Game News SKALD: Against the Black Priory Released

[Crescent Hawk]

I've put 8 hours into this so far without even blinking. Even the typos are charming and almost make sense with how the dialogue unfolds. These are rough characters in a rough land, and this game isn't striving to be Planescape: Torment or Disco Elysium. The rough edges are enjoyable here

It feels like a very simple CoC module. Its refreshing.

I acknowledge that feeling, but I am kinda fearful of game length, we shall see.

You're worried it's too long, or that it's too short? If it's a 25-30 hour experience, that's an incline for me as overly long games have just too much padding IMO. I wish there were a lot more sub-40-50 hour RPGs.

The length of Age of Decadence was pretty much perfect for me of the more recent games. I find really hard to stomach playing 100+ hour games... That's a 3 to 6 months of exercise for me these days with all my other hobbies

30 Hours is nice, its true sometimes it gets too much padding, I guess its the love i have for the game. Would love for more of this with even more stuff and companion reactivity. Hope the dev makes more.

 

[Crescent Hawk]

The random items also I feel dont bother me at all, and are a nice way to build your build around by luck, I made this officer which nailed by chance like 3 willpower items right at the start of the game so now hes a walking around resisting chutlus and dagons like hes does even care.

 

[onemananadhisdroid]

The interesting thing to me is that this is actually a horror game, in a sense. Or at least the story is a lovecraftian horror story. But it is also fantasy. The last time I played anything like this was probably the Ravenloft games.

You just sold this to me.

Firstly, what you said. It's fucking insane that there hasn't been much of anything since... Bloodlines?


Secondly, sick of elves&dwarves having a chat with PipBoys and then beating the crap outta cyberpunks. Apparently, even going piratey is risky in this type... WTF.


edit: Installed already. But then it's just 500 megs. Incline.

 

[Irgsarzh]

I expected to cream my pants and I'm creaming my pants. This game is a pure love letter to OSR. Gritty, rough, and grindy dungeon crawling D&D at it's best, as it was in the times of old. Excellent story/narration and characters that drive tactical combat, which is the main mechanic of the game. Beautiful at what it's trying to do without going overboard with unnecessary details, slim, fit and to the point. The only problem I have with it is that there isn't that many points of interest to visit/explore and the maps are relatively huge so it all feels underpopulated. But what is in the game is really fucking good and all the more reason I'm hungry for more. I hope they add more side content as time goes on, I already heard that some more classes are in the works. I guess the ending is going to cause a lot of division but I loved it to be honest. You have been warned.

 

[Falksi]

Only 3 hours in, but so far I completely echo the positive sentiments above. Fuck me the atmosphere, pacing, and all round craft are all great so far.

 

[Decado]

Steam says I have 9.3 hours in. At this point I have only found one potion recipe even though I have collected boatloads of reagents/ingredients for making potions. But what I realized is that you can experiment without risk at a crafting station. If you examine each ingredient, it will tell you what potions it is used in. It appears that each potion (so far) requires at least 3 ingredients. So, if you go through your inventory to see what your reagents can be used for, you can start figuring potions out by just mixing ingredients that have the uses you're looking for (i.e. use three ingredients that say they can be used in a Tonic of Vitality to make one).

Recipes I've "deciphered" (this isn't hard) so far:

Lesser Attunement Tonic:

• Chitin
• Laughtercap
• Sorrow-Eater

Lesser Tonic of Vitality

• Hound Ear
• Legionnaire's Rest
• Cave Child

Lesser Regeneration

• Legionnaire's Rest
• Glowman
• Rotcrawler (insect)

Potion of Cure Poison

• Fellbell
• Sunmouth
• Venom Gland

Potion of Bless

• Cave Child
• Sorrow-Eater
• Tusk

Potion of Cure Disease

• Glowman
• Rat Tail
• Starspawn

 

[Decado]

Some other random stuff:

