~An Introduction to Thief II Fan Missions

            I’ve already introduced Thief FMs, but here I want to give a very brief introduction to Thief II FMs. The reason is because Thief II FMs constitute around—and I’m ballparking it—95% to 99% of Thief FMs. In addition to Thief I, there’s also Thief III FMs and “Dark Mod” FMs (the “Dark Mod” is a standalone mod, built on the Doom 3 engine, with tools and assets that facilitate the creation of Thief-style missions). But though these other three options exists, Thief II FMs reign supreme.

            And it’s not just the missions. With enhancement packs and the latest “New Dark” patches, the Thief II game engine has been taken to heights that no 2000-era game engine should have been taken to, perhaps. It certainly has been taken beyond the expectations of the original designers (I don’t have their word for it, but I think it’s safe to assume so). Thief II FMs are a chronicle of fan-made, mod-making greatness. They’re like a gigantic tree grown from the seed Looking Glass planted years ago. (Hey—I could singe praises for Thief II FMs all day!)

            But enough of the romanticizing. In short, they’re great game experiences; my favorite ones, period. Choosing only six to cover in this blog was very difficult. I begin, here, with three of the best early ones, which get introduced in the video below.

            Enjoy!

 

Thief II Fan-Mission: "The Inverted Manse", by "Sledge"

-“The Inverted Manse”, by “Sledge”

-Released April 1^st, 2001

            “The Inverted Manse” is one of the early Thief II fan missions, and was one of the first I played. It demonstrated, to me and many others, that fan missions can indeed be as great as the official missions in the two Thief releases. It's a great undead and horror mission and a great labyrinth; definitely some prime Thief-y goodness.

            This is another mission by TTLG user “Sledge”, who authored “Cult of the Resurrection”, covered here previously. This mission is the sequel to “Cult” and shares a design principle with it: very different experiences for each difficulty level.

            The premise is that Garrett is going to investigate the origins of the ‘Spirit Stone’ that he stole from the Cult of the Resurrection. As Garrett relays in the briefing (TTLG user “Loanstar” doing a great Garrett voice), the Spirit Stone was found in a Pagan manse that had been discovered beneath a Hammerite factory complex. Soon after the discovering of this manse, the factory fell to evil spirits and the undead, and is now haunted. That being said, “Inverted Manse” is a great horror mission in the style of Bonehoard, though there’s some more ‘human’ element to it as well. The Hammerite factory complex has a ‘post-disaster’ theme running through it, and players pick up on the final hours of the factory through journal entries and spectral appearances and voices of the former occupants.
          (Not all fan missions have briefing videos; most don't. But it is a nice surprise when ones do. It's even nicer when they're really well done, such as this one for "Inverted Manse." Note that Sledge opted for a Thief I style briefing with the way the text at the start is relayed, though this is a mission built for Thief II. And, again, that's "Loanstar" doing the voice of Garrett; he also voiced Garrett in "Calendra's Cistern.")

            Uncovering the story of the factory’s fall is part of the greatness in “Manse”. At first, there were just rumors in the factory of some caves discovered by builders in the lower levels who were working on the building’s expansion. But gradually, more and more wild rumors spread—and then the whole place eventually succumbed to the evil that had been residing in those tunnels. In those tunnels is a Pagan manse, and players it reach after making their way through the factory. This mission has a great ‘dungeon’ or ‘labyrinth’ vibe to it. Gradually descending the factory and then the tunnels and Pagan manse is a satisfying adventure. There is a lot of suspense here, too. I got anxious about finally seeing the underground tunnels and manse that had been the source of the factory’s ruin.

(Below are screenshots for each difficulty level)

            The size of the Pagan manse depends on the difficulty setting players chose. On ‘Cutpurse’ difficulty, it’s smaller. Players pass through an initial tunnel area, come out into a large cavern, with a very large spider pacing about, and come upon a small temple. In here, players nab a Pagan tome, one of the objects Garrett is going after, and then can head back up to the factory and leave. But on the highest difficulty, ‘Warrior’, it isn’t so simple. There’s a much larger area that can be entered from the back of the small Pagan temple, and in here three more gem stones the player needs to get. There’s also a weapon players must find, and, optionally, players can aid a spirit of a departed Hammerite. I first played this mission on ‘Cutpurse’, back in the day; years later I came back to it, chose ‘Warrior’, and was amazed at how much I hadn’t remembered. But, of course, I was remembering correctly—it’s just that so much of what I explored hadn’t been in ‘Cutpurse’. For Thief fans who had run out of missions to play, ‘Sledge’ provided plenty of replay value in this mission.

            The story, the atmosphere, and the replayability are all excellently done in “Inverted Manse”. It’s one of the best fan missions and one of my top favorites. It also is a case study of a ‘disaster narrative’ done within Thief’s design parameters. In other words, the story of a place that once was normal but that has gone horribly wrong.

            In the videos, I include the beginning of the mission on each difficulty setting, as the start areas differ slightly. I also include the underground Pagan temple on both ‘Cutpurse’ and ‘Warrior’, to demonstrate how much more there is on ‘Warrior.’ Most of the gameplay videos otherwise come from the ‘Warrior’ difficulty.

