In a round where we focus more on survival horror, what’s the importance of combat, and how much we can fight back against the terror?
In this round, the survival of our characters should be their priority, however, in the end, the decision is in themselves, on whether they would run and hide, or would they fight back against the impending doom.
Unlike in most of EBG rounds where our characters could always win the game, in here, death would always loom over us. There’s countless of possibilities on how this will go, and many ways for them to die. You escape your inevitable demise or you face your fear, risking your life, against those that would likely going to rip you to pieces. Whether you fight for survival, or for someone else, that’s entirely up to you. We might not be able to save the world unlike in any other EBG rounds with heroic objective, but we might still have someone to protect, someone worth fighting for, even when the world fall into ruin.
The round welcomes both the brave and the coward, the selfless and the selfish, the good and the bad. Regardless of their intention, you would be hunted down by the monsters of your own making, the manifestation of your fear, the symbolization of your sins, the reflection of your mistakes, the shadow of your nightmare. Whatever they are, they will represent the dark side of your character, might it be based on their trauma and phobia, or perhaps their issues, or many more possible weakness that haunt them like the scar of their mind.
Because the round is so strongly tied to this concept, then your character submission need to have something for the Nemesis to become, because the Nemesis would only be born from an especially troubled person. This doesn’t meant that your characters need to have an extreme mental condition, and no one saying that they need to be a sick demented psychopath either. A simple set of weakness, a list of few fears, a cliché tragic backstory, or even an ordinary person with a sufficiently complicated relationship such as having a broken family or dying lover should be enough. Even their likes and dislikes would help the mods designing their Nemesis, because we just need to know them enough, to know what would be their worst enemy.
Whatever would be the Nemesis of our characters, they would countered them greatly to very personal level, but of course their combat feats are counted too. This would make sure that you can’t just 1v1 your Nemesis, and even if by miracle that you would ever win, that would require an exceptional effort in strategy and tactic by taking advantage of the environment. Because of the low power level, it’s totally possible for you to exceed the limit of the game by being smart on the game. Sure, we would nerf everyone down to the appropriate threshold, but nobody tell you to not blow up the nearby gas station, right? Even without any magical abilities, anyone can set the place to explode. Now, imagine what kind of things that your characters can achieve with their power.
Before you start blowing up cars, you should read the power level section later. Beside, all of the Nemesis would be designed based on the needs of each characters, so each has their own strength and vulnerabilities. Not all of them can be attacked physically, and some need a much more complex method, depending on what your characters can do, and based on their concept as a whole.
The Nemesis are the primary enemies of the game, but are not the sole threat around the world. Matter of fact, Nemesis are rare because they only manifest from people with sufficient negativity, and for the convenient sake, most people are too weak to manifest such a powerful Nemesis like what our characters had, because each of them mirrored the person. This is not only about the gameplay, but also about the lore of the world. If everyone got their own Nemesis, then there would be millions or even billions of them all over the world. If our characters, that are most likely above ordinary human standard, would struggle taking them down, then how the civilians would survive?
This is why there’s many classification of the monsters here. Collectively, all of them are nicknamed as “Bogey” by the commoners, taken from Bogeyman, because they’re creature of nightmare. Unlike than the Nemesis that specifically represent the dark side of a certain individual, most of them are Spawns; random abstract creatures resulted from various fears and negativities of the peoples around the place. They can be like typical undead such as zombies and vampires, or they could be more like goblins and gremlins, perhaps orcs and trolls, even ghost and demons. In the end, everything depend on what people feared, because all of them are truthfully the manifestation of everyone’s nightmare.
The difference between the Spawns and the Nemesis are quite clear even in the untrained eyes of the civilians, because the Spawns are generic monsters that can manifest in large numbers. This means, a whole town can be infested with bunch of undead and they all looks more or less the same. A Nemesis is unique on their own, almost impossible to be similar to another person, because each person are unique in their own way. Which is why, if anyone see some weird, unusual, peculiar and intriguing creatures, then they would likely be a Nemesis, especially if they stood out against the crowd, such as, for example, a monster that looks like a burning demon lord. Though the clear defining factors on what differ the Nemesis from the rest is that a Nemesis manifest from a single individual, which makes them reflect an even more personal, deeper psychological aspects. That, and the fact that each Nemesis are very powerful, making them pretty much supervillains with their own abilities.
None of them are as bad as the source of the calamity, though. Right now, the locals only got two clues regarding the sources. One, is the legend of the “Mother” which would likely be an eldritch horror beyond human comprehension. Two, are the incredibly strong evil presence that seems to corrupt certain regions of the countries, which are all turned into highly-dangerous hives of the monsters, and would likely where they come from. Both of these are however merely rumors, and their credibility are questionable. What we all know is that if you venture too far beyond your bubble of comfort, then you might regret your decision. No one know what kind of monstrosity await out there.
Regardless of how your Nemesis become, they would be your opponent on the game. Yes, you heard that right. This mean, on this round, there’s no PvP matchup because there’s not much reason for you to fight with another characters. But of course, you’re free to attack anyone, as much as you’re free to be an ally with anyone. Imagine this as an open-world online game, instead of a fighting game. Where you go, what action you took, everything depend on you. In this round, you have the full control of your character. Would you like to spend your days building a house on the countryside, or would you hunt down the beast by your bare arm? Would you gather friends and strategize for maximum profit, or would you manipulate others like your pawns? Your call.
This mean, there’s no specific objectives on the game. Everyone can decide their own end goal. Would you wish to save the world and everyone in it? Would you rather destroy everything in the cleansing flame of purgatory? They’re among many more possible action on the game. You will discover more options are the game goes later, especially with our brand new gameplay feature: the rumor board!
The rumor board is basically the “quest menu” of the game, that will be displayed and updated in each chapters of the game. The game will be divided by multiple chapters (exactly just like in Westermarck) and there would be a list of rumors that spread around the area. Your characters can choose to follow any of the rumors, such as for example, there might be rumors about important resource stored in one of the building, or there’s a distress signal of a possible group of survivors in one of the district. Some of the rumors could be true or false, no one can tell. This is done for the sake of strengthening the element of mystery and paranoia of the game, simulating the sense of doubt in such uncertain times.
There’s so many ways to go in this post-apocalyptic world where you’re free to walk wherever you please, but beware the consequence of your action, as you may never know what you would find among the abandoned cities.
The list of rumors and possible resources will be listed later when the game begin, but the board is not the only breakthrough that we did on this round. For the first time ever since EBG begin, this round be the one and only time where we would allow players to submit their characters at any time on the game! Yes, this means, the character submission would never ever be closed!
This is because EBG always last for months nowadays, and many people waited for such a long time to submit their characters. Oftentimes, there are those who arrived late to the game, and they need to wait for many months until the next round. On this round, your can submit your character at any time on the game, and it work well because we do “chaptering” on this round, instead of calling them as matchup or boss battles. This mean, you may join on chapter 1, but you arrived late, you can jump in to chapter 2 or 3! But of course, arriving late is not without a consequence, as you’ll miss all the rewards and developments from the previous chapters, including what could probably buff our characters.
Another feature of the game is the map of the country! I draw the map myself and the mod team been reviewing the place for weeks, back then when we still call them as Salem, Ashling, Reverie, among many more names. Now, it became Marveille, in reference to Versailles, France, although the map is in the size of Britain. The name of the regions are however mostly inspired by Czech, in combination of Latin and Germany. In summary, the place is mostly based on Europe or western countries in general.
The details on the map are mostly notes on what each regions are known with, but because each regions may have their own towns and villages, then there are countless of more business and industries among other interesting spots. A more detailed info of the places would be explained later, one by one, when the game begin. For now, here’s a quick introduction of the regions.
CLICK HERE TO READ!!
Maleth: The capital city of the Marveille. An industrial metropolis for many kind of business, from fishing to housing, with many large market here and there among the modern building blocks. The place is comparable to Europe or America but has Gothic medieval vibe akin to places like Paris or Prague. One of the biggest shipping route for export and import by the sea, where goods from other cities and villages are coming and going. This is the epicenter of the calamity, where the infection start spreading. Right now, the place become like old abandoned ghost town, shrouded by mist and filled with monsters.
Eldin: The biggest fishing town on the country, also the connector between Yhane to Kamila, both are remote islands with their own resources, especially about the sea. Eldin export its fishing goodness to the capital, Maleth, or to Oldrich, the old capital.
Oldrich: Nicknamed as the “Old Town” as the place used to be the previous capital city, when the surrounding region, from Ardal to Hildengard, used to be the best tourism spot around. Nowadays, Oldrich might not be as active as before, but it has its own charm as the place has the strongest of Gothic taste, with countless of castles and cathedrals. Even now, it remain closely connected to Baldor, that nowadays mostly used for mining.
Tereza: Part of the mountainous region around the land. The mountains border between here, to Oldrich, Ardal, and Amos. Though it’s not the best tourism spot, neither has fertile soil for farming, the cold high ground is charming in its own way.
Denmore: The biggest farming state in the country, where the best of farmers make all the veggies and dairies among other goods for the export.
Amos: The forest region, a rather rural place, often reserved for tea plantation among many other resources from the jungle. Reason why it’s close to the capital is that because many of the rich has villa there.
Kanrienka: Known as the “Great Plains” among many calling, Kanrienka is the biggest state of the country, which has strong resemblance to some real world region such as Texas, though the place might be reminiscent to the Grand Canyon as well. Kanrienka is mostly harsh wasteland, with valleys and mountains, grasslands among deserts. The place is primarily used as the HQ of the army and also places to develop heavy industries, including mining and oil refinery. It borders to Gries and Oster, remote islands and less popular tourism spot.
Jarvik: A city of entertainment, profiting mostly from sport industry, considering its strategic location, being near two tourism destination, also being so close to the countryside and where young students gather.
