Small update for Unity vulnerability.
Applied the UnityPlayer security patch, no other changes.
Applied the UnityPlayer security patch, no other changes.
Heretic Operative
- Released
- Feb 18, 2019
- Platforms
- Last updated
Updates & announcements
- Developer postOriginal post
- Developer post
Heretic Operative Update 1.2.2
Happy Holidays! We have just released a small patch for Heretic Operative that fixes a couple of ways you could get the game into a bad state under the right combination of circumstances. Have fun fighting off the Cult, and stay tuned in 2021 for some info on what we've been work
Original postHappy Holidays!
We have just released a small patch for Heretic Operative that fixes a couple of ways you could get the game into a bad state under the right combination of circumstances.
Have fun fighting off the Cult, and stay tuned in 2021 for some info on what we've been working on next....
Bugfixes:
- Fixed a bug that would cause the game to be soft-locked when attempting to clear Cult sites under the right conditions.
- Fixed a bug where the game could sometimes fail to end properly when the player has no Operatives remaining. - Developer post
Year One Patch now Live!
It's been one year since Heretic Operative was released, and we are celebrating by releasing a major new update! - New difficulty modes! While the same standard challenging balance is still available by default, now you can choose which difficulty level is right for your play sty
Original postIt's been one year since Heretic Operative was released, and we are celebrating by releasing a major new update!
- New difficulty modes! While the same standard challenging balance is still available by default, now you can choose which difficulty level is right for your play style. There are no XP adjustments based on difficulty, so play whatever you enjoy the most. To win on "Excommunicated" will require mastery of all of Heretic Operative's gameplay.
- New free Operative! Corrian the Disavowed brings some powerful new abilities to the table, like gaining additional Action Points and being able to recruit for free. However his dark side leaves him vulnerable to Corruption. Using him requires a difficult choice: embrace his abilities and plan for the inevitable consequence, or attempt to bring him back on to a more sustainable path?
- Lots of balance changes! We have made another major pass across all the spells, items, and Townsfolk in the game to try and bring some of the under-strength ones up to par. A significant pass was made to improve the Townsfolk that require an Action Point to interact with. Carefully spending your Action Points is the most important mechanic in Heretic Operative and we wanted to make sure there were many viable options.
If you enjoy this new update please let us know in the forums or by leaving us a review. We're a very small studio and your feedback matters a lot to us.
Full patch nodes below (and viewable in-game):
1.2.1 - 10-FEB-2020
New Features & Content:
- Difficulty modes!
* "Initiate" lowers skill check difficulty, gives bonus starting resources, and +1 Action Point each turn. Perfect for learning the game or just experimenting.
* "Operative" is the standard mode the game is balanced around.
* "Excommunicated" is a challenging mode where both skill checks and combat are more difficult, and the Cult gets to start with one additional Cultist. If you find the normal game a little too easy, this mode will test your skills!- New Operative! Corrian the Disavowed can generate extra Action Points and recruit Townsfolk without Influence, but can easily fall to temptation...
Balance Changes:
- Night damage dice now generate Corruption for every 3 points of damage (improved from 2/dmg).
- Illusion spell "Inquisition" now costs 10 Corruption (down from 25), and generates 1 Influence when used.
- Elven spell "Treant" now requires 4+ Tranquility to cast (down from 5+).
- Pouch of Endless Gold now gives 3 gold per turn (up from 2).Many items or Townsfolk that require an Action Point to use are now more worthwhile, to better reflect the cost of using the AP.
- Hermit (Lost Temple) no longer requires a Lore to use Arcane Wards.
- Treasure Hunter (Ancient Temple) now has a higher chance of success.
- Fishmonger (Docks) now gives 4 Rumors for 2 Gold (was 1 for 1).
- Librarian (Museum District) now has a higher chance of success.
- Herbalist (Farmstead) now costs 2 Influence to recruit (was 4), and only costs 1 Gold to use (was 2).
- Shopkeeper (Farmstead) now costs 2 Influence to recruit (was 4), and only costs 1 Gold to use (was 2).
- Blacksmith (Farmstead) now costs 4 Influence to recruit (was 6).
