#didonus

[consequencesofargentdawn]

Are the Slocks Didonus' sycophants or a separate group?

Grim Dawn has ties to the Royal Court and the DiCU base but as far as we know they are an independent circle of players, but no less worse and often much worse from what we have displayed here. Of course the two are in a parasitic relationship with one another, feeding on one another and trying to justify each other's existence outside of being blatant powertrippers who enjoy engaging in offline, real world harassment of anyone they dislike.

[consequencesofargentdawn]

I'm sorry to hear about the Grim Dawn arrest and force kill attempt in Darkshire. It's a great hub and has always had the potential to allow a great community to flourish. Sadly Darkshire as a zone has always been targeted by Didonus and his DiCU. Nasias and Lizbelli Darkstar used to do similar things on their alts when it came to force arrests and killings.

It is targetted by Didonus and his DiCU because Darkshire and Duskwood in general is an active hub of players, and always has been. Some of the things inside it may be odd for some players or right up the road for others, but the simple fact is Duskwood has sustained activity for over ten years without falling off once. Something must be going right there then surely?

The Royal Court et al by definition as the 'big bosses' of Stormwind require subjects to lord over, if they can't find them then they can't enjoy their power trip. We applaud the players in Duskwood for resisting them.

[consequencesofargentdawn]

Do you think the period before the PCU came into power was similar to the end of the Republic in the Star Wars Prequels? Then when the PCU came into power and strength in 2018 it was effectively like the Rise of the Empire, they enjoyed a stint of power before the general community rebelled against the project. I'm glad that the PCU was short-lived much like Sidious' Empire in Star Wars

I don't understand why guilds signed up to the PCU or why the group gained a lot of power and traction. I do remember the witch hunts and purges in the early days though, the PCU went after certain prominent eras in the community from the previous period and essentially drove them into exile on private servers, or forced them to start anew due to the ongoing harassment, or attempted and failed to drive them into obscurity. I've also wondered if it was Perroy who wanted to go after these players, or if it was PCU officers who brought old grudges with them and Perroy simply went along with it to garner their favour. From what I remember Thunderbraid, Grelind, Hamfist, Arthedun, Shonn and Siavash were targeted. I always found it strange why during the PCU resurgence they never went after Didonus, which always made me wonder if the two groups had any links or affiliations.

A friend of mine was in a guild who was absorbed into the PCU at the time. He said it was a strange time of uncertainty, where officers and members were purged and labelled as traitors and ERPers and then the GM announced that the guild would be joining the PCU.

Times are better now, but there is still work to be done. Thank you for all you've done CoAD.

Firstly, we thank you for your continued support. Sharing our work with the server is a good way to keep our player base informed, especially those who may not be entirely aware of how deep the PCU problem goes.

As for analogies and allegories we have had many given to us over the years. The PCU have made a point since its inception to target players or guilds who they believe are a threat to their narrative, their version of how things should be done as well as individual players who can galvanize others into opposition or to think critically about what is in front of them.

While there is no clear link from the DiCU and the PCU, it is very clear that Perroy was inspired by the methods Didonus, Hrothgarr, Ottaline, Luciase, Hylde and the others employed to sabotage, undermine and tarnish opposing groups. It is likely that why there was no direct attacks from either cult against one another was Perroy largely abandoned Stormwind based RP after the Bloody Verdict ended in shame. There was no overlapping boundaries between turf.

Your scenario about guilds being purged resemble what happened around the Argent Crusade RP scene in Hearthglen before Ardent Pursuit came into being and with Azure Dawn before they joined the PCU. In general, if the PCU says someone is bad, they are (with a few exceptions) doing something right and generally better than whatever the PCU is offering. Endorsement from PCU players generally means the player or guild in question is dubious at best and at worst a satellite of the PCU.

[consequencesofargentdawn]

Back in the early 2010's I was regretfully heavily involved with Didonus and his circle. I have since moved on from the game but would be interested in sharing this and more. I wasn't one of the figure heads, he just saw me as another 'asset'. I'm not sure how many people know this but Stormbinder for a time was also at the beck and call of Didonus. A much more subtle vile attack dog then compared to his overt aggressive nature now.

As his nature and views became more public Didonus was forced to cast him aside or to risk exposure for being associated with Stormbinder who is a literal neo-Nazi. Didonus' circle had a lot of grunts over the years, all we were was 'tools' to be used and discarded so they could protect their little clique and monopoly. The PCU is no different you have the 'officer/figure head class' who reap all the benefits only because they're enabled by useful tools and footsoldiers. Revisiting the forums made me sad to see how badly these people have been manipulated and how they're enabling such behaviour. The sad thing is that when any risk to the PCU comes about or when there must be consequences they'll be the first ones sacrificed and when they realise that it'll be too late.

