Sovereign Syndicate is an upcoming Victorian steampunk RPG inspired by Shadowrun
Sovereign Syndicate is an upcoming Victorian steampunk RPG inspired by Shadowrun
Game News - posted by Infinitron on Fri 16 July 2021, 22:37:29
Tags: Crimson Herring Studios; Sovereign SyndicateAs readers of this website will know, the past several years have seen a flood of new isometric RPGs, with the most successful ones inspiring imitators as part of the ongoing renaissance of the genre. The latest such game to come to our attention is Sovereign Syndicate, a Victorian steampunk/fantasy RPG inspired by Harebrained Schemes' Shadowrun games as well as Disco Elysium and other isometric roleplaying titles. Its creator is one Isaac Otway, a former HR administrator/project manager from Edmonton who decided to start a new career in game development and founded a studio called Crimson Herring Studios to fulfill that dream. The game is set in a seedy open world London inhabited by minotaurs, automatons and other creatures. It features an improve-by-use skill system and a tarot card-based skill check mechanic. Sovereign Syndicate has been in development since last April, but as is often the case we found out about it when LESS T_T spotted its Steam page yesterday. Here's its teaser trailer and description:
Explore an open world in this Victorian steampunk cRPG. Choose from three playable characters with branching stories that intertwine. Investigate, interact, and take action to leave your mark on the world and its inhabitants. No random stat points here, use your skills to level them up, and trust your fate to our tarot card chance system.
So, how will you solve your problems? Combat, persuasion, magic, explosives? The choice is yours and all your cards are on the table; but be careful, the docklands aren’t for the faint of heart.
Tarot Card Chance System – Leave your dice at home as you interact with a variety of characters. NPC’s react to your gender, race, appearance, and choice of dialogue, so you’d better look and act the part if you want the “right” results. But not everything is certain, luck plays a role and it’s all in the cards with our tarot card chance system.
Skill and Etiquette System - The skills you use will improve your ability, while ignoring others will cause them to stagnate. Master the skills you choose and learn more about the world and its inhabitants to unlock special dialogue and skill-check options.
So go, see, do! And don’t be afraid to try the unconventional. Drown yourself in gin? Sure, provided you’ve got the constitution for it. Smoke that opium? Certainly, but be careful not to doze off— it might not be safe here. Put it all on black? You only live once, as they say. Even in failure you learn something…
A Rich Open World to Explore - A steampunk fantasy-inspired Victorian London awaits; filled with interesting characters and locations. Explore the back alleys, opium dens, brothels, and more at your peril, or relax and enjoy their simple pleasures. Investigate, interact, and take action to forge your own path.
Three Characters, Three Different Stories – Play as one of three characters with stories that intertwine through the city’s docklands and unfold based on your choices.
Additional details about Sovereign Syndicate are available on its official website, including two interesting devlogs from earlier this year in which Isaac reveals that he actually initially wanted to license the Shadowrun engine and intellectual property from Harebrained Schemes. His story is rather inspiring, so let's hope it works out.
Explore an open world in this Victorian steampunk cRPG. Choose from three playable characters with branching stories that intertwine. Investigate, interact, and take action to leave your mark on the world and its inhabitants. No random stat points here, use your skills to level them up, and trust your fate to our tarot card chance system.
So, how will you solve your problems? Combat, persuasion, magic, explosives? The choice is yours and all your cards are on the table; but be careful, the docklands aren’t for the faint of heart.
Tarot Card Chance System – Leave your dice at home as you interact with a variety of characters. NPC’s react to your gender, race, appearance, and choice of dialogue, so you’d better look and act the part if you want the “right” results. But not everything is certain, luck plays a role and it’s all in the cards with our tarot card chance system.
Skill and Etiquette System - The skills you use will improve your ability, while ignoring others will cause them to stagnate. Master the skills you choose and learn more about the world and its inhabitants to unlock special dialogue and skill-check options.
So go, see, do! And don’t be afraid to try the unconventional. Drown yourself in gin? Sure, provided you’ve got the constitution for it. Smoke that opium? Certainly, but be careful not to doze off— it might not be safe here. Put it all on black? You only live once, as they say. Even in failure you learn something…
A Rich Open World to Explore - A steampunk fantasy-inspired Victorian London awaits; filled with interesting characters and locations. Explore the back alleys, opium dens, brothels, and more at your peril, or relax and enjoy their simple pleasures. Investigate, interact, and take action to forge your own path.
Three Characters, Three Different Stories – Play as one of three characters with stories that intertwine through the city’s docklands and unfold based on your choices.
- Atticus Daley, an orphaned minotaur magician crawling out of the bottom of a bottle to find a sense of belonging, and his next fix.
- Clara Reed, a corsair with a checkered past, and a cunning woman with a rebellious streak. Follow her on a search for vengeance, and the courtesan killer.
- Otto, the trusty automaton and companion of engineer Theodore Redgrave. More than just the sum of his parts, Otto wants more to life than servitude and utility.
Additional details about Sovereign Syndicate are available on its official website, including two interesting devlogs from earlier this year in which Isaac reveals that he actually initially wanted to license the Shadowrun engine and intellectual property from Harebrained Schemes. His story is rather inspiring, so let's hope it works out.