Gothador

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Gothador is a web-based MMORPG (Massively Multiplayer Online Role-Playing Game) involving thousands of people worldwide in a shared online experience. Drawing from fantasy sources both generically familiar and original, players participate as adventurers seeking fame, prestige and fortune in a series of interconnected realms.

Player characters start the game at a random location in the primary realm of Gothador, weak, naked and without purpose. A simple grid - three by three - shows the character's location and adjacent eight squares. You can move in any direction, providing the square contains no obstruction, at which point the screen refreshes and re-centres the map around your character.

Self-improvement involves the accumulation of experience and equipment, acquired through combat or the completion of quests - scattered throughout the many realms. As well as moving around the world, you can also interact with other players by chatting, fighting and trading. Characters can access many different realms freely through a series of warp gates; other realms have stairs, portals or other forms of egress, some of which require a key, which might be a physical object or involve attainment of a certain level of experience.

A character 'levels-up' by accumulating enough experience to pass a specific threshold. Having gained enough points, a player can then choose to apply level-up points to improve the base stats of their character. These represent the character's abilities in combat - Attack, Defence, Armour Points, Damage; magic - Magic Points; and general survival - Health Points, Speed and Action Points.

Characters can also advance by concentrating on a specific role - as a Warrior, Mage or Miner - and specialising in an advanced character class (or "tiers"), such as Elf, Vampire, Monk, Shadow, Demon and Angel. Specialising in this way provides many useful skills, ability adjustments and spells, as well as several different character avatars.

Gothador has a very strong community and an IRC chat room, both usually full of helpful players. There are also teams called 'cults' for the subscribing members. These groups interact and help each other in many different ways. It is a very good way to get to the higher levels and make new friends at the same time.

1 History of the game
2 Support for the Game and Game Depth
3 In-Game Trading
4 External links
- 4.1 Official websites
- 4.2 Useful resources

[edit] History of the game

Details:

The game itself was pubicly released on April 26, 2004. It was mostly spread by word of mouth through another gaming community. There was initially a Yahoo Group dedicated to discussing the game. It ranged from game mechanics to suggestions for the game creator, and even dabbled in some character role play. Other groups were also formed, such as a map group dedicated to gathering information on the game and its landscape. Later the Guild of Wisdom became the most useful compendium of knowledge dealing with the game. On May 19, 2004, a more manageable forum was put in place of the old Yahoo Group. The forum is now a part of the game, as you are automatically given a Username and Password to the forum to match your Character in the game itself.

The game was simple and shite, and the absolute best way to gain footing was to bring in other perverts via a link specific to your character, and you could earn bonus experience points (XP). New creatures were introduced daily, and very rapidly there were new locations and new quests to accomplish.

The game's creator had trouble keeping it up, so a subscription system was put into place. A subscription to game allows you access to more than just the main Gothador realm. Also, it allows you to gain a character class and subclass, as these are only accessible in supporter realms. The introduction of subscriptions allowed for a better server to be purchased, and the game ran much more smoothly.

[edit] Support for the Game and Game Depth

While basic character creation and play is entirely free, allowing access to the main level or "realm" of Gothador, several "supporter" options have accumulated ranging from a meager $5.00 USD per month standard supporter level, to the $20.00 USD per month "Ultimate" type of subscription. Each level has degrees of benefits which reward the subscriber with the game's most popular form of inter-player commerce: "Action Points" (in the form of "speed potions," adding turns to the player's reserve). For more on in-game trading, see the next heading.

The depth of play for supporters is by far greater than that of non-supporters, mostly due to the ability to utilize the additional "realms" of game locations. With the heightened access to dozens of additional areas of play, supporters also have access to a wide array of "quests" and game items which can enhance character statistics, grant the player further levels of access to even more realms and generally expand the game's options and playability greatly.

[edit] In-Game Trading

As it is arguably the single most useful character statistic, "Action Points" (essentially, turns, required for nearly any game task) are valued greatly among the community of players. Any item which increases the number of stored Action Points (AP) has a value and most any other object in the game can be converted into a corresponding AP cost. Thus, while the games "gold pieces" are often still utilized as a form of currency for in-game purchases, and in some cases for inter-player trade, the vast majority of items are traded or sold in units of AP known as "speed potions".

Speed potions (or "pots") come in a variety of sizes, from the +3 AP "Small Speed Potion", to the +50 AP "Benevolance Potion", up to the +1000 AP "Ultimate Speed Potion"--typically referred to as a "USP." Both the 50 AP "Benes" and 1000 AP USPs are available as purchasable items from the game itself, though many players like to use their powerful character with special skills and abilities to attain in-game items and then trade for the speed potions they choose.

Costs of items in the Trading thread in the game's forum are typically quoted in AP costs. For example, a particular item group required to attain special skills and character type known as "third tier" requires several items which can be highly difficult to attain without a specialized character that can "mine" the needed components. Rather than attempt to make the items themselves, which could take literally millions of action points on their own, many players will purchase such items using their speed potions. Thus, a price one might find on the Trading thread would read "Undead Crystal Set (A, B and C): 1800 AP.

There's also the Gothador Trading Network where items can be traded for Univesal Speed Potions, Benevolance Potions, Gold and Platinum. It is necessary to be on certain squares to gain access to the network. It also can be accessed from the cult square if the necessary building exists there.