KickStarter Serpent in the Staglands Pre-Release Thread

[agris]

Joe said that the vertical slice is being released to a few of us either today or tomorrow.

 

[Cyberarmy]

This game is going to have whips it seems.

http://serpentinthestaglands.com/gameplay/weapons.php

Goddamn WHIPS man!!!!!!
WHIPS!!!!!!

Edit: Also lost nearly 10 minutes trying to spell races, probably going to lose more while arguing on their pronunciations...

 

[felipepepe]

-10 creativity points for any character named Belmont.






But +50 badass points.

 

[Sam Ecorners]

-10 creativity points for any character named Belmont.

They're from Chicago, it's obviously a reference to the Belmont Transfer

 

[Hobo Elf]

A favored weapon of sorcerer and monster slayers for their magical properties and usually augmented leathers that aid in these kinds of hunts, whips are valuable and desirable weapons you'll find in specialty shops, and unlikely a town's blacksmith.

 

[Cyberarmy]

-10 creativity points for any character named Belmont.

They're from Chicago, it's obviously a reference to the Belmont Transfer

You need to play more Castlevania games...

 

[Sam Ecorners]

-10 creativity points for any character named Belmont.

They're from Chicago, it's obviously a reference to the Belmont Transfer

You need to play more Castlevania games...

 

[Ninjerk]

-10 creativity points for any character named Belmont.

They're from Chicago, it's obviously a reference to the Belmont Transfer

You need to play more Castlevania games...

 

[Sam Ecorners]

-10 creativity points for any character named Belmont.

They're from Chicago, it's obviously a reference to the Belmont Transfer

You need to play more Castlevania games...

You have a problem with Ryouta?

 

[tuluse]

-10 creativity points for any character named Belmont.

They also have exploding elixirs you throw at your enemies feet.

 

[Luka-boy]

I'm a little bit disappointed that there won't be any spears or pikes since it seems to me like the kind of setting where they would fit right in and people would like keeping monsters at bay, but holy crap, whips? Whips are so rare in this kind of game that I can easily look the other way regarding the absence of polearms.

 

[Doctor Sbaitso]

Now we just need some spiked chains.

 

[Whalenought_Joe]

I'm a little bit disappointed that there won't be any spears or pikes since it seems to me like the kind of setting where they would fit right in and people would like keeping monsters at bay, but holy crap, whips? Whips are so rare in this kind of game that I can easily look the other way regarding the absence of polearms.

This is a good point, and wasn't an easy choice. In any even pseudo-realistic fantasy world, swords would be absolutely trash for adventurers. Every successful adventurer should look like an optimized Roman legionnaire, and would steamroll close-ranged fighters with pike and shield. We entertained the idea of supporting that concept, for optimal simulation for iron age adventuring. However we thought the repercussions for the other world building happening (inclusion of high-fantasy whips, elixers, sorcery) would be somewhat compromised. Instead we decided on the thematic fantasy flair and implemented those other exotic weaponry and spells in the most down-to-earth way possible for the world.

This type of world-building was part of the reason why we don't have any elemental/fireball dispenser wizards. Any rare elemental damage or corrosive/poision damage is completely unblockable, and if polearms were a choice they *should* be your only good choice.

 

[Stokowski]

... swords would be absolutely trash for adventurers. Every successful adventurer should look like an optimized Roman legionnaire, and would steamroll close-ranged fighters with pike and shield.

I don't get this.

Weren't pikes strengths as anti-cavalry / crowd-control / massed ranks vs massed ranks weapons?

In a 1-on-1 combat, once an opponent gets inside the reach of the pike, the pikeman is in big trouble. He could try and reset his grip along the shaft but that risks getting the weapon knocked away by any half-competent opponent. Unless (Roman legionnaire) he changes to a short sword at that point. Except ... swords are trash. Huh?

 

[Ninjerk]

... swords would be absolutely trash for adventurers. Every successful adventurer should look like an optimized Roman legionnaire, and would steamroll close-ranged fighters with pike and shield.

