Every sandbox MMO has to answer one question early: what happens when players fight players? Force PvP on everyone and gatherers and crafters leave. Remove it and the world loses its danger.
Asharven answers with light. The Mother Hearth in Vessakor keeps the dead asleep, and its power fades with distance. The same fading sets the rules of each land.
In the light
No blood is spilled in the light of the hearth. The Safe Lands around Vessakor, tiers T1 to T3, have no player combat. The city guard enforces the Hearth Law.
In the twilight
The hearth lets the fallen down, but it does not let them go. On the Contested Border, T4 and T5, PvP is flagged, and a player who loses is knocked down instead of killed.
In the dark
The hearth brings back your soul, not your gear. In the Lawless Wilds and the Blacklands, T6 to T8, death means full loot. Your soul returns to the hearth; your body and your pack stay where you fell.
The best resources are where the light is thinnest. Going out there is always your choice, and so is what you carry. Today we are building Vessakor and the Safe Lands; the Border and the dark lands open as development goes on.
The Asharven team