Final week and new unlocks!
over 2 years ago – Wed, Aug 25, 2021 at 01:09:32 AM

Hi dragonbonded,

It has been a while since our last update but this one will make your wait worthwhile. There's so much to talk about before entering into the last 48hrs of the campaign (tomorrow). Here's the list for your convenience:

• Midstep unlock: 36 unit miniatures to replace all cardboard units
• New unlocked generals: Eldai Alarn (Allaria) and Baryen (Tyveria)
• Component upgrades: Linen finish (since day 1) and thicker player boards (coming soon)
• New upcoming add-on: Dragon Broods and Realms expansion
• New available add-on: Big Box of Holding + deluxe tokens (including miniatures to replace neutral units) 
• New available add-on: PnP / STL files for expansions 
• New add-on upgrade: Double-sided Rubber mat (oversized)
• Expansions for upcoming years: Realms of Valerna (unique plastic city tokens + abilities)
• About the Solo Mode 
• About the free Wargame starter 
• Let Dragons reign on Kickstarter! Shoutout to another Dragon game we love.

Let's get started!

Whether you plan to use the cardboard tokens or the miniatures for your units, it is important that you are certain you won't need to mix them. We are sure that you will unlock the $200.000 stretch goal to add printed cards, rules and tokens to Armies of Blood & Dreams, but we decided to unlock the extra minis in advance for the 48-hr-left reminder. You have been amazing and very enthusiast in the comments, so we are delighted to announce your pledge (tier $49 and higher) now includes 36 unit miniatures (6 of each type); keep reading below to learn how to upgrade your neutral units into new miniatures!

This free expansion also includes 2 alternate generals that you unlocked in the past stretch goals. The miniatures in the graphics are placeholders for a Qirin Fai Hunter (Eldai Alarn), and a blooded gladiator (Baryen). 

Eldai Alarn of Fionn – Allarian alternate general

Once a Fai Hunter himself, and soon honored as Alarn or “True Warden,” Eldai of Fionn is a loyal qirin warden general. Eldai is a loyal representative of Allaria, and his down-to-business attitude makes him a military mastermind to keep an eye out for.

As the other Allarian generals, Eldai's vaala cards offer a certain degree of crowd control but rather than mobility (Elyse) or manipulation (Onatella), Eldai has some Vaala cards that exalt its Qirin Fai Hunter tracking skills on the board while others get ahead of his opponents' tactis. Here are a couple of examples of his Vaala cards:

 Master Hunter - Cost: 2 Power

Destroy a creature or up to three neutral units in regions adjacent to your general.

Mystic Tracking  - Cost: 1 Power

Without changing their order, look at the remaining cards of the action stack.

After dragonbonding, Eldai and his bonded dragon may draw some Vaala cards and replenish some spent power tokens in their Power track. 

Baryen, the Blooded Scar – Tyverian alternate general

One of the most celebrated gladiators of his time, Baryen, The People's Champion, still has a debt to pay off to the imperial house. His natural savy of combat and his hurry to return home to Ysval make every step he takes, just as important as the last one.

Similarly to other Tyverian generlas, Baryen has some very offensive vaala cards, but this character is all about physical combat instead of blood sorcery (Adrael) or alchemy traps (Sagriv). Some of his vaala cards include:

Inspired charge - Cost: 2 Power

[Attack glyph] Resolve this card as an action card.

Martial prowess - Cost: 2 Power

Place this card in front of you. Until the end of the round, gain +1 combat value in regions containing your general.

In addition, once dragonbonded, whenever Baryen destroys units on the board, those are added to his bonded dragon's essence track. 

Are you most excited to play as Eldai Alarn or as Baryen? Let us know in the comments!

We aim for the highest quality, and we want you to remember it. Since day-1, our cards have been considered with linen finish but we want to remind you (and new backers) about it. We are also looking at upgrading the player boards to a thicker cardstock. Double layered cardboard is not an option because of the added extra weight and height to the base game; also because if you choose to use deluxe components such as miniatures for the units or the upcoming deluxe wooden tokens, the shapes to fit them will not be the same. But we understand the need to have thicker player boards and our factory has already sent another suggestion for materials.

The most popular add-on in the poll was the new dragon broods and realms. 

We are sooooo excited about the possibility of making these a reality now, in this campaign, rather than on 2022/2023. But in order to accelerate development for this one, we need extra funds to complete development —32 art pieces, 4 resculpts (epic poses and scenic base), game design, editing, graphic layout (66 cards) and tooling. We are eager to share more about Dragonbond with you!

Let's spread the word to have a huge conversion in the final 48-hours and unlock this add-on! Here are the only 2 art pieces we created for this, which were created earlier to set the tone for each dragon brood's illustrations:

And yes, we know you are wondering about the miniatures for the troops of these new realms. We are currently exploring our options to make Armies of Nature & Light a reality if the new realms and broods are unlocked!

And speaking about add-ons:

Thank you for taking the time to answer and letting us know what you would like to see in the campaign! The most popular add-on was the expansion for the new realms and broods (see above). The add-ons with a big box of holding were the most popular afterwards, and the deluxe components next. We also read a lot of comments about interest for having miniatures to replace the neutral units. So here's a summary of our game plan with everything you suggested:

•  $25 Big box of holding + deluxe components: Wooden tokens, snap bases, miniatures for neutral units

We hear you! Having a nice way to store and setup the game is crucial for the playing experience. But also having premium components that feel nice to the touch or enhance table presence and immersion —we are all-in for increasing immersion! 

