Premium command

The PREMIUM command is used to access information about your Premium benefits.

PLAYER USAGE

Type premium # to go to the appropriate category

 1  - Who do I contact for questions about Premium?
 2  - What do I get as a Premium customer?
 3  - Where are the meeting portals?
 4  - What are the guidelines for Premium meetings?
 5  - Where are the Premium Facilities?
      (Clubs, Banking, and Forge)
 6  - Where are the Premium hunting areas?
 7  - What are LTBs?
 8  - Information about Premium contests.
 9  - What is the "Standard Merchant Contract"?
10  - How long have I been a Premium Customer?
11  - Autoscripter?  EZATMO?  EZScript?  SIGNATURE?  Huh?

Premium 1

Meet the Team!

The current Premium team consists of FGM Zadraes and SGM Rinae.

Rinae was here for the original LTB system when it came to DragonRealms and continues to play a vital role in our day to day functioning. Everything from raffles and alterers to new areas and systems run through Rinae at some point.

Zadraes wasn't here for the original system, but he was here for the development of the current points based LTB system. Along with Rinae, Zadraes fulfills many roles on the team -- everything from events to the coding of new systems and updates to some of our older ones.

What can they do for me?

Good question! If you ever have questions or ideas for improvements to the Premium program, these two are your contacts. There are several ways to contact them:

1) The Estate Holder area on the forums. This is the preferred method. While Rinae and Zadraes are often present in many of the discussions held, your other players can be a vital resource as well in answering many of the Premium-related concerns raised. The forums aren't just for getting information to/from staff, either! There are many topics of discussion -- homes, pets, neighborhoods, hunting areas, club houses, etc! {You can reach our forums here.}

2) Our monthly meetings. In general, the Premium team GMs try to hold a monthly meeting. These meetings usually consist of any Premium-related announcements (contests, events, new developments, etc.) and then a "Question and Answer" session where you can ask questions of the GMs directly. Some months we may not have a meeting, but there are other methods of reaching us!

3) E-mail. You can e-mail Zadraes (DR-ZADRAES@PLAY.NET) if your question is private or wouldn't interest the other members. Please note that we can NOT help you with billing questions. We are unable to intervene in lockouts or disciplinary matters or overturn another GM's decision about anything. We have no influence over your guild guru. If your problem or suggestion does not deal with a Premium matter, the Premium team is not the group of people you need to be talking to. {Try the EMAIL verb for other options.}

Premium 2 - Benefits

Many things come with your Premium subscription. Here are some of the benefits:

A home of your own!

Premium customers who maintain their subscriptions for 90 consecutive days, or who have earned at least 600 points of past premium time, can purchase a fully customizable home of their own in the game. More information on homes can be found in HOME and HOME HELP!

Additional vault space!

Premium subscribers get 150-item vaults instead of the usual 100! Vault space also increases for every consecutive year you've maintained a Premium subscription. Expansion currently caps out at 325 items after 5 years.

Enhanced vault services!

Not only do Premium subscribers get additional space in their vaults, they can pay their vault rental fee in any town and enjoy free, rapid transfer of vault contents from city to city.

Private Clubhouses!

Enjoy roleplaying opportunities as well as a unique mixture of tangible benefits offered by each club, such as fund transfers between city banks, gem buyers, furriers, and empath services. PREMIUM 5 has more info!

Private Hunting Areas!

There are currently six hunting areas reserved for Premium customers. Check out PREMIUM 6 for more info!

Monthly Gatherings!

Often these come in the form of a meeting, but some months we opt for a "Fun Night" instead! These can range from parties to invasions and everything in between! Don't forget PREMIUM 4 for meeting guidelines!

Contests!

We frequently hold Premium-only contests and give out prizes to the winners. Have an idea for one? Let us know! Check out PREMIUM 1 for ways to contact us!

Previews of new systems, areas, and spells!

