Black Geyser: Couriers of Darkness Update #31

A brand new Kickstarter update for GrapeOcean Technologies’ isometric RPG Black Geyser: Couriers of Darkness lets us know that the game’s backer beta had to be postponed and then shows off the Herbalist Guide backer reward, shares some concept art, and goes into detail about three of the game’s possible companions. The update goes on for quite a while, so here are a couple of excerpts and you take it from there:

Ho there, adventurers!

This update offers an insight into the Isilbright Herbalist Guide and also presents some of the joinable NPCs you will be able to meet in the Backer Beta, as well as some of the concept art that our artist has been working on for the Rillow. The party members shown will be featured in our major gameplay video as well, which will be included in our next Kickstarter update on May 16th, 2019. This video will offer a significant overview of an early section of the main quest of the game, as well as highlighting new features and existing elements that have not been shown before.

The release of the Backer Beta is unfortunately delayed, and we are not able to give you more information at the moment. We will have specific details on the release date of the Beta in our next update.

There are two main reasons behind the delay: an internal and an external one. The internal reason has to do with project management risks: certain types of game engine bugs take more time to fix than what we estimated in our initial plans. For example, we could not publish the gameplay video today because Fog of War started having serious issues two weeks ago as an unexpected side effect of refactoring, and it took us considerable time to fix.

The external reason has to do with the funding schedule of one of our private investors. To be brief, while their investment is guaranteed and ongoing (the condition for the investment was a successful Kickstarter, which you helped us reach!), they proposed an altered schedule of funding milestones in January, and this negotiation is still in progress.

The combination of these internal and external reasons led to the delay of the Backer Beta. We haven’t posted an update recently because we knew there were going to be some issues with delays but we didn’t want to provide incomplete information on what players could expect, and it looked like our negotiations with the investor could have finished at any moment. Unfortunately, it didn’t happen, but we are nearing the end of negotiations and will give you specifics on the delay on the 16th. No worries, however! The delay of the Backer Beta does not endanger the future of the project in any way.

[…]

Recruitable party members

We have mentioned in the past that there will be quite a few possible party members to recruit as you explore Isilmerald. We’ve decided to outline three of them here to give you a feel for the kind of characters you will meet on your journey. Each of these characters has their own personal quest that you can work to complete, but we don’t want to spoil them!

Siracca, the Heretic

Background and overview

Siracca, like most Rillow, came west along the spicelines to Isilmerald. But while most Rillow come seeking adventure, experiences or wealth before returning home, Siracca has come for a different reason… and she’s never going back.

It’s not clear whether the legends about the Rillow’s creation are true, but Elenuator is definitely the race’s patron, and a jealous one at that. Siracca has committed what amounts to the cardinal sin among the Rillow: she began to devote herself to a god other than Elenuator. In fact, Siracca is a Cleric of Alnarius. Among her kind, this makes her a heretic and an outcast of the highest order. While she was unable to stay in her homeland without the threat of summary execution, she feels little compulsion to hide what she is in Isilmerald; thus, she actually seems to go out of her way to be ostentatiously offensive to her kin, abandoning their social norms and many of the things that are normally associated with Rillow. Siracca wears no jewelry, and prefers simple, functional clothes. She has little desire for the hedonism her compatriots so often pursue. Instead, she has devoted herself entirely to her god, and travels Isilmerald to spread worship of Alnarius and help restore harmony wherever she goes. Her one concession to her race is a natural talent for Brewing, which she uses to aid in her healing abilities.

Siracca is highly opinionated, but not unkind. She will loudly protest the player doing outwardly chaotic or greedy things. Additionally, having her in the party may cause conflict with other Rillow, either in the party or out in the world. Other Rillow view her very existence as offensive, to the point of it sometimes inciting violence. She remains cheerful in the face of adversity, however, and is prone to even unrealistic optimism. She also happens to be remarkably resilient to greed; having come from a society which favors displays of opulence and turned her back on it, Siracca’s faith and force of will keeps the curse at bay. That said, should she believe that a greedy action is the only way to spread love and harmony in a given situation, she may be prone to choosing the lesser of two evils.

Gameplay

Siracca is first and foremost a healer. She prefers peaceful solutions to problems, but because of her past she also understands that sometimes violence is unavoidable. Still, she serves in the Healer/Buffer role and should be kept off the front line.

Siracca is nearly immune to greed. While she will loudly complain about greedy choices being taken by the player, it actually takes a great deal for her to leave the party. She is endlessly optimistic and believes anyone can be redeemed, so the player must do things either specifically in opposition to Alnarius or commit incredibly heinous crimes before she considers leaving.

Other Rillow in the party will frequently argue with her, possibly even refusing to join a party with her in it to begin with. Siracca does not wear jewelry of any kind; all inventory slots for rings, earrings or necklaces are unusable for her.

Appearance

Siracca is plain, for a Rillow. The tusks jutting from her cheekbones are short, unadorned and white. She tends to wear simple robes and has few features to distinguish her from her compatriots. The one thing that stands out about her is a brand in the middle of her forehead, symbolizing her heresy against Elenuator. She makes no effort to hide it, intentionally her hair short to make the brand visible.

While tall compared to other races, she is relatively short for a Rillow woman, standing only about the height of a Human man. She lacks much of their typical broad stature as well; in fact, were it not for her tusks and ears, she might be able to pass for a tall human woman in dim light. She makes no effort to hide her heritage, however.