- Mayor (Farmstead) recruitment requirements adjusted to match costs of other Townsfolk, to 10 combined Influence (was 12).
- Farmer (Farmstead) work now reduces Corruption (-10) in addition to paying Gold.
- Guard Captain (Frontier) work now pays 3 Gold (up from 2).
- Dubious Merchant (Frontier) now pays significantly more Gold for items, between 4 and 7 (was between 2 and 5).
- Veteran (Burning Woods Rebuilt) now pays 4 Gold (up from 2) when getting the Gold result for raiding.
- Healer (Hideout) now generates 1 Fate in addition to healing.
- Barkeep (Copec's Tavern) action now reduces Corruption by 5 when nothing is going on (was: no effect).
- Provisioner (Forgotten Tomb) now offers 3 items to choose from (was 2).
- Explorer (Desolate Isle) now gives 3 Rumors when trading Lore (was 2), and also lowers Corruption (-10).
- Item "Life Water?" now is usable at -2 Tranquility (was -5).
- Item "Utuk in Amber" now reduces Tranquiliity by -1 (was -2).
- Item "Notes on Suspicious Activity" now generates 4 Rumors when successfully used (was 2).
- Item "Hawksdottir's Amulet" now costs 5 Corruption to wear (down from 15).
- Item "Wand of Projection" now costs -1 Tranquility to use (up from -2).
- Item "Scrolls of Prophecy" now generates 8 Rumors and 8 Fate when successfully used (was 5 and 5).
- Item "Orb of Divination" now generates 4 Fate when used (up from 3).
- Item "Orb of Provenance" now consumes 3 Fate when used (down from 5).Bugfixes & Misc:
- Fixed a bug where Malhal Raiders would not properly steal gold from the Tavern
- Fixed a bug that would cause randomly picked spell targets to not be very random.
- Main menu now shows whether or not the Blood Cult DLC is available. - Developer post
Free DLC Update: Artifacts of Fate
5 new treasures can now be discovered, each of which is tied to the inevitable powers of Fate. These "Artifacts of Fate" generate powerful effects without any cost in Corruption. Some can generate Fate, others consume it, but each provides a valuable strategic tool to use against
Original post5 new treasures can now be discovered, each of which is tied to the inevitable powers of Fate.
These "Artifacts of Fate" generate powerful effects without any cost in Corruption. Some can generate Fate, others consume it, but each provides a valuable strategic tool to use against the Cult.
The content in "Artifacts of Fate" is free to all players of Heretic Operative, so have fun with the new cards!
Look forward to more new content, as the 1 year anniversary of the game's release is right around the corner...
- Developer post
Patch Notes 1.1.5
Magic has received a significant boost, with better tools for managing Corruption and an increased power level to make it more worth the risk and investment. Balance: - Most non-combat spells and Operative abilities no longer use an AP to cast, but have had their Corruption costs
Original postMagic has received a significant boost, with better tools for managing Corruption and an increased power level to make it more worth the risk and investment.
Balance:
- Most non-combat spells and Operative abilities no longer use an AP to cast, but have had their Corruption costs slightly increased and/or can only be cast once per turn.
- Vyrian's "Contemplation" ability now reduces Corruption by 25 (was: 10)
- Renni's ability "Research" now costs 1 gold, and no longer generates Fate.
- Townsfolk "Mentor" has been improved significantly, and now always either reduces Corruption or improves Tranquility.
- Townsfolk "Scout" now gives a significantly better results and is less likely to cause you to become lost.- Night spell "Insight" now grants +3 Arcane skill (was +2).
- All 4 Night combat spells now have +1 combat die (Creeping Shadow, Darkbolt, Soulrend, and Unspeakable Truth).
- Elemental spell "Stone Shield" now costs 10 Corruption (was 5).
- Elemental combat spells "Firebolt", "Flamestrike", "Apocalypse", and "Rockfist" have had their Corruption costs reduced by 5.
- Elemental spell "Earthen Grasp" now costs only 2 Corruption (was 5).
- Illusion combat spell "Torment" now has +1 combat die.
- Elven spell "Forest Allies" now only gives 1 Influence when cast.
