Wakfu (as well as Dofus) is an animesque French setting about a fantasy world. Originally an MMO vidya called Dofus, a Saturday morning cartoon with a lot of action was made to promote the game (like Transformers, but with a monthly sub fee instead of action figures). The cartoon was called Wakfu and was set 200 years after the game. It ran for two seasons. It became fairly popular, both at home and in foreign countries like Albion and Eagleland. Then, an MMO for Wakfu was made, taking place a decade before the series. Then, a cartoon for Dofus was made, being intended for a younger audience than the first show. Between all these came several movies, a toy line, a trading card game, a tabletop game called Krosmaster, comics, and a Kickstarter for BLU rays and dubbed episodes that /co/ went into hysteric excitement for a month over.

/tg/ likes it for a some reason. Maybe it's the Noblebright fantasy setting with a fair amount of new concepts, maybe it's the ~~elf~~ panda and Felinid chicks with big hips, maybe it's just the fact that it's just a rather good cartoon. It's hard to pinpoint why, but the series definitely has some nice hips.

If you want to watch the series, both shows have been fansubbed in English, dubbed in French, and is being officially dubbed in English, Polish, and German. Ask /co/ where to look. /co/ loves Wakfu.

The Wakfu game itself is a free-to-play/pay-to-play MMO in closed beta. It's prequel, DOFUS, follows a similar formula; just that it's already been finished for a while.

Incidentally, if you read this and thought "Hey, that sounds cool, I remember when I used to like cartoons..." you really should go watch a bit: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H2JrWJfdoqk

The setting

Something of note is how many terms for creatures and things in the World of Twelve are spelled and pronounced differently, with minor differences from the real-world counterpart. For example, Krosmos=cosmos. Bouf=sheep. Bow Meow=cat with appendages allowing it to wrap around something and resemble a bow tie.

Krosmos

In the beginning, there was nothing but raw energy. This energy comes in two forms: "Wakfu" is the force of creation, and it occurs when the energy is in a state of movement. "Stasis" is the same energy, but destructive and is stagnant. This energy, in both forms, represents all matter and magic in the setting. Unlike most settings, they are not clear "good and evil" or "order and chaos". They simply are.

Eventually, the Wakfu of the universe formed into a sentient goddess entity called "Eliatrope". The Stasis became the god Great Dragon. The two circled each other in a "dance" (fucking or chemical reaction, your interpretation). Out of this "dance" came a system of stable matter and complex wakfu/stasis flow. It resembles an egg. The "yolk " of the egg is the universe and all the solar systems within. The membrane is the Astral Plane, and in the egg white on opposite ends are the realm of spirits and gods, and the realm of demons and Shushus (the former on Eliatrope's side near the tip of the egg, the latter near the Great Dragon's on the bottom). When a being dies, their soul travels through the bottom of the egg, flows through the Great Dragon, then enters the body of Eliatrope and returns to the universe to be reborn in a cycle of reincarnation.

Eliatropes and Dragons

With the universe created, the two gods danced a second time and created the first sentient mortal race. The firstborn twelve of that race hatched from eggs, called a Dofus, directly into the world. Six Dragons, six Eliatropes, one of each born as twins from each Dofus. Rather than dying, flowing through both genesis gods, and being reincarnated into a fetus produced via sexual reproduction somewhere in the material plane like most beings are the first twelve of the Dragons and Eliatropes return to their Dofus upon death and once both Dragon and Eliatrope sibling perish and return they gestate and re-hatch from the Dofus egg as newborns. These are powerful conduits of Wakfu, and with proper use they can make beings extremely powerful. Eliatropes and Dragons do not look kindly on it by any means.

The rest of the Eliatrope and Dragon race are born, die, and reincarnate as usual.

Their race built a great civilization, unlocking the secrets of Wakfu and Stasis as sciences. However, a long war with a race of machines and a few terrible internal betrayals scattered them across the Krosmos.

The World of Ten/Twelve

The Eliatropes and Dragons who survived the war with the machine race abandoned their empire and fled through the Krosmos. Eventually, most settled on a planet with an abundance of Wakfu. Eventually the machine men found them here as well, and wiped out life on the planet. Many escaped to pocket dimensions or took to the stars alone. The firstborn twelve, trapped in the Dofus's, were buried beneath the surface of the world.

