Please visit us on our website at reignofdarkness.net

     The Reign Of Darkness Kickstarter campaign is somewhat unique in the video game crowdfunding world, as we aren’t asking players to take the risk of financing a game from scratch without any content.  Reign already provides an early-access version that backers can play for themselves.  This will allow supporters to actively test, improve, and contribute to the product along with us – and share in our success as we grow.  Because Reign offers a playable product, backers will be able to tell where and how their money is being used to improve the game.  Money from our Kickstarter campaign will go directly towards accelerating the development and support of the game.  Additionally, we’d like to thank all of our current players for their continued support, believing in us, and funding independently developed games.

While we do developer live streams often, throughout the course of the Kickstarter we will be doing even more.  Check us out on Youtube and Twitch at:

https://www.youtube.com/user/tjsmith0079 

 https://www.twitch.com/ssNightShadow 

Feel free to participate with the Development by joining our discord server and have your suggestions heard.

Now, let us tell you about Reign Of Darkness!

 Reign of Darkness is a Massive Multiplayer Online Role-Playing Game (MMORPG).  It is a third person, PC based Apocalyptic set in the Medieval Period which references historical events interpreted with artistic license.  Reign draws inspiration from many of its predecessors in the MMORPG genre while creating its own niche conceptually and mechanically.

     The game also takes influence from tabletop RPG games of the past, where every battle is a roll of the dice.  Reign gives players a sense of adventure, propelled by role-playing, action, and strategy.  We are striving to give players a nostalgic and immersive MMO experience, which honors the gameplay and style of its forerunners.  Reign wants to provide captivating game-play while sacrificing as little graphic fidelity as possible.

     We are telling a story that has meaning and encourages discovery while leaving enough room for players to create their own adventure.  Reign has multiple classes and will feature multiple races, hybrid character specialization, and advanced character progression.  It is your choice how you’ll battle your way through both our instanced and public dungeons.

     While there are currently hours of playable content and significant interaction, we want to emphasize that the game is in early access – and we need the support of our backers and player-base to take our game to the next level.

The most important part of Reign of Darkness is the players and we want your help to make this game what we know it can be.  So please, come join the community at our public Discord, talk with current players, and visit our game on Steam.

https://discord.gg/RXKfHph

https://store.steampowered.com/app/501210/Reign_of_Darkness/ 

After playing many MMO’s through the years, we thought it seemed like modern games in the genre had gotten stale and lost many of the things that made them exciting.  So, nearly a decade ago, Reign was born as the passion project of a single developer.  After years of independent, solo development, Reign of Darkness was released in early access through Steam in Nov. 2019!  This was a big milestone for Unorthodox Studios.  Since then, after thousands of copies sold, positive engagement with the community, and a growing player-base, Reign needs more development and support to grow.  To give our players what they deserve, we want to make this the best MMO on the market.  We are excited about what the future holds! 

Together our team has worked on many projects and has over 30 years of experience.  Working on apps, online & offline games, company-specific tools, and many other creations.  Specifically, the team has worked with Procedural Worlds, Vanguard Emulator, and many others.

     In 1095 A.D. the Pope demanded the Crusades, Man Slaughtered one another in the name of religion.  As the Crusaders butchered peasants they began enjoying it.  As a thought is indeed a form of energy, a large amount of negative energy was created.  This energy had nowhere to go so it pooled.

       By 1348 A.D. there was such an abundance of energy that it collapsed in on itself under its own weight.  A sort of fusion between life and negative energy was formed.  Being that it originated from conscious thought it was naturally self-aware.  Through his own actions mankind created the bane of his own existence, he had created Satan. 

 Satan is driven to destroy life, after-all it is part of his essence.  So he began tearing through the veil that separates the world of the living, from the world of the dead, where Satan resides.  He quickly found that since he had formed on a different plane of matter and reality than that of the living, he could not directly exist in this world. He would go on to make armies of minions. 

           The conscious negative energy that man generated could now for the first time actually be seen slowly flowing from the tears in the veil.  It appears as a dark fog, heavy, and lays low to the ground. It began engulfing city after city.  Man soon found that this darkness carried with it pestilence and disease.  Animals would become rabid and attack without provocation, men would be driven insane or die slowly from within until a mindless zombiehusk of a corpse is all that remains.  Villagers could see the darkness on the horizon before it would consume their village.  Some would move to higher elevations to avoid being trapped in darkness.  This darkness became known as “The Black Plague“. It was Satan’s most powerful weapon.

          Being that the darkness is heavy, it sinks into the cracks of the earth. So the deeper one explores the viler the beasts encountered.  Caverns, tunnels, and catacombs are like breeding grounds.  The plague in concentration would cause any living creature to die or mutate into something worse. 

         Many strange creatures crawled out of the shadows.  Some of them were known as Medusa, Minotaurs, Lycans, Vampires, Sirens, Chimeras, and vile serpents, Dragons, and many other horrific beasts.

