Do we need to move this to the Adult section?
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Maybe? I don’t think there’s content that qualifies for it yet in the demo though? Should it be moved now?
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I can do so whenever you add the content; just don’t forget to tag me when it happens.
Also, you can leave this open here while making an NSFW version WiP thread in the adult section. That might be the best solution.
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Is It me or isn’t it kinda strange that Asterious says that he’s grateful towards the MC for “avoiding needless slaughter” at the end of the fight… considering the fact that i just brutally murdered all the poor scrubs that i found in my way? Idk if it’s an error or not but it feels so random and incorrect lol
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I think he only says that when you let the templars run away
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Yeah but i didn’t, that’s why i feel that way
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Well I’ll check the code, but sometimes things just don’t work like they’re supposed to for no reason. Asterius might be too lenient when he decides whether or not he gets pissed at you.
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Sounds good
Also oh boy, in the first chapter if we go full Doom guy on the templars and inevitabily crush poor Annie do we perma kill her?
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I’ll let you find out, we’re getting closer to scenes which will confont you with the consequences of your actions that dreadful night. I’ll say even if you don’t do that, she suffered severe damage and whatever happens she doesn’t come out of this unscathed.
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Noice juicy info
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I like to ask about the Templars faction are they religious zealots if they are got say this I have to say bleed all over your church you might need Holy Fire To Burn It Down
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The templars are a religious order, but individual templars aren’t necessarily believers. Many of them are some form of fanatic and zealot, but many others are here for wealth, prestige or even just for the power being a soldier of the church grants.
Some people enlist to feed their family, others to pay for their crimes, some to pillage “impure” land without consequence. The templars have an image of shining glory and faith to Aquileans, champions of the just and the pious, but the reality of having a mob of grunts is you have people of all sorts.
In general, the higher you go up the hierarchy, the more zealous they get. But an overwhelming majority of templars are from the poorer parts of Aquilea and are far from devout.
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Are the old ones Eldritch cosmic horrors? Because if that’s so that’s fucking awesome I love cosmic horror
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I’m down to throw a few bones your way for sure
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Thank you for choosing this path in relation to the personality traits. The problem with locking success and/or progression behind skill checks is that it kind of “forces” the player to adopt a min-maxer mentality, rather than encouraging them to roleplay and have fun. It also creates a sense of detachment from the story, as you become less immersed on what is going on and more worried about juggling your stats.
This is made even worse when choices fall into the stereotypical quartet of attributes (strength vs charisma vs stealth vs intelligence), especially when written in a way that makes it blatantly obvious that that’s what they are.
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Yes it’s pretty easy to guess, but cosmic horror is an inspiration for everything related to the abyss.
I absolutely agree, it’s a recurring problem I’ve noticed in many games on this site, depending on the game it’s more or less bad, but it’s been a problem to me since I started. It really doesn’t feel fun when you just mind your own business and suddenly you have a check coming at you, you pick your strongest stat to make sure you pass it and then the game informs you your raid-boss health is not enough to win the drinking contest.
I stopped entire playthroughs because I was so disappointed in this important moment where something cool is being decided I’m being turned away at the entrance by a guy who tells me “Sorry kid your stats need to be that high to get on the rollercoaster.” And only returned to those games weeks, sometimes months later to make another try. And all I can think of at this point is “book, you just made a very powerful and moronic enemy” and then all roleplaying goes out the window, I’m here to win and that’s not really what these games should be about in my opinion.
The one I think is the most aggravating is charisma. Is it impossible to talk to people or convince them if you don’t look like a gigachad?
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Average min-maxing stats fan vs average roleplaying enjoyer
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Especially when they’re opposed. Do you wanna be able to throw cars into the stratosphere but drunkenly stumble around constantly tripping over literally nothing? Do you wanna be able to convince someone dying is the secret to immortality but have the unstoppable intellectual prowess of a brick?
I really like the sound of the traits idea. Will they be permanent if you get one (like if your stat drop below the unlock point you still have it)?
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I don’t think losing traits will be a thing, except maybe when there’s a narrative point to it. The personality traits might get some heel-turn moments, but if I do that, it should matter, it should be an important point. Not just “I was bad but now I’m good and no one will ever mention this again.” If the MC changes, I want it to be a big deal both for them and the people they know.
So personality traits will be sort of soft-locked until a “turning point” that would make enough of an impact on the MC to change.
I intend to work in a similar way with other things, I mentioned it before but I want the other characters to remember your actions more than who you are or what the number on the stat sheet says. Being nice in general won’t make much of an impact after you betray one of them, they might forgive you but they won’t forget.
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Let’s talk a little about the most ancient of mages.
Druids, Shamans, Harbingers:
The three ancient arts of magic, some say they are the origin of all magic today, some that they are antiquated, obsolete faced with arcane and divine magic. Yet they are still part of the world today, and their influence is more than equal to that of modern mages.
Druidism:
Druidism
The legends say this art is older than time itself, that druidism was passed down to mortals directly from the primordial spirts of nature and that it was the very first form of magic a mortal could wield.
Druidism dates back to the first primitive ork tribes, then was adopted by wild elves and the first human tribes. It is an art focused on the forces of nature in all its forms, it is a chaotic by nature, bound to the whims of the elements, raw and powerful, one of the most feared form of magic throughout history. Druids harness the forces of elements, of energy and matter alike, but also of animals and plants, and of the spirits of nature.
