Botch: brilliant! I'm a bit hung up on re-creating my builds as well. Once you're familiar with the whole world the game becomes indescribably ... less difficult. But there are always ways to challenge yourself.

I decided that on my first character, with which I completed the game, I relied too heavily on Havel's Ring, and then the Ring of Favor and Protection once my endurance was high enough to remove Havel's. I considered starting a character with the goal of wearing the full Black Iron set (Tarkus!) and no equip load enhancements, but after reacquainting myself with the heavy roll (where your controller vibrates and you're almost stunned) I decided as fun as it would be to walk around dressed up as Tarkus and smashing things with a Greatsword, it would be better to challenge myself with a lightly armored build that uses modest poise (a very important stat, I've learned).

I forgot to post this here, I don't know if any of you are aware of it, but this is a BLOODY BRILLIANT tool if you intend to play with a potential character build and want to figure out what will work best for you: http://mugenmonkey.com/darksouls/

A Dark Souls character planner! Yes!! You can even make a build and it will tell you which is the best starting class to use (the best ones to me seem to be the Pyromancer and Wanderer, mainly because they are the lowest starting levels (1 and 3, respectively) and starting level is apparently not affected by the Resistance stat (these both start at 12).

Anyway, I've started using the shotel (Lautrec's weapon of choice) and it has one clever feature: it ignores a certain amount (I don't know how much) of shield defense. You can kill a lot of turtling enemies in one or two swift swings; granted, I've already upgraded mine a bit, but it's still a nice weapon. More useful than I'd imagined. It can be found in Sen's Fortress, near where you drop down to speak with Siegmeyer. It's a good light weapon (2.5 wt) that meshes well with my intended build. I'm trying to optimize generally light pieces of armor that have relatively high poise. The Hollow Soldier's Waistcloth is probably, following that philosophy, the most underrated piece of light armor in the game (1.5 wt to 7.0 poise). Here is my intended build at soul level 120:

http://tinyurl.com/6nu2jls

Anyway, I've had DkS withdrawal for a few days now, and work time is done, so I'm off to Lordran!

Go easy on Gregg, Steerpike. He informed me that he indulged in a poutine this past weekend, so it appears his priorities are in order!

Pokey, where do you get the Uchigatana in this game? I don't think I've run into it yet,and I've pretty much explored all the nooks and crannies.

Gregg, like Pokey says, those are miracle resonance rings. That is the only place in the game I've ever seen them as well, so I think whatever From tried to do with that, it failed. Or maybe I'm wrong.

Regarding vagrants, I have seen two: the first time it was on top of a small tower in the Undead Burg (the one with the undead archer, near the house with the gold pine resin). The second it was in Darkroot Garden, right beside where you find the Wolf Ring. Apparently they come in a variety of sizes, but I don't know what dictates that. All anyone seems to know is that they're spawned from large losses of humanity, souls, or item dropping in other worlds. The second one did seem a bit larger than the first, but that may be my memory failing. They both dropped one hard humanity; I'm not sure if they drop anything else.

Also, Gregg: I'm assuming you haven't ventured far into Blighttown if you haven't rung the second bell? All I can say is...stay with it as best you can. Blighttown is a wretched hell, worse than anything I experienced in Demon's Souls (disclaimer: I was very high level when I finally visited the Valley of Defilement, so it was not very frustrating for me). When you decide to venture in, feel free to advise us before you do so, and I will gladly hop on a character near your level and be available for summons.

Whether you'd prefer to go in alone and do a bit of learning the hard way, or if you'd like a helping hand to lessen the horror, that's up to you! I assume you'd be going in via the Depths bonfire and opened entrance near Domnhall of Zena; you could bypass a substantial chunk (and arguably the worst part) of Blighttown by taking the back entrance from the Valley of Drakes ... but for your first time in you may just want to go the long and awful way to collect some key items (Eagle Shield, Iatio, and my favourite pyromancy: Power Within, along with numerous soul items).

Blighttown tips:

1. Bring all the purple moss and blooming purple moss you can.
2. If you are being constantly turned toxic, consider using a dung pie on yourself; I've never tried this, but apparently the self-toxic state you inflict upon yourself when throwing dung pies will not be overridden by other enemy toxins, and it is a slightly less fatal kind of toxic, so it may actually save you.
3. Use the Spider Shield (it's one of two shields that blocks poison, but the only one available at this point in the game).
4. Tell your lovely girlfriend that perhaps the evening you choose to venture into Blighttown would be a good time for her to visit friends or family, or just go for a very long walk. There will be much cursing in Blighttown, and it may get ugly.
5. Prepare to die.