You Are What You Eat
almost 5 years ago
– Thu, Jun 20, 2019 at 05:26:23 AM
Hello again hunters of beasts!
We're unveiling a host of mechanics today! For too long we've been focusing on the mundane aspects of the world, it's time to get BEASTIAL! You will find most of the specific details have been added to the rulebook (corrupted disciplines will come soon!)
Fleshsmithing
Fleshsmithing at it most basic is used to reattach limbs you inevitably lose as you hunt the beasts of the Warrens. Slap on some liquid exsanguinate, sew on a new arm and call it a day!
But it hides a deeper use. Through a painful ritual, you can consume the limbs of corrupted creatures to merge them with your body! The special abilities and attacks of those limbs are now yours to use, though the corrupted flesh may still hide a residual consciousness. If you're not careful, the parts may attempt to reject you!
Taming Creatures and Becoming Them
Hunters may be people immune to the corruption, but they were once people who spread it until someone found a cure to their infectious nature.
If you are able to befriend a corrupted creature (a task easier said than done!), you might be able to cure their ability to spread the corruption. They can make powerful companions along your journeys, or may just try to find you in times of need!
However, with the way creatures and humans are structured in the game, they are not considerably different. This means that when you tame a creature, it can become a playable character! They will gain skills and corruption like any other hunter, albeit in a much more massive form.
Corrupted Discipline Strains
We've talked about mutating with the corruption before, but we want to show you the Corrupted Disciplines themselves.
When you kill corrupted creatures, you get their hearts, known as Cores. Consuming enough corrupted hearts allows your body to mutate and gain strange occult abilities.
Each type of corrupted discipline is called a Strain, and you choose which strains you want to advance in. We have more we want to show, but the five corrupted disciplines strains in the base game are:
-ASSASSIN STRAIN- Assassin > Spectre > Reaper
The edgelord-iest strain, the Assassin strain slowly turns you increasingly incorporeal. At first, this manifests as "killing blows" where your attacks fade through the flesh of an off-guard creature to strike deeper within.
When the Assassin becomes a Spectre, they can make pieces of themselves fade from existence, turning invisible or completely silent.
And finally, when a Spectre ascends to become a Reaper, their ghostly nature is made manifest, allowing them to see the spirits of their victims. Upon killing a creature, its spirit can be stored away as either a dangerous explosive or the Reaper's next snack.
-BERSERKER STRAIN- Berserker > Ravager > Mutilator
The maddest strain, those mutating Berserker traits begin feeling a powerful rage as their skin literally begins to boil. If they can keep up a string of attacks without missing, they can channel the rage into a series of escalating blows.
When a Berserker becomes a Ravager, they can tap into their beastial form. Doing this fuses their weapons and armor to their flesh as the hunter grows twice their normal size. Taking on the qualities of their equipment as if was part of their body, the Ravager can now bite enemies to restore the blood that is rapidly evaporating from their pores.
And at the final tier of Mutilator, the hunter's beastial form grows yet again, so large they now have an bottomless hunger that use others to feed. Consume creatures whole as you unleash your destruction.
-COMMANDER STRAIN- Commander > Sovereign > Exalted
The brainiest strain, those mutating Commander traits begin developing telepathic abilities. They can tap into the emotions of their allies, and even use their newfound mental powers to enhance themselves. The Commander can give orders to their comrades that psychically enhance the capabilities of both the ally and themselves.
When a Commander becomes a Sovereign, they can begin to exploit emotions, making their allies think what the Sovereign wants them to think. The Sovereign can now act through their allies, making them perform actions as if they were the Sovereign themselves.
And eventually the Sovereign becomes an Exalted, where they have gained spiritual dominion over those that now worship them. The group begins to act like a hivemind, as the Exalted now can perfectly communicate each other's telepathic thoughts.
-JUSTICIAR STRAIN- Justiciar > Templar > Inquisitor
The righteous strain, those mutating Justiciar traits find themselves obsessed with correcting the world. Their sense of justice starts manifesting as an explosive energy that can be spread to those who would defy the Justiciar. Even after the Justiciar has struck them, a lingering portion of the explosive justice remains on the victim, to be triggered by any other attack used against them.
When a Justiciar becomes a Templar, they can now Condemn targets, forcing them to exude the same explosive energy that the Templar generates freely. Allies can now also become sources of explosive justice, and it can be manipulated to become a defensive barrier.
And the justice reaches its peak with the Inquisitor, where their explosive justice now manifests as a burning flame lit by unceasing oil. The flames can even spread to others deemed unworthy, as the Inquisitor burns the world to rebuild it.
-WARDEN STRAIN- Warden > Sentinel > Seraph
The selfless strain, those mutating Warden traits develop a stony undercoat of skin that can be brought to the surface with some conscious effort. Besides providing considerable protection, the Warden can also teleport with allies, switching places so that their allies are always safe.
When a Warden becomes a Sentinel, tendrils of light begin to seep from their skin, gaining strength as the Seninel takes damage. If the Sentinel strikes back after absorbing enough damage, the tendrils surge into the attack, causing massive extra damage with enough buildup.
And when a Sentinel becomes a Seraph, the tendrils of light spread to resemble writhing angel wings. The Seraph can spread their wings to embrace their allies, infusing them with same defensive energies as the Seraph themselves.
If we ever get the chance, we'd love to show you guys the further corrupted disciplines we're working on. Like the guy who can clone himself, he's crazy.
The rules for fleshsmithing and monster taming have been added to the rulebook, with Corrupted Disciplines following soon after. Hope you enjoyed this mechanical peek!
Also, don't forget the gameplay stream is tonight (June 19th) at 8 pm pacific!
https://www.twitch.tv/childrenofthebeast
