It’s National Tell a Fairy Tale Day, so we asked our writers to take a moment to talk about their favorite Fairy Tale or Tall Tale influence in Wizard101 and Pirate101. Here’s what they had to say.
Jesse Scoble (King Artorius):
It’s no secret that Wizard101 pulls constantly from history, mythology, legends, children’s literature, folk and fairy tales (and of course, pop culture, too, but that’s for another time and place). It’s not always easy, or important, to draw a bright line between a myth and a fairy tale, so let’s instead focus on a few examples from Wizard101.
In Khrysalis, my associate writer, “The Thundersnake”, proposed a Three Blind Mice story. It fit very nicely with the idea of the Burrowers as an oppressed people, suffering under the cruel wrath of a mean woman (Morganthe as the butcher’s wife). So he combined the Three Blind Mice nursery rhyme with the names of three interesting blind characters from various fantasy/SF sources (Romo, Geordi, and Aemon), and came up with a goal of finding several missing music boxes (to play into the idea of a children’s song).
In Avalon, we played a great deal with Arthurian tales as inspiration for many of our quests. For example, we took the old French and German stories about Melusine, a fairy or part-fairy, who has a fish tail although she can appear as a normal woman. She is encountered by a traveler who falls in love with her without realizing her true nature. She agrees to marry him on condition that he never enters her chambers on a Saturday, for on that day she returns to her mermaid form. When her husband breaks his promise and sees her true form, she curses him, and/or vanishes forever.
We took elements of that fairy tale and translated them into a version that felt appropriate for the Spiral. We downplayed the elements of romantic love, but kept the essence of a fairy who is frightened of revealing her true form. In our version, Melusine is half fox (like many of the Avalon characters) and half mermaid. Finn Gingersnap is a young man, or fox, who heard stories about Melusine’s beauty and wit, and wanted to be her friend. When he surprised her swimming in the pool outside the tower of Belle Regard, she cursed him to never leave Belle Regard until the tower falls (which would presumably kill him). When Finn offers to do anything to prove his friendship, Melusine gives the Wizard a chance to fashion a magical fish tail for Finn, so that he can spend half his life in the water with her, and they can spend the other half of the time living together in the tower. In order to accomplish all of this, the Wizard must defeat and then befriend the Black Knight (Finn’s sister, who guards Belle Regarde to protect her brother), obtain a portion of silver from Scurvy Skirkers, then have a silversmith fashion the silver into a fish tail, and finally get a three-colored serpent to enchant the tail.
And in doing all that, we probably touched on a half-a-dozen other fairy tales in the process!
Sam Johnson (Blind Mew):
It’s not precisely a fairy tale per se, but if you open it up to mythology I’m very proud of what we did in Aquila: the main story is a riff on both the Illiad and the Odyssey, two of the biggest cornerstones of western mythology. It was a little tricky to twist them into a family-friendly format with KI’s unique brand of humor, but I think we got some great bits out of the Illiad: Eagilles needing to be coaxed back into battle with a party and a song, the Golden Egg the war is being fought over standing in for both Helen of Troy and Eris’ golden apple (and of course what hatches out of it), and the Trojan Mouse. Finding ways to make the episodes from the Odyssey actually work as MMO gameplay was a big challenge – the Sirens and Scylla and Charybdis were very hard to pull off but I think they work perfectly. Of all of those references, I think I get the biggest chuckle out of the notion that Polyphemus was just a hapless Cyclops cave-sitting for his cousin Argos who got absolutely rolled by that jerk Ulysses.
Thanks to our writers for taking time out of their busy schedules to share with us! Now it’s your turn . . . what’s your favorite Wizard101 or Pirate101 Fairy Tale or Tall Tale?
We hope you were paying attention to our Social Media and Message Boards on Friday! We announced a special one-day, day-long fishing tournament in Wizard101 held on Saturday, February 21st.
We’ve compiled all our data, and we have our winners along with some pretty amazing statistics! In total for the day 117,987 fish were caught in Wizard101 from over 12,000 participants! As is commonplace with fishing, fish weren’t the only things caught as 12,917 chests were also netted during the event. Congrats on all the loot!
