Nyctean Campaign

mmorpg game picture The Nyctean Campaign is an open-ended, turn-based, computer-moderated, play-by-web game. It is set in the realm of Nyctea , a fantasy medieval world. The world itself is alive with activity. Merchants ply their trade, warriors battle horrid beasts, and maligned mystics practice dark arts.

Being open-ended, there are no winning scenarios, no victory conditions which conclude the game. The game goes on, even when heroes pass on, or empires collapse. The Nyctean Campaign was designed to be a rich and fully functional role-playing world, one which exists despite the characters within it.

Turns are sent in on a weekly basis and span one month of game time (40 days total - 8 days are in the Nyctean week). You send in turns (a list of orders to carry out) for each realm character you control, as well as any dominion orders you need processed. Turns can include, but are not limited to, movement around the vast realm of Nyctea, trade agreements, combat preparations, craft work, guard duty, skill study, spell research, training, and much more. Between turns, you are free to communicate with any other player in the game. In addition, the contents of many pages within the website may change to accommodate the results of the last turn (take special note of the city screens, as the information in them will always change from one turn to the next).

The orders you send in for your realm characters are processed by the game engine, a program which processes each and every turn. Being computer-moderated means that turnaround time for turn results are much faster, and errors in processing are significantly reduced. Turns are processed every Sunday, so your orders should be input by 9pm CST Saturday night. It is always preferable to get your orders in as soon as possible so that possible site-outages and the like can be less hurtful to your dominion .

The general premise behind the Campaign of Nyctea is to create a massive, fully functional role-playing realm. For this reason, you will never have a lack of things to do. Exploration alone allows you to search through ancient ruins of empires long gone, forage through dungeons of foul denizens, sail over tens of thousands of miles of ocean, and roam through more then 30 detailed cities!

In addition to exploration, you can improve your realm characters by training in their skills and abilities . There are more then 100 skills that can be learned, and almost all of them can be improved with additional training.

Eventually, your characters may build strongholds (see note 1 below), both within the confines of the existing cities and out on the open land itself, earning taxes from the local nomads as you work to found your own city! Structures can be built from within these strongholds. Each adds unique benefits for your dominion: administer a code of laws, train military personnel, found an industrial pursuit, expand your own methods of advancement, etc.

MMORPG Data

Though there are literally hundreds (if not thousands) of avenues to pursue in the game, the objectives of the game are very simple. As with every open-ended role playing game, every simply desires fame and fortune. Your dominion's quest is to achieve success in anything which leads to fame or fortune. There are a few specific goals which you should strive for.

Realm Character Development - A basic game mechanic is character development. As you perform actions, your realm character can grow. By acquiring Campaign Points (see later sections), you can improve your characters attribute scores, and indirectly, increase his/her skill levels.

Exploration - There is a large world out there, and it is as varied from one side of the continent to the other as our own world. It is important to learn about the world your realm characters reside. Many strange and wonderful places await your exploration.

Establish A Stronghold - Though not a game requirement, I feel as though not building a keep or even a manor restricts a person's full enjoyment of the game. What realm character would not want to own land and build a castle? Strongholds allow many more avenues to pursue.

Combat is an inevitability in Nyctea. Whether you are traveling the countryside or simply walking down the city streets, danger lurks around the corner. Anytime two inter-dominion players come into the same non-city location, an encounter happens. Likewise, anytime that a creature or non-realm character is met, then an encounter occurs. We will discuss each individually.

City locations are considered sanctuaries ("protected areas"). In these locales, no combat can occur between two realm characters. It is simply not possible. Knowing this, your realm character can stay alive forever by staying within a city. This allows a dominion to perpetually exist. Of course, this limits your enjoyment to the game, and it compromises your power accumulation. Nevertheless, it is wise to always have at least one realm character within a city. This way you will not lose all.

This does not mean that you are completely safe within the cities though! Although other realm characters cannot harm you, non-realm characters still lurk. Whenever you issue the EXPLORE LOCATION order, or attempt to PICK POCKETS or BURGLARIZE within a city be careful, petty thieves and brigands might attempt to assault you.

Nyctean Campaign