Some time later, spirits and demons began to leave their home planes and explore the universe. By chance, a powerful spirit named Osamodas discovered the barren planet where the Eliatropes and Dragons made their last stand. He found only a sign made of platinum which read in flaming red letters "THERE'S NOTHING HERE". He made a home here, and his pets/companions, three great dragon spirits (unrelated to the Eliatrope dragons) played and fought like hounds at his feet. This, in the abundance of such a large amount of Wakfu, created simple life. Osamodas was joined by nine of his fellow spirits, who began to shape the world for life. Together, Sadida and Osamodas created the fauna and flora respectively. Xelor shaped time in ways that made it measurable, and gave it value. Enutrof gave the world gold and currency, Feca gave learning, and so forth. Many spirits began to converge on the world, all eager to be a part of this new wondrous thing. Since the gods had depleted most if their imaginative names by naming planets and celestial bodies during their travels through the Krosmos, they merrly called the planet "The World of Ten".

Humans were born among the many intelligent races, and humans had the most potential to shape Wakfu and Stasis. As the humans were born, they took shapes similar to the gods they worshipped and swore allegiance to as they reincarnated. The belief and servitude of man in turn made the spirits stronger until they became gods.

Meanwhile the race of Demons sought to invade, and take the world for themselves. As Demons came to be in the universe, born of Stasis more thsn Wakfu in contrast to the mainly Wakfu spirits, one called Rushu consumed the rest of the firstborn and declared himself supreme ruler of all successive generations of demons and Shushus (lesser demons which mortals can bind to objects). Rushu came to the World of Ten early in it's formation and demanded to be one of the number of the gods. The Ten claimed balance must be maintained, and as a being of Stasis they could not balance him. In exchange for minor concessions, Rushu agreed to return to his realm and never enter the material plane again ( he is not a clever Demon, simply the one in charge). Of course he breaks his agreement constantly, but has to control portals or cultists to send servants into the world. He also recruited mortal souls who shared his vision and turned them into Shushus. Those Shushus in turn have a tendency to be trapped into physical objects by humans, making powerful (if talking and snarky) items. During the early history of the world, Demons first learn to be evil. At their core, they are only interested in destruction, for the act rather than any result. The worst task a Demon can end up with is building things for his fellows to destroy. Only by observing humanity from afar, and interviewing travelers who found portals leading to the realm of Rushu (which became more dangerous the more the demons learned) did they understand the implications of destruction. They learned of depravity and cruelty from mankind's knees. All were shocked by the depths of evil that humans could reach. Some, like Rushu, were eager students. Others saw it as pointless diversions, others saw it as heresy to the pure act of destruction.

Eventually, two more beings joined the gods. Sacrier, a minor and weak spirit, whispered her lessons , like "pain is weakness leaving the body" and "blood is a pretty color!" to a lumberjack until he became her prophet, spreading her faith throughout the world. Pandawa was a simple spirit who discovered a simple and effective way to make bamboo wine. This made her popular enough through gratitude that she earned enough worship-equivalent power to become a minor goddess, growing in followers until she was a goddess proper. Thus the world came to be known as "The World of Twelve".

Dofus Era

The Dofus era technically began when the god Xelor first made time able to be measured by converting much of his plane into a giant clock, and appointing twelve heroes to guard over the months (different events occurring involving them caused the different months to have different days and holidays. December only exists because Rushu scratched the clock and demanded one of his followers be made a protector as well). Sadida severed his ~~soil~~ and created ten dolls to seduce the three dragons of Osamodas (creating soul dolls is a practice the race of Sadidas also practice as a result). This creates the six Primordial Dofus, resulting in a race of Dragons in the World of Twelve. The Dofus era comprises the general age of the first game. An age of myth preceded it in which heroes rose and wars were fought, mainly between the city states and later kingdoms Brakmar (city of villains and debauchery, established by Rushu for mortals to worship him after his first invasion) and Bonta (city of heroes and good alignments, established to oppose Brakmar). The main events from the age of myth however involve the rise of Goultard, immortal demigod son of Iop.

Dofus is an anachronistic age of heroic figures plumbing ancient ruins and fighting terrible monsters that threaten to sweep civilization away. The technology and culture of the time was something of a 1970's/1980's Shadowrun, with magitek conveniences like televisions and stereo sound systems to amp up rap battles and metal music concerts alongside standard fantasy things like swords and sorcery, crusades, and plagues on tier with something Nurgle could whip up.

