Current Setting:

• Time period: September 2nd, 1813.
• Location: Outside walls of the fortress near the shore.
• Climate: Average temperature, cloudy.

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Character:

• Full Name: William Spencer.
• Age: William is 33 years old.
• Occupation: William is an Officer of the Royal Horse Artillery of the Regular British Army.
• Appearance: William is tall (6' / 183 cm), with a slender body build, long arms and legs, and fair skin. William has brown curly hair and is wearing sideburns. William's eyes are gray.
• Outfit: William is wearing a black Tarleton helmet with a black horsehair fur crest and a white plume, a dark blue Dolman jacket with yellow cords and red cuffs and collars, and a red sash. William is also wearing a pair of gray canvas trousers and a pair of black Hessian boots. While not a part of his uniform, William is also wearing a gray wool scarf around his neck.
• Equipment: William has a flintlock pistol and a saber, with the saber sheath being on his left hip. William usually stores his flintlock pistol in his sash on the right side.
• Personality: William is an intelligent and thoughtful person, rarely relying on others, having a silver tongue that he isn't afraid to use, especially when arguing with someone. William thinks too much for his own good, as well as going on philosophical debates with fellow men at war. William is an atheist but only tells that to people he trusts. He is also quite interested in some particular ideas of Napoleon and hides those interests as well to not lose his reputation and post. While being thoughtful and independent, William isn't without his vices — William is a victim of mood swings, which can range from a simple bad mood up to a complete depressive state. William is well aware of his emotional unstinstability is helpless to do anything about it.
• Backstory: William was born in a family of landed gentry in Dublin, not poor at all but just barely rich enough to be a noble family. William was growing up as a normal child, and one day he saw a military parade — and since then he was delighted by the British Army and military as a whole. His parents helped him to attend a school and have tutors, and William studied with persistence and pleasure. William's hard studying resulted in him ending up in the Royal Horse Artillery, where he became an officer. He ended up in San Sebastián because of the shortages and, mostly, at his own request.

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World Setting and Lore:

• Lore: The infection, referred to as "the Blight," is an unknown disease with an incredibly high mortality rate — its origins are currently unknown. The Blight first appears in the late stages of the Russo-Turkish War (1806-1812); following the burning of Moscow, thousands of corpses within the city are resurrected and begin to slowly wreak havoc across Europe. The Blight seems to wither women faster than men, as female infected are much rarer to encounter. The Blight makes the infected gradually have their skin turn grayer and suffer fever, as well as making their vision redder. In later stages of infection, the ones suffering from the Blight lose sanity before deceasing and turning into one of the infected. The Blight can only be cured by a blessing from a religious figure, like a priest or an army chaplain, as medical treatment may only slow the infection down.

Significant Events:

• Berezina (November 28th, 1812): Following the Burning of Moscow, French forces begin a rapid retreat from Russia. As French forces retreated, a trigger-happy Frenchman blew the initial bridge across the Berezina River, leaving Marshal Claude-Victor Perrin's IX Corps and stragglers from the original bridge encampment trapped on the other side of the Berezina River. Victor orders the construction of a new bridge across the Berezina River. A number of his forces take carriages to retrieve logs from nearby areas and deliver them to the players. As French forces begin building the bridge, the soldiers left behind become the first French soldiers to encounter the Infected. Upon the successful construction of the bridge, the French IX Army Corps successfully retreats the rest of their forces across the Berezina River, headed by cuirassiers and supply wagons.
• Vardøhus Fortress (December 24th, 1812): Royal Navy Sailors onboard the HMS Undaunted lose a tow ship containing several infected individuals onboard within a blizzard, with it crashing into the island of Vardøya. The following day, the Royal Navy discovers the ship crashed on the island, and the HMS Undaunted sends a crew of 15 men aboard a jolly boat to investigate the island. Only four of the Royal Navy sailors return. The Royal Marines and Sailors discover zombies, referred to as "mad men turn cannibals" within the nearby village of Vardø and flee, with many being killed. The crew of HMS Undaunted remains docked at a nearby port, with another blizzard approaching. Believing that the Royal Marines on the island may still be alive, they remain on the lookout for a signal from the nearby lighthouse. Danish soldiers within the main fortress compound retreat to the basement of one of the buildings within the compound, but as Shamblers attack and kill multiple Danish soldiers, they make a break for the dock to escape. The Danish soldiers ring the bell of the nearby church, and the crew of the HMS Undaunted, believing it is a signal from their expedition party, signals back. Danish soldiers then make their way to the lighthouse and activate it, guiding the HMS Undaunted to their position. The events that transpire at Vardøhus Fortress remain largely unknown by the public.
• San Sebastián (September 2nd, 1813): During the Siege of San Sebastián, British and Portuguese soldiers are captured by the French and imprisoned in the fortress at the top of the island. At some point following the British breach of the main rampart and the French retreat up the hill, the Blight strikes San Sebastián, killing everybody in the city except for the survivors in the citadel and various stragglers. The British Army, caught completely unprepared for this threat, retreats fully disorganized. Inevitably, a French officer decides to release the British/Portuguese prisoners and arm them against the threat. These forces then make their way through San Sebastian, the destroyed city, and eventually end up in the fortress near the shore, and encounter Barry, an Officer of the 9th Regiment of Foot, who tries to help them escape before dying to two Runners and a Bomber. The survivors are forced to leave a few of them behind to successfuly escape, are then extracted to the HMS Undaunted.

