KickStarter Knights of the Chalice 2 Thread - Augury of Chaos

[Darth Canoli]

The point of both the Monk and the Pal is how resilient they become as they level (and the Pal shares a good bit of that with the whole team, if you stay close which can lead to a big change in overall tactics). For the Pal that makes the game more like Dungeon of Nahulabeuk where getting knocked out/dying is relatively commonplace and can be used strategically with the Pal bringing them back to life:

I'm not saying the monk is bad but I don't know which specialty he picked, probably not the one I would have.
A monk is either good for those who like to grapple or those who like monks in general but it's not first run material if it's not your fetish.

As for Asharazelle, she's too expensive, magic diamond wise and the protection she offers is quite limited and counter productive during the fights which matters.
What you want, usually, is spread your back-line to have as less as possible targets for enemies AoE.
Having some better saving throws (it's just reflex, I think) just to give the AI more targets for stinking cloud, cloudkill or anything else really beats the purpose of the Paladin.

The Paladin is just not that good, except if you have a specific plan for him.

 

[Desiderius]

Having some better saving throws (it's just reflex, I think)

My recollection is that it's (a lot) more than just some better Reflex. Move action Protection, Mass etc. Can double buff team to shrug off AoEs (while Curing/Reviving the unlucky) and make enemy come to you. Changes the way you (can) play. Monk is kind of the opposite with high Saves/Speed/Resistance/AC it can both move farther and survive better than the alternatives, then with the new True Seeing can Grapple/Stun the most dangerous target while drawing attention away from team (and even shrugging off your own AoEs targeted at his area). They're both about opening up different strategic options.

 

[ItsChon]

Can anyone compare Hearkenworld to AoC? Which is better and why? What are some strengths and weaknesses of both?

 

[ItsChon]

Is there a way to banish Xadriphar without the tome of the dead?

 

[Dorateen]

Can anyone compare Hearkenworld to AoC? Which is better and why? What are some strengths and weaknesses of both?

Hearkenwold is more of an open world exploration focused adventure. Very much inspired by the SSI Gold Box games.

 

[Torus]

It feels like every time I try to play this game I get stopped by a new bug. First the bee combat in the starting town never stopped(repeatably) so I skipped that quest. Now the green goblin king is still in the initiative queue at -16 hp with no visible enemies. Can't skip that...

 

[Darth Canoli]

It feels like every time I try to play this game I get stopped by a new bug. First the bee combat in the starting town never stopped(repeatably) so I skipped that quest. Now the green goblin king is still in the initiative queue at -16 hp with no visible enemies. Can't skip that...

It's because the game is constantly updated and also because of people not reporting new bugs...
Once the updates stop, all the bugs will get crushed, just like for KotC 1.

 

[Torus]

because of people not reporting new bugs...

*cough* Yeah...

Thanks for shaming me into doing more than just complaining! At least he's pretty fast with the bugfixes once you actually contact him.

 

[Dorateen]

Version 1.50 of Knights of the Chalice 2 dropped yesterday, with the usual round of bug fixes and tweaks to the engine. I thought the following might be of interest to some people:

KotC 2 and KotC 1 will be available at a discount in a matter of days on both Steam and GOG, so please keep your eyes peeled

 

[JarlFrank]

It feels like every time I try to play this game I get stopped by a new bug. First the bee combat in the starting town never stopped(repeatably) so I skipped that quest. Now the green goblin king is still in the initiative queue at -16 hp with no visible enemies. Can't skip that...

I had that one before or something similar at least. Pierre managed to fix it back then. Looks like it might have a similar reason.

 

[KainenMorden]

Roughly how many hours would it take to get through Augury of Chaos? Obviously I understand it will vary based on play style and how effective your party is, etc. I'm just curious how much content is there, I know other modules will be released some time in the near future.

I'm going to buy the game either way.

 

[Desiderius]

I replayed the first 7 levels or so several times to learn the game. A ton of different options to test. If you factor that in there’s as much time as you want to spend.

 

[KainenMorden]

Sure, I can see that, just curious on what an "average" playthrough would be like time wise.

I'm sure I will have to replay quite a bit.

Also just a general question to all here, has anyone tried a 4 man party? Even a 2 man?

