KickStarter Knights of the Chalice 2 Thread - Augury of Chaos

[Rpguy]

https://www.heroicfantasygames.com/ has been suspended?

Looks like it's back up, very weird...

Some info on the site regarding the ( lack of ) world map and random encounters in the first module:

Why don't we have random encounters in the vanilla game (world map)? I will really miss this feature. Traveling around the world will feel like....you are travelling on a dead land.

KotC 2 can't be all things to all people. As the developer, I constantly have to make a choice about what's important and what's not. You can have encounters on the world map, even random ones, but they have to be scripted. Did you like the random encounters in Temple of Elemental Evil?

Speaking about the world map....Pierre, could you show us some pictures / video about world map exploration? Or theres no world map in the first module?

If there is no world map in the first module (which would be really weird), can we create world maps in the toolset?

There's no world-map travel in KotC 2 Augury of Chaos. But yes, we can create world maps with the editor and there will be a regional map in KotC 2 The Dark Arena. Cheers!

Well I like random encounters, that is all.

I know, I know.

will it be hard to script random encounters?

No it's not hard and I will describe the process for you now:

Okay, say that the regional map consists of a village (your home base) and a deep cave filled with monsters. Whenever you want to go to the cave, you have to go through a forest that has already claimed the lives of many adventurers.

So we'll say that there's a 60% chance of a random encounter in the forest. The first thing that your script will need to do is to roll a d100 and set the result in a variable that we will call 'Roll to determine if there is an encounter'.

Next we need to create the actual encounters. Say we want to have six possible encounters in the forest: a group of five orcs and a troll, a group of seven human cutthroats, a single hill giant, a group of three ghouls, a pack of five wolves, and if you're really unlucky, two hill giants and a bear.

So you start with the forest map background and you place the monsters of the first encounter in it. You set them to act as a group. Then you tell the editor to hide that group. Now you place the monsters of the second encounter. And so on, until you've placed all six encounters.

There are six possible encounters, so the second thing that your script will need is to roll a d6 and record the result in a variable that we will call 'Number of the selected encounter'.

After creating these two variables, your script will look if the 'Roll to determine if there is an encounter' is below 60. If yes, there's an encounter. If not, the script ends and the party can keep moving through the forest.

If there's an encounter, then you have a series of six checks, one for each possible value of the 'Number of the selected encounter' variable.

If the variable is one, you teleport the party to the forest map, you set the monster group of five orcs and a troll as visible, and you display a dialogue 'The party is facing a group of savage orcs led by a Troll!'. That's it for this check.

If the variable is two, you teleport the party to the forest map, you set the monster group of human cutthroats as visible, and you display a dialogue 'The party is under attack by a group of human cutthroats!'. And so on.

You also have to decide whether these encounters respawn or if they are a one-time affair only. If they respawn, you have to tell the script to heal the monster group before unveiling it.

If they don't respawn, then the script needs one more variable called 'Have all the random encounters been defeated'. The script ends if this variable has been set to 1 (true). If not, the script needs to check if the selected monster group has been defeated before. If that's the case you increment the 'Number of the selected encounter' and check again, until the script finds a monster group that has not yet been defeated.

we can create world maps then. How will it work? We must use a .png image for it or? What can we do in the toolset with regard to world maps? Placing site locations and stuff?

Yes, you need a JPG or PNG image for a regional map or world map. Yup, you can place important sites on the map. Thank you!!

 

[mindx2]

Just noticed this ...
This is one of the most annoying thing about Baldur's Gate, way behind the RTwP system but still.

BlueSalamander

If party banter has to be implemented, why not checking how Wizardry 8 does it ?

• Baldur's Gate having a character throw his line every time you select him, make him move or act is really annoying.
• Wizardry 8, on the other hand have them speak when they kill, get a status effect and when it ends, when they're ready to level up, get to a new area (NPC even give some information about it) so they mostly convey some information and limit the annoying repetitions.

Also

• Wizardry 8 : (funny surprised voice) Look! A creature ?
• Wizardry 8 : (germanic female accent) Is a beast here ?

I actually like that look. Better than the tokens.

 

[Mortmal]

Just noticed this ...
This is one of the most annoying thing about Baldur's Gate, way behind the RTwP system but still.

