Dawn of Fantasy/Orcs

The Brutal Race of Orc
The orc tribes are renowned throughout the lands as brutal and war-seeking. With a weak economy, orcs have little opportunity for technological advancement. They make up for this with their brute strength as they overwhelm the enemy with their sheer ferocity. Orcs can also train Goblins, Wargs, and Ogres to join in their cause.

The orc player will smash his enemies with sheer numbers.

Possessing the game's strongest offensive units, orcs primarily use melee troops to rid their way through an opposing army. Though they have the weakest strongholds, they can construct additional palisade fortresses as they move across the land. Their economy is simple and primitive, focusing on hunting, livestock, and the spoils of war. Their tribal nature gives their Shamans access to magic that, while not on a par with the great elven magic, is still quite formidable.

The orcs have Labourers and Marauders as their villager units. These units serve as the foundation for not only the orc economy, but the military as well. You can task your huts to train either labourers or marauders, at which point battalions of these worker units will be in constant, automatic production at no cost to you. The marauders are fierce archer huntsmen capable of hunting wildlife; while the labourer units are capable of chopping wood, mining stone and gold and building buildings anywhere on the map in an open space – not restricted in building placement like the other two races.

Contrary to the Elves, the orcs are a primarily offensive race. Their worker units are automatically trained from their huts, at no charge to the player. These units can be tasked to select military buildings to be trained in the art of war as a higher-grade infantry or ranged unit, such as a Berserker, Impaler, or Slayer. As orc players can start up a strong offense with only a primitive economy, orc gameplay caters to early attackers, or Rushers, who can pillage an enemy camp before the enemy is able to build up a defending force. Later in game, the orc player's primitive economy will start to take its toll and the player will need to rely on attacking and looting nearby enemies or travel afar to seek out new resources.

The Realm of Gokkholm
Prot Nubhun, the wandering shaman of the orc campaign and a prime example of orc brutality. Possessing the game's strongest offensive units, orcs primarily use melee troops to rid their way through an opposing army. Though they have the weakest strongholds, they can construct additional palisade fortresses as they move across the land. Their economy is simple and primitive, focusing on hunting, livestock, and the spoils of war. Their tribal nature gives their Shamans access to magic that, while not on a par with the great elven magic, is still quite formidable.

The orcs have Labourers and Marauders as their villager units. These units serve as the foundation for not only the orc economy, but the military as well. You can task your huts to train either labourers or marauders, at which point battalions of these worker units will be in constant, automatic production at no cost to you. The marauders are fierce archer huntsmen capable of hunting wildlife; while the labourer units are capable of chopping wood, mining stone and gold and building buildings anywhere on the map in an open space – not restricted in building placement like the other two races.

Contrary to the Elves, the orcs are a primarily offensive race. Their worker units are automatically trained from their huts, at no charge to the player. These units can be tasked to select military buildings to be trained in the art of war as a higher-grade infantry or ranged unit, such as a Berserker, Impaler, or Slayer. As orc players can start up a strong offense with only a primitive economy, orc gameplay caters to early attackers, or Rushers, who can pillage an enemy camp before the enemy is able to build up a defending force. Later in game, the orc player's primitive economy will start to take its toll and the player will need to rely on attacking and looting nearby enemies or travel afar to seek out new resources.

The Realm of Gokkholm

For each race, players are given a choice of three radically-different regions in which they can build up their empire. For the orcs, these regions include the desert region of Brakental, the swamp region of Flattan Rol, and the forest region of Thikken Dal. These regions each offer their own advantages – whether it be in a naturally-defensible position, abundant in a certain resource, or ideal for training a certain type of unit. For the best match, compare each homeland region before setting off on your adventure to find the region that best suits your playing style.

The Desert Region of Brakental: In the far south of the Orcish Realm of Gokkhelm is a barren desert region called Brakental. According to legend, a disgraced orc warrior in the Older Times was exiled from Flattan Rol. But he was allowed to choose the uninhabited land in which he would spend the rest of his life. Out of defiance, he chose the most brutal wasteland known to his people: Brakental. As he arrived there, a thunderstorm was forming overhead. There was a flash of lightning. And where it struck the earth, his mate emerged from the smoking sand. It is from these two ferocious souls that the Orcs of Brakental trace their lineage.

Desert Orcs are a melee fighting race. Those who live here pride themselves on their distance from inferior races like elves and humans, with whom they have little or no contact. Any other hardy souls who likewise wish to express their scorn at the inferior races of Mythador are always welcome to carve a lordship for themselves from these blazing deserts.

