Crafting The Perfect Gremlin

Birthright Online: For The New World. This was the title that soared across the screen. A birds eye view of a great landmass down below. The camera swept across the scenes, a forested island connected by a bridge to the mainland, a vast plains giving way to jungles and swamps, continuing on and on until nearing snow-capped mountains and a smoking volcano. Marcus knew little about what it was he was seeing, but Sam seemed more and more excited with every landmark passed. Eventually however, the soaring camera would slow, angling downard at the volcano in the center of the landmass, and moments later, lines of dialogue began to appear on the screen, a narrator now chiming in to read them aloud.

“Scarcely a year has passed since the Eldritch Lord of Calamity, Istvlelok drew his final accursed breath. Since then what has remained of their vast armies and machinations have steadily crumbled and faded away. Now, although peace has arisen for the first time in millenia, the call of the great hordes of power and treasure has been far too enticing for the rest of the world to rightly sit by and ignore. The great powers of the world have been on the move, staking claims on the land, establishing settlements and townships all in hopes of plundering the land of Nihilon of all that it’s worth. Naturally, this veritable ‘gold rush’ has also attracted the attention of heroes and adventurers alike, all seeking to make a name and forge a legacy for themselves. Adventurers, such as yourself… But alas, the great treasures of this land will not be easily plundered, for how could a land steeped so long in such evil ever truly be tamed. This is your story, adventurer, your legacy. Your actions here will very well shape the fate of not only Nihilon, but the entirety of the world. If taking on such a burden does not sway you from your path of fame and fortune… Then welcome, step forward adventurer, and make a legacy that the world will sing about forever.” Sounded the clear, deep voice evocative of a wise old man.

And just like that, there he was. Marcus found himself standing in what appeared to be a bedroom of sorts, wooden and creaking. The gentle sway of the oil lamp above suggesting that he was currently upon a ship at sea. At the moment however, there was no he as he had no form. His hands projecting out in front of him were only made of shadow. Instead, he stared at what he could become. A human figure stood before him, status information on their right and left. The right of the model consisted of abilities that a human avatar would possess. They appeared naturally glib with access to special abilities related to speech as well as being uniquely adaptable, able to take on a few select abilities of other races. As expected, they seemed balanced and well rounded as most fantasy races typically use the idea of humanity as a base template. On the left side of the model was information, backstory on what exactly humans were in this world.

“Abundant and adaptable, humanity can be found all across the globe. They are known well for their large, sprawling cities, and opinions on humans vary the greatest among other races. Some revere them for their ingenuity and consider them close allies. Others revile them as greed driven deceivers who only extend a hand to you so you do not see the blade hidden in the other. What is certain though is that humanity has formed the backbone of many societies across the world and will likely serve such roles wherever they happen to pop up.” It described.

Marcus smirked and quickly swapped races. This was a fantasy game after all, why the heck would he want to be just a plain human when there were supposedly twenty other races to choose from?

“Haha, yep, twenty races! Hell, not even just twenty. Each race has sub-races, and even the subraces have abilities apart from one another!” Sam suddenly exclaimed excitedly.

“Yea, jeez, you weren’t kidding. Gonna need a bit to decide what I wanna be.” Will replied.

Marcus was a bit taken aback by this. He switched off of the elf he had just swapped to to take another look at the Human template. Indeed, there was an additional tab for subraces. Quickly swapping through, he saw the Human undergo numerous build changes and different skin tones, with slight differences to their Racial Skill trees. One seemed to have additional magical affinity while another exhibited more strength. This didn’t change his intention to completely skip over the idea of going with Human, but he was impressed to see that the depth of character building Sam had described seemed to be true. Still, Marcus soon switched back to the Elf template, now a bit more excited to see all the options that awaited him.

The elves were definitely a humanoid race as Marcus suspected most of the other races to be. Their average build seemed lankier than that of the humans, but they also seemed to be part plant. The one presented to him seemed to have tree branches growing out of their heads like antlers with leaves and flowers blooming out of the end of them. Swapping through them showed that each elf subrace was based off of different biomes and the plants one could find there. It was interesting to say the least and Marcus’s eyes wandered over to their abilities. As expected, their abilities were tied to nature and plants, and would change depending on the biome each subrace was based off of. He then turned his attention to the descriptor on the other side.

