BR2 Level Design ... - Philip Nelson's Resume Site(In Progress)

							Philip Nelson
PhilipENelson@hotmail.com



                 BloodRayne Level
The module was designed for use with Neverwinter Nights.

Mission:        In the ruins of the Belgian city of Darluth, the Germans have discovered
the remnants of a pagan religion worshipping the demon Entaurus. Through a series of
journal entries retrieved from within the ruins they have discovered of a lost city
underneath Darluth as well as the means to summon him. You must first find the grove
in the city where Entaurus’s rituals are held and destroy it. Next you must find a way
into the underground excavation site and put and end to the Nazi’s plan to unearth relics
of Entaurus and his fallen worshipers.

                                        Progression

Ruins of Darluth: The player begins in the ruins of the Darluth and must first find his way
to the grove, Area 1. Once at the grove he must destroy the altar in the center, preventing
any further rituals in Entaurus’s name. After the altar is destroyed, search the ruins of the
city to find a way down to the excavation site the Nazis have created to unearth more
relics.
         The air of the city is quiet with the wind whistling through the long ruined,
abandoned buildings. The buildings are inhabited only by debris and the few roaming
zombies that the player will face. The majority of the buildings are one story as they are
long decayed. The city is high up in a mountainous area and even then set into a deep
forest. The city is so overgrown that it is basically invisible from the sky, which is the
only way to reach it.
         The zombies are not actual zombies, but the cursed worshipers of Entaurus who
are punished to roam the earth until Entaurus is destroyed. Even when killed, the
townspeople will slowly rise up again from their point of "death", to attack the player.
The undead villagers do not speak or moan they simply emit a whistling noise while
engaged with the player, as their voice boxes are long decayed. The villagers are the
primary unit that the player will be going up against with the Skeleton Guardians being
the other. There are no Nazis in this level as the undead are immortal and it would be a
waste of time and manpower to keep the city on lockdown, instead they have invested in
a heavy door and series of holy symbols to keep the undead away from their operations.
Screaming Stones: When the player enters the underground mining operation he is
greeted by the Nazis. To complete the level, the player must locate all of the mining
shafts and destroy them. Along the way he will run into Lieselotte, the aspiring Nazi
necromancer and will have to fight Tatiana and her assistant Sigrida to gain the key to
Entaurus’s summoning ground. Upon entering Entaurus’s lair he will be faced with High
Priest Jochen and then Entaurus himself.
        The name Screaming Stones was given to the caves by the Nazis because it
always sounds like screams are echoing from just around the corner. The area is mostly
dark with torches scattered for light which create many playful shadows. The air in the
cave is very dank due to the few underground lakes and ponds.
        The units that the player will fight in this level, besides the named encounters, are
just basic Nazi soldiers mixed in with some of Tatiana’s elite guards. The Nazi soldiers
are your run of the mill units, uniformed, gun carrying and not too bright. Most have
machine guns; the occasional one will have a grenade. Tatiana’s Personal Guards are a
different story though. These are handgun wielding, fast moving, intelligent, melee based
fighters. They wear black officer uniforms with brimmed hats and are a much tougher
opponent than the Nazi soldiers. There is a Personal Guard at every mine shaft as they
are more intelligent and can better handle any excavated artifacts.




                                       The Cast

Entaurus: An ancient demon who rose to power when the city of Darluth began to
worship him and create an underground temple in his honor. Before his campaign
against the world could formally be launched, the townspeople adopted the malicious
lifestyle he preached, and became so violent towards each other that they destroyed
themselves in an attempt to steal Entaurus’s power during his summoning. Entaurus then
placed a curse upon the townsfolk, turning them into the walking dead as punishment for
their disobedience.
        Entaurus is an 11 foot tall demon; his skin is a deep blood red color and is thin
enough to see the muscle housed beneath. His fingers and toes end in vicious bone claws
capable of slicing through stone itself, yet he wields a glowing red battle axe as his
primary weapon. He wears no clothing except for a form-fitting breastplate made of
bone and shin guards that extend from his ankles to the tops of his knees, also made of
bone. His face is canine-like except that his mouth is filled with fangs and his eyes are a
deep glowing yellow. A nest of flaming spikes rests on his back, sticking through the
breastplate and creating a fiery glow behind him.

