There is one RPG series that perfectly encapsulates the rags to power archetype. I have yet to see any other RPG perform it as well. Developed by the German based studio Piranha Bytes, the first of the game in the Gothic series was released in November 2001. I remember it still, back in 2002, I was browsing Amazon, hungering for an RPG when I stumbled upon this game and it's rave customer reviews. I was not disappointed in the slightest.

Gothic has you playing an unnamed convict that is about to be thrown into a prison-mining colony that is cut off from the outside world by a magical barrier that had backfired. While it is safe to enter the barrier, it is impossible for anything living to pass back through the barrier once inside. An uneasy agreement between the king and the convicts has resulted in an exchange of goods for the magical ore the convicts mine. Your character is plunged headlong into the situation when asked to contact the Mages trapped within the barrier.

Your character has absolutely nothing at the start of his journey besides the clothes on his back. You must make your way through the prison colony, finding gear, gaining power, influence, and combat skills. The colony is a rough place mostly ran by former criminals and bandits, who mainly only respect strength of arms. As you progress, you will discover the colony is ran by three factions, one of which you must choose to side with. This decision determines what armor types, and combat training will be made available to you throughout the game.

For the year 2002, Gothic was a marvel. While Morrowind was impressive in it's scope; being released later that year. Gothic provided a large open world with the freedom of choice that not many RPGs in that era could emulate. Plus the difficulty of the game was extreme, if I got a penny for every-time I had to reload my game, I'd be rich! These were the days before the Souls series, when video games were starting to curve into the more trivial side of the difficult spectrum.

The best feeling about Gothic is the path of gradual power you gain throughout the game. When you first start, you'll be lucky enough if your puny self can defeat a mole rat. You'll wield a club as if it's a tree trunk; with both hands, flailing wildly and ineffectually. As you gain some combat training, your stance, and how well you wielded your chosen weapon type will improve. As you gain more combat experience you will become faster, and maneuver more smoothly into combos and parrying.

In a colony full of former convicts, muggings are something you'll see often. They won't kill you, but they sure will shake you down. If you refuse to pay up, they'll find other ways to get your hard earned ore. (The currency of the cut-off colony) This is where the Gothic games got the silly moniker of being a 'mugging simulator'. Once you become more powerful, you can do the same to other characters, gathering wealth and equipment on the backs of others you are able to defeat. Or maybe getting back what was taken from you way back, when you couldn't defend yourself. Pay back always feels so sweet.

If you become powerful enough, or skilled enough at the combat to take down a guard, you're really in business. Guards that you have previously beat up will remember you, and refuse to see you perform any crimes. They will even go as far as to turn away and exclaim that they saw nothing. Something about that simple sort of persistence really impressed me back then, and to this day still does. While the goal of mugging every character in the old camp isn't a story goal, it's a fun one to strive for in between odd jobs and quests.

The three factions could be differentiated by the designs and colors of their faction specific armors. Once you decide on, and join a faction, you will be presented with the armor set corresponding to that faction and your rank. As you gain more prestige within your chosen faction, you will get better and cooler looking armor. This creates a fun curve that combines the acquiring of armor and an evolving character design, along with the game's story, which is a beautiful combination for any RPG gamer.

To this day, every couple of years. I find myself playing through Gothic once again. To be terribly honest, the graphics have not held up that great. However, once I get back into the fantastic gameplay, I find myself hooked all over again. Working my way up to mugging those jerk-wad guards that always shake me down! This is always my ultimate goal when playing Gothic.

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