BlueSalamander

If party banter has to be implemented, why not checking how Wizardry 8 does it ?

• Baldur's Gate having a character throw his line every time you select him, make him move or act is really annoying.
• Wizardry 8, on the other hand have them speak when they kill, get a status effect and when it ends, when they're ready to level up, get to a new area (NPC even give some information about it) so they mostly convey some information and limit the annoying repetitions.

Also

• Wizardry 8 : (funny surprised voice) Look! A creature ?
• Wizardry 8 : (germanic female accent) Is a beast here ?

I actually like that look. Better than the tokens.

It was not necessary, just better art on the token(and character backgrounds) would be enough, but the game has indeed more charm with those sprites.

 

[Dorateen]

"We'll do" should probably be "Will do", if it is the phrase in response to giving a character a command.

Unless he meant it as a contraction of "We will do". That seems a bit off.

 

[Grunker]

Just noticed this ...
This is one of the most annoying thing about Baldur's Gate, way behind the RTwP system but still.

BlueSalamander

If party banter has to be implemented, why not checking how Wizardry 8 does it ?

• Baldur's Gate having a character throw his line every time you select him, make him move or act is really annoying.
• Wizardry 8, on the other hand have them speak when they kill, get a status effect and when it ends, when they're ready to level up, get to a new area (NPC even give some information about it) so they mostly convey some information and limit the annoying repetitions.

Also

• Wizardry 8 : (funny surprised voice) Look! A creature ?
• Wizardry 8 : (germanic female accent) Is a beast here ?

I actually like that look. Better than the tokens.

I like the tokens much better but you can't deny them sprites got charm

 

[Infinitron]

https://www.kickstarter.com/project...-revolutionise-old-school-crpgs/posts/2852343

Update #11: A Closer Look at the Spell Weaver Character Class!

The Spell Weaver Character Class in KotC 2

Spell Weavers are Wizards who have decided to specialise in the Art of Transforming arcane magic spells in order to increase their usefulness and effectiveness greatly.

They can cast any metamagic version of any spell in their spellbook at no extra cost. They pay a price in return for this flexibility, as Spell Weavers lose access to the highest-level spells of Wizards.

D6 Hit Die. No armour or shield proficiency. Starts with simple-weapons proficiency only. Spell Weavers can be of any alignment. Class Skill [Arcana].

Familiar: At level 1, Spell Weavers select a familiar. Each familiar provides a different benefit:

• Toad: You gain a +3 bonus to Hit Points.
• Cat: You gain a +2 bonus to Reflex saves.
• Owl: You gain a +2 bonus to Willpower saves.
• Lizard: You gain a +2 bonus to Fortitude saves.
• Snake: You gain a +2 bonus to Concentration checks.
• Spider: You gain a +1 bonus to Spell Resistance.
• Firefly: You gain a +1 bonus to Chromatic Orb damage.
• Raven: You gain a +2 bonus to Initiative checks.

Celestial Body Attunement: At level 1, Spell Weavers may choose to be attuned to a celestial body if they wish. Each body provides a bonus and a penalty, as described below. Spell Weavers who have selected an attunement later gain access to a Transformation option as described in the webpage about the Five Moons of Mindrel. Aside from the Transformation option, attuned Spell Weavers do not gain the specialisation options that Wizards obtain from their attunement.

• Nocturnis, the Black Moon: You gain a +1 bonus to the DC of Necromancy spells and a -1 penalty to the DC of Conjuration spells.
• Phoenix, the Red Moon: You gain a +1 bonus to the DC of Evocation spells and a -1 penalty to the DC of Alteration spells.
• Solann, the White Moon: You gain a +1 bonus to the DC of Conjuration spells and a -1 penalty to the DC of Necromancy spells.
• Juron, the Green Moon: You gain a +1 bonus to the DC of Alteration spells and a -1 penalty to the DC of Enchantment spells.
• Meril, the Blue Moon: You gain a +1 bonus to the DC of Enchantment spells and a -1 penalty to the DC of Evocation spells.

