Duskruin primer

A primer for the Duskruin event by Newsby, Dergoatean, and the TownCrier Team

Overview and Featured Attractions

Twice a year, a significant portion of the Elanthian population stops their usual pursuits and heads to Bloodriven Village, home of The Duskruin Arena, The Duskruin Sewers, The Slab Generator, The Smithy, and The Shops at Bloodriven Village.

You may find the usual local services more difficult to find in your favorite towns and communities because of this. It really does feel like there's a collective HOLD on regular life during Duskruin runs sometimes.

• August 2024 Announced Features: Arena, Endless Arena, Sewers, Smithy, The Shops of Bloodriven Village, HESS, Dabbler, Duskruin Gem Pile, Gladiator Exchanges booklets for bloodscrip, the new Gilded Locus, Golem Quest, Battle Vault, Roleplay, Competition, Events, and lots of Merchanting!
• February 2024 Announced Features: Arena, Sewers, Smithy, The Shops of Bloodriven Village, HESS, Dabbler, Endless Arena, Shenanigan (aka The GameShow),Duskruin Gem Pile, old gladiator exchange of 25 count book for instant bloodscrip and huge pile of EXP, Duskruin Merchanting, Duskruin Roleplay, the start of the Build Your Own Golem, a CLAIM command for free and pay (silvers) Duskruin entries, plus the new BATTLE VAULT combination set that will be in the SimuCoin Shop. There will be no Big Spin Night or Auction.
• August 2023 Announced Features: Arena, Sewers, Smithy, The Shops of Bloodriven Village, HESS, Dabbler, Endless Arena, Mondo Shenanigans Game, New Moon Whopper Really High End Periodic Shop (Wheelbarrow), SimuCoin Shop Sale on Selected Items, GIFTBOX, EVENT BOX, NPC to exchange a 25 count book for instant bloodscrip and huge pile of EXP, Gem Pile, Marriage Licenses
• February 2023 Announced Features: Arena, Heist, Sewers, Smithy, The Shops of Bloodriven Village, HESS, Dabbler, Endless Arena, Gem Pile, Marriage Licenses
• February 2022 included: Arena, Heist, Sewers, Treasure Trove, Gem Pile, Smithy, Shops, Endless Arena, and 2 Big Spin Nights. The new DUSKRUIN MANIA Reverse Auction was introduced to replace Mania/Shenanigans.
• August 2021: Endless Arena Premiered, adding to the attractions of Duskruin. Limited Items from HESS moved to Big Spin Night.
• February 2020: Duskruin Arena, the Sewers, Duskruin Heist, the Smithy, the Treasure Trove, Bloodriven Village Shopping, and Wyrom's Fun Time on Feb 23.
• August 2019: Duskruin Arena, the Sewers, Duskruin Heist, the Smithy, the Treasure Trove, Bloodriven Village Shopping, and Wyrom's Shenanigans
• February 2019: Duskruin Arena, the Sewers, Duskruin Heist, the Smithy, the ancient demon arena reveal, and Bloodriven Village Shopping
• December 2018: Duskruin Arena, the Sewers, Duskruin Heist, Bloodriven Village Shopping, The Smithy, and the all-new Treasure Trove
• June 2018: Duskruin Dig, The Sewers, Introduction to Duskruin Heist, Bloodriven Village Shopping open, the Smithy, and the Slab Generator
• February 2018: Duskruin Dig & the Sewers, Smithy, Bloodriven Village Shopping & Slab Generator
• August 2017: Duskruin Arena & the Sewers, Smithy, Bloodriven Village Shopping & Slab Generator
• April 2017: Duskruin Arena, the Sewers, Bloodriven Village Shopping
• December 2016: Duskruin Dig, Bloodriven village Shopping
• August 2016: Duskruin Arena, The Sewers, & Bloodriven Village Shopping
• June 2016: Duskruin Dig, Bloodriven Village Shopping
• April 2016 Duskruin Arena, The Sewers, & Bloodriven Village Shopping

News and Updates

The GemStone GMs are always tweaking Duskruin with updates, changes, and additions. The TownCrier keeps a news and info page for each Duskruin.

• Duskruin Teasers Archive by The TownCrier lists all the news, teasers, previews, updates, tidbits, and event-specific info at this wiki.
• The TownCrier Digest of All Duskruin Teasers and News for August 2024
• Duskruin/Saved Posts August 2024 where GMs usually place briefs of major announcements made on Discord

Introduction

Duskruin runs on bloodscrip, the currency of Bloodriven Village. All business in Duskruin - Shops, Merchants, Services, and other events - are all conducted in bloodscrip. Use the SCRIP command (or the older TICKET command) to see your bloodscrip balance, deposit into it, or withdraw from it. Nearly all transactions, including other events, will use what used to be call "redeemed" scrip - that is what the balance is when you see SCRIP BALANCE. If you have Bloodscrip in physical form, you will need to use the command SCRIP DEPOSIT for purchases

While Duskruin is open, here's how you get to this elusive destination from every major city:

> QUEST TRANSPORT DUSKRUIN

The Countinghouse (Lich room #24673) in Duskruin serves as the Duskruin Bank and has access to your bank account from whatever city you entered. It's the Duskruin Bank.

