Explore a dark-fantasy future with your hero, completing their quests to win in this retro, competitive, cooperative and solo adventure game!
Latest Updates from Our Project:
Last Days and Vile Invaders
over 5 years ago
– Sun, Nov 25, 2018 at 10:55:22 PM
Hello fine backers!
We have made it a great distance and there are just over TWO DAYS, 67 hours, left in the first part of our journey! We have smashed through 23 stretch goals and we’re close to the end. For now. We plan on adding to the game in the future with expansions that will bring new characters, items, locations, books and mechanics. We have also been discussing several downloadable game additions (created by Gilded Skull and by fans) such as a ‘content creation kit’ for fans to build their own game scenarios and a solo 'puzzle mode' wherein players would attempt to figure their way out of various tricky situations…
...But right now we must remain focused on the core game and the Vile Invaders.
Speaking of which, I’ll take a minute to talk about the VILE INVADERS. In this expansion we are including three new heroes (their six items, tokens and standees), twelve enemies, a new boss enemy (and his items) and one follower: the majestic PALE HORSE. There are other additional new weapons and items that will be included. Most importantly, there are eight new locations, each with branching story paths! Also included are nine new Heroic Quests and twelve Side Quests. Most of these quests are related to the new mechanic 'crafting', some are not.
The new 'crafting' mechanic, the ability for characters to upgrade and create items using collected resources, adds further depth and choice to the game. On your turn, for 1AP, your player controlled hero or follower may attempt to roll to collect resources. If they succeed, they may draw a resource into their character's inventory from a resource deck that contains wood, ore and water. With resources, a character may build a SMELTING KILN, to smelt ore into metal, or the HAMMER and ANVIL, which may be used to upgrade or create metal weapons and shields. Resources have other uses. You may create traps to gather food (to heal) or to damage enemies, for example. Some characters in the expansion, one hero in particular, may use resources to create eggs to reproduce their own kind and create a follower from scratch!
The characters, items and locations of the expansion are shuffled into the existing decks and add a great deal of variation to the game. We are very excited to give you more information as the expansion continues to develop after the campaign is complete.
WE ARE SO CLOSE TO FINISHING THE CAMPAIGN! In these final few hours, please try to tell people about the game wherever possible. I think that our biggest challenge has been letting people know that it exists!
As far as what’s ahead, we are currently revealing more about THE GAPING MAW, an unlocked game location, on BoardGameGeek.com at this link: https://boardgamegeek.com/article/30576615
As you scroll down the post you will find a post that begins with '(ACTION 047) PEER AROUND THE EDGE OF THE CAVE!' which will ask you to make a LUCK ROLL (read the post for more details). The BoardGameGeek forum has a randomized roll 'system' that allows forum members to 'roll dice' in a post to obtain an outcome. We will gather and average all of the outcome rolls for this location tomorrow morning at 10AM EST to see what happens next!
Thanks again to all of our amazing backers. Here’s to the next two days and to our exciting future beyond that!
Rob
The New Sights and Sounds!
over 5 years ago
– Tue, Nov 20, 2018 at 10:40:41 PM
Hello Friends!
Again, a lot has happened since our last update! Several stretch goals were met. Kara, a new playable character, will be added to the game. Her sneaky special power makes playing as Kara quite unique. A game ‘soundtrack’ album was unlocked! I’ll pause here to talk a bit about this stretch goal as it’s a pretty amazing one.
Errant Space is creating a custom soundtrack for the game, available for free to all backers. This soundtrack will contain music inspired by the retro, dark-fantasy, sci-fi themes of the game and by the various locations and creatures found in its world. The soundtrack will also contain lengthy tracks that are sort of like ‘ambient sound paintings’: Imagine sitting on a fallen tree in the world of Dark Venture, hidden from view under a crumbling bridge. What do you hear? In the distance, a sword fight. The screaming of a sarkag wolf while it tracks its prey, a badly injured trader. The electric whine of a sparking portal, exploding into existence several feet away from you then disappearing just as quickly. That’s what these extended tracks will sound like. The soundtrack will take you on a trip into this world, immersing you deeper in the game!
Next, the GAPING MAW location has been unlocked. It will be added to the game. Everyone will now be able to explore it themselves when they get the game, but let’s take a step into the adventure right now…
The location entry for the GAPING MAW (Location 23) ends with this: “Your eyes follow a trail of bones that leads down the road and into a clearing ahead. When a player’s hero or follower enters this location, read (ACTION 046).”.
We move our hero into this location and read ACTION 046:
ACTION 046: As you walk past bone after bone, getting closer to the cave, you begin to hear a scraping noise. The sound, similar to someone sharpening a long sword on a whetstone, is coming from deep within the cave. You listen intently and above the steady, repetitive scraping you can also hear an electric buzz. A player’s hero or weapon-wielding follower may, for 1 AP, choose to: PEER AROUND THE EDGE OF THE CAVE (ACTION 047), CALL INTO THE CAVE (ACTION 048) or WALK RIGHT INTO THE CAVE (ACTION 049).
We will reveal the most popular path in a future update!
Lastly, you will notice that we’ve created an ‘Add-on’ section to the campaign page. Now that the custom dice have been unlocked, for custom dice lovers, we’re offering additional sets of four for ten bucks. There’s no shipping charge if you order up to three additional sets!
We’re also offering a unique dice tray made by C4 Labs. I had been looking for a dice tray for a while and was thinking of making one myself...until I found this one. It has a neat, hexagonal shape (that perfectly fits a hexagonal Prime Ancient card!), is easy to transport and works really well. I’ve been using it (well, one without the Dark Venture print on it) with my game group for months and we love it.
