The Shadow Warrior

As a champion of all forms of combat, the Shadow Warrior can utilize everything from hand-to-hand combat to powerful armed techniques. Having come into contact with the underworld in the past, he can also call on some of his old comrades for help...

The Background Story

Humans are former slaves of the Elves. They were entrusted to the Elves so that they might become civilized, just as the Seraphim used to civilize the Elves. Currently, they do not have any power in Ancaria. They are obedient laborers, assisting the Elves in building their palaces, erecting sacred buildings for the High Priests and cultivating the fields. Frequently, an Elven Lord requires more troops than T-Energy can provide. In these cases, he has no choice but to literally pluck Humans from the fields. Each Elven Lord has a small group of Human elite fighters in order to drill and shape these troops and lead them into battle: the Shadow Warriors.

The Shadow Warrior is an experienced fighter. He is well armored and his skills include proficiency in all available slashing, crushing and pole arm weapons. His self-discipline is renowned. Powered by all these attributes, he excels at battling T-Energy creatures.

When a Shadow Warrior falls in battle, he may be reanimated by an ancient magical spell, which will render him undead, but even more powerful than before. The ritual of giving ‘life’ back to a Shadow Warrior is potentially dangerous for the caster, as the summoned soul often has no desire to be revived and will attempt to resist the reanimation. If the spell-caster makes just one small mistake, the Shadow Warrior will renounce the magic user, kill him, and then wander the lands of Ancaria, undead, with his own free will.

The Shadow Warrior

The Shadow Warrior has fulfilled his duty. He has fallen during battle for a High Elf Lord and has been admitted to the Elysium. Knowing full well that he was one of the best of his trade, the High Elf Lord decides to bring the Shadow Warrior back from the realm of the dead by using T-Energy in order to secure his services beyond the boundaries of death itself. However, the conjuring ceremony goes spectaculary wrong as the summoned soul successfully defies the spell caster. Enraged because he has been torn away from the eternal paradise of the Elysium, he proceeds to kill everyone who participated in the ceremony, freeing himself from the potential ties that might bind him.

With his freedom, the warrior has but one goal: to leave this world once more and return to the Elysium; however, he is now a creature of T-Energy, rendering him unable to do so. His only choice would thus dissolve and end his unholy existence. If he vere to die in his current form, he would be eternally bound to the perdition of the T-Energy stream.

As a free creature, he must now make a choice. He can fight for peace in Ancaria and destroy the Great Machine controlling all T-Energy within Ancaria, which would also drain the T-Energy within him and therefore bring a tranquil end to his unholy life. Alternatively, he could seek revenge upon the people who caused his misery and use the Great Machine to attain ultimate power and immortality.

The Battle

The Shadow Warrior equips himself with the armament typical for Elite Warriors. He can master all weapons of war and can take advantage of every armor class, even heavy armor. His strength and constitution make him a tough opponent. He does, however, have a decisive advantage over living specimens: he is still in contact with the Realm of the Dead. This ability becomes apparent on the battlefield.

The Shadow Warrior is a close combat fighter, whose astral characteristics considerably increase his versatility. As a purely astral character he is also able to engage in ranged combat. The Shadow Warrior musters many weaponry skills, which can be performed with all used weapon types. Thus, a “critical hit” automatically becomes a “critical shot” if a bow is used. This increases tactical flexibility and the player's freedom of choice.

His direct melee fighting skills and his high level of resistance render him an excellent character for beginners. However, due to his astral nature, magical aspects do not have to be renounced completely.

The Shadow Warrior is also a good team character. He may assume two main roles while being in a party: Due to his high armor values and attributes, he may provide a good primary target. On the other hand, due to his astral abilities, he is able to weaken his opponent or even separate individual opponents from their groups. Therefore, he can make it easier to deal with groups of ennemies.

Aspect: Death Warrior

In this aspect, the Shadow Warrior fights solely as a behemoth of a fighter and does not weave any kind of magic. His main characteristics are pure strength and stamina. He will bellow a mighty battle cry every time he lashes out at an enemy with one of his powerful combat arts.

Demonic Blow

The Shadow Warrior focuses his entire strength in a mighty, purposeful blow. This attack is especially useful against strong or heavily-armored opponents.

Scything Sweep

A powerful blow strikes all opponents in front of the Shadow Warrior and knocks them back. This blow is very effective against large hordes of opponents and it may help to break free from the grasp of enemies.

Ruinous Onslaught

The Shadow Warrior charges towards his target in a straight line while his battle cry crescendos. The longer the distance for his charge, the more devastating is the effect upon impact.

Aspect: Malevolent Champion

The Shadow Warrior of this aspect is a skilled, agile and battle-hardened warrior, disregarding magic use in favor of physical attacks.

Frenzied Rampage

This attack consists of a quick succession of strikes directed at one or more targets. Further developments of this combat art include an increased number of strikes or better aim of the hits.

Shield Strike

The shield is used as an additional weapon. The Shadow Warrior uses the shield to execute a decisive strike forward against all nearby opponents.

Battle Surge

This combamt art increases the Shadow Warrior's mobility considerabily. He can use it to leap away from close combat in order to save himself; however, he may also jump close to an opponent in order to engage in close combat, which allows him to take advantage of the element of surprise.

Aspect: Astral Lord

The Warrior who becomes an Astral Lord commands the spirits of the damned, summoning them forth and overseeing the battle from his ranged vantage point. To lead the charge into close combat, the Shadow Warrior must also follow either of the Death Warrior or Malevolent Champion aspects.

Spectral Hand

This combat art creates a spectral image of the Shadow Warrior's main hand and the weapon it is wielding. The Shadow Warrior will be able to use this phantom in order to strike at enemies who are at a distance as if they were right next to him. The opponent will only notice the apparitional weapon of the attacker.

Undead Sentry

The Shadow Warrior is able to revive fallen warriors for a brief period. The undead warrior will remain stationary and shoot at all his opponents with a bow.

Rallied Souls

The souls of those who have fallen recently will come to life for a brief period once again and fight alongside the Shadow Warrior. However, their undead life dwindles rapidly.

Special Mount: Hellhound

The Shadow Warrior has a special mount at his command: the Hellhound. It is slower than a horse, but much stronger in close combat. When the Shadow Warrior rides the Hellhound, it is able to adopt some of the fighting skills of the Shadow Warrior very effectively. It will attack with bites and kicks, and ‘Ruinous Onslaught’ will become far more devastating from atop the Hellhound.

The Hellhound will increase protection values for some combat arts while others will be more effective, and it also provides increased mobility. In spectral form, the Hellhound becomes invisible, which can provide many advantages for tactical approaches in battle. Therefore, the Hellhound is an indispensable companion for the Shadow Warrior.