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Luminari MUD Update 03/29/2015 and New Staff Member

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Please welcome Telarious to the staff!

[Feb 02 2015] – Zusuk
added ‘animate dead’ feat
every feat invested in ‘armored spell casting’ reduces the arcane weight penalty by 5
[Dec 16 2014] – Ornir
added the Clearwater River, the Swiftwater River, the Ashen river and the Lake of Tears in the Ashenport region.
Allowed the use of different glyphs in the map – For example having roads use the glyphs -, | or + depending on what part of the road you are on.
Added PATHS to wilderness!  This is a new structure that allows the easy creation of roads, rivers, trails, etc. with dynamic room names.
[Dec 11 2014] – Ornir
Improved the auto-generated map of the wilderness – Now it includes both hand built and regional details!
[Dec 10 2014] – Ornir
Moved Mosswood closer to Ashenport, into the Mosswood.
Added ‘The Mosswood’ to the wilderness.
Added the ability to generate terrain in the wilderness using REGIONS!
[Nov 27 2014] – Ornir
Fixed bug causing crashes when statting mobiles and players.
[Nov 26 2014] – Zusuk
began phasing out deprecated AC applies (olist affect 17)
added new berserker feat:  ‘come and get me!’, counter-attack mechanic while raging
added new berserker feat:  renewed vigor, the ability to do a small heal while raging
added heavy shrug feat mechanic, but needs to be converted by ornir to new DR system
fearless rage should make you immune to fear effects
[Nov 26 2014] – Ornir
Updated the look of hte output of the cooldowns, affects and resistances commands.
[Nov 26 2014] – Zusuk
fearless rage, while raging, will remove fear from the rager
[Nov 26 2014] – Ornir
added wear-off message to the dirtkick blindness affect.
[Nov 25 2014] – Zusuk
added new feat (rage power for berserkers): powerful blow
added new feat (rage power for berserkers): suprise accuracy
encalpsulated rage wearing off into a function
changed ‘barbarian’ references to ‘berserker’
[Nov 25 2014] – Ornir
Converted Crystalfist and Crystalbody to daily innate abilities.
Added abilities command to show the number of uses left for Innate, Class and feat-gained abilities.
[Nov 24 2014] – Zusuk
added feat ‘fast movement’
added feat ‘indomitable rage’
added feat ‘indomitable will’
fast-movement feat will slightly reduce movement points used, and increase movement regeneration (temp mechanic)
typing rage while raging will de-activate your rage
rage is no longer standard action
raging now fatigues you unless you have tireless rage feat
normal rage = +4, greater +6, mighty +9, indomitable (epic) +12
rage now is not level based for berserker’s, but based on feats
[Nov 21 2014] – Ornir
Updated some object descriptions in Mosswood
fixed color issues with questmaster identification.
modified treasure code to give bonus types to bonuses.
Modified treasure code to generate weapons with enhancement bonuses.
modified cunning spell to have ENHANCEMENT type.
modified strength spell to have ENHANCEMENT type.
Bonus stacking is now in effect – see ‘help bonus’ for details.
[Nov 19 2014] – Ornir
Marked epic feats and epic class feats in the study menu.
[Nov 18 2014] – Ornir
fixed a bug in traps that was causing crashes.
added ‘Bonus’ help entry
Updated Identify spell to show bonus types.
Updated lore skill to show bonus types.
Added bonus types to stat command.
Added bonus types to bonuses from gear.
Updated and enhanced the ‘affects’ command.
[Nov 17 2014] – Ornir
Now casting will not engage you in combat with a mob unless that mob is not currently in combat.
[Nov 15 2014] – Zusuk
monk slow fall improvement will improve past level 20 now
rages per day will improve past level 20 now
shrug damage for berserkers will now show in feats how much you have, and will continue advancing past level 20 (epic)
trapfinding feat for rogues now gives a +4 bonus to detecting traps
adjusted it so improved uncanny dodge wil not be effective if the opponents berserker+rogue levels are 4 or more higher than the dodger
rogues now get dirtkick feat
fixed a little bug with identify (that i made, teehee)
[Nov 15 2014] – Ornir
