Having trouble adding quotes but we appreciate the support guys
Maybe I'm failing my reading check, but on the Kickstarter page, it says you guys already shipped a game together. What was it?
Having trouble adding quotes but we appreciate the support guys
Maybe I'm failing my reading check, but on the Kickstarter page, it says you guys already shipped a game together. What was it?
Ah, ya I think I only mentioned its name in my bio there, my bad! Our first game was Rhythm Destruction(http://store.steampowered.com/app/301540), a Rhythm/Shmup Mashup
Update #1
Aug 10 2017
Thank you! Over 15% Funded in 24 hours(+Social Goals)
After some much needed sleep, we were thrilled to wake up and see that we had passed the 15% mark in the first 24 hours! We're also sitting at #2 in the most popular video games category which is pretty amazing; we cannot thank you enough for your support!
We would like to point out the "Social Goals" for anyone that may have overlooked them. By sharing, retweeting and supporting us on social media you can help add extra content to the game(among other goodies). Here are the rewards:
- 4 Goals: We’ll unveil another playable class in a campaign update: the Grappler
- 8 Goals: An alternate skin for every class will be added to the game
- 12 Goals: Our artist will create a video tutorial explaining his process and tips for designing & animating characters
- 16 Goals: Enlarged and improved character portraits will be added for all cinematic & dialogue sequences.
- 20 Goals: Discover the hidden secrets of our game’s world by completing a multi-stage quest which will unlock an additional character class in the game.
Each completed milestone gets us one step closer to unlocking a reward!
We know Social Media is incredibly important for spreading awareness and we want to reward you for helping us in the endeavor! So get out there and like, share, retweet or yell at your friends; let's do this together! Here are the necessary links:
Lastly, we wanted to ask you what YOU wanted to see from us in our forthcoming updates. We already have a few planned out but we wanted to give you the chance to let us know what you want to hear about first. So comment below and we will discuss the most popular topic or game feature in our next update!
- Like the Trailer on YouTube
- Follow on Twitter
- Retweet on Twitter
- Like & Share on Facebook
- Follow on Tumblr
Our deepest thanks once again for supporting our dream game! As cheesy as it sounds, It really means the world to us!
The initial world state(the regions, factions, cities and the Houses that rule them) is hand crafted & based on the lore and world history that we've written out. So it's like B, identical to begin with, and then diverging by means of world events and your choices. We've also had the idea to simulate the first 50-100 years(basically letting it play out behind the scenes as it normally would, but without your influence) when you start a new game, but we haven't 100% decided if we'll go that route, perhaps it could be a setting for the player to decide. I'll have to go edit the description for clarity, thank you for pointing it out! He's out with his kids right now but he should be able to respond soon!
Update #2
Aug 12 2017
Character Classes & We're Over 45% Funded!
Yesterday was our best day yet! The imgur, reddit and twitter communities showed a ton of support for the game and with their help we've soared to over 45% of our total funding goal, and we're still only a few days in! We can't thank everyone enough for all the pledges & kind words that we received, we were completely overwhelmed by the response. We had pledges come in at all sorts of tiers, and we also managed to knock off the "Design a Bandit Group" tier. We are truly grateful to each and every one of you for believing in our game. Before we get to the meat of the post, we'd also like to gauge interest in adding another high tier pledge, so if that's something you would like to see, please let us know
Character classes is something that was requested after our first update, so we'd like to give you an overview of the first 12 character classes that we have planned(or have already implemented) for the game. We thought about listing a full ability breakdown for each class, but as 8 of them still have abilities that are subject to change, we thought it would be best to give you a description(and mention an ability or two) for each class instead.
To begin, each class in the game has a total of 6 abilities(Novices begin with 4) for them to learn along with 1 basic attack. Abilities cost Spirit to use, but basic attacks are performed for free and actually generate Spirit. In addition, each class possess one passive ability to start with, and are able to learn a second through the Mentor system.
The 12 classes we've chosen to launch the game with(out of the 21 total have designed) are fairly well rounded with 4 casters, 4 melee and 4 hybrid classes.
