theworldofdreams.com

Old Tales and Intro to BD2
Part 2 – The Voice of a God

Early Days
My early time in WoD can best be described as euphoric. The initial character build-up of Homer Oldham and development of the world itself was an exciting adventure. The community was small and social interaction was sparse, especially at night, but after the crowded, unfriendly atmosphere of OSI, I found it delightful. I did all sorts of things I had always wanted to do at Lake Superior, but couldn’t. Some of my favorite things to do in WoD are soloing a dungeon (once Dundee got them started one by one) and long duels with monsters much stronger than myself. Such activities on OSI would have resulted in quick and certain death and loss of all belongings. When major invasions and quests brought the early citizens of WoD together, they usually involved the whole shard and they were a delight. Then there were the tasks of earning and saving for the tower and building it (I really must get around to putting some furniture in there one of these days). Then came the Day of Discovery and building of the runemap (a story for another day), which kept me busy for quite a time.

Loss of purpose
Sometime after all of that was done, however, I experienced my first case of “burn out syndrome.â€

The Buccaneers Den Journals will be found in the Library, once it is up and running. Of course, your permission to use the story is warranted. But, having an in-character story seemed to neccessitate putting it in an in-character library, at least to my point of view. They're a wonderful read, as is Smudge on the Mountain (which is actually longer than the WoD history, if I recall).

I especially love PH3's digression about Minoc - that made me laugh for a long time. I still keep looking it up; it's HARD not to!

