As deep as an RPG, as fast as a card game! A Co-operative Adventure card game that allows a party of 1-4 players (1-8 with both starter sets) to explore a deep and colourful world, populated by strange curiosities, challenging trials and intelligent foes.
Latest Updates from Our Project:
Happy New Year everyone!
over 6 years ago
– Thu, Jan 04, 2018 at 12:52:35 AM
Hey guys - Happy New Year!
I'll break with tradition and migrate from one of the longest updates we have done to one of the shortest ones.
I just wanted to wish you all the very best for 2018 and cover off a couple of things that people asked on the last update.
1 - Character progression and terminology When we designed Legends we quickly realised we would have to sweat our 'real estate' (the space we have on the cards) to deliver the vision. This means we use a lot of glossary terms and icons, and also sometimes lose the odd hour or two of our lives as we debate the merits of related synonyms (Room vs Location vs Environment etc).
The glossary terms also help us describe rules cogently and prepare future content with everyone (hopefully) knowing what we mean when we use a term. To simplify character progression we, therefore, adopted the terms Level and Rank.
Your character begins at Level 1, every time you meet the required level up conditions of an Adventure (either a Scenario or Episode) you will level up.
With the base game when you level up eight times, your character is deemed to be sufficiently experienced to progress to a new chapter of the story. This is why we use the term Rank - it helps describe that whole 'chapter of the story' if you will.
So the core Novice Rank content comprises the Weeping Caves and the Great Sewer. Both these environments contain sufficient material that you can level up the required eight times with a character to move you onwards to greater things. Please note there are eight standalone Scenarios and eight linked Episodes in each set (for a total of sixteen Adventures in the Caves and sixteen Adventures in the Sewers). This is deliberate and was an unlocked stretch goal to give you greater flexibility and more gameplay.
At Level 9 you would be ready for a new experience, that is where the Apprentice Rank content comes in.
Apprentice Rank As many of you will know Legends was envisioned as a large project. We had no idea that our vision would generate such a level of interest, and, as we have said many times, we feel both delighted and humbled that so many of you have chosen to join us. I have deliberately refrained from talking too much about Apprentice Rank content recently as it just seemed inappropriate. We want to get the Novice Rank game to you as soon as we can, that continues to be our priority.
I have had a fair number of people asking about our plans though, and we do recognise that only a fraction of you could join us at the Expo 17 where we shared our thoughts on the matter.
I began writing down my thoughts on explaining the Apprentice Rank content further for you. As I began writing it quickly became clear to me that you would gain more by watching our Expo Update video if you have not done so. I have viewed it again myself and I believe it will give you the best introduction to our future plans for Apprentice Rank:
Legends Untold Products: I have had a number of enquiries asking about their pledges and what they will receive:
1) The Weeping Caves starter set 2) The Great Sewer starter set 3) The Alchemist Booster set 4) The Druid Booster set 5) The Novice Rank Treasure Booster set 6) The UKGE 2017 Promo cards 7) A set of four dragon dice
To try and aid clarity: The base reward is number 1 which will also give you 3,4,5 and 6 for free.
Number 2 and Number 7 are optional add ons.
Addresses I have updated a number of delivery addresses since the last update, if you need me to change yours please do get in touch.
That's it for now folks. We are back to work after the break, priorities are as we stated before, finishing those six cards and then getting the rules, counters and packaging proofed and away to the manufacturer as quickly as possible.
I look forward to speaking with you in 2018.
Best wishes from all of us at IG.
Christmas Update - it's overdue and it's a big one.
over 6 years ago
– Wed, Dec 27, 2017 at 12:16:52 AM
LU Update. Hey guys, Merry Christmas to you all!
This has been a hard update to write. We have come off the back of the most intense period of activity on this project since the campaign launch. I'll come straight to the point folks. The truth (with the benefit of hindsight) is that we had no idea just how much work proofing involved. We can (and do) budget for scheduling risks such as illness, PC's breaking down, misalignment of holidays (what do you mean you don’t celebrate Thanksgiving in the UK…) and so forth but these are known and expected risks. We have never pretended to be veterans at this gig, however, I was watching a program the other night and a comment was made was along the lines of 'sometimes the problem is you don’t know what you don’t know.' That is a very apt description of the past six weeks at Inspiring Games.
We knew we would have to spend a lot of time checking typos and grammar. We knew we would have to utilise outside help to phrase the cards correctly using appropriate gaming terminology. However, we did not know anything about: unicode data merge translation errors, text alignment settings or orphan words to name but a few of the things we have had to get up to speed on.
So, first of all, you have my apologies for not being in touch for such a long time. The bit of this job I actually enjoy the most is conversing with you guys, you made the project possible and you are of course entitled to high quality communication from us. During this period of the project only I had to resort to putting up micro updates in the comments section just to create some bandwidth for the team. Once we began to realise just how many errors were being found in the cards we really needed to get all hands to the pump to get the project moving forward again.
It has been really tough not updating you properly for so long. I have been getting more and more anxious about not giving you an update as the weeks have passed. This is our baby and we think and talk about Legends every day. I want to spend that time delivering cool things for you, not worrying about the frequency of our updates. I very much hope this is a freak occurrence and we will be resuming a normalised update schedule again.
Progress So what have we been up to? Well, we have proofed, reiterated and proofed cards continuously. I will cover off more of this in detail later in the update. However, during those multiple iterations, I'm pleased to say we have been able to make a number of improvements to the product as we go. I shall begin with those improvements:
Name boxTo further reinforce the visual clarity of each test type (Basic, Table or Staged) we now have a differently designed card name box on each card that supports the test type. If you look at the following diagram you will see a basic name box for a Basic Test, a box with little tables on it for a Table Test and a box with staging arrows on it for a Staged Test.