The 12 Character Classes
Paladin: Paladins possess the gift of holy magic to both heal their allies and strike at their enemies. They are outfitted with platemail, a sword and shield. They are a well-rounded class that can be used to tank, heal and deal damage--especially against the undead. Holy Barrage is their most potent ability, dealing a high amount of damage against up to 3 targets in a row.
The Paladin's Safeguard ability allows her to dampen incoming damage to herself & nearby allies
Pyrolancer: Armed with a massive lance and the ability to conjure and control flames, the Pyrolancer is able to dish out a ton of fire-based damage from close-medium range when the situation calls for it. While they’re not particularly tanky, their leather armor allows them to get by in close quarters. Infernal Pillar is their highest Spirit cost ability, dealing large amounts of damage to 2 consecutive hexes in any direction.
The Pyrolancer's Wildfire ability burns the enemy with a chance to spread to others in the vicinity
Stormcaller: The Stormcaller calls upon the violent forces of nature, using lightning and wind to devastate their enemies from afar. Though they have a few support abilities, dealing damage is their strength, and they possess some of the highest potential for it in the game. Wearing only cloth armor, getting into the fray is a risky proposition and they are best suited towards the back lines. Their Conduit ability allows them to channel the power from all hostile magic attacks in the vicinity and eventually release it in a massive discharge onto their target.
(As an aside, we were actually considering renaming this class to the Stormherald. We’d be open to any name suggestions though!)
The Stormcaller's Tempest ability can be devastating if you manipulate the enemies into the right position
Valkyrie: The Valkyrie is a terrific off-tank to have in your front lines. Equipped with plate armor and pole-arm, they are able to both take and deal damage while also possessing the abilities to support their allies. The reach of their pole-arm allows them to attack from both close and medium range. Skewer is their greatest ability, which pierces multiple enemies and drags them forwards.
The Vakyrie's Aegis ability can shield her allies from harm
Grappler: Grapplers thrive in close quarters combat where their fists, mind & reflexes are both a shield and a weapon. While wearing only cloth armor can leave them somewhat vulnerable, they are masters at blocking and countering attacks, and when wounded can slip into a meditative trance to heal themselves.
Hellraiser: Hellraisers are masters of the grave. Their cloth armor makes them vulnerable, but with the ability to summon the undead they can inflict agony on their enemies from relative safety. Their highest Spirit cost ability is Seed of Death. Upon the targets demise, the seed will damage all surrounding enemies and heal the Hellraiser in return.
Shifter: Shifters are able to manipulate matter and distort the fabric of both the mortal realm and the Void. They are an excellent support class that can redirect damage and erect force fields which are capable of protecting their allies and entrapping their enemies. Their most powerful ability is Distortion Bomb which they can place on any open cell. The bomb will gather energy indefinitely until the Shifter triggers it to damage the surrounding cells. With every passing turn however, the spell becomes more unstable and has a chance to outright fail.
Sage: Sages are deeply connected with nature and use it to both heal their allies and harm their enemies. They can be classified as a supporting healer, but are not incapable of dealing significant damage in the right situations. Their Tree of Life ability places a healing tree in a vacant cell that restores the health of nearby allies over time. Their most dangerous ability, Natures Abyss, is a violent upheaval of earth that damages and swallows the enemy, removing them from play for one round.
Warden: Wardens are equipped with plate armor, a mace and a large tower shield. As you might have guessed, they are the prototypical tank class in the game, possessing a range of abilities to disrupt and distract their opponents, while also being able to shield their allies from harm. None Shall Pass is their best defensive ability in which they slam their shield into the ground and steady themselves behind it, forming a defensive barrier that negates all damage coming from the opposite side.
Nightstalker: The Nightstalker is a rogue ranger of sorts that dresses in dark leather armor. Their skill set is geared towards impeding their enemies’ movements and remaining elusive, giving them the chance to use their powerful bow to dish out maximum piercing damage. Their Full Draw ability can be channeled for multiple turns to continually increase its damage output.
