Renowned Explorers expansion adventuring to Indonesia
Adventure ho!
Cheery globetrotting adventure Renowned Explorers: International Society [official site] will visit Indonesia in its next expansion on May 10th, developers Abbey Games have announced. The Emperor's Challenge will see The International Society's explorers adventuring across the Indonesian archipelago to find a missing person, bolstered by four new characters. It'll also add a new mode, the eponymous Emperor's Challenge, where players race to complete specific objectives and best a rival.
Here's what Abbey Games say about the new mode:
"Instead of aiming for collecting as much renown as possible, in this expansion, you can also choose to play the game in a new mode called 'The Emperor's Challenge'. In this mode, emperor Guāngxù of China challenges you and your rival Rivaleux to complete a wide variety of objectives for him. In return, he'll reward you with just as varied a set of porcelain awards. The explorer who claims the most rewards from the emperor by the end of the game, either you or Rivaleux, wins!"
The expansion's Steam page says more about the new expedition and new characters, and these moving pictures show some of it all:
For those who've not played Renowned Explorers, here are some of Adam's words:
"In a just world, this game would have found a huge audience and plenty of critics willing to write opinion pieces about its wonderfully inventive and thoughtful combat system. I should call it an encounter system really because fisticuffs and firefights are rarely (if ever) necessary. Encounters are all about controlling the mood of your party and the creatures or people that they come into contact with. You might be able to befriend a bully or embarrass an assailant.
"As well as providing non-violent solutions, this system allows for a diverse set of skills and a pleasing back-and-forth during encounters, which often demand careful attention to the knock-on effects of any changes to the overall mood. Irritate somebody too much and all the charm in the world won’t go very far, whereas if you attempt to mollify a furious villain and make no progress, you might have weakened your own hand when it comes to threats and bluster."
Good stuff!