Dear Travellers,
What word best describes those items used in spell casting? In Braided Shore these ‘ingredients’ are known as Reagents, and as your travels unfold you’ll come to know a great deal about them...
As with all things that nourish our lives, the occurrence of these magical ingredients is sometimes logical but at other times seems to have no obvious cause. When it comes to logic, Reagents manifest as a complex expression of many things: the natural landscape, the relationship between the land and its various inhabitants, and the history of both of those things. Like mycelium beneath mushrooms and the roots under trees, there are deep systems at work, and they’re largely the labour of Game Designer Beto who took inspiration from picking flowers for a midsommar garland: “I knew vaguely where I could find each flower I wanted, so I went kind of where I remembered them to be, but I still had to do some searching, and as I did, I found pleasant surprises - it felt so much like the experience I wanted for Travellers in Braided Shore”.
“Those who dig deeper are more attuned to the gifts of earth and can express themselves with the language of the Winds and the aroma of Tea.” - Soyda, Mushroom Specialist, Rivenleaf College, Naturalist Faculty
What are Reagents?
While we’ve talked a little about some of Braided Shore’s more supernatural aspects and some of the effects and skills that can be conjured by way of teas and knots, we’ve shared little about the items required and how you might encounter them. With the correct combination of Reagents, players will be able to use skills and make knots spells and magic teas (such as the Brew of Hidden Cries). Reagents can manifest as many things - beautiful, ordinary, natural or manufactured, and their properties are studied by scholars and Mystics across the land. As a newcomer to Braided Shore you too will become a student of Reagents as you get to know the many aspects of Reagent lore and usage.
Tune in to the presence of Reagents
The most obvious way to detect the whereabouts of Reagents is by paying attention to the world around you. Just as with items, you’ll find them in hidden places, and thoughtful exploration will pay off - light, colour or movement might signal that something potent is close by. But as you familiarise yourself with the world you’ll also learn its logic and figure out where you’ll have the most chance of searching out more common Reagents such as Dandelion or Garden Balsam. Folk you meet and conversations you overhear may also reveal tips and pointers to an all-important, spell-completing Reagent.
Find signs of Reagents in the wild
When it comes to wildlife, there’s more to the surrounding flora and fauna than decoration. For example Yellow flowers indicate that Garden Balsam or Char Mustard are somewhere closeby, and noticing where wolves like to hunt will help you seek out a rare tuft of animal hair.
Look for logic in towns and villages
Just as with items, towns and villages are the site of a greater abundance of Reagents, but that doesn’t mean that you’ll need to be any less discerning. Some Reagents will be found in places they’d naturally occur, such as the Pure Soot in dockyards and railways, and Woots Powder which is also commonly found by train tracks and sites of rudimentary industry. But Reagents may be moved, dropped or hidden and as a result, turn up in some unlikely locations...
Rare Reagents may mean high stakes
Rare Reagents are much sought after owing to their special properties or simply to their scarcity value. The rarest are as elusive as they are powerful and players will most likely need to invest some energy to locate them. One may be cause for a special expedition, another may require the kind of commitment that involves risking one’s life… A Silk Flower, for example, grows far from any road or settlement, where landscapes are desolate and sublime, and should you seek a Tuft of Animal Hair while wolves are hunting, you might run the risk or a wolf attack. But not all rare Reagents are as pretty to behold as flowers and fluff - Coagulated Engine Oil is as sticky and stinky as you might imagine (its rarity owes to the sparsity of oil in this inherited railway infrastructure).
Once you’ve packed your latest Reagent safely in your pack, it’s yours to use as you wish. There’s a plethora of Reagents already in Braided Shore, but nothing is fixed - some Reagents may disappear while new ones may emerge or be discovered.
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We’re really looking forward to hearing about your discoveries come Early Access! No matter what the findings, there will be an endless abundance to seek out as the world opens out before you and countless tales are told...
Are you a believer in the power of spells and magic? Or do you only harvest magical ingredients in your gaming life? If so, where?
As always, our best wishes and seasonal blessings,
Helen & the Dev Team xx
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