High Priest Jochen: A 43 year old Nazi commander who specializes in the black arts, he
was the first person to uncover the secrets of Darluth and has taken the responsibility of
summoning Entaurus. His many hours of studying underground have left him a very
gaunt, pale man with deep purple circles under his eyes. He is a rather meek man for one
who wishes to summon a demon, but it is all a ruse so his command officers will leave
him in control of the operation. As for his subordinates, Jochen prefers Tatiana and here
all female personal guard. He finds their methods more ruthless than males and enjoys
watching them use their feminine wiles to manipulate other male officers.
        Jochen stands about 5 feet 10 inches and is a clean shaven man with very sharp
features. He can be found wearing a normal officers uniform, but at his summoning altar
he is always shrouded in his dark purple cloak. His voice is deep, but raspy from his lack
of contact with outside beings, preferring his studies to human companions. Jochen is
immune to the harpoon and blood suck attack.

Lieselotte: A rather plain looking officer, she is Tatiana’s third in command. She has a
good relationship with Jochen as she also prefers her studies to humans and he stays well
out of her way. When Lieselotte found out Tatiana was to be in charge of the excavating
and guarding Jochen, she begged to come along. She is an aspiring necromancer and
would have enjoyed nothing more than experimenting on the uncovered bodies as well as
absorbing the almost lost knowledge of the cult. She is almost always found with her
nose in a book or cadaver.
        Lieselotte is a plain looking woman with short black hair and deep set clear blue
eyes. She wears an officer’s uniform with a blood soaked butchers smock, to keep her
uniform clean. She enjoys her light bubbly voice as it catches most people off guard
when she tells them how much she loves working with the dead. She stands about 5 foot
7 inches and can always be found carrying her notebook and butchering tools. Lieselotte
is immune to the harpoon attack and can only have her blood sucked from the rear.

Nazis: The Nazi soldiers are the same ones used in the original game.

Sigrida: Sigrida is Tatiana’s second in command. She hates the job she’s been assigned,
she prefers the outdoors and the sounds of munitions rounds firing. She is a wild woman
who has used her seductive charm to work her way up and earn her position. She charges
into battle machine guns roaring, not bothering to take prisoners or help her fallen
comrades. Tatiana likes her wild gun style and keeps her as a personal body guard.
        Sigrida wears her long black hair up in a bun and hides her green eyes behind a
small pair of dark black sunglasses. She wears an officer’s uniform that is skin tight to
afford her greater mobility and always has her twin pistols at her side. She doesn’t speak
often, only when she feels it is important, but in the heat of battle will scream taunts at
her enemies. Sigrida is immune to the harpoon attack and can only have her blood
sucked from the rear.

Skeletal Guardians: Before Entaurus’s underground temple was complete, the townsfolk
built him a grand outdoor grove to house a current place of worship. Upon its creation,
non-believers of Entaurus would constantly sac the grove. The worshipers of Entaurus
prayed for an answer and it came in the grotesque slaying of four of the high priests. It
was not simply a slaying, the bones of the priests actually walked out of their skin. When
the remaining flesh and blood fell away, what stood in their place were four large,
deformed skeletal brutes. The guards stepped back and surrounded the altars and stood
motionless, only waking to dismember any infidels who try to cause harm to Entaurus’s
altar.
         The Skeletal Guardians stand 7 feet tall and are complete skeletons with thicker
than average bones and razor-like talons at the end of their fingers. For creatures without
muscle they move surprisingly fast, using their speed and claws to tear apart anyone
unfortunate enough to step onto the sacred grounds. They cannot speak, though they try,
all that sounds are the eerie clacking of their teeth. The Skeletal Guardians are immune
to light weapons fire, take only half damage from heavy weapons and take full damage
from explosives. They are immune to blood sucking and harpoon.

Stone Guardians: The greatest, most devoted of Entaurus’s followers are granted the
status of his guardian as reward for their service. Through an extremely painful ritual,
their souls are grafted into stone and steel bodies created by Entaurus and they are placed
in his lair to guard it for eternity. They are robbed of their past memories and hardly
notice the passing of time, if they even notice it at all.
         The Stone Guardians are the protectors of Entaurus’s lair. At first glance they
appear to be masterfully crafted statues carved into the walls, but at his whim, Entaurus
can summon them to defend the chambers. They stand at about 9 feet tall and are made
of stone, with steel bindings around the major joints, allowing them very minimal
mobility/ What the brutes lack in speed and agility, they make up for with brute strength
and durability, they are walking statues capable of withstanding most weapons fire
without so much as a scratch. Stone Guardians are immune to all attacks except
explosives and Rayne’s melee. They’re slow, powerful swing will give the player plenty
of time to joust in and out of the guardians attack.

