From Kevin McPherson who came up with all the backstory for Kunark: "Yes [I came up with the Shissar], from my ICE Rolemaster campaign, actually. By the time this lore was in a world of mine, I had kicked 2nd edition D&D to the curb in favor of Rolemaster. I had a lot of lore from that particular campaign, and so I wrote out a 5000 year history first. And timelined the major and semi-major events, especially those that were prophetic. So the 5000 year history of Kunark had many hidden things cited in the timeline that the common person wouldn’t know, to which design was privy, and these hidden things could be revealed to the adventure as they delved into dungeons deep. Steps I always take when developing a RPG campaign ( and of course Kunark ) are: 1) Develop a history and back story, preferably one that stretches over 1000’s of years, and many “ages” 2) Think about the main players in each age, the faction groups and their leaders, and minions, their alliances, motivations, and then derive major and medium events, and hidden plots, based on these. 3) Try to always make the past more epic than the present, make that revelation of hidden knowledge very delicious…make the finding of past artifacts most desirable. 4) Have re-occurring villains transcend ages. These could be undead lords like Venril, or they could be gods or other supernaturals. 5) Think about the current motivations and plots for all the major player factions and leaders in the current time…what they are looking to achieve not just in the present, but in the future. 6) Develop an end game. What do the heroes ultimately do, uncover, and have to fight, to end or win the campaign?" -Brad
Brad McQuaid 1.0 - I was 280 pounds and single in college. Brad McQuaid 2.0 - 190 pounds Married since 2000, 2 kids and teaching kids in grade 7 for 11 yrs.....things change! Welcome BACK!
This is some of the best news ever. Welcome back Brad. I just came back, subbed up and then saw this post and am so happy to see this news! I played Sojourn/Toril Mud back in the early to mid 90's, I was a nobody hanging out in Baldur's Gate mostly but I knew who you were and saw you enough times in WD (3 west!), and I followed you and the news from the moment your graphical mud project was mentioned. from '99 onward for 5 years, Solusek Ro (and more specifically Grobb!) was my home. Looking forward to getting back into EQ, great to see you back in the saddle!
I keep hearing from people who played Sojourn/Toril, which is great! Those were good times! Thanks for the post and encouragement -Aradune Mithara Crimson Sigil
Thanks for your replies brad! I know if anyone can make a classic and or pvp (classic pvp? omg) server happen, it'd be you I appreciate you in advance for asking around regarding the viability.
Quick sidenote: Some people have emailed me or posted on various sites wondering what I was working on with Vanguard before I moved to the EQ team. The Lomshir and Lomshir Plains revamp that was just released was my work, and before that I worked with others to revamp zones before the F2P launch (Cliffs of Ghelgad, Qa Riverbank, Tauthien Village, Temple of Dailuk, and several others). Now, as I posted earlier, I'm working on a Norrathean zone that's long overdue to get some attention This isn't a revamp, but a new zone, and I'm really enjoying the creative process. -Brad
Wow, a ghost of Christmas past! Welcome back Brad! I've been an on and off EQer since 2000...so nice to see the game going back to its roots...I am excited to see what you've been working on. On that note...not to heap responsibilities on you or anything...but are you going to be involved with EQNext at all? Either way it's awesome to see that you're back. Best of luck!
Since you mentioned Kunark, Brad, can you answer a question for me? Who exactly created the Shissar and when? There seems to be conflicting information about that. Did they come from the Age of Scale, and if so, from which god? Or did they come from Cazic-Thule in the Age of Monuments when Cazic came to Norrath? Keeping in mind of course that this is the real EverQuest Timeline and not that abomination EQ2.
Sorry, I already have a green paladin w/ a Soulfire named Aradune Mithara http://eq.magelo.com/profile/2611133
That's this time around. Original Aradune was a ranger. Though, hmm... I bet using the name Aradune would be a great cover. It's like naming yourself Fansy- no one's going to believe it's the original!
