So those such as myself who initially dismissed this due to the lackluster video and vagueness might want to give another look. They've released boatloads of new info in almost daily updates and it seems much more appealing now. A shame about the piss-poor excuse for a kickstart initial reveal though, since they've less than 1/4th of the needed money after almost a week.
At its heart, SDS is a points based system with about 80 abilities each having ranks and costs. To create a character, players choose a Race, a Class and a Specialty. Each of these is a container of abilities, with each Class containing the same number of points as each other Class.
Abilities run the gamut from offense to defense, mobility to senses, stats to skills. For example, a Dwarf has higher resistance to damage, and resistance to knockback, among his abilities. Each combination of Race/Class/Specialty yields a different balance. Some of the combinations seem obvious, Tough Knight, Rogue Scout, but the reverse of these combinations will also produce viable characters.
A Rogue Knight wouldn't have the stacked defenses of a Tough Knight, but he'd make an effective point man, with heavy armor for ambushes, and the skills to spot and disarm traps. A Tough Scout could slip into the back ranks of enemies, and still survive any counterattacks.
As characters advance, they gain points to upgrade their current abilities, or purchase new ones. Some abilities are reserved for particular Races, Classes, and Specialties, while others are open to all characters. So the player can either double down on his current set up, or broaden his characters to make them more adaptable to situations.
The values for each character's five main statistics (strength, dexterity, spirit, intelligence and hit points) comes from the choice of Class and Specialty. Buying additional ranks in Statistic Boost or Hit Point Boost will improve these later in the game. Statistics are used with Skills, and improve damage, Strength for heavy weapons, Dexterity for bows and light weapons, and Intelligence for Spells.
About half the starting ability points come from the Classes and really set the theme of the character, so they are the combat anchor for the remaining aspects: Race and Specialty.
Legionnaire. Veterans from light units of the empire's many wars. Aware of the battlefield, and, with shield guard ability, can further reduce damage from opponents. Shield and light armor make this the hardest Class to hit. Push survival higher with the Defensive Specialty, adding deflection and luck. Or go with the Noble Specialty, for added Hit Points, some useful skills, and the ability to add Leadership bonuses to the rest of the party.
- Armor: Light Armor and Shield
- Primary Weapon: Sword
Knight. Specialist of heavy infantry units. Higher overall statistics, especially strength, extra hit points and two-handed weapon abilities. Excellent for the front lines with staying power and multiple targets, or add a speciality with extra movement, such as Fast, and send him as a missile into the heart of the enemy.
- Armor: Heavy Armor
- Primary Weapon: Two-handed weapons
Scout. What makes the Scout unique is a very high stealth skill, and Shadowmaster, the ability to turn invisible. Scouts excel at flanking or getting behind opponents before they realize they are even there. Often sent to spot the enemy, remove pickets and guide others. Their Sniper ability improves bow use. A natural choice to add the Rogue Specialty to, and create the sneak thief. Nature Scouts become invisible casters, making them major threats.
- Armor: Light Armor
- Primary Weapon: Bows
Wizard. The classic spell slinger, and only class that can cast spells from multiple elements. Has 2nd level spells from all elements available at the start. Also has a host of knowledge skills for understanding the occult, and strange artifacts. Combine with an elemental Specialty to access up to 4th level spells, or gain more utility with a less mystical choice.
- Armor: Light Armor
- Primary Weapon: Spell Staff
Pitfighter. Recruited, honestly or not, to perform in the pits to entertain the nobility, and the masses. Lots of hit points, aware of the battlefield, extra attack once per encounter. Good with the Fast Specialty to apply their damage to any target in the area.
- Armor: Light Armor
- Primary Weapon: Dual wielded light blades
Archer. An excellent sniper or deadly assassin, with massive range, ability to cover fire, and able to fall back on blades if he's pinned down. This is a damage output class, and could improve this further with the Deadly Specialty, or he could choose an elemental Specialty just to get at the spell which converts his damage to that element (fire arrows!).
- Armor: Light Armor
- Primary Weapon: Bows
Wraith Hunter. The empire has a strong dislike for the undead, and the hunters are specialized at eradicating them; somewhat similar to the D&D Paladins, without the religious link. Good hit points, strength, awareness of the battlefield, complements additional defense and the ability to Harm the undead. Increase Harm and add in Heal by matching with the Priestly Specialty. Select Death Element Specialty and add Necromantic spells to further control and destroy undead.
- Armor: Heavy Armor
- Primary Weapon: Dual wielded heavy blades
Soultender. A solid fighter, often using the spear to extend reach, a selfish Soultender is a hard character to bring down with her abilities to restore her own hit points. Keeping folks alive during battle is a major task, and the Healer has the two major abilities for that: Heal and Rejuvenation. Also, Physician skill for more mundane injuries, better recovery of party Fatigue and Trauma. Combine with Priestly for very high healing, some harm undead, or Nature Element to mimic a druid.
- Armor: Light Armor
- Primary Weapon: Two-handed weapons
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