-M

-hrmph-
Your honorable blackship, I suppose it -hrmph- falls to me to reply to your enquiry about the legal rights for in-game publication of the literary material properly known as "Penn Hedley's Triumphant Rescue of Penn Hedley and Others From the Island Known as...", but which has unfortunately become more commonly known by the uncommonly common nomenclature of "The Buc's Den Five Journals." I have received the authorization to act as spokesman for the authors, although such authorizations seem a bit duplicative and unneccessary. Since that material falls into the broad category known as "intellectual" property, and I possess (by my own conservative calculations) approximately 67.3% of the combined intellect of the five authors, I actually own controlling interest in the subject in question in any and all jurisdictions already identified or alluded to in which the ownership of aforesaid property by previously listed authors may be called into... -hrmph- -er- whatever it was I was talking about a moment ago.
I shall leave aside for the moment any questions involving publishing rights in those domains known with absurd irony as the -hrmph- "real world." I trust no one in that domain would bother themselves with this drivel when they could read works such as "The Serialized Journals of Penn-Hedley III in Pursuit of the East Pole", published in the Times in the 17th-22nd year of the reign of Her Royal Majesty Victoria I, Queen of England and Empress of All of The Parts of The Real World Worth Mentioning.
I shall also leave aside the question of the specific jurisdiction represented by this message board which would seem not to be part of "The Real World", but would rather be located somewhere on the highway between "Unreal World" and "Highly Unlikely World" just a bit North Northwest of the outskirts of "The Probably Distorted World." Which raises the question, "Where was I?" -hrmph-
Since this very discussion of jurisdiction is being published in whatever jurisdiction is represented by this message board, I suppose I shall have to publish some sort of discussion about the jurisdictional issues involved in such publications. I can see that this could become a never-ending process which would interfere with my future adventures and perhaps make me late for tea. To avoid this, I shall write my analysis of the legal rights to this analysis of legal rights alone in a dark and empty locked room and then eat them without reading them, rendering the matter and further discussions of it moot. To save time, I shall not write the full text, but rather a digest, which will be easier to -er- -hrmph- digest. But I digress.
The issue involved in Mr. Marius's enquiry is as to the publication rights within the domain known as "The World of Dreams." As I see it (of course), this is a complex issue representing several levels of -er- complexity. The first question is as to who is the true legal authority over that particular domain. One of the claimants to that authority is Her Royal Majesty Lissar, Queen of Brittania or Whatever it is We Are Calling Her Domain This Week. There are challenges to her juristiction even from within the domain she claims. We shall return to those shortly (or perhaps longly).
Another claimant to authority over what is casually referred to as "WoD" is the individual we shall call Drocket, Lord of the Universe in His Own Mind. This modest fellow claims to control the rights to the very laws of nature that ultimately rule the world known as "WoD." ---(whispered aside) I am told that he is a dangerous fellow with a penchant for violence when cornered. Therefore, we shall humor him even if we can not really take him seriously.---
While we must grant that the juristiction of Drocket (he has only one name because his patrimony,while suspected, is not known with certainty and has been denied vehemently by all of the usual suspects) -hrmph- We hereby grant "Mr." Drocket, or "Lord of The Universe Drocket" if you prefer, full intellectual rights to the movement of all electrons, protons, won-tons and futons within the World of Dreams and over anything else that is boring detail and confusing and probably unimportant everywhere for all time. There. Satisfied, Mr. Drocket?
Then we have the claims of a Mr. Sebastian (one name- need I say more?) based on his self-imposed title of "Lead Administrator." For the moment, we shall table the question of -hmph- who exactly it was that elected him God, anyway, and where we all were when the voting took place. We shall focus our attention instead upon the question of what in the name of bureaucracy-run-amok is a Lead Administrator, anyway? We must assume that the official juristiction of Mr. Sebastian extends over all things in World of Dreams made out of lead. By my accounting, this would be cannonballs (purely decorative- they have never been seen to actually be used in cannons) and fishing weights. Very well, Mr. Sebastian, if we have any burning emergencies involving fishing weights or ornamental ordnance, we will be sure to contact you on your red telephone.
I suppose we are also forced to deal with the jurisdictional presumptions of a Mr. Soybone or Say"ban" or Siobhan or whatever name he got from his random name generator. Once again, you should note he has no surname. What can we say all of our administers have in common? Or rather lack in common? Well, beside questions of intelligence. This Slyhand fellow claims jurisdiction over "Player Relations." Within the World of Dreams, there are two theories regarding the nature of the creatures known as "players." Most sensible adult WoDians have come to accept that "players" are mythical creatures invented by the imaginations of primative Wodians so that they would have someone to blame for their stupidity. Others claim that players really exist, but that they are all -hrmph- idjits and have completed their initial task of mucking up their own world, giving them enough free time to come and muck up ours. I do not wish to get embroiled in this theological debate. Let us instead grant Mr. Shyhead his claimed jurisdiction over "Player Relations." From this point forward, all matters within the World of Dreams involving the relatives of people that do not exist but if they did would be outside of the World of Dreams are to take their instructions from the fellow whose name they cannot quite recall but that they know starts with the letter "S" but is not Sebastian. -hrmph- It is a worthless job, but I suppose someone has to pretend to do it.
Since the various entities known as GMs and Seers all report under the authority of the fatherless trio of mega-egos listed above, we can placate them all with titles and name-tags as Associate Assistant Jr. Vice-Presidents in Charge of Worthless Trivialities and move along.
I have received letters from the solicitors of a Mr. Bill Gates and a Mr. Lord British regarding jurisdiction, but I have dismissed them on the grounds that -er- -hrmph- I am unfond of them.
Returning to the issue of the Jurisdiction of Queen Lissar... There are those who question the legitimacy of the Queen's reign on the basis of -er- irregularities in the historic Royal line. For legal purposes, however, these issues were settled prior to Lissar's ascendancy. Regardless of whether Theobald IV "Three Ears" was the true heir in his reign, his successor Thutmose CLV "the Stinky" assumed the throne through the ancient, honored and unquestionable right known as "Killing The Guy Who Had it Before" and the descent from Thutmose to Lissar is therefore legally unchallengeable.
A bit murkier issue, however, revolves around the borders of Lissar's authority. I do not mean the confusing old League of Nations Mandate involving Ice Island or the disputes with Norway over fishing rights in the Compass Islands. The question of concern to us here is whether the Queen exerts effective control over that region known as "Buccaneer's Den." To the casual observer, it would appear that the local residents of that island have, for some time, been just a bit outside the reach of court influence. Naturally, the Royal authorities call the rebellion criminal, but is "Pirate" just a convenient right-wing label for democracy-loving freedom fighters? In defense of the Queen's point of view I must admit that murder and looting are not really civilized ways of dealing with tourists (even if the tourists themselves may engage in somewhat uncongenial behavior). The final proof of the intolerable criminality of the insurgents of the area however, is undeniable barbarity- they put rum in the tea. Disgusting as we may find them, however, the buccaneers of the area have some legal claim to setting rules for the region. Sadly, pirates are not known to be enthusiastic supporters of anti-piracy legislation, so copywrited material arising in the area has little legal protection.
In conclusion, Mr. Marius, we cannot lay claim to any legal authority over your publication of the "Buc's Den Journals" within the world of dreams. That leaves you with two choices. You could a)pay me $10,000,000 Gold Pounds Wodian for the rights to the journals out of the kindness of your heart because you are a wonderful chap and a good sport or b) not.
Hrmph
Yours respectfully,
Penn-Hedley III, esq.
Solicitor for The Buc's Den Five, et al