Tatiana: Tatiana is Jochen’s most trusted associate in the Special Unit division of the
regime. She is an incredibly intelligent woman as well as a sadistic knife fighter,
preferring the silent cold steel (with the occasional spot of poison) to the loud, clumsy
firearm. She takes no lip from her subordinates and has created her own personal guard
consisting solely of women. She finds that women make more crafty, ruthless soldiers
and encourages their manipulation of male officers/
        A 36 year old blonde bombshell, Tatiana uses her smooth as silk voice to get
where and what she wants. She wears a custom fit black leather uniform with a giant
knife holster strapped to her right leg. She keeps her long hair down under her hat and
enjoys using her looks to toy with males and then her superior intellect to mold them to
her will. Tatiana is immune to harpoon attack and cannot have her blood sucked, because
during the encounter she will be in a metallic suit.

Tatiana’s Personal Guard: Hand chosen and then trained by Tatiana herself, these are the
most ruthless, talented, intelligent women that the regime has to offer. Feared by their
fellow male officers and lusted for by their male superiors, they are in an excellent
position to gain information to further Tatiana’s rule. Despite their care-free attitude
towards the lives of male officers, the guard goes out of the way to assist each other in
battle, using practiced strategies to swiftly defeat entire squadrons.
         The Personal Guard wears tight fitting black officer uniforms, with standard black
brimmed officer hats. They all have their haircut in an identical fashion, to the shoulders,
and wear it down. They all speak in girlish voices, finding it easier to control men that
way. In battle they are nothing short of cold blooded, going straight for the kill, not
bothering to ask questions. They prefer to use light machine guns for ranged combat, but
will switch to knives for melee. The personal guards are fast moving and can block all
harpoon and melee attacks, even in Rayne’s hasted state. They cannot have their blood
sucked from the front; the player must maneuver behind them.

Undead Villagers: The people of the mountain town of Darluth where a quiet people
who seemed to keep to themselves and used their surrounding lands to farm what they
needed to live. Then one day one of the townsfolk called a town meeting to discuss the
vision that had come to him, a vision in which Entaurus, a powerful demon had come
promising prosperity to the small town. The town was quickly swayed to working
towards Entaurus’s goals until the day he was being summoned. On that fateful day the
people’s greed became too much, as they tried to overthrow Entaurus and steal his power
as he emerged from the depths of hell. With what power he had in this realm, he halted
the ceremony and put a curse on the townsfolk, tethering their souls to the city in a state
of unrest. Until the day Entaurus dies they are doomed to a half-life wandering the
streets of the ruins, all the while decaying.
        The townspeople are not dead, but they are not your average zombies. While they
walk at a slow speed and have their flesh hanging off their bones, they still maintain a
minimal amount of their previous intelligence. Due to the fact that their voice boxes have
long since decayed, they cannot talk but simply emit whistling noises, as if trying to
speak but unable to. Their weapons are their diseased breath and claws; they have also
gained an unnatural strength. They are susceptible to all attacks, and can be harpooned.
                                         Encounters

Area 1: The Grove

        This is the first part off the player’s mission in this level. They must seek out the
grove and destroy Entaurus’s altar which lies in the center. When the player first enters
the grove they will hear the low, distant chanting of old rituals, but other than that its
silence and no enemies. They can see the altar in the middle and the 4 Skeletal
Guardians, but the guardians do not become active until the player begins to attack the
altar. Once the player begins attacking the altar, all of the guardians become active and
begin to attack. The player can kill all of the Skeletal Guardians and then the altar, or just
the altar. The skeletons are tethered to the room.

A: This is the altar the player must destroy. It is a large stone altar that has been tinted a
deep red from the sacrifices performed against it. It is covered from top to bottom in
carved ruins, which have been filled in with gold. The stone emits a constant low
chanting noise, which grows louder as the player damages it more.

B: The Skeletal Guardians locations. The skeletons are initially inactive, but once the
player begins damaging the altar, they come alive and begin attacking.

Dialogue:

Upon first entering the area:
       Rayne: “This looks like the place, let’s raze this bad boy.”

Upon Skeletal Guardians becoming Active:
      Rayne: “I knew it couldn’t be this easy, at least this way maybe I’ll work up a
               sweat before I storm the Nazi’s mining camp. Come here, I have a bone
               to pick with you guys.”


