Week 2 Update + Add-Ons!!!
over 2 years ago
– Wed, Apr 03, 2024 at 08:03:40 AM
Good Morning, Chosen!
We're at the 2-week mark in the Chosen campaign, and it's time for another update!
First, I want to thank all of you for helping make this campaign successful. At the time of my publishing this update, we are 98% funded with 15 days to go. That's amazing news! Thanks to all of you, this game will be a reality. That also means we can start working on meeting stretch goals. I have no doubt we can unlock them if we reach enough people.
Second, if you go have a look, you'll find a new add-on in the rewards. I wanted to give you guys more options, and it gives me more opportunities to design cool stuff. This first add-on replicates what I envision as the Order of Volratha currency. I call it the "Vor." Different values of vors would be demonstrated by their metal type (Platinum, Gold, Silver, and Copper). They're a limited run, so I would get it during the Kickstarter if you want one. If I do another run, it will likely be a different design and color.
This is the coin's design. The translation for the Hunter side reads, "The Order Provides" in Ancient Uddithan. I'm basing the language on a combination of real-world languages. I know the design of the Volratha side is definitely doable. I leave to see my family tomorrow and will order these as soon as I get back next week. If the hunter side needs to be simplified a bit, it shouldn't take much if it does.
These coins/D2s will come from Foam Brain Games. I've decided to go with Antique Silver for these. Like I said if I make a run in the future, I'll likely make a new design with a different color. Below is the chart from Foam Brain so you can visualize it.
More Coming!
Hopefully, I'll have the second add-on ready to go by this weekend! I plan to design custom character sheets specific to the Houses of Volratha. The book will come with a generic character sheet that can be used for any House. The custom sheets are just so you can vibe out with your character and represent who you are in the game. They will come in packs of 4 (one for each House of Volratha). If they're not added by this weekend, then they should be ready to go for the next update.
Lore Reveal - The Tear/Northern Sector/The Ancient One
I was a little torn on what to address today, but I think I want to reveal some history of the world you'll be hunting monsters in. I mention in the campaign how the Volratha foresaw a great cataclysm coming, which is what stirred them into actively spreading their seed among the human population. A corporation brought on that cataclysm. This is the story of how that came to be known.
"Have a seat, dear. Do you know much of the Northern Sector? No? Well, that's no surprise. It's a mystery to most people. Allow me to tell you a story about how our world became the way it is. It won't take too long. You'll humor an old woman, won't you?
Now, all this chaos started with a discovery. It's been so long now the name's been forgotten. However, the corporation that brought on The Great Darkness frequently comes up in conversations across The Shadowreach. Rumors swirl all the time of new information found in a buried archive or on an undead from the Northern Sector that wandered too far South.
While these incidents are possible, many are rumors and nothing more. The people of The Shadowreach simply want answers, and not even the Order of Volratha has produced anything satisfactory. The closest anyone has come to providing a solid answer was centuries ago when Head Grand Master Kovili of the Order spoke at the signing of the Treaty of Northgate. That day, all four city-states formed an official alliance with the Order of Volratha. Kovili saw the fear in the eyes of the people, and she did her best to give them solace.
'Great people of Udditha, I stand before you saddened by what is happening all over our world. One has to look no further than outside your walls. Northgate has always been a place of peace and beauty. Now, eldritch horrors and undead wander the nearby forests. Demons dare step into the light and inflict their tortures on the living. These are dark times, but fear not, for the Order will not back down. Somewhere in the Northern Sector, buried under all the rubble, are the answers we seek. They must be there because the Order has scoured all of Udditha in search of a solution and found none.
You look at me with fear in your eyes and sadness in your heart, and I feel it in my soul. I heard something for the first time this morning. I overheard someone refer to Udditha by the collective term: The Shadowreach. When I asked for an explanation, I was told that sailing vessels have confirmed that the entire world is enveloped in shadow. There is nowhere in Udditha that the darkness does not touch now.
Well, I refuse. I was born an Eosian of Udditha, and I will not give those monsters the satisfaction of renaming our world for THEM! This is OUR world, and as long as there is blood in my veins, the Order of Volratha will not quit. We will search and fight until we are swimming in blood if that's what it takes! That is my pledge to you, great people of Northgate. We will find the answers, and we will bring back the light.'
Her speech was met with thunderous applause, of course. However, even the great Kovili had admitted the Order had not found a way to disperse the shadows that enveloped our world. Two years later, Kovili led the first expedition into the Northern Sector with a battalion of soldiers and several Chosen Masters. Three people emerged from that doomed expedition. Kovili was not among them. She gave her life for the people of Udditha, so that future generations would have a chance to destroy the darkness.
One of the survivors was the great Grand Master Doon of House Vello. He revealed that the expedition had been successful. Thanks to Kovili and her efforts, the Order knew the path it needed to take. Doon then informed the leaders of the city-states that the Order would be doubling its efforts to seek out those children born during an eclipse. He was convinced they would need as many Chosen as possible to achieve their goal.
According to Doon, the desolation and destruction the expedition encountered in the Northern Sector was immense. Crumbling and rotting buildings, rusted husks of vehicles, and partial skeletons of citizens from before The Tear were scattered everywhere. The expedition had found some sort of facility under what could only have been the former northern capital. There, they found a large stone covered in ancient runes that hummed with energy. When two Chosen touched it, they screamed in agony and were vaporized into a bloody cloud of mist. When the blood settled on the stone, it began to pulse, sending out waves of energy. An otherworldly roar was heard somewhere outside, and the pulses intensified.
The energy waves became so intense that they drove Kovili and her people out of the facility, but not before grabbing as much information as they could. There was no electricity for the old computers, but there were still notes and journals in the room with the stone. For some reason, the mass destruction that had demolished the surface had not touched the underground lab. When they exited, they were confronted by an enormous entity that Doon described as 'the most evil thing he had ever encountered.' Kovili and the rest sacrificed themselves so Doon and the other two Chosen could escape. Doon learned from reading the journal later that the evil being was called The Ancient One.
According to journals, The Ancient One had been coercing those studying the stone device to activate it. The Ancient One had the scientists convinced the device would grant them the knowledge needed to travel the stars. Instead, it unleashed hell on everything they loved, ripping reality like it was a piece of cloth. The Tear caused such an energy blast that it destroyed the city. What followed was a swarm of evil creatures that flowed forth like water from a broken dam.
With this knowledge, Doon began to rebuild the Order of Volratha stronger than before. When possible, children were taken from birth and raised in a controlled environment. They ate, slept, and breathed monster hunting, all with the goal of training Chosen to defeat The Ancient One. No Chosen has succeeded yet. However, we persist, and the Order has held true to Kovili's word. They still hunt the horrors that come from The Tear, but no real progress has been made to disperse the shadows that keep Udditha in a perpetual state of night. It would seem that the Order and the darkness they're at war with are at an impasse.
Whenver you see a Chosen in the street, remember, the Order protects the people. However, it also draws its strength from the very darkness it combats. The real question is, what will happen to the Order of the Volratha when the world returns to normal? You think on that, dear. Now, run along. I need to stretch my legs." -- Lady Garbindall of Northgate to a child passing through the castle's gardens
Last Thoughts
Alright, well, I hope you enjoyed the lore! Remember to share the campaign. Also, remember to add the new custom coin add-on if that interests you. As I said, custom character sheets are on the design board, and I will have them ready to add to the campaign very soon.
Once again, I appreciate and thank all of you for helping make this happen! Have a wonderful day!
-Joseph Weaver - Designer
