An new story-driven role-playing game called Thaumaturge combines the supernatural with the actual reality of 1905 Warsaw, Poland. In it, players assume the character of protagonist Wiktor, who must confront his father and family for the first time in fifteen years upon his return home. He and his father can see esoteric beings called Salutors and their effects on the material world because he and his father are both Thaumaturges, or magicians. Wiktor will meet other supernatural Thaumaturges with his father, as well as historical real-life personalities like Rasputin. This way, it blends the Assassin’s Creed approach to history with mythology adaptations reminiscent of the most recent God of War video games.
The Thaumaturge tells a story that takes components of the normal world and explains them through the perspective of the supernatural, so it’s quite the effort to do both. Developer Fool’s Theory, who is also working on the Witcher 1 remake, has a lot of work ahead of them in this interesting project. Karolina Kuzia-Rokosz, the design director of Fool’s Theory, recently chatted with Game Rant about their strategy to creating the game’s several Salutors, how they affect the plot and gameplay, and a lot more. The Thaumaturge’s story-driven structure, engaging investigation mechanics, combat, world design, and other elements should all be very appealing to fans of role-playing games. However, it’s safe to say that the game’s greatest feature and what sets it apart from the competition is how it handles history and the paranormal with the Salutors.
The List of Thaumaturge Salutors
An “esoteric being,” or more widely, an unseen supernatural being, is how a Salutor is described. They are the modern equivalent of werewolves, vampires, ghosts, ghouls, and so on, but with a historical perspective. Players can use their own Salutors to fight these and other enemies as a Thaumaturge. It’s been compared by some fans to “Pokemon meets Lovecraft,” and they’re not too far off. Wiktor can employ a tamed Salutor to examine his environment and other NPCs, control people, or utilize them in conflict.
The four dimensions of Word, Heart, Deed, and Mind are linked to each Salutor in The Thaumaturge, and they impact how Thaumaturgy (or “miracles”) is portrayed in the work. According to Kuzia-Rokosz,
Every Salutor is associated with one of these dimensions, which shapes their reactions to different circumstances in both battle and exploration. Enemies take advantage of these dimensions to outmaneuver you in fight. Outside of battle, thaumaturgists use these dimensions to better understand and classify people’s feelings, ideas, and desires.
Examining NPCs in each dimension symbolizes an unknown secret in roleplay. The mind is a person’s private thoughts, memories, and ideas that they share with no one; the word is a statement made, yelled, or even whispered in front of an object; the heart is a person’s remaining feelings of desire and love; and the deed is a secret action that no one would voluntarily confess to. Furthermore, it is quite easy for a player of The Thaumaturge to prioritize and concentrate on one dimension over another, therefore some game aspects will need to be preserved for a later playtime. The fact that a person who has just focused on Mind and Word, for example, won’t be able to uncover a character’s underlying motivations or feelings, guarantees that this role-playing game, like any excellent CRPG, offers multiple replay opportunities and plenty of role-playing opportunities.
It would be nearly impossible to list all of the techniques we tried before deciding on the current layout. However, we always knew exactly what we wanted to go after: salutors, enigmatic and elusive creatures that are rare enough to be encountered by a select few. Most people don’t even believe in them. They are powerful no matter how overwhelming, frightening, or lovely they may be. Making every Salutor submit to your will is a constant lesson, and taming them is no simple task.
Bukavac
The actual Syrmia region was home to a demonic creature called as the Bukavac, which was frequently pictured as a six-legged monster with blue eyes, twisted horns, and a passion for strangling people. It would spend the day hidden away in lakes and pools, emerging at night with a deafening roar to announce its arrival. This terrifying beast, which would attack humans and animals in order to strangle them, has up until now served as an emblem for The Thaumaturge. Since it frequently accompanies Wiktor in the game’s key art, everyone who has been following along is probably already familiar with it. It is a monstrosity that appears in the game world as a “punishment for an unforgiven deed” and is capable of horror story-level brutalities. According to one in-game narrative, a woman using a Bukavac killed her husband by stabbing him five times in the chest while he was sleeping and burning their home on fire. She says, “A devil came and made [me] do it.”
