‘Skald: Against the Black Priory’ is an old-school roleplaying game that combines modern design and a fully realized narrative with authentic 8-bit looks and charms.
Delve into a dark fantasy world, full of tragic heroes, violent deaths and Lovecraftian, cosmic horror. Explore an engaging, branching story mixed with rich exploration and crunchy, tactical, turn-based combat that will seem familiar yet innovative to RPG fans, old and new.
Skald launched May 30th to critical acclaim so buy the game today!
As summer rolls into fall, it’s time for a sign of life!
First of all, I’ve been a bit quiet over the summer as I’ve taken the time to rest and recover post-launch. Skald took a lot out of me and I was pretty burned out by the end. Thankfully, the game has been a success so it’s been worth it.
However, I have indeed been fully back to work now for a few weeks and things are moving ahead with a new update!
I’ll release more details as we get closer but as a little sneak-peak, I can tell you that I’m doing a huge lift for controller and Steam Deck play!
I love playing the new version on the go with my Steam Deck!
We’re also adding a good handful of bug-fixes and minor features as well as adding in some character options, portraits and a dozen illustrations that we didn’t have time to get in there before launch.
This update will drop at the end of September (and a week earlier on the experimental branch so stay posted)!
Beyond that, the road-map for the rest of the year is pretty much laid and there is some really cool stuff coming up that I can’t wait to share with you! But one thing at the time…
To stay posted, be sure to follow the Skald Twitter and Discord if you haven’t already!
We’ve set up an Experimental Branch on Steam for PC. The purpose of this branch is to post builds and updates there for live testing before we make official updates! This is SUPER helpful to us as we are small team and there is no substitute for high volume testing!
We’ll be looking into adding Mac and doing it for GOG as well but one step at the time!
To join the branch:
Turn off steam cloud saves. Right click on the game and choose properties, then go to General and unclick the steam cloud saves.
Back up their save data. Found at “C:\Users\USER\AppData\LocalLow\High North Studios\SKALD_ Against the Black Priory\SaveFiles” copy the SaveFiles folder and put it on the desktop for example.
Go back to steam, right click on Skald and select Properties. Select tab Betas. Type in the pass: experimental and hit the button Check Code. Now select the branch from the drop down list.
Enter password: “ experimental”
Restart steam to trigger steam client to download the update
Please note that going back and forth between the Default and Experimental branch could POTENTIALLY cause issues with save files though we’re of course doing everything we can to avoid that.
What a week! Skald went live to sterling reviews from both audience and press! I’ve been working around the clock since then trying to onboard new community members, staying on top of social media and preparing todays Update (Version 1.0.4c). More info below!
Yesterday, we broke 500 reviews on Steam and we’re now “Overwhelmingly Positive”! As the name implies, I’m overwhelmed! Thank you to everyone who’s left a review – It means the world to me.
Due to the amazing momentum we’ve been building since launch, we’ve agreed to extend the launch discount until June 13th. So if you have this game wishlisted, consider picking it up before the summer starts (to help you keep out of the sun)!
As I said, I’m working double time to patch bugs and act on feedback. I’ve also fixed more typos than I thought humanly possible. V. 1.0.4c drops today and is the first in a series of updates intended to consolidate the game after launch. We’ll keep a rapid cadence for now with no more than 2d7 days between updates.
Version notes at the end of this post to avoid spoilers
Experimental Branch
We’ve added an experimental branch for Steam – PC. We’ll be uploading new builds here about a week in advance of the Default branch and I sure would love to have your help in testing it! To join it, read this!
Thank you all so far! Want a sequel? Spread the word about this awesome little cult-game and consider leaving a review!
Have a great day!
Anders
—
Version Notes (Spoilers)
=== Version 1.0.4a-c ===
FEATURES: The life-length of combat pop-ups can be adjusted under Settings -> Gameplay -> Combat Pop-Up Length [Needs Testing]
FEATURES: Whether to give XP to downed characters after combat is now a setting in Settings -> Difficulty -> “XP For Downed Characters”. It is now set to “Enabled” for all difficulties except High.
FEATURES: The recipes listed under and ingredients “Use in” entry are now hyperlinked.
FEATURES: When selecting new spells, you can see all the spells in the relevant school. The spells that are currently locked are marked with a gray padlock.
