I've been following a story for several weeks that started out as a rumor over Tequila shots and later progressed into a full-scale hunt to validate the existence of a "rogue" server. I have a friend, who's part producer (porn) and part music video director (soft-porn), and I've always been a little envious of his lifestyle. We'll call him "Vlad" to protect his identity and ensure I'm still invited to his after-hours parties. Like most people that are confortable in the entertainment business, he never appears to be working (or at least my definiton of work) and about nine months back he started to play World of Warcraft (WoW).

At first Vlad enjoyed the game, but over time he became frustrated over the structured raids and endless gear farming (welcome to the party noob!). Anyway, I thought Vlad was done with WoW and he mentioned he cancelled his account. However, while I was out drinking with one of his assistants, who we'll call "Larry" to prevent him from being fired, he mentioned Vlad was playing WoW again. I started to ask some questions about what server he was on and Larry said, "He's on the Rogue Server." I laughed at his rediculous answer and corrected him by explaining the "Rogue" was a class, not a server. He then laughed at me and stated, "Not if you have your own server." I was confused, but I knew Vlad was a resourceful prick that basically got whatever he wanted. I asked some more direct questions (insert Tequila Shots) and I was able to piece together some rediculous story about Vlad finding a way to secure an older copy of the WoW source-code.

This didn't make sense, but there was only one way I could verify the existence of the Rogue Server by playing on it! I spent weeks being coy and trick Vlad into admitting the existence of the server, but it didn't work (Vlad is sharper when he's hammered, than when he's sober). Finally, pressed with a deadline to report on something of interest, I called Vlad and flat-out asked him. Vlad laughed at first and simply responded, "Imagine a World of Warcraft where you defined the loot and the encounters. A server where rules could be enforced or removed to make the game more interesting. More importantly, you can remove anyone you don't like. If that server existed I would certainly spend my time playing it."

I was speechless (not the first time- the other time being when I saw Vlad's date to the MTV Movie Awards) and I asked if I could see the server. Vlad explained that if the Rogue Server existed he would allow friends to see it. Vlad suddenly changed the conversation to how bad the Yankees suck this year, but I sense my visit to the Rogue Server is coming. To be continued...