Exploration and adventure

Every good hiker will tell you so: before going on a journey, a traveler needs to gather the minimum gear and the maximum food.

A “ration” is a unite that defines how much of this “gear” the traveler consumed when travelling around the lands of the Known World.
Some field-types require a particular type of ration, more or less consuming, depending on what will occure during the adventure, and they can even slow the traveler down.

Rations can be stolen, expire or be devoured by wild creatures when you're no watching. So don't let them lying around.

The field types symbolise the different atmospheres and “natural” territories of the lands in the Known World. Their are 5 basic filed-types and... some other particular fileds which are more or less rare.
We'll let you see for yourself.

Attached to them are the Kaodes and the traveler's home.
The player's first Kaode belongs to the basic field-type that was selected when the characters was created.

• Forest
  The fields under the term “forests” are all the ones where nature has overcome the rest: woods, underwoods, canopies, copses, rainforests and many others.
  A traveler coming from this field-type is used to living in harmony with many creatures, among old objects and ruins, surrounded by grass and moss that now covers every town and villages from before the cataclysm.

• Mountains
  The mountain field-type gathers all mounts, hills and canyons... well, all those places with lots of rocks.
  With wind, and an old hermit living close to the clouds, holding his walking stick slash sword.
  A traveler coming from the mountains is used to great landscapes, not easy to reach or to explore, away from all dangers a too important human activity could cause.
  High up the mountain and close to the sky, a child often dreamt to go explore all the territories lying under him.

• Aquatic zone
  The aquatic fields are the most varied of the Known World; they gather the littorals both of the calm seas and the infuriated oceans, the islands, the sides of the lakes and other damp places.
  And very damp even.
  Travelers coming from these places thus have very different profiles, and their temper or abilities are linked to the waters they grew next to.

• Marshes
  Foremost swampy areas: the marshes, the bayous and the radioactive lakes are filled with wildlife. But human life usually has difficulty settling there.
  The grounds and life conditions are always changing and making life harder to live. The species there are less friendly, stranger and more dangerous than elsewhere.
  A traveler coming from the marshes may have had a difficult past. Or may belong to a reserve which was organised to be able to live in this environment and which the community got accomodated with.

• Plains
  The plains (fields, valleys, prairies, lands and meadows) are the most common environments in the Known World. And despite the bombs and the latest great conflicts, they still welcome human homes and plantations.
  Most of the travelers come from these great spaces where different societies are living since Mankind reappeared.
  They are the territories which changed the most and were “cleaned out” the most by the populations which started settling their as free communities or under the ruling of the towns and governments around.

The Known-places represent the different places of the Known World which the travelers can access.
When entering one of them, the character will found a description of his arrival and some other informations about the general atmosphere, the architecture and the general vibe this place is sending.

A serie of options will then follow on the left of the screen.
The player can recognize the different options thanks to their different icons (the moon for sleeping etc.).
Clicking on an option will lead to a dialog, an action or a choice (quest proposition, purchase, dialogs choices etc.).
Moreover, a traveler accessing new situations or taking a path that was unattainable (invisible?) for him until then, will receive an experience bonus.

Medieval towns, stranded aircraft carrier, frozen skyscraper or pirate landmark: that's the everyday life of the Known World's roamers.

It ain't easy to rest in a world filled with strange creatures, with all kind of cut-throats and when one is always exposed to the elements, is it?
To represent the sometimes hard conditions in which the travelers seaks some rest for his body and creatures in Kaode, there is a scale counting 5 types of sleep. Each one of them increases the vitality points of the traveler's active Kaodes up to a precise percentage.

• Troubles sleep
  This situation occures when a traveler is finding himself in the middle of an unknown damp area, always looking out for any weird noise and hanging on tight to his belongings, afraid they'd be stolen.

• Rudimentary sleep
  The rudimentary sleep is the one the traveler would get when for example sleeping in the open, on some uncomfortable ground or in a windy, scary and noisy place.

• Normal sleep
  This kind of sleep corresponds to a night spent under shelter from the weather or the surrounding wildlife, on a comfortable ground, or after a decent meal in an inhabited area.

• Restful sleep
  Travelers of the Known World are used to sleeping in the open.
  However, one must say that a good night sleep on a comfortable mattress, under a roof and garded by a lock is nonetheless appreciated.
  Although hard on your wallet, your body, and above all your Kaodes will thank you for it.

• Well-deserved sleep
  Luxury hotel, bed & breakfast and/or someone beside you?
  These nights are so comfortable that it can even be dangerous for your mind!

As the resurfacing humanity still lives under particular conditions, there isn't yet a defined currency?
A trade system has been set, and three different colors level the rarity of the “objects” found in nature.

Travelers often find objects in the different known-places of the Known World during their journey. These objects represent their main source of trade with merchants.
But a travaler can also work in order to gain enough to feed himself.
When a player works, he can choose for how long in minutes, during which time his character can't do anything else (unless maybe checking his Kaodian Library.. we're not monsters after all).

