The Bound Part #4: New Melee Bound - Community Theorycraft Project

The Bound Part #4: New Melee Bound

Greetings Devpeoples,

This post is part of the Community Theorycraft Project. Something where multiple members of the community gather together to discuss existing and potential new additions to the different elements of this wonderful game. Things we would like to see, we would like to change, and ways to go about doing so.

This topic of focus is The Bound, the gruesome creatures unleashed by the Pale. We dive into the wonderful theme and flavour presented by them. In fact, so captivated were we by this particular topic, we may have overdone it slightly, exceeding even our own estimates of total content. This has resulted in this submission being the largest one from the CTP to date.
As such, we have decided to split this into multiple separate topics, and link each one within the forewords so those interested can travel from post to post with ease.

As always, we would like to thank you for your time and continued development of this wonderful game.

Bound Posts:

1. Bound Part #1 - Materials of the Bound
   Link: https://playnightingale.ideas.aha.io/ideas/FEEDBACK-I-416

2. Bound Part #2 - Corrupt Enchantments
   Link: https://playnightingale.ideas.aha.io/ideas/FEEDBACK-I-417

3. Bound Part #3 - Existing Bound Changes
   Link: https://playnightingale.ideas.aha.io/ideas/FEEDBACK-I-418

4. Bound Part #4 - New Melee Bound
   Link: https://playnightingale.ideas.aha.io/ideas/FEEDBACK-I-419

5. Bound Part #5 - New Ranged Bound
   Link: https://playnightingale.ideas.aha.io/ideas/FEEDBACK-I-420

6. Bound Part #6 - The Accursed
   Link: https://playnightingale.ideas.aha.io/ideas/FEEDBACK-I-421

7. Bound Part #7 - Quest 1: “A Shot In The Dark”
   Link: https://playnightingale.ideas.aha.io/ideas/FEEDBACK-I-422

8. Bound Part #8 - Quest 2: “The Binds That Break Us”
   Link: https://playnightingale.ideas.aha.io/ideas/FEEDBACK-I-423

New Melee Bound

This particular post supplies a handful of new melee variants of existing Bound, each approaching melee combat in a slightly different way. Each Bound we have supplied including their appearances, combat styles, potential drops, and which base type they are derived from.

Our goal here is to add diversity toward the combat encounters Players experience with the Bound, adding further depth and (hopefully) an enjoyable element of complexity to fights with these wonderful, terrifying creatures.

Note: As part of “Post #3 – Existing Bound Changes”, we supplied the idea of providing the different Bound with thematic, and useful damage resistances and vulnerabilities. Such things are intended to grant Players a larger challenge and reward tactical gameplay (bringing the right tools for the job), whilst also not outright limiting Players from just pushing through more difficult fights. It may just take longer, require some more resources, but doable. With the Bound in this post, we’ve also supplied similar Attributes and Abilities, intended to provide that more tactical element.

Bound Spectre

Type: Variant
Base Creature: Bound Haxan

Gains the following T1 / T2 / T3 Attributes:
+20% / +40% / +60% Magick Damage Resistance

Appearance:
Whilst the Haxan is veiled, concealed behind its cloth, the Spectre is not. With sunken eyes, a mouth deformed and full of sharp teeth (like a Lampreys), the Spectre looks like a nightmare incarnate, floating idly upon an unfelt wind. It carries no staff.

Combat:
When engaged in combat, the Spectre vanishes temporarily, then reappears whilst summoning duplicates of itself randomly within an area around itself, to confuse its enemies as to its real location. The duplicates are identical in appearance.
Each duplicate deals 50% damage compared to the real one, though it vanishes when it takes direct damage (not AoE). Each duplicate also vanishes if the real Spectre dies.

The Spectre and its duplicates spread out, then move to engage enemies at close range, to surround them. Either through vicious bite or magick, it attempts to drain the life from the target (dealing maleficium damage), restoring health to itself in the process. Whilst draining life from a creature, the targets mobility is significantly reduced (Maleficium Resistance reduces the strength of this effect).

Drops:
Bound Ichor (50%)
Ichor-Soaked Thread (30%)
Petrified Heart (20%)

Special:
See Post #7 for additional details regarding a special purpose the Bound Spectre has.

Bound Stalker

Type: Variant
Base Creature: Bound Assassin

Appearance:
Carrying a single large knife in one hand, and single shot shotgun (sawn off barrel) in the other, the Stalkers appearance blends into the shadows, making it all but indistinguishable from darkness.

Easily seen within a radius of light, the Stalker seems to be clad in a heavily strapped hooded leather coat, cut open from the waist down revealing stained and ragged pants.

With hood pulled forward and wisps of shadow trailing from him, when the darkness settles, only his eyes give away his position, gleaming with malice.

Combat:
When combat begins, the Stalker unleashes a magickal darkness over the area, concealing all within it. He moves to close range and unleashes deadly shotgun blasts, following it up with violent slashes with his knife.

Whilst in darkness, either magickal or night, only his glowing eyes give away his position.

However, use of a Lantern can defeat this magick darkness, and reveal him.

The Stalker fires Maleficium ammunition with its shotgun, causing enemies hit to take Maleficium Damage over Time.

Drops:
Bombardier Metals (25%)
Gunpowder (25%)
Hollow Metals (25%)
Bound Flesh (25%)

Bound Strix

Type: New
Purpose: Aerial Harassment / Melee

Appearance:
This bound has a large birds skull grafted atop his own. His arms bound to wooden frames, stretching out into crude wings, covered by ripped and ichor-soaked fabric.
The bounds legs are grafted into hideous talons of metal, bone, ichor, and straps.
Atop his back is a crude contraption, similar-ish to the mortar of a Bound Mortar, but pointed backwards. It gives a blast and hurls the Strix airborne for brief periods.

Combat:
The Strix does swiping and strafing attacks from the sky using its Talons. Less a fully independent flight, and more like aggressive gliding. The crude contraption allows the Strix to become airborne, making targeting it in melee difficult.

The Strix attack in flocks, rarely seen alone.

Damage Output is high, as the time between individual attacks would be quite low.

Attacks from the Strix cause hit targets to bleed, dealing physical Damage over Time, which increases whilst running/jumping/etc (Injury Resistance reduces the strength of this effect).

Drops:
Bound Flesh (30%)
Ichor-Soaked Thread (30%)
Kyrosiphon Metals (20%)
Bound Skull Fragment (20%)

Note: This was an interesting idea we had, to begin providing a more three-dimensional view toward combat, by providing an airborne foe. Whilst we have suggested that this particular bound only go airborne in short bursts, it is possible to instead have it be entirely airborne.

We would love to see more creatures capable of traversing the sky, adding another element of combat to the game’s framework, so we thought to make this one as the beginning point of such.

Contributors:

Apothete, Double Space Su, Kahz, Katari, Phylon, Shrike