MARDEK RPG: Chapter 2

MARDEK RPG: Chapter 2, subtitled "A New Hero", is the sequel to MARDEK RPG: Chapter 1 and part of a series planned to be eight chapters long. It is made to resemble the pixelated style of NES or SNES games and features a turn-based combat system. The setting is in the fictional world of Belfan during medieval times and eight years after the events of chapter 1. You play as a human named Mardek who, with the help of friends and allies, fights against the efforts of a group of aliens known as the Governance de Magi that wish to kill the alien soul known as Rohoph that inhabits Mardek's body.

Controls

 * While in a menu, use the arrow keys to move the cursor.
 * While in a town or dungeon, use the arrow keys to move your character.
 * Select choices, talk to people, examine object, etc. with the "x" key.
 * Cancel choices with the "z" key.
 * Enter the pause menu with the "Enter" or "Return" key.
 * While in the inventory menu, click on an item to pick it up and click again to place it in a slot.
 * While in the inventory menu, hold the "s" key while clicking a stack of items to only pick up one instance of that item. Click the same stack again to pick up an additional instance.
 * While in the inventory menu, hold the "e" key while hovering the cursor over an item to examine it.
 * While in the inventory menu, hold the "a" key while hovering the cursor over an item to see the abilities a character may learn from it.
 * While in the inventory menu, hold the "p" key while hovering the cursor over an item to see its properties.
 * While in the skills menu, select a skill and press the "a", "s", or "d" keys to set that key as its reaction key. This only applies to skills in the "[R] Offence" or "[R] Defence" menus.
 * While in battle, press a skill's set reaction key with proper timing as you hit an enemy or as an enemy hits you to use that key's corresponding reaction skill.
 * While in the world map, click on a red location node to travel to that location.

Gameplay
Gameplay of MARDEK RPG: Chapter 2 involves traveling around town or dungeon areas to advance in a quest you are given. While fulfilling such a quest, you are likely to engage in random enemy encounters and some plot-related boss encounters while not in a town. In such battles, turns go between each of your party members and each monster. On one of you party member's turns, you can fight with a weapon, use skills, cast magic, use an item, skip your turn, or flee from the battle (random encounters only). Defeating monsters in battle can grant you experience points to level up, money, and items. In towns, you can enter shops to purchase or sell items and equipment. When you exit an area or town, you are brought to a world map where you can travel to any other area that is available to you.

Mardek Innanu El-Enkidu
The main protagonist of the series. Mardek is of the light element and best friends with Deugan. He wishes to become a famous adventurer like his idle, Social Fox. In his childhood, he became the host of the soul of an alien named Rohoph. Mardek has since grown used to sharing his body with this mysterious being. His intelligence is sub average but his intentions are always good. "I'd only kill a guy if he killed me first!"

Rohoph
A member of a race of aliens known as the Annunaki. He is of light element and also a former member of the Governance de Magi. In chapter 1, his spaceship crash lands on Belfan, resulting in his own body's death. As an Annunaki, when his body dies, he is able to move his soul into a new host body if the host is of the same element. This leads to him possessing Mardek as a method of escaping death. He is being hunted by the other members of the Governance de Magi. "Ah my body, it served me well. But alas, its now ruined."

Deugan Selmae Eh-Deredu
Deugan is of the earth element and best friends with Mardek. HE wishes to become a famous adventurer like his idle, Social Fox. He is fairly intelligent and helps to remind Mardek how to play the game, thus breaking the fourth wall. He is always noble in his actions. "Mardek, I'm going to remind you of the controls!"

Emela Andra Wu-Jardu
Emela is of the water element. Little is known of her past, and it is theorized that she isn't telling the truth about what little she does reveal. She joined the Royal Guard of Goznor and is primarily a spell caster. "Oh shut up you brutish lout."

Vehrn Juonour El-Ganobyi
Verhn is of the light element. He is a Yalortian paladin and a religious fanatic with a large ego. He is powerful against undead, but averagely powered otherwise. He joins with you later in the game after attempting to save the world by himself and failing miserably. "Anyway, silence! You're just soldiers! Godless, heathen soldiers too, probably! You wouldn't understand."

Zach Ursus Ae-Jarino
Zach is of the air element. He is a mercenary that can be hired into the party later in the game. He is very serious in comparison with the other party members. "1000 Generic gold coins and I'll help you."

