Major_Blackhart
Codexia Lord Sodom
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Aldor's Lore and Previous Events
Hello everyone!
Today we want to tell you more about the game's setting, so it'll be easier to understand the established balance of power in the world of Stoneshard.
Stoneshard’s events take place in Aldor, once powerful and prosperous kingdom, now ruled by the Grand Magistrate, the alliance of City-States. During the Discord Grand Magistrate stopped the civil war by defeating all the opposing noble houses. When peace came, the role of the Grand Magistrate diminished. The alliance members walked different paths and peace has left the kingdom. Only power nowadays can guarantee safety.
Half a century before the game’s start, Aldor was swept by the wave of bloodshed, the historians call War of the Fallen. Aldor initiated it against the elven Jade Kingdoms. Making the last stand the Last King revived many fallen warriors, who formed most of his army. This terrifying blasphemy was doomed to failure, the Last King was vanquished and left horrific legacy. The result was crucial for Aldor, a lot of cities fell along with the monarchy itself and the Last King disappeared under mysterious circumstances.
That didn’t fill the cup, the Discord, the notorious game of thrones period came. After the Jade Kingdoms armies left, all the pretenders appeared, and the civil war started. For a decade the feud prospered, and only the Grand Magistrate, formed by well-off merchant families, tired of hatred and violence, was capable of stopping that bloodshed.
The ruins remind us about these events of the past. The signs of war can't be wiped from the face of Aldor – only time can heal these wounds. Nevertheless, fragile balance was violated again after the Last King suddenly returned. The great orc migration and another political race added fuel to the fire of war. In a blink of an eye the whole Aldor was split into zones, influenced by rivaling factions…
US$ 30,133 pledged of $30,000 goal
New Stretch Goal!
We’ve added a new stretch goal for $50k — if we reach that point, Stoneshard will receive new dungeons and enemies. Here’s what’s in store:
Explore dizzying Chasms, treacherous Sewers and sunken Grottos – each with its own set of distinct features and unique hazards. Fight vile Depth Dwellers: Vermings, Kobolds and Mer’chtons. Make sure you bring some torches with you, though: they’ll sure come in handy!
We’ve met our initial goal (hooray again!), so you can see all future stretch goals on top of the campaign page. Let’s reach the top!
And by the way, if you're interested in noir dystopias with quality pixel art and raccoon detectives, we really recommend checking out Kickstarter campaign for Backbone! These guys are making something unique, and with only a couple days left, be sure to pledge while there's still time.
Backbone on Kickstarter
Some concepts of different hairstyles
Hey everyone!
Today’s update is dedicated to our character creation system.
In the prologue, you play as a designated hero, because it is a scripted story set before Stoneshard’s events. When the full game releases, you will be able to create your own character like in almost every RPG.
All creation criterias can be divided in two types: gameplay attributes and cosmetic ones. You can choose your name, gender and hair style. And gameplay-wise, you can choose race, archetype, character’s background and motivation.
The combination of race and archetype creates hero class. For example, Paladins are Elven Warriors who can master both sword and magic. Berserkers are Dwarven warriors — fierce fighters who can enter rage state. We are planning to implement 4 archetypes for 3 races, which results in 12 possible classes.
Character background adds interesting attributes to your gameplay style. For example, Elven priests get additional bonuses while earning Pantheon’s favor.
Motivation is an attribute that influences your hero’s ambitions, which made him/her to accept Verren’s offer. Characters yearning for glory get more experience, while those who want to get rich will receive more gold upon completing quests. 5-7 types of motivations are what we’re planning for now.
After the character is created, you will be asked several hypothetical questions about your play style. Based on the answers, your hero will receive certain traits that will influence your gameplay too. Once you’re done, your adventure across Aldor begins!
See you in the next update!
Stretch Goals Details
Hello everyone!
Today we decided to publish a more detailed breakdown of what our stretch goals are about.