Druids have spread all around the world, into the deepest forests, to the highest mountains, the hottest deserts and the most tumultuous seas. Some serve great spirits or are bound to a natural sanctum, some preserve harmony wherever they go as they travel the world. Today druids are very misunderstood, seen as primitives, foolish hermits who reject progress but there are many sects, many ideologies among the druids.
To most druids, “civilization” is not separate from nature, it only foolishly thinks itself so. They see in towns the same forests they travel, the same predators and prey, the same forces that clash against each other or work in harmony. Though they embrace nature in its pure form, they do not uniformly shun progress in all its forms.
In term of abilities, druids are known for two things, their savage fighting style and their wild magic. Druids are strong fighters, their bodies are forged by trial after trial in the wilds, they are fast, strong and know their environment better than any other. In combat they prefer organic weapons, usually made from wood and bone, clubs, staves, hammers, axes and spears made through magic from living material. They are dangerous opponents even to the most heavily armed of knights and guildsmen.
Their magic stems from three sources, elements, spirits and living beings. Many specialize in one though they are all capable of learning from the three.
An elementalist druid can be compared to a sorcerer, but their connection to the elements is less personal and they are always able to use all elements from their surroundings. They are about flow, both in body and magic, they will move constantly, using their movements to cast magic while making elements interact with each other to produce greater effects.
A spiritual druid will call on all manner of natural spirits to do their bidding. They will summon great animal spirits to fight at their side or grant them supernatural prowess, or call onto elemental spirits to shift the world around them, spirits can disrupt other forms of magic or cast spells of their own. They have the deepest connection to the great spirits and are usually blessed by one or more of them, being granted great power in exchange for their service.
An animalist druid will form bonds with beasts of the forest of all kind, predators and preys. Flocks of birds, packs of wolves, mighty monsters of all kind. They call upon their allies, they can see through their eyes, hear what they hear, they can learn from them and even change their shape to one of them. They also bond to the vegetation, to the point they can make trees rise from the soil to crush their enemies.
Shamans:
Shamans
Shamanism was also developed first in orkish tribes, as a way to communicate with the spirits of the wilds and their own ancestors. The practice slowly developed into a first form of priesthood, not dedicated to the gods, but rather to the spirits themselves. Their faith and rituals let them communicate to the spirit world and harness several powers from the planes and the spirits themselves.
Shamanistic tradition depends heavily on their culture, and so do their powers and the spirits they can call upon. Shamans can summon spirits to the material world, communicate with the souls of the dead, call on the spirits of their ancestors for advice or strength, they also conduct most rituals in their society, rites in many forms, rituals to appease the spirits or ask for boons.
There are aspect warriors, who carry the tales of heroism of their ancestors and the history of their tribe. Temporarily calling on them to possess the shaman and grant them part of their powers. They can bolster the morale of their allies and grant unnatural strength and power. They can summon einherjars into battle or use the wisdom of their ancestors to learn secret knowledge.
There are also the spirit seers, they posses a powerful connection with the spiritual planes, they can freely see through the veil, sometimes even travel through the planes or between them. Their powers grant them great foresight and the spirits constantly whisper to them. The spirits may also aid them in exchange for offerings, those who answer are mostly the fey or other natural spirits, ancestors, sometimes the spirit of the dead but also spirits their tribe has bound and even minor gods.
The songkeepers are historians but also bards, they register the history of their tribe through song and recount them to the next generations, but also the stories they gather when travelling the world or that they learn from the “weave”. Songkeepers have a deep connection to the “history” of places and people, they can learn from the world around them as if reading the story of the world from every stone, every tree, every person they meet. And these songs they gathered are also a source of strength, they inspire the people around them to greatness, they manipulate the very world with their words, they can speak in songs to the universe and it may answer to various effects. They have many powers, but they are mysterious even to them.
Harbingers:
Harbingers
They were those who peered into the abyss, perhaps the first in ages. The influence of the old ones changed them, they learnt forbidden secrets, old magic. Harbingers were many in forms, drawing from powers beyond, from the void. Some of them became the servants of the old ones, harnessing their powers in exchange of doing their bidding. Their will was nebulous, unknowable yet the harbingers would work to further their interests, if interest there even was. Some harbingers would wonder whether this was a bad joke at their expense, a way for the old ones to amuse themselves, twisting the limbs of their puppets, seeing how far they go… before they break. But they had nothing left to lose.
The old ones always preyed on the lost, on the desperate, the rejects and the pariahs. Inevitably they would be drawn to them, they could hear the call and then it would only be a matter of time. The harbingers have always been feared, their very lives are dedicated to the intricate will of their abyssal masters.
Their powers are many, in all forms of black magic. Some became the first necromancers, others helped the lesser spawn of the old ones to cross into this world. They forged the greatest cults of the abyss, sacrifices, rites, plans to tear the veil apart for the advent of the old ones their influence spread like an infection. Until they were stopped by the old tribes, the first unions of different species and tribes to fight the common threat.
No one truly understood the harbingers and their powers, much less their masters. Not then, not now. And their successors still roam the world, they were never truly defeated, they merely… changed form.
Here it is, I felt like talking about them, since some of what I’m writing now is relevant to it. I’m going to link this post into the first so that you can find it again if you want to.
Edit: Because this was way too much of a wall of text
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