We greet you, Blessed of The All-Seeing Ones
You can't imagine how pleased the Old Ones are to see you all gathered around the altar that bear the unimaginable likeless of their immortal aspects. Bang the drums brethren, so they shall resonate to the primordial rhythms of all time and universe and thus precipitate The Awakening, to whose advent we shall dance madly till we shed all that we inherited from that pestiferous thing called “humanity”.
In this update we'd like to offer a brief introduction to character creation. Let’s take a peek at our demonstrative clip:
Character Creation consists of the following steps:
0. Indoctrination (Optional)
This is the step you say good-bye to your loved ones, shut all your doors and windows, fanatically repeat your "Ph'nglui Mglw'nafh" prayers and fast for weeks until you remove the last traces of your current identity.
1. Gender Selection
The horrors of Stygian do not discriminate based on your character’s gender.
2. Age Selection
In Stygian your character's age is not just a cosmetic element. It plays two important roles. First, your age changes your starting statistics, second it changes the reaction of the world to your character.
[OUT OF TUNE SINGING] I know what it is to be young but you don't know what it is...
3. Archetype Selection
Jungian archetypes or Stygian archetypes?
This where you select your Archetype and its related background. You can have more information on Stygian's archetypes from our campaign page here.
4. Belief System Selection
Think like your character, act like your character.
As you probably know, Belief Systems determine how your character gains her lost sanity in the doomed Arkham along with providing you new ways to role-play your character. You can have more information on them here.
5. Portrait Selection and Character Identity
You'll be able to choose the portraits of some Stygian backers. Devoted cultists they are...
All of our portraits will be available to both genders.
6. Stat Allocation
Please roll three six sided die and write the results to the back of your character sheet.
This is the step you finally get into the fantastic world of numbers and shape your character's attributes and skills according to your taste. Only the skills your background contributes to can exceed 2 points at this stage.
7. Character Summary
At this final step, you'll be able to have a look at all your choices one last time and make the necessary changes if the need arises.
Now let's look at the inventory system that we've designed meticulously to serve the needs and conveniences of the player.
Let's start with a video showcasing the system, and then talk more about its features and our design approach.
Stygian's inventory consists of the following sections:
Paper Doll - shows all the items the player currently has equipped, including weapons, outfits, artifacts, a backpack and things of that sort. We are pretty sensitive about customization and aim to display the player's choices with as many visual representations as possible. We're also designing unique models for special items such as rare weapons and gadgets. We are keenly aware of the fact that we RPG players love to play with our dolls, preferably voodoo dolls...
Equip your character, in style...
Statistics - shows almost all of the secondary statistics which affect combat and exploration. Potential effects of the items will be displayed as a tool-tip in the form of colored numeric modifiers.
We haven't forgotten you Min-Max scholars
Party inventory- shows all items in the party's possession. Stygian uses a shared inventory system so you won't need to spend time shifting carried items from one character to another. Less item management, more black magic, count us in!
Did we tell you that we're also fans of adventure games?
Item category tabs - grant easy access to all the items you'll need to prolong your hopeless struggle against the shapeless horrors of the abyss. Tabs are divided into the following categories: Weapons and ammo, outfits, consumables, tools and gadgets, artifacts, books and tomes, quest-related items, miscellaneous, and of course the favorites tab, which can be customized by the player.
Quick items - allows you to set certain items to be instantly available during combat and exploration. Don't forget to add your favorite smokes to one of the quick item slots. Cigarettes are essential for reducing stress but remember not to smoke them all because the Cigs have become Arkham's rising currency!
As you can see, we tried to build upon the inventory features typical of western role playing games while balancing convenience and thematic flavor. We also chose to use larger icons for our items in order to include more detail, increase immersion, and show off the efforts of our talented artists.
Until we meet again in the filthy corridors of Arkham Sanitarium.
Team Cultic