In this post is my idea for a large multiplayer, multifaction (More on that later) RPG built for play in the Warcraft 3 TFT engine with the World Editor. Be warned - This is a LONG post and I am hoping to get some help/input from you guys because you seem like a good community 
This is still in the design process and MANY things will change. This is just a rough treatment of the design document.
I am also looking for a good scripter (AI and Event), modeler and animator to help me out (as well as some voice actors later on). I am good at terrain building and alright at event scripting but I don’t think a project this size can be done by me alone so I could use any help available
I have also already drafted up a first version of the terrain (No scripts, models or nothin just yet) and am in the process of tweaking it to show you guys.
rough
Here is a screenshot form the first pass of layering and terraining (PLEASE NOTE, This is a very rough first pass).
Name: Factions
Set in the world of Kerrac (Think Azeroth, but without Elves).
Tag Line: “Power though Faith – Power through Knowledge – Power through Control – Power through Strength – Power through Understanding.”
The aim of the game:
Long Term: To level up your Character over multiple games until they achieve a high rank, incredible spells and control entire villages, cities, even factions.
Short Term: Each game is won when either
a) The host leaves. (duh)
b) The players leave (Double duh)
c) One faction destroys the other ones and controls all the cities, ports and the Capitol City of Kerrac (called Annex: Bastion of the Fallen – See below for more info on Annex)
*NOTE* Factions is a game that is designed NOT TO END. Though the game does have victory conditions these are so unlikely that most games will be played until the host leaves or the players leave. The victory conditions exist only for ‘Pro’ players who have level their character up enough through the RPG system that they want to take on the other factions in a PvP/PvE environment.
*ALSO NOTE* Factions is playable in many ways, you can PvP, PvE or even trade and not kill anything at all. The game is also set up to handle everyone playing the game in every way at the same time. So there is no need to not allow “Noobs” to join since the game is big enough that one or two noobs in an ‘all pro’ game doesn’t make a difference.
Faction is a long, save-able, RPG where your Character rises up through the ranks from a lowly Peasant to one of 4 classes (depending on the Race you pick - See below for a complete list of Races and Classes). Your Character (after MANY games) can even become the LEADER of a Faction by following certain Class paths.
For example: Following and leveling up through the "Clergyman" path for The Hierarchs can eventually lead you to the title of "Arch Bishop" which allows you to conduct crusades on other factions, run the faction and do other things to affect your faction. *NOTE* it takes 10's of games (think in the area of 30 - 40) to actually get to this level and as such it is still a very rare position to hold and it will be unlikely that anyone would reach this very quickly.
Factions allows you to pick your Class in a very special way, but to understand how this works you must first know the Factions and Races:
There are 4 Factions,
• The Hierarch (Run by ‘The Hierarchs’ race)
• The Corporation (Run by ‘The Builders’ and ‘The Traders’ races)
• The Old Ones (Run by ‘The Creators’ and ‘The Mystics’ races)
• The Magisters (Run by ‘The Magisters’ race)
Players pick their faction at the begging of the game through a drop down menu (Unless they load a saved Character, in which case they are put into the same faction picked when they started that character).
From this you can then pick ANY RACE. I must stress this! You CAN be a Hierarch Converter class AND be in 'The Corporation.'
Each Race has 1 Faction specific Class. In order to chose that class you MUST be in The Faction that is run by your Race (E.g; to be a Historian for the 'The Creators' you must pick the faction that race runs (The Old Ones) and then you are able to pick that class. If you choose to be a Creator but choose to be in 'The Firm' you will be unable to pick the Historian class.
Home faction specific classes are marked with an Asterisk(*).
These are the races (remember, you can pick ANYONE of these in ANY Faction)
6 Races (all races are Human and have Human models - The Class you pick determines your appearance - Being a Clergyman gives you an angelic model, a Hero gives a rugged warrior model and creating a Wiseman class gives you a Med'hiv like model):
• The Traders – Highly intelligent people who believe in Knowledge, Money and Control as the only form of true power. They run “The Corporation” faction with the Builders. Have an uncanny ability to control others minds through “marketing speak” and talking around what they are actually saying as well as an in depth understanding of technology and the world around them, allowing them to manipulate their world to form advanced structures from advanced materials. Has a very post-modern aesthetic.
o Capital City: New Joslin
o Player Paths: Trader, Hero, Diplomat* and Thinker.
o Amount of controlled cities: 2
o Total faction controlled cities: 4
• The Builders – Highly intelligent and passionate artists, artisans and builders capable of fashioning incredible post-modern structures and highly advanced weapons as well as technology. Run “The Corporation” faction with the Traders. They believe that power comes only through creation and control. Has a very modern industrial aesthetic.
