Greetings, noble adventurers!
In the past couple of weeks, I’ve been busy slaying one bug after another, and last week I managed to upload a version of the upcoming free demo, which is now being tested by a small group of enthusiastic testers! This marks a major step forward, and if all goes well, the demo will be publicly available in December.
Oh yeah... and the „Coming soon” demo page is now public!
The demo features the first chapter of the full game’s story and introduces all of the core gameplay systems — including:
Character customization, with dozens of ancestries, capability traits, personality traits, skills, domains, followers, proficiencies, and special abilities to choose from.
Story features such as Decision Points, relationship mechanics, and dice rolling.
The first chapter already includes over a thousand handcrafted scenes, brought to life with detailed, hand-drawn illustrations in a classic gamebook format. Every choice you and your heroes make truly matters.
Personality Traits Preview
In the demo, you can explore a wide variety of Personality Traits, which include categories such as:
Root, Interests, Habits, Belief, Bond, Expression, Characteristic, Faith, Fear
Some of these traits are Challenging, offering additional difficulty and unique complications as you navigate your heroes’ stories.
Here are just a few of the Personality Traits you can select in the demo:
Might-Above-All: Mat believes might governs all, and the strong shall prevail over the weak.
Arcane Foe: Mat harbors a deep disdain for the Intellect.
Self-Defeating: Mat has a knack for undoing his own efforts, often acting against his best interests without realizing it.
Lunatic: Mat's mind dances on the edge of reason, untamed and unpredictable.
Paranoid: Mat trusts few and suspects many.
Often Neglected: Often, Mat's deeds go unnoticed, stirring quiet discontent within him.
Exaggerator: Mat's words are often larger than life, painting deeds in grander hues than truth allows.
Secretive: Mat's mind is a locked chest, and few may glimpse its contents.
Burden-Bearer: Mat shoulders his trials in silence, revealing his torment to none.
Born Liar: Don’t trust a word from Mat.
Dictatorial: Mat forces obedience, caring little for the thoughts or freedom of others.
Power-Hungry: Mat has a strong desire for power.
…and many more await to shape your heroes’ personalities and story experiences, offering countless combinations of strengths, flaws, and quirks to explore.
Tales Worth Exploring
I’d like to give a hearty shoutout to some upcoming indie adventures worth your attention: Knights of the Frontier Valley (a demo is coming soon!) and The Secret of Weepstone (a demo is already available!). If you love memorable characters and the excitement of choice-driven stories, be sure to check them out!
Stay Connected for Sneak Peeks
Curious for more sneak peeks? Follow me on Bluesky or X to catch the Trait of the Week series and discover more tidbits from the making of The Guiding Spirit.
Stay tuned, brave souls! As always, thank you all for your support, feedback, and patience—it truly means the world to me.
Catch you next time when the demo’s out,
Dice Impact