Desert players have to rely on Slayers, Berserkers, Ogres, Goblins, and Wargs, with very little ranged unit support. Easy access to gold and cheaper research allows them to upgrades easily. However, they are poor with sieges, and very bad at defending strongholds. With lots of Ogres and Wargs, their best defense is a good offense. Their economy is based on breeding Wargs and ravaging areas of all resources.

Needless to say, there is very little forest in this desert region. However, there are a good number of gold mines and stone mines. There is plenty of open space for castle building, but with natural defenses and choke points are also plentiful. Hunting opportunities are limited, with very few deer.

The Swamp Region of Flattan Rol: According to Orcish Lore, an Orc is created every time lighting strikes the ground. This is how, in the Older Time, the first Orc ancestors were created here in Flattan Rol, and from them were descended the Orcish Race. To this day, they live by the Ethos of Warriors who are born from lightning and earth. Flattan Rol is still considered to be the original Orc Homeland, and the great fortress here is named Makkada, which means the Mother Womb.

Swamp Orcs are massive in size, and have ready access to mounts. However, due to their limited opportunities to learn combat in a wide variety of settings, they are often not the best warriors.

During the War of the Lost Kings, Flattan Rol provided vast quantities of troops that surged in waves across the Human Realm of Teria. As a result, the defeat of the Orcs in Rolling Plains left vast tracts of this region unpopulated, therefore there is now a great deal of open land now, ready to be settled by Orc Players.

This region is never short on food, and will provide a steady supply of gold and wood. Swamp Orcs are quite well balanced in all regards and can amass large numbers of cheaper, less upgraded units. But they also have the best Orcish mounted force, as well as having a horde of Wargs of great strength and great food value.

The Forest Region of Thikken Dal: In the Older Time, a small band of orcs pushed as far west from Makkada as they dared without being killed by the retched Humans and Dragons who dominate Western Mythador. There, in the west, they found an uninhabited forest; or at least, if it was inhabited, they soon corrected the situation. They dubbed it Thikken Dal and settled here, and thus were born the Forest Orcs. It is said that some of their descendants ventured even further west, into the Dragon Realm, and formed an unnatural alliance there. Those stories have never been confirmed.

Back in Thikken Dal, however, the Forest Orcs developed into great archers. Thus, the Thikken Dal player will rely on using a lot of ranged units and will have access to free tough Goblins. The Forest Orcs secretly studied the fortress building skills of the humans as well. They built a formidable city called Ral Nistro, and also became quite good at besieging strongholds. Consequently they are the best orcs for laying sieges, and are good with defence of their own strongholds as well. Although they perform poorly in open field combat.

Thikken Dal was never very densely populated to begin with, and during the War of the Lost Kings the Forest Orcs sent many divisions of soldiers to fight the Humans. As a result, wide tracts of land are now open for settlement.

The Homeland
Dawn of Fantasy's MMORTS, or Online Kingdom, mode gameplay revolves around a player's Homeland territory, which can be built in one of the nine regions (three per race) across the game world of Mythador. Players will develop their homeland from a single Great Hut building, a few labourers and marauders, and a hero unit to a massive empire complete with layers of heavy walls and keeps, a complex economy, and a number of armies and trade caravans wandering the map. To develop this city, players can gather resources, construct various buildings, recruit new units, and research powerful upgrades and new abilities. Even when a player is offline, their homeland will still be in development with the worker units still gathering resources and finishing constructing any buildings tasked shortly before logging off.

The Orcs of Gokkholm have a traditional RTS construction style. Their builder unit is the Labourer, which spawns automatically from their Great Hut building from time to time when the town is able to support a greater population. Labourers are able to construct Huts, Military Buildings (i.e.: War Hall, Armory, Pyre), and Economic Buildings (i.e.: Warg Pen) anywhere on the map for a cost – usually with Wood as the primary resource. As the MMORTS mode is meant to be played over a long period of time, construction is significantly slower – taking an average of one hour. To speed up construction, players may task more than one battalion of Labourers to construct a building. Players can also spend Influence points, rewarded for quest completions, to cut construction time by half. Alternatively, the construction will continue even when the player is signed out, meaning that construction can be completed overnight before the player’s next log-in.

Orc Walls are built a little differently as well, in that they are the result of an upgrade available at the Temple and do not require Labourers. Instead, players are given a number of options for the location and design of the walls. Players have two choices for walls: Palisade and Heavy Wood. Palisade walls are cheap, but easy to break down and do not support units or counter-siege mechanisms. Heavy Walls are more expensive, and will automatically build with ladders giving units access to the walls for defense. Heavy Walls take significantly more damage before breaking down, and can be upgraded with a variety of automated defenses, towers, and gatehouses. Players may opt to build a layer of palisade walls and then later, build heavy walls over them when they have sufficient resources. Walls will be built automatically in segments, but will still take considerable time. Each Influence point spent on wall construction will instantly complete four wall segments from scratch.