We regularly add new features to the game, and allow our Premium customers to see them first. Note that this isn't always possible, but we do try as often as we are able!

Quicker responses from staff!

We handle Premium assists and Feedback letters before all others.

Extra character slots!

Each Premium subscription comes with 15 free extra character slots.

A second type-ahead line!

Tired of seeing "You may only type ahead one line" messages? You get an extra type-ahead as a Premium subscriber! There's also an opportunity to pick up ANOTHER line as an LTB option. Be sure to check out PREMIUM 7 for more information on LTBs!

GM-assisted wedding services!

Premium members get a discount on GM-assisted weddings. See the Weddings area of our website for more details. Marry your loved one in style!

Discounts!

Premium members enjoy a 10% discount on all Simutronics merchandise, quests and convention fees.

Premium 3 - Premium Portals

Transportation portals to the premium meetings are located at:

   Therenborough (town gate)
   Langenfirth (near the Landing)
   Riverhaven (town square)
   Crossing (the Strand)
   Leth Deriel (sana'ati tree)
   Shard (east gate)
   Ratha (Port Walk)
   Mer'Kresh (the Carillon)
   Aesry Surlaenis'a (the Faenella prayer gate)
   Muspar'i (Great Gate Square)
   Inner Hibarnhvidar, Main Cavern (near the sculpture of Taratochs)
   Ain Ghazal (Cheateau Foyer)

Premium 4 - Question and Answer Sessions

Guidelines for Question & Answer Sessions - (Revised 5/2006)

We hope to bring you a lot of pure, plain FUN nights where you'll get more than a question and answer session. However, many meetings will be devoted to such sessions, and we'll usually take at least a few questions each meeting after special presentations or announcements. To keep the meetings moving along as orderly and as quickly as possible, we've come up with a few guidelines. Please take a moment to review the rules we've adopted to try to make the sessions as fair and as useful as possible for everyone attending:

1) One question per person limit -- Pick the issue that is most vital to you. Remember that you can always contact us about Premium issues outside of meetings, too. PREMIUM 1 has methods for reaching us.

2) Time limit -- Try to keep it to five minutes per person. We usually won't be holding a stopwatch, but do be considerate towards others with your discussion time.

3) Getting bumped from the list. -- The list is set so that a person who gets punted or leaves the room for a moment won't find themselves summarily dumped from the list. You MUST be back in time for your turn, or you will lose it.

4) Gifts - Look for the sky blue tent in the Seacaves for any gift item that may be put out at a meeting. Not all meetings come with a new gift!

5) Meetings run an average of 2 to 2.5 hours. We really do want to address all of your concerns, but players and staff alike come from all around the world. Since all of our meetings occur at night for SOMEONE, we try not to let them run too long.

Premium 5 - Premium Clubs

Directions to the Premium Clubs:

Crossing Club: From Town Green North: S, S, S, SE, SW, GO Bridge, SE, SE, SE, GO Veranda Services: Bank branch, gem buyer, Estate Holder Store

Riverhaven Club: From the North Gate (Gate of Nobles): Go w, sw, se, go gate Services: Bank branch, gembuyer

Shard Club (Lady Atladene's Parlor & Salon): From the North Tower, outside the Marble Gate: n, go home Services: Empathic care

Langenfirth/Therenborough Club: On the Trade Route between Therenborough and Langenfirth, go to the Beech Grove and take the path west. Services: Bank branch, furrier

Mer'Kresh Club:

From the Wharf End: nw, nw, ne, ne, n, n, n, n, go iron gate Services: Bank branch

Estate Holder Forge: Located in Leth Deriel From the Town Hall in the center of Leth: w, w, w, go gate Services: Forge supplies, forge

Additional Places with Inter-bank Transfers:

Shard: Inside Shard Bank

Ratha: Inside Sshoi-sson Palace on the Third Tier From the West Lift: n, ne, ne, e, e, e, s, se, s, e, go gate, n, n, climb stair, go door, e, e From the East Lift: go n, nw, nw, w, w, w, s, sw, w, w, go gate, n, n, climb stair, go door, e, e

Aesry: Inside Aesry bank

Muspar'i: Inside the bank - (Old Lata'arna Keep) It also contains a nice lounge area just for you!

