DARK VENTURE: An Adventure Card Game 2ND EDITION!

New Unlocked ADD-ONS and an EXPANSION DEEP DIVE!
over 1 year ago – Tue, Nov 29, 2022 at 04:52:01 PM

Hello Backers!

It has been 1 WEEK since launch and a lot has happened in the campaign! In this update I’m going to go over all the newly unlocked stretch goals and then I’ll explore THE KHRAG PIT ARENA along with the other EXPANSIONS/ADD-ONS in more detail (this is an XL update). VENTURE FORWARD!

NEW UNLOCKED STRETCH GOALS: Firstly, the “Print and Play” of the core game (and all expansions) will be free to all backers. I love building PnP games, but even if building the game from scratch doesn't interest you, the PnP PDF files will give you a better idea of what the game will look like months before it is delivered to you.

The next unlocked stretch goal adds a new hero to the Khrag Pit expansion: The floating, animated head of Keldon Pyre. Keldon is a warlock who uses his advanced spell casting ability to create “PHANTOM WEAPONS.” When playing with him as your hero, you will draw new "phantom items" to equip him every time you engage in combat (discarding them after combat). This is a great way to test out a variety of weapons and armor! Two new followers will be added to the Alderkang Mini Expansion: Dead Horses. These “undead” mounts will help you to explore the map more quickly.

Also, a new add-on was revealed: The Beasts & Monsters Mini-Expansion. This expansion includes 18 cards that can be folded into the core set, adding to the pool of items, characters, and locations in a game (more on this expansion later in the update).

The next ADD-ON reveal will be the FINAL ADD-ON for the campaign, (it's an interesting one) however there will be additional content unlocks (more stuff!), so keep an eye on the stretch goals!

EXPANSION & ADD-ON DEEP DIVE: Next, as promised, I’ve compiled some detailed information about each ADD-ON expansion. All the Dark Venture expansions provide content to the core set, adding even more variety to each game you play!

The KHRAG PIT EXPANSION: There are 2 ways to play with the components in the Khrag Pit expansion: (1) add them into your core set with all the rest of the components, or (2) play a "skirmish" gladiator arena battle game using only the arena game board with specific character and item cards.

For (1), adding Khrag Pit components to the core game, all the item, character, location, Heroic Quest, and Side Quest cards in the Khrag Pit expansion are shuffled into their corresponding decks and a standard game of Dark Venture is played. The "Khrag Pit Arena" location is a poker-sided location card (like all other locations) that, when played (attached to the map adjacent to the location your hero is in), "activates" the large location board, bringing it into play. Then, when your hero enters the Khrag Pit map location, they enter the arena, and their token/standee is moved onto the larger board. As when entering any location in Dark Venture, a specific entry is read that sets up choices in the game. In this case, players can use their hero to fight in the arena, to gain QUEST POINTS and win cool, useful items. They can choose to leave this arena location, moving out of it into an adjacent map location (for 1AP, as normal) to continue doing other things in the game, at any time. They can also choose to stay in the arena, keep following that story, gaining QP and items.

For (2), playing the Khrag Pit as a “standalone” game, you won’t be playing a standard Dark Venture game. Instead, you start the game with your hero(s) on the Khrag Pit board. This game can be played solo or multiplayer (Player vs. Player, or co-op). For solo and co-op, you fight a series of competitors (and there is a "story" to follow) to win the BELT OF KHRAG. In PvP, NPCs enter the arena posing an additional challenge, but you are mainly fighting a gladiatorial battle against other players (these matches are often short and bloody).

The ALDERKANG MINI-EXPANSION: The Alderkang mini-expansion is a deck-box of cards and several punch-out cardboard sheets of character standees and character tokens. The set includes a new faction of characters “THE ALDERKANG,” lead by a deposed ex-king. The character powers and items in this expansion focus on dice mitigation (re-rolls and bonuses) and granting free actions.

The BEASTS & MONSTERS MINI-EXPANSION: As with the Alderkang mini-expansion, the Beast & Monsters mini-expansion is a deck-box of cards and punch-out sheets. The characters and items in this expansion focus on BEAST faction characters (and a literal “mutated abomination”), formidable enemies, and augmented monsters. It also includes some wild weapons and powerful magical items.

