-KICKSTARTER: SHADOWSEA

Hace relativamente poco que nos topamos con ShadowSea un juego de bandas ambientando en un mundo submarino de AntiMatter Games con una fuerte influencia de distintas fuentes como puede ser Bioshock, Julio Verner, los mitos de Cthulhu, etc...

Las miniaturas son una autentica gozada y ya tienen dos libros editados y van a por el tercero. Y este Kickstarter es la excusa perfecta para adentrarte en las profundidades de ShadowSea. Podeis ver más fotos de esta genial juego en nuestra página de Facebook en este FyD enlace.




ShadowSea is a game of fast-paced miniatures combat using 28mm scale figures, powered by the renowned Song of Blades ruleset from Ganesha Games and set in the same game world as our game DeepWars. Six unique forces search for ancient artifacts and golden treasures through crumbling ruins, trap-filled catacombs and underwater citadels. ShadowSea has many features that make it a flexible gaming system that is perfect for beginners but deep enough for experienced gamers. The goal of this project is to make the second edition version of ShadowSea, with new artwork, rules and complete starter sets of miniatures.

ShadowSea takes place in the late 17th century, in a time when explorers and scientists have discovered a lost underground world beneath a frozen southern continent and salvaged technological wonders left behind by advanced beings. The game world mixes swashbuckling tabletop combat, elemental magic and ancient technology with RPG elements, such as as character development during battle campaigns and a fully customizable character and weapon design system. The look and feel of the game crosses genres, including both fantasy and sci-fi elements in an alternate history of Earth, where esoteric science and dimension-shifting magic have unlocked lost cosmic secrets. The competing forces in the Underlands, a lost world beneath ice and snow, each have scientists that have salvaged ancient technology and re-built it for battle, even designing their own new versions in some cases. Groups of adventurers, or Warbands, battle in the Underlands to discover new artifacts, golden treasure and glowing crystals that channel the ubiquitous ether fields and power all tech devices. Raw ethereal energy is channeled by spellcasters also, allowing them to vaporize enemies, open dimensional portals or cause earthquakes.

When combined with DeepWars, its companion game, battles can be played above and below the surface of a deadly underground sea, on ships and within submersibles, experiencing multiple levels of gameplay.

DETAILED MINIATURES in 28mm scale, cast in solid metal, with some of the larger pieces cast in resin.

FAST GAMES, lasting 30-45 minutes, with game models on each side alternating their turns of activation so that all players can stay in the flow of the game.

SMALL WARBANDS of 5-10 models, so that anyone can have a warband destined for glory without spending a fortune.

EASY MOVEMENT rules using three simple measurement sticks, but deceptively complex in how movements may be coordinated between models.

TABLETOP PLAY allows players to build a map on any 1 meter-square surface without the need for a grid. Just add scenery and start the game.

LITTLE TO NO BOOKKEEPING! The models in a warband are represented by a basic block of two statistics and a few special abilities, weapons and armor.

CAMPAIGN PROGRESSION allows a warband to increase in power as it wins battles along an epic campaign across environments spanning fungal forests, ruined cities, underground temples, and shadowy underwater citadels.

MAGIC AND TECHNOLOGY interweave in the Underlands. Warbands may battle using arcane magical spells or ancient technological weapons in the mysterious underground realm.

ACTION BASED GAMEPLAY means that models have many choices of actions besides simply whacking each other across the skull. Leap chasms, climb pillars, break through walls, set explosives or try something unexpected.

SIX COMPLETE FORCES battle in their quest for ancient artifacts. Hundreds of heroes, fiends, wild creatures, ethereal demons, ancient mechanical constructs and stygian monsters.

We are proposing to update the old ShadowSea rules with the new features from DeepWars, adding new artwork and game mechanics so that they can be played together. The main goal though, is to produce starter sets of miniatures for each of the main six forces. This Kickstarter project will start initially with three of the forces, adding more if the project is funded.

Those that backed the DeepWars project and back ShadowSea at the $50 level or higher get an additional 28-32mm tall miniature (30mm base size) from any force of their choice added to their rewards, either from DeepWars or ShadowSea.

There are six main forces in ShadowSea but we are focusing on the first three to start. Additional forces will be unlocked if the game is funded.

Within a few short years of the discovery of the previously uncharted wasteland beneath ice and snow, scores of grizzled veterans and starry-eyed dreamers came by sea to lay claim to this new land and the glittering treasures that it held. Fortune hunters come from different countries, with expeditions and ships funded and led by wealthy nobles working in collaboration with powerful factions within kingdoms. The stated goal of the expeditions is scientific exploration and discovery of the nature of the world’s history. The unstated goals center around conquest and plunder, utilizing freebooter pirates and mercenaries to neutralize any savage natives encountered, as well as scholars and priests with experience using and countering the powers of ancient artifacts.

