Knights of the Chalice 2 developer Pierre Begue (Heroic Fantasy Games) was kind enough to share some time and information on his upcoming game as well as answer a few questions I had. Thanks also go to Robbie Sambat for the introduction which made this Q&A possible (listen for some of Robbie’s music in the game).

KotC 2 comes 11 years after the original, which released in 2009. It features a party-based CRPG using the OGL 3.5 ruleset featuring turn-based combat, emergent AI, 2D graphics and a powerful innovative toolset (the OGL 3.5 ruleset is the ruleset that powers the 3.5 edition of the tabletop Dungeons & Dragons RPG).

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The Kickstarter for KOTC 2 runs through the morning of July 2, 2020 and can be found at https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1848628223/knights-of-the-chalice-2-revolutionise-old-school-crpgs/description

You can find more information about the game at http://heroicfantasygames.com/FWE/Pages/FWE_Title.htm andhttp://www.heroicfantasygames.com/FWE/Pages/FWE_Features.htm.

The six-minute trailer can be watched at https://youtu.be/CqVWrotL6lE.

KotC 1 has a free demo available on Steam at https://store.steampowered.com/app/1083760/Knights_of_the_Chalice/ and on the Heroic Fantasy Games website at http://heroicfantasygames.com/Download.htm.

Here’s the Q&A with Pierre, which covers topics ranging from his background with games, to what his idea of the perfect CRPG is, to why he chose the 3.5 OGL, to the differences between KotC 1 & 2 and much more:

Why do you like to make games?

I’ve been a video game enthusiast ever since the day I started playing LCD handheld electronic games like Mario Bros and Mickey & Donald! 

Then I discovered Choose Your Own Adventure books such as The Warlock of Firetop Mountain, the Steve Jackson’s Sorcery! series, and The Dark Eye gamebooks. I also had the chance to play role-playing video games like Miracle Warriors: Seal of the Dark Lord, The Bard’s Tale II: The Destiny Knight, Bloodwych and Legend of Faerghail. RPGs are amazing because you can be the Hero and interact with the game world more extensively and with more freedom than you would in other types of games.

I love making games because I really like the idea of being the digital gamemaster who designed the devious quests and villains populating the game world. I enjoy creating challenging encounters for the players as well as giving them a variety of possible solutions to every obstacle they face.

What is your background with tabletop RPGs, if any?

I played several tabletop RPGs a long time ago. I like them. It’s a different kind of fun because you only control one character and decisions are often made collectively by the group of players.

The nice thing with CRPGs is that you can start and stop playing at your leisure since you’re not relying on the other players and the Dungeon Master, and the others are not relying on you.

What do you consider the perfect CRPG?

The perfect CRPG, if it could exist, would have plenty of interesting character classes, extensive character-creation options, amazingly deep tactical combat and a brilliant emergent artificial intelligence that leaves you dumbfounded.

It would have quirky and endearing companions that seem to be real people, agonizing choices and dilemmas with actual consequences that you can see in the game, and astounding puzzles and riddles presented so cleverly that you would never really feel stuck. It would feature exciting magic weapons, spells and other rewards that drive you forward constantly.

There would be a cornucopia of monsters and a gripping story line overflowing with Machiavellian villains, power-hungry Sorcerers, cruel Kings as well as wise and kind allies. The great thing with RPGs is the progression of the story from insignificant errands to world-shattering events and quests, reflecting your heroic rise as a force to be reckoned with.

KotC 2 is my attempt at creating the perfect CRPG, or at least an awesome series of RPGs.

How long have you been working on Knights of the Chalice 2?

I’ve been working on KotC 2 for about ten years, from 2010 to 2020. I worked on the game for about seven years on a part-time basis and for about three years on a full-time basis in the period since 2018.

What is different between Knights of the Chalice 1 and 2?

There are many differences between KotC 1 and KotC 2. The most obvious difference is that KotC 2 has 22 fully-fledged character classes, while KotC 1 only has three classes. KotC 2 also has ten interesting player races and 36 player subraces, while KotC 1 only has three player races. Moreover, Clerics and Bishops in KotC 2 have access to 41 exciting Cleric Domains.

KotC 2 comes with a powerful integrated editor, while KotC 1 does not. KotC 2 is also very flexible in the sense that I can add new feats, new items or new spells easily. That’s not the case with KotC 1. Moreover, the AI of enemy creatures now depends on their Intelligence score in KotC 2.

