Dispatches

Dispatches from the field

138 updates from the campaign — release notes, world events, and builder stories, preserved from the original site with their dates and links intact.

2023

2022

  • Swiftpaths and Seaports

    The Swiftpaths Ancient artifacts constructed before recorded history, the swiftpaths are portals located at various places across Lumi(n)a. Their plac…

    General
  • October 2022 Update - Vampires, Liches and Endgame Galore!

    We have been busy little beavers the past couple of months, with a great focus on fixing bugs, balancing classes and adding a lot of new end game cont…

    General
  • August Update - The Great Hunt Returns + More

    A notice has been attached to the door of The Pipe and Ivories Tavern in Hardbuckler: ATTENTION! Fullstaff, Agent of Sanctus, has reported an overpopu…

    General
  • March - July 2022 Update

    We are excited to announce a new batch of changes to the game... highlights include: Very happy to announce the first player to fully complete the Epi…

    General
  • October 2021 - February 2022 Update

    We have been quiet for a while, staff was highly busy with other real-life nonsense! Despite that, a lot has been going on 'under the hood' in regards…

    General
  • Lich - the Pinnacle of Necromantic Art

    Few creatures are more feared than the lich. The pinnacle of necromantic art, who has chosen to shed his life as a method to cheat death by becoming u…

    General

2021

2020

  • November 2020 Update - Encounters and Hunts

    LuminariMUD is proud to announce the launch of our encounters and hunts systems, both of which have been in development now for a couple of months. In…

    General
  • September/October 2020 Update

    September and October have been busy months, but mainly behind the scenes. We are happy to announce a new prestige class, 'Eldritch Knight' and the in…

    General
  • August Update

    This has been a very busy and exciting month for the game. It has seen a new advanced race, migration to a new/updated server, and the addition of a n…

    General
  • Duergar Advanced Race

    Description: Duergar dwell in subterranean caverns far from the touch of light. They detest all races living beneath the sun, but that hatred pales be…

    General
  • July Update: Shifter Class, Bug & Typo Fixes

    Despite being under-staffed this month, we are happy to announce a new Prestige Class and some fixes. Visit this link to view the overview of the new …

    General
  • Shifter Prestige Class

    A shifter has no form they call their own. Instead, they clothe themselves in whatever shape is most expedient at the time. While others base their id…

    General
  • The Adventurers Guild comes to Ashenport - June update

    The Adventurers Guild comes to Ashenport. A heavy set, grizzled man garbed in heavy chainmail strides into the Jade Jug Tavern, slamming his fist down…

    General
  • The Great Hunt Returns, Loads of New Features/Fixes

    A notice has been attached to the door of The Pipe and Ivories Tavern in Hardbuckler: ATTENTION! Fullstaff, Agent of Sanctus, has reported an overpopu…

    General
  • Extended Quest Line, New Prestige Class, World Expansion and Much More!

    We have extended the Ashenport Regional Quest line to over 56 quests (19 new quests) that will carry a character to approximately levels 26-28. Happy …

    General
  • New Prestige Class - Sacred Fist

    New Prestige Class - Sacred Fist: Class Name : sacredfist Prestige Class? : Yes Maximum Levels : 10 Unlock Cost : 5000 Account XP BAB Progression : Me…

    Development
  • The Underdark

    Related Links: | Worldmap | Underworld or Underdark | The Great Beyond or Planes of Existence | Seaports & Swiftpaths |…

  • Planes of Existence

    [caption id="attachment_2896" align="aligncenter" width="962"] Planes of Existence[/caption] While endless adventure awaits out in the game—there are …

    Development
  • New Prestige Class: Arcane Shadow (Arcane Trickster), New Zone & Other Updates

    Happy to announce a new prestige class and a new zone attached to the Ashenport region! Details below. Please join us on discord: https://discord.gg/M…

