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Read Me First!!

Welcome to Battle Arena: Fight For Gold! I really appreciate your visit here. I created this game as a fun place for Gaians to play, fight and compete against each other with winning prizes for those coming out on top!

There will be a competition each month, with the winner being awarded the Letter of that Month (i.e. the donation letter of that month), and 1,000g going to the runner-up, and 250g for 3rd place. And best of all... there is NO entry fee!

If you experience any difficulties please be sure to tell me so I can iron out any kinks in the system... and now I'm proud to present...





Background

In the beginning there was Light. But between the candle and the stars there was Darkness. And the Darkness grew and grew, feeding upon the dark desires of men and beasts. Shadows consumed the world and the Earth was covered in a blanket of fear and death. Wicked creatures came out of their hiding places and terrorize the lands, the dead came to life and fed on the living, and from deep caverns, goblins and orcs spewed forth to pillage and plunder. Chaos reigned and the Light faded from the world.

Generations past. And from the East legends rose of a knight of unrivaled prowess and honour, who rode upon a horse of impossible strength and agility, leading an army of an unprecendent alliance of men and dwarves and elves. He was known as Lord Avalon, and He fought Evil where ever He found it. He brought back Light into the world. He drove the Evil back into their hiding places. The shadows receded. The Earth healed. And then the fickle minds of men and dwarves and elves forgot their alliance. They began to bicker amongst themselves. And so it was that Lord Avalon, Lord of Light, vanished from the world.

And once again, Darkness took advantage of the wicked ways of men. And from the West, in the human kingdom of Britannia, a young Prince mourned the death of his father and became a King. He took as his bride an unknown woman of unparralled beauty. It was said Her hair was as black as midnight and Her heart as dark as Her hair. Her name was Shastra and She whispered evil poisons into the ear of the young besotted King. The Light in Britannia slowly faded away as the King lost his way and wandered from the Path of Light. When the King died unexpectedly, darkness reigned unchallenged, and Britannia came under the spell of her temptress Queen.

Evil and chaos crept back into the world. The Light once again began to recede as kingdom after kingdom fell under the heel of Queen Shastra. It is said She transforms into a giant spider and commands an Army of Darkness.

But all hope is not lost. For the Keepers of Light, the priests of Avalon, have received sign that their Lord will return, and that he has sent Angels to prepare for his coming.


Angels

Angels are non-corporeal beings that are immune to any harm. However, they cannot directly interact with the world. They can only do so through the consensual possession of a physical creature; some man, dwarf, elf or other creature that follows the Path of Light. The time that Angels have on the Earth is limited because they exist in another plane (or dimension) and it requires a great deal of positive energy to keep them here. When this energy runs out, they must return home and wait until they are called again.

Your aim is to do your Lord's bidding, and kill as many Servants of Darkness (allies of Queen Shastra) as possible in the time (Turns) you have to make way for your Lord's eventual return.


Monthly Competition

Each month, a donation letter of that month will be awarded to the player with the highest accumulated XPs. 1000g will go to the runner up and 250g to 3rd place. Prizes will be split if there are equal winners. All player stats will be reset to 0 at the beginning of every month so that a fresh new competition can start. You can check your ranking on the Fight For Gold board in the first post.


Weekly Competition

There is also a weekly Player vs Player competition where players are assigned to one of two teams and they battle each other. Full details can be found on Page 3!


Turns

Every time you attack a monster with a weapon takes up spiritual energy that allows you to stay on this plane of existence. When all your Turns are used up you no longer have the spiritual energy to perform any actions. In addition, some actions are more intense than others and some weapons require more energy to wield (see Weapons below). If you do not have the required level of energy; i.e. you do not have enough Turns to use that weapon, you will not be able to wield it in an attack.

You are given 20 Turns initially, and then you are given additional Turns each day. The number of Turns you get depend upon your character's rank(level) and how many Turns they still have unused. This is calculated at Midnight EDT -0400 GMT, when the Turns are given out. You may also seek out Helena, High Priestess of Avalon to reinvigorate your spirit (i.e. gain additional Turns).

