The Harbinger's Head

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The Harbinger's Head
Developer(s)	Kim Berkley
Publisher(s)	Choice of Games
Director(s)
Producer(s)
Designer(s)
Programmer(s)
Artist(s)
Writer(s)
Composer(s)
Series
Engine	ChoiceScript
Platform(s)	PC, Android, iOS
Release	2018
Genre(s)	Interactive fiction, adventure, fantasy, horror
Mode(s)	Single player
Cabinet
Arcade system
CPU
Sound
Display

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The Harbinger’s Head is a 2018 multiple-choice interactive fiction game written and developed by Kim Berkley and published by Choice of Games. The game is heavily influenced by Irish folklore and fairy tales, as well as the short story “The Legend of Sleepy Hollow” by Washington Irving.

Set in a fictional 19th-century Irish town, the narrative of the game centers around the theft of a dullahan’s head and the player character’s quest to prove their innocence (and thereby avoid an untimely demise). Through research, investigation, and the interrogation of local human and nonhuman residents, the player must discover the identity of the true thief and recover the missing head, or face the wrath of the dullahan.

Plot

The story begins with a fateful encounter in the woods one October night in 1820. The player character crosses paths with an enraged dullahan who appears to be missing his head. Through a vision, the player discovers that the dullahan has been the victim of a theft. In order to keep their own head from rolling, the player convinces the dullahan to let them prove their innocence by assisting him on his quest for vengeance. The dullahan agrees, but with one condition—if the player fails, they will pay for it with their life. (Spoiler warning—skip the rest of this section if you don't want to be spoiled!)

The next morning, the player character visits their grandmother’s house to search their grandfather’s generous collection of fairy tale research for clues. After some digging, the player discovers a few notes on the nature and possible origins of a dullahan, as well as its weakness—gold. However, there are no stories of anyone managing to steal from a dullahan and living to tell the tale. While walking home that night, the player is attacked by a highwayman, only to be saved by the dullahan.

The following day, the player heads to the Howling Hound, a local tavern. There, the player may choose to interact with the innkeeper, a group of smugglers, or a clurichaun in the cellar. Through various communications, the player learns that the smugglers’ ship, The Expedient, recently receiving an unsettling visit from a strange customer—a woman they suspect is a witch.

With no other leads to follow, the player heads to the docks to speak to the ship’s captain. Depending on the player’s choices, Captain McDowell may be more or less forthcoming—but, provided the player survives the encounter, they learn that the witch who visited the ship came to make a very particular purchase, asking specifically for a golden dagger. The captain describes her, but does not know where she lives or where she went once she left his ship.

After parting ways with the captain, the player encounters three fear dearg, or Red Men, disguised as beggars huddled around a hunk of meat roasting on a spit. The player can either bargain with the Red Men for their help in finding the witch, or refuse their help and try to find the witch without it.

The following night, the player heads into the forest to hunt down the witch, accompanied by the dullahan. If a deal was struck with the Red Men, they will appear as well, leading the player directly to the witch’s abode. If not, the journey takes much longer. One way or another, the player and the dullahan eventually locate a hidden trapdoor leading to the witch’s underground sanctum.

Once inside, the pair come face-to-face with the witch herself, along with a strange wolf. The witch, a woman named Maire Morgan, reveals that, long ago, her twin sister Sorcha was mortally wounded, and upon her death the dullahan came to steal away her soul. For years, Sorcha’s spirit remained trapped in a sort of limbo between life and death, unable to move on. Maire offers a deal to the dullahan—she will return his head only if he escorts her sister’s soul to somewhere she can find eternal peace. If not, Maire will kill the dullahan by piercing his head with the golden dagger she purchased from the smugglers.

Which characters walk out of the witch’s sanctum alive depends entirely upon the player’s choices. Should the player survive the showdown, they will experience one of 8 unique epilogues.

Development & Release

The Harbinger’s Head was written and developed by Kim Berkley using the ChoiceScript programming language. Initial development took approximately two years. The Harbinger's Head was published by Choice of Games as a Hosted Game on July 19, 2018.

External links

• Landing page on Kim Berkley’s official site
• Choice of Games official Hosted Game page
• Choice of Games development forum thread

References

This article "The Harbinger's Head" is from Wikipedia. The list of its authors can be seen in its historical and/or the page Edithistory:The Harbinger's Head. Articles copied from Draft Namespace on Wikipedia could be seen on the Draft Namespace of Wikipedia and not main one.

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