Fear & Hunger - Expanded

Fear & Hunger: Expanded is a mod built upon Frapollo94’s bugfix mod (link in the description) that aims to enhance Fear & Hunger. Some features that are already implemented or planned for this mod include: edits to the text of the base game with a focus on staying true to its roots but also adding new content; many new character interactions; elaboration on the implied psychological horror elements of the base game; new balance changes; new bosses, enemies, skills, and items; new events and secrets; and much more. 

This mod was born out of my desire for more content in the original Fear & Hunger game that felt in-line with the source material and fleshed out the world and characters more. This mod is in its infancy, so I understand if you do not feel it to be worth your time to download. However, please rest assured that even at this stage, this mod offers the stability of Frapollo94’s excellent bugfix mod alongside polished and expanded dialogue. 

I am not a programmer by profession—my speciality is writing—so I expect there to be some bugs in the game. Please post any in the comments so that I can get to fixing them as quickly as possible. Furthermore, if you have constructive criticism on my alterations of the game’s gameplay and balancing, I would love to hear it.

It is well-known that Fear & Hunger is a game made by a non-native English speaker. While there are a few “English translations” that I could find online, I never was satisfied with them, either because of some of their changes, or because of the fact that I would not be able to apply a bug patch. Thus, this mod comes packaged with the Frapollo Bugfix Mod alongside an edit made by yours truly. A lot has been done in terms of correcting the grammar and syntax of the original game, but there is still quite a bit more to go. While I originally aimed to be as faithful to the original text as possible (since Miro’s prose, while imperfect in its grammar and syntax, is truly remarkable in its word choice and intended atmosphere), I took a few liberties with certain things and left other aspects of the game purposefully untouched. While quite a bit of dialogue (specifically for Le’garde) was altered, I left Miro’s poems essentially unaltered. In fact, the changing of the “Crow Mauler” poem’s last line by one “English translation” mod was the impetus for me seeking to edit the game’s text myself (the last line uses a literary technique that was employed by many notable poets). Miro is a truly remarkable writer who has all my respect and I hope that my edits of his work serve to elevate his fascinating concepts and ideas to the next level. 

The characters of the original Fear & Hunger game, while great in their own regards, do not have the same capacity for interaction as the ones in Fear & Hunger 2: Termina. Thus, one facet that this mod aims to improve is the range and types of character interactions whilst aiming to stay as true to the source material as possible. Currently, what this mod accomplishes in the character department is the following:

• Chattier Nas’hrah. Nas’hrah’s interactions have been expanded, giving him new and unique dialogue for enemies and in events. Currently, this feature has to be expanded upon and is incomplete.
• Formal Le’garde and D’arce. The dialogue that Le’garde and D’arce have in the current game seems far too informal, so I gave them more elevated prose compared to other characters (i.e. Cahara).
• A new way to gain favour with the God of the Depths with the aid of a certain misanthropic Dark Priest.
• Ragnvaldr will react to Le’garde being in your party during your first meeting with him.

What is planned in the future is the following:

• Unique interactions for certain characters when encountering certain enemies. This is a feature that is present to an extent in the original game with Nas’hrah’s interactions with the moonless guards, but will be greatly expanded upon. For instance, Ragnvaldr will comment on Moonless’s intelligence upon entering the fight with her, and D’arce will get pissed off at the cavedwellers when entering into a fight with them.
• A “trust” or “affection” system. This is a feature present to a very small extent in the original game and with only very minor changes depending on how much time you have spent with a specific party member. This, in the base game, allows you to perform marriages with characters once they have spent enough time in your party. In my expansion mod, your affection with characters will rise when choosing certain dialogue options and making certain choices (like giving the Girl the doll or not being an asshole during mind events), but it can also get lower (for instance, by attempting to sacrifice a character). Their affection level will be either “low”, “neutral”, or “high”, and depending on that, their dialogue will change significantly. Having a high affection level will obviously allow some events (i.e. the Marriage ritual) to become possible and having a low affection level may block them altogether. While having a “low” affection is actively a detriment as it will block you from doing certain things with other characters, it will also affect some other rituals and events in a potentially beneficial way for the player. This system is intended to add another layer of complexity to the gameplay, with you needing to mediate between encounters effectively to keep your party functional. This WILL be affected by the new “insanity” feature that I mention under my additions to the psychological horror of Fear & Hunger. 
• Better talk function. At some point, I will improve the talk skill in the menu to resemble that of Termina and the Rise of New Gods mod. This will also come with many, many new talk interactions depending on your location and actions. I will also aim to make talking be more dynamic, allowing for player interaction in conversations (a feature that is sadly missing in Termina).
• Cuter sleeping. I always thought it would be nice for all your characters to sleep around you when you take a rest, and maybe say something encouraging when you wake up.
• Communal spaces. Similar to the train and Prehevil Bop from Termina and the backyard from the Rise of New Gods mod, I aim to include certain areas where your party can have some respite. By lighting a bonfire in a safe chamber or elsewhere and then listening to your party members’ woes, you can not only have a bunch of new interactions with them, but also raise their mind.
• Corruption system. By reaching the point of low mind over and over again, your party members will become more willing to carry out certain activities and do certain things. Once their “corruption” reaches a certain point, they will become willing to eat human flesh (Ragnvaldr will always be fine with it, though) and carry out/assist with certain taboo rituals. This will also potentially make them more erratic and prone to harmful behaviour, altering certain events as a downside. This will give an incentive to keep your party members’ minds relatively healthy.
• New quests similar to Ser Seymor’s and the Cockroach King’s. 
• Ragnvaldr will constantly bully and deride Le’garde if they are both in your party, much to the anger of D’arce.
• If you name skeletons and ghouls certain things, they may have different interactions and characters will comment on their names. 

