Free Scenario Weekend!
almost 4 years ago – Sun, May 24, 2020 at 01:06:45 AM

So close to that Troodon Alpha... I can almost taste it! And it tastes like chicken... obviously! 

Here's a bigger picture, and if you fancy adding some funds now, he'll be £10. 

We've got a nice long weekend here in the UK, and I wonder what people's plans are? How about a custom, fan-made scenario for The Drowned Earth... with a very basic AI deck, so you can play it solo!?!

Originally created by backer and TDE fan Martin Paul. Thanks to Martin for letting us use the scenario. This game is a simplification of how the AI mechanics work and how they might be used in a game of The Drowned Earth. The scenario is also a solo game so you can get a feel of guiding a band of heroes against a pack of Dinos (or pirates…) There are two pdfs: one with the scenario and one with the AI cards and the recommended TDE cards for easy reference. Have fun with it! 

DOWNLOAD HERE

And don’t forget to post some pics and a short battle report on social media, with your team hashtag, to score achievements for your team, be ye pirates or dinos!

In or next update... an interview with Henning Ludvigsen, our tile artist! 

Dino Hunt: Part 2!
almost 4 years ago – Wed, May 20, 2020 at 10:29:29 AM

Before we start, another heap of stretch goals gone! I know some Kickstarters message their backers every time they break a stretch goal, but personally I prefer to update only when I've got something interesting for you. Like Dino Hunt! 

I know a bunch of you have wanted to see a larger picture of the Alpha Yutta and Alpha Dilo, so before part 2 lets ogle some pretty pictures! 

  And I'm going to bother you with one final thing before Dino Hunt- tonight is our live RPG session, and not only can you watch live on youtube, but you can decide before hand what the players will face! Check out THIS QUESTIONNAIRE to make your choices. The stream can be found HERE. Don't forget to bookmark and subscribe!
But enough dilly dallying... 

 
 Part 2.

There is a time for throwing caution to the wind and running off in hot pursuit. But this isn't it. Those who take the dangers of the jungle lightly end up as something's breakfast. Or in this case, as the oily dusk of the evening turns to the shrieking black of an Ulayan night....   

Hefting a daypack you scramble for a few belongings, and pull a brand from the fire. At first there are no tracks to speak of, just a few broken branches, disturbed ground cover, and several tufts of downy feathers. Venturing away from camp the sign continues, although you have to stoop and squint in the gloom to follow it.   

The trail leads off east, towards the shore, but it isn't long before the distant cacophany of nightly noises become a very loud, and very close roar... You drop to one knee, feeling the ground. A canted pair of footsteps, followed by two more, cause the earth to tremble ever s slightly. A quadruped. 

You lower your torch, sheltering it as best you can as the great beast passes. Huge backplates indicate a Steggo, and it passes without incident, seemingly disinterested in you and the light you are creating.

But you begin to despair as you search again for your trail. The Steggo has trampled the ground all around, and destroyed any sign you could have followed.

It is then that you have a stroke of luck. An unfortunate Sinosor was trampled underfoot by the steggo, and leading away from it… a familiar tuft of feathers, and a trail!

Before moving on you inspect the corpse. From the condition of the body you can deduce you are following….

A Carnivore: the body has been gnawed or pecked…

A Herbivore: the body has been untouched, but a few perfect bites have been taken from a nearby sprig of soft leaves.

VOTE HERE

Announcing... ACHIEVEMENTS!!!!
almost 4 years ago – Wed, May 20, 2020 at 01:58:12 AM

Yarrrr/Grrrrrr.... or somesuch!

It's Pirates vs Dinos time!!! I've had a lot of people ask what this is about, and it's time to explain! For the second half of the campaign we'll be running a number of fun events, and so we're asking you, the backers, to take part in these events for your team: Team Pirates or Team Dinos!!

As you score points for your team we'll progress through the map, searching islands along the way for exciting treasure! It's a race to the big island in the middle, to unlock... Something a bit special! 

And what are these achievements, I  hear you ask! Well, a comprehensive list for both teams can be found below, but let me paraphrase first: 

Entering in to one of our events (such as the story or scenery building event) requires you to post your entry on social media, and hashtag and link the kickstarter. We'll be able to search for your hashtags (so be sure to get them right!) and count your hard earned points for your team. Go team! 

And let us not forget: 

Pirates vs Dinos scenario? TREASURE HUNT?! What are these wonders?! All will be announced soon, so keep an eye out! 

We will also be releasing a second "Achievements" map for everyone, later in the week. 

Which team have you joined?!

DINO HUNT! Choose your own Mini... adventure!
almost 4 years ago – Fri, May 15, 2020 at 07:48:14 PM

I know you're all excited to get going with our community Dino Hunt, which will decide on the free model every backer at core box level or higher will get (and it'll be single piece, so even the non-mini gamers out there will be able to use it without assembly :D. 

But there are a few other important announcements first. 

