Devlog #7: Ways of Alchemy’s Worldbuilding: A Tour Through Brettonia and Beyond

[p]Hi again, we’re back! In this devlog, we will be talking about some of the worldbuilding aspects of our game, about the world at large and its fantastical creatures and the people that inhabit it.[/p][p]🚀The demo was recently updated with a new tutorial, a new NPC and some other features that made the experience much friendlier and accessible. If you haven’t tried it just yet, give it a go – it’s the perfect version, up until we finally release the game later![/p][p]The alchemist is a character more interested in journeys into the depths of things — wandering across the fields of truth, explorations of the vastness of revelation and forays into the thickets of their own soul. That’s why the game doesn’t focus heavily on the surrounding world, although it still exists and occasionally slips in…[/p][h2]Magical Beings: The Hierarchy of the Inhuman [/h2][p]In our in-game world, sages have created a hierarchy of power among non-human beings, and they use this scale to measure the strength of humans who have chosen to master the Pillars of Reality. [/p][h2]Curses: Both Monsters and Insults[/h2][p]Curses are the most common thing you’ll meet out there. But they are creatures whose names people use as swear words – they are not always feared. These range from twig-snapping woodland spirits to mildly terrifying wooden giants and small dragons.[/p][p][/p][p]Most mortals who can mess with the pillars — witches, alchemists, shamans, monster hunters and the like — possess power comparable to that of curses. Some are lucky (or reckless) enough to pull power from deeper sources. But that always comes with a cost.[/p][h2]Callings: When The Gods Start Listening[/h2][p]Right after Curses, Callings are the next tier up. These are powerful beings that people ask for help, usually when everything’s gone wrong, horribly wrong, as a matter of fact. Cults tend to grow around them. Towns vanish around them. They leave their mark. Titan-Watchmen, Great Spirits and Ancient Dragons are among some of these.[/p][p][/p][p]Some mortals — especially clever witches and very old shamans — know how to hold proper rituals to contact them. Great alchemists can even bottle a Calling’s power. But the rarest of all are the Pillar Masters — born once in an era, capable of wielding power not as humans, but as mystical beings.[/p][p]Sages say this is a cursed path: as they wield power like monsters, Masters gradually become monsters themselves, losing their humanity. Briefly, they become perfect fusions of man and mystery. Then they vanish. Sometimes in a blaze of glory. Sometimes just... gone.[/p][h2]Names: The Gods You’ve Heard Of[/h2][p]Names are the highest known tier, at least to ordinary people. These are great gods who change the world by their mere presence.  Everyone knows them. And everyone prays to them. The most widespread religion in Brettonia is the cult of the Three-Bodied God, associated with the Veil and with Pain — it preaches salvation through suffering. Which, we will be honest, suits the local temperament quite well.[/p][p]Worshipping other gods — like the Gaping One or Nobody — is a great way to get yourself executed. Though the aristocracy, as expected, has its own opinions on that, and holds quiet ceremonies for the Thousand Hands.[/p][p][/p][p]Secret knowledge about Names is tightly guarded – knowledge about how Names are born, how they grow and how they fade. This knowledge is contradictory and fragmented. Some say Names just appear from belief alone. Others think you can become a Name. A popular (and very heretical) theory is that the Three-bodied God was once a master who found a way to stay on the edge forever, never monster, never man. It managed to forever hold the line between human and beast, and eventually ascended.[/p][p]Alchemists (you are one of them), of course, are obsessed with this idea of Ascension and achieving it through their Great Work. But as always, be careful what you wish for![/p][h2]The Nameless Ones: Beyond the Edge of Everything[/h2][p]The Nameless are beyond even the gods. They are the endless, formless things lurking just past the boundaries of what should exist. The thousand-handed, thousand-legged, thousand-eyed, the nonexistent and the infinite beings beyond reality, too vast to describe, too boundless to be named. [/p][p]Only the greatest sages know that even gods tremble before something, that there is always a bigger fish. But these sages quickly go mad. The maddest among them carve great rituals and brew mighty elixirs to peer through doors they would be better off never knowing existed. These reckless fools, at best, die achieving nothing and at worst, die having achieved something. Luckily, none of them have opened yet.[/p][h2]Mortal Peoples: Who’s Left to Inherit the World[/h2][p]And now let’s discuss some of the beings from the Ways of Alchemy world that are basically living, breathing mortal people, some of which you will encounter regularly during the game.[/p][h2]Humans: Always at War, As Usual[/h2][p]The human kingdom of Brettonia — near whose capital our protagonist lives — has a long history of bloody conquest. It has been conquered and reconquered again. It used to belong to the Jorimans, but was seized by eastern humans, who in turn lost it to the northerners. The northerners were few and only replaced the ruling class, so even the best scribes get confused about whether the ruler should be called a King or a Konung. But all agree that he should be addressed politely, as the northerners still have short tempers…[/p][p]Recently, a new threat arrived: the Klipots. Giant blue warriors from the sea. So far, they’ve failed to take Brettonia, but it’s only a matter of time! The land is too fertile, too magical and far too valuable to ever be left alone. Will it ever know peace? No one can tell.[/p][h2]Jorimans: The Vanished Pillar-Bearers[/h2][p]Named after their last king, Mana-Ethel Jorian, and shortened vulgarly to Jorimans, these proud people fought harder than anyone else. They never backed down, even when their mastery of the pillars and priceless artifacts wasn’t enough to save them. Now their culture is mostly the stuff of academic lectures and tragic ballads.[/p][h2]Lesser Peoples: Quiet Folk in a Loud World[/h2][p]Halflings, goblins, dwarves and trolls. Once neighbors of the Jorimans, now neighbors of the humans. Compared to the long-lived Jorimans, they were quick and enterprising. Next to humans, however, they gained a reputation for being thoughtful and slow, except for goblins, who still compete with humans in cunning. [/p][p]Most withdrew over time. Some still hang around in the cities. Goblins, as usual, remain the most entrepreneurial and regularly have business meetings with humans.[/p][h2]The Klipots: The Sea Brings Giants[/h2][p]The only force capable of rivaling Brettonia is the sea-faring peoples. These blue-skinned giants stand a head or more taller than humans and possess a rage and battle-lust equal to mankind’s. Their shamans, with their own approach to the Pillars, left humanity with no mystic advantage on the battlefield. They once launched a great invasion, stopped only by the timely appearance of five Masters on the human side. [/p][p]But those Masters now keep no watch. And the Klipots haven’t given up: their armies are growing again.[/p][h2]A Way To Build Worlds Is On The Table[/h2][p]That’s how the worldbuilding goes! In case you get curious, we managed to come up with most of these bits by hosting DnD sessions with friends. That’s our best advice if you’re preparing your very own world – see what sticks with friends and expand on this.[/p][p][dynamiclink][/dynamiclink]If you want to know more, be sure to try out the game’s demo on Steam and wishlist it – we’re currently focusing on preparing the final version that will be out soon.[/p][p]
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