Set iconsTo make sure you can find cards easily, or to assist with setup and tear down, or even the dreaded 'cards fall everywhere' scenario we have added a Set icon to each Card Code. The diagram below shows the Set icons for the Novice Rank content in Legends Untold. You should now be able to find your cards more easily.
Pathways The addition of Set icons also enables us to help future-proof the game for you. You may remember that we have talked about Multi Environment Giant Adventure (MEGA) games and Sandbox mode. This is now facilitated via the Pathway icon. When you see such an icon it will give you the opportunity to jump from one environment to another. Clearly in the Novice rank content that means between Caves and Sewers and vice versa. You will see an example of this in the Sewer Seep card further on in the update. However please note we have also added Wilderness icons to some of these cards. The intent here is that this would give you the opportunity at a later date to swap from a Wilderness game to a Caves (or Sewer) environment if the relevant card was drawn. If you have a look at the Back Door card below you can see the newer version has the Wilderness Set icon on it in addition to the Campsite icon.
Those who are keen on the lore will be aware that the first two environments for Legends are the Weeping Caves and the Great Sewer of Dun Mordhain. The next three environments, planned for Apprentice rank, are: the Ancient Crypts, the Brethren Works and the Silent Dark. The diagram below may help with orientation:
I don’t want to give away too many spoilers just now so I will simply show you glimpses of two of these other icons:
This is the Pathway icon for the Ancient Crypts, please note the megalithic structures, eerie blue light and tree roots which are deliberate design motifs to keep the top down Location art in line with the concept art for that environment:
This is the Pathway icon for the Brethren Works. You can see the architecture and floor are quite different here. The Brethren are master stone smiths and those Locations will look very different. Why only two? Where is the Pathway icon for the third environment? Legends is an adventure game and we must be true to that spirit. At this point, none of the people your heroes have spoken to have even heard of the Silent Dark. It's a mystery (deliberately).
Location Cards improvements: Whilst doing the Pathway icons we took the opportunity to tweak a number of the Location cards, some of these tweaks you guys have asked about before (The Shrine), others were ones that we thought: 'Yeah this is not just fiddling for the sake of it, we really do think this will improve the thematic immersion for the gamer, and that matters to us.' The ones I would like to highlight are:
1 - The Big Drain. We'll come to the rules later in the update, for now, please just read the following paragraph:
(NB this is not the final parchment type or book surround for this piece but it helps demonstrate the intent for the update). The passage talks of pipes and how you as reluctant Heroes are searching for one which has been tampered with to permit access: You can see the cosmetic change to the Location card shown below now talks to that paragraph above:
2 - The Sewer Seep. This has always been the card in the Weeping Caves set where you should get a hint of the Great Sewer being close. The sewer workers have built a retaining wall here and yet the stinking filth is still seeping through to the caves. Surely this must have been the work of Man, no self-respecting Brethren Engineers would have signed off on this? Well with imperfect workmanship comes an opportunity for the canny adventurer. If you look at the revised card you can see a small access tunnel has been driven into the rock, increasing the size of the antechamber. At the end of the passageway, there is a boarded up portal - a way into the Great Sewer perhaps?
3 - The Shrine. You guys (Ryan I think) asked about this a while back and I said we would deliver on it. With the blind testing improvement of adding an Adventure icon behind a Barrier, some of our antechambers were too small to accommodate the Adventure icon properly. It was a minor thing but an important one, I wanted to give you the peace of mind it is now fixed.
New card type iconsWe are pleased to reveal two new card type icons for the game which are used to play with the Alchemy Set. If you choose to use the Alchemist expansion the Herbs sit within a separate deck called the Resource deck, not the Adventure deck (where you would find Loot), therefore a new icon is required for Herbs. Potions can be brewed using an Alchemist Kit (which is of course covered via the Kit icon) however a Potion is not a Kit itself, therefore again another icon is required. Importantly Potions do NOT count towards your backpack limit.
Scenario clarity The Scenario cards have arguably been the hardest ones for us to layout in final proofing. This is not really a surprise to us, we are trying to layout an adventure on a single card and accommodate a lot of information. After a lot of attempts we have settled on a design which we think is visually better and functionally more useful than the previous iterations. The Diagram below shows an earlier (unfinished) design and the finished one. I have numbered the improvements below:
1 - Goal section has been moved to the right-hand side to give us more space to give you interesting Setup and Goal sections. This is a fairly light card in terms of text, some of the later cards are practically full on both the left and right-hand side.
2 - For similar reasons the Start section has been moved up to the top right of the card and sits beside the recommended Level Range section.
3 - Whilst pretty, the second rules banner was taking up much needed real estate (not particularly evident on this card I will grant you). It has been removed.
4 - The Time number has been placed further down the card in line with the Adventure Deck composition icons. We thought that large gold rings may have been a nice artistic touch but actually, it was impeding on the text and not delivering what it needed to do. Please note the new Time icon, colour and shape which will form the reverse of the Event cards.
5 - For similar reasons, the number of Location cards icon was moved from the gold ring to further down beside the deck composition icons. Please note the new Location icon, colour and shape which will form the reverse of the Location cards.