The most streamlined way to have all of this benefits is to integrate them in a single add-on where you get a HUGE box of holding for the base game and all expansions, plus 24 miniatures for the neutral units (1 or 2 different designs), snap bases in different sizes and colors (as per gameplay needs) to clearly identify each player's minis on the board, specially if you plan to paint your minis, and custom wooden tokens, some with silk-screen, others with the unique custom shape. 

This add-on's final design is in process, and we are very much looking forward to share its development with you.  

Here's an exclusive preview at more concepts from the Dragonbond visual guide to the Ellari rebels. We are considering one of these of some Maghyr rebels to become the miniatures for the neutral units (12 copies of a female design, 12 copies of a male design; pose not final, just shown for concept purposes).

Here's an extract from the lore guide for both types of rebels mentioned above:

Ellari rebels, while they live inside the Realm’s borders, consider themselves independent, and so enemies of the Dragon Kingdom. Most of them live in secluded enclaves inside the Fai Woods, where the Kingdom’s armies can’t reach them.

The greatest danger for the Empire is not an outside force, but the machinations of maghyr malcontents. After the Emperor’s edicts stripped them of land and influence, the old noble houses have mostly played the meek vassals, but they maintain a secret agenda fully committed to regaining their former wealth and power.

•  $10 PnP/STL expansions 

This one has been mentioned above as part of a new pledge level to get all digital content. If you are at reward levels $49 USD and higher and you would like to include the PnP and STL files for all the expansions, just add $10 on top of your pledge.

•  ($10) Rubber mat is now double sided 

It is always exciting when we learn who likes the original board with the map style and who prefers the colored terrain board. After announcing the game board in the base game being double-sided, we received a lot of requests to do the same for the oversized (+25%) rubber mat. We talked to the factory and we can confirm the mat will be double-sided. 

We also heard about having stitched edges, but unfortunately, this would increase the cost too much because the perimeter of this board is 3meters (100cm x 50cm) and while they certainly look more elegant, we have also been reading the cons about stitched edges. We can confirm this mat will not have stitched edges but it will be double-sided.

Remember that if you plan to use your minis and use expansions (specially Creatures of Valerna), the oversized rubber mat is a great choice.

• Unique city tokens (plastic or STL)

This particular add-on was not very popular, and the reason we didn't consider it for the deluxe components in the big box (besides the expensive tooling for 12 unique city tokens) is because our backer Joren Frencken suggested an idea to have the city tokens offer unique abilities. We absolutely loved this idea and have pitched it to River Horse. We might release this as part of an expansion in 2022/2023 for Realms of Valerna. Once we do that, we will certainly offer the STL files too, not only the physical miniatures.

• Legends of Valerna miniexpansions unlocking soon!

We are very close to reach 1000 copies of Legends of Valerna taken. Once we do, we will include 2 additional miniexpansions to this box (Captains and Draconic Offerings, more info in Update #7). Which will increase its MSRP to $35 USD but backers getting it for $30 USD. 

We will also have the first playtest for the captains miniexpansion on Thursday 9am CT. Stay tuned!

Solo Mode 

Since the beginning, this game has been designed keeping solo mode in mind —and given that this game was designed during the pandemic, the AI that allows it to be played solo has been playtested even more than 4-player games.

We want you to know that we are still working in the integration of the expansions Creatures of Valerna in the solo mode. Currently, the Legends of Valerna expansion allows you to try new characters, including the Kadhah, we are still working on the Fell Knight. 

• In Solo Mode, you play against 3 AI, by turning their boards to the Faceless side. The AI doesn't use character cards or vaala cards, but they can still bond and have a fixed dragonbond ability or Vaala effect with the Vaala glyph.
• You are always the 1st player in all rounds because AI (Faceless players) can't pass and they cannot have the Initiative token. So the Push your luck factor in the planning phase becomes stronger. You play cards in your planning phase and each AI plays a random action card from their hands in their turn. When you pass
• Their boards show stronger effects for the glyphs to compensate the "randomness" on the cards they play. It is highly unusual that an AI does nothing because the effects usually have "If this character did nothing, then do [another particular thing]. 
• The way they resolve their glyphs is very straightforward and simplified. AI generals doesn't get a +1 combat value from a balanced force and don't get Upgrade or region cards. But they raise armies much more faster than human players. Dragons collect power faster than if played by a human player. 
• The region with the most power tokens become the focus of the AI players, if tied, you choose which one. 

Once again, the lack of informed decisions by AI is compensated by very strong resolution of their Glyphs so you may want to avoid playing all your cards because it is likely that they will get the upper hand. But just as in the regular game, adaptability is crucial to conquer victory!

If you would like to see some playthrough videos, backer Jesse have been streaming solo games (and playing multiplayer too, thanks for all your notes and feedback Jesse!). You can watch here.

We also sent a prototype to Rolling Solo last month to show more about Solo play. Here's the video:

Feel free to let us know your questions or feedback about Solo mode!

About the Wargame starter

As you know, one of our strongest desires with this campaign was to deliver not only 1, but 2 Dragonbond games. We are now VERY close to achieve that huge milestone thanks to your ideas and reception in the change of plans with the stretch goals earlier in the campaign. 

This wargame has been under development long before Lords of Vaala, since summer 2019. In fact, that's how we started working with Alessio Cavatore —he was our game design consultant in the early development. 

One year ago, we launched a Kickstarter campaign for its beta release: Battles of Valerna (all digital, Print & Play including STL files for 3D printing). After the Beta Rules we partnered with Alessio to take the beta into the physical published version and Alessio has been lead game designer since then. Right now we have a Gamma version of the rules (work in progress), which is not final yet but we are close to take it into the next version, the one that will go into print. We are receiving and implementing feedback from our playtesters as well. 