  The only way to combat such evil,… is to embrace it.  By extracting the volatile essence of the darkness after it has absorbed into physical matter, such as animal bones and skin, it could then be altered using Alchemy and reapplied to virtually anything, imbuing it with great power.

The battle for life or death is in your hands: what side will you choose?

“Darkness consumes the land. What appears as fog covered turns into a plague-infested land. Higher elevation is the last line of defense for survival. Choose your side while you take an adventure, will you save what is known as holy, or help turn the world into chaos.”

• Reign of Darkness is an MMORPG (Massively Multiplayer Online Roleplaying Game) set in the Medieval Period during the black plague.  The year is 1348 and historical events are interpreted with a twisted narrative about a world that is off balance with what might be seen as good and evil.
• Influence is taken from roll of the dice, tabletop games; giving old school MMOs a fresh/new interpretation.
•  Emerging into the world you will encounter; Dungeons – both instanced and open world, boss fights, quests, PVP, and lore that will tell a story that becomes more clear as you spend time in-game.

“Each battle is unique and challenges you to learn the enemy, build your character, and acquire new skills to determine if you are a worthy opponent.”

•  Boss battles.  Boss battles will be both open world and instanced.  You will face many bosses.  Each is unique in abilities, companions, weapons, and skills.  Taking out your opponent quickly is vital in some situations, but at times slow and steady can also win the fight.  Each boss will be challenging in their own right, so learning from them or taking a party will prove to be useful if you want to survive!
•  World Events. World events will challenge players or a party to claim victory for their faction!  Each one is designed to be different from the last, while some are epic boss fights, others may include helping your faction transport goods to a nearby camp and engage enemies along the way.  Each event will provide new situations and challenges, providing a sense of adventure.
•  Solo Play. If you prefer a ‘lone-wolf’  style then there isn’t a problem.  There are multiple fights of 1v1 or 1v mob.
•  Enemies. There are hundreds of enemies in the game and each of them has their own strengths and weaknesses.  If you pay attention and learn from them – you might survive the darkness after all!

 “The world is full of possibilities, what path will you take?”

•  Classes.  There are currently 8 playable classes to choose from.  Each class has multiple skills. Classes have both passive abilities and active attacks, as well as buffs and de-buffs.  You will have the ability to choose up to 3 classes at a time, mixing and matching to get the most out of your build.  You will have the ability to change classes and skills on the go, so you are free to find a build that best suits your play-style.  
•  Stats.  Your character has attributes in the game as well as specialization (physical, healing, magic).  The armor you wear, the weapons you equip, and the points you spend will determine your build, so there are endless character possibilities.
•  Gear.  There are multiple sets of armor and weaponry that are aesthetically pleasing as well as deadly.  There are dual-wield weapons, sword and shield, bow & arrow, axes, and more.  There are lots of options to suit any playstyle.  Acquire complete armor sets to earn build bonus points.  Players can obtain inventory bags to carry additional items; bank tabs can be used to increase storage. 
•   Mounts.  Players can acquire mounts to decrease travel times, show off to their friends, and ride into battle against other factions.  There are dragons, horses, and exotic creature mounts that will make anyone traveling by foot envious.
•  Roleplay.  Start off as a human and choose to roleplay as a werewolf, vampire, or necrotic form; additional options will be added in the future.

“Beyond darkness is light, but without light, there is no darkness.”

While some of the things listed here have already been implemented in some form, we want to expand on them.  Additional mechanics are being added to the game for overall playability and to give players more meaningful moments in-game.  With your help, we can achieve all of these things in a more effective and timely manner; as well as provide additional options & features.

•   Guilds
   
•   Crafting – Cooking, Blacksmithing, Woodworking, etc.
   
•   Skills
   
•   More unique classes
   
•   Expanding the new zone (Fallen Ruins)
   
•   More quests and NPCs
   
•  Mounts (more than currently in the game)
   
•   Pets (both for visuals and combat)
   
•   Followers. (on the go bank system, crafting follower to get materials, etc)
   
•   In-Game mailing system
   
•   PVP expanded on
   
•   Factions are more important – Armor that is unique to your faction, mounts reflect faction, companions reflect faction, etc.
   
•   World Events- Expand more than what currently is there
   
•   Player Housing
   
•  Open World Dungeons- Adding more than what is currently there
   
•   Seasonal Events
   
•   Repeatable Quests
   
•   Daily Rewards
   
•   Monthly Rewards
   
•   Races- Armor, weapons, etc.
   
•   Customized Characters
   
•   Music and sound effects
   
•   Graphics Overhaul of the game!
   

We are working hard to deliver the best experience to our players and add these things in the near future, but the truth of the matter is we need a bigger team to expand the game and take it to the next level.  We take the input of our players very seriously and try to make sure any changes are welcomed by the community.  With your pledge, community support, and developmental transparency – the possibilities are endless!

If we exceed our target amount any extra funding we receive will go towards accomplishing our stretch goals.