Angel (Level 1): 10 Turns (if you have less than 10 Turns left)

Archangel (Level 2): 14 Turns (if you have less than 14 Turns left)

Ophanim (Level 3): 20 Turns (if you have less than 20 Turns left)

Cherubim (Level 4): 24 Turns (if you have less than 24 Turns left)

Seraphim (Level 5): 32 Turns (if you have less than 32 Turns left)


For example:

1) A character on Level 1 with 7 Turns unused will get 10 additional Turns, for a total of 17 Turns. But if she only used 6 Turns on the following day, then she will have left 11 Turns, and will get NO additional Turns.

2) However, a character on Level 2 with 14 Turns unused will get NO additional Turns since she needs to have LESS THAN 14 TURNS LEFT to get the additional Turns. But if she has 12 Turns left then she gets an additional 14 Turns, for a total of 26 Turns.


Rank (Level)

As your character fights against the Servants of Darkness, he or she gains experience in dealing with these foul creatures. This is represented by your character's Experience Points (XPs). When they have enough XPs they can seek out Helena, High Priestess of Avalon to improve their skills and attain a higher ranking. Higher ranks allow you to use more powerful weapons. These weapon require more energy to wield and so use more Turns but they make it easier to hit monsters and/or do more damage on a hit. High ranks also gives you more Turns each day.

A player can use any weapon at their level or any weapon below their level but NOT any weapons on levels above them.

Angel (Level 1) ( 0 to 1999 XPs) :

Weapons available -
Dagger
Scimitar
War Hammer
War Axe
Serpent Dagger


Archangel (Level 2) ( 2000 to 3999 XPs) :

Weapons available -
Broadsword
Morning Star

Ophanim (Level 3) ( 4000 to 7999 XPs) :

Weapons available -
Two-handed Sword

Cherubim (Level 4) ( 8000+ XPs) :

Weapons available -
Deathbringer
Flametongue


Levelling

As you can gain more experience your character becomes more powerful. When you have enough XPs, you can talk to Helena, High Priestess of Avalon to ask her to divine the Will of Avalon. You will need to pay her Silver for the trouble. The spirit of Lord Avalon himself will then determine if you are sufficiently deserving, and if so the High Priestess will channel His Will into you.

Weapons

The following are a list of all the weapon you can use in FFG and their respective statistics.

Level shows you what rank or level you need to be in order to wield the weapon. Naturally higher level characters can still use the weapon but lower level characters may not.

Cost shows how much spiritual energy the weapon requies to wield it, i.e. the number of Turns it needs.

To Hit shows the normal "To hit" roll of the weapon. The lower the number the easier it is to land a successful hit on a monster.

Damage shows the amount of damage the weapon does upon a successful hit on a monster

Special Ability shows if the weapon has any special abilities, like attack bonuses or damage bonuses. Also if it is an enchanted weapon and so can hit magical monsters immune to normal weapons.


Dagger
This small blade is lethal in the hands of an expert. When wielded properly, it can strike a critical and often fatal blow on its target.
Rank: Angel (Level 1)
Cost: 1
To Hit: 10
Damage: 1-4 hp (hp is described below in "How the Battle System works" wink
Special ability: 3 x normal damage on a natural roll of 18, 19 or 20 (on 20-sided dice)

Scimitar
This curved blade is an excellent weapon for slashing through monsters, especially the large types.
Rank: Angel (Level 1)
Cost: 1
To Hit: 10
Damage: 1-6 hp
Special ability: +4hp damage to Large monsters

War Hammer
A heavy weapon good for smashing into the enemy and doing great damage.
Rank: Angel (Level 1)
Cost: 1
To Hit: 10
Damage: 4-8 hp
Special ability: none

War Axe
A favourite weapon of many warriors this sharp double-bladed weapon can cut through some of the most stubborn armour.
Rank: Angel (Level 1)
Cost: 1
To Hit: 10
Damage: 1-8 hp
Special ability: +2 Attack bonus (see below in "How the Battle System works" wink

Serpent Dagger
This strangely snake-like blade is said to have been used by Lord Avalon Himself. It has been blessed by the Keepers of Light and hums softly when near evil.
Rank: Angel (Level 1)
Cost: 1
To Hit: 10
Damage: 1-4 hp
Special ability: Enchanted (see below in "How the Battle System works" wink

