Official Early Access Guide

This is the official Early Access guide for Unsung Ballads.
It describes game mechanics and UI elements that are not obvious nor adequately explained in-game.

Preface

This game is still a work in progress; anything could be subject to change, so the guide might quickly become obsolete.

Due to image size limits, I had to reduce the size of some images.

If you find information that isn't precise or downright incorrect, please open a feedback topic in the appropriate forums, or let us know on our Discord[discord.gg].

More About The Game

Unsung Ballads is a role-play deckbuilding roguelike card battler.
So, in true roguelike fashion, saving is automatic, and if you are defeated in combat, you lose the game, and the save with it.
Unlike other roguelike deckbuilders you don't randomly get cards.
The items you equip will dictate what cards you can get, and your proficiency with martial skills will unlock new cards or improve old ones.

Character Creation

While you can't reuse a character (yet), we've provided a few ways to speed the character creation:

• You don't need to customize the character at all if you want to start right away, not even input a name. Just click "Start adventure", and you're off. Of course, you'll be "Nameless" then. Literally.
  
• There are a few randomize buttons that can be used to speed up the process, including a "randomize all". You can fine-tune different features afterward.

You can customize the colors of individual features, by first selecting that feature (like hair) and then selecting a color from one of the color palettes, or from the color picker.

Do note, that selecting a color from the color palettes won't change the feature if the palette is named after it. For example, selecting a color from the eyes or hair palette won't change the eye or hair color, unless you're editing that specific feature.

Adventure Screen Interface

Once you've completed character creation, you'll be greeted by a short introduction dialogue, during which you'll also select your goal. Then you'll be left to your own device.

You will be displayed a map of the region, with various interactable elements, UI or otherwise.
From here, you can check your inventory, the card deck, or your organization status, prepare your training, or go on missions, and later go to the item shop.



The organization rank is one system meant to provide some guidance in an otherwise non-hand-holding game. It will also unlock new features as you progress through the game.



As a first step, you should train a few skills (you can train up to 3 at a time) for a few days until you get no benefit from training.

This will help you with your first promotion and also in the coming fights.

Note: Sparring is not implemented yet.

Inventory

If you've played RPGs before, the inventory screen shouldn't be too alien.

There's no drag & drop, as I personally hate it, so don't expect it too soon.

Simple clicks to select and equip an item. No hints on the appropriate slots yet.

Right-click on equipped items to unequip. No right-click to equip yet.

You can hide the headgear, as it might not look good with some hair yet.


Since items dictate the cards in your deck, we display a list under the item details.

Tip: You can also fight unarmed! And it has a currently hidden mechanic that increases the unarmed damage.

Deck

This is the screen where you can add or remove cards from your deck to maximize your chances of success.

The availability and power of weapon/shield cards are dictated by the quality of the item and the character's proficiency with the relevant skill.

Note: There's a soft requirement on the number of cards in a deck, which is you need to have a minimum of 10. Having fewer will add Fumbles during combat. Fumble is a useless card that wastes both a draw and 1 AP.


Clicking on the magnifying glass button will display a large version of the card.

Note: The cards have various effects that are not explained yet, and I'm working on the UI that will do that.

Training and Skill Progression

This is the most incomplete and probably the worst-looking screen in the game. I'm working on it, mkay?!

You can select up to 3 skills to train from the bottom list.

If you already have 3 skills in training, clicking a fourth will remove the oldest one.

Clicking on any item will expand it to show additional details while collapsing an already expanded one.

How skill progression works

Each skill has 14 ranks:

• 4 major ranks / proficiency levels - Novice, Competent, Experienced, and Master; these ranks unlock new cards or improve old ones.
  
• 10 minor ranks / proficiency ranks - alternating between damage increase, minimum decrease, and maximum copies increase.

Attaining a skill rank always requires training and sometimes combat. All the major ranks require both training and combat.

To train, you need to select the skill, and then pass the day.

A skill rank will be considered trained if the training experience matches that rank's required value. It will also be considered attained if there is no combat experience requirement.


A skill rank will be considered attained if both the training and the combat requirements have been met.

For example: the second major rank, the Competent level, requires 10 training experience points and 5 combat experience points. So you need to pass the day twice while training the skill to get enough training experience points to mark the rank as trained.

Going into combat will advance the time by 1 day (for now), and you won't get any training experience.

You will get combat experience based on what you have equipped, not what you are training.

The number of XP gained currently depends on the number of enemies, 1 enemy = 1XP.

Missions

Hovering over missions will display a popup with the following details:

• mission description
  
• possible rewards
  
• enemy loadout
  
• enemy difficulty - which at the moment is based just on hit points;

Note: At the moment we only have combat missions against random "low level" bandits

Combat

Combat is turn-based and tactical.