1) Hold down left shift to highlight items/interactable objects. You will miss a ton of shit if you don't do this.
2) People outlined in blue can be interacted with (are plot-related, will give a quest, are merchants, etc.).
3) Apparently stealing is broken and overpowered; you can steal the most powerful items from merchants with relatively little risk (just save before you do). I haven't done this, however, so I can't vouch for it.
4) There is a merchant named Malachi who will be present if you have the Deluxe version of the game. He sells some pretty powerful magic items, but they are not cheap. You will not meet him until the refugee camp.
5) For two-handed characters there are actually two feat trees you want to pay attention to -- the two handed tree, and then actual weapon type tree (sword, axe, hammer). In my opinion, it makes more sense to go down the two-handed tree first and get Precise Strike (good damage booster) and Second Wind (a minor self-heal that will be useful in tougher fights). Then start going down the weapon tree you want to specialize in.
6) Feats and spells that cause Stun are quite useful early on. Summons are also useful for adding a seventh party member in a pinch.
7) There are at least two opportunities to get mercenaries in your party, early on. Spend the money and take them. Having a filled out party roster makes a huge difference in your party's survivability.
8) When it comes to locked chests, you will have two options to open them -- picking the lock, or forcing it. Your ability to force locks is determined by your Athletics skill, which is also used for things like climbing rocks and jumping over pits/gaps/etc. I'd highly recommend taking athletics, since so far it seems to be used quite a bit. You will meet a thief very early on who can pick locks, but I was not impressed with her success rate and I just went around forcing chests open.
9) Setting up backstabs is difficult, but worth it when you can pull it off. The best way to do it, I've found, is to have your thief move waaaay out to the flank(s) and only start moving back in after enemies have solidly engaged with your other characters. I've seen backstabs do 50+ damage, when my two-handed warrior is doing a respectable 20. They won't work all the time and in all situations, especially in tight quarters. But they are worth using if you can get them set up.

 

[Crescent Hawk]

Some other random stuff:

1) Hold down left shift to highlight items/interactable objects. You will miss a ton of shit if you don't do this.
2) People outlined in blue can be interacted with (are plot-related, will give a quest, are merchants, etc.).
3) Apparently stealing is broken and overpowered; you can steal the most powerful items from merchants with relatively little risk (just save before you do). I haven't done this, however, so I can't vouch for it.
4) There is a merchant named Malachi who will be present if you have the Deluxe version of the game. He sells some pretty powerful magic items, but they are not cheap. You will not meet him until the refugee camp.
5) For two-handed characters there are actually two feat trees you want to pay attention to -- the two handed tree, and then actual weapon type tree (sword, axe, hammer). In my opinion, it makes more sense to go down the two-handed tree first and get Precise Strike (good damage booster) and Second Wind (a minor self-heal that will be useful in tougher fights). Then start going down the weapon tree you want to specialize in.
6) Feats and spells that cause Stun are quite useful early on. Summons are also useful for adding a seventh party member in a pinch.
7) There are at least two opportunities to get mercenaries in your party, early on. Spend the money and take them. Having a filled out party roster makes a huge difference in your party's survivability.
8) When it comes to locked chests, you will have two options to open them -- picking the lock, or forcing it. Your ability to force locks is determined by your Athletics skill, which is also used for things like climbing rocks and jumping over pits/gaps/etc. I'd highly recommend taking athletics, since so far it seems to be used quite a bit. You will meet a thief very early on who can pick locks, but I was not impressed with her success rate and I just went around forcing chests open.
9) Setting up backstabs is difficult, but worth it when you can pull it off. The best way to do it, I've found, is to have your thief move waaaay out to the flank(s) and only start moving back in after enemies have solidly engaged with your other characters. I've seen backstabs do 50+ damage, when my two-handed warrior is doing a respectable 20. They won't work all the time and in all situations, especially in tight quarters. But they are worth using if you can get them set up.

Is there any downsides from stealing from those random vendors? I see there is a hidden suspicion mechanics but its pretty easy to just grab some powerful equipment early on. I noticed this too. I am still going to RP not as an asshole but still.

 

[Mortmal]

Some other random stuff:

1) Hold down left shift to highlight items/interactable objects. You will miss a ton of shit if you don't do this.
2) People outlined in blue can be interacted with (are plot-related, will give a quest, are merchants, etc.).
3) Apparently stealing is broken and overpowered; you can steal the most powerful items from merchants with relatively little risk (just save before you do). I haven't done this, however, so I can't vouch for it.
4) There is a merchant named Malachi who will be present if you have the Deluxe version of the game. He sells some pretty powerful magic items, but they are not cheap. You will not meet him until the refugee camp.
5) For two-handed characters there are actually two feat trees you want to pay attention to -- the two handed tree, and then actual weapon type tree (sword, axe, hammer). In my opinion, it makes more sense to go down the two-handed tree first and get Precise Strike (good damage booster) and Second Wind (a minor self-heal that will be useful in tougher fights). Then start going down the weapon tree you want to specialize in.
6) Feats and spells that cause Stun are quite useful early on. Summons are also useful for adding a seventh party member in a pinch.
7) There are at least two opportunities to get mercenaries in your party, early on. Spend the money and take them. Having a filled out party roster makes a huge difference in your party's survivability.
8) When it comes to locked chests, you will have two options to open them -- picking the lock, or forcing it. Your ability to force locks is determined by your Athletics skill, which is also used for things like climbing rocks and jumping over pits/gaps/etc. I'd highly recommend taking athletics, since so far it seems to be used quite a bit. You will meet a thief very early on who can pick locks, but I was not impressed with her success rate and I just went around forcing chests open.
9) Setting up backstabs is difficult, but worth it when you can pull it off. The best way to do it, I've found, is to have your thief move waaaay out to the flank(s) and only start moving back in after enemies have solidly engaged with your other characters. I've seen backstabs do 50+ damage, when my two-handed warrior is doing a respectable 20. They won't work all the time and in all situations, especially in tight quarters. But they are worth using if you can get them set up.