6 - The deck composition section has been seriously overhauled: The top and bottom numbers now have equal weight, we have added white parchment and silver rings on the top for Heroic mode and dark parchment with gold rings for Legendary mode. Please also note the Foe card is in the correct colour (red) and the Barrier and Obstacle icons have been replaced with the Time and Location number icons. The Barrier and Obstacle icons were a mistake, they do not need to be prescribed, it is the composition of the Adventure deck that matters on a given Adventure. From a gameplay perspective we can also now amend the number of Locations and the amount of time you have between Heroic and Legendary modes. To be clear this is how they have been designed and playtested, this is just a much better way of showing the player how to set up the game. For the keen eyed the no 5 for the Location number in the upper card was purely put in as a placeholder for graphic design. We have not simply doubled it to 10/12 on a whim!
Adventuring terminology. One thing I want to bring up here are the terms Adventure, Scenario and Episode. An Adventure is the catch call term for the game you play which will either be a Scenario (a one-off game) or an Episode (a game that forms part of a linked Campaign). We have spent a fair bit of time over the past few weeks making sure we use the correct term on each card.
Glossary termsWe have also had a constant battle to make sure we keep the correct balance in the Glossary between one which is too sparse and one which is overwhelming. We believe after a lot of iterations we have now got this right. Legends needs a lot of Glossary terms so that we can say a lot within a short amount of card real estate. When you read the cards and see capitalised words (that you would not normally expect to be so treated) then that is a Glossary term and you will be able to refer to it accordingly. All of this has a direct impact on the cards, for example, many hours have been spent debating whether it should be: ranged attack, Ranged attack or Ranged Attack (it is the latter). So: 'Use as your Ranged Attack' - you know this is a Glossary term, you know it has a meaningful impact on the game.
Other Proofing items
When you add it all up there are approximately 350 unique cards in the Legends Novice Rank set, which equates to about 450 card equivalents by the time you count all the reverses and rotated faces that we use. I am not exaggerating when I say that we have corrected proofing errors which are in the thousands. This is just one card, I have pointed out seven changes over a number of iterations for you to see what the process has involved:
1 - Kit icon replaced with Potion icon. 2 - Card Set icon inserted. 3 - Stray cat hair in the texture removed - bizarrely this was noticed on the day one of my cats regurgitated a dead mouse on the prototype. Thank you for all the jokes on Facebook about Retch Goals but yes this is the cleaned up version. 4 - Reference to Scenario - needs to be Adventure. 5 - Lack of spacing between text does not aid comprehension. 6 - Glossary terms needed to be capitalised (Brew, Potion and Hero). 7 - Better art placement and white glow added to aid visual clarity.
Proofing - Foe example
1 - Incorrect Foe icon colour - should be red. 2 - Keyword Melee added, we used to have an icon for this but found one icon we could lose at last! Also if you look very carefully the tops of the keywords no longer brush the divider line. 3 - Condition and damage icons too small and left aligned. 4 - +1 Missing from Ranged Modifier. 5 - Incorrect use of italics - this is not a piece of flavour text. 6 - Legendary should be in bold to help those electing to use it. 7 - Set Icon required.
Proofing - Discovery example
1 - Change from Basic Name Box to Staged Test Name Box. 2 - Art placement - the Wisp is obscured by the icon and has been flipped horizontally. Also note improved art placement so you can see more of the scene. 3 - Wrong icon being used (Kit not Loot). The icon cartouche should be parchment not green. The icon cartouche has now been placed above the semi-opaque flavour text banner. 4 - Parchment patterning removed (tucked under the flavour text) to give more space for the two lines of rules at the top of the staging results. 5 - Lines between staging results changed to provide more space for text. 6 - Enormously frustrating Unicode error that caused closed speech marks before and after the speech text. This one took forever to fix! 7 - Adjustment of text so that it fits better in the space, improving readability. 8 - Set icon added and placement changed to bottom left.
Proofing - Weapon exampleOn the Weapons front t, e main issue we had was around Glossary terms (Rest Phase not Rest phase etc.) One thing I wanted to make you aware of though was handedness.
I was asked this a long time ago (my memory doesn’t always fail me) and I said I would revert on this subject, well here you go. For those weapons that it applies to (Rough Bow, Crude Polearm and Rough Staff - and of course their respective upgrades) you will now see a 2H marker. This is there to help future-proof the game. If there is an appetite for the Apprentice Rank content we want to introduce shields and other things, at this point what you have in your hands will begin to play a role in the game. And what of the Spear some of you may ask? Well, for now, rest content that your reluctant hero can use it either way. When it comes to upgrading that spear in the Apprentice Rank then we can have a look at where you go next on that path (it has been planned already).
Proofing - Outfit Example
1 - Amendment to card name as we thought it more appropriate in this case. 2 - 'Upgraded' added to make it clear which side of the Outfit was base and which was upgraded (this has been applied to Weapons and Kits also). 3 - any 1 die changed to any one die. We do not always have space for this in Legends, but where we can accommodate it we will. 4 - Card Set icon inserted.
Whilst we are here a note on terminology. There was debate at this end as to whether the singular should be die or the now accepted dice (both are indeed now correct). I eventually solved this problem by asking several hundred gamers for a quick response to a poll on Facebook. The responses were overwhelmingly in favour of continuing to use the more traditional 'roll one die', though there was definitely a healthy minority moving towards the newly accepted 'roll one dice.' In the end we have gone with the 'roll one die' terminology, firstly because of the poll results and secondly because a number of gamers commented that they would assume we had made a mistake and that roll one dice actually meant roll the dice (not the case). Trust me on this one folks, I have never seen so many people get so passionate about something. In the end we are not on a mission to preserve antiquity or anything like that, we have gone with the solution which we think minimises confusion to the best extent possible.
