Electric Chapel

Electric Chapel is an open world action RPG in development by RoseRed. The title is to be released in late 2023 across several platforms and will include a highly interactive multiplayer mode with cross-platform capability. The title draws inspiration from the Souls series in many regards.
The game takes place in a kingdom modeled off of the renaissance-era Papal States. The vast majority of the world is confined to a massive cathedral by the coast named the Metropoli Cathedral, which functions as a supercity controlled by the religious leaders of the state. The player character is a denizen of a bordering nation paying a pilgrimage to the Cathedral, who gets caught in the leaders' schemes during this trip.
==Gameplay==
Electric Chapel plays akin to a 3D platformer with major elements of an action RPG. The game defaults to a third-person view, which the gameplay is optimized for, but players who prefer first-person may choose to use it. The game intends to simplify the controls of a typical action RPG by requiring less button usage for commands; for starters, the controls include no jump button, and instead a jump simply occurs at ledges as in much of the Zelda series. The player has full control over their character with and a free camera with . 
The player takes part in combat with countless enemies in the Cathedral. In battle, the player's effectiveness counts on their usage of armor, weapons, and spells. The main method of battling is with the equipped melee weapon, which can be done using all four face buttons (). The player can also battle using a wide variety of spells, which can be equipped to either or . The player can block attacks with , and dodge when holding the bumper and using . As most spells are ranged, the player can target a nearby enemy with . Pressing the trigger again will target another nearby enemy, and the target can be aimed with when the button is held. will cancel targeting mode; outside of targeting mode, this button will center the camera on the player.
The player has two types of points to keep track of in battle: Hit Points (HP) and Magic Points (MP). Though self-explanatory, HP determines how many hits the player can take before they die and have to return to a previous save. MP determines how many magical spells may be used before the gauge runs out. MP will slowly recover over time, though HP will not and will have to be replenished through potions or spells. When using a skill (the skills being: melee, elemental, healing, dodging, and blocking), the player will receive a small number of experience points in that skill. Once a skill reaches a certain amount of exp. points, it will level up; higher-level skills will be stronger than before. When defeating enemies, the player will receive exp. points as well, which can be spent on unlocking new perks related to skills.
The game can be saved at shrines spread out throughout every area. A quicksave option is included from the pause menu, which allows the player to quit at any moment outside of battle but return where they were (although the save is then discarded). Shrines can also be used for fast traveling between the locations included in the Cathedral.
===Multiplayer===
The multiplayer mode of Electric Chapel is inspired largely by that included in the Souls series. Multiplayer mode can be switched on from the player's pause menu and allows players designated as enemies or as allies to enter the local player's world. Enemy players enter the world with the goal of killing the local player, and ally players simply wish to play cooperatively. Ally players can be summoned prior to boss fights as well, though the related boss will be notably stronger to make up for the benefits provided by multiple players.
Multiplayer mode allows for cross-platform play between Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, and Steam. The Xbox One release of Electric Chapel does not allow for cross-platform play due to the lack of functionality included with the console. Nonetheless, multiplayer mode is included in this release of the game, although it is simply confined to players using the same console.
Due to cross-platform play, players must create a unique ID linked with Electric Chapel in order to play online. This ID allows for adding friends and limited communication within the game, but they link back to the player's local ID (Nintendo Network, PlayStation Network, Xbox Live, or Steam Community).
==Plot==
Electric Chapel takes place in a fantasy world with many science fiction elements. The world is modeled of Renaissance Italy, but much of the world includes high-tech elements confined to said Renaissance aesthetic. 
At the start of Electric Chapel, Ariel is a servant aboard a ship that is on pilgrimage to the Metropoli Cathedral. During entrance to the Cathedral, a missionary detects the presence of a heathen aboard the ship, and the Holy Army is given permission to take the leaders of the pilgrimage captive and kill the nonbeliever. Ariel fights their way off the ship and escapes into the Cathedral, where the rest of the story will take place. From here, Ariel has full control over which path they wish to take, but the main storyline centers around liberating the Cathedral from the cult leaders.
The Metropoli Cathedral is massive and functions as a supercity within a single enormous structure. There are countless towns, labyrinths, prisons, and churches laid all across the Cathedral. The general course of progression is to move upwards from the base of the Cathedral to the very top, the Grand Tower, where the leaders are located. While moving throughout the Cathedral, Ariel will find themselves in battle with countless pilgrims, spies, and other types of conflicting entities for or against the cult. Ariel has the option of using swords, axes, clubs, scythes, and more as melee weapons while using healing, fire, ice, water, electric, or wind magic at the same time.
Throughout all the towns spread across the Cathedral, Ariel can interact with the denizens of the Cathedral and take on their various sidequests.
===Quests===
*Main Quest: The main quest requires Ariel to dismantle all of the Holy Army bases around the Cathedral (which can be done in any order) then climb to the top of the Grand Tower and square off with the cult leaders running the Cathedral.
*Liberation: Throughout the course of their adventure, Ariel will come across countless general locations. A cult leader has been assigned jurisdiction of all of them, and killing a location's cult leader will consider the location liberated-- opening that location up to more quests.
