Indie That Which Rises [Grimdark fantasy x Cosmic Horror]

[Tyranicon]

Demo is coming along and it actually looks good.

 

[ERYFKRAD]

Demo is coming along and it actually looks good.

Does it have the crusader mode or is that for later.

 

[Tyranicon]

Demo is coming along and it actually looks good.

Does it have the crusader mode or is that for later.

It's an alpha demo, so no real bells or whistles. Got a small map with 10 or so locations, only three locations fully functional. We're really looking to showcase how factions work, combat, and the basic gameplay loop.

There are some features that we haven't seen in other games, such as convincing the local bandits to raid a village and make them more susceptible to corruption, or hiring a mercenary company and sending them to do whatever you want. Exciting stuff.

 

[Alphons]

convincing the local bandits to raid a village

How do bandits work? Are there different bands you can influence like cities/ villages or are they all in one faction?

 

[Tyranicon]

convincing the local bandits to raid a village

How do bandits work? Are there different bands you can influence like cities/ villages or are they all in one faction?

There's a few bandit/deserter bands and they'll work much like mercenary companies in that they're not a "full" faction (they don't have diplomatic standing with the other factions, can't claim/conquer settlements, etc) but you can still exploit them in a number of ways.

1. You can attempt to corrupt the bandit leader and have them fight for you.
2. You can bribe the bandits to do some limited actions.
3. You can take contracts from them for gold and reputation increase, which when maxed out will convert them to an ally.
4. You can attack bandit patrols to weaken their base garrison.
5. You can siege their base and conquer it, leaving you with the option of eradicating the bandits, or conscripting the survivors.

Both in combat and the strategic layer they are considered a lower-tier threat that only concerns small villages and trading caravans. They won't have the power or motivation to attack anything stronger.

 

[Tyranicon]

So settlements will have four primary attributes: Allegiance, Attitude, Stability and Faith.

• Allegiance determines what faction owns that settlement.
• Attitude is a measure of how a settlement views you. If a location's attitude reaches "Loved," they will convert over to the player faction.
  
• Stability is a measure of a settlement's health and military capability. Reducing Stability decreases a settlement's ability to defend itself, whether it's from the player or from other forces. (other factions will by led by AI to attack/annex territory if they are at war)
  
• Finally, Faith measures how much of the population has converted over to the Envoy's Great One. If a settlement reaches "Devout" it will proclaim the player as their rightful lord.

There will be a number of actions players can take in any one settlement, including diplomacy with that settlement's leaders, infiltration, conversion and assault. These options mostly focus on increasing or decreasing the above attributes.

This is probably going to end up a mechanically deep game with a lot of moving parts.

Here's some more sexy art.

 

[ERYFKRAD]

. If a location's attitude reaches "Loved," they will convert over to the player faction.

If a settlement reaches "Devout" it will proclaim the player as their rightful lord

What's the difference?

 

[Storyfag]

So settlements will have four primary attributes: Allegiance, Attitude, Stability and Faith.

• Allegiance determines what faction owns that settlement.
• Attitude is a measure of how a settlement views you. If a location's attitude reaches "Loved," they will convert over to the player faction.
  
• Stability is a measure of a settlement's health and military capability. Reducing Stability decreases a settlement's ability to defend itself, whether it's from the player or from other forces. (other factions will by led by AI to attack/annex territory if they are at war)
  
• Finally, Faith measures how much of the population has converted over to the Envoy's Great One. If a settlement reaches "Devout" it will proclaim the player as their rightful lord.

There will be a number of actions players can take in any one settlement, including diplomacy with that settlement's leaders, infiltration, conversion and assault. These options mostly focus on increasing or decreasing the above attributes.

This is probably going to end up a mechanically deep game with a lot of moving parts.

You might want to consider allowing the player to retain a village of cultists as a low-key secret power base, which pretends to still belong to its original owner. Could produce a wellspring of fun mechanics.

