KS: Divinity: Original Sin by Larian Studios LLC

New Digital add-ons

Saldy I missed the steam sale... However I'd be adding this to my pledge*** :D


Divinity Anthology – add $20

ksanthology.jpg

For a mere pittance, you can now get a digital version of the Divinity Anthology included in your pledge. Ten years in the making, the Divinity Anthology collects all games set in the acclaimed Divinity universe: Divine Divinity, Beyond Divinity and the complete Divinity 2 (including the expansion). Experience the remastered versions of these epic fantasy RPGs; enjoy the many unique extras that come with this exclusive edition and celebrate a decade of Divinity!


***Add-ons

We now support adding extras to your pledge and give you one or more add-ons for it. How? Well, after you pledge, you can add one (or more) of the following amounts to your pledge. Keep your selected reward tier. If this Kickstarter is successful, we will contact you so that you can specify what add-on(s) you wish to receive for the extra you have pledged.

Digital add-ons require a base pledge of $25. Physical add-ons require a physical tier (starting at $65).

KS @ http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/larianstudios/divinity-original-sin
 
##Update 11

Kirill’s Surprise

In this video, Swen has a short interview with Kirill Pokrovsky, our composer. At the end, he even has a surprise for everybody! Mark the date - thursday, april 18th!


Character Stats
People have been asking about character customization. We will post information about equipment and skills later on. This update will focus on character stats only. Before you read on, please realize that these things tend to change a lot during the process of building the game. We tweak the formulas and the balancing constantly, and the way we programmed and organized this, allows us to make big changes. (Data driven and relative values are the keywords here.) So what follows is the current implementation.

But so yeah, stats. That’s actually a long story. Just so you know, we don’t come up with "a stat system" overnight. At first, we started out with something very, very similar to Divine Divinity. Without implementing it, we realized it wouldn’t work well in a turn-based combat game. We considered the Beyond Divinity stat system, because Beyond Divinity started out as a turn-based game (the publisher decided against that back in the day). Breaking that down, we again had to let go of that idea because it had been changed too much to reflect the real-time combat system Beyond Divinity ended up with.

So this quickly became the tale of how a programmer, a designer, a producer and a CEO set out to each make their own stat proposal. Hearing them one by one, you could feel where each of them was coming from: the mathematical background, the creative approach, the realistic/empirical method...

One of us actually wrote a four-page study about how "realistic fighting" actually works. Part of it looked like this:

When I try to hit someone:

  • the more skilful I am with my weapon, the more chance I have to hit
  • the more skilful I am with my weapon, the more damage I will do
  • strength can determine the damage of some weapons (e.g. a crossbow does not benefit from strength, but a having a bigger draw weight has an effect on a normal bow)
  • strength can determine the range of some weapons (e.g. the stronger you are, the higher the draw weight of your bow can be, which means that your arrow can go a greater distance)
  • strength can determine the chance of a normal bow hitting the target because the bowman can draw longer and hold steady longer for better aim
  • the better my motor skills, the more chance I have to hit and the more damage I can inflict (e.g. having a good aim is having efficient motor skills)
  • if I am wearing a shield, I am often less free to do with my weapon what I want (even a simple one handed sword benefits from the freedom of not carrying a shield and having a second free hand)
  • ...


And it went on like that, and we started to wonder what this guy does during the weekend... But it became clear that being too realistic would make it a very complex system. Not only to balance it, but also towards the player. And this proposal also only took into account that you were going to fight, and that’s a very limited stat system for a game where a lot more is going on than just fighting.

On the other hand, this breakdown wasn’t that bad of a read because we all agreed that a stat and combat system have to make sense, and be logical.

Sitting together and talking about all of our ideas, we learned where everyone was coming from. So, still on paper, the first stat system we came up with was called SPAM, which was an acronym for Strength, Presence, Accuracy and Mind. After trying it out (still not in game, we were actually building characters on paper, and rolling dice when fighting monsters, persuading characters, picking locks...), we noticed everyone was putting a lot of points in the Presence stat, because that stat was really carrying too much weight. And back to the drawing board we went. A couple of times.

Through trial and error, and discussion, we ended up with the following character stats, and we implemented them in such a way that it is easy to change the values, the rules and the formulas. We have already changed it often, and even added stats, simply by reading our forum (and other forums) and by playing the game.

We know there are nuts here (on Kickstarter, on internet, and at Larian Studios) that love stat discussions, so don’t hold back! (The names of these stats are programmer names, and may still change. Well, anything is open for discussion and balancing, really.)

Also take into account that skills play a big role as well. We’ll tell you more about those later. And hopefully we'll also make the 650K stretch goal, because then we'll be able to add talents and personal traits to the system, which will make it pretty cool.

The NPCs have the same stats and formulas as the player. One level makes a big difference: they have more hitpoints, do more damage, and are generally harder to hit. But it’s still doable if you know what you’re doing.

As the hero, you start the game with 5 points in every stat, and you get 5 statpoints for customizing your character. Per level-up, you currently get 1 statpoint. But 1 statpoint makes a difference.

Items that have an impact on stats, have their positive and negative effects, so there are trade-offs that help building a character. There are items that support different types of character builds. We'll talk about items in a future update.

