Rogue’s Backstory | Patreon Weekly #198

Hey Patrons, In this weekly I’m going to share some WIP backstory details for the Rogue, which were previously shared in Shattered Secrets #16!

Firstly though, here are the results from Patreon Poll #39:
Weapon Additions:                           79%
Shop Improvements and Buyback: 64%
More Extensive Hero Changes:       47%
Better Attack VFX:                            38%
A New Challenge:                             12%
Based on the results of this poll, I’ll primary focus on adding weapons, and will see about some shop improvements at well, buyback at least. I may ask some more questions next poll to pin down some specifics. It’s also become pretty clear that there’s no appetite for a time-based challenge, so I’m going to go back to the drawing board on that and think of something totally new before offering new challenges again.

There’s also a new Shattered Secrets this week as well. This time around I’m sharing an early look at some experiments at improving spritework for items and hero sprites.

Finally, next week’s weekly will have an audio Q&A segment! Feel free to ask questions either here or on the Patreon discord.

Rogue’s Backstory

The city above the dungeon is the capitol of a fairly large kingdom. The city attracts many people, but primarily rewards the wealthy and selfish. An orphan for as long as he can remember, the Rogue spent most of his early youth stealing and hiding to get by.

Then, one day, a better life was offered to him by the city thieves’ guild. A few jobs for them and he would become a member, gaining protection and comradery. However, it soon became clear that the guild’s leaders were just as cold and uncaring as the city’s leadership. The Rogue was eventually set up to fail with an almost impossible job: steal from the royal armory.

Blinded by promises of a better future, the Rogue tried his best, but only succeeded in getting caught by the royal guard on watch just outside the armory. The guard saw how young and afraid the rogue was and hesitated. The Rogue lunged at him in a panic, fatally stabbing him. Still panicking, the Rogue rushed into the armory. His eyes quickly fixed onto a shimmering garment hung up toward the back: the Cloak of Shadows. He quickly donned the cloak and used it to hide from the reinforcements that soon arrived. However, he could not hide from the crushing guilt as he sat there listening to the guards failing to save their dying comrade.

The Rogue resolved to use his newfound power to try and improve upon the society that had put him in this situation. With the Cloak of Shadows, he became an impossibly strong enemy for the thieves’ guild, whether by hearing everything said behind closed doors, or by striking seemingly from nowhere. Over time his invisible influence led to new, much kinder leadership of the thieves’ guild. Such kindness would normally be fatal in such a cutthroat world, but this new guild has a shadow overseeing it.

The Rogue enters the dungeon to protect the empire that he has built, and to look for even more power to use against corruption. While the guild has been a great start, he dreams of moving on to the king himself some day. He won’t hesitate to kill those he feels deserve it, but he still sees the kindly face of that one innocent guard when he sleeps.