Is there any downsides from stealing from those random vendors? I see there is a hidden suspicion mechanics but its pretty easy to just grab some powerful equipment early on. I noticed this too. I am still going to RP not as an asshole but still.

Unfortunately no downside, stealing is overpowered with no consequences at all.

 

[Crescent Hawk]

Well, maybe it just needs a slight nerf, it does feel pretty good if you play as a rogue.

 

[Contagium]

Steam says I have 9.3 hours in. At this point I have only found one potion recipe even though I have collected boatloads of reagents/ingredients for making potions. But what I realized is that you can experiment without risk at a crafting station. If you examine each ingredient, it will tell you what potions it is used in. It appears that each potion (so far) requires at least 3 ingredients. So, if you go through your inventory to see what your reagents can be used for, you can start figuring potions out by just mixing ingredients that have the uses you're looking for (i.e. use three ingredients that say they can be used in a Tonic of Vitality to make one).

Recipes I've "deciphered" (this isn't hard) so far:

Lesser Attunement Tonic:

• Chitin
• Laughtercap
• Sorrow-Eater

Lesser Tonic of Vitality

• Hound Ear
• Legionnaire's Rest
• Cave Child

Lesser Regeneration

• Legionnaire's Rest
• Glowman
• Rotcrawler (insect)

Potion of Cure Poison

• Fellbell
• Sunmouth
• Venom Gland

Potion of Bless

• Cave Child
• Sorrow-Eater
• Tusk

Potion of Cure Disease

• Glowman
• Rat Tail
• Starspawn

Thank you. I didn't get my cleric a cure disease spell until level 11, and those damned diseased rats near the shipwreck got to four of my five party members.

 

[Shaki]

Few hours in, so far it looks like 2024 GOTY to me

 

[Falksi]

Few hours in, so far it looks like 2024 GOTY to me

Yakuza Infinite Wealth takes that spot for me so far, but Skald is right behind it with Persona 3 Reloaded.

 

[Incognito]

Some other random stuff:


9) Setting up backstabs is difficult, but worth it when you can pull it off. The best way to do it, I've found, is to have your thief move waaaay out to the flank(s) and only start moving back in after enemies have solidly engaged with your other characters. I've seen backstabs do 50+ damage, when my two-handed warrior is doing a respectable 20. They won't work all the time and in all situations, especially in tight quarters. But they are worth using if you can get them set up.

Go down Kat's thievery tree for "Hide in Combat" and "Hidden Deployment", also put points in "Increased Backstab Damage" from the first tree. You'll land multiple 50+ shots per combat. I one-shoted a bunch of spiders in the cave.

 

[Jrpgfan]

Some other random stuff:


9) Setting up backstabs is difficult, but worth it when you can pull it off. The best way to do it, I've found, is to have your thief move waaaay out to the flank(s) and only start moving back in after enemies have solidly engaged with your other characters. I've seen backstabs do 50+ damage, when my two-handed warrior is doing a respectable 20. They won't work all the time and in all situations, especially in tight quarters. But they are worth using if you can get them set up.

Go down Kat's thievery tree for "Hide in Combat" and "Hidden Deployment", also put points in "Increased Backstab Damage" from the first tree. You'll land multiple 50+ shots per combat. I one-shoted a bunch of spiders in the cave.

Did that from the beginning. That's why I was disagreeing with people saying archers are weak. She outdamaged pretty much everyone in my party.

 

[onemananadhisdroid]

Re: Archers being weak.

Iben (Ranger) is no slouch either. Rangers can't backstab. But they can get a lot of base damage bonus. Plus Rapid Shot (free additional attack upon hit), Rapid Reload (free additional attack upon a CRIT) from the "Arms mastery" tree.

