I have a questions. Will there be no regular/pure human race?
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I think this is a question others would like to hear the answer to. While there are plenty of all-human humans on the continent, and Ardland is majority human (indeed, eastern Behatland is majority human), I deliberately wanted to make an MC with mixed heritages. Not only does this fit in with the metropolis where he/she is born, but it is also representative of a world where technology, and new societal/political philosophies, are blurring the lines between distinctive cultures.
Your MC, being an orphan of mixed heritage in a criminal gang made up of tearaways, runaways and odds-and-ends, has no reason to base decisions on their heritage or to favour those who do, though they might. For me, this opens up the role-playing potential of the main character and fits in with the general themes of the narrative better than an all-human human.
As this fantasy world of pure magic is slowly being diluted by technology, the gods turn away to find other worlds of more interest. Your character is symbolic of this change.
Also since Green was all about being an orc, where a player clearly acted with all knowledge of their orciness, I wanted to try something different for the follow-up.
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Ah i see, that explain alot. thanks for answering this authorš
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Will our Mc be able to conquer anything? Cause I chose for him to not listen and jump off the train (cause he doesnāt listen to anyone)
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When can i start conquering kingdoms in this game??
Gonna reunite the Green Empire
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whatā¦again conquering ?
This game is about a group creation, like a mercenary group in a tank, right ?
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Thanks for diving in and leaving a comment. There will surely be things which can be conquered later in the story- first, you need to survive before you can conquer.
Although, you do not necessarily have to go around conquering things.
Nothing wrong with a bit of optional conquering!
While there are mercenary-style groups out there, in Zthullu, the crawlers are more than this. These are state-sponsored expeditions to gather and mine resources, to withstand great threats and, hopefully, clear the way for future railways. Oh- and to reach the far side colony of the Dragonlands.
Sort of like Marco Polo and the HMS Terror, on the northwest passage voyage, but in a really big tank.
At least, this is how it starts.
Cheers!
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Good evening,
Having played through your previous game I must express my excitement for this one especially with the ability to play with dwarven heritage, which as a massive fantasy dwarf fan Iām extremely excited for.
I was wondering if there will be future advancement/development with the traits, examples being if you have the master tinker traits and gadge background will there be specializations available? Like will we be able to specialize in a specific gadget such as firearms or have the ability to learn runes.
I was also wondering if we will have the ability to align ourselves outside of the carrier factions, such as will we be able to pledge ourselves to the dwarven countries for example? Or side with the cold pact?
Finally Iām curious if the half dwarven characters will have the ability to grow a massive beard and if there will be more character customization in this game as compared to the previous.
Thank you for the amazing fantasy games and providing the magnificent ability to play as a dwarf in some capacity!
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Are all the cyclops dead or are some still alive after the battle with the green empire? Also are more dragons alive again after the green empire helped the dragon lady?
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Hi Ghost, thanks for giving this game a try and for your suggestions and ideas. Lots of the traits are tied to your background and initial choices. Then, they might develop according to your job in the crawler.
I wouldnāt want to break up the skills too much as this will complicate things. I would say a master tinkerer has the ability to understand and use most gadgets, including firearms. Both ingenuity and intuition can lead to understanding runes.
Of course, this is still early days and things will change. Most dwarves, if they donāt escape the train, will find themselves either in the ash marines or the engine mates. Engine mates, in battle, typically get to mess around with explosives- the marines are usually armed with blustercranks (sort of machinegun-shotguns), but the marines will also get access to driving vehicles more often.
While I do understand the desire for greater character customization, I prefer to keep these choices minimal and only really introduce options which affect later choices and the story. It is just my philosophy, but in these games powered by our minds, you can imagine the hair/eye/skin colour to be anything you wish.
BUT- I love the idea of giving a dwarf a chance to grow his/her beard. The city fashion might be to shave it off but in Zthullu you are mixing with mountain dwarves. If you get in close with some of these dissenter dwarfs, growing your beard is a great way of showing the nature of your dwarfy allegiance.
As to what factions you can align with, the initial narrative deals more with the crawler but characters may be able to align with the Cold Pact (not promising that yet, but it is very likely)- although this would have to be quite a specific character. A disgruntled half-dwarf would be a good matchā¦
Great post. You have given me some ideas to note down for future paths!
I, too, love the dwarfs- even as an orc, I must respect those tough bastards with their funny toys.
I see you are a loremaster 
Canonically, the cyclopes emptied Zthullu and all were slaughtered in the Battle of Krogās Rock. As for if they make a reappearance, we will have to wait and see. This is something I havenāt decided upon yet.
There are many dragons in the Dragon Lands, across the sea, though not in Behatland. Airships have not sighted any in the Dragon Land colony of Drekianaās Wish, on the coast of Zthullu.
There are rumours of dragon-things, or things worse than dragon-things, in Zthullu. But the ash clouds do not give way to easy confirmation of strange sightings.
Both of you really stirred my thoughts. Great posts!
Cheers!
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Thanks for the info I look forward to seeing more of your game Iām typically not that into lore for wips but I really enjoyed your previous game and got curiousš
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I am delighted that some are interested in the lore. I think making a new game based on, and building on, the lore of a previous game has piqued some peopleās interest.
HG and CoG are such great places for those of us that like to flex our imaginations and I am glad to be in your company:)
One day I must make a timeline for one of the versions of the worldās history to put things into perspective; perhaps in a third game where I, tentatively, plan to go galactic, or at least interplanetary.
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That would be interesting and with all the magic and technology itās definitely possible for to do sošš»
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This question might ask about spoiler of the game but Iām gonna ask anyway, can we REALLY escape at the start of the game. Because usually game like this would probably end up with the mc just being capture again and the escape option is just a fake choice/attempt.
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As far as I have planned- and it all could change-
Yes, you do escape the crawler. This might not mean you are free for long as other nasty sorts prowl these lands- other sorts not aligned with the ash crawler. BUT, you are on a different path and will encounter different events.
Keep in mind that we cannot have infinity branching, for the sake of narrative. Sections of wider choice must narrow again at certain choke points in the story. But we can certainly have very distinct paths leading to those choke points- sometimes even different choke points.
EDIT: For example, in my previous, a young orc can do many different things- but all young orcs, unless they die, will eventually end up in the mature orc hub.
I hope this helps!
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Squinting through the midday smog, you watch the bustling citizens of Granardgard peruse the markets, shops and teahouses.
You really created a rod for your own back when you named the city Grandardgard didnāt you. Itās also spelled as Granardgardian in the stats screen sometimes.
Other than that, given how epic the Green Emperor path became in UGJ, I canāt wait to see what you do with a more tightly focused narrative style of game novel.
EDIT: I really like whatās here so far. Youāve done well in creating the steampunk vibe of a magical society undergoing an industrial revolution. It also still feels like the world of UGJ with a nod here and there to the previous game, without overwhelming newcomers who havenāt played UGJ. I do hope we get more sprinklings of lore here and there of what happened to the orc empire at some point, though it definitely seems like it wasnāt a peaceful orc empire in the canon version of the game given the distrust the dwarf still shows for our orc friend.
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Hi Lance, Great to see you on the byways and railways of Behatland again!
One day I will learn how to spell Grandardarardgar 
Very happy that you like the start. It feels like I have a good base to draw people in, though the next part Iām working on already has to cater to many choices- 5 different jobs in the crawler path with linked events for the first hub-like section and the start of the south and north routes for escape artists.
Yes, I do not want to let players of UGJ down and hope to increasingly add smatterings of lore to satisfy curiosity, without overwhelming new players. First priority though is to get the foundations set. UGJ always had these foundations, since it was based on an old game. This project is still something I need to get to firm grips with.
Always welcome, your feedback and your good self, here!
Cheers!
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Is the plan to vaguely update all āroutesā, for lack of a better word, pretty much simultaneously? Or do you prefer to work on one until it reaches a point where the routes merge back together and then work on the next?
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Eventually, I will concentrate on separate paths once I have a firm grip of the earlier events. This is how I approached the mature orc paths in UGJ. For now, I want to thrust out the narrative in all directions. This will help to keep things somewhat in sync and help me to mentally feel like Iāve made a good start.
Perhaps the updates after the next will be more focused. I have a certain point in my mind that I want to reach for the crawler path, which is the central narrative path. This will allow me to develop the other paths better.
I have locations I want the player to see and events to encounter but need to decide which are path-dependent and which can be general. Lots of what is going to happen is still a mystery to me and is slowly forming in my head.
Somehow, someday itāll all fall into place! 
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Asking a half elf/half goblin/half halfling to sign away there freedom might work but asking a half dwarf to and expecting them not to spit in your face and break out and start a revolution aināt the wisest of ideas
also love the new game gives a lot of good elder scroll vibes with the deep lore
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