Hi folks!
In some of the previous posts, I mentioned Spells. Before diving into what Spells are and what their role is, I wanted to first introduce the concept of the Guardians. The name is WIP and I’ll be using it for now, but we’ll probably be changing it to something else, like Watchers, Wizards, The Guys Up Above or something.
The following is a part of the world-building document our writers made that I modified for the post:
Guardians are immortal and transdimensional beings, creatures like Merlin and Morgana. There are probably only a few hundred of them scattered across the cosmos, and many may be lost or asleep, having put themselves into a state of suspended animation. Some may conceal their identities and become the source of legends about gods and wizards, having settled down in individual worlds, and no longer participate in the affairs of the cosmos.
Since we use the concept of multiple dimensions, there are many worlds Merlin can affect. These worlds are being destroyed by the Cataclysm, a transdimensional event that is tearing apart the borders between the worlds and the Void between them, letting in the horrifying world-devouring monstrosities that dwell in the darkness. Merlin believes in protecting as many worlds he can, no matter how impossible it seems. His plan to stop the Cataclysm from destroying this cluster of worlds we see in the game was to shepherd history into creating Arthur, an inspiring leader who would build an empire based on virtue and equality. Merlin couldn't predict where exactly in the world the first break, the source of the infection, would appear, and he needed a powerful force capable of dealing with any scenario. In Arthur's Camelot, he sought to create just that, and he gave each Arthur (across dimensions) a Grail, an artifact of immense power capable of healing that world.
Without going further into the story aspect, stuff happens, Merlin wakes up weakened and finds the Cataclysm had already begun to affect these worlds. He scrambles to find a group of heroes to help him prevent disaster and destruction, and this is where our game starts.
From a gameplay point of view, the player acts as Merlin, trying to save as many worlds as possible. At his disposal is his fort, “Avalon”, which is something like a ship capable of travel across worlds, and possibly much more. The ship has systems that can affect the lower planes, manifesting as Spells for the humans. The ship is powered by Cores. Each Core is associated with a Guardian and provides you with a set of active Spells and one passive Spell. Each Guardian has their own set of Spells unique to them, making each run feel different, as each run must be started and finished with the same Core.
You can acquire the Cores of other Guardians via specific encounters on the world map that have a more global story arc, spanning several runs through the game. For instance, on your second run, you get to a node where you meet Morgana. After some talking, she tells you to meet her in another dimension. On your next run, you can meet her again, and so on until you finish the quest. Once the quest is finished, Morgana grants you access to her Core which can be used on any of the future runs.
Next week I’ll get into Spells themselves. Thanks for reading, and come share your opinions on what you’ve seen so far on the Discord server for the Hand of Merlin, and yell at me on Twitter if you want to know something I haven’t already mentioned!
MarkoP