"When Brutality and Fantasy mix, all Hell trembles."
Brutal Doom, A rather famous Game Mod for Doom and derivatives that is known and played by many. But, there are those that have decided that there isn't enough fantasy and balance, and so Schism was created.Originally starting out as a balanced rework of the original, Schism has gone on to become something else entirely, combining gameplay elements from Brutal Doom with characters and concepts from Raven Software's various titles to make one mod for anyone seeking new ways to cause carnage.
Currently, there are three functioning classes to choose from, with one playable but not fully functional:
- Doom Marine, specializing in using all the various guns to deal with various situations.
- Paladin, using his fists, axe, sword, and a newly-acquired hammer to decimate in close range.
- Sorcerer, A Glass Cannon that uses Fire, Ice, and Lightning spells to burn, freeze, and electrocute his foes with ease, at the cost of being less durable than the other player classes.
- Corvus, Not fully functional, but he still brings weapons from his home games to great effect.
It can be downloaded and played on ModDB
, but be warned that not everything is fully complete, as this mod is very much a Work in Progress, with there not even being complete compatibility for Hexen and Heretic.
Schism provides examples of the following tropes:
- Abnormal Ammo: In the Paladin's case, at least. He can enhance his attacks using one of two things: "Rage," obtained by beating down foes, and oddly enough, things like lamps, "using" the blood to fuel his rampage. And "Zeal," which is converted from idle Rage, using it to fuel his pursuit of his goal: eradication.
- All There in the Manual: Information of the mod's (currently:) Weapons, (to be added:) Bestiary, Classes, and Extras can be found within a separate Manual menu.
- The Berserker: Downplayed. The Paladin, while focusing on rushing into battle with his melee prowess, can't go in recklessly until an opportune moment comes in.
- Brutish Character, Brutish Weapon: The Paladin's BFG-tier weapon is a hefty hammer called the Arrancadora. It's slow to swing but causes loads of damage upon contact.
- Continuity Nod: A small one, in that the SMG now resembles the one featured on the original cover art for Doom.
- Cool Sword:
- The Quietus, now with the ability to be swung around rapidly and enhanced to send out slash waves, or spiral beams with a thrust.
- New to the arsenal is the Vorpal Blade, a (WIP) hefty sword with a horned skull for a rain-guard, that also has a saw-like serrated edge on the back, focused on crowd control.
- Dem Bones: Besides the usual Revenants, there's a variant of the pinky demon called the Skeletal Bull Demon that occasionally spawns in place of normal pinkies or specters.
- Difficult, but Awesome: Playing as the Sorcerer can be quite challenging at first, since he's less resilient than the other classes and can't use the more powerful weapons. However, once you get the hang of using his magic and learn how to play strategically, you can easily decimate crowds of enemies with spell attacks.
- Elemental Rock-Paper-Scissors: While not explicitly shown, the rogue's gallery in Doom each have certain elemental weaknesses.
- Former Humans are all susceptible to Fire Damage, but are resistant to Electric Damage.
- Hell's Legions are weak to Electric Damage, but can tolerate being hit with flames.
- However, Ice Damage deals consistent damage to both, at the price of being more costly.
- Fire, Ice, Lightning: The Sorcerer's bread and butter, coming with a spellset for each of the three elements, running on a recharging mana pool.
- Game Mod: Comes with the territory of being a stand-alone fork of Brutal Doom.
- Gangsta Style: The Doom Marine holds the pistol at a 45-degree angle John Wick-style when aiming down the sights.
- Gatling Good: The minigun is still the same bullet hose it was in the base Brutal Doom. There's also a four-barrel automatic shotgun that fires slower than the minigun, but deals monstrous damage.
- Half the Man He Used to Be: Killing an enemy with the Paladin's axe will result in them being split in half vertically.
- Life Drain: Reminiscent of the Gauntlets of the Necromancer, an alternate attack with the Paladin's fists allows him to shock foes with life-stealing electricity, using Rage for ammo.
- Luckily, My Shield Will Protect Me: The "Fencing Shield" used by the Paladin, that can block attacks, and can even be enhanced to deflect projectiles. Wielded alongside the Axe, Assault Rifle, and Sub-Machine Gun.
- Mage Marksman: The Sorcerer. Not only does he handle the magical front with his spells, but he can also utilize most small firearms within Doom and Doom II, albeit with a smaller ammo pool than the other classes. Said firearms can also be enhanced with any of the three elements, imbuing the shots with either fire, ice, or lightning until dropped and replaced, or the element is swapped.
- Piñata Enemy: Hitting a frozen enemy with a lightning blast will cause them to release health bonuses when shattered.
- Revolvers Are Just Better: The Shotvolver, an absolutely massive revolver that can switch between 12-gauge shotgun shells and .338-caliber rifle rounds. The pickup message for it outrights tells you to say goodbye to your wrists.
- Shield Bash: Comes in two flavors, whenever it is in use by the Paladin:
- The standard bash, capable of sending foes back, and deflecting projectiles with good timing.
- A slash with a blade that is attached to the side of the shield, used when the Paladin brings the shield up.
- Shotguns Are Just Better: And how! Not only do the Pump-Action and Super Shotgun make their return, able to be used by all classes, but they are now accompanied by the Quad-Barreled "Liberator" Shotgun. The Assault Shotgun from base Brutal Doom also comes back, but now as a rotating four-barreled machine of death.
- Squishy Wizard: The Sorcerer class, without question. He is able to absolutely destroy the legions of Hell and the Serpent Riders with ease, but he is unable to take much damage, and can't use the heavier weapons, such as the "Liberator".
