Strategy Guide for MotG Version 01.53

Introduction


If you're reading this to decide whether you want to play Magic of the Gods, you might want to skip the "Getting Started" section and come back to it later. Start with "Creating a Character" or "Gameplay" and be sure to read "Career Paths". That section is about how to have careers like Mage, Assassin, Warlord, Pirate, etc. in the game, not the mundane careers you may be contemplating in the real world.

Once you have decided to play the game, then you should read what it says in "Getting Started" because there are some things that are different from other games.

This strategy guide was written for version 01.53 of Magic of the Gods. This will change in later versions and the information in this guide will become increasingly out of date. If you have a much more advanced version of the software, look for a more recently updated strategy guide.


Getting Started


The game is held in scheduled sessions. If you skip the instructions, download the software and then you get a message saying "invalid host" followed by a string of numbers, this is probably because there is no session going on and the game server is offline.

The free software you need to copy onto your computer to run Magic of the Gods is usually available at the download link on the right side of the main web page at www.magicofthegods.com where it says "Download Link".

The client software is a zip file. It is about 160 megabytes zipped and will use between 300 MB and 400 MB of space on your hard drive when unzipped. It should only take a few minutes to download if you have a broadband connection.

The game is currently free, but that will probably not always be true.

After you download the software, the "Getting Started" section of the website will tell you how to unzip and run the software and set up a free account. Here's a link to it:

http://magicofthegods.blogspot.com/2008/10/getting-started.html

This same information on how to get started is available in a file that comes with the game software called "README" or "README.TXT".

You can only play the game when the game server is online. It is not online 24/7. At the time I'm writing this, the game sessions are on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 3:30 pm to 5:30 pm US Pacific Time. But check the announcement on the top right of the main web page at www.magicofthegods.com. If you don't know what that is in your time zone, check here:

http://www.onlinegamemaker.proboards82.com/index.cgi?board=mogserverstatus&action=display&thread=4

When you get into the actual game, click on the question mark to read the help file.

If you need help, post on the forums. Other players or staff will probably respond quickly with help. The address of the forums is:
http://www.onlinegamemaker.proboards82.com



Creating a Character


When you are creating a character, there are some key points to note:

1) Character Classes.

There are no formal character classes. When you are creating a new character you will see there is an option to choose a character class and there are only two choices: fighter and mage. This is left over from an earlier version of the game. No matter which of these you choose, it has NO EFFECT on what you can do. The only thing it still affects is to choose whether your character will wear pants or robes/dresses.

2) Race/Species.

There are usually more "races" on the list of characters you can choose than you are actually allowed to play. The Getting Started section of the website or the Readme.txt file should tell you which ones are allowed. At the time I'm writing this, only four are allowed. These are: Humans, Elves, Dwarves and Gnomes. The other races are there so that the game admins can control creatures of different species. But here's a secret the instructions don't tell you. If you ask the gods for permission and get it, you CAN play as a different species such as a wolf, ogre or even a dragon. To ask the gods for permission, you should start with a more normal character and then ask the gods in the game. This is most typically done by praying in a temple. There is usually no immediate answer, but you may get an answer later. You can also just ask the game admins on the forums at www.onlinegamemaker.proboards82.com.

If you are going to play as a Human, Elf, Dwarf or Gnome, here are some things you should know. First, Dwarves are the dominant species in the known world. At the time I'm writing this, ALL the towns and settlements are run by dwarves and inhabited mostly by dwarves except for a village of gnomes who got kicked out of Stondar City. Another thing to know is that new dwarf characters start in Stondar City where they are presumed to have been born and raised. Gnomes start nearby in the gnome village called Orveka. Humans and elves are different because they were apparently wiped out by the "Great Cataclysm" and only recently re-created by the gods. For that reason, all human and elf characters start in the House of Amunra at the Temple of Kraylus where they are created out of thin air by magic. The dwarves who have so much power in the known world are sometimes more suspicious of non-dwarf characters than they would be of other dwarves. Dwarves in Stondar City are particularly hostile towards gnomes. Because there are so many dwarves and they basically run the known world, there is more armor and more weapons that are appropriate sizes for them than for other races. Elves especially have a shortage of weapons and armor that they can use. That can be changed. Players who are master craftsmen can create new items custom-made for humans and elves, but the dwarves start out with more. For this reason, there is probably an advantage to playing as a dwarf at this point. Also, dwarves are exempt from the toll that is collected from people who enter the gates of Stondar City.

3) Attributes.

You start out with various attributes and you get to add a total of 10 extra points to one or more attributes of your choice. Health and mana cannot be modified. Putting points into the "magic" attribute currently does you no good, but that will probably matter later. There used to be other attributes that didn't matter, but now they're not visible when you're designing your character. The remaining attributes do matter and are hard to permanently change any way other than using your 10 extra points at the beginning of the game.

Speed is the most important because you will need to move around a lot and how long that takes is determined by the speed attribute. The other three attributes only matter for combat which is a lot less common than in other games. Toughness makes you harder to kill. Strength helps you do more damage when attacking. Dexterity has a much bigger impact on combat than the others. (But the combat system is going to be changed.) Put at least 5 points into speed. I'd put all 10 points in to speed, but if you have any points that you don't put into speed, you should put them all into dexterity or maybe one or two in toughness. Whatever you do, USE ALL 10 POINTS. Any points you don't use when creating the character are lost forever.

4) Appearance. (Gender, Hair, Face, Beard, Clothes)

None of these factors affects the game play unless other players treat you differently because of it. Gnomes seem to have more choices than others on this kind of thing. There will be more options for all kinds of characters soon. One of the clothing options for dwarves looks like chain mail, but it doesn't actually give you any armor bonus. Also, there are no options for hair or beards for dwarves. They are all bald and beardless. Even the females are bald. That's not a bug. It is the custom of the dwarves in this world in this time (the First Age) to be bald and beardless.

