Tom, you were such an important part of this ladder. Your contributions to the modern era are tremendous. I have much respect for you and am thankful for all the moments we've shared. I look forward to future LANs with you!

--Jediluke

Lothar was well known on the DCL for being the first friendly voice, and first reported match for many newcomers. I wished you loved competition enough to have undergone apotheosis, but you refused to sacrifice your joy of the game, as many others have.

--Morfod

If Lady Silver makes me wish I had 4 props, Lothar makes me wish I had 5 props. Back in the day, Lothar would jump at the opportunity to play anyone new to the ladder and get them introduced to it. I don't think I ever took a game off him. But that's not what made Lothar great. His passion for the community and his willing to accept everyone into it was what really made me respect him. And that long drive from Denver to Lubbock will not be forgotten any time soon! :) Thank you for everything you've done for the community. I will never give you up or let you down. :)

--roncli

What ups and downs our careers as pilots have gone through. I'll never forget that first Nysa game back on Kali - tied at the end, I told you afterwards you were "doing it wrong"! Funky styles have always been my kryptonite. They still are. And you're one of the funkiest.

And yet in the previous era you surpassed me and I never really took off as a competitor, and we never really had a serious relationship as pilots and competitors. And while I cheered and loved your games, and we had team games and stuff, we parted ways as pilots quickly -- as you got serious, and I faded. We never seem to stay on the same level long. We've had an incredible relationship in a lot of other ways, but that particular note of struggling fellow pilots had always been missing.

I cannot tell you what a privilege this second run at it has been. I will never forget how delighted I was, as I began emerging as a serious pilot on DCL, the feeling of you taking me seriously as a fellow pilot and a rival. I remember you sitting at the dining room table, seeing me -- SEEING ME -- as a competitor and a rival. It delights me profoundly to this day.

That season 1 rivalry was something truly special. You were my first peer teacher and rival here, and the overtime games! The struggles! I am so utterly delighted to have experienced that with you. I did not really understand Descenters, not the hard play, not the high levels, when we first started running the ladder. But I do now. And you were one of my chief teachers.

We have parted ways as pilots in the other direction now. Hah, it's still true, we don't stay on the same level long. Though your funky style has remained kryptonite longer than it had any right to, and I wouldn't be surprised if it still works out for you from time to time. But I loved what we had. Thanks for the struggle and the seriousness, for the back and forth, the yin and yang of our different styles. I feel, given where we met and how significant this game and community has been in our lives, we really should have done the rival pilot brother competitor thing together at least once. We hadn't until this era, and I'm very, very, very glad we did.

--Drakona

Student of the game. Much much better than he will be given credit for, with a pragmatic attitude towards the costs of staying good which affects how i approach the game even today. ("Am I having fun?")

--melvin

#BRODAPEST <3

--Mark392

A title that comes to mind is "Descent's Ombudsman", though that's A. likely a misuse of the title "Ombudsman", and B. selling you pretty short, given your history with the game that I've missed out on. But since joining the modern Descent community back in late-January of 2017 through Roncli's Observatory streams, I've always got the impression of you as this person who always comments about Descent in detail pretty informatively; about the game itself, about the players, gameplay styles, etc.

But since then, I've also come to've known of your talents most notably through your own map-making. I will always treasure Monkey Bars and Octave Pro in my heart, for they're simple but impressive 3D dueling maps that really makes players use all six degrees of freedom in this 6DoF game.

Even then, that's still selling you short, but in terms of personal experience, I'll likely remember you most through my first impressions and your excellent 3D maps. You're a pretty informative and talented person, Lothar.

--Borjarnon

Lothar, you are partially responsible for bringing me to the DCL from the DBB, and for that I am eternally grateful. It was nice to meet and spend time with you and Drakona at some the past few LANS. Good people. Thank you for what you do.

--Lady Silver