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MONDAY, 17TH OF OCTOBER 2005

Ill Omens [Part 2]
MONDAY, 17TH OF OCTOBER 2005

He should have expected the reactions he received. Scorn, disbelief, and even outright anger had greeted him. He’d been called an old fool (though he didn’t feel that old, some of these houses had rather frighteningly young leadership) by a lithe Torque swordsman. He’d been greeted with condescending looks from a rather pretty scion of Maul. And even from his Runite brethren it felt as though they’d been more embarrassed than interested in one of their own bearing these tidings. All in all, Noll felt as though he was the proverbial messenger waiting for the dagger in the sleeve.

“Tlykarxu take them,” Noll cursed softly. He had tried to remain patient, listening to the insults as they spilled out. Some had been subtle, others blatant, but it had gone too far when the idiot from Shroud had suggested that perhaps it was better if he should “disappear” while the matter was considered. Considering the High House of Leaves usually employed a Dead Hand when they wanted a “disappearance” (and that it was often permanent) he had lost his temper completely, and only the intervention of the Guards had spared the pale, wily Shroud member from a rather final “disappearance” courtesy of Noll’s own axe.

Actually, he felt blessed to not be in prison at this point, or even facing the justice of his House . . . or worse, that of Shroud. Instead, Noll had been relieved of his weapon, and shuffled off into this waiting room. The light of the Deadstorm was growing outside, let into Quarterstone through the focal apertures. He could hear a bit more of the city in the distance as the citizens awoke and began a new day. For a moment he wished he’d not bothered to share the experiences of his Ancestral Quest, and he even thought about how nice it would have been to simply gone looking for that youngster he’d met and ask after their first experience with the Oracle. But Duty was something he’d never been able to shirk, so here he was.

The soft sound of footsteps caused Noll to tense and reach for the axe which he no longer carried. Standing quickly, he moved as far backwards into the alcove as his bulky frame would allow. If it was an assassin they’d sent, he’d make sure that this old warrior wouldn’t go easily. The tapestry opened revealing no armed Dead Hand, but rather a relatively young woman bearing a scroll. She smiled disarmingly at Noll, and offered the parchment to him without a word.

Taking the message, he began to read, while keeping an eye on the messenger herself as a matter of prudence. Within a moment his attention was drawn completely from the woman. Though there was still a tone of disbelief, the Five Houses had unanimously agreed to increase the speed of House Initiations. Not only that, but word had come from the Militia and Marksmen that preparations were being made for a state of war. A chill ran down Noll’s spine. What if he’d been wrong about what his Quest had meant? Would this episode in the Enclave’s history come to be known as Noll’s Folly?

The soft noise of the tapestry being fully opened broke into his momentary angst. The messenger gestured for him to follow her. Her Maulite House insignia was now visible in the fall of light from the lanterns and windows in the next room. “If you would be so kind as to come with me, Qeirias Noll,” she said in a melodic voice. “Many of your brethren remember you with honor still.” She smiled warmly and laughed. “My father has missed you these years, and I can still remember when you visited our house. Many of us are overjoyed to find you returned to Quarterstone.”

Noll shook off the last remnants of his doubts. Following the young woman towards the Maul quarters, he couldn’t help but smile in anticipation of another challenge. If war was to come, he’d be there once again. And at his side he’d have that youngster from the Razor Eel attack. That one and many others. He would teach them as his elders had, and there would be no second Tlykarxu, there would be no Noll’s Folly. Qeirias Noll would welcome the young, and the Enclave of the Five Sacrifices would face its enemies together with the strength of human and daevi.

MEN AND WOMEN WANTED for Perilous Duty. Unpaid, harrowing delays, long months of grueling work, chance of setbacks extreme. Glory and fame upon success. – Qeirias Noll

Ill Omens [Part 1]

Later that day within the confines of the headquarters of the Quarterstone Guard a routine meeting droned on. Periodic reports from each of the Guard Captains were covered briefly. The readiness evaluations for different posts and rounds had been discussed. Dozens of other minor details were busy finding their place in the final hour of this weekly gathering, all under the watchful eye and keen ear of the Champion Master. Halfway through a thoroughly bureaucratic report regarding the potential rearrangement of arms caches around Quarterstone, the Master’s aide Jarras Gillen entered the chamber and handed a note to the man seated at the head of the table.

