Lythandra

I believe magic should be earned through an epic quest, spanning across the whole of Aegis. Not only will this give poeple a goal, but it will make the achievement all the more rewarding. Because Minecraft is quite heavily based on crafting, I suggest a reagent based casting system akin to the one Ultima Online uses. There are many under-used reagents such as dyes (lapis lazuli), certain colored wool, sugar, milk and more. Paper can be scribed into scrolls for instance, using lapis lazuli as ink for a litning spell.

It'd be the perfect quest hub as well. Where players go to read and research about artifacts, quests and pilgrimages. A place where players can sell books for some Mina.

I wish there was an Ammo NPC trader. Would make bow and arrow actually a weapon of choice, more then a fancy side-arm for ocassion.

Hm... Did my rantings have some measure of influence on the recent changes in donator perks? :P

If your a poor sod that can't afford to donate alot of money, but love LOTC so much, you sold your mom for 25 dollars, then your reading the right tutorial. I donnoh if the following is legal or not (Edit: It's legal, cuz Availer just approved!). Variant 1 If you want to live outside of the cities, and you have LWC protection, you can build a proper anti-grief bunker using furnaces a basic building material for walls and roofs. Chests make excellent walls when protruding forth a bit as this offers storage as well. A door can be placed under LWC for the entry way, and the layer 60 depth cap as the impenetrable floor. Ofcourse this bunker will have to be underground, as you don't want to insult the aesthetically sensitive whilst hiding it from the impulsively destructive. Layer 60 is often underground as well. Underground = Stealth. Hide from Griefers. Terrain friendly. LWC'd Furnaces, Chests, Doors and Hatches = Invulnerable + Functional (But vulnerable to the mighty admins and mods) Also, you will need to place your torches on the ground. I haven't tested it yet to see if Torches actually adhere to the 60 capped floors, but if they don't, just build a lighting pillar :] Variant 2 If your a druid, a hermit, or just a creative guerrilla extraordinaire like me, you will want to find yourself an accessible cave which goes down well beyond depth 60, and make it your own, by capping it with furnaces, doors and possibly hatches (just by the gods, make sure you bring ladders in case you fall into a hole that you can't dig yourself out of) The danger here however, is that another VIP can just about trap you down there, by blocking your entrance using furnaces of he's own, but why would a donator want to do that to another donator and risk getting banned? Well, aren't we glad that griefers themselves are the one's sold by their mothers, yes? Yours sincerely, Lythandra, the Wild-Borne. Joy in Liberty.

Oh my donation incentive comment was a question, more then a statement. I am glad that has been clarified. I did not wish you insult you. Alright :] I have no choice but to trust in your decisions, therefore I will speak no more of the subject. Thank you for your time.

A good point; However they can have the donators magic be it's own sub-set. Besides, ItemID's are server side, so they can build wands. Infact, I make mods for New Vegas. I'd love to learn how to work Java and implement a few wands for the team. Agreed!

I appreciate you taking interest in my post, and treasure your insight and willingness to investigate. Not every player is blessed with a rationale from a "dev" or admin as to why they do certain stuff, so i cherish this discourse. I can see why things are done the way they are. There are several important observations I need to share however: Preserving terrain: Considering poeple are strip mining everything above 60, they still mend the terrain regardless. I have seen many strip mines that have been carefully sealed. Poeple will not fall into them unless they actively dig, in which case they want to be underground anyway, and artifficually dug mines don't exceed 60 blocks depth which means players can't get stuck, unless they are unfortunate enough to fall into a natural cavern, without any wood for ladders, which is a natural, common and circumstantial occurrence anyway. The server already has stated that damaging the terrain is unacceptable, and i am confidant poeple who have spent an entire hour writing careful RP appplications for server whitelisting would consider the integrity of the game world. The tidy mine seals i have discovered so far pay testament to this respect to the geometry. Also, should there be a hole left, an admin can always trace the perpetrator, and incarcerate them for questioning. I would gladly volunteer to be head inquisitor :P Also, when one digs pretty deep, the damage to the geometry is minimized by the fact that most of the damage is done *deep*. Nobody ever goes down that deep anyway. When they do, they got a free tunnel to navigate by. Rarity of Diamonds - Adding a novelty value to digital items materialized through Java code... it should be a rewarding use of one's time (which equates to real life money). Utilitarian uses tend to have the highest "reward" of time, as opposed to the procurement of an item with an artificially determined value through restrictions and regulations. Oil companies can tell you a thing or two about that. But I digress! (I'm sorry I'm sorry, I just HAD to say that!!!) Now, please tell me if I'm wrong, but considering the "mining permits" being an active incentive to donations, it leaves me wondering whether this resource regulation is directly linked to making donations a little more conveniently lucrative? Because I actually have a better idea of how to make donations even more lucrative without restricting poeple's freedom of enjoying an integral part of the Minecraft experience: Replace the permits with spells, or one way teleports back to home with a 1 hour re-use. AKA /set home /home Spells can be a simple thing like fireball, which uses a reagent, giving even more incentive to mercantilism. (Ultima Online) Because the spell mechanic would be absolutely unique to LOTC, this will be a massive marketing advantage, that could just about bring Lostcraft server to it's knees in terms of popularity, without the kids (cuz they can't write RP apps) With Kind Regards, Lythandra p.s. Falling down into a cavern, then having dirt be "too hard to break through" with a diamond shovel let alone a diamond pickaxe... isn't too RP either i would think ^_^;; Besides, there are many a situations where heroes fell down a hole, to find themselves in some abandoned mine. That's generative adventure and "emergent gameplay" as it were.

