Stormsunder: Heirs of Ruin

Happy Fund-iversary!
about 3 years ago – Sat, Mar 06, 2021 at 08:00:16 PM

Hello, folks!

We've been pretty quiet of late but that's because we've been pushing hard on cards (and Stormsunder has a ton of them).  We don't have anything we want to share just yet, but in two weeks (let's say exactly two weeks: March 19th) we're going to have a massive update for you all. For starters, we'll have a look at every single one of Feilheim's cards (minus a few spoiler-ish ones), so you can see how a hero will be structured in the Heirs of Ruin campaign (and as a bonus, since Feilheim wasn't in the demo, plenty of his cards have never been seen before). We'll also show off an assortment of basically every kind of card Stormsunder has. Maybe more than an assortment. It depends how many captions I feel like writing.

In other news, the Chinese New Year is over and we approved all of the V2 (Wave 1 and Wave 2) miniatures for PVC production. Wave 3 (which completes the core game) will be sent soon as well, so things are about to get very exciting (again!) on the miniature front. 

Finally, we posted an update today because March 5th is a very special day: it's the day Stormsunder's Kickstarter campaign ended. We have all of you to thank for how well it ended and we're eternally grateful you joined us on this adventure. 

That's all for now. Until the 19th, we'll see you in the Storm (save some sand-covered cake for Ho-Tem Ra; he's not the forgiving sort).

LSG

Faefire Dragon Unlocked! Specializations! Exclamation Points!
about 3 years ago – Sun, Feb 14, 2021 at 03:55:40 PM

Hello, folks!

We’re going to keep this update relatively short/focused (as we had plenty of updates in January), so let’s get right to it!

The Faefire Dragon is Yours to Command!

The final results haven’t been posted, but it gosh darn sure looks like we made it into BGG’s 20 Most Anticipated Games of 2021! The Faefire Dragon will be added to all stretch goal boxes as our not-that-personal thank you. Enjoy!

Credit Card Charging 

We charged credit cards last week and though we ran into a few minor issues, it was mostly a successful endeavor. There is a small group of about 300 late pledge folks (anyone who pledged before we launched the PM at the beginning of September) that we were unable to charge because of an odd system issue. BackerKit is looking into it and those cards will be charged once it’s sorted out. If for some reason your card was declined, please be sure to check your payment information in BackerKit. BackerKit recommends we retry errors once a week, so we'll give them another go next week.

Wild Assent Backers

We added the free Faeyra miniatures to those who needed it (and ended up giving a $15 discount to people who had already added her, for my personal sanity). We also gave the $15 discount to the Wild Assent folks who completed their Nyere pledges. We ended up not adding the Wayward Squire expansion yet as it’s not coming until Wave 2.

Gameplay Spotlight – Specializations

Here and there we’ve mentioned that not all Stormsunder’s gameplay is in the demo/demo rulebook. An excellent example of that are Specializations, diverse sets of abilities that players choose for their heroes. Unlocked at level 6 (the highest level in Heirs of Ruin), there are a total of nine Specializations, but each class may only choose from a list of four. Specializations will continue into Bones of the Conquered and A Pharaoh’s Wrath, fleshing out your heroes’ ability deck with new and more powerful cards.

Here are the cards from three of Stormsunder’s Specializations, Close Quarters, Artillery and Taming:

Tough may not seem like the strongest ability around, but keep in mind that many classes with access to Close Quarters often do not have any way to recover armor. 

As its name suggests, artillery is for heroes who want to focus on ranged abilities, either to strengthen their existing arsenals or provide additional versatility. 

Taming lets your hero take their companion to the next level (figuratively), strengthening the bond between man and beast/creature/robot-thing. 

That's it for now! Until next time, we'll see you in the Storm (don't play Sunder Armor against the Storm in Stormsunder from your hand... That would be underhanded).

Free Mini in Peril and Credit Cards to be Charged Tomorrow
about 3 years ago – Wed, Feb 03, 2021 at 10:49:31 PM

Hello, folks!

Remember this guy:

Well, at that moment he's still trapped in the digital realm because we are 30th in the running for BGG's 20 Most Anticipated Board Games of 2021. So, I'll make a deal with you. If we get 1250 votes (about 700 from where we are now), you'll get this guy whether or not we make it into the top 20. Also (also), if we get those 1250 votes, we'll show you another stretch goal you can unlock...

