What is GemStone IV?
GemStone IV is unique. The longest-running text-based game in the industry, it boasts hundreds of users online at any given time. What defines GemStone is a close-knit community, some members of which have been adventuring in Elanthia for well over a decade.
The World of Elanthia is one of contrasts and conflict, a constantly shifting landscape of light and darkness, where everyone must work together, or find the courage to stand-alone. For players new and old, the world is constantly changing and growing.
With over fifty thousand locations to explore, hundreds of creatures and puzzles, and a vast array of fully customizable items, GemStone IV is a behemoth of an experience.
You and Your Character
As you experience Elanthia, you do it through the eyes of your character, whose actions, thoughts, and motivations you ultimately control. The fate of your character and those around will frequently be in your hands. When conflicts rise, your character's life and reputation hang in the balance of your decisions.
Roleplaying
Your character knows nothing outside the world in which they exist. While Elanthia has many similarities to our reality, within its confines is a different universe. The setting is a collage of periods that blend into a medieval reality where magic and technology meet to clash or create.
This effectively means that the things your character says or does should stay true to its nature and that of the world. Discussing things that are not in the genre or generally not something that characters in this world would do or know is beyond the intent of the game. The staff does enforce this and will take measures to ensure that characters' roles and actions stay true to the game world.
Rooms, Creatures, NPCs, and Items
GemStone IV is a realm of rooms, each of which signifies a specific location. Your character will always be in a room, though you can move to new rooms through any exits in that room. Those exits could be as simple as heading north or south, or as complicated as sneaking through a hidden grate in an empty fireplace.
The myriad of creatures that call Elanthia their home are as diverse as the adventurers who battle them. Creatures exist with their own motivations. Some are friends; others are foes, and many are wild beasts living on instinct beyond the borders of civilization. Still others are controlled by the dark forces of the world, amassing and attacking cities or towns in invasions that can scale from a small skirmish to epic battles with armies fit to end civilization.
When in conflict, you can arm yourself with literally thousands of different weapons, armors, shields, and magical artifacts to aid you on your path. These items are often fully customizable, from their descriptions down to potent abilities. There are hundreds of events and staff-controlled NPCs--non-player characters--who visit on a consistent basis to provide players with a multitude of services.
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