Choose an Appearance Template
There were ten male zombies resting on the remaining plinths for me to choose from. I cycled from massive muscled brutes to slender undefined weaklings. It was clear that Catacomb wasn’t going with traditional humans. I could tell that each of the bodies, despite their pale lividity, had some variation of violaceous skin in life ranging from lilac to plum. Those that had remaining ears were long and sharply pointed. From what I could tell from the options that lay dark outside my vision the females were larger than the males and more heavily built.
Choosing a character who was perhaps a meter sixty, I studied the figure. The avatar had a slim athletic body covered in wounds stitched with thick black twine, and comparatively large gnarled hands with cracked black nails. He had wild but short curly black hair, and eyes that were slate gray like my own.
His lip was split on the right side of his mouth but bloodless and there appeared to have been a notch taken out of his long pointed ear on the right side. He had hawkish and severe features that seemed accustomed to anger. The body was wearing simple black breeches and a loose white shirt but no boots or other items. It was a strange choice to disallow modification of the character’s appearance but perhaps this was a feature they planned to add closer to release.
With my avatar chosen a box of text appeared detailing some interesting information about my character.
Remnants rise within the corpses of the long dead. You have chosen a Haithan Male, approximately twenty three years of age. His history is detailed below:
Aubray Cardienne
Aubray was born into considerable wealth and leisure on a country estate in southern L’Chasse. Despite his life of ease Aubray sought greater, more heroic accomplishments beyond a future as a trophy husband. He sought them out from the shadows, manipulating local illicit trade and protecting both L’Chasse and his family’s interest through manipulation and assassination.
When the end of the world came to L’Chasse, Aubray could have fallen to decadence or despair like many of his nation's citizens but he chose another path. Few did more to hold a beleaguered and dying L’Chasse together than the young Viscount. Widely viewed as a hero, The Ghost of L’Chasse, he fought until his closest confidant and lover Javier betrayed him to the Church of the Sacred Flame.
Tensing at the description I looked over to the lifeless body of my chosen character. Studying the body’s face, I muttered with dark humor, “Looks like we ended up here under similar circumstances. Let’s get out there and get into some trouble.”
Finalizing my choice, I was surprised as my ghostly blue form gathered together compressing tightly. I felt myself drawn forward and thrown into the mouth of the lifeless corpse. My vision went briefly blank and I blinked and found myself looking out and upward toward the ceiling. A slightly opaque box appeared before my vision with a quest announcement
New Quest, Evolving Quest
Descend the Spiral
XP Reward: 5000
Item Reward Choice: Weapon E Tier, Gloves E Tier, Ring E Tier
Welcome to the Spiral, Remnant. Find a way to descend through the gateway and continue your travels toward the disaster’s center.
Sitting up I looked down to see that I was wearing black breeches and a white shirt. My feet were bare.
Peeking down my shirt, I noted that a faint blue light was emanating from the ribcage of my muscled chest. Clearing my throat, I spoke softly in an accented voice I didn’t recognize, “Well, that’s one way to do it.”
A pop up appeared in the upper right of my vision and I muttered, “Lyd, it’s clear that they don’t have voiced narration in this early stage of the beta. Would you do me a favor and read out these notifications?”
“Sure thing sweetie.”
I surveyed the settings and continued, “I want you to weed out normal damage notifications, and only notify me of serious debuffs and impairing injuries, achievements and server announcements. Whenever I activate my notifications directly, find items or study an enemy I would appreciate you reading those out to me as well.”
Her chipper voice answered, “I’m here to help darlin. Filter applied.”
She immediately announced an achievement in her lilting southern drawl:
“Achievement
Walk the Spiral
You started your journey down the spiral.”
Swinging my new legs off the plinth I looked around. Swaying on my feet I growled at the poor control the zombie body seemed to have. The blue spirits that swirled everywhere throughout the vault were gone. The chamber was oddly quiet save the distant sound of stone clattering.
The corpses around me remained still. I was surprised to find that once again cold was radiating up through my avatar’s feet. The chamber smelled distinctly of mildew and age. Scanning the walls I spotted an unlit torch sconce. I made my way to it and yanked it off the wall. When my hand touched the torch a brief flash of blue light radiated into the object and it flashed faint blue before returning to normal. When I gave it a practice swing I got a prompt read in Lydia’s voice:
“Moldy Torch
Type: Bludgeon
Slot: Main Hand
Requirement: None
Rarity: Common
Tier: F”
“Not the best weapon, but I have a feeling that this place isn’t uninhabited.”
Glancing at a nearly translucent folder marked as ‘Note’ that was flashing in the lower right of my HUD I activated it and a holographic screen appeared over my avatar’s right hand, read out in Lydia’s voice:
“Welcome to the Character Sheet Tutorial!
Would you like to begin?”
Rolling my shoulders I prepared for a lengthy tutorial and said, “Go ahead and start it Lyd.”
She started to read out the character sheet information as I leaned against a nearby column:
“Basic Character Information
Character Name: Florin
Race: Zombie
Class: Brute
Level: 1
Hit Points: 120 of 120
Magic Points: 10 of 10
Stamina: 120 out of 120
Resistances: Characters begin with five basic resistance slots. Every weakness that a character has adds an additional resistance slot to the character
Resistances Slots (2 of 6)
5% less bludgeoning damage
5% less ranged damage
Weakness
5% additional slashing damage
Basic Character Statistics constitute the basic physical and mental abilities of the character. These statistics are typically tested along with skill values to overcome challenges.
This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.
Statistics
Strength: 9
Agility: 11
Vitality: 9
Reason: 4
Spirit: 7
Charm: 7
Equipment modifies character statistics. In addition it can add abilities that provide passive bonuses and active skills that do not need to be slotted into skill slots.
Equipment Slots
Weapon 1: Moldy Torch
Weapon 2: Empty
Head: Empty
Neck: Empty
Shoulders: Empty
Chest: Tattered Chemise
Hands: Empty
Legs: Tattered Trousers
Boots: Empty
Ring: Empty
Ring: Empty
Any skill that your avatar attempts has the chance of becoming a Novice skill. Novice experience with skills is unlimited. Later skill levels will have a restricted number of slots.
Novice Skill Slots (Infinite)
Acrobatics 1
Bludgeoning 1
Light Armor 1
Unarmed Attacks 1
Stealth 1
Each character has five slots for Weapon, Passive, Active, Crafting and Social abilities. Whenever a character would gain an additional skill in excess of five they must delete a skill to slot the new ability. Sometimes skills evolve! A character will often receive ‘Modification’ abilities that increase the range of a given ability's powers. A Modification ability immediately raises a skill’s Tier by one. An avatar may not have a skill whose tier exceeds their class tier by two steps.
Passive Abilities (1 of 5)
Stealth Expert: Once per hour you will be warned that you are about to be seen and have a chance to retreat into the shadows.
Active Abilities (4 of 5)
Flesh Graft
There is a rare chance you may take the parts of humanoid enemies and graft them onto your own body to modify your abilities. If you choose this option any loot that would have been gained is lost. Rarer and higher tier versions of the zombie race may be able graft more varied creature parts onto themselves.
Consume Flesh
You may consume the flesh of the living, or recently dead, to recover a small amount of hit points.
Disarm
Attempt an unarmed strike to disarm your enemy. This is opposed by their combat skill and key ability.
Thump: Once per minute you may use your hammer to daze your opponent. This interrupts channeled actions and makes your target ‘off-guard’. Some creatures are immune to being dazed.
Crafting Abilities (0 of 5)
Social Abilities (0 of 5)
Achievements
Walk the Spiral
You started your journey down the spiral.”
When she finished the description I moved to the columns that surrounded the great void that was the vault and looked up. When I did so there was a muted and deep musical sting as the name of the area was announced in a box of text read out by Lydia:
The Great Vault
Once the communal burial mausoleum of the Haithan denizens of L’Chasse, The Great Vault now exists as a well of flesh for the newly risen Remnants of the Crusade.
Tutorial Zone
The chamber was so large that I couldn’t even make out the upper levels and saw only the occasional blue streak of what assumed to be another player crossing the vault. Below I could make out the bottom of The Great Vault, a depression made up of featureless black stone. Leaning over, there were ‘perhaps’ three levels below me.
Grunting I turned and noted an open arch at the mid way point of the semicircular burial chamber and made my way toward it. When I reached the archway I paused to listen but heard nothing.
Peering around the corner, I saw that the stairs were a tight corkscrew that went both up and down.
“Developer wants you to go right, go left,” I whispered as I looked to the downward staircase.
As I was about to round the corner and start down the stairs something trudged its way out of the dark on the other side of the room. A two meter plus tall monstrous skeleton with a hammer stomped its way through the distant arch. It’s head didn’t appear to be human. It had massive tusks that reminded me of a boar.
Maybe some kind of orc?
Were we doing orcs in this game?
It appeared to be pathing directly toward me. Scanning the area around me for a place to hide I slipped between the nearest plinth and the wall. The hulking hammer wielding skeleton stomped past my hiding place on its way across the chamber.
When my eyes lingered long enough on the skeleton, Lydia read out a description:
“Skeletal Guard
Level 3
Tier F
HP: Unknown
MP: Unknown”
Well, nothing ventured, nothing gained. I slipped from behind the plinth and stalked up behind it. Not noting my Stealth skill go off in warning I wrapped both hands around the torch and jumped, bringing it down across the hulk’s shoulder.
Numbers appeared over the point of contact flying up and into the air before vanishing.
Damage: 8 bludgeoning!
Damage: 12 sneak attack!
Thump activated! Target is dazed for three seconds!
Landing, I spun and slammed the makeshift club into the beast’s spine.
Damage: 4 bludgeoning!
Damage: 9 sneak attack!
Target is no longer dazed!
There was a great grinding of bones as the monster spun with its hammer in a clumsy strike and I rolled to avoid the massive weapon. It collided with a pillar instead and dust cascaded down over both of us. As it maneuvered its hammer to strike again I brought the club to bear on its knee for another spike of damage. There was a cracking sound and it stumbled, its leg buckling and forcing it to kneel. It heaved its hammer up and I activated Evade to assure the dodge, jumping aside and slapping the now very damaged club onto its shoulders.
The monster’s ribcage collapsed and its head fell forward as its body lost cohesion. The bones tumbled to the stones with a clatter. Lydia made an announcement with pride:
“Skeletal Guard Defeated!
22 xp gained!”
Smirking, I stepped up to the defeated opponent.
Rolling my shoulders I muttered softly, “Lydia, keep notes of my observations.”
She replied distantly, “Sure thing sugar.”
Responding softly for the recording, I said, “Avatar reactivity and movement is amazing with this new RIG interface. I had my doubts about Speers’ little speech but I think they might be onto something. This Skeletal Guard seemed like a solid challenge for a first foe.”
Reaching down and shifting the bones around in search of loot I found only two items of interest. Each of them flashed with a gentle blue glow as I gathered and identified them:
“Guard’s Hammer
Type: Bludgeon
Slot: Main Hand
Requirement: None
Rarity: Common
Tier: F”
“Bone Dust
Type: Crafting Component
Rarity: Common
Tier: F”
I summoned my keyboard and flicked through the options until I found my inventory. To my relief it appeared to be an infinite extra dimensional storage space.
Convenient. I wouldn’t be surprised if they changed that before they released the game.
Moving my fingers through the air quickly I opened my Settings window. Scanning the help section for a couple of minutes and, reasonably certain of how to modify my HUD, I closed it. With my new found knowledge I shrank my inventory window and statistic bars and placed them on my inner right wrist so that when I stared at the space it would pop open. I threw the damaged torch and the dust into it and flicked it closed. I hefted the new hammer to get a sense of its capabilities and nodded.
“Alright, let’s do this.”
With that I left the remains there and returned to the stairs where I started downward into the darkness.
–
“Feaster Rat Defeated!
5 xp gained!”
Lydia’s voice echoed in my headphones for the tenth time in as many seconds as I was driven into the wall, crushing a rat trying to tear its way into my avatar’s back. Another jumped at me from my right and my hammer collided with it, sending it bouncing off several walls before disappearing down the dark stairs.
Two more rats rushed down at me from above and I dodged aside, sending one tumbling down the stairs and into an already injured teammate. The second grabbed onto my already tattered breeches and tore into them. I crushed it with a savage downward stroke, splatting it into the stones.
Glancing at my wrist I saw that my health had dropped to seventy five out of one hundred. Cursing I kicked out at the rat below me, crushing it and sending it flying. Charging down the stairs I kicked another approaching rat out of my path. As the bottom of the stairs came into view I leaped and landed amidst more swarming rats, crushing two of them when I landed.
I booted one against the wall and then brought down my hammer to crush another, rolling through the arch and onto the platform where more plinths bearing corpses rested. A small group of the screeching rats surged out of the doorway after me. I cursed as I noted a stomping skeletal guard moving in my direction with its hammer raised.
A feaster rat snapped onto my thigh with its jaws and I snarled at the haptic pressure while charging toward the hulking skeletal guard. I could hear the rats squealing in my wake and ignored them. Activating Evade just as it swung its hammer, I dodged aside with system assistance. I followed up with a disarm, kicking it in its elbow and knocking the hammer free.
Rolling to my feet, I came up with a second hammer in my off hand roaring in defiance, “Let’s fucking go!”
Using two weapons felt unwieldy but I ignored it as I bashed into approaching rats, and swept out a strike to crush the knee of the recovering skeletal guard. I worked my way into the charging feasters, kicking and smashing them. Finally, I brought both hammers down on the last of them only to feel the crushing fists of the skeletal monster impact my shoulder. A faint red glow around my field of vision told me I was on low health.
Spinning around the reeling skeleton I weaved the two hammers bashing them into the monster’s ribcage, getting sprayed with bones as it recoiled and stumbled away. As it fell onto its back I stepped above it and swung my hammer at the side of its head crushing it into powder.
My avatar was sluggish and unresponsive and my hammers were hard to raise in my hands as I looked down at my latest foe.
Staggering to one of the plinths I sat next to the body there to look down at my injuries. There were obvious tears and gashes in my zombified flesh. The thrumming feeling in my shoulders indicating that I was near death did not abate.