    Development

2019

  • Gicker Accepted Co-Lead Role, Thanks to Opie Hosting & Dev Update

    Greetings friends! Happy to announce that Gicker will be taking over as co-lead (together with Ornir) and Zusuk will be shifting over to a support rol…

    General
  • New Base Class: Alchemist

    Whether secreted away in a smoky basement laboratory or gleefully experimenting in a well-respected school of magic, the alchemist is often regarded a…

    Development
  • Update 07/24/19

    Gicker fixed some bugs and we cleared the empty pages from the website. Join Us on Discord!…

    General

2018

  • Development Updates [Jan 29 2018 - Apr 05 2018]

    Zusuk here... I am back! Been extremely busy and sort of out of development for the past 1.5 months. I can not develop as many hours as before, but I …

    Development
  • Event: The Tower of Green Glass

    "I will respond to their knives and poisons with fire and ruination. I will not rest till their beloved Tower is ash. I will not relent until every la…

    General
  • The Great Hunt

    A notice has been attached to the door of The Jade Jug in Ashenport: ATTENTION! Redgar Chag, huntsmaster, has reported an overpopulation of local wild…

    General
  • The Ruined Citadel

    In stories and legends, the Archmage Gnarth was renowned for his skill in Artifice and Evocation - He was among those who developed the magical arms a…

  • Main Quest Line Extended: The Mosaic

    Hello everyone! After a long wait and a great deal of work by our staff, the next stage in the Main Quest Line has been released: The Mosaic Cave has …

    General
  • Luminari MUD Development Updates 02/09/2018

    Greetings! It has been a very busy time here at Luminari and the entire staff has been very hard at work. Here are some highlights of things we have b…

    General
  • LuminariMUD Development Updates 1/29/2018

    Hello friends! Zusuk here just updating our blog with the complete list of updates since our last comprehensive update post! A more 'view friendly' ve…

    Development
  • Introducing Sorcerer Bloodlines

    "We are not like the others, you and I. They use their books and songs to build their power, but this is false, unnatural! We are the true wielders of…

    Development
  • Introducing the Luminari GUI Client Script for Mudlet!

    We are excited to announce the release of an alpha version of our Mudlet GUI. First if you do not have Mudlet yet, download it here: https://www.mudle…

    General
  • Luminari Streamed Tonight on twitch.tv!

    Tonight at midnight EDST, Tark from the Stick in the MUD Podcast will be streaming a newbie Luminari experience! Watch at: twitch.tv/mudpodcast…

    General
  • Let's MUD! LuminariMUD Game of the Month, a New Race and GUI Development

    Thanks to the Reddit community for the recognition! To any new visitors, we highly suggest checking out a short lore article we have setup: http://www…

    General

2017

  • Development Updates! 12/04/2017

    Long time no update right? Well, this is a combination of inactivity and not remembering to update the website and social network, and for that we apo…

    General

2016

2015

  • Let's MUD! Luminari is Mud of the month!

    Proud to announce that Luminari was selected as mud of the month on reddit! We haven't been posting a lot on the website, but we have been working on …

    Development
  • Luminari Update: 07/03/2015 - MIA?!

    It's been nearly a month since our last update! Changes are coming a little slower this month, all the staff is extremely busy right now with real-lif…

    Development
  • Luminari Update 05/06/2015 - You want the good or bad news first?

    Bad news first! Sorry, but if you haven't logged in recently, next time you log in you will have to RESPEC. This is due to a mistake yours truly, Zusu…

    Development
  • Luminari MUD Update 05/26/2015 - Clerical Chaos

    It has been about two weeks since we've posted an update to the website, here are some of the highlights from our very large list of changes: Berserke…

    Development
  • Blindbreak Rest

    Blindbreak Rest is a small underground temple that for centuries was protected by the Luminari. During the war, the Luminari lost hold of the temple a…

  • Luminari MUD Update: WEAPONMASTERS ASSEMBLE! 05/10/2015

    Lots of exciting changes, the biggest and baddest are the addition of two unlockable epic races: Crystal Dwarf Trelux And the addition of our first pr…

    Development
  • Luminari MUD Update 05/01/2015, Crossbow Reload, Rogues Rock!

