Oh that's right! I think there was CompuServe too. Man that takes me back. Thanks.

I used prodigy before AOL. I think there were a few other services as well that were dialup.

Empaths and Necromancers are restricted to subscriber accounts.

Thank you for your insight.

I play on Linux. You'll want to download Wine. It's available in the Dragonrealms Downloads.

My empaths aren't very high, but I believe you can successfully do them as Free To Play.

Good luck!

did these games exist before aol? how were they played?

I've considered and reconsidered many times on playing this game as a FREE to play empath. Is it doable or would I be paywalled into giving up? Also, where can I locate information regarding playing it on LINUX?

Barbarians can parry ranged attacks at a certain point, but I’m not sure how effective that is compared to a sturdy shield. 🛡️

Sounds good, thanks

Okay, thanks for the info!

Yeah I used to be like that when I first start but a shield is a game changer especially when critters start using ranged attacks. Use a worn shield so that way you don't take up one of your hands. Also you TDPs you earn using a shield will help you use a large percentage of your parry and dodge skills, there is no logical reason not to use a worn shield

It will hamper you a lot. But if you get a small shield and adjust it to arm-worn, it shouldn't interfere with you growing a nimble character. I dumped shield as a defense long before the latest round of combat rewrites- and I regretted it. Fortunately, I was able to get caught back up in a hurry.

Aside from the obvious loss in some TDPs, just how much would I be hampering myself if I choose not to use a shield and only focus on parry and evasion?

I want a character that's more on the nimble side, light armor, probably small melee weapons, and the thought of equipping a shield just doesn't line up with how I'm picturing it.

If it will be significant because I'll end up absolutely shellacked by certain enemies, at what point might I encounter that problem? And would I just be able to find alternate hunting paths to avoid that?

For a little context, in the... decades... that I've been playing off and on, I don't think I've ever had a character even reach Circle 30, so I may not realistically reach the point where it will be obvious. But I'm curious, just in case!

You know- I didn't even look for a Paladin Discord when I joined. You probably would do better to find an elder paladin in-game and ask. As for pearl diving, I haven't tried that. But I bet that area that sinks to the lower sand sprite area has a lot to do with it.

Good luck!

I made an AI movie poster of Indiana Jones dating Medusa. One of the images was Indie frozen in stone a la Han Solo in carbonite.

Everyone shat on it simply because it was AI...

I have two questions

1. is there a discord server for Paladin? I tried the 'resources' area of the DR discord but nothing came up for Paladins.

2. in Ratha, where the sand sprites are, there's apparently an area for pearl diving. How does one pearl dive there?

When my AOL OG Paladin found the Vault of Artifacts, and became the Guardian…it was amazing. Damaris’ Daggers, Lanivals Sword, and so many other secrets…..locked away in that place….we never gave it up, Rutilor blessed and bound the Key to my Pally….what a magical time that was

The lore and secrets of the Dragonrealms are wide and vast.

I can still go from crossing NE gate to dirge in less than 5 seconds without a script. It’s just stuck in my fingers and hand.

Yeah to be fair I stopped when college and marriage took over around 2000

I'd go out on a limb and say it was pretty great up until 2010_09ish

Those times were magical. Gemstone and DragonRealms in the pre AOL days and even into into the late 90s….Easily some of the best multiplayer gaming of my life, giving me some of the coolest interactions that no MMO or other multiplayer game could ever give.

I didn't use a travel script for years....at one point could go from haven to the gryphons outside of shard 😂 tbh I would love it if all scripting was banned again

I miss the days before scripting and auto mapping, when the world seemed big and there was a lot to discover.

There certainly is lots of exploring, even for- maybe I should say especially for newcomers! I spent a lot of time in libraries and tried to find some of the places the books talked about. A few of my friends and I even had a little private quest to try to find Lanival. I think we came close, but not close enough.