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Crushbone

Server Info

How Crushbone Started

Why the server exists, what it's preserving, and what it's adding on top.

Crushbone is a private EverQuest server locked at the Planes-of-Power era. It runs on EQEmu code and a curated RoF2 client, hosted on a single VPS, administered by a small GM team, and open to public signup.

Why Crushbone exists

The founders wanted three things at once that no existing server gave them together:

  1. Classic-through-PoP content with a modern client. Most preservation servers lock to the original Al'Kabor or Titanium client; Crushbone uses RoF2, which renders cleanly on Apple Silicon Macs under CrossOver/GPTK and supports a larger resolution set.
  2. Open character-building freedom. The class/race/deity locks that defined canonical EQ are off here — any race can roll any class, and any class can follow any deity. Spell mechanics remain canonical (class spell lists, 8-slot memorization cap). Specialization happens through AA investment rather than at character creation. See Character Creation for how the 25 starting bonus points work.
  3. A living GM presence. The Crushbone GM guild, led by Rusty, is bound to the Plane of Knowledge by design. GMs patrol, answer questions, and run lore events without disappearing into the back end. Players know the server is run by people, not by a crontab.

What Crushbone preserves

  • The Classic Norrath geography and faction web.
  • The Kunark empire's ruins, the Velious frozen continent, the Luclin moon exile, and the full Planes-of-Power progression.
  • Original content difficulty and pull mechanics. Crushbone does not smooth the game — tight pulls, long camps, and multi-hour named rotations remain.
  • Factional hostility and guard aggro. Walk into Freeport as a Troll at your own risk.

What Crushbone adds

  • A set of custom rule changes that preserve difficulty while removing grind-killing restrictions (see Custom Rules).
  • Cogsworth, a Discord AI helper built on an Ak'Anon clockwork voice — answers install questions, explains mechanics, refuses to spoiler.
  • CBZ (Crushbone Zeal) — the server's own open-source client QoL mod for RoF2, Zeal-inspired, built on solar984/eqclientmod-rof2.
  • Keepers of the Way (design-locked, build-banked) — a 16-NPC neutral order, one per playable race, designed to bind the server's cultural geography.
  • ZEM tuning with a planned rotation system to avoid single-zone grind monopolies.

Who runs it

A small GM team with a single point of technical ownership. Final calls on policy, content, and bans go through the lead admin. No paid roles — everyone on the staff is volunteer. If you want to help, join the Discord and ask.

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