I am working on the next stage of
Hearkenwold in the IceBlink 2 engine. Picking up where the last chapter left off, a new outdoor area opens featuring a river running across the map. Of course, if there is going to be a river crossing, there ought to be an opportunity for a bridge fight.
This is a neat encounter that has the party start out on one of the wooden bridges suspended over the water, engaged with two melee fighters, while on the parallel bridge there are archers and a spell caster. The first time I tested this battle, the party's 5th level Ranger who now gets two attacks per round ran out of arrows. But in the shared inventory, I found I was still holding onto a crossbow and bolts from earlier in the campaign. He armed himself with that to finish the combat.
I also came up with a new method to sort of replicate the "Who Tries" event from FRUA, with regard to handling a treasure chest. This combines the party chat system, using conditionals to identify each character by class, with the <Full Name> token that is inserted into the dialogue option. So as the player tabs through each party member, they have the option to select the character who will trigger the action.
Now I need to go back and adjust some previous conversations attached to chests. This approach can be used as well for opening doors, or all manner of adventuring tasks where you would select a specific party member. It can be keyed to stats instead of class, if that is more appropriate, or other defining conditionals.
Finally, I am constructing a fortress location where the characters will eventually visit. In contrast to the castle at the start of the adventure, the objective of this area comprised of multiple maps is to include numerous hostile encounters while not necessarily making this an enemy stronghold.
In fact, the party does have business with the Duke who rules this fortress. But it is a dangerous place to explore.