split the affects command into 3 : Affects, Cooldowns and Resistances
Added Bonus types to affects.
[Nov 11 2014] – Ornir
Increased inventory carry limit by 5.
Fixed some formatting errors in the affects display.
Fixed errors with traps where some affects were incorrectly set.
Mysteriously fixed a bug with trap sense.
[Nov 10 2014] – Ornir
updated Shadow Shield spell to use the new DR system.
Fixed some erroneous error logging dealing with traps.
Stoneskin changed to apply DR 10/adamantine
Damage reduction has been implemented!
[Nov 06 2014] – Zusuk
temporary: added two dummy checks in comm.c lines 3059, 3062
[Nov 05 2014] – Ornir
Updated some messages for crystalfist and crystalbody innate abilities.
integrated traps into the event system.
Fixed problem with traps that was causing crashes.
[Nov 05 2014] – Zusuk
another dummy check in mobact.c, still wrestling with issue of mobiles in out of location rooms (yet not NOWHERE)
[Nov 04 2014] – Treyorn
Fixed numerous typos in Mosswood.  Thank you Ash.
Main quest extended into Graven Hollow. Main quest is currently under construction at this point until the Mosaic Cave and a Small Ruins zone are complete.
[Nov 04 2014] – Zusuk
added some dummy checks in cast_spell() having more issues with mobiles in out of location rooms (yet not NOWHERE)
fixed a small bug with charge
trap-sense in your feat list wouldn’t show stacking, it now does
trap sense now will help barbarians/rogue auto-detect traps
fully enabled disabletrap and detecttrap commands
disarming traps gives dc * dc * 100 xp
finding traps gives dc * 100 xp
fixed a typo in the weather.c file
jordan fixed some typos in mosswood
[Nov 03 2014] – Zusuk
fixed all the traps in game to hide their l-desc (added a period (.))
damge-types for some of the traps have been adjusted
fixed the “dts” helpfile
added the “traps” helpfile
added check_trap to door-commands
added the trap event that will attach to players: perform_trap_effect
added commands: disabletrap and detecttrap
basic trap engine installed: set_off_traps, is_trap_detected, set_trap_detected, check_trap
[Nov 03 2014] – Ornir
Wands and staves are a bit more difficult to use…Use Magic Device skill, however, can let you bluff your way through the activation requirements.
[Nov 03 2014] – Zusuk
masterlist command will now show the spellnum of the spells which should help facilitate selecting spells in oedit/etc
you can now oedit traps
added traps to object statting
modifications to olist type 31, including trap-type
[Nov 03 2014] – Ornir
Use Magic Device skill now allows you to bluff your way through activating a scroll.
[Nov 02 2014] – Zusuk
you can now modify zone echos as a staff-level character in medit
added the event structure to players to support traps
added all the constants required to integrate the trap system
added support for trap objects, type olist type 31
updated zreset/zpurge helpfiles to reflect normal usage
questmaster, and people who will respond to “ask” are now flagged with a red ! instead of a yellow Q 🙂
[Nov 01 2014] – Zusuk
color blind and i can’t type
umm i think its yellow, i’m color blin
now if a mobile has a hlquest or autoquest, they will be marked with a (Q) in yellow
added stealth and perception help files
you no longer need any training in perception to attempt to spot/listen
[Nov 01 2014] – Ornir
[Balance/Skills] Scrolls are now more difficult to use.
[Oct 31 2014] – Zusuk
hide now uses a move action to protect from sniping
sneak now uses a swift action
added an explicity rule to our policies (policy) file:  no poaching our coders/builders/players or advertising another MUD here
[Oct 30 2014] – Zusuk
updated the acrobatics help file
you now type ‘craft’ to see your crafting skills (or practice)
use rope has been disabled
decipher scripts no longer exists, will probably be handled by use magic device
search will now be handled under perception
open locks will now be handled under disable device
tumble + jump + balance now is all under acrobatics
balance was removed, it will be handled under acrobatics
removed spot, listen, replaced with perception
removed hide, move silent, replaced with stealth
[Oct 30 2014] – Ornir