I don't get this.

Weren't pikes strengths as anti-cavalry / crowd-control / massed ranks vs massed ranks weapons?

In a 1-on-1 combat, once an opponent gets inside the reach of the pike, the pikeman is in big trouble. He could try and reset his grip along the shaft but that risks getting the weapon knocked away by any half-competent opponent. Unless (Roman legionnaire) he changes to a short sword at that point. Except ... swords are trash. Huh?

if

 

[Stokowski]

In a 1-on-1, inevitable.

 

[Ninjerk]

I guess if you're stabbed you're "inside the reach of the pike."

 

[Krraloth]

Here, for all your sperging needs on the matter http://www.swordforum.com/forums/showthread.php?15697-Sword-vs-Polearm
http://hemaalliance.com/discussion/viewtopic.php?f=3&t=3063

P.S game looks tasty, a pity I missed the kickstarter.

EDIT: one moar link

 

[Whalenought_Joe]

I don't get this.

Weren't pikes strengths as anti-cavalry / crowd-control / massed ranks vs massed ranks weapons?

In a 1-on-1 combat, once an opponent gets inside the reach of the pike, the pikeman is in big trouble. He could try and reset his grip along the shaft but that risks getting the weapon knocked away by any half-competent opponent. Unless (Roman legionnaire) he changes to a short sword at that point. Except ... swords are trash. Huh?

As you say, they make for serviceable side arms, but I assume one would want to minimize having to throw themselves at their opponent point-blank to have to stab them to death as much as possible if they didn't have some kind of real-world health bloat. The Gauls certainly learned that the hard way.

Here, for all your sperging needs on the matter http://www.swordforum.com/forums/showthread.php?15697-Sword-vs-Polearm
http://hemaalliance.com/discussion/viewtopic.php?f=3&t=3063

P.S game looks tasty, a pity I missed the kickstarter.

EDIT: one moar link

Awesome links, thanks! Good info.

 

[Stokowski]

The Gauls certainly learned that the hard way.

This example is vs. massed ranks (already covered), not the 1-on-1(~few) type of engagement that your adventurer is typically embroiled in, so ...

::: at this point I am reminded that the forum has no head-scratch smiley :::

... why would swords "be absolutely trash for adventurers"?

Fake edit: oh, here's the confused smiley --

 

[Krraloth]

Mr Talhoffer says hi http://www.thearma.org/pdf/Fight-Earnestly.pdf
Then there's Ringeck http://www.thearma.org/Manuals/Ringeck.htm#.VC4xLhanJUo
That's on the polearms in the 1400-1600. The thing is depending on which historical period you draw inspiration from you have dfferent weapons.

The history of weapons and their uses is directly tied to how people defended against said weapons.
As a rule of thumb Ranged>Melee so if you have to go melee swords are about the least useful of the weapons. Sicne the game is about a fantasy world where there is armor, swords are trash because their effectiveness is gimped by the amount of armor that the enemy is wearing. A weapon with reach can transfer a lot more force and that helps because even if you can't cut metal you can sure break bones if the blow is hard enough.
Swords become more useful once the crossbows become predominant in warfare cause they can pierce metal plates with ease, so people went for mobility. That made swords a bit more useful but then again, why forsake the versatility of a polearm?
Most units carried swords as a sidearm anyway.

 

[Sensuki]

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1649838104/serpent-in-the-staglands/posts/1008596

New update

Beta October 11th !

Unfortunately I'm only at the $15 tier, might have to remedy that.

 

[DefJam101]

Pikes kick the shit out of swords in a group setting but y'all are trippin' if you think pike or pike/shield is preferable to sword/shield in a dueling situation. That's part of the reason they were used as sidearms.

Only exception is when people are wearing full plate since at that point the pike dude can just swing away.

 

[jdinatale]

How come nobody has posted any first impressions yet? I thought this was the hip and trendy game that everyone was on its nuts.

 

[Sensuki]

I am at work, I will play more when I get home.