Serpent in the Staglands Update #11: UI, Settlers and Death

Whalenought Studios has just published a new Kickstarter update for Serpent in the Staglands, which includes details for the UI, the death and stealth mechanics, and some lore tidbits on the settlers of the in-game environments. Here’s a snippet:

The Settlers

Enough of UI, let’s discuss the Staglands, or specifically what’s happening there with or without your involvement during the game. We wanted to explore an idea of life occurring outside of your adventure, because the settlements in the Staglands are fairly young and the environment is still hostile and unstable, full of angry, displaced natives, chasms seeping with evil spirits and raiders from the north, which means that the likelihood of every town and outpost remaining cheerfully thriving ought to be slim.

So to reflect this unsettled environment, as you re-visit towns and outposts throughout the game, some will have the chance to be devastated by natives, natural elements, or you, of course. These settlers are basically playing a game of Catan while having to deal with power-houses coming along and flipping their table over.

Towns can be populated by (important) folks like merchants, constables, potential party members, caravan riders, and in addition the local population of settlers. We generate a select number of settlers (varying on the size of the village) not unlike how we’d generate the local populous of monsters or trash mobs in an area. If you remove a certain number settlers, or high-profile members of the community (who’s importance is weighed more in this scale), the town will scatter. During your game this can happen to villages without your presence, and on your next visit to a nearby wharf you might find yourself surrounded by hungry scavengers instead of pleasant townsfolk.

We think the gameplay addition of having the landscape of safety changing for your party adds a lot of value towards the experience, and makes you keep your party more self-sufficient.