FAQ: Mysteries of Stygian Explained
Greetings cult brethren! You can find the answers to the majority of the questions you’ve been asking in the discussions and in your reviews for the last few days. You got more questions? Please write them down below this announcement!
PS: Using your own blood would help but is not obligatory.
If you’d like to see what skill usages and interactions are available on an environment item, simply right click on it.
If you’d like to perform a combat ability, use a quick item, cast a quick spell etc. simply right click on the character you are commanding at the time.
A unit of rations is automatically consumed at certain intervals of game time. This counter gets paused while you are in the tab menu, in dialogue or in combat.
Only the canned food remaining in Arkham and all the canned food that you find or buy throughout your journey will be exchanged into the common resource identified as “rations”, which is displayed in your inventory as a resource. It is possible to buy canned food from most of the vendors of the game and they are being replenished in time.
If you enter a state of hunger, you get notified through the notification panel above the screen and if do not get nourished for a period of time following that, the hunger state gets more and more severe until the death of the character by a state of HP damage over time.
There is no hunger gauge in the game so it may be a good idea to have a couple of extra rations with you. Some companions like Nameless Soldier do not need to consume rations. Whenever a ration is consumed, the game indicates that through the log on the lower right and with a sound effect resembling a chewing action.
At each particular interval of game time your characters get a state of exhaustion. Only by resting at a campsite (camping supplies needed) or resting at the Old Eel House are you able to recover from Exhaustion.
A campsite is located in Main Street near the walls of Miskatonic next to the hobos while another one is located in French Hill next to the abandoned house to the Southwest corner of the hub. Others will be discovered by you throughout the journey.
Resting is completely safe in the Old Eel House while the same cannot be said about outdoor areas. There is a good chance that your rest may be interrupted by an ambush even in the Downtown area so using rest activities such as “Keep Watch” and “Scout” may come in handy to get prepared.
If you enter a state of exhaustion, you get notified through the notification panel above the screen and if you do not rest for a period of time following that, the exhaustion state gets heavier and heavier until the character goes insane by a state of Sanity damage over time.
There is no exhaustion gauge in the game so it may be a good idea to have a couple of camping supplies with you.
Situations like witnessing horrible events, casting occult spells, encountering supernatural creatures, staying in a dark area for too long, all result in Sanity losses.
If your Sanity drops below a certain level in combat there is a good chance that you are going to develop a panic state. Your character loses control and acts contrarily to your orders in a panic state, causing situations like dropping your gun to the ground while you command to attack.
If your sanity drops below a certain level in exploration, the chance for your character to develop a mental condition rises. The mental condition your character develops is determined according to the actions your character has performed until that time. If the character has killed a couple of NPC’s in cold blood throughout the game, there is a good chance that you will develop Psychopathy or if you have chosen more cautious and inquisitive choices in dialogues, your chances of developing Paranoia gets higher.
Resting, progressing quests, using drugs and alcohol, having sex, roleplaying your belief system correctly by choosing the right dialogue options, all replenish your lost sanity.
The sanity that you gain through roleplaying can exceed your maximum sanity.
If you reach 0 sanity in combat it is game over.
You can not drop below 1 sanity in exploration but whenever you reach that threshold, you gain a state called “At the Mouth of Madness” which makes you accumulate ANGST for a period of time until the effect is over.
It is some kind of a black experience that you accumulate through enduring painful and disgraceful situations, running away from combat scenarios, witnessing an inhumane act with a Humanistic character etc. Whenever you level up in ANGST you have to choose a Defect which can be defined as a negative perk.
Each mental condition has its own merits and flaws:
Mania
Increases Action Points but gives the character a small chance to lose control and attack the nearest enemy unit in combat.
Paranoia
Increases Reaction but gives the character a small chance to attack an ally in combat.
Schizophrenia
Increases Mental Resistance but gives the character a small chance to enter a catatonic state and lose a combat round.