The exit out of Duskruin is the circle of wagons to the very south - outside the Village Gate and all the way southwards. You'll end up in the city from which you entered. (With Lich, ;go2 exit)

The village is open to everyone, there is no entry fee to get in.

Access to the Duskruin Arena and the Duskruin Sewers requires a slip from a booklet sold at the Simucoin store. All activities will take either one slip from the booklet.

There are sometimes people who sell booklets for silvers or bloodscrip if you'd prefer. Watch the Merchant channels for these offerings.

As a whole event, Duskruin Arena's claim to fame as a favorite GemStone offering is two-fold: the amazing items/services for sale, and the random treasure. Some of the treasure finds are good. Some of it good for pawning. Some of it is awesome, and a limited number of things are just downright amazing. The loot you find has no bearing on your level; it's all random.

There are usually items for sale in the shops which you cannot find any other time of year. Like expensive, unusual boons for your gear and exciting new scripted gear like the Animalistic Spirit lines. There may be services offered from merchants which happen no other time of year, too. Usually expensive ones. So your bloodscrip stash has lots of things to look forward to.

The "High End Shop" or "Scrip Shop" or High End Scrip Shop (HESS) is home to some exclusive and pricey things to spend your bloodscrip on. The shop has discontinued use of scaling prices and limited quantities. Read all the signs. There is a service limit of 5 Duskruin certificate services per item for Duskruin services before a bloodscrip surcharge will be added.

The Duskruin Sewers offer about 300 bloodscrip per run, plus one random gear find and Duskruin boons. The sewers go by faster than the Arena - much, much faster - and include a chance to find a randomly large cache of bloodscrip along the way, a rat, and some other unique drops. Requires 1 entry voucher (purchased from the SimuCoin Shop.

The Duskruin Arena offers up to 300 bloodscrip and one random gear find in your winner's package. The Arena can take 8 minutes or more to finish. The Heist options earn 300 bloodscrip. (Scrip awards increased Feb 2022 for activities. Scrip awards were rebalanced Feb 2023) Requires 1 entry voucher (purchased from the SimuCoin Shop.

There's a small chance for an experience orb in both activities. This chance increases with the number of entries to each activity and is on display in your EVENT STATS DUSKRUIN command.

You will find a super node in the room where you enter the Arena for combat, and in the middle room of each of the three factions for the Heist. There is also a super node at The Viridian Coil Tavern (Lich room 26841).

Added to August 2023 run: an old has-been gladiator will exchange a brand-new, full 25-count book for 7500 bloodscrip and a BOATLOAD of experience. Look for him at the Duskruin Arena, Descent, just south of the entry into the Area Sands (Lich room 23779). You can sell a booklet to him every 10 minutes, as of Feb 2024, but it must be the 25 count one, and it must be pristine and untouched from the SimuCoin shop.

Schedule for Current Event

(All times Eastern)

• 6pm - Friday, August 16: Entry Vouchers/Books usually go on sale in SimuCoin Shop
• 9pm - Friday, August 16: Event Opens
• TBA - HESS Opens
• 3pm - Sunday, August 18: The Rumplesnoots Adventuring Company Meets in the Cheap Seats of the Arena for a grand bug-collecting time.
• TBA - Shenanigans, aka The Gameshow
• TBA - The Wheel Barrow of Extra High End Certificate Offerings Opens
• 11:59pm - Saturday, August 30: Entry Vouchers/Booklets stop being sold in SimuCoin Shop
• 11:59pm - Sunday, September 8: Duskruin Closes, all shops and activities
• 1 week after Duskruin Ends - HESS redemption Deadline (usually)

Stay tuned to the TownCrier ([Via Email], TownCrier Channel in-game via ESP, (ESP TUNE TownCrier) or the [TownCrier web site]) for announcements and tips.

The Shops of Bloodriven Village

The village where the Duskruin Arena, Sewers, and more is called Bloodriven Village. It is full of shops with amazing things of all kinds for this little out of the way place. You will find things for sale here which cannot be purchased any other time or place, only when Duskruin is open. There are legendary treasures, there will be new, amazing things, and you can find high value utility items for your adventuring needs here, too.

Once the Event opens, jeep an eye on the best recommendations and show favorites from your fellow adventurers at the Buyer's Choice Shopping Guide. Add your picks, too!

There's a brief one-page Quick Reference Index to the Shops that can be handy. ***NOTE: Give us a couple days after Duskruin to get the Index updated

Shopping tips:

