02 May 2021Developer post

Patch 4: Guides

Hi Mercenaries! The fourth update is now live! With this update we have replaced the existing tutorial window with a more comprehensive and expansive "Guides" section ! This new section will be the source of all information for statuses, effects and mechanics. Together with the u

Hi Mercenaries!

The fourth update is now live! With this update we have replaced the existing tutorial window with a more comprehensive and expansive "Guides" section! This new section will be the source of all information for statuses, effects and mechanics. Together with the updated explanation of mechanics, we are also deploying more bugfixes, QOL improvements and UI upgrades.

The patch notes can be read in detail below.

UI

Updated the minimap for the Church District. The Banquet Street landmark is now placed on the correct street.
The turn indicator visual is updated for better readability.
The tutorial window has been replaced with a more expansive “Guides” tab in the party menu. The areas that would normally open the tutorial instead open up the Guides tab on the relevant category.
The “start combat” button is larger to better accommodate localization.
There is now a question mark next to “use of philosophers stone” difficulty setting that can be hovered to show what the philosopher's stone’s effects are.
A one-time highlight has been added to the “select class” button and “inventory healing” buttons to further emphasise their importance.

Bugs

Fixed Flammen (Dragoon) not properly applying nigredo.
Fixed Pocket Sand (Mercenary) not properly applying nigredo.
Improved the visualisation of the Pyrotechnics (Dragoon) area of effect so it always shows all tiles that will be hit.
Using the fast travel well no longer prevents you from opening the pause menu upon arriving at your destination.
The loading screen is no longer stretched on widescreens.
The Mercy Stroke dagger now drops during the main quest Scouting the Scouts.
The free movement UI no longer vanishes upon entering new game plus.
Players can no longer reach the City Center early, which would result in getting softlocked by the gate back to the Commoner District.
There can no longer be situations where a fifth party member is added, causing issues.
Ogier should no longer be invisible when talking to him in front of the church.
Fixed an issue that could cause the world map toggle button to become unbound.
Fixed an issue that could cause the second Maarten you recruit to have negative HP.
Grand Piers has further strengthened his resolve and properly prevents you from killing him from the back or sides.
Fixed an issue causing tightly packed groups of enemies to freeze up or crash the game when engaging combat with them.
Maarten no longer changes his hair colour at times.
Fixed an issue that could cause generated party members to have mismatching names and visuals.

Quality of life

Autofill for consumable items is now always on by default and only disabled when explicitly disabling the auto fill for a certain slot.
The currently selected unit during the pre combat placement phase is now highlighted white to clarify it’s being moved.
Whenever the game asks you to select your facing before ending your turn, the camera recenters on the currently active character.
The sprint action for controllers has been moved from the left joystick press to the right face button (B on Xbox controllers).
The tab key can now also be used to open the inventory.
Treasure chests now have a glowing material, to make them easier to find.

Balance

The price of molotovs has been increased to 1000 per molotov (from 250).
First Aid (Mercenary) no longer grants experience.
Christiaan’s anchor has been reworked to now maintain damage taken when it is grabbed, making it more reasonable to bring its health down.
The tutorial enemies scale with difficulty settings and NG+ cycle.

Original post

16 Apr 2021Developer post

Patch 3: Minimap & World Map

Hi Mercenaries! The third patch is live now! Bringing you a much requested, highly anticipated feature: minimap & world map ! No more clueless running around, no more checking of every road sign, now you know exactly where to go with a simple look on the map! Together with th

Hi Mercenaries!

The third patch is live now! Bringing you a much requested, highly anticipated feature: minimap & world map! No more clueless running around, no more checking of every road sign, now you know exactly where to go with a simple look on the map! Together with the map, we are also deploying some bugfixes, improvements and balance changes. Some classes won't even know what hit them! (looking at you, Duelist).

The patch notes can be read in detail below.

Also, if you enjoy the game, please consider leaving us a positive review. It means a lot to us as devs to read more about your experiences and feedback on the game, plus it helps with the Steam algorithm too!