Psychopathy
Increases Critical Success Chance but gives the character a small chance to lose a certain amount of Sanity after killing a foe.
Each mental condition is also represented in the game by their own visual effects. The effect gets stronger in accordance with the degree of your decreasing Sanity. If you are disturbed by the effect, it may be a good idea to use some drugs, or rest to decrease the effects of Madness.
Lastly, a system called “Voices of Madness” enter into play for characters with mental conditions. Some of the regular dialogue lines gets substituted with VOM lines according to the mental state of the character. It is up to you to follow them or not.
There is no curing madness in Stygian.
Only the spells/rituals you have prepared by adding them to your quick spells can be cast in combat and exploration.
You can cast spells through the radial menu by right clicking on your character.
For casting “Tongue of the Dead” on the corpses that you encounter, you can right click on them to view if the spell is available.
In order to learn spells, you have to find or buy manuscripts and then study them through Occult Research rest activity while resting. Only characters with the Occult skill can research Manuscripts and Artifacts.
Casting each and every spell costs sanity and sometimes other resources and components. You can learn all those in detail by clicking on the question mark icon near the spell headlines found in your Grimoire.
Whenever you deal enough damage to an enemy group that would enable you to break some of the resistance, blue hexes appear on the battlefield, and if you can reach those hexes by moving to them and press the escape button (found at the bottom right corner of the screen), you get out from the combat, thereby gaining the same amount of XP as you’d get by winning the battle and progressing the story, since the worn enemy won’t be following you from that point on.
They can perform the rest activities that their skills allow. For example Nameless Soldier can be very effective in the “Keep Watch” rest activity while you get to allocate your precious rest points on research or other activities. They can research spells, protect the party, make scientific discoveries and a variety of actions in the form of Rest Activities.
With the 1.0.3 patch they are also able to perform crafting which adds a lot of diversity to the actions they can commit. We always wanted the companions to perform skill checks as well but for the welfare of other systems, we had to cancel that feature.
Also they can be your friends. And in a world which has lost all hope, that may help.
While in stealth, the game checks your character’s Stealth score for the whole party. If you get too close to a hostile character, you will be spotted no matter what score your character has in Stealth. Some enemies will be patrolling, while some will be able to smell you and change position accordingly. So always try to maintain a safe distance. If you can pass through a danger zone by stealth, you will be awarded with XP.
You can bypass 90% of the main quest battles in the game with the help of Stealth skill so if you are not the combative type, that may be a good skill choice in which to allocate some points.
Yes, you are. Your tolerance against it is directly affected by your Will value. After using the substance to which you are addicted, everything will go as usual for a while until Withdrawal (which is a negative state) kicks in. If you are in withdrawal, do not use the substance, since the negative state will get stronger until you use the substance you’re addicted to. If you can endure the state of Withdrawal without using the substance for a time period (which is determined by your Will again) you will be cured from addiction.
Each artifact in Stygian has a Power and a Malediction. The artifacts that you buy from vendors come with their Powers unlocked. Both the Powers and Maledictions of the artifacts you will find in Arkham and Beyond will come locked. You can discover the power of artifacts by either making Isidore decipher them or by studying them with Occult Research (studied either by you or your companions). The malediction of an artifact cannot be discovered through deciphering so you’ll need your or your companions’ faculties to learn them.
Beware! An artifact’s power and malediction takes effect the moment you equip them, whether you unlocked them or not.
You can study the items that you find in the world in an attempt to discover new blueprints or formulas that would enable the crafting of wondrous devices and concoctions with the help of Scientific Research and Medical Research rest activities. With each rest, you will progress towards a certain discovery until the research bar is full. By research, you can discover new solutions to your old and nightmarish problems.
There will be a manual save function in the upcoming patch. Ouch! That one hurt!
Until we meet again to unveil more mysteries beyond the stars!
Team Cultic
PS: Using your own blood would help but is not obligatory.
How does the Radial Menu work?
