Torment: Tides of Numenera - Process, Fettles & Lore

The Kickstarter page for Torment: Tides of Numenera has an update providing the same information as in the previous newsbit for the additional free stuf when you back The Bard's Tale IV kickstarter and provides information on the production process:

Kevin here, with a brief production update. Progress has been good, and we continue to gain momentum. Thus far, our writers have written, and our designers implemented, over 400K words across more than 200 NPCs and interactions. More than half of those conversations and scripted interactions have already been reviewed/revised at least twice.

Meanwhile, about 1/3 of the Crises are at least partially implemented. We’re now focusing on the first two of them in our efforts to polish the overall system. The various elements of our Crisis UI are undergoing their 2nd (or 3rd) iteration, and we’re to the point where testing out the fledgling Crises are more enjoyable than academic. All features are mostly functional and the variety across playthroughs helps keep it interesting.We’ve also been experimenting with, and developing, many AI types, and are happy with the smart variety we’re seeing emerge in different enemy types.

And information about Fettles:

I want to talk to you about fettles.

"What the hell is a fettle that's not even a word."

Right. See, that's exactly what I said when Kevin suggested 'fettle' as our term for lingering conditions and effects. But yeah, it's totally a word, one perfectly suited to the linguistical atmosphere we're shooting for in Torment.

Fettles are conditions that affect player characters in and out of combat. Some examples that will be immediately familiar to RPG players are things like Poisoned, Bleeding, Slowed, or Hasted. Any condition that has effects beyond the immediate probably qualifies as a fettle. (You may be familiar with the term "status effect." A fettle is the same thing.)

And finally a bit more on the lore:

About fifty kilometers to the northeast of Sagus Cliffs and its lurking parasite, the Bloom, a pair of mountain ranges marks the beginning of the strangeness of the Verxulian Waste. Between the two parallel chains of peaks lies a long, dry pass. The length of the pass from end to end is a mere 150 kilometers, but it represents millions of years in time to a sojourner who passes through.

Despite its antiquity, it remains frozen in time. Its sere ground and rocky walls are dry, utterly and perpetually devoid of native life. Rain-laden storms swerve away from the pass, spilling no moisture. Clouds part around it, as if breaking on an invisible barrier. Even the roaming nanite disaster called the Iron Wind gives the valley a wide berth. Nothing grows here, and the small streams that tumble down its steep mountainsides soon slow to a trickle and then perish utterly. No animal makes its home in this land, and none ever stay for longer than a few days should they mistakenly enter. Most humans, mutants, and visitants who travel through the valley make the best time they can, except for those who choose to prolong their stays, and some (notably a faction called the Memorialists) make this a permanent home – seemingly immune to the life-scouring effects of the Valley. A few alkaline fountains bubble water up from unknown aquifers under the valley floor, providing nourishment that is barely potable and occasionally hallucinogenic.

More information.

Verxulian Waste sounds a bit like New Jersey… maybe not as bad though. ;-)

Or Death Valley.

So why invent a word for a well known standard mechanic that already has a name - "status effect"?

Originally Posted by Thrasher
Or Death Valley.

So why invent a word for a well known standard mechanic that already has a name - "status effect"?

Because it's numeneray?

Yeah, am I getting jaded to smell bullshit in this?

Goodness. Fettle has been a word for a long, long time. Surely, some here have heard the phrase, "She/He's in a fine fettle this morning." It basically means good shape or in working condition…..

I stand corrected, it is a real word, though why one would want to use it for status effect as if it's somethng new is beyond me…

I was going to ask about this. So if it isn't even a typical word for you, english speakers, I expect this to cause some confusion to us foreigners

http://www.oxforddictionaries.com/de…english/fettle

I think the word is only in the vocabulary of old farts and nutty people

It's a very old word, going back to old English, that I don't think I've ever heard in spoken conversation. Here's a better definition that shows that it perfectly suits its application to "status effect"

http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/fettle

Fettle is not in common use at all. I have never heard of it, and I know a ton of obscure words, words that are obsolete and never used anymore.

Personally, I think it's stupid to use this word in this manner, when a more common rpg convention word could be used. But that said, it is a trivial thing. I guess in the game, I will ignore fettle, roll my eyes, and think of it as an ongoing effect or condition.

There's even a word fettler. I'm surprised so few know these words as I've been using them for years. I thought 'fine fettle' to be a fairly common expression. Guess I just continue to date myself!!

Fettle or fettler… it reminds me of someone. But I doubt he will be still alive in Ninth world: