Pathfinder: Saga of Fate

Background
Pathfinder: Saga of Fate is a side-scrolling beat-em-up based on a campaign of Pathfinder (it's like Dungeons & Dragons) that I gamemastered for my friends from 2014-2015. After I graduate and gain enough experience in game development, I plan on forming an indie developer with at least two of my friends (who were players in this Pathfinder campaign). This would be our first project should that indie developer ever form. Not only will this article allow me to share my ideas with you all, but it will also serve as an outline for me to go back to for reference.

Game Information

 *  Platforms:  PC, Nintendo Switch, Playstation 4, Xbox One (subject to change)
 *  ESRB:  Teen
 *  Genre:  Beat 'em up
 *  Players:  1-4
 *  Release Date:  Obviously I can't provide an exact release date, but sometime in the late 2020s seems realistic.

Gameplay
Saga of Fate takes inspiration from many different games. Most of this inspiration comes from fantasy style beat-'em-ups like Castle Crashers, Dragon's Crown, and Golden Axe. Like Castle Crashers, Saga of Fate is a medieval four-player co-op beat 'em up. It also takes inspiration from Diablo with its ability and upgrade system, and a little bit from Overwatch to flesh out the personality of each character.

In traditional beat 'em up fashion, the game has you always facing either left or right, with the ability to move in all four directions, with enemies coming at you from either side of the screen that you have to defeat to progress.

The game features a cast of 18 playable characters (more may be added through DLC), each with eight traits, seven of which can be upgraded.
 * 1) Melee attack: A simple damage dealing ability that has unlimited use (i.e. a sword swing).  Can be upgraded up to three times.
 * 2) Alternate attack:  Another damage dealing ability that is either a ranged attack or a damaging spell.  Can be upgraded up to three times.
 * 3) Standard ability: An ability that is essential to the character's kit and has a short cooldown.  Can be upgraded up to two times.
 * 4) Advanced ability: A somewhat powerful ability that has a moderate cooldown.  Can be upgraded up to two times.
 * 5) Super ability: The character's ultimate ability that can change the tide of a battle and needs to charged over time in order to be used.  Can be upgraded up to two times.
 * 6) Gear: The character's equipment.  It takes the form of either light, medium, or heavy armor, or a set of magical clothing.  The form it takes determines its benefits, which improve when this trait is upgraded, which is up to three times.  Upgrading this trait makes slight changes to the character's appearance.
 * 7) Passive: Each character has a unique passive trait that reflects their given role.  This trait can be upgraded up to three times.
 * 8) Paragon: A paragon functions just like a passive, except it's much more powerful and is only unlocked when the character reaches max level.

Items
Whenever the a player defeats an enemy, that enemy will drop a certain amount of gold which can be used to buy equipment between levels. This includes equipment augments and one-time use items like potions and scrolls. Each player can hold a certain number of potions as well as three different types of one-time use items.

Experience and Leveling
A character gains experience whenever they damage an enemy, or whenever they heal or buff an ally. Once a character accumulates a certain amount of experience, they will level up. In typical tabletop RPG fashion, the highest level a character can reach is level 20.

At every level, to a maximum of 19, the character receives a point that can be used to upgrade one of their traits. The character also receives a point that can be used to improve any one of their ability scores.

The milestones for when a character levels up are as follows.
 * Level 2: 2nd level upgrades for all traits are unlocked
 * Level 7: 3rd level upgrades for melee attacks, alternate attacks, gear, and passives are unlocked
 * Level 10:
 * 3rd level upgrades for standard, advanced, and super abilities are unlocked.
 * All characters below level 5 are handicapped to level 5.
 * Level 14: 4th level upgrades for melee attacks, alternate attacks, gear, and passives are unlocked
 * Level 15: All characters below level 10 are handicapped to level 10.
 * Level 20: The character's paragon trait is unlocked. All characters below level 15 are handicapped to level 15.