Premium 6 - Premium Hunting Areas

See Estate Holder-only hunting areas.

Premium 7 - Long Term Benefits

Can you explain what the premium long term benefits are?

The Premium Long Term Benefits are rewards to those players who stay Premium (or Platinum!). Each month, you are awarded 100 points to spend on various rewards. Platinum subscribers get an additional 100 points per month.

Our TF players follow the same model -- they don't earn additional points on top of the standard Premium/Platinum points. Since all of the points go into one big pool usable in any instance, Premium is Premium and Platinum is Platinum regardless of the game you're in.

Do I spend the points in the game I earned them in? You don't have to. All the points you earn go into one large pool of points. If you earn 600 in Prime and 300 in Platinum, you can go to TF and spend all 900 there (provided you have a subscription).

Awards include, but are not limited to: Various scripted items - 300+ points Assorted past quest treasures - 600+ points Autoscripter - 600 points Alterations - 900 points Extra typeahead line - 900 points Custom options:

 * Title - 1800 points
 * EZScripted item (up to 3 verbs on a single item) - 2400 points
 * EZAtmo'd item (3 random ATMOSPHeric messages on a single item) - 3000 points
 * SIGNATURE verb - 3000 points

....and more!

When do I get my benefit?

As soon as you have enough points to spend for the item you choose.

Where do I pick up my benefits?

Look for the bungalow within the Seacaves. Portal locations to get to the Seacaves can be found in PREMIUM 3.

What about vaults?

For each cumulative year you maintain a Premium subscription, your vault will increase in size! The progression is something like this:

  0   New Estate Holders.....................200 items
  1   Year Estate Holder Vault Capacity......233 items
  2   Year Estate Holder Vault Capacity......266 items
  3   Year Estate Holder Vault Capacity......300 items
  4   Year Estate Holder Vault Capacity......333 items
  5   Year Estate Holder Vault Capacity......366 items
  6   Year Estate Holder Vault Capacity......400 items
  7   Year Estate Holder Vault Capacity......433 items
  8   Year Estate Holder Vault Capacity......466 items
  9   Year Estate Holder Vault Capacity......500 items
  10  Year Estate Holder Vault Capacity......533 items
  11  Year Estate Holder Vault Capacity......566 items
  12+ Year Estate Holder Vault Capacity......600 items

[Plat players start with 250 from day 1! Sizes begin to increase once they hit the 4th year mark.]

How do I know when my premium service started?

To check on your premium start date as our billing office sees it, simply click PREMIUM 10. If there is a problem with your start date, you will need to contact the billing department. A GM will not be able to help you.

Premium 8 - Contests

PREMIUM CONTESTS INFORMATION:

All contest entries submitted to Premium contests become the property of Simutronics to be used as desired. The submitter gives up all rights to the submission. Entries can be modified as needed/desired and used for any needed/desired purpose. More detailed rules on any given contest will be provided at the time of the contest. Prizes for any contest are not guaranteed.

Recent Contests:

January 2008 - Short Story Contest --This contest was for creative writing entries. A basic background was provided, and entrants had to somehow tie their story into that story. There were many great entries, but there could only be three winners! They were (in no particular order):

* Xixist, with "The Last Log of Captain Osmandikar Argarilok"
* Issus with "Give and Take"
* Veneth with "Confessions of a Scholar"

February 2008 - Updating Thazzuc Contest --This contest was for some updated verbs that Thazzuc could provide as an LTB. For more details on his work, check PREMIUM 11. The three winners for this one (in no particular order):

* Hashi, for verb suggestions for visored helms
* Xixist, for verb suggestions for kilts/greatkilts
* Eoworfinia, for verb suggestions for backpacks and other containers

Congratulations to everyone so far, and keep your eyes and ears open for our next contest! Sometimes we hold them during/at the end of our monthly Estate Holder meetings (be sure to check the calendar!), and sometimes we due them over the forums or through email.

