thinking of trying red. have questions.

[leftharted]

So, I've never tried EQ pvp. And I'm new to p99 in general, so I'm considering trying out red.

I love the idea of eq pvp, but I have some concerns. Line trading? Is trading or banking a gank fest? I read through some posts and saw mention of trading rubies instead of Plat for expensive items. Is this true? So, do certain gems have the same buy /sell ratio at merchants? And are then used as currency? Or, is some Plat lost in the converting of the gems->plat? Would that mean that some gems could be purchased or requested for donation of services? Like, gems for ports?

Do I have any of this right? 8P

Also, have my heart set on shaman and enc. I assume shaman is a tad more survivable with heals and cheetah.. but being a pvp server, would being large be a disadvantage of I did troll shaman? Easier to get spotted? In that regard, id want to be iksar for the regen, but is being KOS Everywhere a huge disadvantage on a server where banking is so critical? I know I can just invis bank after 29, but if I'm correct about the gem thing above, wouldn't access to said merchants be important? As I recall cabilis was a bitch to get to and from, even with ports.

Any insight is appreciated. Pending these questions being answered, I'm gunna try to convince my roommate to start on Red with me 8P probably iksar shm for me and maybe necro for him. But if iksar is real hard for a first char on red, id rather go troll and run to neriak.

Ty for feedback! Please use lube upon entry!