Death and Defeat
Total defeat in Pathfinder: Saga of Fate is not caused by every player being defeated, but rather is caused by every character being defeated. When a player falls in battle, their character will be incapacitated for a certain amount of time. In this period of time, a teammate can revive them by forking over one of their own potions and using it on them. However, if this time runs out, the player's character is lost for the rest of the stage. If there are any characters that are usable for that current stage that haven't already fallen in battle or are being used by other players, the player will get to choose from one of those characters (or be automatically assigned to one if it's the only one available). If there is only one player in the game, the game skips to this step and the character is not incapacitated. Once every character is defeated, the player(s) must start the stage over from the beginning. (It's sort of a harsh punishment, but the generous loss conditions and relatively short stage lengths make it justified.)

Ability Scores and Stats
Each character has their own set of ability scores just like in Pathfinder and other role-playing games. To fit into a beat-em-up game, the function of certain ability scores has been tweaked a bit.
 * 1) Strength: damage dealt by melee attacks and alternate abilities that use throwing weapons, resistance to enemy attacks that inflict stagger and knock-down, and damage absorbed through blocking
 * 2) Dexterity: damage dealt by alternate abilities that use projectile weapons, movement speed, and the window of time allowed when using dodge
 * 3) Constitution: determines total hit points and resistance to poison and disease based attacks.  It also affects the amount of time the character remains on the battlefield in order to be revived after falling in battle.
 * 4) Intelligence: influences certain characters' abilities and determines super ability charge, critical hit chance, and potency of augments.
 * 5) Wisdom: influences certain characters' abilities and determines resistance to any magical effects that do not deal damage, as well as the amount healed from potions.
 * 6) Charisma: influences certain characters' abilities and affects ally revival speed, gold and experience point drops, and effectiveness of scrolls.

Characters
I will go in depth with each of the characters later, but for now, here is a summary of the 18 main characters that will appear in the game. The 18 characters will be split into three separate parties for plot purposes.

First Party

 * Severus Pentai: A half-elf sorcerer who is descended from naga and an aspiring Pathfinder Chronicler. Possesses acid magic and the ability to rally his enemies through heroic tales, as well as conjure serpentine creatures.  Has a fragile physique, but makes up for it in charisma and intelligence.  Often at odds with Romulus.
 * Ostarian: A human ninja with a mysterious past. Wields a shortbow and uses stealth.  He's not very friendly, and not much for extensive conversations.  Often at odds with Tsun.
 * Iolana Sevoni: An extremely beautiful half-angel inquisitor of Desna and sorcerer who channels the power of her angelic heritage. Has a very tragic past that she refuses to talk about.  Possesses healing magic and wields a light crossbow.  She's in sort of a love triangle with Severus and Romulus.  Iolana secretly likes Romulus more, but pretends to like both equally to spare Severus's feelings.
 * Tsun al Janni: A half-genie samurai and battle herald who serves as a soldier for the possibly-corrupt Council of Absalom. Wields a Nodachi and rallies his allies from atop his horse.  In spite of the government he serves under, Tsun is quite a kind-hearted person, and won't hesitate to save an innocent life (the definition of a good soldier just following orders).  Often at odds with Ostarian.
 * Romulus Malarc: A half-demon magus, playboy, and former criminal. He wields a bastard sword in one hand, and spells in the other, and is extremely agile due to the fact that he wears no armor.  Has a very tragic past, and his behavior is meant to repress those memories.  Has a twin brother named Remus.  Often at odds with Severus.
 * Calamity: A samsaran blight druid and free spirit. Wields a spear and inflicts blights upon her foes.  She prefers to wander the Inner Sea, doing whatever she pleases.  Incredibly seductive and manipulative.  Her sanity is questionable.