In each round, the turn order is decided based on initiative, which can change during combat. Taking your turn immediately increases initiative, while delaying your turn decreases it for the next round.

The combat grid arranges characters on the front line or the back line at the beginning of combat, based on their equipment. This is not highlighted via special UI elements (yet).

Characters can move between lines during their turn by spending 1 AP. They can also can get moved, by cards with the Knock effect. A character Knocked from the front line, ends up on the back line. A character Knocked from the back line loses 1 AP.

At the beginning of each round, cards are drawn by all the characters, from their own respective decks. The enemies have decks too. And they follow the same rules as the player's characters.


There are three major types of cards.

• Action cards - attacks, buffs, debuffs
  
• Passive cards - armor cards
  
• Reaction cards - dodges, parries, blocks, and deflects

Action cards need to be played manually, and require Action Points (most of the time). There are effects that reduce the number of APs needed to play a card.


Passive and reaction cards don't get played during the character's turn, but automatically in opposition to an enemy card play, as long as those cards are still in the character's hand.

Some attacks have multiple hits. Each hit requires a different Reaction or Passive card to prevent or mitigate the damage.

You get 3 card draws per round. Once you end your turn, you can keep only 1, and you'll have to discard the rest.

These numbers will change in the future, based on equipment/skills/traits.

Delaying the turn doesn't affect the cards in hand. So, for example, if you're first in the round, and have many defensive cards, it might be better to delay your turn.

Card Effects

There is no explanation in-game yet on what various effects of the cards do. That's also on my TODO list.

So until I get to that here are a few of the effects:

• Backhand - When played after a forehand card it costs 1 less AP; forehand cards are all the cards that don't have the Backhand effect.
  
  
• Bleeding - Applies a stack of bleeding. At the end of the round, the character takes damage equal to 10% of their maximum hit points per stack. Duration 3 rounds.
  
  
• Daze - Target character discards a card on hit, or at the beginning of the next round if they have no cards in hand.
  
  
• Disarm - Target character temporarily loses their weapon, and discards the cards associated with that weapon. At the start of next round they lose 1 AP.
  
  
• Expend - The card becomes Exhausted after play. It can't be played anymore, but it will still be in the deck otherwise.
  
  
• Expose - Target character discards a Reaction card.
  
• Feint - Same as Expose.
  
  
• Finisher - When played after a non-finisher card it costs 1 less AP. Increases the damage dealt by 50% of the weapon's base damage per non-finisher card played before this. Resets the counter.
  
  
• Interrupt - Usually on Reaction cards, interrupts attack cards with multiple hits, completely preventing all damage from them.
  
  
• Keep - After playing the card, it is returned to the hand instead of being discarded.
  
  
• Knock - Knocks back the target to the back line, or makes the target lose 1 AP if already on the back line.
  
  
• Penetrate - An attack card with this effect, will not be countered with an armor card.
  
  
• Shield Break/Blade Break - If an attack card with this effect is countered with a Parry, Block or Deflect the counter card is the Exhausted.
  
  
• Sneaky - The attack will ignore the first Reaction card in the target's hand.
  
  
• Start - Combat starts with one copy of this card in hand. When there are multiple different cards in the deck with this effect, one is selected randomly.
  
  
• Untrained - Reduced damage and increased AP cost.

Closing Words

Again, as this game is a work in progress, some things will be missing, others will not work properly, etc.

At the moment, there's no way to win the game or get a third character in the party. The missions are limited to bandit missions, and not all weapons in the game are fully implemented. There is a lot of content still to come.

There's also no penalty for letting a mission expire*. That will change in the future.

If you find a bug, you can report it on the Feedback & Bugs forum, or the bugs-and-feedback channel on our Discord[discord.gg].

*Playtest version has a limit of 50 days per run.

[Dies Horribly]

Agreed. Funnily enough, sparring is the next feature coming to the game.

[brokenfixer]

You could strike through Sparring or add (not yet available). It is better not to have roadblocks in front of playtesters that limit their understanding or ability to play...

[Dies Horribly]

No worries! I think I'll change the color of that optional requirement and the color of its numbers too, that red probably stands out a bit too much right now...

[VladVeganu]

Yes, sorry, I've noticed afterwards that it's not. Thanks!

[Dies Horribly]

Hi! Sparring is not in yet, and is set as optional. So it's not actually required for promotion.

[VladVeganu]

Hi! How do you spar? It apparently asks me as a prerequisite for promotion, but I don't see any option for that in the map.