Learn more about the Crossbowman class of Wartales:

Crossbowman: Class Overview

Greetings Mercenaries,

Your eyes do not deceive you: crossbows are coming to Wartales, for free!
As a bit of context for newcomers, crossbows have probably been the most requested (or at least way up there) feature since early access. We know a lot of you have waited a long time to see them added to the game, and we thank you for your patience!
We are happy with the current design and wanted to share a little introduction to the class ahead of their addition in a free update on December 10th, the same day as The Skelmar Invasion release.

Unlike traditional crossbow mechanics, which often alternate between firing and reloading every other turn, this class uses a unique "Loaded" and "Empty" system. When the crossbow is "Loaded" it can fire. After firing, it becomes "Empty" and needs to reload before it can fire again.

The dexterity-based class starts with a basic “Shoot” attack that can be replaced with a new attack at level three. For example, the Multi-Shot attack deals damage to the target and attacks one additional time for each “Reload” this unit has performed in the same turn.

A “Reload” can be triggered multiple times in the same turn thanks to passive skills that are unlocked as your Crossbowman levels up or that are tied to the crossbow itself, this is unlike any other weapon in Wartales as they all have attack skills tied to them.

At level five, these passive skills build upon the "Reload" mechanic by introducing effects or bonuses triggered by reloading, how often the unit reloads, or whether the unit is in a "Loaded" state at the end of its turn. At level eight, the skills introduce new ways to trigger reloading such as applying status effects, landing critical hits, or using different abilities. The right skills can lead to deadly combos.

Don’t be fooled into thinking that the Crossbowman must maintain its distance with enemies like its ranged cousin the archer. The class can equip medium (and light) armour, and if paired with the right passives and weapon, can get up close and personal to devastating effect.

The Crossbowman is a versatile and dynamic addition to the mercenary roster that can shift the momentum of an engagement.

Once again mercenaries, we thank you for your feedback and can’t wait to see what interesting builds and combinations you’ll be able to create with the new class!

Don’t forget to join our Wartales community on Discord, Reddit, as well as follow us on BlueSky, Twitter and Facebook to stay up to date with the latest news.

- Shiro Games

Thanks Couchpotato!

The fantasy RPG Legends of Awen: Rise of The Fianna has been announced:

Rise of The Fianna World Exclusive Reveal Trailer – The PC Gaming Show: Most Wanted 2024

Legends of Awen: Rise of The Fianna is a single player, story-driven cRPG developed on Unreal 5.

Venture forth into an original medieval-fantasy world inspired by the Celtic myths, where bards invoke curses or blessings through poems and songs, druids weave powerful enchantments bound to the magic of the Shee, ritual warpaints grant supernatural abilities, and legendary weapons channel the spirits of ancient heroes.

• Step into the role of Finn, an orphan child gifted with otherworldly powers.
• Gather your party of legendary Fianna, Champions of the High Queen, and rise to become their leader!
• Embrace an epic adventure to protect the kingdom of Tara from scheming lords and supernatural forces.
• Unravel a sinister conspiration and investigate an even greater threat, buried and forgotten, craving for revenge…

Classless Character Creation
The Fianna are trained in the ways of the Bard, the Druid and the Warrior. If your Companions are more inclined to follow one of these paths, you can fully customize Finn by mixing and matching them, accessing to a wide range of skills and abilities.

Non-violent Encounter Resolution
When conflicts arise and combat seems to be the unavoidable outcome, the game shifts from real-time exploration to turn-based Encounter Mode, played out on a tactical grid. Depending on your own gameplay style, you can let your weapons and spells speak for you and take advantage by a strategic use of the environment, or you can de-escalate violence by combining specific character traits, non-lethal skills, and dialogue opportunities conditioned by your past actions.

Romanceable Companions
Forge strong bonds of friendship and engage in romance with unique companions, each with their own secrets, goals, and moral compass. Your relationships with them will weight heavily on the many decisions you make on your journey, as they may not always agree with you and could even leave your party.

Choices and Consequences
Inspired by the tabletop RPGs, we wish to emphasize the “Role” in RPG and provide you with meaningful and impactful choices. Starting from character creation, all your actions and decisions will build your Reputation and have far-reaching consequences. NPCs will notice and remember. Make your choices, and watch the world around you react to them.

Thanks Couchpotato!