Spells: The Spell Weaver draws most of his spells from the spell list of the Wizard. He also has access to a number of spells originating from the Druid’s list. Charisma and Intelligence are important to the Spell Weaver. The Charisma modifier determines the number of bonus spell slots and the number of spells known at level 1. The Intelligence modifier determines the Difficulty Class of Spell Weaver spells. A Spell Weaver can activate Arcane Spell Scrolls of any spell in the lists of the Rogue, Wizard and Spell Weaver.

When a Spell Weaver wears armour or uses a shield, he suffers from a chance to fail the casting of spells with a somatic component. Spell picks at level 1: 3 + Charisma modifier. Spell picks at all other levels: 2. A Spell Weaver can cast somatic spells while holding a light shield, but not a heavy shield or tower shield. Spell Weavers can also cast somatic spells while wielding a two-handed weapon or several weapons at the same time, because switching a weapon from one hand to the other is a free action. A character cannot have more than one summoned creature at a time.

Spell Weavers can cast the following spells originating from the Druid’s list:

• Magic Stone (level 1)
• Quicksand (level 2)
• Turn Pebble to Boulder (level 3)
• Flame Strike (level 4)
• Insect Plague (level 5)
• Sirocco (level 6)
• Greater Ice Storm (level 7)

Free Metamagic: At level 1, Spell Weavers gain all of the Metamagic feats (Empower, Maximise, Widen, Still, Silent) for free. They can cast any Metamagic version of any spell at no extra cost.

Spoiler

Spell Weaver Feats
Unlimited Spells: Your spells Burning Hands, Shocking Grasp, Scorch, Ice Blast, Fireball, Electric Sphere, Lightning Bolt, Vampiric Ray, Flame Arrow, Cone of Cold, Greater Shocking Grasp and Freezing Spheredeal two additional points of damage and their limit on the number of damage dice is removed.

Arcane Transmutation: You can convert wizard spells with an energy qualifier, like Fireball and Cone of Cold, into a different energy type upon casting. You have access to the standard energy types (Fire, Cold and Electricity) plus Acid if you have the feat Energy Conversion. Thus, you could cast Fireball and have it deal acid damage. Or you could cast Cone of Cold and have it deal electricity damage. Any secondary effects from the spells are unchanged, only the main damage type is converted.

List of affected spells: Burning Hands, Shocking Grasp, Ray of Frost, Flaming Sphere, Scorching Ray, Scorch, Ice Blast, Fireball, Electric Sphere, Lightning Bolt, Flame Arrow, Ice Lance, Ice Storm, Cone of Cold, Greater Shocking Grasp, Chain Lightning, Freezing Sphere, Greater Scorching Ray, Power Fireball, Discharge, Polar Ray, Meteor Shower.

Spell Weaver Improved Range: All close-range spells become medium-range spells. All medium-range spells become long-range spells for you.

Spell Weaver Improved Reach: All touch spells become close-range spells for you. If a melee touch attack was required, it becomes a ranged-touch attack.

Spell Focus: The DC of all spells with a saving throw increases by 1.

Greater Spell Focus: The DC of all spells with a saving throw increases by another 1. Requires: Spell Focus.

Other News About the KotC 2 Kickstarter Campaign
Shane, the owner of the ShanePlays channel on Youtube (https://www.youtube.com/c/ShanePlaysRBX), has agreed to do a written interview about KotC 2. I will post an update with the interview’s text once Shane has released it. Thank you Shane!!

Extended Time Goal
We all want those extra sprites, so let’s give ourselves a bit more time to reach the Time-Based Goal!

The target amount remains the same but I am extending the time limit by five days, to a total of 10 days from the campaign's start. This means we have until 5 June to reach the goal.

We’re not far away from the target! I know we can do it!! So Let's Keep Spreading the Word!

Social Goals Report and Links
Loyal Knights, let’s all participate in the Social Goals Challenge!

It’s easy and it may well give a further boost to the campaign for Knights of the Chalice 2!

Please simply follow the links below and click Like / Subscribe / Share. You can also Retweet me on Twitter. Every little helps!!

• Like us on Facebook!
• Follow us on Twitter!
• Subscribe to our Youtube Channel!
• Follow us on Instagram!
• Share on Facebook the KotC 2 Features page and Screenshots page!
• Share on Facebook the KotC 1 Features page and Screenshots page!

