Aspect
Aspects are named markers tied to entities, usually reflecting their narrative state, that add stats or apply specific effects.
For heroes, aspects are just facts about the hero. Stuff like "human", "female", "attractedToMen", "hunter", "missingLeftArm". Aspects can carry stat modifiers and Effects. Aspects are the workhorse of the dynamic content in the game, almost everything you need to know about a hero, site, anything really, can be accessed as an aspect (other than stat values). Aspects can be queried to find out almost anything about an entity (other than history, but that applies aspects that can be queried).
Aspects can be temporary, like status effects (poisoned) or combat modifiers (combatModifier_buff_courage), or more permanent, like theme pieces (themePiece_fire_leftArm) or class upgrade abilities (hunterDeck_quellingmoss).
(For a more general overview of how aspects relate to other parts of Wildermyth, see the Data Format Overview)
Aspect Parameters
Aspects can be parameterized, which looks like this: "boss_knockbackMelee|6|6+1d3".
Parameterized aspects work by literally doing a find/replace in the aspect json itself, so when creating a parameterized aspect, use a parameter name that's unique, and then define the parameter in the parameters section. You can then use that parameter value to pass the entity id to the effect, and the effect can read it using matchSpecial -> parameter1
The pipe character | delimits parameters for both effects and aspects, parameters need to be defined for aspects in order to be passed on, but they don't need to be explicitly defined for effects.
Aspect parameters can be used to store a relationship with a particular entity. In this case the entity's id will be used as the parameter content, and be passed down to effects as well. Effects can also target based on aspect relationships.
If you're making an effect and want to check if an entity has a parameterized aspect without knowing what the parameter is, you can use the star (*) character. i.e. matching "loverWith*" would match any unit with a "loverWith|ENTITY" aspect.
If debugging non-hero aspects (for example, if you want to see aspects on the company, enemies, or sites), you can turn on Options>Interface>DEV[inspectNonHeroes] to allow showing the character sheets for non heroes.
In aspect and effect names, blurbs, and formulas, you can use $param0, $param1, etc. to show a certain parameter to the player. For example, in very specific scenarios with parameterized damage amounts, you may want to display something like "Deals $param0 damage". If the parameter referenced matches a text key in the dynamic.properties file, it will instead show the related text. For example, the aspect potencyBonus|111|REASON has the name "$param1 Potency Bonus". When the aspect is added to the Bone Bow in the form potencyBonus|2|item.bowBone, the aspect name shows up as "Bone Bow Potency Bonus"
Hooks
Hooks are a special subcategory of aspects, which are usually designated when a hero is first generated, and are used to trigger hook quests.
Common Aspects
There are many aspects that are added automatically by the game that you will likely want to check when making Effects. Here's a list of some you may want to use. (You can also see all of these in the aspects section of the content editor)
General
aspect | entity type | explanation/usage |
---|---|---|
alive | unit | This unit is alive. |
dead | unit | This unit is dead. (Potentially useful if you want to make reference to a dead hero in a comic) |
female | unit | This unit is a woman. |
male | unit | This unit is a man. |
farmer | unit | This unit is a farmer, i.e. not a warrior, hunter, or mystic |
warrior | unit | This unit is a warrior |
hunter | unit | This unit is a hunter |
mystic | unit | This unit is a mystic |
theme_* | unit | Each theme has a corresponding aspect, like theme_crow, theme_wolf, and theme_tree. These can be used to make specific events centered around heroes with themes. |
Relationships and Family
Note that a lot of these aspects are parameterized, which means you can use them to get an associated unit.
These aspects tie in closely with the relationship variables like HAS_LOVER, LOVER_WITH, CHILD_OF, FAMILY_WITH, etc. You will often find that matching those variables based on score or a test is the correct way to match heroes in a relationship.
You'll note that dead heroes are treated slightly differently. This is because once a hero dies, they no longer have any relationships with other heroes. Aspects like "deadLover" are to allow for events that refer to past lovers who are now dead.
aspect | entity type | explanation/usage |
---|---|---|
attractedToMen | unit | This unit is attracted to men. |
attractedToWomen | unit | This unit is attracted to women. |
childOf|HERO | unit | This unit is the child of HERO |
parentOf|HERO | unit | This unit is the parent of HERO |
familyWith|HERO | unit | This unit is family with HERO (parent, child, grandparent, grandchild, etc.) |
deadChild|HERO | unit | This unit had a child that died. |
deadParent|HERO | unit | This unit had a parent that died. |
deadShip|HERO|TIER | unit | This unit had a relationship (friends, lovers, or rivals) with HERO, who died |
deadShipOf|HERO|TIER | unit | This unit is the dead hero who had a relationship with HERO |
deadFriend|HERO|TIER | unit | This unit was friends with HERO, who died |
deadFriendOf|HERO|TIER | unit | This unit is the dead friend of HERO |
deadLover|HERO|TIER | unit | This unit loved HERO, who died |
deadLoverOf|HERO|TIER | unit | This unit is the dead lover of HERO |
deadRival|HERO|TIER | unit | This unit was rivals with HERO, who died |
deadRivalOf|HERO|TIER | unit | This unit is the dead rival of HERO |
Company
aspect | entity type | explanation/usage |
---|---|---|
chapterNumber | company | What chapter are we on? |
seenEvent|TEMPLATE | company | Under the hood, this is how we keep track of which events the company has seen during this campaign, where TEMPLATE is the event id. |
gameIsOver | company | The game is over! Specifically useful to prevent certain tidings from firing in the credits. |
Scenery
Scenery aspects can be examined using the Scenery Lab > Aspects panel.