Second Party

 * Lu Kong: A vanara brawler who adopts the unarmed fighting style of his monk brethren, but rejects the gruelling traditions that they have long adhered to. As such, he was outcast from his village.  He is fun-loving and carefree, which led him to become friends with Pavo Crispin.  Tends not to speak much.
 * Raalnorg Bomarg: An Acarian (black crocodile person, player-created race) assassin who was abandoned as an infant in the Inner Sea after a failed colonization attempt from his people in a faraway continent. Dual-wields scimitars and uses stealth.  Possesses no sense of morality whatsoever, but stays with the party for his own personal gain.
 * Hiroto Kituhara: A Kitsune summoner who fights alongside his eidolon (a lasting ally from another plane), a giant golden frilled lizard-like creature named Solavoto, and other temporary conjurations. He is capable of assuming a rather handsome human form, which he uses to win over women.  He is quite kind-hearted, but is rather annoyed by the behavior of Lu Kong and Pavo.
 * Hanji K'Zotii: A human witch and former student at the Magaambya arcane school in a vast jungle known as the Mwangi Expanse. Uses offensive and healing magic in equal measure.  She is accompanied by a cat-like creature from the plane of Nirvana named Mitoa, which she uses to draw her power.  Stoic but kind.
 * Captain Pavo Crispin: Captain of a small ship named the John Taylor, which had a crew that consisted only of himself until he met Lu Kong, Raalnorg, Hiroto, and Hanji, who happened to need a boat as a means of escape. Wants to prove to the world that there is such a thing as a good pirate.  Wields a rapier in one hand and a revolver in the other.  Has a serious drinking problem.
 * Whittaker: A grippli gunslinger and cleric of Pharasma. He uses the power of his deity for necromancy, which is frowned upon by other worshippers of Pharasma (but not necessarily the deity herself).  Wields a pistol and can channel both positive and negative energy to heal his allies and harm his enemies.  Fights alongside a skeleton he calls Rotbeard, who thinks he was pirate captain before he died, but was actually just a fruit merchant who got shot and thrown in a sewer because he couldn't pay tribute to the local gang.  Whittaker doesn't talk much, but when he does, he's quite sarcastic.

Third Party

 * Helvar: A half-vampire who has fought in many wars over his long lifetime. After fighting his most recent war, the first Inner Sea War, he became a mercenary who traveled the Inner Sea destroying undead.  Wields a musket and heals with magic from his deity Iomedae.  Very stoic and battle-hardened.
 * Remus Voldruk: A half-demon bloodrager who is even more ill-mannered than his twin Romulus. He is tough and mean, and always looking for a fight.  He will only do something if he knows it will bring him pleasure.  Wields a greataxe and draws upon the power of his demonic bloodline to buff himself in battle.
 * Brunnwald von Roth: A human skald and skilled blacksmith who fought in the first Inner Sea War. Wields a warhammer and sings songs to buff his allies in battle.  He is a travelling bard who records his adventures and tells about them on his travels.  He's always looking for another adventure, another tale to tell.  Hearty, kind, and charismatic.
 * Zob the Hairy: A bugbear monk assassin who prefers violence over rational thought. He wields no weapons, so his preferred method of attack is to sneak up on his foes and snap their necks.  He is a compulsive liar, but also very forgetful, so he doesn't usually get away it.  Jealous of Remus's strength.  Wants to be friends with Mogmurch because "us goblinoids should stick together", but Mogmurch doesn't want anything to do with him.
 * Micaiah: An elf hunter who struggles to survive in the underground hellscape known as the Darklands. Dual wields hand crossbows and fights alongside her igaunodon companion Talon, which she tamed herself.  She has a past that is shrouded in mystery, but Helvar points out that she seems to fight like a soldier.
 * Ker-Shal: A member of the Jir'Yonga (chameleon people) race that lives exclusively in a jungle in the Darklands. He wields a shortbow in battle and is also skilled in alchemy, which he uses to enhance his abilities.  He can utilize camouflage to hide from his enemies.  Very curious about what life is like for surface dwellers.

Scrapped/Potential DLC Characters
At one point I decided that my original plan of 24 characters would probably be too ambitious, so I decided to trim the number down to 18, cutting out 6 characters that were either unimportant to the story or would work much better as NPCs. They would still have the potential to be released as DLC.
 * Luandale Cortave: An elven cavalier, ranger, and freedom fighter. Wields a halberd and longbow and channels the power of his deity, Cernunnos.  Quite arrogant, but also courageous and passionate for his cause.  Often at odds with Rognick.
 * Rognick: A dwarven paladin of Torag and freedom fighter. Wields a battleaxe in one hand and a shield in the other.  Brave and hearty but not very smart.  Often at odds with Luandale.
 * Töruk: A hobgoblin monk who fights with nothing but his bare hands and wears nothing but a pair of trousers. He is quite skilled in grapples and pins.  Very reluctant to run away from a fight.  Always eager for a challenge.
 * Tir'Vak: A trox barbarian who starts as an NPC that fights with the first party, but dies partway through that campaign and comes back to life as a half-construct under mysterious circumstances to join the second party in their quest. Wields a gigantic club.  He hates all injustice, especially slavery, since he was one for most of his life, and will do anything in his power to stop it.  To his allies, he is a gentle giant.  To his enemies, he is a force to be reckoned with.
 * Mogmurch: A goblin alchemist who is both intelligent and cynical. He uses alchemy to improve his reflexes, and to create powerful bombs.  In order to learn alchemy, Mogmurch had to read, which is frowned upon in goblin society, thus Mogmurch was outcast.  Dislikes those who prefer brute force over wit, so he doesn't like Zob and Remus very much.
 * Sargon: A deaf fetchling oracle who can see into the future. He uses magic to manipulate time in various ways.  He never speaks, so his background and personality are a mystery.

