Difference between revisions 13469662 and 13469667 on enwiki

The '''Role-Player's Vault''' is a collection of [[role playing game]]s, written by Samuel Stoddard and hosted on the [[RinkWorks]] web site.

[[As of 2005]], the vault has two games available for play:
* ''Murkon's Refuge'', a game where a group of [[hero]]es have to descend a [[labyrinth]] ten levels deep to defeat the evil archmage Murkon.
* ''Murkon's Vengeance'', a sort-of sequel to ''Murkon's Refuge'', where the player takes the role of Murkon, and has to ascend the labyrinth to the surface, killing parties of heroes along the way.

Both games are ''[[Wizardry]]'' clones played on the [[Internet]] via a [[web browser]]. ''Murkon's Refuge'' was originally published on RinkWorks in [[March 2002]] and ''Murkon's Vengeance'' was published in [[May 2005]].

===Technical details===
The games run as [[Common Gateway Interface|CGI]] applications on the RinkWorks [[HTTP]] server. <b>All</b> interaction is done via HTTP, with the RinkWorks server containing all the game logic, and the client computer used only for the [[Graphical User Interface|GUI]].

The interface is 100% pure [[HTML]], with HTML form controls used to make the player's choices. No [[Java programming language|Java]], [[JavaScript]] or [[Macromedia Flash|Flash]] is required or used.

The games automatically save the situation on every step. Thus, when a player feels he/she wants to continue later, he/she doesn't have to do anything special. The game will pick up where it left off when it is started again.

To provide for server failures, the games include support for snapshot files, which contain the current game situation and can be downloaded locally on the user's computer. When the server comes back up, the file can be uploaded back to RinkWorks and the game then continues from there. [[As of 2005]], the server has not crashed once.⏎
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==Murkon's Refuge==
===History===
<i>This is a brief synopsis of the '''Making of Murkon's Refuge''' page on RinkWorks.</i>

''Murkon's Refuge'' originally dates back to the [[1980s]]. In his school years, Stoddard was a devoted fan of computer [[role-playing game|RPG]]s, and he wrote his first RPG, ''Swords and Sorcery'', in [[BASIC programming language|BASIC]] on an [[Apple IIe]].

(contracted; show full)

Corrupted by the power of the diadem, Murkon murdered his comrades and constructed a huge, labyrinthine dungeon ten levels deep, settling himself down at the end of the lowest level.

When King Lehowy heard of this, he called upon a group of warriors to brave the dungeon and retrieve the stolen diadem.

===Game play===

====Technical details====
''Murkon's Refuge'' runs as a [[Common Gateway Interface|CGI]] application on the RinkWorks [[HTTP]] server. <b>All</b> interaction is done via HTTP, with the RinkWorks server containing all the game logic, and the client computer used only for the [[Graphical User Interface|GUI]].

The interface is 100% pure [[HTML]], with HTML form controls used to make the player's choices. No [[Java programming language|Java]], [[JavaScript]] or [[Macromedia Flash|Flash]] is required or used.

''Murkon's Refuge'' automatically saves the situation on every step. Thus, when a player feels he/she wants to continue later, he/she doesn't have to do anything special. The game will pick up where it left off when it is started again.

To provide for server failures, ''Murkon's Refuge'' includes support for snapshot files, which contain the current game situation and can be downloaded locally on the user's computer. When the server comes back up, the file can be uploaded back to RinkWorks and the game then continues from there. [[As of 2005]], the server has not crashed once.⏎
⏎
====Characters====
A player's party can include six characters. These can be male or female, of several different races (including human, elf, dwarf, troll and gwuil), and of the following classes:
* Knight
* Rogue
* Wizard
* Sorcerer
* Assassin
* Druid
(contracted; show full)

There are a few differences to ''Murkon's Refuge'':
* When Murkon dies, he is not automatically transported to the previous city to be resurrected. Instead, he has to use one of the checkpoints available on the level. If none is available, the game 
is lostrestarts from the beginning. A checkpoint can only be used once.
* Murkon has the ability to summon monsters to help him kill player parties. These monsters follow Murkon around. However, they can't be directly controlled, but instead moveact on their own free will in battles.

===Notes===
The idea of a heroic quest in reverse, playing the evil overlord, has been used at least twice before.
* The original ''Wizardry'' series included a game called ''The Return of Verdna'', where the player took the role of Verdna, the main enemy of the previous game.
* The [[United Kingdom|British]] software company [[Bullfrog Productions]] developed a role playing game called ''[[Dungeon Keeper]]'', where the player's job is to maintain an evil presence in an underground labyrinth and kill off heroic parties.

==External links==
*[http://www.rinkworks.com/vault/index.cgi The Role-Player's Vault]

[[Category:Websites]]
[[Category:Online games]]