UI

A minimap has been added to the game, allowing easier navigation within the levels. For players who prefer to play without the minimap, there is a gameplay setting to disable it.
A world map has been added to the game, showing you the various districts you have visited and where you currently are.
Some bosses have had their size in the bestiary reduced so they fit within the screen.
Enemy names in the bestiary will no longer spill out of their windows.
Enemy descriptions in the bestiary will no longer be clipped.
You no longer need to go to the “buy” side of the vendor to sell items lower than row 2 when using a controller.
Mercenary recruitment buttons have increased width to better support localization.

Localization

The russian localization for the quest “a wedding in white” has been updated.

Bugs

Players and enemies will no longer go “off track” and bounce back and forth when climbing on higher combat speed settings.
Weapons that reduce the cost of catalyzing abilities to 1AP now work as intended.
Pressing F12 to take a screenshot no longer pops the weapon tooltip.
Passive abilities will no longer show twice, hiding potential third passives.
Scrolling down in weapon selection when using a controller should now be more consistent and not block the player from scrolling past the first two rows.
Steam cloud now correctly synchronises save games.
Attempting to open your inventory during the unit placement before the final fight will no longer greet you with a white screen.
Using a quarter tree now properly plays an animation and sound.
Combat speed will no longer have a chance to affect free movement animation speeds.
Single gates now also lock your movement during the animation.
Enemies right outside of the merchant guild no longer pop in and vanish when entering the commoner district.
Machteld should now properly spawn for all female characters.
Polished the Spawn Locations in the Graveyard District, City Center, Church District and the Commoner District.
Polished the grass foliage in the Graveyard District.
Fixed an area in the City Center where a player could get stuck between vases and boxes.
Fix the animation for the Plague Doctor’s Beacon of Ain Soph into a more fitting one.

New game plus

Difficulty is no longer reset to easy upon starting a new game plus cycle.
You can now adjust difficulty settings before starting a new game plus cycle.

Balance

Experience gains are reworked to not give all of the experience to the unit executing the action, splitting a part of it between party members. Higher level units will gain less, while lower level units will gain more. Additionally, overall experience gains have been slightly reduced.
Revamped most random encounters throughout all chapters in order to have a more logical spread in terms of enemy count and difficulty.
Massively buffed Benedict so he’s no longer a pushover for your optimised party.
Throwable items scale with unit level, keeping their damage relevant later in the game.
Duelist and Rogue now gain less agility per level to reduce initiative snowballing. As compensation for this change, the Duelist gained better stamina scaling and the Rogue gained better strength scaling.
Units left in the barracks will scale up relative to the level of the lowest level member in your party to keep them relevant and not forcing you to train a level 1 unit.
Area of effect skills grant more experience to keep them in line with other skills.
Shout abilities no longer follow line of sight rules.
Bleeding damage has been moderately reduced.
Mercenary stat growth has been improved, with strength growth going up to C and stamina growth going up to B.

Specific ability changes

Blade flurry only applies one stack of humor (was one per hit).
Visceral thrust only applies one stack of Rubedo (down from two).
Brutus damage significantly reduced.
Inspiring shout also removes a random humor stack from affected allies.
Pocket sand applies a stack of Nigredo and the experience to unlock it permanently has been significantly reduced.
Rightly end no longer applies humor stacks, but deals significantly more damage.
Blunt side only applies a single stack of Nigredo (down from two).
Execute only applies a single stack of Albedo (down from two), but deals moderately more damage.
Snipe only applies a single stack of Nigredo (down from two).
Multishot applies double humor stacks if it critically strikes.
Glass cannon applies two stacks of Rubedo (up from one).
High powder shot applies two stacks of Albedo (up from one), but deals moderately less damage.
Flammen now also applies a stack of Nigredo.
Bottle o’ rum removes a random humor stack from the user.
Stomach punch applies two stacks of Rubedo (up from one).
Disarming strike removes two action points from the target (up from one) and deals slightly more damage.
Sweeping strike reduces hit targets’ movement points by three for one turn.
Kidney shot applies two stacks of Nigredo (up from one).
First aid heals slightly more.

Original post

02 Apr 2021Developer post

Patch 2: UX improvements

Hi Mercenaries! Our second update is live! This patch involves improvement to the localization (German, Russian and Simplified Chinese), bugfixes, general improvements to the gameplay and UI upgrades. Also, no more potato chip sounds! To everyone who is waiting for the mini map,

Hi Mercenaries!

