Fabled Lands News

You learn that the Tower of Despair, which is commonly thought to stand on the edge of the Endless Plains, is in fact in this very forest. ‘It contains the treasure of an undead knight,’ says Knocklar. ‘He pledged half of what he had to gain eternal life, and the other half he locked in that tower.’

‘A considerable sum, presumably.’

‘Enough to make every king despair, and every merchant weep with greed! But forget about stealing it. The only way to open the tower is with the key of stars, which is in the hands of the Trau King of the Whistling Heath.’

Knocklar has no more time for gossip. He has to be getting on with his chores.




Far to the north in the merchant kingdom of Golnir, lies the Forest of the Forsaken, a dark and forbidding place. Even in broad daylight, shadows cluster like a mass of cobwebs under the gnarled boughs.

What is so special about this place, you say?

It is a location that contains many surprises and it's a mini-game area of its own. However, instead of navigating through it on the world map, you do this via choices within the story, only through what your character's sense can experience. To help find your way around it, you must find a treasure map!

The treasure map is an item that can be accessed from within your Inventory to view the locations on the Forest of the Forsaken. Don't worry, if you lose it, you can always obtain it again, but better tuck away that beauty in your House Stash.



Some of its most guarded secrets lie only if you stray from its paths, but will you dare to do it? Better ready those resurrection deals...

Heavy dev undergoing, folks! Soon to announce closed beta and the artist is preparing a new wallpaper to blow you away. Stay tuned for the next update!

https://store.steampowered.com/app/1299620/Fabled_Lands/

Hey, folks! Glad to catch you once again with my dev-log updates on the Fabled Lands game. It's been a while since the last one. I wanted to crunch through some of the tasks piled up before sharing my progress. I am pleased to say that I am not that much behind schedule and I am on track for the next content update's beta!

[h2]The Merchant Kingdom of Golnir[/h2]

The Cities of Gold and Glory update coming this fall is an important milestone for the Early Access as it smooths some rough edges.

Currently, although slightly rebalanced, there is a big power spike for players leaving the kingdom of Sokara, torn between the fractions of the new regime and the royalists, and travelling to the cold North where creatures of myth and legend dwell and the divine often interferes with the lives of mortals. It's there where the nomad tribes of the Great Steppes gather, ready to tear off your skin, but actually seem like a bunch of good fellows in comparison to the creatures of the night that seemingly evade Death itself...

[h2]Part 1: Weaponry[/h2]

With the addition of the second big area, players get access to bigger economy and room for fluent progression of their characters and more options to increase their power level.

For example, I was finally able to introduce a new tier of weapons.



Those are the uncommon weapons with higher combat profiency. While the common weapons get a slight nerf in terms of removing their combat bonus (lowering their chance to hit and their performance on ability checks), all the rarer weapons get a proper upscale, making them feel a significant reward when they drop. Uncommon weapons will be an option at various markets for a higher price. So the players earn more money and have more options to spend it.



Weapons will have their chance to shine too with some additional diversification over the course of each major update. For example, the Net (which can be purchased from markets but a certain Ogre can drop it alongside its Meat Cleaver too ;)) would possibly find some interesting play. Or the infamous White Sword, which you can never lose; it cannot be stolen from you or lost. Even if you die and are resurrected elsewhere, the sword will still be with you.

I have also prepared an update to a special event from the books: seeking the most epic shield in the game, and only the most dedicated explorers will be able to crack the secret of where and how to find and obtain it. Worthy of its own little achievement.

[h2]Part 2: Economy[/h2]

Aside from more ports to buy and sell cargo to, as well as numerous little or big new markets for items, there is an additional new currency called Mithrals.



The odd onyx coins give you the benefit to trade with the trau, the faery folk of the underworld, giving you access to some pretty sweet loot! However, how to obtain these coins and where to find the trau I will leave for you to discover on your own. Be careful though! Trading with the creatures of the Underworld might lead to unforseable demise if you don't know your way around. Be sure to open your ears and to listen for rumours on the open roads of Golnir.

And, ahem, be careful whose severed head you carry around with you, or the militia might throw you in the dungeons quicker than you can say Jack Robinson. Woah, how fast was that?

[h2]Part 3...[/h2]

Welp, this part and the next one I'll discuss in the future update! Don't forget to stay awhile and listen!

Flat waterlogged ground surrounds you in all directions. A few trees stretch forlornly into the sky above banks of reeds. These are the Magwort Fens.

In the middle of the fens there is an island hemmed in by bulrushes. On this island you find a chest decorated with intricate mother-of-pearl inlays. What will you do?

• Lift the lid and see what’s inside?
  
• Or retrace the treacherous path through the mire?
  