The indie RPG Shrouded Aspect has been announced for 2025 - Couchpotato spotted a dev log:

Shrouded Aspect Dev Log 12 - Exploding Zombies, Tutorial, & more

Couchpotato spotted Geofri's Protestation of Innocence:

A Candlelit Reading: Geofri's Protestation of Innocence

Geofri has been possibly wrongly imprisoned for the crime of grave robbing and has landed a sentence on Exile Island, a floating rock in northern Invimona.

He has managed to procure supplies to write a letter to explain himself, and it has just made its way back to Forten Lazure. Is he guilty? Is he innocent? The guards will have to decide, but likely won't care to read it. Sorry Geofri.

Thanks for watching and/or listening!

2 Headed Hero checked out Monomyth:

The Immersive RPG We've Been Waiting For? | Monomyth (Early Access Review)

Thanks Couchpotato!

The story driven RPG Shore of Jord has been announced for 2025:

Shore of Jord – Official Announcement Teaser

Thanks Couchpotato!

Splattercatgaming checked out Archaelund:

The Deep Open World RPG You've Never Heard Of - Archaelund

Thanks Couchpotato!

Nowsky is working on a big update for Trail of Ayash:

Future of Trail of Ayash (TOA)

We are working on a major update for the game that will improve the existing content and add important new things.

First of all, I want to thank everyone who reported bugs and provided detailed feedback.

If there’s anything you would like to see in the next update, please let us know in the comments below.

Since the early access release, we have been gathering feedback and working on fixing issues. I am focusing on things that went wrong, removing pointless fetch quests, reducing backtracking, and much more.

Our goal is to make the content more engaging and less dull. We plan to make exploration more rewarding by creating unique sets of armor for players who venture into the most dangerous areas of our world.

We are also working on improving the robotic voice acting that has been affecting the game. Some dialogues will be rewritten to better fit the world.

We also plan to create more accurate maps for players, including a large overview map of the areas where the game takes place. This will help players understand the travel routes and the scale of distances between different locations.

We are adding new technology to the game, such as Lumen lighting and improved AI. We are focusing on optimization to ensure the game runs smoothly and uses fewer computer resources.

We also want to add more customization options for the player's house. Additionally, we are considering adding a small camp that players can upgrade using money, which would provide various benefits.

Thanks Farflame!

The stealth RPG Deserter has been announced for 2025:

Deserter - Announcement Trailer of the game

In this stealth RPG, you play as a deserter who is forced to become a thief. Use a wide array of tools and gadgets to break through any locked doors and choose your destiny: enrich yourself at the expense of the elite or help the oppressed ones.

Thanks Farflame!

Henriquejr spotted a closed beta playtest for the sci-fi RPG Within the Cosmos:

Closed Beta Playtest Announcement

Hi everyone!

Over the last 2 weeks or so, I’ve made steady progress on the game. I’ve had some close friends test it, and with their feedback, I’ve been able to fix bugs and implement some Quality of Life improvements. I've also added support for some crucial Steam features, like Steam Achievements & Steam Cloud.

Now, it's finally time to open the game up a bit to a few more players and let you experience what I’ve been working on! I’m running a small beta playtest for a few days. I will select a couple of beta testers. Those who are active in the games community forums or social media, and have expressed and shown a genuine interest in my project will be given priority.

Here is a Google form that I've created to help me manage this: you can apply here.
This survey will close on 6 December at 00:00 UTC.
The beta itself will run from 4 December at 00:00 UTC until 8 December at 00:00 UTC.

Over the next few days, I will reach out to those selected via email, with an invitation to a Discord server that I've created for beta testers, as well as the next steps required for you to download the beta.

Google Form: Apply Here

What to Expect:

• You'll have access to a portion of the game, including the starting area and the first city.
• This is a near-final version, with most gameplay, mechanics, and features in place.
• Your feedback will be essential to ensure everything runs smoothly and to refine the overall experience.
• The focus will be on improving and testing gameplay mechicans, the gameplay loop, test performance, and
• any last-minute issues like bugs or polish.
• If you have suggestions for Quality of Life improvements or changes, please feel free to share!

How to Join:

Fill out the Google form to apply.
I’ll review applications and select testers based on the information provided.

Thank you so much for sticking with me through this process. Your feedback will be incredibly valuable as I put the finishing touches on the game.

I can’t wait for you to try it and share your thoughts!