An aspect that Fear & Hunger does well but expands very little on is the inherent psychological horror present in the dungeon. The base game can easily stand as a testament to what human beings will resort to when they are desperate. This is an idea that I personally adore and believe should be expanded upon. Although there is nothing in my mod at this moment that expands upon this, there will be features planned for in the future:

• Exclusive Marriage events. It is a bit strange, to say the least, that other characters treat the protagonist the same regardless of whether or not they are the Marriage. As the Marriage, characters will become scared of you at first sight, believing you are a monster from the dungeons. You will be reminded of your decision to undergo the Marriage of Flesh and its consequences throughout your journey through the dungeons. As the Abominable Marriage, you will be unable to coherently talk to other characters, making it significantly harder to recruit them and pacify them. Furthermore, there will be unique events (i.e. the “existentialist chair”) that will serve as protagonist-centred mind events which will further add to the horror that is the Marriage of Flesh. Also, Nas’hrah will constantly bully you (even more than before).
• Exclusive Penance Armour events. The macabre reality of the Penance Armour makes for a fantastic point towards Fear & Hunger’s theme of human desperation. However, I feel as if this is not emphasised enough. There will be unique interactions and events that will remind you of the normal life you sacrificed in exchange for a better chance for survival in the dungeons.
• Making the plague be an actual threat, if not to your health, to your sanity. While the plague would likely not kill your character in the span of time it would take them to complete an ending, it would be something that weighs on their mind. Your character will suffer from anxiety due to the potential ramifications of the plague. Furthermore, this will trigger unique party interactions for the party members who saw you contract it from Isayah which could potentially lead to you becoming estranged from them. 
• Insanity. If certain characters witness certain events at a low enough mind stat, they will slowly but surely go insane. Have you ever wanted D’arce to drag around Le’garde’s rotting corpse around the dungeon while she’s in your party? Have you ever wanted Ragnvaldr to start hallucinating his dead child? Probably not, but it will be a thing at some point in time. These sorts of events will add a new layer of difficulty to the game and make mind not just be some sort of mana gauge, but rather something that you will need to actively manage. The player character can also be affected by insanity and will begin hallucinating encounters that can have catastrophic ramifications if not dealt with properly. This hallucination feature is partially inspired by a comment made by Youtuber Frapollo94 in his video about playing the Fear & Hunger 2: Termina demo. There will also be a “party morale” variable relating to your interactions with your other party members that will affect mind loss and the progression of insanity. 
• Hunger will be more visceral. Characters will be more prone to mind events given that they are lower on hunger and they will begin to undergo the stages of starvation in a graphic and visceral fashion if they are not fed properly. 

While Fear & Hunger is definitely a difficult game, it can sometimes feel like a cakewalk when you use certain strategies. For instance, the Francois bossfight and the boss of Ending C seem incredibly easy in comparison to, for instance, the Tormented One and the Skin Granny. For this reason, the following balancing changes have been made:

• Ending C’s boss has been buffed to have more HP and new mechanics. He always seemed like a buffed version of the Cavemother, and so his new abilities should serve to make his fight more climactic.