Moric
The main antagonist of chapter 2, a member of the Annunaki, and a member of the Governance du Magi. He is of the earth element and specializes in necromancy. He was sent to Belfan by the Governance to find and kill Rohoph, but betrayed the Governace by abandoning their plan in favor of taking over Belfan for himself. He has a deep personal hatred of Rohoph. "When I came here, my goal was to destroy you and depart - rend you limb from limb, to bathe in your blood and sneer as your flesh was consumed by beasts and your pallid robe was torn into at least seventeen shredded strips, soaked in the humours of corporeal life - but since I arrived, I have realised... there is so much more potential, yeees!"

Social Fox
Social Fox is of the fire element. He was a Grand Adventurer and the hero of many people such as Mardek and Duegan. He frequently went of quests, battled monsters, slayed dragons, and such great feats a famous adventurer would be expected to do. In the time between chapter 1 and chapter 2, he died due to the extent of wounds he received from a notably powerful and fierce dragon that he slayed. He was buried deep in the catacombs located beneath the town of Goznor.

Steele Brennte Du-Korey
Steele is of the dark element. He is a Royal Guard of Goznor in training. He has a very aggressive, impatient, sexist, and self-centered attitude. "So there won't be any bloodshed? What's this, the Pansy Bigade?"

Plot
Continuing from eight years after the events of chapter 1, Mardek and Duegan are setting out on their first mission and last test as trainee members of the Royal Guard of Goznor.

Mission in the Mines
As the first quest of the game, you are sent, along with the other trainee members of Goznor's Royal Guard, to stop a group of bandits that have taken over a gem mine in order to search for magical crystals. It goes as planned until the party finds the Bandit Chief. A battle begins with the Bandit Chief fighting against Mardek, Duegan, Emela, and Steele. After he is defeated, the group is about to follow their policy of avoiding casualties when possible when Steele insists on continually attacking the now defenseless bandit. In an effort to stop Steele's violence, Emela casts lightning on Steele with the intention of stunning him. Unfortunately, the shock kills Steele.

Back at Goznor castle, the Royal Guard named Donovan tells their commander that Steele fell in the line of battle due to him arrogantly charging into the midst of a group of powerful bandits. After a ceremony to show everybody has attained the rank of Royal Guard of Goznor, they head to their respective dorms to sleep. That night, Rohoph tells Mardek and Deugan he may have sensed the aura of another Annunaki on Belfan, sent to hunt him down. At the time, they decide it could be passed off as a misreading of the aura of the magic crystals the bandits were after.

Missing Shaman
The next morning, Duegan is assigned the newest mission to come up due to being the first to report in the morning. He and Mardek are about to go off to investigate overly aggressive monsters in Canonia and the disappearance of the Canonia Shaman, when Emela comes and urgently asks to go with them. After initial questions, they take her with them after she tells them that she is from Canonia. Along the way to Canonia, the party passes by Lake Qur and get distracted by a separate quest.

The Lake Hag
The party discovers the Lake Hag of Lake Qur has become strangely aggressive and started cursing people into crystal statues, including the parents of a young girl named Elwyen. With the help of Emela's magic, the group heads into an underwater cave and confront the Lake Hag, which has turned so violent, they are forced to kill the usually calm beast. Despite the fact the curses haven't lifted, the threat has been eliminated and the party can continue into Canonia.

Missing Shaman (Cont.)
The party talks to the captain of Canonia's city guard who tells them the sudden aggression on local monsters is likely directly caused by the absence of the local shaman. It is recommended to the party that they start by checking the Canonia Woods, so they head through the woods and into the Tainted Grotto.

In the Tainted Grotto, they come across the World's Saviors, a group of would-be heroes trying to find the Canonia Water Crystal. Considering themselves all-around better than the soldiers, they engage in battle in order to try to force you out of their way. After beating them the party finally find the Shaman who has been transformed into an evil zombie that uses her powers to cause the aggression in various monster. She claims to have made a deal with "the Reaper", gaining dark powers and becoming a zombie in return for telling where there are many souls to be found. After destroying her, Rohoph urgently informs the group that the so called "Reaper" the Shaman mentioned had to be the Annunaki necromancer, Moric.

