Dear Players,
Ten years ago, on the 23 of October of 2013, Abala arrived to EFU and made the character Abala Quickfeet. In recognition of this ten year anniversary, I am pleased to announce that today is officially DM Abala Appreciation Day.
Abala the player and PC took to EFU like a fish does to water. Although I wouldn't have normally recommended a new player play a halfling (!) politician (!) paladin (!) of Tyr (!), Abala somehow made it work. Abala the Paladin quickly developed a reputation as a stern and unforgiving champion of the law; merciless in her judgment and uncompromising in her views. This style of fierce arbitration would come to be one shared by Abala the DM in the years to come.
Abala the Paladin was a perfectly portrayed 10-int naive do-gooder, and I was never entirely sure how much Abala the player fully appreciated how much her PC was being used as convenient political cover by the more nefarious members of Sanctuary's Red Guild. Eventually the story of this particular minute 19-fort champion of Try resolved in a super secret spooky flawless assassination / execution undertaken by a TOP Spellguard agent of the time played by none other than the fearsome PvP-expert cmenden (spoilers finally revealed!).
Abala as a player continued to rock out in EFU with two iconic and famous Spellguard Agents, Phaele Gedreghost (combust, empowered) and later Claire Chambers (slave-caste-buckler, Dhimani Rebellion, tragic death from Elder Brain tap-tap). Her characters were heavily involved in many of EFU:R's most iconic and grudge-inducing plots: the War on the Dark Lake, the Crystal War, the Cult War, the Civil War, the End Plot Ysinode War, and of course the IRC Faction Channels War.
Abala proved herself to be an excellent player, but her most important contributions to EFU were yet to come.
Abala was made a DM shortly after the start of Ch. 5, EFU: City of Rings. She swiftly proved herself to be an absolute toolset work-horse. At one point, frustrated by her reliance on others to to implement code, she decided to teach herself to script. She made rapid progress, from zero to hero, and became an essentially self-taught master programmer, relying on various internet resources and that famous MIT Wizards-Coding textbook from the '80s.
Abala was dismayed by the incomplete state of the v5 mod, and took it upon herself to tackle the extremely intensive task of finishing and developing the Rings content, a heroic deed which she undertook with her customary zeal and industrious competency. It was in the midst of these labors that Abala pitched to the rest of us some Rings involving ash-desert content, and a city populated by Ashfolk named Baz'eel. This, of course, was an early seed for what would later come to exist as Ch. 6 EFU: Sands of Intrigue.
Abala has been probably the most productive DM of the past several years, but I will list just a few of my favorite of her many contributions to the EFU project. In v5, Ring 64 was probably the "meatiest" and most satisfying Ring experience and I will always regret never having had a chance to experience it as a player. In v6, the entire political and economic system of Ephia's Well totally blows my mind - EFU has never had a political system so slick, so player-focused, so smooth, so well implemented. I am also a big fan of some of her iconic areas like the Souk of Salt and Spices, the Palatial Pyramid, and (of course) our bustling inn & quest gathering locale, the Krak des Roses.
Abala "Animator Dhimani" DM isn't always the most DIPLOMATIC with you guys, but I know you'll overlook her occasional grumpiness (as I have) and join me in recognizing and appreciating her many incredible and essential contributions to EFU. In particular I want to recognize the outstanding work she put towards Chapter 6 of EFU: Sands of Intrigue. Please join me in thanking DM Abala for giving so much of herself to this project, this place would not be the same without her!
Abala and I have had a lot of back and forth, blowouts, sworn alliances (swords together) across the years she has played and DM'd here; from me deeply frustrating her paladin with a sword that gets better when beheading CE people (and her only ever killing Neutral Evil or Lawful Evil people), to the early days of her DMing where I threw her into the deep end and taught her how to run a combat event with all our tools (which she has never touched again, preferring instead to focus on small scale stories and RP events), to the work together on v5 Rings, and then the dreaded v6 development. She has surpassed me (not a hard thing to do...) in every way and the world is richer for it. Here's to many more years!