    Lots of changes in the MUD since our last update! You can view the full list below or by typing "news" in-game. Some of the highlights include: More d…

    Development
  • Luminari MUD Update 03/29/2015 and New Staff Member

    Please welcome Telarious to the staff! [Feb 02 2015] - Zusuk added 'animate dead' feat every feat invested in 'armored spell casting' reduces the arca…

    Development
  • Nobility

    Nobility is an easy concept to understand, but one very difficult to explain. What is the difference between an orc and and Elf that makes one worthy …

  • A New Issue of Imaginary Realities!

    Volume 7 issue 1 of the new Imaginary Realities is out now, after a long delay. Imaginary Realities is the only remaining e-magazine dedicated to MUDs…

    General
  • Lumina - Voiced by Stu Cook

    Text: Eons ago, before civilization on this world established itself, the world now known as Lumia was adopted by the Luminari, a race of Celestial, E…

2014

  • LuminariMUD by Enyuu (EvanVolker)

    What an awesome contribution to LuminariMUD from Enyuu (EvanVolker)! Click on the image to visit his DeviantArt page! [caption id="attachment_2197" al…

  • Graven Hollow Camp

    Graven Hollow Camp A nomadic group of half orcs have finally settled in the Ashenport Region and have named their camp Graven Hollow. Set in a small v…

  • LuminariMUD Nominated for "Let's MUD!"

    http://www.reddit.com/r/MUD/comments/2jt52g/lets_mud_vote_here_voting_ends_friday_oct_25th_at/ Come show your support by voting for Luminari! http://w…

    General
  • Training Halls

    Training Halls Hello everyone! I am very proud to announce that LuminariMUD has released its new player tutorial zone, the Training Halls. We have an …

  • Update: October 8 2014

    [Oct 07 2014] - Zusuk added enhancement bonus to damage, arbitrarily capped it at 12 changed it so you can get gold from corpses even with full invent…

    Development
  • The Luminari

    Audio Version Voiced by Stu Cook Click Here to Join Us on Discord Eons ago, before civilization on this world established itself, the world now known …

  • The Magic of the Realms

    I'd like some feedback on this lore, the magic of Luminari MUD: Ossirian, the world of Luminari, is permeated with magical energy that manifests as a …

  • The Crystals

    Long time ago, the races learned how to use the <> to amplify magic, creating artifacts and other objects of wonder. But there was a war, and the powe…

  • Divine Casting

    Divine Casting God vivifies the world, giving it energies of healing, fertility and sustenance through varied channels of blessing. These channels, of…

  • Aether

    For the world, in general, the idea of fundamental patterns is central. This manifests itself in many areas of culture, although different cultures ma…

  • My Dearest Brother

    My dearest brother, Father was right. I discounted his ravings at first, but now I have reason to believe everything. A few months ago, in one of his …

  • The Fundamentals

    The Fundamentals: The universe was created from one or more fundamentals - Patterns which, when manipulated through the Aether, the Prime Fundamental,…

  • Luminari is part of the GameZFestival 2.0!

    We at Luminari have had the uncommon pleasure of being selected to be part of an exhibition for GameZFestival.ch 2.0! Luminari will be available to pl…

    General
  • The Armor System

    Developer Notes: *Luminari System is going to be modeled on the D20 system, but by a factor of 10. What will be visible to the players will be the D20…

    Development
  • Update: September 10, 2014

    Most important of all right now - finally banging our heads (Ornir and Zusuk) about how to get our Armor-Class system set up for the long run. So far …

    Development
  • Update: 08/27/2014

    Actually a lot has happened since the last post, but I'm just going to mention two things in this post: 1) Thanks to Ornir, we now have SOILED set up …

    General
  • Tactical Combat: The Attack Queue

    Another layer has been added to the Luminari combat system, fostering tactical decision making and planning while maintaining the fast-paced action th…

    General
  • The Death of the Wait State

    In Luminari, between actions you were put into a 'Wait-State' where you could only perform a very limited set of commands, regardless of the reason yo…

    General
  • Changes to the Luminari Combat System

    The first step has been made in the implementation of the new Luminari combat system - Combat on Luminari is now event based. What does this mean? Lum…

    General

2013

  • New REVISED Worldmap, EAT YOUR HEART OUT!!!