The Bukavac’s viciousness is evident in its powers, as it inflicts a potent status effect known as Suffering on its victim. As a result, those who are destined to experience their mortal coil receive additional harm and eventually perish at the hands of the Bukavac’s tremendous might.
Upyr
The Upyr, a demonic being found in Slavic and Turkish folklore, is said to have been the ancestor of the term “vampire.” Nevertheless, there are some significant distinctions between the Upyr and contemporary vampires. It is thought that impure spirits that do not pass on to the everlasting afterlife are the source of empyreans. Upyrs are not thought of as living people converted into the undead, but rather as dirty spirits with a decaying body. These entities, which are frequently thought to be vindictive and envious of the living, must then drink blood in order to keep the possessed corpse alive. It was widely believed that unclean spirits would arise from the deaths of the unbaptized, especially from horrific deaths, as well as from the deaths of sinners, sorcerers, and murderers. Additionally, bodies that were not given the correct burial rites would be subject to possession.
How this plays out in the Upyr Salutor is clear to see. The Thaumaturge relates a tale about Upyr spirits, who haunt the Powazki Cemetery because they are drawn to people who are grieving and in a state of despair. A ghost hunter there claims that one day the gravedigger, who had been observed acting suspiciously and even speaking in Latin, would just abruptly and mysteriously vanish. Furthermore, this persona claims that additional disappearances in the Warsaw area are the result of an Upyr seeking revenge. In the game, Upyrs’ vampiric nature is further demonstrated by their ability to restore themselves while dealing damage.
Lelek
Leleks originate from actual Kashubian mythology, which represents the Lelek, a forest bird nightjar, as a foolish ghost. It’s common knowledge that the Lelek inhabits the thoughts of the mentally ill, which may have served as an antiquated justification for mental illness. In any case, this appears in The Thaumaturge as a tiny, hideous-looking bird spirit that has the power to drive a person insane. This idea also straddles the boundary between the material world and the paranormal. One of the in-game narratives attributes the murder at a London bar to alcohol consumption, despite the fact that the murder (which took place during a celebration following a wedding) can have no connection to logic or reason. What Thaumaturges like Wiktor—and consequently the player—see is the transient madness brought about by a Lelek. Even worse, even though a lot of people are superstitious, it is impossible to establish that a malicious magician was behind all of the chaos a Thaumaturge in control of a Lelek could cause and escape unharmed.
Weles
Fool’s Theory sought all kinds of beliefs, whereas many Salutors in The Thaumaturge are associated with the supernatural beings of old belief systems. For instance, the ancient pagan god Veles (also known as Volos) is the ancestor of Weles. Veles’ identity would eventually be divided into entities like the devil, saints like Saint Blaise and Nicholas, and so on with the arrival of Christianity. Prior to all of that, though, Veles was a cunning god akin to the Norse god Loki. Veles was a god associated with magic, music, wealth, and other things. The Slavic word volhov, which means sorcerer, comes from his name.
Slavic god Weles is connected to good fortune, the domain of death, and luck. These elements may not always be predicted. Weles is offering his services to you; but, the ‘additional gain’ that you receive from his skills may rely on your luck.
And this old belief is embodied in the Salutor Weles, who is appropriately regarded as erratic and money-obsessed. The scenario within the game revolves around Ludwik Baar, a man with a modest fortune who suffers from an addiction to gambling. But one night in Powisle, he would vanish; his daughter would later tell of this. The man was observed leaving the underground gaming hall with an otherworldly grin on his face, but he would not be found thereafter. Before he vanished, he behaved strangely, with one witness characterizing it as “if some gambling demon possessed him.” The people who are aware of these happenings can recognize Weles’ impact, even though the rest of the world probably views these incidents as kidnappings, muggings, or just random criminal mysteries.
Morana
As part of this Game Rant Advance, Morana is the most recent Salutor to be unveiled. The name Morana comes from an ancient deity associated with death, rebirth, nature, and dreams. Spring is brought about by her yearly “death” at the end of winter; The Thaumaturge portrays this Salutor as a “drowned bride.” In-game, she is referred to as a “quiet death beneath the water” and is recognized as a very potent Salutor. Her gameplay skills revolve around disrupting the adversary, diminishing their concentration, and managing the battlefield in general, along with some powerful damage-dealing capabilities.
