Broken Weave Dev Diary 7: The Sage

Welcome back to our ongoing series of developer diaries for Broken Weave, the post-apocalyptic tragic fantasy setting. Today, we continue our look at some of the character classes you will get to play as during your adventures in the Broken World with the Sage.

Broken Weave comes to Kickstarter in early February, so don’t forget to head to the Kickstarter page and sign up to be notified when it launches! 

Not all heroes wield swords and in a shattered world filled with unknowable monsters — and ruins of half-remembered civilisations litter the land — history, wisdom, and lore are often the greatest weapon of all. This was the guiding principle behind our Sage. Not a warrior, or a scoundrel, but a well learned Dwarf who had accumulated vast knowledge to use for the betterment of their Haven.

The scholars, chirurgeons, and historians of the Broken World, Sages are renowned for their intellect and capabilities. Moving as deftly as they think, they quickly assess new areas for danger, providing gifted insights to their allies both in the areas of research and combat. Turning their focus to study, healing, and repurposing ancient technology, Sages’ gifts are welcome wherever they go. 


The point was to create an outfit more practical than fashionable. The character has more interest in its environment than how she is dressed up. Very early in the process, I took inspiration from apron dresses because they had this perfect shape for adding many pockets here and there where the sage could put many personal things like inkwell, quill, or paper sheets. Unfortunately, the early designs were too close to an alchemist archetype and not the typical sage clothing you need to identify at first sight. That’s why I explored more religious shapes with her outfit and the end result is a combination of all these ideas.”

— Clara-Marie Morin, Broken Weave Artist

As we developed the character and concept of the Sage, we found ourselves asking questions about how an individual could amass knowledge when Decay exists. After all, Decay eats away at everything, including written records. There are no survival manuals in the Broken World, no libraries of large schools to study at. Then it hit us that the person who knows the most and would truly carry the title of Sage is likely someone who has simply survived the longest and learned the most during their life.

So we decided that our Sage should be an elderly character, and here we found they came to life.

“I didn’t explore the sage face designs that much, because it was hard to find a good balance for her face proportions. I didn’t want to go straight for dwarves’ shape cliché, and I wanted to create something a bit different, probably more subtle. In this specific case, I tried human proportions in A and C designs and  more exaggerated proportions with the last one. It soon appeared that the B design was the best shape for the character, not too cartoony but less human proportioned, and very expressive. I personally love the subtle puckish expression she has and the fact you can easily understand that despite her experience in life, especially in the Broken Weave world, she is wise, trustworthy and kind. ”

— Clara-Marie Morin, Broken Weave Artist

We fell in love with these new designs. It really felt right for Broken Weave thematically. The heroes of the story are not just brave scouts or stalwart guardians, they’re the people of a community. In situations where danger threatens a Haven, an elder is just as likely to pick up her walking stick and join the foolish youths on their quest, providing centuries of lived experience to keep them out of trouble.

Join us in our next dev blog, where we’ll show off the Speaker — the diplomats and performers of the Broken World.

Broken Weave comes to Kickstarter in early February, so don’t forget to head to the Kickstarter page and sign up to be notified when it launches!