For a man accustomed to the burdens of command, Merced Armadin seemed to pause an unnaturally long period of time after reading the note handed to him. This unusual pause caused a slight mutter amongst the Captains gathered in the council chambers. The week had been quiet in Quarterstone, and his reaction seemed to offer the promise (or perhaps threat) that this was about to change. The Champion Master of the Quarterstone Guard for once took no apparent notice of this breach of discipline. Finally, when the volume of the muttering had raised enough to almost become tangible, he lifted his head to look at those assembled. The unmistakable steely glint in his gaze was enough to silence them all within moments.

“I am sorry for the interruption,” Armadin said, his voice betraying only a slight tension. “I’m afraid the rest of the open matters must be discussed at a later time,” he continued. “You are all to return to your posts immediately. I want all your watch sections drilled and full inspections conducted over the coming days. We will reconvene tomorrow.” Seeing the obvious confusion on the faces of his officers, Armadin felt a touch of uncertainty, though he quickly mustered the will to bark out a short “Dismissed!”

Making their way outside in an orderly fashion, the whispers which threatened to resume were cautiously suppressed by the Captains. Though these events were strange, none amongst them wished to test the patience of the Champion Master. As the last of the men departed, Armadin called for his aide. Within a few seconds, Jarras strode purposefully into the room. Politely he stopped a couple of meters away from the council table and asked, “My Lord?”

“Please send my ‘visitor’ in, Jarras,” the warrior requested. “I’d like to know what’s so important.” Nodding quickly, the man moved back to the doors and returned to the neighboring waiting room. Armadin stood and paced towards the hearth at the opposite end of the great table, lost in thought. The noise of the doors being swept closed brought him out of his reverie. He turned at once, but instead of an agent bearing news of Pale activity or Brotherhood raids, he came face to face with a ghost from the past.

“Qeirias Noll,” he breathed. “You’ve returned to Quarterstone at last, and reports of your death have been greatly exaggerated.” Shaking his head, the Champion Master faced his predecessor and continued, “I’d thought you had at least gone off to become a Hermit in Mount of Heroes. And here you are in my Council Chambers using priority codes only known to the highest agents of the Enclave . . . or former Champion Masters.” Armadin glared at the powerful man who had once called these chambers his.

Noll returned the gaze with impassiveness that could only be but a facade. “You know as well as I do that nothing could have brought me to these chambers again unless it was of great import, Merced.” Noll stared beyond the other man into the fire then shook himself, as if waking from a bad dream. “I have come from the Oracle Temple. I sought understanding and answers.”

“Then you’ve obviously grasped what the Oracle has been asking of us for years, Qeirias,” sneered Armadin. “But what possessed you to come here of all places to share your return to the fold?”

Noll’s face flickered at the insult, but he continued, “I may not have been in Quarterstone, but I’ve also not been idle these years.” Armadin raised an eyebrow at this, but the former Champion Master ignored it. “As to the why of my return, I’ll answer it with a question: when was the last time you undertook an Ancestral Quest?”

“Though it hardly matters to you, I undertake quests at least once each month. My last was but a few days past. Why is that important?”

Noll nodded, pausing nearly long enough for Armadin to consider walking over and physically prodding him. “You are not the first I visited. I have spoken to fellow Runites about this. None of them had any answer which satisfies me.” He shuddered and then stared directly into his replacement’s eyes. ”The Oracle showed me a Shard in the Deadstorm Spell.”

“What? You said the-“

“I said the Oracle showed me a Shard, in the Storm. After the destruction of the Ancestor World,” said Noll in a flat, even tone. “I undertook battles with foes we once fought together, not with the Demon Armies. I saw the recent past, or for all I know the present or even the future!”

Merced Armadin stood speechless for a moment before managing to mutter, “That’s not possible . . .”