Improvised Weapons One of the things I always wanted to bring to life was the idea of improvised weapons. There is only so much we can do without a GM of course but by using the same format combat results table we think you can have a lot more fun with some of the cards. Here are two of my favourites: the Pickaxe and the Lobgourds.
please note the Theme coming through. The Lobgourds are the same items as used by the Goblin Youths. We ensure both our small assets artist and creature artists (who live in different continents) work off the same world building document to ensure that continuity in the game.
In a similar fashion please note the pickaxe used by the Farmhand in the upgraded Caves Box art you will be getting.
Proofing - Kit example
1 - Divider line added and change from Kit to Upgraded Kit is corrected. 2 - Lack of spacing between text does not aid comprehension. 3 - Better art placement and white glow added to aid visual clarity. 4 - Stray cat hair in the texture removed. 5 - Rest phase amended to Rest Phase. Full stop added. 6 - Card Set icon inserted.
Proofing - thematic example
Take a look at the name boxes above. Why did we change it from Bottled Imps to Brownies you may ask? It all comes down to supporting the theme. The Sax have a cultural benefit, they are masters of the Fey to an extent the other cultures can only dream of. Long periods farming near the woods and marshes has led the Sax farmers to develop an understanding of the Fey, their customs and their etiquette. It is important therefore that we call these creatures by their correct names. Everyone will, of course, have their own interpretation of what a brownie looks like compared to a pixie etc. From a Mor Nadar perspective we want to introduce you to the following three Fey types at Novice rank:
Brownie
Tiny creatures that live in swarms and can easily be confused with insects. Brownies are typically a mottled mix of earth tones, they fashion clothing and weapons out of tiny pieces of fur and wood. Brownies usually have four wings and horns, they should not be confused with their much larger cousin the Whistlin' Brownie which is a separate, wingless, species that looks much more like a tiny human.
Wisp Small creatures, intensely curious about strangers. From a distance, they will appear as a sphere of shimmering light, roughly the size of your hand. If they get close to you, you will see their more human-like form more clearly. Typically up close a Wisp will look like a tiny shimmering human with a single pair of wings and an energy that pulses all around them.
Imp
Permanently crouched over and outrageously quick these creatures are mischief personified. It is difficult to accurately measure them but they are believed to be in the region of 50cm in height. Imps have a cold blue hue to their skin and are adept at hiding high in the shadows. Usually, you will see the fierce glowing eyes of an Imp and then realise that its friends are already clambering all over your belongings.
Product Composition As part of the proofing process we can confirm we are going to adopt a new second book in each set. There will be a common Rulebook in both the Caves and the Sewers Set. In addition each Set shall have a second Campaign book unique to that set. We have adopted this approach as it has become pretty clear to us that what would be of most use to you is to have the core rules locked down in one book and the 'other things' in another. The Campaign book in each set will comprise the following: 1 - a 'Read this first section' which will give a walkthrough scenario enabling you to learn the game as you play it for the rist time. 2 - The Card Almanac, it is definitely useful to have this separate to the rules, you can have both books open at once if you are stuck on a particular card term. 3 (and this is new), a campaign section specific to each Set.
I don't want to give away too many spoilers for the Cinematic Campaign however the passage above (under the section about the Big Drain) gives you a flavour of what will be involved. What we are doing is keeping the Epsiode cards with only a small amount of flavour text with the rest of the space for rules specific to that Episode. Other rules which are relevant to the whole Campaign, and also guidance on how to track your progress will be given in the Campaign Book. We are also adding an introduction and linking sections between each Episode so that you can benefit from greater immersion in the story. This final piece in the jigsaw will let us share with you properly where you have come from and why you are adventuring in these environments. I'm pretty excited about this guys. The Campaign Book concept takes the Cinematic Campaign much further that we originally intended.
StorageAs part of this final tidying up excercise we wanted to try and give you a box insert which will really help you with the game. At the moment we are in discussions with the manufacturer to give you this newer insert rather than the original design.
What we're looking into is giving you a three compartment system as opposed to the current two compartment system. Specifically what I mean by this is if you look at the three large compartments in the centre, the two to the left store one poker deck each, either side of a small separator. The double poker cards are then placed perpendicular to these two decks and on top of them. This leaves you a nice compartment on the right to save your game. You can store the relevant single poker cards here for each of your Heroes so that you are good to go the next time you play. Also please note we are suggesting six trenches for customised storage. These can be used to store dice, dragon dice or counters as you wish. All compartments for decks will be designed to accommodate sleeves (hence why I was asking you guys to measure your sleeved decks a while back - thanks for that).
Production This has definitely taken more time than we thought, we really did think, 'excellent two weeks to go' and then we put the files to our external proof readers and the red pen started to flow, and flow.
Is this a disappointment to us? Yes of course, it means we will incur another delay and our chance of getting it to China this side of CNY has now gone. Does it mean the game will be better for it? Absolutely. There is no doubt that the quality of the game will be massively lifted by such an extensive proofing process. I would hope that you would agree that the proofing adjustments we have shown you in this update (and these are but a small sub set of them) are necessary and will give you a better game ultimately.
This project continues to be a learning process for us. We have taken away a hard lesson over the last two months, that for a game of this size you need to budget on a serious amount of proofing time to complete it. Hugh pointed out to me the other day that we have over 7,000 words of text (often full of complex game terms) just on the Scenario/Episode cards. That is 38 cards out of 350 odd folks.
Next steps? We are behind again and yes it is frustrating for us too. We needed to get the cards finished because everything falls into place after that. The icons on the cards dictate the counters, the cards themselves dictate what goes in the final rulebooks.
As I am writing this I am pleased to say, finally, that all the cards bar six have been finished and proof read extensively. That is a massive leap forward folks. Honestly guys a few weeks ago I was getting a little concerned about it, however we stuck to the process and now, finally, we have 99% cards - this is a huge deal for us and for this project.