Upon destruction of the altar:
      Rayne: “Well that wasn’t so hard, now to find the entrance to the mining camp,
                they told me it would be in a shack around here.
Area 2: Lieselotte’s Room

         In this area, the player encounters Lieselotte, Tatiana’s third in command. She is
found working at a stone table, in a room filled with caskets. On the table and all around
the room are the remains of the unearthed priests and those who died in service to
Entaurus. The room reeks of death as the warm underground cavern has caused what
remaining flesh the bodies have to decay even faster. As soon as the player walks into
the room Lieselotte’s assistant charges. He is jus a regular Nazi soldier, and Lieselotte
does not even look up from her work.
         Once the player dispenses the assistant, Lieselotte, becomes active and goes into
her speech. After she finishes her speech, a Skeletal Guardian rises from the grave and
the player must kill Lieselotte and the Skeletal Guardian. If the guardian is killed first,
Lieselotte will take the time to summon another one, during the time of the summoning,
Lieselotte is unable to move or retaliate, a prime time to Rage, or suck her blood. She is
fast even during Rayne’s hasted state and can avoid having her blood sucked at anytime
except when summoning. Lieselotte moves fast and attacks the player with her butcher
knife, if the player gets too far, she will throw her surgical knives.

A: This is where Lieselotte is working; her assistant will attack the player as soon as they
enter the room. To Lieselotte’s benefit, the room is not very spacey, so the player does
not have much room to run around.

B: This is the pile of coffins Lieselotte is working on. When she summons her Skeletal
Guardians, they will smash out of one of these coffins and arise to attack the player.

Upon first entering Lieselotte’s room:
       Lieselotte: (without looking up) “Another nuisance, can’t they just let me work
                    in peace? (motions to assistant) Take care of it.”
Upon killing assistant:
      Lieselotte: (still working) “I never much liked him anyway, but I cannot excuse
                    this intrusion. It’s a good thing some of these coffins are already
                    empty, plenty of room to store your pieces.”
                    (Begins summoning ritual)

       Rayne: “If you enjoy playing with corpses so much, allow me to add yet another
                to your collection.”

       (Summoning ritual is complete and Skeletal Guardian bursts through a coffin.)

       Rayne: “Cute.”

Upon killing Lieselotte:
      Rayne: “There are so many clever puns I can make about this situation, but I
                 think for once I’ll take the high road.”
                 (Spits on corpse and leaves.)




Area 3: Tatiana’s Study

       For this encounter, the player walks in on Tatiana and Sigrida doing a bit of
research in a hastily established study. The room is well lit despite its cavernous
surroundings and filled with books, journals, maps, writing utensils and some chalk
boards. There is a nice serene 1930s song playing on a phonograph on one of the tables
and the air has a sweet smell to it, as the women like to wear light perfume despite their
positions.
        When the player walks into the room Sigrida immediately draws her weapons, but
Tatiana stays calm. After the witty banter, Sigrida and the guard in the room attack the
player, while Tatiana is in the background putting on her mechanical suit. The faster the
player kills Sigrida and the guard, the less of Tatiana’s suit she is able to assemble and
the weaker she will be when she becomes active. As soon as the speech ends, Sigrida’s
and Tatiana’s life bars will appear. Tatiana’s will slowly rise as the battle begins, if it
gets to 100% before the player kills Sigrida, then the player will have to fight both
Sigrida and Tatiana at the same time. Once the player kills Sigrida, Tatiana becomes
active, no matter how high or low on her life bar Tatiana is. They player is basically
rewarded for killing Sigrida with haste. After killing Tatiana, the player will receive the
key to Entaurus’s lair.

A: Where Sigrida is when the player begins the encounter. When the melee begins,
Sigrida draws her pistols and charges the player, all the while screaming taunts and both
guns blazing. She will occasionally have to stop to reload and this is the player’s best
chance of doing great amounts of damage with melee attacks.

B: Tatiana’s beginning location, although once the melee begins she runs over to C to
start equipping her Mechanical Suit.

C: Tatiana’s Mechanical Suit. Despite her love of the blade, Tatiana has a great love for
machinery and has built a superior suit to aid her in combat. The player has 4 minutes to
kill Sigrida before Tatiana is fully equipped in her suit. Every minute that goes by,
Tatiana’s health goes up another 25% until at the end of the 4 minutes she is at 100% and
has full Mechanical Unit capabilities. At 25% Tatiana only has the right arm’s chain gun
up and running. At 50% she has both the right and left arm’s chain guns running. At
75% she has both chain guns as well as her shoulder mounted rocket launcher available
to her. At her full capacity, 100%, she has both chain guns, the rocket launcher and
devastating chest mounted laser. The chain guns can fire indefinitely but the rocket
launcher has a slight downtime and the laser has a big down time, due to its phenomenal
damage capabilities.



