The continent of Blackgard, just a small piece of the realm of Kel'Daan, has always been the centerpiece of struggle. In the thousands of years since the beginning of recorded history, there have been countless wars fought on its varied terrain. Some were key to the events that followed them. Others were as meaningless as a dull blade. But there was one war that stood above all else; the War of the Scathefire.
In Blackgardian lore, the War of the Scathefire (or simply "the Scathefire") was a great war fought between the Scions, who declared themselves warriors of the gods, and the Endali (meaning "wise" in the ancient language), who were more scientific and less religiously-inclined. The Scions claimed that the gods deemed the world unfit for living, and a great fire was to wash over the land like a waterfall, burning all who have sinned, and bringing the Followers (non-radical civilians who were sided with the Scions) to Para'Da (meaning "paradise" in the ancient language).
The Endali thought this was preposterous, naturally. But fear struck them deep to the bone, and they began developing a weapon that would hopefully turn the tide of the war, known as "the Revenant". It's unknown to this day what purpose it was to serve, but before the Endali could create it, the war was over. There is no documentation as to how exactly the war ended; many theorize that the Scions simply disappeared. Others of high social ranking think that the gods, who were angry at being falsely represented by the Scions, destroyed them all with their own weapon. But this war ended the exact same way it started: very abruptly. After many hundreds of thousands of deaths, and lasting for 44 years, the Scathefire was considered the largest war in the history of Blackgard.
In Blackgardian lore, the War of the Scathefire (or simply "the Scathefire") was a great war fought between the Scions, who declared themselves warriors of the gods, and the Endali (meaning "wise" in the ancient language), who were more scientific and less religiously-inclined. The Scions claimed that the gods deemed the world unfit for living, and a great fire was to wash over the land like a waterfall, burning all who have sinned, and bringing the Followers (non-radical civilians who were sided with the Scions) to Para'Da (meaning "paradise" in the ancient language).
The Endali thought this was preposterous, naturally. But fear struck them deep to the bone, and they began developing a weapon that would hopefully turn the tide of the war, known as "the Revenant". It's unknown to this day what purpose it was to serve, but before the Endali could create it, the war was over. There is no documentation as to how exactly the war ended; many theorize that the Scions simply disappeared. Others of high social ranking think that the gods, who were angry at being falsely represented by the Scions, destroyed them all with their own weapon. But this war ended the exact same way it started: very abruptly. After many hundreds of thousands of deaths, and lasting for 44 years, the Scathefire was considered the largest war in the history of Blackgard.
Nearly a thousand years after the Scathefire, a nameless war engulfs the land in the flames of violence. It lasts about 10 weeks, and is fought by two of the four nations of Blackgard; Gundar and Zaki. Gundar eventually captured Zaki's capital city of Evella, bringing the conflict to an end. Declan McLeod, a high-ranking Captain of the 13th Armed Brigade in the Gundarian Royal Army, retires shortly after, deciding to live the remainder of his life in peace with his wife Alicia and his newborn son Desch.
A decade and a half of continent-wide peace follows the conflict. But everyone knows that all good things must come to an end. After a day with in the tavern with his former comrades-in-arms, Declan returns home to find monsters attacking his house. He fight them off, but he's too late; his wife is dead, and his son is missing. Assuming Desch has been kidnapped by the escaping monsters, he buries his wife and follows a slim lead from a neighbor who was also attacked, who saw which direction the monsters went off to. And thus, the journey begins.
A decade and a half of continent-wide peace follows the conflict. But everyone knows that all good things must come to an end. After a day with in the tavern with his former comrades-in-arms, Declan returns home to find monsters attacking his house. He fight them off, but he's too late; his wife is dead, and his son is missing. Assuming Desch has been kidnapped by the escaping monsters, he buries his wife and follows a slim lead from a neighbor who was also attacked, who saw which direction the monsters went off to. And thus, the journey begins.
Declan was a captain in the Gundarian Royal Army. As a young swordsman, he used finesse and agility to best even the biggest and toughest of foes. Now, in his old grizzled age, he must use brute strength and his wits just to survive the unpredictability of the monster invasion.
Age: 37
Height: 6'2"
Weight: 220 lbs.
Weapon of Choice: Swords
Starting Class: Swordsman
Combat Role: Declan is what most people who play video games would refer to as a "tank"; that is, he can take tons of damage and abuse in battle, as well as dish it out. He is best utilized when taking advantage of his high-powered Techniques.
Age: 37
Height: 6'2"
Weight: 220 lbs.
