On the first day of Christmas my true love sent to me: UO in a Pear Tree

It wasn't long before I got a true feel for how everything was done. I had a bank box. And I had a backpack, which held all my meager possessions; a candle, a book, a practice weapon and not much more. I was led to the bank and taught how to open my bank box and check its contents; 100 gold. That was it. To put it in today's perspective, I would walk away from it if that was all there was on the monster I had just killed.

There was a dark side; open PvP and a lot of PK. Felucca, the land mass we all played on was a very dangerous place to be. A great many players complained that they were tired of another player controlling their game. And UO lost a large portion of its customer base because of this.

Imagine setting out on your character, a miner, to try and mine resources so your blacksmith can make armor or shields, to sell in order to generate gold, or equip another one of your characters, say a warrior, with a decent forged weapon to earn gold after his fashion; killing monsters, only to find yourself attacked by a PK who would kill without mercy and steal all your hard earned resources. I lost many friends because of this and wondered if this was the game for me. I was and still am a pacifist and my game is to try to help others, whether through mentoring, or just enjoying a hunt with friends whom I've learned to trust. Someone had your back and you had theirs.

There were many group outings with guild mates and fun was had by everyone, until a group of PKs would show up and kill us all… and rob us as well. Even your own house was not safe. 

Early on, characters who had earned enough gold from their endeavors could go to an NPC real estate vendor and purchase a house placement deed. These deeds varied from a simple one-room wood and plaster dwelling, to the coveted castle - the dream of every player.