DARK VENTURE: An Adventure Card Game 2ND EDITION!

More Stretch Goals Unlocked with Less than 24 HOURS LEFT!
about 2 years ago – Thu, Dec 08, 2022 at 05:15:59 PM

Hello Backers!

We are in the LAST DAY of the campaign! That went fast. In this update, I'll go over the stretch goals that have been met since the last update. Then, I have a bit to say about our production and manufacturing process (with regard to today being the last day of the campaign). Read on!

STRETCH GOAL UNLOCKS:  Several great stretch goals have been unlocked since the last update. Firstly, the POCKET DIMENSION location was unlocked to be added to the Khrag Pit Arena expansion. This location adds a new way to travel around the map in a standard Dark Venture game: Once this location has been placed, your hero will be able to use it as a “hub” to travel to any other map location (with an Action Point cost, of course).

I’m really excited that the next stretch goal was unlocked: The RHORGONKRUL MEEPLE! Having seen how great the 4-color printing on the “premium wood tokens” in our other game (Battle of the Ancients) looked, I thought that having this signature creature in printed wood would be a great addition to Dark Venture.

When the Rhorgonkrul enters the game, you won’t want to accidentally enter their location…so this piece will make sure that you’re warned of their presence! Also, if you’d like, you can continue to use the Rhorgonkrul standee to mark their position in-game while using the wood meeple as a “Current Player Token.” It’s up to you! The wood meeple will be added to both the Core Game and the Upgrade kit.

Next, one of the most requested stretch goals: we will now develop the Android version of the DARK VENTURE COMPANION app. Many players have been using the iOS companion app to help reduce the table footprint of their game, and to keep track of the health/stats of their hero and the health/stats of the enemies that appear in the game. In the app, you can also reference LOCATION and ACTION entries! Having it on Android will open up these freedoms to many more players and we are happy to have reached this goal!

Next up, a HEROIC QUEST was unlocked to be added to the Core Game and Upgrade Kit (everyone gets it!). This quest requires your hero to become a “rogue”, specifically a HIGHWAYMAN! They will earn quest points by sneaking into locations and stealing items from other characters (PCs and NPCS!). We are currently testing/balancing this Heroic Quest but, so far, players are having a lot of fun with it!

Most recently, the stretch goal to add all the new expansions (Khrag Pit, Alderkang, and Beasts & Monsters) to the DARK VENTURE COMPANION app was met. NERD ROOM just updated the app with the VILE INVADERS expansion (you can select whether you are playing with Vile Invaders each time you start to track a new game). We’re excited to add the new content from this campaign to the app.

That’s what’s been unlocked so far!

ONLY 24 HOURS LEFT IN THE CAMPAIGN: I wanted to clarify something about our game manufacturing process. The number of games that we manufacture will be based on the amount pledged in Kickstarter. Yes, we will make more copies than needed to fulfill to backers (considering that games can be damaged while shipping) but based on the actual manufacturing costs (and shipping/freight costs) we have not been able to make too many extra games.

It is very possible that “pre-orders” could totally sell-out our available copies (this is what happened with the first edition printing of Dark Venture). After fulfilling to everyone, only a handful of copies were left in our warehouse. These last copies were grabbed up within the first week or two after fulfillment.

This is to say: If you’d like to make sure that you reserve your copy of the game (and expansions), pledging now is your best option. Also, backers who pledge the game on Kickstarter benefit from being “early adopters” as the late-pledge prices in the pledge manager will be (slightly) higher.

Either way, thank you for backing with whatever you can. Any pledge is appreciated and helps to make the game (and the new content) a reality.

Thanks, stay safe!

Rob

We've Hit New Stretch Goals!
about 2 years ago – Mon, Dec 05, 2022 at 10:42:16 PM

Hello Backers!

In this update I'm going to go over the newly revealed and unlocked stretch goals, talk a bit about the new ALL-IN pledges, then pass along some news about PAXU (and the UNPUB Room). Read on!

STRETCH GOAL REVEALS and UNLOCKS: The next stretch-reveal was the addition of the neoprene mats as an add-on to the campaign. This much-requested add-on will help to keep your cardboard dashboards in pristine condition…because you can choose to use these durable neoprene mats instead! The mats are richly-colored, 2mm thick neoprene (fabric bonded to rubber, like a diving suit) and will have stitched edges (to prevent fraying). They can be stored flat or rolled up.

