Putting the 'role' back in role-playing games since 2002.
Donate to Codex
Good Old Games
  • Welcome to rpgcodex.net, a site dedicated to discussing computer based role-playing games in a free and open fashion. We're less strict than other forums, but please refer to the rules.

    "This message is awaiting moderator approval": All new users must pass through our moderation queue before they will be able to post normally. Until your account has "passed" your posts will only be visible to yourself (and moderators) until they are approved. Give us a week to get around to approving / deleting / ignoring your mundane opinion on crap before hassling us about it. Once you have passed the moderation period (think of it as a test), you will be able to post normally, just like all the other retards.

Game News Esoteric Ebb is a 5E ruleset Disco-like where you play as a cleric unraveling a political conspiracy

Infinitron

I post news
Staff Member
Joined
Jan 28, 2011
Messages
97,228
Codex Year of the Donut Serpent in the Staglands Dead State Divinity: Original Sin Project: Eternity Torment: Tides of Numenera Wasteland 2 Shadorwun: Hong Kong Divinity: Original Sin 2 A Beautifully Desolate Campaign Pillars of Eternity 2: Deadfire Pathfinder: Kingmaker Pathfinder: Wrath I'm very into cock and ball torture I helped put crap in Monomyth
Tags: Esoteric Ebb

A number of RPGs to be announced in recent years have been inspired by the success of Disco Elysium, but Esoteric Ebb is probably the first one to explicitly describe itself as a "Disco-like". Set in a Sigil-esque "post-arcanapunk" fantasy metropolis, Esoteric Ebb puts you in the role of a municipal cleric tasked with investigating a terrorist attack on the eve of the city's first election. Interestingly, the game uses an adaptation of the 5th Edition OGL ruleset, with dialogue checks based on the standard D&D attributes and some sort of implementation of divine spellcasting. Developed by Swedish fellow named Christoffer Bodegård, who has been working on it as a side project since 2019, the game appeared on Steam in August and today it received its first proper trailer.



Esoteric Ebb is a 5e isometric Disco-like CRPG in which you unravel a political conspiracy in a unique post-arcanapunk fantasy setting. Inspired by classics like Planescape Torment & Baldur's Gate, it features colorful and really weird characters you get to interact with through deep and branching dialogs.

The City of Norvik is holding its first ever election. The tension on the streets is sizzling, and somebody just blew up a tea shop. Great. Since no one else wants to touch it with a ten-foot pole, it's up to you and your goblin companion Snell to unravel the political web of intrigue and shine a light on the secrets hidden within this ancient city. Is it a divine mission? A quest for justice? Or is your first step towards complete political dominion? Only you can decide on your personal & sacred journey as a devoted government employee.

An open-ended QUEST. The tea shop on Tolstad blew up just a week before the election, and nobody is doing anything about it - except you! Solve this mystery in any way you want by exploring the streets, towers, and dark tunnels of Norvik.

A strange fantasy setting. Based on a homebrew 5e campaign of weird fantasy, Esoteric Ebb takes place in a world where mythological creatures sell newspapers at corner shops and ideologies overtake the ramblings of dead gods.

Set-piece combat sequences. Clerics in Norvik are taught to use violence as a last resort only, although not everyone follows the mantra so strictly. When need does arise, a roll of the dice determines life or death.

Deep Cleric Customization based on the 5E ruleset. As a government employee, a helm and uniform is required of course. But no one said anything about accessories! Customize the look and abilities of your cleric as you choose how to engage the many tense encounter in Norvik.

Warp reality to your whim, with MAGIC. As an expert in arcana, your cleric can learn powerful spells during his QUEST. Heal wounds! Detect evil lurking around every corner! Speak with the dead! Speak with cats! They might even respond if you're lucky!

Unique plot mechanic, THE QUESTING TREE. A branching representation of your cleric's goals and ideas, where each node is a unique dialog to be explored and solved. Both useful to keep track of the various leads you'll follow, and also a means to change your cleric's mind... who knows, you might even unlock unique dialog options.​

I worry about the viability of these one-man Disco Elysium clones (when's the last time you heard about Clam Man 2?) and the cel shaded MS Paint look won't be for everyone, but otherwise I'd say the game is worth keeping an eye on. A few additional details about it are available on Christoffer's official website.
 

Roguey

Codex Staff
Staff Member
Sawyerite
Joined
May 29, 2010
Messages
35,653
ss_a9dd52d4890d664516b037d25cf118c21f2eb8ea.1920x1080.jpg


Similar insufferable writing style as Disco, certainly.
 

Bohrain

Liturgist
Patron
Joined
Aug 10, 2016
Messages
1,442
Location
norf
My team has the sexiest and deadliest waifus you can recruit.
I didn't like the inner voices aspect in DE, but it at least made some thematical sense there.
But doing the same thing with DnD stats? Really?
 
Unwanted

†††

Patron
Joined
Sep 21, 2015
Messages
3,544
If you purchase this game, then know you are pushing the CRPG genre in this direction... It's not for me to say if that's a good thing or not
Can't wait till 2024 when journos will be writing articles about how the genre should get rid of combat altogether.
 
Joined
Jan 14, 2018
Messages
50,754
Codex Year of the Donut

Yaksha

Novice
Joined
Jun 12, 2022
Messages
19
If you purchase this game, then know you are pushing the CRPG genre in this direction... It's not for me to say if that's a good thing or not
On one hand there is the chance of getting true successors to planescape and some stand out story driven ones, on the other hand rpg market will be filled with poe tier description.
 

As an Amazon Associate, rpgcodex.net earns from qualifying purchases.
Back
Top Bottom