Joshua Peery’s Portfolio Table of Contents

~Answers to Common Game Design Questions

~ Generic Fantasy Creature, Zone, and Instance design documents

~ World of Warcraft -style instance missions and design document

~5 mission/quest series sample set in the Fallen Earth MMO

~Fallen Earth mission dialog samples

~Short-story from Fallen Earth’s website feature: ”Friday Fiction”

~Tabletop scenario for the Games Workshop game Mordheim

~Excerpt from my feature length screenplay: “Gangsta’s Paradise”

~Excerpt from my fantasy novella set in Glen Cook’s “Black Company” IP

*Samples/screenshots of my worldbuilding/design work in Fallen Earth can also be downloadedfrom:

http://www.mindspring.com/~jloasrah/JPWorldbuilding.pdf

Joshua Peery’s Answers to Common Game Design Questions(Compiled from the design tests of various companies)

Gaming History

1. What are some of your favorite games of all time and why?

The answer to this question could go on for pages. I will try to be brief. I have been playing videogames since the early eighties so I will try to list my favorites in chronological order.

As a long time fantasy RPG fan I would have to say the SSI “gold box” games are high in myesteem: Curse of the Azure Bonds, Secret of the Silver Blades, and Pools of Darkness. I playedthrough them each multiple times, because of the ability to take the characters through a longdevelopment importing them from game to game. Plus, for the most part they had great dungeoncrawls that plugged into their storylines very well. To me these games represent a good mix of actionand RPG. The randomness of treasure drops from the vast D&D catalog kept things exciting.

Also among my favorites are the “spiritual successors” of these games: Baldur’s Gate (and

sequels) and Planescape: Torment. Once again the translation of the tabletop to the computer wasreally faithful and made for great replay. Also, the stories were first rate and fed into the tapestry of theForgotten Realms IP. Torment was also just flat out brilliant and created a very unique game in a veryunusual setting. (W ill never forget Morty, the floating talking skull, as one of the most unique partymembers in any game)

Around this time of the SSI games, Wasteland was another of my favorites. It was relatively

sandbox-ish (which was new to me) and had a vast and compelling post-apocalyptic story that theplayer could discover and as an RPG you could replay the game differently using different characters.This game would also be the godfather to the Fallout series, which is also near and dear to me for itsability to let the player do what he chooses and with plenty of side missions and compelling stories todiscover. I think the opening narration/cut scene in the first Fallout is one of the best ever made. It waschilling, plausible, and so compelling it hooked me from the get go.

Another RPG that I really loved and ended up playing over and over was Deus Ex. (Recently, Igot it again on Steam.) Its “dark future” setting really was timely for when it was released and made itreally compelling to me. The ability to play the game as a tank, or sniper, or sneaky hacker or acombination of those of your choice by tailoring your character really made the experience a great onefor me and built upon the great shooter/RPG formula of System Shock 2, which is also one in my topgames list for its depth and RPG element. It was also one of the first games I can think of withcrafting, which I always enjoy.

A couple of games that I really liked for their different take on the fantasy genre are Dungeon

Keeper (and sequel) and Overlord. It was really fun to play as the “bad guy” in the fantasy setting for achange of pace and different point of view. These were also hybrid RTS style games and I alsoenjoyed the rise RTS games from Ancient Art of War, Dune 2, Command and Conquer, Populous,Age of Empires series, War Craft series, Total War series, to the latest Dawn of War and Star Craft.

I also like Shooters (first and third person) of all stripes from Doom to the latest S.T.A.L.K.E.R.games, Bioshock, (A great game that also carried forward the System Shock 2 formula.) and genre

busters like GTA and Red Faction Guerilla with their open, sandbox worlds. The FPS especially, ifdone well, is immersive to me, and serves as great chewy, popcorn kind of fun.

Another series of games that I really love are The Elder Scroll series. While I only briefly playedDaggerfall on a friend’s machine, I had my own copies of Morrowind and Oblivion. These games are

outstanding in their ability to give the player enough options to make the world feel like a living,breathing, place. I must have played through each of those a half dozen times each trying out differentraces and classes, exploring every nook of the game world.

Overall, I like to play lots of different games and really this list is just the ones that jump out atme for a personal “BEST OF ALL TIME” list.

2. What MMOs are you currently playing? Describe your level of experience with these

games.

Right now I am playing World of Warcraft, Star Trek Online, and Fallen Earth. The first two

games I am at the beginner or noob stages having finished the starter areas and starting to come intomy own and discover the larger part of these games. I mainly started playing them in order to furtherround out my “modern MMO” experience as a player. I can also glean first hand knowledge of whatthese games have done right and wrong.

My experience with Fallen Earth is a bit greater, as one of the designers, I have played thegame as an anonymous player since Alpha. Many of my co-workers did not play our own game “live”.My knowledge of the “live” game is extensive.

3. What MMOs have you played in the past, but are no longer playing? Describe your level

of experience with these games and why you are no longer playing them.

I played the original Everquest from Beta until deep into the Ruins of Kunark expansion.

I more recently quit playing Warhammer Online which I had played from closed Beta until last April (2years give or take)

I played Everquest extensively with a favorite “main” and several “alts.” I quit playing for avariety of reasons. First, it was a time consuming game as far as MMOs go and around this time I waschanging jobs and also re-starting college. (Worked full-time during day, went full-time to school atnight.) Thus, there was no good way to keep up with my friends and guild in the game. I got leftbehind. Also, I played a Druid as my main character and as a class it suffered from nerfing andtweaking a bit too much for my liking. Also, the content was very hard to solo (or if it could be solo-ed,it was camped.) and the death penalties were stiff. These issues combined to my leaving the game.

I played Warhammer Online after I had become a MMO Game Designer. (Though would have

anyway probably since I am a long time table-top Warhammer Fantasy player/fan) I played throughtheir closed and open betas and experienced several of their classes and different level/race/classvariations. When the game went live, my main character was a Witch Hunter and I played until level35, tier 4, or there about. I quit playing mainly due the fact that once players moved out of an area theynever came back and it made it extremely hard for a casual player, like myself, to complete a lot of thePVE content (especially the Public Quests) solo.

3A. In terms of the MMORPGs that you have played: what are the biggest failings you

see from a quest design standpoint, and how would you propose to fix them? (Please

give specific examples).

Some of the biggest failings in MMO quest design I have experienced are the rigid linear natureof quest chains, lack of masking humdrum quest types, and what I call “ping- ponging” quests.Warhammer Online used a very rigid chain of quests for their main racial story lines and the player isalmost pulled through the content by the nose, with the only pit-stops being the various self-containedpublic quests. Part of what I would do to loosen up these linear quest chains is to break them intomodular parts so that they can be picked up during any part of the story and still be meaningful. Alongwith this, allowing the player to complete the content in the order they choose helps break up thisrigidness. The more organic the questing is, the less dragged through by a chain a player will feel. A“sandbox” with structure, if you will. I also design for “discoverable” content that players will comeacross as they travel during the course of other missions. Players, more often than not, will travel theshortest distance between two points, even if easy navigable roads are provided. W ith this knowledgein hand, content can be inserted along these invisible routes allowing the players a pleasant surpriseand feeling of discover that they can elect to investigate.

Any game, and by extension quests, have to conform to the technology available to them. Thatbeing said even if the game only has a a handful quest formats, the designer should still try to throw a

twist into the mix. Players will become familiar with the types of quests a game can offer. I personallyuse this piece of knowledge to throw players a curve-ball by masking one quest as one of anothertype. When the players are expecting a simple “Kill Creature” quest it turns out the creature is alreadydead when the players arrive and the quest is really an “Investigate” quest to find out who killed it.These sorts of “meta-twists” help keep the questing system fresh for the players.

Finally, I find missions that make the player travel back and forth to a quest hub multiple times(ping-ponging) to be tedious. The designer should be able to create missions in such a way that theycan stack, complete in the field, or else move the player to their next logical area of play. The playershould be able to move through a mission chain and only visit town when they must resupply or fortheir own purposes, not to “check-in” with their employer.

4. What experience do you have with PvE group and raid content in MMOs?

In Everquest the majority of the PVE content other than grinding mobs was what is considered

today “group” or “raid” content. So basically the vast majority of the dungeons, castles, mobstrongholds, or planes of the gods were all group or raid content. So as far as Everquest is concerned,

to play that game was to gain experience with group and raid content. The single player missionsimply didn’t exist yet.

In Warhammer Online, the PVE group content had a crown jewel in the Public Quest systemthat they implemented. It was brilliant in my opinion, because you could “group” for a common goalthat was measured by the game, yet not actually have to be in a formal “team” or “party.” This systemwas compelling to me and I made it a personal goal to get all three levels of PQ loot, which meanthitting all the PQs in the zone.

Also, Warhammer Online has instanced dungeons that are group or raid content. Some of the

instances are easy enough to clear with a simple party (Altdorf sewers, were a personal favorite) otherinstances required a warband (multi parties formed into a raid group) such as Mount Gunbad to bemore easily cracked. (Found this out the hard way by getting party wiped more times than I liked.)

In Fallen Earth, missions are marked group, so you have warning as to the difficulty of the

content. The only issue is sometimes the group you need may only need one or two extra players.Other times you will need a full party of 8 or even a raid party (like Brigg’s Point El Cadejo) Also,Fallen Earth has its own version of the Warhammer Online PQ called Town Events, basically theywork the same way, a scoreboard UI tracks the progress of the event tied to the completion ofmissions in the area. Players can also team up, or not, to complete the Event.

5. What experience do you have with PvP content in MMOs?

In Everquest, PVP was confined to servers dedicated to that play style, otherwise there wasdueling in the non-PVP servers. I had my share of duels that settled disputes over camping areas. Iwas more successful as a Shadow Knight than using “main” Druid in dueling.

In Warhammer Online the game is largely centered on RvR (PVP) combat. Each zone has PVP

areas with certain points that need to be taken and held in order to take over the zone. Some of thesecontrol points are castle fortresses that take the combined efforts or parties or warbands to take andhold. As a W itch Hunter(more or less a stealth based DPS class), my main role in RvR was to hideand pick off stragglers or else take unguarded control points behind enemy lines. In castle battles, ifon the assault, I would bring up and man artillery to pound the defenders on the wall and to attack thegates. If on the defensive, sometimes I would pick off stragglers coming back to join the siege, or elseman a artillery piece on the walls. Also, I would try to watch out for invisible W itch Elves that would tryto sneak into the fortress.