5) Name.

It is important to create an appropriate name, because the admins will kick your character out of the game for having a name they consider inappropriate. That doesn't just mean obscene names are banned. They are, but that's not all. Do NOT use a name that includes numbers, dollar signs or anything like that. Characters named "$hadow007" or "PwnsUN00b" will be thrown out of the game.

Do not use a name that refers to famous historical figures or well known characters from popular fiction. Don't name your character after figures from real world religions either. For example, do NOT name your character Hitler, Sauron or Satan or anything like that. Don't name your character George Washington, Bilbo Baggins or Buddha either. If you do, your character will be thrown out of the game.

6) Chatspeak, Gangsta talk, etc.

First, don't ever call anyone a "Noob", even if they are. That and most other chatspeak, gamespeak or other out-of-character talk will get you thrown out of the game. You might get away with saying BRB or something. It is not necessary to use excessively archaic wording. You don't have to talk like a Shakespeare character, but you can if you want to. Don't talk like a "gansta" or use lots of modern slang or computer technical terms. If, while playing, you do use modern slang, refer to the fact that it is a computer game, or make out of character comments and other characters claim they don't understand what you are talking about, they are probably just being in character. Don't explain it to them. They probably really do understand already. Saying they don't understand such things is their way of reminding you that you are being out of character without saying "stop saying out of character stuff" which would be out of character for them. Don't explain. Don't apologize. Just stop saying out of character stuff in the game. Out of character communications should be posted on the forum, not said by your character in the game. The forum is at www.onlinegamemaker.proboards82.com.



Gameplay

Once you get into the game, the next question is what should you do. That depends on what sort of goals and interests you have. But there are a few basics that will benefit most new players. First, there is a "compass" type thing with numbers near the bottom left of the screen. It shows your current heading in degress, as in 360 degrees in a circle. The thing is screwy though because 0 degrees is normally north, but on the game compass, 0 degrees is south.

All players start on Stondar Island, but not at the same place on Stondar Island. Dwarves and gnomes start in or near Stondar City which is at the southern end of the island. Humans and elves are magically created by the gods at the House of Amunra in the temple complex of the Temple of Kraylus. The Temple of Kraylus is located on the north side of Stondar Island. If you start at the temple, the first thing you should consider doing besides looking at the view is checking to see if any priests are around. There are tangible benefits to joining a religion in the game and if you have started at the temple, you are already at the world headquarters of the largest religion in the game. It is called the Fellowship of Kraylus. If there are priests there, you can offer to join the fellowship.

If you would rather join a different religion, read the wiki to see what they are because it changes.
The wiki is at:

http://magicofthegods.pbwiki.com


You can also start your own religion. Just make up a name for it, come up with some ideas for what it believes in and start telling people about it. It needs to be in character. Any real-world religion is out of character.

You can start your own guild the same way. You can also add information about your religion, guild or other organization to the wiki. If you aren't already allowed to edit the wiki, just ask the admins on the forum to add you to the list of people who can edit it.

Unless you really want to be part of the religious activity of the Fellowship of Kraylus, there is not much reason to hang around the temple. However, you should be aware that if you stand inside the main temple (the one with the enormous statue and marble columns) your prayers are more likely to be heard by Kraylus. Be careful what you pray for, you might get it. One person prayed to be sent "somewhere else" and was instantly teleported to a distant island with no means of transportation to anywhere else. It's probably best to mention in your prayer that you have joined the Fellowship of Kraylus (if that's true). You can do this even without a priest present to acknowledge your membership.

Leaving the temple complex is not all that easy since it is surrounded by mountains and ocean on all sides. The best way out is to head south over the mountains and keep going south through to the forest and continue south until you see a town surrounded by walls and towers in the distance. Be on guard during this trip. Stondar Island is not normally inhabited by any monsters or dangerous animals, but Ogre Raiders sometimes come from other islands and are more likely to be seen in the northern parts of the island. Other players can also be dangerous if they have criminal inclinations. So far there is virtually no crime, but new players are coming in all the time and PvP (player versus player) combat is enabled everywhere. You might be unable to attack someone because they are from the same "faction" you are, (if so, that's a bug.) but you are not prevented by the mere fact that they are a player.

Attacking is done by either double clicking on someone or by clicking once to highlight them and then hitting the left control button on your keyboard. Since you also need to highlight NPCs (then hit "T" on the keyboard) to talk to them, make sure you don't double click or you'll attack them by accident.

When you reach Stondar City you may see armed dwarves guarding the inland gate. The Port Town Militia (now part of the Army of Stondar) started posting guards there after the second ogre raid on Stondar City. They also usually guard the harbour gate. Talk to them. The help file will explain how. (Right click on them to highlight them. Then Press "T".) They may tell you it's okay to go in, especially if you are a dwarf. If you are not a dwarf, they are likely to prevent you from entering, even if you are a gnome who was born and raised in that city. It might occur to you that this is racial discrimination of the worst sort. Yes, it is. Did anyone say Prince Noreg of Stondar was a good guy?

There are several things of interest in Stondar City:

* It might be a good place to find other players. Dwarves can still enter the city. Others may be found hanging around the harbor or near the back gate or in the gnome town of Orveka northwest of Stondar City. There is talk of a tavern opening in one of the buildings just outside the Inland Gate that would be accessible to everyone because it's outside the gate, but that's not online yet in version 01.53.
* It is a good place to find interesting admin-controlled characters such as Klondeg the builder who builds houses. Another interesting one is Noreg son of Thoreg, also known as Prince Noreg of Stondar. He rules the place. These characters sometimes come out of the city as well.
* Thoreg's Magic Shop near the Harbor Gate. He sells magic. He also sells weapons, food and beer. More importantly, he will buy just about anything if you select the "trade" option when talking to him.
* Talk to the "soulless" (NPCs) to pick up the latest news and happenings.
* The ship "Golden Link" in the harbor is a handy means of transportation to other islands. At this point it's free and will take you automatically to Worfin Island and back. (Step on the boat at the end of the dock to return to the ship.) If Tronor is around, he can arrange for the ship to take you just about anywhere including Sheep Island and Azmar Island. With his help, you can also go exploring for new lands. You can get to the ship without entering the city.