FEATURES: Feats that increases the tier of a spell school now lists all spell available to that school
MISC: Added some error checking to achievement setting
MISC: Fixed about 150 typos
MISC: Slightly improved mouse interactions with multi-tile prop hitboxes.
MISC: Made it so that spell aptitude increases both the min and max value of the damage / healing output.
MISC: Further worked on improving performance and limiting FPS-drops
MISC: Versioning no longer says pre-launch
MISC: Made the breath-holding puzzle under the lighthouse easier by adding 1 turn to the breath holding duration
MISC: Increased the Vitality provided by heal effects.
MISC: I made the ground tiled darker to improve readability and reduce bleeding.
MISC: Removed a few unnecessary uses of the “C-word”
BUG: Pressing the button ‘2’ while naming saves caused the dialogue window to close.
BUG: The Steam Cloud file was visible in the save folder
BUG: Dropping items on tiles like open doors or on tiles with hidden script triggers did not cause the “bag” icon to show.
BUG: Hospitallers could not use heavy armor
BUG: Some players had the game start fine and then made a save and quit. Upon starting again the game would hang after the logo reveal – before the menus loaded in.
BUG: Ilya in Firgol had “Hound” set as her race.
BUG: The issue with the two guards in the cellar under Oleg’s house should not be less pronounced
BUG: Some props (like trapdoors) were missing labels (names)
BUG: Tried again to fix item weight bug
BUG: Circle of mental restoration stunned targets
BUG: There was a formatting issue in the credits menu with the Raw Fury names (the tabulation was too big)
BUG: Selecting a new character with a potential level up while in the Feat screen did not trigger the level up pop-up
BUG: Certain equipable items (jewelry) would be tagged as stackable and equipping them would cause the entire stack to be equipped. These stacks should now be split up upon loading as non-equippable item can be tagged as stackable.
BUG: In some very narrow cases, if Iago was somehow knocked out in the Father fight, he would occasionally NOT spawn in the sea-cave after leaving the party.
BUG: Fixed a bug where the crafting station in the brewery in Firgol was boxed in.
“Skald: Against the Black Priory” is now out on Steam and GOG!
The game is a retro-style party-based RPG set in a grim-dark fantasy world of tragic heroes, violent deaths and Lovecraftian horror.
The game sells for 15 USD for the Standard Edition or 25 USD for the Deluxe Edition. There will be a launch discount of 10% so get it while it’s fresh!
If you want to give this project a little extra boost, there’s nothing that helps the product visibility on Steam and GOG more than leaving a positive review!
Skald launches tomorrow (May 30th, 7pm CEST) on Steam and GOG for PC and Mac. It’s priced at 15 USD or as a jam-packed Deluxe edition for 25 USD.
Reviews Inbound
Today at 4pm CET, the embargo for Skald will be lifted. That means that press and content creators can finally begin talking about the game!
This is an exciting and terrifying moment: The game we sent them two weeks ago has improved on an astronomical scale in the last two weeks and there were of course a bit of rough patches in the press/creator build.
Thankfully people have been beyond helpful in bringing us bug reports and the like and the game has improved vastly because of it. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: I adore it and I know you will as well!
I’ll post an abbreviated change-log as well as some info for users who have been playing on the press/creator build below. READ IT.
Launch Build Version Notes
The following changes are the major changes that have been implemented since we sent out the press build.
For players using a Press/Content Build: These changes will NOT automatically be added to the press-branch of the game. That branch will be frozen in time for eternity to ensure backwards compatibility and stability (more below).
NEW Features
The magic-system has been redesigned somewhat, making spellcasters a lot more powerful and fun to play. Also added a few new spells.
Leveling up spellcaster Feats allows you to now manually select new spells (it used to be auto assigned)
The Feat trees for most classes have been reorganized with an emphasis on balance.
The Rogue’s backstab ability is made a lot more powerful by multiplying backstab damage by the weapons critical damage modifier
It’s now possible to “abort” leveling up, meaning you don’t have to spend all your development points each time you enter the Feats screen. This makes it possible to take a break, and examine your character or the rest of the party etc.
Added in the missing end-slide cut-scenes and artwork
Dogs bark when you pet them (!)
Misc
Around 100 typos fixed
Fixed numerous bugs
Added dozens of minor QoL tweaks
Made encumbrance more forgiving
Made the game a little more willing to give out gold
Added more gold to vendors so it’s easier to sell loot
Added more sound effects
Added a few more alternate solutions to combat situations (stealth and diplomacy)
Performance
Thanks to feedback from reviewers, we were made aware of performance issues in certain parts of the game. This has slipped past our QA runs because it seems to be system dependent.
95% of players will not notice this at all.
I’ve done what I can on short notice and the issue should already be better at launch.
In the case that you still suffer FPS drops, try going into “Settings -> Display” and disable “Fancy Lighting” and “Weather Effects”. This should improve performance on all systems. Beyond that, I have a new patch ready to go on Monday, once it passes QA so I feel VERY confident this issue will be resolved shortly.
If you are currently on the press build, you can improve performance by pressing TAB and entering the console command “{clearFogEffect}”. Note that console commands are case sensitive.
A Note On Press Branch Compatibility
This only applies to Press and content creators playing on the games Beta Branch (meaning you activated a press key).
Once the game launches, you have the option of setting the game to the Default Branch. Doing so gives you the proper, updated version of the game. However it is not compatible with saves made on the press branch.
However, you can stay on the press branch as long as you will and finish your run. Just know that the “real” version of the game will be found on the Default branch going forward.
Wish me Luck
I have been getting a lot of questions lately of how to support me as a developer beyond buying the game (Ko-Fi, Paypal etc). To that I say: BUY THE DELUXE EDITION. And if you still have money to spend: Buy the game as a gift to your friends.
What’s more: It also helps the project’s visibility immensely if you eventually leave a review.
I’ve poured my heart and souls into this project and I really hope you all love it as much as I do. Wish me luck and please offer a silent prayer to some Elder God tomorrow at 7PM CEST.
The hours are passing by in a fever-pitch at the moment. The amount of polish that has gone into the game since we sent out press-keys is INSANE. One one hand, I’m sad that the reviewers didn’t get to see all those wonderful updates, but on the other hand, it’s far more important that you – the community – get a game that looks amazing on May 30th.
I spent all weekend playing through it and let me tell you: If your RPG tastes are like mine, you’re in for a treat. So in other words: you better smash that “buy” button once we go live!
Rogue’s Gallery
Today I’ll do a short feature of the six pre-made recruitable characters in the game. There was originally going to be more of them but I landed on the choice of giving maximum attention to fleshing out a handful of them instead of spreading it too thin.
The upside is of course that you can also recruit fully customizable characters if you want a bit of variation, allowing for endless mixing and matching.
Roland
Roland is a sell-sword veteran of countless bloody campaigns. He carries many a scar both without and within. Mercenary work is cruel and unglamorous it would seem.
Roland is a dangerous and brutal man . He’s also laconic and prone to bouts of melancholy but unerringly loyal.Roland is an Armasmaster who prefers to vade into melee with his trusty “two-hander” sword.
Roland is an Armasmaster. A class that excels in straight-forward and brutal combat.
Kat
Kat is an indentured guild-sailor who was part of the crew of the ‘Zephyr’. She hails from the Imperial mainland where her cut-throat brother sold her into servitude after their parents died. Needless to say they did not part on good terms.
Kat is outspoken and exuberant with a foul mouth that stands in stark contrast to her fair appearance.
Kat is a Thief and excels in stealth and lock-picking. She also employs her deadly Backstab ability in combat to deal large amounts of damage and crippling injury conditions.
Driina
Driina is a cleric of the Sepulchite order, bringing the light of the Golden Dead to the Outer Isles. Imperial religion places great significance upon the dead and the mummified corpses of long dead Magi and Emperors are the Empire’s most prized relics ,
The Sepulchites are the custodians of the Dead. This makes a somber and austere lot but they are also experts of the flesh and great healers.
Driina is a Hospitaller: A front line healer combining the sacred magic of the flesh with a robust combat presence.
Iben
Iben is a quiet man with a sharp wit and sharper eye. He’s traveled the Empire far and wide and eventually ended up in the Outer Isles where he found happiness – for a short while. Though he can be humorous and warm when he so wishes, it is clear that he prefers the stillness that only the wilderness can offer.
When pressed about his background, Iben tends to grow distant while he thoughtfully chews his pipe.