Krognor
Final Boss of Act I - Chapter I

A half-orc monk and alchemist who took over the Five Kings Mountains after the Inner Sea War and established an oppressive regime. He desires physical perfection, and works toward it by training his body as a monk and using alchemical enhancements. His weapons of choice are his fists and acid bombs.
 * Characters Used: Severus, Ostarian, Iolana, Tsun, Romulus

Gumoz
Final Boss of Act I - Chapter II

A very large serpentlike extraplanar being controlled by the powerful summoner Heildier. Gumoz attacks with a powerful bite attack and fire breath. He is fought twice in the game. The first time is by himself when the first party storms Heildier's demiplane and he's used as a distraction while Heildier prepares a spell to incapacitate the entire first party. The second is when a new group of characters enters Heildier's demiplane, this time with the help of his master.
 * Characters Used: Severus, Ostarian, Iolana, Tsun, Romulus, Calamity

Solangus Krupt
Final Boss of Act II - Chapter I

A rather corpulent lieutenant of the Iron Cog gang that rules over the port city of Corentyn in Cheliax. He actually doesn't do very much fighting, but rather takes pot shots at the players with his shotgun while his thugs do the fighting for him. In order for him to be harmed, the players must defeat a phalanx of heavily armored soldiers protecting him.
 * Characters Used: Lu Kong, Raalnorg, Hiroto, Hanji

Osilir
Final Boss of Act II - Chapter II

Straight out of the Plunder & Peril module, Osilir is an incutilis lord with a sting that calcifies its victims and turns them into Osilir's servants. He is also capable of forming walls and battering weapons out of hardened black coral. He is fought alongside two of his calcified minions.
 * Characters Used: Lu Kong, Raalnorg, Hiroto, Hanji, Pavo

Akorian
Final Boss of Act II - Chapter III

The leader of the most powerful slave traders in the Inner Sea. He wants revenge on Pavo's crew for putting several of his men in prison and freeing most of his "merchandise." He stages an attack on the prison in Port Peril to break out his men, after which he is confronted by Pavo and his crew. His weapons of choice are a blunderbuss and a spiked chain.
 * Characters Used: Lu Kong, Raalnorg, Hiroto, Hanji, Pavo, Whittaker

Tarrin Dars
Final Boss of Act III - Chapter I

A priestess of Norgorber who leads a guild of outlaws and bandits known as the Splinters of Echo Woods. They operate in Splinterden, the third floor of the Emerald Spire. In battle, she uses a combination of necromancy and quick attacks with her poisoned short sword, as well as assistance from her fellow guild members. After she is defeated, she uses a spell to ignite a black powder barrel, creating an explosion that creates a collapse, causing the third party to become trapped in the room in which she was fought, with no other escape but through the Spire's entrance into the Darklands.
 * Characters Used: Helvar, Remus, Brunnwald, Zob

Zeerith Myurden
Final Boss of Act III - Chapter II

A drider (formerly a drow) general and member of an alliance intent on taking over the Darklands. At the time he was a drow, he ordered an attack on the members of Micaiah's village that were using the Darklands to move from region to region during the Inner Sea War. He commences an attack on a Dwarven city that the third party is staying in called Dorngran. The third party steps in to stop him, and a battle eventually ensues. His weapon of choice is a spear tipped with a paralyzing poison.
 * Characters Used: Helvar, Remus, Brunnwald, Zob, Micaiah

