I want to play an old-school on-line game.

Levels and skills
I want stats to matter, skill to matter, but I don’t want levels. I want a newbie to be able to contribute to a group of veterans. Levels are an artificial way of limiting player access to content.

I want skills to build through use, characters to become competent quickly, but master skills slowly.

When characters want to learn new skills, they should have to find an NPC to train them in it, to go on a quest to earn the right to learn the skill, and then begin the path of mastery.

Adventuring
I want to be able to run around, collecting new gear, trading with other players, killing interesting mobs, and to be able to have a satisfying gaming experience in 30 minutes or less.

I want players to be able to hire NPC hirelings to help them adventure, for when they have more money than time or friends.

Social Tools
I want players to have strong social tools. I want players to be able to evaluate one another and create a public measurement of esteem and worth. Players should have access to multiple chat channels, as well as local communications including whispers, tells, and yells.

Monsters
I want mobs to be reasonably smart, and a fun challenge. Encounters shouldn’t be predictable, and mobs should use all their abilities and skills. Mobs should build up their skills and equipment–if they live long enough–just like players do.

Character Death
When characters die, I want mobs to take them time to loot them (if not otherwise engaged), and to take an item or two, randomly. And I want those items to be made a part of that mob’s inventory, so a player seeking revenge can get his character’s equipment back. If the character is unfortunate enough not to be resurrected on the spot, they should have to run back for their corpse–which by now may be picked clean by wandering monsters and other grave-robbing characters. (Of course, grave robbing characters should be marked as such, and they will lose esteem from the act.)

Loot
I want loot to be interesting. If I mob is shown to be carrying a sword, it should have that in its inventory when it dies. Mobs should be carrying things that are useful to them, and any loot they’ve taken from player characters. Most importantly, a character in store-bought gear should not be at a significant disadvantage in most encounters.

Equipment should be able to be made soulbound. Only one item per equipment slot can be made soulbound at a time, and once soulbound, the item can never be traded, sold, or dropped–it can only be destroyed. Soulbound items cannot be looted from corpses, and appear with the character if they are not ressed on the spot.

Characters should have to balance encumberance, stats, total equipment, and cash. They shouldn’t be able to carry everything at once, but should be forced to make choices and possibly discard, trade, or sell items to keep better ones.

Consumables
Food and drink should be a part of the game, but with a reason to be: all food and drink should grant stat bonuses, buffs, etc. Characters aren’t forced to eat, but by eating, they can improve their abilities.

Magic potions, scrolls, and charged items should be a part of the game. They can bring additional, wonderful buffs to the players that can change the course of battle, but are quickly consumed.