The team are taking a much needed break for the festive season to recharge their batteries. In January we require to: 1) Finalise the remaining six cards (these are minor tweaks). 2) Complete the counter sheets 3) Complete the packaging 4) layout the final rulebooks. We have shared the core rule book with you before, any amendments on this book owing to the proofing are minor in nature, a few glossary terms and the rules on Pathways etc.
Right now our plan is to complete all of the points noted above in January and get the files across to the manufacturer so that they can begin with production as quickly as possible after their return from CNY.
I will give you more clarity on exactly what that means when I speak to the manufacturer in early January. I hope you can see the progress that we are making, you have our gratitude for your patience, we are doing all we can to get you the best possible game we can as soon as we can.
I wish you and your families the very best.
Please have a wonderful break!
Kind regards IG
Happy Halloween!
over 6 years ago
– Tue, Oct 31, 2017 at 10:40:48 PM
Hi folks,
Happy Halloween to you!
This is a very special update for us. I mentioned last time that we wanted to give you one last upgrade and today I am excited to reveal it to you.
Why are we giving you another upgrade? We think the game benefits from the upgrade, specifically in two ways: Firstly the new mechanics and assets you are getting will give you more options, they will require you to make more decisions and will have a lasting impact on the Cinematic Campaign. Secondly the upgrade will materially increase the immersion in our world Mor Nadar. During the Kickstarter Campaign we have made reference to our vision including in particular such people as the Sax and the Newcomers. This upgrade helps you see and interact more with those people, in essence we want you to have the opportunity to feel more immersed in the experience. At IG our driving passion is to make something which is:
New, thematic, different and fun.
Those are the qualities which help us make Inspiring Games.
This upgrade, we believe, helps us improve even more on the thematic criterion.
What is the upgrade?
The upgrade comprises an entirely new card type that we originally had planned for the Apprentice Rank content known as a Persona card. Personas are unique characters that exist within the world of Mor Nadar, they interact according to their own characteristics and experience. A Persona differs from a Foe or an Encounter in that they have rules specific to them which can change the game in a number of ways. So a Persona card from the Caves set for example may act in an entirely different way to a Persona card from the Sewers set. What is important is that the Persona cards are used for the Cinematic Campaign and therefore help to build the immersion of the game. You should note that Personas can be killed and operate under a legacy type existence. It is our vision that Personas may and should (where appropriate) recur in any future expansions that are released for Legends. In RPG terms we are giving you a set of Non Player Characters which can live and die in the Novice sets and may well be seen again at a later date depending upon your own adventures and how you get on in the Cinematic Campaign.
This leads us on to a brief piece of background:
With the Earl and his comrades all killed during the Conquest there are only two young nobles left, both of whom had all their wealth confiscated by the Newcomers. These young evicted nobles have been educated and demonstrate a talent for leadership but they acknowledge themselves that they are not wise enough yet to lead what is left of their people in these dark times. And so the townsfolk look to the Council of Elders to guide them.
In the Caves set the goal of the Cinematic Campaign is to find safe passage for the 3,100 odd townsfolk who are all that remain of your people (the number is a nod to the number of Backers we received on the Kickstarter Campaign - we wanted to immortalise you all within the game). And so the Cinematic Campaign element in the Weeping Caves has always been about finding a path, securing a resting place, ferrying your people to safety and so forth. However as we were doing the final testing it struck me that we could push the game just that little bit more and that it would be a wonderful thing to give you something extra. To give you those remaining Elders who help guide the Sax on their perilous journey. To this end we are giving you the following Persona cards with the Caves Set:
Wanda is chief amongst the Elders, nobody knows entirely how old she it but her brain is extremely sharp and she has witnessed much in her life. The late Earl sought out Wanda's counsel on many matters and all of the Sax both young and old have nothing but respect for her. Wanda is currently the guiding hand of the Sax people, when she stares at you with her piercing, distinct eyes she can look into your very heart and the ambition that lies within. The old woman has seen much in her life and fears more for her people than her own safety. Wanda has only one real fear: the dark, she carries a special lantern crowned with a serpent of brass upon it that helps her get through the night.
Althenor the Healer has a face of nothing but kindness. Althenor's healing expertise has been a blessing to the people for decades. A man of great emotion he wept more than his share during the Conquest, distraught at his inability to save more of his kin. A gentle being, nobody remembers the old man ever having raised his voice in anger, though he does speak loudly most of the time. Althenor has lost much of his hearing as he has aged, if you are close enough he can understand you perfectly well but he relies on his faithful dog Tiwu to hear for him on other occasions. Althenor is by far the most accomplished healer in the camp, and this along with Tiwu's playful antics have cemented his position as the Elder most beloved by both Parents and their children alike.
Dorica has always loved to explore and to increase her knowledge of the world around her, she was once a very beautiful young woman but could not have cared less. Dorica never showed the slightest interest in anything other than the thrill of exploration, searching out new curiosities and wonders. It was a massive disappointment to Dorica when she found one day that she simply could not read the runestones and books that she loved so much. Desperate to return to her adventuring ways Dorica implored Althenor to help, alas there was nothing he could do. However the old man's heart was moved in such a way that he asked Fernan to try and find something on his travels that may help. One day Fernan returned with an Achean Sage who fashioned a strange device from brass and the finest glass which has enabled Dorica to read again. Often regarded as aloof, Dorica simply doesn't like to waste time on trivial things that take her away from her beloved books. She has grown weaker physically in recent years and can no longer climb or swim or run very easily. Dorica has been named simply 'The Wise One' by the Sax. Resenting the labels she received in her youth, this well meant title is one that Dorica finally seems comfortable with.
