A dark and immersive experience awaits you and your group of explorers. Travel the unknown, face cosmic horrors and fight for survival!
Leaked document from the Adreama Games HQ, exposing the overview of the upcoming tasks.
As our first post-campaign update we would like to share the current status of the project, and what you can expect in the near future.
The most important numbers at this point are related to the progress of the illustrations, which are shown in the table below:
This past week there was a 7 day public holiday in China (National Day), which means we are still waiting for big decisions in terms of manufacturing process. We are waiting for the quotes on the boxes, but also discussion regarding the add-ons. There will be at least a week before we reach a decision on our manufacturer (currently we are negotiating with Ningbo Eastar, WinGo, Panda GM and Bang Wee).
As it stands we will use ShipNaked for worldwide distribution (hubs will be in US, EU, Australia, Canada, and Asia).
BackerKit will be used as our pledge-manager. The date for late-pledges is still not defined, the prerequisite for this step is the deal with the manufacturer.
Besides working on the project, we are also preparing our presence in the biggest tabletop convention in the world: Spiel 2018 at Essen.
Please do visit us at our booth: Hall5 - 5E104!
We will be there from Thursday 2018-10-25 all the way to Sunday 2018-10-28 (hopefully they will not notice us sleeping below the tables).
The horned god runs in the night and hunts among the stars.
May he watch over and keeps us safe, no matter where we are.
Lord of night, Protect us as we dream.
Guide us in the darkness, Make our visions true.
The goddess glides through the air and gives wisdom to those that listen.
May she watch over and keeps us humble, no matter who we are.
Spirit of bright, Inspire us as we create.
Guide us in the light, Make our plans pure.
There is a Void that keeps growing
..gnawing into our World
..clawing from the place that shouldn't be.
There is a smile that brings pain.
There is a hug that brings solitude.
There is a friend that brings enemy.
There is a you that smothers You.
Can you hear their cackling?
Can you see their dance of joy?
The sound of Madness so beckoning...
We stand here and now.
Knowing our path and being ourselves.
We join our forces, and prepare for the journey ahead.
We thank the gods for what they have given us.
We thank the gods for what they have taken from us.
So mote it be.
Zi Dingir Anna Kanpa
Zi Dingir Kia Kanpa
Each game starts by choosing a scenario. Every scenario has their own unique events (even monsters, explorers, and items) and by shuffling those into the core decks - we're able to create a palette of different flavors for each scenario.
The scenario then is a setting around which you build the game. The map layout, items, events, and even monsters and explorers to some extent will be completely different every time you play. Whether it's down to the order of the cards or the drawn map tile, the experience will fundamentally be different.
10 double sided map tiles also give a great variability of play. In a regular game, just drawing and placing 4 map tiles provides you with more than 80,000 unique combinations within a scenario.
Machina Arcana presents you with the puzzle that can completely change with every passing round, and the only way to survive is to stay on top of it.
There are a number of ways you can adjust this system to subtly alter your experience. Looking for a one-off game or need a shorter experience to fit a time constraint? You may already know that you can shorten the playing time of a chosen scenario by removing some of the chapter cards.
If you are looking for a campaign system, and your party want to invest more time, the provision is there to play scenarios consecutively. They are ordered chronologically and once you complete each scenario be sure to take a quick respite before continuing to the next (heal, trade amongst yourselves, and reset the monster threat).
Once you master all the scenarios (which will take a LOT of time), more advanced customizations are available - are you ready for game building?
You might try and build your own explorer and horror event decks from the pool of existing 180 event cards. Or, go further and build your own scenario from the pool of almost 50 existing chapter cards.
Besides the non-linear scenario, the game content is compatible between every scenario which means limitless customizations.
Don't forget every scenario has an end-game, which serves as a mini-game on its own. Your custom game could for example be built almost exclusively around the end-games!
The manual offers several variants, however they are limited to shortening the playing time and difficulty. As a seasoned veteran you are of course free to experiment with other variants of your own devising.
Slight adjustments to the core mechanics can provide a massive impact to your experience with just a minor change. An example is to re-order the round phases, another to introduce a rule so that your destroyed explorer can get back into the game, or to enable explorers to use their abilities (and to move) even during other explorers’ turns.
You could of course use custom variants with some minor modifications, such as adding an item type restriction based on explorer class, giving explorers some starting equipment, or to make things harder start the game with already increased monster level.
We hope this system provides the inspiration and framework for you to capture your own nightmares...for the possibilities are endless.
If all of this customization is still not enough for you, then know that the boxed game content is really just the beginning.
We are building an online community-system where you will be able to create custom game content. The Forge will provide the needed resources, and enable you to create, share, collaborate, discuss and vote on your creative ideas.
We are so looking forward to see what you come up with!
Any moment now and we will see it: our feared, yet necessary, destination. I have spoken with the crew and it seems that all of us occasionally get flashes, glimpses of where we are going. Sometimes it happens in our dreams, and at other times when our minds freely wander, eyes staring into the distance. What we fear most is the possibility that these visions of the mountain are accurate, for snow and sleet are not the only views we espy. There is something waiting below, under the layers of ice; things so horrible that any sane man would descend into utter hysteria if confronted by them.
The ship descended below the cloud line and revealed the vista we all knew so thoroughly already.
“This all has a purpose,” I muttered to myself, gazing at the landscape. “It must.” I clenched my fists and resolutely began to plan, as I studied the unnervingly familiar surroundings. The giant scar in the enormous, frigid mountain can be seen from miles around. The meteor shattered into one of its sides and is now a massive, black rift, exposing its murky bowels. A one-eyed pyramid, it murmurs balefully amidst the chilling winds.
As our airship brought us nearer, we perceived the remnants of a huge avalanche beneath the point of impact. This snowslide had revealed the unusually dark surface of the mountain, which we hastened to inspect closer with the aid of our telescopes. The peculiar lines and abrasions on the exterior were impossible to explain with any seismic theories. Furthermore, there was a foreboding opening at its base. A doorway into an alluring trap, it seemed to us, and it was this place that defined our landing location and base of operations.
It is a blessing that we did not dwell on or connect all the signs and simply went on with the proceedings, focusing on the little things to keep ourselves occupied. Perhaps it was a type of self-induced hypnosis to cope with the stress; or are the strings connecting us to that gaping darkness now simply more pronounced?
While most of the crew commenced setting up camp, a few of the explorers prepared to scout around the shadowy entrance. There were some obscure remains buried in the snow ahead and I ordered the men to assist with the excavation.