- Elven spell "Mending" now only heals +1 health instead of going to maximum.Bugs:
- Fixed an issue that could show misleading combat results when dying to the Abomination Seed. (thanks: Mouth)
- Developer post
Heretical Notions #3
Hello again, fellow Heretics! The Blood Cult has been out for a little over a month now and hopefully everyone has had a chance to wrestle with some of the challenges that they bring. We've been a little quiet lately working on some internal C Prompt stuff like new game prototype
Original postHello again, fellow Heretics!
The Blood Cult has been out for a little over a month now and hopefully everyone has had a chance to wrestle with some of the challenges that they bring.
We've been a little quiet lately working on some internal C Prompt stuff like new game prototypes and other forward-looking pieces. However, we are definitely not yet done with Heretic Operative!
In the next few weeks we'll be pushing out a balance patch, touching a number of areas but primarily focused on giving magic a boost. While we don't want to lose the unique feel that the existing magic system has - forcing Operatives to confront the dangers of Corruption - we do want to make sure that using spells is viable even on harder difficulty setups.
As a very small studio, we really appreciate the time players have put into the game. We read every review and discussion post, so don't hesitate to share your thoughts!
- Developer post
Heretic Operative 1.1.3
The 1.1.3 build is now live. This is a very minor update, fixing a bad description string for Blood Cultists. It also includes a "reference" set of text for all the strings in the game, for anyone interested in doing text or language mods for the game. Thanks to Steam user "etrig
Original postThe 1.1.3 build is now live. This is a very minor update, fixing a bad description string for Blood Cultists.
It also includes a "reference" set of text for all the strings in the game, for anyone interested in doing text or language mods for the game. Thanks to Steam user "etrigane" (https://www.youtube.com/user/evasowana) for showing there's some possible interest in this sort of thing.
For more details on how to do text mods, I've posted a brief set of instruction docs on our Discord (https://discord.gg/KfjK973). The underlying game engine is fairly well suited for modding or adding new cards, so if there is interest in card mods, I'd love to add support for them in the future.
Meanwhile, I hope everyone is having a good time fighting the Blood Cult!
Please leave a review if you can, as our Steam reviews make a huge difference in how new people discover the game.
- Developer post
Blood Cult is now live! (1.1.2 patch notes)
Our first DLC, "Heretic Operative - Blood Cult", is now live! Available for $2.99 USD (or local equivalent), the Blood Cult brings an new enemy to the game with 20 new cards and challenging Cultist abilities to overcome. Let us know what you think in the forums or by leaving us a
Original postOur first DLC, "Heretic Operative - Blood Cult", is now live! Available for $2.99 USD (or local equivalent), the Blood Cult brings an new enemy to the game with 20 new cards and challenging Cultist abilities to overcome.
Let us know what you think in the forums or by leaving us a review!
New content:
- New Cult: Blood Cult (DLC)
https://store.steampowered.com/app/1060830/Heretic_Operative__Blood_Cult/- New Operative: Aethys the Enduring
Aethys is available upon reaching level 4, and is free for all players.Gameplay:
- Arcane damage abilities now always give you at least one combat die, even if your Arcane skill is very low.Bugs:
- Ambient volume setting was being ignored in some circumstances, now fixed.
- Frontier Adventure card "Finders Keepers" now correctly increases Corruption. (thanks: Zeru)
- Fixed an issue where the "Twisted Fate" story could fail if you recruited the Astrologer on the same turn the defeat timer completed. (thanks: Zeral)
- Fixed some inconsistent uses of Elven Archive vs Elf Archive.
- Difficulty icons for the Hideout now properly show that it contains both Social and Physical skill challenges.
- Added some bullet-proofing against combat abilities that result in no rolled dice.
- Fixed an issue where an incorrect Operative target could be listed in the log after drawing Event and Enemy cards.Misc:
- Experimental support for text mods. 
Developer postHeretic Operative - Blood Cult!
We are pleased to announce the first DLC for Heretic Operative - the Blood Cult! Fully embracing the power of Blood magic, this new Cult is a dangerous adversary. Players will be required to change up their tactics to find new ways to fight the Blood Cult before all their loyal T
Original postWe are pleased to announce the first DLC for Heretic Operative - the Blood Cult!
