Beginners Guide: Storyline and Events
Prologue
Our world has a story, a story that spans thirty thousand years, dozens of worlds and two dimensions. [A story being written by the game designers at Funcom, by the Events Storyline Team in the Advisors of Rubi-Ka (ARK), and by hundreds of thousands of people playing the game everyday.] That may sound a bit daunting, and I won't lie, it is. But I hope that this guide will give you the tools you need to experience both the vast epic sweep of events and the gritty intimate struggle of everyday life in Anarchy Online.
Where does it all begin?
Perhaps at the beginning of time its self… but for us the story begins with the events chronicled in Prophet Without Honor, written by Ragnar Tørnquist. This book lays out the foundation of our past. It begins on Old Earth and tells of the destruction of mankind as we know it and the rise of those that carry it's legacy. It chronicles the long inevitable crawl of humanity across the galaxy toward Rubi-Ka. This story is not known to everyone, in fact you probably won’t remember most of what you read as you wander the streets of Rubi-Ka.
The entire book is available on the Anarchy Online website in .pdf format. Just click the link at the bottom and be taken to it.
The book is a good start, but it only really brings us to the beginning… and a lot has happened since we came to Rubi-Ka. The Timeline details events from the first landing on Rubi-Ka up to the present day. We are always updating the timeline as new events come to pass.
[As a side note, if you are wondering where pre game history ends and in game history begins, it is around page 18 of the timeline.]
Moments from the lives of some of those closest to the struggles that have shaped our planet are captured in the Animated Series. While you may find no resolution in these frozen moments they provide insight into the hearts and minds of those that we fight beside and those that we fight for.
But history can be dry and our story is more than our past, it is a living thing told to us and by us as we wander the streets and the wilderness of our world. Those who have a part of the story to tell can be recognized by their Blue names.
A few of these people who may have information or quests for you are:
Harry (located at Harry's in Lush Fields)
Commander Kelly Frederickson (located in Tir County)
Delphine Sabbatt (Upper Stret East Bank)
Mr. Gibs (West Athen)
Andrea Machioni (war Academy in Athen Shire)
Eco Red (npc leader of the Eco Warriors, located in Rising Sun)
Horatio Campbell and Iziris Agathon (both located in Omni-1 Trade)
There are a lot of these odd folks around Rubi-ka, so keep your eyes out as you explore.
And the Shadowlands?
The Shadowlands are not part of the universe that you have come to know on Rubi-Ka. They are another reality, intimately tied to our own and its history, and discovering their story will be… different. There the story is mostly told through quests, interaction with the inhabitants [NPCs with blue names], and item descriptions. Exploring the Shadowlands story and the way it ties to the Rubi-ka story and the Alien Invasion is a lengthy journey, but one that is well worthwhile for those who want to know the truth about the origin or the universe and the nature of our existence. Seek out the leaders of the factions, and the stories they have to tell, or look for Ergo and his followers the Yuttos. Many of them tell stories handed down for generations about the world. And don't forget the researchers from Jobe who have dedicated their life's work to exploring the Shadowlands, many of them still need your help to learn more.
Long Term Character and StoryTellers [formerly known as Greenies]
Throughout Rubi-Ka and the Shadowlands you will come across 'Interactive Storyline Events.' They can be recognized by the BLUE names of the people involved. These are the events that change and shape the world we live in, and they are interactive, you can and should get involved. These events can range from an old lady being mugged behind the Whom-Pahs. (You could save her and make the streets of the city safer, or help out the thugs and end up being drawn into the shady criminal underground…) to the meetings of the Council of Truth (what passes for a clan government) or The Omni Affiliates (the leaders of the Omni-Tek Departments).
Not everyone likes the idea of being mugged on the street or being arrested by Omni-Pol and dragged before a tribunal for treason… Just like not everyone feels comfortable leaving areas with high suppression gas and wandering around where they might get shot, other people on the other hand live for that kind of thing. If you like the idea of being unexpectedly involved in the dynamic events of the world then you should go to your account page and look for the entry about event participation. While you agree to the terms there you will never be safe, of course you can always change your mind. There is no guarantee that you will ever find yourself in an Interactive Storyline Event but if you do then all bets are off and anything short of your permanent death can happen. Of course not agreeing does not mean that you will not get involved, it just means that you will be safer… Well, a little safer, since on Rubi-Ka safety is a very relative term.
Not everyone with a blue name is involved in complex and sweeping events, sometimes they are just people living their lives. They have stories to tell and sometimes useful information but you will usually encounter them going about their lives. The cities that you are most likely to encounter these types of characters in are Newland, Omni Entertainment and Tir, although you may encounter them anywhere.
A few notes regarding these individuals.
They are a part of the world of Rubi-Ka. They will never go out of character. Ever.
They are not in a game, they are in character the entire time they are in game. They won't even go out of character in tells. When they are in game, they ARE that character. Their name is not green or blue, their name is Therno Corleone or Mittzy. Now that they have Blue names instead of green names, there is also no need to mistake them for regular ARKs. They don't know how much full auto you need to equip something; they don't know when a bug will be fixed, or what you are even talking about when you mention bugs. These are not regular arks, they can't help your friend who is stuck, or get you back an item you lost in a trade. They are a part of an event, and will only be able to continue to do the event. If you have issues where you need an ark, they can't help you, you still have to petition.
For example: If you are an employee of Omni-Tek, and you attack an Omni-Pol or Unicorn, don't be surprised when more officers show up and shoot back. If BLUE names are involved then, even more than usual, your actions will have appropriate and sometimes catastrophic results… you may find yourself waking up from reclaim in a prison cell, or being called before Tarkhan Zora to be commended for your bravery. The choice is yours so act carefully.
Some of these individuals have specific views and opinions. A character like Simon Silverstone for example, will not take the time to talk to you if you are neutral or Omni, and will not be very kind of you if you have soft views on either of these groups. Please do not take offence if someone doesn’t always play nice or agree with your suggestions or comments. In staying true to the character, they must live up to their character profile. The storyteller playing the character doesn’t hate you, but their character might.
Lastly and most importantly remember that you are telling your own story. What is happening to you is as vital to the world we all love as the actions of the Council or the Board. Look around you, the world of Rubi-Ka is full of places that are just stories waiting to happen, from abandoned outposts to the council chambers of the new towns being built throughout the terraformed areas. So tell your story, we will be listening and so will the other citizens of Rubi-Ka.
To find those other citizens, to find those that roleplay too, you can find below links to a list with known roleplaying orgs of your server.
There are player created bots as well that the role play community has been using to communicate in character and out of character with each other. This also can be a good resource for you.
If have any issues, questions, comments, feedback, ideas, requests or anything about the events team, one of our events, a LTC or stuff. You can contact us via events-feedback@ark.anarchy-online.com
Links:
Historical and current events:
Prophet without Honour
The Rubi-Ka Timeline
The Animated Series
Editor News
"/tell irrknews news" To get the latest news ingame.
"The Art Gallery"
Player discussion on Shadowlands story and ties to Alien Invasion - One of the biggest and longest running threads in the forum
Summary of our ongoing storylines
Omni-Tek Departments and Legacy Clans
List of all Legacy Clans and Departments
You, and the Main Storyline Clans, Departments and other groups.
Non FC/ARK Omni-Tek and Clan websites
Council Of Truth: www{dot}counciloftruth{dot}org
Omni-Tek Affiliate Website: www{dot}ao-universe{dot}com/main.php?site=rp&link=bod
German Ratsforum: www{dot}ratsforum{dot}de
Player Organisations
Atlantean Roleplaying Organizations
Rimor Roleplaying Organizations
Ingame Player-run Roleplaying Channels - Please try to remain in-character
Atlantean: /tell channel42 !join
Rimor: /tell NRPB !join
List of Long Term Characters
LTC Listing
Misc.
The fourth Wall, our OOC RP Forum
A roleplay guide by Twistshot
A story/RP sumup by Praecautus
Atlantean Buzz
Rimor Buzz
This post was brought to you by the Events Team Storyline Department (Devdas, Cymber, Niyamita), the letter L and the number 8.
