Sunderfolk’s Berserker: Rage Your Way to Victory!

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Sunderfolk reimagines teamwork in tabletop RPGs as a shared living room adventure. While you can embark on a solo journey with it, Sunderfolk is primarily designed for gathering friends to form a complete adventuring party. Sunderfolk accommodates teams of up to four players, offering six distinct character classes to pick from.

Game Rant had a chat with several team members behind the creation of Sunderfolk, focusing on the game’s broader class system. Xavier Gordon, the character designer, revealed that Dungeons and Dragons served as a significant source of inspiration for many classes within the game, but not all. This design choice is primarily aimed at making the game more welcoming to fans of different RPGs, who should be able to quickly grasp the role of each class simply by reading their names.

Sunderfolk Classes Explained: The Berserker

In the strategic turn-based RPG game called Sunderfolk, the classes play a crucial part in shaping the overall gaming experience. When embarking on an adventure with four players, deciding on party composition is a natural prelude before delving into the Sunderlands. Each class (the Berserker, Arcanist, Pyromancer, Ranger, Rogue, and Bard) has been crafted to meet distinct player fantasies, ensuring each member of the team has their unique, vital role during every combat encounter. Naturally, the Berserker is no exception to this design.

The Berserker character embodies a design concept quite clearly, drawing significant influence from the Barbarian in Dungeons & Dragons. In combat, this character primarily acts as a protective shield for allies, gaining strength as they absorb damage. When discussing the Berserker’s class philosophy, Gordon stated that…

Are you more inclined towards shattering objects using just your raw strength or a massive tool? Would you prefer to defend your comrades steadfastly while assailants tire against you? If that resonates with you, then the Berserker might be the perfect character choice.

Berserker Abilities

  • Bulwark: Move to position, then deal a nasty swing that provokes the enemy hit and gives the Berserker a shield.
  • Fling: Move, grab an enemy (or a friend!) and throw them where you think they should be.
  • Whirlwind: Move yourself and let loose your hammer to hit all enemies around you.
  • Grisly Force: Move towards enemies, then deal 3 damage to yourself. ALL damage you’ve taken adds to the final damage you deal to the enemy.
  • Take Down: Attack, then follow with a Move and another attack! If you take down an enemy with the first attack, you’ll get a strength buff AND a shield!
  • Hibernate: Move away, shield yourself, then use your Rage to heal. You get extra health if you use this card with less than five health remaining.

Berserker Fate Cards

In the world of Sunderfolk, instead of using a D20, we introduce Fate Cards. Each Fate Deck comes with a blend of general cards and class-specific ones. Initially, the Berserker’s deck emphasizes Strength and Shield enhancements. As gameplay progresses, players gain access to cards offering a selection of buffs, enabling them to specialize in tankier, crowd control, or even enhanced Berserker roles. If every card leans towards Strength boosts, then the enemies are in for a tough challenge!

Berserker Ultimate

  • Roar: Move 3 hexes, deliver a devastating area-of-effect attack that debuffs enemies, and shield all heroes and allies nearby.

Sunderfolk’s Berserker Class Allows Players to Protect Friends and Decimate Foes

Essentially, a Berserker is a straightforward character option for those who appreciate the basic joys of combat. Unlike other classes that offer a mix of utility and complexity, the Berserker’s strategy is essentially ‘attack and destroy’. Instead of juggling multiple resources like an Arcanist might manage mana, the Berserker primarily deals with Rage, which will be familiar to fans of Dungeons & Dragons. In contrast, a class such as the Arcanist must conserve their mana, whereas the Berserker is free to spend the night cracking skulls.

As a passionate filmgoer, I’m thankful that this minimalistic approach in game development lets creators emphasize the joy of each skill set. Not only can the Berserker absorb and dish out punishment, but they also have the unique ability to hurl enemies and allies across the map, giving a boost to the more strategically-inclined character classes. If you’re still on the fence about whether Sunderfolk‘s Berserker class suits your playstyle, let me share a thought from Gordon that might help clear things up.

They embody the character type of players who strive to grow into unstoppable giants by the conclusion of the game, and I certainly fall into that category.

To summarize, the Berserker isn’t just about slaughtering opponents; it also prioritizes shielding squishier teammates, using its offensive abilities to avenge them. Other classes strategically use their skills to gain an edge, but this strategy can expose them to attacks. If a player seeks to safeguard these vulnerable characters while simultaneously becoming an unstoppable force, then the Berserker might be just the right choice for them.

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2025-04-22 17:06