The cartoon featuring the Dofus era came after the Wakfu cartoon. It revolves around an elderly Ecaflip gentleman telling stories of his youth (and romantic exploits which mainly involve his attempts to win the love of his life, who is an Ouginak named Lou) to his adopted son Joris and his lesbian live-in Osamodas maid.

The era ended with the rise of Ogrest.

Ogrests Chaos

The primary cataclysmic event of the setting. One day, an alchemist named Otomai was experimenting with rare crystals made of solidified Wakfu called Ogrines and mixed them with CHEMICAL X. He managed to (accidentally) create a living being, whom ed named Ogrest.

The supreme villain of the setting, Ogrest, wrestling with his maker Otomai.
Ogrest's revenge.
Ogrest atones and is purified.
Ogrest, temporarily subdued.

Ogrest, thanks to his magically charged body, had peculiar properties to him like being nearly indestructible and having tears which grew as they fell (this was discovered when after being frightened as an infant he flooded his father's shop). His father cared for him and gave him a happy and sheltered childhood. And he would have had a pleasant life of it, in spite of the Chaos in all his works had his path not been crossed by a creature who causes more perplexity to man than the race of Boowolfs, Ouginaks, and Shushus put together; and that creature was a woman.

Ogrest meets Dathura. The fate of the World of Twelve is sealed.

Dathura, one of the god Sadida's dolls, wanted to be a real girl. Recognizing Ogrest as a being of immense potential, she /ss/ed with him under his father's nose, then when he became an adult she manipulated him into collecting the six Primordial Dofus to use to turn her human. At one point one of the six Eliatrope/Dragon Dofus had hatched and the Eliatrope had perished, leaving the Dragon Grougaloragran to wander the world alone seeking the Dofus that contained his brother and those of his kin.

Once they were gathered the gods became fearful: Ogrest's might was near on par with their own. The Twelve declared war on him, and in the ensuing battles he cast them off their home on the tallest mountain in the World of Twelve, Mount Zinit (which at one point was the spaceship that carried the Eliatropes and Dragons to the World of Twelve). While exploring the entrances to the domains of the gods, Dathura fell into the Deep Abyss of Time, the realm of Xelor. Rather than try to find her, the great manchild began to weep. His tears, wailing, and fist pounding caused a cataclysm of near world-ending proportions. Tidal waves, earthquakes, and volcanic eruptions wiped out most of the life on the planet, and turned the Pangea-like continent into a series of large and small islands. Only the direct intervention of the gods saved mankind.

As civilization was rebuilt, the former twelve kingdoms were replace by small kingdoms and a large number of chaotic and transitory political systems which can rise and fall in a month. Most of these frontier city-states are founded and ruled by those who "have proven their worth to the gods and people" AKA adventurers. New organizations spanning the world arose, which behave similar to the faiths of the Twelve but are more like adventurer guilds or cults dedicated to myths and past figures. Among them are a cult dedicated to Ogrest that make up the quota of Chaotic Evil for the world, a cult to Otomai of fedora tippers who believe only in SCIENCE, a cult to Dathura which believed in finding her and returning her to Ogrest will save the world, and so forth.

Wakfu Era

The Wakfu era is a second golden age of adventurers. Where the ability to swing a sword brings followers and possession of a magical sword makes you a candidate for mayor.

When your average mid level adventurer can get on a first name basis with royalty of one of the races, and in epic levels join the family.

The television series begins with Grougaloragran, now an old "man", hatching the Dofus of the ~~kings~~ God Emprahs of the Eliatropes and Dragons, Yugo and Adamai. The latter he raises himself and the former is left with a kindly old Enutrof named Alibert. After the villain of the first season of the series (regarded by some (some being /co/) as one if the greatest villains of fiction) Nox attacks, Alibert is left in a state of near death. The child Yugo sets off to save his father along with the princess of the Sadida kingdom Amalia and her bodyguard Cra Evangelyne, a Iop Shushu knight named Tristepin (nicknamed "Sadlygrove" for a pun of his name, or Grovy) who was trained by Goultard himself and bears a talking Shushu sword (that possesses him from time to time) named Rubilax, an old (but not as old as he seems) Enutrof friend of Alibert named Ruel Stroud, and Yugo's pet Tofu (canary) Az. Later, they are joined by Adamai. The group each take a magical feather from Az and call themselves the Brotherhood of Tofu.