Our winners were wide and varied as well. Some were striving very hard for the tournament, and others just made a very lucky catch without much effort at all. Here are your grand prize winners . . . Congrats!
- Vanessa MythDust caught the Largest Fish, (a 55.1 Blackberry Jellyfish).
- Justin SkullMask caught the Smallest Fish (a 6.5 Cold Cod) – Justin only caught seven fish the entire day. That’s some awesome luck!
- Sophia LifeCaster caught the Most Epic Fish (103 total).
From the data it appears Sophia’s cash cow (or cash fish as the case may be) was the Boss Hog fish! Our guess is she found a nice fishing spot for those Boss Hogs and didn’t stop catching them all day long!
In total for the day, 535 Epic Fish were caught. Most of those fish were Cranky Catfish, Blackberry Jellyfish, Sturgeon General, and Sophia’s Boss Hog Haul. (Side note, it looks like next fishing tournament we should do something that focuses on that rare Musushi fish!)
Winners of our sub-categories this fishing tournament were as follows:
- Sarah Hex caught the Most Dekoi (249 total).
- Adam LegendFlame caught the Smallest Jellyfish (22.9 fish size) – Adam only caught 7 fish the entire day.
- Caroline MoonStone caught the smallest Eel (17.9 fish size)
- Alexandria Wildflower caught the largest Codfather (36.6 fish size)
- Valdus DarkBreeze caught the largest Toddpole (42.1 fish size) – Valdus only caught 6 fish the entire day.
Congratulations again to all of our winners, enjoy your Crowns that we’ve applied to your accounts!
Leader boards for the Grand Prizes were as follows:
(NOTE: Some players fished up multiple small and large fish and may be listed more than once.)
Largest Fish
| Place | Type of fish | Fisher |
| 1 | Blackberry Jellyfish | Vanessa MythDust |
| 2 | Blackberry Jellyfish | Talon StormShade |
| 3 | Blackberry Jellyfish | Duncan StormThief |
| 4 | Krokotopian Eel | Abigail DragonFlame |
| 5 | Blackberry Jellyfish | Jasmine |
| 6 | Blackberry Jellyfish | Kiley LifeGiver |
| 7 | Blackberry Jellyfish | Vanessa MythDust |
| 8 | Krokotopian Eel | Roslyn TitanFlame |
| 9 | Blackberry Jellyfish | Vanessa MythDust |
| 10 | Krokotopian Eel | Jason HawkRider |
| 11 | Blackberry Jellyfish | Duncan StormThief |
| 12 | Blackberry Jellyfish | Tarlac DeathEyes |
| 13 | Sun Ray | Tabitha StormWraith |
| 14 | Krokotopian Eel | Amanda LifeFriend |
| 15 | Sun Ray | Caleb WaterRider |
| 16 | Tongue Fish | Christopher |
| 17 | Krokotopian Eel | Charles StormCloud |
| 18 | Sun Ray | Kiley LifeGiver |
| 19 | Blackberry Jellyfish | Vanessa MythDust |
| 20 | Tongue Fish | Scarlet Raven |
| 21 | Tongue Fish | Devin ShadowFist |
| 22 | Sun Ray | Daniel SunSword |
| 23 | Tongue Fish | Caroline MoonStone |
| 24 | Krokotopian Eel | Alexander |
| 25 | Sturgeon General | Wolf LegendRider |
| 26 | Tongue Fish | Savannah Dawn |
| 27 | Sun Ray | Scarlet DragonFlame |
| 28 | Blackberry Jellyfish | Matthew ShadowBlade |
| 29 | Blackberry Jellyfish | Alexander |
| 30 | Tongue Fish | Cowan NightStalker |
| 31 | Sun Ray | Jacob |
| 32 | Sun Ray | Chase TitanCloud |
| 33 | Tongue Fish | Lucas Silver |