Our second update is live! This patch involves improvement to the localization (German, Russian and Simplified Chinese), bugfixes, general improvements to the gameplay and UI upgrades. Also, no more potato chip sounds!

To everyone who is waiting for the mini map, this will be coming in the next update!

The full patch notes can be read below:

Localization

German, Chinese, and Russian localization have all been entirely revised, generally improving the quality of translation.
Certain text blocks, most notably in the difficulty window and journal are now localized.

Bugs

Oliver, the vendor in the merchant guild, will no longer tell you to go both west and east to reach the harbour.
Maarten will no longer get himself stuck on a raised surface during either tutorial combat.
Fixed a hidden wall in the Graveyard District behind the Church.
Fixed a hidden wall in the Shipyard District, near the docks, that prevented the player from looting a chest.
Fixed some collision on the walls in the Graveyard District, which allowed for the player to surf on them.
Fixed an issue in the Harbour District where the player was able to walk off of a pier and get stuck on the water.
Fixed an inconvenient collision issue in the Harbour District where the player could not completely walk in between two objects at the cranes at the docks.
Fixed the Male Sewer Rat Tunic so the head doesn’t clip through it anymore at the top.
The mouse cursor should no longer randomly appear when using a controller.
The main menu version number now shows the correct number.
Skipping the intro cinematic after the Black Legend logo has appeared no longer causes it to get stuck on screen.
The Wedding in White sidequest will no longer send you back to fetch the scythe you already have after charging it. This change will also automatically complete the uncompletable fetch quest for anyone who was affected by it.

Improvements

The spawn location of one of the White Wives in the Harbour District has been moved so she will not get stuck behind a wall.
Some minor graphical and clipping issues have been resolved and improved in the Graveyard District.
Sprinting speed has been increased.
Status effect icons have received an update to improve clarity.

UI

Unlocking a class now presents you with a popup, more clearly indicating when new classes are unlocked and telling you where you can change classes.
The pause menu now explicitly shows you a save button which is disabled if your difficulty settings don’t allow in-combat saving.
Units can now be healed from the mercenaries overview window, by using the icon next to their details (top face button on controller).
Reworked controller navigation for the mercenaries window to support the new healing system and no longer cycle through mercenaries.
Improved the visuals for the Status Effect icons, so they are better visible.
The event log has received updated visuals to make it stand out a bit more.
The “select class” button has been widened to improve readability.
Quest-relevant trinkets without effects will now show their description in their tooltips.
Status effects icons in the bottom bar are larger to stand out more.

Sound

Dog type enemies don’t silently take attacks anymore, whining whenever they get hit or get killed.
Dog type enemies have gotten rid of their potato chips eating habits.
The Warcry ability now has a sound effect.

New game plus

Tutorials no longer show again when starting new game plus
Key items are removed from the inventory on new game plus, so certain quests will no longer be automatically completed and you can’t just pass through all locked gates.

Original post

29 Mar 2021Developer post

Patch 1: Bug fixes and improvements

Hi mercenaries! We've just pushed our first update including hotfixes to the gameplay, UI, localisation and QOL improvements. More updates are on the horizon, including improvement of Russian and German localisation. Thank you for your patience. Below you can read all the hotfixe

Hi mercenaries!

We've just pushed our first update including hotfixes to the gameplay, UI, localisation and QOL improvements. More updates are on the horizon, including improvement of Russian and German localisation. Thank you for your patience.

Below you can read all the hotfixes.

Localization

The wedding in white quest in Russian no longer directs you to the Harbour district when it should point you to the Shipyard.
The Dutch localization now shows the correct stat scaling for every class.
The Chinese localization now no longer omits certain characters from text, properly showing the entire text.

Bugs

The enemies in the second tutorial combat no longer allow you to sneak by them, which would result in the player character getting stuck upon starting combat.
Fixed the hero death popup on death sometimes showing a deprecated version which does not allow you to click OK.
Launching the game when offline on steam will no longer force you to quit the game.
Launching the game when offline on GOG will now award you with your achievements upon launching the game while connected.
Fixed crashes related to: animations, inventory filtering, level loading, healing, taking damage from multiple instances at once.
Fixed a hair and hat clipping issue for various NPC’s.
Recruitable mercenaries should no longer spawn on top of each other, note that this change will not remove any already stacked groups until leaving the area.
Recruited mercenaries are no longer stuck with their rapier forever, it can now be unequipped and they can properly change classes again.
The squares that you placed your units on in either tutorial no longer block you from using melee when standing on them.
The climbable stable gate at the start is no longer climbable and will not get you stuck.