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New Dungeons & Enemies — $50k
We’ll add new types of dungeons — Sewers, Chasms and Grottos. Each of them has its unique style, procedural generation patterns and enemies. Expect to fight the new threat, known as Depth Dwellers – $140 000. It is a so-called covenant of underground creatures that are afraid of sunlight and hate everyone who lives above the surface. There are three races within Depth Dwellers: Vermings, Kobolds and Mer’Chtons. If we reach the $50k goal, you’ll be able to give these insidious guys a bad time.
«Ancestors Forlorn» Expansion Pack — $75k
The first expansion pack is dedicated to mythical secrets of Aldor. It introduces:
If we reach this goal, we will release this expansion pack several quarters after the full release of Stoneshard. All Kickstarter backers with pledges of $12 and higher will receive the expansion pack for free.
- New race — Veerlings, the primordial inhabitants of kingdom’s forests. Veerlings have been persecuted for centuries, but when Aldor was on the verge of destruction, even they had to leave their native lands to join the fight.
- New Veerlings classes: Patriarch, Pathfinder, Warden, Druid, Tamer.
- New equipment type — Relics. These artifacts enhance the magical abilities of their owners and often have powerful and unexpected properties.
- New Archetype — Summoner, leading his brave minions (beasts, spirits or demons) into battle. This Archetype brings 3 new classes for original races: Medium, Occultist and Chosen.
- New Magic Art — Naturemancy. Turn the wrath of the Nature itself against your enemies. Call on the ancient Treants, grow impenetrable bark and heal yourself with the help of magic moss.
- New Dungeon type: Overgrown Caverns.Tribes of the wild Veerlings and forest monsters lurk in these meandering and intricate caves If we reach this goal, we will release this expansion pack several quarters after the full release of Stoneshard.
Divine Trials — $90k
Divine Trials will allow your character to find themselves in mysterious dimensions that exist outside of space and time. Complete challenges at the behest of the Pantheon, in order to enlist Gods’ support or atone for old sins, and receive special artifacts as a reward.
«Of Wind and Sands» Expansion Pack — $120k
This expansion will take you to mysterious South of Aldor. It introduces:
If we reach this goal, we will release this expansion pack several quarters after the full release of Stoneshard. All Kickstarter backers with pledges of $12 and higher will receive the expansion pack for free.
- New race — Yohara. This nomadic tribe of ferocious warriors is famous for its unpretentiousness and courage. Hearing that Aldor is torn apart by a bloody war, many Yohara moved north — where their combat experience will find a worthy use.
- New Yohara classes: Chieftain, Chaser, Scout, Witch Doctor, Hexer and Beast Slayer.
- New Weapon type — Throwing Weapons. Throwing knives, darts, shurikens and hatchets are perfect for fighting at medium range.
- New Archetype — Skirmisher, who is exhausting his enemies with fierce medium-range attacks. New classes for previously added races: Peltast, Shinobi, Whaler and Avenger.
- New biome — Barrens. These sandy wastelands seem lifeless only at first glance…
- New Dungeon type — Cursed Tombs. Here lie the bodies of famous kings and heroes of antiquity. They made sure that no one disturbed their peace after their death.
New feature: Factions — $140k
Factions is a new mechanic, allowing you to look at the gameplay on a global map from a different angle. Lead your caravan in a dynamic political situation, when different areas of the map are under the control of different opposing forces. Negotiate with the help of diplomacy, find new allies and free territories from hostile factions.
«The Flame Beneath» Expansion Pack — $160k
The third expansion pack will reveal the secrets of the underworld which lies… well, beneath Aldor. It introduces:
All Kickstarter backers with pledges of $12 and higher will receive the expansion pack for free.
- New race — Quasir. Dozens of centuries ago Quasir were forced to take refuge in a network of underground shelters, fleeing from a certain catastrophe. After many years, the most desperate of them finally decided to leave their ancient fortresses…
- Quasir classes: Protector, Saboteur, Sharpshooter, Thaumaturgist, Clockworker, Grenadier.
