Marduk Kingdom

Marduk Kingdom is an MSPA forum adventure created by Ed_knott. It is a sword and sorcery tale set in the eponymous Marduk Kingdom, following the adventures of Murdock Thinggetter as he attempts to fulfill a quest set upon him by the King. It is written in the second person and is generally illustrated in black-and-white line drawings, though color is used sparsely for such things as water and viscera. Selected combat actions are animated.
==Plot==
Marduk Kingdom opens with Murdock being given by King Jebediah McMarduk II the task of retrieving a treasure "that some thief last night taked [sic]." After annoying the King, Murdock heads into the town surrounding the castle, where he assaults a young girl, turns down the help of her father the blacksmith, then holds the girl at sword-point to coerce the blacksmith into providing him with a shield. Heroism establish, Murdock is run out of town by castle soldiers.
On the trail of the thief, Murdock then headed to Mt. Marduk. After eschewing trails to climb up a shear cliff-face, he defeated a knight beast in combat. He then navigated some treacherous terrain before falling prey to a pit trap leading to a "dungeon"-type area. At the current point in the story the area's "boss" has been reached and Murdock is engaged in combat with it.
==Mechanics==
Murdock has HP, EXP, SKILL, MANA meters and a Level stat. His level is currently two. The MANA meter was added upon reaching level two. HP is depleted upon taking damage, EXP and SKILL increase upon defeating enemies, and MANA decreases upon the use of Mana Techs and certain Sword Techs.
When the EXP meter is filled, Murdock gains a level and increases in certain hidden stats, which up to this point are known to include strength, stamina and defenses. These increased upon going to level two. When the SKILL meter is filled, new Techs become available to him. The Techs currently known to Murdock are in two classes, Mana Techs and Sword Techs.
Combat is handled in a turn-based manner, with HP meters appearing over the enemies and a menu and HP meter for Murdock appearing in the upper-left of the frame. The menu consists of Attack, Item, and Run.
==Characters==
* Murdock Thinggetter
Murdock is an impulsive young swordsman of low moral character and a penchant for decapitation. He was tasked with retrieving a stolen treasure of the King.
* King Jebediah McMarduk II
King of Marduk Kingdom. He sent Murdock on his quest.
==Enemies==
* Knight Beast
A creature resembling Godzilla, though only standing about half again as tall as Murdock. Murdock has encountered one of these so far, which was armed with a Big Sword and a Brass Shield.
* Axed Lizard
Bipedal lizards with backwards-protruding cranial crests. They stand about as tall as Murdock. The axed lizards are apparently weaker foes than the Knight Beast. Murdock faced two of these simultaneously and easily defeated them. Both were armed with a handaxe and a salamandre shield. 
* Skeleton Knight
A mini-boss, the Skeleton Knight was an animated skeleton twice as tall as Murdock. Its skull and body had separate HP meters, though the body died immediately after the skull was destroyed. The Skeleton Knight was armed with a bad-ass hammer and a demon shield.
* Boss
A cloaked human-sized figure found in the "boss chamber" of the dungeon area into which Murdock falls. It was initially armed with a sword but threw it at Murdock as its first combat action. It has the abilities to float, teleport and summon lightning-shooting clouds, and possibly others yet unseen.
==Tropes Used==
Category:Adventures
Category:Ed Adventures