At your homeland, you will meet an Advisor unit, who will give you your first quests, which will ease the MMORTS learning curve in their introduction to many of the game's mechanics. These quests form the foundation of the MMORTS Campaign storyline and unlock various elements of the game, through which you will discover the large world of Dawn of Fantasy, with its myriad of characters, events, and subplots. While most of these quests engage the player in PvE gameplay throughout the twelve major NPC strongholds of Mythador, there are a couple PvP quests in which players must conquer similarly-matched players in a specified region. Completion of these quests typically results in additional resources or units.

If at any point your own homeland is threatened, you will be able to opt out of the battle by paying a tribute to your attacker. If you decline this payment and ultimately lose the battle at hand, your loss will not be devastating. Your homeland will recover but suffer a small loss of some units, resources, and buildings while the victor will receive a considerable amount of resources.

The Military
The Orcs are a primarily offensive race with a vast number of military units. The base worker units, the Labourer and the Marauder, can be trained at a military building such as the War Hut to evolve into a stronger unit. In addition, these worker units are the most independent in the game as the ranged Marauder hunter unit is fairly strong against enemy infantry and archers. The orc mount is the Warg, a fast wolf-beast unit capable of inflicting serious damage to enemies with a rider or without. Elite orc units include the Ogre, a large beast capable of fighting dozens of units at once with its massive crush damage, and the berserker, a very strong melee unit with some powerful special abilities and battle formations.

The Orc Campaign & The State of Gokkholm
''Something is rotten in the realm of Gokkholm...

Years ago, the Orc King was mysteriously abducted and delivered to the doorstep of the humans at Dagbor. The War Without Kings soon broke out, but as the humans prepared to return the Orc King to his people—he was murdered in cold blood. Rage erupted in the hearts of orcs, war surged across the land, and many died in battle during the months that followed. Finally, the Orders of the Wizards brokered a truce.

Now, in the uneasy calm following the War Without Kings, you are granted an estate and charged with rebuilding a small corner of the orcish realm. But Gokkholm is beset with internal strife that soon comes scratching at your door. The murdered king left 10 sons to fight for his throne and political turmoil is engulfing the realm. An old orc shaman, Prot Nubhun, arrives to mutter delirious incantations and warnings, soon followed by Krak Urnen—the most ruthless and resourceful of the 10 orc princes.

Krak Urnen explains that his father's old military commander has seized the throne and declared himself king. But soon after, the usurper himself is overturned by his own chief minister, a cold-blooded orc who launches a campaign of purges throughout the realm. You are sworn to defend Krak Urnen, the true prince. But in order to do that, your liege asks you to enter into the new tyrant's service and win his trust.

This is not exactly a pleasant task. Still, it goes well enough, until a group of humans suddenly conduct a violent raid in the very heart of the orcish kingdom, daring to invade Makkada, the sacred Mother Womb. This outrage must be avenged and you are charged with retaliating against these soft, untrustworthy human scum.

To make matters more complicated, one of the tyrant's exiled military chiefs enlists your aid as well. An odd offer has come from a faction of the elves, who wish to hire orc mercenaries to restore order to certain parts of Nhob'ru. But can elves bearing gifts ever really be trusted...?

Political intrigue builds upon political intrigue as it becomes clearer that the very survival of Gokkholm will hinge on the choices you make.

May the lightning in your blood guide you well, Grrr Mada! The Orc Nation is counting on you!''

Main MMORTS NPCs (Non-Player Characters)
Jentokk Karred – The strong, but eccentric, orc with whom the player battles to gain control of the homeland tribe. While not the wisest orc by any means, Jentokk is proud to be able to assist the player and looks after the tribe whenever the player is away. Jentokk gives the player his or her first quests and advises him/her throughout most of the campaign.

''“Welcome home! You are now Lord Mada, hah? Jentokk like! New title right for great master. Maybe Jentokk get new title, too, hah? Maybe call me, Chief of Stronghold? Maybe, Great Big Manager? Maybe not? Okay. Jentokk be quiet now. Jentok go back to work.”''

Krak Urnen – The proud and arrogant youngest son of the ten children of the last Orc King, who was mysteriously captured and killed in the War Without Kings. Krak seeks not only to rescue his rightful kingdom from the “Usurper King,” but to discover the truth behind his father’s disappearance as well. Krak is very strategic and plots to use the player to kill the Usurper King.