1. Attuned Pricing is available in some shops for some things, as well as in the HESS. This binds the item at a discount to the characters on your account and it cannot be used by anyone else, ever. It reflects a 25% discount on a purchase.
2. Read all the signs
3. Make use of the Duskruin August 2024 Quick Reference Shop Index for a quick wiki page load that summarizes each shop and links to the complete current inventory.
4. Use the wiki page listing for the shops, Bloodriven Village Shops.
5. Carefully look at/on/in the shop display noun and make copious use of INSPECT and ANALYZE (sometimes READ, too) to make sure you are getting what you wish to buy. Sometimes there are slightly different ones that can fool a hasty buyer.
6. If you are purchasing a certificate, remember to reach for the correct one.
7. Here is a PSA directly from GM Valyrka: "When you ask for a HESS service, (redeeming certificates, etc.) we can be really fast completing them IF you have your item on you. So, for the fastest service on your HESS purchase, remember to keep the item with you. Otherwise we have to track you down, bug you, and interrupt whatever you're in the middle of doing."
8. Added in 2023, the DELAYED command can help track your purchases that require GM Services.
9. Read and double check all purchases, especially from the HESS. There's a 10% restocking fee within a 24 hour window for SOME REFUNDS. Some things have no refunds. Official Refund policy
10. Pro Tip for shopping, turn on your links, and let your mouse do some of the hard/exacting work for you. You can click on an item for sale to avoid having to enter get fourth certificate on third table. Using the links, you can look, read, analyze, inspect, and ... yes, buy!
11. Limited Availability is gone from all shops.
12. Scaling prices are all gone.

The Dabbler

Behind the curtain in the HESS, you will find The Dabbler. This is an automated NPC who can remove some properties from your gear, such as weighting, padding, sanctification, defender, sighting, flares, some "fluff" scripts as well as functional, mechanical scripts. (Temporary properties cannot be removed by the Dabbler.) Visit the wiki page for the Dabbler for all the details. Cost varies by the type of removal.

The Duskruin Sewers, aka Ratacombs

There is no combat in the Sewers. You search through the place for ... stuff. Empty out your containers, trim down, and bring a disk.

Start your sewer searching in Lich room 23758, room 11 on the wiki map. That rubble looks sort of suspicious to me!

1 token/slip gets you 10 searches inside the Sewers. There's no area of the sewers that are better than another. All discoveries in here are random. You will find 1 thing per search:

• Bloodscrip (up to 295ish for the whole run, if you are lucky, plus the sales of common/uncommon Duskruin finds that drop in the sewer
• A Rat: rats can be found, they're pretty rare, and as of 2017, you are limited to finding only one during an event. Not guaranteed, though.
• A cache of bloodscrip that one of the local bandits hid. Lucky you if you find one, there aren't many! But watch out for the owners to defend that cache, too. According to Wyrom, caches can yield 1000x what the bloodscrip find would have been, but can also be much less.
• Random gear/jewelry/loot. It could be awesome or no-enchant plain. It could be a major enhancive bonus win, too. It's really random. See the looting section below for tips. As of Feb 2023, only 1 piece of gear/jewelry/stuff per sewer entry will be found.
• Flat etched stones, Bloodrune stones. Some of these have a market value, some are very common. For some they are so rare there is only one. Be sure to read them.
• Smithy Invite: An invite only spawns in your treasure if you have none stored up. Use this to add weighting, padding, or sighting to your gear at the Smithy. They do not add up, you can have only 1 at a time, and if you have one stored, you cannot earn another in your treasure finds. Check to see if you have one with the command EVENT STATS DUSKRUIN
• Golem Parts for your Golem Chassis to build your own Golem

* New with Duskruin Heist in June 2018, you can find special pieces that act as upgrade items for the Bag of Holding Heist prize. * New with the Treasure Trove introduction: you can find a raffle token to use in the Trove. Treasure Trove removed from DR Feb 2023.

• Moonshard pieces, these are the parts needed to complete the moons to put into a Moonshard Pendant that becomes a glamour crystal. These are no longer available. See: MoonShard pendant
  • Some of these pieces are very rare, and you can sell them for many silvers on the open market if you do not need them, like the thin kakore strip and the even more rare reticulated crystal-edged golvern segment

If you find a black ora or other cursed item in the sewers, it is uncursed in a flash of … well, uncursing.

Sell your unwanted rats to the rat collector in the sewers, he will pay you bloodscrip for them. Or sell it on the open market.

Tactics for the sewers include having enough empty space in your pack to stash stuff, and pausing to pick up something laying on the ground that someone discarded.

The Duskruin Arena

First, I'm going to get rid of a misconception. You do not need to be capped to win in the Arena. Some professions and some builds will be better/worse at it at various levels. That's someone else's primer. I'm not an expert at this, by any means, but this should at least get you started.

Time is not your friend in the Arena; there are 25 foes waiting to kill you, each round is progressively a little more challenging. But wait, that's not all. Every fifth opponent is a Champion. These champions make your Grizzled bounty critters look easy. The champions won't stun, don't usually die from the usual death crits and have lots of extra health points.

About death crits on champions: "If you hit left eye, right eye, and both are crit kill shots, it drops on the second one 100% of the time. Or chest/chest, or head/neck, or eye/head." -- Nairdin's player

And you get 8 minutes in which to do all of this. As of Feb 2020, you have more than 8 minutes, but will face increasingly more difficult foes after 8 minutes. Timer and time penalties removed from both Arenas August 2021, per Wyrom.

There are some things you don't have to worry about, though. There is nothing undead. There is no disarming. All the Arena traps were removed a few years ago. There is only 1 critter at a time, and they are scaled to your level. So my critters will challenge me, and your critters will challenge you, but I won't be overwhelmed by things that are 10-20 levels above me. When you exit, you are healed/resurrected as needed and your mana/stamina/cooldowns, etc restored.

