Revenants, Love Triangles, and Mysteries under Kingsmouth and London: TSW's Black Weekend

(OOC) So this past weekend was Black Weekend for The Secret World. For about 72 hours from Friday morning through Monday morning, players could pick up three free potions from the "Secret Store" (Thanks Ocholivis) item shop that are good for a total of 24 hours worth of double XP for kills, once every 24 hours. They also had black buckled boots (what I would call tanker boots) available for free. I picked up a set for LoneStarBelle, but forgot to log in to collect them for Dortmunder and Poppyshock. Lastly, I couldn't be sure, but it seemed like during the entire 72 hours players would double black bullion in Nightmare Dungeons. I didn't get any, as I don't have a character ready for Nightmares.

Beware, possible SPOILERS:

(IC) Talk about mopey! Emo kids have nothing on Callisto. Pining over a girl I don't think he's seen in a thousand years! Anyway, clearly he missed the point that she chose Vlad over him. For once I agree with KG, what a sap. I hadn't been to the Carpathian Fangs before receiving an invitation from Zander and his crew to meet this Callisto fella. Figuring out what was going on was half the fun though. But it wasn't the strangest thing that happened this weekend.

The Lumie-obsessed preacher in Kingsmouth was rambling on about underground catacombs in the town, and my curiosity got the better of me. Why does it not surprise me that the intrigues of the Illuminated Ones would bite them on the butt every so often. I almost laughed aloud though at the karmic justice of Solomon Priest's post mortem fame, at least in Maine, while his murderer faded into obscurity. KG was of course evasive about the literal skeletons in Lumie closets.

While back at HQ, I received an assignment from The Voice (that's what I like to call him) to retrieve a sword from the Mithraeum in London, right from under the noses of the Templars. Much as I would like to have "failed" this, it was crucial to becoming a Chief Agent. If I am to make any kind of change to this organization, I have to get into the inner circles. However, I wonder how much or how often I can compromise my ideals in the short term, before they are compromised in the long term.

Anyway, while I was in London I decided to stop by that Haitian Restaurant the folks from Hart Security had raved about. Try the Tchaka, by the way; it's to die for. Some crazy lady—Mama Abena, I think she called herself—accosted me in the street, talking about prophets and ancient London, the London not of Brick and Mortar, but of Myth and Magic. She suggested I should learn more about this Secret War I am fighting, what's really at stake. Following her advice, I made my way down to the park, where a vagrant with a puppet was weaving a tale of ancient Rome and the roads that lead there.

Even as a uniformed Lumie, I am not challenged in Ealdwic. The heart of the Templar's playground, and they are still bound by the Council's edicts. The very bricks of Ealdwic are far more ancient than I had realized, as is the tree in the park, the one with the outdoor stage.

Strange things occur in the sewers below London; strange creatures lurk. They are mostly harmless, as it turns out, but creepy, nonetheless. Apparently, the Romans knew more about the Secret World than is in the History books. I guess the Templars did their job covering up Illuminati influence there. Though I think a perceptive student can see Lumie fingerprints all over Rome. Little did I realize that all roads truly do lead to Rome, by way of the World Tree.

I returned to Transylvania and, at the behest of a blind werewolf named Traian, provoked a rebellion of werewolves against their vampire overlords. A very smart man once said that starting wars "is a prestigious line of work, with a long and glorious tradition." I suppose so. But I don't like getting my hands so dirty. I decided not to cross paths with Traian in the future if I can avoid it. I got a little turned around in the Fangs, why do I always forget my Agartha Stone when I need it? Anyway, I wandered into an abandoned cabin.

Inside, I found these watercolors made by a child. I bent to pick one up, and it triggered what I can only describe a vision. This wasn't like the dreams I had when the bees first visited me. It was more . . . personal.

I'd seen her before, on the Cairo mission with Saïd and Nassir. I'd thought she was part of the Council cleanup crew. The girl told me of a creature that haunts her dreams, a creature I have encountered before. And she was so matter of fact about it. That may have been the hardest part of her tale: that she's learned to view such horror as commonplace.

In my journeys since joining the Illuminati, I have encountered zombies and cultists, mummies, vampires and werewolves. But nothing has shaken me quite the way this little girl did—or rather, her memory. She's in trouble, and I have to help.

And what is it with revenants and playgrounds?

(OOC) Yesterday was a fairly frustrating day in terms of getting massive amounts of XP. I'm sure I got a lot more than I normally would have. However, I don't know if it was the most efficient use of my time. The Lumie Rank 10 "London Underground" mission is both timed and complicated, with little killing (which is what the XP boost was for: killing creatures). It took me many tries even after consulting a guide. Interestingly, this morning while looking for some background for the blog, I found another guide that didn't require the same level of muscling through what was supposed to be a stealth mission. Oh well.

I had been geared out for DPS/Support on LSB, with as much attack power and hit as I could get. "London Underground" required me to boost my Health in order to take a little punishment from some powerful weapons. Once I did, it became far easier, though I still had several more tries before I got the timing right.

The "Dogs of War" mission ended up meaning another round of fiddling with my weapons and abilities, as I switched to the longer range Assault Rifle and exclusively single target abilities to take down the final boss. That took some doing, as well, since I kept getting attacked by werewolves, and Mr. Vampire kept healing himself. Then suddenly something clicked, and he went down like a punk.

"They Mostly Come at Night" explicitly requires you to equip an Elementalist voodoo doll, and I have no skill points devoted to that weapon. Luckily, the doll can be equipped without any skill. And I do have the inner wheel filled out on LSB, so I could equip some abilities. Again in hindsight, I realize it does not actually require any Elemental abilities, but you'd have to have all your actives be on the other weapon. In my case, I was using the assault rifle, for leeching. That took several tries, as well, even after I was informed by another player about equipping the doll. I wish I could remember the player character's name. THANK YOU, anonymous passerby!

On an old post from MMO Melting Pot, I took a commenter to task for not understanding the importance of not becoming hidebound by her(?) "pet" build. Different missions require different approaches. This does not mean cookie-cutter, flavor-of-the-month builds. Of course, Karma is a cruel taskmaster, and my own condescension bit me on the butt this weekend. After much trial and error and frustration, I was able to get through all those quests, but I wonder if my XP rate would been higher if I simply gone back to Egypt where the fights are easier for me. I would have had to kill more creatures, but I would a far easier time of it, and perhaps boosted my XP per hour that way.