The epic saga of...COMGALL the barbarian!

Seeing how recently I have been less that satisfied with my game play I have decided to....roll a barbarian on Crom server. An alt in the world of MMOs is nothing really to brag about, but I have a special case of obsessive compulsive disorder where I can play only 1 character at once. No, really, it's a thing, ask your doctor. So I will come clean: this is not an alt. Through this barbarian I intend to re-live my Tortage experience from 2008. Yes, last time I have helped zee Resistance was 4 years ago and I can honestly say I remember nothing of it. In effect this whole Tortage stuff is a wholly new experience for me and one that clearly shows me how people can fall in love with Age of Conan. It is a delicious experience. While endgame in AOC has it's issues the pre lvl80 content, the leveling process is just great. My only regret with Slith character was power-leveling through pre lvl 80 content. Big mistake. If I could have turned back the time (which I can't, mind you) I would have went and read every single little bit of quest text in the game. ALL OF IT. The story of Tortage and the Resistance is rich a deeply stepped in REH lore. This is what I am doing with this character: I am experiencing the Tortage as I should have done so first time around and I am having a blast. However, I had to make a deal with myself right from the start that this is a temporary thing, a guild free pleasure. No plans to do whatever with this character. Early on I have caught myself thinking like this: "I really like this class, oh this feat will be great, but its lvl70, ok I can combine that with those perks...ok so I will get Brittle Blade armor, but which weapon..hm.." Oh snap! I have just planned 4-6 months of intense gaming with my barbarian and felt the DREAD of the grind ahead of me. I had to step back and remind myself that I am just messing around in here. I know that this sounds like one of the most nerdy of problems, but I can't really enjoy what I am doing unless I am clear why exactly I am doing it and what for. I am like that with all things in life: I get very good at things that I focus on, but at the same time I lack the versatility. Kind of a double edged sword, but I digress.

Ladies can literally lose their heads for Comgall

The barbarian was not a random pick. I had this idea of playing "what if game" with myself. I remember that back in may of 2008 I was seriously considering rolling one of the two classes: barbarian or conqueror (assassin kind of came out of no were). What would have happened if in 2008 I have stayed with my freshly rolled barbarian? Would I have sticked with the game? Would I have had this blog? Would I have turned more to the PVE side of things? These things I will never learn, but playing a barbarian is a pleasurable experience. So much pleasurable that at one point I felt very awkward: am I enjoying this more than my main? Have I just "wasted" four years playing the wrong class??!! Being the mmo vet that I am I remembered that the "new and shinny" feel of a class quickly wears off. I was not mistaken: around level 15 the barbarian started feeling "just ok". However this brief experience with barbarian made take a long and hard look and this class and it's feats and perks. By Bel, barbarians are unstoppable killing machines. Assassin 2.0!.  The CRUSHING advantage that barbarian has over assassin (apart from superior HP, regen, armor and reach) is especially evident in the Alternative Advancement where their perks make assassin's perks look like pile of poo. PILE I SAY! If anything I will feel less bad now whenever I get killed in PVP by barbarian player.

Halls of the Black Ones. I missed this place first time around in 2008 and I just had to come back here to finish it up

There is one more thing, a feeling that is still present with me after all those years: the generic feel of a barbarian. I simply cannot get it out my head that every barbarian is basically Conan. Conan undoubtedly had so amazing impact on pop culture (see Conan the Phenomenon) that whenever you think of long haired savage with a two hander you think of Conan. Therefor my Comgall lacks the depth of my Slith character because I have so many preconceived notions about barbarians. It is impossible for me to come up with any background story that would make Comgall "not Conan" even slightly. I know that there are (or atleast used to be) some Cimmerian RP guilds out there and that Cimmerians are very different from THE Cimmerian we know and love. There is a lot of room for a good Cimmerian RP but I just don't have it in me. Speaking of which I am penning down my "Slith's background" post. I want to flesh out a real, believable person rather that another "WTFPWN" heros of official roleplaying boards. Don't you just love "I seek bloody revenge for the death of my parents" stories? Seems like 90% of Hyborians are orphans and at least 5% are in fact vampires/dragons/demons that walk the earth in human form.

Now, if you excuse me, I have a Barachian Isle to save from a tyrant.