CCP’s New MMO: White Wolf’s World of Darkness – PERMADEATH? OMG YES!

I know this game is probably at least two years away, but the press release today coming out of CCP’s New Orleans based Grand Masquerade just about made me burst with excitement.  If there were any doubts about the direction and goals of CCP’s (of EVE fame) next MMORPG, it looks like they may now be squashed .  Sounds to me like CCP is going to keep their World of Darkness a complex one.  Even better, and to me more surprising, CCP isn’t going mainstream commercial with their second MMO. The inclusion of the ‘final death’ or Permadeath is a hardcore decision, and one I love! This sounds too perfect. I know a lot of people are not fans of permadeath, but this is really the only way to be true to the tabletop RPG and lore.  Here is Massively’s small writeup and more highlights.  I’m sure we will see much more as the Grand Masquerade unfolds in New Orleans this week.

“The entire game will take place at night and on one server,and CCP is definitely aiming it toward the hardcore set. Nudity, gore, and insanity effects are all par for the course.It’s CCP’s desire to emulate LARPing (live-action roleplaying) as much as possible with World of Darkness, with plenty of metaplots running inside the game and without. Players will begin as a mortal human who can make the choice to become a kindred (vampire) or stay mortal for the duration of their characters’ lives. There’s a very real danger that characters might experience “final death” — permadeath — if they take too many risks. If you get in over your head, you can retreat to your character’s Haven for safety.If players push outside of the acceptable boundaries too often, they’ll lose “humanity” points and could become flagged for constant attack by other players and NPCs. Play your cards right and you may become the prince of the city. The game will change over time with dynamic events, and CCP promises that there will be real consequences for player decisions.“

I’m hoping that eventually all or most of White Wolf’s races will eventually be included in this game:

Vampires (in at launch, several factions)
Werewolves
Changelings /Fae

It would be great to see CCP incorporate Mage and other WW properties as well. So much potential. I expect that politics will play a great role in this MMO and can’t wait to see more about how this will be handled. /sigh Another waiting game.  Think I’ll go into torpor until release.

http://massively.joystiq.com/2011/09/18/ccp-reveals-world-of-darkness-details-to-bloodthirsty-fans/

The Secret World Beta Delay Is Not As It Seems

The Beta Delay Is A LIE

The Secret World community is freakin brilliant.    I was one of the sheep who bleated their disappointment on August 26th when  Funcom announced that signups for their upcoming MMO The Secret (TSW) had been delayed.  Fool.

Late afternoon today, a series of tweets from @thedarkplaces began.  I immediately started to doubt my naive conclusions.  Was the Beta delay a conspiracy?  Was the whole Official Funcom statement an elaborate ruse?

http://www.thesecretworld.com/news/secret_war_and_beta_registration_delayed

Was this a faux announcement?  A red herring possibly born in the spirit of the secret society based themes of the game?

A quick look on the TSW forums only made me more skeptical.  Sure enough, a few brilliant people in the community had started to unravel a mystery based on the non-sensical tweets @thedarkplaces.  These people really amaze me.  I’m new to ARGs, and extremely intimidated by the ARGs that have transpired over the last year waiting for TSW.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alternate_reality_game

I watched in realtime as the following thread interpreted the Twitter feeds, and eventually unlocked a piece of the puzzle towards TSW Beta.
http://www.darkdemonscrygaia.com/showthread.php?t=20587

I’m not sure I’ve ever seen anything quite like this in the genre.  Ragnar Tornquist, TSW’s creator and his team at Funcom have really outdone themselves.  I’m really excited to see how this all transpires.  One can only hope that after TSW launches, events like this still remain commonplace.  You want something to revolutionize the MMO genre?  This is it folks.

NOW LET ME IN BETA!  Please.

Follow The Corps on Twitter

Whether you are going to fight the good fight with the Republic Mercy Corps,  or revolt against the system in The Imperial Mercenary Corps, you can keep in touch with either via Twitter.  See the link on Right column or find us on Twitter as RepublicMercy / ImpMercCorps!

Republic Mercy Corps Trailer

Guild Lead DavidRHall is finishing up mixing professional voice over work into our new promotional trailer.  Take a look at this work in progress here:

HOPE          COURAGE          STRENGTH          MERCY

The Imperial Mercenary Corps are looking for a few good aliens…

From the Memoirs of Jaris Mourne

General – Revan’s Hand

We were the elite of the elite.  By His side we took worlds.  We were our own machine.  Allied with no one, and bound by no one’s bureaucracy.  Efficient.  Uncompromising.  Resplendent.

History knows us by many names; Revanchist, Black Nova Lance, Revan’s Hand.  Legendary special forces units, we were one as The Republic Mercy Corps.  Armies often fell at the mention of our arrival.  When the enemy chose to fight, the survivors wished they had fled.  In the early days of the war, we still knew mercy.

Then He betrayed us.  Eighty percent of The Corps lost in one violent moment, burned into our souls.  As thousands of our brothers withdrew from the horror of Malachor V and fled to Alderaan, we followed Him into the abyss.  The elite of the elite, now standing at just two hundred soldiers.  Blood thirsty.  Glory hungry.  Unstoppable.

For two years we fought without purpose, except for His hate.  Our unit of two hundred strong  took on battalions of thousands.   No longer the proud, autonomous unit that fought for the unison of known civilization.  We were His puppets, and Revan who we once revered, a careless master.

Farther He fell, and we marched into the darkness with Him.  The hive mind swept away any semblance of humanity left in us.  All we knew was blackness and despair.  Time meant nothing.  Life meant nothing.  We existed for Revan and the glory of serving him.  Then one day, He was gone.

