Frayed Knights: Searching for Trouble

Posted by Rampant Coyote on November 24, 2010

Not everything in Frayed Knights, the tongue-in-cheek indie RPG in development at Rampant Games, is immediately visible.

There are booby-traps designed to injure, impede, or kill the unwary adventurer. Monsters may set up an ambush, allowing them a free turn of surprise attacks on their victims. Many treasures are hidden behind loose stones or lost in the grass or buried away where they are unlikely to be discovered by accident. There are even a few secret doors tucked away.

In all cases but the hidden treasure, you can stumble across them by accident. If you manage to pass your cursor over a section of wall and see it turn interactive and labeled “Secret Door,” then bingo – you’ve found a secret door. And there’s always a chance you’ll discover the trap or ambush moments before falling prey to it if you blindly walk into it.

But if you suspect trouble (or hidden loot), maybe because of a cryptic riddle or comment from an NPC in town or telltale signs in the general vicinity suggesting a hidden something nearby, you can also search for it.

Searching isn’t free – it takes a turn. This means duration effects go closer to expiration, and that there’s a chance wandering monsters in the area might take note of you. So it’s not something you’ll want to do willy-nilly every few steps. But when the situation warrants it, you can be initiate a search via hotkey, or by clicking the magnifying glass in the command amulet in the lower right of the screen.

Searching gives you a chance of discovering anything hidden nearby. It uses the best skill of everyone in your party. Particularly valuable in the case of traps and ambushes, it allows you to discover them without setting them off. If you discover a trap, you’ll immediately be taken to the trap-disarm screen and given a chance to deal with it. If you discover an ambush, you trigger the combat immediately – but the would-be ambushers do not get a free surprise round to attack you with impunity. For secret doors – well, you are simply alerted that there is one nearby, so you can poke around a little more carefully.

Hidden treasures are another case. While you have to be very close to uncover the treasure itself, the skill works at a fairly long range, informing you of your relative proximity to something hidden. There’s a descriptive text, plus a number to give you a relative range. But it won’t give you a direction. You’ll have to play a little game of Hot-Cold to triangulate and find the stash you are looking for.

Filed Under: Frayed Knights - Comments: 8 Comments to Read

10Kan said,

Will it be possible to deduce the location of traps and secret stuff just by careful observation on the player’s part and not just the mouse changing or using the characters’ skills? Searching the walls for loose bricks and hidden buttons with my own eyes in Dungeon Master-style games always helped pull me into the world.
Rampant Coyote said,

Everything but truly hidden treasure, yes. Plus, there are a few things tucked away that can be discovered by traditional means.

Actually, it’s a little funky that way, in that a search WON’T reveal things that are merely hard to notice.
Calibrator said,

Whenever I see one of your screenies I wonder “Will he fill it with furniture and/or other stuff?”

I’m not flaming or criticizing – just wondering about the emptyness (didn’t play the pilot b/c you mentioned several changes in the full game).
Rampant Coyote said,

Depends on the area / population. Pokmor Xang (in the pilot) was pretty well filled with stuff, and is more-or-less my goal for most populated areas. It also depends on how much the current area is already taxing low-end machines and dealing with LOD issues – so there are technical limitations.
Greg Tedder said,

Now that is cool. That kind of gives me a wizardry warm and fuzzy feeling, but better. 🙂
Modran said,

I wanna play :’)
skavenhorde said,

Oh for crying out loud, now I HAVE to play Wizardry 8 again 😀 This brought back too many memories of searching every nook and cranny for something I missed.

BTW, awesome update. I can’t wait for this game.
Rampant Coyote said,

Heh – what’s funny is that almost all of the design was done before I played Wizardry 8. I might have done things differently otherwise. I don’t think FK is anywhere in Wiz 8’s league, personally, but if people felt it somehow delivered a similar experience I’d be thrilled.