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Now that we know the basics of what’s going on in the world, it’s time to create our character. We have a series of options the game offers us, and the choices we make determine one of six distinct backstories—definitely a unique twist that I like about the game. First we need to choose our gender; the game lets us play either a male or female character. It’s largely a cosmetic decision that only really affects romances, but it’s nice to have. I select male, and then need to decide to be a human, elf or dwarf. I’ll be a human for this playthrough. Finally, we need to choose our class—warrior, rogue or mage. As in most fantasy games of this type, warriors are front-line brawlers while mages are physically weak but have powerful spells. Rogues are fighters much like warriors, but they emphasize skill over brawn and are quite good at backstabbing, poisons, and similar underhanded tactics. I choose mage, which locks in our backstory—there’s only one for the mage class.

With the main category selected, we now need to give our character more specific traits. He’s automatically assigned a personal name by the computer, which I change to my screen name. We can also customize his appearance, and I decide to make him a redhead with a goatee but otherwise leave him alone. Our main job is to assign skill points; as in most RPGs we have a series of points we can put in various categories to make a unique character. We’re given five points to spend on the “Attributes” of Strength, Dexterity, Willpower, Magic, Cunning and Constitution. As a mage, the Magic and Willpower attributes are most important--Magic determines the strength of our spells and Willpower determines how much mana we have. I decide to put four points into Magic and the last point into Willpower. We’re then shown a list of Skills; as a mage we already have one point in Herbalism and one point in Combat Tactics, and we have an extra point we can assign to a third Skill. I choose Survival, a very useful Skill that allows us to detect unseen enemies on the minimap. Finally, we need to choose some spells. There are a dizzying number of spells in this game, organized into “chains” of four spells each; a chain starts with a low-tier spell, and each spell on the chain serves as a prerequisite for the next-strongest spell. We already have the basic damage spell Arcane Bolt and can select two other Tier One spells; I choose Heal and Lightning. Finally, we’re told to set a difficulty level, and I select the toughest at Nightmare. We’re now ready to play.

After everything’s selected, we’re shown a cutscene explaining our character’s background. In the setting, people with magical affinity are distrusted and feared by others, and justifiably so. An unscrupulous mage can wreak havoc, and due to their natural connection to the Fade (spirit world) they can also attract demons if they’re not careful or are willing to summon them deliberately. To avoid these problems, individuals with magical talent are taken from their families at a young age and brought to an order of mages known as a Circle. In these Circles, young mages are taught by experienced spellcasters how to safely develop their abilities, and religious warriors called templars constantly keep everyone under supervision. We are one of these young mages, and our training is almost complete. We have just one major test: the Harrowing. Greagoir, the leader of the templars in our Circle, explains that we’ll need to prove we can resist temptation from demons, so we’ll be sent into the Fade to face one in a controlled test. If we mess up we’ll become possessed and the templars will promptly cut us down, so the stakes are high. Irving, the top mage in the Circle, gives us a brief pep talk before we go in, but we’ll have to take the test alone. We step through a portal, and soon we’re in the Fade.