Other improvements

Rebalanced some voice line volumes, mainly for Jan in the Merchant Guild and Pieter greeting you upon entering the city.
Gates and archways should no longer cause the camera to quickly sneak under them when running through.
The player no longer has control of their character while petting the dog or opening gates, so the air cannot be opened or pet.
Stomach Punch now shows you what weapon it’s learned from.
The game now launches in the resolution of the monitor being used upon first startup. If you have already launched the game and are having trouble with it not opening correctly on the default resolution, you can remove the saved video settings at C:\Users\{Username}\AppData\Local\blacklegend\Saved\SaveGames\
Playing on ultrawide resolutions no longer forces you to play very zoomed in.
Ultrawide resolutions will now be part of the resolution options for fullscreen.
Recruitable mercenaries now start at level 1 instead of 0.
When replacing one of your mercenaries with a new recruit, you can choose to take the gear of the one you’re replacing.
Various grid fixes in the Harbour District and Shipyard District.
Improved visual for the Bowstring quest.

UI

Class selection menu now shows the entire class description, including growth, rather than being hidden behind the scrolling text.
The cross-class ability selection window and class selection window are cleaner and no longer have class widgets being cut in half.
Increased the size of certain small text elements.
Added the class name of taught abilities to the item tooltip so you don’t need to know the class icons by heart to know which class it’s for.
Improved the visual for the compass UI element for better readability.
Improved the visual for the loot log icon.
Several UI elements have been modified to better fit on very wide monitors.

Original post

26 Mar 2021Developer post

Black Legend - The Grant Post

Hey Mercenaries! We appreciate all your comments and feedback on the game. We want to let you know your voice is heard and we are preparing some hotfixes for Black Legend, bringing you news of a patch to resolve a couple of the more concerning issues players have raised. We are w

25 Mar 2021Developer post

Black Legend is Now Available!

The wait is over! Black Legend is available now. In Black Legend, survival depends on your team of mercenaries mastering both strategic combat and the art of alchemy in this dark fantasy world directly inspired by folklore and stories from 17th-century Belgium and the Netherlands

The wait is over! Black Legend is available now.

In Black Legend, survival depends on your team of mercenaries mastering both strategic combat and the art of alchemy in this dark fantasy world directly inspired by folklore and stories from 17th-century Belgium and the Netherlands. Explore deep into the cursed city of Grant to battle cultists, monsters, and more on your quest to eradicate a madness inflicting fog that shrouds the streets.

Purchase Black Legend Now and save 10%:

https://store.steampowered.com/app/1094730/Black_Legend/

Key Details:

Strategy To succeed in the city of Grant, players must approach each combat with a tactical focus. Unit placement, ability combos, and well-chosen attacks are key to survival. Black Legend focuses on old-school strategy vibes, but without the 95% percent chance misses. As players build their band of mercenaries, it’s important to consider which class, what unique abilities, and what items will lead to success.
Alchemy This ancient branch of natural philosophy adds an explosive twist to combat in Black Legend. Based on the real history behind alchemy, this system includes the four stages of the magnum opus, also known as the process to create the philosopher’s stone,—nigredo, albedo, citrinitas and rubedo. Players can mix up ranged and melee combat by using different combinations of the four alchemic attacks to injure, poison, and debilitate foes.
Classes For fans of strategy games, one of the most exciting features of Black Legend is the ability to change team members to one of 15 different classes that are unlocked as the game progresses. With classes ranging from Alchemist to Sharp Shooter, there are options for all kinds of preferred strategy styles. To unlock a class, the player must collect all the equipment required for that class through exploration or battle. Unlocked skills can be used by characters, no matter their class, opening up a wide range of cross-class builds for players to experiment with.
Exploration Free-exploration gives players the opportunity to investigate the many alleys and streets in the city of Grant. Different districts host a wide variety of architecture and environments, with the chance to discover hidden paths, a treasure trove of new items, hidden quest, or recruitable character.
Story For fans of rich historic storytelling, one of the most exciting aspects of Black Legend are the creatures inspired by centuries-old stories, respun in a unique way. Based on Belgian and Dutch folklore, these stories and the monsters that emerge from them have ancient roots, predating the Early Middle Ages. Players can expect to meet cannibalistic shapeshifters (Old Red Eyes), cat-eating, baby-stealing witches (Witte Wieven), shape-shifting water demons (Nekkers) and more.

