From: saxena@maxwell.physics.purdue.edu (Virendra K. Saxena)
Newsgroups: rec.games.programmer
Subject: RPG
Date: 26 Sep 92 23:28:14 GMT




Hello out there! Me and a friend of mine are working on a role-playing
game, and considering the discussion that has been going on here, we
have decided to post our basic background to the game.  Please read over
this seriously. 

The Book of Legends
   
I. The Story of Karion

Many ages ago, the seven Gods met and created the world.  The world
was a beautifull place, filled with it's many creatures.  For many
ages the Gods watched as the creature man made its way to the top
of the world.

The Gods were all worshipped in the world, with no one God having
more power then the others.  There was one God though, by the name
of Karion, who was more ambitious then the other Gods.  One day
Karion saw an old dying man, and he spoke to this man.  The man's
name was Grothar.  Karion told this man that he would make him young
and give him eternal life if Grothar spread the word of the might
of Karion.  Grothar agreed, and for many seasons he spread the word
of Karion.  Karion performed many other miracles, showing the people
that he was a better God then the others.  He gained many followers,
and he created a new church under his name.  His most powerfull
priests were given great magical powers, and his altars had hideous
fountains of animal blood.  The people did not mind this, for his
priests used their magic to perform many miracles.  His church slowly
overpowered all the other beliefs of the world, gaining total religious
control over the world.  The world was at his command.

The other six Gods did not care about what was happening.  They saw
Karion as a God that could unite the people as one.  They did want
to make sure that he did not get too involved, for the Gods were
creators, their job being to watch over the people, not to change
the universe.  But then a horrible thing happened that changed
the other's opinions.

A young boy had been sacrificed at the temple of Norlak.  This started
a chain of sacrifices throughout the world.  The priests commanded that
every year a certain number of children would have to be sacrificed.
The people were outraged.  The kingdoms of the world threatened to
destroy the temples of Karion.  Karion was surprised by this.  He had
united the people, he had performed miracles, but the people would not
sacrifice a few thousand boys every year!  He would not allow this.  He
used his powers to create new creatures that would serve as his army. (See
paragraph at end of article) These creatures ranged from hideous orcs to the
powerfull giants.  He bribed the dragons of the lands and converted many
of them to his belief.  His army was raised, and with it he unleashed
terror on the world.

The other Gods met in a secret place.  They knew that they could not
do battle with Karion, for a battle between two Gods would unleash such
energy that it would destroy the world.  They pondered over what to do
for many months, while hundreds of children died.  They decided on what
they had to do.  They met with Karion, to tell him that he was doing
an excellent job.  They complemented him on uniting the people into one,
and into stopping the wars beteween the kingdoms.  Karion thanked them all
with pride.  As they were talking, the six Gods formed a circle around him.
They then joined hands and gave a pendant to Karion as a gift.  Upon
wearing the pendant, the six Gods spoke in unison and Karion fell to the
floor, his very essence trapped within the pendant.  The pendant was
discarded of in a secret place.  An island was created far from all
land, and upon this island a large tower was built. Karion's body
lay within this tower.

With the fall of Karion, his priests were shunned and had to hide
from the people.  There are people who still worship Karion, but their
temples are well hidden from others.  The creatures that Karion created
scattered through out the world, becoming hated inhabitants of the
lands.  Many of these creatures still roam the land today, spreading
terror and destruction, but their numbers and force are not as great
as in the time of Karion.  It is said that Grothar is still alive,
and that he is searching for the pendant.  Since then, the priests
have at times tried to gain the trust of people again, but have always
failed.


II. The Book of Prophecy


'Twas long ago that the Evil One was put to Sleep by the
ones of Light.  The Evil One sleeps still, never to awaken.
But is it so?  Spoke the prophet of Galdamar that would the
Follower find the Object, and should the Son find the Blade,
there shall be battle between the Son and the Evil One.

If succeeds the Evil One, shall come darkness to the world.  If
victorious be the Son, shall be light in the world.  Guidance shall
both seek, for both the Follower and the Son shall look but find
not the objects of their desire.  The hunt shall lead to the place that
is where there is no place.  There shall each face a test, and one who is
victorious shall find his way to the Dark Tower before the other.
And then shall the Son follow the path of Darkness till it leads to
the Massacre, for shall it be there that the Way shall be found.
And shall it be where the Light held true that shall go the Follower.
And he shall move beyond the ehter and find the Object he seeks.

Then shall the two meet upon the vessel as they each struggle.
One shall succeed and bring upon one's will.

-END OF TEXT-

Now that you have read the story, I'd like to tell you the basic approach
of the game.  The game is divided into two volumes.  The first volume is
quite small(10-20hours--it's just a prelude).  In this game you have to
save someone(Typical), but as you do, you learn of the Church of Karion.
As the first game ends, you learn of the prophecy, and go to the leaders
of the world to tell them of your findings.  The second game is the story
of your quest to fulfill(or not to fullfill) the prophecy.  the second game
will have multiple endings. 

The interface of the game is the same tile-based maps that ultimas 1-5 use.
The first game is 640x350x16 with very slow QuickC _getimage/_putimage 
routines.  The second game will be 640x400x256 and by then I'll have 
taken the time to learn how to write my own routines(hope...).  The second
game will have soundblaster support if enough people register the first. 
One question I have is how important are graphics if the plot of a rpg is 
good?  We are not going to have any monster pictures in the first game, but
instead it will a pure text based approach with descriptions of monsters and 
menus of choices.  Does that matter if the plot is well developed?  

This game is shareware, so compare to plot fairly.  Two questions before I go:
 Is there a r.p.g faq?  Could people please give me names of good books
 pc graphics programming(hardware,modex,etc--NO LEE ADAMS!).

	  Thank you Deepak.





Editors Note: As many of you have complained about monsters having no origin,
or no other food besides adventurers, notice that we have included it. 
On one last note, I am the "other" person, who has not yet had time to 
edit this text. No offence, but I'm a better writer than him, so when I edit 
it, this text will come out much better!(Whew!, that wasn't him coming in the
room!! ;-) )
C-ya!
Tom

Organization: Freshman, MCS general, Carnegie Mellon, Pittsburgh, PA