- New Weapon type — Firearms. Their invention was possible thanks to advanced Quasir technologies. Muskets and pistols will do great damage at medium distances.
- New Magic Art — Morphomancy. This forgotten school of magic allows you to control matter and space. Its limits are unknown to this day…
- New Dungeon type — Ancient Labyrinth. Find the entrances to this magnificent network of catacombs while traveling across Aldor, get down deeper and deeper, and maybe one day you will get your hands on the ancient fortunes…
- New Dungeon type — Vaults. These are the underground settlements of Quasir, which are empty for a variety of reasons. Nevertheless, their security systems are still operating, and the arsenals are full of powerful artifacts and ancient knowledge.
Endgame content: Cataclysm — $200k
Challenge your inner strategist in this new game mode, which opens after the completion of the main story campaign. Will you be able to consolidate the choice made, and stop a new attack, threatening to erase Aldor from the face of the earth? Conquer new supporters, strengthen defenses and stop the Cataclysm before the kingdom turns into a lifeless desert. If we reach this goal, we will release this content several quarters after the full release of Stoneshard.
The Caravan
Greetings!
Today, we'd like to share our vision of the caravan mechanic.
Caravan is a mobile hub that can be customised and changed during the playthrough. Your best way of travelling around the global map. The Caravan is managed by Verren, you know him well already. While being the Caravaneer, at the same time he is your global map coordinator.
Caravan is a bunch of wagons, which you can improve and add all the way on. Standard carts hold two slots you can use to place followers or chests in order to have more free item slots in your caravan. For a fee, you can improve the wagons by adding new properties to them, while reducing the number of available slots. Here are a few of the planned upgrades:
- Field Kitchen. Slows down the rate of hunger increase for all the inhabitants of the caravan, reduces the cost of converting food to supplies, reduces the rate of spoilage of transported provisions.
- Cargo Wagon. It can not have followers in it, but it greatly increases the number of slots in the caravan storage.
- Altar. This wagon can be dedicated to one of the Pantheon gods, which will simplify the process of accumulating divine benevolence.
Concepts of different cart upgrades
At the very beginning of the game, your caravan will consist of one Verren's wagon, in which he lives together with the main character, and one ordinary cart. During the campaign, you can accumulate enough money to increase the number of wagons to four — and customize them at your own discretion!
At safe locations it will be possible to arrange a halt, laying out a caravan. This will give access to some followers' functions (since the smith, for example, can't repair items while caravan is moving), and will also allow them to rest and respire.
The established caravan will facilitate the district exploration, since you do not have to drag yourself into the city every time to sell your loot, repair equipment, or get medical treatment — in these cases, hired followers will be able to help you, if, of course, they are trained to do so.
Stay online!
Stealth System Plans
Greetings!
This update is all about stealth system in Stoneshard. Now it is undeveloped, but we plan to work hard on it further. So, what's stealth system is going to be like in future?
At first, we plan to allow player to see enemy view radius, while in the stealth mod. Detection mechanic is going to be more straightforward, so that not only your luck will prevail. Planning your trail and carefully avoiding detection will be more viable.
We also plan to significantly improve AI, making current noise system more meaningful. Now all hostiles have three reaction levels: Unaware, Suspicious and Hostile. Playtests have shown that these levels change too fast sometimes. We'd like to soften this, making detection process more gradual (unless you fall straight on your enemy's head, of course).
Next update is on light system. Currently total darkness or illumination doesn't affect your stealth yet, so addition of light system will add another layer of depth for stealth walkthroughs. We'd like to allow characters to put out light sources, which will come in handy for those who like to do it quiet. But each medal has two sides: in the pitch darkness it will be much harder to sight the hidden trap or the enemy. Also being in the dark for too long will have some unpleasant consequences, gradually decreasing your character's sanity.
