The Necromancer's Tower (Brendan Hesse)

Your party awakens in the underground prison beneath THE NECROMANCER'S TOWER. In this unholy place, you cannot die, but cannot escape -- you're cursed to slowly rot into mindless undead thralls... Unless you can find a way to escape your prison, climb the tower, and destroy the Necromancer and his nefarious magic!

A party of four unique characters

• Your party consists of a Knight, Lancer, Bishop, and Pyromancer. Each has its own abilities, traits, and equipment sets.
  • The Knight has high defense and can intimidate enemies to lower their power.
  • The Lancer is fast and deals super-high damage.
  • The Bishop heals allies, banishes debuffs, and even resists poison.
  • The Pyromancer can damage, confuse, and disable enemies en masse.

Three large, maze-like floors 

• Each floor features bespoke layouts, pixel art tilesets, and background music. Escape the prison, explore the caves, and finally ascend the tower to confront the Necromancer! 
• There are also numerous traps, items, and NPCs to discover along the way.
• Secrets, puzzles, and cryptic hints to uncover!
  

Old-school DRPG design

• Aggressive autosaving, limited resources, plenty of status ailments, no game over screens (you lose half your gold and revive at the checkpoint if your party wipes)
• No in-game map -- so keep some pen and paper handy!

Hand-drawn character portraits and enemy sprites

• All character and enemy illustrations, dungeon textures, and sprites drawn by me!

Additional credits

This game was made over a month using RPG Maker MV with the following plugins and open-source assets:

• Music: Yubatake (via OpenGameArt)
• SFX: Sebastian Riedel (via OpenGameArt)
• Font: Pinch Mono by Chevy Ray
• Attack animation: Ocean's Dream via Ocean's Nostalgia pack
• MV3D plugin by CutieVirus
• HIME EXPtables plugin by HimeWorks
• SRD GameOverCore plugin by SmRndmDde
• Navash Encounter Bar plugin by Navash
• MV Disable Mouse Click by Galv
• Yanly Plugins: ShopItemCore, EquipCore, ItemCore, SaveCore, AutoSave

How to Play Controls:

(In dungeon)

• W / Up arrow: move forward
• S / Down arrow: move backward
• A / Left arrow: Strafe left
• D / Right arrow: Strafe right
• Q: Turn left
• E: Turn right
• Space / Enter: Interact/confirm
• Esc: Open party menu

(In menus/combat)

• WASD / Arrow keys: Move cursor
• Q / E: Swap to next party member (menus only)
• Space / Enter: Select, Confirm
• Esc: Cancel

Gameplay tips

THE NECROMANCER'S TOWER is designed to be a short-but-challenging RPG based on old-school PC and console RPGs. The goal is to find the exit of each of the three main mazes, find the Necromancer's chambers, and destroy him. 

Here are some tips to keep your party alive:

• Remember to guard: The "Guard" command not only blocks some incoming attack damage from enemies, but it also boosts the character's next attack damage!
• Map the mazes: Like classic 80s RPGs, there is no in-game map. While there are recognizable rooms and objects throughout the dungeon's three floors, hand-drawing your own maps is an intended part of the experience.
• Watch the danger meter: The dungeon is a threatening place, and the longer you walk around, the more likely you are to run into trouble. The meter in the lower-left displays your party's danger level; when it fills up, a random battle will commence!
• Be wary of traps and tricks: Traps are hidden throughout the mazes. There's a chance you can avoid them, but it will be tough. Similarly, there are healing fountains, hidden treasures, and powerful items that will help you, but not everything you find is safe to use. Don't worry if you uncover a trap, however, because...
• Don't fear death: If your party is slain, it's not game over; you simply return to your prison cell but lose half your gold (this cannot be recovered). However, most enemy encounters do not respawn, and shortcuts you unlock remain open. (Note: you can only be killed in battle--avoid enemies if you're low on health!)
• Small keys: There are a handful of small keys hidden throughout the game to unlock special doors later in the dungeon. Some of the doors hide treasures, helpful NPCs, and more. Others are empty dead ends--or worse. But be careful: once you use a key, it's gone for good. Make sure you find them all!

Disclaimer: THE NECROMANCER'S TOWER is my first published video game, so please post any bugs, errors, suggestions, or constructive feedback in the comments!