Help Document

Help Contents

Overview
Objective
The Setting
Beginning the Battle
Time Limit
Frag Limit
Tie Games
Winning the Game
DM Info Screen
Character Classes & Abilities
Other Important Instructions
Credits

Overview

Rival Kingdoms is an attempt to bring a certain level of strategy and realism into the 3D Shooter Genre. Instead of your typical frag-fest, Rival Kingdoms presents the players with a chance to use team strategies in both an offensive and defensive mode simultaneously. This multiple role that each team must take on, creates a feeling of depth and makes for an entertaining experience. Rival Kingdoms tries to bring intelligent planning into the multiplayer F.P.S., traditionally the realm of countless frag-a-thons. By integrating the roles of both defender and attacker, Rival Kingdoms is able to create an environment where every team member is critical and everyone's actions ultimately contribute to determine the outcome.

The Objective

Rival Kingdoms challenges players to work together as a team towards a single goal, to capture the other team's crown. There are multiple paths to victory which will be determined solely by your team's ingenuity and ability to work together as a single unit to obtain your objective. However, defending your own crown should be just as high a priority as laying siege to your enemies castle. This is where Rival Kingdoms differs from those that came before and allows Rival Kingdoms to offer a unique experience to the players.

The Games Setting

Rival Kingdoms is not limited to any one setting. Game Play can take place on one of 8 planned maps. Each map has a different "theme" to it. The objective is always the same. Capture your enemies crown and secure your team as the rulers of the realm. All maps are based on the same storyline. The basic story line for Rival Kingdoms is that over time a land once ruled by a fair and just king has been split, divided into two warring factions, each trying to ensure their chosen king is ruler of all the lands. After years of war it has come down to one final battle, which is where you, the players enter into the story. It is up to you, the players to determine the outcome of years of suffering caused by merciless war.

Beginning the Battle

The game begins in the "Start Room". The Start Room will be the same on almost every "Official" Rival Kingdoms map and many of the user made maps will have it as well. Once you join the game, you will find yourself in a room with three sets of double doors. Which door you pass through determines which team you will join. When you approach the doors they will open to allow you to walk through them which teleports you into your team's barracks or pre-game staging area. Inside the doors you will notice color-coded teleports. Gold is used for Team 1 and matches their skin color. The blue is used to join Team 2. The red teleport is the center pair of doors and will assign you to a random team based on the number of players on each of the two teams. If the game has not yet begun, you will find yourself in a room without any obvious exits. This room is used to plan your strategies before initiating the match and also as a "safe-haven" during the game. On one of the walls of your barracks you will find a large button that is used to start the game. DO NOT press this button until you are sure you are ready to start and all players in the start room have chosen sides. Once the buttons in both barracks have been pressed the barracks will open up into your castle or base allowing the game to begin. The buttons also reset the games clock to the preset time-limit.

The Time Limit

The default "Timelimit" is 60 minutes. This is the setting that we recommend server admins setup (using the rk.cfg will do this for you). It is our opinion that one hour is about the maximum amount of time needed for one team to successfully defeat the other team. If the Time limit runs out and both teams have failed to capture their enemies crown then the game will be ruled a "Tie Game".

The Frag Limit

The "Fraglimit" in Rival Kingdoms is set to "0". This means that the frags are counted for information purposes only. The Fraglimits will not affect the outcome of the game. We had to do this because Raven has coded the Frag limit in the .exe and we are forced to disable it as a means of deciding your teams fate. Perhaps in the future I will be able to convince Raven to change this in a "Forthcoming" release of HexenWorld. Then if we can make the frag limits the same for each team, we will change it from unlimited to 70 or so maximum frags on either team before that team is "Decimated in Battle".

Tie Games

A "Tie Game" is the result of the timelimit expiring before either team has managed to capture their Rival's Crown. When the game ends as a "Tie" the server will display a short intermission scene and then reload the same map. We decided that if one of the teams could not defeat the other on any given map, that it would be cool to have it setup so that you could replay that map again without a server admin's intervention. Hopefully after battling it out for an hour and not being victorious, you too will agree that your teams need to "lock horns once again" on the same battlefield.

Winning the Game

There is only one way to win, capture your enemies' crown. That is the only way to ensure you will have control of all the people in the realm. When a crown is captured, a message is displayed informing all players of the outcome. A brief intermission will play depending on the outcome and the map that the game was played upon. To the victors shall go the spoils, meanwhile the losers must ponder "What if" until the day comes when they shall have the opportunity to redeem their honor and restore their chosen Ruler unto his Throne.

DeathMatch Information Screen

Bringing up your DM info screen ("+showdm" which is bound to "Q" in the default config) will provide you with the total frags of each player as well as the player's name and ping. In front of the player's name is information on their playerclass, team, and the player's current level.