Iben is a Ranger. A warrior that combines an unmatched skill in ranged combat with the magic of the natural world.
Iago
Iago is a swashbuckling smuggler hailing from the Ombarian city-states to the south. A man of the world, he’ll tell anyone who will listen (and most who won’t listen) that he owes his legendary good luck to being the favored son of the Blind Maidens.
Iago prefers to never stay in port for long. Something about ‘wronged husbands’ and ‘little misunderstandings’.
Iago is an Officer: A warrior who boosts the fighting prowess of their comrades by issuing orders across the battlefield.
Embla
Running bare-foot through the hedge-maze on the grounds of the Berryn estate. Both of you children: Embla in-front, just out of sight.
That’s how it’s always been.
All is not well in the house of Berryn and you must venture once more to follow her into the maze. Perhaps this time you’ll finally catch up to her.
In Closing…
We’ve been sending keys to content creators and press and word is seeping in that they’re having a lot of fun with it. Are YOU a content creator or a Press person? Get in touch for a key to the game:
As I’m writing this, there are 227 hours, 11 minutes and 23 seconds left until launch. That feels surreal, terrifying and exhilarating all at the same time. Just like a good cosmic horror grimdark RPG in other words.
The game in question is, of course, “Skald: Against the Black Priory”. A retro-style roleplaying game releasing May 30th for PC and Mac on Steam and GOG.
The game will sell for 15 USD with a Deluxe Edition priced at 25 USD. This game is VALUE PACKED in my humble opinion so please consider getting the Deluxe edition.
We’re keeping it safe and saying the game has a core path of about 15 hours but in reality, every single first run I’ve seen has taken 25+ hours and that’s not mentioning replayability.
Some New Late-Stage Features
In the blood-red rush of caffeine fueled crunch madness I decided to add a few nice little late stage features. Rejoice!
Mercenaries
Do you want to adventure with the pre-made characters? Or would you rather make every character in the party from scratch? Perhaps a combination of the two?
Oops all new characters!
Fear not! The Outer Isles is full of “Mercenaries”: Blank characters that you can hire and customize fully.
Up to 18 characters can be part of your group and you’re free to swap them in and out from the party management screen that you get access to when resting in beds or at inns!
This game suddenly feels a lot more like murder-hobo pokemon!
You’re even free to leave all your companions in camp and venture forth alone if you want a bit of an extra challenge.
The Weathermaiden
As you set sail across the Outer Isles on the fine ship “Weathermaiden” you can use her as a mobile base of operations.
Sleep, cook, craft, socialize, organize your party, trade and store your loot in style as you plow the steel-gray seas of the Outer Isles!
Ultimate Mode
Also known as “Nostalgia Mode”! This is a small one but it’s such a sweet little feature I can’t help but show it off! The Deluxe Edition (amongst many other cool things) allows players to activate the special retro game frame!
This is sure to bring back some fond memories for a lot of you! Did I mention that you should buy the Deluxe edition?
Deluxe Map
The Deluxe Edition will now come bundled with a high resolution version of the overland map! And don’t worry: We’ll include both a spoilery and a non-spoiler version!
Sound Effect Update
I’ve done a MASSIVE overhaul of the sound effects in the game! Hoooo boy let me tell you it makes all the difference in the world to actually hear those guts spill onto the floor!
I didn’t have time to record footage of it but believe me when I say you’re in for a treat!
In Closing…
I’m planning to showcase the pre-made characters and I should also do another feature-focus on advanced combat stuff. We’ll see what I can squeeze in before launch and during the launch week.
In any case I’m BEYOND excited to show you the game. We’ve been sending keys to content creators and press and word is seeping in that they’re having a lot of fun with it. Are YOU a content creator or a Press person? Get in touch for a key to the game:
Below is a short summary of pricing and versions for Skald once it launches on May 30th. Note that changes may occur before launch.
Also, see the end of the devlog for some info about the incredible people who made our live-action trailer for us!
Pricing and Platforms
“Skald: Against the Black Priory” will launch on Steam and GOG (be sure to wishlist today on your store of choice).
The game will be available for PC and Mac upon launch.
The Standard version of the game will be priced around 15 USD and the Deluxe version will be priced at around 25 USD.
