Fate (video game)

When the character gains enough experience points, they are promoted to the next character level and given five Attribute points as well as one Skill point. Increasing the four attributes (Strength, Dexterity, Vitality and Magic) allow the character to wield stronger weapons, armor and magical spells, while Skills denote proficiency at certain things (Sword Skill, Charm Magic Skill, Critical Strike Skill, etc.—there are a total of 15 different Skills). There are no set character classes in Fate, allowing maximum customization.[3] Additionally, the player is rewarded with Fame points for completing side-quests and defeating enemy bosses, which contribute to the gaining of Fame levels. Four Skill Points are awarded for gaining a Fame level. Elite and Legendary items cannot be used until the player is at a certain Fame level. Certain items (i.e., weapons, armor, and jewelry) contain sockets, into which the player can put special gems in order to customize the item. Having sockets does not create higher requirements for using an item, although they make the item more valuable. Finally, a denizen of Grove, specifically a minstrel, can be paid to increase the character's Fame, "allowing savvy players to buy Skill points."

Several townspeople of Grove offer randomized side-quests to the player. These are sometimes called fetch quests (retrieving a valuable item from the dungeon), though they often require the player to kill off all enemies of a certain type on a certain level of the dungeon or dispatch an enemy boss. Upon completion of a side-quest, the player can return to the townsperson who gave it to them, and receive a reward of Fame Points, Experience Points and gold.

Sometimes a valuable item is also given as part of the reward for completing a side-quest. In the case of a fetch quest, players can always decide if they want to keep the item they were sent to retrieve or if the potential rewards for turning it in to the quest giver are more important. To keep an item from a fetch quest, the player must cancel the quest in the quest book.

Other non-player townspeople include vendors, who sell arms, armor, potions, etc.

In addition to the various vendors and quest givers in the town, there is also a Healer, who will bring the character's and his/her pet's Health Points up to full capacity free of charge, and an Enchanter who, for a fee, will try (sometimes unsuccessfully) to add an enchantment or a socket to an item of the player's choosing. However, once in a while, he will accidentally delete all of the item's enchantments or even put a curse on the item, reducing its usefulness.

Sometimes a vendor will appear in the dungeon. Vendors have neutral status in the game, so enemies will not attack them. The player's character cannot be attacked by enemies while engaged in buying or selling with a vendor. Vendors who appear in the dungeon are Pikko the Fisherman (who will sell fish and fishing poles) and Getts the Traveler (who will sell miscellaneous items).

If at any point in the game the character dies (Health Points driven down to zero) the death is not permanent. The personification of Fate appears, who resembles the Grim Reaper. Fate offers the player three choices: first, the character can be brought back to life at the spot where they fell, in exchange for a portion of their Experience Points and Fame Points. Second, they can be brought back to life and transported to a nearby level (one or two levels up or down) in exchange for 1/10th of their gold. Third, they can be brought back to life and transported 3 levels upwards, with all their gold being dropped where the character fell, at which point a countdown begins. As a game mechanic, if the character stays out of a previously visited dungeon level for 20 minutes on the game clock, the level will be automatically refreshed with all new monsters and treasure, although the dungeon layout stays the same. Therefore, if a character dies on that level and does not make it back within 20 minutes, any gold they left there when they died will be gone permanently. The 20-minute rule does not apply if the character has a portal to that level, since one end of the portal is constantly occupying the level. However, if the character has died and been transported three levels up, there will be no portal. If none of these three options is to the player's liking, they may choose Quit and the character is effectively transported back in time to the last occasion the game loaded. However, the death is still recorded in the character's journal.

If the player completes the main quest they received at the beginning of the game, they are given the option to retire the current character and start play over again with a descendant of the first character. The descendant gets various perks and bonuses, including one item that is handed down from its ancestor. If this family heirloom has any magical enchantments on it, they will be augmented by 25% every time the item is passed down. If a weapon or piece of armor is passed down, its damage done or defensive capabilities will be increased as well. If a player chooses not to retire, they can advance their characters and go as deep into the dungeon as they like, with the last level being 2,147,483,647, that being the highest number that can be represented by a signed 32-bit integer

The score for the in-game town of Grove takes from Western classical guitar and Middle Eastern influences much as the Diablo series does. This part of the soundtrack follows a traditional Irish theme, and includes "Captain O'Kane" and "The Clergy's Lamentation" by famed Irish composer Turlough O'Carolan. Other notable tracks with Celtic influence include "Good Morning to Your Nightcap" and "Behind the Haystack". "Captain O'Kane" and "The Clergy's Lamentation" are recordings by Ensemble Galilei available on the album Music in the Great Hall: Instrumental Music from the Ancient Celtic Lands, another version of "The Clergy's Lamentation" is performed by harpist Sue Richards taken from the album Grey Eyed Morn, "Good Morning to Your Nightcap" and "Behind the Haystack" are from Karen Ashbrook's album Hills of Erin.

The serene music of Grove is contrasted by a mixture of junglelike woodwinds, frantic percussion, and ominous ambient effects heard in the game's dungeon. This portion of the soundtrack is original in composition and credited to sound engineer Marc Pospisil and developer Travis Baldree.[8]

Actor Henry Dardenne is the game's narrator.[8] He narrates the introduction sequence that details the plot of the game, as well as a variety of notifications during gameplay.