o Capital City: Conquer
o Player Paths: Trader, Hero, Artisan* and Futurist.
o Amount of controlled cities: 2
o Total faction controlled cities: 4
• The Creators – The first people to colonize Kerrac and as such believe that they are the rightful owners of the land. Highly pompous and officious, though they believe in the power of Nature. They would do anything to regain control of Kerrac, even if that meant murdering their own sister state; The Mystics. The Creators are a very sneaky and twisted race that believes that all power belongs to them and to Nature and any other use of it is blasphemy. Run “The Old Ones” factions with The Mystics. Ironically, more interested in destruction than creation, as long as it leads to their great race regaining their ‘rightful’ place as the rulers of Kerrac. A truly backwards and old race, whose traditions are begging to die out. A combination of Norse and Roman architecture.
o Capital City: Acre
o Player Paths: Trader, Hero, Historian* and Wiseman.
o Amount of controlled cities: 1
o Total faction controlled cities: 3
• The Mystics - A race of people who share the old belief structure of The Creators. Though they share their beliefs there is little else that they share with them; the Mystics believe in preservation of Nature above all and would die even to save the world they inhabit (a stark difference to their allies; The Creators, who would destroy anything to gain power). They believe that power comes through Nature and respect of Nature. They believe in the spirit of the land and that all happens on a predetermined path, set it progress millennia ago and that all choice is merely an illusion of choice and our lives are ones of servitude to the world as your life has already been determined by it. A combination of Norse and Viking architecture with very natural tones.
o Capital City: Sweyne
o Player Paths: Trader, Hero, Sage* and Scholar.
o Amount of controlled cities: 2
o Total faction controlled cities: 3
• The Magisters – The Magisters started as a small sect of The Creators who began investigating the true origins of their power beyond that of Nature, which they had so long tapped. Though originally firm believers in ‘The Path of Creation,’ (the religious teachings of The Mystics and The Creators) they soon found that these were outdated and began investigation into new sources of Power. Soon after this investigation begun the elder court that ruled over those under the control of ‘The Old Ones’ shut down all experiments and exiled all those involved and their families for blasphemous writing and inciting distrust within their religion. These estranged people then moved northward, bringing with them their ideas and belongings. They set up a new state and named it The Magisters after their new race. They are powerful and formidable magic users who draw power from many sources and have no religious doctrine beyond the worship of all power for what it is.
o Capital City: Sighere
o Player Paths: Trader, Hero, Arcanist* and Student of Magic.
o Amount of controlled cities: 4
o Total faction controlled cities: 4
• The Hierarchs – A race that believes in only their God. Any other beliefs are wrong and as such anyone who follows them is an enemy of God. They believe that power can only come about through God and that all things are at his mercy alone. This belief has given rise to the common chant among members of the Hierarch; “God is everything.” Also; 3 members of the faith; The Prophet, one who is picked for his actions and wisdom – The Guardian, one who is picked for his strength of Will and Courage when facing his foes – The Arch Bishop, one who is picked for his leadership and faith, run the Hierarchs. Though they are relatively new to Kerrac they have already amassed a large fanatical following, many thousands larger than any other faction, each one blind with zealous rage.
o Capital City: Damascus
o Player Paths: Trader, Hero, Clergyman* and Converter.
o Amount of controlled cities: 4
o Total faction controlled cities: 4
Class progression and selection:
Classes are not selected from a tavern or a menu. Instead performing quests (as a peasant) for specific NPC’s unlocks the ability to follow a certain ‘Player path.’ A Player path is just like a class from any other RPG you’ve played, with a twist – At any time during the game you can change your class by accepting quests from a different NPC Class trainer.
E.g; You can be a level 10 Hero and follow the Trader quest path and you will eventually become a level 5 Trader. (Swapping paths refunds all talent points and reduce your level by 5)
This path swapping is useful for two reasons:
1) It is very hard to play faction specific classes from level 1 as they are generally very weak to start off with and they gain their power in later levels through the use of high power spells and control over their faction NPC’s (More on that later). In order to get past this you can play a Hero to level 25 or so and then swap to the Clergyman/Sage/Historian…etc path and play it from level 20.
2) You might get bored of one class and want to try another but don’t really want to start again from level 1. This allows you to change paths without too much hassle.
However swapping also has a few downsides.
