City of the Damned

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City of the Damned
Stable game
Developer Gwathlobal
Theme Christian mythology
Influences City of the Condemned
Released Jan 07, 2017 (1.0)
Updated Aug 13, 2020 (2.0.2)
Licensing Open Source
P. Language Common Lisp
Platforms Windows
Interface SDL
Game Length ~10 minutes
Official site of City of the Damned
City of the Damned is a coffeebreak roguelike


The year is 1915. The Great War thunders in the west, but the Hinterland is not safe either. The Pandemonium Hierarchy invaded the City with the intention to slay its inhabitants. The Celestial Communion had to intervene. Now both sides are bent to fight each other until none of the opponents remain. Choose your side and join the fray!

City of the Damned a simple fast-paced coffeebreak roguelike inspired by (or you should probably say, is a remake of) a 7DRL entry City of the Condemned by aave.

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Features

  • Global campaign
  • Different scenarios
  • Giant overland City
  • Angels and Demons battling in its streets
  • Factions and allies
  • Blood and gore
  • Mounted combat
  • Multi-tile monsters
  • 3D environment
  • Stealth gameplay

Gameplay

  • You can side either with Angels or with Demons. Though mankind is allied with angels, it is mainly stuck in the conflict between the parties.
  • You are not alone and should not be able to overcome all obstacles by yourself, some enemies will require the aid of your allies.
  • Your enemies are able to hide their true appearance, so observe and learn their tactics to avoid nasty surprises.
  • You can attack your allies but not members of your own faction. This does not extend to demons - they can attack anyone.
  • For non-human factions the main resource is power. Each faction has its own way to gain it. You can spend power on your abilities.
  • The objective depends on the mission scenario.

The Celestial Communion

  • The Celestial Communion is represented by one unit: Chrome Angel that can temporarily transform itself into Avatar of Brilliance.
  • A Chrome Angel can easily dispatch lowly Imps. To deal with more powerful targets, invoke the Avatar of Brilliance powers.
  • Some of the angels grow tired of the ever-humming singlemind and prefer more limited but deeper bonds. These are Trinity mimics, a group of three angels who act as one.
  • You can bless humans to gain power.
  • You are able to hide your divinity and disguise yourself as a human to lure enemies to you.
  • Your strength is the ability to heal yourself when needed.

The Pandemonium Hierarchy

  • The Pandemonium Hierarchy is represented with two rows of units: a Crimson Imp, Crimson Demon, and Archdemon, on the one hand, and a Shadow Imp, Shadow Demon, and Shadow Devil, on the other.
  • You start as a puny Crimson or Shadow Imp who is no match for a Chrome Angel. Run or summon help when confronted by one.
  • Imps and Demons are able to possess humans. Once "in possession", you will appear as this human to everybody else. Archdemons no longer need this cowardly tactic and can not possess anybody.
  • Shadow creatures are unable to possess anybody but can teleport around unlit areas.
  • Apart from the usual demons stand the servants of the whimsical Demon God Malseraph - those who are called Malseraph's puppets. They lack some powers of other demons but try to please their God to receive its aid.
  • You kill humans (or fellow demons, by the way) to gain power and heal.
  • Beware of blessed ones. When you touch them, you will burn and consume the blessing. Blessed humans are immune to possession.
  • Your strength is the ability to summon allies to yourself to gang up on your enemy.
  • Remember, "friendly fire" is allowed for your faction. Be cautious when walking side-by-side with your "friends".

Primordials

  • In the taiga bogs and forests of the East live strange creatures that walked the Earth before any ape could be called sapient. Now they slumber, waiting for the time when the cycle of humankind is complete and they are able to reign the land once more. The natives fear, worship and offer sacrifices to them. But when the outsiders from beyond Earth arrived in the City, they rose once more to drive the invaders out of what they consider their own domain.
  • You start as an Eater of the dead, a tentacled monster, weakened by the millennia of inactivity.
  • You are able to feast on the corpses of the fallen to gain HP and power, and temporarily invoke your primordial power to gain increased damage, armor and dodging chance.
  • You equally hate everybody in the City and are hated by everyone.
  • Your goal is to destroy all angels and demons.

Citizens of the City

  • Humans are generally weak and frail.
  • Citizens of the City will try to flee whenever there is an enemy in sight.

The Church

  • Priests have an array of divine abilities. They are able to grant divine shield to allies, scorch and reveal the true form of all enemies in sight, slow and smite enemies. The divine shield provides a one-time protection from any harm.
  • Whenever a priest gives humans a divine shield, they will start to follow the preacher.
  • Smiting damage increases with the number of humans the priest sees.
  • Priests can also give fire-based melee attacks to themselves and their followers by praying for wrath.
  • Priests start in the church.

The Military

  • The military arrives towards the end of the battle for the City. It is allied with the citizens but opposes both angels and demons.
  • The military is comprised of five units: Soldiers, Scouts, Sergeants, Machine-gunners and Chaplains. All of them are capable of ranged combat but do not gain power whatsoever.
  • Soldiers are armed with single-shot rifles and need to reload every other turn.
  • Scouts have a more powerful rifle than soldiers, are able to reveal the true form of a single enemy and enter the battle riding a horse.
  • Sergeants wield six-round revolvers that deal less damage than a rifle but do not need to be reloaded so often.
  • Machine-gunners carry a light machine gun capable of firing the whole magazine in one turn. Alas, its accuracy leaves to be desired.
  • Chaplains are also armed with six-round revolvers but, more importantly, are able to pray to reveal disguised enemies or to grant divine protection to allies (similar to priests). They can also issue a "Follow me" order to lead other troops across the battlefield.
  • If you side with the military, you may start as a Chaplain or as a Scout.
  • Chaplains are accompanied by a host of loyal troops.
  • Scouts start alone but compensate that with unsurpassed speed. Be careful, though - unlike a Chaplain, you do not have protection from possession. So if a demon traps you in your own body, the game is over for you.

The criminals

  • The criminals (who are opposed to the citizens and the military, but will not attack the Angels) are kept mainly in the prison.
  • You may start as the Thief, who is found somewhere on the rooftops of the City.
  • The Thief's primary weapons are stealth and an ability to climb walls. Unlike all other characters, he is able to evade any conflict by hiding in the shadows or getting some place he can not be reached.
  • The Thief's goal is to get hold of enough gold and leave this accursed City.

The Satanists

  • The Satanists are those who opened the gates for the Hierarchy to enter. They are allied with Demons and thus are enemies of everyone else.
  • Satanists are able to curse to cause inaccuracy and to raise dead. You may start as one.
  • While the undead (which are technically demons possessing dead bodies) are generally weak, there is no shortage of material in the City to create an enormous army.

The Lost Soul

  • You were the one who triggered the whole invasion. The satanists have sacrificed your body to open the gates to Hell, but your soul lingered in this world.
  • You start as a frail ghost that will be attacked by everybody. While in ghost form you can pass through walls and turn yourself invisible for a short time.
  • You can also possess humans and dead bodies from a distance. Your possession ability is improved as compared to the demons because you retain all the traits and capabilities of your host as well as its faction alliances.
  • Your task is to find the Book of Rituals and recite certain passages from it while standing on the sacrificial circle, the place of your death, to find the final rest.

Links