There are 4 mats in the set, 1 large and 3 small. The large 16”x10” mat is a GAME DASHBOARD. It has a hero dashboard (with extra space for equipped items and inventory, like the smaller mats), the day track, a quest point track, and spots for the location, character, and item decks. The large Game Dashboard mat is perfect for quickly getting all the boards set up, and it includes all the boards you'll need for a SOLO game. Additionally, there are 3 HERO DASHBOARD mats (8”x10”) included in the set, one for each other player, so (including the larger mat) there are enough dashboards for a four player game.

Next up, 1 HEROIC QUEST was unlocked to be added to the Beasts & Monsters mini-expansion and 1 was unlocked to be added to the Alderkang mini-expansion. Heroic Quests represent the OBJECTIVES that your hero will complete as you play Dark Venture. Having the most QUEST POINTS (QP) at the end of the game, earned while completing these quests, will win you the game...so they are important! For both of these quests, some Quest Points can be earned for partially completing a quest, pacing out how the QP are earned.

With these quests, I aimed to switch up how the game is played, to literally transform the player's hero into something else, and to focus their strategy. In the WEREBEAST quest (appropriately in the Beasts & Monsters Mini-Expansion), your hero can choose to become a Beast faction character, some of which are amazingly powerful, for 1/4 of their game! They earn QP with each transformation. In A DARK PLEDGE, the player must choose to either follow The Alderkang, defeating other (non-player-controlled) heroes in combat to gain QP or defeat The Alderkang, defeating Alderkang faction characters throughout the game to gain QP. (Note that these quests require play-testing, balancing, and may change before they are printed!)

Next up (and almost unlocked) is another location to be added to the KHRAG PIT expansion. The POCKET DIMENSION is an interesting addition to the game that will change the way characters can move around on the map. More on that in another update…

NEW ALL-IN PLEDGES: I wanted to mention that we added 2 NEW ALL-IN PLEDGE LEVELS: 1 pledge level for folks who don't have a copy of Dark Venture and want EVERYTHING; 1 pledge level for those who already own the game (and Vile Invaders, 1st EDITION) and want the upgrade pack and only the new stuff. Both all-in pledge levels provide modest discounts.

PAX UNPLUGGED and UNPUB: Lastly, I wanted you to know that I will be at the PAXU gaming conference (https://unplugged.paxsite.com/)  in Philadelphia, PA this weekend. While there, I will be participating in UNPUB (https://unpub.net/), an organization with a space at PAXU dedicated to showing and testing unpublished games! I will have a prototype of THE KHRAG PIT in addition to a prototype of the 2ND EDITION Core Rules for Dark Venture (*and* the single pre-production copy of our other game, set in the same universe as Dark Venture, "Battle of the Ancients"). I will be in the UNPUB ROOM, Room 122 (near the Broad Street entrance) on Saturday December 3rd from 10am - 2pm. I will also be in the PAXU FREEPLAY AREA, randomly, Friday-Sunday with DARK VENTURE signs on the table. If you see me, stop by and say hello!

That’s it for now. THANK YOU very much for your support, and stay safe!

Rob

We FUNDED! The 2ND EDITION of DARK VENTURE Will be Printed!!
about 2 years ago – Tue, Nov 29, 2022 at 04:54:28 PM

Hello Backers!

I'm very excited to say that the project HAS FUNDED!

Thank you so much for helping us to make DARK VENTURE, this is now YOUR GAME: Without you, we wouldn't be able to make it. 

So, what you've seen thus far is only the beginning! Many things will be revealed as the campaign progresses, so keep checking back (there's a lot packed into the new expansions…but we can PACK MORE! #smallheavyboxes ).

Also, please reach out to any friends who you think would enjoy this game and let them know about the campaign! The more people involved, the better the game (and expansions) will become!

Thanks again, and until our next update: STAY SAFE there are a lot of weird, dangerous things lurking out there!!

- Rob

New Unlocked ADD-ONS and an EXPANSION DEEP DIVE!
about 2 years 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!
about 2 years 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