During the series Rushu invades and is defeated by Goultard who replaces his father as the god of the Iops (jury is out on if the race becomes Goultards, Deuxiops, or remains Iops who become doubly Iopish). The Sadidas are almost wiped out, the Sufokian Foggernoughts (lead by a character dubbed by fans as "Admiral Crazytits") equipped in power armor invade the realm of Rushu and teach demons to fear humanity, and the Brotherhood wins two games in the Boufball League (Rugby played with a ball resembling a dead bouf).

At the end of the second season, the lost race of Eliatropes return to the World of Twelve.

A series of comics continues the story further, and fills in backstories for several characters. During the Kickstarter campaign, the creators said that they intended to continue the series and make it gradually more mature similar to the Harry Potter series. French television, particularly the network that aired the show (France3) only want sitcom style comedy. Thus with the Kickstarter they intended to prove interest in English speaking markets fond of shows like Walking Dead and Avatar: The Last Airbender that have mature themes and an ongoing story. S3 Wakfu may someday come, in English before French.

Gods and Races

Genesis Gods

Eliatrope

Great Dragon

Human Gods/Races

Osamodas

Osamodas as worshipped by the Osamodas race.
Oktapodas, an aspect of Osamodas worshipped by Foggernauts in the Dofus era.

Sadida

Sadida as worshipped by Sadidas.
Sadida as worshipped by Masqueraiders.

Xelor

Xelor

Iop

Iop
Goultard, demigod son of Iop, and his replacement post-Wakfu.

Cra

Cra

Ecaflip

Ecaflip in the Dofus era. Owner and DJ of a popular romantic nightclub.
Ecaflip as he appears in the Wakfu era.

Eniripsa

Feca

Enutrof

Sram

Sacrier

Pandawa

Rushu

Atheists

Non-human Sentients

Ouginaks

Puddlings

Bullies

Dragons

The rules of Wakfu, applied to 40k.
Enutrofs, AKA Dwarfs. "Enutrof" = "Fortune"; they are miserly and greedy, though not necessarily unkind.
Sadidas ("Sadida" = "Adidas"; they are athletic but usually barefoot), the plant hippies of the setting. Vaguely Polynesian.
Iops, the default warrior badasses. Tend to get their dicks/vagoos stuck on Cra.
Cras, the default haughty archers. Not actually elves. Tsundere for Iops.
Xelors, time wizards ("Xelor" = "Rolex"). Mostly ignored in non-vidya media, with the exception of the villain of the Wakfu cartoon running around in wrap-face pretending to be one.
Osamodas's, the animal loving hippies and frontiersmen of the setting. Known for stealing all the Ecaflip wimmen.
Srams, the assassins. For some reason in Dofus, males were skeletons (2spooky) while females were chicks that shopped exclusively at Hot Topic. In the Wakfu era, they just wear Halloween costumes all year.
Sacriers, the OTHER warrior class of the setting. Gain power from their and their opponent's pain, can make weapons out of their blood in the Dofus era, out of tattoos in Wakfu.
Fecas, min/maxing science NEEEERDS! Decent melee warriors.
Ecaflips, gamblers and merchants. Despite being furry, having prehensile tails and retractable claws, purring and hissing, and being tamed (sexually) by Osamodas, they're 100% genetically human. Some can control their fleas as a swarm.
Eniripsas. Human-sized fairies, healers and alchemists ("Eniripsa" = "Aspirine"). Twelve help you if you piss one off.
Pandawas. Once again, totally human. Wine swilling monks who are totally not Pandaren. Carry around kegs of booze at all times, always brewing more on the go.
Rogues. They worship a different aspect of Sram. Their fondness of explosives, cheeky/chaotic lulz behavior, and general dickishness makes them the class for default shenanigans.
Masqueraiders, worship an aspect of Sadida. Batshit insane, craft and wear masks which grant them powers and cause their ENTIRE personality to change. An interesting form of Chaotic Neutral to say the least. Mobodu knows jack shit about them, as "mysterious" is their main description. Think of them as Shadowrunners.
Foggernauts. Come in two flavors. The first worships a watery aspect of Osamodas, called Oktopodas. Build steampunk guns, giant mechas, jetpacks, and the like. Big time mariners. Look the most human out of all the races. Playable in Dofus. In the Wakfu cartoon, they assembled and army of mecha that transform into submarines and fought Demons of Rushu 40k style.
The other kind of Foggernauts, exist only in the Wakfu era. Atheists (who choose not to acknowledge the gods as beings worthy of worship) who reincarnated into robot steampunk bodies that run only on Stasis. There only seems to be "male" bodies. Playable in the Wakfu vidya.