Stats are also used for saving throws against different effects. For instance, a high dexterity lowers your chance of falling down when walking over ice, and strength gives you a saving throw against being caught in a wall of ice (you can break through).

bigorc.jpg


It doesn't take a genius to see that this guy's speed stat will be low. And that his armor will absorb a lot of damage. And to wield such an axe, he must be very strong. Other than the lack of speed, what will his weak spots be?

Level
  • is a multiplier for your hitpoint bonus from constitution
  • is a multiplier for your mana bonus from intelligence
  • Primary stats


Strength
  • gives damage bonuses to attacks with melee weapons
  • defines how much weight you can carry
  • defines what items you can lift
  • defines how far you can throw items, depending on their weight
  • gives you a bonus to intimidation


Dexterity
  • gives damage bonuses to attacks with ranged weapons
  • gives you a higher chance of successfully picking locks and picking pockets
  • affects the "ideal range" of ranged weapons
  • lower chance of triggering traps, higher chance of disarming traps
  • better at repairing


Intelligence
  • determines your amount of mana
  • gives bonuses to magic (depending on the spell: damage, range, width of a cone, duration, how easy or hard the saving throw is...)
  • gives you a bonus to reasoning
  • helps you figure out NPC stats and resistances
  • helps you to identify unknown items
  • gives bonuses to mind resistance


Constitution
  • determines your amount of hitpoints
  • gives you higher resistance against poison
  • gives you a bonus to charming
 
...continued

Speed
  • determines the distance you can walk with one action point
  • defines how good you are at dodging or evading attacks (defense rating)
  • gives bonuses to initiative
  • spend less action points when changing equipment or using items in combat


Perception
  • determines how much chance you have of successfully hitting an enemy (offense rating)
  • defines your sight and hearing which helps your enemy awareness (e.g. on the mini map)
  • helps with discovering traps and finding treasures and secrets


FireDemon.jpg


This fire demon is a formidable foe. He has a very high resistance to fire. So high even, that fire damage actually heals him. He can create lava surfaces from a distance. Even though his speed stat is pretty low, he is known to sometimes fly over the battlefield. When he runs out of mana, he has to come close to drive his claws through his enemies, dealing piercing damage, or uses his tail to sweep multiple enemies in one attack, dealing crushing damage with a chance of knockdown.

Secondary stats

Offense and defense
These are determined by your primary stat perception and speed. They can be boosted by magical equipment. When you attack someone, your offense rating is compared to your enemy’s defense rating. This determines how much chance you have of actually hitting him.

Damage
This stat is determined by your weapon or your spell, and gets a bonus from one of your primary stats. This can be boosted by well-made or magical equipment.

Critical chance and critical damage
These stats are determined by your weapon. They can be boosted by well-made or magical equipment.

Armor
When a hit is successful, armor absorbs part of the damage that was dealt. For instance, if you’re hit with 8 damage and you have armor 3, you only take 5 damage. If your armor rating is very high, it is possible to completely absorb all the damage that is dealt by a weak enemy. This stat is determined by your equipment and can be boosted with well-made or magical items.

Blocking chance
This is determined by the shield you are wearing, if you are wearing a shield. When a hit is successful, the shield gives you a chance of actually fully blocking the attack. Different shields obviously have different blocking chances.

Hitpoints
This stat is determined by your constitution stat, and can be boosted with magical items. Hitpoints do not regenerate automatically, and can only be regained by healing, eating or resting.

Mana
This stat is determined by your intelligence stat, and can be boosted with magical items. Magic spells cost mana. Mana does not automatically regenerate and can only be regained by drinking potions, eating certain types of food, or resting.

Sight and hearing
These secondary stats are determined by your perception stat. They can be boosted by special or magical equipment. They define how far you can see (we have a shroud, and fog of war system), and how well your hearing is (so you can hear and even identify an NPC without being able to see him).

Initiative
This stat is determined by your speed stat, and can be boosted with special or magical items. It gives you bonuses when combat starts and initiative is rolled.

Persuasion
This is determined by equipment bonuses only. Persuasion gives you bonuses when trying to intimidate, charm or reason with your party members or NPCs.

Walk speed
This stat is determined by your speed stat, and can be boosted with special or magical items. It determines how far you can walk with one action point in turn-based combat.

Luck
This stat can only be boosted with magical items. It’s the X factor of the game...

Poison resistance
Determined by your constitution stat. Poison resistance will absorb the damage poison would do every turn.

Fire, Water, Earth and Air resistances
Determined by magical items you are wearing. These absorb elemental damage.

Mind resistance
Determined by your intelligence stat, and magical items you are wearing. This helps against mind attacks (for instance fear).

Piercing, Slashing, Crushing resistances
Determined by the equipment you are wearing. These resistances absorb damage from physical attacks.


Which games influenced Divinity:Original Sin?
Our Russian friends at Gamebox.ru suggested that we post this video in one of our updates, because it clearly shows where we're getting some of our inspiration from. They asked Swen to give a rundown of his five most favourite games ever. There’s a couple of surprises in there. What's also surprising is how awake he looks in the video!