- You lose 5 levels (Quite a bit)
- It costs money
- It restarts your Player Path quest chain (the way you progress up the social ladder to rule over the Factions) *MORE ON PLAYER PATHS LATER*
- You lose all in game assets you have acquired (towns, villages, mansions, houses, mercenaries, followers, peasants) *MORE ON ASSETS LATER*
- All money that is owed to you is reset. *MORE ON MONEY LATER*
Player Paths:
Player paths are selected by the type of class you want to play; say you want to be a Hero: You would talk to the ‘Hero’ quest givers – Completing these quests then gives you lots of experience and allows you to learn new spells. As you complete these quests and gain levels you will eventually be given the opportunity to ‘Become a Hero’ at the end of a long quest chain. Selecting ‘Yes’ transforms your character from a Peasant class to a Hero class in a bright flash of light.
However, this is not the end of your player path – After you have selected to become that class you are then given more quests and invited to join a Guild based on your Class. To join the guild you must first pay a joining fee and bring back a class specific item so you can “Continue your training.” An example of this is the Converter must loot ‘The Teachings of the Hierarchs” from the bodies of raiders in a town - A simple gather/fetch quest that allows you entrance into your Guild so you can learn from whatever artifact you were sent to retrieve.
This transition from [ Peasant → Hero → Hero (Guild Member) ] takes place over 5 - 7 levels. Which will equate to around 20 minutes of game play or (hopefully) 1 session of play.
These are the Guilds:
- Guild of Heroes (Hero)
- Guild of Higher Learning (Thinker, Futurist, Diplomat, Scholar)
- Guild of the Brothers of Light (Clergyman, Converter)
- Traders Guild (Trader)
- Guild of Artists (Artisan)
- Guild of Old Teachings (Sage, Wiseman)
- Guild of Magic (Arcanist, Student of Magic)
Access to each Guild is restricted only to those who have completed the quest chain and become one of the allowed classes. From these Guilds you learn your next lot of spells and the upgrades for your previous ones.
Guilds are neutral ground so no factions can attack other factions when inside one as all units within the buildings are invulnerable.
Access to your Guild (once you have completed the quests) is through a trigger circle placed outside the Guild’s building in the City of Annex. Read on for details on the City of Annex and Cities.
Titles:
As well as levels your Character gains titles. Titles are given to players based on what job they are performing. For example, a level 20 Clergyman might have the full name of “Gyrfried the Level 20 Servant of God (Clergyman).” Or a Hero might have the name “Vhar the Level 35 Dragon Slayer (Hero).”
(Note: Names e.g; Gyrfried are random and given at the begging of the game. They are based on race and gender)
With each of these titles comes a different Character model. A Dragon slayer hero would have a sword with a Dragons head as the symbol as well as a helmet forged in the form of a Dragon – A Servant of God would have a model with Angelic wings and a halo (Think Tyrael from Diablo).
Titles are given out every 10 levels and are based on many criteria: A Hero receives his based on what type of creatures he kills and what deeds he has done. A Clergyman on the other hand would also have his piousness taken into account as well as any offerings to God he may have made or any pilgrimages he may have gone on (Quests).
Titles also have an effect on gameplay! Each title gives a different passive aura. Here are some examples:
Dragon Slayer - +10 to all attack damage.
Servant of God - +250 Mana.
Holy Warrior - +5 Holy damage to all attacks.
Master Mage - +15 to all Magic damage.
Great Wizard - +10 to Intellect.
Merchant – + 50g per trade.
Warrior - + 100 Hp.
King Slayer - + 5 to all stats.
Master of the Divine - +5 Armor.
Mystic warder - +40% Mana regen.
Each 10 levels a new title is assigned to your Character (based on his exploits for the last 10 levels). The range of titles to chose from do not change, only the values. The lvl 10 Aura for Dragon Slayer is +10 to all damage, were-as the level 20 aura would be +25 damage.
At the maximum level (55) you can pick your own Aura from every available one by going to your Guild and talking to the Guild Master.
How Cities, Villages and Capitols work:
Cities/Capitols:
Each faction has a varying amount of cities with varying size and power. A Race’s capitol city is far stronger and better defended than any other city under that faction’s control (capitol cities are listed underneath each race).
Each city is controllable by the player; buying the Town hall of the city does this. Town halls are VERY expensive and as such do not expect to see many players running cities until they are at least level 40 or above (They also cannot be bought until you are level 40 or above, regardless of cash- Excluding the Trader class). The only way to get the town hall before this is to become a Trader as they make more money, and faster, than any other class. So you will be able to buy it sooner.
Cities are upgradeable through quests and money to have better defensive and offensive capabilities. Cities also contain many quests and items for Hero’s to purchase and take.
Cities provide players with a steady income through tax (Like Villages but MUCH MUCH more). They also allow players to hire peasants from the city and nearby villages to their Faction’s army and research upgrades for the army (If a player does not control the city this is done by the AI).
Every 5 minutes cities spawn a cohort. These units can either be used to fortify the city or attack the enemy.