Created the swift-action help entry.
Added move-action help file
Added standard-action help file
New Action type: Swift action
[Oct 30 2014] – Zusuk
removed all previous calls for set_wait() with action calls
falling, death are now 12 second action cost penalty
made training room vnum 14100 peaceful, since pk death spawns there 😛
added a normalizing color character to the [press return to continue] to help reduce color bleed issues
[Oct 29 2014] – Zusuk
quest list now shows quest-name instead of quest-short-desc
quest list will now show quest name instead of quest descrip
error in the check for bonus dex, fixed
if you miss an attack that has a stunning fist or quivering palm attached to it, you will expand that ability now
[Oct 28 2014] – Zusuk
reduce drastically the frequency of mobiles using stunning fist
rogues now get feat:  slippery mind
rogues now get improved evasion
rogues now get feat: crippling strike
rogues now get feat: defensive roll
rogue sneak attack and trap sense feat improvements will continue past level 20
sneak attack, although being properly assigned, was not showing up in the feat list… it now does
timeless body feat (monk/druid) as a temporary mechanic, reduces all incoming negative damage by 25%%
[Oct 28 2014] – Ornir
You now lose your dex bonus to ac if you are sitting or prone.  Rogues – You are welcome.
[Oct 28 2014] – Zusuk
added message for prepping stunning fist, and executing stunning fist to victim/audience
dirtkick issue, wrong skill message was being sent to damage(), fixed
[Oct 27 2014] – Zusuk
added a way to view your crafting skills:  just type practice
re-added increase_skill() function, also re-added the proper calls to the craft.c file so you can actually improve your crafting skills.. TODO: a way to view your crafting skills
greater flurry now gives another bonus attack at full BAB at level 15
[Oct 27 2014] – Ornir
Fixed a bug that was crashing the mud with the users command.
[Oct 27 2014] – Treyorn
Added Monk to help evasion and help improved evasion.
[Oct 27 2014] – Ornir
The Luminari Account system is now on-line and active.
[Oct 27 2014] – Zusuk
perfect self has temporary mechanic of +3 damage reduction to ALL sources of damage until we fix its proper implementation
ki strike has a temporary mechanic of +1 hit/dam until we fix its proper implementation
[Oct 26 2014] – Zusuk
fixed vaprak gloves
removed “IS PROFICIENT” debug message
[Oct 26 2014] – Treyorn
Fixed visual map overlapping in Jade Forest.
[Oct 26 2014] – Zusuk
you can now buy a medium warhorse somewhere in mosswood
[Oct 25 2014] – ZusukSDRandCo (6)
empty body feat added
diamond body feat implemented
added wholeness of body feat for monks
sorry, but treat injury cooldown has been trippled
still mind coded for monks!
purity of body feat now operational
slow fall monk feat now works
[Oct 24 2014] – Zusuk
added updated charge helpfile, includes details for new mechanic
added a twitter account for the MUD!  (https://twitter.com/zusuk_likmud)  @zusuk_likmud
fixed a little issue with comments on the blog for the website
added feat: spirited charge
added feat: ride by attack
charge mechanic has been changed, will update the help file with details shortly
[Oct 23 2014] – Zusuk
changed “acrobatic charge” to “dextrous charge” as a temporary fix to a bigger issue
new feat:  mounted combat, also fixed a bug in parry
updated flurry of blows feat info to reflect updated system
renamed shield-bash to shield-punch
added a message if you successfully pulled of the debuff of kick
updated kick help file to reflect changes
added set epicclassfeats to give/take away epic class feat points <set victim epicclassfeats class-name #>
added set classfeats to give/take away class feat points <set victim classfeats class-name #>
added set epicfeatpoints to give/take away epic feat points
added set featpoints to give/take away feat points
found some bugs in the starting trains, fixed them
[Oct 22 2014] – Treyorn
The Main Quest has been extended through Wizard Mansion.  If you have lost your token from Alerion, please contact an Immortal.  If you have completed all the Wizard Mansion quests already, it may be a tad confusing because the quests you have completed are skipped.  The quests have been edited to fit into the main story line.