The copy of Armies of Blood & Dreams that you are receiving for free with your pledge (tier $49 and higher) has playable content for Lords of Vaala, but with the $200.000 stretch goal, we will be able to include the next version of the printed ruleset, printed cards, printed tokens, rulers and spin dials. Some of you have asked us more about it, hence this segment in the update. 

Even if you are not into wargames, we believe that you will enjoy playing it very much. The ruleset is very streamlined for a wargame and has a slight boardgame feel that other wargames don't. It is objective-based with victory points. The modularity is one of the key features, because each unit can have a different captain that will allow the unit to feel different than a unit of the same type with a different captain. Same goes for generals and dragons with their archetypes, whether you choose to have the dragonbonded or not, mounted or unmounted. 

Dragonbond Onslaught (Retail release 2022) is the upcoming product line from our resin cast workshop (the one that manufactured the Dragons of the Red Moon) and it offers the full wargame AND rpg experience we intend  to give to our highly-detailed miniatures, with wargame stats, RPG statblocks (5e) and narrative hooks, as well as lore and/or story bites. 

Armies of Blood & Dreams is a starter set you get for FREE to try this new game. And if you decide you like it, all of your Dragonbond miniatures (such as the Gargantuan dragons) or 3D printable files, will offer you added gameplay value across the different Dragonbond titles: Lords of Vaala, the wargame, or RPG.

––Please let us know your comments!

Shoutout: Flamecraft

Some of you have been following both projects but still, we didn't want to miss the chance to highlight this absolutely fantastic game with more DRAGONS! 

Many of us at Draco Studios are backing this game and you might want to consider backing too! We are very excited about the entire project: the theme, the art, the game, the plushies, the amazing Kickstarter campaign and its community, the plushies again, everything!

Pam and I have gamer mats with Sandara's amazing dragon art in our office desktops and her illustrations are astonishing! 

In this game you compete to enchant the town in this dragon-placement game with shared engine building for 2-5 players. Flamecraft features art from world renown dragon illustrator Sandara Tang - but not her usual dragons - these tiny artisan dragons craft all manner of things in town. The campaign is 14 days in and has reached 1 million in funding, with over 40 stretch goals unlocked plus several KS exclusives. Rahdo’s take: “the worker placement spots evolve! Super-duper cool! Everything about this game just works.” Flamecraft’s deluxe edition has cool dragon minis, metal coins, custom silk screened items and the latest GameTrayz - and the add-ons also include two adorable plush dragons!

It is a fantastic month for Dragons on Kickstarter and we would like to see Flamecraft take a spot among the most backed tabletop projects (already at place #76!). Share this link with a friend or click here to check it out: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/cardboardalchemy/flamecraft?ref=3tj7s4

——

This has been a very long update but one that was very fun to write and very much awaited by you all. Thanks again for your patience and understanding with our medical emergency during the weekend, fortunately, things are better now and we are ready to receive the final 48hrs of the campaign! You can help us a lot by sharing this update or campaign link in a tabletop facebook group, subreddit or BoardGameGeek forum! 

—Thanks for dragonbonding with us!

New Add-ons!
over 2 years ago – Tue, Aug 17, 2021 at 04:30:12 PM

Hello Dragonbonded

This was a great weekend for Lords of Vaala and we have an exciting update to celebrate. 

In this update you will find:

•  New Generals being unlocked 
•  Spotlight: Legends of Valerna (expansion)
•  Spotlight: Creatures of Valerna (expansion)
• New add-ons poll & existing add-ons
• How to include add-ons to your pledge
•  New STL / PnP reward tier with all core content & expansions
• Announcing double-sided game board with color side

Let's get started!

NEW GENERALS

Your FREE copy of Armies of Blood & Dreams now includes a new Allarian general (miniature and character card) with its own Vaala cards. The next stretch goal will unlock a new Tyverian general.

Here's what the next stretch goals look like:

Surprise! By removing the alternate poses, we have manage to streamline the stretch goals plan and we are very close to convert Armies of Blood & Dreams into a standalone game —a lite wargame starter for Battles of Valerna. 

Now, let's talk about each of the add-ons, which will help us reach stretch goals faster if you decide to include some to your pledge.

LEGENDS OF VALERNA

This expansion includes 2 new generals (1 for Allaria and 1 for Tyveria) along with 2 new asymmetric characters that extend the player count up to 6 or may replace the Dragon players in games with fewer players (except as Faceless players with AI). These characters play similar to dragons but with a twist —none of them can collect Power tokens from the board; instead they destroy tokens in the board and gain power in a different way.

The Fell Knight

 A dream entity who desperately wants to be real, who gains power by acknowledgement —through deal-making and other trickster, recognizably faerie ploys. 

Each round, players may bid Power tokens in their player boards. The highest bidder gets the Alliance token. The Fell Knight cannot attack their ally. If no player gets the Alliance token, the Fell Knight gets +2 combat value.

Whenever the Fell Knight fills their essence track by destroying units (2), the Fell Knight and their ally gain 1 Power token each.  The Fell Knight is a sturdy character with 6 Hit Points and a constant combat value (3 or 2 dice). When the Fell Knight destroys power on the board, their ally gets 1 Power token and afterwards, the Fell Kinght heals 2 wounds for each power destroyed.