| 34 | Krokotopian Eel | Saffron EarthSlinger |
| 35 | Tongue Fish | Leesha GoldenFlame |
| 36 | Blackberry Jellyfish | Katherine NightSong |
| 37 | Tongue Fish | Caroline MoonStone |
| 38 | Blackberry Jellyfish | Destiny SpiritDreamer |
| 39 | Tongue Fish | Lucas Silver (second fish!) |
| 40 | Sturgeon General | Diana |
| 41 | Sturgeon General | Christina LionRider |
| 42 | Tongue Fish | Savannah Dawn |
| 43 | Sun Ray | Paul DragonBlood |
| 44 | Blackberry Jellyfish | Destiny SpiritDreamer |
| 45 | Blackberry Jellyfish | Daniel SunSword |
| 46 | Sun Ray | Nicholas DarkFlame |
| 47 | Sun Ray | Corwin |
| 48 | Sun Ray | Seth |
| 49 | Blackberry Jellyfish | Daniel SunSword |
| 50 | Krokotopian Eel | Jose OwlHunter |
Smallest Fish
| Place | Type of fish | Fisher |
| 1 | Cold Cod | Justin SkullMask |
| 2 | Doodlefishette | Lucas Silver |
| 3 | Doodlefishette | Lucas Silver |
| 4 | Doodlefishette | Christina LionRider |
| 5 | Cold Cod | Diana BearWielder |
| 6 | Origami Fish | Brandon OwlSword |
| 7 | Cold Cod | Devin DreamHaven |
| 8 | Doodlefishette | Christina DawnThief |
| 9 | Doodlefish | Rebecca UnicornBlossom |
| 10 | Rainbow Trout | Scarlet DragonFlame |
| 11 | Cold Cod | Lucas DragonSlinger |
| 12 | Rainbow Trout | Taryn WildLeaf |
| 13 | Rainbow Trout | Scarlet DragonFlame |
| 14 | Rainbow Trout | Destiny SpiritWhisper |
| 15 | Kid Carp | Michael DeathCaster |
| 16 | Doodlefish | Lucas Silver |
| 17 | Rainbow Trout | Calamity PixieShade |
| 18 | Catfish | Alex |
| 19 | Rainbow Trout | Suri PixieCatcher |
| 20 | Rainbow Trout | Lucas Silver |
| 21 | Rainbow Trout | Wolf FireBlossom |
| 22 | Rainbow Trout | Julia SkyVault |
| 23 | Rainbow Trout | Calamity PixieShade |
| 24 | Rainbow Trout | William GriffinRider |
| 25 | Catfish | Kymma IceStone |
| 26 | Cold Cod | Diana |
| 27 | Cold Cod | Emily Frost |
| 28 | Doodlefish | Savannah GhostCaster |
| 29 | Rainbow Trout | Destiny ShadowHeart |
| 30 | Cold Cod | Gorman RavenStrider |
| 31 | Cold Cod | Sydney IceWhisper |
| 32 | Cold Cod | Nathaniel PearlMancer |
| 33 | Cold Cod | Sarah Hex |
| 34 | Doodlefishette | Lucas Silver |
| 35 | Doodlefishette | Lucas Silver |
| 36 | Doodlefishette | Caitlin ThunderStrider |
| 37 | Doodlefishette | Jacqueline GoldenLeaf |
| 38 | Bearded Trout | Lucas Silver |
| 39 | Catfish | Christina RoseBloom |
| 40 | Four-Eyed Grouper | Iridian DuskWalker |
| 41 | Four-Eyed Grouper | Kayla StormBreeze |
| 42 | Archer Fish | Kevin IceSong |
| 43 | Jackson Pollock | Calamity DragonHeart |
| 44 | Kid Carp | Liam |
| 45 | Ninja Fish | Kestrel DragonPyre |
| 46 | Cold Cod | Lucas Silver |
| 47 | Ninja Fish | Mariah LegendStrider |
| 48 | Ninja Fish | Liam |
| 49 | Cold Cod | Brandon RainWeaver |
| 50 | Kid Carp | Iridian FirePants |
Most Epic Fish Caught
| Place | # of fish | Fisher |
| 1 | 103 | Sophia LifeCaster |
| 2 | 20 | Julia RainbowShade |
| 3 | 19 | Vanessa MythDust |
| 4 | 17 | Alexander |
| 5 | 9 | Talon StormShade |
| 6 | 8 | Daniel SunSword |
| 7 | 7 | Destiny SpiritDreamer |
| 8 | 7 | Charles DeathHeart |
| 9 | 7 | Iridian DuskWalker |
