We will be using the last set of Serv UO scripts that we built. The user manual will contain only those aspects which are non-standard additions. To those who have never played UO before; this wiki does not teach you how to play UO, rather it assumes you know how, and only need to know what is new or different from standard game play. We will make an effort to provide a selection of other websites for players new to the game mechanics.

Custom and Not AOS

Our shards have always been custom shards. One of the things that my husband, Mithril, and I love to do is design new game systems. Consequently, you should be prepared for any and all of the functionality to be changed at any point. We change things for all the normal reasons; balanced, fairness, equitability, and gameplay. We also change things because we want to do something new or interesting. Here are some common guidelines we follow for design:

1. Combat skills should be for combat, craft skills should be for crafting. Any cross over of this, such as magery bonuses from inscription or ax damage bonuses from lumberjacking will be removed.
2. Equality in builds: We don't like "weird exceptions" that force a player to make a min/max build over a role-playing build simply to be equitable. That's not to say every weird build a role-player comes up with will be effective, but rather that the lumberjack/ax build is not equitable as it penalizes any character who chooses a sword over an ax and lumberjacking.
3. Quality of Life: Our shard community likes a difficult and rewarding game but there are a number of annoying designs in the UO code that need to be hunted down and murdered. We'll get to them, but other things are a priority.
4. Doesn't fit our fiction: Like most games, UO was written to fit it's fiction. We will change or remove things that don't apply to our fiction, like the UO virtue system and the elven and gargoyle races.
5. Anti Min/Max and Twitch Gaming: As a rule, we like games that provide fair choices, builds that are easy to setup, and combat that does not require extreme feats of dexterity. Too many options in combat is not necessarily a good thing and rewards the quick-fingered.
6. Streamlined functionality: UO is an old game, and it has a lot of systems and ability, many of which break all rules of good design and are effectively little more than skill, ability, and spell bloat. AOS itself was the beginning of this downward trend.

Consequently, we have AOS (Age of Shadow) changes DISABLED on Sanctuary. We are not using any of the elemental resists or elemental damage options now standard in Ultima Online. Instead, we are using a blend of new stuff with the elemental aspects turned off, as well as a return to the old magic item options for power, destruction, etc. We understand that some of the screens (gumps) still show elemental resists, but they SHOULD NOT affect game play. (If they do please report it.).

This means that many of the skills in-game are not exactly like standard UO; so when reading UO Stratics or UO Guide, please keep this in mind. We are working on rewriting many of the systems heavily influanced by AOS.

Please Report

We are sure that there will be a number of things we find that will need to be fixed, as it stands, between now and Go Live (9/1). Staff reserve the right to fix/confiscate anything they think is either unbalanced or just plain ugly. Please help out and report any of the following things:

1. Glowing or spangled colored items.

Known Issues & Pending Changes

1. 8/11/19: Necromancy, Spellweaving, Ninjitsu (Deception) and Bushido (Precision) are all only partially implemented because we turned off AOS and they all need a review and some attention. They should be resolved in a few weeks.
2. 8/11/19: Almost all of Grimmwold's crafting system has been moved over, but some with more skill then others ... expect changes to keep coming.
3. 8/14/19: Weapon abilities being set to pre-AOS.
4. 6/11/20: Magic systems will eventually be re-written. In the meantime changes to inscription, cartography, artistry, gate and recall are planned. Forum thread here

Not Skills

How to Train Skills

Skills on Sanctuary use our Grimmwold methods for skill training, including passive gains, 2 min timer activation, no difficulty checks, more than 1300 skill points using a .spec setting, and so on. In addition, you can purchase limited training from NPCs as well as advanced " book skills" both of which are available on Master NPCs. Read More ..

Message of the Day

Sanctuary uses a message of the day command (.MOTD) which also functions as our event calendar. Players can create their own events and tag a location allowing guests to join them at the event location. All players are welcome to create and host events; this is not exclusive to seer-run events only.Read more...

Custom Player Commands

Sanctuary has a number of custom commands that players should familiarize themselves with. Read More ..

Hunting

New player hunting is available on Summer Isle. Regular higher-end hunting is available in Summer Isle dungeons and the Underhill map. Moving armies comprised of champ and mini champ spawns are found on Cuiveinen. Read More ..

Housing

We offer both player housing and player shops. You can have a total of 9 houses and 1 shop. Houses can not have vendors, and shops are required to have stocked vendors. Shops are restricted to specific shopping districts.Read More..

Armor

Armor on Sanctuary is pre-aos with heavy customization. Read More ..

Player vs Player

There are two ways in which player vs player conflict is initiated and resolved on Sanctuary; PvP and RPCSS. All PvP on Sanctuary is restricted to Cuiviénen (the mainland). Read More ..

Combat Skills

Most of the melee, barding and spell casting skills should match OSI/Base UO as of 2016 which is the version of ServUO we are currently using. We are happy to transfer over any updates, assuming it doesn't effect any core systems or balance issues. If you discover something is missing, please request its addition on the forums.

Barding Skills

Melee Skills

Warrior Specialities

Spellcasting Skills

Thieving Skills

Wilderness Skills

Resource & Craft Skills

All crafting on this shard is restricted to one of the six town crafting halls, a handful of NPC shops nearby those craft halls, and player owned buildings set as shops. Some crafting stations have been used as static deco but do not function. The most commonly used location is near the Evervale bank on Summer Isle (starting location).

Most of these skills function like the craft skills from Grimmwold except where the Grimmwold craft skill was nearly identical to OSI/Base UO anyway; in which case, we have used the updated version of the crafting skill from ServUO circa 2016. If you discover NON-AOS updates available on OSI/Base UO, and you'd like us to investigate adding them, please put the request on the forums.

Resource Skills

Crafting Skills

Book Skills