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The Divine Metropolis and A Promise of Power (Fan Suggestion)

Setting the tone:

The ruler of one of the Divine nodes has been making choices and rising in power. The citizens of the node have been questioning his choices at times, but it is all in the name of the divines, their leader says.
Ever since it was a small town, there was something eerie about its progression, but it certainly did rise in power rather quickly, and although the citizens have been doubtful, they too enjoyed the power that their state had over its surrounding towns and in the region.

Now a huge metropolis, the leader's thirst for power has reached its conclusion, or so did everyone believe.
Not much is known about the deal that was made, or with which divine that deal was made...all that is known is that one day, this divine metropolis suddenly burst with dark powers that engulfed the entire region, and what was once divine was now a twisted dark metropolis.

Suggestion:

As a leader of a divine node, the player will be making choices that will affect their city and the direction in which it will evolve. These choices should be based on morality and some of the choices should be questionable, leading to higher increases in power at the risk of losing the loyalty of your citizens. If a leader manages to pick certain choices throughout all stages of the node's development, while also maintaining the loyalty of their citizens and their seat of power, a new hidden path will be unlocked that would allow this type of node to advance one step beyond the divine metropolis level...and that level is the dark metropolis.

Once a divine metropolis turns into a dark metropolis, it will automatically be considered an enemy state by all other nodes, and all citizens will be given a choice of remaining as citizens and becoming enemies of the rest of the world, or abandoning their citizenship and joining the other states in their fight against this unholy abomination.

Additionally, the dark metropolis would gain new and immense power, and its power will grow rapidly and will begin to engulf its surrounding areas. Lush forests become corrupt, the wild life begins to flee, die, or becomes twisted by darkness, and the surrounding nodes begin to be raided and assaulted by the forces of the dark metropolis.

Unlike other types of nodes, when the surrounding nodes are completely corrupted (destroyed and engulfed by the growing corruption), they merge with the dark metropolis node to form a larger node. Meaning, the only way for the other states to take back these nodes is to manage to destroy the dark metropolis in order to restore the entire region and the original node borders.

Mechanics:

When it transforms, the dark metropolis's appearance will change entirely. The main temples will be destroyed, and new dark temples or pyramids will rise instead. The surrounding area will be engulfed in darkness, skeletons and ghosts will roam the lands, and fallen players and NPCs will rise as zombies in their endless marsh to conquer the surrounding areas.

Only one divine node can become a dark metropolis at a time, and the process is extremely hard to achieve and will require immense cooperation between a large number of players as well as a great management by the leader in order to maintain the loyalty of the citizens. There should be long quest lines that need to be completed in very specific ways, and very specific leadership choices in terms of the advancement of the node. It shouldn't be something that happens overnight, but something which would take months of work and cooperation to achieve, and players from other nodes should be able to influence it and try to prevent it if they realize that it's happening.

Once it happens and the dark metropolis is born, all players in the region or across the entire continent should become aware of it. This could be through a visual indicator for nearby players, or through the news traveling across the world and NPCs talking about it, or simply through a global notification.

Players who choose to side with the dark metropolis could gain certain benefits or buffs to help them fight against the world. Maybe even twist their classes to reflect the dark side that they have chosen (especially clerics).

When a nearby node falls and becomes corrupted by the dark metropolis (and merges with it), new world bosses will spawn in that node's area to defend against attackers that might try to assault the dark metropolis and end its dark reign. This way, assaulting the dark metropolis would be a challenging task that would require the cooperation of players of that server, and it would be like a massive raid where they have to go through bosses and monsters before finally reaching the metropolis and laying siege to it.


Let me know what you think about this idea! It could be included as an expansion to the game at some point in the future, with similar mechanics being added to the other node types as well! An expansion that focuses on advancing nodes beyond lvl 6 in unique and epic ways that would affect the entire world!

Comments

  • sunfrogsunfrog Member, Founder, Kickstarter, Alpha Two, Early Alpha Two
    I like it!
    fNX2ISa.png


  • DamoklesDamokles Member, Alpha One, Alpha Two, Early Alpha Two
    MAKE NAGASH THE POPE OF A RELIGIOUS NODE AS FAST AS POSSIBLE!

    It would be funny, if a pope could call a crusade against a specific type of enemy. This crusade would then generate kill quests for that type of enemy, and they would all go up in the amount of killed enemies.
    Tier 1: Kill 10
    Tier 2: Kill 20
    .
    .
    .
    Tier 10: Kill 500

    Each quest would give increasing amounts of experience and reputation with the node or a resource that is unique to crusades, lets call it Divine Blood. There would be a merchant, that would then in turn sell unique materials and crafting recepies, that would let you craft cool cosmetic holy armour.
  • NagashNagash Member, Leader of Men, Kickstarter, Alpha One, Alpha Two, Early Alpha Two
    Damokles wrote: »
    MAKE NAGASH THE POPE OF A RELIGIOUS NODE AS FAST AS POSSIBLE!

