Dark Ages is a MMORPG based on Celtic mythology, originally developed by Nexon and now operated by KRU Interactive.
The American version was developed by David Ethan Kennerly who based it somewhat on the works of horror writer H. P. Lovecraft.
For the first time, after a millennium of peace had existed, a man is found murdered, and exploration into the outside world begins.
Over 300 years go by until the knowledge is regained, and along with the four other elements (Fire, Earth, Water, Wind), a fifth is discovered: Darkness.
Led by Tenes, King of Ardmagh, the Anaman Pact is formed, granting each of the Lords a 1000-year lifespan and the unity of Temuair.
In the ensuing war, Danaan's chosen Paladin, Ainmeal, fights against Tenes in battle and wins, ending another dark threat.
With the end of this Shadows War, the first of the Aislings (Dreamers) are born, free from their old mundane life, and making a difference in the new Atavism Age.
A limited selection of gender-specific hairstyles is then chosen, eighteen styles for males and seventeen for females.
To become one of the common classes, players must enter a specific building in the starting town of Mileth.
The warrior class has a very limited selection of spells, mostly only to attract enemy monsters or assist the characters defense against attack.
The class also enjoys a wide variety of spells which cause status ailments of blindness, sleep, poison, frozen in place, or curses which reduce armor values.
The priest class also casts a limited selection of direct damage spells, which are based on the Light element.
Priest specific weapons are specialized staffs which reduce the waiting time for their spells to discharge.
Strong spells require lots of stats, nobody expects (or wants) wizards to deal damage in a group setting while leveling, and not pumping WIS will result in a vastly lower MP pool, plus the players can just pick up the spells they missed leveling up at 99.
Wizards may learn Dark element spells which cause direct damage in combat.
Wizard-specific weapons are staffs that predominantly lower the time needed for spells to discharge.
The primary stats are STR (Strength), CON (Constitution), DEX (Dexterity), INT (Intelligence), and WIS (Wisdom).
The secondary stats are MR (Magic Resistance), AC (Armor Class), HIT, and DMG (Damage).
Many players plan their character around using items to boost stats so they can learn skills with the fewest points spent.
The excess points can be spent in CON or WIS, allowing the character to enjoy a greatly improved HP or MP pool and regeneration while leveling.
Movement is accomplished by turning or moving with the arrow keys or by right-clicking tiles on the map to walk to.
Combat occurs in real-time, in the standard isometric view, usually in specific hunting grounds.
The benefit of quests are varied, with some granting experience points, AP, new items, or access to new zones.
One of the other unique features of Dark Ages created by David Ethan Kennerly is the political system.
Clout is a meta-currency stored on a character's legend, and is gained through other players "voting", which can be done once per 12 hours, or through winning a contest.
The players enter works of literature or art as a contest entry, to be judged by previous winners.
History entries are stories written as historical documents that relate to the storyline of the game and may influence the plots of content released by the developer.
Lore entries are compendiums of factual technical information relating to the game: item lists, monster statistics, maps, etc.
Examples include drawings or paintings of the imagined settings, characters, monsters, sculptures of game figures, webcomics or animation etc.
Players who create these works may choose to enter them after attaining education points from attending roleplayed classes hosted by previous contest winners.