[Oct 22 2014] – Zusuk
oops a little booboo, i accidentally made it so you get your first bonus attack at full BAB :P  i’ll fix that next reboot
hlquest disabled temporarily for zone 1030
changed the location of our daily pfile/pobjs backups so it wouldn’t be included in our weekly backups
[Oct 21 2014] – Zusuk
updated trip helpfile to reflect new system
updated bash helpfile to reflect new system
added “help combat-maneuver-check”
minor change to bash/trip mechanic:  bash now uses strength check for attacker, trip uses dexterity check for attacker
[Oct 20 2014] – Zusuk
kick mechanic changed:  does 1d2 or bare-hand monk damage if you are a monk, failed save by the opponent will result in loss of a move action
found a bug with the savingthrow() function, it was adding a d20 diceroll twice
i think i fixed a booboo, shield-slam victims are using the attacker’s saving throws
added helpfile “special-size-modifier”
temporarily disabling switch until we can adapt it to wilderness
fixed a movement loss bug with some new terrain types (movement_loss) in constants.c
zone 18 races have been changed to undead for now, and melee classes
[Oct 19 2014] – Zusuk
may have accidentally fixed the quest bug *knock on wood*
modified feat info abundant step to reflect a little more info about this new feat
created monk-feat:  abundant step
added basic helpfile templates to documents
added ‘magic missile’ and ‘acid fog’ help files
found double check for “affects” in stealth-mode code interpreter.c
updated “hide” helpfile to reflect new additional commands
you can now type equipment, inventory, idea, bug, typo while in “stealth” mode
fixed a nasty little bug with room-affection checks for targets not actually in the world (spell_parser.c, call_magic)
[Oct 18 2014] – Zusuk
there are some poisons already in the game, but for testing purposes, i added a blind poison in the thieves guild in ashenport (private shop with the crooknosed fence)
ROGUES level 10+ will have to respec to get their new free feat
giving apply poison feat to rogues for free at 10th level
added applypoison helpfile
poisoned weapons will now be listed as (poisoned)
added applypoison basic system, to be upgraded when we make a more in-depth poison system
you can now modify “poison” item types to create vials of poison for applypoison feat
olist type 33 (poison vials) now works
we now have valgrind memory debugging tool installed
added flat-footed help file
added flanked help file
added dexterity-bonus help file
added sneak-attack help file
[Oct 17 2014] – Zusuk
apparently the spell ‘obscuring mist’ for druids was not implemented yet, so i implemented it – its a  room affection 20% concealment bonus
walls are now intelligent:  they won’t hurt the caster, or his group
dispel magic can now dispel walls
added blocking mechanic for wall objects
added basic damage mechanic for wall objects
added basic mechanic for wall objects
[Oct 16 2014] – Zusuk
dropped the (craft) and (knowledge) tags on the respective abilities
you can now check if an actor is on a quest using is_on_quest(vnum) for autoquest system/scripts
de-queing of zone resets is now occuring every 3 seconds instead of 10
modified npc-abbrevs for who list
[Oct 16 2014] – Treyorn
Updated triggers, quests and mobiles within Wizard Training Mansion to fit into story line.  Main quest to be expanded soon.
[Oct 16 2014] – Ornir
added the MSDP ROOM structure – This is a table structure that contains a bunch of data relevent to the room you are standing in, including room name, number, exits and their numbers, terrain type, etc.
Added MSDP variables ROOM_VNUM, ROOM_EXITS, ROOM_NAME, AREA_NAME to the out of band communication.  Now you can use these to power your mapping scripts!
[Oct 15 2014] – Ornir
Now selecting feats while studying will unlock dependent feats instantly.
Linked the help and feat systems so that doing help on a feat that has no entry in the help system will automatically show the ‘feat info’ for that feat.
[Oct 14 2014] – Zusuk
fixed up some mobile races and mobile classes in zone 251
[Oct 14 2014] – Treyorn
