How Many Ants Would You Crush to Keep Alive?
Going into the third Kinfire Delve field, Callous’ Lab, I used to be within the residence stretch for the preliminary deliberate run of Delve packing containers, and I wished to finish on a robust word.
Like all the Kinfire Delve merchandise, I began by designing the Effectively Grasp: Callous. Since every thing in Delve flows from the Effectively’s Grasp, it is extraordinarily essential to have a robust idea for the Grasp, each personality- and appearance-wise.
I wished this Grasp to be a scientist as a pleasant foil for Vainglory‘s artist and Scorn‘s ruler/warden vibes, however a dispassionate, completely logical scientist simply did not need to come collectively for me. It felt like he would not have the ability to stand on the identical stage because the others as his persona was too tender and quiet.
Enter the plague. Taking a little bit of inspiration from Batman’s Mister Freeze, and Jim Henson’s The Darkish Crystal, we got here up with the concept Callous had caught some form of unusual illness that’s slowly killing him. As an immortal being that has by no means identified the concern of demise, the illness rapidly consumed him, the seek for a remedy changing into an obsession with no limits.
A very good villain wants a core of one thing for the viewers to empathize with: Vainglory is desperately lonely; Scorn seeks justice for horrible wrongs inflicted upon him; Callous would not need to die. It is what the villain does in response to those feelings that makes them a villain, and Callous instantly started draining the life from different beings to be able to sluggish the illness whereas he sought a remedy.
With the essential idea fleshed out, Callous began coming collectively. I imagined him processing his concern in bouts of irrational rage and melancholy, however as an extremely sensible being, he would preserve coming again to his core of narcissism. Mocking the Seekers, difficult their minds in varied insulting methods, and all the time smugly positive that he’ll defeat them. A little bit of Edward Nygma (one other Batman inspiration), a splash of Vizzini (The Princess Bride), and he was totally fashioned.
The artwork workforce took his vanity in a visible course by giving him draconic traits that come out increasingly more the angrier he will get. His outfit was easy and sensible, only a lab apron to maintain him tidy. There was some wrestle with the plague as I wished it represented visually, however did not need to dredge up anybody’s actual world traumas; in the long run we depicted it as greenish crystals rising from his pores and skin, slowly taking him over and turning him right into a jagged crystal statue.
As for Callous’ Effectively, I wished to deliver a special look to it from the opposite two, so the key phrase I gave the artwork workforce was “haphazard”, versus “stunning” and “imposing” for Vainglory and Scorn, respectively. I wished to symbolize a “cluttered” thought course of, and I requested for plenty of classically “scientific” areas, similar to libraries, labs, planetariums, and many others.
A lot of the enemies are the results of Callous’ experiments. That mentioned, there are some outliers, which embody each creatures that Callous was unable to manage, and the bodily manifestations of Callous’ concern of demise.
Mechanically, Callous and his Effectively are designed to ambush and outwit you. Like a combo deck in a CCG, the challenges work together with one another in stunning and probably devastating methods.
Callous’ core mechanism represents his seek for a remedy by putting progress tokens on his card at first of the sport. In the event that they ever run out, he has cured his illness, then turns his attentions to Atios as a complete. This offers gamers an additional useful resource that they must handle to keep away from this prompt loss, which is without doubt one of the causes that I held off on Callous till final in launch order since it is a barely extra sophisticated Effectively to handle.
When it comes to Callous’ exhaustion playing cards, they largely work together with Callous’ progress tokens, however additionally they assist to arrange and intensify the combos that I described above. Something unhealthy that may occur to the Seekers may be made worse by Callous’ exhaustion playing cards: extra injury, extra discards, and many others. Unusually, a few of Callous’ exhaustion playing cards take impact, then get shuffled again into the deck, whereas usually exhaustion playing cards come out and keep out. In a bizarre manner, this makes exhaustion mitigation that a lot much less efficient in opposition to Callous.
As with the opposite two Masters, Callous additionally makes a visitor look in Kinfire Council, the place he is one of the devastating threats Din’Lux can face. Whereas he takes a very long time to set off, if he goes off, odds are actually good that the Cult goes to win that sport.
Lastly, I would wish to level out my favourite joke within the field, which is the “Sapience Take a look at” problem. Within the artwork, I used to be very insistent that it ought to have three seashells, since as any Demolition Man fan would ask, “Do not you know the way to make use of the three seashells?”
Will there be extra Delve packing containers? Laborious to say, and it is dependent upon how the three preliminary packing containers promote, finally, however I’ve concepts socked away simply in case. Within the meantime, search out victory, and return safely!