'Did I tell you about that time I was in Dun Mordhain? I was in the Squeeze, just through East Gate, somewhere between Barterstep and Windwhistle. Here I was minding my own business and this huge guy, one of Bella's Bairns, you know one of the Middengangs I was telling you about, walks up to me and says…"
Fernan is a loveable rogue, it is said he could charm the Gnimshka into giving up their gems. He suffers from wanderlust and is blessed with a charm that has retrieved many an awkward situation. In comparative terms Fernan is quite young and until the Conquest he would wander off for weeks and sometimes months on end. An odd choice for an Elder you may think but the late Earl knew differently. It is said that Fernan was actually sent off on missions of diplomacy and was trusted with a great deal of responsibility in the affairs of the Sax. Certainly the other peoples of Dun Mordhain are far better acquainted with the man of the pipe and hat o' coin than they are with his kinsfolk.
How do the Elders work in game terms?
Each of these Elders has a special ability to help you on your Campaign, but also suffers from a disadvantage. In addition the Elders have duties to lead the people and so can only accompany you during the Campaign for limited periods of time and in isolation from one another. You must decide how to move them safely from outside the Weeping Caves to your destination at the Great Diversion and how to utilise their resources for the benefit of the 3,100 that are relying on you to take them to safety.
So for example if you take Althenor with you on a given Episode you will benefit from his healing talents, however he is particularly hard of hearing and speaks very loudly. You will find it much harder to surprise Foes and Sneak around on the Episode you choose to ferry Althenor to safety on.
However the Elders are a grateful bunch, they have selected you to lead them forth and will reward you for your efforts. If you successfully grant Althenor safe passage on he will reward you with the biggest gift that he can offer, the temporary use of his beloved dog Tiwu. Mechanically speaking you simply turn the card over from the Elder side to the Gift side.
Personas in the Sewers set
A brief piece of background:
Since the Conquest the Sax people have been captive serfs of the Baron, they knew full well that upon their escape he would send his very best to come and reclaim his 'property'. The Elders needed a distraction. And so a plan was hatched where four of the reluctant heroes would head to the Sewers to draw off the attention of their pursuers.
Originally we were going to facilitate this pursuit using the Newcomer Knight Foe card and have him turn up repeatedly throughout the Campaign. If you look at the image you can see it is modeled on the concept art line drawing we shared during the Campaign (using the link attached above). However I wanted to give you guys a closer insight into the Newcomer culture. A chance to get up close and personal with this race who have turned the world or Mor Nadar on its head in recent years.
Importantly the Sax can't speak the language of the Newcomers who use a tongue which is foreign to them and practice many strange customs. Chief amongst these customs is the 'Mask', whenever the more senior Newcomers head into conflict they proudly display their Mask. The young Student of your people spoke of her days in captivity where she learned simple cantrips from a Newcomer who had been imprisoned alongside her. There was mention of the 'Rite of the Mask' amongst the Newcomers and they regarded it as a hereditary passing of ancestral power to the wearer.
For those facing the Newcomers the Mask is usually (though not always) a countenance which is meant to cause distraction and fear in those facing it. And so the Sax named the Knights (for they were surely the most senior warriors in the Baron's camp) after their Masks accordingly.
Indeed the Sax have a long tradition of using songs and stories to teach their children, in their simplest form these are just nursery rhymes used to ward away scary monsters.
And this is why you will now be pursued by Newcomer Knights which have a name, not the name they have in their own strange language but that given to them by you, their quarry. To this end we are giving you the following Persona cards with the Sewers set:
Wearing a perpetual smile on her Mask, though not as strong as her peers, Smirk is cunning and fast,
The townsfolk remember the Newcomers celebrating Smirk's prowess as a hunter.
Adorned with a Mask that is covered in fire this Knight is not as powerfully built as the others. The townsfolk remember seeing her using the magic they call arcana far more often than her fellow Knights.
This Knight's Mask is adorned with brutal tusks, presumably trophies from a ferocious beast. Tusk is much stronger than his peers, but is noticeably slower to the trained eye.
A Gruesome skull adorns the mask of this Newcomer, nobody has ever seen the face of the Knight beneath. The bearer oozes self confidence and has a swagger that borders on reckless.
Newcomer Design note: To wear a Mask is a position of nobility in Newcomer Society, they are handed down in the family like a coat of arms. The Masks themselves are inspired by a mixture of African tribal masks and Samurai Mempo.
How do the Knights work in game terms?
The Knights will only show at certain points during the Sewers Cinematic Campaign. When you are required to draw a Knight for the first time you do not know which one will appear. You will draw the Newcomer Knight Foe card which then requires you to draw one of the Newcomer Knight Persona cards to accompany it. The Persona card will give you the introduction to the Knight, how the Foe Attributes are modified to represent the individual Persona and any special rules which relate to that Knight.
So in effect on each Episode (assuming you have not killed that particular Persona) you do not know whether you will draw Smirk or Tusk etc. In game terms this may mean you have to deal with a Knight who is particularly good at hunting, or is very strong or a spellcaster perhaps.
The Knights are individuals of prestige, they carry with them small objects of value, Relics, which help them in their pursuit. If you defeat a given Persona you remove them from the Campaign entirely and receive the Relic on the reverse of the card. All of the Relics have special rules which thematically tie in to the Knight which carried them and give you the Heroes, options on how to use them during the Campaign.
What does this mean for my pledge or pre-order?
You don’t need to do anything to receive this upgrade. The Caves set will now include the four Sax Elder Personas and their Gifts as described above. In a similar fashion the Sewers set will now include the four Newcomer Knights and their Relics as described above. Rules on how to us them will be incorporated into the Rulebook.
