This is a recap of book one and Will’s character sheet going into book 2.

Will, a QA tech for a video game company, gets transferred to London. He is hired to be a beta tester in Axeton Studios’ new game Victoria Online. Once in the game, he learns that Axeton’s operation is highly illegal, utilizing experimental longterm VR pods, realistic pain from injuries, and, most importantly, the technology to manipulate memories. Will and his fellow testers are each trapped until they finish their main quest, at which point, their memories will be altered and they will be returned to the real world.

Will’s main quest is to hunt down and capture the Decoction Killer, a serial killer plaguing the game world. He starts his investigation at bakery, the sight of the most recent murder. There he meets his partner in the hunt, a fellow tester going by the handle Ajax. He also meets a young npc named Roach, who tells him about the victim, a gangster named Slinger.

Will follows Roach’s tip to the gang headquarters of the Greys. Questioning them about Slinger goes south quickly, and Will is killed. He respawns back at his room and quickly sets out for revenge. With stealth and some help from Ajax, the testers defeat the gangsters and interrogate the gang leader.

They follow the gang leaders information to Slinger’s old hideout, where he was experimenting on zombies and had a journal written in a strange script. They give the journal to a fellow tester in the hopes of getting it translated, and look for other leads.

Using the police’s forensic data, Ajax hypothesizes that the Decoction Killer is using a horse track for a hunting ground. The two investigate the track, but come up empty handed, after which they get ambushed. With no active leads, Will pays Roach to stake out the race track, and the two go hunting zombies for money and experience.

Eventually, the stake-out bore fruit, tracking the Killer to a dilapidated church. Afraid he would get away, Will raided the church without waiting for Ajax. The Killer managed to escape, but left his victim unharmed. Will questioned the victim, but the man revealed itself to be a many-toothed monster, which Will barely manages to kill before succumbing to his own wounds.

Again left leadless, the two agree to help Sarah, another tester, with her quest to return the favor of translating Slinger’s journal. Despite some harrowing encounters, Will came out of the sidequest with a powerful new relic, an artifact that lets him be invisible to monster senses for a short period of time.

Fed up with their lack of progress with the main quest, Will went back to the track. He discovered that the employees at the track were all Milladen, the many-toothed monsters, and managed to steal the keys to the track’s main building.

On meeting up with his two companions, they each explained a lead they had found. Sarah finished translating Slinger’s journal and revealed that the killer has a safehouse in the zombie infested Old City. Will revealed that the track was infested with Milladen, and Ajax explained that a residence was buying the alchemical supplies needed by the Decoction Killer.

Will and Ajax raid the residence, and almost apprehend the killer. They chase him to the Thames, but he escapes by using a magical boat. Before they can plan their next move, they receive a message that the Bitter Flagon, a pub the testers had been using as an unofficial headquarters, was under attack.

The two join the full scale battle between Milladen forces and their fellow testers. During the battle, Will consumed a questionable potion in order to gain an edge. The potion was very effective, allowing him to turn the tide of the battle, but also caused him to have a heart attack.

Will awakens outside of the game, being treated for the heart attack, which happened not in the game, but in the real world. Dr. Hide, one of the main scientists working for Axeton Studios, explains to Will that instead of simulating drugs used by the characters, the game just injects their real bodies with those drugs. He also expresses his exuberance for the memory implanting technology, and disdain for Axeton using the revolutionary procedures only for making a videogame better. Skipping the protocol of having Will’s memory of the conversation wiped, Dr. Hide sent Will back into the game.

Will woke up next to the smoldering ashes of the Bitter Flagon, and found out from Sarah that Ajax had gone to the Old City to hunt down the Killer. With no idea of where the Killer’s Old City safehouse could be, Will decided to instead raid the horse track.

Using the keys he had stolen earlier, Will entered the track’s main building and discovered stairs going deep into the earth. He explored the milladen lair, finding its meat locker, piles of sleeping figures, and a ritual implanting ceremony. Will managed to take one of the monsters captive, and fled the lair.