Cities are taken/captured by enemy forces by destroying the Town hall and the garrison.
Losing a town is a GIANT win for the enemy. Do EVERYTHING you can to stop this from happening. Most factions only have 3 – 5 cities. They are RARE and POWERFUL. Do NOT let them fall or your faction will fall.
Capitols are taken in the same way, however there are several differences about capitols from Cities.
You can only gain control of capitols by following your Race’s faction specific class. This means that if you are a race who is not in his faction you CANNOT become a leader of a Capitol city. Therefore; the only person who can control the capitol city is a very specialised and hard class to play. Although they are more powerful than any other class at level 55 (in some situations) they all have low health and are weak alone.
Controlling a capitol does not cost anything, instead it is given to you once you complete a long chain of quests and ‘prove’ yourself through an arena trial. This is very hard to accomplish and any player who runs a capitol must have invested hours and hours of time into the game.
Capitols also amass armies from conscription through the Cities and Villages. Depending on how many villages you have and how upgraded your Cities are, you are given an army at the capitol every 10 minutes. This army can be used for anything you want – Defence, offence, patrol… Anything. However, if an NPC is controlling the capitol the army will always be sent to fortify a city or to attack the faction that the NPC deems the most threatening (Just like the creeps from dota). Players, however can choose to amass that army over the game and attack later with a larger force.
Villages.
Villages are built by the players around their castles - At around level 25 players are given the opportunity to buy a castle, if they do the castle is added to their inventory and they can create it anywhere they want. From the castle they can then buy houses and other buildings to form a village around the castle. The castle also has the ability to upgrade and spawn Mercenaries and siege weapons as well as builders.
Builders build all the combat/defence buildings for your Village, all other buildings are simply bought from the castle and placed.
Villages are extremely useful since they give you a steady income (tax) and allow you to upgrade your faction’s towns through research and they spawn builders to help you build defensive and offensive structures.
Building Villages also helps your faction by providing them with more peasants to conscript into the military and thus more forces to attack the enemy factions with.
Building Villages is KEY to your faction winning as without them you will be less defended and over run by your enemies’ superior forces.
Though Villages cannot be physically saved to the map, as they are a structure built during the game (or so I’ve been told, please tell me if there is some way we can get around this) they are saved by giving you a free castle when you start the next game as well as crediting you with all the gold you spent on buildings in the village.
Traders are the only class who is capable of owning more than one village - Traders are able to build up to 5 castles and thus have 5 villages as well as hire their own army from their peasant reserves and build a class specific buildings including; mansions (allows you to garrison inside it to protect you from invaders), markets (allows your village to trade with other villages – Gives income) and Barracks (trains your private military – cheaper than mercenaries yet just as effective and sometimes more versatile).
Villages cannot be taken/captured, only destroyed.
Annex: Last Bastion of the Fallen.
In the middle of the map is a large town called Annex. Annex is made up of 4 hills. On each of these hills is one of the factions. All of Annex is neutral ground and no armies can be brought within its walls.
Annex serves as a place for mutual trade and talk. Once in Annex all chat switches to the “everyone” channel. Annex is also the only city where players from other faction can trade research or money.
Annex is also the location of all the Guilds (they are located in the center of the city in ‘The Forum’).
Lots of quests will be available here as well as social events (carnivals… etc) and traders to buy from.
Annex is not captured in the same way that all other cities are. Annex does not have a capture point; instead you must starve the inhabitants of Annex and have them surrender to you. Your faction does this by capturing and holding supply points outside of the city. To hold a supply point you must have the most units near the main tower. There are 4 supply points around Annex, one in each factions territory. As a result of this, Annex is very hard to take since you must hold 4 points for 5 minutes from 3 different enemies.
However, should you take Annex you will gain a sizeable advantage! Taking Annex provides you with another large population for you to conscript your army from (at least twice the size of your capitol, if not more). Annex also spawns another army at it that you can control (If you are the leader of the faction) and is equal to the size of the one that spawns at your capitol (taking Annex effectively DOUBLES your army size). It also allows you access to special military upgrades and defensive weapons/towers.
*NOTE* Enemy players are still invulnerable once they enter Annex in order for them to be able to use the Guilds. They will, however, be unable to buy anything from any stores or trade. They’re fair game before they enter the city though
More stuff to come!
Including:
-Class descriptions.
-A first pass terrain map.
-More detail about game mechanics.
-Complete list of Titles and effects.
Thanks for reading all of that. I really need some people to help me out with this, as I’m sure you can see; it is a GIANT production.
I am contactable at [email protected]
And PM and this site.
Feel free to add me on MSN and I can discuss this with you.