Deluxe Edition Content
We intend to offer a Deluxe edition of the game that will provide you with a bundle of extra content giving you the option of having a slightly different game experience mechanically speaking. It also comes with the OST and a good handful of cosmetic items.
The Deluxe edition will contain the following items (amongst others):
The Base Game
A pack of extra character portraits
Unique Dice animations
3 extra character backgrounds to choose from during character creation.
Malachai, the Magical items merchant: A vendor that is available from the mid game and onward that sells a handful of unique magical items.
Two wallpapers from the game
The OST with 38 (!) tracks
A Special “Nostalgia” frame for the game
Two high-resolution versions of the game’s hand-drawn overland map
Remind you of any particular game?
We’re constantly looking into more cool stuff to add into the Deluxe edition whilst still making sure it does not detract from the main game. The idea is that it should be a value-packed way of supporting the developer (which buying the deluxe edition greatly does).
Skald at WASD Live 2024
The game is being presented at a WASD Live 2024 in London 25th-27th of April along with a collection of other awesome Raw Fury titles! If you’re in the area and you feel like checking out Skald and its awesome siblings, be sure to visit WASD
Trailer Credits
Our “Release-Date Announcement Trailer” has been getting amazing feedback from the community and beyond. I’m just so grateful for getting to play a part in making such a cool little piece of retro-inspired media.
The credit for the main action scenes of the trailer however, goes to Swedish media production company NAIVE. What you see here is the result of their incredible craftsmanship and attention to detail.
You’ve blown me away with your amazing work and I can’t thank you enough! Now go give these amazing people all the likes and follows!
We’ve even UPDATED THE DEMO so you can play the latest iteration of the game TODAY!
It feels amazing to be this close to sharing Skald with you all! Keep your eyes peeled as we go forwards: We’ll be posting frequent updates over the next weeks!
It’s time for another feature highlight! This time, talking about combat rules! This is a big subject but I have to start somewhere, so today we’ll have a look at a few core concepts. Forgive me if this reads a bit like a chapter out of the D&D Player’s Handbook (though I suspect quite a few of you like that).
Some dungeoneering motifs by John Henderson!
In case you’re reading this and don’t know what game we’re talking about, you can start by checking out the SKALD demo on Steam (and don’t forget to wishlist):
Combat in Skald
Combat in Skald is turn-based and takes place on a tile grid. I’m a huge tabletop RPG nerd and there is a strong influence from 3rd edition D&D and beyond (including games like Pathfinder and, of course, 5th edition D&D).
At its core, this means that combat in Skald cares a lot about proper positioning and synergies between party members and their different skill-sets.
Battle is Joined!
Once a combat is triggered, you get to deploy your party. Use this phase to make a plan: Set up charges and flanking. Make sure your spellcasters have good angles of attack and take advantage of the terrain when possible (there’s nothing wrong with a good choke-point).
Characters act in descending order of initiative. Agile, lightly armored characters tend to act earlier in the initiative order. You can view the initiative order using the initiative widget on the left side of the screen at any time.
Note how you can also toggle the “tactical overlay” to superimpose a grid over the battlefield. This makes the characters’ exact position more easy to spot.
Also, you should always try to pay attention to the statistics of your opponents and party members (things like damage resistance are great to know about). Thankfully this is really easy with the popup tooltip system!
Action Economy
A character can move a number of tiles each turn equal to their Combat Moves. These are indicated by the yellow pips on the side of the combat map:
The purple pip(s) indicate the number of attacks a character has. A character can forgo attacking and instead spend their attack action to move one extra tile.
Once a character has attacked, it is no longer possible for them to move (in other words, their turn typically ends after attacking).
Some characters have multiple attacks. You cannot move and attack more than once each turn. So to take advantage of your multiple attacks you must dedicate your entire round to attacking.
Moving out of melee (Disengaging) or swapping places with an ally, consumes all your remaining movement and attacks.
To-Hit Mechanics
At a very basic level, hitting an opponent comes down to the following:
If the attacker rolls equal to or above the defender’s roll, a hit is scored and damage is rolled equal to the weapon’s damage score + relevant modifiers (such as a Strength bonus for Melee Attacks) .
If the defender is wearing armor, part of the incoming damage is absorbed by the armor (a random amount from 0 to the armor’s Soak value).
