COGG is a mid-fantasy roleplaying MUD with aspects of frontier west, low steam/gas, mysterious occult, and post-apocalyptic themes. Join the exiles of the Lost Lands in trying to build a functioning society in a hostile ruined world.
The game takes place primarily in the Lost Lands, a recovering region of the continent of Arad that was ravaged by a deadly plague over 100 years ago which nearly completely wiped out humanity in the Aetgard region. The timeframe is the early 1200s, and clockwork technology is becoming more advanced and widespread, being seen even in the isolated Lost Lands. The population of the Lost Lands region has struggled to recover over the past several generations amidst various trials - the Quarantine cutting off virtually all travel and trade from the outside, an outbreak of resen spores which infest and take over their hosts, the spreading canim curse turning men into nigh-feral beasts, and the ever-increasing saturation of nether twisting the land into a pale and haunted imitation of what it once was - to name a few.
Despite the above trials, there are those who stubbornly toil to survive - even thrive - in this world of danger and affliction. In the mid north is the Mistveil Dominion, utilizing power, intimidation, and even sorcery to enforce order and peace in the lands they've claimed, ever seeking to expand their influence. In the south is the xenophobic Kingdom of Lapis, born from the last major surviving remnant of humanity in Aetgard, its people zealously striving to cleanse the Lost Lands of its afflictions and rekindle the glory of the lost Kingdom as they expand their efforts further northward. And caught between these two oft-warring factions is the loosely-organized Republic of Exiles, a tenuous coalition of necessity formed by the majority of the remaining peoples of the Lost Lands resisting assimilation or conquest, wishing only to be left to live their lives as they see fit.
Many have labored, fought, and died over the past hunred or so years to secure some semblance of security and prosperity in these ruined lands, and while things are arguably better now than they have been in quite some time, the struggle continues. People from all walks of life are necessary to maintain these ultimately fragile societies - farmers and ranchers, hunters and foragers, loggers and miners, craftsmen, surgeons, scholars, warriors, scouts, bounty hunters - all are important cogs in the intricate clockwork that keeps these societies running and the Lost Lands from collapsing back into chaos.
The game is all about playing the role of a character, and though the world is a dangerous one, the game does not have to be combat-centric for those who prefer otherwise. (In fact, the game has struggled in the past to have an appreciable portion of the population playing combat characters!) |