Additionally they can get several ranged bonus from their Ranger class tree. Which includes shooting at point blank range, and healing the party upon downing a marked target. I made Iben an archer entirelly. So have two of them in my party with Kat.


BTW: Currently chapter 4, and the combat seems rather easy in general. I tweaked all modifiers down to zero though (own party as well as AI). Not a fan of AI given bonus such as them rolling twice for attacks etc. I'd much prefer better AI on higher difficulties. Or even simply different enemy encounter composition.

 

[Tyranicon]

Re: Archers being weak.

Wut? Rangers are top tier and thieves with their ranged backstabs are nothing to sneeze at.

Archers are OP.

 

[Irgsarzh]

Some other random stuff:

1) Hold down left shift to highlight items/interactable objects. You will miss a ton of shit if you don't do this.
2) People outlined in blue can be interacted with (are plot-related, will give a quest, are merchants, etc.).
3) Apparently stealing is broken and overpowered; you can steal the most powerful items from merchants with relatively little risk (just save before you do). I haven't done this, however, so I can't vouch for it.
4) There is a merchant named Malachi who will be present if you have the Deluxe version of the game. He sells some pretty powerful magic items, but they are not cheap. You will not meet him until the refugee camp.
5) For two-handed characters there are actually two feat trees you want to pay attention to -- the two handed tree, and then actual weapon type tree (sword, axe, hammer). In my opinion, it makes more sense to go down the two-handed tree first and get Precise Strike (good damage booster) and Second Wind (a minor self-heal that will be useful in tougher fights). Then start going down the weapon tree you want to specialize in.
6) Feats and spells that cause Stun are quite useful early on. Summons are also useful for adding a seventh party member in a pinch.
7) There are at least two opportunities to get mercenaries in your party, early on. Spend the money and take them. Having a filled out party roster makes a huge difference in your party's survivability.
8) When it comes to locked chests, you will have two options to open them -- picking the lock, or forcing it. Your ability to force locks is determined by your Athletics skill, which is also used for things like climbing rocks and jumping over pits/gaps/etc. I'd highly recommend taking athletics, since so far it seems to be used quite a bit. You will meet a thief very early on who can pick locks, but I was not impressed with her success rate and I just went around forcing chests open.
9) Setting up backstabs is difficult, but worth it when you can pull it off. The best way to do it, I've found, is to have your thief move waaaay out to the flank(s) and only start moving back in after enemies have solidly engaged with your other characters. I've seen backstabs do 50+ damage, when my two-handed warrior is doing a respectable 20. They won't work all the time and in all situations, especially in tight quarters. But they are worth using if you can get them set up.

Is there any downsides from stealing from those random vendors? I see there is a hidden suspicion mechanics but its pretty easy to just grab some powerful equipment early on. I noticed this too. I am still going to RP not as an asshole but still.

Only slightly in the sense that every successful steal will raise the merchant's suspicion which translates to +1 DC for your next steal attempt. Might be even +3 or +5 depending on how valuable the item you're stealing is. Also, most merchants won't accept stolen goods so you'll have a hard time selling them to earn cash. Apart from that, if you're not averse to scumloading you can steal away to your heart's content up until the point where the vendor's suspicion raises the DC check so high you automatically fail - but if you boost your thievery later on with items or feats, you can come back and keep stealing, again until you reach the DC celling. So it would pay to steal the items you want first and then the most valuable items next and then not even bother with the rest or just keep on stealing and loading until you top out because yeah, that's what cRPG players do.

 

[Mortmal]

Re: Archers being weak.

Wut? Rangers are top tier and thieves with their ranged backstabs are nothing to sneeze at.

Archers are OP.

In the end there's lot of enemies immune to critical,hp bloated, with some good piercing resistances to boot.

 

[Tyranicon]

In the end there's lot of enemies immune to critical,hp bloated, with some good piercing resistances to boot.

I didn't actually notice much, but I was trying to ration arrows in the end game. The real pain in the ass of using archers is grinding through rests doing fetching to get enough arrows.

My tier list of classes from my 14 hours, best to worst:

Officer
Ranger
Armsmaster (solid melee unit)
Thief (good if you can backstab)
Hospitaller (could be higher up if you value healing)
Battlemagos (only useful for inferno spam)
Champion

Champion is absolutely useless. No real combat use, and can't heal as well as Hospitaller. Haven't played the other classes.

 

[Mortmal]

In the end there's lot of enemies immune to critical,hp bloated, with some good piercing resistances to boot.

I didn't actually notice much, but I was trying to ration arrows in the end game. The real pain in the ass of using archers is grinding through rests doing fetching to get enough arrows.

