Mystery Stretch Goal revealed - Two new characters added to Damnation: The Gothic Game. Next stretch goal announced!
over 4 years ago – Sat, Nov 20, 2021 at 01:51:33 AM

Hi everyone,

Today we're finally able to reveal the mystery stretch goal - we're adding two more characters to Damnation: The Gothic Game. These will be added to the core box, which means that the base game will now allow for up to 8 players! Let the mayhem commence!

Introducing our first new villain - The Professor.

Playing as The Professor

Fans of the world's greatest detective should have no trouble in deducing the inspiration for this calculating villain. For most of the characters we've tried to identify a certain mechanic in the game and give that villain an inherent advantage around that - for The Professor it's traps. This villain is unique in that he is quite capable of dominating games without ever putting himself in harms way, let alone getting his hands dirty.

If no one is responsible for a player's death in the game, the slain player's cards and Soul are placed in The Cemetery for the next passing player to collect. Not so with The Professor in play. You see The Professor has a plan so fiendish, so cunning, so ingenious that the other players don't even realise that they're all just pawns in his game.

Spider's Web can be played in a number of ways - either aggressively to encourage players to move in a certain direction, to block entrances, or even defensively. For example, after moving, The Professor can use this talent to place trap tokens in the spaces located adjacent to him, making it nearly impossible for a player to get close and personal. Of course, the downside of this powerful effect is that The Professor himself must navigate his way through his own traps on his following turn. Decisions, decisions!

This character requires lots of testing, but we imagine this character to be suited to those who like to play defensively. Don't do anything rash. As other players begin to fall, you may well soon find yourself with the Soul tokens and cards you need to take over the game.

Help us choose our second new character

Our second new character will be chosen with your help. Everyone has been so full of great ideas so let's see if we can come up with someone else between us?

This process won't happen overnight. This is a discussion we can start here, but will continue post campaign in our Damnation Insiders group on Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/groups/damnationthegothicgame), with updates on here also (incase you're not on Facebook and would like to contribute).

We have one guideline for this - the character must be based on or inspired by a victorian anti-hero or villain. If you have any ideas for Talents please feel free to share, but these will likely change based around testing, so please don't take offense if that happens!

This should be a lot of fun, so let's kick things off in the comments below if you have any ideas :)

New stretch goal announced

£65k Component upgrade: Deathknell Cards

Near the top of my own personal wishlist has been to have the Deathknell Cards printed on mounted board. This will give each one a more dramatic feel. These cards are one of my favourite aspects of the game, so to give these a bit more love and attention will really be the icing on the cake. We're looking at a foil stamp on these also, which I think could genuinely make them some of the best looking board game components in history! However, without seeing the effect it's hard to know if this will look good, which is why I don't want to commit to it just yet. Saying that, I really can't imagine a world in which a foil stamp doesn't look good... so chances are the stamp will be included! I'll post some photos of the components when we get samples.

***

Well that's it for this update - I hope it was worth the wait. I'm personally so happy that I can provide this extra content for you all.

If you'd like to support the campaign as we approach the end, please tell your friends about it and share our link on any board game, horror, or vampire related groups and forums.

Next up, we'll have an interview with Robert Wynne Simmons together with another character spotlight.

Exclusive interview with our amazing illustrator, Hue Teo
over 4 years ago – Fri, Nov 19, 2021 at 01:26:39 AM

Hi everyone, today we have a very special update in the form of an interview with the illustrator responsible for the art in Damnation: The Gothic Game. Hue Teo and I have been working on this project together for years and I'm very proud to call him a friend. His work and his dedication have been truly inspiring for me and it has been a true privilege to work with him.

Hi Hue, thanks for joining me! For those who aren't aware could you tell us a bit about yourself and what you do?

Hey, thanks for having me! To get into a couple of things about myself, I would say I enjoy art and recently started my own business and getting to like entrepreneurship - because there are many problems that need solving and I enjoy the problem solving part. Started in the games industry 10 years ago and today I am still enjoying it because I like creating stuff!