Dragon Commander livestream!
Today we did our first twitch.tv livestream ever together with the good folk at GOG.com and while we initially had some issues (you should skip the first 10 mins or so), it was a pretty cool experience because we could interact directly with the audience. If you pledged for the 65$ tier, you might want to check this out. If you didn't and are just thinking about it, definitely check it out, because Dragon Commander is the type of game that will take everybody by surprise.

http://www.twitch.tv/larianstudios/b/389054545

Before you bombard us with messages, yes, we're going to be adding a Dragon Commander add-on option here. We wanted to do it today even but that didn't happen. Most likely it'll be the case tomorrow.

Fan day dated
In yesterday's update, we announced a new add-on which allows you to get a fan day ticket. We neglected to mention the date though ;) So the Fan day will be on August 9th 2013 in Gent, Belgium, and start at 10:00 am in the morning, lasting the entire day and evening for those who want.

In Closing
If anybody wants to contribute to the stats, talents or personal traits discussion - go to our forums and drop us a message there. You are free to drop a note in the Kickstarter comments section, but there's a lot of traffic there and your suggestions might be lost.

You are btw only 300 likes away from having an extra Bellegar encounter in the game. See our previous update for more details, but for every 1000 likes above 1061 likes, we will add an extra Bellegar encounter to the game. We'll start preparing some rhymes ;)
 
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It's interesting to see the KS is still going pretty well, almost at 450k . So it all looks very promising, i'm sure i'll enjoy this game. It's definite plus that these guys already have made some serious games before, even Divinity 2 was a very solid game with the whole flying and dragon combat thing on top of a Skyrim type of world.
 
diabolus said:
It's interesting to see the KS is still going pretty well, almost at 450k . So it all looks very promising, i'm sure i'll enjoy this game. It's definite plus that these guys already have made some serious games before, even Divinity 2 was a very solid game with the whole flying and dragon combat thing on top of a Skyrim type of world.
Click to expand...

Yeah it is a bit slow. Either people just are not interested or there needs to be more exposure.

I have added the anthology to my original pledge. Not bad at an additional 20 usd for four games.
 
Blind Faith said:
Yeah it is a bit slow. Either people just are not interested or there needs to be more exposure.

I have added the anthology to my original pledge. Not bad at an additional 20 usd for four games.
Click to expand...

Yea, i don't expect it to mysteriously go faster now. I actually thought it might stop after the 400k, it some point i wasn't even sure they would make the 400k. This is not exactly Torment or Obsidian/Interplay type of nostalgia factor here.

Unfortunately i already have all their games, Divinity 2 and all the expansions was on sale on steam quite a few times. I'll reconsider adding some more if they get close to the 800k stretchgoal , that's about the only thing i want extra.
 
Update #12

We're only halfway through our campaign, and already you have us talking about the first stretch goal. Well done! And thank you! All 10000 of you!

Without any further delay, here is today's update:

Dragon Commander available as add-on
  • More reward tiers now available with Paypal
  • Free shipping in US and EU
  • Cleaning up the rewards table
  • How Divinity: Original Sin fits in the Divinity universe (video)
  • Your Homestead at the Shelter Plane at the End of Time unveiled
  • Dragon Commander available as add-on


By (very) popular demand, we added a digital version of Dragon Commander as an add-on, available at $40. To include it in your pledge, click the "Manage Pledge" button and add 40$ to your pledge (just like with other pledges). Keep your selected reward tier. Once this Kickstarter is over, we will contact you so that you can specify what add-on(s) you wish to receive for the extra you have pledged.

The minimum pledge amount for this add-on is 25$. For more add-ons, visit the home page of our project (bottom of the page).

Find more information on the Dragon Commander website. Alternatively, you can have a look at this official trailer.


More reward tiers now available with Paypal

There was a bit of a delay, but we increased the range of reward tiers available via Paypal. In case you're wondering, we'll be monitoring the ones that are limited and close donations should the threshold be reached.

Free shipping in EU and US

We finally got our act together regarding shipping in the EU. We'll spare you the details, but if you live in the EU, you don't need to pay extra for shipping physical goods anymore. If you have already pledged extra for shipping and you live in the European Union, you can click on "Manage your pledge" and adjust your pledge downwards with the amount you added for shipping. So if you pledged 65$+18$ and you live in France, you can now adjust your pledge to 65$ again. When managing your pledge via Kickstarter, select the option that you live in the US, even if you don't. Kickstarter doesn't have an option for free shipping in EU+US.

Cleaning up the rewards table

Because Kickstarter doesn't allow us to change the reward descriptions, we included correct descriptions in another dimension. Don't worry - nothing is removed - but a whole lot of things were added and clarified.

World premiere: Jan spoils the storyline!

Not really, but the man who prefers to write instead of talk a.k.a. Jan Van Dosselaer, our brilliant lead writer, opened up considerably now that we told him he can get all those extra dialogue lines he wanted in. Good stuff! Definitely worth watching if you want to know how the story of Divinity: Original Sin links in to the tale of the Divine and the Damned. Well, you'll think you'll know, but obviously...
 
Continued...


