Don't Envy the Envoy of Dragons in Runes of Magic

 Back in 2010, Frogster was still in charge of all things Runes of Magic and had stepped up to the plate again with another release that increased the level cap from 55 to 60. They dubbed this major release "Chapter III: the Elder Kingdoms" and the 2.5 million registered users rejoiced! 

It was kind of fun reading the comments to the main theme music for this release on YouTube.  

Gotta respect those old schoolers that sometimes log in to just play a little.

Of course, for me, this is my first foray into this old game that is solidly in the grips of . . . let's be honest . . . maintenance mode, in the hands of Gamigo. That doesn't mean it's any less of a game, just that its ending is more defined, right? Right!

Anywho, my experience in Chapter III has been very different than my experiences in Chapters I and II. I don't know if they decided to hire a solid writer for this chapter, or just took a different philosophy on how players work through the game, but for the most part, this expansion seems to have two main storylines that weave through it: Envoy of Dragons and Return the Glory. 

Currently I'm running through the Envoy of Dragons quest as a Mage. I'm level 56 (almost level 57) and currently stopped on progressing through the Envoy of Dragons quest until I can gain level 57. Certain quests have level requirements to undertake and I'm not quite there yet. Not to worry though, there are plenty of other supporting side quests to help me get the level I'm looking for.

Once I'm either level 60 or have completed the Envoy of Dragons Quest, I'll go back and run through the Return to Glory quests as a rogue. At least that's my plan for now. My other idea is that I just skip Return the Glory and try grinding my way up to 60 just killing stuff.  That's a thing. We'll see.

So, the story behind Envoy of Dragons all centers around an NPC named Morrok Wallinder.

And there he is . . . Morrok Wallinder

I can't say I'm truly checked-in to the actual story telling of this quest because it's been a bit convoluted, but I believe the main plot is that the Dragons of this world are trying to clear their names. Rumors have been flying around that dragons have teamed up with monsters in attacking humans. Dragons don't want their names sullied in such a way.  

So how does Morrok Wallinder work in to this?

And there he is . . . Morrok Wallinder

Come to find out, Morrok is half dragon. Honestly, I'd spend more time in my dragon form if I looked that hot as a dragonoid. You know what I'm saying? The ladies dig the wings.

Anyway, somehow at the beginning of the quest line, you run into Freud Splinter, a rat in the sewers of Delanis, while searching for some books. And you guessed it, he's friends with 4 turtles. I gotta be honest, this seemed super out of character for Runes of Magic to drop a Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles reference in the game. 

Pizza Time!

This is as about as crazy as the game gets. So far I've mostly seen stock high fantasy themes without the wacky references. I liked it! Oh wait . . . the game does get crazier . . . I forgot the random Dev-only zone a stranger ported me to.

Now THAT'S as crazy as Runes of Magic gets . . .

Eventually you start unraveling the mystery of the dragon/monster mix-up by helping a couple bands of troubled centaurs. Centaurs aren't monsters are they? I don't know for sure, but the centaurs got a bad rap and went through, what "Darik Silverstar" (Chief Centaur) called "a dark period." 

But as it turns out, centaurs are a hoot! During the quest you end up getting one of them drunk and again unravel . . . some plot point I didn't really grasp. But, the real villain here is a guy named Luke Ponzi . . . and he's definitely the scheming type. He's also in league with a gal by the name of Belle Allen, who turns out to be a weird demon in disguise, and this starts a whole series of quests where you pursue information about spirits and demons.

Yeah, it's a bit convoluted to be honest . . . most MMO and game writing is because it's not just about weaving a good story . . . it's also about fulfilling a quota of quests and content to accompany a zone. That said, this quest line feels pretty good. I'm excited to see where it leads to (hopefully to being a level 60+ Mage) and how the mystery is solved (I bet the dragons will clear their name . . . if they don't, I'll be happily surprised.)

Happy Dueling!