In addition to the open world PVP, Warhammer Online also had instanced PVP scenarios thatyou could que for and fight a set piece, rules-controlled, pvp scenario. Once finished, you weretransported back to where you had been in the world. These were great for grinding the Renownpoints (to be able to buy PVP gear) and also for getting into quick action when you could be very far

from anything going on.Fallen Earth has three types of pvp, open world in specific area (including dueling anywhere,

and has full time pvp character flagging anywhere in the world), PVP conflict towns, and PVPscenarios (blood sports) The non-conflict town pvp areas are mainly resource rich areas where thethreat to harvesting comes from other players. The conflict towns require you to do missions and killthe opposing faction’s players in order to take control of the town and to have access to and build upits merchants that sell rare or discounted items and materials.The Blood Sports scenarios are similar to Warhammer Online’s in that you que for it and then are

transported back when you are done. The Death Toll points gained from all pvp (killing other players)are then used to purchase PVP gear and ammo at death toll vendors.

6. Describe the most memorable experience you've had in a modern MMO.

The first Public Quest you find playing as a Empire character in Warhammer Online was a

OMG moment. After two stages of killing “regular” chaos bad guys, the ground begins to shake, thetrees in the area begin to crack and topple, and a Chaos Giant bursts through, knocking trees to theground.

The shock value and the extra effects of the terrain changing as the monster appeared, not tomention not expecting something that huge, was just a spectacular encounter and set the stage (andexpectations) for the game. That unexpected twist, with the added touches of the trees falling, makesthis one of my more memorable MMO experiences.

6A) In your opinion, what are the advantages and disadvantages to using instances in an

MMO? What is an example of a great use of an instance in a MMO.

Some of the advantages of using instances in an MMO include being able to create a controlledenvironment where the designer can heavily script/guide the experience that the player will encounter.For example if you want to block the entrance of a dungeon with a scripted cave-in, it will not impedethe next group of players because they get their own cave-in. Instances also allow the player to bealone or with chosen comrades. It allows for a measure of intimacy where random/unwanted playerscan’t intrude on the player’s experience. Instancing also can help to dispel “camping” of mobs orspecific areas of content, and by extension help with population overcrowding. Also, instances aregreat for PVP matches where there are set rules, scenarios, and winning conditions. The player canexpect to have equal terms, rather chance being hopelessly outnumbered in open world PVP.(Warhammer Online for example.) Finally, instancing for things like player created content or housingis a must to avoid clutter in the open world.

Some of the disadvantages of using instances are, ironically, the inability to meet others playerswhile exploring the area. The social element of an MMO is a large part of the health and successof the game. If the world is empty and everyone is in their own instances the chances of emergentgame play and interaction with others is less likely to arise. Another disadvantage of using instances isplayer perception that developers abuse the system to cover holes in their content or poor open worldgame balancing.

A great use of an instance in Warhammer Online that I really liked are the Altdorf Sewers. Theywere an instance right off the busiest part of Order’s capital square within a stone’s throw of thevaults. I liked them because they closely mirrored the Warhammer background story and ever presenttheme of the “Enemy Within.” They allowed for the heroics and intimacy of a dungeon crawl in thecity’s underbelly, yet reinforcements were easy enough at hand for the non-guild player. You just hadto exit and you were in the heart of Order’s headquarters.

Work Experience

1. As a game designer, what areas do you feel you are best at? Which areas need the most

improvement?

I think that my screen writing background has served me well as a Game Designer. Games,like film, are a media with certain constraints. I have found that I am easily able to adapt the game’sstory into discreet missions and conform to the (often) rigid limitations of the game’s engine. I amgood at taking a written story and adapting it to a visual payoff within the game. Likewise, I am skilledat delivering a story via compelling and dynamic dialog rather than confronting the player with a wall oftext.

An area I would like more exposure to is the complex math behind the games’ systems. I hadgotten a taste of balancing the math in Fallen Earth when I was on the team that created the craftingsystems and when I created and balanced all the melee weapons and 90% of the guns in the gamewith the existing spreadsheets. I would have liked to have some experience with the math behindthose spreadsheets.

2. Would you describe yourself as more technical or creative? Give some examples to

illustrate your ability.

I like to think of myself as “technically creative” in addition to raw creativity. An example of thisis when utilizing a particular mission type called the “Destroy Base.” The intent of the mission type wasthe player would go out to an area and destroy a tent defended by troops. I was not satisfied with whatI thought was overly simplistic. I realized that the “base” itself was a “creature” in our system. Thus, Icould give these “bases” some “creature attributes”. I just had to creatively make these attributesplausible. In my first case, I decided that the bunker model that the player would be destroying wouldhave automated defenses in addition to the soldiers protecting it. I gave the base a TASER styleelectrical attack as well as an EMP radiation attack. My giving inanimate objects abilities opened thedoor for lots of things the game was not expressly designed for, such as Electric Fences that wouldattack if players got too close, to mushrooms with toxic spore clouds.

Another example of my technical creativity is in masking the mission types. Once players havebeen in the game awhile they are usually able to determine a mission type solely by the mission setupand leading text. I would like to throw them a curve ball where I would write the mission in the style ofthe another type. A specific example is where I had the players working for a NPC that wanted them tointercept a message courier and get the information he was carrying. The setup is as if the player willtrack and kill courier like the usual “Bounty Hunt” missions. But I instead used a simple “Find Location”mission type. When the player arrives to what he thought was his target he finds the courier dead,killed by others, and the information they were seeking missing.

One more example is using the mission type in ways other than their intent. When charged withteaching players to be a support/medic style player I wanted them to experience the action of combatwhere a lot of their future duties would take place rather than some simple “click this” and “do that”tutorial. Thus, I had the player “ride along” on a search party for a missing person. The mission type iswhat we called a “Raid with Allies,” the player would have NPC helpers in defeating an enemy. Theusual setup for this mission is the NPCs are just helpers to the player. I decided that for this trainingmission the NPCs would handle the heavy lifting of the combat and the player would hang back like ahealer does or should do in combat. When the mission completes the player is charged with tendingthe wounds on the missing person as coached by the NPCs. Thus, I brought action to the “teach theplayer how to heal” starter area mission.

2A) In your opinion, what are the three most important things to take into consideration

when designing great quests?

The three most important things to me about quest design are the following:

~The quests should reinforce and stay on the message of the story and theme to make it ascompelling as possible.~Quests should be accessible to both “hardcore” and “casual” gamers. Focus should always be onfun.~While “grind” is often part of the metrics of game design, it should be disguised within the context ofthe story being told and how the quests are presented.

This means to me that quests should reinforce the players’ choices and accomplishments derivedfrom the completion of the task a quest set out. The more that you allow the player to be able to takeownership of the experience, the more the player can feel like they are moving or creating the storythe better. The more the player can feel “Heroic” or “Bad-ass,” depending on their preference, thebetter.

2B) Give three examples of how you can deliver an interesting story through design that

do not involve the use of cinematics.

One way to deliver an interesting story is via the associated missions. This includes missiondialog specifically, especially if you allow the player as many choices in the conversation as possible,mission item descriptions, and the player’s mission journal. Another way to deliver story content is todesign interest objects (npcs) that interact with each other and execute actions and conversations thatthe player can observe or “overhear.” This aids in the immersion of the player and helps sell the worldas a living breathing place. The astute player may get insights into the story that their mission giverdoesn’t know or has lead them to believe otherwise.

One of my most favorite and challenging ways to relate a compelling story is via visualnarrative.This is the specific use and placement of terrain, buildings and props, signs, and arrangement ofmobs. If done correctly, the player should be able to approach the area and immediately figure outwhat is going on or what has happened just by looking at the place you have crafted.

3. What is the game design achievement that you have been responsible for which you feel

was the most successful? Describe why you feel this way.

I have two that I would like to share. The first was when I was given a Starter Town to designand write the main story. The caveat was I could not change the name of the town, which was ClintonFarm. Literally, it was a farm and even the previous designer realized that there was nothing fun orexciting about farming in a post-apocalyptic MMO. Thus, I could do anything I wanted as long as itincluded the nearby mine, was a “support” play style tutorial town, and that the name stayed the samedue to printed and published materials all ready let loose.

So I tackled the project with gusto as it was the first large piece of the content that I was givensole control over. I first decided turn “farm” into F.A.R.M. Fire, Alpine Rescue, Medical which is inkeeping with the other part of the design requiring the town to be support oriented. I wrote the FARMas a pre-apocalypse ranger station, hospital, and wild fire fighting center and academy, which lentitself to the game’s Grand Canyon setting nicely.

The missions in the town are one part survival and one part medical school and combat medictraining. The players go through medical residency, EMT “ride alongs” (see above), and HAZMATresponse. I tried to design the town and missions to be as plausible, and at the same time, fun andquirky as well as imparting the support game play style. I think I was successful because the players,fans, and critics have written about Clinton FARM as one of the more unique/different settings in anMMO, with a story and missions that are fresh and different.

Another thing I am most proud of is my work on the crafting system of Fallen Earth. I was given

responsibility over the melee weapons and almost all of the guns. I had to create enough weapons fortwo to three tiers of crafting across 45 levels of game play, but I only had a very small number of

weapon models with no promise of anymore art assets forth coming. Also, I was told I had to useEVERY model that we had at least once. (This included things like corkscrews, garden trowels, andfrying pans) I reused models over and over but staggered them in level and tier so that the samemodel was almost never doubled up on during a specific level of the career of a player. I also namedthe weapons and wrote descriptions that increased their prestige as they increased in level to offsetthe fact that the model never changed. When dealing with the items like corkscrews and other non-weapon weapons, I decided to make them tools that helped with the players scavenging, harvesting,and mining. For example, a player with a “Army Knife” can scavenge and take things apartbetter(bonus to their scavenge skill), they could use it in a pinch as a weapon but it is not the bestchoice. Things like shovels, crow bars, rock hammers, and gardening tools had similar traits. Somethings like the frying pans and corkscrew I turned in “materials sacks” i.e. if the player finds them theycan take them apart for raw materials, or they CAN build them too, if only to practice crafting to gainskill. For some of the items like wood poles and lawn mower blades, I turned them down a differenttrack of crafting and usage. They begin in their crafting family as Makeshift weapons and withresearch and crafting skill can become Martial Arts Weapons like Bo Staves, Tonfas, Ninja Kama, etc.

I designed weapons crafting with limited resources but I made it something that I thought wasrealistic, yet fun and a system and group of items that I liked. I was happy with what I created. Thereaction from the players was very positive and the crafting system in Fallen Earth has been touted

the best since early Star Wars Galaxies.

4. What was the most important lesson you've learned from the projects you've worked on

in the past that would be relevant to MMO development?

Probably, the most important thing I learned on Fallen Earth is that the player can and will find

the path of least resistance for maximum gain. This means keeping mindful of unintended play stylesand that you need to closely watch your beta testing for anything exploitive and/or damaging to thegame metrics in order to maintain the whole of the game’s balance. On top of this, PLAY your owngame in “Live” conditions, it is much more valuable than in-house, controlled, testing in my opinion.

5. What is your ultimate goal within the gaming industry?

It is my goal to work hard on the MMO projects where I have the opportunity. To make them assuccessful as possible, and in doing so, gain the experience, knowledge, and opportunity to pitch anddirect a MMO project.