So, Pierre was on Matt chat awhile back and when Matt was playing an early battle in KotC 2, Pierre mentioned even a 2 man can get through the game.

I am crazy enough to attempt it at some point after I learn the game but it doesn't seem feasible from what I've read on it.

Also I've read that Pierre was shown playing through the game but was getting repeatedly wiped out at a certain battle? Is this true?

Then the roots thing with Pierre, wtf is that about? How did such a thing come up? Did Pierre just come out and say he's some type of weird vegan?

 

[Jermu]

So, Pierre was on Matt chat awhile back and when Matt was playing an early battle in KotC 2, Pierre mentioned even a 2 man can get through the game.

Party of 2 should be able to do this but which difficulty settings is the question mark. I would probably try with psionicist + fighter or monk

Also I've read that Pierre was shown playing through the game but was getting repeatedly wiped out at a certain battle? Is this true?

Not sure about this but based on his youtube videos I have hard time imagining him beating some of the archmage fights

 

[KainenMorden]

How is the normal difficulty now? I have read things that say the game was originally unfairly difficult and not the fun kind of unfair, the kind where it was just impossible to get through.

Also, why does it seem like many people that are so passionate about crpgs(designers, reviewers, codexers, etc) actually suck at them?

 

[Darth Canoli]

How is the normal difficulty now? I have read things that say the game was originally unfairly difficult and not the fun kind of unfair, the kind where it was just impossible to get through.

Also, why does it seem like many people that are so passionate about crpgs(designers, reviewers, codexers, etc) actually suck at them?

The Archmage mode still exist, if you want the vanilla experience, just do that and skip the village content, which didn't exist then and makes chapters 1 & 2 too easy.

It was never impossible to beat but bug and a way slower engine made the game more "difficult" to get through.

Don't get me wrong, it's hard and multiple skill checks have been added to make the game a little bit easier (you don't have to pick them).
Mostly, the difficulty comes from your lack of D&D spells and feats knowledge (or you don't want to take the time to check spells, skills and enemies), then, your lack of weapons enchantments knowledge as some enchantments makes fighters and other martial characters powerhouses.
Last but not least, different encounters call for different tactics and spells, which is unusual, the average D&D player spams fireballs and that's it. He switches to whatever better nuke he gets later.

Having a Death Knight and/or a bard makes your mages perform better, the DK is better though as the bard is barely useful in chapter 4 and not so much in the toughest chapter 3 encounters.

As for the Augury of Chaos playtime, maybe around 100 hours on archmage on a first playthrough, could be way faster (40-50H?) on a replay and/or a lower difficulty.

 

[KainenMorden]

Ok thanks, I appreciate you taking the time to respond.

Yes, I would say half the difficulty of any dnd crpg is understanding the rules/systems and yes you can rely on very similar tactics and your only variation in tactics is using different defensive spells or doing different types of elemental damage depending on enemy strengths/weaknesses, etc in many dnd games.

What is your recommended 6 man party for a beginner to try? What about a 4 man? or do you think a 4 man would be stupid/pointless?

 

[Darth Canoli]

What is your recommended 6 man party for a beginner to try? What about a 4 man? or do you think a 4 man would be stupid/pointless?

It's not different elemental damage here (it helps but it's just the tip of the iceberg) but different disabling spells or strategies, there's a shitload of spells and you can't learn them all.
On the bright side, you can change your last 2 spells pick so you can't learn them all but you can USE them all.

Fighter, Death Knight, Wizard, Psionicist, Bishop with life, curing and flux domains so you healing spells gets maximized for free, only take a move action and can be cast as ranged spells.
Eventually rejuvenation so heal is a lvl 5 spell if you don't know what else to pick (but it's not necessary and there's a lot of great domains)
Also reach, mysticism and magic domains do wonders.

Go wild with the last one, it's your experimental one, you can afford this, otherwise, just pick a earth druid focused on Wisdom + good constitution, you'll thank me later (better quicksand and earthquake spells)

 

[KainenMorden]

Thanks! And yes, I'm very interested in the different tactics needed to overcome the battles. There's even a tactical use of dying in battles/resurrection which I've never had to even think about in another dnd game.

 

[KainenMorden]

Wow huge sale today!

Save about 10 bucks on Kotc 2 archmage edition!