Save Goznor!
Rohoph realizes the full significance of what the Shaman said and says that Moric must be about to attack, or attacking Goznor. The party return there to find it swarming with zombies from the Goznor catacombs located past a door in the sewers. After obtaining a key to the catacombs, they fight their way to Moric, deep into the catacombs. Moric explains how initially he was sent to Belfan to find and destroy Rohoph, but soon realized the potential in taking over the world with his undead slaves. Moric still had, however, a focus on finding Rohoph due to a deep, personal hatred. He claimed Rohoph to be like a bully to him, always taunting how, where Rohoph could help restore proper life, Moric could only create horrid imitations of it. After Rohoph denies these claims, the battle between Moric and the party finally begins. The party kills Moric and returns to the surface to see that all the zombies had lost their power and returned to death. Afterwords, Rohoph expresses his worry that Moric may be demented enough to relocate his soul into a nearby zombie as a desperate attempt to remain alive. He decides it unlikely though, as that would be a terrible, and costly act of desperation.

Save Canonia!
Moric's Annunaki warship arrives over Canonia as zombies arise to take over the town. The party of Mardek, Deugan, and Emila (optionally Vehrn and Zach) head to Canonia's zombie-proof cave to talk with the Goznor Shaman, who is there to help the citizens in the cave. The shaman says he cave teleport the party into the ship but not back out. Inside the ship, they find Moric again, now within the decaying body of the late Social Fox. Moric has lost his grip on reality and, after a double take at what appears to be their dead hero killing the masses, Mardek and Duegan go with the rest of the party to put an end to Moric once and for all. Upon Moric's defeat, Rohoph casts a spell to seal his soul within the remains of Social Fox's corpse, thus removing any chance of Moric avoiding death any further.

With Moric dead, the warship loses control and slowly starts a perilous fall to the ground below. As the party fleas to the escape pods with only minutes to get out, they are faced by a large mechanical guard dragon. Duegan steps forward, distracting the dragon while the others make it to the escape pods and return to Belfan.

With Belfan safe again for now, Mardek is given the title of Honorary Royal Knight, Emela leaves to go back to the region around Canonia, Vehrn (if in you party) will leave to pray to YALORT, and Zach (if in your party) will leave as his service expires. Duegan never escaped from the warship in time.

With the traitorous Moric disposed of, the Governance de Magi now make their decision of who shall try to eliminate Rohoph next. The Annunaki Qualna of ether element volunteers to travel to Belfan.

Badges
MARDEK RPG: Chapter 2 has four badges.
 * The Compulsive Box Opener Badge (easy): Open 20 treasure chests.
 * The New Hero Badge (hard): Finish the game.
 * The Dragon Re-Slayer Badge (hard): Defeat the hidden zombie dragon boss.
 * The Cambrian Champion Badge (hard): Defeat all 20 waves of the hidden arena.

It is highly recommended that a player completes the Dragon Re-Slayer and Cambrian Champion badges before the New Hero badge if they wish to earn said badges. The reason for this is, once Mardek enters the Annunaki warship, a player is unable to return and reach the hidden boss or arena.

Hidden Content
Two of the hard badges clearly state there is a hidden boss and hidden arena in the game. The following is an explanation of where to find these things.

Zombie Dragon Boss
The hidden Zombie Dragon Boss is located within Social Fox's Tomb. This location is not noticed by the average player, as when you defeat Moric in the catacombs, you are instantly brought back to the surface of Goznor. To reach Social Fox's Tomb and the Zombie Dragon, you must travel back to the room deep in the catacombs where you fought with Moric. At the other end of the area is the entrance of the tomb, which is inhabited by a number a powerful and dangerous monsters. The dragon is at the back of the tomb.

Cambria's Arena
The arena is located in the hidden city of Cambria in the Trilobite Cave. To get through the cave and into the city, you must have all four of the game's hidden Trilobite Keys. The location of each key is as follows:
 * In the Gem Mine at the beginning of the game, when you find the bandit, Gope, chose to let him live. When you get back to Goznor, he will now be sitting in the inn. Talk to him for a trilobite key.
 * As you go through the Tainted Grotto, look at the map. There is an invisible chest that only appears on the map. Find and open the chest for a trilobite key.
 * After you defeat Moric, keep fighting Canonia zombies. The next trilobite key is an item drop from them.
 * After you defeat Moric, go to Social Fox's Tomb (see Zombie Dragon section for location), there is a chest containing a trilobite key.

Once you have all four keys, the Trilobite Cave is located in the Eastern Glens.