Without purpose, without direction, we were lost.  We considered reuniting with our brothers, the newly established Republic Mercy Corps, who had taken refuge years ago on Alderaan.  Haunted by unspeakable acts, and living with the shame of following Revan and betraying ourselves, quickly extinguished any thoughts of seeking out our old comrades.  The once mighty elite of the elite, were nothing more than a leaderless, directionless, mercenary unit.  Without home, without cause, without purpose.

I have failed my men.  I have failed my father, Pagarus Mourne.  I have alienated my brother Maric and broken the heart of my sister Solara.  Lost the faith, trust, and more importantly a friend and mentor in General Jonah Aheda.  I have lost everything.

I will seek redemption through revolution.  We must infiltrate the Emperor’s misguided ranks and tear the heart of the Empire from it’s chest.  In this way we will rise from the ashes of our disgraced past.  In this way we will honor Revan’s true self.   I must seek others to join the cause.  The Imperial Mercenary Corps will rise.

Jaris Mourne – General of Revan’s Hand

The Birth of The Imperial Mercenary Corps

Revan’s manipulation of the Republic Mercy Corps and abandonment of those who followed him after his fall was not enough to destroy the bond between the men and women of The Corps.  The last act of Jaris Mourne, Lead General of the Revan’s Hand Guard, was to establish The Imperial Mercenary Corps under the nose of the Emperor on a small moon not far from the Heart of the Empire, Dromund Kaas.

Assembling as many of the two hundred soldiers he could convince to follow him, General Mourne took exile on a barely inhabitable moon encircling the barren planet of Dromund Tyne. There they hid, organizing and gaining strength and confidence, all the while trying to get in contact with the R.M.C. now 5000 plus on Alderaan.  Just as old wounds began to heal, and the horrors of Malachor V and visions of genocide were becoming numbed memories, news of Revan’s redemption and return to the Light awakened a flame in their souls. Emboldened by thie news that their true Master might return, but seeing the workings of the Sith army’s still present, the elite of the elite began to infiltrate themselves into imperial life as soldiers, medics, operatives and, in some extreme examples, trainees at the Sith Academy. When the Imperial army returned, and the Great Galactic war began, these members of the I.M.C. reconnected with the R.M.C, and acted as spies inside the Imperial army. This came at great cost as many were outed and killed. But the order survived, and a small number still maintaining their illusions inside the Imperial army, sneaking secrets out to the R.M.C.

The I.M.C. is not the bastion of hope and courage that the R.M.C. is known for,  It is no secret that the horrors of war have irreparably twisted the minds of some of the I.M.C’s best soldiers.  Furthermore, being in the shadow of Revan as he drank raw power, as well as being exposed to the unsurpassed darkness of his sorcery, awakened a blackness that many men and women fight to subvert.  Still bonded by brotherhood, they keep their true calling secret.  These soldiers are bound by honor to their brethren in the I.M.C. but are in constant struggle to not to succumb to the will and hand of the Emperor.

More to come…

A SWTOR Guild Coming to an RP/PvE Server Far, Far Away… Prelude to Our Guild Website

http://www.swtor.com/guilds/106042/republic-mercy-corps

JOIN US!

IT’S ON!

As we approach launch, things are ramping up with the R.M.C.  Guild Co-Lead DavidRHall created a great emblem for our squad.  We have purchased a domain name and are preparing a website for launch.  If you are interested in joining the R.M.C. you can find more information here:

http://www.swtor.com/guilds/106042/republic-mercy-corps

THE R.M.C. NEEDS YOU! – Republic SWTOR Guild Has Been Created

The Republic Mercy Corps was created by two MMORPG fans who shared a common vision for a launch Guild. Our philosophy is first and foremost to HAVE FUN!  The R.M.C. is an RL, casual, family friendly, no pressure guild. We enjoy PvP but do not support griefing. We strive for inclusion, meaning helping guildies out no matter their level, and conquering missions, Heroics, and Flashpoints as a team. At the same time, the R.M.C. is the first to invite the solo player into a group, and in this way we look to grow this guild. Guild Lead DavidRHall has an RP backstory that he is working on for the Guild. We encourage but do not require light RP! SWTOR is a great game to start your RP career in, even if you have never done so! However, we do not encourage RPing a Jawa killing sociopath (you know who you are!).

http://www.swtor.com/guilds/106042/republic-mercy-corps

THE ORIGIN OF OUR NAME:
The Republic Mercy Corps was an organization that served as volunteers in the Galactic Republic’s military. The Jedi Council never refused to let a Jedi assist in the Mercy Corps. The Jedi Knight Revan organized his followers under the banner of the Mercy Corps, which caused the Council to officially sanction his Jedi’s involvement in the Mandalorian Wars.

Fantastic Revan Lore Primer

DarthHater.com posted a great Revan lore overview on their site today. If you are looking forward to Bioware’s Star Wars: The Old Republic MMO and are not familiar with Revan from their single player RPGs, this is a must read.

http://darthhater.com/2011/06/22/lore-update-revan/

Paul S. Kemp’s Old Republic Novel Deceived Is a Great Primer for SWTOR

Did you love the Bioware cinematic Deceived and yearn for more?  Well, you need not yearn any longer.  I just finished Paul S. Kemp’s Star War: The Old Republic novel Deceived.  The book directly deals with the sacking of the Jedi temple on Curuscant and is a prelude to the themes players will deal with in Bioware’s upcoming MMO.

I highly recommend this book for any Star Wars fan.  You can buy it from Amazon.com here:

http://www.amazon.com/Star-Wars-Old-Republic-Deceived/dp/0345511387

or get yourself a signed and dedicated copy from the author here:

http://paulskemp.com/contact/autographed-books

And yes, I’m still in the Old Republic Gametest…