I realised this too late and don't look back upon those years fondly because of the person who I was. My service to Didonus and his group cost me my guild, reputation and friends. Once you become one of those 'grunts' or 'footsoldiers' for a cabal like that, it is difficult to escape that cycle. When my GM and I failed Didonus he disposed of us too and then a new wave of foolish youths replaced us - they harassed us and came after us too no different than what happens in the PCU today. We had to start new characters and struggled to escape from that group or the things we'd done.

If you're interested in some old skype screenshots that show some of the interactions between Stormbinder, Didonus and some other old names I'd be happy to provide them.

We would gladly take any screenshot evidence you have on hand as corroborating evidence for these highly interesting claims that you have made here. The language of "assets" and "tools" however does generally line up with the nomenclature that the Royal Court/House of Essington has shown over the years though.

[consequencesofargentdawn]

I'm not sure if he is involved in the game as much as he was anymore, but Didonus and his inner circle were one of the worst things that could have happened to Argent Dawn before Perroy and the PCU. If you and your team have the resources I'd encourage you to do a deep dive into the past of Didonus, the Royal Court and affiliated guilds. You'll find that there are a number of current PCU officers and members that have their origins in that group.

While it is true that the groups are incompatible and dislike one another now, the PCU officers and members who were younger at the time learned their behaviours from the likes of Didonus, Nasias, Hrothgarr, Ottaline etc from earlier experiences on the server. There is a cycle of corruption on Argent Dawn that can be linked to the beginning of roleplaying on this server. Bad apples like Didonus and Hrothgarr created bad apples through their influence, just like Perroy has created his own bad apples through his influence in the PCU.

While it is true that we all have choices, it is sad to know that players have been misled and prompted by fear to behave in a certain way. The editor team might disagree with me but in my view Didonus and his affiliated guilds were a smaller scale proto-PCU. One need only look at the tactics deployed by the PCU, the origins of some members, how someone like Hrothgarr is idiolized within the PCU for what he did to understand how the 'legacy' of Didonus and the Royal Court trickled down into the PCU.

The relationship between the DiCU and the PCU has long been one we have wanted to go into further. The problem is the Didonus clique have, ever since the rise of the PCU effectively become a Forbidden City type set up. They know fine well that their behavior directly inspired and even encouraged the type of action the PCU engaged in.

Their tactics definitely match up. It's well known (if only spoken privately about between players) the infiltration tactics Hrothgarr performed (with full approval of Didonus) were seen as the prototype model for how the Rotgarde, later applied to the greater PCU, have gone about with their own suppression of dissenting voices against their presence and actions.

Didonus still hovers around in the shadows like an unfortunate case of herpes. While the public running of things within the DiCU generally defaults to Nasty Nasias and their subordinates, everything gets passed by Didonus all the same.

We have done a small limited features series on the DiCU before last year, though as just stated, there are limited avenues to go down as many players remain more tight lipped about the actions done by them. We would like to use this chance to encourage any players who have information and evidence related to the Royal Court and their affiliate guilds to come forward and give their side of the story, full anonymity is assured for those desiring it.

[consequencesofargentdawn]

We would like to give our heartfelt thanks to this contributor, who wishes to remain anonymous, for digging up one of Argent Dawn’s pieces of defining history, that of the infamous “Hrothgate” some eight years ago.

https://imgur.com/a/hXgBu#23

To give a summary of the massive controversy that happened, Hrothgarr, a Dwarf character and member of the Royal Court (Led by Didonus) was discovered attempting to sabotage rival guilds, paying gold to players to act as saboteurs and vandals. In addition Hrothgar (with his Guild Master’s approval) managed “councils” to “solve” those they had deemed “problematic” roleplayers.

The album linked is extensive, highly documentary and at times, convoluted but still a good read.

The legacy of Hrothgarr should not be understated, he was in close contact and even friends with future PCU member - Balop, who even notoriously made a portal for Hrothgarr to escape angry characters. Hrothgarr’s tactics and strategies are eerily similar to those employed by the PCU now, in foundation at least.

Though it is no surprise that Hrothgarr inspired another aspiring authoritarian in the making, that of the Dear Leader, Perroy, who to this day still uses the same tactics of guild infiltration, sabotage and permanently keeping “threats” under observation in order to find ways to destroy roleplayers that aren’t green lit by him.