Refer to the other two threads before this for reference:
Brainstorming New Areas For The Game
Quick Feedback Poll - New Zone Ideas
Pre-Thoughts
Originally before thinking up the idea of the Mercenary Outfit, I was thinking about how to try to incorporate the Marauder and Skirmisher talents or enemies based off the classes into the game. Part of the idea came from the background lore given to Marauders as well as the sort of in-built lore that after the Spellblaze it was a very chaotic time. Thus, the goal was to try to think up an area that could include Rogue-ish enemies that take what they desire by force instead of by subterfuge.
Now, a key goal when thinking up these areas was to try to have the area fit with the lore the game has; thematically, this has to fit within the peaceful timeline. While it is possible these guys could have a Robin Hood ‘Outlaw’ type of theme, I figured that too closely resembles the Rhaloran Camp. The mechanism I came up with was thus to give these guys a Mercenary Theme – thugs for hire that work for profit, and not really hiding from anyone while going about their business.
In many ways, the Mercenary idea was drawn from the Berserk Anime. In that respect I thought a bit about how the Mercenary Group here in Maj’Eyal might operate since there really isn’t any war going on so to speak. From that thinking I looked to secondhand conflicts; so it isn’t really hard to see where the idea of having them working for the Zigur comes into play. Additionally, having them working with the Zigur can give a unique opportunity to make more use of the Anti-Magic faction enemies for the player to fight against in game as well.
The Area
There can be no question that there is alot of room to work with in regards to the Mercenary Camp. The instance can work as an optional dungeon, perhaps it could open up if the player refuses to help a certain number of Escorts, or just maybe it could be a random instance that could open up at random.
Perhaps you witness one of your ‘potential Escorts’ getting carried off by the Mercenaries and you can choose to follow them back to their camp and enter the area sort of like the Dark Crypt or Unknown Tunnels but in an instance as opposed to being on a World Map. Maybe some interesting dialogue or events could follow suit.
Anyhow, there is a lot of working room, but I’m going to pick one avenue to explore for now. Let’s assume the player went to Linaniil to get a teleport to Urkis, defeated him, and then came back to Linaniil. Linaniil doesn’t offer any rewards like Myssil so this could be a way of throwing in a ‘reward’ – getting access to an additional dungeon. Maybe have it that Linaniil is upset with their actions and sort of like Ungrol, the Alchemist of Last Hope, nudges the player in the direction of the instance.
I believe that the area should follow a similar tileset to that used in the Alternate Rhaloran Camp with several buildings scattered all over the place. Unlike the Rhaloran these guys aren’t trying to hide their location, but that doesn’t mean they don’t value proper security. Through the map there would be ‘Noise Alarm Traps’ with the clear intent of alerting enemies to the presence of the player – potentially leading to them exiting buildings to attack the ‘intruding player’ who set off the alarms.
I think that the tileset should use ‘Mountain Terrain’ as exterior walls, use Grass as floor tiles, and potentially have a fixed location next to a mountain – if it is a quest given by Linaniil. I’d maybe put its location just east of the Sher’tul Fortress entrance portal next to the mountain and just across from Zigur on the other side of the mountain.
Zone Enemies
I imagine that the regular Thief enemies could appear in this instance, but the main enemy taking stage here would be some brand new enemies that centered around being Roguish Enemies that ‘take what they want my force instead of subterfuge’. In addition to them would also be Zigur specific enemies – which would be hostile to the player since they are obviously working with Angolwen.
If possible as well, I would try to make the Thief Enemies be Halflings instead of the usual Human template. I’d maybe make a new ‘Halfling’ Ziguranth enemy as well, maybe a Ziguranth Archer who makes use of Slings? The currently Ziguranth enemies could be fine being whatever race they are.
So in a Nutshell some enemies that already exist in other areas that could be expected to naturally spawn here would be:
‘Halfling’ Cutpurse, Not a Common Spawn
‘Halfling’ Bandit, Not a Common Spawn
‘Halfling’ Rogue, Not a Common Spawn
‘Halfling’ Thief, Not a Common Spawn
‘Halfling’ Assassin, Not a Common Spawn
Ziguranth Warrior, Not a Common Spawns
Ziguranth Summoner, Not a Common Spawns
Ziguranth Wyrmic, Not a Common Spawn
Along with them would be some zone specific enemies create just for this zone. I would suggest making them all Halflings, though the enemy types could come to include other races. As a note the Ziguranth Archer could obviously appear in Zigur during the Anti-Anti-magic quest:
Brigand – Normal Rank, Halfling, Commonly Spawns
Makes use of a Single Weapon along with a Shield, may have access to Sun Infusions or Insidious Poison Infusions. Would make use of the Halfling Racial Talents and would use Knockback, Stun, and Block in battle.
This was essentially a Grunt, tasked with mostly holding down the player and just being all around an extreme annoyance. He wouldn’t be much of a threat but that doesn’t mean he shouldn’t be capable of absorbing a few hits.
Pillager – Normal Rank, Halfling, Commonly Spawns
Makes use of a Two Handed Weapon, may have access to Healing Infusions, Sun Infusions, Insidious Poison Infusions, or Movement Infusions. Makes use of the Halfling Racial Talents and would use Stunning Blow, Disarm, Switch Place, and Cripple.
Another Grunt much like the Brigand, but tasked with debuffing the player as opposed to holding them down. He would likely do more damage and be a bit more of a threat, but easier to kill then the Brigand.
Skirmisher – Elite Rank, Halfling, Not a Common Spawn
Makes use a Sling along with a Shield, may have access to Healing or Sun Infusions. Makes use of the Halfling Racial Talents, and uses Buckler Training Talents, Poison Talents, Called Shots Talents, and Swift Shot.
This guy is a bit more dangerous as he fires at range at the player and advances away like a Master Skeleton Archer – or maybe could make use of Tumble or Vault if those can somehow be coded in for the AI to use.
Marauder – Elite Rank, Halfling, Not a Common Spawn
Dual Wields with perhaps a Sword and a Dagger, maybe have access to Heroism or Movement infusion. Would make use of Halfling Racial Talents and use Skullcracker, Tactical Expert, Rush, Dual Techniques Talents, Dual Weapon Talents.
Meant to be the most dangerous enemy in the instance, he’s meant to be a concern even just one on one due to potentially high damage or just higher defense. This is also the enemy I reference as perhaps accompany the boss; if he does he might be a bit weaker then what I state here.
Ziguranth Archer – Elite Rank, Halfling, Not a Common Spawn
Makes use of a Sling, may have access to Regeneration, Healing, or Heroism Infusions. Would make use of the Halfling Racial Talents and use Steady Shot, Stangling Shots, Archery – Slings Talents, Archery Prowess Talents, and Antimagic Talents.
Excessively dangerous, this Halfling Zigur is a Master Skeleton Archer, the Derth Arenas Halfling Slinger, and an Anti-Magic enemy all rolled into one. Likely a huge threat regardless of when encountered or what it might be encountered with. This guy is meant to be a Mage killer, and a notably threat to non-Mages as well.
Boss Fight
Initially I was thinking that the boss of the instance could be a really strong Halfling Marauder type of enemy, maybe with two or three regular Marauders his close proximity to him. Perhaps the boss could beg for his life when defeated and his men could be disgusted and kill him and offer to make you their leader – kind of in the same way as getting bound to the Assassin Lord works and with some sort of reward perhaps.
I figure that the Boss could spawn in his own little vault, sort of like the Shade or the Rhaloran Inquisitor, or even Bill. Much like Dragons he would have his small group of Marauder buddies spawning around him. He could however just spawn randomly in the instance as well.
The Lore
A heavy emphasis could be given towards developing the Lore of the Mercenary Outfit toIn past times where chaos and war where staples of life, there were those who took to the life as raiders; pillaging and rampaging in pursuit of valuables or loot. Some did it to survive, others for profit, and in some odd instances it was done for the purpose of sheer pleasure. Notably even when lands were firmly under the control of various factions, they may 'allow' such groups to exist if they agreed to attack enemy factions.
Most have faded away, but located in the East the 'Mercenary' Company Hollowheart is one of the few remaining such groups. Consisting of a collection of Halflings, the group had a history of attacking the various Human Kingdoms. To prevent reprisal, the group would simply fall back into the Halfling territory where they would sell their spoils, regroup, and attack again.
Despite the 'Mercenary' title, there is little more then a varied assortment of Opportunistic Brigands within Hollowheart. Seeking to make their fortunes in peaceful times, the group has aligned itself with the Zigur and makes attacks on arcane targets. Partially shielded from reprisals from the various kingdoms due to the fact they whoever they attacked had it coming, most factions are unable to directly move against Hollowheart.
For their part of the alliance with the Zigur, the company primarily preys on targets such as Dwarven Caravans carrying arcane artefacts, wizards rumored to have items of value, and the various adventurers they manage to catch outside of cities. As part of the agreement with the Zigur, they surrender any Arcane items that they find - for a price; they are also forbidden from using Arcane items themselves in combat.
further supplement the games backstory and the residents of the main continent. Similar perhaps to the Kingdom of Reknor Lore with a sort of Rhaloran Camp type of personification to it, there could be a sort of casual write up telling about the groups origins or dealings over time. Maybe it could talk about the ‘hard times of peace’ or dealing with Anti-Magic elements to some degree.
For those familiar with the Command & Conquer series, maybe they could have a sort of ‘Brotherhood of Nod’ type of vibe when approaching their lore. For those not familiar with the Tiberian Univerise –
The Brotherhood of Nod holds a sort of religious pseudo political nature and is led by a charismatic leader known only as Kane. The group operates by spreading their influence among the impoverished and disenfranchised. They have several slogans which help greatly to describe the Brotherhood:
‘Peace through Power’
‘Brotherhood. Unity. Peace.’
‘One Vision, One Purpose’
‘No longer shall the world be dominated by the legacy of these fools.’ (Via No Mercy OST)
In the various games, Nod generally makes use of heinous covert operations and tactics to win the day. In one instance - ‘The Tiberian Strain’ - they kill off ‘the entire population in the countryside’ but no buildings other then a few Chemical Plants in a hardcore form of propaganda. In another instance - ‘Sheep’s Clothing’ - they assume the weaponry of their main enemy and with it attack a third faction with the intent of implicating their main enemy as they attacker.
To sort of round out what I’m saying here in terms of Tales of Maj’Eyal, maybe there could be some written lore that could be as follows:
There is a small village with a known Arcane User that the Zigur want dealt with. However, this Arcane User was greatly loved by the people in the small village and killing him would lead to fierce reprisals against the Anti-Magic faction. A commander leading the Hollowheart raid noted that there was a sizeable graveyard just outside the outskirts of the town, formed a plan, and offered to ‘deal’ with the Arcane User.
At night the commander launched a lightning fast raid and killed all the inhabitants of the small village. After this was done he ordered his men to ‘dig up’ all the bodies from the graves and scatter all the corpses and skeletons around the town. The following day he had ordered ‘survivors’, who were really some of his soldiers, to spread rumors that the Arcane User had been revealed to be ‘A Necromancer’ and when discovered of this the small village rose up against him. The Necromancer in turn raised the dead from the graveyard and though he was eventually killed, few survived.
After this, he ordered the rest of his men to loot what they could as ‘payment’.
The above bit is maybe a good reason as well for Linaniil maybe directing the player in the Mercenaries direction.
Along with some lore writing relating to how they operate, perhaps there could also be some throwbacks to ‘the good old days’ when targets to pillage were all over the place or maybe as a sort of history lesson if it is determined that these guys might be formerly a group of Halflings who preyed on Human targets.
Other Thoughts
Inside the actual Mercenary Outfit, Escorts could still serve a purpose as well. Maybe ‘captured’ Escorts could reside in buildings that Zigur ‘Inquisitors’ are looking to deal with or Mercenary’s are just guarding an Escort for ransom. The player could defeat the captors and ‘release’ the Escort, and then in reverse from the norm – Escort the Escort back to the entrance of the instance as opposed to the teleport portal. Also, if the player decides to ‘Pay’ the Ransom, maybe they could just immediately get their rewards.
Outside of the World Map, maybe there could be some ‘Mercenary Patrols’ that wander around attacking the player, and enemy Adventures. Zigur and regular town patrols wouldn’t bother with them.
Potentially going back to the ‘reward for beating the boss’ idea, maybe the Mercenary Patrols could become hostile to Zigur Patrols and Adventurer Patrols, but not the player. Additionally, once the Far Portal to the Far East is created, maybe the Mercenaries can ‘offer’ to come over to the Far East in pursuit of ‘raiding’ the Orcs like the good old days. In the Far East they would attack Orcish Patrols and such.
Maybe there could also be a sort of 'continuation' idea where the Assassin Lord comes back into play if you sided with him and beat the boss in the Mercenary Outfit - technically you have a bunch of men he might want to employ perhaps.
Comments & Feedback
I'll note that while I'm still brainstorming quite a bit, I do invite input in making these zone ideas at this point. Maybe someone could come up with an idea for the Boss Fight, rewards for the instance, or perhaps comment on Enemy Builds suggested.