Project Eternity is going to be a kickass - and Kickstarted - RPG by Obsidian, also known as "we have yet to read a joke about our games that wouldn't mention bugs". It's set to follow the example of such games as Fallout (1, 2), Icewind Dale, Planescape: Torment and the like. All in all, awesome.
And now we got some details about having a keep in game. Unlike in Divinity: The Game That Came Before Dragon Commander, you won't have to wait (hopefully) 10 levels till you get your own castle - you're going to be presented with it before the end of Act 1. What to do next?
Sadly, not kidnap virgin daughters of farmers to bathe in their blood.
Your keep will have many of the mechanics found in modern RPG hubs. the five bonuses are resting bonuses, adventures for idle companions, ingredient making, special offers and wealth.
Resting bonus is the most boring one. If you rest in special places inside your keep, you get bonuses to your stats, for example, Strength if you catch some Z's in the Training Grounds. But before you build training grounds, you have to repair the bailey. Hopefully, the pre repair castle will be full of broken mortar, transients and furries haunting the darkest corners of the keep.
Also, once you construct a dungeon, you'll be able to send some of the named NPCs you defeat there (instead of killing them). You can go chat with them or use for leverage later in the game. Gloating is probably possible too.
Adventures for your companions means that the people you leave behind (arbitrary party limits, you know) will have stuff to do. Send them on adventures to rake in cash, experience, prestige and other stuff. Nothing new!
Ingredients: your castle will house craft shops that will make upgrades and items for your non-combat skills. And food. Rumours about haggis are as of yet unconfirmed.
Special Offers - once in a while, interesting people will visit the castle, some even selling items you can't find anywhere else - or offering to exchange them for, say, one of your prisoners. Some you will be able to hire and keep around your castle, some you'll want to send away as soon as possible.
Wealth - you're a bloody landed noble, of course you collect taxes. As a lot of keep related things, this will rest on your safety and prestige stats. People will pay more when they're not being robbed by bandits AND they love you. Also, the castle will be besieged once or twice by some nefarious foes - unionised milkmaids, medieval fantasy feminists... or whatever you'll be fighting in Project Eternity. Sadly, you won't be able to implement the three field system.
I can't wait. Can you?
