"Kingdoms of Hayr : The Ancient Bloodline" (KOH-TAB) "The Ancient Bloodline" (TAB), a story written over two years ago and the first game in the KOH saga, was initially designed to be a module for Neverwinter Nights. Following the announcement of a release date for Neverwinter Nights 2 last year, we decided TAB would run on the new version of the Aurora engine, once available. Talented artists and programmers started to join the team to help build the module. But as we were creating the assets for the game, we quickly realized that these assets could also be the foundation upon which we could develop our own game, from start to finish -- The ultimate dream for all the KOH project members... And our Lead Programmer had just the solution: Open Source technology and the Ogre 3D game engine. All the KOH project members are aware that developing a game from scratch is going to be hard work. And it will definitely take time. But we are committed. And we now have the opportunity to create our own innovative game designs and veer away from the restrictions imposed by the D&D 3.5 rules. The Plotin short(first hours): Short The player starts in the Hayrodian ruins in a dark room with a globe in the middle. The only person that he sees is a wizard meditating. As he stares at him he opens his eyes and walks towards him . He makes himself known as Fitlith , as you try to ask him a question he stuns you with his magic and orders you to listen. He tells you something about himself and who you are, he tells you he revived you because he feels you have a purpose in life not yet fulfilled, a purpose nefetes and Isa did not foresee as they where claiming your soul...”This trick , cheating the soul to return to the body instead of returning to the god of origin is known to Sha-are and bekep wizards . “But being Firlith and leader of the order of the red dragon , firlith knows a lot of good as well as dark magic . ,Being a neutral influence in the world loose of conventional religion it is a mutual interest of the god’s to grant him both powers of evil and good. (For more information about the God's see the list in " Hayr_Mythology.DOC " ) He tells you to go see his companion who is also a member of his order “the order of the red dragon” a name given to them by people over the years. The one you need to meet is Alorien Fongaza , A she-elf with dark hear (highly unusual) As you exit the ruins you will see Alorien . She tells you a little more about the order and a bit of Hayr itself . The king of Hayr “Matheus XII” appears to be a very decadent king . The Katran that lived in hayr for some time , have totally cut themselves off from the rest of the world and are living in isolation especially the royals and rich people of the city . The king has decreed that everyone who wants to enter the city must be rich in order to enter .And give their most prized treasure to the king as a fee for entering the city .. Alorien has a shiny magical Gem the king would love to get his hands on .. That is if you do something for her . Being in the order means a lot to Alorien but she also has her own agenda, so it would seem. You are to steal a Relic ,a Staff that has been dug up from the ruins of Hom Katrana. It is a staff that was once given to the humans by the “Omnib” hordes. She sais something will happen soon , and it would be better if the staff is kept safe within their order. You can agree to steal or you can decline her offer .In any case you need to enter the city . At this point you will be standing outside the ruins and on the Hayr Crossroads. North leads to the “Forest of fallen soldiers” which gets it name from the battle for Hayr some eras ago. After a choice out of 4 quests to enter the city you eventually get in . In the city itself you now need to seek an audience with the king to progress through the main story . And seek out the Dragon Vashner in the Mithieen caves just outside the city. You can get to know the city itself with it’s huge library, luxurious shops and near the docks a brothel run by Madan Tulo . You will have lots of quests within the city and a lot of unwritten quest information from the books in the library. There are 2 quests that you need to do . 1: Borbas token of friendship. 2: lost legions When you have done the lost legions quest (only possible after Borbas token of friendship quest. Gossip goes around town you have unknown information of the Makregna clan’s. That’s why the king demands an audience with you to have access to this information. Gurdim pesea will visit you in the tavern library or after you have rested in the inn next to your bed. When you are escorted through the higher class area’s of the city in the castle you will see a Maregna being taken captive and taken to a tower (this is “Tigithien Roktamu” a makregna spy under orders of Ska morata, the Kal almak supreme ruler). When you ask Gurdim pesea about him when you are being searched by the guards for arms, he will let nothing loose about the reason of his capture. You are than put in a room where you can hear a voice of a woman and the king in debate about an advancing army up north (See conversation Aisteraina+ king matheus XI 1 .doc) When the king gets angry and sends Aisteraina to the dungeon for high treason you will enter the throne room . You tell the king everything he wants to know ,after some information he will get tired of you and sends you to a room to stay so he can continue the conversation when it suits him best. He did not tell you, you will be stripped of valuables to pay for the room yourself but you will find that out when you awake. When you do You will see Alorien in your chambers (conversation relies on whether you accepted the task or not) If you did she will tell you to hurry and Firlith is waiting, if you declined she will try and persuade you, if you do the deed you wil wake up at night and have to make your way into the throne room where the staff is kept, decline again and she will threaten you to get out of the castle..