Join the official Warcave Discord to learn more and chat with the development team - and be sure to follow us on social media for all the latest news and updates.
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See you in the city!

Yours,
Warcave

Original post

25 Mar 2021PCGamesN

Black Legend is XCOM with alchemy and Flemish folklore

Black Legend is a new tactical RPG that takes the turn-based gameplay of XCOM and draws heavily from 17th century Dutch and Belgian history to give it a dark fantasy twist. Its developer, Warcave, puts a slightly lighter spin on their release, calling it an effort by "a bunch of

22 Mar 2021Developer post

Ep 6: The Sounds of the City

Warcave is pleased to announce the Black Legend OST , composed by Vadim Krakhmal, will be available for purchase upon the game’s release either individually or in a bundle with the game. Now you can listen to the melancholic, immersive sounds of the city, or the adrenaline induci

17 Mar 2021Developer post

Ep 5: Arm Thyself

Arm Thyself Weapons and armour are key to survive any battle. Beyond adding protection and increasing parameters, many pieces of equipment come with important benefits you should keep track of. Finding equipment or purchasing it lets you unlock new classes. Actively searching for

Arm Thyself

Weapons and armour are key to survive any battle. Beyond adding protection and increasing parameters, many pieces of equipment come with important benefits you should keep track of.

Finding equipment or purchasing it lets you unlock new classes. Actively searching for new types of weapons and armour will greatly improve the versatility of your Mercenaries.

Armour

Armour comes in two categories, Light Armour and Heavy Armour. Classes using Heavy Armour generally focus on more survivability, while those donning Light Armour are often faster and can move across the battlefield with greater ease.
Some pieces of armour have unique passive effects. Make sure to find the best synergy between a class and the armour they wear.

Weapons

Weapons improve offensive capabilities and teach new techniques. Abilities become available by equipping the weapon that teaches it. Once used enough in battle, the ability is learned permanently and the Mercenary can learn the next.
Passive abilities are a bit different. Performing any action in combat while having the weapon equipped that teaches a passive ability will contribute to learning it permanently.

Cross Class

Once an active ability is learned, it can be “Cross Classed”. Each unit can use up to 3 abilities they’ve learned from any other class on top of the ones they have as their current class. Either augment the strengths of your current class with abilities from others, or cover weaknesses. Passive abilities cannot be cross classed, and are only available when the unit is the associated class.

Stay versatile, with a well equipped party and your victory over foes is almost always certain.

Humorism

The old techniques of manipulating the alchemy in the human body have been a staple of combat ever since their discovery. It is vital to master these concepts, for your enemies have already done so as well…

The 4 Humors

The body contains 4 different humors, each a distinct colour:

Nigredo, the black humor
Rubedo, the red humor
Albedo, the white humor
Citrinitas, the yellow humor

Many abilities, aside from their usual effects, often apply “stacks” of imbalance of these humors, indicated by the coloured markers above the ability icon. Each unit can have a maximum of 3 stacks of each colour on them.

The 4 Catalysts

Usually these stacks do very little on their own, but they can be “Catalyzed” into catalysts, using a “Catalyzing Ability”. Almost all units have an ability like this, based on the type of weapon they have equipped. Striking a target with this ability will combine the valid combinations of Humors into Catalysts. Like the Humors, there are 4 different catalysts:

Crimson Catalyst, combined Rubedo and Nigredo
Bronze Catalyst, combined Rubedo and Citrinitas
Silver Catalyst, combined Albedo and Nigredo
Gold Catalyst, combined Albedo and Citrinitas

To help visualize the relation between humors, you can use the “Alchemy Wheel” in combat to see if the humors are adjacent and form a combination.

Creating a Catalyst will consume the valid stacks, and deal significantly increased damage to the target. Combined with Trinkets, each of which having a unique effect when utilizing Humorism, will cause devastating effects on the targets.

