Porcelain Child/Behind

Behind the Scenes

A few little tidbits that have happened while the Archons busy themselves with their own agendas. Consider this both deleted scenes with director's commentary. If anyone else has a 'what happened when...?', feel free to place it at the bottom.

Preludes

• The Wretched Anathema was spying on Vana (in a way) in her prelude. Vana discovers in one of her preludes (of her Lookshy life) that the hidden manse, the Tower of Hanged Vines was crafted in the First Age for a 'great being' by a Dragon King Raptok. This plot arc has no place now that Vana has left the game.

• Of all the characters I think the Anathema antagonist would have to have been the one that has evolved the most since the story began. From a beginning on board a crashing skyship she has become a jihad minded lunatic, an assassin and a pawn. Her weapons and style has changed so many times and I think that it works extremely well - the unthinkable amorphous threat that never remains the same. Kaleidoscope was a big addition to the Anathema as a whole - a foe that changes her weapon constantly to match her style.

• Oh and how can we forget Tany? He has been one of the most pivotal characters in the Porcelain Child saga, and one of my favourite jerks. And guess what - you can blame Sara for him. Tany was never intended to be any part of the story, in fact in all my drafts he wasn't even a spark in my head. Untill Magpie got out of hand in her prelude, and I needed a net. Humble beginnings indeed. His strange sash 'Fathom' also was never a weapon untill the morning of Epheri's encounter with him outside Anona's estate in Arjuf.

• The Dread Captain originally did have a part to play in the later chapters of the story, however redesign of the plot has greatly changed things and thus he no longer returns. In the original plot the Archons would (for Juno) have to hunt the Gossamar Sail: the Wraith-ship Maelstrom captained by a particularly brutal Fae construct known as Ilsuedes. The group would be forced to ally with both Captain Theisloah (the captain of the Glitterstar)and the Dread Pirate in order to bring the beast down and retrieve a piece of the sword which the Fae had built itself around. Oh, and I uh... really wanted to flatten a Sidereal with a Solar. Face it, I'm a Terrestrial-Solar fanboy and there's no room for Heaven in my world let alone a loom.

• Ol Gibs? Well...

• Yengo's prelude was made up entirely on the spot. Sorry about that!

• Tepet Epheri was originally a man - a minor communication error between myself and AussieDevil the original player caused the gender switch. But it worked so we went with it.

Chapter 01 : Brewing Storm, Chance Encounter

• The first sub-prefect, Cain Starflower was indeed the genuine article. The man had been worn thin of resolve from many months of political and internal strife in the day-to-day bureacracy of his role in Noble. When Juno discovered that he had involved Diamandus he quickly tried to control the damage by replacing him and his close aids. This act was unfortunately seen through and the contingency plan of completely destroying the Administration building (with the mortal patsies) inside was forced. Cain Starflower's fate was likely an unsavoury one.

• The scene where Magpie dared the village boy Luc into entering the woods with her was entirely unplanned but had a much more desirable effect than anything I would have planned.

• I may have already mentioned that this game bears a lot of the nods and references to games I have run or wanted to run in the past. The Windswept Boughs was just such a chapter that was the opening to my Ninja and Samurai D20 game. It played out in a similar manner.

• Vana met a lone itinerant monk in a shack poised over a mountain lake, he spoke strange and accurate wisdoms.

• Ujiro was introduced to give Vana some backup in the mortal dogpiling situations. There is only so much success that can be granted by Safety Among Enemies after all. The purpose failed miserably, as did the second use I planned for him in regards to the forces of Glie owning Jade Weaponry scavenged from murdered Dragonbloods. It was a political commentary on how as years pass the harmony between Exalt and mortal is starting to fail, and as the Dragonbloods prey on the mortals, the mortals are beginning to fight back... In all, one of the worst moves I have made, apart from using the word Legend in the title.

Chapter 02 : Valley of Fire, The Winds Messenger

• The scene in the 'village of the dead' where Yengo enters the home (Second log of chapter 02) was probably one of the most mentally horrifying scenes I have ever written. The zombies themselves and Oneleg the zombie leader were all salutes to various chinese 'hopping vampire' myths. The one I borrowed from most I dont recall the name of, but those bitten didn't become Vampires right away, they start as 'zombies' - humans that grow madder and madder and begin to drink blood as they transform into the decomposed oriental style vampires.

• The scene in the village in which the Immaculate Hunting team slay the villagers to stem the contamination is a nod to the earlier missions of the Warcraft III human campaign. For those who have not played it, you as Prince Arthas must go through each village that has eaten contaminated grain and slaughter the villagers.

• Merchant Master Kallorn was a reference to the deteriorated King Theodin and the slightly loopy Steward of Gondor.

• Vana abandons Barton in the monastery after defeating him and knocking him unconcious. By Zaran's order he is hunted down and assassinated by Teresu Noxx, a warped dragonblood Vana shamed whilst in training.