Back at St. Paul’s Cathedral, Will’s lodging and respawn point as an Inquisitor working for the church, Will interrogated the milladen captive. From it, he got the location of the Killer’s safehouse.

After braving a surly kid, a drunken ferryman, and a zombie horde, Will finally made it to the Marshview Hotel, location of the Decoction Killer’s final safehouse. The hotel was extremely haunted, and Will had quite a few encounters with ghosts before running into a pair of milladen performing a strange ritual. During the ensuing fight, Will learned that the milladen were creating a portal to their home plain that would kill everyone in the hotel and provide another beachhead into the local reality.

Using a decoction mixed up by a fellow tester, and the ghostly terrain, Will managed to defeat the milladen and end the ritual.

Will met up with Ajax, in a stalemate with the killer, both hunkered down in fortified areas and not willing to brave the no-man's land. Will flanked the killer by climbing the outside of the building and between the two testers, they managed to take the killer alive.

Will found the killer’s journal and read the first few passages. They revealed that the killer was actually a rogue government operative working to kill the milladens. He was betrayed by the London Police force, revealing that they had been bought off by the monsters.

Will’s reading was interrupted by a gunshot as Ajax executed the incompacitated Decoction Killer. Ajax revealed that his mission had been to kill the Decoction Killer all along, and hide any evidence that the government was involved. Ajax then demanded, gun ready, the killer’s journal, as it would need to be destroyed to finish Ajax’s quest.

In a brief exchange, Will bested Ajax, and had him dead to rights, but instead of delivering the final blow, tossed the journal into the fire.

Ajax escaped the game, and Will started plans to build a guildhall for the testers. End of book 1.

Will’s character sheet at the end of book one:

Race: Human.

Human. Humans are the most prevalent species on the planet. They rely on superior numbers and technology to maintain dominance. In London the many factions of humans continuously vie for political power and status. When threatened by outside forces however, these factions unite to form a wall of steel and fire against the darkness.

Racial Traits:

Adaptable: Humans have the innate potential to use any weapon, vehicle or tool. This allows them to use equipment they are not proficient with. Equipment used this way will be less effective. Stand United: Humanity is at its best when working together for mutual benefit. When working with other humans they gain a bonus to morale and attempts to resist status effects such as sleep, poison, torpor, or blindness.

Class Inquisitor:

Inquisitors act as the special operations troops of the church’s Holy Army. They are specially trained agents tasked with hunting down and eliminating heretics, undead aberrations, and creatures that do not belong on this plane of existence. To that end, they use their information gathering skills to learn the whereabouts of their target, their untyped magic to counter enemy spellcasting, and their martial skills to eliminate threats. Often having to hunt alone, Inquisitors are self sufficient and can act as a one-man strike force.

Medium Armor and Melee Weapon focus Information Gathering Force Magic

Holy Order: Inquiro Haereticum

Inquiro Haereticum: Focused on human threats, the Inquiro Haereticum hunts down cults, saboteurs, and madmen. Adds 10% additional damage to all attacks against humans.

Primary Statistics:

Constitution: 8 Dexterity: 12 Intelligence: 3 Perception: 3 Strength: 8 Willpower: 5

Proficiencies:

Basic Proficiency: Medium Armor

Basic Proficiency: One Handed Sword

Basic Proficiency: Shield

Advanced One Handed Sword Proficiency: Shamshir

Basic Proficiency: Ropework

Basic Proficiency: Grappling

Basic Proficiency: One Handed Firearm

Martial Skills:

True Time: While moving in True Time your attacks will move with supernatural swiftness and power. This will improve your ability to intercept enemy attacks and overwhelm their defences. Unlocks Fight Under Cover.

