PVC Samples and the Road Ahead
almost 3 years ago – Fri, May 14, 2021 at 03:33:12 AM

Hello, folks!

We have a lot of things to talk about and some amazing things to show you, so let’s get right to it.

Challenges and the Road Ahead

With the awesome news of piles of PVC samples (that are gorgeous, by the way; see below), comes the bitter reality that achieving that level of detail is a painfully slow process. We touched on this before, but I can’t undersell both the amount of work our folks have been putting in and the patience our manufacturer has had with our tweaks and adjustments. At last we are able to see those efforts translated into the final product, but we need to face reality on how long it took to get here. It’s the second week of May and we’re still not quite finished with Heirs of Ruin (with the Stretch Goals box, HoR Terrain, Villains & Civilians I and the two single-mini boxes to go). The first PVC samples are a giant leap forward (and the process has been speeding up as both us and our manufacturer have gotten into a groove), but we still have a long way to go. I’ve seen the comments here and on Discord of folks predicting we would delay, and sadly, you all are very correct. That said, I feel like we are delaying for good reasons and after looking at those pictures below, I hope you agree. All that said, we’re moving the fulfillment of Wave 1 to start March 2022.

PVC Samples

Below are the gorgeous results of the tireless efforts of a not-insignificant number of people and I hope you are as happy with them as we are. You might be wondering why it’s only 16 sculpts, that’s because the rest of the approved sculpts share molds with sculpts we’re reviewing now (so expect an even bigger batch of PVC samples as we close out Heirs of Ruin).

Stormbrush

We’ve had a few requests to see more Stormbrush, so we made sure some were included with the PVC samples. Here are what they look like:

Bonus Round

I mean, why not?

Size/Detail Comparison

We grabbed minis from three narrative-focused games we have on hand and lined them up with our very own Aleksander for scale, detail and glory. If I’m not mistaken, it’s PVC (Middara - Unintentional Malum: Act I), PVC (Tainted Grail: The Fall of Avalon), and HIPS (Kingdom Death: Monster 1.5 and Percival). Feel free to brutally correct me in the comments.

Closing the Pledge Manager

Because we are delaying fulfilment, there technically is no reason to close the PM this Summer. That said, when we charged credit cards earlier this year, it was a bit of an adventure behind the scenes and we want to make sure we have a semi-accurate count of what people plan to get for Wave 1. That means we will be charging again, this time the week of June 14th. We would appreciate it if anyone who wants to add any Wave 1 extras to do so and finalized their pledge before then so we can charge cards and get all backers on the same page. The tentative plan is to close the PM for Wave 1 permanently this fall.

Wild Assent (Where *You* are the Other White Meat)

So, I think we’re kind of in the “walking the walk” stage on miniatures, so I’m contractually obligated to remind you of our upcoming reprint campaign for Wild Assent on Gamefound (follow to get a free mini with your pledge, etc etc): https://gamefound.com/projects/draft/hxw0v9sewixu3vyewrs57wdxoga. 

If you like what you’ve seen so far for Stormsunder, we have some miniatures from the campaign that are going to look absolutely awesome:

The Road Ahead (the Sequel)

I know this update has been light on gameplay information, but that will change drastically in the next month. We plan to post another full card reveal in early June and then at the end of that month show off the first real chunk of Stormsunder’s story (the prologue, specifically) since the launch of the Kickstarter campaign. We’ll have non-spoiler stuff for folks who don’t want to partake (but c’mon… it’s the prologue!), don’t worry.

That’s it for now, until next time we’ll see you in the Storm (looks like we’re going to be in here longer than we thought).

Final PVC Teaser (Now With More Vaseline)
almost 3 years ago – Tue, Apr 27, 2021 at 01:50:39 AM

Hello, folks!

We received some pictures from the manufacturer today, and while they have yet to upgrade the toaster they take photos with, it's still kind of hard to not get excited:

That's all you get for now. We should have these (and the other samples that have been made) in our hands in 2-3 weeks where they will get the proper "pictured on the shelf above Robert's fireplace" treatment. Until then, just know that an army approaches...

Wild Assent - Lavon Rising

In other news, we've put up a preview page for a new campaign for Wild Assent on Gamefound.  You can check out the page...

>>>>>>>>>> HERE. <<<<<<<<<<

The arrows are Nikola's fault. If you follow the campaign on Gamefound, you get a free mini with your pledge:

For those of you who don't know, Wild Assent is Lazy Squire Games' first game, which we used as a loose framework for Stormsunder. Stormsunder's campaign mode was actually based on a sample campaign we made for Wild Assent which we decided was too ambitious to use at the time. Both games share the same skirmish-inspired combat, including some core mechanics that make jumping from one to the other pretty seamless. We plan to take that original campaign for Wild Assent and make it a reality. Sort of a "Stormsunder Lite" if you will. 

Anyway, check out the page and let us know what you think! We'll be back as soon as my house is raining tiny plastic people. Until then, we'll see you in the Storm (your insurance doesn't cover "PVC to the face," FYI).

- LSG

A Rare Look at Rewards & Consequences of Your Decisions
about 3 years ago – Mon, Apr 19, 2021 at 10:52:54 PM

Hello, folks!

Today we’re going to take a look at how your decisions can affect your progress in the story of Heirs of Ruin by analyzing a specific set of interactions in Act II of the story. There are spoilers here, but I’ve chosen an event that isn’t pivotal to the overall plot and will not be showing the actual story text, so the impact should be "light" should you choose to partake (there are totally pictures though). Nevertheless, if you want to avoid absolutely all spoilers, there’s a warning (and a big picture of Aleksandra) below to make sure you don’t see anything you don't want to.

