A Digital Hybrid Board Game of fate and divine resurrection
Latest Updates from Our Project:
The Lyrician Way
11 months ago
– Fri, Mar 01, 2024 at 07:43:36 AM
Mortals!
Last time we delved into the recent history and the Triarchian invasion of the Kingdom of Barkis. Today we'll turn our eyes to the neighboring Lyricia, the land where you, the Heroes, start the adventure and take first steps on the path that leads Into the Godsgrave. The Lyrician Way
A common saying about Lyricians is that they’ll let you bleed to death, before deciding if it's even worth helping. And while that might be a gross exaggeration, it's true that they are first and foremost the people of business. Lyricia is in fact a confederacy of numerous republican states and principalities, ruled by guilds and merchant lords. They live in relative peace and unity, held together by the common goal - making profit.
When the Triarchian forces landed on the Barksian shores, most of the countries on the continent became openly hostile. To oppose the further advance of the Triarchy, the alliance of the Old Provinces was formed. In the meantime, Lyricia declared its neutrality. The plagues and disasters that brought the neighboring kingdom to its knees, never crossed the mountain range that marks the border between the two countries. When the Triarchians reached the border, the Lyricians welcomed the newcomers, and offered their goods and services at a discounted price.
Lyricia is open to the servants of Triarchy as well as the representatives of the Old Provinces. Both sides of the conflict use the neutral state as an arena for the struggles of their spy networks. The Lyrician lords are pleased by this situation as long as they can profit from the rising tensions in the region. All they would like is for both sides to behave in a civilized manner, which of course is not the case. The covert operations are often brutal and the common people are affected by the collateral damage.
The Triarchy is said to be particularly interested in one place in Lyricia - the Godsgrave where the rotting corpse of Maalbog still poisons the land and twists the reality around it. The Old Provinces would love to know what sinister plans the Triarchans have in mind and won't spare resources to find it out. Thankfully, there are many bold adventurers for hire in Lyricia, who are more than eager to take on a well-paid job without asking too many questions.
It’s no coincidence that most of the Lyrician merchant lords are halflings - the most cunning of all the lineages.
Each covert operation has to be planned carefully.
In some parts of Lyricia the law and order doesn’t apply, despite the efforts of local militia.
‘There is always a price’ - old Lyrician motto
Some still believe that the conflict with Triarchy could be resolved diplomatically.
In the meantime the Old Provinces are getting ready for the next move of the Triarchy.
That's it for this month's update, we keep grinding and creating artwork, as "Into the Godsgrave" is a Card Game first and foremost.
If you have any questions, please add a comment below or if you need specific help with your pledge, please let us know by sending an email to [email protected].
Take care,
Michał @ Lucky Duck Games
P.S. I hoped to have an Executor intelligence for you for today, but I had to move it for next update.
The Story Behind the Map Tiles
12 months ago
– Thu, Feb 01, 2024 at 12:07:00 AM
Mortals!
In today's Into the Godsgrave update, we'd like to elaborate a little bit about the lore of the world and tell the story of the fallen Kingdom of Barkis and how the Triarchy appeared on the continent where the Base Game campaign story takes place.
War with the Triarchy and the Fall of Barkis
The Kingdom of Barkis was once a land of wealth and prosperity. Located on the coast of the Great Sea with its vast merchant fleet and naval ships to protect it, the Barkisian had all they needed to become one of the major political powers on the continent. The young and ambitious king was able to consolidate power and tighten his grip on unruly lords. It made the treasury full of coin, that was generously used to invest in changing the kingdom into a modern nation. It seemed like the future of Barkisians, for the first time in history, was looking bright.
In just a couple of decades however all of those achievements have been lost. It all started with plague outbreaks in large coastal cities that quickly spread across the land. Then a few years of extremely bad harvest brought hunger to every doorstep of the kingdom. Finally, a massive typhoon destroyed the royal fleet, cracking the spine of the nation's defenses. Soon afterward, black sails appeared on the horizon, the Triarchy Invasion had started.