Trickster: With an arsenal of traps, tricks and projectile flasks, Tricksters help to incapacitate and take down enemies without getting their hands dirty. They excel at causing chaos among the opposition and can probably be best described as a support class. Their highest damaging ability is Shrapnel Party, in which they lay a directional trap that triggers after 2 rounds or when an enemy passes over it. Enemies caught in the blast are damaged and inflicted with a bleed.
Troubadour: Troubadours are armed with their trusty lute, and through song they can heal, buff & lift the spirits of their allies. They are accustomed to being on the front line of battle where they can be most effective to the party, and as such they are heavily armored and quite durable against enemy aggression. They are one of the few classes that possess the ability to charm an enemy: convincing them to fight for you for a few rounds.
We hope you like the designs laid out! We had a really tough time choosing the 12 classes; there's some others that we really loved, but we believe these 12 should boast a wide variety of play styles and methods to defeat your enemies and complete your missions.
Social Goals
We've currently unlocked 2 social goals and are close to a couple more. Hitting 4 will reveal the visuals for the Grappler class, and beyond that there is some really cool game content that we think you'll enjoy. So be sure to check out the Social Goals section on our campaign page!
Lastly we wanted to mention stretch goals, and we'll likely start revealing them once we hit the 25-30k mark, so it hopefully won't be much longer! Thank you once again, we hope you all have a terrific weekend!
Glad you liked the write-up, we'll definitely be posting something similar for a campaign update in the coming days. We'll clean up the terminology too, thank you for that!
That is the plan. Right now all we have set up in-game is cities trading with each other based upon need and opportunity, the full simulation won't be in place for a while yet. Once we do get it set up we'll be running tests continually until it performs as we envision without any glaring problems or anomalies. I wouldn't expect it to work flawlessly right away so some stats will definitely be subject to change or removal once we get to that point. It's hard for us to expand much more than that for now without anything concrete to work with, hope you can understand!
Thank you, we'll do our very best
This is the type of game we want to play ourselves for thousands of hours so we have every motivation to see it realized.I definitely agree, environment & enemy variety is something I'll be putting a lot of effort into. We already have the base of 5 different indoor environments and we'd like to have at least 10 at launch(+ at least one per region for Encounters). It's harder to say how many enemies we'll have time to implement. We have 60 enemies designed in a document(undead, beasts, demons, spirits, blighted & various humans) and I would really like to get 30-40 into the game at launch. At the very least we can also easily re-skin some of those enemies and change their damage type and strengths/weaknesses (like changing a Dire Wolf to an Undead or Diseased Dire Wolf) for some added variation with considerably less effort.
Haha, I don't think I used 'she' did I? We're holding out hope that we can have both male and female options for each class(it's one of our stretch goals)
Thanks a lot for the support, glad you liked the events write-up
Character Attributes and Stretch Goals!
We are now 60% funded in just under a week. Again, we cannot thank you all enough for the support you have shown us, it’s been incredible! As mentioned yesterday, we will be unveiling a few stretch goals which you can read further down in this update. But first, we’re going to be talking about character attributes.
Before beginning, I’d like to note that while the existence of every attribute listed is set in stone, its influence or the way it’s calculated may change down the road for balance purposes.
Every character in the game that is available for you to recruit has 6 primary attributes and 11 secondary attributes. The primary attributes are as follows:
Strength(STR): Strength determines a character’s ability to Block, their Critical Damage and has a small influence on their Health. It also comes into play during missions, specifically when encountering any object that needs to be moved or destroyed(pushing a boulder, smashing a door etc).
Dexterity(DEX): Dexterity determines a character’s Bonus Accuracy & Critical Chance, along with their Dodge. Dexterity is also required to pick locks in dungeons and for other actions that require deft hands or quick feet.
Constitution(CON): Constitution is a measure of a character’s vitality and fortitude. As a result, it determines a character’s Health and Defense.
Charisma(CHA): Charisma is a measure of likability and the ability to influence and control other beings. If a character’s Charisma is high enough, they gain a trait granting immunity to mind controlling conditions such as Taunt, Fear and Charm. A higher Charisma also lowers the chance of gaining a negative trait when Spirit is low for an extended period.