MMORPG / Game Design

1. Why do you want to be a content designer / writer for a game studio?

I have always been a gamer since an early age. I loved gaems of all types: board games, cardgames, role-playing games, and video games. I have designed table top games for my own enjoymentand for my friends, but never really thought I would be able to get into the field doing something I didfor fun. However, I had the opportunity to join a video game company and I jumped at the chance. Myeducation and previous work experience served me well in the job and it was always a joy to come towork each day. I am determined to continue in the field that I have grown to love. I also feel that I canfully utilize my talents, skills, background and experience to add to any game company’s success.

2. What is your favorite zone from a current MMO and why? How would you improve it?

I really enjoyed Troll Country (as a Empire character) in Warhammer Online because it had

interesting and varied terrain (swamps to mountains) and it is a landscape of big monsters (big trollsare just the common monster) and it really feels like the “here be dragons” place as it is described in

Warhammer IP. The area really looks and feels dangerous.I would improve it by adding more of a “Kislev feel” to the place in the form of ruined Kislevite

farmsteads and/or the occasional Ungol nomad tent encampment. For as much as Mythic got themonster population to “feel” correct, the human elements are incorrect for the IP. I would also changeout the friendly NPC guards and questors from the current Empire-style NPCs to NPCs that wereKislevite or Ungol in look, design and speech.

Plus, I think if the friendly NPCs were more like they should be for the geographic location (i.e.Kislevites and Ungol horse nomads) it would have really made the area feel as if the Empire wasVERY far away. The content in this area should also be concerned with the Kislevite plight (which ismore dire than the Empire’s) to really bring home the impact of Troll country as a festering sore on theworld.

3. Describe your preferred process for taking a piece of content, such as a zone, from the

initial idea through implementation.

The first two things that I would like to see happening would be for a general story outline and afirst draft of a map of the geographic area to be designed and created. The work-shopping the ideaswith artists and content designers allows for rich cross pollenation and early adoption of ideas by bothdesign departments and gets everyone on the same page moving forward.

Once this is accomplished the flow of how you want the players to move through the area canbe determined and made to crystalize the story beats into specific areas. The work of adapting thestory to game play elements and missions can now be divided up among the content writers.

The writers then pitch their outlines for their parts of the work and these ideas are further work-shopped to ensure all the content is on track and serves the theme/story of the zone. At this point theyin turn can continue to fine tune the worldbuilding elements that they will need to support their contentas they design it with the artists along with scriptors (if any custom programming will be required) tofurther cross-pollinate the design process.

The writers then flesh out their outlines into discreet mission and game elements. Once theyare complete the content needs to be edited and work-shopped if needed. Once this has occurred andthe content is deemed ready for implementation, it can be rough implemented and tested for feasibilityand balance for the metrics that will be applied.

At this point NPCs, monsters, discreet worldbuilding, special requests for items or other gamesystems can begin to be implemented. Once the content is in place and the designers have tested itfor functionality they can turn over their parts of the design to other designers to peer review theimplemented content and further tweak and workshop the design. Once these changes are made, thecontent can be tested once more by the designers and then turned over to QA.

Once QA has tested it and given feedback to the content designers, who make the changes,QA can then re-test the material to make sure those changes do not adversely affect anything else.Once the content is deemed ready it really would be great to get a final play through by otherdesigners not on this project, or even non-designers, in the company as a final play test prior toallowing outside testing of the content. Feedback from the play test can be acted on and furthertweaks work-shopped with QA until the content is ready for final push.

4. When creating content, how do you know when it is done? How do you know when it is

fun?

In my experience the Lead Content Designers would let us know when we were done, but Ireally think the content is done when you have served the story, served the metric, and made thecontent able to stand alone with no explanation or help from the designers to explain what they weretrying to accomplish.

I design content that I think is fun if I were playing the game. I KNOW when its fun when otherswho were not privy to its design say so, usually QA. If you can get a jaded QA person to have fun

playing the content, then it is most likely fun. I know for sure that QA will call a content designer on thecarpet if the content is boring or not fun.

5. How do you convey enticing storylines in an MMO environment where players generally

bypass quest text?

My design practices has its roots in film-making and screen writing. This translates to the videogame media in a similar way. The action has to be equal parts visual narrative, dialogue (or in gametext), and environment. A player, in my opinion, should not be confronted by walls of text, if the storycan be related via an interactive dialogue, or if the story can be voice-acted dialogue, even better.Likewise, story can be conveyed simply through dressing the area with props to convey a visualnarrative that the designer aims on showing the player. Sometimes emergent game play can be usedto preface or reinforce the story where the players see other players executing elements of the story ifthe content is arranged effectively so that players new to an area can see what the players who havecome before them are doing. If anything, the quest text should just be a reminder to what the playerscan do and the rest of the elements of content design should do the “real” story telling allowing theplayer to take ownership of the experience rather than experiencing a contrived theme park-styleexperience.

6. If you had to teach a new designer how to populate a zone, what are the tips you would

give to help ensure their content was entertaining?

This is something I have had to do at my previous company. I teach the designer that thecontent needs to serve and reinforce the theme of the zone, that it should act as a guide to theplayers, rather than rigid “point a” to “point b” content. I would teach them that there should also beplenty of “points c” and “d” to explore and discover. They should also try to keep the content from“ping-ponging” the player back and forth between areas too much. The content (specifically non-groupcontent) should be playable for one player or 100 players at any given time. The designer must alsotry to balance between the needs of the casual player and those of the hard-core. Finally, I wouldrecommend that they respect and listen to criticism and do not take feedback personally, the goal is tomake a great game and it takes lots of different viewpoints.

7. What do you feel are the main differences that need to be considered when populating a

dungeon environment compared to an outdoor area?

When considering mob population in a dungeon there are a few basic considerations: is itinstanced or not. If it is instanced, do you want the player to exit the same way they entered, if theyexit is their progress saved or does the dungeon repopulate. (Or do mobs re-spawn even if the playerclears them while still in the dungeon?) Most of the questions reflect the differences between indoorand outdoor spaces. Dungeons lend themselves to very precise tactical situations that the designercan closely control. The designer must also keep in mind that due to the close quarters they mustcarefully balance the encounters in order to give the player a challenge but not too much of afrustrating encounter. Indoors, the player is restricted in movement with less options for retreat andrest than if they are in the outdoor zone.

The outdoor environment is, mostly, due to its nature can be less complicated in populating.However, the tactical control the designer has is a bit less because the player can approach fromdifferent angles and can more easily retreat. Thus, there is a little more leeway in mob placement inexterior spaces than inside dungeons.

8. Rank the following concepts in order of importance for an MMO: social, dynamic, fun,

storytelling, unique, accessible. Explain the reasoning behind your rankings.

1) Accessible - The really successful MMOs have this in common: They are easy for casual players tolearn and enjoy. If a game has too-steep of a learning curve you can lose a large audience no matterhow great the rest of the game. This also serves as the all-mighty “first-impression” you have with agamer. If they can not figure out how to play the game, they will not play the game, and probably willnot waste further effort trying to learn.

2) Fun - The whole point of playing a game is that it should be entertaining to its players. If it is not fun,you will not retain players for very long and that means a business failure. Plus, why would I want tomake I game I would not have fun playing?

3) Social - MMOs also require people to fully realize the world as a persistent living, breathing place.The players, by virtue of having begun playing the MMO game, are obviously looking for the socialcomponent to their game experience. Successful MMOs foster social interaction and incorporaterobust tools to allow players to engage in a social atmosphere of the game. Ease of social interactionsalso allow for the propagation of engaging, emergent, gameplay that the players create through theirown experiences playing together cooperatively or as adversaries. The more the space is social, themore the players are at home in your game and make it a personal space in which they are invested.Thus, reinforcing the social aspects of your game can enhance the ability of the game to retain playersas subscribers.

4) Storytelling - Ideally the game’s story and the delivery of the content is what ties the “Fun” and“Social” aspects together into something that fuels those two aspects and also further enhance theexperiences of the players that really enjoy compelling content. If done well, it will keep the playersengaged and wanting more content and/or expansions and will help retain them as subscribers.

5) Unique - Being unique in the market place in UI, genre, story/IP, etc. is good especially if you hit ona gaming market segment not being served. However, if the first four attributes above this one are notserved first, then being unique won’t mean much when the curious gamers leave once the“uniqueness” has worn off. Also, people in general, do favor the familiar tropes and themes. W hilebeing super unique can score you points with critics, being too “out-there” could end up back-firing,since it is the players that are the revenue stream.

6) Dynamic - In my opinion this attribute is a tie or can flip-flop with being Unique. Being dynamicshould really serve the first four attributes and be the “icing on the cake” rather than the “meat of themeal.” That being said, being dynamic can be the extra “buzz” that can get players to try your gameand then augment the first four attributes and then reel them in as long time players.

Creature Design Document

Game Background Text: (text that could be used for in-game player journals or books)

Ecology of the Kara Oldum (Deadly Fate)

The Kara Oldum is not specifically a carnivorous plant per se. However, due to specific nutrients and mineralsneeded for the species to propagate, the plant is classified as a predator. The plant, while remaining rootedwhere its seeds have found “nourishment,” does have the ability to grasp out at nearby fauna with thornytendrils. However, these tendrils, while dangerous in their own right, are not the inherent danger of this plant.The plant develops large seed pods and when the plants “sense”* a large enough animal, anything in size from asmall child and up, its seed pod will burst to unleash razor-sharp seeds that shred the animal wounding or killingit outright. The next generation of Kara Oldum then roots in the corpse of its victim and the cycle begins again.

There are several subspecies of the Kara Oldum that are known by various localized names, such as Death’sPerfume, Razor Thorn, etc. Some of these have other traits unique to them and scholars theorize that thesespecies developed due to their local “diet.” Such attributes include potent fragrances that can dull the senses andinduce sleep, to specimens with stronger, tougher, tendrils with more thorns than the average Kara Oldum.

* There is much debate on how these senses function: some scholars believe the plant can sense changes in ambient temperature due to the presence of other life forms,others argue that the plant senses changes in air pressure as a creature nears, or that the plant can “smell” its prey.

Designer notes:

Art & Animation - The plant should be rather menacing in appearance with oversized seed pods, whip-like tendrils and alien-like flowers. The tendrils should look like muscled-cords studded with thorns and shouldmove like an octopus’ or a squid’s tentacles. The seed pods could look like those of the Impatiens floweringplant (which do explode when disturbed) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R_MC2P3WK1Q

The model should be able to be scaled up and down in a variety of sizes to allow designers to make moreor less intimidating versions of the mob. The “average” size of the mob should be half as tall as a normal PlayerCharacter.

