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Pity the poor player. Having spent many hours preparing for their character, searching for a costume, researching their role and then parting with their hard earned cash, they shortly find themselves lying lifeless on the floor, the victim of one of the many nasties The Dark Door likes to conjure up. The kill rate on Dark Door games is somewhat legendary with most player characters having the life expectancy of a May Fly. It is not all doom and gloom though, no, some player characters do go on to live relatively long lives. To prove it is possible The Dark Door pays tribute to the three (count them) brave fellow who have survived three games. Cpl Ernest "Corky" Copperthwaite
The first character to have the audacity to
survive three games was Corky Copperthwaite. He first appeared in
Mr Dudley Disappears as the retainer of Captain Poolcroft, legendary
flying ace of The Great War. Having served under Captain Poolcroft during the
war as his mechanic and Bat Man, Corky remained in Poolcroft's service
accompanying him on his many post-war adventures. Corky was a man of humble
means having grown up in the slums of After scraping through the
terror that was Mr Dudley Disappears he went on to appear in The Monks Trod and
then The Feast of St Valentine - to the amazement of many who had never before
seen a character survive two games, let alone three. It was in the later that
his employer was killed and so Corky retired from his battle with The Great Old
Ones and currently keeps bees in Note: In The Memoirs of Martin Levine, rumour had it that Corky was amongst the signatories in the mysterious book held by Mr Takrayn. Most likely to say; "The benefits of Royal Jelly cannot be praised enough, I can also offer you a selection of genuine bees wax candles" Least Likely to say; "My unswerving sense of honour and duty means I follow my superiors orders without question"
Detective Spencer, bearing a passing resemblance to 1970's children's TV favourite Mr Ben, put in his first appearance on The Hindhead Covenant. Having arrived to investigate the murder of Richard Underwood, this earnest and practical minded officer of the law had stumbled upon somewhat more than he could possibly have bargained for. His subsequent reports to his superiors led not to a quiet desk job until retirement, as one might perhaps have expected, but instead led them to set up a special department within Scotland Yard to investigate crimes with a less than natural cause. It was on this basis that Spencer was assigned to investigate the mysterious goings on at the Beaverbrook estate in The Legacy Of Nannerth Ganol, a tale of blackmail and treachery which very nearly saw the end of him. It was during this game that he was to first meet Daniel Rotherstone whom he was to start a friendship with, a partnership which some might suggest somewhat compromised his role as a member of His Majesties constabulary! A fateful flight to Most Likely to say; "Now let us first consider the facts" Least Likely to say; "I'm sure if you were to see me right, we could soon forget this matter ever happened, if you get my drift"
Daniel Rutherstone
Daniel Rutherstone, collector of rare books and Freemason, put in his first appearance at The Legacy of Nannerth Ganol where he was to meet with Detective Sergeant Spencer. Rutherstone was to show himself to be a man of somewhat dubious morality - using the unfortunate Josephine Farrau as a human shield when confronted by a demon is just one example - along with his self seeking approach and tendency to hoard spells and rituals to the detriment of other players. Nonetheless it was an approach that worked for him and was to see him, and Detective Spencer, as the only survivors of this game. Delving deeper into the Eldritch arts revealed to him in The Legacy of Nannerth Ganol, Rutherstone briefly acquired himself an apprentice in the shape of Miss Tamarind Walton who accompanied him in The Faithful, his vanity no doubt fuelling a desire to find an heir for his legacy. Miss Walton however was not as fortunate as Rutherstone and perished, while her master lived to fight another day. Rutherstone's last appearance to date was in Blackwater. As usual he continued to taunt the referee with his knowledge and power, fuelled by his ever growing collection of spells and rituals, ("Don't worry about translating that ritual, I'm sure I already have a spell that will do the trick..."), though such knowledge comes at a price and he was rapidly losing his grip on his sanity. Nonetheless he went on to defeat the odds and survive his third game. We are reassured that he now intends to retire. Most likely to say; "Let me have a look at that mysterious manuscript briefly, I'll give it straight back, honest" "It is clear that if we are to defeat this evil, then we are going to have to selflessly sacrifice our own lives for the sake of mankind"
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