As a new player, the main thing you can do in Stondar City or any town, is to talk to the locals and find out what is going on. If you have talked to them before, but not recently, it's good to talk to them again. Sometimes they will have different things to say. In fact, that's a key point in the game. Talk to people. Talk to Soulless NPCs. Talk to admin controlled characters. Talk to other players. There are always things going on and that is one of the best ways to find out about some of it and perhaps get involved.

Almost any kind of character needs money. Don't try to get money by hunting monsters. There is no known creature out there that drops money when killed. You can get meat and hides from some animals and then sell them for money, but that's dangerous. Don't even hunt wolves unless you are with a large group. They are too dangerous for new players.

The easiest way to make money as a new character is to learn the art of spearfishing, catch some fish and sell them for money. You need three things to do this. One is a good fishing spot. Another is someone to teach you how to spearfish. And lastly you need a spear. Take the ship Golden Link from Stondar City to Worfin Village on Worfin Island. Find a dwarf named Farin there. He is usually wading around in the water spearfishing. He will teach you for free how to spearfish. He won't tell you where to find fish, but the place he is fishing is of course a good spot. It's not the best spot anymore because everyone fishes there, depleting the number of fish available. Now all you need is a spear. There is no simple solution to this. Your best bet is to make friends with another player who already has a spear and borrow it long enough to catch a few fish.

You will need about 13 fish to move to the next step. More is better. You only need three if you're a dwarf, the others are to pay the gate tax and dwarves are exempt. The exact amount depends on prices and that changes. You can return the borrowed spear now. Go to the boat at the end of the dock in Worfin Village. That gets you back on the ship so you can return to Stondar Island. While you are there, it would be a good idea to go to the Harbor Gate and talk to the guards and go up to the gate. One or both of these should allow you to find out if the gate tax is still in effect and how much you would have to pay to enter Stondar City. If you are a dwarf, you can probably enter for free, but you still need to cook the fish and the place for that is gnome town.

Go to Orveka, the gnome town northwest of Stondar City. A gnome there named Asha should be willing to teach you how to cook and will tell you that you can use the campfire there to cook on.

Click on the book icon on your toolbar to see if you have the cooking skill and click on it to activate it. You also might want to drag it to your toolbar at the bottom of your screen. I think you use the right mouse button to drag it. Then you can click the icon on the toolbar instead of needing to click on the book icon first.

Anyway, cook all the fish you have. Then talk to the gnomes and sell enough fish to get 10 copper pieces. Grivenek will probably buy your fish. DO NOT sell him your other fish without checking the prices in Stondar City. Thoreg in Stondar City usually will pay much more.

Go back to Stondar City. The Inland Gate is the closest one at this point. Pay the tax to enter the town. Find Thoreg whose shop is near the Harbor Gate. Talk to him and tell him you want to trade. When a trade window opens, trade your remaining fish for a spear. Then you can go back to Worfin Island and fish some more, then cook them in Orveka and sell them in Stondar City for more money. You can also sell uncooked fish to Thoreg, but for less money. Last reported prices were Grivenek buying cooked fish for 1 cp. Thoreg buying uncooked fish for 2 cp and cooked for 4 or 5 cp each. Thoreg was selling spears for 5 cp.

With all this info, you should be able to get a weapon, a source of food and a source of income. If you don't want to bother with cooking, you can just sell raw fish to Thoreg and buy cooked food from him, but it's expensive. If things have changed and you can't get into Stondar City to trade with Thoreg, you might be able to find a dwarf who will go in and do your business for you. Or, you might find some other merchant. The gnome wizard Grivenek used to run a shop in Stondar City and he's now in Orveka. He may or may not be back in business yet. You might find other gnomes that do trade, especially a player character named Dinek. He spends a lot of time on Worfin Island.


Healing

If you get wounded, there are two main options to get healed. One is to eat and rest. Well, you don't actually have to rest, just don't do more combat. With food and the passage of time, your wounds will heal. This is a much slower process than most games, but still far faster than how long it takes for wounds to heal in the real world. Mana also returns by the same process. Some foods help you heal faster than others. Also, some will help you restore mana faster than others.

Magical healing spells can heal you much faster, but they are not always available. You can seek out a wizard or healer and see if they will help you. The clerics of the Fellowship of Kraylus are known for their healing abilities and generally do not charge money for doing this. You can also acquire healing spells yourself. Thoreg the dwarf in Stondar City sells them.


Mounts

There are mounts in the game. There is no level restriction on having them since there are no levels. If you can obtain one by purchase, theft or otherwise, you get a mount. The main mounts are horses, but they are not the only possible mounts.

To mount a horse or other rideable mount, just click on it. To get off, just use the mouse to change your point of view. Click the right mouse button, hold it down and move the mouse. This will change your point of view any time, but if you are on a horse, when you release the mouse button, you will dismount.

When on the horse, you can move with the W, A, S, D keys or by clicking where you want to go with the mouse. Double clicking can make the horse gallop.


