Across the Obelisk - Dev Diary #2 - Bernard, The Alchemist

Hi, everyone! Today, we’re thrilled to share the second of three Dev Diaries, diving into another key piece of this pirate-themed adventure. Last time out, we took you to the Sahti Islands, the tropical setting for the new set of DLC’s. We also introduced you to Sigrun, a powerful Valkyrie.

Now, our attention turns to another new playable hero, Bernard, a friendly turtle-man alchemist. Bernard is also a multiclass hero, combining a scout's skills with the curative abilities of a healer.
Our next dev diary will explore the expansion’s setting and lore, along with many of the new items and enemies that it introduces. For now, say hello to Bernard.​

Bernard is an elderly turtle-man who has lived alone in his shell as a hermit at the bottom of the Sahti Islands sea for many years. He’s also an alchemist who travelled the world when he was younger. During his travels, he found and then mastered a wide variety of exotic ingredients, developing powerful abilities along the way. Fast forward to the present, and we find Bernard as an old turtle-man with his best days behind him. Sorry, Bernard! But while he’s far from young, he still has the spirit of a hardened adventurer. So, when he’s woken by a group of adventurers searching for a cure to a plague afflicting a Sahti village, Bernard summons up the energy for one last journey. Our hermit friend’s motivations aren’t entirely selfless, though. He dreams of finding the philosopher’s stone, a powerful artefact that could help prolong his life.

As you take Bernard on an adventure through a seabed transformed by the obelisk, you’ll encounter mysterious creatures and uncover ancient secrets.

We’ve given you Bernard’s backstory, but how does he play in-game? With the introduction of these heroes, we wanted to explore new class combinations you haven’t seen in AtO before. Bernard is a multiclass hero, healer and scout, a new combination in the game. Our hope is that this healer-scout combo will give you the flexibility to come up with new and exciting party compositions. We can’t wait to see how you use him! Bernard heavily uses Flask, a new card tag introduced in an update coming alongside this latest expansion. You’ll see the Flask tag added onto several existing Scout and Healer cards, so it’s going to be something you run into even if you decide not to download the Bernard hero pack. As well as Flask, next week’s update introduces a new effect called Rust. Rust unlocks new and powerful ways to hurt your enemies, and it’s the secret to getting the best out of Bernard.

Finally, our shell-dwelling hermit will be accompanied by a new pet: Inky, his loyal octopus friend.
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The concept for Bernard came from our interest in alchemists, an archetype seen throughout culture and one that we find fascinating. We loved the idea of an older hero with a rich and adventurous history. Making him a turtle fitted this idea since they generally lead long lives. Of course, it also fits with the strong nautical vibe of this expansion. Bernard’s powers come from the different algae he found on his adventures. As any of you who are foragers will know, what you find out in the wild isn’t always safe, meaning that Bernard would have developed the ability to tell safe ingredients from dangerous ones.

Using these algae recipes to deal damage and heal it naturally led us to create the scout-healer combo.
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That brings us to the end of this diary. In our third and final instalment, we’ll go into further detail on the Sahti Island map, the new combat theme and some of the new items

In the meantime, we’d love to hear your thoughts on Bernard. Let us know how you plan to use our new healer-scout and his octopus friend in the comments section or the Discord channel.

Until next time!
- The AtO team​