DARK VENTURE: An Adventure Card Game 2ND EDITION!

Backerkit Orders Will Lock On APRIL 15th 2023 (In 2 Days)
over 1 year ago – Thu, Apr 13, 2023 at 06:39:06 AM

Hello Backers!

A quick reminder that we are locking all Backerkit orders on Saturday April 15th, 2023 (2 days from now). What this means is that shipping costs, new orders, and anything that you added to your initial pledge will be processed at this time.

Also, after Backerkit is locked, you will not be able to add additional items to your pledge. 

However, we won't be locking addresses in Backerkit at this time. Your address will be locked at a later date so that you are able to make changes to it right up to the time when we are shipping the game to you.

If you have any issues with your pledge or with Backerkit, please DIRECT MESSAGE ME THROUGH KICKSTARTER.

Thank you, and I hope the rest of your week is great!

Rob

March Production Update: Why a CASSETTE TAPE?!
over 1 year ago – Fri, Mar 24, 2023 at 06:51:26 AM

Hello Backers!

This month, a concise production update, then a discussion about (of all things) cassette tapes.

PRODUCTION UPDATE: For the past month, I’ve continued to work on “Khrag Pit” and “CRAWL!”, finishing up the character art (I’ve started a couple new backgrounds today). I'm writing the special abilities for all the new characters and laying out their cards. Testing of CRAWL! is continuing and, so far, it is a lot of fun to play! I’m really excited for you to see it (soon!).

WHY A TAPE? As a kid growing up in a rural town in the 70's and 80’s, two of the most treasured things I owned were a cassette tape player/recorder and a Walkman. They opened up my world, allowing me to create, edit, mix, and listen to music that I never would have heard on the local radio. Later, in the 90’s, I’d often make tapes for friends, spending hours crafting mixes and (more important to this discussion) designing and hand-drawing fold-out tape covers! Even though the tech has been (far) superseded, tapes have a tactile quality (think about opening a cassette tape case, pull out the tape, hold it in your hand, shake it, do you remember that sound?) and are a weird, sculptural, cultural object.

For this project, knowing that we had already published CDs of the soundtrack, I wanted to do something different. I began researching cassette tape manufacturing and soon discovered a whole subculture of rpg cassette tape soundtracks. Many of these soundtrack tapes included written adventures or supplements to tabletop rpgs on their liners! Which led me into THE LAIR OF RAKE THE VOID.

Initially, as seen in the Dark Venture 2e Kickstarter, I wanted to have a giant Dark Venture location with written location entries printed on the cassette tape j-fold card (the liner) of the soundtrack. Over the past weeks, I completed writing the rules and location entries for this new tape location and found, to my dismay, that a lot more space would be required on the tape liner, even if the longest possible j-fold was used. I began pricing out a new idea: a j-fold in the cassette that would have the location map on one (full) side and…a booklet that would fit into the case with the j-fold and the cassette! Here are some photos of the initial prototype.

This location is composed of many smaller locations, each with an event, treasure to discover, enemy to fight, puzzle to solve, or Quest Points to earn. The booklet allows for a lot more event content, and (I think) it looks great, helping to graphically tie this expansion more closely to the game. I really hope you enjoy playing it!

Let me know your thoughts on cassette tapes, your experiences, stories!

Until the next update, stay safe!

Rob

Short Month, Short February Update
almost 2 years ago – Tue, Feb 28, 2023 at 08:20:11 AM

Hello Backers!

This month seemed to fly by! Makes sense, it was short. In the spirit of the month, I’ll keep it brief. There'll be more to talk about in the coming weeks.

PRODUCTION UPDATE: I’ve been working heavily on CRAWL! (I needed to create a slew of new items and monsters) and the Khrag Pit Arena expansions: iterating, testing, and refining the rules. They are coming along nicely, are very unique, and I'm sure you will love playing them.

PRINT & PLAY: There have been a couple inquiries about the print & play version of the game. I want to hold off on releasing it until the Core Rules are 100% finalized and we are sure that there will be no other revisions to any of the cards or books. We are still working on (and testing) the new core rules* (see below). The templates for the 1stED cards, books, and boards are complete, so the P&P should release soon after everything is locked down. Also, to be honest, I don’t want to take time away from designing the new expansions. Soon!

PLEDGE MANAGER CLOSING APRIL 15th: BackerKit will lock down pledges and will process any shipping costs, add-ons, and new orders on APRIL 15th, 2023.

You will still be able to edit your shipping address in BackerKit (addresses will be locked right before we ship), but we need to send order numbers to the manufacturer to get a final price quote for production and to estimate the freight shipping costs. If you haven't finalized your pledge on Backerkit (340 people have not!) please do so before APRIL 15th.

That’s it for now. More “fun” updates in the coming months (a CRAWL! preview, component overview, a Khrag Pit Arena battle, and a few surprises)!

Thanks and stay safe,

Rob

* On Feb. 3rd, 2023 we updated the Core rules with this crucial rule adjustment:

ACTIONS: Players have 3 ACTION POINTS each in a 1-2 PLAYER game, 2 ACTION POINTS in a 3-4 PLAYER game, that they may use to do things on their turn.

Early on, the 2ndED rules had been revised so that players weren’t required to pay Action Points for general upkeep actions (equipping items, picking up dropped items, trading items, etc.). Also, in a 2ndED rule revision, on your turn, you can play your first location card and character card for free. These rule changes freed players up to do more on their turns. In 1-2 player games, this was great. It allowed more freedom to explore, and the “puzzly” factor (being stingy with your AP) was reduced. Players were free to take more Location Actions (that often cost AP) without fear of spending too many. However, 3-4 player games became longer. This revision helps to keep the length of games with higher player counts down.

