Summoning Part IV: Secrets Revealed
Make not a sound, for He is coming
Upon the merry shores of far, does rest a withered Champ,
Once a mighty warrior, who fought well in Her cruel dance;
Now his best days are nought but traded tales,
Yet still his blood is strong inside, as Wisdom has unveiled.
His ‘Master thinks him worthy of starting a mighty dynasty,
So ships him ‘cross the seas to reach the Bloodwraith finally.
And in the land of red and death, he meets his perfect match,
They mix their blood and make another, who’d soon tear this world to scraps
— The legend of the birth of Hellborn the Mighty
Table of Contents
Lore
Introduction
Day Zero Cup
Traits
Summoning Fees
The First Summoning Cycles
Release Dates
More Information
The Lore
In the ancient days, there is said to have been peace in all the land. Like the seasons come and go, great dynasties rose and fell across the Realms, and people lived and died long, happy lives. The races, separated by vast space and time, lived in harmony, creating and establishing trade routes between their lands, each prosperous and well adapted in their own way; each becoming masters of their environment. But as time marched on, populations expanded, encroaching gradually on each other’s territory. Tempers grew shorter. Disagreements turned to conflicts, turned to violence.
And the age of peace soon ended.
The Half-Dwarves, ingenious, hardy, and quick to anger, found refuge amongst the deepest caverns, where they quickly commanded the subterranean environment. Hidden then, in the bowels of the earth, they revealed its secrets, discovering precious metals and learning to shape them into the strongest tools and weapons, desired throughout the Realms.
The Nordics, at home in the cold snows far from the masses, mastered the oceans and the frozen tundras of the North, venturing beyond the treeline to raid and pillage from the South. Deeply entwined with the black magics of old, they imbue stones with powerful spells and wreak havoc with their domineering blades. Unafraid, uncompromising, savage, they consider death an honour, bringing them closer to their Gods.
The Highborn, with their mighty palaces in the desert, are opulent, rich, grandiose. They are also hard, masters of trade, and trained as ruthless killers from birth. Their riches buy them skill, and their resilience to survive and prosper in the hot sands, make them formidable opponents. Fast, agile, tough, the Highborn are at home with fire and experts in combat.
The Origin, from the deep marshes, are said to be the first people to walk the world after the Age of Gods. Thousands of years of adaptation and survival have left them hardy, strong, and invulnerable. It is not uncommon for an Origin to laugh off the strike of an axe, or walk through a storm of arrows, completely unscathed. While their towns and villages are small and underdeveloped, their ability to kill, maim, and wreak havoc is undeniable.
The Elves, light footed, quick, wise, and ancient as the mountains themselves, occupy the oldest of the forests. Those who gaze upon their Kingdom say that it reminds them of a dream, blurring the line between reality and fantasy, their cities composed of majestic structures that seem to float above the ground. Interwoven with the trees themselves, they are capable of the most intricate and lethal smithing. Weapons forged by the Elves are finer and more delicate than those of the Dwarves, but no less deadly.
The Orcs, always outsiders from the rest, and even in the times of peace, shunned by man. Often simple creatures, they know only one way of imposing their will; force. Not ones for subtle negotiation, they are a fiercely proud and powerful race, capable of causing immense damage. An enraged Orc can wipe out an entire town in minutes, turning anything they can get their hands on into a devastating weapon.
The Ethereal are an otherworldly race of beings. Not human, not elf, not sprite, they roam the high plateaus, their crystal cities reflecting the sun in dazzling beams of light before towering up and merging with the clouds. Rarely are they glimpsed, almost never are they encountered. They say that by the time you’ve seen an Ethereal, it’s already too late. With stunning intricacy in the weave of their garments and an almost translucent skin, they are feared, respected, yet often forgotten by the other Realms — to their detriment.
The Undead are the most feared and rarest of the Races. Terrifying to gaze upon, their soulless eyes are pits of inky black buried above their haunted snarls. Their history is murky, and myth and legend surrounds their origins. Few have ever ventured to their Realm, and rumours abound that all who try and find it, perish.
As the violence erupted across the land, hatred brewed like a winter storm. The races, retreating as they did to their Realms, grew stronger, wiser, and more distrusting of one another. Farmers turned soldiers; forges shifted production from ploughs to broadswords, axes, and arrowheads. Trade routes were crushed, bandits roaming the highways, robbing any who dared move between the cities, and slitting their throats. Bodies were left to hang from the gnarled branches of deadened trees as a warning to all those who would follow in their footsteps.
What came first? This ever growing plague of darkness, or the genesis of The Red Village? Many will argue one way or the other. What is clear is during this time of blood and darkness, She issued Her call. Ringing across the world, it reached the ears of Champions throughout the Realms, drawing them to Her. And, slowly, they heeded the call, pulled relentlessly towards The Red Village.