Dear Sir,

In response to your eloquent digression of the laws surrounding the legality of publication, I would to thank you for putting things so clearly. I admire your legal knowledge, and find it fascinating that the presecedence you brought up was all well and true.

I have put my case before the Hall of Justice in Yew, petitioning Judge Jury (in his infinite wisdom) who quoth "No, you can't rule the World Marius, at least, not for another six to eight weeks while your 'World Domination Claim Form XJL#58-492' is processed'.

Unfortunately, I couldn't wait that long, having peasants to inspire fear into, and places to be mysterious at, which takes up a lot of time. I would say, on a personal note, that being evil takes a lot of time and energy - it's not just about not having a last name, and being non-democratically elected.

Back to the issue at hand, I would like to express my heartfelt gratitude to your semblance of permission to use the transcripts of your time at Buc's Den and record them in the library. History is one of our most valuable assets, and - regarding the Buccaneer's Den - quite lacking at times, for the outlaws there neither take much interest in history, nor care for it. Indeed, they all must be those aggravating sorts who find that the lack of a football field in Britannia is simply not right, and have decided to clear-cut Buc's den to make one, but couldn't agree on which way to put it and hence, have turned upon any kind visitors or landscape designers who might pass their way. Truly, it is a rather upsetting conundrum.

Speaking of conundrums, the Compassion Beach Holiday Resort never took off, I think because the delivery of sand dumped from 'the real-world' (q.v) was placed on the wrong spot, and thus never became the tropical hideaway we all desired. Truly, another reason to rebel against the world, is it not? I find the lack of a Holiday Resort most taxing - being an Evil Black-Hearted Wizard is all well and good, but you must have time to relax, and take some time out.

I would like to state that I am thankful for you not bringing up the 'We're Occlo - We Don't Care About the Rest of the World' by-laws, or the 'No Spawn for Us' laws, which may have been used to circumvent my petition to use your famed journals. Such laws are outdated and require at least the attention of one of the gods. Though, as you said, Drocket is a bit of a violent type, and I shan't be the one to corner him (this time) about this issue). Last I heard, he went insane, and started a great incantation that would make all the water in Britannia two-hundred proof, and bagels fall from the sky. I have yet to see what happens with that.

In closing, I would like to express my sincere thankyou, from the bottom of my Evil heart. After reading your eloquent correspondance, I wept a tear of purest admiration, and then enraged by it, proceeded to decimate half of Fire Island. Truly, I have never been more thankful for the aptitude for destruction you provided me. I thank you.

Perhaps you could come over for tea some time, and we'll discuss the weather (is it raining bagels yet?) and which towns you'd like to rule in the case of say, a bloody coup.


Cheerfully yours,

Marius the Black