Developer Blog: March 2nd, 2025 - New Paths in Development!
Cinderlight Games Blog: Unveiling the Depths of Fate - A Closer Look at New Paths!
Hey Aetheria Explorers!
We're back to give you a deeper dive into the exciting new Heroic and Villainous Paths coming to Fatefully Tragic Hero after launch. These are still in development and subject to change, but we wanted to give you an early preview of what is coming after the full release of Fatefully Tragic Hero.
These additions are designed to inject even more variety and strategic depth into your campaigns, building upon the core isekai-anime-inspired dark fantasy experience.
Heroic Paths: A Glimpse into Destiny
Let's explore what makes each of these Paths unique:
Path of the Twins: This Path revolves around synergy and coordination. Imagine two characters acting as one, perfectly anticipating each other's moves. Mechanically, expect abilities that allow one twin to support or protect the other, mislead enemies, and unleash devastating synchronized attacks. You'll be making tactical choices that benefit from teamwork, predicting enemy actions, and managing a shared health pool.
Path of the Dragoon: If you love aerial combat and battlefield control, this is your Path. The Dragoon uses their spear and agility to strike from above. Think high-mobility attacks, amplified damage when striking from an advantageous height, and abilities that allow you to intercept ranged attacks to protect allies. Expect abilities focused on leaping, diving, and gaining Momentum from aerial maneuvers.
Path of the Trickshot: For those who prefer calculated strikes and ranged superiority, the Trickshot is a sharpshooter who uses precision to eliminate threats from afar. You'll excel at long-range attacks, capitalizing on positioning and tactical advantage. Expect abilities that allow for scouting, trick shots, and the ability to take down the biggest baddie with ease.
Path of the Brewmaster: If you enjoy a support role with a twist, the Brewmaster concocts brews and elixirs to enhance allies' abilities or debilitate foes. This path excels in keeping their party strong while causing disruption to enemies. You'll be brewing buffs, debuffs, and strategically using concoctions to control the battlefield.
Path of the Tamer: Connect with the wild side of Aetheria. The Tamer builds bonds with creatures, taming and commanding them in battle. This Path will offer versatile combat options through a variety of controlled beasts. If you've ever wanted a beast companion, this is the class for you.
Path of the Smartphone: A modern twist in a fantasy world! This Path will likely focus on battlefield control, scanning for weaknesses, and providing tactical advantages through the power of information. Think debuffs and strategic planning!
Path of the Battle Chef: A warrior with flavor! This Path will use cooking tools in combat while preparing meals that enhance their allies' strength or hinder enemies. Expect abilities that deal damage, enhance teammates, and apply status conditions with delicious food.
Path of the Arcane Fortress: Become the tank! This Path will feature a towering construct that shares health with its pilot. The pilot can shift between modes to dominate the battlefield, balancing mobility, defense, and devastating offensive strikes.
Villainous Paths: Embrace the Darkness
Let's peek at the potential for these darker Paths:
Path of the Puppet Master: A cunning manipulator! This Path uses their strings to influence the battlefield, directing allies or enemies to do their bidding. Expect abilities focused on controlling enemy actions and turning the tide of battle through manipulation.
Path of the Ronin: A lone warrior consumed by vengeance. This Path will likely combine spiritual power with martial skill, delivering devastating sword strikes while protecting themselves and their allies.
Path of the Corruptor: A master of disease and decay. The Corruptor spreads poison and sickness among their enemies while providing sinister support to their allies. Expect abilities that inflict debilitating status effects and turn the tide of battle through attrition.
Path of the Yokai: Embrace demonic power! This Path wields demonic strength and fire magic, transforming into an infernal entity to deal overwhelming damage and protect their allies.
Path of The Author: Use written agreements to deceive and bind enemies, raise minions, and alter the course of battles. This Path will be focused on debuffs, altering stats, and raising minions to do your bidding.
A Word from the Creator: Crafting Paths with Anime Inspiration
Hey there, Lanosmire here, head of Cinderlight Games. I wanted to share a bit about the thought process behind why these new Paths we're bringing to Fatefully Tragic Hero were created.
When I started brainstorming these new Paths, I dove deeper into the world of anime archetypes. After developing the main 7 Heroic of the Sentinel, Magician, Underdog, Maverick, Wayfinder, Freelancer, the Cunning Trader, I felt like there was more we could do. But as a fully fleshed out TTRPG, I wanted to focus on those first without overloading players with more.
There are a ton of new things and a lot of different ways of doing things in Fatefully Tragic Hero, which depart from your traditional TTRPG like DND. So, the focus was on them. But as Fatefully draws near the end of editing, I thought what better time than to start getting to work on these Paths. Will you miss anything by not having them? No, but they are a fun addition if you are wanting to add more to the game itself. Now as I started looking at other archetypes there were some very fun ones I came across that I wanted to bring to life.
Take the Path of the Twins, for example. I was inspired by those anime duos who seem to read each other's minds, moving in perfect sync. Or The Path of the Dragoon - who hasn't dreamed of leaping into the air and coming down with a devastating spear attack after watching their favorite anime? With the Dragoon, I felt like movement especially on elevation was something that while there needed more exploring. As I talked it over with my Editor Simone, I knew this would be a fun addition for those who just wanted even more mobility.
As for the Villainous Paths, I wanted to explore the complexity of antagonists in anime. They're often not just evil for the sake of being evil, but have deep, tragic backstories or misguided ideals. The Path of the Author or the Puppet Master aren't just "bad guys" - they're characters with their own motivations and struggles. So, exploring these with the new Villainous Paths allows in my opinion to tell even more complex stories that you just may not be able to with the traditional seven.
And I’ll admit, I also couldn't resist throwing in some fun twists, like the Path of the Smartphone. I mean, how many isekai anime have we seen where the protagonist's phone becomes their secret weapon? I thought it'd be a blast to play with that concept in a TTRPG setting. It felt like a truly unique Heroic path, as I don’t believe anything out there is like that. I can't wait for you all to try them out and see what kind of stories you'll create!
But as I want to make sure they are balanced; they are still in development and will soon be play tested to make sure they not only work, but aren’t overpowered. If you want to be part of playtesting, then reach out and contact us!
While maybe you won’t be able to play with these Paths, you can still try out the game while it’s still in Playtesting.
Or come to Chicago and try it in person, as we are currently playtesting the game every other month at Is/Was Brewing with the organization Save Point for their monthly One-Shot Night, along with our game Fade to Black. If not, come check it out at Gary Con, where our good friend Cody is running Fatefully Tragic Hero along with another game called Deephollow on March 21st, which was created by our good friends at Minthas. Or if you want to play even more then come see us even Gen Con from July 31st to August 3rd! All you find in our events tab.
Anyways, stay awesome, and may your rolls always crit when it matters most!
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Stay Tuned!
We're excited to share more details on each Path as more development happens. Next week, we’ll be previewing The Path of the Arcane Fortress, so stay tuned! We will be exploring the progression paths, skills, abilities, roll modifiers, and more that make each of this Paths unique.
Thanks for your continued support!
Lanosmire
Head of Cinderlight Games