AC2:Choosing a Kingdom

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Choosing a Kingdom

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Centuries ago, Dereth experienced a Golden Age. Three enterprising races—the Humans, Lugians, and Tumeroks—agreed to set past differences aside and join together for the common good. Despite this compact, the animosities and violent ambition of other factions in the world led to the Battle of Kings, culminating in a horrific event called the Devastation.

After ten generations in the Shelters, the player races valiantly set forth once more to reclaim the world of Dereth. While these races maintain a peace with one another, the campaign to reclaim the world does not fall under a single banner. Some of those who have left the Shelters have decided to swear fealty to the Kingdoms once again, following their ancient ideologies and dedicating themselves to remaking Dereth in that image.

Following their initial period of trial and discovery in the world of Dereth, players have the chance to join one of these Kingdoms and participate in the PvP (player vs. player) system. With loyalty to one's Kingdom come rewards in the form of special skills, Mines, and Workshops. Yet these rewards must be won; they are earned through battle with the most skillful opponents ever imagined: your fellow players.

Joining a Kingdom

You won't need to choose a Kingdom right away—you'll have plenty of time to consider your choice. In fact, the first opportunity won't come until well into your exploration of the first continent, Osteth. Before then, we encourage you to develop your character's personal ideologies. Decide how you wish to roleplay your character before choosing the most appropriate Kingdom to join.

To join a Kingdom, find the appropriate Kingdom Shrine. These are scattered throughout the world, but the first set can be found in the vicinity of Old Cragstone. (Another set will come later, near Shoushi.) You'll need to be at least 10th-level before you can join a Kingdom. Simply double-click on the Shrine, just as you would bind to a Lifestone. When successful, you'll witness a dazzlng animation, and you'll continue forward in the service of your new Kingdom. As you continue to play, your Kingdom shrine will also act as a "stat board" for whoever has the most PK points on the server. (Characters get PK points for defeating enemies from other Kingdoms in battle. Keep reading for more details.)

Kingdom Descriptions

So, which of the three Kingdoms appeals to you? When making your decision, you should first understand their unique ideologies:

The Order of Dereth attracts many "moral peacekeepers." It offers players a chance to create justice and virtue in the world by rebuilding and restoring the lost Golden Age. The Order of Dereth best represents the notion of Republic.

Ideology: Justice and virtue. The Principles of the Order include these ideals:

• It is better to strive to improve the world than to live a quiet life.
• That which does the most good for the greatest number is usually best.
• The greatest deed is that of the one who sacrifices his life to save another—not for riches or accolades, but all unknown in the dark, where no one else shall ever know.

The Dominion empowers those who follow the path set by the Virindi, a race of powerful creatures native to portalspace. The Virindi find our universe chaotic and destructive. The Dominion embraces their desire to see order brought to Dereth by instituting absolute lawfulness. The Dominion best represents the notion of Empire.

Ideology: Lawfulness and empire. The Dominion Directives include these imperatives:

• Only as part of the group may one change the universe.
• Fealty belongs to superior powers, provided those powers serve order.
• The Dominion is the most superior power of order. All who oppose it will serve disorder, and must be corrected.

The Shadow Kingdoms support those who align with the Shadows, dark entities of chaos magic. Those of Shadow walk the fine line between ultimate power and eternal madness. The Shadow Kingdoms offer players the freedom to "do what they will," whether that involves seeking personal power or trying to shape Dereth as they see fit, regardless of law or morality. They best represent the notion of Anarchy.

Ideology: Freedom and chaos. The Shadow Kingdoms' Doctrine includes these mandates:

• The whole of our law is "do what you will."
• Any means justifies the end. Only failure is unacceptable.
• You are the fulcrum of the universe.

Neutrality

It should be noted that players are never required to participate in the Kingdoms or PvP systems if they don't wish. All players begin the game as "Neutral," aligned to no Kingdom, and they always have the choice to remain so. PvP conflict areas are clearly marked, and players who wish to adventure on their own can fully participate in the combat, quests, and crafting in the vast majority of the world. In general, those who are Neutral will be safe from attack in the large majority of the world.

Special Skills

Only Kingdom members can make use of their Special Skills panel. These include a broad range of summoning, defense, and PvP skills. For example, members of the Shadow Kingdoms can use the Oubliette skill to teleport opponents to an extra-dimensional cell. Those in the Order of Dereth can use Conversion to transmute damage into health, while the Dominion's Invulnerability skill renders its members virtually immune to regular damage for a short period of time—all tremendous assets for any player to have.

Unlike the primary skill trees, special skills are not trained through spending skill credits, nor are they raised with XP. They are exceptional boons solely granted through your PK rating. By defeating other players in battle, you'll increase your PK rating and receive a number of points. However, don't expect to harvest points from weakling runts of opposing Kingdoms. Only true challenge is rewarded. The greater your opponent, the more points you'll earn with victory. If your opponent is significantly weaker, you'll receive few points, if any at all.

Commensurate with their power, special skills are both hard earned and hard maintained. The Kingdoms demand service, after all, not absentee champions. Based on your running point total, you will be granted a number of special skills every time you check back with your Kingdom Shrine. These skills last for a finite period of time, however, so when they expire, you'll need to check back with your Shrine. And remember: just as PvP victory adds to your points, PvP losses will cost you. If you have lost points since you last checked in, you may also lose access to skills!

Leaving a Kingdom

In order to leave a kingdom for another, players must first become neutral once again. However, there are two restrictions. The first restriction is that you will need to have a specific amount of gold in your money bag before the Neutral shrine will change your status to Neutral. How much you need depends on your level:

• Levels 10 - 20 will not be charged any gold.
• Levels 21-30 will be charged 15,000 gold.
• Levels 31-40 will be charged 75,000 gold.
• Levels 41+ will be charged 500,000 gold.

If you have this amount in your money bag, the Shrine will change your status to Neutral and subtract the gold from your bag. The second restriction is that you will need to wait two weeks after your alignment has been changed back to neutral before you can swear to another Kingdom.

Some say that the rise of the old Kingdoms will bring naught but ill, as it did in the days leading up to the Devastation. Such people refuse to follow any of the old ways and remain neutral. But others maintain that the reclamation of Dereth requires the use of every power we can muster, including those granted by the ancient Kingdoms. This debate is far from over. AC2's monthly updates will show the evolution of the growing struggle, as the Fallen Kings of the past are crowned once again.