YVALDIS
II · World

Bestiary and NPCs

Document 28 · 11 min read

Complements 17 (combat), 22 (alchemy), 04 (day cycle) and 20 (place names). Chapter 1 (25) covers Vale de Lumen (Lumen Valley) (level 1–10), Bosque Alto (High Forest) (5–15), Costa das Marés (Tide Coast) (10–20) and Mina Velha (Old Mine) (contested zone, 8–14). The bestiary below is a proposal for the team to cut and adjust.

1. Bestiary rules

  • Roles: weak (one-on-one, no parry), horde (groups of 10–30, no parry, 17), elite (directional parry, telegraphed strike with a ground area), boss (phases, weak point, group mechanic). Gatherable and passive creatures don't attack.
  • Time and weather follow 04: the 2 h 50 min day has early morning ~25 min, dawn ~17, day ~60, dusk ~17 and night ~51. Each creature has a window; outside it, it either doesn't appear or appears weaker. A night enemy disappears at dawn (dissolves into light or returns to its den), without "clearing" the map in the player's face.
  • Individual loot (03). Every enemy drops gold and common material; items with affixes only from elite up. Nothing here is NFT.
  • Alchemy (22 §9): launch has 8 essences: Life, Heat, Cold, Light, Mind, Body, Earth, Water. Each ingredient below lists essence and intensity (1–5). Items marked † have an essence outside the subset (Air, Shadow, Poison, Chaos): they drop as crafting material and stay dormant as an ingredient until the update that opens the essence.
  • Origin marks (22 §1): several ingredients change with full moon, rain or early morning; the "when" column serves for that as well.
  • Tameable follows 24 §7/10: companion of limited power, never replaces a player; only creatures without an elite role.
  • Scaling (20): applies only to PvE; the creature's level adjusts to the region.

2. Chapter 1 bestiary (36 creatures)

Vale de Lumen

# Creature Where When Behavior Role Loot and ingredients Tameable
1 Barn Rat Barns, mills Always Flees, bites in small packs Weak Tooth, grain (Life 1) No
2 Clover Rabbit Fields Dawn, day Passive, flees in zigzag Gatherable Lucky clover (Life 1), meat Yes
3 Scarecrow Crow Crops Dawn, day Flock that dives, steals seed Horde Black feather †, seed No
4 Valley Wolf Forest edges Dusk, night Pack surrounds from the sides; warns with a howl Horde Pelt, wolf meat (Body 2) Cub yes
5 Stubble Boar Pastures Dawn Charges in a line; whoever leaves the line takes no damage Weak Tusk (Body 2), hide Yes
6 Road Bandit Roads, camps Day, dusk Surrounds caravan; flees at 20% health Weak/horde Gold, hideout map No
7 Gang Captain Bandit camp Day, dusk Shout calls reinforcements; telegraphed high strike Elite Weapon with affix, chest key No
8 Living Scarecrow Fields, Valley Night, rain or full moon Rises where the player moves away from the lantern; drags Elite Life-straw (Life 2, Earth 1), affix No
9 Lantern Moth Villages, roads Dusk, night Goes to the strongest light (the player chooses: lantern or bait) Weak Moth dust (Light 1, Mind 1) No
10 Marsh Toad Shore of the Lago de Lumen (Lumen Lake) Rain, night Leaps, tongue holds for 1 s Weak Slime (Water 2), leg No
11 Wandering Bone Around the Catacombs Night, fog Rises in a circle from the ground; slow, no parry Horde Bone dust (Earth 2, Cold 1) No
12 Meadow Firefly Prado dos Vaga-lumes (Firefly Meadow) Nightfall, summer, no rain Flees strong light; more numerous at new moon Gatherable Firefly in a jar (Light 3) No