How did you first get involved in making Damnation: The Gothic Game?

Quite simple, I got a message from Kris, and we had a meeting. I explained what I think and how I would go about the project, explained how I would organise it and what requirements we would have, but also the challenges that might occur. Kris was very honest and open about it and I liked that, that is why I said to myself, let's do it!

How did you go about finding inspiration for the project?

When it comes to inspiration I would say first is best to not go by inspiration itself, but more let inspiration somehow guide you a bit. What I mean by that is quite simple, we needed a dark horror game, with blood and dark scenes. The closest project was the Darkest Dungeon, but we wanted a different spin on it therefore we started to look in different areas for other technical components and other theme related topics.

Could you tell us a little more about your process in developing the art for Damnation: The Gothic Game?

With everything clearly put together we started building and Art Direction document, which was quite simple, I kept locations, characters and other components together so during the process of creating, the inspiration was found in those moodboards, therefore the workflow itself had something like 3 sketches- 1 inking - 1 final - 1 final with fx - 1 final with UI. In terms of process we needed something streamlined, so we don't have huge problems in production itself. After that we started printing components.

As for the board, the budget being limited, we built the rooms from top view with 1 vanishing point, because it looked right from any angle from the players perspective, therefore we debated a bit around the subject and chose it that way because it made sense from a players stand point.

Was there anything in particular you had to bear in mind when working on this board game compared with working on other types of projects?

Well quite frankly yes, the number of cards was huge, so imagine 3 sketches for each card and each character and each component of the board game, how many sketches are there? A lot! And the streamlining of that was challenging.

Do you have a favourite piece of art from the game that you're especially proud of?

I would say I mostly enjoy the card backs and the box art. Really had fun with those!

What are some non-game related creations (books, music, movies, etc) that you’re currently enjoying?

I would say I am a huge fan of fantasy in general, and different worlds. I like Genshin Impact, TFT, Arcane-League of Legends, Battlechasers, all movies from Miyazaki are gorgeous, and there are many, many more, the world is full of beautiful creations, and each creation is a glimpse into the bright minds of those whom created those things!

Finally, for our readers who would like to follow you, where they find you?

They can find me on facebook , instagram and artstation. Also thank you very much, and hope to catch up on other cool endeavours!

https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100005437429141

https://www.instagram.com/hue_teo/

https://www.artstation.com/htartist

***

Huge thanks again to Hue for taking the time to answer those questions. I know a lot of people have been interested to hear from the person responsible for our art. Give Hue a follow to see more :)

We're going to hold off on the next character spotlight and put that up in the next update instead.

OnTabletop Interview with Kris Rees and Character Spotlight 2
over 4 years ago – Mon, Nov 15, 2021 at 09:46:54 PM

Hi everyone,

Well this is embarrassing - here's an interview I did with the utterly awesome Gerry from OnTabletop. I have to say, the guys over there have been absolutely brilliant and have supported the project since we first discussed it back in August 2020. I'm delighted to count Gerry as a backer of the game - he was actually one of the very first, which is an honour because Gerry played the original Gothic Game a fair bit back in the day too. Getting that positive feedback from a fan of the original was really special for me on a personal level.

Here's the interview where we discuss the game in more detail. I hope you like it:

Character Spotlight 2

Yesterday we took a look at The Stranger and The Aristocrat. Today we're going to be looking at two more dastardly scoundrels from the game: The Gentleman and The Wanderer.

The Gentleman

Playing as The Gentleman

The Gentleman is a character with great survivability thanks to his two unique talents: 'Survivor' and 'Resourceful'. Perhaps not as glamorous as some other talents, 'Survivor' is a useful passive to have in all manner of situations, including when you're trapped in the moat paddling for your life, or fending off swarms of vicious rats in the dungeon! It also gives The Gentleman a huge advantage if you're lucky enough to pick up actions and weapons that involve rolling a die - if you're able to pick up The Flintlock, or Flesh Wound, The Gentleman can become an absolute powerhouse! Knowing which cards synergise well with this talent can and should shape your approach to which rooms are best explored with this character.

