I am a semi-old player, with my first character being created in 2003. I was rather young back then and could not afford to feed my Avalon addiction, but discovered that some people had migrated to First Age where you could be seeded for free play, with the only downside being a slower lesson gain. I played First Age for a solid 2-3 years before it slowly started to die out as Legends regained popularity with additions of new skills and specialisations. After that, I was in and out of dormancy every couple of months, but that was due to real world conflicts.

I got a newsletter email about Avalon's 24th anniversary, and that they were offering to transfer First Age characters (maintaining skills/profession, gold, items, etc.) at a discount rate for a lifetime sub. I figured after playing Avalon for free in and out of 10ish years, they had earned a right to a monetary donation from me, especially as they'd never hassled me about one... so off I went on the voyage of apotheosis. And admittedly, I felt I'd made a mistake, as I simply could not get into Legends for a while. It was too different from the simplicity of First Age, and the few other characters that had transferred were already going in different directions/cities, so I really didn't have anyone there that I could connect with. I was just tossed in and couldn't seem to get any assistance readjusting. I transferred through every city in the game before I finally gave up for a while, only popping in every couple of months and never staying long.

Andddd then a couple weeks ago I popped in and I guess the timing was right. Parrius' Astrologers guild had it's two high ranking members recently go dormant, so I guess the city was relieved to see a Seer type about, but I've currently fallen back into activity, and I don't have much negativity to say. Zio & Xanthe (Hi, Zio & Xanthe, by the way!) speak truly about the game being free now, as they've changed to a city/guild/patron sponsorship program for new players. There are still skill/lesson/item procurements available, but optional of course.

I've never gotten close to Genesis... the most I do is bug him about bugs (which, there still are many of, especially in the new specialisations), which he responds in kind to. There don't seem to be any bugs that make the game fully unplayable, however, and it's certainly kept my interest with the new shiny things. I've never seemed to captivate much interest from the deities - I speak to a few of the Gods I knew in First Age and a few who's mortals I knew years ago, but they don't tend to meddle in my affairs. I feel like much of the perceived drama is created by players themselves, and THEIR inability to separate real world from game. Too many people take things personally out of game, and that makes it less fun for others to play, thanks to constant bitching or excessive repeat killing. Also, some people just lack common sense. I witnessed a mortal get zapped 3 times last week and turned to stone, then deposited in the underworld for a couple days - but it was following a verbal outlash (via screams the entirety of Avalon could hear) against the deities. I'd say he well earned the punishment he got... especially given he kept on trying to relay his profanity laced messages to the gods through other players (self included).

As a female, I've had some interesting advances made on me over the years, but I've never been offended by any of them (especially given lick is a regular form of greeting, and especially if I know you don't like me). I've gotten to know many players better (often out of realm), and it just seems more like harmless flirting, at best. And it's certainly never come from the deities of Avalon. I think many females overreact to attention from men. I also think it's a bit ridiculous to take anything in game too seriously... chances are the other person is not even in remote proximity to your real life location, anyway. I've never felt threatened, and I don't really feel like there is a way to get into a text-based "role play rape" situation without some sort of mutual consent. I would think it quite easy to QQ and log on later to report the situation, but perhaps I'm just blissful because I'm ignorant.