7DRL 2020: Ember Deep

Ember Deep is a mind-bending yet curiously traditional* roguelike with deep tactical gameplay. You will travel through time to cooperate with yourself, overcome impossible odds and eventually save your brother from poor planning. Unless the very same kills you first.

It can be played in browser, but for me at least that was really slow. If you download it, however, it runs just fine.

You didn't expect there to be three of me, you stupid monster!

 
The game looks beautiful - the isometric view, the terrain with animations and different elevation, the music - they just work well together. It somewhat reminds me of HyperRogue, likely because of the strange geometries. In addition to squares and hexes, the game uses warped pentagonal tiles that make for quite unusual aesthetics. They also make for quite unusual movement and positioning, though surprisingly I never found myself disoriented.

The tutorial might have contributed here. Yes, the game has a full-fledged tutorial and even two "challenges" that let you train your time-travelling tactics. And I recommend training for a bit, as the game really doesn't hold back once you start playing for real. You will immediately be swarmed by powerful enemies**. The game gives you the tools to survive, but if you don't know how to use them...

Squares...

...and hexes. The game really can't make up its mind. ;)

 

You will find the occasional piece of equipment, like magic staves imbued with spells or new weapons, but that's not the kind of tools I meant. Your biggest asset and the main draw of the game is chronomancy. Time travel is hard to grasp and implement in a game, so of course it's popular for 7DRLs to try. I remember for example Time to Die or The Only Shadow That the Desert Knows*** from previous years, and they each had a unique take on the player manipulating time. And no, I don't think the time-related abilities in ToME4 or Caves of Qud really count.

Anyway, Ember Deep gives you the power to rewind time. And there is no cost or limit to it, you are limited only by your own tactical acumen. And by the presence of your own time-clones, I guess, as you might end up with a crowd of yourselves that makes it hard to navigate the narrow passages. Remember how I mentioned poor planning? I often trap myself with time-clones, leaving me no escape route from the monsters. The other times, I die because I forgot to place a time anchor and now my situation is already beyond screwed. (Un)surprisingly, you need a lot of foresight for time travel.

 
Basically, you can place time anchors and "pre-record" your actions, then jump back in time and do something else, as many times as you wish. Even your other abilities complement and encourage time-travelling shenanigans, like Defy that makes you stand your ground, decreasing the damage taken and drawing aggro. You can make several scapegoats from your past selves and then slip by the monster hoard, or outflank the monster focused on your defiant self with several other selves and beat it to pulp. It's weird and entertaining and engaging, and the changing grids make it all that much more cool.

All in all, it's wonderful to see that the dev managed to balance unlimited time travel in a way that leaves the game a challenge. Contributing to that, of course, are the monsters. Each of them is different in a way, with varied behaviour and abilities. While you can slaughter some of the weaker enemies with nothing but careful positioning, you will soon encounter beasts like the ravagian trask, who is nigh unbeatable without chronomancy tricks. Then you descend another level and chronolisks will start to use some form of chronomancy against you - don't ask me how that works, my head hurts just thinking about it. And there are other monsters I know nothing about, as I just cut my losses and legged it out of there when they showed up, leaving my past selves to deal with them.

Nothing to see here but a massive horde of monsters.

 
BTW, there were some bugs and exploits, but the dev is already working on fixing them. I'm glad I could make the game harder for you all. :) I should also mention that the dev requested this mini-review, and now it's getting longer than any of my previous ones, so here is a TLDR:

It's a good game, very good one. I hope to see more of it.

 
*) That's a compliment, if you were unsure.
**) Once again, that's good in my book.
***) Best name ever!

7DRL 2020: Mini-Reviews

The last week was this year's Seven Day Roguelike Challenge, which I didn't have time to partake in, unfortunately.

However, I do have a bit of time to try out some of the cool little games that people submitted. Many of them are even playable directly in the browser, so you really have no excuse not to check them out, too.
 

The submission button overlapping the game window is annoying.

  
Beneath Faelin Wood
You are a shape-shifting druid delving in the caves beneath your forest to rescue another druid.

First of all, the game is beautiful. It was made by the same people as Haque, and it has similarly amazing art.

Second of all, there's a lot to find in this game. There are multiple animal forms with different abilities. There are NPCs with side quests and dialogue trees. There is item crafting. There is music and cutscenes.

This seems like a more or less finished game, and you should go play it yourselves, as I don't think I have seen more than a sliver of it.

the strigoi
You fell down a random hole to the very bottom of a dungeon and found the fabled Orb of Zot! Unfortunately, the fall left you severely wounded. You can only hope to get out before your blood attracts monsters that you are too weak to defend against.