September is upon us, and as the days grow shorter, the cold morning bites are stronger. I still enjoy the last warm rays of the sun during the day before autumn hits. And you know what they’re saying about winter… That’s right. Lockdown is coming.

[h2]We require more vespene gas[/h2]

Either that or a good amount of coffee at the very least. The artist and I are working hard on the big content update for Golnir. I expect to hit beta at the very end of September. Followed by bug fixing and the release of the next major update sometime around Halloween. A big challenge would be to keep all existing saves intact so I would rely on the beta testers to help with that.



Golnir is a Rank 2 to 4 difficulty area with lots of little rewards to help an adventurer which ought to ease out the difficulty spike that currently hits you when you travel to the Great Steppes which is a rank 5+ area.

Currently I am preparing all combat encounters and the new skills spread across the land which you can obtain. Aside from new enemies you’ll face in raw combat, there’s a fair number of ability and choice encounters where you better have your wits about you.

[h2]See you next time![/h2]

You come across an old bogle laughing to himself. His body looks like a mossy old tree-stump and he has a mouth as wide as a sack of coal. When you ask why he’s laughing, he replies: ‘Because there you are gawping instead of running away, and now I’m about to up and eat you.’

The bogle picks you up and is about to pop you in his mouth. His breath makes an open drain smell as sweet as a bouquet of tulips, and his teeth look like jagged bits of flint. You had better think fast if you don’t want to end up being picked out of those teeth with a bit of matchwood.

Last week, just around the Saturday update, the game hit 20000 wishlists. I got so excited that I could barely wait for this week's post to share the news with you!

Thank you, you amazing people you!

Why does this matter so much? Well, for starters, this is no small number... For a tiny, nay a micro indie dev studio (because I read a lot of studios lately calling themselves "tiny", apparently, it's a trend of sorts) this is the bread & butter of my potential sales.

This is the effort of a single man on a so-called "zero budget" marketing campaign, spreading all the way back to when I started this whole endeavor with Prime Games. Also, justifies the route of the Early Access with Fabled Lands I struggled to decide if I want to take.

The quality of those wishlists would determine the conversion rate at the full release. But building up organic amounts over time on the Steam platform is the absolute best a self-publishing indie could hope for.



Of course, those are not just some vague numbers on a piece of paper! (Eh, or in a table on a display.) New people keep reaching out on Discord or on the Steam forums. Fans of the books or new followers, excited by the old-school RPG feel or just captured when exploring the amazing world Dave Morris and Jamie Thomson built. Gamers who didn't know what to expect. Feels amazing and I want to appreciate all of you for hanging out and sharing the passion :)

I want to give a special shout-out and thank my amazing artist, Bernar, who has stuck long enough with me to help deliver Prime Games' biggest title to date, when his talent could be quickly absorbed by any bigger EU or US company. The vision he brings to the table definitely evokes people's imagination. But you know, that's what happens when you create bonds over several games of Magic the Gathering! Sigh... the good ol' days.



What can I say, folks, The Cities of Gold and Glory are shaping up nicely. A very peculiar area to explore and boost your characters before facing the Steppes and later on, the Uttakin. Forest of the Forsaken, The Haunted Hills, Castle Orlock... Can't wait to talk about the upcoming skills and spells too!

The roadmap I am aiming for this year is closed beta of Golnir in October and release of the next chapter around Halloween. Keeping my fingers crossed I deliver without unforeseeable delays!

‘When I was alive, I kept my treasure safe in a tower built of adamantine stone,’ the corpse tells you. ‘The tower had an impregnable door that could only be unlocked by a key made of star metal. But my death-sleep has been troubled by disquieting dreams. What if a living man should find the key and plunder my hoard?’



‘And what is it you want of me?’ you find yourself asking, your voice sounding hollow in the stillness of the crypt.

The corpse points past you, out to the south. ‘Go and find the key of stars. Bring it back to me. Then I shall permit you to take a reward.’ As you leave, you hear its parting words: ‘But take care not to return empty-handed, for then my vengeance would be swift and terrible.’

[h3]Ah, fresh areas filled with new quests and dangers... [/h3]

What more could an adventurer want than to plunder one honest corpse's hoard I ask? Surely, you could solve the convoluted secret of the Dark Tower without suffering its many pitfalls... Speaking of that, new items are joining the action.



Lucky charms are all over the patchworks of tranquil fields and meadows. Question is: will they bring good fortune to you? Riddles and fragments of the lore are spread across the lands of Golnir and only the careful adventurers may collect them all.

Or, you know, just capitalize on selling roofs at Metriciens. 'Cause a profit's a profit! Besides... why not?