All people who help me out will be credited and thanked as well as incorporated into the game is a character somehow ☺
Thanks for reading
~Tuan
P.S Watch this page for updates as I add more features and flesh out the game as well as Beta tests
This is still in the design process and MANY things will change. This is just a rough treatment of the design document.I am also looking for a good scripter (AI and Event), modeler and animator to help me out (as well as some voice actors later on). I am good at terrain building and alright at event scripting but I don’t think a project this size can be done by me alone so I could use any help available
I have also already drafted up a first version of the terrain (No scripts, models or nothin just yet) and am in the process of tweaking it to show you guys.
rough
Here is a screenshot form the first pass of layering and terraining (PLEASE NOTE, This is a very rough first pass).
Name: Factions
Set in the world of Kerrac (Think Azeroth, but without Elves).
Tag Line: “Power though Faith – Power through Knowledge – Power through Control – Power through Strength – Power through Understanding.”
The aim of the game:
Long Term: To level up your Character over multiple games until they achieve a high rank, incredible spells and control entire villages, cities, even factions.
Short Term: Each game is won when either
a) The host leaves. (duh)
b) The players leave (Double duh)
c) One faction destroys the other ones and controls all the cities, ports and the Capitol City of Kerrac (called Annex: Bastion of the Fallen – See below for more info on Annex)
*NOTE* Factions is a game that is designed NOT TO END. Though the game does have victory conditions these are so unlikely that most games will be played until the host leaves or the players leave. The victory conditions exist only for ‘Pro’ players who have level their character up enough through the RPG system that they want to take on the other factions in a PvP/PvE environment.
*ALSO NOTE* Factions is playable in many ways, you can PvP, PvE or even trade and not kill anything at all. The game is also set up to handle everyone playing the game in every way at the same time. So there is no need to not allow “Noobs” to join since the game is big enough that one or two noobs in an ‘all pro’ game doesn’t make a difference.
Faction is a long, save-able, RPG where your Character rises up through the ranks from a lowly Peasant to one of 4 classes (depending on the Race you pick - See below for a complete list of Races and Classes). Your Character (after MANY games) can even become the LEADER of a Faction by following certain Class paths.
For example: Following and leveling up through the "Clergyman" path for The Hierarchs can eventually lead you to the title of "Arch Bishop" which allows you to conduct crusades on other factions, run the faction and do other things to affect your faction. *NOTE* it takes 10's of games (think in the area of 30 - 40) to actually get to this level and as such it is still a very rare position to hold and it will be unlikely that anyone would reach this very quickly.
Factions allows you to pick your Class in a very special way, but to understand how this works you must first know the Factions and Races:
There are 4 Factions,
• The Hierarch (Run by ‘The Hierarchs’ race)
• The Corporation (Run by ‘The Builders’ and ‘The Traders’ races)
• The Old Ones (Run by ‘The Creators’ and ‘The Mystics’ races)
• The Magisters (Run by ‘The Magisters’ race)
Players pick their faction at the begging of the game through a drop down menu (Unless they load a saved Character, in which case they are put into the same faction picked when they started that character).
From this you can then pick ANY RACE. I must stress this! You CAN be a Hierarch Converter class AND be in 'The Corporation.'
Each Race has 1 Faction specific Class. In order to chose that class you MUST be in The Faction that is run by your Race (E.g; to be a Historian for the 'The Creators' you must pick the faction that race runs (The Old Ones) and then you are able to pick that class. If you choose to be a Creator but choose to be in 'The Firm' you will be unable to pick the Historian class.
Home faction specific classes are marked with an Asterisk(*).
These are the races (remember, you can pick ANYONE of these in ANY Faction)
6 Races (all races are Human and have Human models - The Class you pick determines your appearance - Being a Clergyman gives you an angelic model, a Hero gives a rugged warrior model and creating a Wiseman class gives you a Med'hiv like model):
• The Traders – Highly intelligent people who believe in Knowledge, Money and Control as the only form of true power. They run “The Corporation” faction with the Builders. Have an uncanny ability to control others minds through “marketing speak” and talking around what they are actually saying as well as an in depth understanding of technology and the world around them, allowing them to manipulate their world to form advanced structures from advanced materials. Has a very post-modern aesthetic.
o Capital City: New Joslin
o Player Paths: Trader, Hero, Diplomat* and Thinker.
o Amount of controlled cities: 2
o Total faction controlled cities: 4
• The Builders – Highly intelligent and passionate artists, artisans and builders capable of fashioning incredible post-modern structures and highly advanced weapons as well as technology. Run “The Corporation” faction with the Traders. They believe that power comes only through creation and control. Has a very modern industrial aesthetic.
o Capital City: Conquer
o Player Paths: Trader, Hero, Artisan* and Futurist.
