Inspired by legendary classic titles such as Diablo and ADOM and modern games like The Banner Saga and Darkest Dungeon, Stoneshard invites you to shape the future of the kingdom of Aldor… And die a lot.

Stoneshard is a dark tale of ambiguity in a battle between good and evil. The story takes place in the kingdom of Aldor. During its recent history, Aldor survived the reign of a tyrannical king, his struggle for power, and the devastating war to which his thirst for power led.

You start your journey as an ordinary mercenary. Your homeland, once flourishing, is now torn apart by internal conflict turned into a full-scale war. The Great Magistrate is collapsing — and that’s when suddenly a mysterious stranger makes you an offer you find extremely hard to refuse.

During your journey you will assemble a Caravan of followers and embark on an epic adventure. Travel across Aldor as you meet many forces clashing for power, untangle a web of lies and bring peace to the kingdom — or plunge it into chaos. The fate of Aldor lies in your hands!

This update brings an incredible new boss, the Troll, to put players to the test, but that’s only a small piece of all there is to enjoy in this massive update. To celebrate the release of this milestone addition, players will be able to pick up the game 20% off through Steam’s Midweek Madness sale, running April 14-17th.

Keep in mind that because of the new locations being added to the world map, your old saves will be incompatible with this update. To experience new content, you’ll have to start a new game. If you wish to continue playing on the old version, check out the instructions on how to rollback to it.

While the addition of the Troll boss is one high point of the update, Trollslayer piles on the upgrades featuring:

• A New Dungeon Type, Catacombs. Crumbling monasteries, abandoned churches, and vampiric cults can now be found through the land. Get slaying, and enjoy enhancements to dungeon generation to make all dungeons richer and more complex.
• 2 New Skill Trees: Warfare and Athletics. Customize your character and control the battlefield in new and exciting ways.
• 3 New Points of Interest, 30 New Weapons, Equipment, and Valuable Items. Time to get exploring with more to discover and win than ever before.
• Gain Powerful Blessings at Roadside Altars. Take advantage of a fully-featured worship system to gain blessings at randomly generated roadside prayer altars.
• Get Dirty and Go Grave Robbing. Sure, it might cost you a bit of your sanity, but taking a pit stop at a nearby cemetery can yield valuable rewards.
• New Plants and Animals. The world has never felt more alive thanks to brand new flora and fauna. Saigas and Bison roam the fields and fresh foliage is ripe to spice up your cooking.
• Expanded and Improved Dialogue. Dig deeper into the world and its inhabitants with expanded dialogue sequences in Mannshire and Osbrook.
• Fast Travel. Don’t want to travel by foot? Enjoy new fast travel between Mannshire and Osbrook using Verren’s carriage.
• Bugs, we squish them. Numerous Bug Fixes and Balance Change 

Stoneshard is now available through Steam Early Access for $14.99.

One of the key features of Stoneshard is an elaborate health and survival system. Aside from ordinary Hit Points, you will have to deal with different diseases and ailments like pain, hunger, broken bones, thirst and various forms of intoxication. Mental health also plays a big role in Stoneshard — your character can suffer from mental instability and psychological traumas.

A wide arsenal of medicinal aids and techniques will help you survive. Bandage and cauterize your wounds, put splints on broken bones, use bloodletting leeches, overcome pain with spirits and drugs and use antidote injections to counteract dangerous toxins in your body.. Diagnose illnesses by their symptoms and cure them before they fully set in. Failing to save the world all because you died of a fever you caught in some decrepit dungeon would be a terrible shame …

Classes in Stoneshard are a mixture of the character’s archetype (his fighting style) and his race. We plan to include 4 Archetypes: Warrior, Rogue, Ranger & Mage and 12 classes — each with their own unique set of skills and abilities.

Stoneshard is all about high-risk/high-reward tactical combat, where every mistake you make can cost you your life. To emerge victorious, you have to take swift, but cautious action — avoid large fights, use different skills and adapt your tactics to match the battlefield.. Multiple damage types and possible outcomes of a simple strike add a layer of depth and unpredictability to Stoneshard’s combat.