Character Classes & Abilities

Rival Kingdoms allows you to choose between 8 different playerclasses. Each class has it's own weapons and spells and some classes include special inherent abilities.

The Paladin
Weapons
Sword- Has a good range and in the hands of a paladin, can decapitate enemies with ease.
Axe- Isn’t quite as good for melee fighting as the sword, but the axe is the best weapon for breaking wood.
Shortbow– The paladin’s brute strength makes him able to fire his arrows a good distance.
Spells
Enchant Axe- The Paladin now has the ability to enchant his axe by praying to his god. The Enchanted axe blades spew forth from his axe to wreak havoc on all whom cross his path.
Special Abilities
Free Action– The paladin can move through water as if on land.
Divine Intervention– The paladin will occasionally be saved by his god when killed by a mortal enemy.
The Crusader
Weapons
Hammer– The crusader’s hammer is a nice all-purpose weapon.
Spells
Heal– Can be cast on himself or others. Heals 5 points of damage, but will not raise your health above your maximum health.
Enchant Hammer– Turns your hammer into a magically enchanted hammer you can throw a short distance and will magically return to you.
Mercurial Speed– Gives you or a target player the speed of Mercury.
Berzerker– Multiplies the strength of the crusader or target player times 4.
Cloak of Perseus– Turns crusader or target invisible except for a trail of magical footsteps.
Wrath of God– You must have a full load of mana to cast this spell. It will cause everyone in front of you to be struck down by lightning and kills you as well. Warning: This spell has been known to occasionally backfire.
Special Abilities
Revivification– Every time the crusader goes up a level, he gets full health and full mana.
Holy Strength– When he kills someone, sometimes can pick a sphere that gives him double damage.
Divine Intervention– The Crusader is occasionally saved by his god when killed by an enemy, similiar to the Paladin.
The Necromancer
Weapons
Sickle– A close-range weapon, which is the weakest melee weapon.
Spells
Magic Missiles– These are long-range homing manifestations of the Necromancer’s naughtiness
Wraith Verge- The Necromancer has the ability to summon long dead spirits to persue an enemy. These ghostly creatures show great hostility towards anyone that opposes their summoner, and take great enjoyment in killing their victims.
Polymorph– This handy spells turns it's targets into sheep.
Delayed Fireball– Launches a magical glyph that explodes into a huge expanding fireball.
Summon Imp– Summons an imp to do the Necromancer’s bidding. If the Necromancer dies, the imp dies too.
Become Beast– Morphs the Necromancer into a giant beast. He can step on people and catapults, break down doors, and can cause earthquakes when he jumps.
Raven Morph- Morphs the Necromancer into a small Raven, giving him the ability to fly around as he pleases. When in Raven form the necromancer is unable to pickup most items and is unable to cast any offensive spells until he morphs back into human form.
Special Abilities
Vampiric Drain– When he hits with the sickle, he can steal mana from the victim.
Soul Stealing– After killing someone, he sometimes can steal their soul to gain extra health.
The Assassin
Weapons
Dagger– A fast but weak weapon.
Crossbow– The assassin is an expert with the crossbow and can fire it faster than any other playerclass.
LongBow– The assassin’s crossbow is a long-range weapon that requires her to stand very still and aim carefully when shooting. It can fire flaming arrows that deal large amounts of damage to players.
Tripwire– The tripwires are used to lay traps in areas where you want to stop people from traveling through the area unimpeded.
Spells
Enchant Crossbow– The assassin has the ability to make her shortbow shoot multiple exploding arrows.
Special Abilities
Backstab– As part of the assassin's stealth and assassination skills, she can deliver a heinous blow with her dagger into the victim when facing away from her.
Hide in Shadows– The assassin has the natural ability to blend into the shadows and appear transparent in areas of darkness.
Spiderclimb– The assassin has the ability to cling onto vertical surfaces and scale them with the aid of special climbing boots. However, this is a slow process and she makes a fair amount of noise when doing so. She also cannot fire any weapons while climbing. If she gets hit when climbing, she tends to loose her grip and fall.
The Succubus
Weapons
Sword– The Succubus carries a sword she stole from a fallen enemy, although handy to have around, she is not very proficient with it.
Shortbow– The shortbow the Succubus carries is enhanced by her keen sight giving her good accuracy although she lacks the Paladins strength.
Grenades– Without a doubt this is a weapon to be weary of. These small grenades explode fiercely when thrown and can be used to take out most obstacles in her path including groups of enemies.
Spells
Blood Fire– A short-range projectile spell that fires multiple shots at the target.
Acid Rune– Fire a small shot of magical acid at her enemies burning them.
Repulsion–Places one disk of repulsion in her inventory to use to repel players and projectiles away from her.
Flame Shield–The Succubus becomes enveloped in a ball of fire that reflects projectiles and dampens blows caused by melee weapons.
Flight– This spell when cast allows the Succubus to fly freely.
Special Abilities
Demon Glide– Holding down the jump button while in mid air will cause her to open her wings and glide slowly to the ground.
Mana Absorption– Sometimes gains mana when she takes damage.
Fire Heal– This ability allows her to regenerate hit points when she is engulfed in flames.
The Dwarf
Weapons
Hammer– A sturdy weapon, perfect for breaking stone and crushing bones.
Axe– A better melee weapon than the hammer, the axe is also very useful for chopping wood. A fine example of Dwarven blacksmithing.
Detonation Glyphs– These small magical wonders can be thrown or placed anywhere. They explode fiercely after a short time, sending out shards of metal.
Spells
Summon Golem– The only spell the dwarven class knows. This spell was learned long ago from a wizard that the dwarfs took in after the realm split into two Kingdoms. As repayment for safety and food, He taught the dwarves this spell. It will call a towering golem to defend it's caster.
Special Abilities
InfraVision– The Dwarf can see the aura of heat around other people. This is evident when a player walks into the shadows, he glows red in the Dwarf’s view.
Regeneration– The dwarf has an excellent constitution and will constantly regenerate health up to 75% of his maximum, and only when he is not in a berzerker rage.
Berzerker Rage– When the Dwarf is low in health and is hit particularly hard, he may go into a fit of rage and become faster and stronger.
Gol'am the Troll
Weapons
Claws– Gol'ams claws are razor sharp and can inflict large amounts of damage to unwary enemies. There are also reports of people having severe side effects from the wounds inflicted by these claws
Spiked Ball and Chain– This is a well rounded melee weapon, suitable for slicing and pummeling an aggressor quickly to the point of death.
Hammer– Gol'am has a sturdy hammer stripped from a fallen foe. His shear brute strength makes his hammer deadly and extremely efficient at removing most obstacles he encounters
Spells
Heal– This spell turns a normal vial of water into a healing drink that can be carried until needed or given to allies.
Special Abilities
Free Action– The Troll, thanks to his great strength can move through water with great speed and hold more air in his massive lungs than any other class.
The Femme Warrior
Weapons
Vampiric Sword– The Femme's primary weapon is a very nasty looking sword that will make the hardiest foe think twice before engaging in a melee fight with her. It has curious side effect of giving it's wielder some of the health it takes from it's victims.
Flaming Axe– This weapon will serve the Femme Warrior well during melee combat as it has the opportunity to catch a targets armor on fire when it hits them
Crossbow– The Femme's Crossbow was built especially for her. It fires a single crossbow bolt like any other crossbow, but if you hold the trigger a second longer it can autoload a second or third bolt with which to dispatch your enemies from afar
Spells
Enchant Weapons– The femme has learned how to enchant her weapons which when cast has some rather beneficial effects upon her weapons.
Sword– Increases the damage her sword does and the gives her all of the health it takes from enemies, the one drawback is that if her health is full the sword will do no damages at all
Axe– Makes her axe spew forth a flame to light it's target on fire
Crossbow–Turns her normal crossbow bolts into shards of ice that may freeze their targets
Special Abilities
Femme has no special abilities–

