Project Introduction

A story-rich gothic RPG. Master the rituals of an ancient spellbook. Raise an undead army to march against your enemies. Commune with the realm of the dead and struggle with your descent into madness. Progress through secrecy, diplomacy, blackmail, coercion and seduction until ready to reveal yourself.

The Necromancer’s Tale is set in 1733 in the fictional kingdom of Rulsthen on the Adriatic coast, in the aftermath of a war with Venice during which Rulsthen wielded necromancy - and the world noticed. The player takes on the role of a minor noble, son/daughter of one of the war heroes. Initially they get dragged into a murder mystery (their father died in suspicious circumstances) but soon they start to delve into necromancy in order to progress, following their father's footsteps. Innocent rituals of sleeping and protection progress to raising the dead, and worse. As their power grows and their sanity declines, they move forwards towards a showdown with their enemies. Along the way they meet a cast of magical characters, including the ghost of their dead father, a magical djinn from the Ottoman Empire, and a lich banished to the Astral Plane.

The plot is progressed in a number of ways. Although there is (turn-based) combat and development of a burgeoning set of undead minions, progression is more often related to social manipulation, conversation, blackmail, seduction and otherwise using the 150+ NPCs in the game for the player's own ends. It is a narrative-rich game which will have 500,000+ words, and is influenced by recent narrative games such as Disco Elysium. Structurally, the plot revolves around an ancient spellbook through which the player learns rituals and spells - this provides a strong road forward for the player - deciphering and mastering each page in turn.

About Developer

Psychic Software is led by Sam Redfern, an indie game developer since the 1980s. We have released numerous games on PC, console and smartphone, including a turn-based car combat MMO which is still running since 2006, and two hit smartphone games which accrued 6.5 million downloads. A native of Bristol, UK, Sam now lives in Galway, Ireland where he also works as a university lecturer.

Psychic Software's games are developed with the help of a variety of contract artists, writers, and audio specialists. On The Necromancer's Tale, we currently have 5 contract writers and 2 musicians - from the UK, Denmark, Finland, and the USA. Additionally, Sam has been involved in the UK indie scene as well as the Irish scene, for example as an invited speaker at the World of Love conference in London, 2011. Sam has been blogging about indie gamedev since 2011: http://www.psychicsoftware.com/