“Born of the Wilderness, the branches and flowers that grow upon elven forms are gifts of the land in which they are born. Elves are a spritely people with inquisitive minds and love for discovery. They travel the lands in search of new and exciting experiences, always looking to blaze a new trail wherever they go. Many revere the elves for their ability to make the most out of any situation and their naturally friendly demeanors. Others however may see them as pests with no concern for property or personal space. Should a new land ever be discovered though, you can trust that elves will be the first to blaze a trail to its secrets.” Read their descriptor.

Yes, this looked pretty interesting to Marcus. It seemed that if he wanted to, he could further customize an Elf avatar with more types of plants and different places for them to grow. Of course, there was still more to discover, and for the most part, Marcus wasn’t certain as to how serious about this he even felt like being. No, elves were cool, but they lacked a certain silly factor he had his heart set on.

Now the dwarves! They were a bit silly. Short brawny fellows with big thick beards. He could get behind that. They were the next in line and seemed like the elves in many ways. Instead of being part plant however, they seemed to be part mineral with options to turn parts of their body into stones or gems. Their beards of course were interchangeable as well, adorned with jewelry and colorful ties. This time however, their subraces seemed to be divided up into clans which also affected which types of gems and stones they could be customized with which changed the elemental power they could command. Once again however, Marcus turned his attention to the details of what it was to be a Dwarf.

“Children of stone, The dwarves are a proud, hard working, and industrious people. Most of dwarven kind live their lives loyal to their clan and seek to garner yet further honor for them through great deeds. Many grandmaster craftsmen and innovators have come from dwarven society and have greatly impacted the world for better or worse. They are adored by many for the great wonders they often bring to the world, but earn the scorn of others due to their legendary stubbornness. Should great adventure and accomplishment ever come calling, the dwarves will be there to grab it by the beard.” Their descriptor read.

And so this continued. Marcus flipped to the next race, then the next, exploring his options. Given the near silence among his group of friends, the young man could only imagine them doing the same. Though the early races of the list seemed to be a variation of the more standard races one could find in fantasy, things only seemed to grow ever more exotic the further down the list Marcus went. He found himself on Halflings, then Gnomes, then onto Celestialites; a race of angelic humanoids, then Fiend Touched; which were the demonic counterpart. Then there were Lizardmen, Orcs, Goblins, all the way down to the Axolti; an axolotl-like humanoid race, Feliccin; a cat-like race which could be swapped to resemble a human with the features of a cat, because of course they would. There was even something called a Cucolvo, a race of bee-like creatures. The further he went, the harder and harder it was for Marcus to come to a decision, until finally, he found it.

Imps. Little devils sharing their size with the goblins. They had short bodies, big heads, long tails, and a tiny pair of leathry bat-like wings on their back. As soon as he laid eyes on them, he knew this was what he was going to select. The goblins were tempting, but he now knew it was not meant to be. He smirked at the sight as ideas flew through his head. He didn’t even need to read what they were all about to know that this was what he was going with, but he still had to get an idea of what he’d be working with. They seemed built around deception and hellish powers, the nature of the latter changing as he scrolled through subraces. As he contemplated what to pick in terms of subrace, his eyes wandered to their background details.

“Hellborn little devils, imps have become infamous throughout time for their mischievous and cunning ways. Often commanded by devils far greater than them or enslaved by wicked arcanists, some Imps break free from servitude to forge their own path. Though that path often leads to further mischief, not all imps are cut from the same cloth, and some are not as evil as the stories suggest. They can make for surprisingly loyal friends, or pesky enemies. Imps are true wildcards and one never knows how great or terrible they could become.” Their details read.

Marcus nodded as he turned back to subraces, seeing how the skin tone of the imp changed depending on which of the elements of hell they were based on. There were options such as plague, fimbulwinter, and brimstone to name a few. However, in the end, how could he pass up that classic red imp, finally deciding on Hellfire for his subrace. He looked to his racial options, starting off with a simple fire spit, but the vast skill tree seemed to gradually evolve into greater fire based abilities.