Original post

10 Mar 2021Developer post

Ep 4: Humble Beginnings

Humble Beginnings The journey through Grant will be an arduous one. Fortunately, you found these basic tips passed on through generations of sellswords and soldiers on how to best survive in this world ruled by Alchemy. The Flow of Battle Units take turns to move and act in battl

Humble Beginnings

The journey through Grant will be an arduous one. Fortunately, you found these basic tips passed on through generations of sellswords and soldiers on how to best survive in this world ruled by Alchemy.

The Flow of Battle

Units take turns to move and act in battle. Each unit has an Initiative value that increases based on their Agility stat. Once this initiative reaches 100, the unit takes a turn. This entire process takes place in the background, so it’s easier to use the turn order at the top of the screen.

Moving and Actions consume Movement and Action Points respectively.

Movement increases as a unit’s Agility stat improves, allowing further tiles to be reached in a single turn.

Action points usually remain at a maximum of 3, although there are unique situations and abilities that could give a higher maximum. Ending your turn without spending all Action Points will make your next turn come faster.

Actions and Movements can be used interchangeably, there’s no set order. This means you can move, attack a target, move again and then perform a quicker action in any order you like, provided you have the required resources.

Consumable items consume no Action Points but can only be used once per battle.

Leave nothing to Chance

Mercenaries train their entire life, and competence in battle is the pride of any sellsword worth their coin.

You will find those employing both ranged and melee weapons to always strike true. Your strategy will not fail based on the whims of chance.

Weapon Types

Ranged weapons like Pistols, Rifles and Crossbows will require a clear shot at the target however, something often blocked by allies, obstacles or other enemies. A certain distance is also required.

Those armed with melee weapons can take advantage of the enemy’s back and flank being exposed, dealing additional damage when exploited.

Wide range attacks like the Blunderbuss are excellent when trying to hit multiple targets at once, but fire indiscriminately, meaning they can put allies in harm’s way as well.

Adrenaline

Adrenaline builds in battle as units deal damage or take damage. The higher your levels of adrenaline, the greater the chance of scoring a Critical Hit, dealing significantly more damage.
Upon landing a Critical Hit, your adrenaline will plummet back to 0.

Units with a higher Skill stat will build adrenaline more quickly.

Original post

03 Mar 2021Developer post

Ep 3: Finding your way through Grant

In Grant there was a division between populations, and so a difference between nobles and commoners arose. These commonors are usually craftsmen, artisans and cheap labor. The Commoners District houses a mixture of these people, leading to a mixture of both common and poorer hous

In Grant there was a division between populations, and so a difference between nobles and commoners arose. These commonors are usually craftsmen, artisans and cheap labor. The Commoners District houses a mixture of these people, leading to a mixture of both common and poorer housing making up the district. This District is among the largest of Grant, but mostly inhabited by the poorer people.

One of the city gates leads directly to this very district, starting at a checkpoint where guards check the goods entering and exiting the city.

The Harbour District is considered among the most important districts in the city. Hardened labourers and skilled merchants both made it their home, creating a diverse atmosphere. Ships carrying goods or currency would enter and exit here.

This district also holds one of the two large towers that hold up the harbour chain. The cult raised this chain again to keep people in the city, preventing escape by water.

After the outbreak, all of the larger ships were taken by the few lucky survivors in an attempt to escape the city. Their success is unknown.

The shipyard lies beyond the infamous bridge. “They had to cross the bridge” is a phrase that, when uttered, yielded reactions of worry and pity. Crossing the bridge implies someone had sunk deep into debt, either failing as a merchant or maintaining their business properly. The result is them crossing over the bridge into the Shipyard District, where harsh labour is expected to pay for the bills.

The buildings here house the shipyard workers and are made of cheap materials. The entire district carries a sense of purpose and functionality, as the workers have no need or time for distractions of their labour.

The second harbour tower holding up the chain is by far the most advanced constructed building in the area.

The second gate leads to a small island with a forest, but the mechanism is broken.

The Graveyard District houses some religious figures but mostly citizens of mediocre standing and wealth. Close proximity to the graves is often preferred by families who wish to tend to the graves of their ancestors, which has led to the interesting development of families in other parts of the city asking the citizens here to tend to their graves as well.

