Does Anybody Else Play Kingdomofloathing

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KoL) is a humorous, browser-based, multiplayer role playing game designed and operated by Asymmetric Publications, including creator Zack "Jick" Johnson and writer Josh "Mr. Skullhead" Nite.[1] It is notable for its use of hand-drawn stick figure graphics and writing characterized by surreal humor, wit and parody. Launched in February 2003, the game had attracted a player base of 140,000 regular users by 2006.[2]In KoL, players fight monsters for experience, meat (the game's currency), and items, through a turn-based system. Players also interact with each other through player versus player competition, participate in the in-game economy by trading goods and services, and organize themselves into clans. Plot and setting The player takes on the role of an adventurer who is tasked with solving problems and killing monsters in a fantasy-based Kingdom. The game is humorous in nature, and most quests, battles and individual item descriptions include jokes, witticisms, or references to popular culture. The Naughty Sorceress has captured and "imprismed" (imprisoned in a prism) the Kingdom's ruler, King Ralph XI. The ultimate object of the game is to defeat the Naughty Sorceress and free the King. In King Ralph's absence, most of the power in the Kingdom of Loathing is held by the Council of Loathing, which gives up to 15 quests to players as they increase in level, with the last Council quest given when the player reaches level 13 (the Naughty Sorceress Quest). Players can unlock up to 34 quests from other sources, some of which are only available after ascending. As much as the Council cares about their King, it seems that they are in no particular hurry to aid his rescue. At one point, they explicitly tell the player they "would continue to have absolute power throughout the land" if the player does not free the King, and that there is "Seriously, no rush."Gameplay involves fighting monsters, completing quests, gaining skills and stats, and accumulating items and meat, which is the in-game currency. In a system that is sometimes referred to as turn- or tick-based gameplay, a player is supplied with a number of adventures each day at a time called "rollover", which currently starts at 8:30 PM, Arizona time (GMT -7 or 3:30 AM GMT -0) and lasts about 20 minutes, except on Saturdays, when it takes about an hour and a half. 40 adventures are allotted to each player per day, and certain items increase that number when they are either placed at the player's campsite, equipped by the character, or used by their clan. Adventures can also be acquired through food, booze, and stat-raising items, which hurt their spleen. However, only a limited amount of each can be consumed each day, and if the player drinks too much booze they become too drunk to continue adventuring. If a player uses too many "spleen" items, they will receive the message "Too many (name of item) are bad for your spleen. That many would make it explode." Although a player can accumulate a large number of adventures, the number is reduced to no more than 200 at rollover. Rollover is essentially a "rest period" for your character; minor amounts of HP and MP are restored, drunkenness, fullness, and spleen damage are reset to zero. Combat against a monster takes one adventure and is turn-based, allowing the player to use attacks, skills, or items each round. Players can use "meat paste" to combine items. They can also cook food ("cooking"), mix cocktails ("cocktailcrafting"), smith weapons and armor ("meatsmithing"), and make jewelry ("jewelrycrafting"). Some items can only be created by players with a certain skill, which makes them rarer and more valuable (for instance, Saucerors and Pastamancers have access to skills that together make some of the best foods in the game, and Disco Bandits have access to a skill that allows them to make some of the best drinks in the game). Players may also make items such as the "Chef-in-the-box" or "Bartender-in-the-box" to cook or mix drinks for them without consuming adventures (these items have a limited number of uses, after which they explode). Updates and new content are frequent occurrences, and something is added or changed nearly every Tuesday.