- debdev

Couchpotato spotted version 0.9.00 of the Early Access title Together in Battle:

Version 0.9.00: new investigation, battle, events, match types, and upgrades!

Greetings, tactics fans! I'm pleased to report that I showed Together in Battle at the first-ever Chicago Indie Game Showcase on November 2nd, where it was well-received by SRPG enthusiasts. Apart from that, I finally got to have a relatively quiet month this month, so I took advantage of the lull and pushed hard to get a lot of things done in as short a time span as possible.

My main focus this month was on fleshing out the endgame experience, adding new content and wrinkles to keep things interesting. Let's get right into what's new!

First, there's new events and late-game character advancement content!

[...]

Couchpotato spotted the first Diviner devlog:

Diviner

The Turn Based Lovers interviewed the devs of Pathbreakers: Roaming Blades:

10 Turns Interview With 6 Eyes Studio About Its New Open World RPG Pathbreakers: Roaming Blades

After a long hiatus from our 10 Turns Interview series, we’re back with an exciting feature: an interview with 6 Eyes Studio, the talented developers who, back in 2019, released Fell Seal: Arbiter’s Mark, one of the closest modern experiences to Final Fantasy Tactics. I had the pleasure of chatting with them about their newly announced project, Pathbreakers: Roaming Blades, and several intriguing details emerged.

Hello, and thank you once again for taking the time to chat with me. It’s fantastic to see you back with a new project, bringing with it the same level of excitement that Fell Seal did.

Pathbreakers is a mercenary-sim RPG, much like titles such as Battle Brothers, Wartales, The Iron Oath, and many others. The question is: have these games inspired you, or are there other projects that are currently influencing your work?

I believe that’s an apt comparison. We’re avid gamers, so there’s a high chance we’re getting inspirations from all sorts of titles, even unknowingly at times, but if I had to narrow it down, I’d say Battle Brothers and Uncharted Waters: New Horizons and the two biggest influences for Pathbreakers. I think the easiest description of Pathbreakers is that it’s a hybrid of those two titles, with overall leaning a little more towards Battle Brothers.

Managing a mercenary company is a central element of the game. How deep does the economic and strategic decision-making go outside of combat?

A big focus of the game is managing your money. Money pays for food, salaries, equipment, healing herbs, exploration supplies, and many other things. Thus, securing a source of income and being wise about how you spend it are key components of the gameplay. To that effect, the game features many elements that are tied to generating money.

[...]

Learn more about the upcoming Wartales faction - the Skelmars:

The Skelmars: Faction Overview

Greetings Mercenaries,

In this blog we dive into a brand new faction, the fearsome Skelmars, a warrior society whose unrelenting invasion has turned the once-defended lands of Ormance into a battlefield. From their roots in the harsh Marches of the World to their brutal and methodical warfare, the Skelmar have reshaped the region’s landscape and rewritten the rules of survival in Edoran.

The Skelmar’s invasion of Edoran is driven by ambition and pragmatism. For years, Ormance withstood scattered raids from isolated Skelmar tribes, its fortifications standing as a testament to the resilience of its people. But the arrival of High Jarl Sven changed everything. Uniting the Skelmars under a single banner, Sven declared his people chosen by the gods to claim wealth and fertile lands. Leading his warriors to the shores of Edoran, he turned their fragmented raids into a relentless campaign, and is unlikely to settle for just Ormance.

[...]

Thanks Couchpotato!

Couchpotato spotted general update #28 for Dead Monarchy:

General Update #28: (Northern Expeditions)

Future Teaser

Hey guys,

What's this? Snow? A brief teaser at next year's major post-release content, "Northern Expeditions". More info will be released later towards the end of this year. New maps, new armors, new enemies (from early to end-game), entirely new weapons and abilities.

[...]

The J-RPG Frameland: A Binary Tale has been released:

Frameland: A Binary Tale

Frameland is a turn-based RPG you can complete over the weekend. Perfect your timing in combat, uncover secrets, and interact with a rich world and its characters in a gripping story told from two perspectives.

Thanks Couchpotato!

The Turn Based Lovers checked out the Early Access title Broken Alliance:

Retro Style HOMM-Like Broken Alliance Hands-On

Let’s take a first look at the retro-style HOMM-Like Strategy game Broken Alliance developed by Indiedev Placeholder Gameworks.

Four factions, a world map to explore, and a grid-based combat system involving cards and stamina. This that I’m going to show you through 20-minute gameplay is the demo version available on Steam, while Early Access is expected for the 15th of January 2024.

