time; and then KT chasing everyone to the WL zoneline when we finally released him from the back room.

Just for grins, we analyzed the dkp purchases from 2022-current (6007 items) to see how bidding pans out from a class perspective. Older data was eliminated from the analysis for this project as DKP earnings as well as spend has changed drastically over the years.

If you want to get relatively cheap gear in Kingdom, unsurprisingly, you should play one of the hybrid classes - Rangers spent on average 261 dkp per item, Shadow Knights 319 per item, and Paladin's 343 DKP per item. In contrast, our melee spent the most on their gear - monks with an average of 623 dkp per item, rogues at 533, and warriors at 511.

Monks, however, shouldn't fear because they have the 3rd most items won overall (so lots of opportunity to upgrade) after our warriors and rogues. The warriors won items at a much higher rate than the next closest class, with 744 items won compared to the next closest class as rogues at 647 items won.

With as many items as we have to bid out, our melee classes really benefit from a vast selection of weapons and gear. If we average out dkp spent per character from class to class, again, the rangers come out way ahead of the curve with 1828 dkp spent per character over the 15 months. Wizards rise up in this category with an average of 2,908 dkp per character and druids as well at 2,959. Warriors, with their gear dependency, really rack it up with 6,916 dkp spent per character.

At any rate, enjoy the data in the following graphic - and keep dominating the raid scene, Kingdom!

The second of six Draft Events on Project 1999 Green server was completed this evening at the Dreadlands wizard spires.   Results are as follows:

Lockouts commence this Friday at 11:59 Eastern.  Good luck to all of the participating guilds on your upcoming kills!

Kingdom had a fantastic turnout for the primtime quake on Wednesday, March 1st.

Soon as the ground shook, the Kingdom began shaking loot out of the pockets of Kings and before anyone could blink the treasury become full to the brim with BIS pixels from all across Norrath. As quick as the wind, Kingdom whipped through land, ice and rock clearing Norrath of its dragonkin that reside within the Peak and finishing the pixel frenzy within the walls of Temple Veeshan defeating Lord Vulak A'err himself. No foe was spared mercy on this eve, the Kingdom's might was too strong leaving nothing alive in it's wake.

King Tormax, Dain Frostreaver, The Statue of Rallos Zek, The Avatar of War, The Master of the Guard, Gorenaire, Eashen of the Sky, Lady Vox, Lady Nevederia, Hoshkar, Silverwing, Phara Dar, Druushk, Xygoz, Lord Vyemm, Vulak A'err, Klandicar, Lord Nagafen, The Final Arbiter, The Progenitor, Velketor the Sorcerer, Lord Doljonijiarnimorinar

February has been quite the month for Kingdom. Per our DKP system we batphoned/attempted 192 targets and killed 150 of them Norrath wide, for a general success rate of batphoned targets of 78%.

Vindi isn't included in this summary (raid target? No? Yes, but we can pull it the same way we always did? It's clear as mud ...), and neither is Lord Bob. We did hear that Lord Bob wishes his friends in Kingdom would visit more often, but that he understands we are super busy pillaging across Norrath and the Planes. He gifted us with the humble gift of an Icicle Tunic when we visited last on February 28th, hoping that we could make time in our schedule for him more often.

In February, we killed our favorite Sleepers Golems 21 times (Prog 8, TFA 6, MOTG 7); Phara Dar and Lady Nev were our second most killed raid targets at 6 times each, and we visited Lady Mirenilla and Zlandicar 5 times each. Our success rate, comparing batphones to kills is the best for Kunark Dragons and Veeshan's Peak (100% success rate each); With the second highest success rate being Sleepers Tomb at 91%, and Velius Dragons and Plane of Hate/Fear at 88-85%.

At any rate, we've been busy - and we'll be back! (Last nights quake will get summarized later, since it was March 1st and this is our February summary.)

The movie below, created by our very own Grendol, is in honor of the last natural cycle of February - and the kill list is below.   Don't worry too much about the sad ending to the movie, we more than made up for it last night at the quake.  Congratulations to Kingdom on a job well done!  Keep having fun!