If you’d like to see what skill usages and interactions are available on an environment item, simply right click on it.
If you’d like to perform a combat ability, use a quick item, cast a quick spell etc. simply right click on the character you are commanding at the time.
How does the Hunger system work?
A unit of rations is automatically consumed at certain intervals of game time. This counter gets paused while you are in the tab menu, in dialogue or in combat.
Only the canned food remaining in Arkham and all the canned food that you find or buy throughout your journey will be exchanged into the common resource identified as “rations”, which is displayed in your inventory as a resource. It is possible to buy canned food from most of the vendors of the game and they are being replenished in time.
If you enter a state of hunger, you get notified through the notification panel above the screen and if do not get nourished for a period of time following that, the hunger state gets more and more severe until the death of the character by a state of HP damage over time.
There is no hunger gauge in the game so it may be a good idea to have a couple of extra rations with you. Some companions like Nameless Soldier do not need to consume rations. Whenever a ration is consumed, the game indicates that through the log on the lower right and with a sound effect resembling a chewing action.
How does the Exhaustion system work?
At each particular interval of game time your characters get a state of exhaustion. Only by resting at a campsite (camping supplies needed) or resting at the Old Eel House are you able to recover from Exhaustion.
A campsite is located in Main Street near the walls of Miskatonic next to the hobos while another one is located in French Hill next to the abandoned house to the Southwest corner of the hub. Others will be discovered by you throughout the journey.
Resting is completely safe in the Old Eel House while the same cannot be said about outdoor areas. There is a good chance that your rest may be interrupted by an ambush even in the Downtown area so using rest activities such as “Keep Watch” and “Scout” may come in handy to get prepared.
If you enter a state of exhaustion, you get notified through the notification panel above the screen and if you do not rest for a period of time following that, the exhaustion state gets heavier and heavier until the character goes insane by a state of Sanity damage over time.
There is no exhaustion gauge in the game so it may be a good idea to have a couple of camping supplies with you.
How does the Sanity System work?
Situations like witnessing horrible events, casting occult spells, encountering supernatural creatures, staying in a dark area for too long, all result in Sanity losses.
If your Sanity drops below a certain level in combat there is a good chance that you are going to develop a panic state. Your character loses control and acts contrarily to your orders in a panic state, causing situations like dropping your gun to the ground while you command to attack.
If your sanity drops below a certain level in exploration, the chance for your character to develop a mental condition rises. The mental condition your character develops is determined according to the actions your character has performed until that time. If the character has killed a couple of NPC’s in cold blood throughout the game, there is a good chance that you will develop Psychopathy or if you have chosen more cautious and inquisitive choices in dialogues, your chances of developing Paranoia gets higher.
Resting, progressing quests, using drugs and alcohol, having sex, roleplaying your belief system correctly by choosing the right dialogue options, all replenish your lost sanity.
The sanity that you gain through roleplaying can exceed your maximum sanity.
If you reach 0 sanity in combat it is game over.
You can not drop below 1 sanity in exploration but whenever you reach that threshold, you gain a state called “At the Mouth of Madness” which makes you accumulate ANGST for a period of time until the effect is over.
But what is this ANGST?
It is some kind of a black experience that you accumulate through enduring painful and disgraceful situations, running away from combat scenarios, witnessing an inhumane act with a Humanistic character etc. Whenever you level up in ANGST you have to choose a Defect which can be defined as a negative perk.
What are those Mental Conditions? How Do They Work?
Each mental condition has its own merits and flaws:
Mania
Increases Action Points but gives the character a small chance to lose control and attack the nearest enemy unit in combat.
Paranoia
Increases Reaction but gives the character a small chance to attack an ally in combat.
Schizophrenia
Increases Mental Resistance but gives the character a small chance to enter a catatonic state and lose a combat round.
Psychopathy
Increases Critical Success Chance but gives the character a small chance to lose a certain amount of Sanity after killing a foe.
Each mental condition is also represented in the game by their own visual effects. The effect gets stronger in accordance with the degree of your decreasing Sanity. If you are disturbed by the effect, it may be a good idea to use some drugs, or rest to decrease the effects of Madness.
Lastly, a system called “Voices of Madness” enter into play for characters with mental conditions. Some of the regular dialogue lines gets substituted with VOM lines according to the mental state of the character. It is up to you to follow them or not.
There is no curing madness in Stygian.
How does Spellcasting Work?
Only the spells/rituals you have prepared by adding them to your quick spells can be cast in combat and exploration.
You can cast spells through the radial menu by right clicking on your character.
For casting “Tongue of the Dead” on the corpses that you encounter, you can right click on them to view if the spell is available.
In order to learn spells, you have to find or buy manuscripts and then study them through Occult Research rest activity while resting. Only characters with the Occult skill can research Manuscripts and Artifacts.
Casting each and every spell costs sanity and sometimes other resources and components. You can learn all those in detail by clicking on the question mark icon near the spell headlines found in your Grimoire.
How do I make a Progression Escape?
Whenever you deal enough damage to an enemy group that would enable you to break some of the resistance, blue hexes appear on the battlefield, and if you can reach those hexes by moving to them and press the escape button (found at the bottom right corner of the screen), you get out from the combat, thereby gaining the same amount of XP as you’d get by winning the battle and progressing the story, since the worn enemy won’t be following you from that point on.
What good can my companions be to me besides Combat?
They can perform the rest activities that their skills allow. For example Nameless Soldier can be very effective in the “Keep Watch” rest activity while you get to allocate your precious rest points on research or other activities. They can research spells, protect the party, make scientific discoveries and a variety of actions in the form of Rest Activities.
With the 1.0.3 patch they are also able to perform crafting which adds a lot of diversity to the actions they can commit. We always wanted the companions to perform skill checks as well but for the welfare of other systems, we had to cancel that feature.
Also they can be your friends. And in a world which has lost all hope, that may help.
How does Stealth Work?
While in stealth, the game checks your character’s Stealth score for the whole party. If you get too close to a hostile character, you will be spotted no matter what score your character has in Stealth. Some enemies will be patrolling, while some will be able to smell you and change position accordingly. So always try to maintain a safe distance. If you can pass through a danger zone by stealth, you will be awarded with XP.
You can bypass 90% of the main quest battles in the game with the help of Stealth skill so if you are not the combative type, that may be a good skill choice in which to allocate some points.
What the Hell! Am I an Addict Now?
Yes, you are. Your tolerance against it is directly affected by your Will value. After using the substance to which you are addicted, everything will go as usual for a while until Withdrawal (which is a negative state) kicks in. If you are in withdrawal, do not use the substance, since the negative state will get stronger until you use the substance you’re addicted to. If you can endure the state of Withdrawal without using the substance for a time period (which is determined by your Will again) you will be cured from addiction.
Artifacts
Each artifact in Stygian has a Power and a Malediction. The artifacts that you buy from vendors come with their Powers unlocked. Both the Powers and Maledictions of the artifacts you will find in Arkham and Beyond will come locked. You can discover the power of artifacts by either making Isidore decipher them or by studying them with Occult Research (studied either by you or your companions). The malediction of an artifact cannot be discovered through deciphering so you’ll need your or your companions’ faculties to learn them.
Beware! An artifact’s power and malediction takes effect the moment you equip them, whether you unlocked them or not.
How Does Scientific and Medical Research work?
You can study the items that you find in the world in an attempt to discover new blueprints or formulas that would enable the crafting of wondrous devices and concoctions with the help of Scientific Research and Medical Research rest activities. With each rest, you will progress towards a certain discovery until the research bar is full. By research, you can discover new solutions to your old and nightmarish problems.
What the !!**/!! with the Save System!?
There will be a manual save function in the upcoming patch. Ouch! That one hurt!
Until we meet again to unveil more mysteries beyond the stars!
Team Cultic