Gorlock the Bald
Final Boss of Act III - Chapter III

A powerful Svirfneblin necromancer and servant of the skeletal dragon Nessonth. He sides with the drow with the intent of taking over the Darklands. He leads an army of undead in an assault on the underground jungle known as the crystal womb. When encountered by the third party, it is revealed that the first party were incapacitated by Heildier who turned them over to the drow, who in turn gave them to Gorlock as a sacrifice to resurrect a dead crystal dragon worshipped by the Jir'Yonga people. The third party must defeat Gorlock and his hordes of undead in order to stop the attack on the Jir'Yonga and save the first party. Aside from summoning undead creatures to aid him, Gorlock uses magic to weaken his enemies.
 * Characters Used: Helvar, Remus, Brunnwald, Zob, Micaiah, Ker-Shal

Heildier
Final Boss of Act IV - Chapter I

A powerful elven summoner who commands legions of creatures from other planes. He is the master of Gumoz, a boss fought earlier in the game. In battle, Heildier fights alongside Gumoz as well as hordes of other extraplanar creatures, all the while firing arrows at the players. He's not very strong by himself, so defeating all of his summons leaves him quite vulnerable.
 * Characters Used: Severus, Romulus, Hiroto, Hanji, Zob, Micaiah

Gnoth
Final Boss of Act IV - Chapter II

Gnoth is the mutated alternate personality of Krognor that was the result of alchemical experimentation with mutagens (think of him as the Hulk to Krognor's Bruce Banner). When Krognor is supposedly killed in Act I - Chapter I, he comes back to life using alchemical regeneration, and faces the players under this personality at the end of Act IV - Chapter II. In terms of appearance, Gnoth takes on a more reptilian appearance and grows insectoid wings. In terms of personality, Gnoth is much more aggressive and less honorable than his alter ego. In battle, Gnoth attacks with claws that inflict bleed instead of using his fists, and flies with his insect wings to drop acid bombs on the players.
 * Characters Used: Ostarian, Tsun, Lu Kong, Whittaker, Remus, Brunnwald

Boram
Final Boss of Act IV - Chapter III

A halfling rogue and master spy. Boram leads an assassin's guild formed from the remnants of the Red Mantis Assassins on Mediogalti Island. He is skilled in the use of disguises and one-handed firearms. He is encountered attempting to assassinate a nobleman at his birthday party while under the guise of a child. During his fight, he will occasionally use magic to disguise himself as one of the characters being used, and the players must quickly distinguish which one is Boram in disguise. To make things more difficult for the players, Boram will attack his own assassins while in disguise, making communication the main method to draw him out.
 * Characters Used: Iolana, Calamity, Raalnorg, Pavo, Helvar, Ker-Shal

Jaytoth
Final Boss of Act V - Chapter I

Jaytoth is a unique black garuda that was corrupted by the demon lord Pazuzu to become an agent of chaos. He is incredibly cunning and deceptive, killing the right individuals and pulling the right strings to plunge Cheliax into anarchy. In battle, Jaytoth fires his bow at the players from the air while his wolf companion named Tumult fights them on the ground.
 * Characters Used: Romulus, Calamity, Lu Kong, Pavo, Helvar, Micaiah

Raz'Nor Blackheart
Final Boss of Act V - Chapter II

Raz'Nor is a Dark Stalker assassin who is shrouded in mystery. His appearance, background, and motives are all unknown. He barely even speaks. One thing that is for certain is he occasionally works with Boram to carry out assassinations. In battle, Raz'Nor uses illusion spells to create mirror images of himself to distract the players, then gets in close to deal sneak attacks with his dual scimitars.
 * Characters Used: Ostarian, Iolana, Raalnorg, Hanji, Zob, Ker-Shal

Darien
Final Boss of Act V - Chapter III

Darien is a very powerful elven wizard of the fire elementalist school. He was once a member of a group of elementalists called the Forbidden Four who each focused on one of the four major elements: fire, water, earth, and air. After learning to absorb arcane power from other mages, Darien betrayed the other three members of the Forbidden Four by stealing their power, making him a master of all four elements (though he still prefers to use fire). He is very posh and condescending, and holds wizards in high esteem over all other magic users. In battle, Darien sets his entire body ablaze, using mainly fire-based attacks, but also attacking with walls of water, lightning bolts, and giant boulders.
 * Characters Used: Severus, Tsun, Hiroto, Whittaker, Remus, Brunnwald