Premium 9 - Premium Alterers

The individual merchants that the Estate Council contracts to perform alteration services have a wide range of quirks and preferences. However, there are a few guidelines that members can follow to make their alteration experience go more smoothly:

1) Alterers are unable to make items pulsate, glow, or otherwise seem to have a life of their own.

2) Alterers are unable to make items that force someone to feel a particular emotion or impact them physically. For instance, the dragon embroidered on your cloak can't strike fear and terror in all who see it, nor could its diamond-set eyes momentarily blind anyone with their brilliance.

3) Alterers do not make things that drip with blood and gore.

4) Alterers do not make items that are demonic (or its derivatives) evil, or wicked. Each alterer has his own tolerance for other "dark" descriptions, and ABSOLUTE authority to refuse to make an item if they feel a description is inappropriate.

5) Alterers rarely make items that contain "unknown" or "forgotten" anything -- magic, language, runes, etc.

6) Some alterers will not work with the body parts of sentient creatures.

7) An alterer has the ABSOLUTE authority to refuse to make any item which he feels exhibits poor taste or is not in keeping with the flavor and spirit of the lands.

8) An alterer has the ABSOLUTE authority to set a limit on description lengths. This varies from alterer to to alterer, so make sure you read his or her sign. The most common limits for premium alterers are: = Short descriptions (the description people see when they look at you) may not exceed 10 words = Long descriptions (also called "SHOW") may not exceed 20 words. = Inscriptions (when you have to read an item) may not exceed 20 words.

9) Most alterers will have a sign that announces their fee for services, if a voucher is required, and if a bank runner is available.

10) Alters have the ABSOLUTE authority to boot anyone who is behaving disruptively from the tent. If you are asked to leave the tent, there is NO GUARANTEE that the alterer will serve you when your place on the list comes up.

11) Have your descriptions ready when it's your turn. Anyone not ready, who can't make up their mind in a reasonable time, or who wishes to doggedly argue about a description that the alterer has refused to accept may find themselves told that they will have to wait until the end of the line in order to keep delay to other customers to a minimum. If you do get sent to the end of the line, there is NO GUARANTEE that the alterer will get to you again before the session is over.

12) Lastly, arranging the craftsmen and artisans for members is a costly business. To ensure that no member or group of members ends up monopolizing services, the Estate Holder Council requests that members wait 4 months between using a craftsman's services and seeking to use their services again. This, of course, applies only to the craftsmen and artisans contracted by the Estate Council specifically for members, and not to any merchant open to Estate Holders and non-Estate Holders alike which you may come across in the normal course of your travels. (Plainly... please restrict yourselves to one alteration every 4 months per account for alterers arranged specifically for premium members to give more people chances at a turn.)

Premium 10 - Premium Points

As of your last logon, your premium service has been continuous (consecutive) since 3/4/2007.

   Premium Points Earned: 6600
  Platinum Points Earned: 0
     Total Points Earned: 6600

      Total Points Spent: 0

Unfinished Scroll Points: 0

Available Points to Spend: 6600

For more information on LTBs, please check PREMIUM 7.

Premium 11

What is the Autoscripter?

Crafter Thazzuc can be found within the bungalow in the Seacaves. He can take an unscripted (non-verby/special) item you may have and add a script to it, granting it 4-6 verbs on average. These are purely fluff messages and won't grant you any special bonuses. These are not custom messages, such as an EZScripted item, but rather pre-defined messages that you'll be able to view before selecting the final design.

To have Thazzuc examine your item and see if it's something he could work on, simply stand before him and TAP your item.