The alliance is even more appealing with the Fell Knight's vaala cards, which offer their ally interesting benefits, and the Fell Knight gets power in return if their ally decides to take the benefit. Here are some examples of the Fell Knight's vaala cards:

Fai Guidance - Cost: 2 Power

Place this card in front of you. Until the end of the round, your ally may treat Glyphs on their action cards as being any other Glyph on their player board. Each time they use this ability, gain 1 power.

Claim what is due - Cost: 2 Power

Choose any number of friendly units in your region. Your ally may return the token of alliance to you, if they do not, add the chosen units to your essence track (gaining power as normal).

If you would like to see the Fell Knight in action, here's a livestream of 5-player game featuring the Fell Knight.

 The Kadhah

A being who gains power by haunting and draining a player of their choice through due to a cosmic, magical grudge.

Each round, the Kadhah gives the Doom token to any player, if the player chosen has the most (or tied for the most) power, the Kadhah gains 1 power. This player is doomed and the Kadhah has +2 combat value against that player.

The Kadhah also fills its essence track with 2 destroyed units and gets 1 Power token afterwards. While the Kadhah is very powerful and rolls many dice against the Doomed player, it can be destroyed with 3 wounds. Once the Kadhah is destroyed, it will activate the vaala glyph on each subsequent turn until the round is over. At that time, the Kadhah will respawn in a random uncontrolled location, stronger with the Vaala cards that remain face-up for the whole round. Here are some vaala cards from the Kadhah:

Blood tether - Cost: 1 Power

Place this card in front of you until the Kadhah is destroyed. Whenever the doomed player casts a Vaala card, you may destroy a unit or wound a dragon in a region adjacent to the Kadhah.

Siphon - Cost: 1 Power

Place this card in front of you until the Kadhah is destroyed. Whenever the doomed player takes one or more power from a region adjacent to the Kadhah, gain 1 power.

Onatella Pai The crimelord

The leader of the Grand Guild and the most important figure inside the Golden Gnome culture in Allaria. Devious, intimidating and politic, she made her way into the main spheres of power in Allaria. 

Onatella Pai is a general who manipulates armies or dragons to change their plans by changing the scenario of the board, whether with diplomacy or treason, you can never take for granted the loyalty of anyone while she is the commanding general of Allaria.

Here are some of her Vaala cards:

An offer you cannot refuse - Cost: 2 Power

Choose any enemy upgrade and take it, adding it to your player board.

Manipulation - Cost: 1 Power

Choose an enemy general or Dragon and move it to an adjacent region. If you choose a general, the region must be uncontrolled or friendly to that player.

While dragonbonded, whenever she or her bonded dragon collect Power tokens from the board, they may collect 1 additional Power token if able.

The miniature is still in progress but we will see her seated on her ornamented tripod.

Sagriv The alchemist spy

An expert shiv alchemist from Tyveria, who experiments with different kind of poisons. Although chaotic and erratic, his clever mind and intelligence make him an occasional counselor for the emperor.

Sagriv lays secret traps that will make his foes to double guess their actions. All of his vaala cards cost 2 Power to play, but they are played face-down until the condition is triggered.

Some examples of his vaala cards:

Explosives - Cost: 2 Power

Play this card face-down in front of you. You may reveal this card at any time to turn a critical hit into 3 standard hits.

Smoke bombs - Cost: 2 Power

Play this card face down in front of you. You may reveal this card when a combat is initiated to retreat from the region immediately.

Being dragonbonded allows Sagriv's bonded dragon to look at his face-down traps and activate them too.

More content to Legends of Valerna

We are very close to add additional mini expansions to this pack, increasing its value but not its pledge amount for you.

If at least 1000 copies of Legends of Valerna are taken, we will add the Draconic offerings miniexpansion and the Captains miniexpansion. Both of this are still being developed and playtested by Alessio & Jack but here's an overview of them:

Draconic Offerings

Dragons invade Valerna not only for raw power, they need to bring back offerings for their Azhurma —the Great Wyrms of Drakha. This offering can be captured Valernians themselves, but it can also be artifacts, objects or even knowledge. 

Tokens are placed on the board during setup which the Dragons can hoard and spend to get benefits, or collect sets to claim Power tokens. Generals may attempt to find the dragons' lairs on the board to retrieve the tokens and collect Power by completing sets as well.

Captains

In a continent forged by war and raided by dragons, heroes can be found among the realms. There are no gods or destiny in Dragonbond. The decisions and actions of individuals is what shape this world, to start wars or to end them.

The Upgrade deck has some Hero cards and whenever they are revealed, unique neutral champions are placed in a random uncontrolled region. These champions have a combat value of +2. Generals can attempt to defeat them and recruit them as captains for their armies. Dragons entering peacefully in regions with these heroes may become bonded, allowing them to move together, attack with +2 dice, and no longer be able to bond with Generals.

Upgrade your pledge level today and get Legends of Valerna to unlock these exciting miniexpansions!

CREATURES OF VALERNA

This Players-vs-Environment expansion introduces neutral monsters and gives a bit more life to Valerna than just armies and dragons. Creatures are a challenge themselves, but every challenge that is overcome in Dragonbond gives power in one way or another. Limited quantities available after the Kickstarter, the best way to secure this expansion is by adding it to your pledge now or in the pledge manager.

This expansion includes 1 event card, some "Spawn" cards, and 6 miniatures with their corresponding cards for each creature. Whenever a Spawn card is revealed in the Upgrade deck, a random creature is placed at a random uncontrolled region and a new Upgrade card is drawn. It is common to find multiple monsters in the board. All power in a region where a monster spawns is destroyed, but by defeating the creature in combat you can claim Power.

