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Heretic

by valkhorn

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Original Thread: Let's Play Heretic: Shadow of the Serpent Riders

 

Introduction



Heretic - Shadow of the Serpent Riders
Released in 1994 by Raven Software

The Back Story:
The world of Parthoris was populated by many people who divided themselves into seven great nations, as well as the mystic Sidhe elves. It was these elves who kept the Tomes of Power and the sacred candle flames which eternally burned to represent the armies of the world.

The Sidhe believed in a prophecy of Armageddon, and their prophecy ultimately proved itself true when from the east came the three terrible Serpent Riders cloaked in black. They were great sorcerers, and they demonstrated their power by quelling the wars of the eastern provinces. Soon the men of the seven nations turned to their worship and built a great temple in their honor. Upon the temple was the Sign, a crossed trident, and the worshipers came to call themselves the Order of the Sign.

The deeper into reverence of the Riders' dark ways they fell, the more they were sapped of their free will and spirit. Once all of the seven realms were theirs, the two eldest Riders departed, leaving D'Sparil alone to prepare the world for destruction. Recognizing the fulfillment of prophecy, the Sidhe refused to follow in the worship of D'Sparil and thus they were set apart from the other people of the world. Once sacred guardians, they were now heretics, hunted and hated everywhere they went.

D'Sparil's disciples turned the minds of the seven kings toward conquest of the Sidhe realm, and when the Seven Armies marched upon them, the Sidhe Elders extinguished the sacred flames, destroying them all. D'Sparil was enraged and in the chamber of the Elders he stirred up a storm of white-hot flame, killing them all. The earth burst open beneath their charred bodies and from within poured legions of the undead as well as murderous beasts from worlds beyond. This new army overwhelmed the Sidhe and slaughtered them in untold numbers. In only one day, their civilization was destroyed and their survivors were scattered far and wide. The darkling creatures had carried off the Tomes of Power and the other artifacts of the Sidhe as spoils of war. Left defenseless, it was surely only a matter of time before all Sidhe perished under the Order of the Triad's unyielding fury.

Most of the few remaining Sidhe hid themselves away, but Corvus was determined to have revenge. Heading east into the wilderness he came upon the City of the Damned, where the very air reeked with rot and decay and the only sounds were the screams of foul creatures seeking his blood. Armed only with his staff and Elven Wand, he had little hope to survive. So began the downfall of D'Sparil and the salvation of Parthoris.

The Game:
Using the same graphics engine as Doom, but with added enhancements, Heretic places the player in a medieval atmosphere rife with monsters, magic, and mayhem. I will be doing live commentary, and I will be using the GZDoom port. Also, I'm open to co-commentary if anyone wants to join in on their favorite level - although I'm not 100% sure yet how I'll set that up.

Difficulty Level:
Just to clarify - there are two reasons why I did NOT choose the 5th difficulty level and stuck with "Thou Art a Smite-meister"...

Also, I do not wish to fly through the levels simply because people who've never played the game before will be lost and will have no clue where I am. This is why I bring up the map so often. It's for my benefit as well as your own. There are plenty of speed run videos out there of this game with or without commentary. This isn't going to be one.

City of the Damned:

Hell's Maw:

The Domes of D'Sparil


The Ossuary

The Stagnant Demesne
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