Resourceful is a brilliant talent that can either be saved for when you inevitably draw a card you'd rather you hadn't, or far more interestingly, can be used to explore the more dangerous rooms of the castle knowing you have a 'get out of jail free' card at your disposal. For example, The Gentleman is the only character who can visit The Torture Chamber without fear of drawing The Iron Maiden, which gives him a great chance of picking up a powerful weapon early on in the game, which would give him a huge advantage.

He's truly a character that is suited to both offensive and defensive play, making him an extremely well balanced character. He's definitely one of my favourites.

The Wanderer

Playing as The Wanderer

The Wanderer should inspire fear in the other players whenever he's present on the board. His fiendish talent, Creeping Insanity, means that gaining Power of Adjacency far easier for him than it is for the other characters in the game. As with The Aristocrat, this makes him especially dangerous if The Vampire is active, or if there's a particular reason to avoid a certain room. Being forced to discard cards to maximise this talent not only works on a thematic level, but also helps to check what is one of the most powerful abilities in the game.

Gaining Soul tokens as The Wanderer should be the strategy of choice and will mean that you have the possibility of chaining this frightening talent multiple times, which can be incredibly difficult to deal with. 

His passive talent, Gripped by Madness, punishes other players who seek to gain Power of Adjacency over The Wanderer. This passive grows in power as the game progresses and players find their Health has been reduced through all manner of unpleasant encounters. Towards the end of the game, The Wanderer may well find himself completely immune from Power of Adjacency, because for a player to claim this would mean instant death. This scenario opens up the center of the map to The Wanderer - loitering near The Great Spiral Staircase would be madness for anyone else. Occupying this area gives The Wanderer a huge range of options in terms of movement and his presence there can really feel oppressive for the other players.

The Wanderer is great fun to play, but don't be surprised if you find the other players ganging up on you!

***

Well that's it for another update. Let's keep pushing for our £60k mystery stretch goal! I'll be back tomorrow with an exclusive interview with our super talented artist, Hue Teo. And of course, another character spotlight looking at The Collector and The Mystic.

As always, thanks everyone for all your support,

Kris

Acrylic standees stretch goal unlocked and character spotlight!
over 4 years ago – Mon, Nov 15, 2021 at 02:13:27 AM

Hello Everyone,

We're on the verge of entering our final week of the Kickstarter. Wow, what an amazing journey it's been - let's make it a memorable one and finish on a high!

Acrylic standees stretch goal unlocked

I'm absolutely thrilled to say that we've unlocked the acrylic standees component upgrade. If I'm being completely honest, the bleed / margin on the card standees was probably the one area where I wasn't completely happy with how it looked. They still looked great of course, but in hindsight I do think there was room for improvement here. Having these as double sided clear acrylic will elevate this part of the game to the standards of all other components and I can't wait to see how they turn out!

I’m so happy that we've now got two of the most commonly requested stretch goals added to the game: the 8 player tokens and the acrylic standees. Let's push on to that mystery stretch goal - please tell and encourage your friends to back and hopefully we can reach it in the next 7 days!

Character spotlight 1

A lot of people have been asking for more information on the characters in the game, which we lovingly refer to as villains! We're going to break this down into various updates to give a flavour of what each one is about.

For context, the first thing to explain is that each Villain has access to four Talents, three of which are activated using Talent Tokens, while the other one is passive and can be used as frequently as desired. The first two Talents are unique to each Villain. All the playable characters in the game have access to the bottom two Talents, ‘Fate’ and ‘Run For It’.

Once a Talent Token is used, the corresponding Talent can't be used again until another Talent Token is gained.

The Stranger

Playing as The Stranger

I love this character - The Stranger is probably my favourite to play! He's the assassin of the group and is best played with patience. Be cautious and wait for your opponent to make a mistake, choosing the prrfect moment to strike. 

'Gate' is an extremely flexible talent that can get you out of all sorts of trouble, or alternatively can be used to ambush a player who’s left themselves exposed by standing next to a Secret Door. 