As an extra perk, you can also find the stats for each of these monsters so you can use their miniatures in your own role-playing game adventures using 5th edition rules.

Back to Lords of Vaala gameplay content, each creature card shows its combat value (attack dice), the Hit Points (wounds), and Trophy value (Power tokens awarded for destroying it), and a unique ability. Creatures and Neutral units in a region must be all attacked, one at a time.

•  Fai Hydra (Combat Value 4, Wounds 4, Trophy 2) 

If the Fai Hydra survives a combat round, the Hydra instantly recovers any wounds it has suffered.

•  Waada (Combat Value 2, Wounds 2, Trophy 2) 

Before combat, deal a wound to the enemy and add a neutral unit to this region. Neutral units in the region must always be attacked before the Waada.

•  Oni Fataar (Combat Value 3, Wounds 3, Trophy 2) 

The Oni Fataar rerolls all ‘miss’ results in combat (only once, you cannot reroll a reroll).

•  Manticore (Combat Value 2, Wounds 2, Trophy 1) 

The Manticore counts as the attacker in all combats and rolls combat dice first.

•  Blood Husks (Combat Value 2, Wounds 3, Trophy 1) 

After this creature is killed, shuffle its card back into the creature deck.

•  Fai Goblins (Combat Value 1, Wounds 3, Trophy 1) 

Whenever an enemy would suffer a wound from a Fai Goblins’ hit, the enemy must retreat instead.

Swat aside waves of fai goblins or face the mind-shattering power of the waada. Brave the tyverian manticore and the poison on its spikes and fend off the vampyri husklings, starved for blood. Rush the Oni Fataar’s tusks, or be torn down by its sheer size. Dare to hunt the Fai Hydra, if you don't become prey to any of its 4 maws first.

NEW & CURRENT ADD-ONS

We read all your comments and we are exploring the possibility to create new add-ons based on your interests, including:

• Big Box of Holding (storage solution)
• Deluxe tokens (wood with silk-screen or embossing)
• Colored Snap Bases (For all players and units)
• Unique city tokens. (Plastic or for 3D print)
• NEW expansion with more dragons and realms (Nahuac & Ysval realms + Exxor & Coatl dragon broods)

WE NEED YOUR HELP TO MAKE THESE A REALITY. Please answer this survey so we can calculate demand and with that, the final cost of the add-ons. We want all of these to become a reality but we need to secure a minimum print run and some development costs for a couple of them (the new expansion or the unique city tokens)

Go to add-ons survey

The existing add-ons that you can get now for Lords of Vaala are

•  Oversized Rubber Mat (full color map): Each region has a limit of 6 units at any time, so the game board in your game works fine (and we are now making it double-sided so you can choose to use the full color or the muted colors). The oversized mat (+25%) offers clearer visibility in games where generals are able to recruit the largest armies in case you plan to replace your cardboard units with the miniatures included in Armies of Blood & Dreams.
•  Extra dice set: Very handy to allow any player to reach dice at a comfortable distance in the table or whenever you attack with the most powerful combos, get extra dice to avoid re-rolling while keeping count.
•  Card sleeves: Protect your cards and expand their lifespan. One set is required to sleeve the base game, two sets to sleeve the game with one or more expansions.
•  Great Wyrms of Drakha (book, dice set, miniatures): A past Dragonbond release in RPG with 7 high-level adventures against the most powerful dragons in Drakha, the red moon of Valerna. These gargantuan miniatures (8 inch / 200 mm) do not currently have gameplay content for Lords of Vaala but we are working on rules to have it in the future for both, Lords of Vaala and the Dragonbond wargame. Limited quantities available.

Upgraded tier for 3D / PnP files

Our 3D-printing branch, LAIR team, is almost ready to start monthly releases (Patreon) so the STL models in the expansions were considered for 3 monthly releases. And the Print & Play PDF files for the expansions (with standees instead of 3D models) consolidated in a $15 add-on for the pledge manager. 

We realized that this campaign was missing our usual huge welcoming to the makers community by keeping those models for a later monthly content. (If you have backed Dragons of the Red Moon, Great Wyrms of Drakha, or any LAIR campaigns, you know we are big supporters of the makers community).

This is how we plan to fix it.

• At campaign launch – The $15 USD reward tier includes the digital files for the core game of Lords of Vaala and the Armies of Blood & Dreams. We are including the 3D STL files for free in this pack (or the P&P PDF files for free, depending on how you prefer to see it). 
• Today – Likewise, we will bundle the STL and PDF PnP files in a single $15 add-on so you get both at the price of 1. This will be available in the pledge manager.
• We created a new pledge level now for $25 that includes ALL 3D STL models and all the Print & Play PDF files for the base game and the expansions. In case you choose to get all content for the core game and expansions now, 

In addition, as per your request the PDF files for Print & Play will include both variants: Ink-saving (without background textures), and full graphics (with background textures). These are organized in an A4 format to print with a home-printer.

Please help us spread the word within the makers community and Print & Play groups. We would like to welcome everyone into our campaign.

Double-sided game board

We love our board with muted colors and a Tolkien-feel. (Particularly Alessio and Daniel Ehrli are huge fans of it). But we have heard some requests from backers to have a colored version. We are upgrading your board to a double-sided board so you can choose which side you would like to play with. 

Here's the color illustration (still without layout of the borders, names and other game elements, but those will be included in the final product).

(See the landmarks on each region? You can get those as minis if you are interested in having unique plastic city tokens, remember to answer the add-ons survey to let us know)

––

That's all for today! Thanks for your patience with this update, let us know in the comments what you liked the most about the expansions and please help us share in social media or tabletop forums/groups so we can reach the $200.000 USD stretch goal to give you 2 Dragonbond games! By including add-ons to your pledge we will also get closer.