The Facebook goal may be the easiest to reach, as every person can click five times: once to Like the page and four more times for the four web pages that you can recommend.

Youtube, Twitter and Instagram goals should also be very easy to achieve. A single click on the Subscribe or Follow button of each of these channels is all it takes.

If you would like some text and images to further promote the campaign, please feel free to download the updated promo pack at http://www.heroicfantasygames.com/FWE/Documents/KotC_2_KS_promo.rar

In the end, our glorious effort will result in an even better cRPG series!! I’m counting on every soul!! Thank you very much! ^^

French Translation of the KotC 2 Game Design Updates
The website www.rpgjeuxvideo.com has translated several KotC 2 design updates into French:

• Update on special combat situations: http://www.rpgjeuxvideo.com/big-new...tuations-particulieres-des-combats-a187926358
• Update on my RPG design philosophy: http://www.rpgjeuxvideo.com/traduct...ma-philosophie-de-la-conception-d--a187890242
• Update on non-linear RPG design: http://www.rpgjeuxvideo.com/traduct...lice-2-les-aventures-non-lineaires-a187927052

If you would like to promote the campaign in French language, please feel free to download the updated promo pack at http://www.heroicfantasygames.com/FWE/Documents/KotC_2_KS_promo.rar

Next Update About Knights of the Chalice 2
The next update about the game will be published on 2 June. It will present a few adventure maps.

Thank You, Brave Heroes!! Let's Reach Some More Goals! ^^

 

[Rpguy]

 

[Tigranes]

Just noticed this ...
This is one of the most annoying thing about Baldur's Gate, way behind the RTwP system but still.

BlueSalamander

If party banter has to be implemented, why not checking how Wizardry 8 does it ?

• Baldur's Gate having a character throw his line every time you select him, make him move or act is really annoying.
• Wizardry 8, on the other hand have them speak when they kill, get a status effect and when it ends, when they're ready to level up, get to a new area (NPC even give some information about it) so they mostly convey some information and limit the annoying repetitions.

Also

• Wizardry 8 : (funny surprised voice) Look! A creature ?
• Wizardry 8 : (germanic female accent) Is a beast here ?

You can... turn it off

 

[Darth Canoli]

You can... turn it off

What if i like party banter when it's well done (like in wizardry 8) and i find it boring when the repetitions like this completely spoil the good lines like in Baldur's Gate where Xar, for example, can be extremely fun but the selecting / go there lines are really annoying and i'm not even talking about the "you must gather your party before venturing forth" voiced shit.

 

[Casual Hero]

It looks like we are starting to plateau around $30k

 

[JarlFrank]

It looks like we are starting to plateau around $30k

Kickstarter campaigns tend to plateau after the first week, then have an upward spike in the last few days.

 

[Tigranes]

You can... turn it off

What if i like party banter when it's well done (like in wizardry 8) and i find it boring when the repetitions like this completely spoil the good lines like in Baldur's Gate where Xar, for example, can be extremely fun but the selecting / go there lines are really annoying and i'm not even talking about the "you must gather your party before venturing forth" voiced shit.

Are you a console gamer or something that does not know how to press the options button

 

[santino27]

Backed.

 

[Thac0]

I wasnt even all that into KOTC 1 but your unbound optimism in this thread managed to infect me. The worst thing about the first game was definitly that there were only 4 classes, and that complaint is to be null and void for game 2. Backed aswell.

 

[Dorateen]

The worst thing about the first game was definitly that there were only 4 classes

There were only 3 classes, so you should be even more happy.

 

[Thac0]

The worst thing about the first game was definitly that there were only 4 classes

There were only 3 classes, so you should be even more happy.

Seems like I embellished that in my memory, I wrongly remembered my high dex archer fighter as a rogue. 7 times the classes, 7 times the fun I hope.

 

[Ontopoly]

The worst thing about the first game was definitly that there were only 4 classes

There were only 3 classes, so you should be even more happy.