The Shelter Plane at the End of Time

Created by imp historian Zixzax the Almost Wise; located on the Precipice of Ages - where time itself ends in endless black - you will find your homestead. It is a barren place; arid and forlorn, but beggars can't be choosers, and neither can a couple of Source Hunters down on their luck. In time, though, perhaps your Shelter Plane might turn into quite a cosy abode really: a place to put up your feet and relax by the fire, staring out unto the very edge of oblivion.

What are some of the nifty things you can expect to find in your Shelter Plane?

The Transcript of Unravelled Destinies

As you play through Original Sin, you will encounter a great many characters, and like any respectable RPG hero worth their salt, you will be able to alter these characters' lives through your actions and decisions. For some, the consequences will be tangible and immediate; for others, they might seem imperceptible at first, but become more apparent as time passes.

Each time you visit your Shelter Plane, you can consult the Transcript of Unravelled Destinies and learn about the consequences of your actions, for it is a magical tome which registers the fate of every single being in Rivellon. By flicking through its pages, you will learn about what happened to all those people whose lives you affected. Did the young couple you reunited live happily ever after? Did that swindler you dragged to court really learn the error of his ways?

Did you impact past or present and did you thereby influence the future? Can you jump back to reality and still make changes?

Interior Decider-Decorator

Yes, the Shelter Plane at the End of Time is a lonesome and empty place at first, but never you worry! Its appearance will change, though not as the result of a wholesale shopping spree. Instead, decisions you make during specific quests will change its initial shape and give your Shelter Plane a distinctly different atmosphere...

planetime.jpg

Henchmen, the Gathering

As you recruit henchmen throughout your journey, there will come a time when you'll want to leave one of them behind (because you just cannot resist hiring that bull-sized battle mage you just met!). Yet fear not, for they will not hold a grudge against you! Instead, they will patiently wait for you until you require their services once more, safe in the comfort of your Shelter Plane.

The Coffers That Have No Bottoms

Each player gets his or her individual storage chest, where they may safely store their loot without fearing their loyal partner (or Zixzax...) might 'borrow' any of their belongings. Even the best of couples need their privacy.

Shelter from the Storm

If things get a bit much for you on the battlefield and you see no other option than to flee, you can quickly retreat to your Shelter Plane and catch your breath. After all, there's no shame in surviving, and when you feel ready to head out again, you can simply pick your waypoint of choice.Of course, you'll need a bit of space to make the transition, so make sure your enemies are not too close when seeking shelter...

Secrets Galore

There is more to The Shelter Plane at the End of Time than meets the eye; much more! Seek and you shall find. Great wonders await inquisitive souls...

In Closing

Don't forget... 163 likes to go...

fbbellegar.jpg
 
I can't wait. I also can't make my damn mind up which one I want...

I want to get the $65 one that includes Dragon Commander but... but... I'd rather get a nice one now and then support Dragon Commander via GOG (more money to Larian, I figure).

These Kickstarter things need to run for at least three months. This one month nonsense doesn't make any sense.
 
Lycanthrope said:
I can't wait. I also can't make my damn mind up which one I want...

I want to get the $65 one that includes Dragon Commander but... but... I'd rather get a nice one now and then support Dragon Commander via GOG (more money to Larian, I figure).

These Kickstarter things need to run for at least three months. This one month nonsense doesn't make any sense.
Click to expand...

I went with 50usd and added another 20usd for the anthology, because I actually want the previous ones. So it's 70usd for 6x games which isn't that bad and included the developer dox. If you already have the previous 4 then dragon commander should be nice :D

Tiers has been updated so rather use the main page or actual home page of KS.There is also the summarized pictures: See an overview of digital tiers, or physical tiers.
 
Blind Faith said:
I went with 50usd and added another 20usd for the anthology, because I actually want the previous ones. So it's 70usd for 6x games which isn't that bad and included the developer dox. If you already have the previous 4 then dragon commander should be nice :D
Click to expand...

I've supported them for a long time :p

Well, via retail.

I didn't, however, support Ego Draconis because it released with Tages. I mean seriously, wtf... TAGES? NEVER!

However, when the DRM was removed, I bought it up. I've also bought the the Anthology on both Steam and GOG.

I love Larian; I'm just sad that it took them so long to come to their senses. So now, yes, I dearly want to support them as much as I can. But oh noes... THEY RAN A KICKSTARTER CONCURRENTLY WITH TORMENT! :mad:

Anyway, I'll support them as much as I can and hopefully I can just buy another one via their PayPal option next month.

Tiers has been updated so rather use the main page or actual home page of KS.There is also the summarized pictures: See an overview of digital tiers, or physical tiers.
Click to expand...

Yeah, I know :) I'm eyeballing this one to the max.
 
Lycanthrope said:
I love Larian; I'm just sad that it took them so long to come to their senses. So now, yes, I dearly want to support them as much as I can. But oh noes... THEY RAN A KICKSTARTER CONCURRENTLY WITH TORMENT! :mad:
Click to expand...

Whois the one who pledge so much :p

...However maybe they should go for 1.5 months which will give them more backer possibility as more people would have their wallets refreshed.
 