| 10 | 7 | Iridian WillowGlen |
| 11 | 6 | Cole ShadowFlame |
| 12 | 6 | Kelsey FireHeart |
| 13 | 6 | Tara WildEyes |
| 14 | 5 | Katherine NightSong |
| 15 | 5 | Morgrim ShadowFist |
| 16 | 5 | Seth |
| 17 | 5 | Talon Mancer |
| 18 | 4 | Destiny ShadowHeart |
| 19 | 4 | Kayla StormBreeze |
| 20 | 3 | Matthew ShadowBlade |
| 21 | 3 | Diana |
| 22 | 3 | Christina LionRider |
| 23 | 3 | Scarlet DragonFlame |
| 24 | 3 | Lucas Silver |
| 25 | 3 | Calamity PixieShade |
| 26 | 3 | Julia LionFlower |
| 27 | 3 | Blaze |
| 28 | 2 | Duncan StormThief |
| 29 | 2 | Kiley LifeGiver |
| 30 | 2 | Savannah GhostCaster |
| 31 | 2 | Jeffrey SpriteCatcher |
| 32 | 2 | Carlos TrollFist |
| 33 | 2 | Maria WaterBlossom |
| 34 | 2 | Miranda StormTalon |
| 35 | 2 | Allan IronHammer |
| 36 | 2 | Fallon CrowCaller |
| 37 | 2 | Tavia LotusFlower |
| 38 | 2 | Mason SoulHunter |
| 39 | 2 | Destiny MoonDreamer |
| 40 | 2 | Maria DeathHunter |
| 41 | 2 | Jordan SpiritMender |
| 42 | 2 | Corwin |
| 43 | 2 | James FireStaff |
| 44 | 2 | Vanessa StormRiver |
| 45 | 2 | Nora Star |
| 46 | 2 | Tatiana ThunderHammer |
| 47 | 2 | Blaze SilverHammer |
| 48 | 2 | Adam |
| 49 | 2 | Kristen FireMancer |
| 50 | 1 | Jasmine |
Honorable Mention for Most Dekoi
| Place | # of fish | Fisher |
| 1 | 249 | Sarah Hex |
| 2 | 179 | Isabella |
| 3 | 140 | Gavin FrostPetal |
| 4 | 131 | Destiny ShadowHeart |
| 5 | 124 | Mitchell WildFlame |
| 6 | 123 | Iridian WillowGlen |
| 7 | 122 | Cowan NightStalker |
| 8 | 117 | Suri CrowCloud |
| 9 | 116 | Destiny SpiritDreamer |
| 10 | 114 | Julia RainbowShade |
Honorable mention for Smallest Jellyfish
| Place | Type of fish | Fisher |
| 1 | Strawberry Jellyfish | Adam LegendFlame |
| 2 | Strawberry Jellyfish | Destiny UnicornCloud |
| 3 | Marmalade Jellyfish | Calamity PixieShade |
| 4 | Marmalade Jellyfish | Autumn |
| 5 | Strawberry Jellyfish | Laura StoryMancer |
| 6 | Strawberry Jellyfish | Kiley |
| 7 | Strawberry Jellyfish | Laura LegendDreamer |
| 8 | Strawberry Jellyfish | Autumn WinterBringer |
| 9 | Strawberry Jellyfish | Angel FairyStrider |
| 10 | Strawberry Jellyfish | Isabella IceSword |
Honorable mention for Smallest Eel
| Place | Type of fish | Fisher |
| 1 | Krokotopian Eel | Caroline MoonStone |
| 2 | Krokotopian Eel | Kane SunSpear |
| 3 | Krokotopian Eel | Chris LifeBringer |
| 4 | Krokotopian Eel | Tristan ThunderStaff |
| 5 | Krokotopian Eel | Jason BattleSword |
| 6 | Krokotopian Eel | Brian LifeBlood |
| 7 | Krokotopian Eel | Liam |
| 8 | Krokotopian Eel | Tavia LotusFlower |
| 9 | Krokotopian Eel | Tyler ThunderBlade |
| 10 | Krokotopian Eel | Calamity DragonHeart |
Honorable mention for Largest Codfather
| Place | Fisher |
| 1 | Alexandria WildFlower |
| 2 | Jonathan DeathRider |
| 3 | Scarlet DragonFlame |
| 4 | Galen IronFist |
| 5 | Mackenzie |
| 6 | Luke |
| 7 | Deirdre DawnThistle |
| 8 | Iridian MoonThistle |
| 9 | Taylor MoonEyes |
| 10 | Scarlet DragonFlame |
Honorable mention for Largest Toddpole
NOTE: This was a very close race between Valdus and Kiley. Valdus won because he caught the fish first . . . early bird catches the worm!