Broadsword
This is a heavy single handed sword with a wide blade and works very well against all types of enemies, slicing through their armour and cutting into flesh and bone. It is especially effective against large creatures with thick hides.
Rank: Archangel (Level 2)
Cost: 2
To Hit: 8
Damage: 2-8 hp
Special ability: +3 Attack bonus (see below in "How the Battle System works" wink
+ 2 hp Damage bonus against Large creatures (see below in "How the Battle System works" wink

Morning Star
Also know as a Mace or Flail, this weapon has two spiked metal balls on a reinforced wooden frame handle. It is a devastating weapon when wielded by a strong warrior.
Rank: Archangel (Level 2)
Cost: 2
To Hit: 8
Damage: 1-12 hp
Special ability: none

Two-handed Sword
This enormous sword requires great strength and skill to wield but when used effectively, it has a devastating impact on all opponents. Even though the blade is made of the finest steel, it is still a heavy weapon that is most useful against large creatures.
Rank: Ophanim (Level 3)
Cost: 4
To Hit: 6
Damage: 4-14 hp
Special ability: +4hp damage to Large monsters

Deathbringer
The Deathbringer is a blade of legend. It is crafted from a special enchantment of the Keepers of Light on a Two-Handed Sword. The enchantment requires and consumes the rare Heart of the Hero and an even more rare fragment from the Sapphire Soulstone of Neru.

Rank: Cherubim (Level 4)
Cost: 8
To Hit: 4
Damage: 12-18 hp
Special ability: Enchanted (see below in "How the Battle System works" wink
+2 Attack bonus (see below in "How the Battle System works" wink

Flametongue
This flaming blade burns fear into all Servants of Darkness. It is made from a very special enchantment on a Two-Handed Sword. The enchantment requires and consumes the rare Heart of the Hero and the even more rare fragments of the Yellow Stone of Justice and the Red Stone of Vengeance.
Rank: Cherubim (Level 4)
Cost: 8
To Hit: 4
Damage: 6-28 hp
Special ability: Enchanted (see below in "How the Battle System works" wink
+2 Attack bonus (see below in "How the Battle System works" wink


Items

You cannot buy "items" in the game, only "weapons". However, items can drop from monsters you have killed and you can then loot them.

Heart of the Hero
This magical orb is the container of the spirit of one of the many Heroes of Avalon. warriors of great courage and strength who fought along side Lord Avalon in the first Dark Age. They bequeath that even in death they should serve their Lord. And so when they fell in battle the Priests of Avalon captured their spirits so that they might aid the Path of Light in times of Darkness.

Topaz Shard
Long ago, in the Age of Enlightment, powerful mages forged a mighty gemstone to aid justice by looking into the minds of men who were accused of serious crimes. It was unerring in its judgement and soon came to be known as the Yellowstone of Justice. However, in the first Dark Age, the forces of Evil despised the stone for its purity and shattered it into many fragments. Each shard of the stone still retains some of its original magic and is a powerful artifact in its own right.

Ruby Shard
Long ago, a Queen was killed by a band of rampaging Ogres. The King swore vengeance. He commanded his most powerful mages to find the perpetrators. And so they crafted a mighty gemstone from a drop of the Queen's blood. The mages believed the stone will show them the perpetrators. In shock the mages discovered that the King had been unfaithful and was himself involved in the murder of his own wife. Fearing for their lives, the mages attempted to destroy the gemstone. However, the spirit of the Queen was strong and mad with lust for vengeance. It corrupted the minds of the mages and they, under the influence of the gemstone and protected by it, slaughtered the entire palace, including the King. But the adultress was not to be found. The bloodlust of the dead Queen was not satisfied. The mages expanded their search and killed anyone who came into contact with the adultress. The gemstone came to be known as the Redstone of Vengeance. The murderous rampage lasted a year until a Knight of uncorruptible purity managed to infiltrate the palace, and shatter the gemstone. Even now, each shard of the stone carries the rage of the Queen.