    It would be funny, if a pope could call a crusade against a specific type of enemy. This crusade would then generate kill quests for that type of enemy, and they would all go up in the amount of killed enemies.
    Tier 1: Kill 10
    Tier 2: Kill 20
    .
    .
    .
    Tier 10: Kill 500

    Each quest would give increasing amounts of experience and reputation with the node or a resource that is unique to crusades, lets call it Divine Blood. There would be a merchant, that would then in turn sell unique materials and crafting recepies, that would let you craft cool cosmetic holy armour.

    I'm Nagash, The Great Necromancer, the Great Betrayer, the Usurper, the Undying King, the Supreme Lord of Undeath, the first son of King Khetep, ruler of Shyish and the God of death and I approve this message
    nJ0vUSm.gif

    The dead do not squabble as this land’s rulers do. The dead have no desires, petty jealousies or ambitions. A world of the dead is a world at peace
  • LemonTwissLemonTwiss Member, Alpha Two
    I'm Nagash, The Great Necromancer, the Great Betrayer, the Usurper, the Undying King, the Supreme Lord of Undeath, the first son of King Khetep, ruler of Shyish and the God of death and I approve this message [/quote]

    The lord of death is one hell of a funny dude xD xD
    Thanks for the laugh!
  • Undead CanuckUndead Canuck Member, Braver of Worlds, Kickstarter, Alpha One, Alpha Two, Early Alpha Two
    Well, we now know what Nagash is going to be doing for the next foreseeable future.

    And I will probably be there as a loyal supporter- maybe I should change to Arkhan.
  • AzathothAzathoth Member, Braver of Worlds, Kickstarter, Alpha One, Alpha Two, Early Alpha Two
    I am hoping there would be darker gods that the divine nodes could manifest under. In that manner I too am hoping for a darker option of divine nodes. This would include darker looking temples and NPC's.

    I also like the thought of higher concentrations of undead and certain undead type creatures spawning from dead players based on their levels.

    Overall I am not a fan of a node 'beyond metropolis' with greater powers than the other defined metropolises or the consumption and assimilation of adjacent nodes to a dark metropolis.
    I am not sure what was meant by the citizens of such a node becoming enemies of the state either, although I wouldn't be opposed if this didn't end up being a way to somehow get around the corruption mechanic.
    I would be against gaining any buffs (unless equally weighted by debuffs) just for joining, at least not in addition to any buffs/debuffs associated with the other metropolises.

    I feel like granting all these special and above/beyond options to a single node type outside of the others would cause one to appear on every server. Which would be fine, except I am under the impression it would be done simply for the increased power over other nodes. I guess for me Darker doesn't equate to more Powerful.
    57597603_387667588743769_477625458809110528_n.jpg?_nc_cat=105&_nc_ht=scontent-lax3-1.xx&oh=16e82247154b84484b7f627c0ac76fca&oe=5D448BDD
    +1 Skull & Crown metal coin
  • I like the idea of more "dark stuff" added to the lore but not to the point of becoming OP, the idea of a node surpassing the metropolis level is simply too much to be a possibility for each divine node out there
    this is more like a raid content that could be unlock for a special event
    giphy.gif
  • LemonTwissLemonTwiss Member, Alpha Two
    Chezshire wrote: »
    I like the idea of more "dark stuff" added to the lore but not to the point of becoming OP, the idea of a node surpassing the metropolis level is simply too much to be a possibility for each divine node out there
    this is more like a raid content that could be unlock for a special event

    Yeah but only 1 divine node could become a dark metropolis in each server! and players who weren't citizens of that node when it transformed won't be able to become citizens after it has transformed, so it's kind of a one time event kind of thing!
  • LemonTwissLemonTwiss Member, Alpha Two
    Azathoth wrote: »
    I am hoping there would be darker gods that the divine nodes could manifest under. In that manner I too am hoping for a darker option of divine nodes. This would include darker looking temples and NPC's.

    I also like the thought of higher concentrations of undead and certain undead type creatures spawning from dead players based on their levels.

    Overall I am not a fan of a node 'beyond metropolis' with greater powers than the other defined metropolises or the consumption and assimilation of adjacent nodes to a dark metropolis.
    I am not sure what was meant by the citizens of such a node becoming enemies of the state either, although I wouldn't be opposed if this didn't end up being a way to somehow get around the corruption mechanic.
    I would be against gaining any buffs (unless equally weighted by debuffs) just for joining, at least not in addition to any buffs/debuffs associated with the other metropolises.

    I feel like granting all these special and above/beyond options to a single node type outside of the others would cause one to appear on every server. Which would be fine, except I am under the impression it would be done simply for the increased power over other nodes. I guess for me Darker doesn't equate to more Powerful.

    The reasons why I think the players who are aligned with the dark node should gain some buffs (until the node is taken out) is that they will be fighting against the entire server, so they need some sort of advantage. Keep in mind that once the node transforms, no new players can join or become citizens of the dark metropolis, so the players there will be highly outnumbered!
  • AzathothAzathoth Member, Braver of Worlds, Kickstarter, Alpha One, Alpha Two, Early Alpha Two
    No, I don't think that justifies it. I believe adding this will encourage min/max players to do it for the buff. Or PvP players to do this for the increased PvP. As opposed to doing it for story or role play.

