A Nomad's Duality: Ashbound
Guide a soul undone by family tragedy, and carve a path through the relentless agony that haunts them.
Faith versus Despair
This dark fantasy action RPG chronicles a pious character whose devotion is tested by absolute tragedy. Stripped of their spouse and two children, this broken soul roams from town to town, running blindly from the grief that stalks them, until a fortune teller presents them with a mystical lantern.
This treacherous quest unfolds across seven distinct Acts modeled after the stages of loss, demanding the wanderer endure shock, denial, and depression before reaching acceptance. In every chapter, they breach a new territory, overthrow its cruel overlord, and retrieve a lost relic of their family.
The chronicle begins in the suffocating shadows of the Weeping Woods, now being forged.
The Art of Slaughter
Guard Your Reserves
Every swinging strike, sudden dodge, and desperate block depletes your stamina. Exhausting your energy leaves you entirely defenseless, making tactical patience a matter of life and death.
Seize the Stagger
Watch your foes closely. When an enemy's weapon flashes a brilliant white, time your block perfectly to shatter their stance. This leaves them staggered, opening a brief window to unleash devastating retaliation.
Evade the Unblockable
When a foe glows an ominous red, discard all thoughts of blocking. These strikes pierce through any shield, so a perfectly timed dodge is your only salvation.
Ruthless Defenses
Malicious foes dodge your strikes, guard against careless blows, and brutally punish anyone who mindlessly spams attacks. Monstrous bosses grow increasingly lethal and aggressive as their health bleeds away.
Carve Your Legend
Six Nomads
Choose your path from six distinct disciplines: Lightwarden, Ranger, Warrior, Monk, Witch, or Nightblade. Each wields specialized armaments and commands its own signature skills and lethal abilities.
The Sevenfold Infusion
Channel the power of your ascension into a sprawling Skill Tree with points earned from leveling up. Beyond your core class abilities, the tree forks into seven primal elemental paths (fire, ice, lightning, earth, water, holy, and shadow), allowing you to imbue weapons, armor, and fresh talents with mystical properties.
Claim Your Spoils. Forge Your Fate.
Scour the ruined world for rare armaments boasting chaotic, random traits. Claim these artifacts, augment them with mystical socketed gems, and bend them to your will. When the road ahead demands greater strength, take your trusted blade to the anvil. Use rare crafting materials to hone your gear, keeping your favorite weapons lethal against the rising tide of darkness.
Swear Desperate Alliances
You do not have to walk the abyss alone. Enlist the services of a sellsword, a bowyer, a hedge witch, or a wandering scholar, each with their own skills.
Endure, Advance, or Perish
The Weight of the Dark
The longer you tread through the oppressive shadows without respite, the higher your Agony builds, gradually draining your strength. Seek refuge at Vigil Lanterns to channel your experience, level up, and ease your Agony.
Contracts of the Board
Every settlement hosts a bounty board overflowing with perilous side quests. Hunt down designated abominations and fulfill high-risk contracts to secure gold, rare equipment, and bonus experience.
Hidden Horrors
Monstrous, elite foes lie hidden far off the beaten path for brave souls willing to explore. Slaying these optional terrors yields far greater loot and significant experience.
Confront the True Terror
Once an Act is conquered, test your resolve by replaying it in Nightmare mode. This unforgiving realm features far deadlier enemies, but rewards survivors with exceptionally rare loot and massive experience.
A Fair Fight
The Pilgrim's Ascent
Earn a steady stream of rewards simply by playing on the free tier, or ascend to the premium tier of the Pilgrimage Pass to maximize your rewards.
Vanities of the Lost
Coming soon: purely aesthetic cloaks and armor skins to customize your wanderer's appearance. They offer no advantages and have zero impact on combat stats.
The Horizon of Souls
Our post-launch roadmap includes online features. Look forward to testing your steel in ranked duels, founding powerful clans, and tackling perilous co-op raids.
Watch for the Vigil Lantern
Seek tidings of Ashbound's arrival? Email us with the subject "Ashbound," and we'll alert you when the shadows break.
info@skawks.com
- Developer
- SKAWKS LLC
- Platforms
- iPhone and Android (coming soon), with a PC edition planned
- Price
- Free to play, with optional in-app purchases
- Content
- Fantasy violence, horror, alcohol use and mature themes
Want to help us improve our game?
We're a small studio, and the people who play our games shape what we make next. After you play, tell us what worked and what didn't in a short survey:
- How fun it was, from 1 to 5 stars
- What you liked, and what you'd change
- Anything confusing, or too hard or too easy
- Whether you'd want more Acts
We read every answer, and we use them to fix problems and tune the game before and after launch.
The survey opens with our first playtest. Want in early? Email us with the subject "Playtest" and we'll send it to you.
info@skawks.com