Greetings fellow adventurers!

As promised, in the last few weeks I have been working on a Hideout system that you can now find in the 0.1 version of Withering Light. The character creation section has been expanded and the Hideout chapter has been added.

Why? Horizontal and Vertical Progression Systems in Withering Light

Dungeon crawling can be extremely fun and challenging the eldritch horrors of the Underworld is the focus on Withering Light. This game is first and foremost a psychological dark fantasy horror with a high mortality. However, after a couple of successful expeditions in the Underworld some adventurers might want to spend their coins to do something more productive than getting drunk on mead or high on magic shrooms. Therefore, I wanted to create another form of horizontal progression for those who wish to play this game for more than a handful of sessions.

At the moment, Withering Light offers 2 forms of Vertical progression (i.e., your character becomes stronger):

• Attributes: they potentially increased with every level.
• Traits: you can acquire one new trait every level.

However, I wanted to create a more Horizontal progression that characters could spend their coins on (i.e., you do not necessarily become stronger, you get more options). This is where the Hideout comes in. With this system, you'll be able to form your Free Company, build/conquer your hideout, upgrade it and hire followers under your service.

The Hideout System

Briefly, the system is structured as follows:

1. Form your Free Company: characters can team up and form a free company, a group of adventurers working under the same banner and principles.
2. Claim a Hideout: claim or build a hideout; this serves as a stronghold for the party
3. Upgrade Hideout: spend your coins to upgrade your hideout. Upgrades grant bonuses or different options during the downtime phase.
4. Hide Followers: followers can act on behalf of the adventurers, protect them or grant unique bonuses depending on their skills.

And that's all. I hope you enjoy reading it.