''“Ah mara! I am Krak Urnen, most ferocious son of the last true king. I have heard of your many deeds. Many orcs say you are the fierce mada of Brakental. I would like to make you my Prime Commander, urr? You like that? Hah? I hope you like it, you got no choice.”''

Prot Nubhun – A wandering shaman who advises the player with grandiose visions and refers to the player as the “chosen one.” Prot is a loyal ally of Krak Urnen, and his magic proves invaluable in protecting the young prince.

''“I see in mind eye. I see a drowning moon. I see a shore without lake. These are the truth. You see truth? No, you see sword and blood. Then listen something – this moment are all orcs fighting. The king is dead. The throne calls out like a wounded soldier.”''

Mok Massa – The wise shaman, friend of Krak Urnen, and former counselor of the old king’s court. After Krak and the player free Mok Massa from Tirranek’s troops, Mok returns to Makkada to resume his position in the royal council – something the Usurper King has no say in. Mok Massa owes Krak mighty favors for his rescue, and his royal position makes him privy to information regarding the king’s plans.

''“Messra ta. Welcome to Great City of Makkada. Come closer. Speak in low voice. You are Krak Urnen’s Prime Commander, urr? So you are also my friend -- messra ta. Listen. My position here in usurper king’s court is not solid. Others of the court work against me. The usurper king hatches many plots. I may need your strength. But you are not ready.”''

Burok Tatra (Tirranek) – The “Usurper King” of Gokkholm, former Chief Minister of the short-termed king Skav Otom. The fighting between the 10 sons and the false intermediary king, Skav Otom, created a vacuum of power, into which stepped the mighty orc warlord, Burok Tatra. He quickly grew powerful, tightening his grasp on the royal throne. He took for himself the title “Tirranek,” for even as strong as he is, he dare not call himself king yet. He is not of the royal blood, and his power remains insecure until the last of the former king’s ten sons has been killed. He knows many orcs object to his ascension and escapes many assassination plots, and is left feeling insecured and frightened, as he begins purging the realm of any orc he sees as a potential threat. Those closest to him, however, suspect that he is not acting of his own will. Could a being so powerful exist to deceive the great orc warlord?

''“Now. Kneel before Tirranek! Heed the words of Tirranek! ‘By the lightning that gave birth to orcs! By the blood-soaked ground beneath the feet of orcs! By the Lake of Fire that feeds the heart of orcs! You are now one with the fiery order, trusted dagger of the Tirranek, mighty among all orcs! You are now one with... the Brotherhood of Warlords!’”''

Rafas – The orc war captain of legend who has since been pushed aside by Tirranek and resigned to covertly dealing with the filthy elf nobles and their mysterious schemes. Rumours of Rafas’ actions soon make their way to Makkada, and Tirranek, in his paranoia, uses Rafas to manipulate the Elves to obtain an ancient elven artifact, the Lode Star, a magical item of lore capable of revealing the hearts of traitors.

''“Hara! Another brave warrior, come to take up the offer from Rafas, hah? Rendarg! We not meet before, but maybe you heard of Rafas. Once mighty war-captain, under old king. Tirranek, pah, has no use for Rafas. Rafas too noble to bend to Tirranek schemes. So Rafas flee, barely get out of Makkada alive. My power here, though, in Nokkrasol, is good. Growing stronger. Will build up Nokkrasol town into mighty stronghold, loyal to Rafas!”''

NPC Merchants
Mercenary Merchant - Each of the 4 major towns (Makkada, Nokkrasol, Pultak, and Ral Nistro) and many of the smaller towns have a Mercenary Merchant from whom players can hire powerful soldiers to join their cause. Mercenary Merchants have different rates, so be sure to ask around to find the best deal.

Goods/Livestock Merchant - Each of the 4 major towns and many of the smaller towns have a Goods and Livestock Merchant with whom players can trade resources and/or purchase livestock to bring back to their homeland. Traveling armies can only carry a limited amount of resources based on the number of units and their carrying capacity - efficient trade envoys should come well supplied with both resources and soldiers to defend those resources. Goods Merchants have different rates, so be sure to ask around to find the best deal.

Healer - Each of the 4 major towns and many of the smaller towns have a Healer from whom players seek healing services for a small fee. Healers are able to heal all troops in your army, and, while it is not the only way to heal troops, it is often well worth the price and the most convenient for militaristic players.

War Captain - Each of the 4 major towns and many of the smaller towns have a War Captain NPC that can train your units for a small fee. Through training, units will automatically increase in level, increasing their health and granting the player a skill point which they can use to further increase a stat of their choice. Units also level up through combat, but training allows players to easily customize their units or increase their army strength without having to fight creeps or go back to the homeland.