This game makes you unable to fight, so your only option is to run and hide. You will have to carefully navigate the small levels, trying to avoid the monsters while constantly dripping with blood that acts as a monster lure. You will cower in fear as monsters stalk around the corner, praying that you don't draw its attention. You will dive in water to wash off the scent. You will sprint towards the stairs with monsters just behind your back. There will be many evocative messages describing your horrible injuries and the hideous monsters.

Maybe you will get up a few floors before the monsters tear you apart.

Facing monsters with a fireball ready.

 

This time with a more wizardly outfit.

Runelite
You are a runecaster, a mage capable of crafting their own spells from six elemental runes. You got lost in a dungeon and seek the portal rune that would let you return back home.

The spell mixing is very fun. You can prepare up to three runes for casting - the number, element and order of runes all matter for the resulting spell. For example, three fires would cast a short range, powerful explosion; mana and two fires would make a fireball that can be thrown over the whole room; while mana, fire, mana would create a single target fiery projectile. It might seem easy to fry all the early game monsters, but just a few floors down, monsters resistant to some elements or with other tricks start to appear, so don't become complacent too quickly!

Me wanna play with your innards!

Baby World Eaters
Iä! Iä! Me eat hoomans to fill me belly full!

You control a baby Cthulhu as they invade small, randomly generated towns and try to trap fleeing civilians to eat them, while avoiding unintentionally slaughtering their idiotic cultists. The cute abomination cannot be damaged and kills everything in a single hit, but their time in this world is limited and everyone moves at the same speed, so you need to make sure they can corner the humans swiftly. If any civilians survive when the time is up, papa Cthulhu will be angry and the little eldritch horror will go to the bed hungry. :(

And I'm dead again...

  
There are SLIMES in this DUNGEON
This little Broughlike has you survive against magical slimes. Each colour of slimes has a different special power, and as you die in a single hit, you need to take great care to avoid them. On the other hand, you will be able to steal magic crystals that allow you to use the slimes' powers against them!

The game is quick and fun. Unfortunately, it seems that you can get trapped by the blue slimes in a way that prevents anyone from taking another turn, forcing you to reload. Fortunately, the game is short enough that restarting doesn't hurt too badly.

Icelandic Magical Staves

Here are a few Icelandic magical staves used for folk magic.

The sigils can be used by anyone, but they are not common knowledge and will more often than not be kept secret by those who wish to retain the advantage such magic offers. Some are carved on actual staves, but others are inscribed on any item you would like to to enchant, or on small wooden talismans or coins for ease of use. One item can only bear a single magical sigil, and the effects of multiple talismans do not stack.

Also don't forget that while the sigils are generally not illegal, the local government might not take it kindly when you're abusing magic.

by Anne Mathiasz

 
d20 Magical Sigils

1. Að unni: Must be carved on a talisman along with your name and the name of a person you wish to charm. Then slip the talisman in your target's pocket and you'll get +4 bonus to all Charisma checks against them.
2. Angurgapi: This sigil wards off liquids. It is often carved on the ends of barrels to prevent leaking. A room covered in Angurgapi could make water float like in zero g.
3. Brýnslustafir: When carved on a whetstone, any blade sharpened with it gains +1 damage for a day.
4. Draugstafur: Any item bearing this sigil acts as a lure for undead. They will sense it from several hundred feet away and get pulled in, though intelligent undead may recognize what's going on.
5. Draumstafir: If you draw this sigil on your forehead before going to sleep, you will enter the Dreamlands.
6. Dreprún: All bovine, cervid and similar animals must Save vs fear or be unable to approach the sigil. Carved into boundary stones, it is often used in place of a pen fence.
7. Feingur: A sigil ensuring fertility, easy birth and healthy offspring. Can be used both on animals and humans, but has to be either branded or tattooed.
8. Gapaldur & Ginfaxi: Two sigils carved into the soles of shoes taken by force or deception from a great warrior. Gapaldur is placed under the heel of the right foot and protects from being pushed or knocked back. Ginfaxi is placed under the toes of the left foot and grants advantage on attempts to bullrush or knock down your foes.
9. Hólastafur: This sigil must be inscribed on a coin taken from a buried treasure. When placed on its edge, it will start rolling towards the nearest path leading deeper, such as shafts or stairs down in a dungeon.
10. Kaupaloki: Grants +4 bonus when haggling. Even a rumour of using this sigil is enough for the merchants to stop doing any business with you and maybe send a thug or few to have a little talk.
11. Lásabrjótur: Touching this talisman to a lock will shatter both the lock and the talisman with a loud crack, though magic locks get a Save.
12. Lukkustafir: A weapon inscribed with this sigil can store critical hits for later. Only one critical hit can be stored at a time, and only actual attacks can be stored, no swinging at air.
13. Máladeilan: Grants +4 bonus in legal and bureaucratic interactions if carved on a gold coin and carried in your left pocket.
14. Skelkunarstafur: Anyone who carries a talisman with this sigil on their person will automatically fail all Saves vs fear.
15. Stafur gegn galdri: This sigil cannot be crossed by magic (supernatural creatures, enchanted items, spellcasters) unless they succeed on a Save. Must be anointed with innocent blood before taking effect.
16. Tóustefna: All canines must Save vs fear or be unable to approach the sigil. Often carved into travelling staves as a protection from wolves and wild dogs.
17. Vatnahlífir: Grants +4 bonus to Save vs drowning if a talisman with the sigil is held under your tongue.
18. Vegvísir: When carved on a lit lantern, it will guide you through rough weather or darkness of the night. You cannot get lost unless your lantern goes out.
19. Veiðistafur: When carved on a fishing rod, it allows you to always catch at least 1d4 rations worth of fish in any river or pond.
20. Þjófastafur: Carved on a dowsing rod, it will detect stolen items, but only if used by an (ex-)thief.

