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Old 10-06-2004, 04:56 AM   #1
the_logos
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Join Date: Sep 2002
Location: Mill Valley, California
Posts: 2,305
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announces the end of its new Mud's ( ) closed beta period and the public unveiling of its With over 18 months of full-time professional work plus countless hours by dedicated community members, Lusternia is finally almost ready to open.

Those daring to enter the exciting fantasy universe of Lusternia will find themselves plunged into a multi-planar realm where factions struggle to amass reservoirs of magical energy simply to survive. Within the Basin of Life, an alien evil has corrupted much of the land and people, making Lusternia a broken and perilous place. With the return of those Elder Gods who escaped the ancient divine wars, a new age of uncertainty dawns. What power shall next ascend to dominate the world's limited resources?

FEATURES:

Power and Feats
The most spectacular abilities are known as feats and are regulated by a system of power renewal. Power is drawn from the nexus a player is connected to, and some skills require the power be drawn from a specific nexus.  

Player vs. Player Combat
Lusternia offers the same style of intensive player vs. player (PvP) combat that has been one of the signature features of the Iron Realms games, but with Lusternia's power and feat design, combat takes on a whole new level of strategy in the over 600 new abilities and spells available at release.  

Trade Skills
Each player may take one trade skill from among eight choices. Not only do these trade skills offer an avenue of income but also provide benefits beyond simple item crafting. A cook can pump up a crowd with a hero's fete! A jeweler can create the perfect gemstone that only you can handle! A poison expert gains the secrets of immunizing him or herself!  

Influencing NPCs
Skills designed to non-violently battle non-player characters, an alternative to the "hack and slash" method of experience gaining. If you are defeated in one of these ego battles, you will lose experience. If you win, however, not only will you gain experience but also influence the mob in some manner. Seduce the barmaid! Make the Captain of the Guards paranoid! Beg from the shopkeeper and maybe he'll give you his favorite smoking pipe or, better yet, some gold!  

Customizable Government
Leaders of major cities can choose a political structure and governing style for their cities. Could you be living in a despotic religious society? A benevolent government bent on world conquest?  

Influencing Villages
Just as players influence non-player characters, so too do the major powers influence entire villages. As players gain rank in their city, they will also gain special influence skills to sway villagers to their cause. Once a village is under a city's sphere of influence, it will be fixed for a period of time determined by the city's government structure and ruling style.  

Dynamic Economy
Dozens of quests will cause a village to produce greater quantities of the valuable commodities needed to craft items. Most quests are simple and straightforward. For example, leading the cow to the dairy will produce milk or killing the cow and selling it to the tanner will produce leather. Other quests will permanently effect a village's commodity output. For example, enslaving a farmer will cause the village the farmer was abducted from to produce less grain and the village the farmer was enslaved to produce more grain Villages that are under the sphere of influence of a city will tithe a portion of the commodities produced to their liege city. The amount of the tithe is determined by a city's government structure and ruling style.  

Conflicts of Power
By power, we mean the pure magical energies that energize the nexuses of power, which players need for their specialty feats and cities need to defend themselves. There are several ways to gather power, such as mages harvesting power on the elemental planes. Some methods of gaining power for your nexus will come at the cost of another nexus! Also, power is gained through villages that are under a city's sphere of influence. The amount of power generated by a village is, again, determined by a city's government structure and ruling style.  

Amazing Quests
One of the top quest designers in the field has spent a year developing hundreds of quests for Lusternia that range from the simple to the complex. Many of these quests require logic and deduction to unravel, head-scratchers that are sure to be a hit among those who enjoy puzzle solving. Also, some quests cannot be solved the same way twice--so beware those who think quests are easy to re-do! Can you solve the murder mystery at Stewart Mansion? Will you be able to match up the star-crossed lovers at Chateau d'Amour? How about designing the weapon that will pick the next Orc Chieftain of Acknor?  

. Coming very soon! Website open now!
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