If you have deeds, you do not lose your spells if you die in the arena. Use SPELL ACTIVE if your displays and stuff need to be re-synced in your front end after an Arena Death. As long as you have deeds, you also will not lose your field experience.

Watch a couple fights from the stands. You will find spectator seating on the outer ring of the arena. WATCH LIST to see who is currently fighting, WATCH NAMEofPERSON to select the person you want to see. Pick someone from your own profession. You will find people have different hunting styles and tactics, depending on their build. Find someone who is similar to yours and learn from their successes and mistakes.

Teams matches were added with the August 2017 Duskruin. Up to FiveL. people can group together for an arena fight of the same number of foes. Include your hunting buddies and friends!

The entrance to the area is at the Sands Approach (lich room 23779) (or DOWN from there for teams). Hold your booklet or slip in your right hand and GO ENTRANCE.

Get Ready - preparation is everything

Leave ALL THE STUFF at home. Trim down. Walk into the arena with zero encumbrance. Weight kills.

Get ALL THE SPELLS. Defensive spells, offensive buffs, maneuvering, recovery, whatever. There's probably something that will crop up in there that you wished you had THAT spell going. Use a gold coin, I have seen random dispels, but not often.

Bring ALL THE TRICKS. Blue crystals to hit those really difficult to hit things (and there are some...), Other magical things that help you, quartz orbs, moonstone cubes, ruby amulets. If you have enough ranks of Magic Item Use skill, look for magic crystals of various spells. Consider comparing the pricing of bravery items with the cost of a pure potion - there's no bloodscrip needed for pure potions.

Use your BOOSTs that you want to use, and know when to use them. Careful timing of a boost can get you through multiple arena runs.

• BOOST LUCK gives you a second chance on any combat roll 10 or under.
• BOOST SUPERCHARGE gives your enchanted gear a 50% increase, your flares will flare more often, and your weighting/padding/sighting will get better.
• BOOST ENHANCIVE has an option to boost your stats or your stamina/mana regen. It's not just for pausing enhancives.
• BOOST LONGTERM relieves you of 500 experience points when your exp approaches MUST REST and you are not even half-way through your matches yet. You'll get 250 exp placed into long-term experience for general, slower, absorbing. Remember, you learn zero from combat once your mind gets to MUST REST
• BOOST ABSORB clears your mind of 1000 exp points and tosses them into your already absorbed, permanent exp.

• BOOST GODS LORMINSTRA grants extra deeds. This could be important to Voln members who frequently use symbol of mana without waiting for the cooldown period.

Use enhancives to help you over the rough spots: more mana, more stamina, more spirit, more strength, defense boons, health/mana/stamina recovery, sheer skill bonuses for your relevant skill set, and whatever extra spells you may need along the way in scrolls, imbeddables, etc.

Don't forget about those things you only use every once in awhile. You've been saving them for a rainy day in some locker/mule somewhere. Guess what? IT'S RAINING! The Bravery/Heroism spells, that enruned black ora heart from Ebon Gate, the Prismatic Guard spell in that pin you have been saving. Celerity for extra speed when you need it. Even a ruby amulet or 10 can come in handy.

This might also be the time to bring out your unlocked Arkati box for a stat boost.

Evaluate your society abilities list. Maybe there is one in there you don't use very often but will be really handy for this huge fight you are about to face.

Get the scrolls of spells ready that you need. Order them ahead of time from your favorite sorcerer.

Buy/make potions you will need to defeat 25 things in 8 minutes. Remember they only appear one at a time.

Get your magic items charged - statues, quartz orbs, blue crystals, wands, moonstone cubes, etc.

Get embeds done of handy spells from clerics, sorcerers, and wizards.

Farm extra favor if you belong to the Order of Voln. Consider a few trips to Reim with your friends for maximum favor gain.

Review your spells, even ones you might have forgotten about. Did you know that 106 gives +30 DS to both you and the enemy and is perfect for pure warding clerics, empaths, or sorcerers to start the round with? Clerics and empaths can also evoke 205 for another +20!

Plan your tactics and macro/script needs for before, during, and after your Arena contest.

Re-charge all the magic items that you use. Find a wizard, bring all the mana, and bring a few high quality orb gems. No one is going to have time during Duskruin to do it.

In The Arena - tactics are everything

PRAY You have 3 free PRAY commands for some mana and stamina to be restored during your Arena challenge if you need to. Using PRAY takes ~30 seconds off your Arena timer (PRAY updated for Feb 2020) After the third PRAY command, subsequent ones will ~increase opponent difficulty and the 5th one will cost half your spirit plus random wounds~ cause a maelstrom of icy energy that does cold damage(this can be mitigated with resists). The fourth one has a slight chance of summoning a demon! Team Matches get 3 PRAY commands for the group, plus 1 extra for each teammate.

Use your multiple attack options as often as you need to/can. Time is everything here. If you can accomplish 2 hits in 6 seconds instead of 2 5-second round times for 2 separate attacks, it will add up. And I know lots of you know ways to attack more than twice. :)

Pro Tip: Champions are the most difficult, you may want to space out your special abilities and tricks to use on them.

Similarly, aimed attacks can end a fight much faster than swinging at any old body part.

Mana, Stamina, and/or Spirit management are critical to many people. Figure out your strategy for what you will need and have your plan ready in advance to boost yours when it falls to low levels.