Abala is an AMAZING dm, she's been responsible for some of my favorite moments of v6 and I'm honestly floored by all the amazing stuff she's made for us! (astrologians, politics, sisters, wow it's all of my favorite things what a coincidence) Her dming and building is such a huge part of what makes EFU special for me. Thanks so much abala!!
My hero, plain and simple.
Absolutely in awe of everything she's done.
#abalafanclub for life
ilu my friiiiend
You actually started learning to program back in the start of V5? You seemed a very competent programmer from the little talk I've seen about in the discord. Well done!
I hope you'll continue enjoying doing these cool things, those extra classes are such a cool addition to efu.
I always assumed she had a background in coding, self-taught that's impressive.
My interactions with Abala the DM have been few and far between. But her work in building up a detailed and believable world I can certainly appreciate.
Well done.
No one compares
I really like the chance to get to learn more about the DMs and their contributions to the game. Every interaction I've had with Abala has been really great, and she deserves a lot of kudos for the work she does for the game.
i kneel
I have no idea how you manage to do so much, and learn so much.
Despite my bad habit of arguing and questioning (sorry for that), I have a lot of respect for you.
You are doing an amazing job, and thank you for the EFU as it is now.
(https://i.kym-cdn.com/photos/images/original/002/037/027/27f.jpg)
Glad we're friends, and glad you stick around.
I can usually identify when an area is made by Abala just by how little mistakes can be found. And the few that do make it through, never exist for long.
Abala is the most meticulous and devoted dungeon master. And her ability to channel hardship and negativity into a learning experience and create something beautiful is an incredible trait.
I love v6, thank you for all your time and passion.
The work and energy that Abala puts in to the server to make it the best she can, is palatable. Her ambition in project and the way she handles it is very much endears me to her efforts and I genuinely find her work to be transformative for the server as a whole. Abala, you bring so much to this server and I want to thank you for every single late night and long day you've put into making it better. I do not wish to engage in too much hyperbole, but you bring a great deal to this server and the content you have made has been some of my favorite from the burgage in city of rings to the current chapter itself. As well as the under caves from the last chapter and just the nature of the Krak de Roses and the functions of government currently in the server.
The work you do is appreciated and intrinsic to the modern EFU experience. Thank you so much for sticking with us.
Thank you Abala! A true builder and Ill always remember going against Abala Quickfoot on my dwarf bandit down in the Underdark.
Learning coding from scratch for EFU? Respect. That's an incredible achievement in of itself.
Thanks for all you've done for the community.
Abala reminds me very fondly of a friend of mine from a long time ago, brings a lot of personality and flavor to EFU that I would never even dream of!
i KNEEL, m'lord
thank you for everything, and thank you for the countless hours of fun.
It cannot be understated how much work you have put into the server and community for the past couple of years. While this server is player driven, your work has kept it fresh and enjoyable through out this past decade- so I cannot thank you enough for all that you've done.
I hope you and the rest of the DMs know that the we players deeply appreciate the work you do. Sometimes we can get a little heated or disagreeable, but in the end, none of us would be in this community if it wasn't for everything ya'll do.
I believe you're the DM I've interacted with most on EFU from my time in the Banda, a big reason why I've stuck around as a new (As of v6) player.
We kneel to one of the best.
I've got a giftcard with your name on it.
I am always in awe at your mapping and scripting skills. The Rings I saw (many of them your doing) were one of the things that got me absolutely hooked to exploring EFU. And Ephia's Well (and so many of its areas!) are insanely good, and insanely enjoyable.
Thank you!
Thank you Abala, for all the fun stories you've shared with us as a player and all of the work you've done as a DM. You are someone who can eloquently drop a few lines, gather all the attention in a room, and make the game more engaging for everyone involved. That's regardless of which client you're playing through.
So really, thank you.
It was forever ago that we met, but, I still think fondly of that time. The good times, the Chequon shenanigans, Munt's explosive disaster-ventures, the times my character followed yours right into a political meeting, dressed in armor that was in the likeness of the Tiger Eyes, and starting a political shitstorm.
Definitely set the tone for what came after.
Here's to you, buddy, happy Abala day.
(https://i.imgur.com/c1oMbnY.jpg)
Whether we are arguing something stupid and getting in one of our little discord fights, or mutually crushing people's bad memory / nostalgia, I can confidently say that I and probably a ton of other folks, and EFU itself for that matter, might not even be here were it not for your tremendous efforts and talents.