    [Update: November 2022, Seaports (see below map)] THE WILDERNESS IS NOW ONLINE! *Note, this is the Surface Map. We also have an Underworld or Underdar…

    General
  • Update 08/12/2013

    The Official Luminari MUD forums have re-opened! They can be reached via the link at the top of the page or by navigating to http://www.luminarimud.co…

    General
  • Weekly Update 05/03/2013

    [May 02 2013] - Zusuk fixed color bleed in the log message for [ auto zone reset ] [May 01 2013] - Zusuk added jotunheim invasion proc, currently set …

    Development
  • Luminari Weekly Update 04/26/2013

    [Apr 26 2013] - Nashak mlist will now display --- for classless mobs [Apr 25 2013] - Zusuk added a new class-based stat-cap system [Apr 24 2013] - Zus…

    Development
  • Luminari MUD Weekly Update 04/19/2013

    [Apr 19 2013] - Zusuk added scenario of mobile level 31+ in do_consider, advising to bring friends revamp of auto-statter for mobiles concluded, now m…

    Development
  • I Want to Start My Own MUD!

    (I saw this posted on mudbytes.net and I liked it -Zusuk) "I am very excited to start a mud. I don't know how to code for muds, but I have a super gre…

    General
  • Luminari MUD Weekly Update 04/12/2013

    [Apr 12 2013] - Zusuk should be able to use held spellbooks to memorize [Apr 11 2013] - Zusuk charmee's no longer need to be groupped to get xp new sk…

    Development
  • New Advanced Race: Arcana Golem

    See our new page about Arcana Golem by CLICKING HERE!…

  • Luminari Weekly Update 04/04/2013

    [Apr 04 2013] - Zusuk added a heavy penalty for not off-hand wielding weapons that are a size-class smaller than you if you are lvl_immort or higher, …

    Development
  • 03/29/2013 Luminari Weekly Update

    [Mar 28 2013] - Zusuk added in spells.h macros to check object weapon category: IS_BLADE(obj) IS_PIERCE(obj) IS_BLUNT(obj) added these attack types as…

    Development
  • LuminariMUD 1.0 Codebase Available for Download

    LuminariMUD 1.0 Codebase Available for Download http://www.mudbytes.net/file-2880 Please post bugs/comments to this forum: http://tbamud.com/forum/10-…

    Development
  • LuminariMUD Updates: 03/22/13

    [Mar 22 2013] - Zusuk Started sorting through code to add new quest system details to various files (act.movement.c) Started sorting through code to a…

    Development
  • Luminari Updates 03/15/2013

    [Mar 15 2013] - Zusuk you can't memorize wizard spells without the spell in your spellbook or a scroll the 'spells' command for wizards will now refle…

    Development
  • Luminari Weekly Update 03/08/2013

    -added beta goal list of crafting molds/patterns -added a large assortment of new crafting material -created a craft.h file and exported header info f…

    Development
  • New Zone: Wizard Training Mansion

    A mansion has been discovered deep in the woods to the north of Valcrest. This forest has been well documented and mapped over the years and yet it ha…

    Development
  • Delay in Release of "Early Beta"

    Update: The original goal for Beta was March 1st. An underestimate on the amount of work on my part, and a very heavy increase in real-life workload t…

    Development
  • Weekly Updates: 03/01/2013

    -mobiles now have edittable walkin/walkout messages (Nashak) -capitilization issues with color codes resolved (Nashak) -new channel formatting with ca…