Bank

There is no bank in version 01.53 that is actually called a bank. However, Thoreg in Stondar City can serve a similar function. Thoreg doesn't directly trade using money. When you buy things from him, you can offer coins in payment and he is accepting them in trade, but he is checking each coin to make sure it is genuine and giving you store credit which is then used for the actual purchase. When he offers to buy things from you, he offers store credits, not cash. He has cash in his inventory and if you click on copper, silver or gold coins, he will give them to you if the items you offer in trade plus any store credit you have is equal or greater than the value of the coins you request.

This is mostly just annoying, especially if you don't realize he paid you in store credit and then try to give someone money and realize that you don't have any. You just have store credit which you have no way to transfer because it only exists in Thoreg's records back in Stondar City. This was a crisis when Prince Noreg closed off access to Stondar City to non-dwarves. Now you can pay a tax and get in even if you're not a dwarf, but for a while there, non-dwarves who had store credit had no way to use it and it was essentially worthless to them. They were relieved when Noreg replaced the ban on non-dwarves with a discriminatory tax to enter the city.

Anyway, Thoreg's store credits are mostly annoying and have sometimes been a real problem for people, but he's a close relative of Prince Noreg so he gets away with a lot. On the other hand, if you want to store money in a bank where it won't be lost if something happens to you, you could give your coins to Thoreg in exchange for store credit. Since you can't transfer store credit, nobody can rob you of it (except possibly Thoreg). Also, if you die, all your items are left behind in the land of the living while you go to the underworld. Usually the items are all looted by whoever finds them unless your friends are there to pick them up. Since store credits are not physical objects, you can't drop them. They are notes in Thoreg's records in Stondar City and they remain there no matter what happens to you.

You might not ever get back from the land of the dead to use the store credits, but if you ever did, the store credits would still be there and you could easily get Thoreg to give you an equal value in coins or any trade goods that he sells, including food, weapons and magic spells.

Because of this, Thoreg's shop can be used as a bank. He won't store items for you though.


Magic

The best way to start off getting magic is to buy a few basic spells from Thoreg. More advanced magic is best learned by finding a wizard or a cleric who knows some and ask them to teach you.

If you want to do your own magical research and create your own magic spells, read up on the magical spell scripting language in the wiki at www.magicofthegods.pbwiki.com. You can write scripts in that language and send them to the admins and if the gods are willing to bless the spell, you will have created a whole new spell. If you learn how to use "blended magic" (3-D graphics created using the free Blender modeling software) you can create all sorts of things such as new kinds of magic items, creatures, even playable races. None of this is easy for the novice, but if you already are experienced in programming or writing scripts or 3-D modeling, you could do a lot. Use the forums to talk to more experienced players or admins about it.

If you don't have experience in this sort of thing and don't want to learn, then find a more experienced magic user and learn to use magic that has already been created.


Crafting

The biggest weakness in the game right now is crafting. A blacksmithing skill has been created, but isn't operational yet. It can be added to version 01.53 without an upgrade and may be added before the next version comes out.

When it does come out, it will probably be fairly basic at first and more will be added later.

On the other hand, crafters can create new crafts and items using the same scripting language and/or 3-D modeling software as magic users use. A lot of graphics is already available, especially for craft items. Someone just needs to coordinate with the admins on what graphics are available and write a script. If players don't do it, the admins will at some point.

Use the forums to talk to more experienced players or admins about it if you are interested.


Housing

Players cannot yet directly build houses, but they can hire admin-controlled characters such as Klondeg the builder to build things for them. Houses, larger buildings, castles and even underground dungeons can be built. Klondeg and his crew of dwarf construction workers live in Stondar City. There's no shop or anything, you just have to get lucky and find Klondeg wandering around somewhere.


Divine Intervention

If you want to prevail in the game, there is one thing to keep in mind. Even if you never see the gods, they are there and they do sometimes intervene in the affairs of mortals. If you do anything that interferes with the game such as talking out of character too much, annoying other players excessively or something like that, they may remove you from the land of the living. You may be allowed to continue playing in the land of the dead. On the other hand, if you please them, you will not only avoid their wrath, but they will add content to the game that helps you do whatever you're trying to do. There are several ways to keep the gods happy. Staying in character is good. Coming up with creative new things to do is good. Involving other players in your activities is good, but not necessary. Above all, if you bring new players into the game to join you in your adventures, form a guild, form an army or build a city or a kingdom, that will please the gods and the world will be reshaped to accommodate you.



Career Paths


What you do next will depend on what you are trying to do in the game. There is no one path. Here are some ideas for career paths. These are not character classes. They are just options for what sort of goals you want to pursue.

Warrior
Mage
Cleric
Healer
Craftsman
Trader
Hunter
Paladin
Ranger
Explorer
Warlord
Prince/Princess
Tribal Chieftain
Assassin
Thief
Bandit
Pirate
Evil Overlord
Vigilante
Demi-God

I'll explain my ideas on each of these. This isn't the only way to do it, just my thoughts on it. Also, since there are no character classes, one character can pursue any combination of these.


Warrior:

The most important thing to understand about being a warrior in this game is that it is more realistic in many ways than in most games. Whenever you go into combat, you stand a very high chance of being killed and losing your character. Also, you should not expect to gain a decent income just from taking money from enemies you kill. If you are part of an army that conquers a castle or a town and you participate in wholesale looting, you might get something, but monsters and enemy warriors don't usually carry any money into battle.

Therefore you might want to have a peacetime occupation such as fishing or hunting. Or, you can offer to fight for pay as a mercenary. Leaders of realms, guilds or religions are the most likely to hire you, but so far there isn't much of a market for mercenaries.

Just because you are a warrior doesn't mean that it's normal to just kill people or creatures that bother you. Most realms have some form of law and some form of army or militia that will deal harshly with strangers who come in and kill people. If there's not a war going on, killing people doesn't make you a warrior, it makes you a murderer. Even "Soulless" non-player characters may immediately attack you if they see you killing someone. They also hold grudges and may come after you later. Don't count on them to attack one at a time to give you a fair chance, either. They are more likely to gang up on you.