The SOUNDTRACK CASSETTE TAPE: In addition to receiving the AMAZING, ambient, RETRO-WAVE soundtrack to the game (play this tape, or the included digitally-downloaded copy, to set the mood while you are playing Dark Venture), the cassette insert fold out into a bonus map (with new rules governing how this map is used in a game).  When one of several specific core game locations are played the "LAIR of RAKE the VOID" map is attached, adjacent to that location. Rake’s Lair is a large location with many "rooms" to explore. If you choose to move your hero into Rake’s Lair (physically moving your hero's standee onto the cassette liner), you can then move your hero from room to room, discovering cool treasures and character buffs...but watch out for Rake’s maniacal traps!

Those are all the current DARK VENTURE ADD-ONS! To include them as part of your pledge, visit the project page, click the “Manage your pledge" button at the bottom of your current pledge, select "Change your pledge," then choose from the list of available ADD-ONS.

Lastly, I wanted to express my gratitude and say THANK YOU for backing this project. As a small independent publisher, I'm working on all the art, design, writing, and marketing myself (with the help of a few others!). I am VERY THANKFUL for all your support, every bit is helping me to make this game better.

Wishing you the best, and hoping you stay safe!

Rob

More About the STRETCH GOALS We've Hit!
over 1 year ago – Tue, Nov 29, 2022 at 09:30:54 AM

Hey Backers!

We have been soaring through the Dark Venture stretch goals and I wanted to take a minute to detail each goal that has been met so far.

After meeting the funding goal, the first stretch goal was to add Heroic Items to the Khrag Pit Expansion. This set of 16 cards provides players with optional STARTING ITEMS for their heroes. All of these items will have different card backs than the standard “dark blue” card backs seen in the rest of the game so that they can be sorted out easily.

They consist of a standard sword, shield, and a healing potion (enough to give 1 of each to all heroes in a 4-player game). If you choose to use them in your game, you won’t need to pull each hero's unique starting items from the item deck at the beginning of a game, making game setup quicker. These new items are equipped to (and held by) your hero instead.

Also, optionally, you can equip your hero with a HEROIC RELIC at the beginning of a game. With this magical item equipped, a purple cube is placed on your hero’s dashboard 4 spaces above their current/maximum health. It acts as a shield: whenever your hero takes damage, move the purple cube down the health track first (absorbing some damage) and when it meets the red “health tracking” cube, both are moved together. At any time, a player can spend 1 AP to move the purple cube up 4 spaces on their health track (no higher than 4 above their maximum health), recharging the shield.

We are still testing (the numbers could change) but giving you, the player, the choice to recharge your hero’s "magical shield" by spending AP has been very compelling (especially considering many actions that cost AP in the 1st Edition are now free in the 2nd Edition)! Heroes can recover from combat more quickly, making combat slightly less brutal.

Next, the Cassette Soundtrack with BONUS location (The Lair of Rake the Void) was unlocked. This cassette will include the original Dark Venture soundtrack plus a bonus track inspired by “The Lair of Rake the Void,” a new location that will be printed on the tape liner. This location (with rules to attach it to the map, like any other location) has a series of “rooms” and special movement rules for your hero to travel between them. Each room has a short description and an “action” or event that will occur upon entering the room for the first time. Rake was a semi-famous (evil?) warlock who…has abandoned his lair. (no spoilers, but he makes a brief appearance in another part of the game and in “Battle of the Ancients”).

A new follower character, Terfiend Bilsond, was unlocked and they will appear in the Khrag pit expansion. He's an interdimensional being with inexplicable powers over chance and luck: While he is following your hero, add 1d6 to all dice rolls (all!), the lowest die is not counted (adding a bit of roll mitigation). A welcome companion, if you can track him down (maybe more on that later in the campaign)!

Also, you have unlocked a higher quality game board for the Khrag Pit expansion. This thicker, wrapped board (meaning that there will be a durable wrap around the edges of the board to protect them) with a textured surface will provide a great space to battle gladiatorial enemies! More on the Krag Pit (and the Alsderkang mini-expansion) in the next update!

Up next: The print and Play available to all backers (which may have unlocked right before this was published), and a new (weird!) hero added to Khrag Pit….with more stretch goals soon!

Thanks again, stay safe!

Rob