Shardworld - the Game (Guide thread)

[Amaterasu]

Raids

The adventures on the Shards, completing Tasks for people, defeating monsters and all that... that's just the preparation for instances, or as they are also called, raids. These are the test to an adventurer's ability, their strategy, memory, reflexes... and most importantly, teamwork.

Lore-wise, a raid is a location somewhere on a Shard, or an entire Shard itself, where some sort of task is to be completed. This might be as simple as driving back an invading force or cleaning out a nobleman's cellar that's infested with mutated mega-rats... or it could be an adventure of epic proportions and taking many ingame days, where entire strongholds must be sieged, breached and seized, or a titanic beast must be vanquished.

Raids are repeatable content designed for a party of adventurers, though a single person can try their hand at it too (which is relatively likely to result in failing). Most Raids have at least one major boss and requirements for completion (not word-length requirements or such, but ingame things like "find the key to this door"). They offer substantial rewards for adventurers who are able to make their way through.

How to play a Raid:

Easy/Medium/Hard is a basic indicator to how hard you should expect the raid to go. Being of high level will make things easier, having a group of adventurers to accompany you also helps (and is in many cases recommended).
[spoiler]Easy raids can be completed by a single person without any preparation, or of level 1-2. Playing it with more than the minimum amount makes things easy.
Medium raids are anywhere between level 3 and 7, but they may need to withdraw every so often and use proper strategy. A good party will encounter some obstacles but can overall handle it.
Hard raids should not be attempted with fewer than the minimum number of characters and even then are highly difficult - level 8+ is recommended. With the max number of players it would be feasible with relatively little trouble.[/spoiler]The number of players is the minimum recommended and the maximum allowed. For instance, a 5-10 player raid can be accessed with 1 person but would be much harder. You can go in with up to 10 people, and going in with 5 of a proper level is recommended.

The level is an indicator of how high-level all participants should be at least - not their total level, but each individual's level!

During a raid each player must write at least one post outside of boss fights - it's advised that you arrange turns or something. There are no minimum or maximum post lengths but try to not make a two-line post which contributes next to nothing, or on the other hand write four pages worth of text that leaves your friends with little breathing room for their own posts.
When encountering a boss each player must make at least one post as part of the fight, for each of the boss's forms (if they have more than one). The last player of the group may deliver the killing blow or leave the boss alive to continue the fight until another player decides to down them.
Return to posting between bosses, repeat these steps until you are finished.
Example:[spoiler]Player A, B and C attempt a raid with 2 bosses. The second boss has two forms. They arrange posting order to be A, then B, then C.

No-Boss phase
Player A opens up with entering the raid location. They get some info from an NPC so they know what to do.
Player B follows A's lead, with a minor skirmish interrupting the adventurers. They quickly dispose of the mobs.
Player C continues after that. They end up encountering the first boss, he makes a brief description about it and sets the stage.

Boss 1 phase
The players agree to rearrange their posting order beforehand. Now it's B, A, C.
Player B posts. Fighting occurs, they inflict some damages on the boss etc.
Player A follows suit, having the boss use a big attack, his character gets injured and needs to withdraw from the battle to heal.
Player C decides to not place the killing blow, instead he heals player A.
Player B deals the killing blow to the boss and moves the group out of the boss room to the next area.

No-Boss phase
Posting orders remain the same. As player B ended, player A follows up.

Player A posts about them finding a key in the boss room to get them ahead through a previously locked door.
Player C posts about a skirmish occuring.
Because player B wants everyone to have the same number of posts they come up with an obstacle that will delay finding the next boss. They start dealing with it.
Player A accepts B's offer and adds a side-track library where they find some useful books, delaying the adventurers further.
Finally player C concludes the delay and leads the group to the boss room.

Boss 2 phase - part 1
Player B can't post for a few days so they propose to rearrange the posting order from B, A, C to A, C, B. The others are okay with this.

Player A opens up with the boss fight in the first phase. Things happen.
Player C decides to give the party a buff and hang back for a bit while dodging the boss's attacks.
Player B who can post again goes for the "killing blow" which triggers phase 2 of the boss.

Boss 2 phase - part 2

Player A takes player C's spot hanging back to buff and fill their bestiary entry on that boss.
Player C returns to the fray and, using player A's advice from the sidelines, exposes the boss's weak spot.
Player B decides to end it, dealing the killing blow to the boss.

End phase
The players decide to let player C have the final post because they really like C's writing style. They could also do one post each, but they decide not to.
Thus player C concludes, handing out the rewards from the boss and playing through the end of the raid where the adventurers return victoriously. He sets the stage to continue in another thread outside the raid.[/spoiler]

Available raids

Off the Island! (Level 0, 1-5 chars)
[spoiler]This is a "tutorial" raid which is the last part of the Introduction Island Shard. It primarily teaches the players about group raids and combat, but can also be accessed by people who are already off the Introduction Island Shard so as to avoid people getting stuck in the Introduction Island Shard.
It can be skipped if nobody is to be found, or the difficulty can be reduced so fewer players are able to play through it. Skipping it entirely is not advised of course.

