February 03, 2006 - Among the intelligent species that emerged on the planet Irth, humanity was the most organized, and thus attained dominance. When a virulent plague struck, the others fled the open air in panic, seeking safety in seclusion. While their fear keeps them in hiding long after the pestilence abated, the surface is far from devoid of life. Creatures of many kinds roam its plains, prowl its forests and lurk in its marshes. Most of them are aggressive by nature, which means even taking a few short steps outside the sheltering walls of the cities and towns can lead to mortal danger.

Magic Hat Software's Irth Online is a fantasy-themed persistent state project that emphasizes role-playing and allowing players to determine their own in-game experience. In live service since the early part of November, its setting is one in which it an all too tenuous peace exists among three diverse civilizations, the northern Arcadians, the swamp-dwelling Morbus and the tropical Mezoteks. Among the title's features, some that are likely to be of interest, especially for those players who prefer open-ended virtual worlds, are a free-form storyline and a skill system in which characters can learn any ability without racial or class-based restrictions.

Includes seven exclusive screenshots

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Hunting Grounds

Hey everyone! I thought it would be a great idea to take a few moments and bring everyone up to speed with some of the recent additions in Irth Online.

You will be able to progress from one hunting ground into the next or even swap between the different civilizations' grounds as long as you don't mind a thrashing here and there from your not so friendly PVP advocates.

Part of our development team has been hard at work to create some very unique looking hunting grounds that are scattered across the lands. Irth Online has brought out quite a few imaginative ideas to bring players together and encourage group hunting in some dangerous locations of the world map. The idea behind these was to bring a dungeon feel to the outside game world.

When you engage in combat in these outdoor hunting grounds you are completely immersed into the game by having specialized spawns and loot. Now, the goal is not to force anyone into group hunting or having a need to visit these places if they don't wish to; no one has any benefit other than having a location designed for constant battle that utilizes monsters to be more aggressive in terms of difficulty.




You will see a wide variety of types of monsters that have been custom-equipped to match their surroundings, where you won't find them normally in the gameworld. The Serpent Tongue Lair is the most recent addition under the Morbian civilization's boarder. The monsters were specifically chosen to represent a stronghold there that is designed for players to conquer relatively early out of their character's career. You'll find your run of the mill goblins mixed in with a few orcs and ogres, and you most definitely can't escape the giant hairy spiders!




Each civilization has its own set of progressive grounds to hunt through. It is possible to only travel from one hunting ground to another without ever having to engage in combat in the wild. Along with the dedicated hunting grounds, you will find the surroundings to be evenly geared towards your character's abilities. So if by chance you or your group feels overwhelmed or not challenged enough, you can simply walk out to find a different battle. You will be able to progress from one hunting ground into the next or even swap between the different civilizations' grounds as long as you don't mind a thrashing here and there from your not so friendly PVP advocates. =)




I want to thank everyone over at IGN RPG Vault and specifically Jonric for giving us a chance to share a little Irth with everyone. Happy hunting everyone!

Dan Milewski
Magic Hat Software