Another improvement to the Occupation CardsWe listen to you and where we think the suggestion is feasible, fits with our vision and that there is sufficient momentum behind it we try to find a way to incorporate it. A number of you commented that whilst you loved the new Occupation cards because we moved the Hero from above the knee to full figure you found the wooden background somewhat disorienting because the feet were on the same plane as the rest of the body.
This was not an easy problem to fix as we wanted to make sure that the look and feel of the Characters was appropriately catered for by any changes to the card. However after a good bit of challenge at this end I think we have come up with something that solves the problem that you had raised. This work is due to be finished by the end of this week and so will not delay production but in the meantime here is the current Occupation card and the sketch of the new one with the environment background rather than wood texture.
The new environment is designed to add depth and perspective to the character and be thematically appropriate.
Please note the card on the right is unfinished at this stage.
Where are we on production?A quick update on Icons from the last update, you can see the new or tweaked icons in Monochrome on the left and three of the new icons in the new surrounds on the right. I have included the old flood and new flood icon and surrounds to show you how we are trying to improve clarity on the cards for you.
There are many other small changes going on just now which are all part of the proofing process. I am pleased to say at the moment we are still cracking on and have not changed our stance from the previous month, we are working to get those files to the manufacturer by the end of November folks.
OK that was a lot to put down in an Update for you. I hope you all have an amazing Halloween and, as ever, wish you and your families the very best.
Kindest Regards from all at IG.
October Interim update - as requested
over 6 years ago
– Mon, Oct 09, 2017 at 01:19:26 AM
Hi guys,
this is an unusual one. We're trying to keep post funding updates to once a month as we have had feedback from some of you that any more frequently than that and it begins to feel like spam. Equally so a number of you have asked for an update specifically around the revised schedule and current state of affairs around production. It is never easy to keep 3,000+ people happy with everything on a project of this scale but I hope on this occasion everybody will forgive a second update so soon after the first so that I can give you more clarity.
My intent with this update is to ease your minds that what we are doing now is working through final tweaks and proofing. I wasn't sure if you really wanted to see some of the nitty gritty stuff that we are working through for you, if this is too detailed you have my apologies!
The key point I want to get across is that all of the additions and upgrades we have made are largely done, there is one more upgrade to explain on the Cinematic Campaign in the next update but I would rather wait until I have art to show you for that one.
What are we doing just now?
Right now we are:
1) Working through all the comments that have been posted on the Rules. Thank you for these, you will see that we have responded on many of them, this really does help us finalise the rulebook.
2) Completing the Appendices of the rule books, for example how to use the various booster sets. Here is the first page of the Alchemist Booster rules for example.
Please note this layout still needs tweaks and is on an older 'book effect' than that shown in the previous update. The intent would be to use the same effect as was shown before, I wanted to get something out to you this weekend but rest assured this has not been finished via Scott yet.
3) Checking all the card templates to make sure that everything fits accordingly for you, and that there are no issues with the data merge:
For example please see the Shivershade Foe card image below. You will see that the area in green ( the bleed area) is not full art at the sides which is not acceptable for final print assembly. In this case we can not increase the Shivershade to make it fit the card as the composition will suffer, so we needed to go back to the artist and get the image adjusted.
4) Updating icons.
Here is a list of those icons we are changing and improving: Flooded,
Obstacle,
Critical,
Strike and
Advance.
There are two more icons we are also going to add in: Miss - For ranged weapons, ranged attacks and ranged creatures. Based on your feedback on the rules we want to make this explicit rather than implicit. Companion - OK this is causing a lot of confusion so we will try and clarify it. Companions are cool, something we definitely want to expand at a later date, for now though there is enough going on in the game that we want to keep the rules for Companions as close to Kits as possible. With this in mind we are creating a Companion Icon which helps future proof Companions so that we can create more of them and give them more rules in a potential future expansion.
For us the first step was actually to improve clarity on the space surrounding some of the icons, Scott has done a wonderful job of thinning out the metal for us to give us more impact space for the icons.
We also came up with a new shield type shape for the Obstacle icon surround as the rhombus just did not give us the impact we needed.
Here is an example of the old and new icon surrounds for comparison. I know this is pretty finicky stuff but we really care about trying to make the graphic design of Legends the best that we can possibly make it for you.
5) Checking all the cards to ensure that there are no errors. For example if you look at the image below the mechanics, art and graphic design are all complete.
However I have red circled 6 things which we need to tweak to make sure we meet the quality threshold:
i - The Obstacle Icon surround shape is wrong - this is the Adventure Icon surround. ii - The Obstacle Icon was rejected as not being easily discernible. iii - The Animal Environment Icon should be green to match the Location card and tokens. iv - Test should not be in bold. v - The first set of flavour text needs to be italicised and is missing a speech mark. vi - The Card Code is obscured by the damage icon.
6) Assembling final art for the Booby Traps upgrade. The art for these has now been received and is going through final revisions. Here is the final Grip Vine Booby Trap card art compared with the sketch I shared before.
7) Assembling the Persona art for the Cinematic campaign upgrade. This is the subject of the next update.
8) Looking at the composition of the rule books. We are looking at the optimal solution of one book vs two and how we make that work best for everyone.
What does this mean for delivery?The critical path for delivery is as follows:
Collect remaining art for the Cinematic Upgrade - this is due by the end of October.
Finish off all of the proofing points listed above and assemble the files for delivery to the manufacturer.
Whatz have confirmed that if we have the files with them by the end of November they will produce the game by the middle of January. Importantly this leaves some contingency before Chinese New Year begins (February 16 2018).