How many classes do you even need? Everything else is just an iteration of the base 3 anyways. Barbarian is just a light armored low intelligence fighter. Sorcerer is just a cute wizard. Thieves are just weak quick Warriors. Rangers are just scuffed fighters with some druid stuff and the Druid they borrow from are just hippy clerics/ wizards

 

[Ontopoly]

If we wanted to, we could just have 2 classes. Fighters and Druids since Druids can heal and cast some mage like spells.

 

[Thac0]

How many classes do you even need? Everything else is just an iteration of the base 3 anyways. Barbarian is just a light armored low intelligence fighter. Sorcerer is just a cute wizard. Thieves are just weak quick Warriors. Rangers are just scuffed fighters with some druid stuff and the Druid they borrow from are just hippy clerics/ wizards

If we wanted to, we could just have 2 classes. Fighters and Druids since Druids can heal and cast some mage like spells.

I, Todd Howard of "Keep it simple gaming", want to offer you a job as a designer for our new grand open world rpg. There will be 2 classes, magic and no magic. Also there will only be 1 weapon, since all weapons are just iterations of hitting a dude with a piece of metal. Sounds like your thing?

 

[Horvatii]

The worst thing about the first game was definitly that there were only 4 classes

The worst poart about the frist game was that at big city you realize that your KKCW party is shit and you should have went KCWW

 

[Darth Canoli]

The worst poart about the frist game was that at big city you realize that your KKCW party is shit and you should have went KCWW

The worst parts of KotC :

• It ends ...
• Of course, the lack of classes/races comes second
• Not enough side-quests

Looks like everything got fixed with KotC 2.

 

[BlueSalamander]

Regarding the Reddit AMA, we'll do it simultaneously on r/Games, r/DnD and r/Pathfinder_Kingmaker.
And for Discord, I've just created a server, the permanent invite link is https://discord.gg/NzPhMWm. [Edited to fix the link]

You're gonna get a nice short story about a foot fetish sorceress into the game now

Super awesome!! Thank you! I look forward to adding the story to the game.

@BlueSalamander please allow the party to attack degenerate backer NPCs.

Ahaha, okay!

Like the idea of party splitting, being able to run simultaneous sub-groups and switching back and forth between the two. Haven't done that since Realms of Arkania.

I think it can create really interesting tactical challenges.

So... which extra feats are we getting from the stretch goal?

There will be an update about that a bit later on.

@BlueSalamander if you are looking for a 2d artist please look at Battle Brothers. The art is fantastic... Maybe he is available?

Thank you. It's Paul Taaks. I've just had a look at Battle Brothers and Paul's artwork, looks really nice. His page is https://www.deviantart.com/taaks/gallery. I'll contact him and also see who else may be available and interested on DeviantArt. Then I will seek some feedback, maybe we will have a vote.

How easy would it be for you to implement a system where we could have our own music? For example, if the game's music files were stored in a directory somewhere then we could replace them with our own.

Thank you Yosharian. Yes, all of the game's OGG music files are stored in a folder called Music. You can swap them or add new ones. You can load the adventure in the editor and set each adventure map to use your own OGG music files.

It increases the already inherent risk of the developer going bankrupt before finishing the game by a lot.

I have no debt so I can't go bankrupt.

I backed for the basic direct download tier for a single reason - no GoG key at this point.

Thank you Iluvcheezcake! If you pledge at Paladin level, you can choose between a Steam key or a GOG key.

Speaking of custom music and stuff , any chance for remixes of KOTC 1 tunes? Favorites are the Knights Tower and the combat track.

A remix of some of the KotC 1 tunes is likely to happen at some point I think.

Now, correct me if I'm wrong, but 'ὁμός' transliterates as 'homos'. Is Pierre calling us faggots for focusing on puzzles instead of fights?

:D I just knew someone would say something like this, ahaha!!

@BlueSalamander will there be cestas or other knuckle weapons?

Yes, there are Spiked Gauntlets that can be enchanted.

If not, how do you intend unarmed PCs to remain viable across the trilogy?

The Monk's unarmed damage increases as he goes up in level. I think the other classes are better off using weapons.

Amulet of mighty fists isn't part of any copyright. It's under OGL as far as I'm aware.

Yes. KotC 2 has Amulets of Mighty Fists. The +5 Amulet increases both your natural-weapon attack rolls and natural-weapon damage rolls by 5 points.

https://www.heroicfantasygames.com/ has been suspended?