    Development
  • Build Progress 22 Feb. 2013

    The following zones have been edited to repair inproper races (humans set as dragons), to place the new classes into the game on appropriate mobiles, …

    General
  • Luminari MUD Weekly Update 02/22/2013

    -'history chat' now works like it should (Nashak) -flee now has a short wait_state (Nashak) -new wizard/sorcerer spells *Spell Circle Level 9 /* evoca…

    Development
  • Map of LuminariMUD

    [caption id="attachment_506" align="alignnone" width="300"] LuminariMUD WorldMap[/caption] When a builder is submitting a proposal for a new zone, thi…

    General
  • Luminari MUD Weekly Update: 02/15/2013

    Well super busy work week, so unfortunately, did not get a lot done on the MUD... Here is what we were able to do: -new wizard/sorcerer spells *Spell …

    Development
  • Luminari MUD Weekly Updates 02/08/2013

    {DONE - this past week} -discovered small bug with memorize in calculating slots -added [stum!] for stumbles to line it up with other rolls -added [cr…

    Development
  • LuminariMUD Weekly Update 02/01/2013

    -changed all references in code of mage/magic-user to wizard -changed all references in code of thief to rogue -added some utility functions for check…

    Development
  • Races - Elves

    It is said that although humankind is older, elvenkind is wiser, for they remember what mankind forgets. The oldest records of the world are Elven, as…

  • Scheduled Network Maintenance: 01/31/2013, 1AM to 4AM MST - 45 Minutes Downtime Expected

    Scheduled Network Maintenance: 01/31/2013, 1AM to 4AM MST. On Thursday, January 31st our network provider will be conducting a planned maintenance sta…

    General
  • Luminari Weekly Update: 01/25/2013

    -did even more tweaks with possible memory issues, having record uptimes since initial issues -cleared a couple of small color bleeds -transferred ide…

    Development
  • Luminari MUD Weekly 01/18/2013

    -SPLIT WORKLIST, old worklist (news and changelog) is archived now -bug in group system fixed (thanks Vatiken) -added sorcedit.c for spells known for …

    Development
  • Weekly Update: 01/11/13

    HAND-PATCHED TBA3.63 Revision 312 -=-> Revision 354 http://tbamud.com/websvn/filedetails.php?repname=tbaMUD&path=%2Fchangelog new mob-flag "classless"…

    Development
  • Luminari MUD Weekly: 01/04/2013

    {DONE - this past week} updated some help files relfecting changes to trigs/scripting: -help saving -help self stunning fist will now interrupt castin…

    Development

2012

  • Update: 12/28/2012

    new updated helpfiles content taken/inspired from neverwinter nights manual: -human -dwarf -elf -gnome -half-elf -half-orc -halfling -warrior -magic u…

    Development
  • Update: 12/21/2012

    New Epic Race: Trelux (idea from Crez) new mechanic: natural weapons fly ability land (gets rid of fly) trelux leap wizard eye spell mechanics impleme…

    Development
  • Update: 12/14/2012

    added affects to mag_areas added affects to mag_masses added support to PULSE_LUMINARI for room affects added room-casting support to PULSE_LUMINARI 2…

    Development
  • Updates 12/06/12

    making sure all new characters are getting teleporters now added an assortment of new helpfiles Pathos is now working on helpfiles as well increased m…

    Development
  • Gear and Stats and Stat Stacking

    One of the issues that has to be handled is the upper potential characters can achieve with the most powerful gear attainable. Some current solutions …

    Development
  • Update: 11/30/2012

    rearranged spells in all their locations in the code to be uniform purged a buggy sanctus quest fixed the 'speaker' in sanctus bakarus changed xp loss…

    Development
  • Updates - 11/16/2012

    added berserker class (like barbarian) made compact mode more compact with the prompt/combat (thanks Dyanangam) bakarus added weapon types to identify…

    Development
  • Updates - 11/09/12

    {DONE - this past week} fixed some newbie area typos level notification wasn't showing to group_gain, fixed that took out height, now just using char …