            As a sidenote, this mission was so well-made that the developers at Ion Storm-Austin hired “Sledge” to work on Thief III, which was in development at the time of this mission’s release.

-See a thread on “The Inverted Manse” at TTLG

Thief II Fan-Mission: "The Seventh Crystal", by "Saturnine"

~ The Seventh Crystal, by “Saturnine”

-Released November 7^th, 2001

            One of the most beautiful fan missions made for Thief II is Saturnine’s "The Seventh Crystal". Its beauty is in its architecture—the structure of Lord Saturnine’s immense estate (the nobleman being named after the mission's author, of course)—and in its story. It takes quite a few plot twists near the end, and the brilliance is in how the backstory is woven in. On the surface, Garrett is taking a job from a woman named Seraphina, to steal Lord Saturnine’s prized crystal, on display in his personal museum. But as soon as players step into Lord Saturnine’s estate, they know that there is more to this job than just nabbing a crystal. There’s a grander story involving Lord Saturnine, his wife, and his little daughter, and the tragedy that befell his family—and its revelation starts with a ghostly girl’s voice asking “Who are you?” when Garrett first sneaks inside the estate.

            Exploring the Saturnine Estate can be an eerie experience. For as many segments that are well-lit and well-guarded, there are also dark, still, quiet areas of the house. This would surely be the case for any large castle or mansion—places lit only by the sunlight rays coming in through the windows, dust settling in the air, total silence. On my first time playing this mission, I certainly got the feeling that something loomed over the Saturnine household—there was more to it behind the surface.

            The story and the suspense that comes from it are key to the experience of “Seventh Crystal”. To that end, Saturnine divided the mission into “acts”. The first and fourth act are just story segments, where the players watches NPCs act and dialog. The second and third acts are the gameplay segments. The videos I include here are all of the second and third acts. The second act takes places in the Saturnine estate.

            The unfolding of the story could only have been accomplished in a Thief mission. The only explicit story is, again, that Garrett is stealing a sapphire piece for a client named Seraphina. Everything comes from readables (journals). There’s Lord and Lady Saturnine, the servant Bradey, the despicable Captain Lorcan of the household guard, and Alexandria, Bradey’s love interest. Two back stories open up: one to do with Lord and Lady Saturnine drifting apart, their departed daughter, and the Lord descending into depression and introversion; and the other to do with a Hammerite crypt that Lord Saturnine and Bradey discovered beneath the manor. All the while that these stories are uncovered, there’s a lot of suspense. I remember being especially hooked to the story as I played this mission.

            There’s also much to admire in the estate’s architecture, as noted. Saturnine—the TTLG user, not the Lord—did a brilliant job here. The Saturnine estate is also heavy with atmosphere. It really is a beautiful experience, and like “The Inverted Manse”, was an early fan mission that demonstrated how fan-made creations can be just as good, if not better, than the original, official missions.

            As a side note, there was supposed to be a follow to “The Seventh Crystal”. Unfortunately, it never came. Saturnine did, however, make another mission, “Rose Cottage”, an amazing haunted house mission that will be covered later on in the blog.
           (Note, in the following video, a bit of incongruous humor; an unexpected 'jump' moment when Garrett goes to pick up the tome. It's something you'd only find in a fan-mission.)

Thief II Fan-Mission: "Deceptive Perception", by "William the Taffer"

~Deceptive Perception, by “William the Taffer”
-Released July 4^th, 2002

            Great Thief experiences don’t always have to be big. The users at Through the Looking Glass will sometimes cook up a contest where missions must be made small—an exact XxYxZ measurement limit is established for fan-mission authors to use while constructing the level in the Dromed editor. Such was the case for “Komag’s Contest #3”, which set a small size limit forcing authors to make small, short missions in tight spaces. While “William the Taffer’s” entry “Deceptive Perception” didn’t win the contest, it got second place, and is a memorable experience given how bite-sized it is. It gains memorable status by its approach. There is no sneaking, thieving, exploring, or any of that—which means, this isn’t a real mission. But what it is, is a jump-scare laden, psychological thrill ride that every Thief fan loves.

            The mission is so short—six, seven, maybe eight minutes for a first-time playthrough—that I’ll let the whole thing speak for itself. Here’s a video of a full playthrough. Oh, and the story setup: Garrett's renting a room at a local factory and warehouse place. A prized collectible of yours, a dagger, has been stolen, and you’re sure it was one of your coworkers who did it. You sneak into the warehouse late at night to see if you can find where he’s hidden the dagger. There are rumors that the warehouse is haunted at night, but, you know…

            The point here? Thief missions don’t always have to be long, big, complex experiences to be great. Authors can take Thief design principles and make bite-sized, ‘Tales’-style adventures, like this one.

            There was a sequel made—started by “William the Taffer” and finished by user “Yandros”—called “Deceptive Perception 2: Phantasmagoria”. It’s the same premise, but done in a lengthier mission. It has some crazy, ‘Twilight Zone’-style psychological twists to it as well.

-See a thread discussing “Deceptive Perception” at TTLG.

-Fair warning: there are jump scares, and a part with a little more blood and gore than the typical Thief mission.

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