Harris


 * For information about Eric Harris, the Columbine shooting participant who made Doom levels, see Columbine High School massacre.

Harris is a character that appears in the first level of Strife, both in the Shareware and in the Registered versions. Depending on the version of the game, his role in the game slightly differs.

Shareware version
In the Shareware version/levels, Harris appears where Rowan normally appears in the Registered version. When the player speaks to Harris, he is told of an Offering Chalice in the Order's Sanctuary, and offers great riches if it is retrieved. If the offer is accepted (rejecting causes a flood of Acolytes to appear and kill the player), the player is told to meet him at the Tavern. When in the Sanctuary near the back entrance, the prison cell nearby (where Beldin is held in the registered version) holds someone who claims Harris took advantage of him, and got him into trouble on false accusations. Returning with the Chalice to the Tavern, the alarm inside will go off, so the player will confront Harris. Harris claims he was not trying to set the player up, and continues to offer riches. Upon agreeing, the player is given the key to Governor Mourel's mansion, which is a dead end, the Governor summoning Acolytes to kill the player for stealing the chalice. Rejecting Harris' offer here gives the chance to reveal a hidden button, leading to a stash of items, including a Front comlink, allowing the player to hear Blackbird for the first time.

Registered version
In the Registered version, Harris is an optional quest. Basically the job is the same, to get the Offering Chalice. However, regardless of how the player chooses to handle Harris after confronting him later, if Governor Mourel's task for the Prison Pass is not accomplished, the player becomes stuck, since the Governor will still know of the theft of the chalice, resulting in death by flood of Acolytes. It is still possible to wait until getting the prison pass to take Harris's mission. Killing him in the registered version allows a similar hidden button to appear, leading to a stash of poison bolts, gold, and various other goodies.

There is one easy way to get Harris' little treasure early in the game, without making the Governor a dead-end character. Simply talk to him, accept his task, but don't do it. Instead kill him in a stealthy manner and the switch will appear, and of course, don't pick up the chalice. This only works in the Registered version of the game.

The Original Strife: Veteran Edition version
His purpose and role match the previous versions. Except that his quest will no longer leads to a Dead End and can now allow you to complete the game as if nothing bad happened. The key difference is when you go to the Governor, you will be knocked out (instead of killed) and placed into a interrogation room / jail, where you may escape again and continue on with the story like nothing ever happened.