1.3 THE INNOVATIVE FEATURES OF LUSTERNIA

Lusternia: Age of Ascension, one of several quality text games released by Iron Realms Entertainment, breaks new ground by presenting a dynamic roleplaying environment that pioneers innovative new features, quests and skills. Lusternia is sure to challenge experienced gamers and delight those new to the genre of text worlds. 

INNOVATIVE 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.

Trade Skills: Each player may take one trade skill from among eleven 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 jeweller can create the perfect gemstone that only you can handle! A poison expert gains the secrets of immunising him or herself!

Simplified Skill Tree: Many skills have branches that follow a basic skill tree that allow some customisation among players.

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 favourite smoking pipe or, better yet, some gold!

Customisable Government: Leaders of major cities and communes 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 (or commune), 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/commune will tithe a portion of the commodities produced to their liege city/commune. The amount of the tithe is determined by a city/commune'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/commune's sphere of influence. The amount of power generated by a village is, again, determined by a city/commune'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?

These features and many more await all intrepid adventurers.