Right now this system's main issue is visualisation. We want it to be neat and clean, not blurring the player's screen with unneeded effects. Right now this stealth mode is still in an early concept stage, but by the time we have enough information we'll write another devlog dedicated to it.
Stay tuned!
Weapon Types
Hello!
In this update we would like to discuss different types of weapons and their unique properties. Right now there are 6 different categories of weapons in the prologue, and by the Early Access release we plan to expand them to 12.
Our goal is to make each type of weapon different and not similar to others due to a set of unique properties. Let’s list them here:
Some of these unique properties are already in the game, some will be added in the future. Remember that many values and properties are WIP and may be changed in the future.
- Swords. Deal slashing damage. Critical strikes guarantee a counterattack to the next attack received.
- Axes. Deal slashing damage. Critical hits have a 15% chance to instantly slay any common enemy.
- Daggers. Deal piercing damage. Inflict 350% more damage to unaware targets.
- Maces. Deal blunt damage. Critical hits ignore target’s Defense and knockback for 1 tile.
- Greatswords. Deal slashing damage. Critical hits become circular, dealing damage to 8 adjacent tiles. Critical strikes guarantee a block to the next attack received.
- Greataxes. Deal slashing damage. Critical hits become circular, dealing damage to 8 adjacent tiles. Critical hits have a 30% chance to instantly slay any common enemy.
- Greatmauls. Deal blunt damage. Critical hits become circular, dealing damage to 8 adjacent tiles. Critical hits completely ignore the target’s armor and knockback the target for 2 tiles.
- Polearms. Deal piercing damage. Attack range is increased by 1 tile. Critical hits cause Bleeding and deal 50% of their damage to entities on a tile behind the primary target.
- Bows. Deal piercing damage. Bows don’t need to be reloaded, but require aiming before shooting. Critical shots immobilize targets for one turn.
- Crossbows. Deal piercing damage. Crossbows need to be both reloaded and aimed before shooting. Critical shots ignore target’s Absorption.
- Wands. Deal magical damage of various types. Critical hits restore 7% of the wand's durability.
- Staves. Deal blunt and magical damage. Critical hits restore 20% of character’s mana.
- Shields. Allow to block ranged attacks.
See you soon!
Class System
Hello everyone! Today we want to provide you a more in-depth guide to our class system.
In Stoneshard classes are implemented quite unusually. We have a system of archetypes which in combination with character’s race determines your class. We decided to go this way to emphasize lore differences between various races and make gameplay more diverse, with each race offering its unique set of playstyles. Four Archetypes (Warrior, Rogue, Ranger and Wizard) and 3 playable races (Humans, Elves and Dwarves) result in 12 possible combinations for you to try out.
Each class has two unique skills available from the start – one passive and one active. By the way, Archetypes (along with the classes) just point you in the intended direction, but don’t restrict you in any way. This means there aren’t any gear or skill branches restrictions: you’re free to develop your character in any way you like. So yes, feel free to use a two-handed axe while stealthily casting poisonous spells.
When designing class abilities, we kept in mind that they should be playable with any possible character’s build. That’s why even Ranger classes don’t force you to use bows or crossbows and should work well with melee or magical weapons.
In addition, classes differ in three ways:
- Starting inventory. Shadows, mysterious assassins from faraway Jade Kingdoms always start with exotic stuff: eastern incenses, elven coffee and exquisite jewelry.
- Base stats. Berskerks, fierce dwarven warriors, are known for their dexterous, yet devastating attacks, so they are more balanced in terms of Strength-Agility ratio compared to other Warrior classes. What they lack, though, is some extra Intellect points: you don’t really need to think when going postal.
- Starting skill branches. By default skill branches are usually locked from leveling at the game’s start: you’ll need to find a trainer or a treatise to start mastering them. But different classes have different starting branches, giving you the direction to invest skill points from the very beginning. Human Trailblazers, for examples, excel in Survival, Bow usage and Medicine.