 
And finally a bonus magic item:

Nábrók
The "corpse breeches" are trousers made from the flayed skin of a dead man inscribed with Nábrókarstafur. They can only be created from the skin of a man who agreed to this before his death. The wearer of nábrók can reach into the scrotum of the trousers at any time and pull out a handful of coins. The coins seem normal, but wizards will sense faint magic in them and if ever touched by sunlight, they will crumble to dust.

Once put on, the nábrók cannot be taken off unless someone else agrees to wear them. If the wearer dies while still wearing the trousers, their soul will be unable to leave their body and they will slowly transform into a draugr. Their mind will be overcome with greed, and they will spend the nights looking for treasures and hoarding them in their burial mound.

Worth of Soul

There was some talk about this on Discord a while back.

What to do with a soul?

Some would say that apart form the one that keeps you going, you have no need for further souls. Yet many supernatural creatures seems to have taken a fancy to souls, often demanding them in payment or hoarding them for some reason. Let's investigate these reasons.

Side note: Unless otherwise noted, we will be assuming heroic or magical souls, as souls of animals and dirt-farming peasants are too weak and faint for most uses. Except soulsteel. Throw every soul you don't want or need into a soulsteel furnace.

I rather like this depiction of a soul, or at least the core spark of life.

 
There is a reason that souls are usually depicted as glowing motes of light. Deep within the sevenfold soul is a spark that constantly pumps out raw power, converted by the outer layers of the soul into life energy, psionic energy, mana, the already mentioned ethereal glow, and more. This tiny spark is the core of the soul, a shard of primordial life. This constant flow of power is also the fundamental use of any soul, the basis upon which all other uses build.

Sustenance: At the most simple, soul energy can refresh your body similarly to a ration. Animal souls might taste like gruel, while the soul of a saint would equal to an opulent feast. Of course, most material creatures are not adapted to subsisting on souls, so it is not recommended to skip tangible food for too long. While you wouldn't starve to death, avitaminosis and massive weight loss would soon set in, followed by slow transformation into a wraith or lesser demon.

Power: A soul can also be drained to refresh a spent MD or psionic ability, though faint souls are too weak for this use. Souls of creatures that possessed magical or psionic abilities in life are already accustomed to this draining of energy, so they are not immediately used up, but rather can be drained repeatedly (once per day unless they were very powerful).

Healing: Souls are made of life energy, so of course they are good for your health. A soul can be distilled for the same effect as a healing potion, except potions don't tend to scream in terror all the way down your throat, don't leave fragmented echoes of memories in your mind after use, and don't see you branded as a diabolist and burnt at the stake.

Oh, I haven't mentioned this yet? Abusing and destroying souls is Evil; even using animal souls is heavily frowned upon and may get you in trouble with the Inquisition.

But I digress. Drinking souls is great! Not only can they mend your body, they can heal your mind, too. A soul elixir removes [HD of the original creature] Trauma when drunk, and a soul salve can be used to rub sins right off your metaphysical self. In both cases, the afflictions are transferred to the soul in the medicine, which can be then safely disposed of, or recycled for soulsteel production.

