Set in a fairly traditional sword and sorcery world, Horizons allows players to be adventurers, crafters, or both, and features a struggle between the "living races" (including the players), and "the Withered Aegis", an army of the undead seeking to destroy all life.
Horizons uses the race/class/level paradigm common to many role-playing games, with a few distinguishing features. Firstly, there is the choice to play as either a dragon, or as one of the biped races— human, elf, dwarf, gnome, half-giant, dryad (a fairy), satyr, fiend (humanoid with blue skin, horns and tail), saris (a cat-like humanoid), or sslik (a reptilian humanoid).
Dragons do not have choice of "schools", but rather are all members of the Dragon Adventurer and Dragon Crafter schools. But as a dragon matures the emphasis to choose either the Lunus (fighter) or Helian (magic-user) Way of Life is increased during both the Rite of Passage and the Ancient Rite of Passage. When a hatchling dragon is advanced enough it can choose to go through the Rite of Passage to become an adult dragon, and if completed the dragon grows physically bigger, more powerful, better armor, and the ability to fly. When the adult dragon again has advanced enough it can choose to go through the Ancient Rite of Passage to become an Ancient Dragon. Again it physically grows bigger, more powerful, better armor, faster flight, gets the ability to resurrect and other benefits.
Bipeds are members of one adventuring school (archetypes such as: Warrior, Mage, Cleric, Scout) and one crafting school (archetypes such as: Blacksmith, Miner, Jeweler, Outfitter, Scholar). Additionally, bipeds may at any time visit a trainer and switch schools without penalty—for example, switching from blacksmith to outfitter and from then on developing that school by harvesting flax, crafting clothes, etc.
The intent is that a player who wishes to try different things should be able to, without having to create multiple characters in order to do so.
It is intended that a player should, if they wish, be able to concentrate solely on crafting and be able to advance in their crafting school(s) without ever developing an adventuring school. However, since many items require components from dangerous areas & dead monsters as part of their crafting recipe, such a crafter will be forced to purchase these components off adventuring players, or obtain them from guildmates & friends. Alternatively, a player may concentrate solely on adventuring, relying on trading with others or assistance from guildmates & friends to obtain equipment, rather than crafting it.
Horizons is a player-run economy. Virtually everything is made in game, from weapons, armour, tools, equipment, potions, spells, to food and ambrosia to cure players of death—only a few specialist items (during the spring of 2005 more items have been added) and some sub-standard beginners equipment are non player made. Adventurers and crafters who wish to develop their characters need to buy equipment, which they can do in two ways—directly from players, or from consigner shops, which hold equipment offered for sale by other players. When you buy something from a consigner, the player who offered it for sale will be credited with the money you paid and notified (if they are currently online). All crafters must gather resources to make items, for example; mining ore and gems, cutting down trees for wood, and skinning animals to make leather.
Horizons allows players to purchase their own plots of land and build upon them. One example is the ability to build a shop on of a plot that is within the proper zoning for commercial construction, similar to real city planning. The zoning is: Residental, such as various types of houses, trees, walls, fountains, Commercial, such as Pawnbroker, Consigner, Gambling Hall, Tavern, & Vault; and Industrial, such as silos and various crafting machine shops. The towns in Horizons vary from the starting towns, to tiny one to two plot hamlets, to large towns that are run and owned by players and guilds. Plot costs run from a few silver coins to over 10 gold coins and can be resold either back to the Empire or to other players.
Compiled from Wikipedia |
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