The combat system is currently being redone. There are no levels. There are supposed to be skills for things such as swordsmanship, archery, etc., but these don't exist yet at the time I'm writing this.

One way to succeed as a warrior is to join an army. Look in the wiki at www.magicofthegods.pbwiki.com. There is an entry called "Armies". You can read about them and then go ask to join the one you like. If the army you join is at peace, this might be boring. If the army you join is at war, this might be dangerous. Your choice. Also, wars begin and end so whether your army is at war or not can change.

If you want to be a warrior-adventurer and go off on your own or with a small group instead of taking orders from an army leader, you can do that. Many games are set up so that this is the normal course of action. In Magic of the Gods, it's not normal. Part of the reason for this is that it is quite dangerous. Things are not set up so that you will only encounter enemies that you have a reasonable chance of defeating. If you go exploring, you may find enormously powerful creatures, dangerous environments, or armies of enemies where you have no chance of survival at all. If you are exploring totally unknown lands, there is likely to be no warning that something ridiculously dangerous is up ahead. Also, any combat is dangerous and can easily get you killed. Combat in the game is similar to combat in real life in that it is fast, confusing and lethal. There often is no time to react. Sometimes it is not even clear what killed you.

Be warned that there are places where there are deadly dangers that you would never even expect. For example, do not touch the water anywhere near Kale Island. It's cursed. It will kill you instantly. And watch your step. Kale Island has cliffs and tricky landscape that make it quite easy to fall in the water there even if you are trying not to.

You can attempt to have adventures in the better known areas. In fact, that's probably a good idea. Just keep in mind that people (even "soulless" NPCs) will not be likely to tolerate theft or murder. In most games, anything that you can pick up is something you can take without fear of repercussions. In this game, if something has value, it may have an owner who will seriously object to you taking it. That goes for domestic animals too.



Mage:

The most important thing to understand about magic is that there are magic scripts. If you learn how to write them, you can create your own magic spells. The wiki has information on how to write scripts for magic spells. The wiki is at www.magicofthegods.pbwiki.com. The same scripting language can also be used by master craftsmen to create new crafts. In addition to script magic, even more powerful magic is possible if you use script magic and "blended magic" at the same time. "Blended Magic" involves player-created graphics and 3-D models. It's called this because the most popular way to do this is using a free software package called "Blender." You can find it at www.blender.org. With scripts and blender, you can do just about anything.

Of course, it's much easier to learn the spells that other mages have written already. The magic merchants in Port Town (now renamed Stondar City) used to sell basic spells to anyone who wanted them. The two main merchants were Thoreg the dwarf blacksmith and Grivenek, the gnome wizard. Buying a few basic spells is the fastest way to get started as a mage. Unfortunately, Grivenek has been driven out of town and closed his magic shop. Thoreg is still there selling magic, but the prices have gone up. If you want help learning how to write scripts, you might want to talk to the elves. Two player characters named Allort and Thaero, who are both elves, have developed expertise in creating magic spells.

There is "mana" which is needed to use most magic, just like in many other games. Note that mana is not required for all magic. There are many forms of magic that use no mana at all. The easiest of these is magic involving magic items. This can use mana, but often does not. In addition to buying spells and acquiring magic items, your best opportunities for developing magical capabilities are to either find a wizard and become an apprentice to learn the ways of magic or do your own research by going to www.magicofthegods.pbwiki.com and learning how to write scripts there. Learning to write scripts is only half of what it takes to create a new magic spell. You still need one of the gods to embue it with the power of the eternal flame and that doesn't automatically give you the ability to cast it. You may need one or more physical objects which may not exist and you may have to magically create. You may also need to learn how to cast the spell you created. Beware, spells you write yourself almost never work the first time you try them. A failed spell can cause a lot of harm. This is why it is safer to use spells that have been tried and tested by others before you. On the other hand, there can still be problems with spells written by other people, too. Just because you buy a spell in a magic shop doesn't mean that it won't backfire or fail to work. Getting refunds from magic merchants is usually impossible.


Cleric:

A cleric is an officer of a religious organization such as a priest or priestess. Clerics often have magical powers given to them by their gods or by more senior clerics of the same religion. Clerics can also create their own magic spells using script magic.

To get started as a cleric, the first thing you need to do is to join a religion. Which one you join may make a huge difference in what powers are available to you. The main religions at the time I'm writing this are the Fellowship of Kraylus and Krellin's Flock. You should check the wiki to see what others are out there currently. The wiki is at www.magicofthegods.pbwiki.com. Some others at the time I'm writing this are the Believers of Belkus, the Deification Church and the Order of the Trinity.

The Fellowship of Kraylus has evolved towards specializing in magic healing. However, they also have magic for other things. More importantly, they have the favor of Kraylus who is probably the most powerful god and the one who most frequently intervenes in the affairs of mortals. That means it may be easier to get whatever magic you want.

Krellin's Flock is smaller and worships Krellin who offers divine intervention only rarely. On the other hand, Krellin is the god of war and his high priest is the elf mage Allort, possibly the greatest wizard of all time and an expert in script magic.

If you want to be a cleric with magic powers, be careful about joining any religion that does not have the active patronage of a god or goddess. If you don't have a deity to give magic powers to you and create the occasional miracle, then you are missing the main advantages that a cleric has over an ordinary mage.

Despite that, one of the most popular religions is the Deification Church which does not have the patronage of any deity. Instead of worshipping the gods, the Deification Church is devoted to the idea of making mortals into gods, especially the church's high priestess, Valindra, who has been trying to become a goddess almost since the game began. Valindra is said to give out powerful magic to her priests, especially magic items. She has not chosen to reveal how she acquires such magic.