o Amount of controlled cities: 2
o Total faction controlled cities: 4
• The Creators – The first people to colonize Kerrac and as such believe that they are the rightful owners of the land. Highly pompous and officious, though they believe in the power of Nature. They would do anything to regain control of Kerrac, even if that meant murdering their own sister state; The Mystics. The Creators are a very sneaky and twisted race that believes that all power belongs to them and to Nature and any other use of it is blasphemy. Run “The Old Ones” factions with The Mystics. Ironically, more interested in destruction than creation, as long as it leads to their great race regaining their ‘rightful’ place as the rulers of Kerrac. A truly backwards and old race, whose traditions are begging to die out. A combination of Norse and Roman architecture.
o Capital City: Acre
o Player Paths: Trader, Hero, Historian* and Wiseman.
o Amount of controlled cities: 1
o Total faction controlled cities: 3
• The Mystics - A race of people who share the old belief structure of The Creators. Though they share their beliefs there is little else that they share with them; the Mystics believe in preservation of Nature above all and would die even to save the world they inhabit (a stark difference to their allies; The Creators, who would destroy anything to gain power). They believe that power comes through Nature and respect of Nature. They believe in the spirit of the land and that all happens on a predetermined path, set it progress millennia ago and that all choice is merely an illusion of choice and our lives are ones of servitude to the world as your life has already been determined by it. A combination of Norse and Viking architecture with very natural tones.
o Capital City: Sweyne
o Player Paths: Trader, Hero, Sage* and Scholar.
o Amount of controlled cities: 2
o Total faction controlled cities: 3
• The Magisters – The Magisters started as a small sect of The Creators who began investigating the true origins of their power beyond that of Nature, which they had so long tapped. Though originally firm believers in ‘The Path of Creation,’ (the religious teachings of The Mystics and The Creators) they soon found that these were outdated and began investigation into new sources of Power. Soon after this investigation begun the elder court that ruled over those under the control of ‘The Old Ones’ shut down all experiments and exiled all those involved and their families for blasphemous writing and inciting distrust within their religion. These estranged people then moved northward, bringing with them their ideas and belongings. They set up a new state and named it The Magisters after their new race. They are powerful and formidable magic users who draw power from many sources and have no religious doctrine beyond the worship of all power for what it is.
o Capital City: Sighere
o Player Paths: Trader, Hero, Arcanist* and Student of Magic.
o Amount of controlled cities: 4
o Total faction controlled cities: 4
• The Hierarchs – A race that believes in only their God. Any other beliefs are wrong and as such anyone who follows them is an enemy of God. They believe that power can only come about through God and that all things are at his mercy alone. This belief has given rise to the common chant among members of the Hierarch; “God is everything.” Also; 3 members of the faith; The Prophet, one who is picked for his actions and wisdom – The Guardian, one who is picked for his strength of Will and Courage when facing his foes – The Arch Bishop, one who is picked for his leadership and faith, run the Hierarchs. Though they are relatively new to Kerrac they have already amassed a large fanatical following, many thousands larger than any other faction, each one blind with zealous rage.
o Capital City: Damascus
o Player Paths: Trader, Hero, Clergyman* and Converter.
o Amount of controlled cities: 4
o Total faction controlled cities: 4
Class progression and selection:
Classes are not selected from a tavern or a menu. Instead performing quests (as a peasant) for specific NPC’s unlocks the ability to follow a certain ‘Player path.’ A Player path is just like a class from any other RPG you’ve played, with a twist – At any time during the game you can change your class by accepting quests from a different NPC Class trainer.
E.g; You can be a level 10 Hero and follow the Trader quest path and you will eventually become a level 5 Trader. (Swapping paths refunds all talent points and reduce your level by 5)
This path swapping is useful for two reasons:
1) It is very hard to play faction specific classes from level 1 as they are generally very weak to start off with and they gain their power in later levels through the use of high power spells and control over their faction NPC’s (More on that later). In order to get past this you can play a Hero to level 25 or so and then swap to the Clergyman/Sage/Historian…etc path and play it from level 20.
2) You might get bored of one class and want to try another but don’t really want to start again from level 1. This allows you to change paths without too much hassle.
However swapping also has a few downsides.
- You lose 5 levels (Quite a bit)
- It costs money
- It restarts your Player Path quest chain (the way you progress up the social ladder to rule over the Factions) *MORE ON PLAYER PATHS LATER*
- You lose all in game assets you have acquired (towns, villages, mansions, houses, mercenaries, followers, peasants) *MORE ON ASSETS LATER*
- All money that is owed to you is reset. *MORE ON MONEY LATER*
Player Paths:
Player paths are selected by the type of class you want to play; say you want to be a Hero: You would talk to the ‘Hero’ quest givers – Completing these quests then gives you lots of experience and allows you to learn new spells. As you complete these quests and gain levels you will eventually be given the opportunity to ‘Become a Hero’ at the end of a long quest chain. Selecting ‘Yes’ transforms your character from a Peasant class to a Hero class in a bright flash of light.
