Cthulhu Nation

Infobox VG
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title= Cthulhu Nation


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developer= Twisted Empire
designer= Twisted Empire
version= 15.1.15.0
released= January, 2006
genre= Horror MMORPG
modes= Multiplayer
ratings=
platforms= Web browser

"Cthulhu Nation" is an HTML/text-based massively multiplayer online role-playing game created by Twisted Empire and inspired by the literary works of H. P. Lovecraft. The game is set in the early 1920s where a mysterious organization known as The Group works to stop the rise of the evil god Cthulhu. Players start the game and are quickly forced to choose between being a Profession, the altruistic half of the playable force that works against the Creatures, or being a Cultist, an evil force that worships Cthulhu and works against The Group. Players then fight the creatures and solve quests in order to become stronger.

Cthulhu Nation attempts to simulate a classic board game with a period look-and-feel. The screen resembles a game board; players and monsters are represented by cards and tokens. Internally, the game makes extensive use of modern AJAX and CSS techniques to improve the "board game experience".

"Cthulhu Nation" went live in early 2006, offered subscriptions to players in September 2006 [ [http://www.gamersinfo.net/index.php?art/id:1599 Interview of Twisted Empire, Creators of Cthulhu Nation] by Sean Michael Whipkey, GamersInfo.net] , and currently has over 19,000 registered characters. The game is in open beta and new features are designed or tweaked on a weekly basis.

For other examples of this type of game, see the list of browser games.

Character classes

New players are given their choice of classes before starting the game. As a major change from an earlier incarnation of the game, players are able to choose between Profession or Cultist. The five basic profession classes are:

*Archaeologist
*Journalist
*Private Investigator
*Scholar
*Scientist

The five Cultist classes are:

*Shadows
*Phantom
*Wraith
*Outcast
*Warlock

Players begin the game on The Remote Islands and are soon sent on a Starter Adventure to learn the basic mechanics of the game. After this introduction, they make their way to a fictional map of England where they can discover new adventures.

As players progress, they are able to advance in their chosen profession. Eventually they may earn a promotion to a new title, with a new avatar, new skills, powers and a higher pay grade; the different ranks of players are known as "Tiers".

Tiers advance as follows:

*"Archaeologist" to "Relic Hunter" to "Archaeology Professor"
*"Journalist" to "Feature Editor" to "Editor in Chief"
*"Private Investigator" to "Police Officer" to "Chief Inspector"
*"Scholar" to "Lecturer" to "Senior Lecturer"
*"Scientist" to "Chief Administrator" to "Head of Research"

*"Shadows" to "Lycanthrope" to "Changeling"
*"Phantom" to "Poltergeist" to "Corporeal Spectre"
*"Wraith" to "Fallen Angel" to "Vampire Lord"
*"Outcast" to "Magician" to "Occultist"
*"Warlock" to "Alchemist" to "Wizard"

The Professions and the Cultists often come into conflict; the extent of the conflict depends on the players themselves. (Player killing is allowed for every character past level 25, with certain restrictions: Attacks are prohibited in hospitals, guild houses and other designated safe zones.)

The primary difference between the classes is a dependence on weapons within the professions, and on magic within the cultists. Most of the conflict in the game is against the computer-controlled creatures, which mindlessly attack anything and everyone. This makes them the major source of experience and money for professions and cultists alike.

Gameplay

Players have a set of basic statistics (stats) including Strength, Intelligence, Vitality, Dexterity, Constitution, and Magic. They also have a certain amount of Health, Stamina, Mana, and current level of Sanity. Most of these stats work in similar ways as standard RPG games. Stamina is of particular importance in Cthulhu Nation, as in other browser-based games: This stat determines how many actions a player can take each time period. Stamina is used when moving, attacking, interacting with quests, and many more activities. The Vitality stat determines how much Stamina is gained per "Stamina refresh cycle", which is every ten minutes for free players and three minutes for subscribers.

The players also have a long - and ever-expanding - list of Skills that they are able to increase that allow them to read various languages of occult texts, use or equip weapons more proficiently, steal from other players, heal, produce new weapons and ammo, and many more.

When a player gains enough experience from either succeeding in quests or killing creatures, they are given a certain number of Stat points and Skill points to spend. The amount of points earned per level can increase when a player raises to a higher Tier in their chosen class. Spells increase in experience, separately, as they are cast.

Combat is accomplished by either using an equipped weapon or casting one of three equipped spells. The game has a variety of weapons, many era-specific to the 1920s, as well as a multitude of different spells with either damage, player supporting, or player cursing effects. A player's chosen class no longer affects the spell-casting abilities. All players begin with the Spell Power skill, which determines how successful a casting may be. Players then must study the Esotericism skill at an Academy to gain the ability to study spell scrolls.

The movement screen is a grid of six hexes surrounding a seventh in the center. Players are situated on the center hex, and move around by clicking on open, adjacent hexes. The game's list of maps is constantly expanding, including "country level" maps such as England, Peru, Egypt, and Antarctica, as well as "area maps" that define mine shafts, temples, tombs, cities and sewers. Players can utilize various local transportation systems such as trains and aeroplanes, frequent many shops with a variety of wares, and search for quests and new creatures in each country or city. There is even a series of maps based in the Dreamlands, inspired by the works of writers like H. P. Lovecraft and Brian Lumley.

The monetary system is based on the pre-decimal British pound. Players earn money from completing quests and fighting monsters. Money can be stored in a player's bank account - accessed by a network of banks across the maps - which is wise as other players can attempt to steal money from their fellows. Money can be spent in the shops across the world maps, via private trades when two players are on the same hex, or via the official Auction House where players can put up items for up to 24 hours and let others bid on them. Players can also earn money by collecting items for sale, such as ores and gemstones (through mining), miscellaneous herbs and even the body parts left behind after a creature is defeated. Items to be purchased and used include spell scrolls, weapons, armor, and various protective and useful suits, talismans, and amulets of all sorts.

Players who subscribe may also choose to join a Guild, or start their own. Members of Guilds enjoy several advantages: they can fight together against monsters, share a unique Guild House in which they can store items and expand with different rooms, and keep in touch by a guild message system and locater. There are a number of current guilds - some dating back almost to the start of the game, others newer and rising. This, along with an easy-to-use player chat room and admin-overseen forum, adds an essential social element to the game.

References

External links

* [http://www.cthulhunation.co.uk/ Cthulhu Nation Official Website]
* [http://www.gamersinfo.net/index.php?art/id:1574 Review at GamersInfo.net]
* [http://www.gamersinfo.net/index.php?art/id:1599 Interview of Creators at GamersInfo.net]