[edit] Player interaction While the player versus monster content is largely a single-player game, there are other features based upon multiplayer interaction. Player versus player (PvP) combat is voluntary, and only those who have broken their "Magical Mystical Hippy Stone" can attack or be attacked by other players. Players can later repair their stone (players who are inactive for two weeks automatically have them repaired), removing themselves from the PvP community. A PvP battle is unlike combat against monsters and features a series of stat comparisons and a randomized selection of "minigames." These tests, which range from a "Work Ethic Contest" to "Wine Tasting" or even "Balanced Diet", compare sometimes obscure statistics of the two competitors. The winner of the PvP battle can take rank, stats, or sometimes even meat and items from the loser. The game features an integrated chat system which is only available after completing a basic test of English grammar and spelling (with one mocking question, "What was the color of George Washington's favorite black horse?"). There are many channels, including a trade channel for buying and selling goods, a games channel for various games and contests, a channel for players who have ascended, private channels for players of each clan, and even a (sparsely used) channel in which all chat must follow the syllabic conventions of English haiku. Most of the chat channels are moderated; those who violate the chat rules are banned, with ban duration increasing for successive bans. Players can also message each other and send gift packages in-game. The official Kingdom of Loathing forums are also an active venue for discussion among players. Players may join a clan, a group of players who can share items through a clan stash and a clan hall, which can be furnished with beneficial equipment. A clan may choose to engage in inter-clan warfare, fighting other clans for prestige and status. Members can chat with their friends in a clan-specific chat channel. Players can create a store in The Mall of Loathing and sell items to other players. Direct trading between two players is also possible, and some players enjoy playing the market in an attempt to attain economic superiority. Players use display cases to show off collections of various items, as a second store, or simply to store items they do not immediately need. Players can also be listed on certain leaderboards for doing certain things such as eating or drinking a certain amount of a certain item, or collecting an item. Also, there is a record for how far players have gotten in Fernswarthy's basement, which seems to go for forever and seems to require the player to have increasingly higher attributes as they proceed through the basement. The developers of the game have also extended the game's satirical comedy to include some of the players and clans within the game. These are generally items that have something to do with a player or clan, or item descriptions with hidden references (hidden references are a very common occurrence in the game). Some of these real-world references include: * N.O Beer; A bottle of booze that was rewarded to each member of the clan Noblesse Oblige for services rendered to the kingdom. * Otorian Battle Scar; Another bottle of booze given to each member of the clan Otori on its one-year anniversary. * Warehouse 23 Bling; This special accessory was given to members of the clan Warehouse 23. The item description includes a hidden message that appears whenever you highlight the whole description.[edit] Character attributes Each player has three major attributes. By defeating monsters and through a variety of other actions, players increase these stats. The three attributes are:[edit] Muscle Muscle determines the chance of hitting monsters with melee weapons, the amount of damage done with all weapons, and the maximum hit points of a character. Muscle is required to equip powerful melee weapons, shirts and shields. Muscle is roughly the same as the attributes attack, strength, and vitality. This is the primary stat of Turtle Tamers and Seal Clubbers.[edit] Mysticality Mysticality measures magical power and determines the damage caused by certain spells and the maximum MP of a character. A certain amount of mysticality is also required to equip most accessories and some other items. This is the primary stat of Saucerors and Pastamancers. It is equivalent to intelligence and wisdom in other RPGs.[edit] Moxie Moxie determines the chance to evade attacks, reduces the damage taken when one is hit, and determines the chance to hit with ranged weapons. A certain amount of moxie is also required to equip most ranged weapons, hats, and pants. Moxie is roughly equivalent to a combination of the attributes dexterity, agility, defense, and charisma in mainstream RPGs, but is also associated with stylishness in the game. This is the primary stat of Disco Bandits and Accordion Thieves.[edit] Character classes Players choose from six classes when they create a character (and after each ascension). Each class specializes in one attribute, and raising that attribute sufficiently results in gaining a level. Each class has an "epic hat" and "epic weapon", which gives a bonus to their main attribute to that class alone. Players also receive a non-tradable class-dependent stainless steel or plexiglass item as a reward for completing each hardcore or hardcore oxygenarian ascension. There is also a trophy for each of these classes, awarded to those who attain level 30 or higher. Seal Clubber Seal Clubbers are a muscle-based offensive class, with skills that expand their fighting style, increasing damage as well as defenses. They have access to skills