The war with the Triarchy was quick and brutal. The followers of New Gods quickly conquered most of the kingdom with little resistance from the weakened opponent. Soon the prosperous Kingdom of Barkis was no more, and the Triarchan forces were stationed dangerously close to the borders of other nations of the continent. But the invaders stopped their victorious march, as if they were waiting for the right moment to make another move. The war is not over, everyone knows that. It's just a matter of time.
Artwork That Tells the Story
Plenty of cards will feature artwork that illustrates the events in the game, frequently depicting the story of the game. And the Kingdom of Barkis is no exception here. Take a sneak peek at cards’ artwork related to the rise and fall of Barkis.
Experienced infiltrators are sought on both sides of the conflict.
Barkisians have fought well, but the defeat was inevitable.
The Kingdom of Barkis is now a land scarred by many battlefields.
Triarchian troops gather in fortified camps. The intelligence reports say their numbers are growing every day.
That's it for this month's update, fellow Infiltrators.
If you have any questions, please add a comment below or if you need specific help with your pledge, please let us know by sending an email to [email protected].
Take care,
Michał @ Lucky Duck Games
Closer Look at the Noble Class
about 1 year ago
– Thu, Dec 21, 2023 at 06:18:14 AM
Mortals!
Be welcomed to our second update focused on the additional classes. In this update we focus on the proud Noble. You can play as one if you have the “Noble” add-on in your pledge.
Who is the Noble?
Relics, the remains of the war between mortals and gods, are an extremely valuable and desirable commodity. Relictors study them and learn how to manipulate the Essence, but they are not the only ones interested in relics. For nobles, possessing an unusual artifact is an important sign of status, determining the position in the social hierarchy. Family heirlooms, passed down from generation to generation, help to build prestige and have often become the foundation on which both wealth and the noble family's position were built.
Nobles do not often join mercenary companies, and when they do, it is for very different reasons. In these cases, most often, they serve as the team's leader or spokesman. They are charismatic and self-confident, but also trained in combat. Mechanically, the Noble class is based on Nobility Tokens, the number of which determines the level of Renown - the higher the Renown, the more powerful cards effects may be activated. Many Noble cards are also focused on helping other nearby heroes - this is why this character works great in larger teams.
World Building through artwork
I got new art pieces ready to share with you, straight from our game writer Grzegorz Nowak and Mateusz Komada, our Art Director. Most of the stories about our world are told thought the cards’ artwork. Take a look.
Take a look at the sight outside the window - what you see are the corpse of Maalbog, one of the gods defeated in the battle. Without his "guidance" (or slavery as other say) - how will the civilization prevail?
Did you notice the glowing shield on the wall? At this stage - this is a Relic now. a remnant of a dead god, that provides every Noble a large influence power over others.
Being a Noble is something that runs through the family. You have an origin story, you have ancestors.
Testing in Real Life
Of course, under the hood, plenty of work is being done as well. We are continuing our internal playtesting sessions to iron out not only extra classes but also additional rules and events. The story is being written with each session.
This is every board game before it gets shiny and colorful.
No worries, our testers know exactly what they are doing there!
That's it for today's update, we'll see soon in 2024 with some not-yet-seen previews of the Executor!
If you have any questions, please add a comment below or if you need specific help with your pledge, please let us know by sending an email to [email protected].
Take care,
Michał @ Lucky Duck Games
Closer Look at Trickster Class
about 1 year ago
– Wed, Nov 29, 2023 at 06:05:01 AM
Mortals!
Be welcomed in our update focused on the Trickster Class, the most tricky (pun intended) one to design so far. While working on the scenarios is one element of the game, at the same time we need to have additional classes ready to play to make sure they fit the story well gameplay-wise.
A Box Filled With Surprises
Tough Luck to Live This Way
Surviving on the streets is not an easy task. It requires a lot of cunning and common sense. Tricksters are truly children of the city, preferring to use their sharp tongues and skillful fingers instead of brute force. They earn coin by playing dice and cards, cheating the gullible people, and, occasionally, stealing. Their innate cleverness, however, earns them a rank amongst mercenary groups, where the Trickster plays a supporting role as a flexible jack of all trades.