Wisdom(WIS): A measure of mental fortitude and spirituality. Wisdom determines a character’s Critical Damage & Perception. It also increases resistance to any attacks that target a character’s Spirit pool. Wisdom is used when interacting with mysterious objects.
Intelligence(INT): Intelligence is the measure of a character’s knowledge. Intelligence determines a character’s Bonus Accuracy & Critical Chance. It is also used to decipher languages found in texts or other mediums.
Of the 6 primary attributes, each class generally focuses on 2 main stats that are used to determine the effectiveness of their abilities. In saying that, this does not mean that the other 4 attributes are neglected; most classes will be proficient in at least 3.
- Paladin: Wisdom & Strength
- Pyrolancer: Intelligence & Strength
- Stormcaller: Intelligence & Wisdom
- Valkyrie: Strength & Charisma
- Grappler: Dexterity & Wisdom
- Hellraiser: Charisma & Wisdom
- Shifter: Wisdom & Intelligence
- Sage: Wisdom & Intelligence
- Warden: Strength & Constitution
- Nightstalker: Dexterity & Strength
- Trickster: Dexterity & Charisma
- Troubadour: Charisma & Strength
The majority of secondary attributes are determined by a character’s primary attributes. The secondary attributes are:
Health(HP): A character’s health is determined by their Constitution & Strength(the latter to a lesser extent).
Spirit(SP): All Abilities expend Spirit on use. Every character has a base Spirit pool of 100(we will be talking in-depth about Spirit in a future update!).
Attack Power(ATK): Attack Power is the damage output of a character’s basic attack before any other calculations(like Critical Chance or Defense) take place. To determine the value, it takes into account a character’s weapon and main stat. For the calculation of an ability’s effectiveness, a unique modifier is multiplied to the Attack Power value.
Perception(PER): Perception functions much the same as it does in D&D. It is derived from Wisdom and is used for spotting traps, sensing dangers and uncovering hidden passages.
Speed(SPD): A character’s Speed is determined by their class. It determines combat order and how often a character gets to act.
Movement(MOV): Movement is also determined by a character’s class. It controls how many hex cells one can move during their turn.
Defense%(DEF): A character’s defense is derived from their Constitution and determines their base damage mitigation against all attacks, traps and hazards.
Evasion%(EVA): A character's chance to evade is determined by Strength or Dexterity.Depending on their class, they will either Block(STR) or Dodge(DEX).
Bonus Accuracy%(ACC): Bonus Accuracy is derived from Dexterity or Intelligence, with the higher value being used. It is added to an ability’s base accuracy to determine the overall accuracy.
Critical Chance%(CRC): Critical Chance comes from Dexterity or Intelligence, with the higher value being used. It is the base percent chance to critically hit with an ability. The damage multiplier of a critical hit is determined by the Critical Damage stat.
Critical Damage%(CRD): Critical Damage is derived from Wisdom or Strength, with the higher value being used. It is a multiplier that determines how much additional damage a critical strike inflicts.
(Note: although unmentioned, almost all primary and secondary attributes can be altered via gear and traits)
I know this probably wasn’t the most exciting read(maybe you enjoyed it though!), but we figured it would be best if we followed some sort of progression instead of jumping all over the place with features! In tomorrow's update we’ll be going over Damage Types, Conditions, Vulnerabilities and Resistances, in addition to breaking down how damage is calculated.
It’s now time to unveil a couple of stretch goals that we’re really excited about! With every goal achieved, another will be revealed so you’ll always know what’s coming up next! Here are the first two:
Guild Council($55K): Council members can be recruited from all over the world, but not all will be equal in ability. Each member will offer you advice and has a number of tasks that they can perform for the guild.
The Master at Arms is in charge of your warrior classes, he or she is able to train them either as a group or individually, and you can also send them on missions to various destinations to find promising new recruits. The Archmage functions in the same fashion, but is instead charged with your mages.
The Emissary is your guild’s chosen representative for improving your reputation with other factions. When assigned, they will slowly increase your reputation over time with the targeted faction. In addition, they will bring a variety of missions to your attention that the target requires assistance with, allowing you to further increase your reputation and get rewarded in the process.
