Glyphs of Fate is a Role-Playing Game with Card Battle Game elements for combat themed with Egyptian Mythology mixed with future aesthetic. In the world of Aaru, the player follows Anpu Anubis, a soul judge tasked by the Elder Tribunal and supercomputer Ma'at to investigate the sudden increase of malevolent force normally controlled by other soul judges. During his quest he recruits other characters based from the myths, all while they dig out the root of this evil.
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Game Tropes
- Arbitrary Headcount Limit: Generally averted. The game uses all four then eventually five characters in the field. To keep up with this, enemies tend to gain in numbers.
- And Now for Someone Completely Different: After the party defeats Set for good, they rush towards the Jagged Obelisk, only to be cornered by the sentries and be overwhelmed. The focus then shifts to Set, as the player controls him to hike back up and save the party members.
- Bag of Sharing: Averted and played straight. Tablet inventory is unique for each character, but they all share the same "bag" for material tablets.
- Card Battle Game:
- Each party member has a their own tablet inventory and deck. You can set which tablets that will be drawn in combat by putting tablets from their inventory into the deck. There are two kinds, the Glyph Tablets which are unique to each character. The other set is called Material Tablets which can be equipped by anyone, but are consumed once used and do not return. Your characters always start with five tablets and 3 tablets are drawn per turn. Each tablet has an action point (AP) cost, and any amount of tablets can be played up until the AP threshold is reached. Choosing tablets will queue them up, complete with selecting the action's targets, before being asked to finalize.
- Certain combination of Glyph Tablets result in a Glyph Burst. These are unique actions that have their own AP and effect, overwriting the tablets used in the combination. Of course, player can opt not to activate them and instead just use the tablets regularly.
- The Material Tablets are immediately activated upon selection and don't have AP cost. However, they are consumed once used and aren't returned.
- All used Glyph Tablets are turned into dust and are found in the dust pile. When all of the tablets in a character's deck are used, the Glyph Tablets rematerialize from the dust pile, are shuffled, and then brought back into the deck.
- The player can opt to fragment Glyph Tablets on a character's hand if they don't like them, sending them into the dust pile. The number of tablets fragmented add to the amount of tablets being drawn in the next turn. Fragmenting is a free action that doesn't take up a turn.
- Combatant Cooldown System: Turns occur based on the speed of a characters in play. Faster characters get their turns earlier and with very little waiting time against slower enemies.
- Combination Attack: When a certain combination of Glyph Tablets are used, a Glyph Burst is triggered - a special attack with its own properties. The player can opt not to trigger this.
- Defend Command: Defending reduces damage received while passing their turn. Certain actions can be triggered while defending.
- Fight Like a Card Player: Every action done in the game are tied to card-like objects called tablets yet the characters aren't shown actually holding or interacting them. Slightly averted however, in that it is implied they can "sense" them.
- Fight Woosh: A bunch of tablets scatter to the screen!
- Healing Potion: Healing Potion tablet. It's one of the earliest material tablets you can find.
- Interface Spoiler: The game has five elemental types - Soul, Fire, Light, Water, and Darkness. The four featured characters in the game represent the first four elements, and the only way to get Dark-type attacks to enemies with Dark weakness is to use items. Eventually, Set joins the party and he fulfills the Dark element specialist.
- Noob Cave: The game immediately starts with Anpu emerging at the top of The Flourishing Gardens.
- One Size Fits All: Averted. Outside of accessories, everyone has their own personal equipment.
- Point-and-Click Map: The World of Aaru is an overworld that can be traversed with the lead character going through key locations.
- Pre-existing Encounters: Enemies are on screen, and slamming on them starts a fight. The on-screen character can swing their weapon to ensure a regular encounter, otherwise there's a chance to be ambushed. Multiple enemies on-screen can be "called" to fight to engage them all at once.
- Skill Slot System: The Deity System work like this. A character has a Proficiency that matches the character's level. Deity Powers have a Proficiency cost, and many of them can be turned on as long as it is within the threshold. Therefore, the higher a character's level, the higher their Proficiency is, and thus more Deity Powers can be turned on. Deity Powers are revealed from scrolls found in the game. There are two types - Aaru Mythos and Personage Mythos. Aaru Mythos teach Deity Powers to everyone while Personage Mythos teach unique character-specific Deity Powers.
Character Tropes
The Fellowship
Anpu
Anpu Anubis, referred usually as Anpu but occasionally Anubis, is the main character and the first character to be played. He is called upon by the Elder Tribunal with the judgment of Ma'at to solve the encroaching malevolence in the World of Aaru.He is a great character to use, very resilient and good at dealing damage. But what he shines on is his ability to heal and support the team. His tablet contains a veritable source of supportive skills all while carrying offensive power to boot. He is a true Combat Medic through and through. His elemental forte is Soul.