Other Important Instructions
Impulse 34- will drop the Throne Room Key wherever you’re standing. Use this to hide the key in from the other team until you are ready to open their crown room.
Impulse 13- is the "Use" key. Using this impulse will open many doors as well as activating most things in Rival Kingdoms.
Impulse 251- will allow you to cycle through the available playerclasses, one at a time. Note: You must die or kill yourself before you will change to the class you selected!
Grappling Hook- The grappling hook can be found on some maps and gives you the ability to reach high places you could normally not reach without flight. Instructions for use are in the readme.txt.
Icon of the Defender- now acts as a device that, when aimed and fired immediately drops an attacking player’s inventory and teleports him or her into a prison cell.
The Cube of Force- acts as a tracking device that will lead you, roughly, to the location of the throne room key.
Suicide- can be done by typing "Kill" in the console, this only works in the startroom and in the barracks before the game has begun. Use this command to change change your class before the match.
Team Triggers- are team only triggers that can only be used by players on the team the trigger belongs to.
Changing you Config- If you want to customize your keyboard layout and change any of the default keys we bound for you, refer to readme.txt to get the needed info to remap the hook and playerclass keys

Credits

I wish to first take a chance to thank the following:
Raven Software for making Hexen2 and Hexenworld
Mike Gummelt for making Siege
Kray Zee for making the Femme Warrior
Phoebus for donating the Troll to our cause
Wulven for making some very Trollish sounds
Everyone that voiced their ideas
And those that participated in the closed testing
And Last but defiantly not least, the gang that helped me make Rival Kingdoms a reality:
Kor Skarn
Dark Ravager
Sin
Incubus
OutCast
Fish Bonze