Blackrock Detector
On February 23, 2007, the Britannia News Network announced the initial construction of the world’s first Blackrock Detector, the brain child of the Mad Mage Kronos and his hapless, shirtless apprentice Wexton. However, missed deadlines, prevailing wage disputes, and cost overruns delayed completion of the device for more than a year.
A 2-day, live event was held to herald the machine's activation. On March 28, 2008, the spire of the Blackrock Detector emitted a dark energy as the concatenation of parts came to life. Told that attending the initial event set the stage for the interactions to occur on day two, little more transpired that day.
On March 29, 2008, all hell broke loose. As with the construction of the device, there was a slight delay but at a little past 9:00PM EST on Lake Superior, Draconi appeared upon the machine itself. He advised the crowd to step back and then threw the switch, as it were.
The sky flashed white several times and then the gathered crowd was somehow transported to an area that looked like Moonglow, but was filled with corrupted Ethereal Warriors (known as Fallen Warriors), Fetid Essences, Dark Wisps, and random Undead that had been summoned by the Dark Wisps. The city was overrun by creatures. Humans and elfs alike were attacked, regardless of their karma.
Initially, you could not escape the chaos. Building doors would not open, which served the panicked well as the buildings were filled with hostiles, too. Moonglow and the area adjacent had been encapsulated; a wall of black nothingness greeted those who tried to flee the city. You could not run away as there was no where to run. The buildings then began to slowly disintegrate, thus freeing the monsters held inside.
The Ethereal Warriors, Fetid Essences, and Dark Wisps are the initial wave of monsters. Shadowlords and Daemon Berserkers later appeared.
After a sufficient number of creatures had been slain, the players effectively "won" that wave of the event. A Shadowlord, later revealed to be Astaroth (representing the anti-Principle of Hatred), appeared, killed Kronos, and told us we would not escape. The Time Lord however appeared, and created a black moongate through which the "real" Moonglow could be accessed. However, Astaroth, and presumably the other Shadowlords, are also now loose in the world, due to Kronos's invention.
The invasion area (revealed by Draconi to be a kind of "bubble" located in the Ethereal Void) was accessed through a black moongate that was located in a crater where the Blackrock Detector previously stood.
It can no longer be accessed.
Shadowlords
The event proceeded in waves. After enough spawn had been killed, ethereal forms of the dreaded Shadowlords spawned. They were very tough, but casting the Armageddon spell near them did massive amounts of damage. You needed to have a piece of blackrock in your backpack and say the words Vas Kal An Mani In Corp Hur Tym. A large explosion would occur, and the Shadowlord would lose about one-fourth of its health.
Set Items were among the Shadowlord's loot.
Players who attempted to hand blackrock to the Shadworlords reported receiving the following message:
- The air suddenly stirs around you. From the darkness you feel the sting of the serpent's fang!
The Shadowlord kept the blackrock. Not all characters were able to perform this action.
Aside from the message, no other known benefit, reward, or detriment for the above-described action has been discovered to date.
The top three damagers on the Shadowlord received a Cloak of Corruption. Contrary to popular belief at the time, it was possible to receive one of these Cloaks without casting Armageddon.
The ethereal forms of the Shadowlords were revealed to basically be "echoes" of the Shadowlords, stuck in the Ethereal Void. The real Shadowlords had accomplished their goal, and were loose in Britannia.
The Planeshield and Planesword spawn on Fallen Warriors. Thread of Life and Thread of Fate from Dark Wisps.
Turn-In Information
Included with the notice of the Blackrock Detector activation, was the following cryptic statement:
- "Collectable items that “seem” to have only decorative purpose will have a turn-in, along with the Ophidian items, in Publish 52."
Given the number of Plane swords and shields, the items were obvious candidates for a Turn-In.