—Thanks for dragonbonding with us!
 

Stage 2 complete! Let's talk about exclusives
over 2 years ago – Thu, Aug 12, 2021 at 03:53:50 AM

Hello dragonbonded!

Today we would like to ask your opinion (again) regarding an interesting topic, but let's talk first about your most recent achievement:

Thanks to your feedback and the shift on stage 2, you have cleared a new stage of stretch goals! Your pledge now includes 24 miniatures in addition to the 4 main characters!

Now you will unlock more gameplay content and miniatures: alternate generals! With these, we are getting closer to converting Armies of Blood & Dreams into a second Dragonbond game that you will get free with your pledge by supporting this Kickstarter.

New press releases and marketing strategies for the campaign are going live tomorrow and during the weekend to increase exposure and funding rate but please help us spread the word in your favorite forum or social media.

Kickstarter exclusives?

We have been following a very interesting thread in the comments section about this campaign offering or not offering exclusives. 

Here's our stance when we launched the campaign (and after reading, we would LOVE reading your thoughts in the comments).

• All of Dragonbond has been under development for the past 3 years; we want to welcome everyone into taking part of this journey.
• Kickstarter exclusive content usually increases interest from potential backers to join during the Kickstarter rather than getting the game later through retail. This is because of people's fear of missing out (FOMO).
• It is often said that some publishers prey on FOMO which results in backers spending more than they would be comfortable to afford or risk.
• There are many degrees of FOMO, including the Opposite of FOMO. We remain impartial because we believe publishers do what they think its best for their products.
• Everyone at Draco Studios (including LAIR and Detestable Games) knows that we exist thanks to our Kickstarter backers. And as backers ourselves of other creators, we know how is it like to support a project that does not exist yet, but be excited about it and directly supporting its creator.
• Some of you might have heard about Lords of Vaala before the Kickstarter, while some backers will discover it during the last day of the campaign. All backers are helping to fund and stretch this game, so we believe every backer should get the same benefits. 
• Therefore, we decided not to offer an early bird tier. Instead we are including some promo cards to Early Dragon Supporters —which is extensive to distributors and retailers who have confirmed their orders before retail release and only for the 1st print run of the game. Their orders and interest allows us to give you the best possible price by increasing our order quantity to the factory which reduces the unitary cost in turn. 
• Note that this does not guarantee that your local game store will have enough copies from the first print run; our past game titles have been VERY limited on distribution (expansions being even more limited and usually with a higher price), so if you want to add Lords of Vaala (and expansions) into your collection, the best way to secure it is by backing this Kickstarter.
• For your early support and trust we want to reward you. We want to repay your trust with trust. You will love the game as much as we do; we are very sure about it. So certain that we are offering a money-back guarantee (details in the campaign description). And for your support, we are giving all Kickstarter backers a free copy of Armies of Blood & Dreams (24 miniatures and soon, a couple of alternate generals). You could say this deal is Kickstarter exclusive, because it only applies to backers. (Not even retailer backers because of the margins).
• And in case you don't know why we are very excited about this: Armies of Blood & Dreams could potentially become its own standalone game if stage 5 of stretch goals is unlocked. So you would be getting 2 games for the (very low) price of one ($49)
• But what happens if we don't reach stage 5? Then, Armies of Blood & Dreams would still be a one-of-a-kind expansion for Lords of Vaala (a mix of cosmetic expansion with some added gameplay value), but from a financial perspective, it won't make sense to introduce that expansion into retail and mass distribution. In other words, Armies of Blood & Dreams would become a Kickstarter exclusive item.
• Whether we unlock stage 5 or not, you, our dear backers, will get something truly unique with Armies of Blood & Dreams for supporting this project on Kickstarter.

By backing this Kickstarter you help us stretch and expand the content (and value) of your pledge. 

You are also supporting us directly, which allows us to keep doing what we do (and love); that accelerates the pace at which we can develop more expansions for Lords of Vaala and other Dragonbond products (including other games, the novels, stories, RPGs, 3D models/miniatures, and the whole setting which we plan to bring into a TV series in some years).

And last but not least, you become part of our closest community. It is no secret that we always include loyalty rewards for returning backers. This applies to all projects from Draco Studios (Dragonbond / Eldritch Century), LAIR (3D printable files), and Detestable Games (Creature Kingdoms games). This is our way to remark our gratitude for supporting us. As a backer of Lords of Vaala, you get extra perks in several  upcoming projects.

What are your thoughts? Please let me know in the comments and feel free to share this update in any board game group on Facebook and tag me if you wish (@William Burgos). Kickstarter exclusives is a very interesting topic and I would like to learn more what you like, what you dislike, how can Draco Studios improve in the overall Kickstarter experience we offer to our backers.

Live Game stream

In 9 hours (9:00 hrs CT) you can join us in a 5-player game livestream. 

Pam, Jack, Gabriel, Moises, and I (William) will be playing and we will be using the Fell Knight and/or the Kadhah.

You can join here:

Today OnTableTop published an interview we recently had with Gerry and Ben. Alessio, Pam, and I (William) talk about the development of Lords of Vaala and some facts about the trajectory of Draco Studios and River Horse. You can watch it here:

——

That's all for now, we are very close to post the dedicated update for each of the expansions and more sneak peeks. We will stay in touch in the comments!

—Thank you for dragonbonding with us!

