The moment of truth comes next monday, no E3, no fourth of July weekend, I wonder what Fargo coocked up.Now the long crawl begins...
Build a combat-hardened warrior to lead the way, or a spell-flinging Conjurer to provide support from the back lines.
A major design goal for TBT-IV is to ensure that larger battles in the game are constantly evolving, forcing the player
to react to a tactically changing battlefield.
They said this would not be in base game but a higher level stretch goal. It might be one after MCA, but since the campaign probably didn't do as well as they hoped this will be not used since they will need all the money just for the base game without any fancy but useless features.I'm glad they're finally adding some more shit into the story, though have they straight up removed their talks of zooming the camera out? Because "being able to see your character's equips and not just a paper doll" makes me think this won't be like the in engine video at all.
Paradox takes money from InXile?
Room 16 [UNLOCKED] All backers $20 or above receive TWO Julie Fowlis songs: the song from the in-engine video, and "Smeòrach Chlann Dòmhnaill (The Mavis of Clan Donald)" from her latest album, Gach Sgeul.
Room 20: The party cannot yet see so far in the darkness of the dungeon...
Room 16 Unlocked: In the center of this room sits a stone sarcophagus surrounded by large funerary urns. Shanko rubs his hands with glee at the sight. "Smash ‘em! Smash ‘em! There’s always loot in urns!”
He runs to the closest and cracks it with the pommel of his dagger. It shatters, but does not spill earth, bones and treasure. Instead an urn-sized chitinous form unfolds and rises to its eight legs.
“Giant spider!” shouts Fiona. “Kill it!”
You move to surround the spider, but strange scraping sounds distract you. The tops of all the other urns are rising up and falling aside, and saber-like spider legs are sprouting from the tops. The spiders rock forward and stand, their abdomens wearing the urns like armor. Venom drips from their fangs.
Anders snarls at Shanko. “From now on, no more smashing urns!”
Galli wades in to the spiders with his warhammer, smashing urns and shattering chitin, as Shanko and Lioslaith follow, guarding his sides and parrying slashing spider legs.
Fiona spurs them on with a ancient walking song while Anders casts a spell of entropy to make the spiders shells brittle and stiff.
Even with this help it’s tough fight, and the party is sick with poison and weak from blood loss by the time the last spider falls.
Anders is on the floor, clutching a belly wound. “I… I’m not going to make it.”
Fiona clutches her throat. “I don’t think any of us is going to make it.”
“Let’s see what we died for,” says Galli, and with a tremendous push, shoves the stone cover from the sarcophagus.
The ghostly form of an elven woman rises above the stone coffin. She looks around at you all. “Your death nears, interlopers, but it is not inevitable. Agree to repent your larceny and rid these halls of the vile Einarr who desecrate them, and you shall be saved. Refuse and this room will be your grave.
"Yes!” cries Anders from the floor. “Save us and we’ll save you!”
“Hang on,” says Fiona. “Let’s talk terms first. Just how much repenting–”
But the ghostly elf is already spreading her hands. “Then live again, but know that your lives are forfeit if you break this compact.”
A glow like sunlight and first love spreads through the room and your wounds heal as if they were never there. The fire of the spiders’ venom fades from your veins.
“Further in, friends,” echoes the elf woman’s voice. “Further in.”
Room 17 Unlocked: You enter the next room arguing so fiercely you hardly notice your surroundings.
“I was dying!” says Anders. “Of course I took her offer.”
“We were all dying,” counters Fiona. “We still could have made a better deal.”
“What’s done is done,” say Galli, then turns a hard eye on Shanko. “Just don’t steal anything!”
“Okay, okay!” snaps the trow. “I don’t know why you’re looking at me. We’re all thieves here.”
With the argument over - for now - you finally take in the crumbling elven mosaics that cover the walls of this room in dusty green and gold hunting scenes. Elves on red stags charge through a forest with white-eyed hounds baying before them. It is slightly disconcerting to see that their quarry is… a man.
Voices reach you from deeper within the catacombs. It isn’t the mournful female singing this time. It sounds like chanting.
Update #16
Jul 3 2015
Monte Cook Adds His Voice To The Song!
Hello Exiles!
Happy 4th of July weekend for all our American backers. In the US, this weekend is about family and celebration and we’ll use it to recharge our batteries before our final week, but before we check out we wanted to give you one final quick update.
The biggest news as of yesterday: The first of our stretch goals to put together the ultimate RPG super team has been hit, and Numenera creator Monte Cook is joining The Bard's Tale IV!
The exciting thing about working with someone like Monte is that as a veteran pen and paper RPG designer, he will bring a fresh yet experienced perspective to our game, helping us to look at our dungeons from a new perspective and thus craft more varied, engaging challenges. And he knows dungeons, as the creator of dungeonaday.com, a site set up to provide gaming parties with huge amounts of adventuring content!
Social Media Achievement
We were very amused and gratified to see someone cleverly use the 2015 Celtic Fling to spread the word on The Bard’s Tale IV and get a hundred – count ‘em, a hundred! – new kilt photos. Check out the full gallery here!
We’ve also received some impressive new songs!
Along with other great new submissions recently!
As always, you can find fan art and kilt photos on our Facebook page. We’re thundering through our social media achievements now, having reached room 17! Room 20 and beyond are shrouded in shadow for now, perhaps if you came a little closer…
Brian Fargo
Leader in Exile
Room 18 Unlocked: The elven mosaics in this room depict a feast in an underground banquet hall with tree roots for pillars and witch-lights for lanterns. Elves in beautiful clothes eat and drink and listen to an elven bard. All the servants are humans. An elf maiden has a man for a pet. He curls on a pillow at her feet.
The chanting is louder here. You can distinguish the words now. You recognize them as ancient Einarr.