| Place | Fisher |
| 1 | Valdus DarkBreeze |
| 2 | Kiley |
| 3 | Grace Bear |
| 4 | Amy StormHeart |
| 5 | Kymma NightShade |
| 6 | Kymma NightShade (two winning fish!) |
| 7 | Brandon WyrmWraith |
| 8 | Lail |
| 9 | Rachel SoulWielder |
| 10 | Talon StormShade |
We certainly hope you had an amazingly fun day of fishing, and we are really impressed with all of our amazing players. Let us know what you thought of the fishing tournament and please feel free to congratulate the winners in the comments below.
Somewhere between the adjectives “cute” and “regal” lies what we term as “Fancy.” “Fancy,” you ask? Why yes! Let us explain . . . .
A fancy item would be more akin to an unusual family heirloom at an antique store than a “cute” plastic toy from the rainbow-infected kid’s section of a local big box store. Furthermore, fancy items would still be affordable, unlike a “regal” purchase of diamond-encrusted boots custom made for the Duke of Snobbington.
It’s a fine line, but with that definition in mind, here’s our top ten list of Fancy Items in Wizard101.
1- Fancy Yogurt
Not only does everyone’s favorite Rank 9 Pet Snack have “fancy” in the name, it’s a snack liked by most Ice Pets and pets who like “munchies.” While it may not be as regal as a meal of Hambrosia, for a snack, this yogurt is the cream of the crop.
2- The Gold-Wrought Eagle Mount.
This mount is a relatively new one that was released about a year ago. It’s not a regular eagle, but one fashioned out of gold . . . oh that’s fancy! If you want to feel a little fancy yourself, you can even pick up a 1-Day version of the mount from Prospector Zeke on the cheap!
3- Marleybone Clothes
Certainly Marleybone is only the third world along the long chain of worlds on your path to level 100 . . . but their style is top quality! From Opera masks, to top hats, to tuxedos with tails, you can find all you need from Regeant’s Square to keep you looking sharp no matter the world you embark upon.
4- Hairstyles
Believe it a not there was a time before a Wizard could change their hairstyle on a whim. Yes, it was hats, hats, and more hats, but now you can find a plethora of fancy hairstyles, from “The Abracadabra” to “The Taffy.” Now you can make your hair about as fancy as you want!
5- Avalon
Avalon . . . just Avalon! Nothing is fancier than a medieval world dubbed “the silver city.” Knights, dragons, and . . . well, just ignore the goblins and giants. Avalon has an amazing castle called the Keep of Ganelon and just happens to be the birthplace of our own Merle Ambrose. It’s fancy!
6- Furniture from Mooshu
One only needs to look as far as the amazing vases of Mooshu to know that we’re not in Kansas anymore. Everything about furniture from Mooshu screams fancy . . . put up some bamboo wallpaper, add a Gong of the Oni, lay down a Koi Pond, and you’ve instantly set the stage for a fancy fest in fancy town.
7- Pianos.
Neville Cobblestone in, go figure, Marleybone is more than happy to hook you up with a Grand Piano for the price of 15,000 gold . . . or the upright piano for 5,000 gold. Both are fancy, but it’s clear which one is more fancy of the two. Don’t skimp, Wizards! And if you’re talented enough to actually want to play the piano, then head to the Crown Shop and pick up a “Playable Piano” for not much more.
8- 50 million monolith
Back in December 2014 KingsIsle hit a special goal and put out a fancy housing item to match this great accomplishment . . . the 50 Million Monolith! With the elegant swash of KingsIsle’s logo topped with a vast swirl of The Spiral . . . it’ about as fancy as they come — plus it’s a great way to show your pride in Wizard101 and Pirate101!
