EXPLORING THE GAMEPLAY MECHANICS OF NORTHERN WIND OVERVIEW
Today, we want to take a moment and explore the gameplay of Eldfall Chronicles: Northern Wind in a bit more depth as the gameplay matured with the development since the initial campaign. We will go over the main differences in gameplay between Northern Wind and Skirmish, as well as take a glance at some of the mechanics of the campaign itself. Let’s dive right in!
QUEST LOG
The campaign is played as a series of Quests, individual multi-staged battles, with stories, different enemies, goals, and obstacles for you to overcome, coupled with the adventurous journey in between these battles.
Your journey will be accompanied by the Quest Log, a comprehensive booklet that provides narrative campaign setup, Quests, and their details, Events, and Resolutions. In the Secret Log section, you will find resolutions of various events, Encounters, Fates, and more. Players should refer to it only when instructed by the Quest Log.
One player (e.g.: the fifth) can become the Game Master, overseeing the enemies instead of playing directly. Additionally, they can enhance the experience by narrating the story alongside the Quest Log.
The Ending
The ending of the Northern Wind campaign will vary according to players’ decisions, path, Moon Dial progression, and other factors.
COMBAT
The game mechanics for playing the Quests will be very familiar to any fan of the Eldfall Chronicles Skirmish game, but with a few twists.
Quests and enemies are designed to keep your game fresh and exciting. Each enemy and situation poses a unique challenge, requiring your party to use tactics and quick thinking; brute strength will not always be your best option.
Key Features
Firstly, movement, measurement, and Line of Sight have all been adjusted to work with the Tile & Space system introduced with the Northern Wind. However, if you prefer free movement and measurement, the game supports that option as well.
Secondly, the game introduces a new mechanic called Weak Points. These ensure that the gameplay always progresses and that there are as few instances of dice rolling that result in no change on the board. This speeds up the PvE gameplay and keeps the action moving, while ads to the cinematic and ruthless feel of combat.
Thirdly, Instance cards are a randomizing mechanic, triggering every turn and changing the board in either positive or (more likely!) negative ways for our heroes. This ensures that the players are kept on their toes throughout their gameplay and need to adjust their plans on the fly.
CAMPAIGN STRUCTURE
The story is divided into three Arcs.
- Arc I serves as an introduction to the story and a tutorial.
- Arc II requires players to choose one of three paths to the top of the mountain.
- Arc III culminates the story with endgame Boss Fights.
Each Arc comprises several Major Quests, the most important battles of that part of the story, through which your heroes must progress. Linking these Major Quests are Events that represent different situations happening on the path toward the top. Represented by a deck of cards, Events can result in extra Minor Quests, one-off narrative choices, or modifications of future Major Quests with hidden rooms or locations of small rituals. The length of travel between Major Quests determines the number of Events you need to resolve to reach your end destination.
CORE MECHANICS
Two key mechanics tie the campaign together cohesively. The first is the Moon Dial, which represents the passage of time in the world. Every time your heroes complete a Quest, travel, fight, or rest, the Moon Dial advances. With each advance, the enemy is one step closer to the Blood Moon and the completion of the mysterious “ritual” at the summit of Mt. Byōdō.
Your heroes must balance how much time they spend resting versus pushing themselves through just one more Quest before taking a breather.
The second core mechanic are the Fates. As your heroes perform certain actions, they gather Fate tokens, representing the long-term impacts of your decisions and actions. The game tracks your decisions through these, and your heroes will experience the consequences of these choices later in the campaign.
HEROES
A hero in Northern Wind is represented by a model, and at the start of the campaign, players get to choose four heroes to form their party.
In the Northern Wind campaign, you’ll find 6 preset (named) heroes: Na’ra, Tharos, Seigen, Anari, Tomoe-Endless Rain, and Chanra. They have their own unique leveling profiles and hero items. Although we will make specialized rules and ways to build your custom heroes, for your first playthrough, it’s a great idea to pick from named heroes. Not only do they bring special abilities to the table, but they also come with rich backstories that add depth to your adventure. Plus, some Quests and Events might be influenced by who’s in your party, making the narrative even more engaging.
Progression
A very popular topic is hero progression. In Northern Wind, heroes progress in three distinct ways.
The first two are tried and tested: acquiring new and better items found along the way, and leveling up with each Arc of the story, increasing stats and learning new abilities.
The third way, however, is more unique: party synergy.
Certain acts of teamwork in Quests (and certain Events) will award the party with Synergy points, which can then be spent to unlock Synergy abilities. These abilities are divided into setup and payoff Synergies, combining into powerful combo moves that reward teamwork between the players. With a wide range of options, each party can create their own finisher move that suits their playstyle.
Custom heroes will have the option to benefit from all three ways of progressing.
With this overview, we have covered all the main campaign mechanics of Eldfall Chronicles: Northern Wind. This was just to whet your palate. There is a lot more left to cover, everything from profiles, Upgrades (Items, abilities, etc.), customization, lore details, etc. We hope you are as excited to try it out as we are to show it off! Until next time!