After that it is down to the shipping logistics, we anticipate this being roughly 6 weeks from the game being finished by Whatz.
With this in mind we are, tentatively, and depending on where you live, suggesting a delivery date of March 2018 onwards for you.
I know this is later than we originally stated however we firmly believe that the game is significantly better than that which you originally backed. I hope this update gives you some comfort on what we are doing just now and that the game is 'locked down' so to speak. We are doing everything we can at this end to make sure that we do not deviate from the time frame outlined above.
We wish you all the very best.
Kind regards
IG
Rules, a strange city and more
over 6 years ago
– Mon, Sep 25, 2017 at 12:10:37 AM
Hey guys,
We feel like we have found our communication rhythm for IG on Kickstarter:
Daily updates during the funding part of the Campaign and detailed monthly updates around the middle of the month thereafter. We think this offers Backers the optimal balance of giving you great communication but not spamming you all the time either. On this occasion we are a wee bit late on the monthly update, I knew we would be, it is simply a matter of the number of moving parts going on and the number of people involved at this stage of the project.
So this month I would like to cover the following:
1 - A strange city is brought to life in Mor Nadar. Way back in December 2016 we said we wanted your help to design part of the world. The contributions we received were phenomenal! In the end the following entry was deemed to be the winner: Baldhach Cathair is a city built into a massive cliff face. It towers for hundred's of feet, but that area is dwarfed by the cavernous streets and halls, dug into the mountain this cliff is a part of. For those who pass near by but avoid the great city, Baldhach Cathair is known for the eerie silence along the face, and the spear wielding coimheadair who keep a watchful eye on everyone who passes within sight. The silence is enforced by arrows for anyone too loud and in range. Ruled by a wicked man of a king this city state is highly ordered. The monarch insists on strict adherence to the law. Not for his own selfish reasons, but because their king knows lawfulness benefits the society he governs. This in no way diminishes the mad monarchs wretched ways. He is known to occasionally share his bed with the evil fairy Leanan Sidhe herself.
I am excited to share with you our artist's interpretation of the city which you can see in the dropbox alongside the other files in this update. A huge thanks to Bryngin Mordeth for the inspiration on this front. We have tried to create a cliff face city comprising several settlements in their own right - the Palace, Skylook, the Stables, Gardenfall, Undercliff and Bridgeguard.
We think this would be a really interesting place to go adventuring in at some point. Let us know what you think please folks - would you like to explore Baldhach Cathair?
2 - The Rules ("non pretty" version) Caveat - guys it is really important that you note these are in a near finished state.To be clear mechanically the rules are finished, however we still need to: amend icons (in particular note that the final layout will use the icon colours we mentioned in the previous update not the ones shown), add images and proof read the whole thing in the final layout version. Please note there is also an Appendix to be added to cover a few more things not in the core rules.
However we said we would share the core rules with you and I wanted to do just that. We welcome all feedback on the rules but I would ask that we please do not focus on typos or proof reading errors. Feel free to message us with them and we will of course take these into account, however to drive the project through to the next stage what we need to know is whether you can understand what is going on based on the rules as presented to you.
3 - The Rules (Layout sample) In the dropbox you will find a two page example of the rules with layout. This is the 'look' that we intend to apply to the rulebook. We are working with Scott to give you something which: 1) Is user friendly - it has to operate as a rulebook first and foremost. 2) Has the look of an old manuscript. 3) Has definite nods to the Sax culture and the Dark Ages. 4) Is unified with the iconography we used in the original Kickstarter campaign.
We have tried to achieve our stated aims by using readable fonts alongside appropriate motifs to give that thematic feel we are after. This layout style is IG coming full circle. We are trying to say: here it is, this is the game that you backed, it has the same theme and the same key mechanics. We have added lots of upgrades but ultimately this game is the one we envisioned and shared with you.
One key element I would draw to your attention on the two page layout is the dragon head banner at the top of the section, we want to reinforce that throughout the book with different coloured banners for each major new section. The colours are then repeated around the page number at the bottom of each page so you will know which section you are in at all times.
4 - Booby TrapsI'm excited to confirm that the sketches are in for the additional Booby Trap cards that we mentioned we were adding last month. I have shared my favourite below - Grip Vine. The colour finals for all of these new cards we are adding are due to arrive during next week.
5 - Cinematic Campaign Upgrade To the very best of my knowledge this is it folks - the final tweak. Why are we still 'meddling' I'm sure some of you may be asking? Well some of you may remember from the campaign that the Novice sets were planned to be part of something bigger. What we've found is that as we've worked away at the game over the last year there are some parts of the 'bigger' that are so important to us we want to share them with you now. To this end we want to make the Cinematic Campaign have an extra kick to it, I will reveal more details of the upgrade next month. Right now we are commissioning the additional artwork that will make the upgrade work. For me this final upgrade is really exciting, it merges both mechanical improvement and thematic immersion. More on this next month!
6 - Production We are still trying very hard to get this game to you in January if we can. Legends is a game that in essence is trying to condense the several hundreds of pages you would see in many RPG systems into a visually accessible experience using lots of cards and a relatively concise rulebook (given the scope of the game and the lack of a GM to administrate decisions). A more detailed update on production in part relies to the responses we receive to this update. We will have the Booby Trap art next week and the Cinematic Campaign art by the end of October. We are ready to apply the final layout to the rules now.
Please do give us your comments on what we have shared with you in this update. We're excited to get this game finished and across the finish line for you, however for now we are biting our fingernails a bit and waiting for your responses folks!
We are massively grateful for your patience and support. Best wishes to you and your families.
