TLBB (MMORPG)

TLBB
Developer(s)	ChangYou.com
Publisher(s)	Sohu
Platform(s)	Microsoft Windows
Release	2007
Genre(s)	MMORPG
Mode(s)	Multiplayer online

Tian Long Ba Bu - otherwise known as TLBB - is a free-to-play MMORPG launched in May 2007 developed and published by ChangYou.com and Sohu, based on the novel Demi-Gods and Semi-Devils by Jin Yong. TLBB is an award-winning 2.5D martial arts-style fighting and community-building game designed to give players the freedom to "choose their own destiny" and play the game in any way they decide. TLBB has been awarded the Most-liked Online Game by Game Players by ChinaJoy for five consecutive years from 2006 to 2010 and was ranked amongst the World's Top Five Most Profitable Game Franchises in 2009 by Forbes. Since its initial launch in China, ChangYou.com has taken steps to sell TLBB on an international stage. TLBB now has servers in Europe, Malaysia, Vietnamn and the U.S., where the game operates under the title Dragon Oath.

Story

Background

Based on the popular Chinese novel by Wuxia writer Jin Yong, Tian Long Ba Bu is set in a world based heavily on Buddhist cosmology and the concept of the Eight Races of non-human entities. At the heart of the TLBB story are three heroes: Xiao Feng, Duan Yu and Xu Zhu. Each has their own unique and important role to play and each is instrumental in shaping the game world players find themselves in when they spawn into Da Li for the very first time.

The Song Dynasty

The Song Dynasty of China was a ruling dynasty that controlled the south-eastern part of China from the middle of the 10th century through to the last quarter of the 13th century. The Song Dynasty is considered a high point of classical Chinese innovation in science and technology and is notable for the revolutionary use of gunpowder-based weapons.

While the Song Dynasty was a period of great intellectual advance, it was also a period of great political and military difficulty. Aggressive factions often sought to impede progress in court.

The frontier management policies of the Chancellor Wang Anshi exacerbated hostile conditions along the Chinese-Vietnamese border, sparking a border war with the Lý Dynasty. Although the conflict was fought to a mutual draw, there was subsequently an enormous military defeat at the hands of invading Jurchens from the north in 1127, forcing the remnants of the Song court to flee south from Kaifeng and establish a new capital at Hangzhou. It was at Hangzhou that the new naval strength was developed to combat the Jin Dynasty formed in the North, and although the Song Dynasty was able to defeat further Jurchen invasions, the Mongols (led by Genghis Khan, Ögedei Khan, Möngke Khan, and finally Kublai Khan) gradually conquered China but only up until the fall of the final Song Emperor in 1279.

The Story of Xiao Feng

Xiao Feng is the popular and charismatic chief of the Beggars’ Alliance who possesses strong leadership qualities and exceptional prowess in martial arts. He falls from grace after his true ethnicity as a Khitan is revealed and he is wrongly accused of murdering several fellow pugilists to conceal his identity. He becomes an outcast of the Wulin and the prime enemy of all Han Chinese martial artists. He is forced to sever all ties he has with the Han Chinese pugilists and engages them in a one-man bloody battle in which he kills many warriors, including some of his old friends.

Xiao Feng leaves to verify the claims that he is a Khitan and investigate the mysterious murders. He is accompanied by A'Zhu, who is in love with him and stands by him even when the world turns against him. After a long journey in disguise, he finally concludes that he is indeed a Khitan and he assumes his ancestral name Xiao Feng. Tragically, he makes a major blunder after being tricked into believing that Duan Zhengchun (revealed to be A'Zhu's father) is responsible for his parents' death. He kills A'Zhu by mistake, who is in disguise to defend her father.

Xiao Feng suffers serious regret and leaves Song with A'Zi, the younger sister of A'Zhu. He had always promised to take good care of A'Zi, who cares of him deeply, but Xiao Feng does not agree with her mischievousness and sadistic nature. Xiao wanders into Liao where he becomes a powerful noble after forging a strong friendship with the ruler, Yelü Hongji, shortly after saving his life. When Yelü Hongji decides to invade Song, Xiao Feng attempts to dissuade him as he still values his past relations with the Han Chinese. Ultimately, Xiao Feng commits suicide to prevent the war between Song and Liao after taking Yelü Hongji hostage and making him swear that he will never invade Song.

The Story of Duan Yu

Duan Yu is a young, naive prince of the Kingdom of Da Li. Despite the long tradition of the practice of martial arts in the royal family, he refuses to learn Kung Fu due to Buddhist influence and his disdain for bloodshed. When his father Duan Zhengchun tries to force him to learn martial arts, he runs away from home. Ironically, he acquires three of the most powerful skills in the novel and becomes immune to poison after consuming the Zhuha, a poisonous toad dubbed as the ‘king of all venomous creatures’.

During his adventures, he encounters several beautiful young maidens, such as Zhong Ling and Mu Wanqing, and falls in love with them. However, one by one, these maidens are revealed to actually be his half-sisters due to his womanizing father's past affairs with several women such as Gan Baobao and Qin Hongmian. Of these maidens, he is extremely obsessed with Wang Yuyan, who resembles a statue of a fairy-like maiden he once chanced upon before. He tries to win her heart but she has no feelings for him as she has affections for her cousin Murong Fu. Duan Yu's love-life ends on a happy note when Wang Yuyan finally realises that he is the one who truly loves her. They become happily married and live together thereafter.

The Story of Xuzhu

Xuzhu is a monk from the Shaolin sect, described as kind-hearted and with a submissive nature. He believes strongly in following the Buddhist code and refuses to break it even when faced with life-threatening situations. He follows his elders to a pugilist meeting which marks the start of his adventures but coincidentally, Xuzhu breaks a Weigi formation and becomes the successor of the Carefree Sect thus inheriting the powers of Wuyazi. Subsequently, he encounters Tianshan Tonglao and other acquaintances of Wuyazi who he learns martial arts from. Once again, he becomes the leader of several unorthodox sects in the Jianghu.

Xuzhu feels overwhelmed by the sudden influx of heavy responsibilities and his major leap in martial arts prowess. He desires to detach himself from all these duties and return to his former monastic life. However, he is unable to wrench himself free from the various tribulations and dangers that lie ahead; he is no longer regarded as a disciple of Shaolin and has no choice but to accept his fate. Xuzhu has a pitiful parentage, as he is revealed to be the illegitimate son of Shaolin's head abbot Xuanci and Ye Erniang of the Four Evils. The reunion with his parents is destined to be the first and the last. Again by coincidence, Xuzhu becomes the prince consort of the Kingdom of Western Xia due to a previous affair with Princess Yinchuan, whom he is happily married to.

See also

• Demi-Gods and Semi-Devils
• List of organisations in Wuxia fiction
• Heroes of Jin Yong
• Martial Kingdoms
• Xuanyuan Jian
• The Legend of Sword and Fairy
• Jade Empire
• Bujingai
• Heavenly Sword

External links

• Official English website - for European users
• Official English website - for North America users
• Official Chinese website
• Official Vietnamese website
• Official Malaysian website
• Official Thai website
• Music by XiaoXu Game Music Studio