Traditionally, the weeks that lead to E3 are a bit slow, with many companies saving their news for the event. At MMORPG.com, we have bucked that tradition. All this week we will be spotlighting Perpetual Entertainment’s upcoming MMORPG, Gods and Heroes: Rome Rising, with an exclusive, highly focused look at never before revealed details each day. Today we introduce you to the game, set loosely in 300 BC. In Gods and Heroes players find themselves playing the role of epic heroes descended from the gods and imbued with some of their powers.

With such high birth comes special abilities the designers are calling God Powers. These powers are Perpetual’s answer to the use of magic in other MMOGs. Early in the game each player aligns with one of the major gods which in turn defines the manner of God Powers he will receive. Align with Jupiter and the powers of lightning are yours to command, while Vulcan allows you to unleash the magma of the underworld upon your foes. There are a myriad of options in this system, which will be the subject of a later journal.

Along with the opportunity to earn special God Powers, Perpetual has designed an elaborate skill and feat system to enhance a character’s abilities. Perpetual asserts that, with the available choices within each character class, it is possible to make dozens of unique combinations of skills and feats. When combined with the God Powers, the gameplay-affecting customization possibilities become dizzying.

The Gods and Heroes team knows that character customization is key. While class names fall into a more Roman style, with options like “Gladiator” and “Mystic”, they are the usual fare; such as warriors, casters and stealthy jacks-of-all-trades. With a character class chosen, a player can then go on to Gods and Heroes’ detailed physical customization, featuring highly tunable faces and body builds and even tattoo placement.

Once a player has designed a character to their specifications, they are ready to embark on one of 1250 quests the Gods and Heroes team has planned to be in at launch. These hundreds of quests are divided into three types: Rome Quests, God Quests, and Epic Quests. The Rome Quests are those that you are duty-bound as a citizen and hero of Rome to complete. The God Quests are those quests that affect your favor with the gods of Rome. Epic Quests are a bit more extensive and help each Hero of Rome fulfill their Epic Destiny; this feature is that which the developers hope instills a sense of purpose in Gods and Heroes. The grand arc of each character’s Epic Quests are meant to give your play experience a sense of real meaning, something that’s been notoriously lacking in many other MMORPGs.

The creators of Gods and Heroes do not mean for players to complete these quests alone. The team is more than excited to be showing off their unique squad system at this year’s E3. Each player may have up to eight NPC minions over whom they are lord and master, fitting considering player characters are both heroic figures and the offspring of deities. These minions will train with and accompany their leader on the battlefield, becoming more experienced as they go. However, training and marshalling in battle is not where a player’s responsibility ends. Players need to pay, uniform and maintain the morale of their NPC comrades, lest the player find himself on the field of battle with disgruntled, under-equipped or worst of all, no minions at all. The reward is great, however. When joining with other players and their minions, it is possible to go into the fray with a literal army of dozens of soldiers. Legions of minions become very important when pitted against higher level NPCs, who, Perpetual notes, will travel in large groups. Imagine large-scale battles of 200 with heroes and mythical creatures mixing in with formations of legionnaires. It is this type of scene that we will see at the high end of Gods and Heroes.

Perpetual’s plans do not stop there. They team has firm plans beyond the initial launch. The design team of Gods and Heroes is preparing for the future, with expansion plans already laid out. These expansions will open new territories as Rome’s vast borders extend further still and bring in new playable races, characters, and monsters into the mix. Their goal in this level of pre-planning is to avoid the uneasy “tacked on feeling” that accompany many MMO expansions.

Before the news came down that Perpetual Entertainment had secured the rights for Star Trek Online, no one had ever heard of this company. How then are we assured that they can deliver on their lofty goals? They have before. Former executives of companies such as Electronic Arts (EA) lead the management team, and under them are highly talented individuals who have worked on some of the biggest games of all time, like the Sim City franchise and Diablo II. This vast experience and the cross-pollination of experiences and ideas as they simultaneously develop Star Trek Online is what they are relying on to provide the most complete and polished experience to the player possible.

Over the next week, we will present to you the core defining features of Gods and Heroes. Short of actually playing the game, you will not learn more about this title. Each day we will delve deeper into the creatures, squad combat, god powers, and design team of Gods and Heroes: Rome Rising, so that you can learn more about this exciting game and decide for yourself if it sets itself apart from the crowd.

We hope you enjoyed the first day of five exclusive spotlights on the details of Perpetual's upcoming historical MMORPG. Please leave your comments in this thread and do not hesitate to discuss the game on our message board which is frequented by Perpetual Entertainment!