[Gawinn]

Riftshadow is an advanced Roleplaying/Playerkilling environment set in the
original fantasy world of Shalar. Step into this perilous landscape and don
the mantle of greatness, and you will find yourself in a rich world where
danger and excitement lurk around every corner, and where you may find both
friends and enemies to last a lifetime. Roleplaying is required and enforced,
and playerkilling is encouraged, within this roleplayed context. Features include:

* 13 races, with their own traits and cultures.
* 11 classes, each with up to 144 unique/original skills
* Cabals/clans to join for power and influence
* 80 areas and 7000 rooms to explore, with the world growing daily!
* Elaborate multi-stage quest system featuring extensive interactivity and mobile
memory
* Mobile combat and pathfinding AI
* Fully-featured OLC for builders, allowing for efficient world expansion.
* Extensive immortal interaction through in-game religions.
* No rent! No level-restrictions on equipment!
* Realistic and elaborate systems governing weather, the passage of time, solar and
lunar orbits, and other natural phenomena.
* Customizable colors, prompts, and interface -- built-in alias system.
* Many, many more... over 80,000 lines of original code!

While this is a serious MUD (no OOC gossip channels, no wild overuse of color, no
people named Cyberlord and Azzkikr), the single guiding principle behind our design
is maximization of fun.

Sound like the place for you? Come and find out. Join us in the perilous land of Shalar,
if you dare.

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Listed below are the classes of Riftshadow. Each class has its own unique set of skills
and spells. The immortal staff of RS would like to see to it that characters' lives include
less drudgery; as such, these classes are designed so that while practicing skills and spells
will certainly help you, it is far from necessary. Every stock class (e.g. warrior,
anti-paladin, thief) has already either been thoroughly revamped, or has a revamp in progress
for it. In addition, new classes not shown here are in the works, so keep checking back!

Warrior - A standard MUD class with a significant Riftshadow twist. Warriors will be able to
learn two fighting styles over the course of their lives, chosen from six specializations.
Switching between these styles, players will find that each has strengths and weaknesses, and
that every skill can have different effects when used with different weapons and weights,
resulting in hundreds of permutations!

Sorcerer - A special class of mages that deals with the elements. Players may choose a single
elemental major focus from one of the three elemental realms -- the Thermal Realm (Heat or Cold),
the Material Realm (Air or Earth), and the Dynamic Realm (Electricity or Water). Then, they
select a minor focus from the para-elements by picking a single element from the two elemental
realms they haven't yet selected from:

Heat + Air = Smoke
Heat + Earth = Magma
Heat + Electricity = Plasma
Heat + Water = Acid
Cold + Air = Blizzard
Cold + Earth = Frost
Cold + Electricity = Crystal
Cold + Water = Glacier
Air + Electricity = Lightning
Air + Water = Mist
Earth + Electricity = Metal
Earth + Water = Ooze

For example, a sorcerer might have a major of Air, and a minor of Steam (Heat + Water). Sorcerers
have had nearly 150 spells coded that are unique to Riftshadow -- EVERY ONE of which will be useful.
And, as you can see, there are quite a few possible combinations of foci.

Necromancer - A class which deals with the undead. Watch for dozens of creatures you've never seen
anywhere else! And, for those who have played necromancers on other MUDs, you might be interested
to note that your undead followers won't leave you after a crash or reboot.

Anti-Paladin - A brute-force class, which steals the best and most destructive powers from other
types of magic, and from other fighting classes. A Jack-of-all-trades, and a master of none, an
anti-paladin can be vastly superior or outmatched and off balance, should he try to play his
target's game.

Paladin - A holy knight who communes with his deity for power, and who must seek empowerment for
his most powerful supplications. Paladins are set between two paths, that of the Crusader and
that of the Protector.

Zealot - A holy warrior and an offensively-oriented priest who must seek empowerment, who crusades
for a specific cause: for good or for evil, for nature or for civilization, for order or for chaos,
whatever the case may be. A highly polarized class, with much infighting between guild members. A
zealot may be any alignment, but be forewarned: neutral zealots had best be zealous about something
which is not alignment-based if they expect empowerment, and all zealots MUST have a god impressed
by their dedication to the cause to grant them power.

...with more classes available!

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Gawinn the Everlasting, Lord of the Erethryn

riftshadow.org 9999