Systems & Content - This mob should be designed to be more difficult to kill(more health/hitpoints) anddealing more damage than a moving mob of the same level. The mob should have a ranged attack (the seedsexploding) and a melee attack (tendrils). Players can avoid the mob since it cannot move once they have drawnaggro. They could be used for sources of uncommon or rare crafting components since they are designed to betougher than other mobs in the zone of the same level. Subspecies versions of the mob can have abilities thatwill slow or root the players using a gas or cloud weapon, or have even tougher stats, or proc. severe bleedingon players.

In starter areas this mob should probably only be used on the outskirts of the area as a marker that thefurther from safe areas, the more dangerous things can get. Also, this placement can keep new players frombiting off more than they can chew too early.

This mob can be placed on a generator that will vary the time and position where it will spawn. Thesemobs can also be used to help direct flow in encounter areas due to its immobile nature. These mobs could becultivated by other mobs as natural defenses or as a form of “watch dogs.”

Encounter areas populated specifically with this creature should show evidence of how deadly they canbe (various skeletons at the bases of the plants) and arrangement of a Kara Oldum grove could include a “boss” old-growth version of the mob at the center that is bigger and more imposing than those surrounding theirmatriarch.

Zone Design Document

The Trident Coast

Brief Background / Zone Description:

The area is named for the three rocky promontories that stab out into the sea and because unwary shipsoften wreck on the middle point “speared upon the Trident” The area is connected by a dangerous overland passthat squeezes the road between mountains and sea cliffs. The “maintained” (really just a dirt track) road skirtsthe trident branching off at a steep slope leading to the bay and village. The civilized inhabitants of the area aremainly situated in this fishing village on the shore of the bay. The bay and village is protected from storms bythe nearby promontory where, perched on the rocks, is an imposing temple monastery. This is the home to asmall and obscure religious sect that reveres the sea.

The middle spear of the Trident is thickly wooded and rocky with a narrow path leading down to therocky beach and reef. The wrecks are many and varied from ancient vessels to more recently doomed ships. Thedrowned sailors do not rest easy in their watery graves, making this area haunted and a place seldom visited bythe living.

The southern most point of the Trident juts out into the water the furthest and is tallest of the three. Theremains of a road can be seen in the weeds and scrub. This promontory is a honeycomb of sea caves and coves,home to smugglers, pirates and worse. At the tip of the point is a ruined watch tower, once home to a signallight warning ships of the nearby reefs and rocks. For reasons unknown no garrison has ever managed to manthe tower and its light for very long.

Worldbuilding / Level Design / Art Direction:

The map below should show the general lay out of the zone.

Nestled below steep cliffs, the fishing village should be fairly small and aged in appearance withbuildings constructed of gray, weathered, wood and stacked rock foundations. There should be a few piers andquays with small boats and skiffs moored at the gray sandy shore. There should be a few fishing shacks and fishpickling warehouses, a harbormaster’s house/office (including a crows nest-like watch tower), a variety ofmodest hovels where the residents of the village live, a tavern and inn, some rudimentary vegetable gardens, aBoatwright’s shop and dry dock, a few open air merchant stalls, and in general a plethora of fishing tackle, nets,crab pots, dead fish, barrels, crates etc. covering buildings, piled up and strewn about the village. The villagelayout is organic, with no sense of order or planning. The few streets are paved with a mixture of crushed coraland shells. Most paths are just muddy alleys with brackish puddles.

The most northern promontory is relatively rocky and barren with scrub plants and flora common to high coastalareas. The road that branches from the dirt track that edges the Tridentand leads to the monastery is made up of flagstones with curious runesand nautical icons carved into the faces of the some of stones. Theroad is maintained by the sect and is part of some obscure pilgrimagerite. The monastery is itself is almost fortress like in construction withdifferent cloisters for male and female members of the sect. Thebuilding has many base-reliefs depicting watery vistas, nauticalthemes, and ocean life, both natural and fantastic. The compound alsoincludes many chapels and altars, both interior and exterior, for theobservation of the sect’s rites and ceremonies. The monastery alsoincludes a catacombs (instance level) that the order has cut into therock to serve as final resting place for its followers.

The middle plateau and point of the Trident is the widest and flattest area of the Trident coast and is thicklywooded. The trees grow close together with game trails leading to areas where fresh water from the mountainscollects in rocky pools. There are a few woodcutters’ cabins here and there in various states of repair andoccupancy that meet the material demands of the village. The promontory itself was once longer than itsneighbors but its tip collapsed due to the constant erosion of the waves and winds creating the submerged rocksand reefs so dangerous to passing ships. The currents have washed up sand to create a small beach littered withthe flotsam of the wrecked ships and the surf polished bones of their doomed sailors. The rocky reefs andwrecked ships make for stepping stones out into the sea and the player can traverse these for a good distance andhave space for encounters and treasures.

The southern most promontory is a desolate finger of rock with what plant life and trees that had been presentburned, as if by fire, some time in the past and nothing has regrown in its place. This blasted area has theremnants of a flagstone road leading from the main track to a ruined watchtower that is girthed with its ownfallen masonry. The tower is still stable for the first two levels going up before the stairs are too ruined tocontinue. The bare armory in the basement has a root cellar granary with an empty cistern that if explored has abreach leading to a cave system (level and/or instance). This cave complex is part natural, part “man-made.”Some of the caves can be monster lairs, others can be smugglers’ dens.

There can be a few cave exits that lead to the bottom of the cliffs including a pirate ship mooring. Part of thecaves near this exit should be almost like a small town with the infrastructure required for those wishing toavoid prying eyes. Berthing, storage, ale/grog, naval stores, etc. The ship itself can be accessed via a pontoonbridge of row boats. The ship’s interior can be a small two or three room instance. Access to the top of thepromontory can be made via an crude elevator inside the caves whose exit onto the top is hidden.

Creature Art Design / Animation:

(The following are mobs unique to this area and are not the ONLY mobs to be used. “Regular” creatures canalso be used to populate the zone)

Fishermen - couple of variants of each sex and three ages young, middle age, and wizened. Animation forcasting a net and/or using a fishing pole is desired. Dress should speak to their profession, vests festooned withhooks, harpoons, shark teeth jewelry, etc.

Sea Cultists - male and female and age variants as above. Dress is that of robes of white with gold chased wavesand sea icons.

Nautical Undead - Zombie Sailors / pirates. Undead versions of the fisherman. Armed with harpoons, rapiers,and hatchets. Draped with seaweed and slime.

Pirates / Smugglers - Basically similar to the fisherman except armed and dressed with other pirate trappings,(eye patches, hooks, etc.) Not necessarily all human, other races can be used.

Prometheans - a couple of Giant Sea Monster types such as half squid - half crab, etc. Lots of tentacles and crab-claws. Need a “pup” or baby version (still a big creature compared to a human PC) and one vastly larger adultversion.

Content Design:

The general flow of the zone is north to south. With missions chaining to content further south. Players shouldonly feel like they need to retrace their steps by their own volition.

The introduction to the area’s content can begin in the Fishing Village or the Monastery quest-wise. The areashould also have various discoverable content in the form of “one-off” quests found in areas outside of the mainhubs. The areas should all be designed with discreet worldbuilding polish and populated with mobs so that theplayer could explore them without a formal quest and still have a grasp for what is happening.

The general story that the missions and design should express is a general disquiet and ominous feeling thatsomething unseen and terrible is just under the veneer or normalcy.

The Villagers had looked to the “divine” protection of the local sect to keep their village safe and the fishingproductive. For years the fishermen have delivered supplies and “novices” (unwanted orphans, etc.) in return forthis favor. However, the monastery has been more and more secretive and insular and the village’s fortunes havedeclined since the change was noticed. To make matters worse, pirate activity is up and rumors of vengefulshipwrecked undead, and sea monsters have the village on the verge of panic and crisis. Everywhere in thevillage talk is alive with rumors.

The village “amenities” (trainers, merchants, etc.) should be rather basic with nothing particularly uncommon orrare available. Fish/seafood and other items / skills nautically inspired should be the rule.

The Monastery is as secretive as the villagers mention, with those willing to talk hidden deep in the cloisters.The reason for the all secretiveness is due to a schism within the ranks of the Temple. Certain members havebegun to revive beliefs and rites long out of practice. These include the rearing and worship of a PrometheanSea monster that lives within a secret sea cavern lair accessed within the sect’s catacombs. The presence of thiscreature and its hunting habits is part of the reason the fisherman have had less luck in their trade. The monsterwas discovered as a “pup” by one particular sect member who was not a willing convert having been exiledfrom the village for having been a particularly ill-omened birth (talk about self-fulfilling prophecy.) This leaderof the schism is bent on having his revenge cold.

The monastery can also have a few esoteric merchants and trainers in keeping with their sea-revering theme.

The “Rocks, Reefs, and Wrecks” area is a great location for various missions to use as an encounter area or as aplace simply to explore from rumors: from item retrieval, undead hunting, to plain treasure hunting. The area isa creepy and dynamic area with player able to “island hop” from rock to wreck exploring the area for treasureand battling the undead.

The Pirate Promontory should be the last area (level difficulty wise) where players will explore and confront (orjoin if the game allows for villain play, in which case mission content can be added for this play-style using thisarea as a hub) the pirates that have been plaguing the area. The exploration of the abandoned tower should leadplayers into the cave systems and along the way realize that the garrisons that have disappeared over the yearshave more likely than not joined the pirates who have cultivated the mystery in order to inspire dread in theirbase of operations. The caves are home to pirates, smugglers, and a “wild” and/or adult Promethean (worldboss). A pirate “king” has also recently arrived and is on board his vessel moored outside of the caves. Defeating himwill unlock the knowledge that a hefty reward is to be granted to those who present his head to the Admiralty ina city in the zone south of this one.

WoW style Instance Quest 1

Sir D’Artois:

Ho there! You look hail and hardy and like you know how to handle yourself when danger isnear. I could really use someone like you to handle a task that requires discretion.

The local Baron, has decided to “tax” the local trade routes to fund his army despite receiving noauthority to do so from the King.

This must stop, however, the King still needs the Baron’s support and army in our struggles tosecure the battle marches.

Which brings me back to you. “Someone” would do well for the kingdom if they infiltrated thelocal tower that the Tax Collector and his men are using as a base of operations and terminatetheir “tax” collections, by any means necessary....

Just do not tell me what you do, the Crown must have no direct knowledge of the fate of theBaron’s fund raising efforts.

I cannot pay you, after all how would it look for a knight of the Crown to pay someone to attackthe Baron’s retainers?

However, I’m sure there are some local merchants that have lost shipments due to the Baron’s“tax.” They would probably be willing to fund “recovery” efforts.

Quest Objectives:

Kill the Tax CollectorKill 10 Renegade Road Wardens

Rewards:

XP

WoW style Instance Quest 2

Down On His Luck Merchant:

Can you believe the audacity of that Tax Collector?

A bridge toll, a turn-pike fee, a service fee, a currency exchange fee, and then a per dray-animalfee? And when I couldn’t pay all of those he “confiscated” almost my entire shipment of TradeGoods.

This is outright banditry and brigandage!

What’s as bad is the local authorities seem unable or unwilling to help. If you don’t believe meask Sir D’Artois...

Listen, if you happen to find yourself anywhere, say IN, that tower not far from the road... Bringme back my Trade Goods and I’ll cut you in on the sales, I have to make something from this tripor my family will starve!

Quest Objectives:

Find 10 Trade Goods

Rewards:

Coin and XP

Once the player has passed the arrow loops they will encounter more Road Wardens in another barracks and storage room. The room with the ascending staircase is guarded by another Tower Guard.

After ascending the last staircase the player is met by another Road Warden. In the next room are the Tax Collector’s personal armored war dogs with a dog house generator.

After the player moves to the next room they finally met the Tax Collector boss mob. When he reaches 50% health he will retreat to the adjoining balcony that he has converted into an aerie for his pet griffon. When the player makes their way into this area he has mounted up and is ready to face the player once again. (Fresh Health bar)

Instance Synopsis:The tower has a single large double door for an entrance. Once the player is inside they are confronted by war dogs in a large central corridor bisected by a locked portcullis. The war dogs will continue to spawn as long as their dog houses are intact. If the player destroys the doghouse it will no longer spawn the wardogs.

In order to unlock and raise the portcullis the player must fight their way through to each of the lever rooms defended by the road wardens (as needed for the kill mission) and slightly tougher Tower guards.

Once the levers are flipped, the portcullis is raised and the player may continue to the staircase at the end of the the corridor.

On either side of the corridor are Road Warden barracks each containing a chest that will have assorted loot and the Trade Goods that the Down On His Luck Merchant has asked the player to find for him.

When the player ascends the stairs the encoun-ter a Roadwarden that patrols in inner hall that wraps around a central room. The wall share by this room and the corridor is pierced with arrow loops that Archer Guards will fire on the player through. A missile capable player may return fire, other character types man make a run for it and utilize the controls on the opposite wall that will lower shutters over the arrow loops. The archer mobs will be easy push overs in hand to hand but can wear a player down if they don’t get out of their fire.

Tax Collector

Tower Guard & Road Warden

Archer Guard

Armored War Dog

file:///C|/Users/Josh/Desktop/Web%20Portfolio/5missionchain.htm

Sec 4 Group Content Level 60+ Encounter Area mission set Mission Name: Solid StateMission Type: Find LocationNPC: Gamburian AnnalistGreeting String: (conversation)GA: Hello! Always nice to see a <facttitle>. Just in time too.PC: Why?PC: Let me get back to you. (Exit)GA: You see that collapsed building over there? I was getting ready to direct some of our scouts to it, but if you and any of your friends are interested in making some chips the job is yours.PC: Sure thing!PC:Maybe later. (Exit)Story String: Scout the ruins for the Gamburian Annalist. (Historian)Reward String: <Gamburian Annalist over Radio> Human League? You don’t say. Watch your back, if they saw you they are probably radioing for reinforcements.Busy String: No time like the present!Goal String: Building scoutedGroup Step: 1Chain Mission: Interrupted Repeater Mission Name: Interrupted RepeaterMission Type: DefendNPC: GAGreeting String: Did those Human Leaguers cause you any trouble?Story String: Defeat the Human League PM team for the Gamburian AnnalistReward String: <Gamburian Annalist Over Radio> Excellent work. Can you continue to clear the ruins?Busy String: Did those Human Leaguers cause you any trouble? Goal String: (default)Group Step: 2Chain Mission: Sub-Zero Condition Mission Name: Sub-Zero ConditionMission Type: Kill Creatures NPC: GAGreeting String: How’s the fight going?Story String: Kill Human League Scavengers for the Gamburian Annalist.Reward String: <Gamburian Annalist over radio> That should put a dent in their activities. Now see if you can find their stash or any other interesting artifacts.Busy String: How’s the fight going?Goal String: (default)Group Step: 3Chain Mission: Open Priority Mission Name: Open Priority

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Mission Type: Find items NPC: Greeting String: Find anything interesting yet?Story String: Search the area for anything of interest for the Gamburian AnnalistReward String: <Gamburian Annalist over radio> That’s great news. Now if you happen to see that vault, bring me the contents and you’ll be richer than the other <facttile>s. (<facttile> was scripting for calling the player by their faction title)Busy String: Find anything interesting yet?Goal String: (default)Group Step: 4Mission Object Required: 3 mission items from custom harvest nodes that count as regular trade-skill componentsGlobaltech Documents from file cabinet node (counts as Plain Paper)Crystal Memory Geode from Human League loot crate (counts as Scrap Computer Chips)Contingency Vault Key from Desk node (counts as Salvaged Titanium) (No clean up player can keep them)Chain Mission: Vault 31 Mission Name: Vault 31Mission Type: Use ObjectNPC: GAGreeting String: Open the vault yet?Story String: Find and open the vault for the Gamburian AnnalistReward String: This is beautiful. Maybe this is it. You don’t know how long we’ve been looking for these. Thanks again.Busy String: Open the vault yet?Goal String: Vault openedGroup Step: 5Mission Object Required: Crystal RAM array. Labelled “Bio-Enhancement Project”Rewards: Chips (Money)

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JAG_ At ease, soldier. I see that you aren't just the average rank and file around here.

PC_ That's right.PC_ Excuse me. (Exit)

JAG_ You haven't been in Alpha long, have you?

PC_ Not too long. Why?

JAG_ It could prove useful. I'm a JAG officer sent here by Peregrine Company HQ with a specialmission.

PC: What's JAG?

JAG_ Judge Advocate General's office. We investigate crimes committed by our own.

PC: Tell me about the mission. (Jump)

PC: What's your op.? PC: May I get back to you, sir? (Exit)

JAG_ I am to determine the loyalty of the local commanding officers.

PC_ Loyalty?

JAG_ Yes, information sent to us from Lieutenant Munoz operating in the Kaibab has thrown doubt onwho is or isn't still loyal to Alec Masters and Aro Sei within our ranks.

PC_ What do you plan on doing?

JAG_ I had a team of agents that went undercover to the various local Enforcer formations, but Ihaven't had contact with them since. I believe they themselves were traitors or else eliminated by thetraitors or misadventure. I need someone like you who has not had much contact with the local rankand file. You won't arouse as much suspicion since you are not part of Ironwall or the local units.

PC_ You want me to investigate Enforcer commanders?

JAG_ Yes.

PC_ Ok. Tell me more. (OK)PC_ Let me think about it. (Exit)

JAG_ Until you showed up I didn't have a back-up plan. Now I do. I am investigating the CO here,but if you're up to it I need you to infiltrate the commands of Captain Lee, Major Zinge, SergeantTokobo, Lieutenant Krieger, and Lieutenant Colonel Kilgore.

PC_ How am I supposed to do that? Won't they want to know what I'm doing in their units?

JAG_ So much manpower rotates through this area that you won't be questioned. No one likes being

stationed here. But especially since you look like you're from the Kaibab formations and not Ironwallor Peregrine, no one should question you that closely.

PC_ What am I looking for exactly?

JAG_ Just observe and report. We should be able to deduce who is loyal or not through their actions.

PC_ Where are these commands located?

JAG_ You can find Captain Lee northwest of here, Major Zinge's camp is west-northwest ofShackleton, Sergeant Tokobo is a good hike northeast of here, Lieutenant Krieger is way out west ofhere and south of the Techs at Camp Sagan, and Lieutenant Colonel Kilgore is far south of here nearBlockade. You don't have to investigate them in any particular order.

PC_ Ok, I'll do it.PC_ Let me get back to you. (Exit)

LEE_ Reinforcements from the Kaibab?

PC:_ That's right.PC:_ Hold that thought. (Exit)

LEE_ Interesting, but I can't say I don't need you. Specifically, I need men out on picket duty, but firstlet me give you the SITREP.

PC_ Go ahead.

LEE_ Despite how things may have been run up in the Kaibab, down here we got a whole differentsituation. Forget all the usual SOP. This is Alpha Zone, and we have to do what we have to do.

PC_ What does that mean, exactly?

LEE_ It means that necessity sometimes makes strange bedfellows. Don't be surprised by who youmay have to deal with or what you may have to do. The boundaries are blurred down here.

PC_ Got it.

LEE_ Good. Your first duty will be regular picket duty. This is one of two camps providing securityfor Shackleton.

PC_ Why aren't we doing that from inside the town?

LEE_ We want to win hearts and minds, and not to be perceived as an occupier. Besides, most folkscan't distinguish between an Enforcer or any other uniformed thug or merc. Do no harm, protect andserve, got it?

PC_ Yeah. (Ok)PC_Let me get my kit first (Exit)

Zinge_ Fall in! You the replacement for the replacements from Post 88?

PC_ Not exactly, I'm from up north.PC_ Let's talk later. Excuse me. (Exit)

Zinge_ Oh, passed through the Wall? Welcome to Hell. Things are a bit different down here.

PC_ How so?

Zinge_ Look around you, can't you see the shit we're in? We gotta look out for our own, soldier. Can'tlet anybody get the upper hand on us.

PC_ So what do we do?

Zinge_ You know, the usual, look out for our interests and make sure that we're well provisioned andready for trouble. The Wall has made people desperate and desperate people are dangerous. We keepthe peace. However, it takes a toll on men and material, which gives me an idea.

PC_ Oh?

Yeah, Sergeant Barnes' squad is still recuperating from their last patrol. I need someone to pick up thelocal contributions to our cause. You game?

PC_ Sure. (Ok)PC_ Let me get ready first. (Exit)

Tokobo_ Well I'll be damned! I thought Post 88 forgot about us. You from HQ?

PC_ Nope -- a bit further north.PC_Let's talk later. (Exit)

Tokobo_Well, it doesn't really matter. We need all the manpower we can get. We even have to joinforces with the Vistas from time to time when a particularly nasty creature decides to nest nearby.

PC_ You work with the Vistas?

Tokobo_ Yeah, yeah, I don't want to hear any sanctimonious crap about treason. Around here it's allabout survival, and politics are pretty useless in that struggle. Listen kid, there's more to it thanfollowing the letter of the Soldiers' Oath. You have to be able to see the ideals behind the Oath.

PC_ I can understand that.

Tokobo_ Good, because I have a task for you. Take this shipment of guns to the Vistas. I don't haveenough men to fire them and they do. The more people keeping the horrors of this area in check, thebetter we all are.

PC_ I'll do it. (Ok)PC_ Let me think about it. (Exit)

Down on the F.A.R.M.By Josh Peery

The fumes wafting in through Sam Clinton’s window made him wince.“What the hell are those jackasses doing down there?” he thought for the hundredth time.