Fully embracing the power of Blood magic, this new Cult is a dangerous adversary. Players will be required to change up their tactics to find new ways to fight the Blood Cult before all their loyal Townsfolk are rapidly converted to cultists...
Releasing alongside the Blood Cult will be "Aethys the Enduring", our first additional starting Operative. Aethys is completely free to all players of Heretic Operative regardless of whether or not you own the Blood Cult.
The Blood Cult will be arriving on April 19!
Check out the full store page here: https://store.steampowered.com/app/1060830/Heretic_Operative__Blood_Cult/
Developer postHeretical Notions #2
April is upon us, and the first DLC is right around the corner. We're finalizing a few details before we announce all the details but with any luck it should be out this month. Alongside the DLC will be a new free starting Operative for you to use - Aethys the Enduring. Natural B
Original postApril is upon us, and the first DLC is right around the corner. We're finalizing a few details before we announce all the details but with any luck it should be out this month.
Alongside the DLC will be a new free starting Operative for you to use - Aethys the Enduring.
- Natural Bloodmage: Bonus damage to Blood dice while injured.
- Enduring Will: Recovers Health every turn.
Like all our starting Operatives, using Aethys can really change up the strategies can use and the risks you can take.
Also - we now have trading cards! Check your Steam Inventory for them if you are an existing player. They are all based on various locations in the game.
- Developer post
Patch Notes - 1.0.5
1.0.5 patch is live now! Combat UI has been tweaked slightly to improve tension and there are a few new Adventures to be found in commonly-visited areas (and of course, bugfixes). Next week we'll share some more details about our first DLC and the free content that accompanies it
Original post1.0.5 patch is live now! Combat UI has been tweaked slightly to improve tension and there are a few new Adventures to be found in commonly-visited areas (and of course, bugfixes).
Next week we'll share some more details about our first DLC and the free content that accompanies it.
New content:
- Added 4 new Adventure cards.Gameplay:
- The Barkeep at Copec's Tavern can now generate more resources, and help in some adventure cards.
- The feast summoned by "Conjure Feast" no longer requires an Action Point to use, and can be used twice before disappearing.
- Tavern Adventure card "Cultist Ambush" now has an option that spends Influence instead of rumors, to avoid redundancy with the general use of Rumors to redraw Adventures.
- "Elven Herbalist" Adventure card is now more generous as to what constitutes "lack of Corruption".Misc:
- Combat round results are now hidden until combat dice are finished rolling.
- Fixed a typo in Shadow Cult "Unnatural Darkness" card.
- Mercenary deck now has a proper repeatable "empty deck" reward. (Thanks: tiavals)
- Added a large notification popup when starting a new game or loading a saved game to make it clearer what is going on if the launch process is taking a long time.Bugs:
- Blood spell "Mutilation" now properly gives Arcane skill. (thanks: Rainbow Lotus & tiavals)
- Fixed an internal string that could appear on the Ambush card view.
- Conjuration spell "Conjure Feast" is no longer referred to as "Arcane Feast" in some places. - Developer post
Heretical Notions #1
Heretic Operative has now been out for nearly a month! First off, I want to deeply thank all our players for checking out our difficult, dark, and strange digital board game. C Prompt Games is very small - just two of us - and building Heretic Operative has been a labor of love o
Original postHeretic Operative has now been out for nearly a month!
First off, I want to deeply thank all our players for checking out our difficult, dark, and strange digital board game. C Prompt Games is very small - just two of us - and building Heretic Operative has been a labor of love over the past year.
I personally read every single review and discussions forum post and it means a lot to me when people take the time to leave us a review, give us feedback, or ask questions to learn more about the game.
We are just getting started with Heretic Operative. There is more content, both free and in DLC forms, coming down the road for the rest of 2019 (and beyond, if possible), and of course we will be continuing to provide balance and bugfix patches as well.
We will have more information to share with everyone about the timeline for DLC releases fairly soon. Meanwhile, the next patch is coming in the next week or two. The details are still being sorted out but expect some minor balance changes and bugfixes, along with a handful of new (free) Adventure cards.