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Update #13

In this update

Better reward pages
  1. Only 25K left to go to the next stretch goal
  2. The update song to end all other update songs
  3. The history of Rivellon (with some pictures)
  4. Shout out for the cool Battle Worlds: Kronos from King Art games

Better reward pages
There unfortunately are limits to what we can do on the Kickstarter pages, and one of those limitations is that we cannot modify the text in the rewards to include all of our additions. That's why we set up mirror pages where you will be able to find the right descriptions for each reward, in different languages.

Have a look, you might have missed some cool stuff when pledging ;)


Only 25K left to go to the first stretch goal
Since we already collected $5 331,39 via Paypal, the counter is now only 25K away from our first stretch goal: Your Homestead At The Shelter Plane At The End Of Time! If you missed yesterday's update, be sure to check out why you really want this.

The update song to end all other update songs
For two weeks some backers have been driving us crazy with their update song, pushing us to release update after update. We wanted to do something with said song in retaliation but it turns out that would be copyright infringement.

So we asked Kirill, our house composer, to come up with something new. This is the same Kirill who will be giving an exclusive piano recital with Divinity themes here next Thursday, April 18th at 19:00 GMT+1 btw.


All that's left for us to do now is get our animators to make some dancing weresheep, and our revenge will be complete ;)

The History of Rivellon
By Jodocus Lipsius, Court Historian

- Printed by Ye Olde Presse, Verdistis -

As a member of the Prancing Seahorse gentleman's club of Aleroth, I am proud to present this little historical summary of mighty Rivellon. May the reader find elucidation among its pages, few and incomplete as they are. What knowledge I have I share; I can do no more.

Note on the abbreviations of time:

AR: Anno Rivellonis. The ancient way of identifying specific years.
AD: Anno Deorum. How we count years now, in honour of the Seven Gods.
WARNING! For those readers who are unfamiliar with these events, but intend to learn more about them by means of interactive scrying stones, I issue a SPOILER ALERT! No need to thank me.

8800 AR - Dragon Commander
So long ago did these events take place that they may well be sagas rather than truths, but ancient souls swear they happened as described beneath. I leave it to my lectors to make up their minds for themselves and separate what they think is reality from what they think is fiction.

13_dc.jpg

When Rivellon's first emperor Sigurd was killed by his own children, a bloody war for the throne began. The entire world was said to be in danger of destruction, for rumours persist through time that all battles were fought with giant machines and airships of incredible and devastating power; technology long lost - perhaps merely a fable. In the end a Dragon Knight - and son of Sigurd - prevailed. Details are few and far between, but my research indicates that he had the backing of the legendary wizard Maxos. If so, what a mighty pair these two must have made!

The Lost Centuries
Almost nothing is known of these lost times. One can only deduct that the empire united by the aforementioned Dragon Knight must have fallen or slipped into decadence. Did it stand for a thousand years? Two-thousand? We may never know.
During these lost times one cataclysmic conflict did most certainly take place: the prolonged and brutal Wizard Wars. I shall elaborate a bit more on these events further down the time line.

4 AR - Original Sin
Sadly I must confess that once more my knowledge about these long forgotten times is diminutive at best. Very little is known about the strange and spectacular events that befell two so-called Source Hunters. Nevertheless, if one can put faith in the fragmented stories told by old wizards, they both prevented and set in motion events that changed the destiny of fair Rivellon herself.

13_dos.jpg

I'd sell my soul to know more, but those damned mages are so damnably reticent! Zandalor knows all, of that I am sure, but not even two carafes of spiced elven wine stir his tongue to speak of what happened back then. Something must have! Shortly after, we even changed the way we count time! AR to AD ... Was it truly just to honour the gods?
The history of this world; I swear more of it is secret than is known.

100 AD - The First Rise and Fall of Chaos
In this black year a new enemy attacked Rivellon, more vicious than anything that came before. It was called Chaos and it had been worshipped and brought to power by sinister forces at work ever since those times Zandalor refuses to talk about. Might there be a link? This is mere assumption on my part, but we all know what they say about smoke and fire - and when thick smoke curls up out of the wizard's pipe as he gives me that stern stare of his when I press him upon the subject, I do start to suspect evil and intricate doings. But this is neither here nor there, so suffice to say that after long, brutal battles, the enemy - personified by the demonic Chaos Lord - was defeated by dwarven armies. They alone safeguarded the world from succumbing to Chaos during these times and still deserve lavish praise for doing so.

13_chaos.jpg

611 AD - The Second Rise and Fall of Chaos
The Chaos Demon had been defeated centuries before, but an insidious wizard by the name of Ulthring (how Zandalor glares when the name is mentioned) had rallied the wounded demon and amassed fresh armies anew. This time Rivellon would have surely fallen had it not been for the Sacrifice of Seven: empowered by the Seven Gods, a human, a dwarf, an elf, a lizard, an imp and an orc gave their lives so that the Lord of Chaos would be defeated. Among them was Duke Ruben Ferol, and it was his apprentice Ralph who walked away from the battlefield with Ulthring's sword: the ill-fated Sword of Lies.