Bosque Alto

# Creature Where When Behavior Role Loot and ingredients Tameable
13 Glider Squirrel Canopies (level 2–3) Day Glides between branches; takes small items from the ground Passive Tail, nut (Body 1) Yes
14 Canopy Spider Bridges, ropes Day, night Descends on a thread, attacks from behind; disappears if the rope is cut Horde Silk, silk gland (Mind 1) No
15 Weaver Spider Bridges, hollow trees Night Weaves web on bridges (slowing); a shove brings it down Elite Thick silk, affix No
16 Bell Jay Canopies Dawn Alerts neighbors when it sees the player (stealth) Weak Blue feather †, egg No
17 Root Bear Root floor Dawn, day Standing attack (frontal area), parry opens the flank Elite Bear meat (Body 3), thick hide, claw No
18 Moss Deer Clearings Early morning, fog Passive; the moss on its back glows Gatherable Dew moss (Life 3), doe milk (Body 1) Yes (future mount)
19 Walking Fungus Mushroom Forest Night Walks slowly in a group, releases blinding spores Horde Trunk mushroom (Earth 2), spores (Mind 2) No
20 Pond Wisp Banks and marshes Night Light that lures into the marsh; goes out if the player doesn't chase Weak Marsh spark (Light 2, Water 1) No
21 Lantern Owl High branches Night Dives at the lantern; whoever puts out the light isn't attacked Elite Golden feather (Light 2), eye No
22 Living Root Raízes Ocas (Hollow Roots) Always (dungeon) Sprouts from the ground in a group; low sweeping strike (jump) Horde Sap (Life 2, Earth 1) No
23 Root Mother Raízes Ocas Always Boss: see doc 29 Boss Mother sap (Life 5), set No

Costa das Marés

# Creature Where When Behavior Role Loot and ingredients Tameable
24 Tide Crab Beaches Low tide, day Comes out of the sand in masses; heavy shell, a heavy blow wins Horde Claw, shell salt (Earth 1, Water 1) No
25 Thief Gull Docks, cliffs Day Steals gold from the pocket (a little); recovered by killing it Weak Feather, egg No
26 Light Jellyfish Tide pools, shallow sea Night, high tide Glows; touching it paralyzes; gathered with a jar Passive/gatherable Light jelly (Light 2, Water 2) No
27 Shell Turtle Southern beaches Dusk, full moon Passive; lays eggs at full moon Passive Turtle egg (Life 3), shell Yes
28 Drowned One Coast, Mina Afogada (Drowned Mine) Night, fog Comes out of the water in a line, slow, drags toward the sea Horde Black seaweed (Water 2, Cold 1), old coin No
29 Cave Octopus Caves opened by the tide Low tide, night Holds with tentacles; a strike on the tips frees Elite Ink (Mind 2), sucker No
30 Salt Claw Cliffs Day, storm Giant crab; breaks shield; weak points in the eyes Elite Salt shell (Earth 3, Water 1), affix No
31 Bell Gull Lighthouses Early morning, fog Cry guides boats; vanishes in strong sun Passive Pale feather (Light 1) No
32 Drowned Captain Mina Afogada Always (dungeon) Boss: see doc 29 Boss Salt anchor, set No

Mina Velha (contested zone)

# Creature Where When Behavior Role Loot and ingredients Tameable
33 Mine Bat Galleries Always Flies in a cloud, flees light; heard before seen Horde Wing, guano (Earth 2, Heat 1) No
34 Stone Worm Veins Always Comes out of the ground in a line; trembles first (warning) Elite Crystal dust (Light 2, Earth 1) No
35 Rubble Golem Collapsed hall Always; stronger in a PvP window Rock falls from the ceiling; turns 180° slowly, invites flanking Elite Mine stone, common ore No
36 Stone Foreman Mine entrance Early morning (roaming boss) Appears in the early mornings; calls the golem; no shield Elite/roaming boss Unique pickaxe (cosmetic), blue crystal (Light 3) No

World bosses (3) are in 29: the Boar of a Thousand Winters, the Antler King Stag and the Great Salt Octopus. Also only in 29 (and 27): the dungeon bosses Faceless Bellringer and Matriarch Octopus, and the Pale Guardian (Act 4 instance).

3. Other chapters (highlights only)

  • Ch. 2 (Bosque Antigo, Cordilheira, Cratera, Profundezas): Guardian Tree (elite), Stone Troll, Crystal Griffin, Cave Worm, Arcane Elemental (first raid, 20).
  • Ch. 3 (Esmeralda, Brumas): Emerald Jaguar, Golden Frog (Poison †), Reef Shark, Corrupted Mermaid, Ghost of the Ship.
  • Ch. 4 (Planícies, Lamento, Brasa, Cânions): Wild Horse (tameable), Ghoul of Corvária, Lava Salamander, Sand Scorpion, Ember Dragon (raid).
  • Ch. 5 (Hrim, Taiga): White Wolf, Polar Bear, Ice Giant, Wendigo, Tamed Mammoth.
  • Ch. 6 (Ilhas Celestes): Wind Bird, Cloud Serpent, Guardian of Celéstia.