You can download the newly updated book here: DV 2ndED CORE RULE BOOK!

NEW YEAR, NEW PLEDGE MANAGER!
almost 2 years ago – Thu, Jan 26, 2023 at 07:01:31 AM

Hello Backers!

A lot of water has passed under the bridge since the end of the Dark Venture 2nd Edition campaign. Here we are, in a new year, with a new road ahead! This update is an important one with some exciting news about the PLEDGE MANAGER and NEW CONTENT so READ ON!

THE PLEDGE MANAGER OPENS TODAY: The Backerkit pledge manager is COMPLETE! We will be sending out email SURVEYS so that you can confirm your pledge items, add new items to your pledge, and, most importantly, CONFIRM YOUR SHIPPING ADDRESS so that, once the game has been manufactured, we can send your pledge to you!

The surveys will be sent out to 5% of our backers THIS MORNING (January 26th 2023, 10:30am EST), the rest of the surveys will be sent out later TODAY and TOMORROW. Once everyone has filled out and confirmed their surveys, we will know exactly how many games and expansions to print…so the faster you complete and confirm your survey, the better!

Also, later today, we will open our Backerkit LATE PLEDGE PRE-ORDER STORE. If you know someone that missed the campaign who might enjoy the game, please let them know (and send them a link: https://dark-venture-2nd-edition.backerkit.com/hosted_preorders )!

GET READY TO CRAWL: We will be adding a STRETCH GOAL ITEM to the pledge manager:  the “CRAWL!" expansion. CRAWL! is a solo or 2-player game mode that utilizes the components of the Dark Venture CORE SET (plus new characters, items, locations, and quests), activating them in a different way with the use of ENCOUNTER TOKENS and new game rules. However, this expansion will only be manufactured if 400 (or more) BACKERS or PRE-ORDERS choose to add it to their pledge!

In "CRAWL!" all Dark Venture enemies and unplayed heroes are sorted into separate decks based on their difficulty. Items are separated by type and the map is laid out, ready to explore. Tokens representing ENCOUNTERS are placed on each map location. When your hero enters a location, the token is flipped to reveal a possible ENEMY and TREASURE. Fight and KILL enchanted enemies or DISENCHANT them, it's your choice. BUT BE CAREFUL! At some point in the game DHOREGAT KELT, Ancient of Death, will arrive and attempt to ENCHANT your hero! Defeat him to win the game.

PRODUCTION UPDATE: For the past month I have been focused on the new Dark Venture content. I’ve been creating new art for the Khrag Pit expansion and the Beasts and Monsters mini expansion, testing all the new characters and items, and writing the CASSETTE SOUNDTRACK bonus location (there is a lot to explore in that location!). I am also finalizing component lists and getting updated quotes for the games and expansions from the factory. Already, even at this early stage, I have started communicating with, sourcing, and confirming our shipping partners. There is still a lot to do, but I am making good progress.

That's about all for now. Keep an eye out for your PLEDGE MANAGER SURVEY EMAIL. The sooner you fill it out, the better.

Thanks again, and stay safe!

Rob

P.S. Our other game, BATTLE OF THE ANCIENTS, (set in the same universe as Dark Venture) is now IN STOCK and will ship out to you within a day or two of your order! People have been saying great things about it. Choose a faction of weird creatures to fight against other factions of weird creatures (SOLO - 5 Players). There are a lot of ways to play: a Victory Point skirmish game mode, Scenarios (in a campaign), and even a co-op, story-based, Adventure mode! If this sounds interesting to you, check it out on BackerKit (the only place to order it): https://dv-battle-of-the-ancients.backerkit.com/hosted_preorders

We did it, thanks to YOU!
about 2 years ago – Thu, Dec 08, 2022 at 09:40:51 PM

Hello Backers,

What a great ending to an amazing campaign! I'm totally blown away by the number of people who are standing behind me, helping me to make this unique game.  

Thank you to every person who backed, whatever amount you backed. Everything is appreciated and will help to make the game. All of your support (in the comments, forum posts, and emails) is appreciated. I am very lucky to have such a giving and thoughtful community of people backing my projects.

Thank you to my friends (new and old) and family who have helped bolster my creativity, motivate me to do better, and put up with my sarkags, derthkins, and torganeers! 

I'm going to take a day or two to rest (while still working on the fulfillment/shipping of Battle of the Ancients!) but, honestly, I'm really looking forward to hammering out the expansion designs, play-testing the new content, and finalizing all the odd creatures that inhabit this strange world! 

Looking forward to sharing everything with you as it develops! 

Thanks again,

Rob

P. S. I wanted to mention the final stretch goal, the "CRAWL!" expansion, that was not met. I have been working on this expansion/add-on for a while, but it wasn't quite ready to show at the beginning of the campaign. Over the past month I've continued to develop it, and I tested it at PAXU this past weekend. The people who played it *really* liked it. 

Simply put, it is a "quick dungeon crawl" 1-2 player mode for Dark Venture (that lasts 1-2h max). It requires some new components (a lot of tokens, several cards) but utilizes all the characters, items, and locations from the core set (without using the Location and Action guides). It will be available at some point in the future, in print and PDF, possibly as an add-on in the pledge manager (which will be set up in the coming weeks). Keep an eye out for it!