Multi-Weapon Fighting: Each attack you make opens up your opponents guard for an attack with a different weapon. When you hit an opponent with an attack your next attack will hit with increased force as long as the second attack is made with a different weapon and within three seconds of the first attack. This skill is compatible with improvised, ranged, magic, and unarmed attacks. Unlocks Multi-Weapon Chain.

Multi-Weapon Chain: Every strike you make that uses the Multi-Weapon Fighting skill sets up another use of the skill. This allows you to chain boosted attacks as long as you continue striking with no more than three second between each strike and do not strike with the same weapon twice in a row. This skill is compatible with improvised, ranged, magic, and unarmed attacks. Unlocks Multi-Weapon Chain Acceleration.

Multi-Weapon Chain Acceleration: Your strikes accelerate as you land blow after blow. Your attacks that gain increased force from Multi-Weapon Fighting also increase the speed and precision of the next attacks you make. This effect stacks up to five times and lasts until you fail to make an attack within three seconds or attack with the same weapon twice.

Magical Skills:

Push: Release a burst of concentrated force magic directly away from yourself. This blast will act like a strong wind and push away enemies and objects. How far and fast objects are pushed will depend on surface area, weight, and your intelligence score. 20 - 3.5 = 16.5 Second cool down. Unlocks Dispelling Push 1, Precision Push, and Strong Push 1.

Precision Push: By exerting your will, you may narrow the focus of your Push. This will reduce the area your push effects. The strength of the Push will be increased proportionally to the area lost. Area and power are determined by Willpower. Minimum area diameter is 48in/5= 9.6in. Maximum force multiplier is 5. Unlocks Remote Push.

Remote Push: Having the push spell originate from the caster isn’t always desirable. Remote Push will allow for more tactical applications. When activating the spell, Remote Push will allow you to choose a point you can see within 5 (Willpower) yards to be the starting point of the push. You will also be able to choose the direction the push moves. For example, you could have the spell originate from behind an enemy and move towards you to drive your opponent closer.

Create: Create a temporary item out of force magic. This item will be nearly indestructible and completely immune to magic other than dispelling magic. Object size and fidelity are determined by Intelligence. Object duration is determined by Willpower. 30 - 5.25 = 24.75 minute cool down. 5 + .875 = 5.875 minute duration. Unlocks Mental Blueprints, Large Creation 1, Precise Creation 1, and Lasting Creation 1.

Utility Skills:

Persuasion by Ethos: A person is more persuasive when they come from a position of authority, and there is no authority like martial authority. With this skill, the greater marital disparity between you and your target, the better chance of them giving in to your demands. Having a sword while your opponent has a dagger would give you a small bonus. Having an army while your opponent is tied and beaten would give you a large bonus. This is a supernatural psychological effect. This skill is not effective against player characters. Unlocks Persuasion by Ethos 2.

Persuasion by Greed: Money talks. With this skill, bribes will cost less and be more effective. This includes bribing guards to ignore petty crimes, purchasing information, and basically any transaction that is not for a basic good or service. This skill is not effective against player characters. Unlocks More for Your Money and Golden Loyalty.

Golden Loyalty: Your coin glitters just a bit more brightly than the next guy’s. When purchasing a good or service, that contract will be maintained even in the face of opposition. The bounty hunter you hired won’t accept a bribe to let the quarry go, the swordsmith you commissioned won’t sell to a higher bidder, and the carpenter will prioritize your house above other jobs. Can be overcome by extreme circumstances (such as in the face of mortal peril). This skill does not affect player characters.

Contacts: Members of the inquisitor orders are supposed to be self sufficient, but that does not mean they cannot have friends. With these skills, you will receive a small daily donation of supplies wherever your spawn point is set.

Holy Armory Contact 1: The church looks after its own, and not all threats can be dealt with by fire and blade. This contact supplies you with holy water and blessed scripture verses. Unlocks Holy Armory Contact 2.

Equipped Items:

Traveler’s Clothes

Chainmail Shirt

Arming Sword

Buckler

Shamshir

Vorpal 1 augment

Relic of St. Piran (necklace)