No but seriously, I don't mind supporting Pierre at all, I think what he's doing is great.

 

[Acrux]

If he goes any lower, he's back to eating roots. Are you going to force Pierre down to that level again?

 

[KainenMorden]

That's his choice. He does it for his health and he doesn't feel he's depriving himself of anything.

Both of my parents are immigrants born in Europe, I admit with great shame and embarrassment, I was forced to eat roots as a child like a European peasant. Atleast there was lemon and a bit of seasoning added to them, I wonder if Pierre even does that.

The fact that he chooses to subject himself to this is just proof he's a mad genius.

In all seriousness, I will buy the game from his site at full price, I will also contact him and offer to spend another 20 Euros if he agrees to eat a hamburger.

He's a very intelligent man that has been completely mislead but no one is perfect.

 

[Desiderius]

 

[KainenMorden]

One other thing, what races do you prefer for that party?

 

[Infinitron]

https://www.kickstarter.com/project...-revolutionise-old-school-crpgs/posts/3618579

Update #64: KotC 2 Version 1.50 Adds New Features + New Dungeon Images!​

Hello everyone! I witch you a Happy Halloween! On this spooky occasion, KotC 2 and KotC 1 are now available at a discount on Steam and GOG. Please spread the word to your friends and on social networks, dear Paladins and Champions of the Realm!

Feel free to retweet my tweet to your heart's content, or share my Facebook post. Thank you!! The GOG sale starts on 27 October. The Steam sale will end in a few days, so be careful.

The latest version of KotC 2 is version 1.50. It can be downloaded here for both Windows and macOS.

In the past month, I've been focusing on bug fixes and the implementation of new features, including the display of spell icons during level-up, the local map screen with custom notes, new options for average Hit Point bonuses on level-up, and the accelerated Script Editor.

New isometric dungeon map for the upcoming KotC 2 modules.
I've also completed a big update of the Praise webpage for KotC 2 and a small update of the Praise webpage for KotC 1. Now, let's review the changes in KotC 2 version 1.50, 1.49 and 1.48.

List of changes in KotC 2 Version 1.50​

• Added the optional display of Spell Icons during character creation and character level-up. You can switch this on and off directly from these screens, as well as from the Game Options screen.
• Added the Local Map Screen, accessible by pressing Control + M or by selecting Local Map in the top-left menu. If the current map has a text description, it will be displayed in the tooltip when mousing over the local map. Otherwise, the tooltip will provide information about the use of left click / right click / delete key / escape key. You can add text notes to your local map simply by right clicking anywhere on the map. Text notes can have three parts: a dot, headline and body. The dot and headline are printed directly on the map while the body is displayed in a tooltip when you mouse over the headline or dot. For the headline, you can select the font size, colour, and position relative to the dot. If you right click on a note to edit it, and then clear both the headline and body fields, then the note will be deleted. Text notes are saved through the map-update script. Module creators can also add / edit / remove local-map notes through scripts. For this purpose, I have created a new script command labelled 'Set local map note'. For example, in Augury of Chaos, when you learn the location of the Mysterious Cave, a note will now be added automatically to your local map of Finchbury, indicating the position of the cave. That's taken care of in the script named 'Finchbury_Elia_Dialogue_Script_1.mls'. You can specify notes that cannot be edited or removed by the player. Please note: if the headline of a note would exceed any of the boundaries of the map (due to the position or size of the headline) then it won't be displayed; only the dot will be displayed.

The new Local Map Screen of KotC 2.

• Added two new options concerning your bonus Hit Points on level-up. The two new options are 'Alternating Average Of Single Roll HP Bonus On Level-Up' and 'Alternating Average Of Best Of Two Rolls On Level-Up'. For example, if your character is a Wizard, your Hit Die is 6, and the average HP bonus from your Hit Die is 3.5, so with the option 'Alternating Average Of Single Roll HP Bonus On Level-Up', each level-up will grant your character either 3 or 4 additional Hit Points. With the option 'Alternating Average Of Best Of Two Rolls On Level-Up', each level-up will grant your character either 4 or 5 additional Hit Points, because the average HP bonus from the best of two d6 rolls is 4.53. See the HeroicFantasyGames.com webpage about Hit Points. You will receive an extra Hit Point on any given level-up only if the fractional part of your level-up rolls exceeds 1 on this level-up. Please note: if you're aiming to collect the Steam and GOG achievements that can be obtained when playing on the Archmage Difficulty mode, you should not use any of these settings of average HP on level-up.