Mining range limit set at depth 60. Minecraft is all about the freedom of mining for materials, and building things out of it. It's about earning independence through interaction with the world. If you take away half of that aspect of the game, there isn't that much left that seperates Lord of the Craft from Ultima Online other then that one is isometric, and the other is 3D. I assume this range cap has been implemented to keep diamonds rare to curb inflation and to protect the overall structural integrity of the geometry. But all this does, is allow insiders or certain individuals who are online at the right time, at the right place to gather all the diamonds, whether it be discretely through X-ray or legitimately. Furthermore, *all* the mines are empty of diamonds nearly all of the time. Even if this may not always be the case, it certainly occurred often enough that I felt restricted and disadvantaged. Furthermore, this encourages strip-mining for iron and coal even closer to the geometry surface. Would there be no depth limit, a digger would dig more centralized and deeper, instead of wider, but shallow. This artificial regulation of resource availability through the regulation of mining rights reminds me of communist china, fighting inflation. (I realize I am walking a fine line here on trolling, but bare with me here, it will make sense.) When players start mining an ungodly amount of diamond, then sell it, this would theoretically cause massive inflation. But in reality, if you give everyone access to diamonds anywhere at anytime, there would be no demand for diamonds, and thus no inflation, because most of the money will be earned through questing and mob killing, and common trade in other commodities other then diamonds - Why buy something which you already own? Everyone will have diamonds. Diamonds are merely a material to assist with one's general gaming experience. It's nothing special. Xray will be rendered economically harmless. One might argue: "Well, if I have all the diamonds in the world, what good is money to me?" There is a commodity that only the server and certain entrepreneurial individuals can offer: Protection. Protection should be the end-game investment, not diamonds. Ya dig? Because whatever a man can build, a man can tear down. No amount of diamonds can change that, But currency can. Ya know what I mean? I am also aware that unrestricted material availability would lead to some sort of "uncontrollable development" where there would be a massive amount of underground bunkers with modern architecture, but that is part of human, elven, dwarven and orc ingenuity. Besides, who says this building strategy isn't "native" to the minecraft microcosm in the first place? Yes this could theoretically leave a lot of ugly huts out in the open, but those will be left as wreckages soon anyway by griefers and add something to the geometry. Ruins are points of interests too and tell a story of it's own. It becomes part of the server's violent history. People will then flock to the cities to seek protection where money will play a big role. The more people build out in the wilderness, the more action there is, but they will always have a home in the city to fall back on. A cultural identity to hold on to. This is how medieval works. Besides, underground bunkers make for "natural" dungeons with loot in them. Kind regards, Lythandra

Application Out-Of-Character: -Minecraft Account Name: Lythandra -How old are you?: 25 -Time-Zone/Country of Residence: GMT +7 : Hong Kong -Do you have a good grip on the English language/good grammar?: Indeed, I do. -Small 2-3 Sentence Description of yourself: A benevolent privateer, with a stealthy playstyle with good integrity and principles. I've played 324 SP games and 41 MMORPG's. I basically redefine the word "hardcore" and "sad". -How much time could you be on the server weekly?: 40+ -How long have you played minecraft?: 1 month -What do you know about roleplaying? How long have you been doing it? What kind?: 6 Years in total - Ultima Online, SWG, EverQuest 2, WoW, heavy roleplay. -What do you expect this server will be like?: Unpredictable. Different. Serious. Dedicated. Unique. Exclusive. -What other server(s) have you played on and why did you leave them?: FellowCraft (Too sparsely populated. Lack of worthwhile progression) Cole2's World (too mainstream and spammy, lacks identity and direction. Too many random children) -Have you read, understood, and agreed to the rules? What about the lore?: I find myself in agreement with the rules and rich lore. -Name the 4 races on this server. Humans, Dwarfs, Elves & Orcs. -How did you hear about us?: www.minecraftservers.com top rankings. -What is your The Lord Of Craft forum account name? Lythandra In-Character: -Character Name: Lythandra Halcyon -What is your Race?: Elven -Lordofthecraft.net/forum forum account: Lythandra -Biography: Daughter to an elven huntress and a human blacksmith, she is skilled in the hunt and in-tune with nature, with a special fondness of functional craftsmenship. Her mixed blood has made her a reclusive sort. She has a practical approach to living in general and enjoys the thrill of creative survival. Due to being whipped half to death by a xenophobic cult, which killed both her parents, she found herself at a temple. There she vows to patrol the wildlands, and make sure no one else has suffered what she had suffered. Many mysteries are left unanswered that need to be explored, but one thing remains certain: A specialty envenomed silver tip cross-hook arrow is reserved for her torturer, and he's out there somewhere. -Character Age: 17 -Character Appearance: Flowing red hair, emerald green eyes, rather short for an elf. Strategically concealed ears under long hair to hide half-blood heritage. Fair skin. -Character Personality: Very polite and friendly, but avoids sentient beings in general. Prefers the wild where everything shows it's true colors right from the get-go. Somewhat silent and efficient. Very impatient. Reclusive. Loves the outdoors and secret hidden locations for respite and a peace of mind. A natural explorer. Has a general disregard for hygiene, for such is a luxury out in the Wildlands full of peering eyes. Musk suffices. -Your ambitions: To build a well concealed underground Wheat, Reed & Mushroom farm and hidden base of operations, then explore the world, and assess the geo-political situation, and go from there. -Can your character read or write?: Yes. (Elven) -Can your character mine?: Yes (Blacksmith secondary) -Are you a capable builder? Yes (Ingenuity) -Can you wield a sword?: Yes (Blacksmith and Huntress's daughter) -Enjoy Farming?: Very much so (has a meditative value about it) -Does your character have any special skills?:] Heightened senses. Sharp reflexes. Uses a toothbrush out in the wild. Very unheard of. -A screenshot of your skin: -Other Information: "The cake is a lie, so stick with the pie." - Lythandra