1218 AD - Divine Divinity
Alas it seems that Chaos can never be finally beaten, for even though centuries passed, its nefarious influence remained awake - and plotted.
(Let me interject that finally we come to those parts of our history with which I am much more familiar and my narrative will be the more elaborate for it.)
I'm sorry to say evil festered from within: humans, loyal to the Damned Hordes, sought not only to ensure the return of their dark master, but to give his Demonic form human semblance, so that rather than to destroy Rivellon, he would come to rule her. This group, known as the Black Ring, were close to achieving their goal and would doubtless have succeeded had it not been for both the tireless vigilance of Zandalor and the startling fate of an adventurer named Lucian.
This adventurer, guided as he was by the forces of good, exposed the Black Ring’s sinister schemes and when the time came willingly underwent a daring ritual that infused him with the powers of the Seven Gods who feared that Chaos could threaten their very existence. So the Divine was born!

13_divdiv.jpg

Leaving but grim corpses in his wake - and aided as he was by a dragon; the Patriarch - the avatar of light followed the enemy to its stronghold, nestled deep beneath the desert wastes of Yuthul Gor, where he stalked and killed every Black Ring elder until finally he and their diabolic leader, the Demon of Lies, stood snout to face. The fiend smiled and told the Divine he was too late: the transfer was complete and the Lord of Chaos would walk again. Indeed, behind him, on a large altar lay a newborn infant, a shell of innocence wrapped around a soul of utter corruption. The Divine’s sword saw the Demon dead, but despite being able to put an end to the vast plague that had almost brought Rivellon to her knees, he could not bring himself to kill the child.
 

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1218 to 1233 AD - The Youth of Damian

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Lucian named his 'son' Damian, and for years the Damned One, unaware of the terrible forces that brimmed beneath his boyish exterior, grew up under the Divine’s tutelage. Until he met Ygerna. Sent to seduce Damian by her father, the Black Ring necromancer Kalin, she befriended the young man, who was instantly infatuated with her. Not only did she return his affections, but also his long slumbering powers. They practiced innocent spells at first, but later on more sinister magic, rarer incantations, and, most dangerous of all, they unravelled forbidden knowledge. For some time, Damian's Divine foster parent was blissfully oblivious of Ygerna’s ominous influence on his son, until evidence connected her to Kalin, whom he had recently executed. When questioned she confessed that she supported his rotten stratagems, the most important of these being the renascence of Damian’s dark, dormant powers.
After hearing such hideous testimony, Lucian had no choice but to execute Ygerna in turn: the Black Ring never enjoys clemency, whatever the circumstances. Under the eyes of the wise, but worry-plagued Zandalor, the Divine’s sword severed Ygerna’s head from her body. Yet, at that prophetic moment, while Ygerna’s blood was still claiming more territory on the floor, Damian entered and gave voice to a spell that utterly stunned even that mighty ensemble: the spell of Soul Forging. Before anyone could react, Damian turned back and seemingly disappeared. The Divine knew his son would from then on be his greatest foe and understood that Damian had already realised a great deal of his black potential: he who can Soul Forge, is a stupendous adversary indeed. The Damned One walked again.
As Lucian and Damian gathered their armies, Zandalor contemplated the repercussions of Damian’s acts. A Soul Forge is an exceptional enough event in its own right; a Soul Forge with a soul as it dwells amidst the few fragments of time between life and death, was unprecedented. Uncertain of the consequences for either him or Damian, he entrusted Ygerna’s body to the care of embalmers, forgoing the usual ritual burning of Black Ring corpses.

1233 AD - Damian Is Banished To Nemesis

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Within days, the Black Ring and Divine Paladins clashed. Damian though, had eyes for Lucian only: he would show him the same kindness he had shown Ygerna. What he did not know was that the Divine was ready for him. He would lure his son to a Rift Temple and, if all went according to plan, banish him to another dimension. Blinded as he was by his all-consuming wrath, Damian did not realise he was being drawn into a trap and soon he was locked away in shadow haunted Nemesis. The Divine returned to Rivellon, glad that the threat his foster son posed was eliminated, yet strangely mournful because he realised that despite the evil that had taken hold of him, Damian’s spur-of-the-moment Soul Forge was essentially an act of love.

1238 AD - Beyond Divinity

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The Damned One however, made the best of his situation in Nemesis. He bode his time, grew in stature and power, until he did what most thought could not be done: with the help of a duped paladin who knew not it was Damian he was fighting with side by side, he broke free from his prison dimension and initially overran the surprised Rivellonian forces.

1238 to 1300 AD - The Rise and Fall of Damian and the Divine
His thoughts were still wholly focused on one thing: to destroy the Divine and so revenge Ygerna. The war changed the face of Rivellon: for years it raged and one catastrophic event followed the other. Where once there were mountains there are now flat scorched plains and picturesque farmlands have been pushed up and turned into jagged cliffs. Nevertheless mankind faced its infernal foes with remarkable courage and tenacity. A decisive reason for their stubborn optimism was the new forged alliance between the Divine and the now very rare, but still immensely powerful Dragon Knights, the last and elusive proponents of Dragon magic in the Demon-swept realms. Throughout the climactic battle, the scales of victory could have tipped either way. But then the unthinkable happened: one of the Dragon Knights betrayed and slew the unsuspecting Divine. During the confusion that ensued, the Paladins started to fight Dragon and Demon alike. Luckily Zandalor was able to rally the troops and so narrowly avoid disaster. Damian, who had already lost much of his forces and had seen his revenge materialised, ordered his army to abandon the field. His dominion over Rivellon could wait. And besides, he had other things on his mind.
The war ended, but the fighting never stopped. Enraged by the betrayal of the Dragon Knights and the death of the Divine, humanity saw the foundation of the Order of Dragon Slayers, which specialised in the eradication of the Patriarch's chosen few. With Maxos gone and the Patriarch unwilling to intervene, their already very small number dwindled fast until ultimately only one remained: Talana.