At the center of the graveyard stands a memorial bearing a massive ceremonial blade. The memorial bears the names of fallen soldiers and guards who have either protected Grant, or were born and raised in Grant before joining a foreign army. Maintenance of this memorial was done by Grand Piers instead of the Graveyard District citizens.

Entering the Church District, you can’t look past it, the big Cathedral of Grant. Religion is a vital part of everyday life for the inhabitants, mostly to pray for a better future. The Church District houses the clergy and their most devoted supports. Because of the high maintenance cost of the buildings, one tends to find some wealthier citizens living here, to more easily make donations to their religious leaders.

The City Center is situated in, how else can it be, the center of Grant, adjacent to the road leading to the City Council Hall. Due to its location it was crowned as the perfect marketplace, entirely due to its connections to all other districts.

Economically speaking, the City Center is Grant's most important district. On a typical day the market would be flooded with craftsmen and merchants selling their goods to a sea of customers. People would come from all over the place, inside and outside the city, to check out the goods. How times have changed. The market is no more and the place is mostly roamed by the Cult.

Original post

02 Mar 2021PCGamesN

XCOM meets dark fantasy and weird science in Black Legend, out this month

Black Legend is an XCOM-like tactical RPG game that's about grim tidings, and even grimmer science. Set in a decaying 17th Century town inspired by the cultures of Belgium and the Netherlands, the strategy game features fantasy-fuelled notions such as alchemy, cults and the the o

01 Mar 2021Developer post

The Gates of Grant are opening soon!

Mercenaries! Prepare your powder and sharpen your steel, the Gates of Grant will swing open when Black Legend launches March 25th ! Your team of mercenaries' survival will depend on mastering both strategic combat and the art of alchemy in this dark fantasy world directly inspire

01 Mar 2021Developer post

Ep 2: Start of Black Legend

One day, Mephisto was nowhere to be found. He left enough antidote behind for the city to use for several months, and the council decided to keep his disappearance a secret to prevent a panic. Those who worked for him were ordered to list the ingredients he required, and they ens

One day, Mephisto was nowhere to be found. He left enough antidote behind for the city to use for several months, and the council decided to keep his disappearance a secret to prevent a panic. Those who worked for him were ordered to list the ingredients he required, and they ensured enough of these ingredients were available for his return.

Mephisto did not return however, and managed to leave the city without anyone’s knowledge. When antidote was starting to run out, the council informed the citizens of the situation. Already, panic started, which eventually led to full chaos when the first citizens fell without antidote. This event would be marked as the Pandaemonium.

Some managed to flee either on foot or by ship, using antidote they managed to scavenge or hold on to. Others simply tried to hide from the violence, barring doors and entries, hoping to outlast the ongoing skirmishes.

Eventually, the chaos died down, as those afflicted succumbed to the fog. Those who fled brought tales of the city’s demise with them, and nobody from the outside dared heading towards the city’s outskirts anymore. The giant wall of fog can be spotted from a distance, and nobody notices how it slowly grows outwards…

Inside the city, only one member of the City Council managed to keep the effects of the fog at bay. Having witnessed how his colleagues all succumbed to the fog, Benedict Baruch determined the only person capable of cleansing the fog and restoring the city, was Mephisto himself. Benedict gained an intense desire to see the master Alchemist once more, to witness him undo his greatest and most terrible creation. To do so, he gathered a few surviving Alchemists and instructed them to work on a new version of the Antidote.

The Alchemists succeeded in creating a modified version of the antidote, but this one required human blood to function properly. Initially, they used bloodletting on themselves to create the antidote. They went out looking for survivors, and handed them the new antidote as they joined the cult.

Eventually the cult grew beyond the ability to sustain itself. Members were instructed to go out and knock on the doors, demanding that the survivors either join the cult or yield their blood. This event would be remembered as the Tithe of Blood, and fully established the cults takeover of the city.

Since that day, cultists patrol the streets, looking for survivors to either recruit or abduct for blood harvest.

The war outside the city gates has ended. The victorious kingdom is issuing punishments on the losing side. Part of this process is evaluating captured mercenaries that were simply bought by the opposing faction.