The Master of Intrigue is your main advisor and functions as your eyes and ears throughout the world. They will bring important matters to your attention that you may otherwise never hear about(such as a plot to kill a liege) in addition to any unsubstantiated rumors that may be worth looking into. They also have the ability to disrupt relations between factions of your choosing, potentially providing the spark that leads to an all out war.
As a bonus, when a character of yours retires from active duty, you will be given the chance to keep them around by offering them a position on your council. If their loyalty rating is high enough, they will likely accept the job.
Sea Travel & Encounters($65K): Every major coastal city will be given a port from which they can trade and send troops along numerous sea-routes. You can pay for passage across these routes in order to save time, but much like on land, there is a possibility of Encounters. Many different types of sea encounters exist, such as being boarded by pirates(in which combat will take place on the ship’s deck), spotting a tradeship, or even crossing paths with an entire fleet.
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Hopefully you’re as excited about the first two goals as we are, and we hope we get to share some others with you. Please feel free to ask us any questions, as we’d be more than happy to discuss them
Lastly, we’d like to point out that we’re oh so close to reaching a couple of Social Goals(and the first reward!). So make sure to check out that section of our campaign page and help spread the word on Twitter & Facebook! Thank you everyone!
Damage, Resistances, Vulnerabilities and Conditions (+Epitasis)
Time for a late-night update! Yesterday we went over primary and secondary attributes. Today we’ll be covering damage types, resistances, vulnerabilities, conditions and how it is all calculated. We’d once again like to note that a couple details may be subject to change down the road. Let’s begin!
Damage Types, Defense, Evasion
As of now we have 11 damage types in the game, they are: Earth(Nature), Force, Fire, Frost, Holy, Dark, Necrotic, Lightning, Slashing, Piercing & Blunt. Most classes have only one damage type assigned to them. Originally, the hybrid classes(such as the Paladin and Pyrolancer) were able to deal two types of damage, but for balance and clarity reasons we decided to reduce it to one.
Rather than have individual resistance values for every damage type, we chose to simplify things a bit(and we think for the better!). Every class and enemy in the game has one Defense stat(derived from Constitution, and any applicable traits or gear) that determines their base damage mitigation. Therefore, more heavily armored characters, and those with high Constitutions will have a greater Defense.
As of now, each class is designated to either block, or dodge, but they cannot perform both. We chose to do this to save some time on animations and we may change it later on, but it doesn't have a huge effect on gameplay. Both block and dodge are rolled into an Evasion stat(derived from Strength & Dexterity) that determines a character’s chance to avoid taking damage. If a class uses dodge, the attack will be avoided entirely. Blocking functions mostly the same, but shields have a damage threshold(some low, some high) which means that if an attack is strong enough, some damage can still be suffered.
The Pyrolancer blocks with a conjured shield of fire
For calculating the success and damage output of an attack, an Accuracy & Evasion check is first performed to see if the attack will hit or be evaded. If an attack is going to hit, it’s then checked against the target’s Defense stat to see what percentage will be mitigated.
Vulnerabilities and Resistances
There is no strict hard counter relationship between the damage types. Instead, all enemies in the game are tagged with Vulnerabilities and Resistances that determine what they are weak or strong against. Some enemies may have none, while some can have many.
Character classes do not have any Vulnerabilities or Resistances attached to them, and by default they take normal damage from all enemy attacks. However, it is possible(and quite likely) that your characters will have Traits(or gear) with a Vulnerability or Resistance associated with it.
When a target is Vulnerable to a damage type, they take 1.25x damage. When they are Resistant, they take 0.75x damage and are unable to be critically hit.
Here’s an example of some that you would find on an enemy:
Conditions and Immunities
- Skeleton: Vulnerable to Blunt, Holy. Resistant to Piercing, Necrotic, Dark
Every class in the game has at least one ability with a condition effect attached to it. These conditions are: Bleed, Poison, Stun, Charm, Sleep, Freeze, Burn, Silence, Fear, Blind, Taunt, Slow, Root.