Meant for: 1-5 people.
Difficulty: Easy.

Gameplay: The raid begins in the underground of the island Shard. An Island Master is about to open up a portal to the rest of the game to let players leave when an otherworldly demon uses the portal stones to open up a rift from his homeworld. Ignoring the party he laughs and teleports away. The Island Master identifies that demon as a Lesser Chaos demon, which likely intends to cut the influx of heroes from the Introduction Shard by eliminating the Island Masters who teach people about the game. As the demon's presence keeps the rift open and the Island Master is only able to keep it from letting more demons in, but not fully close it, he tasks the adventurer(s) with slaying the demon so that they can leave.

The players must then backtrack their steps through the island. A number of cannon-fodder demons have been spawned by the Lesser Chaos demon which are fighting the Island Masters, although they are holding their own very well as they are all seasoned adventurers themselves. There are three encounters with minor bosses which happen to be linked to the skill whose skill area they are fighting in. For instance, the Fishing Teacher is fighting an octopus-style demon that is in the training pond and must first be forced out of the water with a fishing rod before it can be damaged, and the Mining boss would be a demon which is using the ore rocks from the Mining Area as armor - which can be mined off. The players can choose any three skills that they want to fight the bosses for.

(Placeholder: I'll add a list of bosses once I have all the skills figured out)

At the end near the starting area lies the Lesser Chaos demon who has defeated and knocked out the Island Master that welcomes players to the Shardworld. Before being able to deliver the death blow the players arrive and interrupt him, upon which the demon attacks them. This is not a hard bossfight: the Lesser Chaos demon uses melee against close opponents and ranged missile bolts against others. He may hop around the battlefield to switch targets on the fly, and periodically affirms how resisting him is futile. His strongest attack is Chaos Cloud, which he rarely uses: he releases a large amount of a black fog-like substance from his body which coats the battlefield in darkness and teleports everyone except Lesser Chaos demon around at random in intervals of ca. 5 seconds. It is possible to escape the cloud to avoid being teleported, and very much advised so, as after ~1 minute it explodes, dealing moderate damage to everyone caught in it.

When the Lesser Chaos demon is defeated he conjures up a portal with his last strength and escapes, claiming that he will be back. The Island Master can then be woken up: he will congratulate the adventurers for their victory, and allow each of them to pick a skill-book which will teach them about that certain skill, unlocking more advanced recipes. More experience is also awarded in the three skills that the bosses were fought for. The Island Master then teleports the players back to the portal room, where they can leave the Raid and escape the island.[/spoiler]

Nurnengard (Level 5, 5-10 chars)
[spoiler]The fortress of Nurnengard, a grim fortress, jet black and showing with every bit of its cold walls that intruders are not welcome, stands at the edge of a high cliff, overlooking the sea. Once it was the home of an immensely powerful mage and his summoned demons. Now, it is sealed off, but within still lie dark, horrific secrets, and an even darker, much more horrific aberration which protects the fortress. Or does it...?

Meant for: 5-10 people.
Difficulty: Medium.

Gameplay: Rather than a traditional run, Nurnengard is intended to be played as a survival-horror themed story: the fortress is dark, wet and void of all life, even of rats, spiders and other critters that might inhabit an abandoned building. As such, the players will face no "cannon fodder" enemies in these halls.
Instead an immensely powerful demon haunts the place. Periodically it will appear as a fleshy gray mass of maws, eyes and limbs which advances towards the players in tight corridors and instantly devours them if they do not run away. It is immune to everything (damage, blocking, stun effects etc.) during these phases. However it cannot traverse doors for some reason, thus escaping the corridor and closing the door will make the demon disappear 1-2 seconds after the door is closed.
As the players progress through the mansion they need to find keys with symbols on them which fit a specific door in the fortress, backtracking their steps several times. They traverse the various parts of the mansion such as the dining halls, quarters, alchemy room, kitchen, storage rooms and library, finding keys and parts of the original owner's journal, telling about his exploits summoning demons. The entries get progressively dark and evil, boasting about the powerful demons he controls, until the two last entries dramatically change tone and speak about having summoned something beyond his control, and writing about how he is fleeing from this "aberration of pure horror" and is barely able to keep himself sane from the constant terror as he runs but is unable to escape. Other findings may include ancient texts about magic and enchanting, beastiary entries and books about dark magic arts. The original owner has scattered these texts semi-randomly around various rooms in the mansion.

The dungeon reaches its peak when the group finds the Summoning room where the dark mage had summoned the demons. A book detailing the summoning of a so-called Terror Demon and how it takes on the shape of one's greatest fear. One person is then picked randomly (you could roll a die for instance) to become the target of the aberration which appears in the room. The demon then takes the shape of the randomly picked person's greatest fear and causes the entire room to morph into a giant battle arena where they then take on the beast. While in shape and looks it is pure horror it is deceptively vulnerable in this state and can be killed without too much trouble. As soon as it is slain the group is returned to the Summoning room and the demon's corpse crashes through the floor, creating a hole to the entrance hall - using a rope or hover-spell allows for a shortcut here. The group may then loot the corpse for rewards and leave Nurnengard through the main door.