Basic Tactics
There are hundreds of spells and abilities that can be used in combat depending on your class and build. Today however, I’ll give a very short overview of some of the basic general tactics that help setting up the game’s positional gameplay.
Charging
A charge is executed by moving at least 2 tiles in a straight line before executing a melee attack.
A charge attack gets a bonus on the to-hit roll and the damage roll. This bonus increases the longer you move in a straight line before attacking (Momentum builds up).Classes of the Warrior archetype tend to have feats that improve their charge attacks.
Flanking
A flanking attack is performed whenever two attackers stand on opposite sides of the same defender.
Flanked opponents are much easier to hit. They also lose the Dodge bonus derived from using a shield. You can spot a flanked target by looking out for the Flanking icon:
Flanking also ties in to one of the Rogue’s special abilities: Backstabbing. I’ll talk more about backstabbing in a later post, but in short, whenever a Rogue attacks a character that is either defenseless (Paralyzed etc.) or flanked, they automatically perform a Backstabbing attack that deals a lot of extra damage.
So for any party with a Rogue in it, setting up and taking advantage of flanking can result in very rewarding tactical play.
Hold Action
Another easily overlooked but vital feature is the “Hold Action” command. This basically moves the current character to the end of the initiative queue (meaning they act last in the turn order).
This is a lot more powerful than it seems as it allows your characters to act with more synergy. Perhaps your rogue would rather wait to attack until after the magos has blinded their target for them, setting up a sweet Backstab attack?
Pass and Defend
No very exciting but also worth a mention. A character may choose to pass their turn without acting. Typically this is done if a character has no relevant action to take. However, this also gives them a substantial bonus to their Dodge score until their next round.
Consider using this tactically to increase the staying-power of your front line fighters whilst your ranged strikers wear down your foes from the back ranks.
Injury, Death and Morale
Characters in Skald have two “hit point” reserves: Vitality and Wounds.
Vitality is represented by the green bar under the character portrait. Vitality points are numerous, easily lost and easily regained. They can be restored using healing potions and spells and losing Vitality has no immediate negative consequences. The problems begin once you lose all your vitality points!
Once all your Vitality is gone, damage is dealt to your Wound points. This represents actual, severe physical damage being done to your character. You have few Wound points and they are much harder to recover. Wounds are represented by the purple bar under your character portrait. When you take wound damage two things happen:
First you sustain an injury. Injuries (represented by red circles in the character portrait) give severe penalties to your character. They can only be removed by resting fully in a camp.
Secondly, the wounded character must make a Will save or begin to Panic and flee.
Unlike Vitality, lost Wounds can only be recovered by resting. In other words, once you start to get party members with lost Wound points and lots of injuries, it’s time to start looking for a camp site (see last month’s devlog).
I’m not the only one hearing the crackling of the fire, right?
Getting Knocked Out
So what happens when you’re out of both Vitality and Wounds? Well, if you’re a player character you’re lucky: You’re Knocked Out until end of combat. Once combat ends, if at least one character is left standing in the party, all Knocked Out characters wake up with 1 Wound point restored.
The only real downside of getting knocked out in combat is that knocked out characters don’t get their XP share after the fight. This may seem harsh and it might change down the line but I do like a bit of stakes in my combat and I think it works well all in all.
Moral
Finally, I also alluded to the Panic condition above. This is worth a mention as well as it plays a large part in combat. Whenever something traumatic happens, a character must make a moral check (2d6 + Willpower vs a difficulty number). This can be triggered by:
Seeing an ally get killed / knocked out
Taking Wound damage
Certain spells and abilities
A character who fails their moral check will no longer act during their turn and instead try to flee. There is a chance each subsequent turn that they may regain their composure but needless to say, having your party members rout is VERY dangerous.
Thankfully, Priests and Officers excel at boosting your party’s moral. Also actively trying to erode your opponents will to fight through clever use of spells and maneuvers is an excellent tactic.
I think I’ll leave it here for today. This is such an extensive subject and I’ve only just scratched the surface in this post. Hopefully it gives you a bit of an initial impression though. For a lot of you TTRPG fans out there, you can probably start seeing some of the lineage of the system.
I’ll go more in depth on spellcasting and special abilities etc. at a later point (there’s A LOT to talk about) so stay posted!