KotC 1 uses pixel-art graphics similar to Ultima VI, while KotC 2 uses high-resolution graphics. Adventure maps are tile-based in KotC 1. Now they’re based on a large PNG or JPG image. KotC 2 will have both top-down adventure maps and isometric maps and it will allow the player to choose between token-based graphics and sprite-based graphics. Also, KotC 2 uses OGG music files, while KotC 1 uses MIDI music files.

While KotC 1 allows you to create four party members, KotC 2 Augury of Chaos allows you to create six characters. KotC 2 also allows you to recruit endearing companions. Including companions, your party in Augury of Chaos may comprise up to eight or nine active party members. Your characters can move through squares occupied by allied creatures in KotC 2.

KotC 2 has a Party Formation and Composition Screen, while the party formation was fixed in KotC 1. KotC 2 also allows you to respec your characters, meaning that you can change the feats and spells that were selected when your characters last leveled-up.

KotC 2 features many special combat situations, as detailed in the Kickstarter update at https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1848628223/knights-of-the-chalice-2-revolutionise-old-school-crpgs/posts/2849693.

For example, the party may be divided into two groups, creating really interesting combat encounters. KotC 2 also takes into account the elevation of squares, while KotC 1 does not.

KotC 2 allows you to equip magic items that have similar effects. Only the most powerful effect is applied to your character. By contrast, KotC 1 does not allow you to equip items with similar effects.

KotC 2 also allows you to cast air-based terrain spells, such as Solid Fog, Stinking Cloud and Silence, over squares that are affected by ground-based terrain spells, such as Grease, Web and Entangle. KotC 2 allows characters to manifest psionic powers, while KotC 1 does not.

KotC 2 has many non-combat character skills, while KotC 1 does not have any non-combat character skills. KotC 2 also has a cryptography interface used by the player to decode secret messages. In KotC 1, secret messages have to be decoded by an NPC.

Compared to KotC 1, KotC 2 has many more monsters, magic items, spells, combat maneuvers, Bull Rush options, summoning options, character creation and development options, special abilities, feats and weapon enchantments.

KotC 2 has reach weapons, monsters with reach, correct rules for dying characters, monsters with the Swallow Whole ability, monsters with the Death Throes ability, monsters with multiple Breath Weapons and multiple Spell-Like Abilities, monsters and characters that can wield many weapons simultaneously, and many, many other fun things that you will discover by playing the game! 🙂

In short, KotC 2 is even more interesting than KotC 1, and it will receive many further improvements thanks to the Kickstarter campaign and everyone who’s taking part in the campaign!! 🙂

You gave me a great description of what you envision as the perfect CRPG. How close do you feel Knights of the Chalice 2 comes to meeting that goal?

Interesting question! I think that KotC 2 is close to being my perfect CRPG in certain important aspects. I really like the character classes and character feats, the tactical combat engine, the diversity of monsters, the puzzles and cryptography, the spells and psionic powers, the magic weapons, the game’s artificial intelligence and the adventure-creation editor.

Some other aspects of KotC 2 need to be improved or fleshed out. That’s what I’m going to do with the upcoming KotC 2 adventure modules, thanks to the Kickstarter campaign.

Firstly, I’d like the game to provide more of a non-linear open-world feeling. In the first adventure, KotC 2 Augury of Chaos, for the most part you’re exploring underground levels as in Ultima Underworld, so you don’t have the open-world feeling that exists in KotC 1. I think that you get that feeling when your party has its base in a city, village or fortress, plenty of quests are made available to you, and you have access to a world map or regional map that allows you to explore the game world to your heart’s content. There’s just something very cool about being able to visit a variety of locales and progressively finding out about previously-hidden areas that the party can now explore and adventure in.

Companion interaction is another aspect that I’m planning to develop further. A companion that knows a certain place should take a more active role when the party is exploring that place; they should warn you about its dangers, inform you about any secret passages, and explain the nature of the strange contraptions the party discovers. A companion of dubious morality may lead you into a trap or disappear with the party’s gold and most precious artifact at the worst possible time, only to reappear later on among the ranks of your adversaries!

