Sacred Fire is Caledonia, the Latin term for Scotland, as the Roman Empire sets their vision on the land and the Gaelic people living there. Sacred Fire is entering the narrative-RPG genre that Disco Elysium and Banner Lord Saga has brought into the forefront. The odds are stacked against the player as the Roman empire pushes from Britannia and the player will need to outsmart their opponent as their physical tools will be limited. The game focuses on how the player can manipulate the people around them.
The player need to make decisions and the use of clever sophistry to survive the day. Even the combat revolves around provoking, intimidating and talking your enemies into making poor decisions that will end their lives, instead of the typical use of brute force to overcome their defenses. The player will also need to keep their emotions in check as the game will try to bait them into failing the game. Emphasis was put on peaceful conflict resolution overall, as the might of Rome is overpowering for the scattered Gaelic people in Caledonia
The player can fully customize their characters with skills that revolve around rhetoric, and that will be used in various instances which the outcome will be decided by skill checks and their outcome. The skill checks are same in form and function that is a staple of other RPGs, like Wasteland and Disco Elysium. While players can craft their characters to have specific skills, they also come with “blocks”.
Blocks are various forms of mental trauma, addictions, or unchecked emotions such as rage or guilt. Blocks will naturally impede on certain skills are character can use. Sacred Fire is being developed by Poetic and published by Iceberg Interactive. The game was first revealed at Gamescom and is set for a 2021 release.