Hello everyone, Pedro here, the developer of Scum's Errand.

Today I wanted to talk a bit about how build crafting works in the game, and the ideas behind the Fortune Teller system.

Reading Fate. How Build Crafting works in Scum’s Errand

Seeking Answers

Scum’s Errand is a game about desperate people surviving in a collapsing world, and I wanted progression to reflect that uncertainty.

Instead of a traditional skill tree, builds are created through the Fortune Teller. A system inspired by tarot cards and the human tendency to search for answers during moments of crisis.

Building Through Cards

Each card grants two bonuses and one drawback.

Some may improve revolvers while hurting reload speed. Others may turn machine guns into powerful crowd-control tools at the cost of mobility. The idea is not simply stacking power, but combining cards whose drawbacks cancel each other out.

All active effects are displayed inside the Fate panel, allowing players to understand how their build evolves over time.

Omens Aligned!

Certain card combinations can align together and trigger additional effects called Omens.

These synergies can completely change the way a build plays, restoring health on kills, removing heavy weapon movement penalties, or causing revolver bullets to explode.

I wanted builds to feel discovered rather than selected from a fixed meta.

Scaling With Progression

Players begin with only one card slot, meaning no Omens can activate early on.

As players level up, additional card slots become available, eventually allowing up to four active cards simultaneously. Alongside that, the cards themselves also grow stronger.

The result is a progression system where characters gradually become more specialised and powerful, unlocking increasingly complex combinations the further they advance.

Progress in Other Areas

Alongside the Fortune Teller system, I am also continuing to polish the game for the upcoming demo release.

Recent work has focused heavily on graphical improvements, environmental atmosphere, and upgrades to the procedural generation systems in order to create more varied and immersive dungeon runs.

Next Steps

If you would like to support the project, consider wishlisting Scum's Errand on Steam:

Scum's Errand Steam Page

In the next dev diary, I will talk more about weapons, relics, and how equipment shapes combat builds inside Scum’s Errand.