The Bard’s Tale IV KS Update #4, $1,119,651 and Counting

inXile has published a new Kickstarter update for The Bard’s Tale IV, as the project is getting really close to reaching its funding goal of $1,25 million. The update includes a look at inXile’s plans for stretch goals:

Another question was regarding stretch goals. Where are they? We certainly have a number planned and ready but it just doesn’t feel right to put them out before we know we’re going to fund. Now that we’re comfortably heading to being fully funded we can no longer resist sending the first of these your way!

At $1.3 million, we will add an enhanced companion NPC system and add 2 more CNPCs, including Lioslaith the Shadow, a legendary Spear Daughter of the matriarchical Fichti people, the dark haired, woad-painted nature worshippers who live in the deep forests far to the northwest of Skara Brae.

With this enhanced companion NPC system, all recruitable NPCs will have unique personalities and backstories which will open up interesting side content and add rich and surprising reactivity to your adventure. In addition, these CNPCs will voice their thoughts and asides, giving their take on the people, places and events that you encounter as your party moves through the world. No two CNPCs are alike and they carry their own reputations with them. While they can add some additional firepower to your party, some might even get you into more trouble than you were expecting.

And a Q&A video with Brian Fargo, the company’s CEO. Fargo answers questions concerning the game’s combat system, camera, party size and composition, random encounters, environmental interaction, story, and more: