Runes of Magic (2009)

Runes of Magic (RoM) is a massively multiplayer online role-playing game (MMORPG) developed by the Taiwanese developer Runewaker Entertainment and adapted for the English and German-speaking market by German company Frogster Interactive. Frogster has also opened servers for France, Spain, Poland, Italy, and Australia as well as servers dedicated to the European Union. After going through an open beta phase, the game was launched on March 19, 2009 and Chapter II – The Elven Prophecy was launched on September 15, 2009. The next chapter, Chapter III – The Elder Kingdoms, started April 22, 2010, however all of Chapter III did not become available until August 11, 2010. Chapter IV - Lands of Despair, was released June 16, 2011. The latest Chapter, Chapter V - Fires of Shadowforge, was released on June 12, 2012. The game client is free to download, and no monthly subscription fee is required because the service is funded by real money transactions (RMT) in the Runes of Magic Item Shop.

Storyline

A Fanciful and Sinister Imagination Taborea was born when Ayvenas began recording his visions of an extraordinary world in a book. As he wrote, the god created peaceful races and idyllic lands for them to inhabit. But, as we all know, a happy story is a boring story, so one day he had a thought that would prove very dangerous indeed: “What if the story weren’t so peaceful?” This insidious thought so consumed him that he began painting Taborea in a darker palette of colours: Wise men became fools, gentle elves developed brutal tendencies and gracious dwarves were spoilt with greed. Even the provisions intended to protect the creatures of Taborea were twisted and corrupted. Ayvenas recognised the gravity of his interference in a world no longer under his control, so he decided to let the Taboreans write their own ending to the story. He tore the unwritten pages into pieces and scattered them across the land – and thus began a new era. Triumph and the Danger of Power After Ayvenas’ withdrawal, Taborea was besieged by the vicious Naga. Humans and Elves combined forces, and, using the elven sword Arclight, among other weapons, the allies were able fend off the serpentine assailants and confine them within a magical barrier. Inspired by their great triumph, the peoples of Taborea founded the old kingdoms in order to impart their knowledge to others. The Humans were most interested in the runes and in the scattered pieces of Ayvenas’ book because, according to legend, these “oracles” could be used to control the future and determine history. However, as the humans learned more, their thirst for knowledge and power took on dangerous proportions. Intoxicated with greed and aided by arcane magic, some of them transformed into terrible demons and began the greatest massacre in the history of Taborea, the War of Balanzasar. Once again, an alliance was needed in order to restore the peace, which they accomplished by banishing many demons to the Void they had created to contain them. The Rise and Fall of the Guardians The alliance prevailed, but there was a heavy toll: Many were killed, and their knowledge died with them. The Humans in particular had lost most of their power over the runes. But the little that remained was enough to create mighty guardians who would protect them from the last of the demons. Before long, though, Taborea needed protection from these protectors. The guardians threatened not only the demons, but the entire world at large. Only the dragons were strong enough to face them, but their battle ended abruptly when the guardians suddenly fell silent. In the “Age of Punishment”, the peoples of Taborea were in a constant state of fear. They lost their knowledge, their culture…but not their courage. The Humans who dared to start anew left for the continent of Kolydia, while those who stayed behind were hardened into a race of barbarians. The Elves fled to the continent of Candara. A Race Divided by an Ancient Curse On Candara, the Elves were able to escape the guardians – but not the “Curse of the Elven Twins”. According to an ancient legend, a pair of twins would create a great schism amongst the elven folk. This prophecy came to pass once when the Elves fought against the demons… And history seemed doomed to repeat itself when a second pair of twins was born to the royal family. In order to finally break the curse, one of the twins, Kentailon, decided to leave his home for the good of his people. But the rift was unavoidable: The queen couldn’t bear to see Kentailon go off alone, so she followed her son into the unknown. The Adventures of Sig’aylas While the elder brother, Yabis’an, ascended the elven throne, Kentailon roamed the continent, travelling all the way to the magical barrier surrounding the Naga. It was here that the elven twin, now calling himself Sig’aylas, fell in love and found true happiness – until the attack of the Cyclopes, which devastated the land. In desperation, Sig’aylas tore the elven sword “Arclight” from the barrier and with it sent the Cyclopes running. Although the one-eyed beasts had been defeated, an even greater danger was awakened: Sig’aylas had released the Naga. There was only one hope left for the Elves: the Humans. So once again, these two races waged war on the formidable Naga hordes. The Allure of the Past The harrowing struggle with the Naga, and then the prosperity which ensued, caused people to forget about the past. Only organisations such as the “Eye of Wisdom” were interested in delving deeply into Taborea’s history. The investigations of the “Eye of Wisdom” in Kolydia revealed intriguing evidence of secrets which drew the organisation ever closer to the Elves on Candara. And that brings us to the beginning of our time – an age of discovery…