Cultist activity is on the rise at Copec’s Tavern, and an oft-overlooked Townsfolk there may be the key to staying one step ahead of them...
- Developer post
Patch Notes - 1.0.4
Build 1.04 is live now, featuring brand-new Adventure cards and some important balance changes to Iron and Night combat dice. Thanks to everyone who has posted balance & bug information in the forums / discussions. We read all of them and take the feedback seriously. New cont
Original postBuild 1.04 is live now, featuring brand-new Adventure cards and some important balance changes to Iron and Night combat dice.
Thanks to everyone who has posted balance & bug information in the forums / discussions. We read all of them and take the feedback seriously.
New content:
- Added 5 new Adventure cards.Balance
- Scrolls of Prophecy now has two uses, and gives Rumors & Fate in addition to removing Cult Activity tokens, but also costs some Corruption when used.
- Iron combat dice now get +1 for every 2 points of Physical skill (rounded down).
- Night combat dice now generate Corruption equal to 1/2 the value rolled (final die of 6 doubles to the full face value of dice rolled).
- Spell "Unspeakable Truth" now applies a Tranquility penalty of -4 (was -5).
- Corrupted Operatives now always have 1 Health, instead of whatever Health they had before being corrupted.
- Added repeatable reward in the very unlikely event all Elven spells are learned.Bugs
- Fixed issues related to Scrolls of Prophecy including missing strings and not actually doing anything.
- Fixed a string that was referring to the Cathedral District by an old name. - Developer post
Mechanics #14 - Strategy Advice
As we finish our mechanics blog series, here are a few tips and tricks on how to succeed in defeating the Cult. How you spend your early Influence is vital. Spending it on Cell Leaders and other passive resource generators can pay off exponentially, since you can then re-invest t
Original postAs we finish our mechanics blog series, here are a few tips and tricks on how to succeed in defeating the Cult.
How you spend your early Influence is vital. Spending it on Cell Leaders and other passive resource generators can pay off exponentially, since you can then re-invest those resources.
Don’t be afraid to convert your unused Actions into Fate points - having Fate available can make a huge difference when avoiding a negative Adventure outcome, so you always want to keep one or two points on hand. That said - if you find another source of Fate in the world, that’s very efficient compared to spending your Actions.
Time, in the form of your Action Points is your most limited resource across the game as a whole. Finding ways to save Action Points is tough, but optimizing movement is one of the most effective. Unlocking new travel routes via Townsfolk and gaining free movement points can result in a lot of “free” Actions over the course of the game. Another way to buy time is to slow down the pace of Cult Activity. Prioritize defeating Cultists and gaining Cult Resistance, and that will buy you many more turns in the end.
Nearly every game requires at least some degree of combat. The built-in abilities that your Operatives have will get your through early combats well enough, but beyond that you’ll need to have a plan. There are a lot of options but recruiting mercenaries and researching spells are usually the most consistently available and powerful. Against most enemies, using a high Physical skill Operative (like Whitefang or Onto) is a good way to post some large numbers quickly. Investing in magic can be more versatile for both combat and non-combat utility, and some enemies are very resistant to Iron dice.
Heretic Operative is a challenging game, but with some experience and insight you’ll be able to handle anything the Cult throws at you.
Have strategy insights of your own? Share them with us in the forum, or join the Discord server: https://discord.gg/KfjK973
- Developer post
Patch Notes 1.0.3
Patch Notes - 1.0.3 - All story objectives now have rollover hints that provide some additional detail on where or how to complete them. - Mentor (Hideout) now will work with Operatives up to Corruption 60 (was 50). - Operative-specific combat abilities now show up in the Spells
Original postPatch Notes - 1.0.3
- All story objectives now have rollover hints that provide some additional detail on where or how to complete them.
- Mentor (Hideout) now will work with Operatives up to Corruption 60 (was 50).
- Operative-specific combat abilities now show up in the Spells & Abilities panel so that they can be viewed outside of combat.
- Fixed a misspelling in the view text for Mask of Deception.
- Fixed the missing strings in the "Destroy the Storm Obelisk" skill challenge.
- Guardian effect now shows up in game log.
