We're still in the first week of our campaign, covering some of the initial aspects of this game. Today, I've got a podcast and a poll for you, both digging in to creating your character for At The Gates.
Before we get into that, though, a celebration! We've *just* passed our third Stretch Goal target and unlocked our first reward that adds additional content for the game!
ACHIEVED! - At $40,000 in Funding - AT THE GATES Companion - More On Professions and Arts - The At The Gates team will create a small Companion PDF containing more information on each of the Professions and new associated Arts (special Professional techniques). All backers receiving the At The Gates PDF as one of their rewards will have the Companion PDF added to their rewards list as a bonus!
Right now, the At The Gates Companion PDF is a small supplement, focused on just this one area of the game. I sure would love to maybe add to it in size and scope with some more Stretch Goals in the future! Let's keep working towards our next goal and see what may lay beyond our current bonus rewards!
MAKING AN AT THE GATES CHARACTER
When you make a character for At the Gates, you choose three Paths that define her strengths and abilities. First you choose her Heritage, which is where she grew up and how that impacted her life. Then you choose her Upbringing, which defines the kind of life she lived, the trade skills she knows, and her social and economic standing. Finally, you choose her Profession, which is what she does now and her role in the group. Each of these Paths grants your character Attributes and Skills derived from what’s she learned and how she’s developed along the way. The character’s Heritage and Upbringing gives her special Perks, which are upgrades and special bonuses that come from her specialized training or education. Her Profession defines her Arts, which are her specialized professional training, and the kind of magic that she employs.
ONYX PATHCAST Ep 310: At The Gates Character Creation
If you want to hear about this process in action, you can listen to the latest episode of the Onyx Pathcast. In this episode, At The Gates developer Danielle details character creation with Eddy and Dixie as they work through the steps mentioned above.
Two days ago, we had our first Sneak Peek at two of the Professions that are included in our next backer draft manuscript preview. On Sunday, we'll take a quick look at the other two paths that plant the seeds for your character - Heritage and Upbringing.
Our first backer draft manuscript section <linked here> covers the geography and history of Everend, and we reviewed some of this information in our Nations of Everend post. At the end of that post, we had a poll about which nation you'd choose as a starting point for your character.
There are no wrong answers with this one - they're all amazing and each provides a ton of story potential. However, I am going to take the top 2 answers from that poll and spotlight those nations in the Heritage sneak peek coming on Sunday! So, vote in that poll if you haven't already!
Which means we still have to decide which Upbringings we'll get a peek at in the next update! So let's run another poll! I'll take the top 2 answers and use that to guide my Sunday post.
Our Upbringing options:
Artisan - You have some craft that you have honed to perfection. Maybe you grew up surrounded by craftsmen and artists, or you took on an apprenticeship
Bootstrapped - Your family always taught you to seek out opportunities and take them where you can
Civil - You grew up among a household of service workers.
Defender - Your family taught you that while you could do anything with your life, knowing how to defend yourself and your community is non-negotiable.
Faithful - You grew up among the faithful or people dedicated to a cause
Folk Medicine - Your family is versed in medicine, probably serving the community as healers, if not working as surgeons and doctors.
Hunter - You grew up helping your family feed themselves and the community by going out into the wild beyond the edge of your townships to hunt.
Legacy - Your family has known wealth for several generations.
Merchant - You've grown up in a family of merchants and traders.
Raider - You grew up on the fringes of society, your community taking from others to support themselves
SO - let's keep up the good work! I can't believe we've already unlocked three Stretch Goals (we are *way* ahead of schedule, and I'm certainly hoping this will open up more Companion goals in the future!), so please continue to share with your friends and friendly gamers! Tell those in your social circles and on social media and I'll be back on Sunday with our sneak peek at two of the paths that help build your character!
