Looking back at some of my screenshots, one of my favourites, a leading warrior who once one-shotted five monsters with reaction attacks in a single turn, was level three. But I have no idea what level any of them were. I remember specific battles, plot twists, and the name and memorable moments of a dozen of my characters. I've played a lot of it over the last couple of months. It wasn't really until playing Wildermyth that I could put forward a strong enough game to prove it, though. In one of the dark, combative corners of my mind there's been a post brewing for years now about how levels are wrong and bad and hold back far too many RPGs. Watch out for more articles on it throughout the month. This time we're weaving a narrative tapestry in the character-led tactical RPG Wildermyth. Interfuse with trees and explode them at a crowd, shattering their armour so your maceman can lunge in and whack them into the fire your sentinel set with the power she inherited from an old shrine last year.Can’t Stop Playing is our monthly celebration of a game we're loving. Borrow stone from an archway to protect your archer. Mystics fight by 'interfusing' with scenery items. Combining skills is tremendously rewarding, and a major challenge at the truly brutal higher difficulties. Each weapon type, each skill, whether or not you dipped your hand in that strange fountain, changes what a person does on the battlefield. Classes matter, but no two hunters are alike. No no, Parelle was the one who-I could write about them all night. No! Logsa wasn't a Vine Sister, you're thinking of Lunantha, she joined them after Parelle left to form the Stone Maidens. That's why she's in the Vine Sisters story. Logsa didn't die, she just lost her leg! It's in all the pictures. But Edien protected the Thrush Rascals when Logsa was killed in the final battle against the Gorgons. No, Deestan found the library, they were in the Unbroken String together. Edien was the Thrush Rascal who found the Library of Light. Imagine in-world villagers hearing these tales, their details becoming jumbled in the retelling. That's why you'll replay the campaigns: you're creating a mythology. She'd never really got her time to shine, but now she's the leader of her own adventure pals, including one from a game in 2019.Īt its hardest it's a bloody, desperate war across multiple generations. One campaign even started with one of my B-listers from an earlier game, Parelle. The dead or retired become available as 'legacy' heroes that a later group can recruit as an already-skilled youth. She doesn't want to lose someone like that again.īut Uvwane lives on. When young Shay first levelled, she'd just lost her brother Uvwane, so of course she took a first aid skill over better magic. There are always good choices mechanically, but frankly you're playing it wrong if you're not prioritising skills that suit their personality.

When you level up, you choose one skill out of a random four from a far longer list. Think like a hero who helps their youngers, not a tosser who hogs all the best gear. Items you replace can't be redistributed, which seems illogical but means you differentiate everyone over being efficient, and give good items to weaker members who need them more. It's satisfying growing your fragile starters to champions, but it's using those old hands to protect and teach the young ones that's key. At its hardest it's a bloody, desperate war across multiple generations.

The middle is a perfect blend of tactical and character-driven decisions. Lower difficulty levels are a robust roleplay with the drama in your hands. Wildermyth integrates all this wonderfully into its design. My latest retired to become a judge, imparting her wisdom to the daughter of the friend who died saving her life. A hero might fall in love, take up painting, or walk off one night, and return months later withdrawn and sad. Another group won fourteen years of peace between chapters. By the finale the world was saved, but permanently marred. I was too slow in one chapter, and never unravelled the enemy plot.

Wildermyth reaction strike