Rubbing his eyes, he looked back to the duty roster on his desk. There were a lot of names withacronyms next them in the margin:

Dylan Bramby MIAFran Clinton KIACraig Quick-Wind MIATok KIA

The list went on the same way. Sam lamented the loss of so many dedicated Rangers and EMTs.Sam’s mind dwelt on what happened to make all those acronyms too often...He slowly looked around the bare room, once long ago the office of a fire chief. At least that iswhat the fading lettering on the door said.

The Blade Dancers came from the east, in the dead of night. The few cadets on watch were justable to raise the alarm before the Blade Dancers were into the compound past the fencing. Therewere not too many CHOTA in town either then. Fat lot of good paying them protection did, butat least those Children who were in town were able to help push the Blade Dancers from the topof the plateau.

But the attack on the FARM was just a distraction. Just a diversion from what the BladeDancers were really after, and that’s what really made Sam angry. They were really after themine. But They “why” haunted Sam. It just didn’t makes any sense or add up to anything in hismind.

The mine had been closed to commercial mining long before the Fall that much he didknow from the records in the FARM. It was only used for training Mine Safety and Rescuetechnicians. After we and the Brambys settled here, the Brambys started scrapping what little orewas left. It was hardly a living but it helped. At least the Brambys didn’t have fight tooth andnail down in Slaughterville for salvaged metal when they could mine enough in the mine. Still,the mine was not worth the men and blood the Blade Dancers were willing to shed in itsconquest. That really bothered Sam. His Rangers died for what he considered to be nothing but adusty hole in the ground. What was worse, Delia, his sister, would not allow him to do anythingabout the situation. She always played it safe, even when she was a kid.

Later, the fumes started to seep up through the ground from the mine. What were the BladeDancers doing?

Still staring at the duty roster, Sam heard a slight knock on the door to his office.Startled from his reverie Sam barked,

“Come.”

Jenna Soss, the LifeNET technician walked into Sam’s office with what Sam perceived asreticence.

“I really hate bothering you, but I have a problem I think deserves your attention.”

“Oh?”

“Um, you know how I usually can take care of the pods myself... Well the main LifeNETsystem has started activating systems that haven’t been active since as long as I canremember.”

“And?”

“Well, the systems activated the rest of the pods, you know we only keep one online for`small scale replications, and the system is asking for quantities of biomass that I can’tbegin to gather on my own.”

“How much is it asking for?” Sam asked incredulously, he couldn’t spare even one manto be Jenna’s personal errand boy, plus didn’t she have a boyfriend down there all the time. Hecould help her Sam thought quickly.

“Well it’s looking for several kinds of proteins and enzymes, and I still need to lookup...”

“How much, Jenna, I don’t have time for a science lesson?” Sam was irritated by morethan the fumes now.

“Umm, 500 kilos, so like around 1,000 pounds.”

“1,000 pounds!”

“Give or take.” Jenna almost squeaked. Sam shook his head in disbelief and rubbed hiseyes again.

“Let me get this straight. A machine that hasn’t even been plugged in since God knowswhen, suddenly wakes up and is telling you that it wants a 1000 pounds of food?

“Well not ‘food’ specifically..” Jenna bite her tongue.

“Jenna, you know I appreciate what you do around here, but you should know thatmanpower is stretched too thin right now to be wasted on the whim of a machine.”

“But, but, what am I supposed to do!” Jenna emboldened by her life-long devotion to theLifeNET pod, “What if the whole system crashes?”

“Listen, I don’t know what to tell you... maybe the Brambys can lend you a hand...butcome on, what will that machine do with all of it? There hasn’t been a clone come through thepod since, I don’t know, before you were born? Right?”

“Well, since you put it that way...But still...” Jenna started to turn toward the door. Shewasn’t going to let Sam see her cry about a machine’s desires. Sam relented, feeling bad for her.

“Tell you what... I’ll tell Greg to bag whatever ‘bio-mass’ crosses any of our Search andRescue team’s paths when they come back in from trying to locate our MIAs. OK?”

Turning back towards Sam, wiping her eyes, “I really appreciate it... those fumes do get strongup here?” Jenna said trying to cover her emotions. Smiling, despite himself,

“Yeah. They sure do” said Sam.

“Good night, Sam” Jenna said as she turned in his doorway. “Thanks again.”

“Don’t mention it Jenna, be safe, and stay out of the fumes.”

After Jenna’s steps faded down the stairs, left Sam rose from his desk, placed the rosterwith a sigh in his desk door and moved to his window. The sun was setting, casting longshadows across the ruddy ridges and plateaus of the Overlook. Jenna was quickly walkingtowards the Bramby’s place across the compound. Probably to enlist further aid. Sam had torespect Jenna’s sense of duty, even if it seemed a bit misplaced to him in light of current events.

Sam could see a couple of his Rangers, armed with shovels, tamping the ground andspreading soil wherever the fumes seemed to be venting the most. He didn’t envy them in theirwork, but they seemed to enjoy it, only God could know why. He could hear some of theirplayful banter as they worked.

Behind Sam, the radio on his desk crackled to life:

*FARM, DO YOU COPY?**S R ONE... NO GO ON M.I.A.s*

Sam picked up the radio’s hand set and held the PTT button, “Copy that SR one, what’s your 20?”*8 KLICKS NORTH-EAST OF FARM* Sam knew this to mean the Search and Rescue

party was northeast of Overlook Ridge. The party had probably skirted the mine hoping to findany of those of may have been hurt and were trying to make their way toward Boneclaw downthe gorge fearing the FARM had been captured or razed by the Blade Dancers. Try to think likea person in crisis, it is the best way to find them. The cardinal rule of Search and Rescue.

“Copy that SR one. Also, if a hunting opportunity occurs, bag it.”*COPY THAT. BAG A BIRD. S R ONE OVER.*“Copy that. FARM over.” Sam placed the radio’s handset back into its wore cradle,

briefly thankful that the radio still functioned despite its antiquity.

The radio’s news didn’t surprise him. When the EMTs or Rangers did find someone theywere usually dead. All they could do was bring them back for burial. More interesting were someof the Blade Dancer bodies they had found. The Pathologist was still making his assessment ofhow they died. We didn’t kill them, and sometimes the bodies were otherwise unmarked. Had tobe whatever was causing the fumes. Sam would bet anything on it, but he was unable to doanything to prove his theory.

“Dammit Delia,” Sam whispered, “I could figure this out.” But to her, Sam was toovaluable of a teacher and leader to go off half-cocked on what she rightly viewed as a revengespree.

Returning to the window Sam could see Jale and Harry packing away what little weaponsthey had to arm the newly founded “FARM Security Forces” of which they were the onlymembers. This was the response that Delia was going to rely on to remove the Blade Dancers fortheir very doorstep? Well who knows, Sam thought, maybe those CHOTA “firefighters” downstairs will figure out their training is about putting out fires and not starting them and decide tojoin Harry’s outfit rather than return to Boneclaw, Slaughterville, or where ever these CHOTAcalled home prior to coming here.

Turning toward the door to start his patrol and inspections, Sam thought about Jenna’svisit earlier. Wouldn’t it be great if those pods did start producing clones again? We certainlycould use the manpower around here. Those Blade Dancers wouldn’t know what hit them whenan army of pissed off Rangers leading clones were knocking down the Bramby Mine door.With that last thought, Sam slide down the fire pole rather than take the stairs, brightened by hisspeculative army of clones.

PIRATES!

A band of Pirates and their sloop have been raiding the local ports. A group of merchants have hired the Company to put a stop to them and scuttle or capture their ship.

MODELS NEEDED• Pirate band worth 300+D3x100 gc.• Small pirate ship with cannon model• Adventure Company (divided into three groups)• Ten “Booty markers”

BATTLEFIELDUsing a 24” x 24” space, set up a small coastal village. You will need 10 small warehouses/depots. Split the board into four 12” x 12” quarters. Place one building in the center of the board and then take turns placing 3 buildings in each table quarter except for the southwest quarter of the table. Now take turns putting a single “booty” counter or model next to each building.

OBJECTIVESThe Pirates are attempting to set up a perimeter, find booty, load up as much as possible, and get out before local forces become too strong. The game ends when either all the Pirates have been slain/routed, or their ship has been scuttled or there is no more booty left on the table.

7+ Loot captured: Victory 5-6 Loot captured: Draw 1-4 Loot captured: Loss

DEPLOYMENTThe Defending player places his first group of models within 2” of the center building. This first group will be the one out of the three that cost the least amount of points. The defender cannon may be set up here as well.The Attackers set up anywhere in their deployment zone. (See map)

WHO GOES FIRST?The Pirates move swiftly and take the first turn. SPECIAL RULESShips and Cannon - The pirate ship is T6 with D6+3 Wounds. The ship is armed with a small cannon as per WFB and the quayside has a turret mounted cannon.Each cannon can fire every other turn if continually crewed and unengaged by three humanoid models.

Defender Reinforcements - As time passes, more and more defenders will come to fend off the attack. On Turn 4 the defender may bring in his Group Two models. Then on Turn 7, Group Three appears. All reinforcements move in from the northeastern corner edge of the table.

Capturing Booty - To loot the booty, an unengaged attacking model simply has to move over a booty counter during their movement phase. That’s it! This does not further effect a Pirate’s movement in any way. (They are really good at this kind of thing!) You may only carry one loot at a time.If a Pirate is forced to fight in close combat while in possession of booty, all of his attacks are at -1 to hit. Taking Loot back to the Boat - Once a Pirate with Booty moves

to the ship, the Booty is gone. However the Pirate can return for more at the start of the player’s next turn!

EXPERIENCE: +1 for surviving without going OOA+1 for every “booty” saved, If the Company is successful Roll for Exploration/Treasure. If the Company fails they lose -1 experience and may not roll for Treasure, but may roll for Exploration.

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OAKLAND BAY BRIDGEThe convoy of cars making up AL’s army has just cleared the bridge onto the Oakland side of the bridge. As the last car clears the bridge the middle span explodes into a fire ball and in a chain reaction the bridge loses the middle spans into the bay. The cars of the army slam on breaks and pull off the side of the road and GANGERS get out in a small throng to look back.

GUSWhat the fuck!

REGGIE

Akbar blowed up the bridge? Why?

MAD DOGHe will do anything . . . ‘member he’s a soldier.

AL

He won’t stop us, he’s too late we all be here. . . Let’s roll, before the whole damn place goes into lockdown.

The “army” gets under way again avoiding the police cars as overhead helicopters begin racing to the scene of the bridge collapse. CINDER BLOCK INTERROGATION ROOM

AGENT WILLIAM SHAKER(scribbling a note, looks up at FERNALD)

So you are saying that Akbar was behind the bridge bombing?

FERNALD(shaking his head)

No, just that Mad Dog told me that’s what they thought when it happened . . . Akbar didn’t know anything about it . . .

INVERNESS COURTThe previous scene there continues.

AKBAR(motioning to some GANGERS)Take Lia upstairs to her bed . . .

The GANGERS carefully pick up LIA and take her into the house. The sound of sirens and helicopters are in the air AKBAR looks around as a GANGER run out from the house.

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AKBAR (CONT’D)

(seeing the running GANGER)Five-O coming too, that might . . .

GANGER(cutting him off)

No way, you gotta see the TV. They saying the Bay Bridge exploded!

AKBAR(sobers up)

You lying to me, I’ll smoke you right here . . .

GANGER(gulping)

Come inside an’ see . . . it be all over the TV. They go back inside and GANGERS are all crowding around the TV that is showing flaming debris on the bridge flickering in the night and the large gaping hole. TV Talking heads are prevailing upon the viewers to stay home and avoid the area while others speculate which foreign terrorist group could be responsible. AKBAR pushes his way to the front of the group looking at the TV reports:

AKBARI can’t believe it. . . I’ll kill that

Witch . . . WITCH’S SHOPThe WITCH’s TV is on showing the new coverage of the bridge as sirens WAIL down her street.

WITCHAh, I sees the Page of Pen’acles be stirrin’ the pot.

THE WITCH on a whim she flips the top card off her Tarot deck and the MAGICIAN shows.

WITCH (CONT’D)Aye tis to be dat way. . .

INVERNESS COURTAKBAR and the GANGERS are still watching the TV reports. AKBAR snaps back to the moment

AKBAR

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If they want heavy ordinance we can play that too. (to the GANGERS)

I’m going to the Plum . . .

MURDER DUBS GANGER #1(Looking at AKBAR like he’s crazy)

Ak’ that’s the first place they’ll hit . . .

AKBARYou stay here and get ready for Mad Dog, If I know him he’ll head here first trying to even the

score . . .(winces)

Lia already beat him to it. . . AKBAR leaves the house and opens the garage and jumps into a military grade Hummvee with turreted .50 Caliber machine guns.

GANGERWhat the fuck!

AKBAR

Got used to these in the Gulf . . . never could get it out before now . . . But with the bridge going up, I bet the National Guard will be out . . . This is better than having a police car.

GANGER

Hell’s yeah! AKBAR fires up the engine and bolts out of the garage and races down the street toward the Purple Plum. The streets are mostly empty except for the occasional police cruiser and as AKBAR predicted, National Guard trucks and hummvees. He is waved through checkpoints. As AKBAR nears the restaurant hidden GANGERS come out of the back onto the dock and meet him.

AKBARAny sign of them yet?

GANGER

Yeah. They be about a block down from here by the chicken place . . .

AKBARGood. Let them come . . . I’ll be ready.

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AKBAR runs into the Purple Plum and up to his office. He hits a button under his desk and a wall panel slides away revealing an alcove. Inside is an arsenal befitting a platoon of heavy infantry. Body Armor, Wire Guided Dragon Missiles, RPG launchers, and machine guns of all stripes. Strapping on a bullet proof vest and shouldering several weapons and handing out rifles to the GANGERS who followed him he rushes out of the office going up the stairs. PARKING LOT OF JIMMY’S CHICKEN SHACK DOWN THE STREET FROM THE PURPLE PLUMThe “army” is packed into the parking lot with several car on the street AL, VINNIE, and MAD DOG and the other GANGERS are gathered in the darkened parking lot.

AL. . .One of the Akbar’s ‘bangers ran back in there . . .

VINNIE

They know we’re coming. Let my crew pull up to draw them out . . .

ALYou sure? The first to roll up there is sure to get turned into swiss cheese. . .

MAD DOG(to VINNIE)

He’s right . . . Smiling, VINNIE points at one of the Mafia sedans.

VINNIE Don’t worry, see that car?

That’s the same kind that Presidents ride in. . . it’s a tank.

MAD DOGNo shit?

VINNIE

I shit you not . . . We’ll create a screen and work from there. Al, you can go around back and we’ll flush them toward you . . .

MAD DOG

I’ll head to Akbar’s house, and take the chance he is there and not here.

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ALWe’ll get him . . . Let’s roll. . .

VINNIE and the MAFIA ENFORCERS gripping MP5 sub machine guns pile into the “tank,” as the rest of the army disperses and deploys. PURPLE PLUM ROOFAKBAR and GANGERS spill out onto the roof of the building. They look down the street to see the cars pulling out of the chicken joint.

AKBARThey’re trying to flank us. . .

GANGER

What?

AKBAR(frustrated)

Go and look down the street out by the dock.

GANGEROK, boss.

He takes off across the roof. Downstairs the “tank” is already taking fire from the GANGERS at street level. The shots have no effect. AKBAR speaks to no one in particular:

AKBARLooks like they got “armor.”

AKBAR hauls up the Dragon missile to his shoulder and looks into the targeting sight. Through the view finder AKBAR lines up the “tank” and fires, the missile roars away. INSIDE VINNIE’S “TANK”VINNIES seeing the incoming missile:

VINNIEOH SHIT WATCH OUT!!

PURPLE PLUM ROOFAKBAR watches the “tank” swerve to avoid the missile but he cooly keeps the car in the cross-

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hair and the missile tracks the “tank” down and hits it with a massive explosion that shatters the glass of the surrounding buildings. AKBAR drops the launcher and picks up an RPG launcher and fires it into the “army” destroying several more cars and flinging them into the air like match box cars. AKBAR Shoulders his M-4/M-203 and rushes to the rooftop door to the stairs. STREET LEVELAL steps out of his car with REGGIE and LENNY close at hand. Shots are ringing back and forth from the restaurant to the wreckage in the street.

REGGIEWHAT THE FUCK WAS THAT!?!

AL

(worried)He gots rockets . . . We gotta go . . Five-O will take notice of that . . .

LENNY

Akbar will be running now too . . .

ALLet’s get to the back alley double fast, catch him . . .

They pile back into their cars and race off and around the block. AL is on a cellphone.

AL (CONT’D)(into the phone)

I need to talk to Mr. Nardoucci . . . Sir? . . . This is Al . .Uh No, I’m sorry. . . Akbar hit Vinnie’s car with a rocket . . .

NARDOUCCI ESTATE

DON NARDOUCCI(yelling into the phone)

You find Akbar, or I’ll send guys to find YOU, understand? This debt has to be paid . . . AL’S CAR

AL(grim)

Akbar will pay that bill, fo’shure. . .(closes his phone)

As they round the corner they see AKBAR getting into his hummvee. LENNY sees him and racks

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his Tek9.LENNY

There he is!

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The rebel is making his final assault on our position. The Lt. is yelling at me, saying to get my sappers over to the inner gate of Charm. So I am grabbing my kit and scribbling these last words to attach to the front of my journal. I am giving this manuscript to Pickles to give to Croaker or whoever may be the Annalist when this is over. I hope that Croaker and Her Majesty didn’t run off for a honeymoon in Opal or something!!! This may be my last passage, and I hope all these months of keeping this record are not in vain.~Sentinel, Chief Engineer of The Black Company ~1~ I am taking quill to parchment, it has been a long time since I have written anything, save equipment requests to the Imperial logistics clerks. I was kind of “inspired” by that sarky, old bastard, Croaker, reading from the Annals tonight. I want to make sure something of me is left behind after I have left the Company feet first. I don’t trust Croaker to write my story. He is always chasing around with Elmo, Raven, and those sorry excuses for spell throwers One-Eye and Goblin. I really wonder what is going into the Annals these days. You may wonder why would you would be interested in my story.. Well, let me start at the beginning and promise you that my story is worth hearing. I am loathe to write it but I can’t tell it to anyone else but this piece of parchment.My story could get them killed. Well, here goes.. I have been with the Company since just after the Roses incident, where our patron Taken, SoulCatcher, the Company’s spook pushers, and Croaker’s cronies took out Raker with that stone block and hairs. Damndest story I ever heard. Then again, I am no stranger to the Arts of mages, witches, and wizards. Nothing really surprises me anymore. But my story starts long before my leaving Imperial service to become a Brother of the Black Company. Once upon a time I was simply a lumber and paint merchant, who was married to a gorgeous girl who had certain hidden talents. She was beautiful, dark brown hair and eyes, and skin like alabaster. She did not have many friends and her parents died not long after we were married. They were very odd and singularly eccentric, not having friends as well. My wife helped me with strengthening timbers to sell and with brewing paint colors of the rainbow not many had ever seen. Her alchemal arts and magics seemed to be only hobbies. She could freshen spoiled milk, make flies go away, help make wood stronger or flexible, and help refine powders for my paints, which helped my trade considerably. She seemed to be happy. About a year after we were married, the Rebellion against the Lady and her Thralls had broken out and the Circle of the Eighteen had proclaimed themselves Liberators. That’s when my wife started to urge me to think about going east to join the Rebels. She tried to convince me that with her talents and my abilities at organization we could be a great help to the Rebel. I had heard

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Fish, a good friend of mine, had already left to join them myself. Damn shame, and I did miss hunting with him. But I argued that the Empire was as just and fair as any Lord I had ever lived under and could not see risking my life and fortunes just to change the flag I lived under. For months we argued and we started living separate lives. She would stay up all night in the upper garrot room of our cottage poring over those old books she collected and kept locked in her dowery chest. She would sleep at dawn and awake in the afternoon to help me with cold stares and curt words. I figured the Rebellion would be over soon and she would realize that it was foolish adventure. So in the mean time, I practiced my hobby of painting tin soldiers and modeling buildings and castles on my sandtable. I had a scale model of my village and the surrounding country side. I was very proud of it.Late one afternoon my wife had arisen from her daytime slumbers and I was cleaning up the house from a day of wood cutting. I was wondering if we would fight again tonight and I was not in the mood. There came a knock on the door. I looked at my wife and for a second she had a look of absolute dread that vanished when she caught my eye. When I answered the door, an Imperial officer in full dress uniform was outside. Normally that would be quite impressive to any Goodman in a smaller hamlet like mine. But what overshadowed him was the smell that assaulted my senses.. It was a smell of rotting damp leaves mixed with that of a bloated dead animal. I looked beyond the Officers shoulder to see a figure atop a great black steed. The late day sun was behind him so I could not make out his features. The officer asked me if I was Goodman Josen, to which I nodded, and if I had certain chemical powders. Still reeling from the horrid smell, I was looking around for the source and not answering the officer. I noticed out on the road in front of my house were a number of soldiers, also dressed in their finest uniforms. As I was still trying to find my tongue, the great horse and its shadowed rider approached and in his doing so blocked the sun’s rays from my eyes.. The smell waxed stronger and I could now see the rider.. Words almost fail me now as my voice failed me then. He had stringy, curly, black hair, that had bits of slimy leaves tangled into it, and seemed to drip water. He was wearing a tattered black mask over his eyes and his skin was slightly blueish in tint and that of a dead man. He had what looked like leeches attached to his face and neck and one on the back of his hand holding the reins to his great steed. He dismounted and made a sloshing noise as if his dark blue robes were wet. He was only about 5'3" tall and he rasped to me in a gurgling wheeze.. “Don’t be afraid, I aim to pay for what I need” I knew at once this must be Night Crawler..One of the Ten Who Were Taken. Out of the corner of my eye I could tell my wife was visible shaking. Night Crawler studied her for a long time, til my wife turned and went back into the house.. He inquired wether or not I had the powders and chemicals he was looking for. This time I was able to find my tongue and told him that I indeed did have what he was seeking.. I bid him and his aide to enter my home. The smell seemed to abate..Wether it was less so, or wether I had become accustomed to it I did not know.. From what I know of Taken now I could figure he can control the disgusting odor and more or less uses it to “impress” people. As I was collecting the required items he was after, I