The adventure RPG The Time I Have Left has been announced; a demo is available and a Kickstarter campaign has been launched:

The Time I Have Left

The Time I Have Left is a time-driven escape adventure with RPG elements set in a complex underground facility. A mysterious phenomenon known only as ‘The Miasma’ has marked Aline for certain death. Can you help her escape the desolate halls of Colony 7?

Thanks Couchpotato!

The second expansion Wartales: The Skelmar Invasion is available on December 10:

The Skelmar Invasion: Reveal and Release Date

Greetings Mercenaries,

We are delighted to reveal that our second major expansion for Wartales, The Skelmar Invasion, is set to release on December 10th.

Ormance, an Edoran county, is a war-torn land designed to immerse you in a struggle for liberation, as you navigate a landscape occupied by the fearsome Skelmars. With its fortified villages, imposing strongholds, and treacherous countryside, Ormance offers a grand stage for you to shape the fate of Edoran itself!

We will showcase some of the new content and features, like the Skelmar faction, the Liberation mechanics and its siege battles! The new crossbowman class is also coming for free and for all Wartales players.
Stay tuned for our upcoming Steam blog posts for more details during the run up to the release day.

Don’t forget to join our Wartales community on Discord, Reddit, as well as follow us on BlueSky, Twitter and Facebook to stay up to date with the latest news.

- Shiro Games

Thanks Couchpotato!

Corwin interviewed indie developer David of 4 Dimension Games about Archaelund.

Link to article

The Turn Based Lovers reviewed Stolen Realm:

Tactical RPG Stolen Realm – Review

A REALM OF FAMILIAR & NEW POSSIBILITIES

Stolen Realm delivers a recognisable SETTING that is a mix of conventional and generic fantasy that blend to form its own distinct GAMEWORLD. Numerous diverse biomes divide the map into separate regions that set the tone for each quest, module landscapes and the hubs within. They also constrict the enemy types to taking place in each area. Though don’t expect to see any dungeons to crawl through in the traditional sense.

The STORY may not be to the level of a bon-a-fide RPG, but it does an admirable job of connecting the sequence of quests to one another. NARRATION receive the much needed gravitas of a heavy toned ‘Barry White’ vocal delivery. While the WRITING possesses no glaring mistakes the presentation is somewhat amateurish. Witty one liners deliver a sliver of humour when mobs die.

[...]

VERDICT
Stolen Realm is a surprising good, if flawed table-top RPG. One that focuses on engaging and streamlined gameplay with lite tactical combat. Its clever use of two modes expands on existing sizeable content to deliver two different styles of play. Its modular design gives excellent replay value, underscoring its looter-crawling with a large host of enemies and inventory. Both solo and online play give the best of what ever world the player desires. Though its biggest positive is the scope of multi-classing characters.

Of the bugs there are and there are many, none greatly affected my playthrough. Not all classes have viably strong abilities against very spongy bosses. The biggest issue is the much the vaunted auto-scaling feature that is supposed to balance the challenge depending on party size. This did not always work as intended, instead creating some very grindy and in some cases very frustrating encounters. Keep in mind that this may be addressed in a recently announced future update.

Overall Stolen Realm seems a WORTHWHILE purchase, but if its issues were addressed it would certainly warrant a higher rating.

The Crazy Hyper-Dungeon Chronicles at Milan Games Week!

Meet us at the Indie Dungeon as finalists of the Red Bull Indie Forge 2024!

Hello adventurers! 

We’re excited to announce that The Crazy Hyper-Dungeon Chronicles will be showcased at the Milan Games Week this year, taking place from November 22 to 24, 2024!

You can find us in the Indie Dungeon area, where we’ll be celebrating being named finalists for the Red Bull Indie Forge 2024. It’s an incredible honor, and we can’t wait to share the game with you.

Come and meet Hero and Heroine, try the game, and enjoy some free gummy candies (because every dungeon crawl needs snacks)! 

If you can’t make it to Milan, don’t worry - stay tuned here on Steam for more updates about the game’s progress and upcoming events.

Thank you for your continued support, and we hope to see you there!

Join us on our Discord server for more details and discussions.

