Legacy of Svarog is a 3D Action RPG and Adventure Game hybrid based on Slavic Mythology. Fight enemies, investigate crimes, build your keep from the ground up and make choices with real story changing consequences (every choice really does matter). The game features multiple playable characters and an in-depth and responsive combat system that rewards patience and planning. Meet characters and deities from the little known stories of the Ancient Slavs.
The game features progressive leveling, meaning you get better at skills by using them. The stat sheets and such are there but if someone doesn't enjoy pouring over numbers to maximize DPS they don't have to ever open the character panel. For those that do enjoy stat crunching, the panel will provide information on which skills to focus on in training to get the most out of their character. Eventually all skills can be maxed out so there is no need to worry about "breaking your build". Recruitable characters are still distinct enough in their combat style and special perks that they will play quite differently.
Combat in Legacy of Svarog is designed to reward patience and capitalizing on openings in the opponents defense. The player is expected to use tactics, drain the stamina of his opponents, create openings and counter while they are exposed. Combat against multiple opponents is difficult, but also rare. The player will either have backup, to even the odds, or be able to separate opponents to isolate them and take them one at a time.
There is no travel time, the player chooses which mission to go to and is immediately placed in the mission preparation area, where they can choose their gear load-out and then the mission itself. When playing as Yaroslav, the idea is that the player can choose to complete the entire game without having to fight once. Of course fighting can also be the right move in many circumstances, but the choice will be there. Careful not to neglect Yaroslav's combat skills though, in case you run into a ring of child-slave smugglers who enjoy charming hobbies like kicking woodland creatures and setting puppies on fire and you actually want to fight them. This can be done through training without having to face monsters in dangerous dungeons.
Saving is disabled in expeditions and hunts. The dungeons themselves will not be very long and those with kids or distractions can always pause the game and leave it running to come back to later. The lack of save means players must exercise caution as dying will result in a game over, forcing a load to the beginning of the dungeon.
The game takes place over a year. Time passes only when you take actions. No need to worry about a ticking clock. When the game is complete, another cycle becomes available. The player keeps their money, any weapons found, crafting and town progress and loyalty progress for companions. Basically the player keeps everything and starts the story over. The story can change even, because certain coversations and choices are gated by companion loyalty and better, more elegant solutions to problems will be offered if the loyalty is at maximum.
Each day consists of either 3 minor actions or 1 major action. If a minor action is chosen in the morning then the major action is no longer available.
- Expeditions - the player travels to an available dungeon/cave/tower etc to reduce the enemy presense there. The expeditions are mainly combat and award money and other resources. Strength type and combat skills will help with these.
- Investigations - sometimes a monster or enemy spy will commit acts of evil in the town. The player must then investigate the crime scene and determine the source of the damage. Intellect and lore skills will help here.
- Hunts - when the investigation is successful the hunt becomes available (and replace the investigation). The player must track down and deal with the source of the disturbance in the town. This typically involves fighting through a dungeon of some sort with the culprit being the boss. Legerdemain, perception and trap disarming skills can help here.
- Social Missions - the player can choose to spend the day with a companion. This improves the companion loyalty depending on dialogue choices. Loyalty affects story choices and recruitment possibilities. At max loyalty, companions may gain extra perks and teach the player their class bonuses. Dialogue skills and charisma can help here.
- Stronghold Missions - the player can choose to spend resources to upgrade the town or build a stronghold. For example the player can give money to the smith to upgrade the forge or ask the architect to build city walls or siege platforms. The story requires that the player build a stronghold before the end of the year. The quicker this is done the easier castle defense missions will be.
- Castle Defense - sometimes monsters or enemy armies will attack the stronghold. The player must place companions and troops at defense points and fight off the enemy. Combat and strategy skills help here as well as upgrading the town guard equipment, building ballistae and catapults and upgrading city walls. Losing these will result in the destruction of a random upgrade and loss of gold due to looting. It also tends to make the leader unpopular with the townsfolk.
- Story Missions - Unique missions that don't fit into any other category. These can take multiple days to complete. Lost your gold shipment to bandits? Look for it and recover it. These missions can usually be solved either by combat or through conversation. These are the only type of missions that are required.
- Training - go to the training hall (once built) and improve various statistics as well as learn combat techniques.
- Weapon Maintenance - repair damaged equipment. Freshly maintained equipment gains bonuses in the next mission based on your smithing skill. (once smithy built)
- Gather Intelligence - walk around town and listen to rumors or find anomalies. This makes some major missions available. (more missions as town grows)
- Go Shopping - buy new gear, weapons, and armor at the local stores. (once built)
- Go to tavern - lowers stress. Stress gives penalties to combat performance if it gets too high. Can invite companies for loyalty boost. (once tavern built)
- Go to library - read books to learn strategy and discover monster weaknesses. (once library built)
- Walk around town - can walk around and look at the town you've built. Doesn't open any new missions and limits NPC dialogue to greetings. Sometimes it's nice to just relax and walk around.