    There is nothing wrong with that, I just wouldn't agree with those reasons to have a dark metropolis.

    It would be better to make the undead mobs in the area stronger or set the mobs up to ignore the citizens. Probably not both at the same time though.
    57597603_387667588743769_477625458809110528_n.jpg?_nc_cat=105&_nc_ht=scontent-lax3-1.xx&oh=16e82247154b84484b7f627c0ac76fca&oe=5D448BDD
    +1 Skull & Crown metal coin
  • DygzDygz Member, Braver of Worlds, Kickstarter, Alpha One, Alpha Two, Early Alpha Two
    I hope people are not conflating dark with evil.
    As far as I can tell so far with the lore, Undead is acceptable, while Corrupt is not acceptable.
    Necromancy should be a just a different focus than Thaumaturgy.
    We will have to see if Life/Death/Undeath fall under the demesne of one deity or separate deities.
  • NagashNagash Member, Leader of Men, Kickstarter, Alpha One, Alpha Two, Early Alpha Two
    edited October 2019
    Dygz wrote: »
    I hope people are not conflating dark with evil.
    As far as I can tell so far with the lore, Undead is acceptable, while Corrupt is not acceptable.
    Necromancy should be a just a different focus than Thaumaturgy.
    We will have to see if Life/Death/Undeath fall under the demesne of one deity or separate deities.


    I always see death as lawfull evil. its not a nice thing but it has to happen
    nJ0vUSm.gif

    The dead do not squabble as this land’s rulers do. The dead have no desires, petty jealousies or ambitions. A world of the dead is a world at peace
  • DamoklesDamokles Member, Alpha One, Alpha Two, Early Alpha Two
    Nagash wrote: »
    Dygz wrote: »
    I hope people are not conflating dark with evil.
    As far as I can tell so far with the lore, Undead is acceptable, while Corrupt is not acceptable.
    Necromancy should be a just a different focus than Thaumaturgy.
    We will have to see if Life/Death/Undeath fall under the demesne of one deity or separate deities.


    I always see death as lawfull evil. its not a nice thing but it has to happen

    I was always true neutral, so i dont really care one way or another xD
  • NagashNagash Member, Leader of Men, Kickstarter, Alpha One, Alpha Two, Early Alpha Two
    Damokles wrote: »
    Nagash wrote: »
    Dygz wrote: »
    I hope people are not conflating dark with evil.
    As far as I can tell so far with the lore, Undead is acceptable, while Corrupt is not acceptable.
    Necromancy should be a just a different focus than Thaumaturgy.
    We will have to see if Life/Death/Undeath fall under the demesne of one deity or separate deities.


    I always see death as lawfull evil. its not a nice thing but it has to happen

    I was always true neutral, so i dont really care one way or another xD

    I always play lawful evil. serve me and you will be happy but if you fail to bend the knee then your head will do instead
    nJ0vUSm.gif

    The dead do not squabble as this land’s rulers do. The dead have no desires, petty jealousies or ambitions. A world of the dead is a world at peace
  • Undead CanuckUndead Canuck Member, Braver of Worlds, Kickstarter, Alpha One, Alpha Two, Early Alpha Two
    Damokles wrote: »
    Nagash wrote: »
    Dygz wrote: »
    I hope people are not conflating dark with evil.
    As far as I can tell so far with the lore, Undead is acceptable, while Corrupt is not acceptable.
    Necromancy should be a just a different focus than Thaumaturgy.
    We will have to see if Life/Death/Undeath fall under the demesne of one deity or separate deities.


    I always see death as lawfull evil. its not a nice thing but it has to happen

    I was always true neutral, so i dont really care one way or another xD

    Druid FTW!
  • AzathothAzathoth Member, Braver of Worlds, Kickstarter, Alpha One, Alpha Two, Early Alpha Two
    Nagash wrote: »
    I always play lawful evil. serve me and you will be happy but if you fail to bend the knee then your head will do instead

    Lawful evil is my favorite to play, but I'm more of a 'I have a goal and will do anything to accomplish it' type.
    57597603_387667588743769_477625458809110528_n.jpg?_nc_cat=105&_nc_ht=scontent-lax3-1.xx&oh=16e82247154b84484b7f627c0ac76fca&oe=5D448BDD
    +1 Skull & Crown metal coin
  • DygzDygz Member, Braver of Worlds, Kickstarter, Alpha One, Alpha Two, Early Alpha Two
    edited October 2019
    Individuals can play whatever "alignment" they want.
    But, so far, it seems that in Ashes lore, Necromancy is neutral; not intrinsically evil.
  • NagashNagash Member, Leader of Men, Kickstarter, Alpha One, Alpha Two, Early Alpha Two
    Dygz wrote: »
    Individuals can play whatever "alignment" they want.
    But, so far, it seems that in Ashes lore, Necromancy is neutral; not intrinsically evil.

    For now

    Muhahahaha
    nJ0vUSm.gif

    The dead do not squabble as this land’s rulers do. The dead have no desires, petty jealousies or ambitions. A world of the dead is a world at peace
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