Games - Realms of Kaos

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	Games - Realms of Kaos

Realms of Kaos (sometimes shortened to RoK) is a text-based massively multiplayer online role-playing game that went online in 1996. It was created by developer and "DungeonMaster" Lance Hoskins under the name UAN, or Up All Night Entertainment. As the game has not yet been developed past the Beta testing stage, it is free of charge to download and to play when it is active. The game has been mostly offline since early 2005.

RoK is a unique mix of text based action and graphical interface based on a turn-based system. The key difference between RoK and other MUDs is the fact that RoK uses its own client with original graphics to connect to the server instead of telnet or (zMUD etc). Also as a graphical mud, it is probably the most popular of its kind and has inspired two similar games that are currently active: NightMist and Aleveria.

Players may create characters based on ten races and twelve classes, each with unique attributes and skills. The game world has been developed into thousands of rooms, items, and monsters, creating a rich and entertaining environment complete with a well-developed history and religion. PvP combat is a strong focus in the game, and is not optional. While the game is by definition a RPG, the RP community in RoK has dwindled in recent years and combat, leveling and trade have now taken the primary focus.

Realms of Kaos has developed a large and dedicated following, with hundreds of regular players at its peak. The game has been plagued with server instability and stalled development, as well as turmoil within the staff that tends to the game. There are still a few loyal members of the game's staff and fan base who believe that RoK will make a comeback when Hoskins becomes willing to take on help in the management and development of the game.

Setting

RoK is set in a D&D-style universe on the fictional continent of Syndar. A second continent, Tanjir, is under development but has not been released to the public. All players begin the game in the city of Terra with a new starting city, Gaia, planned for the new continent. Creator Lance "DungeonMaster" Hoskins penned the basic background of the game setting, and various staff members have added to and expanded the history over the years.

Realms of Kaos features a creative religion system in the form of a divinity cycle. New players must choose one of five gods to follow when generating their character, based on aspects of Fire, Night, Earth, Storm or Ice. The majority of the creatures in the world are also aligned with one of the five divinities. The deities are: Targos God of Fire, Nallyssa Goddess of Night, Hommet God of Earth, Valkyzar God of Storm and Alustria Goddess of Water. A fifth god, Kaos, calls claim to all non-player characters and creatures that have no other god. Plans to allow players to follow Kaos have long been in the works, but have not yet been implemented.

Each divinity is strong against one other divinity and weaker against another, in a circular "rock-paper-scissors" arrangement. For example, followers of the fire god Targos gain bonuses when fighting followers of the Night goddess Nallyssa, but suffer penalties when attacking and being attacked by followers of Alustria. By scattering different divinities on monsters, areas become less congested as different players have different strengths and weaknesses.

Development

RoK's development has been sporadic at best over the years, but each new feature brought with it an innovative new aspect of the game that kept fans eagerly waiting the next development. Major updates occurred roughly twice a year up until 2004 when development essentially stalled completely.

A major shift in the game was seen in 2003 with the implementation of simple repeatable autoquests assigned by key NPCs that reward both gold and experience. Quests would, for example, involve King Grunthow of Terra charging players with locating his youngest son lost in the sewers beneath the city, or demanding the head of a Goblin leader enacting a strike at the city's gates. , a player-run fansite and resource, has a complete which gives some examples of the format. Quests were also given out by Queen Portencia of Duskan, with many more planned but never implemented due to lack of building software development.

Another big change around that time was the "Play a Monster" feature, which allows a player to see through the eyes of various monsters as they battle players in the arenas and across the continent. Unfortunately due to server problems this feature had to be disabled shortly after it was implemented.

[ Visit the complete Wikipedia entry for Realms of Kaos ]

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