Thank you for all of the fantastic things that you have put into the game world over the many years.
Happy Abala day. =]
Thank you Abala for everything you do for our community and to help build the server. I remember when I first saw your character in Sanctuary and I wanted to get involved in what was happening. I remember a conversation held in the Society Chapterhouse between our characters at the time. Looking back at that now, every step of that journey from Abala to DM Abala, has been punctuated with something that has brought a lot of good EFU.
I really appreciate the effort you've gone through to make this server a joy to play in.
You and I have some roughage in our past, but I truly respect the hell out of what you have learned, created and maintained scriptwise.
Your areas have personality and attention that does not compare.
You're an excellent character writer, and deserve this accolade and respect.
Happy abala day.
deltaTime
Actual best.
The amount of work that went into doing what you've done on efu is remarkable and well worthy of praise. A GOAT for sure.
A fond memory of mine is when Abala was playing Abala Quickfeet, and tolerated my character writing an article on her for the Duskmore Observer. I can't remember who paid me off to write the article, but it was during some political hijinks. It was a fun moment in time, and I appreciated it greatly as a player.
You also did what I never had the patience to do, learn coding. I consider it an amazing feat you were able to teach yourself coding, and became the coder you are for EFU.
The sheer amount of work you've put into both v5 and v6 is astounding, and is more then deserving of appreciation and so much more. I look forward to seeing what you create next.
good dm
I rarely am impressed by people'swillpower and sheer will to make something better - but this is such case. It is something which without a doubt deserves respect. Thank you for your work.
script gud
It's already been mentioned repeatedly here, but abala's level of polish in all of her areas and systems is unmatched. The last 5-10% of every feature is always the hardest and most bothersome, but she always goes for the 110%. Her systems for v6 are some of the best we've ever had, and the effort she placed in making them so user-friendly to players is very appreciated by all!
I'm really grateful to be your friend and to have spent all these fond years playing elf game with you. <3
I am constantly impressed with how far and fast abala has come as a DM. The level of technical scripting, building and IG DMing she has brought to EFU is hard to truly appreciate. Nobody in EFU can match her raw enthusiasm and passion for the EFU project and it's not a stretch to say we may not have a Chapter 6 of EFU without her around.
Through calm times and hard headed disagreements abala has earned a great deal of respect for all her hard work and everything she's done in game to bring the game world from a backdrop, to a living, breathing place.
Where to even begin? I've had so many countless hours of fun RPing with you. Back when you were a player, you showed me how full of storytelling potential EfU is, how engaging and intriguing and challenging and meaningful and fun and silly and yet serious it can be, what powerful and compelling stories this place enables people to tell together. It's in large part what got me hooked on this server.
As a DM -- apart from consistently making me laugh with your insane NPCs -- more generally, you've in fact come up with created and run some of the most incredible, thrilling, moving, frightening, fascinating, spookily dark, delicate, intriguing stories I've come across anywhere. I've been repeatedly mindblown by this. And on top of this you've always made me feel included in that narrative process. You've allowed me and pushed me to involve myself in and develop these arcs, narratives and implications in a way that has been addictively challenging, which I want to believe has been deliberate, and has felt like an honour.
In fact, your DMing has challenged me to literally some of the most creative and imaginative and intellectually stimulating periods of my life in terms of writing. A lot of which, I have to frankly admit, was driven by a hope of entertaining you as much as your work did me. You have played a large part in keeping me coming back to EfU and engaging in the creative work which for me it is all about.
You are in, my book, an absolutely master storyteller -- and that is quite something. I very fondly think of you as a friend, as a comrade and as a creative collaborator. I owe you for so many hours, years! of fascinating and fun RP, and I can't tell you how much I appreciate that. Thank you.
(https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/1160970411719282778/1168659837622681741/image.png?ex=65529249&is=65401d49&hm=80e1e3e2d98715597a82abc6e7aa48552fea065e16183a16c5a53a72c802e72e&)
<3
You have made so many of my moments on the server pure joy. All I can say, is thank you.