Weapon of Choice: Swords
Starting Class: Swordsman
Combat Role: Declan is what most people who play video games would refer to as a "tank"; that is, he can take tons of damage and abuse in battle, as well as dish it out. He is best utilized when taking advantage of his high-powered Techniques.
Lauren is a fiesty mage that has been holed up in the Tower of Divinias in the snow-capped mountains of Zaki for the last 12 years of her short 22-year long existence, studying the Arcane Arts from Master Gregory Thane. Her inquisitive nature and thirst for knowledge and personal improvement drives her to be the best mage she can possibly be. Her mother, Ellita, was a cleric for her hometown of Dent in Zaki, until she caught a terrible disease and passed away shortly after, but not before banishing the disease in every other citizen; this selfless act inspired Lauren to take up magic and try to protect as many people as she could with it. She catches wind of the monster threat from Master Thane, and the two embark on a journey to discover the source of the monsters, and then destroy it.
Age: 22
Height: 5'7"
Weight: 120 lbs.
Weapon of Choice: Staves and Arcane Tomes
Starting Class: Mage
Combat Role: Lauren is both an offensive and support character. She deals serious elemental damage to enemies, while providing stat buffs and healing for her allies.[/b]
Age: 22
Height: 5'7"
Weight: 120 lbs.
Weapon of Choice: Staves and Arcane Tomes
Starting Class: Mage
Combat Role: Lauren is both an offensive and support character. She deals serious elemental damage to enemies, while providing stat buffs and healing for her allies.[/b]
Aiden is Robin Hood in true form; a poor, yet cunning vigilante who always provides for the weak. He is a beacon of hope to the people of Blackgard in these times of chaos. He runs with a small group of fellow thieves that do not steal for personal gain or pleasure, but for the well-being of the less-fortunate. He has a dark past, however, and he is much more dangerous than your average street thief. He is also an alchemic prodigy, and creates his own potions in his spare time. When he meets Declan, he decides to join in the fight against the monster threat, hoping that he can finally absolve himself of his past sins.
Age: 37
Height: 5'10"
Weight: 160 lbs.
Weapon of Choice: Bow and Arrows
Starting Class: Thief
Combat Role: Aiden is a jack-of-all-trades character; depending on the situation at hand, he can be extremely flexible. He uses his bow and arrow skills to bring down enemies, but also has a vast array of poisons to make the process easier. He can debuff enemies, lowering their defenses and attack, as well as disrupting them with status ailments such as poison, blindness, silence, paralysis, and sleep. He can also discover enemy weaknesses and exploit them. His unchallenged alchemic prowess is handy as well, as he can take pieces of dead monsters and make potions and poisons out of them, which are far more potent than store-bought solvents.
Age: 37
Height: 5'10"
Weight: 160 lbs.
Weapon of Choice: Bow and Arrows
Starting Class: Thief
Combat Role: Aiden is a jack-of-all-trades character; depending on the situation at hand, he can be extremely flexible. He uses his bow and arrow skills to bring down enemies, but also has a vast array of poisons to make the process easier. He can debuff enemies, lowering their defenses and attack, as well as disrupting them with status ailments such as poison, blindness, silence, paralysis, and sleep. He can also discover enemy weaknesses and exploit them. His unchallenged alchemic prowess is handy as well, as he can take pieces of dead monsters and make potions and poisons out of them, which are far more potent than store-bought solvents.
Project SCION takes the elements of traditional JRPGs and fine-tunes them. As of this posting, Project SCION will be sporting a custom-made battle system very similar to Tales of Phantasia. We don't have many other specifics other than that right now regarding the battle system, but we will update everyone in this post accordingly. It will have your standard RPG intricacies; using standard attacks/skills/items, leveling up, and a class system that I've codenamed "Aegis" for the time being.
The Aegis Class System
The ACS takes parts from several other successful RPGs and implements them into one design. I'll walk you through how it works in detail below.
Through the first 10 levels of character development, each character has a predetermined skill list. These skills are inegral to the personality of each character, as well as their combat role. Although each character has a predetermined class (i.e. Declan's swords, Aiden's bows, and Lauren's staves), the way you use them in battle could vary. Therefore, we're designing the ACS with the thought that not every person plays the same way. There are a total of 9 Classes (3 per character, with a total of 84 possible combinations I believe) in the game, and each has the ability to dramatically alter how you play.