Feats trainer in Training Halls is now a trainer.  Players can now train abilities in that room as well.
Removed practice from help train.
[Oct 14 2014] – Zusuk
implemented divine-bond, added help file for it as well
[Oct 14 2014] – Treyorn
The Training Halls (our newbie tutorial zone) is complete and live in game!  New players will start in this zone with the option of skipping the tutorial and going directly to Mosswood.  Players will now recall directly into Mosswood.
[Oct 14 2014] – Zusuk
fixed a bug where could pick feats that were not in the game via the study menu
[Oct 14 2014] – Treyorn
log
add Updated teleport description.  Removed Newbie Graveyard, added Wizard Training Mansion as example.  Removed Midgaard as recall location and added Mosswood.
add
[Oct 14 2014] – Zusuk
started commenting the feats.c file and cleaning it up
started going through our feat system to identify unfinished feats
[Oct 14 2014] – Ornir
Due to the recent prosperity of the town of Mosswood, the leadership comissioned the manufacture of streetlights to be placed around the main streets.  The resident wizard called it ‘A triviality’, but was happy to take the coin.  You might notice the town does seem a bit brighter for his efforts.
[Oct 14 2014] – Zusuk
added circumstance penalty to damage, if you are in a compromising situation in combat (like sitting) you take a 2 damroll penalty
added a MAX_DAM_BONUS cap of 60, will not even be relevant to anyone though 😛
found the bug in damroll bonus, everyone was getting free +12 damage because of my booboo :P  sorry have to take that back out
offhand attacks only get 1/2 strength bonus like they should now
did some fairly thorough testing with attack roll, we seem to be good now (only taking into account primary hand, did not test ranged/offhand)
completely removed “compute_bab” as it was unused with the last modifications
in hit() a deprecated form of calculating attack bonus was being used, fixed
weapon-finesse will now check to verify your dex-bonus is superior to str-bonus before applying it (otherwise you’ll use str-bonus)
feat info for weapon-finesse now accurately reflects that you get dex bonus instead of str bonus (regardless of weapon size/type/etc)
promoted the status of some of our staff-users on the website, you know who you are 🙂
flushed the cache, updated all the plugins on the website, also updated some users with inappropriate levels of access
[Oct 13 2014] – Zusuk
added a temporary +5 bonus to crafting abilities in the check until we fix that system
add terminators to some constant arrays missing them
skill instead of ability names used for crafting, fixed that
changing all the ability names for craft, knowledge to lead with the actual names (more newbie friendly)
shield slam and shield charge were missing in spell_parser skillo()
shieldcharge !vict said “shieldpunch who” instead of “shieldcahrge who”
changed alignment of feats study menu
fixed a boundary bug with ‘eqrating’
[Oct 12 2014] – Zusuk
added a torch to supply shop in mosswood
[Oct 11 2014] – Zusuk
added “eqrating” command, its in development
fixed loading gear to mobiles not in game yet
[Oct 10 2014] – Zusuk
‘olist worn’ now will display affection modifiers
[Oct 10 2014] – Ornir
Monks set back to regular BAB.  Sorry, that is not the solution we are looking for.
Monks now get FULL BAB.  Hopefully now it won’t be flurry of whiffs instead of flurry of blows…
[Oct 10 2014] – Zusuk
fixed a boundary bug with ‘olist worn’
[Oct 10 2014] – Ornir
Added messages for shieldslam
power attack and combat expertise now work.
[Oct 09 2014] – Ornir
Guarding requires you to now have a Standard and a Move action available.  You need to pay attention and be available to move quickly at a moment’s notice to protect your allies!
Converted all weapons in zone 1030: Ashenport to the weapon-type system.
[Oct 08 2014] – Treyorn
Added missing extra descriptions in Graven Hollow and Wizard Training Mansion.  Updated all weapons to new enchancement bonus for those two zones.
Added “Potions” keyword to “Quaff” help file.  Added “Staves” and “Wands” keywords to “Use” help file.  Added “Scrolls” keyword to “Recite” help file.