Scenery has different aspects that are used to determine how they interact with the world.
aspect | entity type | explanation/usage |
---|---|---|
goodCover | scenery | This scenery will provide good cover to adjacent units. (If neither the goodCover nor the noCover aspects are on scenery, it will provide partial cover) |
noCover | scenery | This scenery will provide no cover to adjacent units. |
flammable | scenery | Fire can spread onto this scenery. (See the "fireSpreadsToScenery" effect) |
immuneToFire | scenery | Fire doesn't damage this scenery. (Right now, this just gives the scenery warding) |
Scenery also has different aspects that are primarily used for interfusion abilities. These aspects are as follows: bone, book, liquid, mechanism, metal, plant, rock, shards, statue, textile, tools, tree, wood, and some more special ones, like: interactiveLampOn, lampCanFlare, lampIsFireSink, lampIsFireSource
Abilities
aspect | entity type | explanation/usage |
---|---|---|
numUses|ABILITY_ID | effect | numUses|ABILITY_ID aspect. This can be used to do things like make offhands disappear when they're used up. |
Special Cases
aspect | entity type | explanation/usage |
---|---|---|
npcId|NAME | individual | When you create an individual via implications, you can give that individual an npcId, which can be used to make that npc show up again in a later event. All units with npcIds are always available to get throughout a campaign, including during missions. |
largePet|_ENTITY_ | individual | This individual has a large pet. See Outcomes#AddPet |
isLargePet|_ENTITY_ | individual | This is a large pet. See Outcomes#AddPet |
recruitCostAdjustment|REASON|AMOUNT | individual | Adjust the cost to recruit this individual by a certain amount. Specifically useful if you want to increase the cost of a legacy hero, which you could do with an AddHistory Outcome that persists over the legacy, with an associated aspect like recruitCostAdjustment|myReason|1 |
Implicit Aspects
Some aspects are implicit, meaning they aren't actual aspects on the entity, but are instead determined by checking some criteria when the aspect is checked for. These are also commonly used when making Effects.
aspect | target | explanation/usage |
---|---|---|
ENEMY | unit | Is this unit controlled by the opposite faction of relativeTo? |
HOSTILE_TARGET | unit | Is this unit controlled by the opposite faction of relativeTo, AND relativeTo is able to target them? (i.e. the unit isn't hidden or in stasis, and relativeTo isn't being taunted by someone else) |
ACTIVE | unit | Is this unit currently under a faction's control? |
ALLY | unit | Is this unit controlled by the same faction as relativeTo? |
MAIN_HAND | item | Is this weapon equipped in the MAIN_HAND slot of relativeTo? |
INACTIVE_ITEM | item | Is this item an inactive item of relativeTo? |
SELF | any | Is this target the same as relativeTo? |
NOT_SELF | any | Is this target NOT the same as relativeTo? |
RANGE_EQUIPPED | unit | Does this unit have a weapon equipped with the "ranged" aspect? |
MELEE_EQUIPPED | unit | Does this unit have a weapon equipped with the "melee" aspect? |
MY_TURN | unit | Is it currently the turn of this unit's faction? |
THIS_JOB_NOT_ACTIVE | site | If this effect is a job, this job is not already active on the site. |
NO_JOBS_ACTIVE | site | No job effects are currently active on this site. |
ANY_VISIBLE_ENEMIES | unit | Can this unit's faction see any enemy units? |
HIDDEN_TILE | overland tile | The target tile is hidden to relativeTo. (i.e. unscouted) |
VISIBLE_TILE | overland tile | The target tile is visible to relativeTo. (i.e. scouted) |
TILE_CONDITION_NORMAL | overland tile | The target tile's condition is normal. (Currently, this just means it's not flooded, which happens in the Ulstryx campaign) |
LURKING_AT_SITE | threat | This threat is lurking at (i.e. inhabiting) the relativeTo site. |
UNIT_MAY_STOP_MOVING | unit | It's possible for this unit to stop moving where there are right now (i.e. they're standing on a walkable tile, not scenery or another unit) |
SPELL_DAMAGE | unit | Amount of interfusion spell damage from relevant weapons (wands and staves, most notably) |