So, go >>>>>>>>>>here<<<<<<<<<< and do this:

We're Charging Credit Cards Tomorrow (February 3rd)

As we said before, tomorrow is the day (for completed pledges). Couple of side notes:

- We'll be looking for Wild Assent backers via email address to add their rewards/credits right before we charge. If you backed Wild Assent (Kickstarter or late pledge) and changed your email address, please reach out via Kickstarter private message). 

- The PM is not closing for Wave 1. We're just doing the first round of charges. If you're still undecided, you have until the summer.

That's it for now. We'll be back soon to talk about hero specializations (with cards!) and probably other stuff. Until then, we'll see you in the Storm (click the box to survive). 

- LSG

The Great VAT and Vote
over 3 years ago – Sun, Jan 24, 2021 at 01:28:37 AM

Hello, folks!

(let's get started)

VAT VAT VAT (Everybody)

VAT is boring (and lately, awful) and it only affects about half of our backers, so we’re going to keep this short and sweet: We’re not going to charge EU and UK backers (Kickstarter or late pledge) anything extra for VAT for Wave 1, or anything for Wave 2 that folks get before we close the pledge manager permanently for Wave 1. Will we charge people VAT for Wave 2 stuff that is bought later? I honestly have no idea, nor will I until we’re start preparing the PM for Wave 2.

Ugh, even that was too much VATalk. Let’s get back to board games…

Vote Now! Wooo!

Thanks to your tireless efforts we have made it through the nomination process for BGG’s 20 Most Anticipated Games of 2021. We’re not out of the woods yet, though, and we still need your help! Vote for Stormsunder here so we can make it into the coveted final 20:  

>>>>>>>>>>>> Vote here, please. <<<<<<<<<<<<

Stormsunder is in the Overall, Fantasy and Miniatures categories; please check those shiny boxes for all three and click vote at the very bottom.

Your (other) votes are in, and with almost 50% of said vote, you selected the Faefire Dragon to be a new epic companion (assuming we get in that top 20 for Overall, of course). Here is the sculpt:

Speaking of companions…

Companions

We kind of skipped companions when talking about equipment, a decision that was mostly intentional (so we can talk about them now!). Companions can be a powerful addition to any hero’s equipment loadout, though as with the Lesser Phoenix, they aren’t always represented on the board. The Lesser Phoenix is considered a small companion, as it doesn’t have a Speed value identified on its card.

The Chameleon and Faefire Dragon companions are considered medium, as they have a Speed value but no Health. They have a miniature on the board but are easily displaced by adversaries. They cannot be killed, however, and can contribute to flanking in addition to their normal skills.

Are there large companions, you ask? Not in Heirs of Ruin…

Taking Money from Pledge Manager on February 3rd

Just a reminder that we will be charging credit cards for all completed pledges soon (specifically, February 3rd). We were originally going to do it at the end of the month, but wanted to wait to post this update for the BGG voting, which was delayed by a week (we also wanted to give people plenty of a heads-up that the charge train was coming). If your pledge isn't finished, no worries, we'll pick you up when we're ready to close the PM for Wave 1. 

Masters - The Sequel

In our last update of 2020 we talked about being behind on a host of things, one of them being the miniatures taking longer to get sorted out than expected. Here are some of the results of that extra leg work, in the form of version 2 masters (V1 will always be on the left).

Notice the deeper details on all of Jaden's armor plating and wing thingies (technical term).

Feilheim's headpiece and his axe are the greatest benefactors of the second round of fixes. The V2 really shows off the woodgrain and runes.

As you can see, Wynter's tray table (sword handle) has been returned to its upright and locked position. 

Cuts can be a difficult part of the miniature process and the way Davor's head/neck-thingy (also technical term) looked didn't set well with us. Gustavo extended the fur of his cloak a tad, which makes the V2's cut on the right look more natural and less noticeable.

That's it for now (Vote!), until next time, we'll see you in the Storm (beware the VAT Beast, he has to show  up eventually).