1300 AD - Divinity II - The Dragon Knight Saga
Talana was hunted without pause and without remorse, but when she was finally tracked down and mortally wounded by the greatest of Dragon Slayers, Commander Rhode, she yielded all her powers to a young Dragon Slayer recruit who thereby became the last Dragon Knight.
It became his goal to kill arch-nemesis Damian by means of resurrecting Ygerna with whom he was soul forged. During the course of his quest it was revealed that the Dragon Knight who killed the Divine was mind-tricked by Damian and that the Dragon Slayers' hunt for Dragon Knights worked to his advantage. When he'd be back, he'd no longer have to deal with these fearsome foes.

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As it would turn out, the mystery Dragon Knight who assassinated the Divine was not the last one to fall for a ruse, for the Dragon-Slayer-turned-Dragon-Knight too was tricked, by no other than Ygerna this time, who, claiming to be Talana, led him to her from the very netherworld – the Hall of Echoes – so that he would resurrect her. Believing this would kill Damian, the Dragon Knight did so, but soon discovered he was duped and found himself imprisoned in a realm beyond time and space: the Plane of Hypnerotomachia.

All worked out well for Damian who had unsuccessfully tried to resurrect Ygerna as well. But that was not the only thing he had been doing, for Damian knew his history and knew of the legends of Sigurd's empire. During the glory years of the Dragon Slayers he had been doing more than sit around and plan a next campaign: he had been researching the technology used by Maxos and the Dragon Knight to unite an empire so many thousands of years ago. The result was still a far cry from what this technology had once been, but nonetheless the crude, but imposing Flying Fortresses he had constructed were a force to be reckoned with and he lost no time deploying them against the human capital of Aleroth.
 
...continued

To protect the city, Zandalor employed desperate measures: he conjured a shield around the city which effectively safeguarded it from harm, but to be able to do so he first had to harvest this shielding magic from around the prison of a Chaos wizard by the name of Behrlihn who had been rotting away in his dungeon deep beneath Aleroth ever since he was incarcerated after the Wizard Wars.
Behrlihn, omnipotent in many ways, knew everything that had happened in the world despite his being locked away, and now that he sensed the disappearance of the shield, he immediately travelled in mental form to the Plane of Hypnerotomachia, something he could not do when the guarding magic was still in place. Here he found the lost Dragon Knight and no other than the Divine, who was in fact still alive and likewise imprisoned by Damian. Behrlihn made a deal with the Dragon Knight.
The latter would release the former's physical self from underneath the besieged city and in return Behrlihn would both free the Divine from his other-worldly captivity and give the Dragon Knight the Eye of the Patriarch, a mighty object that could destroy the armada of Flying Fortresses around Aleroth. And so the Dragon Knight was free once more to roam the city in search of ways to free the dread Chaos wizard.
In the end, the Dragon Knight freed Behrlihn who gave him the Eye of the Patriarch, but refused to free the Divine. Armed with this powerful object, the Dragon Knight set out to defeat the fleet of Flying Fortresses which turned out to be commanded by the freshly resurrected Ygerna. The threat above Aleroth was obliterated, but the fight was not over. Ygerna and Behrlihn spirited themselves away to the Plane of Hypnerotomachia and pulled the Dragon Knight in with them. At last there followed the final confrontation between these three and soon both Behrlihn and Ygerna lay dead.
Their lives and their powers had been undone and consequently the Divine was freed. Aleroth and indeed all of Rivellon rejoiced, but Damian remains alive to this day - and in a sense he remains undefeated.

The future - unlike Zixzax the Imp Historian claims - has yet to be written ...

I want this on my tablet!
We like turn-based games. We also like strategy games. And we also like friendly developers. When you find all three of these combined on Kickstarter in one project, you just know that you have to back it.

Battle Worlds: Kronos is such a game. It's already funded and is now well on its way to its second stretch goal. We know these guys personally and they are good developers, so if you like turn-based strategy games, you really should back King Art Games. I certainly want to play this on my tablet!

In Closing
You should listen again. And again. And again.
 
Stretch goal ahoy, Designer Talk, Join the Forums

Update #14

t's Sunday and the sun is finally shining here. What better way to start the day than a small Divinity:Original Sin update?

Stretch goal ahoy!

With a bit of extra support, it looks like we may make our very first stretch goal today!