Types of Blighted:

• Shamblers: Shamblers are long-dead corpses that have been resurrected by the Blight, whether having succumbed to a Shambler or having been resurrected from the grave. These rotting and decaying corpses have sometimes been dead for up to 10 years, and their high rate of infectivity represents it. Almost every person who is bitten by a Shambler inevitably dies due to their wounds becoming infected. Shamblers are slow and relatively weak on their own; their strength lies in their ultimately overwhelming numbers. Shamblers can be identified by their gray skin and groaning.
• Runners: Runners are recently infected, having turned not even an hour ago. They are far more versatile and erratic in their movements compared to their decomposed counterparts. Runners are identified by their bright red eyes, gray skin, and high speed. Runners are also attracted to loud sounds, namely the sound of fife, drums, or bugle, as the noise from those instruments angers Runners and makes them target whoever is playing the sounds, ignoring everyone else in their path.
• Viral Runners: Viral Runners are those who succumbed to the Blight not even half an hour ago. Viral Runners are even more dangerous because they are yet to rot, meaning that killing them will be much harder. Some Viral Runners also seem to retain some knowledge from their lives prior to succumbing to the Blight.
• Zappers: The Zapper — also known as the Sapper Zombie — is a slow, close-range Blighted, focusing on inflicting heavy amounts of damage with its axe while also breaking barricades much more effectively. As suggested by the name, Zappers are always infected Sappers and always carry their axe with them. Zappers are also quite stronger in terms of absorbing damage, but they are much slower than Shamblers. Zappers can be identified by their uniforms, gray skin, and orange eyes.
• Viral Zappers: Like Viral Runners, Viral Zappers are the very recently infected Sappers. Viral Zappers are much quicker in their movements, making them extremely dangerous.
• Bombers: Bombers are deceased logisticians that have been resurrected by the Blight. Due to Rigor mortis, their muscles remain locked in place carrying their torch and barrel, although it is unknown how they drop their torch after igniting their barrel — or how they have come to be carrying these barrels and torches in the first place. Bombers do not infect the humans that they encounter; instead, they try to blow the living up by lighting up the barrel with their torch and trying to move as close to their target as possible before exploding. Bombers are identified by the barrel and lit torch that they are carrying.
• Igniters: Igniters are deceased lamplighters who have been corrupted by the Blight. Igniters are badly burnt Blighted who carry an oil lamp, which they throw at any living person that they encounter. After throwing the lamp, the Igniter behaves like a Shambler, except for his immunity to fire. Igniters are identified by their glowing lamp and scorched appearance.
• Zuirassier: The Cuirassier Zombie — also known as the Cuirassier or Zuirassier — is an armored, close-range Zombie specializing in adapting their attack moves with its Heavy Sabre while sporting the garments of a random Nation's Cuirassier. Zuirassiers are infected cavalry units, having a metal helmet and a cuirass, as well as having a cavalry sword. Zuirassiers seem to be more conscious and tactical about their methods of attack, as Zuirassiers use their heavy sabers to swing or thrust. When in close range, Zuirassiers tend to fence with their opponent; they can also bow their head to protect their faces. If Zuirassier is at a distance, it will howl and raise their sword before charging forward with their sword stretched forward. Zuirassiers are physically stronger, like Zappers, and can easily puncture any unfortunate human if they charge at them, leaving their victim crawling on the ground and bleeding out.

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