For example, with Declan, there are three possible ways to use him: Strictly with standard attacks and brute force, specializing in skill use to effectively take down enemies, or a balance of standard and special attacks. His Class Tree would look something like this:
<Declan>
[Swordsman] ----> Lv10, chooses one of the following Classes;
[Berserker] (Brutal strength. Uses mostly standard attacks due to high SPD and ATK)
[War Hero] (Calm yet vicious. Uses skills and standard attacks, with balanced attack and AP.)
[Tactician] (Uses mostly skills due to his high AP (Ability Point) count and lower ATK.)
All three main characters are built this way, helping the player truly perfect their play style, while giving the characters more depth and personality.
The way the player chooses their skills will be one of two ways, but we haven't necessarily decided yet;
<Skill Board> (reminiscent of Final Fantasy XII)
The player will be granted several Skill Points upon leveling up. How the player allocates these points is completely up to them, but their Skill Boards are defined by their class. Skill Boards contain actual combat skills, passive skills, and perks that can increase stats. An example of all three, using Declan's Berserker Class:
Active Skill:
Overcross - Sacrificing HP instead of AP, this ability is very useful and very powerful if taken early on in the game.
Passive Skill:
Lure - Increases the amount of random battles while walking around in dungeons or the Overworld. Grants additional post-battle rewards (XP and gold).
Perk:
Hot-Blooded - Grants a permanent bonus of +50 HP, +2 ATK, and +2 SPD.
The second idea we have as to how players will allocate Skill Points is much like how Borderlands does it. There are several tiers that specialize in something, and the player can choose the perks/skills that they want without having to use Skill Points on things they don't ever intend on using. We are still developing concept art for both of these ways, and will update this post as necessary with screenshots.
The ACS takes parts from several other successful RPGs and implements them into one design. I'll walk you through how it works in detail below.
Through the first 10 levels of character development, each character has a predetermined skill list. These skills are inegral to the personality of each character, as well as their combat role. Although each character has a predetermined class (i.e. Declan's swords, Aiden's bows, and Lauren's staves), the way you use them in battle could vary. Therefore, we're designing the ACS with the thought that not every person plays the same way. There are a total of 9 Classes (3 per character, with a total of 84 possible combinations I believe) in the game, and each has the ability to dramatically alter how you play.
For example, with Declan, there are three possible ways to use him: Strictly with standard attacks and brute force, specializing in skill use to effectively take down enemies, or a balance of standard and special attacks. His Class Tree would look something like this:
<Declan>
[Swordsman] ----> Lv10, chooses one of the following Classes;
[Berserker] (Brutal strength. Uses mostly standard attacks due to high SPD and ATK)
[War Hero] (Calm yet vicious. Uses skills and standard attacks, with balanced attack and AP.)
[Tactician] (Uses mostly skills due to his high AP (Ability Point) count and lower ATK.)
All three main characters are built this way, helping the player truly perfect their play style, while giving the characters more depth and personality.
The way the player chooses their skills will be one of two ways, but we haven't necessarily decided yet;
<Skill Board> (reminiscent of Final Fantasy XII)
The player will be granted several Skill Points upon leveling up. How the player allocates these points is completely up to them, but their Skill Boards are defined by their class. Skill Boards contain actual combat skills, passive skills, and perks that can increase stats. An example of all three, using Declan's Berserker Class:
Active Skill:
Overcross - Sacrificing HP instead of AP, this ability is very useful and very powerful if taken early on in the game.
Passive Skill:
Lure - Increases the amount of random battles while walking around in dungeons or the Overworld. Grants additional post-battle rewards (XP and gold).
Perk:
Hot-Blooded - Grants a permanent bonus of +50 HP, +2 ATK, and +2 SPD.
The second idea we have as to how players will allocate Skill Points is much like how Borderlands does it. There are several tiers that specialize in something, and the player can choose the perks/skills that they want without having to use Skill Points on things they don't ever intend on using. We are still developing concept art for both of these ways, and will update this post as necessary with screenshots.
Project SCION is rich with story, lore, and several plotlines. Rather than have only main quests that further the main story, we have also included fleshed-out side quests with deep story lines. Although there will be your standard "fetch" quests (i.e. find 10 apples for a reward), there will also be a large amount of story-driven missions called Scenarios that are optional to the player, but provide background information on both the setting and the characters. The rewards for completing each Scenario are also far greater than the XP and gold you get from standard side quests. An example of an early Scenario is below:
Traitor
Pre-requisites: None
Scenario Start: Capital City, Gundar
Scenario-Giver: Allen
Briefing: Allen has lost the ring that he purchased for his future wife and their wedding, which is coming up soon. He says his wealthy father already sees him as irresponsible, and can't afford to ask for more money. So, Allen contracts you to find it, and says he will forever be in your debt.