The king proposes the same to each group, be executed or make your way to Grant, release it from the fog, and earn a royal pardon in doing so. Many have taken the king’s offer, only to succumb to the fog due to lack of antidote. The city outskirts are littered with the bodies of dead mercenaries.

Original post

24 Feb 2021Developer post

Ep 1: History of Grant

Grant’s status as a city state started very early. No kingdoms or true borders had been established when Grant started to grow. The location was tactically chosen, being both near the water as a source of food and mercantile opportunities, and very central when it comes to land r

Grant’s status as a city state started very early. No kingdoms or true borders had been established when Grant started to grow. The location was tactically chosen, being both near the water as a source of food and mercantile opportunities, and very central when it comes to land routes.

This favourable position caused the city to grow quickly, despite lacking a direct ruler. By the time the Council had been established, so were neighbouring kingdoms. The rise of these kingdoms was partially possible thanks to their trade through the city of Grant. This very detail had prevented many kings and rulers from taking the city, as a lot of other nations would immediately retaliate should one of their most important independent trade partners end up being captured by a rival kingdom.

Although Grant had some military power, it was mostly for self defense and to keep the peace internally. The city state operated on too small of a scale to compete with foreign nations, however, it did produce a respectable amount of mercenaries available for hire, where it was simply considered another type of good or service you could purchase there.

War eventually broke out between two neighbouring nations. Both sides forged alliances with other kingdoms, which removed the threat of instant retaliation that originally kept the city safe. Both sides had set their eyes on Grant, and news of this reached the city council.

After much discussion, the council received a visitor, an incredibly talented Alchemist introducing himself as Mephisto. He laid out a plan where he produced a special beer that creates a very toxic fog, which would envelop the entire city and the outskirts. The population would evacuate inside the city walls and be given an antidote to the fog. When the kingdoms attacked, their troops would succumb to the mist and go berserk, safeguarding the city for as long as the war would rage on.

The Council agreed to provide the necessities for Mephisto to begin his work. Soon everything was set in motion and the city was covered in fog. As the population drank the antidote and waited, scouts would spot the approaching armies from the city walls. The reports detail the soldiers slowing down first, before brutally fighting each other. A horn was heard and what remained of the armies retreated.

Life continued fairly normal in the city. The recipe for antidote was safeguarded heavily to prevent it from falling into enemy hands, although it was very clear that none of the warring nations still had interest in taking Grant after hearing about the power of the fog. All goods were checked before leaving the city, making sure nobody tried to smuggle it out.

Original post

26 Nov 2020Developer post

Did you miss out on the demo for Black Legend during Steam's Autumn Festival?

Hello everyone! We made the demo for Black Legend available again on Steam. The demo, previously only available during the Steam Game Festival: Autumn Edition, gives you an early taste of the first hour of Black Legend and shows off some of the early classes, weapons, quests, and

30 Oct 2020Developer post

We are the Warcave

Black Legend is developed by the talented and diverse team of Warcave, located in the charming city of Geel in Belgium. When it comes to games, we search for only the most passionate individuals. Black Legend was born from such passion, where we aspired to share the historical an

21 Oct 2020Developer post

Steam Autumn Festival Livestream VOD

We like to thank all participants who gave our demo a try during the Steam Autumn festival! While the event was ongoing the Warcave team was broadcasting a section of gameplay from outside the demo. Those who missed this livestream or want to watch it again can do so on our Youtu

09 Oct 2020Developer post

Try the Black Legend demo now

Explore the city of Grant, join the Gilded Claw resistance and learn the ropes of our unique Alchemy system as you battle the Mephistians in engaging strategic content. Along with the demo, We will be livestreaming a new section of Black Legend during the event. The demo covers t

07 Oct 2020Developer post

Steam Autumn Festival Demo

Tune in during the Steam Autumn Festival any time between October 7-13 to play the exclusive Steam demo of Black Legend! Explore the city of Grant, join the Gilded Claw resistance and learn the ropes of our unique Alchemy system as you battle the Mephistians in engaging strategic

Updates & announcements

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Key Details:

Arm Thyself

Armour

Weapons

Cross Class

Humorism

The 4 Humors

The 4 Catalysts

Humble Beginnings

The Flow of Battle

Leave nothing to Chance

Weapon Types

Adrenaline