Despite the fact that every Salutor is derived from legend, their presence is denied by the world in which they are present. This indicates that events in the real world happen whether or not they are influenced by the supernatural, and Polish society contrasts with this real-world/supernatural duality. Famous people from history have traveled to and done business in Warsaw, yet it is also home to some of the poorest places on earth, such Powisle, an area of wretched shanties. The central theme of The Thaumaturge is ultimately the contrast between the good and the bad, the upper class and the lower class, and the normal world and the supernatural one.
In the game, every district you visit has a distinct atmosphere, with residents concentrating on issues that are particular to them. It feels as though you are entering new realms. At that time, Warsaw was a complicated city where magnificent, recently constructed tenements coexisted side by side with poverty. For individuals who had lost their land or sold it in search of better fortune in an urban setting, the city was a thriving and well-liked destination. We explore the world of the mafia, meet ordinary, decent people who are just trying to make ends meet, witness the birth of the first labor unions, and come across underground combatants.
How Every Salutor Was Designed by Fool’s Theory
It is common knowledge that creating a game involves continuous creativity and iteration in order to arrive at a final concept. For all the Salutors listed here, the same may be true. Each has changed from the original idea in terms of gameplay, storyline, design, and other areas. However, each had a strong single beginning that encapsulated the essence of what the Salutor stands for.
For the four primary Salutors that have been revealed thus far, Kuzia-Rokosz disclosed these.
- Upyr: A sour spirit and a slain Slavic knight from the Middle Ages on the battlefield
- Bukavac: A perpetually meted-out penalty for crime.
- Lelek: A cunning person who drives people crazy and leads them astray.
- Weles: Magnificence, please. MORE GOLD, MORE GOLD!
From then Fool’s Theory would iterate “a lot,” starting with a design and shape that resonated with the team and its fundamental concepts and then refining it some further. Although Kuzia-Rokosz points out that each final version differs greatly from the initial idea, the team was nonetheless pleased with the outcome. It’s also important to note that, unlike what fans of The Thaumaturge may legitimately think, none of the Salutors are based on Slavic mythology or history. As Kuzia-Rokosz informed us, there will be Salutors from “Jewish, Bavarian, and Arabian Circles. Each of them is distinct.” However, only five Salutors have been made public.
The deliberate variety found in each design of a Salutor is connected, in part, to the game’s marketing tagline, “Everyone has their own demons.” Kuzia-Rokosz would discuss the connection between the Salutors and the vast world of The Thaumaturge.
This might mean different things. What does a demon mean? Everybody has a different interpretation. Our goal is to demonstrate that devils have various faces throughout the game. These are the faces of individuals, the human mind, or the inner battles we fight on a daily basis. Sometimes these are the faces of Salutors.
In the game, players will also come across other Thaumaturges, and in certain situations, a combat amongst Thaumaturges may be necessary. However, the Salutors they have in store go beyond the ones the gamers have already seen.
“Oh, and other Thaumaturges have unique Salutors of their own. These Salutors already have a master, so you cannot claim them, but you may always admire them.”
Fool’s Theory is holding salutors up its sleeve, much like a skilled magician
Fans of The Thaumaturge undoubtedly want to learn more about The Salutors, as they are undoubtedly one of the show’s main draws. Naturally, the enchantment disappears if a magician gives away the trick before it’s performed. The number of Salutors Fool’s Theory that will be revealed prior to The Thaumaturge’s February release is unknown, although the studio probably won’t disclose most of them. Those with keen eyes, though, might pick up on a few facts on the impending Salutors. Fans may see Morana, who was hinted before our official reveal, in the image above. On the bottom row, she is joined by two other Salutors who have not yet been disclosed, though it’s difficult to tell what they could be. One appears to be a goblin-like creature with an encasement over one eye, while the other appears to be a golden, hooded mask resembling a skull (not to be confused with Weles). Though this is all conjecture, it appears that each dimension has enough room for four to five Salutors, potentially bringing the final count to sixteen to twenty. Put another way, viewers have only seen a small portion of The Thaumaturge’s universe thus far.
Salutors are The Thaumaturge’s secret weapon for differentiating himself in the crowded CRPG market. Before the release, more details will presumably become available in the upcoming months. And, like any skilled magician, Fool’s Theory is definitely keeping the biggest trick for last.
