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Other troubles, too, have beset account auctioners on eBay. Origin, the maker of Ultima Online, said last month it had dismissed one of its employees for taking advantage of his position with the company as a game master -- a staffer paid to play, help newbies, solve problems and generally keep things running smoothly. The industry scuttlebutt is that the game master was selling items on eBay.

Origin declined to elaborate on an announcement it posted on June 28, which said that the company "found reason to believe that this employee was engaging in activities that breached the trust that must exist between a company, its employees, and its customers ... We are grateful to players who bring these incidents to our attention, as these reports are used to ensure that [Origin] representatives are providing the best possible service at all times."

Given that the game master, or GM, is supposed to be in the game to help out -- and that he has far more power in the game and access to items than an ordinary player would, precisely so that he can assist others -- using that power for personal gain is sketchy behavior at best.

"I think firing the GM is too nice," Scott Holmes, co-owner of the EverQuest Guilds fan site, said in an e-mail. "If UO [Ultima Online] has any legal recourse they should take it; that GM has permanently tarnished UO's reputation." He says that among his friends, "UO has come up in conversation five times in the last week, and the conversation always starts with the GM who was selling items on eBay and ends up with 'I'm glad I don't play there.'"

Origin may now be keeping a tight watch on GMs, but it has absolutely no objection to players selling items on eBay: "It's not illegal in Origin's eyes," says spokesman David Swofford. Although Origin obviously prefers that people play the game from start to finish themselves to get the full Ultima Online experience, Swofford says that most of the people buying accounts are already players and may well be buying new characters simply to broaden their experiences in the game, something he thinks is of real value.

As for people creating characters solely for the purpose of selling them and using the game to make money, the Ultima world "is a reflection of the real world," he says; "people are welcome to play the game that way."

But Ultima Online is no longer the prime RPG territory. These days EverQuest, created by 989 Studios and published via Sony's Station Web site, is the hot ticket. And EverQuest's makers are less enthusiastic about the commercialization of their game. An EverQuest spokeswoman said she couldn't comment until her response had been vetted by 989's legal department -- but more than a week after we first spoke, the lawyers had approved no statement.

Meanwhile, eBay -- the site of most of the auctions -- takes a hands-off approach to dealing with the sales of EverQuest and Ultima accounts. All transactions are "between the buyer and seller," according to Kevin Pursglove, eBay's senior director for communications. If a seller were doing something illegal, or if a company complained that intellectual property rights were being infringed upon, eBay would investigate, but otherwise it stays out of all transactions. EBay would neither confirm nor deny receiving complaints regarding Everquest and Ultima.

The RPG community itself is split on its view of the trade in characters and items. More hardcore players seem to be in favor of playing the game through, rather than buying your way in, but so far there have been no protests against the practice. "About half don't like it, and the other half are the ones making money," said one player.

Next page | "Hey, anyone have a level 50 character I can sell?"