In Sorcerer King, the doomsday counter is always advancing; only by recruiting powerful champions, crafting magical artifacts to customize their capabilities, and expanding your kingdom can you stop the Sorcerer King’s apocalyptic plan.

Players are able to explore a vast and detailed world, finding treasure and adventure throughout the monster-infested wilderness. Overcome tough but often amusing dilemmas in hundreds of quests written by Cracked.com's Chris Bucholz, and command your armies in tactical battles against the Sorcerer King's monstrous hordes. You must defeat the Sorcerer King's terrifying lieutenants to unlock the Shadow Gate and eventually battle the dark demigod himself or all will be lost. Again.

A sophisticated "Game Master" AI controls the Sorcerer King's unscripted assaults. Unlike traditional 4X games where evenly matched rival factions race toward diverse victory conditions, Sorcerer King has the player and his enemy playing by an entirely different set of rules. The Sorcerer King doesn’t need to crush your empire, he just needs to destroy the magical shards in order to enact his doomsday plan. Defending the shards, not careful plotting toward economic victory, is the only way to save the world.

Remnant Champions are the finest fighters remaining to the shattered empires crushed by the Sorcerer King's terrible conquest. Their loyalty can be yours, but at a price: you'll have to help their people by completing unique quests before the Remnant Factions and their Champions will throw in with you for one final gasp of defiance against the evil Sorcerer King's dark reign. Korthox the Ice Lord, Esperaza the Avenger, and more will prove capable allies if you can earn their trust through battle and sacrifice.

"Remnant Champions are everything that I want Sorcerer King to be," said lead designer and Stardock CEO Brad Wardell. "The combination of storytelling, combat, role-playing, and sheer evil-crushing power embodies what sets Sorcerer King apart from the traditional 4X genre."

The latest beta for Sorcerer King also improves the quest system with a new reward structure, more often granting weapons and armor as well as intangibles like courage, loyalty, and ruthlessness that the game's "dungeon master" AI uses to generate events. A wise sovereign sees a far different course of history than a foolish one, while brave and cowardly rulers alike can expect their armies to follow their examples.

Many minor improvements are also present in this beta update, from the reworked main menu to the end-game stats screen. The story-based campaign is the only remaining feature to be added before Sorcerer King's release later this year, balance/polish/bug-fixing notwithstanding.

Many additions are planned for Sorcerer King as it proceeds toward full release early next year. Among those, minor factions that can be wooed by either the player or the Sorcerer King are being fleshed out with deep questlines and unique units (though from the Sorcerer King’s perspective, the player’s kingdom is a minor faction too – beware of envoys bearing gifts). Five more sovereigns to play as, each with their own skill trees, spell lists, and special units, are coming soon. A limited number of maps are available currently for the purpose of focusing feedback, but many hand-crafted maps as well as random maps will be added as the beta continues.

The Sorcerer King beta is available now for $39.99 (discounted 15% to $34.00 for a limited time).

Key Features:

• Unique, asymmetrical design creates a new kind of 4X gameplay based around surviving the Sorcerer King’s relentless, unscripted assaults.
• Sophisticated "Game Master" AI ensures each game is a new, challenging experience.
• Win the allegiances of independent minor factions before they abandon any hope of defying the Sorcerer King’s dark reign.
• Play one of six different sovereigns, each with their own unique skill tree, spellbooks and units.
• Extensive crafting system allows players to customize their units and seek out ever more powerful recipes to even the odds.
• Hundreds of quests deliver unique items, units, resources and unexpected narrative twists.
• Earn the loyalty of powerful champions and develop them into juggernauts capable of standing up to the Sorcerer King’s most powerful minions.
• Found new cities and build them up to gain access to new units, abilities, crafting recipes and more.