Kickstarter stuff update

Kickstarter ...or that's where my money goes (continued)

Mantic Games - Dungeon Saga Dwarf King's Quest

So this Kickstarter is going gang busters and looks like it will top out as the best of the Mantic Games campaigns to date. The Dungeon Master pledge level, really the only pledge level, now contains the basic game and a load of bonus materials. There is enough now to play the game with friends or to play alone. There are bonus advanced rules plus rules for undead, orcs, and goblins. There are also a bunch of Kickstarter exlcusives. 

So let's take a look at the future for this one... bonus materials for the Warlord of Galihir add-on. The Warlord of Galihir is a $25 add-on level for an expansion pack. This includes goblin warriors, archers, orclings, and maw beasts. This includes the dungeon tiles, scenario rulebook, cards, and counters.

Some of the parts included with the Warlord of Galihir will also be added to Dungeon Master level pledge, which really makes that an even more fantastic level. 

There are still a whopping 17 days left in the campaign, which means we could have a rather heft set of materials coming when everything closes. Looks like potentially a fun way to play with the kids or with your fellow gamers. 

Hyground Games - 3D Terrain Tiles

The folks over at Yeti Militia have just started a new Kickstarter campaign and one that could be of potential use to lots of people. These look like some high quality gaming tiles that are comprised of a hex base system with interchangeable covers. This allows you to create custom configurations for any #tabletop system and for any gaming environment. One significant feature in the design of these is the ability to keep a 28mm figure on the hex even with there is a tree or other object present. There is some great video examples on the Kickstarter page which shows you how to build different layers and interchange the tops. 

Here are some examples of the terrain pieces. You can see that some are designed to occupy the entire space and some are designed to have a figure in addition to the design feature. In the picture above you can see how figures can do battle in a wooded/forest plot. These really changes the look/feel of any campaign and would allow you to make changes quickly for a #RPG setting. 

Since this is the beginning of what potentially could be a long series of custom tiles, there are plenty of areas for expansion. They have already designed and have ready for production nearly anything you might need for exterior play, there is nothing yet posted for underground or interior play. There are also limited to know creations for buildings or objects that would occupy multiple hexes. No doubt there could be plans for these in the future, currently noting exists. 

I don't know how this would translate for all games, such as Dungeons and Dragons which uses a 9-block design for battle or for Warhammer which is a straight distance skirmish game, but both could easily be adapted. All in all this looks like a solid project and the materials look fantastic with great adaptability to whatever gaming system you play. I'll be watching this closely to see how it goes and encourage you to check it out as well.

Next blog post will be about a freebie I got from Mantic Games, friends who are off to GenCon and eventually I'll post updates to the half-a-million projects I've already started.

Cheers,

Chris

Kickstarter campaigns...so that's where my money goes.

Kickstarter happenings... so that's where my money goes

Mantic Games Dungeon Saga: The Dwarf King's Quest

There are plenty of new gaming opportunities available if you are looking to get into new things. There is a great new campaign by Mantic Games (Halethorpe, MD). This table top game is a follow-up to their previously successful Kings of War 2012 campaign. They provide reasonably prices games that look great and are a lot of fun. You may know them from Kings of War, Warpath, Dreadball, Mars Attacks or others.



This is a dungeon based adventure board game for 2-5 players. The game has some really fantastic looking resin miniatures that would be good for any number of settings for RPGs or skirmish games. The pieces come unpainted, so there is a little commitment, but that also gives you the most flexibility. Looks like the main support level is $100, but that gets you the box game, advance rules, 4 heroes, 3 villians, skeletons, zombies, ghosts, armoured zombies, and dwarf revenants. There are already a bunch of stretch goals which mean additional miniatures (some Kickstarter exclusives) and the zombie rules. More to come... they were funded within 4 minutes and are fast approaching the $250,000 mark as I write this.

Infamy Miniatures Infamy: Welcome to the Big Smoke

Infamy miniatures (Nottingham, UK) is another start-up and building in a location where a number of other start-ups are launching. Some of these also have some cross-overs. It just so happens that I have a personal connection to this one as my friend Dave Taylor has contributed some of the editing to this.

This is a skirmish game set in a steampunk Victorian London. It has lots of your favorite characters (Sherlock and Watson, Jekyll and Hyde, Dodger, Tesla) all with new takes and some interesting new additions which should make game play rather interesting. It uses a combination of playing cards and opposing dice checks for mechanics and is showing some rather amazing 32mm scale resin miniatures. While the prices are a bit higher than Mantic, there are a number of possible entry points into the game. There is also an amazing amount of flexibility in what you miniatures you choose to receive. If you are into table top and steampunk, well get your wallets ready. This is the game for you. The pieces really look amazing and the game play sounds intriguing. This is in the final week, so you better get moving quickly.

Robotech RPG Tactics

I've been fascinated with giant robots for a long time, I mean since the early 70's when I was watching Tranzor Z and building robots out of lions (that's Voltron for the kids). Robotech coming along in the 80s only added to the intrigue. When Palladium Books put out the RPG, we were there playing irregularly, but always having fun. So of course when the boys at Palladium Books connected with Soda Pop Miniatures and Cipher Studios, to create this RPG Kickstarter, I was there. Here is the table top skirmish version and I can't wait. There have been some delays and some production issues, but they are nearing GenCon and have full sets. Distribution on this one should be coming very soon.

The miniature assembly looks kind of complex, but we are assured that is to make them look even more amazing. I am in at the Battle Cry ($140) level which gets me everything in the picture on the left there. I also added the SDF-1 because SDF-1! I will have more updates on this and game play and everything else as soon as I have it assembled, painted, and tested...so like 2090 when it is revised to be completely in a virtual world on Occulus. I know I move at glacial speed.

Reaper Miniatures Bones II: The Return of Mr. Bones!

It's too late for you to get into this Reaper Miniatures (Denton, Tx) Kickstarter campaign, but based on the success of this one and the previous Bones Kickstarter; there may yet be a third. This is the transfer of many of Reaper's metal miniatures to a new "Bones" material. I've had the pleasure of painting some of these and doing some modifications of a couple. The material is pretty easy to use, though very different than resin or metal figs. The paint lays on it well and it is incredibly easy to modify if you are into custom mods to figs or kit bashing.

This one should be shipping to me at the end of the year and you can see the entire Core Set in this image to the right. So that is a personal Christmas present. Looks like my $100 pledge will land me somewhere in the neighborhood of 150 miniatures. A pretty good ROI and all of these are great for table top RPGs and many skirmish games for many settings. Lots of stuff and a great mechanisms to get lots to paint.



That's all for now, future updates on current project coming soon...including a big shipment of scenery stuff from Cicada Crafts, some stuff picked up at Adepticon, some of Victoria Lamb's new products... too much to do!