Chapter 03 : Ghosts, Mirrors of Steel and Jade

• I'Kuan's role was originally cast for a Fair Folk, and one of considerable power. In the original plot the Archons were more likely to turn against him because of his nature but the poor little(hah!) guy just wanted a place for his kids to grow up! I'Kuan both God and Fae were not slated to die in the story, but the 'win but not a win' angle really appealed to me as I was typing the scene so I changed it. You would be shocked just how many scenes change and/or are added at the last minute that completely change the feel of a scene. In this chapter even I didn't know who was going to win - the humans or the god?

• Interesting thought - no one ever actually SAW I'Kuan.

• After taking Lady Farion into custody in the battle of the rivers the Magistrate leaves the Inn late one evening to administer his judgement. Farion is found guilty of heresy against the Immaculate Philosophy and is executed by beheading. Diamandus performed the deed himself.

Chapter 04 : Flights of Doves, a Closing Saga

• To reach the innermost circle of the Rings of Progression portion of the Dragonwrath Epheri snaps a branch off from the tree to pass through the solid surface of the water. This was a really inventive idea that I honestly hadn't thought of. Tipping the fountain over was my idea, or destroying it so that the water flowed out was another.

• The Six Birds ruin was originally quite different to the one the Archons visited in game. Originally the first chamber would have been similar, however the construction through the arch (where the stairs were located) was once upon a time a simple everyday tomb - it didn't even fall to bits when you steal the Ring! The similarity was the chamber in which Six was imprisoned - it was an illusionary expanse more to the tune of an underworld forest and Six was petrefied (as in turned to stone) upon an alter. The new Six Birds ruin created a much larger feel, of sorcery far beyond anything of the modern day.

• Brattica was once an encounter I specifically designed for Vana, a god that was anathema to the Seventh Legion - a demonic entity that embraced battle, slaughter and unrestrained warfare. He would play a pivotal role in later scenes (for example in her battles against Zaran) after she won his respect for her prowess. When Vana left the game the purpose of Brattica became null, but the encounter was so pleasing to my mind that I restructured it to fit the greater story. Put bluntly Brattica became the god of stories that end in tragedy and defeat.

• So just how did Brattica defeat Anona's spell? Brattica is a very different god, the exact nature of which I cannot divulge right away - though I'm sure you can make some educated guesses as to what he represents. His powers focus very heavily upon the illusionary and the deceptive. The great and barbaric warrior Anona unleashed her spell upon was not much more than a very tangible illusion made real by the god - thus Anona cast her spell effectively on thin air - or air that could not be enchanted. An Automaton would suffice as an explanation - no intelligence, and little more than a puppet on strings. Perhaps the dark visage that Kess defeated was nothing more than another of Brattica's clever illusions. His true appearance may never be known...

Other thoughts

• My favourite NPC? Its a tough one - the player vote strangely put Tany and the Anathema tying for the rank. I would have to say Quintus, oddly enough, he is a source of more adversity, pain and change. He and the story arc he is tied to also provided me with one of the most difficult decisions that I have ever faced.

• I would say my favourite scene was the demise of Magistrate Diamandus. This was one of the very few scenes that I planned since day one, and the sense of sacrifice when he siezed the Anathema and created an Elemental Vortex was a fitting end for such a noble character.

Questions?

Man, the things you discover when you're not sleeping. I don't know if this is really a plot question, but does anyone have a log or summary of the whole Magpie in the woods thing? I basically got that they went there and Luc was horribly eaten, but you know the phrase "was horribly eaten" just triggers my curiousity. Ditto for Vana vs. Barton. -DK

But there's 170 files there!! Must I? Understandably they are pivotal scenes that even most players have missed. I'll look. But later! -o

I was going to pop in, waving the file to triumphant hero music, and then, er. I realized I left it on my other computer. An ocean away. Oops. My suggestion for finding it quickly: it's in August. Probably early August. Right-click, 'Sort by date', and you can probably pin it down quickly.

Vana vs Barton was in late January or early February. And I don't have it either. Internet cafes.

Questions! Mostly from prologues: 1) Was Ms Anathema spying on Vana? Why? 2) Did Mr. Anathema Pirate have anything to do with anything besides destroying the ship? 3) Did the message Magpie delivered for Ol Gibs have any significance at all? -A&L

I can find neither log that DK has requested, the Vana vs Barton was run at an internet lounge, and unfortunately Magpie's trek into the woods of the Foothills with Luc are missing also. Too bad, both were very rivetting scenes. Now then, its stupid-o'clock in the morning and I'm going to bed. The things I do for and to you.
-onine

Huh. Well, I'll unearth it in a couple months. Or try, anyway. I liked that scene. It'd be a shame if it were gone forever. -A&L

I did however stumble across the start of the Windswept Boughs log, which I have added. -onine

Ah, nuts. Oh well, we'll see if we can patch them up as we go along. I have logs of just about everything else that is missing, as well as some stuff that was truncated early on. Once I get my computer up and running at home (just moved back from college), I'll work on updating the page and putting in the missing info. -DK