- LSG

Stretch Goal Unlocked (New Miniature), BGG and More!
over 3 years ago – Fri, Jan 15, 2021 at 12:17:09 AM

Hello, folks,

In the swirling maelstrom that was the holidays, we didn’t really have time to reflect on the progress of Stormsunder and its campaign, the late pledge, and well, our company as a whole. There’s no doubt 2020 was challenging for pretty much everyone, but it also ushered in some pretty big (and good) changes for Lazy Squire Games as well. So, while riding that high, we’ve decided we want to give back. How will we do that, you ask? Random Stretch Goals, that’s how.

Sir Luther Kent has been around for quite a while, but up until now his fate had been sealed. I’m not going to say you saved him, because that decision has yet to be made (by each of you, as you play Stormsunder), but you have opened the possibility that he can be saved, which is more than he had in 2020. We’ll be adding Sir Luther’s miniature to the stretch goal box, meaning every backer (Kickstarter or late pledge) will get him for free. I don’t want to get too far into his story or purpose, but his card is pretty illuminating all by itself:

You’ll note he is an adversary. If you didn’t already know, we were very careful when it came to the terminology on the hero and adversary cards, and Sir Luther Kent is a good example of why. Yes, he is an adversary, but barring disaster he isn’t the heroes’ enemy. Encounters in Stormsunder may incorporate more than one faction, allowing the players to choose who to help (or who to kill). These competing factions will often be set against each other, meaning they may target each other rather than the heroes.

Will we have more Random Stretch Goals? That’s a good question. We’ll have to see how things go in 2021, but it always pays to be prepared…

BoardGameGeek’s 20 Most Anticipated Games of 2021

BGG is running their annual competition to determine what board game is most likely to be named prom king/queen (I think). Well, if I’m being honest with myself, I think we all would like Stormsunder to be prom king or queen. That said, we *are* Lazy Squire Games and understand if folks don’t want to click a link and then click the thumbs up icon on Stormsunder’s post here: https://boardgamegeek.com/geeklist/279742/item/8078784#item8078784

We get it. So, to get folks motivated, we’ve decided to offer something to sweeten the deal. If Stormsunder makes it through the nomination process (ending January 16th) for the Overall category (top 60ish) and finishes in the whole competition in the top 20, we’ll add a new pet to the stretch goal box for all backers (see below). Bribes are perfectly legit in this competition (I checked) so do your part for free cute plastic.

Vote (but Push the Button First)!

Vote in the comments of this update (not the general comments, please) for which pet you would like to see if Stormsunder makes it into the coveted top 20:

Equipment

We promised to go over equipment at some point, so here it is! We won’t do an exhaustive look, but we wanted to show off cards that weren’t in the demo, and there’s no better place to begin than with starting equipment:

Each hero begins the game with three pieces of exclusive starting equipment. They are all considered unique and cannot be equipped by other heroes. Vanessa’s crossbow may be weaker than the ones she can find later in the game, but it still knocks a punch. If either of those two green (physical) dice land on a “Special” she knocks her target away from her.

Notice how Vanessa’s gear is less powerful than Quell’s; that’s intentional. Quell can be recruited much later in Heirs of Ruin, meaning her equipment needs a bit of a boost so she is viable out of the gate (also, what’s a game without power creep?). Quell’s Headdress especially may be difficult to give up, as it not only gives her two armor, but makes her attacks more powerful once her enemies have chipped away all her armor.

Here we have some more unique equipment, this time cards that can be found throughout the world (some, only available based on player decisions). Unlike starting equipment, regular unique equipment is often incredibly powerful, but also carrying hefty stat requirements (Belar’s Greatsword is great if you can get it, but good luck with that 12 Strength requirement). Lazlek’s Supplies has an active that is also an exhaust, meaning an AP cost must be paid (in this case, 4) but also that it can only be used once per encounter.

Finally, let’s talk about sets. Sets are a small group of equipment (usually 2-3) that unlock special skills if you manage to equip enough of them. The Grandfather set may be difficult to put together, but if you pull it off you will get a hefty +2 BD to all your hero’s attacks, as the set bonuses are additive.

Communication

Lastly, we’re (I’m) a little behind again on correspondence, emails especially. I’ve blocked a nice chunk of my day tomorrow to clear everything out, so if you haven’t heard back about something, please be patient for a day or two (after that assume I missed it and fire away).

That’s it for now! We’ll be back soon with another update on the pet contest and some random game mechanic I haven’t chosen yet. Until then, we’ll see you in the Storm (Inali gives it a thumbs up, so should you).