The changes that will be planned include:

• Making the “talk” option for Francois not be infinite. Francois becomes the easiest boss in the game if you know what you are doing, and it is not very rewarding to fight him, to say the least. By taking away the ability to infinitely stun him and adding new dynamic “talk” options, I hope to make his fight become much more gripping.
• Adding new trivia questions to Valteil’s quiz show. I always felt as if Valteil’s fight would be even better if there was a larger variety of questions. 
• Making the Nameless Figurine actually be more exciting, similar to the Old Guardian, and adding some unique mechanics to its fight. I am unsure whether its original purpose was to serve as a sort of anticlimax before Francois’s fight (which is an anticlimax in itself), but if so, it does not serve its purpose well. The mechanic currently being planned is for interactions with the “past” version of the Figurine to impact its “current” form. 

Although Fear & Hunger is full of content, more content can almost never be a bad thing. This mod, in the future, will aim to bring new skills and items that are in-line with the base game. I will be sure to balance them so as to keep Fear & Hunger a gritty and difficult game. Planned skills and items include:

• The Yellow Sign. A spell very much derivative of the Red Arc from Termina, taking its name from the maddening symbol featured in Robert W. Chamber’s book, The King in Yellow. Overload your opponent’s mind with cosmic information to stun them and deal damage. 
• Blood puppetry. A spell that will paralyse an opponent’s limb for two turns or until it is attacked by freezing their blood in place. This will act as a low-mind and single target alternative to Locust Swarm and will be part of the Gro-goroth skill tree.
• Exoskeleton. A God of the Depths skill tree skill that will equip a piece of armour similar to how the Longinus and Blood Sword work in Termina. This skill will be very useful for the Dark Priest as he does not have access to many good pieces of armour. 
• The Pocketcat’s mask. After an optional boss fight with the Pocketcat, he will leave behind his wooden mask for the player to collect. This will offer protection similar to the gaunt bascinet but with a focus on magic protection. It will also give you some special interactions with certain characters and enemies.
• There will be more features planned, but at the moment most of my focus is on character interactions.

Furthermore, some spells and skills will be buffed:

• Bloodlust will keep all of its effects but allow you to actually target enemies.
• Needle worm will do more damage (200-250 damage is planned) and heal more (20-30 HP). It will also be able to target specific enemies/limbs.
• At some point in time, the option for devour will be moved after looting so that you do not accidentally eat a dead opponent before getting their loot.

New bosses and enemies will be planned to give returning players a chance for more content and new players a greater experience. One of the best things about Termina is the range of enemies and secret enemies, so with that in mind, new enemies and bosses will be planned. Currently, my ideas are:

• Secret Pocketcat boss fight with unique mechanics and loot.
• Using the “ground angler” enemy as a secret boss unlockable with the white angel soul equipped.
• Implementing the feature with certain enemies hiding behind doors.
• Two original boss fights planned with unique mechanics:
  • Comus. A disciple of Vinushka who resembles an emaciated satyr playing a twisted and crude violin. Heavily based upon the artwork for the British prog/psych-folk band Comus’s 1971 debut album, First Utterance and the lyrics of their song, “Song to Comus”.
  • The Mask. A strange entity who looks human but not quite. As the fight with them progresses, you will begin to notice that their face is actually a human mask that will eventually fall off to reveal what is underneath. Inspired by Robert W. Chambers’s book, The King in Yellow. 

Completely new texts and areas will eventually be planned. One idea that I currently have is an extended “prequel” to Fear & Hunger dropped by the Crow Mauler starring Captain Rudimer and showcasing the gradual descent into madness that occurred in the dungeons. This “prequel” of sorts will also act as a rather obscure puzzle to discover a new item/spell (I have yet to decide which) hidden by Rudimer. Another mechanic that I seek to implement is an overhauled cooking system somewhat inspired by The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild and will make the player become more creative in terms of what they eat. This “food update” will come with a new location—the kitchens—and some new enemies. New locations may be added, but this is a process that will take a lot of time. Fear & Hunger’s claustrophobic locations are packed with details, so I feel as if any additions to the map would need to be polished and robust so as to not disappoint. I will also add graphic death scenes for all your party members if you get defeated by a guard, lord of flies, or another enemy with a similar coin flip attack.

At some nebulous point in the future, I hope to also create a unique and non-canonical Le’garde S ending, making the Captain himself playable, but only in Hard Mode. This will include a special fight and many new interactions.