Nobility

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Nobility is an easy concept to understand, but one very difficult to explain. What is the difference between an orc and and Elf that makes one worthy of esteem and the other worthy of disgust?

Is it a result of extrinsic observation only? It is not a matter of clothing, for some gnomes have been known to be nudists, and yet gnomes have Nobility. There are wild races of Halfling who wear poorer leather garments than some orcs. It cannot be skin color, or a ferocious mien, for the Half-orcs have been recognized as Noble, as indeed they are. Consider also that some Elves find the Dwarves as physically repugnant as orcs.

Is it civilization itself, or the establishment thereof? Humanity has not always had civilization, nor does all of the human family now live under a state; many live as nomads across isles lost on the sea, as foreign to us as the stars. Some orc tribes would be indistinguishable in many ways from the settlements of noble races. History has records, sparse though they may be, of Orc-kings who ruled the low plains many centuries ago.

Is it mental acuity? Are the noble races smarter than the bestial ones? They are not, for kobolds can be a match for any human in cunning, and they are scarcely considered higher than rats. Kobolds have even developed rude machinery in some cases!

It cannot be the presence of a soul, for evidence shows that soul-based magic can still affect them.castle 3-scratch

Is the concept of Nobility no more than a little boys’ club, in which no newcomer may be initiated? Is it a matter of tradition and personality, and nothing more? Some have argued that it is, but that rabble may be summarily ignored; Nobility does indeed exist in the noble races, and the bestial ones lack it.

Nobility is the desire of a being to look beyond life and consider the infinite. The noble races all ponder the gods and the immortality of the soul, while the bestial races do not. Kobold religion is best described as laughable—they worship fear and power more than any god. A kobold will worship a frightening painting, if it believes it will gain some immediate advantage by doing so. There are tribes of trolls who worship dragons. The orc gods, and a few do exist, do not promise progress or wisdom in any way, when rarely they promise anything. They promise immediate solutions in terms of power or wealth. An orc cares nothing for the life to come, and scorns those who do. Goblins, orcs, hobgoblins, kobolds, trolls; they all worship power in the hear and now, and seek nothing beyond it.

It is the inherent faculty for altruism, even if ignored, and for faith, even if unpracticed, that separates the noble races from the bestial ones. As no bear or fox can build a nation or truly worship a god, neither can any orc, for they care nothing of progress or each other. They are clever animals and nothing more.

A New Issue of Imaginary Realities!

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Volume 7 issue 1 of the new Imaginary Realities is out now, after a long delay.  Imaginary Realities is the only remaining e-magazine dedicated to MUDs.

This issue contains:

  • Choosing an Emoting System – Written by Griatch, this is a discussion of different types of ’emoting’ systems and their implementations using Evennia.
  • The Dungeon Keeper – Written by Robert “Hugo” Winter, this is a discussion of the purpose of a ‘dungeon crawl’ in the context of MUDs, along with various ways of implementing the concept.  There is some interesting use of group-wide multiple choices from Epitaph.
  • What Do I Do Now? – Written by Kavir, this article discusses newbie retention methods and the use of ‘MUD School’.
  • The Worlds in Which We Wander – Written by Michael “Drakkos” Heron, this is a discussion about developing areas, the important choices and the fact that area development is HARD WORK, again using Epitaph as an example.

file000286999262There is a lot of solid content in this issue, so check it out!

Imaginary Realities volume 7, issue 1

Lumina – Voiced by Stu Cook

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Text:

Eons ago, before civilization on this world established itself, the world now known as Lumia was adopted by the Luminari, a race of Celestial, Extra-Planar Beings. They chose Lumia because of the unique properties of the world, namely the strong magical field suffusing and surrounding the planet. This field, caused by the abundance of the magic-bending mineral arcanite, was exactly what the Luminari needed to perform their task, the imprisonment of the being known only as the Prisoner. No one in this time remembers the Prisoner’s true nature, only that the threat posed by its existance was so great that the Luminari devoted their immortal lives to maintaining its prision.

By growing the crystals of arcanite native to Lumia, the Luminari carefully manipulated the magical fields surrounding the planet, building a powerful enough prison to lock away the malevolant Prisoner where its influence could not be felt. This prison was locked with five locks spread over the surface, and the keys hidden. The Luminari remained on Lumia in order to maintain and guard the prison.

As the ages passed, the indigenous peoples, the humans, elves, dwarves, orcs and halflings all advanced in both civilization and influence. Although Kingdoms rose and fell, vanishing into dust, they were quickly rebuilt even faster. Many of the Luminari, tiring in their relentless vigilance, left their task and integrated themselves into the indigenous peoples of the world, leaving their more disciplined brethren behind.

