Lore

As a Dark Elf, Keri hails from the Everdark, in the southernmost point of Norica. There, the sun is a cold, infrequent visitor, its warmth and comfort a distant memory, and the gloom and chill that its absence creates has long since colored the character of its inhabitants. Few who do not call the Everdark home know much of it, and it is not a place which welcomes the curious.

Dark Elves live in underground colonies to avoid the cold of the surface, a subterranean existence that even further isolates them from the world outside of the Everdark, and despite the challenges, they had been content to spend their lives thusly for ages long past. Yet the quietude of their home has recently been disrupted: Bloodlust, a Demoness of obscure origin and motivation, has begun luring Dark Elves to her side, rallying allies as she advocates for aggression against the north. 

Those Dark Elves who have grown tired of their underground existence and long for the warmth and light of the sun have been particularly vulnerable to her suggestions, but despite their bitterness, there is far from a universally positive response from the Dark Elves to Bloodlust’s offers. And whispers abound of individuals with affinity for the sorcerous arts vanishing when scouts seeking  fresh recruits for the Demoness come upon a Dark Elf community, but the details are scarce, and Bloodlust’s forces are hardly forthcoming about where their recruits are stationed. 

It was one such rumored disappearance—that of her younger sister, still but a child, with only the faintest whisper of magical talent—that motivated Keri to offer herself as a Blade to Bloodlust. She hoped that, by advancing within the ranks of Bloodlust’s Dark Elf auxiliaries, she might yet find out whether her sister’s sudden departure was linked to the Demoness, and, if so, how she might come back into contact with her.

But that was years ago, and Keri’s hopes have yet remained unrealized. Her patience is wearing thin…as is her loyalty, already tenuous, to Bloodlust herself.

Gameplay

Keri is a unit with high Speed, Skill and Resistance who uses daggers, preferring to avoid counterattacks while being adept at cleaning up weakened targets. Uniquely, Keri is always able to use her leftover Movement to move after attacking or acting even if she is not a mounted or flying unit: this gives her freedom to reposition herself back to safety after targeting a foe, or after interacting with map objectives such as chests or doors.

Adding to Keri’s mobility and utility options are her ability to access Rogue Tools. These are consumable items only available to classes such as Thieves, among others, which are intended to help units in these classes accomplish secondary objectives or position themselves optimally. Some, such as Smoke Bombs, grant the user a short-range teleport, while others such as the Long Lockpick allow items to be interacted with from further away to avoid risking damage from traps or leaving the user vulnerable to ambushes. When combined with Keri’s ability to move after acting, this gives her incredible mobility, well in excess of flying or mounted units without suffering from any of their vulnerabilities.

See you tomorrow with more daily updates leading up to the Kickstarter Campaign!
David