KotC 2 Game Options Screen, Difficulty tab, options for Hit Points on level-ups.

• Corrected the description of the spell Prismatic Wall. It is a Medium-range spell, not a Close-range spell. Also added two missing feats (Improved Phasing Weapon and Improved Coup De Grace Weapon) in the help entry for the Swashbuckler feats.
• Fixed a bug granting high-level Monks and other characters a base attack bonus above 20 when wearing a Belt of Battle Skill. Actually, the highest BAB you can get is 20 with high-BAB characters and 15 with medium-BAB characters.
• Fixed incorrect remaining spell slots and psionic power points on a number of creatures in both Augury of Chaos and the Tutorial Adventure. The Lich Xadriphar and some Troll Sorcerers were among these creatures.
• Fixed a bug allowing a character with the feat Greater Grapple to perform infinite Grapple attacks after ending a full-attack action.
• The effect of the feat Melee Focus will now appear out of combat in the Character Sheet. Previously, it would be displayed only during combat.
• Fixed a bug with the Monk feat Shattermantle Strike. Also created a help entry for the Shattermantle Condition and improved the help entries for Spell Resistance and Spell Resistance Condition.
• Fixed a bug where reach weapons not held in the primary hand (thanks to the feat Oversized Two Weapon Fighting) would not add the Attack action to the combat-actions menu when there are enemies not adjacent but within reach.
• Fixed a bug introduced in version 1.49 resulting in certain enemy combatants (Giant Bees and the King of the Green Goblins) appearing immediately even though they should be appearing in later combat rounds, and creating a never-ending battle.

KotC 2 Spell Icon display during level-up and character creation.

• In the dialogue with Hallian in Augury of Chaos, added a note before starting the night-time quests saying that if you want to help the villager named Halric, you should do so before starting the night-time quests. This note will only be displayed if Halric is currently visible on the map.
• Fixed a bug in the Script Editor when deleting the last line of a script.
• Inside the Inn of the Golden Griffon, when talking with Gawen, Jagernaut, Jorad, or Xantrix, you'll now be able to display a Hint about the item that you can present to these characters.

List of changes in KotC 2 Version 1.49​

• Fixed a crash that would occur when you let Maphistor join the party in Augury of Chaos, then you talk to him and select the dialogue option allowing you to fight him.
• Fixed a crash that would occur when mousing over the name of a companion in the top-right corner of the screen and pressing the A shortcut key to open the Activate Special menu.
• Fixed a bug allowing creatures to cast Dispel Magic while Silenced. Explanation: Sometimes the AI needs to see what happens if it moves to another position, without actually moving there. At that time, it could lose the Silenced condition. After the check, the AI will now recover the actual terrain conditions.
• Fixed a bug allowing your Monk to perform more Stunning Fist attacks than your maximum number of uses. Likewise, fixed a bug allowing your Gladiator to perform more Blinding Strike attacks than your maximum number of uses. Likewise, fixed a bug allowing your Cleric / Bishop / Death Knight / Paladin to perform more Smite attacks than your maximum number of uses.

New isometric dungeon map for the upcoming KotC 2 modules.

• Fixed a bug where your character would end his or her turn after taking a five-foot step even though you have remaining attacks and you can perform them against targets within reach, using a reach weapon.
• Fixed a bug with the 'Activate Special' menu displaying incorrect quantities for potions and scrolls contained within the character's bags and other containers.
• Fixed a bug during combat that could result in one of your non-flying characters getting stuck on a square of high or low altitude. For example, on top of one of the towers in Chapter 4 of Augury of Chaos.
• Fixed a bug with the saved-game preview image not being recorded in Ironman Mode when leaving a game by selecting Quit to Main Menu or Quit to Desktop.
• Fixed the incorrect preview image when saving a game in full-screen mode for some computers using Intel graphics.
• Fixed the display of magic effect animations (e.g. Sleeping, Fascinated, etc) on Prone characters and Goblins when displaying creatures using high-resolution animated sprites.
• Added new code to accelerate the Script Editor particularly when there are many scripts in the module you're working on, or many lines of code in the script you're working on. You should see a massive improvement in speed. An example of a module with a lot of scripts is Dorateen's Hearkenwold. Currently, it has more than 2,700 scripts. The largest script in Hearkenwold contains more than 7,850 lines of code.
• Also added a check box in the Script Editor allowing you to hide the script-line tooltips, as those can be a bit slow to display, or they may be unhelpful when you just want to see the code lines.

The new Local Map Screen of KotC 2.

List of changes in KotC 2 Version 1.48​

• The list of party members in the top-right corner of the screen will now adjust the font size of the character names when they don't fit in the box space using the initial font size.
• Added some code to accelerate gameplay in combat.
• Fixed a bug with auto-cast spells and psionic powers incorrectly getting activated when loading a game.
• Fixed a source of crashes that would occur after changing the name of a party member.
• Fixed a source of crashes when using Dispel Magic (Single Effect) or Greater Dispel Magic (Single Effect).
• Fixed a source of crashes when certain casters are running out of spells.
• Fixed a source of crashes when summoning creatures like the Tentacled Horror. That was due to the game sometimes creating new items (like a new magic scroll) to give to the newly-created creatures, and some code was missing to handle the effect of that change on the memory.
• Fixed a bug with summoned creatures and the Creature Wizard which was due to the mislabelling of 'Major Fire Ring' (and other energy-protection rings) as 'Medium Fire Ring' in the code.
• Fixed a bug with the game not allowing the player to manifest certain psionic powers (such as Energy Absorption) using the base Power Point expense.
• Fixed a bug with the game not allowing a Monk to perform his or her additional Flurry attacks after defeating one or two enemies.
• Fixed the token of the Fire Elemental summoned by the spell Summon Gargantuan Elemental (Fire).
• Fixed a display issue with the spells Babau Slime and Barkskin when cast by enemies.

KotC 2 Spell Icon display during level-up and character creation.

• The Psychic Warrior feat Superior Psychometabolism will now improve the power Evade Burst from Move Action to Free Action.
• In the Effects & Conditions tab of the Character Sheet, improved the display of 'Oversized Weapon Penalties'.
• The game will no longer offer the 'Rapid Shot' option when your character is Slowed or acting during a Surprise Round.
• Corrected the help entry for the feat Greater Control and Dominate (added the missing feat prerequisite). Also added a link to the feat Improved Firefly Familiar near the description of the Firefly familiar in the help entry for Wizard Familiars.
• Sleeping arrows will now make the target Prone (not just Sleeping) if the target isn't already Prone.
• Receiving a sleep effect from spells such as Sleep and Deep Slumber will apply the condition Prone only if you're not already prone.

Next Steps for Knights of the Chalice 2​

Recently, I've been working with Juhani on the design of the new spells that I'm going to add to the game pretty soon. Thank you Juhani!! I expect that the new Druid spells will include the following: Crocodile Bite, Greater Crocodile Bite, Scorpion Stinger, Greater Scorpion Stinger, Constrictor Arms, Creeping Doom, Nymph's Beauty, and Fungal Parasite.

I expect the other new spells to be the following: Wail of the Banshee, Mass Hideous Laughter, Mass Hideous Laughter (Rogue), Fly, Mass Fly, Fly Psionic, Lesser Malison (Wizard), Lesser Malison (Cleric), and Resilient Grease (Rogue). I will describe all of the new spells once they're in the game.

Aside from that, the next development steps are the following:

• Work on planned features: the iconised combat actions menu, custom spell effect sounds, a new option to display the monster injury status rather than Hit Points, a new option to distribute only 80% of Combat Experience Point awards, new subraces, new familiars, new items & new sound effects.
• Hire a graphic designer to create new sprites, new maps and other types of artwork.
• Work on the three upcoming adventure modules. Create the new world map & new dungeon maps.
• Reply to posts on the Steam Forum, GOG Forum and the website Forums, and fix any remaining bugs and issues in the game mentioned by the players on the forums or by email.

As always, if you find bugs or if you have any feedback, thoughts and suggestions, please feel free to let me know here, or in the Forums, or by email at enquiries@heroicfantasygames.com.

Thank You So Much For Your Support, Wise Mages and Fearless Knights! Best regards