My tier list of classes from my 14 hours, best to worst:

Officer
Ranger
Armsmaster (solid melee unit)
Thief (good if you can backstab)
Hospitaller (could be higher up if you value healing)
Battlemagos (only useful for inferno spam)
Champion

Champion is absolutely useless. No real combat use, and can't heal as well as Hospitaller. Haven't played the other classes.

Armsmaster on top for me , but i had luck with the loot generator and a very good magic lightning 2handed axe.

 

[Crescent Hawk]

Some other random stuff:

1) Hold down left shift to highlight items/interactable objects. You will miss a ton of shit if you don't do this.
2) People outlined in blue can be interacted with (are plot-related, will give a quest, are merchants, etc.).
3) Apparently stealing is broken and overpowered; you can steal the most powerful items from merchants with relatively little risk (just save before you do). I haven't done this, however, so I can't vouch for it.
4) There is a merchant named Malachi who will be present if you have the Deluxe version of the game. He sells some pretty powerful magic items, but they are not cheap. You will not meet him until the refugee camp.
5) For two-handed characters there are actually two feat trees you want to pay attention to -- the two handed tree, and then actual weapon type tree (sword, axe, hammer). In my opinion, it makes more sense to go down the two-handed tree first and get Precise Strike (good damage booster) and Second Wind (a minor self-heal that will be useful in tougher fights). Then start going down the weapon tree you want to specialize in.
6) Feats and spells that cause Stun are quite useful early on. Summons are also useful for adding a seventh party member in a pinch.
7) There are at least two opportunities to get mercenaries in your party, early on. Spend the money and take them. Having a filled out party roster makes a huge difference in your party's survivability.
8) When it comes to locked chests, you will have two options to open them -- picking the lock, or forcing it. Your ability to force locks is determined by your Athletics skill, which is also used for things like climbing rocks and jumping over pits/gaps/etc. I'd highly recommend taking athletics, since so far it seems to be used quite a bit. You will meet a thief very early on who can pick locks, but I was not impressed with her success rate and I just went around forcing chests open.
9) Setting up backstabs is difficult, but worth it when you can pull it off. The best way to do it, I've found, is to have your thief move waaaay out to the flank(s) and only start moving back in after enemies have solidly engaged with your other characters. I've seen backstabs do 50+ damage, when my two-handed warrior is doing a respectable 20. They won't work all the time and in all situations, especially in tight quarters. But they are worth using if you can get them set up.

Is there any downsides from stealing from those random vendors? I see there is a hidden suspicion mechanics but its pretty easy to just grab some powerful equipment early on. I noticed this too. I am still going to RP not as an asshole but still.

Only slightly in the sense that every successful steal will raise the merchant's suspicion which translates to +1 DC for your next steal attempt. Might be even +3 or +5 depending on how valuable the item you're stealing is. Also, most merchants won't accept stolen goods so you'll have a hard time selling them to earn cash. Apart from that, if you're not averse to scumloading you can steal away to your heart's content up until the point where the vendor's suspicion raises the DC check so high you automatically fail - but if you boost your thievery later on with items or feats, you can come back and keep stealing, again until you reach the DC celling. So it would pay to steal the items you want first and then the most valuable items next and then not even bother with the rest or just keep on stealing and loading until you top out because yeah, that's what cRPG players do.

The Pirate vendor on the cave early on, you can steal his stuff and it does not count as stolen, so you can steal and sell the biggest stuff to his for easy 2000 gold early on.

 

[Jrpgfan]

Doesn't stealth add backstab chance? I pick the hide and start combat hidden skills from the thievery skill tree and just pick targets with a bow and it always lands a backstab. In a second playthrough I'll try to do that but going the dagger route.

I didn't know you could steal shit from NPCs btw. Useful tip right there.

 

[Trash Player]

Re: Archers being weak.

Wut? Rangers are top tier and thieves with their ranged backstabs are nothing to sneeze at.

Archers are OP.

In the end there's lot of enemies immune to critical,hp bloated, with some good piercing resistances to boot.

Those are not on the critical path. The critical ones are trivial.

 

[Mortmal]

Re: Archers being weak.

Wut? Rangers are top tier and thieves with their ranged backstabs are nothing to sneeze at.

Archers are OP.

In the end there's lot of enemies immune to critical,hp bloated, with some good piercing resistances to boot.

Those are not on the critical path. The critical ones are trivial.

Yes but if you want to explore everything you will end up fighting them. Without spoilers like it used to be.