And then on the wind, the beating drums of war and strings.
Introduction
Summoning is, for many players of The Red Village (TRV), the true beginning of the game. While Tournaments went live in early 2022, there are a few final elements that will close the game loop; the biggest remaining of those, is, of course, Summoning. After Summoning is established, there are a few other important elements to be introduced, including burning Champions (permadeath), rental (allowing free to play), Season, and Runes (allowing for progression, tradeable assets, re-rolling, and player improvements).
But Summoning is truly the crown on The Blood Queen’s throne. Bringing the Bloodwraith into the equation allows for the creation of new, powerful, Champions; it allows Battlemasters to strategise, grow their Barracks to be bigger, better, and more badass. Players can work in partnership with other players to try and stamp out weaknesses in their ranks — and if they use Wisdom effectively, they can do this well.
But the biggest part of Summoning is it allows for huge growth within the ecosystem, and for players to generate income; by owning great Champions, and selling their blood on the market; by creating great Champions and winning Tournaments; by creating amazing Champions and selling them to other players.
Of course, The Red Village has also built in perpetual earnings mechanisms into Summoning too; so players are able to earn passively, even if they aren’t actively Summoning or competing in Tournaments at the time.
It truly is a game changer.
For a full understanding of Summoning, please see our earlier articles Summoning: Part I, Summoning: Part II, and Summoning: Part III.
Day Zero Cup
The Day Zero Cup (DZC) is the Blood Queen’s gift to her loyal Battlemasters, but also the single biggest opportunity to get involved in TRV since our very first sale of Champions.
The DZC is played for Wisdom. Wisdom allows players to reveal information about their Champion’s actual fighting traits; the perfect gift for Summoning. The more Wisdom a Champion has, the smaller the possible range displayed on the Champion’s profile, and the more accurate an understanding of its true ability the player has.
In the DZC, The Blood Queen is giving away huge pools of Wisdom multipliers. These will be awarded to Champions who fight for the first time in the DCZ, to Champions who win, and to Champions who achieve a range of other milestones.
To read more about the DCZ, click here.
What should players look to optimise in Summoning?
Summoning is an opportunity to increase the strength of your Barracks, to create new Champions, to test and experiment in combining a range of different Champions, and to collaborate with other players to optimise outcomes. The goal in Summoning is to improve Fighting Traits over time, and, for some, to also achieve certain Cosmetic Trait/rarity outcomes (for example, Summoning an Undead, a Nacreous, or a set of twins).
There are three main hereditary traits that players need to be aware of when Summoning. The first is Cosmetic/Rarity traits. These are things like Breed (Orc, Elf, Undead etc), Armour Colour, or background. Cosmetic traits follow the same hereditary pathways (otherwise known as logic) as Fighting Traits. Fighting Traits are the actual fighting ability of a given Champion; things like its Strength, Defence, Attack, and Omega.
The final set is a Champion’s Genetic Traits.
What are Genetic Traits?
Genetic Traits directly impact the likelihood of, and way in which, Cosmetic and Fighting Traits are passed on from the Bloodtaker to a Summoned Champion. Genetic traits are the deciding factor in how all the other Traits are passed down. There is only one set of Genetic Traits for a given Champion. In other words, the same Trait values are applied across all inherited Traits.
Genetic Traits are not visible to Battlemasters and are not revealed via Wisdom.
Players will come to learn about their Genetic Traits by using the visual results of summoning (Cosmetic Traits). Then will then use that knowledge to make decisions to improve the somewhat hidden Traits of a Champion, such as its Fighting Traits.
Blood Strength (BS) = Trait Strength (TS) + Genetic Strength (GS)
A deeper analysis of Genetic Traits will follow in the Player’s Guide.
What are Fighting Traits?
Fighting Traits are those things which impact the real fighting ability of a given Champion in Tournaments. There are currently four Fighting Traits which have been released; Strength, Defence, Attack, and Omega. These can be revealed, within a range, by using Wisdom, which is gained by competing in Tournaments. Doing so gives Battlemasters a higher degree of certainty around a Champion’s true ability.
- Strength is the possible damage inflicted by any given strike. Stronger Champions will be able to hit more devastating blows.
- Attack is the variation in a Champion’s strike. A higher score means more variation and a lower score means less variation.
- Defense is how hard a strike a Champion can absorb before taking damage in a fight. More defensive Champions are likely to incur less damage.
- Omega is an amalgamation of other fighting traits which have not yet been revealed to Battlemasters.
Bringing Champions together with more impactful Fighting Traits will potentially lead to the creation of stronger, more effective Champions, that may perform better in Tournaments.
What are Cosmetic Traits?
Cosmetic Traits, otherwise known as Rarity Traits, help make a Champion unique. There are a huge amount of Cosmetic Traits which can be inherited by Champions, and they range significantly in their rarity. Cosmetic Traits include:
- Breed: There are currently eight Breeds; they are The Undead, Ethereal, Orcs, Highborns, Origin, Half-Dwarves, Elves, and Nordics.
- Armour Colour: There are 47 Armour colours — the full list is here
- War Paint: There are three different types of War Paint
- Hairstyle: There are five different hairstyles for each Character Class
- Hair colour: There are five different hair colours
With Summoning, there are two new Rarity Traits that will be introduced; Nacreous (ultra rare), and Polished (rare). These will be clearly shown on the background of the Champion asset, and in the future, they will be represented by the Champion’s armour in-game. Polished and Nacreous can be created by chance, but there are certain activities that make it more likely to receive one of these Traits. The Player’s Guide will go into detail on this topic.
How much does it cost to Summon?
There are two fees associated with Summoning, both of which are paid by the Battlemaster who keeps the Summoned Champion. A Battlemaster must select one of their own Champions to participate in the Summoning process (this Champion is known as the Bloodtaker).
For a Battlemaster looking to Summon a new Champion, they have to pay both the Battlemaster who is letting their Champion’s blood be used (and who doesn’t get to keep the newly Summoned Champion, known as the Bloodgiver), and they also have to pay the Bloodwraith.
In a Public Summoning, the Bloodgiver decides a price that they will charge to allow a Battlemaster to use their Champion to Summon; they choose this price when adding their Champion to the Summoner’s Spellbook. There is a minimum fee based on the Bloodgiver’s Genotype, but there is no maximum fee. (Note that in a Private Summoning, the lowest R number (eg R1) will be used for the calculation).
This fee is split between The Red Village Community Chest, The Exchequer’s Account, and the Barracks of the Bloodgiver Champion. The exact split depends on the number of Tournaments the Bloodgiver has been involved in. The more fights a Bloodgiver has participated in the greater the share for its Battlemaster.
What does the Bloodwraith charge?
The Bloodwraith charges a flat $25 USD for Summoning.
What is a Bloodfee?
The other part of the Summoning Fee is to pay for the Blood donated by the Bloodgiver Champion, called a Bloodfee. Minimum Bloodfees are based on the Genotype of the Bloodgiver. The minimum fee ranges from $15 USD for a Soulless, up to $80 USD for an R1.
Very importantly, this fee will be split based on whether the Summoning is done privately (within a Battlemaster’s own Barracks), or publicly (on the open marketplace). In a Private Summon, both fees are paid by the Battlemaster. In a Private Summon, 75% of the Bloodfee goes to the Community Chest.
In a Public Summon, the Bloodfee is split by how many Tournaments the Bloodgiver has participated in.
There is much more detail on Public Summoning, Private Summoning, and Public-yet-Private Summoning and costs, which will be released in the Player’s Guide (gitbook). Note: Public-yet-Private Summoning is where players Summon between their own Champions on the public marketplace to save the Summoning fees, at the risk of those Champions being sniped by other players.
How will the first few Summoning Cycles work?
Summoning is effectively creating new digital assets. Because of the complexity of the programming, the immutability of the blockchain, and how finely balanced the entire game system is within The Red Village, it is extremely important we get Summoning right.
As such, the first three Summoning cycles will be extremely limited in quantity, and Champions Summoned will not be able to compete in a Tournament, or Summon themselves, for approximately one week after they are created. This is to give the technical teams ample time to review the process, ensure it has gone to plan, and make sure that the Summoning system is rolled out effectively and accurately. We have seen the impact that getting this wrong can have in other projects!
Because of these limits on Summoning, players will not be disadvantaged if they miss out on Summoning in the first couple of cycles!
When will Summoning go live?
The Bloodwraith will release the first countdown to Summoning at 5PM (ET), Friday 16th December, 2022. A reminder that Summoning can only occur when the Blood Queen is satisfied that enough blood has been spilled in her brutal Tournaments; the Village community will have to work together to bring the Bloodwraith out of his lair and start Summoning.
Where can I find out more?
Summoning is a giant topic. Players can be as involved, or as removed from it as they choose, but the vast majority of information will be found in the Player’s Guide, otherwise known as the gitbook.
For deep dives into Genetic Traits, Fighting Traits, Cosmetic Traits, Summoning Fees, Summoning Limits, tactics, FAQs and more; the Player’s Guide will help. It will be released within 48 hours of this article.
There will be a livestreamed AMA with the team responsible for Summoning, beginning at 5PM (ET), Friday 16th December, 2022, giving players an opportunity to ask any questions. A video guide to Summoning is also being prepared.
Battlemasters, this is the time we have all been waiting for.
Let the games begin.