Included in the Fortune Hunter starter set

• Pirate Captain
• Adventuring Archaeologist
• Mad Bomber
• Medium Mechanical Construct
• Templar Lightbringer
• game cards

From such a noble civilization, the Dark Mariners have completely devolved into nightmare, mixing their bloodline with the foulest of undersea life. A stone tablet dredged up from the sunless ocean, covered in glyphs, has been partially translated and indicates that their history may have begun to degenerate with increased reliance on esoteric forms of communication, manipulation of cosmic energy and twisting of their own physical forms to enhance their abilities. The Dark Mariners are an enemy to all creatures living above the sea, able to slither up on land while carrying their own water and lay waste to all in their path using terrifying blasts of energy. Their weaponry and armor is some sort of natural material, neutrally buoyant and resistant to most weapons.

Included in the Dark Mariner starter set

• Dagathonan Man-Slayer
• Cephalid Mind Stealer
• Destroyer Biomech
• Raider Cavern Crawler
• Pureblood Noble Scientist
• game cards

The Axibalán Empire is and ancient civilization living in the lost underground realm. The empire is ruled by sorceresses, tall and powerful, who handle streams of ethereal energy like conductors of a symphony. Few men are apparent in their society, but those that have been identified have been priests involved in the most blasphemous rites imaginable, ones that often involve the form of physical transmutation of man and beast. The frontline soldiers of the empire are the unholy spawn of these rites, mixtures of men and various bloodthirsty creatures that had lived ages ago on the surface and are still found lurking in the Underlands. While not armed with modern weapons, the raw power of these beastmen is enough to shatter most enemies. Combined with the magical ability of the sorceresses, the Axibalán forces are a difficult challenge to overcome.

Included in the Axibalán Empire starter set

• Amatzl Relic Hunter
• Tlacttl Disembowler
• Holotl Gate Smasher
• Amatzl Guardian
• Amatzl Battle Sorceress
• game cards

Funding from Kickstarter will be used to produce the the miniatures for the starter sets and create additional artwork for the rulebook. It will also help cover printing and other production costs. Miniatures usually take from 3-6 weeks each to sculpt, then require master casting and then production casting before they can be packed into starter sets. All of this takes time, but if thing go well the final boxed sets should be ready by May 2013. That is the target date, but some rewards are set up for supporters to get castings as they are finished if the wait is too long.

Miniatures will be cast in white metal, except for large creatures, which will be cast in resin. Casting, packing and production is done in the USA. Shipping does not include VAT or any other taxes for international awards.

The person running the show at AntiMatter Games (www.antimatter-games.com) is Eric from the Lone Brushman painting studio, who handles the game design and art direction. He is the primary contact point for inquiries into the game. Painted miniatures by Eric can be viewed atwww.lonebrushman.net.

The primary artist, website developer, and producer of the video is Marcelo Orsi Blanco, owner of the Hidden Workshop design studio http://www.hidden-workshop.com/.

Our main character concept artist is Víctor P. Corbella. His work can be found at cargocollective.com/Corbella. Additional character art is done by Eric, Marcelo, and Giovanni Castro. His work can be found herehttp://www.artflakes.com/en/shop/nigio.

We are always looking for sculptors, but have a few already working on miniatures. The stable so far includes Bob Olley (the master of monsters), Kev "Goblinmaster" Adams, Bobby Jackson, Patrick "Bombshell" Keith, Brother Vinni and Sandra Garrity. Some existing miniatures and terrain made for ShadowSea are shown below.

RISKS AND CHALLENGES Learn about accountability on Kickstarter

There are many steps to completing this project but we feel that we can manage it well. One of the ways to do this is to coordinate the artists and sculptors involved and make sure they share the same design vision. ShadowSea has a distinct theme and art style, and we will strive to adhere to the look and feel of the background material.

The biggest challenge is timing all of the different aspects of design so that they reach completion at expected deadlines. We have learned though our our previous project, DeepWars, that issues do occur during production and to leave sufficient time and funds to mitigate the issues. We are currently shipping products out for DeepWars and are on schedule even after these issues. Sculpting miniatures takes time, upwards of weeks or months in some cases, so we have organized the sculptors to work on different parts of the starter sets to improve production speed. Book design also takes a great deal of time, from writing the text, designing interior art and editing, so that task is handled separately from the miniatures so that it will be completed at the same time.