- Fixed an issue that would cause the Storm Altar to keep retargeting the same location.
- Lyrica's art in the main menu tryptych has been updated. - Developer post
Getting Started with Heretic Operative
It's great to see people jumping into the game and battling against the Cult, but Heretic Operative can be a challenging and mechanically dense game with a lot to learn. We'll be adding a few more in-game hints later this week, but in the meanwhile here are a few quick tips to ge
Original postIt's great to see people jumping into the game and battling against the Cult, but Heretic Operative can be a challenging and mechanically dense game with a lot to learn.
We'll be adding a few more in-game hints later this week, but in the meanwhile here are a few quick tips to get you started on the basics.
Selection & Movement
To select an Operative, left-click their portrait on the center bar or on the map.
To move a selected Operative, left-click a movement arrow (along the lines that show possible destinations) or right-click your destination.
Resources
The best way to get more resources is to recruit the right Townsfolk. You can recruit Townsfolk in any location where you have an Operative by clicking on their "scroll" in the bottom-left of the game UI and paying some influence.
Note that recruiting Townsfolk never takes an action, but many of them unlock special abilities you can spend an action point on.
There are many Townsfolk in the game, but here are a few important ones to not overlook, the ones that get you resource income every turn. Here are a couple to look for:
- Farmstead - Blacksmith (Gold)
- Copec's Tavern - Cell Leader (Influence), Informant (Rumors)
Getting more Lore and more Fate can be a little trickier, but the Museum District can be a great source for both.
Learning More
Almost everything in the game has a tooltip, and these tooltips are intended to make the game rules as transparent as possible.
There is also a Controls overview in the in-game ESC menu, and you can hit the "?" button in the bottom-middle of the screen for some additional help.
We hope these tips are helpful in getting started. Heretic Operative is intentionally not an easy game, but with some perseverance victory can be achieved very reliably. Good luck and have fun with the game!
- Developer post
Launch day!
We are live! Heretic Operative will be -10% off for the first week as a launch discount. Check out the game and please let us know what you think by leaving a review! Come chat about the game here on our Discord server: But of course we're not done with Heretic Operative at launc
Original postWe are live! Heretic Operative will be -10% off for the first week as a launch discount.
Check out the game and please let us know what you think by leaving a review!
Come chat about the game here on our Discord server:
https://discord.gg/KfjK973
But of course we're not done with Heretic Operative at launch. We look forward to applying your feedback to the game on both balance and bug patches, as well as adding more new Adventures, Operatives, and more.
- Developer post
Patch Notes 1.0.1
We've been busy pushing a few last minute builds to squash bugs before the game goes live on Monday! Here are the patch notes for your reading enjoyment: - Tooltips show unmet requirements in red now to draw attention. - Fixed an issue that could cause "Initiation" story to becom
Original postWe've been busy pushing a few last minute builds to squash bugs before the game goes live on Monday!
Here are the patch notes for your reading enjoyment:
- Tooltips show unmet requirements in red now to draw attention.
- Fixed an issue that could cause "Initiation" story to become stuck when replayed.
- Cleaned up some duplicate sound FX.
- Another pass on text cleanup.
- Fixed a button overlap issue between game log & help button.
- Adjusted formatting of random outcome tables.
- Fixed an issue with the location-specific results in the Apocalypse story.
- Renni's ability "Research" is now only usable 5 times, but gives +1 Fate each time it is used.
- Tooltip colorization for not having an Action Point available now also triggers when the selected Operative is Exhausted.
- Normalized the frequency of a few outlier Adventure cards.
- Fixed a bug where the Transmute minor spell would not generate any gold.
- Fixed a bug that would cause you to pay to complete a Story objective twice.
- Fixed a small handful of missing strings.
- A certain particularly bad outcome in the Tomb now has an entry in the game log.
- Prevent losing games that have already been scored from being scored a second time when reloaded.
- Fix an issue that could cause the UI to report that a game was not scored when it actually was.
- Fixed an issue with win badges (new game screen) not appearing. 