(quests at this point are in concept and can be changed) when either of the quests is done you will awake and realize it was a dream. As you get up you see the staff has been put in your room, if you accepted you will think your dream was real , if not you suspect a setup. When the guards see you you will be locked away in a tower across the Makregna male his cell. He seems delusional as he keeps repeating the following phrase almost like a chant :”I will know him/her (depends on player gender) by looking upon his/her eyes, I shall feel it in the presence of his/her blood, the time is ripe for the prophecy of Shiat. After he repeated it for a couple of minutes he will engage in a conversation with you, giving you hints about the attack on Peakpine and keeps insinuating you should be glad and that he knows you. When he refuses to speak more about this matter you can go to sleep. You will be awakened by bells from the opposite tower and turmoil from the streets. You can try and speak to Tigithien who seems really anxious and rejoiced about the turmoil “It is here hahah by the goddess, time has come *violent screeching screams fill the rooms, this is his way of laughing or so it would seem* cant you feel it you ignorant sack of entrails , it is time.” By this time Aisteraina appears in front of your cell with the staff in hand. You both run out of the tower towards the sea (the sea is the only safe place or so you would expect) Seeing white sails you run towards the dock, as the ships lower their anchor an army of Kal Almak Soldiers and Rahmet jump out. You now look upon a very large heavely armored Rahmet with no eyes “Sak Am Ragesh”is his name . He orders his troops forward and so do the Katran commanders . As you see the fight stunned with fear Sak Am is getting impatient by the halt of his soldiers who are held back by Katran Swordsmen. He screams and chants at the same time with his double voice, a green cloud rushes into the mouths of the Katran soldiers. He says “Know death when it is upon you retched humankinds , leave this commander to me , I am in the mood for some please.(in concept)”. Depending on your alignment you can storm towards the Dark elvenkind soldiers and be held back by Aisteraina or run for safety with her yourself. You than go to the front of the city where you see the cities defences , catapults and ballista’s shooting at advancing Imecal goblins who are with many .. You than go into the sewers where you escape the city . You end up in the marches where you will have to fight your way to Salldeck , once there you can gain information about the outcome of the siege from few survivor’s . After gaining your strength and had a visit From the Dragon vashner you can decide to tay or go to Folldeck where the story continues (dragon ride is optional where you will see the land from the air and Vashner and Asterains explain what you see) Once in Folldeck you will meet up with Semian Eckar Who carries a book salvaged from his temple . It’s a history book of the 2nd era that contains a passage about Breor the last known Shiat descendant. He wishes to know more about the current events and travel to a temple deep in the Homkatrana forrest near old ruins, he hopes to find more answers there. You decide to go with him to learn more . How The Game Begins... "The Ancient Bloodline" begins in the Katran Kingdoms, south on the main continent, where the ruling class has fallen into decadence. The Nobles are indifferent to the needs of the Katran people and the King's only concerns are the satisfaction of his own selfish needs. What We Want In… The KOH Project members want this story to be the ultimate exploration through the world. We will do everything in our creative minds to show the player its extensive mythology and cultural variety. We will do this through the main story and smaller ones found in in-game books and side quests that consist of “Stories of the Realm”. Also we will let you conduct religious rituals to know the gods yourself. Your progression in the game/story will be entirely based on your role-play abilities. We are also planning to make the battle/attribute/skill systems part of role-playing itself, and no Level Defined progression that have fixed skills attached to it. Conclusion… KOH-TAB is set to be the biggest story that uses the World of Hayr with everything it has to offer, with our own Engine and Designs we are able to create a good game that everyone can play for free. Of course we will need a lot more hands on the team to make this possible the way we want it. So if you think you are skilled enough to contribute and want to work on a game from the ground up, let us know! _________________ Your thoughts on this?? I combined this post with a promotion text... If you like the story or dislike it please let me know . More can be found on www.kingdomsofhayr.org The forum contains most info .