Rewards:-Various books and scrolls on subject of magic, mostly dark arts, as well as enchanting and beastiary entries
-Decorative armor and weapons from knight-statues scattered about the fortress (very weak armor)
-Miscellaneous items which serve no real purpose such as kitchen tools and cutlery, decorative animal skulls, brooms, burnt or ruined books etc.
-(from the demon corpse) demon skin which can be used to craft light magic-resistant armor
-(from the demon corpse) demon bones which can be used to craft heavy magic-resistant armor and daggers or shortswords that can pierce magic barriers to some extent.
-(from the demon corpse) weapons, armor and trinkets based on what the demon's form was during the bossfight.[/spoiler]

City in the Clouds (Level 8, 3-5 chars)
[spoiler]Sae'Nua, the City in the Clouds, is a city built upon a shard which floats very high above the Central Shard and is stationary. It is mostly independant and the people living there worship no god. It has tech levels similar to the Godless factions, and even has developed magic-powered wings that allow for flight between the island pieces. They are a very peaceful population though.
However, not all is fun and light up there: a group of cultists worshipping some avian deity have assaulted and occupied vast parts of the city with little resistance. If left unchecked, they could take over the entire city and acquire a strategically important point to launch assaults against the central shard from above. This cannot be allowed: they must be stopped.

Meant for: 3-5 people
Difficulty: Hard.

Gameplay: The players are teleported to a military airship from the Godless faction outside of the Sae'Nua shard which is overlooking the city. Because it is nearly impossible to travel between the city islands after the cultists have torn down most bridges, the Godless have replicated the wing tech to allow for long jumps between the islands, but aren't powerful enough to reach the higher levels, for which the adventurers would need original Sae'Nua wings. Their order of business is to get to one of the fortified locations where Sae'Nua citizens are, and obtain proper wings from them. After that the adventurers are able to fly to the upper levels and confront the cultists leaders in a final battle.

Sae'Nua is not only very dangerous because one wrong step or one misplaced jump can spell death by falling off the shard, but it is also filled with cultists in the maze-like lower levels, and powerful high priests in the upper levels where the Sae'Nua nobles reside. The cultists are powerful magic users and will stop at nothing to defeat the adventurers, happily throwing themselves at death to service their god. The high priests on the other hand use highly powerful spells and may even try to knock players off the island with wind spells or breaking off pieces of the ground they are standing on.

There are four bosses to be encountered:

First is the relatively easy Sparrow, a cultist group leader who fights with the assistance of five cultists and hovers above the battlefield while peppering the players with powerful weather-themed spells. He will periodically consume the life essence of his cultists to heal himself. He guards a massive bridge which the players must cross to get to the slums.

Second comes Owl, who oversees the battering rams that are trying to breach the fortified refugee camp where the adventurers will get their Sae'Nua wings. She periodically coats the battlefield in total darkness which requires the adventurers to use light sources to find and battle her, other than that she relies heavily on sneak attacks with her sharp talons to attack unsuspecting foes from behind. She may also periodically swallow a player whole, dealing periodic damage to them and requiring the other players to attack Owl's stomach to force her to regurgitate the player before they can be digested.

Third comes Condor. This boss fights by himself and darts around the battlefield extremely fast, being nearly unhittable most of the time. He will however periodically descend upon one player, slam them against the ground and viciously bite them, healing with each successful hit but also being a stationary target. It is also possible to prevent him from flying around freely by attacking his wings. Although this deals no direct damage it will ground him. Being a very high ranking priest, this boss is not to be taken lightly even on the ground though!

Last are Hawk and Crow - indeed, the cultist group is led by two individuals. They are encountered in the Halls of the King, where they have set up shop and are bringing in the other cultists through portals. Hawk is a white-feathered female who flies in circles over the battlefield and fires down various solar-themed attacks such as beams and blinding flashes, usually scorching the ground and leaving fires everywhere. Crow on the other hand is a black-feathered male who battles with a two-handed sword that is coated in a dark magic which freezes what it comes to contact with. Despite being polar opposites they work very well together, but this is also their downfall: the players can use mirrors such as the polished marble surfaces encountered everywhere in the throne room to reflect Hawk's solar attacks at Crow. When Crow is defeated, Hawk swoops down and coats herself in a mantle of fire, becoming harder to damage and scorching everyone near her. One player must then pick up Crow's black sword and use it to damage Hawk past her fire protection, ultimately defeating her.

At the defeat of Hawk and Crow, an ominous voice tells the two of them that they have failed "him" and tells the adventurers not to get overly confident - "he" will be back. The Sae'Nua King then appears with an escort and greatly thanks the adventurers for defeating the cultists and defending the city. The Godless forces are cleaning up the remains, but it was them who did most of the work. As such, the king awards them with the honorary title of "Sae'Nua Knight", gifts them with a pair of Sae'Nua wings that the adventurer can freely customize with an NPC in Sae'Nua, and complete access to the kingdom of Sae'Nua. (before that only the slums are accessible, wings may not be purchased).[/spoiler]