Natural Cycle Kill List: Dracolich(natural), Dracolich, Cazic Thule, Severilous, Phara Dar, Klandicar, King Tormax, Dozekar, Jorlleag, Lady Mirenilla, Lady Nevederia, Lord Koi'Doken, Eashen of the Sky, Sevalak, Aaryonar, Lord Feshlak, Lord Kreizenn, Telkorenar, Gozzrem

Congratulations to the Unrooted Dragons, a team comprised of members of both Good Guys and Kingdom, who represented Green Server in the 6v6 Test of Tactics and emerged victorious February 18th.   

Please enjoy the following commemorative video, by Kingdom's own Apollyus, and relive all of the best moments of the cross server finals.

Dedicated research to the purchasing habits of Kingdom members and recruits has shown us not only who the top bargain hunters are within the guild (shockingly, Cothatanii is not on the list for January) ... but also where the best zones are for a deal while gearing up your toons.

Our Top Bargain Shoppers for the month of January were Trainstomper, and Bruttaal, and they didn't even need to clip coupons!

If you are a full member, and looking for gear in the 10-50 DKP range, you should check out the following zones/encounters:

• 31 items - Plane of Growth
• 6 - NToV flurries/trash,  Veeshan's Peak, Zordak Ragefire
• 4 - Lord Yelinak, The Statue of Rallos Zek, Master Yael, Gozzrem
• 3 - Plane of Sky, Lord Kreizenn, The Final Arbiter, Telkorenar
• 2 - Zlexak, Ring War/Narandi, Dagarn the Destroyer, Sevalak

Meanwhile, if you are looking in the 5 DKP band (due to being a lower level member, or still working through your recruitment period) check out:

• 28 items - Plane of Growth
• 22 - Plane of Sky
• 14 - Veeshan's Peak
• 11 - NToV flurries/trash
• 6 - HoT minis
• 4 - Telkorenar
• 3 - Lendiniara the Keeper, Lord Nagafen
• 2 - Wuoshi, Zordak Ragefire, Dagarn the Destroyer, Dain Frostreaver IV, Lord Doljonijarnimorinar, Lord Feshlak, Master Yael, Klandicar, Lady Vox.

For some inspiration - the following items were all won by members for 5 dkp (our minimum bid) in the month of January. Remember, as always, items going for a low price is also a function of how many people are bidding on the item - this weeks bargain could be next weeks highest spend. Keep raiding and increase your chances at items!