Join us to watch a painted Fai Hydra!
over 2 years ago – Wed, Aug 11, 2021 at 12:55:43 AM

Hello Dragonbonded,

 Thank you so much for sharing your comments with us regarding the new stretch goals plan. We are delighted to announce that this stage 2 is about to finish!

 The stretch goal you unlocked at $95,000 USD was changed to include 6 more minis of Allaria and very soon you will unlock the 6 extra minis in Tyveria.

Afterwards we will start stage 3 of stretch goals to unlock alternate generals and other surprises! And we will certainly include alternate poses again if we are able to exceed stage 5 of stretch goals.

 We are also very excited to present a different kind of stretch goal to add more value to the Legends of Valerna expansion. If 1000 copies of Legends of Valerna are taken (the sum of the pledge levels $79, $120, $170, $320) we will add more content with new mini expansions: Draconic Offerings and Captains.

IMPORTANT: Legends of Valerna is an add-on that already exists. If this stretch goal is met, it will add more content to it. We will have a dedicated update soon to explore in detail all content from Legends of Valerna, Creatures of Valerna and the other add-ons.

 Would you like to see some great painted minis and chat with Pam? Join us now in our weekly livestream at Facebook or YouTube.

After the livestream, Pam and I will head to the comments section to answer any unanswered questions but feel free to join us and ask us anything!

Let’s keep pushing with the community goals! So far you have reached above 100 Vaala points that will count toward the next stretch goal to unlock!

That’s all for now, but we will stay in touch in the comments after the livestream! Let us know your questions about Legends of Valerna so we can prepare the best dedicated update for the add-on and keep improving the project description.

—Thank you for dragonbonding with us!

Unlocking stretch goals faster!
over 2 years ago – Mon, Aug 09, 2021 at 05:04:04 AM

Hello Dragonbonded! 

We are delighted to be back with a very exciting update. Please keep reading and let us know your thoughts about the plan to unlock stretch goals faster. At the end of the update you will also find an exclusive preview too. 

Let's get started!

Dragonbond: Lords of Vaala - positive reviews!

Last Friday, August 6th was a great day for this game! Three different channels analyzed this Kickstarter and the general consensus is VERY positive.  

None of these were paid reviews so it was very exciting for us to watch.

• GloryHoundd backed our project (welcome!)
• Bower's Game Corner enthusiasm for the project throughout the critique was great and we took note to make minor adjustments that will come into effect this week.
• Liege of Games chose our project as Pick of the Week #1

Here are the videos in case you would like to watch!

 Feedback needed! - Stretch Goals plan

On Friday you unlocked the first stretch goal from stage 2 to add more miniatures into your free copy of Armies of Blood & Dreams!

Some of you are already aware about the stages of stretch goals but if you are not, please read carefully, WE WANT TO KNOW YOUR INSIGHT.

Stretch goals plan

At the beginning of the campaign we planned several stretch goals and grouped them in stages.

• Stage 1: Gameplay content to Lords of Vaala base game (More Upgrade Cards)
• Stage 2: Double the amount of minis in Armies of Blood & Dreams
• Stage 3: New Gameplay content in Armies of Blood & Dreams & 2 mini-expansions in Legends of Valerna + New expansion unlocked as add-on (Nahuac relam + Coatl dragon)
• Stage 4: Unique captain miniatures in Armies of Blood & Dreams
• Stage 5: Printed cards and tokens in Armies of Blood & Dreams to make it a standalone game

We are doing everything to give you the best deal on Kickstarter already, because we want you to play the game and discover the universe of Dragonbond. We would like to give you even more. So while reaching stage 5 is a challenge, we want to give you TWO great Dragonbond games for your pledge. 

In case you are wondering, the game that Armies of Blood & Dreams could become is what we have called in beta stage as Battles of Valerna, a miniatures wargame taking place in Dragonbond. 

About gameplay content

We assure you that the expansions included in this campaign for Lords of Vaala add a ton of gameplay value to an already highly replayable game. So with the stretch goals in Stage 3 (Alternate generals, Draconic Offerings & Captains mini expansions and the new expansion of Nahuac realm & Coatl dragons brood) we know you will have a ton of player options to play Lords of Vaala without getting tired of it. 

About components upgrades

We aim for the highest quality; that's how we like our games. Components already include premium finish such as linen and sturdy materials or plastic inserts because we want to focus the stretch goals on giving you more gameplay and more miniatures. We also have an oversized full-color rubber mat as add-on. However, we are hearing you. Some of you have let us know about your interest for metal, wooden, or plastic tokens to upgrade the cardboard tokens. For this, we are planning to include an add-on stretch goal in Backerkit after the campaign ends. This means that if enough backers  add this deluxe pack to their pledge, we can make it a reality. Backerkit has this feature and the add-on is only charged if the add-on goal is met, otherwise, it is not charged; the goal is the target quantity needed from backers including that add-on into their pledge to meet the minimum print order from the factory.

Alternative to unlock stage 2 of stretch goals THRICE as fast

Earlier this weekend, we reviewed the progress of the campaign's funding rate. 

Originally, in stage 2 we planned to give you 2 additional miniatures of each type (Allarian/Tyverian; Infantry-Ranged-Cavalry) with a different pose for each of the 12 original miniatures. At the end of stage 2 ($170,000 USD) you would receive 24 miniatures with alternate poses for each type. (Example: 4 Allarian cavalry being 2 of them in pose A and the other 2 in pose B; and so on for each type of Allarian and Tyverian unit).

