Tuesday Tidbit:
The Setting
As the title suggests I’m going to discuss the setting in this edition. I know I talk in detail about it on this blog and other locations. But I’ll go into more detail and explain their relation to the characters. I’ll be adding a whole load of screenies next week and I would like to know what kind of screenies you’d like to see.
In this Edition:
Writing:
Settings:
Askarin
Kerren Desert
Partino
Gameplay: Traits
Writing
The first and most important setting in the game is Askarin. Askarin is the main city. The city where Chapter 1 takes place and the city where most of the main characters come from. Askarin started out as a small community of fishermen along the Demenorian Sea then still called The Great Water. The community lived in peace and quiet for several years. They paid no taxes or served no king but when the clans of Topas united under a common banner a group of soldiers was sent towards the community to claim taxes. Led by Marshal Carlton Askarin the army arrived at the community and forced the people to pay their taxes. Those who rebelled were fed to the wolves in the nearby forest. Marshal Askarin stayed in the town and named it after himself. He appointed a succesor shortly before his death and that succesor started a militia in the city known as the Askarin Guard and led by the Marshal.
The Marshals had the great task of collecting the taxes. Those who were unable to pay their taxes were forced to live outside the city and outside it’s protection. That area between the city and the forest became known as the Slums or the Foxhole.
The word Fox became connected to the people from the slums. A fox is a creature known for stealing and making it’s houses from dirt. Hence the people from the slums were nicknamed the Foxpeople. And the vigilante that appeared years later took the name Fox as a statement.
The Slums are a very important setting. RyanA is busy remapping them. It’s atmosphere should be cheery. Not gloomy but cheery. It’s a community where people love eachother. Everyone knows everyone and they all look out for one another. The housing in the slums is crappy at best. They build their houses with the cheapest materials and they have to make them small so many people can live their. Slumpeople generally live on the street. They sneak into the city to find food. But luckily for them Marshal Trevor Iscaroth has invested a lot into the Slums. He added a shop, a pub an inn and even protection from the Guard. This to great dismay of the Duke. Rumour has it that he was forced to retire due to this. Marshal Lukas Xaver is keeping this protection but he is concidering removing it again.
The maincharacters Dwane Kela and Jax all come from a great slumfamily. The biggest in the slums. Their grandfather Alfred was once a noble and even carried the title of Minister. But now he spends his time teaching the childeren of the slums some kind of knowledge. As schools are restricted to tax-payers. Food and water are gathered from the woods or the river. A well has been installed too and there is a shop but the hunting grounds are still popular. Wild boars roam the woods and since the build of the Wolf Wall the dangerous animals are limited to weak wolves. The more dangerous kind live further south.
Dwane is the hunter of his family. He carries a crossbow the weapon of choice to keep his family provided with food. Jax likes to take a less legal way to provide his family with food and money. He goes out to steal at night. And Kela follows in her brother’s footsteps and learns to handle a longbow.
Other characters in Askarin are Toren and Agra. Toren is the son of the legendary Trevor Iscaroth. And Agra is the only female member of the Guard. Also important is the leader of the Guard Lukas Xaver.
From Askarin we go to the Kerren Desert. This Desert lies in Ryo and the only people who live there are nomads known as The Wanderers. A group led by a Seer called Razam. Razam is said be incarnated each generation. Wanderers are not that welcome. They worship a different god and this does not make them popular. Here we’ll meet Dorian and Sahir . Dorian is a young teenager suffering memory loss. He’s named Dorian by Sahir because he believes every person deserves a name. Sahir is a Lymar that accidently killed his wife and was banished from society. These 2 will become more important in Chapter 2.
The Kerren Desert also is home to a race of Shapeshifters. Humanoid creatures that can take the shape of any other creature. This is a mental illusion , they manipulate the brain of others so that they might perceive them differently. Shifters are almost completely extinct as they are concidered evil. This is because they need to drink blood to sustain themselves and they are known to hunt humans and even infiltrate human communities. Their greatest weakness is fire. They can’t concentrate around fire and show their true face.
Lastly there’s Partino. The Capital of Topas. Partino is home to the great Castle of De Loas where we’ll meet several characters. There is the Duke. Duke Ector de Loas, his personal doctor and advisor Doctor Paliant Vantar. His ministers among which Minister Manter Alfredo. The leader of The Protectors, a group of magefinders who work in the name of the Gods, Cardinal Amadeus Santos. Partino was established by Duke Lodvin de Loas who united the clans of Topas under one banner.
In Partino there is The Seat of Topas a group of ministers advicing the Duke in all his decisions. They also help create laws who have to be followed by the people. If a person continues to break the law or there is any other kind of law problem the Duke sends out The Judges a group of elite soldiers who live the rule of immediate justice. Because Judges have to be neutral their memory is whiped by Paliant before joining. Judges are volunteers. They are most of the time criminals who are given the choice between death or memory whipe. All over Askarin they fear the judges. Astor Drumlin is one of these judges, we’ll follow his story as they come to realize a memory whipe doesn’t stay.
Gameplay: Traits
For those who have played the demo will know that traits are an important part of the gameplay. To explain very shortly, a trait is a passive skill of sorts. A bonus that can be given to a character. Each character can have 4 traits. They can do several things:
-Increase a parameter
-Allow certain actions
-Increase Immunity towards elements/states
Basically a trait makes life easier for a player. Traits can be found all over the world. Some NPC’s teach traits. Other traits can be won by doing short quests. At the moment I’m trying to compile a list of trait ideas. This is a huge task and a very difficult one. You really have to get the right inspiration. Any ideas and suggestions are welcome but I’ll try to handle it on my own.