In both cases, the player receives the sum due to him with for example such articles:
7 art robots
8 copies of the Kaode game on a diskette.
192 windscreens.

And we said “due”, but really...

The battles can be wanted by a traveler, or occure at random during his wanderings in the different territories of the Known World.

In Kaode, “death” or K.O. During battle means the following for the traveler:

• He is likely to lose one or several Kaodes (see “empathy”)
• He is likely to lose trading objects or rations, or even an object.
• He is likely to lose his participation right to the event, or fall out of the quest he was on.
• He is likely to wake up in the closest town or warden's station. With a bump.
  You can find out more about the battle system of Kaode in the “Battle lexicon” section of this website.
  Prepare your team wisely!

As he faces many situations, the traveler will gain more and more experience, allowing him to level up. When this happens, he can choose to increase one of his 6 basic statistics by one point.
These will automatically shift to all his Kaodes during a fight, and be multiplied by 3 when the traveler himself takes part in the battle.
Also, when creating his character, each traveler chooses an archetype for his traveler. These represent the different kind of way you can approach the Kaode adventure: exploration, adventure, community or collection and creature fight.

Each of these archetypes has its own particular evolution tree.
When it reaches level 15 and then 25, the traveler's archetypes will step on one of the personal branch of his tree.

• The Collector
  This kind of player is usually interested in studying and identifying Kaodes: their origins, their amazing abilities and their way of life. Collectors explore the Known World in order to understand and to take a close look at the different species surrounding us.
  And to use them for mighty purposes.

• The Adventurer
  This traveler is eager for adventure and doesn't hide it: he is genuinly curious, friendly and never afraid to face new challenges, to discover new lands and be part of the community life. He tends to gather as much knowledge and experience as possible in order to some day become one of the wise – professor – scientist – living encyclopedia of the Known World
  When he'll be old.
  If he's still alive by then, because he doesn't really listen to his mother.

• The hothead
  The hothead is a traveler who likes to fight and surprise his opponents thanks to his special leadership, based on an original style. And although one cannot doubt his fighting skills, he can sometimes be hard to live, especially for the Kaodes beside him.
  To sum up: a reckless warrior or a fine strategist, he travels the Known World to train and challenge stronger than him!

• Merchant
  Strange artefacts, spices, objects and scarce commodity tend to attract this trader, who uses his talents and his travels to offer as many as possible the treasures of the Known World.
  At a certain price. Of course.

• The empathic leader
  This kind of traveler has a special relationship with his creatures.
  Whether it's by his concern, his particular leadership, due to a spiritual bound or mutual understanding, this player's actions have a positive effect on the Kaodes who join him on his journey.

TO COME
At level 10 and 20, the player chooses a “specialization” for his character.
It represents a caracteristic that defines the experience the traveler gained on his adventure.
Did he learn to fish? To track? Did he loose a leg?

It's up to you to decide who you impersonate.

Various equipments, rations and objects will help you during your adventure.
They are divided into 5 categories, and they're likely to offer a bonus for fights, travel or regenerating Kaode or the traveler himself etc.
You can acquire them in a shop, but beware, the player can only carry one object at a time.
It is possible to link them to a shortcut on your keyboard throught the object file or the game's parameters.

• Rations (orange)
  See “Movement and rations”.
  The number of rations you can carry depends on the traveler's level.

• Findings (green)
  These are things, stuff, quest objects and pieces of arts.
  To sum up, they're not really useful... at least to YOU.
  For now.
  Or ever. No idea.

• Consumables (neutral)
  These objects can only be used once, as their effect disappear after a certain time of use, thanks to an action you can trigger while being on the map, or through a game action (fight, particular known-place etc.). You can carry each consumables only a limited number of times.

• Pieces of equipment (blue)
  These objects have a permanent effect and their capacity can affect a creature, a fight, a place, the interface or the game experience in general.
  Sometimes, sometimes even all the time.
  There.
  Is that vague enough for you?

• Weapons (red)
  Whether they were bought or received, weapons will lend the player one or several abilities during a fight.
  They each have a dedicated file, and also, they are pretty darn cool.
  Only one can be carried at a time.

Achievments are rewards the player gains when he accomplishes a certain amount of tasks, or when he explores or takes part in a certain phase of the game.
Or certain quests.
There are 5 different types of achievments, and they can allow certain Kaode to level up, or to access different parts of the world, or to unlock a small bonus or improvement.

1. Adventure and accomplishment or quest
2. Exploration and impact on the World
3. Events and encounters
4. Battle
5. Other

In Kaode, many citizens are “forced” to go on the same journey as you.
Also, and even if each one's story is personal, it is nice to be able to meet and exchange in certain social places of the Known World.

Knowledge is a true weapon here: don't hesitate to help or to get help from other travelers.