Caleph: The biggest city around, and though not any bigger than Eldin, Caleph is much more developed. This sophisticated place is prosperous because it borders to two tourism region, Ardal and Hildengard, though Caleph is more about destination for education. Hosting the best academies, libraries and archives, Caleph is a tourism spot for cultural trip. Due to the fact that it lies between Eris and Lysterna, which both are paradise for marine life, then marinology is a popular degree here.
Lysterna: The research center of the country, primarily focused on studying the ocean. Many students from Caleph goes here to learn more about the ocean, and working in related fields. Right now, this is where the most advanced science expert are trying to analyze the cause of the calamity behind the monsters.
Hildengard: Once was the most popular tourism spot, and now still a hot destination to escape from the cities, into beautiful countryside near the shore. Hildengard is best known for its culinary, known to be heaven for seafood lovers all over the world.
Ardal: One of the most remote region of the country, Ardal is also a tourist destination, and best known for its beautiful great lake, rivers and waterfalls. The biggest water reserve of the country, used mostly for the farming in Denmore.
Nemure: Once used to be a big market for open trade where ships goes in and out of the countries, especially when Oldrich is still the capital city. Nowadays, Nemure is the farthest away you can go from the capital city, making it an ideal escape from the authority. Because of this, also its connection to the seas and its surrounding islands, Nemure become the hot spot for piracy, where illegal trade, black market, and other criminal activities happens.
Freideya: A remote but big island, and currently the hottest tourism spot of the whole country. Freideya is somewhat young in compared to any other tourist destination around, but become famous in modern age as it held the best of resorts. You can find the best of beaches, diving spots, villages and gardens around the valleys, all over the place. It’s practically a paradise. After the calamity, it close itself, because all the refuge wanna go there. Most of the refuge instead go for Serva or Zelich, the neighboring islands around the capitals.
Yhane: A least popular tourism spot, despite its beautiful nature. Yhane, much like many countries around the ocean, primarily run on fishing industry, unless that Yhane insist on protecting its heritage, making most places around the island a pristine land, untouched by modern civilization, where villages and all of its traditional culture still remains. Yhane would be a good place for the refuge, if only it’s not so highly impacted by the calamity. Many said that the infection actually started from Yhane, before it spread into the capital.
NOTE: The smaller islands are usually not named, and even if they have names, they’re not really important. We just named the medium to big islands. Among all the islands that are out of the mainland, only Lysterna, Yhane and Freideya has any importance here. The others are just map filling and bonus lore.
So, that’s the basic knowledge of the country. More will be explained later when the game begin, because each chapter of the game can be in a whole different city, depending on the action of the players. For example, we may start the game in Maleth, then on next chapter, we’re in Amos because we decide to evacuate into the wilderness. Different regions means different resource and features, thus, choosing the stage has their own benefit, also hold different dangers. The pros and cons will also be explained later on the game.
Depending on the region, you might find various of bizarre phenomena, such as warped structures, parasitic vegetation, flooded region with toxic water, even bloody gore massacre, among many more possibilities. Some places are more nightmarish than others, depend on the influences of the Nemesis and many more beings there. For example, some places might have more body horror based on their specific fears, such as eyes on the walls and floors or other objects symbolizing the dread of being watched from the dark. There might be living faces of person that they’re hated or loved the most, among many things resembling them all over the place. Specific phobias could lead to more extreme cases, such as bugs infestation on the buildings. This depends not only on fears alone, but also negativity in general, such as rage and hatred, or their bad personality aspects, such as envy and greed. The personal issues of anyone can also be reflected here, such as that if they’re alcoholic and smoker, then their nightmare too can somewhat symbolize them.
The extent of the corruption depends on how far the eldritch curse spread. The more peoples that was slaughtered by the monsters, the more warped the place become. Places with no survivor, such as a whole village that’s already wiped by the monsters, would be completely devoured by the grotesque nightmare fuel, becoming like a living hell. This is the eventual fate of the world, if the horror successfully dominate the globe.
Once more, the fate of the world lies in our characters, or so I would likely said. Though this time, that might not be the case, because none of can would be strong enough to bear the burden of the whole world. The best that we can do is to do our best to survive the horror and fight back against the terror, either for ourselves or for others. Perhaps, we still could do something good for the world, but alone, we’re nothing here. This is why defending the weak and protecting the innocent are not the mission of the game, because not everyone capable to do that, in a world where we struggle to keep ourselves alive.
In the end, the goal and objectives of your characters are your own decision. They can run and hide, so they can fight their way. They can be good or they can be bad, as much as they can do this for themselves or for others. We would not tell you what to do, only show you what you can do. When the game begin, we would simply introduce you to the place and all of the possible route, but everyone are free to choose their own way, to go wherever they please.
This round is just like Westermarck, where the decision of the players can affect the plot of the story and change the ending, for the better or for the worse. In here, there’s no guarantee that the heroes would win, as we might not always be able to save everyone. Would they fight for survival, for the better good of the world and the living? Perhaps, none at all? In a world where you’re free to do anything without boundary, where your feet would bring you, through the misty roads?
Welcome to Marveille, and do your best to survive until the end.