However, this is not the end of your player path – After you have selected to become that class you are then given more quests and invited to join a Guild based on your Class. To join the guild you must first pay a joining fee and bring back a class specific item so you can “Continue your training.” An example of this is the Converter must loot ‘The Teachings of the Hierarchs” from the bodies of raiders in a town - A simple gather/fetch quest that allows you entrance into your Guild so you can learn from whatever artifact you were sent to retrieve.
This transition from [ Peasant → Hero → Hero (Guild Member) ] takes place over 5 - 7 levels. Which will equate to around 20 minutes of game play or (hopefully) 1 session of play.
These are the Guilds:
- Guild of Heroes (Hero)
- Guild of Higher Learning (Thinker, Futurist, Diplomat, Scholar)
- Guild of the Brothers of Light (Clergyman, Converter)
- Traders Guild (Trader)
- Guild of Artists (Artisan)
- Guild of Old Teachings (Sage, Wiseman)
- Guild of Magic (Arcanist, Student of Magic)
Access to each Guild is restricted only to those who have completed the quest chain and become one of the allowed classes. From these Guilds you learn your next lot of spells and the upgrades for your previous ones.
Guilds are neutral ground so no factions can attack other factions when inside one as all units within the buildings are invulnerable.
Access to your Guild (once you have completed the quests) is through a trigger circle placed outside the Guild’s building in the City of Annex. Read on for details on the City of Annex and Cities.
Titles:
As well as levels your Character gains titles. Titles are given to players based on what job they are performing. For example, a level 20 Clergyman might have the full name of “Gyrfried the Level 20 Servant of God (Clergyman).” Or a Hero might have the name “Vhar the Level 35 Dragon Slayer (Hero).”
(Note: Names e.g; Gyrfried are random and given at the begging of the game. They are based on race and gender)
With each of these titles comes a different Character model. A Dragon slayer hero would have a sword with a Dragons head as the symbol as well as a helmet forged in the form of a Dragon – A Servant of God would have a model with Angelic wings and a halo (Think Tyrael from Diablo).
Titles are given out every 10 levels and are based on many criteria: A Hero receives his based on what type of creatures he kills and what deeds he has done. A Clergyman on the other hand would also have his piousness taken into account as well as any offerings to God he may have made or any pilgrimages he may have gone on (Quests).
Titles also have an effect on gameplay! Each title gives a different passive aura. Here are some examples:
Dragon Slayer - +10 to all attack damage.
Servant of God - +250 Mana.
Holy Warrior - +5 Holy damage to all attacks.
Master Mage - +15 to all Magic damage.
Great Wizard - +10 to Intellect.
Merchant – + 50g per trade.
Warrior - + 100 Hp.
King Slayer - + 5 to all stats.
Master of the Divine - +5 Armor.
Mystic warder - +40% Mana regen.
Each 10 levels a new title is assigned to your Character (based on his exploits for the last 10 levels). The range of titles to chose from do not change, only the values. The lvl 10 Aura for Dragon Slayer is +10 to all damage, were-as the level 20 aura would be +25 damage.
At the maximum level (55) you can pick your own Aura from every available one by going to your Guild and talking to the Guild Master.
How Cities, Villages and Capitols work:
Cities/Capitols:
Each faction has a varying amount of cities with varying size and power. A Race’s capitol city is far stronger and better defended than any other city under that faction’s control (capitol cities are listed underneath each race).
Each city is controllable by the player; buying the Town hall of the city does this. Town halls are VERY expensive and as such do not expect to see many players running cities until they are at least level 40 or above (They also cannot be bought until you are level 40 or above, regardless of cash- Excluding the Trader class). The only way to get the town hall before this is to become a Trader as they make more money, and faster, than any other class. So you will be able to buy it sooner.
Cities are upgradeable through quests and money to have better defensive and offensive capabilities. Cities also contain many quests and items for Hero’s to purchase and take.
Cities provide players with a steady income through tax (Like Villages but MUCH MUCH more). They also allow players to hire peasants from the city and nearby villages to their Faction’s army and research upgrades for the army (If a player does not control the city this is done by the AI).
Every 5 minutes cities spawn a cohort. These units can either be used to fortify the city or attack the enemy.
Cities are taken/captured by enemy forces by destroying the Town hall and the garrison.
