Knights of the Chalice 2 Development Update

Development updates for Knights of the Chalice II, an upcoming RPG based on the Dungeons & Dragons Open Game License, are locked behind a paywall on the developer’s forums. However, thanks to RPG Codex we have a convenient way to view them.

The latest one talks about Druid spells, and implementing various abilities. An excerpt:

Druid Spells from level 1 to 4

Concerning spells, I have implemented all druid spells of level 1, 2, 3 and 4 plus some of the spells of level 5. Please see the Druid’s spell list below and for the updated spell descriptions, see the Druid’s webpage. I have found that the spells that take the most time to implement are spells that affect terrain like Quicksand, Insect Plague, etc. Because there is both the immediate effect of the spell and then everything else associated with the new terrain. As you can see in one of the screenshots below, squares can contain up to two effects, one on the ground (Spike Growth in the picture) and one in the air (Insect Plague in the picture).

Among the spells I implemented, the ones that may be the most interesting are Gust of Wind and Greater Gust of Wind. They push creatures back by a few squares, so it’s nice to use in conjunction with dangerous terrain or terrain spells. Also, it will be fun to watch the computer use those spells smartly against the player.

Concerning summon spells, I’ve implemented all summon spells in the Druid’s spell list. I’m thinking to add a ‘Summon Monster’ line of spells for the Wizard. I expect that it will include the following: Summon Skeleton at level 1, Summon Slime at level 2, Summon Gargoyle at level 3, Summon Babau at level 4, Summon Ettin at level 5, Summon Vrock at level 6, Summon Stone Golem at level 7, Summon Iron Golem at level 8 and Summon Marilith at level 9. There will be a gold and XP cost for the higher levels.

For the Cleric, Druid and Wizard, I’m also thinking to have extra Summon Elemental spells: Summon Large Elemental at level 4, Summon Huge Elemental at level 7 and Summon Gargantuan Elemental at level 9. The elementals will be similar to those of the standard Summon Elemental spell, aside from a bigger size and slightly better ability scores.

[…]

Special monster abilities

I have always wanted to implement new monster abilities. The ones I have just implemented are the following:

1) Swallow Whole: a big monster can swallow an enemy creature whole. To do this, the monster must start a grapple with the target. Once they are grappling, the monster can attempt to Swallow Whole by succeeding on a grapple check.

If this succeeds, the target is removed from the battle field. It is not killed but it cannot do anything. It loses a random number of hit points every round. When the swallowing monster is killed, the swallowed character is brought back into the battle field at the position of the monster.

Depending on remaining Hit Points, the character can then continue fighting, or he is immediately processed as unconscious or dead. This is a fun monster ability because it creates a situation where a character is made prisoner and dies after some rounds, unless the swallowing monster is killed quickly.

2) Death Throes: Some monsters have the ability to explode when they are killed. Essentially, it’s like a fireball spell centred on the monster getting triggered right before the monster dies from an attack (either a physical attack or a spell attack). However, the Death Throes damage does not have to be fire damage, it can be any of the five damage types, or force damage. In two of the screenshots, you can see the animation for a Death Throes dealing cold damage.

The radius and the amount of damage, for example 10d6 fire, can be set in the editor. Death Throes can trigger a chain reaction if several monsters with Death Throes are present. For example, killing the first monster triggers his Death Throes, thus killing a second monster with Death Throes, thus triggering a second Death Throes effect. The Death Throes ability is implemented as a scripted spell that is launched automatically.

3) Rend: A monster with this ability automatically deals extra damage whenever they hit with two or more natural attacks in a row. For example, a girallon hitting with two or more claw attacks deals extra damage. The extra amount can be set in the editor.

4) Skewer: A monster with this ability performs a critical hit whenever its attack roll exceeds the Armour Class of the target by a certain number, normally five. The critical hit still needs to be confirmed.

5) Reach: Big monsters can attack creatures within a certain radius, in addition to adjacent creatures. When they charge, they stop at the first square allowing them to attack the target. Players also gain Reach by wielding a reach weapon.

I want to implement a few extra monster abilities but I will limit myself to simple ones, like ‘Regeneration x Hit Points per round’ and the ability to destroy an item worn or held by the target on a successful attack (there will be a percentage chance for this to be triggered).