Nessonth
Final Boss of Act VI - Chapter I

Nessonth is a skeletal dragon who was formerly a powerful red dragon in life. He is the master of Gorlock the Bald and is fought after he orchestrates an attack on the surface world with an undead army from the Darklands and Geb. In battle, Nessonth summons undead minions to his aid, breathes green fire, and tries to crush the players under the weight of his massive body. He is the only boss that the players are unable to defeat during the events of the game, all the players can do is temporarily incapacitate him and seal him away in the Darklands.
 * Characters Used: Severus, Tsun, Calamity, Lu Kong, Raalnorg, Whittaker, Helvar, Brunnwald, Zob

Shargamoth Voldruk
Final Boss of Act VI - Chapter II

A demon lord who seized power in the Abyss only recently and decides to take advantage of the chaos ensuing in the Inner Sea to orchestrate an attack on northern Avistan through the Worldwound, a gateway for demons of the Abyss to enter the Material Plane. He is the father of Romulus and Remus. In battle, he uses a flaming whip (not unlike a Balrog) that he uses to ensnare his foes while simultaneously dealing fire damage, along with his ability to hurl exploding balls of fire.
 * Characters Used: Ostarian, Iolana, Romulus, Hiroto, Hanji, Pavo, Remus, Micaiah, Ker-Shal

Hargroth Beomarth
Final Boss of Act VI - Chapter III

Hargroth is very a powerful gnoll and blue dragon hybrid. Nearing the end of the War, Hargroth, the leader of a tribe of Gnolls in the plains of Taldor, took up the fabled sword Godbane and struck down the demon king Solomon Aomahr. Afterwards, Hargroth created a new empire from the ashes of the Taldan Empire and began his conquest of southeastern Avistan. Despite being a warmongering dictator, Hargroth maintains some sense of honor, and will refuse to use Godbane against mortal enemies, opting to instead use Flameheart, a flaming greatsword that he wielded prior to obtaining Godbane. In addition to his sword, Hargroth uses lightning breath and wings that he obtained through his draconic bloodline.
 * Characters Used: All

Game Modes

 *  Story Mode:  Play through the main story chapter after chapter, unlocking the various characters as you go.
 *  Free Play:  Play through different chapters as you see fit. Here, there are no restrictions on which characters you can play as, so long as you've unlocked them in story mode.
 *  Hardcore Mode:  Unlocked after you've beaten Story Mode and maxed out every character. In this mode, every character is made available at the beginning and is set at level 20 with all traits fully upgraded.  If you're playing by yourself, you have every character at your disposal.  With two players, each chooses 9 characters.  With three players, each chooses 6.  With 4 players, each chooses 4, with 2 left in reserve for the first player that runs out to use.  The objective is to play through every level in the game on a higher difficulty than in story mode.  The catch is that 1.) the players can't use items and 2.) once a character falls in battle, that character is unusable for the rest of the playthrough.  Once the number of players is chosen for this mode, the choice is locked in.
 *  Arena:  Fight in 2v2, 3v3, or 4v4 battles with AI and/or other players. If there is only one player on a team, any remaining slots will be filled with AI.  1v1 won't be available because characters with support abilities won't be as useful.  This mode would be made available in demo versions of the game as a way of learning which characters would need balancing.
 *  Challenge Rooms:  Play a selection of 16 challenge rooms that you unlock by completing main story levels. The objective is to survive 20 waves of enemies, the last of which features a boss.  You can earn medals through playing these challenge rooms.  Getting through at least 10 waves earns you a bronze medal, getting through 15 waves earns you a silver medal, and beating all 20 waves earns you a gold medal.  Each medal you earn unlocks you a special skin for each character (2 bonus skins for each character in total).  Each challenge room also has a special platinum medal that can be earned by defeating all 20 waves while also completing an objective unique to each room (such as completing in a certain time limit, completing without using a character with healing, etc.).