Use maneuvers, moves, and spells based on the opponent you are facing. Some cast spells, some use huge weapons, some wear light armor, some wear heavy, etc.

```Bring Cures``` for situations that will end your ability to win. Head wounds, popped muscles, out of stamina/mana/health, etc.

WATCH for traps and tricks with each new opponent. Take evasive action as required. This saves you time (Round times), stuns, and injuries. There's a lich script for it ;repository info duskruin_watch Traps and watching done away with as of Feb 2020 Duskruin run.

What you'll win in the Arena:

• Bloodscrip: you will receive more if you win than if you do not complete all 25 opponents. You can win up to 300 scrip (extra max added Feb 2022)
• Smithy Invite: will only spawn at the time you receive your treasure if you have none stored up. Use this to add weighting, padding, or sighting to your gear at the Smithy. They do not accrue, you can have only 1 at a time, and if you have one stored, you cannot earn another in your treasure finds. Do note, this is only the invitation, you still have to pay for your WPS service.
• If you choose DUSKRUIN REWARD LOOT for an option, an item of loot; could be gear, could be jewelry, might be enhancive, might be a Duskruin boost item for sewers, heist, or arena.
• Saturated exp
• If an automaton appeared as one of your champions, and you defeated it, you'll get a piece of ore of the same metal type as the automaton. The ores are for altering the appearance of characters using a completed MoonShard pendant, altering the appearance of a dragonfly pet, and for use in the mini smelter as part of the I Dream of Geology Series.
• If a golem appeared as one of your champions, and you defeated it, you'll get a golem part for your Golem Chassis to eventually build your own Golem.
• A small, but increasing, chance for an experience orb to be included in your winnings.
• Rewards can be modified slightly to your tastes. Choose between

• DUSKRUIN REWARD LOOT: Receive loot reward, 1 piece of gear in your winnings package.
• DUSKRUIN REWARD EXP: Receive exp rewards, 15 instant experience.
• DUSKRUIN REWARD SCRIP: Receive extra bloodscrip rewards, 10 extra bloodscrip

• A promissory note for some random amount of silvers. Nothing you'll get rich from, though. (removed Aug 2019)
• A chance for a Treasure Trove Token to be included in your winnings. (Trove removed as of Feb 2023)

ENDLESS MODE

New in August 2021: Duskruin: ENDLESS. Set your preferred Arena mode with the DUSKRUIN command. Endless is a special new solo mode of continuous Arena that never ends, where you can earn special titles. There are Leaderboards at the entrance into the area, right after the portcullis. As long as you are still breathing, you will keep getting new opponents. The opponents get more and more difficult. Plan for the long haul, it is quite the show!

• After the 25th foe, you will stop accumulating bloodscrip
• After the 25th foe, you will accrue additional Prayers at a rate of 1 every 5 rounds.
• Champions will appear randomly, instead of every fifth opponent, including the Golems.
• There's no time limit.

Tactics will vary by profession. Since speed does not count here, some of your regular Arena tactics could be set aside. Give some thought to what it would take for you to stand in combat for an hour to two hours, or more, against increasingly more difficult opponents.

Good luck! Be sure to let us know how you fare in it! There's quite the list of Endless Arena Achievements to aspire to!

The WPS Smithy

You'll find the Weighting, Padding, and Sighting Smithy under the Arena (Bloodforge, Workshop - room 26091). There is an assistant there who will give you a quote on your gear before entering the arch for the Smithy. Have everything ready, going into the arch will use up your Smithy Invitation, whether you get work done or not. All work at this Duskruin Smithy costs bloodscrip. The same WPS "window" pricing applies to your gear as any traveling WPS Smithy wagon. He will work on only 1 item per invitation visit.

The Slab Generator

Across from the Smithy, under the Arena (Room 26388), is a miner. He will sell ore to you for 5 bloodscrip, which you can put in the crucible. (Ask miner about ore, twice.) After the elapsed roundtime, the crucible produces a metal slab for you, returning it right to your hand. It might be a rare metal slab, it might be not so rare, or it might turn out to be plain old iron. This is what we call the Slab Generator, and it is the only source of the rarest metal slabs for forging, outside of special raffles.

The Duskruin Gem Pile

There is a pile of gems (room 26093) under the Arena that you can search for any of the random Duskruin Gems. Each search costs 10 bloodscrip. You can scan the saved list of Duskruin gems at the old Duskruin Dig page. Remember, the Dig is defunct and no more. Only the gems survive as a mark that it ever existed.

> SEARCH GEMS
You begin to search through a pile of gems and realize the sign says it costs 10 bloodscrip. You could try searching again if you agree with that price.

Duskruin Gems are suitable for merchant alterations, gem-accepting items (Joola, Veola, and more), lapidary box, gemcutter, etc. They make lovely jewelry in a Daxela Jewelry box and a very rare Alter Box/thing of the right type can take one, too. Use them in Cobbling or Weaving. Matching gems seem to stack in a Player Shop. But they will not go into a Gem jar, cannot be used in warrior Sheath making, and the gemshop does not purchase them. They are all unique to Duskruin and are found nowhere else in Elanthia. (These same special uses and exclusions will apply to Ebon Gate Gems from the EG gem pile, too.)

Dealing with Loot

