Lord of Lies Devlog #4

September 30th a.k.a the first day of Once Upon A Time VN Jam!

I am still freaking out but now it’s real, real. I feel very motivated thanks to all the engagement from fellow OUAT runners on twitter, dev friends, family, and this being my redemption arc!

Good news, Lord of Lies is now going to have original music! That was not originally planned but I am privileged with working the ever so talented Orpheo Fenn of Faefield Productions (super relevant for this project hehe) I guess you can say it was ✨Meant to Bee ✨ 

(He composed the soundtrack for my previous project Crabs & Cocktails, oh yeah if you haven’t played that yet, what are you waiting for??? Go play it!- maybe after you read this?)

We’ve got a lot of work to do; I feel like I am gearing up for a war.

Which is my not so clever segway into this week’s topic, combat and it’s relevancy to the project and the characters!

In order of which party members you acquire in game!

Your Party

Lawrence (player character)

You can choose between 3 main classes and customize them more going forward: warrior build, rogue build, or a magic build. If you choose magic Lawrence uses Earth powers!

Hound (nameable in game)

The Hound, (she ^.^) is a Bane a breed of venomous dog breed born in the swamplands of this world. The Hound is a very defensive character and can take a lot of hits before going down. They are a pretty aggressive warrior esque character. They can buff allies using ‘howl’ while poisoning enemies, and are healed by poisonous attacks to them!

Charles

Because Charles is based off of Little Red Riding Hood, I wanted to give him a bow and an ax! Charles is actually an aspiring bounty hunter and is very in tune with nature. He’s basically a Ranger with the ability to melee when enemies get a little too close for comfort. Charles is a rogue-esque character and is very susceptible to damage, so you’ll want to protect him at all costs, and he’ll protect you.

King

King has lightning powers in addition to being an exceptionally skilled samurai, as he was once a general in the royal military he can tactfully chain many enemies together. He is always on the frontlines of every battle he is apart of. King can also often anticipate what the enemy will do, because of all his years of combat training or is it…something else?

Gala

Gala has ice powers, befitting of someone who is based off of Snow White! She is a weapons master and is also a warrior like her sensei King, but is more for one on one duels. Gala treats her weapons like her children. Piercing enemies, and debuffing them is Gala’s strong suit. 

Duke

Duke is an exceptionally skilled Light mage, he’s dazzling always. Mainly because his ‘curse’ is that he charms anyone attracted to men. Charming enemies is something that Duke does almost as much as he does healing his allies, as he is a primary healer.

Duchess

Duchess is a monk style character focused on martial arts and buffing her enemies. She uses a lot of plant (and specifically flower based) attacks to do a variety of cool things, she is the most well rounded character in combat, and can fit into any squad. She can dish it as well as she can take it. 

Prince

Prince is a water warrior, which sounds funny when I say it like that lol. But! Prince uses water magic in addition to being an absolute beast on the battlefield, going berserk and taking more hits than any of the other tank-y characters in this group. He isn’t much use other than a battering ram and punching bag.

He’s so babygirl uwu- the cutest punching bag.

Secret Party Member >:D

General Combat Stuff

Mana Conservation/Managing

In ‘Lord of Lies’ all skills magic or otherwise cost mana, if you are out of mana you cannot use your special abilities gained through leveling. Some skills enable you to gain back mana overtime but the best way to replenish it is through potions, and using your mana wisely.

Mana enables your skills to hit no matter what. No missing. Basic attacks have a chance of moving depending on the character attacking stats and the enemies stats. 

Injuries

If you’ve ever played Dragon Age Origins you’ll know exactly what this is. If not, I’ll fill you in. 

You know how in RPG’s you die, and then heal outside of combat and just keep going? Well, it’s not so easy in ‘Lord of Lies’- in this game if one of your character dies in combat and you win the encounter, that/those character(s) who died will have sustained an injury that debuffs the character in someway, either by making their health pool 10% less, or making your attack 10% less effective etc… (there are currently 6 injuries so far). 

However there is a way to undo this! Injury Kits. If you have one, you can heal your party from these debuffs and go on like normal. No amount of health potions or healing skills can take away an injury. So make sure to stock up on these injury kits and try not to die in battle ;)

Know Your Enemy

Seduced, burning, poisoned, sleep, etc… these are status effects 3 out of 25 so far. You can use many tools to thwart your enemy, but they also have these same tools and you’ll need to be prepared. 

Depending where you are in the game, a Poisonous swamp, or a freezing cave, you’ll want to build a party that can survive these environments. Sometimes it’s not so easy as, oh this is a poisonous area, bring characters who can’t be poisoned. Sometimes, it’s a lot more subtle. 

Every boss has a specific strategy that can help you beat them quicker. Most mob enemies are similar, it’s like solving a puzzle. Like in Undertale you have to figure out what ways to deal with the enemy if you’re going pacifist! Except you will definitely not be going pacifist for this game hehe.

So pay attention, and you’ll be fine!

Know Your Allies

Talking to your party members outside of combat is super important in this game (well I’d argue everything is) but it’s important to understand the story, the romance, the friendships, the world, etc.. is by knowing your party.

When you speak with your party members you get hints for future areas, abilities to use in combat, items, etc….

And action sequences and duo combo-ing!

The power of friendship people! This is ever so slightly JRPG inspired thanks to Final Fantasy and The Persona Series.

Meet the Game Halfway

I mentioned in the last devlog that I want the difficulty of the game to be dependant on how much you engage with the story of the game. And I am sticking to that. I know well that a lot of visual novel players may be perturbed by the inclusion of a mandatory combat system so my solution. The more you engage with the story the easier the game will be, almost like a walk in the park! Not entirely mindless, but not frustrating. The opposite is also true however. The less you engage with the story, the harder the game will be. 

This game is not made with straight up ‘gamers’ in mind. There is a stigma in RPG communities of too much story, and if that’s something you don’t like than ‘Lord of Lies’ is not for you.

If you talk to all your party members, explore the towns and speak to NPC’s, as well as read all flavor dialogues, item descriptions, etc… you’re in for an easy fun time. If you click through the mandatory cutscenes and fight you will have some negative surprises ahead of you. So keep that in mind lol.

The Witcher 1 was one huge inspiration for this game in terms of story, and that game does not hold your hand. If you choose not to engage with it, it’ll be difficult and confusing. 

I want those that care enough about my game to have a good time, and for those who don’t take it seriously to suffer. 

Princess Joy is in her Evil Queen era lmfaooo

All joking aside, my immediate family hasn’t read my stories, or visual novels cause they are traditional video game players. They have been excited for Princess Poison- now Lord of Lies for years now. They are not going to read these devlogs cause- reading. So when they do play this game they’ve wanted for so long and choose not to engage with most of the story I put in, they are in for it.

Next Week’s Devlog Sneak Peak

Next week I’ll be talking about the gameplay loop! Along with showcasing some enemies, mechanics, and discussing how many bosses you can expect? 

Until next week!