Howling Cutlass | Earthshaker | Glowing Drake Orb | Poison Symbol | Glowing Drake Orb | McVaxius` Horn of War | Worked Dragonhorn Bracers | Cekenar's Claw | Axe of the Kromzek Kings | Aegis of Ice | Aegis of Ice | Ancient Silk Boots | Ancient Silk Gloves | Ancient Tarnished Plate Boots | Ancient Tarnished Plate Bracelet | Ancient Tarnished Plate Helmet | Ancient Tarnished Vambraces | Dagarn's Tail | Gauntlets of Fiery Might | Hierophant`s Crook | Orb of Tishan | breastplate of superiority | True Mithril Breastplate | Berserker's Bracer | Berserker's Vambraces | Boots of Stability | Chestplate of Stability | Melodic Bracer | Melodic Greaves | Melodic Vambraces | Noctivagant Bracer | Noctivagant Breastplate | Pantaloons of Conjuration | Resplendent Robe | Resplendent Trousers | Silver Moon Chest Wraps | Sleeves of the Bonecaster | Sorcerer's Wristband | Spirit Weaver's Vambraces | Vambraces of Stability | Loam Encrusted Robe | Amethyst Amulet | Belt of Transience | Darkstone Emerald | Weight of the Gods | Twisted Bone Earring | Razor Fang of Xygoz | Razor Sharp Short Sword | icicle wristband | Howling Cutlass | Pulsating Gem | Robe of Adversity | True Mithril Breastplate | Blazing Breastplate of Fennin Ro | Red Dragon Scales | Dragons Blood Earring | Blade of Falling Stars | Shissar Elementalist's Staff | Maelstrom | Chestplate of Stability | Left Eye of Xygoz | Razor Fang of Xygoz | Robe of Adversity | Assassin's Chain Sleeves | Berserker's Breastplate | Berserker's Vambraces | Melodic Gauntlets | Pantaloons of Conjuration | Resplendent Crown | Spirit Weaver's Vambraces | Ancient Tarnished Plate Bracelet | Singing Steel Greaves | Flame Kissed Symbol | Adamantium Earring | Bixie Sword Blade | Bracelet of Distortion | Bracelet of Quiescence | Dove Slippers | Finely Woven Gold Cloth | High Quality Raiment | Sky Emerald | White Gold Earring | Whitened Treant Fists | Worn Leather Mask | Woven Skull Cap | Finely Woven Cloth Cord | Weight of the Gods | Vambraces of Harmony | Hammer of Battle | Beastplate of Superiority | Truesight Helmet | Black Rock Maul of Crushing | Peerless Dragonhorn Boots | Icicle Tunic | Peerless Dragonleg Breeches | White Wolf-hide Girdle | Dragon Bone Bracelet | Ancient Tarnished Plate Helmet | Ancient Leather Cap | Ancient Silk Turban | Blydreln's Bane | Bow of the Destroyer | Emerald Dragon Scales | Fatesealer | Shissar Elementalist`s Cane | Veldrak's Shortblade | Rekeklo's War Sword | Ancient Silk Wristband | Ancient Leather Bracelet | Belt of Transience | Finely Woven Gold Mesh | Inlaid Choker | True Mithril Breastplate | DawnFire, Morning Star of Light | Assassin's Chain Sleeves | Chestplate of Stability | Melodic Vambraces | Noctivagant Greaves | Resplendent Trousers | Silver Moon Headband | Stonewood Mail | Primal Velium Claidhmore

First off - Congrats to the Unrooted Dragons on their Green Server victory in the Test of Tactics!  The fake quake afterwards was funny, the real quake after that not  quite as funny ....

Nonetheless, here is our quake results from Saturday, February 18th.  Great Job, Kingdom!

This natural raid cycle embodied Kingdom raiding with a solid "We do more with less" showing of an average of 57 raiders per log throughout the natural cycle.

We batphoned 55% of targets that spawned Norrath-wide and had a kill success rate of 82% of those targets. That’s 26 targets, with 21 killed. Some fun pickups, lots of "there's no free lunch, let's go for it" moments, and consistent solid teamwork and heads up play by our Knights.

A few quotes from the cycle:

• "Running in a circle for 30m gets a bit boring so I like to pretend I'm playing EverQuest Kart and overtake the other racers instead"
• "Pooty McToots in particular was the hero that I needed"
• "Hold on, this just got serious, Kreepjack is bidding"
• "'theres a wurm in the room, what the heck, grab this wurm', @Infedel most calm wurm extraction by a warrior ive ever seen LOL kudos"
• "Thunderkick is great. I love kicking for less damage than usual, and advertising it."
• 4:34- "Taking my dog for a walk - have fun w/ Doze pop. Bound to happen when I pop out."
  • 4:45 "[@ everyone] Dozekar the Cursed
• "Guys, just wanted to remind everyone it was during my reign as King that we killed Vulak. I'm sure there's no correlation though." - Grendol The King
• "Fucking zoom... I got a Zoom call in the middle of when I had to hit my button"
• "we did have wonderful Vulak practice last week and shockface we get a smooth kill following week"

With that, I bring you this lovely kill list.  Congratulations, Kingdom, on a cycle well completed.  Have fun on Tunare tonight!

Really enoying the contributions of our team of statiticians within the communications group!    Here's some fun slice and dice of our DKP database from an "all time" viewpoint, thanks to Yizerno having some fun with the data one night.

Kingdom's love affair with Derakor the Vindicator is one of those stories of which legends are made. We visit Derakor in the morning with our coffee, in the evening as a nightcap, and really anytime we are alerted to his arrival in his fine home in Kael Drakkel. Although Calcium may compain that we are neglecting his girl, "Sexy Nexy" Nexona, and Fayld is doing his best to turn us into the premier Lord Doljonijiarnimorinar (dba. Lord Bob) raiding guild on P99 Green, no other target even comes close to comparing to our dedication to our Valentine, Derakor.

Vindi is our top DKP earning target of all time (win or lose) - at a total dkp awarded of 177988. If a player had attended every Vindi attempt, they could have racked up 3744 DKP for themselves. Vindi is also our top attempted target at 260 batphoned attempts, and has been slain more than any other raid target in our history, by at least double if not triple the next closest.

So this Valentine Day, as we spend time with our loved ones IRL (right? RIGHT??!!), we shall all raise a glass to our #1 sweetheart - our favorite - Derakor the Vindicator! May he always return home to visit us.

Webster's Dictionary defines "Tactics" as a device for accomplishing an end, or a method of employing forces in combat. On Saturday 2-11-23, we saw just that. The Project 1999 Everquest staff and community rallied together to make a once in a server event. Many groups of combatants entered the thunderdome, and many guilds across the server participated, but only a single team emerged victorious in the Lake Rathetear Arena.

In an amazing upset (according to the voting on the Level Up Larry Twitch stream) The Unrooted Dragons - a collaborative team composed of Kingdom and Good Guys defeated Bow Jobs Cost Extra in a 2-1 triumph. The bow heavy meta was not enough to defeat the likes of the mending powers of our very own Kincakes the cleric and Xersius the shaman.

The teamwork and novel idea to overcome inter-guild rivalries and band together proved to be the right ticket for succcess. Meathook, Megachad, Hektor, Raluca, Braddles, Xersius and Kincakes put in weeks of research, development, and practice which paid heavy dividends with their 35,000 platinum piece bounty - as well as being immortalized in Project 1999 history recieving 7 of the only Golden Championship Rings to be made.  Xersius their team captain also recieved a server first title - The Tactician.

Also representing Kingdom in the event was Low Expectations, a team made up of Kingdom members Aseven, Faewyndyl, Ragz, Stabtastic, Goggart, Xakz, and Gypsophila; as well as Dug Too Deep, comprised of Kilerenn, Vanitee, Miavias, Outcast, Hyat, Yungterps, and Shunin.

Congratulations to all of the teams for an amazing event, and to our winners for their collaborative efforts to represent Green in the upcoming cross-server ToT Tournment.

Tune in 2/18/23 at 1PM EST to watch our heroes battle Red and Blue servers for glory!

The world of Norrath has long been believed to be a spherical planet, much like our own Earth. However, new evidence has emerged that suggests otherwise. It seems that Norrath may in fact be a flat world, with dragons, giants, dwarves, and other mythical creatures living among us.

The evidence for a flat Norrath comes from several sources. Firstly, there are the accounts of travelers who have journeyed to the edges of the world and report seeing a flat horizon. Secondly, there are the observations of astronomers, who have studied the stars and noted that they do not appear to move as they would if the world were round. Finally, there are the stories told by the dwarves, who claim to have delved deep into the world and discovered its flat nature.

While many have been quick to dismiss these claims as mere conspiracy theories, there is growing evidence that there may be something to them. In recent years, a number of scientists have begun to investigate the possibility of a flat world, and have discovered that it could explain many of the strange phenomena that have been observed in Norrath.

One of the key arguments in favor of a flat Norrath is that it would be much easier to explain the existence of dragons, giants, and other mythical creatures. In a flat world, these creatures would simply be part of the natural landscape, and would not have to be explained away as supernatural beings.

However, not everyone is convinced. Critics argue that the evidence for a flat Norrath is circumstantial at best, and that much more research is needed before we can be sure. They point out that there is still much that we don't know about the world of Norrath, and that many of the claims made by flat-world proponents are based on anecdotal evidence.

Regardless of whether Norrath is flat or round, it is clear that there is much still to be discovered about this mysterious world. Perhaps in time, we will be able to shed more light on its nature, and uncover the truth behind its shape and the creatures that inhabit it. For now, however, the debate over the flatness of Norrath continues, with both sides passionately arguing their case.

What do you think, flat, or round?  Comment below ....

     --Thanks to Glumf the Tolerated for this editorial piece.