The Development Team

Couchpotato spotted a development update for the scifi-RPG Within the Cosmos:

November 2024 Development Update

Hey everyone,

I want to start by addressing the recent silence since the game was supposed to launch a few weeks ago. I know many of you have been eagerly awaiting the release of Within the Cosmos, and I truly appreciate the support and patience you’ve shown over the years.

When I tried to launch the game on the 29th of October, I encountered unexpected issues with the final build. After several late nights, nights where I didn't sleep at all, and pushing myself hard to hit that release date, I was completely drained, mentally and physically. Encountering build issues when I was ready to launch just drained everything I had left in me. I tried to power through a bit more, but I simply couldn't. I'm sorry for that. I had to take a break. I made a quick announcement on Twitter, but I should have posted here too. That’s on me, and I’m truly sorry if that felt like I was ignoring this wonderful community. You all deserve better communication than what I provided.

The break was necessary for me to get back to a place where I can finish this game properly. I’ve used that time to regroup and get my mind in a better mental state. After taking a few weeks off, I finally feel refreshed, and I'm fully committed to getting this game across the finish line.

As for the games launch, rather than announcing a new release date and risking a delay for the millionth time, I’ve decided to keep things under wraps and just do a surprise launch very soon. My goal is to ensure that when it does go live, it’s as polished as it can be, so you can jump in and enjoy it without any issues.

I understand that your trust has been shaken by the previous delays and missed dates. That's totally my fault. I feel like things never went as planned during the development of my game. The journey to completing this game has been difficult with a VERY steep learning curve along the way. It has been a very long time since my initial Steam Greenlight submission until now, but I’m incredibly grateful to everyone who has stuck with me through all the ups and downs. Your support means more to me than I can ever possibly express.

Thank you for your patience. I’m excited for you to finally experience Within the Cosmos, and I’m going to do my absolute best to deliver something you’ll truly enjoy.

- debdev

Farflame spotted some news about Arakion:

We're Back

An overview of the new traits system.

Hey Venturers!

After a long hiatus, I'm thrilled to announce that the gates of Arakion will soon be open! It's been a while since my last update, so bear with me as I walk through what took so long, the first in a series of updates about all the changes, and the plans moving forward for Arakion.

What Took So Long?

In short, life and an engine change. First, life took a turn when I became a father, which made supporting my family the top priority. This limited the amount of time I could spend developing Arakion. Now, I'm in a place where I can commit to developing Arakion full-time for the foreseeable future.

Second, I made the choice to transition Arakion from Unity to Unreal. While I was already working with Unreal on other projects, I decided to bring Arakion into the fold. The switch took longer than I initially anticipated, but it’s been worth it. Unreal’s mature systems, along with powerful tools like GAS and PCG, means I can implement vast amounts of content with little effort. This makes the future of Arakion very bright!

Let's Talk about Traits

For our first preview, let’s dive into the revamped traits. First off, classes have been removed entirely. Instead, heroes now gain one of three experience types: Brawn, Skill, and Will. How a hero gains experience depends on their actions, the skills they use, the decisions they make, and more. These points are then used to learn traits (certain traits still require Traitstones found in the world in addition to experience)

Each type of experience can be spent in its respective trait branch. As you might expect, Brawn traits focus on melee and health, Skill traits enhance ranged weapons and stamina, and Will traits boost casting and energy.

To start your journey, you’ll answer a few questions during hero creation, earning a couple of experience orbs to spend right away (don’t worry, it’s color-coded with tooltips to guide you as you can see below)..

[...]

Couchpotato spotted update #360 for Star Traders: Frontiers:

Update #360: Cloaking Tech

Increased limit on Cloaking to 60% (from 25%), updated Delga Heavylift build, balanced # of Mutiny events on Low Morale

Star Traders! First let's send out a welcome to all the new captains who have joined during this 50% off sale and second let's celebrate with an awesome update. Here we are, hitting Update #360 on your favorite space trading and political simulation game, Star Traders: Frontiers. This update focuses on some big changes to the Cloaking system which allows you to reduce ship encounters, upgrades and adds new ship components related to cloaking and a new variation of the Goltha tech that can be unlocked through the Goltha Development story vignette. We've also tweaked some ship builds and prices from the startport and tweaked the chance of Mutiny when Morale is low.

[...]

The strategy RPG Songs of Silence has been released:

Songs of Silence - Story Trailer

Songs of Silence is a next-generation turn-based strategy game. It features a unique mix of kingdom and army management, hero development and real-time combat.

Thanks Couchpotato!