“Oh it is,” Noll disagreed. “I’d of course agree with you except for the fact that it happened to me.”

“So what does it mean?”

“Whatever it means, we’re going to need help . . . ,” mused Noll.

Armadin motioned to Noll, and the two sat together, their old rivalries nearly forgotten. Many hours later they parted, each attending to different duties. One thing was clear: the help they sought would need to come soon, and it would need to come from the young citizens of the Enclave.

[The conclusion of Ill Omens is coming 17 Oct 2006]

The Chronicles of Spellborn : Jesper Kyd: Composer
Date : Oct 10, 2005
Author : Jon Wood

The composer for The Chronicles of Spellborn is named Jesper Kyd. Kyd is a Danish-born composer who has previous experience working in both video games and films. Recently, The Chronicles of Spellborn?s official website posted an interview with their music-man.

1. Can you tell us how you got involved in the MMORPG The Chronicles of Spellborn?

I was contacted by the developers of Spellborn about a new, highly crafted game they were working on. They sent me over some details and after reading through this material, it was obvious that these guys were working on something very special. I loved the idea, story and the extremely ambitious game mechanics. I knew I wanted to be a part of this team and the massive effort that has been put into this extraordinary game.

2. How did the selection period go; what was this procedure like?

There were 5 other composers pitching for the project, which Spellborn had approached. After receiving game materials we were asked to collate some music that might fit and send it over.

After listening to the music submissions, 2 composers were asked to write some custom demo tracks for the game. Following more discussion with Spellborn?s Matthew Florianz, I had a good idea of what kind of approach and music style would fit the world. I was especially excited by the creative encouragement I got from the team and their willingness to go beyond generic music styles. Creative freedom is not something which happens that often in video games or film soundtracks, but when it does happen I take it and run with it ;)

Developer Journal

"Opportunity"
I attack you and hit for 22 damage. You attack me and hit for 17 damage. I attack you and miss. You attack me and critically hit for 34 damage. I attack you…

Does the above exchange sound familiar? It probably does, because that’s the way combat works in just about every MMORPG on the market today. In reality, combat is a complex dance of subtle maneuvers, split-second perceptions, and exploiting opportunities, which is why most RPG battles seem so sterile and monotonous by contrast. It’s tough to get excited about a match of dueling calculators, but one of the things The Chronicle is attempting to do is add a new dimension to RPG style combat, putting more emphasis on strategy and timing than just clicking auto attack to find out who has the best damage per second and hit points.

The image most people conjure up when speaking of real-time tactics is first person shooter, or “twitch” based combat, which relies entirely on the skill of the player, not the character. To clarify, The Chronicle will still be largely dependant on character skill, but certain edges in combat will be available to those who understand how to use the opportunity system, detailed below. What we’re aiming for is the first effective hybrid of RPG (character skill) and FPS (player skill) combat.

In the heat of battle, certain situations arise in which an opportunity for one character to exploit a temporary weakness or distraction of another character to produce various effects. Unlike the combo point system common to several other games (most notably Diablo 2 and World of Warcraft) in which one character builds up an amount of personal potential to cause greater damage to another, the opportunity system is a function of the defender, not the attacker. As such, once an opportunity arises, anyone may take advantage of it. A visual queue appears on or around the character afflicted with the opportunity, visible to all except the subject character.

Furthermore, any type of character will be able to exploit opportunities, not just a specific “rogue” or “assassin” class (mostly because The Chronicle is not crippled by a class system) and not just characters with certain, special skills. Engaging a character with a regular attack that is currently exposed by an opportunity will result in a slightly better chance of hitting, better odds of scoring a critical hit, and a noticeable amount of bonus damage. Basically, anyone can use an opportunity up to get in one big hit. But those are just the commonplace exploitations of opportunities.

Characters with the proper skills and abilities, however, will be able to put opportunities to much more effective uses. A skilled duelist would immediately recognize the opportunity as a chance to disarm his or her opponent, while a martial arts master would use the momentary distraction to perform a tripping maneuver. A precision archer who sees an opportunity would take the chance to employ one of his or her special attacks, knowing that the resulting effect is greatly enhanced if it activates in time. While normally unable to achieve concealment during a fight, someone with the proper skills could use an opportunity to escape the situation by engaging their stealth ability.

While further uses of opportunities are quite obvious given the above examples, what exactly causes an opportunity is what really illustrates how dynamic combat will be in The Chronicle. Anytime a character critically hits another character, an opportunity arises on the defender, but anytime a character critically misses, an opportunity appears on the attacker. Since combat is often unpredictable, there will also be rare, randomly assigned opportunities, but they will be more frequent on characters with poor ratings in the attributes that govern opportunities, mainly coordination (more widely known by its synonym dexterity). Random opportunities will also be caused by environmental effects, such as bad weather or unstable surfaces, like the deck of a ship on a rolling sea. Not surprisingly, intoxication will also be a factor.

Multiple opportunities do not stack in terms of the number of times they may be exploited, so once anyone uses the opportunity, no matter who caused it or how, it is resolved. They do stack in terms of time the opportunity is available, though, so that several characters could continue provoking opportunities in a single target until an ally is able to unleash the proper exploitation. While a random opportunity or minor skill that produces them might only last a second or two, it’s entirely feasible that multiple applications could have one character exposed by an opportunity for much longer, at least until someone chose to exploit it. Some actions a character takes can invoke persistent opportunities, such as running, picking a lock, or opening a chest. In these situations, the opportunity exists as long as the action is being taken.

Those are just the starters, the regular means by which opportunities come around. Some characters will have access to skills and abilities that can conjure up opportunities in other characters, things like taunts, vision obscuring spells, tricky maneuvers, and attacks designed to unbalance a foe instead of causing damage. Additionally, there will be at least a few tactics that allow one character to feign an opportunity, but when the attacker attempts to exploit it, that attacker instead becomes the subject of a real opportunity. An important thing to remember is that every attack in The Chronicle has an equally effective defense, ensuring that no single ability emerges as the super attack that everyone has because no one can defend against. Skills will be available that allow characters to avoid or resist having opportunities themselves, as well as tactical skills that allow talented commanders to reduce or negate opportunities in those they lead.

Perhaps one of the most appealing parts of the opportunity system, from a game design perspective, is the relief it gives the game mechanics from the “stun paradigm,” or the situation all games inevitably face when the player base realizes that stun effects are much more powerful than damage effects. The ability to completely incapacitate your target, even if only for a second or two, is incredibly powerful, especially in player vs. player combat, yet game developers of the past never seem to discover the discrepancy until long after release. An attack that causes 1 damage, but stuns the target for 3 seconds and can be used every 3 seconds is infinitely more powerful than an attack that does 1,000,000 damage every 3 seconds. When we say the opportunity system provides relief to the stun effect, what we mean is that we can design an enormous amount of abilities that cause, prevent, or exploit opportunities in clever, effective ways without always having to levy a frustrating few seconds of complete incapacitation on the target. The Chronicle will still have attacks and spells that stun targets, but with opportunities handling most of the more subtle combat situations, stun effects can be saved for more powerful actions, where they belong.

The lead writer on the project, and the creator of The Chronicles of Spellborn setting and its story, is Jesse America. Jesse, having 5 years of experience in the games industry (and having been a paper & pencil rpg GM for over 15 years), has worked as Art Director for Khaeon Games for the past few years. He has written and produced 2d and 3d art for several games, rpg products and an occasional indy comic book. He has worked on Traveller the RPG and In Nomine the RPG for Steve Jackson Games, Underworld the RPG for Synister Creative Systems and a number of PC Game titles.

"…in order to create a world that would fit in with our unique vision of a fresh approach to the Fantasy MMORPG genre, I had to think hard on what that would mean for the setting we needed. It definitely couldn’t be the typical vanilla fantasy world people have become accustomed to in this genre: the one with elves, dwarves, unicorns and evil rings of power.