Of course, with that settled, it was time to decide which class his impy avatar would become. Unlike the Races, he hadn’t spent any time looking through the Classes. Still, not only was his eagerness to jump into the game ever increasing, he already had a type of class in mind as he scrolled through the list. After all, what would any sensible person pick as a class for a tiny, nimble little pest like an imp? Fortunately, the second he saw it, he knew there was no other real option for him. He’d be a Berserker of course! Well, Barbarian specifically, but just like the races, a number of class specializations were available for selection. Others included Pack Master who would lead his loyal beasts into combat or Reaver which tore into its own hit points to enhance its damage. Berserker though, simple, shouty, reckless, and angry, charging headlong into battle to fight up close and personal, all while taking hits so that he could send them back tenfold as he led his team to victory. The grin on his face had spread to its widest point yet, lingering as he selected the two handed maul as his starting weapon proficiency. Seeing it on his avatar, the weapon was even larger than he was! For Marcus, this was absolutely perfect… well, almost. With all that out of the way, it was time to put on the finishing touches. What would he make his avatar look like?

He messed around a little bit at first, selecting presets, tweaking sliders, a few things here and there until something finally clicked. After bringing his avatars' long pointed ears to maximum size, he was actually ticked a bit. It was silly, but also looked rather cute. Of course, not only would he be an Imp barbarian, but also look like the last thing you would ever expect to fly into a blood crazed rampage. Yes, it was all coming together. Marcus kept the big ol’ ears he gave him as well as giving him a little nose and little fanged mouth. Next up came some large almond shaped eyes with glowing red irises. As for the hair? Something about medium length, a little messy and ashen grey. Finally, a pair of chunky but smooth black horns for his forehead. Yes, this was it. His magnum opus. He was now quite excited to take his first steps into the world of Birthright Online, but first.

“Alright, I’m all set. How is it on you guys’s end?” Marcus asked, walking around his avatar to get a good look at him. The head and eyes of the imp actually followed him as he walked around, even looking up at him when he stood behind him. Marcus smiled at this, already feeling a connection with the little guy.

“I’m just about done. Decided to go with a Green Dragon Soul. Now just deciding which frills to give him.” Will replied simply.

“Yea, me too! Deciding on a class.” Sam added.

“Yea, betchchya made a freak’n catgirl, didn’t ya?” Marcus teased.

“Y-ea, what’s wrong with that?” Sam sammered, hearing the other boys chuckle in response. “W-well what did you make then Marcus!?”

“Imp.” Marcus said curtly.

“Pff, yea, that sounds about right too. Anyway, apparently we have a few starting locations to pick from. Any preference?” Will asked.

“Oh yea, crap, forgot we’d have to pick. Umm… What options are there?” Sam inquired.

“Umm, let’s see… First one’s Santa Rio, looks like it’s a forested island. Cape Holm’s next, kinda beachy and tropical. And Port Hunt. looks like it’s supposed to be snowy.” Will summarized.

“Hmm… Tropical sounds kinda nice.” Marcus mentioned.

“Yea, but… hmm… I kinda wanna go to Santa Rio. In the last game, that’s where we ended up having to leave General Kailos behind. There was a whole thing to it, but he was a cool character! Kinda curious if they’ll elaborate more on it there.” Sam mused.

“Okay, Santa Rio then. Fine by me.” Marcus affirmed before clicking to finalize his character. As he did so however, he was surprised as one final window popped up. Within it were two blank boxes looking for input.

“Alright, Santa Rio it is. If y’all are ready, let’s get off this character creation screen already.

“Umm, hang on a sec. Name.” Marcus alerted.

“Gah, damnit Marcus.” Will groaned.

“Hang on, it’ll be quick!” Marcus replied as he racked his brain for ideas.

Even if it was just a game, he didn’t want to keep his friends waiting any longer as he struggled to quickly put something together. He hadn’t even decided on what kind of name to give himself yet. His brain just wandered to the fact that he was an Imp. Imp, hellfire Imp… fire name? Umm, Cinder? Scorch? Ember? Yea, that was it. He would go with Ember! Of course, there was still a last name to consider. Being the kind of guy he was, his mind immediately wandered to affixes and particles like Mc or Von, and he wasn’t about to deny it. Quickly, he began typing in the name. The first would be Ember, and the second, von Scorch.

“Okay, done!” Marcus declared, practically punching the confirm button.

“Alright, finally!” Will groaned.

With Marcus finally finished and everyone in agreement, the three of them all selected Santa Rio, and as soon as they did, they all found their perspectives moved behind their characters before moving forward into the backs of their heads, finally completing their avatars and fading their vision to black.