Adds a little personality (and opportunity for loot) to Cradle! These scenarios will show up in Clockworks, Compounds, and other randomized levels like Wolver Dens.

~THIEVES!~

Knights and Gremlins alike have their potential for greed. Whether they robbed Spiral Knights, Strangers, or noncombatants in areas like Emberlight and Moorcroft Manor, HQ would like to ensure these thieves' actions are not tolerated.

Some thieves look like Knights; their armor can vary, but they usually wield Strikers, or Dread Venom Strikers in Tier 3. Sometimes they also have guns; the Shadowtech Alchemer line is a common choice, but they may also carry a Prismatech- or Magnus-line gun. Rarely, they'll pack two mist bombs or a Vortex bomb along with their Striker.

Other thieves look like Gremlins in ski masks, and carry both Demo bombs and Ghostmane saw blades. Sometimes one of these will be swapped for a Thwacker hammer or a Scorcher fire wand. If you're unlucky, they'll pack a shield on their back, too!

Any hit from a thief will cause a Knight to drop some of the crowns and collectables they've found in the level; you will have to catch the thief to get them back.

Usually, thieves will be in a stealth mode, much like a Chromalisk's but tougher to spot. When they see you, they'll either run away or, if there are enemies nearby, try to approach from behind you and attack. If they're hit, a special battle theme will play, their "stealth" will disappear and they'll be fully visible, and they'll be marked by a yellow exclamation mark (much like the Recon Warning). At this point, what happens varies depending on their gear:

-If they have bombs, they'll run away while laying said bombs.
-If they have a ranged weapon (gun, saw blade, or Scorch Wand), they'll fire a few shots and run.
-If they don't have either of these, they'll just run.
-If a Knight gets close, the thief will attack a few times with their sword and Dash away.

If you can chase a thief into a corner, they'll go berserk on you for a bit before running away again; if a Knight thief is cornered and has the opportunity, he'll even charge up his weapon! However, here's the catch; thieves take a little damage from floor traps! As such, they'll make every effort to avoid said traps.

Thieves have a respectable HP pool, get extra HP from stealing Vitapods, and, at 1/4 health, become highly resistant to Freeze, Shock, and Stun effects. Also, if they pick up a Health Capsule, Remedy Capsule, or Vial, they WILL try to use it when the time comes. Be wary of any vials you leave behind or you could end up chasing the thief for far longer.

Once a thief's HP is lowered to zero, they'll fall to the ground and drop any items they've stolen. Sometimes they'll drop a treasure (three Fire Crystals, a Spark of Life, or an Orb of Alchemy) and they'll always drop a Bounty (a token dependent on the Stratum they were in). If you take their sorry KO'd butt to the elevator, the elevator will award your team another Bounty for bringing them alive; however, monsters will attack you while you're carrying the KO'd thief!

What do Bounties do, exactly? Back in the Haven Arcade, there'll be a Knight that looks as much like a cop as the current armor sets can manage, standing by a large billboard covered in Wanted posters; hand in the Bounties to him to get a wide selection of Sprite foods, Materials, or just straight-up Crowns for your trouble. Alternatively, a respectable amount of total Bounties could be traded for an Order Badge, which is a golden shield-shaped badge with a silver sword on it.

They fight the law, the law totally pwns them with their uber leet skills.

~OUTPOSTS~

Let's face it. The rest of the Order has been slacking off while we do all their work. Well, now they're sending more soldiers into the Clockworks!

An Outpost can be recognized by the large stone walls, defensive structures, NPC Knights, and Mecha Turrets inside them. If you talk to a veteran Knight by a disabled Party Button, he'll tell you what's going on. See, the Outpost they built? It's about to be attacked. And you need to gather your party there, like, now. You'll also see closed rooms with Treasure Blocks.

Once you hit the Party Button, mist barriers will come up, and monsters will swarm in! In addition to the way you entered, the mobs will also spawn in tunnels that are blown in the walls. Your goal is to, of course, kill 'em all. But your side goal is to save as many NPC Knights as possible! (Mecha Turrets do not need to survive, but will help you while they're alive, so, yeah.)

Fortunately, the Knights and structures are fairly smart. Most of the Knights will have Calibur-style swords and fight like Mecha Knights, but with more emphasis on surviving. They'll dodge and block projectiles like Mecha Knights. Gunslingers with Valiances and sometimes Iron Slugs will fire from behind sandbags and use blocks as cover. Sometimes you'll luck out and a Guardian will show up; these guys normally have a Plate Shield up, but if enemies get too close, they'll swing their Sudaruska (or weaker sword depending on Tier) and knock them away. The Veteran Knight you talk to about outposts will fight with two different swords suited to kill the different types of enemies in the area, and will try to kill any enemy that gets too close to another Knight.

There are anywhere from three to TEN waves of enemies. If you can defend all the Knights, you get access to all three treasure rooms; if you defend at least half the Knights, you get two; if you defend less than half of the Knights, you get one; if all the Knights die, you get nothing. Hope your team knows what teamwork is!

RUINS

Ancient civilizations left ruins in the Clockworks that are full of traps... and treasure! If you see a sequence of large, cracked stone structures ahead, you've stumbled upon Ruins. Enter them, and you'll find multiple Treasure Blocks. But be warned. There are a variety of traps set to protect these treasures! Of course, there's the usual floor spikes and status vents, as well as spiked wheels. But there's other things, too.

Trip Wires are one-time traps that are hard to spot- a small line is all that betrays their presence. Once hit, a small *click* will warn Knights that they are about to be either hit by a swinging spiked log (Piercing damage), ripped apart by a giant saw blade, or have a large weight dropped on their head. You can dash past Trip Wires without setting them off.

Spinning Blades are moving traps that shred anything in their way for massive Normal damage. Time your run to avoid them.

Acid Jets spray a burning green acid that causes heavy Shadow and Elemental Damage. They either rotate or remain spraying in place; in the latter case, a switch will turn them off.

Land Mines are Elemental-damage explosives that act much like large Demo bombs. They are set off either by a proximity trigger or by hitting a switch. However, a bomb will also set them off early.

And then there's the Golden Trojan. Every Ruin has one, and it appears once you break enough Treasure Blocks. It will chase you through the entire level, even when you leave the ruins!

Be warned. Ruins will be cleverly designed to catch unwary players with many combinations of traps.

Hopefully these add a little personality to the clockworks- as well as a little more loot!