Thardferr

Thardferr is a reference to two online games. The original Thardferr game is an Advanced Dungeons & Dragons Living Campaign, one of the first played entirely on the internet. The Thardferr "Strategy" game is an online text based strategy with game play heavily influenced by Utopia, and the original AD&D Thardferr Game Setting.

Thardferr: The Strategy Game
''Thardferr is a world of glory, where you can gain the fame you deserve. And get a chance to master those who need your help. As you join this fantastic world, you will become the regent of a small piece of land and it will be your duty to make it grow so that it becomes one of the greatest kingdom of all time.''

Storyline
The story line for the game is set in a mystical, fantasy land known as Thardferr.

The troubles started long ago, when the first humans came to Thardferr from the land of Syth. With them, they did not only bring ships and supplies to make a new colony, but they brought war and destruction. They brought fear and many problems the current inhabitants of Thardferr did not yet have to face before the humans arrival.

However, humans also brought hope and leadership with them, and it is with their help that many alliances were forged between the difference races of the land. Some alliances only lasted a short period of time, others were more permanent. In fact, when more powerful enemies come to invade the land from Syth, the former human land, the elves, dwarves, orcs, humans and halfings were forced to unite their strength and a great alliance was born. It was only then that the world of Thardferr had a chance to survive and fight back.

It was also after the last war in which the whole world was almost destroyed that the different kingdoms started to be divided into smaller ones. The Emperor seeing that the land needed to be rebuilt quickly, he started to give small pieces of land to many brave soldiers in order for them to make sure the land would become prosper again. The only thing these soldiers would be asked is to make sure the growth of Thardferr was constant and that it would become the pleasant place to live it used to be. It is now time for you to try to help your Emperor the best you can and many to get the fame you believe you deserve.

Gameplay
The game is a text based strategy game that is played through a web-browser.

The player chooses a race out of human, dwarf, gnome, elf and orc, each with vastly different armies and playing strategies. Kingdoms initially start with 1 castle, 10 land, a small number of buildings, an average populace and a small military. Kingdoms are in groups of 8 or 10, known as a Province. A new player has a protected period of 5 days (120 hours) to prepare their kingdom to face the rest of Thardferr.

The goal of Thardferr is to increase the power of your kingdom, through gaining castles and land, and building up a military capable of protecting one's kingdom. Land can be gained peacefully through exploration or forcefully through attack. Castles can be built peacefully, one every 30 hours, or gained forcefully in an attack. Land can be built on, with up to 10 buildings per land. Buildings cover a wide variety of purposes, including houses for peasants, mills and mines for resources, training centres and guard houses to train and house an army, respectively, and forges to produce weapons.

Almost all aspects of the game require resources to build or keep. The 4 resources are Gold, Iron, Wood and Food. Iron and Wood are produced at Mines and Mills, and require peasants to produce. They are spent in making weapons and armour, and in building on land. Food is produced at Farms, also requiring peasants. Food is spent in the upkeep of peasants and military. Gold is produced simply by having peasants on one's land; however gold production can be increased through building Markets, or casting beneficial Spells.

The game is known for being fairly unappealing to new players. The complexity and micromanagement involved can be demanding to a new player, especially in the absence of a tutorial. In recent years, the brutal tactics and diplomacy between top alliances has forced many old players out of the game, and due to a lack of external advertising, and lack of appeal to new players, the user base of Thardferr is steadily declining.

Thardferr: Advanced Dungeons & Dragons Game
The Thardferr AD&D game was the original destination for the Thardferr site. It was created in early 1998 to serve as a meeting place for collaboration between several Dungeon Masters (DMs) and players who wished to create an online living campaign for 2nd edition Advanced Dungeons and Dragons. It was originally played on WebRPG, but as that game went to pay-to-play Thardferr went to alternate sites, with the bulk joining a very early OpenRPG and some going to a  MUD like platform called Hesperian. Though at one time Thardferr AD&D boasted over 20 active DMs and groups, interest and activity waned for various reasons (See Below) and the community at the Thardferr.com AD&D site has been reduced to non AD&D related roleplaying.

Early Days
Thardferr AD&D was originally created and hosted by Jean-Phillipe Keable "Abakar" as a way to draw people to his website. He began collaboration with several DMs, including Kenneth Pendleton "Sage Locknar" or "The Sage" in early 1998 with a plan to create an online Living Campaign for 2nd Edition Advanced Dungeons and Dragons game. As several DMs dropped out, Pendleton ended up doing the bulk of the original setting, though later he too had to go on hiatus for health problems. Keable put the site on hold until November 1998, when he began to solicit DMs to help fill the holes in the setting that Pendleton and the other earlier DMs left. Interest grew again, and help from DMs such as "Prarok" and "Dalan" enabled registration for Players and DMs to begin in early 1999.

The first official Thardferr game took place on February 2nd, 1999, and was run by Dalan, though Prarok and Dalan both ran unofficial games before the start date. Early registration for DMs and Players was through manual email. Due to the time consuming nature, coupled with the growing popularity of the game, Keable made a DM named "Koe the Mad" an Administrator, giving him access to approve all Players and DMs. Overwhelmed by the demands the job took, Koe left Thardferr and Abakar created an automated player registration process. DMs, who registered much less frequently, remained manually approved.

In late 1999, Pendleton returned to Thardferr. Keable quickly made him an Administrator and Pendleton clarified several holes and misinterpretations in the introduced a campaign arc that all the DMs were to follow called "The Conflict". Set to take approximately 6 months of real life time, it set a plot that all the DMs could follow and gave a sense of connectivity the setting did not have before.

Height of Popularity
Between late 1999 and early 2003, the number of DMs and Players grew steadily into an internet community with regular posters numbering in the hundreds. To meet the rising need for structure, Abakar named Prarok and Dalan, two of the early DMs, Administrators. As Abakar became more distant from the game (due in part to his work on the new Strategy game section of the site), Pendleton, Prarok, and Dalan decided the course of Thardferr AD&D with input from the regular DMs. Due to criticisms of his leadership of the Conflict, Pendleton left the Thardferr community, though he returned periodically to offer advice and insight into his original work.

With the consent of the Administrators, the DMs created a "DM Council" of three DMs elected from the body of regular DMs in the wake of Pendleton's leaving. Separate from the Administrators, who governed the site's registration and moderated the boards, The DM Council made decisions regarding the input of new additions to the setting, as well as the continuation of the "Conflict". Later, Players got involved with the creation of a "Thardferr Council", which composed of the DM Council and Player Representatives elected by Players. Most of the original members of the Player Representatives were "Helpfuls", Players who took special interest in helping new players adjust to the game. Each were named Helpful (Something), which something usually a descriptor of the character that he or she played in the game, Ex: Helpful Elf and Helpful Villain.