Sapphire Shard
Long ago, in the Age of Dragons, a mighty and murderous Ice Dragon came to power. She had defeated the most powerful and feared Fire Dragon and assumed the throne of all Dragonkin. She had contempt for the world of men and declared war on all humans. But though men were weak, they were numerous. And they had allies in dwarves and elves. And although Dragonkin were great and powerful creatures they were few in number. So as the war waged century after century, the dragons began to die out. In time, the Dragonkin wanted peace. They made a secret pact with the humans and betrayed their Queen. However, they would not kill one of their own, and so trapped her in a Soulstone, the Sapphire of Neru. No one knows what became of the Sapphire of Neru but it is said that it was shattered in the first Dark Age. It is said that remnants of the Sapphire still carry part of the spirit of the Queen, and can ward off powerful magicks of some dragons.


Monsters

The list of available monsters are on the first post. They include the Gobin, Orc, Hobgoblin, Bugbear, Orc Chieftain, Ogre, Oliphant and the sinister Wraith. All monsters have a chance of carrying loot. However, the chance and the type of loot varies depending upon the monster and is described in their description in the first post. The statistics and descriptions are also listed. The meaning of the statistics are as follows:

Size refers to the creatures physical size. This could be Small(S), Medium(M) or Large(L). Certain weapons work better on certain sizes. Medium is about the size of an average man.

hp or Health Points refers to the life force of the creature. 6hp means they have 6 Health Points. When you attack them with your weapon, and you land a successful hit, it does a certain amount of damage and this is represented in the reduction of the Health Points of the monster. When a monster's hp is 0 or less, the monster dies and you gain a "kill".

+(number)AC refers to an Armour Class (or AC) bonus for the monster. This usually occurs because the monster is either very agile and difficult to hit or has good made/natural armour that protects it, or both. This number is added to the "Normal To Hit" number of the weapon, and a 20-sided dice roll of equal or greater than the total is required to score a hit. Please note that this figure might not show up on a monser's profile, in which case it has NO such bonus (i.e. same as +0AC ).

Savingthrow Some special monsters have an unnatural ability to avoid being hurt. This statistic will only show up on a monster's profile if it has such an innate ability. When you land a successful "hit" on such a monster, it has a chance to dodge such a "hit" if it "makes its saving throw", i.e. if it rolls the number in the brackets or higher on a 20-sided dice.

Enchanted is also an optional monster statistic. It is listed when a monster is of a magical nature and so cannot be harmed by normal weapons. In most cases this intrinsic nature of the monster is not listed as most monster can be harmed by normal weapons.

(number)XP refers to the experience points (XP) value of the monster. Each time you kill the monster you will gain XPs but the amount will depend on how much XPs you already have. The more experience you have, the easier the monster is for you to kill, and so the less XPs you will gain from the fight.

Please note that special monsters with an * next to their name are almost impossible to kill by any single player and everyone has the opportunity to help in the slaying. As a result, the XPs awarded if the creature should be slain depends upon your contribution, i.e. the whole XP is not given to the person who happens to score the killing blow, rather it is distributed over all the players who had helped.

Please note that although "Loot" shows you what a monster can drop once you've killed it, it does not show you the chance it will drop that item. As an example, both the Hobgoblin and the Wraith drop the Topaz_Shard, but its a pretty safe bet the chance you will get it from a Hobgoblin are much smaller than from a Wraith.


How the Battle System works

To fight a monster, choose the monster you wish attack in the FIRST post of this thread. Find the monster and click on the weapon you wish to use and you will attack that monster with that weapon.

Please note that you MUST have a high enough level to use that weapon, MUST have enough Turns left, and MUST actually possess that weapon. The last part is important. You cannot attack with a weapon you do not have! You originally start with a Dagger, War Hammer and Morning Star. All other weapons you can either buy from the Bazaar OR loot from monsters you have killed OR make them through the help of Helena, High Priestess of Avalon All the weapons you carry are listed in your PROFILE under the Inventory heading.

1. Your weapon determines your Normal To Hit number.

2. Any "Attack bonus" of the weapon you are using is then DEDUCTED from your "Normal To Hit" number and this is the actual number you have to "roll" on a 20-sided dice to land a successful hit. If you roll below this number you will have missed. Please note that if you are using a normal weapon on an enchanted monster, it will ALWAYS miss!

3. If you "hit" the monster, then a roll of the damage you do takes place. This is done according to what weapon you used, so a Sword will do 1 to 6 damage. Some weapons, such as the dagger, have special damage bonuses which are described in the profile of the weapon.

