Greetings,

I have wandered over to these lands from the world from Gemstone IV which I have been there for 10 years. Reasons why I left are of no consquence. I found the documentation on Lusternia very fascinating and I am very impressed by the amount of detail that has gone into these lands. The other day I created a soul to wander here just to test the waters and was a bit overwhelmed. The idea of learning something new is quite exciting but one can feel lost.

Okay what I am looking for some direction. Too much to read that it becomes over powering. For a newbie in these lands, is anyone able to point me in a direction that will help me enjoy and learn what Lusternia can offer. In the other world of Gemstone, I was a dark elf sorcerer and practiced necromancy and some demonology, I will probably look into the Nilhists guild here. As for the race? I know it really depends on what one wants to get out the lands here. I am still pondering which one to take.

Thanks for your help.

Zhelas

First of all welcome to Lusternia

Now Nihilists are indeed an interresting guild, however you also need to consider how you want to fight, if you want to flash with swords, you might want to consider Ur'guard (who are also into necromancy) if you are more into companions and summoning a demon to do your bidding, then nihilists.

As for race, in Magnagora Viscanti always goes well as they get racial buffs for taking necromancy. Another good guardian race is Aslaran or Loboshigaru.

Ah, welcome! I was first introduced into the world of Muds through the Gemstone III demo.

Nihilist sounds good. You'll either want to be a Viscanti or a Mugwump I'd say. To learn everyone about Lusternia, you ought to join a guild and your guild should handle it from there via novice programs. Hope you enjoy it here!

P.S. The examination command in Lusternia is PROBE not INSPECT/APPRAISE (I forgot what it was in Gemstone...). I kept trying to inspect/appraise/whatever when I first came to Iron Realm Games.

Select a Viscanti if you're going into Magnagora, and SAVE that reincarnation for later so you can specialise if you wish, or join another guild. The Nihilists arep retty complex, and the requirements aren't too bad. They're viable in combat, if the most underpowered one in LUsternia, while super-happy-fun Ur'guard are for a more blatantly military environment. It's a dictatorship, although not to the same level Glomdoring is.

Glomdoring is stupid. Avoid Glomdoring. They might have some interesting classes, but 90% of the time, the bullshit I've been amusing myself with dealing with, even as a novice, is horrible.

Celest is in the hole, but pretty friendly except for council members, stupid novices and higher-ups in general.

Serenwilde is snuggle-tastic. Bog-standard forestals, with a militaristic bent. 'nuff said.

If you *really* want to try it out, make alts in each city, each in a different guild. Find a city that suits you more than the others, then try out each guild seperately for an hour, see how you like the way they act, the way the skills work.

The Nihilists are great, if a bit demanding. Viscanti are prefered in any Magnagoran guild, being considered the 'superior race', but any race is welcome as long as they aren't Merian or Elfen - don't select those unless you're up for some serious discrimination roleplay. As for the races that are statistically 'good' at being Nihilists, the list is long. Mugwumps, Viscanti and Aslaran are the most common, but there are plenty of others (Lucidian, anyone?). I'd pick based on roleplay rather than stats, and you can always reincarnate once later if you change your mind.

Nihilist advancement is pretty smooth. As long as you're literate and serious (No "omg hello lets snuggle w/ demonz lol!", basically) you'll make friends fast, and you'll rise quickly if you chip in on a regular basis.

First and foremost, Welcome.

Second, will someone please create a welcome thread and pin it?

Third, I'm only going to give you the two pieces of advice that I think I should. First, Play Your Own Character ™. Sure, some characters are a bitch to play (An Elfen in Magnagora), some are impossible (A dracnari with fur) and some will cause grief and you shouldn't play them (A rapist). But within those constraints, create a character you like and play him regardless of what the world's expectations are. You'll have more fun, and you'll add more to the game than if you were creating some cookie-cutter expendable Joe.

Second, detachment, detachment, detachment. Sure, we get emotionally attached to our characters and I admit I got a huge rush whenever Verithrax is winning or getting screwed over. But that doesn't mean I get angry at the players involved. We Are Not Our Characters. If you ever find yourself angry, frustrated, or even ill because of something that happened in Lusternia, it's time to take a break.

And again, welcome! I'm sure you'll help make Lusternia even better.

Best advice I can give is choose a race you like. If you can't decide (and are joining the nihilists) go with Viscanti, because they are the "native" race.

Just jump in, and get started. Generally speaking, there are always people around to help you.

Welcome!

The Nihilists seem to be a good guild - if you like being a demon worshipper with control over the dead, then that's the class you're looking for. They're much more priests than magi, but magi in Lusternia aren't like magi elsewhere. The Geomancers (closest thing to evil magi) study rocks and the taint, and their skills give them control over tracts of land. You'd probably enjoy the game more in the Nihilists.

Aslaran Nihilist with Tarot is generally considered to be the powergaming race/specialization for Nihilists, if powergaming is what you're looking for.

Viscanti would be the generic sensible race for Nihilists RP-wise, as Viscanti is the "city race" for Magnagora (meaning, Viscanti get racial bonuses for being Magnagorans). However, many consider Viscanti to be far sub-par combat-wise, hence people saying to save your free reincarnation (race change) if you go Viscanti in case you decide you don't like it for combat later.

There are plenty other good races for RP and for combat, so I'll instead list the ones you should avoid as a Magnagoran Nihilist.

For RP reasons, I recommend not being Elven, Faeling, or Merian. They are hated by Magnagora, especially by Fain, and suffer severe discrimination and have many rights taken away as a result.

For combat reasons, I recommend not being a Tae'dae, Orclash, Igasho, Dwarf, as they suffer from equilibrium/balance penalties, and speed matters a lot to a nihilist. Krokani and Taurian are also not so good of choices since you have low int and no bonus to compensate for it.

Viscanti, Aslaran, Human, and Mugwump are the best choices, I believe, though Trill, Dracnari, Lucidian, Furrikin, and Loboshigaru aren't bad either.

Faelings are fine in mag they arnt really hated much.

Which is kind of funny. Two things they hate (Elfen and Fae) had babies they accept. I'm not sure what Mag's official stance is on fae, but I'm pretty sure they don't like them.

I'm a Trill Nihilist

Ur'Guard are fun but they scare the wits out of me. I'm always afraid I'll adress someone improperly and get my head bitten off... that's why I've been to shy OOC and IC to ask for a novice advance :S

Spend $300 and become a changeling.

What if we pinned a topic like this so that there would be one common place where new people could go to announce themselves?

I think we could have an entire section for new people, they did that on the RO board I used to frequent, it worked nicely.