Let’s Play a Game
It’s a Typical Day on the Streets
Dice Are a Tool of Yours
Despite being capable of many tasks, Tricksters depend a lot on their luck. This is resembled by the gamble mechanic, which may often result in very high rewards at a low cost. However, gambling is always risky, and slipping up is always something that Tricksters must take into account. Gambling involves rolling some dice and hoping for a certain result to achieve the desired outcome. Of course, what is important for Tricksters is to minimize the risk, so some of their cards allow them to enhance their chances while gambling.
In the Trickster expansion, players will also receive Luck tokens, which will allow them to reroll any dice when it is really needed. Overall, the Trickster is a character for players who don't mind taking risks to take advantage of their versatility.
We're writing and testing scenarios constantly now as we're thick in the development of the game. Tabletop Simulator gives us a fantastic platform to digitally test while involving our remote team members but we also come together regularly in person too.
There is a Trickster there, trust him I mean us
Pledge Manager Is Still Open
If you still don't have your copy of "Trickster Class Pack" in your pledge, head into Pledge Manager now and make sure you got it! It's a Lucky Duck Exclusive, meaning it's not coming to the stores.
If you have any questions, please add a comment below or if you wish to modify your pledge in any way, please let us know by sending an email [email protected].
Take care,
Michał @ Lucky Duck Games
Designer's Talk: Looking at Two Classes and Attending a Polish Designer Camp
about 1 year ago
– Tue, Oct 31, 2023 at 08:29:55 AM
Mortals!
This is our second Designer's Talk - this time it's dedicated to recent open testing we had with Core Game, and another two classes. Let's give the pen and paper, or I should say - the keyboard to Grzegorz Szczepański.
Designer Camp 2023
One week ago I've been attending Designer Camp - the big meeting of board game designers and publishers.
I've playtested and discussed very interesting prototypes of all genres, but I was also on business there. While representing Lucky Duck Games, for the first time I've also brought Into the Godsgrave prototype for external tests. While the playtesters were only able to catch a glimpse of what the game is offering due to limited time, we have received quite positive and very valuable feedback.
They have praised how the app can manage the adventure component of the game and also serves as a reminder for the round structure - but on the other hand is just a supporting tool, while the main decision-wise gameplay takes part on the table.
Photo by Piotr Dachtera (Pamper)
As for now, we are polishing the first scenarios and making amendments to players' decks to simplify the wording - creating good UI is a very important task at this point. What is more, we want to share some new illustrations made by our amazing artists!
Infiltrator
In the vast political landscape of the Godsgrave world after the Triarchy invasion, spy games between rival countries are on a daily basis. Infiltrators are masters of espionage, used to unwittingly sneak in anywhere they want and gather crucial information. Their flexibility, mobility, and cleverness are also very useful for all mercenary groups, where most often infiltrators serve as scouts and vanguard.
Speaking mechanic-wise, Infiltrators have a unique Stealth ability, which allows them to exchange their movement for powerful effects. Combined with the cards and effects that allow them to move faster and more relentlessly than other characters, they can either perform as a main scout/runner for the team, but also use their flexibility to directly eliminate foes. Not as straightforward fighters as Wardens, they are often supporting distance warriors.
Relictor
The last main class of Into the Godsgrave is the Relictors. A group of wisdom seekers that explore the secrets of fallen Gods and the Essence itself. Due to their studies, they learned how to manipulate Essence-infused objects and use the ancient relics for their own purposes. They often use the services of wardens, whom they hire to scavenge the relics from a Godsgrave and study them thoroughly.
Relictors are able to manipulate their discard pile, especially by reusing the cards with the Retrieve keyword. What is more, a lot of their cards’ effects depend on the cards they have already discarded. Relictors depend less on their abilities (compared to other classes), but they can reuse their items and use the Essence to perform tricks unimaginable for other companions.
Thank you Grzegorz for your diary!
If you have any questions, please add a comment below or if you need specific help with your pledge, please let us know by sending an email [email protected].
