Euthia: Cruel Frost Designer Diary (Part I): Ice Claws and Trade
Wondering about the new Cruel Frost expansion for Euthia? With days to go until the Kickstarter launches (May 2nd!), Tadeáš Spousta, designer of Euthia, is here to tell you more about it!
In the coming days, as we get closer to launch, he’ll be sharing sneak peeks at game design and gameplay for Cruel Frost. (If you aren't already, you can follow the Kickstarter here.)
Cruel Frost Designer Diary, Part I
by Tadeáš Spousta
For a long time, I felt like Euthia didn’t need any more content, with its already massive base game, Torment of Resurrection, and big expansion, Fierce Powers & Crawling Shadows.
But, when you work on something for as long as I’ve been working on Euthia (over nine years), your perspective changes over time. You come up with new ideas, new improvements, and you start to realise that the story isn’t quite finished yet.
Sometimes, it’s just little tweaks that aren’t worth talking about. But what was dormant in me in relation to the new Cruel Frost expansion was something fundamental, which couldn’t stay in my notebook anymore.
Now, it’s my great privilege to be able to share it with all of you, both new and existing Euthia fans. So, let’s take a look at some of the new gameplay!
The story of Cruel Frost begins with the Ice Clans, in a remote corner of Euthia…
When I first heard of the great wars, I despised the originators. Those cursed with a thirst for power, and fuelled by quests for domination over beings more powerful than they could imagine. It amazes me how recklessly they disrupt the balance our ancestors built over millennia.
For a few years now, my rituals to commune with the ancients have been unsuccessful, their messages unclear. Still, I could never have imagined that the war for power would make its way here, to this remote corner of the world, covered in ice and ruled by storms.
When I finally learned of the unrest deep within the mountains, I tried to warn my fellow shamans. They reassured one another that the Ice Guardian would not be swayed; could not be infected by greed.
And so, ‘til the last moment, we ignored the signs the icy wind brought. It wasn’t until yesterday, when I discovered our brothers and sisters lying helpless around a frozen hearth, that my visions merged with the urgency of the present.
I knew, then, that if we wished to survive, we must abandon our homes, and journey to the mainland — to warn the others of the coming storm.
Zaphyrii* may warn the other heroes of the coming storm, but not before the land begins to freeze!
(*Our narrator for that section, who we’ll meet in a coming diary.)
New Ice Claws Module
With the arrival of ice storms in Euthia, the map transforms, and so does the way your heroes travel around it. This frozen landscape will bring new challenges and dangers, but also new opportunities.
For example, moving through ice storms and hexes will cause frostbite, but also grants access to ice magic, transforming the way you play.
On the map, you’ll also encounter the new Ice Entity. Unlike elementals, the Ice Entity doesn’t affect the area around the hex, but you can interact with it to gain interesting new rewards and experience.
The arrival of the Ice Clans in the mainland opens up a whole new way to gear up, heal, and learn new abilities. But remember: the denizens of the ice land will only accept your collected ice magic in exchange for their services, as coins have no value to them.
One of the specialities of the scholars of the ice nation is transforming ice magic into gems, or into the magic of Gaar.
All of the above is part of the new Ice Claws module, which you can play with almost any scenario from the base game and the Fierce Powers & Crawling Shadows expansion.
I mentioned new ways to gear up, so let’s talk about trade next.
Upgraded Trade Experience
One of the biggest challenges for creating the in-game economy was the equipment. Despite testing trade offers for more than 4 years back in the day, there were still times I felt there was room for something new; something deeper.
But, we couldn’t do it by just tweaking a few items or their prices. So, with the new Cruel Frost expansion, we’ve designed an entire new stock of items each for the Merchants, Alchemists, and Dragonslayer Towers, which brings a whole new experience to the game.
This makes equipment upgrades much more smooth. Each piece of armor can be upgraded by multiple levels, not only in terms of gem effects, but also to increase the health the armor generates.
For those who play Euthia regularly, you know the feeling of upgrading and trying to build a full set of one type of equipment. Well, those experiences are now polished to perfection.
This is helped by the four new gem types which, of course, introduces new mining resources with an interesting and important [redacted — let us know if you figure it out!].
Moreover, in Dragonslayer Towers, armor can now be upgraded with elemental essences, introducing powerful new effects in the advanced stages of the game.
That’s all for now, but I’ll be back very soon to share some more details on the Cruel Frost expansion. If you have any questions in the meantime, you can find me in the Discord or the Facebook group.
The Kickstarter is launching May 2nd, so remember to follow the page to get notified!