These Luminari taught the people of the world the arts of magic, ushering in a new age of prosperity for the peoples of Lumia. They revered the wandering Luminari, who in their arrogance never returned to their guard. The few Luminari that remained decided that they were too few to maintain the prison, and that they needed help.

So the faithful Luminari were forced to also get involved in the indigenous people’s lives, and began to recruit the most promising beings to bear their Mark. The Mark of the Luminari changed the soul of the recipient, binding them to this life and granting them the ability to advance much more rapidly in power than the average mortal. The Marked were granted this gift, but with this came a grave duty – To protect and preserve the prison within Lumia and to stop those that might wish to unleash the Prisoner. It was in this duty that the Marked discvered the power of the crystalline arcanite so abundant in their world. They discovered that the power stored within these crystals could be tapped, enhancing their mundane items, imbuing them with magical properties. Furthermore, they learned how they could use arcanite to enhance their own bodies, transforming them into the Arcana Golems, more construct than man, with the power to level cities.

Greed and lust for power drove them to war with each other, with the Luminari and with the more “common” folk of the world. The peoples of Lumia called this the “Last War” , because it was thought that no one would surive. The armies led by the terrible Arcana Golems tore the world asunder, filling the skies with fire and ash.

Distracted by the chaos above, the normally vigilant Luminari were not aware that the prisoner was able to force the prison open just enough to touch the world. Some of the marked, when touched by the prisoner, were further seduced by promises of power – and so were tainted to the core. When dscovered by the Luminari, these traitors fled into hiding.

The prison was restored, at the cost of all but a single life of the Luminari, the dead’s essence used to restore the weakened prison. The “Last War” concluded as the last of the Arcana Golem destroyed each other. The world, now scarred and blackened eventually recovered. The last of the remaining Luminari, Sarene, took upon herself the solitary mission of guarding the prison for the rest of her days.

The knowledge of the uses of arcanite was not completely lost, but the process of creating Arcana Golems was thought to be destroyed.

In the rebuilding, while mining for ores, a group of dwarves discovered an ancient city, thought to have been lost in the “Last War.” The city, however, was shielded by rich deposits of arcanite which protected it from the devastating magics above. The dwarves in this city had grown complacent in their isolation, believing that they were the only ones who remained after the devastation.
The dwarves of this city had been changed, either by arcane radiation during the Last War or by their close proximity to large amounts of arcanite. The dwarves had become like the rocks under which they lived, their skin hardening, their hair becoming veins of metal ore. Their skin was crystalline, faceted and semi transparent, but they moved as if they were flesh and blood. They also gained the remarkable ability to morph their bodies, growing crystals from their fists and altering their crystalline skin until it is as hard as the crystal it resembled.

The historians of the Crystal Dwarves, although tight-lipped, had records of the “Last War” – accounts that described events only know as legeands and bedtime stories to the surface world. And although they did not have the complete technique, the knowledge of the Arcana Golem was re-discovered.

Some of the traitors had also survived the war – and they had not been idle. Building areas of support, they searched out tainted areas touched by the Prisoner – parts of the prison damaged unintentionally by the mining of crystalline arcanite and the devestation of the Last War. Those tainted by the Prisoner had become known as “darklings” and they worked to sow distruction and conflict amongst the free peoples of the realms.

Serane, the last remaining Luminari, has begun again the process of “marking” those that are worthy to help build a defense agianst the rising tide of the darklings and prevent the release of the Prisoner.

LuminariMUD by Enyuu (EvanVolker)

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What an awesome contribution to LuminariMUD from Enyuu (EvanVolker)!

Click on the image to visit his DeviantArt page!

Luminari Mud by Enyuu
Luminari Mud by Enyuu (EvanVolker)
http://fav.me/d8708pw

Luminari MUD by Enyuu (EvanVolker)

Graven Hollow Camp

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Graven Hollow Camp

A nomadic group of half orcs have finally settled in the Ashenport Region and
have named their camp Graven Hollow.  Set in a small valley surrounded partially
by hills, forest and small mountains, the half orcs built a small village and
farm using materials easily accessible to them from the surrounding region.
Life was finally great for the half orcs; No more traveling and worrying about
the next meal.  What they did not know, however, is that they built their new world on
the doorstep of one of Lumia’s most feared creatures…Find your way