The potency of each condition is dependant on the ability it’s attached to. Some conditions also have an additional effect. For example, anyone who suffers a Bleed becomes more susceptible to critical strikes for the duration.
The successful application of a condition is determined by whether or not the ability finds its target. Unlike damage types, there are no resistances for conditions. Instead, enemies have Immunities which means they are unable to be affected by the condition. A quick example of this would be a Skeleton who is Immune to Bleed.
That about covers it! Hopefully you found it interesting, and as usual feel free to leave a comment below if you have any questions or concerns to discuss.
Social Goals
We’re happy to announce that thanks to your help, we have crossed off a few Social Goals and will be revealing the Grappler class to you shortly! You can check out the Social Goals section on the campaign page to see where we’re at and what you can do to help unlock the next reward: Alternate skins for every class.
We’d now like to give some attention to a really gorgeous looking exploration-puzzle game here on Kickstarter.
Epitasis places you in the midst of a mysterious world filled with the remnants of an ancient alien civilization. You will come across cryptic puzzles, forgotten technologies and treasured relics that are scattered throughout a beautiful wilderness.
They are in the final 72 hours of their campaign and are extremely close to achieving their goal, so please give them a look!
Lastly, we’d just like to thank you all again for your continued support. We surpassed 1000 backers today(!!) and we are nearly 2/3 of the way there!
New Overworld Music + Social Goals Update
Today we’re happy to present to you another track by our awesome composer, Alex Roe. The other tracks you’ve heard so far have all been crafted for use during missions. Today however, we’re going to give you a little glimpse of how the music will sound while you’re in the overworld. If you haven’t yet listened to the other tracks, do yourself a favor and go check them out on the campaign page or directly from Alex’s soundcloud.
The world of The Iron Oath is a somber one, but it is not without hope, and we think Alex’s work on this first overworld track captures that perfectly. We can’t wait to hear what else he has in store and hopefully you feel the same! If you’d like to hear more of Alex’s music you can find all of his work here on Bandcamp.
Social Goals
Yesterday we passed the $30k mark which is pretty incredible and once again we’d like to deeply thank you for your support. As of now we need $13k~ with 19 days to go, and while it seems within reach, success is not guaranteed and we could still use your help to give our campaign a bit of a push! So post on your favorite subreddit or forum, tell your friends or a drop a tip to a journalist, spread the word on Twitter and Facebook; anything you can do to help would be greatly appreciated! Every little thing gets us that much closer to being funded and one step closer to unlocking some Social Rewards as thank you from us.
Social Rewards:
Links for Social Goals:
- 4 Goals: We’ll unveil another playable class in a campaign update: the Grappler (ACHIEVED! To be revealed shortly)
- 8 Goals: An alternate skin for every class will be added to the game
- 12 Goals: Our artist will create a video tutorial explaining his process and tips for designing & animating characters
- 16 Goals: Enlarged and improved character portraits will be added for all cinematic & dialogue sequences.
- 20 Goals: Discover the hidden secrets of our game’s world by completing a multi-stage quest which will unlock an additional character class in the game.
As noted above, the first Social Reward has been achieved, and as a result we will be revealing the Grappler class with Monday’s update! Until then, we hope you all have a terrific weekend, thank you!
- Follow on Twitter: Follow @TheIronOath on Twitter
- Retweet Us: Retweet this Tweet on Twitter
- Share on Facebook: Share our pinned post on Facebook
- Like Us on Facebook: Like The Iron Oath's Facebook page
- YouTube Trailer: Re-watch and Like our YouTube trailer
- Follow on Tumblr: Follow our Tumblr account
Grappler Class Reveal
Hey everyone, hope you all had a great weekend! Yesterday we hit 75% funding and are 3/4 of the way there with more than half of the campaign still yet to come! Your support has been incredible, so thank you again. As mentioned on the weekend, you’ve unlocked the first Social Reward by reaching 4 Social Goals, so without further delay, we present to you the Grappler class:
Grapplers thrive in close quarters combat where their fists, mind & reflexes are both a shield and a weapon. While wearing only cloth armor can leave them somewhat vulnerable, they are masters at blocking and countering attacks, and when wounded can slip into a meditative trance to heal themselves.