I think that’s it. Download a free song, vote on your path and...thank you for your support!
Bye for now,
Rob
Custom Game Dice Unlocked!
over 5 years ago
– Sun, Nov 18, 2018 at 08:38:04 PM
Hello friends!
Good morning. Last night, the next stretch goal for the campaign was hit: Four custom six-sided dice will replace the standard red dice in Dark Venture. These custom etched, ivory and deep brown dice have a skull in place of the number 1. The other faces, 2 through 6, have been lovingly hand-designed with numbers that are unique in every way.
We are currently traveling and will return on Tuesday to update the campaign page (UNLOCKING the dice). We will also deliver the first choice to make upon entering THE GAPING MAW, a location card (with associated guide entries) that could be added to the game if the stretch goal is met!
That’s it for now, thanks again and speak soon!
Rob
STRETCHED TO KREFT!
over 5 years ago
– Tue, Nov 13, 2018 at 10:11:46 PM
Hello!
Just a quick note to say THANK YOU! We’re glad that Kreft was unlocked and now we're well on our way to unlocking the RETRO IVORY CUSTOM DICE (which will also be available as a separate add-on)! Note: They are ivory COLOR, not real ivory!
Speaking of add-ons, we are currently setting things up with a pledge manager who will help to make everyone’s life easier after the campaign. More news on that soon.
I have been in talks with the music composer who wrote the tracks used in our videos and we are going to offer a FULL GAME SOUNDTRACK as a stretch goal, EXCLUSIVE to Kickstarter, that will be free for backers to download at some point after the campaign (you will be sent a Bandcamp code to download it).
We will also be offering an ACTUAL CD in a real JEWEL CASE as an add-on! How much more old-school does it get than to actually listen to music using a CD player (maybe listening to music on a tape player)?
For those of you too young to remember (or for those who have never been into a Walmart), this is what a CD ('COMPACT DISK') looks like.
Haha. That’s it for now! Thanks!
- Rob
15 Stretch Goals Unlocked! Plus more on Dual Guides & Ancients
over 5 years ago
– Mon, Nov 12, 2018 at 10:12:16 PM
With the super-fancy, plastic box insert unlocked, that makes FIFTEEN stretch goals achieved! A lot of backers have helped in suggesting or giving input on these goals so we thank you. Every stride we make is making Dark Venture better and better. Next up are the CUSTOM DICE and KARA, a new hero.
The custom dice LOOK AWESOME! As soon as they are unlocked (all Core Sets and Expanded Sets will include 4 custom-etched and painted dice), we will be offering packs of four additional dice as an ADD-ON to any pledge over the $1 level. The 4-packs will be available for $10 and if you order 3 or fewer there's no additional shipping charge!
A little note about the hero packs: We originally thought that the they would include a card to explain the hero's backstory but it just made sense to add that information into the guide, like the rest of the heroes!
Kara is really great to play because she is able to 'sneak' around the map unnoticed. Often, you'll find yourself in a situation where there's an *AGGRESSIVE* enemy or creature blocking entry into a location that you need to travel through. Instead of having to attack the creature (or use a Cured Meat or Rotting Fish item to lure the creature away), Kara can make a 'stealth roll' against her LUCK attribute to move past the aggressive beast (or another player!) unnoticed. She is also a martial-arts master, able to perform a 'deadly strike', reducing the health of an enemy to 20 with one lucky hit. Coupled with her ability to increase her ATTACK BONUS with MOONSEED ELIXIR (once) and her poisoned dagger that has a chance to add an additional 1d6 to her damage she is a formidable threat, even if she isn't able to evade a foe!
Wait. I think that I see someone lurking in the bushes...or is it just the wind blowing branches...
As promised, I wanted to talk a bit about the DUAL GUIDES and the PRIME ANCIENTS in this update. I'll save a deeper dive into the Expansion Set crafting mechanics and weird creatures for another update.
First, the DUAL set of LOCATION and ACTION GUIDES. We are currently working on the story component for the second set of guides which is a big task. The flowchart of events that can happen in each individual location can get quite complicated, and there are 22 locations in the Core Set. Current thinking is that players will pick either guide set A or B at the beginning of the game. This is based on what’s printed on the location cards, how all the cards will be used with each guide set, and how the guides are written. This will still need to be tested thoroughly in the coming weeks, but that’s how it is working best now. There are a lot of different location links and twists in each set of guides that will keep things interesting in every game, I assure you!
Next, a bit of explanation on the PRIME ANCIENTS that were unlocked. They add a really great, optional, layer. At the beginning of the game, players choose an ancient. Each ancient will grant the player a DIVINE POWER (often allowing the player to break a game rule!) once the player has WON their FAVOR. From the rule card:
"A player’s chosen ancient is placed face-down next to their HERO DASHBOARD. Upon meeting the conditions listed under WIN HIS FAVOR, the card is flipped. The player is then able to utilize the DIVINE POWER of that ancient at any time, during any player’s turn.".
One ancient (see above) requires that there are 4 characters of different factions on the map in order to grant their Divine Power, the ability to re-draw cards. Another ancient (further above!) requires that you play a Beast faction character onto the map, then allows you to take a wolf as a follower. I've played games where a Divine Power helped to win (in both solo and competitive), right at the last second.
So that’s it for now! Please let me know what you’d like to hear more about, what you’d like explained and I’ll try to add it into the next update. That’s it for now! Thanks!
