Knights of the Chalice 2 – Pre-Kickstarter Update

Heroic Fantasy Games is just about ready to launch a Kickstarter campaign for their upcoming Dungeons & Dragons-inspired RPG Knights of the Chalice II. As a result, we get this development update that shares plenty of promotional KotC II-related links and lets us know what new features have recently been introduced to the game.

You can read a very impressive overview of the game’s features here, find the FAQ here, learn a bit about the team here, and check out a number of screenshots here. And here’s a brief overview of what the game’s all about:

The world of Mindrel is one battered by rampant oppression by evil overlords, dreadful raiding by bandits and barbarians, and sinister threats of invasion and conquest by the many-faced forces of Evil. A brutal world of thriving savage tribes, scheming power-hungry Wizards in their golden towers, arrogant and remorseless Dragons hoarding unimaginable riches, powerful Kings plotting the cruel downfall of their neighbours, and magnificent cities bristling with opportunity – and Death.

Who will save the innocent from the Blade of assassins? Who shall liberate the Slaves in the dark dungeons of fanatical worshippers? Who can provide a quantum of relief to the Downtrodden? Who can put the Tormented souls to rest? Who has the Courage to stand and keep fighting in the heart of Madness?

Only the Knights of the Chalice – Tireless preservers of Justice and Compassion who would gladly give their life to save the innocent while claiming no reward for it – offer a glimmer of Hope. But they, too, are facing the grave danger of being engulfed and overwhelmed by the Storm of Chaos unleashed upon the world. The Bards have delivered their Omens: only a small band of true Heroes has any chance of turning the tide of Darkness. Only YOU can answer the Call!

Knights of the Chalice 2: Augury of Chaos is a PC computer role-playing game (CRPG) for Windows loosely based upon the Open Game Licence 3.5 (OGL 3.5), the set of rules at the root of the popular pen-and-paper role-playing game Dungeons & Dragons Edition 3.5, made by Wizards of the Coast. Augury of Chaos is the first module created using the game’s integrated toolset. From the very beginning, KotC 2 was designed to facilitate the creation of new adventures called Modules.

At the beginning of the game, you create from one to six adventurers: the player characters. For each player character you choose a Class, a Race and a Subrace. During the course of the adventure, the player may recruit up to three companions. Your characters start the game in an underground area which they discovered as they were looking for treasure in the dangerous sewers complex located underneath the village of Finchbury. They soon find themselves caught up in deadly conflict with a powerful group of evil worshippers, the Circle of the Black Rose.

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Summary of Features

• Turn-based, party-based tactical combat similar to that found in the old Dark Sun Shattered Lands game made by SSI and in Troika’s Temple of Elemental Evil.
• User-friendly interface. Launch a charge, full-attack or coup-de-grace with a single click – the computer will automatically look for the best option available. Out of combat, move the party with a single click or by keeping the mouse button pushed.[…]
• A well-developed artificial intelligence. Enemies act as a group and can use special actions like Grapple or Charge and tactics like taking a Five-Foot step before casting a Maximised Fireball.
• Omnipresent help files and clear in-game feedback (a feature also found in Temple of Elemental Evil) on the results of each dice roll, saving throw, attack roll, modifiers and so on.
• More than 700 Spells and Psionic Powers. The game also features 22 Classes, 10 Races, 36 Subraces, 478 Feats, 71 Weapon enchantments and 51 Armour and Shield enchantments.
• With the right materials and sufficient gold and experience points, craft your own weapons and apply enchantments like Wounding, Speed, Flaming Burst and Keen.
• Multiple-choice dialogue options offer real choices and real in-game consequences to the player. Use your party’s unique skills and consider your own preferences and playing style to resolve situations in the most suitable manner.
• Enjoy a variety of engrossing puzzles and riddles. Use your intuition and logical thinking to decrypt mysterious coded messages. The game’s cryptography interface, inspired by Broken Sword Shadow of the Templars, makes decoding a captivating activity. Do not worry about the difficulty of puzzles and riddles though, as the game frequently provides Hints designed to help you resolve this type of challenge.
• KotC 2 Augury of Chaos allows you to create your level-1 characters and take them all the way to level 21 or so. There is no limit on character level.
• Use the powerful integrated toolset to create new modules and campaigns easily. Easily swap monster tokens or create new ones. Create new monsters, new dialogues and new maps easily.
• Enjoy fast Saved-Game loading and saving and various game options designed to accelerate gameplay. Enjoy various convenience features, such as the Saved-Game preview image display, Tab key press to highlight objects that may be interacted with, or the Inventory Screen highlighting of spell scrolls that may be learned by a character.