Since we just told some of you to not scroll to the bottom, that means we need to talk about our next campaign now! Wild Assent fulfillment starts this week and we’re hoping to follow up the buzz the game is getting with a new expansion, and, well, a game we can actually sell. Wild Assent was very expensive to produce (and we were and still are a pretty small company), so we did not make much in the way of extra stock. That’s a bit of a problem since a not insignificant number of people have reached out to us hoping to get the game. Anyway, check out the preview page on Gamefound here.

You get a free mini if you Follow the campaign (if you pledge, of course), so that’s a thing. This thing, in fact:

That’s it for now (except that juicy decision thing below). When we return, we should have a literal pile of final PVC miniatures to show you. Until then, we’ll see you in the Storm, where all spoilers are obscured by swirling sands…

SPOILERS AHEAD

You wanted to read the caption, didn't you? I said spoilers!

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Last Chance!

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Okay, enough of that nonsense.

The Escaped Thralls

At some point in the story, the heroes may come across a group of thralls, led by… some person, who have escaped the city of Tarpitt. The players are presented with the decision of either capturing them, letting them pass or actively helping them (more on that later). Aleksander (and to a lesser extent, Aleksandra) want to round them up, which would result in an encounter, with the challenge of trying to not kill too many of those precious, precious walking blood dispensers while they try to escape and that person tries to kill you. Capturing the… person, will also net several rewards I won’t detail here, but also comes with a price down the road, making your visit to Tarpitt a little more difficult (uh, yeah, spoilers).

Adina, Vanessa and Capac will, of course, want to let them go. Siding with the vampires will have repercussions for your heroes down the road (which we won’t be getting into), but let’s just say that these are the kind of moral/immoral decisions that can permanently change the heroes’ opinion of their quest, their “allies” and the general makeup of your party.

Regardless of the players’ decisions, a squad of Tarpitt guardsmen will show up shortly after, seeking the escaped thralls. Led by Guard Captain Belar, their arrival can go several different ways depending on your interactions with the thralls (and that person) shortly before. If you captured the thralls and the person with minimal casualties, you can offer them up to Belar which will earn you his gratitude, a bit of cred in Tarpitt and a new side quest you can take on his behalf. If too many thralls escaped or died, you can kiss that credibility goodbye and there may be other consequences once you reach the city.

If you let the thralls escape on purpose, you can choose to kill Belar and his guardsmen outright. Doing so will net you his sword and, of course, ensure you won’t see him again (one would assume). There’s also a general price to be paid for killing the denizens of Tarpitt, but we’ll get into that some other time (probably never; you'll have to play the game).

If you helped the thralls escape, you can still offer to help Belar hunt them down (regardless of how much sense that makes). You also have this option if you never came across the thralls at all. If the thralls escaped or died on your watch before, Belar will decline your offer of aid.

If you do help, it doesn’t take Belar and the party long to find the thralls. Another choice must be made: which side do you choose? You can betray Belar here, whether it’s your first time seeing the thralls or not. This will result in an encounter that is similar (but opposite) to the previous one we talked about, with your party trying to ensure the escape of the thralls before they are captured (with the help of... that person) while not getting killed by Belar's guardsmen. Killing the vampires ensures the thralls safety and equips them for the dangers ahead. It will also earn the gratitude of that person, which can help you gain access to Tarpitt without entering the main gate, and may unlock another quest within the city.

We discussed vaguely about the consequences of capturing the thralls for the “good” heroes, but what about the “evil” or morally ambiguous ones? Will saving the thralls (and other heroic actions) pave the way for Aleksander and/or Aleksandra to leave the party? Are Wynter and Feilheim even there, and if they are, do they care one way or the other?

Excellent questions, but I'm afraid that’s all the time we have today…

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 For people who want to comment...

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All Feilheim, All the Time
about 3 years ago – Sat, Mar 20, 2021 at 02:00:24 AM

Hello, folks!

Do you like cards? Do you like half-giants? Do you like half-giant cards (that doesn't sound right)? If any or all of these apply to you, today is a good day to be, well, you! Let’s have a look at Feilheim, the Hinterlord (level by level):

That’s it for now! I promised more cards than this, I believe, but I think this is more than enough for folks to sink their teeth into. 

What do you think of Feilheim’s cards? Did you like this kind of update (hero card-splosion) and want to see more of them? If so, which hero (vote in the comments below!)? 

Until next time, we’ll see you in the Storm (don’t pull out your deck unless you feel like playing 15-card pickup).

- LSG

The Master Surprise
about 3 years ago – Thu, Mar 11, 2021 at 11:23:40 PM

You thought we'd be back in two weeks, you say? That's because we said that you say? There's a lot of people saying stuff, is what I say. I also say... masters!

First up, King of Average (of the land of Avergonia) just posted a video of V2 masters (batch 1 or 2... I've lost track) and his camera is waaaaaay better than mine (please note his tagline there is prophetic; they are resin masters as masters usually are):

You want more masters, you say? It's funny you should say that... But you have to wait. I can't tell you how many comments I've answered regarding our first game, Wild Assent. Folks wanted to see Wild Assent (either see it delivered, see its quality, or simply see its gameplay). So, if folks are still interested in that sort of thing, check out the first review for Wild Assent from Alex Radcliffe of BoardGameCo:

You might think my reason for posting that was a stretch (it really was a lot of comments, though), so your reward is batch 3 masters:

That's it for now! We'll be back whenever I said we would to show of all those sweet, juicy cards. Until then, we'll see you in the Storm (where all cameras are at last, equal).

- LSG