Knowledge: At times you need to know a thing, be it some lore or skill. You don't have the time to learn, but you do have a useful soul. Many people would pay a fortune for a soul that remembers something rare or forgotten, that has valuable abilities, or even one that knows languages they couldn't be bothered to learn on their own.

Entertainment: Many a noble has their secret stash of bottled souls with interesting stories. Wealthy women weep with memories of great romance they never had, cowardly rakes can live the life of danger and adventure through a purchased soul. There's also the "fun stuff" for those of dark desires, but who don't want to risk their own skin and sanity. From memories of humiliation, depraved sex, torture, or murder to souls that literally went through Hell, including such exclusive articles as souls tortured by famous demon lords. Some people willingly sell their interesting memories, as everything has a price.

Protection: There are many detrimental magics that target the soul; life drain, curses, mind reading or memory altering, death spells, soul trapping, etc. Strapping some extra souls on your own makes it much safer to confront such threats, as your ablative soul armour will take the hits first. Even better, so many souls concentrated in a single spot can also muddle up many divination and scrying techniques, making you even harder to pin down for a magical attack.

Traps: Every ghost hunter knows what a haunt is - an area imprinted with death, inflicting the cause of death upon anyone who ventures inside. Any grisly departed soul can be repurposed into a haunt, serving as a supernatural trap. The best haunts are obviously made from souls you specifically prepare for this task - burn a few people alive and bind their souls into a fire trap, torture someone to death for a symbol of pain. The possibilities are as endless as various causes of death. Some ectomancers even compress haunts into ghost-grenades, portable and very dangerous.

Metallurgy: Soulsteel is in high demand due to its high strength and innate ghost touch effect. It can be rather easily created by smelting souls with iron ore, making it the only magical metal available in significant amounts, and thus often employed in larger projects and big magical constructions. Even low-quality souls can make good soulsteel if you use enough of them, and their constant agonized wailing as they are forever trapped in the metal is more faint than with heroic souls.

Enchantments: More advanced and specialized magical weapons and armour utilize souls too, though quality and magical resonance matters here quite a bit. The souls are bound into the finished item rather than smelted into the raw material, and serve as the source of both power and basic magical traits. You'll need several simple soldier souls just to make a boring +1 dagger, while a cannibal chieftain's soul could make a nice human-slaying battle-axe, and a pyromancer's soul would be great for a flaming sword.

Intelligent magical items are the result of enchanting with too powerful and wilful souls, and there are of course stories of weapons with souls so strong they overwhelmed their wielder.

Animation: While intelligent items are normally not the desired outcome of binding a soul, you can use the same process to grant a mind to anything that needs one. Where the first ventures onto the field of golemancy attempted to create a guiding intelligence from scratch, it was soon discovered that such artificial intelligences are too expensive, limited, and inflexible. A soul, on the other hand, already comes with a plethora of innate abilities, instincts and learned behaviour, making it much faster and cheaper to animate a golem.

The trick, then, is to find a suitable soul given the required function of each golem, and find the right balance of geasa and cognitive restrictions that would allow it to perform at peak efficiency without compromising its absolute obedience with residual free will. The infamous golem rages are the result of imperfect application of these restrictions.

Magic: Souls can power your magic, but souls also are magic. Spirits are spells are souls. Think about the main characteristics of the person whose soul you would cast. Were they greedy? Then you can use the soul to cast detect treasure. Cowardly? Expeditious retreat. Pious? Bless, or maybe protection from evil. Some wizards even groom slaves to prepare their souls for specialized magical effects, or cross-breed souls with their favourite spells to get new, exciting magics.

Replacement: It's not uncommon in many magical professions to loose pieces of your soul. While definitely not healthy, it's not life-threatening is promptly treated. Souls that are neither good enough for better uses, nor weak enough to go directly to the soulsteel furnace are often sold for spare parts. Bring your old soul for an exchange and get 20% off your new one!

There is also the much less common practice of soul enhancement, where undesirable pieces of your soul are replaced with better ones. Think plastic surgery for the soul. You could get rid of boredom, switch your laziness for workaholism, implant a bit of faith, or cut down your anger and hatred.

Obviously the good bits have to comes from somewhere, and people with desirable mental traits can make good money by selling them, unless they get soul-mugged and wake up with their love or patience stolen.
 

A vodník with some souls stored in teapots.

 
But I didn't answer the question, did I? What is a soul worth?

Exactly [2d100 * HD * HD + 1d20] gp. Happy?