- Carry a Big Stick: He carries an ankh-shaped staff as a weapon. The one you switch in the equipment is the core/gem at the tip of the staff.
- Combat Medic: He is both capable of dishing out damage while at the same time restoring the party's health and supporting them.
- Healer Signs On Early: He is your first character!
- Jack of All Stats: He generally has a well-rounded set of stats, with slightly more attack and health, and slightly less speed.
- Soul Power: His deck contain Soul-based attacks. It is essentially the "raw" spiritual force used into attacking or defending.
Bastet
Bastet is a rogue tasked on keeping an eye on the streets of Lower Heliopolis. Familiar with the orders given by the Elder Tribunal to Anpu. She herself has her hands busy with dealing with the sudden aggression of the townsfolk, especially when an orphanage she is fond of is within the vicinity. When her circumstances are dire, she puts on a mask while going under the alias Sekhmet.Horus
He is Anpu's close friend. He appears early on but doesn't join until a bit later after arriving at the small settlement called Dustbone. A bit of a wisecracker, he joins the journey after solving the locale's predicament.Horus fights with his Suncaster, a crossbow-like artifact that can fold into a gun, a launcher, or even a massive laser gun. As such, a bulk of his attacks are Ranged. His deck specializes in inflicting various debilitations to enemies while at the same time allowing himself to deal more damage through critical hits. Light-based attacks are also found in him.
- BFG: Certain soul tablets changes his Suncaster to larger weapons, in particular a huge cannon that fires a laser blast.
- Glass Cannon: A bit on the fragile side, but not as fragile as Bast.
- Light 'em Up: Carries a good amount of Light-based attacks.
- Long-Range Fighter: A bulk of his deck are Range or Light-type attacks. He only has a few Melee-type attacks.
- Status Effects: His primary function is to inflict debilitations by striking vital parts. For instance, his early tablets can mark enemies, making them more susceptible to critical hits and receive more damage than usual. And bosses in the game generally don't follow the Contractual Boss Immunity trope, so he becomes really handy.
Sobek
He's hot-blooded and brash, eager to hit on punks that tick him off. However this attitude got him into trouble, as he found himself stuck in a rubble. As the fellowship finds and rescues him, he immediately joins them in an effort to repay them and to get back at the malevolent force that got him into that predicament.Sobek is the party's tank, and as such he can soak up a lot of damage. He can pull enemy attacks towards him by provoking them, or even taking a hit for party members. Morever, he has an interesting mechanic where if he gets struck while defending, he automatically performs a counter attack. A bulk of his deck centers around this, so learn to use him well. His deck also carries Water-based attacks.
- Counter-Attack: His main feature besides tanking. Whenever he is in a defensive posture, he performs a counter attack when struck. Many tablets put him automatically in defend after performing an action. Some also alter the counterattack he performs into a Water-based attack, or an attack that hits all enemies. There's even a personal Deity Power that gives him a chance to counterattack without the need to guard.
- Defend Command: His mechanic involves being in a defensive state when struck to counterattack. This means he either has to use the Defend command or use certain tablets that put him in this state.
- I Shall Taunt You: A bunch of his tablets can inflict a unique "Provoke" state on enemies wherein any single-target attack is directed at within certain enemy turns. And variations include provoking all enemies, and entering a defensive posture after provoking.
- Making a Splash: A good amount of Water-based attacks are found in his deck.
- Mighty Glacier: He is the slowest party member, but he can dish out damage relatively via counterattacking.
- Stone Wall: Zigzagged. His growth is more focused on defense and health and his deck is generally focused on that. However, he actually has a relatively middling damage output and he can rack up damage via counterattacking. He can even self-sustain if a certain combination of tablets are used, like restoring health based on damage upon counterattacking.
Set
A former soul judge, Set was once originally sent out to wipe out an increase of malevolence in the eastern lands. He soon discovered the existence of Apep. Despite being powerful, he was kind of dumb, so he charged foolheartedly, only to be overpowered. Apep however spared him because he found his predicament hilarious, and even whispered what Ma'at really was all about. Confused about all of this, he thought of a way to contact Ma'at, only for him to be rejected. Furious, he instead engaged on the other soul judge trying to fend off Apep's machination.- Casting a Shadow: His elemental proficiency is Darkness. His gameplay also consists of obtaining free unique Glyph Tablets whenever he uses Darkness-based attacks.
- Heroes Prefer Swords: Fights with a sword.
- Loincloth: When he is properly controlled by the player, he is left with tattered gear-turned-loincloth from his defeat, with the exception of a pair of steel sandals. Despite joining he still remains with this outfit.
- More than Mind Control: Anpu and Horus are familiar with him and thinks he is under mind control or under some impression like the aggression affecting the people in Lower Heliopolis. It turns out he is causing havoc in his own volition, but only to draw out the attention of Ma'at.
- Sand Blaster: He can summon and control sand to grind enemies or shelter allies.
