October 31, 1999
Most new characters will not know of these items which are available to any player in the game. Most experienced players will almost definitely have one, two or more of these items - they really do help you!
Donations are easily available at Medievia - the full details on how to obtain them are available online by typing HELP DONATIONS. The items for sale are extremely useful and will build up your character's statistics better than anything else in the game. These are by far the most important items for your character, firstly because they will improve your character with the important statistics (Hit Points, Mana, Damage Roll, Practices and so forth) and secondly there are the major utility benefits available (containers, quick regeneration, quick to resurrect etc).
So - what is there to buy for your hard earned money? Well, typing HELP DONATIONS gives you a decent list of the items and their attributes but what does this mean in real terms, and which ones are useful? Here are my thoughts on the matter:
Hit Point Talisman. Costs 50 dollars but this is the best item of the lot - HP equipment is more costly and harder to come by than the mana equipment. Hit points are generally reckoned to be of more value than an equivalent amount of Mana. The extra AC bonus is nice but the real value comes from the 7 Damage Roll they provide - there is no ordinary item in the game that I know of that will provide you with that amount of DR bonus and still be useful in other ways. The Talisman is worn on one of the two neck locations so you can wear two at once for major bonuses, and, like its twin (the Mana Talisman) it will never wear out.
Mana Talisman. Like the Hit Point Talisman this item costs 50 dollars, is worn on the neck, doesn't deteriorate and gives the 20 AC and 7DR bonus. The main bonus is the 100 Mana it provides but this item is generally viewed as the poor relation to the Hit Point Talisman for the reasons detailed above. It could be useful for warriors with previous spell casting classes available but many prefer the Hit Point version - other people's experience counts for me and I have chosen a pair of Hit Point Talismans myself.
Aura. This little nicety gives you 50 Mana, 50 Hit Points and 20 AC bonus but the best part is that it has its own equipment location which means you do not have to sacrifice any ordinary equipment to wear this. The one downside is that it will decay over a period of a year - it does not lose any effects until it finally deteriorates but it will disintegrate to leave you auraless. .. Comparing it to a Mana Talisman, if I had the choice between an Aura and a Mana Talisman I would go for the Mana Talisman - you don't get the lovely Hit Points but it is permanent and it gives the rather nice DR bonus. Regard this as more of a top-up to boost you after you have acquired a full set of Talismans.
Dragon Crystals. These are the only item you can donate for that you can give away personally to other people, or sell over auction. 25 dollars gets one of these and you offer them in the same way at Karlisna (once known as Tear) at the Dragon Fountain for a random amount of practices. In my time in Medievia I have both bought Dragon Crystals and donated for them - it may be sheer coincidence but the donation ones always turned out to be better for practices than the ones I bought on auction. I would warn that this may be just how the dice rolled and you could spend $25 in real cash for very little game reward (considering the potential).
Pocket. Like the Aura this handy item has its own wearable location (hip) on your body which means you can wear it and thus store massive amounts of equipment without weighing youself down. Portable holes go for massive fortunes on the auction channels and to avoid feeling the weight you have to hold them - Pockets hold 500 stones in weight which compares rather favourably with the Portable Hole's mere 250 stones weight. The Pocket will wear out in a year, however.
Focus. The Elemental Focus is another $25 item that has a year's degredation. The main factor that this one affects is the regeneration of Hit Points, Mana and Movement - at a better rate than any other single regeneration item in the game and it affects all at the same time. As to usefulness I would prefer a Pocket to one of these (you can always carry plenty of potions for healing and rings for regeneration). Pretty good but I prefer the pocket.
Blessing. This item is $25, lasts a year and has its own location like the other ones. Its effect is to allow a recently deceased person to successfully pray for resurrection almost immediately after becoming a corpse. As to usefulness this depends on your situation. If you do not mind the wait to become a living being again then it is of no use (make a cup of coffee, grab a sandwich, whatever). If you want to get straight back into the fray and attack mobs that are still damaged from your previous efforts then this may be just the item for you. One consideration is that people on toll charged phone bills may be more inclined to get this item. Personally I am from the UK and know how much the phone bills cost here - a Blessing allows you to get more time out of the time you allow yourself online. Not as high a priority as Pocket/Aura but a nice one to have when you do die. Most Heroes tend not to die and if you are already proficient at the game you may not want to bother
Certificate of Redemption. A recently added item to the shopping list, this is a very attractive item to the player who donated some time ago. Its effect is to give a donation item another year's life (not cumulative - usage makes an item to 1 year to deteriorate again). It only costs $20 (requires two to regenerate an Aura) and as to usefulness it is to be regarded as useful as the item you are trying to redeem. This is really a very self explanatory item.
The above items (barring Dragon Crystals) can never be given away but you can buy them for other people - this could solve a few worries about Christmas presents! Follow the rules on HELP DONATIONS for full details on just how to donate the cash but always remember a decent article to the Mudslinger (like this) can generate an item. Try reading HELP MUDSLINGER and HELP MUDSLINGER_ SUBMIT for more details on this.
One rule to take note of is that unless you have donated you cannot make a second character while another consideration is that if you are purged for any reason then it is your own fault - no refunds are given on Donation Items. Read HELP RULES to avoid transgressing the laws, but generally rely on common sense and you'll do fine.
In addition to all this information Medieva is not asking to you to spend you money buy items you might not need. It's is a free game to anyone who wants to play and have a good time. You are asked to donate because the game does cost real money to keep it running and as long as people keep playing and enjoy playing it will be around for a very long time. I hope that if you do donate by buying an item from the list like I have done on many occasions, that you do so out of your own free will and because you enjoy it and want to build your character in to a powerful player. Choose wisely and you will become (I hope) a better player and challenge me to a duel sometime - I normally hang around by the Mines in Riverton if you fancy your luck.