Two companions may clash because of their opposing viewpoints, or because of their mutually-exclusive personal quests. A companion might violently reject the player’s decision, plead to be given a particular item, or unwittingly land the party in trouble with the villagers, the Blue Cloaks or rival adventurers. The attitude of each companion towards the player may also change over time, depending on the player’s actions.

I’m planning to increase the number of available companions and expand the game’s optional and non-linear elements, as presented in the Kickstarter update about non-linear scenarios at https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1848628223/knights-of-the-chalice-2-revolutionise-old-school-crpgs/posts/2850621 and in the design document Choices in CRPGs, which can be downloaded at http://www.heroicfantasygames.com/FWE/Documents/1%20Choices%20in%20CRPGs.doc.

New feats and new magic items will be added to the game, as well as a new shortcut system for spell casting based on customizable quick bars.

Finally, we’re going to improve and expand the game’s graphical and audio assets. We’ll improve the appearance of the graphical user interface, add new high-resolution sprites for all the characters and monsters, add captivating story images, create new magnificent environments and maps, and so on.

Regarding your mention of “amazingly deep tactical combat”, I notice that Knights of the Chalice 2 uses turn-based combat. Is this because of using the 3.5 OGL, or because you feel turn-based is a better tactical experience? Or maybe another reason entirely?

Above all, KotC 2 has a turn-based combat engine because I think that turn-based combat offers an infinitely more interesting tactical-combat experience. Don’t get me wrong here: RPGs with real-time or real-time-with-pause combat, such as Neverwinter Nights 2, Dragon Age, Diablo or the Infinity Engine games Planescape: Torment, Icewind Dale 2 and Baldur’s Gate 2, are very enjoyable. But tactical gameplay and the artificial intelligence do not shine in these games, in my opinion.

Even if the AI in a real-time game was doing something very clever, you would probably not even notice it because you have to focus on the actions of your own characters constantly. Area-of-effect spells are completely warped in games with real-time combat. By the time your Wizard has finished the spell casting animation, half of your targets have already moved away, or been slain by your other characters.

While turn-based combat encourages you to plan ahead and reflect about your tactics, real-time combat is a chaotic affair. Sometimes, it feels as though your characters do not need any input from the player in RPGs with real-time combat. I don’t feel in control of my characters the way I would in a game with turn-based combat, where every combat action is selected by the player.

A secondary reason for having a turn-based combat engine is the fact that Knights of the Chalice 2 is based on the 3.5 ruleset. The ruleset provides rules for turn-based combat, not for real-time combat. Many interesting combat actions, such as Five-Foot Step, Delay, Ready Versus Spell and Attack of Opportunity, often seem to disappear in real-time D&D RPGs.

In terms of the difficulty of creating the combat engine, I would say that development is not made any easier by opting to create a turn-based engine as opposed to creating a real-time engine.

On a related note, why use the Dungeons & Dragons 3.5 ruleset as your foundation? Do you prefer it the most out of the other OGLs available, or is there a programming reason?

The choice of the 3.5 ruleset is a choice dictated mainly by the long development time of Knights of the Chalice 2. It’s also due to the fact that KotC 1 was based on the 3.5 ruleset. That being said, I think it’s fantastic that D&D 5 also has an Open Game Licence.

I’ve just been looking at these rules for a while. Somehow, it feels like Knights of the Chalice 2 already implements certain of the changes introduced by D&D 5. For example, D&D 5 has the Dragonborn player race with a breath weapon, while KotC 2 has the Drake who also has a breath weapon. As in D&D 5, most of the character classes in KotC 2 are not limited to certain alignments, and spells automatically benefit from a ‘Heighten Spell’ metamagic effect if you cast them at a spell level higher than the level of the spell.

I really like the D&D 5 rules on falling unconscious and the fact that instant death happens less often at high levels. This is certainly something I will consider for KotC 2. For example, we could have the negative Hit Point death threshold of characters decrease progressively from -10 at level 1 to -30 at level 21. Characters would then be more likely to fall unconscious and avoid death when their Hit Points drop below zero.

I remember the initial release of The Temple of Elemental Evil from Troika had a lot of bugs (before modders came along and fixed things up). It used the Dungeons & Dragons 3rd Edition rules, and I always felt the bugs were due to them trying to implement as much of the tabletop game into a CRPG. That’s a lot of math and a lot of rules combinations to account for. 

Did you find it difficult, or have you had to remove features you wanted to include because of the complexity and resulting bugs?