    Development
  • Server Maintenance on November 7th, Maximum 3 Hour Downtime

    Dear Valued Customers, Out next scheduled maintenance will take place on Wednesday, November 7, 2012 starting at 11:00 p.m. Mountain Standard Time (MS…

    General
  • Hosting Service

    In an attempt to increase efficiency at Luminari, we wanted to set up an SVN (Subversion control software). We were having some serious issues, and in…

    Development
  • Update for 11/02/2012

    Special thanks to Kordon and our other new players for idea/bug input rewrote gain function rewrote respec function rewrote d20mud's crafting function…

    Development
  • Updates: 10/26/2012

    Modified saving values for pfiles more modifications to the website added a simply forum to the website configured protocol.c to transmit mssp data fo…

    Development
  • Development Updates 10/19/2012

    More map tweaking Threw up Gicker's d20 code on port 4105 Added more room types: -Desert -Ocean -Marsh -High Mountain Also modified current sector typ…

    Development
  • Development Updates 10/12/2012

    Major backend upgrades to website. Added two major feature packages to website.…

    Development
  • Development Updates 10/05/2012

    Added new region: South Midgen http://luminarimud.com/the-worldmap-of-luminari/region-south-midgen/…

    Development
  • Development Updates 09/29/2012

    Added new region: Midgen http://luminarimud.com/the-worldmap-of-luminari/region-north-midgen/…

    Development
  • Development Updates 09/22/2012

    The Development focus has switched to world development temporarily to establish a testing ground for mechanic changes. Preliminary changes include: C…

    Development
  • Development Updates, week ending 9/14/12

    {DONE} Clan system implemented, (thanks Jamdog, tbamud.com, http://stefancole.com/) ------------- Clan Features ------------- * Zone claim system base…

    General
  • D20mud and Luminari Partner Up!

    We are extremely excited to announce the partnership in development! Preliminary details include: LuminariMUD is becoming officially "D20Muds Presents…

    General
  • Development Updates [07/09/2012]

    DONE - (recent updates) past week tasks completed ARCHIVES - tasks completed since port to TBA base, are below recent updates TODO - short-term goals …

    Development
  • Weekly Update (31/08/2012)

    DONE - (recent updates) past week tasks completed ARCHIVES - tasks completed since port to TBA base, are below recent updates TODO - short-term goals …

    Development
  • Development Updates (08/24/2012)

    room affection engine for darkness made via utils.c (YAY room affections!) spell darkness spaced utils.h a little different so its easier for me to se…

    Development
  • The Worldmap of Luminari

    The worldmap was revised and moved to this page: http://www.luminarimud.com/new-revised-worldmap-eat-your-heart-out/…

    General
  • General
  • Development
  • Some Proposed World Ideas

    We have choices between pre-made campaign worlds, or custom made... here are a few samples.…

    Development
  • New Staff Member!

    Welcome to the Luminari Staff Bakarus! Bakarus will be taking over as lead development world/admin at this stage.…

    General
  • Development Updates (08/17/2012)

    This weeks updates: !PWIPE! Added tons of helpfiles, everything I could think of new I added now has a helpfile Found a sneaky bug in memorize Did a G…

    Development
  • Development Update 08/10/2012

    Newest updates: With Vatiken's help, fixed minor bug where sometimes people would respawn exactly where they die (due to copyover). Fixed big MEMORY b…

    Development
  • Development Updates

    Updates to LuminariMUD: *mobiles (general) - decreased pulse_mobile, i.e. faster mob reaction, for charmees, # is now maxed out at GET_CHA_BONUS, if y…

    Development
  • Development Has Started...

    Deveopment has started on LuminariMUD. The previous version of LuminariMUD was developed on CircleMUD codebase many years back, so in that tradition w…

    Development
  • Welcome to LuminariMUD.com

    We are open during development, our focus is purely game mechanics at this stage. [button link="http://www.luminarimud.com/hmud/hmud.html" size="large…

    General