 

[Tyranicon]

. If a location's attitude reaches "Loved," they will convert over to the player faction.

If a settlement reaches "Devout" it will proclaim the player as their rightful lord

What's the difference?

There's a number of differences, although I don't expect them to make it into the alpha demo. Increasing Attitude and Faith in one settlement will have residual effects across that settlement's entire Faction, and will change how your enemies will try to deal with you.

Attitude is mostly secular, and you can hide behind the smokescreen of it being a political movement. The authorities will send a smaller force to attempt to retake the settlement, or engage with diplomats, or ignore it entirely.

Faith is entirely religious, and more blatant. This increases your Notoriety gain and the authorities will likely seek the aid of a knightly order, inquisitor, etc. However, converting a populace greatly pleases your patron, meaning you get more Devotion resource to fuel your powers.

So it's a balance game of risk and reward. You can still increase Attitude/Faith after a settlement has been acquired for additional benefits, and there are some mechanics that govern how likely people will try to rebel against you.

 

[Tyranicon]

The combat is not going to be great looking, but hopefully it will be deep-ish with great variety. Already coming up on 20 unique units including monsters, and that's only for the demo.

 

[mondblut]

Edit: The game formerly known as Heretic Simulator. First four pages are outdated.

Whoa. This project went places.

BTW, the name's been already taken:

https://rpgcodex.net/forums/threads...nt-mage-simulator.109819/page-11#post-5329369

 

[Tyranicon]

Thinking of setting max retinue size to 7. Might be too big for fast action economy, will have to do more testing.

 

[Caim]

Thinking of setting max retinue size to 7. Might be too big for fast action economy, will have to do more testing.

Yeah I know where this is going...

 

[agris]

that sassy chthulu stance is nightmare fuel. also wtf with tentacle horror wearing linen pants, is it summer at the vineyard over there?

 

[Tyranicon]

that sassy chthulu stance is nightmare fuel. also wtf with tentacle horror wearing linen pants, is it summer at the vineyard over there?

Halfbreeds have taken on the human custom of wearing clothes, practical or not.

The real reason is that we don't have monster genitals rendered yet.

I would also say it's less sassy and looks more like it has to take a shit. We'll iron out posing later.

 

[Harthwain]

Female Cthulhu should have longer tentacles. And tentacles themselves should work like an elephant's trunk. In fact, in the culture of the Cthulhu expressing oneself by the usage of tentacles should be mandatory.

 

[agris]

The real reason is that we don't have monster genitals rendered yet.

Use the head, I think it'll work

 

[hello friend]

The white ring around boob lady's neck looks weird

 

[ERYFKRAD]

The white ring around boob lady's neck looks weird

It's the chin strap for the hood.

 

[JarlFrank]

Needs more barefoot female characters.

 

[ERYFKRAD]

Needs more barefoot female characters.

You'll get them.

Spoiler

One finger on the monkey's paw has curled.

 

[JarlFrank]

My artist found it really difficult to find a license-able image of a Rus knight, so I pulled something off public domain instead. I'll probably do that more, keep forgetting that public domain art is there.

I have over a thousand old paintings on my hard drive, if you need any recommendations...

 

[ERYFKRAD]

My artist found it really difficult to find a license-able image of a Rus knight, so I pulled something off public domain instead. I'll probably do that more, keep forgetting that public domain art is there.

I have over a thousand old paintings on my hard drive, if you need any recommendations...

Oi don't hoard the good stuff.

 

[hello friend]

The white ring around boob lady's neck looks weird

It's the chin strap for the hood.

Bit thick for a chinstrap. Looks like a sausage link, possible fastened with the help of some earrings obscured by the hood.

 

[ERYFKRAD]

The white ring around boob lady's neck looks weird

It's the chin strap for the hood.

Bit thick for a chinstrap. Looks like a sausage link, possible fastened with the help of some earrings obscured by the hood.

Yeah it's made of cloth instead of leather. With added neck support for long flights.