Upon first entering Tatiana’s room:
       Sigrida: “Who dares intrude on our private study? (Draws pistols) No matter,
                  you won’t be alive for very long, perhaps Lieselotte will find use for
                  your corpse.”

       (If Lieselotte is dead.)
       Rayne: “I often have wondered what a dead woman could do to a corpse, the
                 only thing Lieselotte will be doing is stinking and rotting.”
       Tatiana: “Calm down Sigrida, there is something odd about this one, she doesn’t
                 look human. She will make an excellent specimen for study… take her
                 down, but don’t kill her.”
       (Sigrida and guard in room attack and Tatiana starts equipping her suit of armor.)


       (Otherwise)
       Rayne: “Bring it bitch, I’ll splatter your brains on the wall.”

       Tatiana: “Calm down Sigrida, there is something odd about this one, she doesn’t
                 look human. She will make an excellent specimen for study… take her
                 down, but don’t kill her.”
       (Sigrida and guard in room attack and Tatiana starts equipping her suit of armor.)

Upon Sigrida’s Death:
      (If Tatiana is below 100%)
      Tatiana: “That useless bitch couldn’t even afford me the few minutes I needed to
                  fully equip myself. Oh well, I guess now maybe you will have a
                  chance in hell… however small it may be.”

       (If Tatiana is at 100%)
       Tatiana: “You couldn’t even have dealt with me without my suit, now you shall
                   feel its fury at full power.”

Upon Tatiana’s Death:
      (As her suit is exploding on her body)
      Tatiana: “No, this is impossible. I am the best the regime has to offer… I cannot
               be beaten.”

       Rayne: (Walks over to Tatiana’s desk and picks up key) “Ah, this must be the
              key to Entaurus’s lair, thanks.”
Area 4: Entaurus’s Lair

         The large wooden doors leading to Entaurus’s lair are initially locked. They are
great wooden doors, stretching to the ceiling of the cavern, with the stone carved around
the wooden behemoths. The trim of the door is shiny gold, with blood red runes carved
within. The inside of the lair has been carved to make it smoother, although alcoves have
been cut out of the room where the Stone Guardians are carved into the walls. The altar
sits in the center of the room, a rather plain altar facing a giant pulsating pink gem.
Around the base of the center of the room, surrounding the altar and gem, are writhing
black tendrils that seemingly come out of the ground. There are no sounds within this
room, sans the humming of the pulsating gem and the loud chanting of high priest
Jochen.
         As the player walks into the room, Jochen acknowledges them but keeps on
chanting. At the foot of the altar stands a translucent image of Entaurus, which
seemingly grows more opaque as the ritual continues. After Rayne’s speech, Entaurus
summons 2 of the 5 Stone Guardians to attack the player and defend Jochen. As the
giants burst from the wall, 3 health bars appear: the 2 Stone Giants and High Priest
Jochen’s. Jochen is attackable at all times and the player is supposed to kill him to stop
the ritual, but the Stone Giants will not go far from Jochen. There are a total of 5 Stone
Giants but no more than 2 can be active at any time. There is also a timer. Rayne has 5
minutes to defeat Jochen before the ceremony is complete and Entaurus becomes active
and trounces the player. The player has no chance of defeating Entaurus once he
becomes active, it is an automatic loss, but a cut scene of getting destroyed by Entaurus
would be nice.
A: High Priest Jochen stands here at his altar, performing the summoning ceremony to
call Entaurus into this world. He stands there, screaming out the ritual in his deep purple
robes, oblivious to any intrusions. He depends on Entaurus for protection and assumes
his service has been superior enough to warrant it

B: The locations of the Stone Guardians. At first look, they appear to be just intricate
sculptures, carved into the walls, but as Jochen needs them, they come to life.

C: Entaurus’s summoning grounds. This is where Entaurus is summoned. He begins as
a barely visible massive demon, but as the player’s time runs out he becomes more and
more opaque. When the summoning is finished he comes to life and kills the player.

Upon first entering the room:
       Rayne: “Glad I made it before the big show was over.”

Upon Jochen’s death:
      Jochen: “The ceremony… was almost complete… damn you!”

       Rayne: “Damned by one who plays with demons, the irony is overwhelming. At
               least now I can get out of this dank tomb.”

(If Entaurus is summoned.)
        Entaurus: (Kills Rayne) “I have finally been freed to wreak havoc upon this
                   world. All shall kneel before my might.”

       Jochen: “You might have made a worthy agent, too bad our meeting had to end
                this way.”