The funny thing about these lists is comparing them to the old ones. I recall thinking so-and-so was amazing - and then you get bigger and realize the legend is partially a fiction of your youthful years. Orinoko, for example, was a vastly scary presence for me as a young Avalonian, until one day, as a upcoming fighter, I beat him in a mutual. Then, I realized, part of what makes people scary is image. They give kids shivers, and, decades down the road, you still remember how they scared you more than

you remember how they actually fought.

Threap, for example, is a great example of that. Without his gems (for the very youthful, back in the day, you could use multiple gems at once, before a divine change), he crumbled and many younger fighters saw him for the first time as his standard self, a vastly different fighter than someone with three, four gems!

My list attempts to take into account the excess status placed on those who beat us as kids. I know I attribute more prowess to those people at times, simply because they were tough fights back then...

Knight: Current - tough one here, partially because we've suffered a lack of fighters across the board lately. I think Trakea has the potential to take the title, but his fighting strategy still screams an influence of loremaster. If he can push to really master movement and control in combat (rather than waiting for people to come to you), he'll take the title for top modern knight easily. As a Thief, Finbar makes a harder foil, as he's far more mobile and, to my profession, deadly as a result. Sum to

tal would be Krill for innovation - hi, he invented the shirolos/feb jj, slayer box trap, jousting/melee attack... yet, despite these pretty impressive tricks he thought up in his offtimes, his combat always relied on simple, solid tactics and a defence that was second to none.

Loremaster: For the sake of the upcoming Ordination results, I wished both Kodiak and Zeni tossed their hat in enough to count as current modern fighters. Both are deadly. Zeni is excellent in a team, Kodiak as a solo fighter or with a well-honed, personal group. Given the dearth of Loremasters, however, they both, even in only half-active combat, take the cake. My personal all-time, though? Koenan. No other loremaster (hell, potentially ANY profession) has been more fun to fight with in my entire life

He was quick, thought as a team, and contributed to some epic battles. I miss him and his style a LOT.

Mage: Mages again suffer from the realm-wide lack of fighters. Circe takes this one hands down, though it's not much of a crown. I think she could be far better, would she to actively fight and fully develop her potential. She could be a legend. Right now, she's just great. All time... Well, I'm fettered by youth. Fistandantilus for me, but, to be fair, I've never really seen any other quality mages, aside from Circe. Zakath and Aerian are rumoured to have been good, but, by my day, they weren't around

enough to maintain the flair.

Ranger: Current - are there any? Belgadeth for recent history, however, or Sajora. I'd lean towards Belg, just because he's more aggressive. sajora had great survivability, but evaded too much to ever land the vital kills. All time? Too young to judge. I hear Ender was great - I never actually fought him. As a youth, I was victim to a very messy raid on a bashing party, where everyone else shipped. Being the child paladin, I was allowed to live and carry lovely deaththreats from him home. Intimidation

factor, he definitely was tops...

Bards: Modern - Maximillian. All time, none. Bards are far too quiet and sporadic. No strong fighter has yet to emerge as a lasting presence from their midst in my lifetime.

Seer: back in the day, I said Flagg was terrible. I think that old vote was an example of the skew age gives. At the time we fought, it was a long, hard battle. I got one challenge victory, he got three - but I was, quite literally, half sized. Cordon, who I fought as a full-fledged combatant, took far longer and quite likely was more frustrating... but, as a top tier fighter by that point, the mindset is not as frantic and desperate as a young initiate to battle's. I simply cannot judge on the seers, t

o be honest. Joely, for example, has a pretty even track record with me, getting a death for every kill I've given - but then again, I didn't have Thievery at the time he was a Seer... I've really just not seen one stick around long enough to establish THEIR skills against my fluctuating ones, so I'll leave this assessment a blank.

(err, by terrible, I mean terrible nasty evil scary win against you terrible!)

Sorcerers: Threap. His innate profession is sorcerer, and he does it very well. As most other classes, he struggles or performs subpar, but as a sorcerer he is simply sublime. modern, I'd go with Salvador. Far more creative, and far better with mitigating damage and healing than Saroman. Saroman could be better, if he relied less on demons and locked rooms - in fact, I think he WOULD be better, as he is far stronger at the initial attack, which is key to the profession. However, he relies on that attac

k too much, which is a detriment when he comes against professions like Thieves who can negate it (far too) easily.

Which leaves Thieves... I'll admit I'm biased on this. By my own rules, I can't name myself - however, I do believe it's fair to point out that the \"power\" of older Thief fighters is a combination of image and outdated skills. Many of the things that made us strong and viable have been negated because of rants (mostly about me, to my chagrin): hammerfist/flip, hammerfist/stun, yank/unlock, mandrake length, binding trap/skill length, as well as older changes to things the renowned Thieves relied on - sh

irolos orders (hardly easy now, doubly hard with blank mind), slayer box traps, etc. I'll gracefully bow out from this one.

Written by my hand on the 18th of Leaflost, in the year 1197.