Premium subscription
The premium subscription is one of the three available subscription tiers of GemStone IV, which has a higher account fee in exchange for multiple benefits. Being subscribed at the premium tier is often referred to in-character as being a member of the Four Winds Hall.
Subscription Benefits
Most of the current premium subscription benefits can be found by typing PREMIUM 2 in game.
PREMIUM 2
Premium Benefits As a Premium Subscriber, players gain access to the following: * - Extra Character Slots! - Each Premium Subscription comes with 15 free extra character slots. * - Premium Lockers! - Premium Subscribers have access to a locker in every town, each of which will hold an extra 30 items, and lockers can be transferred between towns almost instantly. * - Premium Points! - For each month of a paid Premium Subscription, members receive Premium Points, which can be redeemed for in-game items and upgrades! For information on these systems, please see PREMIUM 9 and PREMIUM 10. * - Premium WPS! - Premium Subscribers are given the chance to win access to Weighting, Padding, or Sighting services on a monthly basis! * - Premium-Only Areas! - Premium Subscribers gain access, via transport jewelry, to Four Winds Isle, which is home to Mist Harbor, a Premium-only town with all the services and shops you would expect from any other respectably-sized town. The Isle itself is huge and full of hidden beauty, with a few creatures here and there; all of it just waiting to be explored, and new hunting grounds are in the works! * - Premium-Only Storylines and RP Opportunities! - Regular storylines for Premium Subscribers are run on Four Winds Isle, plus keep an eye out for roleplay opportunities! * - Premium Festival! - An annual summertime festival is held on the Isle of Four Winds, offering shopping, merchant services, raffles, and more! * - Reim Access! - Premium Subscribers gain entry to the Settlement of Reim on a 22 hour cooldown without purchasing quest tokens! * - Premium Unlocks! - Certain fluff script unlocks can be purchased for Premium Points in the Lighthouse on Four Winds Isle! * - Premium Homes! - Premium Subscribers who maintain their subscriptions for 90 consecutive days can purchase a fully-customizable home of their own in the game. * - Quicker responses from Staff! - We handle Premium assists and Feedback letters before all others. * - Premium Transport System! - Inside each town's Four Winds Hall you'll find a Transport Room (see PREMIUM 4 for directions to the hall in your town), and in this room is a ticket and a portal. You can purchase a ticket to then enter the portal. Once inside, you'll be in a nexus of rooms that leads to all the different towns, allowing you to choose your ultimate destination. This system can be used up to ten times per month. * - Four Winds Halls in every town! - Enjoy roleplaying opportunities as well as a unique mixture of tangible services offered by each Hall including Premium flowers, location specific transport jewelry, gambling tables, and super nodes.
Merchant Services
A number of merchants visit Four Winds Isle or the various Premium Halls at the discretion of the Premium GameMaster. While Premium merchants are a specified benefit, merchants are subject to change and may be scheduled or unscheduled and announced or unannounced.
- Premium Unlocker
- Ravias Crotar Raffle (usually an Arkati symbol, monthly)
- WPS
Other Benefits
These benefits are not listed in PREMIUM 2.
Premium Trove
Monthly Premium Trove
Premium Festival
Annual premium festivals.
Premium Spell of the Month
- Main article: Premium spell of the month
Subscribers may pick up an item that will change spells monthly and is for one or two uses per day, depending on the spell.
Reim Access
Premium members can enter the Settlement of Reim on a 22 hour cooldown without purchasing quest tokens.
Type-ahead Lines
You get an extra type-ahead line as a Premium subscriber, preventing you from being kicked out of the game for typing too many commands at once! An additional type-ahead line can be purchased in Mist Harbor for 900 points by drinking from the fountain.
Premium Unlocks
Unlock charms for certain fluff scripts can be purchased for Premium Points in the Lighthouse.
Old Benefits
Bankbooks and Manifests
Locker manifests and bankbooks allow portable but read-only access to the character's bank balances and locker contents worldwide. Bankbooks and manifests are available east of the teller at the Four Wind Isles bank. These have been largely replaced by BANK (verb) and LOCKER (verb).
GM-assisted Wedding Services
Premium members got a discount on GM-assisted weddings. These are on hold and are no longer occurring.
Past Merchant Services
Some of these have included:
- Lady Merrielle Monthly Raffle
- Felthrop's Raffles (monthly)
- Naelyne Sews (monthly)
- Soirissa Sews (monthly)
- Jebariah (transporters, bi-monthly)
- Geltrude Tattoos (bi-monthly)
- Arbigail (bi-monthly)
- Nycolle (labels, bi-monthly)
- Item property removal (occasional)
Advanced Ticket Sales
Premium members enjoyed the first pick at event tickets when they went on sale, giving an advantage for the events with limited amounts of tickets!
Quarterly Premium Meetings
These meetings provided a place for you to express your ideas and opinions about your subscription. You could also learn what projects or events were being worked on for Premium members, and even suggest your own. The Premium/Mist Harbor meetings occurred in March, June, September, and December each year, and were hosted by the Premium guru.