Whether you're running through the sewers, digging in the dig, or struggling valiantly in the arena, after you've been at it awhile, you'll have quite a pile of loot. Most will be pawnshop fodder, a few rare pieces will be worth millions, and other items will bring you more than the pawnshop will offer. If you're really in a hurry to accumulate bloodscrip, you can set your DUSKRUIN REWARD for only extra bloodscrip. However, loot represents perhaps 20% of the value you'll pull out of the sewers (when you include the rare high-value stuff), so you probably want to take the time to sort through it.

Nowadays, Duskruin loot comes out (temporarily) loresung! Just RECALL the item to see its properties. Some steps below may be unneeded now because of the active (temporary) RECALL status on items. It lasts 30 days.

Loresingers are in high demand during and after Duskruin, and your locker space is not infinite. You'll really want to pare down the loot before storing it, getting it sung, and selling it (or using it yourself). Here's a basic procedure you can follow:

• Exchange your common ores at the Archaeologist in the dig below the Arena. He will exchange it for an ur-barath totem that is needed to create bloodrunes. Totems obtained from the arena by death/surrender/not winning can be sold to the archaeologist.
• Sell your unneeded moonshard pieces to the Archaeologist in the dig below the Arena. While these pieces are not regularly available, he should give you a bit of bloodscrip for them if you have them. There's a lich script for this:
  ;repository info archaeologist
• Use Elemental Detection 405 if you know it to determine what you can about it.
• Take all jewelry (crowns, armbands, necklaces, etc) to the jeweler and appraise. If it is worth less than 10,000 silvers, it's pretty safe to sell. If it's worth 10000-25000, it may be mage rechargeable. You might choose to get it sung, but you're unlikely to miss out on a lot of value by selling it right now.
• If it's worth 25000+, but still appraisable, it may have a small enhancive on it. Wear it to see if you can tell what it is. If it enhances something nice (e.g. strength, aura) and/or is in a nice slot (e.g. pin good, head bad), it's worth holding onto for resale. If you see no enhancive, it could still potentially be something like health, mana, stamina, or spirit regen, but it's probably safe to toss. If the jeweler refuses to throw out a number, it's almost certainly enhancive. You should probably get it sung to even if it's not obvious what the enhancive is.
• Take everything else to the pawnshop and appraise, preferably one that provides an estimated value for items that get a 35k (max) offer. Wehnimer's Landing does this, as well as Icemule Trace if you're a citizen.
• Deal with a pawnshop that gives you the best price. This varies by race so there's no one right answer for everyone. Refer to the chart about trading.
• If the offer is less than 35k, it's safe to pawn. If it's more than 35k, try to figure out why. Look at it to see if it's enchanted more than normal (you'll see an enchanter's mark). Hold it (weapon) or wear it (armor) to see if it has obvious enhancive properties. Consider a trip to the Abandoned Inn crystal, which can reveal properties like sanctification, weighting, padding, and enchant level.
  • Note: It is common for heavier armor (studded leather and up) to appraise for 35k even if it's just +20 enchant and otherwise plain. If you can't find anything special about it, it may be safe to pawn.
• Now that you've sold the fodder, get a bard to sing to what's left. Take notes of what the bard reveals with a complete description of the item. Especially a runestaff. Because the glossy ancient fireleaf runestaff might be the valuable one and the silvery ancient fireleaf runestaff might just be +22. There are so many runestaff finds in the sewer.
• Is it a golvern segment (sewers only) or a four-ringed metal pendant (arena only)? It's worth millions. Hold onto it. (These have been removed)

At this point, you may have identified some valuable stuff that you can't use yourself. Time to sell!

• Check out prices at [player shops] to find comparable items. These prices generally represent an upper bound for the value of the item - they're the price that items aren't selling for.
• Search [The Gemstone IV Players' Corner] for sales of similar items.
• You can ask around on LNet for what other people think it's worth, but people may quickly tire of doing your homework for you.
• List your item:
  • If you have your own player shop, you might want to make use of it.
  • You might list it as an auction or flat price offering at the Players' Corner.
  • You could auction it live on the LNet Merchant channel. This will be more convenient and quicker, but possibly less lucrative.

Retired Duskruin Events and Venues

The Mania and/or Auction Event/s (RETIRED)

Wyrom used to put on a crazy live event that includes auctions, reverse auctions, spins, and more. It's been called Wyromania, Shenanigans, and other things. This includes high end and rare items - sometimes things from the HESS, sometimes things so rare they appear nowhere else. But no free things anymore. It is normally held a few days before the end of Duskruin. Watch for the announcement of the date and Bring All The Bloodscrip. The TownCrier provides both live coverage of the event via ESP and the TownCrier LNet channel and a written record of it for posterity.

As of February 2022, Wyrom is removing all the give-aways from this event and putting them into the treasure piles (which were 1,000,000 silvers per pull last time).

He is moving Mania's rare item offerings to a new reverse auction system where you can inspect what is on the auction block with the DUSKRUIN MANIA command; the actual bidding to take place in the New Bids on the Block Auction House, located in the same room where you enter the HESS.

Mania is an extremely crowded live event. Your spells will be stripped as you walk in. Take all crowd-friendly precautions ahead of entry to avoid ugly server crashes and delays:

• read all the signs
• follow all the rules
• listen very carefully
• there's usually no passing of items or scrip once in the event's room
• bring all the things you think you may need, most of the services on things are added to them on the spot and there is no time for a locker run.
• have your bloodscrip already deposited and available in SCRIP BALANCE
• stop all your spells and spell songs.
• remove any item you wear with a "noisy" script on it, or pause/sleep it. ANALYZE may tell you how, PROD is the first verb to try for that.
• no pets. Keep your pets contained, sleeping, elsewhere, etc.
• if the room allows for speaking, keep all non-whispered communication and actions to the bare minimum of interacting only when needed with the GM Host.
• stop auto-acting scripts that check for your spells

Be warned: bad actors often do not even get a warning before being banned from the proceedings.

The Big HESS Spin Night (RETIRED)

There is no Big Spin Night anymore ... it remains unclear if it has been retired, or what

ALL items which were going to be in the Big Spin will be for sale in the HESS, in unlimited quantities, except for the custom fatal afflares.

This event was introduced with the August 2021 Duskruin run by Tivvy. It is for all the HESS items which have quantities limited to 5 and under. A Spin was chosen to help give a more equitable distribution of these very limited items. To participate in the spin you will need to have the full amount of the bloodscrip already deposited and available in your SCRIP BALANCE.

A place will be announced to meet - remember to prepare for a crowded room, so halt things that make noise, stop spells that might be dropping during the spin. Then those interested in that limited item will join GM Tivvy to move to another room where the spinner will select from the people there.

You will be able to win more than one spin.

The Bank Heist (RETIRED)

Hinted at since the beginning of Duskruin (2015), The Heist debuted at the June 2018 Duskruin Arena event, and closed in February 2023. You can choose to aid in the heist, stop the heist, or stop those who are trying to prevent the heist. This is a solo adventure, and requires one entry slip from the stamped voucher booklet (only). It's a mix of puzzles (mild) and combat (vs. like-level and bosses). Some of the tasks are skill-based, but have optional ways to complete if you are without the proper skill.

The TownCrier archived Wyrom's post about getting started on the Heist which is kind of long for this.

There will be some unique rewards that tie in with the arena and sewers. Bloodscrip is earned, there is incidental loot, and a new collectible.

Wyrom offered this overview and starting tips when he introduced the Heist in June of 2018:

When we rolled out the Bank Heist, we wanted it to be a more immersive experience with discovery. The Bank Heist takes place in three secret hideouts for the three factions.

The Silent Investors can be found somewhere in the Hushed Park.

The Poisoned Heretics are rumored to be on Pewter Road. Some have been found hanging around The Dented Phylactery.

The Ophidian Cabal tend to hang out off Copper Road in a tavern named the Keg of the Bloody Asp.

Look in these places to find clues how to access the hideouts.

When joining each group, during the first "stage" of the heist, you will receive clues on how to understand the flow of the event. It's not too difficult, but the way to complete it isn't quite a cookie cutter guess-the-verb puzzle.

You analyze your toxin-covered misericord and sense that the item cannot be altered in any way.

The creator has also provided the following information:

This can be used inside the bank heist at Bloodriven Village.

Usage:
  STAB misericord     - This will kill the first enemy in the Bank of Bloodriven.

The misericord cannot be lightened.

Items you can find in the sewers/heists can be used in the sewers/heists to help (such as the misericord above).

Silent Investors (SI) (27162)

The Silent Investers are a hired militia/vigilantes that are tasked to stop the bank heist from happening. They’re targeting the OC, but they also have to deal with the Poisoned Heretics. Their job is to find and track the threats inside the bank. Once they complete their mission (or maybe failed), they will be awarded with a prize pouch. ~Wyrom

Primer Advice from Arianiss:

260 bloodscrip

COMMANDS: listen, track, guard, ???

SKILLS: perception (2x+), survival (1x+)

Listen for the enemy (uses perception skill; you get hit with a poison dart (Poison Resistance (105) prevents the poison) if you fail). Kill the enemy. Track to advance (uses survival skill; you get attacked by an asp if you fail).

0x perception -- You attempt to listen for any threats within the bank, but aren't very successful.

1x perception -- You attempt to listen for any threats within the bank, but aren't very successful.

2x perception -- You hear something nearby.

3x perception -- ??? (maybe something about guarding an object or preparing to be attacked)

0x survival -- You attempt to track any threats within the bank, but aren't very successful. (yes asp)

1x survival -- You attempt to track any threats within the bank, but only find some old footprints. (no asp)

2x survival -- You spot some footprints nearby. (no asp)

Poisoned Heretics (PH) (27168)

The Poisoned Heretics are a band of assassins that are working to stop the Silent Investors. They aren’t allied with the Ophidian Cabal, and their motives are unknown. Their job is to watch and sneak around the bank and assassinate the Silent Investor marauders. Like above, they will be rewarded with a prize pouch. ~Wyrom

Primer Advice from Arianiss:

?260 bloodscrip?

COMMANDS: watch, sneak, ???

SKILLS: perception (1x+), stalking and hiding (???)