Losing a town is a GIANT win for the enemy. Do EVERYTHING you can to stop this from happening. Most factions only have 3 – 5 cities. They are RARE and POWERFUL. Do NOT let them fall or your faction will fall.
Capitols are taken in the same way, however there are several differences about capitols from Cities.
You can only gain control of capitols by following your Race’s faction specific class. This means that if you are a race who is not in his faction you CANNOT become a leader of a Capitol city. Therefore; the only person who can control the capitol city is a very specialised and hard class to play. Although they are more powerful than any other class at level 55 (in some situations) they all have low health and are weak alone.
Controlling a capitol does not cost anything, instead it is given to you once you complete a long chain of quests and ‘prove’ yourself through an arena trial. This is very hard to accomplish and any player who runs a capitol must have invested hours and hours of time into the game.
Capitols also amass armies from conscription through the Cities and Villages. Depending on how many villages you have and how upgraded your Cities are, you are given an army at the capitol every 10 minutes. This army can be used for anything you want – Defence, offence, patrol… Anything. However, if an NPC is controlling the capitol the army will always be sent to fortify a city or to attack the faction that the NPC deems the most threatening (Just like the creeps from dota). Players, however can choose to amass that army over the game and attack later with a larger force.
Villages.
Villages are built by the players around their castles - At around level 25 players are given the opportunity to buy a castle, if they do the castle is added to their inventory and they can create it anywhere they want. From the castle they can then buy houses and other buildings to form a village around the castle. The castle also has the ability to upgrade and spawn Mercenaries and siege weapons as well as builders.
Builders build all the combat/defence buildings for your Village, all other buildings are simply bought from the castle and placed.
Villages are extremely useful since they give you a steady income (tax) and allow you to upgrade your faction’s towns through research and they spawn builders to help you build defensive and offensive structures.
Building Villages also helps your faction by providing them with more peasants to conscript into the military and thus more forces to attack the enemy factions with.
Building Villages is KEY to your faction winning as without them you will be less defended and over run by your enemies’ superior forces.
Though Villages cannot be physically saved to the map, as they are a structure built during the game (or so I’ve been told, please tell me if there is some way we can get around this) they are saved by giving you a free castle when you start the next game as well as crediting you with all the gold you spent on buildings in the village.
Traders are the only class who is capable of owning more than one village - Traders are able to build up to 5 castles and thus have 5 villages as well as hire their own army from their peasant reserves and build a class specific buildings including; mansions (allows you to garrison inside it to protect you from invaders), markets (allows your village to trade with other villages – Gives income) and Barracks (trains your private military – cheaper than mercenaries yet just as effective and sometimes more versatile).
Villages cannot be taken/captured, only destroyed.
Annex: Last Bastion of the Fallen.
In the middle of the map is a large town called Annex. Annex is made up of 4 hills. On each of these hills is one of the factions. All of Annex is neutral ground and no armies can be brought within its walls.
Annex serves as a place for mutual trade and talk. Once in Annex all chat switches to the “everyone” channel. Annex is also the only city where players from other faction can trade research or money.
Annex is also the location of all the Guilds (they are located in the center of the city in ‘The Forum’).
Lots of quests will be available here as well as social events (carnivals… etc) and traders to buy from.
Annex is not captured in the same way that all other cities are. Annex does not have a capture point; instead you must starve the inhabitants of Annex and have them surrender to you. Your faction does this by capturing and holding supply points outside of the city. To hold a supply point you must have the most units near the main tower. There are 4 supply points around Annex, one in each factions territory. As a result of this, Annex is very hard to take since you must hold 4 points for 5 minutes from 3 different enemies.
However, should you take Annex you will gain a sizeable advantage! Taking Annex provides you with another large population for you to conscript your army from (at least twice the size of your capitol, if not more). Annex also spawns another army at it that you can control (If you are the leader of the faction) and is equal to the size of the one that spawns at your capitol (taking Annex effectively DOUBLES your army size). It also allows you access to special military upgrades and defensive weapons/towers.
*NOTE* Enemy players are still invulnerable once they enter Annex in order for them to be able to use the Guilds. They will, however, be unable to buy anything from any stores or trade. They’re fair game before they enter the city though
More stuff to come!
Including:
-Class descriptions.
-A first pass terrain map.
-More detail about game mechanics.
-Complete list of Titles and effects.
Thanks for reading all of that. I really need some people to help me out with this, as I’m sure you can see; it is a GIANT production.
I am contactable at [email protected]
And PM and this site.
Feel free to add me on MSN and I can discuss this with you.
All people who help me out will be credited and thanked as well as incorporated into the game is a character somehow ☺
Thanks for reading
~Tuan
P.S Watch this page for updates as I add more features and flesh out the game as well as Beta tests