Indeed, it is difficult and time-consuming to implement the combat rules of D&D 3.5 in a video game. But I love the challenge and starting out with KotC 1 was really helpful.

I did remove or alter some of the features of the 3.5 ruleset. Multiclassing does not exist in KotC 2. The application of metamagic feats has been simplified. Cleric Domains have been reworked. Grapple rules have been simplified slightly. Spellcasters do not need to memorize their spells.

While the 3.5 rule system has a very large impact on the game, many of the character classes have been reworked in an attempt to make them even more interesting. Many spells and psionic powers have been modified. Many weapon enchantments have been added.

Nevertheless, many of the feats, like Rapid Shot, Cleave and Whirlwind Attack, and special abilities like Barbarian Rage, Sneak Attack, Smite Evil, Death Throes and Swallow Whole are quite true to the 3.5 rule system.

You also have the standard combat rules like Attacks of Opportunity, Five-Foot Step, Bull Rush, Trip, Disarm, Sunder, Grapple, Reach, fighting with two or more weapons, Cover and Concealment, Saving Throws, Entangled, Blinded, Flaming weapons, Vorpal weapons, and standard spells like Mirror Image, Grease, Web, Solid Fog, Prismatic Spray, etc.

One spell was particularly difficult to implement, but I’m very happy with the result. It’s Dispel Magic. Dispel Magic was greatly simplified in KotC1. In KotC 2, the spell has regained its splendor as it now allows you to choose between Dispel Area, Dispel Effects on a Creature, and Dispel a Single Effect.

Apart from the rules and mechanics themselves, what kind of game can KotC 2 players expect?

KotC 2 already includes an adventure module called Augury of Chaos. Kickstarter backers will be able to play it right after the end of the campaign. This adventure will take your characters from level 1 to level 21. The game also includes a complete adventure-creation toolset.

The Kickstarter campaign will support the creation of at least three new KotC 2 adventure modules: The Dark Arena, Forces of Chaos and Heart of Evil. The campaign will also be used to improve the game’s graphics and facilitate the addition of many new features. We will get new animated sprites and use them in all of the adventure modules.

I expect that The Dark Arena will take the player’s characters from level 1 to level 11 or 12. The characters will then be able to move on to the second adventure, Forces of Chaos, which will take the party from level 12 to level 20 or so. Finally, the characters will be able to move on to the third adventure, Heart of Evil, which will take the party from level 20 to level 30 or so.

How long do you think the adventure module that ships with Knights of the Chalice 2 will take the average player to complete in hours?

I think you need at least 40 hours to complete KotC 2 Augury of Chaos. But it may take much longer than that if you take some time to resolve the puzzles or if you have to replay many of the encounters, which would not be surprising because KotC 2 Augury of Chaos is a game that is as challenging as it is rewarding.

Are there any plans to allow players to mod the game or create their own modules?

Absolutely! KotC 2 includes an editor that players can use to create adventure modules and campaigns easily.

It is my dream toolset. It’s so easy to create a new adventure and add monsters, artifacts, dialogues, quest items, plot hooks, corridors, caves, dangerous areas, doors and portcullises, secret passages, puzzles and elaborate combat encounters.

You can create a stand-alone adventure, or you can allow your module to use the Saved Games of a previous module, thereby creating a campaign made up of connected adventures.

Players who construct a high-quality adventure module may be able to generate an income stream through the sale of the module (subject to agreement).

What is the one thing you want a player to come away with after playing Knights of the Chalice 2?

I want the player to be enthralled! 😀

I want the player to be gripped by the game so that he or she keeps playing until the end of the adventure, at which point I’d like them to play again with a different party!

I want players to come away with the pleasant feelings that they may have had playing the Gold Box RPGs, Dark Sun, Baldur’s Gate, Planescape: Torment, Temple of Elemental Evil, Knights of the Chalice 1 or Neverwinter Nights 2.

I want them to clamor for more! So that they’ll be as enthusiastic about the upcoming adventure modules as I am! 🙂

What is the thing you are most proud of as the developer of Knight of the Chalice 2?

I’m really happy with the enemy AI in KotC 2. I’m also very happy with the KotC 2 character-class design, and particularly the design of the Cleric, Wizard and Druid classes.

Thanks again to Pierre for his time with this Q&A.