A spoon or a harpoon,
Which would I rather hold?
A spoon, it must be filled,
And the soup is always cold.
A spoon requires giving,
And I've never been so bold.
So give me a harpoon,
So that my family be fed,
And help me catch a fish
With my harpoon.
-Harpoonist shipsong
?ZM?RE Harpoonist
Splinter - ?ZM?RE
Set - Untamed
Class - Ranged Attacker
Size - The fishermen of the ?ZM?RE Archipelago grow very large, mostly due to the protein-rich diet and lots of exercise. Those who call themselves Harpoonists are usually the largest of the fishermen, because they must be able to master heavy-duty machinery. Very simply, the bigger the muscles, the bigger the harpoon can be.
Lifespan - Harpooning is a dangerous job, and living near the Sea on the tiny islands of the Archipelago was already a dangerous life. Most Harpoonists can pull off a solid ten-year career before they are either destroyed in the line of duty or compelled to quit for another reason, like injury. A Harpoonist gets into harpooning in the first because he wants to catch bigger fish, typically because he has lots of children to feed. The fact that nearly all Harpoonists have large families makes it even more heartbreaking when one of them is lost at sea.
Habitat - All harpoonists come from the islands of the ?ZM?RE Archipelago, and though they sometimes take their skills out into the wide oceans, the islands of the Inner Sea will always be the central hub of harpooning. Most harpoon fishing, contrary to what you may think, is done from the shore. Harpoonists build cottages as close as possible to the water without sacrificing their family’s safety. Then they construct elaborate, permanent harpoon launchers that they can use from the beach to spear and reel in huge fish. The crowded homes of Harpoonists are cozy, since whatever fortunes they possess must be spent mainly on harpoons and harpoon accessories.
Weapon - There are several key types of harpoon used by the ?ZM?RE Harpoonists. First, the handheld underwater, or skibby. This has always been the most important weapon of a Harpoonist. Most skibbies are able to be held with one hand while the Harpoonist is swimming underwater. The next most common weapon of the Harpoonist is the launcher. These devices are usually stationary, but can also be made in portable designs. Launchers always fire from land, but they can fire at air or water. Another type of harpoon that was first developed only five or six years ago is called the crossharp. This projectile, which resembles a crossbow, is meant to only be fired into the air. With extreme accuracy, the crossharp can stop the attack of a flying monster mid-swoop.
Diet - Obviously, fishermen who dedicate their entire lives to tools for catching fish eat mostly seafood. In addition to all the fish, the Harpoonists swear by a thick, ropey seaweed called ironkelp. They say that as long as they eat it a few times a day (in addition to everything else) and always stay active, their muscles will grow. These specialized fishermen use their harpoon skills to feed their entire large families. They rarely waste their time on smaller fish swimhunts, but usually choose to bait and target large broadside eels from the beach with their larger harpoon launchers.
Allies - The Harpoonists are loyal to one another. Like a large tribe or family, when one Harpoonist is unable to meet the needs of his family, another comes to his aid. Harpoonists (like most fishers) love ?ZM?RE and will fight for it, even if it means following orders. To them, ?ZM?RE is the last truly free place in the SPLINTERLANDS and it must be protected.
Enemies - There is no greater enemy to an ?ZM?RE Harpoonist than an Otter. The Otters of ?ZM?RE are not common otters, but wickedly clever super-vermin who make it their life’s mission to ruin the livelihood of the fishermen. With the precision and stealth of Goblin thieves, Otters raid the houses of the fishermen at night, hoping they have had a good catch. The thing the Harpoonists hate the most about the Otters is that although they are fully capable, they are unwilling to do the work themselves. There is a constant battle of wits between the Otters and the Harpoonists, who continually develop new and creative traps to catch the Otters. But Otters are difficult to catch.
Pastimes - There is a popular wind instrument only played by the Harpoonists called the culo that has a hauntingly beautiful sound. Sometimes when a Harpoonist is not working (which is quite rare), they can be seen sitting on a rock in the setting sun, playing a forgotten melody. Musicians and collectors from other Splinters have attempted to recreate the culo, or to purchase them from the Harpoonists, but the fishermen have always politely declined, saying it is a “long secret of their stories.” By tradition, the culo is only to be blown by ?ZM?RE Harpoonists.
The True Story of Splinterlands
Once upon a time your game purchase meant something. You could go to the store and purchase a game, after which you would simply own that game. You could play as often as you'd like, because it was your game. As the game companies were one by one swallowed up by larger and larger game companies, a terrible thing happened to the gaming world. While the games themselves were always making improvements, the players were always throwing more and more of their hard-earned money into a corporate black hole from which they reaped no rewards.
How did the corporations convince the players to pay this money? Loot. They showered the players with in-game riches designed to create a sense of accomplishment, but with no real value. Not only are these in-game "assets" entirely subject to the whims of corporate overlords who rarely (if ever) have the player's interests at heart, but they never really belong to the player at all. They belong exclusively to the game for which they were created. If a player wants to quit playing the game, they must also abandon their in-game treasures.
Blockchains are giving power and ownership back to the players, and it's about time. In this incredible and rapidly expanding world of technology it seems like such an outdated argument to be making, but the players (not the company) should own their gaming rewards. Blockchain, non-fungible tokens and games like Splinterlands are now making that possible.
The Historic Splinterlands Land Presale
On November 7th, the button went live for our first ever Land Presale, then you all went wild. The first round of claims was sold out in a mere 21 seconds, and there is no question that there was not enough land to go around.
The first stage of the sale on November 7th was only the first (and most discounted) chance to get claims in this Presale. The next chance (Tunnelworks Ventures) will be on November 28th.
For all details of the Land Presale, check out THIS POST.
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