The Serket Hack is my fantasy heartbreaker. It's not the first time I've started making a fantasy game, but it's the one that has received the most development with the intent to publish a working version. Some of the ideas have been brewing in my head for a while, but I started actually writing them down May of 2024. My goal is to get a draft or an ashcan version completed by the end of 2025, inspired by Prismatic Wasteland's Year of the Beta challenge.
I tend to do a lot of my design work in my weekly blog posts. I find that the weekly routine helps fight my executive dysfunction and naturally breaks the writing into more manageable bite-size chunks. It certainly beats fighting an empty google doc.
In the time before time, humanity lived upon the world they were born into. Calamity struck and the great heroes of the ancient past brought a small group of survivors into the wild Echo. Time and causality are sundered, and space has become servant to meaning.
The Echolands are a spirit realm marked by mountain karsts and threaded with untold rivers. Maps are unreliable as the land shifts, confounding all cartographical intent. Humanity lives in isolated settlements, with only the bravest travellers journeying through the river network.
The players take on the role of Fighters, violent actors blessed with supernatural power. Some Fighters are summoned into this world in times of crisis. Others inherit their blessing directly from a lineage of Fighters, the previous generation entrusting hope for the future. Rarer still are those who were born as normal humans and blessed by Destiny to rise to the occasion.
All Fighters have a Destiny, and their Duty is to discover it. Many become heroes in the process, while others end up villains. They are always an agent of change in the world.
Many of the classes or details of the setting have very specific inspiration, there are a few general touchstones that I use to establish most of the vibes:
- Wuxia fiction
- Bionicle lore
- Japanese roleplaying games
- Fantasy anime
In addition to the Wuxia story structure, the landscape itself is inspired by my childhood in China, where I fell in love with the countryside around Guilin. River travel, imposing mountains, and bamboo forests are all central to my vision for the game.
>evil_laugh.mp4
This is half the reason I'm making the game. I've got a lot of weird classes rolling around in my head and I got tired of not finding them in other games. Let's break it down:
- Fighter
- Fool
- Paladin
- Vanguard
- Scoundrel
- Knight
- Squire
- Doll
- Signal
- Adventurer
- Magical Guardian
- Black Mage
- Gunslinger
- Fate Author
- Bartender
- Fae
The starting class for all players, inspired by the Everest from Lancer. It's a weapon jack-of-all-trades specializing in combo attacks. Out of combat it has strong ties to the worldbuilding via clans and lineages of Fighters.
Can't die unless it's funny. Jesters serve kings, and clowns serve the wealthy. A Fool is an agent of anarchy, just trying to make the universe laugh. The class works on "Roadrunner" rules, warping reality to fuel a satirical agenda.
They say the first Paladin was a lover. Nobody hates the Empire more than the Paladin order, and you can find them on the front lines of any rebellion. They are adept at using a shield and axe to protect their party from harm.
While Fighters seek proficiency with a variety of weapons, Vanguards attain mastery over a single one through rigorous study. The Vanguard Sword Saints have established prominent schools dedicated to powerful and unique sword forms.
Fixer. Operator. Handyman. Jobber. Someone has to be the delicate hands of a party. It is the job of a Scoundrel to enable violence, whether through picking locks or greasing palms.
A Knight is a human weapon sealed inside a metal coffin and outfitted with the most dangerous weapons the budget can afford. Supported by a Squire and a crew of technicians, they are capable of more violence together than as individuals.
The Squire supports a Knight like a falconer supports their bird. They provide tactical direction and hold the leash; their abilities often buff or aid their Knights during battle, but they rarely engage in combat directly.
Dolls have a unique relationship to their bodies -- plural. A single mind inhabits multiple physical shells simultaneously. While incapable of casting magic, they are often powerful combatants either through sheer number or superhuman strength.
Empowered through connection to their local community as well as the bond between communities, Signals use words of power to fight. In battle, these words disorient and strike terror into enemies or spike adrenaline among allies. If the implications of mind-altering powers scare you, then you have a healthy fear of Signals.
Unlike other classes, the Adventurer uses a d20 to attack and levels up through the acquisition of gold. They have a reputation for being soulless plunderers and thieves. The truth is that they have an addiction to skill points.
Magical Guardians can kill anything as long as they're willing to suffer for it. Inspired by magical girls and henshin heroes, Magical Guardians gain power from an external source and transform into an idealized form to commit violence.
Every good fantasy game needs someone who can cast fireball. The Black Mage is a mana engine given human form. The longer combat goes on, the more powerful spells they're able to cast. Collecting grimoires grants versatility and utility.
Go watch Black Lagoon and come back. Now you know what the Gunslinger looks like. Similar to the Fighter, the Gunslinger uses a variety of weapons which alter the flow and style of combat. Ammo management and aiming techniques separate amateurs from professionals.
Fate Authors are magical hackers that use a runeslate to summon ephemeral minions in battle. They use the native language of the universe to program attacks and defense, but are limited by the capacity of their signature artifact.
Wherever a Bartender goes, there is a sanctuary against life's hardships. Dreamlike drinks and alchemical potions reinforce and reinvigorate allies, while Bartenders enhance themselves with elixers to strike enemies using their own life force.
I have no idea what this class does but I know they make deals with Faeries and that's cool as shit. They probably cast magic or something. Would you trade your name for the ability to cast fireball?
This list kindof got away from me as I was writing descriptions because I ended up talking more about how they work in battle. Combat is a big part of The Serket Hack but it's not everything. Each class has a broad ability to influence the fiction outside of battle: doing magic or flying or walljumping are all fair game.