> Allen says that he lost it somewhere around the Noble Quarter. Begin your search there.
> You feel someone pick your pocket, and as you turn around, you see the man running away with all of your gold.
> You chase the thief down, which eventually leads you into an alley in The Slums, a part of town where the poor live.
> You come across the thief, as he sells the ring to a shady character. The shady man leaves. You approach the thief, and acquire your money. You're given a series of branching speech options. He will give you more in-depth information on the man if you pay him. The conversation ends in three ways; you pay the thief for information, you fight the thief to get your money back and he tells you the information in exchange for his life, or you scare the thief off and lose all your money, and must find the shady man with no leads.
> The shady man is located outside of town, and is meeting with a very well-dressed nobleman. He appears to be one of the nobleman's lackeys, and has acquired it for him to gain his favor. You're presented with 2 options; 1. Tell Allen the whole story. 2. Confront the shady man and his master.
> If you tell Allen the whole story, he will be disappointed that you let the noble and shady man get away, but appreciates your effort. Then, the nobleman with the ring walks in, who turns out to be Allen's father, and scolds Allen for being irresponsible. As punishment, he may no longer drink the fine wine from the cellar for a week. This ends the quest, and you get a minor reward.
> If you confront the shady man and the nobleman, they both flee in opposite directions. The shady man disappears entirely, and you will not find him. The nobleman, however, is in the Noble Quarter. By talking to him, you get him to confess that he was attempting to make his son, Allen, a more responsible man, so he hired a thief to steal the ring to teach him a lesson. You get a reward from Allen's father if you show him the error in his parenting methods. You also get a large reward from Allen; a sword that has been passed down for generations in his family that he calls "Nightmare"; it has a chance to induce sleep on foes struck by it, and then it does double damage to enemies already asleep.
Pre-requisites: None
Scenario Start: Capital City, Gundar
Scenario-Giver: Allen
Briefing: Allen has lost the ring that he purchased for his future wife and their wedding, which is coming up soon. He says his wealthy father already sees him as irresponsible, and can't afford to ask for more money. So, Allen contracts you to find it, and says he will forever be in your debt.
> Allen says that he lost it somewhere around the Noble Quarter. Begin your search there.
> You feel someone pick your pocket, and as you turn around, you see the man running away with all of your gold.
> You chase the thief down, which eventually leads you into an alley in The Slums, a part of town where the poor live.
> You come across the thief, as he sells the ring to a shady character. The shady man leaves. You approach the thief, and acquire your money. You're given a series of branching speech options. He will give you more in-depth information on the man if you pay him. The conversation ends in three ways; you pay the thief for information, you fight the thief to get your money back and he tells you the information in exchange for his life, or you scare the thief off and lose all your money, and must find the shady man with no leads.
> The shady man is located outside of town, and is meeting with a very well-dressed nobleman. He appears to be one of the nobleman's lackeys, and has acquired it for him to gain his favor. You're presented with 2 options; 1. Tell Allen the whole story. 2. Confront the shady man and his master.
> If you tell Allen the whole story, he will be disappointed that you let the noble and shady man get away, but appreciates your effort. Then, the nobleman with the ring walks in, who turns out to be Allen's father, and scolds Allen for being irresponsible. As punishment, he may no longer drink the fine wine from the cellar for a week. This ends the quest, and you get a minor reward.
> If you confront the shady man and the nobleman, they both flee in opposite directions. The shady man disappears entirely, and you will not find him. The nobleman, however, is in the Noble Quarter. By talking to him, you get him to confess that he was attempting to make his son, Allen, a more responsible man, so he hired a thief to steal the ring to teach him a lesson. You get a reward from Allen's father if you show him the error in his parenting methods. You also get a large reward from Allen; a sword that has been passed down for generations in his family that he calls "Nightmare"; it has a chance to induce sleep on foes struck by it, and then it does double damage to enemies already asleep.
Each character also has a Personal Scenario that explores their background, and gives the player a bigger look into the lives of the three heroes, as well as what they've had to suffer through to get where they are, providing more character depth.
Skyler: Writing, Mapping, Eventing
PandoraShock: Programming/Coding, Graphics/Artwork
The end of a long, winding dungeon yields a bossfight and treasure.
And it says AEGIS instead of SCION in the screenshot because I had originally named it Project AEGIS o:
Treasure chests in a huge forest. That's how you know this is a classic JRPG.
If you have any other questions, feel free to post or message me.
If you're interested in helping out with this project, our thread in Recruitment and Classifieds is HERE.
Thanks in advanced!