What about Custom Titles?

Custom titles are just that -- they are titles that aren't currently in the system that you'd like to have. The LTB custom titles have a few rules to keep in mind:

* 2 words, maximum
* 20 characters, maximum (may have a very LITTLE wiggle room here)
* Title cannot currently be in the system
* If your request uses a title that *is* in the system, you must meet all requirements for that title.
  If I wanted "Mystic Scythe", for example, I'd need to be able to display the Mystic title to the GM working on it in order to use the title.
* Connecting words count against your limit (of/the) -- which generally means you can't use them due to the 2 word limit.
* Using the names of The Immortals isn't allowed.
* Avoid 'official' sounding titles -- Provincial Guard, Court Bard, etc.  These are best left to the event folks, not LTB titles.
* The GM working with you has the final say on the title...which leads to...
* Please do *NOT* pick up the custom title pins with only one title in mind.  If your initial choice is turned down, there are no refunds on these pins.
  You should only get a custom title pin if you have numerous potential titles in mind.

IMPORTANT NOTE: The scroll/object attunes to the person who picks it up; it can't be transferred. The finished item also bonds and can't be transferred.

What is an EZScripted item?

An EZScripted item is one that has been given custom verbs. Yes, that's right. You can craft the messaging that you and the room sees when you PUSH your sword.

The LTB function grants you up to 3 verbs for a single item. Come prepared with many ideas. You'll need the messaging you see, the messaging the room sees when you're visible, and the messaging the room sees if you're hidden (if you want it to message at all in such a case) for ALL 3 verbs you wish to add.

Not all items can be EZScripted. Generally speaking, you'll work face to face with a GM in order to get the work done. If you aren't prepared, you'll have to reschedule. We also aren't going to give you 10 lines of text. Keep it short and reasonable. The GM working on the item ultimately has the final decision in messaging.

Current verbs possible with EZScripted items: clean, close, hug, kiss, open, pinch, poke, pull, push, raise, rub, tap, tickle, tilt, toss, turn, wave, flip, lace, wear, remove.

What is an EZAtmo'd item?

An EZAtmo'd item makes use of the ATMOSPHeric verb. Similar to snake charms or forehead jewelry, the messages you add to your item wil be randomly displayed to yourself and to the room. Note that the room message is seen whether you're hidden or not, so don't include your name in the room messaging.

The LTB option allows you to add 3 sets of messaging to a single item. The same rules as EZScripted items apply -- keep the texts short and reasonable, come prepared and the GM working on it has the ultimate final word in the design.

Additionally, take care to avoid making living toys. Snake charms are an example of what NOT to do with your item, but are a good example of the randomly firing messaging that defines what an EZAtmo is. Focus your messages on things like light glinting off your item or the wind causing it to flutter, rather than "Jimmy's mechanical sparrow trills out a lovely melody as it zooms around his head."

What is a SIGNATURE verb?

Ever wanted to make your own verb? Well now you can. This LTB option grants you the ability to create 1 custom verb for yourself. These special verbs will be options of the SIGNATURE verb.

There are 3 texts available for these verbs: the text you see, the text the target player (if there is one) sees, and the text that the room will see. The 'target' can be a player, an item or no target at all.

An example of SIGNATURE SPARKLE RINAE would be:

Zadraes sees:
Glistening mischeviously, your eyes twinkle brightly at Rinae.

Rinae sees:
A mischevious twinkle is reflected in Zadraes's eyes as they are turned to gaze into yours.

Room sees:
Glistening mischeviously, Zadraes's eyes twinkle brightly at Rinae.

Similar rules to the above custom options apply as well. Actions should be kept short, the messages are ONLY fluff in nature -- you won't be able to affect anyone --, no glowing with energy, the GM working on it has the final decision in approving a request or not.

If you have any further questions on these new options, please direct them to the Estate Holder forums where other players or the GMs can respond.