The stealth system allows you to move through the game’s locations while remaining undetected by enemies and finishing them off with a single blow. Lower enemies’ visibility by putting out wall torches and other light sources, and remain silent by not stepping broken glass or other loud objects. Ambush your foes, killing them swiftly and stealthily.

Sorcery is also ever-present in the world of Stoneshard. Many schools of magic are available to the player: from controlling Frost, Electricity and Fire to channeling arcane energy — and changing the flow of time. Turn the tides of battle using Area of Effect spells. Dominate enemies’ minds or corrupt them beyond repair — all at the same time.

In Stoneshard, death is permanent: you’ll never be able to bring your hero back to life. But that doesn’t necessarily mean that the game is over: your Caravan will find another mercenary, who will inherit the previous character’s legacy. Create a new hero and resume your journey — with part of the accumulated experience and game progression intact. Even though the game is balanced around permadeath mechanic, enabling it is purely optional, and you’ll be able to turn it off when starting a new game. If you play without permadeath, you can resume your game from the latest save.

It’s only possible to save the game in taverns. To save your progress, you need to find a tavern, rent a room, and sleep for any amount of time. Unfortunately the game’s engine doesn’t allow saving anywhere and anytime when the game is this expansive.

Stoneshard’s skill system doesn’t limit you in terms of character building. You can become a battle mage, swinging a two-handed axe, or a stealthy ninja who knows his way around medicine. All you have to do to start learning a new talent is to find a Treatise or learn from a trusty mentor. The talent pool is extremely robust: Spear and Bow mastery, Mechanics and Medicine, Survival and Alchemy, Astromancy and Arcane magics — and much, much more.

Your Caravan is a transportable hub which you can customize to your liking. With Caravan’s help, you’ll be able to quickly move around the global map, adventuring and turning in Mercenary Contracts.

Use your resources wisely, acquire new Carriages and improve the old ones, allocate living space. You can change any Carriage into a Living Quarters, Stockpile or even a moving Altar.

As you travel through Aldor, you’ll come across those willing to join your Caravan. Your future followers can be found in multiple ways: you can save them from certain death in a dungeon, buy their loyalty with gold or simply let the eager ones join you! Followers will possess randomized sets which will affect their relationship with other characters.

The followers’ behavior and mood will be affected by your battle successes — or failures. You’ll have to pay attention to your Caravan’s attitude: your followers may be in need of a morale boost.

Some followers have their own story to tell, and they might share it with you — if your bond is strong enough. This may turn into a quest line, which, upon completion, will not only solidify that specific follower as a worthwhile friend, but will also unlock his full potential during your journey.

Story Events are constantly happening in the Caravan, reflecting the state of the world around you, as well as character relations. They will often require quick thinking and swift decision-making, bringing different consequences depending on the outcome. Think before you act — your choice might cost you time, resources, or even someone’s life.

Descend into mysterious caverns, elder tombs, forsaken castles and brigand camps. Gameplay-wise, dungeons will differ drastically — from rocks collapsing and gas leaks in caverns, to hidden traps laid out through castles, usually guarding armories filled with valuable loot.

Each enemy has unique traits and different abilities. Vampires can detect a weakened character from afar and enter a bloodlust rage from the scent of spilled blood. Ghosts can walk through walls and are immune to physical attacks. Skeletons’ bones rattle loudly upon death alerting nearby enemies.

Use your environment to your advantage — lockpick and break down doors, set ambushes and use cover to escape ranged attacks. Detect and disable traps — or, if you want to, lead enemies right into them.

Powerful Gods wage war for control of the mortal realm.They do not concern themselves with the fate of mortals, but sometimes, circumstances force them to listen to their prayers. The deals they offer are often insidious — so ask yourself, just how far are you willing to go for a taste of their divine power? Know that the Gods are often vindictive: rejecting their offer may bear serious consequences.

Key Features:

• Embark on the adventure through a vast procedurally-generated medieval world
• Lead a Caravan of valiant allies and expand your following
• Deal with physical or psychological traumas & aid them with medicine or drugs
• Upgrade and customize your character any way you want to
• Wage war to vampires, undead and mercenaries with 100+ weapons
• Follow the will of ancient Gods and gain some of their power in return
• Return to the journey with a new hero after your character dies in battle

Stoneshard is in development for PC (Steam), PS4, Xbox One and Nintendo Switch.