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Yondering Abilities

Here is an expanded list of abilities for the intrepid mystic, the valiant warrior, and the cunning hunter. An arsenal of wondrous capabilities to help diversify any playthrough! Most of the abilities added have tried to account for balance as well as narrative immersion to accommodate the setting of the Yondering Lands:

The intent of this mod is to add an assortment of abilities to help spice up any campaign as well as to enable builds/archetypes that weren't previously available or did not have enough support. Anything that made the cut was examined rigorously for the purposes of balance as well as narrative cohesion. For example, Wildermyth is not a game about demigods so you will not see crazy superheroic abilities. My goal is to allow a wide variety of balanced builds that are all viable yet able to accommodate the lore of the setting, enough so that the average player won't stick to the same builds each playthrough just because they're the most effective.

With that in mind, here are some thoughts I had while designing some of the abilities. I won't touch on everything, but I'll give you a glimpse into what goes on behind my process with three abilities.

Call Beast was created with the intention of fulfilling the classic summoner archetype often seen in fantasy. With other abilities such as Arches and Naturalist, Call Beast further enabled the class fantasy of the mystic as a wise druid, woodland witch, or otherworldly shaman. However, I was concerned with balancing the action economy yet still having a powerful enough summon that felt useful without resorting to putting a timer on the summon. Its limitations in that the ability effectively takes a whole round to setup as well as imposing the drained condition to further limit the mystic on subsequent rounds was eventually what I settled on. Often, there's an interesting decision to be made regarding calling the summon earlier onto the battlefield at the expense of sacrificing the capability to finish off a potentially dangerous enemy and immediately weakening yourself, or waiting for a lull in the action but delaying the summon. Regarding the narrative aspect, I wanted the ability to reflect the untamed nature of the Yondering Lands which is why beast spirits are called to serve the mystic (expanding upon the spirits in game).

Tactician is an ability I heavily wanted for warriors to open up a more support-oriented playstyle for that class. Of course, it also fulfills the classic trope of the warlord, the marshal, the battlefield commander who excels at maneuvering and planning. More interesting decisions are opened up with how a turn can be planned by spending the action of the warrior to reposition their allies. Now risky gambits like your melee hunter diving into the fray to finish off a dangerous enemy can be provided with a safety net by having them be repositioned after the fact despite their turn being over. I was wary (and still am) of how cheesy a player could get with this ability which is why the target can only move half their speed. Enough to maneuver smartly behind allies/cover or for an extra burst to get close to an enemy, but not enough to allow ridiculous shenanigans.

Ghostsliver was designed synergistically in regards to how it would function with Thornfang and Rogue as well as providing the hunter with an upgrade for Silkstep like the warrior's abilities can upgrade Guardian. Hunter, I will note, should have more capabilities when it comes to maneuvering just due to the typical fantasy of the class yet most of their abilities are geared towards utility or attack upgrades. While Ghostsliver does border on the supernatural by allowing the hunter to phase through scenery, I thought it wouldn't hurt to expand the borders of the class's fictional role since many popular characters would likely fall under this class such as Corvo from Dishonored or Durzo Blint from the Night Angel Trilogy. Alternatively, it can still be viewed as in a mundane fashion representing the hunter's knack for navigating through difficult terrain. When upgraded, in combination with Thornfang, Rogue, Heroism, and a water weapon, it feels pretty satisfying dancing around the battlefield flitting from shadow to shadow, assassinating enemies in a dervish of smoke and blood before vanishing.

Balefire - A pact struck with a Lostling for unbridled power in exchange for 15 years of the mystic's life. Can conjure soulfire and fling it at enemies for devastating damage, but such dark power must be paid in blood...

Balefire+ - Once per combat, can now summon a Wailing Cacophany of fire in a large radius that renders desolation and ruin upon the battlefield.

Call Beast - Summon a beast spirit in the form of an ethereal stag to serve you. Once per combat, as an action the beast spirit can exchange its life force to use Invigorate and cure any status ailment.

Call Beast+ - Summon a greater beast spirit in the form of an ethereal wolf to serve you. Once per combat, as an action the greater beast spirit can Howl inflicting terror upon an enemy and causing it to flee or afflicting the shaken condition upon them.

Penumbra - Dampen the shadows around your enemies, inflicting miasma upon them and weakening their strikes as they struggle to land a blow when clouded in darkness.

Penumbra+ - The shadows come to life afflicting enemies with hobbled as they struggle to move. Drained of their life force, the mystic becomes temporarily suffused with vigor.

Radiance - Infuse motes of light with magic to swarm an area like buzzing fireflies, dazzling enemies.

Radiance+ - The light staggers those afflicted causing them to also become dazed.

Wintergale - Invoke the howling winds of winter eternal, lashing out at those foolish enough to cross you. Once every 3 turns, spend a turn channeling before unleashing a winter maelstrom upon an area.

Wintergale+ - The snows deepen as the winds of winter chime. Wintergale now deals more damage, and has a chance to freeze the target in place, pinning them.

Ghostsliver - Replaces Silkstep, vanish into the Grayplane and become ethereal, allowing the hunter to phase through scenery while hidden.

Ghostsliver+ - While ethereal, step into the gloom and emerge from the shadow of an enemy, dealing a grievous blow.

Lacerate - Lethal precision applied to the right area in close quarters can cause enemies to 'bleed' as their wounds prevent them from moving freely without risk of a slow and agonizing death.

Lacerate+ - Those afflicted with bleed also hemorrhage at the end of their turn.

Shieldsworn - Mastery at fighting defensively with a shield allows the warrior to protect themselves better, reducing damage taken.

Shieldsworn+ - Turn defense into offense by bashing foes and concussing them.

Tactician - The warrior is an astute commander, orchestrating their allies like puppets on strings and repositioning them to adapt with the ebb and flow of the battlefield.

Tactician+ - Inspire valor in the heart of an ally, granting them a surge of energy and allowing them to act beyond their limits.