This is pretty much it. See you in the next update!
Maladies & Diseases
Hello!
In this update we are going to talk more about the concept of maladies, which will become an integral part of the health system in the full game.
We plan to add Immunity attribute, a dynamically changing scale, increasing or decreasing depending on various factors. Almost everything will somehow influence your Immunity level: diet, some dungeons, attacks and spells of specific enemies, toxicity and hunger levels, alcohol and drug usage etc.
Immunity has exactly the same function as it has in real life – it’s the main barrier between you and different diseases. If the character’s Immunity falls below maximum, he or she becomes more vulnerable to ailments. Different diseases have different thresholds of overcoming Immunity. Dangerous contagious diseases can break through even through relatively high Immunity. Chronic diseases and more common ailments (e.g. cold) can only get through really low Immunity level.
Each disease will have a predefined set of various symptoms, each functioning like a separate debuff. Almost all ailments also have several stages, during which your character will get new or more severe symptoms.
Coughing, for example, reduces accuracy and will cause your character to involuntarily produce noise. In this case it can be a symptom of both common cold and more serious disease like consumption, but it will be virtually impossible to accurately diagnose it on an early stage without high Medicine skill or doctor’s help. But if the cough gradually develops into a hemoptysis (blood coughing) – it’s surely consumption, and, well, you’re in big trouble.
With the help of a doctor your character will be able to "assemble" his/her symptoms into a particular malady and finally begin to treat it. The earlier you apply for help, the better: during the early stages diseases could be treated much easier. And remember: one apple a day keeps doctor away, so try to stay healthy both in Stoneshard and real life.
Stay tuned!
Factions Lore
Hello!
In this update we'll continue to uncover Stoneshard's lore, giving an overview of all major factions you may encounter during your walkthroughs. Enjoy your read!
The Oathsworn – soon after his sudden return the Last King has concentrated all efforts on restoring his former power. Using a network of necromantic cults, he quickly summoned an army of the dead, ready to unquestioningly obey their overlord - just like 50 years ago. Unexpectedly, many vampire houses swore allegiance to the Last King as well – maybe they’re pursuing some common interests?
The Grand Magistrate – this union of local cities, once victorious, now almost completely lost its influence. Magistrate’s reign still continues only in the largest cities which can afford the maintenance of well-trained mercenary armies. Now the Magistrate isn’t that ambitious it used to be: the former goal of establishing the united trade republic of Aldor was replaced by a desperate attempt to retain the remnants of former power and wealth.
Sacred Warpath is a large number of various goblin, orc and ogre tribes, originated from distant Nosh mountains. Fleeing from numerous disasters which fell to the lot of them, they were forced to leave their native lands, moving North, to Aldor. The initial resettlement attempts quickly escalated into a full-scale religious war, also known as a Sacred Warpath. Headed by the mysterious All-Seer, orcish troops managed to seize a good chunk of Aldor lands and still continue pushing onward.
Azure Thread is an ancient and unbelievably wealthy elven trading house, which is believed to be the main representative of the Jade Emperor’s will in Aldor. During latest decades, Azure Thread House put down roots in all major cities, making large profits from supplying local markets with exotic eastern goods of all sorts. After the start of the new feud, Azure Thread House quickly organized its own army to defend Jade Kingdoms interests with arms.
Dugo’s Grey Army is headed by – you guess it – Dugo, once a prominnent local noble who’d lost everything due to cunning intrigues of his ill-wishers. This forced him to turn criminal, and by now this charismatic lawbreaker managed to gather thousands of various criminals around him. Self-proclaimed Grey Army is no match for ordinary brigand warbands: notorious for their unique mix of cruelty, discipline and foul play, it managed to become one of the most influential factions of Aldor.
Psyche System
Table of all possible Mental Conditions. The Prologue features only the upper right corner.
Hello everyone!
In this update we decided to remind you how Stoneshard's psyche system works.
