Dark Ages (1999 video game)
Dark Ages: Online Roleplaying is an MMORPG, based on Celtic mythology, developed by Nexon, inc.. It is loosely based on the Korean game called Legend of Darkness. The American version was developed by David Kennerly (not the photographer), who based it somewhat on the works of horror writer H.P. Lovecraft. The game originally thrived on player involvement in the management of the game and progression of the storyline, even going so far as allowing players control over in-game punishments and laws.
Storyline
The backstory essentially is that a long time past, the people called Tuatha de Danaan ("Children of Danaan") arrived in the lands of Temuair, meaning Earth-Sea in the Tuathan tongue. There was formed the civilization called Hy-brasyl. It was a peaceful time, in harmony with nature. For the first time, after a millenium of peace had existed, a man is found murdered, and exploration into the outside world begins. With this comes the harnessing of the elements for magickal power.
Along with this exploration, Kadath, the worldly home of the Gods, is re-discovered (it had been first discovered in an earlier civilization called Aosda). Dark altars and temples are constructed, and the Priests of these Dark Gods go crazy in their search for Godly knowledge. In this madness, Hy-brasyl is drowned, with the death of all those who know the forbidden knowledge.
Over 300 years go by until the knowledge is regained, and along with the four other elements (Fire, Earth, Water, Wind), a fifth is discovered: Darkness. With this discovery come the Dubhaimid, the dark ones. Formed by the Dark God Chadul, these dark forces terrorize Temuair. The wise amongst the Tuatha de Danaan return to the worship of the Light Goddess Danaan, who enters into the Great War with Chadul.
Many years later, the Six Lords of Temuair meet to form an unholy Pact with Chadul. Led by Tenes, King of Ardmagh, the Anaman Pact is formed, granting each of the Lords a 1000 year lifespan and the unity of Temuair. In the ensuing war, Danaan's chosen Paladin, Ainmeal, fights against Tenes in battle and wins, ending another dark threat. Ainmeal renames Ardmagh to "Loures."
Again much time of peace passes, until the 4th Emperess of Loures, Ealagad, comes to power. She seeks to rekindle the power of Chadul and does so, restoring the Dubhaimid to Temuair. Danaan again intervenes, this time by sacrificing Herself in order to defeat Chadul for the final time. With the end of this Shadows War, the first of the Aislings (Dreamers) is born, free from his old mundane life, and making a difference in the new Atavism Age.
Calendar
Dark Ages time is approximately 8x faster than Earth time. It is measured in the following ways:
1 Temuair Day = 3 Hours
1 Temuair Moon = 3.5 Days
1 Temuair Double-Moon = 1 Week
1 Deoch (Year) = 41 Days
You may also see "Deochs" called "Grinneals" and "Danaanas." The time of Aosda until the coming of the Tuatha de Danaan is given in Grinneals. The time from the coming of the Tuatha de Danaan until the first Aisling is given in Danaans. Since that time (the release of the game), years are measured in Deochs.
Religion
Dark Ages was given two unique gifts amongst the "Legend of Darkness"-based games by David Kennerly. The first is religion. The game sports eight different Temples, each run entirely by a clergy made up of the players.
Gods
Deoch is the God of Light. He was originally created by Chadul, but shifted to the Light during the Shadows War. His allies are Sgrios and Glioca. His enemies are Luathas and Fiosachd. His Temple is in the town of Suomi.
Luathas is the God of Gnosis. He was originally of the Aosda society, but was made into a God by Danaan. His allies are Cail and Gramail. His enemies are Deoch and Ceannlaidir. His Temple is in the town of Rucesion.
Ceannlaidir is the God of War. He was formed by the strife of later Hy-brasyl. His allies are Fiosachd and Sgrios. His enemies are Luathas and Glioca. His Temple is in the town of Piet.
Glioca is the Goddess of Compassion, and the daughter of Danaan. Her allies are Cail and Deoch. Her enemies are Ceannlaidir and Gramail. Her Temple is in the town of Mileth.
Gramail is the God of Law. He was originally of the Aosda society, but was made into a God by Danaan. His allies are Fiosachd and Luathas. His enemies are Glioca and Sgrios. His Temple is in the city of Loures.
Sgrios is the God of Death. He was created by Chadul as the Guardian to the Underworld. His allies are Deoch and Ceannlaidir. His enemies are Gramail and Cail. His Temple is hidden in the Dubhaimid Castle.
Cail is the God of Harmony. He is the son of Glioca and Ceannlaidir. His allies are Luathas and Glioca. His enemies are Sgrios and Fiosachd. His Temple is in the town of Undine.
