Arcanist's Heritage

(This game was initially created for the 7-Day Roguelike Challenge 2024. You can play the game exactly as it was at the end of that event, or enjoy the bug fixes and improvements in the Post-7DRL version.)

You are an apprentice sorcerer. You've inherited, from an ancestor, a lexicon containing words of power in a long-forgotten language of magic. Go out into the world and rediscover the language of Veralethi. But beware, there are forces that would try to stop you, or challenge your power. You'll need every ounce of wit, and a sharp tongue, to survive.

In Arcanist's Heritage, you travel the world and delve deep into dungeons to discover words of power in the language of Veralethi.. When you combine words of power in the proper way, you can create spells that have interesting effects on the environment and its inhabitants. 
But beware, with great power comes great responsibility.

More Info

You start the game by knowing some words. You should look at these in your Lexicon, before you get too far into your adventure. Along your journey, you may discover other words which you can use to great effect. Casting spells is exhausting, and will drain your MP, which recovers over time. You can experiment with different spells to see what works for you.

Veralethi has many dialects. The dialect you find in your copy of Arcanist's Heritage is unique to you, so you may carry your knowledge with you. Be warned though, words you haven't discovered during a playthrough will also be more expensive to cast.

You may pick up food or mana potions on your journey. Food is eaten between floors of the dungeon, and doing so will automatically recover your HP. If you have no food, you won't recover.

Mana potions can be used mid-floor for a quick burst of MP.

Controls

You can move in 8-directions using one of three control schemes:

* WASD/QEZC
* HJKL/YUBN (aka VI keys)
* Numpad

You cast spells by pressing SPACE and then typing in the spell incantation. When you're ready, press ENTER to cast.

Press "G" to view your Lexicon, which will explain a bit more about the words of power you have collected.

Press ENTER to confirm actions and clear dialog boxes.

Access your inventory by pressing "i", and then press the number of the item you wish to use. (Only Mana Potions can be "used", food is consumed automatically).

Disclaimer

Because development of this game was very rushed (due to being made within 7 days), there may be some bugs which cause the game to crash, freeze or become unwinnable. In addition, the game is nowhere near balanced, and may seem impossible or hopelessly easy.

Version Differences

A number of changes and bug fixes have occurred since the 7DRL version was published. These include:

• Creatures that can cast spells will now actually cast them. Sometimes they would simply fail to, other times they could cause crashes to occur.
• The level generator could produce malformed levels which were tiny and useless. 
• Walking into grass when burning will now set the fire ablaze.
• Text around food consumption was misleading when you had full HP.
• You can now confirm actions using the Numpad ENTER key.
• Log messages as a result of pushing creatures would occur in the wrong order.
• Balance changes:
  • Damage values
  • MP costs for spell casting
  • Penalty for using undiscovered words

Credits

Title font is Empire, by Eeve Somepx
Tree symbol is courtesy of Oryx, in the Classic Roguelike set