'Bloodthirsty' can also be extremely powerful, giving you the possibility of chaining multiple kills in the right situation. Or more often, giving you the opportunity to attack before retreating to safety.

The Aristocrat

Playing as The Aristocrat

The Aristocrat begins the game with a significant boost. Her passive talent ('Privilege') means that she draws an additional two Heirloom cards, which will give her greater options and flexibility right from the outset. The Heirloom deck contains utility cards that are useful in many situations, from healing, to movement modifiers, to rewards for visiting particular rooms. Choosing a strategy that maximises the use of the card you draw at the beginning of the game is your best path to victory!

'Manipulate' can be enormously powerful in the right situation. Always keep an eye out for the opportunity to punish a player who has left themselves exposed - for example, if The Vampire is active, or someone has positioned themselves a little too close to a dangerous room such as The Torture Chamber or The Great Spiral Staircase. All players should be wary whenever this villain is in play.

One downside to playing this character is that the passive talent will only benefit the player at the beginning of the game, so be sure to press this early advantage!

***

That's it for today! In the next update we'll hopefully have an interview with OnTabletop to share with you as well as a look at another two characters: The Wanderer and The Gentleman.

As always, please do share the game with your friends as it really does make a huge difference.

Stretch goals, competitions and next week
over 4 years ago – Thu, Nov 11, 2021 at 01:34:32 AM

Hi everyone,

A lot of people have been asking about stretch goals and I'm delighted to say that having spoken to our manufacturer we can indeed move forwards with this. I looked through the list of suggestions gathered from the previous post - some brilliant ideas in there - and tried to ensure we can deliver on the most requested, but also putting to one side the ideas that could lead to us over-extending, either financially or in terms of timescale. I hope everyone will appreciate that is our number one priority.

The great news is that you've already unlocked the first of our stretch goals, which is the inclusion of additional tokens to the core box to allow for 8 players to play together. Currently the core game has 6 characters, so if you want to play with 8 then you will need the expansion, but we are hoping to expand the number of characters as part of a future stretch goal.

By far the most requested stretch goal was to include acrylic standees instead of card. This is something I'm desperate to give you all because it really will take the characters to another level. We've set this at £55k, which is truly within touching distance with 10 days to go!

You all know what to do: please share the game on social media, talk about it in groups, recommend it to your friends, and hopefully we can get through all the stretch goals we have planned! They don't end with the Mystery Goal ;)

Win an all in pledge of the game

In case this has passed you by, we currently have a competition running where you can win an all in pledge. This is being run in partnership with our friends over at Board Game Revolution. I would absolutely love for one of our existing backers to win it, so please do head over to Facebook to enter - here's the link: https://www.facebook.com/groups/boardgamerevolution/permalink/2936352676656651/

Painting Competition

Hopefully you will have noticed that we have an awesome bust of Dracula available as part of this campaign. Personally I am a huge fan of miniature painting and one of the things I am most looking forward to is to see photos of 'The Count' all painted up. With that in mind, I thought it might be fun to run a painting competition!

All the exact details are yet to be finalised, but I'm thinking something along the lines of:
The winner will win £150, with the three runners up winning £50 each
 

The busts of Dracula are manufactured here in the UK and pledge includes free worldwide shipping. So I'm aiming to get these out to people in January. To give people time, I'm thinking of a closing date of the 31st of March 2022. Please be aware that this is subject to change, depending on the delivery dates for the bust.

We'll firm up some of these details in the future, but this is something I'm hugely excited about.

Next Week

We'll enter the final week of our campaign on Monday and we've got a couple of exciting updates planned: we've got an exclusive interview with Hue Teo, the artist responsible for the amazing illustrations featured in the game. We also have an interview with Robert Wynne Simmons, who was part of the duo responsible for the original Gothic Game. And last but by no means least, we have an interview with Frazer Lee, who is currently writing the Damnation: The Gothic Game novel, which will feature a second reading from the book.

That's everything for now! Thank you to all once again for all your support. Let's get sharing and unlock a few more of these stretch goals :)