Farmstead



“Some blazing malevolence from beyond the stars has crashed upon the Miller’s farm. Lands that have, in past years, yielded rich harvests are now sown with a new and terrifying seed—an unrelenting crystalline consumption that inches outward from the mill with each passing season.”

Some hateful shard of alien origin has streaked through the night sky, crashing into the old Miller’s farm on the outskirts of the Hamlet! Those unfortunate enough to witness the Comet’s arrival have been blinded by what they can only describe as a shifting, ephemeral hue of damnably abrasive intensity. There has been no word from the farm in a fortnight, save for the unearthly groaning that echoes from the ruin of the mill…

Ever since the Comet stuck the Old Windmill, the Farmstead and it’s surrounding acres of land are several altered by the otherworldly corruption. As if natural flow of time has been distorted beyond recognition; once fertile fields are a lifeless wasteland were only crystallized wheat and mutated pumpkins can grow and the acres are littered with fossilized remains of people, farm animals and petrified crops, as if they have aged uncountable years in blink of eye. Even stars above Farmstead are not right, none of the recognizable constellations can be seen in the night sky and the Northern Star is in the wrong position, as if these night skies are not from this time and place.

The Farmstead is a new area that is introduced in the Color of Madness DLC. It is unique in the fact that it eschews exploration for pure combat - When you enter, you are pitted against a constant stream of monsters, new ones coming in to take the place of the old. The first two missions act as a tutorial to the main draw of the place - An Endless mode, where you are pitted against wave after wave of monsters until you are defeated or you flee.

The Farmstead differs from the other areas of the game in a multitude of ways.
 * Enemy corpses, if ignored, become large crystal formations. If these are left alive, they explode for notable HP and Stress damage.
 * The torch does not fade over time, instead taking a multitude of different variants seen nowhere else in the game.
 * There is no negative consequence to fleeing from the battle, other than losing out on the level's bonuses.
 * In the endless mode, death is temporary. If a character dies, they become lost in time and space, only to eventually reappear after a week or two - This is functionally identical to the way adventurers can go missing after participating in Stress Relief.