==The Cathedral==
The world of the Metropoli Cathedral is quite open despite being confined to just the Cathedral. There are four levels of the Cathedral, each being slightly smaller than the previous but higher in elevation. The entire Cathedral is, in real-world measurements, 2.8km across on both sides, making the ground level alone 7.84km². The entire Cathedral, thus the entire world included in the game, adds up to approximately 11km².
The first level is the largest by far, over twice in size compared to the following level. This level is referred to as the sea level due to its proximity to the coast. Along the southern side of the Cathedral, there is a long line of harbors and docks for incoming travelers and pilgrims. The center harbor, known as the Metropoli Port, is the largest and most significant of these, functioning as a town in its own right. On the southeast corner of the Cathedral, there is the next largest harbor, the Royal Navy Harbor. This is the military base for all naval operations to the Holy Army.
About half of the sea level is an outdoor section of the Cathedral referred to as the Palazzo. This is a massive courtyard that includes the town of Plagium in the center. The Palazzo includes forested and swampy paths between settlements. The largest structure within the Palazzo is the Grand Chapel, one of the most significant places of worship within the Cathedral. At the northern end of the Palazzo, the Grand Gate can be found. This is the main entrance to the Cathedral building.
Inside the building, the sea level is even larger than the Palazzo. There are countless buildings within the inner Cathedral including prisons, sewers, dungeons, and more. The Grand Library can also be found indoors at sea level, on the far eastern end. The Grand Library has a series of staircases that can lead Ariel to the second level. At the back of the sea level is the Grand Sanctuary. This is the number one place of worship within the Cathedral. There are thousands of rows of seats facing towards the massive stage at the front which hoists an enormous cross at the back.
The second level of the Cathedral overlooks the Palazzo. Many settlements are lined up along the walls surrounding the Palazzo, as well as the balcony hanging above it. The most important building to be found on the second level is the Menagerie. Here, mysterious and exotic animals-- many of which are considered chimeras-- can be found, all for the pleasure of the aristocrats of the Cathedral.
The third level overlooks the second level and looks upwards to the final level. There are a few towns located on the third level, but most of the third level is slanted diagonally towards the top, allowing for easy traversing of the path towards the top level of the Cathedral.
The top level of the Cathedral is the smallest level yet the most densely packed. The entire top level is taken by the city of Nova Roma, the most populous city in the Cathedral. The city is entirely centered around the Grand Tower. The Grand Tower is a tall, spiraling tower hundreds of meters in height. This tower is the home to the cult leaders of the Cathedral, as well as all governing bodies of Nova Roma.
==Weapons==
<tabber>
Scythe=
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Sword=
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Axe=
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Club=
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</tabber>
==Magic==
Magic may be equipped to either or to be cast as a spell. With the Martyrdom expansion, spells can be crafted, allowing the combination of two different elements. This will create a spell that will cause both effects of the included elements but cost many more Magic Points. Weapons can also be enchanted with any of the following elements to add an additional effect to melee damage, and with Martyrdom they can be enchanted with crafted spells. However, enchanted weapons cause a notably less effective version of the described effects.
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*Weapons cannot be enchanted with Heal, and it can also not be used for crafting with Martyrdom.
==Characters==
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==Expansions==
Two expansion packs with a great amount of additional content are to be introduced following the initial release of Electric Chapel.
===Martyrdom===
Electric Chapel: Martyrdom is the first expansion to the game, including both new story elements and new gameplay elements. This expansion introduces Element Crafting, allowing the player to combine the effects of magical elements. For example, one can combine electricity and fire into one more powerful attack. Martyrdom also introduces the option to purchase homes in settlements across the Cathedral, which allows for decoration and a greater item storage capacity.
The primary story addition in Martyrdom begins with an undead swarm invading the Grand Sanctuary once Ariel returns to it after liberating it. This swarm comes from an abandoned palace located just to the north of the Cathedral. This palace is absolutely dwarfed in size by the Cathedral, but is quite large in its own right. A group of necromancer scavengers came to the castle to search for riches, and upon finding them planned operations to conquer the Cathedral which would grant them control over religious affairs in the region. Ariel has the option of assisting them in their conquests or stopping their plans.
===Hubris===
Electric Chapel: Hubris is the second and final expansion to the game, being primarily story-centered rather than gameplay-centered. This expansion functions somewhat as its own game; it requires a new save file. Though it does not require Martyrdom, the gameplay included within this expansion is completely unchanged from previous releases. 
Hubris takes place in 1664, 200 years after the Cathedral was liberated by Ariel. In the time since the events of the main story, the Cathedral has been completely abandoned by civilized people-- no active settlements remain. The upper levels of the Cathedral have collapsed, destroying most of the inner Cathedral. The player character, also referred to as Ariel, is an archaeologist from Catalonia, Spain, in search of historical artifacts iconic to the Cathedral. They discover that there are competing groups of scavengers within the Cathedral, which has now become a battle royale for riches left behind. The story takes place primarily within the Palazzo, though Ariel also may search within the destroyed inner Cathedral.
==Gallery==
MProtagEC.png|Ariel (default male appearance)
FProtagEC.png|Ariel (default female appearance)
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