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noticed He was intensely interested in my sand table model of the town and local keep. He told me my work was exquisite and that if he was not moving so fast to intercept rebel forces he would take more time to admire my work. He also mentioned that The Lady loved such things as well and he would mention me to Her. At this, my wife violently started and stood up from her chair by our stove. Again, NightCrawler stared at her a long time. She kept her eyes from his and begged him Pardon.. That she was not feeling well, and to forgive her poor hosting. At this, Night Crawler turned to me and took the bag of powders. He motioned for me to follow him and he dug out a heavy coin purse he threw to me as he mounted his steed. His last words to me were “Take care of your wife, or she may take care of you!!” with that he turned his steed and let out a strangled gurgling laugh. I watched as his entourage hove out sight around the wooded bend in the road. Not knowing wether to be relieved or agitated I went back inside my home.I helped my self to dinner and called up to my wife in the garrot.. She simply stated she was not hungry after that monstrosity intruding upon our home. So I ate and admired my sandtable and my tin soldiers all neatly aligned. After awhile, I turned in for the evening. Later, I heard from the room upstairs, muffled droning chants.. I figured my wife simply was upset by our visitor and was praying to the gods. I drifted off to sleep wondering if I had contributed anything to the end of the rebellion.That night I dreamt strange things. Visions of my wife dressed in scarlet robes with dazzling lights racing around her and witch fires playing in her hair. She looked at me and smiled and embraced me and told me she loved me, and that she would protect me.. I asked her what she was protecting me from and she said “from knowing me” She told me to look into her eyes. So I gazed upon those deep pools. She then closed my eyes with her hand and whispered in my ear... “Trinket”I opened my eyes and it was Morning.. My wife was no where to be found. Her dowery chest was open and empty. And for the life of me I could not remember her Name, and to this day I can see her face as plain as day but cannot put her name to it.. All I could and can remember is “Trinket” That day, I asked everyone I encountered if they had seen my wife. They would get a puzzled look and not answer. That afternoon I went into town on the off chance my wife had went to market. And I searched and searched and asked and asked people if they had seen her. My inquires only received strange looks and guarded negative answers. I was thoroughly perplexed. I finally resigned my self to the local tavern, The Sheaf and Tankard, to medicate myself with a stout mead. As I entered, I over heard Goodman Torgan whisper to his Wife that I had been asking people if they had seen my wife and that I must be getting touched in the head from all those chemicals I kept. His final utterance stunned me...“After all, Goodman Josen has never had a wife!!!” I was in a whirl of emotions.. Some much that I immediately went home and looked for some item to prove her existence. Nothing could be found.. Her drawers were as empty as her dowery chest, everything was gone, her combs, her clothes, not one hair of her was to be found. It was if she never was. Her face and the name “Trinket” haunted my mind.

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~2~ If I was shocked and unsettled with those bizarre happenings, I was nearly driven beyond all senses when I came to find out whom “Trinket” was. It was not a month after my wife had vanished without a trace. Imperial messengers had been coming almost daily up and down the road. I had taken to sitting at the back table of “The Sheaf and Tankard”. My business was in no need of attention for a while by my reckoning. NightCrawler’s Aide had returned a week after his and the Taken’s first visit, with a wagon and a small chest of Imperial silver. He purchased my entire inventory of lumber and my whole chemical stock. He told me NightCrawler had sent me greetings and to relate that my chemicals had given the Rebel a good surprise. I asked the Officer, whose name was Lucian, what the “surprise” was. He told me a Rebel formation had marched into a hamlet but didn’t march out. With that he gave me a wink and told me I should be proud that I had helped the Empire. And he told me I should feel fortunate that NightCrawler remembered me, because he rarely even remembers who is own officers are. At this I felt my heart flip-flop. Lucian could tell it too. He laughed and said that it was better to be on a Taken’s good side than not at all. That way, you may not get in the way of one of their furious spells without them telling you first. And with that, he and his teamsters were off back down the road to wherever the war was. During my enthronement at the “Sheaf and Tankard” I heard stories from the nearby patrons who would shun me if they knew me and from Imperials going hither and yon. It seems the war was not going well especially out east. Faceless and Howler were constantly being forced back, even after the Lady sent MoonDog and his elite band to help. It was truly amazing that and almost equal numbers of the Circle of the 18 could not only stand up to, but defeat the Taken. The Limper could never bring his forces to bear on the enemy and he was being strung further and further north by an extremely competent Rebel. The only good news was that Opal and Garnet were no longer threatened via the Sea of Torments. It seems Soulcatcher, had engineered a coup in Beryl, a Jewel city beyond Imperial Hegemony and now the Beryl Navy was patrolling Imperial waters and had already swept the Rebel sloops and galleys from the seas. It was also then I first heard of The Black Company. The story was The Lady had authorized ‘Catcher to find troops that would be loyal to money and not ideas. Evidently the rumors of whole Imperial regiments changing sides may have had some truth to them. While in Beryl, Soulcatcher had found a Mercenary band whose storied history proved them to be extraordinarily hard bitten. Word was they slaughtered, to the man, the Urban Cohorts of Beryl as a precaution to against reprisals because of their apparent involvement with the demise of the previous Syndic. They were also, supposed to make the NightStalkers, the Lady’s finest shock troops, look like little girls. At the time I could not see the fuss over hiring those Mercs.. After all there were several Merc brigades, already in service, hailing from Roses and other places. I figured it was just because they were exotic and from far off places. All of this was simply the chatter one hears at a road side Tavern. The story that made my blood run cold was when I first heard the name “Trinket” outside of my own mind. A crippled

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Imperial cavalryman was on his way home from the Nameless’ forces, was the first to utter it to me. It was a story of another Imperial defeat at the hands of the Circle of 18. The Nameless had just halted and were setting camp for the evening, the old cavalryman stated, and the pickets weren’t set yet. The next thing he knew, Rebel Mainforcers were among them and attacking the weary, unprepared Imperials. He told me he saw Nameless looking like he was covered in spider webs made of glittering red strands. Completely immobile. About then he told me he saw his first glimpse of a Circle of the 18 wizard. He said he was shocked because it was a beautiful woman. He had heard they were all men or very ugly, like Whisper. He said she was mounted on a large white stallion and was wearing Red robes that were the same color as the cocoon that had Faceless enthralled. At mention of this I felt unsettled and my throat tightened. The old crippled horseman then told me she started a casting like forming a snowball, except she was using fire. She was about to roast ole Faceless. Kinda fitting, seeing as how the Dominator had burned his face off back during the Domination. About that time an Imperial column, which had not set camp yet, had come forward and unleashed a volley of crossbow bolts at her. The arrows didn’t connect with her or her horse but hit an unseen wall about a foot from her and made a sound like thumping an empty beer cask. He told me he was glad his was already wounded and on the ground with what happened next. She threw the fireball toward the crossbow men and as it traveled it spilt into multiple fragments and each sliver hit a man. He told me he could still smell the charred flesh and hear the screams as they flung about on fire. About a second after the bodies stopped moving, BoneGnasher, whose units had been following Faceless’ formation, strode forward through the carnage and unsheathed that huge sword he keeps strapped to his back whenever he is not at rest. The woman reined in her horse as it shied away from the monstrous Taken. BoneGnasher swung that huge hanger at her and it connected with the invisible barrier with a screech of tearing metal. Green sparks flew in all directions. BoneGnasher laughed evilly. The woman in crimson seemed very shaken, but she recovered and backed her horse off. She extended her left hand and glowing fireflies poured out of her hand, streaming toward the armored Taken. Bonegnasher, laughed that rumbling belly laugh again and playfully swatted at the stream of glowing bugs and continued striding toward the woman. The bugs simply hit his black-chased breast plate. The bugs sparked as they collided with the armor plate depicting broken skulls with glowing red eyes. There was nothing to show for the dazzling spectacle and the woman continued her retreat. BoneGnasher bellowed to his opponent. “Foolish little girl!! It took the Dominator, the Lady, and Soulcatcher, to defeat me before. You have no hope to do so or your pathetic 18! Stand fast and meet your Doom! I shall feast upon the marrow in your bones!” At this, the woman yelled back “You aren’t a match for the 18! Another Day we shall see Taken! We will send you back to the barrow mound, and your Lady with you as well” Then she threw a spell of red glowing webs at the Taken and rode off, vanishing into the night. BoneGnasher fought them off and then freed Faceless. The old campaigner took a swig of his ale and settled back into his chair, satisfied in the telling of his story. I was reeling.. I asked him slowly, “What was the woman’s name?”. He looked at me askance and knitted his brow and told me that he heard that is was a new Circle of 18 wizard named “Trinket” who had attacked his

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army. At hearing this I did my best not to show my fear and astonishment. He asked me why I cared to know. I then, as calm and convincingly as I could muster, told him a story of how I build models and carve and paint tin soldiers and that I wished to make a representation of what he had witnessed. He looked at me and kind of laughed. He said well at least someone will remember it then. Even if it is a grown man playing with toys. At this I sort of reddened but after-all he was just a dumb soldier. Senses still silently screaming, I bid the wounded man good luck in his journeys, and struck off for home. That night I did not sleep for fear of seeing my wife in my dreams again. I tossed and turned. A torrent of thoughts poured through my mind. Would the Empire seek justice upon me for having helped fund her studies and sharpen her skills in the magic arts? Would she seek my death for helping NightCrawler destroy rebels with my services to him? Could I continue living in this town? Was there some sign that she had given me that marked me? Did I dare face another Taken? How did she attain such power without my realizing? Did she always have it? Did she actually love me or just used me to hide from the eyes of the Empire? Did her parents die naturally? Or did she arrange for it to hide her true Name? Why did she spare me? Did I ever really know the woman who had been my wife? Would someone suspect that my “fictional” wife had been real and was now the very real and dangerous enemy? I stared at the shadows chasing each other across the ceiling of my room as the moon made its nightly sojourn past my window. Finally in the small hours I must have fell asleep. I awoke the next morning to a knocking at my door the brightness of the sun in the framed window told me it was near noon. I arose and still in my night shirt, answered the door.

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