9- Dapper Corgi
There are a number of fancy pets in Wizard101 (we know who you are Spark Beast lovers), but not many of them are as fancy as the Dapper Corgi! This little fella by your side says . . . why yes I do dress my pets, and yes I am fancy! With the Corgi’s card of Fuel, let’s say he’s especially fancy for you folks who are a bit hot under the collar (cough, fire wizards, cough).
10- The Coat of invincibility
Let’s be honest, who here got into PvP just to spin up 1000 tickets to purchase their Commander robe? For boys, it’s an epic armor look and for girls, it’s all about “the wings.” These robes are possibly the epitome of fancy. Sure they may be good in a fight and Brandon Mistborn may have something more your speed, but nothing says elite like “the wings.”
Think you’ve got a good item to add to our list of fancy? Let us know in the comments. We’d love to hear what you think . . . and remember, pinky up!
Ever seen someone pull a trick so sly you couldn’t help but wonder how on earth he or she managed to get that awesome move down like it was no big deal at all? Whether by a stroke of good luck or some sort of black magic, here are 18 people who exhibit skills so mind-blowing, the only explanation is that they’re Wizards:
1. This defier of gravity
2. The guy who walks on water (er, sort of)
3. The man with the strongest fingers in the world
4. The guy who is able to bowl a 300, every time
5. This guy, who will do anything in the name of fashion
6. This Ph.D. in getting ready for school in the morning
7. The girl who is a secret baseball whisperer
8. This supreme hula-hooping athlete
9. The girl who makes our hands hurt
10. This lord of the ring
11. This fire-sneezing dragon
12. The man who has literally zero fears
13. The ultimate Frisbee master
14. The girl who has mastered the escalator
15. This guy, who is basically a Spider-Man
16. This tricky hand
17. This tennis racket sorcerer
18. This coolest group of skiers you’ve ever seen
These are so cool! Do you have a secret or unique talent that could make someone think you’re a Wizard?
Have you convinced everyone you know to create their own Wizard101 account? Do you dream at night about leveling up? Many of us play Wizard101 deep into the night, only going to bed when we absolutely have to. If this sounds like you, check out some of our favorite surefire signs that you’re a Wizard101 player.
1. One week after your friend first introduced you to the game, you convinced your whole family, best friends, neighbors, teachers, and more to create accounts.
2. You’ve had an awesome dream about Merle Ambrose calling you into his office with a yellow exclamation point over his head.
3. By looking at your watch, you can tell how much time is left before your pet hatches.
4. On the rare occasion you’re away from the game, you find yourself humming Wizard City’s battle music.
5. You throw a whole apple in your mouth and try to eat it in one bite. Why not? If your Piggle can do it, you can as well.
6. You play late into the night, only remembering to finish homework at the last minute. But before you open your books, you say, “Just one more battle.”
7. Someone makes you mad and you immediately imagine casting a spell on them.
8. A friend borrows money from you and you insist on being repaid in Crowns instead of dollars.
9. In the car, you half expect a yellow arrow to tell you which direction to go and how many more steps until you get to your destination.
10. On Halloween, you rock your Merle Ambrose costume.
11. You secretly hope your local pet shop will start selling Unicorns or Pixies.
12. At the grocery store, you insist on paying extra for the Mystic Dragon Potato. The man selling the potatoes has no idea how valuable those items are.
13. You try teaching your dog how to talk like the ones in Marleybone. It doesn’t work.
14. At the end of class, you sink into your seat like you’re preparing to teleport. You only get up when everyone else has left and the trick doesn’t appear to be working.
15. As you walk down the street, you randomly pick up pieces of scrap metal, rocks, & sticks for crafts.
16. You feel a legitimate fear when you see someone dressed in all black.
17. You have more than one Wizard101 account.
18. You buy prepaid cards to expand your perfect pet collection.
19. You battle the same boss over and over until he or she drops that one hat you know will make your gear stats perfect.
20. You constantly scavenge the wares at the Bazaar, searching for rare items to put in pride of place at one of your multiple houses.
What’s the number one sign to you that you’re a Wizard101 player? Thanks to all of our amazing Wizard101 players who gave us inspiration! See more funny lists like this on our message boards, on fansite Swordroll’s blog and on Wizard101 Central.
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