4. NPCs

4.1 Routine by hour

Named NPCs (about 15 in Lumen, 6–8 per village) follow a routine by time (04), with few variations so they stay cheap to implement:

Time Typical routine
Early morning Sleeping; only the watchman, baker and sleepless old man move around; shops closed
Dawn Baker lights the oven, farmer heads out, market sets up stalls
Day Work at their post: shop, forge, field, temple; market full
Dusk Light the lanterns, guard changes shift, shop closes, night quest board updates
Night Tavern full, musician plays, street NPCs vanish to their homes, only the tavern and temple sell

Each NPC is a schedule of 5 slots (where they are, what they do, what they sell, what they say). Someone away from their post can be found elsewhere (the blacksmith drinking in the tavern at night), which rewards observing.

4.2 Affinity and reputation

  • Personal affinity (0–100) per NPC: rises with quests, gifts matching the NPC's taste (e.g., the witch likes lavender) and conversation; drops with witnessed crime, aggression and discovered lies.
  • Reputation per settlement (Lumen, Espelho, Galho-Velho, Ramalta, Porto Sal): sum of help and crimes in the town; opens titles and access (merchant's cellar, secret trail). It is separate from the faction reputation of 27 (which belongs to the account, with a weekly cap) and never gives power.
  • Bands: hostile, cold, neutral, friendly, trusted. Effects: price (±10%), extra quests, ingredient tips and secrets (20 §2.6), refusal of service.
  • Karma (23) rules over everything: red = guards attack, cities close, NPC shops charge more or don't sell.
  • Persuading, bribing, intimidating (24 §7) is post-launch; at launch, only dialogue choices with Luck and Mind as a requirement.
  • A common NPC can be killed only outside the city, with karma; it disappears for a while and the village turns cold (24 §7).

4.3 Dialogue style

  • First person: the NPC looks at the player; there is no full screen that blocks the view (VR comfort, 03). The text appears as short speech in a bubble near the face, on PC, and as a paper card in the player's hand, in VR.
  • Choices: 2 to 4 options per node, of three types: information, request (quest) and attitude (Mind or Luck for light persuasion). Short nodes (≤ 25 words), no long tree.
  • Ambient barks: short phrases by hour and weather ("Full moon, I'm not going out today"), say when something is happening (dynamic event) without needing a HUD.
  • Alchemy tips and recipes come in the speech of an old NPC (22 §5).

4.4 With voice or without

  • PoC (zero cost): no recorded voice. Text with short "mumbling" sounds (Animal Crossing style) by NPC type and emotion, plus gesture and gaze. Synthesized voice (free local TTS) only to test the rhythm, not as a product. No NPC depends on audio to be understood.
  • Launch: human voice only for key NPCs (about 10) and event announcements; the rest stay in mumbling. Player voice (proximity chat) is another matter and stays 18+ (24 §5).
  • All text in a table file (id, hour, affinity, line) for future translation.

4.5 Types

  • Merchants: sell for gold (08/14); NPC raw material is bound to the account (E2), so it doesn't become a market shortcut. Fixed stock per village plus one rotating item per game day. They buy at 30–40% of the price (sink). No NPC sells power above the tier cap.
  • Guards: patrol by schedule, with a shift change at dusk. They attack red players, stop fights in cities (the blow doesn't even land, 23), respond to shop alarms. Road guards in the Valley and Bosque Alto; no guards on the open sea.
  • Trainers: (1) weapon: master of sword, axe, bow, lantern (teaches techniques by mastery, 17); (2) magic: Arcane Academy in Lumen, druids in Galho-Velho (Old Branch) (Nature), fire and water master on the Coast; (3) profession: forge, alchemy (Mira da Estufa (Mira of the Greenhouse) in Espelho (Mirror) is an example), fishing in Porto Sal (Salt Port), cooking and shipwrighting. Each trainer has a minimum affinity band for the next level, which creates a reason to help the village.
  • Quest-givers: quest of 1 to 3 steps, no long text; the reward shows gold and reputation.

4.6 A few example names (for the proof of concept)

Lantern Master Orvalho (Lumen, trains Warden), Mira da Estufa (alchemist of Espelho), Tavern Keeper Brás (Lumen, at night), Guard Teles (Lumen gate), Old Joana (Galho-Velho, ingredient tips), Captain Sal (Porto Sal, ferry).

What is left for later

  • Full persuasion, bribery and intimidation; killing an NPC with permanent memory.
  • Human voice for all NPCs and translation with dubbing.
  • NPCs with a truly dynamic agenda (generative dialogue AI), out of scope today due to cost and moderation.
  • Detailed bestiary of chapters 2–6 (only highlights above) and creatures of Shadow, Poison, Air and Chaos, which depend on essences still closed (18 §9, 22 §9).
  • Taming with lineage and sale (10) beyond the few cubs listed.