My apologies! I've been sending out thousands of emails to promote the campaign and my host didn't like that. So they sent me a warning. I contacted them and they told me 'okay no problem'. And then later on, right after I went to sleep they decided to suspend the site because of the email count. Anyway, I don't think it will happen again.

Well, since we didn't reach the timed goal in time I sure hope the game is going to support custom token art.

Yes, the game does support custom token art. We've got some more time for the timed goal.

Baldur's Gate having a character throw his line every time you select him, make him move or act is really annoying.

In the options, you can set the 'Voice Effects Frequency' from 0% to 100%.

Wizardry 8, on the other hand have them speak when they kill, get a status effect and when it ends, when they're ready to level up, get to a new area (NPC even give some information about it) so they mostly convey some information and limit the annoying repetitions.

Yup. I really enjoyed Wizardry 8. In KotC 2, the party leader may also speak when a fight begins or when it ends, or during dialogues and puzzle-solving. I agree, I think it's really nice to have characters speak when they're ready to level up or when a new area is discovered. We'll see what we can do about this.

"We'll do" should probably be "Will do", if it is the phrase in response to giving a character a command.

Oh, yeah. I will correct this. It's 'Will do'. Thank you!

What if i like party banter when it's well done (like in wizardry 8) and i find it boring when the repetitions like this completely spoil the good lines like in Baldur's Gate where Xar, for example, can be extremely fun but the selecting / go there lines are really annoying and i'm not even talking about the "you must gather your party before venturing forth" voiced shit.

Then I think I will add an option to turn off the 'walk there' acknowledgements only.

Thank you everyone! Incline is close at hand! Keep spreading the word, Brave Heroes of the Land!

 

[Ontopoly]

How many classes do you even need? Everything else is just an iteration of the base 3 anyways. Barbarian is just a light armored low intelligence fighter. Sorcerer is just a cute wizard. Thieves are just weak quick Warriors. Rangers are just scuffed fighters with some druid stuff and the Druid they borrow from are just hippy clerics/ wizards

If we wanted to, we could just have 2 classes. Fighters and Druids since Druids can heal and cast some mage like spells.

I, Todd Howard of "Keep it simple gaming", want to offer you a job as a designer for our new grand open world rpg. There will be 2 classes, magic and no magic. Also there will only be 1 weapon, since all weapons are just iterations of hitting a dude with a piece of metal. Sounds like your thing?

Absolutely. Can I also be one of the writers? I have no previous work experience, I've never even written anything (except for my blog coming out soon, stay tuned) but I heard you guys just get some rando from another development area to do the writing anyways.

 

[Darth Canoli]

If you keep on granting everyone's wishes, you'll get a cRPG Genie title ...

Absolutely. Can I also be one of the writers? I have no previous work experience, I've never even written anything (except for my blog coming out soon, stay tuned) but I heard you guys just get some rando from another development area to do the writing anyways.

If it was up to me, i'd hire you as lead writer & designer for Pillars of Mediocrity 3, it can't get any worse anyway ...

 

[Thac0]

How many classes do you even need? Everything else is just an iteration of the base 3 anyways. Barbarian is just a light armored low intelligence fighter. Sorcerer is just a cute wizard. Thieves are just weak quick Warriors. Rangers are just scuffed fighters with some druid stuff and the Druid they borrow from are just hippy clerics/ wizards

If we wanted to, we could just have 2 classes. Fighters and Druids since Druids can heal and cast some mage like spells.

I, Todd Howard of "Keep it simple gaming", want to offer you a job as a designer for our new grand open world rpg. There will be 2 classes, magic and no magic. Also there will only be 1 weapon, since all weapons are just iterations of hitting a dude with a piece of metal. Sounds like your thing?

Absolutely. Can I also be one of the writers? I have no previous work experience, I've never even written anything (except for my blog coming out soon, stay tuned) but I heard you guys just get some rando from another development area to do the writing anyways.

We are just gonna put you on a randomly generated amount of psilocybin, lsd and dmt and lock you into a room with all the other writers, where we play an audio recording of the C0DA nonstop. Whoever survives gets to write Elder Scrolls VI. I hope this work schedule fits for you.