4. This damage amount is deducted from the life force of the monster, i.e. its "hp" number. When the monster's hp reaches 0 or lower, it dies and you have scored a "kill".

5. If a "kill" takes place, the monster's XP value will be added to your experience points (XPs). When you have enough XPs you can move up a rank, gain the ability to use new weapons and get more turns each day (see Levelling above). Note: You DO NOT automatically move up in levels once you have enough XPs.

6. As has been already mentioned, if you have no more Turns left, you cannot make an attack or do anything, and must wait for the next day when additional Turns will be given to your character. This takes place at Midnight EDT (or -0400 GMT). See Turns above. Also if you do not have enough Turns to use a particular weapon you cannot attack with that weapon.


Quests

You can visit Qaelas Quest-Giver to see your current quest, add a new quest or to turn a quest in once you have completed it. You can only be on ONE quest at any single time. If you abandon one quest to take up another quest, you will lose ALL progress you might have made on your previous quest should you take that up again some time in the future.

Every time you finish a quest you can "turn it in" to get the rewards from completing that quest. All you need do is see your current quest, and if it is complete there will be an option to "Turn in". Click on that button and you will get your rewards.

When you are on a quest, nothing changes. You can still go about killing whatever monster you like. The game will keep track of any progress you make on the quest. And you will still get the XPs/Loot from the kills as normal. The only difference is that once the quest is completed it can be turned in and you get the additional XPs or loot.

Please note that XPs rewarded upon the completion of a quest is the same regardless of your rank or XP. Whereas XPs you get from killing monsters depend on your XPs. The more XPs you already have the less you will gain. So this makes completing quests more helpful to higher level characters beause they will get less from killing the monsters as normal.

Hellspawn is a unique monster that everyone can join in killing. It will not count as a "quest". Please note that NO XPs will be awarded unless and until Hellspawn is actually killed. Once Hellspawn is slain, XPs will be distributed according to the contribution of each player that participated in the killing. This applies to any and all unique monsters (the ones with an * nest to their name). Unique monsters cannot be killed more than once (naturally this will be reset each month).


In-Game Economy

When you kill a monster there is a chance that it will drop some Silver or some item. You can use the Silver to buy other weapons at the Bazaar. You can also sell any items you may have looted.

If you are feeling particularly charitable you can give away Silver or items to another player by visiting Lending Hand.


Disclaimer

Last but definitely not least of all:

The rules, weapons, monsters, everything is subject to change. I will try to be as fair as possible when making any desired changes but please note that all my decisions are FINAL. If you wish to play this game you MUST accept this condition.

This is important for me to continue to tune the game balance and add new features.

FFG Card Maker

FFG now comes with its own ID Card Maker, so you can make ID cards to put in your sigs!

There are some basic rules to understand/follow when using this service:

1. You MUST agree to these rules to use the FFG Card maker
   
2. You can use these cards ANYWHERE ONLINE, in your blogs or on your websites or wherever
   
3. You MUST upload the cards to your own image hosting service (eg http://www.imageshack.us ). Please DO NOT leech my bandwidth.
   
4. You CANNOT alter the cards created in ANY WAY. Use them as they are. This also means you cannot give/transfer your cards to someone else, or make cards for someone else. They are yours as a reward for your playing, and yours alone.
   
5. The cards available for you to make are dependent on your rank and/or xp. The higher you go, the more cards are available. Currently 6 cards are available.
   
6. You DO NOT need to link to this thread when using the cards, but of course if you're feeling generous I'd appreciate it. mrgreen
   
   If you feel like spreading the word about FFG you can put the following code in your sig.
   
   
   [url=http://www.gaiaonline.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=7732908][img] URL to your card image[/img][/url]
   
   
   

Thank you for playing FFG and I hope you enjoy the FFG Card maker! ^^

PS: If anyone wants to help creating new "bases", please let me know. Different limited edition cards each month may be a good idea. Please note that any bases you create need to be original (i.e. not used in other places like your own Minishops) and will belong to me and FFG. I promise not to use them for any other purpose than on FFG.

Use this thread to discuss the game and any strategies you may be using. If there are game balance issues, please post them here. Or if you have any suggestions about how to improve the game, I'll be happy to read them. ^^

Reserved

Bump.

Sounds cool I'm in...

So how do you guys find it so far? Any comments? ^^