Condotta: Sede Vacante

Rome, 1378. Two Popes. One sword for hire. You are Matteo da Fermo, nineteen years old, with a sword, thirty florins and a bay mare, and the Schism that splits Christendom is about to pay your wages.

Fight duels where every blow is aimed at one of five guard lines, sneak past torch-bearing pickets by night, pick locks and pockets, and bargain through dialogue where your attributes and your humors speak up and every checked choice is a roll of two dice. Across three acts, from the Borgo outside Rome to the field of Marino and the castle of Fondi, you decide who comes out on top.

How to play

Press Play, choose New Campaign and decide who Matteo is. The innkeeper on the tavern step calls you over as soon as you arrive in the Borgo: talk to her, then follow the gold diamonds on the compass to the people who have work for you.

• Pick an origin: The Blade, The Tongue, The Cutpurse or The Penitent
• Spend your points across Strength, Agility, Vitality, Swordsmanship, Speech, Cunning and Piety, and choose one of four temperaments
• Keep your sword sheathed in town and camp: people dislike bare steel
• In a fight, hold Strike to wind up a heavier blow, and tap Block as his blow lands to parry
• Watch his guard and cut at a line he is not covering
• Eat and sleep: hunger and fatigue build up as the days pass

Three acts

Act I, Sede Vacante (1378): the Borgo outside Rome, in the first days of the Schism.

Act II, The Field of Marino (1379): two armies camp below a hill town, and the battle comes at dawn.

Act III, The Keys of Fondi (1381): you arrive at the head of your own small company while the Count holds his castle for Avignon.

Each act ends according to the side you helped and how you got there, and Matteo carries his scars, his kit and his reputation into the next one. The Chapters menu lets you start any act fresh with a seasoned Matteo.

Controls

Keyboard and mouse

WASD move, mouse look, Shift sprint. Left click strike (hold to wind up), right click block. Arrow keys, Q / R, mouse wheel or a mouse flick change guard line, F returns to mid. X draw or sheathe, B b

Gamepad

Left stick move, right stick look, RT strike, LT block, RB / LB high and low guard, X / B left and right guard, Y sword, A talk and search, L3 sprint, R3 horse, Select map, Start pause.

Touch

Virtual stick to move, drag the right half of the screen to look, on-screen guard cross and buttons for Strike, Block, Sword, Sneak, Use, Horse, Map, Journal, Thoughts and Gear.

Features

• Three acts of the Papal Schism, 1378 to 1381: Rome, Marino and Fondi
• First-person sword fighting with five guard lines, charged blows and parries
• Swords, maces, war hammers and bows, plus mail and plate armour to buy, loot and wear
• Night stealth: crouch, hood your lantern, keep to the dark and the scrub
• Lockpicking and pickpocketing, with a town watch that answers to the hue and cry
• Dialogue checks rolled on two dice plus your attribute, with your attributes and humors speaking up
• A voiced cast of townsfolk, soldiers and captains
• A Thought Cabinet of ideas Matteo can mull over for lasting effects
• A horse to whistle for, ride and fight from
• Spare, rob or execute a beaten enemy who yields
• Hunger, fatigue, sleep and a day-night clock
• Endings for each act shaped by the side you choose
• Character creation with four origins, seven attributes and four temperaments
• Keyboard and mouse, gamepad and touch controls
• Progress saves on your device; continue any time