Yes, we unlocked the Dilo Alpha! This means we've unlocked all three Alpha sculpts for Raptor Claw Island. And I suppose you fine people would like to have a look at it, right? 

AND we have a winner. The Ceratops won, but it was incredibly close all the way. But the Ankylo hasn't quite had his day. We'll see what happens later down the line. Fingers crossed!

The Ceratops is going to be BIG! We're also going to write a special Ulaya Chronicles scenario for her, and she'll ship with an AI deck too. She'll be an additional £30, for those of you who want to add the funds now, or you'll be able to do that later in Backerkit if you prefer. 

Ok ok, I hear you all clamouring- enough of this nonsense, and get on with... 

Part 1: Campside

Airborne sparks dance in the jungle dusk, as your fire dies down to a bed of glowing embers, perfect for cooking! The Dilophosor attacked you just after midday, but a solid spear throw skewered it neatly. Enough food for several days, but you dared not take the whole carcass. A leg would see you fed for several meals, and cooking it soon would minimise the chance of it attracting unwanted attention. You lay it out on the bed of embers. The tough skin still on, the meat inside would roast and steam at the same time. You salivate just thinking about it.

Food arranged, and the sun setting, you turn your hand to tidying the scrap of beach which has become basecamp since your shipwreck. On the first night you slept rough, woken in the dark by the terrible wailing this island was famous for… and with no idea what was causing it. Some terrible creature? The shipwrecked ghosts the legends talked of? Who could say?

The meat crackles and a plume of neon embers puff in to the air like orange glow-flies. You reach in to your pack and pull out a polished brass cylinder. A crumpled map fragment lies within. It must me the hundredth time you’ve poured over it since you obtained it from a dunken Dverg in a portside tapcafe.

You become lost in the crumpled paper, age stained and weather worn. The arcane symbols, the unintelligible scrawl… the image of a flat topped mountain, yawning out of the sea… it’s madness. X marks the spot? What is this? A children’s story? You don’t even know what it’s for, and yet… perhaps this time…

The smell of cooked dilophosor brings you out of your reverie, and you pop the map back in to its case, and begin to eat. The charred but succulent meat is too hot at first. deftly you use a knife to peel back the skin. Wafts of steam escape with a gentle hiss, and the meat falls away from the bone, perfectly cooked.

Just as you bite in to the first morsel a high pitched chittering sound tears through the calm of the early evening, and an indistinguishable ball of <CLICK HERE TO CHOOSE> bursts from the undergrowth, charges through the fire in a shower of embers, bowls you right over and disappears in to the gloom.

You dust yourself off, and suddenly realise something is missing…

The shiny brass cylinder!

Do you:

1. Grab your spear and immediately run after the creature.
2. make a flaming torch, backpack, and attempt to track it more slowly.

!!!CLICK HERE TO CHOOSE!!!

THE COMMUNITY DECIDES
almost 4 years ago – Wed, May 13, 2020 at 10:51:36 AM

Decides what?! 

Ok, ok, we need to get a few things out of the way first! 

First off, we've unlocked Dahu!! Awesome. She's now listed in the Add On section so don't forget to up your pledge if you've decided you can't live without her. A victory for #teamUCdinos!

Next on the agenda, we're just a shave away from unlocking the cave tiles, to go with the map... EDIT: They unlocked while I was writing this :D. This means instead of a fixed layout, we'll be able to use this new map in a number of different scenarios. Very cool! 

Alright, I know you skim read the above, because you're too busy looking at the picture below... 

Huge Herbivores!

Know what I've been asked... forever? I've been asked when we're going to get a big old herbivore. Well, I've done my work, and now it's over to you, the community, to decide what we're going to unlock at 45k...

The Ankylo? Or the Ceratops? You want both, of course! But for now at least, we're going to have to choose. The poll will remain open until we hit the 45k mark, and then the decision will be locked in! 

Did I mention that we'll be creating a print-and-play scenario specifically based around whichever dino is selected?!

RPG Sessions!

Are you #teamUCdino or #teamUCpirates?! Well, you'll be able to represent your team in about a week, when we run some LIVE sessions of the TDE RPG you've all (or nearly all) been sent. Who's interested? We're pronbably going to run an English Language session on the 20th and a German langauage session on the 21st. Please shout loudly in the comments section below if you're interested in playing. For everyone else, we're going to let you help the GM make decisions about the environment, and what sorts of horrors the players will have to face! 

Comment below if you're interested in joining, and we'll be in touch to arrange. 

Dino Hunt...

Tomorrow is the day! A little intruder has run through your camp, and stolen something precious! We'll be going on a multiple-choice adventure together to track down the culprit, decide what to do and... decide what kind of miscreant we have found, and what to do about it! 

This will result in everyone who's pledge level includes a core box getting a free copy of this little person, who will appear in the Ulaya Chronicles Campaign, and join the Wayfarers in TDE. 

Excited about stretch goals? Which friend who hasn't backed the project would like it most? Have you shown it to them? Spread the word, and lets get to a giant herbivore!