EverQuest: The Serpent's Spine Team Q&A
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Q: What are some of your favorite enemies in The Serpent's Spine, and why do you regard each of them as special?
Alan VanCouvering, Game Designer: Well, we all know that giants are better than dragons, so my first pick is going to be a giant. I don't know how much people know about the Krithgor (and I won't try to give their history here), but they once were one of the elite warrior clans that served Rallos Zek. Since then, they have fallen from the good graces of Rallos and have, in fact, been cursed by him. Now they are haunted by the shades of their revered ancestors, and any of them killed by these Shades of Zek are turned in to shades themselves. The shades exist only to slay all living Krithgor.
Their current King, called Odeen, was there the day this curse landed upon his people. He watched his own father rise from his coffin as a shade and kill those that came to mourn his passing. Odeen is, to put it bluntly, terrified of being killed. It's a combination of cowardice and rightful fear. When players are sent to speak with him, he sets his guards on them. The battle to defeat King Odeen ends up being something like a high-speed car chase (except without the cars, or the speed). He flees from the players, throwing anyone he can find out behind him as he goes, hoping that the players will give up or, better yet, die.
This isn't the most innovating raid ever created, but I think it's interesting because I see it as a different sort of ring event. Instead of waves of NPCs coming at the players, the players have to pursue their target through various locations; each can be seen as a wave.