On the other hand, radical experiments with the Fantasy genre rarely work out. Substituting pointy eared humanoids with a weird name for Elves (thereby remaining what they obviously are), or freakish creations that no one warms to, wouldn’t be the answer." says Jesse. ‘Ultimately I was inspired by something I read about fairy tales with happy endings: that they are just stories that haven’t been finished yet."

So The Chronicles of Spellborn start after the conflict most fantasy stories end with: the final battle between the forces of good and evil. The forces of good have overcome and destroyed their evil adversary and the world is left in the hands of the (human) survivors.

"The idea of a shattered world, separated by the Deadspell Storm, in which a small enclave of survivors tries to rebuild its society on the ruins of an ‘Ancestor World’, was an image that stuck with the development team." says Jesse. "But my approach was not to create a fantasy version of Mad Max, but to present the player with a recognizable setting in which certain things work and look differently without alienating our audience.

I wanted to convey a fairytale sense of wonder and sadness, which can be found in movies like ‘The Dark Crystal’ or ‘Labyrinth’, but also in stories like ‘The Dying Earth’ (Jack Vance) and ‘The Magic Goes Away’ (Larry Niven). Of course we were influenced by a lot of other sources as we went along, and the (Art) development team has done a tremendous job of bringing these themes to life."

So how will the average player experience the story of The Spellborn Chronicles?
"Well, before the contemporary ‘Fantasy’ genre was created by Tolkien, fantasy stories that weren’t considered Sci-Fi were actually labelled ‘Sword and Sorcery’. It’s a distinction that is much more fundamental than it appears to be at a casual glance. The stories from the Stormbringer Saga (Michael Moorcock) or Fafhrd and the Grey Mouser (Fritz Leiber) for instance, are actually Sword and Sorcery, not Fantasy. The same goes for the Conan stories by Robert E. Howard. These writers did not work with elves and dwarves or preconceived notions of how ‘Fantasy’ should work, but with human protagonists who struggled to survive often monstrous or barbarous worlds and thoroughly inhuman enemies. Some contemporary fantasy writers such as Steven Erikson (The Malazan Chronicles) and George R. Martin (A Song of Fire and Ice) are obviously inspired by the Sword and Sorcery worlds of old. So it is with the Chronicles of Spellborn.

Instead of presenting a fantastical world that might seem less dangerous or challenging because the player can experience it through an avatar that itself is a mythical being, we wanted to place the player in the roles of human characters who have to face a very harsh, albeit epic reality. Throughout the game the player will learn that it is a miracle that the Five Clans managed to defeat the Empire of the Eight Demons, and that they have suffered greatly in trying to move past that final battle that cost them the destruction of the world as they knew it. When players do assume the role of a non-human protagonist, namely a Daevi character, they will learn that there is quite a dark legacy they will be bestowed with."

In order to convey the idea behind this drastically different game world early on during development, the Spellborn Scrolls were created. "The development team wanted to know how our audience would react to our ideas and stories as we created the game, so that the TCOS community would actually be able to influence development to a certain extent." Jesse says. "Dry, ‘bestiary’ style articles couldn’t possibly facilitate this, so together with the designers and marketing people we came up with what I think is a pretty unique way of presenting the world to our audience.

The interactive nature of the Scrolls stimulates people to comment on Spellborn themes and ideas, and that is what we want. The Scrolls are also a bit of a nod to the MUD’s and text based adventures of old. Same as with the Sword and Sorcery thing, we are definitely aware of where our roots lie, and where we are headed."

"I write the Spellborn Scrolls mostly from the perspective of ordinary characters. In that way it is even more apparent how wondrous and mythical the world of Spellborn really is. I get great support and feedback from the designers and the rest of the development team in writing them, and of course great satisfaction when I learn that certain ideas are cool enough to be implemented in the game as well. Likewise the designers present me with many crucial pieces of information to be weaved throughout the Scrolls, so that we can get ideas about character classes, skills etc. out there."

In a sense, the Spellborn Scrolls are an early taste of what the team is creating with TCOS , and people seem to have fun with them. In the end it is very important that we make TCOS the most original and fun fantasy MMORPG of 2006. A lot of effort is being put into creating the right atmosphere of the story.