Unlike other worlds, there is no inherent restriction on the types of weapons or armor that a cleric may use. Clerics may engage in combat just like anyone else. Unless the religion you join imposes such restrictions, there are none. Even if your religion does impose restrictions, it's up to you whether you obey those rules or not.


Healer:

I can think of three categories of healers. In the first category I would put natural healers. It is possible to assist people in healing their wounds and illnesses by providing special foods and being knowledgeable about what is wrong and how normal healing works. In the second category I would put mages who specialize in healing. They rely primarily upon healing spells and similar magic. The third category would be religious healers such as clerics of the Fellowship of Kraylus. For the third category, see the writeup on clerics. For the second one, read what I've written about mages. For the first one, the natural healing one, read on.

The most important thing about natural healing is to rest. Or at least, don't get injured any more. Rest and eat. Food and time will heal wounds and most illnesses. Some foods are more effective than others. So far the greatest known healing food is the Golden Fruit. It may be possible to buy these on the market, but they come from the sacred tree in front of the Temple of Kraylus and are only harvested by priests and priestesses of the Fellowship of Kraylus. On the other hand, the priestess Beepe usually gives them away for free.

You could accumulate knowledge and specialized foods yourself, but another approach would be to learn from another natural healer if there are any. Similar learning might be possible from religious healers and mage healers. Lacking even that, I suggest you pray to an appropriate deity for guidance or ask Tronor, messenger of the gods, for help.


Craftsman:

Being a craftsman can feel terribly limited or completely unlimited depending on whether you understand and are able to use the unique features of Magic of the Gods. This is because crafting at this point is virtually nonexistent. There are few, if any, crafting skills that have been created by the gods already. This is why it can seem terribly limited. To be successful as a crafter at this point, you have to be involved in creating new crafts. But if you understand how to do that, then you will realize just how unlimited the possibilities are.

To create a new craft, there usually needs to be a script and some new items. If the game developers already have graphics for the new item, this is no problem. If they don't, someone needs to make them. This can be done using software called Blender. You can obtain it for free at www.blender.org. For scripts, you either need to learn to write them yourself or get someone else to do it. You can find documentation on how to write scripts for Magic of the Gods on the wiki at www.magicofthegods.pbwiki.com. Look under Magic Spell Scripting Language.

If you don't want to write the scripts yourself or worry about the graphics, then you need someone else to do this for you. You might find a wizard who would help, but the more straightforward way is to ask the gods. The best way to do this is to go to a temple and tell the gods what new crafting skill you want and how you would like it to work. If you can find a priest or priestess, ask them to also pray to a god for the same thing. If you can find a servant of the gods such as Tronor, herald of the gods, ask him too. That's best of all. Well, second best. The best would be to find one of the gods walking or flying around incarnate and ask them directly in person, but that's very rare so don't count on it.

It is probably a very good idea to learn what you can from other crafters. Once you or other crafters have started creating new crafts, you can then make additional ones that build on the ones that already exist. For example, if a mining skill allows you to mine iron ore, then you can make a blacksmithing skill to work the iron into tools, weapons and armor. Then perhaps you can add a skill to make specialized shipbuilding tools. Then, along with a skill for woodworking, you might make a skill to use those tools and the wood to make ships. In this way you can build on what you have already done in terms of creating skills. If other crafters have not learned the first few crafting skills you created, you might be the only one who can build ships. You can also develop greater proficiency with those skills. For example, once there is a blacksmithing skill (yes, even this is lacking now), it could be altered so that more skilled blacksmiths could make better swords than have previously existed and lesser smiths would only be able to do this by increasing their own skill either through experience or by needing to be taught secrets of the trade by more advanced smiths.

On the plus side, it is planned that player-created items will be the bulk of the economy and will usually be better than what might be available from other sources. This should result in crafting being very profitable and entertaining.


Trader:

It doesn't take much to become a trader. The first thing you need to do is obtain some money or trade goods to start with. Then look for trading opportunities. Prices are different on different islands, but most of the trading opportunities are with other players, not NPCs. Also, prices change over time. If you can guess correctly which way prices are going to move and buy things before a price goes up or sell things before a price goes down, you can benefit. But this is hard. It's easier to make money by buying or making things in one place and taking them to sell somewhere else where the price is better.

The best known traders are the dwarf Thoreg in Stondar City, the gnome wizard Grivenek in Orveka, both of whom are Soulless (NPCs) and Dinek, a player character gnome who has a house on the north end of Worfin Island.


Hunter:

The main hunting opportunities so far are on Worfin Island. It's not easy, but you can hunt wolves there. It is possible to make a living at it, but you probably will need partners. Either more armed hunters or a healer or both. Note that both the meat and the animal hides usually have value. The best place to sell may be far from the hunting grounds.

Some people also hunt rats there and sell the meat in the market without identifying what kind of animal it came from.


Paladin:

A paladin is like a crusader. He is a warrior for a cause he believes to be holy. He expects and perhaps sometimes receives assistance from a deity. The most obvious way to pursue this course is to join a religion and offer to be a soldier in the service of that religion. Ask the priests to give you appropriate magic, weapons and armor and quests to do.


Ranger:

The most famous ranger is the elf named Thaero. Driven by strange memories of a past life, he has been singlehandedly working on developing magic and weapons suitable to a ranger. For his efforts, he has been awarded the title of High Ranger of Azmar by the warlord Karleg of Azmar. The easiest way to become a ranger is to seek out Thaero and ask him to teach you what he knows. He has been involved in three main activities that relate to being a ranger.

One of these is to attempt to make suitable weapons such as the bow and arrow. This requires script magic and graphics so "blended magic" may also be needed.