Get out of sight through whatever means necessary (invisibility, hiding, Spirit Fog) and watch the room (uses perception; you get hit by an explosion from a glass sphere if you don't do it from hiding). Kill the enemy. Get out of sight and sneak to advance.

Ophidian Cabal (OC) (27160)

The Ophidian Cabal are bandits who just want one thing. The riches inside the vault. They observe their surroundings, looking for things to steal. Unlike the above, they aren’t awarded a prize pouch, but whatever they steal they keep. ~Wyrom

Primer Advice from Milax:

The Ophidian Cabal portion of the Heist consists of progressing through five rooms to a final vault room. In order to receive the maximum reward, you need to enter the vault before five minutes is up. Once you enter the vault, there's no time limit to finish.

• In each room, you need to HIDE (or cast Invisibility), then OBSERVE, then STEAL, which reveals bloodscrip hidden in the room.
  • GM Haxus, from Discord underscored this with: "...in the heist where you have to steal the bloodscrip, make sure you are always doing some kind of hiding if you want the full 65 per search."
  • Pro tip for non-hiders and those who do not know the Invisibility spell - get a glass amulet from your local alchemist shop.
• Combat won't initiate until you OBSERVE in each room. After observing, enemies will enter the room.
• The Guards scale in level with your own, but they aren't too tricky if you're careful and know how to hunt well.
• The enemies get progressively more challenging in each room, and they'll eventually start to summon guard dogs to assist them, which can overwhelm you fairly quickly. Dispatch the guards as quickly as possible so the dogs don't overwhelm you.
• The guards can induce roundtime.
• Disablers are useful here; opening with something like 709 (grasp of the grave) allows you to guard against too many dogs being summoned.
• If you don't hide before observing, you'll be spotted, and you'll suffer damage--usually with a minor wound--and get a smaller reward for succeeding in eliminating all enemies in the room.
• After completing the final room, you'll get a final search in the vault, which gives you a trinket reward that can be turned in to the Ophidian Cabal leader for additional bloodscrip or exchanged for a Bag of Holding (once all components are assembled).
• There's also a very small chance in the vault to find a multifaceted blood crystal, which is the most valuable part of the Bag of Holding.

Primer Advice from Arianiss:

260 bloodscrip

COMMANDS: observe, steal, pace, ???

SKILLS: perception (1x+), a way to not be seen

Get out of sight through whatever means necessary (invisibility, hiding, Spirit Fog) and observe the room (uses perception; you get hit by an explosion from a glass sphere if you fail; you get more bloodscrip if you "successfully" observe from "hiding"). Kill the enemy or pace to create a misleading trail of footsteps. Steal the loot to advance.

The Duskruin Dig (RETIRED)

The dig is gone.

The Duskruin Dig event took place under the arena where the excavation of the old site full of treasures is located. You dig with a pickaxe (purchased from the SimuCoin store) in the appropriate areas for boxes. Pickaxes are sold with a set number of uses. A "use" ticks off when you find a box.

You dig, dig, and dig until you find something. Move to the next area to dig again.

ANALYZE your pickaxe to see how many more uses are on it.

The boxes have various names, and the fancier they look, the better the loot is inside of them. Boxes can contain coins, gems, and prizes. There is a prize feeder of increasing values that people refer to as tiers. Probably tiers 1-4. Plus an additional level referred to as a Jackpot, where the best prizes are found. Many Simucoin shop items will be in the boxes, too. Look at the list from the Spring 2017 Duskruin Dig.

The shops of Bloodriven Village will be open where you can spend any bloodscrip you have. Note that they do not take silvers, except for the one tattoo shop. Previous events will give you an idea of their offerings. Shops close, open, and/or rotate inventory for each event.

Note also that there is no bloodscrip in the Dig. You will need to participate in an accompanying venue that is open to earn bloodscrip, like the Arena or the Sewers.

With a large warning that you should be responsive and at the keyboard at all times, there seem to be two Duskruin Dig scripts for lich: ;duskdigbin and ;ddig. That should help your wrists. I know they help mine.

The Treasure Trove (RETIRED)

The Treasure Trove was removed from Duskruin for the February 2023 run.

A raffle for a jackpot level item draws once a day. This is a token raffle, and you earn tokens in all the Duskruin venues, Arenas, Sewers, and the Heist. This run it is drawing around 8:20pm, Eastern. But you can enter anytime for the item up, and have up to 24 hours to collect it from the rack.

It is located in the warehouse at Faida Lane (Lich room 26868) and typically does not open up for a number of days after the event starts. The Treasure Trove is only open to Subscribed accounts (not Free To Play ones). All the information for this Duskruin's Trove will be kept at the Duskruin Treasure Trove/prize list August 2022 page, including a record of the prizes offered and how to participate.

Extra treasure trove tokens can be sold to the Dabbler, behind the curtain in the High End Scrip Shop (HESS).

Look here for more specific Treasure Trove help and background.

All the big credit givings

Many thanks to everyone who asks questions over the Help channel and report things that this document is missing, like Mister Wonkus, whose last question the other day sent me running here to make sure it got added for the next GemStone player who wanted to know the same thing!

Keep those questions and comments coming, people!

~Miss Newsby