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A fascinating new interview has been posted on the official Shadowbane site, talking with two of the four Guild Leaders in the private beta of this MMORPG. Both "Bone Dancer," leader of the city of Comptonia, and "Zorak Blackheart," leader of Hero's Point, are present to give information on how to build up and run a city within the game.

In case you're just learning about Shadowbane, one of the biggest features of this massively multiplayer online title is to allow people to band together into guilds and then build actual, in-game cities. These groups can be either democratic or totalitarian and can wage wars against one another or try and maintain a state of peace.

One of the points touched on in the Q&A is Shadowbane's economy, and what it takes to survive as a city:

What has your position taught you that you didn't know before?

Bone Dancer: Money and gold is FAR more important then anything else. Those who can find a way to raise the most capital (hunting, pking, shop running) will be the most powerful in this game. Money (like real life) is the great driving force, and if you don't have it you WILL lose.

Zorak: Well, since this was our first build, I learned so much I'm not sure what to pick out. I would say the big surprise for me was city management. We started out thinking in terms of controlling the economics of the city by controlling the shops/item production, and what we discovered is that a more open city is more profitable. Free trade, just like in real life, does wonders for the economy. Next build we will open up our city to anyone who wishes to place shops and vendors, for a fee of course.

Shadowbane Guild Leader Interview

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