Developer postMechanics #13 - Victory & Defeat
There is only one way to win a game of Heretic Operative - complete every Chapter in the Story deck. But Heretic Operative is not an easy game, and there are many ways to lose. Here’s an overview of each of them so you can best be prepared to stop the Cult. The most direct way to
Original postThere is only one way to win a game of Heretic Operative - complete every Chapter in the Story deck. But Heretic Operative is not an easy game, and there are many ways to lose. Here’s an overview of each of them so you can best be prepared to stop the Cult.
The most direct way to lose the game is for all of your Operatives to be killed. Repeated combat can take a toll, and losing Health from Adventures or Events is always a possibility. It is important to gain Influence and recruit additional Operatives so that the loss of one isn’t the end. There are also ways to heal, but unlike a lot of traditional RPGs there isn’t a dedicated healing class or easy ways to recover fully between combats. Healing can always be found by returning to the Hideout, but there are other ways to be discovered that are much less expensive in time and momentum.
The other most common way to lose is for the Cult to grow too powerful. As mentioned a few blog posts back, Cult Activity leads to Cult Power, and each leader has a different amount of Cult Power that can cause the end of the game. Defeat Cultists and find sources of Cult Resistance to buy yourself enough time to complete the Story chapter objectives. If you’re finding that you are often overwhelmed by rising Cult Power, recruiting the Auspex in the Heretic Hideout is a great early game technique for getting some Cult Resistance immediately.
The Hideout is vital to the Heretic’s organization and if it is ever destroyed the game also ends. But it is well hidden, and requires a coordinated effort by the Cult to find it even when they get in the right Location. Mechanically, this will trigger when there are three Cultists at the Hideout, and whenever Cultists move, they move in that direction. If you let the map fill up with Cultists, you may have to rally a last-ditch defense to keep the Hideout secure.
Finally, some Story decks have specific additional failure conditions, usually when you have only a certain number of turns to accomplish something.
There are many threats in the game to answer, and finding the proper strategy will require skill, experience, and just a little bit of luck. Next time on the final (for now) mechanics blog, we’ll give a few tips and tricks to stack the odds in your favor.
Developer postMechanics #12 - Cult Power
While your Operatives are out completing Adventures and recruiting Townsfolk to the cause, the Cult is not just sitting idly by. The Cult Leader will oppose your actions, gaining new Cultists and continually working to complete their plans. Mechanically, this is measured by two i
Original postWhile your Operatives are out completing Adventures and recruiting Townsfolk to the cause, the Cult is not just sitting idly by. The Cult Leader will oppose your actions, gaining new Cultists and continually working to complete their plans. Mechanically, this is measured by two important values, Cult Activity and Cult Power.
Every Cult Leader has a meter that shows how their power develops. As Cultists operate out in the field, they generate Cult Activity. These points of Cult Activity fill the meter, and when it is completely full the Cult Power increases by one. Each new point of Cult Power unlocks powerful new cards for the Cult to use against you. More importantly, if they get enough Cult Power, the Cult Leader becomes too powerful to stop and the Heretics immediately lose the game.
Different Cults have a different speed and rhythm based on their unique cards, abilities, and meters. When fighting against the Beast Cult you must move fast, as they win after the meter fills up only two times. The Storm Cult, on the other hand, requires the meter to fill four times to win. However, they have many tools to delay and hinder Heretic operations. Playing the same Story deck against a different Cult can drastically change up how you have to approach your strategy.
By default, the Cult only generates one point of Cult Activity each turn. At that pace, the Heretics have plenty of time to respond and develop their position. But as Cultists move around the map, they build Cult Sites. When a Cultist is free to spend a turn uninterrupted at a Cult Site, they generate an additional point of Cult Activity. Left unchecked, this can lead to the Cult gaining 4 or 5 points each turn!
The most direct way to stay on top of Cult Activity is to defeat the Cultists directly and destroy their Cult Sites. In addition, if the Heretics can obtain means to stop Cultists through other avenues (such as a temporary alliance with more reasonable members of the Church), they can gain points of Cult Resistance. Cult Resistance is extremely valuable, as it neutralizes one source of Cult Activity out in the world each turn. That extra breathing room is vital in maintaining control of the game.
Next up on our mechanics blog - all the ways you can win and lose the game, summarized.