Fiosachd is the God of Luck. He was originally of the Aosda society, but was made into a God by Danaan. His allies are Ceannlaidir and Gramail. His enemies are Cail and Deoch. His Temple is in the town of Abel.
There are also the beings called the Other Gods, but they do not have Temples, and knowledge of them is entirely by the players.
Clergy
Each Temple has a clergy made entirely of players. Players may hold any of the following ranks:
Probate is the rank of initiated, unregistered players. It is also the rank of any Priest who has been the target of a heresy action. These people have the ability to pray when in the Temple of their God.
Worshipper is the rank of initiated, registered players. These people have the ability to pray in the Temple of their God or when elsewhere, by use of their Prayer Necklace. They may also be sent on religious geasea by any Priest or higher of their Temple.
Acolyte is the rank of Clergy-Helper. These people must be appointed by a person of rank Priest or higher. They have all the abilities of a Worshipper, as well as the ability to summon creatures of their God. They may also receive Holy Symbols of their God from a Cleric or higher. If a Priest or a Wizard, they may also receive a Holy or Magus staff of their God. Acolytes also have the ability to remove an enemy God's blessing from an item. Acolytes are also the only people who may begin a heresy action, which removes a Priest or higher from power.
Priest is the lowest rank of the actual Clergy, and is obtainable only by members of the Priest class. To become a Priest, you must have been an Acolyte for two double-moons (two weeks). Priests have the ability to initiate new worshippers, banish people from the Temple, and consecrate items (adding their God's touch to the item). They may also invite unregistered people into the Temple. Priests have the ability to hold a Mass, which gives all present worshippers of the Trinity 50k experience. Priests can also destroy items if they are touched by an enemy God, or may simply remove the enemy God's touch. Priests are also able to send Worshippers or higher on Geasea.
Cleric is obtainable only by those who have won a rank of "Clave" or above in any contest. They must have initiated at least 40 people in order to obtain Cleric alone, or 20 people if assisted by a Minister or higher. Clerics have all the abilities of a Priest, and may also create Holy Symbols, Holy Staves of their God, and Magus Staves of their God.
Minister is obtainable only by those who have won a rank of "Village" or above in any contest. They must have initiated at least 40 people in order to obtain Minister alone, or 80 people if assisted by a High Priest. Ministers have all the abilities of a Cleric.
High Priest is obtainable also by those who have won a rank of "Village" or above in any contest. They must have initiated at least 160 people into their Temple. High Priests have all the abilities of a Minister, and may also excommunicate members. This act will cause the High Priest to lose ten initiations, lose all of his faith, and will forcibly remove any member of the Fellowship from the Fellowship.
Politics
One of the other prizes given to Dark Ages by Dave Kennerly is the political system. At the time of this writing, only two towns have a political system. In these towns, players may hold the following offices:
Respected Citizen is not a true political position. It requires 10 votes, and it requires that you have mentored at least one person. You gain the ability to make people citizens of your town, and the ability to dye clothing with the help of a tailor.
Executive Branch
Guard is a rank where the holder enforces the town's laws. Guards must have been a Respected Citizen for at least one term, and require 25 votes. They may banish any person from their town for 24 hours. They may also sponsor others to run for political office. They wear a green or blue tabard, depending on what town they are from.
Guard Captain is a rank slightly above Guard. Guard Captains must have four terms of Guard, and require 50 votes. They have the same abilities as a Guard, and wear the same tabard. However, Captains also wear a metal helmet.
Judge is the highest executive rank. Judges must have held four terms of Guard Captain and require 100 votes. They may hold trials, which is where citizens will appeal banishments and exilements. These trials involve a jury, prosecutor, and defendant. They may also sponsor others to run for political office. Judges wear a fluffy robe colored with their town's color.
Legislative Branch
Demagogue is the lowest rank of the Legislative Branch. Demagogues must have held four terms of Respected Citizen, and require 50 votes. They may make the town's laws, and also may exile people from their town permanently. They also have the ability to call down the Sgath on serious criminals, which is a monster that will kill them and make them lose their items. Demagogues may also sponsor others for political office. Demagogues wear a full-body robe of their town's color.
Burgess is the highest rank of the Legislative Branch. Burgesses must have held four terms of Demagogue and require 200 votes. They have the same power as Demagogues, but are often granted responsibility and in-game power by the town's laws.
Outside the Towns
Outside of the towns, there are two other forces that keep the basic law (Terms of Service violations only). The ones that do the actual ToS-enforcement are a group called the Rangers. They can be recognized by their orange tabards. They have the ability to jail people for violating the ToS. Once you reach a certain number of arrests, you are automatically blocked from the game.
