Introduction and Tutorial

Our adventure starts with two adventurers on the road to the hamlet of (in this case) Crowdville (to keep it distinct from my other saves). They are Reynault the Crusader and Dismas the Highwayman (you always get these two to start, though later adventurers are randomised - there is an achievement for finishing the game with them still alive!).


Reynault, being a Crusader, makes a good tank and goes at the front. Dismas, is well equipped to handle opponents at a variety of ranges and thus goes further back.


They soon meet their first opponent - a bandit on the road who immediately attacks Reynault, causing a small amount of damage but, more significantly, making him bleed (which will inflict more damage every round until it is fixed or it runs out of duration).


However, Dismas was then able to act, dealing most of the bandit's health bar and then Reynault got his turn too, finishing off the bandit and claiming a modest haul of 50 gold


They then get to carry on their way, soon coming across a tent.


The Brigand's Tent is one of many "curios" that you can come across on your travels. Each offers the option to use an item from your stocks to make it better or safer, but in this instance we only have some food and the gold we won from the bandit, so have to risk it.


Thankfully, this pays off and we get another 300 gold. Back to walking...


Some how, the next two bandits manage to surprise me, which shifts my party order. In this instance, this isn't a huge problem, as both of my adventurers can attack from either position, but it's not quite as optimal as it was before. In some cases, this would be disastrous, as some people might be left unable to act.


The Fusilier (chap at the back with the gun) opened up the combat with a burst shot that hit both of my adventurers. Reynault is starting to look a little unhappy, due to the damage he took from the earlier bleeding. No way to heal in this party though! The Bloodletter (big one at the front) could prove dangerous. So Dismas starts by trying to make him bleed.


This is successful, but the Bloodletter lets out a shot of his own, powerful enough to send Dismas staggering back!


This actually helps though, setting Reynault up to attempt a stun on the Bloodletter.


Which works!


Long story short, we eventually win and claim the spoils.


This time, 175 gold and 4 crests. Crests are a form of heirloom, which are used to upgrade facilities in the hamlet (which we'll come to later). For now, there is also a chest!


However, we do note that it's a trapped chest. Reynault is fairly healthy still, so we'll risk it...


The chest was, sadly, empty, but Reynault did get Blighted for his trouble. Blight works the same way as Bleed, but the difference can be important. For a start, you can have both at once. However, adventure is over, and back they reach the hamlet.


Both adventurers go up a level, and develop a trait. Reynault has a positive one (Eldritch Slayer which means he causes more damage to Eldritch type enemies) and Dismas has a negative one (Winded, which means he acts slower when at less than 50% health).


We'll explore the hamlet later.