Hand of Fate general lore explained (fan theory)

[Emilio]

So I have been writing up and thinking about the actual lore of HoF since it is a very cryptic game and it might be a little difficult for everyone to get the subtle hints here and there.

So I have a little fan lore theory to better make sense of the world in general.
If you don't agree with something I said or have another interpretation then please, I would love to hear your opinion.

There are a lot of spoilers in the thread so bare that in mind!

So we'll start with the game of life and death.

• It's most likely not man made and was found by an explorer at the end of the world.
  
• The chosen dealer is immortal and get's sent to the underworld upon a loss, whereafter the victor becomes the new dealer.
  
• The cards are a representation of the players past, you will have to have lived a ''meaty life'' so to speak or else the game wont work.
  
• The deck also remember players/past dealers and is capable of intertwining peoples fates to the point where it seems like you have lived someone elses life.
  
• The dealer can change the rules and fundamentally change the game. Which does give him the liberty to cheat if he so choses.

In tandem with what I said about the deck remembering past players.
The fates in HoF1 are representations of people that came before Kallas. With one exception, The Apprentice, The Adventurer The Warlord.

• The Apprentice is Kallas in his younger years, he's gifted but not experienced. Still training to be a soldier and eventually finding the Nymphs of the Sweetwoods in a far away forest.
  
• The Adventurer is Kallas several years before he went to the end of the world, this is the time period where most if not almost all the normal cards take place.
  
• The Warlord is Kallas in his older days shortly before finding the game, he's on a quest for total domination and death to all who oppose him and his ideals.
  Guided by a god long forgotten by time, he searches for absolute power.
  
• The Soldier is a fairly new but experienced recruit to the Dukes army where he proves himself a champion. Nothing much is revealed about this persons personal backstory.
  
• The Shadow Agent is a mercenary hired by the merchant guild of Steigel to erase corruption from within, which in turn makes the guild turn on each other by using the shadow agent as an instrument of war against themself. Not much is said about this persons backstory.
  
• The Nomad is a father who lost his only child to a bandit attack constructed by the King of Dust himself. He eventually find his sons resting place and heads out to kill the King of Dust.
  
• The Hoarder's Desire is a man driven by one thing, to aquire treasure. He's obssesed with goblin-kin and their treasure collection. Pretty much nothing is said about this characters backstory.
  
• The Iron Hunger is a mercenary from a peculiar race of sub-humans that eat ore instead of food. He's hired by an alchemist to study the effect of the particular ore the iron-kin feeds on.
  Nothing is said about this characters backstory.
  
• The Merchant Guard is a guard hired by the merchants guild to protect merchants in the countryside. He eventually unravels a plot where the Rat King has used bandits to ambush and rob unsuspecting merchants on the road. But he doesn't manage to stop him.
  
• The Monk is a warrior monk that grew up in the town of Rodero. Here he, the Abbot and other cluster monks defend the town from a recent awakening of the dead royalties.
  This brave monk traverses the crypts alone and kills the jack, queen and king of skulls.
  
• The Explorer is a skilled adventurer that seeks thrills. After he hears rumors of a lost island he set sail to find it. This suicide mission turns out to be a success and he finds untold treasure.
  
• The Curse of the Lion Prince is a young cub, sent into the wild by the pride council to become a strong member of the pack and join the pride.
  Not much is said about this character's backstory.

Now about some of the main characters that show up in this game.

• Kallas. After his wife died he ventured out into the world in search of meaning.
  He eventually found what he was looking for, power.
  
• The dealer. After several aeons of cheating at the game. He finds himself tired of winning by such means. Determined to lose fair and square and see what the great beyond has in store for him, he finds himself unable to let go after his loss against Kallas and crawls back from the underworld to get his revenge.
  
• Mr. Lionel. This goblin finds himself unable to return to the goblin city after one night where he drunkenly fumbles around with the kings daughter. He uses Kallas to rob the kings armory and afterwards sells Kallas out to get a pardon back into the city. This is one strange goblin.
  
• Mereth. This elf of the forest folks is a mysterious maiden that wanders the lands, helping adventurers along the way. Nothing much is said about her.
  
• Captain Boccanera. One of Kallas's best friends. This friendly sailor sails the land in search of treasure and adventure with his crew of pirates.

There are a few noteworthy factions.

• The merchants guild. This powerful guild controls most of the civilised world as they often bribe and blackmail high officals to get their way.
  
• The mage's guild. This secluded guild of mages hides in the mage tower where they practise all sorts of magic and studies on occult artifacts. After an encounter with Kallas the tower was more or less destroyed and the tower mages are now a rare breed.
  
• The duke. This psudo-royalty hired mercenaries to clense the land of ratmen and successfully managed to clean up the countryside.
  
• The empire. The goverment of the civilized world, they slowly populate their borders but rarely stray outside it.

Those are the basics of the game as far is i'm concerned. The game doesn't give you much to work with but there is plenty to read between the line.

I hope it was an interesting read :)

Developers, you really should include a lorebook in the second game or maybe even make a small book set inside the HoF universe. It is a very interesting and grim world and i'd love to learn and involve myself more in this story.

[morgan]

A lot of this is right on the money.

Won't tell you which bits, tho! :)

[Lazar]

Very nice work! Much appreciated.
Also, Mereth used to own the Ring of Plunder. Maybe she was a plunderer lol=)

[Emilio]

Originally posted by morgan:

A lot of this is right on the money.

Won't tell you which bits, tho! :)

Hahaha. Good to know my ability to read between the line isn't getting rusty atleast.

Originally posted by ArcBiLazarus:

Very nice work! Much appreciated.
Also, Mereth used to own the Ring of Plunder. Maybe she was a plunderer lol=)

Thanks.
But yeah I forgot about that. That could explain why she has so much things to give adventurers, maybe she was a hoarder during her time of youth.

[Emilio]

New discovery. I believe the Ring of Engorging belongs to the Nomad.
It fits into his story quite well.

Which means the Nomad was a wealthy merchant before the King of Dust took away his child and became a nomad when he realized that material possesions meant nothing if he lost his kin.