The GM Team had plans to implement something like this with the upcoming Fairyland Archipelago, in the form of one or several NPCs. The details are still fuzzy and being worked on, but the general idea was:
- Would require a quest, of low to medium difficulty.
- Would require the use of runestones, which have so far been somewhat successfully sunk via BBS and RP events.
- Runestones would drop from "uncommon" mobs, such as Anolian, Drillers, Sting, Majoruros, and custom mobs such as Strigoi, Garden Watcher, and the new Fairyland's own mobs.
- Each card would have a different ranking. The main idea was to give cards refine rates as those can easily be read by script, but currently it's unknown if carding one and refining a gear would make said card give any attack.
- The ranking of the card would be given depending on its strength, usefulness, status as a miniboss or MVP Card, etc. This would affect the price and other item requirements for card removal.
- There would of course be a chance to destroy both, which would be affected by the ranking of the card and your reputation within Fairyland (to promote questing).
- There might be a choice to obtain either the gear or the card, but not both.
Can't recall right now what else we had in mind, but it's one of several things we plan to start working on to hopefully have released by the server's birthday or before, along with the new Fairyland region, a custom armor enchanter, costume items, cash mounts, and a few other things.