The alternative we are exploring is represents finishing stage 2 three times faster but at the expense of not having them being alternate poses. So at $110,000 USD you would still have 24 miniatures (instead of 12), 4 of each type but without alternate poses within. (Example: all 4 Allarian cavalry would have the same pose, and so on for each type of Allarian and Tyverian unit).

⚠️ We want to hear your thoughts about it

⚠️⚠️⚠️ Let us know if you would be ok with having us make this change to the campaign. If that's the case, you are only $5,000 USD away from finishing stage 2 (and having 24 miniatures in your Armies of Blood & Dreams!) and that means that you already could consider your Allarian miniatures to be doubled (4 of each type instead of 2 of each type).

What about the alternate poses? We would still add those to the STL bundle for 3D printing (which all backers are getting for free). For the physical copy of Armies of Blood & Dreams we could re-consider that as a Stage 6 stretch goal if by any chance we have a lucky strike to exceed our highest expectations.

And how can we work together to exceed expectations and reach more stretch goals?

Introducing Community Goals to Lords of Vaala.

For this campaign we decided to make something fun on a daily basis to spread the word about this legendary game.

• Every day at 5 PM (Central Time) we will count the progress of new shares, retweet, likes, and challenges.
• Each interaction will earn 1 point of Vaala to the pool (Vaala points will count towards Stretch Goals with a limit of 1000, 2000, 3000 points per Stretch Goal (depending on the new funds needed to unlock the current stretch goal)
• We will introduce new challenges every few days to keep it interesting and fresh.

This is how you can help, but of course, we are doing our part too with paid adverts, newsletters, and marketing opportunities that we planned prior to campaign launch for every week.

Let's start with a few easy challenges...

Community goals

Click in the banners below to complete each challenge 

• Every few days we will pin a new Facebook post. Sharing in a Facebook group (tabletop) with your thoughts regarding Lords of Vaala to start a conversation would be the most effective; sharing in your own profile is very helpful too. You can share multiple times to help more but we will only count 1 Vaala point per user (for each pinned post). Try sharing the current one:

• Every few days we will pin a new Tweet. Try retweeting the current one:

• By adding this label to your Kickstarter username you can raise awareness on Kickstarter. This is a respectful way of letting other backers know that you like our project whenever you engage in the comment section of similar projects you have backed, without deviating from topic. Try these images to change your profile picture if you would like it to match with your username.

• Click on the heart icon of our BoardGameGeek project page to help us get into The Hotness list and increase visibility in the world's largest tabletop database. Just visiting the page helps us get into the Hotlist:

• We started a Facebook group exclusively for Lords of Vaala! We want to keep in touch and hear your stories, see your pictures when you receive your rewards, or just to assist you if you need help.

We plan to stay in touch this week to keep you updated about the project, community goals, and stretch goals. If you would like to share anywhere else or use different assets, here's a folder with images of the art, painted minis, or covers and we will also keep updating this every few days.

Expansions and Add-ons spotlight updates coming soon

In the comments section we have been answering questions about how the expansions work. We are preparing dedicated updates in the coming weeks for the expansions and add-ons available. Stay tuned!

For now, we would like to share some early previews about two minis that were still in progress when the campaign launched: the alternate generals in Legends of Valerna, Sagriv and Onatella.

Sagriv

Sagriv is an expert shiv alchemist from Tyveria. He experiments with different kind of poisons, which has marked his skin. He also uses special clothing and tools to managing these poisons. Although chaotic and erratic, his clever mind and intelligence make him an occasional counselor for the emperor.

This is currently being sculpted but the art above shows the concept in a neutral pose. As you know, we like to go BIG on the miniatures look, especially with the generals, so here's how the final sculpt will look like:

Onatella Pai

Onatella is the leader of the Grand Guild and the most important figure inside the Golden Gnome culture in Allaria. Devious, intimidating and politic, she made her way into the main spheres of power in Allaria.

Middle-aged and absurdly dressed in ornate and ostentatious clothes. Like any of her kind, she posses a great intelligence and witty personality, always displaying her inventions as part of her attire. She moves on a golden tripod which shows all the complex mechanisms characteristic of her people.

Onatella's concept is still in revisions with the art team and you can consider the miniature will also have a great pose, most likely with her tripod. Here's an extra preview for the Grand Guild, directly taken from the visual guide and the lore guide of Dragonbond:

The largest and best-known organization of Allaria is not a warden Lodge, a dreamshaper school, or even Allai. It’s the greatest manufacturing consortium in Valerna, run and maintained by Godao Golden Gnomes, not only in Allaria but all across the continent. It is the Allarian Grand Guild.

The Guild has charters and representatives in every Allarian city, and maintains embassies and business deals in every Realm - even Tyveria and Nahuac. There’s no corner of Valerna outside the Guild’s reach, and few trade routes that remain free of its influence. The Grand Guild will deal with pirates and smugglers in the same terms as it deals with kings and emperors, and it manages wholesale international exports of its machines and raw materials as easily as it reaches small corner shops in the lowliest slums or the most remote villages.

The Guild is run by the Grand Gathering - a group of inventors, all Godao, that have roughly equal stakes in Guild business.

Comments?

That's all for this update but please let us know your thoughts in the comments section (preferably the general comments section but the update's comment section is good too).

• Would you be ok with the new plan for Stage 2 of Stretch Goals? 
• Was the explanation for the community goals clear? Anything you would like to see in the future?
• What are your impressions from the previews and everything you have seen so far from Dragonbond?

Thanks again for your support and for sharing your enthusiasm with us. Everyone at Draco Studios is delighted to read your comments.

Thank you for dragonbonding with us!