Each character has two mental indicators – Sanity and Morale, which are both 0-12 scales. Sanity displays character’s mental health and how adequately he perceives the world around. Morale is all about the character’s spirit, responding for alacrity to withstand all perils. Morale and Sanity are affected by different events. Right now there's no way to view your Sanity and Morale in-game, but that will be fixed upon adding special character's health menu.
Dealing a critical strike or killing a hostile may increase your character’s Morale. Similarly, starvation, thirst, injuries and low health, on the contrary may cause a character to lose determination. Same rules apply for Sanity: dwelling in darkness, uncanny monsters, head injuries, intense pain and high toxicity may decrease it dramatically. Increasing it is much more complicated – Sanity restoration will available strictly on the surface, being safe and sound in your caravan.
The interaction between Sanity and Morale enables different Mental Conditions. Conditions provide various unique effects, obtained by the character, depending on the current Sanity and Morale ratio. Each combination grants access to a special pool of Conditions, as illustrated above.
Each Condition demands a trigger – certain requirements that your hero must meet to activate a Condition. For example, to become Optimistic you need your Sanity and Morale level to be 6+, and health level over 85%. While the conditions are fulfilled, the chance to become Optimistic will inevitably increase each turn. Various Conditions work different: some require special conditions to be maintained, and other pass away automatically after several turns.
Planned Skill Branches
Greeting! Today we want to shed some light on planned skill branches.
I think there is no need to explain how skill leveling works, as you’ve probably already experienced the system while playing the Prologue. So let’s get straight to the interesting part.
As you might remember, we have several dozens of skill branches separated in three categories:
So, what does the future hold? Here’s the list:
- Weaponry. These skills empower some weapon types. Active skills become available only with the right weapon equipped. They demand no resources, but have cooldowns.
- Sorcery. All that spell stuff is here. Cast whatever you want until mana ends. In case you don’t want to find yourself mana-exhausted in the middle of the fight – sign up for mana management studies.
- Utility. Everything that can’t be divided in previous categories.
Weapon Branches:
Utility branches:
- Swords
- Axes
- Maces
- Daggers
- Greatswords
- Greataxes
- Greatmauls
- Polearms
- Bows
- Crossbows
- Staves
- Wands
- Shields
Magic Branches:
- Armor. Bolsters your defences and teaches a handful of useful tricks suitable for both heavy and light armor users.
- Dual Wielding. Definitely a must for anyone mastering paired melee weapons.
- Medicine. Very useful for those frequently dealing with injuries and diseases.
- Alchemy. Learn everything about potions. Brew your own.
- Sabotage. Stealthy assassinations, silent takedowns and emergency retreats.
- Mechanics. Deal with traps with ease and turn them against your enemies.
- Survival. All-around skill branch increasing your chances to stay alive in both wilderness and dungeons.
- Magic Mastery. Great supplementary skill branch for all conjurers. Uncover your magical potential to the max.
Please keep in mind that many of these branches are still in an early concept stage and may change or even not make it into the main game. But still this list is pretty much accurate, so you could start plan your character builds right away.
- Psimancy. Crush the will of your foes and make them serve you.
- Venomancy. Conjure poisonous spells, summon insects and infect your enemies with deadly diseases.
- Electromancy. Great skill branch for those who like to deal with large groups of enemies at once. Ride the lightning!
- Pyromancy. Surprisingly enough, everything related to fire belongs here.
- Astromancy. Unleash might of the stars upon you enemies.
- Arcanistics. Magic branch centered on dealing with extradimensional matters.
- Chronomancy. Learn how to control the flow of time itself.
- Geomancy. Heed the call of the Earth.
- Cryomancy. Enchant ice and freeze you enemies to death.
- Dark Arts. Banned in all states except Aldor.
Successfully raised $101,186 with 3,641 backers
Only 1 race/class goal reached.Successfully raised $101,186 with 3,641 backers
Nice.