Underworld Ascendant Updates #6-7, $392,966 and Counting

Two new updates, update 6 and update 7, have been released for Underworld Ascendant’s Kickstarter campaign. While the first simply asks backers to choose between two fairly different creature concepts, the second is a far meatier update that offers a plethora of information on the Stygian Abyss, the setting of the game. The update includes information on the three factions the Avatar will be interacting with, Dark Elves, Dwarves and Shamblers, the environmental hazards present in the Abyss, and a video detailing the sort of interactions a player might end up having in the game, among other things.

Here’s an excerpt:

What Lies Beneath

What surprises first-time visitors to the Abyss is that it is far more than just a dungeon of stone corridors and chambers. While there are areas laid out like a traditional dungeon, most of the Abyss is dramatically more varied and exotic.

One can discover enchanted forests of giant mushrooms, vast natural caverns with soaring ceilings that generate their own microclimates, ancient temples carved into the living stone and adorned with intricate carvings and magical warding’s, entire subterranean rivers systems and lakes, masterwork jade halls crafted for long-dead dwarven lords, and much more.

At any turn there can be surprise subterranean vistas. A world astonishingly rich and diverse. And it’s vast, with wild and deep places never seen by the eyes of mortal man.

The Abyss has more than its fair share of hazards as well, natural and otherwise. Falling into a molten lava pit is instant death. One must be ever vigilant of nasty traps laid out to catch the unwary. Some are mechanical contraptions that can maim and kill, others are of a more insidious magical nature.

Then of course there is an assortment of creatures to encounter. Some will leave you alone unless provoked, most view you as prey. On the upper levels of the Abyss the creatures are more readily dispatched. Plunge too deep, and even mighty warriors risk being overmatched.

But facing the hazards can be worthwhile. There are many treasures and arcane artifacts to be plundered…

A Dynamic, Ever Changing World

The Abyss is not a static place just waiting frozen for the Avatar to enter. It has evolved over the eons before the Avatar arrives, and will continue to do so for eons after. Within the Abyss are a myriad of moving, shifting and changing elements. Subterranean rivers flood, or run dry. Lava flows cut off halls. Underworld flora blooms and spreads to new regions. Currents bring noxious gasses wafting through areas. The player may reenter an area that was benign the first time they visited, only to encounter fresh hazards.

A clever Avatar can try to manipulate the environment to their advantage. Open a sluice gate to flood a once bone-dry region, enabling the Shamblers to extend their territory. Plant Ripper seedlings, then come back to watch the fun when they start sprouting a few days later. Redirect a channel of lava flow to block off a chamber. Player induced changes can led to interesting and unpredictable outcomes. The only thing certain is that the Abyss will never stay fixed.