The second activity is learning to talk to animals and enlist their aid. There are multiple steps to this. Thaero created a magic spell to learn the true magical names of animals. Then he wrote a spell to call animals by their true magical names in order to ask them to assist the ranger. Now that these spells already exist, they could be taught to other rangers.

The third ranger type activity Thaero has engaged in is to go into dangerous and wild lands on scouting missions, usually on behalf of rulers of various lands. Thaero spent years searching for a haven for the Azmarian dwarves when they contemplated fleeing Azmar Island during the Ogre Wars. He and his pet wolf also accompanied Lord Garon's Army to Sheep Island twice to see if it was still occupied by ogres and if so, how many. On the second such trip, he and his wolf ended up fighting ogres in the Battle of Sheep Island.


Explorer:

Being an explorer isn't hard. Figure out if there are any unexplored areas left in the known world. If there are, go there. If there are not, go to the edge of the known world and then keep going and see what's out there.

Some key things about being an explorer are these:

* Don't go alone. Bring armed warriors with you. The more, the better.
* Bring a healer or two as well.
* Ask Tronor, messenger of the gods to help you obtain the use of a ship.

Once you have discovered new lands, the next question is what to do with them. You could offer them to an existing prince or warlord. Or you could attempt to encourage colonization and rule the new lands yourself. The greatest explorer in the known world is the elf mage Allort, but he's not the only one. Waylanda and the elf ranger Thaero are also known for exploring.


Warlord:

To be a warlord, you need an army. One way to do this is to join an existing army, attempt to be appointed as an officer and then look for an opportunity to take over control of the army. Another alternative is to start your own army. A key point is what will motivate your army to fight and why should they take orders from you. Another issue is who will pay for food, weapons, armor, healing spells, perhaps even ships. Unless your army is all volunteers, they'll need to be paid as well. You probably will need an organization to sponsor your army. The most obvious sort of sponsor is the government of a realm. But realms generally already have their own armies. Other organizations may not. Religions and guilds also may have the ability and the interest in developing an army. If they don't already have one, you could volunteer to lead it. Religious devotion or guild loyalty may also offer a motive for the soldiers to fight.

Another option is to hire mercenaries, but this may be expensive. If you're going to do this, then you probably need to offer your army out to the highest bidder. If there's anyone bidding at all, that is.

One thing to keep in mind is that no matter how tempting it may be to enlist the Soulless in your army, they are usually terrible fighters. You need player characters in your army. One of the best ways to get them is to recruit new people to the game with the idea of joining your army.

Being a warlord is not all about combat. If you win, you will also need to rule the lands you've conquered or what's the point? The only warlord so far was the Warlord Karleg of Azmar. He created his own realm fairly easily, but then had to figure out how to rule it. While he was trying to do that, he was attacked by an army of Ogre Raiders as well as a dragon and had to rule and fight at the same time. He was killed by the dragon, Zern, at the Battle of Ogre Island and there haven't been any real warlords in the known world since. The Realm of Azmar which he created lives on, though.


Prince/Princess:

Unless you are born into an existing royal family, becoming a prince or princess will involve either marrying someone else who already is one or starting your own country.

To start your own country, you need two main ingredients: land and people. If you have the land and it has any economic resources that are worthwhile such as fishing grounds, hunting grounds, mineral deposits, good farmland, etc., then you may be able to recruit people to come there. Of course, you'll also need to get them to recognize your authority. I recommend either having a lot of magic or an army. Or both. Another alternative would be to start a religion or guild and try to get people to accept your authority as the leader of the organization.

If there's no unclaimed land, then you may need to claim land that is uninhabited even though it is already claimed. The important thing about being a prince or princess is to say you are one and act like it. Claim territory and defend it. Or try to buy territory if you have enough money. Make up a name for your realm. Offer incentives for people to move there. One of the best ways to get them is to recruit new people to the game with the idea of joining your country.



Tribal Chieftain:

To be a tribal chieftain you first need a tribe. If you are already a member of a tribe, you can attempt to take power by any number of means. These usually involve removing the current chief and convincing others not to oppose you.

If you are not already a member of a tribe, you can start one. Just pick a name for your tribe and say it exists and that you are a member. You can put a short article about your tribe in the wiki at

(at www.magicofthegods.pbwiki.com )

If you are not already allowed to edit the wiki, ask for permission on the forums.

You can grow your tribe in two main ways. One is to adopt others into the tribe. The other is for your character in the game to have children. There is a new method for doing this that the game developers have announced is available. Contact the game developers on the forum (at www.onlinegamemaker.proboards82.com) to ask for details. In general you will need an in-game spouse and some other player who is willing to play the part of your character's child. The children grow up very fast and even as kids they can do much of what adults can do. But you really don't have to have anyone else. You could have either a soulless (NPC) character for a spouse or create a second character controlled by you who is of the other gender from your first character. You could then also play the child character. Repeat the process for grandchildren and great grandchildren and pretty soon you'll have a tribe and your original character can be chieftain of it. Depending on your reasons for wanting to be a tribal chieftain, that may be enough. You could have the prestige of it, for example. But if you want real power, then a bunch of characters controlled by you isn't worth much since only one of them can be online at a time. You need to convince other real people to join your tribe. One way to do this would be to recruit new people into the game just to join your tribe. They can play the part of your character's children and when they are old enough (after only a few game sessions) they can have children of their own. If you urge them to recruit new people to the game as well, you could end up with a very large tribe. Tell everyone you are the chieftain to start with and there will probably be less argument about it later.


Assassin:

There's probably not much of a market for assassination services, but if your point is to remove a character from the game rather than to make money, then this could make sense. It is possible to have "abilities" and "skills" in assassination just like crafting skills or magic spells. These assassin skills can be created the same way as magic spells or crafting skills except that far less graphics are needed. Scripting is essential, however.

Some of the skills of an assassin are not scripts you can write, but things that you the player will need to figure out. For example, you might want to figure out where you might be able to get close to your quarry, when he might have the fewest guards, how you might use distractions and deceptions to allow your character to get close enough to strike, what weapon would be best and how you will escape.


Thief:

It's not good to be a thief and you definitely risk retaliation by other players, not to mention divine intervention. But the way to do it is to focus on situations where someone's property has been put on the ground. This would likely occur for three reasons. One of these is when someone dies. Another is during trading. The third is when they have more than they can carry and want to put some down. The thing to do in any of these situations is simply to walk by and pick up the items you want. Then, I advise you to run away.

In-game theft is not against the rules of the game. It is against the laws of every civilized realm and the morals of the leading gods. You are likely to face retribution not only by victims, but also by soldiers of the local prince or even possibly the gods.


Bandit:

The role of a bandit is to threaten someone until the someone hands over money or items. If they refuse, you can kill them and take everything they had with them because that's how PvP works in this game. If you die, everything you have with you drops and can be looted by anyone. The down side of this for a bandit is that the victims may come after you. If they succeed in killing you, they can get their stuff back along with looting whatever else you were carrying because everything you have with you drops when you die and your character goes to the underworld, the land of the dead. Don't count on coming back from there, either. Especially if your character is a criminal.

Banditry is not against the rules of the game. PvP is supposed to work anywhere against anyone. If it doesn't, that's a bug and you should report it. Of course, banditry is against the laws of every civilized realm and against the morals of the leading gods. You may be hunted down and brought to justice if you choose the life of a criminal. If, that is, they can catch you.


Con man:

I don't recommend this, but it's pretty obvious how to become a con man (or woman). Just come up with a scam and start trying to scam people out of their money and items. It's not even against the rules of the game. Of course, you may get killed by outraged players, but that's a risk you run if you choose a life of crime. PvP is enabled everywhere so as soon as a victim realizes they've been snookered, they can immediately try to kill you. If they succeed, they can get their stuff back along with looting whatever else you were carrying because everything you have with you drops when you die and your character goes to the underworld, the land of the dead. Don't count on coming back from there, either. Especially if your character is a criminal.

Also, fraud is against the laws of every civilized realm and the morals of the gods. Soldiers of the princes or servants of the gods may try to bring you to justice.


Pirate:

I advise you not to be a pirate. There just isn't enough shipping to make it worthwile. But if you really, really want to be a pirate, you need to get a ship first. Ask Tronor about that and don't tell him why you want it.


Evil Overlord:

The dangers of being a petty criminal are one of the reasons for job openings in the field of evil overlord. If a bandit or a con man or a thief steals from someone, the victim can get his friends together and go kill the criminal. Or he can call on the Dwarven Princes or some other ruler to send soldiers to hunt down the outlaw. To be really successful, crime needs to be organized. Or better yet, legalized by the decree of an evil overlord ruling the entire known world muhahaha!

Seriously, an evil overlord with enough power to prevent retaliation by victims could enable evil to flourish on an immense scale. But how do you become an evil overlord in the first place? Well, you need power of some kind. Magic power maybe, or just the power of a powerful warrior. Or you could become a cleric of your own religion... an EVIL religion. This works better if there is an actual god or goddess backing you up, but if there's not, just tell people there is. Make up a name. Or say the evil one's name must never be spoken. Who will know any different? Say the evil one is keeping his/her existence secret when people deny there is any such deity. What, you don't want to lie to other players? You obviously aren't evil enough to be an evil overlord.

Once you have any sort of power, abuse it! Offer to protect or assist other evil persons less powerful than yourself ... in exchange for their loyalty to you. With the help of your minions, offer death and destruction to others unless they also pledge their loyalty and pay tribute. With tribute you can build a suitable castle or underground lair and hire an army of mercenaries and a few assassins... hopefully you get the idea. Watch out for good guys. Everybody wants to be a hero.


Vigilante:

To be a vigilante, you need only the ability to fight and people to protect from criminals. It's probably best to be a vigilante warrior, but a mage, cleric or other person could also be a vigilante. Let it be known that you are willing to hunt down criminals. You could charge a fee. Perhaps a percentage of the value of stolen items and money recovered? Or, you can do it just because it's the right thing to do as Beepe, the High Priestess of the Fellowship of Kraylus once said.

When someone comes to you seeking help against criminals, go out there, preferably with a posse of enraged crime victims or other vigilantes, hunt down the crook and mete out justice. If you are in a realm with courts and some sort of legal system, then demand that the criminal proceed to the authorities or be slain. If there are no authorities, deal with them as you think proper. Offer them a trial... or not. If they refuse to relinquish their stolen loot, just kill them. When a character dies, everything they are carrying drops and you can just take it. Then you can return it to its rightful owner, less your fee, if any.


Demi-God:

This can be done. No player has yet figured out how. I would suggest asking the gods or the priests of various religions about it. If you were a mage and did a lot of research into inventing your own spells and learning about the different kinds of magic maybe eventually your power would rival that of the gods. Then you could declare yourself a Demi-God or a full fledged God (or Goddess). Or maybe it would be better to be a cleric. Then you could study magic, but you could also get close to the gods, learn how they operate. Copy their ways... something like that. No player has ever become a demi-god so it is still a mystery. Unless you believe the stories about Valen having been human once before he became a god. Other stories say he was a god to begin with and then took human form for a while.

Valindra (similarity of name a coincidence?) has actually formed a whole religion (the Deification Church) around the idea of making mortals into gods. Of course, she is first in line to become a goddess if a way can be found. She does seem to have impressive magic powers. Perhaps she is on her way to being a Demi-Goddess already. Or maybe it's just a few rare magic items and a lot of hype.