Here are a few abilities that the Grappler possesses:
- Crippling Force: The Grappler cuts through the air with his fist and hurls a shockwave towards his target, damaging and stunning them for 1 round
- Three-Fisted Fury: The Grappler dashes forward towards his target and lands 3 lightning quick strikes. If the target dies during the assault, the Grappler dashes to the nearest enemy within range and repeats the ability.
We hope you like his look, and of course if you have any thoughts or just want to discuss the class further, we encourage you to leave a comment! With that out of the way, we’re now only a few Social Goals away from unlocking the next reward which is alternate skins for each class. Here’s a little preview of what that will look like!
- Hurricane: The Grappler delivers a powerful roundhouse kick to the target, damaging and knocking them back 2 cells. Any enemies caught in the knockback are displaced and suffer damage.
Default Skin | Alternate Skin
To find out what you can do to help unlock the next reward, head to the Social Goals section on our main campaign page.
Before going we’d like to once again tell you about another awesome game here on Kickstarter: Maelstrom. Its fast-paced naval combat caught our attention when browsing through Kickstarter, and we highly suggest that you check out their campaign page HERE.
Grim fantasy and magic combine with thunderous naval combat in a vibrant, monster-saturated world!
Update #10
Aug 24 2017
Character Progression: Part 1
Now that we’ve discussed the main attributes that make up each character(if you haven't yet, go check out the earlier updates!), it’s time to cover character progression. In part one, we’ll be going over some different ways for your characters to progress: aging, leveling up and ranking up.
Since the game is open ended and multi-generational, your characters will grow older until they either retire or die. But a character’s age is not just a number, and it actually has an influence on their primary attributes too. Every attribute in the game has an age bracket where it’s considered at its peak, and your character’s attributes will shift accordingly every time they grow a year older.
For example, a character’s Dexterity would peak somewhere around 25 years old, but their Wisdom attribute would not hit its peak until 60. This also plays a small part in determining when your characters choose to retire. A rogue class could be recruited as young as 16 but may choose to retire before they hit 50. Conversely, finding a young mage might prove difficult, but the ones you do recruit would likely stick around well into their 70s. I’d also like to point out that this does not mean that a character is useless before and after their peak; it’s best to think of their peak as an added attribute bonus like this:
An example of attribute calculation, not actual game data
The other way for characters to progress is by leveling up. Every level-up grants a character one attribute point and one ability point for you to spend. I probably don’t need to explain attribute points very much, except to say that you are free to spend them on any primary attribute of your choosing.
Ability points have a bit more depth to them and really allow you to customize your classes. Each class has 6 abilities, and each one of those has its own mini skill-tree of augmentations. Each ability tree is unique unto itself, and various augmentation options are available such as increased range, additional targets, lowered cost and even added conditions(like stun, snare etc). With these trees, two characters of the same class could end up quite different from one another, with each specializing in different aspects of their kit. One could be all about raw power and maximizing the damage on their most expensive ability, while the other may be more useful in hindering enemies by focusing on augmenting their utility abilities.
Mock of an augmented ability
Infernal Pillar dispatching some undead
The last point to cover today is ranks and ranking up. There are 4 different ranks for a character to go through: Novice, Rookie, Veteran and Master(names subject to change). A Novice begins with 4 of the 6 class abilities available to them. Upon achieving the rank of Rookie they will earn a 5th, and becoming a Veteran will unlock the final ability. Once the rank of Master is achieved, that character is then able to become a mentor to another character of the same class. A mentor is able to pass on some of their more positive traits to their apprentice, in addition to boosting the rate at which they earn XP.
Tomorrow in part two, we’ll cover some of the other ways that a character’s stats can be temporarily or permanently altered: Traits, Injuries & Illnesses. Hope you enjoyed the write-up, and as always we encourage you to drop a comment below and let us know your thoughts; we’d be happy to discuss things further!
Thank you for reading and for your support. We're in the final 2 weeks now, and with under $10k to go we hope things can continue smoothly!