In case you missed out on the description of our first stretch goal - The Shelter Plane At The End of Time – here are 3 out of at least 7 reasons why you want us to make this:

  • The Transcript of Unravelled Destinies: See what consequences your actions have on the future of Rivellon, while you’re playing.
  • The Coffers That Have No Bottoms: You can pretty much pick up anything that looks like it can be picked up in Divinity:Original Sin. Now you’ll have a place where you can store it all.
  • Secrets Galore: There are some really juicy secrets to be found on the Shelter Plane. It would be a pity if they remain secret. Maybe you’ll even discover whatever happened to this fellow…

For even more reasons, check out the update we did on the Shelter Plane.

Join the forums – leave your mark!

A lot of people underestimate the impact of their comments in our forums. We often involve forum posts in our discussions at Larian, and it’s fair to say that several of the better features in our games were born from forum discussions and many more features were improved as a direct consequence of a post there. We also love getting feedback - it makes us better at our jobs.

That’s why we’d like to invite you to participate in the discussions on the Divinity: Original Sin forums. These forums are the place where discussions are going to continue post-Kickstarter and they frequented daily by many developers at Larian.

Drop a note on the forums if you have an idea for something you’d really like to see in Divinity: Original Sin. You might be surprised at our willingness to pick it up.

Designer talk

Ever wondered why most multiplayer “RPGs” feel "dumbed down"?

We tried to make a video about what's involved when you try to make one that's not "dumbed" down, but even that turned out to be complicated ;)


In closing

This update is a bit shorter than usual, not only because it's weekend, but also because we're all watching this video.

Have a great sunday!
 
Homestead Built, Expanding The Lair, More Than Meets The Eye, Kirill Live

Update #15

Homestead Built!

Yes! You did it! The first stretchgoal has been successfully reached! The more we thought about it, the cooler all the features over at the Shelter Plane at the End of Time have become, and the more anxious we are to actually play around with them!

So what else is there? Of course, our next stretchgoal is in sight: talents and personal traits. But wait! There's more...

  • Expanding The Lair
  • More Than Meets The Eye
  • Kirill Live This Thursday
  • First Fansite Spotted

Expanding The Lair

From now on, for every 1000 backers that we gain, the lair of the monster beneath Phantom Forest will become deeper and deeper. (This means, we start counting at 10'000 backers.) Or in the words of Jan, our writer extraordinaire:

"As you travel onward beyond the woods of Luculla, it doesn't take long to reach the outskirts of Phantom Forest: a vast, towering woodland shunned by almost all that lives. Once entered, a few steps suffice to be engulfed in absolute nocturnal darkness that even the eyes of a cat would have great difficulty in piercing. Armed with a torch one might proceed, but it requires an iron will not to turn and run in fright when beholding the torturously contorted grimaces that seem to slither through every coarsely barked trunk. Dead bodies hang from twisted branches, silent and still, for not even the winds dare penetrate the foreboding canopy of Phantom Forest."

ThePhantomForestUp.jpg

Phantom Forest, not for the weak of heart...

"Neither do the forces of evil that threaten our heroes, for it is said that deep within its reaches a creature lurks that is so cruel the world knows not its like - not even the sinister Engineer that shall plague the Marked One centuries later can compare with the shadow that stalks this distorted wood. And yet, it is there that the key can be found to unravel an essential piece of lore of infinite value to those who seek to control the Source..."

The lair of this nightmarish beast is a labyrinth riddled with death, puzzles and mystery. It's up to you however, to decide just how extensive this lair will be. For every thousand extra backers that pledge from here on out, a new level full of pitfalls, threats and riddles will be added!

ThePhantomForestLair.jpg

Hyperion doesn't even come close - The lair of the unspeakable...

With your help, the depths of Phantom Forest will become the stage of an unforgettable adventure, and to those that walk in unprepared, certain grisly death!

More Than Meets The Eye

In the following video, we want to show you how, just like in the previous Divinity games, something seemingly small and trivial can unravel a whole new world in Divinity: Original Sin. Or how one lonely lamenting ghost above ground unlocks an entire society of ghosts living underground... (Minor spoiler alert.)


Kirill Live This Thursday

As a reminder, Kirill will be playing LIVE this Thursday.

You will be able to ask questions during and after the concert and we'll let Kirill answer after the concert. Join us at www.divinityoriginalsin.com:

7:00PM CEST (Central European Summer Time, also known as Belgium Time to us)

That's 9:00PM in Moscow, 6:00PM in London, 1:00PM in New York, and 10:00AM in San Francisco ;-)

We will be streaming this concert live but we will also record this and later on upload it to our Youtube channel.

First Fansite Spotted

Something started growing here in our Kickstarter comments section, which has started to lead a life of its own. After watching one of our videos, some people were wondering if the sheep would actually fight back, and one thing lead to another... So apparently, without us even realizing it, there are Weresheep in Divinity: Original Sin. We had no other choice now but to actually introduce them.

The Weresheep Guild now has its own website where they are gathering as much data as they can about Divinity: Original Sin. Bookmark it :-)

fetch.php


www.weresheep.net

And In Closing

At Kickstarter, everything always has to go up. Up, up, higher and higher: backers, pledges, rewards... It feels weird, but we wanna get that dungeon going down, down, deeper and down.
 
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