The other force is the Knights, who act as Nexon's agents in the game. They handle player requests and ideas. However, they also report extreme abuses to Nexon directly. BUT all ToS violations outside of the player-run towns should ALWAYS be submitted to the Rangers before the Knights.
Classes
Peasant
The Peasant is what you are before you are anything. The Peasant is the newborn Aisling, who must learn his way. Peasants can use only the most rudimentary devices, and they learn only the most basic of skills. When a Peasant is ready to accept a class, they must find a member of that class of the 11th insight ("insight" = "level") to guide the Peasant into that class. Certain members of the Dark Ages community have achieved renown by never choosing a class, and reaching level 99 as a Peasant. In honor of these Peasants, Peasant Day is celebrated each year.
Warrior
Your typical basher class. Warriors can wield swords and axes, and also have the most armor available to them out of all the classes. They have very few spells, but have a TON of skills. They have many attack abilities, as well as some others that let them make an enemy attack them and other such defense abilities. They also have the ability to stun enemies.
Monk
The Monk is a cross fighter/magic user. He is a martial artist, and uses punches and kicks to attack his enemy. He also has some magic, such as curing poison and blindness. Monks may also obtain "Dugons," which are colored ranks. Each rank gives a colored headband with certain stat improvements, as well as granting one or two skills. Monks can also gain an Animal Form, which grants three specific skills/spells based on the Form. These Forms are:
Kelberoth Form
- Kelberoth Stance - Increases Strength
- Kelberoth Strike - Does damage at cost of health
- Roar - Stuns all enemies around you
Draco Form
- Draco Stance - Temporary Invulnerability
- Draco Tail Kick - Hit enemies on all sides of you
- Snort - A very quick taunting spell
White Bat Form
- White Bat Stance - Temporary Invisibility
- Dark Spear - Blind an enemy
- Echolocation - Gives you data about an enemy
Scorpion Form
- Scorpion Stance - Increases armor temporarily
- Scorpion Sting - Poison an enemy
- Trance - Hypnotize an enemy
Priest
Priests are your typical healer class, with some add-ons. They can heal, increase their allies' defense, and cure status effects, obviously, but can also poison, curse, and put enemies to sleep. Priests also lead the religions. They use Holy Staves that lower the casting times on their spells.
Wizard
Wizards use elemental magic to hurt enemies. Their most powerful spells can be of any element and hit every enemy they see. Wizards use Magus Staves to lower their casting times. They can also improve items with magical enchantments, but each enchantment requires a member of a certain other class.
Rogue
Rogues kind of a basher/trickster class. They can lay traps along the ground that will either harm an enemy or give a certain status effect. Rogues also get some powerful bashing skills later on, but not so much as to equal warriors or monks. Rogues also have the ability to read enemies and tell their party elemental strengths and weaknesses.
Master
This is the rank that each character can achieve after level 99. Being a Master opens up new quests, skills, and spells. If a Master completes certain quests, he can then achieve the so-called "Medenia classes" that let him go to another world and start as an upgrade to his old class. The medenia classes are:
Warrior --> Gladiator, Monk --> Druid, Priest --> Bard, Wizard --> Summoner, Rogue --> Archer
Contests
There are five types of in-game contests held in order to recognize the players. There are four levels of winning: Clave, Village, Folk (Kingdom), Aisling. In the past, these contests were run by Nexon, and the players submitted their entries by e-mail. Currently, the contests are run by the Knights, and all past reward winners can vote on their favorite entry. If you win, you receive experience, a legend mark, and money. The amount of experience and money is obviously based on what rank you win at. These ranks are used to help out in other areas of the game, for example the religious system or teaching Conix Lore. Also, if you win Village or higher, you can teach classes at the Mileth College. Classes will get you Noble Points, which can be used to create low-level versions of high-level armor or create special Noble armors dependant on what type of contest you win. With enough Noble Points, you can also create Lord/Lady of the Arts armors, which are decorative robes. The different types of contests are:
(All of the Example Links are EXTERNAL!)
Lore
These are entries that act as a sort of guide. Examples are General Glossary of Terms in Temuair or Beastiary of Temuair.
History
Tales of Temuair's history. This is the true inspiration of history, and is entirely player-created. Examples are The Tuatha de Danaan,the Aosda and the Mag Mell? or The Diary of Teirsaes.
Biography
These are player-written biographies of their characters. Examples are The Breath of Heaven or Brothaigh.
Philosophy
These are the writings on the nature of Temuair. They are entirely player-created. Examples are Nature of the Dark Masters or The Society of the Dubhaimid.
Art
Kind of self-explanatory, these are artistic works. These are judged differently from the other works, and are actually mailed to Nexon, where they are judged. Examples are Glioca's Vigil or Mor Strioch Bais.
